ELEMENTS OF GENERAL HISTORY, ANCIENT AND MODERN. BY ALEXANDER PHASER TYTLER. F. R, S. ll. Professor of History in the Uoiversity of Edinburgh. WITH A CONTINUATION, TERMINATING AT THK DEMISE OF KING GEORGE III., 1820. BY REV. EDWARD NARES, D. D. Proietsor of Modern Histor}' ia the Unirer&ity of Oxf«rd. TO WHICH ARE ADDUd, A SUCCINCT H^f stovu Of tJjt Unittti Sktattn ; AN IMPROVED TABLE OF CHRONOLOGY; A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF \NCIENT AND MODERN GEOGRAPHY, AND , QUESTIONS ON EACH SECTION. Adapted for the use of Schooli and Academies BT AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER. ♦ CONCORD^ It. H. SPRINTED BY ISAAC HILLo J*'. •*****###* DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, TO WIT: District Clerk'' s Office. I re * ^-^ ^* remembered, that on the fourth day of Sep- I L. S. I tember, A. D. 1823, and in ihe foity-eighlh jear of the ^*##**##| Independence of tbe United Slates of America, ISAAC HILL, of (he said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as piopri:tor in the words following, to wit — '^Ele7nents of General Nistory, ancient and modem. By .Alexander Fra- ser Tytler, F. R. S. E. Professor of JHistory in ihe University of Ed' •bftburgh, fViih a continuation, terminating at the demise of King George IIL, 1820. By Rev. Edivard JVares. D. D. Professor of Mod- ern History m the University of Oxford. To which are added, a suc' dnct History of ihe United states ; an improved Table of Chronology i .tL comparative view of ^^ncient and Modefn Geography, and Questions on each section, jidaptedfor the use of Schools and Academies. By an ct- ^^erienced Teacher." In ccnformity lo the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled »* An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors, and proprietors of »uch copies, during the times tbiprein mentioned ;" and also an act, entitled " an act supplementary to an act, entitled an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned, and ex- lending the benefit thereof to the arts ol designing, engraving, and etch- ing historical and other prints." WILLIAM CLAGGETT, Clerk of ihe District of JVew-Hampshire. A true copy of Record. Attest WILLIAM CLAGGETT, Clerk. J ?!E:S!!'JLi931. J- HE following work contains the Outlines of a Course of Lec- tures on General History, deliverer! for many years iu the Univer- sity of Edinburgh, and received with a portion of the public ap- probation amply sufficient to compensate the labours of the author. He began to compose these Elements principally Avith the view of furnishing an aid to students attending his Lecture? ; but soon con- ceived, that, by giving a little more amplitude to their compoiii- tion, he might render the work of more general utility. As now given to the public, he would willingly fiattcr himself that it may be not only i-erviceable to youth, in furnishing a regular plan for the prosecution of this important study, but useful even to tiiosf-; who have acquired a competent knov^^ledge of general history from the perusal of the works of detached historian?, and who v/ish to methodize that knowledge, or even to refresh their memory on inaterial facts and the order of events. In the composition of these Elements the author has endeavour- ed to unite with the detail of facts, so much of reflection as to aid the mind in the formation of rational views of the causes and con- sequences of events, as well as of the policy of the actors ; but he has anxiously guarded against that speculative refinement which has some'imes entered into works of tiiis nature. Such works profess to exhibit the philosophy or the spirit of history, but are more adapted to display the writer's ingenuity as a theo- rist, or talents as a rhetorician, than to instruct the reader in tfie more aseful knowledge of historical facts. As the progress of the human mind forms ?i capital object in the study of history, the state of the arts and sciences, the religion^ Ja^vs, government, and manners of nations, are material parts, even in an elementary work of this nature. The history of liter- ature is a most important article in this study. The author has therefore endeavoured to give to each of these topics its due share of attention ; and in that view they are separately treated, in dis- tinct sections, at particular periods of time. ALEX. ERASER TYTLER, Edinburgh, April ^ 1 80 L The present edition of Tytler's Elements of Histo- ry, with the impiovements ^nd Continuation, is believ- ed to be decidedly superior to any edition which ever preceded it. So much information in so small a space, and at so small expense, cannot be found in any other book of the kind : in England the historical part of I his edition alone is published in three volumes at an '^xpense little short of twelve dollars! — Speaking of this work a literary gentleman who has examined the pages critically, as well of Tytler as of Nares' work and the improvements, remarks : " The whole, as such, is better calculated for schoo^ls than any other histor- ical work with which I am acquainted. It is a system of the Elements of History ; w hereas there is nothing of system in the works mostly used." To a part of this edition, the Questions are added : with the other, they are not included. These Ques- tions are, however, printed in a separate pamphlet, and %vill accompany the volume, and be for sale at the several bookstores. Concord, X, H. Oct, 1823. 51^ CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. Page. Advantaores arisin* from the Study of History, and more par- ticularly from prosecuting it according t© a regular Tlan l2 Plan OF THE COURSE - - - 14 PART FIRST. ANCIENT HISTORY. Earliest authentic Accounts of the History of the World - - - - la Considerations on the Nature of the First Govern- ments, and on the Laws, Customs, Arts and Sci- ences of the first Ages - - 20 Of the Egyptians - - - 22 Of the Phoenicians - - - 24 The History of Greece - - 24 Reflections on the first and rudest Periods of the Grecian History - - • 26 Early period of Grecian History. Arr^onautic Ex- pedition. Wars of Thebes and Troy - 27 Establishment of the Greek Colonies - 28 The Republic of Sparta - - 29 The Republic of Athens - - 31 Of the state of the Persian Empire, and its History down to the War with Greece - 33 The War between Greece and Persia - 35 Age of Pericles - - - 37 The Republic of Thebes - - 39 Philip of Macedon - - - 35 Alexander the Great - - 40 Successors of Alexander - -, 43 Fall and conquest of Greece - - 43 Political Reflections arising from the History of the States of Greece - - 45 State of the Arts in Greece - «v 45 Of the Greek Poets . >. 49 1* Sect. 1. Sect. 2. Sect. 3. Sect. 4. Sect. 5. Sect. 6. Sect. 7. Sect. 8. Sect. 9. Sect. 10, Sect. 11. Sect. 12. Sect. 13. Sect. 14. Sect. 15. Sect. 16. Sect. 17. Sect. 18. Sect. 19. Sect. 20. Sect. 21, CONTENTS,. Page. Of Ibe Greek Historians - - 51 Of the Greek Philosophers - - 62 The History of Pi,ome - - 55 Reflections on the Government and State of Rome under the Kings . - . 59 Rome under the^Consuls .- - 60 The Law of Volero - - 63 The Decemvirate - - - 64 Tncrease of popular Fewer - - 65 Conquest of Italy by the Romans - 66 History of Carthago - - 67 History of Sicily . - - 68 The Punic Wars ... 69 The Gracchi, and the Corruption of the Common- wealth . > . 72 Progress of the Civil Wars. Second Triumvirate, and fall of the Republic - - 75 Considerations on such particulars as mark the Ge- nius and national Character of the Romans 79 System of Roman Education - - 79 Of the Progress of Literature arr,ong the Romans 80 State of Philosophy among the Romans - 83 Of the Public and Private Manners of the Romans 85 Of the Art of War among the Romans - 86 Reflections arising from a View of the Roman His- tory during the Commonwealth 88 Rome under the Emperors - - 91 The same subject continued - - 95 Age of the Antonines, &;c. - - &8 State of the Roman Empire at the time of Constan- tine. His Successors - - 100 6ect. 45. Progress of the Christian Religion from its Institu- tion to the Extinction of Paganism in the Reign of Theodosius - - 104 -ject. 46. Extinction of the Roman Empire in the West 106 >ect. 47. Of the Origin, Manners, and Character of the Goth- ic Nations before their establishment in the Ro- man Empire - - 109 'Sect. 48. Of the Manners, Laws, and Government of the Gothic Nations after their establishment in the Roman Empire - - - 111 Sect. 49, Method of studying Ancient History - 114 PART SECOND. MODERN HISTORY. Sect. 1. Of Arabia and the Empire of the Saracens 119'' Sect. 2. Moaarcby of the Franks - - 121. Sect. 22 Sect. 23 Sect. 24 Sect. 24 Sect. :.6 Sect. 27 Sect. 28 Sect. 29. Sect. 30 Sect. 31. Sect. 32 Sect. 33. Sect. 34. Sect. 35. Sect. 36. Sect, 37. Sect. Ot'. Sect. 39. Sect. 40. Sect. 41. Sect. 42. Sect. 43. Sect. 44. COMTENTS; VI I Page. Sect. 3. Reflections on the State of France during the Mero- vingian race of its Kin2,s - - 122 Sect. 4. Charlemagne. The new Empire of the V/est 125 Sect. 5. Manners, Governments, and Customs of the Age of Charlemagne - - •■ 127 Sect. 6. Retrospective View of the Affairs of the Church before the Age of Charlemagne - 129 Sect. 7. Empire of the West under the Successors of Charle- magne _ _ - 131 Sect. 8. Empire of the East during the Eighth and Ninth Centuries - - - 132 Sect. 9. State of tlic Church in the Eighth and Ninth Centu- ries . - - 133 Sect. 10. Of the Saracens in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries 135 Sect. 11. Empire of the West and Italy in the Tenth and Eleventh Centuries - - 136 Sect. 12. History Ot Britain from its earliest Period down to the Norinan Conquest - - 137 Sect. 13. Of the Government, I^aws, and Manners of the Anglo-Saxons _ . . 142 Sect. 14. State of Europe during the Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Centuries - - 144 Sect. 15. History of England in the Eleventh, Twelfth, and part of the Thirteenth Centuries - 146 Sect. 16. State of Germany and Italy in the Thirteenth Century _ - - 151 Sect. 17. The Crusades or Holy Wars - - 151 Sect. 18. Of Chivalry and Romance - - 154 Sect. 19. State of Europe in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries - - - 157 Sect. 20 Revolution in Switzerland - - 158 Sect, 21. State of Europe continued in the Thirteenth, Four- teenth, and part of the Fifteenth Centuries 159 Sect. 22. History of England in the Thirteenth Century 160 Sect. 23, History of Scotland from the Eleventh to the Four- teenth Century - - - 162 Sect. 24. History of Englanti in the Fourteenth Century 163 Sect. 2Ef. England and France in the Fifteenth Century. State of Manners - - 165 Sect. 26. Decline and Fall of the Greek Empire 167 Sect. 27. Government and Policy of the Turkish Empire 168 Sect. 28. France and Italy in the End of the Fifteenth Cen- tury - ' - - - 169 Sect. 29. History of Spain in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries _ - - 171 Sect. 20. France, Spain, and Italy, in the End of the Fif- - teenth and Beginning of the Sixteenth Century 172 Sect. 31. History of England from the Middle of the Fif- teenth to the Beginning of the Sixteenth Cen- tury. Civil Wars of York and Lancaster 173 vat CONTENTS. Page. Sect. 32. History of Scotland from the iMIddle of the Four- teenth Century to the End of the Reign of James V ... I75 Sect. 33. Of the Ancient Constitution of the Scottish Gov- ernment ' - - 178 Sect. 34. A View of the Progress of Literature and Science in Europe from the Revival of Letters to the End of the Fifteenth Century - - 179 Sect. 35. View of the Progress of Commerce in Europe be- fore the Portuguese Discoveries - 182 Sect. 36. Discoveries of the Portuguese in the Fifteenth Cen- tury, and their effects on the Commerce of Europe - - - 185 Sect. 37. Germany and France in the Reigns of Charles V and Francis I - - - 187 Sect. 38. Observations on the Constitution of the German Empire - - - 190 Sect. 39. Of the Reformation in Germany and Switzerland, and the Revolution in Denmark and Sweden 191 Sect. 40. Of the Reformation in England under Henry VIII and his Successors - - 194 Sect. 41. Of the Discovery and Conquest oi America by the Spaniards - - - 195 Sect. 42. Possessions of the other European Nations in Amer- ica - - - - 198 Sect. 43. Of the State of the Fine Arts in Europe, in the Age of Leo X - - - - 200 Sect. 44. Of the Ottoman Power in the Sixteenth Century 203 Sect. 45. State of Persia, and the other Asiatic Kingdoms, in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries 204 Sect. 46. History of India - - - - 206 Sect. 47. Ancient State of India ; Manners, Laws, Arts and Sciences, and Religion, of the Hindoos 207 Sect. 48. Of China and Japan - - - 209 Sect. 49. Of the Antiquity of the Empire of China. State of the Arts and Sciences, Manners, Government, Laws ... - 210 Sect. 50. Mr. Bailly's Theory of the Origin of the Sciences among the Nations of Asia - - 214 Sect. 51. Reign of Philip II of Spain. Revolution of the Netherlands, and Establishment of the Republic of Holland .... 216 Sect. 52. Of the Constitution and Government of the Unit- ed Provinces . . - - 218 Sect. 53. Reign of Philip II continued - - 219 Sect. 54. State of France in the End of the Sixteenth Cen- tury, under Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX, Henry III, and Henry IV - - 220 Sect. 55. History of England and Scotland in the Reigns of Elizabeth a»d Mary Queen of Scivts -- 22^. GONTENTS. IX Page. '^eet. 5G. Histoiy of Great Britain in the Reigns of James I and Charles I, - - - - 226 The CommonAvealth of Eng^land - - 230 Reig^ns of Charles II and James II - - 232 On (he British Constitution - - 235 Of the Public Revenue of Great Britain - 239 History of Frar:ce under Lewis XIII - 240 Spain under Philip III and Philip IV. Constitution of Portugal and Spain . _ _ 041 Affairs of Germany from the Abdication of Charles V to the Peace of \VestphaUa - - 243 France under Lewis XIV - " - - 244 On the Constitution of France under the Monar- chy ----- 248 Sect. 60. Of Peter the Great, Czar of Muscovy, and Charles XH, King of Sweden - - - 250 Sect. 67. A View of the Progress of Science and Literature in Europe, fron the End of the Fifteenth to the End of the Sixteenth Century - - 252 Sect. 57. Sect. 58. Sect. 59. Sect. 60. Sect. 6L Sect. G2. Sect. 63. Sect. 64. Sect. 65. APPENDIX, THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS. :ieoi. 1. A General View of the History of Mankind in the Primeval Ages - _ - 257 Sect. 2. Summary View of Jewish History - - 259 Sect. 3. The Antiquity of the Scriptures - - 260 Sect. 4. The Subject of the Books, and Characters of the Writers - - - - 261 Sect. 5. Of the Antediluvian World -. - 267 Sect. 6. First Ages after the Deluge - 268 Sect., 7. Of the" Jews - - - 269 Sejj^. 8. The History of the Hebrews during the Govern- ment of the Judges - _ _ 272 Sect. 9. Retrospect of the Government of the Hebrews 273 Sect. 10. Regal Government of the Hebrews - 274 Sect. 11. Restoration of the Jews to their Liberty and Coun- try ... . - 277 Sect. 12. The State of Learning and Commerce among the Jews - - - 281 CQaclLLsioH - - - ^ -, 282 contents: PART TIIIRD. MODERN HISTORY. Page. 1. France, fram the death of Lewis XI V^., 1715, to the Peace of Vienna, 17.".8, - 7 285 2. England, from the Accession of the House of Han- over, 1714, to the end of the Reign of George the rir>t, 1727, - - - 290 3. Austria (and Germany), from the Peace of Rastadt, 1714, to the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, 297 4. England, from the Accession of George II. to the Throne, 1727, to hia death, 1760, - 302 5. State of Europe at the Conclusion of the Peace of Aix-la-ChaDelle, 1748, - - 30C 6. Of the Seven' Years' War, 1755— 17G2, - 311 7. From the Accession of George III., J760, to the Commencement of the Diipvites -with America. 1764 - - - - ' 319 8. Disputes between Great Britain and her A.merican Colonies, 1764—1783, - - 323 9. France, from the Peace of Pari?, 1763, to the Open- ing of the Assembly of the States General, 1789, 32t> 10. Austria, from the conclusion of the Seven Years' - War, to the death of Maria Theresa, 1763—1780, 340 11. Reigns of Joseph II., Leopold II., &c., from 1765 to 1800, - - - - 343 12. Fra.nce, from the Opening of the Assembly of the States General, 1789, to the deaths of the King and Queen, 1793, - - . 331 13. Great Britain, from the conclusion of the American War, 1783, to the Peace of Amiens, 1802, 357 14. France, from the death of the King and Queen, and Overtiirow of the Girondist or Brissotine Party, 1793, to the Establishment of the iJircctory, 1795, 369 15. France, from the Establishment of the Directory, 1795, to the Peace of Amiens, - 374 16. France, from the Peace of Amiens to the Treaty of lilsit, 1807, - - - 0^4 17. Spain and Portugal, from 1788 to 1814, - 391 18. France, from the Peace of 1'ilsit, to the Abdication of NapoLon, 18! 4, - - - 397 19. Poland, from the Commencement of the eighteenth Century, to the Treaty -f Vienna, 1815, 402 20. Great Britain, from the Peace of Amiens, 1802, to the death of George III., 1820, - '409 21. France, from the Entrance of the Ailies into Paris, March, 1814, to the final Evacuation of it by the Foreign Troops, 1818, - - 41 fj CONTENTS . Xi Page. Sect. 22. Northern States of Europe, from the Close of the seventeenth Century, - - - 420 Sect. 23. Southprn States of Europe, from the Close of the seA'cnteenth Century, - - 429 Sect. 24. Of India, or Hlndostan, - - 434 State of Arts, Sciences, Religion, Laws, Government, &c. 441 Botany, - - - . - 447 Electricity - - - - - 449 Mineralogy and Geology, . - - 454 Geography, ----- 454 Discoveries and Inventions, - - - 465 Religion, ----- 467 History, Polite Literature, Fine Arts, Sic. - - 468 Treaty of Vienna, 1815, - - - 470 PART FOURTH THE UNITED STATES. Sect. 1. Discovery of America, - , - 471 Sect. 2. Discoveries by the English. Settlement of Virginia 474 Sect, 3. Settlement of Massachusetts, Rhode-Island, Con- necticut, New- Hampshire, Maine, Maryland, North and South Carolina, New- York, New- Jer- sey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Georgia, 479 Sect. 4. War with France, and Conquest of Canada. Dis- putes with Great Britain, andf^ar of the Revolu- tion, - - - - - 487 Sect. 5. Establishment of the State a#i National Govern- ments. Wars with Tripoli and the Indians, &c. 499 Sect. 6. War with Great Britain, &c., - - 502 A Table of Chronology, - - - - 51^ Comparative view oe Ancient and Modern Geogra- phy, ^ . - , , 559 iiSd 1» T. HE value of any science is to be estimated according: to its tendency to i^romote improvement, either in private virtue, or in those qualities M'hich render man extensively useful in society. Some objects of pursuit have a secondary utility ; in furnishing rational amusement, which, relieving: the mind at intervals from the fatigue of serious occupation, invigorates and prepares it for fresh exertion. It is the perfection of any science, to unite these advantages, to promote the advancement of public and private virtue, and to supply such a degree of amusement, as to supersede the necessity of recurring to frivolous pursuits for the sake of re- laxation. Under this description falls the science of history. 2. History, says Dionysius of Halicarnassus, is '' philosophy teaching by examples." The superior efficacy of example to pre- cept is universally acknowledged. All the laws of morality and rules of conduct are verified by experience, and are constantly submitted to its test and examination. IHstory, which adds to our own experience an immense treasure of the experience of others, furnishes innumerable proofs, by which we may verify all the precepts of morality and of prudence. 3. History, beside its general advantages, has a distinct species of utility to diflferent men, according to their several ranks in soci- ety, and occupations in life. 4. In this country it is an indispensable duty of every man of liberal birth, to be acquainted, in a certain degree, with the sci- ence of politics ; and history is the school of politics. It opens to us the springs of human aflfairs ; the causes of tho rise, grandeur, revolutions, and fall of empires ; it points out the reciprocal influ- ence of government and of national manners ; it dissipates preju- dices, nourishes the love of our country, and directs to the best means of its improvement ; it illustrates equally the blessings of political union, and the miseries of faction ; tlie danger, on on^ hand, of uncontroled liberty, and, on the other, the debasing in- fluence of despotic power. 5. It is necessary that the study of history should be prosecuted according to a regular plan ; for this science, more })erhap3 than any other, is liable to perversion from its proper use. \Vith some it is no better than an idle amusement ; with others it is the food of vanity ; with a third class it fosters the prejudices of party, and leads to political bigotry. It is dangerous for tliose who, even with the beat intentions, seek for historical knowledge, to pursue 2 1 4 JOTR©DUCTI©N. the study without a guide ; for no science has been so little methodized. The sources of prejudice are infinite ; and the mind cf youth should not be left undirected amidst the erring-, the par- tial, and contradictory representations of historians. Besides the importance of bein^ ab:^ to discriminate truth from falsehood, the attention ought to be directed only to useful truths. Much dan- g-er arises from the perusal of memoirs, collections of anecdotes, fee. ; for many of those works exhibit the most depraved pictures, weaken our confidence in virtue, and present the most unfavour- able views of human nature. 6. There are many difficulties which attend fhe attempt of form- ing a proper plan of study, and giving- an instructive view of gen- eral history. Utility is to be reconciled with amusement, preju- judices are to be encountered, variety of taste to be consulted, political opinions balanced, judgment and decision exercised on topics keenly controverted. The proposer of such a plan ought therefore to be possessed equally of firmness of mind and modera- tion of sentiment. In many cases he must abandon popularity for the calm approbation of his own conscience. Disregarding every partial and inferior consideration, he must direct his view solely to the proper end of all education, the forming of good men, and of good citizens. 7. The object and general purpose of the following course is to exhibit a progressive view of the state of mankind, from the ear- liest ages of which we have any authentic accounts, down to the close of the 17th century, to delineate the origin of states and of empires, the great outlines of their history, the revolutions which they have undergone, the causes which have contributed to their rise and grandeur, and operated to their decline and extinction. For thess purposes it is necessary to bestow particular attention on the manners o{ nations, their laws, the nature of their govern- ments, their religion, their intellectual improvements, and their progress in the arts and sciences. mA^ m ^WM mwim^ Two opposite methods have been followed in gfiving acadeini cal lectures on the study of history : one exhibiting a strict chro- nological arrangement of events, upon the plan of Tursclline''s Epitome ; the other, a scries of disquisitions on the various heads or titles of public law, and the doctrines of politics ; ilku-trated by examples drawn from ancient and modern history. Objections occur to both these methods: the former furnishes only a dry chronicle of events, which nothing connects together but the or- der of time ; the latter is insufficient for the most important pur- poses of history, the tracing of events to their causes, the detec- tion of the springs of human actions, the display of tlae progress of society, and of the rise and fall of states and empires ; finally, by confining history to the exemplification of the doctrines of pol- itics^ we lose its effect as a school of morals. In the following lectures we hold a middle course between these extremes, and endeavour, by remedying the imperfection of each, to unite, if possible, the advantag^ts of both. While so much regard is had to ciironology as is necessary for showing the progress of mankind in society, and communicating just ideas of the state of the world in all the different ages to which authentic history extends, we shall, in the delineation of the rise and fall of empires and tiiair revolutions, pay more atten- tion to the connection of subjtct tlian that of iivtt. In this view we m.ust reject the common lutethod of arranging |;eneral history according to epochs, or csras. When the world is viewed at any period either of ancient or of modern history, we generally observe one nation or empire pve- dominant, to who?n all the rest bear, as it were, an under :- .rt, and to whose history we find that the principal events in ih': m- nals of other nations may be referred fiom some natural connec- tion. This predominant empire or state it. is proposed to < xi ibit to view as the principal object, v/hose history therefore i'^ tc be more fully delineated, while the rest are only incidentsi .y t:uch.;d when they come to have a natural connection with tie p.mcipal. The Jewish history, belonging to a different department of aca- demical education, enters not into the plan of fhcse lectures ; though we often resort to the sacred writings for detached facts illustrative of the manners of ancient nati^rs. See JijptndiX: In the ancient world, among the profane rations, the Greeks are the earliest people who make a distinguished figure, and whose his- tory is at the same tiaae authentic. 16 rLAN or THE COURSE. The Greeks owed their civilization to the Egyptians and Phos- laicians. The Grecian history is therefore properly introduced by a short accovint of these nations, and of the Assyrians, their rivals, •onquer; d at one time by the Egyptians, and conquerors after- ■n'ari.s of them in their turn. Rise of the independent states of Greece, and singular consti- tution of the two great republics of Sparta and Athens. The 'vvar of Greece v/ith Persia induces a short account of the preceding periods of the history af that nation, the rise of the Persian monarchy, the nature of its gorernment, manners, and reiiffion. The Grecian history is pursued through all the revolutions of the jiation, till Greece becomes a province of the Roman empire. Political reflections applicable to the history of the states of Greece. — Progress of the Greeks in the arts. — Of the Greek po- ets, — historian?, — philosophers. Rome, after the conquest of Greece, becomes the leading ob- ject of attention. Origin of the Romans. — Nature of their government under the kings. — Easy substitution of the consula.r for the regal dignity. — JJubsequent clianges in the constitution. — Progress to a democra- cy. — Extension of the Roniq.n arms. — Conquest of Italy. — Wars with foreign nations. The Punic wars open a collateral view to the history of Car- thage and of Sicily. Success of the Roman arms in Asia, Macedonia, and Greece. — Opulence of the republic from her conquests, and corruption of her manners. — The civil wars, and ruin of the commonwealth. Particulars which mark the genius and national spirit of the Romans : — education, — laws, — literary character, — art of war, — public and private manners. Rome under the emperors. — Artful policy by which the first emperors disguised their absolute authority.— ^Decline of the am- bitiovis character of the Romans. — Easy submission to the loss of civil liberty. — The military spirit purposely abased by the empe- rors. — The empire divided becomes a languid body, without in- ternal vigour. — The Gothic nations pour down from the north. — Its.ly conquered successively by the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lom- hards. — Extinction of the western empire. The manners, genius, laws, and government of the Gothic na- tions form an important object of inquiry, from their influence om the manners and policy of the modern European kingdoms. In the delineation of modern history the leading objects of at-- tention are more various ; the scene is oftener changed : nations, too, which for a while occupy the chief attention, become for a time subordinate, and afterwards re^a^sume their rank as prin- cipal ; yet the same plan is pursued as in the department of an- cient history : the picture is occupied only by one great object at a time, to which all the rest hold an inferior rank, and are taken notice of only when connected with the principal. Upon the fall of the western empire the Sa^racQns are \he fifit PLAN OF THE COURSE. 17 who dii?ting-ui?h themselves by the extension of their ConcLUests, and the splendour of their dominion. While the Saracens extend their arms in the east and in Afri- ca, a new empire of the west is founded by Charlemag-ne.— The^ rise and progress of the monarchy of the Franks. — The orig:in of the feudal system. — State of the" European manners in the age of Charlemagne. — Government, arts and sciences, literature. As collateral objects of attention^ we survey the remains of the Roman empire in the east ; the conquests and settlements of the Normans ; the foundation and progress of the temporal dominion of the church of Rome ; the conquest of Spain by the Saracens. The conquest of England by the Normans solicits our attentioa to the history of Britain. Retrospective view of the British his- tory, from its earliest period to the end of the Anglo-Saxon govern- ment iu England. — Observations on the government, laws, and manners of the Anglo-Saxons. Collateral view of the state of the continental kingdoms of Europe, during the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries. — France under the Capetian race of monarchs. — Conquests of the Nor- mans in Italy and Sicily. — State of the northern kingdom-s of Eu- rope. The eastern empire. — Empire of Germany. — Disputes of supremacy betAveen the popes and the emperors. The history of Britain still the principal object of attention. — England under the kings of the Norman line, and the first prin- ces of the Plantagenet branch. — The conquest of Ireland, under Henry II. introduces an anticipated progressive view of the political connection between England and Ireland down to the present time. As we proceed in the delineation of the Britisli history, we note particularly those circumstances which mark the g'rowth of the English constitution. At this period all the kingdoms of Europe join in the crusades. — A brief account is given of those enterprizes. — Moral and politic- al effects of the crusades on the nations of Europe. — Origin of chivalry, and rise of romantic fiction. Short connected sketch of the state of the European natior>8 after the crusades. — Rise of the house of Austria. — Decline of the feudal government in France. — Establishment of the Swiss repub- lics. — Disorders in the popedom. — Council of Constance. The history of Britain resumed. — England under Henry III. and Edward I.— The conquest ©f Wales.— The history of Scot- land at this period iatimately connected with that of England. — • View of the Scottish history from Malcolm Canmore to Robert Bruce. — State of both kingdoms during the reigns of Edward II. and III. — The history of France connected with that of Britaiti. — Frances itself won by Henry V. The state of the east at this period affords the most interesting- object of attention. — The progress of the Ottoman arms retarded for a while by the conquests of Tamerlane and of Scanderbeg. — The Turks prosecute their Victories under Mahomet the great, to the total extinction of the Constantinopolitaa empire^ — 1 he eon.- «iitution_axid policy of the Turkish empire* 2* 18 PLAN QF THE COURSE* France, in this age, emancipates herself from the feudal serri" tude ; and Spain, from the union of Arrag-on and Castile, and the fall of the kingdom of the Moors, becomes one monarchy under Ferdinand and Isabella. The history of Britain is resumed. — Sketch of the history of Eng^land down to the reign of Henry VIII. ; of Scotland, during the reigns of the five Jameses. — Delineation of the ancient con- stitution of the Scottish government. The end of the fifteenth century is a remarkable aera in the his- tory of Europe. Learning and the sciences underwent at that time a very rapid improvement ; and, after ages of darkness, ghone out tat once with surprising lustre. — A connected view ig presented of the progress of literature in Europe, from its revival down to this period. — In the same age the advancement of navi- gation, and the course to India by the Cape of Good Hope, ex- plored by the Portuguese, affect the commerce of all the Europe- an kingdoms. The age of Charles V. unites in one connected view the aflfaira «f Germany, of Spain, of France, of England, and of Italy. The discovery of the new world, the reformation in Germany and Eng- land, and the splendour of the fine arts under the pontificate of Leo X. render this period one of tiie most interesting in the an- jials of mankind. The pacification of Europe, by the treaty of Catteau Cambre- »is, allows us for a while to turn our attention to the state of Asi;r. A short sketch is given of the modern history of Persia, and the state of the other kingdoms of Asia, in the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries ; the history of India ; the manners, laws, arts and sciences, and religion of the Hindoos ; the history of China and Japan; the antiquity of the Chinese empire, its manners, laws, government, and attainments in the arts and sciences. Returtiiug to Europe, the attention is directed to the state of the continental kingdoms in the age of Philip II. Spain, the Netherlands, France, and England, present a various and anima- ted picture. England under Elizabeth. The progress of the reformation in Scotland. — The distracted reign of Mary, queen of Scots. — The history of Britain pursued without interruption down to the revo- hUion.^ and here closed by a sketch of the progress of the Englisb constitution, and an examination of its nature at this period, when it became fixed and determined. The history of the southern continental kingdoms is brought down to the end of the reign of Louis XIV. ; of the northern, to the conclusion of the reigns of Charles XIL of Sweden, and of Peter the great, czar of Muscov3^ Vv'e finish this view of universal history, by a survey of the state of the arts and sciences, and of the progress of literature U Europe, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The chronology observed in this View of Universal History is that of archbishop Usher ^ ivhich is founded on the Hebrew text of the Sacred Writings. A short Table of ChroUQlogy ii iubjnn- ed to th^si h€ads, for th^ aast of tki HudmU PART FIRST. SECTION I. EARLIEST AUTHENTIC ACCOUNTS OF THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. It is a difficult task to delineate the state of mankind in the ear- liest ages of the Tvoiid. We Avant information sufficient to g^ive us positive ideas on the subject ; but as man advances in civiliza- tion, and in proportion as history becomes useful and important, its certainty increases, and its materials are more abundant. Various notions have been formed with respect to the popula- tion of the antediluvian world and its physical appearance ; but as these are rather matters of theory than of fact, they scarcely fall within the province of history ; and they are of the less con- sequence, because we are certain that the state of those antedi- luvian agfes could have had no material influence on the times which succeeded them. The books of Moses afford the earliest authentic history of the a^es immediately following^ the deluge. About 150 years after that event Nimrod (the Belus of profane historians) built Babylon, and Assur built Nineveh, which becanae the capital of the Assyrian empire. Kiuus the son of Belus, and his queen Semiramis, are said to have raised the empire of Assyria to a higher degree of splendour. From the death of Ninias the son of Ninus, down to tlie revolt of the Medes under Sardanapalus, a period of 800 years, there is a chasm in the history of Assyria and Babylon. This is to be supplied only from conjecture. The earliest periods of the Egyptian history are equally uncer- tain with those of the Assyrian. Menes is supposed the first king ©f Egypt ; probably the Misraim of the Holy Scriptures, the grand- son of Noah, or, as others conjecture, the Oziris of Egypt, the in- ventor of arts, and the civilizer of a great part of the eastern world. After Menes or Oziris Egypt appears to have been divided into four dynasties, Thebes, Thin, Memphis, and Tanis ; and the peo- ple to have attained a considerable degree of civilization : but a period of barbari«a iucceeded Uftder tke shepherd-kings. iult>»i*i- 2@ ANCIENT HISTORY. in^ for the space of some centuries, down to the age of Sesostrig (1650 A. C. ), who united the separate principalities into one king-dom, re^^ulated its policy with admirable skill, and distinguish- ed himself equally by his foreign conquests, and by his domestic administration. SECTION 11. CONSIDERATIONS ON THE NATURE OF THE FIRST GOYERIsMENTS, AND ON THE LAWS, CUSTOMS, ARTS, AND SCIENCES OF THE EARLY AGES. j 1. The earliest government is the patriarchal, which subsists in the rudest periods of society. This has an easy progress to the monarchical. The first monarchies must have been very weak, and their ter- ritory extremely limited. The idea of security precedes that of conquest. In forming our notions of the extent of the first mon- archies, we are deceived by the word king, whicli accordiag to modern ideas, is connected with an extent of territory, and a pro- portional pov/er. The kings in scripture are no more thai), the chiefs of tribes. There were five kings in the vale of Sodom. Joshua defeated in his wars thirty-oue king-3, and Adonizedec threescore and ten. Ths regal office was in all probability at first elective. The transmission of the sceptre to the heir of the last monarch arises in time, from the experience of the raischiefs attending frequent elections, and the disorders occasioned by ambitious men aspiring- St that dignity. The first ideas of conquest must have proceeded from a people in the state of shepherds, who, necessarily changing their pas- tures, would probably make incursions on the appropriated terri- tory of their neighbotirs. Such were the Arabian or Phcenician invaders, whe, under the name of shepherd-kings, conquered Egypt. But kingdoms so founded could have little duration. Laws and good policy, essential to the stability of kingdoms, are the fruit of intellectual refinement, and arise only in a state of society considerably advanced in civilization. "** The progress from barbarism to civilization is slow, because every step in the progress is the result of necessity, after the ex- perience of an error, or the strong feeling of a want. i 2. Origin of LdK.'i. Certain political writers have supposed that in the infancy of society penal laws must have been extreme- ly mild. We presume the contrary to have been rather the case, as the more barbarous the people, the stronger must be the bond* to restrain them : and history confirms the supposition in the an- cient laws of the Jews, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Gauls. Among the earliest laws of all states are those regarding mar- riage ; for the institution of marriage is coeval with the formatioav of society. The first sovereigns of all states are said to have in- stituted marriage j ^.ad tile eaxiiest laws provided eacouragemenie to matiimowy. ANCIENT HISTORY. 21 Among; the ancient nations the husband purchased his wife by money, or personal services. Among- the Assyrians the marriage- able v/omen were put up to auction, and the price obtained for the more beautiful was assigned as a dowry to the more homely. The laws of succession are next in order to those of marriage. The father had the absolute power in the division of his estate. But primogeniture was understood to confer certain rights. Laws arise necessarily and imperceptibly from the condition of of society ; and each particular law may be traced from the state ©f manners, or the political emergency which gave it birth. Hence we perceive the intimate connection between history and jurisprudence, and the light which they must necessarily throw upon each other. The laws of a country are best interpreted from its history ; and its uncertain history is best elucidated by its ancient laws. i 3. Earliest Mathods of nuthtnticating Contracts. Before the invention of wiling, contracts, testaments, sales, marriages, and the like, v/ere transacted in public. The Jewish and the Grecian histories furnish examples. Some barbarous nations authenticate their bargains by exchanging symbols or tallies. — The Peruvians accomplished most of the purposes of writing by knotted cords of Tarious colours, termed quipos. The Mexicans communicated in- telligence to a distance by painting. Other nations used an a- bridged mode of painting, or hieroglyphics. Before writing the Egyptians used hieroglyphics for transmitting and recording knowl- edge : after writing, they employed it for veiling or concealing knowledge from the vulgar. f 4. Methods for recording Historical Facfs^ and publishing Laws. Poetry and song were the first vehicles of history, and the earlies mode of promulgating laws. The songs of the bards record a great deal of ancient history ; and the laws of many of the ancient nations were composed in verse. Stones, rude and sculptured, tumuli and mounds of earth, are the monuments of history among a barbarous people ; and col- umns, triumphal arches, coins, and medals, among a more refined. These likewise illustrate the progress of manners and of the arte. f 5. Rtligiouf! Institutions. Among the earliest institutions of all nations, are those which regard religious worship. The sen- timent of religion is deeply rooted in the human mind. An unin- structed savage will Infer the existence of a God, and his attri- butes, from the general order and mechanism of nature ; and even the temporary irregularities of nature lead to religious veneration of the unknown power which conducts it. Before conceiving the idea of a Being utterly imperceptible to his senses, a savage would naturally seek that Being in the rnost striking objects of sense to which he owed his most apparent ben" efits. The sun, extending his beneficial influence overall nature, Tvas among the earliest objects of worship. The fire presented a symbol of the sun. The other celestial bodies naturally attracted their share of veneration. The symbolical mode of writing led to many peculiarities of the idolatrous worship of the ancient nations. Animals, symbolical of '52 ANCIENT HISTORY. the attributes of deity, became g^ods themselves. The same God, represented by difFerent animals, was supposed to have chang-ed himself into different forms. The g-ratitude and veneration for men whose lives had been eminently useful, joined to the belief «f the souPs immortality, led to the apotheosis o{ heroes. ]Maay excellent reflections on idolatry and polytheism are found in the feook called The Wisdom of Solomon. The priesthood was anciently exercised by the chief er m^.- narch ; but as an empire became extensive, the monarch exercised this office by his delegates ; and hence an additional source of veneration for the priesthood. The priests were the framers and the administrators of the laws. i 6. »^rts and Scitnces ef the Ane.ient J^aiions. The useful arts are the offspring of necessity ; the sciences arc the fruit of ease and leisure. The construction of huts, of weapons of war and of hunting, are the earliest arts. Agriculture is not practised till the tribe becomes stationary, and property is defined and secured. The sciences arise in a cultivated society, where individuals enjoy that leisure which invites to study and speculation. The priests maintained in that condition by the monarch were the ear- liest cultivators of science. The Egyptian science was confined, to the priests. Astronomy, which is among the earliest of the sci- ences, OAved its origin probably to superstition. Medicine was among the early sciences. All rude nations have a pharmacy of their own, equal in general to their wants. Luxury, creating new and more complex diseases, requires a profounder kno^vledge of jsicdicine, and of the animal economy. SECTION HI. OF THE EGYPTIANS. 1. A great portion of the knowledge and attainments of the ancient nations, and by consequence of those of the moderns, is to be traced to Egypt. The Egyptians instructed the Greeks ; the Greeks performed the same office to the Romans ; and the latter have transmitted much of that knowledge to the world, of which we are in possession at this day.* 2. The antiquity of this empire, though we give no credit to the chronicles of Manetho, must be allowed to be very great. The Mosaic writings represent Egypt, about 430 years after the flood, as a flourishing and well regulated kingdom. The nature of the country itself afl"ords a presumption of the great antiquity of the empire, and its early civilization. From the fertilizing effects of the waters of the Nile, it is probable that agriculture would b« more early practised there, than in regions less favoured by na- ture. The periodical inundations of the Nile are owing to the Tapours of the Mediterranean condensed on the mountains &f Ethiopia. * For the supposed orijia o/ Egyptian science, see Part II. Sect, 50. ANCIENT HISTORY. 53 3. The government of Eg-ypt was a hereditary monarchy. The powers of the monarch were limited by constitutional laws ;^yet , in many respects his authority was extremely despotical. The functions of the sovereign were partly civil and partly religious.— The king- had the chief regulation of all that regarded the worship of the gods ; and the priests, considered as his deputies, filled all the offices of state. They were both the legislators and the civil judges ; they imposed and levied the taxes, and reguJated weights and measures. The great national tribunal v/as composed of thirty judges, chosen from the three principal departraents of the empire. The administration of justice was defrayed by the sovereign, and, as parties were their own advocates, was no bur- den upon the people. The penal laws of Egypt were uncommonly severe. Female "chastity was most rigidly protected. Funeral rites were not conferred till after a scrutiny into the life of the deceased, and by a judicial decree approving his character. The characters even of the sovereigns were subjected to this inquiry. The re, was an extraordinary regulation in Egypt regarding the borrowing of money. The borrower gave in pledge the body o his father, and it was deprived of funeral rites if he failed to re- deem it. Population was encouraged by law ; and every man was bound to maintain and educate the children born to him of his slaves. 4. The manners of the Egyptians were very early formed. They had a singular attachment to ancient usages ; a dislike to innova- tion ; a jealousy and abhorrence of strangers. 5. They preceded most of the ancient nations in the knowledge of the useful arts, and in the cultivation of the sciences. Archi- tecture was early brought to great perfection. Their buildings, the pyramids, obelisks, &c., have, from the mildness of the cli- mate, suffered little injury from time. Pliny describes the con- trivance for transporting the obelisks. The whole country abounds with the remains of ancient magnificence. Thebes, in Upper Egypt, was one of the most splendid cities in the world. The pyramids are supposed to have been erected about 900 years A. C. They were probably the sepulchral monuments of the sovereigns. The Egyptians believed that death did not sepa- rate the soul from the body ; and hence their extreme care to preserve the body entire, by embalming, concealing it in caves and catacombs, and guarding it by such stupendous structures. Mr. Bruce supposes the pyramids to be rocks hewn into a pyra- midal form, and encrusted, where necessary, with rnason-work. The remains of art in Egypt, though venerable for their great antiquity, are extremely deficient in beauty and elegance. The Egyptians were ignorant of the construction of an arch. The re- mains of painting and sculpture evince but a slender proficiency in those arts. 6. The Egyptians possessed con«iderable knowledge of geome- try, mechanics, and astronomy. 1'hey had divided the zodiac into twelve signs ; they calculated eclipses ; and seem to have had aa idea of the motion of tixe earUri. 24 ANCIENT HISTORY. 7. The morality taught by the priests wa? pure and refined ; but it had little influence on the manners of the people. 8. So likewise the theology and secret doctrines of the priests were rational and sublime ; but the worship of the people was de- based by the most absurd and contemptible superstition. 9. Notwithstanding the early civilization and the great attain- ments of this people, their national character v/as extremely low and despicable among the contemporary nations of antiquity. The reason of this is, they were a people who chose to sequester them- selves from the rest of mankind ; they were not known to other nations by their conquests ; they had little connection with them by commerce ; and they had an antipathy to the persons and manners of strangers. 10. There were likewise many circumstances of their own man- ners which tended to degrade them in the opinion of other nations. All professions were hereditary in Egypt, and the rank of each was scrupulously settled ; the objects of the religious worship were different in different parts of the kingdom, a fertile source of di- vision and controversy ;^ their peculiar superstitions were of the most absurd and debasing nature ; and the manners of the people were extremely loose and profligate. SECTION IV. OF THE PHCENICIANS. 1. The Phosniclans were among the most early civilized nations of the east. We are indebted to them for the invention of writing, and for the first attempts at commercial navigation. The frag- ments of Sanchoniatho are the most ancient monuments of writing after the books of Moses. Sanchoniatho was contemporary with Joshua, about 1440 A. C. and 500 before the cities of Attica were united by Theseus. 2. The Phoenicians, (the Canaanites of scripture), were a com- mercial people in the days of Abraliam. In the time of the He- brew judges they had begun to colonize. Their first settlements were Cyprus and Rhodes ; thence they passed into Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain ; and formed establishments likewise on the western coast of Africa. The Sidonians carried on an extensive eommerce at the tin^e of the Trojan war. SECTION V. THE HISTORY OF GREECE. 1. Greece being indebted for the first rudiments of civilizatio» to the Egyptians and Phoenicians, its history is properly introduced by an account of those more aucieat nations. .4NCIENT niSTORY. ^O 5:. The early antiquities of this country are diso;uised by lable ; but from the time when it becomes important, it has been treated of bv eminent writers. S." The ancient inhabitants of Greece, the Pelasgi, Hiantes, Leleges, were extremely barbarous ; but a dawning of civilization arose under the Titans, a Phoenician or Egyptian colony, who settled in the country about the time of Moses. The Titans gave the Greeks the first ideas of religion, and introduced the worship of tlieir own gods, Saturn, .mpiter, Ceres, fcc. Succeeding ages confounded those Titans themselves with the gods, and hence sprung numberless fables. 4. Inachus, the last of the Titans, founded the kingdom of Ar- gos, 1856 A. C. ; and Egialtes, one of his sons, the kingdom of Sicyon. 5. In the following century happened the deluge of Ogyges, 1796 A. C. Then followed a period of barbarism for above 200 years. 6. Cecrops, the leader of another colony from Egypt, landed in Attica, 1582 A. C. ; and, connecting himself with the last king, succeeded, on his death, to the sovereignty. He built twelve cities, and was eminent, both as a lawgiver and politician. 7. The Grecian history derives some authenticity at this period from the Chronicle of Paros, preserved among the Arundelian mar- bles at Oxford. The authority of this chronicle has been ques- tioned of late, and many arguments adduced presumptive of its being a forgery ; but, on a review of the whole controversy, we judge the arguments for its authenticity to preponderate. It fixes the dates of tlie most remarkable events in tlae history of Greece, from the time of Cecrops down to the age of Alexander the great. 8. Cranaus succeeded Cecrops, in whosG time happened two remarkable events recorded in the Chronicle of Paros : the judg- ment of the areopagus between Mars and Neptune, two princes of Thsssaly ; and the deluge of Deucalion. The court of areopagus, at Athens, was instituted by Cecrops. The number of its judges varied at different periods, from nine to fifty-one. The deluge of Deucalion, magnified and disguised by the poets, was probably only a partial inundation. 9. Amphyction, the contemporary of Cranaus, if the founder of the amphyctionic council, must have possessed extensive vi^v/s of policy. This council, from a league of twelve cities, became a representative assembly of the states of Greece, and had the most admirable political effects in uniting the nation, and givuig it a common interest. 10.. Cadmus, about 1519, A. C., introduced alphabetic writing into Greece, from Phoenicia. The alphabet then had only sixteen letters ; a.id the mode of writing (termed bou-dopkcdon)^ was al- ternately from right to left and left to right. From this period the Greeks made rapid advances in civilization. ANCIENT HISTORY. SECTION VI. REFLECTIONS ON THE FIRST AND RUDEST PERIODS OF THE GRECIAN HISTORY. 1. The country of Greece presents a larg^e, irregular peninsula, intersected by maj^y chains of mountains, separating its different districts, and opposing natural impediments to general intercourse, and therefore to rapid civilization. The extreme barbarism of the Pelasgi, who are said to have been cannibals, and ignorant of the use of fire, has its parallel in modern barbarous nations. There were many circumstances that retarded the progress of the Greeks to refinement. The introduction of a national religion was best iitted to remove those obstacles. Receiving this nexv system of theology from strangers, and entertaining at first very confused ideas of it, they would naturally blend its doctrines and worship with the notions of religion which they formerly possessed ; and he ice we observe only partial coincidences of the Grecian with the Egyptian and Phoenician mythologies. It has been a vain and preposterous labour of modern mythological writers, to attempt to trace all the fables of antiquity, and the various systems of pagan theology, up to one common source. The absurdity of this is best shown, by comparing the different and most contradictory solutions of the same fable given by different mythologists ; as, for example, lord Bacon and the abbe Banier. Some authors, with much indis cvetion, have attempted to deduce all the Pagan mythologies fron^ the holy scriptures. Such researches are not only unprofitable, but positively mischievous. 2. /Superstition, in the early periods, was a predominant charac-^ teristic of the Greeks, To this age, and to this character of the people, we refer the origin of the Grecian oracles, and the institU" lion of the public games in honour of the gods. The desire of penetrating into futurity, and the superstition com- *non to rude nations, gave rise to the oracles of Delphi, Dodona,&c. The resort of strangers to these oracles on particular occasions, led to the celebration of a festival, and to public games. The four solemn games of the Greeks, particularly termed zcjoo^, v/ere the Olympic, the Pythian, the Nemean, and the Isthmian. They consisted principally in contests of skill in all the athletic exercises, and the prizes Avere chiefly honorary marks of distinc- tion. Archbishop Potter, in his Archcdogia Grccca, fully details their particular nature. These games had excellent political ef- fects, in promoting national union, in diffusing the love of glory, and training the youth to martial exercises. They cherished at once a heroicalaiid superstitious spirit, Avhich led to the formation Qi extraordinary and hazardous enterprises. A*:ciEfJT history'. 27 SECTION VII. t>ARLY PERIOD OF THE GRECIAN HISTORY; THE AR- GONAUTIC EXPEDITION. WARS OF THEBES AND OF TROY. 1. The history of Greece, for a period of 306 years precedir.^ 'che Trojan war, is intermixed with fables ; but contains, at the same time, many facts entitled to credit, as authentic. Erectheus, or Erichthonius, either a Greek who had visited Egypt, or the lead- er of a new Eg-yptian colony, cultivated the plains of Eleu^is, and instituted the Elcusirian mysteries, in imitation of the Eg-;"fptiaU g-ames of Isis. These mysteries were of a religious and moral na- ture, conveying the doctrines of the unity of God, the immortali- ty of the soul, and a future state of reward ar^i punishment, Cicero speaks of them with high encomium* But the ceremonies connected with them were childish and ridiculous. 2. Theseus laid the foundation of the grandeur of Attica, by uniting- its twelve cities, and giving them a common constitution, 1257 A. C. 3. The first great entcrprize of the Greeks was the i-\rgonautic expedition, 12G3 A. C. (Usher), and 937 A. C. (sir I. Newton). This is supposed to have been both a military and a mercantile adventure, and was singularly bold for the times in which it was undertaken. The object was, to open the commerce of the Eux- >ne sea, and to secure some establishments on its coasts. The as- tronomer Chli-on directed the plan of the voyage, and formed, for the use of the mariners, a scheme of the constellations, fixing with accuracy the solstitial and equinoctial points. Sir Isaac Newton has founded his emendation of the ancient chronology on a calcu- lation of the regular procession of the equinoxes from this period to the present, as well as on an estimate of the medium length of human generations. 4. The state of the militarv art at this time in Greece may be estimated from an account of the sieges of Thebes and Troy. In these enterprizes the arts of attack and defence v/erc very rude and imperfect. The siege was entirely of the nature of blockade, and therefore necessarily of long duration. A dispute ibr the divided sovereignty of Thebes between the brothers Eteo- cles and Polynices, gave rise to the war, Avhich was terminated by single combat, in which both were killed. 5. The sons of the com.manders slain in this war renewed the quarrel of their fathers, and occasioned the w^ar of the Epigonoi^ a subject on which Homer is said to have written a poem, now lost, equal to the Iliad and Odyssey. 6. Ihe detail of the war of Iroy rests chiefly on the authority of Homer, and ought not, in spite of modern scepticism, to be re- fused, in its principal facts, the credit of a true history. After a blockade of ten years Troy was taken, either by storm or surprise, - 1184 A. C, and being set on fire in the night, v/as burnt to the ground ; not a vestig^e of its ruins existing at the present day. 28 Ai\'CiE^7T iiistohY. The empire fell from that mmiient. The Greeks settled a col«5nv near the spot, and the rest of the kingdom was occupied Ly the X^ydian?. " 7. Military expeditions at this time were carried on only in tin* spring" and summer. In a tedious siege the winter was a season of armistice. The science of military tactics was tlion utterly imknov/n, every battle beini» a multitude of single combats. The soldier had no pay hut his share of the booty, divided by the chiefs. The weapons of war were the sword, the bow, the jave- lin, the club, the hatchet, and the sling. A helmet of brass, an fuormous shield, a cuirass, and buskins were the weapons of de- r«-uce. SECTION YIII. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GREEK COLONIES. L Aboat eighty years after the taking of Troy began the war (tf the fleraclidae. Hercules, the son of Amphitryon, sovereign of Mycenfe, was banished from hi? country with all liis family, while the crown Avas possessed by a usurper. His descendants, after the period of a century, returned to Peloponnesus, and sub- griiing all their enemies, took possession of the states of Mycena;, Argos, and LacediemoH. 2. A long period of civil war and bloodshed siicceede*!, and Greece, divided among a number of petty tyrants, suffered equally the miseries of oppression and anarchy. Codra?, king of Athens, showed a shigular example of patriot- sm, in devoting himself to death for his country; yet the Athe- nians, weary of monarchy, determined to make the experiment of a popular constitution. Medon, the son of Codrus, was elected chief mai^istrate, with the title of archon. This is the commence- ment of the Athenian republic, about 1068 A. C. 3. It was at this time that the Greeks began to colonize. The oppression which they suffered at home forced many of them to abandon their country, and seek refuge in other lands. A large body of jEoiians from Peloponnesus founded twelve cities in the Lesse; Asia, of which Smyrna was the most considerable. A troop of Ionian exiles built Ephesus, Colophon, Clazomene, and ether towns ; giving to theii' new settlements the name of their native country, Ionia. The Dorians sent off colonies to Italy and Sicily, founding, in the former, Tarentum and Locri, and in tlie latter, Syracuse and Arigentum. The mother country considered its colonies as emancipated children. These speedily attained to eminence and splendour, rivalling and surpassing their parent states : and the example of their prosperity, which was attributed to the freedom of their governments, incited the states of Greece, oppressed by a number of petty despots, to put an end to the re- gal government, and try the experiment of a popular constitution. Athens and Thebes gave the first examples, which were soon fol- lowed by all the rest. ANCIENT HISTORY. 29 4. These infant republics demanded new laws ; and it was ne- cessary that some enlightened citizen should arise, who had dis- cernment to perceive what system of legislation was most adapt- ed to the character of his native state ; who had abilities to com- pile such a system, and sufficient authority with his countrymen to recommend and enforce it. Such men were the Spartan Ly- curgus and the Athenian Solon. SECTION IX. THE REPUBLIC OF SPARTA. 1. The origin of this political system has given rise to much in- g^enious disquisition among the moderns, and affords a remarkable instance of the passion for systematizing*. It is a prevailing pro- pensity with modern philosophers to reduce every thing to general principles. Man, say they, is always the same animal, and, when placed in similar situations, will always exhibit a similar appear- ance. His manners, his improvements, the government and lav, s under which he lives, arise necessarily from the situation in which we find him ; and all is the result of a few general laws of na- ture, which operate universally on the human specie?. But in the ardour of this passion for generalizing, these philosophers oflea forget, that it is the knowledge of facts which can alone lead to the discovery of general laws : a knowledge not limited to the his- tory of a single age or nation, but extended to that of the whole species in every age and climate. Antecedently to such knovW- ed^c^ all historical system is mere romance. 2. Of this nature is a late theory of the constitution of Sparta, first started by Mr. Browne, in his Essay on Civil Liberty ; and from him adopted by later writers. It thus accounts for the ori- gin of the Spartan constitution.* " The army of the Heraclida,. when they came to recover the dominion of their ancestors, Vvas composed of Dorians from Thessaly, the most barbarous of ail the Greek tribes. The Achaeans, the ancient inhabitants of Laconia, were compelled to seek new habitations, while the barbarians of Thessaly took possession of their country. Of all the nations which are the subject of historical record, this people bore the nearest resemblance to the rude Americans. An American tribe where a chief presides, where the council of the aged deliberate, and the assembly of the people gives their voice, is on the eve of such a political establishment as the Spartan constitution.'" The Dorians or Thessalians settled in Lacedsemon, manifested, it is said, the same manners with all other nations in a barbarous state. Lycurgus did no more than arrest them in that state, by forming their usages into laws. He checked them at once in the first stage ©f their improvement. "He put forth a bold hand to that spring Vfhich is in society, and stopt its motion." * Logan's Philosophy of History, &c. 3* 30 ANCIENT HISTORy^ 3. This theory, however' ingenious, is confuted by facts. All ancient authors agree, that Lycurgus operated a total change on the Spartan manners, and on the constitution of his country ; v/hile the moderns have discovered that he made no change on either. The most striking features of the manners and constitution of Sparta had not the smallest resemblance to those of any rude na- tions with which we are acquainted. The eommvinion of slaves and of many other species of property, the right of the state m the children of all the citizens, their common education, the pub- lic tables, the equal division of lands, the oath of government be- tween the kings and people, have no parallel in the history of any barbarous nation. 4. The real history of Sparta and its constitution is therefore not to be found in modern theory, but in the writings of the Greek historians, and these are our sole authorities worthy of credit. After the return of the Heraclidae, .Sparta was divided between the two sons of Aristodemus, Eurysthenes and Procles, who jointly reigned ; and this double monarchy, transmitted to the descend- ants of each, continued in the separate branches for near 900 years. A radical principle of disunion, and consequent anarchy, made the want of constitutional laws be severely felt, Lycurgus^ brother of Polydectes, one of the kings of Sparta, a man distin- guished alike by his abilities and virtues, was hivested, by the con- curring voice of the sovereigns and peopl??, with the important du- ty of reforming and new-modelling the constitution of his coun- try, 084 A. C. 5. Lycurgus instituted a senate, elective, of twenty-eight mem- bers ; whose oflice was to preserve a just balance between tho power of the kings and that of the people. Nothing could come before the assembly of the people which had not received the pre- vious consent of the senate ; and, on the other baud, no judgment • f the senate was effectual without the sanction of the people.. The kingTs presided in the senate ; they were the generals of the republic : but tliey could plan no euterprize without the consaat of a council of the citizens. 6. Lycui-gus bent his attention most particularly to the regula- tion of manners ; and one great principle pervaded his whole sys- tem : Luxury is the bane of society. He divided the territoiy of the republic into 39,000 equal por- tions, among the whole of its free citizens. He substituted iron money for gold and silver, prohibited the practice of commerce, abolished all useless arts, and allowed evta those necessary to life to be practised only by the slaves. The vi^kqle citizens made their principal repast at the public ta- bles. The raeals were coarse and parsimonious ; the conversa- tion was fitted to improve the youth in virtue, and cultivate the patriotic spirit. 1 he Spartan education rejected all embellishments of the un- derstanding- It nourished only the severer virtues. It taught the duties of religion, obedience to tlie laws, respect for parents, rcvcxeiipe fwv old a?;e; ijif:e.iible hoaour. undaunted courage, con-* ANCIENT HISTORY. 31 tempt of danger and of death ; above all, the love of glory and of their country. 7. But the general excellence of the institutions of Lycurgus was impaired by many blemishes. The manners of the Lacedae- monian women were shamefully loose. They frequented the baths, and fought naked in the palaestra promiscuously with the men. Theft was a part of Spartan education. The youth were taught to subdue the feelings of humanity ; the slaves were treat- ed with the most barbarous rigour, and often massacred for sport. The institutions of Lycurgus had no other end than to form a na- tion of soldiers. 8. A faulty part of the constitution of Sparta was the office of the ephori : magistrates elected by the people, whose power, though in some respects subordinate, was in others paramount t® that of the kings and senate. SECTION X. THE REPUBLIC OF ATHENS. 1. On the abolition of the regal office at Athens, the change of the constitution was more nominal than real. The archonship was, during three centuries, a perpetual and hereditary magistra- cy. Ill 754 A. C. this office became decennial. In 648 the ar- ( hons were annually elected, and were nine in number, with equal authority. Under all these changes the state was convulsed, and the condition of the people miserable. 2. Draco, elevated to the archonship 624 A. C, projected a re- form in the constitution of his country, and thought to repress dis- orders by the extreme severity of penal laws. But his talents \/ere unequal to the task he had undertaken. 3. Solon, an illustrious Athenian, of the race of Codrus, attain- ed the dignity of archon 594 A. C, and was entrusted with the vare of framing- for his country a new form of government, and a new system of laws. He possessed extensive knowledge, but wanted that intrepidity of mind which is necessary to the charac- ter of a great statesman. His disposition was mild and tempori- ^ing ; and, without attempting to reform the manners of his coun- trymen, he accommodated his system to their prevailing habits iind passions. 4. The people claimed the sovereign power, and they received it ; the rich demanded offices and dignities : the system of Solon accommodated them to the utmost of their vdshes. He divided the citizens into four classes, according- to the measure of their wealth. To tlie throe first, the richer citizens, belonged all the offices of the commouAvealth. The fourth, the poorer class, more numerous than all the other three, had an equal right of suffrage with them in the public assembly, where all laws were framed, and measures of state decreed. Consequently the weight of the latter decided every question. 32 ANCIENT HISTORY. 5. To reg-ulate in some degree the proceedings of those assem- blies, and balance the weight of the popular interest, Solon insti- tuted a senate of 400 members (afterwards enlarged to 500 and 600), with whom it was necessary that every measure should ori- ginate, before it became the subject of discussion in the assembly of the people. 6. To the court of areopagus he committed the guardianship of the laws, and the power of enforcing them ; with the supreme ad- ministration of justice. To th'-s tribunal belonged likewise the custody of the treasures of the state, the care of religion, and a tutorial power over all the youth of the republic. The number of its judges was various at different periods, and the most immacu-' late purity of character was essential to that high office. 7. The authority of the senate and areopagus imposed some check on the popular assemblies ; but as these possessed the ulti- mate right of decision, it was always in the power of ambitious demagogues to sway them to the worst of purposes. Continual factions divicled the people, and corruption pervaded ev^ry depart- ment of the state. The public measures, the result of the inter- ested schemes of individuals, were often equally absurd as they were profligate. Athens often saw her best patriots, the wisest and most virtuous of her citizens, shamefully sacrificed to the most depraved and most abandoned. 8. The particular lavfs of the Athenian state are more deserv- ing of encomium than its form of government. The laws relating to debtors were mild and equitable, as were those which regulated the treatment of slaves. But the vassalage of women, or their ab- solute subjection to the controul of their nearest relations, ap- proached too near to a state of servitude. The proposer of a law found on experience impolitic was liable to punishment ; an enact- ment apparently rigorous, but probablv necessary- in a popular gov- urnment. 9. One most iniquitous and absurd peculiarity of the Athenian, and some other governments of Greece, was the practice of the ostracism^ a ballot of all the citizens, in which each wrote down tlie name of the person in his opinion most obnoxious to censure ; and he who was thus marked out by the greatest number of voices, though unimpeached of any crime, was banished for ten years from his country. This barbarous and disgraceful institution, ever ca- pable of the grossest abuse, and generally subservient to the worst of purposes, has stained the character of Athens with many fla- g^rant instances of public ingratitude. 10. The manners of the Athenians formed the most striking con- trast to those of the Lacedaemonians. At Athens the arts were in the highest esteem. The Lacedaemonians despised the arts, and all who cultivated them. At Athens peace was the natural state of the republic, and the refined enjoyment of life the aim of all its subjects. Sparta was entirely a military establishment ; and her subjects, when unengaged in war, were totally unoccupied. Lux- ury was the character of the Athenian, as frugality of the Spar- tan. They were equally jealous of their liberty, and equally brave ANCIENT HiSTORir. 33 ,") ' in ^var. The courage of the Spartan sprang from constitutional lerocity, that of the Athenian from the principle of honour. 11. The Spartan g-overnment had acquired solidity, while all the rest of Greece was torn by domestic dissensions. Athens, a prey to faction and civil disorder, surrendered her liberties to Pi- sistratus, 550 A. C. ; who, after various turns of fortune, estab- lished himself firmly in the sovereig-nty, exercised a splendid and muniiicent dominion, completely gained the affections of the peo- ple, and transmitted a peaceable crown to his sona Hippias and Ilipparchus. 12. Ilermodias and Aristogiton undertook to restore the democ- racy ; and succeeded in the attempt. Hipparchus was put to death ; and Hippias, dethroned, solicited a foreign aid to replace him in the sovereignty. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, meditated at this time the conquest of Greece. Hippias took advantage of the views of an enemy against his native country, and Greece wa.« iiow involved in a war with Persia. SECTION XL OF THE STATE OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, AND ITS HIS- TORY DOWN TO THE WAR WITH GREECE, 1. The first empire of the Assyrians ended under Sardanapalus, and three monarchies R.rose upon its ruins, Nineveh, Babylon, and the khigdom of the Medes, 2. The history of Babylon and of Nineveh is very imperfectly known. The Medes, hitherto independent tribes, Avere united un- der a monarchy by Dejoces. His son Phraortes conquered Persia, but was hijnself vanquished by Nabuchodonosor I., king of Assy- ria, and put to death. Nabuchodonosor 11. led the Jews into cap- tivity, took Jerusalem and Tyre, and subdued Egypt. 3. The history of Cyrus is involved in great uncertainty ; nor is it possible to reconcile or apply to one man the different ac- counts given of him by Herodotus, Ctesias, and Xenophon. Suc- ceeding his father Cambyses in the throne of Persia, and his un- cle Cyaxares in the sovereignty of the Medes, he united these empires, vanquished the Babylonians and Lydians, subjected the greatest pax't of the Lesser Asia, and made himself master of Sy- ria and Arabia. 4. He was succeeded by his son Cambyses, distinguished only as a tyrant and a madman. 5. After the death of Cambyses, Darius, the son of Hystaspes, was elected sovereign of Persia, a prince of great enterprize and ambition. Unfortunate in a rash expedition against the Scythians, he projected and achieved the conquest of India. Inflated with success, he now meditated an invasion of Greece, and cordially- entered into the views of Hippias, who sought by his means to re- gain the sovereignty of Athens. 6. Government^ Manners^ Laws^ &c. of the Ancient Persians^ The jovernjtnent of Persia, was aa absolute monjirchy ; the will 34 ANCIENT HISTORY. of the sovereig:u being subject to uo controul, and his person if - vered as sacred : yet the education bestowed by those monarchj on their children was calculated to inspire every valuable quality bf a sovereign. The ancient Persians in general bestowed the utmost attention on the education of youth. Children at the age of fiYe wefe com- mitted to the care of the magi, for the improvement of their mind and morals. They were trained at the same time to every manly exercise. The sacred books of the Zendavesta promised to every "Worthy parent the imputed merit and reward of all the good ac-' tions of his children. 7. Luxurious as they were in after times, the early Persians were distinguished for their temperance, bravery, and virtuous simplicity of manners. They were all trained to the use of arms, and displayed great intrepidity in war. The custom of the women following their armies to the lield, erroneously attributed to effemi-' nacy, was a remnant of barbarous mannerij. 8. The kingdom of Persia was divided into several provinces, each under a governor or satrap, who was accountable to the sove- reign for the v/hole of his conduct. The prince, at stated times, visited his provinces in person, correcting all abuses, easing the burdens of the oppre?sed^ and encouraging agriculture and the practice of the useful arts. The laws of Persia were mild and equitable, and the utmost purity was observed in the adinini^r-tra- tion of juslico, 9. The religion of the ancient Persians is of great antiquity. It is conjectured that there v/ere two Zoroasters ; the first, the founder of this ancient religion, and of whom are recorded mira- cles and prophecies ; the second, a reformer of that reiigio!i, con- temporary with Darius the son of irlystaspes. The Ztndarcsfa^ or sacred book, compiled by the former, was improved and purified by the latter. It has been lately translated into French by M. Anquetil, and appears to contain, amidst a mass of absurdity, some sublime truths, and excellent precepts of morality. The theology of the Zendavesta is founded on the doctrine of two op- posite principles, a good and an evil, Ormusd and Ahriman, eter- nal beings, who divide between them the government of the uni- verse, and whose warfare must endure till the end of 12,000 years, when the good will finally prevail over the evil. A separation •will ensue of the votaries of each : tbe just shall be admitted to- the immediate enjoyment of Paradise ; the wicked, after a limit- ed purification by fire, shall ultimately be allowed to partake in the blessings of eternity. Ormsud is to be adored through the medium of his greatest works, the sun, moon, and stars. The fire, the symbol of the sun, the air, the earth, the water, have their subordinate worship. The morality of the Zendavesta is best known from its abridg- ment, the Sadder^ compiled about three centuries ago by the mod- ern Guebres. It inculcates a chastened species of epicurism ; al- lowing a free indulgence of the passions, while consistent with the welfare of society. It prohibits equally intemperance and ascetic mortiiication. It recommends, as precepts of religion, the cultiFa- ANCIENT HISTORY. 35 tion of the earth, the plantings of fruit-trees, the destruction of noxious animals, the biinging" water to a barren land. 10. fcuch were the ancient Persians. But their character had underg-one a great char.g-e before the period of the war with Greece. At thi:^ ti^ie they were a deg-enerate and corrupted peo- ple. Athens had recently thrown off the yoke of the Fisistratidae, and highly valued her new liberty, Sparta, in the ardour of pat- riotism, forgot all jealousy of her rival state, and cordially united in the defence of fneir common country. The I'ersians, in this con- test, had no other aivantag-e than that of numbers, an unequal match for superior heroism and military skill. SECTION X!I. THE WAR BETWEEN GREECE AND PERSIA. 1. The ambition of Darius, the son of Hystaspcs, heightened by the passion of rever^ge, gave risn to the project of that mon- arch fcr the invasion of Greece. 'I'he Athenians had aided the people of Ionia in a:i attempt to throw otTthe yoke of Persia, and burnt and ravaged Sardis, the capital of I-ydia. Darius speedily reduced the lonians to submission, and then turned his arms against the Greeks, their allies ; the exile Hippias eagerly prompt^ ing the expedition. 2. After an insolent demand of submission, which the Greeks scornfully refused, Darius began a hostile attack both by sea and land. I'he first Persian fleet was wrecked in doubling the pro- montory of Athos ; a second, of 600 sail, ravaged the Grecian isl- ands ; while an immense army landing in Euboea, poured down with impetuosity on Attica. The Athenians ni'^t them on the plain of Marathon, and, headed by Miltiades, defeated them with prodigious slaughter, 490 A. C. The loss of the Persians iu this battle was 630C, and that of the Athenians 190. 3. The merit oi' Miltiades, signally displayed in this great bat- tle, was rspaid by his country with the most shockmg ingratitude. Accused of treason for an unsuccessful attack on the isle of Faros, iiis sentence of death v/as commuted into a fine of fifty talents ; which being unable to pay he was thrown into prison, and there died of his wounds,. 4. The glory of ungrateful Athens was yet nobly sustained in the Persian war by 'i'he.nistocles and Aristides. Darius dying was succeeded by bis son Xerxes, the heir of his father's ambition, but not of his a.bilities. He armed, as is said^ five millions of men, for the conquest of Greece : 1200 ships of war, and 3000 •hips of burden. Lauding in Thessaly he proceeded, by rapid marches, to Thermopyla?, 3. narrow defile on the 8inus Mahacus, Tiie Athenians and fcpartans, ixi'lnd only by the Thespians, i latai- ans, and Eginetcs, determined to withstand the invader. Leoni- das, king of Sparta, was chosen to defend this important pass with iJijUO men. Xerxes, after a weak attempt to corrupt him, impe- j-jousJy suBimoned him to lay down his amis. Let kim cotne^ said 36 ANCIENT HISTORY. Leondias, and take them. For two days the Persians in vain strove to force their way, and were repeatedly repulsed with great slaugh- ter. An unguarded track being at length discovered, the defence of the pass became a fruitless attempt on the part of the Greeks. Leonidas, foreseeing certain destruction, commanded all to retire but 300 of his countrymen. His motive was to give the Persians a just idea of the spirit of that foe whom th:^y had to encounter. He, with his brave Spartans, were all cut off to a man, 480 A. C. A raonument, erected on the spot, bore this noble inscription, writ- ten by Sinaonides : O stranger.' tell it at LaceiiBnion., that ive died here in obedience to her laws. 5. The Persians poured down upon Attica. The inhabitants of Athens, after conveying their women and children to the islands for security, betook themselves to their fleet, abandoning the city, which the Persians pillaged and burnt. The fleet of the Greeks, consisting of 300 sail, was, attacked in the straits of Salairis by that of the Persians, amounting to 1^00 ship^^:. Xer::es himself beheld from on eminence on the coast the total discomfiture of hie squadron. He then fled with precipitation across the Hellespont. A second overthrow awaited his army by land: for Mardonius, at the head of 300,000 Persians, was totally defeated at Flatsea by the combined army of the Athenians and Lacedccmonians, 479 A. C. On the same day the Greeks engaged and destroyed the re- mains of the Persian fleet at Mycale. From that day the aribi- tious schemes of Xerxes were at an end ; and his inglorious life was soon after terminated by assassination. He was succeeded in the throne of Persia by his son Ariaxorxes Longimanus, 464 A. C. 6. At this time the national character of the Greeks was at its highest elevation. The common danger had annihilated all par- tial jealousies between the slates, and given them union as a na- tion. But with the cessation of danger those jealousies recom- menced. Sparta meanly opposed the rebuilding of deserted Ath- ens. Athens, rising again into splendour, saw with pleasure the depopulation of Sparta by an earthquake, and hesitated to give her aid in that juncture of calamity against a rebellicn of her slaves. 7. Cimon, the son of Miltiades, after expelling the Persians from Thrace, attacked and destroyed their fleet en the coa.t of Pamphylia, and, landing his troops, gaiiAcd a signal victory over their army the same day. Supplanted iii the pul lie *avour by the arts of his rival Pericles, he suffered a tomporaiy e,Kil(>, to return only with higher popularity, and to signalize himself still mere in the service of his ungrateful country, lie attaclved and tota'ily destroyed the Persian fleet of 300 sail, and, landing, in Cijicia, completed his triumph, by defeating 300,000 Persians under Me- gabjzes, 460 A. C. Artaxerxes nov/ had the prude tjce to sue for peace, ivhich was granted by the Greeks, on terms most honoura- ble f -. the nation. They stipulated for tl.-e £i-eedom of all the Gre- cian cities of Asia, and that the fleets of Persia should not ap- proach their coasf?« from the Euxine to the extre-u-e boundary of Pampbjlia. The last fifty years were the period of ik?. highest ^lory of the Greeks ; and they oived their prospeiity e.^lirely ti# ANCIENT HISTORY. 37 their union. The peace with Persia, dissolving- that «©nnexion, broug-ht back the jealousies between the predominant states, the intestine disorders of each, and the national weakness. 8. The martial and the patriotic spirit began visibly to decline in Athens. An acquaintance with Asia, and an importation of her wealth, introduced a relish for Asiatic manners and luxuries. With the Athenians, however, this luxurious spirit was under the j^uidance of taste and g;enius. It led to the cultivation of the finer arts ; and the age of Pericles, though the national glory was in its wane, is the sera of the highest internal splendour and ■aagnificence of Greece, SECTION XIII. AGE OF PERICLES. 1. Republics, equally with monarchies, are generally regulated by a single will : only, in the former there is a more frequent change of masters. Pericles ruled Athens with little less than arbitrary sv/ay ; and Athens pretended at this time to the com- mand of Greece. She held the allied states in the most absolute subjection, and lavished their subsidies, bestowed for*the national defence, in magnificent buildings, games, and festivals, for her own citizens. The tributary states loudly complained, but durst not call this domineering republic to account ; and the war of Peloponnesus, dividing the nation into two great parties, bound the less cities to the strictest subordination on tlie predominant powers. 2. The state of Corinth had been included in the last treaty between Athens and Sparta. The Corinthians waging war with the people of Corcyra, an ancient colony of their own, both par- ties solicited the aid of Athens, v/hich took part with the latter : a measure which the Corinthiaiis complained of, not only as an in- fraction ©f the treaty with Sparta, but as a breach of a general rule of tlae national policy, that no foreign power should interfere in the disputes between a colony and its parent state. War was proclaimed on this ground between Athens and Lacedaemon, each supported by its respective allies. The detail of the war, which continued for twenty-eight years, with various and alternate suc- cess, is to be found in Thucydides. Pericles died before its ter- mination ; a splendid ornament of his country, but a corrupter of its manners. Alcibiades rata a similar career, with equal talents, equal ambition, and still less purity of moral principle. In the interval of a truce with Sparta he inconsiderately projected the conquest of Sicily ; and, failing in the attempt, was, en his return to i^thens, condemned to death for treason. He hesitated not to wreck his vengeance against his country, by seiliug his services, first to Sparta, and afterwards to Persia, finally, he purchased his peace with his country, by betraying the power which protect- ed him, and returned to Athens the idol of a populace as versatile as worthless. 4 38 ANCIENT HISTORY. 3. A fatal defeat of the Athenian fleet at iEgoa Potamos, bj Lysander, reduced Athens to the last extremity ; and the lace- dsemonians blockaded the city by land and sea. The war wa? ended by the absolute submission of the Athenians, who agTee( to demolish their port, to limit their fleet to twelve ships, and un dertake for the future no military enterprize, but under commam of the Lacedaemonians, 405 A. C. 4. To the same Lysander, who terminated the Peloponnesiar war so g-loriouslj for Lacedsemon, history ascribes the first great breach of the constitution of his country, by the introduction o gold into that republic. Lysander, after the reduction of Athens, abolished the popular government in that state, and substitutet' in its place thirty tyrants, v/hose power was absolute. The mos< eminent of the citizens fled from their country ; but a band of pat- riots, headed by Thrasybulus, attacked, vanquished, and expellee the usurpers, and once more re-established the democracy. 5. One event, which happened at this time, reflected more dis- grace on the Athenian name than their national humiliation : thi? was the persecution and death of Socrates, a philosopher who wat himself the pattern of every virtue which he tavight. The so- phists, whose futile logic he derided and exposed, represented him as an enemy to the religion of his country, because, without regard to the popular superstitions, he led the mind to the knowl- edge of a Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe, and to the belief of a future state of retribution. He made his defence with the manly fortitu,de of conscious innocence; but in vain : his judges were his personal enemies, and he was condemn- ed to die by poison, 397 A. C. (See Section XXIII, § 5.) 6. On the death of Darius Nothus, his eldest son Artaxerxes Mnemon succeeded to the empire of Persia. His younger bro- ther Cyrus formed the project of dethroning him, and with the aid of 13,000 Greeks engaged him near Babylon, but was defeated and slain ; a just reward of his most culpable enterprize. The remainder of the Grecian army, to the amount of 10,000, under Ihe command of Xenophon, made a most amazing retreat, tra- versing a hostile country of 1600 miles in extent, from Babylon to the banks of the Euxine. Xenophon has beautifully written the history of this expedition ; but has painted the character of Cyrus in too flattering colours, and without the smallest censure of his criminal ambition. 7. The Greek cities of Asia had taken part with Cyrus. Sparta was engaged to defend her countrymen, and consequently was in- volved in a war with Persia. Had Athens added her strength, the Greeks might have once more defied the power of Asia ; but jealousy kept the states divided, and even hostile to each other ; and the gold of Artaxerxes excited a general league in Greece against Lacedeemon. Y^^gesilaus, king of Sparta, sustained for a time the honour of his country, and won some important battles in Asia ; but others were lost in Greece ; and a naval defeat near Cnidos utterly destroyed the Lacedaemonian fleet. Finally, to escape total destruction, the Spartans sued for peace, and obtained it bv the sacrifice to Persia of all the Asiatic colonies, 387 A. C. ANCIENT HISTORY. 3^ Avtaxerxes further demanded, and obtained for liu allies the Athe- nians, the islands of Scyros, Lemnos, and Imbros : a disgraceful treaty ; a mortifying picture of the humiliation of the Greeks. SECTION XIV. THE REPUBLIC OF THEBES. 1. While Athens and Sparta v/ere thus viedbly tending' to de- cline, the Theban republic emerged from obscurity, and rose for a time to a degree of splendour eclipsing; all its contemporary states. The republic was divided by faction, one party supporting- its ancient democracy, and the other aiming at the establishment of an oligarchy. The latter courted the aid of the Sppa'tans, who embraced that occasion to take possession of the citadel. Four hundred of the exiled Thebans fled for protection to Athens. Among these was Pelopidas, who planned and accomplished the '.eliverance of his country. Disguising- himself and twelve of his riends as peasants, he entered Thebes in the evening, and joining I patriotic party of the citizens, they surprized the heads of the 'surpation amid the tumult of a feast, and put them all to death. pamincndas, the friend of Pelopidas, shared wdth him in the ;lory of this enterprize ; and attacking, wiih the aid of 5000 \.thenians, the Lacedaemonian ganison, drove them entirely out '"f the Theban territory. 2. A war necessarily ensued between Thobes and Sparta, in ■ vvhich the former had the aid of Athens. This, however, was but lor a season. Thebes singly opposed the power of Sparta, and the league of Greece : but Epaminondas and Pelopidas vv-ere her generals. The latter, amidst a career of glory, perished \\\ an ex- pedition against the tyrant of Pherrea. Epaminondas, triumphant at Leuctra and Mamtinea, fell in that last engagement, and with hira expired the glory of his country, 363 A. C. Athens and Sparta were humbled at the battle of Mantinea. 1 hebes was victorious ; but she was undone by the death of Epaminondas. All parties were tired of the war; and Artaxerxes, more power- ful among those infatuated states than in his own dominions, dic- tated the terms of the treaty. It was stipulated that each power should retain what it possessed ; and that the less states, nowncft from the yoke of the greater, should remain so. SECTION XV. PHILIP OF MACEDON. 1. Greece was now in the most abject situation. The spirit &i patriotism appeared utterly extinct, and military glory at an end. Athens seemed to have lost all ambition ; -the pleasures of luxury had entirely supplanted heroic virtue ; poets, musicians, sculp- tors, and comedians, were now the only great men of Attica. 40 iKClENT HISTORY. Sparta, no less changed from the simplicity of its ancient mati- ners, and its power abridged by the new independency of the states of Peloponnesus, was in no capacity to attempt a recovery •f its former greatness. In this situation Philip of Macedon formed the ambitious project of bringing under his dominion the whole of Greece. 2. He had mounted the throne of Macedon by popular choice, in violation of the natural right of the nearer heirs to the crown ; and he secured his power by the success of his arms against the lllyrians, Pseonians, and Athenians, who espoused the interest of his competitors. Uniting to great military talents the most con- summate artifice and address, he had his pensionaries in all the states of Greece, who directed to his advantage every public measure. The miserable policy of these states, embroiled in perpetual quarrels, co-operated with his designs. A sacrilegious attempt of the Phocians to plunder the temple of Delphos excited the sacred tcar^ in which almost all the republics took a part. Philip's aid being courted by the Thebans and Thessalians, he began hostilities by invading Phocis, the key to the territory of Attica. iEschines, the orator, bribed to his interest, attempted to quiet the alarms of the Athenians, by ascribing to Philip a desiga enly of punishing sacrilege, and vindicating the cause of Apollo. Demosthenes, with true patriotism, exposed the artful designs of the invader, and with the most animated eloquence roused his countrymen to a vigorous effort for the preservation of their natu- ral liberties. But the event was ui-successful. The battle of Cheronasa, fought 337 A. C, decided the fate of Greece, and sub- jected all the states to the dominion of the king of Macedon. But it was not his policy to treat them as a conquered people. They retained their separate and independent governments, while ho controlled and directed all the national measures. Convoking a general council of the states, Philip was appointed commander in chief of the forces of the nation ; and he laid before them his project for the conquest of Persia, appointing each republic to fur- nish its proportional subsidies. On the eve of this great enter- prize Philip was assassinated by Pausanias, a captain of his ^"uards, in revenge of a private injury, 336 A. C. The Athenians, on the death of Philip, meanly expressed the most tumultuous joy, in the hope of a recovery of their liberty ; but this visionary prospect was never realized. The spirit of the nation was gone ; and in their subsequent revolutions they only changed their mas* ters. SECTION XVI. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. 1. Alexander, the son of Philip, succeeded at the age of twenty to the throne of Macedon, and, after a few successful battles against the revolted states, to the command of Greece. Assem- bling the deputies of the nation at Corinth^ he communicated to ANCIENT HISTORY. 41 them his resolution of prosecuting the designs of his father for the conquest of Persia. 2. With an army of 30,000 foot, and 5000 horse, the sum of 70 talents, and provisions only for a sing-le month, he crossed the Hellespont, and in traversing Phrygia visited tht? tomb of Achil- les. Darius Codomannus, resolved to crush at once this inconsid- erate youth, met him on the hanks of the Granicus with 100,000 foot and 10,000 horse. The Greeks swam the river, their kin^; leading the van, and, attacking; the astonished Persians, left 20,000 dead upon the field, and put to flight their whole army. Drawing: from his first success a presage of continued victory, Al- exander now sent home his fleet, leaving* to his army the sole alter- native, that they must subdue Asia or perish. Prosecuting their course for some time withoiit resistance, the Greeks were attacked by the Persians in a narrow A^alley of Cilicia, near the town of Issus. The Persian host amounted to 400,000 ; but their situation was such that only a small part could come into action, and they were defeated with prodigious slaughter. The loss of the Per- sians in this battle v/as 110,000; that of the Greeks (according to Q. Curiius^ only 450. 5. The history of Alexander by Quintus Curtius, though a most elegant composition, is extremely suspicious on the score of au- thentic information. Arrian is the best authority. 4. The generosity of Alexander was displaysd after the battle of Issus, in his attention to his noble prisoners, the mother, the wife, and family of Darius. To the credit of Alexander it must he owned that humanity, however overpowered, and at times ex- tinguished by his passions, ce^i'tainly formed a part of his natural character. 5. The consequence of the battle of Issus was the submission of all Syria. Damascus, where Darius had deposited his chief treasures, was betrayed and given up by its governor. The Phoe- nicians vv^ere pleased to see themselves thus avenged for the op- pression which they had suffered imder the yoke of Persia. 6. Alexander had hitherto borne his good fortune with modera- tion. Ftlix^ says Curtius, si hac continentia ad idiir.ium ritce per' xeverart poluisset ; sed nonduni Furtuna se anv.ao ejus infudcrat. lie directed his course towards Tyre, and desired admittance to perform a sacrifice to Hercules. The Tyrians shut their gatee, and maintained for seven months a noble defence. I'he city was at length taken by storm, and the victor glutted his reverge by the inhuman massacre of 8000 of the inhabitants. The fate of Gaza, gloriously defended by Betis, was equally deplorable to itg citizens, and more disgraceful to the conqueror. Ten thousand of the former v,-cre sold into slavery, and its brave defender dragged at the wheels of the victor's chariot ; Glorimite rege^ Achilkvi^ a quo genus ipse deducerel^ imitatum se esse^ pmia in hoitem capick- da. Curtius. 7. The taking of Gaza opened Egypt to Alexander, and the whole country submitted without opposition. The course he now pursued demonstrated that in his conquests he followed no deter- 42 ANCIENT HISTORY. Kiined plan. Amidst the most incredible fatigues, he led his ar- my through the deserts of Lybia, to visit the temple of his father, Jupiter ^mmon. On his return he built Alexandria, at the mouth of the Nile, afterwards the capital of the Lower Egypt, and one of the most flourishing cities in the world. Twenty other cities of the same name were reared by him in the course of his con- quests. It is such works as these that justly entitle the Macedo- nian to the epithet of Great. By rearing in the midst of deserts those nurseries of population and of industry, he repaired the waste and havoc of his conquests. Except for those monuments of his glory, he would have merited no other eipithet than that assigned him by the brahmins of India, The Mighty Murderer. 8. Returning from Egypt, Alexander traversed Assyria, and was met at Arbela by Darius, at the head of 700,000 men. The Persian had proffered peace, consenting to yield the whole coun- try from the Euphrates to the Hellespont, to give Alexander his daughter in marriage, and the immense sum of 10,000 talents. But these terms were haughtily rejected, and peace offered only upon the unqualified submission of his enemy. The Persians were defeated at Arbela, with the loss of 300,000 men. Darius (led from province to province. At length betrayed by Bessus, one of his ov/n satraps, he was cruelly murdered ; and the Per- iian empire, which had subsisted for 206 years from the time of Cyrus the great, submitted to the conqueror, 330 A. C. 9. Alexander now projected the conquest of India, firmly per- •uaded that the gods had decreed him the sovereignty of the whole habiiable globe. He penetrated to the Ganges, and would have proceeded to the eastern ocean, if the spirit of his army had kept pace with his ambition. But his troops, seeing no end to their toils, refused to proceed. He returned to the Indus, whence •ending round his fleet to the Persian gulph under Nearchus, he marched his army across the desert to Persepolis. 10. Indignant that he had found a limit to his conquests, he abandoned himself to every excess of luxury and debauchery. The arrogance of his nature, and the ardour of his passions, heigh- tened by continual intemperance, broke out into the most outra- geous excesses of cruelty, for which, in the few intervals of sober reflection, his ingenuous mind suffered the keenest remorse. From Persepolis he returned to Babylon, and there died in a fit of de- bauch, in the thirty-third year of his age, and thirteenth of his vei^'n, 324 A. C. 11. Of the character of Alexander the most opposite and con- tradictory estiirates have been formed. While by some he is es- teemed nothing better than a fortunate madman, he is by others celebrated for the grandeur, wisdom, and solidity of his political views. Truth is rarely to be found in extreme censure or ap- plause. V. e may allow to Alexander the spirit and the talents of a great military genius, without combining with these the sober plans of a profound politician. In a moral view of his character, we see an excellent and ingenuous nature corrupted at length by aa unvarying current of success, and a striking^ example of the ANCIENT HISTORY. 43 fatal violence of the passions, when eminence of fortune removes all restraint, and flattery stimulates to their uncontrolled indul- gence. SECTION XVII. SUCCESSORS OF ALEXANDER. 1. Alexander, on his death-bed, named no successor, but g-are his ring- to Perdiccas, one of his officers. When his courtiers ask- ed him to whom he wished the empire to devolve upon his death, he replied, ^' To the most worthy ;" and he is said to have added, that he foresaw this leg-acy would prepare for hira very extraordi- nary funeral rites ; a prediction which was fully verified. 2. Perdiccas, sensible that his pretensions would not justify a direct assumption of the government of this vast empire, brought about a division of the whole among thirty-three of the principal officers; and trusting to their inevita.Dle dissensions, he proposed by that means to reduce all of them under his ov/n avithority. Hence arose a series of wars and intrigues, of which the detail is barren both of amusement and useful information. It is sufficient to say, that their consequence was a total extirpation of the family of Alexander, and a new partition of the empire into four great mon?a-chies, the shares of Ptolemy, Lysmimachns, Cassander, and Seleucus. Of these the most powerful were that of Syria under Seleucus and his descendants, and that of Egypt under the Ptole- mies. " We cannot (says Condillac) fix our attention on the history of the successors of Alexander, though a great theatre is opened to oar view, a variety of scenes, and multiplied catastrophes. A picture is often displeasing from the very circumstance of its greatness. We lose the connection of its parts, because the eye cannot take them in at once. Stiil less will a large picture give xis pleasure, if every part of it presents a diflerent scene, each un- connected v/ith the other.'" Sucii is tiie history of the successors of Alexander. SECTION XVIII. FALL AND CONQUEST OF GREECE. 1. Nor is the history of Greece from the period of the death of Alexander any longer an interesting or pleasing object of con- templation.' Demosthenes once more made a noble attempt to vindicate the national freedom, and to rouse his countrymen, the Athenians, to shake off the yoke of Maccdon. But it was too late. The pacific counsels of Phocion suited better the languid spirit of this once illustrious people. 2. The history of the different republics present from this time nothing but a disgusting series of uninteresting revolutions ; with tile exception only of that last effort made by the Achsean states 44 ANCIENT HISTORY. to revive the expiring- liberty of their country. The republic of Achaia was a league of a few of the smaller states to vindicate their freedom agairst the domineering spirit of the greater. They comnaitted the government of the league to Aratus of Sicyon, with the title of pra?tor, a young man of high ambition, wh"^ immedi- ately conceived the more extensive project of rescuing the whole of Greece from the dominion of Ivlacedon. But the jealousy of the greater states rendered this scheme abortive. Sparta refused to arrange itself under the guidance of the prastor of Achaia : and A^ratrs, forgetting his patriotic designs, sought only now to wreck his vengeance against the Laccdeemonians. For this par- pose, with the most inconsistent policy, he courted the aid even of the Macedoniaas: the very tyrants v/ho had enslaved his coun- try. 3. The period was now come for the intervention of a foreign power, v/hich was to reduce all under its wide-spreading domin- ion. The Romans were at this time the most powerful of all the contemporary nations. The people of Etolia, attacked by the Macedonians, with a rash policy besought the aid of the Ptomans, who, eager to add to their dominion this devoted country, cheer- fully obeyed the summons, and speedily accomplished the reduc- tion of Macedonia. Perseus, its last sovereign, was led captive to Rome, and graced the triumph of Paulus iEmilius, 167 A. C. From that period the Romans v/ere hastily advancing to the do- minion of all Greece ; a progress'in which their art was more con- spicuous than their virtue. They gained their end by fostering' dissensions between the states, which they directed to their own advantage, corrupting their principal citizens, and using, in fine, every art of the most insidious policy. A pretext Vv-^as only want- ing to unsheathe the sword, and this was furnished by the Achaean states, who insulted the deputies of imperial Rome. This drew on tkeoi at once the resentment of the Romans. Ivictellus march- ed his legions into Greece, gave there battle, and entirely defeat- ed thera. Mummius the consul termina.ted the work, and made an easy conquest of the whole of Greece, which from that period became a Roman province, under the name of Achaia, 146 A. C. 4. Rome had acquiied from her conquests a flood of wealth, and began now to manifest a taste for luxury, and a spirit of re- finement. In these pohits Greece was to its conquerors an in- structor and a model : Grsecia capta ferura victorem cepit, et arles Intulit agresti Latio. ' Hence, even though vanquished, it was regarded with a species of respect by ita ruder masters. ANCIENT HISTORY. 45 SECTION XIX. POLITICAL REFLECTIONS ARISING FROM THE HISTO- RY OF THE STATES OF GREECE. 1. The revolutions which the states of Greece underwent, and the situations into which they were thrown by their connection and differences with each other, and their wars with foreign na- tions, were so various, that their history is a school of instruction in political science. The surest test ©f the truth or falsehood of abstract principles of politics is their application to actual experi- ence and to the history of nations. 2. The oppression which the states of Greece suffered under their ancient despots, who were subject to no constitutional con- trol, was a njost justifiable motive for their establishing' a new form of g-ovemment, which promised them the enjoyment of great- er political freedom. We believe too that those new forms of gov- ernment were framed by their virtuous leg-islators in the true spirit of patriotism. But as to the real merits of those political fabrics, it is certain that they were very far from corresponding- in practice with what was expected from them in theory. We seek in vain, either in the history of Athens or Lacedsemon, for the beautiful idea of a well-ordered commonAvealth. The revolutions of gov- ernment which they were ever experiencing, the eternal factions with which ihey were embroiled, plainly demonstrate that there was a radical defect in the structure of the machine, which pre- cluded the possibility of regular motion. The condition of the people under those governments was such as partook more of ser- vitude and oppression, than that of the subjects of the most des- potic monarchies. The slaves formed the actual majority of the inhabitants in all the states of Greece. To these the free citizens were rigorous bond-masters. Bondage being a consequence of the contraction of debts even by freemen, a great proportion of these was subject to the tyrannical control of their fellow-citizens- Nor were the richer classes in the actual enjoyment of indepen- dence. They were perpetually divided into factions, which ser- vilely ranked themselves under the banners of the contending- chiefs of the republic. Those parties were kept together solely by corruption. The whole was therefore a systera of servility and debasement of spirit, which left nothing of a free or ingenuous na- ture in the condition of individuals, nor any thing that could fur- nish encomium to a real advocate for the dignity of human nature. Such was the condition of the chief republics of antiquity. Their governments promised ia theory, what they never conferred in practice, the political happiness of the citizens. I 3. '^ In democracy (says Dr. Fergusson) men must love equali- Jty; they must respect the rights of their fellow-citizens; they (must be satisfied with that degree of consideration which they can 1 procure by their abilities fairly measured against those of an op- ^.ponent; they must labour for the public without hope of profit ; ' they must reject erery attempt to create a^ personal dependance.'* 46 ANCIENT HISTORY. This is the pictiu'e of a republic in theory. If \\-e reverse this picture in every single particular, and take its direct opposite, we shall have the true portrait of a republican government in prac- tice. 4. It is the fundamental theory of Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws^ that the three distinct forms of government, the monarchical, des- potical, and republican, are influenced by the three separate prin- ciples of honour, fear, and virtue ; and this theory is the foundation on which the author builds a great part of his political doctrines. That each of these principles is exclusively essential to its re- spective form of government, but unnecessary and even prejudi- cial in the others, is a position contrary both to reason and to truth. No form of government can subsist where every one of those prin- ciples has not its operation. The admission of such a theory leads to the most mischievous conclusions •, as, for example, that in mon- archies the state dispenses with virtue in its officers and magis- trates ; that public employments ought to be venal ; and that crimes, if kept secret, are of no consequence. 5. It is only in the infant periods of the G-recian history that v/e are to look^^^^or those splendid examples of patriotism and he- roic virtue, \ *.ch the ardent mind of uncorrupted youth will ever delight to contemplate. The most remarkable circumsta.nce which strikes us on comparing the latter with the more early pe- riods of the history of the Greeks, is the total change in the gen- ius and spirit of the people. The ardour of patriotism, the thirst of military glory, the enthusiasm of liberty, decline with the rising grandeur and opulence of the nation ; and an enthusiasm of another species succeeds, and far less worthy in its aim : an admiration cf the fine arts, a violent passion for the objects of taste, and. for the refinements of luxury. This leads us to con- sider Greece in the light in which, after the loss of its liberty, it still continued to attract the admiration of other nations. SECTION XX. STATE OF THE ARTS IN GREECE. 1. It is not among the Greeks that we are to look for the great- est improvements in the useful and necessary arts of life. In ag- riculture, manufactures, commerce, they never were greatly dis- tinguished. But in those which are termed the fine arts Greece surpassed all the contemporary nations. The monuments of those which yet remain are the models of im.itation, and the confessed standard of excellence, in the judgment of the most polished r;.a- tions of modern times. 2. After the defeat of Xerxes the active spirit of the Athenians, whick would have otherM'ise languished for want of an object, taking a new direction from luxury, displayed itself signally in all the works of taste in the fine arts. The administration of Per- icles was the sera of luxury and splendour. The arts broke out at once with surprising lustre ; and architecture, sculpture, and ANCIENT HISTORY. 47 painting", were carried to the summit of perfection. This golden age of the arts in Greece endured for about a century, till after the death of Alexander the great. 3. The Greeks were the parents of that system of architecture which is universally allowed to be the most perfect. The Greek architecture consisted of three distinct orders : the Doric, the Ionic, and Corinthian. The Doric has a masculine grandeur, and a superior air of strength to both the others. It is therefore best adapted to works of great magnitude, and of a sublime character. The character of sublimity is essentially connected with chasteness and simpli- city. Of this order is the temple of Theseus at Athens, built ten years after the battle of Marathon, and at this day almost entire. The Ionic order is light and elegant. The former has a mascu- line grandeur ; the latter a femine elegance. The Ionic is like- wise simple : for simplicity is an essential requisite in true beauty. Of this order were the temple of Apollo at Miletus, the temple of the Delphic oracle, and the temple of Diana at Ephesus. The Corinthian marks an age of luxury and magniiicence, when pomp and splendour had become the predominant ' ssion, but had not yet extinguished the taste for the sublime ana beautiful. It attempts therefore a imion of all these characters, but satisfies not the chastened judgment, and pleases only a corrupted taste. First unadorned, " .\nd nobly plain, the manly Doric rose ; "The Ionic then, with decent matron grace, " Wer airy piHar heav'd ; luxuriant last " The rich Corinthian spread her wanton wreath." Thompson's Ldberty, Pnrt 2. 4. The Twscan and the Composite orders are of Italian origin. The Etruscan architecture appears to have been nearly allied to the Grecian, but to have possessed an inferior degree of elegance. The Trajan column at Rome is of this order ; less remarkable for the beauty of its proportions than for the admirable sculpture which decorates it. The Composite order is what its name im- plies ; it shows that the Greeks had in the three original order* exhausted all the principles of grandeur and beauty ; and that it was not possible to frame a fourth, except by combining the for- mer. 5. The Gothic architecture offers no contradiction to these ob- servations. The effect which it produces cannot be altogethe,'- accounted for from the rules of symmetry or harmony in the pro' portions between the several parts ; but depends on a certain ide^ of vastness, gloominess, and solemnity, which are powerful inn gredients in the sublime. j 6. Sculpture was brought by the Greeks to as high perfectioi^ as architecture. The remains of Grecian sculpture are at thisi day the most perfect models of the art ; and the modern artist* have no means of attaining to excellence so certain, as tlie stuoy! os" those great master-pieces. \ 48 ANCIENT HISTORY. 7. The excellence of the Greeks in sculpture may perhaps be accounted for chiefly from their havings the human figure often before their eyes quite naked, and in all its various a.ttitudes, both in the palcEstra., and in the public g:ames. The antique statue* have therefore a grandeur united with perfect simplicity, because the attitude is not the result of an artificial disposition of the ilg^ure, as in the modern academies, but is nature unconstrained. Thus, in the Eying: Gladiator, when we observe the relaxation of the muscles, and the visible failure of strength and life, we can- not doubt that nature was the sculptor"'s immediate model of imi- tation.* 8. Aprt this nature was in reality superior to what we now sec in the ordinary race of men. The constant practice of gymnas- tic exercises gave a finer conformation of body tlan what is now to be found in the vitiated pupils of modern efl'eminacy, the artif- cial children of modern fashion. 9. A secondary cause of the eminence of the Greeks in the arts of design, was their theology, which furnished an ample exercise for the genius of the sculptor and painter. 10. We vi\\\»i speak with more dilhdence of the ability of th« Greeks in paniLing, than vv^e do of their superiority in sculpture ; because the existing specimens of the former are extremely rare, and the pieces which are preserved are probably not the most ex- cellent. But in the want of actual evidence we have every pre- sumption that the Greeks bad attained to equal perfection in the art of painting and in sculpture ; for if we find the judgment given by ancient writers of their excctlence in sculpture confirmed by the universal assent of the best critics among the moderns, we have every reason to presume an equal rectitude in the judgment which the same ancient writers have pronounced upon thcii paint- ings. If Pliny is right in his opinion of the merits of those statue* which yet remain, the Venus of Praxiteles, and the Laocoon of Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus, we have no reason to suppose his taste to be less just when he celebrates the merits, and critically characterizes the difi'erent manners of Zeuxis, Apel- les, Parrhasius, Protogenes, and Timanthes, whose works have perished. 11. The paintings found in Herculaneum, Pompeii, the Sepul- chrum Nasonianum at Rome, were probably the work of Greek artists ; for the Romans were never eminent in any of the arts de- pendent on design. These paintings exhibit great knowledge of proportions, and of the chiaro-oscuro ; but betray an ignorance of the rules of perspective. 12. The music of the ancients appears to have been rery great- ly inferior to that of the moderns. 13. The peculiar genius of the Greeks in tlie fine arts extended its eflects to the revolutions of their states, amd influenced their fate as a nation. * Cresiias vulnerahim defidenlem fecit, ex quo possii intelligi quaniujn r^'^Ut animi. Plin. lib. 36, Cresila* has represented a wounded man famt« iiig, from which we may perceive how much life still remains. 4NCIE]?;r HISTORY. 49 SECTION XXL OF THE GREEK POETS. -1. The Greeks were the first who reduced the athletic ixer- cises to a system, and considered them as an object of g-cneral at- tention and importance. The Panathensean, and afterwards the Olympic, the Pythian, Nemesan, and IstVimian games, were under the regulation of the laws. They contributed essentially to the improvement of the nation ; and, while they cherished martial ardour, and promoted hardiness and agility of body, they cultiva- ted likewise urbanity and politeness. 2. The games of Greece were not confined to gymnastic or ath- letic exercises. They encouraged (competitions iu genius and learning. They were the resort of the poets, the historians, and the philosophers. S. In all nations, poetry is of greater antiquity than prose com- position. The earliest prose writers in Greece, Pherecydes of Scyros, and Cadmus of Miletus, were 350 years posterior to Ho- mer. Any remains of the more ancient poets, as Linus, Orpheus, &c., are extremely suspicious. Homer is generally supposed to have flourished about 907 A. C. ; to have followed the occupatioa of a wandering minstrel, and to have compoi?ed his poems in de- tached fragments, and separate ballads, and episodes. Pjsistra- tus, about 540 A. C, employed some learned men to collect and methodize these fragments ; and to this we owe the complete po- ems of the Iliad and Odyssey. The distinguishing merits of Horner are, his profound knowledge of human nature, his faithful and na- nute description of ancient manners, his genius for the sublime and beaatiful, and the harmony of his poetical numbers. His fidelity as a historian has been questioned; but the great outlines of his narrative are probably authentic. 4. Hesiod was nearly contemporary with Homer ; a poet of whose merits we should be little sensible, if they were not seen through the medium of an immense antiquity. The poem of the Works and Days contains some judicious precepts of agriculture. The Theogony is an obscure history of the origin of the gods, and tlje formation of the universe. 5. About two centuries after Homer and Hesiod, flouri;>hed Archilochas, the inventor of Iambic verse ; Terpandcr, equally eminent as a poet and a musician ; Sappho, of whose composition we have two exquisite odes ; Alc?eus and Simonidos, of whom there are some fine fragments ; and Pindar and Anacreon, who have left enough to allow an accurate estimate of their merits. 6. Pindar was esteemed by the ancients the chief of the lyric poets. He possesses unbounsled fancy, and great subliniity rf im- agery ; but his digressions are so rapid and so frequeuL, that v^^e cannot discover the chain of thon-ht ; and his cxi:re^non is al- lowed, even by Longiuuo, to be olien obscure and uuiutelligible, 5 50 ANCIENT HISTORV. 7. Anacreon is a great contrast to Pindar. His fancy sug-gests only familiar and luxurious pictures. He has no comprehension of the sublime, but contents himself with the easy, the graceful, and the wanton. His morality is loose, and his sentiments little else than the effusions of a voluptuary. 8. The collection termed Anthologia^ which consists chiefly of ancient epigrams, contains many valuable specimens of the taste and poetical fancy of the Greeks, and contributes materially to the illustration of their manners. The best of the modern epigraras may be traced to this source. 9. The sera of the origin of dramatic composition among the Greeks is about 590 A. C. Thespis was contemporary with Solon. "Within little more than a "century, the Greek drama was carried to its highest perfection, for ^Tschylus died 456 A. C. ^Eschylu* wrote sixty-six tragedies ; for thirteen of which he gained the first prize of dramatic poetry at the Olympic games. Like Shakspeare, his genius is sublime, and his imagination unbounded. He dis- dained regularity of plan, and all artiiicial restriction ; but unfor- tunately he disdained likewise the restraints of decency and of g-ood morals. 10. Euripides and Sophocles flourished about fifty years after JT.schylus. Euripides is most masterly in painting the passion of love, both in its tenderest emotions and in its most violent parox- ysms : yet the characters of his women demonstrate that he had no great opinion cf the virtues of the sex. Lcnginus does not rate high his talent for the sublime. But he possessed a much superior excellence : his verses, with great eloquence and harmony, breathe the most admirable morality. There remain twenty tragedies of Euripides ; and of these the Medea is deemed the best. 11. Sophocles shared with Euripides the palm of dramatic poet- ry ; and if> judged to have surpassed him in the grand and the sub- lime. Of 120 tragedies which he composed, only seven remain, ■"i'hcy display great knowledge of the human heart, and a general chastity and simplicity of expression, ^hich gave the greater force to tl\e occasional strokes of the sublime. The Oedipus of Sophocles is esteemed the most perfect production of the Greek stage. 1^2. The Greek comedy is divided into the ancient^ the middle^ and the new. The first was a licentious tatire and mimicry of real personages, exhibited by name upon the stage. The laws repres- sed this extreme license, and gave birth to the middle comedy, v/hich continued the satirical delineation of real persons, but under fictitious names. The last improvement consisted in banishing all personal satire, and confining comedy to a delineation of manners. This V. as the new comedy. Of the first species, the ancient, we have no remains. 7'he dramas of Aristophanes are an example ct the second or middle comedy. The grossness of his raillery, and the malevolence which frequently ijispired it, are a reproach to the morals of that people which could tolerate it. Yet his works have their value, as throwhig light upon ancifent manners. 13. Of the new comedy, Menander v,^as the bright example ; possessing a vein of the most delicate wit, with the utmost purity oi moral sentiment. Unfortunately we have nothings of hinwe- ANCIENT HISTORY. SI urtainiii^ but a few fragments preserved by Athenfeus. We see a £;reat deal of his merits, however, in his copyist and translator, Terence. 14. The actors, both in the Greek and Roman theatres, wore masks, of which tlie features were strong-ly painted, and the moutli so constructed as to increase the power of the voice. It is probable that the tragedy and comedy of the Greeks and Romans were sot to music, and sung, like the recitative in the Italian opera. iSome- tiuies one person was employed to recite or sing the part, and an- other to perform the corresponding action or gesticulation. 15. Tho mimes were burlesque parodies on the seriows tragedy and comedy. The pantomimes consisted solely of gesticulation, and were carried to great perfection. SECTION XXII. OF THE GREEK HISTORIANS. 1. Tlie most eminent of the Greek historians were contempo- raries. Herodotus died 413 A. C. ; Thucydides 391 A. C. ; and Xenophon was about twenty years younger than Thucydides. He- rodotus writes the joint history of the Greeks and Persians, from the time of Cyrus, to the battles of Plataea and Mycale. He treats incidentally likewise of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Medes and Lydi- ans. His veracity is to be depended on in all matters that fell iinder his own observation ; but he admits too easily the reports of others, and is in general fond of the marvellous. His style is pure, and he has a copious elocution. 3. Thucydides, himself an able general, has written, with great ability, the history of the first twentv-one years of the Peloponne- sian war ; introducing it wilh a short narrative of the preceding periods of the history of Greece. He is justly esteemed for his fidelity and candour. His style is a contrast to the full and flowing period of Herodotus, possessing a sententious brevity, Avhich is at once lively and energetic. The history of the remaining six years of the war of Peloponnesus was written by Theopompus and Xenophon. 3. Xenophon commanded the Greek army in the service of Cy- rus the younger, in his culpable enterprise against his brother Artaxerxes. (See Sect. XHI, { 6.) After the failure of this enter- prise, Xenophon directed that astonishing retreat from Babylon to the Euxine, of which he has given a splendid and faithful narra- tive. He wrote likewise the Cyropedia, or the history of the elder Cyrus, which is believed to be rather an imaginary delinea- tion of an accomplished prince than a real narration. He contin- ued the history of Thucydides, and has left two excellent political tracts on the constitutions of Lacedaemon and Athens. His style is simple and energetic ; but the brevity of his sentences sometimes obscures his meaning. 4. Greece, in its decline, produced some historians of great eminence. Polybius, a native of Megalopolis, wrote forty books ^ ANCIENT HISTORY* of the Roman and Greek history during his own a^e ; th&t is, lioia the beg-inning of the second Punic war to the reduction of Mace- donia i-.^.to a Roman province ; but of this great work, only the first five books are entire, with an epitome of the following twelve. He merits less the praise of eloquence than of authentic information, and most judicious reflection. 5. Didorus Siculus flourished in the time of Augustus, and com- prised, in forty books, a general history of the world, under the title of Libiiotheca Historica. No more remain than fifteen books ; of which the first five treat of the fabulous periods, and the history of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, &c. prior to thf Tro- jan war. 1 he next five are wanting. The remainder brings dowa the history from the expedition of Xerxes into Greece till after the death of Alexander the great. He is taxed with chronological in- accuracy io. the earlier parts of his Avork ; but the authenticity and correctness of the later periods are unimpeached. 6. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, eminent both as a historian and rhetorician, flourished in the age of Augustus. His Koman Anti- quities contain much valuable information, though his work is too much tinctured with the spirit of systematizing. 7. Plutarch, a native of C'hcronea, in Bceotia, flourished in the reign of Ntro. His IJves of Illustrious Men is one of the most val- uable of the literary works of the ancients ; introducing us to an acquaintance with the private character and m.anners of those em- inent persons whose public achievements are recrrded by profes- fsed historians. His morality is excellent ; and his stylo, though unpolished, is clear and energetic. 8. Arrian wrote, in the reign of Adrian, seven books of the warsr of Alexander, with great judgment and fidelity ; his narrative be- ing composed on the authority of Aristobulus and Ptolemy, tv/o of Alexander's principal ctfiGcrs. His style is unadorned, but chaste, j^^ers} icuous and manly. SECTION xxiri. OF THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS. 1. After the time of Homer and Hesiod, the inceasing reh'sh for poetical composition gave rise to a set of men termed rhapso- tUsts, whora employment was to recite at the games and festival* the compositions of the older poets, and to comment on their mer- its and exp]a,in their doctrines. Some of these, founding schools of instruction, were dignified by their pupils with the epithet of Sophists, ci teachers of wisdom. 2. The most ancient school of philosophy was that founded by Thales, 640 A. C, and termed the Ionic. Thales is celebrated for his knowledge of geometry and astronomy. His metaphysical doctrines are imperfectly known. He taught the belief of a first cause, and an over-ruiing providence ; but supposed the Divinity to animate the universe, as the soul does the body. The moral dc ctrines of the Ionic school were pure and rational. The most ANCIENT HISTORY. 53 -eminent of the disciples of Thales were Aaaxiinander and Anas- agoras. 3. Soon after the Ionic, arose the Italian sect, founded by Py- thagoras, who was bom about 586 A. C. He is supposed to have derived much of his knowleda:e from Egypt ; and he had, like the Eg-yptian priests, a public doctrine for the people, and a private for his disciples ; the former a good system of morals, the latter- probably unintelli^-ible mystery. His notions of the Divinity were akin to those of Thales ; but he believed in the eternity of the -universe, and its co-existence with the Deity. He taug-lU the transmigration of the soul through difierent bodies. His disciples lived in common ; abstained rigorously from the ilesh of ariuials ; and held music in high estimation, as a corrective of tlio passions. Pythagoras believed the earth to be a sphere, the planets to be inhabited, and the fixed stars to be the suns and centres of other systems. His most eminent followers were Empedocles, Epichar- mus, Ocellus Lucanus, Timaeus, Archytas. 4. The Eleatic sect was founded by Xenophanes, about 500 A. C. Its chief supporters were Parmenides, Zeuo, and Leucippus, citizens of Flea. The metaphysical notions of this sect were ut- terly unintelligible. They maintained that things had neither be- ginning, end, nor any change ; and that all the changes we per- ceive are in our own senses. Yet Leucippus taught the doctrine of atoms, whence he supposed all material substances to be form- ed. Of this sect were Democritus and Heraciitus. 5. The Socratic school arose from the Ionic. Socrates died 401 A. C, the wisest, the most virtuous of the Greeks. He exploded the futile logic of the Sophists, which consisted of a set of general arguments, applicable to all manner of questions, and by which they could, with an ?4-»pearance of plausibility, maintain either side of any proposition. Socrates always brought his antagonist to par- ticulars ; beginning with a simple and undeniable position, which being granted, another followed equally undeniable, till the dis- putant was conducted step by step, by his own concessions, to that side of the question on wdiich lay the truth. His rivals lost all credit as philosophers, but had influence to procure the destruc- tion of the man who had exposed them. The doctrines of Socrates are to be learned from Plato and Xenophon. He taaglit tb'- belief of a first cause, whose beneficence is equal to his power, tlie Cre- ator and Ptuler of the universe. He inculcated the morai cti^exicy of man, the immortality of the soul, and a future state of reward and punishment. He exploded the polytheistic superstitions of his country, and thence became the victim of an accusation oi' im- piety. (See Section XUI, i 5.) 6. The morality of Socrates was successfully cultivri'^ 1 I y the Cyrenaic sect, but was pushed to extravagance by ',]..■ ' yiics. Virtue, in their opinion, consisted in renouncing ail tbt c MVLj.ion- ces of life. They clothed themselves in rags, slept asid 'aXq i.i Llie streets, or wandered about the country with a stick :,. '\ a ':':ap- •sack. They condemned all knowledge as useless. TLy, . ..c-tted impudence with ignorance, and indulged themseivet in - :i.niiity and invective without restraint. ^^ ANCIENT HISTORY. 7. Tlie Me^arean sect was the happy inventor of logical syllo- gism, or the art of quibbling. 0. Plato -^vas the founder of the Academic sect : a philosopher, v/hose doctrines have had a more extensive empire over the minds of mankind, than these of any other among the ancients. This is in part ov/ing to their intrinsic merit, and in part to the eloquence with y/hich they have been propounded. Plato had the most sub- lime ideas of the Divinity and his attributes. He taught that the hu;r-efore had no other counsellor dian their own conscience, and no other guide (ban the instinctive desire of their own happiness. 14. The Greek philosophy, on the whole, affords little more than a picture of the imbecility and caprice of the human mind. Its teachers, instead of experiment and observation, satisfied them- selves with constructing theories ; and these wanring fact for their ba.=is, have only served to perplex the understanding-, and retard equally the advancement of sound moVaiity and the prog^r^ss «rf useful knowled*-e. SECTION xxiy. THE HISTORY OF ROME. 1. Tn the delineation of ancient history Rome, after the con- quest of Greece, becomes the leading- object of attention. The history of this empire, in its progress to universal dominion, and afterwards in its decline and fall, involves a collateral accoun* of :*.ll the other na.tions of antiquity^ which in those periods are de- serving: of our consideration. 2. Thoug-h we cannot determine the sra when Italy was first peopled, yet we have every reason to believe ihat it was inhabit- ed by a refined and cultivated nation many ag-es before the Ro- man name was known. These v/ere the Etruscans, of whom thers exist at this day monuments in the fine aris, which prove them to have been a splendid, luxurious, and higfhly polished people. — I'heir alphabet, resembling; the Phoenician, disposes us to believe them of eastern origin. The Roman historians mention them ai a powerful and opulent nation long- before the orig-in of Rome ; and Dionysius of Harlicarnassus deduces most of the relig-lous rites of the Romans from Etruria. 3. The rest of Italy was divided among a number of independ- ent tribes or nations, comparatively in a rude and uncultivated slate ; Umbrians, Ligurians, Sabines, Vcientes, I-atins, A^qui^ Volsci, (kc. Latium, a territory of fi-fty miles in length and six- teen in breadth, contained forty-seven independent cities or states. 4. The origin of the city and state of Rome is involved in great uncertainty. Dionysius supposes two cities of that name to have existed, and to have perished fcsfore the feuadatioa of the city bttilt 66 ANCIENT HISTORY. 'by Romulus. The vulgar account of the latter is, that it was founded 752 A. C. by a troop of ghepherds or banditti, who peo- pled their new city by carrying off the wires and daughters of their neighbours, the Sabines. 5. The great outlines of the first constitution of the Roraan gfovernment, though generally attributed to the political abilities of Romulus, seem to have a natural foundation in the usages of barbarous nations. Other institutions bear the traces of political •skill and positive enactment. 6. Romulus is said to have divided his people into three tribes, and each tribe into ten curi(B. The lands he distributed into three portions ; one for the support of the government, another for the maintenance of religion, and the third for the use of the Roman citizens, v/hich he divided into equal portions cf two acres to each citizen. He instituted a senate of ICO members (after- wards increased to 200), who deliberated on and prepared all pub- lic measures fcr the assembly of the people, in whom was vested the right of determination. The partrician families were the de- scendants of those Centum paires {Jcundred fathers). 7. The king had the nomination of the senators, the privilege of assembling the people, and a right of appeal in all questions of importance. He had the command of the army, and the office of pontifex maximus (Jiigh priest'). He had, as a guard, twelve lictors, and a troop of horsemen named celeres^ or cquites., after- wards the distinct order of Roman knights. These regulations are of positive institution : others arose naturally from the state of society. , 8. The patria pofestas {paternal ci.uthority) is of the latter na- ture, being common to all barbarous tribes. The limitation of all arts to the slaves arose from the constant employment of the citi- zens in warfare or in agriculture. 9. The connection of patron and client was an admirable insti- tution, which at once united the citizens, and maintained a use- ful subordination, 10. The Sabines were the most formidable enemy of the early Romans ; and a v/ise policy united for a while the tv/o nations in- to one state. A.fter the death of Romulus, who reigned tliirty- seven years, Numa, a Sabine, was elected king. His disposition was pious and pacific, and he endeavoured to give his people the same character. Ke pretended to divine inspiration, to give the greater authority to his laws, which in themselves were excellent. He multiplied the national gods, built temples, and instituted dif- ferent classes of priests, T^ammes, salii^ fee, and a variety of reli- gious ceremonies. The flamines officiated each in the service of a particular deity ; the salii guarded the sacred bucklers ; the vestals cherished the sacred fre ; the augurs and aruspices divin- ed future events from the flight of birds, and the entrails of vic- tims. The temple of Janus was open in war, and shut during peace. Numa reformed the calendar, regulating the year at twelve lunar months, and distinguished the days for civil occupa- tion {faati) from those dedicated to religious rest {nefasti). Ag- ANCIENT HISTORY. ot riculture was lawful on the latter, as a duty of religion, NmiMi reigned forty-three years. 11. Tullus Hostilius, the third king- of Rome, of warlike dispo- sition, subdued the Albans, Fidenates, and other neighbouring states. The Sabines, now disunited from the Romans, were a- mong the most powerful of their enemies. Tullus reigned thirty- three years. 12. Ancus Marticiis, the grandson of Numa, was elected kin* ©n the death of Tullus. He inherited the piety and virtues of his grandfather, and joined to these the talents of a warrior. Ha increased the population of Rome, by naturalizing some of the conquered states ; enlarged and fortified ths city, and built the port of Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber. He reigned gloriously twenty-four years. 13. Tarquinius Priscus, a citizen of Corinth, popular from his wealth and liberality, was elected to the vacant throne. He en- larg'ed the senate by 100 new members from the plebeian families, paires 7ninorflm gentium (the fathers of the. lets families'). Thi« body consisted now of 300, at which number it remained for some centuries. Tarquin was victorious in his wars, and adorned and improved the city with works of utility and magnificence. Such were the circus or hippodrome, the walls of hevvrn stone; the cap- itol ; th? cloacsc, those immense common sewers, which lead to the belief that the new Rome had been built on the ruins of aa ancient city of greater mcignitude. Tarquinius was assassinated in the thirty-eighth year of his reign. 14. Servius Tullilis, who had married the daughter of Tar- quinius, secured, by his own address and. the intrigues of his moth- er-in-law, his election to the vacant throne. He courted popu- larity by acts of munifice>ice ; discharging the debts of the poor, dividing among the citizens his patrimonial lands, improving the city with useful edifices, and extending its boundaries. The new arrangement vrhich he introduced in the division of the Romaa citizens is a proof of much political ability, and merits attention, as on it depended many of the revolutions of the republic. 15. From the time that the Romans had admitted the Albans and Sabines to the rights of citizens, the urban and rustic tribes were composed of those three nations. Each tribe being divided into ten curice^ and every curia having an equal vote ia tlie ccmi- tia^ as each Individ usil had in his tribe, ail questions were decid- ed by the majority of suffrages. There was no pre-eminence be- tween the curi^r^ and the order in which they gave thsir votes wa^ determined by lot. This was a reasonable constitution, so long as the fortunes of the citizens were nea.rly on a par ; but, when riches came to be unequally divided, it was obvious that much in- convenience must have arisen from this equal partition of power, as the rich could easily, by bribery, comitiand tho suffrages of the poor. Besides, all the taxes had hitherto been levied by tho head, without any regard to the inequality of fortunes. These obvious defects furnished to Servius a jubt pretext for an entire change of system. His plan was, to remove the poorer citizens from all share of the government, while the burdens attending its support should fall solely on the rich. S3 ANCIENT HISTORY. 16. All the citizens were required, under a heavy penalty, 1* declare upon oath their names, dwellings, niimber of their chil- dren, and amount of their fortune. After this numeration or C€7i- sns^ Servius divided the whole citizens, without distinction, int« four tribes, named, from the quarters where they dwelt, the Pala- tine^ Suhurran^ Collatine. and Esquiline. Beside this local divis- ion, Servius distributed the whole people into six classes, and each class into several centuries or portions of citizens so cal- led, not as actually consisting of a hundred, but as being obliged to furnish and maintain 100 men in time of war. In the first class, which consisted of the richest citizens, or those who were worth at least 100 raince. (about 3001. sterling), there were no less than ninety-eight centuries. In the second class (those worth 75 rtvi- nce) there were twenty-two centuries. In the third (those worth 50 mince) were twenty centuries. In the fourth (those worth 25 mince) twenty-two centuries. In the fifth (those v/orth 12 7nince) thirty centuries. The sixth, the most numerous of the whole, comprehending all the poorer citizens, furnished only one centu- ry. Thus the whole Roman people were divided into 193 centu- ries, or portions of citizens, so called, as favnishing each a hund- red soldiers. The sixth class was declared exempt from taxes. The other classes, according to the number of centuries of which they consisted, were rated for the public burdens at so-much for each century. 17. The poor had no reason to complain cf this arrangement ; but something was wanting to compensate the rich for the bur- dens to which they were subjected. For this purpose Servius en- acted, that henceforth the coirdiia should give their votes liy cen- turies ; the first class, consisting cf ninety-eight centuries, ahvays voting first. - Thus, though the whole people M'^ere called to the coynliia^ and all seemed to have an equal suffrage, yet in reality the richer classes determined every question, the sinTra5:;e of the poor being merely nominal ; for as the whole people formed 193 centuries, and the first and second classes contained 120 of these, if they were unanimous, which generally happened in questions of importance, a majority was secured. Ihus, in the comitia centuriata {a.ssttnhlies in which the people voted by rtnhirieft)^ in which the chief magistrates were elected, peace and war decreed, and all otl-.er important business discussed, the richer classes oi the citizens had the sole authority, the votes of the poor being of no avail. And such was the ingenuity cf this policy, that all were pleased with it : the rich paid their taxes with cheerfulness, as the price of their power ; and the poor gladly exchanged au- thority for immunities. The census, performed every five years, was closed by a lusirum^ or expiatory sacrifice ; and hence that period of time was called a lustrum. 18. Servius was assassi^iated, after a reign of forty-four year,"?, by his infamous daughter Tulha-, married to Tarquinius, the gfrandscn of Priscus, who thus paved the way for }:is own eleva- tion to the throne. The government of Tarqi ii, surr3.med the proud, was systematically tyrannical. Ke ingratiated himseli with the lower orders, to abase by their means the power of the ANCIENT HISTORY. 59 ligfher ; but, insolent, rapacious, and cruel, he finally disgusted ill ranks of his subjects. A rape committed by his son Sextus on Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus, who, unable to survive her dis- lonour, stabbed herself in presence of her hueband and kindred, •oused their vengeance, and procured, by their influence with Lheir countrymen, the expulsion of the tyrant, and the utter aboli- tion of the regal dignity at Rome, 509 A. C. Rejlections on the Governmenl and Stale of Rome during the j»c- riod of the. Kings. 19. The whole structure of the coiTstitution of the Romans un- der the monarclij has teen by most authors erroneously attributed exclusively to the abilities of Romulus, a youth of eighteen, the leader of atro("p of shepherds or banditLi. This chimerical idea we owe to Y'kr ysius of Kalicarnassus. The truth is, the Roman srovernment, like almost every other, v/as the gradual result of circumstauc<-'s ; the fruit of time, and of political emergency. 20. The constitution uf the Roman senate has occasioned con- siderable research, and is not free from obscurity. It is probable that the kings had the sole right of naming the senators, that the consuls succeeded tiiem in ihis right, and afterwards, v/hen these magistrates found to. much occupation from the frequent wars in which the state was engaged, that privilege devolved on the cen- sors. The senators were at first always chosen from the body of the patricians, but afterv/ards the plebeians acquired an equal ti- tle to that dignity. In the early periods of the republic the peo- ple could not be assembled but by the senate's authority ; nOr were the plebiscifa {decrees of the people^ of any weight till con- firmed by their decree. Hence the early constitution of the re- public was rather aristocratical than democratical. From this extensive power of the senate the first diminution was made by the creation of the tribunes of the people ; and other retrench- ments successively took place, till the people acquired at length the predominant power in the state. Yet the senate, even after every usurpation on their authority, continued to have, in many points, a supremacy. They regulated all matters regarding reli- g-ion ; had the custody of the jjublic treasure ; superintended the conduct of all magistrates ; gave audience to ambassadors ; deci- ded on the fate of vanquished nations ; disposed of the govern- ments of the provinces ; and took cognizance, by appeal, in all crimes against the state. In great emergencies they appointed a dictator, with absolute authority. "21. At the period of the abolition of the regal government the territory of the Romans was extremely limited. The only use which they made of their victories was to naturalize the inhabit- ants of some of the conquered states, and so increase their popu- lation. Thus, their strength being always superior to their enter- prize, they laid a solid foundation for the future extension of their empire. !22. In the accounts given by kistorians of the strength of the armies, both of the Romans in those early times, and of the neigh- liouring states, their enemies, we have every reason to believe 60 ANCI'ENT HISTORY. there IS much cxstg-g^eration. The territories from "vvhich thos« armies were furnished were incapable of supplying them. 23. In the continual wars in which the republic was engaged the RcKnaas were most commonly the aggressors. The causes of this seem to have been the ambition of the consuls to distinguish their short administration by some splendid enterprize, and the wish of the senate to give the people occupation, to prevent iu- testine disquiets. 24. I'he regal government subsisted 244 years, and in that time ©nly seven kings reigned, several of whom died a violent death. Thesa circumstances throw doubt on the authenticity of this pe- riod of the B.oKian history. It is allowed that there were no his torians for the five first centuries after the building of Rome, The first is Fabius Pictor, who lived during the second Punic war. Li\ y says that almost all the ancient records were destroyed when Rome was taken by the Gauls. SECTION XXV. ROME UNDER THE CONSULS. 1. The regal government being abolished, it was agreed to eommit the supreme authority to two magistrates, who should be annually elected by the people from the patrician order. To these they gave the names of'consules ; " a modest title, (says Vertot), •which gave to understand that that they were rather the counsel- lors of the republic than its sovereigns ; and that the only point which they ought to have in view was its preservation and glory.'' But, in fact, their authority diifered scarcely in any thing from that of the kings. 1 hey had the supreme administration of justice, the disposa^l of the public money, the power of convoking the senate and assembling the people, raising armies, naming all the officers, and the right of making peace and war. The only difference was, that their authority was limited to a year. 2. The first consuls were Brutus and Collatinus (the husband of Lucretia). Tarquin was at this time in Etruria, wheie he got two •f the most powerful cities, Veii and Tarquinii, to espouse his cause. He had likewise his partisans at Rome, and a plot wa« formed to open the gates to receive him. It was detected, and Brutus had the mortification to find his two sons in the number of the conspirators. He condemned them to be beheaded in his presence. Exult patrem ut consulem ageret ; orhusqut vivere^ quam publicog vindict^ deesse inahiit. Val. Max. He ceased to be. a father.^ that he might execute the duties of a cansul ; and chvst to live childless rather than to neglect the public punishment of a erime. .3. The consul Valerius, successful in an engagement with the ©xiied Tarquin, v/as tho f5rst Roman who enjoyed the splendid reward of a triumph. Arrogant from his recent honours, his pop-- ularity began to decline ; and, iu the view of recovering it, he proposed the law, termed from him the Valerian, which ''permit- ANCIENT HISTORY. 61 ted any citizen who had been condemned to death by a magis- trate, or even to banishment or scourging-, to appeal to the people, and required their consent previously to the execution of the sen- tence.'" This law gave the first blow to the aristocracy in the constitution of the Roman republic. 4. For thirteen years after the expulsion of Tarquin, the Romans were involved in continual wars on his account. Of these the most remarkable was the v/ar with the Etrurians, under Porsena ; a war fertile in exploits of romantic heroism. 5. Soon after this period began those domestic disorders, which continued long to embroil the republic. Great complaints had arisen among the poorer classes of the citizens, both on account of the inequality of property, from the partial distribution of the con- quered lands, which the higher ranks generally contrived to en- gross to themselves, and from the harsh policy by which it was in the power of creditors to reduce to a state of slavery their insol- vent debtors. As there w^as no legal restraint on usury, the poor, when once reduced to tb^ neccssit^^ of contracting debts, were left entirely at the mercy oiilieir creditors. These grievances, felt in common by a large proportion of the citizens, excited mnc'i discon- tent, which, from complaints long disregarded, grew at length in- to a spirit of determined resistance. The v/ars required new levies, and the plebeians positively refused to enrol their names, unless the senate should put an end to their oppression, by decreeing at once an abolition of all the debts due by the poor to the rich. The emergency was critical, as the enemy was at the gates of Rome. The consids found their authority of no avail ; for the Valerian law had given any citizen condemned by them a rightof appeal to the people. An extraordinary measure was necessary, and a dictator was created for the first time ; a magistrate who, for the period of six months, was invested with absolute and unlimited authority. Lartius, nominated to this high office, armed the twenty-four lic- tors with axes, summoned the whole people to the comitia, and calling over the names, under the penalty of death to any citizen who should dare to murmur, enrolled all such as he judged most fit for the service of their country. This expedient became hence- forward a frequent and certain resource in all seasons of public danger. 6. The death of Tarquin removed one check against the tyranny of the higher over the lower orders ; for the latter had hitherto kept alive a salutary apprehension, that, in case of extreme oppression, they would be under the necessity of calling back their king, Wher i this fear was at an end, the domineering spirit of the patrician'-*, exceeding every bound both of good policy and humanity, droV"e the people at length to deeds of mutiny and rebellion. An aJ "^^^ from the enemy gave full weight to iheir power, and mad- tae chief magistrates of the state solemnly engage their honour to pro- cure a redress of their r^rievances, as soon as the public dan;5er wai at an end. The promise, either from a failure of will or o^ power, was not fulfilled, and this violation of faith drove the people at length to extremities. Bound by their military oath nc- to desert 6 /' / 62 ANCLENT HISTORY. their standards, they carried them along with them ; and the -whole army, in military array, withdrew from Rome, and deliberately encamped on the Ivlons Sacer, at three miles distance from the city; and here they were soon joined by the greater part of the peo- ple. This resolute procedure had its desired effect. The senate deputed ten persons, the most respectable of their order, with ple- nary powers ; and these, seeing no medium of compromise, granted to the people all their demands. The debts were solemnly abol- ished ; and, for the security of their privileges in future, they were allowed the right of choosing magistrates of their own order, who should have the power of opposing with effect every measure which tliey should judge prejudicial to their interests. These were the tribunes of the people, chosen annually ; at first five in number, and afterwards increased to ten. Without guards or tribunal, and having no seat in the senate-house, they had yet the power, by a single re/o, to stispend or annul the decrees of the senate and the sentences of the consuls. Their persons were declared sacred, but their authority Vvas confined to the limits of a mile from the city. The tribunes demanded and obtained two magistrates to assist them, who were termed adiles, from the charge committed to them of the buildings of the city. 7. From this aera(260years from the foundation of Rome) we date the commencement of the popular constitution of the Roman re- public : a change operated by the unwise policy of the patricians themselves, who, by yielding to just complaints, and humanely re- dressing flagrant abuses, might have easily anticipated every ground of dissatisfaction. The first wish of the people was not power, bvit relief from tyranny and oppression ; and if this had been readily granted them by abolishing the debts, or at least by repressing enormous usury, and putting an end to the inhuman right of corporal punishment and the bondage of debtors, the peo- ple would have cheerfully returned to order and submission, and the Roman constitution would have long remained aristocratical, as we have seen it was at the commencement of the consular gov- ernment. But the plebeians having now obtained inagistrates of their own order with those high povv^ers, v/e shall see it become the object of those magistrates to increase their authority by con- tinual demands and bold encroachments. The people, regarding- them as the champions of their rights, are delighted to find them- selves gradually approaching to a level with the higher order ; and, no longer bounding their desires to ease and security, are soon equally influenced by ambition as their superiors. While this people, borne down by injustice, seek no more than the re- (dress of real grievances, we sympathize Avith their feelings, and applaud their spirited exertions. But v/hen they had at length ";>nipassed the end which they wished, obtained ease and securi- ■ ,.nay, power v/hich they had neither sought nor expected; ■ x we see them, after this, increasing in their demands, assum- ^NiVt arrogance which they justly blamed in their superiors, '''^ d. on by the ambition of their leaders to tyrannize in their ve viev/ v/ith proper discrimination the love of liberty and ■■i-ae licentiousness; and treat with just detestation the m Coa turn' its ex ANCIENT HISTORY. 6x3 LUtliors of those pernicious measures, which embroiled the state n endless faction, and paved the way for the total loss of that iberty, of Avhich this deluded people knew not the value when ;hey actually possessed it. SECTION XXVI. THE LAW OF VOLERO. 1. Thft disorders of the commonwealth, appeased by the crea- tion of the tribunes, were but for a time suspended. It was ne- cessary that the popular magistrates should make an experiment of their powers. In an assembly of the people one of the cou- 5uls, interrupted by a tribune, rashly said, that if the tribunes had called that assembly, he would not have interrupted them. This was a concession on the part of the consuls, that the trib- unes had the power of assembling: the comitia, Avhich, from that moment, they assumed as their acknowledgfed rig-ht. It was a consequence of this right, that the afiairs of the commonwealth should be agitated in those meetings, equally as in the assemblies held in virtue of a consular summons, or senatorial decree, and thus there were, in a manner, two distinct legislative powers es- tablished in the republic. 2. The trial of Coriolanus for inconsiderately proposing the abolition of the tribunate, an offence interpreted to be trea- son against the state, threw an additional weight into the scale of the people. The proposal of an agrarian law, for the divis- ion of the lands acquired by recent conquests, resumed at inter- vals, though never carried into execution, inliamed the passions of the rival orders. 3. Publius Volero, formerly a centurion, and a mp^n distinguit^h- ed for his military services, had, in the new levies, been ranked as a common soldier. Complaining of tbis unmerited degrada- tion, he refused his services in that capacity; and the consuls having condemned him to corporal puni.^hment, he appealed from their sentence to the people. The contest lasted till the annual term of elections, when Volero himself was chosen a tribune of the people. He had an ample revenge, by procuring the enact- ment of a most important law. The comitia by centuries and by curiae could be called only in virtue of a decree of the senate, after consulting the auspices ; and in these comitia the tribunes had hitherto been elected, and the most important public affairs discussed. It Avas decreed by the law of Volero, that the elec- tion of the tribunes should be made, and the chief public bu.sin- ess henceforward discussed, in the comitia held by tribes, which were unfettered by any of those restraints. From this period the supreme authority in the Roman republic may be considered as having passed completely from the higher order into the hands ol the people. The Roman constitution was now plainly a demoe* racy, 471 A. C G4 ANCIENT HISTORY. SECTION XXVII. THE DEDEMVIRATE. 1. The Komaas had, till this period, no body of civil laws. — Under the regal g'overnment the kings alone administered justice; the consuls succeeded them in this high prerogative, and thus possest^ed witliout coucroui the absolute command of the fortunes and civil rights of all the citizens. To remedy this great defect Terentiiius, a tribune, j;>roposed the nomination of ttn commis- sioners, to fi-ame and digest a code of laws for the explanation SLud security of the rights of all orders of the state, A measure ■?o equitable ought to have met with no opposition. It was, how- ever, strenuously opposed by the patricians, v/ho, by a fruitless contest, only exposed Ihcir own weakness. The decemviri were fehosen ; but the election being made in the coinitia by centuries, the consul Appius Claudius, with his colleague, were at the head •f this important commission. The laws were framed, those cel- ebrated statutes known by the name of the Twelve Tables,v/hich are the basis of the great structure of the Roman jurisprudence, 451 A. C. 2. An acquaintance with these ancient laws is therefore of im- porfea.nce. Even in the most flourishing times of the republic they continued to be of the highest authority. They have the encomium of Cicero himself ; and we learn from him, that t» commit these laws to memory was an essential part of a liberal education. From the twelve tables the jurisconsulti composed a system of judicial forms, for the regulation of the different tribu- nals. The number of the laws was likewise from time to time increased by the setioAasconsulta and plebisciia. 3. The decemvirs were invested with all the powers of gov- ernment, for the consulate had ceased on their creation. Each decemvir by turn presided for a day, and had the sovereign au- thority, with its insignia, the fasces. The nine others officiated solely as judges in the determination of lawsuits, and the correc- tion of abusers. An abuse, however, of the most flagrant nature, committed by the chief of their oAvn number, was destined spee- dily to bring their office to its termination. 4. Appius Claudius, inflamed by lawless passion for the young Virginia, the betrothed spouse of Icilius, formerly a tribune of the people, employed a profligate dependant to claim the maiden as his own properly, on the false pretence of her being the daugh- ter of one of his female slaves. The claim was made to the de- cemvir himself in judgment, who pronounced an infamous decree, which tore from her family this helpless victim, and put her into the hands of his own minion. Her father, to save the honour of his child, plunged a dagger into her breast ; and the people, wit- nesses of this shocking scene, v-ould have massacred Appius on the spot, if he had not found means to escape amidst the tumult. Their veng-eance, however, was satiated by the instant abolition of this hated madstracy, and by the dqath of Appius, who Qhcs^ ANCIENT HISTORY. ^5 by his own hand to prevent the stroke of the executioner. The decemvirate had subsisted for three years. The consuls were now restored, together with the tribunes of the people, 449 A. €. SECTION XXVIII. INCREASE OF THE POPULAH POWER. 1. The scale of the people was daily acquiring wcig^ht, at the expence of that of the highest order. Two barriers, however, ,^till separated the patricians and plebeians : one, a law whicli prevented their intermarriage, and the other, the constitutional Hmitation of all the higher offices to the order of the patricians. !t was only necessary to remove these restrictions, and the patricians and plebeians were on a footing of perfect equality. The first, a.fter a long but fruitless contest, %vas at length agreed to by the senate ; and this concession had its usual effect of stimulating the people to inflexible perseverance in their struggle for the latter. On an emergence of war the customary device was practised, ot refusing to enter the rolls, unless upon the immediate enactment i){ a law, which should admit their capacity of holding all the of- fices of the republic. The senate sought a palliative, by the cre- ation of six military tribunes in lieu of the consuls, three of whom should be patricians, and three plebeians. This measure satisfied the people for a time : the consuls, however, were soon removed. 2. The disorders of the republic, and frequent wars, had inter- rupted the regular survey of the citizens. This was remedied by the creation of a new magistracy. Two officers, under the title of censors, were appointed (437 A. C), whose duty was not only to make the ctnsus every five years, but to inspect the morals, and regulate the duties of all the citizens : an office of dignity equal to its importance, exercised, in the latter times of the re- public, only by consular persons, and afterwards annexed to the supreme functions of the emperors. 3. The dissensions between the orders continued, with little variation either in their causes or effects. The people generally, as the last resource, refused to enrol themselves, till overawed by the supreme authority of a dictator. To obviate the frequent ne- cessity of this measure, which enforced at best an unwilling and compelled obedience, the senate had recourse to a wise expedient : this v/as, to give a regular pay to the troops. To defray this ex- pence a moderate tax was imposed in proportion to the fortunes of the citizens. From this period the Roman system of war as- sumed a new aspect. The senate always found soldiers at com- inand ; the army was under its controul ; the enterprises of the republic were more extensive, and its successes more signal and important. Veii, the proud rival of Rome, and its equal in ex- tent and population, was taken by Camillus, after a siege often years, A. U. C. 396. The art of war was improved, as it now became a profession, instead of an occasional, occupation. The 6* 66 ANCIENT HISTORY. . Romans were, from this circumstance, an overmatch for all the ii iieighbov.rs. Their dominion, hitherto confined to the territory of a few miles, was now rapidly extended. It was impossible but that the detached states of Italy must have given way before a people who were always in arms, and, by a perseverance alike resolute and judicious, were equal to every attempt in which they engaged. 4. The taking of Veii was succeeded by a war with the Gaul?. This people, a branch of the great nation of the Celtae, had open- ed to themselves a passage through the Alps at four different pe- riods, and were at this time established in the country between those mountains and the Appeninee. Under the command of Brenuus they laid siege t@ the Etruscan Clusium ; and the peo- ple, of no warlike turn themselves, solicited the aid of the Bo- mans. The circumstances recorded of this war with the Gaul« throw over it a cloud of fable and romance. The formidable power of Rome is said to have been, in a single campaign, so ut- terly exhausted, that the Gauls entered the city without resist- ance, and burnt it to the ground, 385 A. C. Though thus over- powered the Romans, in a single engagement, retrieve all their losses, and in one day's time there is not a Gaul left remaining within the Roman territory. To the burning of the city by the Gauls, the Roman wTiters attribute the loss of all the records and monuments of their early history. 5. It is singular, that most of the Roman revolutions should laave owed tb.eir origin to women. From this cause we have s^en spring the abolition of the regal office and the decemvirate. From this cause arose the change of the constitution, by which the plebeians became capable of holding the highest offices of the commonwealth. The younger daughter of Fabius Ambustus, married to a plebeian, envious of the honours of her elder sister, the wife of a patrician, stimulated her father to rouse the lower •rder to a resolute purpose of asserting their equal right with the patricians to all the offices and dignities of the state. After much turbulence and contest the final issue was the admission of the plebeians, first to the consulate, and afterwards to the censorship, the praitorship, and priesthood ( A. U. C. 454, and A. C. 300) : a change beneficial in the main, as consolidating the sti'ength of the republic, and cutting off the principal source of intestine dis- order. The factions of the state had hitherto confined the growth of its power, its splendour, and prosperity ; for no state can at once be prosperous and anarchical. We shall now mark the rap-> id elevation of the Roman name and empire. SECTION XXIX. CONQUEST OF ITALY BY THE ROMANS. 1. The war with the Samnites now began, and was of longcon- tmusmce ; but its successful tenainatiou was speedily followed by ANCIENT HISTORY. 67 the redaction of all the states of Italy. In the course of this im- portant war the Tarentines, the allies of the Samnites, sought the aid of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, one of the greatest generals of hie age. Pyrrhus landed in Italy with 30000 men and a train of ele- phants, 280 A. C. He was at first successful, but no longer so than till a short experience reconciled the Romans to a new mode of v/ar. Sensible at length of the difficulties of his enter- prise, and dreading a fatal issue, he embraced an invitation from the Sicilians to aid them in a war with Carthage. On this pre- text, which at least Avas not dishonourable, Pyrrhus withdrew his troops from Ital)'-. In this iutervy-l the Romans reduced to ex- tremity the Samnites, the Tarentines, and the other allied states. Pyrrhus returned, and made a last effort near Beneventum. He was totally defeated, lost 26000 men, and abandoning at once all further views to Italy returned with precipitation to his own do- minions, 274 A. C. The hostile states submitted to the victori- ous power ; and Rome, 480 years from the foundation of the city, was now mistress of all Italy. 2. The policy observed by the Romans, with respect to the con- quered nations, v/as wise and judicious. They removed to Rome all the leading men of the principal conquered cities, admitting them into the ancient urban and rustic tribes, and thus soothing the pride of the vanquished, by giving them an apparent share in their own domestic government ; while, in arranging the consti- tution of the cities, they filled their magistracies with illustrious Romans, whoge abilities and influence were fitted to maintain those new provinces in allegiance to the Roman government. 3. Sicily had long been considered the granary of Ita,ly. The Carthaginians at this time possessed considera-ble settlements in the island, aad were ambitious of acquiring its entire dominion. An obvious policy led the Ptomans to dispute with them this im- portant acquisition, and gave rise to the Punic wars. This leads, by a natural connection, to a short view of the history of Car- tilage and of Sicily. SECTION XXX. HISTORY OF CARTHAGE. 1. Carthage, according to the most probable accounts, was founded by a colony of Tyrians, about seventy years before the building of Rome. The colony had the same language, the same or nearly similar laws and constitution, the same national charac- ter, with the parent state. The city of Carthage was, at the pe- riod of the Punic wars, one of tlie most splendid in the world, and had under its dominion 300 of the smaller cities of Africa bordering on the Mediterranean sea. 2. The constitution of the republic is celebrated by Aristotle as one of the most perfect of the governments of antiquity ; but we know little more than its general i^ature from anci-ut writers. Two iaag^istrates, named suffatts^ auaually chosen, seem to have t)8 ANCIENT HISTORY. possessed po'A'ers akin to those of the Roman consuls ; and thsg ci its own libeity. Karcclius besieged the city, Vvhicbt was long rlefeaded by the in- ventive genias of -Archimedes ; but was taken in tho tliird year by esGalade in the night, 'ihis event put an end to the kingdom cf Syracuse, which now became a part of the Roman province of Sicily, A. U. C. 542, A. C. 212. 6. While the war in Italy was prosperously conducted by the great T^abius, who, by constantly avoiding a general engagement, found the true method of weakening his enemy, the younger Pci- pio accomplished the e-.tire reduction of Spain. Asdrubal was sent into Italy to the aid of his brother Hannibal, but was defeat- ed by the consul Claudius, and slain in battle. Scipio, trium- phant in Spain, passed over into Africa, and carried havoc and devastation to the gates of Carthage, /ilarmed for the fate of their empire the Carthaginians hastily recalled Hannibal from Italy. The battle of Zarna decided the fate of the war, by the ntttr defeat of the Carthaginians. They entreated a peace, wdiich the Romans gave on these conditions : that the Carthaginians should abandon Spain, Sicily, and all the inlands ; surrender all their prisoners, give up the whole of their fleet except ten gallies, pay 10,000 talents, a;.d, in future, undertalce no v, ar without con- sent of the Romans, A. U. C. 562, A. C. 20^. 7. Every thiiig now concurred to swell the pride of the con- querors, and to extend their dominicn. A v/ar with Philip of Macedon Avas termiijated by his deft at ; and his son iJemetrius was sent to Rome as a hostage for the payment of a heuv^y tribute in:posed on the vanquished. A v/ar with Antiochus, king of Syria, ended in his ceding to the Romans the whole of the Lesser Asia. But these splendid conquests, while tiKy enlarged the empire, wore fatal to its virtues, and subversive of the p-.uc aiul venc.able shnplicity of ancient tiuies. 8. The third Puijic war began A. U. C. G05, A. C. ll'l, and ended in the ruivi, of v,arihagc. An unsaccer-siul w^r v, ilb ihe Kuraidians had reduced the Carthaginians to great weiviaiess, and the Romans meanly laid hold of t\:fit opportunity to iuvade .-JVi- ca. Conscious ot their utter inability to msist this formidable power, the Cartl)?2:iniai-.s cflercd ^ very ? iLb'uihfiir^i!, a:Md coni^Gnted even to acknowledge themselves ibe ?ui j^cls of iloine. 'Ibe Ro- mans dema.)ided 300 hostvages, i-r the slrict pGrflu-monce of e\ery cmidition that thould be enjoined by L'.;e senaLe. The hostages 72 ANCIENT HISTORY. •were given, and the condition required was, that Carthage itseii should be razed to its foundation. Despair gai'e courag'e to this miserable people, and they determined to die in the defence of their native city. But the noble effort was in vain. Carthage •was taken by storm, its inhabitants massacred, and the city burnt to the ground, A. U. C. 607, A. C. 146. 9. The same year ^vas signalized by the entire reduction of Greece under the doDiinion of the Romans. This "v^-as the aera of the datvn of luxury and taste at Rome, the natural fruit of for- eign v/ealth, a.nd an acquaintance with foreign manners. In the unequal distribution of this imported ■wealth, the vices to which it gave rise, the corruption and venality of which it becam.e the Jnslrui?i.jnt, we see the remoter causes of those fatal disorders to which the republic owed its dissolution. SECTION XXXIII. THE GRACCHI, AND THE CORRUPTION OF THE COM- MONWEALTH, 1. At this period arose Tiberius and Caius Gracchus, two no- ble youths, v/hosa z^ al to reform the growing corruptions of the state precipitated them at leng<^h into measures destructive of all government ar^d social order. Tiberius, the elder of the brothers, urged the people to assert by force the revival of an ancient law, i'or limiting property in land, and thus abridging the overgrown estates of the patricians. A tumult was the consequence, iu which Tiberius, with 300 of his friends, were killed in tbe forum. This fatal example did not deter his brother, Caius Gracchus, from pursuing a similar career of zeal or of ambition. After some successful experiments of his power, while in the office of tri- bune, he directed his scrutiny into the corruptions of the senate, and prevailed in depriving tliat body of its constitutional control over all the inferior magistrates of the state. Employing, like his brother, the dangerous engine of tumultuary force, he fell a victim to it himself, with 3000 of his partizans, who were slaugh- tered in the streets of B-,ome. The tumults attending the sedi- tion of the Gracchi -w^ere the prelude to those civil disorders which now followed in quick succession to the end of the com- monwealth. 2. The circumstances attending the war with Jugurtha gave decisive proof of the corruption of the Roman manners. Jugur- tha, grandson of Masinissa, sought to usurp the crown of Numi- dia by destroying his couaius, Hiempsal and Adherbal, the sons of the last king. He murdvred the elder of the brothers ; and the younger applying for aid to Rome, Jugurtha bz'ibed the sen- ate, who declared him innocent of all culpable act or design, and decreed to hhn the sovercigiity of half the kingdom. This ope- rated only as an incentive to his criminal ambition. He declared open war against his cousin, besieged him in his ca.pital of Cirta, aaid finally put hirn to death. To avert a threatcnt;cl war Jugur- AIvClEI^T aisTOHY. SO tha went in person to Rome, pleaded his own cause in the senate, and once more by bribery secured his acquittal from all charg'e oi' criminality. A perseverance, however, in a similar train of con- duct finally drew on him the vengeance of the Romans ; and be- ing betrayed into their hands by his ov/n father-in-law, he was brought in chains to Rome, to gra^e the triumph of the consul Marius, confnied to a dungeon, and starved to death, A. U. C, 651, A. C. 103. 3. The ambition of the allied states of Italy to attain the rights of citizenship produced the social war, which ended in a conces- sion of those rights to such of the confederates- as should return peaceably to their allegiance. This war with the allies was a preiude to that which follov/ed between Rome and her own citi- zens. Sylla and Mariiis, rivals, and thence enemies, were at this time the leaders of the republic. Sylla, commanding in a war against Mithridates, was superseded, and recalled from Asia. He refused to obey the mandate, and found his army well dispos- ed to support hivn. " l>et us march to Rome," said they, with one voice ; "" lead us on to avenge the cause of oppressed liberty.'" Sjdla accordingly led them on, and they entered Rome sword in hand. Marius and his partizans fled with precipitation from the city, and Sylla ruled for a Vv^hile triumphant. But the faction of his rival soon recovered strength. Marius returning to Italy, and joining his forces to those of 'Jinna, his zealous partizan, laid siege to Rome, and, while Sylla was engaged in the Mithridatic war^ compelled the city to absolute submission. After a horrible mas- sacre of all whom they esteemed their enemies, Marius and Cinna proclaimed themselves consuls, without the formality of an elec- tion ; but Marius died a few days after in a fit of debauch. 4. After a victorious campaign in Asia, Sylla returned to Italy, and, joined by Cethegus, \ erres, and the young Pompey, gave battle to the party of his enemies, and entirely defeated them. His entry into Rome was signalized by a dreadful massacre, and •a proscription, which had for its object the extermination of every enemy whom he had in Italy. Elected dictator for an unlimted period he was now without a rival in authority, and absolute mas- ter of the government, which, of course, was no longer a republic. In the exercise of his dominion he deserved more praise than in the means of acquiring it. lie restored the senate to its judicial authority, regulated the election to all the important offices of state, and enacted many excellent laws against oppression and the abuse of power. Finally, he gave demonstration, if not of a pure conscience, at least of a magnanimous intrepidity of charac- ter, by voluntarily resigning all command, retiring to the condi- tion of a private citizen, and offering publicly to give an account of his conduct. He died within a short time after his resignation. He was certainly a man of great strength of mind, and had some of the qualities of a heroic character ; but he lived in evil times, when it was impossible at once to be great and to be virtuous. 5. The death of Sylla renewed the civil wa,r. Lepidus, a man of no abilities, aspirjd to succeed him in power; and Fompey, 7 ^74 AHCIENT HISTORIT. With superior talents, cheiished the same ambition. While the latter was employed in the reduction cl the revolted proviiices of Asia, the conspiracy of Cataline threatened the entire destri-ction of Rome. It was extingaiished by the provident zeal and active patriotism of the consul Cicero. Cataline and his chief acccm- plices were attacked in the field, and defeated by Antonius. The traitor made a desperate defence, and died a better death than his crimes had merited. 6. Julius Csesar now rose into public notice. Sylla dreaded his abilities and ambition, and had numbered him among- the proscri- bed. " There is many a Marias," said he, '' in the person of that young man." He had learned prudence from the danger of his situation, and tacitly courted popularity, without that show of enterprize which gives alarm to a rival. While Pompey and Graf sus contended for the command of the republic, Csesar, who knew that, by attaching himself to either rival, he infallibly made the other his enemy, showed the reach of his talents by reconcil- ing them, and thus acquiring the friendship of both. F rom fa- vour to their mutual friend they agreed to a partition of power; and thus v/as formed the first triumviiate. Caesar was elected consul. He incroastd his popularity by a division of lands among the poorer citizens, and strengthened his interest with Pompey by giving him his daughter in marriage. He had the command of four legions, and the government of transalpine Gaul and Illyria. 7. I'he military gloiy of the republic, and the reputation of Csesar, v/ere nobly sustained in Gaul. In the first year of his government he subdued the Helvetii, who, leaving their own country, had attempted to settle themselves in the better regions of the Roman province. He totally defeated the Germans under Ariovistus, who had atteirpted a similar invasion. 'J he Belgae, the iNervii, the Celtic Gauls, the Suevi, Mcnapii, and other war- like nations, were all successively brought under subjection. In the fourth year of his government he transported his army int© Britain. Landing at Deal, he was opposed by the natives with equal courage and military skill. He gained, however, several advantages, and, binding the Britons to submission, withdrew in- to Gaul on the approach of winter. He returned in the follow- ing summer with a greater force, and, prosecuting his victories,, reduced a considerable portion of the island under the Roman dominion, A. C. 54. But the pressure of affairs in Italy suspend- ed for a time the progress of the Roman arms in Britain. 8. Csesar dreaded the abilities of Cicero, who had opposed him in his views of ambition. By the machinations of his partizans, while he was absent in Gaul, he procured the banishment of Cicero, and the confiscation of his estates, on the pretence of ille- gal measures pursued in the suppression of the conspiracy of Cat- aline. During an exile of sixteen months in Greece, Cicero gave Avay to a despondency of mind utterly unworthy of the philoso- pher. Pompey had abandoned him, and this ungrateful desertion bore most heavily upon his mind. In the wane of his reputation Pompey soon became desirous to prop his own sinking fortunes by 4'he abilities of Cicero, and eagerly promoted his recal from exile. Ancient history. i-5 The death of Crassus, in an expedition againt the Parthians, now i dissolved the triumvirate ; and Csesar and Pompey, whose union, had no other bond than interest, began each to conceive separate- ly the view of undivided dominion. SECTION xxxiy. PROGRESS OF THE CIVIL WARS. SECOND TRIUMVIR^ ATE. FALL OF THE REPUBLIC. 1. The ambition of Csesar and of Pompey had nov/ evidently ihe same object ; and it seemed to be the only question, in those degenerate times, to which of these aspiring leaders the republic should surrender its liberties. The term of Caesar's government was near expiring. To secure himself against a deprivation of pov^-er, he procured a proposal to be made in the senate by one of his partizans, which wore the appearance of great moderation, namely, that Csesar and Pompey should either both continue i their governments, or both be deprived of them, as they were equally capable of endangering the public liberty by an abuse of power. The motion passed, and Caesar immediately offered to resign, on condition that his rival should do so ; but Pompey re- jected the accommodation. The term of his government had yet several years' duration, and he suspected the proposal to be a snare laid for him by Csssar. He resolved to maintain his right hj force of arnis, and a civil war was the necessary consequence. The consuls and a great part of the senate were the friends of Pompey. Csesar had on his side a victorious army, consisting cf ten legions, and the body of the Roman citizens, whom he had won by his liberality. Mark Antony and Cassius, at that time tribunes of the people, left Rome, and repaired to Cfesar's camp. 2. The senate, apprehensive of his designs, pronounced a de- Ci'ee, branding with the crime of parricide any commander who should dare to pass the Rubicon (the boundary between Italy and the Gauls) with a single cohort, without their permission. Cae- sar infringed the prohibition, and marched straight to Piome. — ■ Pompey, to whom the senate committed the defence of the state, had no army. He quitted Rome, followed by the consuls and a part of the senate, and endeavoured hastily to levy troops over all Italy and Greece ; while Csesar triumphantly entered the city amidst the acclamations of the people, seized. the public treasury, and possessed hisnself of the supreme autkority without opposi- tion. Having secured the capital of the empire, he set out to take the field against her enemies. The lieutenants of Pompey had possession of Spain. Csesar marched thither, and subdued the whole country in the space of forty days. He returned vic- torious to Rome, where, in his absence, he had been nominated dictator. In the succeeding election of magistrates he was chos^ en consul, and was thus invested, by a double title, with the right of acting in the name of the republic. Pompey had by thi* time raised a numeroup army, and Caesar was auixious to birins: 76 iNOlENT HISTORY. him fo a decisive png'ag-ement. The two armies met in lilyria, and the first conflict was of doubtful issue. Cassar led his army into ?»iacedonia, where he found a large reinforcement. He gave hattle to Pompey in the field of Pharsalia, and entirely defeated him. Fifteen thousand of Pompey's army were slain, and 24,000 surrendered themselves prisoners to the victor, A. U. C. 705, A. C. 49. 3. The fate of Pompey was miserable in the extreme. With his wife Cornelia, the companion of his misfortunes, he fled to Egypt in a single ship, trusting to the protection of Ptolemy, v.'hose father had owed to him his settlement on the throne. But the ministers of this young prince, dreading the pewer of Caesar, basely courted his favour by the murder of his rival. Pompey svas brought ashore in a small boat by the guards of the king ; and a Roman centurion, who had fought under his banners, stab- bed him, even in the sight of Cornelia, and cutting off his head, threw the body naked on the sands. Ca?sar pursued Pompey to Alexandria, v/here the head of that unhappy man, presented as a f^ateful offering, gave him the first intelligence of his fate. He wept, and turned with horror flora the sight. He caused every honour to be paid to his memory, and from that time showed the utmost beneficence to the partisans of his unfortunate rival. 4. The sovereignty of i-gypt was in dispute between Ptolemy and his sister Cleopatra. Ihe latter, though married to her bro- tlier, and joint heir by her father"'s will, was ambitious of undivi- ded authority ; and Caesar, captivated by her charms, decided the 'jontest in favour of the beauteous queen. A war ensued, iu which Ptolemy was killed, and Egypt subdued by the Roman arms. In this war the famous library of Alexandria was burnt to ashes, A. C. 48. A revolt of the Asiatic provinces, under Pharnaces, the son of ?t1ithridates, was signally chastised ; and the report was conveyed by Casar to the Roman senate in three words, Veni^ vidi^ vici. The conqueror returned to Pcome, which needed his pres- ence ; for Italy was divided, and the partisans of Pompey were yet extremely formidable. His two sons, with Cato and Scipio, were in arms iu Africa. Csesar pursued them thither, and proceed- ing with caution till secure of his advantage, defeated them in a decisive engagement at Thapsus. Scipio perished in his passage to Spam. Cato, shutting himself up in Utica, meditated a brave resista.nce ; but seeing no hope of success, he finally determined not to survive the liberties of his country, and fell deliberately by his own hand. Mauritania w^as now added to the number of the Roman provinces j and Csesar returned to Rome, absolute master of the empire. 5. From that moment his attention was directed solely to the prosperity and happiness of the Roman people. He remembered no longer that there had been opposite parties ; beneficent alike to the friends of Pompey as to his own. He laboured to reform every species of abuse or grievance. He introduced order into every de- partment of the state, defining the separate rights of all its magis- trates, and extending his care to the regulation of its most distant provinces. The reformation of the kalendar, the draining of the ANCIENT HISTORT. IT' iaarsheg of Italy, the navie;ation of the Tiber, the embellishment: of Rome, the complete survey aud delineation of the empire, al- ternately employed his liberal and capacious mind. Returning^ from the final overthrow of Porapey's party in Spain, he was hail- ed the father of his country, was created consul for ten years, and perpetual dictator. His person was declared sacred, his title henceforth imperator^ A. U. C. 709, A. C. 45. 6. The Roman republic had thus finally resigned its liberties, by its own acts They were not extinguished, as Montesquieu has well remarked, by the ambition of a Pompey or of a Cassar. If the sentiments of Caesar aud Pompey had been the same with those of Cato, others would have had the same ambitious thoughts ; and, since the commonwealth was fated to fall, tJiere never would have been wanting a hand to drag it to destruction. Yet Caesar had by force subdued his country ; a.nd therefore was a usurper. If it had been possible to restore the liberties of the republic, and with these its happiness, by the suppression of his usurpation, the attempt Would have merited the praise at least of good design. Perhaps so thought his murderers ; and tlius, however weak their policy, how- ever base and treaeherous their act, they will ever find apologists. They expected an impossible issue, as the event demonstrated. 7. A conspiracy was formed by sixty of the senators, at the head 0f whom were Brutus and Cassius ; the former a man beloved of Caesar, who had saved his life, and heaped upon him numberless benefits. It was rumoured that the dictator wished to add to his nmnerous titles that of king, and that the ides of March was fixed on for investing him with the diadem. On that day, when taking his seat in the senate-bouse, he was suddenly assailed by the con- spirators. He defended himself for some time against their daggers, till, seeing Brutus among the number, he faintly exclaimed, '' And you, too, my son !" and covering his face with his robe, resigned himself to his fate. He fell, pierced by twenty-three v/ounds, A. U. C. 711, and A. C. 43. 8. The Roman people were struck with horror at the deed. They loved Ca:'sar, master as he was of their lives and liberties, Mark Antony aud Lepidus, ambitious of succeeding to th^- power of the dictator, resolved to pave the way by avenging his death, Caesar, by his testament, had bequeathed a great part of his fortune to the people ; and they were penetrated with gratitude to his memory. A public harangu.e by Antony over the bleeding body, exposed in the forum, inflamed them with the utmost indignation against his murderers, who must have met with instant destritC' tion if they had not escaped with precipitation from the city. An- tony profited by these dispositions ; and the avenger of Caesar, of course the favourite of the people, was in the immedia.te prospect ©f attaining a similar height of dominion. In this, however, he found a formidable competitor in Octavii\s, the grand-nephew and the adopted heir of Caesar, who, at this critical moment, ar- rived in Rome. Availing himself of these titles, Ocfcavius 'gained the senate to his interest, and divided with Antony the favour of the people. The rivals soon perceived that it was their wisest Iplan to unite theii' iuterests ; and they admitted Lepidus iuto tbeiy T 78 ANCIENT HISTORY. association, whose power, as g-overnor of Gaul, and Inimeuse rich- es, g-ave him a title to a share of authority. Thus was formed the second tiinmvirate, the effects of whose union were beyond meas- ure dreadful to the republic. The triumviri divided among them- selves the provinces, and cemented their union by a deliberate saciifice made by each of his best friends to the vengeance of his associates. Antony consigned to death his uncle Lucius ; Lepidua his brother Paulus ; and Octaviushis guardian Toranius and his friend Cicero. In this horrible proscription 300 senators and 300O knig-lits were put to death. 9. Octavius and Antony now marched against the conspirators, who had a formidable army in the field in Thrace, commanded by Brutus and Cassius. An engagement ensued at Philippi, which decided the fate of the empire. Antony obtained the victory, for Octavius had no military talents. He was destitute even of per- sonal bravery, and his conduct after the victory was stained with that cruelty which is ever the attendant of cowardice. Brutus and Cassius escaped the vengeance of their enemies by a voluntary death. Antony now sought a recompense for his troops by the plunder of the east. While in Cilicia, he summoned Cleopatra t« answer for her conduct in dethroning- an infant brother, and in openly favouring- the party of Brutus and Cassius. The queea came to Tarsus, and made a complete conquest of the triumvir., immersed in luxury and intoxicated with love, he forgot g-lory, Mmbifion, fame, and every thing, for Cleopatra. Octavius saw 4:his phrensy with delight, as the preparative of his rival's ruin, lie had nothing to dread from Lopidus, whose insignificant char- acter first drev/ on hiin the contempt of his partisans ; and whosq folly, in attempting an invasion of the province of his colleague^ was punished by his deposition and banishment. 10. Antony had in his madness lavished the provinces of the empire in g:ifts to his paramour and her children. The lloman peo pie v/ere justly indignant at these enormities ; and the divorce of his v.'ife Octavia, the sister of his colleague, was at length the si^- ::ial of declared hostility between them. An immense armament, sistance, Antony anticipated liis fate by falling- on his sword. Cle- <>patra soon after, either from remorse, or more probably from mor- tified ambition, as she found it was Octavius"'9 desig-n to lead her in chains to Rome to grace his triumph, had courage to follow the example of her lover, and put herself to death by the poison of an, ■^sp. Octavius returned to Rome eole. master of the R»m?ji em*' pire A. U. C. 727, A. C. 27, ANCIENT history! 79 SECTION XXXV. CONSIDFRATIONS OF SUCH PARTICULARS AS MARK' THE GENIUS AND NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE^ ROMANS. SYSTEM OF ROMAN EDUCATION", 1. A virtuous but ri^id severity of manners was the character-- istic of the Romans under their kings, and in the first ages of the- repuhlic. The private life of the citizens, frugal, temperate, and laborious, had its indueoce on their public character. The {pa- iria potestas) paternal authority gave to every head of a family a sovereign authority over all the members that composed it ; and this pov/er, felt as a right of nature, was never abused. Plutarch has leinarked, as a defect in the Roman laws, that they did not prescribe, as those of Lacedtemon, a system and rules for the edu-- cation of youth. But the truth is, the manners of the people sup- plied this want. The utmost attention was bestowed in the early formation of the miad and character. The excellent author of tlie dialogue De Oratoribus (^concerning orators) presents a valua» ble picture of the Roman education in the early ages of the com- moiiv/ealth, contrasted with the less virtuous practice oi the more refined ages. The Roman matrons did not abandon their infanta to mercenary nurses. They regarded the careful nurture of their olfspring, the rudiments of their education, and the necessary oc- cupations of their household, as the hi.-hest points of female merit. Next to the care bestowed in the instilment of virtuous morals, et remarkable degi ee of attention seems to have been given to the lasiguage of children, and to the attainment of a correctness and purity of expression. Cicero informs us that the Gracchi^ the sons of Cornelia, were educated, non taniingrcemie quam in scrmon,& rnalris^ in ike speech more than in the hosom of their mother. That urbanity which characterized the Roman citizens showed itself particularly in their speech and gesture. 2. Tlic attention to the language of the youth had another wurce. It -was by eloquence, rnore than by any other talent, that t.lic vouug Roinan could rise to the highest oflices and dignities cf tlii? ^lale. The stadia forensia (forensic studies) v/ere, therefore, a principal object of the Roman education. Plutarch informs us, that among the sports of the childi-en at Rome, one was pleading causes before a mock tribunal, and accusing and defending a crim- inal in the usual forms of judicial procedure. 3. The exercises of the body were likev/ise particularly attend* ed in • whatever might iiarden the temperament, and confer strength and agility. I'hese exercises were daily practised by the youth, under the eye of their elders, in the Campus Martins. 4. At seventeen the youth assumed the manly robe. He wai consigned to the care of a master of rhetoric, whom he attended constantly to the forum, or to the courts of justice ; for, to be an aecoflapli^^iied gentleiisian, it was necessary for a ^oman to be an 80 ANCIENT HISTORY, accomplished orator".' The pains l-'sstowed on the attainment of tkis character, and the best instructions for its acquisition, W€ learn from the writings of Cicero, Quintilian, and the younger Pliny. SECTION XXXVI. OF THE PROGRESS OF LITERATURE AMONG THE RO- MANS. 1. Before the intercourse with Greece, which took place after the Punic wars, the Roman people was utterly rude and illiterate^ As among all nations the first appearance of the literary spirit i*. shown in poetical compositif-^u, the Roman warrior had probably, like the Indian or the Celtic, his war songs, which celebrated his triumphs in battle. Religion likewise employs the earliest poetry of most nations ; and if a people subsist by agriculture, a plentiful harvest is celebrated in the rustic song^ of the husbandman. The versus fescennini (fescennine verses)^ mentioned by Livy, were ■probably of the nature of a poetical dialogue, or alternate versed- sung by the labourers, in a strain of coarse merriment and raillery. This shows a dawning of the drama. 2. About the 390th year of Rome, on occasion of a pestilence, (udiones (drolls or stage dancers) were brought from Etruria, qui ad tihicinis modos salfanies^ liaud ivdecoros motus more Tuaco da- bant ; who danced to the tunes of a musician^ and^ in the Tuscan fashion^ exhibited motions that u-tre not ungraceful, lavy tells us that the Roman youth imitated these performances, and added to them rude and jocula.r verses, probably the fescennine dialogues. The regular drama was introduced at Rome from Greece by Livius- Androuicus, A. U. C. 514. 'J he earliest Roman plays were there- fore, we may presume, translations from the Greek. Et post punir'8 t>el!a quietus qu^rere c.oepit, Quid Sophocles, et Thejipis, et iEschylus utile ferrent. Hor. Epist. Lib. II, u And beinsf at peace after the Punic wats, the P.omans began to inqniVc what ftdvantafjes might be deriveil from the writings of Sophocles, Thespi^, and ^sch^'lus. 3. Of the early Roman drama, Ennius was a great ornament, and from his time the art made rapid advancement. The comediee of Plautus, the contemporary of Lnnius, with great strength and spirit of dialogue, display a considerable knowledge of human na- ture, and are read at this day with pleasure. 4. Csecilius improved so much on the comedy of Plautus, that he is mentioned by Cicero as perhaps the best of the Roman comic •writers. Of his compositions we have no remains. His patronage fostered the rising genius of Terence, whose tirst comedy, the ^dn^ tfr/o, was performed A. U. C 587. Ihe merit of the comedies of Terence lies in that nature and simplicity v/hich are observable ijj tlie structure of his fables, and m the delineation oi his charactey?^ ANCIENT HISTORY. 81 Thf,y are deficient, liowever, in comic energy ; and are not calcu- lated to excite ludicrous emotions. They are chiefly borrowed from the Greek of Menander and Apollodoriis. 5. The Roman comedy was of four different species : the come- dia togaia or practexkita^ the comedia labernaria^ the attellance^ and the niimi. The first admitted serious scenes and personag'es, and was of the nature of the modern sentiinental comedy. The second was a representation of ordinary life and manners. The af- iellamE were pieces where the dialogue was not committed to v/riting, but the subject of the scene was prescribed, and the dia- logue filled up by the talents of the actors. I'he viinii were pieces of comedy of the lowest species ; farces, or entertainments of buf- foonery ; though sometimes admitting the serious, and even the pathetic. 6. The Roman tragedy kept pace in Its advance^ient with the comedy. The best of the Roman tragic poets were Actius and Pacuvius, of whom we have no remains. The tragedies published under the name of Seneca are generally esteemed the work of dif- ferent hands. They are none of them of superlative merit. 7. Velleius Paterculus remarks, that the sera of the perfection of Roman literature was the age of Cicero, comprehending all the literary men of the preceding times whom Cicero might have seen, and all those of the succeeding who might have seen him. Cicero, Quintilian, and Pliny celebrate, in high terms, the writings of the elder Cato, whose principal works were historical, and have en- tirely perished. Vve have his fragments, de Re Rustica {on agri- culture)^ in which he was imitated by Varro, one of the earliest of the good v,'riters among the Romans, and a man of universal eru- dition. Of the variety of his talents we may judge, not only from the splendid eulogium of Cicero, but from the circumstance of Pliny having recourse to his authority in every book of his JS'atural History. 8. &"allust, in order of time, comes next to Varro. This writet introduced an important improvement on history, as treated by the Greek historians, by applying (as Dionysius of Halicarnassus says) the science of philosophy to the study of facts. Sallust is therefore to be considered as the father of philosophic history ; a species of writing which has been so successfully cultivated in modern times. He is an admirable writer for the matter of his compositions, which evince great judgment and knowledge of human nature, but by no means commendable for his style and manner of writing. He- affects singularity of expression, aa antiquated phraseology, and a petulant brevity and senteutiousness, M^hich has nothing of tho dignity of the historical style. 9. Caesar has much more purity of style, and more correctneaSr and simplicity of expression ; but his Commentaries, wanting that amplitude of diction and fulness of illustration which is essential to history, are rather of the nature of annals. 10. In all the requisites of a historian, Livy stands unrivalled among the Romans ; possessing consummate judgment in the se- lection of facts, perspicuity of arrangement, sagacious reflection, soujid views of policy, with the mogt copious, pure, and eWquesl 8S ANCIEKT HISTORY, expression. It has been objected, that his speeches deroo^aie frcir the truth of history : but this was a prevalent taste with the ancient writers ; and as those speeches are always known to he the composition of the historian, the reader is not misled. As to the style of Livy, though in general excellent, we sometimes per ceive in it, and most commonly in the speeches, an affectation of the pointed sentences (the tnbrantes sentevJiolce^ and obscurity of the declaimers, which evinces the pernicious influence acquired by those teachers at Rome since the time of Cicero and Sallust. 11. In the decline of Roman literature Tacitus is a historian of no common merit. He successfully cultivated the m_ethod pointed out by Sallust, of applying: philosophy to history. In this he dis- plays great knowledge of human nature, and penetrates, with sin- gular acuteness, into the secret springs of policy, and the motives of actions. But his fault it, that he is too much of a politician, drawing his characters after the model of his own mind ; ever as- signing actions and events to preconceived scheme and design, and allowing too little for the operation of accidental causes, v.hich often have the greatest influence on human affairs. Tacitus, in his style, professedly imitated that of Sallust ; adopting all the ancient phraseology, as well as the new idioms introduced into the Roman language by that writer. To his brevity and abruptness he added most of the faults of the declaiming school. Mis expres- sion, therefore, though extremely forcible, is often enigmatically ©bscure ; the worst property that style can possess. 12. Among the eminent Roman poets (after the dramatic) Lu- ©retius deserves first to be noticed. He has great inequality, be- ing at some times verbose, rugged, and perplexed, and at others displaying all the elegance as v/ell as the fire of poetry. This may be in great part attributed to his subject. Philosophical disquisi- sition is unsuitable to poetry. It demands a dry precision of thought and expression, rejecting all excursive fancy and ornament of dic- tion. That luxuriance of imagery, which is the soul of poetry, i-s raving and impertinence when applied to philosophy. 13. Catullus, the contemporary of Lucretiu?, is the earliest of the Roman lyric poets. His Epigrams are pointed and satirical, but too licentious ; his Idylla tender, natural and picturesque. He flourished in the age of Julius Ceesar. 14. In the succeeding age of Augustus poetry attained to iis highest elevation among the Romans. Viro^il, Horace, Ovid, and Tibullus, were all contemporaries, Virgil is allowed the same rank among the Roman poets, as Homer among the Greek. If Homer excel Virgil in the sublime, the latter surpasses the former in the tender and elegant. '1 he transcendent merits of Homer are sullied by occasicnal defects. Virgil is the model of a correct taste. Ihe diii'erence of manner in the Bucolics, the Georgics, and the Aneid, shows that V irgil was capable of excelling in va- rious departments of poetry; and such is the opinion of Isiartial. who affirms that he could have surpassed Horace in lyric poetry, and Varius in tragedy. 15. Horace excels as a lyric poet, a satirist, and a critic. In »us odes, there iaoiore variety than in those of either AnacreOn oi ANCIENT HISTORY, 83 PiHclar. He can alternately display the sublimity of the latter, Stud the jocose vein of the fo;nier. His Satires have that charac- teristic slyness and obliquity of censure, associated with humour and pleasantry, which strongly disting-uish the:afroai the stern and cutting- sarcasm of Juvenal. As a critic, his rules are taken chiefly from Aristotle ; but they contain the ele uents of a just taste in po- etical composition, and therefore do not admit of variation. The Satires of Juvenal, co:npared with those of Horace, are deficient in fac«tiousness and urbanity ; but thpy are superior in acuteness of thought, and in mauiy vigor of sentiment. 16. In va'-icty of talent, Avithout supreme excellence, and ia ease and elegance of numbers, no Roman poet has exceeded Ovid, io his Metamorphoses, particularly, with great fancy, we have speci.nens of (.he pathetic, the descriptive, the eloquent, and oven the sublime, iiis ii^legies have more of nature and of real passion, than those of either libullus or Pi'opertius. His amatory verses liave much tenderness, but are too frcqueatly loose, and even grossly licentious. 17. Ihere is nothinjr more elegant than the compositions of Ti- bullus, nothing more cfeiicate than the turn of his expression ; but it is not the laug^'age of passion. The sentiments are tender, but their power of atiecting the heart is weakened by the visible care and solicitude of the poet for refined phraseology and polished numbers ; nor is there 'uthcr much fancy or variety of thought. A single elegy exhibits tiie sentiments of the whole. IB. ivlartiai is the laat of the ixoman poets who can be mention- ed with high approbati sa. His '.pigrams, independent of their art and iitgenuity, are valuable, as throwing light upon the Roman manners. Hcpossrises, above every other poet, a nau'e/e of ex- pression, which is chie/Iy observable in his serious epigrams. He is well characterized by the younger Fiiny. Ingeniosus^ accr, et qui in scnbtnio et salts habeitt et ftUis^ nf.c candoris minus. Epist. 3. 21. His writings are ingenious and acute ; they possess humour and satire^ and no less candour. 19. Luxuria.nce of ornament, ad the fondness for points, and brilliancy of thought and expression, are certain indications of the decline of good taste. These characters strongly mark the Latin poets of the succeeding ages. Lucan has some scattered examples of genuine poetic imagery, and Persius some happy strokes of an- imated satire ; but they scarcely compensate the affected obscuri- ty of one, and the bombast of the other. The succeeding poets, Statins, Siiius Italicus, and Valerius 1 laccus, in their attempts at the most diflicult of all species of poetry, the epic, have only more signally displayed the inferiority of their genius, and the manifest decay of the art. SECTION XXXVII. STATE OF PHILOSOFHY AMONG THE ROMANS. 1. The Romans, in the earlier periods of the republic, had little !ej5Uire tobe-stow on the cultivation of 84 ANCIENT HISTORY". idea of philosophical speculatioD. It was n©t till the end of tht sixth century from the building of the city, and in the interval be- tween the war with Perseus and the third Punic war, that philos- ophy made its first appearance at Rome. A few learned Achsean?, banished fvom their country, had settled in various parts of Italy, and applyirg themseh'cs to the cultivation of literature and the education of youth, diffused a taste for those studies hitherto un- knov/n to the Romans. The elder citizens regarded those pursuits with an UL^favourable eye. Jealous of the introduction of foreitrn in?ainerswith foreign studies, the senate banished the Greek phi- losophrrs from Rome. But an Athenian embassy, arriving soon •after, brought thithor Carneades and Critoiaus, who revived the taf I e for !;]ie Oreek philosophy, and left behind them many able cliici, Ics, v/ho publicly tauuht their doctiines. 2. It was natural that these systems should be most generally adopted which were most suitable to the national character. V^ hile the mannevs of the Romans had a tincture of ancient sever- ity, the stoical system prevailed. !?cipio, Lselius, and the younger Cato rank arxiong its chiel' pat tifans. 3. The philosophy of Aristotle was little known in Rome till the age of Cicero. At that time Cratippus and Tyrannion taught his system with gr( at reputation. Yet Cicero complains that the peripatetic philosophy was little understood at Rome ; and there- fore, he sent his son to study its doctrines in the schools of Athens. 4. Lucullus, whose stay in Greece gave him an opportunity of bei'^.g acquainted v/ith all the different sects, disseminated, on his retium to Home, a very general taste for philosophy. His patron- age of learned men, and his liberality in allowing his library to be open for the public use, contributed greatly to the promotion of literature. 5. The Old and New Academy had each its partisans. Of the former, which may be termed the Stoico-Platonic, the most illus- trious disciples were Marcus Biutus and Terentius Varro. To the philosophical talen«^s of Brutus, and the universal erudition of Var- ro, the writings of Cicero bear ample testimony. Cicero himself must be deemed the most eminent of all the Roman philosophers. He is classed among the principal suijporters of the New Academy ; though it seems to have been his ptupuse to elucidate the Greek phDosophy in general, rather than to rank himself among the disci- ples of any particular sect. 6. The cultnaiion of physics, or natural philosophy, seems to ha\e been little amended to either by the Greeks or Romans. Un- less agriculture should be classed luider this description, we know of no i^oraan authors, except Varro and the elder Pliny, who seem to have bestoi^ed much attention on the operations of nature. The works of Varro have perished, except a few fragments. 'J he Nat- xiral History of Pliny is a aiost valuable store-house of the know- ledge of the ancients in physics, economics, and Ihe arts and sci- ences. It is to be regi-etted that the style is unsuitable to the mat- ter, being too frequently florid, declarratory, and obscure. 7. The philosophy of Epicurus was unknown in the early ages of the Roman commonwealth. It was introduced with luxurj* , ami ANCIENT HISTORT. 85 kept pace in ifa advancement with the corrnption ©f manner?. Cinneas having discoursed on the tenets of Epicurus at the ta- ble of Pyrrhus, Fabricius exclaimed, '' May the enemies of Rome ever entertain such principles !" Ytt these principles were, in a short time from that period, too current among the citizens of Rome. SECTION XXXVIII. OF THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE MANNERS OF THE ROMANS. 1. The manners of the Romans in the early ages of the republic were so different from those of the latter times, that one should be led to suppose some very extraordinary canses to have co-operated to produce so remarkable a change ; yet the transition is easy to be accounted for. A spirit of temperance, of frugality, and probi- ty, is the characteristic of every infant establishment. A virtuous simplicity of manners, aud a rigour of military discipline, paved the way for the extension of the Roman arms, and for their prodi- gious conquests. These conquests introduced wealth, luxury, and Bomiption. 2. In the early times of the republic the patricians, when in the Gouutry, forgot the distinction of ranks, and laboured in the culti- vation of their fields, like the meanest plebeians. We have the examples of Cincinnatus, Curius, the elder Catn, and Scipio Afri- canus. The town was visited only every ninth day, which was the market day. In those times of virtuous simplicity, says Sal- lust, Donii niiliticeque boni mores colebantur. JJiiabus artibus^ au" dacia in bello, ubi fax evenerat^ cpquilate^ seque remque publicavxr turabant. Good manners ivere cultivated both in peace and war. By two means^ valour in ivar^ and equity in peace^ they supported them^selves arid tJte commonwealth. But when the Romans had ex- tended their dominion, in consequence of this very discipline and these manners, they imported with tiie weal:n of the conquereot nations their tastes, their manners, and their vices. 3. The Romans had no natural taste in the fine arts. On the conquest of Greece an immense field opened at once to their eyes, and the mast-^r-pieces of art poured in upon them in abundance. But they could not appreciate their excellences. Ihe Roman lux- ury, as far as the arts were concerned, was in g-cneral displayed in an awkward, heavy, and tasteless magnificence. 4. The public and private life of the Romans v/ill be best eluci" dated by a short account of the manner in which the day was pas- sed at Ron:e, both by the higher and lower ranks of the people. By a part of the citizens the moraing hours were spent in visiting the temples, by others in attending^ the levees of the great. The dientes (clients) waited on ih-QiT patroni (patrons) ; the patricians' Tisited one another, or paid their coiTipliroents to the leaders of the republic. Popularity was always the first object of ambition at Rome, as paving- the way to all advancement. From the leve«e 8 36 ANClSNT HISTORY. they proceeded to tlie forum, either to assist in the puHic "busines*, or for amuseinent. There the time was spent till lioon, which was the hour of dinner among the Bomans. This was chiefly a very ligfht repast, of winch it was not customary to invite any g:uest5 to partake, j^ftcr r'innerthe yoi'th repaired to the Campus Mar- tiuf, where they occupied themsi Ives in athletic exercises and spelts till sunset, 'ihe elder class retired for an hour to repose, a,"id then passed the afternoon in their porticoes, galleries or lihra- laes, where the)' eisjoycd the conAersation of their friends, or heard recitations of literary works ; others repaired to the theatres, or to the shows of the circus and amphitheatre. 6. Comlats cf gladiators were introduced for the first time ahout the 400th year of the city. 1 hese and combats with wild fceasts soon lecame a most favourite amusement among- the Ro- mans. The spirit of luxury, which in g^ereral is not unfavourable to humanity, showed its prog-ress among; the Romans by an in- ereasing ferocity aud inhumanity of the public spectacles. 1 he- atrical entertain ments were in high request. (Sect. XXXVl, } 2, J3, 4, 5, 6.) 1 he taste for pantomime came to such a height, that the art was tanght in public schools, and the nobility and people %vere divided into parties in favour of the rival periorn ers ; an ».buse which called at leng-th for the inteiposition of the laws. 6. From the porticoes, or from the theatre and amphitheatre, it was customary to go to the baths, of which there were n.any for the use of the public. The rich had baths in their own houses, vying: with each ether in this as in every other article of luxury or magnificence, from the bath they went in nudiately to si p- per, generally al out the ninth or tenth hour, countii.g from sun- rise. At table they reclined on cot ches. '^1 he luxury of the Ro- man suppers far exceeded every thii.g- known among the moderns. Av: anttcamium of pickles and spices was preser.ted to prepare and sharpen the appetite. Cookery became a science. 'Ihe number ai;d costliness oi the dishes were incredible. Ihe enter- tainment -was heightened by every thii g: gratilying to tie senses ; by r.ale and fem.alo danceis, musiciaiis, pantomimes, and even shows of gladiators. 7. In the end of the republic pleasure and amusement were the darling objects of all ranks of the citizcrs: tbey sought no more than jiantnt et circtnsts {brtud and garnts in the circus). SECTION XXXIX. OF THE ART OF WAR AMOKG THE ROMANS. 1. From, the prodigious succest vhicb attended the arms of the Ponars, and the drminicn which they acquired over the greater part of the Lrc wn v.xrld, it seems a natural h;feierce tha.t they a.ust have excelled all the cotempcrary nations in the mili- tary art. Vcgetiuft expressly assigrs their extensive conquests to that cause alcne. it is the ditcij iite cf an am y that mal.es a -multituue act as one Hian. it iiVt ise increases the c&urage &f ANCIENT HISTORY, 8? fcroops ; for each individual confides in the steady co-operation o$ his fellows. 2. Fro-n the constant practice of athletic exorcises the Ro-nants were inured from infancy to hardiness and fatigue, and bred to that species of iile which a soldier leads in the most active cain- paig-n in the field. 3. The levies were made annually, by the tribes called out, and divided into their respective number of centuries ; each cen- tury presenting by rotation as many soldiers as there were legions intended to be raised ; and the tribunes of the several legions taking their turn by rotation in the selection of the men presented by the centuries. (Sect. XXIV, ^ 16.) The number of soldiers in the legion was vari^ius at diifereut periods, from 3000 to 10,000 and 11,000. 4. Among the ancient nations there were usually two different arrangements of the troops in order of battle. One the phalanx, or close arrangement in a rectangular form, intersected only by l^reat divisions ; a disposition commonly used by the Grreeks, and by most of the barba,rous nations. The other the quincunx, or chequer, consisting of small co npan.ies or platoons, disposed in three straight lines, with alternate spaces between the companies equal to the space occupied by each compa:iy. In the first line ■were the hastuti^ in the second the pdncipts. and in the third the triarii. On tho flanks of the first line wer? the cavalry, in de- tached companies ; and in front of the liae were the vel/tes., or light-armed troops, who us.:ally began with a skirmishing attack, and then were withdrawn t> jnake way for the main body to c->'ne into action. 'J'ha advantages of thi.< arra ng.vment were, that t i.c line of battle could be three times formed v/ith fresh troops, and that it was more adapted than any other for rapid changes of movemetit. in the tloaian legion the arms of the hsUai and prlncipts Avere the pilum or heavy javelin, and the svvoid and buckler ; and of the triarii^ the long spear, with the sword and buclcler. 5. Notwithstanding th^-^se a ivantages the qu^ncun.v we'it into ius, atibrds signal evidence of the great talents of the -. ar- thaginian general. ihe description of that battle has been mis- represented by i olard ; but it is accurately explained in the JIe~ moircs MlUtaires of M. Guischardt. If the quincunx disposition had been kept by the Roman army in that engagement, the event might have been very different ; for it would have disappointed the effect of an artlul manoeuvre planned by Hannibal, on observ- ing his enemy's army arranged in the unusual order of the pha- lanx. 6. The art of intrenchment was carried to perfection by the Komaas, particularly by Julius Ceesar, ^^ ith 60,000 men he ie- S8 ANOlEx^T mSTORY. tended himself in his intrenchments before Alexia, "^vhile the llne^ of circumvallation were attacked by 240,000 Gauls, and the liner; of countervallation by 80,000, without effect. These intrench- meijts con&isted of a ditch from nine to fifteen feet in depth and width, fenced on the inside by the mound of excavated earth, and 0n the outside by strong* stakes with pointed bra'aches. 7. In besieging- a town several camps were formed round the place, joined to one another by lines of circumvallation and coun- tei'vallation.. A mound of cavth {as;ger) was raised, heginn'vr.'^ by a gfentle slope from one of the camps, and gradually rising- io elevation as it approached the city. The front, where the worl: :men were employed, was defended by a curtain of hides fixed c : sfroris" posts. On this mound the eng-ines of attack, catapultm •and f.v. /..'■/■'", were advaiiced, till they played on the very ?pot which the besiegers wished to assail. The catapiiUce discharg^ed heavy stones, the baUs-tcc arrov/s. The same machines were used fey the besiegad for annoying the enemy. Vvhen the engines on the terrace had driven the besieged from the walls, the battering- ram (aries) was then brought up under a pent-house Qestado} ; and, if it once reached the wall, was g-enerally decisive of the fate of the town. The main object of the besieged was therefore %o prevent its approach by every power of annoyance. Stones, darts, and combustible matters were continually launched upon Che assailants ; and sometimes a mine was dug from the city to scoop away the terra.ce and all its eng-ines. These arts of attack and defence of fortified places were in general use among- the na- tions of antiqiuty, and continued down to modern times, till the invention of g-unpowder. 8. Ihe naval military art was utterly unknown among the Ro- mans till the first Punic war. A Carthaginian galley was the first model of a vessel of war. In the space of two manths they equipped a fleet of 100 g-alleys of five banks of oars, and 20 of three banks. I'he structure of those gallies, and the mode of ar- ranging the rowers, may be learned from the ancient sculptures and medals. The combatants at sea assailed at a dista^ ce with javelins, missile combustibles, and sometimes with cafapuliae and balistiz ; but the serious attack was made in boarding, when the vessels were grappled by means of a crane let down from the prow. 9. In the times of the empire the Romans maintained their dis- tant conquests, not only by their armies, but by their fleets. i he ships were moored in the large rivers and bays ; and both the ie,° g;ions and the fleets generally preserved a fixed station. SECTION XL. REFLECTIONS ARISING FROM A VIEW OF THE ROMAN HISTORY DURING THE COMMONWEALTH. 1. The history of all nations evinces, that there is an insep ara- l»iti ccojaection between the morals of a people juid their politic&I.. ANCIENT HISTORY, 89 prosperity. But we have no strong'er demonstration of this truth than the annals, of the Roman commonwealth. To limit to re'* publics alone the necessity of virtue as a principle, is a chimerical notion, fraught with dangerous consequences, ^uid leges sine, moribus ranee prqficiunf ? {laws ivithout morals avail nothing) is a sentiment equally applicable to all governments ; and no politi- cal system, however excellent its fabric, can possess any measure, of duration, without that pov/erful cement, virtue, in the princi- ples and manners of the people. (Sect. XIX, i 4 ) 2. The love of our country, and the desire for its rational liber-, ty, are noble and virtuous feelings ; and their prevalence is ever a test of the integrity of the national morals. But no term has been more prostituted than the word liberty. In a corrupted people the cry for liberty is heard the loudest among the most profligate of the community. With these its meaning has no re- lation to patriotism ; it imports no more than the aversion to re- straint ; and the personal character of tlie demagogue, and the private morals of his disciples, are alvvay? sufficient to vmmask the counterfeit. The spirit of patriotism and a general corrup- tion of manners cannot possibly be coexistent in the same age and nation. 3. On the other hand, while the morals of a people are pure, no public misfortune is irretrievable, nor any political situation so desperate, that hope may not remain of a favourable change. In such situations the spirit of patriotism pervading all ranks of the state will soon recover the national prosperity. The history of the Roman people, and that o[ the Grecian states, in various cri- ses, both of honour and of disgrace, afibrds proofs alike of this position and of its converse. 4. The national character of the R-omans seems to have under- gone its most remarkable change for the worse from the time of the destruction of their rival, Carthage. Sallust assigns the cause. Ante Cktrthagineni dtletam^ mttus hoslilis in bonis ar- iibus civiiatem retinebat. Sed uhi ilia formido meniibus decessif^ scilicet ea quce secundce. res amant^ lascivia afque superbia inra- sere. Before the destruction of Carthage^ the fear of their enemy kept the people in the practice of virtue ; but when the re- straint of fear ceased to influence tJieir conduct^ they abandoned themselves to projligacy and arrogance^ the usual cone o'init ants of prosperity. 5. In the last ages of the commonwealth avarice and ambition, unrestrained by moral principle, were the chief motives of the Roman conquests. It was sufficient reason for going to v/ar, that 9. country offered a tempting object to the ra-pai^ity and ambition of the military leaders. The conquest of Italy paved the way for the reduction of foreign nations. Hence the Romans import- ed, with their v/ealth, the m.tnners, the luxuries, and the vices of the nations v/hich they subdued. The generals returned not as formerly, after a successful war, to the labours of the field, and to a life of temperance and industry. They were now the govern- dm, of Ui»gdoi}is and provinces ; and at the period of their com- 8* ^0 ANCIENT HIST0R7. naand abri^ad, disdaining- the restraints of a subject, they cowld he satisfied with nothino: less than sovereignty at borne. The ar- mies, debauched by the plunder of ki:jo-doms, were complerely disposed to support them in all their schemes of ambition ; and the populace, won by corruption, always took part with the chief who best could pay for their favour and support. F orce or bri- bery oveiTuled every election ; and the inhabitants of distant states, now holding the right of citizens, were brought to Rome^ at the command of the demagogue, to influence any popular con- test, and turn the scale in his favour. In a government thus irre~ frievably destroyed by the decay of those springs which support- ed it, it was of little consequence by what particular tyrant, usur» per, or demagogue its ruin was fmally accomplished. 6. i rom a consideration of the rise and fall of the principal states of antiquity, it has been a commonly received opinion, that the constitution of empires has, like the human body, a period of gTov/th, maturity, decline, and extinction. But arguments from analogy are extremely deceitful, and particularly so when the o.nalogy is from physical to moral truths. 1 he human body is, iVorn its fabiic, naturally sn^ject to decay, and is perpetually un- dergoing a c]iange from time. Its organs, at first weak, attai* ^ladually their perfect strength, and thence, by a similar grada- tion, proceed to decay and dissolution. This is an immutable law of its nature. But the springs of the body politic do not necessa- rily undergo a perpetual change from time. It is not regularly progressive from weakness to strength, and thence to decay and dissolution ; nor is it under the influence of any principle of cor- ruption which may not be checked, and even eradicated, by whole- some laws. Ihus the beginning of the corruption of Sparta ie attributed to Lysander's breach of the institutions of Lycurgus, in introducing gold into the treasury of the state instead ol' it-s ii'on money. But was this a necessary, or an unavoidable mca- !^ure ? Perhaps a single vote in the senate decreed its adoption,. -.v'jd therefore another suffrage might have prevented, or long post- poned, the downfal of the eammonweaith. llie Roman republic owed its dissolution to the extension of its dominions. If it had b'-en a capital crime for any Roman citizen to-have proposed to Garry the arms of the republic beyond the limits of Italy, its con- stitution might have been preserved for many ages beyond the period of its actual duration. ^*' Accustom your mind,'' said Iho- aion to Ari^tias, " to discern, in the fate of nations, that recom- pence -v^liich thie great Author of nature has annexed to the prac- tice of virtue. Ko state ever ceased to be prosperous, but in con* s^equenee of having departed from those institutiuns to which she owed her prosperity/'' Kistory indeed has shown that all staler and empires have had their period of duration; but history, in- gtructing us in the causes which havo produced their decline and' fail, inculcates also this salutary lesson, that nations are in gene- ral the masters of theu- own destiny, and that they may, and most ©ertainly ought to aspire a.t immortality^ '7. It was a great dtsidtraium in as cient politics, that a govern*- ssLeat giiutud possess witbiu itseii" tiie ^ower of j^eriodicsa fd^j^.- mation ; a capacity of checking: any over^ro-'.vth of authority iia ai y of its bra?;ches, and of wLndiiig; up the machine, or bring-in^ back the constitution to its first prii ciples. To the want of such a power in the states of antiquity (Avhich they ineffectually en- deavoured to supply by such partial contrivances as the ostracism and petalism) we may certainly ascribe, in no small deg^ree, the decay of those states ; for in their governments, whfn the balance was once destroyed, the evil grew worse from day to day, and ad- mitted no remedy iDut a revolution, or entire cha ige of the sys- tem. The British constitution possesses this inestunable advan- tano-e overall the governments both of ancient and modern times, v/ith the single exception of the government of the United States of America. Besides the perpetual power of reform vested ia parliament, the constitution may be purified of every abuse, and brought back to its first principles, at the commencement of every itiigii. But of this we shall afterwards treat in Us proper place j SECTION XLI. ROME UNDER THE EMPERORS. 1. The battle o-f Actium decided the fate of the commonwealth ■and Octavius, now named Augustus, was master of the Roinaa Ci?ipire. He pessessed completely the sagacity of discerai)}g what character was best fitted for gaining the aff^ctions of the people whom he governed, and the versatility of temper and gen- ius to assume^ it. His virtues, though the result of policy, not of nature, were certainly favourable to the happiness, and even t» the liberties of his subjects. The fate of Caesar warned him of the insecurity of a' usurped dominion; and therefore, while he ^:tudiously imitated the engaging manners and clemency of his great predecessor, he afiected a much higher degree of modera' lion, and respect for the rights of the people. 2. The temple of Janus was shut, v/hich had been open for 18$ years, since the beginning of the second Punic war ; an event prodMctive of universal joy. "" The Romans (says Condillac) now believed themselves a free people, since they had no longer to fight fr their liberty.*''' l"he sovereign kept up this delusion, by maintaining the ancient forms of the republican constitution, in the election of magistrates, &c., though they were nothing more than forms. He even pretended to consider his own func- tion as merely a temporary administration for the public benefit. Invested with the consulate and censorship, he went through the regular forms of periodical election to those olRces, and at the end of the seventh year of his government actually announced to the senate his resignation of all authority. The consequence was a general supplication of the senate and people, that he would, not abandon the republic, which he had saved from destruction. *' Since it must be so,^' said he, '■'" i accept the empire for ten years, unless the public tranquillity shall, before the expiration of "lilsit tiiue, £'ei;«iit me ti? enjoy retijemtiitj whicii \ passionately 92 AJfClENT HISTOHY. lonj^ for/' He repeated the same mockery five times In the course ©f hi? g-overnment, accepting- the administration sometimes for ten, and sometimes only for five years. 3. It Avas much to the credit of Augustvis, that in the grovern- ment of the empire he reposed unlimited confidence in Mecsenas, a most able minister, who had sincerely at heart the interest and happiness of the people. By his excellent counsels all public af- fairs were conducted, and the most salutary laws enacted for the remedy of public grievances, and even the correction of the mor- als of the people. To his patronage literature and the arts owed their encouragement and advancement. By his influence and ■wise instructions Augustus assumed those virtues to which his heart was a stranger, and which, in their tendency to the happi- ness of his subjects, were equally effectual as if they had been the genuine fruits of his nature. 4. On the death of Marcellus, the nephew and son-in-law of Augustus, and a prince of great hopes, 23, A. C, the emperor be- stowed his chief favour on .Marcus Agrippa, giving hira his daugh- ter Julia, the widow of Marcellus, in marriage. Agrippa had considerable military talents, and was successful iu accomplishing the reduction of Spain, and subduing the revolted provinces of Asia. Augustus associated Agrippa '.vith himself in the ofiice of censor, and would probably have given him a share of the empire, if his death had not occasioned a new arra?:gement. Julia now took for her third husband Tiberius, who became the son-in-law of the emperor by a double tie, for Augustus had previeusly mar- ried his mother Livia. This artful woman, removing all of the imperial famiJy who stood betwixt her and the object of her am-- bition, thus made room for the succession of her son Tiberius, who, on his part, bent all his attention to gain the favour and con- fidence of Augustus. On the return of Til^erius from a success- ful campaign against the Germans, the people were made to soli- cit the emperor to confer on him the government oi the provinces .and the command of the armies. Augustus now gradually with- drew himself fi-om the cares of empire. He died soon after at Nola, in Campania, in the 76th year of his age, and the 44th of his imperial reign, A. U. C. 767, and A. 1;. 14. 5. A considerable part of the lustre thrown on the reign of Augustus is ov/ing to the splendid colouring bestowed^ on his character by the poets and other authors v/ho adorned his court, and repaid his favours by their adulation. Other sovereigns of much higher m.erits have b&en less fortunate in obtaining the ag- l^lause of posterity. -liiacrvmabiles Urguentur, ignotique, longa J>octe, carent quia vate sacro. HoR. Car. Lib. IV, 9. Uniamented and unknown they sink into obliviOn, because ihey have ne inspired bard to celebrate their praise,- ANCIENT HISTORY. 95 One great etent disting^uished the reign of Augustus, the birtk of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, which, according to the- best authorities, happened A. U. C. 754, and four years before the viilg-ar date of the christian asra.* 5. Augustus had named i'iberius his heir, together -with hi« mother Livia ; and had substituted to them Drusus, the son of Tiberius, and Germanicus. I'lberius was vicious, debauched^^i and cruel ; yet the very dread of his character operated in secu- ring an easy succession to the empire. An embassy from the sen- ate entreated iiiin to accept the government, which lie modestly affected to decline, but suffered himself to be won by their suppli- cations. Notv/ithstauding these symptoms of moderation, it soon appeared that the power enjoyed by his predecessor was too lim- ited for the ambition of Tiberius. It was not enough that the substance of the republic was gone ; the very appearance of it was now to be demolished. The people were no longer assem- bled, and the magistrates of the state were supplied by the impe- rial will. 6. Germanicus, the nephew of Tiberius, became the object of liis jealousy, from the glory which he had acquired by his jnilila- ry exploits in Germany, and the high favour in which he stood with the lioman people. He was recalled in the midst of his suc- cesses, and dispatched to the oriental provinces, where he s&on after died ; and it was generally believed that he was poisoned by the emperor's command. 7. iElius Sejanus, prefect of the praetorian guards, the favour- ite counsellor of Tiberius, and the obsequious minister of his ty- ranny and crimes, conceived the daring project of a revolution, which should place himself on the throne, by the extermination of the whole iaiperial family. Drusus, the son of the emperor, ^vas destroyed by poison. Agrippina, the widow of Germanicus, with her elder son, were banished ; aad the younger son was con- fined in prison. Tiberius was persuaded by Sejanus, under the pretencfi of the discovery of plots for his assassination, to retire iroiu Home to the isle of (Japreae, aad devolve the government upon his faithful miaister. but while Sejanus, thus far success- ful, meditated the last step to the accomplishment of his wishes, by the murder of bis sovereign, his treason was detected ; and the emperor dispatched his mandate to the senate, which was followed by his imiiicdiate sentence and execution. Ihe public indigna- tion was not satislied with kis death ; the populace tore his body to pieces, and iiung it into the i iber. ii. iiberius now became utterly negligent of the cares of go- vernment, and the imperial power was displayed only in public ex- €cutions,coniiscatijns,and scenes of cruelty and rapine. At ieagth the tyrant failing sictc v^as strangled in his bed by Aiacro, the pr«* feet of the praetorian guards, in the 7l>tli year of his age, and the 2od of his reign. * "^ee Dr. Fiayfair's System of Chronology, p. 49. 50, a work of gre^l '^seartb auU actmaey, and by iai" the cest on thad. subject^: 94 ANCIENT HISTORY. 9. In the 18th year of Tiberius our Lord and ?faviour Jesuj Christ, the divine author of our rclio-ion, suffered death upon the cross, a sacrifice and propitiation for the sins of mankind, A. D. 23. 10. Tiberius had nominated for his heir, Caligula the son of Germanicus, his grandson i-y adopt>n ; and had joined with hira Tiberius the son of Drusus, his grandson by blood. The former enjoyed, on his father's account, the favour of the people ; and tiie senate, to gratify them, set aside the right of his colleague, and conferred on him the empire undivided. The commencement of his reign was signalized by a few acts of clemency, as^d even good, policy. He restored the privileges of the comitia, and abolished arbitrary prosecutions for crimes of state. But, tyrannical and cruel by nature, he substit'iled military execution for le^al pun* ishment. The provinces were loaded with the most oppressive taxes, and daily confiscations filled the imperial coffers. The fol- lies and absurdities of C-aiigula were equal to his vices, and it is hard to say whether he was most the object of hatred or of con- tempt to his subjects, xie perished by assassination in the fourth year of his reign, the twenty-ninth of his age, A. U. C. 794, A. D.42. 11. Claudius, the uncle of Caligula, was saluted emperor by the praetorian gua?ds,who had been the murderers of his nephew. He was the son of Octavia, the sister of Augustus ; a man of weai in- tellects, and of no education, iiis short rtign was marked by an enterprize of importance. He undertook the reduction of Uritain, and after visiting the islamd in person, left his geucrals, f iautius and Vespasian, to prosecute a war which was cairied on for seve- ral years with various suxcess. The bilures or inliabitaats of South V.'aies, under their king Caractacus (Oaradoc), made a brave re- sistaiice, but were iinaiiy defoa.ted ; and Caractacus was Ud cap- tive to Rome, where the magnanimity of his demeanour proourcd him respect and admiration. 12. ihe civil administration of Claudius was weak and con- temptible, lie was the slave even of his domestics, and the dupe of his infamous wives Messalina and Agrippina. The foi'mer, a- bandoned to the most shameful profligacy, was at length put to death on suspicion of treasonable designs. I'he latter, who was the daughter of Germanicus, bent her utmost endeavours to se- cure the succession to the empire to her son Domitius Oenobar- dus,and employed every engine of vice and inhumanity to remove the obstacles to the accomplishment of her wishes. Having at length prevailed on Claudius to adopt her son, and confer on him the title of Caesar, to the exclusion of his own son Britannicus,sh0 now made room for the immediate elevation of Domitius, by poir- soningher husband. Claudius was put t» dsatk m ths l^tli yeaT of his rei§^n, and the 63d of his ag^e. Alf STENT mSTORT. 9^ SECTION XLIL 1. The son of Agrippina asstimed the title of N^ro Clauduif, • He had enjoyed the benefit of a good cducati in under the philos- opher Seneca, but reaped from his iastruction? no other fruit than a pedantic affectation of taste aud learning-, with no real preten- sion to either. V\ hile contronled by his tutor Seneca, and by Bjrrhus, captain of the praetorian gfuards, a nian of worth and ability, Nero maintained for a short ♦ime a decency of public con- duct ; but the restraint was intolerable, and natMre soon broke out. His real character 'vvas a compound of ev^ry thing- that is "base and inhuman, in the murder of his m'^'b^T A^'ii pi' a he reveiig'ed the crime which she hadcommitld iu iHising- hi.'i to the throne ; he rewarded the fidelity of Bunhus, by poisoning- him ; and as a last kindness to his tutor Seneca, he allowed him to chuse the mode of his death, it was his darling- amusement to exhibit on the sta":e and amphitheatre as an actor, musician, or g-ladiator. At leng-th, become the object of universal hatred and coivtempt, a rebellion of his subjects, headed by \ index, an illustrious Gaul, hurled tliis monster from the throne. He had not courage to attempt resistance • and a slave, at his own re- quest, dispatched him with a da;2;-g-er. JNero perished in the 30th year of his age, after a reign of fourteen years, 4 . D. 69. 2. Galba, the successor of Nero, was of an ancient and illus- trious family. He was in the 73d year of his age when the sen- ate, ratifying the choice ^f the praetorian bands, proclaimed him emperor. But an impolitic rigour of discipline soon disgusted the army ; the avarice of his disposition, grudging the popidaco their favourite jiames and spectacles, deprived him of their aftecti(ms ; and some iniquitous prosecutions and confiscati'^ns excited gene- ral discontent and mutiny. Galba, adopted and designed fr r bis successor the able and virtuous Piso ; a measure which excited the jeaJousy of Otho, his former favourite, and led him to form the daring plan of raising himself to the throne by the destri-.c- tion ef both. He found the prectcrians apt to his purpose. J hey proclaimed him emrcror, and presented him, as a grateful offer- ing, the heads of Gal; a and Tiso, who were slain in quelling the insurrection. Galba had reigned seven months. Major pritato visus^ dwn pritafusfuii^ et oniniuin consensu capax iriperi^ nisi imperaiset. lacitus. He appeared to he gnuter than a j:ri:iaie y?um, n-}iile he iras in a private station ; and by the consent of all Wits capable of governing^ if he had not toverned. 3. Otho had a formidable rival in Vitellius, who had been pro- claimed emperor by his army in German)^ It is hard to say which cf the competitors was, in point of abilities, tiie more des- picable, or in chaiacter the more infamous. A decisive battle was fought at JBedriacum, near Iv^autua, where Otho was defeat- ed, and in a fit of despair ended his life by his own hand, after a .ieisrn of tkree mouths, A. D. 70. SG A!^«IENT HlSTORir. 4. The rci^n of Vitellius was of eight months' duration. H« is said to have proposed Nero for his model, and it was just that he should resemble him in hi? fate. Vespasian had obtained from Nero the charge of the war against the Jews, which he had conducted with ability and success, and was proclaimed emperor Tdj his troops in the east. A great part of Italy submitted to Ves- pasian^s jo-enerals ; a.nd Vitellius meanly capitulated to save his life, by a resignation of the empire. The people, indignant at his dastardly spirit, compelled him to an effort of resistance ; but the attempt was fruitless. Priscus, one of the generals of Ves- pasiai, took possession of P.ome ; and Vitellius was massacred,- and his body flung- iiito the Tiber. 5. Vespasian, though of mean descent, was worthy of the em- pire, and reigned with high populaj'ity for ten years. He posses- sed great clemency of disposition. His manners were affable and engagirf;;, and his mode of life v(-as characterized by simplicity and frugality. Ke respected the ancient forms of the constitu- tion, restorec' the senate to its deliberative rights, and acted by its avtbority in the administration of all public affairs. The only bletTijsh in his character was a tincture of avarice, and even that is greatly extenuated by ihe laudable and patriotic use which he maoe of his revenues. Urder his reign, and by the arms of his son Titus, was terminated the war against the Jews. 1 hey had been broijght under the yoke of Kome by Pompey, who took Je- rusalem. They were governed for some time fey Herod, as vice- roy under Augustus. The tyranny of his son Archelaus was the cause of his banishment, and of the reduction of Judaea into the ©rdirary condition of a Roman province. The Jews rebelled on every slight occa'^im, and Nero had sent Vespasian to reduce thf^m to order. He had just prepared for the siege of Jerusalem, when he was called to Rome to assume the government of the empire. 1 itus wished to spar© the city, and tried every means to prevail on the Jews to surrender ; but in vain. 1 heir ruin wa» decreed by Heaven. After an obstinate blockade of six months Jerusalem was taken by storm, the temple burnt to ashes, and the city buried in ruins. The I»oman empire was now in profound peace. Vespasian associated Titus in the imperial dignity, and soon after died, universally lamented, at, the age of sixty-nine, A. D. 79. 6. The character of Titus was humane, munificent, dignified, and splendid. His short reign was a period of great happiness and prosperity to the empire, ar.d his government a constant ex- ample of virtue, justice, and beneficence. In his time, happened that dreadful eruption of Vesuvius, which overwhelmed the cit- ies of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The public losses from these calamities he repaired by the sacrifice of his fortune and reven- ues. He died in the third year of his reign, and fortieth of his age ; ever to be remembered by that most exalted epithet, delicice humani gtneris Qhe delight of mankiiid). 7. Lomitian, the brother of Titus, was suspected of murdering kim by poison, and succeed to the empire, A. D. 81. He was a vicious and inhuHiaa tyraiito A rebellion in Germany gave him ANCIEKT KISTOilY. ^i occasion to signalize the barbarity of his (hsposiiiou ; and its con- sequences were long felt in the sanguinary pani^hments inflieted under the pretence of justice. The prodigal and voluptuous spir- it of this reign was a singular contrast to its tyranny/ and inhuman- ity. The people were loaded with insupportable taxes to furnish spectacles and games for their amusement. The successes of Ag- ricola in Britain threw a lustre on the Eoman arms, no part of which reflected on the emperor, for he treated this eminent com- ma.nder with the basest ingratitude. After fifteen tedious years this monster fell at last the victim of assassination, the empress herself conducting the plot for his murder, A. D, 90. 8. Cocceius Ncrva, a Cretan by birth, was chosen emperor by the senate, from respect to the probity and virtues of his character. He was too old for the burden of government, and of a temper too placid for the restraint of rooted corruptions and enormities. His reign v/as weak, inefficient, and contemptible. His only act of real merit as a sovereign, was the adoption of the virtuous Trajan as his successor. Nerva died after a reign of sixteen months, A. D. 98. 9. Ulpius Trajanus possessed every talent and every virtue that can adorn a sovereign. Of great military abilities, and an inde- fatigable spirit of enterprize, he raised the Roman arms to their anctent splendour, and greatly enlarged the boundaries of the em- pire. He subdued the Dacians, conquered the Partliians, and brought under subjection Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Arabia Fe- lix. Nor v/as he less eminent in promoting the happiness of his subjects, and the internal prosperity of the empire. His largesses were humane and munificent. He was the friend and support of the virtuous indigent, and the liberal patron of every useful art and talent. His bounties were supplied by well judged economy in his private fortune, and a wise administration of the public fi- nances. In his own life he was a man of simple manners, modesty affable, fond of the familiar intercourse of his friends, and sensible to all the social and benevolent affections. He merited the sur- name universally bestowed on him, Trajanus Opfmius. He died at the age of sixty-three, after a glorious reign of nineteen years, A. D. 118. 10. jElius Adrianus, nephew of Trajan, and worthy to fill his place, was chosen emperor by the army in the east, and his title was acknowledged by all orders of the state. He adopted a po- licy different from that of his predecessor. Judging the limits of the empire too extensive he abandoned all the conquests of Trajan bounding the eastern provinces by the Euphrates. He visited in person all the provinces of the empire, reforming in his progress all abuses, relieving his subjects of every oppressive burden, re- building the ruined cities, and establishing every v/here a regular and mild administration, under magistrates of approved probity and humanity. He gave a discharge to the indigent debtors of the state, and appointed liberal institutions for the education of i]:e children of the poor. To thi talents of an able politician he join- ed an excellert *^asie in the liberal arts. His reign, wbich was of twenty-two years' duration, was fin cera both Oi public happi- 9 98 ^ ANCIENT HISTORY. ness and splendour. In tbe last year of his life he bequeathed to the empire a double legacy, in adopting- for his immediate success- or Titus Aurelius Antoninu?, and substituting- Anninus Verus to suc- ceed upon his death. These were the Antonines, who during" for- ty years ruled the Roman empire with consummate wisdom, abili- ty, and virtue. Adrian died A. D. 138, at the age of sixty-two. SECTION XLIII. AGE OF THE ANTONINES, &c. 1. The happiest reigns furnish the fewest events for the pen of history. Antoninus was the father of his people. He preferred peace to the ambition of conquest ; yet in every necessary war the Roman arms had their wonted renown. The British province was eiilarged'by the conquests of Urbicus, and some formidable rebellions w^erc subdued in Germany, Dacia, and the east. The domestic administration of the sovereign was dignified, splendid, and humane. With all the virtues of Numa, his love of /religion, peaee,and justice,hc had the superior advantage of diffusing these blessings over a great portion of the world. He died at the age of ^^venty-four, after a reign of twenty-tWo years, A. D. 161. 2. Annius Verus assumed, at his accession, the name of Mar- cus Aurelius Antoninus, and bestowed on his brother Lucius Ve- rus a joint administration of the empire. 1 he former was as emi- nent for the worth and virtues of his character, as the latter was remarkable for profligacy, meanness, and vice. Marcus Aurelius was attached both by nature and education to the Stoical philoso- phy, which he has admirably taught and illustrated in his Medita- tions. His own life was the best commentary on his precepts. The Parthians were repulsed in an attack upon the empire, and a rebellion of the Germans was subdiied. In these wars the mean and worthless Vferus brought disgrace upon the R.oman name in every region where he commanded ; but fortunately relieved the empire of its fears by an early death. The residue of the reign of Marcus Aurelius was a continued blessing to his subjects. He reformed the internal policy of the state, regulated the govern- ment of the provinces, and A-isited himself, for the purposes of bcnefxence, the most distant quarters of his dominions. " He appeared," says an ancient author, ''like some benevolent deity, diffusing around him universal peace and happiness." He died in Pannonia, in the 59th year of his age, and 19th of his reign, A. D. 180. 3. Commodus, his most unworthy son, succeeded to the em- pire on his death. He resembled in character his mother Faus- tina, a woman infamous for all manner of vice. Her profligacy w-as known to all but her husband Marcus, by whom she was re- garded as a paragon of virtue. Commodus had an aversion to every rational and liberal pursuit, and a fond attacjnnent to the sports of the circus and amphitheatre, the hunting of wii< beasts, and the combats of boxers and gladiators. The measures ©f tbfe ANCIENT HISTORY. 99 reign were as uuimportant as the character of the sovereign was contemptible. His concubine and some of his chief officers pre- vented their own destruction by assassinating- the tyrant, in the 32d year of his as^e, and l3th of his reign, A. D. 193. 4. The praetorian guards gave the empire to Publius Ilelviiu? Pcrtinax, a man of mean birth, who had risen to esteem by his virtues and raihtary talents. He applied himself with zeal to the correction of abuses; but the austerity of his governmevit de- prived him of the afl'ections of a corrupted people. He had dis- appointed the army of a promised reward, and, after a reign of eighty-six days, was murdered in the ijnpcrial palace by the same hands which had placed him on the throne. 5. The empire was now put up to auction by the prx;torian?, and v/as purchased by Didius Julianus ; while Pescenius JNiger in Asia, Clodius Albinu? in Britain, and Septimius Severus in Illyria, were each chosen emperor by the troops which they com- manded, Severus marched to Rome, and, on his approach, the praetpriaiis abandoned Didius, who had failed to pay the stipula- ted price far his elevation *, and the senate formally deposed to put him to death. Severus beiisg now master of Jlome, prepared to reduce the provinces v/hich had acknowledged the sovereignty cf ^"iger and Albiuus. These two rivals were successively subdued. Niger was slain in battle, and Albinus fell by his ov/n hands. The admiiiisaation of Severus v/as wise and equitable, but ti^c- trred with despotic rigour. It v/as his purpose to erect the fa*bric of absolute monarchy, and all his institutions operated with able policy to that end. lie possessed .eminent military talents. He gloriously boasted, that, having received the empire oppressed with foreign and domestic wars, he left it in profound, universal, and honourable peace. He carried with him into Britain his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, whose unpromising dispositions clouded his latter days. In this war the Caledonians under Fingal are said to have defeated, on the- l)anks of the Carron, Caracal^ the son of the king of iho vv^orld. Severus died at York, in the tj6tji year of his age, after a reign of eighteen years, A. D. 'Ml. G. The mutual hatred of Caracalla and Geta was increased by their association iii the empire ; and the former, Avilh brutal inhu- manity, caused his brother to be openly murdered in the arms of his mother. His reign, which was of six years' duration, and one continued series of atrocities, was at length terminated by ^^ia-:- sination, A. 1). 217. 7. Those disorders in the empire v/hich began with Commo- dus continued for about a century, till the accession of Diocle* tian. That interveJ was filled l)y the reigns of Heliogabalus, Al- exander Severus, Maximin, Gordian, Decius, Gallus, V aJerianus, Gailienus, Claudius, Aurelianus, Tacitus, Frobus, and Cams ; a period of which the annals furnish neither amiise^ient nor useful information. The single exception is the reign of Alexander Se- verus, a mild, beneficent, and enlightened prince, whose charac- ter shines the more from the contrast of those' who preceded and folio v/ed him> 100 AKGILI^'T inSTORV. y. Dioclctiaii Lcgaii his reign A. D. 284, and iiitrodaced a new ♦>ystem of administration, dividing the empire into four g-overn- xaents^ under as many princes. Maximian shared with him the fitle cf Augustus, and Galerius and Coustantius were declared Caesarp. Each had his separate department or province, all nomi- -ually supreme, but ia reality under the direction of the superior T.alerits and authority cf Diocletian : an unwise policy, which de- ^^ended for its eiScncy on individual ability alone. Diocletian and Maximian, trusting to the continuance of that order in the em- pire which their vigour had established, retired from sovereignty, and iei't the government in the hands of the Caesars ; but Constan- tino died pcon after in Brltai)i, and his son Constantius was pro- i;laimed eiiiperor at York, thov;gh Gaieiius did not acknowledge his title. iViaximian, however, having once more resumed the purple, bc£tov/ed on Ccusiantine his daugliter in marriage, and thus invested him with a double title to empire. On the death of Mtiximian and Galeriiis, Constantine had no other competitor but Maxeutius, the son of the foniier, and the contest between them was decided by the sword. Maxentius fell in battle, and Con- :-fantine remaiued sole master of the empire. 9. The administration of Constantine was, in the beginning of his reign, mild, equitable, a.nd politic. Though zealously attach- ed to the christian faith, he made no violent innovations on the r(jligion of the state. Pie introduced order and economy into the clyil gcrernnient, and repressed every species of oppression and corrupiion. Eni his na.tural temper was severe and cruel, and the latter part of his reign was as much deformed by intolerant zeal and sa!5guinary rigour, as the former had been remarkable for equity and benignity. From this unfavourable change of charac- ter }ic lost the aliections of his subjects ; and, from a feeling pro- bably of reciprocal disgust, he removed the seat of the Roman empire to Byzantium, nowf termed Constantinople. Ihe court followed the sovereign ; the opulent proprietors were attended by their slaves and retainers. Rome was in a few years greatly de- populated, and the new capital swelled at once to enormous mag- nitude. It was characterized by eastern splendour, luxury, and voluptuousness ; and the cities of Greece were despoiled for its embellishments. Of the internal policy of the empire we shall treat iii the next section. In an expedition against the Persians Constantine died at Nicomedia, in the 30th year of his reign, and C3d of hi<5 age, A. D. 357. In the time of Constantine the Goths had made several irruptions on the empire, and, though repulsed and beatei:, began gradually to encroach on the provinces. SECTION XLIV. STiTE OV THE ROMAN EMPIRE AT THE TIME OF CON- STANTINE. HIS SUCCESSORS. 1. In lieu of the ancient republican distinctions, which were founded chiefly on personal merit, a rigid subordination of raai; ANCIENT HISTORY. 101 and office now went through all the orders of the state. The magistrates were divided into three classes, di^tinsfoi^hed by the. unmeaning titles of, 1, the illustrious ; 2, the respectable ; 3, the clarissimi. The epithet of illustrious was bestowed on, 1, the consuls and patricians; 2, the prsetoriau praefects of Rome and Constantinople ; 3, the masters-g-eneral of the cavalry and infan- try, 4, the seven ministers of the palace. The consuls were created by the sole authority of the emperor : their dignity was inefficient ; they had no appropriate function in the state, and their names served only to give the legal date to the year. The dignity of patrician was not, as in ancient times, a hereditary dis- tinction, but was bestowed, as a title of honour, by the emperor #n his favourites. From the time of the abolition of the praeto- rian bands by Constantine, the dignity of prtetorian praefect v/as conferred on the civil governors of the four departments of the empire. These were, the East, Illyria, Italy, -and the Gauls. They had the supreme administration of justice and of the finan» ces, the power of supplying all the inferior magistracies in their district, and an appellative jurisdiction from all its tribunals. In- dependent of their authority, Rome and Constantinople had each its own prefect, who was the chief magistrate of the city. In the second class, the respectable, were the proconsuls oi' Asia, Achaia, and Africa, and the military comites and ducts^ generals of the imperial armies. The third class, clarissimi^ comprehend- ed the inferior governors and magistrates of the provinces, respon- sible to the praefects and their deputies. 2. The intercourse between the court and provinces was main- tained by the construction of roads, and the institution of regular posts or couriers ; under which denomination were ranked the numberless spies of government, whose duty was to convey all sort of intelligence from the remotest quarter of the empire to its chief seat. Every institution was calculated to support the fabrie of despotism. Torture was employed for the discovery of crimes. Taxes and impositions of every nature were prescribed and levied by the sole authority of the emperor. The quantity and rate was fixed by a census made over all the provinces, and pa,rt was generally paid in money, part in the produce of the lands ; a burden frequently found so grievous as to prompt to the neglect of agriculture. Every object of merchandize and manu- facture was likewise highly taxed. Subsidies, moreover, were exacted from all the cities, under the name of free gifts, on vari- ous occasions of public concerns ; as the accession of an emperor, bis consulate, the birth of a prince, a victory over the barbarians, or any other event of similar importance. 3. An impolitic distinction was m^e between the troops sta- tioned in the distant provinces and those in the heart of the em- pire. The latter, termed palatines^ enjoyed a higher pay and more peculiar favour, and, having less employment, spent their time in idleness and luxury ; -ivhile the former, termed the border- ers^ who, iu fact, had the care of the empire, and were exposed to perpetual hard service, had, with au iiiit;;ior rcwardj the mortifi- 102 ANCIENT HISTORY. cation of fcGling themselves regarded as of meaner rank than t^ eir fellow-soldier?. Constantine likewise, from a timid policy of guarding against mutinies of the troops, reduced the legion from ks ancient compliment of 5G0O, 6000, 7000, and 8000, to 1000 or 1500 ; and debased the body of the army by the intermixture of Scythians, Goths^ and Germans. 4. This immense mass of heterogeneous parts, which inter- nally laboured with the seeds of dissolution and corruption, was kept together for some time by the vigorous exertion of despotic authority. The fabric was splendid and august ; but it v/anted both that energy of constitution and that real dignity, which, in former times, it derived from the exercise of heroic and patriotic virtues. 5. Constantine, with a destructive policy, had divided the em- pire among five princes, three of them his sons, and two nephews ; but Constantius, the youngest of the sons, finally got rid of all his competitors, and ruled the empire alone with a weak and impo- tent sceptre. A variety of domestic broils, and mutinies of the troops against their generals, had left the western frontier to the mercy of the barbarian natiois. The Franks, Saxons, Alemianni, and Sarmatians, laid waste all the fine countries watered by the Bhine, and the Persians made dreadful incursions on the provin- ces of the east. Constantius indolently wasted his time in theolo- gical controversies, but was prevailed on to adopt one prudent measure, the appointment of his cousin Julian to the dignity of Casar. 6. Julian possessed many heroic qualities, and his mind was formed by nature for the sovereignty of a great people ; but, edu- cated at Athens, in the schools of the Platonic philosophy, he had inifortunately conceived a rooted antipathy to the doctrines of Christianity. With every talent of a general, and possessing the confidence and affection of his troops, he once more restofed the glory of the Roman arms, and successfully repressed the inva- sions of the barbarians. His victories excited the jealousy of Constantius, who meanly resolved to remove from his comnmnd the better part of his troops. 1 he consequence was a declaration of the army, that it was their choice that Julian should be their emperor. Constantius escaped the ignominy that awaited him by dying at this critical jnncturc, and Julian was immediately ac- knowledged sovereign of the Roman empire. 7. The refortnation of civil abuses formed the first object of his attention, which he next turned to the reformation, as he thought, of religion, by the suppression of Christianity. He began by re- formii.g the pagan theology, and sought to raise the character of its priests, by inculcating purity of life and sanctity of morals ; -thus btariug involuntary testimony to the superior excellence, in those respects, of that religion which he laboured to abolish. Without persecuting.he attacked the christians by the more dan- gerous policy of treating them with contempt, and removing them, as visionaries, from all employments of public trust. He refused them the benefit of the laws to decide their differences, because their religioa forbade ^\l ftissensious > aud they wei'e debaireci tii© ANCIENT HTSTORr. i03 stuf^ies of literature and philosophy, which they could not learn but from pagan authors. He was himself, as a pagan, the slave of the most bigoted superstition, believing in omens and auguries, and fancying himself favoured with an actual intercourse with the g=>ds and goddesses. To avenge the injuries which the empire had sustained from the Persians, Julian marched into the heart of Asia, and was for some time in the train of conquest, when, in a fatal engagement, though crowned with victory, he M'as slain, at the age of thirty-one, after a reign e{ three years, A. D. 363. 0. The Roman army was dispirited by the death of its com- mander. They chose for their emperor Jovian, a captain of the domestic guards, and purchased a free retreat from the dominions of Persia by the ignominious surrender of five provinces, which had been ceded by a former sovereign to GaUrius. The short reign of Jovian, a period of seven months, was mild and equita- ble. He favoured Christianity, and restored its votaries to all their privileges as subjects. He died suddenly at the age of thir- ty-threo. 0. Valentinian was chosen emperor by the army on the death of Jovian ; a man of obscure birth and severe manners, but of considerable military talents. He associated with himself in the empire his brother Valens, to whom he gave the dominion of the eastern provinces, reserving to himself the w^estern. 'Ihe Per- sians, under Sapor, were making inroads on the former, and the latter was subject to continual invasion from the northern barba- rians. They were successfully repelled by Valentinian in many battles ; and his domestic administration was wise, equitable, and politic. The christian religion was favoured by the emperor, though not promoted by the persecution of its adversaries ; a con- trast to the conduct of his brother Valens, who, iutemperately sup- porting the Arian heresy, set the whole provinces in a flame, and drew a swarm of invaders upon the empire in the guise of frijnds and allies, who in the end entirely subverted it. Ihese woie the Goths, who, migrating from Scandinavia, had, in the second century, settled on the banks of the Palus jYloeotis, and tlience gradually extended their territory. In the reign of Va- lens they took possession of Dacia, and were known by the dis- tiiict appellation of Ostrogoths and Visigoths, or eastern and west- ern Goths ; a remarkable people, whose manners, customs, gov- ernment, and laws, a"e afterwards to be particularly noted. 10. Valentinian died on an expedition against the Alcmanni, and vv^as succeeded in the empire of the west by Gratian, his eld- est son, a boy of .sixteen years of age, A. D. 367. t'alens, in the east, was the scourge of his people. 1 he Huns, a new race of barL-arians, of Tartar or Siberian origin, now poured down on the provinces both of the v/est and east.' The Goths, comparatively a civilized people, tied before them. The Visigoths, who were fiist attacked, requested protection from the empire, and V^alens imprudently gave them a settlement in Thrace. The Ostrogoths made the same request, and, on refusal, forced, their Vv-ay into the saiue proviuce, Yaieas gave ih^m be.ttie at Adrianople, Hia 104 ANCIENT KlSTORt". army Was defeated, and he was slain in the engagement. The Goths, vinresisted, ravaged Achaia and Pannonia. 11. Gratian, a youth of great worth, but of little energy of cha- racter, assumed 1 heodosius as his colleague. On the early death of Gratian, and the minority of his son Valentinian II, Theodo- sius governed, with great ability, both the eastern and western empire. The character of Theodosius, deservedly surnamed the greats was worthy of the best ages of the Roman state. He suc- cessfully repelled the encroachments of the barbarians, and secur- ed, by wholesome laws, the prosperity of his people. He died, after a reign of eighteen years, assignhig to his sons, Arcadius and Honorius, the separate sovereignties of east and west, A. D. 395. SECTION XLV. !»ROGRESS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, FROM ITS INSTITUTION TO THE EXTINCTION OF PAGANISM IN THE REIGN OF THEODOSIUS. 1. The reign of Theodosius was signalized by the downfal of the pagan superstition, and the full establishment of the christian religion in the Roman empire. This great revolution of opinions is highly worthy of attention, and naturally induces a retrospect to the condition of the christian church from its institution down to this period. It has been frequently remarked (because it is an obvious truth), that at the time of our Saviour's birth a divine revelation seemed to be more peculiarly needed ; and that, from a concurrence of circumstances, the state of the world was then tmcommonly fa- vourable for the extensive dissemination of the doctrines Avhich it conveyed. The union of so many nations under one power, and the extension of civilization, were favourable to the progress of a Teiigion which prescribed universal charity and benevolence. Ihe gross superstitions of paganism, and its tendency to corrupt instead of purifying the morals, contributed to explode its influ- ence with every thinking mind. Even the prevalent philosophy ©f the times, epicurism, more easily understood than the refine- ments of the Flatonists, and more grateful than the severities of the Stoics, tended to degrade human nature to the level of the brute creation. The christian religion, thus necessary for the re- formation of the world, found its chief partizans in those who were the friends of virtue, and its enemies among the votaries of Tice. 2. The persecution which the christians suffered from the Ro' xnans has been deemed an exception to that spirit of toleration wiiich they showed to the religions of other nations ; but they were tolerant only to those whose theologies were not hostile to their own. Ihe religion of the Romans was interwoven witk their political constitution. 1 he zeal of the christians, aiming at the suppression of all idolatry, was naturally regarded as danger- «U£ to the state 9 dud h«ace tbey were tJie Qbj^gt e( b&tied an^l ANCIENT HISTORY* 105 persecution. In the first century the christian church sufiered deeply under Nero and Domitian ; yet those persecution? had no tendency to check the prog^ress of its doctrines. 3. It is matter of question what was the form of the primitive church, and the nature of its government ; and on this head much difference of opinion obtains, not only between the catholics and protestants, but between the different classes of the latter, as the Lutherans and Calvinists. It is moreover an opinion, that our Saviour and his apostles, confining their precepts to the pure doc- trines of religion, have left all christian societies to reg^ulate their frame and government in the manner best suited to the civil con- stitutions of the countries in which they are established. 4. In the second century the books of the New Testament were collected into a volume by the elder fathers of the church, and received as a canon of faith. The Old Testament had been trans- lated from the Hebrew into Greek, by order of Ptolemy Philadel- phus, 284 years before Christ. The early church suffered much from an absurd endeavour of the more learned of its votaries to reconcile its doctrines to the tenets of the pagan philosophers : hence the sects of the Gnostics and Ammoniaus, and the Platoni- sing- christians. In the second century the Greek churches be- gan to form provincial associations, and to establish general rules of gove^'araent and discipline. Assemblies were held, termed ^^- nodoi and concilia^ over which a metropolitan presided. A short time after arose the superior order of patriarch, presiding over a large district of the christian world ; and a subordination taking place even among these, the bishop of Rome was acknowledged the chief of the patriarchs. Persecution still attended the early church, even under those excellent princes, Trajan, Adrian, and the Antonines ; and, in the reign of Severus, the whole provinces of the empire v/ere stained with the blood of the martyrs. 5. The third century was more favourable to the progress of Christianity and the tranquillity of its disciples. In those times it suffered less from the civil arjn than from the pens of the pagan philosophers. Porphyry, Phiiostratus, k.c. ; but these attacks call- ed forth the zeal and talents of many able defenders, as Origen, Dionysius, and Cyprian. A part of the Gauls, Germany, and Britain, received the light of the gospel in. this century. 6. In the fourth century the christian church was alternately persecuted and cherished by the Roman emperors. Among its oppressors we rank Diocletian, Galerius, and Julian ; among its favourers, Constantino and his sons, Valentinian, \ alens, Gratian, and the excellent Theodosius, in whose reign the pagan supersti- tion came to its final period. 7. From the age of Numa to the reign of Gratian the Pi,omans preserved the regular succession of the several sacerdotal colleges, the pontiffs, augurs, vestals, Jlamines^ salii, &;c., whose authority, though weakened in the latter ages, was still protected by the laws. Even the christian emperors held, like their pagan prede- cessors, the office of pontifex maximus. Gratian was the first \yho refused that ancient dignity as a profanation. In the time ci' Theodosius the cause of Christianity aud of paganism wa^ lOG ANCIENT h;Storv. solemnly deba,tcd in the Roman senate between Ambrose, arch'bi- shop of Milan, the champion of the former, and Symmachus, the defender of the latter. The cause of Christianity was triamphanl, and the senate issued its decree for the abolition of pag'anisjn, whose downfal in the capital was soon followed by its extinction in the provinces. Theodosius, with able policy, permitted no pev- secutioa of the ancient relig-ion, which perished with more rapidi- ty, because its fall was gentle and u.. resisted. 8. But the christian church exhibited a superstition in some respects little less irrational than polytheism, in the worship of saints and relics ; and many novel tenets, unfounded in the pre- cepts of our Saviour and hi? apostle?, v/ere manifestly borrowed from the pagan schools. Ihe doctrii'.es of the Platonic philsso- phy seem to have led to the notions of an intermediate btate of purification, celibacy of the priests, ascetic mortiiicatious, penau- SECTION XLVI. EXTINCTION OF THE ROMAN EMPIllE IN TIIE -WEST. 1. In the reig-ns of Arcadius and Honorius, the sons and suc- cessors of Thecdosiu?, the barbarian nations established them- selves in the frontier provinces both of the east aad west. 'I'ho odosius had committed the g-overnment to Pt.uf!nus and Stilicho during the nonage of his sons ; and their fatal disscntions gave every advantage to the enemies of the empire. The Huns, actu- ally invited by Ruilnus, overspread Armenia, Cappadocia, and Syria. The Goths, under Alaiic, ravaged to the borders of Italy, and laid waste Achaia to the Peloponnesus, b'tilicho, an able general, made a noble stand against these invaders ; but his plans were frustrated by the machinations of his rivals, and the weak- ness of Arcadius, who purchased an ig-nominious peace, by ced- ing to Alaric the whole of Greece. 2. Alaric, now styled king of the Vigisoth?, prepared to add Italy to his new dominions. He passed the Alp?, and was carry- ing all before him, when, amused by the politic Stilicho wilh the prospect of a new cession of territory, he was attacked unaware?, and defeated by that general, then commanding the armies of Hcnorius. 'ihe emperor triumphantly celebrated, on that occa- sion, the eternal defeat of the Gothic nation ; an eternity bounded by the lapse o* a feAv months. In this interval, a torrent of the Goths breaking down upon Germany forced the nations whom they dispossessed, the Suevi, Alani, and \ andals, to precipitate theinselves upon Italy. They joined their arms to those of Aiaric, who, thus reinforced, determined to overwhelm Rome. Ihe poli- cy of btilicho made him change his purpose, on the promise oi 4000 pounds weight of gold ; a promise repeatedly broken by Hc- norius, and its violation finally revenged by Alaric, by the sack and plunder of the city, A. D. 410. VV^ith generous niagnanimity he spared the lives of the vanquished, and, wilh singular liberal- ANCIENT HISTORY. 107 iiy of spirii:, was anxious to preserve every a\iclent edifice from destruction. 3. Alavic, preparing- pov/ for the conquest of Sicily and Africa, ^ied at this aera of his hi^fhcst 2:lory ; and Honorius, instead of profiting by this event to recover his lost provinces, made a treaty with his successor Ataulfus, c,ave him in marriag-e his sister Pla- cidia, and secured his friendship by ceding- to him a portion of Fpain, while a great ^>art of what remained had before been oc- cupied by the Vandals. le allowed soon" after to th« Burgundi- ans a just title to their conquests in Gaul. Thus the western, empire was passing by degrees from the dominion of its ancient, masters. 4. The mean and dissolute Arcadius died In the year 408, leav- ing the eastern empire to his infant son Theedosius II. Theodo- sius M-as a w^ak prince, and his sister Pulcheria governed the empire, with prudence and ability, for the space of forty years. Honorius died in the year 423. The laws of Arcadius and Ho- norius are, with a few exceptions, remarkable for their v/isdom and equity ; wdiich is a singular circumstance, considering the personal character of those princes, and evinces at least that they employed some able ministers. 5. 1"he Vandals, under Genseric, subdued the Roman province iU Africa. The Huns, in the east, extended their conquests from the borders of Chiiia to the Baltic sea. Under Attila they laid waste Moasia and Thrace ; and Theodosins, after a mean attempt to murder the barbarian general, ingloriously submitted to pay him an annual tribute. It was in this crisis of universal decay that the Britons imphred the Romans to defend them against the Picts and Scots, but received for answer, that they had nothing to bestow on them but compassion. 1 he Britons, in despair, sought aid from the Saxons and Angles, who seized, as their property, the country which they were invited to protect, and founded, in the fifth and sixth centuries, the kingdoms of the Saxon heptar- chy. (See Part II, Sect. XII, J 5.) 6. Attila, with an army of 500,000 men, threatened the total destruction of the empire. He was ably opposed by iEtius, gen- eral of Valentinian III, now emperor of the west. Valentinian was shut up in E-ome by the arms of the barbarian, and at length compelled to purchase a peace. On the dfath of Attila his do- minions w^re dismembered by his sons, whose dissensions gave temporary relief to the falling empire of Rome. 7. After \'a]entinian III. we have in the west a succession of princes, cv rather names, for the events of their reigns merit no detail. In the reign of ilomulus, surnamed Augustulus, the son of Orestes, the empire of the w^est came to a final period. Odo- r:.cer, prince of the Heruli. subdued Italy, and spared the life of Augustulus, on condition of his resigning the throne, A. D. 476. From the building of Rome to the extinction of the western em- pire, A. D. 4*: 6, is a period of 1224 years. 8. V\'e may reduce to one ultimate cause the various circum- stances that produced the decline and fall of this once magnificent fabric. I'he ruin of the Roman empire was the inevitable couse- 108 Ar;ciENT history. quence of its greatness. The extension of its dominion relaxed the vig-our of its frame ; the vices of the conquered nations in- fected the victorious legions, and foreign luxuries corrupted their commanders ; selfish interest supplanted the patriotic affection ; the martial spirit was purposely debased by the emperors, who dreaded its effects on their ov»ai power ; and the whole mass, thus weakened and enervated, fell an easy prey to the torrent of bar- barians which overwhelmed it. 9. The Herulian dominion in Italy v/as of short duration, TheodorJc, prince of the Ostrogoths (afterwards deservedly sur- named ihe greai)^ obtained permission of Zeno, emperor of the east, to attempt the recovery of Italy, and a promise of its sove- reignty as the reward of his success. The whole nation of the Ostrogoths attended the standard of Theodoric, who was victori- ous in repeated engagements, and at length compelled Odoacer to surrender all Italy to the conqueror. The Romans had tasted happiness under the government of Odoacer ; but their happiness was increased under the dominion of Theodoric, who possessed every talent and virtue of a sove^-eign. His equity and clemen- cy rendered him a blessing to his subjects. He allied himself with all the surrounding nations, the T'ranks, Visigoths, Eurgun- dians, and Vandals. He left a peaceable sceptre to his grandson Athalaric, during whose infancy his mother Amalasonte govern- ed with such admirable wisdom and moderation, as left her sub- jects no real cause of regret for the loss of her father. 10. While such was the state of Gothic Italy, the empire of the east was under the government of Justinian, a prince of mean ability, vain, capricious, and tyrannical. Yet the Roman name rose for a while from its abasement by the merit of his generals. Belisarius was the support of his throne ; yet Justinian treated him with the most shocking ingratitude. The Persians were at this time the most formidable enemies of the empire, under their sovereigns Cabades and Cosrhoes ; and from the latter, a most able prince, Justinian meanly purchased a peace, by a cession of territory, and an enormous tribute in gold. The civil factions of Constantinople, arising from the most contemptible of causes, the disputes of the performers in the circus and amphitheatre, threatened to hurl Justinian from the throne, but were fortunate- ly composed by the arms and the policy of Belisarius. This great general overwhelm.ed the Vandal sovereignty of Africa, and re- covered that province to the empire. He wrested Italy from its Gothic sovereign, and once more ri-stored.it for a short time to the dominion of its ancient masters. 11. Italy was recovered to the Gotbs by the heroic Totila, who besieged and took the city of Rome, but forebore to destroy it at the request of Belisarius. The fortunes of Belisarius were now in the v/ane. He was compelled to evacuate Italy, and, on his return to Constantinople, his long services v.ere repaid with dis- grace. He was superseded in the com.mand of the arm.ies by the eunuch Narses, who defeated Totila in a decisive engagement, in which the Gotiiic prince v/as slain. Narses governed Italy with great ability for thirteen years, when he was ujsgratefully recalled ANCIENT HISTORY* lOS by JuEtin II, the successor of Justinian. He invited the Lom- bards to aveng^e his injuries ; and this new tribe of invaders over<= ran and conquered the country, A. D.i568. SECTION XLVIL OF THE ORIGIN, MANNERS, AND CHARACTER OF THE GOTHIC NATIONS, BEFORE THEIR ESTABLISHMENT IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1. The history and manners of the Gothic nations are curious ©bjects of inquiry, from their influence on the constitutions and national character of most of the modern kingfdoms of Europe. As the presei^t inhabitants of these king-doms are a mixed race, compounded of the Goths and of the nations whom they subdued, the laws, manners, and institutions of the modern kingdoms are the result of this conjunction ; and in so far as these are different from the usages prevalent before this intermixture, they are, in all probability, to be traced from the ancient manners and institu- tions of those northern tribes. We purpose to consider the ori- g^inal character of the Gothic nations, and the change of their manners on their establishment in the Roman empire. 2. The Scandinavian chronicles attribute to the ancient inhabi- tants of that country an Asiatic origin, and inform us that the Goths were a colony of Scythians, who migrated thither from the banks of the Black se!L awd the Caspian : but these chronicles do not fix the period of this migration, which some later writers sup- pose to have been 1000 years, and others only 70, before the christian sera. Odin, the chief deity of the Scandinavians, was the god of the Scythians. Sigga, a Scythian prince, is said to have undertaken a distant expedition, and, after he had subdued several of the Sarmatian tribes, to have penetrated into the north- ern parts of Germany, and thence into Scandinavia. He assum- ed the honours of divinity, and the title of Odin, his national god. He conquered Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and gave wise and salutary laws to the nations which he had subdued by his arms. 3. The agreement in manners between the Scythians and the ancient Scandinavian nations corroborates the accounts given ia the northern chronicles of the identity of their origin. The de- scription of the manners of the Germans by Tacitus (though this people was probably not of Scythian, but of Celtic origin) may, in many particulars, be applied to the ancient nations of Scandi- navia ; and the sai7ie description coincides remarkably with the account given by Herodotus of the manners of the Scythians. Their life was spent in hunting, pasturage, and predatory war. Their dress, their weapons, their food, their respect for their wo- men, their religious worship, were the same. They despised learning, and had no other records for many ages than the songs ^i their bards. 10 no ANGIENT HISTOEY. 4. The theolog-y of the Scandinavians was mest intimately cmi* nected with their manners. They held three great pr'ncij:les or fundamental doctrines of religion : " To serve the Suj^rime Being with prayer and sacrifice ; to do no wrong or unjust aeticr ; and to be intrepid in fight. *" These principles are the key to the Ed- da^ or sacred book of the Scandinavians, which, though it con- tains the substance of a very ancient religion, is not a work ' f high antiquity, being compiled in the thirteenth century by Snorro Stiirleson, supreme judge of Iceland. Odin, characte)ized as the terrible and severe god, the father of carnage, the avenger, is the principal deity of the Scandinavians ; ficni whose union with Frea, the heavenly mother, sprur^g various subordinate divinities ; as Ihor, who perpetually wars against loke and his evil giants, who envy the power of Odin, and seek to destroy his works. Among the inferior deities are the virgins of the Valhalla, whose office is to minister to the heroes in paradise. The favourites of Odin are all who die in battle, cr, what is equally meritorious, by their own hand. Ihe timid wretch, who allows himself to perish by disease or age, is unworthy of the joys of paradise. These joys are, fightirg, ceaseless slaughter, and drinkiig beer out of the skulls of their enemies, with a renovation of life, to furnish a perpetuity of the same pleasures. 5. As the Scandinavians believed this world to be the work of some superior intelligences, so they held all nature to be constant- ly undei' the regulation of an almighty will and power, ar d sub- ject to a fixed and uralterable destiny. 1 hese notions had a won- derful efiect on the national m.anners, and on the conduct of indi- viduals. Ihe Scandinavian placed his sole^delight in war: he entertained an absolute contempt of danger and of death, and his glory was estimated by the number which he had slain in battle. The death-song of Regner Lodbrok^ who comforts himself in his last agonies by recounting all the acts of carnage which he had committed in his lifetime, is a faithful picture of the Scandinavian character. 6. We have remarked the great similarity of the manners of the Scandinavia) s and the ancient Germans. These nations seem, however, to have had a difierent origin. The Germans, as well as the Gauls, were branches of that great original nation termed CeZ/rf, who inhabited most of the countries of Europe south of the Baltic, before they were invaded by the northern tribes from Scan- dinavia. 7 he Celtae were all of the druidical religion, a system different from the belief and Avorship of the Scandinavians, but founded nearly on the same principles ; and the Goths, in their progress, intermixing with the Gern.ans, could not tail to adopt, in part, the notions of a kindred religion. Lrviidism acknowledg- ed a god who delighted in bloodshed, taught the immortality of the soul, and inculcated the ccntempt of danger and of death. 1 acitus remarks that the ancient Germans had neither temiplc^ nor idols. The open air was the temple of the divinity, and a conse- crated grove the appropriated place for prayer and sacrJl'ce, which none but the priests were allowed to enter. The chief sa- crifices were human victims, most probably the prisoners taken in ANCIENT HISTORY. Ill war. The druids heightened the sanctity of their character by concealinj^ the mysteries of their worship. They had the highest influence over the minds of tlie people, and thus found it easy to conjoin a civil authority with the sacerdotal ; a policy which in the end led to the destruction of the druidical system ; for the Romans found no other way of securing their conquests over any ©f the Celtic nations but by exterminatnig' the druids. 7. Whatever difference of manners there may have been among the various nations or tribes of Gothic origin, the great features of their character appear to have been the same. Nature, educa- tion, and prevailing habits, all concurred to form them for an in- trepid and conquering people. Their bodily frame was invigo- rated by the climate which they inhabited ; they were inured to danger and fatigue ; war was their habitual occupation ; they be- lieved in an unutterable destiny, and were taught by their leli- gion that a heroic sacrifice of life gave certain assurance of eter- nal happiness. How could a race of men so characterized fail to be the conquerors of the world ? SECTION XLVIIl. OF THE MANNERS, LAWS, AND GOVERNMENT OF TFIE GOTHIC NATIONS, AFTER THEIR ESTABLISHMENT IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 1. It has been erroneously supposed that the same ferocity of manners, which distinguished the Goths in their original seats, at- tended their successors in their new establishments in the provin- ces of the Roman empire. Modern authors have given a curren- cy to this false supposition. Voltaire, in describing the middle ages, paints the Goths in all the characters of horror ; as '' a troop of hungry wolves, foxes, and tigers, drivijig before them the scat- tered timid herds, and involving all in ruin and desolation." 'i'he accounts of historians most worthy of credit will dissipate this in- jurious preju:iice, and show those northern nations in a more fa- vourable point of view, as not unworthy to be the successors oi the Romans. 2. Before their settlement in the southern provinces of Europe^ the Goths were no longer idolaters, but christians ; and their mo- rality was suitable to the religion which they professed. Salvia- nus, bishop of Marseilles, in the fifth century, draws a parallel between the manners ol the Goths and of the Romans, highly to the credit of the former. Grotiup, in his publication of i'rocopius aud Jornandes, remarks, as a strong testimony to their honourable character as a nation, that no province once subdued by the Goths ever voluntarily withdrew itself from their government. 3. It is not possible to produce a more beautiful picture of an excellent administration than that of the Gothic monarchy in Italy under i heodoric the great. Though master of the country by conques', yet he was regarded by his subjects witn the att'cction of a native sovereign. He retained the Koraau laws, aiid, as nearly ll!S A.\CIENT HISTORY. Ti.9 possible, the ancient political regulations. In supplying all eivil offices of state he preferred the native Romans. It was his •are to preserve every monument of the ancient grandeur of the 'impire, and to embellish the cities by new works of beauty and utility. In the imposition and levying of taxes he shov/ed the most humane indulgence on every occasion of scarcity or calam- ity. His laws were dictated by the most enlightened prudence ,tnd benevolence, and framed on that principle which he nobly in- o-iilcated in his instructions to the Roman senate, " Benigni prin- npis ci/, non tar,i delicta velle pwiire^ quam tollere.'''* It is the duty of a heiiiyin prince to be disposed to prevent rather than to pun- ish offences. Ihe historians of the times delight in recounting the examples of his munificence and humanity. Partial as he v/as to the Irian heresy, many even of the catholic fathers have done the most ample justice to his merits, acknowledging that, under his reign, the church enjoyed a high measure of prosperity. Such was Theodoric the great, who is justly termed by Sidonius Apollinaris, Romans decus columcnque gentis {the glory and the support of the Roman nation^. A. But a single example could not warrant a general inference with regard to the merits of a whole people. The example of Theodoric is not single. If it does not find a complete parallel, it IS at least nearly approached to in the similar characters of Alaric, Amalasonte, and Totila. Alaric, compelled by his enemy's breach of faith to revenge himself by the sack of Rome, showed even in that revenge a noble example of humanity. No blood was shed without necessity ; the churches were inviolable asy- lums ; the honour of the women was preserved ; the treasures of the city were saved from plunder. Amalasonte, the daughter of Theodoric, repaired to her subjects the loss of her father, by the equity and wisdom of her administration. She trained her son ta the study of literature and of every polite accomplishment, as the best means of reforming and enlightening his people. Totila^ twice master of Rome, yhich he won by his arms after an obsti- nate resistance, imitated the example of Alaric in his clemency to the vanquished, and in his care to preserve every remnant of an- cient magnificence from destruction. He restored the senate t« its authority, adorned Rome with useful edifices, regulated its internal policy, and took a noble pride in reviving the splendour and dignity of the empire. Habitavit cum Romanis., says a co- temporary author, fanquam pater cum Jiliis. He lived with the Romans as a fatlier with his children. 5. The stem of the Gothic »ation divided itself into two great branches, the Ostrogoths, who remained in Pannonia, and the Westrogoths or Visigoths, so termed from their migrating thence to the west of FAirope. Italy was possessed by the latter under Alaric, and by the former under Theodoric. The \isigoths, after the death of Alaric, withdrew into Gaul, and obtained from Ho- norius the province of Aquitaine, of which Thoulouse was the capital. "When expelled from that province by the Franks, they crossed the Pyrenees, and, settling in Spain, made Toledo the ^pital of their kingdom, The race of the Visigoth priftces was ANCTENT HISTORY. llo termed the Balfi\ that of the Ostm^oths the Amali. The Ostro- goths enforced in their dominions the observance of the Roman laws ; the Visigoths adhered to a code compiled by their own sove- reigns, and founded on the ancient manners and usagfes of their nations. From this code, therefore, we may derive m :ch infor- mation relative to the genius and character of this ancient people, 6. It is enacted by the laws of fhp f^isisotJis that no jud^-e shall decide in any lawsuit, unless he find in that b-^ok a law applicable to the case. All causes that fall not under this description are re- served for the decision of the sovereign. The penal laws are se-> vere, bat tenioerel with great equity. No punishment can atfect the heirs of the criminal : Omnia crimina suo.^ sequuniur aurtores^ — et ille folus jadicetur culpabilis qui cidpanda covimfserif^ ef crime'n cum illo qui fecerit moriatur. Jill crimes shidl afi'ich to their au- thors^ — and he alone shall he judged culpable^ who hcth committed offences^ and the crime shall die with him tvho hath committed it. Death was the punishment of the murder of a freeman, and per» petual infamy of the murder of a slave. Pecuniary fines were enacted for various subordinate oftences, according- to their mea- sure of criminality. An adulterer was delivered in bondage to the injured husband; and the free womaii who had committed adultery with a married man, became the slave of his wife. i\o physician was allowed to visit a female patient, except in the pre- sence of h.r nearest kindred. The lex talionis (Jhe law of ret all- atio'i) was in §;reat observance for such injuries as adaiitted it. It was even carried so far, that the incendiary of a house was burnt alive. The trials by judicial combat, by ordeal, and by the judgment of God, which were in frequent use among the Franks and Normans, had no place among the Visigoths. Montesquieu has erroneously asserted, that in all the Gothic nations it was usual to judge the litigants by the law of their own country ; the Roman by the Roman law, the Prank by the law of the I ranlcs, the Aleman by the law of the Alemans. On the cor trarv, the Visigoth code prohibits the laws of all other nations within tht ir territories. J^olamus sive Romanis legibus^ sive alienis instUu- iiunibus^ amplius convexari. We ivill not he controlled hy the Ro- inian laws^ nor hy foreign instituHons. The laws of the Iraiiks and Lombards are remarkable for their wisdom and judicious policy. 7. The government of the Go hs, after their settlement in the Roman provinces, was monarchical. It was at first elective, and afterwards became hereditary. The sovereign on his death- bed appointed his successor, with the advice or consent of his gran- d es. Illr^gitimacy did not disqualify from succession or nomina- tion to the throne. 8. The dukes and counts were the chief officers under the Gothic, government. The duke (dux exercitus) was the com- mander in chief of the troops of the province ; the count {comes) •was the highest civil magistrate. Rut th^^se offices frequently in- termixed their functions, the count beii.g empowered, on sudden ^caergeucies, to assume a military commaud, aud tue duke, oa 10- 114 ANCIENT HISTORY, some occasions, warra^ited to exercise judicial authority. Im general, however, their departments were distinct. Of comites there were various orders, with distinct official powers ; as, comeSy cuhiculi^ chamberlain, conies stahuli^ constable, &;c. These vari" ous officers were the proceres or g-iandees of the king^dom, by ■whose advice the sovereign conducted himself in important mat- ters of government, or in the nomination of his successor ; but we do not find that they had a voice in the framing of laws, or in. the imposition of taxes ; and the prince himself had the sole no- mination to all offices of government, magistracies, and dignities.- SECTION XLIX. METHOD OF STUDYING ANCIENT HISTORY. i. A general and concise view of ancient history may be ac- quired by the perusal of a very few books ; as that part of the Cours d^Etude of the Abbe Coodillac which regards the history i>f the nations of antiquity , the Elements of Geueial History by the Abbe Millot, part 1st ; the Epitome of Turselline, with the notes of L'Agneau, part 1st; or the excellent Compendium His- Tories, Universalis^ by professor OfFerhaus of Groningen. The tw« :first of these works have the merit of uniting a spirit of reflectiom .with a judicious selection of events. 1 he notes of L'Agneau to the Epitome of Turselline contain a great store of geographical •and biographical information. The work of Offerhaus is pecul* iarly valuable, as uniting sacred with profane history, and con- taining most ample references to the ancient authors. The Dis- t^urs sur VHisioire Unirerselle^ by the bishop of Meaux, is'a work of high merit, but is not adapted to convey information to the un- instructed. It is more useful to those who have already studied kistory in detail, for uniting in the mind the great current of events^ and recalling to the memory their order and connection. But the student who wishes to derive the most complete advan^- i,age from history, must not confine himself to such general oF compendious views ; he must resort to the original historians of ■ancient times, and to the modern writers who have treated with unplitude of particular periods. It may be useful to such stu- dents to poinl: out the order in which those historians may be most profitably perused. 2. Next to the historical books of the Old Testament, the most ancient history worthy of perusal is that of Herodotus, which comprehends the annals of Lydia, Ionia, Lycia, Egypt, Persia. Gr;^ece, and Macedonia, during above 230 years preceding 479 A, C. Book 1. History of Lydia from Gyges to Croesus. Ancient Io- nia. Manners of the Persians, Babylonians, &c. History c," Cy- jHis the Elder. B. 2. History of Egypt, and Manners of the Egyptians. B. 3. History ff Cgtmbyses* Fersiaa Moaacchjf uudef Doxiv^ iWfCtENT msTORY;- lis ^. 4. History of Scythia. B. 5. Feraiaa Embassy to Macedon. Athens, Hace daemon, Co* tinth, at the same period. B. 6. Kingfs of Lacedemon. War ofPersia against Greece, t©' the battle of Marathon. B. 7. The same War, to the battle of Thermopylae. B. 8. The Naval Battle of Salamis. B. 9. The Defeat and (Expulsion of the Persians from Greece^ (The merits of Herodotus are shortly characterized in Sect.? XXII, 1.) 3. A Tnore particular account of the periods treated by Hero-' d.r>tns may be found in Justin, lib. 1, 2, 3, and 7 ; in the Cyrope- «iia of Xenophon ; in the Lives of Aristides, Theniistocles, Cimon^, Militiades, and Pausanias, written by Plutarch and Cornelius Ne- pos ; and in the lives of Anaximander, Zeno, Empedocles, llera- cditus, and Democritus, by Diogenes Laertius. 4. The Grecian history is taken up by Thucydidos A'om the period where Herodotus ends, and is continued for seventy years, to the twenty-first of the Peloponnesian war. (This work cha- racterized. Sect. XXTI, i> 2.) This period is more amply iilustra* ted by perusing- the 11th and 12th books of Diodorus Siculus ; tii& X.ives of Alcibiades, Chabrias, Thrasybulus, and Lysias, by Plu- tarch and Nepos ; the 2d, Sd, 4th, and 5th books of Justin ; and the 14th and 15th chapters of the 1st book of Orosius. 5. Next to Thucydides the student ought to peruse the-lst and 2d books of Xenophon's History of Greece, which comprehends, the narrative of the Pelopouesian war, with the coteaiporary his- tory of the Medes and Persians ; then the expedition of Cyru$ (^Anabasis)^ and the continuation of the history to its conclusion with the battle of Mantinea. (Xenophon characterized, Sect,, XXI !, i 3.) For illustrating this period we have the Lives of Ly Sander, Agesilaus, Artaxerxes, Conon, a)id Datames, by Plutarch and Nepos ', the 4th, 5th, and 6th books of Justin ; and the I3tb and 14th books of Diodorus Siculus. 6. After Xenophon let the student read the 15th and 16th bookf af Diodorus, which contain the history of Greece and Persia, frotn the battle of Mantinea to the reign of Alexander the great. (Di- odorus characterized, Sect. XXII, i 5.) To complete this period b't him read the Lives of Dion, Iphicrates, Timotheus, Phocioiij and Timoleon, by Nepos. 7. For the history of Alexander the great we have the admira* ble works of Arrian and Quintus Curtius. (Arrian characterized, Sect. XXII, f 8.) Curtius possesses great judgment in the seJec- tion of facts, with much elegance and perspicuity of diction. He is a good moralist and a good patriot ; but his passion for embel*- lishment derogates from the purity of history, and renders his an- tliority suspicious. 8. For the continuation of the history of Greece from the death of Alexander we have the 18th, 19th, and 20th books of Diodo* rus ; the history of Justin from the 13th book to the end ; ai.4 the Lives of the principal personages written by Plutarch. The ^story Qi JusUa k a jtadi^ious tt^cid^ni^at oi ^ muck iuj, euch preparatory kuowledge* 118 ANCIENT HISTORY. 18. Tlie greatest magazine of historical information which hat ever been collected into one body, is the English Universal His- tory ; a most useful work, from the amplitude of its matter, its general accuracy, and constant reference to the original authors. We may occasionally consult it with great advantage on points •where deep research is necessary ; but we cannot read it with pleasure as a continued work, from its tedious details and harsh- ness of style, its abrupt transitions, and the injudicious arrange- ment of many of its parts. 19. Geography and chronology have been justly termed the liglits of history. We cannot peruse with advantage the historic- al annals of any country without a competent knowledge of its geographical situation, and even of its particular topography. In reading the description of any event the mind necessarily forms a picture of the scene of action ; and it is surely better to draw the picture with truth from nature and reality, than falsely from ima- gination. Many actions and events are likewise intimately con- nected with the geography and local circumstances of a country, a.nd are unintelligible without a knowledge of them. 20. The use of chronological tables is very great, both for the purpose of uniting in one view the cotemporary events in different nations, which often have an influence on one another, and for re- calling to the memory the order an?l series of events, and renewing the impressions of the objects of former study. It is extremely useful, after perusing the history of a nation in detail or that of a certain age or period, to run over brieiiy the principal occurrences in a table of chronology. The most perfect works of this kind are the chronological tables of Dr. Flayfair, v/hich unite history and biography ; the tables of Dr. Blair ; or the older tables by Tal- lent.* * A list of l?!e best translations of the principal books above mentione Tacitus, by IViurphy, 8 vols. 8vo.; Irish editiea, 4 vols. 8vo. Suetonius, by Thojupson. 3vc. Di' dorus Si uIhs, b» Boot!., folio. A ran, by Rt>()k, 2 vols. 8vo. Q. Cmiius, bv Oi^b>, 2 vols. 12mo. Jtutin, by TurnbulJ, ' 12mo. EdiTO?, END OF PART FIRST. PART SECOND. SECTION I. OF ARABIA, AND THE EMPIRE OF THE SARACENS. • The fall of the western empire of the Romans, and the final ihjugation of Italy by the Lombards, is the aera from which we ite the commencement of Modern History. The eastern empire of the Romans continued to exist for many >;es after this period, still mas^nificent, though in a state of com- irative weakness and degeneracy. Towards the end of the xth century a new dominion arose in the east, which was des- ned to produce a w^onderful change on a great portion of the obe. The Arabians, at this time a rude nation, living chiefly in inde- gndent tribes, who traced their descent from the patriarch Abra- a,m, professed a mixed religion, compounded of Judaism and lolatry. Mecca, their holy city, lose to eminence from the dona- ons of pilgrims to its temple, in which was reposited a black one, an object of high veneration. Mahomet was born at Mec- j, A. D; 571. Of mean descent, and no education, but of great atural talents, he sought to raise himself to celebrity, by feign- ig a divine mission to propagate a new religion for the salvation i mankind. He retired to the desert, and pretended to hold con- Tences with the angel Gabriel, who delivered to him, from time > time, portions of a sacred book or Corari, containing revelations f the will of the Supreme Being, and of the doctrines which he squired his prophet to communicate to the world. 2. This religion, while it adopted in part the morality of chris- anity, retained many of the rights of Judaism, and some of the rabian superstitions, as the pilgrimage to Mecca ; but owed to a prtain spirit of Asiatic voluptuousness its chief recommendation ) its votaries. The Coran taught the belief of one God, whose '■ill and power were constantly exerted towards the happiness of is creatures ; that the duty of man was to love his neighbours, ssist the poor, protect the injured, to be humane to inferior ani- lals, and to pray seven times a day. The pious mussulman was llowed to have four wives, and as many concubines as he chose ; nd the pleasures *f love were promised as the supreme joys of 120 MODfiRK mSTdllY. paradise. To rrrlTe the impression of these laws, which Grod had engrave)) oriulnally in the hearts of men, he had sent front time to time his prophets upon earth, i^braham, Moses, Jesus Christ, and Mahomf t : the last the greatest, to whom all the world should owe itsconversio'i to the true religion. By producing the Coran in de- t?tched parcels Mahomet had it in his power to solve all objections by new revelations. 3. Dissensions and popular tumults between the helieyers and infdels caused the banishment of JN'ahomet from Mecca. His flight, called the hegyra, A. D. 622, is the jera of his glory. He retired to Medina, and was joined by the brave Omar. He prop- ajraf ed his doctrines with great success, and marched with his fol- lowers in arms, and took the city of Mecca. In a few years he subdueri ail Arabia; and then attacking Syria, took several of the Homan cities. In the midst of his victories he died at the age of sixty-one, A. D. 632. He had nominated Ali, his son-in-law, his successor ; hut Ahubeker, his fadher-in-law, secured the succession fey gaining the army to his interest. 4. Ahubeker united and published the books of the Coran, and prosecuted the conquests of Mahomet. He defeated the army of Heraclius, took Jerusalem, and subjected all the country between Mount Libanus and the Mediterranean. On his death Omar was elected to tke caliphate, and in one campaign deprived the Greek empire of Syria, Phoenicia, Mesopotamia, and Chaldsea. In the next campaign he subdued to the mussulman dominion and reli- gion the whole empire of Persia. His generals at the same time conquered Egypt, Libya, and Numidia. 5. Otman, the successor of Omar, added to the dominion of the the caliphs Bactriana, and part of Tartary, and ravaged Rhodes and the Greek islands. His successor was Ali, the son-in-law of Mahomet, a name to this day revered by the Mahometans. He transferred the seat of the caliphate from Mecca to Couffa, whence it was afterwards removed to Bagdat. His reig^n was glorious, "but only of five years' duration. In the space of half a century from the beginning" of the conquests of Mahomet the Saracens raised an err-pire more extensive than what remained of the Ro- man. Nineteen caliphs of the race of Omar {Ommiades) reigned in succession, after which began the dynasty of the ^.bassidie^ de- scended by the male line from Mahomet. Almanzor, second ca- liph of this race, removed the seat of empire to Eagdat, and in- troduced learning and the culture of the sciences, which his suc- cessors continued to promote with equal zeal and liberality. Ha- roun Alraschid, who flourished in the beginning of the ninth cen- tury, is celebrated as a second Augustus. 1 he sciences chiefly cultivated by the Arabians v/ere, medicine, geometry, and astron- omy. They improved the oriental poetry, by addin«^ regularity to its fancy and luxuriancy ©f imagery. M©DE?wN HISTORY. 121^ SECTION II. MONARCHY OF THE FRANKS. 1. The Franks -were originally those tribes of Germans Xvho In- habited the districts lying on the Lower Rhine and Weser, and who, in the time of Tacitu«, pasi-ed under the names of Chauci, Cherusci, Catti, Sicambri, &c. They assumed or received the appellation of Franks^ or freemen, from their temporary union to resist the dominion of the liomans. Legendary chronicles record a Pharamond and a Meroveus; the latter the head of the first race of the kings of France, termed the Merovingian ; but the au- thentic history of the Franks commences only with his grandson Clovis, who began his reign in the year 4BL In the twentieth 3'ear of his age Clovis achieved the conquest of (raul, by the de- feat of Syagrins the Roman governor; and marrying Clotilda, daughter of Cbilperic king of Hurgundy, soon added that province to his domijiions, by dethroning his father-in-law. He was con- verted by (Uotilda ; and the Frank?, till then idolaters, became christians, after their sovereigu''s example. The Visigoths, pro- fessing Arianism, were masters at this time of Aquitaine, the country between the Pihonc and Loire. The intemperate zeal of Clovis prompted the extirpation of those heretics, who retreated across the Pyrenees into Spain; and the provinces of Aquitaine became part of the kingdom of the Franks. They did not long retain it, for Theodoric the great defeated Clovis in the battle of Aries, and added Aquitaine to his dominions. Clovis died A. D, sn. 2. His four eons divided the monarchy, and were perpetually at war with one another. A series of weak and wicked princes succeeded, and Gaul for some ages was characterized under its Frank sovereigns by more than ancient barbarism. On the death of Dagobert II, A. D. 638, who left two infant sons, the govern- ment, during their minority, fell into the hands of their chief offi- cers, termed mayors of the palace ; and these ambitious men founded a new power, which for some generations held the Frank sovereigns in absolute subjection, and left them little more than the title of king. Austrasia and Neustria, the two great divisions of the Frank monarchy, were nominally governed by Thierry, but in reality by Pepin Heristel, mayor of the palace, who, re- stricting his sovereign to a small domain, ruled France for thirty years with great wisdom and good policy. His son, Charles Mar- tel, succeeded to his power, and under a similar title governed for twenty-six years with equal ability and success. He was victo- rious over all his domestic foes. His arms kept in awe the sur- rounding nations, and he delivered France from the ravages of the Saracens, whom he entirely defeated between Tours and Poictiers, A. I). 732. 3. Charles Martel bequeathed the government of France, as aa iiBdisputed inheritance, to his two sons, Pepin le bref and Carlo* 11 122 MODERN HISTORY. man, who gfoverned, under the same title of major, one Austra- sia, and the other Neustria and Burgundy. On the resignation of Carloman Pepin succeeded to the sole a.drainistration. Ambitioui of adding the title of king to the power which he already enjoy- ed, he proposed the question to pope Zachary, whether he or his sovereign Childeric was most worthy of the throne ? Zachary, who had his interest in view, decided that Pepin had a right to add the title of king to the office ; and ChiWeric was confined to a monas- tery for life. \Hth him ended the first or Merovingian race of the kings of France, A. D. ' 31. 4. Pepin recompensed the service done him by the pope, by turning his arms against the Lombards. He deprived them of the exarchate of I'aAenna, and made a donation of that and other considerable territories to the holy see, which were the first, as ig alleged, of its temporal possessions. Conscious of his defective title, it was the principal object of Pepin le bref to conciliate the affections of the people Avhoni he governed. 1 he legislal ive power among the Franks was vested in the people assembled in their chara/is dt Mars. Under the Merovingian race the rega^ author- ity had sunk to nothing, while the pov/er of the nobles had attain- ed to an inordinate extent. Pepin found it his best policy to ac- knowledge and ratify those rights, which he could not without danger have invaded ; and thus, under the character of guardian, of the powers of all the orders of the state, he exalted the regal office to its proper elevation, and founded it on the securest basis. On his death-bed he called a council of the grandees, and obtain- ed their consent to a division of his kingdom between his two sons, Charles and Carloman. He died A. 1). 768, at the age of fifty- three, after a reign of seventeen years from the death of Childeric 111, and an administration of twenty-seven from the death of Charles Martel. SECTION III. REFLECTIONS ON THE STATE OF FRANCE DURING THE MEROVINGIAN RACE OF ITS KINGS. ORIGIN OF THE FEUDAL SYSTEM. 1. The manners of the Franks were similar to those of the ether Germanic nations described by Tacitus. Though under the command of a chief or king, their government was extren^ely de- mocratical, and they acknowledged no other than a military sub- ordination. The legislative authority resided in the general as- sembly, or champ de mars^ held annually on the 1st day of iviarch ; a council in which the king had but a single suffrage, equally with the meanest soldier. But, when in arms against the enemy, his power was absolute in enfocing military discipline. 2. After the establishment ot" the Franks in Gaul some changes took place from their new situation. They redu'^ed the Gauls to absolute subjection ; yet they left many in possession of their lands, because the new country was too large for its conquerors. MODERN HISTORY. 1^ They left them likewise the use of their existin,^ laws, which were those of the Ro-nan code, while thpy themselvis were governed by the sallque and Tipaarian laws, ancient institutions iu observ- ance among the Franks before they left their original seats in Ger- many. Hence arose that extraordinary diversity of local laws and usages in the kingdom of France, which continued down to mod- ern times, and gave occasion to numberless inconveniences. 3. The ancient Germans had th-^ highest veneration for the priests or druids. It was natural that the Franks, after their con- version to Christianity, should have the same reverence for their bishops, to whom accordingly they allowed the first rank in the national assembly. These bishops were generally chosen from among the native Gauls ; for, having adopted from this nation their new religion, it was natural that their priests should be cho- sen from the same people. The influence of the clergy contribu- ted much to ameliorate the condition of the conquered Gauls, and to humanize their conquerors ; an 1 in a short space of time the two nations were thoroughly incorporated. 4. At this period a new system of policy is visible among this united people, which by degrees extended itself over most of the nations of Europe. This is the feudal system. By this expres- sion is properly meant that tenure or condition on which the pro- prietors of land held their possessions, viz., an obligatijn to per- form military service, whenever required by the chief or overlurd to whom they owed allegiance. Many modern writers attribute the origin of this institution or policy to the kings of the Franks, who, after the conquest of Gaul, are supposed to have divided the lands among their followers, on this condition of military service. But this notion is attetided with insurmountable difficulties. For, in the first place, it pro- ceeds on this false supposition, that the conquered lands belono:ed in property to the king, and that he had the rigiit of bestowing them in gifts, or dividing them among his followers ; whereas it is a certain fact, that among the Franks the partition of conquered ianls was made by lot, as was tVie division even of the spoil or booty taken in battle ; and that the king^s share, though doubt- less a larger portion than that of his captains, was likev/ise as- signed him by lot. Secondly, if we should suppose the king to have made those gifts to his captains out of his own domain, the creation of a very few bentficia {benefices) would have rendered hi a a poorer man than his subjects. We must therefore have re- course to another supposition for the origin o( the fiefs ; and we shall find that it is to be traced to a source much more remote tha 1 the conq lest of Gaul by the Franks. 5. Among all barbarous nations, with whom war is the chief occupation, we remark a strict subordination of the members of a tri'^e to their chief or leader. It was obsr-rved by Caesar as pecul- iarly strong anong the Gaulish nq^tions, and as subsisting not only between the soldisis a id their commander, but between the infe- rior towns or villages and the canton or province to which they belonged. In poace every man cultivated his land, free of all tax- a4ioa, aiid subject to uo other burden but that of military seivice^ 1:24 MODERN HISTORY. « •when reqiiirccl by his chief. When the province was at war, each rillagfe, Ihotigh taxed to furni?h only a certain number of soldiers, v.'as bound to send, on the day appointed for a general muster, all its males capable of bearing: arms ; and from these its rated num- ber was selected by the chief of the province. This ditnttla (vassalage) subsisted among the Franks as well as a.mong the Gauls. It subsisted among- the Romans, who, to check the in- ;'oads of the barbarian nations, and to secure their distant con- <|uests, were obliged to maintain fixed garrisons on their frontiers. yVo each officer in those garrisons it wa^ customary to assign a por- tion of land as the pledge and pay of his service. These gifts were termed benefida^ and their proprietors hentjiciarii. Plin. Ep. lib. 10, ep. 32. The henejicia were at first granted only for life. Alej^ander Severus ailov/ed them to descend to heirs, on the like condition of military service. 6. "\\ hen Gaul was overrun by the Franks, a great part of t?ie lunds was possessed on this tenure by the Roman soldiery, as the rest was by the native Gauls. The conquerors, accustomed to the same policy, would naturally adopt it in the partition of their new conquests ; each man, on receiving his share, becoming bound to military service, as a condition necessarily annexed to territo- rial property. With respect to those Gauls who retained their possessions, no other change was necessary but to exact the same obligation of military vassalage to their new conquerors which they had rendered to their former masters the emperors, and, be- fore the Roman conquest, to their native chiefs. Thus no other change took place but that of the overlord. The system was the same which had prevailed for ages. 7. But these henejicia^ or fiefs, were personal grants, revocable by the sovereign or overlord, and reverting to him on the death of the vassal. The weakness of the Frank kings of the ^Xero- vingian race emboldened the possessors of fiefs to aspire at inde- pendence and security of property. In a convention held at An- deli in 5o7, to treat of peace between Gontran and C'hildebert II, the nobles obliged these princes to renounce the right of revoking their benefices, which henceforward passed by inheritance to their eldest male issue. 8. It was a necessary consequence of a fief becoming perpetual and hereditary, that it should be capable of subinfeudation ; and that the vassal himself, holding his land of the sovereign by the tenure of military service, should be enabled to create a train of inferier vassals, by giving to them portions of his estate to be held on the same condition, of following his standard in battle, rencJeiing him homage as their lord, and paying, as the symbol of their subjection, a small annual present, either ol" money or the fruits of their lands. Thus, in a little time, the whole territory in the feudal kingdoms \vas either held immediately and in cap its of the sovereign himself, or laediately by inferior vassals of the tenants m capite. 9. It was natural in those disorderly times, when the authority of government and the obligation of general laws were extremely weak, that the superior or overlord should acquire a «ivil a»(J MODERN HISTORY. 12« flrtmiVial jurisdiction over his vassals. The comites, to whom, as the chief masristrates of police, the administrati >n of justice be- long-ed of riii;ht, paid little attention to the duties of their office, and shamefully abused their powers. The inferior classes natu- rally chose, instemd of seeking" justice through this corrupted channel, to sub>nit their lawsuits to the arbitration of their over- lord ; and this jurisdiction, conferred at first by the acquiescence of parties, came at leng-th to be reg-arded as founded on strict right. Hence arose a perpetual contest of jurisdiction between the grea.ter barons in their own territories and the established ju- dicatories ; a oatural cause of that extreme anarchy and disorder which prevaih'.d in France during; the g;reater part of the Mero- vinaiaa period, aod sunk the reg-al authority to the lowest pitch of al)as'^ment. In a gfovernment of which tvery part was at vari^ ance with the rest, it was not surprising" that a new power should arise, which, in able hands, should be capable of bring-ing the whole under subjection. 10. The mayor of the palace, or first officer of the household, gradually usurped, under a series of weak princes, the whole powers of the sovereign. This office, from a personal dignity, be* came h-reditary in the family of Pepin Heristel. His gfrandson, Pepin L bref, removed from the throne those phantoms of the Me- Foving-ian race, assumed the title of king", by the authority of a papal decree, a id reigned for seventeen years v/ith dignity aud success. He was the founder of the second race of the French moaarchs known by the name of the Carlovingian. See Kettle "Elements of General Knowledge, vol. I, SECTION lY. CHARLEMAGNE. THE NEW EMPIRE OF THE WEST. 1. Pepin le bref^ with the consent of his nobles, divided, on hi^? death-bed, the kiig'dom of France between his sons, Charles aid Caiioraan, A. D. 768. The latter died a few years after his fa- ther, and Charles succeeded to the undivided sovereig'nty. In the course of a reigfu of forty-five years darltMagnt (lor so he was deservedly styled) extended the iiaiits of his empire beyond the Danube ; subdued Dacia, Dalmatia, and Istria ; conquered and subjected all the barbarous tribes to the banks of the Vistula; made hi.nself master of a gfreat portion of Italy ; and successfully encountered the arms of the Saracens, the Hans, the iudgarians, and the Saxons. His war with the Saxons, was of thirty years' duration, and their final conquest was not achieved without an inhuman waste of blood. At the request of the pope, and to dis- charg-e the oblig-ation of his father Pepin to the h ly see, Charle- magne dispossessed Desiderius king of the Lombards of ail his dominions, though allied to hijn by marriage ; and put a final pe- mod to the Lombard dominion in Italy, A. O. 774. %, He made his entry into Home at the festival of Easter, was 126' MODERN HISTORV. there crowned king of France and of the Lombards, and wag, hy pope Adrian I, invested with the rip^ht of ratifying- the election of the popes. Irene, empress of the east, sought to ally herself with Charlemagne, by the marriage of her son Constantino to his daugh- ter ; but her subsequent inhuman conduct, in putting Constantine to death, gave ground to suspect the sincerity of her desire for that alliance. 3. In the last visit of Charlemagne to Italy he was consecrated emperor of the west by the hat:ds of pnpe Leo III. It is probable that if he had chosen Rome for his residence and seat of govern- ment, and at his death had transmitted to his successor an undi- vided dominion, the great but fallen empire of the west might "have once more been restored to lustre and respect. But Charle- magne had no fixed capital, and divided, even in his lifetime, hie dominions among his children, A. D. 806. 4. The economy of government and the domestic administra- tion of Charlemagne merit attention. Pepin le href had intro- duced the system of annual assemblies or parliaments, held at first in March, and afterwards in May, where the chief estates of cltrgy and nobles were called to deliberate on the public atfaira •and the wants of the people. Charlemagne appointed these as- semblies to be held twice in the year, in spring and in avitumn. In the latter assembly all affairs were prepared and digested ; ia the former was transacted the business of legislation ; and of this assembly he made the people a party, by admitting from eack province or district twelve deputies or representatives. The as- sembly now consisted of three estates, each of which formed a separate chamber, and discussed apart the concerns of its owm Order. They afterwards united to communicate their resolutions, or to deliberate on their common interests. The sovereign waa sever present, unless when called to ratify the decrees of the as- sembly. 5. Charlemagne divided the empire into provinces, and the provinces into districts, each comprehending a certain number of couui: «s. The districts were governed by royal envoys, chosen l\"or>'. the clergy and nobles, and bound to an exact visitation of their territories every three months. These envoys held annual conventions, at which were present the higher clergy and barons, to discuss the affairs of the district, examine the conduct of it^ magistrates, and redress the grievances of individuals. At the general assembly, or champ dt Mai^ the roj^al envoys made their report to the sovereign and states; and thus the public attention was constantly directed to all the concerns of the empire. .6. The private character of Charlemagne was most amiable and respectable. His secretary, Eginhart, has painted his domes- tic life in beautiful and simple colours. The economy of his fam- ily is characteristic of an age of great simplicity ; for his daugh- ters were assiduously employed in spinning and housewifery, and the sons were trained by their father in the practice of all manly exercises. This illustrious man died A. D, 814, in the seventy- second year of his age. Cotemporary with him was liaroun Al- caicliidj calipli of the Saracen?, ec^iiall/ celebrated ibr his Goa- MODERN Hl&TORV, l'2t quests, excellent policy, and the wisdom and humanity of his gor-' eriimcnt. 7. Of all the lawful sons of Charlomag-ne Lewis the debonnairt> was the only one who survived hi;n, and who therefore succeeded without dispute to all the imperial do-ninionp, except Italy, whick the emperor had settled ou iJeruard, his grandsou by Fepin, hi« ^coud son. SECTION y, J^IANNERS, GOVERNMENT, AND CUSTOMS OF THE AGL^ OF CHARLEMAGNE. 1. Tn establishing- the provincial conventions under the royal envoys Charlema'irne did not entirely abolish the authority of th© ancient chief maj;istrates, the dukes and counts. They continued to command the troops of the province, and to make the levies i* stated numbers from each district. Cavalry were not numerous in the imperial armies, twelve farms bein^ taxed to furnish only o^.ia horseman with his armour and accoutrements. The province supplied six months' provisions to its complement of men, and th© kiu^ maintained them durinsf the rest of the ca^npaign. 2. The en»-ines for the attack and defence of towns were, as ia form«r times, the ram, the balista, ca-apulta, testudo, Slc. Char" ie na;^ne had his ships of war stationed in the mouths of all the lar2:er rivers. He bestowed great attention on commerce. 'i'h« merchants of Italy and the south of J- ranee traded to the Levant, and exchang-ed the commodities of Europe and Asia. Venice aiid Grenoa were rising' into commercial opulence ; and the manu- factures of wool, ^lass, and iron, were successfully cultivated iin. many of the principal towns in the south of Europe. o. The value of money was nearly the same as in the Romaa «!npire in the a::^e of Constantine the great. The numerary livre, in the age of Charlemagne, was supposed to be a pound of silver, in value about 31. sterling of English money. At present the livrs ia worth 19 l-2d. Knglish. Hence we ought to be cautious in foraiing our estimate of ancient money from its name. From the wait of this caution have arisen the most erroneous ideas of the «0;n nerce, riches, and strength of the ancient kingdoms. 4. The capilalirLa (jstatule-hooks) of Charlemagne, compiled into a body A. D. 827, were recovered from oblivion in 1531 and 1545. They present many circumstances illustrative of the man- ners of the times. Unless in great cities there were no inns : the laws obliged every man to give accommodation to travellers. The chief towns were built of wood. The state of the mechanic arts was very low in Europe. The Saracens had made more pro- gress in them. Painting and sculpture were only preserved from al)3olute extinction by the existing remains' of ancient art. Char- le Jiagne appears to h-ive been anxious for the improvement of music; and the Italians are said to have instructed his French performers iu tiie tu't of playing oii the orgaa, Arciiitecture w^ l*f$ MODERN inSTOR?. • st'idier? arid successfully cultivated in that style termed the GotTi-' ic, which admits of great beauty, ele^-ance, and inagfnificeijce, Th(' composition of Mosaic appears to have been an invention of those ag:es. 5. The knowledge of letters was extremely low, and confined to a few of the ecclesiastics. ( harlen^ayne srave the utmost en- couragement to literature and the sciences, ii?vitiD°: into his do- minions of I ranee men eminent in those departments from Italy, and from the Britannic isles, which, in those dark ages, preserved more of the light of learning than any of the western kiiigdoms. *' Keque enim siltnda laus Briiannirr^ Scotia^ et Hibernicc. qua studio liberalium arHum to tempore anfecellebant rdiquis ociuhri' talibus regnis ; et cm a prcEseitiin monachorum^ qui litcraruvi ^lo- riani^ alibi aut languentem aui depressaw^ in lis reg/oriihusimpif:re suscitabani atqut taebantur .'''* Mnrat. Anliq. Iial. Liss. 43. "/ vimst not omit the praise due to England^ Scotland^ and Ireland^ •which at that time excelled the other insiern kingdoms in the study €f the libernl arts ; and especially to the monks^ by whose care and diligence the honour of liteiature^ iihich in other countries uas eithei languishing or depiessed^rvas revived and protected in tlese.'^ The scarcity of books in those times, and the nature of their sub- jects, as legends, lives ol the saints, &:c., evince the narrow diiTu- sion of literature. * 6. The ptcuniary fines for homicide, the ordeal or judg-ment of God. and judicial combat, were striking; peculiaiities in the laws and manners of the northern nations, and particularly of the Franks. By this warlike, barbarous people, revenge was esteem- ed honourable and meritorious. The high- spirited warrior chas- tised or vindicated with his own hand the injuries which he had recei\ed or inflicted The magistrate interfered, not to punish, but to reconcile, and was satisfied if he could persuade the ag- gressor to pay, and the injured party to accept, the moderate fine which was imposed as the price of blood,^ and of which the mea- sure was estimated according' to the rank, the sex, and the coun- try of the person slain. But increashig civilization abolished those barbarous distinctions. "VVc have remarked the equal severity of the laws of the Visigoths, in the crimes of murder and robbery ; and even among the i ra jks, in the age of Charlemagne, delibe- rate murder was punished Vv'ith death. 7. By their ancient laws, a party accused of any crime was al- lowed to produce con^purgators, or a certain number of witnesses, according to the measure of the oiience ; and if these declared upon oath their belief of his innocence, it was held a sufficient exculpation. Seventy-two compiijgators were required to acquit a murderer or an incendiary, 'the flagrant perjuries occasi.-ned by this absurd piactice probably gave rise to the trial by ordeal, l^'hich was termed, as it was believed to be, the judgment of God. Ihe criminal was ordered, at the option of the juiige, to prove hie innocence or guilt, by the ordeal of cold water, of boiling water, or red hot iron. He was tied hand and font, and thrown into a pool, to sink or swim ; he was niade to fetch a ring from the bot- tofti of a vfe«sei e!le, ^ . J). 816. Among the f.rst acts of his rci.rn was tlv^ ; !:ewise a share, which could not be done but at the expence ci his elder brothers. 1 ewis was compelled to suivendei' hirastif a prijoner tolas rebellious sons. "^1 hey couthied him for a year to a monas(ery, till, on a r:ew quarrol between Lev.'is the yeungcr ai.d i'cpin, botharius once more restore d his father to the thre,!!o : but his spirits v/eie broken, his health de- cayed, and he finished, soon after, an iugloriLais and turbulent reign, >. D. 840. 2. 'ihe dissensions of the brothers still continued. Lotharius, now emperor, and Fepin his brother's s^n, having taken up arms against the two other-sons of Lewis le dthonnairt^ Lewis of Rava- ria and Charlesthe bald, wtre defeated by them in the battle of Foritenai, where 1(50,000 are said to have fallen in the field. The church in th':>se times was a prime organ of the civil policy. A council of bishops immediately assembled, ard solenmly deposed Lotharius. At the sane time they assumed an equal ai.ithority over his conquerors, whom they permitted to reign, on the express condition of submit sivt obedience to the supieme spiritual author- ity. Yet Lotharius, though excommunicated and deposed, found means to accommodate matters with his brothers, who agreed t@ a new partition of the emipire. By the treaty of Verdun, A. D. 843, the western part of irance, termed Neustria and Aquitaine, was assigned to Charles the bald ; I-otharius, with the title of emperor, had the nominal sovereignty of Italy, and the real terri- tory of Lorraine, Franche Compte, Frovence, and the Lyonnois ; the share of Lewis was the kiiigdom of Cei'many. 3. Thus was Germany finally separated from the empire of the Franks. On the death of Lotharius Charles the bald assumed the empire, or, as is said, purchased it from pope John VIH, on the condition of holding it as a vassal to the holy see. This prince, after a weak and inglorious reign, died by poison, A. D. 877. He was the first of the i rench monarchs who made dignities and titles hereditary. Under the distracted reigns of the Carloyingian 132 MODiRN HISTORY. kin°rs the nobles attained great power, and commanded a formida- ble vassalage. 1 hey strengthened themselves in their castles and fortresses, and bid defiance in the arm of- govern jnent, -while the country was ravaged and desolated by their feuds. 4. (n the reign of C haries the bald France was plundered by the Normans, a new race of Goths fi oin ^-Can'iii-a^ ia, who had be- gun their depredations even in the tinn.- of * harlemagne, and w-ere only checked in their prog:rcss by the terror of his arms. A, D. 843 they sailed up the Seine, and plunder* d Kou en ; while anoth- er fleet entered the 1 oire, ard laid waste the country and its vi- cinity, cauyins:, tcg;ether with its spoils, men, women and chil- dren into captivity. In the tollowin;:': ytar they attacked the coasts of I-'nglard, T ranee and Spain, but vrtre repelled from the last by the good conduct and courage of its ?>ahometan rulers. In 845 they entered the Flbe, plundered Hamburgh, and penetrated far into Germany. Eric, king of -Denmark, who c-mmanded Ihese Normans, scut once more a fleet into the Feine, which advanced to Paris. Its inhabitants fied, and the city was burnt. Another lieet, with little resistance, pillaged Bourdeaux. To avert Ihe arms of these ravagers, Charles the bald bribed them with money ; and bis successor, Charles the gross, yielded them a part of his blemish dominions. These were only incentives to fresh depredation. Pa- ris was attacked a second time, but gallantly defended by count Odo or F.udes, and the venerable bishop Go?lin. A truce was a second time concluded ; but the barbarians only changed the scene of their attack: they besieged Sens, and plundered Burgundy. An assembly of the states held at Mentz deposed the unworthy Charles, and conferred the crown on the more deserving Eudes ; who, dur- ing a reign of ten years, bravely withstood the Normans. A great part of the states of France, however, refused his title to the crown, and gave their allegiance to Charles surnamed the simple, 5. Rollo, the Norman, in 912, compelled the king of France to yield him a large portion of the territory of Neustria, and to give him his daughter in marriage. The new kingdom was now calledl Normandy, of which Rouen was the capital. SECTION VIII. SiWPIRE OF THE EAPT DURING THE EIGPITH ANB NINTH CENTURIES. 1. While the new empire of the west was thus rapidly tending to dissolution, the empire of Constantinople still retained a ves- tige of its ancient grandeur. It had lost its African and Syrian dependencies, and was plundered by the Saracens on the eastern frontier, and ravaged on the north and west by the Abari and Bul- garians. The capital, though splendid and refined, was a con- stant scene of rebellions and conspiracies ; and the imperial fam- ily itself exhibited a series of the most horrid crimes and atroci- ties. One emperor was put to death in revenge of murder and mc*-st ; another was poisoned by his queen ; a Uiird was assassi- Modern history 19« Mated in the bath by his OAvn domestics ; a fourth tore out the eyes of his brothers; the empress Irene, respectable for her tal- ents, was infamous for the murder of her only son. Of such con - plexion was that series of princes who swayed the sceptre of Vav. east nearly "200 years. 2. In the latter part of this period a most violent coutrovprsy was maintained respecting the M'orship of imag'es, which were al- ternately destroyed and replaced according to the humour of the sovereign. The female sex was their most zealous supporter. This was not the only subject of division in the christian church ; the doctrines of the Maniches were then extremely prevalent, and the sword was frequently employed to support and propagate their tenets. 3. The misfortunes of the empire were increased by an inva- sion of the Russians from the Talus Mceotis and Euxine. In tLo reign of Leo, named the philosopher, the Turks, a new race cf barbarians, of Scythian or Tartarian breed, began to ma'ce ef- fectual inroads on its territories. About the same time its dO' mestic calamities were aggravated by the separation of the Creek from the Latin church, of which we shall treat under the fo] ■ow- ing: section. SECTION IX. STATE OF THE CHURCH IN THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES. 1. The popes had begun to acquire a temporal authority under Pepin le bref and Charlemagne, from the donations of territory made by those princes, and they were now gradually extending a spiritual jurisdiction over all the christian kingdoms. Nicholas I. proclaimed to the whole world his paramount judgment in appeal from the sentences of all spiritual judicatories ; his power of as- sembling councils of the church, and of regulating it by the ca- nons of those councils ; the right of exercising his authority by legates in all the kingdoms of Europe, and the control of the pope over all princes and governors. IJterary imposture gave its support to these pretences. Certain :5purious epistles were writ- ten in the name of Isidorus, with the design of proving the justice of the claiais of the pope ; and the f ri^f ry of those epistles was not completely exposed till the sixteenth century. Among the prerogatives of the popes was the regulation of the marriages of all the crowned heads, by the extreuie extension of the prohibi- tions of the canon law, with which they alone had the power of dispensing. 2. One extraordinary event (if true) afforded, in the ninth cen- tury, a ludicrous interruption to the boasted succession of regu- lar bishops from the days of St. Peter, the election of a female pope, WHO is said to have ably governed the church for three years, till detected by the birth of a child.- Till the reformation 12 f34 MODERN HISTORY. ty Luther this event "vvas not regarded by the catholics sis incred- ible, nor disgracefnl to the church : since that time its truth or falsehood has been the subject of keen controversy betvi^een the protestants and catholics ; and the evidence for its falsehood seems to preponderate. 3. The church was thus gfradually extending its influence, and its head arrogating the control over sovereign princes, who, by a singular interchange of character, seem, in those ages, to have fixed their chief attention on spiritual concerns. Kings, dukes, and counts, neglecting their temporal duties, shut themselves ttp in cloisters, and spent their lives in prayers and penances. Eccle- siastics were employed in all the departments of secular govern- ment ; and they alone conducted all public measures and state negotiations, which of course they directed to the great objects of advancing the interests of the church, and establishing the para- mount authority of the holy see. 4. At this period, however, Avhen the popedom seemed to have attained its highest ascendancy, it suffered a severe wound in that remarkable schism which separated the patriarchates of Rome and Constantinople, or the Greek and Latin churches. The Ro- man pontiff had hitherto claimed the right of nominating the pa- triarch of Constantinople. The emperor Michael IIL denied this right, and deposing the pope''s patriarch, Ignatius, appointed the celebrated Photius in his stead. Pope Nicholas L resented this affront with a high spirit, and deposed and excommunicated Pho- tius, A. D. 863, who, in bis turn, pronounced a similar sentence against the pope. The church was divided, each patriarch being' supported by many bishops and their dependent clergy. The Greek and Latin bishops had long differed in many points of prac- tice and discipline, as the celibacy of the clergy, the shaving of their beards, &c. ; l3ut in reality the prime source of division was the ambition of the rival pontiffs, and the jealousy of the Greek emperors, unwilling to admit the control of Rome, and obstinately asserting every prerogative which they conceived to be annexed to the capital of the Roman empire. As neither party would yield in its pretensions, the division of the Greek and Latin churches became from this time permanent. 5. Amid those ambitious contests for ecclesiastical power and pre-eminence, the christian religion itself was disgraced, both by the practice and by the principles of its teachers. Vi orldly ambi- tion, gross voluptuousness, and grosser ignorance, characterized all ranks of the clergy ; and the open sale of benefices placed them often in the hands of the basest and most profligate of men. Yet the character of Photius forms an illustrious exception. Though bred a statesman and a soldier, and in both these respects •f great reputation, he attained, by his singular abilities, learn- ing, and worth, the highest dignity cf t?ie church. His Bihlio-^ theca is a monument of the most various knowledge, erudition,, and critical judgment. MODERN HISTORY. 133 SECTION X. OP THE SARACENS IN THE EIGHTH AND NINTH CENr. TURIES. 1. In the beginning of the eighth century the Saracens sub- verted the monarchy of the Visigoths in Spain, and easily overran the country. They had lately founded in Africa the empire of Morocco, which was governed by Muza, viceroy of the caliph Valid Almanzor. Muza sent his general Tariph into Spahi, who^ in one memorable battle, fought A. D. 713, stripped the Gothic king Rodilgo of his crown and life. The conquerors, satisfied with the sovereignty of the country, left the vanquished Goths in possession of their property, laws, and religion. Abdallah the Moor married th§ widow of Rodrigo, and the two nations formed a perfect union. One small part of the rocky country of Asturia alone adhered to its christian prince, Pelagius, who maintained his little sovereignty, and transmitted it inviolate to his successors. 2. The P.'Ioors pushed their conquests beyond the Pyrenees ; but division arising among their emirs, and civil wars ensuing, LeAvis h dabonnaire took advantage of the turbulent state of ihe coun- try, and invaded and seized Barcelona, The Moorish sovereignty in the north of Spain v/as weakened by throwing off its depeJi-- dence on the caliphs ; n.nd in this juncture the christian sovereign- ty of the Asturia?, under Alphonso the chaste, began to make vig- orous encroachments on the territory of the Moors. Navarre and. Arragon, roused by this example, chose each a christian king, and feoldly asserted their liberty and independence. 3. While the Moors of Spain were thus losing ground in the north, they were highly flourishing in the southern parts of the kingdom. Abdalrah;nan, the last heir of the family of the Ommi- ades (the Abassidae now enjoying the caliphate), was recognized as the true representative of the ancient line by the southern Moors. He fixed the seat of his government at Cordova, which, for tv/o centuries from that time, v/as the capital of a splendid monarchy. This period, from the middle of the eighth to the middle of the tenth century, is the most brilliant cera of Arabiaa magnificence. Whilst Haroun Alraschid made Ragdat illustrious by the splendour of the arts and sciences, the Moors of Cordova vied with their brethren of Asia in the same honourable pursuits, and were undoubtedly at this period the most enlightened of the states of Europe. Under a series of able princes they gained the highest reputation, both in arts and arms, of all the nations of the v/est. 4. The Saracens were at this time extending their conquests in almost every quarter of the world. The Mahometan religion was professed over a great pa,rt of India, and all along the eastern and Mediterranean c- ast of Africa. The African Saracens invaded Sicily, and projected the conquest of Italy. They actually laid §ie§;e t« R»iue, v/hiph v/s«s nobty defended by pope Leo IV, The^.- "ioo MODEtlN Hi STORY. were reioulsed, their ships v/ere dispersed by a storm, and their arrny T/as cut to pieces, A. D. 848. C. The Saracens might have raised cm immense empire, if they iir d -. -knowiedged ccihv' or;C head; but their states were always c:'.;:; .tod. Eg-ypt, Morocco, Spain, India, had ail their separate sover. igrns, v/ho cov>tiiir;ed to respect the caliph of Kagdat as the succoisor of the prophet, but acknowledged no temporal siibjec- ik-'A i) his s-oTernnient. SECTIONS XL i:^T = -mE OF THE WEST AND ITALY IN THE TENTH AND ELEVENTH CENTURIES. i. The e)npi*e founded by Charlemagne now subsisted only in 'T'C-.-c c, Arnold, a bastard son of Cavloman, possessed Gcrmau}-. I'.alv v/as divided between Guy duke of Spolotto and Bereng-arius d-.! le of Priuli, who had received these duchies from Charles the bald. France, thou.?^h claimed by Arnold, was governed by Eu- (u:^. Thus the empire in reality consisted only of a part of G'er- t;i;,riy, while France, Spain, Italy, Burg-uudy, and the countries between the Macs and Rhine, were all subject to different poTrers. The ernperors^were at this time elected by the bishops and g-ran- dces all of A%hom claimed aT voice. In this manner Lewis the «oti of Arnold, the last of tlic blood of Charlemagne, was chosen emperor after the death of his father. On his demise Otho duke el' Saxony, by his credit with his brother grandees, conferred the empire on Conrad duke of iiauconia, at whose death Henry sur- narlied the fowler, son of the same duke Otho, was elected empe- K.r.A. D. 918. 2. Henry L (the fovvder), a prince of great abiiities, introduced order and good government into the empire. He united the gran- dees, and curbed their usurpations ; built, embellished, and forti-. fled the cities ; and enforced with great rigour the execution of the laws in the repression of all enormities. He had been conse- crated bv his own bishops, and maintained no corresponde.-ice- v/ith the'^see of Rome. 3. His son Otho (the great), A. D. 933, again united Italy to the empire, and kept the popedom in complete subjection. . He inade Denmark tributary to the imperial crown, annexed the crown of Bohemia to his own doraiuions, and seemed to aiin at a para- ciount authority over all the sovereigns of Europe. 4. Otho ou^ed his ascendancy in Italy to the dhov.^-^'-^ of the pa- pacy. Formosus, twice excommunicated by pope Joh.u VL'I, had arrived at the triple crown. On hi.:, 'lea+h hi- rival, pope Ste],hc.n VII caused his body to be dug out of i; e grave, and, after trial for his crimes, condemned it .to be flung into the Tiber. Ihe friends of lormosus had interest to procure the deposition of Ste* phfn,'who was strangled in pri:^o:i. I'hey sought and fou.nd his body, axid buried iR A surc-e:::ng pop^, Sergms Hi, a^am d.-s un this iil-falod carcase, a^.d thiew it into the 'iiper. Iwo iifii^n -MODERN HISTORY. 13? -tn»\is Vomen, Marozla and Theodora, manasjed for many years the popedom, and filled the chair of St. Peter with their own g:al- lants, or their adulterous ofFsprinor. Such was the state of the- holy see, when Beren2:arius duke of Priuli disputed the sovereign- ty of Italy Avith Ilug^h of Aries. The Italian states and pope John X!l, who took part against Berengarius, in%'ited Otho to compose the disorders of the country. He entered Italy, defeat- ed Berengarins, and was consecrated emperor by the pope, with the titles. of Caesar and Augustus ; in return for which honours lie Gonfirmed the donations made to the holy see by his predecessors, Fepin, Cliavlemagne, and Lewis the debonnaire, A. D. 962. 5. But John XII. was false to his nev^ ally. He made his peace with Berengarius, and both turned their arms against the emperor, Otho flew back to Rome, and revenged himself by the trial and deposition of the pope ; but he had scarcely left the city, whea John, by the aid of his party, displaced his rival Leo VIII. Otho once mo)-e returned, and took exemplary vengeance on his ene- mies, by hanging one half of the senate. Calling together th« lateran council, he created a new pope, and obtained from the assembled bishops a solemn acknowledgment of the absolute right t>f the emperor to elect to the papacy, to give the investiture of the crown of Italy, and to nominate to all vacant bishoprics ; con- cessions observed no longer than while the emperor was p,r€!pent to enforce them. 6. Such was the state of Rome and Italy under Otho the great^ e.nd it continued to be much the same under his successors for a century. The emperors asserted their sovereignty over Italy an-d the popedom, though with a constant resistance on the part of the Ramans, and a general repugnance of the pope, when once estab- lished. In those ages of ecclesiastical profligacy it was not unu- sual to put up the popedom to sale. Benedict VIII. and John XIX, two brothers, publicly bought the chair of St. Peter, one after the other ; and, to keep it in their family, it was purchased afterwards by their friends for Benedict IX, a child of tweh^e years of age. Three popes, each pretending regular election and equal right, agreed first to divide the revenues between them, ra*^ afterwards sold all their shares to a fourth. 7. The emperor Henry III, a prince of great ,Ebllity, strenuously vindicated his right to supply the pontiflcal chair, and created three successive popes without opposition. SECTION XII. HISTORY OF BRITAIN FROM ITS EARLIEST ITRIG© DOWN TO THE NORMAN CONQUEST. 1. The history of Britain has been postponed to this time, th^-t it may be considered in one connected view from its earliest peri? •ed to the end of the Anglo-SaxoB government. We strive not to pierce through that jni-st of obscurity -^iob 133 MODERN HISTORY. veils the original population of the British isles ; remarking^ ^^^7^ as a ma.tter of high probability, that they derived their first inha- bitants from the Ccltrfi of Gaul. Their authentic history com- mences Vvith the first Roman iiivasion ; and we learn from Caesar and Tacitus, that the country was at that period in a state very remote from barbarism. It xvas divided into a number of small independent sovereignties, each prince having a regular army and A fixed revenue. The manners, language, and religion of the pe(.>ple, were the same as those of the Gallic Celtjs. The religion ^^^as the druidical system, v/hose influence pervaded -overy depart- ment of the government, and, by its pov/er over the minds of the people, supplied the imperfection of laws. 2. Julius Caisar, after the conquest of Gaul, turned his eyes towards Britain. He landed on the southern coast of the island, 55 A. C. ; and meeting v/ith most obstinate resistance, though on the whole gaining some advantage, he found himself obliged, after a short campaign, to withdraw for the winter into Gaul. He returned in the following summer with a great increase of force, an army of 20,000 foot, a competent body of horse, and a fleet of 800 sail. The independent chiefs of the Britons united their forces under Cassibelanus king of the Trinobantes, and encoun- tering the legions with great resolution, displayed all the ability of practised warriors. But the contest was vain. Cassar adran-^ ced into the co-jniry, burnt Verulamiam, the capital of Cassi*- belanus, and, after forcing the Britons into articles of submission.^ returned to Gaul. 3. Ihe domestic Jisordevs of Italy gave tranquillity to the Britons for near a century; but, in the reign of C^laudius, the »i;onquest of the i?l8.ad was determined. The emperor landed in Britain and compelled the subniission of the fouth-eastern provinc* es. Ostorius ScajHila defeated Caractacus, who was sefit prisoner to Rome. Suetonius Faulinus, the general of Nero, destroyed Mona (Anglesey, or as others think, Man), the centre of the druid- ical suj erstition. The Iccni (inhabitants of Norfolk and Suffolk), vUiikr their queen Boadicea, attacked several of the Roman st t- tkments. London, with its Roman garrison, was burnt to ashes. But a decisive battle ensued, in which 00,000 of the Britons fell in the field, A. D. 61. Thirty years after, in the reign of Titus, the reduction of the island Avas completed by the Roman gener- al. Julius Agricoia. lie secured the Roman province against in- vasion from the Caledonians, by walls and garrisons ; and recon- ciled the southern inhabitants to the government of their conquer- ors, by the introduction of Roman arts and improvements. Under Severus tlio Roman province was extended far into the north of Scotland. 4. With the decline of the Roman power in the west, the southern Britons recovered their liberty, but it was only to become the object of incessant predatory invasion froin their brethren of tlie north. The Romans, after rebuilding the wall of Severus, fi- nally bid adieu to Britain, A. D. 448. The Picts and Caledoni- ans now broke down upon the so jth, ravaging and desolating the country, without a purpose ol cou(iuest, aatl weieij, as it appears^ ;»IOL)ERN HISTORY. 139 ibv the supply oi" their temporary wants. After repeated applica- tion for aid froai Rome without success, the Briljns meanly soli- cited the Saxons for succour and protection. 5. The Saxons received the embassy with jj;reat satisfaction^ Britain had been long known to them in their piratical voyages to its coasts. They lauded to the amount of IGOO, under the com- mand of Hengist and Horsa, A. D. 450 ; and joining the South Britons, soon, compelled the Scots to retire to their mountains > They next turned their thoughts to the entire reduction of the Brit- ons, and received large reinforcements of their countrymen. Al- ter an obstinate contest of nsar 150 years they reduced the whole of England under the Saxon government. Seven distinct proyv iuces became as many independent kingdoms. 6. The history of the Saxon heptarchy is uninteresting, from its obscurity and confusion. It is suiiicient to mark the duration of the several kingdoms, till theii" union under Egbert. Kent began in 455, and lasted, under seventeen princes, till 827, when it was subdued by the West Saxons. Under Ethelbert, one of 'its kings, the Saxons were converted to Christianity by the monk Augustine. Northumberland began in 597, and lasted, under twenty-three kings, till 792. East Anglia began in 575, and ended in 793. Mercia subsisted from 582 to 827. Essex had fourteen princes, from 527 to 747. Sussex had five kings before its reduction under the dominion of the West Saxons, about 600. Wessex (the couii* Iry of the West Saxons) began in 519, and had not subsisted a- bove eighty years, when Cadwalla, king of Wessex, conquered Sussex, and annexed it to his dominions. As there was no fixed rule of succession, it was the policy of the Saxon princes to put to death all the rivals of their intended successor. From this cause^ and from the passion for celibacy, the royal families were nearly extinguished in the kingdoms of the heptarchy ; and Egbert, prince of the West Saxons, remained the sole surviving descendant of the Saxon conquerors of Britain. This circumstance, so favor- able to his ambition, promjj'ed him to attempt the conquest of the heptarchy ; and he succeeded in the enterprize. By his victori- o'.is arms and judicious policy all the separate states were unittd into one great kingdom, A. D. 827, near 400 years after the firit ari'ival of the Saxons in Britain. 7. England, thus united, was far from enjoying tranquillity* The piratical Normans or Danes had for fifty years desolated her" coasts, and coniinued, for some centuries after this period, to be a pei-petual scourg/ to the country. Under Alfred (the great), grandson of Egbert, the kingdom was from this cause reduced to extreme wretchedness. The heroic Alfred in one year defeated the Danes in eight battles ; but a new irruption of their country- men forced him to solicit a peace, which these pirates constantly interrupted by new hostilities, Alfred was compelled to seek his safety for many months in an obscure quarter of the country, till the disorders of the Danish army offered a fair opportunity of at- tacking them, which he impioved to the entire defeat of his ene- mies. He might have destroyed them ail, but chose rather to spai-e and to 'mcov^ov^ta tiiinn y^ith iiia English sub/ects, Tui's 140 Mojffilijs^ ms-fOfY. olemency did not restrain their countrymen from atteiQipiJhg a new invasion, liipy were again defeated with immense loss ; and the extreme severity which it was necessary to exercise against the vanquished, had the effect of suspending the Danish depreda- tions for several years. 8. Alfred, whether considered in his public or private charf\cter, deserves to be reckoned among the be^t and iious slaves of their tyranny and ambition. In' the r •;.,.; i-f Eihelred, A. D. 901, the Danes seriously projected the c _, : . ■. : of En2,]and ; and led by Swcyn king of Denmark, and cf i\'.\ -^ i;, made a more formidable descent, won sevr; :i,t u; :il s, and were restrained from the destruc- tion 01 London only l;y a dastardly sub;nissioa, and a promise of tribute to be paid by the inglorious Eihelred. The English no- bility v/ere ashamed of their prince, and, seeing no other relief to the kingdom, made a t.^u lep of the crown to the Danish monarch. On the death of Sweyn, Ethelred atiCinpled to regain his king-- dom, but found in Can.ile, the son of Sv/eyn, a prince determined to support his claims. On the death of Ethelred his son Edmund Ironside gallantly but ineii^:;ctualiy opposed Canute. At length a partition of the kivigdom was made between Canute and Ed- mund, wh:';a, after a :ew jnonths, the Danes annulled by the murder of E j.n.i'W, liius secwrin;^ to their monarch Canute the throne of ail Engi?;ad, A. 1>. 10J7. Edmund left two children, Edgar Atholing, and Margaret, afterwards wife to i^Ialcolm Cau- m^re, king '--' sr,->- lorvi. 1?. €■-■■ ,: :;n^'eiTul ^nonarch of his time, sovereign of Denn;:;.; ■_ ^ Linglaa',!. swayed, for seventeen years, the sceplr- -r ;.!);:<;tu I vith a firm aid vigorous hand. He was sever? in tn ; b::iu m.g o:" his reign, while his government was in- ■-e. . :\,' • bu: rnild aa_d equiiable v,'hen possessed of a settled do- ru i: -. He left, A. D. iOdrJ, three sons, Sweyn, who was crown- ■ f Norway, Harold!, vriio succeeded to the throne of Eng- iicu-ui:.:\n;i{v', sovereign of Denmark. Harold, a raer- -^ ::, died in t:ij fo'.irui year of his reign, and was succeed* • : ,' iiardicau'ite, v^'ho, afcLU' a violent administration of two i:li_ i In ant oi (b:bo icli. The English seized this opportu- .::ii:/ vbi" ihv iKiuAi yoke, and conferred the crown on . .; }ou;.-: r ^-; 1 :k jb'ielred, rejecting the preicrable right oi i-.uga!' Atbeii u;-, lh._; son oi iMi;n;nid, who, unibrtunafely ibr his pretensions, V,' as, at this time abroad in Hungary. Edward, surnamed the conibssor, A. D. 1041, reigned weakiy and inglori- ously for twenty-tlve years, i'he rebellious attempts of Godwin, earl of Wesjex, aimed at noihbig less than a usurpation of the crow. J ; au 1 0.1 hi- d-Mib, Irs s.u i 'arcid, cherishing secretly the same \-iL- A^rf ofanbl.!-.!, b,t ! ^i ;i I Iress lo secure to his interest ,a very tbrmidable I'-^-y '■- '-■■•-^ ki ig ion, Ehvard, to defeat thesi? Tiews beqaeauied i.\:'. crow.i to v^'biiaoi deke o;' iVor-nandy, a prince wjiose grea' abilities and personal prowess had rendered hi^ .Ea n-. illustr;o.!s over E-irope. 13. Oa th.^ dea' h of Edwa-d the confesior, 1036, the usurper Harold took possession oi' rhe throne, which Ihe i:i.r;pid xVormaa <:i.-.r-.rmm<^d immediately to reclaim a-? his inncbaoe of ight. ilx iiade the most lormidable preparanuns, aided, in this age of ro- mantic eytcrpri^e, bv nany of cue .-jvereign princes, and a vast body of lae no biiii^y, iroia the di;Jereut coniineaiai Kju^-doms. A H^ MODERN HISTORY. Norwegian fleet of 300 sail entered the Hum'uer (a river on the t^astern coast of England). The troops were disembarked, and, after one successful engagement, were defeated by the English ar- my in the interest of Harold. William landed his army on the coast of Sussex, to the amount of 60,000 ; and the English, under Harold, flushed with their recent success, hastily advanced to meet him, being imprudently resolved to venture all on one decisive / battle. The toto.! rout and discomfitvxre of the English army i*i y the field of Hasthigs, on the 14th day of October, 1066, and the ' death of Harold, after some fruitless attempts of further resistance, put William duke of I\'oimandy in possession of the throne of England. SECTION XIII. <^F THE GOVEPvNMENT, LAWS, AND MANNERS OF THE ANGLO-SAXONS. 1. The government, laws, and manners of the Anglo-Saxons have become a subject of inquiry to modern writers, as being sup- posed lohave had influence in the formation of the British constitu- tion. The government of the Saxons was the same as that of all the ancient Germanic nation?, and they naturally retained, in their new settlement in Britain, a policy similar to their accustomed usages. Their subordination v/as chiefly military, the king hav- ing no more authority than v/hat belonged to the general, or mili- tary leader. There was no strict rule of succession to the throne ; for though the king was generally chosen from the family of the last princG, yet the choice usually fell on the person of the best capacity for government, iasome instances the destination of the last sovereign regulated the choice. We know very little of the Mature of the Anglo-^ axon go'v'ernment, or of the distinct rights of the sovereign and people. 2. One institution common to all the king(^onis of the heptarchy was the wittenagemot, or assembly of the wise men, whose consent was requisite for enacting laws, and ra.tifying the chief acts of pivisiic administration. The bishops and abbots formed a part of this assembly ; also the aldermen, or eavls, and governors of coun- ties. The wites, or wise men, are discriminated from the prelales and nobility, and have by some been supposed to hav<^ been the representatives of the commons. But Ave hear nothing of election or representation in those periods, and we must therefore presume ibat they were merely landholders, or mm of considerable estate, who, fr-'m ^b*:-!!' v/eight and consequence in the country, were ht id entitled, without a;y election, to take a share in the public delib- erations. 3. The Anglo-Saxon g'overnment was extremely aristocratical ; the regal authority bein^ very limited, the rights of the people little known or regarded, ajad the nobility possessing^ much uncon- trolled and lawless rule over their dependents. The oflices of g<>vernment were hereditary in their families, and they command- ed the whole rjiUitajy force of Xh^lr rc'spectiye province?. So MODERN HISTORY. 143 i-rict was the cUentela between these nobles and their vassals, that he murder of a vassal was cempensated by a fine paid to his ord. 4. There were three ranks of the people, the nobles, the free, md the slaves. The nobles were either the king's thanes, who leld their lands directly from the sovereia^n, or less thanes, who leld lands from the former. One law of Athelstan declared, that I merchant who haJ made three voyag-es on his own account vas entitled to the dig^nity of thane ; another decreed the same ank to a ceorle, or husbandman, who was able to purchase five lides of land, and had a chapel, a kitchen, a hall, and a bell. Phe ceorles, or freemen of the lower rank, occupied the farms of he thanes, for which they paid rent ; and they were removable it the pleasure of th^nr lord. The slaves or villains were either ;mployed in domestic puposes, or in cultivating the lands. A naster was fined for the murder of his slave ; and if he mutila.ted lim, the slave recovered his freedom. 5. Under this aristocratical government there were some traces >f the ancient Germanic democracy. The courts of the decen- lary, the hundred, and the county, were a considerable restraint >n the power of the nobles. In the county-courts the freeholders net twice a-year to determine appeals by the majority of suffrages. Fhe alderman presided in those courts, but had no vote : he re- ceived a third of the fines, the remaining two-thirds devolving to :he king, which was a great part of the royal revenue. Pecun- ary fines were the ordinary atonement for every species of crime, «.nd the modes of proof were the ordeal by fire or water, or by lompurgators. (Part II, Sect. V, i 7.) 6. As to the military force, the expense of defending the state ay equally on all the land, every five hides or ploughs being tax- •d to furnish a soldier. There were 243,600 hides in England, lODsequently the ordinary military force consisted of 48,720 men. 7. The king's revenue, besides the fines imposed by the courts, lonsisted partly of his demesnes or property-lands, which were BXtensive, and partly in imposts on boroughs and sea-ports. The Danegelt was a tax imposed by the states, either for payment of tribute exacted by the Danes, or for defending the kingdom (Lgainst them. By the custom of gavelkind, the land was divided equally among all the male children of the deceased proprietor. Book-land was that which was held by charter, and folk-land what was held by tenants removable at pleasure. 8. The Anglo-Saxons were bf hind the Normans in every point pf civilization ; and the conquest was therefore to them a real advantage, as it led to material impr©vement in arts, science, government, aad laws. 144 MODERN HISTORY SECTION xiy. STATE OF EUROPE DURING THE TENTH, ELEVENTH, AND TWELFTH CENTURIES. 1. France, from the extent and splendour of its dominion un- der Charlemagne, had dAvindled to a shadow under his -weak pos- terity. At the end of the Carlovingian period France compre- hended neither Normandy, Danphine, nor ProveriCe. On the death of Lewis V. (Faineant), tlic crown ought to have devolved on his uncle, Charles of Brabant, as the last male oi ";i;e race of Charlemagne; but Hugh Capet, h rd of Picardy and Cl.rmpagne, the most powerful of the French n.-bles, was elected sovereign by the voice of his brother peers, ^. 1j. 907. The kingdcni, torn by parties, suffered much domestic misery under the r^igu cf Hugh, and that of his successor Pcobert ; the victim of papal tyranny, for daring to marry a distant cousin without the dispensation of the church. 2. The prevailing passion of the times was pilgrimage and chi- ralroits enterpri/e. In this cart er of adventure the Normans most remarkably distinguished thciiiselves. In 983 they relieved the prince of Salerno, by expelling the Saracens from Lis territory. They did a similar service to pope FJenedict VIII, and the duke of Capua ; while another band of their countrymen fought first against the Greeks, and afterwards against the popes, alv. ays sell- ing their services to those who best rewarded them. William Fierabras, and his brothers, Humphrey, Robert, and Richard, kept the pope a prisoner for a year at Benevento, and forc&d the court of Rome to yield Capua to Richard, and Apulia and Cala- bria to Robert, with the investiture of Sicily, if he should gain the country from the Saracens. In 1101 Rogero the Norman comple- ted the conquest of Sicily, of which the popes continued to be the lords paramount. 3. The north of Europe was in those periods extremely barba- ■rous. Russia received the christian religion in the eighth cen- tury. Sweden, after its conversion in the ninth century, relapsed into idolatry, as did Hungary and Bohemia. The Coustantino- politan empire defended its frontiers with difficulty against the Bulgarians on the west, and against the Turks and Arabians on the east and north. 4. In Italy, excepting the territory of the popedom, the princi- palities of the independent nobles, and the states of Venice and Genoa, the greater part of the country was now in the possession of the Normans. Venice and Genoa were rising gradually to great opulence from commerce. Venice was for seme ages tribu- tary to the emperors of Germany. In the tenth century its doge assumed the title of duke of Lalmatia, of which the republic had acquired the property by conquest, as well as of Istria, Spalatro, Ragusa, and Narenza. 5. Spain was chiefly possessed by the Moors ; the christians retainu'g only about a fourth of the kingdom, namely, Asturia. MOJDEFtN HISTORY. 145 jiart of CastKe and Catalonia, Navarre, and Arra^on. Portug*al was likewise occupied by the Moors. Their capital was Cordo- va, the seat of luxury and magnificence. In the tenth century the Moorish dominions were split among- a number of petty sove- reigns, who were constantly at war with one another. Such, un- fortunately, was likewise the situation of the christian part of the kingdom ; and it was no uncommon policy for the cVn'istian prin- ces to form alliances with the Moors against one another. Be- sides these the country abounded with independent lords, who made war their profession, and performed the otfice of champions in deciding the quarrels of princes, or enlisted themselves in ttieir service with all their vassals and attendants. Of these, termed cavalleTGs andantes^ or knights-errant, the most distinguished was Rodrigo the cid, who undertook for his sovereign, Alphonso king t.f Old Castile, to conquer the kingdom of New Castile, and achieved it M'ith success, obtaining the governHjent of Valencia as the reward of his services. G. The contentions between the imperial and papal powers make a. distinguished figure in those ages. Kenry 111. vindicated the imperial right to fill the chair of St. Peter, and nominated three suecessive popes, without the intervention of a council of the church. Bwt in the minority of his son Henry IV. this right was frequently interrupted, and Alexander II. kept his seat, though the emperor named another in his place. It was the lot of this emperor to experience the utmost extent of papal inso- lence and tyranny. After a spirited contest with Gregory VII, in which the pope v/as twice his prisoner, and the emperor as often excommunicated and deposed, Henry fell at length the victim of ecclesiastical vengeance. Urban II, a successor of Gregory, prompted the two sons of Henry to rebel againsi their father ; and his misfortunes were terminated by imprisonment and death in HOG. The same contests went on under a succession of popes and emperors, but ended commenly in favour of the former. Fred- erick I. (Barbarossa), a prince of high spirit, after an indignant de- nial of the supremacy of Alexander III, and a refusal of the cus- tomary homage, was at length coKipelled to kiss his feet, and ap- pease his holiness by a large cession of territory. Pope Celesti- nus kicked off the imperial crown of Henry VI, while doing ho- mage on his knees, but made amends for this insolence by the gift of Naples and Sicily, from v/hich Henry had expelled the Nor- mans. These territories now became an appanage of the empire, 11^4. The succeeding popes rose on the pretensions of their pre- decessors, till at length Innocent III, in the beginning of the thir- teenth century, established the power of the popedom on a settled basis, aud outained a positive acknowledgment of the papal su- premasy, or the right principalcter et finalittr {principally and finally) to confer the imperial crown. It was the same pope In- nocent whom we shall presently see the disposer of the crown of England in the reign of the tyrant John. 13 146 MODERN .mSTOIlY. SECTION XV. HISTORY OF ENGLAND IN THE ELEVENTH, TWELFTH. AND PART OF TPIE THIRTEENTH CENTURIES. 1. The consequence of the bo.ttle of Hastings was the submis- sion of all England to William the conqueror. The character of this ]3rince was spirited, ha'ighty, and tyrannical, yet not wiihnut a portion of the generous affections. He disgusted his English subjects by the strong partiality which he showed ^o his Norjuan followers, preferring them to all offices of trust a-jd dig-nity. A conspiracy arose from these discontents, which William defeated, and avenged wilh signal rigour and cruelty. Be determined henceforward to treat the English as a conquered people, a policy that involved his reign i-i perpetual commotions, which, while they robbed him of all peace oi mind, aggravated the t}ranny of his disposition. To his own children he owed the severest of hi» troubles. Lis eldest son Robert rose in rebellion, to wrest from him the sovereignty of ]\ aire ; and his foreign si.Vjects took part with the rebel. A' illiam ltd ag^ainst th^m an army of the Eng;- lisb, and was on the point cf perishing- in fight by his son's hand. Philip L of France had aided this rebellion, which was avf>ng'( d hy William, who carried havoc and devastation into the heart of his kingdom, but was killed in the enterprize by a fall from his horse, 1087. He bequeathed England to TVilliam his second son ; to Robert he left Normandy ; and to Henry, his youngest son, the property of his mother Matilda. 2. "V\ illiam the conqueror introduced into England the feudal law, dividing- the whole kingdom, except the royal demesnes, into baronies, and bestowing: the most of these, under the tenure of miiitaiy service, on his Norman followers. Ey the forest laws he reserved to himself the exclusive privilege of killing game ©ver all the kingdom ; a restriction resented by his subjects above eve- ry other mark of servitude. Preparatory to the introduction of the feudal tenures, he planned and accomplished a general sur- vey of all the lands in the kingdom, with a distinct specification of their extent, nature, value, names of their proprietors, and an enumeration of every class of inhabitants who lived on them. This most valuable record, called Doomsday-book, is preserved ia the English exchequer, and is now printed. 3. William IL (Rufus) inherited the vices, without any of the virtues, of his father. His reign is distinguished by no event of importance, and, after the defeat of one conspiracy in its outset, presents nothing but a dull career of unresisted despotism. After a reign of thirteen years he was killed when hunting by the ran- dom shot of an arrow, 1100. Ihs crown of England would have devolved on his elder brother Ftobert ; but his absence on a cru- sade in Palestine made way ior the unopposed succession of hi3 younger brother TIenry, who, by his marriage v.ilh T/Jatilda, the nfece of Edgar Atheling, united the last remnant of the Saxon wilh the Norman line. Vv ith most criminal ambition he now in- MODERN "HISTORY. 147 -raded his brother^s doiiiinions of Normandy ; and Roherf, on his return, was defeated in battle, and detained tor life a prisoner ia Eng-land. The crimes of Henry were expiated by his misfortunts. His only son was drowned in his passage from Nor;nandj. His daughter Matilda, married first to the emperor Henry V, and af- terwards to Geoffrey Flantag-onet of Anjon, was destined to be his successor; bnt the popularity of his nephew Stephen, son of the count of Blois, defeated those intentions. Henry I. died in Nor- mandy, after a reig;n of thirty-five years, A. D. 1135; and, in ?pite of his destination to Matilda, Stephen seized the vacant throne. The party of Matilda, headed by her natural brother, the earl of Gloucester, engaged, defeated, and made Stephen pri- soner. Matilda in her turn mounted the throne ; but, unpopular from the tyranny of her disposition, she was sok*,nily deposed by the prevailing party of her rival ; and Stephen was once more re- stored. He found, however, in Henry Plantagenet, the son of Ma- tilda, a more foroiidabie competitor. Of a noble and intrepid spirit, he resolved, while yet a boy, to reclaim his hereditary crown ; and, landing ia England, won by his prowess, and the fa- vour of a just cause, a great part of the kingdom to his interest. By treaty wi'h Stephen, who was allo^ved to reign for life, he se- cored tlie succession at his death, which soon after ensued, 1154. 4. Henry 11, a prince in every sense deserving of the throne, began hjs rei-2;n with the reformation of all the abuses of the gov- ernment of his predecessors ; revoking all impolitic grants, abol- ishing partial immunities, regulating the administration of justice, aocl establishing the freedom of the towns by charters, which are at this day the basis of the national liberty. Happy in the alfec- tions of his people, and powerful in the vast extent of additio)ial territory which he enjoyed on the continent in right of his father and of his wife, the heiress of a great portion of France, his reign had every promise of prosperity and happiness ; but from one fa- tal source these pleasing prospects were all destroyed. Thom?vS Becket was raised by Henry from obscurity to the office of chan- cellor of England. On the vacancy of the see of Canterbury the king, desirous of his aid in the correction of ecclesiastical abuses, conferred' the primacy on his favourite ; and the arrogant Becket availed himself of that authority to abase the prerogative of his sovereign, and exalt the spiritual power above the crown. It v/as disputed, whether a priest could be tried for a murder, and pun- ished by the civil court. It was determined in the affirmative by the council of Clarendon, against the opinion of liecket. Pope Alexander III. annulled the decree of the council ; and Becket, who took part with the pope, was deprived by Henry of all his dignities and estates. He avenged himself by the excommunica- tion of the king's ministers ; and Henry, in return, prohibited all intercourse with the see of Rome. At length both parties foXind it their interest to come to a good understanding. Becket was re- stored to favour, and reinstated in his primacy,when the increas- ing insolence of his demeanour drew from the king some hasty expressions of indignation, which his servants interpreted into a ap^tence of proscription, and, trusting that the deed would b§ 148 MODERN HISTORY. grateful to their master, murdered the prelate while m the aet of celebrathig vespers at the altar. For this shocking action Kenry expressed the regret which he sincerely felt, and the pope indul- gently granted his pardon, on the assurance of his dutiful obedi- ence to the holy church. 5. The most important event of the reign of Henry II. v,-as the \ conquest of Ireland. The Irish, an early civilized people, ajxl among the first of the nations of the west who embraced the chris- tian religion, were, by/requent invasions of the Danes, and their ewn domestic commotions, replunged into barbarism for many ages. In the twelfth century the kingdom consisted of five sepa- rate jovereiguties, Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Meath, and Con' naught; hiit these were subdivided among an infinite number oi petty chiefs, ovving a very weak allegiance to their respective sovereigns. Derm^ Macmorrogh, expelled from his kingdom of Leinster for a rape ou the daughter of the king of Meath, sought protection from Henry, and engaged to become his feudatory, if he should recover his kingdom by the aid of the English. Henry empowered his subjects to invade Ireland, and, while Strongbow earl of Pembroke avcd his followers were laying waste the country, landed in the ii.land in 1172, and received the submission of inany gf tlie independent chiefs. Roderick O'Connor, prince of Con- naught, whom the Irish elected nominal sovereign of all the pro- vinces, resisted for three years the arms of Henry, but finally ac- ' knowledged his dominion by a solemn embassy t© the king at Windsor. The terms of the submission were, an annual tribute of every tenth hide of lajid, to be applied for the support of govern- *icnt, and an obligation of allegiance to the crown of England ; on which conditions the Irish should retain their possessions, and Roderick his kingdom ; except the territory of the Pale, or that part v/liich the English barons had subdued before the arrival of Mcnry. 6. Henry divided Ireland into counties, appointed sherifis in each, and introduced the laws of England into the territory of th« Pale. The rest of the kingdom was regulated by their ancient laws, till the reign of Edward I, when, at the request of the na- tion, the English laws v^ere extended to the whole kingdom. la the first Irish parliament, which was held in the same reign, sir John Wogan presided as deputy of the sovereign. From that time there was little intersourse between the two kingdoms for some centuries ; nor was the island considered as fully subdued till the reign of Elizabeth and of her successor James h 7. The latter part of the reign of Henry II. was clouded by do- mestic misfortunes. His children, Henry, Richard, Geoffrey, and John, instigated by their unnatural mother, rose in rebellion, and, with the aid of Louis VII, king of France, prepared t© dethrone their father. While opposing them with spirit on the continent, his kingdom was invaded by the Scots under William (the lion). lie hastened back to England, defeated the Scots, and made their king his prisoner. Two of his sons, Henry and Geoffrey, expi- ated their offences by an early death ; but Richard, once recon- ciled, was again seduced from his allegiance, and, in leag^ue with MODERN HISTORY. 149 the kin^ of France, plundered his fathar^'s contiaental dominion?. The s])irit of Henry was unequal to his domestic Tiifefortune'S and he died of a broken heart in the 58th year of his a^s, 111!^, au ornaiient to the En,^lish throne, and a prince surpassing all his «oateinporaries in the valuable qualities of a sovereisrn. To him Eao-land owed her first permanent improvement in arts, in laws, in g-overn'nent, and in civil liberty. 8. Richard I. (coaur de lion) immediately on his accession exa- bavl-rerl for the Holy Land, on a crusade ag'ainst the infidels, after plundering- his subjects ©f an immense sfira of money to defray the charges of the enterprize. Forming- a league with Philip Au- ^s^ustas of France, the two monarchs joined their forces, and act- iiig^ for some time in concert, were successful in the takings of Acra or Ptolemais ; but Philip, jealous of his rivaPs g^lory, soon return- ed to France, while Richard had the honour of def'-^atint:: ihe he- roic Saladin in the battle of Ascalon, with prodigious slaug-hter ©f his enemies. He prepared now for the sie^e of Jerusalem ; but, •iinding- his army wasted with famine and fatig-ue, he was compel- led to end the war by a truce with tSaladin, in which he obtained a free passag-e to the Holy Land for every christian pil,^rim. Wrecked in his voya,^e homeward, and travelling- in disg-uise throu;^h Germany, Richard was seized, and detained in prison, by command of the emperor Hen"y VL The king: of I'rance uug-eii- eronsly opposed his release, as did his unnatural brother Johc, froai selfish ambition ; bnt he was at leng-th ransomed by his sub- jects for the sum of 150,000 mefks, and, after an absence of nine years, returned to his dominions. Mis traitorous brother was par- doned after some submission ; and Richard employed the short rc^id'ie of his rei,2:n in a spirit&d revenue against his rival Philip. A truce, however, was concluded by the mediation of Rome ; and Richard was soon after killed, while stormingf the castle of one of Lis rebellions vassals in the Lijnosin. He died in the tenth year of his reig-n, and forty-second of his age, 1199. 9. John (lack-land) succeeded to the throne on the death of his brothor, but foxind a competitor in his nephew Arth-'r, the son of GeDlTrey, supported by Philip of France. War was of course re- newed with that country. Arthur, with fatal confidence, throw- ing himself into the hands of his uncle, was removed by poison or the sword : a deed which, joined to the kaown tyranny of hia character, rendered John the detestation of his subjects. He was stripped by Phili}) of hi5 continental dominions, and he made the pofio his enemy by an avaricious attack on the treasures of the c'larch. After an ineffectual menace of vengeance Innocent III. pr;>aounced a sentence of interdict against the kin«;dom, which put a stop to all the ordiaances of re'.ig-iou, to baptism, and the burial of the dead. He next exconrmunicated John, and absolved his subjects from their alleg-iance-; and he finally deposed him, and made a g-ift of the kingdom to Philip. John, intimidated into submission, declared himself the pope's va-svil, swore allegiance on his knees to the papal legate, and agreed to hold his k'ingdona .^libutpiiy to the holy see. On these conditions, which e^sured.tUe 150 MODEEN HISTORY tiniversal hatred and contempt of his people, he made his peace with the church. It was natural that his subjects, thus trampled upon and sold, should rindicate their rights. The barons of the kingdom assembled, and, binding themselves by oath to a union of measures, resolutely demanded from the king a ratification of a charter of privileges granted by Henry I. John appealed to the pope, who, in support of his vassal, prohibited the confederacy of the barons as rebellious. The barons were only the more reso- lute in their purpose, and the sword was their last resource. At length John was compelled to yield to their demands, and signed at Runymede, on the 19th day of June, 1215, that solemn charter, which is the foundation and bulwark of English liberty, Magna Charta (Jhe great charter). 10. By this great charter, 1, the freedom of election to benefi- ces was secured to the clergy ; 2, the fines to the overlord on the succession of vassals were regulated ; 3, no aids or subsidies were allowed to be levied from the subject, without the consent of the great council, unless in a few special cases ; 4, the crown shall not seize the lands of a baron for a debt, while he has personal pro- perty sufficient to discharge it ; 5, all the privileges granted by the king to his vassals shall be communicated by them to their inferior vassals •, 6, one weight and one measure shall bo used throughout the kingdom ; 7, all men shall pass ft'ora and return to the realm at their pleasure •, 8, all cities and boroughs shall pre- serve their ancient liberties ; 9, the estate of every freeman shall be regulated by his will, and, if he die intestate, by the law ; 10, the king's court shall be stationary, and open to all; 11, every freeman shall be fined only in proportion to his offence, and no fine shall be imposed to his utter ruin ; 12, no peasant shall, by a fine, be deprived of his instruments of husbandry ; 13, no person shall be tried on suspicion alone, but on the evidence of lawful witnesses ; 14, no person shall be tried or punished unless by the judgment of his peers and the law of the land. 11. John granted at the sajne time the Charteb de Foresta (the charter conctrning forests)^ which abolished the royal privilege of killing game over all the kingdom, and restored to the lawful proprietors their woods and forests, which they were now allow- ed to enclose and use at their pleasure. As compulsion alone had extorted these concessions, John was determined to disregard them, and a foreign force was brought into the kingdom to reduce the fearons to submission. The barons applied for aid to P>ance, and Philip sent his son Lewis to England with an army ; and such was the people"'s hatred of their sovereign, that they sv/ore allegiance to this foreigner. At this critical period John died at Newark, in 1216, and an instant change ensued. Bis son H'^nry III, a boy of aine years of age, was crowned at Bristol ; and his uncle, the earl of Pembroke, was appointed protector of the realm. The disafiect- ed barons returned to •their allegiance ; the people hailed their sovereign ; and Lewis with his army, after an ineffectual struggle, laade peace with tiie protector, and evacuated tixe lyn^doia. MODERN HISTORY. 151 SECTION XVI. STATE OF GERMANY AND ITALY IN THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 1. Frederick IT, son of Henry VI, was elected emperor on the resignation of Otho IV, in 1?12. At this period Naples, Sicily, and Lombardy, were all appanages of the empire ; and the con- tentious between the imperial and papal powers divided the states of Italy into factions, known by the name of Guelphs and Ghibel- lines ; the former maintaining the supremacy of the pope, the lat- ter that of the emperor. The opposition of Frederick to four suc- cessive popes was avenged by excommunication and deposition ; yet he kept possession of his throne, and vindicated his authority with great spirit. Frequent attempts were made against his life, by assassination and poison, which he openly attributed to papal resentment. On his death, in 1.'250, the splendour of the empire was for many years obscured. It was a prey to incessant factions and civil war, the fruit of contested claims of sovereignty. Yet the popes gained nothing by its disox'-ders, for the troubles of Italy were equally hostile to their ambition. We have seen the turbu- lent state of England. France was equally weak and anarchical ; and Spain was ravaged by the contests of the Moors and christianso Yet, distracted as appears the situation of Europe, one great pro- ject gave a species of anion to this discordant mass, of which we «©w proceed to give account. SECTION XVIL THE CRUSADES, OR HOLY WARS. 1. The Turks or Turcomans, a race of Tartars frora the re- g-ions of Mount Taurus and Imaus, invaded the dominions of Moscovy in the eleventh century, and came down upon the banks of the Caspian. The caliphs employed Turkish mercenaries, and s.cquired the reputation of able soldiers in the wars that took place on occasion of the contested caliphate. The caliphs of Bagdat, the Abassidae, were deprived of Syria, Egypt, and Africa, by their rival caliphs of the race of Omar ; and the Turks strip- ped of their dominions both the Abassidae and Ommiades. Bag- dat was taken by the Turks, and the empire of the caliphs over- thrown in 1055 ; and these princes, from temporal monarchs, bacame now the supreme pontiffs of the Mahometan faith, as the popes of the christian. At the time of the first crusade, in the end of the eleventh century, Arabia was governed by a Turkish sultan, as were Persia and the greater portion of Lesser Asia. — The eastern empire was thus abridged of its Asiatic territory, and had lost a great part of its dominions in Europe. It retained, however, Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, and Illyria ; and Coh- fttantiaople itself was populgusj opiUentj ajad luxurious. Palestine \St MODERN HISTORY. "wa= In the possession of the Turks; and its capital Jerusalem, fallen from its ancici:r consequence and ?plei.rlour, was yet lirld in respect by its conquerors as a holy city, and constantly at- tracted the resort of Mahometans to the mosque of Oniar, as of christian pilg-tims to the sepulchre of our Saviour. 2. Peter the hermit, a native of Amiens, on his return from this pilofrinia^e, complair-ed in loud terms of the grievances ■which the christians sntTered from the Turks ; awl lirban II. pitched on this enthusiast as a lit person to commence the execu- tion of a grand desi«:n which the popes had lon°r entertained, of arnnng- all Christendom, and exterminating the infidels fron:; the Holy i avd. The project was opened in two general councils held at riaceitia and (Jlermoqt. The 1 rench possessed more ardour than the Italian^; and an immense multitude of ambitious and disorderly nobles, -with all their dependents, eager for enterprize and plunder, and assured of eternal salvation, immediately took the cross. Peter the hermit led 80,000 under his banners, and they began th?ir march towards the east in 1095. Their progres". was marked by rapine and hostility in every christian country through which tiiey passed ; and the army of the hermit, on its arriva;! at C onstantinople, was wasted down to 20,000. 'i he em- peror Alexius Ccmnenus, to whom the crusaders behaved with the most provoking insolence and folly, conducted himself with admirable moderation and good sense. He hastened to get rid of this disorderly multitude, by furnishing thera with every ai(i ^vhich they required, and cheerfully lent his ships to transport them across the Bosphorus. The sultan Solymaa met them in the pi >n of INicea, and destroyed the array of the hermit. A new ho L in the mean time arrived at Constanlinople, led by more illustrious commanders ; by Godfre}'' of Bouillon duke of iira- feant, R.aymond count of Ihoulouse, Robert of Normandy, son of "W illiam king of England, Bohemond, son of B^obert Guiscard, the conqueror of -icily, and other princes of high'reputation. To the^e, who amounted to some hundred thousands, Alexius mani- fested the same prudent conduct, to accelerate their departure. The 'i'urks, overpowered by numbers, were twice defeated ; and the crusaders, pursuing their successes, penetrated at length to Jerusalem, which after a siege of six weeks, Ihey took by storm, and with savage I'lry -massacred the whole of its .>!aliometan and Jewisii inhabitants, A. D. 1099. Godfrey was hailed king of Je- rusalem, but was obliged soon after to cede his kingdom to the pope''s hgate. Ihe crusades divided Byria and I'alestine, and formed four separate states, which weakened their power. T'he Turks Icgau to recover strength ; and the christians of Asia soon found it necessary to solicit aid from F.urope. 3. 7 he second crusade set out from the west in 1146, to the amount of 200,000 trench, Germans, and Italians, led by Hugh, brother of Philip L of }■ ranee, these met with the same fate •which attended the a.rn:y of^'eter the hermit. The garrison of Jerusalejn was at this lime so weak, that it became necessary to embody and ai'ni the monks lor its defence ; and hence ar-'Se ^he miiii^ry ot'dei's of the knis^hts templars aixd hosjiitaUers, and^QOsi MODERN HISTORY. 153 after tbo Teutonic, from the German pilgfrims. Meantime pope Eugfaius HI. employed St. Bernard to preach a new crusade in France, which was headed by its sovereign Lewis VII. (the young-), who, in conjunction with Conrad HI, emperor of Germany, jnus- tered jointly 3-00,000 men. The Germans were extirpated by the sultan of Iconium ; the French were totally defeated near Laod- icea ; and the two monarchs, afier much disaster, returned with shame to their dominions. 4. The illustrious Saladin, nephew of the sultan of Eg-ypt, forined the desigfn of recovering- Talestine from the christians ; and besieging- Jerusalem, he took the city, and made prisoner its sovereig-n, Guy of Luslgnan. Pope Clement lU, alarmed at the successes of the iafideis, began to stir up a new crusade from France, England, and Germany ; and the armies of each country- were headed by their respective sovereigns, Thilip August;is, Richard I, and Frederi^ck Barbarossa. In this third crusade the emperor Frederick died in Asia, and his army, by repeated de- feats, mouldered to nothing. The English ajid French were more »)iccessful : they besieged and took Poteiemais ; but Richard and Fhiiip quarrelled from jealousy of each other's glory, and the Fr^ench monarch returned in disgust to his country. Richard no- bly sustained the contest with Saladin, whom he defeated near Aa- calon ; but his army was reduced by famine and fatigue. He con^ rluded a treaty, at least not dishonourable, with his enemy, and was forced at length to escape from Palestine with a single ship. (.See Sect. XV, i 8.) Saladin, revered even by the christians, died in 1195. 5. A fourth crusade was fitted out in 1202, under Ealdwin count •f Flanders, of wliich the olgect was not the extirpation of the infidels, but the destruction of the empire of the east. Censtan- tinople,embroiled by civil war and revolution from disputed claims to the sovereignly, was beseiged and taken by the crusaders ; and Baldwin, their chief, was elected emperor, to be within a few months dethroned and murdered. The imperial dominions were shared among the principal leaders ; and the Venetians, who had lent their ships for the expedition, got the isle of Candia (ancient- ly Crete) for their rev/ard. Alexias, of the imperial family of the Comneni, founded a new sovereignty in Asia, which he termed the empire of Trebi-^ond. The object of a fifth crusade was to lay waste Egypt, in revenge for an attack on Palestine by its sul- tan Saphadin. Partial success and ultimate ruin was the issue of this expedition, as ot all the preceding. 1. At this period, 1227, a great revolution took place in Asia. Gengiskan wich his Tartai's broke down irom the north upon Per- sia and Syria, and massacred indiscriminately '1 urks, Jews, and Cliristians, who opposed them. The christian knights, templars, hospitallers, and ieutonic, made a desperate but ineffectual re- sistance ; and Palestine must have been abandoned to these in- vaders, if its fate had not been for a while retarded by the last crusade under Lewis IX. of France. Ihispriuct;, summoned by Heaven, as Vie believed, after four years' preparation, set out far the Holy- Land, with his queen, his three brothers, and all Uae 154 MODERN HISTORY. knig-hts of France. His army be2;an their enterprize by an atlaclc on i;g-ypt, -where, after some considerable siiccesses, they were at length utterly defeated ; and the French monarch, with two of his brothers, fell into the hands of the enemy. He purchased his liberty at an immense ransom, and, returning- to France, reigned prosperously and -wisely for thirteen years. Bat the same phrenzy again assailing him, he embarked on a cr.-isade against the Moors in Africa, where he and his army were destroyed by a pestilence, 1270. It is computed that, in the whole of the cri;sa^es to Ir'ales- tine, two millions of Europeans were buried in the cast. 7. Effects of the crusades. One consequence of the holy wars is supposed to have been the improvement of European manners ; but the times immediately succeeding the crusades exhibit no such actual improvement. Two centuries of barbarism and dark- ness elapsed between the termination of those enterprizes and the fall of the Greek empire in 1453, the aera of the revival of let^^ers. and the commencement of civilization. A certain consequence oi the crusados was the change of territorial pa'operty in aU the feu- dal king;dom3, the fale of the estates of the nobles, and their divi- sion among a ijfimber of smaiier proprietors. Hence the feudal aiis- tocracy was weakened, and the lower classes began to acqinre Vv tight, and a spirit of independence. The towns hitherto bound by a sart of vassalage to the nobles, began to purchase their im- munity, acquired the right of electing their own magistrates, an<: •were governed by their own munioipal lav;s. The church ir; some respects gained, and in others lost by those enterprizes. The popes gained a more extended jurisdiction ; but the fatal issue of tliose expeditions opened the eyes of the world to the sel- fish and interested motives -vvhich had prom.pted them, and weak- ened the sway of superstition. Many of the religious orders acquir- ed an increase of wealth ; but this was balanced by the taxes im- posed on the clergy. 1 he coin was altered and debased in most o.' the kingdoms of ii^urope, from the scarcity ol specie. The Je-vvs ■were supposed to have hoarded and concealed it, and hence they became the victims of general persecution. The most substantial gainers by the crusades were the Italian states of Genoa, Fisa, and Venice, from the incr.-ased trade to the Levant for the supply of those immense armies. Venice, as v/e have seen, took an act" feve concern, and obtained her .^^hare of the conquered territory. 'J he age of the crusades brought chl/ahy to its perfection an* gave rise to romantic ficiion. ^jee Kelt's Elements cf General Knowledge, vol. I. SECTION XVIII. OF CHIVALRY AND ROMANCE. 1. Chivalry arose naturally from the condition of society in th se ages in which it pre\'aii(.d. ^ Among the Germanic nations the profe^v-ion oi arms was esteemed the sole employment that disserved tke aame of mauly or honorable. The initiation ®f the youth i» MODERN HISTORY. 155 this profession was attended with peculiar solemnity and appropri- ate ceremonies. The chief of the trit)e bestowed the sword and armour on his vassal, as a sympol of their devotion to his service, [n (he progress of the feudal system these vas;;als, in imitation of their chief, assumed the power of conferring arms on their sub-vas- sals, v/ith a similar form of mysterious and pompous ceremonial. The can lid ate for knighihood underwent his preparatory fasts and vis,ils, and received on his knees the accoUade and benediction of his chief. Armed and caparisoned, he sallied forth in quest of ad- venture^ which, whether just or not in its purpose, was ever es- teemed honourable in proportion as it was perilous. 2. The esteem of the female sex is characteristic of the Gothi« mamors. In those a^es of barbarism the castles of the greater baruis were the couits of sovereigns in miniature. 1'he society oftu'^ ladies, who found only in such fortresses a security from antra^fe, polished t""e manners ; and to protect the chastity a*d lionou'- of the fair, vv-as the best eairloy and the hia-host merit of ar a'';omr.lislud kni^•ht, ilomaiitic exploit therefore had always 2, tincture of galla itry. It hath (.ceii tfn-oup;?! all .Trrp,.5 ovfr spen, That Aid) thp prrii-if <>' avmr- fH)<\ ( hivalry The p'ize o^'lx'aiiir 5iiill ha'h jo ned ' een, And ibat <"or reti?0(is i-|)H(.4al ppivitj : For eilber doth on ether rpucL rely ; For be, me sewus, most fif the fiir t>/ serve, Tha< can h'^r be^t dtforid Com villany ; And .he iiJo-»t fif ';.is («erv!':e d'jih deserve That fairest is, and iVomije!- faith w\'\ n».vev swerve. t^PEASERS Fairy Qoeek. 3. To»*he passion for adventure and romai\tic love was added a high regard for morality and religion ; but as the latter were ever subordinate to the for ner, we may prcsvrme more in favour of the refmemcnt ihan of tht; puiity of th*; knights. It was the pride of Si knight to redress wronij^s and injuries ; but in that honourable em- ployment he made small account of those which he committed. It was easy to expiat'^ the greatest offences by a penance or a pil- grimage, which furnished only a new opportunity for adventurous exploit. 4. Chivalry, whether i4|Lbcjgan with the Moors or Normans, attained its perfection at tlie period of the crusades, which pre- sented a noble object of adventure, and a boundless field for mili- tary glory. Few indeed returned from those desperate enter- prizes ; but those had a hit!;h reward in the admiration of their countrymen. The bards and romancers sung their praises, and recorded their exploits, with a thousand circumstances of fabu- lovis e)nbellishment. 5. The earliest of the old romances (so termed from the Ro- mance language, a mixture cf the Frank and Latin, in which they were wriltt n) appeared about the middle of the twelfth century, the })eriod of the second crusade, but tViose more ancient com- posiiioiis did not record cotemporary events, whose known truth 156 JiOUERN HISTORY. would have precluded all liberty of fiction or exaggeration. Ge- offrey of Monmouth, and the author who assumed the name of archbishop Turpin, had free scope to their fancy, by celebrating the deeds of Arthur aiid the kwsghts of the round table, and the exploits of Charlemagne and his twelve peers. From the fruitful stock of those first romances sprung a numerous offspring equally wild and extravag-ant. 6. Philosophers have analyzed the pleasure arising from works €)f fiction, and have end; avoured, by various hypotheses, to ac- count for the interest which we take in the description of an event or scene which is known to be utterly impossible. The fact mar be simply explained as follows. Every narration is in some"de» gtee attend- d with a dramatic deception* We enter for the time into the situation of the persons concerned ; and, adopting their passions and feeling?, we lose all sense of the absurdity of their cause, v.diile we see the agents then)t:elves hold it for reasonable and adequate. The most incredulous sceptic may sympathize strongly with the feelings of Hamlet at the sight of his father'* spectre. 7. I'hus powerfully affected as we are by sympathy, eveia against the convictien of our reason, how much greater must have been th^ ef!ect of such works of the imagination in those days, when popular sup.-rstition gave full credit iothtj reality, or at least the possibility, of all that they described! And hence we must censure, a& beth unnecessaa'y and improbable, the theory of Dr. Hurd, which aecou?.Tts for all the wildness of ihe ©Id romances, on the supposition that Iheir fictions weie entiitly allegorical ; which explains the giants and savages into the oppressive feudal lords and their barbarous dependents; as M. Ajallet construes the ser- pents and dragons which guai^ed the enchanted castles, into their winding walls, fosses, and batilements. It were s.ifiicient to say, that many of those old romances are inexplicable by allegory. They were received by the popular belief aa truths ; and even their contrivers believed in the possibility of the scenes and ac- tions wbich they described. In latter ages, and in the wane of superstition, yet while it still retained a powerful influence, the poets adopted allegory as a vehicle of moral instrivction : and to this period belong those poetical romances v.hich bear an allego- rical explanation ; as the Fairy Queen of Spenser, the Orlando of Ariosto, and the CrierusaJemme Liberatit^ Tasso. 8. In more modern times the taste K»r romautic composition declined with popular credulity ; and the fastidiousness of philo- sophy affected to treat all supernatural fiction with contempt. But it was at length perceived that this refinement had cut oft' a source of very high mental enjoyment. The public taste now took a new turn ; and this moral revolution is at present tending to its extreme. We are gone back to the nursery to listen to tales of hobgoblins ; a change which we may safely prognosticate caa lie of He duration. MODERN HISTOllY. 157- SECTION XIX. STATE OF EUROPE IN THE THIRTEENTH AND FOUR- TEENTH CENTURIES. 1. Constantinople, taken in 1202 by tiie crusaders, was pos- sessed only for a short time by its conquerors. It was governed by French emperors for the space of sixty years, and was retaken by the Greeks in 1261, under Michael Palteologus, who, by ia\- prisoning: and patting out the eyes of his pupil Theodore Lasca- lis, secured to himself the sovereig-nty. 2. In the beginning- of the thirteenth century Germany wag governed by Frederick II, who paid homa^^e to the pope for the king;dom of Naples and Sicily, which was possessed by his son Conrad, and afterwards by his brother Manfred, who usurped the crov/n in violation of the right of his nephew Conradin. Pope Clement IV, jealous of the dominion of the imperial family, gave the investiture of Naples and Sicily to Charles of Anjon, brother of Lewis IX. of France, who defeated and put to death his com- petitors. Tiie Sicilians revenged this act of usurpation and cru- elty by the murder, in one night, of every Frenchman in the isl- and. This shocking massacre, termed the Sicilian vespers^ hap- pened ou Easter Sunday, 1282. It was followed by every evil that comes in the train of civil war and revolution. 3. The beginning of the thirteenth century had been signalized by a new species of crusade. The Albigenses, inhabitants of Al- by in the Pays de Vaud, were bold enough to dispute many of the tenets of the catholic church, judging them contrary to the doc- trines of scripture. Innocent III. established a holy commission at Thoulouse, with power to try and punish those heretics. The count of Thoulouse opposed this pei'secution, and was, for the punishment of his offence, compelled by the pope to assist in a crusade against his own vassals. Simon de Monfort was the lead- er of this pious enterprize, which was marked by the most atro- cious cruelties. The benefits of the holy commission were judg- ed by the popes to be so groat, that it became from that time a permanent establishment, known by the name of the inquisition. 4. The rise of the house of Austria may be dated from 1274, tvheu Rodolphus of Hapsbourg, a Swiss baron, was elected empe- ror of Germany. Jie ov/ed iiis elevation to the jealousies of the slec: ; a! princes, who could not agree in the choice of any one 5f themselves. I'he king of Bohemia, to whom Rodolphus had been steward of the household, could ill brook the supremacy of lis former dependent ; and refusing him the customary homage for his Geriiianic possessions, Rodob^hus stripped him of Austria, which has ever since remained in the faraily of its conqueror. 6. The Italian states of Venice, Genoa-, and Pisa, were at thi« ;ime flourishing and opulent, while most of the king-doms of Eu- •ope (if we except England under Edward I.) w:re exhausted, eeble, and disorderly. A dawning of civil Ubei'ty b-.gaa to ap- u 158 MODT^R?^ HfSTORY. pear in Prance mader Philip IV. (le 6fZ), -who anmnroned the f?ifr^ estate to the national assemblies, which had hitherto consistod of the nobility and clergy, 1303. thilip established perpttual courts of judicatui-e in I rauce, under the name of parliaments. OveT these the parliament of Paris possessed a jurisdiction by appeal; but it Tvas not till later times that it assumed any authojity in matters of State. 6. The parliament of England had before this era beg-im to as- sume its present constitution. The commons, or the representa- tives of counties and boroughs, were first called to parliament by Henry III. Before that time this assembly consisted only of the greater barons and clergy. But of the rise and progress of the constitution of England we shall afterwards treat more particu- larly in a separate section. 7. The spirit of the popedom, zealous in the maintenance and extension of its prerooatires, continued much the san e in the thirteenth and fourteenth, as we have seen it in the three prece- ding; centuries. Philip the fair had subjected his clerg-y to bear their share of the public tax^s, and prohibited all contributions to be levied by the pope in his dondni-'ns. 1 his double oflence v as bighly resented by Boniface \1II, v.ho exprcssfd Lis indig-nation by a sentence of excommunication and interdict, and a solemn transference of the kingdom of i ranee to the eniperor JVlfcert. Philip, in revenue, sent his general Nog-aret to Rome, who tlrcw the pope into prison, 'j he 1 rei.ch, he we\er, were overpowered by the papal troops ; and the death of Boniface put an end to the quarrel. S. It is less easy to justify the conduct of Philip the fair to the knights templars than his behaviour to pope Boi iiace. 'J he whcle ©f this order had incurred his resentment, from si'spicion ol har- bouring treasonable designs. Ee bad ijifluence v.ith (, lenent V. to procure a papal bull warianting tbeir exiirpa thirteen cantons were unf- Jted by a solemn treaty, which stipulated the proportional suc- cours to be furnished by each in the case of foreign hostility, and the measures to be followed for securing; the union of the states, and accommodatinq; domestic differences. Wi':h respect to itt internal g-overnment and econo^'iy, each ca^^t^a was independent. Of some the constitution was monarchical and of others republi- can. All matters touchinor the geiieral league were transacted either by letters sent to Zurich, aid thence officially circulated t» all the cantons, or by confer<^nces. 'Ihe general diet, wh-^re two deputies attended fiom each canton, was held once a year, the first deputy of Zurich presidins:. The catholic and protestant canton*, likewiiie held their separate diets on occasional emergencies. 3. T'he Swiss, when at peace, emp!oy/^d their troops for hire ii foreign service, judging it a wise policy to keep alive the military fpirit of the nation; and the arrai.^s thus employed hare beea equally distinguished for their co;irage and fidelity. The indus- try and economy of the Swiss are r roverbial ; and their country- supports an abutida^it population, from the zealous promotion ©f ag-riciiiture and manufactures. SECTION XXL ^SITATE OF EUROPE IN THE THTRTEEPrTH, FOUR- TEE iN'TII, AND PART OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTU- RIES. 1. The rival claims of superiority between the popes and em- perors still continued. Henry VII, the successor of 41bert, vin- dicated his right by the svrrrd, triumphantly fought his way t© Rome, where he was solemnly crowned, and imposed a tribute on all the states of Italy. His sudden death was suspected to be the consequpnce of papa! resentment. I« his time the seat of the popedom was transferred by Clement V. from Home to Avignon, 1309, where it remained till 1377. The factions of Italy were the cause of this removal. Lewis of Pavaria, the successor of Henry, deposed and excommunicated by John XXII, revenged himself by deposing the pcpe. 'This pontiff, who had originally been a cobler, surpassed most of his predecessors in pride and ty- ranny. He kept his seat on the papal chair, and left at his death an immense treasure acoumulated by-the sale of benefices ; while his rival the emperor died in indigence. 2. His successor in the empire, Charles IV, published, In 1355, the imperial constitution, termrd the golde/i bull^ the fundamental law of the r-ermce at the age of twelve. Both kingdoms suffered from the distractions attend- ing a regal minority. In England the contests for power between the king's uncles, Lancaster, York, and Gloucester, embroiled all public measures ; and the consequent disorders required a stioug- sr hand to compose them than that of the weak and facile Rich- ard. Taking advantage of the king's absence, then engaged ia quelling an insurrection in Ireland, Henry of Lancaster rose h\ open rebellion, and compelled Richard, at his return, to resign the crown. I'he parliament confirmed his deposition, and he wi^a soon after privately assassinated. Ihus began the contentions iftetweeu the houses of York and Lancaster. SECTION xxy. ^ E^Gusi^D AND FRANCE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURT. STAl'E OF MANNERS. 1. Henry TV. ascended the throne on the deposition of Richard fl, 1399 ; and had immediately to combat a rebellion raised by the earl of Norlhuraherland, for placing Mortimer, the heir of the house of York, on the throne. -Ihe ;!cots and Welsh took part •with the rebels, but their united forces were defeated at Shrews- bury, and their leader, young l-'ercy (Hotspur), killed on the held. A second rebellion headed by the archuishop of Ifork, was quel- led by the capital punishment of its author. The secular arm waa jfigorously extended against the followers of Wicklifi', and this reiga saw the first detestable examples of religious persecution, i he life of Henry was irabittered by the youthful disorders oi his soa the prince of Wales, who afterwards laobly redeemed his charac- ter. Henry IV. died in 1413, at the age of forty-six. 2. Henry V^. took advantage of the disorders of France, froa the temp -rary insanity of its sovereign Charles yi, and the factious straggles for power between .he dukes of Burgundy atid Orleans, to Jnvade,the kingdom with a large army, which a contagious dis- te^pij^r waited ops he dtuateu the French anuy of toO.OOO, itudtr the cons'abie D'-»lbert^ in i ' e fanous latilf ol -' gin- court, in vshich 10,000 of tke enemy were slain, aud 14,010 trade prisoners, Octoler 24. 1415. Ret' rniDg to trgrlaiid to recruit hi« forces, he landed azain with an a my ot io.COO. and foi ght bis vray to Farls. Ihe insane aici.arch. with his coi.rt, dtd to Troye, and Henry pursuing, terminated the war by a treaty with the queen-mcther of the duke oi' BirguEdy. Ly which it was agreed that he should marry the dai vhter of t hsrles VI. and net ire ihe kingdom of France as her dowry, which, till the death of herfa^ ther, he i^hould govern as regent. 3. INjean time the return of Hetry to Englard gave the dau] hia hopes of the recovery oi his kingdom. It v. as victorious in sn engagement with the English under the duke of Clarence ; but his success was of no long«r duration ihan tbt^ absence of the English sovereign, who was himself hastening to the period of hi» triumphs. Seized wiih a mortal distemper, Heriry died in the S4th year of his ate, 14-i'j, one of the most heroic princes that ev- er swayed the scrptre of England. His brother, the duke of led- ford, was declared regent of 1 ranee, and Kecry VI, an in**artniu« SQonihs old, was proclaimed king at I ari? and at London, 1422. 4. Charlts \ 11. recovered France by slow degrees. V- ith the aid of a young female enthusiast, the maid cf Orleans, whom the credulity of the age supposed to be inspired by Eeaven, he gained several important advantages over the English, vhicb the atter inhumanly revenged, ty burning thir heroine as a scrctiess. Per death was of eqi al advantage to the French as her life had bten. The government of the Inglith was uniAtr^ally detested, -After a -struggle of many years they were at hngth, in 1450, deprived of t'l that they had ever possessed in France, except Calais anc Gu- igi:es. Charles, when he had restored his kingdom to feact, go- verned it with admirable wisdom and modeiation. 5. The state of Ihgland and of France, the two most poli<-hed kingdoms in Europe, tumishes a good cri erioc or the condition of society in those a^es of -which we have been treating. IMn in the large cities the housfs were roofed with thatch, and Lad no chicinics. Glass windows were extremely ra.re, and the £ocrfi were covered with straw. In England wine v. as sold only in the shops of the apothecaries. Faper made from linen rati was frst manufactured in the heginnins; of the fifteenth centi ry; and the tise of linen for shirts was at that time a very lare piece of luxury. Yet even before that age the progress cf luxury had excited a ^a^ rioi s alarm, for the parliament under Edward 111. found it neces- sary 'o prcbihit the use of gold and filver in apparel to all who had not a hundred pounds a-year ; and Charles VI. of Frarce or- dained, that none should presume to entertain wiib rrcrt tban two dishes and a mess of soup. Feiore the reign of i cward I. the whole country oi England vas plundered by robbers in great bands, who laid waste entire villages ; and some cf the hcusehcld c£^cers of Henry III. excused themselves for robbing on the high- way, because the king allowed them no Wrg-s. 'n 1!0S the abbot &fijd jQa.9uk« of YVestmiaUcr irere indicted f.r robbiiig ik^ kicg> MODERN HISTORT. 167 but acquitted. The admirable la-wa of Edward I, •which acq'iirpd hvti the title of the English Justiuian, °:ire sir ng testimony of the miserable policy and barbarism of the precedii^ times. SECTION xxyj. DECLINE AND FALL OF THE GP.EF^ EMPIRE. 1. In the fonrteenth century the Tiirks w re proceeding by de- grees to encroach on the frontiers of the Greek empire. 'Ih'^ sul- ta.n ' 'ttoman ha 1 fixed the seat of his e:aremment at Byrsa in By- thynia ; and his ?on Orcan extendi d his sovereignty to the Pro pontis, and obtained in marriage the daughter of the emperor John ( 'antacazenos. About the middle of the century the Turks crossed over into F.urope, and took Adrianople. The emperor John Fal"2olo2:us. after meanly soliciting aid from the pope, con- cluded a humiliating- treaty with sultan Amuiat, and gave his sou as a hostage to serve in the Turldsh army. 2. Bajazct, the successor of Amnrat, compelled the emperor to destroy his fort of Gaiata, and to admit a Turkish jad: e into the city. He prepared now to besieee Con?ta-"tinople m form, when he was forced to chanj:e his purpose, and defend himself against the victorious Tamerlane. 3. Tim ir-bek or Tam^-rlane, a prince of the Usbek Tartars, and descended from Gengi^kau, after the conquest of Persia, a great part of India and •''jrria, ua? invited by the Asiatic princes, enemies of iSajazet, to protect th'sm against the. Ottoman power, which threat ned to overwhelm th^m. Tamerlane, flattered by this request, imperiously summoned the Turk to renounce hi= con- quests ; but the message was answered with a_proud def-ance. The armies met near Angoria (Ancyra) in ['hrygia, and Bajazet was totally defeated and made prisoner by 'i amerlane, 1402. The conqupr.">r made ^amarcand the capital of his empire, and there received the hemaa:e of all the princ-s of the east. Tamer- lane was illiterate, but yet was snlicitojs for the c iltiva'iou of lit- t/at- re and science in his dominions. Samarca^.d became for a while the seat of learning, politeness, and \he arts ; bui w^.s des- tined to relapse, after a short period, into it.- ancient bal arism. 4. The Turks, after the death of I'araeriane, resumed their p:^rpnse of destroying the empire of the east. Amurat Tl, a piince of singular character, had, on the faith of a solemn treaty with the king o\' Poland, devoted his days to retirement and st.Jy. A violation of the treaty, by an attack from the Poles on his do- minio'.is, made him quit bis solitude. lie enga 2;ed and deslroypd tlio Polish amy, with their perfidious sovereign, and then calu.dj retjrned to his r^lrea*, till a similar crisis of public expedie;cy orce more brought him into active life. He left his domiiaons to his son Ivlah-^met IT, surnamed the great, who resumed thf project for the destr^'clion of Constantinople ; bu its fall was a second ti.no retarded by the nec'-ssity iu which the lurks were uuex- 168 MODERN HISTORY. pectedly placed, of defending their own dominioas against a pe-vf- erful invader. 5. Scanderbeg (John Castriot) prince of Albania, whose territo- fics had been seized by Amurat IT, was educated by the saltan a* his ovv^n child, and when of age, intrusted with the command of an army, which he employed in wresting from Amurat his pater- nal kingdom, 1443. By grrat talents and military skill hf main- tained his independent sovereignty against the whole force of the Turkish empire. 6. Mahomet 11, son of the philosophic Amurat, a youth of twen- ty-or.e ytars of age, resumed the plan of extinguishing the empire of the Greeks, and making Constantinople the capital of the Otto man power. Its indolent inhabitants Tirade but a feeble prepara- tion for defence, and the powers of Fiirope looked on with supine indifference. The Turks assailed the city both by land and sea; and, battering down its walls v.ith their cannon, entered sword in hand, and massacred all who opposed them. The emperor Con- stanlir e was slain ; the city surrendered ; and thus was finally ex- tinginshed the eastern empire of the Ilomans, A. D. 1453, which, from the building of i^s capital by Constantiae the grea+, had sul>- fiisfed ll'-iS years. 7 he imperial edifices were preserved from de- struction. 7 he churches were converted into mosques ; but the exercise o[ their reli-ion was allowed to all the christians. From that time the Greek christians have regularly chosen their own patriarch, whom the s:iltan instals ; though his authority contin- ues to be disputed by the Latin patiiarch, who is chosen by the popt . Mahomet the great liheraliy patronized the arts and sci- ences ; and, to compensate for the migratirn of those learned Greeks v/ho, on the fall of the empire, spread themselves over the countries of Europe, invited both artists and men of letters to hii capital from other kingdoms. 7. The taking vf Constantinople was followed by the conquest of Greece and Ipirus. Italy might probably have met a similar fate, but by means of their fleet the Venetians opposed the arms of Mahomet with considerable success, and even attacked him in Greece. The contending powers soon after put an end to hostili- ties by a treaty. Mahomet the great died at the ago of fifty-one, 1481. SECTION XXVII. GOVERNMENT AND POLICY OF THE TURKISH ExMTIRE. 1. The srovernment of Turkey is an absolute monarchy, the whole legislative and executive authority of the state centerii;g in the sultan, whose power is subject to no constitulioral control. It is, however, limited in some degree by religious opiuion ; the precepts of the Coran inculcating certain duties on the sovereign which it would be held an impiety to transgress. It is yet moi^ stiongly limited by the fear of deposition And assassination. Un- der these restraints the prince can never venture on an extreme abuse g[ power. MODERN HISTORY. 169 2. The spirit of the people is fitted for a suTojection bordering ©n slavery. Concubinage being: agreeable to the law of Maho- met, the grand seignior, the viziers, arc born of female slaves : and there is scarcely a subject of the empire of ingfenuous blood by both parents. It is a fundamental maxim of the Turkish poli- cy, that all the officers of state should be such as the sultan can entirely command, and at any time destroy, without danger to himself. ^ S. The grand vizier is usually entrusted with the whole func- tions of government, and of course subjected to the sole respon- sibility for all public measures. Subordinate to him are six vizi- ers of the bench, who are his counsel and assessors in cases of law, of which he is supreme judge. The power of the grand vizier is absolute over all the subjects of the empire ; but he can- not put to death a beglerbeg or a bashaw without the imperial signature-, nor punish a janizary, unless through the medium of his military commander. The beglerbegs are the governors of several provinces, the bashaws of a single'province. All dignities in the Turkish empire are personal, and dependent on the sove- reign's pleasui-e. 4. The revenues of the grand seignior arise from taxes and cus- toms laid on the subject, annual tributes paid by the Tartars, sta- ted gifcs from the governors of the provinces, and, above all, the confiscations of estates, from the viziers and bashaws downwards to the lowest subjects of the empire. The certain and fixed reve- nues of the sovereign are small in comparison of those which are arbitrary. His absolute power enables him to execute great pro- jects at a small expencc. SECTION XXVIII. FRANCE AND ITALY IN THE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 1. Scarcely any vestige of the ancient feudal government now remained in France. The only subsisting fiefs were Burgundy and Brittany. Charles the bold, duke of Burgundy, who sought to in- crease his territories by the conquest of Switzerland and Lorraine- was defeated by the Swiss, and killed in battle. He left no son, and Lewis XI. of France took possession of Burgundy as a male fief, 1447. The duke's daughter married Maximilian, son of the emperor Frederick III, who, by this marriage, acquired the sove- reignty of the Netherlands. 2. The acquisition of Burgundy and of Provence, which was bequeathed to France by the count de la Marche, increased very greatly the power of the crown. Lewis XI, an odious compound of vice, cruelty, and superstition, and a tyrant to his people, was the author of many wise and excellent regulaiions of public poli- cy. The barbarity of the public executions in his reign is beyond all belief; yet the wisdom of his laws, the encouragement which 15 i70 MODERN HISTORY. he gave, to commerce, the restraints -which he imposed on the op- pressioDs of the nobility, and the attention which he bestowed in regulating the courts ot justice, must tver be mentioned to his honour. 3. The count de la ATarche, beside 'he bequest of Provence to T.ewis XI, left him his empty title of sovereign of the Two Sicilies. Lewis was satisfied with the substantial gfiit ; but bis son Charles VIII. wa? dazzled wi»h the shadow. In the beginning of his reigu he projt .cd the cohquest of Naples, and embarked in the enter- prize with tho most improvident precipitancy. 4. The dismeiri>iered state of Italy was favourable to his views. The popedom, during the transference of its seat to \vignon, had lost many of its territories. Mantwa. IModena, and Ferrara, had thi'ir independent sovereigns. I'iedmont belonged to the duke of Savoy; (ienoa and Milan to the family of .Sforza. Florence, un- der the Medici, had attained a very li-gh pitch of splendour. Cos- ine, the founder of (hat family, employed a vast fortune, acquired by commerce, in the improvement of his country, in acts of public nuinificence, and in the cultivation of the sciences and elegant arts. His high reputation obtained for himself and his posterity the chief authority in his native state. Feler de Aiedici, his great grandson, ruled in Florence at the period of the expedition of Charles Vlll. into Italy. 6. 'ihe papacy was enjoyed at this time by Alexander VI, a monster of wickedness. The pope and the duke of Milan, who had invited Charles to tMs enterprize, immediately betrayed him, and joined the interest of the king of Naples. Charles, after be- sieging the pope in Kome, and forcing him to submission, devoutly kissed his feet, l^le now marched against Naples, while its timid prince Alphonso fled to Sicily, and his son to the isle of Ischia, af- ter absolving his subjects from their alhgiance. Charles entered Uaples in triumph, and was hailed emperor and Augustus : but he tost his new kingdom in almost as short a time as he had gained it. A league wae formed against France between the pope, the empe- ror Maximilian, 1 erdinand of Arragon, Isabella of Castile, and the Venetians ; and on the return of Charles to France the troops %vhirh he had left to guard bis conquest were entirely driven out of Italy. 6. It has been remarked that, from the decisive effect of this confederacy against Charles \ III, the sovereigns of Europe deri- Ted a useful lesson of policy, and lust adopted the idea of preser- ving a balance of pbwer, by that tacit league which is understood to be always subsisting, for the prevention of the inordinate ag- grandizement of any particular state. 7. Charles Vlll. died at the age of twenty-eight, 1490; and, leaving no children, the duke o{ Orleans succeeded to the throne •f France by the title of Lewis XII. .MODERN HISTORY. 17 » SECTION XXIX. HISTORY OF SrAIN IN THE FOURTEENTH AND FIF- TEENTH CENTURIES. 1. We 2;o back a little to the middle of the fourteenth century, to trace the history of Spain. Peter of Castile, surnamed the cruel, for no other reason but that he employed severe means to support his just rights, had to contend against a bastard brother, Henry of Transtamarre, who, with the aid of a French banditti, called Malandrins, led by Berlrand du Guesclin, strove to disp^- Sfcsa him of his kingdom. Peter was aided by Edward the black prince, then sovereign of Guienne, who defeated l'ran3'.aiuarre, und took Oertraud prisoner; but, on the return of the jM'ince to England, Peter was attacked by his former enemies, and entirely (leff ated. Unable to restrain his rage in the first view Avith Tran- s.tamarre, the latter put him to death with his own hand, 1368 ; and thus this usurper secured for himself and his posterity the throne of Castile. 9. The weakness and debauchery of one of his descendants, Henry lY. of Castile, occafjioned a revolution in the kingdom. The majority of the nation rose in rebellion ; the assembly of the nobles solemnly deposed their king, and, on the alledged gi'ound of his daughter Joanna being a bastard, compelled him to settle the crown on his sister Isabella. They next brought about a mar- riage between Isabella and Ferdinand of Arragon, which united the monarchies of Arragon and Castile. After a ruinous civil war the revolution was at length completed by the death of the depo- sed sovereign, 1474, ajid the retirement of his daughter Joanna to a m.onastery, 1479. 3, At the accession of Ferdi;iand and Isabella to the thrones of Arragor and Castile, Spain was in a state of great disorder, from the lawless depredaiions of the nobles and their vassals. It wa^ the first object of the new sovereigns to repress these enormities, by subjecting the offtuders to the utmost riijour of law;, enforced by the sword. The holy brotherhood was institiited for the discov- ery and punishment of crimes ; and the inquisition (Sect. XIX, f 3), under the pretext of extirpating heresy and impiety, afforded the most detestable examples of sanguinary persecution. 4. The Moorish kingdom of Granada, a most splendid monar- chy, but at that time weakened by faction, and a prey to civil war, offered a tempting object to the ambition of Ferdinand and Isa- bella. Alboacen was at war with his nephuw Aboabdeli, who wanted to dethrone him ; and Ferdinand aided Aboabdeli, in the view cf ruining both ; for no sooner was the latter in possession of the crown by the death of Alboacen, than Ferdinand invaded his ally with the whole force of Arragon and Castile. Granada was besieged in 1491, and, after a blockade of eight mouths, surren- dered to the victor. Aboabdeli, by a mean capitulation, saved his Ufe,^ud purchased a retreat for his countrymen to a mountainous o?ji 04 the kingdom, where they were sutftred to enjoy unmolested / 172 MODERN HISTOHy. their laws and their religion. Thus ended the dominion e/ the JHoors in Spain, -which had subsis'ted for 800 years. 5. Ferdinand, from that period, took tiie title of king of Spain. In 1492 he expelled all the Jev.s from his dominions, on the ab- surd ground, that they kept in their hands the commerce of the kingdom ; and Spain thus lost above 160,000 of the most indus- trious of her inhabitants. Ihe exiles spread themselves over the other kingdoms of Europe, and v/ere often the victims of a perse- cution equally inhuman. It v/ould appear that Spain has felt, even to the present times, the effects of this folly, in the slow progress o{ the arts, and that deplorable inactivity which is the characteristic of her people. Even the discovery of the new world, "which happened at this very period, and which stimulated the spirit of enierprize and industry in all the neighbouring kingdoms, produced but a feeble impression on that nation, which might in a great degree have monopolized its benefits. Of that great dis- covery -we shall afterwards treat in a separate section. SECTION XXX. FRANCE, ?P A IN, AKD ITALY, IN THE END OF THE FIF- TEENTH ANL> EEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CEN- TURY. 1. Lc^^-^is Xllj^^agorly bent on vindicating his right to Naples., *Courted the intesest oi pope Alexander VI, who promised his aid ©n condition that his natural son, Caesar Borgia, should receive from Lewis the dutchy of Valentinois, with the king of Navarre's sister in marriage. Lewis crossed the Alps, and in the space of a few days was master of Milan and Genoa. Sforza duke of Milan became his prisoner for life. Afraid of the power of Ferdinand of Spain, Levv'is joined with him in the conquest of Naples, and agrcied to divide with him the conquered donnnions, the pope ma- king no scruple to sanction the partition. But the compromise was of no duration; for Alexander VI, and Ferdinand, judging it a better policy to bhare Italy between themselves, united their interest to deprive Lewis of his new territories. Ihe Spaniards, under Gonsaivo de Cordova, defeated the French, under the duke de Nemours and the chevalier Bayard; and Lewia irrecoverably lost his share of the kingdom of Naples. 2. History relates Avith h irror the crimes of pope Alexander VI, and his son Cfpsar Borgia ; their murders, robberies, profana- tions, incests. They compassed their ends in attaining every ob- ject of their ambition, but with the universal abhorrence of man- kind, and finally met with an ample retribution for their crimesv Ihe pope died by poison, prepared, as was alleged, by himself for an enemy ; and Borgia, stripped of all his possessions by pope Ju« lius H, and sent prisoner to Spain by Gonsaivo de Cordova, per«5 Xihed in miserable obscurity. 3. Julius 11, the successor of Alexander, projected the forrrRda- ble league of Cambray, 1508, with the emperor, th^ kixi^s oS MODERN HISTOIIY. 173 France and Spain, tlie duke of Savoy, and king of Hungary, for the destmctiou of Venice, and the division of her territories among* the confederates. They accomplished in part their design, and Venice was on the verge of annihilation, when the pope changed. his politics. Having made the French subservient to his viev/s of piandcring the Venetians, he now formed a new league with the Venetians, Germans, and Spaniards, to expel the French from Ita- ly, and. appropriate all their conquests. The Swiss and the Eng- lish co-operated in this design. The French made a brave resis- tance under their generals Bayard and Gaston de Foix, but were iinally overpowered. Lewis was compelled to evacuate Italy. Ferdinand, with the aid of Henry VHl. of Engdand, stripped him of Navarre, and forced him to purchase a peace. He died in 1515. Though unfortunate in his military enterprizes, from the "superior abilities of his rivals pope Julius and Ferdinand, yet he was justly esteemed by his subjects for the wisdom and equity of his govern- ment. SECTION XXXL HISTORY OF ENGLAND FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTEENTH TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. CIVIL WARS OF YORK AND LANCASTER, 1. We have seen France recovered from the English in the ear- ly part of the reign of Ileury VI, by the talents and prowess of Charles Vlll. During the minority of HVnry, who was a prince of no ca])acily, England was embroiled by the factious contention for power bctv/een his uncles, the duke of Gloucester and the car- dinal of Winchester. The latter, to promote his own viev/s of ambition, married Henry to Margaret of Anjou, daughter of Reg- i.ier the titular king of Naples, ar-woman of great mental endow- ments and singular heroism of character, but whose severity in the persecution of her enemies alienated a great part of the nobles, from their alleg'iance, and increased the partizans of a rival claim- ant of the crown, 2. This was Richard duke of York, descended by his mother from Lionel, second son of Edv/ard III, and elder brother to Jr-hn of Gaunt, the progenitor of Henry VI. The Avhite rose distin- guished the faction of York, and th-; red rose that of Lancaster. The party of York gained much strong! ''j f:o v, iI e incapacit}'- of Henry, who was subject to periodical mrfe,;!':-;-:;^ -, aad Richard was appointed lieutenant and protector of the kiogdo'ii. The author- ity of Henry v;as now annihilated ; but Miargaret roused her hus- band, in an interval of sanity, to assert his right ; and the nation was divided in arms between the rival parties. In the battle of St. Albans 5000 of the Lancastrians ^ye^e slain, and the king vv-as taken prisoner by the duke of York, on the 2.2d day of May, 1455. Yet the parliament, while it confirmed the authority of the pro- tector, ma.intained its allegiance to Ihe kiiig. t>. The spirit of the queen reanimated the reyal party ; and tha 15* 174 MODERN HISTOR¥. Lancastrians gained such advantage, that the duke of York fiedto Ireland, while his cause was secretly maintained in England by "Guy earl of Warwick. In the battle of Northampton the party vof York a£,-ain prevailed, and Henry once more was brought priso- ner to London ; v.hile his dauntless queen still nobly exerted her- self to retrieve his fortunes. York now claimed the crown in open parliament, but prevailed only to have his rijrht of succession as- certained on Henry's death, to the exclusion of the royal issue. 4. In the next l^attle the duke of York was slain, and his party defeated ; but his successor Edward, supported by Warwiclc, avenged this disaster by a signal victory ntar Touton, in York- shire, in which 40,000 of the Lancastrians wf re slain. York was proclaimed king: by the title of F.dwar;! IV, while >''arg-a et, with "her dethroned husbarid and infant son, fled into Flanders. 5. Edward, who owed his crown to Warwick, was unjjrateful to his benefactor ; and the imprudence and injustice of his con- duct forced thai nobleman at leujo-th to take part with the faction of Lancaster. The consequence was, that, after some struggles, Edward was deposed, and Henry VI. once more restored to the throne by the hands of Warwick, now known by the epithet of the king-maker. But this change was of no duration. The party •af York ultimately yirevailed. The Lancastrians were defeated in the battle of Barnet, and the brave Warwick was slain in the engagement, 1472. 6. 1'he intrepid Margaret, whose spirit was superior to every change of fortune, prepared to strike a last blow for the crown of England in the battle of Tev/ksbiu-y. The event was fatal to her "hopes: victory declared for Edward. Margaret was sent prisoner to the tower of London ; and the prince her son, a youth of high .spirit, when brou.siht into the presence of his conqueror, having nobly darod to justify his eaterprize to the face of his rival, was "bar!,arouK]y murdered by the dukes of Gloucester and Clarence. Henry VI. was soon after privately put to death in the tower. The heroic Margaret, ransomed by Lewis XI, died in France, 1482. 7. Ldward IV, thus; secured on tiie throne by the death of all Ills competitors, abandoned himself wilhout reserve to the indul- gence of a vicious and tyrannical nature. He put to death, on the most frivolous pretence, his brother Clarence. Prepaiing to grat- ify his subjects by a war vith Prance, he died suddenly in the forty-second year of his i-.ge, poisoned, as was suspected, by his brother Jiichard duke of Gloucester, 1483. 8. Edward left two sobs, the elder, Edward V.,.a boy of thir- teen years of ag.:. Richard dukcof GloL?cester, named protector in the minority of his nephew, hired, by means of Hucking-hani, a iDoh of the dregs of the populace to declare their wish for his as- eumption of the crown. He yielded, with affected reluctance, to this voice of the nation, and was proclaimed king by the title of Richard III, 1483. Edward V, after. a reiga of two months, with liis brother the duke of York, were, by command of the usurpec, -smothered while asleep, and privately buried in the Tower. 9. These atrocious crimes found an aveiiger in Henry earl of ;Eicimieiidj -ihe ^uxiiTiiig h&K of iii^iwuse of I^ucaster, .itiiPj ai(if MODERN HISTORY, 1 T^ ^ed by Olnarles Vni. of France, landed in Fne;land, and revived the siiiiits of a party almost <:^xtin!4,uished in the kiiigdom. He gave battle to Richard in the field of B'-^sworth, and entirely de- feated the army of tht,- usurper, who was slain while fig^hting; with the most desperate ooiirag-e, August '2'2, 1485. 7 he crown which he wore in the engagement was immediately placed on the head ■ of the conqueror. '• his auspicious day put an end to the civil wars of York and Lancaster. Henry \U. nnited the rights of both families by his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Idward IV, 10. 1 he reign of ■' lenry VII. was of twenty- four years' duration ; and under his wise and politic government the kingdom recovered all the wounds wdiich it had sustained in those unhappy contests. Industry, good order, and perfect subordination, were the fruit of the excellent laws passed in this reign; though the temper of the sovereign was despotic, and his avarice, in the latter part of hiip reign, prompted to the most oppressive exactions. 11. 'the government of Henry was disturbed by two very sin- gular enterprlzes ; the attempt of Lambert Simnel, the son of a ba.ker, to counterft it the person of the earl of Warwick, sou of the duke of Clarence ; and the similp.r attempt of Perkin V^'an- beck, son of a Flemish Jev/, to counterfeit the duke of York, who had been smothered in the Tower by Bichard III. Both iinpos- •tors found considerable support, but were tiaally defeated. .Sim- nel, after being crowned king of England and Ireland at Dublin, '€nded his days in a menial olfice of Henry -s household. Perkin •supported his cause by force of arms for five years., and was aided by a great proportion of the English nobility. Overpowered at .length he surrendered to Henry, who condemned him to perpe- tual imprisonment ; but his ambitious spirit meditated a new la- surreclion, and he was put to death as a traitor. Henry VIL idied in 1509, in the fifty- third year of his age, aud the twenty- jfourth of his rtia-n. 3IIST0RY OF .SCOTLAND FRO]VI THE MIDDLE OF THE FOURl'EENTPi CENTURY TO THE . ND OF THE REIGN OF JAMES V. 1. In no country of Europe had the feudal aristocracy attained 'to a greater height than in Scotland. 1 he power of the greater barons, while it rendered them independent, and often the rivals ■of their sovereign, wao a perpetual source of turbulence and dis- order in the kingdom. It was therefore a constant policy of the Scottish kings to humble the. nobles, and break their factious cora« binatioijs. Robert I. attempted to retrench the vast territorial possessions of his barons, by requiring every landholder to produce ihe titles of his estate; but was resolutely answered^ that the :«word was their charter of possessioK. 2. On the death of Robert in 1329,, and during the minority. of iius-^a J^avid^ i^dward Baiiol, .tiue son oiJolm foxmerly .kuji .of 176 MODERN KISTORY. Scotland, -with the aid of Edward III. of England, and of mjuiy of thf; factious barons, invaded the kingdom, aud was crowrjed at Scoue, while the youiag- David was conveyed for security to 1" raDce. The mepai dependence of Baliol on the English monarch dej^rivcd him of the affections of the people. Robert, the steward of Scot- land, Randolph, and Douglas, supported the Bnician interest, and, assisted by the French, restored David to his throne. This prince ■was destined to sustain many reveises of fortune ; for, in a subse- quent invasion of tiie English territory by the Scots, he was taken prisoner i)i the battle of Durham, and conveyed to Ecndon. Ho remained eleven years in captivity, and witnessed a similar fate of a brother monarch, John kin,:? of France, tajteu prisoi^r by the black prince in the battle of loictiers. David was ransomed by his subjects, and restored to his lungdom in 1357 ; and^ended a turbulent reign in 1370-1. The crown passed at his demise to, his nephew Robert, tho high steward of Scotland, in virtue of a des- tination made by Robert L 3. The reign of Robert II, which was of twenty years' duration, was ?pent in a s*ries of hostilities between the Scots and English, produ(^tive of no material consequence to either kingdom. The weak and indolent disposition cf his successor Robert HI, who found himself unequal to the contest with his factious nobler*,. prompted him to resign the government to his brother, the duke of Albany. 1 his ambitious man formed thu dcr>ign of usurping the throne by the murder of his nephews, the sons of Robert. The elder, Rothsay, a prince of high spirit, was imprisoned on pretence of treasonable designs, and starved to death. The younger, James, esca-jied a similar fate which was intended for him '; but on his passage to France, whither he was sent for safety by his father, he was taken by an Ens^dish ship of war, and brought prisoner to London. The weak K.ebert sunk midei? these misfortunes, and died, 1405, after a reign of filteen years. 4. James I, a prince of great natural endowments, profited by a captivity of eighteen years at the court of England, in adorning" his mind with every valuable accomplishment. At his return tqi his kingdom, which in bis absence had been weakly governed by the regent Albany, and suiTcred under all the disorders of anarchy, he bent his whob- attention t« the improvement and civilization of his people, by the enactment of many excellent laws, enforced with a resolute authority. The factious of the nobles, their dan-t gerous combinations, and th<-ir domineering tyranny over their de-. pendents, the great sources of the people's miseries, were firmly, restrained, and most severely punished. But these wholesome in-« nova'.ions, while they procured to James the atfections of the na-4 tion at large, excited the odium of the nobility, and gave birth tq' a conspiracy, headed by the earl of Athole, the king's uncle^ which terminated in the murder of this excellent prince, in the- 44th year of his age, A. D. 1437. 5. liis son James II. inherited a considerable portion of the tal* ents of his father ; aud, in the like purpose of icstraining the inor- dinate power of his n©bks, pursued the same maxims of govern-* lueut, which aa impttuous temper prompted hijn, ia some instan-*; MODERN HISTORY. 177 ces, to carry to the most blameable excess. The earl of Douglas, trustirii^ to a powerful vassalas^e, had assumed an authority above the lawi, and a state and splendour rival to those of his sovereign. lie was seized^ and beheaded without accasation or trial. Hia .uccessor imprudently running the same career, and boldly justi- fying', in a conference, hia rebellious practices, was pwt to death by the king^s own hand. Thus were the factions of the nobles quelled by a barbarous rigour of authority. To his people Jame« ■was beneiicent and humane, and his laws contributed materially to their civilization and prosperity. He was killed, in the 30th year of his a^e, by the bursting of a cannon, in besieging the cas- tle of Roxburgh, A. D. 1460. 6. His son James III, without the talents of his predecessorsj affected to tread in the same steps. To humble his nobles he be- stowed his confidence on mean favourites, an insult which the for- mer avenged by rebellion. His brothers Albany and Mar, aidsd by Edward IV. of England, attempted a revolution in the kiugf^- dom, which was frustrated only by the death of Edward. In a second rebellion the confederate nobles forced the prince of Roth- say, eldest son of James, to appear in arms against his father. In an engagement near Baanockburn the rebels v/ere successful, and the king was slain in the 35Lh year of his age, 14'J8. 7. James IV, a great and most ancompli.-hed prince, who«e tal- ents were equalled by his virtues, while Viiy measures of govern- ment v/erc dictated by a true spirit of patriotism, r/on by a well- placed confidence the alfeclions of his nobility, la hia marriage with Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII. of England, both sov^e- reigns wisely sought a b-nd of amity betv/sen the kingdoms ; but this purpose was frustrated in the succeeding reign of Henry VIII, The high spirit of the rival monarchs Avas easily inflamed by tri- fling causey of offence ; and France, theii at war with England, courted the aid of her ancient ally. James invaded England with a powerful army, which he wislied to lead to immediate action ; but the prudent delays of Surrey, the English general, wasted and weakened his force. In the fatal battle of llodden the Scots were defeated with prodigio;:s slaughter. The gallant James per- ished in the iigat, aud with him almost the whole of the Scottish nobles, A. D. 15 13. 8. Under the long minority of his son James V, an infant at the time of his father''s death, the kingdom was feebly ruled by hia uncle Albany, i he aristocracy began to resume i{:s ancient spu'it of indepeidence, wnich was iil-brooiied by a prince of a proud and uncontroulabie mind, who feit the keenest jealousy of a iiigh prerogative. With a :ystematic policy he employed the church to abuse tha nobility, con-erring all the ofhces of sta e oa able eccle- siastics. The cardinal Oeaton o-operaied with great zeal in the desi^iis of his master, and uud^er him ruled the kmgdom. 9. ileury "/Hi, embroiled wi'h the papacy, so.ight an alliance with the king of Scots; but the ecciesiasiical counsellors of the latLiU- defeated this beneficial purpose. A war was thus provoked, aa 1 a nt-s was rei ictantly compelled to court those nobles whom it had hitherto bma hia darling object to humiliate. I'hcy now 173 MODERN HISTORY. determined on a disgraceful revenge. In an attack en the Scot tish border the English Avere repelled, and an opportunity olfercu to the Scots of cutting ofi' their retreat. The king gave his order" to that end, but his barons obstinately refused to advance beyond the frontier. One measure roore was wanting- to drive their sove- reign to despair. In a subsequent engagemeat witli the English 10,000 of the iScots deliberately surrendered themselves prisoners; to 500 of the enemy. The high spirit of James sunk under his contending passions, and he died of a broken heart in the S3d year of his age, A. I). 1542, a few days after the birth of a daugh- ter, yet more unfortunate than her father, Mary queen of Scots. SECTION XXXIIL OF THE ANCIENT CONSTITUTION OF THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. 1. We have seen that it was a constant policy of the Scettish kings to abase the power of their nobles; and that the striiggie for poAver was the source of much misery and bloodshed. But this policy was necessary, from ihe dangerous ambition and law- less tyranny of those nobles, who frequently aimed at overturnin-r the throne, and exercised the severest oppression on all their de- pendent.?. Thp intercuts, therefore, of the people, no lefs than the security of the prince, demanded the repression of this over- weening and destructive power. The aristocracy was, however,^ preserved, no less by its own strength than by the concurrence of circumstances, and chiefly by the violent and unhappy fate of the sovereigns, Meant-ime, though the measures which the kings pursued were not successful, yet their consequences were bene!;- cial. lliey restrained, if they did not destroy, the spirit of feudal oppression, and gave birth to order, wise laws, and a more tranquil administration of government. 2. The legislative power, though nominally resident in the par- liament, was virtually in the king, v/ho, by liis influcuce, er.tijeiy controuied its proceedings. The parliament con%iitod of three estates, the nobles, the dignified clergy, and the less barons, who were the representatives of the t»wus and shires. Ihe disposal of benefices, gave the crown the entire command of the church- men, who were equal to the nobles in number ; and at least a ma- jority of the commons were the dependents of the sovereign A committee, termed the lords of the articles, prepared every mea- sure that was to come before the parliament, iiy the mode of its election this committee was in effect nominated by the king. It is to the credit of. the Scottish princes, that there are few insiauce? of their abusing an authority so extensive a^ that which they con- stitutionaliy enjoyed. 3. The king had anciently the supreme jurisdiction in all catises, civil and criminal, wlJch he generally exercised through the me- dium of his privy council ; but in 1425 James I. instituted tlie court of gessioivs, consisting of the chanceUor and certain judges cholera MODERN HISTORY. 179 ,'.jinHic three estates. This court was new-modelled by James V, and its jurisdiction limited to civil cause?, the cognizance of crimes being- committed to the i justiciary. The chancelW v,as the highest officer of the crown, and president of the parliament. To the chamberlain belon^jed the care of the finances and the public police'; to the high steward the charge of the king's hou-.,ehold ; the constable regulated all matters of military arrangement ; and the marshal was the king"'-« lieutenant, and master of the horse. 4. The. revenue of the sovereign consisted of his domain, which was extensive, of the feu(^al casualties and forfeitures, fae profits of the wardships of his vassals, the rems of vacant benefices, the pe- cuniary lines for offences, and the aids or presents occasionally given by the subject ; a revenue a,t all times sufhcient for the purposes of government, and the support of the dignity of the crowu. 5. The political principles which regulated the coi. luct of the Scots toward other nations were obvious and siruple. It had ever been an object of ambition to England to acquire the sovereignty ef Scotland, which was constantly on its guard against this design of its more potent neighbour. It was the wisest policy for Scot- land to attach itself to France, the natin-al enemy of Eni;land ; an ailiaiice reciprocally courted from similar motives. In those days this attachment was justly deemed patriotic ; while the Scot?, who were the pa?'ti2ans of England, were with equal justice re- gardf;d as traitors to their country. In the period of which we now treat, it was a settled policy of the English sovereigns to have a secret faction in their pay in Scotland, for the purpose of di- viding and thus enslaving the nation ; and to this source all the subsequent disorders of the latter kingdom are to be attributed. SECTION XXXIV. A VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF LITERATURE AND SCI- ENCE IN EUROPE, FROM THE REVIVAL OF LUTTERS TO THE END OF THE FIFl'EENTH CENTURY. 1. The first restorers of learning in Europe were the Arabi- ans, who, in the course of their Asiatic conquests, becoming ac*- i^uainted with some of the ancient Greek authors, discovered and justly appreciated the knowledge and improvement to be derived from them. The caliphs procured from the eastern emperors co- pies of the ancient manuscripts, and had them carefully translated into Arabic ; esteeming principally those which treated of mathe- matics, physics, and metaphysics. They disseminated their knowledge in the course of their conquests, and founded schools and colleges in all the countries which they subdued. ■2. The western kingdoms of Europe became tirst acquainted v/ith the learning of the ancients through the medium of those Arabian translations. Charlemagne caused latin translations to be made from the Arabian, and founded, after the example of the caliphs, the universities of Bononia, Favia, Osnaburg, and I'aris. Alfred w^th a similar spirit, and by similar means, introduced a 180 MODERN HISTORY. taste for literature in England ; but the suli?equent jflisordcrs cf the kingdom rephmged it into barbari.«m. The Norman?, ho-vve\-cr, fcrouofht from the continent some tincture of ancient Ifearning-, which was kept alive in the monasteries, -where the monks ■vvere meritoriously employed in tranpcribing a few of the ancient au- thors, along with the legendary lives of the saints, 3. In this dawn of literature in England appeared Henry of Huntington and Geoflrcy of Monmouth, names distinguished in the earliest annals of poetry and romance ; John of Salisbury, a moralist; Vvilliam of Malmesbury, annalist of the history of Eng- land before the reign of Stephen ; Giraldus Cambrensis, known in the fields of history, theology, and poetry; Joseph of Exeter, au- thor of tMO Latin epic poems on the Trojan war, and the war of Antioch, or the crusade, which are read with pleasure even in the present day. 4. But this era of a good taste in letters was of short duration. The taste for classical composition and historical information yielded to the barbarous subtleties cf scholastic divinity taught by Lombard and Al»elard, and to the abstruse doctrines of the Koman law, which began to engage the general attention from the re- cent discovery of the };andects at Amalphi, 7 137. The amuse- ments of the vuh-^ar in those periods were metrical and prose ro- mances, unintelligible prophecies, and fables of giants and en- chanters. 5. In the middle of the thirteenth century appeared a distin- guished genius, Roger Eacon, an English friar, whose comprehen- sive mind was filled with all the stores of ancient learning ; wh# possessed a discriminating judgment to separate the precious ore from the dross, and a pov.-er of invention fitted to ad^■ance in eve- ry science which was the object ofliis study. He saw the insuf- ficiency of the school philosophy, and f rst recommended the pro- secution of knowledge by experiment and the observation of na- ture. He made discoveries of importance in astronomy, optics, chemistry, medicine, and mechanics. He reformed the kalender, discovered the construction of telescopic glasses forgotten after his time, and revived by Galileo, and has left a plain intimation of his knowledge of the composition of gun-powder. Yet this superior genius believed in the possibility of discovering an elixir tor the prolongation of life, in the transmutation of metals into gold, and in judicial astrology. 6. A general taste prevailed for poetical composition in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. 1 he troubadours of Provence wrote sonnets, madrigals, and satirical ballads ; and excelled in extempore dialogues on the subject of love, which they treated in ft metyphysical and Platonic strain. 1 hey contended for thei^rize of poetiT^ at solemn meetings, where princes, nobles, and the most illustrious ladies attended to decide betv.'een the rival bv.rtls ; and some of those prlncep, as Richard I. of England, Frederick L em- peror of Germany, are celebrated as troubadours of eminence. Many fragments yet remain of their compositions. 7. The transference of the papal seat to Avignon, in the four- teectJj century, familiarised the Italian poets with the songs of the MODERN HISTORY. 181 troubadour?, and g^ve a tincture of the Provencal style to their compositions, which is very observable in the poetry of Petrarch and of Dante. The Divina Comedia of Dante ftrst introduced the machinery of angels and devils in the room of the pagan mytho- logy, and is a work containing many examples of the terrible sub- lime. The Sonnels and Cansoni of Petrarch are highly tender and pathetic, though vitiated with a quaintnes? and conceit, which is a prevalent feature of the Italian poetry. The Dtcamerone of Boc- cacio, a work of the same age, is a ma?ter-piece for invention, in- genious narrative, and acquaintance with human nature. These authors have fixed the standard of the Italian language. 8. Cotemporary with them, and of rival merit, was the English Chaucer, who displays all the talents of Boccacio, through the medium of excellent poetry. The works of Chaucer discover an extensive knowledge of the sciences, an acquaintance both with ancient and modern learning, particularly the literature of France and Italy, and, above all, a most acute discernment of life and manners. 9. Of similar character are the poems of Gower, but of a gra- ver cast, and a more chastened morality. Equal to these eminent men in every species of literary merit was the accomplished James I. o( Scotland, of which his remaining writings bear convincing testimony. The doubtful Rowley of Bristol is said to have adorn- ed the fifteenth century. 10. Spain at this period began to emerge from ignorance and bacbarisn, and to produce a few of those works which 3re enume- rated with approbation in the whimsical but judicious criticism of Cervantes. (Don Quixote, b. 1, c. 6.) 11. Though poetry attained in those ages a considerable degree of splendour, yet there was little advancement in general litera- ture and science. History was disgraced by the intermixture of miracle and fable ; yet we find much curious information in the writings of Matthew of Westminster, of Walsing;hara, Everard, Duysburg, and the Chranicles of Froissart and Monstrelet. Phi- lip de Commines happily describes the reigns of Lewis XI. and Charles Vfll. of France. Villani and Platina are valuable re- corders of the affairs of Italy. 12. A taste for classical learning in the fifteenth century led to the discovery of many of the ancient authors. Poggio discovered the writings of Quintilian and several of the compositions of Ci- cero, which stimulated to farther research, and to the recovery of ma>iy valuable remains of Greek and Roman literature. But this taste was not generally diffused. France and England were ex- tremely barbarous. The library at Oxford contained only 600 volumes, and there were but four classics in the royal library at Paris. But a brighter period was approaching. On the fall of the eastern empire, in the end of the fifteenth century, the dispersion of the Greeks diffused a taste for polite literature over all the west of Europe. A succession of popes, endowed with a liberal and enlightened spirit, gave every enco 'ragement to learning and the sciences; and, above all, the noble discovery of the art of print- 16 iS2 MODERN HISTORV. ing contributed to their rapid advancement atid disycmlnation, an^ g'ave a certain assurance of the perpetuation of every valuable alrt, and the prcg-ressive improvement of human knowledge. 13. The rise of dramatic composition among the moderns is to be traced to the absurd and ludicrous representation, in the churches, ©f the Bcripture histories, called in England mysteries, miracles, and moralities. These were first exhibited in the twelfth century, and continued to the sixteenth, when they were prohibited by law in England. Of these we have amusing specimens in Warton's History of English Poetry. Profane dramas were substituted in their place ; and a mixture of the sacred and profane appears to have been known in France as early as 1300. In Spain the farci- cal mysteries keep their ground to the present day, and no regular composition for the stage was known till the end of the sixteenth C'entury. The Italians are allowed by their own writers to have borrowed their theatre from the French and English. See Kelt's Elements of General Knowledge, vol. I. SECTION XXXV. VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF COMMERCE TN^ EUROPE BEFORE THE PORTUGUESE DISCOVERIES. 1. Before we give an account of the discoveries of the Portu- guese in the fifteenth century, in exploring a new route to India, we shall present a short view of the progress of commerce in Eu- rope down to that period. The boldest naval enterprize of the ancients was the Periplus of Hanno, who sailed from Carthage to the coast of Guinea, with- in four or five degrees of the equator, A. C. 570. The ancients did not know that Africa was almost circumnavigable. They had a very limited knowledge of the habitable earth. They believed that both the torrid and frigid zones were uninhabitable ; and they were very imperfectly acquainted with a great part of Eu- rope, Asia, and Africa. Denmark, Sweden, Prussia, Poland, the greater part of Russia, were unknown to them. In Ptolemy's de- scription of the globe the 63d degree of latitude is the limit of the earth to the north, and the equator to the south. 2. Britain was circumnavigated in the time of Domitian. The Romans frequented it for the purposes of commerce ; and Tacitus mentions London as a celebrated resort of merchants. The com- merce of the ancients was, however, chiefly confined to the Medi- terranean. In the flourishing periods of the eastern empire the merchandize of India was imported from Alexandria; but, after the conquest of Egypt by the Arabians, it was carried up the In- dus, and thence by land t© the Oxus, which then ran directly into the Caspian sea ; thence it was brought up the Wolga, and again carried overland to the Don, whence it descended into the Euxine. 3. After the fall of the western empire commerce was long at A stand in Europe. When Attila was ravaging Italy the V^eneti took reluge in the small islands at the northern extremity of the Adri- MO»ERN HISTORY. 183 atic, and there founded Venice, A. D. 452, which began rery early to equip small fleets, and trade to the coasts of Egypt and the Le- vant, for spices and other merchandize of Arabia and India. Ge- noa, Florence, and Pisa imitated this example, and began to ac- quire considerable wealth ; but Venice retained her superiority over these rival states, and gained considerable territory on the •pposite coast of lilyricum and Dalmatia. 4. The maritime cities of Italy profited by the crusades, in fur- nishing the armies with supplies, and bringing home the produce of the east. The Italian merchants established manufactures sim- ilar to those of Constantinople. Rogero king of Sicily brought ar- tizans from Athens, and established a silk manufacture at Palermo in 1130. The sugar-cane was planted in Sicily in thj twelfth cen- tury, and thence carried to Madeira, and finally made its way to the West Indies. 6. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the Italians were the only commercial people of Europe. Venice set the first example of a national bank in 1157, which has maintained its credit to the present ti7nes. The only trade of France, Spain, and Germany, at this time, was carried on at stated fairs and markets, to which tra- ders resorted from all quarters, paying a tax to the sovereigns or the lords of the territory. The more enterprizing bought a privi- lege of exemption, by paying at once a large sum, and were thence .called frtt traders. 6. In the middle ages the Italian merchants, usually called Lom- bards, were the factors cf all the European nations, and were en- ticed, by privileges granted by the sovereigns, to settle in France, Spain, Germany, and England. Ihey were not only traders in commodities, but bankers, or money dealers. In this last business they found a severe restraint from the canon law prohibiting the ■taking of interest ; and hence, from the necessary priva-^y of their bargains, there were no bounds to exorbitant usury. The Jews, too, who were the chief dealers in money, brought disrepute on the trade of banking, and frequently sufiered, on that account, the most intolerable persecution and confiscation of their fortunes. ^J'o guard against the?e injuries they invented hills of exchange. 7. The Lombard merchants excited a spirit of commerce, and gave birth to manufactures, which were generally encouraged by the sovereigns in the different kingdoms of Europe. Among the chief encouragements was the institution of corporations or mono- polies, the earliest of which are traced up to the eleventh century ; a policy beneficial, and perhaps necessary, where the spirit of in- dustry is low, and manufactures are in their infancy ; but of hurt?' ful consequence where trade and manufactures are flourishing. 8. Commerce began to spread toward the north oX Europe about the end of the twelfth century. The sea-ports on the Baltic tra- ded with France and Britain, and with the Mediterranean by the staple of the isle of Oleron, near the mouth of the Garonne, then possessed by the English. The commercial laws of Oleron and Wisbuy (on the Baltic) regulated for many ages the trade of Eu- l^ope. To protect their trade from piracy Lubtc,^ Hamburgh, and pjQst of tht; northern jjea-portsj^'omed in a confederacy, under ctsf 284 MODERN HISTORY. -tain general regulations, termed the league of the hanse.-towna ; a uuion so btneficial in its nature, and so formidable in point of strength, that its alliance was courted by the predominant powers •f Europe. 9. For the trade of the hanse-towns with the eouthern kingdoms, Bruges, on the coast of l landers, was found a convenient entre- pot, and thither the Mediterranean merchants brought the commo- dities of India and the Levant to exchange with the produce and manufactures of the north. 'J he Flemings now began to encour- age trade and manufactures, which thence spretid to the Eraban- ters ; but their growth being checked by the impolitic sovereigns of those provinces, they found a more favourable field in Englanc), which was destined to derive from them the great source of its na- tional opulence. 10. Ihe Britons had very early seen the importance of com- merce. Bede relates that London was frequented by foreigners for the purpose of trade in 614; and William of Malmesbury spealcs of it, in 1041, as a most populous and wealthy cily. Ihe cinque ports, Dover, liastings, Ijylhe, Romney, and Sandwich, obtained in that age their privileges and immunities, on condition of furnishing each five ships of war. These ports are now eight in number, and send their members to parliament. 11. The woollen manufacture of England was considerable in the twelfth century. Henry IL incorporated the weavers of Lon- don, and gave them various privileges. By a law passed in his reign, all cloth made of foreign wool was condemned to be burnt. Scotland at this time seems to have possessed a considerable source of wealth, as is evident from the payment of the ransom of Will- iam the lion, which was 10,000 merks, equal to 100,0001. sterling of present unjney. Ihe English found it difficult, to raise double that sum for the ransom of Richard I, and the Scots contributed a proper ion of it. Ihe F^nglish sovereigns at first drew^ a conside- rable revenue from the custom on wool exported to be manufac- tured abroad ; but becoming soon sensible of the benefit of encour- aging its home manufacture, they invited, for that purpose, the foreign artisans and merchants to reside in England, and gave them valuable immunities. Edward III. was peculiarly attentive to trade and manufactures, as appears by the laws passed in his rrign ; and he was bountiiul in the encouragement of foreign arti- sans. 'Ihe succeeding reigns were not so favourable. During the civil wars of York and Lancaster the spirit of trade and manu- factures greatly declined ; nor did they begin to revive and flour- ish till the accession of Henry VII. In that interval of their de- cay in England commerce and the arts w^ere encouraged in !• cot- laud by James I. and his successors, as much as the comparatively rude and turbulent state of the kingdom would permit, i he her- ring fishery then began to be vigorously promoted ; and the duties laid on the exportation of woollen cloth show that this mani.fac- ture was then cimsiderabie among the h'cots. Glasgow begai; to acquire wealth by the fisheries in 1420, but had little or n loi^iga trade till after the discovery of Amci ipa and thp VV 6?t lji4*e>. M^DEKN HISTORY. 1-^5 12. Henry VII. gfare the most liberal enccwtragenient to trade •a.U'1 inannfacture?, particularly the woollen, by invitin? for<'iofn ar- tisans, and establishins^ them at Leeds, Wakefield, Halifax, and Other places. The navigation acts werc^ passed in his r'irn, and -eommercial treaties formed with the continental kingdoms for the protection of the merchant-shipping. Such was the state of com- merce at the time when the ]^orta;^nese made those great discove- ries which opened a new route to India, and gave a circulation to its wealth over most of the nations of Europe. biECTION XXX VI. -BISCOVFRIES OF THE PORTUGUESE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY, AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE COMMERCE OF EUROPE. 1. The polarity of the magnet had been known in Europe as •early as the thirteenth century-? but the eompass was not used in sailing- till the middle of the fourteenth ; and another century had jelapsed from that period, while yt t the European mariners scarce- •ly ventured out of the sight of their coasts. I'he eastern ocean •was little known ; and the \tla!)tic was supposed to be a bound- less expanse of sea, extending probably to the eastern shores qf Asia. In the belief tbat the torrid zone was uninhabitable, a pro- montory on the African coast, in the 20th degfree of north latitude,, was termed Cape Non, as forming an impassable limit. 2. In the beginning of the fifteenth century John king of Por-'* tugal sent a few vessels to explore the African coast ; aijd those doubling Cape Non proceeded to Cape Boyador, within two de- grees of the northern tropic. Prince Henry, the son of John, -equipped a single sliip, which, being driven out to sea, landed on the island of Porto "^anto. 'Phis involrnitary experiment embold- ened the mariners to abandon thfir timid mode of coastin.jr, and launch into the open sea. In 1420 the Fortu£:uese discovered Afa- d^ira, where the> established a colony, and planted the Cyprus >vine, and the su.i^ar cane 3. 'ihe spirit of enrterprize being thus. awakened, prance sHenry . obtained froai i'ugeae IV. a bull granting to the Portuguese the .property of all the countries which they might discover between Cape .%on and India. Under John 11. of I'ortngal th'' Cape V'erd islands were discovered and colonized ; and the fleets, advancing to the coast of Guinea, btot^.gbl home gold-dust, gums, and ivir^. Having passed the equator, the t oTtuguese entered a new hfrnis- phcre, and boldly proceeded to the extiemity of the continent. Jn 1479 a fleet under Vasco do Gama dcsibled the c:\pe of (iood Hope, aud, pailins: onwards beyond the mouths of the ,-rabian and Persian gvilphs, arrived at Calicut, on the Vlala ni' coast, a'ler a Toyagt' ol 1500 leagues, perf->rmed in thirieen months. 4. '6 'iaaia eale ed into a) alliance wiih the rajah of '' a1;ci^ .■ft uibutary of tht Xvlogul empire, axid . returned .to Ligboo wuh sp.e- ;h3* 186^" MODERN HISTORY, cimens of the wealth and produce »f the country. A succeeding fleet formed settlemcj fs, and, vanquishing^ the opposition ol \\\e native princes, soon achieved the conquest of all the coast of !\ al- ahar. The city of Goa, taken by storm, became the residence of a Portuoruese viceroy and the capital of their Indian settlements. 5. The Venetians, who had hitherto engrossed the Indian trade by Alexandria, now lost it forever. After an ineffectual project of cutting; through the isthmus of Suez, they attempted to inttr- cei't the Portuguese by their fleets stationed at the mouth of the Ked sea and Persian gulph, but were every where encountered V>y a superior force. 'J'he Portus:ue?e made settlements in both the gulphs, and vig-oronsly prosecuted their conquests on the Indian coast and sea. The rich island of Ceylon, the kino^doms le, that nearly a fourth of the population of the united kingdoms is actually employed in commerce and manufactrn'es. 10. The vast increase of the national weal'h of Britain appears chiefly, 1, from the increase of population, which is sujipos^d to be nearly five to one (at least in the largfc cities) since the reii^n of i;iizai)cth ; 2, from the great addition made (o the cultivated lands of the kingdom, and the hii;h improvement of a^itipnltiire since that ptiriod, whence more than qua 'ruj)le the quantity of food is produced ; 3, from the increase of the co nmcrcial ship- ping, at least sixfold within the same time ; 4, from the co.np.ara-' tive low rate of interest, which is demonstrative of the increase of wealth, 'i'he consequences of the ditfusion of the commercial spirit are most important to the national ^welfare. 1 rom general industry arises affluence, joined to a spirit of independence ; and on this spirit rests the freedom of the liriush constitution, and ail tlie blessings which we enjoy under its piotectioa. SECTION XXXVII. GERMANY AND FRANCE IN THE REIGNS OF CriARLES V. AND FRANCIS I. 1. We resume the detail of the history of Europe at the be- ginning of the sixteenth century, previously remarking, that the Germanic empire continued for above fifty y ars in a state of lan- guid tranq'ullity, from tlie time of Albert i;, the successor of 8i- gismun^I, during the long reign of 1 rederick III, whose son .V'ax- iinilian acquired, by his marriage with Maiy durhess of }>urgundy, the sovereignty of the Netherlands. Maximilian was elected Fimpercr in 1493 ; and, by establishing a perpetual peace between the separate Germanic states, laid the foundation of the subse- quent grandeur of the empire. 2. Philip archduke of Austria, son of Maximilian, married Jane, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella ; and of that n)ar- riaj^e the eldest son was Charles V, who succeeded to the throne of Spain in 1510, and, on the death of his grandfather iVlaxi ni- iian, preferred lis claim to the vacant im})erial throne, lie had for hi> c.impctilor J rancis 1. of i ranee, who liad distinguished liimseif by the conquest of the Milanese, and the adjustment o^ l^ , MODERN HlSTOR-t. the rrntendirg irtercsts of the Italian states. The C etDi an elect- ■orf, afraid of the exorbitant pcTvcr both of Charles and oi 1 lan- ds, v.onld hare rf jert( d Vclh. ?rd r cr^erred th( in j evial cjr\Mi on rredericV duke of Faxony ; butthi? extraordinary man declin- ed the proffered dignity, and his council determined the election in favonr of Charles of Austria, 1519. 3. Charles V. and Francis I v. ere now declared enemies, and their nniti' al clairj? on each other's dominions -were the suljtct of perpetual hostility. Ihe fmperor claic ed Artoisas part ot the JN^ttherlands. Francis prepared to make good his rii'-ht to the two Sicilies. Charles had to defend IN'ilan, and to support hi& title to P^avarre, which had been wrested from 1 ranee 1 y hi« grandfather Ferdirand. I'enry VIJI. of 1 ngland was courted by the rival monarchs, as the weight of Fngland was sv.fEcirnt t© ■turn the scale, where the power of each was nearly balanced. 4. 1 he first hostile ^attack was made 1 y 1 rancis on the king^dona of Navarre, which he won -and lost in the course of a fev months. ■The emperor attacked Picardy, aivd his troops at the same time tliove the French out of the IV'ilanese.. On the death of Leo X. Charles placed cardinal Adrian on the papal throne, 1521 ; and by ihe promise of ele%'ating "\^ olsey, the miuisfer of F'enry \ IlL, tf' that dignity, on the death of Adrian, gained the alliance of the English monarch in his war against franco. 5. At this critical time Francis im.prudtntly quarrelled with his Ibest general, the constable of Bourbon, who, in reven^re, desf ried th- emperor, and was by him investefi with the chief comniand of his armies. T he imperial generals were far superior in abili- ties to their opponents, 'ihe French were defeated at Eiagrassa, rand Charles was carrying every thing before him in Italy, when 'Francis entered the Milanese, and retook the capital ; b».t, in the subsequent battle of 1 ai ia, his troope were entirely defeated, an{^ ?thc French monarch became the constable of Bourbon's prisoner,,' 1525. 6. The emperor made no advantage of his good fortune. By 'thf treaty of iViadrid Francis regained his liberty, on yielding to Charles the duchy of Burgundy, and the superiority of f landers .and Artois. Fie gave his two sons as hostages for the fultlmeat cf these ccnditioiifi ; but the states refi'sed to ratify them, anjd the failure was compromised for a sum of money. 7. On the renewal of the war, Fienry VIll. took part with France, and t.:harles lest An opportunity cF obtainirg the sove- ;reignty of taly. Ihe papal arrmy in the French .interest vas de- feated by tlie constable of iourbon., and the pope ^inistlf made jpvi«oner ; but Bor.rbon v>!a3 killed in the seige of I ome, and •Charles allowed the pope to purchase his release. 8. After the conclusion of the peace of Cam'rray, 1525, Charley Tisited Italy, and received the imperial diadem from pope de- ment V^L the Turks having invaded t.ungary. the tn)pfcror ■inarched against them in person,. and compeibd the sultan boly- •.anHn, with an a my tld foim his doiiinions into a well connected bo 1y, from the sepaiate national interests of the Spaniards, 1' lemisii, a.id ^jeriians ; and even the imperial states were divided by their jealousies, politu al and religious. Fho hostilities of foreign powers gave hnn con- tinual annoyance. e found in fleury II, the successor of 1 ran- cis, an antag>.iist ai formidable as his father. lis cares and dif- fic.)iti<;s increased as he adva iccd ii lii"-, a id n. length ntirely Ijioke the vi°;our of ais mind. la a state of melancholy despoiid- 190 MODERN HISTORY. ency he retired from the "world at the age of fifty-six, resigning firat the kingdom of Spain to his son Philip II, 1556, and after- wards the imperial crown in favour of his brother Ferdinand, vrh9 waa elected emperor on the 24th day of February, 1558* SECTION XXXVIIL OBSERVATIONS ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GER* MAN EJVIFIB-E. 1. Preriously to the reign of Maximilian T, the Germanic em- pire was subject to all the disorders of the feudal governments. The general diets of the state were tumultuous and indecisive, and their constant wars with one another kept the whole in anar- chy and barbarism, \^'enceslaus, in 1383, endeavoured to reme* dy those evils by the enactment of a general peace ; but no effect- ual measures were taken for securing it. Albert II. attempted to accomplish the same end, and had some success. He divided Germany into six circles, each regulated by its own diet ; but the jealousies of the states prompted them constantly to hostilities, which there was no superior power sufncient to restrain. 2. At length Maximilian I. procured, in 1500, that solemn en- actment which established a perpetual peace among the Germanic states^ under the cogent penalty of the aggressor being treated as a common enemy. He established the imperial chamber for the settlement of all differences, 'i he empire was divided anew into ten circJes, each circle sending its rtpresentatives to the imperial chamber, and bound to eulorce the public laws through its own territory. A regency was appointed to subsist in the iatervals of the diet, composed of twenty members, over whom the emptier presided. 3. These regulations, however wise, would probably have failed of their end, it ihe influence of the house of Austria, which has for three crnturies continued to occupy the in^.j ( rial throne, had cot enforced oledience to them. U he ambition and policy of Lbark.3 V. would have betn dangerous to the freedom of the German prin- ces, if the new system ol" preserving a balance of power in Europe had not made tlu se princes find allies and protectors sufficient to traverse the emp^^ror's schemes of absolute dominion. He attained, however, an authority far bey- nd that of any of his predecessors, Qhe succeeding emperors imitated his policy ; but, as they did not possess equal talents, they found yet stronger obstacles to their en* croachraents on the freedom of the states. 4. The Germanic liberties were settled for the last time by the treaty of Vestphalia, in 164o, which fxcd the eraperor^s preroga- tives, and the privii- ges of the siatts. 1 he constitution of the em- pire is not iramed for the ordinary ends of government,^ the prosper- ity and happiness of the people. It regard-s not the rights of the subjects, but only the independence of the several princes; and its §olc object is to mail -ain each in the enjoyment of hi.^ sovereignty, ajidjjrevent usurpations and eiicroachments on one aao.iher''s ter^ MdDERN HfSTORT. 191 tit^rie.q. It has no relation to the particular gfovernment of th^ states, each of which has its own laws and constitution, some rtiore free, and others more despotic. 5. The general diet has the power of enacting the public lawsr of the empire. It consists of three college?, the electors, the prin- ces, and the free cities. All such public laws, and all g'eneral m^jasures, are the subject of the separate deliberation of the elec- toral college and that of the princes. \\ hen jointly approved by them, the resolution is canvassed by the college of the free cities, and, if agreed to, becomes ?i placiticm of the empire. If approved finally by the emperor, it is a conchisum^ or general law. If disap- proved, the resolution is of no effect. Moreover, the emperor must be the proposer of all general laM's. Still farther, no complaint or request can be made by any of the princes to the diet withont the approbation of the elector archbi?hop of Mentz, who may refuse it at his pleasure. These constitutional defects are the more hurtful in their consequences, from the separate and often contending in terests of the princes, who have all the rights of sovereignty, the power of contracting foreign alliances, and ai-e frequently possessed of foreign dominions of far greater value than their imperial terri- tories. 6. The Germanic constitution has, however, in some respects, its advantages. The particular diets of each circle tend to unite those princes in all matters of national concern, whatever may be the discordance of their individual interests. The regulations made in those diets compensate the want of a general legislative power, Reside the circular diets, the electors, the princes, the free cities, the catholics, and the protestants, hold their particular diets, when their common interests require it ; and these powers balance one another. Considered, therefore, solely in the light of a league of several independent princes and states, associating for their common benefit, the Germanic constitution has many advantages ; in promoting general harmony, securing the rights of its members, and preventing the weak from being oppressed by the strong. SECTION XXXIX. OF THE REFORMATION IN GERMANY AND SWITZER- LAND, AND THE REVOLUTION IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN. 1. The age of Charles V. is the era of the reformation of reli- gion, of the discovery of the new world, and of the highest splen- dour of the fine arts in Italy and the south of Europe. We shall treat in order of each of these great objects ; and, first, of the re-- formation. The voluptuous taste and the splendid projects of pope Leo X. demanding large supplies of money, he instituted through all the chrisiian kingdom?) a sale of indulgences, or remittances from the pains of pur.'ratofy. This traffic being abused to the most shocking: •purposes, Martin Luther, an Augustine friar, \entured to preacii 192 MODERN HISTORY. against it, and to inveigh with acrimony against the power which a.'i*^l'0 ized it. He found many willing hearers, particularly in the electorate of Saxony, of v/hichthe prince Frederick was his Iriend and protector. Leo X. condemned hi? tenets by a papal hull, which on'v increa.sed the zeal and indignation of the preacher. In a book which he published, entitled the Babylonish CapHtiiy^ he applied all the scriptural attributes of the whore of Babylon to the papal hierarchy, and attacked with equal force and virulence the doc- trines of travsnbstantiation, purgatory, the celibacy of the priests, and the refusal of wine to the people in the corarounion. 1 he book beina: condemned to the flumes, Luther burned the pope's bull and the decretals at \Mttemberg:, 1550. 2. One of the first champions, who took up the pen against Luther, was Henry VITI. of England ; whose book, presented to pop' Leo, procured him the title now annexed to his crown, of defend; r of the faiih. The rtst of Europe seemed to pay little at- tention to these rising c-^ntroversies. Charles V, studious of the fi-iendsbip of the pope, took part against Irther, and summoned him to answer for his doctrines in the diet of Worms. The reformer defended himself with great spirit, and, aided by his friend the elector, made a safe escape into Saxony, v/here the mass was novv^ uniyrrsally abolished, the images destroyed, and the convents shut up. The friars and nuns returned to the world, and Luther took a nun for his wife. Nor did these secularized priests abuse their new freedom, for their manners were decent, and their life exemplary. 3. Erasmus has justly censured the impolicy of the catholic clergy in their modes of resisting and suppressing the new doctrines. They allowed them to be discussed in s«;rmons before the people, and employed for that purpose furious and bigoted declaimers, who only increased and widened differences. They would not yield in the most insignificant trifle, nor acknowledge a single fault ; and they persecuted with the utmost cruelty all whose opinions were not agreeable to their own standard of faith. How wise is the counsel of lord Bacon ! " 'Jhtre is no better way to stop the rise of new sects and schisms, than to reform abuses, compound the les- ser differences, proceed mildly from the first, refrain from sanguinary persecutions, and rather to soften and win the principal leaders, by gracing and advancing them, than to enrage them by violence and bitterness.'" Bac. Mor. Ess. Sect. 1. Ess. 12. 4. Switzerland followed in the path of reformation. Zuinglius of Zurich preached the new tenets with such zeal and effect, that the whole canton was converted, and the senate publicly abolished the mass, and purifie* the churches, Berne took the same mea- sures with greater solemnity, after a discussion in the senate which lasted two months. Basle imitated the same example. Other cantons armed in defence of their faith ; and in a desperate en- gagement, in which the protestants were defeated, Zuinglius was slain, 1531. 5. Lutheranism was now making its progress towards the north of Europe. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were at this time gov- erned by Christiern II, the Nero of the north* The Swedes, re- MODERN HISTORY. 193 luctantly cubnuttinc; to the yoke, were kept in a-we by Troll, arch* bishop of Upsal, a faithful minister of the tyrant in all his schemes of oppression and cruelty. On intellitrence of a revolt, the king' and his primate, armed with a bull from pope Leo X, massacred the whole body of the nobles and senators, amidst the festivity of a banquet. Gustavus Vasa, grand nephew of Charles Canutson, formerly kinj^ of Sweden, escaped from this carnage, and concealed himself in the mines of Dalecarlia. By degrees assembling a small army, he defeated the generals of Christicrn, whose cruelties at length determined the united nations io viudicate their rights, by a .solemn sentence of deposition. The tyrant fled to Flanders, and Frederick duke of Holstein was elected sovereign of the three kingdoms ; but Sweden, adhering to her heroic deliverer, and the heir of her ancient kings, acknowledged alone the sovereignty of Gustavus Vasa, 1521. The bull of Leo X, and its bloody conse- quences, were sufficient to convert Sweden and Denmark to the tenets of the reformed religion. Gostavus enjoyed his sceptre ma- ny years in peace, and contributed greatly to the happiness and prosperity of hia kingdom. 6. As early as 1525, the states of Saxony, Brunswick, Hesse Cassel, and the cities of Strasburgh and Frankfort, had embraced the doctrines of the reformation. Luther had now a species of spiritual control, which he exercised by means of a synod of six reformers. His successful example gave rise to reformers of differ- ent kinds, whose doctrines were less consonant to reason or good policy. Two fanatics of Saxony, Storck and Muncer, condemned infant baptism, and therefore were termed anabaptists. They preached universal equality and friedom of religious opinion, but, with singular inconsistency, attempted to propagate their doctrines by the sword. They were defeated at Mulhausen, and Muncer died on a scaffold ; but the party seemed to acquire new courage. They s,urprised Munster, expelled the bishop, and anointed for their king a tailor named Jack of Leyden, who defended the city with the most desperate courage, but fell at length, with his party un- der the superior force of regular troops. The anabaptists, thus san- guinary in their original tenets and practices, have long ago be- come peaceable and harmless subjects. 7. The united power of the pope and emperor found it impossi- ble to check the progress of the reformation. The diet of Spires proposed articles of accommodation between the Lutherans and catholics. Fourteen cities of Germany, and several of the electors, protested formally against those articles ; and hence the Lutheran party acquired the name of protest anfs. They presented to the assembly at Augsburg a confession of their faith,^ which is the standard of the protestant doctrines. 8. The virtuous lives and conduct of the protestant leadert, compared with those of the higher clergy among the catholics, formed a contrast very favourable to the progress of the reforma* tion. The solemn manner in which the states of Switzerland, and particularly Geneva, had proceeded, in calmly discussing every point of controversy, and yielding only to the force of rational con- riction, attracted the respect of all Europe. John CaJvin, a 17 19-4 MODERN HISTORY. Frenchman, becoming a zealous convert to the new doctrines, wa» the first who gave them a systematic form by his Institutions^ and enforced their authority by the establishment of synods, consisto- ries, and deacons. The magistracy of Geneva gave these ordinan- ces the authority of law ; and they were adopted by six of the Swiss cantonsj by the protestants of France, and the presbyterians of Scotland and England. The ablest advocates of Calvin will find it difficult to vindicate him from t]ie charge of intolerance and the spirit of persecution ; but these, which are the vices or defects of the individual, attach not in the least to the doctrines of the refor- mation, which are subject to the test of reason, and can derive no blemish or dishonour from the men who propagated them, or even from the motives which might influence some of their earliest sup- porters. This observation applies more particularly to the subject of the ensuing section. See Kett''s Elements of General Knowledge, Vol. I. SECTION XL. OF THE REFOJIMATION IN ENGLAND UNDER HENRY VIII, AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 1. "VVicklifF, in the middle of the fourteenth century, by an at- tack on the doctrines of transnbstantiation, indulgences, and auricu- lar confession, and still more by a translation of the scriptures into the vernacular tongue, had prepared the minds of the people of England for a revolution in religious opinions ; but his professed tbllowers were not numerous. The intemperate passions of Henry Vlll. were the immediate cause of the reformation in England. He bad been married eighteen j^ears to Catharine of Spain, aunt of Charles V, by whom he had three children, one of them, Mary, af- terwards queen of England ; when, falling in love with Anna Eullen, he solicited Clement VII. for a divorce from Catharine, on the score of her former marriage to his elder brother Arthur. The pope found himself in the painful dilemma of either affronting the emperor, or mortally offending the king of England. In hope that the king's passion might cool, he prptracted the time by preliminaries and negotiations, but to no purpose. Henry was resolutely bent on accomplishing his wishes. The Sorbonne and other French uni- versities gave an opinion in his favour. Armed with this sanction, he caused Cranmer archbishop of Canterbury to annul his mar- riage. The repudiated queen gave place to Anna Bullen. On this occasion Wolsey, the minister of Henry, lost the favour of his master, by opposing, as was believed, his darling measure. 2. Clement VII, from this specimen of the wayward temper of Henry, resolved to keep well with the emperor, and issued his bull, condemnatory of the sentence of the archbishop of Canterbury. Henry immediately proclaimed himself head of the church of Eng- land ; the parliament ratified bis title, and the pope's authority was instantly suppressed in all his dominions, 1534. He proceed- ed to abolish the monasteries, and confiscate their treasures auci MODERN HISTORY. 195 revenues, electing out of the latter six new bishoprics and a col- lege. The itnmoraUtie3 of the monks were sedulously exposed, the forgery of relics, false miracles, &c., held up to the popular scorn. 3. Yet Henry, though a reformer, and pope in his own king- dom, had not renounced the religion of Rome : he was equally au enemy to the tenets of Luther and Calvin as to the pope''s jurisdic- tion in England. Inconstant in his affections, and a stranger to all humanity, he removed Anna Bullen from the throne to the scaf- fold, to gratify a new passion for Jane Seymour, a maid of honour, who happily died about a year after. To her succeeded Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced in nine months, to make way for Cath- arine Howard. She imderwent the same fate with Anna Bullen, on a similar suspicion of infidelity to his bed. His sixth wife, Cath- arine Parr, with difficulty retained her hazardous elevation, but had the good for|:ane to survive the tyrant. 4. On the death of Henry VIII, 1547, and the accession of his son Edward VI, the protestant religion prevailed in England, and was favoured by the sovereign ; but he died at the early age of fifteen, 1553 ; and the sceptre passed to the hands of his sister Ma- ry, an intolerant calholic, and most cruel persecutor of the protes- taats. In her reign, which was of five years' duration, above 800 miserable victims v/ere burnt at a stake, martyrs to their religious opinions. Mary inherited a congenial spirit with her husband, Philip II. of Spain, whose intolerance cost him the loss of a third part of his dominions. 5. Mary was succeeded in 1558 by her sister Elizabeth, the daughter of Anna Bullen, a protestant, the more zealous from an abhorrence of the character other predecessor. In her reign the religion of Engl ah. 1 became stationary. The hierarchy was estab- lished in its present form, by archbishops, bishops, priests, and dea- cons, the king being by law the head of the church. The liturgy had been settled in the reign of Edward VI. The canons are agreea- ble chiefiy to the Jjutheran tenets. Of the reformation ia Scotland we shall afterwards treat under a separate section. SECTION XLI. OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUEST OF AMERICA BY THE SPANIARDS. 1. Among those great events which distinguished the age of Charles V. was the conquest of Mexico by Fernando Cortez, and of Peru by the two brothers, Francis and Gonzalo Pizarro. The discovery of America preceded the first of these events about twenty-seven years ; but the account of it has beea postponed, that the whole may be shortly treated in connection. Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, a man of an enterprizing spirir, having in vain solicited encouragement from his native state, iiom Portv-gal, and fxom England, to attempt discoveries in the 1S8 MODERN HISTORY. ■western ocean, applied to Ferdinapd and Isabella ©i' Spain, U»- der the patronage of Isabella, as queen of Castile, he was furnish- ed -with three small ships, ninety men, and a few thousand ducats for the expense of his voyage. After thirty-three days' sail from the Canaries he discovered Pan Ir'alvador, September, 1492 ; and «oon after the islands of Cuba and hispaniola. He returned to v^p^ain, and brought a few of the natives, some presents of gold, -and curiosities of the country. He was treated by the Spaniardi with the highest honours, and soon supplied with a suitable arma- ment for the prosecution of his discoveries. In his second voyage he discovered the Caribbees and Jamaica. In a third voyag^e he descried the continent of America, within ten degrees of the jequalor, toAvard the isthmus of Panama. 1 he next year the geo- grapher Ariicricuf followed the track of Columbus, and had the undeserved honour of giving his name to this continent. ii. The inhabitants of America and its islands were a race of men quite new to the Europeans. They are of the colour of cop- per. In some oiiarteis, as in Mexico and I'eru, the Spaniards are said to have found a flouiif^hing empire, and a people polished, re- iined, and luxurious ; in others, man was a naked savage, the mem- ber of a wandering- tribe, v/hose sole occuj'a'ion was hunting or war. The savag^cs of the continent were characterized by their cruelty to their enemies, their contempt of death, and their gene- rous aiicction lor their friends. 1 he inhabitants of the islands were a miider race, of gentler manners, and less hardy conforma- tion of body and miud. The larger animals, as the horse, the cow, were unknown in America. 3. 'i hose newly-discovered countries were believed to contain inexhaustible treasures. Ihe Spaniards, under the pretence of religion and policy, treated the inhabitants with the most shock- ing inhumanity. The rack, the scourge,. the faggot, were employ- ed to convert them to Christianity. They were hunted like wild beasts, or burnt alive in their thickets and fastnesses. Hispanio- la, containing three millions of inhabitants, ar^ Cuba, containing above 60t?,U00, were absolutely depopulated in a fev/ yea.r3. It was now resolved to explore the continent; and lernando Cortez, with eleven ships and 617 men, sailed for that purpose from Cuba irj 1519. Landing at Tabasco, he advanced, though with a brave opposition from the natives, into the interior of the country. The state of Tlascala, after ineffectual resistance, become the ally of the Spaniards. On the approach of the Spaniards to Mexico, the larror of their name had paved the way for an easy conquest. 4. The Mexican empire, though founded little more than a cen- tm-y before this period, had arisen to great splendour. Its sove- reig::;, Montezuma, received the invaders wiih the reverence due to superior beings. But a short acquaintauce opened the eyes of the Mexicans. Finding nothing in the Spaniards beyond what was human, they were daring enough to attack and put to death a few of them. The intrepid Cortez immediately marched to the palace with fifty men, and putting the emperor in irons, carried him off prisoi er to his camp ; where he afterwards persuaded him to acknowledge himself a vassal of the kin^ of Cas^tile^ .tpholdiiis MODERN HISTORY. 197 crown of the king^ as his superior, and to subject his dominions to the payment of an annual tribute. 5. Velasquez, governor of Cuba, jealous of Cortez, attempted to supersede him, by dispatching a superior army to the continent ; but Cortez defeated his troops, and compelled them to join his own banners. In an attack by the Mexicans for the rescue of their sovereign, Montezuma, havini^ ol/ered to mediate between them and their enemies, was iudiijnantly put to death by his own sub- jects. The whole empire, under iti new sovereign, Guatimozin, was now armed against the Spaniards ; and while ihe plains were covered with their archers and spearnica, the lake of Mexico Wcia filled with armed canoea. To oppose the l&ttcr the Spaniards built a few vessels under the walls of their city, and soon evinced their superiority to their feeble foe on both elements.. The mon- arch was taken prisoner by the officers of Cortez, and was stretch- ed naked on burning coals, because he refused to discover hia treasures. Soon after a conspiracy against the Spaniards was dis- covered, and the wretched Guatimozin, with all the princes of hia blood, were executed on a gibbet. This wa^ the last blow to the power of the Mexicans ; and Cortez was now absolute master o£ the whole empire, 15'25. 6. In the year 1531 Diego D^'Almagro and Francis Pizarro, witi> 250 foot, 60 liorse, and 1,2 small pieces of cannon, lauded iu Peru, .a large -and flourishing empire, governed by an ancient race of mo- narchs named Incas. The Inca Atabalipa receiving the Spaniarda with reverence, thej immediately required him to embrace the. christian faith, ar^d surrender all his dominions to the emperor Charles V, who had obtained a' gift of them from Llie pope. I'he proposal being misunderstood, or received with hesitation, Pizair© seized the monarch as his prisoner, while his troops massacretj 13000 of the Peruvians on the spot. The empire was nov/ plun- dered of prodigious treasures in gold and precious stones ; and Atabalipa, being suspected of concealing a part from his insatia- ble invaders, was solemnly tried as a criminal, anrd atrax^gled at ^ stake. 7. The courage of the Spaniards surpassed even their inhumg,^ nity. D'Almagro marched 500 leagues, through continual oppo- sition, to Cusco, and penetrated across the Cordilleras into Chili, two degrees beyond trie southern tropic. He was slain in a civiji Tvar between him and his assrjciate lYancis Pizarro, who was sooigi after assassinated by the party of his rival. A few years alter the Spaniards discovered the inexhaustible silver mines of Potosi, %vnich they compejled the Peruvians to work for their advantage. They are now wrought by the negroes of Africa. 'Ihe native Pe^ ruvians, who are a weakly race of men, were soon ,aimoi;t ex!er- riiinated by cruelty' and intolerable labour. The humane bii>bop of Chiapa remonstrated with success to Charles V. on this siibject^ and the residue of this miserable people have been since tjrt.ateU with more indulgence. 8. The Spanish acquisitioas in Amejica belong to the crown^ ;azid.oo.t to the atate ; they are the absolute propertj of tiie^oy^ 22* 198 MODEEN HISTORY, reign, and regfiilated solely by his will. They consist of fliree ^ provinces, Mexico, Peru, and Terra Firma ; and are governed by three viceroys, who exercise supreme civil and military authority over their respective provinces. There are eleven courts of audi- •ence for the administration of justice, M'lth whose judicial pro- ceedings the viceroys cannot interfere-; and their judgments are subject to appeal'to the royal council of the Indies, whose juris- diction extends to every department, ecclvsiaslical, civil, military, ■and commercial. A tribunal in .Spain, called Cam de la Contrata- C'ion^ regulates the departure of the fleets, and their destination •and equipment, under the control of the council of the Indies. 9. The gold and silver of Spanish America, though the exclu- sive property of the crown of Spain, has, by means of war, mar- riages of princes, and -extension of Commerce, come into general circulation, and has greatly increased the quantity of specie, and diminished tlie value of money over all Europe. SECTION XLIL POSSESSIONS OF THE OTHER EUROPEAN NATIONS IN AMERIC.i. THE UNITED STATES. 1. The example of the Spaniards excited a desire in the other n&tions of Europe to participate with them in the riches of the new world. The French, in 1557, attempted to form a settlement on the coast of }'''azil, where the Portuguese had already estab- hshed themselves from the beginning of the century. Tiic colony %vas divided by faction, and was soon utterly destroyed by the Por- tuguese. It is one of the richest of the American setllementSj both from the produce of its soil, and its mines of gold and pre- 3 it has been a British settlement. The Preixh drew ihi/v greatest a-h^^ntages bom the islands of St. Do- ni'ngo, Guadaloupe, and Martinico. From their continental pos- isessljus of Lo'iisiana, and the settlements on the Missisippi, which they have now lost, they never derived any solid benefit. S. The Dutch huvt- no settlement on the continent of America, but Surinam, a part of Guiana ; and, in the West-Indies, the isl- ands of Currassoa and St. Eustatius. The Danes possess the in- considerable islands of St. Thomae and Santa Cruz. 4. The British have extensive settlements on the continent ©f America, and in the "West-India islands. England derived her :j:ght to her settlements in North America from the first discovery «f Uie couatiT hj Sebastian Cabot in ^497^ the ^ear bisXw* iks MODERN HISTORY, 1B9 discovory of the continent of South America by Colunjfeus ; but no -aLteinpts were made by the Enj^lish to colonize any part of the country till nearly a century afterward. This remarkable neg-lect is in some measure accounted for by the frugal maxims of Henry VII, and the unpropitious circumstances of the reigns of Henry Vni, of Edward VI, and of the bigoted Mary : r.'iig-ns peculiarly adverse to the extension of industry, trade, and navigation. 5. In 1585 sir Walter Raleigh undertook to settle a colony in Vir£,i!iia, so named in honour of his queen ; but his attempts were fruitless. Tvi'o colonies, destined for settlement, were successively sent over to tiie Virpriuiau territory; but the first was reduced to -great distress, and taken back to England by sir Francis Drake ; the second, left unsupported, could never afterward be found. 6. In lfi06 king James granted a patent for settling two planta- tions on the main coasts of North America. Dividing that portion of the country, which stretclies from the thirty-fourth to the forty- fifLh degree of latitude, into tAvo districts nearly equal, he granted the southern, calh'd the first colony, to the London company, and the northern, called the second, to the iiymouth company. On Ihtf reception ol" this patent several persons of distinction in the English nation undertook to settle the southern colony ; and ia 1G()7 the first permanent colony was settled in Virginia. 7. '['he first settlement in the northern district was made at Ply- iTKMjth in 1020, by a number of puritans, who, having a few years "before loft England to liberate themselves from the oppressions of the episcopal hierarchy, had found a temporary a.^ylum in Hol- land. In 1629 the patent of Massachusetts was confirmed by king Charles I ; and in the following year a large body of English non- conformists settled that tej-ritory. The settlement of Connecticut was begun in 1636 by emigranLs from Massachusetta. The settle- ment of Providence, in Rhode Island, was begun the same year by a clergyman, who, for his heresy, and offensive conduct toward the government of Massachusetts, had been expelled from tliat colony. New York, critically settled by tVie Dutch, and by theaa called New Netherlands, was taken from th^^m by the English in U)G4, at which tune it was subjected to tiie British crown, and .settled by English colonists. New Jersey was settled in 1677^ principally by quakers from England. The charter of Pennsylva- nia was given in 1681 by king Ch&rles IL to William Penn ; and .a settlement was begun the same year by a colony consisting prin- cipally of quakers. The patent of Maryland was given by king Charles I. to lord Baltimore in 1632 ; and two years afterward the colony v/as settled by a body of Roman catholics from England* The charter of Carolina was granted by Charles II. to the earl of Clarendon and several associates in 1663 ; 2.nd that colony was soon after settled by the English. In 1729 the province was di^'i- ^ided into two distinct governments, one of which was called North, -and the other South Carolina. The eharter of Georgia was given an 1732 by king George II. to a number cf persons in England^ •5vho, from motives of patriotism and humanity, projected a settle^ cnent in that wild territory. By this measure it was intended to '4u.'tam.. Arst; jjos^egjdoa of .an e^tea^ye traot of.couati^ j to-strec^tii- 200 MODERN HISTORY. en the province of Carolina ; to rescue a ^reat number of peopl-e in Great Britain and Ireland from the miseries of poverty ; to open an asylum for persecuted protestants in different parts of Europe ; and to attempt the conversion and civilization of the natives. Un- der the guidance of general 0;^lethorpe a colony was settled here in 1733. Nova Scotia was settled in the rei°n:i of James I. The Floridas were ceded by Spain to Groat Britain at the peace of 1763 ; but they were reduced by the arms of his catholic majesty -during the American war, and guaranteed to the crown of Spain by the definitive n-eaty of 1783. 8. All the British colonies in North America were subject to the government of Great Britain from Vac time of their settlement un- til the year 1775. Opposition to certain measures of the British parliament, which the colonies deemed injurious to their interest, having induced the government to send troops to America to en- force submission to the laws, hostilities commenced in April, 1775. In 1776 the American congress declared the United States inde- pendent. In September 1783^ a definitive treaty of peace was concluded, by which his Britannic majesty acknowledged the Uni- ted States of America to be free, sovereign, and independent states. In 1789 the government of these states v/as organized, conforma- bly to the federal constitution ; and George Washington, who had been commander in chief of the revolutionary army, was inaugu- rated the first president. 9. The British colonies in America, and the United States, are greatly inferior to the Spanish American colonies in natura.1 riches, as they produce neither silver nor gold, nor cochineal ; yet they are in general of fertile soil, and conr^iderably improved by indus- try. They afford a profitable market for European manufactures. Canada furnishes for exportation wheat, flour, flax-seed, lumber, fish, potash, oil, ginseng, furs, pelts, and various other commodi- ties. The produce of the West India islands (Jamaica, Barba- does, St. Christoplaer^s, Antigua, the Granadas, and other islands), in sugar, coffee, cocoa, rum, molasr^es, cotton, and other articles, is of very great value to the mother country. The northern states -in the federal union furnish masts, ship timber, lumbei', potash, furs, pelts, fish, beef, pork, butter, cheese, rye, and maize ; the middle states, flour, maize, flax-seed, peas, deer skins, and other jpelts ; and the southern states, rice, flour, indigo, .cotton, tobaccOj pork, live oak, tar, pitch, and turj)eritine^ SECTION XUII. OF THE STATE OF THE FINE ARTS IN EUPvOPE IN THE AGE OF LEO X. 1. In enumerating ^oee great objects which .characterized the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century, we remarked the high advancemejat to which the fine arts attained in Europe in the age of Leo X. I'he strong bent which the hu- miaja. -miad ^eems to take^ ia ceitaia perigdsj to quq cia»* jof ^itf* MODERN HiSTORir. 201 inits in preference to all others, as m the ag-e of Leo X, to the fine au'ts of painting, sculpture, and architecture, may be partly ex- plained from moral causes ; such as the peaceful state of a coun- try, the genius or taste, and the Ubera4 encouragement of its sove- reigns, tl'ie general emulation that atvisea where one or two artists are of confessed eminence, and the aid which men derive from the f studies and v/oiks of one another. These causes have doubtless fjreat intiucace, but do not seem entirely sufficient to account for the fact. 1 lie operation of such causes must be slow and gradu- al- In the case of the fine arts, tho transition from obscurity to cpleudour v.'as rapid and instantaneous. I rora the contemptible mediocrity in which they had remained for ages, they rose at one step to the highest pitch oi excellence. 2. The arts of painting and sculpture were buried In the west under the ruins of the lioman empire. They gradually declined in the "latter a^es, as we may perceive by the series oi the coins of the Jower empire. The Ostrogoths, instead of destroying, sought to preserve the monuments of taste and genius. They were even the inventors of some of the arts dependent on design, as the com- position of Mosaic. But, in the middle ages, those arts were at a very low ebb in flurope. They began, however, to revive a little about the end of the thirteenth century. Cimabue, a Florentine, from the sight of the paintings of some Greek artists in one of the churches, isegan to attempt similar performances, and soon excel- led his models. Piis scholars v/ere Ghiott-", Gaddi, 1 assi Caviliini, and 6tephano Fiorentino ; and they formed an acadejoy at Flo- rence in looO. 3. Ihe works of those early painters, with some fidelity of imi- tation, had not a si.-aik of grace or elegance ; and such cantiaued to be the state of the art tiii toward tiie end of the iifteenth cen- tury, when it arose at once to the summit of perfection. Raphael painted at first in the hard manner of his master Perugino ; but soon de'^fcrted it, and struck at once into the noble, elegant, and graoefui ; in short, the imitation of the antique. This change v/as the result of genius alone. The an<:ient sculptures were familiar to the early painters, but they had iookbd on them with coift indif- ierenco. They were noAV surveyed by other eyes. Michael Auge- io, Raphael, and Leonardo da V^inci, were animated by the srune genius that forxued the Grecian Apposes, ZeuxitJ, Glycon, Phidias, and FraxitLiles. 4. Is'or was Faly alone thus distinguished. Germany, Flanders, and Switze-rland, produced in the s.«mt; age artists of consummate merit. Befor*^ the notice of these we shall brieily characteriie the schools of Italy. 5. liist in order is the school of Florence, of which the most eminent master was Michael Angelo, bjrn in 1474. Lis works are characterized by a profound knowledge of the anatomy of the hu- man figure, periiaps chieiiy formeU on the contemplation of the an- cient sculptures. His paintiugs exhibit the grand, the sublime, ,and terrinle ; but he drew not from the antic^ue its simple grace And beauty. 202 MODERN HISTORY. 6. Tlie Roman school was founded by Raphael d'Urbino, bora in 1483. This great painter united almost every excellence of the art. In invention, grace, majestic simplicity, forcible expression of the passions, he stands unrivalled, and iar beyond all competi- tion. He has borrowed liberally, but without servility, from the antique. 7. Of the school of Lombardy, or the Venetian, the most emi- nent artists were Titian, Giorgioue, Correggio, and Parmeggiano. Titian is most eminent in portrait, and in the painting of female beauty. Such is the truth of his colouring, that his figures are nature itself. It was the testimony of Michael Angelo to the mer- its of Titian, that, if he had studied at Rome or Florence, amidst the master-pieces of antiquity, he would have eclipsed all the painters in th^ world. Titian lived to the age of a hundred. Gi- ©rgione, with similar merits, was cut off in the flower of his 3'outb. Correggio was superior in colouring, and in the knowledge of light and shade, to all who have preceded or followed him. This know- ledge-was the result of study. In other painters those tSects are frequently accidental, as we observe that they are not uniform. Parmeggiano imilaied the graceful manner of Raphael, but carried it to a degiee of affectation. 8. Such were the three original Italian schools. The character of the Florentine is grandeur and subb'mity, withg^reat excellence of design, but a want of grace, of fkill in colouring, and ellect of light and shade. The character of the Roman is equal excellence of design, a grandeur tempered with moderation and simplicity, a high degree of grace and elegance, ||nd a superior knowledge, though not an excellence, in colouring. The character of the V e- netian is the perfection of colouring, and the utmost force of light and shade, with an inferiority in every other particular. 9. I'o the school of Raphael succeeded the second Roman school, or that of the Caraccis, three brothers, of whom Annibal Vv'as the m.ost famous. His scholars were, Guercino, Albano, Tan- franc, L)omenichino, and Guide. Of thete eminent painters the jfirst and last were the best. The elegant contours of Guercino, and the strength, sweetness, and majesty of Guldo, are the admi- ration of all true judges of painting. 10. In the same age the 1 lemibh school, though of a quite dif- ferent character, and inferior to the Italian, shone with great lus- tre. Oil painting ^\ as invented by the ITemings in the fifteentii century;, and, in that age, lleemskirk, Frans Floris, Quintin Mat- ^ys, and the German Albert Durer, were deservedly distinguished. Of the Flemish school, Rubens, though a painter of a much later age, is the chief ornament. His figures, though too corpulent, are id ofBhodes, possessed hythe knig^hts of St. John, was a darlinc; object of his ambition. These knia;hts had expelled the Paracens from the island in 1310. Soly- man attacked Khodes v/ilb 140,000men and 400 sliips. TheKbo* dian knighis, aided by the English, Italians, and Spaniards, made a noble defence ; but, after a siege of many months, were forced to capitulate and evacuate the island, in 1522. Since that time Rhodes has been the property of the Turks. The" commercial laws of the ancient Uhodians were adopted by the Romans, and at this day are the foundation of the maritime jurisprudence of all ihe nations of Europe. 3. Solyman subdued the greater part of Hung-ary, Moldavia, and VValachJa : and took from the Persians Georgia and Bagdat. His son Selim II. took Cyprus from the Venetians in 1571. They applied to the pope for aid, who, together with Philip II. of Spain, e?)tered into a triple alliance against the Ottoman power. An ar- wanent of 250 ships of war, commanded by Philip''s t atural broth- er, Don John of Austria, was opposed to 250 Tu'-kish g-allcys ia the gulph of Lepanto, near Corinth ; and the Turks were defeat- ed, with the loss of 150 ships and 15,000 men, 1571. This great victory was soon after followed by the taking of Tuni? by the same commander. 4. But these successes were of little consequence. The Otto- man power continued extremely foimidable. Under Amialai Lama, or Great Lama, whose divinity is acknowledged not ily by his own subjects, but over China and a part of India, his god is a young man, whom the priests educate and train to is fuuction, and in whose name they in reality govern the king- em. IS 206 MODERN HISTORY* SECTION XLVI. HISTORY OF INDIA. 1. The earliest accounts of this great tract of civilized country are those of Herodotus, who lived about a century before Alexan- der the great ; and it is remarkable that the character given of the people by that early writer, corresponds perfectly with that of the modern Hindoos. He had probably taken his accounts Irom Scylax of Cariandria, whom Pariiis Hystaspes had sent to explore the country. But till the age of Alexander the Greeks had no particular knowledge of that extraordinary people. Alexander penetiated into the Panjab. where his troops refusing to proceed, he embarked on the Hydaspes, which runs into the Indus, and thence pursued his course for above ItiCO miles to the ocean. The narrative given by Arrian of this expeditirn was taken from the verbal accounts of .41eiander"'s ctficen- ; a^-*d its particulars agree yet more remarkably than those of Herodotus with the modern manners of the Hindoos, 2. India was visited by Seleucus, to whose share it fell in the partition of Alexander's empire ; and Antiochus the great, 200 years afterward, made a short expedition thither. It is probable too that-isome small intercoiu'se subsisted between the Greek em- |)ire of Eactriana and India ; but, till the fifteenth cent*iry, no European power thought of forming any establishment in that country, from the age of Alexander dov/n to the period of the Portuguese discoveries there had constantly been some commercial intercourse between Europe and India, both by sea and across the desert. 3. The Mahometans, as early as A. D. 1000, had begun to es- tablish an empire in India, iiahmcud, a Taitar, conquered a great part of the country, and established his capital at Ghazna, near the sources of the Indus, extirpating, wherever he came, the Hindoo religion, and establishing the Mahometan in its stead, Mohammed Gori, in 1194, penetrated to Benares ; and one of his successors fixed the seat of his empire at Delhy, which has con- tinued to be the capital of the Mogul princes. The sovereignty founded by Mahmoud was overwhelmed in 1222 by Gengiscan, as was his empire in the following century by Tamerlane, whose posterity are at this day on the throne of the Mogul empire. 4. The Mogul empire was, even in the beginning of the 18th century, the most powerful and dourishing of all the Asiatic mo- narchies. The emperor Aurengzebe, the son of Shah-Gean, though a monster of cruelty, and a most despotic tyrant, enjoyed a life prolonged to a hundred years, crowned with uninterrupted prosperity and success. He extended his empire over the whole peninsula of India within the Ganges. 5. The dominion of the Mogul is not absolute over all the coun- tries which compose his empire. Tamerlane allowed the petty princes, rajahs or nabobs, to retain their territories,, of which their d&scendants are at this day in possession. They pay a tribute t» MODERN HISTORY. 207 the great Mogul, as an acknowledgment of his sovereignty, and observe the treaties agreed to by their ancestors ; but they are in other respects independent princes. 6. Bengal became a part of the Mogul's empire by conquest iu the end of the sixteenth century, and was commonly governed by a son of the great Mogul, who had under him several inferior nabobs, the former princes of the country. Such was its conditio) i when the British East India company, between 1751 and 1769, con- quered and obtained possession of that kingdom, together with Ba- har and part of Orissa, a large, populous, and most flourishing country, containing above ten millions of inhabitants, and produ- cing an immense revenue ; and these territories have since that period received a considerable addition. The East India company has the benefit of the whole commerce of the Mogul empire, with Arabia, Persia and Thibet, as well as with the kingdoms of Azi^ra, Aracan, Pegu, Siam, Malacca, China, and many of the oriental islands. The fixed establishments of the British in the country of Indos- tan have afforded opportunity of obtaining much instructive know- ledge relative to the ancient sta.te of that country, of ♦which we diall o^ive a short sketch in the foliowin"; section. SECTION XLVII. ANCIENT STATE OF INDIA. MANNERS, LAWS, ARTS, SCIENCES AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS. 1. The remains of the ancient knowledge of the Hindoos have been preserved by a hereditary priesthood, in the Sanscrit lan- guage, long since extinct, ?aid only known to a few of the Bramiiis. The zeal of some learned Europeans has lately opened that source of information, whence we derive the most interesting particulars of this extraordinary people, perhaps the first cultivators of the sciences, and the instructors of all the nations of antiquity. We shall briefly notice their singular division into casts, their civil pol- icy, laws, progress in the arts and sciences, and religion. 2. The whole body of the people was divided into four orders, or casts. The highest cast, that of the Bramins, was dev^oted to religion and the cultivation of the sciences ; to the second belonged the preservation of the state ; they were its sovereigns and its ma- gistrates in peace, and its soldiers in war ; the third were the hus- bandmen and merchants ; and the fourth the artisans, labourers, and servants. These are inseparable distinctions, and descend from generation to generation. Moreover, the individuals of each class follow invariably the professions of their forefathers. Every man, from his birth, knows the function allotted to him, and fulfils with ease and satisfaction the duty which he cannot avoid. Hence ises that permanence of manners and institutions which so singu'arly characterizes this ancient nation. 3. Tliis clafsification is an artificial arrangement, which could feaye ori|;inated only from the mind of a legislator among a polished 208 MODERN HISTORY. people, completely obedient to government. It is therefore a proof of the highly civilized state of tlie Hindoo nation in the most re- mote periods of antiquity. 4. The civil policy of the Hindoos is another proof of their an- cient civilization. At the time of Alexander the great India was divided into large and powerful kingdoms, governed by sovereigns whose dominion was not absolute, but controlled by the superior authority of the Bramins. A system of feudalism has ever pre- vailed in India. The rights to land flow from the sovereign, to •whom a ccrtran duty is payable by the class of the husbandmen, who traxismit their possessions to their children under the same leniire. Strabo and Diodoms remarked three classes of officers among the Indians : one class whose department was the regula- tion of Sfrricalture, tanks, highways ; another which superintended the police of the cities ; a third which regulated the military de- partment. The aame policy prevails at this day under the Hindoo princes. 6. The jurisprudence of Hindostan is an additional proof of great antiquity and civilization. The Ayen-Akbery, and still more the compilation of Hindoo lav/s from the ancient SanEcrit records, made by order of Mr. Hastings, contain the jurisprudence of a refined and commercial people, among whom law had been a study and profession. 6. Many monuments exist in India of the advanced state of the useful and elegant arts in the remotest periods of antiquity. The ancient pagodas, of vast extent and magnificence, whether cut in the solid rock, as in Elephanta aiad Salsette, or in the open air, as at Chillambrum and Seringham ; the sumptuous residences of the Bramins ; and the ancient hill fortresses, constructed with prodi- gious strength and solidity, evince a great advancement in the arts. The resort of the most polished nations of antiquity to India for cotton cloths, fine linen, and v/orks in metal and ivory, proves these manufactures to have been superior to all known at that time in Europe. 7. The late translations from the Sanscrit of several ingenious compositions of high antiquity, as the dramatic piece Saconlala^ the Hitopadesa^ a series of moral apologues and fables, the Maha- barat, an epic poem, composed above 2000 years before the Chris- tian era, all concur in proof of a similar advancement in literature. We have reason to believe from such works as are of a philosophi- cal nature, that there is scarcely a tenet of the Greek philosophy which has not been antecedently the subject of discussion among the Bramins of India. 8. The numeral cyphers first introduced into Europe by the Ara- bians were, as those authors confess, borrowed from the Indians. Above a century ago, the PYench mathematicians evinced, by the evidence of a Siamese manuscript, containing tables for calcula- ting the places of the heavenly bodies, the astonishing advance- ment made by this ancient people in the science of astronomy. A set of astronomical tables obtained lately from the Bramins by M. Gentil goes back to an era termed Calyougham^ commencing 3102 years before the birth of Chri,st. These tables axe used by Jthe m^ MODERN HlSTOJlY. 209 d©rn Bramins, who are quite ignorant of the principles on which they have bftgu constructed. M. Bailly haa proved that they are the same as those employed by the moderns, with which the Greeks and Chaldeans were utterly unacquainted. 9. Lastly, from the relii;ious opinions and worship of the Hin- doos we must draw the same conclusion as from all the preceding facts. One uniform system of superstition pervades every relii^ion of India, which is supported by the most sagacious policy, and by every thing that can excite the veneration of its votaries. The Bramins, elevated above every class of men, and exclusively ac- quainted with the mysteries of that religion, which it is held impi- ous for any other class to attempt to penetrate ; the implicit reli- ance on the authority of these Bramins ; the ceremonies of their worship, adapted to impress the imagination and to aflect the pas- sions ; all concurred to fortify this potent superstition, and to give its priests a supreme ascendancy over the minds of the people. But those priests, enlightened as they were, rejected that false theolcf- gy. Their writings demonstrate that they entertained rational and elevated conceptions with regard to the Supreme Being, and the support of the universe. 10. On the whole, there is a high probability that India was the great school from which the most early polished nations of Europe derived their knowledge of arts, sciences, and literature. Persons who want more particular information respecting India are referred to Maurice's Indian Antiquities, and Tennant's Indiaj* Recreations. SECTION XLVIIL OF CHINA AND JAPAN. 1. As we proceed eastward in the survey of the Asiatic continent, the great empire of China next solicits our attention. In the end of the tenth century, China, Persia, and the greater part of India v/ere ruled by the Tartar descendants of Gengiscan. The Tartar family of Yven, who conquered China, made no change in its laws and system of government, which had been permanent from time immemorial. Of this family there reigned nine successive monarchs, Y/ithout any attempt by the Chinese to throw oiT the Tartar yoke. The odious and contemptible character of the last of these sove- reigns at length excited a rebellion, v>^b-'ch, in 1357, drove the Tartars from the throne ; and the Chines -for 276 years, obeyed their native prin The Tartars, taking advantage of an insur- rection in one of ti ices, invaded China in 1641, and made an easy conquest. '1. peror siaut himself up in his palace, and, after putting to death u lis family, finished the scene by hanging himself. The same Tarta/s occupy the throne of China at this day, and observe the same wise policy of maintaining inviolate the Chi- nese laws, policy and manners. Of these wo shall give a brief ao- count in the subsequent section. 2. The empire of Japan was discovered by the Portuguese about the middle of the sixteeuth century. The open and unsuspicioua 1 Q* ^i^ Sa.UDEB.fi HISTORY. character of this industrious and polished people led> them to en- courage the resort of foreigners to their ports ; and t"^p Spaniards, after they had obtained the sovereignty of Portugal, "carried on a. most beneficial trade to the coasts of Japan. Tlie emperor zeal- ously promoted this intercourse, till the insatiable ambition of the Spaniards gave him alarming conviction of its danger. Under the pretenre of converting the Japanese from idolatry, a vast number of priests was sent into the country ; and one half of the people were speedily set at mortal variance with the other. It now be- ■came necessary to prohibit this work of conversion by an imperial edict. However a free trade was allowed till 1637, when a con- spiracy of the Spaniards for dethroning the emperor and seizing the ■government was discovered. An edict was issued for the expulsion of all the Spaniards and Portuguese, who resisted till they were overpowered by force of arms. Since that period all the European natiojis have been excluded from the ports of Japan. The Dutch only, who had been the diecoverers of the conspiracy of the Span- iards, are allowed the privilege of landing on one of the small islands, for the purposes of trade, after making oath that they are aaol of the P©rtuij;u€5e reli^rion. SECTION XLIX. OF THE APrnQCJITY OF THE EMPIRE OF CHINA. STATE OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES, MANNERS, GOVERN- MENT, LAWS. 1. The antiqiiity of this vast emprre, and the state of its govern- anent, laws, manners, and attainments in the arts and sciences, Jiave furnished an ample field of controversy. Voltaire, Raynal, and other writers have given to the Chinese empire an immense antiquity, and a character of such high civilization and knowledge of the sciences and arts at a very remote period, a? to be vitterly irreconcileable to the state and progress of man as described in the tooks of Moses. On the other hand, it is probable that the desire of invalidating those opinions has induced other writers of ability to go to an opposite extreme ; to undervalue this singular people^ ^and to give too little weight to any accounts which we have re- ceived either of the duration of their empire, of the economy of their government and roHce, or of their attainments in the arts and sciences. Amid t this contrariety of sentiments we shall «nd(avoar to form such opinion as.appears most consonant to the truth. 2. The panegyrists of the Chinese assert that their empire has rsubsisted above 4000 years, without .any material alteration in its laws, manners, language, or even fashion of dress; in evidence of ■which they appteal to a series of eclipses, marJking -cotemporary =€ vents, all accurately calculated, for 2155 years beferethe birth of Christ. As it is easy to calculate eclipses backwards from the jjresent day'to any given period of time, it is thus possible to giv* -to .a iiistjorv, iictitious from be^inniiig to end. Us chronolojy of x&ai MODERN HISTORY 211 'eclipses. This proof therefore amounts to nothing, unless it were likewise proved that all those eclipses were actually recorded at the time when they happened ; but this neither has been nor can be done ; for it is an allowed fact, that there are no regular historical records beyond the third century before the christian era. The present Chinese are utterly ignorant of the motioas of the celestial bodies, and cannot calculate eclipses. The series mentioned has therefore in all probability been calculated by some of the Jesuits, to ingratiate themselves with the emperors, and flatter the national vanity. The Jesuits have presided in the tribunal of mathematics for above 200 years. 3. But if the authentic annals of thi? empire go back even ,to the third century before Christ, and record at that time a high state of civilization, we must allow that the Chinese are an an- cient and early polished people, and that they have possessed a •singular constancy in their government, laws and manners. Sir William Jones, no bigoted encomiast of this people, allows their great antiquity and early civilization, and, with much apparent probability, traces their origin from the Hindoos. He appeals to the ancient Sanscrit records, which meation a migration of certain -«f the military class termed Chinas^ from India to the countries east from Bengal. The stationary condition of the arts and sci- ences in China proves that they have not originated with that peo- ple : and many peculiarities of the manners, institutions, and pop- ular religion of the Chinese, have a near alfinity to those of the IHindoos. 4. The goverament of China is that of an absolute monarchy. The patriarchal system pervades the whole, and binds all the Biembers of this vast empire in the strictest subordination. Every 'father h absolute in his family, and may inflict any punishment •short of death upon his diildren. The mandarin of the district is rabsolute, Avith the power of life and death over all its members ; but a capital sentence cannot be inflicted without the emperor'g -approbation. The emperor's power is absolute over all the man- darins, and every subject of the empire. To reconcile the people ■to this despotic authority the sovereign alone is entitled to relieve Ihe waixts of the poor, and to compensate public calamities, as well as the misfortunes of individuals. He is therefore regarded -as the father of his people, and even adored as a benevolent di- vinity. 5. Another circumstance which conciliates the people to their government is, that all honours in China are conferred according- vto merit, and that chiefly literary. The civil mandarins, who ar« the magistrates and judges, are appointed ,to ofiice according to •their measure of knowledge and mental endowments. No ofiice or rank is hereditary, but may be aspired to by the meanest of the people. The penal laws of China are remarkably severe ; but their execution may be remitted by the emperor. The judicial tribunals are regulated by a feody of written laws of great g.ntiqui- 5ty, and founded on the basis of universal justice and equity, Th€ !€mperor's opinion rarely differs from the sentences of those courts, Ciae -trihuaal Judges »jf the qualifications of the mandarins ; aa» 212 other regulates the morals of the people, and the national man- ners ; a third is the tribunal of censors, which reviews the laws, the conduct of the magistrates and judges, and even that of the em- peror himself. These tribunals are filled by an equal number of Chines'e and Tartars. 6. It has been observed that.the sciences have been statio^iary in this empire for many ages. They are at this day extremely low, though far beyond the attainments of a barbarous people. The language of China seems to oppose the prosecution of speculative researches. It has no regular inflections, and can with difficulty express abstract ideas. We have remarked the ignorance of the Gliinese in mathematics and astronomy. Of physics they have no acquaintance beyond Uie knowledge of apparent facts. They nev- er ascend to principles, nor form theories. Their knowledge of medicine is extremely limited, and is blended with the most con- temptible superstition. Of anatomy they know next to nothing ; and in surgery they have never ventured to amputate a limb, nor to reduce a fracture. 7. The state of the useful and elegant arts has been equally stationary as that of the sciences. Many ages ago they have at- tained a certain point of advancem.ent, which they have never ex- ceeded. The Chinese are said to have manufactured glass for 2000 years ; yet at this day it is inferior in transparency to the European, and is not used in their windows. They are reported to have known gun-powder from time immemorial ; but they neier employed it in artillery or fire-arms till they v/ere taught by the Europeans. They are said to have invented printing in the age of Julius Cfcsar, yet they know not the use of moveable types, and print from, blocks of wood. "When first shown the use of the com- pass in sailing, they affirmed that they were well acquainted with it, but found no occasion to employ it. The art of painting in China is mere mechanical imitation, without grace, expression, or even accuracy of proportions. Of the rules of perspective they have not the smallest idea. In sculpture, as in the figures of their idols, the Chinese artists seem to delight in distortion and deformity. Their music is not regulated by any pinciples of science. They have no semitones, and their instruments are imperfect and untuna- ble. The Chinese architecture has variety, lightness, and sometimes elegance ; but has no grandeur, nor symmetrical beauty. 8. In some of the arts the Chinese have attained great excel- lence. In China agriculture is carried to the highest pitch of im- provement. There is not a spot of waste land in the whole em- pire, nor any land which is not highly cultivated. The emperor himself is the chief of the husbandmen, and annually holds the plough with his own hands. From the high state of agriculture, and the modes of economizing food, is supported the astonishing population of 333 millions, or 260 inhabitants to every square mile of the empire. The gardening of the Chinese, and their admirable embellishment of rural nature, have of late been the object of im- itation in Europe, but with far inferior success. The manufacture of porcelain is an original invention of this people ; and the Euro* p£aa5j though excelling theiji iu the forai aad oni9,iijeiit of the J MODERN HISTORY. 213 utrnsils, have ncrer been able to attain the excellence of the ma- terial. 9. The morals of the Chinese have furnished a subject both of praise and censure. The books of Confucius are said to contaia an admirable system of morality. But the principles of morals have their foundation in. human nature, and must, in theory, he tvery where the same. The moral virtues of a people are not to be estimated from the books of their philosophers. It is pro- bable that the manners of the superior classes are In China, as elsewhere, much influenced by education and example. The morals of the lower classes, are said to be extremely loose, and their practices most dishonest. They are reg-ulated by no prin- ciple but selfish interest, and restrained only by the fear of punish- ment. 10. The reiiejion of the Chinese is different in the different ranks of society. There is no religion of the state. The emperor and the higher mandarins profess the belief of one Supreme Being, Ckangti^ whom they worship by prayer and thanks-giving, without any mixture of idoiairous practices. They respect the lama of Thibet as the high-priest or prophet of this religion. A prevalent sect is that of Tao-sse^ who believe in the power of magic, the agency of spirits, and the divination of future events. A third is the sect of Fo, derived from India, whose priests are the Bonzes, and whose fundamental doctrine is, that all things rose out of nothing, and must finally return to nothing ; that all animals are first to undergo a series of transmigrations ; and that as man's chief hap- piness is to approach as near as possible to a state of annihilation in this life, absolute idleness is more laudable than occupation of any kind. A variety of hideous idols is worshipped by this sect. 11. The Chinese have their sacred books entitled Kings ; as the Ykbig^ Chouking^ &c. ; which, among some good moral precepts, contain much mystery, childish superstition, and absurdity. These are chiefly resorted to for the divining of future events, which seems the ultimatum of research among the Chinese philosophers. The observation of the heavenly bodies is made for that purpose alone. The changes of weather, the performasce or omission of certain ceremonies, the occurrence of certain events in particu- lar times and places, are all believed to have their influence on futurity, and are therefore carefully observed and recorded. The rules by which those omens are interpreted are said to have been prescribed by the great Confucius, the father of the Chinese philoso- phy, 500 years before the christian era. 12. We conclude, on the whole, that the Chinese are a very remarkable people ; that their government, laws, policy, and know- ledge of the arts and sciences, exhibit unquestionable proofs of great antiquity and early civilization ; that the extraordinary measure of duration assigned to their empire by some modern writers rests on no solid proofs ; that their government, laws, manners, arts, and scientific attainments, are not deserving of that superlative praisie which has been bestowed on them. 214 MODERN HISTORY. SECTION L. M. BAILLY'S THEORY OF THE ORIGIN OF THE SCIEN- CES AMONG THE NATIONS OF INDIA. 1. The striking resemblance in many points of character between the Chinese and the ancient Eg-yptians, has led to the conjecture, either that they were originally the same people, one bei»ig a col- ony of the other, or have had, at some remote period, such inter- course, either by conquest or by commerce, as to occasion a re- ciprocal communication of manners and the knowledge of arts and sciences. M. de Mairau has remarked the following' points of sim- ilarity. The Egyptians and the Chinese had the same j»ermanence of manners, and abhorrence of innovations; they were alike re- inarka"ble for the respect entertained by children to their parents ; they were equally averse to war ; they had the same general su- per/icial knov»dedge of the arts and sciences, without the ability to make g;reat attainments ; they both^ in the most ancient times, iised hiero;^lyphic3 ; the Egyptians had a solemn festival, called the feast of the lights ; the Chinese have the feast of the Ian- terns ; the ftatures of the Chinese are said to resemble the ancient Egyptian statues ; certain characters engraven on an Egyptian bust cf Isis were found to belong to the Chinese language. 2. M. Baillyhas taken a wider range of observation, and from a review of the manners, customs, opinions, and attainments of the Indiins, Persians, Chinese, Chaldfeans, and Egyptians, has discov- ered many circumstances of similarity between all those nations, equally remarkable as the foregoing. He has thence formed the singular hypothesis, that the knowledge common to all those na- tions has been derived from the same original source, a most ancient and highly cultivated people of Asia, of which every trace is now extinct. If we find, sayg he, in the scattered huts of peasants, frag- ments interspersed of sculptured columns, we conclude for certain that they are not the work of the rude peasants who reared those huts, but that they are the remains of a magnificent building, the work of able architects, though we discover no other traces of the existence of that building, and cannot ascertain its precise sit- uation. 3. The sciences and arts of the Chinese have been stationary for 2000 years. The people seem never to have availed themselves of the lights of their ancestors. They are like the inhabitants of a country recently discovered by a polished people, who have taught them some of their arts, -and left their instruments among them. The knowledge which they possess, seems to have been imported, and not of original growth, for it has never been pro- gressive. 4. The Chaldaeans were an enlightened people at the com- mencement of the Babylonish empire, 2000 years before the Chris- tian era. They were astronomers, and understood the revolutions of the celestial bodies. The Clfald'ceans were probably the re- mayisojf this ancient people. The Bramins of India believe ir* MODERN HISTORY. 2l5 t'le unity of God, and the immortality of the soul ; hut with these sublime tenets they intermix childish absurdities. They derived the former from wise instructors ; the latter were the fruit of their own ignorance. The Sanscrit, a copious and elegant language, and tlie vehicle of all the Indian knowledge and philosophy, has been a dead tongue for thousands of years, and is intelligible only to a few of the Bramins. It was probably the language of that greai. ancient people. 5. ''i'he coincidence or similarity of customs concurs to establish the belief of an original nation. The custom of libation was com- mon to the Tartars and Chinese, and to the Greeks and Romans. All the Asiatic nations had festnals of the nature of the R.oman saturnalia. The tradition of the deluge is diffused among all those nations. The tradition of the giants attacking heaven is equally general. The doctrine of the metempsychosis was common to the Egyptians, Greeks, Indians, Persians, Tartavians and Chinese. The religion of all those nations is founded on the profound but erroneous doctrine of the two principles, a universal soul perva- ding all nature, and inert matter on which it acts. A conformity in a true doctriu'? is no proof of mutual communication or concert ; but it is ir^genioiuly remarked, that a conformity in a false doc- trine comes vtry near to such a proof. ' 6. The Egyptians, Chaldaeans, Indians, Persians, and Chinese, all placed their temples fronting the east, to receive the first rays of the sun. Hence the worship of the sun has been the religion of the ancient people from which these are descended. All these nations had a cycle, or period of sixty years, for regulating their chronology. They ail divided the circle into 360 degrees ; the zodiac into twelve signs ; and the week into seven days. The Chinese, Indians and Eg-ypfians designed the seven days of the week by the names of the seven planets ranged in the same order. The long measures of the ancient nations had all one common origin. 7. These singular coincidences, says M. Eailly, can be ex- plained only upon three suppositions : 1. that there was a free com- munication between all those ancient nations ; 2, that those cir- cumstances of coincidence are so founded in human nature, that the most unconnected nations could not fail to hit upon them ; or, 3, that they have been all derived from a common source. He rejects the two former suppositions, as contrary, in his opinion, to fact, and adopts the last. 8. The precise situation of this great ancient people, M. Eailly does not pretend to fix with certainty ; but offers probable reasons for conjecturing that it was about the 49th or 50th degree of north latitude, in the southern regions of Siberia. Many of the European and Asiatic nations attribute their origin to that quarter, which thence appears to have been extremely populous. Nitre, a pro- duction from animal substances, is more abundant there than in any other region. The observations of the rising of the stars, col- lected by Ptolemy, must have been made in a climate where the longest day was sixteen hours, wliich con'esponds to the latitude ef 50 degrees. No European nation in that latitude uudeptood 216 KODERN HISTORY. astronomy in those early periods. The veneration of the Indiaiss and Chinese for the Lama of Thibet is a proof that the religion of those nations originated in that quarter. 9. But does that region exhibit any traces of having beeri ever inhabited by a polished people ? Here the theory of M. Bailly seem.s to be least supported by proof. He observes, that ancient mines have been discovered in those parts of Siberia, which hare been ■wrought to great extent in a period beyond all record or tradition ; that ancient sepulchres have been found, in which there were or- naments of gold of skilful woi kmanship ; but the facts specified are so few as to warrant no positive inference. 10. This theory is an amusing specimen of the author's ingenu- ity ; but it has not the force to draw our assent to his conclusions. "VVe have noticed it as specifying man}"^ curious facts relative to the manners and attainments of the ancient nations, and as furnishing strong evidence of the common origin of mankind. The nations above mentioned, though many of them remote from one another, were all connected, as links of a chain, by proximity ; whence it is easy to conceive that knowledge should diverge frojn a centre to a very distant circumference. M. Bailly has g'ven no reasona- ble ground for fixing that centre in the position which he has as* signed to it. SECTION LI. RriGX OF PHHJP II. OF SPAIX. REVOLUTION OF THE JNETIIERLANDS, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RE- PUBLIC OF HOLLAND. 1. After a short survey of the Asiatic kingdoms, we return to the history of Europe in the sixteenth century. In the time of Philip II, the successor of Charles V, the balance of power in Europe was sustained by Spain, France, Englund, and Germany, all at this time highly flourishing and respectable, either from the talents of their sovereigns, or their internal strength. Eli- zabeth, Henry IV, and Philip II, were all acute and able politi- cians ; though the policy of Philip partook more of selfish craft, and had less of the manly and Vieroic, than that of either of his rival monarchs. Philip was at this time sovereign of Spain, the Two Sicilies, Milan, and the Netherlands. He had likewise, for a few years, the power of England at his command, by his marriage with Mary, the elder sister and predecessor of Elizabeth. 2. Pope Paul I\% jealous of the power of Philip, formed an alli- ance with Henry II. of France to deprive the Spaniards of Milan and the Two Sicilies. Philip, with the aid of the English, defeated the French at St. Quintin in Picardy, and hoped from this signal victory, to force the allies into a peace ; but the duke of Guise recovered the spirits of the French, by the taking of Calais from the English, which they had nov.' possessed for two hundred years. Another great victory, however, obtained by Philip near Grave- lines, brought on the treaty o{ Calteau-Cambresis m 1559, by which MODERN HISTORY. 217 the French Burreudered to Spain no less than eighty-nine fortified towns in the Low Countries and in Italy. 3. Philip, nuw at ease from foreign disturbances, began to be disquieted on the score of religion. An intolerant bigot by nature, he resolved to extirpate every species of heresy from his domin- ions. The Netherlands, an assemblage of separate states, were all subject to Philip, under various titles ; and he had conferred the government of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and Utrecht, on Wil- liam, prince of Orange, a count of the German empire. The Lu- theran and CalvinisUc opinions had made great progress in those quarters ; aud Philip, determining to repress them, established the inquisition with plenary powers, created new bishops, and pre- pared to abrogate the ancient laws, and give the provinces a new political institution. These innovations created alarm and tumult ; and the duke of Alva was sent into Flanders to enforce implicit submission. 4. The inquisition began its bloody work, and many of the prin- cipal nobility of the provinces were its victims. The minds of the people were completely alienated, and a chief was only wanting to give union to their measures. The prince of Orange, who was under sentence of the inquisition, found no difficulty to raise au army ; and having easily reduced some of the most important gar- risons, he was proclaimed stadtholder of Holland and Zealand in 1570. Eighteen thousarsd persons perished by the hands of the ex- ecutioner in the course of the duke of Alva's government, v/hich was of five years' duration. His place was supplied by Re- quescns, a man of humanity, but bound to obey his inhuman mas- ter, who, on the death of Requesens, sent his own brother don John of Austria, to endeavour to regain the revolted states ; but the attempt was fruitless. The whole seventeen provinces had suffered alike from the tyranny of their sovereign ; but particular jealousies prevented a general union, and only seven of them as- serted their independence, by a solemn treaty formed at Utrecht, on the 23d of January, 1579 ; by which it was agreed that they should defend their liberties as one united republic ; that they should jointly determine in matters of peace and war, establish a general legislative authority, and maintain a liberty of con- science in matters of religion. These seven united provinces are, Guelderland, Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Utrecht, Overys- sel, and Groningen. William prince of Orange was declared their chief magistrate, general and admiral, by the title of Stadt- holder. 5. Philip vented his indignation by a proscription of the prince of Orange, offering 25,000 crowns for his head ; and he compassed his revenge; for this illustrious man was cut off by an assassin in 1584. His son Maurice was elected stadtholder in his room, and sustained his important office with great courage and ability. With a slender aid from Elizabeth of England, who delighted to traverse the plans of Philip, this infant commonwealth accomplished anme of the Spanish settlements in Ainerira. To avenge these i«juries, the invincible armada, of 150 ships of war, 27,000 men, and 3000 pieces ef cannon, was equipped by Philip for the inva- sion of England. The English fleet, oi 108 ships, attacked them in the night, and bnrnt and destroyed a great part of the squadron. A storm, v/hich drove them on the rocks and sands of Zealand, completed their discomfiture, and only 50 shattered vessels, with 6000 men returned to Spain, 1588. 3. Phe restless spirit of Philip II. was enjjaged at the same time in the reduction of the Netherlands, the project for the invasion of England, and the dismembering of the kingdom of France. The last scheme was as ineffectual as the two former. It was defeated at once by the conversion of Henry IV. to the catholic religion. The policy of Philip had nothing in it great or generous. His jrestlcHS a,uibitio^ w^s fitteij to embroil JEurope ; but he had not 220 MODERN HISTORY* the judgment to turn the distresses -which he occasioned to his ©-vrn advantag-e. In his own kingdoms, as is his domestic life, he Tvas a gloomy and inhuman tyrant. Yet, from the variety and magnitude of his designs, the power by which they were sup- ported, and the splendour of his dominic-m, the character of Spain was high and respectable in the scale of the nations of Europe. SECTION Liy. STATE OF FRANCE IN THE END OF THE SIXTEEN^'!! CENTURY ; UNDER HENRY II, FRANCIS II, CHARLES LX, HENRY III, AND HENRY IV. 1. The reformed religion had made the greater progress in France from the impolitic persecution which it sustained from Heniy II, the son and successor of Francis I, who, though he aided the protestants of Germany in resisting the despotism of Charles V, showed no mercy to their brethren in^is own king- 2. On the death of Henry II. the conspiracy of Amboise wag planned by the prince of Conde, for the destruction of the duke of Guise, who ruled the kiagdom under Francis II, and to whose intolerance and cruelty the protestants attributed all their calami- ties. Guise OT/ed his ascendancy chiefly to the marriage of his »iece, Mary queen of Scots with the young monarch : and the de- tection of this conspiracy, the massacre of its principal leaders, and the barbarous punishment of all who partook in it^ while they confirmed his power, served only to increase the rancour of the contending parties. 3. Francis II. died after a reign of one year, 1560, and was suc- ceeded by his brother CTiarles IX, a boy often years of age. The queen-mother, Catharine de Medicis, who had no other prin- ciple but the love of pov/er, was equally jealous of the influence •f the Condes and the Guises. An ecclesiastical assembly, held by her desire at Poissy, gave toleration to the protestants to exer- cise their worship through all France, without the walls of the towns^ The zeal or the imprudence of the duke of Guise infringed this ordinance, and both parties Cew to arms. The admiral Co^ iigni commanded the troops of the protestants, who were aided by 10,000 Germans from the Palatinate. Philip of Spain, to increase the disorders, sent an army to the aid of the catholics. 4. The horrors of civil war were aggravated by murders and assassinations. The duke of Guise was the victim of the frantic zeal of an enthusiast. After many desperate engagements, with various success, a treacherous peace was agreed to b}' the catho- lics ; and Coligni, with the chiefs of the protestant party, were in- vited to court, and received by the queen mother and her son with the most extraordinary marks of favour : among the rest Hen- ry of Navarre, to whom the young monarch had given his sister in marriage. Such were the preparatives to the inleriial massacre of MODt:RN iilSTOrxY. 221 St. llartholoiYiew. On the nio^ht of the 23d of August, 1572, at the ringing of the matin bell, the catholics uiade a general massa- cre of all th^ protestants throughout the kingdom of France. Charles IX, a monster of cruelty assisted in the murder of his own subjects. * 5. Amid those horrors Tienry duke of Anjou, brother of Charles IX, was elected king of Poland ; but liad scarcely taken possession of his throne, when he was called to that of France by the death of its execrable sovereign, 1574. The weakness of the new mon- arch, Plenry III, was unfit to compose the disorders of the king- dom. Equally bigotted and profliga.te, he became the scorn of hia subjects, and the dupe &f the contending factions. , G. The protestant party was now supj>orted by the prince of Conde and young Henry of Navarre, descended from Robert of Bourbon, a younger son of Lewis IX. The duke of Alencon, the king''s brother, had likewise joined their party. The catholics, to accumulate their strength, formed a bond of union, termed the league^ nominally for defence of the state and its religion, but in reality for usurping all the powers of government, and suppressing the protestant faith. Of this dangerous association lienry liT, witii the weakest policy, declared himself the head, and thus the avow- ed enemy of one half of his subjects. lie saw his error when too late, and, dreading the designs of the duke of Guise, and his bro- ther the cardinal of Lorraine, whose authority had superacdi'd hia own, he basely rid himself of his foars by procuring their assassina- tion. This vicious and contemptible tyrant, after a reign of fifteen years, was assassinated by Jaques Clement, a jacobin monk, from the frenzy of fanaticism, 1589. 7. The next heir of the crown was Henry of Navarre, who had teen educated a protestant by his mother, the daughter of Henry d''Albret king of Navarre. At the age of sixteen he had been de- clared head of the party of the Huguenots; his uncle the prince of Conde and the admiral Coligni acting as his lieutenants. His first military enterprises were unsuccessful. Invited to Paris, at the peace of 1572, to marry the sister of Charles IX, he narrowly es- caped from the massacre of St. Bartholomew, but remuinud three years a prisoner. On the d^^ath of Charles he again took the fieli against the army of the league, which he defeated in the battle of Coutras, 1587, and still more signally in that of Arques, 1589. After the death of Henry Hi, he won the celebrated battle of Iv- ry ; and, being acknowledged sovereign of France by all but the party of the league, then ia pos^session of Paris, he laid siege to the city, which must have capitulated if Philip II. had not sent suc- cours. Religien was the sole cause of the disunion of France, and the only obstacle to the acknowledgment of Henry's title by the greater part of his subjects. By the earnest persuasion of Rosni (duke of Sully), a protectant, Henry was prevailed on to declare himself a catholic. He abjure^ af St. Denis, and was crowned king at C'hartrcs, 1594. He soon after took possession of Paris ; but it took him several years, both of war and negoiiation, before he gained the whole of his kingdom, exhausted .;?.s it wsts, and rvi- iiied by ciyil discord. ^^"^'^ MODERN HISTORY. 8. The subseqcient life of this excellent prince was devoted to the reparation of those misfortunes. After forcing Philip II. to conclade the advantageous peace of Vervins, 1598, his whole at- tention was bestowed on the improvement of his king-dom, by re- forming its laws, regulating its finances, encouraging agriculture and manufactures, enlarging and embellishing the cities, and final- ly by successfully reconciling the partisans of the contending reli- gions. In all his beneficial schemes, he found an able assistant in his minister the duke of Sully, who has beautifully depicted the life and character of his master. In his memoirs we see not only the great designs, but the private virtues, the engaging and amia- ble manners of this illustrious man, who, while he was the arbiter of the contending powers of Europe, was the indulgent father of a happy people. ■9. The period of the splendour and happiness of France was of short dirration. Henry IV, worthy to be immortal, was assassina- ted at the age of fifty -seven, May 4, 1610, by K.avail]ac, an insane fanatic. At the time of his death, he meditated the great project of a perpetual peace between the states of Europe, a design highly characteristic of the benevolent mind of its author. But the weak- nesses of mankind, and the impossibility of reasoning with nations as with wise individuals, must certainly have rendered this design abortive. - SECTION LV. HISTORY OF ENGLAND AND OF SCOTLAND IN THE REIGNS OF ELIZABETH AND MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS. 1. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, by Anna Bullen, succeed- ed to the throne on the death of her sister Mary, 1558 ; and Eng- land attained a high degree of splendour, under the rule of this great and politic princess, whose talents enabled her to pursue the true interests of her people, while her vigorous and intrepid mind led her to take an important part in maintaining the balance of power in Europe. While she encouraged at home every useful art and manufacture, she colonized a great part of North America, supported the infant republic of Holland against its tyrannical en- *my, humbled the pride of Spain in the defeat of its invincible armada, and assisted Henry IV. in the recovery of his kingdom. It was her fortune to have the aid of most able ministers, and her merit to place her confidence in their counsels. ?. If Elizabeth had been equally endov/ed with the virtues of ihe heart as with the powers of the mind, she would have shone the most illustrious character in the annals of modern Europe. Her conduct to her cousin Mary queen of Scots has fixed an indelible stain on hsr character. Mary, the daughter of James V, andgreat- .-grand-daughter of Henry VII, educated in France, and married, •when very young, to the dauphin, afterwards Francis II, had im- prudently assumed the arms and title of queen of England, by the I)£r9uasioa of Jiier maWmal ^n^es Uie Q^use3. The pr^te&c^ w^s MODERN HISTORY. 223 the illegitimacy of Elizabeth, declared by Henry VIIT, on his di- vorce IVorn Anna Bullen. This false step laid the foundation of all the miseries of the queen of Scots. 3. The reformation was at this time going forward in Scotland with the most ardent zeal. The earls of Argyle, Morton, Glen- cairn, and other?, its chief promoters, had, by their own authority, suppressed the worship of the mass over a great part of the king- dom. The catholic bishops, by an ill-jndg'cd persecution of the refonners, greatly increased the number of their proselytes. They began to muster their strength, and, headed by John Knox, a dis- ciple of Calyin, a virtuous man, but of the most furious and in- temperate zeal, threv/ down the altars and images, expelled the priests, and demolished the churches and monasteries. The pro- testants were now acting in arms, and in open defiance of govern- ment ; and the queen-mother, Mary of Guise, attempted, by the aid of French troops, to reduce her subjects to submission. They applied for aid to Elizabeth the protestantibition served only to render his attempts more daring and ilagitiovis. 5. The marriage of Mary with her cousin lord Darnley, son of the earl of Lennox, who stood in the same relation to Eliza- beth, was not agreeable to that princess. Encouraged by Eliza- beth's ministers, Randolph ?aid Cecil, Murray formed a conspira- cy to seize and imprison Mary, to put to death her husband, and usurp the government ; and on the detection of his designs, at- tempted to support them by open rebellion. Defeated, exiled, par- doned, and loaded with beneiits by his injured sovereign, he per- severed in the same atrocious purposes, till he at length accom- plished them. 6. The spouse of Mary had incurred her resentment by his vices and follies. Taking advantage of the weakness of his mind, Mur- ray, Morton, and Lethington, had rendered him jealous of the par- tiality of Mary for her foreign secretary, the aged llizzio, and en- gaged him iii the barbarous act of nxwrdeji'ing this ill-fa.tegl wretch 224 MODERN IIISTORV. at the feet of the queen, to whose garments he clung; for protection. The purpose of this shocka^g outra^ie was to procure the abortion of Mary, then big v/ith child, and possibly her death ; or, if she should survive, to alienate compli tely her affections from her hus- band, and thus to render her suspected of the design which they had projected of cutting him oft' by assassination. In the latter purpose they succeeded. The house which Darnley inhabited was blown up by gunpowder : his body was found strangled near the place, and a report immediately prevailed, that Mary had been ac- cessory to his murder- 7. A most imprudent ftep, to which she was conducted by the same band of traitors, gave countenance to this suspi-cion. At the earnest recommendation of ivlorton and some of her chief nobility, 1 she married the carl of Bothwell, a man openly stigmatized as one of the murderers of her husband. He had, it is true, been absol- ved on trial for that crime, and had by force made himself master cf her person. 'Jlie plans of Murray and his associates, success- ful to the utmost of their v/ishes, Avere now ripe for consummation. On the pretext of the queen''s guilt of murder and adultery, she was confined by Murray in the castle of Lochleven, and there compelled to resign her crown into the hands of her unnatural l)rother, who was to govern the kingdom as regent during the minority of her infant son, now proclaimed king by the title of James VI, 1567. Bothwell cscapeil beyond sea, and died ia Den- mark. 3. A great part of the nation reprobated those Infamous pro- ceedings. Mary escaped from her confinement, and at the head •of an army gave battle to the rebels at Langside ; but, being de- feated, she fled for shelter to the north of F.ngland. Elizabeth, who had secretly encouraged all the machinations of her ene- mies, had now gained a great object cf her ambition ; she had in her hands a hated rival, aihd, by her support of Murray and his party, the absolute command of the kingdom of Scotland. Yet policy required some show of friend, hip and humanity to the queen of Scots, who claimed, as a suppliant, her protection and aid. She professed her desire to do her justice, but fust requi- red that she should clear herself of the crimes alleged against her To this Mary agreed, with the intrepidity of conscious innocence. In a conference held for that purpose xVIurray openly stood forth as the accuser of his sister and queen, appraling to certain letters said to have been written by her to Bothwell, plainly intimating her guilt. Copies of these letters were produced. Mary demanded the originals, boldly declaring them to be the forgeries oi her ene- mies ; but they were never produced. She retorted on Murray and Morton the charge of Darnley\s murder ; and the conference was broken off at the command of the queen of England, who de- tained Mary, in close in^prisoumeat. 9. The ungenerous policy of Elizabeth was condemned by her own subjects. The duke of Norfolk, the first of her nobility, and, Ihoi.gh a protestant, favo'ired by the catholic party in England, -eecrelly projected to many the queen of Scots. The discovery rjf iru3Tie:v/siiayin^ given alarm to Elizabeth, bjougiil that iil-iat|f«l MODERN IIISTOIIY. 225 nobUman to the block, and hastened the doom of the unfortunate Mury. Worn out with the miseries of her confuicment, she pri- vately solicited the aid of foreign princes for her deliverance. Her cause was cppousedby all the catholics of England v and some of the most iT.temperate of the se had formed a plot to deliver her froni captivity, and to place her on the throne, by the murder of Elizabeth. This danjjerous conspiracy was discovered, and its au- thors deservedly suffered death. 'J'he schemes of Mary for her own deliverance were held presumptive of her acquiescence in the whole of the plot. Though an independent sovereign, she was brou^^ht to trial before a foreign tribunal which had Mready decreed her fate ; and, being condemned to suffer Heath, she was beheaded at Fotheringay castle, 1587, in the forty-fifth year of her age, and tiie nineteenth of her captivity in England. Freviously to this event Murray had fallen the victim of the private revenge of a gt'Titlcn^rrii whom he hp.d injured ; Eethingtou poisoned ium^olf in piiion, to escape, the sentence of his enemies; and Morton, sorao time rep^ent of the kingdom, was afterwards tried and suffered death for his concern in the murder of Darnloy. 10. VV'e have mentioned t!ie formidable preparations of Philip II. for the invasion of England, and their disastrous issue in the to- tal dcitruction of the invincible armada. The English, in their tarn, madedescents on the Spanish coasts; and the glory of the nation Avas nobly sustained by those grea.t admirals, Rafeigh, How- ard, Drake, Cavendish, and Hawkins. The carl of Essex distin- guished hiiriseifin those expeditions, and won the favour of Eiizg.- bf'th, both by his prowess and personal accomplishments. The death of Leicester, her former favourite, and of her minister Bur- leigh left Essex unrivalled in her affections, and of chief authority in the direction of her councils. Haughty, and impatient of con- trol, he disgusted the nobles; and hia failure in quelling a re- Ijellion in Ireland gave them ground to undermine him in the favour of his sovereign. In the madness of inordinate ambition, he proposed to possess himself of the person of the queen, and compel her to remove his enemies, and acquiesce in all his mea- s jres. This treasonable enterprise brought him to the scafi'old, 1600. 11. From that time Elizabeth fell into profound melancholy, and soon after died in the seventieth year of her age, 1603, having na- med for her successor James \T. of Scotland. Her talents were great, and th« firmness of her mind was unequalled ; but her pri- vate character was tarnished by cruelty, hypocrisy, and an insa- tiable desire of admiration. Iler maxims of government were despotic, and she had little regard for the liberties of her people, or the privileges of her parliaments, to whom she never allowed the liberty of disputing her commands, 'i'he actual government of England in those days was little diflerent from an absolute monarchy. 226 MODERN HISTORY, SECTION LVJ. HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE REIGNS OF JAMES I. AND CHARLES I. 1. James VI. of Scotland succeeded by hereditary right to the throne of England, thus uniting the two crowns ; a prince of con- siderable learning' and talents, but of little vigour of mind or po- litical energ-y. He became unpopular from his notions of an un- controlable prefogative, to which unwisely proclaiming his title, he proTcked his subjects to question it. The current of public opinion was now strongly turned to an extension of the rights of the subject, and to a retrenchment of the powers of the crown ; Tiud during this reign the seeds were sown of that spirit of resis- tance cu the part of ibe people, '..vilcli "ivas destined i« the nc:st to overturn the constitution. 2. Domestic events were such as chiefly distinguished the reign of James I. A conspiracy was discovered in 1603 for subverting the government, and placing the king's cousin, Arabella Stuar^, on the throne, in which the lords Cobham and Grey, and sir Vv alter Ra- leigh were principaliy concerned. '1 be two former were pardoned, and Raleigh was condemned, but reprieved. On the ground of his infringement of the peace with ?pain, by unwarrantably at* tacking one of her American settlements, he was beheaded on hi» former sentence, afttr an interval of fifteen years. 3. Another conspiracy followed, of a still more dangerous na- ture, the gunpowder treason ; a plot of the catholics to destroy at one Ijiow the king and the whole body of the parliament, 1604. It vv-as discovered from a circurustance of private friendship, oq t'ne very eve of its accomplishment ; and the principal conspira- tors suiiered capital punishment. "^I'he public indignation now raged against the catholics ; and the humanity of James, which s^ought to mitigate this fury, was as ungenerously as absurdly con- strued into a favour which he entertained for their religious prin- ciples. 4. It was a peculiar weakness of the king to attach him^self to undeserving favourites. Such was Carre earl of Somerset, who had no other recommendation but a handsome person, a.nd who, sftcr several years' exercise cf ful the insolence of power, fell into disgrace, on conviction of his concern in an infamous mur- der, ilis place was supplied by Viiliers, afterv.aids duke of Buckingham, a man devoid of every talent of a minister, and odious to all mnks of the state, lie planned a journey of Charles prince of Wales into Spain to couri, the infanta, and by his folly and insolence frustrated U^e treaty en the brink of its con- clusion. 5. Elizabeth the daughter of James, was married to the protes- tant elector Palatine, who was dispossessed of his electorate by the emperor Ferdinand 11, for imprudently accepting the crown of Bohemia, till tlien an appanage of the empire, James was urged ,by parliament to s. war in defence of his spu-in-law, which touched MODERif HIST0Rlr* 227 the nation both as a point of hcnoiir and as the cause of the pro- testant interest. He sent a feeble armament, which was of no service, the only military enterprise of his reign. His favourite project was a complete union of the king-doms of England and Scot- land ; a measure which, however beneficial, the mutual prejudices of the two nations were as yet too violent to bear. As a prepara tory step, the episcopal hierarchy was introduced into Scotland ; but this served only as the incentive of future commotions. James L died in 1625, iu thcyOth year of his age, and the 22d of his reign over Endand. 6. On an impartial estimate of the character of the succeeding monarch, Charles I, it may be allowed, that this unfortunate prince would have reigned with high popularity, if the nation in his reign had entertained the same opinions of the regal preroga- tive, of the powers of parliament, and of the liberty of the subject, which had prevailed for the two preceding centuries. But it was his lot to mount the throne at that critical period when Ihe public opinion had undargoue an entire revulution on thoye topics ; and, with many excellent endowments both of head and heart, he want- ed that political prudence which should have taught him to yield to the necessity of the times. 7. Charles was otrej:»ded with his first parliament, on their rcfu- - sal of adequate supplies for the war in support of his broth cr-in- law, the elector Palatine. Engaged to his allies, the king, dissol- ving the parliament, issued warrantsf^r borrowing money of the subject. A new parliament was found equally uncomplying, and evinced its jealousy of the king by the impeachment of his minis- ter, Buckingham. Charles avenged the insult by imprisoning two members df the house of commons. A dissension thus begun was continually aggravated by new causes of offence. The levying of money from the subject was enforced by billeting soldiers on those who refused to lend to ^he crown ; and some were even imprisoned on that account. A war was undertaken against France, by Buck- ingham's instigation, a suiFicient cause of its unpopularity ; and it ended in a fruitless attempt on Rocbelle. The kin^ again dissolved his parliament, 162G. 8. A new parliament exhibited a spirit of determined reforma- tion. A Petition of Right was passed by both houses, which de- clared the illegality of raising money without their sanction, or of enforcing loans from the subject, annulled all taxes imposed v/ith- out the consent of parliament, and abolished the exercise of the 2nar(ial law; and Charles was obliged, with much reluctance, to give his assent to this great retrenchment of prerogatives, sanction- ed by the usage of the most popular of his predecessors. 0. Tlie taxes of tonnage and poundage had usually been con- tinued from one reign to another. On this ground the king con- eta' .d that he was warranted to levy them wilhort a nev/ grant ; and a member of the house of commons was imprisoned on refusal to })ay them. This arbitrary measure excited an ovitrag-eous fer- me>it iii tliat assembly, and the eoui-t^quence was a new dissolutloa •f thcJ' pari lament, W^' ^. 228 MODERN HISTORt. 10. It was now a measure of necessity to make peace v/ith France sud Spain. The king peisevered in levying the tonnage, poundage, and ;f. the majority ia> the lower house. His temper sQured with disan- 232 MODERN HISTORY. pointment, a prey to chagrin, and in rontinual fear of HssftsSfination, he fell at length into a mortal disease, and died in the fifty-ninth year of his age, September ii, 1652. 7. 'Richard Cronnvell, sou of Oliver, succeeded to the protec- torate by his father's appointment. lie %vas a man of weak un- derstandiiig- and facile temper, utterly unfit for his hazardous situ- ation, which accordingly he maintained only for a few months, re- si.cnin-- his otiice on the 22d of April, 1G59. His brother Henry, viceroy of Ireland, immediately followed his example. The fami- ly of the Crom wells, wliich the talents of one man had elevated above the sovereigns of their country, returned to its original ob- scurity. 8. 'i he remains of that nominal parliament which had put the king to death, termed, in derision, the rump^via.s now dissolved by the council of officers. Of these every aspiring individual had his own separate views of ambition. Intrigue, cabal and anarchy were uiaversiil ; and the nation, looking forward with horror to a series of calamities, began earnestly to desire the restitution of its ancient government. George Monk, commander of the army in Scotland, judged tho-e symptoms favourable tor restoring the exiled monarch to the throne of his ancestors. Marching his army into England, he declared nis resolution to bring about the election of a free par- liament, v/liich ail men knew to be synonymous with the restora- tion of the king. It was of course violently opposed by the repub- lican party, who even attempted to excite a new civil war ; but they were forced at length to acquiesce in the measure. A free pariiainent v*'as assembled, and a message was presented from Charles, offering a full indemnity, complete liberty of conscience, and payment of all arrears to the army. The message was re- ceived v/ith transports of joy, and Charles II. was proclaimed king on the 29th day of May, 1600. SECTION LVIII. THE REIGNS OF CHARLES II. AND JAMES IL 1. The nation, without imposing any terms on their new sovereign, trusted implicitly to his good dispositions. Charles was humane and complacent, but indolent, luxurious and prodigal ; and there- fore was neither able to support the national honour abroad, nor to ccmmand obedience and respect to his domestic government. The sale ot Dunkirk was a measure offensive to the pride of the na- tion. A war with Holland, supported at a vast expense, and main- tained in many desperate but indecisive engagements, was attend- ed finally with no material benefit. By the treaty of Breda, con- cluded in 1C67, New York was secured to the English, the isle of Volerone to the Dutch, and Acadia in North America to the French. 2. The salt of Dunkirk, and the unsuccessful issue of the war, attributed to the counsel of the earl of Clarendon, procured the rlisgrace and banishment of that illustrious man, 1667* The MODERN HisToay. 233 p«ace was scarcely concluded with Holland, when rng:land joined with her and S'.veden in a triple alliance, to oppose the progress of th-^, arms of Lewis XIV. in the Low Countries ; and that object hein^ attained by the treaty of .\ix-la-Chapolle, in 1GC8, the French monarch trained the Ens^lish over to his interest in a new war a:;-ain?t the Dutch, which brought their republic to the brink of destruction. 3. The domestic admiaistration of Charles Avas embroiled from %^arious causes, oris^iuatins; in the personal character and disposi- tions of the sovereign. He trusted to profligate and worthless coun- sellors. His arbitrary notions of g-overnmeut, and the partiality which he showed to the catholics, gave perpetual alarm and unea- siness to a great proportion of his subjects. Complaints resounded from every quarter ; and the parliament required a test-oath, ab- juring popery, from all persons in public employment. On refusal to take this oath, the king's brother, James duke of York, was de- prived of his office of high admiral. 4. Titus Gates, a worthless impostor, pretended to have discov- ered a plot of the catholics for assassinating tlic king, burning Lon- don, massacring the protestants, and placing the duke of York ou the threne. Auother villain, named Bedloe, joined his evidence to that of Gates • and on their perjured testimony, afterward fully exposed, a few miserable priests suffered death. A new test was ■imposed, which excluded all papists from both houses of parlia- ment. The treasurer Danby was impeached for advising the last peace with France, tliough it was proved that he had acted by his sovereign's orders ; and a bill passed tiie hou^e of commons, exclu- ding the duke of York from the succession to the crown. A more important bill for the general liberty, the act of habeas corpus.^ was the work of the same session of paidiament. (Sect. LIX, J 14.) 5. The distinguishing epithets of ivliig and tory v/ore now £i\'?± known ; the former, the opposers of the crown, against the latter, its partisans ; and each party, as in all factions, carried its princi- ples to an extreme. The v/higs, predominant in the next parlia- ment, raged with fury ag'ainst the catholics, and insisted on the king's assent to the bill for the exclusion of his brother. His only expedient was to dissclve the parliament, but he found their suc- cessors equally violent. After various fruitless attempts to concil- iate their favour to his measures, a dissolution of this parliament ensued, the last which Charles assembled. 6. But the great cause of dissatisfaction remained. The duke of York was at the bottom of all the measures of government. A conspiracy was formed by Shaftesbury, Russel, Sidney, and the duke of Monmouth, natural son of the king, on the pretence of vin*- dicating the national liberties. It was discovered by one of the .associates, and Russel and Sydney suffered capital punishment.. The detection of this conspiracy strengthened the autiiority of the sovereign. The duke of York was restored to his office of high admiral, and tacitly acknowledged as the successor to the crown. OharleelL died on the 6th ef February, 1685, in the 5gthjyearof ^is age, juid -the 2&th of his reign. ■2B* 234 MODERN HISTORY* 7. The dnke of York succeeded to the throne by tlie title of J-ames 11, His reign was short and inglorious. He was the instru- ment of his own misfortunes, and ran headlong to destruction. The catholics at this time were not the hundredth part of the na- tion, yet James was weak enough to make the desperate attempt of substituting the popish faith in room of the protestant. Discard- ing the nobility from his councils, he was directed solely by Romish priests. In the very outset of his reign he expressed his contempt of the ai^thority of parliament, and a firm purpose to exercise an unlimited despotism. 3. The duke of Monmouth, having excited a new rebellion, •was defeated, made prisoner, and beheaded ; and the most inhu- man rigour was exercised in the punishment of all his partisans. The parliament was in general submissive to the king's will, which for a while met with no opposition nor control. A declaration was published, establishing full liberty of conscience in matters of religion ; and several bishops, who refused to publish it in their dioceses, were committed to prison. A catholic president was ap- pointed to one of the c">lleges at Oxford. An ambassador was sent to the pope, and a papal nuncio received in London. The catholics openly boasted that theirs would soon be the religion of the state. 6. James had three children ; Mary, the wife of the stadtholder William prince of Orange ; Anne, married to prince George of Denmark ; aiul Jarnes, an infant. The stadtholder had consider- ed his right to the crown of England as certain before the birth of this infant, and, alter that event, projected still to gain it by arms or intrigue ; the infatuation of the king and tlie general discontent of the peo})Ic giving him the most flattering invitation. James was informed of those views of his son-in-law, but would give them no credit, till av?tually apprized of his landing with an army, Novem- ber 15th, 1GG8. 10. The principal nobility and officers immediately joined the standard of the prince of Orange ; and James was at once aban- doned by his people, ministers, favourites, and his own children. Leaving Londwi in disguise, he v/as discovered and brought back by the }'opulace ; but the prince of Orange wisely favoured his escape, and he found means a few elays after, to convey himself to France. 11. I'he throne being declared vacant, it was proposed in a con- vention-parliament, that the crown should be settled on the prin- cess Mary and her issue, her husband governing as regent, whom failing, on the piincess Anne. The stadtholder declining the office of regent, it was finally resolved to confer the crown on the prince and pj uacess of Orange, the former to have the sole administration cf the government. 12. To this settlement was added a declaration fixing the rights ©f tlie subject and the royal prerogative. Of this the most im- portant articles are the following. The king cannot suspend the laws, ncr their execution ; he cannot levy money without consent of parliament ; the subjects have right to petition the crown; a standing army carjnot be kept up in time of peace but by consent MODERN HISTORY. 235 of parliament ; elections and parliamentary debate miiet be free, and parliaments must be frequently assembled, &c. Such was the final settlement of the British government at the great era of the rerolution. At this period, when the constitution became fixed and determined, we finish the sketch of the history of our own country. SECTION LIX. ON THE BRITISH CONSTITUTIOIV. 1. The rudiments of the constitution of Ensland may be traced -as far bac*!?: as the Norman conquest. William distributed a great proportion of the lands amon^ his Norman follov/ers, subjecting' these, as well as the Anglo-Saxons who retained their property to the feudal tenures, and thus extinguishing at once the ancient liberties of the people. England was divided into 60,215 military fiefs, all held of the crown, under the obligation of the vassal's taking arms for his sovereign whenever required. In the conti- nental kingdoms of Europe, as in France, the feudal system arose by slow degrees, nor was there of consequence the same union of the fabric as in England. The feudal lords were independent of one another, ever at variance from thtir mutual pretensions, and often owning but a very slender allegiance to the crown. Their vassals suffered from oppression, and often struggled for their free- dom ; but those efforts being partial produced no consequence fa- vourable to the liberty of the nation. In England all were op- pressed by the enormous weight of the crown ; it M-as a common grievance, and produced at times a violent effort for the general liberties of the people. ,2. The forest-iaws imposed by the conqueror (Sect. XV, { 2, 11,) were a grievance felt by the whole nation, as rendering eve.y mau''s property precarious, and subject to the arbitrary encroach- ments of the crown. It was no wonder that the barons and their vassals should cordially unite to lid themselves of so intolerable a luirdship. lienry I. found it necessary to conciliate his subjects, l)y mitigating the most rigorous of the feudal laAvs. A greater ad- vance was made under Henry il, by the institution of the trial by jury. But John imprudently resisting this natural progress to- ward a rational freedom, v»-as soon compelled into those important concessions, the Charia de Forest a and .Magna Charta. From that time the constitution of England was that of a limited monarchy, whatever we may judge of the actual government, which was of- ten most arbitrary and despotical. 3. The next memorable era in the progress of the English con- stitution was the reign of that weak prince Henry III, when the parliament received a new form, by the admission of the repre- sentatives of the people, the deputies of the counties and bo- roughs. (Sect. XXII, } 2.) His successor Edward I. acknowledged their authority in obtaining all his subsidies, and ratified a new law, which declared, that no tax should be levied without th« 23 G MODERN IIISTOIIY.* consent of lords and commons. The Maizna CharfayviaiS cont^rmcd no less than eleven thnes in the course of this reign. 4. Thus the constitution continued advancing- till its pros;rcss ■was suspended hy the civil wars of York and Lancaster. The rights of both prince and people seemed then to be entirely for- gotten ; and the race of Tudor found no resistance from parlia- ment to their vigorous and despotic sway. The talents of Fliza- heth, and the high character which her governm.ent sustained with foreign powders, extinguished all domestic disquiets, while the predominaiit feeling was the maintenance of the poverand dignity of the crown. 5. But under the succeeding prince, when his power and dignity ■were abased by his own weakness, the nation began to a^i^akefrom its lethargy ; and that spirit of opposition, which in this reign con- fined itself t© complaints, in the next broke forth M'ilh alarming violence. Charles I, endowed with superior energy of character, acted, as he conceived, on a principle of duty, which obliged him to maintain the prerogative of his predecessors, and to transmit it unimpaired to his posterity ; but he was im.prudent in exerting with rigour an authority which he wanted ultimate resources to support. IJe was compelled to sign the Petition of Mights^ a grant more favourable to liberty than Magna Charta. The true patriots were satisfied with this corM:ession, which conferred the most ample -constitutional freedom. But the popular leaders made patriotism the cloa.k of insatiable ambition; and adA'anced in their demands with every new compliance. The last appeal was made to the sword, and the contest end-ed in the destruction •of the constitution. 6. The despotism which suci IIISTORV, 239 happiness. Tiie liberty of the press consists in this, that there is no examination of writings previous to the printing and publishing- of theai ; But, after publication, such writia;j3 as offend in any of the above particulars are punishable by law, on trial of the otTenco tyjury. Thus the public is properly constituted the judge and censor of all writings addressed to itself. 17. Such arc briefly the outlines of the admirable fabric of tlio British constitution. Esto perpctua I {niciy il exist forcvtr /) SECTION LX. OF THE PUBLIC REVENUE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1. The property belonging to the cro\vn ox Orcat Britaiii, which was anciently very great, and fully adequate to the maintenance of government, consisted of domain-lands, the first fruits and tenths of church-benefices, the rents of vacant bishoprics and abbeys, the profits of military tenures, fines imposed in courts of justice, for- feitures, &c. From alienations made by the sovereigns, and re- trenchments of their prerogative, the property of the crown is now become so inconsiderable, that the king may be regarded as entire- ly dependent on the people for the support of his dignity, and the means of carrying on the business of the state. The public reve- nue, destined for these two purposes, arises now from the subsidies granted by the people. The supplies are voted by the commons, and the means of furnishing them, by taxes proposed by the chan- cellor of the exchequer, must receive their sanction. 2. Of these taxes some are annual, as the laod tax and malt tax • others are perpetual, as the customs, excise, salt duty, post-office duty, stamps, house and window tax, duties on seiwants, hackney coaches, pensions, kc. The customs are a tax paid by the mer- chant on all imported and exported commodities ; the excise is an hiland imposition, laid sometimes on the consumer, and sometimes on the retail seller. 3. The produce of these taxes is, in the first place, destined to the payment of the interest of the national debt, and afterward to the ordinary support of government. The national debt arose soon after the revolution, when it was thought hazardous to impose annual taxes equal to the annual ex- pence of government, and more expedient to borrow large sums for the immediate service of the state, raising annually no more than to pay the interest of that debt. Tlie same system has been since persevered in ; so that the national debt, which a century ago was 16 millions, is now above 300 millions. To pay the interest of this enormous sum the produce of the taxes (^excepting the malt and land tax) are primaiily destined ; and as somewhat more is annu- ally raised than the interest of the debt and the maintenance of government demand, the surplus constitutes a sinking fund for paying off the principal of the debt. 4. The produce of the taxes, originally separate funds, ie now thrown iiito two or three capital funds ; one of which is raortga- 540 MODERN FliSTORY. g-ed by parliament for the maintenance of the khig's household and the civil list, name!)', the salaries of officers of state, judges, and ambassadors, private expences, pensions, &c. 5. Notwithstanding- the little prospect of an extinction of the national debt, gcvernment maintains its credit, and will always find lenders, because the terms granted are beneficial, and the se- curity is transferable ; so that a lender can thus alM^ays obtain pay- ment of his principal sum, and frequently make gain by the trans- ference. The value of stock rises and falls from various occasional causes, as national prosperity, or the reverse, plenty or scarcity of money, quantity of public debt. On this varipJion is founded the practice of stock-jobbing, that is, either buying and selling actual property in the public funds, which is a lawful speculation, or gam- ing and wagering on the price of stock, which is an illicit but com- mon practice. 1 he practice of stock-jobbing, even by the trans- ference of actual property, and far more by gaming on that which is fictitious, is prejudicial to commerce and manufactures, by en- grossing a great part of the national wealth, repressing indaslry, encouraging fraud, and often tempting to the most treacherous and dangerous devices for raising and sinking the funds. SECTION LXL HISTORY OF FRANCE UNDER LEWIS XIII. 1. France, which under Henry IV. had risen from a state of miserable anarchy to high prosperity and splendour, sunk, upon his death, into weakness, faction, and disorder. Mary of Medici, re- gent in the minority of her son Lewis XIII, a weak woman, and of restless ambition, disgusted the nobility by her partiality for her Italian courtiers. Cov.cini, her first minister, created marshal d'Ancre, became so universally odious, that he was openly mur- dered in the Louvre, and hi? body torn to pieces. The queen was removed from Paris, and kept for tv/o years a prisoner at Blo?s, till relieved by the duke d'Epernon, to serve his own purposes of am- bition. The queen's party was at war with that of her son, and the whole kingdom in a state of anarchy. 2. 'the genius of carHinal R,icheliei , who was now brought into power by Mary of Medici, soon effected a wonderful change. He reconciled the moiher and her son, soothed the contending fac- tions, and, on the king"'s assuming the government, directed every public measure to the complete re-establishment of»the power and dignity of the mona;chy. The party of the Calvinists, alienated by persecution, attempted to threw ofi' their allegiance, and to es- tablish an indepencent ttate, of which Rochelle was to be the capi- tal. R-icbelieu bargaineu with the Lutch to furnish a fleet for sub- ds'.iig their protestar bi : thren, and the Dutch now fought as keen- ly for the catholic religion as they had lately fought for the protes- tant. '.(be English sent a fleet to the aid of the people of Ro- chelle, who for a yeai n-sairtained a most obstinate siege against the French troops, commanded by the cardinal in person. They MODERN" HISTORY. 241, were at leng-th forced to surrender. Rochelle and all the other protestant cities of France were stripped of their privileges, and their fortifications were destroyed. Thus Calvinism was for ever crushed in France. 3. Lewis XlII, though a weak prince, saw his advantage in en- tering into all the great designs of his minister. Richelieu influ- enced the politijcs of all Europe ; and the power of Austria was attacked in Germany, Flanders, Spain, and Italy. His talents were equally displayed in active war, in foreign negotiation, and in his domestic arrangements. Yet at this very time a formidable cabal was undermining him. Mary of Medici was jealous of the man whom she had raised ; and the duke of Orleans, the Vivig's brother, sought to supplant him in power. Richelieu, with aston- ishing intrepidity of mind, repressed this conspiracy. Fortiiied by the king^s authority ht seized the marshal de Marillac, one of his most dangerous enemies, at the head of his army ; and tried and put him to death by a lawless stretch of power. Orleans, arnre- hensive of a similar fate, fled from the kingdom ; and Mary of ;vle- dici, arrested and removed from court, ended her career of ambi- tion in voluntary exile at L'russels. Orleans, supported l/y the duke de Montmorenci, attempted a rebellion ; but their army was defeated, and Montmorenci executed for treason. The queen had taken part with the enemies of the cardinal, who iinprisonrd her confessor, and seized and examined her papers. Anne of Austria was very near sharing the fate of Mary of Medici. 4. Amidst all this turbulence of foreign war an»d sta^e cabal Richelieu cultivated literature, encouraged the sciences, instituted the French academy, and composed pieces for the theatre. The administratioji of R,ichelieu, though turbulent from faction and civil war, was, on the whole, extremely glorious for France ; and sowed the seeds of its splendour in the succeeding reign of Lewis XIV. The death of this great minister, in 1642, was soon atter followed by the death of his sovereign Lewis XlII, in 1642, SECTION LXII. SPAIN UNDER PHILIP III. AND PHILIP IV. CONSTITU^ TION OF PORTUGAL AND OF SPAIN. 1. From the death of Philip 11. Spain declined in power, and, notwithstanding its great sources of wealth, the national ; nances were in the utmost disorder. Philip III. was forced to conCiUde a peace with the Dutch, and to restore to the house of Nassau its confiscated estates. With a weak and despicable polii y he ex- pelled from his kingdom all the Moors, who were the most indus- trious of its inliabitants, 1610. This depopulation, with that al- ready produced by its American colonies, rendered Spain a life- less and enervated mass. Philip was entirely under the influence of his minister the duke of Lerma. ?. The natienal weakness and disorders ina*ea$ed uader Philip 21 242 MODERN HISTORY. IV, whr>, equally spiritless as his father, was implicitl)' ruled by his minister Olivarez. His reign was a continued series of miscar- riages and defeats. The Dutch seized Brazil; the I rench inva- ded Artois ; Catalonia revolted to France ; and Fortug-al shook off its yoke, and became an independent kingdom. 3. No revolution was ever effected with such ea?e and celerity as that of Portug-al, The people were disgusted with the rigorous and inipolltlc administration of Olivarez. The duke of Bragan- za, descended from the ancient king's of Portugal, had the com-? mand of the army. Instigated by the ambition of the duchess, and seeing the spirit of the nation favourable to his views, he caused himself to be proclaimed king at Lisbon. The Spanish guards were attacked and routed, and the chief partis-ans of the government put to death by the populace. All the principal tov.-ns followed the example of the capital, and soon after all the foreign settlements. From that era, 1640, Fortugal became an indepen- dent sovereignty, after having- been sixty years an appanage of the kingdom of Spain. 4. The government of Portugal approaches to an absolute mo- narchy. The consent of the states or cories, consisting of clergy, nobility, and commons, was formerly necessary to the impositioia of taxes, and the settlement of the succession to the crown. But this assembly, convoked only by the royal mandate, has for a long time ceased to meet. The ordinary business of government is transacted by the king and his council of s4ate, which is appointed by himself. The revenue of the crown arises from its domains, including the family estates of Braganza ; from the duties on ex- ports and imports, from ihe taxes, and from a stated proportion of the gold brought from Brazil. The state of the commerce and manufactures of Portugal is extremely low. Though the soil and climate are favourable to cultivation, yet the ag^riculture of the kingdom is much neglected. 5. The reigns of Philip III. and IV. of Spain, though an era of national hunuliation, derived some fame from the state of litera- ture. Dramatic composition, poetry, romance, and even history, were cultivated with great success. But these pursuits are in some sort the amusements of indolence, which was the predomi- nant character of the people. This character may have arisen from two sources. The torrent of wealth poured in from Ameri- ca retarded, in the lower classes, domestic industry and manufac- tures, while it increased the pride of the gentry, and made thein disdain ull occupation ; and the despotism of the government strongly repressed all enterprize and activity in the people. 6. The constitution of Spain, of which the sovereignty was in ancient times elective, is now that of an absolute monaixhy. The crown is hereditary ; though at different times, as in 1619 and 1713, there has been a new limitation of the succession made by the monarch. The Ccrirs^ or states of the kingdom, limited in former tim.es the power of the sovereign ; but Charles V. annihi- lated th.eir a'lliority, by depriving the nobility and clergy of their seat in those a-sevnblies. The remaining mtml'ers, the deputi<'3 of the towns, are entirclv r.:-,:''er the control cf i' c monarch. Ihe MODERN HISTORY. 243 king"'d council, or Con-iejo Real, Is the organ of government ; but no depariment of the state has any constitutional power to regu- late the will of the prince. SECTION LXIII. AFFAIRS OF GERMANY FROM THE ABDICATION OF CHARLES V. TO THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA. 1. To preserve the connection of the affairs of Germany with tliose of tlie other kingdoms of Europe, we must return to the pe- riod of the abdication of Charles V, when the empire was distract- ed by the political factions and qurvrels of its independent princes, and by the contending sects of the catholics^ Lutherans, and Cal- vinists. Ferdinand vainly attempted to reconcile those factions, and to unite the three religions. Maximilian II. had still less f)ow.er to efiect this objeg| than his predecessor ; nor was the state of affairs changed during the succeeding reigns of Rodolphus 11. and Matthias. A civil war of thirty years' duration reduced the empire to extremity. Under Ferdinand 11, a zealous catholic, the protfcstant states of Bohemia, which Ivad suffered under the gov- ernment of Matthias, conferred their crown on the elector Pala- tine. Ferdinand, in revenge, deprived him both of his crov/n and electorate. 2. The protcstant ca'ise was declining fast in Germany, and every thing seemed to iniicate success to the schemes of Ferdi- nand for its entire annihilation, when it received new vigour from the intervention of Gustavus Adolphus king of Sweden. This great pru:ice defeated the imperial generals, and carried the pro- testant banners triumrhantly through Germany. The emperor was completely hurnblec!, and the elector Palatine was en the eve of restoration to his dominions, when the heroic Gustavus Avas slain in the battle of Lutzen, I'oS'-Z. The war was successfully prosecuted by the Sv/edisl» generals, while cardinal Richelieu ha- rassed the house of Austria both in German}^ and Spain. 3. In the succeeding reign of Ferdinand II!, the protestants of Germany found the most active support both iVom the Swedes and the French. The emperor was forced to conckide the peace of Westphalia in 1640 ; and these poM-ers dictated tlie terms. By this celebrated treaty all disputes Vicic settled betv/een the con- tending princes of tiie empire, and also between the contending religions ; the Sv/edes were indemnified for the charges of the war, and acquired Pomerania, Stettin, Wismar, and other provinces, and their sovereign the dignity of prince of the empire ; its chief possessions were restored to the Palatine family ; the king of France •\^'as made landgrave of Alsace ; and an equal establishment of th« three religions was decreed. This salutary peace laid the founda- tiou of the future greatness and prosperity of the German empire. 244 MODERN HISTORY. SECTION LXIV. FRANCE UNDER LEWIS XIV. 1. On the death of Lewis XIII. in 1633, his son Lewis XIV. succeeded to the throne in the fifth yen-r of his ag-c. Europe, as we have seen, was in a most turbulent state ; and France, under the administration of Richelieu, acted a conspicuous part in ex- citing those gfcneral commotions. The queen-mother Anne of Aus- iria, appointed regent by the states, choice for her minister the car- diiia! ?»*azarin, an Italian, and from that circumstance odious to }he people, 'ihe Spaniards, taking advanta,2'e of the king''s minor- ity and the popular discontents, made an attack on Champagne ; hut were defeated in a series of engagements by the great Conde. The icarshal de Turenne shar^jd with him the palm of glory. The peace of Vv^-'stpha'ia composed those diatrencts. 2. At this very time the commotions oL^the Fronde broke out in Paris. The jealously of Mazarin's power, felt by the nobility, the ■unpopularity of his ineasures, the disorder of the finances, and the cpiressivn of new taxes, inflametJ the nation ; and the intrigues oT the coadjutor, afterwards cardinal de Retz^, blew the flame into a civ; ■ war. 1 he parliament of Paris took part Avith the rebels, whd were headed by the priuce of Conti, the dukes of Longueville and Bouillon, and the chief nobility. The queen and the Royal fami- ly removed to St. Germain^'s, aixl the ministeiial party besieged 1 aris. Turenne, who at first supported thera, was gained over by ,the rebels. The women, who are always concerned in the distur- bances of France, acted a conspicuous part in those of the Fronde.- A short pacification ensued ; but the imprudent violence of Ma/a- rin soon renewed the disi:>rders. At length the parliament of Paris assumed the right of banishing this unpopular minister, who re- tired to the imperial dominions ; but- his influence continued to regulate the measures of state. 3. A change ensued on ihe king's coming of age, 1652. De R€tz and Orlfaus, the chief promoters of the rebellion, were ban- ished, and Mazarin resumed his station as minister. Conde had joined the Spaniards in an attack on the French Netherlands, but was overmatched by Turenne, who revenged this insult by the taking of Dunkirk and several fortified towns under the Spanish government. J3y convention with Cromwell Dunkirk had been ceded to the English, and afterwards sold to France by Charles II, ^3 lias been related. 4. The war with Spain ended in 1659, by the peace of the Py- renees. Many cessions v.^ere made on both sides, but France kept Ronssillon and part of Artois. It was stipulated that Lewis XIV. should marry the infanta, daughter of Philip IV, but should re- nounce all right which might thence open to the crown of Spain. 5. The treaty of the Pyrenees gave peace to the south of Eu- rope. The wars in the north between Sweden, Poland, and iJen- niark, which arose after the abdication of Christi la of Swe en, were terminated in the year followir.g; by the treaty of OJva. MODERN HISTORY. 245 Christina, a singular, but not a great woman, held the sceptre of Sweden for twenty-two years after the death of her father, Gusta- vus Adolphus. At length, tired of the cares of government, and aifcotin* a passion for literature and philosophy, she resigned the crown to her cousin, Charles X, in 1654. Soon after this event Casimer kin^ of Poland v/as induced by age and sickness to ab- dicate the throne, after an honourable reiga. 6. Mazaria died in 1661, and Lewis XIV. entered on a vi,goroiis and splendid career. The finances, w'hich frojii the time of Henry IV. had been in extreme disorder, were admirably regulated by Colbert ; and the commerce and manufactures of the kingdom, wisely encouraged by government, were soon in the most flourish- ing situation. The cauitl of Languedoc jeined the bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean ; the principal sea-ports were enlarged and fortified ; and the internal police of the kingdom was regularly and strictly enforced. At the same time the arms of France aided Eng-- land against the Dutch, Germany against the Turks, and Portugal against Spain. 7. On the death of Philip IV. Lewis, pretending that Spain had failed in payment of the dowry of his queen, besieged and took Lisle, with several oth<^r fortified towns of Flanders; and in the next campaign made himself master of Franche-Comte. Lewis marched with his arn^ies, but the glory of these conquests was owing to Turenne and Vauban. The triple alliance formed by England, Holland, and Sweden, checked this career, and brought about the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1668, by which Lewis, though ne retained Flanders, restored Franche-Comtc, and confirmed the peace of the Pyrenees. u. I'he strength and prosperity of the kingdom continued to in- crease under the able administration of Colbert and Louvois. The civil factions of Holland between the stadtholder and the party of the De Wits, tempted Lewis to undertake the conquest of that country. England, Germany, and Sv/eden, favoured his views. Pie overran the provinces of Utrecht, Overyssel, and Guelderland, and advanced almost to the gates of Amsterdam, when the iJutch inundated the country by letting in the sea, and the French were forced to retreat 9. The confederate powers now became jValous of the ascen- -dancy of France ; arid tUe prince of Orange had sufficient iuflu- €nce with England, and both branches of the house of Austria, to <)btain their alliance ijn aid oi the republic. The arms of Lewis, however, continued to be successful, and the peace concluded at Nimeguen, in 1673, was much to the honour of France.^ f ranche- Comte was assured as a part of her dominions, and Spain aliowed her right by conquest to a great proportion of the Netherlands. 10. Notwithctanding the peace, Lewis, with the most culpable insincerity, seized Strasburg, and secretly assisted tl^e Hungarians and Turks in their attack on the imperial dominior.«. Vienna-, must ihave fallen into the hands of the Turks, if it had m. been scasona^ i>ly relieyed by the victorious arms of John Sobieski king of Pplaod, m 16.113. 24G' MODERN HiSiORVi 11. Oue of the weakest and most impolitic measures of Lewi? XiV, was the revocalion of th« edict of Nantes, granted by Henry IV. for the toleration of the protestants. While their worship was suppressed, their churches demolished, and their ministers banish- ed, the protestant laity were forbidden, under the most rigorous penalties, to qnit the kingdom, 1685. France, however, by this measure, lost above 500,000 of her most industrious and useful subjects ; and the name of Lewis XIV. was execrated over a great part of Europe. Not long- after this time a similar excess of intole- rant bigotry prscipitated James IL from the throne of Britain, and forced him to seek an asylum from the monarch of France. 12. >\ illiam prince of Orange, the inveterate enemy of Lewis, brought about the league of Augsburg, 1686 ; and the war was renewed M'ith France by Germany, Spain, England, and Holland. The French arms were still successful. Luxemburg defeated' William in the battles of Steenkirk and Nerwinden; Noailles was victorious in Spain ; and an aviny of 10t),000 French ravaged the Palatinate, and took many of the most important towms on the Rhine. This was the crisis of the glory of Lewis, wdiose fortunes were to sustain the most mortifying reverse. 13. Those various and most extfcaj;ive military enterprizcs, how- ever .flattering to the pride of the monarch, had been attended with enormous expence, and no solid advantage to the nation. The fi- nances had I'allen irtto disorder after the death of Colbert, and a peace was absolutely necessary. By the treaty of Ryswick, con- cluded in 1697, Lewis restored to Spain all the conquests made in the two^ast wars, se^eraFtowns 4o the emperor, the duchy of Lor- Faine to its duki;, and acknowledged the right of \\iilia:n-to the crown oi' England. 14. The succes'iion of the kingdom of Spain, on the expected death of Charles II, without issue, wa^ now the object of political intrigue. 'J he emperor .and the king of France had the only natu- ral Ti'j^hi of succession ; but William III, of England, from the dread of such an increase of power to either, proposed a treaty of partition oi the Spanish dominions, at home and abroad, between The elector of Ca\ariH, the dauphin, and the emperor"'s second son. Charles II. chose rather to make his ov.n destination, and appoint- ed by will that the duke of Aajou, second son of the dauphia, should inherii :-pain ; on whose death without issu^, it should de- volve on the archduke Charles, youngest son of the emperor. 15. On the death of Claries the duke of Anjou succeeded to Ihe throne of Spain, in virtue of this settlement. Ihc emperor, the king of England, and the Dutch, proposed to separate from his crown the Spanish dominions in Italy. In ihis enterprize prince Eugene, son of the count de Soissons, commanded tlie iniperial t oops, an illustrious renegado from FrcUice, of great prowess aj^d military skill. 16. James II. of England died in 1701 a! St. Germain's, and Lewis gave mortal oiience to the government of that country by acknowledging the title of his son. On the death of king William ill the year following war was declared by England, Holland, and tke empire, agaiust Traiice and Spain. Lew^s XIY. wag uo'vv io MODERN liisrcRY. 247 llie decliiie of life. He had lost the ablest of his mlai^ters and his greatest generals. The finances of the kingdom were exhausted. The armies of his enemies were commanded by Eugene and the duke of Marlboroug-h, the ablest generals of the age, and support- ed by the treasures of the united powers. Savoy and Portugal joined this formidable confederacy, to overwhelm both branches of the house of Bourbon, and place the emperor''s son on the throne of Spain. 17. Marlborough took Venlo, Ruremonde, and Liege. Eug-ene and Marlborough defeated Tallard and Mai'sin, with the elector of Bavaria, in the signal battle of Blenheim, 1704. Eng-land and Holland attacked Spain by sea and land. Catalonia and Valencia "were subdued in six weeks. Gibraltar wa« taken by the English, and has ever since remained in theis possession. In the battle of iramilies Marlborough defeated Villeroy, and left 20,000 dead on tiie field. The contest, at first doubtful in Italy, ended alike dis- astrously for the house of Bourbon. 1 he archduke Charles was in tlie mean time proclaimed king- at Madrid ; and Philip V. had serious thoughts of abandoning- Spain, and establishing his domin- ion in America. But the successes oi' the duke of Berwick, natu- ral son of James II, recovered for a while his desponding spirit, and even prompted his grandfather Lewis to avenge himself ou Eng-land, by aiding the bold but desperate enterprize of establish- ing the pretender James on the throne of Britain. lU. But France and Spain were daily losing grouiid. Tlie pope had acknov/ledged the title of the archduke Charles ; the English seized the Mediterranean islands ; and Lewis, fallen from all his proud pretensions, hnmbly entreated a peace, which was refusetJ, unless on the condition of dethroning his grandson with his ov/n arms. He maintained for a while this unequal contest, and was at length forced to Y->ropose terms equally hinniliating ; th« cession of -all his conquests in the Netherlands and on the Rhine ; the ac- knowle(ig)nent of the archduke's title to the crown of Spain ; and a promise to give no aid to his grandson. But these terms were refused, and the inhuman condition still insisted on, that he should assist in dethroning his grandson. A last exertion was made in Spain under the duke of Vendome, at the head of a prodigious ar- my ; and the victory obtained by the French at \'iHa-vitiosa restored Philip W to the throne of Spain. His GompeLitor, the archduke, soon after became emperor, on the death of his elder brother. 19. The intrigues of the cabinet of queen Anne, and the coming i;i of a tory ministry, changed the poiitics of Europe. It was re- solved to make peace with France and Spain, and the treaty Avas concluded at Utrecht in 1713. It was stipulated that Philip king of Spain should renounce all eventual right to the crown of France, and his brother to the crovv-'n of Spain. The Dutch obtained an extension of frontier, and the emperor a great part of Sppnish Flan- ders. The English gained from Spain, Gibraltar and Minorca, and from Fratice, Acadia, Newfoundland, and Hudson's Bay, wii.h the demolition of the harbor of Dunkirk. In the following year, a peace wixs concluded at Rastadt between Frauce and ihc empire. 248 MODERN HISTORY. 20. The concinsion of this peace, after an honourable war, was the mo?t memorable event in the reign of queen Anne, if we ex- cept the union of the two king-doms of England and Scotland, in 1708, which was brought about by the neg-otiation of commission- ers mutually chosen, to secure the rights of each kingdom in the best manner for their mutual benefit. It Avas stipulated that both should be represented by one parliament (Sect. LIX, 9 8), that they should have the same privileges with respect to commerce, and that each kingdom should retain its own laws and established religion. The succession to the crown was limited to the house of Hanover. Queen Anne died on the 30th of July, 1714. Lewis XIV. died on the 1st of September, 1715, in the 78th year of his age. He was a prince of great vigour of mind, of good talents, though unimproved by education, of '"lignified yet amiable man- ners. His greatest fault was inordinate ambition, to which he sa- crificed the real interests of his people. It was his highest honour, that he discerned and recompensed every species of merit. France was in his time equally illustrious by the great military talents of her generals, and by the splendour of-literature and of the arts and sciences. SECTION LXy. OF THE CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE UNDER THE MO- NAK.CHY. 1. It is necessary for understanding the history of Fra.nce, that we should have some acquaintance with its former monarchical constitution : we shall therefore briefly trace the progress of the government under the different races of its sovereigns. The regal prerogative was extremely limited under the Merovingian prin- ces. (Sect. II, III.) The general assembly of the nation had the right of electing the sovereign, and the power of legislation. Un' ■der the Carlcrvingian race the authority acquired by Pepin and Charlemagne sunk to nothing in the hands of their weak posterity ; and though the crown had ceased to be elective, the regal dignity was a mere shadow. 1 he power of the state had passed into the hands of a turbulent aristocracy, ever at variance among them- selves, and uniting only to abase the crown and to oppress the people. 2. Under the third or Capetian race the crown acquired more weight, and many of the sovereigns exerted a proper spirit in re- straining the power of the nobles, and in punishing their lawless outrages. To balance the weight of the aristocracy Philip the fair introduced the third estate to the national assemblies, which for above four centuries had consisted only of the nobles and clergy. The chief power of the state began now to shift to the scale of the jiionarch. The national assemljly interfered rather to ratify than to decree ; and in the fifteenth century the right of legislation was iinderstood lo reside wholly in the rrovin. 'I'he right of taxation ^.emed to follow oX course^ The assemblies or fctates-^enerai w.er« MODERN HISTORY. 249 now rartly convened, and from the rei^n of Lewii: XIII. v/ere dh continued. 3. But another power gradually rose m the state, which in som« measure supplied the function of the assemblies in limiting the royal prerogative. The parliaments were originally the chief courts of justice in the territory w^here they were established. The parliament of Paris naturally clf.inied a higher respect and dignity than the parliaments of the provinces ; and, acquiring a right of appeal from their decrees, was considered as the para- mount jurisdiction, and the depository of the laws of the kingdom. 'J'he sovereigns of France, on first assuming the powers of legisla- tion and taxation, produced their edicts to be registered in the court of the parliament of Paris, and frequently consulted with ita members on momentous affairs of state, as in questions of peace, war, or alliance. Thus the nation began to regard the parliament of Paris as a body which shared the powers of government with the monarch. Ili the latter reigns the parliament availed itself of that general opinion, and made a bold stand in opposing any arbi- trary stretches of the king's authority, by refusing to verify and register his edicts. 4. But as this power of the pjliliament was in reality a usurpa- tion, it was constantly a subject of dispute. The members of this court were in no sense the representatives of tlie people, nor vested with any portion of the constitutional authority of the na- tional as«ei7fblies. They were in the king's nomination, remova- ble by blm at pleasure, and even subject to entire annihilation as a body at his command. Even without so violent a remedy, the sovereign eould at an)' time frustrate the.ir opposition to his will, by personally appearing in the hall of parliament, and commanding his edict to be registered. 5. Yet a power thus easily defeasible had its advantages to the state, and operated as a considerable restraint on the rcyal au- , thority. Considering ftself as the guardian of the public liberty, it remonstrated against all arbitraiy encroachments of the crown, and by giving alarm to the nation, funiislu-d an oppo.-ition suffi- ciently pov/erful to obtain its ends. The provincial parliaments, though they likewise registered tl\e royal edicts, never assumed any similar authority. They were only the chief courts of civil judicature. 6. The king of France was therefore to be considered as an ab- solute monarch, whose authority was in some degree limited by the consuetudinary regulations ot the state, aid could not easily be^ come entirely despotic and tyraanical. The crown was heredita- ry, but could not descend to a female, nor to a natural son. The royal revenue was partly fixed and partly arbitrary. The fixed revenue comprehended the royal domains, the duties oii wines and salt, the land tax, cap'tation tax, and gift of 'he clergy ; the other arose from ail other taxes which the monarch tho' ght fit to im- pose, and from the sale of offices. Most of these duties were leased out to the farmers-general. 7. 1 he Galilean church, though catholic, and acknowledging the spiritual authority of the pope, had greatly abridged his au- 2-50 MODERN HISTOPtV. cient prerog;-atlves within the kiug-flom. The a-sembly of the church declared, in 168'2, that no temporal sovereign couidbe de- posed by the pope, nor subjects absolved from their allegiance : it decreed the subjection of the pope to the councils of the church, and denied his infallibility when in opposition to the canons of those councils. The pope had no pov^er to levy money in France without the royal license. In short, the ecclesiastical authority was ia all respects subordinate to the civil. SECTION LXVJ. OF PETER THE GREAT, CZAR OE MUSCOVY, AND CHARLES XII, KING OF SWEDEN. 1. Two ^nost illustrious men adorned the north of Europe in the latter part of the age of Lewis XIV, Peter the great of Mus- covy, and Charles Xll. of Sweden. Russia is said to have received the light of Christianity in the tenth century, but its history is utterly Uiiknown till the middle of the fifteenth. At that period Jchn Ba:^ilowitz redeemed tiie empire from its subjection to the Tartars, and extended its limits. His successors maintained a considerable splendour as sovereigns ; but their dominions were uncultivated, and their subjects barbarian?. Alexis Michaelowitz, father of Peter the great, was fhe first who publislied a code of laws. At the end of the sixteenth century Siberia was added to the empire, which till that tijie had been bounded by the limits of Europe. 2. Peter, the youngest son of the emperor Alexis, became mas- ter of the empire in 1689, by settijig aside a weak elder brother, and banishing a factioris sister, who had seized the government. Lie was uneducated, and his youth had been spent in debauchery ; but his new situation immediately displayed his talents, and ga\e -birth to the wisest plans for the improvement of a barbarous peo- ple. The army and navy demanded his first attention. He bogan' oy breaking the turbulent militia of the Strelitzes, arid by degteesT formed a regular army of 12,0U0 men on the strictest model of dis- cipline. He employed some Dutchmen to build a small fleet, and made the first experiment of his arms in taking Azof from the Turks in 1696. 3. Having gained the little instruction which he possessed from foreigners, Peter resolved to travel in search of knowledge. Ap- pointing Le Fort, an able Genevese, his ambassador, he travelled as a private person in his suite throi^gh Germany to Holland, and studied tho art of ship-building, by working in the docks with his own hands. I'hence he passed to England, and in a similar man- ner acquired the knowledge of every art titled for the improvement of his kingdom. The relative sciences were cultivated with the same ardour and success ; and in sixteen months he returned lo Moscow to reduce those important acquirements into practice. 4. Regimeiits were raised and trained to exercise on the German model ; the finances arranged and systematized ; the church re- MODERN HISTORY. 231 formed by new canons and rri;:nlaLions ; the pati'iarcliale abolish- ed ; and a much abused civil and criminal jurisdiction taken from the clergy. It was necessary to carry thi« refonn even 'o the abo- lition of the national dress, and the suppression of ancient usages and habits of life, innovations reluctantly submitted to, but en- forced by absolute power. 5. \\ hile this great g'enius was thus employed in neW-modellin^ and polishing a barbarous empir«'>, a competitor arose to dispute with him the sovereignty of the i.orth, and to divide the admira- tion of Kurope. Charles XII. succeeded to the throne of Sweden in 1G95, at fifteen years of age; a prince whosr singular heroism of character and extraordinary achievements hare ranked him with the greatest conquerors of antiquity. The situation of his king- dom speedily brought his genius into display. Russia, Poland, and r>emnark joined in a league to s'ei/.e and divide bis dominions. The attack was begun by the Danes on I^olstcin, v.hile the king of Poland invaded Livonia, and the czar, Ingria. Charles imme- diately landed an army on Zealand, at the gates of Copenhagen, and in six weeks forced the king to purchase the safety of his cap- ital and kingdom, by laying down his arms, and nsaking full in- demnity to the duke of Holsttin. He now hastened into Ingria, and at the battle of Narva defeated 60,000 of the Russians, and took 30,000 prisoners. Such was the first campaign of Charles XII, then a boy of seventeen. 6. Poland was destined to receive a m.ore humiliating chastise- ment. Charles reduced Courland and Lithuania, penetrated into the heart of the kingdom, and subdued the capitals of Warsaw and Cracow. He then assembled the states, declared king Au- gustus deposed, and signified his pleasure that Stanislaus, his owa dependant, should be elected sovereign of Poland. The factions of the kingdom aided this revolution, and the will of Charles was complied with. The deposed king retired to his electoral domin- ions of Saxony. 7. A negotiation begun with the czar was abruptly terminated by Charles, who declared that he would negotiate only at Mos- cow. Entering the Prussian dominions with 45,000 men, he was in the way of executing his threat, when he was induced, by a treacherous promise of aid from the Cossacks, to march through the Ukraine in the depth of winter. His army was wasted by fa- tigue and famine, when he was encountered by the czar at Pul- towa ; and the fate of Prussia, Sweden, and Poland, hung upon that battle. Charges was entirely defeated : 0000 Swedes fell in the field, and 14,000 were taken prisoners, 1709. Augustus was re- stored to the throne of Poland, and the czar took possession of Fin- land and Livonia. ij. With the wreck of his army, reduced to ICOO m.en, Charles retreated iiato the Turkish dominions, and formed a camp near Render. He endeavoured to prevail upon the grand seignior to arm against the : zar, a)id succf eded after a loiig negotiation. Two hr.ndred thcusand Turks took the field, and the czar''s army, far ijiferior in t um'>er, was surrounded, and, after in; ffectual resis- tance, fcrced to cap lu^at': to tl'.e grand vizier,- The news oftl-iia 252 MGDERN HISTORY. capitulation destroyed all the hopes of Charles ; and his subsequciii conduct seems the result of frenzy. The grand seignior having intimated his desire that the Swedes should quit his territories, Charles fjrtiQed his camp, and declared that he would del^nd it to the last extremity. After every means ineffectually tried to make him alter this resoluHon, he was attacke4 by the Turkisli army, and taken fighting sword in hand amidst a massacre of his troops. 9. In the mean time the czar and the ki}haracter. The persons are more discriminated by various and appropriate features, and the nicer shades of nearly resembling characters are thus m.ore distinctly marked. The mixture of the comic and tragic in the same plot, though condemned by modem practice, is a great source of pleasure in the pieces of Shakespeare and his contemporaries ; nor is there any thing in such a mixture |?ij-t l^h^t b consonant to aature. To a person ol true taste it will 256 MODERN HISTORY^ 1^ fonnd ojften to heighten, Ly contrast, the capital emotion to be eoccited. 14. The compositions for the French stage, in the end of th€ seventeenth century, are strictly confor»nable to dramatic rules ; and many cf those piec£s are models of a correct and polished taste. The morality of the French drama of that age and the next is in general purer than outs ; but their pieces are deficient in the teice deliReation of character, and in the power of exciting the pas- sicr.y. Corneille and Racine brought the French tragedy to its highest elevation.; as Ivloliere the comedy. Corneille has more graiid ur and sublimity than his rival, -vvho excels him in the ten* der and laLhetic. The comedies of Moliere, highly amusing in the present time, were more particularly ^-aluabie in the age -when they were written, and had a sensible effect in correcting its pre- vailing follies ; the pedantry of the ladies, the ignorance and quackery of the physicians, and the pride and arrogance of the J'rench noblesse. The last of the eminent dramatists who adorned France in the s^eventecnth century was the elder Crfebillon, who drew many sublime and impassioned scenes from the source of terror ; and -who, in ail his works, was as eminently the friend of virtue as his worthless son has been the pander of vice. 15. The most emi»ent historians of the sixteenth century are, De Thou, Davila, and Machiavel. De Thou has v/ritten the an- nals of his own time, from 1545 to 1607, with great judgment, and in most elegant Latin composition. The historj of Davila, the annals of the civil v.-ars of France in the time of the league, though the work of a partisac, is composed with no common degree of can- dour and impartiality. In the beginning of the sixteenth century Machiavel wrote bis His'tory of Florence, of which the style is clas- sical and the matter well arranged, but too much interrupted by reflections and political disctissions. In the seventeenth century Bentivoglio cosnposed bis History of the Civil Wars of Flander?, with the most accurate knowledge of his subject, perspicuity of narrative, and elegance of style. Among the English historians in the beginning of that period ilaleigh is the most distinguished ; though his History of the "World is, in point of style, inferior to the judgment shown in the arrangement of the matter. In the latter part of the seventeenth century. Clarendon's History of the Rebel- lion is a work of the highest merit, whether we consider the au- thenticity of the facts, the deep knowledge of human nature dis- played in the delineation of the characters, or the grave and manly eloquence oi the style. If, in the opposition of political opinions, he has b«en deemed too partial in defence of his sovereign, even his adversaries have admitted his perfect integrity, and entire .con? Sriction of the rectitude of tii£ cause whijch he sujiportsc THE HISTORY OF THE JEWS* SECTION L A GENERAL VIEW OF THE HISTOUY OF MANKIND IH THE PRIMEVAL AGES,. -» • In contemplating: fhose great outlines o( history, the me- rnorable and important events which ha\'e x^etermined the condi- tion of mankind, and rendered the as^pect of the moral and intel- lectual world such as we now view it, we shall find abundant sub- jects for observation and reflection. In many cases we shall be obliged to have recourse to conjecture, founded on different de- grees of probability ; and son>€ of those probabilities may be so corroborated by general existing circuni'tacces as to amount al- most to certainty. 2. Of the primeval state of mankind we know little from his- torical information, and can form an opinion of it only from conjec- ture founded on the nature of things.. Fiom the extremely slow progress of civilization it is reasona.b]e to suppose that men must have existed a long' time before they began to write the history of such transactions and events as they deemed most important. All their care and attention would at first be employed in providing- 1h€ means of supplying their physical wants, and of rendering their ■existence tolerable. In that state of simple nature they would not think of transmitting- an account of their actions to posterity, and -could hardly have any occurrences worth recordinc. Here our knowledge of. human nature and of human wants will supply the -deficiency of history. From the experience of our own wants, and of the means of supplying- them, we may infer almost with certaint}'', that habitations would be built as a shelter from the in- clemency of the weather: and in fact we find this to be the case in all those countries which are at present occupied by savages.. In pro..ess of time some ai:tention would be given to tlie cultivation of the soil, to make the earth produce such vegetables as were fit for the food of man. The arts most essential to the comfortable ■existence of the human species would he invented before the use *f letters. 3. From all these circumstances we may reasonably suppose thaot (She -QEst rude sketch of history would be the traditionary tales de^ 258 MODERN HISTGI^T* livered from father to son throiigli successive getteratfiorfs^ "Sijfi ■these irreality constitute the basis of the first historical records^ •Such are the fabulous relations of the first historians among the •Greeks. It appears that the Greeks had adopted the historical le- gends of the Egyptian priests, who were accustomed to cover their Telig-ion and learning with the mysticaii veil of allegory ; and that in many cases they mistook the Egyptian mode of allegorizing the early periods of history, and have presented to posterity an ab- surd -and monstrous tissue of fabxilous narrative of kings who never reigned, and of heroes of celestial descent. 4. -Siiperstition being natural to man before the mind is enlight- ened by pliilosophy, it is no wonder that the writings of the first historians contain many relations of the communication of gods and demi-gods with mankind, and of the frequent interference of supernatural agents in human affairs. The vivid imaginations of the early Greek authors, heated with superstition, and unrestrain- «d by philosophy, expanded into wild exuberance, and fabricated the most absurd and ridiculous tales. Hence the period of time which elapsed between the establishment of political and civil , society in Greece, and the Trojan war may be justly denominated the fabulous age ; and indeed most part of what is related con- cerning that war, has evident marks of fiction stamped upon it ; for all the historical accounts of it are originally founded on th« •poems of Homer. No writings can claim the title of an authentic liistory of Grecian afiairs before the Persian wars. The histories of all other heathen nations were not less fabulous and absurd than those of the Greeks ; and indeed all that we know concerning Hhem'has been transmitted to us throngh th« medium of Greek writers. 5. Wi^en we consider the -general state of tiie world in the early -ages, with respect to political, commercial, and literary communi- cation, huwe^ er we may amuse ourselves with perusing the accounts transmitted to ns of the transactions of remote antiquity, reason tells us that tl-K y are nothing but fiction or historical romance. Un- til the Greeks (who v/ere the inventors, or at least the improvers of arts and sciences) had attained a considerable degi-ee of civili- zation aud opulence, and had begun to cultivate the arts of con-~ veniency, luxury, and elegance, little credit is due to profane his- •tory. 1 his period cannot be fixed long before the first Persian war, ^hich happened about 503 yei\rs before the birth of Christ. For information r'lalive to the state of mankind, and the events which occurred before that period, we must have recourse to the ivritings of the Jt'ws. 6. This consideration naturally leads us to turn our attention to "those ancient records of the Jews, which have always been deem- •«d sacred by them, and of which the authenticity has been ae- isnowledged by 4he generality of mankind, who have perused them with dvie attention. The Jewish annals are the most ancient of all 'that have been transmitted to us, and the most intrinsically ra- 'tional and probable. They likewise contain a sei'ies of transac- .tions and events equally curious and interesting. In them we find keenly ratijwial-accoust of ihe jsreation of tke wxirld^ .and iht MOBERN HISTORY. 25^9 beginning of thing:? ; of the dispersion of mankind, and the origin ^f ancient nations. SECTION II. SUMMARY VIEW OF JEWISH HISTORY. 1, The Israelites, or ancient Jews, were those distinguished peo- ple, who were favoured by the immediate care of the Almighty^ and conducted hy his especial guidance to Judea, a place of resi- dence promised to their remote ancestors. In consequence of their obatinacy, idolatry, and wickedness, and mere particylariy for the rejection of their Messiah, they were subdued by the Romans, af- ter sustaining a siege in their metropolis, Jerusalem, unparalleled in the annals of history for its d'Istresses, calamities, and slaughter. Jerusalem was reduced to ruins, the Jewish government was t(9- lally subverted, and the surviving people were dispersed over most ■parts of the world. Their descendants still remain unmixed with -the rest of mankind, and are marked by their orioinal features of national peculiarity : they adhere with the most zealous attacl>> ment to the religion of their forefathers,. and cherish the hopes of restoration to their former prosperity and country by means of a glorious, and triumphant Deliverer. . 2. They preserve, with the most watchful care, the sacred books of their ancient writers. And astonishing, very astonishing it is 4o observe^ that in the prophetical parts of these .sacred books are 'contained all the events btfore vicniioned of thMr extraordinary ■history. Their particular conduct, and the vicissitudes of their iiational affairs, were predicted by their prophets, and more espe- cially by Moses, their great lawgiver, in the infancy of 'he world, at the vast distance of thirty-thrte centuries from the present time?. The accomplishment of these predictions bears the fullesi atid most striking evidence to the truth and inspiration of their prophets, and illustrates the dispensations of Providence to hia chosen people. 3. These sacred bookf? contain likewise predictions the most ex- ^ct of the character, office, and actions of the Messiah of the Jews, the great Law-giver of the christians, the appointed Saviour of the world. 4. Such interesting circumstances as these, in addition to the peculiar nature of the Jewish polity, considered as a divine insti- tution, the curious manners and customs, and the memorable ac- tions of the descendants of Abraham, the most ancient people of whom we have any authentic accounts, combine to place these l>ooks first in order of importance, as in order of time. If we con- sider the . Gray's Key to the Old Toslaiiiftit, {). 124. £G4 MCyDEIlN HISTORY. sometimes broken iiito detached parts, and its detail is interrupted by a recital of private transactions. The books of scripture occar Honally assume the form, aiid comprise the beauties of a very in- teresting- kind of biography. Of this nature are the several ac- counts of Job, Ruth, and Esther ; but they are far from bein^ un- connected with the principal desig^n of the sacred writer? ; inas- much as tliey show that the same divine Providence which presi- ded over the nation at large, extended its particular care to indi- viduals, and that the examples of private virtue were inseparable from the great interests of public welfare and happiness. 6. The Israelites, for many ages separated from the rest of man- kind by their peculiar institutinrs, --ere little acquainted with commerce, and made small advances in those arts, which, with a refinement, and a diversity of employments, introduce luxury and corruption of manners. They were governed by equal laws, and- possesf^ed nearly equal property. They admitted no hereditary dis- tinction of rank, except in favour of the regal tribe of Judah, and the sacerdotal family of Levi. Their occupations from the earliest times were of the most simple kind, and consisted in pasturage and agriculture. To guide the plough, and tewd the flock, were employments which, recommended by the innocence of primeval manners, and dignified by length of time, were exercised by kings, prophets, and generals. Moses was called from feeding his flock, to conduct the Israelites to the promis'xl land ; Elisha forsook the plough, to be invested with the ma.utle of prophecy ; and Gideon left the threshiug-fioor, to lead the arjny of his country to battle. 7. The country of Judea presented a scene diversified by fruit- ful valleys, barren rocks, and lofty mountains, and was watered by numerous streams. It produced the palm-tree, the balsam, the vine, the olive, the fig, and all the 'ruits which abound in the more temperate regions of Asia. From the labour* of the field, and from cultivating the vine, the attention of the Israelites v/as regu- larly called by religious worship, which was intimately blended witli the civil constitution of the state. The splendour of their public services, the pomp and magnificence of their rites and cere- monies, the stated recurrence of Llieir various festivals and sacrifi- ces, the sabbath, the passover, the celebration of the sabbatical year, and the jubilee ; a,nd, more than all, the constant experi- ence of divine interj^>ositioa, filled their rninds with the most awful and grand ideas, and gave tliem the deep'st impressions of the ma- jesty, power, goodncs?, aiu; justice of God. 8. These were the circumstancci. %vhich, combining to form their national manners, had the greatest influence upon their writings. The historical style is marked by the purest simplicity of ideas, oc- casionally raised to a tone of elevation. In the works of Mose» there is a majesty of thought, which is most strikingly expressed in plain and energetic language. In the prophetical writings the great- est splendour and sublimity of composition are conspicuous. They are euriched by those glowing images, and raided by that grandeur of diction, which charm the classical reader in the most admired pvoductiofit of Orecce aud Rorxiec Tlie royal psaJmiit is eloquent^ MODERN HISTORY. , 2G5 dignified and patlietic. All the beauties of composition unite in Isaiah, such is the majesty of his ideas, the propriety, beauty, and fertility of his imagery, and the elegance of his language, em- ployed upon the noblest subjects which could possibly engage our attention, Jeremiah excels in those expressions of tenderness, which excite, with the most pleasing enthusiasm, the feelings of compassion. 9. By such peculiar beauties of composition are recommended the most interesting details of events, and the most faithful deline- ations of characters. The great Creator calls all things into ex- istence with his omnipotent word. The first parents of mankind, innocent and happy, are blessed with his immediate converse, and enjoy the blooming groves of Paradise. Joseph, the pious, the chaste, and the wise, after having undergone great afflictions, and rising: by his extraordinary merit to an office of tlie highest honour in the court of Pharaoh, discovers himself iln a manner the most pathetic to his repentant brethren, and is restored to his aged and affectionate father, whom he invites into Egypt to share his pros- perity. The children of Israel, guided r y the divine Power, which veils its glory in a cloud, pass safely through the Red Bea, in which the host of the impious Pharaoh are overwhelmed. Upon the sum- mit of Mount Sinai Moses receives the two tables of the command- ments, amid the thunder, lightning, clouds and darkness, v. hich obscure the great Jehovah from his eyes. The royal psalmist sings the wonders of creation, the powers of his God, and his own de- feats and triumphs. The peaceful and prosperous Solomon, whose renown was extended over all the east, rears the structure of the magnificent temple ; and amid the multitudes of his adoring sub- jects consecrates it to the service of the one true God, in a prayer which equally attests his wisdom and his piety. In the visions of futurity Isaiah beholds the deliverance of the chosen people ; the complete destruction of the great empire of Babylon, by which they were enslaved ; and the promised Messiah, the Saviour of mankind, sometimes depressed by want and sorrow, and sometimes arrayed in the emblems of diviue majesiy and y^ower. He predicts the final recal of the Jews to their native land, and the wide diffu- sion of the christian faith. Jeremiah sinks a weeping mourner over the ruins of his native city, deplores its calamities, and consoles his countrymen by expressly declaring, that they should never cease to be a nation to the end of the world. Daniel explains to Bel- shazzar the mystic characters inrcribed upon the walls of his palace, and views, in his wide prospect of future times, the fates of the four great empires of the v/orld. Cyrus, long before announced by Isaiah, as the great subverter of the Babylonish empire, and the restorer of the glory of Jerusalem, publishes his decree for fhe restoration of the captive Jews ; and the lK)ly city and temple rise from their ruins with new grandeur and magnificence. The Jews are settled a;- 1 ;r formed by the pious care of Nehemiah, and the canon of the sci ipLures is closed by Malachi. This last of the prophets enjoins the strict observance of the law of Mo...'s, till the great Precursor should appear, in the spirit of Elias, to aunouace 23 2CG , MODERN HISTORY. the approach of the Messiah, who was to establish a new and an everlasting covenant.* 10. Such are a few of the interesting circumstances contained in the books of the Old Testament, which engage our attention, charm our imagination, and gratify our cariosity, while they confirm our belief in the great evidences of revelation. In all these works w^e may remark the bright truths of religious instruction shining forth amid the venerable simplicity of the most ancient history ; a history unrivalled foj the grandenr of the ideas which it conveys, the liveliness of its descriptions, and the number of its beautiful and sublime images. 11. In these books of sacred history there is an rmparlialify of narrative, which is an undoubted characteristic of truth. If we read the Lives of Plutarch, or the History of Livy, we soon dis- cover that these writers composed their works under the influence of many prejudices in favour of their respective countries. A veil is thrown over the defects of their heroes, but their virtues are placed in a strong light, and painted in vivid colours. In the scriptures, on the contrary., both of the Old and the New Testa- ment, the strictest impartiality prevails* The vices of j)avid, Solo- mon, and their successors, are neither concealed nor palliated. There is no ostentation of vanity, no parade of panegyric; virtue charms with her native beauty, and vice requires no disguise to conceal her deformity. The characters of persons are sketched, and the eilects of th:; passions are represented without reserve or concealment ; and the moral to be drawn from each description is so obvious, as to account for the frequent omission of remarks and applications. The abject condition of the Jews, when prohibited the use of weapons of v/ar by the victorious Philistines ; their re- lapses into idolatry, their perverseness of disposition, and their various defeats and captivities, with every circimstance of private as well as public disgrace, are recorded without palliation or re- serve. AIm ays rising superior to the motives which induce other •authors to violate the purity and degrade the majesty of truth, these writers keep ene great and most important end constantly in view, and show the various methods by which the providence of God effected his gracious designs ; how he produced good from evil, and employed the sins and follies of mankind as the instru- ments of his gracious purposes. 12. An acquaintance v^^th the affairs, of the Jewish nation forma the first link in the chain of ancient records. Thus we may ob- serve the connection which siibsists between the branches of sacred and profane history. We place the vrorks of pagan writers in their proper situation, and give ihem additional value, by making them subservient to the cause of religion, and instrumental in the illus- tration of revealed .rulh. If the student is not called upon by professional inducements to read the scriptures in their original * Forlliese very iniure&sive passages of the Bil-Ie, see Gen. i, ii, xliv, xlv; Exod. xiv, xx; \he Fsalrn*. ; 1 Kings viii; b-aiah ii, vi, ix, x, xi, xiv, xxviii, xxxii, x!, xii i, Ix, !x:, Jxiii !xv, and irioie }>atticu!arl\ liii; L&roctito i, ^c. ; DcsHiel v, vii j Ezra vii; Kehem. xiii; IViuiathi iii, iv. MODERN HISTORY. 267 languages, he may rest contented with translations ; and it seems to be a well-founded opinion amang the learned, that he may rely with confidence upon the general fidelity of our English version. SECTION V. OF THE ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. 1. An authentic account of the creation of the w^orld, and of the primitive state of mankind is to be found only in the bible. There we are inforined by Moses, the most ancient of all historians, that in the beginning God created the earth, the celestial bodies, and all things both animate and inanimate ; that he created one man and one woman, named Adam aud Eve, ani plE^ced them in a garden or paradise, situated in the land of Eden. According to the best chronologers the creation of the vs^orld was accomplished in the year 4904 A. C. Adam and Eve soon transgressed the com- mands of God, and were therefore expelled from their delightful abode. 2. Adam and Eve had two sons, whose names v/ere Cain and Abel. Cain, the elder, was a husbandman, and Abel was a shep- herd. Cain was of a vicious, Abel of a virtuous disposition. Hence (lie worship of Abel was more acceptable to the Lord than that of Cain. Instigated by envy and malice, Cain killed his brother when they were together in the field. For this atrocious crime he was severely punished by the Lord, and became " a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth.'" 3. After the murder of Abel, another son, named Seth, was born to Adam. From this time the descendants of Adam multiplied rapidly, and at length spread over tiie face of the earth. 4. One of the most remarkable circamstances of the former world is the longevity of the people. Adanriived 930 years, Seth 912 years, Jared 9G2 years, Methuselah 909 years, Noah 950 years. 5. In process of time mankind became so wicked that the Lord was resolved to destroy them by a deluge. Amid the general cor- ruption and depravity of the human race one virtuous man was found. Noah, the son of Lamech, zealous for the reformation of men, became a preacher of righteousness to the degenerate and vicious people among v/hom he lived, and employed both his coun- sel and authority to reclaim them ; but in vain. And God coms- manded Noah to build a great ship, called an ark^ and to put in it his wife, his three sons and their wives, and also a few males and females of every species of living things, that they might be saved from the general deluge which would shortly overwhelm the whole earth, and extirpate all creatures. The flood continued 150 days, and then gradually subsided. Noah aud his family, and all the animals, went out of the ark (2343 A, C.) ; and in process of time they multiplied and spread over the surface of the earth, as wo uow see them. 268 MODERN HISTORY. 6. Of the literary and scientific attainments of the antediluvi- ans we know very little. From the ^Mosaic account they do not appear to have been grreat. Mosc? has briefly inf':rmed us what was the ori<(in of various customs :^nd aits, and has recorded the names of their inventors. Lamech the son of Cain gave the first example of polygamy. Cain built the first city, and introduced the use of weights and measures. One of Cain^'s grandsons " was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." Jubal invented music ; Tubal Cain the arts of forging iron, and of casting brass ; and a woman called Naamah the arts of spinning and Aveaving. Their religious rites were few and simple. They worshipped God by prayer, and sacrifices of certain animals. . SECTION VI. FIRST AGES AFTER TPIE DELUGE. 1. The remembrance of the three sons of Noah, the first foun- »iers of the nations of the earth afier the deluge, has been preserved among the several nations descended from them. Japhet peopled the greater part of the west, and continued long famous under the name of Japetus. Ham was reverenced as a deity by the Egyp- tians, under the title of Jupiter Ilammon. The memory of Shem has always been venerated by his descendants, the Hebrews, who derived their name t>om his son Heber. 2. Except tke building of the tower of Babel no event of im- portance occurs in the history of Moses during the space of nearly i 100 years from the deluge to the call of Abraham. About 100 years after the deluge the descendants of Noah were become nu- merous at the foot of Mount Ararat, and in the plain of Shinaar, extending along the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris. They found that the country was not extensive enough to contain them much longer, and therefore that they must separate. They agreed to build a very high tower, which might be a signal of union, if they should ever desire to return to their native country. When they had raised the tower to a certain height, the workmen suddenly perceived that they did not understand the words of one another, and that all spoke different languages. Consequently it was ini- pos-'ble to contiuue the work, and the people dispersed in different directions. Hence the origin of different languages, knd the dis- persion of the human race over the habitable globe. 3. Soon after this memorable event, Nimrod, a violent and im- perious man, built the city of Babel, or Babylon, and laid the foundation of the first great empire, called the Babylonian, which was afterwards so famous iu the history of the Jev/s. SECTION VII. OF THE JEWS. 1. Tli-i Jeyvs derive tlieir ovigin from Abrahavi, the son of Te- rah, the tenth iu lineal descent from She.n the soa of Noah. The descendants of Sheni spread from Armenia, where the ark is sup- posed to have rested after the delude, to Mesopotamia, and thence into Chaldca, where Abraham was born. As Abraham was ap- pointed to be the progenitor of a great and distinguished nation, God separated him from the other descendant? of Shem, by causing Terah to remove from Chaldea into the country of Haram, near the borders of Mesopotamia, where he died. Abraham intended to settle in Haram ; but in obedience to the will of God, he removed into the land of Canaan, which was appointed to be the inherit- ance of his posterity. From this period commences a long series of event*, which are recorded in the book of Genesis, and are rep- resented as immediately directed by the Lord. 2. After Abraham arrived in Canaan, his first care was to erect an altar for the worship of God, who appeared to him, and con- firmed the promise which he had before made to him, to give the country to his children. When he had lived some time in Ca- naan, a famine^ompclled him to remove his family into Es-ypt, (1916 A. C.)". where he resided till the famine ceased, and then returned. His wife Sarah, when she was advanced in years, brought him a son, who was called Isaac. When haac grew to man's estate he married ReWecca, who was afterward the mother of Jacob. In process of time Jacob had ten sons, who were the fathers often tribes. By the command of the Lord Jacob took the name of Israel, and hence his posterity were called Israelites, or the children of Israel. S. Joseph, the ninth son, was the favourite of his father, which excited the jealousy and hatred of his elder brothers, who sold him to some merchants, and told Jacob that he had been devoured by v/ild beasts. . The merchants carried their slave into Le:ypt, raid sold him to Potiphar, an officer of king Pharaoh's guard, 1724 A. C. Joseph served Potiphar with such diligence and fidelity, th?t he soon committe 1 to him the care of his domestic affairs'. The wife of Potiphar repeatedly attempted to seduce Joseph into the gratification of hor amorous propensities ; but her immo- dest advances being rejected with disdain, she was incensed, and maliciously accused hioi cf an attempt to violate her chastity. On tnis false accusation he v/as immediately thrown into prison, but was soon liberated by the king. Such is, in all ages and iu all coun- tries, the vindictive disposition of a lascivious v/oman, whose al- hu-ements have been neglected or resisted. The disappointed wan- ton prosecutes, with everlasting enmity, the innocent object of her carnal desires ! 4. Joseph, being skilful in the interpretation of dreams, was in- troduced to Pharaoii king of Egypt who was perplexed by two 23* "^iU MODERN HlSTORli. h s 280 MODERN HISTORY. Ration, by the appellation of the Asmonean dynasty^ which con- tinned about 126 years. 11. The unlucky dissensions of this family terminated ultimate- ly in the C'-uquest of Judea and the capture of Jerusalem by Poin- pey the great, and the subjection of the Jewish nation to the Ro- mans, 59 A. C. 12. After this event the Jewish monarchy was re-established by the favour and under the protection of the Romans, who placed Herod the great, the son oC Antipater, on the throne of David. This prince demolished the old-temple of Jerusalem, and rebuilt it in a very masrnificent manner. Ke reigned with great splendour, but with singular despotism and tyranny. He possessed great abili- tie?; but was cruel and unjust both in his public and private tran- «ac'ion6. His public life exhibits a continued scene of battles, nvassacres, and violence. He died in the first year of the birth of Christ, or the fourth of tbe vulgar era. The reign of Herod was distinguished by a memorable event, which has proved more important in its consequences than any that has occurred since the creation of the world, the birth ofJe- ius Christy the author of the christian religion. 13. Soon after the death of Herod Judea was in reality reduced to a Roman province, and the governors were appointed by the emperors of Rome. In this condition it remained till the final ex- tincticriQ of the Jewish nation in the year of Christ 75, or of the vulgar era 72. The rapine and cruelty of Florus, governor of Judea, caused a rebellion of the Jews, in which 150,000 persons are said to have perished, 69 of Christ, or A. D. 66. The violent and sanguinary factionc among the Jews destroyed hicredibie numbers of people of all ranks. 11^ At length the Jewish nation was extinguished by the Ro- mans, and its metropolis reduced to ashes by Titus the Roman general. The last sisge of Jerusalem was attended with scenes of carnage, famine, disease, and desperation, far more horrible than any to be found in the annals of human v/ickedness and misery. During the calamitous progress of the siege, Titus displayed many instances of humanity toward the sufferings of the besieged, and of his solicitude for the preservation of the city and temple ; but in vain. Their doom was predestined by the irrevocable decree of the Almighty. The magnificent temple of the Jews perished in the general wreck of the nation, and not one stone was left upon another, 75 of Christ, or A. D. 72. According to a moderate calculation the number of persons who • perished by violent deaths during the last war in Judea amounted 'to more than one million four hundred thousand, besides many who •died of grief and famine. Since that time the descendants of those who survived the dis- solution of the Jewish nation have been wandering about the world, the objects of hatred and contempt rather than of kindness »and commiseration, in all countries where they have been per»- -mitted to reside, they nave been excluded from the participation ■of certahi poiitical privile|[es which the people s4 thoije comitri^j» enjoy. SgOC-KUSr HISTORY. * 281 SECTION XII. THE STATE OF LEARNING- AND COMMERCE AMONG THE JEWS. 1. Of all the interesting prospects which history opens to our view, the progressive advancement of the human mind, in the improvement of its faculties, is the most agreeaLle, and the most worthy of our attention and resjard. The brilliant and destruc- tive exploits of conquerors may dazzle for awhile; but the silent labours of the student and the artist, of the architect and the husr bandman, which embellish the earth and coDvert it into a para- dise, confer permanent benefits on mankind, and promote theif prosperity and happiness. The arts and sciences distinguish the civilized man from the savage ; and the investigation of their ori- gin and progress would constitute the noblest attribute of history. How unfortunate it is, that the ancient historians have almost neg- lected so interesting and pleasing a subject. Ail the knowledge which we can obtain concerning the origin and progress of learning must be gleaned from unconnected fragments and scattered notices, laboriously collected from a multifarious and confused mass of tri- vial particulars. 2. The period of tlie scriptural history includes the whole space of time from the creation of thti world to the subversion of the Babylonian monarchy, or about 3457 years. During this long suc- cession of ages a great variety of political, civil, and religious in- stitutions had been invented ; the human mind had been much improved in some countries ; agriculture had been skilfully prac- tised ; the surface of the earth had been adorned with large cities aad stately edifices. Of these interesting subjects, few particulars have been faithfully transmitted to posterity, except such as re- late to Jewish laws and institutions, some scattered hints respecting ancient commerce, and some excellent specimens of writing in the Prophets and Psalms. In those x-eaerable monuments of antiquity, the sacred writings, we trace the Israelites from the- patriarchaj ages, tbrough the turbulent times of barbaric ignorance, to a con- siderable degree of civilization and refinement. Of their civil aad religious institutions we have a clear and explicit account ; of their knowledge of the arts and sciences we possess little informa- tion. The Jews do not seem to have been a scientific or philo- sophical nation in any period of their history. They appear to have been sufficiently skilful in the arts of necessity and conveniency; but not to have made much proficiency in those of luxury and or- nament. Some admirable specimens of literature are presented in the scriptures, especially in the writings of the Prophets, and in the Psalms. In the historical books we observe plainness of style and conciseness of narrative, and uncommon perspicuity io the didactical pieces. The writings of the prophets are chiefly poetical, very different, and all originals. Mos4 of thein display sublime sentiments, expressed with energy cf dictioBj .aad46C!&»' .eated wiUa vdeatai iciagery. 282 BIODERW HTSTCmT. 3. In the patriarchal ages commerce was so far known and ex» ercised that gold and silver were used as the medium by which it was regulated. In the tumultuous times which succeeded the pa- triarchal we obtain very little information concerning the state of commerce. We have no reason to think that commerce was ever in a flourishing state among- the Jews. In times of remote antiqui- ty the mechanic arts and various kinds of manufactures had made considerable progress in some countries. This is manifest from the curious and rich materials of the tabernacle and of the high-priest's garments. The Israelites, no doubt, brought from Egy'pt much of their knowledge of arts, sciences and literature ; for the Egyptians had, from time immemorial, been gradually advancing in learning and civilization ; and, during the greater part of the period now under contemplation, were famous for the excellence of their civil policy, the extent and population of their cities, the Hiagniiicence -of their public edifices, and the flourishing state of agriculture. la all these respects the Egyptians were distinguished above all the cotemporary nations of antiquity. CONCLUSION. 1. In taking a retrospective view of the various nations which iiave successively appeared and flourished upon the grand theatre of this world, and have at length vanished and sunk into oblivion, -iheir rise, progress, and decline, arrest our attention, and excite our curiosity and compassion. The ignorance, avarice, wickedness, and ambition of mankind may be assigned as the general causes of the dissolution of nations. Many of those kingdoms and states once so great and flourishing have not only disappeared, but even their names and all remembrance of them must have perished, if they had not been preserved and perpetuated in the historical re- cords of scripture. In them, however, we behold the transitory ard fading splendour of all human glory, and a diminutive picture of every thing which the world calls great ; as eminence of genius and learning, military honour and fame, extent of power and do- minion, political wisdom, the faculty of eloquence. Finally, we draw this sad conclusion, that history is little more than a dismal ■irecord of the crimes and the calamities of the .human race I* * For a very copious and useful chronological table of the history of the Bible see Calmel's Dictionary of the Bible, vel. II. This table is an epitome ^f the history of the Jews, and will be particularly useful to theological students. ELEMENTS OF GENERAL HISTORY, ANCIENT AND MODERN. BEING A CONTINUATION, TERMINATING AT THE DEMISE OF HIS JMAJESTY KING GEORGE III., 1820, BY THE REV. EDWARD NARES, D. D. REGIUS PROFESSOR OF MODERN HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. CONCORD, N. H, PRINTED BY ISAAC HlhU ADVERTISEMENT. AS the learned author of the E]emei>ts of General History, pro- fessor Tytler, (by coartesy lord Woodhouselee,) did not die before the year 1813, it is much to be regretted that' he should not have br«ught his history down lower, or rather that he should have left so much to be supplied bj'' less able hands ; especially as the events and transactions of the eighteenth century may justly be held to have exceeded, in variety and importance, all that ever took place before on the face of the earth. In the present volume nothing further has been attempted than to continue the history from the point at which the professor left it, in the same concise style, and with as much attention to the ori- ginal method and desi|:n, as could be rendered consistent with the extraordinary nature of the facts and incidents to be recorded. To this end it has been found necessary to carry on the history of Great Britain and Ireland from the period of the death of queen Anne ; That of the Southern Continental States of Europe, from the end of the reign of Louis XIV ; And that of the Northern States from the death of Charles Xlh af Sweden, and Pe ter the First of Rwssia. PART THIRD- SECTION L FRANCE FROM THE DEATH OF LEWIS XIV. 1715, TO THE PEACE OF VIENNA, 1738. ' • Jl HE last years of the very loag and splendid reign of Lew- is XIV. were clouded by many severe domestic misiortunes, and a great change in the sentiments and manners of the sovereign and his court. A mystical religion became the vogue, accompanied with a gravity of demeanour approaching to prudery. The amiable Fencloa fell into these errorfi,which were countenanced by madame de IMain- tenon, who had been privately married to the king, and seems to have possessed his confidence in a high degree. 2. On the king^s demise (see Sect. LXiV.) the crown descended to his grandson, Lewis XV, an infant, only five years old. In a very short space of time losses bad occurred in the royal family, so strange and unexpected, as to afford ground for suspicion, greatly to the prejudice of the duke ef Orleans, nephew of Lewis XIV. Three heirs to the crown, the Dauphin, his son the duke of Bur- gundy, and his grandson the duke of Bretagne, had all died with- in the short space of eleven months, during the years 1711, 1712, leaving, to intercept the claims and pretensions of tlie duke of Or- leans, only the duke of Berry and one infant, apparently of a feeble and delicate constitution, and whose own life had also been in dan- ger. The king of Spain had been previously compelled, according to the spirit of the celebrated treaty of the Pyrenees, formally to renounce his claims to the succession, notwithstanding his near re- lationship to the crown of France. Lastly, the duke of Berry died, May 1714, at the early age of 18. 3. Fortunately for the reputation of the duke of Orleans, (who, though of loose morals, seems to have possessed too generous a heart ■for such base deeds), the infant dauphin not only lived to become king, but to survive the duke himself, many years. Nor were the suspicions which had been raised by the sudden deaths of so many heirs to the crown, strong enough to prevent the nation reposing the highest confidence in the duke, by suffering the kingly power Jo pass into his hands, as sole r«gent, during the minority ; though contrary to the express appointment of the late king, who is said 288 MODERN HISTORY. to hare wisely observed, when for form-sake he executed his wilJ-, that it would have but little wolglit with the people, or the parlia- ment,, as soon as his eyes were closed. 'J he nation willingly ac- ceded to the disposition of the parliament, in setting aside the claims of the illegitimate princes, whom the will of lie wis XIV. favoured ; and the duke of Orleans was careful to fix that body in his interest, by promising to restore to it its full power of remon- strance, which had been greatly restrained during the preceding »eign. 4. Lewis XIV. had left his kingdom so incumbered with debt, and so surrounded by mortified, jealous, and exasperated neigh- bours, eager to recover what had been taken from them during the triumphant wars of that monarch, that it became an object of the highest importance to the regent, for the nation's sake, as well as his own, to maintain peace as far as he could v/ith foreign states. To this end, though contrary to any former course of things, he pru- dently endeavoured to form alliances with the courts ot" St. James's and Vitrvtia. In the former case the advantages were similar and mutual. By the treaty of Utrecht, England ttood engaged to se- cure the French crown to the regent, in case Lewis XV. should die without issue ; and to keep her steady to this engagement, it was easy for the duke to comply with the wishes of the whig govern- ment of England, in withholding all encouragement from the pre- tender. 6. However pacific the views of the regent might be, Spain •seemed to present an obstacle to the repose and tranquillity of Eu- rope, 'i'here a m.inister of a very different disposition had obtain- ed the chief management of affairs, who appeared bent upon dis- turbing both the French and English governments, in order to re- cover what had been taken from irpain by the treaty of Utrecht, especially in Italy ; to deprive the duke of Orleans of the regency^ in favour of the king his master, and to seat the pretender on the throne of Great Britain, with the. aid of Russia and Sweden. Such were the plans of the celebrated Alheroni ; originally the son of a gardener ; afterwards in the lowest stations in the church of Pla- centia, but who had raised himself, by an extraordinary display of genius and talent, to the highest degree of credit and influence at the court of Philip V, with the exalted rank of cardinal. 6. These movements indeed on the part of Spain, were not in themselves altogether unfavourable to the views of the regent; in better securing to him the good will of England and Austria, al- ways prepared to be jealous of too close an intimacy betv/een the courts of Paris and Madrid. Some historians have even gone so far as to suppose it to have been a settled contrivance to impose on tlia former two courts, but certainly without sufficient grounds. 7. it seems to have been a great oversight in the negotiations at Utrecht, not to have endeavoured more effectually to reconcile the courts of Austria and Spain. The former, after the treaty, remain- ed jealous of the occupation of the .Spanish throne by Philip ■; while the latter could not fail to be aggrieved and offended at be- ing made to coatribute to the indemnification of Charles VI, by a MODERN HISTORY. 287 very considerable dismemberment of its dominions, without any auitable or adequate remuneration. 8. To counteract the projects of Alberoni, the regent cntereti into an alliance with England and the United States ; entirely sa- crificing: to the former the interests of the pretender, who was to be seiit out of France. But the Spanish minister was not to be de- terred by this triple alliance and confederacy against him. Having* watched his opportunity of a war between the emjieror of Germa- ny and the Porte, he suddenly commenced hostilities ; and, with no small degree of treachery, in the course of the years 1717 and 1718, succeeded in wresiing- from Austria the is]and of Sardinia, and from the duko of Savoy that of Sicily, thus violatini;;, in the most direct and gflaring manner, the solemn treaty of Rastadt, so lately concluded. • In consequence of these proceedings, and in ordei', to remedy, as it would seem, the defects and omissions of the original convention, Austria was admitted a party to the alli- ance between France, England, and Holland, with a view tobrmg" about a reconciliation between the emperor and Spain, upon the basis of the following arrangement: that the former should re- nounce all claims to the Spanish throne in favour of Philip, while the latter should surrender to the emperor the Netherlands, the duchy of Milan, and the kingdom of Naples, assigned to him by the treaty of Utrecht and the quadruple alliance. That the duke of Savoy should yield Sicily to Austria, receiving in exchange the island of Sardinia from Spain ; and that the eldest son of Philip by his second marriage, don Carlos, should be secured in the re- version of the duchies of Parma and Placentia, and the grand duchy of Florence, to be holden as male fiefs under the emperor, and on no occasion whatever to be united to the crown of Spain. 9. There never was a period perhaps in which it would have been more difficult to iniravel the policy of these several courts. It was certainly a strange thing for the emperor to agree, in any manner, to admit the Spaniards into Italy, of which he had so much reason to be distrustful ; much more to assist in doing so. "While those very terms, which were undoubtedly introduced to gratify the Spanish minister, in this particular respect, so far from securing the ready consent of the court of Madrid, only induced it to make fresh eftbrts. The predominance of France and Eng- land, however, soon became so conspicuous, as to compel Philip to subscribe to the articles of the alliance, and even to dismiss his favourite minister, the cause of all the grievances of which the al- lied powers had to complain. In 1720 Austria took possession of Sicily, and V^ictor Amadeus II. transferred the seat of his govern- ment to the island of Sardinia. 10. In the month of December, 1723, in the 50th year of his age, the regent duke of Orleans died very suddenly in a fit of apo- plexy. He was a prince of shining talents, and of great taste and spirit ; but dissolute in his habits of life to a most disgraceful pitch of extravagance. He did not indeed suffer his pleasures and licen- tious connections to interfere greatly with the discharge of his pub- lic duties, but they tarnished his fame, and in all likelihood short- 288 MODERN HISTORY. ened his life. He had the misfortune in his youth to beput into the hands of a most unprincipled tutor, the Abbe Dubois, who con- tinued with him to the last year of his life, dyinj only four months before him, a cardinal of Rome, and prime minister of France ! The elevation of this proflig-ate man to such high stations in the church and state, did more mischief to the cause of religion and morality, than the personal vices of the regent, who, amidst a thousand foibles, had some great and brilliant qualities. Keither Austria nor Spain were satisfied with what had been done for them, and strong remonstrances were prepared on the part of the dukes of Parma and Placentia, the grand duke of Tuscany, and the pope, against the grants m reversion to the Infant of Spain. Attempts w^ere made to reconcile the two courts more effectually by a congress, summoned to meet at Cambray, in the year 1724, un- der the joint mediation of France and England, but ineffectually : in 17!29 another, but more private attempt, had better success ; it was undertaken by a very singular and eccentric character, the baron, or duke, de Ripperda, Dutch minister at the court of Mad- rid, who succeeded so far, through his own intrigues, and the ve- nality of the imperial court, as to give umbrage to the govern- ments of France and England ; the latter soon saw the necessity of guarding, by a counter-treaty, framed at Hanover, against the effects of Ripperda^'s interposition. 11. Secret articles were said to be signed and executed, to re- cover for Spain the fortress of Gibraltar and the island of Minor- ca, to seat the pretender on the throne of Great Britian, to forward the emperor's views with regard to the Ostend East India Compa- ny, and to cement the alliance by marriages which would have laid a foundation for the reunion of the Austrian and Spanish do- minions under one sovereign. Ripperda himself is said to have communicated these secret articles to the English government: he was made to pay dear for his treachery. As the empress of Russia had acceded to the treaty of Vienna^ concluded by Ripperda, and France and England had taken steps to secure Holland and Prussia on their side, Europe seemed to be threatened with another geteral war, but the timely death of the empress, in 1727, and the defection of Prussia, gave a turn to af- fairs, and left room for the renewal of the congress of Cambray, transferred in the year 172B, to Soissons, where fresh endeavourg were made to establish a solid and permanent peace. As the em- peror, however, insisted on the accession of all the contracting powers, to the Pragmatic Sanction, which was to secure to his heirs general the undivided succession to all his territories and domin- ions, the other courts withdrew; and in November, 1729, conclu- ded at Seville in Spain a separate treaty, in which it was agreed^ between France, England, and Spain, to support the pretensions of the Infant to the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Tuscany, To this treaty Holland was soon after brought to accede, on the condition that her rights should be protected against the new East India Company, established by the emperor at Ostend, which was considered as contrary to the treaty of Westphalia, and manifestly injurious both to England and the United Slates. Th€ treaty of MODERN HISTORY. 289 Seyille was settled so totally without the concurrence of the em- peror, that his same was not even m3ntioned in it ; which, as inii^ht be reasonably expected, gave great offence. In the year 3731, however, England, and in 1732 Holland, acceded to the wishes of the emperor, in regard to the Pragmatic Sanction, on condition that the archduchess, who should succeed to the em- pire, should not marry any Bourbon, or other prince or potentate, capable of disturbing- the peace of Europe. The Ostend Company was given up ; the Infant don Carlos took possession of the duchies of Parma and Placentia on the death of the last of the Farnese fami- ly, and the grand duke of Tuscany acknowledged him as his heir, A treaty between England, Holland, and the empire, called the se- cond treaty of Vienna, was signed and executed at the latter place, which may be said to have terminated all the differences arising; out of the Spanish succession, by which the greater part of Europe had been kept in a state of agitation for the space of thirty years. While these things were in agitation, Victor Amadeus, embar- rassed, as it is said, with the counter engagements he had entered into with Austria and Spain, thought fit to resign his crown to his son, Charles Emmanuel, but soon repenting of what he had done, prepared to reascend his abdicated throne ; this rash and injudi- cious step was the cause of his imprisonment, and probably of his death, which happened in November, r73,'2. 12. In 1733, France became involved again in a war, both the origin and end of which had something remarkable in them. The throne of the elective kingdom of Poland becoming vacant by the demise of Augustus of Saxony, two competitors appeared on the stage ; the son of the deceased king, and Stanislaus Lescinsky, who had with great credit previously occupied it through the in- terposition of Charles XIL of Sweden, (see Sect. LXVI.) and whose daughter was married to Lewis XV. The emperor of Germany, the Czarina, and the king of Prussia, espoused the cause of the for- mer, France supported the latter, and commenced hostilities against the emperor, by detaching the king of Sardinia from his interests, and occupying Lorrain, whose duke was engaged to marry the em- peror^s daughter. But the principal seat of war was in Italy, where the French, Spanish, and Sardinian combined troops ob- tained many advantages, and ultimately succeeded in seating don Carlos, duke of Parma, &;c., on the throne of the two Sicilies, to which he had been particularly invited by the Neapolitans. The Austrian court had been very supine, in not guarding better against the manifest designs of the queen of Spain, mother of don Carlos, He was crowned king by the title of Charles the third, July 3, 1735. Naples was subdued in 1734, and Sicily in the year follow- ing. During this contest, the celehi-ated prince Eugene, though then past seventy years of age, had the command of the imperial army on the Rhine ; but he had great cause to be offended with the situation in which he was placed ; the French being stronger ; England not to be roused to assist him, through the pacific views of the minister Walpole ; and having, both at court and in the army, many rivals and secret enemies. His only consolation was, the ex- tv*5me and enthusiastic attP'-'^ment of the soldiers, the very re^ 25 290 MODERN H15T0RY. membrance of which, as he feelingly acknowledges in his owi> memoirs, often after'Aards drew tears from his eyes. 13. Matters were brought to an accommodation, through the mediation of the maritime powers, (who, undoubtedly, appear in this case to have been guilty of misleading the emperor,) by a convention signed at Vienna, in November, 1738. By this treaty some very extraordinary appointments took place. Stanis- laus, the deposed king of Poland, father-in-law to the king of France, obtained, keeping his kingly title, the duchies of T.orrain and Bar, to revert to IVance after his death, which did not take place till the year 17G6. In exchange for what was thus bestowed upon Stanislaus, the duke of Lorrain obtained the grand duchy of Tuscany, the reversion of which had been gniaranteed to the in- fant don Carlos, but who Avas, by the same treaty, acknowledged king of the two Sicilies, surrendering in his turn to the emperor, his two duchies of Parma and Placentia ; ^igevano and Novaro wore given to the king of Sardinia ; and to the emperor, the Mi- lanese, the Mantuan and Parma. On the conclusion of the peace, France acceded to the Pragmatic Sanction. The kings of Spain and Sardinia showed some reluc- tance to agree to the terms of the treaty, but were induced to sign it in the course of the year 1739. It is certainly very remarkable, that, in consequence of a dispute about the crown of Poland, not only the emperor should have lost almost all his .possessions in Ittily, but France should have been able to recover a province of which she had been deprived for the space of nearly a thousand years, and so situated as to render it one of the most splendid and gratifying acquisitions she could possibly have contemplated. SECTION II. r.NGLAND FROxM THE ACCESSION OF THE HOUSE OF 3IAN0VER, 1714, TO THE END OF THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE FIRST, 1727. 1. Queen Anne was no sooner dead, [Part II. Sect. LXIV. i 20.] than steps were taken for the immediate acknowledgment of her successor, George Lewis, elector of Brunswick Luneburg, pursuant to the several acts of parliament, for securing the protcstant suc- cession, in exclusion of the pretender, the house of Savoy, and, in fact, every catholic branch of the royal family of England ; many of whom were more directly in the line of inheritance than the protcstant descendants of James the first, in whom the crown was now vested ; not, however, without due regard to that hereditary line which may be said to have cccupied the throne from the time of Egbert. The late union with Scotland, 1706, [see as above] was calculated to suppress any general desire, on the part of the people there, to place themselves again under a distinct sovereign. 2. 'Ihe accession of George I., to judge from the addresses of flie two houses of parliament, and the general tranquillity mani- A.ODHR^f illSTOaf. ^2dl icstfd in all parts of the three king-dom?, tit the, time of his procla- mation, would seem to have been ucccijtable to the nation at larjre. Nor was tlie French king lon<^ before ho openly acknowledg-ed his rii^ht ar.d title to the crown of Cireat. Britain, though the sin- cerity of his declarations in favour of a protectant succession, ond the exclusion of the houFc of Stuart, was not too confidently relied i:po)i. The states of Holland were, probably, entirely cordial, both in their expressions of congfratulation, and promises of sup- port, according to existing eng'agemcnts to that c/fect, as g^uaran- tees cf the Hanoverian succession. From the king of Prussia, and various otlu.r princes and states of Germany, his majesty also re- ceived the sironi;::est assurances of support ; ytt so little are tliese •courtesies to be trusteil, that it is more than probable, froni cii-cum- stanccs since come to light, that at this very moment, with regard to the continental slates in general, he had more enemies than iefiiends. 3. His entrance into his new dominioas, however, September, ■J 7 14, was hailed in a manner that could not fail to be extremely gratifying to the king, though it soon became manifest, and could not well have been otherwise, that there were many sedret heart- burnings and disappointed hopes, to prevent that perfect una- nimity which was most desirable on an occasion so important. The tories, some of whom had evidently been tampering with the pre- tender, during the last years of the queen's reign, were greatly discomfited, and in a very marked manner discountenanced by the king himself. The whigs enjoyed a triuaiph. The pretender^s friends in general stood confounded, not only by the low estate of liis cause, but by the perplexity of their own feelings, with regard to his more direct hereditary claimfe to the crown. In tliis dilem- ma, it is not to be wondered that several should refuse to take tile oaths of allegiance and abjuration. Scotland also, in part at leai-t, bewailed its lost independency by the act of union, which some were forward to have dissolved again ; and the papists, being very numerous in Ireland, rendered the peace of that kingdom constantly precarious. 4. The person, manners, and deportment of the new sovereign, were not such as immediately to conciliate his British subjects ; but ho was by no means destitute of kiugly virtues and accomplishmentd M a more solid and important description. Having delivered the miiiisf.crial government of the realm into the hands of the wliigs, it was not long before serioa^,procecdings were entered into, by th>atur8 of the Kingdom of Christ,'' and by a publication entitled, '^ a Pre-' -errative against the Principle and the Practices of the xson- jurors." The bishop had been a warm friend to the revolution, and many of the principles he asserted were undoubtedly directed ra- ther against popery than ouiHown establishment ; Vvbiie, in opposi- tion to the jure divino pretence of the tories, he declaimed vio- clently against every abuse of authority, at the hazaid of impairing- all church discipline, derogating from the regal supremacy in '■'' cau- ses ecclesiastical," and annulling the force ot ail civil sanctions whatsoever in nvatters of religion ; on these grounds the convoca- tion tool^ the matter up, but without much etfect. it was dissolved in the midst of the controversy, and has never sat to do business iiince. I'hose who chi',.ily attacked the bishop in print, were Dr. Snape of Eton, dean Sherlock, Dr. Cannon, (who undertook to vindicate the proceedings of convocation,) Dr. Potter, aftey- jiv.ardg archbishop of Canterburv, and iMr. William Law. Fcrhapq 204 MODERN HISTORT, no antagonist entered the list?, -w-ith more decorum of mfrflrriGrE, . integrity of disposition, than the latter, who, in several letters ad- dressed to the biahop, plainly proved that, however innocent his intentions mig-ht be, his arguments and expressions plainly tend- ed to the subvers-ion of all church authority, and the encoura^e- mieut-of a nio-.-t fatal indifference to every particular form of wor- ship and belief. Which, considering- the high situation he held in the church, and the duties attached to that station, could not but appear in the light of an abandoment of those principles, which alone could have placed him there. Such, however, was the state of parties at the time, that the bishop was advanced to a higher post in the church, and some of the most forward of his opponents dismissed from their employments about the court. 8. In 1718 George the first became a party to the celebrated (fiadruplc alliance, formed to counteract the plans and projects of the Spanish minister Alberoni, (Sect. 1. 4 8.) who, while his viev/s •w6re chiet'y directed towards his native country^ I^^y, managed to involve almost the whole of Europe in contests and jealousies, ex- ceedingly perplexing, and inimical to the ^eace and tranquillity of many states. Distant as Sv/eden was, geographically, from the 6eat and object of his manoeuvres, yet, in order to prevent any in- terruption IVom England, he had nea.rly instigated the celebrated Charles XII. to invade the latter country, for the purpose of re- storing the pretender to the throne of his ancestors. His agents and accomplices, hov/ever, were fortunately detected in time to prevent ■the rupture lactvveen the two courts. George I. was no favourite, .«;ther with the Swedish monarch, or his celebrated competitor, the czar of Muscovy. 9. The chief object of the quadruple alliance, as has been before ,}iinted, was to reconcile and adjust the rival claims and pretensions ■of the courts of Vienna and Madrid. Alberoni had endeavoured, during the war between the emperor and the Turks, to get posses- sion of Sardinia, Sicily, and other places, for the sons of the queen of Spain, a princess of Parma, his native country. He had propo- sed, in short, to recover for Spain all that had been conceded and surrendered by the treaty of Utrecht. (Part H. Sect. LXIV.) The interference of England, in seryiing a fleet to the Mediterranean, to support the rights of the emperor, according to treaty, at the very moment when the Spanish forces were prepared to invade Sicily and the kingdom of Naples, exceedingly exasperated the cardinal minister, and induced him to heap reproaches on the British government for their precipitate proceedings, pretending that the Spaniards had in every instance manifested a favourable disposition towards England ; though nothing was more notorious than th?t her merchants had been scandalously ill-treated by them, _and her minister at Madrid overwhelmed with complaints to that -effect. The latter, indeed, stated afterwards in the house of cem- «ions, that he had presented, at the least, five-and-twenty memo- arials to the court of Spain upon the subject, without redre«s ; and notwithstanding all these indignities, and to evince the desire of Jiis|^oYeriiment.aot.too^recipitatelj.to jcomoaeiics Jiii^tiUUes, iia4 MODtRlNT HISTORY. 295 commiUiicat'jd to the Spanish miuisler the numbers and force of the Ei:j;lish lleet bt fore it sailed, in order to convince him of its siiperiorii}^, and deter him from the measures he had in view. The defeat of the Spanish fleet, off Sicily, by admiral Byng", August 1718, ruined all the projects of Alberoni ; he soon after fell into disgrace, and was precipitated from the exalted station he had at- tained to by the strength of his genius ; which, whatever his ene mies might allege, certainly bespoke a keen and vigilant statesman, and an able minister, as far as regarded the interests of the coun- try he served, both foreign. and domestic. 10. Though so severe an action had taken place in the Mediter- ranean, between the English and Spaniih fleets in tlie month of August, war was not formally declared at London till the close of the year 1718, (Dec. 29.) between which period and the final dis- grace and retirement of the Spanish minister, he had attempted two measures of deep revenge, one on the p )wer and person of the duke of Orleans, regent of France, and the other on the govern- ment of George I. of England, by an invasion of his dominions in favour of the pretender, and under the direction of the expatriated duke of Onnond. It is remarkable that these projects were seve- rally detected by the French regent and British monarch, in time to admit of their warning each other of the danger in which they were respectively placedj and of ofTeriug the assistance which the -cases required. 11. Ihe war so suddenly and unexpectedly excited between Great Britain and Spain, was in no long coarse of time brought to an issue very honourable and glorious to the former ; admiral Byng, with his f.eet in the Mediterranean, having so managed matters as fully to accomplish all the purposes of his mission, putting the em- peror into possession of Sicily, and the duke of Savoy of Sardinia, tmder circunist.ances of peculiar diinculty and embarrassment, ow- ing to the obstinacy, backed by the bravery of the Spaniards, the hindrances arising from a succession of governors at Naples, and the loss of time in the necessary communications with his owa court and that of \ ienna. iNo man, perhaps, ever discharged so delicate and arduous a coaimissiijn, with more applause on the part of his own country and her allies, or with fewer complaints and less obloquy on the part of his opponents. I'he latter indeed, in this case, rather joined in the cummendalions so liberally bestowed on him by his employers, at the termina,tion of the short but vigorous contest. When he waited on the king at Hanover, his majesty is said, very justly, to have observed to him, that he had found out the secret of obliging his enemies as well as ids friends ; alluding to the very honourable terms in which the Spaniards had express- ed themselves concerning him, both as an oliicer and negotiator. He was most deservedly advanced to the peerage, by the title of viscount Torrington, and had other appropriate honours bestowed uponhimo Towards the close of the year 1719, the king of Spain acceded to the terms of the quadruple alliance ; his minister, o.a the urgent and joint demands of the king of England, the empe- ijor, and regent of France, having been j)reYiouslj dismisaedj .aM diaiushcd ,Uie kingdom oi" Snaia. . 29d modern history. 12. In the course of the year 1719, a bill "vva* Ijrought into par- liament by the ministry, for liniiting- the uuniber of the peers. It ori- ginated with Lord Sunderland, who is said to have had in vicv/ to restrain the power of the prince of Wales, whom he had offended, when he should succeed to the throne. After much debate, and it is supposed almost entirely throug;h the iiifluence of Sir ilobert Walpole, it v/as rejected by a large majority, 269 to 177. 13. In 1720 the king: was much occupied in affordin«: protection and support to tbe prolestant interests abroad, and in endeavour- ing to restore peace and tranij«illity amongst the northern states. Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and Poland, reaped the frui'is of his mediation ; bat the czar resisted his proposals^ and, for some time, continued to act against Sweden, in dtifiance of the combined ope- rations of that country and England. He at last, however, con- sented to accept the mediation of France, and peace M'as establish- ed between Russia and Svvcden, by the treaty -of Nystadt, 1721. 14. Nothing occurred in this reign more disastrous in its conse- quences, or more strange aijd extravagant in its orig;in and pro- gress, than the celebrated SoiLth Sea scheme, whereb}', though iin- mense fortunes were rapidly made by some, many individuals were ruined, and public credit alarmingly shaken. 'l"he details of this curious speculation and bubble (as it has been but too justly de- nominated,) it would be exceedingly uninteresting: to (;uter into, in a work like the present, and they are easily to be f.iund else- where ; but such an instance of public infatuation, illusion, and credulity, was only to be matched by the ?.1ississi})pi scheme, pro- jected by Law, during- the regency in France, which had a similar effect, and which Avas most probably the model from whicii Sir John Blunt, the prc^jector of the South Sea scheme, took the hint. The French system has been supposed to have had something: more substantial in it, with respect to the exclusive trade to Louisiana, But the South Sea scheme had certainly commercial advantages attached to it. The t-\vo schemes, it must be admitted, supply the most useful lesson to all wise states, not to tamper with the public credit, or countenance such suspicious projects; for though both these adventures set out with very plausible pretences of public benefit, and a ceri-ainty of relieving, rather than distressing, the credit of the nation, their course and progress soon l^ecamc such as to excite the most lively apprehensions in all considerate minds, of the consequences which actually ensued ; especially m England. 15. The politics of Europe were in a very perplexed state, to- wards the close of the reign of George L, owing to two treaties, of which some account has been g^iven in another place, but which were very important to the English nation. These w^ere the trea- ties of Vienna and Hanover, the former of which took place in. April, and ihe latter in September, 1'725. By the form.er, the em- peror and Spain were supposed secretly to have bound themselves to procure the restitution of Gibraltar and Port Mahon, to the lat- ter power ; to aid the pretender, and to further the interests of the Ostend East India Company, which had given umbrage to Eng» inndj Holland, and FiaiKe, By the latter treaty, F.r.'^laQd \va« MQDERN Hi3T0RV. 297 :ol>le to riecure on !ier side, against the projects of Austria and Spaii), the kings of Pruesia and Sweden, and the states of Holland ; T'Ut as this aid was very slowlj- and reluctantly promised, and, in one instance, ?oon abandoned, the state of ati'airs would have Icon very alanning, but for the encouragement given by parliament, which was to effectual, that though consideraijle preparations for war took place on the part of almost all the nations concerned, articles of peace, through tJie mediation of France, were agreed upon in May, 1727, and accepted by the imperial court and Spain ; 'by ihcur*-h, ou his way to his electoral uominlonf, JL'.ie IJ, 1727, with the reputation of an honest and generous prince. He was brave in the field, and wise in council ; having had many arduous negotiations on his hands, which he com- monly conducted to a favourable issue ; not often, however, with- out large subsidies. His own measures were generally defensive and preventative. lie was fortunate in the state of things, at the period of Queen Anne's dealh, and in the removal of Lev/is J^IV., and Charles XII. of Sv;eden, both of whom were personally un- friendly (o him, and certainly had prefects on foot for the restora- tion of the Stuart family. King George constantly manifested a disposition to govern according to the laws and constitution of the kingdom. And it lias been observed to his credit, that the nation not only improved in wealth and credit during his reign, but en- joyed a greater degree of tranquillity at homp, and a longer dura- tion of peace abrc;id, than daring any period since the time of Queen Elizabeth. At the time of his death he was in the sixty- eighth year cf his age. AUSTRIA CAND GERMA^TY) FROM THE PEACE OF RAS-^ TADT, 1714, TO THE PEACE OF AIX-LA-CilAPELLE, 1748. 1. The aiTjiirs of Austria, as in-cidentally connected with those of France, Spain, England, Italy, and Prussia, from, the year 1713 to 1738, have been alrcaviy treated of iri the preceding sections. It may be neccssa.ry, hov.-evcr, to take a brief view of matters, from the commencement of tiie reign of Charles VI., to the death of that monarch ; which event, as we shall have to show, greatly disturbed the whole of Europe, and occasioned the war which v/as terminated by the peace of Aix-la-v. bapojle, in 1748. 2. Charles VI., who.,had borru^ a coiiSpicnous part in the suc- cession vrar, a; a competitor for t!ic Spaidsh throne, (Part II. Sect, LXIV.) became emperor in the year 1711, on tliC dumise of his elder bn'other, Joseph I. 'i hough he had declined becoming a party to the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, it was not lt>ng before ^e 238 JiODERN^HlSTOllY. perceived bis error, Ixriiig: left alone to support an expensive r^ar. in the following year, therefore, he received the proposals made to him by the court of Versailles, consented to the oixniins: of con- ference?, in the month of November, 1713, and, in the I»Tarch fol- lowing, 1714, sig-ned the treaty of llastadt, by which he obtained possession of the Spanish Netherlands, (except the barrier towns ceded to Holland,) Naples, Sardinia, Milan, Frieburs:, and Kehl. 3. Bat he was very soon disturbed in a part of these acqiiisi- tions, by the restlessness and jealousy of Spain, already noticed. Great designs were formed against his Italian territories ; Sardinia actually taken from him, in 1717 ; Sicily, in 1718, and further en- croachments projected, bat for the timely interposition of the Eng- lish, under admiral Byug, in the Mediterranean, (Sect. II. 6 9, 11,) ^ho soon brought matters to a favourable issue for Austria, with infinite credit to himself, both as an oflicer and a negociator. 4. Spain had eagerly caught at the opportunity which presented itself of making these attacks upon Austria, while the latter power was engaged in war with Turkey, in aid of the Venetians. The Turks, (instigated, it has been said, by the Spanish minister, to engage the attention of Austria,) in violation of the treaty of Car- lowitz, hail taken the Morea from the Venetians, before Austria came to their aid, in the year 1716 ; nor, though from that time so powerfully assisted, were they able to recover that peninsula. Charles VL, however, v/a? not long at variance with the Porte up- on this occasion. As early as the year 1718, through the extraor- dinary skill and valour of prince Eugene, the Austrian command- er, things were brought to an issue, and a peace concluded, through the m.ediation of England and Holland, at Passarowitz, by which the Turks were allowed to retain the Morca, on ceding to (he Venetians some frontier towns in Albania and Dalmatia, while Austria obtained Belgrade, the Bannat of Teraeswar and VValla- diia, as far as the Aluta : she was also able to establish a free com- merce in all the harbours of the Black Sea, and of the Danube^, as well as with the Persians, liie early termination of this war, together with the successes of the English on the shores of Sicily, checked the operations of the Spaniards, and disposed them to agree to tlae terms of the qivadruple alliance. Spain and Austria, however, v/ere not effectually reconciled till the year 17i5, at which period the emperor was induced to renounce his pretensions upon Spain and the Indies. 5. Charles VI. was for a lon^ time deeply occupied in endeav- ouring to pircserve liis own dominions from such d-ifliculties as Spain had been involved in, at the beginning of this centaury, ov/ing to the disputed succession to the Spanish throne, on the demise of Charles II., and in which he hadliimsolf been so greatly concern- ed. He proposed, for this end, by a '"' Pragmatic Saiiction,'" to- make it a law, that if he should, at the time of his d( ath, ha\e either sons or daughters, the hereditary dominions and crowns be- longing to the house of Austria, should remain united. In failure of such issue, male or female, the daughters of his deceased bro- ther, Jose])h^ were to succeed ; and if Ikei,' died without hvir?, thie had advanced nearly to the very centre of the kingdom ; while the French failed to fulfil their engagement of invading the south- ern parts of the island, in order to divide and occupy the English army, so that his retreat became a point of prudence perfectly in- evitable, however mortifying and gratirfg to the gallant spirit of Charles, wbo undoubtedly manifested a strong, disposition to pro- ceed against all obstacles. 10. The conflict between the two nations, on this occasion, was greatly affected by the religious tenets and principles of the oppos- ing parties*. Had Scotland been entirely catholic, the hopes of the Stuart family would have been ex.tremely reasonable j but it was,. at this period, divided between the presbyterians and the catho- lics ; the Lowlandtas being of the former sect, and the Highland- ers, generally speaking, of the latter. The presbyterians, who had gained great advantages, in the way of toleration, by the revo- lution, having become whigs in principle, naturally adhered to the house of Hanover, while the catholic Highlanders were quite a* fully and as naturally inclined to support their native prince. Nothing could fee wiser, perhaps^, under these circumstances, than the sending a prince of the blood to command the British forces^ and, as it happened, no officer of the British army could be more popular than the duke of Cumberland, at this very period. His- royal highness joined the army at Edinburgh, not long, after the battle of Falkirk, in which the English, under g.eneral Hawley, had recently sustained a check. The duke, indeed, had been ex- pressly recalled from Flanders, to suppress the rebellion, which was, in no small degree,, detrimental and injurious to the cause cf the allies_ 11. Th« conduct of the son of the pretender was certainly that of a brave but iuconsidcrate young man. Sanguine in his expecta- tions, beyond what any circumstances of the case would com- pletely justify, he, in more instances than one, committed himself too far, and at the very last exposed himself to a defeat, which- aiight, at least, have been suspended or mitigated,, if not totally, avoided. He made a stand against the king's forces at Culloden, while his troops were in a. bad condition for fighting, and when it would obviously have been better policy to have acted on the de- iensive ;. to have retiried before his- adversary,, till he had led hint, into the more impracticable parts of the highlands, wherfi all his* anilitary means would have been crippled, and a retreat,, perhaps^^ *t kasijhaye teen rendered indis^easablj; aeG^ssarj ;^ hvX b^. tisk^ MODERN HISTORY. 307 ing the battle of Culloden, (April 16, 1746) he lost every thing.. The duke of Cumberland gained a most decisive victory ; and so completely subdued the hopes and spirits of his younj opponent, that he never afterwards joined his friends, though solicited, and indeed engag:ed, so to do ; but wandering about the country for a considerable time, with a price of £30,000 set on his head, after enduring incredible hardships and diffictilties, embarked for France ; and thus terminated forever the struggles of that exiled and de- posed family to recover its ancient dominions. The very remarka- ble instances of attachment, fidelity, and pure hospitality, by which, after the battle of Culloden, the unfortunate fugitive was preserved from the hands of his pursuers, surpass any thing of the kind recorded in history, and reflect indelible credit on the high and disinterested feelings and principles of those who assisted him in his escape. 12. The most melancholy circumstance attending this rash un- dertaking, was the necessity that arose for marking examples of thoso who had abetted it, in order more securely to fix on the throne of Great Britain the reigning- family ^ who, having acquired that right in the most constitutional manner, could not be dispossessed of it, but by an unpardonable.violation of the law. Of the excesses committed by the English troops after the battle of Culloden, it is to be hoped^.as indeed it has been asserted, that the accounts are exaggerated ; but in the common course of justice, many persons, and some of th<; highest rank, underwent the sentence of death for high treason, whose crime, through a melancholy infatuation, must in their own eyes have appeared the very reverse, and whose loy- alty and attachment, under different circumsta-nces, and with the law and couslitution on their side, would have deserved the high- est praise. Though many of the adherents of the pretender suffer- ed, many of them made their escape beyond sea, and arrived safely at the different ports of the continent. No attempts have since been jnade by any of the catholic descendants of the royal family of Great Britain to disturb the protestant succession in the house of Brunswick. 13. This illustrious hou&e sustained a very unexpected and me- lancholy loss,^ in the year 1750, by the death of his royal highness the prince of Wales, father of bis late majesty; who, in conse- quence of a cold caught in his gardens at Kew, died of a pleuritic disorder, on the twentieth day of March, in the forty-fifth year of lais age. He was a prince endowed with many amiable qualities ; a munificent patron of the arts, a friend to merit, and sincerely at- tached to the interests of Great Britain. 14. In tlie course of the year 1751, a remarkable act was pas»- sed in parliament,, for correcting the calendar, according to the Gregorian computation. It was enacted, that the new year should begin on the first of January,, and that eleven days between the seconfl and fourteenth days of September, 1752, should for that time be omitted,, so that the day suseceding the second, should fee called the fourteenth, of tliat month. I'his change was on manj accaimts exceedio^y imgortant, but to persons wholly uaacauaint^ SOS MODERN HISTOrxY* ^d with astronomy, it appeared a strangely arbitrary iiatcrfcrencc ■vvlth the currency and settled distinctions of time. 15. Thonsrh the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, may be said to have restored peace to Europe, the English and French came to no good understanding with regard to their remote settlements. The war in those parts involved the interests of the natives or set- tlers, as V* ell as of the tv^^o courts, and scarcely seems to have fall- en under the consideration of the negotiating ministers. In the east and in the v/est many diEpvites and jealousies were raised, which though referred to special commissioners to adjust, in no long course of time involved both countries in afresh war, the par- ticulars of which v/ill be found elsewhere : a war which extended to all parts of the globe, and continued beyond the reign of George II, who died suddenly at Kensington, in 1760, in the 77th year of his age, and 34th of his reign. 16. George 11. was a prince of high integrity, honour, and vera- city, but of a v/arrn and irritable temper, of a warlike dispositioix, and though for a long time restrained by his pacific minister, sir Robert Walpole, from taking an}"- active part in the disputes of the continent, yet constantly inclined to do so, from an attachment, Tery natural, though unpopular amongst his British subjects, to his German dominions. He was greatly under the influence of his queen, while she lived, " whose mild, prudent, and conciliating manners,*" to use the words of a very impartial and judicious bi- ographer, " were more congenial to the character of the English nation." Queen Caroline had indeed many great and splejidid virtues ; though of most amiable and domestic habits, she was well versed in the politics of Europe, and had considerable literary attainments, which disposed her to be a friend to learned persons, particularly to many members of the church, of which several striking and remarkable instances have been recorded. It is suffi- cient to m.ention the names ol Herring, Clarke, Hoadley, Butler, Sherlock, Hare, Seeker, and Pearce. She was the daughter of John Frederick, margrave of Branclenburgh Anspach, and was born in the year 5 683. She was married to his majesty in 1705, and ■had issue two sons and five daughters. Her death, which oc-casion- ed great grief to her royal consort and family, took place on tlie 20th of November, 1733, when she -was in the 55th year oX her age. SECTION V. STATE OF EUROPE AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PEACE OF AIX-LA-^CHAPELLE, 1748. 1. By the treaty of Ais-la Chape.lle the house of Hanover was -effectually established on the throne of Great Britain, to tne en- tire exclusion of the Stuart family. Though the peace was not ipopular in England, and she was supposed by jnany to have made ;;too ,great, and in some instanco^ i^nominiovis cojicessiona, y.et ii MODERN HISTORY. 309 was certainly fortunate for her that the contiacntal powers confined their A-^iews to a balance Avhich did not extend to the sea ; and thereby left in her hands a force, beyond calculation superior to that of the other countries of Europe, and amounting' almost to a monopoly of commerce, credit, and wealth, so as to render her, as it were, .'the chief agent or principal, in all political morements^ for the time ta come. Her prospeyiiy, indeed, had been on the in- crease, in no common degree, irom the accession of the Brunswick family. 2. Austria lost, by the treaty of 1748, Silesia and Glatz, the duchici^ of Farma, Placentia, and Gua?talla, and some places in the Milanese : but she succeeded, and chiefly at the expense of her allies, in the article of the succession. All former treaties were formally recognized, which involred indeed other losses to the em- pire, if compared with the time of Charles V ; but the dominions of the latter were certainly too extensive, and too detached, to form a great and stable empire. This, indeed, may be said to have been the case with regard even to the reduced domains of Charles VI ; but his high-spirited daughter, Maria Theresa, was to the last indignant at the losses she had sustained. She corrected the error into which she had fallen with regard to Genoa, and which occa- sioned great commotions there, by consenting to let the marqaisate of Final revert to that republic, which had been very arbitrarily given, in the coarse of the vvar, as a bribe to the king of Sardinia, and mad'e a free port, to the evident disadvantage of the Genoese^ who had originally purchased it for a valuable consideration, under the guaranty of Great Biitain. 3. Prussia gained, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, Silesia, and the county of Glatz, which were guarantied to her by all the con- tracting pov/ers ; and by this accession of territory she v/as raised into the condition of a power capable of entering into the field of action, as a rival of Austria ; which might have been foreseen, when Leopold erected it into a kingdom, for the express purpose of coun- terbalancing the power of France. As it was, the unity of the em- pire seemed to be dissolved, and a door set open to future revolu- tions in the Germanic body, 'J'he character and subsequent achievements of Frederick II. contributed greatly to the aggran- dizement of his dominions. He was active, bold, fond of glory, and indefatigable. He was brave in the field, and wise in the cabinet* Desirous of shining in all that he undertook, he was indefatigable in keeping his army constantly ready for all emergeneies, and ia repairing the damages to which his dominions had been subjected by his amiiitlon. He drew to him many eminent persons of all coun- tries, of whose society he pretended to be- fond ; but he oftentimes showed himself to be a most merciless tyrant, a blunderer in politi- cal economy, and, i-f not quite an atheist, very lax in his principles pf religion. 4. Holland lost much by the peace, and gained nothing. Some, indeed, doubted whether she did not greatly endanger her inde- pendence, by consenting to make the stadtholdership hereditary in the house of Orange, and that in favour of the female as well as 9iale heirs of the family : but others conceived that this ap,^roa.cr:. 310 MODERN HISTORY. to monarchical g-o\'ernment greatly strengtliened the republic ; and it would indeed seem that it had declined much in power and consequence, from the very period when that ofBce was abolished, in the preceding- century. One precaution was adopted with re- jf^ard to the female heirs to the Stadtholdership: they were pre- <:luded from marrying any king, or elector of the empire ; a pre- caution which there were, in the history of Europe, sufficient rea- sons to justify. 5. Spain obtained, for two branches of her royal family, the kingdom of Naples, and the duchies of Parma, Piacentia and Guas- talla : the latter to revert to Austria, that is, Parma and Guastalla, and Piacentia to Sardinia, should the new duke, don Philip, die without issue, or succeed to either of the kingdoms of Spain or Naples. But the power of Spain was not much increased, either by land or sea. On the latter, indeed, the English had an over- whelming superiority ; and, on laud, though her armies were brave, they were generally ill conducted, and her government too bad to render her respectable in the eyes of Europe. Ferdinand VI, in- ■deed, the successor of Philip, who came to the throne just before the conclusion of the treaty, applied himself, with no small de- gree of credit, to retrieve the character of the nation. 6. Austria, by seeking an alliance with Russia., had introduced the latter power into the southern states of Europe, and given her considerable weight and consequence, as a counterbalance to her gl-eat rival, France. Scarcely known at the commenceme'tat of the century, the movenrent impressed upon this mighty empire by the extraordinary genius and vigour of Peter the first, had carried her forward, with a rapid progression ; so that, by the middle of the century, she mii'^ht justly be regarded as amongst the most conside- rable powers of Europe. Her armies were, perhaps, more than semi-barbarous ; but they were brave, indefatigable, hardy, and supported by the religious principle of predestination ; the fouu'- dation of a desperate kind of hardihood, seldom to be resisted. Her internal resources were not at all considerable, but they were dai- ly improving-. When Peter the first came to the crown, her reve- nues amounted to six millions of roubles ; in 1748 they were nearly quadrupled. Thus rapidly advancing, with one arm reaching to the Baltic, and the other to the Black sea, it was very obvious to discern that when, by good management, her gigantic body should be duly invigorated, she had every chance of becoming a moat for- midable power. Already had she >hown herself such, to a great degree, in the influence the had -acquired in Sweden, Denraark, and Poland ; in her commercial ti^;aties with England, her alliance with Austria, and her wars with the Turks. Her resources and means of improvement were great ; rivers not only navigable da- ring the summer, but during the winter a.lso, affording, by means of sledges, every opportunity of a quick and easy transport of all sorts of com.mercial goods; the greater bart of her southern pro-- vinces fertile, and reqiaring little culture ; mines of gold, iron, and copper; great qnantifit,s of timber, pitch, tar, and Lemp. She had not yet learned to manufacture her own p)-oduc( ions', or to exTX-rt them in her own ships, and .consequently to mjikc the most of MODERN HISTORY. 311 them : liut she. was in the way to learn such arts, and when once attained, she had the fairest prospects of acquiring* a decided supe- riority, not only in the Baltic, and White sea, but on the Black sea and Caspian. 7. Turkey, at the middle of the eighteenth century, was com- paratively a gainer by the wars in which she had been engfaged. She had taken the Morea from the Venetians, recovered from Aus- tria Belgrade, Servia, and some provinces of Transylvania and Wallachia, and had hitherto balHed the attempts of Russia, to get absolute possession of the Crimea, and of the mouths of the Danube. 8. France obtained little in point of extent by the treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle, but that little was of extreme importance. The pos- session of Lorraine, in addition to Alsace, and several strong forts on the Rhine, strengthened and completed, in the most perfect manner, her eastern frontier, and placed her in a most command- ing attitude with regard to the German states. During the ad- ministration of cardinal Fleur)", which lasted till the year 1743, her marine had been deplorably neglected, while the English had been Pvble to enrich themselves at the expense of the French, particu- larly by intercepting many valuable convoys, and capturing many ships of her reduced navy. 9. An author of reputation has proposed to throw the different European states, at the conclusion of the peace of 1748, into the four following classes : — 1. Those that having armies, fleets, money, and territorial re- sources, could make war without foreign alliances. Such were England and France. 2. Those that with considerable and powerful armies, were de- pendent on foreign resources. Austria, Prussia, and Russia. 3. Those that could not engage in war, but in league with other states, subsidized by them, and always regarded in the light of secondary powers by the large ones. Portugal, Sardinia, Sweden, Denmark. 4. Such as were interested in maintaining themselves in the same condition, and free from the encroachment of others. Switzer- land, Genoa, V^enice, and the German states. Holland, Spain, and Naples, being omitted in the above account, might reasonably be thrown into a fifth class, as countries generally so connected with England, France, and Austria, as to be constant- ly involved in every war affecting either of those countries. SECTION VI. OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR, 1775—1762. 1. Though for some short time after the conclusion of the peacd of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, England and France seemed to enjoy, in no common degree, the blessings of peace, and to be upon a footing of perfect amity with each other, yet it would appear that the seeds of a future war were sown in the very circumstances of ■312 MODERN HISTORY. that convention. Eng^land was left in possessio» of such a prepon- derating force at sea, while the French marine, through the parsi- mony or inattention of cardinal Fleury, had fallen into so low a state of depression, that it is not to be wondered that all v/ho were interested about the latter, should have their minds filled with jealousy and resentment. This was soon manifested, not only by the vigorous attempts made at this time to restore the marine of France, but in the projects formed for dispossessing the English of their principal settlements in the East Indies and America ; a blow which might have been far more fatal to the English nation, than any leagues or confederacies in favour of the pretender. To secure the co-operation and support of Spain in these designs, France had endeavoured, in the year 1753, to draw the latter in- to a family coin-pact^ which, though afterwards brought about, was at this time successfully frustrated, by the extraordinary care and vigilance of the British minister at Madrid, 2. The peace established in Europe in 1748, can scarcely be said to have ever been effectually extended to Asia and America, The conquests on each side indeed had been relinquished and surrendered by that treaty, but in a most negligent manner with respect to limits and boundaries ; and in each of those distant set- tlements, France at that time happened to hate able and enterpri- sing servants, who thought they saw,'in their respective govern- ments, such means of aggrandizing themselves and their country, and of thwarting the British interest, as W€re not to be overlooked or neglected. In the East Indies very extraordinary attempts were made to reduce the whole peninsula of India Proper, in short, the "whole Mogul empire, under the dominion of France, by an artful interference in the appointment of the governors of Ifingdoms and provinces, the Soubahdars^ JV«i(/6.9, and Rajahs. The power of the mogul had been irrevocably shaken by Kouli-Khan, in 1730, from which time the vice-roys and other svibordinate governors had slighted his authority, and, in a greater or less degree, become in- dependent. The interference of the French was calculated to throw things into confusion, by dispossessing those who were ad- verse to them of their governments and territories, and thus com- pelling them, as it were, to seek succour from the English; which ultimately brought the two rival nations of Europe into a state of hostility, not as avowed principals, but as the auxiliaries of tlie dif- ferent native princes or nabobs. In no long course of time, things took a turn entirely in favour of the English and their allies ; the French were baffled in all their projects, every place they possessed taken from Ihem, a suspension of arms agreed upon, in 1754, and the French governor, Dupleix, the ambitious and enterprising au- thor and fomentor of all the troubles, but who had been ill-sup- ported by his government at hom«, recalled from India. 3. It was at this period that the celebrated Mr. Clive, after- wards lord Clive, first distinguished himself, who had not only dis- cernment enough to see through and detect all the artifices and de- aigns of Dupleix, but, though not brought up to the military pro- fession, soon displayed such skill and courage in conducting the MODEIIN HISTORY. 31 S ©peratlons of the army, as speedily estaMlshGd his fame, and laid the foundation for his future elevation and glory. 4. In America, the boundaries of the ceded provinces not havinij been justly defaied in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the French had formed a design of connecting-, by a chain of fcrts, their two distant colonies of Canada and Louisiana, and to confine the Eng- lish entirely within that tract of country which lies between the Alle2;hany and Apalachian mountains and the sea. No part of thid design could be carried on v/itiiout manifest encroachment on ter- ritories previously, either by agreement, settlement, or implication, appropriated to others 1 Where the boundaries were not precisely defined, all that was not English or French, belonged to the native tribes, and the only policy that the European colonists had to ob-» ?erve, was to conciliate the friendship, or resist the attacks of these ferocious neighbours. But the scheme the French had in agitation threatened to be extremely injurious to the English colonists ; giv- ing them, in case of war, a frontier of fifteen hundred miles to de- fend, not merely against a race of savages, as heretofore, but against savages supported b)^ disciplined troops, and conducted by French officers. 5. It was not possible for England long to contemplate these ag- gTessions and projects without interfering ; but her means of re- sisting them were not equal to those by which the French were enabled to carry them into execution. Tlie English colonies were notoriously divided by distinct views and interests ; had many dis- agreements and differences among themselves, which seemed, for some time at least, totally to prevent their acting in concert, hov\^- ever necessary to their best interests. The French depended on no such precarious support, but were united both i)i their object and operations. Hostilities, however did not actually commence till the year 1755, from which period the contest in North America was carried on with various success, between the French and English, severally assisted by different tribes of Indians ; in the course of which, it is more than probable, that sad acts of cruelty may have been perpetrated, and both nations have been to blame in some particulars ; but it is certainly remarkable, that each party stands charged exclusively with such atrocities by the historians of the ad- verse side ; and while the English writers attribute the whole war to the intrigues and encroachments of the French, the latter as confidently ascribe it to the cupidity and aggressions of the Eng- lish. It is very certain, how^ever, that, before the war actually commenced, the French court made such strong but insincere pro- fessions of amity, and a desire of peace, as to deceive its o^Va min- ister at the court of St. James's, M. de Mircpoix, who felt himself so ill-treated in being made the tool of such duplicity and dissimu- lation, as to cause him to repair to Pari?, to i-ernonstrate with the administration who liad so cajoled him. It is necessary to men- tion these things, where historical truth is the great object m view. G. At the commencement of this contest betv/een France and England, the former seems to have been most successful on land ; but the laiter, and to a much greater degree, at sea. Before the ^7 314 MODERN HISTORY. end of the first year of the war, no less than three hundred French merchant vessels, some of them extremely rich, with eight thousand sailors, being l:rought into the English ports ; and whiJu the rate of insurance in the latter country continued as usual, in I ranee it quickly rose to 30 per cent., a pretty strong indication of the comparative inferiority of the latter, as far as regarded her marine, and the safety of her navigation. 7. But it v;as soon found expedient by one, if not by both par- ties, to divert the attention from colonial to continental objects ; a measure which, as in a former instance, the French writers ascribe entirely to England, and the English writers as confidently to France; but it is sufficiently clear that the latter first entertained views upon the electorate of Hanover, which gave that turn to the war in general. Considering what had passed in the preceding struggle upon the continent, nothing could be more strange than the conduct of the diff"erent states of Europe on this particular oc- casion. Instead of receiving assistance from the empress queen, whose cause England had so long and so magnanimously support- ed, and who was bound by treaty to contribute her aid in case of attack, Maria Theresa evaded the applications made to her by the court of St. Jameses, (perhaps in rather too high and peremptory a tone,) on the pretence that the war bet-\veen France and England had begun in America ; and she applied herself with peculiar assi- duity to recover, through the aid of Russia, the provinces of Sile- sia and Glatz, which had been ceded to the Prussian monarch. 8. It has been conjectured that her imperial majesty had been greatly offended at the preliminaries of peace, in 1748, having been signed by England without her approbation, and that she was capable of carrying her resentment so far as voluntarily to throw herself into the arms of France, without further consideration ; while the French king, whose strange course of life had been too openly ridiculed by the king of Prussia, foolishly suffered himself to be cajoled into an alliance with Austria, after three hundred years of warfare, ag'ainst his former active and powerful ally; thereby breaking through the wise system of Richelieu, and help- ing to raise the very power, of whose greatness France had the most reason to be jealous ; but Maria I'heresa, and her minister, prince Kaunitz, to produce this great change in the policy of France, had stooped to flatter and conciliate the king''s mistress, the marchioness of Pompadour. 9. Fortunately for England, however, the conduct of these two courts quickly determined the king of Prussia to form an alliance with the elector of Hanover ; to stifle and forget all former differ- ences and animosities, and peremptorily to resist the entrance of foreign troop? into Germany ; a measure which, though first di- rected against Russia, subsidized by England, equally applied to France. An alliance between the kings of Great Britain and Prus- sia had long been contemplated by some of the ablest statesmen of the former country, as the most natui'al and wisest connection that could be formed to counteract the projects and power of France. Hitherto strong personal jealousies and ill-will on the part of the two sovereigns had prevented any such union, and now it M-ap • MODERN HISTOIIY. 315 bronght about by accident ; much more, however, to the advan- tage of Prussia than of Great Britain. It had been proposed in En?;Iand, to subsidize Russia, but the negotiations of the former •with the king: of Prussia, whom the czarina personally disliked, produced a close but unexpected union of Russia, Austria, and France ; not so much a°^ainst England, perhaps, as against Prus- sia, nor yet so much against the kingdom of Prussia as against the king himself. 10. Such was the comencement of what has been termed the seven years' war. It seemed soon to be forgotten that it was origin- ally a maritime or colonial war. The whole vengeance of France and Austria, in 1757, was directed against the king of Prussia, and electorate of Hanover. The Prussian monarch, relying on his well-organized army and abundant treasury, despised the powerful combination against him, and commenced the war in a most im- posing, though precipitate manner, by dispossessing, at the very outset, the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, in alliance with Austria, of his capital, of his whole army, and of his electoral do- minions, in a way little creditable to his character, notwithstand- ing the strong political motives alleged in his subsequent manifes- toes. The situation of France, by this sudden manoeuvre, was certainly rendered most extraordinary. At the commencement of the former war, she had done her utmost to dethrone Augustus, king of Poland, in favour of Stanislaus, v/hose daughter had mar- ried the French king; and she had now just as strong and urgent a reason to assist in restoring Augustus to his hereditary dominions, the daughter of the latter being nianied to the dauphin, and the life of the dauphiness having been endangered by the intelligence recciv'^ed of the rigorous treatment of her royal parents. 11. it was during the seven years' war, that Frederic of Prussia acquired that glory in the field which has rendered his reign so conspicuous and remarkable. The intended victim, as he had great reason to suppose, of au overwhelming confederacy of crown- ed heads, he lost no time in defending himself against their attacks, by occupying the territories of those who threatened him, so sud- denly and arbitrarily indeed, with regard to Saxony, as to give of- fence to the greater part of Europe ; but generally contending with surprising success against superior armies, though incessantly sum- moned from one field of battle to another, by the numerous and divided attacks of his opponents: nor was there one of all the pow- ers that menaced hiin, whom he did not find means to humble, and in some instance- punish most severely, at first, with an impetuosi- ty bordeiing upon rashness ; afterwards, by more wary and circum- spect proceedings. In Silesia, Saxony, Brandenbourg, Hanover, and V/estphalia, he had to contend with the armies of the empire, Austria, Russia, Sweden, France, and Saxony : 200,000 men are supposed toha\e fallen annually in these campaigns. Though of- ten worsted, (as must be the case, where no consideration of supe- rior numbers is allowed to operate as a check,) his great genius was never more manifested, than in the quick reparation of such reverses. Often did his situation appear perfectly desperate, both to friends and enemies, yet as often did he suddenly succeed in 316 3iODERN HISTORY. * ifOrne new effort, and in extricating' himself from disasters KnicQ lihrcateued entirely to overwhelm him ; being' all the while under •he ban of the empire, in virtue of a decree of the aulic council, which bo^und every German circle, in obedience to the impeiial ordeis, to assist in depriving him of his possessions^ dignities, and prerogatives. The rapidity of his motions vras beyond all exam- ple ; neither danger nor misfortune could dishearten him ; and had his moderation been but equal to his courage, had he, in all cases, been as humane as he was brave, his military character v.-ould have stood higher, perhaps, than that of any other commander, an- •:ient or modern. 1^. '1 he army, rt must be acknowledged, for some time afforded but little assistance to, if it did not actually embarrass, the opera- tions of Frederic. A formidable force of 38,000 Hanoverian, Hes- sian, and other troops, under the command of the duke of Cumber- land, had, in a most extraordinary manner, been reduced, though }ieithej beaten nor actually disarmed, to a state of inactivity, and ■'he king^s German dominions aba>-doned to the enemy, by a con- vention the most singular upon the records of history ; and if actu- ally necessary, only rendered so by the impolitic movement? of the commander-in-chief, who, instead of endeavouring to join the Prussians, after a sharp contest, in v,-hich the French had the ad- vantage, retreated in a totally different direction, merely to keep up, as it has been supposed, a communication with the place to which the archive? and most valuable effects of Hanover had been removed. 13. This convention, indeed, signed at Closter-seven, Septem- ber 8, 1757, was sa.id to have been concluded ?gainst the wishes of the royal commander himself, and entirely at the instance and requisition of the regency of Hanover. Ee this, however, as it may, it was undoubtedly almost fatal to the king of Prussia, and exceedingly humiliating to England, though ultimately attended T.'ith this good effect, that it seems to have roused and stimulated both the people and government to greater exertions. Unfortu- );ately much of this good spirit and renewed activity was wasted in fruitless attempts on the coast of I'rance, which cost the nation much money, and, as it turned out contributed little or nothing to her glory and advantage ', the demolition of the works at Cher- burg, and capture of Belle Isle, 1761, v.hich was of use afterwards, as an exchange for Minorca, being all she had to boast of. To her great and indefatigable ally, the king of Prussia, these expeditions to the French coast could be of no use, except in diverting a part at least of the French forces, which might otherwise have been op- posed to him ; but they had scarcely this effect, and though that g:reat minister, Mr. Pitt, afterwards lord Chatham, appears to have been the chief promoter of these measures, in opposition to many members of the British cabinet, the policy of them, even had they been more successful, has been pretty generally questioned. Her soldiers, many thought, were principally wanting in Germany, the grand theatre of military operations, to strengthen and give effect to the judicious and bold measures of prince Ferdinand, who, be- lli^, by the advice, it is said, of the Prussian mDr}ar<;h, on the ve^ MODERN HISTORY. 317 tSrement of the duk? of Cumberland, after the convention spoken of, placed at the head of the allied army, hcd succeeded in com- pellins: the French to eA-acaate Hanover, Bruns-svick, and F.remen. England indeed had been liberal in her subsidies, even to a degree that some thought unwise and extravagant, and she had been suc- cessful in Araerica, Asia, Africa, and generally on the ocean. The French navy indeed, was almost annihilated ; and her colonies, both in the eaat and west, had fallen a prey to the English armies ; even Canada, the source and focus, as it were, of the transatlantic disputes between England and France, was completely subdued by the armies under the command of Wolfe, Townshend, Monck- ton, Murray, and Amherst, who displayed such zeal, valour, and abilities, in the capture of the towns of Quebec and Montreal, as have never been exceeded. 14. Thoug-h prince Ferdinand had driven the French back, it *vas doubted whether th*^ forces under his command would be suf- ficient to maintain these advantages ; apprehensions, indeed, v/ere entertained, that he might be reduced to form another convention as humiliating as that of Closter-s£ven. But the genius and valour of this great prince surmounted the difficulties in which he seemed to be placed, by most judiciously, and with no smalJ art, compel- ling the French to come to an engagement, under circumstaHu:es peculiarly favourable to the allied army ; and the battle of Min- den, which took place August 1, 1759, though the subject after- wards of much jealousy amongst the allies, effectually relieved the electorate of Hanover, and the greater part of Westphalia, fr4)nx the presence of the French. 15. It v/as at this period, August 10, 1759, that Ferdinand VI, of Spain, died, and was succeded by his brother, don Carlos, king of the two Sicilies, under tlie title of Charles III, in consequence of which succession, and according to the terms of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, don Philip should have surrendered the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla to Austria and Sardinia, and removed to i\aples, (see Sect. V. ') 5 ;) but as Charles III. had never acceded to that treaty, he left the crown of the two Sicilies to his third son, Ferdinand, and don Philip agreed, and was allow- ed by Austria, to retain the three duchies •, the courts ot France and Spain having managed to quiet the alarms of Sardinia, in re- gard to the reversion of Placentia. 16. The removal of don Carlos to Spain, at a time when so many advantages had been gained over the French by the Eng- lish, at sea and in America, justly alarmed the new monarch for his own colonies and settlements in those parts ; and these appre- hensions soon became a reason for his entering into a family com- pact with France, which had been attempted before, but frustra- ted by the care and vigilance of the British minister. It was in fact entirely arranged and concluded in the month of August, 1761, and extended to all the Bourbon princes ; it was a treaty of mutual and reciprocal naturalization, and equality of rights, to the subjects of all the Bourbon states, France^ Spain, the ttco Sici- lies, Parma, and Placentia, with a general guaranty of each oth- er's dojuinicn?, uiader all possible circumstances except one, which 27* t^ili MODERN HISTORY. v/a?, tliat ^-pain diould be excused from interfering in any quar- rels cf France, arising out of the treaty of Westphalia, unless some maritime power should take part in such disputes, or France be invaded. 17. The above clause in tjie treaty was judg'ed to be so evident- ly aimed at Enc;iand, as to justify an immediate declaration of war against Spain on the part of the former, which accordingly took place early in the year 1702 ; nor was Spain backward in follow- ine: the example against England, in resentment, as it was alleged, of the supercilious and arbitrary manner, in which the latter had interfered with regard to the familif compact. 18. The first fniits of this extraordinary confederacy were a press attempt u])on the independency of Portugal, as an ally of K?)gland, by France and Spain ; an attempt the most appalling to Portugal, had not her brave and honourable sovereign resolved rather to perish than submit to the terms dictated to him by th<,» combined monarchs. England was in every way bound to give aid and stipport to her ancient and faithful ally, on so trying an occasion ; and, fortunately, her help came so opportunely and so ]^rom]itly, as to enable the king of Portugal to repel the Spaniards, Avho had not only passed the frontiers, but actually taken several towiis. Thus was that monarch and his dominions saved from the ». iffTCts of- as wicked and arbitrary a design as was ever entertain- « d againpt an independent or neutral potentate, and that on the sole ground of hh connection v/ith England at the moment ; to V. hose re&entment he would of course have been exposed, had he tamely submitted to the tyrannical demands of France and Spain. In cither case, he seemed to be threatened with ruin and destruc- tion, had things taken a different turn, from what actually came to pass. 19. The hostilities into which Great Britain was driven by this linprovoked attack upon Portugal, as well as by the threatening jispect and spirit of the familij compact^ which seemed to undo all tuat had been accomplished by the succession war, were in every instance crovvned with success ; so that in both hemispheres, her nrms may be said to have been victorious, and her triumph coni- jilete ; and Spain had great cause to rue her short coHcern in the war, into which ebe had been cajoled by France, and which ope- rated as fully to the disappointment of the latter power. In the mean while,, the king of Prussia, who had been brought to the ve- ry verge of ruin, according to his own statement and confession, was most unexpectedly relieved by surprising changes in the Plus- jian coaneils, through tlie demise of Elizabeth, and accession of Peter II!, whose reign indeed was too short to enable him to ren- der any real assistance to the king of Prussia, in the field, which znight have beeni expected from the enthusiastic admiration with, Tvhich his actions were beheld by the Russian monarch. But this •weak, though benign prince, in consequence of his too extensive plans cf reform, and a difference with his empress, was soon remo- ved V and though his successoi- and consort, Catherine the second^ did lict by anj msaas pay tke same court to Fiedericj jet hex ©p« MODEBN HlSTORV. .310 position to iiim was very slight, and soon terminated by a treaty of peace, in which she was followed by Sweden. 20. All these thing-s evidently tended towards a (general peace, if England, who had certainly been the most successful of all the powers concerned, could be brought to consent to be stopped in her career of victory and triumph. A change of ministry had, however, laid the foundation for such measures. Mr. Pitt, who was for the continuance of the war, on some private information, as it has been thought, of the progress and terms of the family compact, had resigned soon after the demise of the king, Ceorge II. ; and lord Bute, who owed his place and power as minister, much more to the personal good-will and attachment of the new king, than to the voice and favour of the people, foreseeing that it might be difficult for him to raise either money or men for the prosecution of the war, (bounties for recruits, in particulc*/', having risen to an unexampled height,) and having against him many im- portant individuals of both parties, entered freely into negotiations with France, which were brought to an issue by the peace of Pa- ris, (or Fontainebleau,) 1763. 21. This treaty was not popular in England, though, undoubt- edly, she reaped the benefit of many remarkable concessions, par- ticularly in America, where she acquired, not only the whole pro* vince of Canada, but part of Louisiana; the junction of which two distant French settlements, to the embarrassment,"^ and possi- bly, total subjection of the English colonies, had been Ihe express occasion of the war ; but by many persons it was thought, and perhaps with great reason, that England had surrendered too much, considering the high situation in which she stood, and the advan- tages that might have been reaped by a little longer continuance of the war; and in what she both surrendered and retained, an ill and impolitic selection, it was alleged, had been made of posts and settlements. The treaty of Hubertsburg, by which the war was terminated between Austria and Prussia in the same year, 1763, restored matters, in regard to those two powers, exactly to their former state, after skvi:n most destructive and expensive campaigns ! Nothing of territory v/as lost ; nothing gained. Eng- land, undoul->tedly, was left in the highest state of prosperity at the conclusion of these two treaties. Her navy unimpaired, or rather augmented at the expense of the navy of France ; her com- merce extending from one extremity of the globe to the other, with an accession of important settlements ceded to her by" France, ia. Asia, Africa, and America, SECTION VIL FROM THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE III. 1760, TO THE COMMENCEMEiMT OF THE DISPUTES WITH AMERICA^ 1764. 1. Though a hcw enemy, for a very short tirae, was- added to *M list of tho5€ who were coatendinj witii Eo^lauU and her allie^j 320 MODERN HISTORY. •when George the second died, by the accession of Spain to the family compact^ and continental confederacy, in 1761, yet the seven years' war, through the exhaustion of the allies of Austria, particularly the Saxons, Poles, and French, may be said to have been drawing to a conclusion, when George III. ascended the throne of Great Britain, on the demise of his grandfather, Octo- ber 25, 1760. For the termination of that war, see Sect. \l. 2. Much notice was taken of a passage in the king's first speech to his parliament, in which he expressed the glory he felt in hav- ing been born and educated in Britain ; and though some have pre- tended to see in it, a reflection on his royal predecessors, yet it was surely wise in the first sovereign of the house of Hanover, who stood clear of foreign manners, and foreign partialities, so to bespeak the love and attachment of his subjects. It is true, in- deed, th^t England had prospered in no common degree from the first accession of that illustrious family, but it cannot be denied, that a distaste of foreign manners, as well as a jealousy of foreign partialities, had occasionally interrupted the proceedings of gov- ernment, and were at all events calculated to keep up, in the minds of the disaffected, a remembrance of the breach that had been made in the succession to the throne. Fourteen years having passed since any attempt had been made to restore the Stuart family, and the condition of that family having become such, as to render any further endeavours to that effect, eJitremely improba- ble, nothing more seemed wanting to remove all remaining preju- dices against the Brunswick line of princes, than that the sove- jeign should be a native of the land he ruled. 3. In addition to this tie upon liis subjects, every thing seemed to conspire, as far Dts regarded the character, manners, and dispo- sition of the young king, to secure to him the attachment of his people ; and to give hopes of a quiet and tranquil reign. One of the very first acts of which was calculated to impress the idea of his being a true friend to the liberty of the subject, by rendeiing the judges independent of the crown. His majesty was married, soon after his accession, to tlie princess Charlotte of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, with whom he v/ai; crowned at Westminster, on the 22d day of September, 1761. 4. However promising the appearances both of external and in- ternal tranquillity might be, at the commencement of the new- reign, it was not long before the nation became agitated by party disputes and differences, of no small importance. In 1762, a ques^ tion arose, which though it led to very distressing tumults, termi- nated in the relief of the subject from an arbitrary process, ex- ceedingly repugnant to the spirit of the constitution, and the great charter of Briti.-h liberty. General warrants, and the seizure of private papers without sufficient necessity, the legality of which had been disputed, in the case of Mr. Wilkes, member for Ailes- bury, during which that gentleman displayed much personal and patriotic fortitude, though certainly with great failure of respect towards the crown, were declared to be illegal by a solemn de- cree of parliament, 1765, nor has any attempt been since made to jfeinvest the government with so danj;erous and formidable a pow MODERN HISTORY. 321 er. The question of general warrants, however, vias not the only one in which Mr. ^Mlkes appeared as (lie chair.pion of the peo- ple's liberties. Being elected for Middlesex, after having been expelled the house, he claimed his seat, in defiance of the resolu- tions of parliament, bnt was not allowed to sit. Five years after- •wardf , Vie %vas pennitted again to enter the house of commons ; but in t!u"s instance tlie parliament maintained its power of declar- ing a particular individual dii-qnalified, a2:ainst the decision of a majority of electors ; a curious point as affecting the constitution, and the eleciive francliise. 5. Though the court of Vienr.a, France, and Prussia, had cause to be tired of the war, in which they had been engaged since the year 1755, IL is certain that England vv-as in a state to con- tiniie it, especially by sea, when the treaty of Paris, or Fontaine- bleau, was concluded, in 1763. As long as Mr. Pitt continued a. member of administration, the war had been carried on vigorous- ly, and had become exceedingly popular, so that on the reeigna- tion of that great minister, in 1761, and the appointment of lord Bute, whose distrust of his own abilities to continue it, disposed him to listen to the overtures of France, great discontents arose. The minister was suspected of harbouring in his breast the moat despotic principles, and of having inculcated the same into the mind of his sovereign, while yet a youth;, He was supposed to possess too exclufive an influence in that quarter ; and though, in private life, a most lespectable nobleman, of great worth and pro- inty, learning, and talents, his public measures were the continual theme of obloquy and abuse. Had ivTr. Pitt continued in office, it is more than probable that the allies might have gained greater ad- vantages on the couti]ient, and the S]'aniards been more severely punished for their interference ; so that the pacific measures of the new minister, drew upon him the displeasure, if not the con- tempt, as well of his own countrymen, as of the king of Prussia also ; who in his writings has inveighed greatly against the pre- vailing influence of the noble earl at this period, in the cabinet and councils of Great Britain. 6. The riots and tumults excited by the proceedings against Mr. Wilkes, and the extreme unpop'ularity of lord Bute, contributed to ren'der the first years of the reign of George III. exceedingly unquiet, and to involve his majesty in many unpleasant difficul- ties, from the addresses, petitions, and remonstrances, which flow- ed in upon him, often couched in such language as it was impossi- ble not to resent, and as often insinuating what, perhaps, was not founded en truth : for it has never yet been cleaily ascertained that the public actually suffered from any improper secret influ- ence, or that the measures of lord Bute, with regard to the peace of Paris, all things considered, were impolitic or unwise. The worst feature in this peace, with regard to England, seems to have been, the failure to guard against the effects, in future, of the family cnrapact^ "which was left in full force. Mr. Pitt had his eye constantly upon this, and, had he continued in power, would, no doubt, have continued the war with spirit and perseverance : this- great minister had retired undisgraced ; he received a pension m- 5'i2 MODERN HISTORY. deed for himsejf, and a peerage for his lady. His politics, to the day of his death, continued widely difi'erent from those of lord Bute, and were constantly more popular : but the great fault of the latter seems to have been, that he engaged in public business, contrary to the bent of his own disposition, and was too sensible of his utipopularity, to undertake any measure that required much public support. All he did, therefore, seemed to be managed in the way of private influence, cabal, and intrigue. 7. In addition to the addresses and remonstrances alluded to in the foregoing section, the popular fervour and agitation received considerable encouragement from the letters of an anonymous wri- ter, never yet discovered, — a writer who displayed such an extra- ordinary knowledge of the proceedings of the court and cabinet, and had the power of expressing himself in a style' so vigorous, striking, and keenly satirical, as to demand the attention of all parties, and confound the majority of those whom he personally attacked. But the extreme severity of a concealed and unknown accuser, and the gross personalities in which he often indulged, not sparing majesty itself, threv/ a cloud over his Avritings, which can never be done away, to the satisfaction of any candid or libe- ral mind. Though the inention of these celebrated letters is ra- ther anticipated in this place, as they did not publicly appear till the year 1769, yet, as they particularly relate to the foregoing transactions, and state of all'airs in the early years of the reign of George III, and long preceded the actual commencement of the war with America, the first authors ot which he seemed disposed to screen, a better opportunity of introducing the subject might scarcely be found. The many fruitless, but very curious attempts that have been made, at various times, to discover the real author, have contributed, in addition to the extraordinary character of the work itself, and the political questions discussed in it, to prevent its ever sinking into oblivion. The letters of Junius, with all their blemishes, will probably never fail to find a place in the libra- ries of the British scholar, and British statesman. 8. In the prosecution of this work, it should also be noticed, that a great constitutional point came under discussion, namely, whe- ther, in cases of libel, the jury were judges of the law, as well as of the fact. In most other cases, no such difficulty seemed to oc- cur. In cases of murder, not only the act of killing, but the mur- derous intent, was submitted to the decision of the jury ; and in trials for felony of every description, the course was the same. Lord Mansfield, in this case, insisted that the jury had only to de- cide on the fact of publication, and that the court was to deter- mine upon the law of libel. This has generally been disputed by juries ; and they have found ways of evading the difficulty, by either themselves referring the law to the judge, by a special ver- dict, or by pronouncing a general acquittal. Unfortunately, libels are of that description as constantly to excite those jealousies and suspicions, from Avhich every court of justice should be free. They afl'ect, also, two of the highest privileges of Englishmen, — the right of private judgment^ and the liberty of the press. In ^e MODERN HISTORY. 323 asc of Junius, the point in dispute was by no means so settled as 5 obviate future differences. 9. The year 1764 is memorable for the commencement of the ispnte between Great Britain and her American colonies ; but as he history of this contest involves many curious questions of poli- y ; as its results, in regard not only to England and America, but the world in general, were very important ; and its termination Bd to a total separation of the colonies from the mother country, hereby establishing a distinct state and governn^ient o[ European ettlers in the western hemisphere, the details of it will be reserv- d for another section. SECTION yilL DISPUTES BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND HER AME^ RICAN COLONIES. 1764—1783. 1. The seven years' war, terminated by the peace of Paris, cy ■"ontainbleau, in 1763, had been begun in ^merica^ as has been hown, (Sect. VI.) Great Britain, at considerable expence of men md money, had resisted the encroachments of France on the Brit- sh colonies, and thereby affoided to the latter, protection, beyond vhat any commercial benefits, imder the colonial s)'stem, could )e said fully to compensate. A question therefore arose, whether he colonies might not be called upon to contribute, by direct tax- ition, to the relief of the general expences and burthens of the nother country, occasioned or augmented by the circumstances ibove mentioned. The national debt, it was argued, was truly md equitably the debt of every individual in the whole empire, ;\'^hether in Asia, America, or nearer home. 2. The question, however, was no sooner started than decided 3y administration ; chiefly through the influence and on the sug- gestion of Mr. George Grenville, then prime-minister, who, in the i^ery year succeeding the peace of Paris, procured the stamp-act :o be passed, by which the Americans were directly subjected to ii tax imposed by the British parliament, without their own con- sent, not immediately applicable to their own wants or necessities, ^nd contrary to every former mode of raising money for such pur- poses. This was certainly sufficient to excite alarm, and lead to c}uestions of policy and prudence ; of power and right ; of legis- lation and representation ; never yet so thoroughly discussed or investigated. Hitherto, without questioning the power, govern- ment had forborne from taxing them as a matter of policy and pro- priety ; and thus, as it was w^ell said at the time, those two very difficult points, superiority in the presiding state, and freedom in the subordinate, had been practically reconciled. 3. The situation of America rendered these questions the more importaiit and alarming to the mother country, in case of opposi- tion, as having been originally peopled from Europe, in a great measure, by refugees, exiles, and persons adverse to the govern- ment, both in church and state, and well inclined, probably, tf* 324 MODERN HISTOflV. assert a republican independence. Their legislative assemblies were already of the popular cast, and their feelings and spirits ac- cordant. It must also be admitted, that upon the very ground of pecuniary or other aids, they had much to allege in respect of their beneficial returns to England, in taking her manufactures, and having assisted her in the conquest of Canada. Most unfortunate- ly, the very grants which had been made by their assemblies, in aid of England, during the last war, were alleged as an argument (a most iiritating one, undoubtedly,) of their abilily to pay any imposts the parliament might choose to lay upon them. 4. As the ministry had decided hastily upon the general ques- tion, they seem also to have suffered themselves to be precipitated into some of the worst measures they could have adopted to ren- der their novel demands palatable. Their very first tax, imposed by the stamp act of 17G4, though simple in its principle, was ill- suited to the state of America. The mere distribution of the stamps, through such a variety of different states, involved in it a thousand difficulties ; and there were provisions in the act itself, which might, if at all abused or neglected, have subjected the people to unheardof vexations and oppressions. It is scarcely, therefore, to be wondered that, on its first promulgation in Ameri- ca, the act should have been received with the greatest indigna- tion, and even with defiance. 5. In the mean time, the cause of the Americans was espoused by a strong party at home, a party, so far from being contemptible, as to include some of the first persons of the nation, both in rank and importance. The debates in both houses were violent, but the topics discussed, in every point of view, interesting. The friends of the Americans, if it may be proper now to call them so, obtained and swayed, for a very short period, the helm of govern- ment. In June, 17G5, the Grenville administration was dismissed, and a new one, at the head of which was placed the marquis of Rockingham, came into power, through the mediation of the duke cf Cumberland. They continued in oifice, however, for little more than one year ; but in that short space of time, the stamp-act, which had been so ill received in America, v/as formally repealed. 6. But the grand question relating to the right of taxation was by no means determined by this measure : a declaratory act was particularly passed at the same time, for maintaining the constitu- tional authority of Great Britain, in "• all cases whatsoever ;''' and though there was certainly no design, in those who promoted the repeal, to act upon this authority, by establishing any other tax of a similar kind, yet the colonists were prepared, as much as ever, to dispute the principle, as far as it regarded taxation ; and their courage and confidence at this time stood high, in consequence of the importance which bad been given to them in the last war, and their emancipation from all dread of the French and Span- iards, by the cession of Canada and the Floridas. In the colony of Virginia the right of taxation was voted to r-st entirely in the king, or his representative, and the general assembly of the colo- ny. This was, imdoubtedly, ilie usual course of things ; and in this way subsidies to a considerable amount had boon granted to MODERN HISTORY. S25 the crown. This precedent was soon followed by others of the legislative bodies, and adopted in the general congress of New York, 1765* 7. It was not pretended that the Americans paid no taxes ; but, on the present occasion, a distinction was set up, not thought of, or at least not insisted upon before. To exfeimal taxation, through the operation of laws ©f trade and navigation, enacted in the mo- ther country, they were willing to yield submission ; they had con- stantly done so, nor were they now disposed to resist such enact- ments ; but all internal duties for raising a revenue, or supporting establishments, were held to be very differently circumstanced. Taxes of this nature were considered as being, in the very lan- guage of parliament itself, g?/^ a-, and grants. None, therefore, it was urged, could give the money of America but the people of A- merica themselves. If /Ae;?/ chose to make such grants, they might receive a legislative sanction, as in England ; but legislation and taxation were distinct things. Taxation, according to the spirit of the English constitution, implying consent^ direct or by repre- sentation, could not otherwise be rendered either legal or just. Local circumstances would rendi?r the representation of America, in the British parliament, impracticable ; and a supposed virtual representation w-as no less than mockery. 7 he representatives of England, in taxing others, taxed themselves also ; but this could not be the case in regard to American imposts. 8. Such were some of the strongest reasons urged against the measure in general ; but, as the right of taxation had not been expressly given up by any party in England, but rather insisted upon in the declaratory act, no concessions short of thie seemed likely to do good. The stamp-act had caused an irritation, which no qualijied repeal could allay : internal taxation v.'as not only re- sisted as an encroachment on established rights and usages, but, m resentment of such wrongs, attempts were made to hinder the fur- ther operation even of external taxation. Non-importation, and non-comsumption agreements were soon entered into, and associa^ tions formed to methodise and consolidate the opposition to gov- ernment. A resolution had been passed when lord North was min- ister, promising to desist from all taxation, except commercial im- posts, whenever any one of the colonial assemblies should vote a reasonable sum, as a revenue, to be appropriated by parliament ; but this had no good effect. 9. In so embarrassed a state of things, it is not very surprising that the ministry at home should have entertained wrong measures, and miscalculated the effects of the plans they were pursuing. 1 he truth of history tends to show that, however they might be embarrassed by an active opposition in parliament, that opposi- tion fairly forewarned them of the consequences of their meditated proceedings, which came to pass exactly as they had been fore- told. But after this demand had once provoked the question of right, and that question had divided the people of both countries into two strong parties, things soon fell into that state, in which it became impossible to retrieve matters, either by perseverance or S26 MODERN HISTORV. concession. Every effort of coercion was resented as an illeg-al encroachment ; every conciliatory proposition received as a proof of alarm and timidity, and as a pledge of victory and success to future opposition. 10. It has been questioned whether independence "was not in the view of the Americans from the very first stirring of the ques- tion, or even previously; hut had this been the case, tbt-y would have been more prepared ; their addresses to the king and porlia- inent, on various occasions, after the commencement of the dis- pute, must have been fallacious to the highest pitch of dissimula- tion, if they had determined against all compromise from the very beginning ; but, indeed, the remonstrances and complaints of Gen- eral WashirjL'ton, on the ill .state of his army, and total want of many essential requisites, on first taking the con^niand, seton clear- ly to prove that Ihey were driven to assert their indcpen leuce by the course of things ; a large portion of their fellow-subjects and countrymen on both sides of the Atlantic, judged them to be op- pressed, and thns gave a character to their opposition which could not very creditably be forfeited. 11. Hostilities did not actually commence till the year 1775, ten years from the first passing of the stamp act. In a short time after the passing of that act, it was repealed, as has been stated ; but in 1767 the project of taxing America was revived by Mr. Charles Townshend, and from that period to the commencement of the war, both countries were in a state of the greatest agita- tion. Debates ran high at home, and in America their gravest proceedings were accompanied with such rude threats of defiance, and such unqualified resentment of all innovations, as almost ne- cessarily to bring them under the strong hand of power. But gov- ernment underrated their means of resistance ; when brought into a state of union, by the congress, their force was no longer to be despised ; all temporising expedients were at an end, a circum- stance ill understood by the ministry at home, who lost much time in endeavouring to retrieve matters, by fruitless attempts, some- times in the way of conciliation, and at others, of inefficient resis- tance. Thus, when in 1770 many commercial duties were taken off, which the mother country had an undoubted right to impose, the concession was ill received, in consequence of the single ex- ception of /ea, which was certainly continued as much as any thing in order to assert the rights and supremacy of Great Britain ; but this was done in a manner too imperious, and without suffi- cient force to subdue the angry passions it was calculated to ex- cite, at such a moment. At the very breaking out of the war, ininisters appear to have been by far too confident of speedily sup- pressing so formidable an insurrection ; an insurrection which had had time allowed it to organise itself, and which had draws upon it the attention of the whole civilized world. 12. The war may be said to have actually commenced only on the 14th of April, 1775, though some l.nglish regiments had been sent to Boston so early as the year 1768. In an afi'air at Lexing- ton, amounting to no more than a skirmish, the English were worst- ed, a circumstance calculated to °;ive spirits to the Ajnericans, at jrODEilN HISTORW 327 •a most aivful and momentSus period. General Washington, wha liad distinguished himself in the war against the French, and bore a most irreproachable character, was appointed to take the com- mand of the American army ; a post of the utmost responsibility, and requiring talents, temper, and discretion, of no common dc- script ion. 13. The sword being drawn, and no hopes remaining of an ami- cable adjustment of differences between the crown and its trans- atlantic subjects, now in a state of open revolt ; and the first hos- tilities having by no means tended to depress the military ardour of the Americans, they proceeded, by a solemn declaration of tlie. general congress at Philadelphia, July 4, 1776, to declare the thirteen provinces independent; Idj which act America maybe said to have been divided from the mother country, 294 5'ears af- ter the discovery of that country by Columbus ; 166 from the first settlement of Virginia; and 156 from the settlement of Plymouth in Massachusetts Bay. From this period the proceedings of con- gress became much more dignified, and the campaign of 1776 turn- ed out favourably for the Amxcricans, and highly to the credit of their very able and brave commander. 14. Whether it were owing to the low opinion entertained by the government at home, of the resistance likely to be offered by the Americans, or to a dislike of the cause in which they were engaged on the part of the British commanders, it is exceedingly certain, that the English army did not obtain the advantages it was supposed it might have done, or proceed as if it were able speedily to crush the rcl^ellion that had been raised. The Ameri- can troops were every day improving, and every day deriving en- couragement, either from unexpected successes, or the inactivity of the armies opposed to them. On the other hand, the Englisk were cither indulging in pleasure, when they should have been in action, or disheartened by sudden surprises or repulses, which rC" dounded greatly to the credit of their less disciplined, and less or- ganized opponents. In a short time, however, the war became more complicated, and opened a scene, which not only involved the continent of Europe in the conflict of the day, but probably led to changes and convulsions, as extraordinary and as extensive as ever the v/orld experienced. 15. In the month of November, 177G, the celebrated Dr. Frank- lin and Silas Deane had been dispatched by congress, to solicit, at the court of Versailles, the aid and assistance of French troops. According to the former course of things, nothing could be more strange than such an application, at such a court ; an application from rebellious subjects, from the assertors of republican indepen- dence, to s, court celebrated for the most refined despotism, and ruling a people, heretofore the grossest admirers and fiatterers of regal power ; an application from persons of the simplest habits ; frugal, temperate, industrious, and little advanced in civilization, to a court immersed in pleasure, gay, and dissipated, prolligate and corrupt, civilized to the highest pitch of courtly refinement, of pol- ished manners, and of splendid luxvu-y : lastly, an application from j^ people who had carried their dissent from the church of Rome 328 MODERN HISTORY. farther than any protestants in Europe, to a court still subject tc the papal see, a cherished branch of the catholic church. 16. Extraordinary, however, in all respects, as this American ■mission seemn to have been, through the infatuation of certain higli individuals of and about the French court, it met with a cordial and favourable reception. Even the queen of France was found to espouse the cause of the revolted subjects of Great Britain, lit- tle foreseeing the handle she was s:iving to ma)iy keen observers of her own courtly extravagance and thoughtless dissipation. The die was soon cast ; a formal treaty was entered into, acknowledg- ing the independency of America; succour and support to a large extent promised, and olUcers appointed to conduct the French for- ces, likely, it would seem, above all others, to imbibe the spirit of ireedom, wiiich animated the Americans, and to espouse their cause upon principle. They were all noble, indeed; but in America they were sure to be taught how vain were such distinctions, if not supported by public opinion. 17. The English government was not formally apprised of this unexpected alliance, till the year 1778, when it received a very curious and insulting notification ©f it from the French ambassa- dor. It does not appear that the aid thus obtained by the Ameri- can mission, was altogether grateful to the Americans themselves, though it had the full effect of raising up new and powerful ene- mies against the mother country, and involving Europe in their cause ; for, through the French influence, in the year 1779, Spain joined the confederacy against England, and, in 1780, Holland. ^u the mean while commissioners had been sent from England to America, to treat for peace, but the Americans, insisting on the previous acknowledgment of their independency, rendered their attempts fruitless. 18. Whatever loss of fame, reputation, and territory Great Brit- ain incurred in America, her arms never shone with greater lustre than on some occasions in which she was engaged during this war, with the confederate powers of Europe ; in Asia particularly, she was acquiring an empire ten times greater in wealth and popula- tion, than all she had to lose in the west : but of all her achieve- Bicnts at this period, none, perhaps, was so conspicuous, none so glorious, as the defence of Gibraltar under General Elliot, after- wards lord Healhfield, against the oombined forces of Spain and France. The preparatiorts made to recover that important for- tress for Spain, exceeded every thing before known. The ulti- sjate success of the attempt was calculated upon as so certain, that some of the French princes of the blood, repaired to the Spanish camp merely to witness its surrender. But the heroism of the troops in garrison baffled all their designs, and the timely arri- Tal of the British fleet completed the triumph, in October, 1782, The siege (begun in 1779) was entirely abandoned, with the loss «f all the Spanish floating batteries, and the defeat of the com- bined fleets of France and'Spain, by Iqrd Howe. This action took place on the 20th of October ; in the following month provisional articles 0^ peace were signed at Paris, by British and American com- missioners, and early ia the ensuing year a U'eai/ cc!a4iu4ed ^ MODERN HISTORY* 32^ Versailles, between Great Britain, France, and Spain, to vrhich, in February, Holland also acceded. 19. Towards the close of the war, many important discussions in parliament took place on the American affairs, in which it waf? found, that those who had most espoused her cause, on the ques- tion of internal taxation, and most objected to the measures of ad- ministration in the conduct of the war, diiicred, at the last, fron?. each other, on the question of American independence ; a diiTei- ence rendered peculiarly memorable, as beins^ the subjtct of the last speech and appearance in parliament of that illuslriou.s states- man, the earl of Chatham. On April 7, 1778, though labourin^^ under a severe tit of illness, he appeared in his place, in the hoas-. of lords, and delivered a most animated and energ-etic speech, in which he strong-ly protested a<;ainst the surrender of the sovereign- ty of Great Britain over her colonies ; soon after, rising to reply to the duke of llichmond, he fell back on the seat in a faintingfit, and in a i'ew days expired, at his seat in Kent. In four years from this event, Great Britain was compelled, by the circumstances of. the war, to yield upon this g-reat point, and, by the peace of Ver- sailles, ratified and concluded September 3, 1783, the ihirteen United Colonies of America locre adniiltcd to be '"'' Free^ Sovereign and Independent iStmta'.'''' SECTION IX. FRANCE, FROM THE PEACE OF PARIS, 1763, TO TII7: OPENING OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATES GENE- RAL, 1789. 1. For the affairs of France, from the death of Lewis XIV, to the peace of Vienna, 1738, (see Sect. I.) In the year of 1740, owing to the death of the emperor, Charles VI, Europe was again agitated, and France, in espousing the cause of the elector of Ba- varia, against the house o^' Austria, became involved in the v/ar. which was terminated by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 174C, (see ^ct. III.) From the conclusion of the abovd" treaty, to the com- mencement of the seven years' war, she enjoyed a state of exter-^ nal peace and tranquillity. But though this short interval of re- pose from war, was applied to the improvement of the kingdom, in no common degree, both in the capital and provinces, by the es- tablishment of schools and hospitals, the erection of public edifi- ces, the building of bridges, digging canals, and repairing roads ; in the cultivation and improvemGot of many arts, the extension cf commerce, and encouragement of manufactures ; of silk, of por- celain, and tapestry, in particular; yet amidst all these iniprove- ments she enjoyed little of internal tranquillity. Fvoligious dis-- putes greatly occupied the attention of all ranks of persons, and involved the clergy, the court, the pai-Laments, and the people, in incessant contests, exceedingly disgraceful, and, considering the Lemper of the times, the advancement of human knowledge, s^uii the progress of ideas, extremely injudicious, 23* S30 MODERN HISTOTIY. 2. During the reiofn of Lev/is XIV, a fierce contention had arise* 'betwefii the Jesuit; and Jansenists, on certain obscure points in theoloi^y, which, after much fruitless argument, much raillery and abuse on both sides, through the influence of the Jesuits with the king, were referred to the decision of the Roman pontiff. One hun- keep thinj:.? tolerably quiet during his administration of atfairs, nor 'igotry of the then archbishop oi Paris, the clergy v/ere encouraged to ref(;se eiitreme unction to all v/ho should not produce confes- sional notes, signed by persons who adhered to the bull. 3. it is eksy to guess the confusion and deep distress, indeed, which so singular and intolerant a measure was likely to produce. '1 he cause of the recusants and people in general, was, upon this eccasion, stTongiy supported by the parliament ol Paris, and other parliaments ; and as in the preceding strug2,les the Jansenists had been thrown into prison, in this the magistrates made no scruple of cominitting all who refused to administer the sacrament to persons in their last moments. The Jesuits had again recourse to the kin°r, 4. The ccmmon course of proceeding, in all disputes and con- tentions between the king and his pasliaments, had hitherto borne the stamp of the most perfect de:>potism. However bold, or how- ever respectful the remonstrances might be on the part of the lat- ter, th.y were not allowed to have the least effect against the de- lerminalion of the court. If these judicial bodies becam.e too re- fractory, b:isishment endued of course, and not the slightest regard was paid to any arguments they might allege, nor any resistance they might offer, in support of the liberties of their fellow sub- jects. 5. ^'hingscame to the usual crisis on the present occasion. All l.he ckambers of parliament refused to register the letters patent by * Ttie king's confessor, *AiQT. le Telsier, hHopened to have told ihe king ^h:xt thi* book cOfsliuried more than a hbmdred censurable prcposiiions. To Aave the credit of tke c en tip a sot-, ttie jinj^e conde.T!.".ed a hundred aitd one. Slid stated tbv; abo*e neason for what Le iiad ,di>zi^, iiJ €Sj'f«Si leiiiiSj Lo iibft- Fi»a^ £I£U£S&3dc£ fit f the people. 6. The hand of a f?.natic, in the year 1757, appeared to have the efl'ect of altering the king's mind once more. As his majesty was stepping into his carriage, he was stabbed by an assassin of the name of Damiens, his object being, according to his own con- fession, not to kill, but to alarm his majesty, with a view of pro- ducing some change in the king's sentiments, that might dispose him to enjoin the administration of the sacraments to dying persons, without the confessional notes insisted upon ; but little reliance is to be placed on any declarations of this nature. In this instance they seemed not to agree with the conduct of the assassin. 'J hat Lewis acted as he did soon afterwards, with regard to the points in dispute, inconsequence of this attempt on his life, is by no means certain ; but in a short time matters were accommodated with the parliament, and the archbishop of Paris, the c'nief fomentor of the disturbances on the part of the clergy, banished. 7. It may not be unreasonable, perhaps, to date the commence- ment of the revolution that broke out nearly thirty years after- wards, from this period. Scarcely any thing could have contributed move to encourage the revolutionary principles already at work, than disputes which indicated such inveterate superstition and big^- ^itry^ such determined oppositioix to ail freedoaa of thought j siich S3 2 MODERN HISTORY. sophistry and intrl^vie ; snch submission to the court of Rome su'jh contempt of the public opinion, as expressed, for want of anj better constituted organ, in the remonstrances of the French par- liament ; such a disposition on the part of the cowrt and chrgy to uphold the arbitrary powers of the sovereign, and this at a moment when the private life of the monarch himself was in the hie:hest degree profligfate and abandoned, and the whole system of govern- fnent a system of venality, favoiaritisra, and public plunder. These imprudent and unwise proceedinsfs, at such a time, gave a handle to the philosophers, m liltrali^ of the day, to take the reform of matters into their own hands, and by supplying them with such ample materials for the exercise of their wits, as v.ell as their cou- rage, laid the foundation for a revolution which (so extensive were the abuses of government) almost necessarily threw every thing into confusion, and in the end far outstepped the bounds of all so- ber and discreet reform. Bred up by the Jesuits themselves, and instructed in all the branches of worldly and polite knowledge, they were amply prepared to expose the weakness or wickedness of their masters, when once the veil that shrouded their decep- tions was by any accident removed. They stood ready to avail themselves of any circumstances that miglit tend to render manifest the pride and obstinacy, hypocrisy and deceit, of an overbearing sect, who by their influence with the king, might at any time tram- ple upon the liberties of the people. 8. I'hese philosophers, (for so they have been with too little dis- crimination called,) thus raised in the estimation of an oppressed -people into the rank of champions of public freedom, were unfortu- nately, but probably through the artful designs of their instructors, little acquainted with the true principles of religion, however fa- miliar they might be with its abuses. In directing their attacks, therefore, against the Jesuits, they were rather anxious that their shafts should reach all the regular clergy, or monastic orders in general ; uo'r were they at all careful how much religion itself might sutTer in the overthrow of its ministers. The enemies of the Jesuit's in China, Portugal, Fpain, and America, had been the Dominicans and Cordeliers. It was the aim of the philosophers, in crushing the Jesuits, to crush their rivals also ; they were there- fore as severe against the Dominicans as against the Jesuits: the parliament only attacked the latter. However attached Lewis XV. might be to the Jesuits, as the defenders of the catholic religion^ and kingly authority, he appears to have entertained a jealousy of them, as censors of his immoral course of life, and as more at- tached to his son the dauphin than to himself. He therefore be- came indifferent to the attacks making upon them ; while his mis- tress, the marchioness of Pompadour, and his minister, the duke de Choiseul, in order to keep the king wholly in their own power, were ready to take part against the dauphin, the queen, the royal family, and the Jesuits themselves,of whom they were, for the reasons above stated, justly suspicious. The duke de Choiseul himself, indeed, is said to have given the following account of his enmity to the or- der ; that being on an embassy at Rome, the general of the order &auki;f told him, that lie kiiew^. before he caice, every thing tiiat MODERN HISTORY. 333 he had said abaut the society at Paris, and so convinced bim that what he said was true, that he could not doivht but that, through some means or other, they were able to learn all that passed, not only in the cabinets of princes, but the interior of private hou- ses, and that so dangerous a society ought not to subsist. It is pro- per to state this, in order to exonerate the duke from any suspicion of having sacrificed them to the philosophers, whose irreligious principles he is knov/n latterly not to have approved. 9. In tile year 1759 the Jesuits had been expelled from Portu- gal, on a charge of countenancing an attack on the king's life. Un- der these circumstances, it is not surprising that the enemies of the order at Paris should attempt to fix on them the charge of the late attack on l.ewis XV, and to attribute to thera regicide principles. Damiens himself seemed to have taken pains to leave the matter in extreme doubt. 1'hey already were sufficiently branded in the eyes of the public, as the friends and assertors of arbitrary power, and enemies to liberty. To relieve the sovereigns of Europe from the thraldom of a sect so powerful, so artful and dangerous, became a principle of action, which the public were well enough disposed to countenance, and an opportunity only was wanting to accomplish their ruin. 10. This opportunity the Jesuits themselves provided for their enemies, iiaving endeavoured to escape from a demand made on them in consequence of some mercantile proceedings, in which one of their society was deeply involved, the tribunals to which the case was referred, having an handle given them by the pleadings «f the Jesuits, very properly required to see *the articles of their institution, hitherto, that is, for more than two centuries, kept se- cret from ail the world. The times v/ere well fitted for such a discovery. All men of wit and understanding, however unprinci- pled themselves, were well prepared to detect and expose the vul- nerable parts of their great charter or iststitote, (for so it was called) and to lay open to the world at large the peculiar arts and contrivances, by which they were systematically instructed to ac- quire an absolute dominion over the minds and consciences of men. The mysterious volume was lound to contain sufficient to convict them of such bad principles, with regard both to civil government and morality, that, though the king hesitated at first to pass sen- tence on them, being almost as much afraid of their rivals and op" ponents, the Jansenists, the parliament, and the philosophers, as of themselves ; yet, at length, August 6, 17G2, he was prevailed up- on to issue a decree, by which they v/ere secularized, and their possessions ordered to be sold, which was speedily, and with very few exceptions, carried-into execution in all parts of the kingdom. Efforts indeed were made to save them, as being essentially necessa- ry to combat the attacks of the new philosophy, and to check the progress of deism ai^id atheism ; as heretofore they had interposed to confound schismatics and heretics; both the altar and the throne, it was alleged, needed their services now more than ever ; but ail these movemfnts in their favour were in vain. The duke de Choiseul and the marchioness of Pompadour had the influence to procure gai tjdict from the king for the actual abolition of Uj^ 334 MODERN HiSTORY. order in France, ^vhich was issued in November, 1764, and othcrr courts of Europe judgfed it wise to take the same steps. Spain and Portugal having at this time ministers, whose principles and poli- tics much resembled those of the duke de Choiseul ; the count d"Aranda, and the marquis de f omhal ; tlie Jesuits were expelled froin Spain, Naples, and Sicily, from Mexico, Teru, and Paraguay, in the course of one and the same year, 17G7. 11. The fate of the Jesuits v/as »iO sooner decided, than the par- liaments, elated by the downfal of their great opponents, began to attack the arbitrary power of the king. I'he profligate life of the latter had withdrawn him too much from the cares of government, and opened the door to abuses in almost every department of ad- ministration ; but while the parliaments were thus engaged, some very extraordinary processes at law, particularly the case of the Colas family at Thoulouse, of Laharrt at Abbeville, and of the celebrated Lally^ commander in India, in which shocking instances of fanaticism and o};pre9sion occurred, turned the eyes of the phi- losophers, with Voliaire at their head, to the defects of the French jurisprudence, and excited a strong feeling against both the laics of France, and the administiators of them. 12. The nation had sustained a considerable loss in the death c^* the dauphin, who, though a favomer of iYai Jesuits to a certain ex- tent, exhibited a character so dili'crent from that of his father in many most essential points, as to render him very justly popular : his highnCiS died at the age of 36, in the year 1765; his wife, a prin- cess of the house of Saxony, surviving him only fifteen months. In 1770, through the agency of the duke de Choiseul, a new conneo tion took place between the courts of Vienna and Versailles, by the marriage of the young dauphin, afterwards Lewis XVI, with the daughter of the empress dowager, the archduchess ^Nlarie Antoi- nette ; an union attended with such costly and splendid festivities at the time, as must excite, in every sensible mind, the most awful reilections on the dismal events which are now known to have clouded its latter days. 13. I'he marriage of the dauphin took place at a time when the differences between the king and his parliament had arisen to the greatest height. In the course of the years 1770 and 1771, the king held several beds of justice, but without at all subduing the spirit which had been raised against his edicts, and which the min- ister, in ©iipoiition to the chancellor, is supposed to have encoura- ged ; a new parliament, and six councils, on the suggestion of the latter, were proposed to be constituted, to supply the place of the refractory members, who were banished; but this measure was opposed, not only by the regular parliaments, but by the princes of the blood, and several even of the very persons nominated to form and preside in the new assemblies. Several provincial parlia- ments, as well as that of Paris, were suppressed, and as many as seven hundred magistrates exiled or confined. 14. The year 1774 terminated the life and reign of Lewis XV ; he died in the 65tb year of his age, having reigned 50. The latter part of his life was liighiy disgraceful in a private point of view, and utterly feeble in a public one ; nor wars his death at 9.II Fei> MODERN IIKSTOIIY. 335 gffctted. He "W'as succeeded hy his grandson Lcv/is XVI, who had lost an elder brotlier in the year 1761, his father in 17G5, and his mother in 17G7 ; stra)igc mortality in one family, and too mnch resembling the losses in that of Lewis Xl\\ (sec Sect. I,) then im- puted to poison ; a charge re^ ived upon this occasion, but proba- bly entirely without foundation. 15. At the very commencement ^f his reign, but not without some sacrifice of his private feelings and opinioiis, I-cvv-is XVL complied with the .s-eneral wish of having the old pavliauunls re- stored, and the new councils formed by the chancellor Maupeou,dis- solvcd ; a measure \/hich seemed to diffuse an almost universal joy throughout the capital ai}d provinces. The kinj^ had taken into his service two ministers of a disposition favovirable to the wishes cf the people ; the venerable count de Maurepas, and M- Turgfot. In conjiinctior\ with these ministers, Lewis undoubtedly ajipeared disposed to reform abuses, and promote the happiness of his peo- ple ; but unfortunately the state of France, if not of the world in general, pre^^luded all hope of any gradual and temperate change. 16. '1 he American contest had commenced ; a declaration of rights had appeared there, exceedingly well calculated to open the eyes of those who had not yet seen, and to encourage the revolution- ary movements of those who hod been able to detect, and were pre- pared to expose, the great abuses subsisting in the French govern- ment ; already had (he philosophers successfully attacked the Je- suits ; aimed some severe blows at the monastic orders in general, as well as at the court of Rome, which had supported and abetted them in every attempt to uphold the papal and royal authority, and to stifle the complaints of the people. The tjTanny thus in- veighed against and attacked, had incited a.n opposition, much more likely to promote licentiousness than assist the cause of real and genuine liberty. The errors of Catholicism, upheld by a bigot- ed and infatuated clergy, at variance with the only assemblies in the nation capable of any constitutional remonstrance, however in- effectual, naturally hurried the wits and freethinkers of that lively nation into extremes which every sober minded man could not fail to lament ; in a very short course of time, from railing at the regu- lar clergy, they proceeded to rail at religion, and even atheism was propagated in a way that bespoke a dreadful dis egard of ali principles of religion, common honesty, and honour ; in works pur porting to have been written by very respectable persons, dtceased,. who had holden, when alive, opinions diametrically opposite to those that were thus stamped with their names. These were among some of the most dreadful forerunners of a revolution, which, had it been properly managed, had it fallen into the hands of per- sons better preparr^d to act upon the true principles of religion and orderly government, considering the progress of ideas, and the powerful impulse which the human mind had received, was not unseasonable in point of time and circumstances. 17. It would be absurd, however, to deny the abilities of many ©f the persons who now stood forward toston the torrent of abuses, and vindicate the rights of the people ; several of them had wit, »nd learning, and science, at commaud, to the higjiest degree ^ 23G MODERN HLSTORT. some of them had a lively sense of liberty, but they liad been ill- taug-ht on the subjects of religion and morality ; they had read Locke, without imbibing Locke"*s best principles ; they had con- founded the abuses of Christianity with Christianity itself; they were witty and ingenious, but not comparable in wisdom and con- duct with their contemporaries in Scotland, or in England ; the lat- ter were the truest friends to liberty, the best pihilosophers, and the best politicians, as their writings show. The celebiated Encyclo- paedia, which f;rst appeared in 1751, had supplied an opportunity for all the literati of !• ranee to express their most private senti- ments on government, political economy, and the management of the finances. Amongst these the ecoiiomists bore a conspicuous part ; their whole system, when rightly understood, being one of liberty, whether it regarded personal rights, the free application of industry, or the exportation of corn. "I'he author to the Introduc- tion to the Encyclopseriia, M. dWlembf^rt, was a man of considera- .blc talents, but a deist in principle; his coadjutor, Diderot, an atheist. 18. The ministry of Turgot, while it lasted, was rather calcu- lated to give encouragement to the French reformers ; his own riews were undoubtedly liberal and patriotic, and he had a master sincerely disposed, in ail likelihood, to further any practicable plan of reform, but the course of the niinistcr was too precipitate ; his views extended to too many objects, and were such as admitted not of any speedy accomplishment ; they were too mighty for the grasp of any one man ; they only excited the animosity of the privileged orders, and drove them into measures of defence, more calculated to work their own overthrov/ than conciliate their ene- mies. Ihe advocates of ancient abuses and unreasonable customs, they treated their opponents wiih an ill-judged contempt, and by re- sisting all amelioration of the present order of things, laid the foun- dation for a thousand impracticable systeins and extravagant theo- ries, new constitutions and schemes of government, which being severally proposed, tried, and rejected, in rapid succession, at last involved every thing in confusion, anarchy and ruin. 19. While the seeds of revolution, if not of republicanisrr, plen- tifully sown, were beginning to germinate in i ranee, in America the people were already acting ui)on the very principle of resist- ance to an alleged tyranny. It required only to bring the two coun- tries, by some mean? or other, into contact, to spread the contagion, and revolutionize both nations as the difierent circumstances and characters of the people should severally determine. At the be- ginning of the year n7c Fonts, presumptive heir to the elector Palatme, to a;ipeal to himself and the king of France against the dismemberment of the Bavarian tcrrilcries, referring, in connrm;.tion of his rigt>/ \ to the tieaty of Pavia, coniirmed by -^iie Golden Bull, and th'^'i^eaty of Westphalia ; all these auth.oji> 342 MODERN HISTORYc' I &:s wove disputed on the part of the emperor an(f empT^ss, ^tra- iiisisted on the validity and legality of the arrangements made with the elector Palatine. The emperor in the mean while offered to suhniit his own claims to the judgment of the diet, and to mediate between his m.other and the other claimants : preparations, never- theless, were made for deciding the matter- by arm.s, and both the emperor and king of Prussia took the field at the head of their re- spective forces ; but the empress queen, fearing for her son, made many overtures of peace, sought the mediation of Russia and Frarjce, and, though contirmal'ly thwarted by the emperor, who ■was inclined to war, and unwilling to submit to the dictates of foreign powers, succeeded in restoring tranquillity, by the treaty of Teschen, 1779. By this treaty many arrangements were enter- ed into tosatlsfy the king of Prussia, the elector Palativie, the duke of Deux Fonts, and the elector of Saxony. And Austria acquired •territory, though of no great extent, very important in point of situation. She obtained from Bavaria t^lie circle of Burghausen- which opened a pcfjsage to the Tyrol, and was not compelled ab- solutely to renounce any of her claims, though she found means to forego v/ith credit the further prosecution of them. France had done enough daring these disputes about Bavaria, to ^ive umbrage to the court of Vienna ; she had secretly opposed the dismemberment of the electorate, she had not supplied the succours she was required to do according to the treaty of Ver- isailles, and she had manifested a distrust of the emperor, bordering* >!pon contem.pt. This conduct had .the effect of throwing the lat- ter into the arms of England and Russia ; in the contest with ..\vneTica, Joseph espoused the cause of England, pronounced it to be the cause of all soveieigns, and prohibited all intercourse be- tween the subjects of the empire and the revolted colonies. With regard to Ftussia he took a more active part ; he visited Catherine on her celebrated journey to the Crimea, and at Petersburg ingra- tiated himself with her to an extraordinary degree, alienated her from the old king of Prussia,' and in so doing procured her assist- ance in promoting the advancement of his brother the archdtik^ Maximilian to the coadjutorship of Cologne and Munst^r, the last v/ish of Mavia Theresa, who had thus, in an extraordina.r.y msji- Rcr, found the means to provide, before her death, for all her nu- merous family. But her end was approaching: in November, 1780, she Avas seized with an illness, which termiiaated her exist- ence ; her last days were pa?t in acts of devotion and attentions to hi'T son, the emperor, and others of her family, particularly stri- king* and grand. She displayed at this awful moment a powerful mind, £1 v^arm heart, and a truly christian fortitude : she died IN'o- vember 29, 1780, in the 64th year of her age, and 41st of her, leign. She was not exempt from weaknesses, but her virtues, both public and private, greatly preponderated ; the former were Tif the mor-t splendid cast, the latter altogether as amiable. Nine out of sixteen children survived her. Joseph, who succecrled her ; Leopold, great duke of Tuscany; Ferdinand, goveJ'nor of Austrian Lombaiuiy and duke of Modena by rcYer?.ion ; Maxiniilian. coadjutor j4 Cologne and Mimsler f MOD£KN HISTORY. o43 Mary Ann p, abbess of Prag-ue ; Mary ■Christinu, v.lic of Albert, duke of Saxony ; Maria Elizabeth, abbess of Inspruck ; Maria Amelia, duchess of Parma ; Carolivie, (jueeu of ISapks : Maria Antoinetta, queen of France. SECTION XL REIGNS OF JOSEPH II, LEOPOLD II, fcc, FROM 1765 TO 1800. 1. On the demise of his- father, Francis I, Joseph, who had been elected king of the Ptumans in 1764, ascended the imperial throne, at the aofe of twenty-four, in the year 1705, his motlser being still livino;. It was soon apparent that he projected great changes, and the reformation of many abuse?, but in puri.uing these purposes he was undoubtedly too precipitate a^id too adventurous ; his educa- tion had not been such as to fit him for such high attempts. It was impossible to unite in the way he proposed such scattered domin- ions ; it was impossible to carry into execution all the schemes he had iiivented for the consolidation and improvement of the em- pire. In the Belgic provinces, in particular, he rendered himself extremely unpopular by the violence of his proceedings, but this was not till' after his mother's death ; as long as she lirrd she sedu- lously endeavoured to restrain the impetuosity sn-i warlike di-sposi- tion of her son, ^apprehending that he had many enemies at hand, and that notwifhstanding the pretended courtesy of tlie king of Prussia, manifested in private interviews as well as public negotia- tions, he could not have much chance of success in coping wiili so able, powerful, and experienced an opponent ; in this, perhap?^ she showed some sense, though it has been doubted whether she did not too much control tlic ardent spirit of lier son. ^, The empress queen d>ing in the year 17iivi, Joseph was lci\ to the pur- suit of his own whims and projects, in many instancf's most extra- vagant, in almost all oopre^^sivc. For though there was an appear- ance of liberallly, snd mucli sliow of good, he evidently seemed to consult nothing but his ov/n arbitrary will. 2. Had his education been such as to enable him to form a right judgment of tilings, had not his genius been cramped, and his rea- son perverted, by a choice of tutors and -preceptors peculiarly ill qualitied to fit liim for the arduous and conspicuous station to which- he had be^n elevated by the circumstances of his birth and con- nections, he might certainly have done great good, and actually ameliorated the condition of a large and m-ost interesting portion pf the human race, for his manners were such as to have led him to a just knowledge of their wants, and a proper sense of their claims upon society. He travelled througli Europe, as if he were bent on seeing the real condition of his iellow-creatures, in all ranks and situations of life ; discarding all pomp and parade, he sought the society and conversation of persons far below him, and encouraged every one to give him information upon subjects most nearly touching their ijiterests. Since Peter I. of ilusciaj. nd 344 . MODERN HISTORY. monarch .hftd taken such p'alns to procure information, and survey every thing with his own eyes. 3. The whole extent of his dominions was supposed to contain a population of 24,000,000, distinguished however by a great va- riety of laws, customs, religious opinions, and language ; the lower orders subject to many restrictions, attaching to the state of vas- salage in which they were still held by their feudal lords and* su- periors. The Roman catht>Iic religion chiefly prevailed ; the cler- gy were wealthy, and possessed great influence. Maria Theresa had perceived what was wrong, and had shown an excellent dis- position to amend matters, but had partly been compelled by cir- •cumstances, and swayed by prudence, to proceed moderately and gradually. Joseph was more impetuous ; he was so eager to break down all distinctions, that, among other regulations, he insisted on having but G?ie language for the whole empire, though no less than ten principal languages were spoken at that time, and in common use. Within the confines of his dominions, all his other projects were of the same description, whether good or bad, ex- ceedingly too hasty ; he broke up old systems before he was well prepared to establish new ones, and in the interval, necessarily occasioned such confusion, disgust, and trouble, as to binder every good effect, and thwart his own purposes ; in all his regulations he seemed bent upon upholding his ovv-n imperial power, not only by omitting to introduce any new checks upon it, but even abolishing old ones ; he particularly displeased his Hungarian subjects, those faithful adherents of his mother, by interfering wdth their lav/sand customs, and offending some of their fondest prejudices. 4. Though attached to the Roman catholic religion, he showed great disregard of the papal authority, by subjecting the monaste- ries to episcopal jurisdictioii, suppressing many, and reducing the numbers, both of monks and nuns, in ail that were permitted to continue, with great want of feeling ; he omitted to make any pro- vision for those who were discharged ; he broke through many su- perstitions, not rightly judging how deeply they Avere interwoven with the religious feelings of the people, and how much the latter therefore were likely to be affected by such violence and haste ; he abolished the privileges of primogeniture-, declared marriage (heretofore regarded as a sacrament) to be only a civil contract, and rendered bastards capable of inheriting. 1 he wisest and most * truly liberal of all his innovations was that which, by a public edict, dated October 31, 1781, established a general toleration for all the " oQ.catholici^'''' or dissenters from the Romish religion. This and other measures of interference with ecclesiastical matters so disturbed and alarmed pope Pius VI, as to induce him to take a journey to Vienna, personally to remonstrate with the emperor. His plan was opposed at Rome, and entirely discouraged by the Austian ministry ; but his holiness persisted, and, after a visit of much form and ceremony, returned in about a month, without ef- fecting any change in the sentiments or proceedings of Joseph. 5. In the same precipitate manner, as in at.her instances, he sud- denly abolished feudal vassalage, without any suitable arrange- ments for the jelief of tho^e who must eYidently suffer by sucii aa MODERN HSSTORY. 34i) jMiportant dianp:e of tenure ; and while he priJed hnvistlf upon putting; an end to slavery, he subjected the emancipated to such ar- bitrary imposts of hia own invention, as plainly to couvince them that they had not in reality recovered their freedom. I'o coun- tervail these errors in legislation and government, he certainly showed areat merit in the encouragement he gave to arts, letters^ trade aiid manufactures ; in founding numeroas schools- jvnd uni- versitie.-?, public libraries, laboratories and observatories; iji im- proving the public roads, making canals, and estahlisliino,- free ports. In 1704, he obtained permission from the Porte to navigate the TurAish seas, which seemed to afford excellent means to his Hungarian subielts, who were otberwi-io ill situated for -as quick];/, followed by fresh demands on the latter power, under pretence oi more ac- curately adjusting the boundaries of the Dutch and Austrian Ne- therlands. The cession of the city of Maestricht and the contigu- ous district of Outsr Mouse being among other things insisted up- on. At length, however, and about the year 1784, these claims all seemed to merge in one sweeping demand, to have the full and free navigation of the river Scheld, for tbe purposes of establisliing, in favour of his Flemish subjects, a di;\-?L lrri.r?e with the East In- dies, and of restoring the cily of Antv.' :in, c. re the emporium of Europe, to its proper degree of splendour and importance ; a pro- ject, which, if it could have been acccmplished without interfering with so many foreign interests, and the manifest violation of sub- sisting treaties, may be said to have reflected no disgrace on the policy, wisdom, or paternal care of the emperor ; but it was impos- sible to expect that such changes should be iillowed to proceed without great opposition. It was/soon discovered that both France f S^eCoxe j--, V-l, 153, &c. 346 MODERN HISTORY. ?ind Prussia were prepared to support the Dutch against him, and though the empress of Rassia had endeavoured to deter the latter from aiding the Hollanders, the project was laid aside, and Joseph, instead of his views on the Scheld, resumed some of his former de- mands. In the end, however, every thing was compromised by money, through the mediation of the French king, or rather in con- formity to the dictates of the French minister. 8. Another object which the emperer attempted almost at the same time, but equally v/ithout effect, was the exchange of the Netherlands for Bavaria. He had taught his mother to covet the latter country, and its acquisition would undoubtedly have render- ed his dominions more compact, and given him a continued line of territory, from the frontier of Turkey to the Mediterranean sea, while it might have relieved him from the charge of a more distant portion of his dominions, held by a very uncertain and troublesome tenure. Joseph had calculated upon overcoming allkthe difficul- ties that might arise from foreign powers ; had secured the consent of Russia, and even negotiated the proposed exchange with the elector of Bavaria, (v,-h0, if it took place, was to be made king ©f Austrasia or Burgundy.) But Frederic II, at the age of seventy- four, again interposed : and,by forming witii the several princes and states of the empire what was called the Germanic union, for maintaining the integrity and indivisibility of the Germanic body in general, effectually prevented the exchange so much desired. The princi- pal parties to the union, which was settled and confirmed, July 1785, were, besides the king oi Prussia, the electors of Hanover, Saxony and Mentz, the margrave of Anspach, and the duke of Deux Fonts. The whole scheme, indeed, was found to be so im- practicable, that the emperor and elector judged it prudent to de- ny that any convention to that effect had taken place between them. 9. In 1708, Joseph incurred considerable disgrace, by his attacks upon Turkey. He ha.d projected, in conjunction with the em- press of Russia, whom he had flattered by a visit to the Crimea, the total dismemberment of that empire; but blunder upon, blunder defeated his purposes, and he retired from the contest blamed by all parties. In 1789, however, hostilities M^ere renewed, and iu the battle of Rimnik, which took place in th€ month of Septem- ber, the combined forces of Russia and Austria gained an impor- tant victory over the Turks, under the command of the grand vizir. The capture of Belgrade soon^fter, by the army of Loudon, com- pleted their triumphs ; but their success occasioned jealousies, which eifectually interrupted the career of victory. England, Holland, and Prussia, began to be alarmed at the increasing power of Fvus- sia and Austria ; and, by fomenting the troubles in the Nether- lands, drew the attention of Joseph from his intended encroaench, he not only effectually ingratiated himself with the leading persons of the kingdom, but regal::ed iha MODERN HISTORY* 349 affections of the people at large, which had been sadly alienated through his brother's unwise interference with their most favourite customs and established vig^hts. 15. Leopold did not so easily settle his disputes with the Neth- erlands. The mediation of England, Holland, and Prussia, had been offered, but Jie rather inclined to rely on his own strength, and his connexions with France, which were every hour becoming; more uncertain and precarious. He had recourse therefore to force, and succeeded indeed in re-establishing the imperial author- ity, but totally detached from any cordial returns of loyalty on the part of the Belgians, which became but too apparent, when his subsequent disputes with the revolutionary g-overnment of France exposed those parts. of the Austrian dominions to fresh troubles and disturbances. 16. The situation of the emperor Leopold, it must be grranted, was very embarrassing in the first years of the Trench revolution. The constraint put upon the royal family of France, to which he stood so nearly allied, and the threats denounced so openly against the queen his sister, in particular, must have grea-tly affected his private feelings, while many of the German states, whose rights, ecclesiastical and territorial, guarantied by the peace of W est- phalia, had been invaded in Alsace, Franche Compte, and Lor- raine, by the decree of the national assembly, for abolishing the feudal privileges, publicly called upon him to interpose in their behalf, as head of the empire ; as he stood bound to do indeed by his capitulation with the diet, on receiving the imperial crown. In regard to the royal family of France, his first plans, in conjunc- tion with the king of Prussia, were clearly injudicious, and injuri- ous to the cause he took in hand. The French revolutionists were not in a state to be intimidated by angry manifestoes or threats of foreign interference. The emperor himself, indeed, did often ap- pear cautious of embroiling his country in a war with France, but was at length probably provoked into it, by the violence of the Jacobinical faction at Paris, rather than persuaded by the repre- sentations of the emigrant princes, or royal family at Paris, as was so strongly alleged. Beyond the alliance with Prussia, however, concluded on the 19th of February, 179.2, the emperor Leopold can scarcely be said to have had any share in the war with France ; for, on the 27th of that very month, he was seized with an illness, which in three days terminated his life, at the early age of forty- four, leaving his dominions in a state of more serious danger thaa when he began his reign. 17. The emperor Leopold was succeeded in his hereditary states by his eldest son Francis, born in 1768, who became emperor in the July following his father's death, and still reigns. This mo- narch had to begin those hostilities with France which his prede- cessoi- seems to have contemplated with considerable distrust, and he became a party to the too hasty proceedings of his Prussian ally and the duke of Brunswick, who increased the irritatioi\ and pro- voked the resistant* of the French, by menaces extremely impoli- tic, coa'idering the ftctual state, of thing?. They endeavoured, in- 30 350 MODERN HISTORY. deed, to throw the blame on the emigrant princes, who, it was af- leg-ed, had misled them by false representations of the ^ood dispo- sition of the people in the interior of Frauce. They expected ta find a large majority ready to co-operate with them in the over- throw of the ruling faction. 18. The emperor soon found himself in a very awkward situa- tion. Instead of invading France with any effect, he had the mor- tification to see his own dominions invaded by the French, under a general (Dumourier), who had boasted that he would subdue the Austrian Netherlands before the eud of the year ; an engage- ment which he in a great measure fulfilled, through the disaffec- tion of the Belgians, who were ready enough to throw off the Aus- trian yoke, heedless tliat they were in the way of having another immediately imposed upon them still more galling and vexatious^ Tn the month of November, 17r?2, all subjection to the imperial authority Vvas openly renounced in the very capital of the Nether- lands, and the French allowed to enter the city in triumph. While these things were going on in Flanders, Germany itself was invaded b]/ the French general, Custine, Mentz taken, and heavy contributions levied in the towns of Worms and Frankfort. 19. Eaily in the year 1793, the Austiians imder general Clair- fait and the prince of Saxe Coburg, obtained advantages over the French, at Aix-la-Chapelle, which were follov/ed by the capture of the towns of Valenciennes and Conde, in conjunction with the British array vmder the command of the duke of York. A sepa- ration of the two armies afterwards took place, which was attend- ed with unpleasant circumstances, and seems to have happened very contrary to the desire and wishes of the Austrian command- ers. The troops under the duke laid siege to Dunkirk, but were \nisuccessful in their attempts against the place, being obliged to abandon the undertaking with the loss of the greatest part of their artillery and stores. - 20. In the year 1794, the allied armies again acted in conjunc- tion against the French under general Pichegru, the emperor him- i-elf having joined the camp, but the overwhelming power of the French baffled all their attempts to defend the Netherlands, which fell entirely into the hands of the enemy. 21. The share which the emperor Francis II. had in the final dismemberment of Poland, 1795, will be shewn in the history of that unhappy country. The king of Prussia having gained great advantages by this transaction, declined any longer assisting the allies against Frauce, and in open violation of his engagements "with Fngland, made a peace with the French government, April 5, 1795, to the great disgust of the confederates. 22. The contests between the armies of Germany and France, in the years 1796, 1797, were carried on with the greatest vigour, i*kill, and bravery, on the Rhine, in Suabia, in the Tyrol, and in Italy. In 1796, the archduke Charles, brother of the emperor, acquired great glory by checking the progress of the two celebra- ted 1 rench generals, Jourdan andMoreau : ard, though compelled to letiie before Buonaparte, in 1797, and to subscribe to the peace of Caii'po-iormio, as will be related elsewhere, his credit with the MODERN HISTORY. 351 ■Hrniy remained undiminished, and his reputation as a general un- impaired. On the renewal of the war in 1799, at the insligalioa oC the Neapolitan court, the Anstrians were assisted by the Rus- sians, and at the close of the eighteenth century, the tide of af- fairs seemed to be turning greatly against the French, when a new revolution in the fluctuating government of that disturbed people, suddenly changed the face of thiug^s, as will be shewn ia our coa- tiuuation of the history of France. SECTION XII. FRANCE, FROM THE OPENING OF THE ASSEMBLY OF " THE STATES-GENERAL, 1780, TO THE DEATHS OF THE KING AND QUEEN, 1793. 1. The states-general met, May 5, 173.9. The king's speech has been much admired, as the address of an upright, humane, and patriotic prince, to a respectable assemblage of his subjects, by whose politcal and legislative exertions he hoped to improve the state of the nation. The nobles and clergy had expressed a ivillingness to forego their pecuniary privileges, but there were other grounds upon which they seemed li]^ely to be at variance with the third estate. The latter were for obliterating ail traces of di:^tinction in their legislative capacity ; while the former werc go imprudent as to talce some steps, not only^ indicative of an in- vincible attachment to such distinctions, but bearing an air of ar- rogance and defiance in them, ill suited to the times. The very costume ?,dopted on the occasion Vv^iis calculated to render the re- presentatives of the commonalty almost ridiculous in the eyes of their countrymen. The nobles and clergy were distinguished by robes peculiarly rich and brilliant; but the whole of the third fes- taie were directed to appear in the common and antiquated black dre^ of JLhe members of the law, though of various callings and professions. As soon, however, as the commons had verified their •powers and were prepared to act, v/ithout waiting for the concur- :!;ence of the other two orders, it was proposed by a M. Le Grand, and seconded by the Abbe Sieyes, to call their meeting the '' J^q^ tioTiftl xdssp.inhlij^'''' as forming a national representation one and in- divisihle. This was eagerly adopted by a majority of the mem- bers, but objected to by the 'king ; at length, hCMVcrei', sorfic of the clergy and nobles having joinecf the ihiid estate^ the king himself condescended to approve and sanction the union, a matter of great triumph to the popular party, and which, in fact, made them the arbiters of the destiny of France. 2. On the llth of July, 1789, the king thought it necessary to ■dismiss M. Necker ; many tumults and insurre«ction3 Avere the con- sequence of this unpopular proceeding ; the Bastille state prison, once crowded with the victims of arbitrary pov/er, but at tb.is mo- ment, and under the mild reign of Lewis X\'I, almost empty, was besieged by the mob, taken, and razed to the ground. After ma- /ijt.uspults of this i^ind, the king judged it expedient to comply ob'2 MODERN HISTORY. ■vvith the "wishes of his people,, and to recall the discarded niinis-- ter ; he was also induced by ciicumstances, to yield to another demand of more i!T5])ortance, namely, the dismissal of all his troops from the environs of Paris and \ ersailles. In the meanwhile, the liiarquis de la Fayette, who had been engag-ed in America, and there imbibed a spirit of liberty, was fixed upon to take the com- mand cf the new militia or city guard. Alarmed at the appear- ance of thing's at this period, many nobles, and even one of the king's brothers, \eft the kingdom. - This had undoubtedly a bad effect ; it not only left the king: more exposed to the violence of faction, but seemed to betoken a disregard of the liberties of their country, and a settltd purpose of invoking foreign aid. 3. 'Jhe national assembly soon divided itself into two parties ; Ihe aridociais^ or such as not only favoured royalty, but to a cei«- tain exti-nt, the privileg-ed orders, nobles, and clergy ; and the democrat::^ ov advocates of freedom ; the sworn enemies of all op- pressive and distinct privileges ; they were also distingfuished into royaiiste and pcinois. Among the former we may reckon the mod- CTcJcs^ whose speecljts in the assembly are justly to be admired, lor iheir extreme good sense and rational politics. Of the nobles, it should be observ^ed, that the most obnoxious were those who had purchased their nobility, araounling; to many thousands. Of true, ancient, and hereditary nobility tliere w^ere. it was compu- ted, not ntore tlian two hundred families in the whole kingdom when the revolution began, nor were their privileges and exemp- tions by any means so great as was pre'tended. It was soon seen which party war- the most pov/erful ; on the 4th of August, 1789, decrees were passed, as if with t?ie full consent of the v»?hole as- sembly, for the abolition of the privileges of the nobles and clerg-)', provinces and towns ; while persons of every rank and description were pronounced to be eligible to all civil, military, and ecclesi- astical app')intments. The roval family were exposed to horrible insults an(^ indignities at Versailles, and at length almost forcibly conveyed to Paris ; in consequence of which removal, tj;ie assem- bly also adjourned its sittings to the capital, a fatal step to take, as it could not but expose them to the tyranny of a faction, and the fury of the Parisian mob. Among the measures adopted at this period, the most important were those which placed all church property at the disposal of the nation, dissolved all monas- tic establithraents, feudal privileges and rights, and suppressed the provincial pavliaMents ar.d assemblies, by artfully dividing the kingdom into 83 departments, the work of the Abbe Sieyes ; by this act the very name of province was obliterated from the French vocabulary, and with it all peculiar lights, laws, and jurisdictions ; all provincial governors, commandants, sub-delegates, presidents, and tribunals of election; mayors, echevins, jurats, courts of aid, chambers of accounts, fee. Every thing was at this time trans- acted in the way of violehce and destruction ; every law voted by acclamation, with little patience and less judgment ; thus, wdien it was proposed to abolish all titles and hereditary distinc- tion?, armorial bearings, liveries, &c. the democrats -^vould scarce- ly suffer the question to be debated, and it was carried by a lar°;e ?fIODERN HISTORY. 35B majortty., (.hon°:h so many members of the assembly must ha^'e been deeply affected by iL 4". The national assembly was slow in preparing a constitution- al code, particularly in deciding npou the three following ques- tions. Whether such assemblies should be permanent or periodi- cal ? composed of one or two chambers ? and whether the kin^^a xtto should be absolute or suspensive? While these things were in agitation, the king had attempted to rescue kimselffrom the tram- -mels imposed upon him, by a timely escape from Paris ; but he was stopped on his journey, and compelled to return. At length the assembly terminated its labours ; a constitutional act was pre- pared and presented to the king, of which, after an interval often days, he declared his acceptance. Had he been free, it is impos- sible that he could have given his sanction to a measure which subjected tlie monarch to Jhe will of a domineering assembly, and was ill-caleulated to repress the efforts and designs of a licentious .and restless faction. The asscuibly, hov/ever, having thus comple- ted its task, was dissolved by the king on the 30th day of Septem- ber, 179]^ being succeeded by auother convention, denominated '' the legislative assembly,*'' whose deliberations Vvcrc confined. to the space only of one year ; none of the members of the former assembly being eligible to tlie latter. 5. In the year 1792, Austria and Prussia, in coasequenco of a declaration and agreement (according to all accounts imprudent) determined upon at Pilnitz, in the preceding year, began to inter- fere in behalf ot' the king and royal family, but so far from alarm- ing the revolutionary party In Fi;ance., their interposition seemed only to have ti:ie effect of instigating it to acts of greater violence and more determiiied courage. '^'S'ar was without scruple declarecl against the king of Hungary and Bohemia, in the month of April, and every preparation made to resist all counter revolutionary pro- jects. Svv'eden and Russia bad shewn a strong disposition also to interfere ; but the assassination of the Sw-cdiib monarch, Gusta- vus III. in .1792, and the distance of Russia from France, prevent- .ed both those countries engaging in actual bostiiitics. In the mean time, Paris became a scene of lireadful confusion ; every day some new faction seemed to arise to battle the attempts of those v/hohad yet wisdom or temperance enough to prevent things coming to an extremity. The legislature v. as at the mercy of the Parisian clubs, and of the mobs, too freely a^jmittedinto the galle- .lies of the assembly. 'Jl;o king was insi ited in the grossest mau- .jjcr for having ventured to iiiterpose his suspentirc negatire to the passing of two severe decrees ; one against those who had emi- ■g-rated, and tlie oth.r against iiie clergy who declined taking ttift civic oath. SI. la Fayette, who had bee)i appointed to take the command of the army, wrote from his camp to admonish the na- tional representatives to rescue the country and the king from the factiou.s designs of the em aged jacobins,; but in vain, it served .only to exasperate still more the anti- royalists, and to bring fresh troubles on the royal family. The design of tJie i'actious seems to' ■|i5ive,b.ecB3 either to iiitimidate the king to a degree of XibjcctjiL-L- 30* - S54 MODfeRN HISTORY^ mission, or to provolre him to act against the constitution m a man' ner that mig:ht render him liable to the vengeance of the people. The march of the Prussian army, anda threatening manifesto issued' hy its commander, the duke of Brunswick, irritated the violent party into a frantic determination to abolish royalty. The king •vvap supposed, or represented, to be confederate with the enemy, and deeply engaged in a plot yith his emi°;rant brothers aiad rela- tives-^ to counteract the reYolution. G. iV dreadful attack was made on the palace in the month of August, the particulars of which are too disgusting to dwell upon ; l;nt it completed the triumph of the demagogues ; for in compelling the king''s guards to act on their defence, they had it in their pow- er to cliarge the king him.self with having made war upon his peo- ple. Nothing v/as now heard but the cry of " liberty and equali- ty. '' The *■' chief of the executive power," as they chose to de- nominate his majesty, was formally suspended from his functions, and, under the pretence oi guardianship^ committed with his queen and family to the temple. 7. The assembly appeared from this moment to be as much in the power of the faction as the king. The period has been too justly distinguished by the appropriate title of " the reign of terror." The execrable P».ol)espierrc was in reality at the head of affairs, and it v,oukl be impossible adequately to "describe the atrocities of his merciless career. It wodld exceed the limits of this work to enter far ii;to particular detail?. La Fayette abandoned the aimy, as uinvillinu' to s(;rve under such masters ; his conduct has been ar- raigned, as reflecting at once upon his loyalty, his patriotism, and his courage ; it was thought that with the army so much at his disposal as it seemed to be, had his prin(;:iples been such as he pre- tended, he would have marched ba«k to Paris, and saved his coun- try and his king from the ruin with which they were threatened. In the meanwhile the combined troops of Austria and Prussia were a}^proaching the frontiers; differences subsisted in the army ; nor was general Dumouriez, who had succeeded to the command on th'.j retirement of La Fayette, generally confided in, either by the army or the faction. To lessen the number of aristocrats, many suspected of belonging to that party were hurried to prison, v/here, Avithout scruple, and with such barbarity as is not to be paralleled' in the records of history, they were almost all assassinated, to the amount, as it has been estimated, of nut less than five thousand. This happening on the second of September, all who were con- cerned in it, as principals or abettors, were denominated Sepitni' brizeis. 8. Thetse were but prelwdes to a catastrophe, if possible, still aiore shocking ; a murder perpetrated with a studied deliberation^ and with all tlje mocker^/ of legal forms and ceremonies. However hastened by the hostile approach of the confederate powers, and the injudicious threats they threw out in case an;/ violence should be offered to the king''s person, nothing could possibly excuse the perversion of justice, and gross inhumanity which marked the triy als of the king and queen ; nothing exceed the melancholy cic- cumsUnccs of thtir imprisoaraeat aud esecutioa.,' Oa the 11th of MODERN HISTORY* 355 December, 1792, the king; appeared before the convention, to hear the char^r>s preferred agamsthim. "• You are accused," said the president, " by the French nation, of having committed a multitude of crimes, for the purpose of re-establishing- your tyranny by the destruction of liberty." He then entered into a few particulars. The kin J, with great dig^nity, replied, *' No existing laws prohibit- ed me fronv doin^ as I did ; I had no wish to injure my subjects, no intention of shedding their blood." Further accusations were pressed upon him, from which he defended himself with the same firmness and simplicity of lang-ua^e, the same coolness and intre- pidity of mind. He declared boldly, that his conscience fully ac- quitted him of the things laid to his charg-e, and appealed to the Tvhole course of his behaviour and carriage towards them as king, to exonerate himself from the horrid imputation of having been eager and ready to shed the blood of his people. This charge, in- deed, rested solely on the events of the 10th of August, when the rabble broke into the palace of the Tuilleries, and not only mena- ced the lives of the king and his family, but are allowed to have begun the sanguinary part of the conflict, by the murder of five of his Swiss guards. It was not till after this event that the rest of these faithful adherents fired upon the aggressors, and drew upon themselves the vengeance that terminated so fatally, for they were all destroyed. 9. It having been resolved that the judgment and decision of the case should rest with the national representatives, the convention m«t on the 15ih of Januaiy, 1793, to discuss the question of the king''s guilt, upon the charges so loosely and so maliciously brought against him, when it appeared that only thirty-seven were dis- posed to think favourably of his conduct. Six hundred and eighty- three members, v/ith little or no hesitation, some, incieed, with the most cruel eagerness and exultation, pronounced him guilty. An attempt was made to procure a reference of this matter to the peo- ple ; iDut it was over-ruled by a majorit>' of one hundred and thir- ty-nine. 10. Having determined the question of. his guilt, that of his pun- ishment became the next subject of discussion. It was proposed to decide between detention, banishment, and death. After a de- bate, in which the amiable monarch seemed to be regarded by ma- ny as despotism personified, no less than three hundred and sixty- one, or, according to some accounts, three hundred and sixty-six members, voted peremplorily for death ; and on a further question, "whether the execution of the sentence should be suspended or take place immediately, the votes for the latter amounted to three hun- dred and eighty against three hundred and ten. The king was to be informed of the result of their proceedings, and to sutler death in twenty-four hours afterwards. The advocates (or the king were allowed to address the assembly, and to move an appeal to the people, but without effect. On the motion of Robespierre, the de- cree was pronounced irrevocable, and the king's defenders debar- red from any furtlier hearing. 11. On the Slst of January his majesty, having previously takeit leave of his family, and peribrmed the services of devotion, was 95^ MODERN HISTORY. <:onYeyed to the place of execution ; nothing could excceil the pil- ous resignation with which he submitted to the cruel and unjust sentence which doomed him to death, and during his passage to the square of the revolution, where the guillotine was erected, he betrayed no symptoms of fear or anger. On the scaffold, he mani- fested a strong desire to addrf;ss the crowd ; but tlie drums were made to sound louder, and he was rudely bidden. to be siient ; in a jnoment after, his head was severed from his body, sMd shewn to the people as the htad of a tyrant and a traitor I 12. History, both public and private, has borne ample testimony -to the falsehood of the charges brought against him; every nation in Europe concurred in condemning the conduct of the French regi- .cides ; and though, in exciting the resentment of fresh enemies, England and Spain particularly, it threatened the ruin of th-e new republic ; it appeared by no means to have satisfied the blood-thirsty vengeance of the ruling faction. The democratic, or republican party^ had long been split into two divisions, and their opposition to each other seemed at this time to be at the height. Brissot, who headed the Girondists^ (so called from the department of Girondc^ which some of that side represented,) was still alive ; Robespierre, Danton, and Marat, directed the movements of the opposite faction ; for some time previously called the Mountain^ from the tltvaled seats they occupied hi the hall of the couvea- tion. 13. It seemed now to be a question which of these turbulent parties should obtain the ascendancy ; and a contest of this na- ture was not likely to be decided without a much larger efl'usiou. of blood. " The reign of terror" still continued, and many more victims were preparing for the stroke of that fatal instrument, which seemed to have been timely invented for the quick and in- cessant course of decapitation and destruction now adopted. Had any thing been capable of producing domestic union, it might have been expecteL-, from the formidable confederacy of foreign powers, armed against the nation ; for, in addition to Austria and Prussia, England, Spain, and Portugal, were at open war vvilh France ; while a royalist party had arisen within its own confines, of rather a fojmidable description, considering the strength of the enemies without, and the distracted state of the government. 14. Though Eivch was the situation of tlie country, with regard to foreign powers, and royalists at home, the struggle between the Girondists and llobespierrean faction was carried on at Paris with the utmost violence and precipitation ; but the Mountain prevailed. The leaders of the Brissotines were arrested and confned in the month of May, and oii the 31st of October following, all executed. Brissot himself saw sixteen of his party guillotined before it.cameto his turn, and four were beheaded afterwards. Many of them were persons of considerable talents, and not destitute of private virtues, had they lived in less turbulent and trying times. 15. Horrible as this execution must have been, one still more appalling had engaged the attention of the people^ on the same spot, only fifteen days before. Loaded with insults, and deprived *f eyeiy j)cssible coirifort or consolation, " the wido>v o.f Lewis MODERN mSTOP.Y. 35T Capet,"" as they chose to call their- queen, (a princess of Austria, and daughter of the high-minded Maria Theresa,) had not been suflered to enjoy one tnotiient of repose from the day of the kind's execution; preparations were soon after made for her own trial, which, if possible, was conducted in a manner still more revolting to every feeling: mind, than that which had been adopted in the ease of her unhappy consort. Her guilt and her punishment were as soon decided upon ; but even after this sad act of vengeance and injustice, shocking circumstances of ignoaiiny, degradation, and persecution took place, scarcely to be credited as tiie acts o( any portion c*' a people at all advanced in civilization ; she was cast into a dungeon, and delivered into the custody of a gaoler seemingly selected on purpose to insult over her misfortunes, and aggravate her sufferings. On the dreadful »day of her execution, she was conveyed to the scaffold in a common cart, with her hands tied behind her, amid the brutal shouts of an infuriated populace. Thus died, in the 38th year of her age, the queen of one of the g"reatest kingdoms of the earth ; a princess, who, though not entirely free from faults, bad, till this fatal revolution, lived in all the splen- dour and luxury of a court, the marked object, not only of adniira- Hon and adulcawn^ but of homage so profound, and, in some in-* stances so .servile and ensnaring, as to palliate and account for all Ihe errors of her short, but eventful life. r SECTION XIIL GREAT BRITAIN, FROM THE CONCLUSION OF THE AMERICAN WAR, 1783, TO THE PEACE OF AMIENS, 1002. 1. From the peace of Versailles, in 17c?3, to the commencement of the year 1793, Great Brimin kept free from war, though not without some disputes wilh foreign powers, and occasional calls upon her to interpose, as an ally or mediatrix, in the afiairs of other states, Holland particularly. Soon after the termination of the Americari war, extraordinary changes in the administration took place. The ministry that negotiated the peace, at the head of which was the earl of Shclburne, was displaced, and succeeded by "what was called the coalition ministry, from the extraordinary circumstance of Mr. Fox and lord North becoming joint secretaries of state, after an opposition peculiarly animated, and a positive declaration on the part of the former, that they diU'ered so in prin- ciple as to render such an union forever impracticable. 1. The unpopularity of such an apparent dereliction of princi- ple, as might reasonably be expected, rendered their continuance in power extremely precarious, and it was not long before their re» moval was effected, in consequence of a bill brought into parlia- ment by Mr. Fox, to regulate the affairs of India. The measure- was judged to be iraufi,ht with danger to the constitution, by th^ow-' ing too much power into the hands of a board of commissioners^ t<5 3513 ► MODERN HISTORY. be chosen by parlian-ient, and though it passed the commons, it was thrown out by the lords, and the ministry dismissed. 3. Mr. Pitt, a younger son of the great lord Chatham, now came into power, not in any subordinate situation, but as premier, though at the early age of twenty-four, and under circumstances. peculiaily embarrassing, for he had long to contend against a majority of the house of commons, who threatened to stop the supplies, and eflect his removal, as not enjoying the confidence of the people. This being judged too great an interference with the prerogative, and many addresses being presented to the king to retain him in his service, the parliament was at length dissolved, and the issue turned out to be extremely favourable to the choice of his ma- jesty. 4. The affairs of India manifestly requiring the interposition of government, Mr. Pitt, as soon as possible, procured a bill to that effect to be passed, according to which a board of control was to be appointed, not by parliament, but by the crown. Though this increased in some degree the infiuence of the latter, it was judged to be far less hazardous than the proposal of Mr. Fox, . which threatened to throw such a power into the hands of the minis- ter and his friends, as might enable theai to overawe the sovereign, and render tlieir removal almost impracticable. Mr. Pitt's bill, also, was found to interfere far less wiih the chartered rights oi the company. It passed the lords, August 9, 1734. 6. Another measrire of considerable i;npnrtance occupied the at- tention of the minister, during the year 17oG, which was expected to contribute greatly to the support of public credit. This was the •est-ablishmcntof a new sinking fund, by approprialino; the annual sum of one million, to be invariably applied to the liquidation of the public debt. At a subsequent period, a sinking fund of still greater importance was established, by which every future loan was to carry with it its own sinking fund. 1'his was proposed to the house in 179*2, and readily adopted ',#1 consisted in raising one per cent., besides the dividends upon every new stock created, to be applied by the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, in the same manner, and under the same regulations as the original million.* 0. From the commencement of the year 1786, to the year 1705, the attention of the British parliament was in a very extraordinary ananner occupied with the charges brought again?t Mr. Hastingg, governor-general of Bengal, in February, 1786. Mr. Burke, whose mind had been long affected by the abuses practised in Lidia, by ■the servants of the company, had appeared lor some time to have fixed his eye upon Mr. Hastings, as a fit object of prosecution ; and he now moved for papers to substantiate the charges upon which •he meant to impeach him. These charges being discussed in par- liament, during the session of 1787, and referred to a committee, were confirmed by the house of commons, on the 9th of May, and * By Ou"? provision every loan would have its own fund, which would operate at compound idtcrest, and dischfir/^e the dcbl in forty-seven yeti^s at tUe longest, from tlie time it was first iocurrsd. MODERN HISTORY. 359 the articles of impeachment exhibited to the house of lords, on the 14th ; in consequeiice of which Mr. Hastings was taken into cus- tody, but, on the motion of the lord chancellor, admitted to bail. The trial did not commence till February 15, 1788, was continued not only through the whole of that parliament, though very slow- ly, but after- much debate, determined to be pending on the com- xnencement of the new parliament, 17&0, and not brought to a conclusion till the mouth of April, 17&5. 7. The question whether the impeachment abated on the dis' solution ot parliament, appearing to involve a constitutional point of the highest importance, was discussed with singular attention, and a large display of le2;al and parliamentar]^ knowledge. The law members of both houses were never perhaps so divided in their opinions ; but the numerous precedents cited by Mr. Pitt seemed clearly to decide the question as follows : that though legislative processes are abated by prorogation or dissolution, it is not so with regard to judicial proceedings. It appeared to be a nice and curi- ous question, and, as aflecting the responsibility of ministers, its decision may be regarded as sin a;ularly important. 8. Though in the cour=e of the proceedings and prosecution of tlie various charges against Mr. Hastings, the eloquence of the ina)iagers exceeded all that could have been expected, yet never perhaps were so great talents employed with less success ; atrial of such seeming importance, so strangely protracted \ or a case of impeachment brought to an issue so little answerable to the ex- pectations that had been excited. It would be impossible to deny that flagrant and enormous abuses had been committed in India during the period in question, yet, the very length of the trial made it appear to most persons in the light of a persecution^ and that of an individual to whom the company and the nation stood highly indebted for many eminent services. As it ended in the acquittal of Mr. Hastings, that gentleman is to "be presumed innocent. One good, however, seems to have arisen from the investigation ; all succeeding governors-general have certainly been more circum- spect and correct in their proceedings. 9. In the course of the year 1787, great disturbances having taken place in the united provinces, fomented by the French, and threatening the dissolution of the stadtholderate, an alliance was formed between the courts of St. James's and Berlin, to protect the rights of the prince of Orange, and resist the interference of the French. Preparations for Avar took place, but the Prussian army decided matters vvithorit any active co-operation on the part of Great Britain. The alarming state of things in France, appeared to deter the court of Versailles from rendering that assistance to the malcontents of Iloliand, which the latter had been taught to expect. 10. Inuring the session of 1788, the attention of the house o( commons v/as first called to the horrible circumstances attending the African slave-trade. It is quite snr))riying that such a tratiic should have beoi so long carried on, without exciting the resent- ment of every sensible muul, and disgusting the; feelings of a civil- ized people ; unfortunately, when first noticed; it was found tooe 360 MODERN HISTORY. so deeply Interv-'oven with the interests of our settlements in the West Indies, and to depend so much on foreign states, as well as cur own, as to render it almost necessary to proceed slowly and (.autiously, thougrh it was impossible not to be horror-struck with the information laid before the house, particularly in regard to what was called the middle-passage, or transportation of the un- happy Africans, from their native shores to the several islands. As it would be inconsistent with the nature of such a work as the present, to enter into the detail of the proceedings upon this very interesting sul ject, Vv'hich took up a long time, and can scarcely now be said to be terminated, it may be sufficient to note, that, after cojitinual renewals of the subject in the two houses of parlia- ment, yet, owing to many untoward circumstances, it was not finally abolished till the year 1806, nor has it even yet been in the power of any ministry, or any of oar diplomatists, effectually to prohibit the trade, as carried on by foreign states, thaugh every person of humane feelings must devoutly wisK and desire that it Should be so. It must, however, always redound to the credit of our own country, that the voice pi compassion and mercy was first heard amongst us, any that the first arm stretched out to save and to rescue a large proportion of our fellow-creatures from the most abject slavi-ry and cruel tortures that ever were inflicted, was the arm of a fJriton. ' 11. The parliament being prorogued on the lith of July, 1788, to the SOth of i^N'ovember, was compelled to meet on the day ap- pointed, by circumstances of a most distressing kind. His majesty, probably through excess of business, to which he was known to devote more time and labour than could well be consistent with his health, was seized with an illness which totally incapacitated 'him from discharging the fwnctions of his high and exalted station. It must appear strange, that by the laws and constitution of the realm, so little provision had been made for a catastrophe by no means out of the line of probability, that it became a question in- to what hands the suspended executive had devolved, and this led, as might be expected, to very warm and hnportant debates in parliament. I'hough the prince of Wales, being of full age, did 4iot personally claim the regency as matter of right, his party did. The minister, Mr. Pitt, contended that it belonged to parliament to supply the deficiency, ; and this question being staled, it was judged expedient to debate it, and settle it by vote. The decision upon this occasion v. as entirely in iavour of the power of parlia- ment to appoint the regent, none doubting, however, that the heir apparent was the fit object of such appcintaient. Other ques-- tions were agitated at the same time, of equal importance ; par- ticularly how far restrictions could be imposed by par]ian\ent, ^rx regard to the ejiercise of prerogatives, the n-hch of y.'hich were. reasonably enough supposed to be essential to the government of the country, 'ihis question also was decided in favour of the minis- ter, who had proposed restrictions, v»'ilh an understanding, how- ever, that they could only apply to a temporary suspension of the kingly power. In this case .also, the care of the king's person was ansigned not to the regr>i?,t, but to the queen. One great difficuity I MODERN HISTORY. 361 renifiined after all the discussions upon the regency. It was doubt* ed how the lord chancellor could be empowered to put the great seal to a commission for opening the sessions of parliament, so as to restore " the efficacy of legislation ;"' it was decided that he might be directed to do it in the name of the king, by authority of the two houses. 1*2. Fortunately for the public, this first illness of his majesty was of so short dura.tion, as to render unnecessary all the changes that had been contemplated. Early in the year 1789, the lord chancellor was able to announce to the houses of parliament, the perfect recovery of the king. Nothing could exceed the transports of joy with which this intelligence was received throughout the whole kingdom. A natioral thanksgivi'ig was appointed., and his majesty went himself in great state to St. FauPs, to offer up his ;rrateful devotions on the event. The illuminations on the occasion were so general, that it is probable, from the accounts given of them, that scarcely a cotta2;e in the most remote parts of the island was without its shew of loyalty and affection. 1"ne appearance oi" the metropolis, in particular, was most extraordinary, and notwith- standing the immense concourse of people that continued almost the whole night in the streets, and the crowded throng of carriages and horses, so strong a disposition \/as shewn by ^1} ranks and de- scriptions of persons to conduct tilings peaceably, that fewer acci- dents occurred than were ever known before in similar cases. 13. It should be noted, as a matter of general history, that had jdot his majesty recovered so opportunely, diihculties of an extra- ordinary nature might have ensued, from the ^Afferent proceedings of the two legislatures of Great Britain and Ireland. VVhile in the former it was decided that the prince could not assume the regen- cy, as matter of right, and that the parliament had a powei; to impose restrictions, in Ireland, his right appeared to be acknow- ledgtd by the two houses agreeing to address him, to take upon him immediately the government of that kingdom, during the king's incapacity, and with the usual powers of royalty. 14. In the year 1789, the proceedings in France began to occu- py the attention of Europe, and of England in particular. A strug- gle for freedom seemed to be so congenial to the spirit of the peo- ple of the latter country, that it is not to be wondered that the commencement of so extraordinary a revolution should excite the strongest sensations. Unfortunately the abuses in the French gov- ernment were so many, and some of them so entirely contrary to every principle of reason and equity, that it soon became apparent that nothing less than a radical chailge, and revolution of every existing institution and establishment, would satisfy the disturbed minds of that volatile people ; D.inds unhappily prepared not mere- ly to resist oppression, but to throw off every restraint of religion and morality. Such an example, therefore, required to be watch- ed and guarded against, in a country whose free constitution sup- plied its own means of reformation in every case of necessity, and where tumultuary proceedings could only lead to ends the moat fatal and deplorable. Mr. Pitt seemed aware of this, and though hra measure« of precaution were suppwe^ occasionally to press too 31 862 MODERN HISTORY. hardly on the liberty of the subject, it must be aidimtted that ^ very improper intercourse was at times carried on between the several popular associations in England and Ireland, and the na- tional assembly of i^rance. The object of the latter, In its replies to the addresses presented to it, being-, according to all reasonable interpretation of the terms used, to invite and encourage the dis- contented of all countries to follow their example, which was eve- ry day becoming more violent and anarchical. This was not all ; emissaries were employed to propag-ate their principles in other countries, many of whom came to England, and met with an en- couragement not to be overlooked by a government properly sen- sible of the dangers to be incurred by any adoption of s:ich senti- ments and principles, in a country so very differently situated- from that of France. ]uigland had long ago done for her?eif what France Avas now attempting ; and though no such changes and revolutions can be expected to take place without some violence, yet England liad passed throu^2;h this ordeal^ and accomplished her point a whole century before France began to assert her liberties. It was little less than an insult to every true Englishman, therefore, to attempt to stir him up to such violent proceedings as had already been countenanced and sanctioned by the French revolutionists ; but that SI oh attempts were making, could not but be too obvious. On the 19th of November, 1792, the national assembly passed a de- cree, that they would grant fraternity and assistance to all who might wish to recover their liberty. This was two months after they had proclaimed the eternal abolition of royalty, and imprison- ed the king ; after they had declared hereditary nobility to be in- compatible with a free state ; and thus, by implication, declared that England and most of the other states of Europe were not free. It was afterwards proved, by their own acknowledgment, that be- fore any declaration of war, more than a million sterling had been sent to England from the national treasury of France, for purposes strictly revolutionary. No country was free from these political dis- turbers ; even general Washington, as presiaent of the United States of America, was obliged to publish letters patent, to with- draw his countenance from the accredited French ministers in that country, who had grossly insulted him as head of the executive government. 15. In the year 1790, an unpleasant dispute arose between the courts of St. James"'s and Madrid, which had nearly involved the two countries in a war. It related to a settlement on the north- western coast of America, which had been attempted by some, sub- jects of Great Britain, at ]N%)tka Sound, for the carrying on a fur trade with China. The Sf^niards, conceiving this to be an invasion of their rights, uftdcr a claim to these distant regions the most extravagant and absurd, with great precipitation attacked the English settled there, took the fort which had been erected with the consent of the Indians, and seized upon the vessels. It was not possible to pass over so great an outrage ; but by the vigor- ous aiad timely preparations made to procure reparation, and the little hope of assistance to be derived from France, in case things should come to extremities, the Spanish court was brought to terms MODEPvN HISTORi". 363 before tijc- espiratiou of tlie year ; and not only every point in dis- pute ceded to the English, but many advantages granted with re- gard to the navigation of the Pacific ocean. 16. In tlic course of llie same year, tlie British court intcrf .red successfully to restore peace between Austria and Turkey, and was further instrumental, though not without some hindrances, in reducing: the revolted Netherlands to the dominion and authority of the former power. Her attempts to mediate between P»-ussia and the Porte, were by no means so successful, and had nearly, in- deed, involved the nation in war, for an object of very little im- portance in the eyes of the public at large, though the minister seemed to think otherwise. In consequence, however, of the oppo- sition he met with, he was induced to forego the plan he had ia view, of preventing llussia getting possession of the town of Ocza- kow, and a peace was concluded with that power at Yassi, Janu- ary, 1792. 17. Towards the close of the same year, after the king of France and his family w'ere in a state of confinement, many attempts were made by the national assembly to ascertain the views of Eng- land with regard to the confederacy formed against her, and the question of peace or Vv^ar seemed nearly brought io an issue, be- fore the horrible execution of the king, in the month of Ja'^.uary, 1793. That event being followed by the dismissal of the French minister at London, appeared so totally to dissolve all friendly communications betv^feen the two countries, as to induce the I'Yencii government, by a decree of the assembly, I-ebruary 3, 1793, to de- clare war against the Jang of Greal Britain and the sladlholder of Holland ; in which decree, there was evidently an attempt in the very wording of it to separate the ptcplt of the tv/o countries from their respective sovereigns. 18. By this time, indeed, the encroaching disposition of the French revolutionists was manii'ested in their annexation of Savoy to France for ever, as soon as they had gained any advantages over it ; and in their conduct in the Netherlands, by declaring the navi- gation of the Schejd free, contrary to all subsisting treaties Avith the Dutch. '1 he same spirit w^as apparent in their refusal to ex- empt Alsace and Lorrahie uo\n the operation of the decrees for the abolition of feudal rights, and in their forcible seizure of Avignon and the comtat Venaisiin, which had belonged to the P4,oman see for m.any centuries. It is true, the indiscreet manifestoes of the con;jbincd arjiaes were sufficient to stinialate a people, already iu a high degree of irritation, to acts of severe reprisal, in all cases of success ; but it was very manifest that they had already violated their own principle of not acting on a. system of aggrandize- ment, of which they made such boast at the beginning of the revo- lution. /Pheir glaring abandonment of this principle, and the injury done to "the Dutch by opening the Scheld, were the ostensible grounds of the -war on the part of England. The declaration of l^ance, in some degree, saved the minist-ir from the responsioility of having actually commenced hostilities, however, in the opinion oi opposition, he might be said to have provoked them ; but it should fiJiU be cbseryed, that there was a treaty subsisting between the 364 MODERN HISTOHY. two countries^ afFrnnngthat the recal or dismission of public minis- ters should be considered tantamount to a declaration of war. If so, and the treaty was not invalidated by the change of things at Paris, as many asserted, the first declaration of war proceeded from the English gfovernnient, who, on the suspension of the kingly au- thority, had recalled lord Gower from Paris, (many other court?, however, having dene the same.) and on the death of the king, ab- ruptly dismissed the French minister, M. Chauvelin, from Eng- land. 19. The exact objects of the hostile interference of England "were never formally explained in parliament, though in the l'n himself constantly attached to the French interests; and having been compelled by the last treaty to cede one half of his dominions to the conquerors, and to deliver two of his sons as iios- tages into the hands of lord Cornwallis, the governor-general, ap- pears to have harboured the most inveterate hatred again'it the English fro)n that mom tnt, and to have meditated, by the, aid of tlie French, and certain of the native powers, nothing less than their total extirpation, it would be impossible, perhaps, to find in history stronger instances of duplicity and treachery, than were practised by this celebrated potentate against tlie British interest?, during the years 1797 and 1793, in the spring of the latter of which, lord Mornington arrived in In'iia. With the Frencli directory, with the French colonial government in Mauritius, witli the king of Candahar, with the courts of Poocah and Hyderabad, with Buo- naparte in Egypt, and even v»'ith the Ottomcm Porte, at the same time, the wily sultan managed to carry on seciet negotiations, amidst the strongest professions of amity and attachment towards the English government. It has been conj • cturtd, that had he ob- tained elTectual aid from the French, in extirpating the Erglish, jae v/ould as willingly have tut rfcd against his European abettors; the purport of all his negotiations with the native powers, being to stir them I'.p to a general combination against the injidtls and enemies of the prophet^ without any distinction of the two nations. 25. P.y the extreme vigilance and cautious proceedings of the aevj governor-general, the intrigues of the sultan, notMithstanding iiis reiterated assuraiices of fidelity, were so amply discovered and fcx,posf:dj as to yiiiditate^ iu the fulleat wanner^ th® declsgratiou of MODERN HISTORY. 367 war t\h!ch look place in February, 1799, and \rhich was speedily followed lip ty the most vigorous proceedings on the part of the army, terminating in the capture of Seringapalam, the capital of the 'Mysorean dominions, May 4, and the death of the sultan, whose body was found, after the action, covered with heaps of dead. His immense territories were divided amongst the allied powers, the remains of his family provided for in the Carnatic, and a boy of five years old, the surviving representative of the Ilirldoo dynasty/ restored to the throne of his ancestors. 26. In the first year of the new century, the projected union and incorporation of the two legislatures and kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, was brought to a conclusion. Doubts were expressed in the Irish house of commons, and supported by great strength of argument, whether, as a delegated body, and without a fresh ap- peal to their constituents, they coiild Tormally consent to their own annihilation. Strong suspicions also were thrown out, tha^i the plan had no other object in view than tht^t of recovering to England the domination she had surrendered in 1782, when tKe independ%ncy of the Irish legislature had been fully, and, as it was alleged, finally acknowledged and established ; but these objections were over- ruled. It was no surrender, it was urged, of their legislative rights, to Consent t® be incorporated wath the parliament of Great Britain, but a consolidation of them ; and their consent would acquire a character iVom the regulations of 1782, highly honourable to the nation ; she could new treat as an independent state, and upon a footing of equality, instead of being in any respect compelled, as might otherwise have been the case, to au union of subjection. Early iu the year 1000, the assent of the two houses of parliament, in Ireland, was signified in addresses to his majesty, transmitted through the lord lieutenant, which being submitted to the British parliament, after much discussion and debate on the bill in general, as well as its several provisions, the union of the two 'kingdoms was finally arranged to take place from the first of January, 1801 . 27. The act of incorporation contained eight articles : the first three decreed the union of tl]e two kingdoms, the maintenance of the protestant succession, and consolidation of the parliament. By the fourth, it was settled that four prelates should sit alternately in each session, and twenty-eight lay peers be elected for life, while two members for each county, (thirty-two in all) and thirty-six citize)is and burgesses, should represent the commons. The fifth ar- ticle united t'.je churches of England and Ireland ; the sixth and fc\'enth provided for the connnercial and financial arrangements of the tv/o countries, and the eighth f©r the maintenance of laws then in force, and continuance of the courts of judicature. 28. On the first of January, 1801, a royal declaration was issu- rd, regulating the style and titles appertaining to the imperial crown of Great Britain and Ireland, with the arms, flags, and en- signs thereof. In these arrangements, the opportunity wa? judi- cioujly taken of laying aside the title of king of France, and the i-'rench arms ; the title in English was confined to Great Britain and Ireland ; in Latin, " Britanniarum Rex^''"' and the quartering of the ^"-Jiiurs di Us^''^ omitted ia the blazonry. 3d8 modern histohy. 29. A fresh revolution in the government of France, about this time, having thrown the executive power, in a great measure, into the hands of a supreme mag-istrate, the first consul, and over- tures for peace having been made by Buonaparte in that capacity, much discussion upon the subject took place between the minit-*- ters of the two countries, but without effect. The Austrians hav- ino- sustained a defeat in Italy, had solicited and obtained a sus- pension of hostilities, and entered upon some negotiations for peace, to which England was invited to become a party, upon con- senting- to a naval armistice,but her maritime power stood so high, that while Malta continued subject to France, and the French ar- my unsubdued in Egypt, she could not reasonably be expected to forego such advantages, and to pl'ace herself upon a footing with her continental ally, whose situation was so diffLrent. lier deter- mination to continue the war, was soon followed by the surrender cf Malta,! on the 5th of September, 1800, and in the course of tlie next yea^ the French troops were compelled finally to abandon Egypt f thus terminating an expedition, in a great degree mysteri- ous, l)ut which, no doul^t, might have led to the disturbance of our power in India, had it not been for the interruption it met with on its way thither, and the overthrow of Tippoo Saib. 30. In the course of the year 1800, the enemies of England were o-reatly increased by the revival amongst the northern powers, of the armed uentralily, originally devised and adopted in i7(j0. As this dispute involved a very curious point of international law, it would have been w^ell, if it could have been brought to such an issue as might have settled the question for ever ; but, after much negotiation, and some very unplca.ant conflicts at sea, (particu- larly with the Danes,) seizures and embargoes, the matter termi- nated rather in an uncertain compromise, than any positive ad- justment. The right of search by belligerents, however inconve- Kient to neutrals, seemed to have been acknowledged for many centuries, as a principle of maritime law ; upon the system of the armed neutrality, it was contended that ships under convoy should pass free, the flag of the neutral fower being sufficient pledge and security that the cargoes were not contraband of war. T he claim in this case being evidently directed against England, then, and at all times mistress of the sea, rendered it a point of extreme im- portance ', one which she could not surrender without a contest, or armed negotiations ; otherwise, and if it had not been decidedly in favour of her opponents, the countenance given to the new sys- tem by so many states of Europe, Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Prus- sia, Naples, France, Spain, Holland, Austria, Portugal, Venice, and Tuscany, (for by some steps or other they all seemed disposed to adopt the spirit of it,) might have been expected to amount to a formal recognition of its principle, as a proper law of nations ; the dispute, however, upon this occasion, was settled at Peters- burg, by negotiation, after the accession of the emperor Alexander, and attended with concessions on the part of the Baltic powers, of singular importance, thou.gh less complete than they might have 1t.&«iij owing to the counttr coucessiojis of Britaia. Thus; though MODERN IIISTORy. 309 ti was tieckled that enemy's property embarked on board nei?tra! ships, should be liable to confiscation, and that the right of searchins; merchant ships, even under convoy of a ship of war, should be recog- nized, yet, it was at the same time determined that arms and am- munition only should be considered as contraband, and that the right of searching merchant ships under convoy should appertain exclusively to vessels belonging to the royal navy. If not entirely decisive, however, the stipulations of this celebrated convention highly deserve to be looked up to as a proper standard of the rights of neutrality. 31. During- the contest that arose with England, out of this con- federacy of the northern powers, the king of Prussia, one of the contracting parties, saw fit to take possession of the king of Great Britain's electoral states of Hanover, but on the change of affairs in Russia, was speedily induced to restore them. 32. By the treaty of peace concluded at Luneville, between the emperor of Germany and France, February 9, 1801, England was left without an ally, and a change of ministry having taken place about the same time, may be said to have laid the foundation for more serious negotiations for peace, on the part of England and France, than had hitherto taken place since the commencement of the revolution. Nothiog, however, seemed to hasten it so much as the defeat of the French army in Egypt, and the settlement of the differences between England and the Baltic powers, which enabled her lo negotiate with more advantage, and greatly lower- ed the spirit of the French government. Preliminaries were signed on the first of October, 1801, and a definitive treaty concluded at Amiens, between Great Britain and the French republic, Spain and Holland, on the 25th of March, 1802. By this treaty, England obtained Ceylon from the Dutch, ar.d Trmidad from the Spaniards, relinquishing all her other conquests ; Malta being given back to the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, under the guaranty of the principal powers of Europe. SECTION XIV. FRANCE, FROM THE DEATH OF THE KING AND QUEEN, AND OVERTHROW OF THE GIRONDIST OR BRISSOT- INE PARTY, 1793, TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE DIRECTORY, 1705. 1. The situation of France, tov/ards the close of the year 1793, was deplorable in the extreme. ,It lay at the mercy of a faction, not merely blood-thirsty, but which nothing but blood would satis- fy. The jacobins, or Robespierrean party, determined to root out every thing that could, by the remotest implication, be denounced as adverse to their plans, procured a decree to be passed, exceed- ing every thing that can be conceived in atrocity. Such "was the ^'- Loi sur les sicspecls^'''' passed in September, by v/hich their agents in all parts of the country, were empowc.rfd to arrest, imprison, *Qd thereby doom to destruction, whomsoever suspicion in any a/0 MODEP.iS HISTORY. iTianncr attached to, not merely as principals, but a? couwectetl with principals, however unavoidably, naturally, or accidentally. One article alone will explain the rest. The following are the ptsrsons de- nounced in the 5th : — All of the ancient class of nobility ; all hus- bands,'wivvs, fathers, mothers, sons, or daughters, bi other?, sisters, or agents of emigrants, who shall not have constantly jnanillsttd an at- tachmtnt to the revolution. The queen, the twenty-two victims of the Girondist party, and general Custine, may be considered as among the earliest and m-^st distinguished persons that fell under the power of this horrible faction. The due d^Orleans, though not belonging to the Girondist party, was denounced by Robespierre kimself, as connected with themj and publicly executed on the 6th of November ; but his life and conduct, both public and private, had been suc"h, that he fell totally unregretted. It would be vaia to attempt to relate the many dreadful events which marked this bloody period. It is to be hoped history will never again have to record such complicated cruelties and miseries, such premeditated murders, such studied torments, mental and bodily. 2. On the 17th of November, of this memorable year, thecath- elic religion, (at the instance of an arclibiihop of Paris., Gobet !) was publicly abjured by the convention, and decrees past, aoiidst the most tumultuous acclamations, f&r substituting a religion of reason, in its room. The churches were quickly despoiled of their ornaments, the altars destroyed, civic feasts instituted mstead of religious festivals, and Liberty., Equality., itc. consecrated as ob- jects of worship. These revolutionary and anti- catholic decrees Xs'&'e moreover ordered to be translated into Italian^ on purpose that they might be transmitted in that most intelligible, and theie- fore most offensive shape, to the pope. 'Ilie calendar underwent also a correction. A new repuulican form and sera being aJopt- ed and established, to commence from the 22d of September, 1"92, the day on which the national convention began its sittings, and royalty w^as abolished. The year was divided into .twelve parti?, of thirty days each, distinguished according to the prevalent sea- sons, Vendtviiaire^ September a.nd October ; Brumaire., October and November; Friiaaire., November and December; J'i'iiose., December and January ; hlaviose., January and I'ebruary ; Ven- iose., February and iSlarch ; Geymmr//, March and April; Floreal^ ^pril and May ; Prairial., May and June ; Mtssidor., June and Ju- ly; Tliermidor., July and August; Fruclidor^ August and Septem- ber. The Sabbath was abolished, and five complimentary days added, all commemorative of the revolution. Lach month was di- vided into three decades, and a respite fi-am labour allowed en every tenth day. 3. It was not possible to suppose that those who ruled during this dark " reign of terror.,'''' could long be suffered to retain their power and station in the republic, r ortunately for the good of human society, their very crimes rendered them jealous and sus- picious of each other, so that before many months had passed, af- ter the execution of the queen and the Biissotines, the earth was rid of such monsters, proscribed and driven to the scaffold by their own friends and associates in wickediiesa ; Robcs^ucrre, from wboiu M0DERN HISTORY. 3Tl die fraction chiefly took It? df nomination, being at leii^tk accused, conJcnned, and executed, ia the course of a few hours ia the month of July, 1"794, to the sati?faction of the whole civilized Avorld. Before this great day t:»f retribution, howevej, one more victim of royalty was brouofht to the scaffold, whose sole offence must have been the heroic display she had made, in her constant Attendance upon the kin^, her brother, and his nio^t unhappy far.'iily, of every amiable virluo that could adorn a woman. 'J'hc princess Elizabeth, who had cr>ntinued in the temple, with the two children of the unhappy Lewis XVI, from the period of his execu- tion, was brought before the revolutionary tribunal, accused of " acco opanyinti; the late kinjs; when he attempted his escape ;'' of having " attended upon and administered help to the wounded in the (-onflict with the g-uards ;" and of " having- encouraged her infant ncph.^w, Lewis XVIT, to entertain hopes of a'-cendin^ the throne of hi? father •,"*' and upon these charp;es sentenced to die, May 10, 1794, and execntcd without pity or remorse. 4. It was duria<2,(he year 1793, that Napoleon llaonaparte, a na- tive of Corsica, had first an opportunity of distino^uishing hir, leif in the French army, bein?. e r.ployed in the direction of the artillery at the sie^e of Toulon, which had fallen for a short time into the bauds of the Entrlish. Hitherto the war aaraii^st the powers in opposition to France, had been carried c^n in a most desultory and extraordinary manner, with more succs certainly on the part of the French than could have \-e. n expected, from the extraordinary condition and cir- cumstance? of their armies, and the s'ran^e state of responsibility in which their commanders were placed by their rulers at home. Some of their generals were compelled to desert, many were proscribed, and many, after displayingf the utmost valour in the field, were actu- ally brought to the scaffold. Nevertheless, the impulse given to the revolutionary arm.y, by the circuTistances of their country, aided by mistakes and jealousies on the part of their opponents, enabled it to combat effectually against much better organized troops, and to resist the attacks that were made upon it in all quarters ; for in addition to the iVustrians and Prussians, Sardinians, English and Spanish, in La Vendee and other dcpartinents, a civil war prevail- ed, where many acts of heroism, indeed, were displayed by a brave, but unsuccessful band of royalists, who ultimately paid dear for their revolt, by the most horrid and disgraceful punish- ments. 5. The French revolution had now attained that pitch of extra- vasfAnce and disorder, which left no hopes of any check or termi- nation, but that which actually ensued, namely, a military despot- ism. According to the reiuarks of one of the ablest members of the first national assembly, one who was sacrificed at the period we have been treating of, in a way the most treacherous and revolting to every feeling mind, the French revolution being undertaken, not for the sake of men, but for the sake of opinion, had no distinct leader, no Cromwell or Fairfax. All were leaders, all institutors, aU equally interested in the course of affairs. Such a revolution, he observes, must be commenced by ali, but he was sagacious enough to foresee that it would probably be terniinated by one. 372 MODERN IIISTOilY. All, howeTcr, for a certain time, being leaders and institutor^, uothino^ could ensue from such a state of things, but coutinukl struggles to be uppermost ; continual denunciations and proscrip- tions of rival parties ; and a strange succession of new constitu- tions, and new forms of government, as any opening seemed to oc- cur for bringip? things to a settlement. 6. I'he death of Itobe^pierre, and of many of his accomplice?, clearly afforded such an openiiig, if not for settling, at least for ameliorating- things ; but for some time the convention and the na- tion seemccl to be in too groat a surprise and consternation to pro- ceed with any method to so desirable an end. The former having had its origin in the days of anarchy and confusion, seemed little prepared to defend or support its own dignity, but the cry of hu- manity began again to be raised, and to be heard, and in no long- course of time after the defeat of Robespierre, the jacobin club, from which had emanated all the previous acts and decrees, so disgraceful to I'rapce, was abolished and dissolved, by a decree of the convention. The reformation of the laws and government gave greater trouble. The pain of death had been decreed against any who should propose to set aside the constitution of 1793, and with this sentence hanging over them, all the people had sworn to uphold and maintain it. 'J'ired, however, of the absolute and un- controllable power they had exercised, many members, even of the convention, sincerely wished for more limited authority. A com- mittee was appointed to prepare a new code of laws, and, in the mean time, processes were carried against some of the most violent 'of the abettors of the late tumults and disorders, particularly the commissioners who had sanctioned the most dreadful proceedings at Lyons, Nantes, Orange, and Arras. The execrable law under which they had acted, *' Loi des suspects," was repealed, and a just vengeance directed against those who had been most forward to carry it into execution. 7. At length a new constitution was framed, presented to the convention, and approved. Two legislative councils, one of five hundred members, and the other of two hundred and fifty, were to enact the laws ; the former to propose, the latter to sanction or reject them. The executive government was committed to five directors, chosen by the legislature, but whose responsibility was ill-defined, and their connection with the legislative bodies not sufficiently p.'ovided for, either as a balance, or controlling power. It wa5 not without other faults anM blemishes, but it may undoubt- edly be regarded as iraking a muchnearer approach to order and regularity, than the one which it was intended to supersede. It was formally accepted and proclaimed, September 23, 1795.* 8. Ihis may be considered as the third constitution established since the first meeting of the states-general, in 1789 ; great objec- tions were made to one article, which secured the return of a very large proportion of the members of the convention, to serve in the * The directors being ReuVel, Lcfourneur, Larevcillere-Lepnux, B»r- ras, and Sieves ; but the latter declining the honour, Carnot supplied his 4)lace. MODERN HISTORY. ' 375 new legislature. Tumults were raised in the sections of Pari?, and an attack made upon the convention, v/hich, however, was at last rescued from the violence of the mob. Buonaparte, who was then at Paris, was appointed to act upon this occasion in defence of the assembly. 9. Externally, the affairs of France may be said to have been at this moment in a high and extraordinary degree of prosperity. The Campaigns of 1794 and 1795, committed to the charge of very able generals, Pichegru, Souham, Jourdan, Kleber, Moreau^ and Du- gommier, had hitherto succeeded beyond their utmost expectations. The Belgian states, and the united provinces, had not only been wrested from the hands of their defenders, the Austrians, Prus- sians, and British, but associated with the French republic in a close confederacy. The stadtholdership was again abolished, and the stadtholder and his family obliged to take refuge in England^ In the mean time, peace had been concluded with many of the bel- ligerent powers, highly advantageous to France ; with Prussia^ Spain, the landgrave of Hesse, the grand duke of Tuscany, and others ; while the navigation of the rivers Rhine, Meuse, and Scheldt, had been rendered free, in all their courses and branches, to the people of France. These proceedings, with regard to the Belgian states and Holland, were the commencement of a system pursued from that time on all the frontiers of the new republic. By a decree of the national assembly, the Frcncb generals were directed to proclaim every where the sovereignty of the people^ to suppress all authorities and privileges, to repeal all taxes, and es- tablish provisional governments on democratic principles. By this! system of '•''fraternisation^'''' as it was called, the subdued coun- tries being formed into republics, '' repuhliques satellifcs^^'' as they were significantly denominated by the French themselves, were as- sociated with France as subordinate states. Of the states first revo- lutionized in this manner, the Batavian republic took the lead, sur- rendering to France, without hesitation, the chief of her fortresses, and thus extending, and at the same time protecting her frontier. The mistake she made in thus welcoming the French, was but too soon discovered. The French levied heavy contributions ; the English took from them manj of their foreign settlements, and par- ticularly the cape of Good Hope, and the island of Ceylon. 10. In the month of June, 1795, Louis XVII, the unfortunate son of Louis XVI, died in the temple, under circumstances extremely suspicious, and very deplorable, having been some time in the cus- tody of a low-born drunken wretch, v/ho did every thing he could to insult and torment him, and undermine his health. He was in the eleventh year of his age at the time of his death. His sister, the princess royal, (the present duchess of Angoulerae) was soon afterwards most happily released from her miserable prison, whence a father, mother, and aunt, had been successively led to execu- tion, and where an only brother had died a victim to cruelly, and perhaps poison. Her royal highness was exchanged for certain mem- bert-' of the late convention, who had been delivered up to the allies, by the generals who had incurred the displeastu-e of their rulers at Paris, or had iaXlen into the hands of the enemy by other accidents^ 32 S74 MODERN HISTORY. SECTION XV. FRANCE, FROM THE ESTABLISPIMENT OF THE DIREC- TORY, 1795, TO THE PEACE OF AMIENS. 1. The appointment of the five directors, was an act of policy on the part of the ruling- members of the convention, who thought it better to hazard such a division of the executive power, than to give umbrage to the people, by the renewal of a first magistrate, thoug-h an elective one. As these new officers, however, owed their nomination to the influence of those members of the late con- vention who were chosen to form a part of the legislative body ; a close union was soon found to subsist between the directors and the majority of the council. 2. The council of ancients, consisting of two hundred and fifty members, at first appeared to form the bulwark of the new consti- tution ; having no share in the framing- of the laws, they were able to interpose with the greater dignity in pronouncing their judgment upon such as were referred to them, and often exercised the re- stored privilege of the rdo beneficially for the public. The judi- cial murders of the reign of terror were terminated, and the gov- ernment displayed, in many instances, a return to moderation and humanity, extremely desirable and praiseworthy, but in the south- ern drparlment, a system of reaction and retaliation prevailed, which it w;as beyond their power to control. An organized body of assassins kept all those parts of the nation in a state of incessant alarm. The metropolis was in some degree restored to its wonted gaiety, but every thing bespoke, as might reasonably be expected, a most demoralized state of society. The stage became intolerably licentious, and the public amusements wer« disgraced, by a free- dom of manners, and indelicacy of dress on the part of the females, beyond measure ofiensive. Those whose nearest connections had been doomed to the scaffold, could find no better mode of com- memorating their loss, than by festive me stings, called '-''Balsa la Viciime^''^ to which no one could be admitted but such as had lost a father, a mother, a husband, a wife, a brother, or a sister, by the guillotine I 3. Hitherto the prowess of the French armies had been mani- fested much more in the north, and on the Rhine, than in the southern parts of the continent ; towards Italy, the Austrians and Piedmontese seemed to hold the French in check. Dugommier had indeed invaded Spain with effect ; and by his attacks contributed to bring about a peace with that country ; but now a new scene was about to open, leading to such a succession of victories and revolutions as it would be impossible fully to describe in such a work as the present. 4. Early in the year 1796, general Buonaparte obtained (being then twenty-six years of age,) the chief command of the army of Italy, as it was called. His eagerness to commence operations drew upon him some remonstrances. It was suggested to him that jnany things were v/anting in his army necessary to the campai°;n<. MODERN HISTORY. 375 *' I have enough," said he, " if I conquer, and too many if I should -be beaten."" The Austrian army in those parts was commanded by general Bea ilieu, an officer peculiarly active and enterprising. General Baon:\pr\rtc took the command of the French anny on the 30th of March, and between the 12th and 15th of April, boat the Austrian troops in three distinct engagements, at Montenotte, Mil- lesimo (or Montelezino.) and Dego. In the space of four days, it has been computed, that the Austrian army was diminished to the amount of 15,000 men, being separated at the same time from their Piedmontcse allies. After the battle of Dego, jBuonaparte advan- ced rapidly into Piedmont, nor did he stop till he had arrived at the very gates of Turin. There he agreed to an armistice solicited by the king, who Was ignominiously compelled to submit to his occu- pying with French troops all the principal fortresses of his coun- try. Happy to be allowed to retain the capital, he was also obli- ged to cede Savoy, Nice, Tende, and Beuil. From Turin, Buona- parte pursued his course into Lombardy, and by the celebrated battle of Lodi, on the lOLh of May, obtained complete possession of the Milanese. 5. Unwilling to enter immediately into the narrow parts of Italy in this svage of his proceedings, he satisfied himself vvith threaten- ing the pope and the king of iVaples, till he brought them to tetma of peace ; the former surrendering to the French republic, Bolo-"na, Ferra.ra, and the coasts of the Adriatic, from the mouths of the Fo^ to Ancona ; and the latter consenting to contribute largely to the inai;itenance of the French army, and to close his ports against the enemies of France. The dukes of Parma and Modena, mad© submission in time to save their countries. The grand duke of Tuscany had previously acknowledged the French republic, but was bidden very peremptorily to exclude the English from the port of Leghorn. The submission of all these princes and states to ihe overwhelming force of the army under the command of Buo- naparte, was but part of the victory he obtained over them. In every step he took, he was careful, by new laws, treaties, and po- litical arrangements, to " revolulioni;^^'''^ the countries over which he obtained an ascendancy by arms', and to incorporate them with the French republic. Savoy, iN'ice, and tlie Milanese, were thus brought under his dominion, and ultimately erected into distinct, though subordinate republics. 6. It was at the very cojnmencement of the military career of this extraordinary man, that he adopted a system of plunder, which, for a long time, engaged the attention of the whole civilized world. In all the treaties concluded with the Italian princes, he stipulated that French artists should be admitted into their public galle- ries, museums, and palaces, to select as many as they might choo3c, of the choicest performances of the celebrated painters and sculptors of all ages, and cause them to be conveyed to Paris. French sentiment has dwelt iipon the circumstance of the immor- tal Raphael, Titian, and Domenichino, having thus had it in theii' power, and in such critical moments, to pay the ransom of their native countries, overlooking the sad violation of sentiment occa- sioned by the removal of tli^ese precious pledges of their stupendous 376 MODERN HISTORY. talents from the hands which had so long: preserved them,- and 4om places of which they had been so justly regarded as the choicest and most valuahle ornaments. 7. The siege of Mantua was attended with many severe con^ flicts. On the reduction of that important place, Buonaparte is stated to have thus addressed his soldiers : '^ The capture of Man- tua terminates a campaign which has justly entitled you to the ♦jverlastin^ gratitude of your country. You have tiiuniphad over the enerny in three pitched battles, and seventy inferior en^rage- inents ; you have taken a hundred thousand prisoners, lifty field- pieces, two thousand battering' cannons. The country you have subdued has nourished, maintained, and paid the army duiiug- the •whole campaign, and you have remitted thirty millions to the min- ister oi finance, in aid of the public treasury. You have enriched the museum at Paris, with more than three hundred of the choicest and most vaV^able works of art, both of ancient and modern Italy, and which it had taken thirty ages to produce.*" a. I'hough we know from subsequent accounts of French victo* jies, that they are not always to be depended upon, yet there can ke no doubt, that the above address does pretty fairly describe the extraordinary rapidity and extent of Buonaparte's first operations -.HI the field. 1 he years 1796 and 1797 were indeed marked by aucl? surprising instances of this nature, that they deserve a place in history, though the prudence and good generalship of such pre- cipitate steps has been reasonably questioned. Mantua capitu- lated on the 2d of P'ebruary, 1797, and Buonaparte pursued his course in the direction of the Austrian capital, leaving Italy behind him, with a view of penetrating to Vienna. Though obliged to ]6ght his way, he succeeded, March 2, 1797, in taking possession 4>f Gradisca, which iaitl opeQ to him the provijices of Goritz, Car- iiiola, and Carinthia. 9. 7'he Austrian grand army was commanded by the emperor's brother, the archduke Charles, an able general, a great favourite with the soldiers, and who had combated the French on the Rhine with signal success. He was not, however, strong enough to await the approach of the French, who soon reached Leoben, only thirty miles from Vienna, where great consternation was excited, and the imperial family compelled to retire. As both armies, however, were brought into a very critical position, negotiations were en- tered into at this place, an armistice concluded on the 8th of April, and preliminaries of peace signed on the 15th of the same month, 1797. 10. Before we notice the celebrated treaty of Campo-Formio, fey which the peace was settled and contirmed, it may be fit to consider the state of those countries which Buonaparte had left be- hind on his march upon Vienna. ?Ie had made peace on his own terms (most advantageous ones for France) with Parma, Modcna, Rome,, and Naples. He had overrun Savoy, obtained possession of the Milanese, and reduced Mantua. He had erected Genoiai into the Ligurian republic, and the Milanese he converted into the C^isalpine republic, after having first given it the name of Transpa- danc m refercncti^.tIoa to !-)^ MODERN HISTORY. 377 Cispadanc republic, consisting of Modena, Bologna, Reg-gio, and Ferrara, confederated in 1796T He had passed Venice on his way lo Trieste, of which he took possession on the 3d of April, 1797. The Venetians had afforded an asylum to Lewis XVIII, and waver- ed greatly in taking- part either with the Austrians ©r the French, not being ahle to calculate upon the issue of the contest. They had also fallen into domestic broils and dissensions, which gave the French commander the opportunity he always sought, of intro- ducing a French army to allay their differences. The consequen- ces were, that they immediately seized upon the fleet, the Ionian islands, and, in fact, all the Venetian states, which enabled Buo- naparte greatly to improve the peace he was making with the Austrians. Albania and the Ionian islands he kept to himself; to the Cisalpine republic he assigned the western dependencies of Venice, reserving for Austria, the capital, Istria, Dalmatia, and the islands of the Adriatic, in exchange for the Netherlands and the duchy of Luxemburg. He had professed to enter upon the Venetian states, merely to rescue them from the hands of Austria, but by this extraordinary manoeuvre, he not only delivered them over to the very power from whom he undertook to save them, but he obtained from Austria the very object for the sake of which her English allies had refused to make peace in 1790. Such appears to have been the chief foundation of the celebrated treaty of Campo- Formio, concluded between the emperor and the French republic, October 17, 1707. 11. Previously to the conclusion of the treaty of Campo-Formio, the allies had lost three of their confederates, the dukes of \A'ir- temburg- and Bavaria, and the Margrave of Baden, ail of whom bad found it necessary to purchase peace of the directory by heavy contributi(ftis. .Such great advantages in its external relations were, however, far from contributing to the internal tranquillity of the republic. The first five directors, as mig:1it naturally have been expected, were by no means accordant in their views, or of equal talents and abilities ; and provision seemed to have been made for fresh revolutions, by the continual recurrence of nev/ elections, both in the legislative assemblies and directory. One of the five directors Avas annually to go out, and one third of each of the le- gislative bodies to be renewed. The first event of this kind, aa might be expected, revived all the jealousies of rival parties, and produced an explosion almost as violent as any that had yet oc- curred ; the explosion of the 18th of Fructidor, as marked in the short-lived republican calendar. Le Tourneur quitted the directo- ry by lot, and was succeeded by Barthelemi, who soon appeared inclined to join Carnot against Pyeubel, Barras, an'. Larevilliere- Lepaux. The three latter were for assuming a despotic power ; their opponents were divided, some inclined to the restoration of royally, others to the emancipation of the councils from the sway of the directors, Reubel and his tv/o associates ; but as they formed ^ minority, and their enemies were prompt in their measures of re- venge, and had moreover the command of the military, it was not long before the latter obtained the victory they sought. On the ^^h'of September, 17^, the legislative assemblies were surround- 52* 373 MODERN HISTORT. ed with troops, and at the instance of the three ruling dire'clor», two of their colkag-aes, (Carnot and Baithelenii) several members of the two councils, many public ministers, and many men of let- ters, declared guilty of anti-republican measures and principles, arrested and imprisoned ; and, on the 5th, sentenced to deporta- tion to the unhealthy and remote settlement of Guiana, in South America. The authors, editors, directors and proprietors, of no less than forty-two public journals were included in the sentence. Some of the proscribed members found means to escape ; but those 'tvho were conveyed to Guiana, suffered dreadfully from the voy- age ; many died from the unwholesomeness of the place, some found means to return to Europe, particularly general Pichegru and the ex-director, Barthelemi, who were conveyed to England from the Dutch settlement of Surinam. 12. Buonaparte returned to Paris not long after these disturban- ces, and was received with peculiar honours. The people began to look up to him for deliverance from the tyranny of three direct- ors ; and the latter were as eager to remove him from the metropo- lis. In tb.c midst of the honours paid to him, on account of his vic- tories in Italy and Germany, Banas, with great emphasis, nomina- ted him as the hero destined to place the tri-coloured flag on the lower of London. Troops were actually assembled on the coasts <){ Flanders and Normandy for the purpose ; but Buonaparte him- self, seeing the impracticability of such an attempt, meditated a Hiore distant expedition. 13, In the course of the year 1798, the system, began so suc- cessfully in f'landers and Holland, of revolutionizing the countries inio vv'hich the French armies should penetrate, was carried to a Ifreat extent. \\'atchful to seize upon every opportunity afforded them by internal dissentions, the French this year obtained posses- *sion of ilon^.-, Switzerland, the Pays de Vaud, the Giisons, and Geneva, under circumstarices peculiarly distressing to the existing governments, and commonly attended witii heavy exactions, jind the plunder of their churches, palaces, and museums. The pope v>'as driven from Borne, partly by his own subjects, and partly through an overwecming confidence in his own power and influ- ence, 'i he lloman republic was proclaimed February 15, 1798 ; and the llnances being found in a bad state, the Vatican and other public buildings stripped of their contents. The Pays de Vaud,' wliitherthe French had been invited, to protect them against the aristocratic despotism of the Bernese, was formed into the Leman^ and Switzerland, after many crueisticrif:ces, into the Hdvttic re- public, or rather into three republics, for that was ultimately the ;irrangement u'lopted ; provisional governments being in all places appointed, conformably, in a great degree, to the principles of the i'rench constitution. iN'o remonstrances en the part of the free can- tons could save them from the directorial decrees. An address to this effect, peculiarly pathetic and eloquent, from the cantons of SchwitE, Uri, Appenzei, Glaris, Zug, and Underwalden, had no -sffcct whtUevor in preserving them from a change of constitution, forced upon th^im ''oy democralic France. The degenerate Romans isid appeared to priie the:a.seiyes upcja eiE.«iatin°^ theii" heroic ±ip^ MODERN HISTORY. 379 cestcr?, in re-establishing the republic, under the auspices of Gal- lic invaders. But the brave Swiss resisted to the utmost the rude disturbers of their ancient freedom. The modern republicans of Rome chanted a Te Deura, to hallow their deliverance. The Swiss aung their antiquated songs of patriotism and freedom, till the most dire necessity compelled them to surrender their established con- stitution to the dictates of a French directory. 14. On the 5th of May, Buonaparte left Paris for Toulon, to take the command of an expedition, the real object of which has scarce- ly been ascertained to this day, though it appears most probable, that he designed to join Tippoo Saib in India, and to subvert the British empire there. He was accompanied by many artists, natu- ralists, and antiquarians, and a large proportion of the army which had served under him in Italy. Malta lying in his way to Ejrypt, he failed not to take possession of it, partly by force, and partly by intrigue, subjecting that island and its dependencies, Goza and Cumino, to the French republic, June 12, 179^. Its conquest had for some time previously been meditated, but it had lately been put under the protection of the emperor of Russia, Paul I: it was treated by the French as ill as other places, notwithstanding the utmost assurances to the contrary. The knights were driven from the island, many of the people compelled to join the French army, and new laws imposed under the authority of the directory. In the month of July, this year, 1798, a triumphant entry into Paris, of all the works of art collected in the several places subdued by the French arras, took place amid the acclamations of the people. The French fleet had narrowly escaped at Malta the pursuit of an Eng- lish one, under the command of Nelson ; and after the subductiou of the island, it was able to proceed, still undiscovered, to Egypt, where the English had already been to look for them in vain. On the 2d of July, Buonaparte took possession of Alexandria, ^flooring his fleet in the bay of Aboukir. In less than three weeks from his landing, and after a severe action with the Mamelukes, called the battle of the pyramids, Cairo, and the whole of the Delta fell into his power ; but his triumph was lessened by the loss of his fleet, on the 1st of August, which, being attacked in the bay by Nelson, was almost totally destroyed or taken, the French admiral Brueys be- ing killed and his ship burnt ; four ships only, two of them frigates, ■were all tiiat escaped. When Buonaparte left Toulon, his fleet consisted of 400 sail, including thirteen ships of the line, and it •was rather increased than otherwise by his enterprise at Malta. 15. The victory of Nelson gave a new turn to the war against the French. On his quitting Egypt, he carried his fleet to Naples, where the utmost joy was manifested by the court at the blow which had been given to the French preponderance. The queen invoked the Austrians to renew the war against France ; and the expedition to Egypt and attack upon Malta having excited the czar, and even the grand seignor, to resist aggressions so unprovoked and alarming, Francis 11. was not insensible to the call made upon him. England was not backward to encourage and aid such movements, in every part of Europe. The king of Sardinia, and the grand duke of Tua- €,:kaj skewed tkemsely^a -sfiiiiug to joia the aew coaiederac/ 5 but 380 MODERN HISTORY. the king of Prussia was not to be prevailed on to abandon his neu- trality. 16. The Neapolitan court, which had been the foremost to ex- cite this new war, were the first sufferers from it. Having invaded the territories of the church, and even obtained possession of Pvome, they were suddenly driven back by the French, the capital taken, and the royal family compelled to retire to Palermo, in Sicily. Na- ples was not taken possession of without a formidable insurrection of that extraordinary portion of its population, the Lazzaroni^ with whom the king, whose amusements were often unbecoming- his high rank, happened to be popular. This resistance provoked reprisals exceedingly distressing to the inhabitants, and almost ruinous to the city ; the tumult, hoAvever, was at length appeased, and the kingdom of Naples converted into the Parihenoptan^ or jYtapoli- tan republic. 17. The king of Sardinia, and the grand duke of Tuscany were also made to pay dear for the renewal of hostilities, both being de- prived of their dominions, as allies of the Neapolitans, and com- pelled to abandon their capitals. The aged pope, who had indeed, by many unwise provocations, irritated the French, a refugee in the Tuscan territories, unv/illing to accompany the deposed prin- ces in their retreat from Florence, and too confidently relyir.g on the reverence that would be paid to his years and station, was ac- tually arrested in his monastic retirement, and conveyed to Va- lence, in Dauphiny, a prisoner, where he died broken hcarfed, August 29, 1799. On the establishment of the consular govern- ment, his body '^^as honourably interred, and a monument erected over him. 18. But the directory, in the mid~t of these arbitrary seizures of states and kingrloms, acted with too little foresight, as to the effects of the r<.rmidable confederacy of Russia and Austria, The French ar- mies were widely separated, and many of the most snx:cessfal gene- rals, through a pernicious jealousy, disgraced and removed from their command. This disheartened the soldiers ; and reverses were preparing for them, both in Germany and Italy. The Russian ar- my, under Souvaroff, entered the latter country early in the spring of the year 1799, and on the 18th of April v/as at Verona. The charac- ter and manners of this northern general, made a great impression both upon the allied armies, and upon the inhabitants of the coun- tries he invaded. The French, under the celebrated Mor can, were obliged to fall back, leaving the Milanese exposed to the combined forces. After various actions, Milan was invested ; and, after a nineteen days^ siege, taken May 24. Turin, Alessandria, Mantua, and Tortona, v>^ere reduced in the months of June and- July; and in most of these places, as well as in other parts of Italy, Tuscany, Naples, and Rome, great indignation was manifested against the French, of whose tyranny they had all lasted, and of whose friendship they were already become we'ary. In a short time the French retained, of ail their conquests in those parts, on- ly Genoa and Savoy. 19. While these things were going on, the councils at Paris be- gan to distrust the government of the directors, and to ask why MODERN mSTOS-Y, 381 Buonaparte was at such a distance. Inquiries of this kind were ofttn pat to his brother Lucien, who had a seat in the council of five hundred. A party was formed against the most obnoxious of the directors, and three found it necessary to retire. Another revo Jution in the g-overnment was evidently preparing. Buonaparte's absence and object seemed equally mysterious. It wis supposed that he meant to open the old channel of trade between the East Indies raid tbe Mediterranean. After the destruction of his fleet, i(.s though banished from France, he appeared eager to establish a colony in Egypt, which, perhaps, was originally in his view, in carrying thither all that the arts and sciences of Europe could con^- tribute of 'utility or beauty. All his works were superintended by persons of known celebrity for talent and knowledge of every de- scription ; but he was turned from this object by the jealousy of the Turks, who, after the battle of Aboukir, (or of the Niie, as it is generally called in England,) were ready enough to join the English in attacking the French, confined, as it were, within their territories. Buonaparte, to be beforehand with them, marched in- to Syria, where the pacha of Acre, a man of most ferocious charac- ter, commanded. He succeeded in taking many fortresses, and for three months maintained a war in the very heart of the coun- try, but his artillery having been intercepted by the English, who had also been admitted into Acre,- his attempts upon the latter place were frustrated, and, being threatened on all sides, he re- solved to return to Egypt ; there he received letters to inform him of the reverses in Italy, and the disorders at Paris, and "to press his return ; but the Turks had landed at Aboukir, and taken posses- sion of the fort, and it was judged necessary for his fame, that he should not quit Egypt without beating them. He hastened to at- tack them, and succeeded ; but not v/ithout many severe conflicts, and an eight days' siege of the fortress of Aboukir. Soon aft^r this Siiccess, he embarked clandestinely for France, leaving the army under the command of general Kleber, (who complained greatly of being so duped and abandoned,) and in a very extraordinary manner escaped all the English ships cruising in the Mediterra- nean. 20. Buonaparte arrived just in time to take advantage of the distracted state of the government. The legislature was a prey to faction ; the directors divided in opinion ; the jacobins and anarch* ists extremely troublesome, and not unlikely to recover their sway ; while many departments were in a state of insurrection and civil war. Sieyes, the most wise and politic of all that had yet been in tlie directory, foresaw the necessity of a change, and wanted anly some military genius to support his measures, and to whom he jcould confide his designs. Three other important characters ap- peared to rest their hopes on the interference of Buonaparte ; Fouche, minister of police ; Cambaceres, mmister of justice ; and the ex-minister for foreign aftairs, Talleyrand Ferigord. 21. Within a month after the arrival of Buonaparte, a proposal ■was made in the council of ancients, to remove the legislative bo- dies to St. Cloud, and to confer on Buonaparte the command of the tro.ops at F;;^ris, At the moment llie decree was passed, BupafSi- 382 MODERN HISTORY. parte, accdmpauied by iPiany of the generals who had distinguished themselves under him, appeared at the bar, denouncing threats against all who should traverse the decree just passed. The coun- cil of five hundred, taken by surprise, niade some show of resist- ance ; and Buonaparte appearing amongst them, gave such offence, that he was in danger of assassination, amidst the cries of" Down •with the tyrant i*'^ '^ No dictator !'' His brother Lucien, at that time president, was loudly called upon to pronounce a decree of outlawry against him, which he evaded by throwing aside his ofFi- cial dress, and renouncing his seat in the assembly ; after which, Buonaparte, in some alarm, having joined his troops, the meeting was dissolved, and violently dispersed by the soldiery. It was al- lowed however to assemble again under the former presidency, the Jacobinical members being excluded, when a new order of things, approved by the council of elders, was brought forward, decreed, and proclaimed. The directory was abolished, and three new chief magistrates appointed under the name of consuls, while committees were formed to prepare a new constitution. Eighty persons v/ere to compose a senate, one hundred a tribunate, and three hundred a legislative body. 22. The time seemed now to be arrived when the excesses of the revolutionary movement had prepared men's minds for a transition from a state of anarchy to one of despotism. Popular liberty had fallen into disrepute, fsom the violences of the jacobins ; and a strong executive government seemed indispensably necessary to re- store things to any degree of order and consistency. Though the Jive directors appeared to be exchanged for three consul^-, there was, in the last instance, no correspondent division of power and authority. To the first consul were assigned functions and pre- rogatives exceedingly distinct from those of his colleagues. " Unity of thought and action was declared to be a fundamental quality in the executive power.*' So far they were evidently going back to the first and best principles of monarchy. Hitherto, however, an elective and limited consulate was ail that was contemplated. General Buonaparte was appointed first consul, Cambaceres the second, and Le Brun the third ; the first tn^o for ten, the last for only five years ; Buonaparte, to say the loast, having all the pow- er of a king, though not the name, assigned to him, — a power approaching too near to absolute and uncontrollable despotism. 23. In the first discharge of his new functions, however, he was careful to display a spirit of moderation, forbearance, and con- ciliation, in many popular acts at home, and overtures of peace to England. The latter were without effect, and a large subsidy be- ing granted by the British parliament, to enable the emperor to continue the war, no time was lost by the French in endeavouring^ to recover their footing in Italy. In the month of May, 1000, the first consul left Paris, to take the command of the army In those parts ; and after a most surprising passage through the mountain- ous parts of Switzerland, and the capture of the town of Costa, with the celebrated fort of Bard, succeeded so far as to be able to enter Milftn once more in triumph, the Austrians retiring bvfore him, i"ttie expecting that he could find a way iuto Loaibardy by tha MODERN HISTORY. 383 road he had chosen. The Rus;3ian army had heen withdrawn in disguet, after the proceedings in Switzerland, which had greatly offended the czar. Previously to the entrance of the first consul into Milan, the French, under Massena, had heen compelled to evacuate Genoa : but the Austrians were doomed to sufftr a re- verse ; and thou^-h in the famous battle of Marengo, which took place on the 14th of June, they fought v»-ith the most desperate courage, and sustained an action of fourteen hours with great he- roism, and the fairest prospects of success, the enemy received re- inforcements at so critical a moment as to enable them to obtain a. complete victory, which was soon followed by a suspension of hos- tilities, solicited by the Austrian general. 24. Negotiations for peace were entered into at Paris, and the preliminaries were sigpned ; but, through the remonsti-ances of the English government, (as it is supposed,) the emperor refused his ratitlcation, and the war was continued, both in Germany and Italy, till the 25th of December, 1000, when another suspension of hostilities being agreed to, at Steven, a town in Upper Austria, soon led to the treaty of Luneville., between the French republic and the empire^ signed February 9, 1801; by which the Rhine was made the boundary of the French republic, leavins: the several princes dispossessed, in part or in whole, of their territories on the left side of the river, to be indemnified in the bosom of the empire ; the Adige, in the same manner, being fixed to be the boundary be- Uveen the Austrian territories in Italy and the Cisalpine republic, 7'he Grand duke of Tuscany renounced his dukedom in favour of the infant duke of Parma, created king of Etruria ; and the inde- pendence of the Batavian, Helvetic and Cisalpine republics, was recognized and guarantied by both parties. 25. The English g-overnment had refused to enter into a naval armistice, though in danger of being deserted by the 'emperors of Germany and Russia, and had declined every offer of peace upon such terms, while Malta and Egypt continued in the hands of France. But after the re-capture of the former, and the defeat of the French under Menou, at Alexandria, in September, 1801, both parties seemed more disposed than before to enier into negotiation, with serious views of bringing things to an accommodation. On March 27th, 1802, a definitive treaty was signed at Amiens, more favourable to France than to England, though nothing could ex- ceed the joy expressed in the latter country, on the termination of hostilities with the French republic. It was soon found to be no better than a truce of very short duration. 26. The power of the French republic at this moment was enor- mously great. In addition to the former possessions of France, it had gained the Netherlands, and a considerable portion of Ger- many ; Geneva, Piedmont, and Savoy had been incorporated with it ; Holland and Switzerland were rendered effectually dependent upon it. The Cisalpine republic, including the Milanese, the duchies of Modena, Mantua, and Parma, and part of the V^enetian a)id Roman territories, was placed under the presidency of tlie first consul, for a term of ten years. Genoa, or the Ligurian republic, h:id been i-ecovercd by the treaty of Luuerille ; Spani\;as entirely 304 MODERN HISTORY. at the command of France, as well as Tuscany, uftder Its next possessor, the vassal king of Etraria. It had recovered also its West ii'.dian settlements, and acquired a conpiderable footiag iu South America. SECTION XVI. FRANCE, FROM THE PEACE OF AMIENS TO THE TREATY OF TILSIT, 1807. f 1. It has already Iveen observed, that the first steps of the consu- late were of a conciliatory nature. Endeavours were made to pa- cify the rebellious departments; the lav/ of hostage, which had been in its operation exti-'^-mely vexatious, was repealed ; and the list of emigrants closed. On the first change of the government, measures were taken to repress the violence of the jacobins, and awe the factious ; but the sentences passed on the most obnoxious were afterwards mitigated. . 2. Soon after the conclusion of the peace of Amiens, the first consul gave great satisfaction to the bulk of the nation, by restoring the catholic religion. On Eastor-day, 1{J02, the peace Vv-as ratified in the metropolitan church, with ail the sanctions of the ancient religious forms, and a large attendance of new prelates. The basis of the convention with the pope had been settled and arranged in the preceding year, upoii the follov/ing principles: — That a new division of the French dioceses should be made, suited to the re- publican division of the country ; and that the first consul should nominate the new archbishops and bishops, leaving ii to the pope, as a matter of course, to confer canonical institutions. The bish- ops to appoint the parish priests, subject to the approbation ol gov- ernment. The pope to procure the ancient bishops to resign, and to engage not to disturb the alienated property of the church. No bull, rescript, &c., from the court of Rome, no decrees of synods, or general councils, to be received, or promulgated, without the consent of government. No national or diocesan meeting to take place without the same authority ; or any nuncio, legate, or vicar, to be allowed to exercise his functions. 3. Such were some of the principal articles of the concordaium, of 1801. The pope seemed to be glad to make any concessions that might recover France from the depths of infidelity ; while the articles thcrrselves plainly show that the first consul, in restoring Catholicism, had no intention to subject the nation, as heretofore, to the dominion of the Roman see, even in spiritual matters. A still stronger proof, however, of which, appears in the liberty af- forded, at the same time, to the Lutherans and Calvinibts, w^ho were placed nearly upon the same footing with the catholics ; and were even allowed to have three seminaries of education ; two in the eastern parts of France, for the Lutherans, and one at Gene- va, for the Calvinists. Provision was also made in the new con- cordatum for the supposed case of a protestant being chosen chief magistrate of the republic. MODERN HISTOKV. oS5 4. Oil the second of August, 1802, by an extraordinary expres- sion of thy public will, the consulate, the term of which, in the case of Buonaparte and Cambaceres, had been limited to ten years, was conferred on the former for life. The original proposal had been only to extend the term ; but the people in the diiferent com- munes being called upon to give their opinion, voted, almost unanimously, for its being continued to the first consul for life, which was readily sanctioned by the senate. 5. This appointment was soon followed by a new form of con- stitution, calculated to throw greater power into the hands of the first magistrate, w^ho was permitted, not only to nominate his col- leagues, but to make war, form alliances, conclude peace, pardon criminals, and virtually to choose the members of the le£;i3lative body, by means of the senate, which was almost entirely undcc his influence. He was careful, at the same time, to put the gov- ernments of the Cisalpine and Ligurian republics, and other new- }y acquired states, upon a similar footing, reserving to himself, iu all cases, the supreme power as first magistrate. All these steps were so artfully taken, as to appear to be the regular result of pop- ular choice and deliberation. Liberty, equality of civil rights, and national representation, were professed to be the objects in view ; but care was taken to render each dependent on the domineering influence and directions of the first consul. It was at this period that the Cisalpine was converted into the Italian republic. 6. Switzerland v/as not so easily to be brought under the French yoke, though its struggles for liberty and independence were finally unavailing. Many of the cantons displayed an almost in- Tincible attachment to their ancient constitution, and resisted, in every way they could, the menaced invasion of their rights and privileges ; but the znore they were divided amongst themselves, which unhappily proved to be the case to a high degree, the great- er opportunity was afforded to the despotic ruler of France to in- terpose his offices to restore peace, nominally as a mediator, but really and efiectually to the subjugation of the country, which, when reduced, was in mockery declared to be free and inde- pendent. Remonstrances on the part of the English court, are supposed to have had some effect in mitigating the rigour of his exactions, and rendering the new constitution prepared for them, more congenial to their feelings than might otherwise hare been the case. 7. In 1802, by the death of the duke of Parma, and in. virtue of a previous convention with Spain, the first consul, in the name of the French republic, took possession of the duchies of Parma, Pla- centia, and Guastalla, and incerporated them soon after with France. The only son of the deceased duke of Parma, by a Span- ish princess, having assigned to him by the treaty of Luneville, the Tuscan states, under the title of the kingdom of Etruria. 8. Though, by the above treaty, the indemnification of those princes, whose rights and property had suffered from the progress of the French, seemed to be left chiefly to the decision of the diet of the empire, Buonaparte found means to interfere to his own ad- vunt-age, favoux'ing those most from whom he had the most to fear, or 3S 386 MODERN HISTORY. •who were most likely to be subservient to his views. For the duke of Wirtemburgh, the landgrave of H^isse Cassel, and the margrave of Baden, he secured the electoral dignity ; while the indemnifi- cations were provided for by the secularization ^f many ecclesias- tical states on the right side of the Rhine. 9. It was soon found that, by the peace of Amiens, little cordi- ality was produced betwen the two nations. The first consul pro- fessed to be bound by that treaty only to particular specified points, and appeared through his agents, secret or avowed, to be preparing for a renewal of hostilities. He had some reason, it must be confessed, to be offended with the liberties taken with him in some of the public journals of England at this time ; and though it can scarcely be supposed that peace could be his object, yet he appears to have been provoked and irritated by the distrust of the British government and nation. So early as the month of May, 1803, the two countries may be said to have been again in a state of war with each other. 10. On this quick renewal of hostilities, the first consul had re- course to a most extraordinary measure, in detaining all the Eng- lish who happened to have come over to France during the peace, for business or pleasure, as a sort of hostages for the future conduct of their country. He also projected a powerful invasion of Eng- land, which had only the efiect of rousing the latter country to such vigorous and patriotic exertions as entirely to frustrate all his schemes and intentions. A levy en masse was proposed, subject to the regulations of parliament. As another act of vengeance against England, an army was sent to occupy Hanover, though the king, in his electoral capacity, had determined to remain neuter. 11. The first consul had now, for some time, exercised not only kingly, but almost despotic power, and artfully placed himself in such a situation of control and influence, with regard to all the public bodies, assemblies, and councils of the nation, that it is not to be wondered that he should have aspired to, and obtained, the highest dignities it is in the power of a nation to bestow ; though, had he acted with less prudence and policy, nothing certainly could have occurred more surprising than the undisturbed elevation of a Corsican adventurer to one of the most splendid thrones of Europe. By an organic senatus consultum of the 18th of May 1804, Buona- parte was declared Emperor of the Frerch. The title to be hereditary, as to his immediate descendants, and, in case of failure of male issue, granting him a further power to adopt the children, or grand-children, of his brothers. All laws were to originate with the sovereign, or to be proposed in his name ; and due care was taken, by rendering the legislative body and tribunate dependant on the senate, in the appointment of which the emperor was to have almost the whole power, to prevent the passing of any laws - contrary to his will. The imperial title thus conferred on him, was acknowledged by most of the states of Europe, though not by England. 12. This assumption of the imperial title, by Napoleon Buona- parte, and the subsequent confederation of the Rhine, led the em" MODERN HISTORY. 387 peror of GeriTianj*, Francis II, to abdicate the Germanic empire, and to change his title to that of emperor of Austria, thereby se- curing the same hereditary honour to the house of llapsburg, and at the same time, not entirely resigning his political relationship to the states and empire of Germany. 13. On the 2d of December, 1804, Napoleon was crowned, in the church of Notre Dame, with extraordinary pomp and splen- dour, having previously invited, or rather compelled the humbled pontiff of Rome to be present at the ceremony, and to anoint him. His empress, Josephine Beauharnois, to whom he had been some time married, was crowned at the same time. 14. One of the first acts of the new emperor was to change the name of the Code civil des Francais^ introduced under the consu- lar government, for that of the Code JVapoieon. His two brother^ Joseph and Lewis, and his two colleagues, Le Brun and Camba- ceres, were declared grand elector^ constable^ arch- chancellor^ and arch-treasurer^ of the empire ; and the dignity of mareschal was conferred on the most distinguished of his generals. But, in order to give more stability to his throne, or intimidate his enemies, under pretence of a royalist conspiracy, he had many eminent persons brought to trial ; among others, the two celebrated generals, Pi- chegru and Moreau. The former was, soon after, found dead in his prison, under circumstances implying little less than a most de- liberate murder ; the latter, an equal object of dread and alarm, and y/hose death was probably contemplated, was permitted, how- ever, to retire to North America. It is scarcely credible, though it certainly appears upon record, that the French minister at Berlin was directed to move the king of Prussia to deliver up the unfortu- nate Lewis XVIII, then at Warsav/, and to send him to France, to answer for the concern he v/as stated to have had in this con- spiracy. 15. Having obtained the imperial dignity in France* Napoleon appeared dissatisfied to be only president of a republic with regard to his Cisalpine conquests. Means were found to induce the con- stituted authorities of the new Italian republic to offer to him the crown of Italy, an offer he was quite prepare(4 to accept, as though the whole of that devoted country had been already subdued. On the 2Gth of May, 1805, he repaired to Milan, and taking the fa- mous iron crown from the altar of the cathedral, placed it on his own head, denouncing vengeance against all who should dispute his right to it. Having done this, he appointed the son of the em- press Josephine, Beauharnois, to be his viceroy, and agreed, that upon his death the two crowns should be separated. Soon after he seized\upon Genoa, dispossessed the doge and senators of their power, and decreed, that henceforth the territories of the Ligurian republic, as it was called, should be annexed to France. These rapacious proceedings at length provoked a fresh confederacy against him, so that before the year was passed, not only England, but Russia, Prussia, and Austria, were in arms to resist his en- croachments. Sweden had joined the confederacy, but retired in disgust. Such, however, was the dread of the power or vengeance of France J that several of the German princes, particularly the 388 MODERN HISTORY. elector of Bavaria, sided with Napoleon, in opposition to tlie may peror Francis. 16. By sea, the power of the French and Spaniards combined failed of gaining- any advantages over the allies. On the 21st of October, 1805. in the battle of Trafalgar, a complete victory was ©btained by the British fleet, under lord Nelson, who perished in the action. There was a disparity in the number of ships, in fa- vour of the French and Spaniards, of thirty-three to twenty-seven. On the continent, the course of the war was very diiferent. The king of Prussia was dilatory in his proceedings, and even treach- erous. Sweden had withdrawn. The emperor Francis employed an inefficient commander, if not worse, (general Mack,) and the Russians, who Avere more in earnest, were baffled by the unsteady proceedings of their allies, and distressed by want of provisions, sickness, and fatigue. After the battle of Austerlitz, in Decem- ber, the emperor of Austria, whose capital had been in the hands of the eneoiy, solicited peace, submitting to surrender what had been allotted to him of the Venetian territories, together with the. principalities of Lucca and Fiombino ; and to acknowledge Buo- naparte ai king of Italy. Bavaria acquired a part of the Brisgaw and Tyrol. Such M'cre the terms of the peace of Presburgh, Go* tober, 1804. 17. 1'he secession of some of the German states from the empe- ror of Austria, had, in the mean time, produced changes that re- quire to be noticed. The electors of Bavaria and Wirtembufgh were elevated to the rank of kings of their respective countries ; j'nd Eugene Beauharnois, viceroy of Italy, son of the French empress .Tosephine, obtained in marriage the daughter of the new king of Bavaria, though she had been previously betrothed to the prince of Baden. 18. The court of Naples, during this war, through the Injudi- cious, but natural, resentment of the queen, sister to the late un- fortunate queen of France, had the misfortune to incur the high displeasure of Napoleon, by admitting a British and Russian army to land on its territories. The French despot lost no time in pro- nouncing sentence on the rebellious neutral. He quickly made it knovm that the Bourbon dynasty had ceased to reign at Naples. The royal family v.'as compelled to retire to Palermo, and in a ahort time after. Napoleon conferred the Neapolitan crown on his brother Joseph ; much to the discontent, however, of the people, whd for some time gave him great disturbance. Joseph was pro- maimed king, March 30, 1806. 19. The emperor of the French had another kingdom in view for his brother Lewis, constable of France. Holland had submit- ted to several forms of government, v%ithout obtaining that order and tranq'-iillity which was supposed to be in the contemplation of those vvho directed her affairs. It was suggested that a monarchy would remedy all the disorders to which she ivas exposed ; and it was hinted, too plainly to be misunderstood, that it would be agree- able to the emperor, if the leading persons of the state, not the the community at large, would give countenance to such a change. So great was the infatuation, or timidity, of the persons to whom MODERN HISTORY, 389 these snggestfons were made, that they did not scruple to solicit the appointment of the emperor's brother, who declared himself king of Holland accordingly, June 5, 1806. To the credit of the new king, it should he observed, that he soon fell into disgrace with his imperial brother, by being too lenient to his subjects, and by endeavouring to mitigate the rigour of the French de- crees. 20. In the year 1806, Napoleon succeeded in subverting the constitution of the German empire, by detaching maiiy ol the prin- cipal states, chiefly of the western and southern divisions of Ger- many, to form what was denominated " The Confederation of the Rhine^'''' by which the several princes consented to renounce the laws of the empire, to contract a federative alliance with the French emperor, and to supply him with troops whenever he should demand them. In consequence of this gross defection of so many members, the emperor, by a solemn edict, abdicated the govern- ment of the Germanic empire, absolving all the electors, princes, and states from the obligations by which they stood bound to him, as their legitimate head ; thereby terminating, as it were, a °^ov- ernment which had subsisted for a thousand years, and been un^ interruptedly confided to the house of Hapsburgh from the vear 1438. 21. It seemei as if every thing, at this time, was doomed to fall before the power of the Corsican. Prussia, which had hitherto acted a most unwise part, in neglecting to add its weight to the confederacy of 1804, and even submitting to be cajoled into an alliance with France, became, in the course of the year 1806, sen- sible of her error; but to no g'ood purpose. She now precipitately entered into a war for which she was ill-prepared ; v/ith no sup- port but that of Saxony ; and having put her army under the coni' mand of the duke of Brunswick, sustained two signal and almost fatal defeats, at Jena and Averstadt, laying' the capital open to the advance of the enemy, who entered it in triumph ; and, being too well received and entertained by the people, did not fail, as in all other cases, to take due advantage of their willing submission. In the course of the contest, the Saxons were detached from Prussia^ and the duke of Brunswick being wounded, and obliged to quit his dominions on the advance of the French, died miserably at AIv tona. Kapoleon, in resentment, meanly refusing to suli'er his body to be buried amongst his ancestors. 22. It was during his sojournment in Berlin, November, 1806, that the French emperor dictated that extrordinary decree, de- claring the British islands to be in a state of blockade, though he had no naval force capable of interrupting their commerce in any part of the world. By this decree, the v/ho'C trade of Britain was proscribed ; no intercourse of any sort was allowed to take place ; all British subjects on the continent were threatened with arrest and confiscation of property, and every port shut against English vessels, in Prussia, Denmark, the Hans towns, Holland, Fiandersj France, Spain, Italy, &c. 23. The progress of the French, in the territories of the king of Frussia, occaaioaed fresh alarm to the emperor of Russia, and ti> 33* 390 MODERN HISTdRir. the British government, and procured for Frederick that assistance -which his former supineness and intrusion on the Hanoverian state? ini^ht very reasonably have rendered hopeless. The king of Swe den was also subsidized by England, to send an army into Pome- rania ; but all the efforts of the allies were insufficient to stop the career of the French. The Russians fought many severe battles, at Eylau, Friedland, fee, but were unable to prevent the French gfetting possession of Dantzic and Konigsberg ; losses so severely felt by the king of Prussia, as to compel him to conclude a sepa- rate peace, as a conquered enemy ; while Napoleon, with consum- mate art, not only persuaded Alexander to abandon the king of Prussia to his fate, but to form an alliance with himself, for the farther spoliation of the Prussian dominions, and to concur in ar- rangements very adverse to the general interests of Europe, and serviceable only to his own family. By the treaty of Tilsit, July, 1807, the emperor of Russia agreed to acknowledge the Rhenish confederacy, now consisting of many states, and Joseph and Lewis Buonaparte, as kings of Naples, and Holland. He suffered the French emperor to confer on his youngest brother, Jerome^ with the title of king of Westphalia, the Prussian provinces between the Elbe and the Rhine, the states of Hanover, and the territories of the duke of Brunswick, and landgrave of Hesse Cassel, while the greater part of Prussian Poland was given to the elector (now king) of Saxony, with the title of duke of Warsaw ; and by secret arti- cles, as it has been alleged, most of the usurpations of the French, in all parts of Europe, were sanctioned and confirmed. During the •whole of the years 1806 and 1807, the German states were un- dergoing continual changes, through the overbearing tyranny of Napoleon. Ail the princes who joined the Rhenish confedera- tion were rewarded with titles or territorial possessions ; all who favoured the allies, dispossessed of their dominions, and declared enemies of France. To particularize all these revolutions, few of v/hich were permanent, would exceed the limits of the present work. 24. Among other acquisitions resulting from the treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon recovered the Ionian islands. These islands, subsequent to the treaty of Campo-Formio, had been greatly agitated and dis- turbed, and it seemed difficult to know what to do with them. In iNIarch, 1800, however, by a convention between Russia and the Porte, it was settled that Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Ithaca, Ceri- go, St. Mauro, and Paxo, should be formed into one state, under the guarantv of the contracting parties, by the name of the Ionian republic, ny the treaty of Amiens, 1802, Napoleon engaged to acknowledge the Septinsular republic ; but, by the treaty of Til- sit, it was restored to him again by Russia. This treaty, in short, appeared to be dictated entirely by the despot of France. Prussia, a.tsandoned by her Russian ally, suffered dreadfully. The king of »7weden refused to become a party tc this memorable convention, •and manifested a determination to resist, to the utmost, the en- croachments of the French ; but he had little judgment or pru- dence to direct him ; and he had not the means to contend against such s!i adversary as Buonaparte. After many ia^ffeetual attempts MODERN HISTORY. 391 to save Stralsund, and keep his army in Pomerania, he was at length compelled to retire, with the loss both of Stralsund and the isle of Rusfen, SECTION XVIL SPAIN AND PORTUGAL FROM 17GS TO 1814. 1. These two countries are by nature so connected, that though their interests are, and g-enerally have been, very different, and the people little disposed to friendly associations, yet, with regard to the affairs of Europe, they have very commonly been involved in the same troubles, and never long permitted to enjoy tranquilli- ty, while the leading powers of the continent have been engaged in war. This has been already sufficiently manifested in the his- tory of these two contiguous kingdoms, during the former part of the eighteenth century, but has been rendered still more conspicu- ous by the events of the subsequent years. 2. Charles IV. of Spain, came to the crown in December, 1788, when the French revolution was just beginning-; and it was not till some few years after, and in the midst of the reign of terror, that his kingdom became involved in the disturbances of that great catastrophe. The Spaniards, in the year 1793, offended with the violence offered to the royal family of France, had invaded the lat- ter country, and taken the town of Bellgfarde, little foreseeing the gpeedy aud severe reprisals to which they were exposing- them- selves. >^arly in the year 1794, the French, vmder general Du- gommier, invaded Spain, and succeeded, not only in beating- the Spanish army, but in securing the occupation of many places of importance. These successes were not only available to the res- toration of peace with Spain, but procured for the French, by the treaty of 1795, the Spanish portion of the valuable island of St. Domingo, in the West Indies, and, in 1796, an alliance with the Spanish monarch against England, — an alliance fatal to Spain in m-auy respects ; her tleet being beaten by the English in battle, off the cape of St. Vincent, the island of Trinidad taken from her, aud retained by Great Britain at the peace of Amiens, and her commerce crippled and impeded in all parts of the world. 3. Though she sought, by a large subsidy to France, to be per- mitted to remain neuter, after the renewal of the war in 1803, yet she was not long- alUwed to be at peace. In 1804, the Eng;lish, suspicious of her close connection with France, seized upon some of her treasure ships, coming from South America, with a sudden- ness judged by many to be not strictly justifiable; and, in 1805, war was formally declared against Great Britain. But in this new war she was again doomed to suffer misfortune, her fleet being to- tally beaten by lord Nelson, on the 1st of October, 1805, in the cele- brated battle off cape Trafalgar. (See Sect. XVI, $ 16.) 4. During; the year 1806, Spain appeared disposed to break with France, had any misfortune befallen the latter power ; but her successes ia Prussia seem to have ifttimidated Spain, and to have f 392 MODERN HISTORY. induced her, in 1807, through the manoeuvres of Godoy,the Span» ish minister, who had a view to the principality of Algarves, to enter into a regular treaty with France, for the partition of Por- tugal. 5. Hitherto the latter country, since the elevation of Buonaparte to the chief magistracy, had been suffered to remain neuter. The reigniug queen having- been declared insane, the power had devol- ved to the prince of Brazil, crown prince, in 1799, who, in vir- tue of his purchased neutrality, had been able to keep his com- mercial relations with England, unmolested by the French, till the treaty just mentioned between the latter power and Spain. 6. France was not long in availing herself of the permission she had obtained to march an army through Spain, for the subjugation of Portugal. Having made demands on the regent of Portugal, ■with which he could not, in honour, comply, it was declared that the house of Braganza had ceased to reign ; and, shortly after- wards, the French army, under general Junot, passed the frontiers. In these extremities, instigated by the English, the royal family determined to embark for America. They set sail on the '21st of November, 1807 ; and, on the 30th, Junot, with his army entered Lisbon. 7. The state of Spain, at this period, was undoubtedly such as to encourage the most ambitious views of the French em- peror. Nothing could exceed the weakness of the court of Madrid, or the confusion of the national affairs. At the very moment of the partition treaty, the hereditary prince, Ferdinand, who had re- fused to marry the minister's sister-in-law, on the suggestion of the court, was arrested, imprisoned, and threatened with a ciiminal prosecution, for having secretly sou^^ht a matrimonial alliance with Buonaparte's family. This was followed by disturbances, and the imprisonment of the obnoxious minister, Godoy^ duke of Alcudia, and, since the convention of 1795, generally called the "prince of peace." Charles IV, harassed and distressed by these tumults, was induced, on the 19th of March. 1808, to resign his crown in favour of his son, now become Ferdinand VH ; but he soon after- wards revoked his abdication, as forced upon him, and extorted by the dread of personal violence. Nothing could be more directly calculated to promote the views of Buonaparte than these divis- ions, whose constant policy it was, in all cases of premeditated conquest, to promote dissention, in order to be called in as an ar- bitrator or mediator, which was the case in this instance. After Buonaparte had been baffled in his hopes of compelling the king and queen to emigrate, through the resistance of the people of Spain to such a measure, the whole royal family" were invited to repair to Bayonne, to confer on the state of affairs ; an invitation the most insidious, but which had its effect. On the 14th of April Buonaparte arrived there ; Ferdinand on the 20th, and on the 1st of May, Charles IV. and his queen, after the favourite, Godoy, had been released, on their application to Buonaparte. 8. The transactions at Bayonne exceeded almost every thing to be met with in any preceding history. The persons invited were exactly those whom Buonaparte wokild have been glad to have MODERN nisroRv. 3^^ seen driven into his tolls : in this case they were weak enough to go thither of their own accord. Hariagthe two kings completely in his power, and beyond the frontier of Spain, he compelled Charles to resume his authority, on purpose that he might resign it into the liands of the French, proposing", on the terms of an equivalent elsewhere, a similar act of renunciation on the part of Ferdinand ; which the latter indignantly refusing-, was at once de- clared to be excluded from all he had, and all ho might have had, and even threatened with the loss of liberty. This so intimidated the degraded prince, that at length he unconditionally resigned his royal dignity, first into the hands of his father, and through him, into those of Buonaparte, who soon obtained, though in a manner the most extraordinary, the consent of most of the principal personages of the state, as well as of the constituted authorities, to the appoint- ment of his brother Joseph, then king- of Naples, to the vacant Spanish throne, and to render it hereditary in the family of the usurper. In the mean while, Ferdinand was sent to V'^alancey, and afterwards to Foniainbieau, as a prisoner, and Charles and his queen to Compiegne : their joint abdication of the Spanish crown was publicly announced at Madrid on the 20th of May, to the great disgust of the Spanish people in general, who soon resolved to be revenged for the horrid indignities they were made to un- dergo. 9. In the course of the very month in which all the transactions at Bayonne took place, and Joseph Buonaparte entered the capital of Spain as king, the national resentment was manifested by a gene- ral rising, and insurrection in all the principal provinces ; but it was first in Andalusia that any thing like an organized government was formed for the conduct of the war, ou the part of the patriots ; there, a provincial junia^ or council of magistrates, inhabitants, and constituted authorities, was formed, at Seville, which led to other conventions of the same nature, in places least molested by the French, and in all of these Ferdinand Vil. was proclaimed king, and v/ar openly denounced against the French, accompanied with proclamations and manifestoes, highly creditable to the good sense, .spirit, ardour, and patriotism of the ^ panish nation, and expressed in terms very different from the language to which the French ty- rant had been accustomed. Joseph Buonaparte entered Spain ou the 9th of July, 1808,- escorted by four thousand Italian troops, and followed by upward? of one hundred carriages, convey- ing his suite and the members of the junta assembled at Payonne, to assist at his inauguration. He was ill received, or rather sul- lenly treated by the inhabitants, on his passage to the capital. Joseph entered Madrid on the 20th of July ; at v/hich very time the Spaniards obtained an important victor3'- over a French army marching upon Cadiz, vvhich were compelled to capitulate to the amount of fourteen thousand men, while the French fleet at Ca- diz was seized by the vigilance and activity of don Thomas Morla. These successes on the part of the Spaniards, compelled the ne\^ king to retire from the capital to Burgos, after plundering' the treasury and securing the crown jev/els. 394 MODERN HISTORY. 10. In the mean while, it was soon discovered that the aid of other poTv'crs wonld be -U'anted, in order to rescue the king-dom and peninsula from the grasp of Napolf -^n. Application was ac- cordingly made to the court of London, to the Swedes, and to the Portuguese and Austrians. The former paid a ready and willing attention to the call ; and the whole British nation evinced, in an extraordinary manner, the utmost desire to render effectual assis- tance to Spain, whose cause seemed to be justly interesting to every friend of freedom. 11. While these things were passing in Spain, a similar spirit had arisen in Portugal, against the tyranny and usurpations of the French ; and the arrival of a British army, in the month of August, under sir Arthur Wellesley, (afterwards duke of Wellington,) gave timely effect to these patriotic movements. The relief of Portugal •was sooner accomplished than proved to be the case afterwards •with Spain. On the 21st of August a decisive battle took place at Vimiera, between the French and combined armies of English and Portuguese ; in v/hich the former were so entirely beaten as to be obliged to evacuate the country ; and which they were ena- bled to do, by a convention concluded at Cintra, under circum- stances considered far too favourable, by Europe in general, and which was resented by the people of England. 12. The evacuation of Portugal, however, at all events, set an army free for the use of Spain, which, at the latter end of the month of October, to the amount of twenty thousand men, entered that country, nnder the command of sir John Moore ; the emperor Napoleon having quitted Paris just about the same time, to take the command of the French army there. Unfortunately, the state of Spain at the moment of this first attempt on the part of Eng- land, to give aid to the patriots, was such as greatly to embarrass the British commander : he had been taught (or rather, the gov- ernment at home had been so) to expect a strenuous co-operation on the part of the Spaniards ; in which he was exceedingly disap- pointed, while he continually received advice of the augmenta- tion of the French forces, to an amount far exceeding all his cal- culations : nor did he consider even his ov/n army so well-appoint- ed as to enable him to contend, in the heart of the kingdom, ■whither he was directed to proceed, with any fair probability of success. He was evidently dispirited with the prospect before him ; and though a perfectly brave officer, felt himself so ill-sup- ported by the Spaniards, at least, by those who directed the public affairs, (if not even deceived and betrayed,) and so embarrassed by want of money and other supplies, as to be compelled to retire. The retreat of his army, though unhappily disgraced by many irregularities and disorders amongst the soldiery, was conducted, in the face of the enemy, (Buonaparte himself being sometimes present,) with singular courage and dexterity, till they reached Corunna, v/here, at last, the transports not being arrived, an ac- tion with the pursuing army took place, which terminated in fa- vour of the English, though with the loss of the gallant, but unfor- tunate, commander, whose death was greatly lamented. After this action, on the arrival of the transports, the English troops em^* MODERN HISTORY. 395 barked without molestation, and on the 18th of January, 1009, set sail for England. 13. Before sir John Moore finally determined upon retiring-, he had learned that Buonaparte had recovered possession of the capi- tal, which, after the departure of Joseph, the patriots had endea- voured to fortify and defend ; hut it was surrendered to the enemy early in the month of December, 1808, by the temporary •;overnor, Don Thomas Morla. Spain was far from being subdued at the close of the year 1808, though the aspect of things was alarming, and the French extremely confident of success. Joseph re-enter- ed Madrid, in great pomp, in January, 1809. In the mean time, Napoleon had decreed that the inquisition should be abolished, ma- ny monasteries suppressed, and the feudal privileges abrogated. 14. After the affair of Corunna, the French a.rmy under general Soult, (duke of Dalmatia,) invaded Portugal again, and v/as able to get possession of Oporto ; while another army, under general Victor, threatened Lisbon. It was at this moment that fi esh troops arrived from England, under the command of sir Arthur Wellesley, who quickly recovered Oporto, and then turning against Victor, once more relieved Portugal from the presence of the French. In June he entered Spain, and by the 20th of July was in a situation to threaten Madrid ; on the 27th and 28th, at Talavera del Reyna, he was attacked by the French under Joseph Buonaparte, assisted by four marshals ; but was able, in conjunction with the Span- iards, after a very hard fouglit battle, to repel them with great loss. Though this victory was not attended with any immediate advantages, and would appear to have been rather rashly hazard- ed, the British general, for his great skill and conduct during the action, was raised to the peerage by the title of viscount Welling- ton of Talavera. 15. Though a central junta had been appointed in 1808, to give consistency and strength to the proceedings of the patriots, they were still ill-prepared either to contend against the enemy alone, or conjointly v/ith the British. In the battle of Talavera, and af- terwards, their movements had rather embarrassed than assisted the operations of the latter. It would have been well if the Span- iards, from the first, could have been prevailed upon to appoint lord Wellington generalissimo of all the forces acting against the French. The latter, hov/ever, were much harrassed by a sort of desultory war, carried on by guerilla parties, who intercepted their supplies, and without attempting any regular engagement, (for which, indeed, they were unfit,) were continually attacking them in the vv'ay of ambuscade and surprize ; for which their superior knov/ledge of the country evidently gave them great advantages. IG. It is not to be wondered that the extraordinary situation of Spain should occasion great crabarrassmeut in the management of the war. In the place of the supreme central junta of 1800, a regency had been appointed, and the cortes assembled, but with- out sufficient effect. The Spanish armies acted without system, and the nation at large manifested a jealousy of their English al- lies, which prevented such a co-operation as might have brought the whole under one command, to the evident advantage of the 396 ^ MODERN HISTORY. cause, in %Yhich they must have heen, though with diifereiit dcr grees of zeal and judgment, equally interested. This distrust ou the part of the Spaniards exposed them also, it is to be feared, to treatment far from conciliatory on the part of the English. The war which was renewed between France and Austria, in 1809, drew the attention cf Napoleon in some degree from Spain: but those differences being soon adjusted, early in the year 1810, pow- erful reinforcements were sent from France to the Peninsula, to re- conquer Portugal, and " drive the English into the sea.'' What has been said of Spain is by no means applicable to Portugal : in the latter country, not only a better spirit was manifested, but the army being placed under British command, and regularly organi- zed, by general lord Beresford, was soon rendered capable uf af- fording very effectual aid and assistance. 17. During the whole of the years ISiO and 1811, the contend- ing armies were occupied in striving to gain advantages over each other, which called forth all the skill and judgment appertaining to the science of war. The. detail, however, of the several ac- tions v/hich took place, of the investment and capture of the strong holds of the two portions of the Peninsula, do not belong to such a work as the present. It was not till the summer of 1812, and after the victory g-.iined by lord Wellington over the French under m.arshal Marmont, in the battle of Salamanca, that the to- tal expulsion of the J'rench, and overthrow of the throne of Jo- seph, became a matter of little doubt. The battle of Saiamancai may be said to have opened the g^ies of Madrid once more to the patriots and allied army, and restored the Spanish crown to Ferdi- nand. The battle was fought on the S'Sd of July. On the 30th, lord WqlUng-tou entered Valladolid, the enemy retiring before him ; and on the 12th of August, _\iadrid surrendered to the British arms. Joseph and his suite having' previously quitted it. Lord Welling- ton was received in the capital with the acclamations justly due to the liberator of Spain ; but had the Spaniards themselves used the exertions they might have done, (Napoleon being: at this time engaged in Russia,) the Peninsula might probably have been soon- er delivered from the French, after the recovery of the capital, than proved to be the case, 4» 18. The latter made a stand at Burgos, which was invested by the English, but after a siege of more than a month, abandoned with considerable loss ; the British forces being once more obli- g-ed to retire as far asCiudad Rodrigo, on the frontiers of Portugal. The Spaniards, however, at length appeared to be roused to a pro- per sense of their situation, and wisely confided to lord Wellington the termination of this protracted war. In December, 1812, he was appointed generalissimo, and distinguished by extraordinary powers. 19. It seemed now to be practicable to end, by a decisive ac- tion, the contest for the possession of Spain; and lord Wellington lost no time in seeking the opportunity : lie took the field in the middle of the month of May, 1813, and on the 21st of June, brought the enemy to action on the plains of Vittoria. Never was a vic- tory more decisive them tlie Qne obtained at this time by the coni^ MiSDERN IIISTORy. 397 bmed British, Portngtiese, and Spanish armies. Joseph and his troops -were compelled to quit the field with such extreme precipi- tation, as to leave behind them fifty pieces of artillery, two thou- sand carriages of different descriptions, stores, provisions, and an immense booty, consisting chiefly of the plunder of Madrid, fortu- nately rescued upon tliis occasion from the usurper, -who was pre- sent, and very narrowly escaped. 20. After the battle of Vittoria, and the fall of the strong towns of St. Sebastian and Pampeluna, the British, Portuguese, and ^anish troops crossed the Bidassoa, and entered France. Early m March, the city of Bordea,ux freely opened her gates to general Bsresford,, in the name of Lewis XVIII, at the same time admitting the king's nephew, the duke of Angouleme. On the 10th of April, the British stormed the French entrenchments near Thoulouse. On the 12th, general Soult filed out of the town, under the muzzles of the British guns. On the 13th, news arrived of the abdication of Buonaparte, and the entrance of the allied sovereigns into Paris. It is conjectured that the French commander knew of these thiiags before, but in the hope of gaining seme advantage over the inva- ders of France, concealed it. 21. Before the allies reached Paris, Napoleon had released Fer- d-inand VII, whose return to Spain was, however, rendered very tinacceptablc to many who had espoused his cause in his absence,, particularly the members of the regency and existing cortes, with whose proceedings, in regard to the new constitution proposed for his acceptance, he expressed himself extremely displeased ; they iiad previously refused to acknowledge a treaty concluded by Ferdi- nand with Buonaparte. He threw himself also into the hands of those who were friends to the ancient system, which, with extreme bigotry, he endeavoured to re-establish in its worst forms. From that time to the present the nation has been kept in a state of con- siderable ferment and confusion. By a revolution in March, 1020, the cortes were restored, and the free constitution of 1812 pro- claimed and sworn to by the king. The inquisition also was finally abolished : but the effects of these last movements remain to be proved. 22. The old king, Charles IV, died at Rome, m 1819. The battle of Vittoria, jR^hich relieved Spain from the presence of the French armies, restored Portugal to her former independence. On the 20th of March, 1816, the queen, Maria Isabella, died; and was succeeded by the present king, John VI, who had been regent since 1799, the seat of government being still at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. SECTION XVIII. PRANCE, FROM THE PEACE OF TILSIT, TO THE ABDI- CATION OF NAPOLEON, 1814. 1. The treaty of Tilsit left Napoleon at liberty to pursue his career of vengeance and usurpation in other countries. He obtamed by it 34 398 MODERN HISTORY. such an infuienceovcr Russia, Austria,and Prussia,as to induce them to break with England, without any other reason ; and as soon as he had thus disposed of matters in those quarters, he turned his views to the Spanish peninsula, where a Bourbon dynasty still existed. In three months after the signing- of the treaty of Tilsit, he concluded the famous partition-treaty with Spain, already spoken of, in vir- tue of w^iich, French troops were to be allowed to pass into Por- tugal, for the sacrifice of that ancient kingdom ; and afterwards, no doubt, in the views and designs of the French emperor, of Spain itself. 2. Of his subsequent invasion and occupation of both countries, and of the war for several years carried on, before he could be compelled to renounce his usurped dominion in Spain, an account is given in the preceding section. On the Hth of December, 1807, in the same spirit of- resentment against Great Britain, which had dictated the celebrated decree of Berlin^ declaring the British isles to be in a state of blockade, the French emperor issued another decree, at Milan^ (in consequence of the British retaliatory orders of council, November 21st,) by which every ship which should submit to be visited by the English, or consent to any pecuniary exactions whatsoever, should be liable to confiscation as a lawful prize ; but his vengeance fell hardest upon Portugal, whose com- mercial and political relations with England so exasperated him, that, in an audience given to the foreign ministers at Fontainbleau, he openly declared, that if the regent of Portugal did not within two months conform to the continental system, and totally renounce his connections with England, the house of Braganza should cease to reign. Such was the haughty language of this extraordinary man, in the face of Europe, after the convention at Tilsit ! 3. In a few days after this denunciation of the Portuguese dy- nasty, the regent closed his ports against English ships of all de- scriptions, but not in time to stop the French armies, who pressed so closely upon him, that on the 29th of November, (see the pre- ceding section,) he was obliged to quit his European dominions for E-io Janeiro, in the Brazils, and on the very next day Lisbon •»vas occupied by French troops under general Junot. 4. The short-lived kingdom of Etruria was brought to an end about this time ; and the queen-regent, late duchesalof Parma, with the king, her son, obliged to depart for Spain, her native country. 5. In March, 1808, a decree was passed in France, ordaining the renewal of titles of honour, princes, dukes, counts, &;c., and cre- ating a new order of hereditary nobility, as essential to an heredi- tary monarch. About the same time, Joseph Buonaparte was re- moved from Naples, and made king of Spain ; and Joachim Mnrat, grand duke of Berg, married to the sister of Napoleon, was de- clared king of Naples. 6. The kingdoms of Naples and Italy being thus entirely in the hands of Buonaparte, in order to prevent their communication from being interrupted by any hostile power, he seized upon the pope's temporalities, for which Pius VI. ventured to excommunicate him. He had the autjctcity to remind the pope, in thus despoiling him^. , MODERN HISTORY. 399 that the kingdom of Christ was not of this world ; though the only reason alleged for what he had done, was, that Pius had refused to declare war against England ; a friendly power, and one from ■which the pope declared he had never received the smallest injury. 7. On the 9th of April, 1809, war was renewed with Austria ; and so rapid was the progress of the French, that after three se- vere actions at Abensberg, Eckmuhl, and Ratisbon, Vienna was compelled to capitulate on the 12th of May. The Austrians, af- terwards, under the archduke Charles, gained some advantages over Buonaparte ; but, before the autumn was passed, a peace was concluded, at Vienna, extremely humiliating to Fraiacis II. To France he was obliged to cede the Illyrian provinces ; to Eavaria, Saltzburg ; to Saxony, the whole of West Gallicia ; and to Russia, East Gallicia ; he was, moreover, compelled to accede to the con- iinental system against England, and to acknowledge Joseph Buo- naparte as king of Spain. 8. But as if these concessions were not sufficient to mortify the pride of the head of the empire, and representative of the house of Hapsburgh and Lorraine, the French emperor, to the surprise of Europe, demanded and obtained in marriage the daughter of Fran- cis II, the archduchese Maria Louisa, having previously been, with great form, divorced from the empress Josephine, with her own consent, for the express purpose of forming a connection of higher hopes, and affording a prospect of an heir to his newly acquired imperial dominions^ The marriasre took place at Paris, April 2, 1810. 9. Intent upon providing for every brairch of his family, the grand duchy of Tuscany was revived by Napoleon, in 1809, and conferred on his sister Eliza^ princess of Lucca and Piombino. The grand duchy of Berg, vacated by the removal of his brother-in- Jaw, Joachim Murat, to the throne of Naples, v/as given to IjouIs, his nephew, son of the king of Plolland ; and on the 17th of May the pope's temporalities were declared to be incorporated with the French dominions^ and the title of king of Rome appropriated to the imperial prince, heir to the French empire. The situation of the pa- pal territories, between the kingdoms of Italy and Naples, was such as in hostile hands might be made use of to intercept the communica- tion between the two ; and therefore the pope, who appeared ji'riendly to En^^land, was of necessity to be despoiled of his do- minions, but to receive a revenue of two millions of francs. The new constitutional government was to be in full activity and force on the 1st of Januaiy, 1810. On the 14th of January, 1810, the electorate of Hanover was amiexed to the dominion of the empe- ror's brother, Jerome, king of Westphalia ; and on the 20th of March, 1811, Napoleon was gratified with the birth of a son, who, according to the arrangements already spoken of, was immediately dignified with the title of kinjr of Rome. 10. In June, 1812, Napoleon, offended with some parts of the conduct of the emperor of Russia, who had begun to appreciate more justly the character of the artful and ambitious Corsican, *»ce J^oyje declared war against him, having influence, besides, to 4^0 MODERN HISTORY. prevail upon Prussia and Austria to join him. His advance towards the Russian dominions was most rapid ; but, considering the distance to which he was carrying his army, and the inveterate hatred and indignation he had excited by his bold threats against his imperial adversary, his subjects, and his empire, extremely rash. His pow- er, it is true, was immense, 400,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry, and 1.200 pieces of artillery ; Germans, Polanders, Dutch, Swiss, Ita- lians, Spaniards, and Portuguese, being numbered amongst his troops ; but nothings could exceed the anger and resentment of the "llusiians. 11. On the 9th of May the French ruler left St. Cloud ; on the 24th of June he crossed the Niemen, and on the 14th of September attained his grand object of entering the capital of the Muscovite dominions. But his reception was far from being such as he expected, or such as he had met w^th in other capitals. The city was fired Vy order of the governor^ and by the hands of the enraged inhabit- ants ; and the French had only ruins to occupy, in a latitude to which they w^ere totally unaccustomed, and with all the horrors of .a Siberian winter before them. 12. On the lOtli of October, after having solicited an armistice, and proposed peace, both of which were peremptorily refnsed, Buonaparte and his disappointed army began their dreary and perilous march back to France. Nothing could exceed the diffi- .culties and distresses to which they were exposed, from the severi- ties of the weather and climate, and the attacks of the Russians, from Moscow to the capital of Lithuania, where they arrived on the 10th of December. On the 6th, the emperor Napoleon totally abandoned his harassed army to its fate, having quitted it at Smor- gonie in disguise ; destroyed the bridjres by which he passed, re- gardless of those he left behind ; and traversing Poland and Ger- many, made the best of his way to Paris, where he arrived at mid- night, December 18, having lost, or rather sacrificed, upwards of 150,000 men, including prisoners, 167,500. 13. It v/as naturally expected that this total defeat of all his projects in regard to Russia, together with the miserable condition of Lis army when it reached the confines of France, would have termi- iiuited his giddy career of pride and ambition : but in this the world Avas deceived. In the following year, he eagerly resumed hostilities^ but manifestly to great disadvantage. Though he was readily fur- nished with afredi army, amounting to 350,000 men, he had soon opposed to him not only Russia, but Austria, Prussia and Sweden,. tubsidizedby I^nglund, Sevcro.l of the confederates of the Rhine ventured to abandon his cause ; and it became very apparent that the allied powers were more in earnest and more united now than on any former occasion. Many battles were fought in the course of the summer, with doubtful success, till, at last, the great " Battle of Na- tions," as it has fitly enough been called, took place at Leipzig, m which the French sustained so signal a defeat, as seemed evidently to prognosticate the ruin and discomfiture of the g-reat disturber of Europe. This celebrated battle, or succession of engag^ements, took place on the IGth, 18th, and 19th days of October. Leipzig- w a:i taken only two hours after Buonaparte had effected his escap^v MODERN HISTORY. 401 The king of Saxony fsnd all his court were captured "by the allies ; a French garrison of 30,0<30 men, besides 22,000 sick and wound- ed, T\'ith the French magazines, artillery, and stores. The enl- peror of Russia, the king of Prussia, and crown prince of Swe- den, each at the head of Uieir respective troops, made their entry into the town at different points, after thr counteracting the operations of her many powerful and ambitious neighbours, Rus- sia, Prussia, Austria, and Turkey. The worst consequence, how- ever, arising from the confederricy against Poland, seems to have been the countenance thereby given to the partitioning system in general. 13. It was in the year 1773 that the division was finally agreed to, and settled, and even sanctioned by the Polish diet. Of some-- what more than tkirttcn thousand square German leagues Of terri- tory, the partitiojiing powers took a good third, taking at the same time no measures to lessen the evils arising from the defective con- stitution of Poland, in the portion allotted to the natives. It must be acknowledged, that they bestowed great paias on the improve- ment of their respective shares ; but no benefits of tliia nature^ conferred on particular parts of the country, could compensate for the unfeeling depredations committed upon the whole. 14. The following has been given as a fair representation of the parts allotted to the several powers, by the delegates appointed to adjust the respective claims. Other accounts, indeed, are extant, which it would be difficult to attempt to reconcile with the one we are about to give ; a very exact statement, however, may pot MODERN HISTORY. 407 be necessary. The Russian allotment consisted of Polish Livonia, parts of the palatinates of Witepsk, Folotek, and INIinsk, and the whole palatinate of Micislaw, containing- a population of 1,500,000 souls. I'he king of Prussia obtained the district called Royal, or Western Prussia, excepting the towns of Dantzic and Thorn, with a population of 860,000 souls. Austria gained a large territory in the south of Poland, comprising Red Russia, Gallicia^ and parts of the palatinates of Cracovv', Sandomir, Lublin, Bezk, Volhyuia, and Podolia, containing a population of 2,500,000 souls, and the valuable salt-works of Vielitzka, which produced an annffkl reve- nue of £90,000. This district was annexed to the Austrian terri- tories, under the ancient appellation of the kingdoms of Gallicla and Lodomeria. Such were the results of what is now distinguish- ed by the name of the first partition of Poland. 15. The little assistance Poland received to ward off the di?- grace and misery of this first partition, the extraordinary apathy with which it seemed to be beheld by the other powers of Europe, left little hopes of her regeneration, or escape from the toils into which she had fallen ; nor indeed has she ever escaped from them, or recovered the smallest degree of independence. After the first partition, the object she had most to dread was some accidental disunion of the partitioning powers, who would be sure to wreak their vengeance upon her ; and an event of this very nature seems to have been the cause of what has been called the skcond parti- tion, in 1793. Russia and Austria, in the years l7o7 and 1708, by too close an alliance, having given umbrage to the king of Prussia, he insisted that the constitution formed for Poland, in 1773, was void, and offered to assist the Poles in framing a new one, v/hicli was completed under his auspices, May 3, 1791. Had this consti- tution been able to keep its ground, Poland, so much of it at least as remained to the natives, might have recovered some degree of credit and freedom ; it was in a great measure the work of real 'patriots, enlightened and moderate reformers ; it abolished the liberum veto^ and the elective monarchy, except in the case of the extinction of some hereditary dynasty ; it rendered the person of the king inviolable, but gave him responsible ministers ; it provi- ded a representative senate, not much differing from the English house of commons. Unhappily, this good work found enemies amongst the ancient nobles, who did not like to give up their pre- tensions to royalty, and who had recourse to the old and ruinous expedient of inviting foreign help, always at hand to avail itself of the internal commotions of that devoted country. Russia was ' called in, by the confederates of Targovitz, and a renewal of losses and calamities ensued of course. The king of Prussia, so far from supporting the new constitution, the diet, or the king, as he seem- ed absolutely bound to do, by his own acts, eagerly seized upon the towns of Dantzic and Thorn, which had been specially excepted in the last partition, joined the czarina, in her efforts against the pat- riots, under the brave Kosciusko, and finally succeeded in prevail- ing over a country, which, from the enthusiasm and spirit display- ed on this occasion in her defence, deserved abetter fate. By the ^tcond partition, in 1793, Russia is said to have acquired 4000 403 MODERN HISTORY. German square miles of territory, in Volhynia, Lithuania, PodoHa, and the Ukraine ; and ^jrussia, besides the towns of Dantzic and Thorn, 1000 square miles in south Prussia, with all the Hanseatic towns. A third and last partition soon followed, in the year 1795, between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, which may be said to have put an end to the kingdom and republic of Poland ; Stanislaus, its unhappy monarch, being removed to Russia, where he soon after died, February 12, 1798. In this last partition, Cracow was given to Austria, and Warsaw to Prussia. From the resistance of the natives, who gained greater advantages in many engagements than could have been expected from the nature of their force, the slaugh- ter accom]>anyirg these latter revolutions was dreadful, and on the part of the Russians attended with circumstances of cruelty too much resembling what had taken place in 1772. 16. It would be difficult to describe the state of Poland, from the period of the last partition^ in 1795, to the treaty of Vienna, in 1815. The injuries the natives had experienced at the hands of the three partitioning powers very naturally disposed them to ac- cept any offers from the enemies of their oppressors ; and, as Buo- naparte had frequent opportunities of making such offers, it is not to be wond: red that he should have obtained their assistance, and subjected them, more or less, to his trovernment and control •, but as he was only at times in opposition to, and as often allie'd wath one or other of the three powers, Russia, Austria, or Prussia, he was never able to propose their entire emancipation, even if he had desired it. Thus continually deceived and mortified, they deri- ved no advantage from the aid they gave to France, if we except that tendency towards the recovery of a separate existence, (for it can scarcely be called more,) the creation of the grand duchy of Warsaw, iii 1807, which, by the treaty of Tilsit, and with the con- ?ent of Buonaparte, was consigned to the king of Saxony ; the em- peror of Russia at the same time acquiring much of Poland from Prussia. In 1812, the kingdom was declared by the diet of War- saw to be re-established ; and by the treaty of Vienna, in 1815, be- ing formally delivered up by the king of Saj-ony, it became annex- ed to Russia, and was declared to be, " irrevocably attached to it by its constitution, to be possessed by his majesty the emperor of all the Russias, hi,s heirs and successors in perpetuity." The part as- signed to Prussia took the name of the grand duchy of Posen. The salt-mines of Vielitzka were confirmed to the emperor of Austria, and such districts as had been acquired by the treaty of Vienna, in •1809. Tile town of Cracow was declared to be for ever a free, in- dependent, and strictly neutral city, under the protection of Aus- tria, Russia, and Prussia. The navigation of the rivers and canals, in all parts of ancient Poland, (as it existed in the year 1772,) was by particular treaties, between Prussia, Austria, and Prussia, declared to be free, so as not to be interdicted to any inhabitant oi the Polish provinces, belonging to either of the three powers. MODERN HISTORY* 409 SECTION XX. GREAT i^RITAIN, FROM THE PEACE OF AMIENS, 180.^, TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE III, 1820. 1. Before one year had passed from the conclusion of the peace of Amiens, circumstances took place which too plainly indicated a strong probability of the renewal of hostilities, and so early as the month of May, 1803, letters of marque and reprisal were again is- sued against the French, by the British gfovernment, apparently with the full consent of the people at large, notwithstanding the enthusiastic joy which had been expressed on the termination of the war in the year preceding. It was upon this occasion that the first consul had recourse to a measure, singular in its nature, and which exposed many persons and families to great inconvenience. He forcibly detained all the English who happened to be in France, not only for purposes of business, but of pleasure? or curiosity ; nor, with very few exceptions, were any of them able to return to their native country, for the long space of ten or eleven years. Prepa- rations also were made for the invasion of England, which only ex- cited a stronger disposition, on the part of the latter country, to pre- pare against such attempts, in a way well calculated to destroy at once all the enemy''s hopes and prospects of success ; in Ireland, indeed, a new conspiracy was set on foot, which was supposed to rest on some promised support from France ; but this was denied by the conspirators themselves, and the disturbance soon quelled, without spreading, in fact, beyond the capital. 2. Though the king of Great Britain had declared, that, with regard to his electoral states, he should remain neuter, Buonaparte did not neglect such an opportunity of wounding his feelings, by the speedy occupation of Hanover, under circumstances peculiarly aggravating to the people. Early in the month of June, 1803, the Hanoverian troops were made to lay down their arms, and engage not to serve against the French without a previous exchange. 3. Holland was still too much under subjection to France, to be permitted to remain at peace ; letters of marque were, therefore^ also issued against the Batavian republic, on Its refusal to agree to a perfect neutrality, 4. In 1804, a change of ministry in England brdught Mr. Pitt again into power, at a moment when the affairs of the continent, and the increased power, of the first consul, who, in the course of the same month, assumed the imperial dignity, demanded all his attention. Before the conclusion of the year, the aid which Spain was compelled to render to the French, together with certain ap- pearances of hostik preparations in her ports, exposed her to an attack on the part of Great Britain, which soon drew from her a declaration of war, very fatal to her interests, though scarcely to be avoided, considering the circumstances in which she had been placed by the extraordinary proceedings and demands of the Britisia government, which was supposed to have violated the strict rules of justice, if not of international laiv, by arbitrarily and prema- 35 410 MODERN HISTORY. turely seizing her treasure-ships^ on their passage to her ports, in an action perfectly unforeseen and unexpected, and in which ma- ny lives were lost. 5. But if the character of the British nation or government suf- fered in any respect from errors or mistakes in the commencement €)f the war, its naval power and credit were highly advanced be- fore a year had passed, by the splendid victory obtained over the 'Spanish and French fleets combined, oif cape Trafalgrar, in Octo- ber, 1805 ; a victory not achi<;ved, however, without a correspond- ent loss, as has been before stated, in the death of the very cele- brated lord Nelson, commander of the British squadron, who fell early in the actien, and whose body, being afterwards brought to England, was buried with very unusual honours in the centre of J5t. Paul's cathedral. 6. In 1306 ^ied Mr. Pitt ; a minister whose extraordinary talents and integrity of life attached to him many friends and adherents, by whom he was ably supported through a very arduous contest ; a contest which, though some thought it might have been avoided, others as confidently regarded as entirely just and necessary, and a timely security against the propagation of revolutionary princi- ples, more threatening and dangerous than any aggressions purely hostile. It is always easy to say, such and such events would not have happened, had a different course from the one actually adopt- ed been pursued ; but this is at best mere matter of surmise. It is impossible now to speak decisively of what might or might not have been the consequences of a longer forbearance from war ; it is ex- tremely certain that many uutofvard circumstances prevented the accomplishment of all that Mr. Pitt had in view, and that the power of the French emperor, instead of being checked, was ad- vancing with rapid strides to a pitch of uncontrollable and extend- ed dominion, when the former was seized with that illness which terminated his life, in the forty-seventh year of his age. On his death, a new administration was formed, including his great par- liamentary opponent, Mr. Fox, who survived him for the short space of only seven months. It is highly creditable to the charac- ter of the British nation to record, that these two eminent states- men, who had been for a long time so much opposed to each other, but whose abilities and sincerity in an opposite line of politics ap- pear to have been duly acknowledged and appreciated by all par- ties at the period of their deaths, were buried at the public expense, in Westminster Abbey, so near to each other, that oae stone might have covered the remains of both. 7. During the short time that Mr. Fox was a member of adminis- tration, fresh attempts were made to terminate the war, by negotia- tion, but in vain. Though the French emperor would have agreed to many cessions of importance, both to Great Britain and her ally, the emperor of Russia, it was found impossible to detach from his influence and usurped authority some of the most important parts of Europe, particularly Holland, Switzerland, Italy, and ^jrermany. 8. 1 he system so generally adopted by the tyrant of France, of •QQvertiug to his own use the resources o/ all other countries^^ MODERN iriSTORY. 411 •which could in any manner be rendered subservient to his purpose, led the administration which succeeded that in which Mr. Fox had a share, to set on foot an expedition which has been judged by many incapable of justification on any principles of political expe- diency, and which was unfortunately attended wath more fatal consequences than were at first perhaps contemplated. Upon what information the ministry proceeded did not fully appear at the time, but it was alleged that they had reason to know that the French ruler designed to occupy Holstein, and convert to the purposes of an in- vasion of the British dominions the Danish marine. 9. It was determined, in order to prevent snch an accession to the naval power of France, to obtain possession of the fleet on v/hich the enemy had thus fixed his view, and thong-h it migh^ perhaps have been both hoped and expected by the British g-overn- ment, that the Danes would be brought peaceably to surrender into their hands for a time a fleet thus devoted to the ruin of a friendly power, yet the result turned out to be far otherwise. The Danes resisted the demand, and though quite unable cifectually to defend against the forces opposed to them either their fleet or iheli' capital, did not capitulate till about two thousand persons had lost their lives, and many hon?es been burnt in a manner that threatened the entue destruction of the city. The end, it is true, was accomplished, of getting into the power of the English all the Danish ships of war, (eighteen sliips of /he line and fifteen fri- gates,) and naval stores ; but it is to be feared that it v/ill be loug before the irritation caused by this «udden and unexpected attacli on a brave people, not at war with England, will fee allayed or forgotten. 10. In vindication of the suspicions of the Bilti^rh ministry, it was asserted that the Danii-h marine and arsenals were found iji a state which left no donbt of the intrigues and agency of the French, according to the judgment of the ofiicers and seamen em- ployed in the expedition. The general designs of France seem, in- deed, to have been decisively manifested, in the measures they now openly pursued, about the same time, of appropriating to them- selves the fleet of Portugal, and for similar purposes, but v/hich, fortunately without so melancholy a catastrophe, was rescued from the grasp of the French ruler, by its timely removal, under tlie protection of a British armament, to the porta ol^ Brazil. The dif- ference betAveen the two cases seemed to be this ; that in getting- possession of the latter fleet we were actually assisting an ally ; in the former, we were compelling a neutral to adopt a measure judged to be unnecessary on her part, and on suspicions, the grounds of which she disavowed ; but the state oi Europe, at that period, appears to have been such, especially with regard to the minor sta.tep, as to justify precautions against French power and French intrigue, seldom, if ever, resorted to in other instances : it may also be added, that Portugal unreservedly communicated to England the avowed designs of France ; Denmark, to say the least, acted with a reserve far from friendly, and resisted all nego- tiation ; the consequences to the latter, however, were certainly deplorable. ( 412 MODERN mSTORY, 11. It was in the year 1807, that the royal family of Francp, •whose sitBalion on the continent became every clay more alarming and insecure, took refuge in England ; they fixed their residence at Plartwell, in Buckinghamshire, his majesty styling himself the count de Lisle, and modestly declining all honours and attentioixs, beyond such as might be due to a private nobleman. Iw. The vindictive measures adopted by the FrencJi government >o ruin the trade and commerce of Great Britain, naturally drew from the latter retaliatory expedients, which were more or less approved, as affecting neutral and friendly powers, but which could scarcely have been avoided, without surrendering our mari- time rights, and basely submitting to a pretence of blockade on the part of a power, whose ships had been fairly driven from the sea fcy the British fleets. Orders i?! council were issued in the months cf January and November, 1807, not only prohibiting all trade be- tween the ports of France and its allies, but ultimately compelling all neiitrals, trading to France, to stop at a British port, and pay a duty in proportion to the value of the cargo. These embarrass- ments to trade in general could not fail to excite great uneasiness in all parts of the world ; but the commencement of them is justly to be imputed to the extraordinary decree, isstied by the French ruler at Beilin, (4he basis of the '^ continental system,") Novem- ber, 180G, om account of which is given in Sect. XVT : unfortu- nately the impossibility of satisfactorily exempting other states frowi the effect of these prohibitory and regulating decrees, on the part of the two rival countries, involved England in a very unpleasant dispute with the United States of America. 13. Of the part England took in the affairs of Spain and Portu- gal, from 1808 to 1814, an account is to be found elsewhere. (See t-ect. XVII.) It may be sufficient to say, that, during the whole contest, the emancipation of tho^e two ancient kingdoms from the power of the French seemed to be contemplated by the whole aiass of British subjects as their own cause. The people of Great Britain and Ireland, on the first application for assistance from Spain, appeared ready to rise in a body. They hailed the dawn of liberty on the continent with the most enthusiastic feelings. The deputies from the supreme juuta of Seville, did not arrive in Eng- rand, on their mission to the British government, till the 24th of July, 1808; but long before that, other deputies from the princi- pality of Asturiashad been received in London, with the most cor- dial tokens of esteem and friendship. They were splendidly en- tertained by the City of Eondon, the Bank, and other public bo- thies, as well as by individuals of the highest distinction. Subscrip- tions were opened in London, Liverpool, Bristol, Glasgow, Edin- burgh, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and many other places, for sup- porting the cause of Spain ; and several military corps, militia and volunteers, offered their services. Government supplied them im- mediately with three hundred thousand pounds in dollars, five thousand muskets, thirty thousand pikes, and an immense quantity of powder and balls, with promises of more effectual aid, which ■were ultimately am.ply fulfilled. The spirit thus displayed by the British public, on the first certain intelli°;eiice received of the auti= MODERN mSTORY. 415 ^allican insurrection in Spain, maybe said to have continued una- bated till, through the matchless skill and A^alour of the confede- rate armies undtr the duke of VVelling-ton, the French were finally driven from the peninsula in 1814, as related in our account of Spain. 14. nis majesty George III, liavin^, in the month of October, 1809, entered upon the 50th year of his reign, the event was cele- brated throughout the nation in a very striking manner, by services of thanksgiving in all the churches and chapel?, with suitable dis- courses, illuminations, feasts, and oiher testimonies of joy, but par- ticularly by liberal benefactions to the poor. In the m'onth of No- vember in the following year, his majesty, much troubled and af- flicted by the long illness and death of his daughter the prl;icess Amelia, had an alarming return of his former complaint, which terminated in a second suspension of his regal functions, and from which he never so sufficiently recovered as to be able to transact any business of state. On the 20th of December, his royal high- ness the prince of Wales was appointed regent, subject for a period to restrictions similar to those which had been proposed in 1788-9» This plan was violently opposed, as uncoastitutional and impoli- tic, but finally carried in February 1811. The bill was completed and presented to his royal highness, who did not hesitate to accept the trust, though not %vithout remon?trating against the limitation* and restrictions imposed on him. Early in 1812, however, these restrictions were to cease. Great changes in administration hai been contemplated, and many negotiations were carried on to this pfTect, but withoiit accomplishing that union and coalition of par- ties, which the regent himself seemed to desire. Not being; dis- posed to withhold his confidence therefore from those who had so Jong served his royal father, most of them, on the termination of the restrictions, v/ere continued in their places. A most melan- choly catastrophe, which occurred in the month of May, 1812, de- prived the nation of the services of Mr. Fercival, who was assas- sinated in the lobby of the house of commons, by a person of the name of Bellingham, in revenge, as he himself stated, of a private i'ljury ; a denial of justice, as he called it, on the part of govern- ment. It seemed to be accidental that the premier happened to be ti\e individual first presented to his notice on that fatal day. 15. During the years 1812 and 1813, the differences between the English and American governments bore a very serious aspect, sind inrolved the two countries in a contest, which, for the time it lasted, was carried on with peculiar animosit)'-. The conduct of America betrayed not only a bias towards France, in regard to the restrictions imposed on com.merce by the belligerents, but a cap- tious disposition to vex aud provoke England, in detaching from )ier service, and giving protection to her seamen and soldiers, by acts of naturalization and certificates of citizenship, contrary to every principle of honour and good faith. Unfortunately, upon the .commencement of hcstilitzes, it was found, that the ships the Ame- ricans fitted out, though nominally of the class of frigates, had been adayjted to carry a complement of men and guns which ren- fdered Ihem, generally speaking, an over-match for the frig^ates ia 35* -414 MODERN HlStORT. the British navy. To compensate however for some disappoint- ments that took place in consequence of this, early in the war, a very singular action, ofi' tlie port of Boston, in May, 1813, had the c/Fect of establishing the credit of the British navy, in the very face of the enemy, and in a manner which, while it displayed to the utmost the bravery of both nations, left the British Hag flying triumphantly over that of the Americans. The engagement was the result of a regular challenge : captain Broke, of the Shannon, cruising off the port of Boston, in which lay the Chesapeake, Ame- rican frigate, a fine ship of forty-nine guns, eighteen and thirty- two pounders, with a complement of 440 men, stood so close into shore, as manifestly to invite the Americans to commence an at- tack upon him : the challenge being accepted, the Chesapeake came out with her colours flying, full of confidence, and after a few broadsides, the two ships became locked together ; the action now became desperate ; the English, headed by captain Broke, boarded the American ship, and a dreadful conflict for a short time ensued, but the issue was entirely in favour of the English ; in about tifteen minutes from the commencement of the action, the American colours were hauled down, and captain Broke obtained complete possession of the Chesapeake, in the sight of numerous spectators on the shore, who had the mortification to see the ship in which they had so much prided themselves, and of whose success they had but a few minutes before felt certain, actually carried Jiway captive before their faces. The annals of the British navy scarcely supply an instance of a victory more decisively triumphant and trlorious. The ."Shannon had but 330 men, of whom 23 were killed and 56 woundec^. The enemy had 70 killed and 100 wound- ed. The ships escaped without damage. 'The conduct of captaia Broke, howev(?r, being complained of by the Americans, as con- tj-ary to the strict rules of war, he underwent a censure from gov- ernment. 16. It would be very uninteresting to enter into any accounts of the course of the war on the continent of America during this period of the contest. An attempt on the part of tlie Americans to get pos- session of Canada, was l>ustrated by the bravery of the regular army, aided by the people of the country. Jn the following year, 1 814, the war became more serious; rFa-yA/nif/on, the American capital, fell into the hands of the English, under general Ross and sir George Cockburn, and all the public buildings were destroj'ed. Happily, before the year was concluded, a peace was negotiated at Ghent, and amity restored ; but without settling some of the most important points in dispute between the two countries.* 17. The year 1814, will ever be memorable in the English his- f*">ry, for the very extraordinary influx of foreigners of the highest distinction, from the opposite shore, on the downfal of Buonaparte, and the conclusion of a war, which had agitated the whole of Eu- [* For a more particular, and we truv uioihtT hand] WODERN HISTOrV. 415 rope.- The- list of visitors invited to the grand civic feast given by the corporation of London, and all of whom were present, but a very few, whom illness kept away, may convey some idea of the splendid scenes that took place in different parts of the king:dom in honour of these illustrious guests. It was on the 18th of June, that the dinner was given to the following very exalted person- ages r The Prince Regent ; the Eiviperor of Russia ; his sister, the Grand Duchess of Oldcnburgh, (afterwards Queen of Wirtem- BURC) ; the King of Prussia; the Royal Dukes of England : the Prince Royal of Prussia ; Prince William of Piussia, son of the king ; Prince Frederick^ nephew of the king ; Prince Heriry^ brother of the king ; Prince William^ brother of the king ; Prince Angus- his. the king's cousin; the Prince of Orange -, the Prince Royai. of Wirtemburg ; the Prince Royal of Bavaria ; the Prince of Oldenburg; the Prince of Cobourg; Prince Charles of Meck- tenburgh ; Duke of Saxe Weimar \ Prince Gagarina ; Prince Czeretorinke ; Prince Radzivil ; Marshal Prince Bluchtr ; Prince IJardenburg; Prince Metternich ; Priiice Lichtenstein ; Prince and Princess Volkouske; his highness the Duke of Orleans. These illustrious foreigners were entertained, at great cost and expense, during their stay, both by the court and public bodies : the prince regent accompanied them on a visit to the university of Oxford ; and to Portsmouth, where they had an opportunity of wit- nessing a naval review. 18. hi May, 1816, the heiress to the British crown, princess Char^ lotte, only child of the regent, was married to his serene highness Leopold George Frederic, prince of Cobourg. This marriage was coutemplated by the nation as an object of the highest hopes ; and for several months the amiable and exemplary conduct of her royal liighness cheered the people with the brightest pf'ospects of future good ; but a very sudden and unexpected disappointment took place in the month of November, 1817 ; the princess was delivered of a still-born male infant, and survived her delivery only a few hours. Nothing could exceed the concern manifested by the pub- lic en this melancholy and distressing occasion. In the month of November, in the following year, her majesty queen Charlotte died at Kew, after a long and painful illness ; and on the 29th of January, 1820, was followed by her royai consort king George IIL Ills majesty died at the castle of Windsor, at a very advanced age, and in the sixtieth year of his reign ; greatly beloved by his subjects, and universally respected for his many araiable and royal viitues. 41 S^ MODERN HISTORY, SECTION XXL FRANCE. FROM THE ENTRANCE OF THE ALLIES INTO PARIS, MARCH, 1814, TO THE FINAL EVACUATION OF IT BY THE FOREIGN TROOPS, 1818. 1. Soon after Buonaparte departed for Elba, Louis XVIII. was freely recalkd to the throne of bis ancestors ; he had been resident in many places since liis first emigration, and been driven from almost all, by the approach of republican troops, the dread of re- publican vengeance in those Avho afforded hira a refuge, and net unseldom the fear of poison or assassination. England, at length, afforded him the asylum he sought in vain elsewhere : there he lived secure against French armies, French influence, and, as far as Englishmen could protect him, the poisonous drug, or the sword of the assassin. When the way was opened for him to return to his native country, and receive the crown and the throne, v.hicli his people now offered him, but which had been so insulted and abused, it was characteristic of Englishmen to rejoice at his resto- ration, and at the great change prepared for him, from a state of banishment, outlawry, and dependence, to the recovery of one of the most brilliant thrones of Europe, and from which his unhap- py brother had fallen in a way to excite the sympathy of every feeling and generous mind : his departure from England to France was accompanied with the acclamations and sincere gratulations of all ranks of people : the prince regent personally escorted him not only to London, but from London to Dover ; and took leave of him, in sight of the French coast, in a manner the most affecting and impressive. White flags were exhibited on almost all the churches, near which he had to pass, and nothing could exceed the joy ex- pressed upon the overthrow of Buonaparte, and the restoration of the Bourbons, both in England and France. 2. In the latter country, however, it may be naturally supposed, the joy could not be general, nor much of what was expressed outwardly, sincere: Louis XVIII. returned to France, not as it was when he left it, but revolutionized ; it had undergone great changes, and a large proportion of the population was deeply inter- ested in those changes ; yet many, who returned with him, were quite as deeply interested, in absolutely reversing what had passed, restoring what had been abolished, reclaiming what had been ali- enated, if not even punishing and degrading those who had parti- cipated in or been benefited by such revolutions. 3. In the mean Vi^hile the exiled emperor was not quiet ; he was too near to the French coast to be kept in ignorance of what was passing, and of the sentiments entertained towards him, by those who had participated in his many glorious and triumphant achieve- ments, and who could ill brook the degradation to which they might be doomed by the restoration ^the Bourbons ; the army, in particular, to whom indeed he had behaved not only ill, but cruelly, in bis retreat from Russia and Leipzig, had yet been raised by him io such a pitch of glory aud pre-eminence, as might reasonablj MODERN HISTORY. 4iT -account for its fcclinj^ both disgust and resentment, at having bawi compelled to submit to the intrusion of strangers into their country and metropolis ; strangers, whom they had previously been alile net only to defy and resist, but in some instances, to triumph over in tlu-ir own capitals. 4. The situation of the king of France, therefore, on his return to his dominions, however acceptable to the greater part of Eu- rope, could scarcely be such as he might himself wish or desire : i^ was iaipossible for him to return to the ancient state of things ; and he must have foreseen how difficult it would be to render any new constitution agreeable or suitable td all parties. The senate, in- deed, had prepared a new constitution before his arrival ; one which bore a considerable analogy to that of England ; the legis- lative power being placed in the hands of the king, the senate, and the representatives of the nation at large ; and the amount, naturr;, and distribution of the public taxes, left exclusively to the decision of the latter : the deputies were to exercise their functions for the space of five years ; the dignity of senator to be hereditary, and to be conferred by the king, though v;ith a limitation as to num- bers, which were not to exceed 200 ; religious freedom, and the liberty cf the press, were duly provided for: this constitution was to be presented to him, to be accepted previously to his inaugura- tion ; but on his arrival at Paris, he did not choose to bind himself, further than to promise his people such a constitution as they would have no reason to disapprove : his first care was, to arrange matters with the foreign potentates who occupied his capital, so as to be able, as speedily as possible, to get rid of their numerous ar- mies ; whose presence could not tail to be a subject of uneasiness to his own armies, as well as to the people in general : to the credit of tb.e troops themselves, under such extraordinary circumstances, -it should be observed, that nothing could exceed the order and forbearance with which they conducted themselves, as victors, in a capital, which, in the v/ay of simple retribution, stood fairly ex- posed to plunder, exaction, and devastation. 5. Though it WHS soon settled to refer to a convention at Vienna the final adjustment of matters, and arrangement of peace ; yet France was quickly made to understand, that her boundaries must be greatly contracted, and that the independei^ce of most of the nav^h/ annexed states and territories must be t'reely acknowledged ; to these terms both the king and his minister, piince Talleyrand, plainly saw the necessity of yielding, though the pride of the French was likely to be v/ounded by it. 6. On the 4th of June, the king presented to the senate and legis- lative body his owu new ccnstitution,which differed in several points from that submitted to him on his arrival ; it reserved to himself the right of proposing laM^s, and the assembly could only request to be permitted to discuss particular points ; instead of an hereditary senate, peers, chosen by the ^king for life were to compose that body, without limitation of numbers ; the popular representatives were to consist of 262, not under 40 years of age : they were to be convoked every year, and were to have the power of impeaching the ministers for treasou or extortion ; the king was to appoint 418 MODERN HISTORY. tke judges, and trial by jury was to be contiimeJ : the press was p^ced under a censorship, and an order was given for closing; the theatres and shops on the sabbath ; an order not only extremely unpopular at the time, but, as it wonld seem, ineffectual. In nom- inating the senate, some of Buonaparte"'s cotirtiers and marshals were included, particularly Talleyrand, who became minister for foreign affairs. 7. The kinc, who from the first commencement of the revolu- tion bad-displayed a disposition to favour the rights of the people, more tlian others of bis family, or the chiefs of the emig-rants, "was little likely of himself to deviate from the principles of the consti- tution, or to disturb unnecessarily the existing state of things, in which so many interests were involved, but he was supposed to have around him persons still bi-'otted to the ancient system, and ar\xioas to recover all that they had forfeited by the coarse of the revolution. These thing?, together with the dissatisfied state of the army, paved the way for the return of Buonaparte. 8. '.' he probability of such an event seems to have been strange- ly overlooked by those who were most interested in preventing it : the popularity of the deposed emperor had been miscalculated. On the 1st of March, 1815, he landed once more on the shores of Francf^, with only 1140 attendants ; an attempt which many judged to be altogether hopeless, yet, to the utter surprise of those who thought so, his progress tov/ards Paris, though not unmolested, af- forded him every hour, i'rom rlie dtjfection of the troops sent against him, stronger hopes of recovering his authority. On the 20th of T'liarch the king was persuaded to retire from Paris; and on the evcnh:ig of that very day Buonriparte entered it, being hailed by the populace, v.-hich had so lately saluted the return of the Bour- bons in llie same manner, with the loudest acclamations. 9. lie was soon convinced, however, that he was not returned to his ancient power, and that he, quite as much as Louis XVTfl, v/ould now be expected to gratify the people with a free constitu- tion ; he speedily tljerefore, issued some popular decrees, establish- ing the freedom of the press •, abolishing the slave-trade ; and reg- ulating the taxes which weighed most heavily on the people ; he aJso condescended to olFer to them the plan of a constitution, very different from the system of despotism upon Avhich he had before acted, and containing many excellent regulations : he had, how- ever, but little time to spare for legislative measures. A manifesto of expulsion and extermination had been issued against him by the congress at Vienna, signed by the plenipotentiaries of Austria^ France, Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, Spain, and Por- gal, and it was indispensably necessary for him to prepare for war. To this manifesto on the part of (he allied powers, Buonaparte Ava^; not slow in dictating and presenting to Europe a counter m^fnifcs- to^ asserting in the strongest terms the right of the French to ad- here to the dynasty they had chosen on the expulsion of the Bourbons ; and declaring that the confederate princes had been the first to violate the treaty of Fontainebleau ; but it is remarkable that, though Buonaparte so perem.ptorily asserted, in his manifes- to, the right of the French freely to cbcose what dynasty they MODERN IIlSTOrxY. 4li>^ pleased to rei^a OYtr thorn, he had inserted in his new constitution an article, totally and for tvev to exclude the Bourbon family from the succession to the throne. 10. It was not till June that the several armies" were prepared to take the field, and between the 15th and 19th of that month, the fate of Europe seemed ouce more to become dependent on the decision o[ the sword. The battle of Waterloo, which took place on the loth of June, and in which the British and Prussian armies, under the duke of Wtlilngton and marshal Blucher, totally de- feated the French, effectually put an end to all the hopes and prospects of Buonaparte. On the .'20th, he arrived at Paris, the firs^ of his fugitive army ; and in a very few days after, was com- pelled a second ti :ne to resign his usurped dominions. On his re- tirement from Paris, his destination appeared to be a matter of extreme doubt, till on the 15th of July he put himself into the hands of the English by going on board the Jiellerophon man of war, and surrendering himself and suite unconditionally to captain IMaitlaad, the commander of that ship, who sailed immediately to Tofbay with his prisoiicrs, none of whom were permitted to laud. 11. On the 3d of July, not however without a etrug-gle ob the part of the French army, Paris had formally surrendered to the duke of Wellington and prince Blucher, who took possession of it on the 7th, and on the 8th the king returned, greeted, as before, wiVa the cheering and acclamations of the fickle multitudes who tiironged the roads by which he had to pass. By the terms of ca- pitulation, the French troops under Davoust had feeen made tore- tire beyond the Loire, which they did with sullen indignation ; but on the arrival of the Austrians and Russians at Paris, came over to the king. It was very obvious, that, having the great dis- turber of Europe once more in their power, the allies could not fail to discern the glaring impropriety of suffering him to return again into any situation which might afford him the means of communi- " eating with his old adherents, and thereby resuming the station he Jaad occupied for so many years, to the annoyance of the whole con- tinent. The small, rocky, and totally detached island of St, He- lena, in the Atlantic ocean, seemed the ©nly secure place of abode to which he could be assigned. It was therefore agreed to send him thither, under the custody of the British government, but un- der the eye, also, of commissioners appointed to reside there, on thejiart of the Austrian, Russian, and French goveraments. On the 17th of October, 1815, he arrived at his destined residence. 12. Amongst the measures adopted by the military commanders of the foreign troops at Paris, none seemed more to occupy the at- tention of Europe than the determination they formed to restore to the places which had been robbed of them the valuable v.^orks of art, which the victories of the French armies had put into their possession, not merely in the way of plunder, but upon a regular system of purloini)i;g every thing which could add to the splendour and greatness of their own capital, however grating to the feelings of those from whom they Avere taken, and however severely it must have added to tlie mortifications they h»d been dooiacd to si>ffer 420 ^ MODERN HISTORY. from -vi'eaknesp or defeat. The justice of such a step could not be disputed, thoutjh nothing -w-as more likely to excite the resentment and indignation of the French, in whose hands, it must be ac- knowlfdged, had they been properly acquired, they were likely enough to be preserved and exhibited to the world, in a man- ner the most conducive to the glory and immortality of the illustrious artists to whom they owed their origin •, but, as an act of honourable restitution, in many instances, to persons and places whose claims would otherwise have been mocked and de ided, the interposition of the two victorious chiefs upon this occasion may be justly admired. Prince Blucher, indeed, had a direct interest in reclaiming the spoils of Berlin and Potzdam, but the duke of Wellington, v/hile he had nothing to recover for his own country, freely assisted those whose pretensions required the support of such paramount authority. 13. By the second general pacification of Paris with the allies, November 20th, 1815, it was agreed that an army of occupation, amounting to 150,000 men, and to be maintained in a great mea- sure by France, should for the space of five years be put in posses- sion of her frontier fortresses, while her boundary should be farther reduced than on the former occasion ; terms sufficiently mortifying, but justified by the turbulent and unsettled principles of the French nation. Though the period of five years, however, had been spe- cifically agreed to, the state of things afterwards appearing suoh as to justify the allies in departing from the exact letter of the treaty, in the spring of the year 1817 they consented to reduce the army of occupation one fifth, and iu the autumn of 1810, it was wholly withdrawn from the French territories, and the fortresses on the frontier restored. SECTION XXII. NORTHERN STATES OF EUROPE, FROM THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 1. Though much has heen said of the northern courts in the preceding sections, as bearing a part in the transactions on the con- tinent, during the last and present centuri^, yet as they have not been mentioned distinctly and particularly, some brief account of them may be necessary, to give a clearer view of the course of events during the period under consideration. 2. Peter the great, of Russia, who died in 1725, (see Sect. LXVI. $ 2.) was succeeded by his widow, Catherine I, who sur- vived him only two years. It is remarkable, that though Peter had taken particular care to secure to the reigning monarch a power of naming his successor, he should himself neglect this pre- caution ; and for such an omission the law had made no provision. Catherine, however, had little or no difficulty to take his place She was a woman, if not of a superior, yet of rather an extraordi- nary character ; had attended Peter in his travels and campaigns ; beeti serviceable to him in his greatest extreiiiiLies ; often eheciied MODERN insiORv. 421 he violence of his passion ; and manifeptcd a disposition, durln* ler short reigTi, to encourage a spirit of liberty amongst her sub- iects, and to promote, in every way phe could, the prog;ress of rm- rtrovcment and civilization. Her death was little expected, and ^xcited some suspicions ag-ainst the prince MenzicofT, who had just legociated a treaty with Aiistria, and entered into a vstipulation to •aise the son of the nnfortunate prince Alexis to the throne, upon he condition of his raarryin:: his daughter. 3. The empress died in V?.;7, and was succeeded by Peter II, -randsnn of Peter I. MenzicofT, however, seemed to take into his >wn hands the reins of government, till he was supplanted by one jf the Dolgoronki family, and banished to Siberia, with his wife md children. The new favourite designed to marry his sister to he emperor ; but on January 29, 1730, Peter died of the small- pox. In him the male issue of the line becoming- extinct, Anne luchess of ('ourland was called to the throne through the influence >f Dols:orouki, contrary to the order of succession established by ['eter I, and in prejudice of her elder sister, the duchess of Meck- enbnrg. They were both of them the daughters of Iwan, the eldest brother of Peter. 4. The rei»n of Anne was prosperoiis and s:lorious ; she showed ';reat sagacity and firmness in resisting the intrigues, and balancing he credit of rival statesmen, counsellors, and generals, Russian md foreign ; maintaining her prerogatives against those who sought ;o invade them, to further their own ambition, particularly Dolgo- 'ouki, who, though he had placed her on the throne, was disgraced md banished to Siberia. Anne died in 1740, leaving the crown, ?y her will, to her grand-nephew Iwan, son of her niece, Anne, Kincess of Mecklenburg-, married to the duke of Brunswick Be- irern ; but she appointed her favourite, count Biren, whom she had wrought with her from Courland, regent. 5. This last arrangement threw things into the utmost confusion, Riren was deservedly no favourite with the Russians, more than ?0,000 of whom he is said to have sent into banishment ; he had, sesides, a powerful rival in count Munich, the conqueror of Ocza- xow, a German, and a man of singular bravery and resolution ; the atter succeeded in dispossessing the regent of his authority in favour )f the mother of the emperor. Biren was sent to Siberia ; and the princess of Mecklenburg- (duchess of Brunswick) assumed the rein* )f government ; but not attending^ sufficiently to the duties of her ligh station, and appearing to give too great encouragement to fo- 'eigners, a new revolution was set on foot, to place on the throne he youngest daug-hter of Peter the great, the princess Elizabeth. Phis party, supported by French g^old, and headed by Lestocq, a :)hysician, quickly becoming strong, seized upon the emperor Iwan md his parents, and proclaimed Elizabeth empress of all the Rua- lias. The life of the infant Iwan was preserv^ed by the clemency md express interposition of Elizabeth ; but only to undergo a jarder fate. (SeeJjelow, f 8.) Munich was banisked ; and other 'oreign g-enerals, who had favoured the former government, either shared the same destiny, or costrived to escape from the Russian dominions. The people were well pleased to see the throne rcs= 36 422 MODERN HISTORY* Gued from the Kands of foreigners in favour of so direct a claimant as the dang-hler of Peter the great. This revolution took place in the month of November, 1741. 6. Russia flourished under the sway of Elizabeth, whose rei^n exhibited an uninterrupted career of glory and success ; her alliance was courted by some of the greatest powers in Europe. Before her death, which happened in 1762, she took care to restore the natu- ral order of succession in her family, by declaring the duke of ■Holstein Gottorp, her heir, son of her eldest sister, and who be- came emperor, on her demise, by the title of Peter III. 7. This unfortunate prince was not suCered to reign long ; he had married a princess of Anhalt-Zerbst ; a woman of singular character, peculiarly fitted to avail herself of any opportunities that might offer in so unsettled a country, to gratify hei* ambition, und give scope to her abilities. The prince had not behaved well to her, and many things concurred to render him unpopular, if not hateful to his subjects ; particularly an enthusiastic attachment to the king of Prussia, then at war with the Russians, and projected innovations, well-meant but ill-timed, some particularly affecting the clergy. He proposed to circumscribe the power of the nobles, tind seemed to prefer the Holstein troops to his Russian guard. As these things rendered his removal probable, according to the ordi- nary course of proce( dings in that semi-barbarous country, the sa- gacious Catherine willingly gave herself up to a party who had conspired against her husband. It is generally conjectured that s^he connived, not only at the deposition, but at the death of Peter, irho survived his elevation to the imperial dignity not many months ; Vvhile Catherine, by her superior address and intrepidity, not only succeeded in establishing herself upon the vacant throne, but in emancipating herself from the domination of the party to whom she stood indebted for it (the Orloffs.) 8. One competitor still seemed to stand in her way, — the un- fortunate Iwan, — who had been deposed by Elizabeth, and now languished in confinement, at the age of twenty-four. Soon after Catherine's accession he was slain in prison, on a pretence of his atttempting to escape, hut under circumstances so mysterious as to involve the empress in suspicion. She reigned under the title of Catherine II. for the long space of upwards of thirty-four years, continually occupied in advancing the glory of her people, in aug- menting her dominions, and rewarding merit. She obtained many signal advantages over the Turks, and succeeded (1784) in wrest- ing from them the whole district of the Crimea ; but her designs extended much farther, even to the expulsion of the Ottomans, and restoration of a Grecian empire, having for its capital Athens or Constantinople : she contemplated, in short, the complete tri- umph of the Cross over the Crescent. An expedition was even undertaken for the liberation of the Greeks, in the year 1770; but it proved ineffectual, though it might have been otherwise, had the Russian commanders consented to follow the advice of the Scotch admiral, Elphins-tonc, who commanded one of the divisions Of the fleet. MODERN' HISTOLIY, 423 y. Catherine \-n.. Those wlio were most raised at this time by the depression of the sultanic authority, appear to have been — Ihe Nizam or Subahdar, of the Deckan ; the Nabot of Arcot, or the C'arnatic ; the Subahdar of Bengal ; the Nabob of Oude ; the Rajahpoote Princes of Agimere ; the Mahrattas ; the Seiks ; the Piohi}Ia.s, and the Jats. The disputes and differences that took place between these seve- ral powers, after they had shaken off the yoke of the mogul, opened the door for the interference of the European settlers, towards the ^aiddle of the eighteenth century. (See Sect. VI. i 2.) The Frenck 436 HODERN HISTORY. first, and afterwards the English, contrived to take advantagie 6^ the rival claims set up by the different native powers, and by reU' del irv thtin assistance against each other, and it is ^o be feared grea.iiy romeniing their quarrels, soon became acquainted with the manifest superiority of their own tactics, and the innuence this must give them in such contests. The French vrent farther, and trrthit upon the expedient of training the natives in the European tLannor, and incorporating them with their own armies ; these were ■v-i.Itd Sepoy?. 7. It Mas not loag before the French and English, who had at ,>>t only taken the field as auxiliaries, became opposed to each ciher as principals ; in v/hich conflicts the English sTicceeded be- vonvi all expectation, and instead of being driven out of the peniii- ?t!]a them^elres, which was evidently in the viev/ of the French under'Dnpleix, in the year 1751 and 1752, found means to estab- lish themselves there, through the victories of Clive, to the exclu- sion of all otlicr European nations, except for purposes purely com- mercial. o. Clivo has jnstly been regarded as the founder of the British e;r;vire in India ; he was the first to procure for the company grants ;.;' ttirilory and asslp^nmcnts of revenue, v/hich totally changed the vharacfer of our c^uoccfions with that country, and rendered the native princes, even the mogul himself, subservient to our purpo- ses. The English had received great provocation from the subabdar of Bengal, in an attack upon Calcutta, and Ciivc was selected by admiral VVat-^^on to recover from Sourajud Dowlah the town and fo;t, which hai been siarrendered to him. At the battle of Plassey, 3757, he not only succeeded in the recovery of Calcutta, but in the deposit ion of the subabdar,. and having appointed his general In bi.s room, obtained a grant of all the efiects and factories of the J're.Kh in Bengal, P-ahar. and Orissa, and money contributions to Ihr . .i£e amount of i^2,750,000 sterling, exclusive of private 9. It would have been v>-ell if these advantages could have beea ^.cqvrlred with Jess loss of credit to the nation than v/as actually the^ case -, cut there was too much in these first steps towards a tcr-^ rJtcrial establishment, to fet d the ambition and cupidity of those entrusted with *.he maragement of affair?, to render it probable that they would keep clear of abuses. '] he opportunities that oc- curred of intermedaling with the native powors, were eagerly set* zed upon as occasions for enriching the servants of the company, (drawn from heme in expectation of making rapid fortunes,) at the expense of the company itself, whose affairs were in danger, jiot oaly of becoming more embarrassed by the exiraordinary ex- penses of such interference, but by the alienation cf the minds of tht natives, under circumstances little short of the most deter- mined plunder and persecution. In the management of the new- acquired territories and inland trade, it is no longer to be doubted that the natives suffered in every possible manner, from the most unreasonable monopolies, exorbitant duties imposed on articles of general consumption, abuses in regard to leases, and fiscal oppres- sions ;. so that the lustre of the British name became tarnished,^ MODERr^ HISTORY. 45 f and it \va.s found to he alisolutely expedient that gome change shoultl take place in the adiuinistration of affairs so remote from the seat of all rule and direction, and which, fro:U sirapl)^ comrnercia], were now clearly become pulitical and militfa'y. 10. The charter of the company heh.% subject to periodical re- newals, afforded opportunities for the interference of the legielature, nor was the company itself back^vard, under any pressure of pecu- niary embarrassments, to apply to gfovernmcnt for assistance. On one'oftht.ye occasions, the great change thai had taken place in the state of things in India, induced the government at home to claim for the cro^vn all reven'ilfe arising from. any new acquisitions; made by military force, and in order to repress the inordinate pro- ceedings of the company^'s servants, of which the natives, the pub- lic at b.om.e, and the company itself, had but too much rcasron to ■complain, government also insisted upon taking into its own hands the political jurisdiction of India. 11. These claims and regulations were first proposed in parlia- ment November, 1772, and may be said to have laid the foundation for that enlarired systoni of administration and control v^'hich has prevailed since, though under different modifications, from lord North's bill in 1773 to Xir. Pittas in 1784. By this latter bill, a board of control, composed of cer'ain commissioners of the rank -of privy counsellors, Vv-'as established, the members of which were to be ap- pointed I'y the king, and removable at lys pleasure. 1 his board was auth.irizFd to check, superintend, and control the civil and military gpycrnment and revenue of the company ; an high tribu- nal also, fpr the trial of Indian delinquents, was proposed at the same time* The management of their commercial concerns wag left in the bands of the company ; the political and civil authority only transferred to the crown. In 1786, some alterations were made in tlus bill ; the offices of commander-in-chief and governor- g-eneral wen; for the future to be united in the same person, and a power given to ttie governor-general to decide in opposition to the majority of the council. The presidencies of Madras and Bom- bay had been previously, by lord North's bill, placed under the superintendency of the governor and c>":uncil of Bengal, but by this till that point also was confirmed. 12. When this bill was passed, it appeared from the preamble, to be decidedly the opinion of parliament, of government, as well as of the court of directors, v/hose orders had for some time breath- ed the same spirit, that " to pursue schemes of conquest and ex- tension of dominion in India, were measures repugnant to the wish, the honour, and the policy of the nation." It had previously beeu resolved by the house, " that the maintenance of an inviolable character for moderation, good faith, and scrupulous regard to treaty, ought to have been the simple grounds on which the British government should have endeavoured to establish an influence su- perior to other Europeans, over the minds of the native powers in India ; and that the danger and discredit arising from the forfeiturg of this pre-eminence, could not be compensated .by tlae t^mpoxar/ .guccess of any plan of violence and iniusticex"' 37* 43S MODERJT HISTORY. 13. ?nch was the tenor of the resolutions of the house of conl^* inons in 1782, recognized as the principle of the bill of 1784, and farther confirmed by An act passed in 1793. la all we perceive an evi.lent allusion to those mal-practicGS of the company's servants,, which vvill for ever, it is to be feared, remain on record, to tarnish the liis're of our iirst victories and territorial acquisitions in India, and to detract from the reputation of persons, whose names mig^ht otherwise have justly stood high on the list of those, from whosA pfe-eminoTit talents and abilities, the nation has derived both glory ap-d advantage. ^ 14. The Eng;lish system of jurisprudence had been extended to India by lord North's bill of 1773, but imder disadvantages ex- tremely embarrassing. The difference of manners, habits, cus- toms ; the di(ficulty, if not impossibility, of mine;ling two codes, so very dissimilar as those o{ Britain and Hindoostan ; the forms and technicalities of the English laAv, totally unknown to the native corit? ; the apparent injustice of subjecting a people to laws to which they were no parlies, and to which, of course, they had given no sanction : these, and other difficalties have been ac- knowledged by those who have had to administer the laws under the new system, in India, as having prevented those happy effects taking place, which might otherwise have been expected from the introduction of the English jurisprudence. Since the passing of ^1r. Pitt's bill, however, much benefit has certainly been derived from the residence and superintendence of noblemen of the highest rank and abilities, as governors-general, and of judges the most enlightened, to preside in the Indian courts. The first reforms that tvere attempted under the new system, though not so successful a* might be v.ished, proceeded from those two most amiable and high- ly lespected personages, the marquis Cornwallis, and sir William Jones. 15. From the conduct of loM Cornwallis, and his successors lord Teignmovith, and lord Mornington, now marquess Wellesley^ it is extrejnely evident that the system of neutrality and forbear- ance prescribed by the resolutions of parliament, and preamble of the act of 1784, would have been scrupulously adhered to had it been possible, consistent!}'' with the security of our settlements;; but towards the close of the eighteenth century, the English were compelled to defend themselves from the most formidable designs- of the celebrated llyder Ally and his son Tippoo Saib, who un- questionably had it in view to exterminate the British, and proba- bly all other Europeans, from the peninsula of India. iO. The result of these conflicts, which took place in Mysore, and the Carnatic, was the total overthrow of a Mahomedan dynasty of only two sovereigns, commencing with a mere adventurer of most singular character, who having waded through crimes to hi:i, object, succeeded in placing himself and his son on one of the most brilliant thrones of the east, and in a condition to give very con- siderable trouble to the English government there. 17. Hyder Ally, the father of Tippoo, was born in 1722, and died in 1782. Tippoo was born in 1753^ and lost his liie in the celebrated assault of the capital of his nev/ dominions, Seringap^- MODERN HISTOR?. 439^ tarn, in 1799. They were very different men, having been differ-^ ently educated. The fornaer had strong natviral powers, which compensated for his want of acquired knowledge ; the latter was vain of his scanty proficiency in Persian literature, and a few other attainments, to a degree of absurdity ; fancying himself the great- est philosopher of the age, the wisest, bravest, and handsomest of men. Hyder was tolerant in religious concerns to a degree of in- difl'erence ; Tippoo, a bigoted mussulman, to, the utmost pitch of intolerance and pei^tcution. The former meddled little with reli- gion. The latter contemplated changes in Islamism, as in every thing- else,Jhaving, as a preliminary, substituted a new era in his coins, dating from the birth instead of the flight of Mahomet. Both father and son were devoid of principle, but the former was much the §;reatest man. lo. It was owing to the vigilance and prompt measures of lord Weilesley, that Tippoo was so opportunely overthrown ; though his proceedings were weak, they were carried on with much duplicity and deceit, and upon principles of alliance which in other circum- stances might have become very alarmiir::;'. Under the most posi- tive and repeated assurances of peace, and amity, he had intrigued with France, Turkey, the king of Candahar, (a descendant of the celebrated Affghan chief Abdallah.) the Ivizam of the Deckan, and the Mahrattas, for the express object of forming a strong confede- racy to extirpate the English ; in his negotiations with the courts of Candahar and C«>nslantinople, indeed, he had declared ven- geance against the in^dels generally, whence ithas.been reasonably concluded that his schemes of destruction embraced all the Euro- pean powers, the French not excepted, had his projects but been successful. Fortunately, lord Weilesley detected all his plots, and when it became impossible to treat farther with him on any fair grounds, by the most decisive measures, and rapid movements, ef- fectually averted the blow that had been decidedly aimed at the British empire in India. 19. On the fall of Seringapatam, the Mysorean dominions were^ by allotments to the allies, iheBritisb, the Nizam, and the Mahrat- tas, nearly reduced to the limits by which they were bounded be- fore the usurpation of Hyder, and, a surviving representative of the I.iindoo dynasty, a child only five y. ars old, placed on the throne, with an acknowledg-ed dependency on the Biitish govern- ment. The descendants of Tippoo beiMg, hov/ever, liberally pro- vided for, and settled in the Cavnatic, distorbances in the northera and north-western parts of the peninsula, among the Mahratta chieftains, occupied the attention of the English army, in the early part of Ihe present century, when afresh opportunity was afforded of triumphing over the intrigues of the French, who headed the ad- verse forces, and endeavoured to procure for that government a cession of the districts entrusted to their care ; but the issue of the contest was entirely in favour of the British. From this time the ascendancy of the British in the peninsula has continued so deci- dedly established, as to render it needless to say any thing of ih& other European settlements. 440 MODERN HISTORY, 20. The acquieition of tPiTitory iu India, tosrethcr with the nev/ system of government and control, by rendering: it necessary for persons of learning- aiM talent to reside there, Imve had the effect of improving:; our knowledge of tho^e remote countries, and opened to vrs a field of inquiry and research, peculiarly interesting and curious. AiTiong- those Avho may be considered as hai'ing- most particularly contributed to these ends, we may reckon Mr. ^Vil- kius and sir Vvilliaci Jones ; the former by having first, with any real success, pursned the study of the Sanscrit language, the root of all the vernacular dialects of the peninsula, and thereby opened to the contemplation of the historian, the antiquarian, the philoso- pher, and the poet, whattrver is interesting in the literature of all the nations east of the Indus ; arid the latter, by iustituring the first philosophical society in those parts, and invitiwg the learned, in all quarters of the globe, to propose queries in every br-anch of Asiatic history, natural and civil, on the philosophy, mathematics, antiquities, and polite literature of Asia, and on eastern arts, both liberal and mechanic, as guides to the investigations of the per- sons resident in the peniivnla, qualified to pursue such inquiries on the spot, and communicate to the world in general the results of their discoverifrs. 21. To this learned society, first established in Bengal, urder the presidency of sir Vv'illiam Jones, v;c are indebted for all those curioi;? papers ppeserved in the several volumes of the Asiatic Researches ai)d the Indian Annual Register, and which have so largely contributed to enlarge the boundaries of oriental literature. Tothe names already mentioned, as having laken the lead in this curious branch of science, we may add those of our countrymen, Halhed, Vansittart, Shore, (lord Teignmorth, the second presi- dent, on the death of sir William, 1794,) Davie, Colehrook, V. il- ford, Rennell, Hunter, Bentley, Marsden, Orme, Carey, Buchanan, Barlow, Harrington, Kdmonstone, Kirkpatrick, kc. 22. At the commencement of the present century, it became obvious to the m.arquess of Wellesley, then governor-general, that the state of the British empire in India absolutely required, that the persons sent out to discharge the important functions oi magis- trates, judges, ambassadors, and governors of provinces, should have some better means of qualifying themselves for such high stations and complicated duties, than were then in existence. His lordship's view of these matters, as recorded in the minute of coun- cil, dated August 18, loOO, is highly deserving of consideration, and his plan for forming and endowing a college for these purposes at Calcutta, reflect the highest credit on his wisdom and discern- ment, though the latter has not been carried into execution In the way his lordship proposed, for want of funds- The East India College, since established in Hertfordshire, may be considered as entirely owing to the adoption by the company of the enlightened principles contained in the minute alluded to. A system of oriental education is now effectually established, which, though on a much more contracted scale, and in a great measure confined to England, bids fair, it is to be hoped, to accomplish most of the ends contem- Jilated hj l;iis lordship iu his oiiginal design of foundipg a college MODERN HISTORY. 441 Jit Fort William, in Bengal, namely, ^^'to perpetuate the immense ftdvantages derived to the company from their possessions in India, and to establish the British empire in India on the solid founda- 'ions of ability, integrity, virtue, and religion." 23. Of the studies to be pursued, according; to lord Wellesley^'s plan, a competent notion may be formed from the following list of professorships and lectures : — Arabic, Persian, S^anscrit, Hindos- tanee, Bengal, Telinga, Mahratta, Tamula, and'Canara, langua- ge? ; Mahomedan law ; Hindoo law ; Ethics, civil jurisprudence, and the law of nations ; English law ; political economy, commer- cial institutions and ir^ierests of the East India Company, g^eogra- phy and mathematics ; modern languages of Europe ; Greek, Latin, and English classics ; general history, ancient and modern ; the history and antiquities of Hindoostan and the Deckan ; natural history ; botany, chemistry and astronomy. 24. Though the company saw reason to withhold its counte- nance from the original institvition, the studies above chalked out- have been, in a great measure, adopted in the Hertfordshire col- lege, and its general success hitherto has been pronounced answer- able to the expectations of those who were most solicitous in ef: fecting its establishment. The education of the j'oung men, des- tined to fill the civil offices in India, is now therefore partly Euro- pean and partly Asiatic ; for so much of the collegiate establish- ment in India may be said to remain, that there the students, who, have been taught in England the elements of Asiatic languages, are enabled to advance to perfection, and to become masters of the several dialects prevailing through the peninsula. Though the ©riginal plan of the noble founder of the college of Fort William has not yet been adopted by the East India company, yet to apply the words of one o{ the most distinguished of our orientalists^ ^' Good has been done, which cannot be undone ; sources of useful knowledge, moral instruction, and political utility, have been •pened to the natives of India, Avhich can never be closed."" In 1814, an ecclesiastical establishment, under the immediate auspi- ces of government, was formed for India, the right reverend l)r. Thomas Fanshaw Middleton being consecrated at the archiepisco- pal palace, at Lambeth, the first bishop of Calcutta. It must surprise the English reader to be told, that the popula- tion of the British empire in India has been l?itely estimated at 90,000,000 ! STATE OF ARTS, SCIENCES, RELIGION, LAWS, GOVERN^ MENT, &c. L The historical events of the eighteenth century have, vre must confess, been found to be of such magnitude and importance, as to occupy rather too large a space in a work professing to be merely elementary ; but we should be compelled in a still greater degree to exceed the limits assigned to us, if we were to attempt to, enter into the details "of the very extraordinary progress that has taken place during the same period, in arts, sciences, and liters*- 442 MODERN KISTORV. ture ; some changes, indeed, have occurred, and more been con- templated, in rfcligion, laws, and tovernraent, but in regard to the former, almost all things have become new : we have new arts and new sciences ; and in literature, such an overflowing of books upon every subject that could possibly occupy or interest the mind of man, that the most diligent compiler of catalogues would fail in endeavouring br<.rely to enumerate them. 2. It is somewhat extraordinary, indeed, that this great and rapid advancement of knowledge has after all been confined to only a small portion of the globe. The great continent of Africa, though "better known than in past times, has made no advances in civiliza- tion. Asia, though many parts have been diligently explored du- ring the last century, and a lar^e yjortion of it actually oscupied by Europeans, remains, as to the natives, in its original state. The "vast empire of China has nrade no progress at all. Japan has eiTecta- ully ?luit the door against all improvement. South America, in- deed, tliongh labonring under difficulties unfriendly to the progress of knowledge, is yet reported to be making no inconsiderable ad- vances, particularly in JMexico, where both the arts and sciences jtre cultivated with credit and efiect. In North America, also, the arts and sciences and iiteratui-e may certainly be said to be in a progressive state, but under circumstances of rather slow and par- tial improvement.* 3. Civilized Europe is the ornj part of the world that can claim the credit of almost all that has been done towards the advance- ment of knowledge since the comm^encement of the eighteenth century, and only a few parts after all of civilized Europe itself. Turkey has stood still, a,s well as ht.r Grecian dependencies, till rery lateh'. Spain, rortugal. and even the greater part of Italy, have laboured under difficulties and restrictions exceedingly inimi- cal to their advancement, and which have greatly arrested tlieir progress in the career of letters and philosophy. The north and north-eastern parts of Europe have produced many learned men, have been diligently explored, and materials at least collected for great improvements ; other parts are also upon the advance : but England^ Fravct^ and Germany^ are undoubtedly the principal countries to which we must look for the most striking' progress in every branch of human knowledge. In these three countries, in particular, discoveries have now certainly been made, and princi- ples established, which can never be lost again, and which must, £s far as they may extend, be constantly operating to the lasting improvement of the Avorld at large. 4. It would be quite unnecessary to go back to the origin, or fir- mer state, either o! the arts or sciences, now known and cultivated in Europe. It is pretty generally understood, that,comparatively with the age of the world, they have been only very recently submitted [*The writer must be under a mistake. Is 11 not acknov.Iedged lirouga. cut Enrope, that the United States of iNorfli America are not only farther advanced, bat taster advancing, in the discoveries of science, and that their progress iu literature is more rapid, than anj "Other nation of the rew world ^ -r-iODEPvN HISTORY. 443 to such processes as bid fair to bring them to the highest state of perfection. One rirt has helped another, and new sciences been brought to light, that have greatly promoted the advancement of those before understood and cultivated. Galvanism has assisted electricity ; and galvanism and electricity together been exceed- ingly serviceable to chemisti'y ; chejni-try to nuneralogy, and so forth : new systems and arrangements, and new nomenclatures, have contributed greatly to render every step that has been taken jnore accurate and certain, and to place every object of attention or inquiry more exactly in the rank and order it should occupy in the general circle of arts and sciences ; but the thing of most im- portance of all, in regard to the improvements that have taken place since the beginring or mitUlIe of the eighteenth century, i«, that every tbii.g has bten conducted exactly upon those principles, which the great lord Eacon sd strongly recommended, and has, therefore, be en found conducive to all those great ends, the neg- lect of which, in his own and preceding ages, he so much deplored : every thing has had a tendency to augment the poM'ers, diminish the pains, or increase the happiness of mankind. 5. Amongst the sciences so cultivated and advanced, since the seventeenth ctutury, as justly to be regarded as new, we may rank chemistry^ bulani/^ cU ctricih/^ gnlrainsrii^ raineralogy^ geology^ and in many respects, geograpJ\y : evtry one of these sciences has been placed on so very diiferent a t'ootir--, hy the recent manner of treat- ing- them, and by new discoveries, that it is better, perhaps, at once to considtr fhem as new sciences, than to advert to former systems, fomded on totally erroneous principles, and which have been, on that accou.nt, very reasonably exploded. 6. Xhen^.istry, however, even in the course of the period before ti", has uudtigo.;e very essential changes ; it is no^v not only a very dirlerent science fiom ihe chemistry that prevailed antecedent to the eighteenth century; but the eighteenth century itself has wit= nessed a r( ;.jarkable revolution in its leading principles : some, in- deed, of the most important changes approach nearer to the nine- teenth than the seventeenth century, ii' they do not actually belong to the former; at ail events, it was not till towards the close of the eighteenth century that chemical experiments had been push- ed so far as to displace two of the elements «f the old philosophy, and lotally supersede the prevailing theory of heat, light and com- bustion ; a theory which was itself not much more than half a cen- tury old. Stahl, the celebrated disciple of Bechtr, born in IG60, but who lived to 1734, has the credit of being the author of the phlogistic system, which began to be attacked late in the last cen- tury, and seems now to be totally exploded. Whether the rival theory will ultimately maintain its ground in all poiats, may, per- haps, appear still doubtful to some : the French claim to be the authors of the new theory ; but though the experiments they very ably conducted were highly conducive to the establishment of it, the way seems to have been more opened to them by others than i>fey are willing to acknowledge, particularly by English observers. 'i'he phlogistic system was a plausible theory in certain respects, but ifi others totally indefensible; and, perhaps, a better proof oi" the 444 MODERN HISTORY. utility of repeated experiments could not be produced, than that which ascertained that, instead of the extrication of a par(icular sabstance by combustion, something was undoubtedly added to, or imbibed by, the combustible body, in order to the separation of its parts ; that, in fact, in the actual process of combustion, affinity pro- duces a. double decomposition, and that a certain portion of the at- mosphere entering into uuioa with the combustible body produces Sill those appearances,- which, under the former system had been attributed to the extrication of an unknown principle of inflamma- bility, denominated phlogiston. • 7. The very curious experiments, made to confirm and establish the latter system, have been of the greatest impoi-tancc in regard to other matters, particularly to that branch of the new chemistry which has been denominated the ■p?veHniat/c system. The discover- ies in this line of experiment, which has the air for its subject, ex^ reed, perhaps, ail others in importance and interest : the analysis of the common atmosp-here has opened to our view a series of physical operations constantly going on, the most wonderful and delicate that can possibly be conceived : the respiraticKi of animals is of this description. The atmosphere is now known to be a mostcuri~ ■r us compoundTof two sorts of air, or gases, (as they have been named of late,) the one capable of supporting life and flame, the other destntctive of both : in combustion, calciiiation of metals, and res- piration, the process is the same, — a decomposition of the atmos- phere : the jiure part is imbibed, and the impure part left subject to further contamination, by what is given oat by the combustible, calcining, or respiring bodies during the opera.tion ; for, as it was before said, the decomposition in all instances is a double one ; the proportion of the two parts of the atmosphere has been ascertained to be in a hundred, twcaty-two of pure or vital^ and seventy-eight of impure or asotic gas. 8. 'J'he discovery of the vital air is acknowledged by M. Lavoi- sier to have been common to himself Avith two other eminent cheni- ists,Dr. Priestley and the celebrated Scheele. Dr. Priestley discover- ed it in 1774, Scheele in 1777, M. Lavoisier in 1775 : the former seems undoubtedly to have the best claim to the discovery. M. La- voisier, at first, called it " highly respirable air ;" afterwards, as eu« lirely essential to the support of life, '• vital air :" Dr. Priestley, who lived and died an advocate for the phlogistic system, " dephlogisti- ticated air:"' and Scheele call<-d it ''empyreal air." It at last obtained another name,, from its being supposed to be the cause of scidity, viz. '" oxygen gas." 9. V/ho is justly to be accounted the father of the pneumatic chemistry, it would, perhaps, 4ie hazardous to say: Dr. Black of TMinburgh has had the credit of beinc: so, from his experiments on the carbonic acid. It bas been claimed for Dr. Priestley, Scheele, and M. Lavoisier: the discoveries in this line certainly constitute s. grand ara in chemistry. The many various kinds of gases that have been now discovered ; the very curious experiments made to ascer- tain their properties ; the instruments invented to render such ex<- periments certain ; the new compounds that have been detected by ir operation and effects in almost everv branch MeDERN HISTORY. S44|j" «>f pliysics, it would far exceed our limits to describe ; but it is im- possible not to notice the extraordinary discovery of the decompo- sition of wnter^ which belongs entirely to pneumatic chemistry. 10. Till within less than half a century ago, ivater was esteemed to be eo certainly an elementary principle, that but few ever dream- ed of its being otherwise ; and it was almost by accident that it was at last found to be a compound. In the coarse of certain pneumatic experiments., it was ascertained by Mr. Cavendish, that icater was produced by a combination of two particular gases : both analysis and synthesis were resorted to, to render this curious discovery more certain, and it was at length ascertained, not only that those two gases were constantly produced in certain proportions from the decomposition of Vv'ater, but that water was as constantly the rg- tultofa judicious mixture of those two gases : the ^^rt.ye* thus con- stituting the proper principles of water, were the vital RndwJIam- viable airs of the first chemical noinenclature of modern days, better known now by the names of oxys^tn gas and hydrogen gas ; the lat- ter evidently so called from its impoitance, as a constituent base or radical of T\'ater ; we owe the discovery of it to our countryman, Mr. Cavendish. The proportion between the two gases in these curious experiments has been found to be eighty-five of oxygen to fifteen of hydrogen ; both oxygen and hydrogen betqg combustible, their combination for experimental purposes is brought about by inllam- mation, through the means of the electric spark. 11. Having given this short account of the leading discoveries in pneumatic chemistry ; discoveries which have openid to us totally new views, of certain physical operations of the first importance, and greatly extended our knowkdg^e of chemical substances and their properties, simple and compouri^d, visible and invisible, con- jfineajile and unconfineable : we shall be compelled to be much more brief in what further relates to modern chemistry. 12. Oflate years almost all the substances in nature have been examined ; and probably almost all the combinations of them ex- hausted : new metals to a large amount, jaew earths, and new acids have been discovered ; the fixed alkalis decomposed, and their nature ascertained ; the whole range of chemical affinities and attractions nicely arranged and determined, as far as experi- , ment can reach ; and many elastic aeriform fluids brought to light, distinguished from each other by their different bases, which were totally unknown before to natural philosophers, under the forms in which they are now obtained ; and which have been thought de- servings of being formed into a fourth class or kingdom^ amongst the productions of nature : the proper distinction of these elastic fluids, or gases, as they have been denominated, (after a term adopted by Vanhelmont, signifying a spirit or incoercible vapour,) ^eing that of some base, saturated with the cause of heat or expan- sion, called in the new nomenclature caloric ; by means of some of these gases, so combined with caloric, a power has been obtained of fusing the mo?t refractory substances in nature. 13. To render the nice and delicate experiments necessary in this new branch of chemical science more accurate, numerous in- struments hav8 been invented, of very curious construction ; such as the mdionut&r^ to measure the purity of any ^iven portion of 446 MODERN HISTORY. air ; the gasometer^ to measure the quaBtities, &«. of gases ; the calorimeter^ for measures of heat ; to which we may add various descriptions of thermometers and pyrometers^ particularly the differential thermometer^ invented by Mr. Leslie, of Edinburgh, and its accompaniments ; the pyrcscope^ or measure of radiant heat ; the photometer^ to ascertain the intensity of light ; very cu- rious and delicate balances, some that are said to be capable of as- certaining a weight down to the seven millionth part, deserve to be mentioned, as extraordinary instances of skilful workmanship ; many different sorts of hygrometers also have been constructed, particularly one by the same ingenious experimentalist already mentioned, Mr. Leslie, calculated to render more correct the ex- amination of all processes dependant upon evaporation ; .but it \ronld be endless to attempt to describe the many instruments and contrivances rendered necessary by the extreme delicacy and minuteness of modern chemical and pneumato cliemical experi- ments ; it is sufficient to state, in a history of the rrogress cf arts and sciences, that, in all instances, invention appears to have kept pace with experiment ; and that the world has been almost as much enriched by the new-invented means of discovery, as by the discoveries to which they have conduced ; while the skill and judgment requisite to construct the expensive and complicated in- struments indispensably necessary for ascertaining the analysis and synthesis of bodies, with such exquisite precision, as to quan- tity and proportion, have conspired greatly to advance the several arts connected with such machinery, as well as to quicken the in- telligence and ine;enuity of the artists themselves ; in this line, per- haps, nobody has acquired greater celebrity than the late Mr. Ramsden, the maker of thebalance of the Royal Society, whose extraordinary powers have been alluded to above. 14. Among those who have principally distingiushed themselves in the improvement and advancement of chemical science, since the commencement of the eighteenth century, we may justly men- tion the names of Stahl, f^ourcroy, JNJacquer, Lavoisier, Guyjton- inorveau, Berthollet, Klaproth, Vauquelin, Chaptal, Gay-Lussac, Kirwan, Tennant, Wollaston, Priestley, Cavendish, Black, Irwine, Crawford, Leslie, Hall, Thompson, Brande, and Davy. To the last of whom, our illustrious countryman, we stand indebted for some of the most remarkable discoveries, and most laborious analy- ses of compound substances, which have taken place under the new system ; nor has he been deficient in applying his scientific attainments to practical purposes, in his elements of chemical agriculture, and above all, the safety-lamp, whereby he may pos- sibly, in combating the fatal effects of the fire damp in coal mines, have contributed to preserve the lives of thousands and thousands of his fellow creatures ; this discovery was the fruit of many most laborious, difficult, and even dangerous experiments. 15. When we consider the many uses of chemistry, and the im- mense advantages to be derived from every improvement of it in a variety of manufactures, in medicine, in metallurgy, in the arts ©f dying, paintiiig, brewing, distilling, tanning, making glass, en- amels, porcelain, and many others, we may easily conceive that MODERN HISTORY* 447 the progress and advancement of this one branch of science alone, daring the last and present century, must have contributed largely to the improvement of many things, on which all the comforts and conveniences, the happiness, the security, the well-being;, the- prosperity, and even the lives of men, depend. BOTANY. 1. Botany is another of the sciences, vifhich, from the chaages it has undergone, and the great progress it has made since the com- mencement of the eighteenth century, may justly be regarded as new. 2. Already were the names of Ray, Bivinus, and Tournefort, well known to the lovers of this interesting study, forming as it were a new aera in the history of botany, and imparting a lustre to the close of the seventeenth century, for which it will ever be memorable. Their attempts at arrangemeat may be justly con- sidered as the commencement of a career which was destined to ac- quire its full degree of developement daring the eighteenth centu- ry, under the happy auspices of the most celebrated botanist the world ever saw ; the great and illustrious Linnaaus. 3. This extraordinary man was born at Rashult, in the province of Smaland, in Sweden, on the 24th of May, 1707, and before he was twenty -one years of age, had made himself so thoroughly acquainted with the study of plants, as well as with the merits and defocts of his predecessors m that line, as to conceive the idea of remodelling the Vv'hole fabric of systematic botany, and of placing it on a new foundation, namely, the sexuality of vegeta- bles. This bold and enterprising undertaking he not only project- ed, but accomplished with a rapidity and success that excited the wondeFand astonishment both of his friends and enemies. 4. His first work was published in 1730, being a brief exposition of the new principle on which his system was to be founded ; and the metliod may be said to have been completed in 1737, when he published his Genera Plantarum^ which contained a descrip- tion and arrangement of nearly one thousand genera, comprising upwards of eight thousand species, and constituting what has been since known by the name of the sexual system. 5. At first it was either opposed as a fanciful innovation, or re- ceived with doubt and distrust ; but its fame soon began to spread, and to bear down before it all opposition, till it ultimately met with the almost universal reception of botanists in every country in Europe. 6. In 1742, Linnaeus was chosen professor of botany at Upsal, and in 1753 he published his Species Platiiarum. His authority was now supreme, and the im.pulse he communicated to the study of vegetables unprecedented in the annals of botany ; hence the various voyages that were undertaken by his immediate disciples, Kahn, Ltepling, Hasselquisl, and others, or which have been since undertaken by their successors, aided by the muniiicence of prin- ces, or the zeal oi private individuals, as well as the various soci*^ 443 MODERN HISTORY. ©ties that were sooner or later instituted, with a view to the ad- vancemenl of botanical knowledo;e ; amongst which the Linnaean society of London, founded in 1788, stands pre-eminent, under the presidency of sir James Edward Smith, one of the most disting'uish- ed of the followers of Linnseus, and the possessor of his herbarium, library, and manuscripts. 7. The acquisitions thus made to the mass of botanical know- ledge, are altogether astonisliing-. Botanists are now said to be acquainted v/ith upwards of forty thousand species of plants ; and pLill there are regions of the earth unexplored, and flowers without H name (" t! sunt sine 7ioniineJiorcs.'^'^) 0. We cannot, however, refuse to acknowledge that botany has also derived the most important advantages from such cultivators 4)f the science as cannot be ranked amongst the disciples of Lin- naeus, though tkey have equally contributed to the advancement of the knowledge of plants, at least in the department of the study of their nntiirai affinities ; the grand and ultimate end of botany, which Linnaeus himself knew well how to appreciate, and even to improve, as may be seen in his prelections published by Giseke, •.ind in his Fi'JZ'ncnIs of c jYaiwal J^hthod. But it was left for the iilust.'ious Ju-vieu, the most accomplished botanist o{ the present a*e, to give to that method the comparative perfection which it has actually obtained, and to erect the noble superstructure of his Ocncra Plantarum ; a work exhibiting the most philosophical arrangement of plants, as well as the most complete view of their natural aiTinities, that was ever presented to the conteiapla- tion of man. 9. This work was published at Paris in 1789, and the neitural method of Jussieu^ Avhich may be regarded as having at all times stood in op])osiliou to the artificial method of Linnasus, seems now to be advancing to a more direct rivalship than ever. Even in the works of such botanists as profess to be the disciples of Linnreus, there seems to be a leaning to the method of Jussieu ; but whether the natural method of the latter will be suffered ultimately t» prevail, or the artificial method of the former, time only can shew. 10. Groat, however, as the progress of systematic botany has undoubtedly been, during the course of the last and beginning of the present century, the progress of physiological botany has per- haps been still greater. In proof of this, it will be sufficient to men- tion the names of Hales, Bonnet, Du Ilamel, Iledwig, Spallanza- ni, Gaertner, Knight, iCcith, and Miibel ; each of whom has dis- linguislied himself in the field of phylological investigation, and eminently contributed to the advancemenrof the science. Above all, we must not fail to mention the name of Priestley, as being^ the first who introduced into the study of phytology the aid of pneumatic chemistry, which, under the happy auspices of Ingen- houz, Senebier, Saussure, Ellis, and Davy, and lastly of Gay-Lus- sac and Kenard, has done more to elucidate the phenomena of vegeiation, than all other means of investigation, and has furnished as the foundation oi the physiology of plants a body of the most curious and undoubted facts. MODERN HISTORY. 449 11. Before we dismiss this part of our subject, it is not unfit that we should notice the extraordinary pro£;res3 that has been made at the samrj time in distinct branches of the science, as well as in the application of the arts ef drawinc;, engraving, and ^colouring-, for the purposes of illustration, and for exhibiting to the eye, at all times, in all places, and at all seasons, the beautiful and in- teresting- productions of the vegetable kingdom, in such perfection, as, as nearly as possible, to supersede the necessity of living speci- mens ; sometimes so rare and inaccessible as to be out of the reach of the most scientific. There is no branch of knowledge which has furnished more splendid and elaborate works of this nature, than that of botany, or in which the arts have been carried to a greater degree of perfection and delicacy ; and as a study so elegant mod agreeable cannot well be rendered too general, it is pleasing t/ob- serve, that through the improvements that have thus taken place, and the facilities a/Torded to such publications, not a month passes in this kingdom without large additions being made to the general stock of botanical knowledge, in works of slagular beauty and correctness ; though far from costly, considering the pains bestowed upon them. 12. The lovers of botany stand greatly indebted also, to those learned persons who have made it their particular business to col- lect, examine, and describe the plants of countries and districts, and to supply them with distinct Florce^ both foreign and domestic, as the Flora Britannica of Smith, the Flora Anglica of Hudson, the Flora Sco>tica of Lightfoot, the Flora Cantabrigiensis of Relhan, the Flora Oxoniensis of Sibthorpe, the Flora Londinen&is of Curtis, the Flora Grneca, the Flora Peruviana, the Flora Danica, the Flore Francoise, and others much too numerous to mention ; in the same class may be reckoned those works which arc still further confined to the description or illustration of particular genera of pljyits, as incur own country, the Cariccs, by Goodenough ; the Grasses, by Stillingfleet ; the Menthse Britannica?, by Sole ; the Pines, by Laoi- bert ; the Fuci, by Turner ; and various ethers. ELECTRICITY. I. Though the property of excitation existing' in anther^ (elek' tron) appears to have been known to Thales six hundred, and to Theophrastus three hundred years before Christ, yet electricity (which takes its name from this circumstance) and gah-auism, as it is still called, may decidedly be regarded as sciences which have sprung up during the period tp v.'hich our present inqairies belong. It was not, indeed, till towards the middle of the eii^hteenth cen- tury that experiments in electricity were pursued with any degree of ardour, success, or advantage. Mr. Hawksbee wrote learnedly upon the subject in 1709, but it was not till twenty years after- wards that Mr. Grey and M. da Faye at Paris, engaged in some experiments which contributed to throw light upon the subject. Mr. Grey, who resumed his experiments in 1734, saw enough to lead hLai to conclude Ibat the electric fluid and lightning were the 3a* 450 MODERN HISTORf^ same, ^vhich was not, however effectually proved till fiie year 1752, when the celeVatcd Dr. Franklin, of America, with great ingenuity, and no small de.s:rce of courage, ascertained the fact by decisive experiments ; a discovery which he soon applied to prac- tical purposes, by the invention of metallic conductors for the se- curity of buildings, ships, &:c., during storms. 2. As experiments could not be profitably undertaken till a suit- able apparatus was provided, it is equally evident, that the im- provemf nt of such apparatus must greatly have depended on the progress of the science. The Leyden phial for the accumulation of the electrical power in glass, was invented about 1745, and the general apparatus gradually improved by Van Marum, Cunaeus, Dr. Nooth, Mr. Nairne, Dr. Priestley, xMessrs. Read, Lane, and Adams. To professor V^olta, of Como, we stand indebted for two very useful and important electrical instruments, the electro- phorus, and condenser of electricity. Many sorts of electrometers for measuring the quantity and quality of electricity in an electri- fied body, have also been invented. 3. In 1747 electricity be^an to be used for medical purposes, and was supposed to be of efficacy incases of rheumatism, deafness, palsy, scrophula, cancers, abscesses, gfout, &c. ; but the progress of nn-dical electricity has not been great, while the want of au npj)arHtus, and the knowledge and skill reiuisite to apply it pro- perly, must always prevent its becoming any very common remedy. 4. Galvanism, which may be said to have been enjj^afted on electricity in 1701, was the discovery of the celebrated Galvani of Bologna ; it has been called animal electricity ; liis first experi- ments having been made on animals, and tending manifestly to prove the identity of the nervous and electric fluids, though this was f.r some time doubted. M. Gah-aui discovered that, without any artificial electricity, and by merely presenting' some conduct- ing substance to difierent parts of the nerves or muscles of a dis- sected frog, \v lent motions were } roduced, exactly similar to those which were excited by a dincharee of the t-lectrical machine. 5. The discovery of M. Galvani has since led to very important ends, through the great care and attention of M. Volta, who, im- proving uj)on his discovery of the power of conductors, has been en- abled to supply the philosophical world with an instrument of very 'extraordinary powers, especially for purposes of chemical decompo- sition. At rrst M. V<^lta was led to suppose that it required only a set of di^eroit conductors, two metals and a fluid, to collect and distribute the electrical matter ; he considered that, upon these principles, he had prciluced an artificial imitation of the electrical powers exhibited by the torpe.lo, the gymnotus, silurus, and tetro- don electricus ; but further discoveries demonstrated that there was a chemical agency 2;oing forward all the time, and that much de- pended on the action of the fluids on the metals, which are all natu- rally excellent conductors, but become non-conductors when oxy- dated, some being more easily oxydated than others. The voltaic pile is a simple galvanic combination ; a serifs of ihem forms a bat- tery. Tlio uiost perl^sct j^alvaaic eomtinalioii 13 held to «onsiat m MODERxN* HISTORY. 451 such an nrrangement of metals, exposed to the action of anoxyda- tin^ fluid, as are liable to very uiflerent chano:es ; the g^reatest and the least. In every simple galvanic combination, water is decom- posed, the oxygen euteiiug into union with the metal, and the hy- drogen being: evolved. , 6. Since this discovery, many have eng"ap;ed in electro-chemical researches, of the utmost importance, particularly our own coun- tryman, sir Humphrey Davy. His experiments on the alkalis and earths, and discovery of tbeir metallic nature, being: in themselves sufficient to show how wide a range of inquiry is opened to the ex- perimentalist, by this powerful agent ; it being reasonable to sup- pose, that there is scarcely any substance in nature, either above or below the surface of the earth,that is not subject, more or less, to the chemical agencies of electricity. Heretofore the observa- tions of the philosopher were chiclly, if not entirely confined to those sudden and violent changes which take place through any power- ful concentration of the electric tiuid. Ihese new discoveries seem to afibrd him a fair chance and opportunity of tracing some at least of those manilold changes which maj'- be brought about in a more quiet, tranquil, and insensible maniicr ; and which, in all proba- bility, are incessantly operating etfe els, hitherto little known and little suspected. It is obvious that medicine, chemistry, physiology, mineralogy, and geology, may all bo greatly assisted by a more per- fect knowledge of such curious and hitherto hidden processes of nature. Before the galvanic method of exciting electricity had been discovered, many very curious experiments had been made, to prove the influence of electricity on the atmoi^phere, magnetism, vegetation, muscular motion ; iu earthquakes, volcanoes, and other natural appearances and operations ; all of which arc likely to be- come better known, and further illustrated, by the application of the electro-chemical apparatus, which, since its first invention, has been already greatly improved. It may not be amiss to observe, that meteorology, as a particular branch of knowledge, has beer» greatly aided by all the improvements spoken of above in chemis- try and electricity, and in the invention of many instruments, very simple, but chiefly to be referred to the eighteenth century ; as the barometer, the thermometer, the hydrometer, the pluviameter, or rain-gaage, the anemometer, and electrometer already mentioned. Amongsftthe most eminent of those who have applied themselves to this study, we may reckon Messrs. Bouguer, i^aussure, De Luc, Gay-Lussac, Van-Marum, Ferguson, Cavallo, &c. ; Drs. Franklin, Blagden, and Priestley ; Messrs. Canton and Beccaria. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. 1. Mineralogy (^\xd geology are reasonably to be regarded as new sciences since the close of the seventeenth century, having been cultivated from that time in a manner totally new, and greatly ad- vanced by the progress made in other sciences, and the improvement of many arts. They arc both, however, still eo much in their in- 452 MODERN HISTORY. fancy, that a very brief account of what has taken place during the last and present century is the utmost that we can attempt. 2. It was not till towards the middle of the last centrry, that the modern scientific arrangements ofmiiierals began to occupy the attention of naturalists. That indefatigable observer, Linnaeus, did not overlook tlu's branch of natuial hi'-ti>ry, bul. introduced intn the twelfth edition of hi? '" Systema Naturse," published in 1708, a systematic view of " The Regnum Larideura," v.hich he divided into three classes, pcf;ff, minercp^ and fosnilio'^ maiiy orders, and fifty-four geneia. In 17P3, Gmelin republished the "• Systema Na- turae'' of liinnseus, >*ith alterations and improvements. 3. Linnaeus did not take the lead in such arrangements: in his o'wn work he notices ihe preceding systems of Bromelius, who pub- lished in 1730 ; Wallerius, in 1747 ; VVoltersdorf, in 1748 ; Cur- theuspr, in 1775 ; Justi, in 1757 ; Cronstedt, in 1758 ; and Vogel, in 1762. Linnaeus, however, has the credit of having first reduced the science of njincralogy into classes and orders, and \^'alleriu3 and himself undorlook the arduous and hazardous task of fixing the specific characters of minerals. Wallerius's pecond system appear- ed in 177^. In 17C1, VeltheiiT; published his system at Brunswick, and in 1782, Bergaman's made its first appearance at Leipsic. 4. Before this time the celebrs.tcd Werner, professor of mineralo- gy at Freyburg, in Saxony, had published a treatise on the classin- cation of minerals, according to iheir external characters, which was more fully illustrated in his notes to a translation of Cronstedt, which appeared in 1780. Werner has obtained a name amongst mineralogists and geologists, which stands deservedly hitch ; though he seems only to have prepared the v;ay for the observations and ex- periments of others, by an accumulation and description of facts and appearances, extremely curious and valuable. The fundamental principle in Werner's mineralogical arrangement, is the natural affinity of fossils, of which he enumerates three kinds : the chemi- cal, the oryctognostical, and the geognostic. JMr. Kirwan first intro- duced the Weruerian system into Britain, in his treatise on mineral- ogy, 1784.' 5. In 1773, the study of the regular or crystalline forms of mine- rals seemed to give a new turn to mineralogy, 'i'he first work of eminence in this line was the Crystallographie of the celebrated Rome de 1' Isle, which was made the basis of the system of Kauy, published in 1801. All mineral bodies are supposed by this sys- tem to be reduceable by mechanical division to an integrant 'mole- cule. From the form and component parts, it has been proposed to deduce the specific charact rs. The forms of the iyitegrant mole- cule are found to be three ; the tetrahedron, the triangular prism, and the parallelapiped. Much attention has been paid to this sys- tem, and it must be acknowledged that if the tests proposed were easily to be applied, and chemistry had proceeded so far as ihor- oughlv to enable us us to distinguish between the accidental and essential ingredients of minerals, as has been done in some remark- able instances Avith much effect, more direct means of distinguish- ing minerals could scarcely be devised : but as things stand at preseat, there seems to be too much geometry and cheniistry necea- M0DERN HISTORY. 453 <*ary to render such a system generally useful. In 1800, however, i\I. Chevenix, in the Annales de Chymie, gave great support to the system of Idauy, to the disparagement of that of Werner, to whom, nevertheless, he is careful to give due praise. Crystallization will loao; remain, probably, a subject of most curious research and in- quiry among geologists as well as mineralogists; the appearances of it in primitive rocks, leading immediately to the grand question concerning the operations of nre and water, which have divided the cultivators of this branch of study into the two parties of Pla- toyiists^ who contend for the igneous origin of those rocks, and the Js'tptunisfs^ w^ho refer them to an aqueous origin ; of the latter of which, was the celebrated Werner. 6. Many other systems, more or less connected with Werner's, have been made public, as Brochart's, Schraeisser's, 1795 ; Babing- ton''s, 1796 ; Brosrniarfs, (a very useful and valuable one,) Kidd's, 1809 ; Clarke's 1811 ; one by Mr. Arthur Aikin ; and, lastly, that of Berselius, a Swedish chemist, who has lately attempted to es- tablish a pure scientific system of mineralogy, by the application ©f the electro-chemical theory and the chemical proportions: as this system is closely connected with the latest discoveries and im- provements that have been made in chemistry and electricity, we shall here close our remarks on mineralogy, as a science by no means perfected, but open to further experiments and observations^ though very m-atevially advanced since the close of the seventeenth centu.-y. 7. Geology has arisen out of mineralogy ; and though no new science as to name, is entirely so according to the principles upon which it is nov/ conducted. Werner was for giving a neiv name at once to the new science, which was a judicious step to take, though it has not been generally adopted ; he called it Geognosie : it is fit, indeed, that it should be distinguished from the geology of old, which only ewgendered a parcel of fanciful theories of the earth, unfounded on facts. How the globe was formed, is a very different inquiry from that of " what has happened to it since it v.'as formed ?"*' modern geology is chielly conversant with the lat- ter ; to examine the interior of the earth, as far as it can be exam- ined, in order to understand the course of the revolutions and changes that have taken place, and of which we perceive the most manifest proofs : already very extraordinary circumstances have been discovered, indicative of successive changes, both before and after any organic beings existed, and therefore both before as well as after the globe became strictly habitable ; among the most curi- ous etfects plainly to be traced, may be reckoned the extensive operations of fire and water, the extinction of many species of ve- getables and animals, and the very extraordinary preservation of some of the latter, bespeaking a state of congelation, at the mo- ment of the catastrophe by which they appear to have been over- whelmed ; remains of animals in places where they no longer ex- ist, and the extraordinary absence of human teliquiae. The sci- ence of comparative anatomy has been of great use in these re- searches, in which nobody has distinguished himself more than M. Cuyier, secretary of the French Institute. I 454 MODERN HISTORY. 8. Many sreoloo-ical societies are forniingf, or have been already formed, in different parts of Europe and in America, and professor- ships founded in our universities ; but it will be long, perhaps, be- fore the several observations and discoveries makin"- in all parts of the world, can be so compared, classed, and methodized, as to bring out such results as may be admitted for certain and indisputable truths, in regard to the history of the earth and of man. In the mean while, we should consid^^r that geologists have always a field to work in, abounding in materials so applicalile to every useful art as to promise continual accessions of knowledge, not merely scientific, but of real practical utility. We ought not, perhaj)s to dismiss this part of our subject, with- but noticing the very curious geological map of England, publish- ed by our countryman, Mr. Smith, in 1815, a work of great merit and orio;inality. GEOGRAPHY. 1. We have mentioned geography^ also, as among those sciences ^•hich may be regarded as alni'^st n-^w, not only because it is since the middle of the last century that we have acquired a more cor- rect knowledge of the figure of the earth, but from the extraor- dinary manner in v/hich the whole terraqueous globe has been ex- plored of late, and the addidons consequently made to our former knowledge of its parts: the discoveries that have taken place since the close of the seventeenth century, have, according to the French g'eographers, presented to us two new quarters of the Avorld, and -tvhich have been denominated Australasia and Polynesia. The following account may serve to explain these additions to modern geography : 2. The former is held to contain, 1. New Holland, and all the islands between twenty degrees west, and between twenty and thirty degrees east of it. 2. New Guinea and the islands adja- cent. 3. New Britain, New Ireland, and the Solomon Isles. 4. New Caledonia and the New Hebrides. 5. New Zealand. 6. Van Dieman^s Land, which is separated from New Holland by Basse's strait or channel, and is about thirty leagues wide. 3. The division called Polynesia.^ consists of, 1. The Pelew Islands. 2. The Ladrone or iMarlan Islands. 3. The Carolines. 4. The Sandwich Islands. 5. The Marquesas, which are very nu- merous. 6. The Society Islands, about sixty or seventy in num- ber. 7. The Friendly Islands. 8. The Navigators'' Islands. The largest island in this division is Owhyhee, one of the Sandwich Islands, and the place where the celebrated circumnavigator. Cook, lost his life. 4. The voyages and travels conducive to these discoveries are too generally known to be much dwelt upon in such a work as the present. It will be sufRcient merely to mention the names of those who, since the years 1735 and 1736, (when the Spanish and French mathematicians undertook their celebrated missions to measure a degree of the meridian under the pole aud at the equator,) have MODERN HISTORY. 4^:5 been employed by the diderent powers of Europe on voyages of discovery. 5. Of the English \vc m^y enumerate : Byron, 1764 — 1766. Mr. Harrison^'s time-piece applied to the discovery of the longitude. Wall is and Carteret, 17G6. Sailed together, but soon separated ; Otaheite and other islands discovered. Cook, three voyages : — First voyai;e, 1768 — 1771. The transit of Venus observed at Matavai, in Otaheite, June, 1769. Nev/ Holland, and New Zealand explored. Second voyage, 1772 — 1775, in search of a southern continent. Third voyage, 1776 — 1780, to discover a northern passage ; fatal to captain Cook, who was killed at Owhyhee. Portloch and Dixon, 1785—1788; principally to establish the fur trade, at Nootka Sound. Vancouver, 1790 — 1795, to explore the northern passage. Uu- successfril. Phipps, (lord Mulgrave,) north pole, 1773. Lord ."vlacartney, China, 1792. Lord Amherst, ditto. 1816, 1817. Of the French we may reckon, BouA-ainville, 1766—1768. La Pey rouse, 17G5 — 1788, supposed to have perislie^^. D'Entricasteux, in search of La Peyrouse. Marchapd, 1790—1792. The Spaniards appear to have employed Malasplna, an Italian, 1790, to explore distant seas and countries ; but his voyage was not published. These were all of them voyages, not merely de- voted to geographical discoveries, but in which competent persons, in almost every branch of science, were concerned, to take account of whatever should oHer itself to their notice, or be likely to con- tribute, in any mavnier whatsoever, to the general advancement of human knowledge ; astronomy, botany, zoology, meteorology, physi- ology, inincralogy, and geology. Trade and commerce, navigation and the arts, were constantly in the way of receiving illustration or improvement, duri-ig these bold attempts to advance the geogra- phy of the world, and solve the difliculties which still seemed to hang about thai interesting and injportant science. The names of Banks, Solander, Green, Sparrman, Forster and Anderson, will descend to the remotest posterity, with that of Cook. 6. War often, indeed, interrupted these pursuits, but the eigh- teenth century has the credit of affording the following strong marks of the progress of civilization and liberal ideas. It Avas during a continental war, that a combination of learned and scientific persons, F.nglish, French, Russians, Danes and Swedes, in the year 176 1, laying aside their animosities, undertook the arduous task of observing, for astronomical and geographical purposes, a transit of Venus over the sun. It was in the midst of war, that France, in a very public and formrd manner, suspended ^all hostilities that could in any manner affect the progress or safe return of our English navigator, Cook ; and both the French and 45G MODERN HISTOilV. Englisin, in the course of their voyages of discovery, are known to )iave evinced a spirit of philanthropy and humanity very opposite to what had passed oh such occasions in former ages. The improve- ment of every barbarous and savage people they might visit, -was among the first thoughts of those who were engaged in these new advent'ires. Some remarkable directions to this effect, given by Louis Xv^J. himself to La Peyrouse, will forever do honour to the memory of that benign bat ill- fated monarch. The English circum- navigators were not less attentive to these things, but continually sought the amelioration of the savage condition of the people they visited ; too often, hoAvever, quite in vain, or without any lasting effect. 7. It would be utterly out of our power to enter into any details of the numerous researches that have been made in all parts of the globu, since; the spirit of discovery was first excited, which has so remarlra,bly distinguished the period of which we are treating. In the north and south, east and west, of both hemispheres, almost every region has been explored, and every information obtained i'lat can throw light on the history either of the earth or of man. 'ilie two peninsulas of India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia, the northern and the southern, and, in some instances, the interior parts of Africa ; Syria, Greece, and Turkey; Norway, Lapland, Siberia, and even the wilds of Tartary and Kamschatka ; New Spain ; the back settlements of North America, and North America itself; Iceland, Greenland, &:c., have all been visited by persons of science and learning, and are almost as well known now, as the most frequented and civilized parts of Europe ; all that can be ascertained of their history ; all that the ren^ains of antiquity could unfold to the eye of curiosity ; all the animals, plants, minerals, they produce ; have been so amply examined, described, classed, and nrethodized, that it may reasonably be sup}>osed, that in very many instances, ail that can be knov/n is knov/n. Among the tra- vels enumerated, the scholar, in particular, has been in no ordinary degree gratified by the visits that have been recently paid to mo- dern Greece, and by the able, classical, and scientific descriptions which have been given of that very interesting portion of the con- tinent, by lord Byron, Mr. Hobhousc, major l^e^ke, Dr. Holland^ sir William Drummond, Dr. Clark, lord Aberdeen, sir William Gell, and others of our own countrymen ; and by M. Pouqueville, who having accompanied Buonaparte to Egypt, at the close of the last century, was gimong the first to explore those celebratecV re- gions. 8. The new means of inquiry an 1 investigation, have so kept pace with the wide field lately opened to the world, that even in- dividuals have been found compet^nt to bring home with them from the most remote countries, ample information upon all the great points that can possibly interest the curiosity of man ; a greater instance of this, could not perhaps, be produced, than in the case of a living traveller and author, the celebrated M. Huniboidt* of Prussia, whose multifarious researches, at a very early age, m almost all parts of the globe, have added more to the generalstoick of kaov/ledge in the compass of a very few year?, than could have MODERN IIlSTORYo 45 i T>een attained by ages of inquiry in times at all distant. In speak- ing of this very celebrated traveller, whose accounts of Spanish America in particular have lately excited so much attention, it is ilt also to notice the removal of many restraints and impediments in the way of such researches, fhrongli the more liberal policy of the mother country ; so far from expressing, as would have been the case in former timce, any jealousy of such a visit to her colo- nies, M. Humboldt obtained the express approbation and concur- rence of the Spanish court. The removal of the court of Portugal to the Brazils in the year 1807, has also proved favourable in no small degree to the prosecution of such inquiries ; the king hav- ing, Avith considerable liberality, patronized such undertakings. 9. The sovereigns of Russia, from the time of Peter the great^, through a natural desire of acquiring a correct knowledge of their very extended dominions, buried, at the close of the seventeenth century, in profound ignorance and obscurity, were careful to em- ploy proper persons to make such discoveries, who so ably dischar- ged their commissions, that before the end of the eighteenth cen- tury, a very celebrated German professor declared that they had amassed such a quantity of materials, entirely new, for the hi?tory of the three kingdoms of nature, for the theory of the earth, for ru- ral economy, and for an infinity of other objects relative to the arts and sciences, as would employ many learned men for several years, in their proper arrangement and classification. The names of Beering and Spangberg, Pallas, Gmelin, Muller, Chappe D'Aute- roche, Georgi, Lepechin, are well known, as among those who have most distinguished themselves in these northern 3,nd north-eastern expeditions. Among the improvements connected with the sci- ence of geography, and its progress, we should be glad if we rould do justice to the very learned and eminent persons v/ho have, in a manner unknown before, devoted their time to the more correct delineation of the face of the globe, in the construction of maps and charts, which seem to be advancing rapidly to the high- est degree of perfection. M. d'Anville, whos.^ labours in this way are so well known, may be justly considered perhaps as having* given the first stimulus in this line of study, to the geographers of modern times. 10. As the science of astronomy is in many instances connected with geography, -n^e may here notice tlie changes that have takea place in regard to the former, during the last and present centu- ries ; which, however, being only in the way of addition upon the established principles of the Copernican and Newtonian systems, are not such as can be said to have altered the character of the science itself; and, indeed, the additions that have been made are very easily enumerated,though they must have cosi much pains, and are the results of very curious observations and intricate calcula- tions, on the part of those to whom we stand indebted for them. 11. We have added five planets to those formerly known as be- longing to our solar system. The Georgium Sidus, or Uranus, dis- covered by the celerated sir W. Herschel, 1781, and its satellites, 1787; Ceres, by M. Piazzi, at Palermo, 1801 ; Pallas, by Dr. Gi- bers, at Bremen^ 1802; Juno, by M. Harding of Lilienllial, in 39 458 ^ MODERN HISTORY. 1801; and Vesta, by "Dr. Gibers, 1C07. To the former of these celebrated observers we owe a most enlarg'ed knowledge of the celestial regions, particularly of the nebulous parts, from the ap- plication of hia new telescopes of most extraordinary powers, which have enabled us to ascertain that the milky-way, and other similar appearances in the heavens, are a congeries of fixed stars, in stra- ta, prodig-iously numerous, and exhibiting very curious phenomena. Of the immense amount of these stars, which may still have be- yond them an unfathomable and unexplorable abyss of the same kind, we may form some conjecture from the following statement of sir William himself, who found by his guages, ia the year 1792, that in the small space of forty-one minutes, no less than 238,000 stars, in the via lactea^ had passed through the field of view -in his telescope. Sir William places our own system in the via lactea. He has discovered, besides many new stars, double and triple stars, and what he calls changing stars. 12. We have learned to correct our ideas goncerning the sub- stance of the body of the sun, heretofore considered as entirely of an igneous nature. Though its rays contribute largely to the pro- duction of heat on the earth's surface, many \"ery obvious appear- ances ought sooner to have convinced us of what now seems clearly to be understood, that the sun is not a body of fire. 13. The science of astronomy has been much promoted during the time of which v/e have been treating, by the improvement or mvention of many curious and necessary instruments, and the building and establishment of regular observatories ; and practical astronomy has been carried to a very high pitch, by the talents and ingenuity of many very eminent persons in France, Britain, Ger- many, Italy, Szc. • as M. Clairault, d'Alembert, De ia Caille, La Place, La Grange, Bailly, De la Lande, &c. ; Bradley, Maskelyn, Hersche], Hutton, Robison, Ferguson, Vince, &c. ; Euler, Mayer, Boda, Bianchinij'Boscovich, Frisi, Piozzi, 6zc. ■'' 14. We have spoken elsewhere of the travels, expressly under- taken in 1753, to measure in the northern and southern parts of the world, a degree of the meridian, by which the figure of the earth was ascertained to be an oblate spheroid, according to the conjectures of sir Isaac Newton, and contrary to the assertions of the Cassinis and Bernouilli, v/ho had for some time insisted that the polar diameter was longer than the equatorial : all the experi- ments seemed to concur in proving the reverse. The steps that were taken, in the years 1761 and" 1769, to determine the paral- lax ol the sun, by observing the transit of Venus, afford another strong proof of the extraordinary zeal and resolution with which science was cultivated during the period of which we have been treating. On the recommendation of Dr. Halley, who had obser- ved a transit of Mercury at St. Helena, but who did not expect to- live to see a transit of Venus, and who in fact died in 1742, mathe- maticians and astronomers were sent out in the years before men- tioned, both from France and England. 15. Among the modern inventions appertaining to astronomy, besides the instruments absolutely necessary to correct observa- tion, v/e may reckon those curious and elegant machines, exhibit- MODERN HISTORY. 45^ ing the motions and phenomena of ouv solar system and its several parts; our orreries, planetariums, tellurians, lunariums, &c., all of which may be considered as extremely interesting and in^eniouIarmontel, Condiilac, Raynal, Volney, (to name but a few,) should by some means or other be embodied and consolidated, that the whole of their several thoughts and observa- tions on different subjects might be presented to the world in a mass. This was the origin of that great and voluminous under- taking, the Encyclopedie, spoken of before, planned by Diderot and D^\lembert ; and which, to say the least of it, seemed to be a treasure of universal science, far more comprehensive, at least, than any thing of the kind before attempted, being not confined to what might strictly be called the arts and sciences, but ex- iciuiing to every question of government,civil economy, and finance. 14. The Dictionnaire F.ncyclopedique, am id-it many faults and tAt;-avag;ai:ces, cont^iintd iiudoulLcdly much important matter. MODERN HISTORY'. 463 written m so agreeable a style, as to be admirably fitted to excite and promote a thirst after general knowledg^c, universal inquiry and investigation, a confidence in private judgment, and a preju- dice against every thing that appeared to have no other support than custom and authority. ^Vheat mig-ht be torn up Avith the tares, and tares often sown instead of corn : but it mr.st be ac- knowledged that we stand indebted to the projectors of this work for the detection and extirpation of many errors, and the powerful stimulus given by their uioveraents to the spirit of free inquiry and useful research. 15. The persons engaged in it have been so generally called philosophers, and have been styled such in so many histories of the French revolution, that it is alaiost necessary to observe that the greater part of them bore little resemblance to those who had heretofore been dignified with that title. I he regent, uuke of Or- leans, though dissolute in his habits of liie, wajj^man of taste, talent, and information ; so that the savans of FflPbe, who had heretofore been a retired order of men, became about this period the life of society, and the ornaments of the highest circles in the metropolib. Some few, iridccd, still kept a distance from the court, but, generally speaking, such was the state of things during the regency ; and afterwards, when Lewis XV. fell into that disgrace- ful course of life, which clouded his latt(!r days, and subjected him and his mistresses to the censure of the clergy, even Voltaire, whom the king personally disliked, and the Plncyclopsedists, as enemies to the clergy, were taken into favour. 'J hey were often indeed dismissed again, but never entirely driven frnm court. 16. This change of public opinion, even in the highest circles, introduced the learned into places where they never appeared be- fore, and gave them a new character. \\ hile the influence which the men of letters thus began to acquire in society, obliged the no- blesse to change their habits also, and to mingle with those wh(^ before fornied a distinct class ; it obliged them also to cultivate learning themselves, and even the females found it necessary to become more or less philosophical. 17. In tlie mean while some of these modern philosophers had other European courts set open to them, particularly in the north- ern parts of Europe, where a greater degree of liberty in the article of opinion already j)rc vailed, very different from the bigoted and ^'achiaveliau principles of Rome and Italy, which had hitherto A-ne sway. Catherine II. of Russia, and Frederic of Prussia, ihrough a laudable desire probably of im proving and enlightening their scmi-burbarous dominions, invited thither some of the most busy of the French literati; but with little judgment or discrimi- nation. Frederic, besides Voltaire, D'Alembert, and Maupertius, jave free admisssion, and even encouragement, to the atheist La Methrie, the marquis D'Argens, and the abbe de Frades ; and Catherine received, and greatly patronized in his latter years, the celebrated Diderot. Thus, with the knowledge and learning which the new philosophers really possessed, scepticism and infidelity were spread far and wide, and there was a s&d mixture; cf darkiie»3 and illuuiii;i4ticn iii all Vhey taught. 461 MODERN HISTORY. 18. The French revolution has been attributed to the literati, OT philosophers of those days ; but we should greatly err, if we v/ere to suppose that they contemplated generally such a dissolution of things as afterwards took place ; many, indeed, were dead be- fore the revolution commenced. Neither Voltaire nor Montesquieu ■were republicans ; the former had a supreme contempt for the populace; and, by his flattery of Catherine II. and the marchioness de Pompadour, would seem to have had little of the republican spirit in him. Indeed it has been asserted of him, that '' he loved kicg-3.'" Raynal is said to have shuddered when he saw his own violent imprecations on despotism and tyranny brought into action* Some, however, undoubtedly threw aside all restraints, openly de- clared themselves deists, atheists, (fee, and to their abominable blasphemy and infidelity we may reasonably impute many of the evils which marked those dreadful times : but, in truth, the his- tory of ojnnions ceases to be connected after a short time with the French re vo|j||on. It very soon became a struggle t>f passions and private intereWs, and at length terminated in a catastrophe as fatal to the literati as to the throne and the altar. That fatal instru- ment, the guillofine^ so much spoken of at that time, was stained with the blood of some of those very persons who had contributed most to the advancement of knowledge, and the propagation of liberal ideas. 19. The impulse, however, was now given to two of the most curious, ingenious, and inquisitive nations of Europe, and nothing could possibly exceed the rapielity with which every branch of sci- ence has since been cultivated ; in Britain, constantly with more steadiness, gravity, and judgment, than in France, though not with more zeal and activity. Ihe Germans, in the mean while, in the northern parts more particularly, seem to have devoted their time to studies of rather a different description, being known chiefly for works of intense research and most profound learning. Experi- mental philosophy, natural history, and chemistrj', have indeed been also cultivated by them with considerable success; but in works of fancy, wit and humour, they have not acquired so much credit as their neighbours. A singular disposition to indulge in tales of wonder, chivalry, and knight-errantry, has been manifested in most of their works of imagiiiation ; and in metaphysics, they have produced systems, which, while tbey betray an extraordinary talent for the investigation of such abstruse subjects, are certainly more to be admired for their ingenuity than their utility. 20. No country in Europe, perhaps, ran have undergone greater improvements, during the period of which we have been treating, than Russia ; but her improvement has not been so much progressive as sudden. The mighty genius of Feter the great determiiied him to introduce his own extensive empire nt once into the commonwealth of Europe ; and, instead of waiting to give his subjects a capacity for im.proving themselves, as other nations had <^one, he eagerly adopt- ed all that had been discovered elsewhere, and converted his rude people into a civilized nation, just as far as such methods could reach. He taught them to adopt and imitate what they were as yet ift no condition to invent, or «Yea improve, and kft it to his MODERN HISTORY. 465 taccessors to fill up the g:aps that might remain unprovided for at the time of his death. His subjects, or rather slaves, obeyed his dictates, and have continued since to horrow from their neighbours, till tlicy have obtained such a sufficiency of good things, as to be no longer regarded as a rude or ignorant people, though all the other countries of Europe had the start of them till the very close of the seventeenth century. 21. Peter the great had, in a small compass of time, some very xveak and some very wise successors. The former have not been iufl'ered to stand long in the way of the latter, and though their removal has savoured little of the civilization and improvement of ■which we have been speaking, it cannot be denied that Russia has been prevented by many singular occurrences from relapsing into her former state of rudeness and barbarity. The extremes of magnifi- cence and rudeness, indeed, are too often found to meet ; and the middle class has by no means yet acquired that importance in so- ciety which is so essential to every well-regulated government. The state of thinus still exhibits too much of the old narrow line of distinction, of lords and vassals; nevertheles?, Russia has obtained much, and advanced considerably, \Mipre, little more than a cen- tury ago, wolves fed and sought their prey, an immense and mag;- nificent city and metropolis nov/ stands, thronged with inhabitants from all parts oi the globe ; but perhaps it would be w^eli if she Would consent to step back and give a solid and more natural base to lier acquirements. The system of adoption and imitation has brought her to a state rather of superficial than of real greatness. She has had her universiiies before her schools ; but it could not well be otherwise in so sudden an improvement: much remains to be done before the nation at large, in its several relations, social and political, can be said to be really and effectually civilized. 22. Sweden, during the eighteenth century, produced many eminent men, and contributed largely to the advancement of sci- ence. It may be sufficient to mention, «> proof of this, the names of Linnaius, Wallerius, Cronstadt, Bergman, Scheele, Thunberg, and Sparrman. 23. 'i'he Danes have not been idle, but have encouraged in many ways the promotion of literature and philosophy ; mathematics and astronomy, zoology, botany, and other sciences, have been cultiva- ted with good success ; and many splendid works are extant, that reflect great credit on the spirit and ardour of the government, as well as of individuals, and the learned societies instituted and es.* l-abiished there. DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS. I. Many new discoveries and inventions of lasting benefit to mankind, as well as many most essential improvements of old inven- tions and discoveries, have marked the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ; some of the most remarkable of which it will be sufficient merely to name, as they are already become too commou and fa~ 466 MODERN HISTORY. Jniliar to need explanation ; such as inoculation^ and much more recently, vaccination ; steam-cngi?ies and steam-boats ; printing of linen and cotton cloths ; paper for rooms ; figured silks and carpets ; spinning machines ; stereotype printing, and lithographic engraving ; musical tijpes ; porcelain and pottery ; particularly Welch and iron- stone china ; lightning conductors ; time-pieces ; pneumatic^ elec- trical^ and galvanic apparatus ; life-boats and li/e-preservers ; the speaking-trumpet^ safety-lamp^ telegraphs^ gas-lights^ panoramas^ balloons^ reflecting and achromatic telescopes^ concave mirrors^ with rarious other optical and astronomical instruments. i'. Laws and governments have been advancing; towards a greater degree of perfection, though in many countries very slowly, and jnanife^ly under difficulties and impediments which time only can remove. The French revolution opened people's eyes to ancient abuses ; but by inducing all the evils and horrors of anarchy, did ty no means accomplish so much for real liberty, as might harve been wished and expected ; like other tumultuary revolutions, it terminated in a military despotism, and its effects on the continent'of Kurope have been hitherto very partial, and of no very great impor- tance as to the actual amelioration of things. Still we may justly" enumerate among the changes conducive to the future benefit, comfort, and happiness of mankind, the steps taking in several states to restore or establish the representative system of govern- ment ; the dissolution of many monastic institutions, and feudal privileges ; the check that has been given to arbitrary iMiprisoij.m,.mt, torture, the horrors of the inquisition, and the African slave trade; the improvements that have taken place, principally through the interposition of our benevolent countrymaii, Mr. Howard, in the management of prisons, and the extraordinary steps lately taken, especially in Vne British dominions, for the better education of the poor and their instruction in religion. 3. It would be \'ain indeed to attempt to enumerate the astonish- ing additions that have been made within these few years, to the public establishments for the promotion of knowledge, the advance- ment of professional skill, and the relief of the necessities of man- kind. Philosophical societies of all descriptions have been formed in various parts, under the most favourable circumstances of support and encouragement. The propagation of Christianity has been at- tended to, and promoted with extraordinary zeal, not only by indi- viduals, but by rniseionary and Bible societies, far too numerous to, , mention. Every description of medical, chirurgical, and other as-%t sistance, has been furnished to the poor, by a most extraordinary increase of hospitals and infirmaries, dispensaries, asylums, and charity-schools. The naval and military professions have had the benefit conferred on them of new and distinct academics, including a charitable provision for the children of those who have perished in either service. The improved state of chemistry and mechanical skill, has advanced many arts to a very high degree of perfection, and much assisted both the manufacturing and agricultural indus- trj' ; nor should we omit to mention, as among the improvements of latter years, by which our own country in particular has been ben- efitted in the highest degree, the amendment of the public roadsi MODERN HISTORY. 467 the increased means and facilities of public conveyance and ccm- liiunication, and the advaucemcnt of inland navi^^ation. RELIGION, 1. In reg;ard to religion, from the close of the seventeenth century to the year 1B20, "tre may remark that paganism continues to pre- vail over the greater part of j^sia, Africa, and the new discovered islands, as well as among the Indians of America, North and South, (in the settlements of the Spaniards and Portuguese, the Roman Catholic religion has been introduced of course). Mahometani*ni prevails in some parts of India, in Persia, Arabia, Egypt, the States of Barbary, Syria, and Turkc3% The Jews continue dispersed over ever3/ part of the world, but in a state and condition far better than was formerly the case ; in Europe they are no longer exposed to cruel and wanton acts of oppression and persecution, and in some countries they have obtained important privileges. In Abyssinia the majority of the people are said to be christians, and throughout the whole of the European settlements of North America, Christian- ity is the received religion, though under a variety of denomina- tions, — Congregationalisfs, Presbyterians, Dutch reformed church, Episcopalians, Baptists, Quakers, Methodists, Roman Catholics, German Lutherans, Gern^.an Calvinists, IMoravians, Tunkers, Mennonists, Universal ists, Swedenborgians, and Shakers. 2. In regard to religion or cliristiauity, on th^ continent of Eu- rope, it has been already shown what rude attacks it had to sus- tain, during the course and progress of the French revolution. Deism and even atheisni were openly avowed in their national as- semblies ; the immortality of the soul and resurrection of the body scouted at, and death pronounced to be an etc-mal sleep. Pagan- ism was in some degree revived, the tree of liberty substituted for the cross, and the goddess of reason elevated above the God of Christians. During the directorial and consular govermneuts, however, Catholicism was restored, but under very altered circum- stances ; without its accompaniments of monasteries and nunneries, and very much detached from the sway aud authority of the papal see. 3. The protestant churches, of all sects and denominations, have done much, as v^as before observed, by missions in every direction, to spread the knowledge of Christianity, but seldom with that cor- diality and unanimity that might have been wished, and which could not have failed to have given greater eflect to their exertions. Among those who have appeared most zealous, though not most discreet, xve may reckon the Moravians and Methodisfs : two sects or parties, v/hosc most avowed object it has been to stem the tor- rent'of vice and corruption, prevailing amongst professed christians. The methodists have g*-nerally pretended to be of the church of England, though in many material respects they appear to have deviated from it, both in doctrine and discipline, and have for some time been divided amongst themselves into two- great parties, one espousing the Calviiiistic. the other the Anninian, tenets. It is 468 MODERN HISTORY. common to refer the origin of Methodism to the year 1729, when tvie two brothers, John and Charles Wesley, took the lead of those who adhered to the Anninian doctrines. Mr. Georc:e Whitefield, who joined them in 1735, became, in 1741, the head of the Calvinistic division. 4. The modern Moravians take their date from the year 1722, when they first settled a,t Hernhrit, in Upper Lusatia, on the estates of Nicholas Lewis, count of Zinzendorf, who, m 1735, became their bishop. They profess to receive the Augsbur"^ confession ;' are meek and quiet in their habits and principles, but have at times adopted a strange phraseology, v/hich was thoug^ht to affect their m'^ral character, and procured them many enemies. As mission- aries they have been extremely active, particularly in the "West Indies and America: they profess to be the remains of the Hussites. 5. The emperor Joseph II. relieved his protestant subjects of all denominations from many galling restrictions, and greatly abridg-ed the power of the pope. Many catholic princes, even the ecclesias- tical stales, followed his example in various particulars. In favor- ing-, however, an unlimited freedom of opinion at such a moment, he opened the door to the introduction of deistical principles, and facilitated the formation of a sect of illuminati, which, duringf the courte and progress of the French revolution, taught and dissem- inated doctrines adverse in the highest degree to the order of civil society, the rights of property, and the christian faith. 6. The papal a^ilhority, durii;:^ the latter yearS' of the period under discussion, has been greatly abridg:ed in all countries hereto- fore siibjcct to it ; even in Spain, Portuj^al, Italy, and Sicily ; nor is it likely to be recovered, notwithstanding the attempts lately made to restore partially the order of Jesuits and the inquisition. Of the indignities offered to ihc last and present pope by the French we have spoken elsewhere. At one time they so entirely took the reins of government at Rome into their own hands, that the pope and cardinals were obliged to take flight, in which situation Pius VI. 9ied. His successor, Pius VII., since the final overthrow of Buona- parte, has lived in peace and quietness, in his capital, exercising, notwithstanding his recal of the Jesuits, a very tolerant and inof- fensive sway. It i«, however, to be lamented, that, in the instance cf the pope, as well as of the king of Naples, and others, their re- sentment of the I'rench usurpations on their return to their domin- ions has been carried so far as to abrogate every ordi)iance of the French Emperor, however wise or salutary, and even to undo what had been begun, manifestly tending to the improvement of their re- spective countries. HISTORY, POLITE LITERATURE, FINE ARTS, &c. 1. We feel ourselves rather at a loss to give any satisfactory ac- count of the progress that has been made in the bianches of knowl- edge pointed out by the title of this section : it would far exceed our Umiis to attempt to etiumerate the many historical woi-.ks that have MODERN HISTORY. 469 seen published during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, or to go into any regular discussion'of the particularmerits of thesev- cral poets, painters, musicians, philosophers, philologists, SsLc. &c., who may be said to have distinguished themselves in the period of which we have been treating. To do this with any degree of justice, we should be obliged, perhaps, to divide them into many classes, and assign to the several individuals of the long list that might be produced, their respective ranks and stations, frora the highest degree of perfection to mediocrity, or lower ; we should have to draw a comparison between them and their predecessors, and consider, in various points of view, e\^ery a.dvance they had made in their different callings, studies, and pursuits : but such a discussion wo^ild be quite unsuitable to a work like the present. Many of those, indeed, who have contributed to enlarge the boun- daries of knowledge during tlie eighteenth and nineteenth centu- ries, have been already mentioned ; but there are still some names which almost demand our notice, before we entirely close this volume. It should, however, be observed, that many very emi- nent persons, who lived till long after the commencement of the eighteenth century, belong to a different period, having been the ornaments of what is called the age of Louis XI V^ It may be best, perhaps, to arrange the few we feel bound to select from the great mass of authors, artists, &c., according to their countries. 2. In Germany the following may be said to have acquired a high reputation: Mascov, Mosheim, Pfeffel, Herder, Muller, in. History \ Schiller in History and Tragedy \ Klopstock, Gesner, "Wieland, Kotzebue, in Poetry and Dramatic writing ; in Painting^ Mengs ; Ingenhouz in Chemistry^ and Bode in Astronomy ; Plandel, Oluck, Haydn, and Mozart, in Music ; Lavater in the fanciful science of Physiognomy. Even the names of Mesmer, Mainaduc, Gall, and Spurzheim, may require to be mentioned, as having for some time, in an extraordinary manner, amazed the ignorant, and deceived the credulous, by their strange systems of Animal Mag" netism and Craniology. 3. In France, Camlet, Montfaucon, the Count de Caylus, Rellin, Vertot, Rapin, Goguet, Millot, Raynal, Mably, and the Abbe Bar- Ihelemy, particularly distinguished themselves in the line of History and Antiquities ; to whom we may now add, perhaps with reasoa and justice, Mad. de Stael, and M. La Cretelle. M. Bailly, one of the victims of the Revolution, rendered himself conspicuous by liis very curious History of Astronomy, and other works. Many of }iis contemporaries, who applied themselves to other branches of science, have been already mentioned. Some of them also fell by the hands of the public executioner, during the dreadful period of the Revolution. Their ra©st celebarted painter^ however, David, escaped, but with mere reputation as an artist than as a man ; for his own proceedings, as a revolutionist, were base and sanguinarj', - 4. In Great Britain, we have to boast, in the line of History, of the names of Robertson, Watson, Hume, Henry, Gibbon, Lyttel- ton. Goldsmith, Roscoe, Russell, Gillies, Ferguson, Stuart, Mitford, Belsham, Adolphus, Coxe, &c. &c. ; in Laio^ of Sir William Blacks- 'Cton'^, whdse Commentaries, foreiegaiice and perspicuity of dictioiU 49 470 MODERN HISTORK. stand unrivalled. Bolin^broke and Swift are justly held to liavfe improved the English lang^uag-e, in the two main articles of euerg-y T\nd beauty. The style of Dr. Johnson is less chaste, though, per- haps, equally forcible. The name of Adam Smith will probably descend to the latest posterity, for his inasterly work on the wealth of nation?, a subject in which he seems almost to have taken the lead, as an original writer. In Painting^ the names of Hogarth, Reynolds, and West, stand high for originality, taste, conception, and expression ; in Metaphysics^ Hume, Hartley, Berkeley, Reid, Baxter, and Priestley, have distine^uished themselves. To the Potts already mentioned we must add Gay, Young, Shenstone, Collins, Gray, Mason, Cowper, Crabbe, Scott, Byron; ^asKovcUsis^ Richardson, Smollett, Fielding, Burney, Edge worth, kc. Garrick and Siddons have conferred immortal honour on the En»-lish Stage, 5. Italy, though labouring under great disadvantages, has been by no means deficient in learned and scientific persons, since the close of the seventeenth century. In history and antiquities, in poetry, dramatic v/orks, natural history, drawing, engraving, and sculpture, the followinij names richly deserve to be delivered dowa to posterity: Baronius, Giannone, Muratori, Mallei, Metastasio, Goldoni, Alg.w-otti, Goi:zI, Tiraboschi, Beccaria, Spallanzani, Al- feeri, Bartolozzi, Cipriani, Canova. France and Italy seem to have a joint claim to a living authof of considerable fame, M. Simonde;j de Sismondi. TREATY OF VIENNA, 1815. As Europe, generally si)eaking, may be said to continue at this moment in the state in which it was left by the above treaty, we shall conclude with abrief sketch of the changes that to^k place at that memorable period. The duchy of Warsaw was given to the emperor of Russia, with permision to assume the titles of czar and king of Poland, some parts, however, being secured to Prussia, under the title of grand Duchy of Posen. 1 he town of Cracow, in Little Poland, on the banks of the Vistula, was declared to be for ever a free, independent, and strictly neutral city, under the pro- tection of Austria, Russia, and Prussia. The king of Saxony was confirmed in his regal titles, but at the price of many important cessions to Prussia, principally that of the duchy of Saxony. Prus- sia, besides, recovered Dantzic, Quedlinburg, and many 'other places ; yielding, however, to the kii}g of Great Britain, now be- come king of Hanover also, many lordships and principalities, in other parts of Germany. A new Germanic confederation was established, the members of which were declared to be equal iu their rights, and bound to render to each other mutual assistance. Their affairs to be confided, first to a federative diet, amounting to seventeen votes ; and, 2dly, to a general assembly, forming sixty- nine votes ; who are to decide upon all regulations touching the fundamental laws of the confederation. 1'he diet to assemble at Frankfort on the Maine, and Austria to preside. The three impor- 'tant fortresses of landau, Mentz, and Luxembourg, being assigned over to tliQ confederation. •UNITED &TATE&. 471 ii. The united provinces of the Netherlands, late the Belgic staters, were formed into a kingdom,, jointly with those of Holland, tn favour of the house of Orange Nassau, late stadtholders ; and to the same sovereign was granted the duchy of Luxembourg", with the title of grand duke. 3. The integrity of the nineteen cantons of Switzerland was ac- knowledged, and guaranteed ; and Geneva, for the first time, con- stituted a canton of the Helvetic confederacy. The states of Genoa were annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia, in the place of many renunciations on the part of the latter power, principally in favour of Geneva. The gi and duchy of Tuscany was settled on the archduke Ferdinand of Austria ; and king Ferdinand tlie IVth was restored to the sovereignty of the two Sicilies. PART FOURTH. SECTION J. ^ DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. ^* IT w;is somswhat natural that the distinguished author o^, the Elements of History should almost exclusively confine himself to the great events of the old world. It will he observed that the discovery of America by Columbus embraces only a short space, (^see Section" XLI.) and that North America, the first settlement of the United States, the revolution and severance of those states from the crown of Great Britain, and the more recent dispute of the States with Great Britain, are dismissed by both authors in a few words. (See Section XLII, and Sec. Vill. and XX. of the Continu- ation.) This consideration will suggest the propriety of a more- particular narration of the events which relate to the United States, for whose particular use the present edition of this work is in- tended. 2. The honour of accomplishing an exploit so sublime as that of the discovery of this western hemisphere, was gained by Christo- pher Columbus. This great man, a native of Genoa, descended &Qa?. a respectable family, was weii qualified by nature and edun a few months half their original number was swept away, and the remaindtr left sickly and dejected. 10. 1 he government soon devolved on captain John Smith, who was originally one of the council appointed by the king, but who had unjusttly been deprived of his authority by the colonists. This gentleman, who was emphatically the father of Virginia, was a native of liincolnshire : he had distinguished himself in feats of courage and chivalry, particularly while engaged in the Hun- garian army against the Turks. His undaunted temper, deeply tinctured with the romantic spirit of the times, was happily adapt- ed to the present trying situation of the colony. Soon after lie had been called as their leader, while hun'ing in the w^oods, he was attacked by two hundred Indians, who poured in upon him a con- tinued flight of arrows. After performing wonderful feats, he sunk in the unequal contest, and was made a prisoner. Charmed by his arts and his valour, they released him from captivity. Afterwards he was beset by three hundred more of th se ferocious people, pur- sued into a marsh, and, after he had thrown away his arms, which he could no longer use by reason of the cold, he was taken and carried in triumph to Powhatan, the principal chieftain of Virginia. Here the doom of death was pronounced upon him, and he was about to receive the fatal blow, when an angel of pity, in the per- son of the fayoL Ate daughter of Powhatan, interposed iahis behaif. CNITED STATES. 4 i 7 This amiable child (not then thirteen years of aga) not only pre- vented the execution of Smith by her entreaties and tears, but caused him to be set at liberty, and sent him, from time to tim^^ seasonable presents of provisions. 11. The colony was now reduced to thirty-eight persons. Soon after, ho-n-ever, succours arrived from England, and an addition of one hundred new planters was added to their number. But the culture of the land, and other useful emp,loyments, were neglect- ed, in the futile idea that gold had been discovered issuing from a small stream which emptied into Jam ^3 river. The effects of the de- lusion were soon severely felt in the prospect of approaching famine* In the hope of obtaining relief, Smith, in a small open boat, and with a, feeble crew, went in search of aid from the Indians. In twa dllferent excursions, that occupied upwarrls of four months,he visited all the countries on the eastern and western shores of the Chesa.- peake bay, entering the principal cre-eks, and tracing the rivers as far as tlicir falls, and obtained a supply of food for the suffering- colony. In these tours, he sailed upwards of three thousand mile?, amidst almost incredible hardships, and brought back with him an account of that large tract of country, now comprehended in the two states of Virginia and Maryland, so full and correct, that his map is the original from which all subsequent delineations have been foraied. 12. About this period, the old charter being found inconvenient and oppressive, anew charter was granted by James, by which ths boundaries of the colony were enlarged ; the council in Virginia was abolished, and the government vested entliiely in one residing in London, the members of which were to be chosen by the proprie- tors, and these to nominate a governor, who was to reside in V^ir- ginia and carry their orders into execution. Lord Delaware was at first appointed to this office ; but as this nobleman cov;ld nr^t im- mediately leave England, the power was vested in sir Thomas Gates and sir tJecrge Somers, who were despatched from England with five hundred planters. A violent hurricane separated the fleet on their way ; and the ships without the officers only arrived at James Town. Presently every thing was reduced to a state of anarchy ; captain Smith, at once the shield and the sword of the colony, be- ing disabled by an accidental explosion of gun-powder, ihe wretch- edness which followed is beyond descripti-n •, and the arrival of Gates and Somers, who had been cast away on one of the Ber- muda islands, althaugh it saved the wretched survivors at James Town from immediate death, was unaoie to preserve them uniii the autumn. Nothing remained but to seek immediate assistance j and v/ith only sixteen days' provision, the colony set sail, in hopes of reaching the banks of Newfoundland, and getting relief. But before they had arrived at the mouth of the river, they met lord Delaware, who brought a large supply of sustenance, new settlers, and every thing requisite either for cultivation or defence. Under the skilful administration of this nobleman, the colony began, once more, to assume a promising appearance. He was succeeded by ■ " - - _ . of friendship with the 478 UNITED STATES. Powhataus, one oi' the most powerful and warlike tribes of Vir- ginia. 13. Pocahontas, the amis-ble female who had preserved the life of captam Smith, frequently visited the English settlements ; and during this intercourse, she v.-asbetrayed on board a vessel, and there imprisoned. Her father, who loved her with the most ardent affection, was obliged to discontinue hostilities on such conditions as were dictated by his treacherous enemy. She was afterwards solicited by Mr. Rolfo, a respectable planter, in marriage. Pow- hatan consc:nte^d, and the marriag^e was celebrated with extraor- dinary pomp. From this time, the most friendly intercourse sub- sisted between the colonists and the Indians. Rolfe and his wife went to England, where, by the introduction of captain Smith, Pocahontas was received by the court with the respect due to b.er birth ; she was instructed in the christian relig^ion, and publicly baptized. About returning to America, Pocahontas died at Gravesend •, leaving- one son, from whom are sprung some of the most respectable families of '\^ir£;inia. 14. llitiicrto no individual right of property in lands was estab- lished : all v.as holdcu and dealt out in common. But the governor, in 1616, divided a considerable es.trnt of land into small lots, and granted one of these f'^r ever to each individual ; from which period the colony rapidly extended. I'he culture of tobacco, since be- come the great staple of Virginia, was introduced ; but tlie eager demand for the article in England caused ioc ^oms time a scarcity of f .od in the colony. 15. About this time, a Dutch ship from the coast of Guinea, having sailed up James river, sold to the jianters a part of her ne- groes ; which race has been augmented in Virginia by successive impoi'tations and by natural increase, till it forms more than one *third part of the population. 16. In 1619, sir George Yeardley, the governor, impelled by that popular spirit of freedom which has ever been the character- istic of Americans, called the first general assembly which v.-as held m Virginia. At this time eleven corporations sent representa- tives to the convention, which was permited to assume legislative power, the natural privilege of man. T))c supreme authority was lodged partly in the governor, partly in a council of state appointed by the company, and in a general assembly, composed of repre- sentatives of the people. A natural eiTect of the hai py change was -an increase of agriculture. The comi any extended the trade of the colony to fioliand and other countries. 7'h*s measure pro- duced the first difference of sentiment between the colony and the parent state. Jealous at seeing a commodity, (tobacco) for which the demand was daily increasing, conducted to foreign ports be- yond its control, thereby causing a diminution, of revenue, the lat- ter endeavoured to check this colonial enterprise, without consid- ering that the restraint was a breach of the sacred principles of justice. 17. The suspicion cf the monarch James was soon roused, and the charter, by decision of the king'^s bench, was declared forfeit, and the company dissolved. Charles I. adopted all his father's znai- U?!|^TED 5T.VTES, ^7^ ims in rcspecL to Virs-iain, which during- a great part of his reig-n knew no other law than the royal will. But the colonists resist- ing-, Charles yielded to the popular voice : he recalled Harvey, the obnoxioMs j^overnor, and appointed sir William Berkeley, a man of great abilities, prudent, virtuous, and popular; whose induerjce was directed in tinally resloriug to the people much the sanie share ia the g-overnment as they had enjoyed previously 4.0 the revoca- tion of the charter. 18. After thfc execution of the king, and the establishment of the commomvealLh under Cromwell, through the influence of the gover- nor, the' colonists continued to adhere to their loyalty to the kin^. In 16jI, the iinglish commonwealth took vitoroas measu'.'esto re- duce the Virginians to obedience. A numerous squadron, with land forces was depalched for this purpose. Berkeley resisted, but was unable to maintain an unequal contest, and was soon defeat- ed. The people were, hov/ever, allowed to retain the privileges of citizens ; but Bcrkeh-y retired as' a private citizen. Cromweii's parliament framed acts prohibiting all intercourse between the colonies and foreig'i states, and allowing; no trade but in English ships. On the death of Mathews, the last governor appointed by Cromwell, the \^irgiiiians burst out in new violence. 1 hoy called sir VNilliam Berkeley from his retirement, boldly erected the royal standard, and proclaimed Charles IT, eon of their late monarch, to be their lawful sovereign. Charles was, however, soon placed on the throne, and the V^irginians were thus saved from the chastise- ment to which Lhcy were exposed by their previous declaration in his favour. But the new king ^nd parliament rewarded their fidelity by increasing the restraints upon colonial commerce ! 13. The number of inhabitants in Virginia in 108", exceeded sixty-thousand, and its popilation in the previous twenty-eight years was doutbled. In 1691, ciie college of William and .Vlary was founded. To aid in its erectiua aiid support, the sovereigns whose name it bears, gave nearly two thousand pounds out of thtir pri- vate purse, and granted twenty thousand acres of land, and a dut-y on tobacco, for its further encouragement. SECTION III. ^^ SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW HAMPSHIRE, MAINE, MARY- LAND, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, AND GEORGIA. 1. The partition of the rreat territory of Virginia into North and South colonies has alrt a.iy been mentioned. Stiii more feeble were the operations of the I'lyuiouth company, to whoni was assigned the conduct of the northern division, alihough animated by the zeal of air .Tohn Popham, chief j^olice of England, sir Ferdiuando Gorges, and other public spirited gcutlemea of the west. 4^00 UNITED STA-^S. ^, In the year 1G07, the tame in vrhich James Town^vas foiind- rd, a small settlement v/as commenced on the river Sagadahoc, iiGvv called the Kennebec ; but this was soon abandoned. J?ome fishing vessels visited Cape Cod several tiaies ; among them, one cominanded by captain Smith, who returned with a high- v;ron^fet description of the coast and country : exhibiting a map of the bays, harbours, &:c., on which he inscribed " New England 0' the prince of Wales, delighted with the representations of Smith, immediately confirmed the name. 3. To the operations of religion, rather than to the desire of pe- cuniary emolument, are the various settlements of Kew England indebted for their origin. The sacred rights of conscience aad of private judgment wore not then properly understood •, nor was the charity and mutual forbearance taught christians by their divine master practised in any country. Every church employed the hand of power in supporting its own doctrines, and opposing the tenets of another. In reforming the rituals and exterior symbols of the church of England, Elizabeth, lest by too wide a departure fiom the Romish church she might alann the populace, had allowed many of the ancient ceremonies to remain unaltered. With several of these a large number of her subjects being dissatisfieJ, they wished to address their Creator accordi-ig to their own opinions, but were subjected to very rigorous penaltie?. Those who dissented from the established church obtained the general name of Puri- fanx, a term applied to them because they wished for a pv-rer form of discipline and worship. Amoag the most popular and strenuous declaimers against the cstal)li£hed church were the Brownists, a sect formed about 15C1, by Robert Brown, who afterwards re- nounced his principles of separation, and took orders in the church against which he had so loudly declaimed. The Rev. John Robin- son, the father of the first settlement of New England, is said to have been a follower of Erown, but afterwards renounced the prin- ciples of the Brownists, and became the founder of a new sect, de- nominated Indtpnidenis.^ Mr. Robinson alHrmed that all christian congregations were so many indepenr'pnt religious societies, that liadaright to be governed by thcij own laws, independent of any foreign jurisdiction. Being persecuted ia England, he, with many others embracing his opinions, removed to Holland, where they formed churches upon their own principles. Remaining there some years, the society were desirous to remove to some other place : they turned their thoughts to America, and applied to James, wh* * By severfil respectable historians of (his conntt r, the IndepcndetUs have been connected \vith the Brownists. between the opinions and practi«c3 of whom waa a wide dirte ence. The Independents excelled the Brownists in the moderation ot" ilieir sentiments, and in the order of their discipline. They po«!se»s€d candour and charity, believing tiiat true rehgion and sohd piety migt'.t llourfsh in those coaimunitics urrder the jurisdiction of bishops, or the governments of synods or presbyterie«. They approved o^a regular tuinistrv. While the Brownists allowed prcini-=cuously all ranks and orders of men to teach In public, the Independent* reqiiir^d^ ^'roper examination -flit tbQ capacity and laleats of their teacherg. UNITED STATES. 481 thoug-h he refused to give them any positive assurance of toleration, seems to have intimated some promise of passive indulgence. 4. They readily procured a tract of land from tlie Plymouth com- pany. One hundred and twenty persons sailed from riym^uth in 1620, their destination being: Hudson's river: by some treachery of the Dutch, who then contemplated and afterwards effected a set- tlement at that place, they were carried to the north, and landed on cape Cod, the eleventh of November of that year. They chose for their residence a place called by the Indians Patuxet, to which they gave the name of New Plymouth. Before spring, half their number v/ere cut off by famine or disease. In a few days after they landed, captain Standi ?h was engaged in skirmishing with the In- dians ; and the many disasters -which followed, together with the implacable hostility of the Indians, w^hich always has subsisted, are perhaps more owing to the iniprudence of the first settlers, than to the bad disposition of the natives. 5. This colon)'', like that of Virginia, at first held their goods and property in common ; and their progress was retarded as well by this circumstance, as by the impulse of imaginary inspiration, which reg-nlated all their actions. At the end of ten years, these well meaning people, when they became incorporated with tl^ieir more powerful neighbours of Massachusetts bay, did not exceed three hundred. 6. In the year 1629, Mr. White, a non-conformist minister at Dorchester, having fbrm;d an association, purchased from the Ply- mouth company a tract extending in length from three miles nortli of Merrimack river to three miles south of Charles river, and in breadth from the Atlantic to the Southern ocean ; and obtainr^d a charter from Charles, similar to that given to the two Virg-iniaii companies by James. Five ships were fitted out, onboard of which were embarked upwards of three hundred souls, amontrst whom were several eminent non-conforming' ministers. On their arrival ihey found the remnant of a small party that had left England the preceding year, under the conduct of Mr. Endicott, who had been appointed by his companions deputy governor. They were settled at a place called by the Indians Naumkeag-, to which he hadg-iven the scripture name of Salem. The new colonists immediately form- ed a church, elected a pastor, teacher, and elder, disregarding the intentions of the king. They disencumbered their public worship of every suparfluous ceremony, and reduced it to the lowest standard of calvinistic simplicity. But much as we respect that noble spirit which enabled them to part with their native soil, we must condemn the persecuting spirit \jf the colonists themselves. Some ©f the colonists, retaining a high Tcneration for the ritual of the church of England, refused" to join the colonial state establishment, and assembled separately to wor- ship : Endicott called before him two of the principal offenders,' expelled them from the colony, and sent them home in the first ships returning to England. 7. I'he government of the colony was soon transferred to Ameri" ca, and vested in those members of the company who should reside there, John Winthrop was appointed governor, znd Thomas Dud- 41 4o2 VKITED STATES. tey depuly s:6rf rnor, ^vith eighteen assistant?. In the course of the next year, 1630, fifteen hundred persons arrived in Massachusetts from England, amone^st whom were several distinguished families, some of them in ea«y, and others in affluent circumstances; and Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, Roxbury, and other towns, were setiled. 8. The first (general court, held ?i Charlestown, vent'ired to de- vial e from their charter in a matter of o^reat moment: a law was passed, declaririg: that none should be freemen, or be entitled to any share in the government, except thn^e who had been received as members of the church. The fanatical spirit continued to in- crease. A minister of Salem, named Rotrer William?, having con- ceived an aversion to the cross of St. George, a symbol in the Eng- lisli standard, declaimed a^'ainst it with great vehemence, as a relic of superstition ; and Endicott, in a transport of zeal, cut out the cross from the cu«ign displayed before the governor"'s gate. This frivolous matter divided the colony ; but the matter was at length compromised by retaining the cross in the ensigns of forts and ves- sels, and erasing it from the colours of the militia. 9. In 1G36, "VN illiams was banished fron> Salem ; and, accompa- 33ied by many of his hearers, the exile went south, purchased a tract of land of the natives, to which he gave the name of Provi- dence ; and a Mr. Coddintrt.ni, with seventy-six others, exiled from Boston, bought a fertile island on Narragansot bay, that acquired the name of PhoiU-Island. Mr. C'oddington embraced the senti- ments of the Quakers, or »irnds • he received a. charter from the British parliament, in which it waF ordered, that " none were ever lobe molested for any difTcrcnce of opinion in religious matters:"* yet, the very fir?t assembly convnnrd under this authority, exclu- ded Roman catholics from votiug at elections, and from every office in the government ! 10. To similar causes the state of Connecticut is indebted for it? origin. Mr. ffooker, a J'avourite minister of Massachusetts, with about one hundr^'d familiis, after a fatiguing march, settled on-thc western sidf. of the river Connecticut, and laid the foundation of Hartford, Springfield, and Weathersfield. Their right to this ter- ritory was disputed by the Dutch, who had settled at the mouth of the Hudson, and by the lords Say-and-Seal and IJrook, whohad commenced the settlement called Jr>ay-Brook. The Dutch were aoon expelled , and the other? uniting with the colony, all were incorporated by a royal charter. 11. New-Hampshire was first settled in the spring of 1623, un- der the patronage of sir f^erdinando Gorges, captain John Mason, and several others, who sent over David Thorapssn, a Scot, Edward and William Hilton, and a number of people, furnished with the requisite supplies. One company landed at a place called Little Harbour ; the others settled at Dover. I\lr. Wheelwright, a cler- g§'man banished from Massachusetts, founded Exeter, in 1638. 12. Maine was not permanently settled until 1635. Gorges obtained a grant of this territory, which remained under its own government until 1652, when its soil and jurisdiction, as far as the intddle of Casco bay, was claimed by Massachusetts. UNITED STATES. 433 13. The miitnal hostility of the English aiid Indiana cojmnenced with the first settlement ; but it tvhs not until the year 1637, that a systematic warfare was begun. I'he Pequods, who broug;ht into the field more than a thousand warriors, wc-re exterminated in a few months by the combined troops of IMassachuaetts and Connecti- cut. In the nisrht, the Pcquods were attacked, near the head of Mistic, by the Connecticut troops and Narraganset Indians, com- manded by caj»taia Mason : in a few moments, five or^six hundred lay t^aspin^ in their blood, or were silent in the arms of death. " The darkness, of the forest," observes a New-England author, ** the blaze jf the dwellings, the ghastly looks of the dead, the gfroaus of tjie dying, the shrieks of the women and children, the yells of the friendly savages, presented a scene of sublimity and terror indescribably dreadful."" 14. In 1643, an alliance for mutual defence was formed between the New-En0. Al^out the middle of the seventeenth century, some emi- grants, chiefly from Vir2;inin, b<.;gan a settlement in the county of j\lbemarle ; and soon afterwards, another establi.^hment was com- menced at cape J'ear, by* adventurers from Massachusetts. 'I hese were held together by the laws of nature, without any written code, for some time. Cut Charles II. compelled the colonists to becnoie subser^'ient to his rule, and granted to lord (Jlarendon and others the tract of land which now composes Notth and ifouth Carolina: perfect freedom in religion was granted in the charter. The iirst settlement was placed under the command of sir vVilliani Berkele)', governor of Virghiia, who assigned his authority to Mr. Dnimmond. In 1761, tlie proprietors extended their settlements to the banks of Ashley and Cooper rivers, where Charleston now stands ; and eventually this became the separate state of South Carolina. The culture of cotton commenced here in 1700, and that of indigo in 1748. 21. New- York was first settled by the Dutch, and was hf them hfcld for about half a century. It was, however, claimed by England as the first discoverer. P'^^fer Stuyvesant, the third and last Dutch governor, began his administration in 1647, and was tlis- tinguished no less for his iidelity than his vigilance. In 1664 the colony surrendered to the English ; and the whole territory now comprising New-York, New-Jersey, together v.ilh Pennsylvania, Delaware, and a part of Connecticut, was asssigned by Charles IL to hi? brother the duke of York. The Dutch inhabitants remain- ed ; Stuyvesant retained his estate, and died in the colony. 'J'he country was governed by the duke's olRcers uutii 16JJ8 ; w*hen representatives of the people were allowed a voice iu the legis- lature. 22. In 1664, the duke of York sold that part of his grant now called New-Jersey to lord Ikikeley and sir Geoige Carteret- It had previously been settled by Hollanders, Swedes, and Danes. 1 he county of Bergen was the first inhabited ; and very soon the towns of Elizabeth, ISewaik, Middleton and Shrewsbury were settled. The college, originally established at Newark, was, iu 1748, finally fixed at Princeton : Its chief benefactor was governor Belchero Among the governors of New-Jersey was the celebrated Barclay, author of the Apology for the Quakers, of which sect a large num- ber had established themselves there. 23. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, son of a dis- tinguished admiral of the same nahie. From principle this excel- lent man joined the Quakers, theM an obscure and persecuted sect<, As one of the members, and a preacher, Penn was repeatedly im- prisoned ; but he plead his own cause with great boldness, and procured hi^ own acfjuittal from an independent y\rY. "who y,'itht 41* ' 48B UNITED STATES. himself were imprisoned until an unjust penalty was paid, in 1681, he purchased of Charles the tract now called Pennsylvania, for an ' acquittance of sixteen thousand pounds due to his father ; and soon after, he obtained from the duke of York a conveyance of the town of New-Castle, with the country which now forms the state of Delaware. The f.rst colony, who were chiefly of his *own sect, "began their settlement above the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers. In August, 1682, this amiable man embarked, ■with about tv/o thousand emii^rants, and in October, arrived in the Delav/arc. Besides his own people, he was aided in the first set- tlement by Swoiles, Dutch, Finlandcrs, and other Eng^lish. The iirst k-^islative assembly was h"ld at Chester, at that time called Upland. Amojitr the first laws was one which declared " that none, acknowledging- one God, and living peaceably in society, should be molested for his opinions or his practice ; nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any ministr}- whatever.'^ Philadelphia was bcg-un in 16J;3 ; and in 1609, it contained seven hundred houses, and al'out four tliousand inhabitants. Durino; the first sevent/ years of this setllement. no instance occurred of the Indians killing un- armed people. The wise and good man, Penn, made every exer- tion and sacrifice to promote the peace and prosperity of his fa- vourite colony ; and between the persecution he had to encounter in England and the clitficulties in Pennsylvania, his life was a con- *tinued scene of vexation — his private fortune was materially injured hy the advfinces he made — he was harassed by his creditors, and oblig^ed to undergfo a temporary deprivation of his personal liberty. He died in London, in 1718, leaving- an inheritance to his children, ultimately of immensp value, which they enjoyed until the revolu- tion, wbt-n it was assigned to the commonwealth for an equitable sum of money. In the interval between 1730 and the war of the revolution, in this state, there was a great influx of emigrants, })fincipally from Germany and Ireland ; and these people early brought thy useful arts and manufactures into Pennsylvania. To the Germans, she is indebted for the spinning and weaving of linen and woollen cloibs; to the Irish, for various trades indispensable to useful agriculture. 24. Delaware was first settled in 1627, by the Swedes and Fin- landers, and the colony bore the naj;jfc of New-Sweden. It was afterwards conquered by the Dutch from New-York, and remained subservi^-nt to that colony until it passed into the hands of the English. ^25. Cieorgria was the last settled of the thirteen colonies .that revolted from Critain. It receivt-d its name fiom Georg-e II. In T^ovember, 1732, one hundred and sixteen persons embarked at Gravesend, under general Oglethorpe ; and early in the ensuing- year arrived at Charleston. Fro)n this port they proceeded to their <^estined territory, and laid the foundation of Savannah. The Spaniards laid claim to this territory, and made extensive prepara- tions to attack it. But through the finesse of Oglethorpe in prac- tising an innocent deception, their plans were defeated. For many years, this settlement languished from a variety of causes. Gene- •IaI Oglethorpe was diitin^uisiied as a iuldier, a statesman and a UNITED STATES. 487 philanthropist. At the beginRin^- of the American revolution, he was offered the command of the L.lLish army in America, but this from principle he declined. After the contest was decided, he died at the ag-e of ninety-seven years, being the oldest general in the British service. SECTION IV. WAR WITH FRANCE, AND CONQUEST OF CANADA. DIS^. PUTES WITH GREAT BRITAIN, AND WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. 1. Nearly coeval with the first En°•li^h settlement at James Town, in Virginia, was the establishi.aent of a French colony at Quebec, on the ?reat river St. Lawrence. The question of bounda- ry between Eng-fand and France, had long: been a subject of una- vailing neg-otiation. France, beside having Canada in the north, had also discovered and settled on Mississippi in the south ; and in 1753, she strove, by a military chain, the links of which were to be formed by outposts stretching alou^ the Ohio and the lakes, to connect these two extremities, and thus restrain the British col- onists to a small territory on the .Atlantic ocean, if not entirely ( *- pel them from the country. The question of jurisdiction remained to be decided by the sword. Repeated complaints of violence having come to the ears of the governor of Virginia, he determined to send a suitable person to the French commandant at fort Du Quesne, (now Pittsburt,h) demanding the reason of his hostile pro- ceivdhigs, and insisting that he should evacuate the fort which he had recently erected. For this arduous undertaking, George Washington, a major of militia,Hhen little more than twenty-one years of"ag§, oifered his servict s, 'i he execution of this task seems to have be'en accomplished with all that prudence and couragre w^hich were so eminently displayed by this hero in afterlife. At imminent peril, being waylaid and fired at by Indians, he not only faithfully accomplished the errar;d on which he had been sent, but gained extensive inffirmation ot the distances and bearings of pla- ces, and of the number, size and strength of nearly all the enemy's fortresses. 2. The re[>ly of the French commani^^r brought matters to a crisis ; and in 1754, the Virginian assembly organized a regiment, to support the claims of the" English over the territory in dispute: of this regiment a Mr, Fry was appointed colonel, and the young Washington lieutenant colonel. Colonel F»y dying, the command of the whole devolved on Washington. The French having been strongly reinforced, Washington was obliged to fall back, was at- tacked in works which he had not time to complete, and, after a brave defence, was obliged to capitulate ; the enemy allowing him to march out with the honours of war, and to retire unmolested to the inhabited par's of Virginia. 3. The next year, 1755, general Braddock was sent from Europe to Virginia, with two regiments, where he was joiaed by as many 488 IJN'ITED STATES. provincials as made liis force amount to twenty-two hiuulreJ. BradJock was a brave man, but lacked that courtesy which could conciliate the Americans, and (hat modesty which should profit from the knowledge of those \\^o better knew the ground over which he was to pass, and (he mode of French and Indian warfare, than himself. Tie pushed on incautinuhly, until, within a few miles effort Du Queane, he fell into an anduuh of French and Indians. In a short time, ^\ asbintcton, who acted as aid to Eraddock, and whose duty called him to be on Ivorseback, was the only person mounteci who was left alive, or not v.'ounded. The van of the ar- my was forced back, and the whole thrown into confusion. The slaughter was dreadful. Eraddock was mortally wounded. Vv hat was remarkable, the provincial troops preserved their order, and covered the retreat under ^\ ashington ; while the regulars broke their ranks, and could not be rallied. 4. Three successive campaigns procured nothing but expense- and disappointment to the Fnglish. "With an inferior force, the French had succeedf d in every campaign ; and gloomy apprehen- sions were entertained as to the destiny of the British colonies. But in 1756, a chan.sje of ministry in England took place. \\ illiam Fitt was placed at the helm. To despair, succeeded hope ; and to hope, victory. Supplies Were granted with liberality, and given ^Tvithont rcluctanct ; soldiers enli.^ed freely, and fought with en- thusiasm. In a short time, the French were dispossessed, not only of all the territories iu dii-pute, but of Quebec, and her ancient province of Canada ; so that all which remained to her of her nu- merous settlements in North America, was New-Orleans, with a (ew plantations on the ^li^si<-ippi. Full of youth and spirit, the gallant general ^^"olfe, who led the European and colonial troops to vic- tory, fell before the walls of Quebec, in the moment of success. In 1762, hostilities havinc; raged nearly eight year?, a geneial peace was concluded : France ceded Canada, aud -pain reliuquish- ed, as the price of recovering Havana, which had been taken by the British, both the Floridas to Great tVitain. 5. Although the American colonies had principally contributed to the great extension of the power of Great Britain, co-operating with the vigilance of more than four hundred cruisers on the sea, and furniching more than twenty-four thousand soldiers ; yet the latter regarded her plantations as mere instruments in her bauds. On the contrary, the high sentiments of liberty and independence nurtured in the colonics from their local situation and habits, were increased by the removal of hostile neighbours. Ideas favourable to independence increased ; and whilst combustible materials were collecting in the new world, a brand to enkindle them was prepar- ing in the old. 6. In 1765, under the auspices of the minister, George Grenville, the obnoxious stamp act passed in the British parliament ; by which the instruments oi writing in daily use were to be null and void, unless executed on paper or parcliment stamped with a specilic duty: law documents, leases, deeds and indentures, newspapers and advertisements, almanacs and pamphlets, executed and print- ed io America — all must contribute to the Urilieh treasury. Tke UNITED STATES. " 489 bill did not pass without the decided opposition of patriots in the British leg-islature, who foretold the result, and who declared that, the colonies beings planted by British oppression, and havii.g- as- sisted the mother countrj", that the mother had no claim on the child to derive from it a revenue. The bill did not take effect unlil seven months after its passac:e ; thus giving the colonists an opportunity of leisurely examining and viewing the subject on every side. They were struck with silent consternation ; but the voice of op- position was Arst heard in Virginia. Patrick Henry, on the 20th ]May, brought into the house of burgesses in that colony a number of resolutions, which were adopted, and which concluded with de- claring, " 1 hat every individual, who, by speaking or acting, should assert or maintain, that any person or body of men, except tjie general assembly of the province, had any right to impose tax- ation there, should l)e deemed an enemy to his majesty's colony.^' These resolutions were immediately disseniinated through the other provinces ; the tongues and the pens of well-informed men labour- ed in the holy cause — the fire of liberty blazed forth from the press. The assembly of Massachusetts passed a resolution in fa- vour of a continental congress, and fixed a day for its meeting at New-Yorlc, in October. The other colonies, with the exception of four, accepted this invitation, and assembled at the appointed place. TJere they agreed on a declaration of their rights. There w-as, hovv'cver, a considt rable decree of timidity evinced in this congress. The boldest and most impressive arguments were offered by James Otis of IN'lasrachusetts. 7. The i'lPAe arrived for the act to take effect ; and the aversion to it was expressed in still stronger teims throughout the colonies. By a common consent, its provisions were disregarded, and business was conducted, in defiance of the parliament, as if no stamp act was in existence: associations were forme STATES. .491 xvlth the trial by jury, and .rcnclfring the inhahltaiits passive agents In the hands of powrr. 12. The flame was now kindled in every breast ; and as-socia- tiona were formed, and committees of correspondence were estab- lished, which produced a tniity of thoii«:ht and action throughout the colonies. General Ga^re, the British commander-in-cliief, ar- rived in Boston, in 1774, v/ith more troops, with th^- avoAved inten- tion of dragooning; the refractory Rostonians into compliance. A general sympathy was excited for the snflering inhabitants of Bos- ton : addresses poured in from all quarters; Marblehead ofiered to the Boston merchants the use of her wharves, and Salem refused to adopt the trade, the offer of which had been prolfered as a temp- tation to her cupidity. AfTairs rapidly approached a crisis. ; The preparations for offeore and defence, induced general Gage to for- tify Boston, and to seize on the powder lodged at the arsenal at Charlestown. 13. In September, deputies from most of the colonies met in con- gress, at Philadelphia. These delegates approved of the conduct of the people of Massachusetts ; wrote a letter to general Gas;e *, pub- lished a declaration of rights ; formed an association not to import or use British g-oods ; sent a petition to the king oi Great Britain ; ail address to the inhabitants of that kingdom ; another to the in- habitants of Cajiada ; and another to the inhabitants of the colo- nies. In the beginning of the next year, (1775) was passed the fishery hill, by wliich the northern colonies v/cre forbidden to fish on the banks of Newfiund'and for a certain time. This bore hard upon the commerce of these colonies, which Vfas in a great measure iipported by the fishery. 14. Soon afier, another bill was passed, v/hich restrained the trade of the middle and southern colonies to Great Britain,Jreland, and the West Indies, except under certain conditions. These re- peated acts of op]ircssion on the part of Great Britain, alienated tlie afiections of America from her parent and sovereign, and pro- duced a combined opposition to the whole system of taxation. Pre- parations began to be made to oppose by force the execution of these acts of parliament. l"he militia of the country were trained to the use of arms— great encouragement was given to the manu- facture of gunpowder, and measures were taken to obtain all kinds of military stores. 15. Tn I^'ebruary, colonel Leslie was sent with a detachment of troops from Boston, to take possession of some cannon at Salem. But the people had intelligence of the design — took up the draw- bridge in that town, and prevented the troops fiora passing, until the cannon were secured ; so that the expedition failed. In April, colonel vSmith and major Pitcairn Avere sent with a body of troops, to destroy the military stores which had been collected at Concord, about twenty miles from Boston. At Lexington tlie militia were collected on a green, to oj)pose the incursion of the British forces. These were fired upon by the British troops, and ei^ht men killed on the spot. 16. The militia were dispersed, and the troops proceeded -to Concord'; where they destroyed a few slOi'ei?, But on their retura 492 UNITED STATES. tlipy -^ere incessantly harassed by the Americans, who, inflamed with just resentmrnt, fired npon them from houses and fences, and pursued them to Boston, litre was spilt the^tr^/ blood in the war which sever.d America from the British empire. Lexivgton open- ed the first scene of the great drama, which, in its prog^ress, exhib- ited the raobt illustrious characters and events, and closed with a revolution, equally g-lnrions kr the actors, and important in its consequences to the human race. This battle roused all America. The militia collected from all quarters, and Boston was in a few days besieged by twt-nty thcueand rnen. A stop was put to all in- tcrcoursp^between the town and country, and the inhabitants were redijced to great Vvant of prcAisi^ns. General Gage promised to let the people- depart, if they M';nild d. bvcv up their arms. The people complied ; but v.hfn the irenf^ral had obtained their arms, the perfidious vretch refused to let the people go. 17. In the mean time, a small number of m'^m, under the com- mand of colonel Allen and colonel Faston, without any public or- ders, surprised and took the British garrison at Ticonderos;a, with- out 4he 1 ss of a man. 18. In .June followin;:, our troops attempted to fortify Bunker's hill, which lie? in Chailestown, and 1>\U a mile and a half from Boston. They had, duri'io^ the nisht, thrown up a small breast- work, which sheltered thein from the lire of the British caimon. But the next morning, the Britisl) army was sent to drive them from the hill ; and landing under covv r of their cannon, they set fire to Charlcstown, which was consumed, aiid marched to attack our ti'oops in the entrenchraf.;:fs. A severe enga c'esses, crossed lake George, and encamped upon the banks of the Hudson, near Saratoga. IJis progress was however checked by the defeat of colonel Baum, near Benulngton, in which the undisci- plined militia of Vermont, under general Stark, displayed unex- ampled bravery, and captured almost the whole detachment. The militia assembled ffom all parts of New-England, to stop the pro- gress of general Burgoyne. These, with the regular ^roops, formed a respectable army, commanded by general Gates. After two se- vere actions, in which the generals Lincoln and Arnold, behaved with uncommon gallantry, and were wounded, general Burgoyne found himself enclosed with brave troops, and was forced to sur- render his whole army, amoauting to ten thousand men, into the hands of the Americans. This happened in October. This event diffused a universal joy over America, and laid a' foundation for the treaty with France. 31. But before these transactions, the main body of the British forces had embarked at New- York, sailed up the Chesapeake, and landed at the head of Elk river. The army soon began their march for Philadelphia. General Washington had determined (o opjiose fthem, and tor this purpose made a stand upon the heights near Brandywijie creek. Here the armies engaged, and the Americans were overpowered, and suffered great los-^. The enemy soon pur- sued their march, and took possession of Philadelphia towards the close of September. Not long after, the two armies were again engaged at Germantqv/n, and in the beginning of the action the Americans had the advantage ; b'lt by some unlucky accident, the fortune of the day was turned in favour of the British. Both sides suffered considerable loss ; on the side of the Americans was gene- ral Nash. 32. In an attack upon the forts at Mud Island and Red Bank, the Hessians were unsuccessful, and their commander, colonel Do- riop, killed. The British also lost the Augusta, a ship of the line. But the feats were afterwards taken, and the navigation of the Del- aware opened. General Washington was reinforced with part of the troops which had composed the northern army, under general Gates ; and both armies rt^tired to winter quarters. 33. In October, the same month in which gener.T.! Burgoyne was takrn at '^'aratoga, general V'aughan, with a small fleet, sailed up Hudson^'s river, and wantonly liurnt Kingston, a beaui.iful Dutch settlement, on the west side of the river, 24. The beginning of the next year (i778) wds distinguished by a treaty of alliance between France and America ; by which-we obtained a powerful and generous ally. Wht'n the Erjglish minis- try were informed that this treaty was on foot, tliey despatched commissioners to America, to attempt a reconciliation. But Ameri- ca would not now accept their offers. Early in the spring, count de Estaipg, with a fleet of fifteen sail of the line, v/as sent by the court of I'rance to assist America. 35. General Howe left the army, and returned to England ; the command then devolved upon sir Henry Clinton. In June, the British army l^ft Philadelphia, and marched for New-York. Oa >ngress, that negotiations for a peace had been commenced at Paris. On the uOih of November, 1782, the j)rovisional articles of peace were signed at Paris, by which Great Britain acknowledg- rd the independence and sovereignty of the United States of _i.aicrica. 4C. Thus ended a long and arduous conflict, in which Great Dritain expended near an hunth-edmiliioas of money, with an hun- dred thousand lives, and won nothing. America endured every cru^ City and distress frtm her enemies ; lost many lives, aiid much Treasure — but delivered herself from a foreign domimon, ai.d gained a rank among the nctions of the eaith. UNITED STATi:?> 499 SECTION y. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE AND NATIONAL GO- VERNMENTS. WARS WITH TRH^OLI AND THE LN- DIANS, &c. 1. The important revolution, as regardint; the dependancc of the colonies on Great Britain, required a corresponding alteration in their g-overnments. Conventions were assembled in the several states, which formed nevv' constitutions, agreeably to the strictest principles of republicanism ; retaining whatever was desirable in the original institutions, and at the same time providing additional security against tyranny or corruptiotj. The statute and comni*n laws of England, I'ormerly observed in the provincial courts of jus- tice, remain in practice as before. 'J'he inestimable privilege, of British origin, a trial by jury ; ihe freedom of the press, with the additional right, in case of prosecuting for a lil.'el, of giving the truth in evidence ; are declared to be fundamt ntal principles. The governmeats resemble, in their principal organization, the frame of the new federal constitution: they consist of three branches — a governor, a senate, and a lower house of representatives. The elec- tions recur frequently, in which, in most oi the states, extry free- man has a right to jjarticipate. 2. As yet the general go^^nment was not established on a solid foundation. The articles of union, formed under the pressure of common danger, were found inadequate to the efficient maitage- ment of the same country in the selfish periods of peace and secu- rity. No efficient fund had 4)een provided to pay the interest of the lialicnal debt, and the public securities fell to one tenth of their nominal value. An open resistance to the government was made in Mfissachusetts, headed by a person of the name of Shays. iJan- ger increased, and the friends of rational liberty beca.me alarmed. o. 'Ihe Virginia legislature, in r/87, in accordance with a mo- tion made by James Madison, made a proposal to the other states to meet in convention for the purpose of digesting a system of go- vernment equal to the exigencies of the union. 1 be convention met at Philadelphia, ISlay 25^ 17i;7, and chose general Washingtoa president ; and, after deliberating with closed doors until the 17th September, agreed on a new plan of national government: this was afterv/ards ratified by the several states. ""Jhis new constitu- tion not only fixes the national government on a republican basis, but guarantees to each state of the family a republican form of go- vernojent, and binds the whole to protect each against foreign in- vasion ov domestic violence. General Washington was unanimous" ly chosen first president under the new constitution. March 4, 17 G9, the first congress under the new constitution assembled at New-York ; and, in 1790, duties were levied on imported mer- chandize, to replenish an empty treasury. The public debt incur- red during the revolutionary war was funded, and brought at once to its par value. A national bank was established, not however •without opposition-. An^exci^u duty laid on domestic spirits, pro- 5Q9 VSlTETt STATES. daced an iusurrection ia the irestem part of Pennsylrania ; bnt the laws -were ext cnted, and on liie interrtution of an armed force, traiicnillity was re-iored withoiit bloodshed. 4. Two nevr states were admitted ioto the confederacv, viz : VermoDt in 1791, and Kentucky in 1792. A war with the Creek Indians, whose fiiihtiug- men amounted to about six hundred, some tince existed-cn the frontier of Georgia : ptace, however, was re- stored there in 1*90. A sanguinary warfare, with various success, ■was for some time kept up with the north-western Indians. la 1791. general Harmar was defeated, in tlie Ohio country, with the loss of three hundred and sixty men killed. General St. Clair, at the head of two thousa-nd militia and regulars, was subsequently worsted, near tlie Indian villages on the Miami, with the loss of thirty-eight officers, and Bearly six hundred privates. St. Clair was succeeded by general V ayne, who completely routed the savage loe, and drove the Indians out cf the country.* In the year afier, ^\ ayne negotiated a satisfactory treaty of peace with the hastilc Indians ; and at this time commenced a humane system for ameliorating their condiiioc. 5. Whilst the United States were employed in quelling the re- fractory, and restraining the inroads ci a subtle enemy within their own IwTson:, new sources of difficulty discovered tliemselves in ihe great convulsions oi Europe. The French revolution had comnien- ced. and that nation was under the wild misnile of its directory. Claims for assistance were made on t||p United States. Genet, the French envoy, having arrived ai Charleston, undertook to author- ize the arming of vessels in ihat port, and the enlisting of men ; givifig commissions, in the naone of the French gcvernment, to to cruise at sea, and commit ho5tilir?*5 on land, against nations with whom the United Slates were at p(fracc. The Eri-ish miui;ter remonstrated. The president issued orders for defeating the un- wammtablc interference of the French ambassador. G^net threat- ened an appeal to the people, but w4is 5CK>n after recalled. After- wards, the French directory authoriztH the indiscriicinate capture of all vessels sailing under the f.ag of the Uiiitcd States ; and or- dered the American envoys to leave France. Two severe actions occurred in the "SVest Indies, between the American Ligate Con- stellation, of thirty-eight gruns, and the Trench frigate L''Insur- gente, ef forty, and the same frigate and the La Vengeance, of fifty gens, in which L'lnsurgente was captured, and La Vengeance worsted. 6. In 1797, John Adams was chosen presideat ; and in the year after, Washington wa* called to the head of the army, in the pros- pect of a protracted war with France. Eat speedily after the over- throw of the directory government, all the disputes .etween France and the United States wer^r amicably arranged. 7. Although, since the definitive treaty of Paris, there occurred no op«n hostiiities between England and the United States, yet they were far from being on terms of amity and conciliation. On various pretexts, the Ecgiish retained possession of the forts on the south side of the lakes, forming the northern boundary of the Lni- ted States ; aad irritstioo ws*^ contiauailj eicited ty Uie English ¥XITED STATt?. 501 hisiitmg on the right of searching American ships for en&rav's prop- erty. Mr. Jay -vras deputed envoy to London, and nerctiated a treaty, in 1793, which s-^ttled the differences for the time, tut the terms of -ivhich were much opposed in the United States. 8. December 14. 1799, died the illustrious Washini-totJ, of aa infiammatcry sore throat and ferer, contracted from a slight expo- sure to the wet weather, after an illness of only about twenty-foat hour?. 9. The seat of government had been removed from New- York to Philadelphia, b-.th of which places bein» deemed inconvenient, provision was made, at the secoad sesriou after the formation of government, for the removal of the g-overgment to a district ou the Potomac, which was ceded to the United States by Virginia and Maryland ; and, in 1800, the public offices were removed to the infant capital, on which magnincent buildings had been erected. This city bears the name of Washington, and tie district that of Colambia. 10. The war with Tripoli commenced in 1C01, by an engagie- meBt of the Enterprise, captain Sterrett, with a Tripolitaa corsair, off Malta, in which_the American was victorious. Commodore Murray, the follcwicg year, in the frigate Constellatioa, was at- tacked, while cruising off Tripoli, by a fGrTr.i.lable ntimber of g-uH boat?, but obliged them to retire in confusion. In 1803, the Piiila- delpliia frigate, captain Bainbridge, ran upon a rock, in the very jaws of the pirates ; was obliged to at rite, and her ouicers and crew, amounting to three hundred, were made prisoners. This vessel was, however, recaptured and burnt, while lyin^ in the harbour of Tripoli, February 16. 1C04, by captaid Stephen Decatur, jr., and seventy men — one of the most daring and gallant exploiU on re- cord. ' From the 3d to the '29th :f August following, commodore Preble made three general attacks upon the Tripoiiian batterits. The barbarian. enemy continued to treat the American prisoners witli the most atrocioiis cruelty. Another expedient was tried by the American government General Eaton was despatched to co- operate with Hamet, who had been driven from tlie government oi Tripoli by the usurpation of his brother, '^ravelling to Egypt, he fouud the exile, and proceeding fifty-two days through a hideous desert, he arrived before Derne, a city ia the regency of Tripoli, and carried the town at the poiizt oi the bayonet. Twice did the enemy attempt to retake the town ; but, against fearful c-dds, they were repulsed by Eaton. This brought the reigning bashaw to terms ; a peace was concluded. by coloael Leav, and the pris^iners long detained in captivity, were released. 11. Tennessee in 1796, and Ohio in rjOO.were added to the states of the union. In 1803, Louisiana was purchased from the French governrnent, for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars ; and in 13 1-2. a portion of this extended territory vras erected into a state by that na'ae. By this cession, the United States have acquired a terri- tory of vast magnitude, and extraordinary fertility, from which new states will continue to be incorporated. 12. In the autumn of 1806, Aaron Burr was detected in an en- terprise of great moment, the separation of the W8s:era st^tei from '09 , UNITED STATES. the union, and the subjugation of New-Orleans : his plan was de- feated by the vigilance of the government ; Burr was arrested on a charge of high treason — but no overt act being proved on him-, he was released. SECTION VI. WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN, &c. 1. We come now to treat of those interesting events which brought on a second contest between Great Britain and the United States. The custom of searching American vessels on the ocean, and impressing from them British seamew, had long been practised by the English. But hitherto the custom had been confined to pri- vate vessels : now, it was carried to the utmost pitch to which op- pression Gould extend. Four seamen, deserters from the British navy, were reported to have entered the service of the United States, and to have been received on board the friciate Chesapeake, at the time lying at Mamptpn roads, preparing for the Mediterra- nean. Admiral Berkeley ordered captain Hmnphries, of the Leopard, to follow tli^ Chesapeake beyond the waters of the Uni- ted States, and demand the deserters: this lie did, and, after de- manding the seamen, fired a l>roadside upon the American frigate. This iiuexptcted attack so disconcerted captain Barron, that he imna:iliately struck the colours of the (..'hf.'sapeake, and permitted the lour seamen to be taken without resistance, 'i he Leopard car- ried fifiy, tht: (Jhcsapeake only thirty-i-ix guns. On board the lat- ter, four men were killed and sixteen wounded. One of the im- pressed scanien was afterwards hanged, and one died in prison : three of them w ;re native Americans. Captain Barron, for neglect of duty, was suspended from commatid for five years. This tragical occurrtnce prociuced a general indignation. The British, however, disavowed admiral Berkeley's orders, and removed him from the station, at the same time appointing him to a more impoitant one. .2. New systems of blockade were invented by the belligerents!, commencing with the unlawful British otder in council, issued May 16, 180G : this was followed by the French decree of Berlin, of November 21, ICOG : January 7, 1807, came the British order prohibiting coasting trade ; November 11, the celel^rated British orders in council, which cut up the American trade entirely ; and December 7, the French iMilan decree. December 2'2, of the same year, congress, on the recommendation of i\Tr. Jelferson, then presi- dent, ordered an embargo, prohibiting the exportation of every ar- ticle from the Unitt-d States. xMarch^4, 11309, the embargo was removed, and non-intercourse substituted. April 10, an arrange- ment was made with Mr. Erskine, which induced the American government to renew the trade with England ; this arrangement was subsequently disavowed by the British government. The in- sulting deportment of the succeeding negotiator, Mr. Jackson, hei^ht^ned the reseutmeut of the republic ;. and a rencounter be- WNITSD STATES. 503 trween the American and British ships of -srar, President and Little Belt, increased the unfiiendly sentinicnts of Enjjfland. 2. Mr. Foster, a new British minister, offered honourable repara- tion for the indig-nky on the Chesapeake ; but no chang-e couhl be procured in the systems practised by Great Britain and Fra>:ce against American trade. The United States now offered to either of the belligerent?, or both, as soon as they ceased to violate the neutral commerce of the republic, that the non-intercourse ar- rangement should be discontinued. The French artfully embraced the offer, by information that the P rench Ikrlin and Milan decrees had been revoked ; and non-intercourse with France was discon- timed by proclamation of the prc-sidt-nt. 4. War was declared by the United States against Great Brit- ain, June 18, 181i?, too late to avail themselves of the retraction of the British orders in council, which followed the repeal of the Berlin and Milan decrees. The congress voted an addition to the regular army, of twenty-five thousand men ; authorized a loan of eleven millions ; and nearly doubled the duties on imports. 6. Previous to the dtclaration of war, indications of hostility had appeared among the Indians on the frontif^rs bordering on Canada.* A body of troops, under governor Harrison, was attacked on the 7th .INiovember, 1811, near a branch of the Wabash, by a larg;er body of Indians, who were defeated, not without con^^iderable loss to the Americans. 6. On the 12th July, general Hull, governor of the INTicliigan territory^ cro?sed from Detroit into the province of Canada, with a considerable force. In this situation, he soon received intelligence of the capture of the American post at Michiliimackinac. On the f;th August, he returned to .'Jctioit, followed by the British general Brock, with his regulars and Indians ; and he soon, contrary to the v.i.hes of every soldier under his command, v.-ho burned with desire to meet the enemy, inglcriously surrendered to the British, not only his army, but incjiided the -whole territory of IMichigan in the articles of capitulation. He was afterwards tried, and found guilty of cowardice and neglect of duty, and sentenced to be shot : but, in consideration of his revolutionary services, and hi= age, the court recommended him to mercy, and the president withdrew the punishment of death. 7. On the lOth August, the Coni^titution frigate, captain Hull, captured the British frigate Gueniere, captain Dacres, after an action oi thirty jninutes: loss of the Guerriere. f:Oren killed, sixty- four Avounded, and twenty-one missing — thai oastilution, ji!e-\-en killed and se\fn v^ounded. October '- . ._^-),te United States, captai ■, met (he Jiriti.-h frigate -Macedonian, off the wes'icrn i:-: . .ptu.red her after an action of one hour and a half: iiiitibh ic^j, Ihiriy-tiM kiilcd and sixty-eight v/cunded— American loss, seven killed , lix^^ Avnunded. The neiit naval achieve- ment was the capture of i he British brig Frolic by the American sloop Wasp, commanded by captain Jones : Briti?:h loss.thirty killed and fifty wounded — American, live killed, nvc wounded. In Decem- ber, the Consiit;uion, captain Bainbridge, again met the enemy, and • iu; filiate Java was captured: British loss, aixty killed, and one 604 fcNITEB STATES. liundred and one wounded — American, nine killed, twenty-five wounded. Besides these victories of public ships, numerous priva- teer* swarmed llie ocean, and before the meeting of congress, in November, neaily two hundred and fifty vessels were captured from the enemy. 8. In November, general Van Rensselaer, with about one thou- sand troops, crossed the, Niagara river into Upper Canada, and at- tacked the British at Queenstown •, and, after an obstinate engage* ment, was obliged to surrender, with a loss of sixty killed, and about one hundred wounded. In this engagement the British general ]3rock was killed. 9. ^arly in 1813, an action was fought at the river Raisin, be- tween an American detachment, under general Winchester, and a British and Indian force under colonel Proctpr. The Americans were defeated, and the greater part of five hundred prisoners were inhumanly massacred, Proctor being unable or unwilling to protect them, as he had expressly stipulated ! Soon after, general Harri- son was attacked and besieged, by the combined British and In^ dians at fort .Veigs A desultory war was kept up for some time. Colonel LHidley was detached from tb.e fort, to attack the enemy's battery on the opposite side of the river. He succeeded in captu- ring; the battery, but his troops, imprudently pursuing the enemy, were soo"n surrounded 1-y an Indian army, three times their num- ber, headed by the Indian general Tecumseh ; a desperate fight, and a scene of slaughter almost as terrible as that at Raisin, en- sued. ■ Of eight hundred men composing the detachment, only about one hundred and fifty escaped. 10. On the 21st February, the British attacked Ogdcnsburgh, on the river St. Lawrence, with a force of twelve hundred, and compelled the Americans to evacuate the place. In A])ril, the Americans, under general I'ike, lauded at York, in Upper Canada ; avid, alter some severe fghting, succeeded in capturing or destroy- ing- a large amount of public stores. '1 he Britisli lost seven hun- dred and fifty men, in killed, wounded and captured. "^I'he brave Pike was mortally wounded, by the explosion of a magazine, which had been purposely set on fire. The object of the expedition beings gained, the American forces evacuated York on the 1st of May, and re-embarked. 11. Fort George, commanded l)y general Vincent, was taken by the American forces, imder general IJoyd and colonel Miller, May '27, after a sharp conflict. The British lost, iu killed and wounded, about two hundred and fifty men, b( sides six hundred prisoners — their antagonists, thirty nine kiiled and one hundred and eight wounded. Soon afterwards, generals Chandler and Winder, who had advanced with a considerable force, were attaclied in the night, by genjnal Vincent, who had been reintbrced, between fort George and Burlington bay, and, in a scene of confusion, were both made prisoners ; their troops retired to fort George. 12. Captain James Lawrence, of the Hornet, I'ell in with, and captured, the British sloop of %\'ar Peacock, February 21. 'J'he ac- tionlasted eight minutes ; and the BriLish captain and several oth- nent look place, in which the British general was killed. The Arnericaris were however repulsed by superior numbers ; and on 'l"uf-?day evening, the British advanced to within about two miles of the American entrenchments. But so strong was the American i'orce, and so valiantly had they fought the preceding day, that the British retreated before morning, and hastily re-embarked. A grand attack was made on Tuesday on fort M'Henry, on the other 3ide of the city and commanding the Vv'ater passage to it, from fri- guter, bomb and rocket vessels, which lasted the whole day and a part of the night, doing but little damage. In the night about a thousand of the enemy landed betv/een the fort and the city, but were soon repulsed. The loss of the Amercans in killed, wounded nnd prisoners, was two hundred and thirteen: that of the British i? not known. The enemy, thus discomfitted, moved down the bay. .27. The governor-general of Canada, sir George Prevost, with iVom twelve to fourteen thousand men, made an attack on Platts- burgh, Sept. 11. At the same time a naval engagement, on lake Champlaim, took place insight of the land forces. The American fleet having eighty-six guns and eight hundred and twenty-six men, was commanded by captain M'Douough ; the British, con- M'sting of ninety-five gL-.ns and one thousand and fifty men, was commanded by commodore Downie, The action ended in the surrender of the British vessels, viz. one frigate, one brig and two sloops of war. Some of their gallies were sunk ; others escaped. American loss, fifty-two killed, fifty-eight wounded : British loss, eighty-four killed, one hundred and ten wounded. At the same time that Ihe fleets were engaged, governor Prevost attacked the forts at Plattsburgh with his land forces, throwing shells, balls and rockets : he attempted to cross the Saranac, but was repulsed at three different places. So effectual was the fire of the Americans, that, before sunset, the batteries he had erected were all silenced ; a.hd at nine o^clock in the evening his v/hole army began a rapid re- treat, leaving many wounded, and much ammunition, provision and baggage. The American loss this day,and in skirmishes previous on laud, was thirty-nine killed, sixty-two wounded and twenty miss- ing : the loss of the British, in killed, wounded and deserters, be- sides those on board the fleet, was estimated at two thousand five hundred. General Alexander Macamb commanded the American land forces. UNITED STATES, 509 28» As on Erie and Champlaln, so on the lake Ontario, each party strove for a naval ascendancy. Several large ships were built by the the Americans at Sackett's harbour, and by the Brit- ish at Kingston. The American fleet was commanded by captain Chauncey, and the British by commodore Yeo. As at no time, one side equalled the other in strength, so at all times one avoided a3 the other sou!?ht for an engfagement. A partial action once took place ; but the British commander, at that time supposing hia force inferior, took the advantage of circumstances to make his port. One of the British vessels ready for sea at the close of the war manned nearly one hundred guns ; and two of the largest class of vessels in the world were at the same time erecting at Sackett'i harbour. 29. In a sortie from fort Erie, under the command of general Jacob Brown, after a severe engagement, the British were defeat- ed with the loss of nearly a thousand, in killed, wounded and pris- oners : the American loss exceeded five hundred. 30. The frigate President, commodore Decatur, sailed from New-York, Jan. 14, 1815, and was the next day pursued by four frigates and a brig of the enemy. An engagement took place be- tween the foremost of the pursuing vessels, the Endymion and the President : after a severe action of two hours, the Endymion wa3 silenced and beaten off. The Pamone and Tenedos in one hour coming up, the President was obliged to surrender. 31. One of the most splendid events on the part of the Ameri- cans closed the late war: it was the discomfiture and repulse of the British at New-Orleans. A very large British force entered lake Pontchartrain, near New-Orleans, early in December, 1814, defeating, after an obstinate conflict the small American naval force stationed there. The British were commanded by general Pack- enham, one of Wellington's invincibles who had conquered the great Napeleon : the American army was led by general Andrew Jackson. Several skirmishes took place, in which the British were almost the exclusive sufferers. On Sunday morning early, Jan. 8, a grand attack was made by the British on the A.merican troops in their entrenchments. After an engagement of more than an hour, the enemy were cut to pieces to a degree almost beyond example, and fled in confusion, leaving on the field of battle their dead and mounded. The British loss was seven hundred killed, fourteen hundred wounded, and five hund;ed prisoners : the generals Pack- enham and Keane, were among the slain, and general Cobb was dangerously wounded. The American loss was only seven killed and six wounded ! The attack was not renewed, and in a short time after, the British left the west. 32. Up to the close of 1814, the British ministry, calculating to bring the Americans, from the farce of opposition at home, t& their terms, had discovered an indisposition to treat with the commis- sioners of the United States ; but the defeat of the British before Plattsburgh, gave a new turn to the negotiation, and a treaty of peace was signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814. Both nations agreed to appoint coaimissioners to settle disputed boundaries. 43* 510 UNITED STATES* No allusion was made in the treaty to the causes of the vaf. Security against their recurrence rests, however, on a much firmer basis than the provisions of the most solemn treaty. Britain has been taug-ht to appreciate the strength of the republic. She will read, in the history of the late struggle, the most convincing ar- guments against the invasion of neutral rights. By this war the public debt of the United States was increased a hundred millions of dollars. 33. It would too much extend this sketch of the history of the republic, to trace to its source the origin of parties which have di- vided the country into two great sections with different appella- tions. The distinction was unknown until subsequent to Mr. Jay's treaty with Great Britain in 1795. George Washington was elec- ted president in 1788, and re-elected in 1792. He was succeeded by John Adams, elected in 1796, between whom and Thomas Jef- ferson the parties divided in 1800 : the latter was chosen at that time, not hov/ever until he had been balloted for thirty-six times 'qy the house of representatives in congress, the vote by states be- ing at each balloting equally divided between Mr. Jeflerson and Aaron Burr. In 1804, Mr. Jefferson was re-elected. Declining an election in 1808, Mr. Jefferson gave place to James Madison. The latter continuing eight years, James Monroe was elected to the presidency in 1816 ; and so general was the satisfaction with the administration, that in 1820, he had all the electoral votes save one for the same office. 34. Since the peace the attention of the country has been cal- led to the propriety of augmenting the national defence. Con- gfress having made appropriations for the purpose, extensive for- tifications have been and continue to be erected For the security of the commercial towns. One million of dollars annually is like- wise appropriated for the gradual augmentation of the navy, to 'which, independent of smaller vessels, nine ships of the line, twelve frigates and three floating batteries are to be added. 35. By an act of congress in the year 1818, a yearly pension, sufficient for their decent maintenance, having been granted to those officers and privates who served mojre than nine months at any one time in the war of the revolution, more than thirty thou- sand individuals made application for relief. The sum required much exceeded general expectation ; and the following year an additional act was passed which circumscribed the applicants to a narrow space. Importations having lessened, the amount received into the treasury from duties became less than the calculations ; ■and in 1821, the standing military force was reduced from ten to aix thousand, and the building of ships of war was, in some de- gree, siwpended. 36. Since the admission of Louisiana in 1812, six other states have been admitted into the Union— Indiana in 1816, Mississippi an 1817 ; Illinois in 1818, Alabama in 1819, Maine in 1820 and Jklissouri in 1821. Indiana and Illinois are sections of the same territory from which Ohio was made a state. Mississippi and Ala- caina -belonged to Georgia and Louisiana : Maine was separated. UNITED STATES. 511 from Massachusetts, and Missouri from the vast tract ceded by the French, under the name of Louisiana. 37. A treaty was concluded at Washington in 1819, by which Spain ceded to the United States that portion of her territory, known by the name of Florida. Five millions of dollars was the price ; and the sum is to be paid as indemnity to Americaa citizens for illegal seizures of their property in Spanish ports. 38. Besides the different state governments, territorial govern- ments, with magistrates appointed by the president and senate, ex- ist in Michigan, Arkansas and Florida. 39. In the year 1820, the fourth authorized census of the inhab- itants was recorded. The progress of population has been rapid almost beyond a parallel. In 1790, the population was three mil- lions nine hundred and twenty-one thousand : in 1800, five mil- lions, three hundred and twenty thousand : in 1810, seven millions two hundred and forty thousand; and in 1820, nine- millions sis hundred and thirty-eight thousaad. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, EXPLANATION OF THE TABLE OF CHRONOLOGY, To give a distinct view of the succession of princes in the chief empires or kingdoms, without employing' different columns (which distracts the attention, and occupies too much space), the series of the sovereigns of different nations is distingfuished in this table by different typographical characters. By this method the succession of the sovereigns in the different kingdoms is immediately distin- guishable, and also the duration of their reigns. In the intervals of time between every two successive reigns are recorded the remark- able events which occurred in those periods, in all parts of the world ; and thus the connexion of general history is preserved un- broken. The series of tte kings and emperors of Rome is printed/in a larger Roman type than the rest of the table : as, 14 Tiberius, Emperor of Rome. The series of the popes is distinguishable by this character M pre- fixed t© each name ; as, 1513. IF Pope Leo X. The names of the emperors of Germany are printed itt Italic crapitals ; as, 887. AR:N'0LD^ Emperor of Germany. The kinjs of England are designated by the black Saxon type; aa, 1066. ®^lUtam (the Conqueror)king of England. The kings of Scotland are denoted by a larger capital beginning the word ; as, 1309. Robert III, kiog of Scotland. The kings of France are distinguished by the Italic type ; as, 1498. Ltwi^ XJl^ king of France. ^s^simmiSimaj^ m^iti. B. C. . .400'4 The Creation of the World, accerding to tlie Hebrew text of the Scriptures. According to the version of the Septuagliit 5872. According to the Samaritan version 4700. 2348 The Universal Deluge. 2247 The Building of Babel ; the Dispersion of Mankind ; and the Confusion of Languap^es. 2217 Nirarod supposed to have built Babylon, and founded the Babylonish Monarchy ; and Assur to have built Nineveh, and founded the Monarchy of Assyria. 2188 Menes (in Scripture Misraim) founds the Monarchy of F.gypt. 2084 The Shepherd Kings conquer Egypt. 2040 Moeri? King of Thebes and Memphis in Egypt. 1996 The Birth of Abram. 1897 Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by fir^from Heaven. 1896 Isaac born. 1856 Inachus founds the Kingdom of Argos in Greece. 1836 Jacob and Esau born. 18"-^5 The Shepherd Kings abandon Egypt. 1823 Death of Abraham. 1796 The Deluge of Ogyges in Attica. 1722 Sesostris or Rameses King of Egypt. 1635 Joseph dies in Egypt. 1582 The Chronology of the Arundelian Marbles begins with this year. 1571 Moses born in Egypt. 1556 Cecrops founds the Kingdom of Athens. 1546 Scamander founds the Kingdom of Troy. 1532 Judgment of the Areopagus between Mars and Neptune, two princes of Thessaly. 1529 The Deluge of Deucalion in Thessaly. 1522 The Council of the Amphictyons instituted. 1520 Corinth built. 1500 Erectheus or Erycthonius institutes the Panathenaean Gamesr. 1493 Cadmus builds Thebes, and introduces Letters into Greece 1491 Moses brings the Israelites out of Egypt. 1453 The first Olympic Games celebrated ia Greece. 1452 The Pentateuch, or five Books of Moses, written. 1451 The Israelites led into the land of Canaan by Jo3hi;a 1438 Pandion King of Athens. i I 514 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. B. C. 1406 Minos reig-ns in Crete, and gives laws to the Cretans. 1376 Sethos reigns in Egypt. 1322 Belus reii^ns in Babylon. 1267 ISinus reig:ns in Assyria. 1266 Oedipus marries his Mother Jocasta, and reigns in Thebes. 1263 The Argonautic Expeditien. According to the Newtonian chronology 937. 1257 Theseus unites the Cities of Attica. 1252 Tyre, the capital of Phoenicia, built. 1225 Siege of Thebes. War betv/een Eteocles and Polynices. Eurysthenes and Procles Kings of Lacedi^raon. 1215 Second War of Thebes, or War of the Epigonoi. Semiramis supposed to have reigned at Babylon. 1207 Gideon Judge of Israel. 1202 Teucer built Salamis. 1193 The Trojan War begins. 1184 Troy taken and burnt by the Greeks. According tQ the Arundelian Marbles 1200. 1182 x^^neas lands in. Italy. 1155 Samson born. 1104 Return of the Ileraclldse into Peloponnesus. 1099 Samuel delivers Isi-ael. 1079 Saal King of Israel. 1070 iNIedon first Archon of Athens. 1069 Codrus King of Athens devotes himself for his country. 1055 David King of*Tsrael. 1004 Dedication of Solomon's Temple. 980'Ti.ehoboam King of Israel. 839 Athaliah, wife of Jehoram, usurps the throne of Judah. 886 Homer's Poems brought froni Asia into Greece. 884 Lycurgus reforms the Constitution of Laccdjemon. 869 llie city o( Carihage built by Dido. 820 Nineveh taken by Arbaces and Belesis, which finishes th^t kingdom. 776 The first'Olympiad begins in this year. 769 Syracuse built by Archias of Corinth. 767 Sardanapalus King of Assyria. 760 The Ephoii, popular Magistrates, instituted at Lacedscm6», 757 Ilalyattes Knig of Lydia. 754 Decennial Archons elected at Athens. 752 The foui'datioii of Roaie by Romulus. 758 Rape of the Sabine W'omen. 747 The Era of Nabonassar made use of by Ptolemy. 738 Candaulcs King of Lydia. 724 Hezekiah tenth King of Judah. 721 Salmanazar takes Samaria, and carries the Ten Tribes into captivity, v.hich puts an end to the Israelitish Kingdom. 715 Numa Pompilius/gecondKingof Rome. 711 Sennacherib, King of Assyria, invades Judea: 710 Dejoces King of Media* CHRONOLOGICAL TASLE. 5tS B. C. 708 Habakkuk prophesied. 703 Corcyra founded by the Corinthians. 696 Manasseh sixteenth King of Judah. 688 Judith kills Holoftrnes the Assyrian General. 684 Annual Archons elected at Atheusr 681 Esarhaddon unites the Kingfdoms of Babylon and Assyriav 672 TulllIS HoSlilius, third King of Rome. 670 Psammeticus King of Eg"ypt. 607 Tke Combat between the iJoratii and Curiatii. 658 Byzantium founded byPausauius King of Sparta. Phraortes King of Media. 640 AnCUS Martius, fourth King of Rome. 627 The Forty Years of Ezekiel began. 62G Periander Tyrant of Corinth. Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, begins to reign at Babylon. 624 Draco, Archon and Legislator of Athens. 616 TarquiniTS Prisons, f:fth King of R.ome. 606 Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem, and carries' the Jews into captivity. €01 Rattle between the Medes and Lydians, who are separated by a great eclipse of the sun, predicted by Thales. (New- ton. Chron. 5Bb.) End of the Assyrian Empire. Nineveh taken by Nebuchad- nezzar. GOO Jeremiah prophesied. 399 Birth of Cyrus the Great. 504 Solon, Archon and Legislator of Athens. 578 Stirvius Tullius, sixth King of Rome. 572 Nebuchadnezzar subdues Egypt. 571 Phalaris Tyrant of Agrigentum. 562 Comedies first exhibited at Athens by Thespis. Croa,gus reigns in Lydia. 551 Confucius, the Chineee Philosopher, born. 550 Pisistratus I yrant of Athens. 548 The Ancient Temple of Uelphos burnt by the Pisistratidse. 538 Babylon taken by Cyrus. End of the Babylonian Empire. ooG Cyrus ascend-- the throne of Persia. He puts an end to the Jewish captivity, which had lasted seventy years. 534 Tarquinus Superbus, seventh King of Rome. Daniel prophesied. 529 Death of Cyrus the Great. Cambyses King of Persia. Death of Pisistratus, Tyrant of Athens. 522 Darius, son of llystaspes, King of Persia. 520 The Jews begin to build the second Temple, which isfinishr ed in four years. 510 The Pisistratidae expelled from Athens, and the Democracy restored. 515 CMRONeLOGICAL TABLE. B. C. 509 The Tarquins expelled from Rome and the Regal Govern. mentabolis^h^d. 508 The first Alliance between the Romans and Carthaginians. 504 Sardis taken and bijrnt by the Athenians. 498 The first Dictator created at Rome (Lartius). 497 Institution of the Saturnalia at Rome. 493 The port of Pirseas built by the Athenians. 490 The Battle of i\larathon, in which Miltiades defeats the Persians. 488 The first Tribunes of the People created at Rome. Accord- in- to Blair 493. ■ Miltiades dies in prison. 486 Xerxes succeeds his father Darius in the kingdom of Persia. 485 Coriolanus banished from Rome. 483 QusBstors instituted at Rome. Aristides banished from Athens by the Ostracism. 480 The Spartans, vnder Leonidas, slain at Termopylae. Naval Victory gained by the Greeks over the Persians' at Salamis. 479 Attica laid waste and Athens burnt by Mardonius. Victories over the Persians at Platsea and Mycale. ■ Xerxes leaves Greece. 477 300 Fabii killed by the Veicntes. 476 ThemJstocles rebuilds Athens. ■ Valerius triumphs over the Veientes asd Sal^ines. The Roman Citizens numbered at 103,000. — - A great Eruption of .Etna. Hiero King- of Syracuse. 471 Volero, the Roman Tribune, obtains a law for the election of magistrates in the comitia held by tribes. 470 Cimon, son of Miltiades, defeats the Persian army and fleet m one day, at the mouth of the river Eurymedon. 469 Capua founded by the Tuscans. 464 Artaxerxes (Longimanus) King of Persia, Cimon banished by the Ostracism. 463 Egypt revolts from the Persians. 462 The Terentian Law proposed at Rome. 456 Cincinnatus Dictator at Rome. The Ludi Sajculares first instituted at Rome. 455 Commencement of the Seventy Prophetical Weeks of Daniel. 453 The number of the Tribunes of the people at Rome increas- ed from Five to Ten. 452 The two Books of Chronicles supposed to have been written at this time by Ezra. 451 Creation of the Decemviri at Rome, and Compilation of the Laws of the Twelve Tables. 449 Peace between the Greeks a«d Persians concluded by Ci- mon, glorious for Greece. Death of Virginia, aud Abolition of the Decemvirate. 445 The Law of Canuleius for the Intermarriage of the Patricians and Plebeians at Rome. CHnONOLOeiCAL TABLE. ' 517 B. C. 445 Military Tribunes created. 437 The Censorship lirst instituted at Rome. 436 Pericles in high power at Athens. 432 Meton's Cycle of the Moon of nineteen years. 431 The Peloponnesian War begins, which lasted twenty-seven years. 430 The History of the Old Testament ends about this time. — - Great Plague at Athens, eloquently described by Thucydides. Malachi the last of the Prophets. 428 Death of Pericles. 423 Darius Nethus King- of Persia. 418 Disturbances at RoKie on account of the Agrarian Law. 414 The Athenians defeated before Syracuse. 413 Alcibiades, accused at Athens, flies to the Lacedsemonians. 412 A Council of 400 governs Athens. 405 Lysander defeats the Athenians at ^g^os Potaraos. 404 Artaxerxes II. (Mnemon) King- of Persia. • End of the Peloponesian War. 403 Lysande*- takes Athens. Government of the Thirty Tyrants .- 401 The younger CyAis defeated by his brother Artaxerxes, and killed. Retreat of the 'T'en Thousand Greeks. = Persecution and Death of Socrates. Thrasybulus drives out the Thirty Tyrants, and delivers Athens. 399 A Lectisternium first celebrated at Rome. 397 The lake of Alba drained by the Romans. Sf^6 Syracuse unsuccessfully besieged by the Carthaginians. 391 Marcus Furius Camillus Dictator at Rome. Veil taken. 387 Dishonourable Peace of Antalcidas between the Spartangi and Persians. I nSS Rome taken by the Gauls under Brennus. 382 Phsebidas, the Spartan, seizes the Citadel of Thebes. 380 Pelopidas and Epaminondas deliver Thebes from the Lace- daemonians. 371 Battle of Leuctra, in which the Lacedaemonians are defeated by the Thebans under Epaminondas. 364 Pelopidas defeats the Tyrant of Pher{ea,but is killed in battle. 363 Battle of Matinea, in which Epaminondas is killed. 362 Ciirtius leaps into a Gulph in the Forum at Rome. 361 Darius Ochus (or Artaxerxes III.) King of Persia. Accord- ing to Blair, 358. 558 War of the Allies against Athens. 358 Philip of Macedon takes Amphipolig, Pydna, and Potldea. 357 Dion overcomes the party of Dionysius at Syracuse. 356 Alexander the Great born at Pella in Macedonia. The Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, burnt by Erostratus.. The Phocian or Sacred War begins in Greece. Philip conquers the Thracians, Pseonians, and IllyriaSJs, 350 Darius Ochus subdues Egypt. 348 Philip of Macedon takes Olyathus, - — Eud of the Sacred War. 44 518 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. B. C. 347 Dionysius restored at Syracuse, after an exile of ten years, 346 Philip admitted a Member of the Amphictyonic Council. 343 Syracuse taken by I'imoleon, and Dionisius the Tyrant finally banished. =— The War between the Romans and Samnites, which led to the conquest of all Italy. 340 The Carthagfinians defeated near Agrigentum. P. Decius devotes hiinself for his country. 338 Battle of Cheronssa gained by Philip over the Athenians and Thebans. 337 Philip chosen Generalissimo of the Greeks. 336 Philip murdered by Pausanias. Alexander the Great, King of Macedon. Alexander the Great destroys Thebes. 335 Darius III. (Codomannus) King of Persia. Alexander chosen Generalissimo by the States of Greece. 334 Alexander defeats the Persians on the banks of the Grauicus, 333 The Persians defeated by Alexander at Issus. 332 Alexander conquers Egypt, and takes Tyre. 331 Darius defeated by Alexander at Arbela. 330 Darius Codomannus killed. End of the Persian Empire, Alexander takes possession of Susa, and sets fire to the Pal- ace of Persepoli?. 328 Alexander passes into India, defeats Porus, founds several cities, penetrates to the Ganges. The Voyage of Nearchus from the Indus to the Euphrates. 325 Papirius Cursor, Dictator at Rome, triumphs over the Sam nites. 524 Alexander the Great dies at Babylon, at the age of thirty- three. •321 The Samnites make the Roman Array pass under the yoke at Caudium. 320 Ptolemy carries 100,000 Jews captives into Egypt. 317 Agathocies Tyrant of Syracuse, 312 Era of the Sclucida?. 311 Cassander, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy, conclude a peace with Antigonus. 304 Demetrius besieges Rhodes. 303 Demetrius restores the Grcik Cities to their liberty. 301 Battle of Ipsus in Phrygia, in which Antigonus is defeated and slain. ■ Fabius Maximus and Valerius Corvus Dictators. 300 Seleucus founds Antioch, Edessa, and Laodicea. 298 Athens taken by Demetrius Poliorcetes. 294 Seleucus resigns his \\ ife Stratonice to his son Antiochus. 286 Law of Ilortensius, by which the decrees of the people were allowed the same force as those of the senate. 285 The Astronomical Era of Dionysius of Aloxandiia. 284 Ptolemy Philadelphus King of Egypt. 283 The Library of Alexandria founded. 281 Commencement of the Achtean League^ ^80 Pyrrhus invades Italv, CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE* 519 B. C. 280 Antiochus Soter King of Syria. ^ 277 The Translation of the Septuagint made by oraer oi i tole- my Philadelphus. Playfair, 285. Aniigonus Gonatus reigned in Macedon thirty-six years. 275 Pyrrhus unsuccessful against the Carthaginians in Sicily. 274 Pyrrhus, totally defeated by the Romans near Beneventum, evacuates Italy. 272 The Samnites finally subdued by the Romans. 266 Silver Money is coined at Rome for the first time^ 265 The Citizens of Rome numbered at 292,224. 264 The first Punic War begins. The Chronicle of Paros com- posed. 260 Provincial Q?estors instituted at Rome. . First Naval Victory obtained by the Romans under the Con:- sul Duilius. 255 Regains defeated and taken prisoner by the Carthaginians under Xantippiis. 253 Manasseh chosen High Priest of the Jews. 251 Great Victory of Metellns over Asdrubal. 250 The Romans besiege Lilybosum ; are defeated by Hamilcar. 241 End of the first Punic War. Attains King of Pergamus succeeds Eumenes. 240 Comedies are first acted at Rome. 235 The Temple of Janus shut the first time since the reign of Numa. 228 Hamilcar killed in Spain. 225 Great Victory of the Roinans over the Gauls. 219 Hannibal take? Saguntum. 218 The second Punic War begins. 217 Hannibal defeats the Pi,omans under Flaminiua. Fabius Maximus Dictator. 216 Battle of Cannre, in which the Romans are totally defeated by Hannibal. 212 Philip II. of Macedon defeats the .Etolians. Marcellus takes Syracuse, after a siege of two years. 211 Capua surrenders to the Romans. -— Antiochus the Great conquers Judrea. 210 Asdrubal vanquished in Spr m by the Scipios. P'ublius Scipio, sent into Spain, takes New Carthage. 206 Philopoemen Frretor of the Achjeans. 203 The Carthaginians recal Hannibal to Africa. Sophonisba poisoned by Massinissa. 201 Syphax led in triumph to Rome by P. Scipio. 197 Philip defeated by the Romans at Cynocephale. 196 The Battle of Zama, and end of the second Punic War. 190 The Romans enter Asia, and defeat Antigonus at Magnesia. 183 The elder Cato Censor at Rome. 173 Vv'ar between the Romans and Perseus King of Macedon*. 172 Antiochus defeats the generals of Ptolemy in Egypt. 170 Antiochus Epiphanes takes and plunders Jerusalem. 169 Terence's Comedies performed at Rome, 520 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. B. C. 167 Perseus defeated by Paulus iEmiliup, and brought prisoner to Rome. End of the kingdom of Macedon. 166 Judas Maccabeus drives the Syrians out of Judea. 164 The Roman Citizens numbered at 327,032. 149 The third Punic War beg;ins. 147 Metellus defeats the Achaean?. 146 Corinth taken by the Consul Mummius. Carthage taken and destroyed by the Romans. 137 The Pconians shamefully defeated by the Numantine*. 135 The History of ihe Apocrypha ends. Antioclius besieges Jerusalem. 133 Tiberius Gracchus put to death. Numantia taken. Pergamus becomes a Roman Province. 121 Caius Gracchus killed. 113 Carbo the Consul drives the Cimbri and Teutones out of Italy. ill The Ju2:urthine War begins. 108 Marius defeats Jugurtha. 103 Jugurtha starved to death at Rome. 102 Marius defeats the Teutones and Cimbri. 91 The War of the Allies against the Romans. 90 .Sylla defeats the Marsi, Peligni, Samnites, &c. 89 The Mithridatic War begins. 88 Civil War between Marius and Sylla. Sylla takes posses- sion of Rome. 86 Mithridates King of Pontus defeated by Sylla. 83 Sylla defeats Norbanus. The Capitol burnt. 02 Sylla perpetual Dictator. His horrible Proscription, HO Julius Csesar makes his first Campaign. 79 Cicero's first Oration for Roscius. 78 Sylla resigns all power, and dies. 77 The War of Sertorius. 72 Lucullus repeatedly defeats Mithridates, and reduces Pontus to a Roman province. 70 Crassus and Pompey chosen Consuls at Rome. 63 Victories of Pompey. Betakes Jerusalem, audvrestores Hyr- canus to the government of Judea. ()2 Cataline's Conspiracy quelled at Rome by Cicero. 61 Pompey enters Rome in triumph. 59 The first Triumvirate ; Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar. — CcEsar proposes a new Agrarian Law. 58 Clodius the Tribune procures the Banishment of Cicero. 57 Casar defeats Ariovistus in Gaul. . Cicero brought back from Exile with high honour. 55 Czcsar lands in Britain, and makes a short campaign. 54 CcBsar invades Britain a second time, and conquers part of it. 53 Crassus killed in Mesopotamia. 52 Milo defended by Cicero for the slaughter of Clodius. 49 Csesar passes the Rubicon, and marches to Rome. Commencement of the Era of Antioch, October, 49 A. C. 48 Battle of Pharsalia, in which Pompey is defeated. — Pompey slain in Egypt. — The Alexandrian Library of 400,000 volumes burat. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE'. 521 B. C. 46 Cato besiejr^d iu Utica, kills himself. 45 The Kaleiidar reformed by Julius Caesar, by introducing the Solar Year instead of the Lunar. The first Julian Year beaau January ], 45 A. C 44 Julius Cfesar killed in the Senate-House. -f~ Octavius, grand-nephev/ and heir of Julius Cccsar, comes to Rome, and is opposed at first by Antony. 43 Second Triumvirate ; Octavius, Mark Antony, andLepidus. 42 Battle of Philippi, in which Brutus and Cassius are defeated. 40 Ilerod marries Mariamne, daughter of Hyrcanu&, and ob- tains from the Romans the Government of Judfea. 34 Antony divides Armenia among the children of Cleopatra. 33 Mauritania reduced into a Roman Province. 32 War declared by the Senate agaiiast Antony and Cleopatra.. 31 Battle of Actiura and end of the Roman Commonwealth. — Octavius Emperor of Rome. 30 Death of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Alexandria taken by Octavius. — Octavius receives the title of Augustus. 23 Death of Marcellus. Agrippa in Spain- 20 Porus King of India sends an Embassy to Augustus. 17 Augustus revives the Secular Games. 15 TheRhseti and Vindelenci defeated by Drusus. 10 The Temple of Janus shut by Augustus for a short time. 8 Augustus corrects an Error of the Roman Kalendar. - Death of Msecenas. 5 Augustus ordains a Census of all the people in the Romaa Empire. 4 JESUS CHRIST is born four years before the commencement of the vulgar era. A. D. 9 The Roman Legions under Varus, destroyed in Germany. — Ovid the Poet banished to Tomos. 14 Tiberius Emperor of Rome. 19 Germanicus dies at Antioch. — Tiberius banishes the Jews from Rome. [ siah. 26 John the Baptist preaches in Judsea the Coming of the Mes- 27 Tiberius retires to the, island of Caprese. — Pilate made Governor of Judsea. 31 Sejanus disgraced, and put to death by Tiberius. 33 IF St. Peter first Pope. — JESUS CHRIST is crucified. 35 The Conversion of St. Paul. 37 Caligula Emperor of Rome. 39 St. Matthew writes his Gospel. 40 The name of Christians first given to th$ Disciples of Christ at Antioch, 41 Claudius Emperor of Rome. — Herod persecutes the Christians, and imprisons Peter. 42 Sergius Paulus, proconsul, converted by St. Paul. io Expedition of Claudius into l>ntaia. 44* 622 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, A. D. 44 St. Mark writeB his Gospel. 45 Vespasian in Britain. 47 The L^idi Sceculares (secular gumes) performed at Rome. 48 Messalina put to death by Claudius, who marries Agrippini the mother of Nerd. 50 St. Paul preaches in the Areopagus at Athens. 51 CaractacHs, the British King, is carried prisoner to Rome. 54 Nero Emperor of Rome. 65 Britannicus poisoned by Nero. 59 Nero puts to death his mother Agrippina. 60 Suetonius Paulinus defeats the Britons. CI The Britons, under Queen Boadicea, defeat the Romans. 64 The first Persecution of the Christians raised by Nero. — Rome set on fij-e by Nero. 66 Bareas Soranus and Thrasea Patus put to death by Nero. — IT Pope Linus. 67 Massacre of the Jews by Florus, at Csesarea, Ptolemais, and Alexandria. .— St. Peter and St. Paul put to death. — Josephus, the Jewish historian, governor of Galilee, — T[^ Pope St. Clement. 68 Galta Emperor of Rome. 69 Otho Emperor of Rome. — Vitellilis Emperor of Rome. 70 Vespasian Emperor of Rome. — Jerusalem taken and destroyed by Titus. 77 TT Pope St. Cletus. 78 A great Pestilence at Rome, 10,000 dying in one day. 79 1 ItUS Emperor of Rome. [ suvius. — Herculaneum and Pompeii destroyed by an Eruption of Ve- 80 Conquests of Agricola in Britain, ni Domilian Emperor of Rome. 83 IT Pope Anacletus. 89"Apollonius of Tyanea defends himself before Domitian a- gainst an accusation of Treason. 95 Dreadful Persecution of the Christians at Rome, and ia the provinces. — St. John writes his Apocalypse, and his Gospel. 96 Nerva Emperor of Rome. — IT Pope Evaristus. 98 Trajan Emperor of Rome. — Trajan forbids the Christian Assemblies. 100 103 The Dacians subdued by Trajan. 107 Trajan's Victories in Asia. 108 St. Ignatius devoured by wild Beasts at Rome. • IT Pope Alexander I. i 15 The Jews in Cyrene murder 200.000 Greelcs and Romans. il7 H Pope SIxtas I. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE^ 523 A. D. 118 Adrian Emperor of Rome. — — Persecution of the Christians renewed by Adrian, but after- ward suspended. 120 Adrian's Wall built across Britain. ,127 11" Pope Telesphorus. 131 Adrian visits E^ypt and Syria. 132 Adrian publishes his perpetual Edict or Code of the Laws. 135 The llomans destroyed 580,000 Jews in Judfca. 137 Adrian rebuilds Jerusalem by the name of /Elia Capitoliaa. 138 IT Pope Hyginus. Ar.tonius Pius Emperor of Rome. 142 1i Pope Pius I. 150 H" Pope Anicetus. , 154 Justin Martyr publishes his Apology for the Christians. 161 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and Lucius Verus, Emperors of Rome. 162 ^ Pope Soter. 167 Polycarp and Pionices suffered Martyrdom in Asia. 169 War with the Marcomanni. 171 Death of Verus. Marcus Aurelius sole Emperor. . IF Pope Eleutherius.- 177 Persecution of the Christians at Lyons. 180 Commodus Emperor of Rome. 185 IF Pope Victor I. 189 The Saracens defeat the Romans. This people first men- tioned in history. 193 Pertinax Emperor of Rome. Didius JuIianUS pur- chases the Empire. Pescennius Niger declared Emperor in the East). Septimius Severus Emperor of Rome. 104 Niger defeated by Severus, and put to death. 195 Byzantium besieged, surrenders to Severus. j96 Albmus proclaimed Ernpsror in Britain. 197 Albinus, defeated by Severus, kills himself. "il Pope Zephyrinus. ^00 [E-ypt„ 202 The fifth Persecution against the Christians, principally in 208 Severus, with his sons Caracally and Geta, in Britain. .209 The Caledonians repulsed, and a Wall built between the rivers Forth and Clyde. 211 Caracalla and Geta Emperors of Rome, 212 Caracalla murders Geta. 217 Caracalla put to death. Macrinus Emperor of Rome, IT Pope Calixtus L 218 HellOgabaluS Emperor of Rome. 222 Alexander Severus Emperor of Rome. . --^ A Tribute paid by the Ronaans to the Got^g, \ 524 CHRONQLOGICAL TABLE. A. C. 222 If Pope Urban I. 226 The Persians totally defeated by Alexander Severus, 230 IT Pope Pontiamis. 235 IT Pope Anterus. Maximinus assassinates Alexander Severus, and is pra-- claimed Emperor of Rome. 236 The sixth Persecution of the Christians. If Pope Fabianus. 237 Maximinus defeats the Dacians and Sarmatians. 238 Maximus and Balbinus Emperors of Rome. Gordian Emperor of Rome. 242 Gordian defeats the Persians under Sapor. 244 Philip the Arabian Emperor of Rome. 248 The Secular Games celebrated at Rome. Pompey's Thea- tre burnt. — - St. Cyprian elected Bishop of Carthage. 249 Decius Emperor of Rome. 250 The seventh Persecution of the Christians under Decias.. 1[ Pope St. Cornelius. 251 Vibius Volusianus Emperor of Rome. . — Gallus Emperor of Rome. 252 H" Pope Lucius I. 253 The Goths, Burgundians, &c. make an Irruption into Moesia and Pannonia. 254 Valerianus Emperor of Rome. IF Pope Stephen I. 257 The eighth Persecution of the Christians. IT Pope Sixtus II, 259 The Persians ravage Syria. H Pope Dionysius. 260 Gallienus Emperor of Rome. The Temple of Diana at Ephesus burnt. 261 Sapor, the Persian, takes Antioch, Tarsus, and Csesarea. 267 The Heruli invade and ravage Greece. 268 Claudius II Emperor of Rome. 269 The Goths and Heruli, to the number of 320,000,defeated by Claudius. IT Pope Felix I. 270 Aurelian Emperor of Rome. 271 The Alemanni and Marcomanni ravagfe the Empire. 272 The ninth Persecution of the Christians. 273 Zenobia Queen of Palmyra defeated by Aurelian at Edessa. 274 IT Pope Eutychianus. 275 Tacitus Emperor of Pvome. 276 Florianus Emperor of Rome, 277 Probus Emperor of Rome. •282 Carus Emperor of Rome defeats the Quadi and Sarsya" CHRONOLOGICAL TABILE. 52 J A. D. 282 Carinus, Numerianus, Emperors of Rome. 283 IT Pope Cains. Fingal King of Morvea died. 284 Diocletian Emperor of Rome. 28G The Empire attacked by the Northern Nations. Carausius usurps the government of Britain, and reigns seven years. 290 The Gregorian and Hermogenian Codes published. 292 Partition of the Empire by Diocletian between two Empe- rors and two Caesars. 295 IT Pope Matxellinus. Alexandria in Egypt taken by Diocletian. 300 302 The tenth Persecution of the Christians, 304 If Pope Marcellus. Resigaation of Diocletian and Maximian.. - Galerius and Constantius Emperors of Rome. 305 Maxirninus Emperor of Roms. 306 CoQStantine the Great Emperor of Rome. He stops the Persecution of the Christians. 310 ^ Pope Eusebius. T Pope Melchiadeg. 314 IT Pope Sylvester. 325 Constantine abolishes the Combats of Gladiators. 325 He assembles the first General Covmcil at Nice, where the Doctrines of Arius are condemned. 326 St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, introduces Monach- isni in the Roman empire. 329 Constantine removes the Seat of Einpire to Constantinople, 336 H Pope Marcus. 337 1i Pope Julius I. — - Death of Constantine. The Empire divided atiiong- his three Sons. - Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius, Empe- rors of Rome. 352 IF Pope Liberius. 356 "IT Pope Felix I. 357 The Germans defeated by Julian at Strasburg, 358 If Pope Felix II. 361 Julian Emperor of Rome. He abjures Christianity, is elec- ted Pontifex Maximus, and attempts fruitlessly to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. 363 Jovian Emperor of Rome. 364 Valentinian Emperor of the West. Valens Emperor of the East. 366 If Pope Damasus. * 367 Gratian Emperor of the West, 375 Valentinian II Emperar of the West. i i > 526 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 376 Valens allDWs the Goths to settle m Thrace. 378 The Goths advance to the Gates of Constantinople. Death of Valens. 379 Theodosius the Great Emperor of the East. 381 Second General Council held at Constantinople. 383 The Huns overrun Mesopotamia ; are defeated by the Goth?. 384 Symmachus pleads the cause of Paganism against St. Am- brose in the Senate. 385 IT Pope Syricius. 392 Theodosius Emperor of the West and East. 395 Arcadius Emperor of the East, and HonoruiS of tlac West. The Huns invade the Eastern Provinces. 397 St. Chrysostom chosen Patriarch of Constantinople. 399 ir Pope Anastasius. Gainas the Goth obtains Honeurs from Arcadius. 400 Alaric the Goth ravages Italy. 401 If Pope Innocent I. .] 403 Stilicho, General of Houorius, defeats Alaric near Pollentia^. j 404 Fcrgfus I, King of Scotland,supposed to have begun his reigii-. \ 400 The Vand-.ls, Alans, &e. invade France and Spain. j 408 Iheodo-^ius II Emperor of the East. j 410 Rome sacked and burnt by Alaric. Death of Alaric. 411 The Vandals settled in Spain. 410 The Secular Games celebrated at Rome. The Pelagian Heresy condemned by the Bishops of Africa. 417 ^ Pope Zczimus. 418 IT Pope Boniface I. i 420 Pharamond first King of the Franks supposed to have be- 1 gun his reign, 422 H Pope Ctelestinus. 424 Valentinian III Emperor of the West. 426 The Romans withdraw finally from Britain. 428 /Etius, the Roman General, defeats the Franks and Gotli?. 431 The third General Council held at Ephesus. 432 J Pope Sixtus III. 435 The Theodosian Code published. 439 Generic the Vandal invades and plunders Italy. Eadocia the Empress, wife of Theodosius, retires to Jerusa- lem. Carthage taken by the Vandals. Kingdom of the Vandals j in Africa. i 440 IT Pope Leo the Great. ^ 442 Theodosius forced to make a disgraceful Peace with Attila the Hun. , Attila causes his brother Bleda to be murdered. . i 445^ The Britons in vain solicit the Romans to assist them against \ the Tict^ aad Scots. eHRONOLOGICAL TABL-E. '52f K. D. 445 Attilathe Hun overruns Illyrium, Thrace, Dacia,Mc2sia, and Scythia. 448 The Romans eng-ag-e to pay a heavy Tribute of Gold to Attila. 449 Merov(£us King of the Franks. 430 Marcian Emperor of the East. Attila ravages Germany and France. 451 Theodoric King of the Visigoths killed in battle. The Huns defeated by ^Etius. The Saxons arrive in Britain under Hengist and Horsa.- ■ The fourth General Council held at Chalcedon. 452 Foundation of the city of Venice. 435 Petromius Maximus Emperor of the West. . AvitUS Emperor of the West. Home taken and plundered by Genseric the Vandal. 456 Ckilderic King of the Franks. ASn Leo the Great f:mperor of the East. __ Majorianus Emperor of the West. 461 Severns Emperor of the West, raised by Ricimer. H Pope Hilarius. 467 Allthemius Emperor of the West. 468 Eric Kingf of the Visigoths drives the Romans out of Spaln^ — - IF Pope Simplicius- 470 ^lla the Saxon takes possession of the Kingdom of Sussex, 471 -Slla defeats all the British Princes. 472 Groat Eruption of Mount Vesuvius, seen from Constantino- ple. Oiybius Emperor of the West. 473 GlyceriUS, Emperor of the West, degraded and stripped by 474 Julius NepOS Emperor of the West. ZciiO Emperor of the East. AllgUStulus Romulus Emperor of the West, raised by his father Orctes, General of Nepos. 476 Orestes pot to death by OdoacerKing of the Heruli. ■ Rome taken by Odoacer nov/ kin^ of Italy. Extinction of the Western Empike of tire Romans. 507 years from the battle of Actium, and 1224 from the building of Rome. 4^1 Clovis King of the Franks. Zeno makes Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, his General, and cvfi- ates him Consul. 483 % Pope Felix III. 485 Battle of Soissons gained by Ciovis. 483 Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, entirely defeats Odoacer, and is acknowledged King of Italy by the Emperor Zeno. 490 The Burgundians, under Gondebald, ravage Italy. Ireland, called the Isle of Saints, famous for its Schsols, 491 AnastasiuS Emperor of: the East. 493 Odoacer put to death by Theodoric. I 528 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 496 IT Pope Anastasius II. 497 Clovisaiid the Franks convex ted to Christianity. 498 IT Pope Symmachus. 499 Alliance between Clovis and Theodoric tfee Great. 500 Gondebald, the Bnrg:undian, becomes tributary to Clovis. 501 The Bnrgundian Laws published by Gondebald. 502 Cabades King of Persia raA^ages part of the Eastern Empire. 504 1 he Eastern Empire makes peace with Cabades. 507 Clovis defeat? Alaric the Visigoth, and receives a congratu- latory embassy, wiih a diadem, from Anastasius. 508 Theodoric the Great defeats Clovis in the battle of Aries, and then makes peace with him. 510 Clovis makes i-'aris the capital of the kingdom of the Franks,; 511 Death of Clovis. Division of his kingdom among his four sons. Child ebert^ Thierry^ Clotairt^ and Clodomir, Kings nf^ihe Franks. 512 The Hernli allowed by Anastasius to settle in Thrace. 514 *i[ Pope Hormisdas. 615 Arthur king of the Britons supposed to have begun his reign, 516 The Computation of Time by the Christian ^ra introduced by Dion5'sius the Monk. 517 The Getae ravage Illyrium, Macedonia, and Epirus. 518 Justin 1, Emperor of the East, raised from obscurity. 519 Justin restores the Orthodox Bishops, and condemns the Eu- tychians. Cabades King of Persia proposes that Justin should adopt his son Cosroes, aad makes war on a refusal. 523 IT Pope John I. 525 The Arian Bishops deposed by Justin, and this act highly re- resented by Iheodoric. Antioch and many other cities almost destroyed by an earth- quake, and rebuilt by Justin, who adopts his nephew Jus- tinian . 526 Theodoric puts to death Boethius and Symmachus. IT Pope Felix IV. 527 Justinian 1 Emperor of the East. 529 Belisarius, General of Justinian, defeats the Persians. The Books of the Civil Law published by Justinian. 530 H Pope Boniface H. 532 Justinian congratulates Cosroes on succeeding to the throne of Persia, and concludes a perpetual peace v/ith him. Great Insurrection at Constantinople quelled with prodigious slaughter by Belisarius. 533 Athalaric King of the Ostrogoths dies, and is succeeded by his mother Amalasouta. TT Pope John II. 534 Thendobert King of Mctz. Belisarius defeats Gelimer and the Vandals in Africa. 535 !r Pope Agapetus. 536 ^ I'ope Sylvester. CHRONOLOGICAL TASL&i 629 I. y. 537 Belisarlus subdues the Ostrogoths in Italy, and takes Rome* 538 II Pope Vigiiius. 540 Belisarius refuses to accept the Crown of Ttaly. 543 Totila, the Goth, recovers Italy from the Romans. 547 Totila takes and plunders Rome. 548 Theobald King of Me!z. 549 Rome retaken by Beliaarius., 550 Commencement of the kingdom of Poland under Lechus. — — Rome recovered by Totila. 551 I'he manufacture of Silk introduced into Europe. 653 Totila defeated by Narses the Eunucli, and put to death. 555 H Pope Pelagius L 658 The Huns, breaking into Thrace, are defeated by Belisarius, 559 Belisarius degraded, and ungratefully treated by Justinian. ■^ — Clntaire sole King of France, 560 IT Pope John III. • — Belisarius restored to his Honours and Command. ^6*2 Caribert^ Gonlran Sigebtrt^ and Chilperic^ Kings of France, 565 Jlisdn II Emperor of Rome. 666 Narses, recalled from Italy, invites the Lombards to take possession of the country. 6G8 Italy conquered by the Lombards. 571 Birth of Mahomet the false Prophet, -. 574 IT Pope Benedict I. -* 578 Tiberius II Emperor of the East. TF Pope Pelagius II. 680 The Latin Tongue ceases to be spoken in Italy about this time. 682 Maurice Emperor of the East. 584 Cloitaire II King of Soissons. 690 Antioch again destroyed, with 30,000 inhabitants, by an Earthquake. IT Pope Gregory the Great 596 Thierry II and Theodobert II Kings of Paris and Ausirasia. Aug;ustine the Monk converts the Saxons to Christianity. €00 602 1 nocas Emperor of the East acknowledges the Supremacy of the Popes. 604 T Pope Sabinianuso -607 IT Pope Boniface IV, ' — The Pantheon at Rome Dedicated to God, the Virgin, and the Saints. ■608 IT Pope Boniface IV. 609 The Jews of Antioch massacre the Christians, 611 Heraclius Emperor of the East. 613 The French Maires du Palais first introduced by Clotalre as Regents, S14 Clotatre II sole King of France, -— Queen Bruuechilda, accused of numberless crimes, is put t# death by Clotaire IL ' 46 536 . GHttO?JOLOGICAL TASLE. A. D. ^15 IT Pope Deus-dedit. 616 Jerusalem taken by the Persians 'under Cosroes 11. G18 IT Pope Boniface V. 622 Era of the Heg^yra, or Flight of Mahomet from Mecca iK> Medina. 625 IT Pope Honorius I. The Persians under Cosroes II, with the Huns, Abari, and Sclavonians, besiee:e Constantinople. 628 Dagobert and Chariucrt Kings of trance.. ®32 Death of Mahomet. Abubeker succeeds him as Caliph of the Saracens. 633 Abubeker die?, and is succeeded by Omar in the Caliphate. •636 Jerusalem taken by Omar acd the baracens, "who keep pos- session of it 463 years. 638 Sigebert Hand Chris 11^ Kings of France. 640 IT Pope Severinus. ^ Pope John IV. - — The Library of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy Philadel- phus, is burnt by the Saracens. •-641 Const antine, Emperor of the East for a few months, poi- soned by his step-mother. Heraclionas and Tiberius III, Emperors of the East. 642 Constans, son of Constantine, Emperor of the East. 11 Pope Theodorus. 645 Otman succeeds Omar in the Caliphate. 648 Cyprus taken by the Saracens under Mawia, 649 IT Pope Martin I. 653 The Saracers take Rhodes, and destroy the Colossus. 654 Child eric JI King of Avstrasia, IF Pope El, genius I. '«55 Ali Caliph of Arabia. Mawia Caliph of Egypt. €57 If Pope Vitalianus. €58 The Saracens obtain Peace of the^Emperor Constans, and agree to pay a yearly tribute. 1168 CoilStantius V (Pogonatus) Emperor of the East. 669 Sicily ravaged by the Saracens. ^72 If Pope Adeodatus. The Saracens ineffectually besiege Constantinople. Their fleet destroyed by the Greek Fire used by Callinicus. 675 The Saracens attempt to land in Spain, but are repulsed by \^'amba King of the Visgoths. 676 11 Pope Don us. <79 Thierry J V King of all France. H Pope Agatho. 680 The sixth General or CEcumenical Council of Constantinople , 682 IF Pope Leo II. " Q?A IT Pope Benedict II. 685 IT Pope John V. . Justinian 11 Emperor of the East. The Britons, .totally subdued by live Saxons^ -retce at into Wales and Cornwall. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, ^31 A. D. 686 ir Pope Conor.. 686 Ceadvralla King of Wessex subdues Sussex and Kent. 637 IT Pope Sergius. , 690 Pepin Heristel, Maire du Palais^ defeats Thierry, and ae ? quires the chief powpr in France. 692' Clovis III King of' Francs. 694 Justinian II dethroned, mutilated, and banished by Leontiu8, 695 Childebert III King of France. LeoiUius Emperor of the East. Dethroned and mutilated by 697 Apsimar or Tiberius, Emperor of the East. 699 The Saracens defeated by John the Patrician. 700 The Saracens again defeated with great slaughter by Herac- lius, brother of Tiberius. 701 IF Pope John ^^I. 704 Justinian escapes from prison, defeats Tiberius, and ia restor- ed to the throne. 707 Justininn II defeated by the Bulgarians. 708 IF Pope Sisinnius. 'B' Pope Coastantine. 7J1 Philippicus Bardanes Emperor of the East. ~- Dagohtrt III King of France. 713 Anastasius II Emperor of the East. Spain conquered by the Saracens under Muca, the geia«cra-3 of the Caliph "V\alid. 714 IF Pope Gregory II. = Theodosius Emperor of the East. - — Charles j.lartel, Maire du Palais^ governs all France for 26 years. 716 Childeric II King of France, jueo (the Isarian) Emperor of the East. 720 Omar II besieges Constantinople without success. ■— — Thierry IV King of France. 726 Leo forbids the Worship of Images, which occasions a gTfat rebellion of his subjects. The Pope defends the practice. 728 Leo orders Pope Gregory to be seized and sent to Constant!- ' nople ; but the order is frustrated, and Leo confiseates the Imperial Domains of Sieily and Calabria. 729 The Saracens ravage Gallia Narbonnensis. 731 IF Pope Gregory III. 732 Charles Martel defeats the Saracens between Tours and Poictiers. 736 Leo persecutes the Monks. 737 Death of Peiagius, who preserved the Christian Monarchy in Asturia. 740 The Duchy of Spoleto seized by the NormaHs. Recovered by the Pope. 741 IF Pope Zachary. 742 Childeric III King of France, 4>3i2 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A, D. 742 Constantine (Copronymus) Emperor of the East. An ei> emy to hnagfes and saint worship. 743 He defeats and puts to death Artabazdusy who had seized Constantinople. 745 He destroys the fleet ot* the Saracens. 749 The Rnce of the Abassidse become Caliphs of the Saracens. 761 Pepin (h JBref) King of Frame ^ founder of the second or Carlovingian Race, 752 IT Pope Stephen III. 763 Astolphus King of the Lombards erects the Dukedom of Ra- venHa, and claims from the Pope the Dukedom of Rome. 754 Pope Stephen requests the assistance of Pepin against tlie Lombards. Pepin invades Italy, and strips Astolphus of his new posses* .«ions, conferring them on the Pope as a temporal sove- reignty. - — ATmanzor Caliph of the Saracens, a great encourager of learn- ing-. 756 Dcsiderius, or Dider, proclaimed King of the Lombards, with the Pope's consent. Abdalrahman I takes the title of King of Cordova, and is the founder of the splendid dominion of the Moors in Spain. 757 ^ Pope Paul I renews the alliance with Desiderius. 759 % Pope Stephen III quarrels with Desiderius. 762 Almanzor builds Bagdat, and makes it the seat of the Em- pire of the Caliphs. 767 The Turks ravage Asia Minor. 768 Charles {the Great) and Carloman^ Kings of France. H Pope Stephen IV. 770 Constantine dissolves the Monasteries in the East. 772 Charlemagne sole Monarch of France. He makes war against the Saxons. 1[ Pope Adiian I. 774 Charlemagne defeats Desiderius, and puts an end to the kiuiidom of the Lombards, which had subsisted 206 years. 775 Leo IV Emperor of East. 778 Battle of Roncezvalles between the Christians and Moors in Spain, where Rolando is killed. 779 Charlemagne conquers Navarre and Sardinia. 781 Constantine (Porphyrogenitus) Emperor of the East. Irene, Empress, is Regent in her son's minority, and keep&s him in entire subjection. <— She re-establishes the worship of images. 285 Charlemagne subdues the Saxons. Haroun Alraschid Caliph of the Saracens. He invades and ravages a part of the ewjpire. 786 Constantine assumes the government of the empire, and im . prisons his mother. 787 The Danes first land in England. -: — The seventh General Council, or second of Nice? CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 53S A. D. 788 Irene puts to death her son Constantine, and is procahned sole Empress. 793 Irene proposes to marry Charlemagne, which bein^ disap- proved by her subjects, she is dethroned, and confined to a monastery. Nicepliorus Emperor of the East. 794 Cliarleraagne defeats and extirpates the Huns. 794 IT Pope Leo HI. 797 The Saracen^ ravage Cappadocia, Cyprus, Rhodes, &c, Nicephorus associates his sou Saturacius in the empire. 800 New Empire of the West. Charlemagne crowned Em- peror at Rome. 807 Haroiin Alraschid courts the alliance of Charlemagne. 811 Michael (Curopalates) Emperor of the East. 813 JuP'O (the Ar nenian) Emperor of the East. Aima^aon, Caliph of the Saracens, a great encouarger of Icarnins^. 814 Lewis (le Dcbonnaire) Emperor of Frarice. 816 i'tie Eastern Empire ravaged by Earthquakes, Famine, Conflagrations, &;c. 816 IT Pope Stevf^n V. 817 1[ Pope Pascal I. L«^wis (le Deb.) divides the enapire among his sons. 821 ?'^Hchael (Balbus or the Stammerer) Emperor of the East, 824 H" Pope Eugene fl. 827 jE3!)tl*t unites the kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy. B«» ginning of the kingdom of England. IT Pope Valentine. 828 Gregory IV. |29 Theophi'US Emperor of the East. 838 ^tlirlbJOif Kiag of England. The Scots under Kenneth entirely subdue the Picts. 840 LOTHARIUS Emperor of Germany. Charles {the Bald) King of France. 841 Lotharius defeated by his two brothers in the battle of Fon- tenai, and deposed. 842 LEWIS (of Bavaria) JEmperor of Germany. Michael III Emperor of the East. 843 The Normans plunder the city of Rouen. 844 H Pope Sergius III. 845 The Normans plunder Hamburgh, and penetrate into Ger- many. 847 If Pepe Leo IV. • 848 The Venetian Fleet destroyed by the Saracens. 851 If Pope Joan supposed to have filled the Papal chair fv»r iwo years. ^— Bas llius associated Emperor of the East, 45* ^34 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLEw A. D. 855 LEWIS II Emperor of Germany. €57 IStfielDilltr and lEthelttVt Kings of England. 858 If Pope Nicholas I. ^ , 866 ^thrlrrtr King of England. 867 The Danes ravage England. Basilius sole Emperor of the East. ' H Pope Adrian IT. - — Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, excommunicates Pope Adrian. 872 ^IfrP^ (the Great) King of England. V Pope John VIII. 875 CHARLES (the Bald) Emperor of Germany. 877 LEWIS (the Stammerer) Emperor of Germany and King of France. 879 Lewis III and Carleman^ Kings of France* ■ The kingoiom of Aries begins. 880 CHARLES (the Gross) Emperor of Germany and King of France. Ravagers of the Normans in France, 882 ? Pope Marinus. 884 ^ Pope Adrian HI. 886 Leo (the Philosopher) Emperor of the East. The University of Oxford founded by Alfred. 887 AliJ^OLD Emperor of Germany. The Normans besiege Paris, -which is gallantly defended by Eisjiop Goselin and Count Eudes. 5888 Exidf.3 or Odo King of Franc t. 890 Alfred the Great composes his Code of Laws, and divide? England into Counties, Hundreds, and Tithingr- 891 IT Pope Formosus. 896 ^ Pope Stephen VII. ^97 If Pope John IX. 898 Cli-arles III (the Simple) King of FrmcCo. 900 . IT Pope Benedict IV. LEWIS /F" Emperor of Germany. SOI l^^UtU (the Elder) succeeds Alfred aa King of E-ngland .a 904 IF Pope Leo V. S05 IT Pope Sers:ius III. ♦ • 911 COJfRAD^I Emperor of Germany. Constantine IX Emperor of the East. 912 The Normans are established in Normandy under RoUo, 913 IT Pope AnastasiUs, 814 H Pope Landon. 915 Constantine and Romanus Emperors of the East.. Pope John X. The University of Cambridge founded by Edward the Elder^ 920 HEJVRY (the Fowler) Emperor of Germany. 923 Rodolph Kim of France. Qro ^XMntm King of England, CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 535 A. D. 928 ir Pope Leo VI. 929 ir Pope Stephen VIII. 931 % Pope Johu XI. 936 OTHO (the Great) Emperor of Germany. — - IT Pope Leo VII. 936 Leivis IV {d^ Outremer) King of France. 939 IF Pope Stephen IX. 940 Howel-Dha, King of Wales, an eminent Lawyer. , 941 ^trmUntr I Kin- of England. 943 IT Pope Marinus XIIL 946 ^ Pope Agapet. 948 ^Dfretr King of England. \ • 954 Lolharius King of France. 955 coin by the troops of Matilda, 1143 He recovers his kingdom. If Pope Cselestiuus II. * Manuel (Comnenus) Emperor of the East. 1144 IT Pope LuciuE il. 1145 t Pope Eugene III. 1147 The second Crnsade excited by St. Bernard. 1150 The study of the Civil Law revived at Bolcjrna. 1151 The Canon Law is collected by Gratiau, a monk of Bologtta 1152 FREDERICK / (Barl.arossa) Emperor of Germany. 11.53 Malcolm IV King of Scotland. ' f Pope Anastasius IV. • *— Treaty of Winchester. Compromise between King Stcphcia and Prince Henry. 1154 l?ettr? H (Plantagenet) King England. •■■ ■ Pope Adrian IV. " The parlies of the Guelphs and Ghibellines disturb Italy. 1157 The bank of Venice instituted. 1158 Interview betw^een Henry II and Malcolm IV at Carlisle. 1159 V Pope Alexander III. 1160 The A.ibigenvs maintain heretical doctrines. 1164 Institution of the order of the Teutonic Knights in Germany^ • T. Becket condemned by the Council of Clarendoa. 1165 William (the Lion) King- of Scotland. 1171 T. Becket murdered at Canterbury. 1172 Conquest of Ireland by Henry II. 1180 Philip Augustus Kir.g of France. 1181 Alexius 11 (Comnenus) Emperor of the East. 1183 ? Pope Lucius HI. Androiiicus, (Comnenus) Emperor of the Eaat. 1185 'i Pope Urban III. ^ Isaac Angclus Emperor of the East. 1187 V Pope Gregory VIII. -, The city of Jerusalem taken by Saladin. 1188 T Pope Clement III. 1189 BiCljarB I (Coeur de Lion) King of England. • The third Crusade under Richard I and Philip Augustus, 1190 HENRY r/- Emperor of Germany. 1191 % Pope Calestinus III. 1192 Richard I defeats Saladin in the battle of Ascalon. Guy of Lusignan King of Jerusalem. 11<>5 Alexius Angelus (the 'Tyrant) Emperor of the East. 1198 PHILIP Emperor of Germany. II Pope Innocent HI. 1199 3l0^n King of England. 1200 1202 The fourth Crusade sets out from Venice. JtifIRONOLO(*T«AL TABLK. SS'f' A. B. 1^202 Constantinople taken by the French and Venetians. . 1203 Alexins and Murbzuphlus Emperors of the East. 1204 Baldwin I Emperor of Constantinople, and 1 heodore L CLascaris) Emperor cf Nicrea. The Inquisition established by Pope Innocent III. 1206 Henry Emperor of C-.>nstantinople. 1208 OTHO IV Eraperor of Germany. London incorporated, obtains a Charter for electing a Mayor and Magiptiates. 1210 Crusad* a^-rainst the AlbisfenseF, under Simon dc Montfor.t. 1212 FREDERICK II Emperor of Germany. 1214 Alexander II King of Scotland. 1215 Magna Charta sig-ned by King John, 1216 l^mv^ Hi KingV England. i^eter and John Ducas, Emperors of the East. 1210 Robert Emperor of the East. Damictta taken by tiie Crusaders. 1223 'Lads Fill Kina of France, 1226 IT Pope IL.r.orius^lII. St. Lewis IX King of France. 1227 IT Pope Gregory IX. Gengiskan and the Tartars overrun the empire of tke Saracens. 1228 Baldwin II French Emperor of Constantinople. 1234 The Inquisition committed to the Dominican Monks, 1237 Russia brought under subjection by the Tartars. 1241 If PopeCa^lestinuslV. 1243 !r Pope Innocent IV. 1248 The fifth Crusade under St. Lewis. 1249 Alexander 111 King of Scotland. 1251 COjYRAD /r Emperor of Germany. 1254 ^ Pope Alexander IV. — — Interregnum in the empire of Germany, from the death of Conrad IV in 1254, to the election of Rodolph in 1273. 1255 Theodore II (Lascaris) Emperor of Nicjea. 1258 Bagdat taken by the Tartars. End of the Empire of tiie Sa- racens. 1259 John (Lascaris) Emperor of Nicsea. 1260 Michael (Palaologus) Emperor of Nica^a. • The Flagellants preach Baptism by Brood. 1261 % Pope Urban IV. The Greek Emperors recover Constantinople from theFrench. 1263 The Norwegians invade Scotland, and are defeated by Alex- ander III in the battle of Largs. 1284 ^ Pope Clement IV. The Deputies of Boroughs first iguiiuBoned to Parliament ift England. — — Henry III of England taken prisoner in the battle of Lewe$. i2€^ Charles Cottet of Anjou King of Sicily v 54@ CflRIJNOLOGlGAL TABLE. A. D. 1270 Philip in {the Bold) King oj France. 1271 '^ } ope Gregory X. 1*272 ©istoirD 1 (Lougshanks) King: of England. 1273 RUDOLPH {oi Hapsburg) Emperor of Germany, first c' the Austrian Family. 1276 IT Pope Innocent V. ' IT PoDe'Adrian V. f T'ope John XXI, 1277 IT Pope -Mchnlas ill. 1281 IF Pope Martin IV. 1282 The Sicilian Vespers, when 8,000 French were massacred . 1283 Aridronicus 1 (-alfeologus) Emppror of the East. — — The cenqiipst of Wales by Edward I. 1285 ? Pope Honorius IV. Philip IV {the Fair) King of France, 1286 Margaret (of Norway) Queen of Scotland. 1288 If Pope Nicholas IV. 1290 Interregnum in Scotland for two years. Competition be- tween Bruce and Baliol for the crown, decided by Ed- ward I. 3291 Ptolemais taken by the T'.rk^. End of the Crusades. 1292 J ohn Paliol King of Scotland. ADOLPHUS (of Nassau) Emperor of Germany. IT Pope Caelestinus V. 1293 From this year there is a reg;ular succession of English Par- liaments. 1294 ? t'ope Boniface VIII. 1295 Michael Andronicus Emperor of the East. 1296 Interregnum -in Scotland for eight year?. Sir William Wal- lace nobly supports the liberty of his country, defeats the English at Sterling, and drives them out of the kingdom. 1298 Wallace chosen Regent of Scotland, defeated at Falkirk. ALBERT I (of Austria) Emperor of Germany. The present Turkish Empire begins under Ottoman in Bi- thynia. 1300 1301 Quarrel between Philip the Fair and Pope Boniface VIII. 1302 Comyn and Eraser defeat the English thrice in one day. — — The Mariner's Compass said to be discovered at Naples. 1304 Wallace betrayed, delivered up, and put to death by Ed- ward I. 1306 Robert I (Bruce) King of Scotland. 1307 The Establishment of the Swiss Eepublics. .. OEDUjarn 11 King of England. 1308 HE.YRY VII Emperor of Germany. • — :- f Pope Clement V. r— — The seat of the Popes transferred to Avignon for scventf years. itSlO Rhodes taken by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem* CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 541 A. I>. 131 1 Pierce Gareston, favourite of Edward II, put to death. 1312 The Knights Templars suppressed by Philip the Fair. 1314 The Scots under Robert Bruce defeat the English under Edh ward II at Bannockburn. LE WIS V (of Bavaria) Emperor of Gevjoaany. Lewis X {Hutin) King of France. 1315 John King of France. 1316 IT Pope John XXII. . Philip V(the Long) King of France. 1320 Andronicus 11 (Palxologus) Emperor of the East. 1321 Charles IV {the Fair) King of France. 1327 ^nto^ra I! I King of England. 1323 Philip VI {of Valois) King of France. 1329 I}avid II King of Scotland. Randolph Earl of Murray Regent. 1331 The I'eutonic Knights settle in Prussia. 1332 Edward Baliol, assisted by Edward III, is crowned at Scone King of Scots, but is soon driven out of the kingdom. 1333 Casimir III (the Great) King of Poland. 1334 IT Pope Benedict XII. 2340 Gunpowder invented by Swartz, a monk of Cologne, Oil Fainting invented by John Van Eyk. 1341 John V (Palfeologus) Emperor of the East. John Cantacuzenos, his governor, usurps the throae. 1342 If Pope Clement VI. 1346 Battle of Cressy won by Edward III and the Black Prince over the French. ' ■ Battle of Durham, in which David 11 of Scotland is taken prisoner. 1347 CHARLES IV Emperor of Germany. ' Cola Rienzi assumes the Government of Rome. 1350 The order of the Garter instituted by Edward III. Peter (the Cruel) King of Castile. 1351 John II Kins: of France. 1352 ir Pope Innocent VI. '^' The I'urks first enter Europe. 1356 The Battle of Poictiers, in which John IT King of France is taken prisoner, and afterwards brought to London. 1362 IT Pope Urban V. [English. The Law-pleading^s in England changed from French to 1346 Charles V King of France, 1370 IF Pope Gregory XI. "-— Robert II King of Scotland. 1377 The Seat of the Popes removed back from Avignon to Rome» K.C^actJ 11 King of England. Wickliffe^s Doctrines propagated in England. 1378 The Schism of the double Popes at Rome and Avignon be- gins and continues thirty-eight years. ~- f Pope Urban VI of Rome. f Pope Ciemeut VII of Avignon. 46 542 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1378 WENCESLAUS, Emperor of Germany, deposed in 1400. 1380 Charles VI King of France. Tamerlane invades and subdues Choras«ar. 1381 Wat Tyler's and Jack Straw's Insurrection in England. ■— ~ — Peace between Venice and Genoa. Bills of Exchange first used in England. 1383 Cannon first used by the English in the defence of Calais. 1384 Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, succeeds to the Earl- dom of Flanders. 1386 Tamerlane subdues Georgia. 1388 Battle of Otterburn between Percy (Hotspur) and Douglas. 1389 IT PopeBoniface IX. 1390 Robert III King of Scotland. 1391 Manuel II (Palfeologus) Emperor 6f the East. 1392 The Cape of Good Hope discovered by the Portuguese. 3394 The Jews banished from France by Charles VI. If Pope Benedict XIII. 1395 Sigismund King of Hungary defeated by Bajazet I. 1398 Tamerlane subdues part of Hindostan, and takes Delhi, 1399 l^enre IV King of England. 1400 1,402 Bajazet is taken prisoner by Tamerlane in the Battle of Angon'a. Battle of Halidoun Hill, in which the Scots are defeated. 1403 Battle of Shrewsbury, in which Hotspur is killed. 1404 IF Pope Innocent VII. 1405 Death of Tamerlane. 1406 James I King of Scotland. IF Pope Gregory XII. 1409 Council of Pisa, where Pope Gregory is deposed. IT Pope Alexander V. 1410 JOSSE (Marquis of Brandenburgh) Emperor of Germany. IF Pope John XXIII. 1411 SIGISMVMD E,: peror of Germany. The University cf St. Andrews in Scotland founded. 1413 I'^Zm'i V King of England. 1414 Council of Constance, in which two Popes were deposed, and Popedom remained vacant near three years. 1415 Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt. ~- - ■ John Huss condemned by the Council of Constance for Here- sy and burnt. 1416 Jerome of Prague condemned by the same Council, and burnt. 1417 IF Pope Martin V. «.^-^ Paper first made from linen rags. 1420 The island of Madeira discovered by the Portuguese. 1421 John VI (Palffiologus) Emperor of the East. 1422 Amurath besieges Constantinople. !l)fnr? Vi King of England. * . Charles VII King of France. - — - James I King of Scots liberated from cfeiptivity by the EnglUk* CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE, 543 \. B. 1425 The Court of Session in Scotland instituted by James I. 1428 Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, compels the English to rai?e the siejrc of that town. 1431 H Pope Eugene IV= Rise of the Medici family at Florence. 1436 Paris recovered by the French from the English. 1437 eJames 11 King of Scotland. 1438 ALBERT II Emperor of Germany. 1439 Reunion of the Greek and Latin Churches. — — The Pragmatic Sanction established in France, 1440 FREDERICK III Emperor of Germany. — — Invention of the art of Printing by John Guttenberg at Strasburg-. 1444 Ladislaus King; of Hungary killed in battle with the Turks. 1445 CoDStantine (Palsologus) Emperor of ihe East. 1446 Great Inundation of the sea in ilolland. 1447 ^ Pope Nicholas V. Rise of the Sforza Family at Milan. 1453 Constantinople taken by the Turks. Extinction gf tke Eastern Empire of the Romans. End of the English government in f ranc©. 1455 "if Pope Calixtus III. _ Battle of St. Albans, where Henry VI is taken prisoner by the Duke of York. 1458 f Pope Pius II (^neas Sylvias). 1459 The art of Engraving on copper invented. 1460 James III King of Scotland. Battle of Wakefield, in which the Duke of York is killed. 1461 (t^tslD-atB IV^ King of England. -, Jjcwis XI King of France. 1470 Henry VI restored to the throne of England. 1471 Battle of Barnet, where Warv,'ick is killed. Battle of Tewksbury, where the Lancastrians are totally defeated. Edward IV restored. Prince Edward of Lancaster basely murdered by Clarence and Gloucester. Death of Henry VI. ._„.- T[ Pope Sixtus IV. 1474 The Cape de Verd Islands discovered by the Portuguese. 1475 Edward IV invades France. Peace of Pecquigni purchased by the French. 1479 Ferdinand and Isabella unite the kingdoms of Arragon and Castile. , Russia freed from subjection to the Tartars by John Basil- witz. 1483 Charles Fill King of France. l III King of England. 1484 II Pope Innocent VIII. 1485 battle of Bosworth, in which Richard III is killed. .^— "iydVCi Vll King of England, first oi the house of Tudor. Union of the houses of York and Lancaster* ^44 CHROJ^OLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1488 James IV King of Scetland. 3491 Granada taken by Ferdinand and Isabella. End of the kingdom of the Moors in Spain. 1492 IT Pope Alexander VI (Borgia). ■ Hispaniola and Cuba discovered by Christopher Colqmbus, 1493 MAXIMILIAjY I Emperor of Germany. 1494 Expedition of Charles VIII into Naples. Algebra first known in Europe. America discovered by Columbus. 1497 The Portnguese, under Vasco de Gama, double the Cape of Good Hope and sail to the East Indies. 1498 Lewis XII King of France. Savanorala burnt by Pope Alexander VI for preaching against the vices of the clergy. 1499 Lewis Xil takes possession of the Milanese. Sebastian Cabot lands .-i North America. 1500 Brazil discovered by the Portuguese. iMaximilian divides Germany into six Circles, a»d adds fbiir more in 1512. 1503 ^ Pope Pius III. IT Pope Julias II. Battle of Cerizole*, in which the French lose Naples. 1504 Philip I King of Spain. — 1506 Jane his Queen. 1507 Madacrasf ar discovered by the Portuguese. 1508 League of Cambray against the Venetians. 1509 f}m^ VI 11 King of England. Battle of Agnatlello, May 14. 1511 Cuba conquered by the Spaniards. 1513 Battle of Floddea, fatal to the Scots. J ames V King of Scotland. *S Pope Leo X. 1515 Fronc^s I King of France. 1516 Charles I (Emperor Charles V) King of Spain. -— — Barbarossa seizes the Kingdom of Algiers. 1517 'J"he Reformation in Germany begun by Luther. < The Turks put an end to the reign of the Mamelukes ia Egypt. 1518 Leo X condemns Luther's Doctrines. 1519 CHARLES V Emperor of Germany. Fernando Cortez engages in the conquest of Mexico. 1520 Sweden and Denmark united. [ Trollo. Massacre at Stockholm by Christiern II and Archbishop 1521 IT Pope Avlriau VI. Gustavus Vasa King of Sweden. Cortez completes the conquest of Mexico. 1522 The first Voyage round the world performed bf a ship ««t Magellan's squadron. 1523 Solyman the Matjnificent takes Belgrade- IT Pope Clement^II. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. S'45 A. D. 1524 Swe(Scn and Denmark embrace the Protestant faith. 1525 Battle of Pavia, in which Francis I i3 taken prisoner by Charles V. 1526 Treaty of Madrid between Charles V and Francis I, when the latter is set at liberty. 1527 Rome taken and plundered by Charles V. Pizarro and Dalmagro invade the empire of Peru. 1528 Revolution of Genoa by Andrea Doria. Gustavus Eriscon crowned King^ of Sweden. 1529 Diet of Spires against the Huguenots, then first termed Pro- testants. — — Peace of Cambray, August 5. 1530 The League of Smalcald between the Protestants, 1531 Michael Servetus burnt for heresy at Geneva. 1532 The Treaty of Nuremberg, August 2. The Court of Session inScotland new-modeled by James V. 1534 The Reformation in England. IT Pope Paul III. — — Barbarossa seizes the Kingdom of Tunis. ■ Jack of Leyden heads the Anabaptists at Munster. 1535 The Society of the Jesuits instituted by Ignatius Loyola. • Expedition of Charles V against Tunis. 1538 Treaty of Nice between Charles V and Francis L 1540 Dissolution of the Monasteries in England by Henry VIH. 1542 Mary Queen of Scotland. 1544 The French defeat the troops of Charles V. in the battle of Cerizoles. The Treaty of Crepi. 1545 The Council of Trent begins, which continued eighteen years. 1546 Cardinal Beaton, of St. Andrew's, assassinated. 1547 Fiesco's Conspiracy at Genoa. The Battle of Mulberg, in which the Protestants are de- feated, and the Elector of Saxony taken prisoner. CDtD^D VI King of England. Htnry TI King of France. 1548 The Interim granted by Charles V to the Protestants. 1550 V Pope Julius III. 1552 The Treaty of Passau between Charles V and the Elector erf Saxony, for the Establishment of Lutheranism. 1553 ^4rp Queen of England. Lady Jane Grey beheaded. 1555 ? Pope Marcellus II. ^ Pope Paul IV. -„ — Many Bishops Burnt in England by Mary. 1556 FERDIKAKD I Emperor of Germany. Philip II King of Spain. 1557 Philip II defeats the French at St. Quiatin, 1558 (Klt^abetlj Queen of England. 1559 If Pope Pius IV. Francis II King of France "-"— Treaty of Catleau-CambreaisT 46* ' 546 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1660 Charles IX King of France. Conspiracy of Amboise formed by the party of Conde againr^ that of Guise. Beginning of the Civil Wars in France. ■ The Reformation completed in Scotland by John Knox. 1561 Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Scotland from France. 1562 Battle of Dreux. Victory of the Guises over Coude. 1564 MAXIMILIAN II Emperor of Germany. 1566 IT Pope Pius VI. Revolt of the Netherlands from Philip II. 1567 The Duke of Alva sent by Philip to the Netherlands. James VI King of Scotland. 1568 Mary Queen of Scots flees to England for protection. Philip II puts to death his son Don Carlos. 1569 The Earl of Murray, Regent of Scotland, assassinated by Hamilton. The battles of Jarnac and Moncontour in France, in. which the Protestants are defeated. 1571 Naval Victory at Lepanto, where the Turks are defeated by Don John of Austria. 1572 IT Pope Gregory XIII. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew, August 24. 1574 Henry III King of France. ^ " Socinus propagates his opinions. Don Sebastian King of Portugal invades Africa. 3576 RODOLPIIUS 11 Emperor of Germany. • The League in France formed against the Protestants. 1579 Commencement of the Republic of Holland, by the union cl Utrecht. 1580 Philip II takes possession of Portugal. The World circumnavigated by Sir Francis Drake. 2582 The new Style introduced into Italy by Pope Gregory XIII, the 5th October being counted the 15th. 1584 William I Prince of Orange murdered at Delft. ' Virginia discovered by Sir Walter Raleigh. 1585 IT Pope Sixtus V. 1587 Mary Queen of Scots beheaded at Fotheringay. 1588 Destruction of the Spanish Armada by the English. 1589 Henry III of France murdered by Jaquez Clement. Henry IV {the Great) King of France. 1590 The battle of Ivry, which ruins the league in France. ir Pope Urban VII. H Pope Gregory XIV. 1591 The Univjersity of Dublin erected. ? Pope Innocent IX. 1592 Presbyterian Church Government established in •Scotland'. ^ Pope Clement VIII. 1594 The Bank of England incorporated. 1598 Edict of Nantes, tolerating the Protestants in France. Peace of Verins concluded betwetn France aad Spaia^ Philip III King of Spain. ^^^ Tyroiie's rebellion ia Irela»d. CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 547 A. D. 1600 — — Gowrie's Conspiracy in Scotland. The Earl of Essex beheaded. The English East India Company established. 1602 Decimal Arithmetic invented at Bruges. 1603 3IamejSi I King of Great Britain. Union of the Crowus of England and Scotland. 1605 The Gunpowder Plot discovered. % Pope Paul V. 1608 Galileo discovers the Satellites of Jupiter, Arminius propagates his opinions. 1610 Henry IV of France murdered by Ravaillac. 1610 Lctvis III King of France. The Moors expelled from Spain by Philip III. Hudson's Bay discovered. 1611 Baronets first created in England by James L 1612 MATTHIAS Y^m^evov of Germany. 1614 Logarithms invented by Napier. 1616 Settlement of Virginia by Sir Walter Pvaleigh. 1613 The Synod of Dort in Holland. 1619 Discovery of the Circulation of the blood by Dr. Harvey. ' FERDIjYAKD II Emperor of Germany. Vanini burnt at Thoulouse for Atheism. 1620 The Battle of Prague, by which the Elector Palatine loses his E'lectorate. The English make a settlement at Madras. Navarre united to France. 1621 Philip IV King of Spain. Batavia, in the island of Java, built and settled by the Dutch. IT Pope Gregory XV. 1623 IT Pope Urban VIII. 1625 Ci)ati-!0 I ICing of Great Britian. The Island of Barbadoes the first English settlement in the V\^est Indies. 1626 League of the Protestant Princes against the Emperor. 1632 Gustavus Adolphus killed in the battle of Lntzen. Christina Queen of Sweden. 16.35 The French Academy instituted. 1637 FERDIJVA.YD III Emperor of Germany. 1638 Bagdat taken by the Turks. The Solemn League and Covenant established in Scotland. 1640 John Duke of Braganza recovers the Kingdom of Portugal, 1641 The Irish Rebellion, and Massacre of the^ Protestants^ Octo- ber 23. The Earl of Strafibrd beheaded. 1642 Beginning of the Civil War in England. The battle of Edgehill,-October 23. 1043 Lttvis XIV King of France. Ann of Austria Regent of France. ' Archbisiiop Laud condemaedby tkii Cdittflfltofis, acd'belieadcd, 2644 1 Pope laaoceat X. 548 CHRONOt^OGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1644 Revolution in China by the Tartars. 1645 Charles I defeated in the battle of Naseby. 1648 The Peace of Westphalia. The Civil War of the Fronde at Paris. 1649 Charles I of England feeheaded. — Commonwealth of England beginsV 1650 The Marquis of Montrose put to death. Battle of Dunbar. Covenanters defeated by Cromwell. 1651 The battle of Worcester won by Cromwell. 1652 The first War between the English and Dutch. 1654 End of the Commonwealth of England. Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector. ■ ■ ■ ■ The English, under Admiral Penn, take possession of Jamai- ca. — — Christina Queen of Sweden resigns the Crown to Charles X. 1655 If Pope Alexander VII. 1653 LEOPOLD I Emperor of Germany. . Richard Cromwell Lord Protector of England. 1659 The Peace of the Pyrenees between France and Spain. 1660 C!tl)arif^ Jl King of Great Britain. Restoration of Monar- chy. — — The Peace of Oliva between Sweden, Denmark, and Poland. 1662 The Royal Society instituted in England. 1663 Charter of Carolina, and a colony settled soon after. The French Academy of Inscriptions instituted. 1664 The second Dutch War begins. 1665 Charles 11 King of Spain. Great Plague in London. 1666 Great Fire in London. The Academy of Science instituted in France. Sabatei Levi, in Turkey, pretends to be the Messiah. 1667 The Peace of Breda, which confirms to the English PennsyV rania, New- York and New-Jersey. ? Pope Clement IX. 1668 The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. 1669 The island of Candia taken by the Turks. 1670 If Pope Clement X. 1672 Lewis XIV conquers great part of Holland. The De Witts put to death in Holland. 1674 John Sobieski King of Poland. 1676 If t^pe Innocent XI. 1678 The Peace of Nimeguen, July 31. = The Habeas Corpus act passed in England* 1679 The Long Parliament of Charles II dissolved. 1681 Peter the Great Czar of Muscovy. 1683 Execution of Lord Russel, July 21. — — Execution of Algernon Sydney, December 7.- -^ The Siege of Vienna by the Turks raised by John Sobieski. 1685 3lamejS il King of Great Britain. — — Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Lewis XIY. '^ Duke of Monnaovith beheaded. e^RONOLOGICAL TABLE. 349 A. I). 1G86 The Nf^wtonian Philosophy f.rst published, in Exaglanil. — — The Leag-ue of Aug-sburg against France. 1688 Revolution in Britain. King James abdicates the throne, December 23. 1689 ^M'llum «n(| ^M^ King and Queen of Great Britain. Episcopacy abolished in Scotland by King William. H Pope Alexander Vill. 16^0 Battle of the Boyne, July 1. 1691 ^ Pope Innocent XI!. 1692 Battle of La liog-ue, May 19. The Massacre of 'Glcucoe in Scotland, Jan. 3!. O. S. Battle of Steedkirk. King William defeated by Luxemburg:, July 24. ^ Hanover made the ninth Electorate ogpfte Empire. 1695 Namur taken by King William, June 25. 1697 Peace of Riswick concluded, September II. Charle- XU King of Sweden. 1699 Peace of Carlovitz concluded, January 26. 1700 . Philip V King of Spain. ^ Pope Clement XL 1701 Death of James II at St. Germain's. 1702 2nne Queen of Great Britain. Vv'ar against France and Spain. The English and Dutch destroy the French Fleet at Vigo. The French send colonies to the Mississippi. 1703 Gibraltar taken by Aditiiral Rooke, July 24. 1704 Battle cf Blenheim, The French defeated by Marlborougli and Prince Eugene, Ar.giist 2. Peter the Great found? it. Petersburgh. 1705 The English lake Borcelona. JOSEPH I Emperor of Gc rmany. 1706 Battle of Ramilies. The French* defeated by the Duke of Marlborough, May 12. _ The Irealv of Union between England and Scotland, signed July 22.' 1707 The battle of Almauza. The French ind Spaniards, under the Duke of Be; v/ick, defeat the allies, April 14. 1708 Battle of Oudmarde. 1 he French defeated by Marlbo- rough and Eugene, June 30. Minorca taken by General Staphope, September 18. 1709 Battle of PultoAva. Charles Xil defeated by Czar Peter, June 30. - — Battle of Malplaquet. The French defeated by Marlborough aad Eugene, September 1 L 171 1 CITARLES VI Emperor of Germany. 1713 The Peace of Utrecht signed March 30. 171 A^ZQX%1 I Elector of Hanover, King of Great Britain. 2715 Lewis XF Kvag of France. ^^^^ The Rebellion of Scotiand, Battle oL Sheriff muir, Novem- ber 13, 550 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1716 Prince Eugene defeats the Turks at Peterwaradin. JI718 Charles XII of Sweden killed at the siege of FrederickshalL 1721 IT Pope Innocent XIII. 17^24 T Pope Benedict XIII. [Empress. 1723 Death of Peter the Great, Czar of Muscovy. Catharine 1726 Great Earthquake at Palermo, August 21. 1727'€^eorge U Kmg of Great Britain. 1727 Treaty of Copenhag-en between Great Britain andDemnarkt The Spaniards besiege Gibraltar, May 20. 1728 Treaty between Great Britain and Holland, May 27. The Congress of Soissons, June 14. 1729 Treaty of Seville between Great Britain, France and Spaia, November 9-^ 1730 T Pope Clemel|KII. Christian VI King of Denmark. The Persians under Kouli-Khan defeat the Turks. 1731 Treaty between Great Britain, the Emperor, and Kia§p of Spain, July 22. 3733 The Jesuits expelled from Paraguay, January. Frederick III King of Poland. 1734 Commercial Treaty between Great Britain and Prussia, De- cember 2. 1735 The French defeat the Imperialists in Italy. 1736 Peace between Spain and Austria. - Kouli-Khan (Nadir-Schah) proclaimed King of Persia, Sep- tember 29. 1737 \Var declared between the Emperor and the Turks, July 2. 1738 The Russians invade the Crimea. 1739 Kadir-Schah conquers the greater part of the Mogul Empire. Treaty between Great Critain and DenL'^ark. Peace between the Emperor and the Turks, August 21. Peace between Russia aud the Turks, jNovember. 1740 Frederick III (the Gceat) King of Prussia. IT Pope Benedict XIV. ~ — • War between Poland and Hungary. 1741 War declared between Russia and Sweden. The Prussians masters of Silesia, October 20. 1742 Peace between Austria and Prussia, June M. » Defensive Alliance between Great Britain and Prussia, No- vember 18. — - CHARLES VII (of Bavaria) Emperor of Germany. 1743 Defensive Alliance between Great Britain and Russia, Feb- ruary. War in Germany between the British, Hungarians, French, and Austrians. — -~ The French deftaied by the allies at Dettingen, June 6. 1744 War declared in Great Biiiain against France, March 31. '— — The King of Prussia takes Prague. Commc/dore Anson completes his Voyage round the world. 1745 FRAjYCIS I (of Lorraine) Emperor of Germany. "— Quadruple Alliance between Britain, Austria, Holland, and Poland, Jajiuary §, eHRON®L»GICAL TABLE. 551 A. D. 1745 The allied army defeated by the French at Fontenoy, April 30. Louishurg and Cape Breton taken by theBritish troops,Jime 6, ■ The Rebellion breaks oat in Scotland, July. Treaty of Dresden between Prussia, Poland, Austria, and Saxony, December 25. 1746 Ferdinand VI King of Spain. Frederick V King of Denmark. Count Saxe takes Brussels and x4ntwerp. — -— Victory of CuUoden, which puts an end to the Rebellion iu Scotland, April 16. = Lords Balmerino and Kilmarnock beheaded, August 18. Count Saxe defeats the aliies at Raucoiix, Oct. 1 1. Dreadful Earthquake at Lima in Peru, October !7. 1747 Kouli-Khan murdered. Revolution in Persia. 1748 Peace of Aix-la-rihapelle belweon Great Britain, France, Spain, Austria, Sardinia, and Holland, October 7. 1750 Joseph King of Portug'al. Academy of Sci'^nces found '.d at Stockholm. 1751 Adolphus of Holplein King; of Sweden. Ptace between Spain and Portugal 1752 New Style introduced in Rrifain, Sept. 3 reckoned 14. 1753 The British Museum e3tanlished in Monfaguc house. 1754 Great Eruption of J£tun. Great Eanh^juake at Constantinople and Cairo, Sept. 2. 1755 Lisbon destroyed by an F>avthqi!ake, November 1. 1756 War declared between Great Bri'.ain and France, May 18. 1757 "^'he Kin^' <">f Prussia conquers Silesia. 1758 IT Fove Clement, XIII. 1759 f'h French de^ ated by the allied army at Minden, Aug. 1. Charges HI King of Spam. — — The Jesuits expelled from Portugal, Sept. 3. General Wolfe takes Quebec in Canada, Sept. 17. 1760 Montreal and Canada taken by tUe British, Sept. 8- 0i:;,r{j?. 1 1 1 King of Great Britain, October 25. 1762 Peter" IIT Eraneror of Russia. — ^ The Jesuits banished irom Pravice, August. ' Peace between Great Britain and France at Fontaineblea% Nov. 3. 1763 Peace between Great Britain, France, and Spain, at Parlsj February 0. • Catharine II Empress of Russia. 1764 Stanislaus II KJMg of Poland. Byron's Discoveries in the South Seas« 1765 JOSEPH 11 Fm peror of Germany. '1766 Th-3 Jesuits expelled from Bohemia and Denmark. Christian VU Krng of Denmark. 1767 T'ne Jesuits expelled from Spain, Genoa, and Venice, Discoveries of Waliis and Carteret in Lhe South Seas» 1763 Boyal Academy of Arts estai)Hshad at London. The Jesuits exjielled from Naples, Malta, and Pai'ma- — — Bougaimriile's Discoveries in" the South Seas. 552 CHRONOLeaiCAL TABLE. A. D. 17o9 1i Pope Clement XIV. Cook's first DisGoveries in the South Seas, •— — Corsica taken by the French, June 13. 1770 Earthquake at St. Domingo. 177; Gnstavas III King of Sweden. 1772 Revohition in Sweden, August 19. P( land dismembered by R'!ssia, Prussia, and Austria. 1773 C«<'k's second Voyag-e and Discoveries. — — 1 he •fnciety of Jesuits suppressed by the Pope's bull, Au- gust -JS. 1774 lev-is XVI King of France. 11775 Fa tie of P-anker's hill in North America, June 7. 177G ^ Pope Pius VI. '] bo Americans declare their Independence, July 4. 177^ R ary Qaeen of PortugKl. Surrender of the Brici^h Ariny nnder Burgoyne at Saratogtjj in the state of iNew-Vork, Oct. J7. 1778 Leagrue b( tween the French and Americans, Oct. 30. 1779 Peace between.the Irr-prrialists and Prussians, May 13. Great Eruption of Vesuvius, August 8. Siege of Gibraltar by the SpanifirJ?, July. Captain Co^k killed in the island of Owyhee. 1730 frreat Riots in London on account of the Popish Bill, June 2, War declared between Great Britain and Holland, Dtcem- ber 20. 1781 Surrender ©f the British Army under Cornwallisto the Ame- ricans ar>d French at Yorktown in Virginia, October 18. , 1782 Sir G. Rodney df feat." the French fleet off l>ominica, April 12. 1783 Peace bfrtween Great Britain, France, and Spain, and the Independence of A-ti-erica declared, January 20. 1784 Peace between Great Britain and Holland, May 24. 1785 Treaty of iMlian^e between Austria, France and Plollaad, November 9. 1786 Frexlerick IV King of Prussia. 1783 Defensive Alliance betv.f^en England and Holland, April 25. 1789 Selim III Grand Seignior, April. George ^^ashington first President of th<» United States,April. -— The Kaslille at fans taken and destroyed, and the Gov^ra- or massacred, July 14. 1790 Monastic Establishments suppressed in France, Feb. 13. War commenced in India with Tippoo Sultan, May 1. LEOPOLD II Emperor of Germany. 1792 FRAATIS II Emperor of Germany. Gustavus III King of Sweden assassinated by Ankerstrom, March 29. -— — Gustavus IV King of Sweden. Duke of Sudermania Re gent in his minority. The Thuilleries attacked. The King and Queen of France take refuge in the National Assembly. The Swiss guards massacred by the populace, August tO. The Royal Family cf France ijtnprisoned in the Temple, Au- gust 14. CHRONOLOaleAL TABLE. S5S A. D. 1792 A dreadful Massacre of the state -prisoners at Paris, Septem- ber 2, 3. The National Convention is constituted, the King deposed, and France declared a Republic, Sept. 21. Saroy incorporated with the French Republic, Nov. 27. Lewis XVI is brought to trial, and answers each article of accusation, Dec. 14. 1793 Lewis XVI condemned to death by a majority of five voicesf, January 17, and beheaded, Jan. 21. Russia declares war against France, Jan. 31. = The French Convention declares war against England and Holland, Feb. 1. — — Queen of France condemned to death and beheaded, Octo- ber, 15. 1794 Robespierre, with his chief partizans, gullotined, July 28. 1795 The Stadtholder takes refuge in England. Holland over- run by the French, January. = Lyons bombarded, laid in ruins, and all its loyal inhabitants massacred, May. Lewis XVII died in prison at Paris, June 8. ' The Cape of Good Hope taken by the British, Sept. 16. Belgium incorporated with the French Republic, Sept. 30. ■ Stanislaus II resigns the Crown of Poland. The kingdom divided between Prussia, Austria and Prussia, Nov. 25. 1796 The French overrun and plunder Italy. ' Death of Catharine IT. Paul Emperor of Russia, Nov. 17. 1797 John Adams Pre^^ident of the United States, March 4. The Dutch Fleet beaten and captured by Admiral Duncan, Oct. 11. 1798 The Papal government suppressed by the French. The Pope quits Rome, Feb. 26. Ireland in open rebellion. May, June, &c. ' Adm. Nelson destroys the French fleet in the battle of the Nile, Aug. 1. The Swiss finally defeated, and their Independence afeolish- ed, Sept. 19. ' 1799 Seringapatam taken by General Harris, and Tippoo Sultan killed, May 4. -^ Death of Pope Pius VI, September. ~ A Revolution at Paris. Bonaparte declared First Consul* Dec. 25. 1800 -"^ Union of Britain and Ireland* . . Bonaparte defeats the Austriana in the battle of Marengo ia Italy, June 14. *^— Armistice bet-vVeen the French and Austrians in Germany, July 15. • > The new Pope, Pius VII, restored to his government by the Emperor, July 25. Malta taken by the British, Sept. 5. J801 First meeting of the Imperial Pariiament of Bri^n and fee-* laud, January, /' 47 * 554 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A. D. 1801 Thomas Jefferson President of the United States, March 4. ' ■- ' Death of Paul. Alexander I Emperor of Russia, March 236 Battle of Copenhagen, in which the Danes are defeated by Lord Nelson, April 3. 1802 The Catholic Religion re-established in France, March. Treaty of peace between Britain and France. " ■ The King of Sardinia resigns his crown to his brother, July. Bonaparte declared Chief Consul for life, July. War between France, and Germany and Russia, in which the French are successful. 1803 War between Britain and France. 1804 Emperor of Germany assumes the title of Emperor of Aus- tria, August 11. •— — Bonaparte crowned Emperor of France^ December 2. 1805 Bonaparte King of Italy, March. «— — Lord Nelson defeats the combined fleets of France and Spain off Cape Trafalgar, takes or destroys 19 ships of the line, and is killed in the battle, Oct. 21. ' War between England and Spain. 1806 Lewis Bonaparte crowned King of Holland, June. The British Parliament vote the Abolition of the Slare Trade, June 10. Francis II resigns the office of Emperor of Germany, Auj. 2. War between France and Prussia. Battle of Jena and total defeat of the Prussians, Oct. 14. i807 War between France and Russia, in which the French arc successful. -— Copenhagen taken by the British, and the Danish fleet car- ried to England. Treaty of Peace between France, and Russia and IVussia. 1808 Abolition of the Slave Trade in the United States of Ameri- ca, January 1. War between Russia and Sweden. - Bonaparte seizes Portu^^al, and the Royal Family flee tc Brazil, ta— — . Bonaparte seizes the Royal Family of Spain. Warbetwceii France and Spain. 1809 Battle of Corunna, Jan. 16. — ' — Fall of Sarragossa, February 21. • James Madison President of the United States, March 4. - Gustavus IV King of Sweden deposed, and Charles XIII pro claimed, March 13. *— — W^ar between Ffance and Austria, April 6. French enter Vienna, May 12. War between Russia and Austria, May 22* — — « The Papal States united to France, June 1. = Battle of Talavtra, July 24. Peace of Vienna between Austria and Fiance, Oct. 14. 1810 Bonaparte divorces the Empress Josephine, January 16. — — He marries the Arch-Duchess Maria Louisa of Austria, April 1 -— — Louis Bonaparte abdicates the throne of Holland, July I, ««-«. Hollaad annexed to the French, eHRONOLOeiCAL TABLE. OoO A. D. 1810 Population of the United States, 7,239,903. 1811 Prince of Wales appointed Regent, Feb. 8, Two hundred buildings and large quantities of goods burnt in Newburyport, Mass. Massacre in Cairo, when about 1,000 Mamelukes lost their lives, March 1. A Son born to Napoleon Bonaparte, styled King of Rome^ March 20. Batavia captured by the English, August 8. An unusually large comet appeared, September 1. Richmond theatre burnt, December 26. 1812 Great earthquake at Carraccas, March 26. - Perceval, prime Minister of England, assassinated, May 11 > War against Great Britain declared by the United States, June 18. ■ General Hull and his army taken prisoners in Canada, August 16. Battle of Smolensk©, August 17. Battle of Moskwa, Sept. 7. The French army enter Moscow, 14th September, = — — British Frigate Gucrriere captured, August 29. do. do. Macedonian captured, Oct. 25. do. do. Ja.va captured, Dec. 29. iCl3 Lewis XVIII publishes an Address to the people of France^ Feb. 1. Treaty between Great Britain and Sweden, March 3. ■ Sweden declares War against France, March 3. - The Russian troops enter Hamburgh, March 18. •— — Prussia joins Russia against France, March. -^ Spanish Inquisition abolished by the Cortes, April. Battle of Vittoria, in Spain, June 2. Austria declares War against France, August 11. General uloreau killed, August 28. Commodore Perry captures the British squadron, on lake Erie, Sept. 10. Battle of Leipsic, Oct. 19^. The Prince oi Orange assumes the title of Sovereign Prince of the Netherlands, Dec. 2. .^ The Russians and their Allies enter France, Dec. 23. 1814 The Pope released by Bonaparte, Jan. 23. Lord Wellington took possession of Bordeaux, Feb. 13. Paris capitulates to the Allies, March 30. The Allies enter Paris, April 1. Napoleon Bonaparte dethroned, April 4, and banished to the island of Elba, for which he sails, April 28, ". Lmcis XVIII^ being called to the throne of France^ made his entry into Paris, May 3. — — General Peace in Europe, May 30. The allied Sovereigns visit London, June 8. Inquisition restored in Spain, July 18. Norway annexed to Sweden, August 14. ,^ — City of Washingtan taken by the British, August 24. A. IV. T£14 f ' - - : :^ 5 juid Great Briil - If ac^ ber^recB Gts^ BriT&rn &i^ -fbe Cstit^ Slates r&ti&ed B:r ^r.SLTte saikd ysmm Elba, F^w 56 — ^iaiids m Frawcf^XTarcfc i — enters pMis. Marck $S, Brtm^partf }ef: Picns toiDM* ti»e Allies. M»t 2. Pjiiuf r.f WBiBrloo. Jfrne' 17 and 28. hriTi'-q-.r^T'f scrrenders hiaself t» the ftiti t, 'M^ IS. Jcsirihuii Mur^. Kisg of ?^afie&, sint ier 11^ Tnatsor Oct IS. Bonacant 1e2j!^i! ist *?t iiek-aft. Ort TS Ma'-k^ >%-T - - . -. - - . - -Si. -Johns. > — . cje^^rz.^-ec . j .-^-f.^ Feb. IS, Princess Cr: W^ies named to Prince Leopold; ■=- hurt Cocitra&e t- ron, iiag. tf . Hr if-:-5»i^- :. 7. 1: -5 & Stale, in7 I : Miiioeai at Americas c _ Soci£^ fir &«■ BSacicB mgamimC^ :. jt: a Srate. Dec 11 ed ai W aghfng TfTr- J . ■^^— rJEs: Steam shK> sails for ^zr^^-t^ --*-J- ■ Cnmmdart Perry d*e£ k; tb* "^est indies. AjinHt 2*. ■ Aiauama ar^— — - - -..-.__... ^^- . . . - 1B20 &f oT-rt in. : CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 557 A. D. 1820 ^:arjfe IV succeeds to the throne of Great Britain and Ireland. The Duke of Berry assassinated, Feb. 14. — — Maine admitted into the Union as a State. — — Queen Caroline of England prosecuted for Adultery- Another Revolution, which gives a Free Constitution to tJie Spanish nation. Population of the United States, 9,625,734. 1821 Missouri admitted into the Union as a State. — — An attempt to destroy the Royal Family of France, Jan 27. — — British Government issue a Manifesto respecting' the Holy Alliance, February. ■ Napoleon Bonaparte dies at St. Helena, May 5, 1821, aged 52. Queen Caroline of England dies, August 7, 1821. Elias Boudinot, President of the American Bible Society, dies. 1822 William Pinckney dies, Feb. 26. — — Iturbide declsLred himself Emperor of Mexico. ■ Columbian College established. — — Massacre of Greeks at Scio. Revolution in Portugal with a Cortes and Free Constitution. Don Pedro, eon of the King of Portugal, declared Emperor of Brazils. 1823 Iturbide dethroned and banished to Italy. France declares War against Spain, and invades it with a large army. — ^ Counter Revolution in Portugal. =?— Treaty of Peace between Spain and Buenos Ayres, July4: 47* COMPARATIVE VIEW OF Mmmis AND OF I ii(g)^i^i? (£i@(i<:gi,:F:ii'f, 111 ike iblldwl^g Tables the Countries unknoWki to Aacifeiits, ff of which the Names are uncertain, are left blank. The same numbers in the two adjacent colu»"rtas on each page in» dicate the ancient and modern names of the samfi couatrtss 6r .^►laces. MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. GRT:ENLAND, or tb? Arctic Continent SPITSBERGEN (Island) ICELAND (Island), belonging to Norway NORWAY, i. Wardhuis, or Norwegian Lapland 2. Prontheina 3. Bergen .4. Aggerhuis, or Christiana SWEDEN. 1. Lapland and West Bothnia 2. Sweden Proper S. Gothland 4. Finland 5. klands of Gothland— Oe- land, Alaad, Rugen SCANDINAVIA, SCANDIAj vel BALTlAr 2. Nerigon 3, Sitones 1. Scritofinni 2. Suiones 3. Gutac et Hilleviones 4. Finningia 5,. Insulae Sinus Codans 560 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. DENMARK. Jutland. 1. Alburg 2. Wyburj 3. Aarhusen 4. Rypen 5. Sleswick Islands in the Baltic 1. Zealand 2. Funen 3. Falster 4. Lonjeland 5. Laland g, Feneren 7. Alsen 8. Moen §, Bornholm RUSSIA IN EUROPE. 1. LiTonia and Estonia 2. Ingria, or the Governmeiit of Petersburg 3. Carelia, or the GoTcnuneDl ♦f Wiburg 4. Novogrod 5. Archangel, Saraoiedia S. Moscow 7. Nishnei Novogrod 8. Smolenski 9. Kiew 10. Bielgorod 11. Woreneak 12. Azoflf FRANCE 1. Pieardy 2. Isle of France 3. Champagne 4. Normandy 5. Bretany 6. Orleannois 7. Lionneis 8, Froveace Chersonesits Cimhrica, 1. Cimbri 3. Harudes 4. Phundusii, Sigulones 3. Sabalingii Insulm Sinus Cedani 1, 2. Teutones SARMATIA EUROPiEA,' 1. Hirri et Miiii Tel Odtione! 4. Budini •. Basilici 8. Cariones 10 & 4. Budini 11. Roxolaui 12. lazyges GALLIA. 1. Ambiani 2. Bellovaci, Parisii, Su&s sones 3.. Remi, Catalauni, Tricas- ses, 13 Lingones 4. Unelli vel Veneti, Saii,") Lexovii, Veliocasses j 5. Osismii, Veneti, Nam- , netes, Andes, Re- 1 S dones j % 6. Aureliani, CamiUes, ! ^ Senones,^ Turoneg, L Pictones, Bituri^es J 7. ^dui, Segusiani 8.- Salyes, Cavar^ ANCIE^*T Ji.ND MOtJERN GEOGRAPHY. 1>'&1 MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE-, 0. Languedoc i'O. Guienne 11. Gascoig-ne 1*2. Datiphine 13. Burgundy and Franchft- comte 14. Lorraine aiad Alsace UNITED PROVINCES, OR KINGDOM OF PIOLLAND. 1. Holland 2. Frieslaad 3. Zealand 4. Groningen 5. Overyssel 6. Guelderland and Zutphen 7. Utrecht NETHERLANDS, BELOITGING TO PRANCE A:SD HOLLAND. 1. Brabant S. Antwerp 0. Mechlea or Malin^s 4. Li-mburgh 5. Luxemburgh 6. Namur 7. Ilainault 8. Cambresis 9. Artois 10. Flanders GERMANY 1. Upper Saxony 2. Lower Saxony 3. Westphalia 4. Upper Rhine 5. Lower Rhine 6. Franconia 7. Austria 8. Bavaria 9. Suabia BOHEMIA- 1. Bohemia Propei: 2. Silesia 3. Moravia 9. ^^olcae, Areconiici, Helvii, Tolosates 10. Petrocorii, Bituri^fes, Ca- durci, Riiteni 11. Aquitani 12. Allobroges, Centrones 13. Liugones, ^Edui, Sequani 14. Leuci, Mediomatric^j Ttii boci, Nemetes SAXONE^. 1, 2. Frisii 4. Cauci vel Chauci 5. Franci ^^ 6. Bructeri, Catti, SiGarabil 7. Batavi BELG^, &c. 1. Menapii, Tungrii 2. Toxandri 4, 5. Alenianni 6. Treveri 7. Remi 9. Atrcbates, Veromandui 10. Belgae, Morini NATIONES GERMANICiE. 1. Seuvi, Lingae, &c. ^ 2. Saxones, Longobardi, | Gambrivii I £ 3. Cherusci, Chamavi, 1 % Gauchi, Germania f x Inferior 4. Germania Superior 5. Marci, Tincteri 6. Marcomanni, Hermondu?! 7. Noricum 8. Rhsetia 9. Viudelicia J 1. Boiohoemum 2. Corconti 3. Quadi 6-62 ANCIENT AND MODERN GEOGRAPHY MODERN EUROPE. POLAND. 1. Greater Poland. 2. Less Poland 3. Prussia Royal 4. Prussia Ducal 5. Samogitia 6. Courland r 7. Lithuania 8. Warsovia 9. Polachia 10. Polesia 11. Red Russia 12. Podolia 13. Volhinia SPAIN. 1. Gallicia 2. Asturia 3. Biscay 4. Navarre 5. Arragon 6. Catalonia ANCIENT EUR;OPEt GERMANO-SARMATiE. 1. Peucini 2. Lugii 3. 4. Burgundiones, Rugii*, Guthones 5. Ombroges 6. Scyri 7. 8. Germano-Parmatia H, 12, 13. Ba3tarn« HISPANL4, vel IBERIA. 1, 2, 3. Gallaeeia Canlabri, Astures, Varduli 4, 5, 6. Tarraconensis Vascones, Valetani 7. Valentia 8. Murcia 9. Granada 10. Andalusia 11. Old Castile 12. New Castile 13. Leon 14. Estremadura SPANISH ISLANDS. Ivica Majorca Minorca PORTUGAL. Entre Minho e Dour 3. Montferrat 3. Insubres > Liguria £3 4. Milan 4. O.^ 5. Genoa 5, ) or- few 6. Parma 6. Anaraani 2^ 7. Modena 7. Boii .d 8. Mantua 8. Cenomani s 9. Venice 9. Venetia S 10. Trent 10. Tridentini 11. The Popedom 11- Lingoues, Senones, Picnum, Umbria, Sabini, Pars La- tii Tuscia vel Etruria 12. Tascany 12. 13. Lucca 13. Pars Tnsciae 14. San Marino 14. Pars Umbrife 15. Kingdom of Naples 15. Samnium, Pars Latii, Apu- lia, Campania, Lucauia, Bruttium ITALIAN ISLANDS. INSULiE ITALICS. J. Sicily 1. Sicilia, Sicania, vel Triwa- cria 2. Sardinia 2. Sardo, vel Sardinia , « 3. Corsica 3. Cyrnus, vel Corsica 4. Malta 4. Melita 5. Lipr.ri Islands 5. Lipariae Insula 6. Capri, Ischia, Sec. 6. Capreae, Ischia, fee. HUNGARY TRANSYLVANIA DACIA SCLAVONIA PANNONIA CROATIA ILLYRICUM 364 COMPARATI\^ VIEW OP MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. TURKEY IN EUROPE. 1. Dalmatia 2. Bosnia 3. Servia 4. Wallachia 6. Moldavia and Bessarabia 6. Bulg-aria 7. Albaria 8. Macedonia 0. Romania 10. Livadia 11. Morea 12. Budziac Tartary or Bessara- bia 13. Little Tartary 14 Crimea. GREEK ISLANDS. 1. Corfu 2. Cephalonia 3. Zante 4. Ithace, Thiace, &c. GREEK ISLANDS IN THE ACHIPELAGO. 1. Catidia 2. Negropont 3. Stalimene 4. Scyro, &c. 1. Dalmatia 2. Maesia Superior 3*. Dacia Ripensis 4. Getae 5. Pars Daciae 6. Mffisia Inferior 7. Epirns 8. Macedonia 9. Thracia es 10. Thessalia 11. Peloponnesus 12. Bcythia et pars Daciae 13. Parva Scythia 14. Taurica Chersonesuf. INSUL.E MARIS lONIL 1. Corcyra 2. Ceplialenia 3. Zacyuthus 4. Ithaca, &c. INSULiE MARIS IE.G^.1 1. Creta 2. Euboea 3. Lemnos 4. Scyros, &c. GREAT BRITAIN. SCOTLAND. 1. Edinburgh 2. Haddington 3. Berwick 4. Roxburgh 5. Selkirk 6. Dumfries 7. Kircudbright 8. Peebles 9. Wigton 10. Lanerk 11. Air 12. DumbartoH 13. Bute 14. Renfrew 15. Stirling 16» Linlithg^ow SCOTIA. I] \ I>aainii / y 3. Ottodini ) ecturiones SelgovaB Novantes Pica ANCIENT AND MOD&RN GEOGRAPHV. 56; MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. SCOTLAND. 17. Fife 18. Clackmannan 19. Kinross 20. Perth 21. Argyle 22. Kincardine 23. Forfar 24. Aberdeen 25. Banff 26. Elgin 27. Nairn 28. Inverness 29. Ross SO. Cromarty 31. South erland 32. Caithness 33. Orkney 34. Shetland ENGLAND„ 1. Cornwall 2. Devonshire 3. Dorsetshire 4. Hampshire 5. Somersetshire 6. Wiltshire 7. Berkshire 8. Oxfordshire 9. Gloucestershire 10. Monmouthshire 11. Herefordshire 12. Worcestershire 13. Staffordshire 14. Shropshire 15. Essex 16. Hartfordshire 17. Kent 18. Surry 19. Susses 20. Norfolk 21. Suffolk 22. Cambridgeshire 23. Huntmgdonshire 24. Bedfordshire ^5, Buckinghamshire SCOTIA. Caledonii > Picti 21. Epidii, Gadeni, CeroHes 22. Vernicones ") 23. Horestae 24. } > Attacoti 25. S Taezali 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. i Vacomagi \ Cantae f 32. Mertae ) 33. Orcades 34. Thule Scoti ANGL1A i Daranonii . Durotriges . S Belgae Attrebatii * > Dobuui > Silures 12. ) 13. > Cornavii 14. S 15. Trinobanteg 16. Catieuchlaui 17. Cantii > ftegni > Simeni, rel Icerti 1. 2 3 4 5 6 7. 8 9 10. 11. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. J 23. \ Catieuchlatfs 24. ) 25. Attrebat?f ^6 COMPARATIVE VIEW OP MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. » 26. Lincolnshire 26. ^ 27. Nottinghamshire 27. 28. Derbyshire 28. VCoritani 29. Rutlandshire 29. 30. 30. Leicestershire 31. Warwickshire 31. Cornavi 32. Northamptonshire 32. Catieuchlani .53. Northumberland ll* \ ^"^^'"^ 34. Durham 35. Yorkshire 35. 1 36. Lancashire 37. Westmoreland 2^* Y Brigante« 38! J 38. Cumberland 39. Cheshire 39. Cornavii 40. Middlesex 40. Attrebates et CatieuchlaiM WALES. 1. Anglesey 1. Mona Insula 2. Flintshire 2. ' 3. Montgomery 3. 4. Denbighshire 4. ' Ordovices 5. Carnarvonshire 5. 6. Merioneth 6. 7. Cardiganshire 7. ) 8. Carmarthenshire 6. \ Demetfic 9. Pembrokeshire 9. S 10. Radnorshire 10. } 11. Brecknockshire 11. > Silures 12. Glamorganshire 12. S IRELAND, HIBERNIA, yel IRENE, ' 1. Louth 1. Voluntii 2. Meath Fast 3. Meath West 1 |Cau»ci 4. Longford 4. Auteri 5. Dublin 6. Kildare ^' I Blanii ,2 7. King's County J.* > Corondi t^ 8. Queen's County 9. Wicklow 9. Blanii 10. Carlow 11. Wexford V12. Kiikenny JO; 1 Manapfi 12, Coriondi ANiaENT AND MODERN GEOGRAPHY. 56T MODERN EUROPE. ANCIENT EUROPE. '13. Donnegal or Tyrconnel 13. Vennicnii 14. Londonderry 14. ) 15. > Robogdii 16. S 15. Antrim t 16, Tyrone ^ . 17. Fermanagh 17. Erdini s 18. Armagh 18. ) 19. Down 19. S Voluntii 20. Monaghan 20. ) ^21. Cavan 21. Cauci '22. Cork County 22. Vodiae, Iverni t3 23. Waterford 24. Tipperary It \ Brigantes 25. Limerick 26. Kerry Zl' Uelabori 27. Clare 27. ) } Gangani ^ f28. Galway 28. ) lii 1 ^<;9. Roscomtnon 29. Aiiteri 1 Nagnatae -3 1^3'2. Leitrim 32. S BRITANNIC ISLANDS. INSULA BRITANN 1. Shetland and Orkney 1. Thule 2. Western Isles of Scotland 2. Ebudes Insulse 3. Man 3. Monseda vel Mona 4. Ang^lesey 4. Mona 5, \ Vight 5. Vectis MODERN ASIA, ANCIENT ASIA. TURKEY IN ASIA, L Natolia 2. Amasia or Siwas 3. Aladulia 4. Caramania 5. Irak 6. Diarbeek 7. Curdistan 8- Turcoman ia 9. Georgia IG. Syria and Palest iiie ASIA MINOR. 1. Mysia, Lydia, Caria, Phry- gia, Bithynia, Galatiai, Paphlagonia. 2. Pontus 3. Armenia 4. Cappadocia, Cilicia, &c. 5. Babylonia, Chaldea 6. Mesopotamia 7. Assyria a* ^ Armenia Major 10. Syria, Palmyrene,Pho&aicia^ Judaea, 368 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF MODERN ASIA, ANCIENT ASIA. . ARABIA. ARABIA. Arabia Petrasa Arabia Petrsea Arabia Deserta Arabia Deserta Arabia Felix Arabia Felix PERSIA. PERSIA. i. Chorassan 1. Pars Hyrcaniaj et Sogdianit- •2.* Balk, Sablustan, Candahar 2. Bactrania 3. Sigistan 3. Drangiana 4. Makeran 4. 5. Kermpn 5. Gedrosia 6. Farsistan 6. Persis 7. Chusestan 7. Susiana 8. Irak Agem 8. Parthia 9. Curdestan 9. Pars Assyria JO. Aderbeitzea 10. Media 11. Georgia 11. ) 12. Gangea 12. > Iberia.Colchis, et Albania 13. Dagestan 13. S 14. Mazanderam 15. Gilaa Taberistan 15. ParsHyrcanias 3$. Chirvau 16. ParsAlbaniae INDIA. INDIA. Mggol India intra Gangem\ Delhi Palibolhra Agra Agora Cambaia Regna Pori et Taxilis Bengal India within the Ganges. Decan Dachanos Goleonda Prasii vel Gangaridae Bisnagar Malabar Male Island of Ceylon. Taprobana Insula vel Salice India beyond the Ganges. India extra Gangerm Pegu Tonquin Cochiuchiaa Siam Sinarum Regie CHINA. Ninche Corea ANCIENT AND MODERN GEOGRAPHY. 569 MODERN ASIA. ANCIENT ASIA, Laoton§ Pekia Xansi Xensi Xantum Nanking Chekiam Honaa Huquam Kiamsi Fokien Canton Suchuen Quecheu Yuuani Formosa Ainan Macao Bashee Islands Sin» Serica Cathsea i 1. Astracaii 2. Orenburg 2. 3. Casan 3. 4. Siberia Tobolsk, Jeni- 4. seia, Irkutsk, Kamschatka CHINESE ISLANDS. RUSSIA IN ASIA. 1. Sarmatia Asiatica Scythia intra Imaum INDEPENDENT TARTARY. 1. Great Bucharia 2. Karasm 1. Bactriana, Sogdiana 2. Aria ALUTH TARTARS^ 1. Little Bucharia 2. Casgar 3. Turkestan 4. Kalmac Tartars 5. Thibet 6. Little Thibet CHINESE TARTAR i^ Kalkas Mongol Tartars Mantchou Tartai-B Coreg» SCYTHIA extra IMAUM, SINiE. 48^ 570 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF MODERN ASIA. ISLANDS OF CHINESF TARTARY. Sagalien-Ula-hata Jedso ISLANDS OF JAPAN Japan or Niphon Xicoco Ximo PHILIPPINE ISLES. Lucon or iVIanilla Mindanao, &c. MARIAN OR L4DI10NE ISLANDS, Tinian ISLES OF SUNDA, Borneo -Sumatra Java, &;c, MOLUCCA ISLES-. Celebes Amboyna Cerani Timor Flores, £ze. MALDIVA ISLES, ANCIENT ASIA, MOI>ERN AFRICA. BARBARY, i. Morocco ^. Algiers. 3. Tunis 4. Tripoli 5.. Barca 1. Egypt 2. BiLDULGERUfc ANCIENT AFRICA L Mauritania Tingitana 2. Mauritania Cajsariensis 3. Numidia, Africa Propria 4. Tripolitana 5. Cyrenaica, Libya Superior 1. ^GYPTUS «:r Libya Inferior, GiBETc- ANCIENT AND MODEP.N GEOGRAPHY. 57f MODERN AFRICA. ANCIENT AFRICA. 3. 4. Zaara, or the Desert Nkgroland 3. 4. SOLITTTDINES AUTOLOLES 6. 6. Guinea Upper Ethiopia 6. iETHiopiiE et LiBY-a: pars 7. Nubia, Abyssinia, Abex 7. ^THiopi,?5 pars 8. Loango, Congo, Angola, Benguela, Matanan 9. Ajan 10. Zajvguebar 11. Monomotapa 12. MONOKMUGI 13. SOFOLA 14. Terra de Natal 15. Cafraria, or country of the Hottentots NORTH AMERICA. BRITISH AMERICA. I. The countries on the east and -vrest side of Baliin''s and H«d~ son's Bays 2- Labrador, or New Britain 3. Canada 4. Nova Scotia Islands. Newfoundland, Cape Breton British Islands in the West Indies. Bermudas, Bahama Islands, Ja-iaica, St. Christopher's, Nevjs, Mont^errat, Antigua, Dominica, St. Vincent, Tobago, Grenada^ Barbadoes, &c. k.c. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. New England Maine, New-Hampshire, Vermont, Massachu- setts, Connecticut, and Rhode-Island. State of New- York, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- land, Virginia, North-Carolina, South-Carolina, Georgia, Ten- nessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Missou- ri, Mississippi, Illinois. The district of Columbia, the territories of Michigan, Arkansas'. SPANISH AMERICA. Mexico or New Spain, New Mexico,, 572 COMPARATITE VIEW OF NORTH AMERICA. Spanish Islands in the West Indies.. Caba, Porto Rico, west part of St. Domingo, Trinidad, Margarita, Cubagua, &c. Dutch Islands in the West Indies. Part of St. Martin's Isle, Eustatius, Aves, Buenos Ayres, Curacoa, Aruba. French Islands in the West Indies. Miquelon, St. Pierre, part of St. Martin's Isle, St. Barihnlomew, Martinico, Guadaloupe, Dtsiada, JNlariegalant, St. Lucia, part of St. Domingo. Danish Islands in the West Indies. St. Thomas, Santa Cruz. SOUTH AMERICA. FRENCH. Part of the Province of Guiana, Cayenne, &c. SPANISH. Terra Firma, Country of the Amazons, Peru, Chili, Terra Magel- lanica, Paraguay, Tucuman. DUTCH. Part of Guiana, Surinam, &c. PORTUGUESE. Brazil, and many islands on the coast, part of Guiana ANCIENT EMPIRES. The Empire of Assyria, under Ninus and Semiramis, about 2200 before J. C, comprehended, Asia Minor, Celchis, Assyria, Me- dia Chaldea, Egypt. The Empire of Assyria, as divided about 820 before J. C, form- ed three Kingdoms, Media, Babylo-Chaldea (Syria and Chal- dea), Lydia (all Asia Minor). The Empire of the Persians, under Darius Hystaspes, 522 b€t fore J. C, comprehended, Persis, Susiana, Chaldea, Assyria^ Media, Bactriana, Armenia, Asia, Parthia, Iberia, Albania, Coif chis» Aeia Minor, %j'pt, part of Ethiopia, part of ^eythia: ANCIENT AND MODERN GEOGRAPHY. 573 The Empire of Alexander the great, 330 before J. C, con- sisted of, 1, all Macedonia and Greece, except Peloponnesus; 2, all the Persian Empire, as above described ; 3, India to the banlcs of the Indus on the east, and the laxartes or Tanais on the north. The Empire of Alexander was thus divided, 306 before J. C.y between Ptolemy, Cassander, Lysimachus, and Seleucus, Empire of Piohmy. Lybia, Arabia, Coelosyria, Palestine. Empire of Cassander. Macedonia, Greece. Empire of Lysimachus. Thrace, Bithynia. Em,pire of Seleucus. Syria, and all the rest of Alexander's empire. The Empire of the Parthians, 140 before J. C, comprehended ParLhia, Hyrcania, Media, Persis, Bactriana, Babylonia, Meso- potamia, India to the Indue. The Roman Empire, under the Kings, was confiaed to the city of Rome, and a few miles round it. The Roman Empire, at the end of the Republic, comprehended all Italy, great part of Gaul, part of Britain, Africa Proper, g-reat part of Spain, Illyria, Istria, Liburnia, Dalmatia, Achaia, Macedonia, Dardania, M(Ksia, Thracia, Pontus, Armenia, Ju- daea, Cilicia, Syria, Egypt. Under the Emperors the following countries were reduced into Roman Provinces. All Spain, the Alpes Maritimae, Piedmont, &c. Rhaetia, Noricum, Pannonia, and Moesia, Pontus, Armenia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt. Constantiur Chlorus and Galerius dirided the Empire into East- ern and Western ; and under Consiantine each empire had a distinct capital or seat of government. The extent of each division was fluctuating from time to time ? but, in general, the Western Empire comprehended Italy, Il- lyria, Africa, Spain, the Gauls, Britain. The Eastern Empire comprehended Asia Minor, Pontus, Arme- nia, Assyria, Media, &c. Egypt, Thrace, Dacia, Macedonia. The Empire of Charlemagne, A. D. 800, comprehended France, Marca, Hispanica (or Navarre and Catalonia), Majorca, Minorca, and Ivica, Corsica, Italy as far south as Naples, Istria, Liburnia, Dalmatia Rhaetia, Vindelira, Noricum, Germany, from the Rhine to the Oder, and to the banks of the Baltic^ S74 COMPARATIVE VIEW, &C. France contained, 1, Neustria, comprehend ins: Bretany, Norman- dy, Isle of France, Orleannois ; 2, Austria, comprehending Pi- caidy, and Champagne ; 3, Aquitania, comprehending Guien- ne, and Gascony ; 4, Burgundia, comprehending Burgundy, Lionnois, Languedoc, Dauphine, Provence. NAMES OF THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS IN EUROPE. ANCIENT.. 1. Rha 2. Tanais 3. Borystenes 4. Tyras 5. Danuhiua or Ister 6. Padua 7. Uliodanus 8. Iberu3 9. Boetis 10. Anas 11. Tagus 12. Durius 13. Garumua 14. Liger 15. Sequaria 16.. Samara 17. Scaldis 18. Mosa 19. Rhenus 20. Visurgis 21. Albis 22. Viadrus MODERN. 1. Wolga 2. Don 3. Nieper 4. Niester 5. Danuba 6. Pa 7. Rhone 8. Ebro 9. Guadalquit'er 10. Guadiana 11. Tayo 12. Douro 13. Garonne 14. Loire 15. Seine 16. Somme 17. Scheldt 18. Maese 19. Rhine 20. Weser 21. Elbe 22. Oder The Vistula, tlie Dmna at Riga, and the Dwina at Archang-eL FINISL QUESTIONS FOR THE m.i^MmMwm m ^mmiLAm TYTLER'S ELEMENTS OF GENERAL HISTORY BY AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER. CONCORD, N. H. PRINTED BY ISAAC HILLe 1823. DISTRICT OF NEW-HAMPSHIRE, TO WIT : District Clerk's OJice. I******** BE it remembered, that on the fourth day of Sep- * ^' ^'1 (ember, A. D. 1823. and in thr forty-eighth year of the *;p;j«t#4f:^#** Independence of the United Stales of America, ISAAC HILL, of the said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right vrhrrf of he claims as propri tor in the words following, to wit — ''Elements of General History, ancient and modfrn. By Alexander Era- ser Tytler, F. R. S. E. Prtfessor of h'istory in the University of Ed- inburgh. IViih a continuaiion, terminating at the demise of King George TIL, 1820. By Rev. Edtvard J\''ures, D. D. Professor vf Mod- ern History tn ihe University of Oxford. To ivhich are added, a suc- cinct History of ihe United States ; an improved Table of Chronology > a comparative vicxo cf Ancient and Modem Geography, and Q^iestions on. each section. Adopted for the use of Scliools and Academies. By an ex- perienced Teacher." In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors, and proprietors of <»uch copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and alse an act, entitled " an act tupplementary to an act, ent'tled an act for the encouragement ef learning', by securing (he copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of »uch copies during the ti»e? therein mentioned, and ei- lending the benefit thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etch- ing historical and other prints." WILLIAM CLAGGETT. Clerk of the District of JSTew Hampshire. A true copy of Record. Attest WILLIAM CLAGGETT, Clerk. QUESTIONS. SECTION I. 1. Y^^HAT beoks afford the earliest authentic history of the ages immediately following the deluge ? 2. When were Babylon and Nineveh built ? 3. By whom were they built ? 4. Who are said to have raised Assyria to a high degree of splendour ? 5. What is the condition of the early parts of Egyptian lii^tovy ? 6. Who was the first king- of Eg'ypt ? 7. How was Egypt divided ? SECTION II. 8. What is the earliest mode of government? 9. Of what description were the lirst monarchies r 10. What was the rank of the kings of Scripture ? 11. What was the character of the first penal laws in human society ? 12. What were the earliest laws formed for the benefit of society ? 13. What singular usages prevailed among ancient nations relat- ing to matrimony ? 14. What laws next succeeded in order to those of marriage ? 15. What were the earliest methods of authenticating contracts ? 16. What nation used hieroglyphics, and for what purpose were they used ? 17. What were the methods for recording historical facts, and publishing them among tlie ancients ? 18. What are among the earliest institutions that have existed? IB. How was the priesthood anciently exercised ? 19. Of what a.re useful ar<:s the o-lspring? 20. Of wha! ar-.; some of the earliest of them ? 21. What were the first sciences cultivated ? ^ SECTION III. 22. To what nation is most of the knowledge of ancient nations to be traced ? 23. How did that knav/ledge descend to modern nations ? 24. What presumption does the country aflbrd of the antiquity of the Egyptian empire ? 25. To what are the inundations of the river Nile owing ? 26. What was the government of Egypt? 27. What was the character of their penal laws? 2,8. What was the manner of conferring funeral rites in Egypt ? 4 QUESTIONS. 29. What regulation was there concerning the borrowing oi money ? jO, In the knowledge and cultivation of what useful arts and sciences were the Egyptians distinguished? n. "What samples of their architecture still remain? 32. When were the pyramids buiit ? 33. For what were they probably built ? 34. What was the national character of the Egyptians ? 35. What circumstances served to debase them in the opinion cf contemporary nations ? SECTION IV. 36. By what name were the Phoenicians known in Scripture ? 37. For what are we indebted to them ? 38. What is said of them in the time of Abraham? 39. What is the antiquity of their writings ? SECTION V. iO. To what early nations were the Grecians indebted for their first rudiments of civilization ? 41. Who were the ancient inhabitants of Greece ? 42. Wh.it colony settled in tiie country about ihe time of Moses f 43. Wlio settled Attica and at what time ? 44. Who established the court of Areopagus ? 45. "Who established the Amphictyonic Council? 16. Who introduced into Greece, and at what time, alphabetic v/riting ? 17. How many letters did the alphabet then contain ? ■'8. What was then the mode of writing? SECTION VI. 49. "What is said of the T'elasgi, of Ancient Greece ? ')0. W hat was a predominant characterestic of the early Greeks r' 51. What Avere the names of their four solemn Games, as they were termed ? 5-2. Of what did they consist ? 'rS. What good political effects did these gaunes have ? SECTION VII. I>4. Who itt-:tituted the Eleusinian mysteries ? 55. Vv hat v/as the nature of these mysteries ? 56. Who laid the foundation of the grandeur of Attica: 57. "When and how did he do it? 58. W'hat was the object of the Argonautic expedition ? 59. What was the character of the attack and defence in the sie- ges of Thebes and Troy ? 60. On whose authority rests the detail of tlie war of Troy ? 61. What are the principal facts recorded of that war by Homer .t)2. How were military expeditions then conducted? QUESTIONS. O SECTION VIIT. 63. When did the Greeks besrin to c'>loni2e ? 64. Who wa? elected the first chief magistrate of the Athenian republic ? 65. What caused the Greeks to seek refuge in other countries by establishins: colonies ? 66. What caused Greece to abolish the regal and establish are- publican government ? 67. What distinguished civilians arose in Sparta and Athens at this time ? SECTION IX. 68. What period was Lycurgus invested with the power of re- forming and new-modeling the constitution of his country ? 69. What was the government of Sparta as new-modeled by Lycurgus ? 70. To what did he particularly bend his attention ? 71. How did he divide the territory ? 72. What regulation did he make concerning the use of money ? 73. By whom were the necessary arts practised ? 74. What was the course of Spartan education ? 75. By what was the general excellence of the institutions of Ly- curgus impaired ? 76. How were the slaves treated ? 77. What was the end of the institutions of Lycurgus ? SECTION X. 78. What v.-as the nature of the change in the Athenian consti- tution when the regal office was abolished ? 79. What was the tenure by which the Arclionship was held ? 80. Who attempted a reform in the constitution, 624 B. C ? 81. When did Solon attain the Archonship? 82. What was his character ? 83. How did he divide the citizens ? 84. How did he counterbalance the weight of the popular as- semblies ? 85. How did the particular laws of Athens compare with her form of government ? 86. What was the nature of the laws relating to debtors and slaves ? 87. What was the condition of women at this time in Athens ? 88. What was one of the most iniquitous and absurd peculiari- ties of the Athenian and some of the other Grecian gov- ernments ? 80. Kow were the arts viewed in Athens ? 90. How did the character of the Athenians compare with that of the Spartans ? 91. To whom were the liberties of Athens surrendered, 550 B. C? 92. Who afterwards restored the democracy ? SECTION XI. 93. Under whom did the first empire of the Assyrians terminated' 1* i> QUESTIONS. 94. ^Vbat tliree monarchies arose from its rums ■* 95. "What king of Assyria, led the Jews into captivity, took . rusalem and Tyre, and subdued Egypt ? 06. Who vras the successor of Cambyses in the throne of Persia ?• 97. What countries did Cyrus annex to his empire ? 08. What was the government of Persia ? 99. To Avhcso care was the children and youth of Persia com- mitted for education ? 100. What was the nature of the laws in Persia •* 101. What w-as the religion of Persia ? 102. What was the sacred book of the Persians called ? 103. On what is the theology of the Zendavesta founded ? SECTION XII. 104. What king of Persia invaded Greece ? 105. Where was the Persian army defeated ? 3 06. Who commanded the Greeks in the battle of Marathon ? 107. What reward did Miltiades receive for his eminent services from the Athenians ? 108. A\ ho were the successors 6f Miltiades in the war with the Persians ? 109. Who succeeded Darius in the command of the Persians •' 1 10. With ".vhat force did Xerxes attempt the conquest of Greece? 111. Who was Leonidas ? 11.2. With what force did Leonidas contend with the vast army of Xerxes .'' 1 13. At what place was it .'' 114. ^Vhat was the result ? 115. What was the success of Xerxes w^ith his fleet at sea ? 116. Where were the Persians totally defeated on land, by the combhied army of the Athenians and Lacedaemonians ? 117. ^Vhat was the end of Xerxes ? 118. What v/as the national character of the Greeks at this time ? SECTION XIIL i[9. V\lio governed Athens after the Persian war ? 120. In what mavjncr did he govern it ? 121. What g-ave rise to the war during the reign of Pericles fee- twee)! Athens and Lacedaeraon ? 122. On v/hat account was Alcibiades condemned to death for treason ? 123. By v»?iiom did the Lacedtcmonians reduce the power of the Athenians? 124. What emiient philosopher was then in Athens at this time ? 125. What w as particularly disgraceful to the Athenians in regard t© him ? 126. What is the subject of the history written by Xonophon ^ SECTION XIV. ^27. On the doline of Athens and Sparta, what other Grecian Republic rose to a hi^h degree of eminence among the con- temporary states ? QUESTIONS. / !28. Vv'hat led to t'nc war between Thebes and Sparta ? 129. What two distinguished Generals did Thebes employ ia con- ducting this war ? 130. How did this war terminate ? SECTION XV. 131. Who at this time attempted to bring the whole of Greece under his dominion ? 132. "'iVhat caused what was called the ^^aereti War of this period ? 133. What distinguished Grecian orator exposed the artful de- signs of Philip ? 134. In what battle was the fate of Greece, so that ail her states became subject to Philip? 135. What great enterprise did he attempt ? 136. Did he complete it ? 137. Why not ? SECTION XVI. 138. Who was the successor of Philip ? 139. At what age did Alexander asc:^nd the throne of Macedon r 140. How large was his army at this lime ? 141. Vv'hat was his first enterprise ? 142. Who was king of Persia at this time ? 343. With wliat force did Darius meet Alexander ? 144. Where did they meet ? 145. What was the result of th«> battle of Granicus ? 146. What %yere the respective losses ol the Greeks and Persians in the battle of Issus ? 147. "What oppor' unity did Alexander have for the display of gen- erosity after the battle o[ Issus r 148. What was the consequence of the battle of Issus ? 149. What caused Alexander to storm and subject the city of Tyre ? 150. What was the fate of its inhabitants ? 151. Wliat was disgraceful to Alexander in his capture of Gaza,? 152. What'opened Egypt to Alexander's victorious arms ? 153. What city did he build in his return from Egypt ? 154. Who met Alexander at Arbeia with an army of 700,000 men? 155. What was the result of the battle at Arbeia ? ■J5i6. When was Persia conquered by Alexander? 157. What project did he attempt after the conquest of Persia ? 158. What prevented his conquest of India ? 159. What became of Alexander on finding a limit to his victo- ries ? SECTION xvir. 160. Vrhat wish did Alexander express as to a successor ? 161. What became of his family ? 162. Vv'hich were the most powerful monarchies formed from his va.-t empires ?* 8 atlESTlONS^. SECTION XVIH. 163. What dislms:uished orator of Greece attempted to arouse his countrymen, to shake off the yoke of Macedon, on th6 de3th of Alexander ? 164. What empire arose in Europe on the decline of the Mace- donian power ? 165. How was Greece added to the Roman empire ? 166. When was the conquest of Greece completed ? SECTION XIX. 167. What is said of the nature of the Republican government of Greece ? 168. What was the conrSitien of the people under them ? 169. In what periods of the Grecian history are we to look fot splendid examples of patriotism ? 170. What is the most remarkable circumstance that strikes us on comparinsr the latti-r with the more early periods of the history of the Greeks ? SECTION XX. 171. In what description of the arts did the Grecians excel ? 17:2. Which of the I iae Arts did they carry to the greatest degree of perfection ? 173. In whose rei;iin did the Fine Art? flourish most ? 174 V^'hat were fh^ir three o.ders ol architecture? 175. \A hat other orders of architecture are there ? 176. What was the state of sculpture in Greece ? 177. How did the paintings and music of the Grecians compare with those of the moderns ? SECTION XXI. 178. IIow does poetry compare with prose as to antiquity ? 179. When did Homer flourish ? 180. Who are some of the otherprincipal poets of ancient Grcecer 181. When was the origin ol drajnatic composition among the Greeks ? SECTION XXII. 182. What eminent historians of Greece were contemporaries ? 183. When did they flourish ? 184. Who were some of the later distinguished historians ot Greece ? 185. What is said of Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men ? SECTION XXIII. 186. What v/as the most ancient school of philosophy in Greece ? 187. Who founded the Italian sect of philosophers in Greece? 188. When did Socrates flourish ? 189. Who founded the Academic sect ? 190. Who founded the Peripatetic sect i QUESTIOr^S. " j91. . Who fife some of the oiher Greek philosophers ? 192. What is the effect of the Greek philosophy on morality and the progress of useful knowledge ? SECTION XXIV. 193. After the conquest of Creeco what Power became an object of particular iiiiportance ? 194. What was the character of the first inhabitants of Italy ? 195. Who were they ? 196. ¥/hat is the opijiion of Diouysius concerning the origin of Rome ? 497. What is the vulgar account of the origin of the city built by Romulus ? 198. At what time was it founded ? % 199. Who were the inost formidable enemies of the early Romans ? 200. Who v\^as the second kina: of Rome ? 201. Who added lOO Plebeians to the Roman Senate? 202. Who lemoved the poorer citizens iroia all share in the goT- erntnent of Home ? 203. What became of Servius Tulhus ? 204. W'ho succeeded him on tl^ic throne ? 205. What caused the expulsion of Tarquinius ? 206. What was the first retrenchment in the power of the Roman Senate ? 207. What use did th? craly fiomans make of their victories ? 20fJ. How long did the regnal ^overrnnent of Rome contini>e ? 209. Hov/ many kings were there ? 210. What is said of the wars in Vviiich Rome was almost contiix- ually engaged ? SECTION XX\^ 211. What government succeeded the regal one in Rome ' 212. Who were the two first cons^^ls ? 213. What law is mentioned that was made under the directio« of Val eruts 214. What gave rise to the office of Dictator ? 215. What was the power of the Dictator ? 216. What gave rise to the office of Tribune ; and what were the powers of that office ? SECTION XXVI. 217. What effect had the office of Tribune on the powers of the Senate ? 218. Under what circumstances was Valero made Tribune ? 219. When did the Pvoman constitution become a complete de- mocracy ? SECTION XXVIT. 220. For what purpose v/ere the Decemviri chosen ^ 221. What v/ere the laws called, which they framed i 222. At what time were they made ? 223. With what powers were the Decemviri inrested ' 10 QUESTIONS. 224. Who Tvas at the head of the Decemvirate ? 225. What caused the abolition of this ofScc ? 226. How long did it exist ? SECTION XXVI II. 227. What two barriers separated the patricians and plebeians 'i 228. What two offices were created, 437 B. C ? 229. What successful expedient did the senate adopt for filling the Roman armies ? 230. What city was taken by Camillas ? 231. At what period and after how lon^ a siege ? 232. To what event do the Roman writers attribute the loss of all the records and monuments of their early history ? 233. What is there singular in regard to most of the revolutions in Rome ? SECTION XXTX. 234. How long after the foundation of their city did Rome become mistress of ail Italy ? 235. What w^as the policy observed by the Romans with respect to the nations they had conquered ? 236. What gave rise to the Tunic wars ? SECTION XXX. 237. By whom and when was Carthage Tr^iViided ? 238. How many smaller cities were under the dominion of Car- thage, at the time of the Punic wars ? 239. What was the form of government ? 240. To w^hat was the wealth and splendour of Carthage owing ^ SECTION XXXI. 241. Wha founded Syracuse ? 242. What was the government of it ? SECTION XXXII. 243. Where did the war betw«en Rome and Carthage cora- mence ? 244. What Roman consul was taken by the Carthaginians in the first Punic war ? 245. What patriotic act did Regulus perform when a prisoner to the Carthaginiars ? 246. How did the first Punic war terminal e ? 247. How long did the peace between P^ome and Carthage con- tinue ? 248. How did the second Punic war be^in ? 249. Hho was the Carthaginian general in this war ? 250. How did Hannibal conduct this war ? 251. Where did the Romans meet with complete defeat? 252. HoAv many were slain in the battle of Cannae ? 253. What is s'lpposcd would have been tho consequence had Hannibal improved this victory ? (iUESTfONS. 11 254. In what way rlid the Romans compel the Carthaginians to sue for peace ? 255. What Roman .s:eneral carried war to the gates of Carthage ? 256. At what time did the second Punic war close ? 257. When did the third commence ? 258. What was the issue of this war ? ,259. When was Carthage destroyed ? 260. What other success attended the Romans this year ? SECTION XXXTII. 261. What two persons, at this time, uadp.took to reform the cor- ruptions of the- fionians ? 262. What circumstances attending the war of Jognrtha gave de- cisive proo( of the c ir,..ptiou of the lioman manners ? 263. W^hal became of Jugnrtha? 264. Between what two rivals did a civil war now break out in Rome ? 265. What became of Marius '' 266. To what office was ^ylla afterwards elected ? 267. What magnanmious act characterized the latter part of his life ? 268. Between whom was the civil war revived after the death of Silla? 269. What conspiracy, at this time, threatened the destruction of RoiTie ? 270. By whose provident zeal and patriotism was it extinguished ? £71. What distinguished individual now rose uito notice ? 272. Under what circum'tances was the first lrium6 (QUESTIONS. SECTION V. 403. What is said of Charlemagne in relation to commeFce ? 404. How did he view literature ? 405. What style of architecture was successfully studied and cultivated in that age ? 406. What sanguinary and most iniquitous custom of the present time may be traced to the age of Charlemagne ? SECTION VI. 407. What great heresies existed in the Christian church about this time ? 400. By vrhom and when was the Arian heresy condemned ? 409. \\ hat was a source of the inoet obstinate controversy in those ages ? [ fering ? 410. What gave rise to penances and other religious voluntary suf- 411. What effect had the conquests of Charlemagne on Christi- anity? SECTION VII. 412. Who was the immediate successor of Charlemagne ? 413. Did Iiis empire remain entire under his successors? 414. What was the character cf his successors ? SECTION VIIT. 415. What was the condition of the Eastern empire during the eighth and ninth centuries? 416. What was the character of the emperors ? 417. ^N hat religious dispute prevailed at this time ? SECTION IX. 418. Under whom did the Pope begin to acquire temporal power? 419. What is said of the religious character of the temporal prin- ces of this period ? 420. What chexk was there, at this time, to the increasing power of the church of Rome ? 421. What is the character of the clergy of this period? SECTION X. 422. By v/hom was the empire of Morocco founded ? 423. When did the Saracens overrun and conquer Spain? 424. ^Vas the Mahometan religion extensively professed ? 425. Vv'hat prevented the Saracens from raising an extensive em- pire ? SECTION XI. 426. W^hat had become the condition of the empire founded by Charlemagne, in the tenth and eleventh centuries ? 427. How were the emperors at this time elected ? 428. V^ ho were some of the most distinguished monarchs of Ger- many in the middle ages ? 429. Were there frequent disputes between the Popes of Rome and German emperors ? QUESTIONS. 17 SECTION XII. 430. From whom is it probable the British isles derived their first inhabitants ? 43i: What was the condition of the country -when invaded by the R-o'nans r 432. Wher did Julias Caesar enter Britain? 433. W'hen did a complete reduction of the island take place, and put it under the Roman power ? 434. When did the Romans abandon the country? 435. ''A hat led the Saxons into Britain? 436. How long were the Saxons in conquering; the Britons ? 437. What was the government called, established by the Sax*. ons ? » 438. When and by whom Avas the Saxon Heptarchy brought under one sovereign ? 439. What piratical people for a long period subsequent to this, desolated the coasts of Britain ? 440. What relationship was there between Alfred the Great and Egbert ? 441. What is the character of Alfred? 442. When did he die ? 443. Who were the immediate successors of Alfred? 444. What people invaded and obtained the government of Eng- land subsequent to the time of Alfred ? 445. When was William duke of Normandy put in possession of the throne of England ? SECTION XIII. 446. What was the character of the Anglo-Saxon government? 447. How many ranks of people were there ? 448. How did the Anglo-Saxons compare with the Normans in point of civilization ? SECTION XIV. 449. W'ho was elected to the throne of France, A. D. 987 ? 450. What was the prevailing passion among the nations of Eu^ rope during the tenth and eleventh centuries'* 451. What was the state of the Northern powers of Europe in point of civilization, at this time ? 452. What was a subject of dispute between the Popes and the Emperors '' SECTION XV. 453. What was the consequence of the battle of Hastings? 454. What was the end of VV illiam the conqueror ? 455. What important law did he introduce into England ? 4it6. Which part of his subjects were treated with most favour ? 457. Who were some of the immediate successors of William the conqueror ? 458. Who effected the conquest of Ireland ? 459. What clouded the latter part of the jeign of Henry 11^ ^ 2* ^^ QU£5T{0NS> 4G0. What was the character of this monarch? 461. Who succeeded him on the throne? 462. How came Richard I. to be imprisoned in Germany? ^ 413. Under what sovereign was the Ma^na Charta produced ; j SECTION XVI. \ 464. What two factions were there in Italy in the thirteenth cen- tury ? 466. "V^'hat occasioned them ? 466. What was the political state of Europe at this time ? SECTION XVII. 467. Who was the first promoter of the Crusades ? | 468. V/hat was the object of the Crusades ? • 4 469. What was the number of Peter^'s army, and when did he ^ commence his crusade to the Holy Land ? 1 470. What became of thig army ? h 471. When was a second crusade undertaken and how many en- i gao:ed in it ? ,\ 472. What was the fate of this expedition? 'i 473. W ho headed the third crusade ? 4 474. Wh.cn was the fourth fitted out? ) 475. ^V'hat particular success attended one, and what was its issue ? 476. \\ ho undertook the last crijsade into tke East? 477. Vv'hat became of Lcvv^is IX. ? 478. How many, is it supposed, of the persons who e'ng^aged Ie the crusades, perished ? 479. What benefit resulted from the crusades ? SECTION XVIII. 180. How was the profession of arms esteemed among the Ger- jnans ? 481. \\ hat is faid to have beon characterestic of the Gothic man- ners ? 482. \Mien C.ld chivalry attain its perfection ? '183. What writings accompanied the adventures of chivalry? 484. y^re works of fiction capable of producing good moral effects' SECTION XIX. -185. When did Ihc crusaders take Constantinople ? 48G. iiow Ions; di*:! the Froncli emperor? govern it ? 487. VN lien may the rise of tlie house of Austria be dated ? cUo. II:v7 did lliij siates of Italy compare at this time with most of the other countries of Europe ? 489. .\''I.at severe and bloody measure v/as adopted in relation to tke Knights Templars ? SECTION XX. 490. 'Wlicn did Suitzcrland become independent? 491. Ey what name was it then called ? 49,i. 'xv what goycrnuicnt bad it Dccn subject ? QUESTIONS. l^y 493. What was the number of battles fought before it became in- dependent ? SECTION XXI. 494. ^^'hat prince imposed a tribute on all the Italian states ? 495. In nhose time was the Popedom removed to Avig-uon ? 496. How long; did it remain there ? 497. y> hat act disting-uished the reign or Charles IV. ? 498. Who summoned the council of Constance, 1414 ? 499. What raartj'rdoms were the consequence of this council ? 500. By whom was the wealth of the Germanic stales possessed •' SECTION XXII. 501. What character is g-iven of Henry III. ? 502. B}' whem was he made a prisoner ? 503. V»'ho succeeded Henry HI. on the throne of England? 504. When and by whom was Wales conquered ? SECTION XXIII. 505. What is the state of the Scottish history before the time of Malcolm III ? 556. Who were the two next succeeding kings of Scotland ? 507. Who became competitors to the! crown, 1285 ? 508. How was the dispute decided ? 509. What distinguished warrior arose, at this lime, to assert the liberties of J ' .:itry ? 510. What became _ Wallace ? 511. Who finally succeeded in delivering Scotland from the Eng- lish and was crowned sovereign of it, 1306 ? SECTION XXIV. 512. What statute was passed by Edward I. which related to tax- es and imposts ? 5 '3. How many times in his reign is he said to have ratified the Mac:pa Chario ? 514. ^^'ith how large an army did he invade Scotland ? 515. '\\'ith v.'haL lorce did Bruce meet him ? :'AG. Who ciolhroned Edward II. and under what circumstances? 517. In v/hat manner did Edward III. revenge the murder of his father ? 510. On what did he found liis claim to the throne of France ? 519. When are the English said for the first time to have used ar- tillery in battle ? 520. What king of France was carried captive to England, and by v/hom ? 521. What bfcairiC of the captive king of France ? 522. ^Vho succeeded John in France and Edward IIL in England ? SECTION XXV. 523. What became of Richard II. and who succeeded him ? 524. What was llie origin of the quarrels between the houses of Lancaster and York ? 2V w,ut»inJi.a« 525. Wliat induced Henry V. to invade France I 526. What was the result of this expedition ? 527. On what terms did Henry V. receive a right to the throne oi France during the life of Charles VI. ? 528. By what aid was Charles VII. enabled to secure the thron'^ of France to himself? 529. What became of the Maid of Orleanc ? 530. What was the state of society in Europe at this period? 531. What circ'incstances show that it wr.s in a low state ? SECTION XXVI. •32. At what time did the Turks cross over into Europe ? 533. What Asiatic conqueror arose in the 14th century, who for a time checked the Turks in their career of conquest and oppression ? 534. What effect did the death of Tamerlane have on the Turks 535. What prince subjected Constantinople to the power of the Turk 536. When did this take place, and hov/ long had the eastern em- pire then subsisted ? 537. Did this terminate the empire of the East, as it was termed I SECTION XXVIL 538. What is the g:overnment of Turkey ? 539. What limits and restraints are there upon a Turkish Sultan ?" 540. What is the character of the people ? 541. With what officer are the principal functions of the govern- ment entrusted ? 542. How are the revenues of the g^overnment obtained ? SECTION XXVIH. 543. What greatly increased the power of the French cfrown in the 15th century ? 544. What was the character of Lewis XI ? 545. Who were the two immediate successors of Lewis XI, on the throne of France ? 546. In what foreign enterprise did Charles VIII. of France en- gage ? SECTION XXIX. 547. What circumstance unittd the kingdoms of Arragon and Castile under the same sovereigns ? 548. What institutions were formed in thisperiod for the discovery and punishment of crimes ? 549. When did Ferdinand take the title, king of Spain ? 550. How long time did the dominion of the Moors continue in Spain ? 551. On what account and when did Ferdinand expel the Jews from Spain ? 552. How numerous were they ? &53» What memorable di&covcry was made in this reign ? QUESTIONS. 21 SECTION XXX. 55 i. What v/as the character of pope Alexander VL? 555. ^' hat became of him : 556. vS ho conspired to deprive Lewis XII. of Navarre r 557. When did he die ? SECTION XXXI. 553. Hovv' did the partisans of York and Lancaster distinguish tiiernsclves [roni each other? 559. Vkiiich party triunijjlied ? 560. IJoAV many of the Lancastrians were slain in the battle near Toulon ? 561. To whoin was Edward IV. in the first instance indebted for his throne ? 56?.. \V hat caused '^■^'arwlck to turn a:xainst Edward ? 563. What epiLhet was g'iven to arwick ? 564. Who wKS (he queen of Henry \ I. a. id what is said of her character ? 565. V\ hat of Herry "^'I. — of his queen Margaret — and of the Prince, the;r son ? 566. V.'ho was Jiichard !II? 567. llcv,- di i he come to (he throne. ? 5Go. What bf'came ofhiai ? 569. V-hat became of Edv/.^ul ^'.P 570. How werf.' the Ho use; put a period to the civil wars between them? 571. V. hat is said of the governnient of rienry V'll. ? SECTION XXXII. 57-2. What was the st~ate of the feudal system in Scotland ? 573. V\ hat was a constant policy of the Scottish kings ? 574. What Scottish kinj: Ava? prisoner in Loudon in company witja Johr, king of France ? 575. How long was ht: held in captivity there ? 576. How long was James I. held in captivity by the English? 577. What advantage did he derive from this captivity? 578. To what end did the five Jameses come? 579. With what English sovereiga was James V. cotemporary, and engaged in war ? SECTION XXXIII. 630. What was the constant policy of the Scottish kings ? 58 L v\ hat rendered this policy necessary ? 582. In whom resided the legislative power ? 583. Of what did the revenue of the sovereign consist ? SECTION XXXIV. 584. Who were the first restorers of learning in Europe ? 585. What sovereigns in this age encouraged the revival of learn- ing in Europe ? 586. What distinguished genius appeared in the middle of the thirteenth century ? 22 QUESTIONS. 587. In what did the genius of Bacon discover itself? .588. What led to a discovery of many of the ancient authors^ during the fifteenth century ? 589. What contributed most to the dissemination of knowledge at this period ? 690. To what is to be traced modern dramatic composition. SECTION XXXV. 391. What was the boldest naval enterprize of the ancients ? 592. W hat parts of Europe were unknown to the ancients ? 593. To what sea was the commerce of the ancients mostly con- fined ? 594. What cities of modern Europe first became commercial ? 595. \'^ hen and where was first established a national bank ? 596. What were the Italian merchants called in the middle ages ? 597. Vi hat give rise to Bills of Exchange ? 598. ^^* hen did commerce extend itself to the north of Europe ? 599. For what purpose was the League of the Hanse towns formed ? 600. When did the woollen manufactures of England become im- portant? 601. W hat English sovereigns in these ages particularly encourage ed commerce and the useful arts ? SECTIOx\ XXXVI. 602. W' hen was the mariner"'s compass first used ? 603. V/hat nation became particularly distinguished in the fif- teenth century for naval enterprize ? ^ 604. When and by whom was the Cape of Good Hope doubled ? 605. How extensive did the i^orluguese possessions in India become at this time ? 606. W'hat effect had these discoveries on the commerce of Europe ? 607. W'ho made repeated attempts to destroy the trade of the Portuguese ; 608. What besides the Portuguese discoveries produced a spirit of successful enterprize in England ? 609. What has been the increase of population in Britain since the reign of Elizabeth ? 610. What proportion of the population is supposed to be em- ployed in manufactures and commerce ? 611. How does it appear that there has been a great increase of national wealth in Britain ? SECTION XXXVII. 612. Who were the parents of Charles V. ? 613. When did he come to the throne of Spain ? 614. W'ho was the competitor of Charles V. for the throne of Aus- tria on the death of Maximilian ? 615. Who was king of England at this time? 616. How did the r/ar terminate between Charges ard Francis ? QUESTIONS. "617. With \^hom did Henry VIII. take part on the renewal of the war ? 618. What induced Charles to conclude a treaty with Francis, i» 1544? 619. When and by whom was the order of Jesuits founded? 620. What was the principle of the order .'' 621. What gave Charles perpetual disquiet in Germany? 622. At what age and where did he resign his dominions ? SECTION XXXVII l. ^623. What was the condition of the Germanic empire previous to the reign of Maximilian I. ? 624. What emperor acquired the greatest power in Germany ? SECTION XXXIX. e^5. What important events distinj^rJrlu 1 iie aj^c of Charles V. r 626. Who was a leading charactei' m p-odn-uing- the Reformation ? 627. Who was Roman PontiiT at Uus tim'^ ? 628. What practice of the R«misb chnroh did Luther first attack? 629. What procured Henry Vill. the title of Defender of the Faith ' 630. What distinguished reformer arose in Switzerland •' 631. What sovereign at ihis time was upon the thrones of Sweden, Denmark and Norway ? 632. Who was Gustavus V' asa ? 633. What act of Leo X. and of Christiern II. contributed to the reformation in the north ; 134. From what circumstance did the Lutherans derive the name of Protestants ? 035. Who became a distinguished convert to the doctrines of the reformation in' Qentva? 636. V/hat is said of the character of Calvin ? SECTION XL. 637. What reformer arose in England in the middle of the four- teenth century ? 638. In v/hat v/ay had Wickliffe prepared the minds of the people of England for the reformation ? 639. Who was the immediate cause of it? 640. Vvhat led ilenry Vlil. to declare himself head of the church in England ? 64 1. When did he die, and by whom was he succeeded ? 642. What checked the progress of reformation in England, in the year 1553 ? G43. IIov/ many Protestants suffered martyrdom during the reign of Mary, in Englar:d ? 644. In whose rei en did the Protestant religion become establish- ed accciding to its present form in England ? SECTION XLI. 645. Who discovered America ? 646. To v/hom did he apply in vain for aid in making discoveries'-' 24 QUESTIGKS. 647. Who finally furnished him for the vcyag^e ^ 648. Mow lon^ after Columbus left the Cauaries, before he dis- covered land ? 649. In which oi" his voyages did he discover the continent of America ? 650. From Tvhoif! vas the nnme of America received? 651. H >r.- <-]i ' 'lie, r-pr.; iaidj treat the inhabitanis of the newly dj'^ccA • r 'i rcir'itriee :! 65^. Whrn arc^ oy v^'hom Avas the continent of America explored? 65'P>. :• nw lonp; hwd the Mexican empire been founded at this time ? C5-1. \' hf- ■vva3 i]) : ?rv<:rc' ho first planted an English colony in America ? 6G7. How do thosi/ parts of America at first^^cttled by British col- onists compare in natural richness with the Spanish posses- sions ? SECTION XLIIL 668. What was the state of the fine ajts iu Europe in the time of Le > X. ? 669. What v/as their progress ? 670. la what arts did the Italians excel ? 671. Who were some of the most distinguished Italian painters? 672. Who were some of the most distinguished Italian scalptors ? 673. When is the invention of engiaving on copper dated ? SECTION XLIV. 674. What is the character of the Turks in the fifteei-ith century ? 675. From whom did the '■ urks take the island of Pthodes ? 676. From Avhat ancient nation are derived the principles of mari- time jurisprudence existing among modern nations ? 677. "V^'hat cont.|ucsts did the Turks niake ia the sixteenth cen- turv ? (iUESTIONS. ^^ SECTION XLV. 678. What occasioned a revolution in Tersia in the latter part of the fifteenth century ? 679. What is the government of Persia ? 680. From what country have proceeded the conquerors who oc- casioned the principal revolutions of Asia ? 681. What singular phenomenon does the kingdom of Thibet ex- hibit? SECTION XLVI. 682. Who has furnished the earliest accounts of India r 683. Hew do those accounts compare with the present condition of the Hindoos ? 684. When did the Mahometans be^in an establishment in India ? 685. What was the condition of the Mogul empire in the begin- ning of the eighteenth century ? 636. Who conquered and obtained poss'^ssion of the Mogul em- pire about the middle of the eighteenth century ? SECTION XLVII. 687. How have the remains of the ancient knowledge of the Hin ■ doos been pres- rved ? 688. How has the body of Hindoo people been divided ? 689. What inference is to be drawn from this classification of the Hindoos, as to their early civilization? 690. What was the civil policy of the Hindoos in the time of Al- exander the great ? 691. What is the antiquity of some Hindoo compositions lately translated ? 692. What is the antiquity of some numr rical tables lately ob- tained from the Bramins by M. Gc-ntil ? 693. W^hat do the writings of the Hindoo priests demonstrate ? 694. What is the religion of India generally ? SECTION XLVIII. 695. What is said of the laws and system of government in China ? 696. When did the Tartars establish themselves permanently ia the sovereignty of China ? €97. When and by whom was the empire of Japan discovered ? 698. Who carried on a beneficial trade with the people of Japan? 699. What caused this trade to be broken off? 700. Why is it that the Dutch are still allowed to trade with the Japanese ? SECTION XLIX. 701. To whom does Sir William Jones trace the origin of the Chi- nese ? 702. What is the government of China ? 703. How are honours bestowed in China ? 704. What is the state of the sciences in China at this time t 705. What arts in China are carried to great perfection ? 706. What are the morals of the Chinese .^ 3 2(i QUESTIONS. 707. "\Miat Chinese \rritcr is said to have produced a g:ood system of morality ? 708. What is the religion of the emperor and the higher manda- rins ? SECTION L. r09. What was the opinion of Mr. Bailly concerning the arts and sciences among: the nations o( the east ? flO. How long have they been stationary with the Chinee ? '11. At how early a period are the Chaldeans represented tc have been an enlightened people ? 12. Is the opinion of Mr. Bailly well founded ? SECTION LI. 713. Who took Calais from the English for the French ? 714. How long had it been in possession of the English ? 715. What was the character of Thilip II. ? 716. The gdverument did he confer on the Prince of Orange? 717. For what purpose did he establish the Inquisition in those provinces ? 718. What led to the establishment of the republic of the seven united proviuces ? 719. What is the chief magistrate called ? 720. What became of the Prince of Orange ? 721. Who aided this republic in obtaining independence ? SECTION LI I. 722. \Miat was the government of the seven united provinces : 723. What important evil is there in the constitution of the gov- ernment ? 724. \N hat was the authority of the chief magistrate ? 725. Who almost aimihilated the republic ? 726. When was the Stadtholdership made hereditary ? SECTION LIII. 727. How was the loss of tlie Netherlands compensated to Phil- ip II. ? 728. When did he take possession of Portugal ? 729. \^ hat naval enUrprise engaged the attention of Philip ? 730. V. hat was the result of it ? 731. \^ hat is the character of Philip? SECTION LIV. 732. What accelerated the progress oi' reformation in France : 733. What two parties were eapjged in a civil war in the latter part of tlic sixteenth century ? 734. "\\ hen was the massacre of St. Bartholomew ? 735. \niat was the character of Charles IX. of France ? 73-0. Who werr lus two immediate successors: 737. What became of them ? 7^. What great project waa Henry IV meditating, when assassi- nated? QHESTIONS, 27 SECTION LV. 739. When did Elizabeth come to the throne of England? 740. ^Vhat was the state of the kiuji^dom during her reign? 741. What fixed a stain on Elizabeyi's character ? 742. Under what pretence did Mary of Scots assume the arms and title of queen of England ? 743. What form of religion became established in Scotland, in the reign of Elizabeth ? 744. Who was a distinguished reformer in Scotland ? 745. \'Wio were the two husbands of Mary ? 746. How came Mary in the hands of Elizabeth ? 747. Under what pretence Avas Mary condemned, and executed 748. How long was she a captive in England ? 749. At what age and when did Elizabeth die ? <. SECTION LVI. 750. Who succeeded Elizabeth on the throne of England ; 751. What rendered James unpopular with his subjects : 75-?. What was the object of the gunpowder treason ? 753. By whom was the conspiracy formed ^ 754. What was a favorite object with James ? 755. Who was his successor ? 756. Wliat were some of the principal subjects of dispute between Charles and his parliaments ? 757. What caused the Scots to rebel and take up arms against the government of Charles ? 750. What two distinguished individuals at this time were im- peached by the commons and beheaded? 759. What important occurrence v/as there at this time in Ire- land ? 760. When the civil v/ar commenced, who were on the side of the king, and Avho on that of tlie ]iarliament? 761. Who directed the measures of the army of parliament? 762. In what way was Cromwell able to procure the death of Charles ? 763. When was he beheaded ? 764. How far were the proceedings of the commons justifiable ? SECTION LVII. 765. What part did the parliament of Scotland take in regard to the king ? 766. On what condition was Charles II. proclaimed king of Scot- land ? 767. Who were the Covenanters (>f Scotland ? 76J). Wfiat became of Charles II. when overcome by Crojnwell : 769. \Vhat was the title of Cromwell ? 770. What was the character of his government? 771. At what age did he die, and who was his successor? 772. What was the parliament called that put to death kinjr Charles ? '' 773. Under what circumstances and when wa? Charles II restored * 28 QUESTIONS. SECTION LVIir. 774. What was the character of Charles II. ? 775. When were the epithets of Whig and Tory first known, and how were they appli^? 776. Who was the successor of Charles II. ? 777. What made him unpopular with his subjects ? 778. By what means was Charles removed from the throne ? 779. On whom was the crown then settled ? 7S0. What became of James ? t SECTION LIX. 81. To what period may the rudiments of the English constitn- tion be traced ? 782. In v/hose reign was instituted the trial by jury ? 783. In whose reign did the Magna Charta originate ? 784. In whose reign was the act of Habeas Corpus passed ? 785. Of what does the parliament of Great Britain consist? 780. Of what does the house of lords consist ? 787. Of v/hat does the house of commons consist ? 788. What is the act of Habeas Corpus ? SECTION LX. 789. How are the pecuniary supplies of the sovereign obtained ? 790. When did the English national debt arise ? 791. What constitutes the Sinking Fund? 792. Is it probable the debt will ever become extinct ? SECTION LXI. 793. To what minister was France indebted for much of her good success in the reign of Lewis XIII. ? 794. W hat was the character of Lewis XIII. ? 795. W hat became the condition of the Protestants in the reign of Lewis Xlll.? 796. When did he die ? SECTION LXII. 797. What weak and despicable act did Philip III. commit? 798. W'hen did Portugal become an independent sovereignty? 799. Who became her first king? 8G0. What is said of Spain in the reigns of Philip III. and IV. '- SECTION LXIII. 801. What was the condition of Germany when Charles V. abdi- cated the throne ? 802. W'hat was then and for a long period afterwards a subject of contention in Germany ? 803. What peace put a period to this contention? 804. When did the peace of Westphalia take place ? SECTION LXIV. 805. When did Lewis XIV. come to the throne of France ' 806. At what age' QUESTIONS. 29 J]07. What led to a civil war in the early part of his reign ? 808. When did Mazarin die? 809. What change took place in the affairs of France at Ihis time ? 810. What was reckoned one of the weakest and most impolitic measures of Lewis XIV. ? 811. What was the state of the finances of France in the latter part of the reign of Lewis XIV. ? 812. What character is given of Lewis XIV.? 813. At what age and when did he die ? SECTION LXV. 814. What change took place in the government of France, under-] the Capetian race of kings ? 815. What power arose to limit and check the royal prerogative,^ in and from the reign of Lewis XIII. ? 816. What made the powers of parliament a constant subject of dispute ? 817. In what way was the crown of France to descend? 818. What was the established religion of France? 819. What took place in the assembly of the Galilean church, ia 1682 ? SECTION LXVI. 820. What two distinguished characters in the north of Europe were cotemporary with Lewis XIV. ? 821. When is Russia said to have received Christianity ? 822. What sovereign first published a code of laws in Russia? 823. When was Siberia added to the Russian empire ? 824. When and how did feter become master of the Russian em- pire ? 825. How was the early part of his life spent ? 826. What method did he adopt to improve himself in the sci- ences and useful arts? 827. When and at what age did Charles XII. come to the throne of Sweden ? [made 828. At what age and with what success was his first campaign 829. What change did he effect in the government of Poland? 830. By whom was he defeated ? 831. How many of his army remained to him after this defeat ? 832. To what means did Charles then resort to regain his lost pov/er ^ 833. What became of Charles XII. > 834. When did Peter the Great die } SECTION LXVII. 835. Who were the principal philosophers in the seventeenth cen- tury ? 836. For what was Galileo imprisoned ? 837. What institutions were formed which contributed to the ad- vancement of science and the arts ? [phy ? 838. What work of Newton contains the elements of all philoso- 839. Whgit was Locke'g theory coacerning the human mind ? 3* 30 QUESTIONS, 840. What are some of the most distinguished poetical productions of modern times ? 841. Vv'ho are some of the most eminent English Poets ? 842. Who were distinguished writers in history dwing the 16th and I7th centuries ? APPENDIX, HISTORY OF THE JEWff. SECTION I. 843. What constitutes the basis of the first historical records ? 844. How can we account for the fabulous relations of the first historians ? 845. From what period are the details in profane history to be received as facts ? 846. What historical records are the most ancient as well as the most rational ? $47. What historical facts do they contain, not found in ©ther his- tcry ? SECTION II. 848. W^ho were the Israelites ? 849. Why were they suffered to be subdued by the Romans ? S50. In what condition do their descendants exist? 851. What circumstraice illustrates the truth and inspiration oi the prophetic writings ? SECTION III. 852. IIow long before Herodotus did Moses live ? 853. What acknowledgement did Porphyry make as to the anti- quity of ihe writings of Moses? S54. What pagan traditions confirm the truth of the Pentateuch f 855. 'What is said of Zoroaster ? f!56. What Jewish historian successfully vindicates the authority of th« Jewish scriptures ? SECTION IV. 857. What are the principal facts recorded in the book of Gen- esis ? 853. What remarkable prophecy of Isaiah is there concerning Cyrus ? 859. And what one; concerning Babylon ? liQO. What was the length of time from the giving of the law to Moses to the reformation in worship and government of the Jews by Neh&miah ? 86 1 . What hcrertilary distinction of rank existed among the Jews* 862. What is said of Moses, Elisha, and Gideon ? ^63. What internal undoubted characteristic of truth is thertr ia tlie scjciptwre.,^ - QUESTIOiNS. 3i SECTION V. 864. When was the creation of the Avorld accoir:pli3hed ? 865. What was one of the most remarkable circumstances of the antediluvians ? 866. How long did some of the oldest of them lire ? 867. \^'hy did the Almighty destroy the world by a deluge of water ? 868. Who were saved from it and by what means ? 869. Who were some of tiie first inventers of the useful arts ? SECTION VL f 870. What is said of the three sons of Noah :" 871. What is the most important event between the deluge and the call of Abraham ? 872. Of what city was Babel the beginning ? SECTION VII. 873. From whom do the Jews derive their origin ? 874. What relationship was there between Jacob and Abraham ? 875. How came Joseph, the son of Jacob, to be in Egypt ? 876. By what means was he made governor of Egypt ? 877. How came his father and brel'jren to remove thither ? 878. How long did the Israelites remain in Egypt ? 879. What were some of the circumstances connected with their leaving it ? 880. How long after leaving Egypt did Moses die ? SECTION VIIL 881. What caused a league to be formed between the Syrian chiefs? 882. Who was the successor of Moses in the government of Israel ? 883. How were the Israelites governed after the death of Joshua? 884. Who were the two last Judges of Israel ? S85. What change took place in the government on the death of Samuel ? SECTION IX. .886. What was the original government of Israel called ? 887. W^hat moral and political change took place on the death of Joshua, in the condition of Israel ? 888. Why was the regal government introduced ? SPXTION X. 889. How long did Saul reign over Israel ? 890. By what means vi^as David raised to the throne as his suc- cessor ? 891. What prosperous events characterised the reign of David J 89-2. What adverse ones characterised it ? 893. How long did David reign, and v/:io succeeded him ? 894. What is the most remarkable event in the reign of Solomon. ? 895. What books are ascribed to him ? 896. Under what eircumstauces was the kuagdonx divided t 32 QUESTIONS. 897. By what names were the two kingdoms subsequently to this division called ? 898. What became of the ten tribes who constituted the kingdom of Israel ? 899. Whencp sprang the Samaritans ? 900. When and in what manner ended the kingdom of Judah r I SECTION XI. I 901. How long were the Jews held captive in Babylon ? '^902. By whom were they released ? |903. From what time and circumstance tvere the Israelites called ; Jews ? ^^ 904. What caused Alexander the great to march to Jerusalem } with hostile intentions ^ 905. By what means was he appeased ? 9^6. What favours did he then bestow on them ? 907. What advantage did Ptolomy take of the regard which the Jews paid to ilie Sabbath ? 908. In what manner did the five brothers named Maccabeus be- come distinguished ? 909. Who was their father ? 910. When and by whom were the Jews subjected to the Romans: 911. \^■ho was then placed on the throne of David under the pro- tection of the Romans ? 912. By what memorable event was the reign of Herod distin- guished ? 913. By whom and when was the Jewish nation extinguished ? 914. How many Jews are supposed to have perished in their last war with the Romans ? SECTION XII. 915. What is the period of scriptural history? 916. Where is it supposed that the Jews obtained their knowledge of the arts and sciences ? 917. What was the state of commerce among the Jews ? 918. With what inference does Tytler conclude his work on his- tory ? CONTINUATION, OR PART THIRD. SECTION I. 919. What was the age of Lewis XV. when the crown of France descended to him ? 920. When and what heirs to the crown of France, died w-ithin a few months ? 921. What made it necessary for France on the death of Lewis XIV, to preserve peace with foreign states ? 922. Who was regent of France during the minority of Lewie XV - QUESTIONS. 33 92:^. What distinguished minister was at the court of Spain, in this period ? 924. What was the character of the duke of Orleans, the regent of France ? 925. By what means were the duchies of Lorrain and Bar made to revert to France ? SECTION 11. 926. Who succeeded queen Anne on the throne of Britain ? 927. Wiiat acts of parliament had passed connected with the accession of George I. concerning; religion ? 928. When did he enter his new dominions ? 929. How did the rehellion of 1715 in Scotland, terminate ? 930. By what name were the adherents to tlie Pretender called ? 931. By what name was the party called to which George I. com- mitted the government of tiie realm ? 932. Who was king of Swed:;n at this time ? 933. For what purpose and by whom was he nearly instigated to invade Britain ? 934. What ruined the prospects of Alberoni? 935. ' 936. Why did he not succeed ? 937. At what age and when did George I. die ? SECTION III. 938. When did Charles VI. become emperor of Austria and Germany ? 939. Who was the Austrian commander in the first war of Charles VI. with the Turks ? 940. W'hat arrangement did he make for the descent of the Aus- trian crown ? 941. What was this arrangement or his act in making it called ? 942. When did Charles VI. die, and who succeeded him? 943. Was she permitted to enjoy unmolested the dominions de- scended to her ? 944. What circumstances were calculated to raise up competitors for different parts of her estates ? 945. Who was the most forward and active of the queen's oppo- nents ? 946. What prevented the competitors of the queen from succeed- ing in obtaining their claims ? 947. Which one of them succeeded in obtaining the imperial crown in 174 1 ? 948. How long after this did he live ? 949. On his death who obtained the imperial crown ? 950. When did the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle take place ?- SECTION IV. 951. At what tifee and age did George II. come to the throne of England ? 952. Wlio was his queen ? 953. Who was prime minister of England at this time ' 34 QUESTIONS. 954. What caused him to resign ? 955. Upon what two occasions had his views been thwarted ? 956. When did he die ? 957. What inteiesting event occurred in Scotland the same year : 958. What was the object of the insurrection in Scotland? 959. In v/hat battle were the hopes of the Stuart family forever blasted ? 960. What became of the heir of this family after that battle ? 961. W'hat is considered the most melancholy circumstance at- tending the Scottish rebellion ? 962. What singular act of parliament was passed in the year 1751 ? 963. When and at what age did George II. die ? SECTION V. 964. By what treaty was the house of Hanover effectually estab- lished on the British throne ? 965. How was the British naval force left by this treaty compared with the naval forces of other Etjropean nations ? 966. What did Austria lose by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ? 967. What did Prussia gain by it ? 968. How did it effect Holland ? 969. By v/hat means was Russia introduced into the southern states of Europe ? SECTION VI. 970. What became a subject of jealousy and future warfare, after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, between France and Eng- land ? 971. In what respect did the peace of Europe, in 1748, extend to Asia aad America ? 972. What French governor in the East Indies attempted to bring the Mcgul empire under the dominion of France ? 973. In what way did the French in America gain an advantage over the English ? 974. When did the French war in America commence '' 975. What number of French merchant vessels was captured and carried into the English ports the first year of the war ? 976. When the war was extended to Europe, what powers arrang- ed themselves against each other? 977. Who was king of Prussia at this time ? 978. What is his character? 979. What has this war been termed ? 980. How many men have been supposed to have perished annu- ally in the campaigns of it ? 981. What advantage did the English gain in America ? 982. Wliat nev/ally did France obtain in the year of 1761 ? 983. Wliat induced him to join the league against England ? 984. What advantages did England gain by this war ? 985. What change in the ministry hat success did he hare in Ihis expedition ? 1081. What lessened his triumph and gave a new turn to the war ? 1082. What chang-( took place in the French government on Bon- aparte ^s return from Egypt ? iOC3. When, by whom and with what result was the battle of Marengo fought ? 1084. When and between whom was the treaty of Luneville, signed ' 1085. When and between whom was the treaty of Amiens signed? 10S6. What was the French power, and what were her posses- sions at this time ? SECTION XVI. 1087. What regulation did Bonaparte make for religion in France i 1088. V\ hat took place on the 2d of August, 1302? i089. What led to a renewal of hostilities between Fi*ance and England, 1803 ? 1090. On the renewal of hostilities, what security did Bonaparte take for the future good conduct of England ? 1091. What military enterprise did he project ? 1092. What took place on the ICth of May, and the 2d of Be- cember, 1804? 1093. W'hy did general Moreau come to America ? 1094. \"bat induced Russia, Prussia, and Austria, to unite in hos- tilities against Napoleon ? 1095. \A hat took place on the 21st of October, 1805 ? 1096. After what battle did the empeior of Austria solicit peace ? 1097. What appeared to lead to the exaltation of Joseph Bona- parte to the throne of Naples ? 1698. What change took place in the governmejit of Holland, in 1306 ? 1099. What change took place, in the same year, in the political condition of Germany ? 1100. How came Bonaparte to be in Berlin, in November, of this year ? 1101. What extraordinary decree did he dictate, while there ? 1102. What concessions did the emperor of Russia make to tKc French emperor in the treaty of Tilsit ? SECTION XVII. 1103. When did Charles IV. come to the throne of France ? 1104. What caused the Spaniards, in 1793, to invade France ? 1105. What was the consequence of this invasion to Spain ? 1106. By what means did St. Domingo fall into the hands of the French ? 1107. What led to the war between England and Spain in 1806 ? QUESTIONS. ^9 2108. Why did the royal family of Portugal remove to Americaj and when ? 1109. On what account was Ferdinand arrested and imprisoned by the Spanish authorities ? 1110. By what means was the Spanish throne declared vacant, and Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed king of Spain ? 1111. What foreign power aided Spain and Portugal, against the French ? 1112. In what battle were the French beaten and compelled to evacuate Portugal f 1113. When and under whom did the British army enter Spain ? 1114. What became of Sir John Moore? 11 ir>. When did Sir Arthur Wtllesley, with fresh troops from Eng- land, enter Spain ? 1116. For what service was he raised to a peerage ? 1117. What battle caused the gates of Madrid to be throwtvopen to the Spanish patriots iu 1812 ? 1118.,Wht-:n was the battle of Vittoria fought ? 1119. What were the consequences of it to the French ? SECTION XVIII. i 120. What was the partition treaty between France and Spain ? 1121. What was the Milan decree ? 1122. Who was created king of Naples when Joseph Bonaparte remove to Spain ? 1123. How long did the war of Austria last, which commenced in 1809 ? 1124. On what condition was Austria able to obtain peace ? il'i,^. vN hen did Bonaparte's second marriage take place ? 1126. When was the war renewed with Russia? 1127. With how large an army did j-'onaparte invade Russia, in 1812? 1128. What Avas the success of this expedition ? 1129. With what force did he commence hostilities in 1813 ? 1130. What battle completely Liiscnmfited the French emperor? 1131. When did the allies pass the Rhine ? 1 132. When did they reach ravis ? 1 133. On what conditions was Bonaparte permitted to abdicate the French throne ? 1134. When did the Bourbons return to Paris ? SErTION XIX. 1135* From what cause had Poland suffered much ? 1136. VN hat caange did Chai-ies Xll. make in the state of Poland f 1137. By the aid of wh-se power was the family of Augustus kept upon the thrr^ue of Poland during the first half of the fcighttenih century? 1138. Who succeeded Au ustus III. and when ? 1139. What internal dispute greatly distracted Poland at this time ? X140. With whom did the plan of dismembering Poland, originate ? 40 QWESTIOI^S* 2141. What reasons were given "fey the partitioning powers for tht dismemberment of Poland ? 1142. Did the Poles willingly acquiesce in the measure ? 1143. When was the division actually agreed upon and sanction- ed by the Polish diet ? 1-144. When did a second partition take place, and when a third ? :ti45. What became of Stanislaus, the last king of Poland ? 1146. When and by vrfhom was the kingdom declared re-establish- ed ? 1 147. What is the present political condition of it ? SECTION XX. 1148. When were hostilities renewed by England against France-; ] 149. \Miat caused Spain also to be involved with Great Britain ': 1150. How did the En°flish violate the rules of justice in regard to Spain ? \^ hat splendid victory did the English obtain over the French and Spanish, in 1805? 2.151. Of what act of injustice were the English judged guilty ti3- wards the Danes ? 1152. What caused the royal family of France to take refuge ia England, in 1807 ? tl53. What were tlie English orders in council 'mvLQA in Jai:iua!'y and November, 1807 ? 1154. When was the p.'iace of Wales appointed regent of Great Britain ? 1155. Why wa&he appointed? 1156. What distinguished jiersonage was assassinated in the montk of May, 1812? 1 U-7. What interesting event took place ia England, in May, 181 6f 1158. By what melancholy event was it succeeded in November of the following year ? 1159. When did George HI. die ? SECTION XXI. 1160. How d^d the French army feel toward the emperor Napole- on, after he was exiled ? 1161. When did Bonaparte laud in France, on his return from Elba? 1162. When did he enter Paris ? 1163. When was the battle of Waterloo fought, which fore-/er terminated his prospects ? 1164. V/hen did he arrive at St. Helena, to which he-was ban- ished ? 1165. What resolution w^as adopted by the allied military com- manders in relation to the works of art, which the French had collected in former victories ? 1166. What precaution did the allies adopt to prevent future revo- lutions in that country ? SECTION XXII. 1167. Who were the three immediate saccessors of Peter I. upoei the throne of Russia ? QUESTIONS. 4 ! 1 168. Hffw Ions? after the death of her father did the priaces3 Elizabeth rorae to the throne ? 1169. How long- did she reic^n, and who succeeded her? 1170. What became of Peter U\. ? 1171. What was the character of Catharine II. his widow, who succeeded ? 1172. When did Alexander, the present emperor of Russia, come to the throne ? 1173. W^hat became of his predecessor ? 1174. How long has Prussia existed as a kingdom? 1175. How many kings have reigned orer it ? 1176. \^'hich of them did most toward raising the kingdom to the first degree of power and renown ? 1177. What two factions were there in Sweden in the reign of Frederick? 2178. How long did Gustavus III. reign? 1179. How did he come by his death ? 1180. Wfcy did Gustavus IV. abdicate the throne? 1181. Who is the present king of Sweden? 1182. When did he come to the throne? 1183. How many kings have reigned in Denmark since the close of the seventeenth century ? 1184. In what war was Christian VII. connected with George IIL, of England? 1185. Why did his queen, Caroline Matilda, retire to, and end her days in Germany ? 1186. Who is the present kir.^ of Denmark? SECTION XXIII. 1187. In what disputes was Switzerland involved during the first part of the 18th century? 1 1 88. Which of the popes of Rome suppressed the order of Jesuits ? 1189. Who was raised to the papal chair in 1775 ? 1190. At what age, when, and where did he die? 1191. How came he at Valence ? 1192. When was his successor chosen, and by what name is he called? 1193. When did he aid in establishing the catholic religion in France ? 1194. What injury did he afterwards receive from France? SECTION XXIV. 1195. Who was the reigning prince of India in the beginning of the 18lh century ' 1196. To what age did he live? 1 197. In what manner did he come to the throne ? 1198. What singular fact is mentioned as evidence of the conten- tions common for the throne, with that semi-barbaroua people ? 1199. What chartered privilege has the English East India Com- pany with this people ? 4* 4:2 QUESTIONS. 1200. W]icn did the Company receive this priv^ilege ? 1201. What descri{-.lioii of this people is called Sepoys ? 1202. Who is regarded as the founder of the British empire in- India ? 1203. \Micn did the British parliament make provision to prevent abuses of power in India ? 1204. V> hat distinguished individuals were instrumental in the first reforms under the new system ? 1205. What is the reasoa why this system Wcis not scrupulously adhered to ? 1206. What was the object of Tippo in regard to the Ens;lish ? 1207. For what object was the East India College established ? 1208. What is the population of British- India ? STATE OF ARTS, SCIENCES, RELIGION, LAWS, GOVERN- MENT, &c. 1-209. What countries have been particularly distinguished in lit- erature, arts, and science, in the 18th century ? 1210. Which of the sciences in particular have been much culti- vated and advanced in that time ? 1211. In what particulars has chemistry undergone important chan!:;es in the latter part of the 18th century ? 1212. Who claim to be the authors of the new theory of chemistry ? 1213- What is now ascertained to be the nature of atmospheric air ? 1214. By Avhom was the discovery of vital air, or oxygen gas, made ? 1215. To what branch of chemistry is the discovery of the de- composition of water owing? 1216. Who discovered the constituent parts or principles of water? 1217. What are they called ? 1218. Who are some of the most distinguished chemists of the- 18th century ?' BOTANT. i219. Where and when was Linnseus born ^ 1220. What is the foundation of bis systematic botany ? 1221.. With how many species of plants are botanists now said to be acquainted ? 1222. What French botanist has done much for the benefit of the science ? 1223. What is the difTercnce betv/eea the system of Linnaeus and that of JuE-bicU:: ELECTRICITY. 1224. Who were some cf the persons who first wrote learnedly oa on the subject of electricity ? 1225. ■^Vho proved that the electric fluid- and lightning are the same thing ? 1226. To what practical purposes did he apply this ? 1227. Of VN'hom was Galvanism the discovery ' :i^8. What is GalyanisQi ea.lled ? 1229. What English philosopher has become much cciebraled for his electro-chen)ical researches ? MINERALOGT AND GEOLOGY. 1230. When did the modem scientific arrangements of minerals beg-in to occupy the attention of naturalists ? 1231. Who has the credit of reducing the science into classes and orders ^ 1232. From what did eeology arise ?- 1233. What is geology^? GEOGRAPHY. 1234. What two new quarters of the v/orld have been presented to us, in the last century, according to the French geog- raphers ? 1235. What does Australasia include ? 1236. What does Polynesia include ? 1237. What took place in Y'iGl, in evidence of the improvements in civilization ? 1230. What eminent Prussian traveller has contributed to the per- fection of geographical knowledge ? 1239. From what period have the Russian sovereigns made lauda- ble elicits to obtain correct geographical information? 1240. Has the sciencts of astronomy undergone as great changes as the other sciences named during the last century ? 1241. riov/ many planets have been discovered in that time ? 1242. Vvhat tact is stated from which we can form some conjecture of the number of fijLed stars ? 1243. What French writer did much to unsettle the minds of his countrymen on religion and politics ? 1244» From whom has- it been supposed that Voltaire imbibed his deistical sentiments ? 2245. V^'ho v.^ere the principal d- istical writers of England ? 1246. Uhat counteracted the tendency of their writings ? 1247. \^ hat other eminent French philosopher visited England, be- sides Voltaire, about the same time ? 1248. To what did he principally confine his views ? 3249. V^ hat were the political opinions of Ro.stau? 1250. \^ hat was the origin of the French Encyclopedia ? 1251. What courts of Europe were thrown open to the Fiench philosophers ? 1252. Is it to be supposed that the French philosophers, to whom the revolution has been imputed, contemplated the awful catastrophe of that event i 1253. Who was chiefly instrumental in introducing the improve- ments of the 18th century into Russia ? DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS. "254. What are the principal discoveries and inventions of modem tiiaes ? 44 QUESTIONS*- 1255. What effect had the French revolution on the people of oth- er countries ? 1256. What moral improvements have takea place in the condi- tion of various civilized nations? RELIGION. 1257. In what countries does paganism prevail ? 1258. What is the present condition of the Jews? 1259. \'^here does Mahometanism prevail? 1260. What are the principal sects of the Christian religion ? 1261. V^ hat sects have been most active as missionaries ? 1262. V^ bat change has the papal authority experienced in the time under consideration ? HISTORY, POLITE LITERATURE, FINE ARTS, &c. 1263. What Germans have been distinguished in literature, and the fine arts ? 1264. Who in France ? 1265. \^ ho in Great liritain ? 1266. Who in Italy ? TREATY OF VIENNA, 1815. 1267. What addition of territory was given to Russia, and what new title to the Czar ? 1268. What is to be the condition of Cracow ? 1269. How did this treaty affect Saxony? 1270. How did it aflect Prussia ? 1271. What change took place in the NetheFlanda ? PART FOURTH. UNITED STATES. SECTION I. 1272. W^hen and by whom was America discovered ? 1273. Under whose patronage was it discovered ? 1274. What part of it was discovered first ? 1275. Why were the islands first discovered called the West la- dies? 1276. Why was the continent called America ? 1277. How long time after Columbus sailed from the Canaries be« fore he reached St. Salvador ? '/1278. To what governments did he apply for patronage without success ? SECTION 11. ;:^ 1279. By whom and when was the continent of North America diseovered? QUESTIONS. 45 1-2G0. On what account did Virginia derive its naiiic < J2S1. ¥.'ho made the first attempt to colonize this part olthe con- tinent ? 1582. To whom did Sir Walter Raleigh afterward assign his in- terest ill the country ? i203. From what did James river take its name ? "12o4. On v.'liat account did capt. John Smith obtain his first re- lease from the Indians ? Y2?>h. Who effected his second release from: them ? i20(;. On v,'hat account was the cultivation of the soil neglected l;y the first colonists '' z2u7. Wli.at is the history of Pocahontas subsequent to saving the life of capt. Smith ? i230. Who first brought the African negroes into this part of tht country ? 1289. Wliat part did the Virginian? take in relation to the revc- i!_;tion cf the mother country under Cromwell? l;.'0O. V. nat was the population of Virginia, in 168(5. SECTION III. 1C91. ^•^ hat y/as the origin of tlie Plymouih colony ? 1'292. \"'- hen was the settlement made ? r-29o. Oi' how many persona did the colony at first consist ? 1294. Of how many did it consist ten year>* afterwards i 1295. How many emigrants carne to IMassachusetts, in the yeaf 1630.? 129G. What'lcd to the first settlement of Rhode If^land and Froti- dence plantations ? 1297. Who laid the foundation of Hartford, Springfield, an-d Weathersfield ? 1293. 'NVhen and by whom was New Hampshire first settled ? 1299. When did a systematic v/arf?.re commence between the Eng''ish and Indians ? 1300 What number of British subjects had settled in New-EnSj- land, up to 1638 ? 1301. \\'hat instances of leligious persecution took place in Mas- sachusetts, about the middle of the 17th century ? 1302. \^ hen and v/LaL were the particulars of the Salem witch- craft ? 1303. V hen was Harvard college founded ? 1304. Frojn whoan did Maryland derive its name, and by whom was it first settled ? 1305. By whom was iNew-Yerk first settled ? 1306. When v/as it surrendered to the English ? 1307. By whom and under what circumstances was Penusylvaiiia settled ? 1300. When and by whom was Georgia settled ? SECTION IV. 1309. '^■- hat settlements had the French in America 1' 1310. la what way did France endeavour to confine the English v;ithia narrov/ limits, or to driyc. them from the contijient ? 40 QlJESTiONS. 1311. When, and what method did the Virginia assembly adopt to support the English claims, over the disputed territory? 1312. When and with what force was general Braddock sent over to support these claims ? 1313. Vv hat was the success of Braddock's expedition ? 1314. How many campaigns Avere attended only with expense and disappointment to the English ? 1315. \^ hat led to a change in English prospects ? 1316. V. hat celebrated English general was killed in the capture of Quebec ? 1317. Hov/ many soldiers did the colonies furnish in the French war i, 1318. V^'hen was the British stamp act passed ? 1319. Where in the colonies was it first opposed ? 1320. Which of the colonies proposed a continental congress io be holdcn at New- York ? 1321. When was the law repealed ? 1322. What bill was passed on the repeal of this ? 1323. \'\'hat disturbances took place at Boston, in 17^)8 ? 1324. \\hat change took place on the elevation of Lord North ? 1325. V\ hat disturbances took place in Boston, ia March 1770? 1326. Vv'hat took place in 1773 ? 1327. What resistance was made 1773, in Boston, to the British government in relation to tea ? 1328. Who was the British commander-in-chief in Boston, at this time ? 1329. What took place at the congress of 1774, holden in Phila- delphia ? 1330. Where and under what circumstances was spilt the first blood of the reyoluticnary war ? 1331. What led to the burning of Charlestown ? 1332. Who headed an expedition into Canada •* 1333. V. ith what success was it made ? 1334. By whom was general Gage superseded ? 1335. \\ hen did the British evacuate Boston r 1336. When was published the declaration of American Indepen- dence ' 1337. What tended much to raise the desponding hopes of Ameri- ca in the latter part of 1776 ? 1338. What splendid advantr^ges did the Americans gain in 1777?" 1339. V\ hen was a treaty of alliance formed between the French and Americans ? 1340. Who took the command of the English army on the retura of general Howe ? 1341. Why was general Lee suspended ? 1342. V^hat took place on the 15th July, 1779 ? 1343. W here, and under what circumstances was count Polasld mortally wounded ? 1344. What prevented V^est Point from falling into the posses- sion of the English ? ^45. What distinguished French military and naval commanders were sent to the aid of America * QUESTIONS. 47 '*1346. What event is reckoned to have decided {he contest be- tween England and America ? 1347. How much money did England expend, and how many lives did she sacrifice in this war ? SECTION V*. 1348. When did the convention meet to^form a new constitution ^ 1349. 'SMien and where did tiie first congress meet under the new constitution ? 1350. VVhat produced an insurrection in the western part of Penn- sylvania ? 1351. What was the state of affairs between the United States and F ance, during the revolution in the latter ? 1352. '^ heu did congress first meet in the city of Washin^rton? 1353. Wiiat an the principal particulars of the war with Tripoli? 1354. V'ihenand for how much was Louisiana purchased? SECTION VI. 1355. W^hat were the ppa-iiculars that led to the suspension of commodore BHrro ? 1356. Wliat led to the declaration of war on the li'.th of June, 1812, between the United States and Great Britain ? 1357. What were some of the prin' ipal disasters on land, which the Americans experienced during- the war ? 1358. What were their principal and most brilliant successes oo land ? 1359. What naval victories did they obtain ? 1360. What naval losses did they experience ? 1361. What American officers we^e killed during the war ? 1362. What British officers were killed during it ? 1363. When and where was a treaty of peace signed ? 1364. Who were the commissioners ? 1365. What states, since the admission of Louisiana in 1312, hare been admitted into the union ? 1366. What accession of territory did the United States receive in 1819? 1367. What was the population of the Uruted States in 1820 f /3 K 716 # :