Skip to main content

Full text of "Outlines of European history"

See other formats


THE  LIBRARIES 


GIVEN  BY 

Mr.   &  Mrs.   L.   S.   Fox 


h 


I 


OUTLINES  OF 
EUROPEAN  HISTORY 

PART  II 

FROM  THE  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY 
TO  THE  WAR  OF  1914 

BY 

JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON 

AND 

CHARLES  A.  BEARD 


REVISED  EDITION 
WITH  SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTER  OJS 
THE  GREAT  WAR,  1914-1918  ^ 


GINN  AND  COMPANY 

BOSTON     •     NEW   YORK     •    CHICAGO     •     LONDON 
ATLANTA     •     DALLAS     •    COLUMBUS     •     SAN    FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGHT,  1907,  1912,  1916,  BY  JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON 
AND  CHARLES  A.  BEARD 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BY  JAMES  HARVEY  ROBINSON 

ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


^,y:?K^./w^'  ^ '^y 


I'^i^^  ^ 


(gfte   gitbenaeum   j^regg 

(,1N.\  ,.\NIJ   C(;MPAXY  •  PRO- 
PRIHTOKS  •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

This  volume  is  the  second  part  of  a  two-year  course  covering 
the  history  of  European  civilization  from  the  earliest  times  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge  to  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of 
19 1 4.  It  is  based  on  the  authors'  larger  work,  The  Develop- 
ment of  Modern  Europe  \  the  narrative  has,  however,  been 
much  simplified  as  well  as  shortened  by  the  sedulous  omission 
of  all  details  that  could  be  spared.  The  illustrations  are  so 
numerous  and  so  fully  explained  as  to  form  a  sort  of  parallel 
pictorial  narrative  which  amplifies  and  reenforces  the  text  and 
adds  a  sense  of  reality  extremely  difficult  to  give  in  a  highly 
condensed  review. 

This  second  part  of  the  Outlines  is  devoted  mainly  to  the 
eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries,  for  it  is  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  the  writers  not  to  deal  with  history  for  its  own  sake, 
but  ever  and  always  with  a  view  of  making  plain  the  world  of 
to-day,  which  can  be  understood  only  in  the  light  of  the  past. 
In  order  to  enable  us  to  catch  up  with  our  own  times  it  is 
essential  that  the  vast  changes  of  the  last  two  centuries  be 
studied  with  special  care.  In  short.  Part  I  is  the  essential  in- 
troduction to  Part  II,  and  Part  II  is  arranged  to  bear  directly 
on  the  conditions  and  problems  which  w^e  confront  to-day  and 
upon  which  all  intelligent  persons  should  feel  called  to  form 
some  opinion. 

The  introductory  chapter  will  serve  to  recall  and  place  in 
proper  historical  perspective  the  essentials  of  the  period  of 
transition  from  the  Middle  Ages  to  modern  times  —  the  Renais- 
sance and  the  Protestant  revolt,  the  chief  political  events  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  conflicts  which  were  brought  to 
a  close  by  the  Peace  of  Westphalia. 


iv  Ontlincs  of  European  History 

The  authors  wish  to  express  their  great  indebtedness  to  their 
friend  and  colleague  Professor  James  T.  Shotwell  for  his  most 
cordial  cooperation  in  the  preparation  of  this  revised  edition  of 
their  volume.  He  has  furnished  the  introductory  review,  and 
the  revision  and  readjustment  of  the  text  owes  much  to  his 
scholarship  and  critical  insight.  The  authors  are  also  under 
obligations  to  Miss  Isabel  McKenzie,  of  the  History  Depart- 
ment of  Barnard  College,  for  suggestions  and  assistance  in  the 
matter  of  illustration  and  for  the  preparation  of  the  questions 
at  the  close  of  each  chapter  and  the  Index. 

Advantage  has  been  taken  of  a  new  impression  of  this 
volume  to  make  a  number  of  changes  in  the  sections  dealing 
with  modern  Germany.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  view  that 
country  and  its  government  in  the  same  light  in  which  it 
appeared  before  the  Great  War.  The  present  world  conflict, 
with  all  its  incalculable  loss  and  suffering,  is  largely  attributable 
to  the  plots  of  the  German  war  party  and  to  the  nature  of 
German  militarism,  against  which  a  great  part  of  the  peoples 

of  the  world  are  now  arrayed  in  mortal  combat. 

J.  H.  R. 
New  York  City  C.  A.  B. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction i 

CHAPTER 

I.  The  Struggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parlia- 
ment 

1.  James  I  and  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings 32 

2.  How  Charles  I  got  along  without  Parliament 35 

3.  How  Charles  I  lost  his  Head 40 

4.  Oliver  Cromwell :  England  a  Commonwealth 43 

5.  The  Restoration 49 

6.  The  Revolution  of  1688 51 

7.  Nature  of  the  English  Constitution 55 

n.  France  under  Louis  XIV 

8.  Position  and  Character  of  Louis  XIV 58 

9.  How  Louis  encouraged  Art  and  Literature 62 

10.  Louis  XIV  attacks  his  Neighbors 65 

11.  Louis  XIV  and  his  Protestant  Subjects    , 68 

12.  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession 69 

III.  The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia;  Austria 

13.  Peter  the  Great  plans  to  make  Russia  a  European  Power  73 

14.  Rise  of  Prussia       79 

15.  The  Wars  of  Frederick  the  Great 84 

16.  Three  Partitions  of  Poland,  1772,  1793,  ^"^  ^795     •     •     •  89 

17.  The  Austrian  Realms:  Maria  Theresa  and  Joseph  II       .  96 

IV.  The  Struggle  between  France  and  England  in  India 

AND  North  America 

18.  How  Europe  began  to  extend  its  Commerce  over  the 

Whole  World loi 

19.  The  Contest  between  France  and  England  for  Colonial 

Empire 105 

20.  Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies  from  England  .    .    .    .  112 

V 


vi  Outlines  of  Einvpean  History 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

V.  The  Old  Regime  in  Europe 

21.  Life  in  the  Country — Serfdom 120 

22.  The  Towns  and  the  Guilds 123 

23.  The  Nobihty  and  the  Monarchy 129 

24.  The  CathoHc  Church 134 

25.  The  Enghsh   EstabHshed  Church  and  the  Protestant 

Sects 137 

VI.  The  Spirit  of  Reform 

26.  The  Development  of  Modern  Science 143 

27.  How  the  Scientific  Discoveries  produced  a  Spirit  of 

Reform 148 

28.  Reforms  of  Frederick  II,  Catherine  II,  and  Joseph  II  .     161 

29.  The    English    Limited    Monarchy    in   the    Eighteenth 

Century  and  George  III 168 

VII.  The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution 

30.  The  Old  Regime  in  France 173 

31.  How  Louis  XVI  tried  to  play  the  Benevolent  Despot  .     186 

VIII.  The  French  Revolution 

32.  How  the  Estates  were  summoned  in  1789 194 

33.  First  Reforms  of  the  National  Assembly,  July-October, 

17S9 201 

34.  The    National    Assembly  in    Paris,   October,   1789,    to 

September,  1791 209 

IX.  The  First  French  Republic 

35.  The  Limited  Monarchy,  1791-1792 217 

36.  The  Founding  of  the  First  French  Republic      ....  227 

37.  The  Revolutionary  War 231 

38.  The  Reign  of  Terror 235 

X.  Napoleon  Bonaparte 

39.  Bonaparte's  First  Italian  Campaign 250 

40.  How  Bonaparte  made  himself  Master  of  France    .     .     .  260 

41.  The  Second  Coalition  against  France 265 

XI.  Europe  and  Napoleon 

42.  Bonaparte  restores  Order  and  Prosperity  in  France  .     .     275 

43.  Napoleon  destroys  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  and  re- 

organizes Germany 281 


Contents  vii 

HAPTER  PAGE 

44.  The  Continental  Blockade 289 

45.  Napoleon  at  the  Zenith  of  his  Power  (1808-1812)  .    .  293 

46.  The  Fall  of  Napoleon 301 

XII.  The  Reconstruction  of  Europe  at  the  Congress 
OF  Vienna 

47.  The  Congress  of  Vienna  and  its  Work 314 

48.  The  Holy  Alliance :  Metternich  becomes  the  Chief 

Opponent  of  Revolution       325 

49.  Thought  and  Culture  at  the  Opening  of  the  Nine- 

teenth Century 327 

XIII.  Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna 

50.  The  Restoration  in  France  and  the  Revolution  of  1830  335 

51.  Establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium     ....  341 

52.  Formation  of  the  German  Confederation 343 

53.  Restoration  in  Spain  and  Italy 348 

54.  The  Spanish-American  Colonies  and  the  Revolution 

of  1820 350 

XIV.  The  Industrial  Revolution 

55.  Invention  of  Machinery  for  Spinning  and  Weaving  357 

56.  The  Steam  Engine       361 

57.  Capitalism  and  the  Factory  System 364 

58.  The  Rise  of  Socialism .  372 

XV.  Revolution  of  1848  in  France 

59.  Unpopularity  of  Louis  Philippe's  Government    ,     ,    .  377 

60.  The  Second  French  Republic 381 

61.  Louis  Napoleon  and  the  Second  French  Empire    .     .  388 

XVI.  Revolution  of  1848  —  Austria,  Germany,  Italy 

62.  The  Fall  of  Metternich 392 

63.  Failure  of  the  Revolution  in  Bohemia  and  Hungary  400 

64.  Austria  regains  her  Power  in  Italy 403 

65.  Outcome  of  the  Revolution  of  1848  in  Germany     .     .  406 

XVII.  The  Unification  of  Italy 

66.  Cavour  and  Italian  Unity 410 

6-].  The  Kingdom  of  Italy  since  1861 417 


viii  Outlines  of  European  History 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XVIII.  Formation  of  the  German  Empire  and  the  Austro- 
HuNGARiAN  Union 

68.  Prussia  assumes  the  Leadership  in  Germany      ...    426 

69.  The  War  of  1866  and  the  Formation  of  the  North 

German  Federation 431 

70.  The  Franco-Prussian  War  and  the  Foundation  of  the 

German  Empire 434 

71.  Austria-Hungary  since  1866 439 

XIX.  The  German  Empire 

72.  The  German  Constitution 444 

73.  Bismarck  and  State  Sociahsm 450 

74.  Germany's   PoHcy«of  Protection    and   Colonization; 

Foreign  Affairs 453 

75.  Reign  of  W^ilHam  II 457 

XX.  France  under  the  Third  Republic 

76.  Estabhshment  of  the  Third  French  RepubHc      .     .    .    462 

77.  The  Third  French  RepubHc  since  1875;  ^^  Dreyfus 

Affair 472 

78.  The  Separation  of  Church  and  State 477 

79.  PoHtical  Parties  in  France 483 

80.  Expansion  of  France  .     .     .    .    : 485 

XXI.  Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England 

81.  ParHamentary  Reform 491 

82.  The  English  Cabinet 503 

83.  Freedom  of  Speech  and  Opinion,  and  Reform  of  the 

Criminal  Law 507 

84.  Social  Reforms 512 

85.  Free  Trade       516 

86.  The  Irish  Question 518 

XXII.  The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 

87.  The  Extension  of  British  Dominion  in  India      .     .     .  527 

88.  The  Dominion  of  Canada 534 

89.  The  Australasian  Colonies       538 

90.  Growth  of  the  British  Empire  in  Africa 542 

XXIII.  The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century 

91.  The  Reigns  of  Alexander  I  {1801-1825)  and  Nicholas  I 

(1825-1855)       551 

92.  The   Freeing  of  the   Serfs  and   the  Growth  of  the 

Spirit  of  Revolution 556 


Contents  ix 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

93.  The  Industrial  Revolution  in  Russia 562 

94.  The  Struggle  for  Liberty  under  Nicholas  II    .    .    .  565 

XXIV.  Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Question 

95.  The  Greek  War  of  Independence 574 

96.  The  Crimean  War  (1854-1856) 577 

97.  Revolts  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula 580 

98.  The  Independent  Balkan  States 583 

99.  Extinction  of  Turkey  in  Europe 586 

XXV.  The    Expansion   of    Europe  and    the    Spread   of 
Western  Civilization 
100.  The   Growth  of   International  Trade  and   Compe- 
tition :  Imperialism  .     .   *. 592 

loi.  Relations  of  Europe  with  China 601 

102.  Japan  becomes   a  World  Power;    Intervention  in 

China : 603 

103.  War  between  Japan  and  China  and  its  Results    .     .  609 

104.  Changes  in  China;  the  Boxer  Rising 612 

105.  The  Russo-Japanese  War ;  the  Revolution  in  China  615 

106.  Occupation  of  Africa  by  the  European  Powers    .    .  620 

107.  Decline  of  the  Spanish  World  Empire ;  Portugal    .  629 

XXVI.  The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe,  prior  to  the 
Great  War 

108.  Review  of  the  Previous  Chapters 634 

109.  The  Social  Revolution  in  England,  1906-1914     .    .  636 
no.  Recent  History  in  Germany 648 

111.  France  in  the  Twentieth  Century 654 

112.  Progress  and  Effects  of  Natural  Science      ....  658 

XXVII.  Origin  of  the  War  of  1914 

113.  The  Armies  and  Navies  of  Europe 677 

114.  Movements  for  Peace:    the  Hague  Conferences; 

Pacifism;  Socialism 681 

115.  Matters  of  Dispute :  National  Rivalries 683 

116.  The  Near-Eastern  Question 687 

117.  The  Outbreak  of  the  War 692 

APPENDIXES 

I.   List  of  Rulers 695 

II.   Bibliography 701 

INDEX 715 

SUPPLEMENTARY  CHAPTER i 


LIST   OF  COLORED   MAPS 

PAGE 

Europe  about  the  Middle  of  the  Sixteenth  Century lo 

Europe  when  Louis  XIV  began  his  Personal  Government     ...  66 

Europe  after  the  Treaties  of  Utrecht  and  Rastadt 70 

Northeastern  Europe  in  Time  of  Peter  the  Great 74 

England,  France,  and  Spain  in  America,  1750 102 

India  about  1763 106 

France  during  the  Revolution 210 

Europe  at  the  time  of  Napoleon's  Greatest  Power,  about  1810  .     .  294 

Europe  after  181 5 318 

Italy,  1814-1859 414 

Austria-Hungary 442 

The  German  Empire  since  187 1 450 

The  British  Empire 538 

Western  Portion  of  the  Russian  Empire 562 

Southeastern  Europe,  1907;  Southeastern  Europe,  1914    ....  586 

The  European  Advance  (to  1914)  in  Asia       610 

The  Partition  of  Africa 622 

Europe  in  1914 686 


I 


OUTLINES  OF 
EUROPEAN  HISTORY 

INTRODUCTION 

In  a  companion  volume  ^  the  history  of  European  civilization  The  theme  of 
has  been  traced  from  the  dim,  prehistoric  ages,  when  men  lived  L  modern^ 
in  caves  and  used  stone  weapons  and  tools,  through  the  civiliza-  *™^^ 
tions  of  Egypt,  Babylon,  Greece,  and  Rome  and  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  to  the  new  era  which  we  call  modern  times.   This  modern 
era  is  the  theme  of  the  present  volume. 

Just  what  is  meant  by  "  modem  times,"  however,  is  rather  What  is 
difficult  to  define.  The  term  is  an  old  one;  Cicero,  the  Roman  modern  dmes 
statesman,  talked  in  antiquity  of  ''  these  modern  times  of  ours," 
and  so  did  the  Greeks  before  him  ;  and  so,  no  doubt,  did  every 
people  in  every  age  that  had  any  idea  of  time  at  all.  But 
although  "we  often  use  the  term  in  this  somewhat  vague  sense 
to  mean  the  period  in  which  our  own  lives  are  passed,  historians 
have  come  to  apply  it  to  a  somewhat  definite  era,  namely,  that 
stretch  of  three  or  four  centuries,  from  the  sixteenth  or  seven- 
teenth to  the  twentieth,  during  which  time  the  ways  of  thinking 
and  living  have  been,  upon  the  whole,  more  like  what  they  are 
now  than  what  they  had  been  during  the  preceding  centuries.  In 
politics,  literature,  philosophy,  in  business  methods,  in  ideas 
of  progress  and  of  national  organization,  the  men  of  these 
centuries  have  had,  more  or  less,  a  modern  outlook. 

But  what  is  meant  by  the  modem  oudook  ?  This  is  a  puzzling 
question,  for  there  are  so  many  fields  of  thought  and  action 
covered  by  it.    Life  is  so  varied  in  the  modern  world.    Still  this 

1  Robinson  and  Breasted,  Outlines  of  F.uropean  History^  Part  I. 


2  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  variety  Same  variety  furnishes  us  with  a  due  to  part  of  the  answer  ;  for 
the  modem*  ^^e  modern  world  differs  from  the  medieval  in  just  this  regard : 
outlook  ^^  outlook  is  wider,  more  people  are  interested  in  more  different 

things.  During  the  Middle  Ages,  when  farming  was  the  main 
useful  industry,  the  mass  of  the  population  was  ignorant  of  all 
but  village  gossip.  Even  the  cities  were  jealous  of  each  other 
and  each  was  absorbed  in  its  own  separate  interests.  Although 
traveling  merchants,  wandering  knights,  and  educated  church- 
men widened  the  horizon  somewhat  with  their  information 
of  the  great  world  outside,  still  the  routine  of  daily  life 
kept  on  with  little  change  and  relatively  little  variety.  In  con- 
trast with  this,  the  world  we  live  in  is  constantly  changing,  and 
even  those  who  lack  the  wealth  or  leisure  to  travel  or  study 
are  constantly  affected  by  new  discoveries  and  enterprises,  and 
so  acquire  an  interest  in  things  far  beyond  their  own  lives. 
The  villein  on  a  medieval  feudal  estate  was  aware  of  little  out- 
side his  manor.  The  modern  farmer  lives  in  touch  with  the 
whole  world.  Modern  times,  therefore,  have  brought  a  great 
extension  of  the  scope  of  people's  interest  and  a  great  variety 
in  their  ideas  and  in  their  work.  This,  in  turn,  is  based  upon  a 
continual  progress  which  is  more  and  more  rapidly  changing 
the  conditions  of  living. 
When  did  There  is  naturally  no  one  date  when  modern  times  in  this 

modem  times   ggj^gg  beg^an.    Indeed,  the  transition  from  medieval  to  modern 

begm  f  "  ' 

conditions  came  at  different  times  in  different  fields.  In  some 
it  was  gradual,  in  others  rapid.  For  instance,  the  introduction 
of  Roman  law,  which  was  almost  a  necessity  for  modern 
business  and  politics,  took  place  back  in  the  heart  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteen  centuries.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  too  came  the  first  parliaments  and  the  organ- 
ization of  that  most  definitely  modern  political  institution,  the 
national  state.  But  it  was  not  until  the  seventeenth  and  eight- 
eenth centuries  —  in  some  cases  later  —  that  these  states  got 
rid  of  their  distinctly  medieval  parliaments  or  "  estates  "  dom- 
inated by  kings   or  nobles,  while  the  representatives   of  the 


Intro  dtLction  3 

middle  classes  hardly  dared  do  more  than  present  petitions.   Significant 
The  English  middle  class,  after  a  centur^^  of  struggle,  finally   sincTthT^"'^^ 
achieved  control  of  the  government  by  a  revolution  in  1688,   seventeenth 
the  French  by  a  revolution  in  1789.    In  the  history  of  politics 
this  advent  of  the  middle  classes  to  power  marks  a  new  epoch, 
that  of  the  self-government  of  nations,  and  the  first  chapter  of 
this  book  begins  with  the  story  of  how  it  was  accomplished  in 
England  —  the  first  nation  to  establish  representative  govern- 
ment effectively.    It  is  interesting  to  note,  also,  that  the  rise  of 
modern  science  comes  at  the  same  time  as  this  advent  of  the 
middle  class,  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 

But  if  one  may  choose  the  seventeenth  century  as  a  starting  The  sixteenth 
point  for  both  modern  political  history  and  the  history  of  science,   a^traSionai 
in  other  fields,  such  as  culture,  religion,  and  business,  the  new  P^"^^ 
era  began  rather  in  the  sixteenth  century.    Indeed,  so  important 
a  change  took  place  then  in  the  general  outlook  of  Europe  that 
many  historians  prefer  to  date  modern  times  from  that  period. 
It  was  the  time  of  what  is  called  the  Renaissance,  or  ''  new 
birth  "  in  art  and  literature ;  of  the  Protestant  Reformation,  or 
revolt  from  the  Medieval  Church  in  religion ;  and  of  geographical 
discovery  and  the  beginnings  of  over-sea  trade  in  the  realm  of 
business.    Although  the  story  of  this  period  of  transition  has 
been  told  in  the  earlier  volume,  it  forms  a  natural  introduction 
to  the  narrative  which  follows,  and  we  shall  therefore  hurriedly 
review  the  main  facts. 


The  Renaissance  in  Art  and  Literature 


sance  in  art 


In  the  first  place  there  was  the  Renaissance,  which  had  its  The  Renais- 
main  home  in  Italy.  This  was  a  twofold  movement  —  in  art 
and  in  literature.  In  the  history  of  art  there  is  no  more  splendid 
age  than  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  in  which  such 
masters  lived  and  worked  as  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  scientist  as 
well  as  painter;  Michael  Angelo,  painter,  sculptor,  architect, 
and  poet ;  and  Raphael,  the  perfect  painter,  revealing  new  ideals 


Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 


Slight  influ- 
ence of  art 
upon  most 
people 


Humanism 


of  loveliness.  These  and  the  other  Italian  artists  of  the  period 
created  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  sculpture  and  painting, 
for,  not  content  with  the  stilted  or  grotesque  decorative  figures 
which  ornamented  medieval  cathedrals,^  they  reproduced  the 
forms  of  natural  beauty  in  a  real  world. 

The  heritage  which  these  masters  left  was  of  the  greatest 
value,  but  it  made,  and  still  makes,  only  a  limited  appeal.  Rela- 
tively few  people  can  see  the  originals,  and  of  these  fewer  still 
learn  to  appreciate  them.  Historians  have  sometimes  so  over- 
estimated the  influence  of  these  artists  in  such  a  busy  world 
as  this  as  to  have  seen  in  their  creations  the  real  beginning 
of  the  modern  era.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  art  of  the  Italian 
Renaissance  was  only  one  part  —  though  a  glorious  one  —  of 
the  general  change. 

The  literary  and  scholarly  phase  of  this  movement  is  called 
humanism,  from  the  Latin  word  hiimafiitas^  which  means  "  lit- 
erary culture."  This  movement  was  of  more  general  significance. 
What  we  read  often  determines  what  we  think.  During  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  those  who  were  able  to  read  were  mainly  churchmen  or 
lawyers,  and  neither  cared  much  for  pure  literature.  There  had 
been  some  literary  people,  but  their  influence  was  relatively 
slight.  It  was,  therefore,  an  important  event  when,  early  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  humanists  began  to  recover  the  works  of  the 
old  pagan  writers  and  to  admire  them  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
became  critical  of  the  traditional  and,  as  they  thought,  narrow 
views  of  the  medieval  theologians.  Moreover,  they  applied  this 
criticism  to  spurious  texts  long  accepted  as  genuine,  and  so  helped 
to  reconstruct  the  current  ideas  of  history.  To  be  sure,  these 
humanists,  being  scholars  rather  than  men  of  genius,  did  not  add 
many  new  ideas  of  their  own.  But  in  the  texts  they  edited  and  in 
the  new  critical  attitude  they  contributed,  they  prepared  the  way 
for  further  change  in  the  outlook  of  the  cultured  world. 

The  influence  of  the  work  of  these  scholars,  like  that  of 
the    artists,    has    probably  been    overestimated   by  historians. 


1  See  Outlines,  Part  I,  pp.  514-515 


Introduction  5 

who,  being  scholars  themselves,  have  been  somewhat  unduly   inventi®n 

interested  in  these  forerunners  of  theirs.    But  their  books  were   °  P"nting 

more  widely  read  than  any  others  had  ever  been,  because  there 

was  placed  at  their  disposal  one  of  the  greatest  inventions  in 

the  history  of  civilization,  that  of  printing  by  movable  type. 

The  earliest  book  of  any  considerable  size  to  be  printed  was  a 

Bible,  published  at  Mayence  in  Germany  in  1456,^  but  by  the 

opening  of  the  next  century  there  were  at  least  forty  presses 

busily  at  work,  which  had  already,  so  it  is  estimated,  printed 

about  eight  millions  of  volumes. 

Although  most  of  these  books  were  still  in  Latin,  the  universal   Rise  of  the 
language  of  the  cultured  world,  the  literatures  which  ultimately  JitSatm-es 
profited  most  by  the  printing  press  were  those  in  the  languages 
of  the  modem  nations,  which  now  attained  the  dignity  of  being 
preserved  in  the  same  way  as  theology  or  the  classics.^ 

Geographical  Discovery  and  the  Effect  upon  Europe 

A  greater  factor  in  widening  ideas  and  stimulating  enterprise   Exploration 
than  art  or  scholarship  was  the  geographical  exploration  and   f "  ^f  world" 
discovery,  which  reached  its  climax  during  this  period.     The  ^""^^^ 
discovery  of  America  by  Columbus  in  1492  was  but  a  single 
incident  in  the  great  story  of  adventure.    In   1498  Vasco  da 
Gama,   the    Portuguese  navigator,   reached    India  —  the   land 
Columbus  supposed  he  had  reached  —  by  sailing  around  Africa. 
There  he  gathered  in  rich  cargoes  of  spices  and  brought  them 
to  Lisbon  ;  so  that  after  his  third  voyage,  in  1502,  the  merchants   Effect  upon 
of  Venice,  who  had  relied  upon  the  overland  caravan  trade  ranean  cities 
from  India  across  western  Asia  to  fill  their  ships  at  Alexandria 
in  Egypt  or  Beirut  in  Syria,  found  their  supply  cut  off,  while 
the  wharves  of  Lisbon  were  so  full  that  the  price  went  down. 

1  On  the  invention  of  printing  see  Outlines^  Part  I,  pp.  556  ff. 

2  The  use  of  the  mother  tongues  in  writing  books  was  hindered  rather  than 
helped  by  the  humanists.  Their  ideal  was  to  reproduce  the  style  of  Cicero  in 
purest  Latin.  The  vernacular  literatures  are  a  normal  result  of  the  growth  of 
national  life,  and  began  in  the  heart  of  the  Middle  Ages.  The  general  stimula- 
tion of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  through  the  growth  of  wealth, 
did  as  much  as  anything  else  to  further  the  production  of  vernacular  literature, 


6  Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 

As  Venice  and  Genoa  and  other  Mediterranean  ports  had  relied 
largely  upon  this  oriental  trade,  they  were  henceforth  ruined. 
The  Mediterranean  ceased  to  be  the  center  of  the  world,  for 
with  the  opening  of  ocean  commerce  those  countries  which 
were  situated  nearest  to  the  Atlantic  began  to  gather  in  the 
wealth  of  the  new  world-trade. 

Venice  At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  Venice  had  been  to 

the  Mediterranean  countries  what  England  has  been  to  modern 
Europe.^  The  Venetian  republic  ruled  over  about  as  large  a 
population  as  that  of  England  at  that  time.  Its  fleet  was  su- 
preme on  the  sea ;  its  bankers  handled  most  of  the  precious 
metals  of  Europe  that  went  to  pay  for  the  goods  of  the  Orient. 
It  had  a  system  of  merchant  ambassadors  or  agents,  much  like 
our  consular  service,  reporting  from  cities  of  importance  in 
Europe  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  people,  the  likelihood  of 
markets,  and  the  political  conditions  which  might  interest  their 
great  trading  republic.  The  taking  of  Constantinople  by  the 
Turks  in  1453  did  not  injure  its  prosperity;  on  the  contrary, 
Constantinople,  which  had  generally  favored  Genoa,  was  a  rival 
which  had  now  suffered  an  eclipse.  In  any  case  the  proudest 
days  of  Venice  were  during  the  last  half  of  the  fifteenth  century 
—  just  before  its  fall.    Its  great  enemy  was  not  the  Turk,  but 

Advantages      the  sailors  who  opened  the  sea  routes.    For  there  is  no  way  of 

reig      carrying  goods  so  cheaply  as  to  put  them  in  the  hold  of  a  ship 

and  let  it  sail  away  until  it  reaches  home.    Ocean  freight  has 

1  There  is  no  more  impressive  object  lesson  in  the  influence  of  economic 
factors  upon  history  than  in  the  fate  of  Venice.  It  retains  most  of  its  medie- 
val splendor  untouched  by  modern  changes,  as  the  frontispiece  shows.  The 
cathedral,  modeled  after  one  in  Constantinople,  was  planned  before  the  First 
Crusade,  and  is  adorned  with  richly  colored  columns  and  brilliant  mosaics.  Sel- 
dom has  architecture  produced  such  a  poem  in  color.  The  doge's  palace,  with 
its  beautiful  Gothic  fagade,  stands  along  the  main  water  front.  In  front  of  both, 
the  tall  campanile,  recently  restored,  watches,  as  of  old,  over  the  Adriatic.  (Its 
base  is  shown  to  the  right  of  the  picture.)  But  no  ships  with  cargoes  from  the 
Orient  anchor  now  off  the  wharf  by  the  doge's  palace,  and  the  other  palaces 
along  the  canals  are  no  longer  inhabited  by  rich  merchants  who  trade  at  Syrian 
bazaars.  The  city  is  a  sort  of  museum  of  its  own  history.  In  contrast  with  it, 
northern  seaports  like  Antwerp,  Hamburg,  London,  and  Liverpool  have  now 
the  world's  trade,  and  the  reason  for  the  change  is  the  cheapness  of  sea  freight. 


Introduction  i 

no  caravans  to  hire  and  feed,  no  horsemen  for  protection  from 
savage  tribes,  no  bazaars  along  the  route  at  which  the  haggling 
merchants  raise  the  price.  To  these  advantages  over  land 
trade,  upon  which  the  medieval  countries  had  so  largely  to  rely, 
the  sea  route  added  another  still  more  important.  The  hold  of 
a  ship  might  carry  more  goods  than  many  caravans.  Therefore 
the  age  of  exploration  did  more  than  discover  the  new  world 
and  the  Far  East ;  it  also  changed  the  geography  of  Europe.^ 

Portugal  and  Spain  were  the  first  to  grow  rich  from  the  Portugal  , 
over-sea  trade  —  the  one  from  oriental  spices  and  the  slave 
traffic,  the  other  from  the  gold  and  silver  of  America.  Both 
countries  were  badly  governed,  however,  especially  when  united 
under  the  Spanish  king,  Philip  11,^  in  1580,  for  the  next  sixty 
years.  Then  the  Dutch  and  the  English,  who  had  formerly 
been  good  customers  of  the  Portuguese,  entered  on  a  bitter 
war  with  Philip,  attacked  the  Portuguese,  and  established  them- 
selves in  the  Far  East  instead.  Portugal  kept  Brazil,  but  lost 
all  but  a  few  trading  posts  in  the  Orient. 

As  for  Spain,  it  had  followed  up  the  expeditions  of  Columbus  Spain's  rise 
with  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortez  in  15 19  and  that  of  Peru 
by  Pizarro  a  few  years  later.  The  gold  and  silver  which  these 
countries  furnished  filled  many  a  Spanish  treasure  ship,  and 
although  the  English  seamen  lay  in  wait  for  them  and  captured 
some,  the  ports  of  Spain  saw  priceless  cargoes  unloaded  on  their 
wharves.  But  Spain  was  unable  to  make  good  use  of  these 
vast  treasures,  for  in  the  effort  to  preserve  its  religion  true 
to  the  Catholic  faith,  it  had  destroyed  the  most  thrifty  portions 
of  its  population.  The  Jews,  who  were  bankers  and  traders, 
and  the  Moors,  who  were  industrious  and  clever  workers,  were 
expelled,  while  the  heretics  who  suffered  in  the  Inquisition  were 
often  the  most  independent  members  of  the  middle  class.  So 
Spain  did  not  apply  its  imported  wealth  to  set  industry  and 
commerce  going ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the  money  slipped 
out  of  its  grasp  to  the  more  thrifty  nations  north  of  it.    It  also 

1  See  map  in  Outlines^  Part  I,  p.  527.  2  See  below,  p.  29. 


8  Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 

suffered  defeat  in  war ;  Holland  gained  its  independence,  and 
England  overcame  the  great  Armada  which  Spain  sent  against 
it  in  1587.  But  the  decline  of  Spain,  which  immediately  set 
in,  was  due  less  to  these  disasters  than  to  the  failure  to  organ- 
ize business  in  the  modern  way,  such  as  Holland,  England, 
France,  and,  later,  Germany  learned  to  do. 

The  advantages  of  Holland  and  England  for  ocean  com- 
merce are  clear  from  a  study  of  the  map  of  Europe.  They 
have  good  harbors,  placed  just  where  the  merchandise  can  best 
be  distributed  through  the  country.  It  was  almost  inevitable, 
therefore,  that  they  should  become  great  sea  powers  and  ulti- 
mately rivals.  Neither  of  them  had  been  very  important  in 
the  commerce  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Then  the  trade  of  the 
North  Sea,  and  indeed  most  of  the  maritime  trade  of  northern 
Europe,  had  been  in  the  hands  of  a  league  of  German  cities 
known  as  the  Hansa.-^  This  league,  which  at  one  time  or 
another  included  some  seventy  cities,  purchased  and  controlled 
setdements  in  London  —  the  so-called  Steelyard  near  London 
Bridge  —  and  others  on  the  Baltic  and  even  in  Russia. 

The  medieval  trade  of  the  Netherlands  was  largely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Hansa,  which,  until  the  fifteenth  century,^  ex- 
ported English  wool  to  the  cities  of  Belgium  (then  called 
Flanders),  where  the  industrious  citizens  of  Bruges,  Ghent, 
Ypres,  and  other  towns  spun  and  wove  the  best  cloth  of  the 
day.  The  people  of  the  northern  Netherlands  —  now  Holland 
—  were  more  given  to  fishing  than  weaving,  though  they  were 
also  good  farmers;  to  the  fishing  they  added  a  coasting  trade 
and,  when  the  sixteenth  century  came,  had  developed  consider- 
able commerce.  Then  events  happened  by  which  this  little  sea- 
going people  became  a  free  and  independent  nation.  In  order 
to  understand  this  we  must  now  sketch  the  political  history 
of  western  Europe  in  general  through  this  period. 


1  See  Outlines^  Part  I,  p.  508. 

2  In  the  fifteenth  century  England  began  to  manufacture  cloth  itself,  and  laid 
the  basis  of  its  great  textile  industries,  in  which  it  still  leads  the  world. 


Introduction  9 

England  and  France  in  the  Middle  Ages 

Throughout  the  Middle  Ages  the  national  states  of  England   Formation 
and  France  were  taking  shape,  mainly  through  the  efforts  of   °ionaf state: 
their  kings  to  establish  their  control  over  the  whole  country  and   England 
to  put  down  the  opposition  of  feudal  nobles.    In  this  the  English 
kings  had  the  easier  task,  since  the  country  was  thoroughly  con- 
quered by  the  Norman  William  I  (1066),  who  knew  how  to  keep    * 
his  Norman  nobles  in  check.    Under  weak  or  bad  kings  these 
nobles  showed  their  power,  however,  as  when  in  1 2 1 5  they  forced 
King  John  to  sign  the  Great  Charter,  or  Magna  Carta,  which 
guaranteed  the  liberties  of  Englishmen,  secured  the  assurance 
that  they  should  not  be  tried  or  imprisoned  without  the  lawful 
judgment  of  their  equals,  and  forbade  the  king  to  levy  new  forms 
of  taxes  without  the  consent  of  a  great  council  of  the  realm. 

Such  checks  upon  royalty  were  in  the  interest  of  the  whole  Parliament 
nation,  as  was  also  the  calling  of  the  first  English  parliament 
in  1265  by  the  barons,  led  by  Simon  de  Montfort,  when  in 
rebellion  against  the  king.  Thirty  years  later,  however,  King 
Edward  I  summoned  a  ''  Model  Parliament,"  to  which  repre- 
sentatives of  the  common  people  were  invited  as  well  as  the 
great  nobles,  and  in  the  course  of  the  next  century,  while 
Edward  III  was  fighting  the  Hundred  Years'  War  for  the 
throne  of  France,  need  of  money  made  Parliament  indispen- 
sable to  the  monarch,  who  passed  no  new  law  without  adding 
"  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  [the  bishops] 
and  temporal  and  of  the  commons." 

After  the  Hundred  Years'  War,  which  lasted,  with  various  strength  of 
interruptions,  from  about  1340  to  1450,  a  series  of  civil  wars  kings" 
arose  between  rival  claimants  for  the  throne  —  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses,  named  from  the  emblem  of  the  white  rose  for 
the  adherents  of  the  duke  of  York,  the  red  rose  for  the 
adherents  of  the  House  of  Lancaster.  These  were  mainly  wars 
between  noble  factions,  in  which  the  common  people  were  but 
little  involved.   The  most  important  result  was  that  many  of  the 


lO  Outlines  of  European  History 

old  nobles  were  killed  off ;  so  that  when  the  wars  were  endec 
by  a  Lancastrian  claimant  —  Henry  Tudor,  founder  of  the 
Tudor  line  —  defeating  the  Yorkist  king,  Richard  III,  and 
marrying  a  Yorkist  princess,  this  new  king,  Henry  VH, 
(1485-15 09),  found  himself  powerful  enough  to  rule  much  as 
he  wanted  to.  He  proved  to  be  a  good  king,  and,  as  England 
in  his  day  was  rapidly  developing  manufactures  and  commerce, 
he  was  able  to  amass  a  large  treasure.  This  was  speedily 
spent,  however,  by  his  extravagant  and  willful  son  and  successor, 
Henry  VHI,  of  whom  we  shall  learn  more  shortly. 
Formation  of  The  history  of  France  prior  to  the  sixteenth  century  was 
stote :  somewhat  similar.    The  kings  of  the  Capetian  line  ^  had  harder 

France  work  than  the  English  kings  in  establishing  their  authority  over 

the  feudal  nobles,  but  during  the  thirteenth  century  they  had 
succeeded  in  doing  this.  In  the  middle  of  that  century  they  de- 
veloped a  central  law  court,  the  Parlenie7it  of  Paris,,  which  was 
housed  in  the  royal  palace  and  which  helped  administer  the 
business  of  the  realm.  At  the  opening  of  the  next  century 
(1302),  seven  years  after  the  English  "  Model  Parliament,"  an 
assembly  similar  to  it  was  called  together  in  France,  known  as 
the  Estates  General,  which  means  that  the  three  "  estates  "  or 
classes — clergy, -nobles,  and  commons — were  represented  from 
the  whole  realm.  At  the  opening  of  the  fourteenth  century, 
therefore,  France  was  being  organized,  like  England,  for  repre- 
sentative and  constitutional  government.  Then  came  the  Hun- 
dred Years'  War,  caused  by  the  English  king,  Edward  HI,  and 
his  successors  claiming  the  throne  of  France.  This  devastating 
war  was  an  immeasurable  calamity  for  France.  The  Estates 
General  attempted  once  to  assert  some  independence  during  the 
height  of  the  war,  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  but 
its  great  leader,  ^^tienne  Marcel,  a  citizen  of  Paris,  was  mur- 
dered and  the  hope  of  a  parliamentary  system  of  government 
for  France  died  with  him.  For  in  wartime  the  institutions  of 
popular  government  suffer. 

1  Descendants  of  Hugh  Capet,  who  was  chosen  king  in  987. 


CO 
zzf. 


^^ 


^ 


^ 


n 


a 


T*^'1 


^. 


^ 


Ji  ^  s 


ch 


Introduction  1 1 

After  the  danger  from  the  English  was  over,  civil  war  con-  strength  of 
tinuec.  and  bandit  soldiery  plundered  the  whole  land.  A  meeting  monarchy 
of  the  Estates  therefore  voted  the  king  a  royal  faille,  or  land 
tax,  to  police  the  realm,  and  his  lawyers  took  advantage  of 
the  occasion  to  claim  that  it  had  been  allowed  the  king  for  all 
time  to  come.  The  result  was  that  he  did  not  need,  like  the 
king  of  England,  to  call  a  parliament  (or  Estates  General)  every 
little  while  to  raise  money.  The  king  of  France  therefore  had 
much  less  check  upon  his  actions  ;  and  as  there  had  never  been 
a  French  Mag?ia  Carta,  the  right  of  the  king  to  imprison 
without  trial  remained  in  force  up  to  the  French  Revolution  of 
1789.  The  one  constitutional  check  upon  the  absolutism  of  the 
French  king  was  the  court  of  law,  the  Farlement  of  Paris, 
which  still  claimed  that  only  those  edicts  of  the  king  which  it 
had  registered  were  law.  But  it  could  not  refuse  to  register 
any  edict  which  the  king  in  person  ordered  it  to  register.  Since 
most  of  these  arrangements  lasted  until  the  Revolution,  they 
are  described  in  detail  in  Chapter  VII,  below. 


The  Medieval  Empire 

The  history  of  Germany  and  of  Italy  during  the  Middle  Germany  and 
Ages  was  quite  different  from  that  of  England  or  France.  The  Middle  Ages 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  begun  by  the  coronation  of  Charlemagne 
in  800  and  renewed  by  the  German  king  Otto  I  in  967,  made 
vast  claims  to  sovereignty  over  all  Europe,  as  the  successor  to 
the  world  dominion  of  the  Caesars ;  but  in  reality  the  emperors 
were  seldom  able  to  secure  obedience  within  the  boundaries  of 
their  own  realm,  which  included  practically  all  central  Europe, 
down  to  Rome.  The  great  barrier  of  the  Alps  made  it  impos- 
sible to  unite  the  realms  of  the  German  emperors  into  a  single 
strong  state,  such  as  took  shape  in  England  and  France.  \\'hen 
an  emperor  took  up  his  residence  in  Italy  his  German  nobles 
soon  grew  unruly  and  rebellious,  and  Italy  acknowledged  his 
sway  only  while  he  and  his  German  armies  were  in  sight. 


12 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  independ 
ent  states 
of  northern 
Italy 


Central  and 

southern 

Italy:  the 

papacy 

and  the  Two 

Sicilies 


Invasion  by 
Charles  VIII 


The  towns  of  northern  Italy  had  won  practical  independence 
at  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century,  when  the  Hohenstaufen 
Emperor,  Frederick  Barbarossa,  was  defeated  by  their  Lombard 
League.  Most  of  them  then  fell  under  the  sway  of  petty  tyrants, 
sprung  from  their  hired  soldiery,  under  whom  they  prospered 
in  spite  of  local  wars.  The  most  notable  of  these  lines  of 
rulers  was  the  Sforza  family,  which  seized  the  duchy  of  Milan. 
Two  famous  republics  developed  —  Florence  and  Venice  ;  but 
Venice  was  ruled  by  a  small  group  of  oligarchs,  while  Florence 
came  to  accept  the  "  boss "  rule  of  the  Medici.  It  was  in 
these  cities,  grown  rich  by  trade  and  manufactures,  that  the 
Renaissance  blossomed  forth. 

Across  central  Italy  lay  the  States  of  the  Church,  or,  more 
properly,  of  the  papacy,  over  which  the  Pope  claimed  temporal 
sovereignty.  In  the  south  was  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  which, 
from  the  time  it  and  Sicily  had  been  conquered  from  the  Eastern 
Empire  by  the  Norman  Robert  Guiscard,  in  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century,  had  had  a  checkered  history,  passing  by  in- 
heritance to  the  Hohenstaufen  Frederick  II  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  then  by  conquest  to  Charles  of  Anjou,  brother  of 
St.  Louis  of  France,  who  established  the  Angevin  dynasty.  In 
1282  Sicily  had  rebelled  and  had  fallen  to  the  House  of  Aragon, 
which  in  1 435-1 438  drove  the  French  out  of  Naples  too, 
and  reunited  the  two  in  what  was  called  the  Kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  Italy  when,  in  1 494-1 495,  two 
years  after  the  discovery  of  America,  Charles  VIII,  a  young 
and  injudicious  king  of  France,  invaded  the  peninsula  to  rees- 
tablish the  French  in  Naples.  At  first  his  invasion  was  like 
a  triumphal  progress.  State  after  state  yielded  before  him. 
Naples,  too,  speedily  fell  into  his  hands  and  his  success  seemed 
marvelous.  But  he  and  his  troops  were  demoralized  by  the 
wines  and  other  pleasures  of  the  south,  and  meanwhile  his 
enemies  at  last  began  to  form  a  combination  against  him. 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon  was  fearful  lest  he  might  lose  Sicily,  and 


Introduction  1 3 

Emperor  Maximilian  objected  to  having  the  French  control 
Italy.  Charles's  situation  became  so  dangerous  that  he  may- 
well  have  thought  himself  fortunate,  at  the  close  of  1495, 
to  escape,  with  the  loss  of  only  a  single  battle,  from  the  coun- 
try he  had  hoped  to  conquer.  His  successor,  Louis  XII,  sold 
his  claim  to  Naples  to  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  in  1503.  It  was 
to  remain  in  Spanish  hands  for  the  next  two  centuries. 

The  results  of  Charles  VIIFs  expedition  appear  at  first  sight  Results  of 
trivial ;  in  reality  they  were  momentous.  In  the  first  place,  it  expedition 
was  now  clear  to  Europe  that  the  Italians  had  no  real  national 
feeling,  however  much  they  might  despise  the  "  barbarians " 
who  lived  north  of  the  Alps.  From  this  time  down  to  the 
latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  Italy  was  dominated  by 
foreign  nations,  especially  Spain  and  Austria.  In  the  second 
place,  the  French  learned  to  admire  the  art  and  culture  of  Italy. 
The  nobles  began  to  change  their  feudal  castles,  which  since 
the  invention  of  gunpowder  were  no  longer  impregnable,  into 
luxurious  palaces  and  country  houses.^  The  new  scholarship  of 
Italy  also  took  root  and  flourished  not  only  in  France  but  in 
England  and  Germany  as  well,  and  Greek  began  to  be  studied 
outside  of  Italy.  Consequently,  just  as  Italy  was  becoming, 
politically,  the  victim  of  foreign  aggressions,  it  was  also  losing 
that  intellectual  leadership  which  it  had  enjoyed  since  the  revival 
of  interest  in  Latin  and  Greek  literature. 

Moreover,  although  Louis  XII  gave  up  southern  Italy,  he   French  ab- 
laid  claims   to  the  duchy  of  Milan,  for  which  his  successor,   struggle"for 
Francis  I  (15 15-1547),  fought  with  varying  success  for  many   ^*^^" 
years,  but  which  he  finally  surrendered  to  his  rival,  Charles  V. 

Germany  at  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  no   "TheGer- 
such  powerful  and  well-organized  state  as  it  is  to-day.    It  was  Jhe"sixteenth 
rather  what  the  French  called  "the  Germanics";  that  is,  two  or  century 
three  hundred  states,  which  differed  greatly  from  one  another 
in  size  and  character.    This  one  had  a  duke,  that  a  count,  at  its 
head,  while  others  were  ruled  over  by  archbishops,  bishops,  or 

1  See  Outlines^  Part  I,  p,  572. 


14 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Weakness  of 
the  Emperor 


The  electors 


abbots.  There  were  many  single  cities,  like  Nuremberg,  Frank- 
fort, and  Cologne,  which  were  just  as  independent  as  the  great 
duchies  of  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Saxony.  Lastly  there  were 
the  knights,  whose  possessions  might  consist  of  no  more  than  a 
single  strong  castle  with  a  wretched  village  lying  at  its  foot. 

As  for  the  Emperor,  he  no  longer  had  any  power  to  control 
his  vassals.  He  could  boast  of  unlimited  pretensions  and  great 
traditions,  but  he  had  neither  money  nor  soldiers.  At  the  time 
of  Luther's  birth  (1483)  the  poverty-stricken  Frederick  III 
(Maximilian's  father)  might  have  been  seen  picking  up  a  free 
meal  at  a  monastery  or  riding  behind  a  slow  but  economical  ox 
team.  The  real  power  in  Germany  lay  in  the  hands  of  the 
more  important  vassals. 

First  among  these  were  the  seven  electors,  so  called  because, 
since  the  thirteenth  century,  they  had  enjoyed  the  right  to 
elect  the  Emperor.  Three  of  them  were  archbishops  —  kings 
in  all  but  name  of  considerable  territories  on  the  Rhine,  namely, 
the  electorates  of  Mayence,  Treves,  and  Cologne.  Near  them, 
to  the  south,  was  the  region  ruled  over  by  the  elector  of  the 
Palatinate ;  to  the  northeast  were  the  territories  of  the  electors 
of  Brandenburg  and  of  Saxony ;  the  king  of  Bohemia  made 
the  seventh  of  the  group. 
Other  princes  Bcsidcs  these  States,  there  were  other  rulers  scarcely  less 
important.  Wiirtemberg,  Bavaria,  Hesse,  and  Baden  are  famil- 
iar to  us  to-day  as  members  of  the  present  German  Empire, 
but  all  of  them  were  smaller  then,  having  grown  since  by 
incorporating  the  little  states  that  formerly  lay  within  and 
about  them. 

The  towns,  which  had  grown  up  since  the  thirteenth  century, 
were  centers  of  culture  in  the  north  of  Europe,  just  as  those 
of  Italy  were  in  the  south.  Some  of  them  were  immediate 
vassals  of  the  Emperor  and  were  consequently  independent  of 
the  particular  prince  within  whose  territory  they  were  situated. 
These  were  cdWtd  free,  or  imperial,  cities  and  must  be  reckoned 
among  the  states  of  Germany. 


The  towns 


r 


Intro  dtictioit  1 5 

The  knights,  who  ruled  over  the  smallest  of  the  German  The  knights 
territories,  had  earlier  formed  a  very  important  class,  but  the 
introduction  of  gunpowder  and  new  methods  of  fighting  put 
them  at  a  disadvantage,  for  they  clung  to  their  medieval  tra- 
ditions. Their  tiny  realms  were  often  too  small  to  support 
them,  and  they  frequently  turned  to  robbery  for  a  living  and 
proved  a  great  nuisance  to  the  merchants  and  townspeople. 

It  is  clear  that  these  states,  little  and  big,  all  tangled  up   No  central 
with  one  another,  would  be  sure  to  have  disputes  among  them-  JSntain 
selves   which  would   have  to   be   settled  in   some  way.     The  ^'^^'^ 
Emperor  was  not  powerful  enough  to   keep   order,   and   the 
result  was  that  each  ruler  had  to  defend  himself  if  attacked. 
Neighborhood  w^ar  was  permitted  by  law  if  only  some  courteous   Neighbor- 
preliminaries  were  observed.     For  instance,  a  prince  or  town     °°   ^^ 
was  required  to  give  warning  three  days  in  advance  before 
attacking  another  member  of  the  Empire. 

Germany  had  a  national  assembly,  called  the  diet,  which  The  diet 
met  at  irregular  intervals,  now  in  one  town  and  now  in  an- 
other, for  Germany  had  no  capital  city.  The  towns  were  not 
permitted  to  send  delegates  until  1487,  long  after  the  towns- 
people were  represented  in  France  and  England.  The  knights 
and  other  minor  nobles  were  not  represented  at  all,  and  conse- 
quently did  not  always  consider  the  decisions  of  the  diet  bind- 
ing upon  them. 

One  of  the  main  reasons  why  the  German  kings  had  failed  to   Reasons  why- 
create  a  strong  kingdom  such  as  those  of  France  and  of  Eng-  ^jngs  failed 
land  was  that  their  office  was  not  strictly  hereditary.    Although 
the  emperors  were  often  succeeded  by  their  sons,  each  new   state 
emperor  had  to  be  elected,  and  those  great  vassals  who  con- 
trolled the  election  naturally  took  care  to  bind  the  candidate 
by  solemn  promises  not  to  interfere  with  their  privileges  and 
independence.     The  result  was  that,  from  the  downfall  of  the 
Hohenstaufens  in  the  thirteenth  century,  the  emperors  saw  that 
it  was  more  to  their  advantage  to  increase  their  own  family 
estates  and  dominions  than  to  spend  their  energies  for  the 


to  establish 
a  strong 


i6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


service  of  the  country  as  a  whole.  This  was  especially  the 
policy  of  the  Hapsburgs,  whose  founder,  Rudolf,  had  been 
chosen  Emperor  in  1273.-^  Rudolf  established  his  family  in 
Austria  and  Styria,  which  became,  under  his  successors,  the 
center  of  the  wide  Austrian  possessions.  Finally,  from  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  electors  regularly  chose 
a  Hapsburg  as  Emperor. 

At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  Emperor  was 
Maximilian  I.  While  still  a  very  young  man  he  had  married 
Mary  of  Burgundy,  the  heiress  to  the  Netherlands  and  to  much 
of  that  middle  strip  of  territory  which  lies  between  France  and 
Germany  west  of  the  Rhine.  Mar)^  died  shortly,  and  her  lands 
fell  to  her  infant  son.  He,  in  his  turn,  w^as  later  to  marry  the 
richest  heiress  in  Europe,  Joanna  of  Spain,  daughter  of  that 
Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  Isabella  of  Castile,  whose  marriage, 
together  with  the  expulsion  of  the  Moors  from  Granada  in 
1492,  had  for  the  first  time  made  possible  a  united  Spanish 
kingdom.  This,  along  with  the  exploitation  of  America,  which 
the  good  queen  had  enabled  Columbus  to  discover,  made  the 
possessions  of  the  Spanish  princess  the  greatest  dowry  to  be 
found  for  any  prince  in  Europe. 

The  son  of  Maximilian  who  made  such  a  fortunate  marriage 
died  young,  leaving  a  six-year-old  boy,  Charles  —  born  in  1500 
at  the  Flemish  city  of  Ghent  —  to  succeed  to  all  the  glorious 
titles  of  Spain  and  Austria  as  soon  as  his  grandfathers,  Ferdi- 
nand and  Maximilian,  should  pass  away.  Ferdinand  died  in 
15 16  and  Maximilian  in  15 19.  Then  the  young  boy  was  in 
his  own  right  king  of  Castile,  Aragon,  and  Naples,  and  of 
the  vast  Spanish  possessions  in  America,  archduke  of  Austria, 
count  of  Tyrol,  and  (in  the  Netherlands)  duke  of  Brabant, 
margrave  of  Antwerp,  count  of  Holland  —  to  mention  a  few  of 
his  more  important  titles.  Finally,  in  1 5 1 9,  he  was  chosen  by  the 
electors  to  be  Emperor,  and  is  known  in  history  as  Charles  V. 

1  See  Part  I,  p.  458.  The  original  seat  of  the  Hapsburgs  was  in  northern 
Switzerland,  where  the  vestiges  of  their  original  castle  may  still  be  seen. 


Introduction  1 7 

Charles  visited  Germany  for  the  first  time  in  1520,  and  held   Charles  at 
a  diet  at  Worms,  where  the  most  important  business  of  the   worms  ^ 
assembly  proved  to  be  the  consideration  of  the  case  of  a  uni- 
versity professor,  Martin  Luther,  who  was  accused  of  writing 
heretical  books  and  who   had  in  reality  begun  the  first  suc- 
cessful revolt  a2:ainst  the  Medieval  Church. 


The  Protestant  Revolt  i7i  Germany 

The  greatest  and  the  most  efficiently  organized  institution  of  TheMedie- 
the  Middle  Ages  had  been  neither  empire  nor  national  state, 
but  the  Church,  presided  over  by  the  Pope  at  Rome.  The 
structure  of  this  wonderful  organization  has  been  described  in 
the  previous  volume ;  but  the  main  principles  upon  which  it 
rested  may  be  stated  in  a  word.  They  were,  in  the  first  place, 
that  there  was  no  salvation  outside  the  Church ;  in  the  second 
place,  that  within  the  Church  God  bestowed  his  grace  through 
the  sacraments,  which  the  priest  (and  bishops)  alone  had  the 
power  to  dispense.  Of  these  sacraments  baptism  and  the 
Eucharist,  or  Lord's  Supper,  were  the  two  most  important; 
but  one  could  not  partake  of  the  Eucharist  unless  he  had  con- 
fessed to  a  priest  and  received  absolution  of  his  sins.  This 
double  rite  of  confession  and  absolution  was  called  the  sacra- 
ment of  penance,  since  absolution  was  not  supposed  to  be 
granted  unless  one  were  penitent  enough  to  make  amends  for 
one's  sin  by  doing  penaiice  (see  p.  19). 

The  sole  authority  to  dispense  the  sacraments  which  were  the  The  govern- 
means  of  salvation  naturally  gave  the  clergy  great  power.  At  church 
the  same  time  it  made  necessary  a  great  organization  composed 
of  priests  and  bishops  (in  Latin  episcopi,  which  means  "  over- 
seers "),  graded  into  a  hierarchy  under  the  sway  of  the  bishop 
of  Rome  —  the  Pope,  In  spite  of  such  arrangements  it  was 
natural  that  the  government  of  so  vast  a  system  should  some- 
times be  managed  in  such  a  way  as  to  awaken  protests  of 
earnest  men,  and,  indeed,  various  reforming  movements  took 


1 8  OiUlines  of  European  History 

place  during  the  Middle  Ages.  These  protests  —  which  must 
be  carefully  distinguished  from  the  opposition  of  kings  and 
emperors  to  what  they  regarded  as  the  clergy's  interference 
in  politics  —  were  particularly  strong  in  the  opening  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  when  there  were  rival  popes,  splitting  the 
Church  into  factions  and  misgoverning  generally. 

The  result  was  that  a  series  of  general  —  or  ecumenical  — 
councils  were  called,  representing  the  Church  as  a  whole,  which 
was  like  introducing  a  church  parliament  in  the  papal  monarchy. 
The  greatest  of  these  met  in  Constance,  in  Switzerland,  in  1414 ; 
but  its  extensive  program  of  reform  was  not  carried  out,  and  in 
the  course  of  the  next  fifty  years  the  popes  managed  to  dis- 
credit this  attempt  to  limit  their  sovereign  powers.  Parliamen- 
tary government  in  the  Church  had  failed. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  papacy  had  shown  few  signs  of  re- 
form. On  the  contrary,  at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
popes  were  apparently  so  much  absorbed  in  Italian  politics  — 
trying  to  enlarge  their  temporal  possessions  in  central  Italy  — 
as  to  give  the  impression  to  many  earnest  people  that  what 
they  were  mainly  after  was  the  splendor  of  a  worldly  sovereign. 
To  this  end  they  needed  money,  and  since  their  main  income 
came  from  Germany  —  which  had  no  strong  king  to  prohibit 
the  heavy  drainage  of  money  to  Rome,  as  the  kings  of  England 
and  France  had  done  —  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  that 
when  the  German  monk,  Martin  Luther,  protested  against  some 
of  these  practices,  there  was  an  almost  national  response. 

Already,  in  Luther's  youth,  the  greatest  scholar  of  the  day, 
Erasmus,  had  written  biting  satires  on  the  ignorance  and  lack 
of  high  ideals  in  the  clergy,  which  had,  in  his  eyes,  grown 
worldly.  But  Erasmus  and  the  group  of  earnest  scholars 
with  whom  he  worked,  both  on  the  Continent  and  in  England, 
were  merely  anxious  for  reform  within  the  Church.  They 
did  not  want  to  bring  about  a  revolution.  For  that  matter 
Luther,  too,  had  no  idea  at  first  that  his  protest  would  bring 
about  a  split  in  the  Church. 


Introdtiction  19 

Martin  Luther  was  a  monk  who  had  become  a  professor  in  Luther  and 
Wittenberg,  in  Saxony.  Through  his  study  of  the  Bible  and  of  tiorf  by  faith" 
the  writings  of  St.  Augustine  he  had  come  to  believe  that  the 
only  hope  for  salvation  lay  m.  faith  ^  that  is,  in  a  personal  relation- 
ship between  man  and  God,  without  which,  "  good  works,"  such 
as  going  to  church  or  on  pilgrimages,  or  visiting  the  relics  of 
the  saints,  could  do  nothing  for  the  sinner.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  one  were  "  justified  by  faith,"  he  might  properly  go  about  his 
daily  duties,  for  they  would  be  pleasing  to  God  without  what 
the  Church  was  accustomed  to  regard  as  ''  good  works." 

These  views  would  probably  not  have  attracted  much  atten-   indulgences 
tion  if  they  had  not  led  Luther  in  1 5 1 7  to  attack  the  distribution   j"  1577"^"^ 
of  indulgences  in  Germany,  by  means  of  which  contributions 
were  collected  to  aid  in  the  rebuilding  of  St.  Peter's  in  Rome. 

The  granting  of  indulgences  was  a  practice  which  had  grown  Doctrine  of 
up  in  connection  with  the  sacrament  of  penance,  to  which  refer-  '^  "  gences 
ence  has  been  made.  The  Church  taught  that  God  would  for- 
give the  sinner  who  was  penitent  and  confessed  his  sin,  but  that 
he  must  still  do  penance ;  that  is,  accept  some  kind  of  punish- 
ment, such  as  fasting,  saying  certain  prayers,  going  on  a  pil- 
grimage, or  doing  some  other  "  good  work."  Even  if  one  died 
with  sins  forgiven,  there  still  remained  this  satisfaction  to  be 
rendered,  by  suffering  in  purgatory.  Now  an  indulgence,  which 
was  issued  usually  by  the  Pope  himself,  freed  the  person  to 
whom  it  was  granted  from  some  penances  in  this  life  or  from 
some  or  all  of  his  suffering  in  purgatory.  It  was  not  a  pardon 
of  sin,  therefore,  but  a  commutation  of  the  penance.-^ 

The  contribution  to  the  Church,  remission  of  which  at  times  Method  of 
might  form  a  part  of  the  indulgence,  varied  greatly ;  the  rich 
were  asked  to  give  a  considerable  sum,  while  the  very  poor 
were  to  receive  these  pardons  gratis.  Those  in  charge  of  these 
particular  indulgences,  however,  seem  to  have  been  anxious  to 
collect  all  the  money  possible,  and  they  made  claims  for  the 
indulgences  to  which  thoughtful  churchmen  might  well  object. 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  see  Outlines^  Part  I,  pp.  584  f. 


20 


Outlines  of  European  History 


In  October,  15 17,  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk,  began  preach- 
ing indulgences  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wittenberg,  and  making 
claims  for  them  which  appeared  to  Luther  wholly  irreconcilable 
with  the  deepest  truths  of  Christianity  as  he  understood  and 
taught  them.  Therefore,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the 
time,  he  wrote  out  a  series  of  ninety-five  statements  in  regard 
to  indulgences.  These  theses^  as  they  were  called,  he  posted  on 
the  church  door  and  invited  any  one  interested  in  the  matter  to 
enter  into  a  discussion  with  him  on  the  subject,  which  he  believed 
was  very  ill  understood. 

In  posting  these  theses  Luther  did  not  intend  to  attack  the 
Church  and  had  no  expectation  of  creating  a  sensation.  The 
theses  were  in  Latin  and  addressed,  therefore,  only  to  learned 
men.  But  they  were  promptly  translated  into  German,  printed, 
and  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  land.  In  these  Ninety-five 
Theses  Luther  declared  that  the  indulgence  was  very  unimpor- 
tant and  that  the  poor  man  might  better  spend  his  money  for 
the  needs  of  his  household.  Faith  in  God,  not  the  procuring  of 
pardons,  brings  forgiveness,  and  ever}^  Christian  who  feels  true 
sorrow  for  his  sins  will  receive  full  remission  of  the  punishment 
as  well  as  of  the  guilt. 

Luther  now  began  to  read  church  history,  and  reached  the 
conclusion  that  the  influence  of  the  popes  had  not  been  very 
great  until  the  time  of  Gregory  VII,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
and  therefore  that  they  had  not  enjoyed  their  supremacy  over 
the  Church  for  more  than  four  hundred  years  before  his  own 
birth.  Historical  criticism  of  papal  claims  has  been  constantly 
urged  by  Protestants  ever  since,  although  they  do  not  go  as 
far  as  Luther  did.  They  assert  that  the  power  of  the  Medieval 
Church  and  of  the  papacy  developed  gradually,  and  that  the 
apostles  knew  nothing  of  masses,  indulgences,  pilgrimages,  pur- 
gatory, or  the  headship  of  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

Meanwhile  Luther  was  studying  and  writing  with  prodigious 
energy.  He  had  a  powerful  style  and  a  fine  command  of  his 
native  tongue,  and  in  the  year  1520  published  some  pamphlets 


Introduction  2 1 

which  finally  marked  the  outbreak  of  revolt.    Of  these  the  most 
stirring  was  his  Address  to  the   German  NobUity,  in  which  he 
called  upon  the  rulers  of  Germany  to  reform  the  abuses  them- 
selves, since  he  believed  that  it  was  vain  to  wait  for  the  Church  to 
do  so.    He  began  by  denying  that  there  was  anything  especially 
sacred  about  clergymen  except  the  duties  which  they  had  been 
designated   to  perform.     They   should   be   completely   subject,    Luther  advo- 
therefore,  to  the  civil  government.     Monks  should _  be  free  to   as  well  as 
leave  their  monasteries,  of  which  there  were  nine  times  too  many.    ^eformT 
The  clergy  should  be  allowed  to  marry.    The  Germans  should 
resent  the  action  of  Italian  prelates,  who  took  so  much  German 
money  over  the  Alps.    These  denunciations  of  the  clergy  re- 
sounded like  a  trumpet  call  in  the  ears  of  Luther's  countrymen. 

Naturally,   the    Pope    excommunicated    such   a   pronounced'  Luther  burns 
heretic ;    but  Luther  boldly   burned   the   papal  bull  of  excom-   cited  to 
munication.    Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  Gharles  V    "^^o^^ 
came  to  the  ^fe_iif--W.Qn:aaXin    1520   and   called   Luther  to 
appear  before  him.    This  Luther  did ;  but  he  refused  to  recant, 
and  the   Emperor,   while  allowing  him  a  safe  conduct  home, 
declared  him  an  outlaw  and  worthy  of  a  heretic's  fate. 

Charles,  however,  immediately  left  Germany  and  for  nearly  Luther 
ten  years  was  too  busily  occupied  with  troubles  in  Spain  and  the  Wartburg 
wars  with  Francis  I  of  France  to  bother  over  the  case  of  this 
German  monk.  On  the  other  hand,  Luther's  own  prince,  the 
elector  Frederick  of  Saxony,  saw  fit  to  protect  the  popular  pro- 
fessor of  his  university  at  Wittenberg.  So  Luther  was  kid- 
naped by  friends  while  on  his  way  home  from  Worms,  and 
hidden  for  two  years  in  the  elector's  castle  of  the  Wartburg. 
There  he  continued  to  write  and,  above  all,  to  work  on  a  new 
German  translation  of  the  Bible. 

Meanwhile  the  revolt  against  the  papacy  had  taken  a  new   Revolution 
form,  that  of  a  great  social  revolution.    In  the  first  place,  there  nobility 
was  a  movement  of  some  of  the  knights,  or  lesser  nobility, 
against  certain  prince  bishops,  who,  it  must  be  remembered, 
ruled  large  territories  in  Germany.   These  knights  were  defeated, 


22 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  "  Peas- 
ants' Revolt " 


Luther  urges 
the  govern- 
ment to  sup- 
press the 
revolt 


The  peasant 
revolt  put 
down  with 
great  cruelty 


The  "  pro- 
test "  at 
Speyer 


but  the  civil  war  was  responsible  for  much  damage,  and  Luther 
and  his  teachings  were  naturally  blamed  for  the  uprising. 

Much  more  serious  was  the  ''  Peasants'  Revolt,"  which  burst 
out  in  1525.  The  serfs  rose,  in  the  name  of  "God's  justice," 
to  avenge  their  wrongs.  Some  of  their  demands  were  perfectly 
reasonable.  The  most  popular  statement  of  them  was  in  the 
dignified  "  Twelve  Articles."  ^  In  these  they  claimed  that  the 
Bible  did  not  sanction  any  of  the  dues  which  the  lords  demanded 
of  them,  and  that,  since  they  were  Christians  like  their  lords, 
they  should  no  longer  be  held  as  serfs.  They  were  willing  to 
pay  all  the  old  and  well-established  dues,  but  they  asked  to  be 
properly  paid  for  extra  services.  They  thought,  too,  that  each 
community  should  have  the  right  freely  to  choose  its  own  pastor 
and  to  dismiss  him  if  he  proved  negligent  or  inefficient. 

There  were,  however,  leaders  who  were  more  violent  and 
who  proposed  to  kill  the  "  godless  "  priests  and  nobles.  Hun- 
dreds of  castles  and  monasteries  were  destroyed  by  the  frantic 
peasantry,  and  some  of  the  nobility  were  murdered  with  shock- 
ing cruelty.  Luther  tried  to  induce  the  peasants,  with  whom, 
as  the  son  of  a  peasant,  he  was  at  first  inclined  to  sympathize, 
to  remain  quiet ;  but  when  his  warnings  proved  vain,  he  turned 
against  them  and  urged  the  government  to  put  down  the 
insurrection  without   pity. 

Luther's  advice  was  followed  with  terrible  literalness  by  the 
German  rulers,  and  the  nobility  took  fearful  revenge  on  the 
peasants.  In  the  summer  of  1525  their  chief  leader  was  de- 
feated and  killed,  and  it  is  estimated  that  ten  thousand  peasants 
were  put  to  death,  many  with  the  utmost  cruelty.  The  old 
exactions  of  the  lords  of  the  manors  were  in  no  way  lightened, 
and  the  situation  of  the  serfs  for  centuries  following  the  great 
revolt  was  wors&  rather  than  better. 

In  1529  the  Emperor,  Charles  V,  again  turned  his  attention 
to  the  situation  in  Germany  and  ordered  the  diet  which  met  that 
year  in  Speyer  to  enforce  the  edict  of  thq^Diet  of  Worms)  against 

1  See  Robinson,  Rcadhii^s  in  European  History^  Vql.  II,  chap.  xxvL 


Introduction  23 

the  heretics.  Several  princes  and  cities  had,  however,  in  the  in- 
terval since  1520  gone  ahead  in  their  own  realms  to  introduce 
the  Lutheran  form  of  worship  and  also  to  carry  out  Luther's 
ideas  about  monasteries  and  Church  property.^  As  these  princes 
formed  only  a  minority  in  the  diet,  all  they  could  do  was  to 
draw  up  2i  protest,  in  which  they  fell  back  upon  the  decision  of 
a  former  diet  of  Speyer,  held  in  1526,  in  which  each  ruler  was 
left  free  to  adjust  such  things  in  his  own  realm  as  he  saw  fit. 
These  Protestants — for  this  is  how  the  name  originated  —  there- 
fore appealed  to  the  Emperor  and  to  a  future  general  council 
of  the  Church  against  the  tyranny  of  a  majority  in  the  diet. 

The  next  year,  1530,  Charles  V  came  to  Germany  himself,  The  Augs- 
and  held  a  brilliant  diet  at  Augsburg,  in  the  hope  of  settling  the  Jion 
religious  problem,  which  he  understood  very  imperfectly.  For 
this  diet  the  Protestants  drew  up  a  statement  of  what  they 
believed.  This  Augsburg  Cofifession  is  still  the  creed  of  the 
Lutheran  Church.  Charles  V,  however,  commanded  the  Prot- 
estants to  accept  the  statement  which  the  Catholics  drew  up, 
to  give  back  all  Church  property  which  they  had  seized,  and 
cease  troubling  Catholics.  But  again  he  was  called  away  from 
Germany,  for  the  next  ten  years,  and  again  the  movement  was 
left  to  the  princes  and  cities  of  Germany  to  be  settled  as  each 
saw  fit.    The  result  was  a  steady  growth  of  Protestantism. 

Finally,  Charles  V,  after  a  serious  attempt  to  suppress  the  Peace  of 
Protestant  princes,  was  obliged,  in  1555,  to  accept  the  religious  '  "^^  ^^^ 
Peace  of  Augsburg.  Its  provisions  are  memorable.  Each  Ger- 
man prince  and  each  town  and  knight  immediately  under  the 
Emperor  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  make  a  choice  between  the  be- 
liefs of  the  Catholic  Church  and  those  embodied  in  the  Augs- 
burg Confession.  If,  however,  an  ecclesiastical  prince  —  an 
archbishop,  bishop,  or  abbot  —  declared  him^lf  a  Protestant, 
he  must  surrender  his  possessions  to  the  Church.  Every  Ger- 
man was  either  to  conform  to  the  religious  practices  of  his 

1  Upon  the  whole,  southern  Germany  remained  Catholic,  while  the  northern 
princes  —  finally,  practically  all — became  Protestant. 


^4 


Outlines  of  European  History 


particular  state  or  emigrate  from  it.  Every  one  was  supposed 
to  be  either  a  Catholic  or  a  Lutheran,  and  no  provision  was  made 
for  any  other,  belief.  There  was  no  freedom  of  conscience, 
except  for  the  mlers. 


John  CaWin 


Calvin's 
reformation 
in  Geneva 


The  Hugue- 
nots in 
France 


The  Hugitenots  in  France 

Meanwhile  the  Protestant  movement  had  spread  to  other 
countries.  France  produced,  in  John  Calvin,  a  leader  who 
ranks  with  Luther  in  energy  and  above  him  in  intellectual 
power.  He  was  forced  to  flee  to  Switzerland,  however,  to 
escape  persecution,  first  to  Basel  and  then  to  Geneva,  which  he 
made  his  home  from  about  1540.  The  Genevans  intrusted  him 
with  the  task  of  reforming  the  town,  which  had  secured  its 
independence  of  the  duke  of  Savoy.  He  drew  up  a  constitu- 
tion and  established  an  extraordinary  government  in  which  the 
Church  and  the  civil  government  were  as  closely  associated  as 
they  had  ever  been  in  any  Catholic  country.  Calvin  intrusted  the 
management  of  church  affairs  to  the  ministers  and  the  elders, 
ox  presbyters;  hence  the  name  "Presbyterian."  The  Protes- 
tantism which  found  its  way  into  France  was  that  of  Calvin, 
not  that  of  Luther,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  Scotland.^ 

The  Protestants  in  France  were  much  persecuted  by  Francis  I 
and  his  son  Henry  H  (1547-1559).  Nevertheless  the  Hugue- 
nots^ as  they  were  called,  continued  to  increase,  especially  among 
the  middle  classes  and  the  nobility,  and  formed  a  political  as 
well  as  a  religious  party,  which  was  able,  in  the  second  half  of 
the  centur)^,  to  defend  itself  by  arms.  Henry  H's  eldest  son, 
Francis  H,  reigned  but  a  year;  his  second  son,  Charles  IX 
(i 560-1 574),  was  but  ten  years  old  at  his  accession,  and  his 
mother,  Catherine  de'  Medici,  ruled  for  him. 

1  Calvin's  great  work  is  The  Institute  of  Christianity.  It  rejected  the  infalli- 
bility of  Church  and  Pope  but  accepted  that  of  the  Bible.  Calvin's  most  distinc- 
tive doctrine  was  that  of  "  predestination,"  that  is,  that  God  had  already,  from 
before  the  beginning  of  the  world,  arranged  the  fate  of  all.  For  the  other  Swiss 
reformer,  Zwingli,  see  Outlines,  Part  I,  pp.  605  ff.  The  Scottish  reformer  was 
John   Knox,  a  student  of  Calvin. 


Intivduction  25 

Catherine  at  first  tried  to  conciliate  both  Catholics  and  Prot-  Catherine  dt 
estants;  but  the  duke  of  Guise,  head  of  a  fanatical  Catholic  st^Barthol- 
party,  precipitated  civil  war  by  massacring  a  number  of  Prot-  °"^^^^ 
estants  whom  he  and  his  troop  found  worshiping  in  a  barn  at 
Vassy.  For  a  generation  France  was  filled  with  burnings,  pillage, 
and  ever}'  form  of  barbarity,  mainly  in  the  name  of  religion.  In 
1570a  brief  truce  was  made,  and  the  Huguenot  leader,  Coligny, 
won  the  confidence  of  the  queen  mother  and  Charles  by  his 
patriotic  efforts  to  unite  Catholics  and  Protestants  against  Spain. 
The  jealous  party  of  the  Guises  frustrated  this  plan  by  a  fear- 
ful expedient.  They  easily  induced  Catherine  to  believe  that 
Coligny  was  deceiving  her,  and  an  assassin  was  hired  to  murder 
him,  but  only  wounded  his  victim.  Fearful  that  the  young  king, 
who  was  faithful  to  Coligny,  might  discover  her  guilt,  Catherine 
invented  a  stor}^  of  a  great  Huguenot  conspiracy.  The  credulous 
king  was  deceived,  and  the  Catholic  leaders  at  Paris  arranged 
that  at  a  given  signal  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Eve,  1572,  not  only 
Coligny  should  be  killed  but  also  all  the  Huguenots,  who  had 
gathered  in  great  numbers  in  the  city  for  the  marriage  of  the 
king's  sister  Margaret  to  the  Protestant  Henry,  king  of  the  little 
realm  of  Navarre,  in  the  Pyrenees,  and  a  member  of  the 
Bourbon  branch  of  the  royal  house  of  France.  The  massacre 
was  only  too  successful.  About  two  thousand  were  murdered 
in  Paris  and  ten  thousand  outside  it. 

Civil  war  followed.    Charles's  brother  and  successor,  Henry  war  of  the 
HI  (1574-1589),  finally  found  himself  at  war  with  both  Henry  """^l^l^^^^^ 
of   Navarre  —  who   had  become   the   Huguenot   leader  —  and 
Henry,  duke  of  Guise,  leader  of  the  extreme  Catholics.    He 
secured   the  assassination   of  Guise,  but  was  himself  assassi- 
nated  in  turn   by   Guise's   followers.     So    Henr}'   of   Navarre    Henry  iv, 
became  King  Henry  IV  of  France  —  the  first  of  the  Bourbon    '^  ^' 
line.    He  accepted  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  his  subjects 
(1593),   on    the   ground    that,    as    he    remarked,   "Paris    was 
worth  a  mass."    In  1598,  by  the  famous  Edict  of  Nantes,  he   Edict  of 
granted  toleration  to  the  Huguenots.    His  reign  is  gratefully 


26  Outlines  of  European  History 

remembered  by  the  French  as  a  time  of  peace  and  new  pros- 
sperity,  due  to  his  wise  encouragement  of  agriculture  and 
commerce.  He  was  murdered  in  1610  and  left  the  throne  to 
his  young  son,  Louis  XIII  (1610-1643).  Louis's  reign  was 
Cardinal  '  rather  that  of  his  great  minister,  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  ruled 
Richeheu  France  with  an  iron  hand  from  1624  to  1642.  He  crushed 
the  political  independence  of  the  Huguenots  and  made  royalty 
supreme  over  all  France. 

The  Church  of  England 

Henry  VIII  Henry  VIII  (1509-1547)  of  England  had  succeeded  to  all 
his  father's  power.  The  nobility  had  been  weakened  by  the 
Wars  of  the  Roses,  and  the  middle  classes  had  not  yet  become 
strong  enough  to  check  the  monarch.  His  chief  adviser  at  first 
was  Cardinal  Wolsey,  who  managed  to  keep  Henry  from  mixing 
in  continental  wars.  Henry  had  no  sympathy  with  Luther  and 
even  wrote  a  book  against  him ;  but  split  first  with  Wolsey, 
and  then  with  the  Pope,  because  they  would  not  secure  for  him 
a  divorce  from  his  queen,  Catherine  of  Aragon,  .aunt  of 
Charles  V.  The  first  break  with  Rome,  therefore,  came  over  a 
question  of  -Church  government  rather  than  any  difference  of  re- 
ligious belief.  In  1534  Parliament  passed  the  Act  of  Suprem- 
acy, which  declared  the  king  to  be  ''  the  only  supreme  head 
on  earth  of  the  Church  of  England,"  with  power  to  appoint  all 
prelates  and  enjoy  the  income  which  formerly  went  to  Rome. 
This  legislation  was  enforced  by  a  vicious  persecution.  It  must 
be  carefully  observed  that  Henry  VIII  still  believed  himself  a 
good  Catholic.  He  persecuted  those  who  had  forsaken  the  old 
beliefs.  He  claimed  merely  that  he,  in  place  of  the  Pope,  should 
control  and  manage  a  national  branch  of  the  Church.  This  did 
not  prevent  his  dissolving  the  English  monasteries,  however, 
and  appropriating  their  great  wealth  for  himself  and  his  favor- 
ites. A  thorough  despot,  he  acted  from  unworthy  motives,  but 
the  general  trend  of  his  actions  fitted  in  with  a  certain  national 


Introduction 


27 


feeling  of  independence  of  the  papacy,  which  had  shown  itself 
in  England  at  various  times  in  the  past. 

Under  Henry's  young  son,  Edward  VI,  who  died  in  1553,   The  form a- 
aged  sixteen,  the  revolt  became  definitely  doctrinal ;  and  a  prayer  church ^of 
book  in  English  and  forty-two  articles  of  faith  were  drawn  up.   England 
These  articles,  revised  later,  in  Elizabeth's  time,  and  reduced  to 
thirty-nine,  became  the  creed  of  the  Church  gf  England. 

Mary  (15 53-1 5 58),  the  daughter  of   the  divorced   Queen   Mary's  futile 
Catherine,  next  succeeded  —  an  ardent  Catholic.    Married  to  P^^s^c"*i°"s 
Philip  II  of  Spain,  she  adopted  his  policy  of  persecution ;  but 
the  heroism  of  the  Protestant  victims  won  more  friends  for 
their  cause.    Upon  the  accession  of  Mary's  Protestant  half  sis-   Elizabeth 
ter,  Elizabeth  (15 58-1 603),  the  work  begun  under  Edward  VI 
was  again  taken  up,  and  the  Church  of  England  still  remains 
in  much  the  same  form  as  then  established. 


The  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  its  Cha^npions 

Meanwhile  the  Catholic  Church  had  not  been  idle.  A  general  The  work 
council,  which  met  at  Trent  at  various  times  during  the  eighteen  °j]  of^Tr°en" 
years  from  1545  to  1563,  drew  up  statements  of  what  it  declared 
to  be  the  orthodox  belief,  which  is  still  the  accepted  creed  of 
that  large  portion  of  the  Christian  Church  which  remained 
faithful  to  the  papacy  and  which  is  commonly  known  as  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.^ 

The  most  powerful  Catholic  organization  of  the  period  was   The  Jesuits 
the  new  Society  of  Jesus,  or  Jesuits,  founded  by  the  Spaniard 
Ignatius  Loyola,  and  sanctioned  by  the  Pope  in   1540.    The 
Jesuits    were   noted    for   the    absolute    obedience  which    they 
rendered  to  their  officers  and  to  the  Pope.    They  were  teachers 

1  The  council  naturally  condemned  the  distinctively  Protestant  beliefs, 
accepted  the  Pope  as  head  of  the  Church,  and  declared  accursed  those  who,  like 
Luther,  believed  that  man  could  be  saved  by  faith  in  God's  promises  alone.  It 
reaffirmed  all  the  seven  sacraments,  several  of  which  the  Protestants  had  rejected. 
The  ancient  Latin  translation  of  the  Bible  —  the  Vulgate  —  was  proclaimed  the 
standard  of  belief,  and  no  one  was  to  publish  any  views,  interpreting  the  Bible, 
differing  from  those  approved  by  the  Church. 


28  Outlines  of  ILuTOpcaii  History 

as  well  as  priests,  and  their  schools  were  so  successful  that 
through  their  influence  many  children  grew  up  as  stanch  Catho- 
lics who  otherwise  might  have  become  Protestant.  Their  mis- 
sionary efforts  extended  over  the  whole  world,  but  Protestants 
were  especially  suspicious  of  them  as  confessors  of  kings. 
Philip  II  The  chief  ally  of  the  Pope  and  the  Jesuits  in  their  efforts 

^^^"^  to  check   Protestantism  was  the  son  of  Charles  V,   Philip  II 

(15 5 6- 1 598),  who  succeeded  to  the  kingdom  of  Spain  and  its 
colonies,  Milan,  the  Two  Sicilies,  and  the  Netherlands.^  Philip 
was  a  fanatic,  who  was  willing  to  sacrifice  even  his  kingdom  to 
put  down  heretics.  The  Inquisition  was  used  to  effect  this,  as 
it  had  been  by  his  father,  and  Spain  w^as  kept  orthodox.  To 
the  Netherlands  Philip  sent  the  remorseless  duke  of  Alva 
(i 567-1 573)  with  his  cruel  Spanish  soldiery  to  quiet  an}' 
opposition.  Thousands  of  Flemish  weavers  fled  to  England  to 
escape  the  Council  of  Blood,  as  Alva's  tribunal  was  popularly 
called,  but  the  northern  provinces,  of  which  Holland  was  the 
chief,  found  a  leader  in  William,  Prince  of  Orange.^ 
The  Dutch  The  Dutch  had  become  Protestant,  while  most  of  the  people 

pendence  of  the  southern  Netherlands  remained  Catholic.  Alva's  reign 
of  terror,  however,  had  alienated  the  south  as  well  as  the 
north,  and  after  his  recall  his  unpaid  soldiers  sacked  the  rich 
city  of  Antwerp,  in  what  is  called  "the  Spanish  fur}'"  (1576). 
So  for  the  next  three  years  the  whole  country  united  against 
their  king.  But  the  union  was  dissolved  when  Philip  sent  a 
wiser  and  more  moderate  governor.  Then  only  the  seven 
northern  provinces  held  together,  in  what  was  called  the  Union 
of  Utrecht  (1579),  and  these  united  provinces  declared  them- 
selves independent  of  Spain  in  1581.  The  soul  of  their  revolt 
was    William   "  the    Silent,"   Prince    of    Orange,   whose    great 

1  Charles  V  abdicated  in  1555-1556.  The  Austrian  realms  went  to  his  brother 
Ferdinand  (d.  1564),  who  married  the  heiress  to  the  kingdoms  of  Bohemia  and 
Hungary,  and  whose  son,  Maximilian  II  (d.  1576),  thus  inherited  these  "  Austrian  " 
dominions. 

2  The  title  comes  from  the  little  town  of  Orange  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Rhone,  in  what  is  now  southern  France  but  was  once  part  of  the  Empire. 


Introduction  29 

courage  nerved  the  people  to  resist.    Philip  had  him  assassi- 
nated in  1584;  but  the  Dutch  independence  was  already  won. 

Philip's  other  foe  was  England,  which,  under  Elizabeth,  was   The  Spanish 
becoming  definitely  Protestant.    Besides  the  religious  issue,  how-  against^ 
ever,  there  was  a  more  practical  one ;  for  English  seamen  had   England 
been  capturing  Spanish  merchant  ships,  and  there  was  continual 
war  between  the  two  countries.     To  end  all  this  Philip  pre- 
pared a  great  fleet,  the  famous  Spanish  Armada  —  perhaps  the 
greatest  fleet  the  world  had  ever  seen.    But  the  swift  English 
ships,  aided  by  a  great  gale,  in  which  the  huge  Spanish  ships 
became  unmanageable,  brought  about  its  utter  destruction. 

Philip  had  exhausted  Spain  and  met  with  failure  —  perhaps 
the  most  colossal  failure  in  modern  history ;  for  Spain  has 
never  recovered  its  former  power. 


The  Thirty  Years'   War  in  Germany 

In  Germany  the  Peace  of  Augsburg  had  permitted  a  steady   The  first 
growth  of   Protestantism,   and    for  the  next    sixty  years   the  ^ar 
country  adjusted  itself  on  the  whole  peacefully  to  this  change. 
But    when,    in    16 18,    Bohemia,   which   had    become    strongly 
Protestant,  rebelled  from  its  Hapsburg  ruler,  a  war  broke  out 
which,  with  varying  intensity,  devastated  Germany  for  the  next 
thirty  years.     The  first  phase  of  this  war,  that  over  Bohemia, 
ended   in   the  complete  victory  of  the  Catholic  princes,   who 
rallied  to  the  Hapsburg  cause.     The  Protestant  princes  were 
divided  and  incapable.    The  king  of  Denmark  came  to  their   Second  phase 
aid,  but  he  was  beaten  in  1629  by  the  Emperor's  able  general, 
Wallenstein,  w^ho  swept  all  before  him.    This  second  phase  of 
the  war  was  closed  by  an   Edict  of  Restitution,  in  which  the 
Protestants  were  ordered  to  restore  all  the  Church  property 
they  had  seized  since  the   Peace  of  Augsburg.     That  meant   Third  phase 
giving  up  vast  possessions,  and  the  war  broke  out  anew,  this 
time  with  the  Swedish  king,  Gustavus  Adolphus,  as  the  Protes- 
tant champion.     He  proved  to  be  a  great  general  and,  after 


30  Outlines  of  Europe  an  Histojy 

severe  fighting,  drove  the  imperial  forces  out  of  the  north. 
But  he  was  killed  at  the  moment  of  victory  in  the  battle  of 
Fourth  phase  Liitzen,  1 632.  Just  at  this  moment  Richelieu,  though  a  car- 
dinal, decided  that  it  was  to  the  interest  of  France  to  help 
the  Protestants  in  Germany,  in  order  to  humble  the  Emperor. 
Hired  soldiery  —  on  both  sides  —  laid  waste  the  land,  and  the 
war  wore  on  until  1648,  when  peace  was  made  at  two  towns  in 
Westphalia.  Peace,  however,  could  not  bring  back  prosperity, 
and  Germany  was  crushed  for  more  than  a  generation  by  the 
awful  suffering  of  this  war. 
The  Treaty  By  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  the  Protestant  princes  were  to 

phalia,  1648  retain  the  lands  they  had  taken  prior  to  1624  and  were  still 
to  determine  the  religion  of  their  own  states.  They  were  to 
be  free  to  make  treaties  among  themselves  and  with  foreign 
powers,  which  was  equivalent  to  recognizing  their  practical 
independence  and  the  dissolution  of  the  Empire  —  which,  how- 
ever, lasted  in  name  until  the  day  of  Napoleon.  Sweden  was 
given  territory  on  the  Baltic ;  and  the  Emperor  ceded  to  France 
the  three  towns  of  Metz,  Toul,  and  Verdun,  and  his  rights  in 
Alsace,  except  Strassburg.  The  independence  of  Holland  and 
Switzerland  was  also  acknowledged. 

Thus  the  "  wars  of  religion "  came  to  an  end  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  evident  from  the 
narrative,  however,  that  they  were  not  waged  merely  for 
religion,  but  also  for  political  and  economic  ends.  The  era  of 
the  national  states  had  at  last  fully  dawned,  and  the  first 
chapter  of  this  book  here  takes  up  the  theme. 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  STRUGGLE  IN  ENGLAND  BETWEEN  KING  AND 
PARLIAMENT 

This  volume  deals  with  the  last  three  hundred  years  of  Euro-  Scope  of 
pean  hfstory.  Compared  with  the  long  period  of  more  than  1^^°""^^ 
five  thousand  years  which  lies  between  Menes  I  —  the  first 
ruler  whose  name  we  know  —  and  James  I  of  England,  this 
seems  a  very  short  time.  In  many  ways,  however,  it  has  seen 
far  more  astonishing  changes  than  those  which  took  place  in 
all  the  preceding  centuries. 

Could  James  I  now  see  the  England  he  once  ruled,  how   Great 
startling  the  revolution  in  politics  and  industry  would  seem  to   thelasuhree 
him  !    The  railroads,  the  steel  steamships,  the  great  towns  with  centuries 
well-lighted,  smoothly  paved,  and  carefully  drained  streets ;  the 
innumerable  newspapers  and  the  beautifully  illustrated  periodi- 
cals, the  government  schools,  the  popular  elections,  and  a  parlia- 
ment ruling  with  little  attention  to  its  king  ;  the  vast  factories 
full  of  machinery,  working  with  a  precision  and  rapidity  far 
surpassing  those  of  an  army  of  skilled  workmen ;   and,  most 
astonishing  of  all,  the  mysterious  and  manifold  applications  of 
electricity  which  he  knew  only  in  the  form  of  lightning  playing 
among  the  storm  clouds  —  all  these  marvels  would  combine  to 
convince  him  that  he  died  on  the  eve  of  the  greatest  revolution 
in  industr}^,  government,  and  science  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

It  is  the  aim  of  this  volume,  after  describing  the  conditions  Aim  of  this 
in  Europe  during  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries,  to 
show  as  clearly  as  possible  the  changes  which  have  made  the 
world  what  we  find  it  to-day.  To  do  this,  we  must  begin  with 
England,  which  led  other  states  by  many  years  in  permitting  the 
nation's  representatives  to  control  the  government. 

31 


32 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  i.  James  I  and  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings 

The  English  people  were  more  fortunately  placed  than  other 
European  peoples  in  living  upon  an  island  which  was  seldom 
troubled  by  war.  While  the  rest  of  Europe  was  so  often  swept 
by  pillaging  hordes,  England  prospered  in  the  arts  of  peace. 
Its  great  achievement  during  the  Middle  Ages  had  been  the 
development  of  parliamentary  government.  This  had  been 
established  in  the  thirteenth  century,^  but  was  often  of  little  im- 
portance during  the  later  Middle  Ages.  In  the  early  sixteenth 
century,  for  instance,  Henry  VIII  either  defied  Parliament  or 
used  it  as  a  tool." 

But  when  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  at  the  end  of  the  century, 
tried  to  assert  her  will  over  it,  she  found  that  Parliament,  backed 
by  the  nation,  had  grown  strong  enough  to  refuse  to  submit. 
For,  during  her  reign,  the  new  wealth  from  world  trade,  the 
general  spread  of  knowledge,  and  the  strong  sense  of  common 
interests  awakened  by  the  war  with  Spain,  had  called  into  being 
a  new  spirit  in  the  nation  —  one  which  insisted  on  "  the  rights 
of  Englishmen  "  as  against  any  despotically  inclined  monarch. 
Unfortunately  the  next  monarchs — the  Stuarts  —  who  ascended 
the  throne  were  inclined  to  claim  great  powers  for  themselves. 
The  result  was  civil  war  and  disorder  during  most  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  Finally  Parliament  definitely  won  the 
mastery,  and  the  kings  of  England  ceased  to  contest  its  power. 

On  the  death  of  Elizabeth  in  1603,  King  James  VI  of  Scot- 
land ascended  the  throne  of  England  as  James  I,  the  first  king 
of  Great  Britain^  as  the  united  realms  of  England,  Scotland, 
and  Wales  were  termed.  Through  his  mother,  the  ill-fated 
Mary  Queen  of  Scots,^  he  was  a  descendant  of  Henry  VII, 
the  first  of  the  Tudors,  and  this  was  the  reason  why  the  Scot- 
tish House  of  Stuart  came  to  rule  in  England."* 


i  See  Part  I,  p.  421.         2  See  Part  I,  p.  611.         8  See  Part  I,  pp.  641-644. 
^  Although  the  crowns  were  united,  the  two  countries  kept  their  separate 
parliaments  and  constitutions  for  another  century. 


StrtLggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parliament    33 

James  I  soon  showed  that  his  ideas  were  much  like  those  of   King  James's 
his  English  relatives,  the  Tudors  ;  for  he  was  determined  to  rule  kingship 
without  regard  to  Parliament.   Moreover,  instead  of  attempting 
to  control  Parliament  in  quiet  ways,  as  Elizabeth  had  done,  he 
boldly  stated  his  claims  in  the  most  irritating  manner.    He  was 


Fig.  I.   James  1 

a  learned  man  and  fond  of  writing  books.  He  published  a 
work  on  monarchs,  in  which  he  claimed  that  the  king  could 
make  any  law  he  pleased  without  consulting  Parliament ;  that 
he  was  the  master  of  every  one  of  his  subjects  and  might 
put  to  death  whom  he  pleased.  A  good  king  would  act  accord- 
ing to  law,  but  is  not  bound  to  do  so  and  has  the 'power  to 
change  the  law  to  suit  himself,  "  It  is  atheism  and  blasphemy," 
he  declared,  ^'  to  dispute  what  God  can  do ;  ...  so  it  is  pre- 
sumption and  high  contempt  in  a  subject  to  dispute  what  a 
king  can  do,  or  say  that  a  king  cannot  do  this  or  that." 


34 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


These  theories  seem  strange  and  very  unreasonable  to  us,  but 
James  was  only  trying  to  justify  the  powers  which  the  Tudor 
monarchs  had  actually  exercised  and  which  the  kings  of  France 
enjoyed  down  to  the  French  Revolution  of  1789.  According 
to  the  theory  of  "the  divine  right  of  kings"  it  had  pleased  God 
to  appoint  the  monarch  the  father  of  his  people.  People  must 
obey  him  as  they  would  God  and  ask  no  questions.  The  king 
was  responsible  to  God  alone,  to  whom  he  owed  his  powers, 
not  to  Parliament  or  the  nation  (see  below,  p.  59). 

It  is  unnecessary  to  follow  the  troubles  between  James  I  and 
Parliament,  for  his  reign  only  forms  the  preliminary  to  the  fatal 
experiences  of  his  son  Charles  I,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1625. 

The  writers  of  James's  reign  constituted  its  chief  glory. 
They  outshone  those  of  any  other  European  country.  Shake- 
speare is  generally  admitted  to  be  the  greatest  dramatist  that 
the  world  has  produced.  While  he  wrote  many  of  his  plays 
before  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  some  of  his  finest  —  Othello^ 
Ki?ig  Lear  J  and  The  Tempest,  for  example  —  belong  to  the  time 
of  James  I.  During  the  same  period  Francis  Bacon  (see  Part  I, 
p.  656)  was  writing  his  Advancement  of  Learning,  which  he 
dedicated  to  James  I  in  1605,  and  in  which  he  urged  that  men 
should  cease  to  rely  upon  the  old  textbooks,  like  Aristotle,  and 
turn  to  a  careful  examination  of  animals,  plants,  and  chemicals, 
with  a  view  of  learning  about  them  and  using  the  knowledge 
thus  gained  to  improve  the  condidon  of  mankind.  Bacon's 
ability  to  write  English  is  equal  to  that  of  Shakespeare,  but 
he  chose  to  write  prose,  not  verse.  It  was  in  James's  reign 
that  the  authorized  English  translation  of  the  Bible  was  made, 
which  is  still  used  in  all  countries  where  English  is  spoken. 

An  English  physician  of  this  period,  William  Harvey,  exam- 
ined the  workings  of  the  human  body  more  carefully  than  any 
previous  investigator,  and  made  the  great  discovery  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  blood  circulates  from  the  heart  through  the 
arteries  and  capillaries  and  back  through  the  veins  —  a  matter 
which  had  previously  been  entirely  misunderstood. 


Struggle  iji  Ejiglaiid  between  King  and  Parliamejtt    35 

Section  2.    How  Charles  I  got  alonxt  without 
Parliament 

Charles  I,  James  I's  son  and  successor,  was  somewhat  more  Charles  i, 
dignified  than  his  father,  but  he  was  quite  as  obstinately  set  ^  ^^~^  '^^ 
upon  having  his  own  way,  and  showed  no  more  skill  in  winning 
the  confidence  of  his  subjects.  He  did  nothing  to  remove  the 
disagreeable  impressions  of  his  father's  reign  and  began  im- 
mediately to  quarrel  with  Parliament.  When  that  body  refused 
to  grant  him  any  money,  mainly  because  they  thought  that  it 
was  likely  to  be  wasted  by  his  favorite,  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, Charles  formed  the  plan  of  winning  their  favor  by  a  great 
military  victory. 

He  hoped  to  gain  popularity  by  prosecuting  a  war  against 
Spain,  whose  king  was  energetically  supporting  the  Catholic 
League  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Accordingly,  in  spite  of 
Parliament's  refusal  to  grant  him  the  necessary  funds,  he  em- 
barked  in  war.  With  only  the  money  which  he  could  raise  by 
irregular  means,  Charles  arranged  an  expedition  to  capture 
the  Spanish  treasure  ships  which  arrived  in  Cadiz  once  a  year 
from  America,  laden  with  gold  and  silver;  but  this  expedition 
failed. 

In  his  attempts  to  raise  money  without  a  regular  grant  from  Charles's  ex- 
Parliament,  Charles  resorted  to  vexatious  exactions.  The  law  arbkrary  acts 
prohibited  him  from  asking  for  gifts  from  his  people,  but  it  did 
not  forbid  his  asking  them  to  Ie7id  him  money,  however  little 
prospect  there  might  be  of  his  ever  repaying  it.  Five  gentlemen 
who  refused  to  pay  such  a  forced  loan  were  imprisoned  by  the 
mere  order  of  the  king.  This  raised  the  question  of  whether 
the  king  had  the  right  to  send  to  prison  those  whom  he  disliked, 
without  any  legal  reasons  for  their  arrest. 

This  and  other  attacks  upon  the  rights  of  his  subjects  aroused   The  Petition 
Parliament.    In  1628  that  body  drew  up  the  celebrated /'(f////^;/   ''•'    '^^ 
of  Right,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  documents  in  the 
history  of  the  English  Constitution.    In  it  Parliament  called  the 


36 


Outlines  of  European  History 


king's  attention  to  his  unlawful  exactions,  and  to  the  acts  of 
his  agents  who  had  in  sundry  ways  molested  and  disquieted  the 
people  of  the  realm.     Parliament  therefore  "  humbly  prayed  " 

the  king  that  no  man  need  there- 
after ''  make  or  yield  any  gift, 
loan,  benevolence,  tax,  or  such 
like  charge  "  without  consent  of 
Parliament ;  that  no  free  man 
should  be  imprisoned  or  suffer 
any  punishment  except  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  and  statutes  of 
the  realm  as  presented  in  the 
Great  Charter ;  and  that  soldiers 
should  not  be  quartered  upon 
the  people  on  any  pretext  what- 
ever. Very  reluctantly  Charles 
consented  to  this  restatement  of 
the  limitations  which  the  English 
had  always,  in  theory  at  least, 
placed  upon  the  arbitrary  power 
of  their  king. 

The     disagreement      between 
Charles  and  Parliament  was  ren- 
dered   much    more     serious    by 
religious   differences.     The    king 
had  married   a  French   Catholic 
princess,  and  the  Catholic  cause 
seemed  to  be  gaining  on  the  Con- 
tinent.   The  king  of  Denmark  had 
just  been  defeated  by  Wallenstein 
and  Tilly  (see  Part  I,  p.  647),  and 
Richelieu    had   succeeded  in  de- 
priving the  Huguenots  of  their  cities  of  refuge.    Both  James  I 
and  Charles  I  had  shown  their  readiness  to  enter  into  agree- 
ments with  PYancc  and  .Spain  to  protect  Catholics  in  England, 


Fig.  2.   Charles  I  of 
England 

This  portrait  is  by  one  of  the 

greatest  painters  of  the  time, 

Anthony  Van  Dyck,  1 599-1 64 1 

(see  below,  Fig.  4) 


Struggle  in  England  betzveen  King  and  Parliament    37 

and  there  was  evidently  a  growing  inclination  in  England  to 
revere  to  the  older  ceremonies  of  the  Church,  which  shocked  the 
more  strongly  Protestant  members  of  the  House  of  Commons. 
The  communion  table  was  again  placed  by  many  clergymen  at 
the  eastern  end  of  the  church  and  became  fixed  there  as  an 
altar,  and  portions  of  the  service  were  once  more  chanted. 

These  practices,  with  which  Charles  was  supposed  to  sym-   Charles  dis- 
pathize,   served    to    widen   the  breach   between  him    and   the   ment  (16297 
Commons,  which  had  been  caused  by  the  king's   attempt  to   ^jnet^to^'rule 
raise  taxes  on  his  own  account.    The  Parliament  of  1629,  after  by  himself 
a  stormy  session,  was  dissolved  by  the  king,  who  determined 
to  rule  thereafter  by  himself.    For  eleven  years  no  new  Parlia- 
ment was  summoned. 

Charles  was  not  well  fitted  by  nature  to  run  the  government  Charles's 
of  England  by  himself.  He  had  not  the  necessary  tireless  exactions 
energy.  Moreover,  the  methods  resorted  to  by  his  ministers  to 
raise  money  without  recourse  to  Parliament  rendered  the  king 
more  and  more  unpopular  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  trium- 
phant return  of  Parliament.  For  example,  Charles  applied  to 
his  subjects  for  "  ship  money."  He  was  anxious  to  equip  a 
fleet,  but  instead  of  requiring  the  various  ports  to  furnish  ships, 
as  was  the  ancient  custom,  he  permitted  them  to  buy  them- 
selves off  by  contributing  money  to  the  fitting  out  of  large  ships 
owned  by  himself.  Even  those  living  inland  were  asked  for 
ship  money.  The  king  maintained  that  this  was  not  a  tax  but 
simply  a  payment  by  which  his  subjects  freed  themselves  from 
the  duty  of  defending  their  country. 

John  Hampden,  a  squire  of  Buckinghamshire,  made  a  bold  John 
stand  against  this  illegal  demand  by  refusing  to  pay  twenty      ^ 
shillings  of  ship  money  which  was  levied  upon  him.    The  case 
was  tried  before  the  king's  judges,  and  he  was  convicted,  but 
by  a  bare  majority.    The  trial  made  it  tolerably  clear  that  the 
country  would  not  put  up  long  with  the  king's  despotic  policy. 

In  1633  Charles  made  William  Laud  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury.   Laud  believed  that  the  English  Church  would  strengthen 


38 


Outlmes  of  Etcropean  History 


both  itself  and  the  government  by  following  a  middle  course, 
which  should  lie  between  that  of  the  Church  of  Rome  and  that 
He  declared  that  it  was  the  part  of 
good  citizenship  to  conform  outwardly  to  the  services  of  the 


William 
Laud  made 
Archbishop 

of  Canterbury  ^f  Calvinistic   Geneva. 


Fig.  3.   John  Hampden 


state  church,  but  that  the  State  should  not  undertake  to  oppress 
the  individual  conscience,  and  that  every  one  should  be  at  liberty 
to  make  up  his  own  mind  in  regard  to  the  interpretation  to  be 
given  to  the  Bible  and  to  the  church  fathers.  As  soon  as  he 
became  archbishop  he  began  a  series  of  visitations  through  his 
province.    Every  clergyman  who  refused  to  conform  to  the 


Struggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parliament    39 

prayer  book,  or  opposed  the  placing  of  the  communion  table 
at  the  east  end  of  the  church,  or  declined  to  bow  at  the  name 
of  Jesus,  was,  if  obstinate,  to  be  brought  before  the  king's 
special  Court  of  High  Commission  to  be  tried  and,  if  convicted, 
to  be  deprived  of  his  position. 

Laud's  conduct  was  no  doubt  gratifying  to  the  High  Church  The  different 
party  among  the  Protestants,  that  is,  those  who  still  clung  to  protes4nts- 
some  of  the  ancient  practices  of  the  Roman  Church,  although 
they  rejected  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass  and  refused  to  regard 
the  Pope  as  their  head.  The  Low  Church  party,  or  Purita7iSy 
on  the  contrary,  regarded  Laud  and  his  policy  with  aversion. 
While,  unlike  the  Presbyterians,  they  did  not  urge  the  abolition 
of  the  bishops,  they  disliked  all  "  superstitious  usages,"  as  they 
called  the  wearing  of  the  surplice  by  the  clergy,  the  use  of  the 
sign  of  the  cross  at  baptism,  the  kneeling  posture  in  partaking 
of  the  communion,  and  so  forth.  The  Presbyterians,  who  are 
often  confused  with  the  Puritans,  agreed  with  them  in  many 
respects,  but  went  farther  and  demanded  the  introduction  of 
Calvin's  system  of  church  government. 

Lastly,  there  was  an  ever-increasing  number  of  Separatists,   The  inde- 
or  Independents.    These  rejected  both  the  organization  of  the  ^^"  ^"'^ 
Church  of  England  and  that  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  desired 
that  each  religious  community  should  organize  itself  independ- 
ently.  The  government  had  forbidden  these  Separatists  to  hold 
their  little  meetings,  which  they  called  conventides^  and  about 
1600  some  of  them  fled  to  Holland.    The  community  of  them   The  Pilgrim 
which  established  itself  at  Leyden  dispatched  the  Mayflower^  in 
1620,  with  colonists  —  since  known  as  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  —  to 
the  New  World  across  the  sea.^    It  was  these  colonists  who  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  New  England  which  has  proved  a  worthy 
offspring  of  the  mother  country.  The  form  of  worship  which  they 
established  in  their  new  home  is  still  known  as  Congregational. 

1  The  name  "  Puritan,"  it  should  be  noted,  was  applied  loosely  to  the  Eng- 
lish Protestants,  whether  Low  Churchmen,  Presbyterians,  or  Independents,  who 
aroused  the  antagonism  of  their  neighbors  by  advocating  a  godly  life  and  oppos- 
ing popular  pastimes,  especially  on  Sunday. 


40 


Outlines  of  Europcaji  History 


Section 


How  Cmarlp:s  I  lost  his  Head 


Charles  I's 
quarrel  with 
the  Scotch 
Presbyterians 


The  National 

Covenant, 

1638 


Charles 
summons 
the  Long 
Parliament, 
1640 


The  meas- 
ures of  the 
Long 

Parliament 
against  the 
king's 
tyranny 


In  1640  Charles  found  himself  forced  to  summon  Parlia 
ment,  for  he  was  involved  in  a  war  with  Scodand,  which  he 
could  not  carry  on  without  money.  There  the  Presbyterian 
system  had  been  pretty  generally  introduced  by  John  Knox  in 
Elizabeth's  time  (see  Part  I,  p.  640).  An  attempt  on  the  part 
of  Charles  to  force  the  Scots  to  accept  a  modified  form  of  the 
English  prayer  book  led  to  the  signing  of  the  National  Cove- 
nant in  1638.  This  pledged  those  who  attached  their  names  to 
it  to  reestablish  the  purity  and  liberty  of  the  Gospel,  which,  to 
most  of  the  covenanters,  meant  Presbyterianism. 

Charles  thereupon  undertook  to  coerce  the  Scots.  Having 
no  money,  he  bought  on  credit  a  large  cargo  of  pepper,  which 
had  just  arrived  in  the  ships  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
sold  it  cheap  for  ready  cash.  The  soldiers,  however,  whom  he 
got  together  showed  little  inclination  to  fight  the  Scots,  with 
whom  they  were  in  tolerable  agreement  on  religious  matters. 
Charles  was  therefore  at  last  obliged  to  summon  a  Parliament, 
which,  owing  to  the  length  of  time  it  remained  in  session,  is 
known  as  the  Long  Parliament. 

The  Long  Parliament  began  by  imprisoning  Archbishop  Laud 
in  the  Tower  of  London.  They  declared  him  guilty  of  treason, 
and  he  was  executed  in  1645,  in  spite  of  Charles's  efforts  to 
save  him.  Parliament  also  tried  to  strengthen  its  position  by 
passing  the  Triennial  Bill,  which  provided  that  it  should  meet 
at  least  .once  in  three  years,  even  if  not  summoned  by  the  king. 
In  fact,  Charles's  whole  system  of  government  was  abrogated. 
Parliament  drew  up  a  "  Grand  Remonstrance  "  in  which  all  of 
Charles's  errors  were  enumerated  and  a  demand  was  made  that 
the  king's  ministers  should  thereafter  be  responsible  to  Parlia- 
ment. This  document  Parliament  ordered  to  be  printed  and 
circulated  throughout  the  country. 

Exasperated  at  the  conduct  of  the  Commons,  Charles  at- 
tempted to  intimidate  the  opposition  by  undertaking  to  arrest 


Struggle  in  England  between  Kiiig  and  Parliament 


41 


five  of  its  most  active  leaders,  whom  he  declared  to  be  traitors.    Charles's 
But  when  he   entered   the    House   of    Commons   and 


1      1      1    attempts  to 
looked    arrest  five 


around  for  his  enemies,  he  found  that  they  had  taken  shelter  members  of 

•'  _  _  the  House 

in  London,  whose  citizens  later  brought  them  back  in  triumph  of  Commons 
to  Westminster,  where  Parliament  held  its  meetings  (see  p.  102). 


Fig.  4.    Children  of  Charles  I 

This  very  interesting  picture,  by  the  Flemish  artist  Van  Dyck,  was 
painted  in  1637.  The  boy  with  his  hand  on  the  dog's  head  was  des- 
tined to  become  Charles  II  of  England.  Next  on  the  left  is  the  prince 
who  was  later  James  II.  The  girl  to  the  extreme  left,  the  Princess 
Mary,  married  the  governor  of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  her  son 
became  William  III  of  England  in  1688  (see  below,  p.  52).  The  two 
princesses  on  the  right  died  in  childhood 


Both  Charles  and  Parliament  now  began  to  gather  troops   The  bcgin- 
for  the  inevitable  conflict,  and  England  was  plunged  into  civil  war,  1642  — 
war.     Those    who    supported    Charles  were   called    Cavaliers.   ^%'jf^Z'ad^'^ 
They  included  not  only  most  of  the  aristocracy  and  the  Catholic 
party,  but  also  a  number  of  members  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons who  were  fearful  lest  the  Presbyterians  should  succeed  in 


42 


Outliites  of  European  History 


Battles  of 
Marston 
Moor  and 

Naseby 


The  losing 
cause  of 
the  king 


Pride's 
Purge 


doing  away  with  the  English  Church.  The  parliamentary  party 
was  popularly  known  as  the  Roundheads,  since  some  of  them 
cropped  their  hair  close  because  of  their  dislike  for  the  long 
locks  of  their  more  aristocratic  and  worldly  opponents. 

The  Roundheads  soon  found  a  distinguished  leader  in  Oliver 
Cromwell  (b.  1599),  a  country  gentleman  and  member  of  Parlia- 
ment, who  was  later  to  become  the  most  powerful  ruler  of  his 
time.  Cromwell  organized  a  compact  army  of  God-fearing  men, 
who  were  not  permitted  to  indulge  in  profane  words  or  light 
talk,  as  is  the  wont  of  soldiers,  but  advanced  upon  their  enemies 
singing  psalms.  The  king  enjoyed  the  support  of  northern 
England,  and  also  looked  for  help  from  Ireland,  where  the  royal 
and  Catholic  causes  were  popular. 

The  war  continued  for  several  years,  and  a  number  of  battles 
were  fought  which,  after  the  first  year,  went  in  general  against 
the  Cavaliers.  The  most  important  of  these  were  the  battle  of 
Marston  Moor  in  1644,  and  that  of  Naseby  the  next  year,  in 
which  Charles  was  disastrously  defeated.  The  enemy  came  into 
possession  of  his  correspondence,  which  showed  them  how  their 
king  had  been  endeavoring  to  bring  armies  from  France  and 
Ireland  into  England.  This  encouraged  Parliament  to  prose- 
cute the  war  with  more  energy  than  ever.  The  king,  defeated 
on  every  hand,  put  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  Scotch  army 
which  had  come  to  the  aid  of  Parliament  (1646),  and  the  Scotch 
soon  turned  him  over  to  Parliament.  During  the  next  two  years 
Charles  was  held  in  captivity. 

There  were,  however,  many  in  the  House  of  Commons  who 
still  sided  with  the  king,  and  in  December,  1648,  that  body  de- 
clared for  a  reconciliation  with  the  monarch,  whom  they  had 
safely  imprisoned  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The  next  day  Colonel 
Pride,  representing  the  army,  —  which  constituted  a  party  in 
itself  and  was  opposed  to  all  negotiations  between  the  king  and 
the  Commons,  —  stood  at  the  door  of  the  House  with  a  body  of 
soldiers  and  excluded  all  the  members  who  took  the  side  of  the 
king.  This  outrageous  act  is  known  in  history  as ''  Pride's  Purge." 


Struggle  in  Englafid  between  Kifig  and  Parliament    43 

In  this  way  the  House  of  Commons  was  brought  completely  Execution  of 
under  the  control  of  those  most  bitterly  hostile  to  the  king,  whom  ^^  ^^'  ^  "^^ 
they  immediately  proposed  to  bring  to  trial.  They  declared  that 
the  House  of  Commons,  since  it  was  chosen  by  the  people, 
was  supreme  in  England  and  the  source  of  all  just  power,  and 
that  consequently  neither  king  nor  House  of  Lords  was  neces- 
sary. The  mutilated  House  of  Commons  appointed  a  special 
High  Court  of  Justice  made  up  of  Charles's  sternest  oppo- 
nents, who  alone  would  consent  to  sit  in  judgment  on  him. 
They  passed  sentence  upon  him,  and  on  January  30,  1649, 
Charles  was  beheaded  in  front  of  his  palace  of  Whitehall, 
London.  It  must  be  clear  from  the  above  account  that  it  was 
not  the  nation  at  large  which  demanded  Charles's  death,  but  a 
very  small  group  of  extremists  who  claimed  to  be  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  nation.  . 

Section  4.    Oliver  Cromwell  :  England 
A  Commonwealth 

The  ''  Rump  Parliament,"  as  the  remnant  of  the  House  of   England 
Commons  was  contemptuously  called,  proclaimed  England  to   common- 
be  thereafter  a  ''  commonwealth,"  that  is,  a  republic,  without  a  J^^^^fJllJ^"^ 
king  or  House  of  Lords.    But  Cromwell,  the  head  of  the  army,   Cromwell  at 
was  nevertheless  the  real  ruler  of  England.    He  derived  his  main   the  govern- 
support  from  the  Independents ;  and  it  is  very  surprising  that 
he  was  able  to  maintain  himself  so  long,  considering  what  a 
small  portion  of  the  English  people  was  in  sympathy  with  the 
religious  ideas  of  that  sect  and  with  the  abolition  of  kingship. 
Even  the  Presbyterians  were  on  the  side  of  Charles  I's  son, 
Charles  II,  the  legal  heir  to  the  throne.    Cromwell  was  a  vig- 
orous and  skillful  administrator  and  had  a  well-organized  army 
of  fifty  thousand  men  at  his  command,  otherwise  the  republic 
could  scarcely  have  lasted  more  than  a  few  months. 

Cromwell  found  himself  confronted  by  every  variety  of  diffi- 
culty.   The  three  kingdoms  had  fallen  apart.    The  nobles  and 


ment 


Ireland  and 

Scotland 

subdued 


44 


Outlmes  of  European  History 


Catholics  in  Ireland  proclaimed  Charles  II  as  king,  and  Ormond, 
a  Protestant  leader,  formed  an  army  of  Irish  Catholics  and  Eng- 
lish royalist  Protestants  with  a  view  of  overthrowing  the  Com- 
monwealth. Cromwell  accordingly  set  out  for  Ireland,  where, 
after  taking  Drogheda,  he  mercilessly  slaughtered  two  thousand 


Fig.  5.    Oliver  Cromwell 
This  portrait  is  by  Peter  Lely  and  was  painted  in  1653 

of  the  "  barbarous  wretches,"  as  he  called  them.  Town  after 
town  surrendered  to  Cromwell's  army,  and  in  1652,  after  much 
cruelty,  the  island  was  once  more  conquered.  A  large  part  of  it 
was  confiscated  for  the  benefit  of  the  English,  and  the  Catholic 
landowners  were  driven  into  the  mountains.  In  the  meantime 
(1650)  Charles  II,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  France,  had  landed 
in  Scotland,  and  upon  his  agreeing  to  be  a  Presbyterian  king,  the 
whole  Scotch  nation  was  ready  to  support  him.    But  Scotland  was 


Struggle  in  England  betweeji  King  and  Parliament    45 

subdued  by  Cromwell  even  more  promptly  than  Ireland  had  been. 
So  completely  was  the  Scottish  army  destroyed  that  Cromwell 
found  no  need  to  draw  the  sword  again  in  the  British  Isles. 


Fig.  6.    Great  Seal  of  England  under  the  Coalmon- 

WEALTH,    I  65  I 

This  seal  is  reduced  considerably  in  the  reproduction.  It  gives  us  an 
idea  of  the  appearance  of  a  session  of  the  House  of  Commons  when 
England  was  for  a  short  period  a  republic.  Members  to-day  still  com- 
monly sit  with  their  hats  on,  except  when  making  a  speech  or  when 
wishing  to  indicate  respect  for  the  speaker  by  uncovering 

Althoug-h  it  would  seem  that  Cromwell  had  enough  to  keep   The  Naviga- 

°  ,  ....  tion  Act,  1651 

him  busy  at  home,  he   had  already  engaged   m   a  victorious 
foreign  war  against   the  Dutch,  who   had  become  dangerous 


46 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Commercial 
war  between 
Holland  and 
England 


Cromwell 
dissolves  the 
Long  Parlia- 
ment (1653) 
and  is  made 
Lord  Pro- 
tector by 
his  own 
Parliament 


commercial  rivals  of  England.  The  ships  which  went  out  from 
Amsterdam  and  Rotterdam  were  the  best  merchant  vessels  in 
the  world  and  had  got  control  of  the  carrying  trade  between 
Europe  and  the  colonies.  In  order  to  put  an  end  to  this,  the 
English  Parliament  passed  the  Navigation  Act  (1651),  which 
permitted  only  English  vessels  to  bring  goods  to  England, 
unless  the  goods  came  in  vessels  belonging  to  the  country 
which  had  produced  them.  This  led  to  a  commercial  war  be- 
tween Holland  and  England,  and  a  series  of  battles  was  fought 
between  the  English  and  Dutch  fleets,  in  which  sometimes  one 
and  sometimes  the  other  gained  the  upper  hand.  This  war  is 
notable  as  the  first  example  of  the  commercial  struggles  which 
were  thereafter  to  take  the  place  of  the  religious  conflicts  of 
the  preceding  period. 

Cromwell  failed  to  get  along  with  Parliament  any  better 
than  Charles  I  had  done.  The  Rump  Parliament  had  become 
very  unpopular,  for  its  members,  in  spite  of  their  boasted  piety, 
accepted  bribes  and  were  zealous  .in  the  promotion  of  their 
relatives  in  the  public  service.  At  last  Cromwell  upbraided 
them  angrily  for  their  injustice  and  self-interest,  which  were 
injuring  the  public  cause.  On  being  interrupted  by  a  member, 
he  cried  out,  "  Come,  come,  we  have  had  enough  of  this  !  I  '11 
put  an  end  to  this.  It's  not  fit  that  you  should  sit  here  any 
longer,"  and  calling  in  his  soldiers  he  turned  the  members  out 
of  the  House  and  sent  them  home.  Having  thus  made  an  end 
of  the  Long  Parliament  (April,  1653),  he  summoned  a  Parlia- 
ment of  his  o.wn,  made  up  of  "  God-fearing  "  men  whom  he 
and  the  officers  of  his  army  chose.  This  extraordinary  body  is 
known  as  Barebone's  Parliament,  from  a  distinguished  member, 
a  London  merchant,  with  the  characteristically  Puritan  name  of 
Praisegod  Barebone.  Many  of  these  godly  men  were  unpractical 
and  hard  to  deal  with.  A  minority  of  the  more  sensible  ones  got 
up  early  one  winter  morning  (December,  1653)  and,  before  their 
opponents  had  a  chance  to  protest,  declared  Parliament  dissolved 
and  placed  the  supreme  authority  in  the  hands  of  Cromwell. 


Struggle  ill  England  betiveen  King  and  Parliame7it    47 


as   Lord   Protector,   The  Pro- 
-  practically  king  of  *"''°''''  ^''" 


For  nearly  five  years  Cromwell  was 
—  a  title  equivalent  to  that  of  Regent, 
England,  although  he  refused  actually  to  be  crowned.  He 
did  not  succeed  in  permanently  organizing  the  government  at 
home,  but  showed  re- 
markable ability  in  his 
foreign  negotiations.  He 
formed  an  alliance  with 
France,  and  English 
troops  aided  the  French 
in  winning  a  great  vic- 
tory over  Spain.  Eng- 
land gained  thereby 
Dunkirk,  and  the  West 
Indian  island  of  Jamaica. 
The  French  king,  Louis 
XIV,  at  first  hesitated 
to  address  Cromwell,  in 
the  usual  courteous  way 
of  monarchs,  as  ''  my 
cousin,"  but  soon  ad- 
mitted that  he  would 
have  even  to  call  Crom- 
well ''  father  "  should  he 
wish  it,  as  the  Protec- 
tor was  undoubtedly  the 
most  powerful  person 
in  Europe.  Indeed,  he 
found  himself  forced  to 
play  the  part  of  a  monarch,  and  it  seemed  to  many  persons 
that  he  was  quite  as  despotic  as  James  I  and  Charles  I. 

In  May,  1658^  Cromwell  fell  ill,  and  as  a  great  storm  passed 
over  England  at  that  time,  the  Cavaliers  asserted  that  the  devil 
had  come  to  fetch  home  the  soul  of  the  usurper.  Cromwell 
was  dying,  it  is  true,  but  he  was  no  instrument  of  the  devil 


eign  policy 


Fig.  7. 


A  Ship  of  the  Hanseatic 
League 


There  had  been  a  great  increase  in  the 
size  of  merchant  ships  and  war  vessels 
since  the  days  of  the  Hanseatic  League 
(see  Part  I,  p.  508).  This  illustration  is 
taken  from  a  picture  at  Cologne,  painted 
in  1409.  It,  as  well  as  other  pictures  of 
the  time,  makes  it  clear  that  the  Han- 
seatic ships  were  tiny  compared  with 
those  used  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
later,  when  Cromwell  fought  the  Dutch 
(see  Fig.  8)' 


48 


Outlines  of  European  History 


He  closed  a  life  of  honest  effort  for  his  fellow  beings  with  a 
last  touching  prayer  to  God,  whom  he  had  consistently  sought 
to  serve  :  "  Thou  hast  made  me,  though  very  unworthy,  a  mean 
instrument  to  do  Thy  people  some  good  and  Thee  service : 
and  many  of  them  have  set  too  high  a  value  upon  me,  though 


Fig.  8.  •  Dutch  War  Vessel  in  Cromwell's  Time 

This  should  be  compared  with  Fig.  7  to  realize  the  change  that  had 
taken  place  in  navigation  since  the  palmy  days  of  the  Hanseatic  League 

Others  wish  and  would  be  glad  of  my  death.  Pardon  such  as 
desire  to  trample  upon  the  dust  of  a  poor  worm,  for  they 
are  Thy  people  too  ;  and  pardon  the  folly  of  this  short  prayer, 
even  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake,  and  give  us  a  good  night,  if  it 
be  Thy  pleasure.    Amen." 


Struggle  in  Englmid  between  King  and  Parliament    49 

Section  5.    The  Restoration 

After  Cromwell's  death  his  son  Richard,  who  succeeded  him,   The  Resto- 
found  himself  unable  to  carry  on  the  government.     He  soon 
abdicated,  and  the  remnants  of  the  Long  Parliament  met  once 
more.    But  the  power  was  really  in  the  hands  of  the  soldiers. 
In  1660  George  Monk,  who  was  in  command  of  the  forces  in 
Scodand,  came  to  London  with  a  view  of  putting  an  end  to  the 
anarchy.    He  soon  concluded  that  no  one  cared  to  support  the 
Rump,  and  that  body  peacefully  disbanded  of  its  own  accord. 
Resistance  would  have  been  vain  in  any  case  with  the  army 
against  it.    The  nation  was  glad  to  acknowledge  Charles  H,   Charles  11 
whom  every  one  preferred  to  a  government  by  soldiers.    A  new  back  as  king 
Parliament,  composed  of  both  houses,  was  assembled,  which   ^^^° 
welcomed  a  messenger  from  the  king  and  solemnly  resolved 
that,  ''  according  to  the  ancient  and  fundamental  laws  of  this 
kingdom,  the  government  is,  and  ought  to  be,  by  king,  lords, 
and  commons."    Thus  the  Puritan  revolution  and  the   short- 
lived republic  was  followed  by  the  Restoration  of  the  Stuarts. 

Charles  II  was  quite  as  fond  as  his  father  of  having  his  own  Character  of 
way,  but  he  was  a  man  of  more  ability.  He  disliked  to  be  ruled 
by  Parliament,  but,  unlike  his  father,  he  was  too  wise  to  arouse 
the  nation  against  him.  He  did  not  propose  to  let  anything 
happen  which  would  send  him  on  his  travels  again.  He  and  his 
courtiers  were  fond  of  pleasure  of  a  light-minded  kind.  The 
immoral  dramas  of  the  Restoration  seem  to  indicate  that  those 
who  had  been  forced  by  the  Puritans  to  give  up  their  legitimate 
pleasures  now  welcomed  the  opportunity  to  indulge  in  reck- 
less gayety  without  regard  to  the  bounds  imposed  by  custom 
and  decency. 

Charles's  first    Parliament  was   a  moderate   body,   but  his   Religious 
second  was  made  up  almost  wholly  of  Cavaliers,  and  it  got  adopted  by 
along,  on  the  whole,  so  well  with  the  king  that  he  did  not  dis- 
solve it  for  eighteen  years.    It  did  not  take  up  the  old  question, 
which  was  still  unsettled,  as  to  whether  Parliament  or  the  king 


measures 
adopted  b 
Parliament 


so 


Outlines  of  Eicropea7i  History 


The  Act  of 
Uniformity 


The  Dis- 
senters 


Toleration 
favored  by 
the  king 


The  Conven- 
ticle Act 


was  really  supreme.  It  showed  its  hostility,  however,  to  the 
Puritans  by  a  series  of  intolerant  acts,  which  are  very  important 
in  English  history.  It  ordered  that  no  one  should  hold  a  town 
office  who  had  not  received  the  communion  according  to  the 
rites  of  the  Church  of  England.  This  was  aimed  at  both  the 
Presbyterians  and  the  Independents.  By  the  Act  of  Uniformity 
(1662)  every  clergyman  who  refused  to  accept  everything  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  was  to  be  excluded 
from  holding  his  benefice.  Two  thousand  clergymen  thereupon 
resigned  their  positions  for  conscience'  sake. 

These  laws  tended  to  throw  all  those  Protestants  who  refused 
to  conform  to  the  Church  of  England  into  a  single  class,  still 
known  to-day  as  Dissenters.  It  included  the  Independents,  the 
Presbyterians,  and  the  newer  bodies  of  the  Baptists  and  the 
Society  of  Friends,  commonly  known  as  Quakers.  These  sects 
abandoned  any  idea  of  controlling  the  religion  or  politics  of  the 
country,  and  asked  only  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  worship 
in  their  own  way  outside  of  the  English  Church. 

Toleration  found  an  unexpected  ally  in  the  king,  who,  in 
spite  of  his  dissolute  habits,  had  interest  enough  in  religion  to 
have  secret  leanings  toward  Catholicism.  He  asked  Parliament 
to  permit  him  to  moderate  the  rigor  of  the  Act  of  Uniformity 
by  making  some  exceptions.  He  even  issued  a  declaration  in 
the  interest  of  toleration,  with  a  view  of  bettering  the  position 
of  the  Catholics  and  Dissenters.  Suspicion  was,  however, 
aroused  lest  this  toleration  might  lead  to  the  restoration  of 
Catholic  beliefs  and  ceremonies,  so  Parliament  passed  the  harsh 
Conventicle  Act  (1664). 

Any  adult  attending  a  conventicle  —  that  is  to  say,  any  reli- 
gious meeting  not  held  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  the 
English  Church  —  was  liable  to  penalties  which  might  culminate 
in  transportation  to  some  distant  colony.  Samuel  Pepys,  who 
saw  some  of  the  victims  of  this  law  upon  their  way  to  a  terrible 
exile,  notes  in  his  famous  diary :  "  They  go  like  lambs  without 
any  resistance.    I  would  to  God  that  they  would  conform,  or  be 


Plate  II.   A  Fight  in  the  British  Chax.nei.  between   the 
English  and  the  Dutch 

(See  pp.  46  and  51) 


Struggle  in  England  between  Kmg  and  Parliame?zt    5 1 

more  wise  and  not  be  catched."  A  few  years  later  Charles  II 
issued  a  declaration  giving  complete  religious  liberty  to  Roman 
Catholics  as  well  as  to  Dissenters.  Parliament  not  only  forced 
him  to  withdraw  this  enlightened  measure  but  passed  the  1  est  The  Test 
Act,  which  excluded  every  one  from  public  office  who  did  not 
accept  the  views  of  the  English  Church.^ 

The  most  important  act  of  Parliament  of  this  reign  was  that   importance 
of  Habeas  Corpus,  of  1679,  which  provided  that  any  one  who    corpus  Act, 
was  arrested  should  be  informed  of  the  reason  and  should  be   ^^"^^ 
speedily  tried  by  a  regular  tribunal  and  dealt  with  according  to 
the  law  of  the  land.    This  principle  is  still  one  of  the  chief  safe- 
guards of  our  personal  liberty.    In  France,  for  instance,  down 
until  the  Revolution  of  1789  the  king  could  arrest  his  subjects 
and  imprison  them  without  assigning  any  reason  (see  below, 
p.  183).    To-day  the  principles  of  the  Habeas  Corpus  Act  are 
recognized  in  all  free  countries. 

The  old  war  with  Holland,  begun  by  Cromwell,  was  renewed  War  with 
under  Charles  II,  who  was  earnestly  desirous  to  increase  Eng- 
lish commerce  and  to  found  new  colonies.  The  two  nations 
were  very  evenly  matched  on  the  sea,  but  in  1664  the  English 
seized  some  of  the  West  Indian  Islands  from  the  Dutch  and 
also  their  colony  on  Manhattan  Island,  which  was  re-named 
New  York  in  honor  of  the  king's  brother,  the  Duke  of  York. 
In  1667  a  treaty  was  signed  by  England  and  Holland  which 
confirmed  these  conquests. 


Section  6.    The  Revolution  of  1688 

Upon  Charles  IPs  death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,   James  II, 
James  II,  who  was  an  avowed  Catholic  and  had  married,  as  his        ^~ 
second  wife,  Mary  of  Modena,  who  was  also  a  Catholic.    He 

1  A  bill  of  toleration  was  finally  passed  by  Parliament  in  1689,  which  freed 
Dissenters  from  all  penalties  for  failing  to  attend  services  in  Anglican  churches 
and  allowed  them  to  have  their  own  meetings.  Even  Catholics,  while  not  in- 
cluded in  the  act  of  toleration,  were  permitted  to  hold  services  undisturbed  by 
the  government  (see  p.  137,  below). 


52 


Outlines  of  European  History 


was  ready  to  reestablish  Catholicism  in  England  regardless  of 
what  it  might  cost  him.  Mary,  James's  daughter  by  his  first 
wife,  had  married  her  cousin,  William  III,  Prince  of  Orange, 
the  head  of  the  United, Netherlands.^  The  nation  might  have 
tolerated  James  so  long  as  they  could  look  forward  to  the  ac- 
cession of  his  Protestant  daughter.  But  when  a  son  was  born 
to  his  Catholic  second  wife,  and  James  showed  unmistakably  his 
purpose  of  favoring  the  Catholics,  messengers  were  dispatched 
by  a  group  of  Protestants  to  William  of  Orange,  asking  him  to 
come  and  rule  over  them. 

William  landed'in  November,  1688,  and  marched  upon  Lon- 
don, where  he  received  general  support  from  all  the  English 
Protestants,  regardless  of  party.  James  II  started  to  oppose 
William,  but  his  army  refused  to  fight  and  his  courtiers  deserted 
him.  William  was  glad  to  forward  James's  flight  to  France,  as 
he  would  hardly  have  known  what  to  do  with  him  had  James 
insisted  on  remaining  in  the  country.  A  convention,  made  up  of 
members  of  Parliament  and  some  prominent  citizens,  declared 

1  English  monarchs  from  James  I  to  George  III  : 
James  I  (1603-1625) 


I 

Charles  I 

(1625-1649) 


] 

Elizabeth,  m.  Frederick  V, 
Elector  of  the 

Palatinate 
(Winter  King 
of  Bohemia) 


Charles  II    (i)  Anne  Hyde,  m.  James  II,  m,  (2)  Mary  of     Sophia,  m.  Ernest 


(1660-1685) 


(1685-1689) 


William  III,  m.  Mary  Anne 

(1689-1702)    (1689-1694)    (1702-1714) 


Modena 


James  (the 
Old  Pretender) 


Charles  Edward 
(the  Young  Pre- 
tender) 


Augustus, 
Elector  of 
Hanover 


George  I 
(1714-1727) 

George  II 
(1727-1760) 

I 

Frederick, 

Prince  of  Wales 

(d. 1751) 

I 

George  III 

(1760-1820) 


Struggle  in  Engldnd  between  King  and  Parliament    5  3 

the  throne  vacant,  on  the  ground  that  King  James  II,  ''by  the 
advice  of  the  Jesuits  and  other  wicked  persons,  having  violated 
the  fundamental  laws  and  withdrawn  himself  out  of  the  kingdom, 
had  abdicated  the  government." 

This  parliamentary  convention  then  drew  up  a  Declaration  of  The  Bill  of 
Rights,  which  the  next  Parliament  formally  passed  and  made      ^^  *^ 
the  law  of  the  land.    It  is  known  as  the  Bill  of  Rights  and  is 
one  of  the  most  important  documents  in  the  whole  history  of 


Fig.  9.   William  III 

England.  It  forbade  the  king  to  suspend  or  violate  the  laws  of 
the  realm,  to  lay  taxes  or  keep  a  standing  army  without  the 
consent  of  Parliament,  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  freedom 
of  speech  in  Parliament,  to  deny  trial  by  jury  to  any  one,  to 
impose  excessive  fines  or  inflict  cruel  or  unusual  punishments,  or 
to  prevent  his  subjects  from  respectfully  petitioning  the  throne. 
Then  it  went  on  to  declare  William  and  Mary,  who  accepted 
these  conditions,  king  and  queen  of  England.  Should  they  have 
no  children  Mary's  sister  Anne  was  to  succeed  them. 


54 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Thus  "  the  Glorious  Revolution"  of  1688  was  completed  by 
an  act  in  which  it  was  freely  admitted  by  the  English  king  that 
his  powers  were  strictly  limited  by  Parliament  and  by  certain 
ancient  principles  of  government  which  protected  the  rights 
and  liberty  of  Englishmen.  Although  the  monarchs  of  England 
might  still  claim  to  be  kings  "  by  the  grace  of  God,"  it  was 
now  perfectly  clear  that  Parliament  could  replace  one  king  by 
another  if  the  nation  so  wished.  Parliament,  not  the  king,  was 
unmistakably  the  supreme  power  in  the  land. 

This  was  illustrated  a  few  years  later  when  Parliament  passed 
the  Act  of  Settlement,  according  to  the  terms  of  which  after 
Anne's  death  her  cousin,  Sophia  of  Hanover,  or  Sophia's  heirs 
should  succeed  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  This  was  to 
prevent  any  possibility  of  the  return  of  James  II  or  his  sons.-^ 
Sophia's  son  ascended  the  English  throne  on  Queen  Anne's 
death,  in  17 14,  as  George  I,  and  the  Hanoverian  line,  which 
still  reigns  over  Great  Britain  and  her  vast  colonies,  owe  their 
kingdom  to  an  act  of  Parliament. 

The  Act  of  Settlement  was  more  than  the  mere  adjustment 
of  the  question  who  should  be  England's  sovereign.  Like  the 
Bill  of  Rights  it  contained  a  number  of  clauses  further  limiting 
the  powers  of  the  monarch  and  safeguarding  ''  the  liberties  of 
Englishmen."  The  most  important  of  these  restrictions  was, 
that  judges  should  hold  office  for  life,  or  during  good  behavior, 
and  might  only  be  removed  by  Parliament.^  Thus  the  kings  of 
England  were  forbidden  to  interfere,  even  indirectly,  wnth  the 
administration  of  justice. 

1  James  IPs  son,  "the  Old  Pretender,"  attempted  to  gain  the  English  throne 
by  means  of  an  uprising  in  1715.  This  was  unsuccessful.  His  son,  Prince  Charles, 
known  to  his  Scottish  admirers  as  "  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie,"  ventured  to  invade 
England  by  way  of  Scotland  in  1745.  He  was  completely  defeated  at  CuUoden 
Moor. 

2  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  differences  between  the  English  and 
American  constitutions.  In  the  United  States  judges  are  usually  elected  for  a 
term  of  years,  not  appointed  for  life.  Those  of  the  Supreme  Court  form  an  ex- 
ception. There  is  a  feeling  among  certain  reformers  in  the  United  States  that 
the  English  principle  should  be  introduced,  and  that  it  would  increase  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  judges. 


Struggle  in  England  between  King  and  Parliament    5  5 

Section  7.    Nature  of  the  English  Constitution 

It  was  through  the  passing  by  Parliament  of  acts  such  as  those   The  English 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  section  that  the  English  constitution   an"unwritten 
was  gradually  given  the  shape  which  it   still  retains.    Unlike   °"^ 
modern  written  constitutions,  such  as  most  civilized  countries 
have  to-day,  the  English  constitution  is  unwritten.    Its  provi- 
sions have  never  been  brought  together  in  any  one  solemn  docu- 
ment, such  as  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.    It  is  made 
up  of  the  various  principles  of  government  stated  in  the  Bill  of 
Rights,  the  Act  of  Settlement,  and  other  important  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment, together  with  the  various  practices  and  customs  that  have 
grown  up.    Some  of  these  practices  reach  back  to  the  Middle 
Ages,  for  the  English  people  do  not  change  them  so  long  as 
they  can  be  made  to  work.    This  is  due  to  a  great  respect  for   Love  of 
precedent  —  that  is  to  say,  for  what  has  been  done  in  the   P''^'^^*^^"'^ 
past ;  and  it  serves  to  give  a  certain  quaintness  to  the  English 
government,  as  seen,  for  instance,  in  the  gray  wigs  still  worn 
by  the  judges.    But  when  the  methods  of  the  past  finally  become 
too  clumsy,  or  stand  in  the  way  of  important  reform,  they  will 
be  given  up  and  a  new  precedent  will  be  established  for  the 
guidance  of  future  generations. 

Some  important  changes  in  the  English  constitution  have  The  Mutiny 
come  about  almost  incidentally.   For  instance,  early  in  the  reign   ^e^  annual 
of  William  and  Mary  there  was  a  mutiny  in  the  army.    Parlia-  ^™y  ^'^^ 
ment  did  not  wish  to  give  the  new  king  unlimited  control  over 
the  troops  in  putting  down  the  mutiny  lest  he  might  perhaps 
put  himself  at  the  head  of  a  standing  army  and  renew  a  danger 
that  had  shown  itself  under  the  Stuarts.     So  Parliament  gave 
the  king  control  over  the  army  for  the  following  six  months 
only.    Later,  Parliament  got  in  the  habit  of  extending  the  king's 
control  over  the  army  for  a  year  at  a  time ;  each  year  it  must 
still  be  renewed,  by  passing  a  new  law  called  the  Army  Bill. 

The  source  of  Parliament's  power  lay,  as  we  have  seen,  in  its  The  civil  list 
right  to  hold  the  purse  string.    The  principle  of  '*  no  taxation  ^"     "  ^^' 


56  Outlines  of  European  History 

without  consent  of  Parliament"  was  reasserted  in  the  Bill  of 
Rights.  In  carrying  out  this  principle,  Parliament  divided  the 
.  expenses  of  the  State  into  two  parts.  The  regular  expenses  of 
running  the  government  (with  the  exception  of  the  army  and 
navy)  and  of  maintaining  the  royal  household  were  drawn  up 
in  a  so-called  ''  civil  list."  The  amounts  to  be  paid  were  fixed 
and  Parliament  did  not  reconsider  them  every  year,  unless  there 
was  some  special  cause  for  altering  them.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  extraordinary  expenses  had  to  be  met  annually  by  appro- 
priations granted  for  the  purpose  by  Parliament.  These  ex- 
penses were  based  upon  a  careful  estimate  called  the  budget. 
This  businesslike  way  of  voting  money,  foreshadowed  under 
the  Stuarts,  was  perfected  under  William  III.  A  very  important 
result  of  this  method  of  extending  the  king's  command  over  the 
army  for  no  more  than  a  year  and  of  making  appropriations 
Annual  annually  was  that  the  king  was  of  course  forced  to  summon 

Padiarnent       Parliament  each  year  to  pass  the  necessary  measures  to  keep 

the  government  going.^ 
Slight  powers        In  ways  such  as  this  Parliament  had  become  England's  real 
left  the  king     j.y|gj._    Having  gained  power  over  the  imposing  of  taxes  and  the 
spending  of  the  money  so  raised,  and  having  never  let  the  army 
escape  its  control,  it  left  the  king  little  more  than  the  ornaments 
of  royalty  and  the  right  to  advise,  warn,  and  expostulate.    Even 
the  monarch's  former  right  of  vetoing  bills  passed  by  Parlia- 
ment fell  into  disuse  and  was  exercised  for  the  last  time  by 
The  cabinet     Queen  Anne  in  1707.     Moreover,  William  III  found  out  that 
since  Parliament  was  the  real  ruler,  he  had  to  choose  for  his 
ministers  men  in  whom  the  majority  of  the  members  of  Par- 
liament had  confidence,  otherwise  they  might  refuse  the  neces- 
sary appropriations.   The  king  was  forced  to  select  a  ministry 
from  the  party  which  happened  to  be  in  power  at  the  time.    The 

1  As  for  the  frequency  with  which  there  must  be  a  new  general  election  of  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  it  was  provided  by  the  Triennial  Act  of 
1694  that  the  country  should  be  permitted  to  reelect  the  members  every  three 
years  at  least.  This  term  was  changed  by  the  Septennial  Act  in  1716  and  made 
seven  years.    Not  until  1911  Was  this  reduced  by  act  of  Parliament  to  five  years. 


Struggle  ill  Eiigla7id  betzvceii  King  and  Parliament    57 

old  Cavalier  party,  now  known  as  the  Tories,  had  been  much  Tories  and 
weakened  by  its  sympathy  with  the  unpopular  cause  of  the  '^^ 
Stuarts.  Accordingly  William  selected  his  ministers  from  among 
the  Whig  party,  as  the  old  Roundheads  were  now  called.  The 
ministry,  a  group  of  a  half  dozen  or  so  advisers,  came  to  be 
called  the  cabinet.  This  cabinet  was  destined  finally  to  become 
the  directing  force  in  the  English  government.  How  this  came 
about  and  just  what  "cabinet  government "  means  we  shall  see 
later  (see  below,  p.  503). 

QUESTIONS 

Section  i.  W'hat  was  the  great  issue  during  the  period  of  the 
Stuarts?  What  were  the  views  of  kingship  held  by  James  I  'i  Men- 
tion some  of  the  books  of  his  time. 

Section  2.  W^hat  policy  did  Charles  I  adopt  in  regard  to  Par- 
liament .'^  What  was  the  Petition  of  Right?  W^hat  were  the  chief 
religious  parties  in  England  in  the  time  of  Charles  I  ?  Who  was 
John  Hampden  ?  Mention  some  of  the  religious  sects  dating  from 
that  time  which  still  exist  in  the  United  States. 

Section  3.  What  measures  did  the  Long  Parliament  take  against 
the  king?  Describe  the  civil  war.  What  led  to  the  execution  of 
Charles  I  ? 

Section  4.  What  were  the  chief  events  during  Cromwell's  ad- 
ministration?   What  are  your  impressions  of  Cromwell? 

Section  5.  What  led  to  the  restoration  of  the  Stuarts?  What 
was  the  attitude  of  Charles  II  toward  the  religious  difficulties?  W^ho 
were  the  Dissenters?  W^hat  is  Habeas  Coi-pus ?  Why  was  it 
important? 

Section  6.  W^hy  w^as  James  II  unpopular?  Give  an  account  of 
the  revolution  which  put  W^illiam  and  Mary  on  the  English  throne. 
Give  the  provisions  of  the  Bill  of  Rights.  What  is  the  claim  of  the 
Hanoverian  line  to  the  throne  of  England? 

Section  7.  What  change  did  the  Act  of  Settlement  make  in  the 
administration  of  English  judges?  Compare  the  advantages  of  an 
appointed  with  those  of  an  elective  judiciary.  How  does  Parliament 
exercise  its  control  of  the  purse?  What  are  the  civil  list  and  the 
budget?  How  did  the  cabinet  arise?  Describe  its  connection  with 
party  government. 


CHAPTER  II 
FRANCE  UNDER  LOUIS  XIV 

Section  8.    Position  and  Character  of  Louis  XIV 


France  in  the 
first  half  of 
the  seven- 
teenth 
century 


Louis  XIV, 
1643-1715 


What  Riche- 
lieu and 
Mazarin  had 
done  for  the 
French  mon- 
archy 


The  govern- 
ment of 
Louis  XIV 


After  the  wars  of  religion  were  over,  the  royal  authority  in 
France  had  been  reestablished  by  the  wise  conduct  of  Henry  IV. 
Henry  IV's  son,  Louis  XIII,  allowed  his  great  minister,  Riche- 
lieu, to  rule,  and  Richelieu  solidified  the  monarchy  by  depriving 
the  Huguenots  of  the  exceptional  privileges  granted  to  them 
for  their  protection  by  Henry  IV ;  he  also  destroyed  the  forti- 
fied castles  of  the  nobles,  whose  power  had  greatly  increased 
during  the  turmoil  of  the  Huguenot  wars.  Louis  XIII  died  in 
1643,  leaving  the  throne  to  a  mere  child,  Louis  XIV.  Richelieu, 
however,  had  been  succeeded  by  a  clever  minister,  Cardinal 
Mazarin,  who  was  able  to  put  down  a  last  rising  of  the  dis- 
contented nobility. 

When  Mazarin  died,  in  166 1,  he  left  the  young  monarch  with 
a  kingdom  such  as  no  previous  French  king  had  enjoyed.  The 
nobles,  who  for  centuries  had  disputed  the  power  with  the  king, 
were  no  longer  feudal  lords  but  only  courtiers.  The  Huguenots, 
whose  claim  to  a  place  in  the  State  beside  the  Catholics  had 
led  to  the  terrible  civil  wars  of  the  sixteenth  century,  were  re- 
duced in  numbers  and  no  longer  held  fortified  towns  from  which 
they  could  defy  the  king's  officers.  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  had 
successfully  taken  a  hand  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  and  France 
had  come  out  of  it  with  enlarged  territory  and  increased  impor- 
tance in  European  affairs. 

Louis  XIV  carried  the  work  of  these  great  ministers  still 
farther.  He  gave  that  form  to.  the  French  monarchy  which  it 
retained  until  the  French  Revolution.    He  made  himself  the  very 

58 


France  under  Lonis  XIV  59 

mirror  of  kingship.  His  marvelous  court  at  Versailles  became 
the  model  and  the  despair  of  other  less  opulent  and  powerful 
princes,  who  accepted  his  theory  of  the  absolute  powxr  of  kings 
but  could  not  afford  to  imitate  his  luxury.  By  his  incessant  wars 
he  kept  Europe  in  turmoil  for  over  half  a  century.  The  dis- 
tinguished generals  who  led  his  newly  organized  troops,  and  the 


Fig.  10.    Louis  XIV 

wily  diplomats  who  arranged  his  alliances  and  negotiated  his 
treaties,  made  France  feared  and  respected  by  even  the  most 
powerful  of  the  other  European  states. 

Louis  XIV  had  the  same  idea  of  kingship  that  James  I  had  The  theory 
tried  in  vain  to  induce  the  English  people  to  accept.    God  had   <r  divine  right 
given  kings  to  men,  and  it  was  His  will  that  monarchs  should   pj.^^"|^ "  ^^ 
be  regarded  as  His  lieutenants  and  that  all  those  subject  to 
them  should  obey  them  absolutely,  without  asking  any  ques- 
tions or  making  any  criticisms ;    for   in    submitting  to    their 


6o 


Outlines  of  EiL^vpcaii  History 


Different 
attitude  of 
the  English 
and  French 
nations 
toward 
absolute 
monarchy 


Personal 
character- 
istics of 
Louis  XIV 


prince  they  were  really  submitting  to  God  Himself.  If  the  king 
were  good  and  wise,  his  subjects  should  thank  the  Lord ;  if  he 
proved  foolish,  cruel,  or  perverse,  they  must  accept  their  evil 
ruler  as  a  punishment  which  God  had  sent  them  for  their  sins. 
But  in  no  case  might  they  limit  his  power  or  rise  against  him.^ 

Louis  XIV  had  two  great  advantages  over  James  L  In  the 
first  place,  the  English  nation  has  always  shown  itself  far  more 
reluctant  than  France  to  place  absolute  power  in  the  hands  of 
its  rulers.  By  its  Parliament,  its  courts,  and  its  various  decla- 
rations of  the  nation's  rights,  it  had  built  up  traditions  which 
made  it  impossible  for  the  Stuarts  to  establish  their  claim  to 
be  absolute  rulers.  In  France,  on  the  other  hand,  there  was  no 
Great  Charter  or  Bill  of  Rights ;  the  Estates  General  did  not 
hold  the  purse  strings,  and  the  king  was  permitted  to  raise 
mpney  without  asking  their  permission  or  previously  redressing 
the  grievances  which  they  chose  to  point  out.  They  were  there- 
fore only  summoned  at  irregular  intervals.  When  Louis  XIV 
took  charge  of  the  government,  forty-seven  years  had  passed 
without  a  meeting  of  the  Estates  General,  and  a  century  and  a 
quarter  was  still  to  elapse  before  another  call  to  the  represent- 
atives of  the  nation  was  issued  in  1789. 

Moreover,  the  French  people  placed  far  more  reliance  upon 
a  powerful  king  than  the  English,  perhaps  because  they  were 
not  protected  by  the  sea  from  their  neighbors,  as  England  was. 
On  every  side  France  had  enemies  ready  to  take  advantage  of 
an}i  weakness  or  hesitation  which  might  arise  from  dissension 
between  a  parliament  and  the  king.  So  the  French  felt  it  best, 
on  the  whole,  to  leave  all  in  the  king's  hands,  even  if  they 
suffered  at  times  from  his  tyranny. 

Louis  had  another  great  advantage  over  James.  He  was 
a  handscrme  man,  of  elegant  and  courtly  mien  and  the  most 
exquisite  perfection  of  manner;   even   when   playing  billiards 


i  Louis  XIV  does  not  appear  to  have  himself  used  the  famous  expression  "  1 
am  the  State,''  usually  attributed  to  him,  but  it  exactly  corresponds  to  his  idea  of 
the  relation  of  the  king  and  the  State. 


France  under  Louis  XIV 


6i 


he  is  said  to  have  retained  an  air  of  world  mastery.  The  first 
of  the  Stuarts,  on  the  contrary,  was  a  very  awkward  man, 
whose  slouching  gait,  intolerable  manners,  and  pedantic  con- 
versation were  utterly  at  variance  with  his  lofty  pretensions. 
I.ouis  added,  moreover,  to  his  graceful  exterior  a  sound  judg- 
ment and  quick  apprehension.  He  said  neither  too  much  nor 
too  litde.  He  was,  for  a  king,  a  hard  worker  and  spent  several 
hours  each  morning  attending  to  the  business  of  government. 


Fig.  II.    Facade  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles 


It  requires,  in  fact,  a  great  deal  of  energy  and  application  to   The  strenu- 
be  a  real  despot.    In  order  thoroughly  to  understand  and  to 


solve  the  problems  which  constantly  face  the  ruler  of  a  great 
state,  a  monarch  must,  like  Frederick  the  Great  or  Napoleon, 
rise  early  and  toil  late.  Louis  XIV  was  greatly  aided  by  the 
able  ministers  who  sat  in  his  council,  but  he  always  retained  for 
himself  the  place  of  first  minister.  He  would  never  have  con- 
sented to  be  dominated  by  an  adviser  as  his  father  had  been  by 
Richelieu.'  "  The  profession  of  the  king,"  he  declared,  "  is 
great,  noble,  and  delightful  if  one  but  feels  equal  to  performing 
the  duties  which  it  involves  "  —  and  he  never  harbored  a  doubt 
that  he  himself  was  born  for  the  business. 


a  despotic 
ruler 


France  binder  Louis  XIV 


63 


over  a  century  Versailles  continued   to  be  the  home  of  the 
French  kings  and  the  seat  of  their  government. 

This  splendor  and  luxury  helped  to  attract  the  nobility,  who   Life  at 
no  longer  lived  on  their  estates  in  well-fortified  castles,  plan-  coun         ^ 
ning  how  they  might  escape  the  royal  control.    They  now  dwelt 
in  the  effulgence  of  the  king's  countenance.    They  saw  him  to 
bed  at  night  and  in  stately  procession  they  greeted  him  in  the 


y--<  >  ^-^T^^m^  ^ 


^iv-^A.,;^'^' 


Fig.  13.    Facade  of  the  Palace  of  Versailles  toward 
THE  Gardens 


morning.  It  was  deemed  a  high  honor  to  hand  him  his  shirt  as 
he  was  being  dressed  or,  at  dinner,  to  provide  him  with  a  fresh 
napkin.  Only  by  living  close  to  the  king  could  the  courtiers  hope 
to  gain  favors,  pensions,  and  lucrative  offices  for  themselves  and 
their  friends,  and  perhaps  occasionally  to  exercise  some  little 
influence  upon  the  policy  of  the  government.  For  they  were 
now  entirely  dependent  upon  the  good  will  of  their  monarch. 

The  reforms  which  Louis  XIV  carried  out  in  the  earlier  part   The  reforms 
of  his  reign  were  largely  the  work  of  the  great  financier  Colbert, 
to  whom    France    still  looks  back  with  gratitude.    He  early 


6j 


m^^Zt.'^ 


and 


i**^r  wa% 


France  tiiider  Loiiis  XIV  65 

forty  members  of  this  association.  A  magazine  which  still 
exists,  the  Journal  des  Savants,  was  founded  for  the  promotion 
of  science  at  this  time.  Colbert  had  an  astronomical  observatory 
built  at  Paris ;  and  the  Royal  Library,  which  only  possessed 
about  sixteen  thousand  volumes,  began  to  grow  into  that  great 
collection  of  two  and  a  half  million  volumes  —  by  far  the  largest 
in  existence  —  which  to-day  attracts  scholars  to  Paris  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  In  short,  Louis  XIV  and  his  ministers 
believed  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  any  government  to  be  the 
promotion  of  art,  literature,  and  science,  and  the  example  they 
set  has  been  followed  by  almost  every  modern  state. 

Section  10,    Louis  XIV  attacks  his  Neighbors 

Unfortunately  for  France,  the  king's  ambitions  were  by  no  Louis  xiv's 
means  exclusively  peaceful.  Indeed,  he  regarded  his  wars  as  enterprises 
his  chief  glory.  He  employed  a  carefully  reorganized  army  and 
the  skill  of  his  generals  in  a  series  of  inexcusable  attacks  on 
his  neighbors,  in  which  he  finally  squandered  all  that  Colbert's 
economies  had  accumulated  and  led  France  to  the  edge  of 
financial  ruin. 

Louis  XIV's  predecessors  had  had,  on  the  whole,  little  time   He  aims  to 
to  think  of  conquest.    They  had  first  to  consolidate  their  realms   "^natural 
and  gain  the  mastery  of  their  feudal  dependents,  who  shared  the  boundaries  '• 
power  with  them ;  then  the  claims  of  the  English  Edwards  and 
Henrys  had  to  be  met,  and  the  French  provinces  freed  from 
their  clutches  ;  lastly,  the  great  religious  dispute  was  only  setded 
after  many  years  of  disintegrating  civil  war.    But  Louis  XIV 
was  now  at  liberty  to  look  about  him  and  consider  how  he 
might  best  realize  the  dream  of  his  ancestors  and  perhaps  rees- 
tablish the  ancient  boundaries  which  Caesar  reported  that  the 
Gauls  had  occupied.    The  "  natural  limits  "  of  France  appeared 
to  be  the  Rhine  on  the  north  and  east,  the  Jura  Mountains  and 
the  Alps  on  the  southeast,  and  to  the  south  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  Pyrenees.    Richelieu  had  believed  that  it  was  the  chief 


66 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Louis  XIV 
lays  claim  to 
the  Spanish 
Netherlands 


The  invasion 
of  the  Nether- 
lands, 1667 


end  of  his  ministry  to  restore  to  France  the  boundaries  deter- 
mined for  it  by  nature.  Mazarin  had  labored  hard  to  win 
Savoy  on  the  east  and  Nice  on  the  Mediterranean  coast  and 
to  reach  the  Rhine  on  the  north.  Before  his  death  France 
at  least  gained  Alsace  and  reached  the  Pyrenees,  "  which,"  as 
the  treaty  with  Spain  says  (1659),  "  formerly  divided  the  Gauls 
from  Spain." 

Louis  XIV  first  turned  his  attention  to  the  conquest  of  the 
Spanish  Netherlands,  to  which  he  laid  claim  through  his  wife, 
the  elder  sister  of  the  Spanish  king,  Charles  II  (1665-1700). 
In  1667  he  surprised  Europe  by  publishing  a  little  treatise  in 
which  he  set  forth  his  claims  not  only  to  the  Spanish  Nether- 
lands, but  even  to  the  whole  Spanish  monarchy.  By  confound- 
ing the  kingdom  of  France  with  the  old  empire  of  the  Franks 
he  could  maintain  that  the  people  of  the  Netherlands  were 
his  subjects. 

Louis  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  army  which  he  had 
re-formed  and  reorganized,  and  announced  that  he  was  to 
undertake  a  "  journey,"  as  if  his  invasion  was  only  an  expedi- 
tion into  another  part  of  his  undisputed  realms.  He  easily 
took  a  number  of  towns  on  the  border  of  the  Netherlands  and 
then  turned  south  and  completely  conquered  Franche-Comte. 
This  was  an  outlying  province  of  Spain,  isolated  from  her 
other  lands,  and  a  most  tempting  morsel  for  the  hungry  king 
of  France.^ 

These  conquests  alarmed  Europe,  and  especially  Holland, 
which  could  not  afford  to  have  the  barrier  between  it  and 
France  removed,  for  Louis  XIV  would  be  an  uncomfortable 
neighbor.  A  Triple  Alliance,  composed  of  Holland,  England, 
and  Sweden,  was  accordingly  organized  to  induce  France  to 
make  peace  with  Spain.  Louis  contented  himself  for  the 
moment  with  the  dozen  border  towns  that  he  had  taken  and 
which  Spain  ceded  to  him  on  condition  that  he  would  return 
Franche-Comte'. 


1  See  Part  I,  pp.  573  and  649. 


^liVj 


Of 


^iRhj 


1^ 


En 


Sldna 


ipndon 


KI 

r 
o  r  t  h    I    ,S~€i 


■^rnsterda 


c 


EUROPE 

WHEN   LOUIS  XIV     BEGAN 
HIS  PERSONAL  GOVERNMENT/ 

1661 


H 


'•r-^-v^. 


,Paris 


Versa 


3  Spanish  Possessions 
]  Austrian  Possessions 
5i  Boundary  ofthe  Holy  Roman  Empire  f 

WO 200 m 

Scale  of  Miles 


»^. 


Franche 


i^J^iGDdl 


M\  O  p. 


A  N  C  El 


V 


Oa^, 


K 


Vg 


Madrid 


DOjvr^ 


f    OFl 


'Barceloua 


^isU 


.^^     ) 


i4^J( 


R.  Tagi**  /        JV 


ew/Cj 


sp 


AIA 


*  sleiicia 


iille^ 


/^^'■a'iadac 


31 


10      JLongitude  West 


A       F       R 


ro. 


Longitude     East       5      from     Gn 


France  under  Louis  XIV  6/ 

The  success  with  which  Holland  had  held  her  own  against  Louis  xiv 
the  navy  of  England  and  brought  the  proud  king  of  France  thrxripre 
to  a  halt  produced  an  elation  on  the  part  of  that  tiny  country  Alliance  and 
which  was  very  aggravating  to  Louis  XIV.    He  was  thoroughly  self  with 
vexed   that  he   should   have   been   blocked   by   so   trifling  an   of  England 
obstacle  as  Dutch  intervention.     He  consequently  conceived  a 
strong  dislike  for  the  United  Provinces,  which  was  increased 
by  the  protection  that  they  afforded  to  writers  who  annoyed 
him  with  their  attacks.    He  broke  up  the  Triple  Alliance  by 
inducing  Charles  II  of  England  to  conclude  a  treaty  which 
pledged   England  to  help  France   in  a  new  war  against  the 
Dutch. 

Louis  XIV  then  startled  Europe  again  by  seizing  the  duchy  Louis  xiV's 
of  Lorraine,  which  brought  him  to  the  border  of  Holland.  At  HoHand  1672 
the  head  of  a  hundred  thousand  men  he  crossed  the  Rhine 
(1672)  and  easily  conquered  southern  Holland.  For  the 
moment  the  Dutch  cause  appeared  to  be  lost.  But  William 
of  Orange  showed  the  spirit  of  his  'great  ancestor  William  the 
Silent ;  the  sluices  in  the  dikes  were  opened  and  the  country 
flooded,  so  the  French  army  was  checked  before  it  could  take 
Amsterdam  and  advance  into  the  north.  The  Emperor  sent 
an  army  against  Louis,  and  England  deserted  him  and  made 
peace  with  Holland. 

When  a  general  peace  was  concluded  at  the  end  of  six  years,   Peace  of 
the  chief  provisions  were  that  Holland  should  be  left  intact,    16™^^^^"' 
and  that  France  should  this  time  retain  Franche-Comte',  which 
had  been  conquered  by  Louis  XIV  in  person.    This  bit  of  the 
Burgundian  heritage  thus   became  at  last  a  part  of   France, 
after  France  and  Spain  had  quarreled  over  it  for  a  century  and 
a  half.    For  the  ten  years  following  there  was  no  open  war,  but   Louis  XI v 
Louis  seized  the  important  free  city  of  Strassburg  and  made   strassburg 
many  other  less  conspicuous  but  equally  unwarranted  additions 
to  his  territory.   The  Emperor  was  unable  to  do  more  than  pro- 
test against  these  outrageous  encroachments,  for  he  was  fully 
occupied  with  the  Turks,  who  had  just  laid  siege  to  Vienna. 


68 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Situation  of 
the  Hugue- 
nots at  the 
beginning  of 
Louis  XIV's 
reign 


Louis's 
policy  of 
suppression 


Revocation 
of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes  and 
its  results 


Section  ii.    Louis  XIV  and  his  Protestant 
Subjects 

Louis  XIV  exhibited  as  woeful  a  want  of  statesmanship  in 
the  treatment  of  his  Protestant  subjects  as  in  the  prosecution 
of  disastrous  wars.  The  Huguenots,  deprived  of  their  former 
military  and  political  power,  had  turned  to  manufacture,  trade,- 
and  banking ;  ''  as  rich  as  a  Huguenot "  had  become  a  proverb 
in  France.  There  were  perhaps  a  million  of  them  among  fifteen 
million  Frenchmen,  and  they  undoubtedly  formed  by  far  the 
most  thrifty  and  enterprising  part  of  the  nation.  The  Catholic 
clergy,  however,  did  not  cease  to  urge  the  complete  suppression 
of  heresy. 

Louis  XIV  had  scarcely  taken  the  reins  of  government  into 
his  own  hands  before  the  perpetual  nagging  and  injustice  to 
which  the  Protestants  had  been  subjected  at  all  times  took  a 
more  serious  form.  Upon  one  pretense  or  another  their  churches 
were  demolished.  Children  were  authorized  to  renounce  Prot- 
estantism when  they  reached  the  age  of  seven.  Rough  dragoons 
were  quartered  upon  the  Huguenots  with  the  hope  that  the 
insulting  behavior  of  the  soldiers  might  frighten  the  heretics 
into  accepting  the  religion  of  the  king. 

At  last  Louis  XIV  was  led  by  his  officials  to  believe  that 
practically  all  the  Huguenots  had  been  converted  by  these  harsh 
measures.  In  1685,  therefore,  he  revoked  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
and  the  Protestants  thereby  became  outlaws  and  their  ministers 
subject  to  the  death  penalty.  Even  liberal-minded  Catholics, 
like  the  kindly  writer  of  fables.  La  Fontaine,  and  the  charming 
letter  writer,  Madame  de  Sevigne,  hailed  this  reestablishment 
of  "  religious  unity  "  with  delight.  They  believed  that  only  an 
insignificant  and  seditious  remnant  still  clung  to  the  beliefs  of 
Calvin.  But  there  could  have  been  no  more  serious  mistake. 
Thousands  of  the  Huguenots  succeeded  in  eluding  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  royal  officials  and  fled,  some  to  England,  some  to 
Prussia,  some  to  America,  carrying  with  them  their  skill  and 


Frajice  under  Loids  XIV  69 

industry  to  strengthen  France's  rivals.  This  was  the  last  great 
and  terrible  example  in  western  Europe  of  that  fierce  religious 
intolerance  which  had  produced  the  Albigensian  Crusade,  the 
Spanish  Inquisition,  and  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew. 

Louis  XIV  now  set  his  heart  upon  conquering  the  Palatinate,   Louis's 
a  Protestant  land,  to  which  he  easily  discovered  that  he  had  a  the  Rhenish 
claim.  The  rumor  of  his  intention  and  the  indignation  occasioned   P^i^^mate 
in  Protestant  countries  by  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
resulted  in  an  alliance  against  the  French  king  headed  by  William 
of  Orange.   Louis  speedily  justified  the  suspicions  of  Europe  by 
a  frightful  devastation  of  the  Palatinate,  burning  whole  towns 
and  destroying  many  castles,  including  the  exceptionally  beauti- 
ful one  of  the  elector  at  Heidelberg.    Ten  years  later,  however, 
Louis  agreed  to  a  peace  which  put  things  back  as  they  were 
before  the  struggle  began.    He  was  preparing  for  the  final  and 
most  ambitious  undertaking  of  his  life,  which  precipitated  the 
longest  and  bloodiest  war  of  all  his  warlike  reign. 

Section  12.   War  of  the  Spanish  Succession 

The  king  of  Spain,  Charles  II,  was  childless  and  brotherless.  The  question 
and  Europe  had  long  been  discussing  what  would  become  of  i^sh  succession 
his  vast  realms  when  his  sickly  existence  should  come  to  an  end. 
Louis  XIV  had  married  one  of  his  sisters,  and  the  Emperor, 
Leopold  I,  another,  and  these  two  ambitious  rulers  had  been 
considering  for  some  time  how  they  might  divide  the  Spanish 
possessions  between  the  Bourbons  and  the  Hapsburgs.  But 
when  Charles  II  died,  in  1700,  it  was  discovered  that  he  had 
left  a  will  in  which  he  made  Louis's  younger  grandson,  Philip, 
the  heir  to  his  twenty-two  crowns,  but  on  the  condition  that 
France  and  Spain  should  never  be  united. 

It  was  a  weighty  question  whether  Louis  XIV  should  permit   Louis's 
his  grandson  to  accept  this  hazardous  honor.    Should  Philip  be-  fSip^°be- 
come  king  of  Spain,  Louis  and  his  family  would  control  all  of  comes  kmg 
southwestern  Europe  from  Holland  to  Sicily,  as  well  as  a  great 


70 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  War  of 
the  Spanish 
Succession 


The  Treaty 
of  Utrecht, 
1713 


part  of  North  and  South  America.  This  would  mean  the  estab- 
lishment of  an  empire  more  powerful  than  that  of  Charles  V. 
It  was  clear  that  the  disinherited  Emperor  and  the  ever-watchful 
William  of  Orange,  who  had  now  become  king  of  England, 
would  never  permit  this  unprecedented  extension  of  French 
influence.  They  had  already  shown  themselves  ready  to  make 
great  sacrifices  in  order  to  check  far  less  serious  aggressions 
on  the  part  of  the  French  king.  Nevertheless,  family  pride  and 
personal  ambition  led  Louis  criminally  to  risk  the  welfare  of 
his  country.  He  accepted  the  will  and  informed  the  Spanish 
ambassador  at  the  French  court  that  he  might  salute  Philip  V 
as  his  new  king.  The  leading  French  newspaper  of  the  time 
boldly  proclaimed  that  the  Pyrenees  were  no  more. 

King  William  soon  succeeded  in  forming  a  new  Grand  Alli- 
ance (1701)  in  which  Louis's  old  enemies,  England,  Holland, 
and  the  Emperor,  were  the  most  important  members.  William 
himself  died  just  as  hostilities  were  beginning,  but  the  long 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  was  carried  on  vigorously  by 
the  great  English  general,  the  Duke  of  Marlborough,  and  the 
Austrian  commander,  Eugene  of  Savoy.  The  conflict  was  more 
general  than  the  Thirty  Years'  War ;  even  in  America  there  was 
fighting  between  French  and  English  colonists,  which  passes  in 
American  histories  under  the  name  of  Queen  Anne's  War.  All 
the  more  important  battles  went  against  the  French,  and  after 
ten  years  of  war,  which  was  rapidly  ruining  the  country  by  the 
destruction  of  its  people  and  its  wealth,  Louis  XIV  was  willing 
to  consider  some  compromise,  and  after  long  discussion  a  peace 
was  arranged  in  17 13. 

The  Treaty  of  Utrecht  changed  the  map  of  Europe  as  no 
previous  treaty  had  done,  not  even  that  of  Westphalia.  Each 
of  the  chief  combatants  got  his  share  of  the  Spanish  booty  over 
which  they  had  been  fighting.  The  Bourbon  Philip  V  was  per- 
mitted to  retain  Spain  and  its  colonies  on  condition  that  the 
Spanish  and  French  crowns  should  never  rest  on  the  same 
head.    To  Austria  fell  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  hereafter  called 


^««^^^^«c.,. 


'^uilin 


'^^^a4^«^ 


^y^i, 


DENM 


r    t   h 


S   e 


^ 


EUROPE 

after  the  .Treaties  of 

UTRECHT  AND  RASTADT 

1713-1714 

Boundary  of  the  Empire 

0 100 200  300 

Scale  of  Miles. 


onteiiojfo 


iy     ,^!''•^^^^     O 


'JiiJL 


fadridc 


) 

V 


I^^)AIN 


Seville 


\ 


France  tmder  Louis  XIV  yi 

the  Austrian  Netheriands,  which  continued  to  form  a  barrier 
between  Holland  and  France.  Holland  received  certain  for- 
tresses to  make  its  position  still  more  secure.  The  Spanish 
possessions  in  Italy,  that  is,  Naples  and  Milan,  were  also  given 
to  Austria,  and  in  this  way  Austria  got  the  hold  on  Italy  which 
it  retained  until  1866.  From  France,  England  acquired  Nova 
Scotia,  Newfoundland,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  region,  and  so 
began  the  expulsion  of  the  French  from  North  America.  Besides 
these  American  provinces  she  received  the  rock  and  fortress  of 
Gibraltar,  which  still  gives  her  command  of  the  narrow  entrance 
to  the  Mediterranean. 

The  period  of  Louis  XIV  is  remarkable  for  the  development  The  develop 
of  international  law.    The  incessant  wars  and  great  alliances   ternational 
embracing  several  powers  made  increasingly  clear  the  need  of  ^^^ 
well-defined  rules  governing  states  in  their  relations  with  one 
another  both  in  peace  and  in  war.    It  was  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance to  determine,  for  instance,  the  rights  of  ambassadors  and 
of  the  vessels  of  neutral  powers  not  engaged  in  the  war,  and 
what  should  be  considered  fair  conduct  in  warfare  and  in  the 
treatment  of  prisoners. 

The  first  great  systematic  treatise  on  international  law  was  Grotius's 
published  by  Grotius  in  1625,  \yhen  the  horrors  of  the  Thirty  Peace 
Years'  War  were  impressing  men's  minds  with  the  necessity  of 
finding  some  means  other  than  war  of  settling  disputes  between 
nations.  While  the  rules  laid  down  by  Grotius  and  later  writers 
have,  as  we  must  sadly  admit,  by  no  means  put  an  end  to  war, 
they  have  prevented  many  conflicts  by  increasing  the  ways  in 
which  nations  may  come  to  an  understanding  with  one  another 
through  their  ambassadors  without  recourse  to  arms. 

Louis  XIV  outlived  his  son  and  his  grandson  and  left  a 
sadly  demoralized  kingdom  to  his  five-year-old  great-grandson, 
Louis  XV  (17 1 5-1 7 74).  The  national  treasury  was  depleted, 
the  people  were  reduced  in  numbers  and  were  in  a  miserable 
state,  and  the  army,  once  the  finest  in  Europe,  was  in  no 
condition  to  gain  further  victories. 


72  Oidlines  of  Eiiropean  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section  8.  What  did  Richelieu  accomplish  in  strengthening 
the  French  monarchy?  What  were  Louis  XIV's  ideas  of  kingship? 
Why  did  the  French  view  the  "  divine  right  of  kings  "  differently 
from  the  English?  Contrast  Louis  XIV  with  James  L 

Section  9.  Describe  the  palace  of  Versailles.  What  were  the 
chief  reforms  of  Colbert?  Mention  some  of  the  great  writers  of 
Louis  XIV's  time.  How  did  the  government  aid  scholarship  and 
science  ? 

Section  10.  What  led  Louis  XIV  to  attack  his  neighbors?  What 
are  the  "  natural  "  boundaries  of  France  ?  What  country  did  Louis 
first  attack  ?  What  additions  did  he  make  to  French  territory  ? 

Section  i  i  .  What  was  the  policy  of  Louis  XIV  toward  the 
Huguenots?  Who  were  Louis  XIV's  chief  enemies? 

Section  i  2.  What  were  the  causes  of  the  War  of  the  Spanish 
Succession  ?  What  were  the  chief  changes  provided  for  in  the  Treaty 
of  Utrecht  ? 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  RISE  OF  RUSSIA  AND  PRUSSIA;  AUSTRIA 

Section  13.    Peter  the  Great  plans  to  make 
Russia  a  European  Power 

While  much  was  said  in  the  previous  volume  of  France, 
England,  Spain,  the  Netherlands,  the  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
and  the  Italian  states,  it  was  not  necessary  hitherto  to  speak 
of  Russia  and  Prussia.  In  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  cen- 
turies these  states,  however,  played  a  great  part  in  European 
affairs,  and  in  order  to  understand  how  they  grew  up,  we  must 
turn  from  the  Rhine  and  the  Pyrenees  to  the  shores  of  the 
Baltic  and  the  vast  plains  of  eastern  Europe.  While  the  long 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  had  been  in  progress,  due  to 
Louis  XIV's  anxiety  to  add  Spain  to  the  possessions  of  his 
family,  another  conflict  was  raging  in  the  north,  and  changes 
were  taking  place  there  comparable  in  importance  to  those 
which  were  ratified  by  the  Peace  of  Utrecht.  Russia,  which 
had  hitherto  faced  eastward,  was  turning  toward  the  west, 
upon  which  she  was  destined  to  exert  an  ever-increasing  in- 
fluence. The  newly  founded  kingdom  of  Prussia  was  gather- 
ing its  forces  for  a  series  of  brilliant  military  exploits  under  the 
leadership  of  Frederick  the  Great. 

There  has  been  no  occasion  in  dealing  with  the  situation  in   The  Slavic 
western  Europe  to  speak  heretofore  of  the  Slavic  peoples,  to   Em-ope  and 
which   the   Russians,   as   well   as  the  Poles,    Bohemians,    Bui-   the  extent 

'  '  '  of  Russia 

garians,  and  other  nations  of  eastern  Europe  belong,  although 
together  they  constitute  the  most  numerous  race  in  Europe. 
Not  until  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  did  Russia 
begin  to  take  an  active  part  in  western  affairs.    Now  she  is 

73 


74 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Beginnings 
of  Russia 


one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  politics  of  the  world. 
Of  the  realms  of  the  Tsar,  that  portion  which  lies  in  Europe 
exceeds  in  extent  the  territories  of  all  the  other  rulers  of  the 
Continent  put  together,  and  yet  European  Russia  comprises 
scarcely  a  quarter  of  the  Tsar's  whole  dominion,  which  em- 
braces northern  and  central  Asia,  extends  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  forms  all  together  an  empire  covering  about  three  times 
the  area  of  the  United  States. 

The  beginnings  of  the  Russian  state  fall  in  the  ninth  century ; 
some  of  the  Northmen  invaded  the  districts  to  the  east  of  the 
Baltic,  while  their  relatives  were  causing  grievous  trouble  in 
France  and  England.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  one  of 
their  leaders,  Rurik,  was  the  first  to  consolidate  the  Slavic 
tribes  about  Novgorod  into  a  sort  of  state  in^862.  Rurik's 
successor  extended  the  bounds  of  the  new  empire  so  as  to 
include  the  important  town  of  Kiev  on  the  Dnieper.  The  word 
"  Russia  "  is  probably  derived  from  Roiis^  the  name  given  by 
the  neighboring  Finns  to  the  Norman  adventurers.  Before  the 
end  of  the  tenth  century  the  Greek  form  of  Christianity  was 
introduced  and  the  Russian  ruler  was  baptized.  The  frequent 
intercourse  with  Constantinople  might  have  led  to  rapid  ad- 
vance in  civilization  had  it  not  been  for  a  great  disaster  which 
put  Russia  back  for  centuries. 

Russia  is  geographically  nothing  more  than  an  extension  of 
t'he'thirtVenth  the  vast  plain  of  northern  Asia,  which  the  Russians  were  des- 
tined finally  to  conquer.  It  was  therefore  exposed  to  the  great 
invasion  of  the  Tartars,  or  Mongols,  who  swept  in  from  the 
East  in  the  thirteenth  century.  The  powerful  Tartar  ruler, 
Genghis  Khan  (i  162-1227),  conquered  northern  China  and 
central  Asia,  and  the  mounted  hordes  of  his  successors  crossed 
into  Europe  and  overran  Russia,  which  had  fallen  apart  into 
numerous  principalities.  The  Russian  princes  became  the  de- 
pendents of  the  Great  Khan,  and  had  frequently  to  seek  his 
far-distant  court,  some  three  thousand  miles  away,  where  he 
freely  disposed   of  both   their  crowns  and   their  heads.     The 


The  Tartar 
invasion  in 


century 


i 


yd  Outlines  of  European  History 

In  the  year  1697-1698,  Peter  himself  visited  Germany,  Hol- 
land, and  England,  with  a  view  to  investigating  every  art  and 
science  of  the  West,  as  well  as  the  most  approved  methods  of 
manufacture,  from  the  making  of  a  man-of-war  to  the  etching 
of  an  engraving.  Nothing  escaped  the  keen  eyes  of  this  rude, 
half-savage  northern  giant.     For  a  week  he  put  on  the  wide 


Fig.  14.    Peter  the  Great 

Peter  was  a  tall,  strong  man,  impulsive  in  action,  sometimes  vulgarly 
familiar,  but  always  retaining  an  air  of  command.  When  he  visited 
Louis  XV  of  France  in  17 17,  he  astonished  the  court  by  taking  the 
seven-year-old  king  under  the  arms  and  hoisting  him  up  in  the  air  to 
kiss  him.    The  courtiers  were  much  shocked  at  his  conduct 

breeches  of  a  Dutch  laborer  and  worked  in  the  shipyard  at 
Saardam  near  Amsterdam.  In  England,  Holland,  and  Ger- 
many he  engaged  artisans,  scientific  men,  architects,  ship  cap- 
tains, and  those  versed  in  artillery  and  the  training  of  troops, 
all  of  whom  he  took  back  with  him  to  aid  in  the  reform  and 
development  of  Russia  so  that  it  should  be  able  to  take  its 
place  in   European  history. 


TJie  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Aitstiia         yy 

He  was  called  home  by  the  revolt  of  the  royal  guard,  who   Suppression 
had  allied  themselves  with  the  very  large  party  of  nobles  and   aga^^^^for- 
churchmen  who  were  horrified  at  Peter's  desertion  of  the  habits  ^^S"  ideas 
and  customs  of  his  forefathers.    They  hated  what  they  called 
"German  ideas,"  such  as  short  coats,  tobacco  smoking,  and 
beardless  faces.    The  clergy  even  suggested  that  Peter  was  per- 
haps Antichrist.    Peter  took  a  fearful  revenge  upon  the  rebels, 
and  is  said  to  have  himself  cut  off  the  heads  of  many  of  them. 

Peter's  reforms  extended  through  his  whole  reign.  He  made  Peter's 
his  people  give  up  their  cherished  oriental  beards  and  long  flow-  measures 
ing  garments.  Pie  forced  the  women  of  the  better  class,  who 
had  been  kept  in  a  sort  of  oriental  harem,  to  come  out  and 
meet  the  men  in  social  assemblies,  such  as  were  common  in  the 
West.  He  invited  foreigners  to  settle  in  Russia,  and  insured 
them  protection,  privileges,  and  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion. 
He  sent  young  Russians  abroad  to  study.  He  reorganized  the 
government  officials  on  the  model  of  a  western  kingdom,  and 
made  over  his  army  in  the  same  way.-^ 

Finding  that  the  old  capital  of  Moscow  clung  persistently  to   Founding 
its  ancient  habits,  he  prepared  to  build  a  new  capital  for  his   capltai^^t. 
new  Russia.    He  selected  for  this  purpose  a  bit  of  territory  on   Petersburg 
the  Baltic  which  he  had  conquered  from  Sweden,  —  very  marshy, 
it  is  true,  —  where  he  hoped  to  construct  Russia's  first  real 
port.    Here  he  built  St.  Petersburg  at  enormous  expense  and 
colonized  it  with  Russians  and  foreigners. 

In  his  ambition  to  get  to  the  sea,  Peter  naturally  collided  The  miiiiaiv 
with  Sweden,  to  which  the  provinces  between  Russia  and  the   c^haTi?s^xri 
Baltic  belonged.    Never  had    Sweden,  or  any  other   country,   of  Sweden 
had  a  more  warlike  king  than  the  one  with  whom  Peter  had  to 
contend  —  the  youthful  prodigy,  Charles  XII.    When  Charles 
came  to  the  throne  in  1697  he  was  only  fifteen  years  old,  and 
it  seemed  to  the  natural  enemies  of  Sweden  an  auspicious  time 
to  profit  by  the  supposed  weakness  of  the  boy  ruler.    So  a 
union  was  formed  between  Denmark,  Poland,  and  Russia,  with 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  I,  pp.  6i  ff. 


yS  OiUlines  of  Europe a7t  History 

the  object  of  increasing  their  territories  at  Sweden's  expense. 
But  Charles  turned  out  to  be  a  second  Alexander  the  Great  in 
military  prowess.  He  astonished  Europe  by  promptly  besieging 
Copenhagen  and  forcing  the  king  of  Denmark  to  sign  a  treaty 
of  peace.  He  then  turned  like  lightning  against  Peter,  who  was 
industriously  besieging  Nai-\'a,  and  with  eight  thousand  Swedes 


Fig.  15.   Charles  XII  of  Sweden 

wiped  out  an  army  of  fifty  thousand  Russians  (1700).    Lastly 
he  thoroughly  defeated  the  king  of  Poland. 
Defeat  and  Though  Charles  was  a  remarkable  military  leader,  he  was  a 

Charlet  XII  foolish  ruler.  He  undertook  to  wrest  Poland  from  its  king,  to 
whom  he  attributed  the  formation  of  the  league  against  him. 
He  had  a  new  king  crowned  at  Warsaw,  whom  he  at  last 
succeeded  in  getting  recognized.  He  then  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  Peter,  who  had  meanwhile  been  conquering  the  Baltic 
provinces.  This  time  fortune  turned  against  the  Swedes. 
The  long  march  through  Russia  proved  as  fatal  to  them  as  to 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria          79 

Napoleon  a  century  later,  Charles  XII  being  totally  defeated  in 
the  battle  of  Pultowa  (i  709).  He  fled  to  Turkey,  where  he  spent 
some  years  in  vainly  urging  the  Sultan  to  attack  Peter.  Return- 
ing at  last  to  his  own  kingdom,  which  he  had  utterly  neglected 
for  years,  he  was  killed  in  17 18  while  besieging  a  town. 

Soon  after  Charles's  death  a  treaty  was  concluded  between   Russia  ac- 
Sweden  and  Russia  by  which  Russia  gained  Livonia,  Esthonia,   Sk  prov 
and  the  other  Swedish  provinces  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  ^^JJe^^p^s^o 
Baltic.    Peter  had  made  less  successful  attempts  to  get  a  foot-  get  a  foot- 
ing on  the  Black  Sea.    He  had  first  taken  Azof  (which  he  soon   Black  Sea 
lost  during  the  war  with  Sweden),  and  then  captured  several 
towns  on  the  Caspian.    It  had  become  evident  that  if  the  Turks 
should  be  driven  out  of  Europe,  Russia  would  be  a  mighty  rival 
of  the  western  powers  in  the  division  of  the  spoils. 

For  a  generation  after  the  death  of  Peter  the  Great,  Russia 
fell  .into  the  hands  of  incompetent  rulers.  It  appears  again  as 
a  European  state  when  the  great  Catherine  II,  of  whose  reforms 
we  shall  read  further  on,^  came  to  the  throne  in  1762.  From 
that  time  on,  the  western  powers  had  always  to  consider  the 
vast  Slavic  empire  in  all  their  great  struggles.  They  had  also 
to  consider  a  new  kingdom  in  northern  Germany,  Prussia,  which 
was  destined  in  time  to  become  a  menace  to  the  whole  world. 

Section  14.    Rise  of  Prussia 
The  electorate  of  Brandenburg  had  figured  on  the  map  of  The  House  of 

„  .  .  ,      ,  -1  .       Hohenzollern 

Europe  for  centuries,  and  there  was  no  particular  reason  to 
suppose  that  it  was  one  day  to  become  the  dominant  state 
in  Germany.  Early  in  the  fifteenth  century  the  old  line  of 
electors  had  died  out,  and  the  impecunious  Emperor  Sigismund 
had  sold  the  electerate  to  a  hitherto  inconspicuous  house,  the 
Hohenzollerns,  who  are  known  to  us  now  through  such  names 
as  those  of  Frederick  the  Great,  William  I,  the  first  German 
emperor,  and  his  grandson,  William  II.    It  has  always  been  the 

1  See  below,  p.  163. 


8o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


pride  of  the  HohenzoUcrn  family  tliat  practically  every  one  of 
its  reigning  members  has  added  something  to  what  his  ancestors 
handed  down  to  him.  The  first  great  extension  took  place  in 
1614,  when  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  inherited  Cleves  and 

Mark,  and  thus  got 
his  first  hold  on  the 
Rhine  district. 

What  was  quite  as 
important,  he  won, 
four  years  later,  far 
to  the  east,  the  duchy 
of  Prussia,  which  was 
separated  from  Bran- 
denburg by  Polish 
territory.  Prussia  was 
originally  the  name  of 
a  region  on  the  Baltic 
inhabited  by  heathen 
Slavs.  These  had  been 
conquered  in  the  thir- 
teenth century  by  one 
of  the  orders  of  cru- 
sading knights,  who, 
when  the  conquest  of 
the  Holy  Land  was 
abandoned,  looked 
about  for  other  occu- 
pations. The  terri- 
tory of  this  Teutonic 
Order,  as  it  was  called^ 
was  largely  settled  with  German  colonists,  but  the  warlike 
kings  of  Poland  had  conquered  the  western  portion  of  it  (West 
Prussia)  in  the  early  fifteenth  century  and  forced  the  knighU' 
to  acknowledge  Polish  sovereignty  over  the  rest  of  it.  In 
Luther's  day  (1525)  the  knights,  headed  by  tlxe  Grand  Master,, 


Fig. 


16.    The  Old  Royal  Castle 
at  koxigsberg 


This  imposing  castle  at  the  old  capital  of 
Prussia  dates  from  the  days  of  the  warring 
knights.    It  was  reconstructed  in  the  six- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  PriLssia  ;  Austria         8 1 

a  Hohenzollern,  accepted  Protestantism  and  dissolved  their 
order.  They  then  formed  their  lands  into  the  duchy  of  Prussia 
and  their  Grand  Master,  a  relative  of  the  elector  of  Branden- 
burg, became  the  first  duke,  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  king 
of  Poland.  About  a  hundred  years  later  (1618)  this  branch  of 
the  Hohenzollerns  died  out,  and  the  duchy  then  fell  to  the 
elector  of  Brandenburg. 

Notwithstanding  this  substantial  territorial  gain,  there  was   The  territo- 
little  promise  that  the  hitherto  obscure  electorate  would  ever   creatE^lectoi 
become  a  formidable  power  when,  in  1640,  Frederick  William,    (1640-1688) 
known   as   the   Great   Elector,   came   to   his   inheritance.     His 
territories  were  scattered  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Vistula,  his 
army  was   of    small    account,   and   his   authority  disputed   by 
powerful  nobles  and  local  assemblies.     The  center  of  his  do- 
main was  Brandenburg.     Far  to  the  west  was  Mark,  border- 
ing on  the  Rhine  valley,  and  Cleves,  lying  on  both  banks  of 
that  river.    Far  to  the  east,  beyond  the  Vistula,  was  the  duchy 
of  Prussia,  outside  the  borders  of  the  Empire  and  subject  to 
the  overlordship  of  the  king  of  Poland. 

Frederick  William  was,  however,  well  fitted  for  the  task  of  Character  of 
welding  these  domains  into  a  powerful -state.  He  was  coarse  by  Elector*^ 
nature,  heartless  in  destroying  opponents,  treacherous  in  his 
diplomatic  negotiations,  and  entirely  devoid  of  the  culture  which 
distinguished  Louis  XIV  and  his  court.  He  set  resolutely  to 
work  to  build  up  a  great  army,  destroy  the  local  assemblies  in 
his  provinces,  place  all  government  in  the  hands  of  his  officials, 
and  add  new  territories  to  his  patrimony. 

In  all  of  these  undertakings  he  was  largely  successful.    By  The  Great 
shrewd  tactics  during  the  closing  days  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War  makes'impor 
he  managed  to  secure,  by  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia,  the  territo-  tant  gams  m 
ries  of  the  bishoprics  of  Minden  and  Halberstadt  and  the  duchy 
of  Farther  Pomerania,  which  gave  him  a  good  shore  line  on 
the  Baltic.    He  also  forced  Poland  to  surrender  her  overlord- 
ship of  the  duchy  of  Prussia  and  thus  made  himself  a  duke 
independent  of  the  Empire. 


82 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Reforms  of 
the  Great 
Elector 


Knowing  that  the  interests  of  his  house  depended  on  mili- 
tary strength,  he  organized,  in  spite  of  the  protests  of  the  tax- 
payers, an  army  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  size  and  wealth 
of  his  dominions.  He  reformed  the  system  of  administration 
and  succeeded  in  creating  an  absolute  monarchy  on  the  model 
furnished  by  his  contemporary,  Louis  XIV.  He  joined  England 
and  Holland  in  their  alliances  against  Louis,  and  the  army  of 
Brandenburg  began  to  be  known  and  feared. 

In  short.  Elector  Frederick  William  of  Brandenburg  laid  the 
foundations  for  that  autocratic,  militaristic  Prussia  which  did  not 


Territories  of  the  Great  Elector  of  Brandenburg 


Militaristic 
Prussia 
founded  by 
the  Great 
Elector 


Brandenburg 
becomes  the 
kingdom  of 
Prussia,  1701 


fully  exhibit  its  hateful  ideas  of  merciless  aggression  and  heart- 
less ambition  until  the  Great  War  of  1 9 1 4.  Through  many  vicissi- 
tudes under  its  Hohenzollern  rulers,  some  of  them  warlike  and 
ruthless,  some  of  them  feeble  and  timid,  Prussia  gradually  added 
to  its  territory  by  seizing  that  of  its  neighbors  until  it  brought  all 
of  Germany  under  its  domination.  Then  its  ruling  class  began, 
as  we  shall  see,  to  dream  of  nothing  less  than  a  Middle  European 
Empire  which  Germany  should  control  in  her  own  interests. 

It  was  accordingly  a  dangerous  legacy  which  the  Great  Elector 
left  in  1688  to  his  son,  Frederick  III,  and  although  the  career 
of  the  latter  was  by  no  means  as  brilliant  as  that  of  his  father, 
he  was  able  by  a  bold  stroke  to  transform  his  electorate  into  a 


The  Rise  of  Rtissia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria         83 

kingdom.  The  opportunity  for  this  achievement  was  offered  by 
the  need  of  the  powers  for  his  assistance  against  the  designs  of 
Louis  XIV.  When  the  Emperor  called  upon  Frederick  III  in 
1700  to  assist  him  in  securing  a  division  of  the  Spanish  domin- 
ions (see  above,  p.  69),  the  elector  exacted  as  the  price  of  his  help 
the  recognition  of  his  right  to  take  the  title  of  king. 

The  title  "  King  in  Prussia  "  ^  was  deemed  preferable  to  the 
more  natural  "  King  of  Brandenburg"  because  Prussia  lay  wholly 


I   !       y    ^    ,.-~.^'^>^^-^<^:^-^- 


Fig.  17.   View  of  Berlin  in  1717 

Berlin  was  only  a  small  town  until  the  days  of  the  Great  Elector.  It  in- 
creased from  about  eight  thousand  inhabitants  in  1650  to  about  twenty 
thousand  in  16S8.  It  is  therefore  not  a  really  ancient  city,  hke  Paris 
or  London.  Most  of  its  great  growth  has  taken  place  in  the  nineteenth 
and  twentieth  centuries 


without  the  bounds  of  the  Empire  and  consequently  its  ruler  was 
not  in  any  sense  subject  to  the  Emperor  but  was  entirely  inde- 
pendent. So  the  elector  Frederick  III  became  King  Frederick  I  and 
was  crowned  with  great  state  at  the  Prussian  capital,  Konigsberg. 
The  second  ruler  of  the  new  kingdom,  Frederick  William  I, 
the  father  of  Frederick  the  Great,  is  known  to  history  as  the 
rough  and  boorish  barrack  king  who  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
governing  his  realm,  collecting  tall  soldiers,  drilling  his  battalions, 

1  Since  West  Prussia  still  belonged  to  Poland  in  1701,  the  new  king  satisfied 
himself  with  the  title  King  in  Prussia.  It  was  changed  by  Frederick  the  Great 
to  Kin^  of  Prussia. 


Frederick  III, 
elector  of 
Brandenburg, 
becomes  King 
Frederick  I 
of  Prussia 

Government 
of  Frederick 
William  I 
(1 713-1740) 


84 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Frederick 
William  and 
his  soldiers 


His  states- 
manship 


Miserly 
economy  in 
finances 


hunting  wild  game,  and  smoking  strong  tobacco.  He  ruled  his 
family  and  his  country  with  an  iron  hand,  declaring  to  those 
who  remonstrated,  "  Salvation  belongs  to  the  Lord ;  everything 
else  is  my  business."  ^ 

Frederick  William  was  passionately  fond  of  military  life  from 
his  childhood.  He  took  special  pride  in  stalwart  soldiers  and 
collected  them  at  great  expense  from  all  parts  of  Europe.  He 
raised  the  army,  which  numbered  twenty-seven  thousand  in  the 
days  of  the  Great  Elector,  to  eighty-four  thousand,  making  it 
almost  equal  to  that  maintained  by  France  or  Austria.  He  re- 
served to  himself  the  right  to  appoint  subordinates  as  well  as 
high  officials  in  the  service,  and  based  promotion  on  ability 
and  efficiency  rather  than  on  family  connections.  He  was  con- 
stantly drilling  and  reviewing  his  men,  whom  he  addressed 
affectionately  as  "  my  blue  children." 

Frederick  William,  however,  combined  with  this  extravagant 
militarism  a  genuine  statesmanship.  He  made  Prussia  a  well- 
governed  state,  although  he  insisted  on  running  everything  him- 
self. Moreover,  by  wise  management  and  miserly  thrift,  he 
treasured  up  a  huge  sum  of  money.  He  discharged  a  large 
number  of  court  servants,  sold  at  auction  many  of  the  royal 
jewels,  and  had  a  great  portion  of  the  family  plate  coined 
into  money.  Consequently  he  was  able  to  leave  to  his.  son, 
Frederick  H,  not  only  a  strong  army  but  an  arnple  supply  of 
gold.  Indeed,  it  was  his  toil  and  economy  that  made  possible 
the  achievements  of  his  far  better  known  son. 


Section  15.    The  Wars  of  Frederick  the  Great 


Accession  of 
Frederick  II 
of  Prussia, 
called  "  the 
Great " 
(1740-1786) 


Frederick  H  came  to  the  throne  in  the  spring  of  1740.  In 
his  early  years  he  had  grieved  and  disgusted  his  boorish 
old  father  by  his  dislike  for  military  life  and  his  interest  in 
books  and  music.    He  was  a  particular  admirer  of  the  French 

1  For  Frederick  William's  instructions  for  the  education  of  his  son,  see 
Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  65. 


The  Rise  of  Russia  a7td  Prussia  ;  Austria         85 

and  preferred  their  language  to  his  own.  No  sooner  had  he 
become  king,  however,  than  he  suddenly  developed  great  energy 
and  ruthlessness  in  warlike  enterprises.  Chance  favored  his 
designs.  The  Emperor  Charles  VI,  the  last  representative  of 
the  direct  male  line  of  the  Hapsburgs  died  in  1740,  just  a  few 


^         =^ 


Fig.  18.    Military  Punishment 

The  armies  of  the  old  regime  were  mostly  made  up  of  hired  soldiers  or 
serfs,  and  the  officers  maintained  discipline  by  cruel  punishments.  In 
this  picture  of  a  Prussian  regiment  one  soldier  is  being  flogged  while 
half  suspended  by  his  wrists ;  another  is  forced  to  walk  between  two 
files  of  soldiers  who  must  beat  his  bared  back  with  heavy  rods.  It  has 
been  said  that  these  soldiers  found  war  a  relief  from  the  terrors  of 
peace,  since  in  war  time  the  punishments  were  lessened 


months  before  Frederick  ascended  the  throne,  leaving  only  a 
daughter,  Maria  Theresa,  to  inherit  his  vast  and  miscellaneous   Maria 
dominions.     He  had  induced  the  other  European  powers  to  a^d  the 
promise  to  accept  the  "  pragmatic  sanction  "  or  solemn  will  in  ^^^f^^^^ 
which   he  left  everything  to  the  young  Maria  Theresa;  but 
she  had  no  sooner  begun  to  reign  than  her  greedy  neighbors 


86  Outlines  of  European  History 

prepared  to  seize  her  lands.  Her  greatest  enemy  was  the  newly 
crowned  king  of  Prussia,  who  at  first  pretended  friendship  for 
her.  Frederick  determined  to  seize  Silesia,  a  strip  of  Hapsburg 
territory  lying  to  the  southeast  of  Brandenburg.   In  true  Prussian 


Fig.  19.    Frederick  II  of  Prussia,  commonly  called 
"  THE  Great" 

fashion  he  marched  his  army  into  the  coveted  district,  and  occu- 
pied the  important  city  of  Breslau  without  declaring  war  or  offer- 
ing any  excuse  except  a  vague  claim  to  a  portion  of  the  land.^ 

France,  stimulated  by  Frederick's  example,  joined  with  Bavaria 
in  the  attack  upon  Maria  Theresa.  It  seemed  for  a  time  as  if 
her  struggle  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  her  realm  would  be 
vain,  but  the  loyalty  of  all  the  various  peoples  under  her  scepter 

1  As  no  woman  had  ever  been  elected  Empress,  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  managed 
to  secure  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  as  Emperor  Charles  VII.  Upon  his  death, 
however,  in  1745,  Maria  Theresa's  husband,  Francis,  Duke  of  Lorraine,  was 
chosen  Emperor.  Their  son,  Joseph  II,  succeeded  his  father  in  1765,  and  upon 
his  death  in  1790  his  brother  Leopold  II  was  elected.  When  he  died,  in  1792,  the 
Empire  fell  to  his  son  Francis  II,  who  was  the  last  of  the  "  Roman"  emperors 
and  assumed  the  new  title  ■'  Emperor  of  Austria."   See  below,  p.  286. 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria  8/ 

was  roused  by  her  extraordinary  courage  and  energy.  The 
French  were  driven  back,  but  Maria  Theresa  was  forced  to 
grant  Silesia  to  Frederick  in  order  to  induce  him  to  retire  from 
the  war.  Finally,  England  and  Holland  joined  in  an  alliance  for 
maintaining  the  balance  of  power,  for  they  had  no  desire  to  see 
France  annex  the  Austrian  Netherlands.  A  few  years  later 
(i  748)^  all  the  powers,  tired  of  the  war,  laid  down  their  arms  and 
agreed  to  what  is  called  in  diplomacy  the  status  quo  ante  bellum, 
which  simply  means  that  things  were  to  be  restored  to  the  con- 
dition in  which  they  had  been  before  the  opening  of  hostilities. 

Frederick   was,   however,  permitted  to  keep  Silesia,  which   Frederick 
increased  his  dominions  by  about  one  third   of  their  former  material  de- 
extent.    He  now  turned  his  attention  to  making  his  subjects  of  Pr^sia 
happier  and  more  prosperous,  by  draining  the  swamps,  pro- 
moting industry,   and  drawing  up   a   new  code  of  laws.    He 
found  time,  also,  to  gratify  his  interest  in  men  of  letters,  and 
invited  the  great  French  writer,  Voltaire,^  to  make  his  home 
at  Berlin. 

Maria  Theresa  was  by  no  means  reconciled  to  the  loss  of  The  Seven 
Silesia,  and  she  began  to  lay  her  plans  for  expelling  the  per- 
fidious Frederick  and  regaining  her  lost  territory.  This  led  to 
one  of  the  most  important  wars  in  modern  history,  in  which 
not  only  almost  every  European  power  joined,  but  which  in- 
volved the  whole  world,  from  the  Indian  rajahs  of  Hindustan 
to  the  colonists  of  Virginia  and  New  England.  This  Seven 
Years'  War  (i 756-1 763)  will  be  considered  in  its  broader 
aspects  in  the  next  chapter.  We  note  here  only  the  part 
played  in  it  by  the  king  of  Prussia. 

Maria  Theresa's  ambassador  at  Paris  was  so  skillful  in  his   The  alHance 
negotiations  with  the  French  court  that  in   1756  he  induced   p^ussIa 
it,  in  spite  of  its  two  hundred  years  of  hostility  to  the  House 
of  Hapsburg,  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  Austria  against 
Prussia.    Russia,  Sweden,  and  Saxony  also  agreed  to  join  in  a 
concerted  attack  on  Prussia.    Their  armies,  coming  as  they  did 

1  By  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  2  See  below,  pp.  149  ff. 


If  on 


1 

-     I    V 

-r       / 

r- 

IMIV. 

-i\} 

~y^ 

) 

PRUSSIA 

at  the  Death  of 
FREDERICK  THE  GREAT 

in.  1786 


SCALE  OF   MILES 


88 


The  Rise  of  RiLssia  and  Prussia  ;  Aiistria         89 

from  every  point  of  the  compass,  threatened  the  complete 
annihilation  of  Austria's  rival.  It  seemed  as  if  the  new  kingdom 
of  Prussia  might  disappear  altogether  from  the  map  of  Europe. 

However,  it  was  in  this  war  that  Frederick  earned  his  title  Frederick's 
of  "  the  Great "  and  he  has  often  been  classed,  by  those  who  dSense"^ 
admire  conquerors,  with  the  ablest  generals  the  world  has  seen. 
Learning  the  object  of  the  allies,  he  did  not  wait  for  them  to 
declare  war  against  him,  but  occupied  Saxony  at  once  and 
then  moved  on  into  Bohemia,  where  he  nearly  succeeded  in 
taking  the  capital,  Prague.  Here  he  was  forced  to  retire,  but 
in  1757  he  defeated  the  French  and  his  German  enemies  in 
the  most  famous,  perhaps,  of  his  battles,  at  Rossbach.  A  month 
later  he  routed  the  Austrians  at  Leuthen,^  not  far  from  Bres- 
lau.  Thereupon  the  Swedes  and  the  Russians  retired  from  the 
field  and  left  Frederick  for  the  moment  master  of  the  situation. 

England  now  engaged  the  French  and  left  Frederick  at  Frederick 
liberty  to  deal  with  his  other  enemies.  While  he  exhibited  umphs  over 
marvelous  military  skill,  he  was  by  no  means  able  to  gain  all 
the  battles  in  which  he  engaged.  For  a  time,  indeed,  it  looked 
as  if  he  might,  after  all,  be  vanquished.  But  the  accession  of  a 
new  Tsar,  who  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Frederick,  led  Russia 
to  conclude  peace  with  Prussia,  whereupon  Maria  Theresa  re- 
luctantly agreed  to  give  up  once  more  her  struggle  with  her 
inveterate  enemy.  Shortly  afterwards  England  and  France  came 
to  terms,  and  a  general  settlement  was  made  at  Paris  in  1763.^ 

Section  16.    Three  Partitions  of  Poland,   1772, 
1793,  AND  1795 

Frederick's  success  in  seizing  and  holding  one  of  Austria's 
finest  provinces  did  not  satisfy  him.  The  central  portions  of  his 
kingdom  —  Brandenburg,  Silesia,  and  Pomerania  —  were  com- 
pletely cut  off  from  East  Prussia  by  a  considerable  tract  known 

1  For  Frederick's  address  to  his  officers  before  the  battle  of  Leuthen,  see 
Read'mgs,  Vol.  I,  p.  80.  2  See  below,  p.  iii. 


Austria 


90 


OjUliiies  of  European  History 


as  West  Prussia,  which  belonged  to  the  kingdom  of  Poland. 
The  map  will  show  how  great  must  have  been  Frederick's 
temptation  to  fill  this  gap,  especially  as  Poland  was  in  no  con- 
dition to  defend  its  possessions. 

With  the  exception  of  Russia,  Poland  was  the  largest  king 
dom  in  Europe.    It  covered  an  immense  plain  with  no  natural 


Fig.  20.   The  Election  of  a  Polish  King  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century 

This  is  an  eighteenth-century  engraving  of  a  Polish  diet,  meeting  in 
the  open  country  outside  of  Warsaw,  whose  churches  are  just  visible, 
in  order  to  elect  a  king.  In  the  center  of  the  picture  a  ditch  sur- 
rounds the  meeting  place  of  the  senators,  who  are  holding  a  solemn 
public  session  out  in  front  of  their  little  house.  On  the  plain  there  are 
processions  of  nobles  and  various  indications  of  a  celebration 


Mixed  popu- 
lation and 
discordant 
religions  in 
Poland 


boundaries,  and  the  population,  which  was  very  thinly  scattered, 
belonged  to  several  races.  Besides  the  Poles  themselves,  there 
were  Germans  in  the  cities  of  West  Prussia,  and  the  Lithuanians 
and  Russians  in  Lithuania.  The  Jews  were  very  numerous 
everywhere,  forming  half  of  the  population  in  some  of  the 
towns.  The  Poles  were  usually  Catholics,  while  the  Germans 
were  Protestants,  and  the  Russians  adhered  to  the  Greek 
Church.  These  differences  in  religion,  added  to  those  of  race, 
created  endless  difficulties  and  dissensions. 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria  91 

The  government  of  Poland  was  the  worst  imaginable.   Instead   The  defective 
of  having  developed  a  strong  monarchy,  as  her  neighbors —  government 
Prussia,  Russia,  and  Austria  —  had  done,  she  remained  in  a 
state  of  feudal  anarchy  which  the  nobles  had  taken  the  greatest 
pains  to  perpetuate  by  binding  their  kings  in  such  a  way  that 
they  had  no  power  either  to  maintain  order  or  to  defend  the 
country  from  attack.    The  king  could  not  declare  war,  make 
peace,  impose  taxes,  or  pass  any  law  without  the  consent  of 
the  diet.    As  the  diet  was  composed  of  representatives  of  the 
nobility,  any  one  of  whom  could  freely  veto  any  measure,  —   The  Ubemm 
for  no  measure  could  pass  that  had  even  one  vote  against  it,  — 
most  of  the  diets  broke  up  without  accomplishing  anything. 

The  kingship  was  not  hereditary'  in  Poland,  but  whenever  The  elective 
the  ruler  died,  the  nobles  assembled  and  chose  a  new  one, 
commonly  a  foreigner.  These  elections  were  tumultuous,  and 
the  various  European  powers  regularly  interfered,  by  force  or 
bribery,  to  secure  the  election  of  a  candidate  who  they 
believed  would  favor  their  interests. 

The  nobles  in  Poland  were  numerous.  There  were  perhaps  The  Polish 
a  million  and  a  half  of  them,  mostly  very  poor,  owning  only  a  peasants" 
trifling  bit  of  land.  There  was  a  jocular  saying  that  the  poor 
noble's  dog,  even  if  he  sat  in  the  middle  of  the  estate,  was  sure 
to  have  his  tail  upon  a  neighbor's  land.  It  wag  the  few  rich  and 
powerful  families  that  really  controlled  such  government  as  might 
be  said  to  have  existed  in  Poland.  There  was  no  middle  class 
except  in  the  few  German  towns.  In  the  Polish  and  Lithuanian 
towns  such  industr}'  and  commerce  as  existed  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  Jews,  who  were  not  recognized  as  citizens  and  who  both 
oppressed  and  were  oppressed.  The  peasants  were  miserable 
indeed.  They  had  sunk  from  serfs  to  slaves  over  whom  their 
lords  had  the  right  of  life  and  death. 

It  required  no  great  insight  to  foresee  that  Poland  was  in   Catherine  il 
danger  of  falling  a  prey  to  her  greedy  and  powerful  neighbors,   erick  n  agree 
Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria,  who  clamped  in  the  unfortunate   on  Polish 

'  '  r  matters,  1764 

kingdom  on  all  sides.    They  had  long  shamelessly  interfered  in 


92 


Outlines  of  European  History 


its  affairs  and  had  actually  taken  active  measures  to  oppose  all 
reforms  of  the  constitution  in  order  that  they  might  profit  by 
the  existing  anarchy.  When  Augustus  III  died  in  1763,  just 
as  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  been  brought  to  a  close,  Fred- 
erick immediately  arranged  with  the  new  Russian  ruler,  the 

famous  Catherine  II, 
to  put  upon  the  va- 
cant Polish  throne  her 
favorite,  Poniatowski, 
who  took  the  title  of 
Stanislas  II. 

Catherine  was  soon 
disappointed  in  Stanis- 
las Poniatowski,  who 
showed  himself  favor- 
able to  reform.  He 
even  proposed  to  do 
away  with  the  liberiim 
veto  —  the  sacred 
right  of  any  member 
of  the  diet  to  block  a 
measure  no  matter 
how  salutary.  Russia, 
however,  supported 
by  Prussia,  intervened 
to  demand  that  the 
Hbe?'u?n  veto,  which 
insured  continued  an- 
archy, should  be  maintained.  Then  came  several  years  of  civil 
war  between  the  several  factions,  a  war  in  which  the  Russians 
freely  intervened. 

Austria  was  a  neighbor  of  Poland  and  deeply  interested  in  her 
affairs.  She  consequently  approached  her  old  enemy,  Frederick, 
and  between  them  they  decided  that  Russia  should  be  allowed 
to  take  a  portion  of  Poland  if  Catherine  would  consent  to  give 


Fig.  21.   The  Cathedral  of  Cracow 

In  this  picturesque  old  cathedral  many  Pol- 
ish kings  were  crowned  and  many  lie  buried. 
The  chapels  are  beautiful,  partly  of  the  best 
Renaissance  style 


The  Rise  of  Rtissia  a7id  Prussia  ;  Austria         93 

up  most  of  the  conquests  her  armies  had  just  made  in  Turkey  ; 
then  Austria,  in  order  to  maintain  the  balance  of  power,  should 
be  given  a  slice  of  Poland,  and  Frederick  should  take  the 
longed-for  West  Prussia. 

Accordingly  in  1772  Poland's  three  neighbors  arranged  to  First  par- 
take each  a  portion  of  the  distracted  kingdom.  Austria  was  Poiand  1772 
assigned  a  strip  inhabited  by  almost  three  million  Poles  and 
Russians,  and  thus  added  two  new  kinds  of  people  and  two  new 
languages  to  her  already  varied  collection  of  races  and  tongues. 
Prussia  was  given  a  smaller  piece,  but  it  was  the  coveted  West 
Prussia  which  she  needed  to  fill  out  her  boundaries,  and  its 
inhabitants  were  to  a  considerable  extent  Germans  and  Protes- 
tants. Russia's  strip  on  the  east  was  inhabited  entirely  by 
Russians.  The  Polish  diet  was  forced,  by  the  advance  of  Russian 
troops  to  Warsaw,  to  approve  the  partition.^ 

Poland  seemed  at  first,  however,  to  have  learned  a  great  Revival  of 
lesson  from  the  disaster.  During  the  twenty  years  following  its  i7°72-i~qi 
first  dismemberment  there  was  an  extraordinary  revival  in  edu- 
cation, art,  and  literature  ;  the  old  universities  at  Vilna  and 
Cracow  were  reorganized  and  many  new  schools  established. 
King  Stanislas  Poniatowski  summoned  French  and  Italian  artists 
and  entered  into  correspondence  with  the  French  philosophers  •    * 

and  reformers.  Historians  and  poets  sprang  up  to  give  dis- 
tinction to  the  last  days  of  Polish  independence.  The  old  intoler- 
ance and  bigotry  decreased,  and,  above  all,  the  constitution 
which  had  made  Poland  the  laughingstock  and  the  victim  of  its 
neighbors  was  abolished  and  an  entirely  new  one  worked  out. 

The   new  Polish  constitution,   approved  on  May  3,   1791,   The  new 
did  away  with  the  liberum  veto,  made  the  crown  hereditar}',   stitmion°" 
established  a  parliament  something  like  that  of  England  —  in   of  179  ^ 
short,  gave  to  the  king  power  enough  to  conduct  the  govern- 
ment efficiently  and  yet  made  him  and  his  ministers  dependent 
upon  the  representatives  of  the  nation. 

1  Catherine's  announcement  of  the  first  partition  of  Poland  is  in  the  Readings, 
Vol.  I,  p.  82. 


94 


Outlines  of  European  History 


There  was  a  party,  however,  which  regretted  the  changes 
and  feared  that  they  might  result  in  time  in  doing  away  with 
the  absolute  control  of  the  nobles  over  the  peasants.  These 
opponents  of  reform  appealed  to  Catherine  for  aid.  She,  mind- 
ful as  always  of  her  own  interests,  denounced  all  changes  in  a 


£fe»"W/ 


Fig.  22.  A  Cartoon  of  the  Partition  of  Poland 

Catherine  II,  Joseph  II,  and  Frederick  II  are  pointing  out  on  the  map 

the  part  of  Poland  they  each  propose  to  take.    The  king  of  Poland  is 

trying  to  hold  his  crown  from  falling  off  his  head.    The  map  should  be 

turned  upside  down  to  see  what  is  left  of  Poland 

government  "  under  which  the  Polish  republic  had  flourished 
for  so  many  centuries,"  and  declared  that  the  reformers  were 
no  better  than  the  abhorred  French  Jacobins,  who  were  busy 
destroying  the  power  of  their  king.^  She  sent  her  soldiers  and 
her  wild  Cossacks  into  Poland,  and  the  enemies  of  the  new 
constitution  were  able  with  her  help  to  undo  all  that  had  been 
done  and  to  reestablish  the  liberiwi  veto. 


1  See  below,  pp.  217  ff. 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria  95 

Not  satisfied  with  plunging  Poland  into  her  former  anarchy,  Second  par- 
Russia  and  Prussia  determined  to  rob  her  of  still  more  terri-  ^cA^vl,  1793 
tory.  Frederick  the  Great's  successor,  Frederick  William  II, 
ordered  his  forces  across  his  eastern  boundary  on  the  ground 
that  Danzig  was  sending  grain  to  the  French  revolutionists, 
that  Poland  was  infested  with  Jacobins,  and  that,  in  general, 
she  threatened  the  tranquillity  of  her  neighbors.  Prussia  cut 
deep  into  Poland,  added  a  million  and  a  half  of  Poles  to  her 
subjects,  and  acquired  the  towns  of  Thorn,  Danzig,  and  Posen.^ 
Russia's  gains  were  three  millions  of  people,  who  at  least  be- 
longed to  her  own  race.  On  this  occasion  Austria  was  put  off 
with  the  promises  of  her  confederates,  Russia  and  Prussia, 
that  they  would  use  their  good  offices  to  secure  Bavaria  for 
her  in  exchange  for  the  Austrian  Netherlands. 

At  this  juncture  the  Poles  found  a  national  leader  in  the   Revolt  of 
brave  Kosciusko,  who  had  fought  under  Washington  for  Amer-   Kosciusko, 
ican  liberty.    With  the  utmost  care  and  secrecy  he  organized   ^794 
an  insurrection  in  the  spring  of  1794  and  summoned  the  Polish 
people  to  join  his  standard  of  national  independence.  The  Poles 
who  had  been  incorporated  into  the  Prussian  monarchy  there- 
upon rose  and  forced  Frederick  William  to  withdraw  his  forces. 

Catherine  was  ready^  however,  to  crush  the  patriots.  Kos-  Third  and 
ciusko  was  wounded  and  captured  in  battle,  and  by  the  end  of  tion,^795 
the  year  Russia  was  in  control  of  Warsaw.  The  Polish  king 
was  compelled  to  abdicate,  and  the  remnants  of  the  dismembered 
kingdom  were  divided,  after  much  bitter  contention,  among 
Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia.  In  the  three  partitions  which 
blotted  out  the  kingdom  of  Poland  from  the  map  of  Europe, 
Russia  received  nearly  all  of  the  old  grand  duchy  of  Lithuania, 
or  nearly  twice  the  combined  shares  of  Austria  and  Prussia. 

But  the  Poles  have  never  lost  their  strong  national  feeling,  and 
have  steadily  resisted  the  efforts  of  the  governments  of  Russia  or 
Germany  ^  to  absorb  them  or  crush  their  patriotism. 

1  For  Frederick  William  IPs  proclamation  to  the  Poles,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I, 
p.  85.  2  Austria  has  granted  them  favored  terms  in  Galicia, 


96 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Haps- 
burgs  in 
Austria 


Conquests  of 
the  Turks 
in  Europe 


Section  17.    The  Austrian  Realms 
Theresa  and  Joseph  II 


Maria 


While  the  Hohenzollerns  of  Prussia  from  their  capital  at 
Berlin  had  been  extending  their  power  over  northern  Germany, 
the  great  House  of  Hapsburg,  established  in  the  southeastern 
corner  of  Germany,  with  its  capital  at  Vienna,  had  been  group- 
ing together,  by  conquest  or  inheritance,  the  vast  realm  over 
much  of  which  they  still  rule.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Charles  V,  shortly  after  his  accession,  ceded  to  his  brother, 
Ferdinand  I,  the  German  or  Austrian  possessions  of  the  House 
of  Hapsburg,^  while  he  himself  retained  the  Spanish,  Burgun- 
dian,  and  Italian  dominions.  Ferdinand,  by  a  fortunate  mar- 
riage with  the  heiress  of  the  kingdoms  of  Bohemia  and  Hungary, 
greatly  augmented  his  territory.  Hungary  was,  however,  al- 
most completely  conquered  by  the  Turks  at  that  time,  and  till 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  energies  of  the  Aus- 
trian rulers  were  largely  absorbed  in  a  long  struggle  against 
the  Mohammedans. 

A  Turkish  tribe  from  Western  Asia  had,  at  the  opening  of 
the  fourteenth  century,  established  themselves  in  western  Asia 
Minor  under  their  leader  Othman  (d.  1326).  It  was  from  him 
that  they  derived  their  name  of  Ottoman  Turks,  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Seljuk  Turks,  with  whom  the  crusaders  had 
come  into  contact.  The  leaders  of  the  Ottoman  Turks  showed 
great  energy.  They  not  only  extended  their  Asiatic  territory  far 
toward  the  east,  and  later  into  Africa,  but  they  gained  a  footing 
in  Europe  as  early  as  1353.  They  gradually  conquered  the 
Slavic  peoples  in  Macedonia  and  occupied  the  territory  about 
Constantinople,  although  it  was  a  hundred  years  before  they 
succeeded-  in  capturing  the  ancient  capital  of  the  Eastern 
Empire. 

This  advance  of  the  Turks  naturally  aroused  grave  fears  in 
the  states  of  western  Europe  lest  they  too  might  be  deprived  of 

^  For  the  origin  of  the  Austrian  dominions,  see  Part  I,  pp.  562  ff. 


The  Rise  of  Riissia  and  Pncssia  ;  Aiistria         97 

their  independence.    The  brunt  of  the  defense  against  the  com-  The  defense 
mon  foe  devolved  upon  Venice  and  the  German  Hapsburgs,   against°the 
who  carried  on  an  almost  continuous  war  with  the  Turks  for  Turks 
nearly  two  centuries.    As  late  as  1683  the  Mohammedans  col- 
lected a  large  force  and  besieged  Vienna,  which  might  very  well 
have  fallen  into  their  hands  had  it  not  been  for  the  timely  assist- 
ance which  the  city  received  from  the  king  of  Poland.     From 
this  time  on,  the  power  of  the  Turks  in  Europe  rapidly  de- 
creased, and  the  Hapsburgs  were  able  to  regain  the  whole 
territory  of  Hungary  and  Transylvania,   their  right  to  which 
was  formally  recognized  by  the  Sultan  in   1699. 

The  conquest  of  Silesia  by  Frederick  the  Great  was  more 
than  a  severe  blow  to  the  pride  of  Maria  Theresa ;  for,  since  it 
was  inhabited  by  Germans,  its  loss  lessened  the  Hapsburg 
power  inside  the  Empire.  In  extent  of  territory  the  Hapsburgs 
more  than  made  up  for  it  by  the  partitions  of  Poland,  but  since 
the  Poles  were  an  alien  race,  they  added  one  more  difficulty  to 
the  very  difficult  problem  of  ruling  so  many  different  peoples, 
each  of  whom  had  a  different  language  and  different  customs 
and  institutions.  The  Hapsburg  possessions  were  inhabited  by 
Germans  in  Austria  proper,  a  Slav  people  (the  Czechs)  mixed 
with  Germans  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  Poles  in  Galicia,  Hun- 
garians or  Magyars  along  with  Roumanians  and  smaller  groups 
of  other  peoples  in  Hungary,  Croats  and  Slovenes  (both  Slavs) 
in  the  south,  Italians  in  Milan  and  Tuscany,  Flemish  and  Wal- 
loons in  the  Netherlands. 

Maria  Theresa  ruled  these  races  with  energy  and  skill.  She 
patiently  attended  to  all  the  tiresome  matters  of  State,  read 
long  documents  and  reports,  and  conferred  with  the  ambassa- 
dors of  foreign  powers.  After  her  long  reign  of  forty  years  her 
son  Joseph,  who  had  already  been  elected  Emperor  as  Joseph  II, 
tried  in  the  ten  years  of  his  rule  (i 780-1 790)  to  modernize 
his  backward  states  of  southeastern  Europe  by  a  series  of 
sweeping  reforms.    These  reforms,  which  are  described  below,^ 

1  See  p.  166. 


98  '      Outlines  of  Eitropean  History 

were  bitterly  opposed,  however,  and  the  Hapsburg  realms  were 
not  unified  into  a  strong  modern  state,  Poles,  Italians,  Magyars, 
and  Germans  could  never  be  united  by  such  common  interests 
as  Englishmen  or  Frenchmen  have  felt  so  keenly  in  the  last 
two  centuries.  Instead  of  fusing  together  to  form  a  nation,  the 
peoples  ruled  over  by  the  Hapsburgs  have  been  on  such  bad 
terms  with  each  other  that  it  sometimes  seemed  as  if  they  would 


Fig.  23.    Maria  Theresa 

split  apart,  forming  separate  nations.  Moreover,  since  some  of 
these  peoples,  especially  the  Slavs,  Poles,  and  Roumanians,  live 
in  neighboring  states  as  well,  the  Hapsburg  monarchy  is  much 
concerned  with  what  happens  outside  its  borders.  The  imme- 
diate cause  of  the  terrible  European  war  which  began  in  19 14 
was  trouble  between  Austria  and  her  neighbor  Serbia.  So  if 
one  hopes  to  understand  the  great  questions  of  our  own  time, 
he  must  follow  carefully  the  complicated  history  of  Austria  and 
her  ever-changing  realms. 


I 


The  Rise  of  Russia  and  Prussia  ;  Austria         99 

QUESTIONS 

Section  13.  What  part  did  the  Northmen  play  in  the  history  of 
Russia?  What  is  the  significance  of  the  introduction  of  the  Greek 
form  of  Christianity  into  Russia  ?  What  new  people  entered  Russia 
in  the  thirteenth  century?  What  was  the  result  of  this  invasion? 
Who  first  bore  the  title  of  Tsar  ?  When  did  Peter  the  Great  reign  ? 
What  two  tasks  did  he  set  himself  ?  Describe  the  reforms  of  Peter 
the  Great. 

How  did  Peter  the  Great  come  into  conflict  with  Charles  XII  of 
Sweden?  When  and  where  did  Charles  XII  meet  defeat?  Draw  a 
map  and  on  it  show  the  permanent  territorial  gains  which  Peter 
made  as  a  result  of  his  war  with  Charles  XII.  What  territory  was 
lost  and  gained  by  Russia  during  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  ? 

Section  14.  Who  are  the  Hohenzollerns?  How  did  the  elec- 
torate of  Brandenburg  come  into  the  possession  of  the  Hohenzol- 
lerns ?  What  territory  was  gained  by  the  elector  of  Brandenburg  in 
1 614?  in  1 61 8?  Give  the  history  of  Prussia  down  to  161 8.  Describe 
the  character  and  work  of  the  Great  Elector.  Draw  a  map  and  on 
it  show  (a)  the  territory  belonging  to  the  Great  Elector  at  the  time 
of  his  accession,  (^b)  the  territory  gained  during  his  lifetime. 

What  was  the  importance  of  the  Great  Elector  from  the  stand- 
point of  to-day  ?  In  what  way  and  where  did  Frederick  I  add  to  the 
power  of  the  House  of  Hohenzollern  ?  Account  for  the  choice  of 
''  King  of  Prussia  "  rather  than  "  King  of  Brandenburg,"  as  well  ^s 
for  the  royal  tide  in  its  earlier  form,  ^'  King  in  Prussia."  Describe 
the  character  and  the  government  of  Frederick  William  I. 

Section  i  5.  Describe  the  circumstances  under  which  Maria 
Theresa  came  to  the  throne  of  Austria.  What  problems  faced  Maria 
Theresa  from  the  first?  In  what  way  did  Frederick  the  Great  take 
advantage  of  Maria  Theresa?  What  war  resulted  from  this  act  of 
aggression?  Between  what  nations  and  during  what  years  was  it 
fought?  What  was  the  outcome?  To  what  second  war  did  the  loss 
of  Silesia  lead?  Between  what  countries,  where,  and  when  was  it 
fought  ?    Give  the  terms  of  the  treaty  which  ended  this  war. 

Section  16.  Make  an  outline  map  of  the  territory  ruled  over  by 
Frederick  the  Great  previoiTs  to  1772.  What  country  separated 
the  eastern  and  western  portions  of  the  Hohenzollern  dominions? 
Describe  the  races  which  made  up  the  population  of  Poland.  Give 
an  account  of  the  government  of  Poland.     Into  what  classes  were 


lOO  Outlines  of  Europe a?i  History 

the  people  divided  ?  Describe  the  relations  between  Poland  and  the 
countries  which  surrounded  her.  What  part  did  Frederick  the  Great 
and  Catherine  II  of  Russia  play  in  the  history  of  Poland  in  the  years 
closely  following  the  end  of  the  Seven  Years'  War? 

What  proposal  did  Maria  Theresa  make  to  Frederick  the  Great 
and  Catherine  II  prior  to  1772?  What  was  the  result  of  the  agree- 
ment made  between  these  three  monarchs?  Compare  the  gains 
made  by  the  parties  to  this  agreement  as  a  result  of  the  first  partition 
of  Poland,  in  1772.  What  was  the  result  of  this  partition  in  Poland 
between  the  years  1772  and  1791  ?  Describe  the  Polish  constitution 
of  I  791 .  Were  the  Poles  unanimous  in  their  approval  of  the  change 
in  government?  What  measures  were  taken  to  prevent  the  reforms 
of  the  new  constitution  from  being  carried  out?  What  excuse  was 
offered  for  the  second  partition  of  Poland,  in  1 793  ?  What  was  the 
outcome  of  this  partition  ? 

Section  17.  Explain  the  relations  of  Austria  and  the  Turks. 
What  was  the  extent  of  the  Hapsburg  dominions  when  Maria 
Theresa  came  to  the  throne  ?  Compare  the  nations  ruled  by  Joseph 
II  with  those  under  Peter  the  Great  and  Frederick  II.  Why  is 
Austria  specially  interesting  to  us  to-day? 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  STRUGGLE  BETWEEN  FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND 
IN  INDIA  AND  NORTH  AMERICA 

Section  i8.    How  Europe  began  to  extend  its 
Commerce  over  the  Whole  World 

The  long  and  disastrous  wars  of  the  eighteenth  century 
which  we  have  been  reviewing  seem,  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  changes  they  produced  in  Europe,  to  have  been  scarcely 
worth  our  attention.  It  was  not  a  vital  question  in  the  world's 
history  whether  a  member  of  the  House  of  Bourbon  or  of  the 
House  of  Hapsburg  sat  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  whether  Silesia 
belonged  to  Frederick  or  Maria  Theresa,  or  even  whether 
Poland  continued  to  exist  or  not.  But  in  addition  to  these 
contentions  among  the  various  dynasties  and  these  shiftings 
of  territory  were  other  interests  far  beyond  the  confines  of 
Europe,  and  to  these  we  must  now  turn.-^ 

Constant  wars  have  been  waged  during  the  past  two  centu-  The  history 
ries  by  the  European  nations  in  their  efforts  to  extend  and   only  toTe 
defend  their  distant  possessions.    The  War  of  the  Spanish  Sue-  explained  by 
cession  concerned  the  trade  as  well  as  the  throne  of  Spain.    The  of  Europe's 
internal  affairs  of  each  country  have  been  constantly  influenced 
by  the  demands  of  its  merchants  and  the  achievements  of  its 
sailors    and    soldiers,   fighting   rival    nations   or    alien    peoples 
thousands  of  miles  from  London,  Paris,  or  Vienna.    The  great 
manufacturing  towns   of   England  —  Leeds,   Manchester,   and 
Birmingham  —  owe  their  prosperity  to  India,  China,  and  Aus- 
tralia.   Liverpool,  Amsterdam,  and  Hamburg,  with  their  long 

1  For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  contest  between  France  and  England  in 
India  and  North  America,  'see  Robinson  and  Beard,  Development  of  Modem 
Europe^  Vol.  I,  chaps,  vi  and  vii. 

lOI 


V  o 

I  ft 

<+H  o 

o  -o 

in  Vj 

a  o 


"5      C      A 

^  o  S 


^  u  o 

O  3  <U 

?  "^  > 

o  w  o 

t/3  ,  g 


O  (U 

H  CO 

43  .S 

be  73 

^  I 

o  .3 

c  ^ 

w  t3 

M  O 


aU 


TO 


•U     «    j_, 

^  X  ■- 


^   o 


a;     O 


hiD 
C 

o 

S-i 
OS 

u 

V 

6 

X 

c 

03 

H 

tA 

(J 

X! 

hn 

11 

<U 

OJ 

rt 

x: 

X3 

ti 

XI 

M 

< 

^ 

^ 

T3 

0^ 

>> 

s 

S 

C 

x; 

X. 
bJ3 

(U 

o 

+-> 
c 

o 
o 

c: 

CJ 

H 

i-> 

o 

•— ' 

n 

u 

i) 

b/) 

hJD 

S 

o 

s 

flj 

o 

n 

T3 

a; 

X 

n 

n 

(1) 

(]) 

o 

x: 

t5 

P  -Q  -S 


X  -^s 


CO     o 

I- 

a    w 
c     c« 


bx  i^ 


<U     03 
03     ;^ 


a^ 


t;^    o    o 


•f.s 


4-1  03 

OS  •*-< 

o  t 

g  2 


The  Struggle  between  Fraiice  and  England       103 

lines  of  docks  and  warehouses  and  their  fleets  of  merchant 
vessels,  would  dwindle  away  if  their  trade  were  confined  to  the 
demands  of  their  European  neighbors. 

Europe  includes  scarcely  a  twelfth  of  the  land  upon  the  globe,   Vast  extent 
and  yet  over  three  fifths  of  the  world  is  to-day  either  occupied   pean  colonial 
by  peoples  of  European  origin  or  ruled  by  European  states,   ^o^inio" 
The  possessions  of  France  in  Asia  and  Africa  exceed  the  entire 
area  of  Europe ;  even  the  little  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands 
administers  a  colonial  dominion  three  times  the  size  of  the  Ger- 
man Empire.    The  British  empire,  of  which  the  island  of  Great 
Britain  constitutes  but  a  hundredth  part,  includes  one  fifth  of 
the  world's  dry  land.    Moreover,  European  peoples  have  popu- 
lated  the   United  States,  which    is   nearly  as   large   as   all  of 
Europe,  and  they  rule  all  of  Mexico  and  South  America. 

In  this  chapter  the  origin  of  European  colonization  will  be 
briefly  explained,  as  well  as  the  manner  in  which  England  suc- 
ceeded in  extending  her  sway  over  the  teeming  millions  of  India. 
We  shall  also  review  England's  victory  over  France  in  the  west- 
ern hemisphere.  In  this  way  the  real  meaning  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War  will  become  clear. 

The  widening  of  the  field  of  European  history  is  one  of  the   Narrow  limits 
most  striking  features  of  modern  times.    Though  the  Greeks   and  medieval 
and  Romans  carried-  on  a  large  trade  in  silks,  spices,  and  pre-  ^^"^''^'^ 
cious  stones  with  India  and  China,  they  really  knew  little  of  the 
world  beyond  southern  Europe,  northern  Africa,  and  western 
Asia,  and  much  that  they  knew  was  forgotten  during  the  Mid- 
dle Ages.    Slowly,  however,  the  interest  in  the  East  revived  and 
travelers  began  to  add  to  the  scanty  knowledge  handed  down 
from  antiquity. 

The  voyages  which  had  brought  America  and  India  within   Colonial 
the  ken  of  Europe  during  the  fifteenth  and  early  sixteenth  cen-   Portugal, 
turies  were,  as  we  know,  mainly  undertaken  by  the  Portuguese   piP,7land"in 
and  Spaniards.    Portugal  was  the  first  to  realize  the  advantage   the  sixteenth 

^  °  •  •       T     1-       ^"     seven- 

of  extending  her  commerce  by  establishing  stations  in  India  teenth 
after  Vasco  da  Gama  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good   Hope  in 


I04 


OtUlines  of  Europe  an  History 


1498;^  and  later  by  founding  posts  on  the  Brazilian  coast  of 
South  America ;  then  Spain  laid  claim  to  Mexico,  the  West 
Indies,  and  a  great  part  of  South  America.  These  two  powers 
found  formidable  rivals  in  the  Dutch;  for  when  Philip  II  was 


Fig.  25.   A  Naval  Battle  between  Sailing  Ships 

This  is  the  way  the  rival  navies  of  Holland,  France,  and  England 
fought  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Note  how  the 
ships  sail  right  up  to  the  foe  and  fire  broadsides  at  close  range.  The 
large  ship  in  front  has  rammed  an  enemy  ship ;  this  was  often  done, 
not  with  the  idea  of  sinking  it,  since  the  heavily  timbered  wooden  ships 
did  not  sink  so  easily  as  ironclads  do,  but  in  order  that  a  boarding 
party  could  clamber  over  on  to  its  decks.  Thus  naval  warfare  still  re- 
sembled somewhat  the  method  of  fighting  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans 


able  to  add  Portugal  to  the  realms  of  the  Spanish  monarchs  for 
a  few  decades  (i  580-1640),  he  immediately  closed  the  port  of 
Lisbon  to  the  Dutch  ships.  Thereupon  the  United  Provinces, 
whose  merchants  could  no  longer  procure  the  spices  which  the 
Portuguese  brought  from  the  East,  resolved  to  take  possession 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  92. 


jlish 
in  North 
America 


The  Struggle  be tive en  France  and  E7igland       105 

of  the  source  of  supplies.  They  accordingly  expelled  the  Portu- 
guese from  a  number  of  their  settlements  in  India  and  the  Spice 
Islands,  and  brought  Java,  Sumatra,  and  other  tropical  regions 
under  Dutch  control. 

In  North  America  the  chief  rivals  were  England  and  France,  Settlements 
both  of  which  succeeded  in  establishing  colonies  in  the  early  and'^Em'^^"^^ 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Englishmen  successively  settled 
at  Jamestown  in  Virginia  (1607),  then  in  New  England,  Mary- 
land, Pennsylvania,  and  elsewhere.  The  colonies  owed  their 
growth  in  part  to  the  influx  of  refugees,  —  Puritans,  Catholics, 
and  Quakers,  —  who  exiled  themselves  in  the  hope  of  gaining 
the  right  freely  to  enjoy  their  particular  forms  of  religion.-^  On 
the  other  hand,  many  came  to  better  their  fortunes  in  the  New 
World,  and  thousands  of  bond  servants  and  slaves  were  brought 
over  as  laborers. 

Section  19.    The  Contest  between  France  and 
England  for  Colonial  Empire 

Just  as  Jamestown  was  being  founded  by  the  English  the 
French  were  making  their  first  successful  settlement  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  at  Quebec.  Although  England  made  no  attempt  to 
oppose  the  French  occupation  of  Canada,  it'  progressed  very 
slowly.  In  1673  Marquette,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  and  Joliet,  a 
merchant,  explored  a  part  of  the  Mississippi  River.^  La  Salle 
sailed  down  the  great  stream  and  named  the  new  country  which 
he  entered  Louisiana,  after  his  king.  The  city  of  New  Orleans 
was  founded  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  in  17 18,  and  the  French 
established  a  chain  of  forts  between  it  and  Montreal. 

England  was  able,  however,  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  to 
establish  herself  in  the  northern  regions,  for  France  thereby 
ceded  to  her  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  the  borders  of 

1  For  the  settlement  of  the  English  and  French  in  North  America,  see  Read- 
ings^ Vol.  I,  pp.  121  ff.    For  a  fuller  narrative,  see  Muzzey,  American  History 

2  For  Marquette's  account  of  his  journey,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  ii6. 


lo6  Outlines  of  European  History 

Hudson  Bay.  While  the  number  of  English  in  North  America 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  is  reckoned  to  have 
been  over  a  million,  the  French  did  not  reach  a  hundred  thou- 
sand. Yet  careful  observers  at  the  time  were  by  no  means 
sure  that  France,  seemingly  the  most  powerful  state  in  Europe, 
was  not  destined  to  dominate  the  new  country  rather  than 
England. 
Extent  of  The  rivalry  of  England  and  France  was  not  confined  to  the 

wildernesses  of  North  America,  occupied  by  half  a  million  of 
savage  red  men.  At  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  both 
countries  had  gained  a  firm  foothold  on  the  borders  of  the  vast 
Indian  empire,  inhabited  by  two  hundred  millions  of  people  and 
the  seat  of  an  ancient  and  highly  developed  civilization.  One 
may  gain  some  idea  of  the  extent  of  India  by  laying  the  map 
of  Hindustan  upon  that  of  the  United  States.  If  the  southern- 
most point,  Cape  Comorin,  be  placed  over  New  Orleans,  Cal- 
cutta will  lie  nearly  over  New  York  City,  and  Bombay  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Des  Moines,  Iowa. 
TheMongo-  A  generation  after  Vasco  da  Gama  rounded  the  Cape,  a 
of  HlmTustan  Mongolian  conqueror,  Baber,^  had  established  his  empire  in 
India.  The  dynasty  of  Mongolian  rulers  which  he  founded  was 
able  to  keep  the  whole  country  under  its  control  for  toward  two 
centuries ;  then  after  the  death  of  the  Great  Mogul  Aurangzeb 
in  1707,  their  empire  began  to  fall  apart  in  much  the  same  way 
as  that  of  Charlemagne  had  done.  Like  the  counts  and  dukes 
of  the  Carolingian  period,  the  emperor's  officials,  the  subahdars 
and  nawabs  (nabobs),  and  the  rajahs  —  that  is,  Hindu  princes 
temporarily  subjugated  by  the  Mongols  —  had  gradually  got 
the  power  in  their  respective  districts  into  their  own  hands. 
Although  the  emperor,  or  Great  Mogul,  as  the  English  called 
him,  continued  to  maintain  himself  in  his  capital  of  Delhi,  he 
could  no  longer  be  said  to  rule  the  country  at  the  opening  of 

1  Baber  claimed  to  be  descended  from  an  earlier  invader,  the  famous  Timur 
(or  Tamerlane),  who  died  in  1405.  The  so-called  Mongol  (or  Mogul)  emperors 
were  really  Turkish  rather  than  Mongolian  in  origin. 


Scale  of  Miles 

English  Possessions 
Prench  Possessions 

I  I  Portuguese  Pogsesslbns 

I  I  Native  States 


THE  H-N,    WORKS 


The  Struggle  betweeii  France  and  England       1 07 

the  eighteenth  century  when  the  French  and  English  were  be- 
ginning to  turn  their  attention  seriously  to  his  coasts.- 

At  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century  an  English  East 
India  Company  had  been  formed  to  develop  the  trade  with   ments 
India.    This  important  company  was  destined  to  acquire  and   ^"^^^ 


English  and 
French  settle-^ 


Fig  26.   The  Taj  Mahal 

This  mausoleum  of  an  emperor  was  built  at  Agra,  India,  in  1632.  It 
has  been  described  as  "the  most  splendidly  poetic  building  in  the 
world  ...  a  dream  in  marble,  which  justifies  the  saying  that  the 
Moguls  designed  like  Titans  but  finished  like  jewelers."  The  entire 
building  is  of  white  marble,  inlaid  with  precious  stones.  Although  this 
is  regarded  as  its  most  perfect  building,  India  has  many  others  of  great 
magnificence,  witnesses  of  the  power  and  wealth  of  her  princes 


govern  an  empire  and  to  control  the  greater  part  of  the  oriental 
trade  of  England.  In  the  time  of  Charles  I  (1639),  it  had 
purchased  a  village  on  the  southeastern  coast  of  Hindustan, 
which  grew  into  the  important  English  station  of  Madras. 
About  the  same  time  posts  were  established  in  the  district  of 

1  For  accounts  of  the  Moguls,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  pp.  loi  ff. 


io8 


Oiitlmes  of  El  ir ope  ail  History 


England 
victorious  in 
the  struggle 
for  suprem- 
acy in 
America 


Bengal,  and  later  Calcutta  was  fortified.  Bombay  was  already 
an  English  station.  The  Mongolian  emperor  of  India  at  first 
scarcely  deigned  to  notice  the  presence  of  a  few  foreigners  on 
the  fringe  of  his  vast  realms.  But  before  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  hostilities  began  between  the  English  East  India 
Company  and  the  native  rulers,  which  made  it  plain  that  the 
foreigners  would  be  forced  to  defend  themselves. 

The  English  had  not  only  to  face  the  opposition  of  the  natives, 
but  of  a  European  power  as  well.  France  also  had  an  East  India 
Company,  and  Pondicherry,  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  was  its  chief  center,  with  a  population  of  sixty  thou- 
sand, of  which  two  hundred  only  were  Europeans.  It  soon  be- 
came apparent  that  there  was  little  danger  from  the  Great 
Mogul;  moreover  the  Portuguese  and  Dutch  were  out  of  the 
race,  so  the  native  princes  and  the  French  and  English  were 
left  to  fight  among  themselves  for  the  supremacy. 

Just  before  the  clash  of  European  rulers,  known  as  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  came  in  1756,  the  French  and  English  had  begun 
their  struggle  for  control  in  both  America  and  India.  In 
America  the  so-called  French  and  Indian  War  began  in  1754 
between  the  English  and  French  colonists.  General  Braddock 
was  sent  from  England  to  capture  Fort  Duquesne,  which  the 
French  had  established  to  keep  their  rivals  out  of  the  Ohio 
valley.  Braddock  knew  nothing  of  border  warfare,  and  he  was 
killed  and  his  troops  routed.^  Fortunately  for  England,  France, 
as  the  ally  of  Austria,  was  soon  engaged  in  a  war  with  Prussia 
that  prevented  her  from  giving  proper  attention  to  her  Amer- 
ican possessions.  A  famous  statesman,  William  Pitt,^  was  now 
at  the  head  of  the  English  ministry.  He  was  able  not  only  to 
succor  the  hard-pressed  king  of  Prussia  with  money  and  men, 
but  also  to  support  the  militia  of  the  thirteen  American  colonies. 
The  French  forts  at  Ticonderoga  and  Niagara  were  taken  in 
1 758-1 759.    Quebec  was  won  in  Wolfe's  heroic  attack,  and 

1  For  an  account  of  Braddock's  defeat  (1755),  see  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  126. 

2  Called  the  elder  Pitt  to  distinguish  him  from  his  son ;  see  below,  p.  171. 


The  Struggle  between  Fraiice  a7id  England       1 09 


the  next  year  all  Canada  submitted  to  the  English.^  England's 
supremacy  on  the  sea  was  demonstrated  by  three  admirals, 
each  of  whom  destroyed  a  French  fleet  in  the  same  year  that 
Quebec  was  lost  to  France. 

In  India  conflicts  between  the  French  and  the  English  had 
occurred  during  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession.  The  gov- 
ernor of  the  French  station  of  Pondicherry  was   Dupleix,  a 


Dupleix 
and  Clive 
in  India 


^^^- 

W^\ 


ftliJi 

;3L 

■m- 

~:T^smm- 

'^^m 

lillBRS^ 

^:. 

-   - -^^ 

^-''^' 

i--=^-— " 

r^isr--— 

^^- 

Fig.  27.    Quebec 

Wolfe's  army  climbed  the  cliff  (over  300  feet  high)  to  the  west  of  the 

city  (left  of  the  picture)   and  fought  there  on  the  plain  known  as  the 

Heights  of  Abraham 


soldier  of  great  energy,  who  proposed  to  drive  out  the  English 
and  firmly  establish  the  power  of  France  over  Hindustan.  His 
chances  of  success  were  greatly  increased  by  the  quarrels 
among  the  native  rulers,  some  of  whom  belonged  to  the  earlier 
Hindu  inhabitants  and  some  to  the  Mohammedan  Mongolians 
who  had  conquered  India  in  1526.  Dupleix  had  very  few 
French  soldiers,  but  he  began  the  enlistment  of  the  natives,  a 
custom  eagerly  adopted  by  the  English.    These  native  soldiers, 

1  The  battle  of  Quebec  (1759)  is  described  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  128. 


no  Outlines  of  European  Histo7'y 

whom  the  English  called  sepoys,  were  taught  to  fight  in  the 

manner  of  Europeans. 

ciive  defeats        But  the  English  colonists,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were 

up  eix  mainly  traders,  discovered  among  the  clerks  in  Madras  a  leader 

equal  in  military  skill  and  energy  to  Dupleix  himself.    Robert 


Fig.  28.   William  Pitt 

Pitt,  more  than  any  other  one  man,  was  responsible  for  the  victories  of 
England  in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  A  great  orator,  as  well  as  a  shrewd 
statesman,  he  inspired  his  country  with  his  own  great  ideals.  He  boldly 
upheld  in  Parliament  the  cause  of  the  American  colonists,  but  died 
before  he  could  check  the  policy  of  the  king.  He  was  known  as  "  the 
great  Commoner"  from  his  influence  in  the  House  of  Commons,  but 
late  in  life  became  Earl  of  Chatham 

Clive,  who  was  but  twenty-five  years  old  at  this  time,  organized 
a  large  force  of  sepoys  and  gained  a  remarkable  ascendancy 
over  them  by  his  astonishing  bravery.  Dupleix  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  peace  had  been  declared  in  Europe  at  Aix- 
la-Chapelle,  but  continued  to  carry  on  his  operations  against 
the  English.    But  Clive  proved  more  than  his  equal,  and  in 


The  Struggle  between  France  and  England       ill 

two  years  had  very  nearly  established  English  supremacy  in 
the  southeastern  part  of  India. 

At  the  moment  that  the  Seven  Years'  War  was  beginning,  bad   Clive  renders 
news  reached  Clive  from  the  English  settlement  of  Calcutta,   ence  supreme 
about  a  thousand  miles  to  the  northeast  of  Madras.   The  nawab  ^"  ^"^'^ 
of  Bengal  had  seized  the  property  of  some  English  merchants 
and  imprisoned  one  hundred  and  forty-five  Englishmen  in  a  little 
room,  where  most  of  them  died  of  suffocation  before  morning.^ 
Clive  hastened  to  Bengal,  and  with  a  litde  army  of  nine  hundred 
Europeans  and  fifteen  hundred  sepoys  he  gained  a  great  victory 
at  Plassey  in  1757  over  the  nawab's  army  of  fifty  thousand  men. 
Clive  then  replaced  the  nawab  of  Bengal  by  a  man  whom  he 
believed  to  be  friendly  to  the  English.    Before  the  Seven  Years' 
War  was  over  the  English  had  won  Pondicherry  and  deprived 
the  French  of  all  their  former  influence  in  the  region  of  Madras. 

When  the  Seven  Years'  War  was  brought  to  an  end  in  1763   England's 
by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  it  was  clear  that  England  had  gained  far  ievwi^Years' 
more  than  any  other  power.    She  was  to  retain  her  two  forts  ^^^ 
commanding  the  Mediterranean,  Gibraltar,  and  Port  Mahon  on 
the  island  of  Minorca ;  in  America,  France  ceded  to  her  the  vast 
region  of  Canada  and  Nova  Scotia,  as  well  as  several  of  the 
islands  in  the  West  Indies.    The  region  beyond  the  Mississippi 
was  ceded  to  Spain  by  France,  who  thus  gave  up  all  her  claims 
to  North  America.    In  India,  France,  it  is  true,  received  back 
the  towns  which  the  English  had  taken  from  her,  but  she  had 
permanently  lost  her  influence  over  the  native  rulers,  for  Clive 
had  made  the  English  name  greatly  feared  among  them. 

The  erection  of  this  world  empire  of  Great  Britain  was  the  The  world 
main  fact  of  British  history  during  the  eighteenth  century,  as  the   Britain  and 
overthrow  of  absolute  monarchy  had  been  that  of  the  seven-  RevJiution'^^ 
teenth.   At  the  same  time,  a  great  change,  known  as  the  Indus- 
trial Revolution,  was  taking  place  in  England,  as  machinery  and 
steam  engines  were  invented,  supplying  her  with  the  wealth 
which  made  her  more  powerful  still  in  the  nineteenth  century.* 
1  See  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  107.  2  See  below,  p.  357. 


112  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  20.    Revolt  of  the  American  Colonies 
FROM  England 

England    had,   however,   no    sooner    added   Canada   to   her 

possessions  and  driven  the  French  from  the  broad  region  which 

lay  between  her  dominions  and  the  Mississippi  than  she  lost  the 

better  part  of  her  American  empire  by  the  revolt  of  the  irritated 

colonists,  who  refused  to  submit  to  her  interference  in  their 

government  and  commerce. 

For  a  long  The  English  settlers  had  been  left  alone,  for  the  most  part, 

lanTleft  her     ^y  the  home  government  and  had  enjoyed  far  greater  freedom 

colonies  jj^  ^^^  management  of  their  affairs  than  had  the  French  and 

very  tree  ° 

Spanish  colonies.  A^irginia  established  its  own  assembly  in  1 6 1 9 
and  Massachusetts  became  almost  an  independent  common- 
wealth. Regular  constitutions  developed,  which  were  later  used 
as  the  basis  for  those  of  the  several  states  when  the  colonies 
.  gained  their  independence.  England  had  been  busied  during  the 
seventeenth  century  with  a  great  struggle  at  home  and  with 
the  wars  stirred  up  by  Louis  XIV.  After  the  Peace  of  Utrecht 
Walpole  for  twenty  years  prudently  refused  to  interfere  with 
the  colonies.  The  result  was  that  by  the  end  of  the  Seven  Years' 
War  the  colonists  numbered  over  two  millions.  Their  rapidly 
increasing  wealth  and  strength,  their  free  life  in  a  new  land, 
and  the  confidence  they  had  gained  in  their  successful  con- 
flict with  the  French  —  all  combined  to  render  the  renewed 
interference  of  the  home  government  intolerable  to  them. 
England  During  the  war  with  the  French  England  began  to  realize  for 

colonies  the  first  time  that  the  colonies  had  money,  and  so  Parliament 

decided  that  they  should  be  required  to  pay  part  of  the  ex- 
penses of  the  recent  conflict  and  support  a  small  standing  army 
Stamp  Act  of  English  soldiers.  The  Stamp  Act  was  therefore  passed,  which 
taxed  the  colonists  by  requiring  them  to  pay  the  English  govern- 
ment for  stamps  which  had  to  be  used  upon  leases,  deeds,  and 
other  legal  documents  in  order  to  make  them  binding.  But  the 
indignant  colonists  declared  that  they  had  already  borne  the 


of  1765 


TJie  Struggle  between  France  and  Efigland       113 

brunt  of  the  war  and  that  in  any  case  Parliament,  in  which  they 
were  not  represented,  had  no  right  to  tax  them.   Representatives 
of  the  colonies  met  in  New  York  in  1765  and  denounced  the     ' 
Stamp  Act  as  indicating  "  a  manifest  tendency  to  subvert  the 
rights  and  liberties  of  the  colonists." 

More  irritating  than  the  attempts  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  the  Navigation 
colonists  were  the  vexatious  navigation  and  trade  laws  by  which 
she  tried  to  keep  all  the  benefits  of  colonial  trade  and  industry 
to  herself.  The  early  navigation  laws  passed  under  Cromwell 
and  Charles  II  were  specially  directed  against  the  enterprising 
Dutch  traders.  They  provided  that  all  products  grown  or  manu- 
factured in  Asia,  Africa,  or  America  should  be  imported  into 
England  or  her  colonies  only  in  English  ships.  Thus  if  a  Dutch 
merchant  vessel  laden  with  cloves,  cinnamon,  teas,  and  silks 
from  the  Far  East  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  the 
inhabitants  could  not  lawfully  buy  of  the  ship's  master,  no 
matter  how  much  lower  his  prices  were  than  those  offered  by 
English  shippers.  Furthermore,  another  act  provided  that  no 
commodity  of  European  production  or  manufacture  should  be 
imported  into  any  of  the  colonies  without  being  shipped  through 
England  and  carried  in  ships  built  in  England  or  the  colonies. 
So  if  a  colonial  merchant  wished  to  buy  French  wines  or  Dutch 
watches,  he  would  have  to  order  through  English  merchants. 
Again,  if  a  colonist  desired  to  sell  to  a  European  merchant 
such  products  as  the  law  permitted  him  to  sell  to  foreigners, 
he  had  to  export  them  in  English  ships  and  even  send  them  by 
way  of  England. 

What  was  still  worse  for  the  colonists,  certain  articles  in  which  Trade  laws 
they  were  most  interested,  such  as  sugar,  tobacco,  cotton,  and 
indigo,  could  be  sold  only  in  England.  Other  things  they  were 
forbidden  to  export  at  all,  or  even  to  produce.  For  instance, 
though  they  possessed  the  finest  furs  in  abundance,  they  could 
not  export  any  caps  or  hats  to  England  or  to  any  foreign  coun- 
try. They  had  iron  ore  in  inexhaustible  quantities  at  their  dis- 
posal, but  by  a  law  of  1750  they  were  forbidden  to  erect  any 


114 


Outlines  of  Enropean  History 


The  colonists 
evade  the 
English 
restrictions 


Taxes  with- 
drawn except 
that  on  tea 


Opposition 
to  "  taxation 
without  rep- 
resentation " 


rolling  mill  or  furnace  for  making  steel,  in  order  that  English 
steel  manufacturers  might  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  that  trade. 
The  colonists  had  built  up  a  lucrative  lumber  and  provision 
trade  with  the  French  West  Indies,  from  M^hich  they  imported 
large  quantities  of  rum,  sugar,  and  molasses,  but  in  order  to 
keep  this  trade  v^^ithin  British  dominions,  the  importation  of 
these  commodities  was  forbidden. 

The  colonists  naturally  evaded  these  laws  as  far  as  possible ; 
they  carried  on  a  flourishing  smuggling  trade  and  built  up  indus- 
tries in  spite  of  them.  Tobacco,  sugar,  hemp,  flax,  and  cotton 
were  grown  and  cloth  was  manufactured.  Furnaces,  foundries, 
nail  and  wire  mills  supplied  pig  and  bar  iron,  chains,  anchors, 
and  other  hardware.  It  is  clear  that  where  so  many  people 
were  interested  in  both  manufacturing  and  commerce  a  loud 
protest  was  sure  to  be  raised  against  the  continued  attempts  of 
England  to  restrict  the  business  of  the  colonists  in  favor  of  her 
own  merchants. 

The  unpopular  stamp  tax  was  repealed,  in  spite  of  the  bitter 
opposition  of  King  George,  who  thought  the  colonists  ought  to 
be  punished  rather  than  conciliated.  His  high-handed  policy  was 
put  into  force  the  following  year.  New  duties  on  glass,  paper, 
and  tea  were  imposed,  and  a  board  was  established  to  secure  a 
firm  observance  of  the  navigation  laws  and  other  restrictions. 
But  the  protests  of  the  colonists  finally  moved  Parliament  to 
remove  all  the  duties  except  that  on  tea,  which  was  retained  to 
prove  England's  right  to  tax  the  colonists. 

The  effort  to  make  the  Americans  pay  a  very  moderate  im- 
port duty  on  tea  and  to  force  upon  Boston  markets  the  com- 
pany's tea  at  a  low  price  produced  trouble  in  1773.  The  young 
men  of  Boston  seditiously  boarded  a  tea  ship  in  the  harbor  and 
threw  the  cargo  into  the  water. -^  This  fanned  the  slumbering 
embers  of  discord  between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country. 


1  A  contemporary  account  of  the  "  tea  party  "  is  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  I, 
pp.  130  ff.  The  revenue  from  the  tax  on  tea  was  to  pay  government  officials  in 
America. 


The  Struggle  between  France  and  England       115 

Burke,  perhaps  the  most  able  member  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons,  urged  the  ministry  to  leave  the  Americans  to  tax  them- 
selves, but  George  III,  and  Parliament  as  a  whole,  could  not 
forgive  the  colonists  for  their  opposition.  They  believed  that 
the  trouble  was  largely  confined  to  New  England  and  could 
easily  be  overcome.  In  1774  acts  were  passed  prohibiting  the 
landing  and  shipping  of  goods  at  Boston ;  and  the  colony  of 
Massachusetts  was  deprived  of  its  former  right  to  choose  its 
judges  and  the  members  of  the  upper  house  of  its  legislature, 
who  were  thereafter  to  be  selected  by  the  king. 

These  measures,  instead  of  bringing  Massachusetts  to  terms,   The  Conti- 
so  roused  the  apprehension  of  the  rest  of  the  colonists  that  a  g^ess 
congress  of  representatives  from  all  the  colonies  was  held  at 
Philadelphia  in  1774  to  see  what  could  be  done.   This  congress 
decided  that  all  trade  with  Great  Britain  should  cease  until  the 
grievances  of  the  colonies  had  been  redressed.    The  following 
year  the  Americans  attacked  the  British  troops  at  Lexington 
and  made  a  brave  stand  against  them  in  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Jiill.    The  second  congress  decided  to  prepare  for  war,  and 
raised  an  army  which  was  put  under  the  command  of  George 
Washington,  a  Virginia  planter  who  had  gained  some  distinction 
in  the  late  French  and  Indian  War.   Up  to  this  time  the  colonies 
had  not  intended  to  secede  from  the  mother  country,  but  the   Declaration 
proposed   compromises  came  to   nothing,  and  in  July,   1776,   ence, /uly'4, 
Congress  declared  that  "these  United  States  are,  and  of  right   ^776 
ought  to  be,  free  and  independent." 

This  occurrence  naturally  excited  great  interest  in  France.  The  United 
The  outcome  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  been  most  lamen-  and  ^receives 
table  for  that  country,  and  any  trouble  which  came  to  her  old 
enemy,  England,  could  not  but  be  a  source  of  congratulation  to 
the  French.  The  United  States  therefore  regarded  France  as 
their  natural  ally  and  immediately  sent  Benjamin  Franklin  to 
Versailles  ^n  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  aid  of  the  new  French 
king,  Louis  XVI.  The  king's  ministers  were  uncertain  whether 
the  colonies  could  long  maintain  their  resistance  against  the 


aid  from 
France 


ii6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


overwhelming  strength  of  the  mother  country.    It  was  only  after 
the  Americans  had  defeated  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga  that  France, 

in  1778,  concluded  a  treaty  with 
the  United  States  in  which  the 
independence  of  the  new  republic 
was  recognized.  This  was  equiv- 
alent to  declaring  war  upon  Eng- 
land. The  enthusiasm  for  the 
Americans  was  so  great  in  France 
that  a  number  of  the  younger 
nobles,  the  most  conspicuous  of 
whom  was  the  Marquis  of  La- 
fayette, crossed  the  Adantic  to 
fight  as  volunteers  in  the  Amer- 
ican army. 

In  spite  of  the  skill  and  heroic 
self-sacrifice  of  Washington,  the 
Americans  lost  more  batdes  than 
they  gained.  It  is  extremely  doubt- 
ful whether  they  would  have  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  the  war  to  a 
favorable  close,  by  forcing  the  Eng- 
lish general,  Cornwallis,  to  capitu- 
late at  Yorktown  (1781),  had  it 
not  been  for  the  aid  of  the  French 
fleet.^  The  chief  result  of  the  war 
was  the  recognition  by  England  of 
the  independence  of  the  United 
States,  whose  territory  was  to  ex- 
tend to  the  Mississippi  River.  To 
the  west  of  the  Mississippi  the 
vast  territory  of  Louisiana  still  remained  in  the  hands  of 
Spain,  as  well  as  Florida,  which  England  had  held  since  1763 
but  now  gave  back. 

1  Cornwallis's  account  of  his  surrender  is  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  135 


Fig.  29.    Statue  of 
Lafayette 

A  gift  to  France  from  the 
school  children  of  the  United 
States,  July  4, 1900.  This  statue 
stands  in  the  gardens  of  the 
Louvre  palace,  Paris 


The  Sti'tLggle  betzveen  Frmice  and  England       WJ 

Spain  and  Portugal  were  able  to  hold  their  American  pos-  Revolt  of  the 

sessions  a  generation  longer  than  the  English,  but  in  the  end  niesthebe-°" 

practically  all  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  with  the  exception  of  fjjg^j^ljj^^fj 

Canada,  completely  freed   itself  from  the   domination  of   the  pation  of  the 

„    ,  .      ,  ,  .  r    Western 

European    powers.     Cuba,   one  oi    the   very  last  vestiges    ot  Hemisphere 
Spanish  rule  in  the  West,  gained  its  independence  with  the 
aid  of  the  United  States  in   1898. 

The  results  of  the  European  wars  during  the  seventy  years  Results  in 

which  elapsed  between  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  and  the  French  the  wars  be- 

Revolution  may  be  summarized  as  follows.     In  the  northeast  ^reaVof 

two  new  powers,  Russia  and  Prussia,  had  come  into  the  Euro-  ^^^"^^^  ^"^- 

r  •>  the  Peace  of 

pean  family  of  nations.  Prussia  had  greatly  extended  her  terri-  Paris 
tory  by  gaining  Silesia  and  West  Poland.  She  and  Austria  were, 
in  the  nineteenth  century,  to  engage  in  a  struggle  for  supremacy 
in  Germany,  which  was  to  result  in  substituting  the  present  Ger- 
man Empire  under  the  headship  of  the  Hohenzollerns  for  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  of  which  the  House  of  Hapsburg  had  so 
long  been  the  nominal  chief. 

The  power  of  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  was  declining  so  rapidly  Origin  of  the 
that  Austria  and  Russia  were  already  considering  the  seizure  of  question  " 
his  European  possessions.  This  presented  a  new  problem  to  the 
European  powers,  wdiich  came  to  be  known  in  the  nineteenth 
century  as  the  "  eastern  question."  Were  Austria  and  Russia 
permitted  to  aggrandize  themselves  by  adding  the  Turkish  ter- 
ritory to  their  possessions,  it  would  gravely  disturb  the  balance 
of  power  which  England  had  so  much  at  heart.  So  it  came 
about  that,  from  this  time  on,  Turkey  was  admitted  in  a  way  to 
the  family  of  western  European  nations,  for  it  soon  appeared 
that  some  of  the  states  of  western  Europe  were  willing  to  form 
alliances  with  the  Sultan,  and  even  aid  him  directly  in  defending 
himself  against  his  neighbors.-^ 

England  had  lost  her  American  colonies,  and  by  her  perverse   England's 
policy  had  led  to  the  creation  of  a  sister  state  speaking  her  possessions 
own  language  and  destined  to  occupy  the  central  part  of  the 

1  See  below,  p.  574. 


Ii8  Outlines  of  Europea7i  History 

North  American  continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  She 
still  retained  Canada,  however,  and  in  the  nineteenth  century 
added  a  new  continent  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  Australia, 
to  her  vast  colonial  empire.  In  India  she  had  no  further  rivals 
among  European  nations,  and  gradually  extended  her  mfluence 
over  the  whole  region  south  of  the  Himalayas. 
France  under  As  for  France,  she  had  played  a  rather  pitiful  role  during 
j'^j^J'_/7.^'  the  long  reign  of  Louis  XIV's  great-grandson,  Louis  XV 
(17 1 5-1 774).  She  had,  however,  been  able  to  increase  her 
territory  by  the  addition  of  Lorraine  (1766)  and,  in  1768,  of  the 
island  of  Corsica.  A  year  later  a  child  was  bom  in  the  Corsi- 
can  town  of  Ajaccio,  who  one  day,  by  his  genius,  was  to  make 
France  the  center  for  a  time  of  an  empire  rivaling  that  of 
Charlemagne  in  extent.  When  the  nineteenth  century  opened 
France  was  no  longer  a  monarchy,  but  a  republic ;  and  her 
armies  were  to  occupy  in  turn  every  European  capital,  from 
Madrid  to  Moscow.  In  order  to  understand  the  marvelous 
transformations  produced  by  the  French  Revolution  and  the 
wars  of  Napoleon,  we  must  consider  somewhat  carefully  the 
conditions  in  France  which  led  to  a  great  reform  of  her  institu- 
tions in  1789,  and  to  the  founding  of  a  republic  four  years  later. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  i  8.  What  is  the  explanation  of  the  wars  of  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries  .^  W^hat  countries  in  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries  were  responsible  for  bringing  Europe  into  contact 
with  the  East  and  the  West?  What  parts  of  the  world  did  they 
discover  and  settle? 

Section  19.  Mention  the  names  of  three  French  explorers  in 
North  America  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
What  did  they  accomplish?  In  what  way  did  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht 
affect  the  North  American  possessions  of  England?  In  what  other 
part  of  the  world  were  the  French  and  the  English  rivals  ?  How  was 
India  governed  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  eighteenth  century  ?  What 
effect  did  the  death  in  1707  of  the  Great  Mogul  Aurangzeb  have 
upon  the  government  of  India?    Draw  a  map  of  India  showing  the 


The  Struggle  between  France  and  England       1 19 

principal  rivers  and  mountains.  Indicate  the  location  of  the  trading 
posts  belonging  to  the  English  in  the  seventeenth  century.  What 
was  the  center  of  the  French  possessions  in  India  at  the  same  period? 
Locate  the  place  on  the  map  just  drawn. 

Describe  the  struggle  between  the  French  and  the  English  which 
took  place  in  North  America  between  1 754  and  1 763.  What  prevented 
France  from  giving  sufficient  attention  to  her  North  American  colo- 
nies during  the  French  and  Indian  War.?  What  name  was  given  to 
the  war  as  waged  in  Europe  and  in  India.?  Describe  the  part  taken 
by  William  Pitt  in  the  Seven  Years'  War.  Tell  of  the  work  done 
by  Clive  and  by  Dupleix  in  the  conflict  between  the  English  and  the 
French  in  India  during  the  War  of  the  Austrian  Succession.  What 
led  10  the  outbreak  of  the  Seven  Years'  War  in  India.?  Mention  the 
territorial  gains  which  England  made  as  a  result  of  the  Treaty  of 
Paris,  1763. 

Section  20.  What  was  the  attitude  of  England  toward  the 
American  colonies  down  to  the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  War.? 
What  was  the  purpose  for  which  the  Stamp  Act  of  1 765  was  passed? 
Hov/  did  the  American  colonists  view  the  act .?  What  were  the  Navi- 
gation Acts,  and  when  were  the  first  passed?  Describe  the  trade 
laws  and  tell  of  the  attitude  of  the  American  colonists  toward  them. 
How  did  the  English  meet  the  colonial  opposition  to  the  Stamp  Act 
of  1 765  ?  What  caused  the  Boston  Tea  Party  of  1 773  ?  Was  Burke's 
advice  followed  by  King  George  III  and  Parliament?  What  was  the 
First  Continental  Congress  ?  Where  and  when  was  it  held  ? 

What  decision  did  it  come  to  ?  Describe  the  work  of  the  Second 
Continental  Congress  in  1775.  What  had  taken  place  between  the 
meeting  of  the  First  and  Second  Continental  congresses  ?  Describe 
the  attitude  of  the  Second  Continental  Congress.  On  what  mission 
was  Benjamin  Franklin  sent  to  the  court  of  Louis  XVI  ?  What  was 
the  result  of  this  visit?  What  was  the  extent  of  the  United  States  in 
1 783  ?  To  what  nation  did  the  rest  of  what  is  now  the  United  States 
belong?  What  is  meant  by  the  ''eastern  question"?  Name  the 
colonial  possessions  of  Great  Britain  after  1783.  What  was  the 
British  colonial  policy?  Who  succeeded  Louis  XIV  on  the  throne  of 
France  ?    Mention,  with  dates,  two  important  events  of  his  reign. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  OLD  REGIME  IN  EUROPE 

Section  21.    Life  in  the  Country — Serfdom 

If  a  peasant  who  had  lived  on  a  manor  in  the  time  of  the 
Crusades  had  been  permitted  to  return  to  earth  and  travel  about 
Europe  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century,  he  would  have 
found  much  to  remind  him  of  the  conditions  under  which,  seven 
centuries  earlier,  he  had  extracted  a  scanty  living  from  the  soil. 
It  is  true  that  the  gradual  extinction  of  serfdom  in  western 
Europe  appears  to  have  begun  as  early  as  the  twelfth  century, 
but  it  proceeded  at  very  different  rates  in  different  countries. 
In  France  the  old  type  of  serf  had  largely  disappeared  by  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  in  England  a  hundred  years  later.  In 
Prussia,  Austria,  Poland,  Russia,  Italy,  and  Spain,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  great  mass  of  the  country  people  were  still  bound  to 
the  soil  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Even  in  France  there  were  still  many  annoying  traces  of  the 
old  system.-^  The  peasant  was,  it  is  true,  no  longer  bound  to  a 
particular  manor;  he  could  buy  or  sell  his  land  at  will,  could 
marry  without  consulting  the  lord,  and  could  go  and  come  as 
he  "pleased.  Many  bought  their  land  outright,  while  others  dis- 
posed of  their  holdings  and  settled  in  town.  But  the  lord  might 
still  require  all  those  on  his  manor  to  grind  their  grain  at  his 
mill,  bake  their  bread  in  his  oven,  and  press  their  grapes  in  his 
wine  press.  The  peasant  might  have  to  pay  a  toll  to  cross  a 
bridge  or  ferry  which  was  under  the  lord's  control,  or  a  certain 
sum  for  driving  his  flock  past  the  lord's  mansion.  Many  of  the 
old  arrangements  still  forced  the  peasant  occupying  a  particular 

1  For  a  list  of  feudal  dues,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  139, 
120 


The  Old  Regime  in  EtLWpe 


121 


plot  of  land  to  turn  over  to  the  lord  a  certain  portion  of  his 
crops,  and,  if  he  sold  his  land,  to  pay  the  lord  a  part  of  the 
money  he  received  for  it. 

In  England  in  the  eighteenth  century  the  prominent  features  Survivals  in 
of  serfdom  had  disappeared  more  completely  than  in  France,  the^manorial 
The  services  in  labor  due  to  the  lord  had  long  been  commuted   system 


Fig.  30.   The  Oven  of  the  Manor 

The  oven  at  which  those  on  the  manor  had  to  bake  their  bread  was  some- 
times a  large  stone  structure  in  the  open  air.  The  one  in  the  picture 
has  fallen  into  ruins  since  now  the  country  people  bake  at  home  and  so 
avoid  paying  the  owner  of  the  oven  a  part  of  the  flour  or  bread  for  its  use 

into  money  payments,  and  the  peasant  was  thus  transformed 
into  a  renter  or  owner  of  his  holding.  He  still  took  off  his  hat 
to  the  squire  of  his  village,  and  was  liable  to  be  severely  pun- 
ished by  his  lord,  who  was  commonly  a  justice  of  the  peace,  if 
he  was  caught  shooting  a  hare  on  the  game  preserves. 

In  central,  southern,  and  eastern  Europe  the  medieval  system 
still  prevailed;  the  peasant  lived  and  died  upon  the  same  manor, 
and  worked  for  his  lord  in  the  same  way  that  his  ancestors  had 


122 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Condition  of  workcd  a  thousand  years  before.  Everywhere  the  same  crude 
^^reaT^lrt"  f  agricultural  instruments  were  still  used,  and  most  of  the  imple- 
Europeinthe  nients  and  tools  were  rudely  made  in  the  village  itself.  The 
centu^  wooden  plows  commonly  found  even  on  English  farms  were 

constructed  on  the  model  of  the  old  Roman  plow ;  wheat  was 


Fig.  31.    IxTERioR  of  a  Peasant's  Hut 

The  house  consists  of  one  room.    Milk  jugs,  kettles,  and  pails  stand 

around  the  fireplace,  where  the  cooking  is  done.    In  the  corner  stands 

the  bed,  curtained  off  from  the  room  to  secure  privacy.    Notice  the 

heavy  beam  supporting  the  ceiling 


Wretched 
houses  of 
the  peasants 


cut  with  a  sickle,  grass  with  an  unwieldy  scythe,  and  the  rickety 
cart  wheels  were  supplied  only  with  wooden  rims. 

The  houses  occupied  by  the  country  people  differed  greatly 
from  Sicily  to  Pomerania,  and  from  Ireland  to  Poland ;  but,  in 
general,  they  were  small,  with  little  light  or  ventilation,  and  often 
they  were  nothing  but  wretched  hovels  with  dirt  floors  and 
neglected  thatch  roofs.  The  pigs  and  the  cows  were  frequently 
better  housed  than  the  people,  with  whom  they  associated  upon 


<u    CJ    ri 

(U    -^     -t-i     U 
3     C     D-'O 


^  ,  ^^^f 

J2    rt          rt 

^-/--/        ! 

Th  I:  ^-^ 

Si't  y^jr      -'  i 

O    rt  2    -M 

1^       ^- 

^^-?-=l 

^     -'1 

Itted  u 
Hng  a] 
de,  a 
mercl 

f          *          ' 

c 

f            -.     - 

•w 

esfi 
cei 
utsi 
the 

Pi 

' 

c 

5  -c       ^ 

J 

o  -t;    .  j3 

_,. 

c 

"el* 

^      V 

w 

« 

ffi 

>    M-,      O      Cl 

h 

^ 

'"' 

O     O     cj     c 

Ph 

CO     W-^ 

c 

e  -  j=2 

X 

k 

in 
S 

ere  just 

to  han 

»nly  a  f 

se  who 

l\ 

^ 

^^Hfey^  V 

>  -a   "   o 

^^^^^^^ 

< 

3     W   -C   TJ 

^^H^H^M 

5     03             (U 

^B^^^SP 

U 

g-^X     g 

IWL   ^^^H 

Pi 

!rm  i^^^B 

u 

W     V-'     -     O 

H 

:eenth 
counte 
though 
es.  inf 

^H 

eighl 
the 
y,  al 
1  war 

H^l 

C 

the 
hind 
orwa 
f  his 

|HHHH^H 

U^ 

^^^^r^H 

<+:<     (U     O    O 

^  '-•' '      ^1 

^&Vv-     ^1 

o    c  /::    3 

^g<^^<i    ^M 

^  'n  "^  ti 

B^^^    3b 

B*^?   '9 

(U  '^    9    Ci, 

^^:     p 

ofth 
lant, 
es  ov 
ving 

g 

1 

o   (u   5; 

•sg^ 

useum 
,how  h( 
that  t 
oots 

6       B  •« 

municipal 
nd  shelves 
airs  indica 
his  muddy 

P^ 

■^    -O    T!     ^ 

'U 

P< 

hown  in 
cupboar 
-arrange^ 
I  to  take 

O 

w 

.-  -_.     (0 

u-         t:  -SJ 

^ 

O     C     C  T> 

rman  sail 
e  the  ope 
dresses  a 
he  sailor 

W 

CO 

D 

O 

O   -O   T3    -^ 

< 

^■f^  ^H 

fc 

0^-^-5 

o 

11-to-d 

busy 

;  trim 

and 

o 

^  ^   ^   V 

^  ^  '2  -ra 

/Z 

M-.             c 

O     w    rt    > 

^   ^   S2  « 

g     4J     >     fl 

.5  "C   1^ 
c  <i^  -S 


3  '^ 

t/3     (U  <L> 

-  ^c  -a 

w   c;  ^ 

r;    o  o 


character  of 
country  life 


The  Old  Regime  in  Europe  123 

very  familiar  terms,  since  the  barn  and  the  house  were  com- 
monly in  the  same  building.  The  drinking  water  was  bad,  and 
there  was  no  attempt  to  secure  proper  drainage.  Fortunately 
every  one  was  out  of  doors  a  great  deal  of  the  time,  for  the 
women  as  well  as  the  men  usually  worked  in  the  fields,  culti- 
vating the  soil  and  helping  to  gather  in  the  crops.-^ 

Country  life  in  the  eighteenth  century  was  obviously  very  Unattractive 
arduous  and  unattractive  for  the  most  part.  The  peasant  had 
no  newspapers  to  tell  him  of  the  world  outside  his  manor,  nor 
could  he  have  read  them  if  he  had  them.  Even  in  England  not 
one  farmer  in  five  thousand,  it  is  said,  could  read  at  all ;  and 
in  France  the  local  tax  collectors  were  too  uneducated  to  make 
out  their  own  reports.  Farther  east  conditions  must  have  been 
still  more  cheerless,  for  a  Hungarian  peasant  complains  that  he 
owed  four  days  of  his  labor  to  his  lord,  spent  the  fifth  and  sixth 
hunting  and  fishing  for  him,  while  the  seventh  belonged  to  God. 

Section  22.    The  Towns  and  the  Guilds 

Even  in  the  towns  there  was  much  to  remind  one  of  the   Towns  still 
Middle  Ages.     The  narrow,  crooked  streets,  darkened  by  the   Sfdghl''' 
overhanging  buildings    and    scarcely  lighted   at    all   by  night,   ^^"^^ 
the  rough  cobblestones,  the  disgusting  odors  even  in  the  best 
quarters — all  offered  a  marked  contrast  to  the  European  cities 
of  to-day,  which  have  grown  tremendously  in  the  last  hundred 
years  in  size,  beauty,  and  comfort. 

In  1760  London  had  half  a  million  inhabitants,  or  about  a  London 
tenth  of  its  present  population.  There  were  of  course  no  street 
cars  or  omnibuses,  to  say  nothing  of  the  thousands  of  automo- 
biles which  now  thread  their  way  in  and  out  through  the  press 
of  traffic.  A  few  hundred  hackney  coaches  and  sedan  chairs 
served  to  carry  those  who  had  not  private  conveyances  and 
could  not,   or  would  not,  walk.     The   ill-lighted   streets   were 

1  The  picture  facing  this  page  shows  the  interior  of  a  town  house  belonging 
to  the  owner  of  a  fishing  boat,  who  is  better  off  than  the  peasantry. 


124 


Outlines  of  European  History 


guarded  at  night  by  watchmen  who  went  about  with  lanterns, 
but  afforded  so  little  protection  against  the  roughs  and  robbers 
that  gentlemen  were   compelled  to  carry  arms  when  passing 

through  the  streets  after 
nightfall. 

Paris  was  somewhat 
larger  than  London  and 
had  outgrown  its  medie- 
val walls.-^  The  police 
were  more  efficient  there, 
and  the  highway  robber- 
ies which  disgraced  Lon- 
don and  its  suburbs  were 
almost  unknown.  The 
great  park,  the  "  Elysian 
fields,"  and  many  boule- 
vards which  now  form  so 
distinguished  a  feature  of 
Paris  were  already  laid 
out;  but,  in  general,  the 
streets  were  still  narrow, 
and  there  were  none  of 
the  fine  broad  avenues 
which  now  radiate  from  a 
hundred  centers.  There 
were  few  sewers  to  carry 
off  the  water  which,  when 
it  rained,  flowed  through 
the  middle  of  the  streets. 
The  filth  of  former  times 
still  remained,  and  the  people  relied  upon  easily  polluted  wells 
or  the  dirty  River  Seine  for  their  water  supply. 


Fig. 


-ȴ*I.Cxfe^^' 


34.   Street  of  a  Town  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century 


The  streets  were  still  narrow,  though 
wider  than  in  medieval  cities,  for  there 
were  no  longer  walls  to  inclose  them. 
But  the  houses  often  had  projecting 
gables  with  heavy  beams  like  those  in 
this  quaint  French  town  of  Honfleur 


^  For  a  description  of  the  streets  of  Paris  in  1787,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  14 1. 
AVide  streets  were  laid  out  along  the  line  of  the  earlier  walls,  known  as  "  boule- 
vards "  from  the  "  bulwarks  "  which  they  superseded. 


TJie  Old  Regime  hi  Europe  '         125 

In  Germany  very  few  of  the  towns  had  spread  beyond  their  German 
medieval  walls.  They  had,  for  the  most  part,  lost  their  former  ^°^^^ 
prosperity,  which  was  still  attested  by  the  fine  houses  of  the 
merchants  and  of  the  once  flourishing  guilds.  Berlin  had  a 
population  of  about  two  hundred  thousand,  and  Vienna  was 
slightly  larger.  The  latter  city,  now  one  -of  the  most  beautiful 
in  the  world,  then  employed  from  thirty  to  a  hundred  street 
cleaners  and  boasted  that  the  street  lamps  were  lighted  every 
night,  while  many  towns  contented  themselves  with  dirty  streets 
and  with  light  during  the  winter  months,  and  then  only  when 
the  moon  was  not  scheduled  to  shine. 

Even  the  famous  cities  of  Italy,  —  Milan,  Genoa,  Florence,   Italian  cities 
Rome,  —  notwithstanding   their   beautiful   palaces    and    public 
buildings,    were,   with   the  exception  of   water-bound   Venice, 
crowded  into  the  narrow  compass  of  the  town  wall,  and  their 
streets  were  narrow  and  crooked. 

Another  contrast  between  the  towns  of  the  eighteenth  cen-  Trade  and 
tury  and  those  of  to-day  lay  in  the  absence  of  the  great  whole-  conducted 
sale  warehouses,  the  vast  factories  with  their  tall  chimneys,  and   °"  f  ^"^^^^ 

■'    '  scale 

the  attractive  department  stores  which  may  now  be  found  in 
every  city  from  Dublin  to  Budapest.  Commerce  and  industr} 
were  in  general  conducted  upon  a  very  small  scale,  except  at 
the  great  ports  like  London,  Antwerp,  or  Amsterdam,  where 
goods  coming  from  and  going  to  the  colonies  were  brought 
together. 

The  growth  of  industry  under  the  influence  of  the  various 
machines  which  were  being  invented  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century  will  form  the  subject  of  a  later  chapter. 
It  is  clear,  however,  that  before  the  introduction  of  railroads, 
steamships,  and  machine-equipped  factories,  all  business  opera- 
tions must  have  been  carried  on  in  what  would  seem  to  us  a 
slow  and  primitive  fashion. 

A  great  part  of  the  manufacturing  still  took  place  in  little  The  trades 
shops  where  the  articles  when  completed  were  offered  for  sale,  fnfo^gufids 
Generally  those  who  owned  the  various  shops  carrying  on  a 


126 


Outlines  of  Ettropean  History 


Guilds  in 
England 


particular  trade,  such  as  tailoring,  shoemaking,  baking,  tanning, 
bookbinding,  hair  cutting,  or  the  making  of  candles,  knives, 
hats,  artificial  flowers,  swords,  or  wigs,  were  organized  into  a 
guild  —  a  union  —  the  main  object  of  which  was  to  prevent  all 
other  citizens  from  making  or  selling  the  articles  in  which  the 
members  of  the  guild  dealt.    The  number  of  master  workmen 

who  might  open  a 
shop  of  their  own  was 
often  limited  by  the 
guild,  as  w^ell  as  the 
number  of  apprentices 
each  master  could 
train.  The  period  of 
apprenticeship  was 
long,  sometimes  seven 
or  even  nine  years,  on 
the  ground  that  it  took 
years  to  learn  the 
trade  properly,  but 
really  because  the  guild 
wdshed  to  maintain  its 
monopoly  by  keep- 
ing down  the  num- 
ber who  could  become 
masters.  When  the 
apprenticeship  was 
over,  the  workman  became  a  journeyman,  but,  unless  he  had 
influential  friends,  he  might  never  perhaps  become  a  master 
workman  and  open  a  shop  of  his  own. 

This  guild  system  had  originated  in  the  Middle  Ages  and  was 
consequently  hundreds  of  years  old.  In  England  the  term  of 
seven  years  was  required  for  apprenticeship  in  all  the  staple 
trades,  although  the  rule  was  by  no  means  universally  enforced. 
In  Sheffield  no  master  cutler  could  have  more  than  one  appren- 
tice at  a  time ;    the  master  weavers  of  Norfolk  and  Norwich 


Fig.  35.    Public  Letter  Writer 

Since  most  common  people  co.uld  not  read 
or  write,  they  had  to  employ  letter  writers, 
who  often  had  stalls  like  this  along  the  street 


I 


The  Old  Regime  in  Europe  127 

were  limited  to  two  apprentices  each,  and  no  master  hatter  in 
England  could  have  more  than  two.^ 

In  France  the  guilds  were  more  powerful  than  in  England,  Guilds  in 
since  they  had  been  supported  and  encouraged  by  Colbert,  who  Getmaay"'^ 
believed  that  they  kept  up  the  standard  of  French  products. 
In  Germany  the  organization  was  much  stricter  and  more  wide- 
spread than  either  in  England  or  in  France.  Old  regulations 
concerning  apprenticeship  and  the  conduct  of  the  various  trades 
were  still  enforced.  As  a  general  rule,  no  master  could  have 
more  than  one  apprentice,  manage  more  than  one  workshop, 
or  sell  goods  that  he  had  not  himself  produced. 

Everywhere  a  workman  had  to  stick  to  his  trade ;  if  a  cob-  Strife  among 
bier  should  venture  to  make  a  pair  of  new  boots,  or  a  baker 
should  roast  a  piece  of  meat  in  his  oven,  he  might  be  expelled 
from  the  guild  unless  he  made  amends.  In  Paris  a  hatter.  Who 
had  greatly  increased  his  trade  by  making  hats  of  wool  mixed 
with  silk,  had  his  stock  destroyed  by  the  guild  authorities  on 
the  ground  that  the  rules  permitted  hats  to  be  made  only  of 
wool  and  said  nothing  of  silk.  The  trimming  makers  had  an 
edict  passed  forbidding  any  one  to  make  buttons  that  were 
cast  or  turned  or  made  of  horn. 

The  guilds  not  only  protected  themselves  against  workmen 
who  opened  shops  without  their  permission,  but  each  partic- 
ular trade  was  in  more  or  less  constant  disagreement  with  the 
other  trades  as  to  what  each  might  make.  The  goldsmiths  were 
the  natural  enemies  of  all  who  used  gold  in  their  respective 
operations,  such  as  the  clockmakers  and  watchmakers,  the 
money  changers,  and  those  who  set  precious  stones.  Those 
who  dealt  in  natural  flowers  were  not  allowed  to  encroach  upon 
those  who  made  'artificial  ones.  One  who  baked  bread  must 
not  make  pies  or  cakes.  The  tailor  who  mended  clothes  must 
not  make  new  garments.  Such  regulations  were  naturally  too 
strict  to  be  rigorously  enforced,  but  they  hampered  industry. 

1  Adam  Smith's  account  of  the  guilds  of  his  day  is  printed  in  the  Readings, 
Vol.  I,  p.  142. 


128 


Ojitliiies  of  European  History 


Three 
important 
differences 
between  the 
guilds  and 
the  modern 
trade-unions 


Decline  of 
the  guilds 


The  guilds  differed  from  the  modern  trade-unions  in  several 
important  respects.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  only  the  master 
workmen,  who  owned  the  shops,  tools,  or  machines,  who  be- 
longed to  them.  The  apprentices  and  journeymen,  that  is,  the 
ordinary  workmen,  were  excluded  and  had  no  influence  whatever 
upon  the  policy  of  the  organization.  In  the  second  place,  the 
government  enforced  the  decisions  of  the  guilds.  For  example, 
in  Paris,  if  it  was  learned  that  a  journeyman  goldbeater  was 
working  for  himself,  a  representative  of  the  guild  went  to  the 
offender's  house,  accompanied  by  a  town  officer,  and  seized  his 
tools  and  materials,  after  which  the  unfortunate  man  might  be 
sent  to  the  galleys  for  three  years  or  perhaps  get  off  with  a 
heavy  fine,  imprisonment,  and  the  loss  of  every  chance  of  ever 
becoming  a  master.  Lastly,  the  guilds  were  confined  to  the 
old-established  industries  which  were  still  carried  on,  as  during 
the  Middle  Ages,  on  a  small  scale  in  the  master's  house. 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  seeming  strength  of  the  guilds,  they 
were  really  giving  way  before  the  entirely  new  conditions  which 
had  arisen.  Thoughtful  persons  disapproved  of  them  on  the 
ground  that  they  hampered  industry  and  prevented  progress 
by  their  outworn  restrictions.  In  many  towns  the  regulations 
were  evaded  or  had  broken  down  altogether,  so  that  enterpris- 
ing workmen  and  dealers  carried  on  their  business  as  they 
pleased.  Then,  as  we  have  said,  it  was  only  the  old  industries 
that  were  included  in  the  guild  system.  The  newer  manufac- 
tures, of  silk  and  cotton  goods,  porcelain,  fine  glassware,  etc., 
which  had  been  introduced  into  Europe,  were  under  the  control 
of  individuals  or  companies  who  were  independent  of  the  old 
guilds  and  relied  upon  monopolies  and  privileges  granted  by  the 
rulers,  who,  in  France  at  least,  were  glad  to  foster  new  industries. 

Meanwhile,  as  we  shall  see  later,^  the  progress  of  invention 
was  preparing  the  new  age  of  machinery  and  factories,  which 
was  to  change  the  whole  nature  of  industry,  and  bring  the 
modem  problems  of  employer  and  workman,  or  capital  and  labor. 

1  See  below,  pp.  143  ff. 


The  Old  Regime  in  Europe  1 29 

Section  23.    The  Nobility  and  the  Monarchy 

Not  only  had  the  medieval  manor  and  the  medieval  guilds 
maintained  themselves  down  into  the  eighteenth  century,  but 
the  successors  of  the  feudal  lords  continued  to  exist  as  a  con- 
spicuous and  powerful  class.  They  enjoyed  various  privileges 
and  distinctions  denied  to  the  ordinary  citizen,  although  they 
were,  of  course,  shorn  of  the  great  power  that  the  more  impor- 
tant dukes  and  counts  had  enjoyed  in  the  Middle  Ages,  when 
they  ruled  over  vast  tracts,  could  summon  their  vassals  to  assist 
them  in  their  constant  wars  with  their  neighbors,  and  dared 
defy  even  the  authority  of  the  king  himself. 

It  is  impossible  to  recount  here  how  the  English,  French,   The  former 
and  Spanish  kings  gradually  subjugated  the  turbulent  barons  ence^o?the 
and  brought  the  great  fiefs  directly  under  royal  control.    Suffice   ^-^^^^  "he^^^ 
it  to  say  that  the  monarchs  met  with  such  success  that  in  the   eighteenth 

century 

eighteenth  century  the  nobles  no  longer  held  aloof  but  eagerly 
sought  the  king's  court.  Those  whose  predecessors  had  once 
been  veritable  sovereigns  within  their  own  domains,  had  declared 
war  even  against  the  king,  coined  money,  made  laws  for  their 
subjects,  and  meted  out  justice  in  their  castle  halls,  had,  by  the 
eighteenth  century,  deserted  their  war  horses  and  laid  aside 
their  long  swords ;  in  their  velvet  coats  and  high-heeled  shoes 
they  were  contented  with  the  privilege  of  helping  the  king  to 
dress  in  the  morning  and  attending  him  at  dinner.  The  battle- 
mented  castle,  once  the  stronghold  of  independent  chieftains, 
was  transformed  into  a  tasteful  country  residence  where,  if  the 
king  honored  the  owner  with  a  visit,  the  host  was  no  longer 
tempted,  as  his  ancestors  had  been,  to  shower  arrows  and 
stones  upon  the  royal  intruder. 

The  French  noble,  unlike  the  English,  was  not  fond  of  the  The  French 
country,  but  lived  with  the  court  at  Versailles  whenever  he 
could  afford  to  do  so,  and  often  when  he  could  not.    He  liked 
the  excitement  of  the  court,  and  it  was  there  that  he  could  best 
advance  his  own  and  his  friends'  interests  by  obtaining  lucrative 


I30 


Oiitlines  of  European  History 


offices  in  the  army  or  Church  or  in  the  king's  palace.  By  their 
prolonged  absence  from  their  estates  the  nobles  lost  the  esteem 
of  their  tenants,  while  their  stewards  roused  the  hatred  of  the 
peasants  by  strictly  collecting  all  the  ancient  manorial  dues  in 
order  that  the  lord  might  enjoy  the  gayeties  at  Versailles. 

The  unpopularity  of  the  French  nobility  was  further  increased 
by  their  exemptions  from   some  of  the  heavy  taxes,  on  the 


_s.  Sc^-^e' 


Fig.  36.    French  Castle  transformed  into  a  Country 
Residence 

The  round  towers,  covered  with  ivy,  date  from  the  Middle  Ages,    The 

rest  has  been  rebuilt  with  pleasant  sunny  windows  in  place  of  loopholes 

in  the  walls.    The  terrace  and  lawn  lying  between  the  old  drawbridge 

towers  and  the  house  once  formed  the  castle  courtyard  1 


The  French 
nobility  a 
privileged 
class 


ground  that  they  were  still  supposed  to  shed  their  blood  in 
fighting  for  their  king  instead  of  paying  him  money  like  the 
unsoldierly  burghers  and  peasants.  They  enjoyed,  moreover, 
the  preference  when  the  king  had  desirable  positions  to  grant. 
They  also  claimed  a  certain  social  superiority,  since  they  were 
excluded  by  their  traditions  of  birth  from  engaging  in  any 
ordinary  trade  or  industry,  although   they  might  enter  some 

1  This   was    the    residence    of    the    French    historian    de  Tocqueville,   near 
Cherbourg. 


TJie  Old  Regime  in  Europe 


131 


Fig.  37.   A  Noble  Family  of  the  Old  Ri^gime 

Extravagance  in  dress,  of  which  the  men  were  as  guilty  as  the  women, 
was  largely  due  to  the  influence  of  court  life,  where  so  many  nobles 
were  rivaUng  each  other  in  display.  This  brought  hardship  to-  the 
people  on  their  estates  in  the  country,  since  they  had  to  support  their 
masters'  expenses 

professions,  such  as  medicine,  law,  the  Church,  or  the  arm)^, 
or  even  participate  in  maritime  trade  without  derogating  from 
their  rank.  In  short,  the  French  nobility,  including,  it  is  es- 
timated, a  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  o^  forty  thousand  per- 
sons, constituted  a  privileged  class,  although  they  no  longer 


132 


Outlines  of  Europe ati  History 


performed  any  of  the  high  functions  which  had  been  exercised 
by  their  predecessors. 
The  ennobled  To  make  matters  worse,  ver)^  few  of  the  nobles  really  be- 
longed to  old  feudal  families.  For  the  most  part  they  had  been 
ennobled  by  the  king  for  some  supposed  service,  of  had  bought 
an  office,  or  a  judgeship  in  the  higher  courts,  to  which  noble 
rank  was  attached.  Naturally  this  circumstance  served  to  rob 
them  of  much  of  the  respect  that  their  hereditary  dignity  and 
titles  might  otherwise  have  gained  for  them. 

In  England  the  feudal  castles  had  disappeared  earlier  even 
than  in  France,  and  the  English  law  did  not  grant  to  any  one, 
however  long  and  distinguished  his  lineage,  special  rights  or 
privileges  not  enjoyed  by  every  freeman.  Nevertheless  there 
was  a  distinct  noble  class  in  England.^  The  monarch  had  for- 
merly been  accustomed  to  summon  his  earls  and  some  of  his 
barons  to  take  council  with  him,  and  in  this  way  the  peerage 
developed;  this  included  those  whose  title  permitted  them  to  sit 
in  the  House  of  Lords  and  to  transmit  this  honorable  preroga- 
tive to  their  eldest  sons.  But  the  peers  paid  the  same  taxes  as 
ever}^  other  subject  and  were  punished  in  the  same  manner  if 
they  were  convicted  of  an  offense.  Moreover  only  the  eldest 
surviving  son  of  a  noble  father  inherited  his  rank,  while  on  the 
Continent  all  the  children  became  nobles.  In  this  way  the  num- 
ber of  the  English  nobility  was  greatiy  restricted,  and  their 
social  distinction  roused  little  antagonism. 

In  Germany,  however,  the  nobles  continued  to  occupy  very 
much  the  same  position  which  their  ancestors  held  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  There  had  been  no  king  to  do  for  all  Germany  v/hat  the 
French  kings  had  done  for  France ;  no  mighty  man  had  risen . 
strong  enough  to  batter  down  castle  walls  and  bend  all  barons, 
great  and  small,  to  his  will.  The  result  was  that  there  were  in 
Germany  in  the  eighteenth  century  hundreds  of  nobles  dwelling 
in  strong  old  castles  and  ruling  with  a  high  hand  domains  which 
were  sometimes  no  larger  than  a  big  American  farm.    They 

1  For  Voltaire's  account  of  the  English  nobility,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  146. 


The  Old  Regime  i7i  Etirope  133 

levied  taxes,  held  courts,  coined  money,  and  maintained  stand- 
ing armies  of  perhaps  only  a  handful  of  soldiers. 

In  all  the  countries  of  Europe  the  chief  noble  was  of  course  The  chief 
the  monarch  himself,  to  whose  favor  almost  all  the  lesser  nobles  xh&  ^^ 
owed  their  titles  and  rank.  He  was,  except  in  a  few  cases, 
always  despotic,  permitting  the  people  no  share  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  government  and  often  rendering  them  miserable  by 
needless  wars  and  ill-advised  and  oppressive  taxes.  He  com- 
monly maintained  a  ver\^  expensive  court  and  gave  away  to  un- 
worthy courtiers  much  of  the  money  which  he  had  wrung  from 
his  people.  He  was  permitted  to  imprison  his  subjects  upon 
the  slightest  grounds  and  in  the  most  unjust  manner ;  neverthe- 
less he  usually  enjoyed  theu*  loyalty  and  respect,  since  they  were 
generally  ready  to  attribute  his  bad  acts  to  e\dl  councilors. 

On  the  whole,  the  king  merited  the  respect  paid  him.  He 
it  was  who  had  destroyed  the  power  of  innumerable  lesser  des- 
pots and  created  something  like  a  nation.  He  had  put  a  stop 
to  the  private  warfare  and  feudal  brigandage  which  had  dis- 
graced the  Middle  Ages.  His  officers  maintained  order  through- 
out the  countr}'  so  that  merchants  and  travelers  could  go  to 
and  fro  with  little  danger.  He  opened  highroads  for  them  and 
established  a  general  system  of  coinage,  which  greatly  facilitated 
business  operations.  He  interested  himself  more  and  more  in 
commerce  and  industr}^  and  often  encouraged  learning.  Finally, 
by  consolidating  his  reakns  and  establishing  a  regular  system 
of  government,  he  prepared  the  way  for  the  European  State  of 
to-day  in  which  the  people  either  secured  control  over  lawmaking 
and  national  finances,  or,  as  in  the  case  of  France,  the  monarch 
has  been  discarded  altogether  as  no  longer  needful.  Democracy 
and  political  equalit}'  would,  in  fact,  have  been  impossible  if 
monarchs  had  not  leveled  down  the  proud  and  might}-  nobles 
who  aspired  to  be  pett}^  kings  in  their  domains.  But  still  the 
monarchs  preferred  to  associate  wnth  nobles  at  their  courts, 
rather  than  \\\\h  the  great  middle  class  which  formed  the  mass 
of  the  nation. 


134  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  24.    The  Catholic  Church 

Importance  The  eighteenth  century  had  inherited  from  the  Middle  Ages 

vai  chuTchTn  the  nobility  with  their  peculiar  privileges.  At  the  same  time  the 
explaining  clergy,  especially  in  Catholic  countries,  still  possessed  privileges 
problems  which  sct  them  off  from  the  nation  at  large.  They  were  far 
more  powerful  and  better  organized  than  the  nobility  and  exer- 
cised a  potent  influence  in  the  State.  The  clergy  owed  their 
authority  to  the  Church,  which  for  many  centuries  had  been  the 
great  central  institution  of  Europe. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  every  one  in  the  Middle  Ages 
had  been  required  to  belong  to  the  Church,  somewhat  in  the 
same  way  that  we  to-day  all  belong  as  a  matter  of  course  to  the 
State.  Before  the  Protestant  Revolt  all  the  states  of  western 
Europe  had  formed  a  single  religious  association  from  which  it 
was  a  crime  to  revolt.  To  refuse  allegiance  to  the  Church  or  to 
question  its  authority  or  teachings  was  reputed  treason  against 
God,  the  most  terrible  of  all  crimes. 

The  Church  did  not  rely  for  its  support,  as  churches  must 

to-day,  upon  the  voluntary  contributions  of  its  members,  but 

enjoyed  the  revenue  from  vast  domains  which  kings,  nobles, 

and  other  landholders   had   from   time  to  time  given  to   the 

churches  and  monasteries.    In  addition  to  the  income  from  its 

lands,  the  Church  had  the  right,  like  the  State,  to  impose  a 

regular  tax,  which  was  called  the  tithe.    All  who  were  subject  to 

this  were  forced  to  pay  it,  whether  they  cared  anything  about 

religion  or  not,  just  as  we   are  all  compelled   to  pay  taxes 

imposed  by  the  government  under  which  we  live. 

Great  powers       In  spite  of  the  changes  which  had  overtaken  the  Church 

bytheCath-     since  the   Middle  Ages,   it  still  retained  its   ancient  external 

in'the'^^Sit      ^ppearancc  in  the  eighteenth  century  —  its  gorgeous  ceremonial, 

eenth  century  its  wealth,  its  influence  over  the  lives  of  men,  its  intolerance  of 

those  who  ventured  to  differ  from  the  conceptions  of  Christianity 

which  it  held.   The  Church  could  fine  and  imprison  those  whom 

it  convicted  of  blasphemy,  contempt  of  religion,  or  heresy.   The 


The  Old  Regime  in  Europe  I35 

clergy  managed  the  schools  in  which,  of  course,  the  children 
were  brought  up  in  the  orthodox  faith..  Hospitals  and  other 
charitable  institutions  were  under  their  control.  They  registered 
all  births  and  deaths,  and  only  the  marriages  which  they  sanc- 
tified were  regarded  by  the  State  as  legal.  The  monasteries 
still  existed  in  great  numbers  and  owned  vast  tracts  of  land. 
A  map  of  Paris  made  in  1789  shows  no  less  than  sixty-eight 
monasteries  and  seventy-three  nunneries  within  the  walls.  The 
tithe  was  still  paid  as  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  and  the  clergy  still 
enjoyed  exemption  from  the  direct  taxes. 

Judged  by  the  standards  of  the  twentieth  century,  both  the   intolerance 
Catholic  and  the  Protestant  churches  were  very  intolerant,  and   olic°and^ 
in  this  were  usually  supported  by  the  government,  which  was   Protestants 
ready  to  punish  or  persecute  those  who  refused  to  conform  to 
the  State  religion,  whatever  it  might  be,  or  ventured  to  speak 
or  write  against  its  doctrines.    There  was  none  of  that  freedom 
which  is  so  general  now,  and  which  permits  a  man  to  worship 
or  not  as  he  pleases,  to  reject  and  even  to  denounce  religion 
in  any  or  all  of  its  forms  without  danger  of  imprisonment,  loss 
of  citizenship,  or  death. 

In  France,  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  Position  of 
1685,  Protestants  had  lost  all  civil  rights.  According  to  a 
decree  of  1724,  those  who  assembled  for  any  form  of  worship  ^"^^"^^^ 
other  than  the  Roman  Catholic  were  condemned  to  lose  their 
property ;  the  men  were  to  be  sent  to  the  galleys  and  the 
women  imprisoned  for  life.  The  preachers  who  convoked  such 
assemblies  or  performed  Protestant  ceremonies  were  punishable 
with  death ;  but  only  a  few  executions  took  place,  for  happily 
the  old  enthusiasm  for  persecution  was  abating.  None  the  less, 
all  who  did  not  accept  the  Catholic  teachings  were  practically 
outlawed,  for  the  priests  would  neither  recognize  the  marriages 
nor  register  the  births  and  deaths  over  which  they  were  not 
called  to  preside.  This  made  it  impossible  for  Protestants  to 
marry  legally  and  have  legitimate  children,  or  to  inherit  or 
bequeath  property. 


the  Protes- 
tants in 


136 


Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 


Censorship 
ineffective 


Strength  of 
the  Church  in 
Spain,  Aus 
tria,  an 


Books  and  pamphlets  were  carefully  examined  in  order  to 
see  whether  they  contained  any  attacks  upon  the  orthodox 
Catholic  beliefs  or  might  in  any  way  serve  to  undermine  the 
authority  of  the  Church  or  of  the  king.  The  Pope  had  long 
maintained  a  commission  (which  still  exists)  to  examine  new 
books,  and  to  publish  from  time  to  time  a  list,  called  the 
Index,  of  all  those  which  the  Church  condemned  and  forbade 
the  faithful  to  read.  The  king  of  France,  as  late  as  1757, 
issued  a  declaration  establishing  the  death  penalty  for  those  who 
wrote,  printed,  or  distributed  any  work  which  appeared  to  be 
an  attack  upon  religion.  The  teachings  of  the  professors  in  the 
university  were  watched.  A  clergyman  who  ventured  to  com- 
pare the  healing  of  the  sick  by  Christ  to  the  cures  ascribed  to 
u^sculapius  was  arrested  (about  1750)  by  order  of  the  king's 
judges  at  Paris  and  forced  to  leave  the  country.  A  consider- 
able number  of  the  books  issued  in  France  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  which  ventured  to  criticize  the  government  or  the 
Church,  were  condemned  either  by  the  clergy  or  the  king's 
courts,  and  were  burned  by  the  common  hangman  or  sup- 
pressed. Not  infrequently  the  authors,  if  they  could  be  dis- 
covered, were  imprisoned. 

Nevertheless  books  attacking  the  old  ideas  and  suggesting 
reforms  in  Church  and  State  constantly  appeared  and  were 
freely  circulated.^  The  writers  took  care  not  to  place  their 
names  or  those  of  the  publishers  upon  the  title-pages,  and  many 
such  books  were  printed  at  Geneva  or  in  Holland,  where  great 
freedom  prevailed.  Many  others  which  purported  to  be  printed 
abroad  were  actually  printed  secretly  at  home. 

In  Spain,  Austria,  and  Italy,  however,  and  especially  in  the 
Papal  States,  the  clergy,  particularly  the  Jesuits,  were  more 
d  Italy  powerful  and  enjoyed  more  privileges  than  in  France.  In 
Spain  the  censorship  of  the  press  and  the  Inquisition  consti- 
tuted a  double  bulwark  against  change  until  the  latter  half  of 
the  eighteenth  century. 

1  See  following  chapter. 


The  Old  R^gmte  in  Europe  1 3  7 

In  Germany  the  position  of  the  Church  varied  greatly.    The   Peculiar  situ- 
southern   states  were   Catholic,   while   Prussia  and   the   north  great  Gennan 
had  embraced  Protestantism.    Many  bishops  and  abbots  ruled  P^^^^^es 
as  princes  over  their  own  lands.   Their  estates  covered  almost  a 
third  of  the  map  of  western  and  southern  Germany,  and  were, 
of  course,  quite  distinct  from  the  spiritual  provinces  or  dioceses. 


Section  25.    The  English  Established  Church 
AND  THE  Protestant  Sects 

In  England  Henry  VIII  had  thrown  off  his  allegiance  to  the  The  Anglican 
Pope  and  declared  himself  the  head  of  the  English  Church.   estaWished 
Under  his  daughter.  Queen  Elizabeth  (15 58-1 603),  Parliament   ^"f^gbSr^" 
had  established  the  Church  of  England.    It  abolished  the  mass   (1558-1603) 
and  sanctioned  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  which  has  since 
remained  the   official  guide  to  the  services  in  the  Anglican 
Church.    The  beliefs  of  the  Church  were  brought  together  in 
the  Thirty-Nine  Articles,  from  which  no  one  was  to  vary  or 
depart.     The   system  of  government  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  with  its  archbishops,  bishops,  and  priests,  was  retained, 
but  the  appointment  of  bishops  was  put  in  the  hands  of  the 
monarch  or  his  ministers.    All  clergymen  were  required  to  sub- 
scribe solemnly  to  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles.   All  public  religious 
services  were  to  be  conducted  according  to  the  Prayer  Book, 
and  those  who  failed  to  attend  services  on  Sunday  and  holy- 
days  were  to  be  fined. 

Those  who   persisted  in  adhering  to   the  Roman  Catholic   Persecution 
faith  fared  badly,  although  happily  there  were  no  such  general   ucs  in  Eng- 
massacres  as  overwhelmed  the  Protestants  in  France.    Under  '^"^ 
the  influence   of  the   Jesuits   some  of   the   English   Catholics 
became  involved  in  plots  against  the  Protestant  queen,  Eliza- 
beth,  who  had  been  deposed    by  the  Pope.     These   alleged 
"  traitors  "  were  in  some  instances  executed  for  treason.  Indeed, 
any  one  who  brought  a  papal  bull  to  England,  who  embraced 
Catholicism,  or  converted  a  Protestant  was  declared  a  traitor. 


138 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Puritans 


The  Friends, 
or  Quakers 


John  Wesley 
and  the 
Methodists 


Fines  and  imprisonment  were  inflicted  upon  those  who  dared 
to  say  or  to  hear  a  mass.^ 

But,  as  we  have  seen,^  there  were  many  Protestants  who  did 
not  approve  of  the  Anglican  Church  as  established  by  law. 
These  ''  Dissenters  "  developed  gradually  into  several  sects  with 
differing  views.  By  far  the  most  numerous  of  the  Dissenters 
were  the  Baptists.  They  spread  to  America,  and  were  the  first 
Protestant  sect  to  undertake  foreign  missions  on  a  large  scale, 
having  founded  a  society  for  that  purpose  as  early  as  1792.^ 

Another  English  sect  which  was  destined  also  to  be  conspic- 
uous in  America  was  the  Society  of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  as  they 
are  commonly  called.  This  group  owes  its  origin  to  George  Fox, 
who  began  his  preaching  in  1647.  The  Friends  were  distin- 
guished by  their  simplicity  of  life  and  dress,  their  abhorrence 
of  war,  and  their  rejection  of  all  ceremonial,  including  even 
the  Lord's  Supper.  Their  chief  stronghold  in  America  has 
always  been  Pennsylvania,  more  particularly  Philadelphia  and 
its  neighborhood,  where  they  settled  under  the  leadership  of 
William  Penn. 

The  Quakers  were  the  first  religious  sect  to  denounce  war 
ever  and  always,  and  they  should  have  the  credit  of  beginning 
the  movement  against  war  which  had  gained  much  headway 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  in  19 14. 

The  last  of  the  great  Protestant  sects  to  appear  was  that  of  the 
Methodists.  Their  founder,  John  Wesley,  when  at  Oxford  had 
established  a  religious  society  among  his  fellow  students.  Their 
piety  and  the  regularity  of  their  habits  gained  for  them  the 


1  It  may  be  noted  here  that  the  Catholics  found  a  refuge  in  America  from  their 
Protestant  persecutors,  as  did  the  Huguenots  who  fled  from  the  oppression  of  the 
Catholic  government  in  France.  The  colony  of  Maryland  was  founded  by  Lord 
Baltimore  in  1634  and  named  after  the  French  wife  of  Charles  I.  In  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  number  of  Catholics  in  the  United  States  was  vastly  increased 
by  immigration  from  Ireland,  Italy,  and  other  countries,  so  that  there  are  over 
thirteen  millions  to-day  who  have  been  baptized  into  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

2  See  above,  pp.  39  and  50. 

8  For  the  legal  position  of  the  Catholics  and  Dissenters,  see  Blackstone's 
description  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  162. 


The  Old  Regime  in  Europe  1 39 

nickname  of  ''  Methodists."  After  leaving  Oxford,  Wesley  spent 
some  time  in  the  colony  of  Georgia.  On  his  return  to  England 
in  1738  he  came  to  believe  in  the  sudden  and  complete  forgive- 
ness of  sins  known  as  "  conversion,"  which  he  later  made  the 
basis  of  his  teaching.  He  began  a  series  of  great  revival  meet- 
ings in  London  and  other  large  tow^ns.    He  journeyed  up  and 


':^^ 


Fig.  38.   John  Wesley 

down  the  land,  aided  in  his  preaching  by  his  brother  Charles 
and  by  the  impassioned  Whitefield.^ 

Only  gradually  did  the  Methodists  separate  themselves  from 
the  Church  of  England,  of  which  they  at  first  considered  them- 
selves members.  In  1784  the  numerous  American  Methodists 
were  formally  organized  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  English  Methodists 
became  an  independent  organization.    At  the  time  of  Wesley's 

1  For  extracts  from  Wesley's  famous  Journal,  see  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  i68. 


I40 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


death  his  followers  numbered  over  fifty  thousand,  and  there  are 
now  in  the  United  States  over  six  millions,  including  the  various 
branches  of  the  Church. 

We  have  seen  ^  how  little  of  the  spirit  of  toleration  there  was 
in  England  in  the  seventeenth  century,  during  the  Stuart  period 
and  the  Commonwealth.  With  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary, 
however,  the  spirit  of  persecution  died  down.  To  be  sure, 
England  had  its  State  Church,  and  even  if,  by  the  Act  of  Toler- 
ation of  1689,  the  Dissenters  were  permitted  to  hold  services 
in  their  own  way,  they  were  excluded  from  government  offices 
unless  they  violated  their  own  faith,  nor  could  they  obtain  a 
degree  at  the  universities.  Only  the  members  of  the  Anglican 
Church  could  hold  a  benefice.  Its  bishops  had  seats  in  the 
House  of  Lords  and  its  priests  enjoyed  a  social  preeminence 
denied  to  the  dissenting  ministers. 

Towards  Roman  Catholics  the  law  remained  as  harsh  as 
ever.  Those  who  clung  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  to  the 
Pope  and  the  mass,  were  forbidden  to  enter  England.  The 
celebration  of  the  mass  was  strictly  prohibited.  All  public 
offices  were  closed  to  Catholics  and  of  course  they  could  not 
sit  in  Parliament.  Indeed,  legally,  they  had  no  right  whatever 
to  be  in  England  at  all.  But  as  in  the  case  of  the  Dissenters, 
the  laws  were  enforced  less  and  less  as  time  went  on. 

The  Church  courts  still  existed  in  England  and  could  punish 
laymen  for  not  attending  church,  for  heresy,  and  for  certain 
immoral  acts.  But  their  powers  were  little  exercised  compared 
with  the  situation  on  the  Continent.  Moreover  one  who  published 
a  book  or  pamphlet  did  not  have  to  obtain  the  permission  of 
the  government  as  in  France.  Indeed,  nowhere  was  there  such 
unrestrained  discussion  of  scientific  and  religious  matters  at  this 
period  as  in  England.  As  we  shall  see  in  the  following  chapter, 
England,  in  the  early  eighteenth  century,  was  the  center  of 
progressive  thought  from  which  the  French  philosophers  and 
reformers  drew  their  inspiration. 

1  See  above,  pp.  50  f 


The  Old  Regime  iii  Europe  1 4 1 

As  a  matter  of  fact  there  were  too  many  different  sects  in 
England  for  any  one  church  to  crush  the  others.  Blackstone, 
writing  at  the  opening  of  the  reign  of  George  III,  summed  up 
the  legal  view  in  the  following  manner :  ''  Certainly  our  ances- 
tors were  mistaken  in  their  plans  of  compulsion  and  intolerance. 
The  sin  of  schism,  as  such,  is  by  no  means  the  object  of  tem- 
poral coercion  and  punishment.  If  through  weakness  of  intel- 
lect, through  misdirected  piety,  through  perverseness  and  acerbity 
of  temper,  or  (which  is  often  the  case)  through  a  prospect  of 
secular  advantage  in  herding  with  a  party,  men  quarrel  with  the 
ecclesiastical  establishment,  the  civil  magistrate  has  nothing  to 
do  with  it,  unless  their  tenets  and  practice  are  such  as  threaten 
ruin  or  disturbance  to  the  State.  He  is  bound  indeed  to  protect 
the  Established  Church,  and  if  this  can  be  better  effected  by 
admitting  none  but  its  genuine  members  to  offices  of  trust  and 
emolument,  he  is  certainly  at  liberty  to  do  so,  the  disposal  of 
offices  being  matter  of  favor  and  discretion.  But,  this  point 
being  once  secured,  all  persecution  for "  diversity  of  opinions, 
however  ridiculous  or  absurd  they  may  be,  is  contrary  to  every 
principle  of  sound  policy  and  civil  freedom." 


QUESTIONS 

Section  21.  Who  were  the  serfs?  In  what  parts  of  Europe 
were  they  to  be  found  in  the  eighteenth  century  ?  Describe  the  life 
of  the  peasants  on  a  French  estate. 

Section  22.  Contrast  the  towns  of  the  eighteenth  century  with 
those  of  to-day.  Is  Berlin  really  an  Old  World  city  t  Describe  the 
guild  system.  What  were  the  advantages,  and  the  disadvantages,  of 
the  system?  In  what  respects  are  the  modern  trade-unions  unlike 
the  guilds? 

Section  23.  What  privileges  did  a  French  noble  enjoy  in  the 
old  regime?  How  did  one  become  a  noble?  Contrast  the  English 
nobility  with  the  French.  In  what  respects  did  the  noble  of  Ger- 
many differ  from  his  equals  in  France  or  in  England?  What  justi- 
fication, if  any,  is  there  for  the  despotic  rule  of  the  kings  of  the 
old  regime? 


i/^i  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  24.  In  what  ways  did  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages 
differ  from  the  Church,  Catholic  or  Protestant,  of  modern  times? 
How  many  of  its  medieval  powers  did  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
retain  in  the  seventeenth  century?  What  was  the  Index?  What 
examples  are  there  of  religious  intolerance  in  France  and  England 
during  the  period  just  named? 

Section  25.  What  Church  replaced  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
in  England  after  the  Protestant  Revolt?  Describe  its  system  of  gov- 
ernment. Where  may  a  statement  of  its  beliefs  be  found  ?  Mention 
the  different  religious  sects  (Dissenters)  which  appeared  in  England 
after  the  break  with  Rome.  Who  founded  them  ?  Do  these  religious 
sects  exist  to-day?  If  so,  has  their  influence  been  felt  beyond  Eng- 
land ?  Describe  the  attitude  of  Parliament  toward  Dissenters  during 
the  reign  of  Charles  II.  Contrast  it  with  that  of  the  reign  of  William 
and  Mary. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  SPIRIT  OF  REFORM 

Section  26.    The  Development  of  Modern  Science 

A  thoughtful  observer  in  the  eighteenth  century  would,  as  we  The  spirit 
have  seen,  have  discovered  many  medieval  institutions  which 
had  persisted  in  spite  of  the  considerable  changes  which  had 
taken  place  in  conditions  and  ideas  during  the  previous  five 
hundred  years.  Serfdom,  the  guilds,  the  feudal  dues,  the 
nobility  and  clergy  with  their  peculiar  privileges,  the  declining 
monastic  orders,  the  confused  and  cruel  laws  —  these  were  a 
part  of  the  heritage  which  Europe  had  received  from  what  was 
coming  to  be  regarded  as  a  dark  and  barbarous  period.  People 
began  to  be  keenly  alive  to  the  deficiencies  of  the  past  and 
to  look  to  the  future  for  better  things,  even  to  dream  of  prog- 
ress beyond  the  happiest  times  of  which  they  had  any  record. 
They  came  to  feel  that  the  chief  obstacles  to  progress  were  the 
outworn  institutions,  the  ignorance  and  prejudices  of  their  fore- 
fathers, and  that  if  they  could  only  be  freed  from  this  burden, 
they  would  find  it  easy  to  create  new  and  enlightened  laws  and 
institutions  to  suit  their  needs. 

This  attitude  of  mind  seems  natural  enough  in  our  progres-  Veneration 

,  .  .  , .     .        ,  TV  r      1  •     1    for  the  past 

sive  age,  but  two  centunes  ago  it  was  distmctly  new.  Mankmd  « the  good 
has  in  general  shown  an  unreasoning  respect  and  veneration  °^^  ^^y^ " 
for  the  past.  Until  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 
former  times  were  commonly  held  to  have  been  better  than  the 
present ;  for  the  evils  of  the  past  were  little  known,  while  those 
of  the  present  were,  as  always,  only  too  apparent.  Men  looked 
backward  rather  than  forward.  They  aspired  to  fight  as  well, 
or  be  as  saintly,  or  write  as  good  books,  or  paint  as  beautiful 

143 


144 


Outlines  of  European  History 


How  the 
scientists 
have  created 
the  spirit 
of  progress 
and  reform 


Their  rnod- 
em  scientific 
methods  of 
discovering 
truth 


pictures,  as  the  great  men  of  old.  That  they  might  excel 
the  achievements  of  their  predecessors  did  not  occur  to  them. 
Knowledge  was  sought  not  by  studying  the  world  about  them 
but  in  some  ancient  authority.  In  Aristotle's  vast  range  of 
works  on  various  branches  of  science,  the  Middle  Ages  felt 
that  they  had  a  mass  of  authentic  information  which  it  should 
be  the  main  business  of  the  universities  to  explain  and  impart 
rather  than  to  increase  or  correct  by  new  investigations.  Men's 
ideals  centered  in  the  past,  and  improvement  seemed  to  them 
to  consist  in  reviving,  so  far  as  possible,  "  the  good  old  days." 

It  was  mainly  to  the  patient  men  of  science  that  the  western 
world  owed  its  first  hopes  of  future  improvement.  It  is  they 
who  have  shown  that  the  ancient  writers  were  mistaken  about 
many  serious  matters  and  that  they  had  at  best  a  very  crude 
and  imperfect  notion  of  the  world.  They  have  gradually  robbed 
men  of  their  old  blind  respect  for  the  past,  and  by  their  dis- 
coveries have  pointed  the  way  to  indefinite  advance,  so  that  now 
we  expect  constant  change  and  improvement  and  are  scarcely 
astonished  at  the  most  marvelous  inventions. 

In  the  Middle  Ages  the  scholars  and  learned  men  had  been 
but  little  interested  in  the  world  about  them.  They  devoted  far 
more  attention  to  philosophy  and  theology  than  to  what  we 
should  call  the  natural  sciences.  They  were  satisfied  in  the 
main  to  get  their  knowledge  of  nature  from  reading  the  works 
of  the  ancients  —  above  all,  those  of  Aristotle. 

As  early  as  the  thirteenth  century,  however,  a  very  extraor- 
dinary Franciscan  friar,  Roger  Bacon,  showed  his  insight  by 
protesting  against  the  exaggerated  veneration  for  books.  Bacon 
advocated   three    methods   of   reaching   truth   which   are    now 


*  Contrast  this  alchenriist's  laboratory  with  one  of  a  modern  chemist. 
Although  the  alchemist  was  as  intelligent  and  earnest  as  the  modern 
scientist,  he  worked  on  such  futile  tasks  as  trying  to  change  base  metals 
to  gold.  For  he  still  held  with  the  Greeks  that  there  were  four  elements 
—  earth,  air,  fire,  and  water.  In  the  last  part  of  the  eighteenth  century 
Boyle,  Priestly,  and  Lavoisier  broke  up  air  and  water  into  their  component 
gases,  and  chemistry  began  to  show  what  the  world  was  really  made  of. 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  145 

followed  by  all  scientific  men.^    In  the  first  place,  he  proposed 
that  natural  objects  and  changes  should  be  examined  with  great 
care,  in  order  that  the  observer  might  determine  exactly  what 
happened  in  any  given  case.    This  has  led  in  modern  times  to 
incredibly  refined  measurement  and  analysis.    The  chemist,  for   i.  Exact 
example,  can  now  determine  the  exact  nature  and  amount  of   of  the^^^^^" 
every  substance  in  a  cup  of  impure  water,  which  may  appear  phenomena 
perfectly  limpid  to  the  casual  observer.    Then,  secondly.  Bacon 
advocated  experimentation.    He  was  not  contented  with  mere 
observation  of  what  actually  happened,  but  tried  new  and  arti- 
ficial combinations  and  processes.     Nowadays  experimentation   2.  Experi- 
is,  of  course,  constantly  used  by  scientific  investigators,  and  by   "^^" 
means  of  it  they  ascertain  many  things  which  the  most  careful 
observation  would  never  reveal.    Thirdly,  in  order  to  carry  on   3.  Scientific 
investigation  and  make  careful  measurements  and  experiments,   ^PP^''^  "^ 
apparatus  designed  for  this  special  purpose  was  found  to  be 
necessary.    Already  in  the  thirteenth  century  it  was  discovered, 
for  example,  that  a  convex  crystal  or  bit  of  glass  would  mag- 
nify  objects,    although    several    centuries    elapsed    before    the 
microscope  and  telescope  were  devised. 

The  first  scholar  to  draw  up  a  great  scheme  of  all  the  known  Francis 
sciences  and  work  out  a  method  of  research  which,  if  conscien-  (1^56°- 1626) 
tiously  followed,  promised  wonderful  discoveries,  was  Francis 
Bacon,  a  versatile  English  statesman  and  author  who  wrote  in 
the  time  of  James  I.^  It  seemed  to  him  (as  it  had  seemed  to 
his  namesake,  Roger  Bacon,  three  centuries  earlier)  that  the 
discoveries  which  had  hitherto  been  made  were  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  what  could  be  done  if  men  would  but  study  and  ex- 
periment with  things  themselves,  abandon  their  confidence  in 
vague  words  like  "  moist  "  and  ''  dry,"  "  matter  "  and  "  form," 
and  repudiate  altogether  "  the  thorny  philosophy  "  of  Aristotle 
which  was  taught  in  the  universities.    "  No  one,"  he  declares, 

1  See  Part  I,  p.  549. 

2  See    Part    I,    p.    656.     For   extracts   from    Bacon's   works,   see   Readings, 
Vol.  I,  p.  174. 

II 


146 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Discovery  of 
natural  laws 


Opposition 
to  scientific 
discoveries 


Hostile  at- 
titude of 
theologians 


"  has  yet  been  found  so  firm  of  mind  and  purpose  as  resolutely 
to  compel  himself  to  sweep  away  all  theories  and  common 
notions,  and  to  apply  the  understanding,  thus  made  fair  and 
even,  to  a  fresh  examination  of  details.  Thus  it  comes  about 
that  human  knowledge  is  as  yet  a  mere  medley  and  ill-digested 
mass,  made  up  of  much  credulity  and  much  accident,  and  also 
of  childish  notions  which  we  early  have  imbibed." 

The  observation  and  experimentation  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking  were  carried  on  by  many  earnest  workers  and  soon 
began  to  influence  deeply  men's  conceptions  of  the  earth  and 
of  the  universe  at  large.  Of  the  many  scientific  discoveries,  by 
far  the  most  fundamental  was  the  conviction  that  all  things 
about  us  follow  certain  natural  and  immutable  laws  ;  and  it  is 
the  determination  of  these  laws  and  the  seeking  out  of  their  ap- 
plications to  which  the  modern  scientific  investigator  devotes 
his  efforts,  whether  he  be  calculating  the  distance  of  a  star 
or  noting  the  effect  of  a  drop  of  acid  upon  a  frog's  foot.  He 
has  given  up  all  hope  of  reading  man's  fate  in  the  stars,  or 
of  producing  any  results  by  magical  processes.  He  is  convinced 
that  the  natural  laws  work  regularly.  Moreover,  his  study  of  the 
regular  processes  of  nature  has  enabled  him,  as  Roger  Bacon 
foresaw,  to  work  wonders  far  more  marvelous  than  any  attrib- 
uted to  the  medieval  magician. 

The  path  of  the  scientific  investigator  has  not  always  been 
without  its  thorns.  Mankind  has  changed  its  notions  with  reluc- 
tance. The  churchmen  and  the  professors  in  the  universities 
were  wedded  to  the  conceptions  of  the  world  which  the  medieval 
theologians  and  philosophers  had  worked  out,  mainly  from  the 
Bible  and  Aristode.  They  clung  to  the  textbooks  which  they  and 
their  predecessors  had  long  used  in  teaching,  and  had  no  desire 
to  work  in  laboratories  or  keep  up  with  the  ideas  of  the  scientists. 

Many  theologians  looked  with  grave  suspicion  upon  some 
of  the  scientific  discoveries,  on  the  ground  that  they  did  not 
harmonize  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  as  commonly  accepted. 
It  was  naturally  a  great  shock  to  them,  and  also  to  the  public 


The  Spirit  of  Reform 


147 


at  large,  to  have  it  suggested  that  man's  dwelling  place,  in- 
stead of  being  God's  greatest  work,  around  which  the  whole 
starry  firmament  revolved,  was  after  all  but  a  tiny  speck  in 
comparison  with  the  whole 
universe,  and  its  sun  but 
one  of  an  innumerable 
host  of  similar  glowing 
bodies  of  stupendous  size, 
each  of  which  might  have 
its  particular  family  of 
planets  revolving  about  it. 
The  bolder  thinkers 
were  consequently  some- 
times made  to  suffer  for 
their  ideas,  and  their  books 
prohibited  or  burned. 
Galileo  was  forced  to  say 
that  he  did  not  really 
believe  that  the  earth 
revolved  about  the  sun ; 
and  he  was  kept  in  par- 
tial confinement  for  a 
time  and  ordered  to  recite 
certain  psalms  every  day 

for  three  years  for  having  ventured  to  question  the  received 
views  in  a  book  which  he  wrote  in  Italian,  instead  of  Latin, 
so  that  the  public  at  large  might  read  it.^ 


.i# 


^^^:^idik'ii^%^i' 


Fig.  39.  Balloon  Ascension,  1783 

The  crowds  along  paths  of  the  garden 
of  the  Tuileries  palace  in  Paris,  on 
December  i,  1783,  saw  for  the  first  time 
two  men  ascend  2000  feet  in  a  balloon 


1  But  even  the  scientists  themselves  did  not  always  readily  accept  new  dis- 
coveries. Francis  Bacon,  who  lived  some  seventy  years  after  Copernicus,  still 
clung  to  the  old  idea  of  the  revolution  of  the  sun  about  the  earth  and  still  believed 
in  many  quite  preposterous  illusions,  as,  for  example,  that  "  it  hath  been  observed 
by  the  ancients  that  where  a  rainbow  seemeth  to  hang  over  or  to  touch,  there 
breatheth  forth  a  sweet  smell "  ;  and  that  "  since  the  ape  is  a  merry  and  a  bold 
beast,  its  heart  worn  near  the  heart  of  a  man  comfort eth  the  heart  and  increaseth 
audacity."  In  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  Lavoisier  was  burned 
in  effigy  in  Berlin  because  his  discovery  of  oxygen  threatened  the  accepted 
explanation  of  combustion. 


I4S 


Outlmes  of  European  History 


Effects  of 
scientific  dis- 
coveries on 
religious 
belief 


Section  27.    How  the  Scientific  Discoveries 
PRODUCED  A  Spirit  of  Reform 

Those  who  accepted  the  traditional  views  of  the  world  and 
of  religion,  and  opposed  change,  were  quite  justified  in  sus- 
pecting that  scientific  investigation  would  sooner  or  later  make 
them  trouble.  It  taught  men  to  distrust,  and  even  to  scorn,  the 
past  which  furnished  so  many  instances  of  ignorance  and  gross 
superstition.  Instead  of  accepting  the  teachings  of  the  theolo- 
gians, both  Catholic  and  Protestant,  that  mankind  through 
Adam's  fall  was  rendered  utterly  vile,  and  incapable  (except 
through  God's  special  grace)  of  good  thoughts  or  deeds,  certain 
thinkers  began  to  urge  that  man  was  by  nature  good ;  that  he 
should  freely  use  his  own  God-given  reason ;  that  he  was  capa- 
ble of  becoming  increasingly  wise  by  a  study  of  nature's  laws, 
and  that  he  could  indefinitely  better  his  own  condition  and  that 
of  his  fellows  if  he  would  but  free  himself  from  the  shackles  of 
error  and  superstition.  Those  who  had  broadened  their  views 
of  mankind  and  of  the  universe  came  to  believe  that  God  had 
revealed  himself  not  only  to  the  Jewish  people  but  also,  in 
greater  or  less  degree,  to  all  his  creatures  in  all  ages  and  in  all 
parts  of  a  boundless  universe  where  everything  was  controlled 
by  his  immutable  laws.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  famous  "  Uni- 
versal Prayer"  of  Alexander  Pope,  written  about  1737  : 

Father  of  all !  in  ev'ry  age, 

In  ev'ry  clime  adored, 
By  saint,  by  savage,  and  by  sage, 

Jehova,  Jove,  or  Lord  I 


Yet  not  to  earth's  contracted  span 
Thy  goodness  let  me  bound, 

Or  think  Thee  Lord  alone  of  man, 
When  thousand  worlds  are  'round. 


The  deists  Such  ideas  of  God's  providence  had  in  them  nothing  essen- 

tially unchristian,  for  they  are  to  be  found  in  writings  of  early 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  149 

church  fathers.  But  those  who  advanced  them  now  were  often 
"  free  thinkers,"  who  attacked  the  Christian  religion  in  no 
doubtful  terms,  and  whose  books  were  eagerly  read  and  dis- 
cussed. These  ''  deists "  maintained  that  their  conception  of 
God  was  far  worthier  than  that  of  the  Christian  believer,  who, 
they  declared,  accused  the  deity  of  violating  his  own  laws  by 
miracles  and  of  condemning  a  great  part  of  his  children  to 
eternal  torment. 

In  the  year  1726  there  landed  in  England  a  young  and  How  Voltaire 
gifted  Frenchman,  who  was  to  become  the  great  prophet  of  fand^i726"^' 
deism  in  all  lands.  Voltaire,  who  was  then  thirty-two  years  old, 
had  already  deserted  the  older  religious  beliefs  and  was  con- 
sequently ready  to  follow  enthusiastically  the  more  radical  of 
the  English  thinkers,  who  discussed  matters  with  an  openness 
which  filled  him  with  astonishment.  He  became  an  ardent 
admirer  of  the  teachings  of  Newton,  whose  stately  funeral  he 
attended  shortly  after  his  arrival.  He  regarded  the  discoverer 
of  universal  gravitation  as  greater  than  an  Alexander  or  a 
Caesar,  and  did  all  he  could  to  popularize  Newton's  work  in 
France.  ^^  It  is  to  him  who  masters  our  minds  by  the  force  of 
truth,  not  to  those  who  enslave  men  by  violence ;  it  is  to  him 
who  understands  the  universe,  not  to  those  who  disfigure  it,  that 


Voltaire  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  Quakers — their  simple  Voltaire 
life  and  their  hatred  of  war.   He  was  delighted  with  the  English  the  English 
philosophers,  especially  with  John  Locke  ^  (died  in  1704);  he  freedom  of 


1  Locke  rejected  the  notion  that  man  was  born  with  certain  divinely  implanted 
ideas,  and  maintained  that  we  owe  all  that  we  know  to  the  sensations  and  impres- 
sions which  come  to  us  from  without.  Locke  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  mod- 
esty, good  sense,  and  caution,  and  he  and  his  gifted  successor,  Bishop  Berkeley, 
did  much  to  found  modern  psychology.  Berkeley's  New  Theory'  of  Vision  is  a 
clear  account  of  the  gradual  way  in  which  we  learn  to  see.  He  shows  that  a 
blind  man,  if  suddenly  restored  to  sight,  would  make  little  or  nothing  of  the  con- 
fused colors  and  shapes  which  would  first  strike  his  eye.  He  would  learn  only 
from  prolonged  experience  that  one  set  of  colors  and  contours  meant  a  man  and 
another  a  horse  or  a  table,  no  matter  how  readily  he  might  recognize  the  several 
objects  by  touch. 


ISO 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Voltaire's 
Letters  on 
the  English 


Voltaire's 
wide  influ- 
ence and 
popularity 


Voltaire's 
attack  upon 
the  Church 


thought  Pope's  "  An  Essay  on  Man  "  the  finest  moral  poem 
ever  composed ;  he  admired  the  English  liberty  of  speech  and 
writing ;  he  respected  the  general  esteem  for  the  merchant 
class.  "  In  France,"  he  said,  "  the  merchant  so  constantly  hears 
his  business  spoken  of  with  disdain  that  he  is  fool  enough  to 
blush  for  it ;  yet  I  am  not  sure  that  the  merchant  who  enriches 
his  country,  gives  orders  from  his  countinghouse  at  Surat  or 
Cairo,  and  contributes  to  the  happiness  of  the  globe  is  not  more 
useful  to  a  state  than  the  thickly  bepowdered  lord  who  knows 
exactly  what  time  the  king  rises  and  what  time  he  goes  to  bed, 
and  gives  himself  mighty  airs  of  greatness  while  he  plays  the 
part  of  a  slave  in  the  minister's  anteroom." 

Voltaire  proceeded  to  enlighten  his  countrymen  by  a  volume 
of  essays  in  which  he  set  forth  his  impressions  of  England  ;  but 
the  high  court  of  justice  (the  parlement^  of  Paris  condemned 
these  Letters  on  the  English  to  be  publicly  burned,  as  scandal- 
ous and  lacking  in  the  respect  due  to  kings  and  governments. 
Voltaire  was  to  become,  during  the  remainder  of  a  long  life, 
the  chief  advocate  throughout  Europe  of  unremitting  reliance 
upon  reason  and  of  confidence  in  enlightenment  and  progress. 
His  keen  eye  was  continually  discovering  some  new  absurdity 
in  the  existing  order,  which,  with  incomparable  wit  and  literary 
skill,  he  would  expose  to  his  eager  readers.  He  was  interested 
in  almost  everything;  he  wrote  histories,  dramas,  philosophic 
treatises,  romances,  epics,  and  innumerable  letters  to  his  in- 
numerable admirers.  The  vast  range  of  his  writings  enabled 
him  to  bring  his  bold  questionings  to  the  attention  of  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men  —  not  only  to  the  general  reader,  but 
even  to  the  careless  playgoer.^ 

While  Voltaire  was  successfully  inculcating  free  criticism  in 
general,  he  led  a  relentless  attack  upon  the  most  venerable, 
probably  the  most  powerful,  institution  in  Europe,  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  The  absolute  power  of  the  king  did  not 
trouble  him,  but  the  Church,  with  what  appeared  to  him  to  be 
1  For  extracts  from  Voltaire's  writings,  see  Readings^  Vol.  I,  pp.  179  ff. 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  151 

its  deep-seated  opposition  to  a  free  exercise  of  reason  and  its 
hostility  to  reform,  seemed  fatally  to  block  all  human  progress. 
The  Church,  as  it  fully  realized,  had  never  encountered  a  more 
deadly  enemy. -^ 

Were  there  space  at  command,  a  great  many  good  things,  as  Weakness 
well  as  plenty  of  bad  ones,  might  be  told  of  this  extraordinary 
man.  He  was  often  superficial  in  his  judgments,  and  some- 
times jumped  to  unwarranted  conclusions.  He  saw  only  evil 
in  the  Church  and  seemed  incapable  of  understanding  all  that 
it  had  done  for  mankind  during  the  bygone  ages.  He  mali- 
ciously attributed  to  evil  motives  teachings  which  were  accepted 
by  the  best  and  loftiest  of  men.  He  bitterly  ridiculed  cherished 
religious  ideas,  along  with  the  censorship  of  the  press  and  the 
quarrels  of  the  theologians. 

He  could,  and  did,  however,  fight  bravely  against  wrong  Real  great- 
and  oppression.  The  abuses  which  he  attacked  were  in  large  taire 
part  abolished  by  the  Revolution.  It  is  unfair  to  notice  only 
Voltaire's  mistakes  and  exaggerations,  as  many  writers,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  have  done ;  for  he  certainly  did  much 
to  prepare  the  way  for  great  and  permanent  reforms  of  the 
Church,  as  a  political  and  social  institution,  which  every  one 
would  now  approve. 

Voltaire  had  many  admirers  and  powerful  allies.  Among  Diderot's  i?«- 
these  none  were  more  important  than  Denis  Diderot  and  the 
scholars  whom  Diderot  induced  to  cooperate  with  him  in  pre- 
paring articles  for  a  new  Encydopcsdia,  which  was  designed  to 
spread  among  a  wide  range  of  intelligent  readers  a  knowledge 
of  scientific  advance  and  rouse  enthusiasm  for  reform  and 
progress.^     An  encyclopedia  was  by  no  means  a  new  thing. 

1  Voltaire  repudiated  the  beliefs  of  the  Protestant  churches  as  well  as  of  the 
Roman  Church.  He  was,  however,  no  atheist.  Ke  believed  in  God,  and  at  his 
country  home,  near  Geneva,  he  dedicated  a  temple  to  him.  Like  many  of  his 
contemporaries,  he  was  a  deist,  and  held  that  God  had  revealed  himself  in  nature 
and  m  our  own  hearts,  not  in  Bible  or  Church. 

2  See  Readiness,  Vol.  I,  p.  185,  for  an  extract  from  Diderot's  preface  to  the 
last  installment  of  the  Encyclojxedia. 


152  Outlines  of  European  History 

Diderot's  plan  had  been  suggested  by  a  proposal  to  publish  a 
French  translation  of  Chambers's  Cydopcedia.  Before  his  first 
volume  appeared,  a  vast  Universal  Dictionary  had  been  com- 
pleted in  Germany  in  sixty-four  volumes.  But  few  people  out- 
side of  that  country  could  read  German  in  those  days,  whereas 
the  well-written  and  popular  articles  oJ  Diderot  and  his  helpers, 
ranging  from  **  abacus,"  "  abbey,"  and  *'  abdication  '*  to  "  Zoro- 
aster," "Zurich,"  and  "zymology,"  were  in  a  language  that 
many  people  all  over  Europe  could  understand. 
l\^QEncyclo-  Diderot  and  his  fellow  editors  endeavored  to  rouse  as  little 
thelTosdHty^  Opposition  as  possible.  They  respected  current  prejudices  and 
ofjhe  theo-  gave  space  to  ideas  and  opinions  with  which  they  were  not  per- 
sonally in  sympathy.  They  furnished  material,  however,  for  re- 
futing what  they  believed  to  be  mistaken  notions,  and  Diderot 
declared  that  "  time  will  enable  people  to  distinguish  what  we 
have  thought  from  what  we  have  said."  But  no  sooner  did  the 
first  two  volumes  appear  in  1752  than  the  king's  ministers^  to 
please  the  clergy,  suppressed  them,  as  containing  principles 
hostile  to  royal  authority  and  religion,  although  they  did  not 
forbid  the  continuation  of  the  work. 
Diderot,  As  volume  after  volume  appeared,  the  subscribers  increased; 

completes^^he  ^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^  opposition.    The  Encyclopedists  were  declared 
Encyclojxsdia    ^q  \^q  ^  band  bent  upon  the  destruction  of  religion  and  the 
undermining  of  society ;  the  government  again  interfered,  with- 
drew the  license  to  publish  the  work,  and  prohibited  the  sale  of 
the  seven  volumes  that  were  already  out.     Nevertheless  seven 
years  later  Diderot  was  able  to  deliver  the  remaining  ten  volumes 
to  the  subscribers  in  spite  of  the  government's  prohibition. 
Value  of  the         The  Eficyclopoidia  attacked  temperately,  but  effectively,  re- 
.tcycopcE  la   jjgj^^g  intolerance,  the  bad   taxes,  the  slave   trade,   and   the 
atrocities  of  the  criminal  law ;  it  encouraged  men  to  turn  their 
minds  to  natural  science  with  all  its  beneficent  possibilities,  and 
this  helped  to  discourage  the  old  interest  in  theology  and  barren 
metaphysics.     The   article  "  Legislator,"  .  written   by  Diderot, 
says :  "  All  the  men  of  all  lands  have  become  necessary  to  one 


Fig.  40.   Leaders  of  the  Revolution  in  Thought 
153 


154  Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 

another  for  the  exchange  of  the  fruits  of  industry  and  the 
products  of  the  soil.  Commerce  is  a  new  bond  among  men. 
In  these  days  every  nation  has  an  interest  in  the  preservation 
by  every  other  nation  of  its  wealth,  its  industry,  its  banks,  its 
luxury,  its  agriculture.  The  ruin  of  Leipzig,  of  Lisbon,  of  Lima, 
has  led  to  bankruptcies  on  all  the  exchanges  of  Europe  and  has 
affected  the  fortunes  of  many  millions  of  persons."  The  English 
statesman,  John  Morley,  is  doubdess  right  when  he  says,  in  his 
enthusiastic  account  of  Diderot  and  his  companions,  that  "  it 
was  this  band  of  writers,  organized  by  a  harassed  man  of  letters, 
and  not  the  nobles  swarming  around  Louis  XV,  nor  the  church- 
men, who  first  grasped  the  great  principle  of  modern  society, 
the  honor  that  is  owed  to  productive  industry.  They  were 
vehement  for  the  glories  of  peace  and  passionate  against  the 
brazen  glories  of  war." 
Montesquieu  Neither  Voltaire  nor  Diderot  had  attacked  the  kings  and  their 
andhis^SmV  dcspotic  systcm  of  government.  Montesquieu,  however,  while 
of  Laws  expressing  great  loyalty  to  French  institutions,  opened  the  eyes 

of  his  fellow  citizens  to  the  disadvantages  and  abuses  of  their 
government  by  his  enthusiastic  eulogy  of  the  limited  monarchy 
of  England.  In  his  celebrated  work.  The  Spirit  of  Laws ^  or  the 
Relation  which  Latvs  should  hear  to  the  Co7istitution  of  Each 
Country^  its  Customs^  Climate^  Religion^  Commerce^  etc.,  he 
proves  from  history  that  governments  are  not  arbitrary  ar- 
rangements, but  that  they  are  the  natural  products  of  special 
conditions  and  should  meet  the  needs  of  a  particular  people  at 
a  particular  period.  England,  he  thought,  had  developed  an 
especially  happy  system. 
Rousseau  Next  to  Voltaire,  the  writer  who  did  most  to  cultivate  dis- 

attacks^ivi-      content  with  existing  conditions  was  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau^ 
lization  (17 1 2-1 778).    Unlike  Voltaire  and  Diderot,  Rousseau  believed 

that  people  thought  too  much,  not  too  little;  that  we  should 
trust  to  our  hearts  rather  than  to  our  heads,  and  may  safely 
rely  upon  our  natural  feelings  and  sentiments  to  guide  us.    He 

1  Extracts  from  his  writings  are  to  be  found  in  the  Readings,  Vol,  I,  pp.  187  ff 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  155 

declared  that  Europe  was  overcivilized,  and  summoned  men  to 
return  to  nature  and  simplicity.  His  first  work  was  a  prize  essay 
written  in  1750,  in  which  he  sought  to  prove  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  arts  and  sciences  had  demoralized  mankind,  inas- 
much as  they  had  produced  luxury,  insincerity,  and  arrogance. 


Fig.  41.  Jean  Jacques  Rousseau 

He  extolled  the  rude  vigor  of  Sparta  and  denounced  the  refined 
and  degenerate  life  of  the  Athenians. 

Later  Rousseau  wrote  a  book  on  education,  called  Emile^   Rousseau's 
which  is  still  famous.    In  this  he  protests  against  the  efforts  witheduca- 
made  by  teachers  to  improve  upon  nature,  for,  he  maintains,   ^^^"^ 
"  All  things  are  good  as  their  Author  made  them,  but  every- 
thing degenerates  in  the  hands  of  man.  ...    To  form  this 
rare  creature,  man,  what  have  we  to  do  ?    Much  doubtless,  but 
chiefly  to  prevent  anything  from  being  done.  ...     All  our 
wisdom  consists  in  servile  prejudices ;  all  our  customs  are  but 
anxiety  and  restraint.    Civilized  man  is  born,  lives,  dies  in  a 


156 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Social 
Contract 


Popular 
sovereignty 


Beccaria 

(1738-1794) 
and  his  book, 
On  Crimes 
and  Punish- 
ments 


Unfairness  of 
criminal  trials 


State  of  slavery.  At  his  birth  he  is  sewed  in  swaddling  clothes ; 
at  his  death  he  is  nailed  in  a  coffin ;  as  long  as  he  preserves 
the  human  form  he  is  fettered  by  our  institutions." 

Rousseau's  plea  for  the  simple  life  went  to  the  heart  of  many 
a  person  who  was  weary  of  complications  and  artificiality.  Others 
were  attracted  by  his  firm  belief  in  the  natural  equality  of  man- 
kind and  the  right  of  every  man  to  have  a  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment. In  his  celebrated  little  treatise,  The  Social  Contract^  he 
takes  up  the  question,  By  what  right  does  one  man  rule  over 
others  ?  The  book  opens  with  the  words :  "  Man  is  born  free 
and  yet  is  now  everywhere  in  chains.  One  man  believes  him- 
self the  master  of  others  and  yet  is  after  all  more  of  a  slave 
than  they.  How  did  this  change  come  about  ?  I  do  not  know. 
What  can  render  it  legitimate  ?  1  believe  that  I  can  answer 
that  question."  It  is,  Rousseau  declares,  the  will  of  the  people 
that  renders  government  legitimate.  The  real  sovereign  is  the 
people.  Although  they  may  appoint  a  single  person,  such  as  a 
king,  to  manage  the  government  for  them,  they  should  make 
the  laws,  since  it  is  they  who  must  obey  them.  We  shall  find 
that  the  first  French  constitution  accepted  Rousseau's  doctrine 
and  defined  law  as  "  the  expression  of  the  general  will "  —  not 
the  will  of  a  king  reigning  by  the  grace  of  god. 

Among  all  the  books  advocating  urgent  reforms  which  ap- 
peared in  the  eighteenth  century  none  accomplished  more  than 
a  little  volume  by  the  Italian  economist  and  jurist,  Beccaria, 
which  exposed  with  great  clearness  and  vigor  the  atrocities  of 
the  criminal  law.  The  trials  (even  in  England)  were  scandalously 
unfair  and  the  punishments  incredibly  cruel.  The  accused  was 
not  ordinarily  allowed  any  counsel  and  was  required  to  give 
evidence  against  himself.  Indeed,  it  was  common  enough  to 
use  torture  to  force  a  confession  from  him.  Witnesses  were 
examined  secretly  and  separately  and  their  evidence  recorded 
before  they  faced  the  accused.  Informers  were  rewarded,  and 
the  flimsiest  evidence  was  considered  sufficient  in  the  case  of 
atrocious  crimes.   After  a  criminal  had  been  convicted  he  might 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  157 

be  torrured  by  the  rack,  thumbscrews,  applying  fire  to  different 
parts  of  his  body,  or  in  other  ways,  to  induce  him  to  reveal  the 
names  of  his  accomplices.  The  death  penalty  was  established  Cruelty  of 
for  a  great  variety  of  offenses  besides  murder  —  for  example,  mems"^^ 
heresy,  counterfeiting,  highway  robbery,  even  sacrilege.  In 
England  there  were,  according  to  the  great  jurist  Blackstone, 
a  hundred  and  sixty  offenses  punishable  with  death,  including 
cutting  down  trees  in  an  orchard,  and  stealing  a  sum  over  five 
shillings  in  a  shop,  or  more  than  twelve  pence  from  a  person's 
pocket.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  long  list  of  capital  offenses,  the 
trials  in  England  were  far  more  reasonable  than  on  the  Conti- 
nent, for  they  were  public  and  conducted  before  a  jur)%  and 
torture  was  not  used.  Moreover,  owing  to  Habeas  Corpus  no 
one  could  be  imprisoned  long  before  the  trial  would  take  place. 

Beccaria  advocated  public  trials  in  which  the  accused  should   Beccaria 
be  confronted  by  those  who  gave  evidence  against  him.    Secret  public  trials 
accusations   should  no  longer  be   considered.    Like  Voltaire,   ^^  milder, 

<=•  but  certain, 

Montesquieu,  and  many  others,  he  denounced  the  practice  of  punishment? 
torturing  a  suspected  person  with  a  view  of  compelling  him  by 
bodily  anguish  to  confess  himself  guilty  of  crimes  of  which  he 
might  be  quite  innocent.  As  for  punishments,  he  advocated  the 
entire  abolition  of  the  death  penalty,  on  the  ground  that  it  did 
not  deter  the  evil  doer  as  life  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  would, 
and  that  in  its  various  hideous  forms  —  beheading,  hanging,  muti- 
lation, breaking  on  the  wheel  —  it  was  a  source  of  demorali- 
zation to  the  spectators.  Punishments  should  be  less  harsh  but 
more  certain  and  more  carefully  proportioned  to  the  danger  of 
the  offense  to  society.  Nobles  and  magistrates  convicted  of 
crime  should  be  treated  exactly  like  offenders  of  the  lowest  class. 
Confiscation  of  property  should  be  abolished,  since  it  brought 
suffering  to  the  innocent  members  of  the  criminal's  family.  It 
was  better,  he  urged,  to  prevent  crimes  than  to  punish  them, 
and  this  could  be  done  by  making  the  laws  very  clear  and  the 
punishments  for  their  violation  very  certain,  but,  above  all,  by 
spreading  enlightenment  through  better  education. 


158 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  science 

of  political 

economy 

develops 

in  the 

eighteenth 

century 


Tendency  of 
the  govern- 
ments to 
regulate 
commerce 
and  industry 


About  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  new  social 
science  was  born,  namely,  political  economy.  Scholars  began 
to  investigate  the  sources  of  a  nation's  wealth,  the  manner  in 
which  commodities  were  produced  and  distributed,  the  laws  de- 
termining demand  and  supply,  the  function  of  money  and  credit, 
and  their  influence  upon  industry  and  commerce.  Previous  to 
the  eighteenth  century  these  matters  had  seemed  unworthy  of 
scientific  discussion.  Few  suspected  that  there  were  any  great 
laws  underlying  the  varying  amount  of  wheat  that  could  be 
bought  for  a  shilling,  or  the  rate  of  interest  that  a  bank  could 
charge.  The  ancient  philosophers  of  Greece  and  Rome  had 
despised  the  tiller  of  the  soil,  the  shopkeeper,  and  the  artisan, 
for  these  indispensable  members  of  society  at  that  period  were 
commonly  slaves.  The  contempt  of  manual  labor  had  de- 
creased in  the  Middle  Ages,  but  the  learned  men  who  studied 
theology,  or  pondered  over  Aristotle's  teachings  in  regard  to 
"  form  "  and  "  essence,"  never  thought  of  considering  the  effect 
of  the  growth  of  population  upon  serfdom,  or  of  an  export 
duty  upon  commerce,  any  more  than  they  tried  to  determine 
why  the  housewife's  milk  soured  more  readily  in  warm  weather 
than  in  cold,  or  why  a  field  left  fallow  regained  its  fertility.^ 

Although  ignorant  of  economic  laws,  the  governments  had 
come  gradually  to  regulate  more  and  more  both  commerce  and 
industry.  We  have  seen  how  each  country  tried  to  keep  all  the 
trade  for  its  own  merchants  by  issuing  elaborate  regulations  and 
restrictions,  and  how  the  king's  officers  enforced  the  monopoly 
of  the  guilds.  Indeed,  the  French  government,  under  Colbert's 
influence,  fell  into  the  habit  of  regulating  well-nigh  everything. 
In  order  that  the  goods  which  were  produced  in  France  might 
find  a  ready  sale  abroad,  the  government  fixed  the  quality  and 
width  of   the  cloth   which   might   be   manufactured   and   the 

1  The  medieval  philosophers  and  theologians  discussed,  it  is  true,  the  ques- 
tion whether  it  was  right  or  not  to  charge  interest  for  money  loaned,  and  what 
might  be  a  "  just  price."  But  both  matters  were  considered  as  ethical  or  theo- 
logical problems  rather  than  in  their  economic  aspects.  See  Ashley,  English 
Economic  History^  Vol.  I,  chap,  iii;  Vol.  II,  chap.  vi. 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  159 

character  of  the  dyes  which  should  be  used.  The  king's  min- 
isters kept  a  constant  eye  upon  the  dealers  in  grain  and  bread- 
stuffs,  forbidding  the  storing  up  of  these  products  or  their  sale 
outside  a  market.  In  this  way  they  had  hoped  to  prevent  spec- 
ulators from  accumulating  grain  in  order  to  sell  it  at  a  high 
rate  in  times  of  scarcity. 

In  short,  at  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century  statesmen.  Doctrines  of 
merchants,  and  such  scholars  as  gave  any  attention  to  the  sub-  tiHsts^^"^*^^ 
ject  believed  that  the  wealth  of  a  country  could  be  greatly  in- 
creased by  government  regulation  and  encouragement,  just  as 
in  the  United  States  to-day  it  is  held  by  the  majority  of  citizens 
that  the  government  can  increase  prosperity  and  improve  the 
conditions  of  the  wage-earners  by  imposing  high  duties  upon 
imported  articles.  It  was  also  commonly  believed  that  a  coun- 
try, to  be  really  prosperous,  must  export  more  than  it  imported, 
so  that  foreign  nations  would  each  year  owe  it  a  cash  balance, 
which  would  have  to  be  paid  in  gold  or  silver  and  in  this  way 
increase  its  stock  of  precious  metals.  Those  who  advocated 
using  the  powers  of  government  to  encourage  and  protect  ship- 
ping, to  develop  colonies,  and  to  regulate  manufactures  are 
known  as  "  mercantilists." 

About  the  year  1700,  however,  certain  writers  in  France  and  origin  of 
England  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  government  did  no  trade  "^^^" 
good  by  interfering:  with  natural  economic  laws  which  it  did  not  school  of 

c>  J  &  economists 

understand  and  whose  workings  it  did  not  reckon  with.  They 
argued  that  the  government  restrictions  often  produced  the 
worst  possible  results;  that  industry  would  advance  far  more 
rapidly  if  manufacturers  were  free  to  adopt  new  inventions  in- 
stead of  being  confined  by  the  government's  restrictions  to  old 
and  discredited  methods;  that,  in  France,  the  government's 
frantic  efforts  to  prevent  famines  by  making  all  sorts  of  rules 
in  regard  to  selling  grain  only  increased  the  distress,  since  even 
the  most  polverful  king  could  not  violate  with  impunity  an 
economic  law.  So  the  new  economists  rejected  the  formerly 
popular  mercantile  policy.    They  accused  the  mercantilists  of 


i6o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Adam  Smith's 
Wealth  of 
Nations 
(1776) 


The  econo- 
mists attack 
existing 
abuses 


identifying  gold  and  silver  with  wealth,  and  maintained  that  a 
country  might  be  prosperous  without  a  favorable  cash  balance. 
In  short,  the  new  school  advocated  "  free  trade."  A  French 
economist  urged  his  king  to  adopt  the  motto,  Laissez  faire  (Let 
things  alone),  if  he  would  see  his  realms  prosper. 

The  first  great  systematic  work  upon  political  economy  was 
published  by  a  Scotch  philosopher,  Adam  Smith,  in  1776.  His 
Inquiry  iiito  the  Nature  and  Causes  of  the  Wealth  of  Nations 
became  the  basis  of  all  further  progress  in  the  science.  He 
attacked  the  doctrines  of  the  mercantilists  and  the  various  ex- 
pedients which  they  had  favored,  —  import  duties,  bounties, 
restrictions  upon  exporting  grain,  etc.,  —  all  of  which  he  be- 
lieved "  retard  instead  of  accelerating  the  progress  of  society 
toward  real  wealth  and  greatness;  and  diminish  instead  of 
increasing  the  real  value  of  the  annual  produce  of  its  labor  and 
land."  In  general  he  held  that  the  State  should  content  itself 
with  protecting  traders  and  business  men  and  seeing  that  justice 
was  done ;  but  he  sympathized  with  the  English  navigation  laws, 
although  they  obviously  hampered  commerce,  and  was  not  as 
thoroughgoing  a  free  trader  as  many  of  the  later  English 
economists. 

While  the  economists  in  France  and  England  by  no  means 
agreed  in  details,  they  were  at  one  in  believing  that  it  was  use- 
less and  harmful  to  interfere  with  what  they  held  to  be  the 
economic  laws.  They  brought  the  light  of  reason  to  bear,  for 
example,  upon  the  various  bungling  and  iniquitous  old  methods 
of  taxation  then  in  vogue,  and  many  of  them  advocated  a  single 
tax  which  should  fall  directly  upon  the  landowner.  They  wrote 
treatises  on  practical  questions,  scattered  pamphlets  broadcast, 
and  even  conducted  a  magazine  or  two  in  the  hope  of  bringing 
home  to  the  people  at  large  the  existing  economic  evils. 

It  is  clear  from  what  has  been  said  that  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury was  a  period  of  unexampled  advance  in  general  enlighten- 
ment. New  knowledge  spread  abroad  by  the  Encyclopedists, 
the  economists,  and  writers  on  government  —  Adam  Smith, 


The  spirit  of  Reform  i6l 

Montesquieu,  Rousseau,  Beccaria,  and  many  others  of  lesser   The  eight- 
fame  —  led  people  to  see  the  vices  of  the  existing  system  and  ^^  ^  period 
e:ave  them  at  the  same  time  new  hope  of  bettering  themselves  ?^  rapidly 

°  >■  ^  increasing 

by  abandoning  the  mistaken  beliefs  and  imperfect  methods  of  enlighten- 
their  predecessors.    The  spirit  of  reform  penetrated  even  into 
kings'  palaces,  and  we  must  now  turn  to  the  actual  attempts  to 
better  affairs  made  by  the  more  enlightened  rulers  of  Europe. 


Section  28.    Reforms  of  Frederick  II, 
Catherine  II,  and  Joseph  II 

It  happened  in  the  eighteenth  century  that  there  were  sev-  The  « en- 
eral  remarkably  intelligent  monarchs  —  Frederick  II  of  Prussia,  dfspots^" 
Catherine  the  Great  of  Russia,  Maria  Theresa  of  Austria, 
Emperor  Joseph  II,  and  Charles  III  of  Spain.  These  rulers 
read  the  works  of  the  reformers,  and  planned  all  sorts  of  ways 
in  which  they  might  better  the  conditions  in  their  realms  by 
removing  old  restrictions  which  hampered  the  farmer  and  mer- 
chant, by  making  new  and  clearer  laws,  by  depriving  the  clergy 
of  wealth  and  power  which  seemed  to  them  excessive,  and  by 
encouraging  manufactures  and  promoting  commerce. 

These  monarchs  are  commonly  known  as  the  "  enlightened  ** 
or  "  benevolent "  despots.  They  were  no  doubt  more  "  enlight- 
ened "  than  the  older  kings ;  at  least  they  all  read  books  and 
associated  with  learned  men.  But  they  were  not  more  "  benevo- 
lent "  than  Charlemagne,  or  Canute,  or  St.  Louis,  or  many  other 
monarchs  of  earlier  centuries,  who  had  believed  it  their  duty  to 
do  all  they  could  for  the  welfare  of  their  people.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  monarchs  of  the  eighteenth  century  were  certainly 
despots  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word.  They  held  that  all  the 
powers  of  the  State  were  vested  in  them,  and  had  no  idea  of 
permitting  their  subjects  any  share  in  the  government.  More- 
over they  waged  war  upon  one  another  as  their  predecessors  had 
done,  and  were  constantly  trying  to  add  to  their  own  territories 
by  robbing  their  neighbors,  as  we  have  seen  above. 

II 


l62 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Frederick 
the  Great 
of  Prussia 
(1740-1786) 


Frederick's 
boyhood 


The  appren- 
ticeship of  a 
king 


The  business 
of  a  king 


One  of  the  most  striking  and  practical  of  the  reforming 
rulers  was  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia.  As  a  youth  he  had 
grieved  and  disgusted  his  father  by  his  fondness  for  books  and 
his  passion  for  writing  verses  and  playing  the  flute.  A  French 
tutor  had  instilled  in  him  a  love  for  the  polished  language  of 
France  and  an  enthusiasm  for  her  literature  and  for  her  philos- 
ophers who  were  busy  attacking  the  traditional  religious  ideas 
to  which  Frederick's  father  stoutly  clung.  When  eighteen  years 
old  Frederick  had  tried  to  fun  away  in  order  to  escape  the 
harsh  military  discipline  to  which  he  was  subjected.  He  was 
captured  and  brought  before  the  king,  who  was  in  such  a  rage 
that  he  seemed  upon  the  point  of  killing  his  renegade  son  with 
his  sword.  He  contented  himself,  however,  with  imprisoning 
Frederick  in  the  citadel  of  Kiistrin,  with  no  books  except  a 
Bible,  and  forced  him  to  witness  the  execution  of  one  of  his 
companions,  who  had  aided  his  flight. 

After  this  Frederick  consented  to  give  some  contemptuous 
attention  to  public  affairs.  He  inspected  the  royal  domains 
near  Kiistrin  and  began,  for  the  first  time,  to  study  the  peas- 
ants, their  farms,  and  their  cattle.  He  even  agreed  to  marry  a 
princess  whom  his  father  had  selected  for  him,  and  settled  down 
to  a  scholarly  life,  studying  literature,  philosophy,  history,  and 
mathematics,  and  carrying  on  a  correspondence  with  learned, 
men  of  all  nations,  especially  with  Voltaire,  whom  he  greatly 
admired.  He  was  very  fond  indeed  of  writing  and  seized  every 
spare  moment  of  a  busy  life  to  push  forward  his  works  upon 
history,  politics,  and  military  matters.  No  less  than  twenty-four 
volumes  of  his  writings,  all  in  French,  were  published  shortly 
after  his  death,  and  these  did  not  include  everything  that  he 
had  managed  to  write.^ 

When  he  became  king,  Frederick  devoted  himself  less  to 
music  and  philosophy  and  more  to  the  practical  problems  of 
government.  He  allowed  the  people  no  part  in  the  govern- 
ment, it  is  true,  but  he  worked  very  hard  himself.    He  rose 

1  For  Frederick's  description  of  a  king's  duties,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  202. 


Fig.  43.    Peter  the  Great  watching  the  Procedure  of  the 
House  of  Lords  ix  England 

He  was  taken  to  the  roof  one  night  where  he  could  get  a  clear  view  of 
the  House 


TJie  Spii'it  of  Refoi'm  .    1 63 

early  and  was  busy  all  day.  He  was  his  own  prime  minister 
and  the  real  head  of  all  branches  of  the  government,  watching 
over  the  army  and  leading  it  in  battle,  attending  to  foreign 
affairs,  guarding  the  finances,  overseeing  the  courts,  journeying 
up  and  down  the  land  investigating  the  conduct  of  his  officials 
and  examining  into  the  condition  of  his  people. 

In  religious  matters  Frederick  was  extremely  tolerant ;  he  Religious 
held  that  his  subjects  should  be  allowed  to  worship  God  in  any  in  pmssia 
w^ay  they  pleased.  He  was  himself  a  'Meist."^  Although  his 
kingdom  had  long  been  Protestant,  there  were  large  numbers 
of  Catholics  in  scattered  parts  of  it.  He  welcomed  Huguenots 
and  Jesuits  into  his  kingdom  with  equal  cordiality  and  admitted 
Catholics  as  well  as  Protestants  to  his  service.  ''I  stand  neutral 
between  Rome  and  Geneva,"  he  once  said  ;  "he  who  wrongs 
his  brother  of  a  different  faith  shall  be  punished ;  were  I  to 
declare  for  one  or  the  other  creed  I  slpuld  excite  party  spirit 
and  persecution  ;  my  aim,  on  the  contrary,  is  to  show  the 
adherents  of  the  different  churches  that  they  are  all  fellow 
citizens." 

In  Russia,  Peter  the  Great  had  been  a  genuine  "benevolent   Catherine  11 
despot,"  although  the  benevolence  w^as  more  apparent  to  later   r^sS^  ° 
generations  than  to  his  own  half-Asiatic  subjects.^    But  in  the    (1762-1796) 
days  of  Voltaire  and  Rousseau,  the  ruler  of  all  the  Russias 
was  a  German  woman,  Catherine  II,  who  is  one  of  the  most 
picturesque   and   interesting  figures  in  history.     She  was  the 
daughter  of  one  of  Frederick   the   Great's   officers   and   had 
been  selected  by  him  in  1743,  at  the  request  of  the  Tsarina 

1  See  above,  p.  148. 

2  Peter's  visit  to  England  included  an  investigation  of  Parliament.  But  he 
did  not  imitate  this  western  institution  upon  his  return  to  Russia.  On  the  recent 
attempts  to  establish  a  parliament  in  Russia,  see  Chapter  XX III,  below. 

Peter  was  succeeded  in  1725  by  his  widow  Catherine,  who  ruled  ably  for  two 
years.  His  son  Alexis  had  been  tortured  to  death  in  prison  for  rebellion,  and 
Alexis'  son  Peter  1 1 ,  who  followed  Catherine,  was  reactionary.  Under  Anne  ( 1 730- 
1740),  niece  of  Peter  I,  German  influence  triumphed.  Then  came  Elizabeth 
( 1 741-1762),  Peter's  younger  daughter,  referred  to  in  the  text.  She  hated  Fred- 
erick II  for  his  personal  remarks  about  her  and  aided  Maria  Theresa  against  him. 


164  Outlines  of  European  History 

Elizabeth,  Peter's  younger  daughter,  as  a  suitable  wife  for  her 
nephew,  the  heir  to  the  throne.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  this 
inexperienced  girl  found  herself  in  the  midst  of  the  intrigues 
of  the  court  at  St.  Petersburg ;  she  joined  the  Greek  Church, 
exchanged  her  name  of  Sophia  for  that  of  Catherine,  and,  by 
zealous  study  of  both  books  and  men,  prepared  to  make  her 


Fig.  44.    Catherine  II 

new  name  famous.  Her  husband,  who  ruled  for  six  months 
as  Peter  III,  proved  to  be  a  worthless  fellow,  who  early  began 
to  neglect  and  maltreat  her.  Catherine  won  over  the  imperial 
guard  and  had  herself  proclaimed  empress.  Peter  was  forced 
to  abdicate  and  was  carried  off  by  some  of  Catherine's  sup- 
porters, who  put  him  to  death,  probably  with  her  tacit  consent. 
In  the  spirit  of  Peter  the  Great,  Catherine  determined  to 
carry  on  the  Europeanizing  of  Russia  and  extend  her  empire.-^ 
She  was  thoroughly  unscrupulous  and  hypocritical,  but  she  was 

1  See  above,  pp.  73  ff. 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  165 

shrewd  in  the  choice  and  management  of  her  ministers  and  was 
herself  a  hard  worker.  She  rose  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
hurried  through  her  toilet,  prepared  her  own  light  breakfast, 
and  turned  to  the  exacting  and  dull  business  of  government, 
carefully  considering  the  reports  laid  before  her  relating  to  the 
army,  the  navy,  finances,  and  foreign  affairs. 

Catherine  II  showed  herself  almost  as  interested  in  the  phi-  Catherine's 
losophers  and  reformers  as  did  Frederick.^   She  invited  Diderot  French  ^^ 
to  spend  a  month  with  her  and  was  disappointed  that  d'Alembert,   culture 
the  great  French  mathematician,  would  not  consent  to  become 
the  tutor  of  the  grand  duke  Paul,  the  heir  to  the  throne.    She 
subscribed  for  the  Encyclopedia,  and  bought  Diderot's  library 
when  he  got  into  trouble,  permitting  him  to  continue  to  use  the 
books  as  long  as  he  wished.    In  her  frequent  letters  to  Voltaire 
she  explained  to  him  her  various  plans  for  reform. 

There  was  some  talk  of  abolishing  serfdom  in  Russia,  but   Catherine 
Catherine  rather  increased  than  decreased  the  number  of  serfs,   ™rfdom  but 
and  she  made  their  lot  harder  than  it  had  been  before  by  for-  seculanzes 

■'  the  Church 

bidding  them  to  complain  of  the  treatment  they  received  at  the  lands 
hands  of  their  masters.    She  appropriated  the  vast  property  of 
the  churches  and  monasteries,  using  the  revenue  to  support  the 
clerg}^  and  monks,  and  such  surplus  as  remained  she  devoted 
to  schools  and  hospitals. 

It  is   clear  that  while   Frederick   and   Catherine   expressed   Rash  reforms 
great  admiration  for  the  reformers,  they  did  not  attempt  to   of  Austria 
make  any  sweeping  changes  in  the  laws  or  the  social  order.    Jf^-^^-^o) 
Emperor  Joseph  II,  who,  after  the  death  of  his  mother,  Maria 
Theresa,  in  1780,  became  ruler  of  the  Austrian  dominions,  had, 
however,  the  courage  of  his  convictions.^   He  proposed  to  trans- 
form the  scattered  and  heterogeneous  territories  over  which  he 
ruled  into  a  well-organized  state  in  which  disorder,  confusion, 
prejudice,  fanaticism,  and  intellectual  bondage  should  disappear 

1  For  an  account  of  Catherine  by  a  contemporary,  see  Readings,  Vol.  I,  p.  210. 

2  See  above,  p.  97.     For  Joseph's  statement  of  his  views,  see  Readings^ 
Vol.  I,  p.  213. 


1 66  Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 

and  all  his  subjects  be  put  in  possession  of  their  "natural"  rights. 
Germans,  Hungarians,  Italians,  Poles,  Bohemians,  and  Belgians 
were  all  to  use  the  German  language  in  official  communications. 
The  old  irregular  territorial  divisions  were  abolished  and  his 
realms  divided  up  into  thirteen  new  provinces.  All  the  ancient 
privileges  enjoyed  by  the  towns  and  the  local  assemblies  were 


%%. 


Fig.  45.  Joseph  II 

done  away  with  and  replaced  by  a  uniform  system  of  govern- 
ment in  which  his  own  officials  enjoyed  the  control. 

Joseph  visited  France  and  was  personally  acquainted  with 
Rousseau  and  Turgot.  In  harmony  with  their  teachings,  he 
attacked  the  Church,  which  was  so  powerful  in  his  realms.  He 
was  heartily  opposed  to  the  monks.  ''  The  principles  of  mo- 
nasticism,"  he  declared,  "  are  in  flat  contradiction  to  human 
reason."  He  particularly  objected  to  those  orders  whose  mem- 
bers devoted  themselves  to  religious  contemplation ;  he  conse- 
quently abolished  some  six  hundred  of  their  monasteries  and 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  167 

used  their  property  for  charitable  purposes  and  to  establish 
schools.  He  appointed  the  bishops  without  consulting  the  Pope 
and  forbade  money  to  be  sent  to  Rome.  Marriage  was  declared 
to  be  merely  a  civil  contract  and  so  was  taken  out  of  the  con- 
trol of  the  priests.  Lutherans,  Calvinists,  and  other  heretics 
were  allowed  to  worship  in  their  own  way. 

Joseph  II  sought  to  complete  his  work  by  attacking  the  sur-  Joseph  at- 
viving  features  of  feudalism  and  encouraging  the  development  sm^?valsof 
of  manufactures.    He  freed  the  serfs  in   Bohemia,   Moravia,   feudalism  and 

'  '    encourages 

Galicia,  and  Hungary,  transforming  the  peasants  into  tenants ;  manufactures 
elsewhere  he  reduced  the  services  due  from  them  to  the  lord. 
He  taxed  nobles  and  clergy  without  regard  to  their  claims  to 
exemption,  and  supplanted  the  confused  and  uncertain  laws  by 
a  uniform  system  which  is  the  basis  of  Austrian  law  to-day.  He 
introduced  a  protective  tariff  and  caused  a  large  number  of  fac- 
tories to  be  built.  He  showed  his  preference  for  home  indus- 
tries by  giving  away  to  the  hospitals  all  the  foreign  wines  in  his 
cellars,  and  his  spirit  of  economy,  by  forbidding  the  use  of  gold 
and  silver  for  candlesticks,  and  prohibiting  the  burial  of  the 
dead  in  coffins  for  the  reason  that  this  was  a  waste  of  wood 
which  might  be  better  employed. 

Naturally  Joseph  met  opposition  on  every  hand.    The  clergy   Opposition 
abhorred  him  as  an  oppressor,  and  all  who  were  forced  to   reform? 
sacrifice  their  old  privileges  did  what  they  could  to  block  his 
reforms,  however  salutary  they  might  be.    The  Netherlands, 
which  he  proposed  to   transform  into   an  Austrian   province.    Revolt  of 
finally   followed   the  example  of  the  American   colonies    and   Netherlands 
declared    themselves    independent   in    1790.    The  same   year   (^79°) 
Joseph  died,  a  sadly  disappointed  man,  having  been  forced  to 
undo  almost  all  that  he  had  hoped  to  accomplish. 

It  has  become  clear,  as  we  have  reviewed  the  activities  of 
these  benevolent  despots,  that  all  of  them  were  chiefly  intent 
upon  increasing  their  own   power ;   they  were  more  despotic   °^^"*  despots 
than  they  were  benevolent.    They  opposed  the  power  of  the 
Pope  and  brought  the  clergy  under  their  own  control.    In  some 


1 68 


Outlines  of  European  History 


cases  they  took  a  portion  of  the  property  of  the  churches  and 
monasteries.  They  tried  to  improve  the  laws  and  do  away  with 
the  existing  contradictions  and  obscurities.  They  endeavored  to 
"  centralize  "  the  administration  and  to  place  all  the  power  in 
the  hands  of  their  own  officials  instead  of  leaving  it  with  the 
nobles  or  the  old  local  assemblies.  They  encouraged  agriculture, 
commerce,  and  industries  in  various  ways.  All  these  measures 
were  undertaken  primarily  with  a  view  to  strengthening  the 
autocratic  power  of  the  ruler  and  increasing  the  revenue  and 
the  military  strength  of  his  government,  for  none  of  these  ener- 
getic monarchs  showed  any  willingness  to  admit  the  people  to 
a  share  in  the  government,  and  only  Joseph  II  ventured  to 
attempt  to  free  the  serfs. 

Section  29.    The  English  Limited  Monarchy  in  the 
Eighteenth  Century  and  George  III 


The  limited 
monarchy 
of  England 


Whig  su- 
premacy in 
the  early 
eighteenth 
century 


In  striking  contrast  to  the  absolute  rule  of  these  "  despots  " 
on  the  Continent,  the  island  of  Britain  was,  as  we  have  seen,^ 
governed  by  its  Parliament.  There  the  king,  from  the  Revo- 
lution of  1688  on,  had  owed  his  crown  to  Parliament  and 
admitted  that  he  was  limited  by  the  constitution,  which  he 
had  to  obey.  This  did  not  prevent  at  least  one  English  king 
from  trying  to  have  his  own  way  in  spite  of  the  restrictions. 
placed  upon  him,  as  we  shall  see. 

It  will  be  recalled  that  there  were  two  great  political  parties 
in  England,  the  Whigs,  successors  of  the  Roundheads,  who 
advocated  the  supremacy  of  Parliament  and  championed  tolera- 
tion for  the  Dissenters,  and  the  Tories,  who,  like  the  earlier 
Cavaliers,  upheld  the  divine  right  of  kings  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  Anglican,  or  Established,  Church.  After  the  death  of 
Anne  many  of  the  Tories  favored  calling  to  the  throne  the  son 
of  James  II  (popularly  called  "the  old  Pretender"),  whereupon 
the  Whigs  succeeded  in  discrediting  their  rivals  by  denouncing 
1  See  above,  p.  55. 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  1 69 

them  as  Jacobites^  and  traitors.  They  made  the  new  Han- 
overian king,  George  I,  believe  that  he  owed  everything  to  the 
Whigs,  and  for  a  period  of  nearly  fifty  years,  under  George  I 
and  George  II,  they  were  able  to  control  Parliament. 

George  I  himself  spoke  no  English,  was  ignorant  of  English 
politics,  and  was  much  more  interested  in  Hanover  than  in  his 
new  kingdom.    He  did  not  attend  the  meetings  of  his  ministers, 
as  his  predecessors  had  done,  and  turned  over  the  manage- 
ment of  affairs  to  the  Whig  leaders.    They  found  a  skillful  Robert 
"boss"  and  a  judicious    statesman   in    Sir  Robert  Walpole,  prhliTmin- 
who  maintained  his  own  power  and  that  of  his  party  by  avoid-  ister  (1721- 
ing  war  and  preventing  religious  dissensions  at  home.     He 
used  the  king's  funds  to  buy  the  votes  necessary  to  maintain 
the  Whig  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons  and  to  get  his 
measures  through  that  body.    He  was  England's  first  "  prime 
minister." 

The  existence  of  two  well-defined  political  parties  standing  Development 
for  widely  different  policies  forced  the  king,  as  we  have  seen,^  and^hroffice 
to  choose  all  his  ministers  from  either  one  or  the  other.    The  of.ppme 

minister 

more  prominent  among  his  advisers  came  gradually  to  form  a 
little  group  who  resigned  together  if  Parliament  refused  to 
accept  the  measures  they  advocated.  In  this  way  the  "  cabinet 
government,"  begun  under  William  III,  developed,  with  a 
prime  minister,  or  premier,  at  its  head.  Under  weak  mon- 
archs  the  prime  minister  would  naturally  be  the  real  ruler  of 
the  kingdom. 

It  was  still  possible,  to  be  sure,  for  the  king  to  profit  by  the  The  position 
jealousies  of  rival  statesmen  and  by  favoring  first  one,  then 
another,  to  keep  the  upper  hand.  This  was  especially  the  case 
after  the  Tories  gave  up  hope  of  restoring  the  Stuarts,  upon 
the  failure  of  Prince  Charles  in  1745,^  so  that  the  Hanoverian 
kings  no  longer  needed  to  rely  upon  the  Whigs  as  the  one 
loyal  party. 

1  This  name,  applied  to  the  supporters  of  James,  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
form  of  his  name,  Jacobus.         2  gee  above,  p.  56.         8  See  above,  p.  54,  note  i. 


of  the  king 


I/O 


Otitlines  of  Ej  trope  an  History 


George  III, 
rules  des- 
potically by 
bribing 
Parliament 


Finally,  George  III,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1760,  suo 
ceeded  in  getting  a  party  of  his  own,  known  as  the  King's 
Friends,  and  with  their  aid,  and  a  liberal  use  of  what  would  now 
be  regarded  as  bribery  and  graft,  ran  the  government  much  as 
he  wanted  to.  His  mother,  a  German  princess,  had  taught 
him  that  he  ought  to  be  a  king  like  those  on  the  Continent; 
and,  in  spite  of  the  restrictions  of  Parliament,  he  did  rule  in 


Fig.  46.   An  Election  in  the  Eighteenth  Century.  (Drawn 
BY  Hogarth) 


Growing  de- 
mand for 
reform 


a  high-handed  and  headstrong  way.  During  the  war  with  the 
American  colonies  he  was  practically  his  own  prime  minister. 
The  really  weak  spot  in  the  English  constitution,  however, 
was  less  the  occasional  high-handedness  of  the  king  than  the 
fact  that  Parliament  did  not  represent  the  nation  as  a  whole. 
Already  in  the  eighteenth  century  there  was  no  little  discontent 
with  the  monopoly  which  the  landed  gentry  and  the  rich  enjoyed 
in  Parliament.  There  w^as  an  increasing  number  of  writers  to 
point  out  to  the  people  the  defects  in  the  English  system.  They 
urged  that  every  man  should  have  the  right  to  participate  in 
the  government  by  casting  his  vote,  and   that  the  unwritten 


The  Spirit  of  Reform  1 7 1 

constitution  of  England  should  be  written  down  and  so  made 
clear  and  unmistakable.  Political  clubs  were  founded,  which 
entered  into  correspondence  with  political  societies  in  France ; 
newspapers  and  pamphlets  poured  from  the  press  in  enormous 
quantities,  and  political  reform  found  champions  in  the  House 
of  Commons. 

This  demand  for  reform  finally  induced  the  younger  Pitt,  The  younger 
son  of  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  who  was  prime  minister  from 
1783  to  1801,  to  introduce  bills  into  the  House  of  Com- 
rnons  for  remedying  some  inequalities  in  representation.  But 
the  violence  and  disorder  which  accompanied  the  French 
Revolution  involved  England  in  a  long  and  tedious  war,  and 
discredited  reform  with  Englishmen  who  had  formerly  favored 
change,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Tories,  who  regarded  with 
horror  any  proposal  looking  toward  an  extension  of  popular 
government. 

It  is  clear  that  England  possessed  the  elements  of  a  modern   England  had 
free  government,  for  her  king  was  master  of  neither  the  persons  elements  of 
nor  the  purses  of  his  subjects,  nor  could  he  issue  arbitrary  laws.   ^  modem 

^  •*  '  •'  tree  govern- 

Political  affairs  were  discussed  in  newspapers  and  pamphlets,  so   ment,  but  the 
that  weighty  matters  of  government  could  not  be  decided  secretly  tem  was  not 
in  the  king's   closet  without  the  knowledge  of  his   subjects,   ^^e^^ocratic 
Nevertheless  it  would  be  far  from  correct  to  regard  the  English 
system  as  democratic. 

An  hereditary  House  of  Lords  could  block  any  measure 
introduced  in  the  House  of  Commons  ;  and  the  House  of  Com- 
mons itself  represented  not  the  nation  but  a  small  minority 
of  landowners  and  traders.  Government  offices  were  monop- 
olized by  members  of  the  Established  Church,  and  the  poor 
were  oppressed  by  cruel  criminal  laws  administered  by  officials 
chosen  by  the  king.  Workingmen  were  prohibited  from  form- 
ing associations  to  promote  their  interests.  It  was  more  than 
a  century  after  the  accession  of  George  III  before  the  English 
peasant  could  go  to  the  ballot  box  and  vote  for  members  of 
Parliament. 


1/2  Outlines  of  European  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section'  26.  Contrast  the  spirit  of  reform  with  that  of  conserv- 
atism. What  justifications  are  there  for  each?  What  is  meant  by 
"progress"?  What  class  of  men  is  responsible  for  changing  the 
intellectual  viewpoint  of  the  eighteenth  century?  Name  some  pio- 
neers of  the  new  methods  of  discovering  truth.  Describe  these 
methods.  Why  was  the  discovery  of  natural  law  the  most  important 
of  all  scientific  discoveries?  Why  were  conservative  theologians 
opposed  to  the  new  view  of  the  world? 

Section  27.  What  things  in  England  most  interested  Voltaire? 
What  were  Voltaire's  chief  claims  to  greatness?  What  were  his 
weaknesses  ?  How  did  Diderot's  encyclopedia  influence  public  opinion 
in  France  ?  In  what  way  did  the  work  of  Montesquieu  influence  the 
making  of  constitutions  ? 

How  did  Rousseau's  doctrines  lead  to  a  criticism  of  despotism  in 
France  ?  Describe  the  evils  of  criminal  law  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
What  is  political  economy  ?  W^hy  was  it  not  studied  in  the  Middle 
Ages?  Who  were  the  Mercantilists?  What  is  meant  by  Laissez 
/aire!    Discuss  the  doctrines  of  Adam  Smith. 

Section  28.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  ''  benevolent  despot "  ? 
Name  the  four  great  benevolent  despots  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Give  an  account  of  the  youth  of  Frederick  the  Great  of  Prussia. 
Describe  the  life  of  Frederick  the  Great  after  he  came  to  the  throne. 
What  were  his  views  on  the  subject  of  religion  ? 

Sketch  the  early  life  of  Catherine  H  of  Russia.  Compare  her 
work  as  a  ruler  with  that  of  Frederick  the  Great.  Describe  the 
reforms  of  Joseph  H  of  Austria.  In  what  general  way  does  his 
work  differ  from  that  of  the  monarch  just  named  ?  What  points  of 
agreement  or  of  difference  are  there  betv/een  his  policy  and  that  of 
Frederick  the  Great?  between  his  policy  and  that  of  Catherine  II? 

Section  29.  Contrast  the  limited  monarchy  of  England  with  the 
benevolent  despotism  of  the  Continent.  Discuss  the  two  great  politi- 
cal parties  of  England.  W^ho  was  Sir  Robert  Walpole?  Describe 
the  origin  of  the  cabinet.  Explain  the  position  of  the  king  during 
the  eighteenth  century.  What  was  the  great  cause  of  dissatisfaction 
with  parliamentary  government  in  England  in  the  eighteenth  century  ? 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  EVE  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 

Section  30.    The  Old  Regime  in  France 

It  was  France  that  first  carried  out  the  great  reforms  that   How  the 
did  away  with  most  of  the  old  institutions  and  confusion  that   people  ac- 
had  come  down  from  the  Middle  Ages.     It  is  true  that  some   compiished 

^  reforms 

of  the  monarchs  of  the  time  ("  benevolent  despots,"  as  they  which  had 
are  called),  especially  Frederick  the  Great,  and  Catherine  II  of  benevolent 
Russia,  and  the  Emperor  Joseph  II,  introduced  some  reforms,  ^^^P°^s 
largely  in  their  own  interests,  but  even  in  England  little  was 
done  in  the  eighteenth  century  to  remedy  the  great  abuses 
of  which  the  reformers  complained.  But  in  1789  the  king  of 
France  asked  his  people  to  submit  their  grievances  to  him  and 
to  send  representatives  to  Versailles  to  confer  with  him  upon 
the  state  of  the  realm  and  the  ways  in  which  the  government 
might  be  improved  so  as  to  increase  the  general  happiness  and 
the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom.  And  then  the  miracle  hap- 
pened !  The  French  National  Assembly  swept  away  the  old 
abuses  with  an  ease  and  thoroughness  which  put  the  petty 
reforms  of  the  benevolent  despots  to  shame.  It  accomplished 
more  in  a  few  months  than  the  reforming  kings  had  done  in 
a  century ;  for  the  kings  had  never  dreamed  of  calling  in  their 
people  to  aid  them.  Instead  of  availing  themselves  of  the  great 
forces  of  the  nation,  they  had  tried  to  do  everything  alone  by 
royal  decrees,  and  so  had  failed. 

The  unique  greatness  of  the  reformation  accomplished  by 
the  French  Assembly  is,  however,  often  obscured  by  the  dis- 
order which  accompanied  it.  When  one  meets  the  words 
"  French  Revolution,"  he  is  pretty  sure  to  call  up  before  his 

173 


174 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  reai 
French 
Revolution 
not  to  be 
confused 
with  the 
Reign  of 
Terror 


Meaning  of 
the  term 
" the  old 
regime  " 


mind's  eye  the  guillotine  and  its  hundreds  of  victims,  and  the 
Paris  mob  shouting  the  hymn  of  the  Marseillaise  as  they  paraded 
the  streets  with  the  heads  of  unfortunate  '*  aristocrats  "  on  their 
pikes.  Every  one  has  heard  of  this  terrible  episode  in  French 
history  even  if  he  knows  practically  nothing  of  the  permanent 
good  which  was  accomplished  at  the  time.  Indeed,  it  has  made 
so  deep  an  impression  on  posterity  that  the  Reign  of  Terror  is 
often  mistaken  for  the  real  Revolution.  It  was,  however,  only 
a  sequel  to  it,  an  unhappy  accident  which  will  seem  less  and 
less  important  as  the  years  go  on,  while  the  achievements  of 
the  Revolution  itself  will  loom  larger  and  larger.  The  Reign  of 
Terror  will  be  explained  and  described  in  good  time,  but  it  is 
a  matter  of  far  greater  importance  to  understand  clearly  how 
the  fundamental  and  permanent  reforms  were  wrought  out,  and 
how  France  won  the  proud  distinction  of  being  the  first  nation 
to  do  away  with  the  absurd  and  vexatious  institutions  which 
weighed  upon  Europe  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

AVe  have  already  examined  these  institutions  which  were 
common  to  most  of  the  European  countries,  —  despotic  kings, 
arbitrary  imprisonment,  unfair  taxation,  censorship  of  the  press, 
serfdom,  feudal  dues,  friction  between  Church  and  State,  —  all 
of  which  the  reformers  had  been  busy  denouncing  as  contrary 
to  reason  and  humanity,  and  some  of  which  the  benevolent 
despots  and  their  ministers  had,  in  a  half-hearted  way,  attempted 
to  remedy.  The  various  relics  of  bygone  times  and  of  outlived 
conditions  which  the  Revolution  abolished  forever  are  commonly 
called  in  France  the  old  regime.-^  In  order  to  see  why  France 
took  the  lead  of  other  European  countries  in  modernizing  itself, 
it  is  necessary  to  examine  somewhat  carefully  the  particular 
causes  of  discontent  there.  We  shall  then  see  how  almost  every 
one,  from  the  king  to  the  peasant,  came  to  realize  that  the  old 
system  was  bad  and  consequently  resolved  to  do  away  with  it 
and  substitute  a  more  rational  plan  of  government  for  the  long- 
standing disorder. 

1  From  the  French  ancien  regime,  the  old  or  former  system. 


The  Eve  c  f  the  French  Revolution 


175 


Of  the  evils  which  the  Revolution  abolished,  none  was  more  France  not 

important  than  the  confusion  in  France  due  to  the  fact  that  it  fzed^ state  In' 

was  not  in  the  eighteenth  century  a  well-organized,  homogene-  ^^^  eight- 
ous  state  whose  citizens  all  enjoyed  the  same  rights  and  privi- 
leges.   A  long  line  of  kings  had  patched  it  together,  adding  bit 


The    Provinces   of   France   in   the  Eighteenth   Century, 
SHOWING  Interior  Customs  Lines 


by  bit  as  they  could.  By  conquest  and  bargain,  by  marrying 
heiresses,  and  through  the  extinction  of  the  feudal  dynasties, 
the  original  restricted  domains  of  Hugh  Capet  about  Paris 
and  Orleans  had  been  gradually  increased  by  his  descendants. 
We  have  seen  how  Louis  XIV  gained  Alsace  and  Strassburg 
and  some  towns  on  the  borders  of  the  Spanish  Netherlands. 


1/6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  old 
provinces 


Louis  XV  added  Lorraine  in  1766.  Two  years  later  the  island 
of  Corsica  was  ceded  to  France  by  Genoa.  So  when  Louis  XVI 
came  to  the  throne  in  1774  he  found  himself  ruler  of  practically 
the  whole  territory  which  makes  up  France  to-day.  But  these 
different  parts  had  different  institutions. 

Some  of  the  districts  which  the  kings  of  France  brought  under 
their  sway,  like  Languedoc,  Provence,  Brittany,  and  Dauphiny, 

were  considerable 
states  in  themselves, 
each  with  its  own 
laws,  customs,  and 
system  of  govern- 
ment. When  these 
provinces  had  come, 
at  different  times, 
into  the  possession 
of  the  king  of 
France,  he  had  not 
changed  their  laws 
so  as  to  make  them 
correspond  with 
those  of  his  other 
domains.  He  was 
satisfied  if  a  new 
province  paid  its 
due    share    of    the 


The  Salt  Tax 

Showing  the  different  amounts  paid  in  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  France  in  the  eighteenth  century 
for  a  given  amount  of  salt 


taxes  and  treated  his  officials  with  respect.  In  some  cases  the 
provinces  retained  their  local  assemblies  and  controlled,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  their  own  affairs.  The  provinces  into  which  France 
was  divided  before  the  Revolution  were  not,  therefore,  merely 
artificial  divisions  created  for  the  purposes  of  convenience,  like 
the  modern  French  departements^  but  represented  real  historical 
differences.  Their  inhabitants  generally  spoke  different  dialects, 
or,  as  in  Brittany  and  parts  of  Provence,  different  languages, 
1  See  below,  p.  207, 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution  177 

While  in  a  considerable   portion    of    southern    France    the   Various  sys- 
Roman  law  still  prevailed,  in  the  central  parts  and  in  the  west    ^"^^  °    ^^ 
and  north  there  were  no  less  than  two  hundred  and  eighty-five 
different  local  codes  of  law  in  force ;  so  that  one  who  moved 
from  his  own  to  a  neighboring  town  might  find  a  wholly  un- 
familiar legal  system. 

One  of  the  heaviest  taxes  was  that  on  salt.  This  varied 
so  greatly  in  different  parts  of  France  that  the  government 
had  to  go  to  great  expense  to  guard  the  boundary  lines 
between  the  various  districts,  for  there  was  every  inducement 
to  smugglers  to  carry  salt  from  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  it  was  cheap  into  the  regions  where  it  sold  for  a  high 
price  on  account  of  the  tax.    (See  map  on  opposite  page.) 

Besides  these  unfortunate  local  differences,  there  were  class   The  privi- 

lc£rccl  classes 

differences  which  caused  great  discontent.  All  Frenchmen  did 
not  enjoy  the  same  rights  as  citizens.  Two  small  but  very 
important  classes,  the  nobility  and  the  clergy,  were  treated 
differently  by  the  State  from  the  rest  of  the  people.  The) 
did  not  have  to  pay  one  of  the  heaviest  of  the  taxes,  the 
notorious  taiUe\  and  on  one  ground  or  another  they  escaped 
other  burdens  which  the  rest  of  the  citizens  bore.  For  instance, 
they  v/ere  not  required  to  serve  in  the  militia  or  help  build 
the  roads. 

We  have  seen  how  great  and  powerful  the  Medieval  Church  The  Church 
was.  In  France,  as  in  other  Catholic  countries  of  Europe,  it 
still  retained  in  the  eighteenth  century  a  considerable  part  of  the 
power  that  it  had  possessed  in  the  thirteenth,  and  it  still  per- 
formed important  public  functions.  It  took  charge  of  education 
and  of  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  the  poor.  It  was  very  wealthy 
and  is  supposed  to  have  owned  one  fifth  of  all  the  land  in 
France.  The  clergy  claimed  that  their  property,  being  dedicated 
to  God,  was  not  subject  to  taxation.  They  consented,  however, 
to  help  the  king  from  time  to  time  by  a  "  free  gift,"  as  they 
called  it.  The  Church  still  collected  the  tithes  from  the  people, 
and  its  vast  possessions  made  it  very  independent. 


178 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  clergy 


The  privi- 
leges of  the 
nobility 


The  feudal 
dues 


The  hunting 
rights 


A  great  part  of  the  enormous  income  of  the  Church  went 
to  the  higher  clergy  —  the  bishops,  archbishops,  and  abbots. 
Since  these  were  appointed  by  the  king,  often  from  among  his 
courtiers,  they  tended  to  neglect  their  duties  as  officers  of  the 
Church  and  to  become  little  more  than  "great  lords  with  a 
hundred  thousand  francs  income."  But  while  they  were  spend- 
ing their  time  at  Versailles  the  real  work  was  performed  — 
and  well  performed  —  by  the  lower  clergy,  who  often  received 
scarcely  enough  to  keep  soul  and  body  together.  This  explains 
why,  when  the  Revolution  began,  the  parish  priests  sided  with 
the  people  instead  of  with  their  ecclesiastical  superiors. 

The  privileges  of  the  nobles,  like  those  of  the  clergy,  had 
originated  in  the  medieval  conditions  described  in  an  earlier 
chapter.  A  detailed  study  of  their  rights  would  reveal  many 
survivals  of  the  institutions  which  prevailed  in  the  eleventh  and 
twelfth  centuries,  when  the  great  majority  of  the  people  were 
serfs  living  upon  the  manors.  While  serfdom  had  largely  dis- 
appeared in  France  long  before  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the 
peasants  were  generally  free  men  who  owned  or  rented  their 
land,  it  was  still  the  theory  of  the  French  law  that  there  was 
"no  land  without  its  lord."  Consequently  the  lords  still  enjoyed 
the  right  to  collect  a  variety  of  time-honored  dues  from  the 
inhabitants  living  within  the  limits  of  the  former  manors. 

The  privileges  and  dues  enjoyed  by  the  nobles  varied  greatly 
in  different  parts  of  France.  It  was  quite  common  for  the  noble 
landowner  to  have  a  right  to  a  certain  portion  of  the  peasant's 
crops ;  occasionally  he  could  still  collect  a  toll  on  sheep  and  cattle 
driven  past  his  house.  In  some  cases  the  lord  maintained,  as 
he  had  done  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  only  mill,  wine  press,  or 
oven  within  a  certain  district,  and  could  require  every  one  to 
make  use  of  these  and  pay  him  a  share  of  the  product.  Even 
when  a  peasant  owned  his  land,  the  neighboring  lord  usually  had 
the  right  to  exact  one  fifth  of  its  value  every  time  it  was  sold. 

The  nobles,  too,  enjoyed  the  exclusive  privilege  of  hunting, 
which  was  deemed  an  aristocratic  pastime.    The  game  which 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revohitioji 


179 


they  preserved  for  their  amusement  often  did  great  damage  to 
the  crops  of  the  peasants,  who  were  forbidden  to  interfere  with 
hares  and  deer.  Many  of  the  manors  had  great  pigeon  houses, 
built  in  the  form  of  a  tower,  in  which  there  were  one  or  two 
thousand  nests.  No  wonder  the  peasants  detested  these,  for  they 
were  not  permitted  to  protect  themselves  against  the  innumer- 
able pigeons  and  their  progeny,  which  spread  over  the  fields 


Fig.  47.   A  Chateau  and  Pigeon  House 

The  round  tower  at  the  right  hand  in  front  is  a  pigeon  house.    The 

wall  inside  is  honeycombed  with  nests,  and  the  pigeons  fly  in  and  out 

at  the  side  of  the  roof 


devouring  newly  sown  seed.    These  dovecotes  constituted,  in 
fact,  one  of  the  chief  grievances  of  the  peasants. 

The  higher  offices  in  the  army  were  reserved  for  the  nobles,   Offices  at 
as  well  as  the  easiest  and  most  lucrative  places  in  the  Church  the  Church 
and  about  the  king's  person.  All  these  privileges  were  vestiges  of  ^stn/ed'for 
the  powers  which  the  nobles  had  enjoyed  when  they  ruled  their  the  nobles 
estates  as  feudal  lords.    Louis  XIV  had,  as  we  know,  induced 
them  to  leave  their  domains  and  gather  round  him  at  Versailles, 
where  all  who  could  afford  it  lived  for  at  least  a  part  of  the  year. 


i8o 


Outlines  of  Eitropemi  History 


Only  relatively  few  of  the  nobility  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury were,  however,  descendants  of  the  ancient  and  illustrious 
feudal  families  of  France.  The  greater  part  of  them  had  been 
ennobled  in  recent  times  by  the  king,  or  had  purchased  or 


flif 

.  'II  ' 


■J^^-r^^^ 


ttc  ^ 


Fig.  48.    Court  Scene  at  Versailles 

The  king  is  surrounded  by  princes  of  the  royal  family  and  the  greatest 
nobles  of  France  while  he  is  dressed  and  shaved  upon  rising  in  the 
morning  (the  levee).  Similar  ceremonies  were  performed  when  the  king 
went  to  bed  at  night  (the  conchee).  The  bed,  hung  with  rich  tapes- 
tries, is  behind  the  railing.  The  door  at  the  left  leads  into  a  small  room 
—  called  the  Bull's  Eye  Room  {Salon  de  PCEil  de  Diviif)  from  the 
round  window  above  the  door  —  where  the  ambassadors  and  other 
dignitaries  waited  to  be  admitted,  and  while  waiting  often  planned  and 
plotted  how  to  win  the  king's  favor.  Louis  XIV's  bedroom  at  Ver- 
sailles is  still  preserved,  in  much  of  its  old-time  splendor  ;i  for  the  palace 
is  now  a  museum  and  is  open  to  the  public 

inherited  a  government  office  or  judgeship  which  carried  the 
privileges  of  nobility  with  it.  This  fact  rendered  the  rights  and 
exemptions  claimed  by  the  nobility  even  more  odious  to  the 
people  at  large  than  they  would  otherwise  have  been. 

1  Its  windows  are  shown  in  Fig,  11,  on  the  second  floor,  at  the  end  of  the 
courtyard,  under  the  flag. 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution  1 8 1 

Everybody  who  did  not  belong  to  either  the  clergy  or  the  The  third 
nobility  was  regarded  as  being  of  the  third  estate.  The  third 
estate  was  therefore  really  the  nation  at  large,  which  was  made 
up  in  1789  of  about  twenty-five  million  souls.  The  privileged 
classes  can  scarcely  have  counted  altogether  more  than  two 
hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  individuals.  A 
great  part  of  the  third  estate  lived  in  the  country  and  tilled  the 
soil.  Most  historians  have  been  inclined  to  make  out  their 
condition  as  very  wretched.  They  were  certainly  oppressed  by 
an  abominable  system  of  taxation  and  were  irritated  by  the 
dues  which  they  had  to  pay  to  the  lords.  They  also  suffered 
frequently  from  local  famines.  Yet  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
evils  of  their  situation  have  been  greatly  exaggerated.  When 
Thomas  Jefferson  traveled  through  France  in  1787  he  reports 
that  the  country  people  appeared  to  be  comfortable  and  that 
they  had  plenty  to  eat.  Arthur  Young,  a  famous  English 
traveler  who  has  left  us  an  admirable  account  of  his  journeys 
in  France  during  the  years  1787  and  1789,  found  much  pros- 
perity and  contentment,  although  he  gives,  too,  some  forlorn 
pictures  of  destitution. 

The  latter  have  often  been  unduly  emphasized  by  historical   Favorable 
writers  ;  for  it  has  commonly  been  thought  that  the  Revolution   the  peasant 
was  to  be  explained  by  the  misery  and  despair  of  the  people,   J."j^p3"e^ 
who  could  bear  their  burdens  no  longer.    If,  however,  instead   with  other 

countries 

of  comparing  the  situation  of  the  French  peasant  under  the 
old  regime  with  that  of  an  English  or  American  farmer  to-day, 
we  contrast  his  position  with  that  of  his  fellow  peasant  in 
Prussia,  Russia,  Austria,  Italy,  or  Spain,  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, it  will  be  clear  that  in  France  the  agricultural  classes 
were  really  much  better  off  than  elsewhere  on  the  Continent. 
In  almost  all  the  other  European  countries,  except  England, 
the  peasants  were  still  serfs :  they  had  to  work  certain  days  in 
each  week  for  their  lord ;  they  could  not  marry  or  dispose  of  j^^rease  of 
their  land  without  his  permission.    Moreover,  the  fact  that  the   population 

^  in  the  eight- 

population   of  France  had  steadily  increased  from   seventeen   eenth  century 


X82 


Outlines  of  Europe aji  History 


Popular  dis- 
content, not 
the  excep- 
tionally 
miserable 
condition  of 
the  French 
people, 
accounts  for 
the  Revo- 
lution 


France  still 
a  despotism 
in  the  eight- 
eenth century 


The  king's 
control  of 
the  govern- 
ment funds 


millions  after  the  dose  of  the  wars  of  Lou^s  XIV  to  about 
twenty-five  millions  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  indicates 
that  the  general  condition  of  the  people  was  improving  rather 
than  growing  worse. 

The  real  reason  why  France  was  the  first  among  the  Euro- 
pean countries  to  carry  out  a  great  reform  and  do  away  with 
the  irritating  survivals  of  feudalism  was  not  that  the  nation  was 
miserable  and  oppressed  above  all  others,  but  that  it  was  suffi- 
ciently free  and  enlightened  to  realize  the  evils  and  absurdi- 
ties of  the  old  regime.  Mere  oppression  and  misery  does  not 
account  for  a  revolution ;  there  must  also  be  active  discontent ; 
and  of  that  there  was  a  great  abundance  in  France,  as  we  shall 
see.  The  French  peasant  no  longer  looked  up  to  his  lord  as 
his  ruler  and  protector,  but  viewed  him  as  a  sort  of  legalized 
robber  who  demanded  a  share  of  his  precious  harvest,  whose 
officers  awaited  the  farmer  at  the  crossing  of  the  river  to  claim 
a  toll,  who  would  not  let  him  sell  his  produce  when  he  wished, 
or  permit  him  to  protect  his  fields  from  the  ravages  of  the 
pigeons  which  it  pleased  his  lord  to  keep. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  France  was  still  the  despotism  that 
Louis  XIV  had  made  it.  Louis  XVI  once  described  it  very 
well  in  the  following  words :  "  The  sovereign  authority  resides 
exclusively  in  my  person.  To  me  solely  belongs  the  power  of 
making  the  laws,  and  without  dependence  or  cooperation.  The 
entire  public  order  emanates  from  me,  and  I  am  its  supreme 
protector.  My  people  are  one  with  me.  The  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  the  nation  are  necessarily  identical  with  mine  and  rest 
solely  in  my  hands."  In  short,  the  king  still  ruled  "by  the 
grace  of  God,"  as  Louis  XIV  had  done.  He  needed  to  render 
account  to  no  man  for  his  governmental  acts ;  he  was  respon- 
sible to  God  alone.  The  following  illustrations  will  make  clear 
the  dangerous  extent  of  the  king's  power. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was  he  who  levied  each  year  the  heaviest 
of  the  taxes,  the  hated  taille^  from  which  the  privileged  classes 
were  exempted.     This  tax  brought  in  about  one  sixth  of  the 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution  1 8  3 

whole  revenue  of  the  State.  The  amount  collected  was  kept 
secret,  and  no  report  was  made  to  the  nation  of  what  was  done 
with  it  or,  for  that  matter,  with  any  other  part  of  the  king's 
income.  Indeed,  no  distinction  was  made  between  the  king's 
private  funds  and  the  State  treasury,  whereas  in  England  the 
monarch  was  given  a  stated  allowance.  The  king  of  France 
could  issue  as  many  drafts  payable  to  bearer  as  he  wished ;  the 
royal  officials  must  pay  all  such  orders  and  ask  no  questions. 
Louis  XV  is  said  to  have  spent  no  less  than  seventy  million 
dollars  in  this  irresponsible  fashion  in  a  single  year. 

But  the  king  not  only  controlled  his  subjects'  purses ;  he  had  Lettres 
a  terrible  authority  over  their  persons  as  well.  He  could  issue 
orders  for  the  arrest  and  arbitrary  imprisonment  of  any  one  he 
pleased.  Without  trial  or  formality  of  any  sort  a  person  might 
be  cast  into  a  dungeon  for  an  indefinite  period,  until  the  king 
happened  to  remember  him  again  or  was  reminded  of  him  by 
the  poor  man's  friends.  These  notorious  orders  of  arrest  were 
called  lettres  de  cachet,  that  is,  sealed  letters.  They  were  not  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  for  any  one  who  had  influence  with  the  king  or 
his  favorites,  and  they  furnished  a  particularly  easy  and  effi- 
cacious way  of  disposing  of  an  enemy.  These  arbitrary  orders 
lead  one  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the  provision  of 
Magna  Carta,  which  runs :  "No  freeman  shall  be  taken  or 
imprisoned  except  by  the  lawful  judgment  of  his  peers  and 
in  accordance  with  the  law  of  the  land."  Some  of  the  most 
eminent  men  of  the  time  were  shut  up  by  the  king's  order, 
often  on  account  of  books  or  pamphlets  written  by  them 
which  displeased  the  king  or  those  about  him.  The  distin- 
guished statesman,  Mirabeau,  when  a  young  man,  was  im- 
prisoned several  times  through  lettres  de  cachet  obtained  by  his 
father  as  a  means  of  checking  his  reckless  dissipation. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  the  seemingly  unlimited  powers  of  the   Limitations 
French  king,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  France  had  no  written   o?the^F°ench 
constitution  and  no  legislative  body  to  which  the  nation  sent  ^^"^ 
representatives,  the  monarch  was  by  no  means  absolutely  free 


i84 


Outlines  of  European  Histofy 


to  do  just  as  he  pleased.    In  the  first  place,  the  high  courts  of 
law,  the  so-cdi\\ed  parle??iefits,  could  often  hamper  the  king. 
The/rt;7^-  These  resembled  the  English  Parliament  in  almost  nothing 

thdrVroists  ^ut  name.  The  French  parlements  —  of  which  the  most  im- 
portant one  was  at  Paris  and  a  dozen  more  were  scattered  about 
the  provinces  —  did  not,  however,  confine  themselves  solely  to 


Fig.  49.   A  Royal  Session  of  Parlement^  at 
Versailles,  1776 

The  name  ht  de  justice  (bed  of  justice)  is  supposed  to  come  from  the 
fact  that  the  kmg  once  reclined  on  a  couch,  but  here  he  is  seated  on  a 
throne.  The  members  of  the  paflement,  with  long  gowns  and  caps, 
can  be  distinguished  from  the  nobles  and  princes  in  their  richer  court 
dress.    Each  person  had  his  exact  place  assigned  him,  in  order  of  rank 


the  business  of  trying  lawsuits.  They  claimed,  and  quite  prop- 
erly, that  when  the  king  decided  to  make  a  new  law  he  must 
send  it  to  them  to  be  registered,  for  how,  otherwise,  could  they 
adjust  their  decisions  to  \0.  Now  although  they  acknowledged 
that  the  right  to  make  the  laws  belonged  to  the  monarch,  they 
nevertheless  often  sent  a  "  protest "  to  the  king  instead  of 
'  ip^  an  edict  which  they  disapproved.    They  would  urge 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolutio7t  185 

that  the  ministers  had  abused  his  Majesty's  confidence.  They 
would  also  take  pains  to  have  their  protest  printed  and  sold  on 
the  streets  at  a  penny  or  two  a  copy,  so  that  people  should  get 
the  idea  that  the  parlement  was  defending  the  nation  against  the 
oppressive  measures  of  the  king's  ministers. 

When  the  king  received  one  of  these  protests  two  alterna- 
tives were  open  to  him.  He  might  recall  the  distasteful  decree 
altogether,  or  modify  it  so  as  to  suit  the  court;  or  he  could 
summon  the  paj'Iement  before  him  and  in  a  solemn  session 
(called  a  lit  de  justice)  command  it  with  his  own  mouth  to 
register  the  law  in  its  records.  Tho.  parlement  would  then  re- 
luctantly obey ;  but  as  the  Revolution  approached,  it  began  to 
claim  that  a  decree  registered  against  its  will  was  not  valid. 

Struggles  between  the  parlevients  and  the  king's  ministers  l\\&parle- 
were  very  frequent  in  the  eighteenth  century.   They  prepared  to^prepie 
the  way  for  the  Revolution,  first,  by  bringing  important  questions   J^  r^^^"^ 
to  the  attention  of  the  people ;  for  there  were  no  newspapers,   lution 
and  no  parliamentary  or  congressional  debates,  to  enable  the 
public  to  understand  the  policy  of  the  government.    Secondly, 
the  parlements  not  only  frankly  criticized  the  proposed  meas- 
ures of  the  king  and  his  ministers,  but  they  familiarized  the 
nation  with  the  idea  that  the  king  was  not  really  at  liberty  to 
alter  what  they  called  '^  the  fundamental  laws  '*  of  the  State. 
By  this  they  meant  that  there  was  an  unwritten  constitution, 
which  limited  the  king's  power  and  of  which  they  were  the  guar- 
dians.   In  this  way  they  promoted  the  growing  discontent  with 
a  government  which  was  carried  on  in  secret  and  which  left 
the  nation  at  the  mercv  of  the  men  in  whom  the  king  might 
for  the  moment  repose  confidence. 

In  addition  to  the  parlemeiits  public  opinion  often  exercised   Public 
a  powerful  check  upon  the  king,  even  under  the  autocratic  old   °P'"'*^'^ 
re'gime.    It  was,  as  one  of  Louis  XVI's  ministers  declared,  "  an 
invisible  power  which,  without  treasury,  guards,  or  an  army, 
ruled  Paris  and  the  court,  —  yes,  the  very  palace  of  the  king." 
The  latter  half  of   the   eighteenth  century   was  a  period  of 


1 86 


Outlines  of  European  History 


outspoken  and  acrid  criticism  of  the  whole  existing  social  and 
governmental  system.  Reformers,  among  whom  many  of  the 
king's  ministers  were  counted,  loudly  and  eloquently  discussed 
the  numerous  abuses  and  the  vicious  character  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  gradually  came  to  seem  just  as  bad  to  the  intelli- 
gent people  of  that  day  as  it  does  to  us  now. 

Although  there  were  no  daily  newspapers  to  discuss  public 
questions,  large  numbers  of  pamphlets  were  written  and  circu- 
lated by  individuals  whenever  there  was  an  important  crisis,  and 
they  answered  much  the  same  purpose  as  the  editorials  in  a 
modern  newspaper.  We  have  already  seen  how  French  philos- 
ophers and  reformers,  like  Voltaire  and  Diderot,  had  been  en- 
couraged by  the  freedom  of  speech  which  prevailed  in  England, 
and  how  industriously  they  had  sown  the  seeds  of  discontent  in 
their  own  country.  We  have  seen  how  in  popular  works,  in 
poems  and  stories  and  plays,  and  above  all  in  the  Encydopcedia^ 
they  explained  the  new  scientific  discoveries,  attacked  the  old 
beliefs  and  misapprehensions,  and  encouraged  progress. 


Section  31.    How  Louis  XVI  tried  to  play  the 
Benevolent  Despot 

In  1774  Louis  XV  ^  died,  after  a  disgraceful  reign  of  which 
it  has  not  seemed  necessary  to  say  much.  His  unsuccessful 
wars,  which  had  ended  with  the  loss  of  all  his  American  pos- 
sessions and  the  victory  of  his  enemies  in  India,  had  brought 
France  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy ;  indeed  in  his  last  years 
his  ministers  repudiated  a  portion  of  the  government's  debts. 
The  taxes  were  already  so  oppressive  as  to  arouse  universal 
discontent,  and  yet  the  government  was  running  behind  seventy 
millions  of  dollars  a  year.  The  king's  personal  conduct  was 
scandalous,  and  he  allowed  his  mistresses  and  courtiers  to 
meddle  in   public  affairs   and  plunder  the  royal  treasury  for 

1  He  came  to  the  throne  in  171 5  as  a  boy  of  five,  on  the  death  of  Louis  XIV, 

his  great-grandfather. 


The  Eve  of  the  Freiich  Revohition 


187 


themselves  and  their  favorites.  When  at  last  he  was  carried  off 
by  smallpox  every  one  hailed,  with  hopes  of  better  times,  the 
accession  of  his  grandson  and  successor,  Louis  XVI. 

The  new  king  was  but  twenty  years  old,  ill  educated,  indo- 
lent, unsociable,  and  very  fond  of  hunting  and  of  pottering  about 


Character  of 
Louis  XVI 


Fig.  50,    Louis  XVI 

Louis  was  a  well-meaning  man,  but  not  clever.  He  enjoyed  working 
with  tools  like  a  locksmith  or  going  hunting,  but  did  not  understand  the 
needs  of  France.  His  clever,  strong-willed  queen,  Marie  Antoinette, 
was  responsible  for  most  of  the  few  things  he  did  to  try  to  stop  the 
Revolution,  and  she  was  too  headstrong  to  listen  to  wise  advice 


in  a  workshop,  where  he  spent  his  happiest  hours.  He  was  a 
well-meaning  young  man,  with  none  of  his  grandfather's  vices, 
who  tried  now  and  then  to  attend  to  the  disagreeable  business 
of  government,  and  would  gladly  have  made  his  people  happy 
if  that  had  not  required  more  energy  than  he  possessed.  He 
had  none  of  the  restless  interest  in  public  affairs  that  we  found 
in  Frederick  the   Great,   Catherine  H,  or  his  brother-in-law, 


Marie 

Antoinette 


1 88  Oictlines  of  European  History 

Joseph  II ;  he  was  never  tempted  to  rise  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning  in  order  to  read  State  papers. 

His  wife  was  the  beautiful  Marie  Antoinette,  daughter  of 
Maria  Theresa.  The  marriage  had  been  arranged  in  1770  with 
a  view  of  maintaining  the  alliance  which  had  been  concluded 


Fig.  51.    Marie  Antoinette 

The  tragic  fate  of  the  queen  has  obscured  the  fact  that  she  was  not 
a  good  sovereign.  She  was  always  influencing  her  husband  the  wrong 
way.  She  prevented  reform,  and  when  the  people  rose  in  revolt  they 
thought  of  her  as  an  Austrian  princess  who  had  no  care  for  the  well- 
being  of  France 

between  France  and  Austria  in  1756.^  The  queen  was  only  nine- 
teen years  old  when  she  came  to  the  throne,  light-hearted  and  on 
pleasure  bent.  She  disliked  the  formal  etiquette  of  the  court  at 
Versailles  and  shocked  people  by  her  thoughtless  pranks.  She 
rather  despised  her  heavy  husband,  who  did  not  care  to  share 
in  the  amusements  which  pleased  her  best.    She  did  not  hesitate 

1  See  above,  p.  87. 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution  1 89 

to  interfere  in  the  government  when  she  wished  to  help  one 
of  her  favorites  or  to  make  trouble  for  some  one  she  disliked. 

e^^c^  At€>t^c^  ^^^^^f^^T^t^^ 


Fig.  52.   A  Letter  of  Marie  Antoinette 

A  page  of  a  letter  written  July  12,  1770,  to  her  mother,  Maria  Theresa. 
The  handwriting,  mistakes  in  spelling,  and  general  carelessness  show 
what  an  undeveloped  girl  she  was  when  she  came  to  the  gay  court  of 
Versailles.  She  says  in  the  letter  that  she  has  no  other  time  to  write 
than  while  she  is  dressing  and  cannot  reply  exactly  to  the  last  letter 
because  she  has  burned  it.  Now  she  must  stop  in  order  to  dress  and 
go  to  the  king's  mass.  She  adds  in  postscript  that  she  is  sending  a 
list  of  the  wedding  presents,  thinking  that  that  will  entertain  {auiuser) 
her  mother 

At  first  Louis  XVI  took  his  duties  very  seriously.    It  seemed  Turgot,  con- 

for  a  time  that  he  might  find  a  place  among  the  benevolent  e'i-al  Om- 

despots  who  were  then  ruling  in  Europe.    He  almost  immedi-  '7/6) 
ately  placed  the  ablest  of  all  the  French  economists,  Turgot, 


IQO  Outlines  of  EiL7vpea7t  History 

in  the  most  important  of  the  government  offices,  that  of  con- 
troller general.    Turgot  was  an  experienced  government  official 
as  well  as  a  scholar. 
Turgot  The  first  and  most  natural  measure  was  economy,  for  only 

ecoHomy^        in  that  way  could  the  government  be  saved  from  bankruptcy 
and  the  burden  of  taxation  be  lightened.    Turgot  felt  that  the 


Fig.  53.   Turcot 

Turgot  was  the  one  great  enlightened  statesman  of  the  time  who  might 

have  saved  France  from  a  revolution.    His  frankness  displeased  the 

king,  however,  for  he  lectured  him  like  a  schoolmaster.   The  queen  and 

the  gay  courtiers  of  Versailles  brought  about  his  fall 

vast  amount  spent  in  maintaining  the  luxury  of  the  royal  court 
at  Versailles  should  be  reduced.  The  establishments  of  the 
king,  the  queen,  and  the  princes  of  the  blood  royal  cost  the 
State  annually  about  twelve  million  dollars.  Then  the  French 
king  had  long  been  accustomed  to  grant  "  pensions "  in  a 
reckless  manner  to  his  favorites,  and  this  required  nearly 
twelve  million  dollars  more. 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution  1 9 1 

Any  attempt,  however,  to  reduce  this  amount  would  arouse   How  the 
the  immediate  opposition  of  the  courtiers,  and  it  was  the  cour-  governed 
tiers  who  really  governed  France.    They  had  ever)'  opportunity   ^^^^e 
to  influence  the  king's  mind  against  a  man  whose  economies 
they  disliked.    They  were  constantly  about  the  monarch  from 
the  moment  when  he  awoke  in  the  morning  until  he  went  to 
bed  at  night;    therefore  they  had  an  obvious  advantage  over 
Turgot,  who  only  saw  him  in  business  hours. ^ 

An  Italian  economist,  when  he  heard  of  Turgot's  appoint-  Turgot's 
ment,  wrote  to  a  friend  in  France  as  follows :  '^  So  Turgot  is  P^^'*^^'^ 
controller  general  I  He  will  not  remain  in  office  long  enough 
to  carry  out  his  plans.  He  will  punish  some  scoundrels ;  he 
will  bluster  about  and  lose  his  temper ;  he  wdll  be  anxious  to  do 
good,  but  will  run  against  obstacles  and  rogues  at  every  turn. 
Public  credit  will  fall ;  he  will  be  detested ;  it  will  be  said  that 
he  is  not  fitted  for  his  task.  Enthusiasm  will  cool ;  he  will  retire 
or  be  sent  off,  and  we  shall  have  a  new  proof  of  the  mistake 
of  filling  a  position  like  his  in  a  monarchy  like  yours  with  an 
upright  man  and  a  philosopher." 

The  Italian  could  not  have  made  a  more  accurate  statement  Turgot  dis- 
of  the  case  had  he  waited  until  after  the  dismissal  of  Turgot,  ^^5^  '  ^^'' 
which  took  place  in  May,  1776,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  court.  Although  the  privileged  classes  so  stoutly  opposed 
Turgot's  reforms  that  he  did  not  succeed  in  abolishing  the 
abuses  himself,^  he  did  a  great  deal  to  forward  their  destruction 
not  many  years  after  his  retirement. 

Necker,  who  after  a  brief  interval  succeeded  Turgot,  con-   Necker  »uc- 
tributed  to  the  progress  of  the  coming  revolution  in  two  ways.    ^^^  ^    ^^^^ 
He  borrowed  vast  sums  of  money  in  order  to  carry  on  the  war   Necker's 
which  France,  as  the  ally  of  the  United  States,  had  undertaken  report^ 
against  England.    This  greatly  embarrassed  the  treasury  later 

1  See  Turgot's  outspoken  letter  to  the  king,  August,  1774,  in  Readings,  Vol.  I, 
pp.  237  ff. 

2  Turgot  succeeded  in  inducing  the  king  to  abolish  the  guilds  and  the  forced 
labor  on  the  roads,  but  the  decrees  were  revoked  after  Turgot's  dismissal. 


192 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Calonne, 
controller 
general, 
1783-1787 


Calonne  in- 
forms the 
king  that 
France  is  on 
the  verge  of 
bankruptcy, 
August,  1786 


and  helped  to  produce  the  financial  crisis  which  was  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  the  Revolution.  Secondly,  he  gave  the  nation  its 
first  opportunity  of  learning  what  was  done  with  the  public 
funds,  by  presenting  to  the  king  (February,  1781)  a  report  on 
the  financial  condition  of  the  kingdom ;  this  was  publicly 
printed  and  eagerly  read.  There  the  people  could  see  for 
the  first  time  how  much  the  taille  and  the  salt  tax  actually 
took  from  them,  and  how  much  the  king  spent  on  himself 
and  his  favorites. 

Necker  was  soon  followed  by  Calonne,  who  may  be  said  to 
have  precipitated  the  French  Revolution.  He  was  very  popular 
at  first  with  king  and  courtiers,  for  he  spent  the  public  funds 
far  more  recklessly  than  his  predecessors.  But,  naturally,  he 
soon  found  himself  in  a  position  where  he  could  obtain  no 
more  money.  The  parlements  would  consent  to  no  more  loans 
in  a  period  of  peace,  and  the  taxes  were  as  high  as  it  was 
deemed  possible  to  make  tHem.  At  last  Calonne,  finding  him- 
self desperately  put  to  it,  informed  the  astonished  king  that 
the  State  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy,  and  that  in  order 
to  save  it  a  radical  reformation  of  the  whole  public  order  was 
necessary.  This  report  of  Calonne's  may  be  taken  as  the  be- 
ginning of  the  French  Revolution,  for  it  was  the  first  of  the 
series  of  events  that  led  to  the  calling  of  a  representative 
assembly  which  abolished  the  old  regime  and  gave  France  a 
written  constitution. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  30.  How  should  the  French  Revolution  be  distinguished 
from  the  Reign  of  Terror?  What  is  the  meaning  of  "ancient  re- 
gime "  t  Why  was  France  so  ill  organized  in  the  eighteenth  century .? 
Give  some  examples  of  the  differences  which  existed  between  the 
various  provinces.  Who  were  the  privileged  classes,  and  what  were 
their  privileges  ?   Give  examples  of  the  feudal  dues. 

In  what  respects  was  the  French  peasant  more  happily  situated 
than  his  fellows  in  other  parts  of  Europe.^  What  were  the  chief 
powers   of  the  French   monarch.''    What  were  lettres  de  cachet} 


The  Eve  of  the  French  Revoltttion  193 

What  limitations  were  placed  upon  the  king's  power  ?  What  did  the 
parlements  do  to  forward  the  coming  revolution?  What  is  meant 
by  public  opinion,  and  what  chances  does  it  have  to  express  itself 
to-day  that  it  did  not  have  in  France  before  the  Revolution? 

Segjion  31.  Who  was  Louis  XVI?  Tell  something  of  his  wife. 
Why  did  Turgot  fail  to  remedy  any  of  the  abuses  ?  What  happened 
under  Necker  to  forward  the  Revolution  ?  Why  was  Calonne  forced 
to  admit  that  he  could  not  carry  on  the  government  unless  reforms 
were  introduced  ? 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION 


Section  32.    How  the  Estates  were  summoned 
IN  1789 


Reforms 
proposed  by 
Calonne 


Summoning 
of  the  Nota- 
bles, 1786 


It  was  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  ruin,  Calonne  claimed, 
"to  reform  everything  vicious  in  the  state."  He  proposed, 
therefore,  to  reduce  the  taille,  reform  the  salt  tax,  do  away  with 
the  interior  customs  lines,  correct  the  abuses  of  the  guilds,  etc. 
But  the  chief  reform,  and  by  far  the  most  difficult  one,  was  to 
force  the  privileged  classes  to  surrender  their  important  exemp- 
tions from  taxation.  He  hoped,  however,  that  if  certain  con- 
cessions were  made  to  them  they  might  be  brought  to  consent 
to  a  land  tax  to  be  paid  by  all  alike.  So  he  proposed  to  the 
king  that  he  should  summon  an  assembly  of  persons  prominent 
in  Church  and  State,  called  Notables^  to  ratify  certain  changes 
which  would  increase  the  prosperity  of  the  country  and  give  the 
treasury  money  enough  to  meet  the  necessary  expenses. 

The  summoning  of  the  Notables  in  1786  was  really  a  revo- 
lution in  itself.  It  was  a  confession  on  the  part  of  the  king 
that  he  found  himself  in  a  predicament  from  which  he  could 
not  escape  without  the  aid  of  his  people.  The  Notables  whom 
he  selected — bishops,  archbishops,  dukes,  judges,  high  govern- 
ment officials  —  were  practically  all  members  of  the  privileged 
classes ;  but  they  still  represented  the  nation,  after  a  fashion, 
as  distinguished  from  the  king's  immediate  circle  of  courtiers. 
At  any  rate  it  proved  an  easy  step  from  calling  the  Notables  to 
summoning  the  ancient  Estates  General,  and  that,  in  its  turn, 
speedily  became  a  modern  representative  body. 

194 


The  F^-ench  Revolution  195 

In  his  opening  address  Calonne  gave  the  Notables  an  idea  of  Calonne 
the  sad  financial  condition  of  the  country.  The  government  was  the  abuses 
running  behind  some  forty  million  dollars  a  year.  He  could  not 
continue  to  borrow,  and  economy,  however  strict,  would  not 
suffice  to  cover  the  deficit.  ''  What,  then,"  he  asked,  ''  remains 
to  fill  this  frightful  void  and  enable  us  to  raise  the  revenue  to 
the  desired  level?  The  Abuses  I  Yes,  gentlemen,  the  abuses 
offer  a  source  of  wealth  which  the  state  should  appropriate, 
and-  which  should  serve  to  reestablish  order  in  the  finances.  .  .  . 
The  abuses  which  must  now  be  destroyed  for  the  welfare  of 
the  people  are  the  most  important  and  the  best  guarded  of 
all,  the  very  ones  which  have  the  deepest  roots  and  the  most 
spreading  branches.  For  example,  those  which  weigh  on  the 
laboring  classes,  the  privileges,  exceptions  to  the  law  which 
should  be  common  to  all,  and  many  an  unjust  exemption  which 
can  only  relieve  certain  taxpayers  by  embittering  the  condition 
of  others ;  the  general  want  of  uniformity  in  the  assessment  of 
the  taxes  and  the  enormous  difference  which  exists  between  the 
contributions  of  different  provinces  and  of  the  subjects  of  the 
same  sovereign  ;  "  —  all  these  evils,  which  public-spirited  citi- 
zens had  long  criticized,  Calonne  proposed  to  do  away  with 
forthwith. 

The  Notables,  however,  had  no  confidence  in  Calonne,  and   Calonne  and 
refused  to  ratify  his  program  of  reform.     The  king  then  dis-  dismisse^d  ^^ 
missed   him,    and    soon   sent  them   home   too    (May,    1787). 
Louis- XVL  then  attempted  to  carry  through  some  of  the  more 
pressing  financial  reforms  in  the  usual  way  by  sending  them  to 
t\\Q  parlements  to  be  registered. 

Th^  parlejfiefit  of  Paris  resolved,  as  usual,  to  make  the  king's  Thefark- 
ministry  trouble  and  gain  popularity  for  itself.     This  time  it  refuses  to 
resorted  to  a  truly  extraordinary  measure.    It  not  only  refused  [afgf a^j^"' 
to  register  two  new  taxes  which  the  king  desired  but  asserted   calls  for  the 
that  '"  0?ily  the  natio?i  assembled  m  the  Testates  General  can  give  General 
the  consent  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  tax" 
"  Only  the   nation,"   the  parlemoit   continued,   "  after  it  has 


196 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Estates 

General 

summoned 


General 
ignorance  in 
regard  to  the 
Estates 
General 


The  old 
system  of 
voting  by 
classes  in 
the  Estates 
General 


Objections  to 
this  system 


learned  the  true  state  of  the  finances  can  destroy  the  great 
abuses  and  open  up  important  resources."  This  declaration  was 
followed  in  a  few  days  by  the  humble  request  that  the  king 
assemble  the  Estates  General  of  his  kingdom.  The  parleme?its 
not  only  refused  to  register  taxes  but  continued  during  the  fol- 
lowing months  to  do  everything  that  they  could  to  embarrass 
the  king's  ministers.  There  seemed  no  other  resort  except  to 
call  the  representatives  of  the  people  together.  The  Estates 
General  were  accordingly  summoned  to  meet  on  May  i,  1789. 

It  was  now  discovered  that  no  one  knew  much  about  this 
body  of  which  every  one  was  talking,  for  it  had  not  met  since 
16 1 4.  The  king  accordingly  issued  a  general  invitation  to 
scholars  to  find  out  all  they  could  about  the  customs  observed 
in  the  former  meetings  of  the  Estates.  The  public  naturally 
became  very  much  interested  in  a  matter  which  touched  them 
so  closely,  and  there  were  plenty  of  readers  for  the  pamphlets 
which  now  began  to  appear  in  great  numbers.  The  old  Estates 
General  had  been  organized  in  a  way  appropriate  enough  to  the 
feudal  conditions  under  which  they  originated.^  All  three  of 
the  estates  of  the  realm  —  clergy,  nobility,  and  third  estate  — 
were  accustomed  to  send  an  equal  number  of  representatives, 
who  were  expected  to  consider  not  the  interests  of  the  nation 
but  the  special  interests  of  the  particular  social  class  to  which 
they  respectively  belonged.  Accordingly,  the  deputies  of  the 
three  estates  did  not  sit  together,  or  vote  as  a  single  body.  The 
members  of  each  group  first  came  to  an  agreement  among  them- 
selves, and  then  a  single  vote  was  cast  for  the  whole  order. 

It  was  natural  that  this  system  should  seem  preposterous  to 
the  average  Frenchman  in  1788.  If  the  Estates  should  be  con- 
voked according  to  the  ancient  forms,  the  two  privileged  classes 
would  be  entitled  to  twice  the  number  of  representatives  allotted 
to  the  nation  at  large.  What  was  much  worse,  it  seemed  im- 
possible that  any  important  reforms  could  be  adopted  in  an 
assembly  where  those  who  had  every  selfish  reason  for  opposing 

1  See  Part  I,  pp.  427  ff. 


The  French  Revolution  197 

the  most  necessary  changes  were  given  two  votes  out  of  three. 
Necker,  whom  the  king  had  recalled  in  the  hope  that  he  might 
succeed  in  adjusting  the  finances,  agreed  that  the  third  estate 
might  have  as  many  deputies  as  both  the  other  orders  put 
together,  namely  six  hundred,  but  he  would  not  consent  to 
having  the  three  orders  sit  and  vote  together  like  a  modem 
representative  body. 

Besides  the  great  question  as  to  whether  the  deputies  should  The  cahiers 
vote  by  head  or  by  order^  the  pamphlets  discussed  what  reforms 
the  Estates  should  undertake.  We  have,  however,  a  still  more 
interesting  and  important  expression  of  public  opinion  in  France 
at  this  time,  in  the  cahiers}  or  lists  of  grievances  and  sugges- 
tions for  reform  which,  in  pursuance  of  an  old  custom,  the 
king  asked  the  nation  to  prepare.  Each  village  and  town 
throughout  France  had  an  opportunity  to  tell  quite  frankly 
exactly  what  it  suffered  from  the  existing  system,  and  what 
reforms  it  wished  that  the  Estates  General  might  bring  about. 
These  cahiers  were  the  "  last  will  and  testament "  of  the  old 
regime,  and  they  constitute  a  unique  historical  document,  of 
unparalleled  completeness  and  authenticity.  No  one  can  read 
the  cahiers  without  seeing  that  the  whole  nation  was  ready  for 
the  great  transformation  which  within  a  year  was  to  destroy  a 
great  part  of  the  social  and  political  system  under  which  the 
French  had  lived  for  centuries. 

Almost  all  the  cahiers  agreed  that  the  prevailing  disorder   Desire  of 
and  the  vast  and  ill-defined  powers  of  the  king  and  his  minis-  for  a  con" 
ters  were  perhaps  the  fundamental  evils.     One  of  the  cahiers  f^^'^^^f^ 
says :  '^  Since  arbitrary  power  has  been  the  source  of  all  the  an  absolute, 
evils  which  afflict  the  state,  our  first  desire  is  the  establishment 
of  a  really  national  constitution,  which  shall  define  the  rights  of 
all  and  provide  the  laws  to  maintain  them."    No  one  dreamed 
at  this  time  of  displacing  the  king  or  of  taking  the  government 
out  of  his  hands.    The  people  only  wished  to  change  an  abso- 
lute monarchy  into  a  limited,  or  constitutional,  one.     All  that 
1  Pronounced  kS-ya', 


198 


The  French  Revolution  199 

was  necessary  was  that  the  things  which  the  government  might 
7iot  do  should  be  solemnly  and  irrevocably  determined  and  put 
upon  record,  and  that  the  Estates  General  should  meet  periodi- 
cally to  grant  the  taxes,  give  the  king  advice  in  national  crises, 
and  expostulate,  if  necessary,  against  any  violations  of  the  pro- 
posed charter  of  liberties. 

With  these  ideas  in  mind,  the  Estates  assembled  in  Versailles   The  Estates 
and  held  their  first  session  on  May  5,  1789.    The  king  had   ^t^^'^^^i^^ 
ordered  the  deputies  to  wear  the  same  costumes  that  had  been 
worn  at  the  last  meeting  of  the  Estates  in  1 6 1 4 ;  but  no  royal 
edict  could  call  back  the  spirit  of  earlier  centuries.    In  spite  of 
the  king's  commands  the  representatives  of  the  third  estate  re- 
fused to  organize  themselves  in  the  old  way  as  a  separate  order. 
They  sent  invitation  after  invitation  to  the  deputies  of  the  clergy 
and  nobility,  requesting  them  to  join  the  people's  representa- 
tives and  deliberate  in  common  on  the  great  interests  of  the 
nation.    Some  of  the  more  liberal  of  the  nobles  —  Lafayette,  for 
example  —  and  a  large  minority  of  the  clergy  wished  to  meet 
with  the  deputies  of  the  third  estate.    But  they  were  outvoted.   The  repre- 
and  the  deputies  of  the  third  estate,  losing  patience,  finally,  on   ^f  ^^e  third 
Tune  17,  declared  themselves  a  "National  Assembly."     They   estate  declare 

-'  '  '  -^  -^     themselves 

argued  that,  since  they  represented  at  least  ninety-six  per  cent  a  "  National 

Assembly" 

of  the  nation,  the  deputies  of  the  privileged  orders  might  be 
neglected  altogether.  This  usurpation  of  power  on  the  part  of 
the  third  estate  transformed  the  old  feudal  Estates,  voting  by 
orders,  into  the  first  modern  national  representative  assembly 
on  the  continent  of  Europe. 

Under  the  influence  of  his  courtiers  the  king  tried  to  restore   The  "Tennis 
the  old  system  by  arranging  a  solemn  joint  session  of  the  three 
orders,  at  which  he  presided  in  person.    He  presented  a  long 

*  The  clergy,  as  the  first  estate  of  the  realm,  are  seated  on  the  right  of 
the  king;  the  nobles,  or  second  estate,  on  the  left;  the  representatives 
of  the  third  estate,  clad  in  sober  black,  are  given  what  places  remain. 
The  princes  of  the  blood  are  on  the  platform.  Necker,  the  minister, 
is  making  his  speech  by  the  table  belovi^  the  throne. 


200  Outlines  of  European  History 

program  of  excellent  reforms,  and  then  bade  the  Estates  sit 
apart,  according  to  the  old  custom.  But  it  was  like  bidding  water 
to  run  uphill.  Three  days  before,  when  the  commons  had  found 
themselves  excluded  from  their  regular  place  of  meeting  on  ac- 
count of  the  preparations  for  the  royal  session,  they  had  betaken 


Fig.  55.    MiRABEAU 

Count  Mirabeau  was  the  greatest  statesman  and  orator  of  the  French 
Revolution.  He  tried  to  establish  a  limited  monarchy  like  that  of  Eng- 
land. But  he  had  led  a  scandalous  life  as  a  young  man,  and  people 
were  suspicious  of  his  designs  and  ambition.  He  died  early  in  1791 
without  accomplishing  his  plans 


themselves  to  a  neighboring  building  called  the  "  Tennis  Court." 
Here,  on  June  20,  they  took  the  famous  "  Tennis  Court "  oath, 
"to  come  together  wherever  circumstances  may  dictate,  until 
the  constitution  of  the  kingdom  shall  be  established." 

Consequently,  when  the  king  finished  his  address  and  com- 
manded the  three  orders  to  disperse  immediately  in  order  to 
resume  their  separate  sessions,  most  of  the  bishops,  some  of  the 


The  French  Revolution  201 

parish  priests,  and  a  great  part  of  the  nobility  obeyed ;  the  rest  The  nobility 
sat  still,  uncertain  what  they  should  do.    When  the  master  of  forced^?^ 
ceremonies  ordered  them  to  comply  with  the  king's  commands,  jj-^d^^t^t 
Mirabeau,  the  most  distinguished  statesman  among  the  deputies, 
told  him  bluntly  that  they  would  not  leave  their  places  except 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.   The  weak  king  almost  immediately 
gave  in  and  a  few  days  later  ordered  all  the  deputies  of  the  privi- 
leged orders  who  had  not  already  done  so  to  join  the  commons. 

This  was  a  momentous  victory  for  the  nation.  The  repre-  First  momen. 
sentatives  of  the  privileged  classes  had  been  forced  to  unite  of  the  natSn 
with  the  third  estate,  to  deliberate  with  them,  and  to  vote  "  by 
head."  Moreover  the  National  Assembly  had  pledged  itself 
never  to  separate  until  it  had  regenerated  the  kingdom  and 
given  France  a  constitution.  It  was  no  longer  simply  to  vote 
taxes  and  help  the  king's  treasury  out  of  its  continual  difficulties. 

Section  33.    First  Reforms  of  the  National 
Assembly,  July-October,  1789 

The  National  Assembly  now  began  in  earnest  the  great  task  of  The  court 
preparing  a  constitution  for  France.    The  work  was,  however,   mines  to  dis- 
soon  interrupted.  The  little  group  of  noblemen  and  prelates  who   ^^Jt^ioiJaf 
spent  much  of  their  time  in  the  king's  palace  formed  what  was  Assembly 
known  as  the  court  party.    They  were  not  numerous  but  could 
influence  the  king  as  no  other  group  in  the  nation  could  do. 
They  naturally  opposed  reform  ;  they  neither  wished  to  give  up 
their  own  privileges  nor  to  have  the  king  come  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  National  Assembly,  for  that  would  mean  that  he 
would  no  longer  be  able  to  give  them  the  pensions  and  lucrative 
positions  which  they  now  readily  obtained.    This  court  ''  ring  " 
enjoyed  the  hearty  support  of  the  queen,  Marie  Antoinette,  and 
of  the  king's  younger  brother,  the  count  of  Artois,  both  of  whom 
regarded  the  deputies  of  the  third  estate  as  insolent  and  danger- 
ous agitators  who  proposed  to  rob  the  monarch  of  the  powers 
which  had  been  conferred  upon  him  by  God  himself.   The  queen 


202 


The  French  Revolution  203 

and  her  friends  had  got  rid  of  Turgot  and  Calonne,  who  had 
endeavored  to  change  the  old  order ;  why  should  they  not  dis- 
perse the  Estates  General,  which  was  escaping  from  the  control 
of  the  clergy  and  nobility? 

The  king  agreed  to  the  court  party's  plans.    He  summoned  Troops  sent 
the   Swiss  and  German  troops  in  the  employ  of  France  and   Keeker's  dis- 
sent a  company  of  them  into  Paris  in  order  that  they  might  missal,  July, 
suppress  any  violence  on  the  part  of  the  townspeople,  should 
he  decide  to  send  the  arrogant  deputies  home.    He  was  also 
induced  to  dismiss  Necker,  who  enjoyed  a  popularity  that  he 
had,  in  reality,  done  little  to  merit.    When  the  people  of  Paris 
saw  the  troops  gathering  and  heard  of  the  dismissal  of  Necker 
they  became  excited.    Camille  Desmoulins,  a  brilliant  young   Camille 
journalist,  rushed  into  the  garden  of  the  Palais  Royal,  where   ^citjrthe^ 
crowds  of  people  were  discussing  the  situation,  and,  leaping  Pansians, 
upon  a  table,  announced  that  the  Swiss  and  German  soldiers 
would  soon  be  slaughtering  all  the  "  patriots."    He  urged  the 
people  to  arm  and  defend  both  themselves  and  the  National 
Assembly  from  the  attacks  of  the  court  party,  which  wished  to 
betray  the  nation.    All  night  the  mob  surged  about  the  streets, 
seeking  arms  in  the  shops  of  the  gunsmiths  and  breaking  into 
bakeries  and  taverns  to  satisfy  their  hunger  and  thirst. 

This  was  but  the  prelude  to  the  great  day  of  July  1 4,  when  Attack  on 
crowds  of  people  assembled  to  renew  the  search  for  arms,  and  j^L  j^^  i^gn 
to  perform,  mayhap,  some  deed  of  patriotism.  One  of  the  law- 
less bands  made  its  way  to  the  ancient  fortress  of  the  Bas- 
tille, which  stood  in  the  poorer  quarter  of  the  city.  Here  the 
mob  expected  to  find  arms,  but  the  governor  of  the  fortress, 
de  Launay,  naturally  refused  to  supply  the  crowd  with  weapons. 
He  had,  moreover,  mounted  cannon  on  the  parapets,  which 


*  This  picture  is  from  a  print  by  an  artist  of  the  time.  It  shows  the 
few  little  cannon  the  besiegers  possessed.  They  would  have  been 
relatively  harmless  if  the  garrison  had  fought  bravely,  but,  instead,  it 
was  in  a  panic  and  the  drawbridges  were  left  improperly  guarded,  so 
the  attacking  party  assailed  the  central  towers  with  little  loss. 


204  Outlines  of  European  History 

made  the  inhabitants  of  the  region  very  nervous.  The  people 
hated  the  castle,  which  they  imagined  to  be  full  of  dark  dun- 
geons and  instruments  of  torture.  It  appeared  to  them  a  symbol 
of  tyranny,  for  it  had  long  been  used  as  a  place  of  confinement 
for  those  whom  the  king  imprisoned  by  his  arbitrary  orders, 
the  lettres  de  cachet.  While  there  seemed  no  hope  of  taking 
the  fortress,  whose  walls,  ten  feet  thick,  towered  high  above 
them,  the  attempt  was  made.  Negotiations  with  the  governor 
were  opened  and,  during  these,  a  part  of  the  crowd  pressed 
across  a  drawbridge  into  the  court.  Here,  for  some  reason  that 
has  never  been  explained,  the  troops  in  the  castle  fired  upon 
the  people  and  killed  nearly  a  hundred  of  them.  Meanwhile 
the  mob  on  the  outside  continued  an  ineffectual  but  desperate 
attack  until  de  Launay  was  forced  by  the  garrison  to  surrender 
on  condition  that  it  should  be  allowed  to  retire  unmolested. 
The  drawbridge  was  then  let  down  and  the  crowd  rushed  into 
the  gloomy  pile.  They  found  only  seven  prisoners,  whom  they 
freed  with  great  enthusiasm.  But  the  better  element  in  the 
crowd  was  unable  to  restrain  the  violent  and  cruel  class,  rep- 
resented in  every  mob,  who  proposed  to  avenge  the  slaughter 
of  their  companions  in  the  courtyard  of  the  Bastille.  Conse- 
quently the  Swiss  soldiers,  who  formed  the  garrison,  were 
killed,  and  their  heads,  with  that  of  de  Launay,  were  paraded 
about  the  streets  on  pikes. 

The  fall  of  the  Bastille  is  one  of  the  most  impressive,  strik- 
ing, and  dramatic  events  in  modern  history,  and  its  anniversary 
is  still  celebrated  in  France  as  the  chief  national  holiday.  On 
that  day  the  people  of  Paris  rose  to  protect  themselves  against 
the  plots  of  the  courtiers,  who  wished  to  maintain  the  old 
despotic  system.  They  attacked  an  ancient  monument  of 
despotism,  forced  the  king's  officer  in  charge  of  it  to  capitu- 
late, and  then  destroyed  the  walls  of  the  fortress  so  that  noth- 
ing now  remains  except  a  line  of  white  stones  to  mark  its 
former  site.  The  events  of  the  14th  of  July,  1789,  have  been 
"  disfigured  and  transfigured  by  legends,"  but  none  the  less 


The  French  Revolution  205 

they  opened  a  new  era  of  freedom  inasmuch  as  they  put  an  Beginning 
end  to  the  danger  of  a  return  to  the  Ancien  Regime,    It  is  true  gradon^S^" 
that  the  court  party  continued  to  make  trouble,  but  its  opposi-  ^^^  nobles 
tion  served  to  hasten  rather  than  to  impede  reform.    Some  of 
the  leaders  of  the  group,   among   them  the  king's   younger 
brother,  the  count  of  Artois  (who  was  destined   to  become 
king  as  Charles  X),  left  France  immediately  after  the  fall  of 
the   Bastille  and  began  actively  urging  foreign  monarchs  to 
intervene  to  protect  Louis  XVI  from  the  reformers. 

It  had  become  clear  that  the  king  could  not  maintain  order  in  The  national 
Paris.  The  shopkeepers  and  other  respectable  citizens  were  com-  ^^^^ 
pelled  to  protect  themselves  against  the  wild  crowds  made  up  of 
the  criminal  and  disorderly  class  of  the  capital  and  reenforced 
by  half -starving  men  who  had  drifted  to  Paris  on  account  of  the 
famine  which  prevailed  in  the  provinces.  In  order  to  prevent 
attacks  on  individuals  and  the  sacking  of  shops,  a  ''national 
guard  "  was  organized,  made  up  of  volunteers  from  the  well-to- 
do  citizens.  General  Lafayette,  one  of  the  most  liberal-minded 
of  the  nobles,  was  put  in  command.  This  deprived  the  king  of 
every  excuse  for  calling  in  his  regular  troops  to  insure  order  in 
Paris,  and  put  the  military  power  into  the  hands  of  the  bour- 
geoisie^ as  the  French  call  the  class  made  up  of  the  more 
prosperous  business  men. 

The  government  of  Paris  was  reorganized,  and  a  mayor,   Estabiish- 
chosen  from  among  the  members  of  the  National  Assembly,  was  communes 
put  at  the  head  of  the  new  commune,  as  the  municipal  govern-  JJJherckiS^ 
ment  was  called.    The  other  cities  of  France  also  began  with 
one  accord,  after  the  dismissal  of  Necker  and  the  fall  of  the 
Bastille,  to  promote  the  Revolution  by  displacing  or  supplement- 
ing their  former  governments  by  committees  of  their  citizens. 
These  improvised  communes,  or  city  governments,  established 
national  guards,  as  Paris  had  done,  and  thus  maintained  order. 
The  news  that  the  king  had  approved  the  changes  at  Paris 
confirmed  the  citizens  of  other  cities  in  the  conviction  that  they 
had  done  right  in  taking  the  control  into  their  own  hands.   We 


2o6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


shall  hear  a  good  deal  of  the  commune,-  or  municipal  govern- 
ment, of  Paris  later,  as  it  played  a  very  important  role  in  the 
Reign  of  Terror. 

By  the  end  of  the  month  of  July  the  commotion  reached  the 
country  districts.  A  curious  panic  swept  over  the  land,  which 
the  peasants  long  remembered  as  "  the  great  fear."  A  mysteri- 
ous rumor  arose  that  the  ''  brigands  "  were  coming !  The  ter- 
rified people  did  what  they  could  to  prepare  for  the  danger, 
although  they  had  no  clear  idea  of  what  it  was;  neighboring 
communities  combined  with  one  another  for  mutual  protection. 
When  the  panic  was  over  and  people  saw  that  there  were  no 
brigands  after  all,  they  turned  their  attention  to  an  enemy  by 
no  means  imaginary,  that  is,  the  old  regime.  The  peasants 
assembled  on  the  village  common,  or  in  the  parish  church,  and 
voted  to  pay  the  feudal  dues  no  longer.  The  next  step  was  to 
burn  the  chateaux^  or  castles  of  the  nobles,  in  order  to  destroy 
the  records  of  the  peasants'  obligations  to  their  feudal  lords. 

About  the  first  of  August  news  reached  the  National  Assem- 
bly of  the  burning  of  chateaux  in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
and  of  the  obstinate  refusal  of  the  country  people  to  pay  the 
tithes,  taxes,  rents,  and  feudal  dues.  It  seemed  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  pacify  and  encourage  the  people  by  announcing  sweep- 
ing reforms.  Consequently  during  the  celebrated  night  session 
of  August  4-5,  amid  great  excitement,  the  members  of  the 
privileged  orders,  led  by  the  Viscount  of  Noailles,  a  relative  of 
Lafayette  who  had  fought  with  him  in  America,  vied  with  one 
another  in  surrendering  their  ancient  privileges.^ 

1  Of  course  the  nobles  and  clergy  had  very  little  prospect  of  retaining  their 
privileges  even  if  they  did  not  give  them  up  voluntarily.  This  was  bitterly 
emphasized  by  Marat  in  his  newspaper,  The  Friend  of  the  People.  "  Let  us  not 
be  duped !  If  these  sacrifices  of  privileges  were  due  to  benevolence,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  voice  of  benevolence  has  been  raised  rather  late  in  the  day. 
When  the  lurid  flames  of  their  burning  chateaux  have  illuminated  France,  these 
people  have  been  good  enough  to  give  up  the  privilege  of  keeping  in  fetters 
men  who  had  already  gained  their  liberty  by  force  of  arms.  When  they  see  the 
punishment  that  awaits  robbers,  extortioners,  and  tyrants  like  themselves  they 
generously  abandon  the  feudal  dues  and  agree  to  stop  bleeding  the  wretched 
people  who  can  barely  keep  body  and  soul  together." 


The  French  Revolution  207 

The  exclusive  right  of  the  nobility  to  hunt  and  to  maintain  Decree  abol- 

their  huge  pigeon  houses  was  abolished,  and  the  peasant  was  feudS  du^es 

permitted  to  kill  game  which  he  found  on  his  land.    The  tithes  hunting 

of  the  Church  were  done  away  with.    Exemptions  from  the  other 

privilcfiTCS 

payment  of  taxes  were  abolished  forever.  It  was  decreed  that 
''  taxes  shall  be  collected  from  all  citizens  and  from  all  property 
in  the  same  manner  and  in  the  same  form,"  and  that  "  all  citi- 
zens, without  distinction  of  birth,  are  eligible  to  any  office  or 
dignity."  Moreover,  inasmuch  as  a  national  constitution  would 
be  of  more  advantage  to  the  provinces  than  the  privileges 
which  some  of  these  enjoyed,  and — so  the  decree  continues — 
''  inasmuch  as  the  surrender  of  such  privileges  is  essential  to 
the  intimate  union  of  all  parts  of  the  realm,  it  is  decreed  that 
all  the  exceptional  privileges,  pecuniary  or  otherwise,  of  the  prov- 
inces, principalities,  districts,  cantons,  cities,  and  communes,  are 
once  for  all  abolished  and  are  absorbed  into  the  law  common 
to  all  Frenchmen."  ^ 

This  decree  thus  proclaimed  the  equality  and  uniformity  for  Unification 
which  the  French  people  had  so  long  sighed.  The  injustice  of  Sirough^^the 
the  former  system  of  taxation  could  never  be  reintroduced.    All  abolition  of 

•^  ...  ^"^  ancient 

France  was  to  have  the  same  laws,  and  its  citizens  were  hence-  provinces  and 
forth  to  be  treated  in  the  same  way  by  the  State,  whether  they   of  the  present 
lived  in  Brittany  or  Dauphiny,  in  the  Pyrenees  or  on  the  Rhine.   ^^-^/^'^^^^^^^^ 
A  few  months  later  the  Assembly  went  a  step  farther  in  con- 
solidating and  unifying  France.    It  wiped  out  the  old  provinces 
altogether  by  dividing  the  whole  country  into  districts  of  con- 
venient size,  called  departenients.   These  were  much  more  numer- 
ous than  the  ancient  divisions,  and  were  named  after  rivers  and 
mountains.    This  obliterated  from  the  map  all  reminiscences  of 
the  feudal  disunion. 

Many  of  the  cahiers  had  suggested  that  the  Estates  should  The  Decla- 
draw  up  a  clear  statement  of  the  rights  of  the  individual  citizen.  t^J  Rights 
It  was  urged  that  the  recurrence  of  abuses  and  the  insidious   °^  ^^^" 

1  This  edict  is  given  in  the  Readbigs^  section  35.    The  nobles  were  to  be 
indemnified  for  some  of  the  important  but  less  offensive  of  the  feudal  dues. 


2o8  Oiitlmes  of  EiLropean  History 

encroachments  of  despotism  might  in  this  way  be  forever  pre- 
vented. The  National  Assembly  consequently  determined  to 
prepare  such  a  declaration  in  order  to  gratify  and  reassure  the 
people  and  to  form  a  basis  for  the  new  constitution. 

This  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  (completed  August  26) 
is  one  of  the  most  notable  documents  in  the  history  of  Europe. 
It  not  only  aroused  general  enthusiasm  when  it  was  first  pub- 
lished, but  it  appeared  over  and  over  again,  in  a  modified  form, 
in  the  succeeding  French  constitutions  down  to  1848,  and  has 
been  the  model  for  similar  declarations  in  many  of  the  other 
continental  states.  It  was  a  dignified  repudiation  of  the  abuses 
described  in  the  preceding  chapter.  Behind  each  article  there 
was  some  crying  evil  of  long  standing  against  which  the  people 
wished  to  be  forever  protected  —  lettres  de  cachet,  religious 
persecution,  censorship  of  the  press,  and  despotism  in  general. 
Contents  The  Declaration  sets  forth  that  "  Men  are  bom  and  remain 

Declaration  cqual  in  rights.  Social  distinctions  can  only  be  founded  upon 
the  general  good."  "  Law  is  the  expression  of  the  general 
will.  Every  citizen  has  a  right  to  participate,  personally  or 
through  his  representative,  in  its  formation.  It  must  be  the 
same  for  all."  "  No  person  shall  be  accused,  arrested,  or  im- 
prisoned except  in  the  cases  and  according  to  the  forms  pre- 
scribed by  law."  "  No  one  shall  be  disquieted  on  account  of 
his  opinions,  including  his  religious  views,  provided  that  their 
manifestation  does  not  disturb  the  public  order  established  by 
law."  "  The  free  communication  of  ideas  and  opinions  is  one 
of  the  most  precious  of  the  rights  of  man.  Every  citizen  may, 
accordingly,  speak,  write,  and  print  with  freedom,  being  re- 
sponsible, however,  for  such  abuses  of  this  freedom  as  shall  be 
defined  by  law."  "All  citizens  have  a  right  to  decide,  either 
personally  or  by  their  representative,  as  to  the  necessity  of  the 
contribution  to  the  public  treasury,  to  grant  this  freely,  to  know 
to  what  uses  it  is  put,  and  to  fix  the  proportion,  the  mode  of 
assessment  and  of  collection,  and  the  duration  of  the  taxes.*' 
"  Society  has  the  right  to  require  of  every  public  agent  an 


The  French  Revolution  209 

account  of  his  administration."  Well  might  the  Assembly  claim, 
in  its  address  to  the  people,  that  ''  the  rights  of  man  had  been 
misconceived  and  insulted  for  centuries,"  and  boast  that  they 
were  "  reestablished  for  all  humanity  in  this  declaration,  which 
shall  serve  as  an  everlasting  war  cry  against  oppressors." 

Section  34.    The  National  Assembly  in  Paris, 
October,   1789,  to  September,   1791 

The  king  hesitated  to  ratify  the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  The  court 
Man,  and  about  the  first  of  October  rumors  became  current  more  plains 
that,  under  the  influence  of  the  courtiers,  he  was  calling  together  ^  counter- 
troops  and  preparing  for  another  attempt  to  put  an  end  to  the 
Revolution,  similar  to  that  which  the  attack  on  the  Bastille  had 
frustrated.    A  regiment  arrived  from  Flanders  and  was  enter- 
tained at-  a  banquet  given  by  the  king's  guard  at  Versailles. 
The  queen  was  present,  and  it  was  reported  in  Paris  that  the 
officers,  in  their  enthusiasm  for  her,  had  trampled  under  foot 
the  new  national  colors,  —  the  red,  white,  and  blue, —  which 
had  been  adopted  after  the  fall  of  the  Bastille.    These  things, 
along  with  the  scarcity  of  food  due  to  the  poor  crops  of  the 
year,  aroused  the  excitable  Paris  populace  to  fever  heat. 

On  October  5  several  thousand  women  and  a  number  of  A  Paris  mob 
armed  men  marched  out  to  Versailles  to  ask  bread  of  the  king,   king's  palace 
in  whom  they  had  great  confidence  personally,  however  sus-  ^^m^^"" 
picious  they  might  be  of  his  friends  and  advisers.    Lafayette  f'aris 
marched  after   the  crowd  with  the   national   guard,   but  did 
not  prevent   some   of   the  people  from   invading   the   king's 
palace  the   next    morning   and   nearly   murdering   the  queen, 
who  had  become  very  unpopular.     She  was   believed  to  be 
still  an  Austrian  at  heart  and  to  be  in  league  with  the  counter- 
revolutionary party. 

The  people  declared  that  the  king  must  accompany  them  to 
Paris,  and  he  was  obliged  to  consent.  Far  from  being  disloyal, 
they  assumed  that  the   presence  of  the   royal  family  would 


2IO 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


Disastrous 
results  of 
transferring 
the  king  and 
the  Assembly 
to  Paris 


The  new 
constitution 


The  Legisla- 
tive Assem- 
t)ly  estab- 
lished by 
the  new 
constitution 


insure  plenty  and  prosperity.  So  they  gayly  escorted  the  "  baker 
and  the  baker's  wife  and  the  baker's  boy,"  as  they  jocularly 
termed  the  king  and  queen  and  the  little  dauphin,  to  the  Palace 
of  the  Tuileries,  where  the  king  took  up  his  residence,  practi- 
cally a  prisoner,  as  it  proved.  The  National  Assembly  soon 
followed  him  and  resumed  its  sittings  in  a  riding  school  near 
the  Tuileries. 

This  transfer  of  the  king  and  the  Assembly  to  the  capital 
was  the  first  great  misfortune  of  the  Revolution.  The  work  of 
reform  was  by  no  means  completed,  and  now  the  disorderly 
element  of  Paris  could  at  any  time  invade  the  galleries  and 
interrupt  those  deputies  who  proposed  measures  that  did  not 
meet  with  their  approval.  Marat's  newspaper,  The  Friend  of 
the  People^  assured  the  poor  of  the  city  that  they  were  the 
real  "  patriots."  Before  long  they  came  to  hate  the  well-to-do 
middle  class  (the  bourgeoisie^  almost  as  heartily  as  they  hated 
the  nobles,  and  were  ready  to  follow  any  leader  who  talked 
to  them  about  ''  liberty "  and  vaguely  denounced  "  traitors." 
Under  these  circumstances  the  populace  might  at  any  time  get 
control  of  Paris,  and  Paris  of  the  National  Assembly.  And  so 
it  fell  out,  as  we  shall  see. 

But  for  some  time  there  was  no  considerable  disorder.  The 
deputies  worked  away  on  the  constitution,  and  on  February  4, 
1790,  the  king  visited  the  National  Assembly  and  solemnly 
pledged  himself  and  the  queen  to  accept  the  new  form  of  gov- 
ernment. This  provided  that  the  sovereign  should  rule  both 
by  the  grace  of  God  and  by  the  constitutional  law  of  the 
State,  but  the  nation  was  to  be  superior  to  the  law  and  the 
law  to  the  king. 

The  constitution  naturally  provided  that  the  laws  should  be 
made  and  the  taxes  granted  by  a  representative  body  that 
should  meet  regularly.  This  was  to  consist,  like  the  National 
Assembly,  of  one  house,  instead  of  two  like  the  English  Parlia- 
ment. Many  had  favored  the  system  of  two  houses,  but  the 
nobility  and  clergy,  who  would  have  composed  the  upper  house 


2'    Southampton  0*  Dove^^  ^^ 


\    '•' 


,    %iy-";  •^'^YK^    \ J        \    :L\  ,^.      -n-  EUR,E  ■.,. 


■^ntej*---:       *-***V^  I  'four 


?ei-s|    ,■     1^'DRK 


A      r 


VENDEE    \4eux  )       JpAuj^rs" 


6'       Xongitude         West        4'       from  Greenwich        2* 


^        longitude  East         6*        from  Greenwich        8* 


The  French  Revolution  2 1 1 

on  the  English  analogy,  were  still  viewed  with  suspicion  as 
likely  to  wish  to  restore  the  privileges  of  which  they  had  just 
been  deprived.  Only  those  citizens  who  paid  a  tax  equal  to 
three  days'  labor  were  permitted  to  vote  for  deputies  to  the 
Legislative  Assembly.  The  poorer  people  had,  consequently, 
no  voice  in  the  government  in  spite  of  the  Declaration  of  the 
Rights  of  Man,  which  assured  equal  rights  to  all.  This  and 
other  restrictions  tended  to  keep  the  power  in  the  hands  of 
the  middle  class. 

Of  the  other  reforms  of  the  National  Assembly,  the  most  The  Assem- 
important  related  to  the  Church,  which,  as  has  been  explained,   t^e  Church 
continued  up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution  to  be  very  rich  and 
powerful,  and  to  retain  many  of  its  medieval  prerogatives  and 
privileges.    Its  higher  officials,  the  bishops  and  abbots,  received   Unjust  divi- 
very  large  revenues  and  often  one  prelate  held  a  number  of  revenue  of 
rich  benefices,  the  duties  of  which  he  utterly  neglected.    The   ^^^  Church 
parish  priests,  on  the  other  hand,  who  really  performed  the 
manifold  and  important  functions  of  the  Church,  were  scarcely 
able  to  live  on  their  incomes.     This  unjust  apportionment  of 
the  vast  revenue  of  the  Church  naturally  suggested  the  idea 
that,  if  the  State  confiscated  the  ecclesiastical  possessions,  it 
could  see  that  those  who  did  the  work  were  properly  paid  for 
it,  and  might,  at  the  same  time,  secure  a  handsome  sum  which 
would  help  the  government  out  of  its  financial  troubles.    Those 
who  sympathized  with  Voltaire's  views  were  naturally  delighted 
to  see  their  old  enemy  deprived  of  its  independence  and  made 
subservient  to  the  State,  and  even  many  good  Catholics  hoped 
that  the  new  system  would  be  an  improvement  upon  the  old. 

The   tithes   had  been   abolished   in   August  along  with  the   The  National 
feudal    dues.     This    deprived    the    Church    of    perhaps    thirty   de^claresthe 
million  dollars  a  year.     On  November  2,   1789,  a  decree  was  {J^e^j^rd! 
passed  providing:  that  ''  All  the  ecclesiastical  possessions  are  at  to  be  at  the 

,        ,.  ,      r    ,  .  ,..,..,  ,       disposal  of 

the  disposal  of  the  nation  on  condition  that  it  provides  properly  the  nation 
for  the  expenses  of  maintaining  religious  services,  for  the  sup- 
port of  those  who  conduct  them,  and  for  the  succor  of  the 


212  Outlines  of  European  History 

poor."  This  decree  deprived  the  bishops  and  priests  of  their 
benefices  and  made  them  dependent  on  salaries  paid  by  the 
State.  The  monasteries  and  convents  were  also,  when  called 
upon,  to  give  up  their  property  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  State.-^ 
The  assig-  The  National  Assembly  a  little  later  ordered  inventories  to 

currency  ^^^'^  be  made  of  the  lands  and  buildings  and  various  sources  of 
revenue  which  the  bishops,  priests,  and  monks  had  so  long 
enjoyed,  and  then  the  Church  property  was  offered  for  sale. 
Meanwhile,  in  order  to  supply  an  empty  treasury,  the  Assembly 
determined  to  issue  a  paper  currency  for  which  the  newly 
acquired  lands  would  serve  as  security.  Of  these  assignats^  as 
this  paper  money  was  called,  we  hear  a  great  deal  during  the 
revolutionary  period.  They  soon  began  to  depreciate,  and  ulti- 
mately a  great  part  of  the  forty  billions  of  francs  issued  during 
the  next  seven  years  was  repudiated. 

After  depriving  the  Church  of  its  property,  the  Assembly 
deemed  it  necessary  completely  to  reorganize  it,  and  drew  up 
the  so-called  Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy.    The  one  hundred 

1  The  medieval  monastic  orders,  feeble  and  often  degenerate,  still  continued 
to  exist  in  France  at  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  —  Benedictines,  Carthusians, 
Cistercians,  Franciscans,  Dominicans.  The  State  still  recognized  the  solemn 
vows  of  poverty  taken  by  the  monks  and  viewed  them  as  incapable  of  holding 
any  property  or  receiving  any  bequests.  It  also  regarded  it  as  its  duty  to  arrest 
a  runaway  monk  and  restore  him  to  his  monastery.  The  National  Assembly, 
shortly  after  declaring  the  property  of  the  monasteries  at  the  disposal  of  the 
nation,  refused  (February  13,  1790)  longer  legally  to  recognize  perpetual  monastic 
vows,  and  abolished  all  the  orders  which  required  them.  The  monks  and  nuns 
were  to  be  free  to  leave  their  monasteries  and  were,  in  that  case,  to  receive  a 
pension  from  the  government  of  from  seven  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  francs. 
Those,  however,  who  preferred  to  remain  were  to  be  grouped  in  such  houses 
as  the  government  assigned  them.  In  a  year  or  so  a  good  many  of  the  monks 
appear  to  have  deserted  their  old  life,  but  very  few  of  the  nuns.  Those  who  re- 
mained were  naturally  the  most  conservative  of  all ;  they  opposed  the  Revolu- 
tion and  sided  with  the  nonjuring  clergy.  This  made  them  very  unpopular  with 
the  Legislative  Assembly,  which  in  August,  1792,  ordered  all  the  monasteries  to 
be  vacated  and  turned  over  to  the  government  for  its  use.  At  the  same  time  it 
abolished  all  the  other  religious  communities  and  associations,  like  the  Oratorians 
and  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  who,  without  requiring  any  solemn  vows,  had  de- 
voted themselves  to  teaching  or  charitable  works.  Many  of  these  religious  con- 
gregations^ as  the  French  call  them,  were  revived  in  the  nineteenth  century  and 
have  been  the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  agitation.   See  below,  section  "]%, 


The  French  Revolution 


213 


and  thirty-four  ancient  bishoprics,  some  of  which  dated  back  The  Civil 
to  the  Roman   Empire,  were  reduced  to  eighty-three,   so  as   ofXeCler*^ 
to  correspond  with  the  new  "  departments  "  into  which  France  completed, 
had  just  been  divided.    Each  of  these  became  the  diocese  of 
a  bishop,  who  was  no  longer  to  be  appointed  by  the  king  and 
confirmed  by  the  Pope  ^  but  was  looked  upon  as  a  government 
official,  to  be  elected,  like  other  government  officials,  by  the 
people,  and  paid  a  regular  salary.    The  priests,  too,  were  to  be 


Ikmiamesmaiwriaux. 


Fig.  S7-   Assignat 

This  piece  of  paper  money,  which  resembled  the  bank  note  of  to-day, 

was  of  the  face  value  of  10  livres-,  but  before  the  Revolution  was  over 

it  was  almost  worthless.    So  many  were  printed,  however,  that  one  can 

still  find  specimens  in  old  curiosity  shops,  costing  only  a  few  cents 


chosen  by  the  people  instead,  as  formerly,  by  the  bishop  or 
lord  of  the  manor;  and  their  salaries  were  to  be  substantially 
increased.  In  Paris 'they  were  to  have  six  thousand  francs,  in 
smaller  places  less,  but  never  an  amount  below  twelve  hun- 
dred francs ;  even  in  the  smallest  villages  they  received  over 
twice  the  minimum  paid  under  the  old  regime.    Lastly,  it  was 

1  The  decrees  abolishing  the  feudal  system  (August  11,  1789)  had  already 
prohibited  all  payments  to  the  Pope.  The  bishoprics  were  grouped  into  ten  dis- 
tricts, each  presided  over  by  a  "  metropolitan,"  who  corresponded  to  the  former 
archbishop. 


214 


Outlines  of  European  History 


provided  that  clergymen,  upon  accepting  office,  must  all  take 
an  oath,  like  other  government  officials,  to  be  faithful  to  the 
nation,  the  law,  and  the  king,  and  to  "  maintain  with  all  their 
might  the  constitution  decreed  by  the  Assembly."^ 

The  Givil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy  proved  a  serious  mis- 
take. While  the  half-feudalized  Church  had  sadly  needed  re- 
form, the  worst  abuses  might  have  been  remedied  without 
overturning  the  whole  system,  which  was  hallowed  in  the  minds 
of  most  of  the  French  people  by  age  and  religious  veneration. 
The  arbitrary  suppression  of  fifty-one  bishoprics,  the  election 
of  the  bishops  by  the  ordinary  voters,  who  included  Protestants, 
Jews,  and  unbelievers,  the  neglect  of  the  Pope's  rights  —  all 
shocked  and  alienated  thousands  of  those  who  had  hitherto 
enthusiastically  applauded  the  reforms  which  the  Assembly 
had  effected.  The  king  gave  his  assent  to  the  Civil  Constitu- 
tion, but  with  the  fearful  apprehension  that  he  might  be  losing 
his  soul  by  so  doing.  From  that  time  on  he  became  an  enemy 
of  the  Revolution  on  religious  grounds. 

The  bishops,  with  very  few  exceptions,  opposed  the  changes 
and  did  all  they  could  to  prevent  the  reforms  from  being 
carried  out.  Accordingly  (November  27,  1790)  the  irritated 
Assembly  ordered  all  the  bishops  and  priests  to  take  the  oath 
to  the 'Constitution  (which,  of  course,  included  the  new  laws 
in  regard  to  the  Church)  within  a  week.  Those  who  refused 
were  to  be  regarded  as  having  resigned ;  and  if  any  of  them 
still  continued  to  perform  their  functions  they  were  to  be 
treated  as  "  disturbers  of  the  peace." 

Only  four  of  the  bishops  consented  t,o  take  the  required 
oath  and  but  a  third  of  the  lower  clergy,  although  they  were 
much  better  off  under  the  new  system.  Forty-six  thousand 
parish  priests  refused  to  sacrifice  their  religious  scruples. 
Before  long  the  Pope  condemned  the  Civil  Constitution  and 
forbade   the  clergy  to   take  the  oath.    As  time  went   on  the 


1  For  the  text  of  the  Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy,  see  the  Readings^ 
section  36. 


The  French  Revolution  21$ 

"nonjuring"  clergy  were  dealt  with  more  and  more  harshly 
by  the  government,  and  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  horrors 
of  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  Revolution  ceased  to  stand  for 
liberty,  order,  and  the  abolition  of  ancient  abuses,  and  came 
to  mean  —  in  the  minds  of  many  besides  those  who  had  lost 
their  former  privileges  —  irreligion,  violence,  and  a  new  kind 
of  oppression  more  cruel  than  the  old. 

A  year  after  the  fall  of  the  Bastille  a  great  festival  was  held  Celebration 
in  Paris  to  celebrate  the  glorious  anniversary,  which  has  been  ^hjE^astille^ 
commemorated  on  the  14th  of  July  ever  since.  Delegates 
were  sent  to  Paris  from  all  parts  of  France  to  express  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  country  at  large.  This  occasion  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  all,  as  well  it  might.  It  was  more  than  a  year 
later,  however,  before  the  National  Assembly  at  last  finished 
its  work  and  dissolved,  to  give  place  to  the  Legislative  Assembly 
for  which  the  constitution  provided. 

It  was  little  more  than  two  years  that  the  National  Assembly   The  extraor- 
had  been  engaged  upon  its  tremendous  task  of  modernizing  aJSements 
France.    No  body  of  men  has  ever  accomplished  so  much  in  P!^'?^ 
so  short  a  period.    The  English  Parliament,  during  an  existence  Assembly 
of  five  hundred  years,  had  done  far  less  to  reform  England ; 
and  no  monarch,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  unhappy 
Joseph  II,  has  ever  even  attempted  to  make  such  deep  and 
far-reaching  changes    as  were   permanently  accomplished   by 
the  first  French  Assembly. 

Despite  the  marvelous  success  of  the  Assembly,  as  measured   The  hostility 
by  the  multiplicity  and  the  decisiveness  of  its  reforms,  it  had  the^poiicy^of 
made  many  and  dangerous  enemies.    The  king  and  queen  and  *^  Assembly 
the  courtiers  were  in  correspondence  with  the  king  of  Prussia 
and  the  Emperor,  with  a  hope  of  inducing  them  to  intervene 
to  check  the  Revolution.    The  runaway  nobles  were  ready  to 
call  in  foreign  forces  to  restore  the  old  system,  and  many  of 
the  clergy  now  regarded  the  Revolution  as  hostile  to  religion. 
Moreover  the  populace  in  Paris  and  in  other  large  towns  had 
been  aroused  against  the  Assembly  by  their  radical  leaders, 


2i6  OiUlines  of  European  History 

their  newspapers,  and  the  political  clubs.  They  felt  that  the 
deputies  had  worked  only  for  the  prosperous  classes  and  had 
done  little  for  the  poor  people,  who  should  have  been  supplied 
with  bread  and  allowed  to  vote.  They  were  irritated  also  by 
the  national  guard  commanded  by  that  ex-noble,  the  marquis 
of  Lafayette,  who  looked  altogether  too  fine  on  his  white  horse. 
The  members  of  the  guard,  too,  were  well  dressed  and  only 
too  ready  to  fire  on  the  "  patriots  "  if  they  dared  to  make  a 
demonstration.  Altogether  it  is  easy  to  see  that  there  was 
trouble  ahead.  The  Revolution  had  gone  much  too  far  for 
some  and  not  far  enough  for  others. 


QUESTIONS 

Section  32.  What  were  the  reforms  proposed  by  Calonne.?  What 
was  the  significance  of  the  summoning  of  the  Notables  in  1786,'* 
What  was  the  result .?  Tell  of  the  work  of  the  parle7ne)it  of  Paris 
in  the  year  i  787-1 788.  Describe  the  organization  and  the  methods 
of  voting  of  the  Estates  General. 

What  were  the  objections  to  the  system  of  voting,  and  what 
measures  were  taken  to  overcome  them  ?  What  were  the  ^^x^/Vrj.?  On 
what  points  did  they  agree .?  What  matter  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  Estates  General  from  May  5  to  June  17,  1789.?  What  was  the 
"  Tennis  Court "  oath  1 

Section  33.  Describe  the  events  of  July  12  and  July  14,  1789. 
What  was  the  cause  of  forming  the  "  national  guard '' }  Who  was 
chosen  to  command  it.''  What  were  the  communes.''  What  took 
place  in  the  National  Assembly  at  the  night  session  of  August  4-5  ? 
By  what  means  did  the  National  Assembly  still  further  consolidate 
France?  When  and  why  did  the  National  Assembly  draw  up  the 
Declaradon  of  the  Rights  of  Man?  Give  the  terms  of  this  Declaradon. 

Section  34.  What  was  the  effect  of  transferring  the  king  and 
the  Assembly  to  Paris?  Mention  the  terms  of  the  French  consti- 
tution to  which  the  king  and  the  queen  pledged  themselves  on 
February  4,  1 790.  What  kind  of  government  did  it  promise  France  ? 
What  was  the  decree  of  November  2,  1789?  What  were  the  assig- 
nats?  Describe  the  Civil  Consdtution  of  the  Clergy.  Discuss  the 
work  of  the  National  Assembly. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  FIRST  FRENCH  REPUBLIC 

Section  35.    The  Limited  Monarchy,  i 791-1792 

We  have  now  studied  the  progress  and  nature  of  the  revo- 
lution which  destroyed  the  old  regime  and  created  modern 
France.  Through  it  the  unjust  privileges,  the  perplexing  irregu- 
larities, and  the  local  differences  were  abolished,  and  the  people 
admitted  to  a  share  in  the  government.  This  vast  reform  had 
been  accomplished  without  serious  disturbance  and,  with  the 
exception  of  some  of  the  changes  in  the  Church,  it  had  been 
welcomed  with  enthusiasm  by  the  French  nation. 

This  permanent,  peaceful  revolution,  or  reformation,  was  The  second 
followed  by  a  second,  violent  revolution,  which  for  a  time 
destroyed  the  French  monarchy.  It  also  introduced  a  series  of 
further  changes,  many  of  which  were  fantastic  and  unnecessary 
and  could  not  endure,  since  they  were  approved  by  only  a  few 
fanatical  leaders.  France,  moreover,  became  involved  in  a  war 
with  most  of  the  powers  of  western  Europe.  The  weakness  of 
her  government,  which  permitted  the  forces  of  disorder  and 
fanaticism  to  prevail,  combined  with  the  imminent  danger  of  an 
invasion  by  the  united  powers  of  Europe,  produced  the  Reign 
of  Terror.  After  a  period  of  national  excitement  and  partial 
anarchy,  France  gladly  accepted  the  rule  of  one  of  her  military 
commanders,  who  was  to  prove  himself  far  more  despotic  than 
her  former  kings  had  been.  This  general.  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 
did  not,  however,  undo  the  great  work  of  1789;  his  colossal 
ambition  was,  on  the  contrary,  the  means  of  extending,  directly 
or  indirectly,  many  of  the  benefits  of  the  Revolution  to  other 
parts  of  western  Europe.   When,  after  Napoleon's  fall,  the  elder 

217 


2l8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  emigra- 
tion of  the 
nobles 


The  conduct 
of  the  emi- 
grant nobles 
discredits  the 
king  and 
queen 


brother  of  Louis  XVI  came  to  the  throne,  the  first  thing  that 
he  did  was  solemnly  to  assure  the  people  that  all  the  great 
gains  of  the  first  revolution  should  be  maintained. 

While  practically  the  whole  of  the  nation  heartily  rejoiced  in 
the  earlier  reforms  introduced  by  the  National  Assembly,  and 
celebrated  the  general  satisfaction  and  harmony  by  that  great 
national  festival  held  in  Paris  on  the  first  anniversary  of  the 
fall  of  the  Bastille,  of  which  mention  has  been  made,^  some  of 
the  higher  nobility  refused  to  remain  in  France.  The  count 
of  Artois  (the  king's  younger  brother),  Calonne,  the  prince  of 
Conde,  and  others,  set  the  example  by  leaving  the  country 
just  after  the  events  of  July  14,  1789.  They  were  followed 
by  others  who  were  terrified  or  disgusted  by  the  burning  of 
the  chateaux,  the  loss  of  their  privileges,  and  the  injudicious 
abolition  of  hereditary  nobility  by  the  National  Assembly  in 
June,  1790.  Before  long  these  emigrant  nobles  (efnigres), 
among  whom  were  many  military  officers,  organized  a  little 
army  across  the  Rhine,  and  the  count  of  Artois  began  to 
plan  an  invasion  of  France.  He  was  ready  to  ally  himself 
with  Austria,  Prussia,  or  any  other  foreign  government  which 
he  could  induce  to  help  undo  the  Revolution  and  give  back  to 
the  French  king  his  former  absolute  power,  and  to  the  nobles 
their  old  privileges. 

The  threats  and  insolence  of  the  emigrant  nobles  and  their 
shameful  negotiations  with  foreign  powers  discredited  the  mem- 
bers of  their  class  who  still  remained  in  France.  The  people 
suspected  that  the  plans  of  the  runaways  met  with  the  secret 
approval  of  the  king,  and  more  especially  of  the  queen,  whose 
brother,  Leopold  II,  was  now  Emperor,  and  ruler  of  the  Aus- 
trian dominions.  This,  added  to  the  opposition  of  the  nonjur- 
ing  clergy,  produced  a  bitter  hostility  between  the  so-called 
"  patriots  "  and  those  who,  on  the  other  hand,  were  supposed 
to  be  secretly  hoping  for  a  counter-revolution  which  would 
reestablish  the  old  regime. 

J  See  abo<ve,  p.  215. 


The  First  French  Republic 


219 


Had  the  king  been  willing  to  follow  the  advice  of  Mirabeau,  Mirabeau 
the  tragedy  of  the  approaching  Reign  of  Terror  might  prob-  strengthen 
ably  have  been  avoided.  Mirabeau  saw  that  France  needed  a  *^^  monarchy 
strong  king  who  would 
adjust  himself  to  the 
new  constitution,  guide 
the  Assembly,  maintain 
order,  and,  above  all, 
avoid  any  suspicion  of 
wishing  for  a  restoration 
of  the  old  regime.  His 
advice,  however,  was  not 
heeded  any  more  by  the 
king  or  queen  than  by 
the  Assembly.  He  died 
April  2,  1 79 1,  at  the 
age  of  forty-three,  worn 
out  by  a  life  of  dissipa- 
tion, and  the  king  was 
thus  left  with  no  one 
to  hold  him  back  from 
destruction. 

The  worst  fears  of 
the  people  seemed  to  be 
justified  by  the  secret 
flight  of  the  royal  family 
from  Paris,  in  June, 
1 79 1.  Ever  since  the 
king  had  reluctantly 
signed  the  Civil  Consti- 
tution   of    the    Clergy, 

flight  had  seemed  to  him  his  only  resource.  A  body  of  regular 
troops  was  collected  on  the  northeastern  boundary  ready  to 
receive  and  protect  him.  If  he  could  escape  and  join  them  he 
hoped  that,  aided  by  a  demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  queen's 


The  Pantheon,  Paris 


At  the  death  of  Mirabeau  a  magnificent 
new  church,  just  building  on  the  site  of 
one  that  dated  back  to  Clovis,  the  first 
Frankish  king,  was  made  over  to  be  a 
monumental  sepulcher  for  the  great  men 
of  France.  Mirabeau's  body  was  later 
taken  from  it  when  it  was  discovered  that 
he  had  been  in  the  pay  of  Louis  XVI, 
but  many  great  men  are  buried  in  its 
vaults.  The  impressive  inscription  can 
just  be  read,  in  the  picture,  "To  great 
men,  from  their  grateful  country" 


220 


Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 


Effect  of  the 
king's  flight 


The  leaders 
of  the  new 
republican 
party 


brother,  Leopold  II,  Emperor  of  Germany,  he  might  march  back 
and  check  the  further  progress  of  the  revolutionary  movement. 
He  and  the  queen  were,  however,  arrested  at  Varennes,  when 
within  twenty-five  miles  of  their  destination,  and  speedily  brought 
back  to  Paris. 

The  desertion  of  the  king  appears  to  have  terrified  rather 
than  angered  the  nation.  The  consternation  of  the  people  at 
the  thought  of  losing,  and  their  relief  at  regaining,  a  poor  weak 
ruler  like  Louis  XVI  clearly  shows  that  France  was  still  pro- 
foundly royalist  in  its  sympathies.  The  National  Assembly  pre- 
tended that  the  king  had  not  fled  but  had  been  carried  off. 
This  gratified  France  at  large;  in  Paris,  however,  there  were 
some  who  advocated  the  deposition  of  the  king,  on  the  ground 
that  he  was  clearly  a  traitor.  Indeed,  for  the  first  time  a  repub- 
lican party  appeared,  though  it  was  still  small. 

Of  those  who  had  lost  confidence  in  the  king  and  in  the 
monarchy,  the  most  prominent  was  Dr.  Marat,  a  physician 
and  scholar,  who  before  the  Revolution  had  published  several 
scientific  works,  but  was'  now  conducting  the  very  violent  news- 
paper already  quoted.  The  Friend  of  the  People.  In  this  he 
denounced  in  the  most  extravagant  language  both  the  ''  aristo- 
crats" and  the  ''  bourgeoisie  " — for  by  ''the  people  "  he  meant 
the  great  mass  of  workingmen  in  the  towns  and  the  peasants 
in  the  fields.  Then  there  was  the  gentle  and  witty  Camille 
Desmoulins,  who  had  made  the  famous  address  in  the  Palais 
Royal  on  the  12  th  of  July,  1789,  which  roused  the  populace  to 
defend  themselves  against  the  plots  of  the  courtiers.  He  too 
edited  a  newspaper  and  was  a  leader  in  the  radical  club  called 
the  Cordeliers}  Lastly  Desmoulins 's  good  friend  Danton,  with 
his  coarse,  strong  face,  his  big  voice,  and  his  fiery  eloquence,  was 
becoming  a  sort  of  Mirabeau  of  the  masses.  He  had  much 
good  sense  and  was  not  so  virulent  in  his  language  as  Marat, 


1  So  named  after  the  monastery  where  the  club  held  its  meetings.  The  monks 
had  belonged  to  the  order  of  St.  Francis  and  were  called  Cordeliers  on  account 
of  the  heavy  "  cord,"  a  rope  with  three  knots,  which  they  wore  instead  of  a  girdle 


The  First  French  Republic  221 

but  his  superabundant  vitality  led  him  to  condone  violence  and 

cruelt]/  in  carrying  on  the  Revolution  and  destroying  its  enemies. 

It  was  in  the  following  September  that  the  National  Assembly 

at  last    ut  the  finishing  touches  on  the  constitution  which  had 


Fig.  59.    Dantox 

Danton  was  in  favor  of  a  policy  of  terror  only  so  long  as  France  was 
really  in  peril.  He  thought  that  the  Terror  was  necessary  in  order  to 
suppress  rebellion  and  conspiracies ;  but  when  he  tried  to  stop  it, 
Robespierre's  party  claimed  that  he  had  himself  turned  traitor  to  the 
Jacobin  ideal,  since  that  was  not  yet  attained 

occupied  them  for  more  than  two  years.     The   king  swore  The  National 
to  obey  it  faithfully,  and  a  general  amnesty  was  proclaimed  giteTwayto 
so  that  all  the  discord  and  suspicion  of  the  past  few  months  ^!^^  Legisia- 

^  ^  tive  Assem- 

might  be  forgotten.  The  Assembly  had  completed  its  great  bly  (Septem- 

task,  and  now  gave  way  to  the  regular  Legislative  Assembly,       ' 

provided  for  in  the  constitution.    This  held  its  first  meeting 
October  i,  1791. 


222 


Outlines  of  European  History 


In  spite  of  the  great  achievements  of  the  National  Assembly 
it  left  France  in  a  critical  situation.  Besides  the  emigrant  nobles 
abroad  there  were  the  nonjuring  clergy  at  home,  and  a  king 
who  was  treacherously  correspo'nding  with  foreign  powers  in 
the  hope  of  securing  their  aid.  When  the  news  of  the  capture 
of  the  king  and  queen  at  Varennes  reached  the  ears  of  Marie 
Antoinette's  brother,  Leopold  II,  he  declared  that  the  violent 
arrest  of  the  king  sealed  with  unlawfulness  all  that  had  been 
done  in  France  and  "  compromised  directly  the  honor  of  all 
the  sovereigns  and  the  security  of  every  government."  He 
therefore  proposed  to  the  rulers  of  Russia,  England,  Prussia, 
Spain,  Naples,  and  Sardinia  that  they  should  come  to  some 
understanding  between  themselves  as  to  how  they  might  ''  re- 
establish the  liberty  and  honor  of  the  most  Christian  king  and 
his  family,  and  place  a  check  upon  the  dangerous  excesses  of 
the  French  Revolution,  the  fatal  example  of  which  it  behooves 
every  government  to  repress." 

On  August  27  Leopold,  in  conjunction  with  the  king  of 
Prussia,  had  issued  the  famous  Declaration  of  Pillnitz.  In  this 
the  two  sovereigns  state  that,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of 
the  king's  brothers  (the  leaders  of  the  emigrant  nobles),  they 
are  ready  to  join  the  other  European  rulers  in  an  attempt  to 
place  the  king  of  France  in  a  position  to  establish  a  form  of 
government  "  that  shall  be  once  more  in  harmony  with  the 
rights  of  sovereigns  and  shall  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
French  nation."  They  agreed  in  the  meantime  to  prepare 
their  troops  for  active  service. 

The  Declaration  was  little  more  than  an  empty  threat;  but 
it  seemed  to  the  French  people  a  sufficient  proof  that  the 
monarchs  were  ready  to  help  the  seditious  French  nobles  to 
reestablish  the  old  regime  against  the  wishes  of  the  nation  and 
at  the  cost  of  infinite  bloodshed.  The  idea  of  foreign  rulers 
intermeddling  with  their  internal  affairs  would  in  itself  have 
been  intolerable  to  a  proud  people  like  the  French,  even  if 
the  new  reforms  had  not  been  endangered.    Had  it  been  the 


The  First  French  Republic 


223 


fr:::—^^ 


object  of  the  allied  monarchs  to  hasten  instead  of  to  prevent 
the  deposition  of  Louis  XVI,  they  could  hardly  have  chosen  a 
more  efficient  means  than  the  Declaration  of  Pillnitz. 

Political  excitement  and  enthusiasm  for  the  Revolution  were 
kept  up  by  the  newspapers  which  had  been  established,  espe- 
cially in  Paris,  since  the  convening  of  the  Estates  General. 
Except  in  England  there  had  been  no  daily  newspapers  before 
the  French  Revolution,  and  those  journals  that  were  issued 
weekly  or  at  longer  intervals  had  ^,, 

little  to  say  of  politics  —  com- 
monly a  dangerous  subject  on 
the  Continent.  But  after  1789 
the  public  did  not  need  longer  to 
rely  upon  an  occasional  pamphlet, 
as  was  the  case  earlier.  Many 
journals  of  the  most  divergent 
kinds  and  representing  the  most 
various  opinions  were  published. 
Some,  like  the  notorious  Friend 
of  the  People,  were  no  more  than 
a  periodical  editorial  written  by 
one  man.  Others,  like  the  famous 
Mo7iiteur,  were  much  like  our  pa- 
pers of  to-day  and  contained  news,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  re- 
ports of  the  debates  in  the  assembly  and  the  text  of  its  decrees, 
announcements  of  theaters,  etc.  The  royalists  had  their  organ 
called  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  witty  and  irreverent  as  the  court 
party  itself.  Some  of  the  papers  were  illustrated,  and  the  repre- 
sentations of  contemporaneous  events,  especially  the  numerous 
caricatures,  are  highly  diverting,  as  the  accompanying  illustra 
tion  shows.^ 


Fig.  60.  Caricature: 
Louis  XVI  as  Consti- 
tutional Monarch  1 


The  news- 
papers 


1  In  the  caricature  reproduced  here  the  formerly  despotic  king  is  represented 
as  safely  confined  by  the  National  Assembly  in  a  huge  parrot  cage.  When  asked 
by  his  brother-in-law,  Leopold  II,  what  he  is  about,  Louis  XVI  replies,  "I  am 
signing  my  name  "  —  that  is,  he  had  nothing  to  do  except  meekly  to  ratify  the 
measures  which  the  Assembly  chose  to  pass. 


224  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  Jacobins  Of  the  numerous  political  clubs,  by  far  the  most  famous  was 
that  of  the  Jacobins.  When  the  Assembly  moved  into  Paris 
some  of  the  provincial  representatives  of  the  third  estate  rented 
a  large  room  in  the  monastery  of  the  Jacobin  monks,  not  far 
from  the  building  where  the  National  Assembly  itself  met.  A 
hundred  deputies  perhaps  were  present  at  the  first  meeting. 
The  next  day  the  number  had  doubled.  The  aim  of  this  society 
was  to  discuss  questions  which  were  about  to  come  before  the 
National  Assembly.  The  club  decided  at  its  meetings  what 
should  be  the  policy  of  its  members  and  how  they  should  vote; 
and  in  this  way  they  successfully  combined  to  counteract  the 
schemes  of  the  aristocratic  party  in  the  Assembly.  The  club 
rapidly  grew,  and  soon  admitted  to  its  sessions  some  who 
were  not  deputies.  In  October,  1791,  it  decided  to  permit 
the  public  to  attend  its  discussions. 

Gradually  similar  societies  were  formed  in  the  provinces.^ 
These  affiliated  themselves  with  the  "  mother  "  society  at  Paris 
and  kept  in  constant  communication  with  it.  In  this  way  the 
Jacobins  of  Paris  stimulated  and  controlled  public  opinion 
throughout  France  and  kept  the  opponents  of  the  old  regime 
alert.  When  the  Legislative  Assembly  met,  the  Jacobins  had 
not  as  yet  become  republicans  but  they  believed  that  the  king 
should  have  hardly  more  power  than  the  president  of  a  repub- 
lic. They  were  even  ready  to  promote  his  deposition  if  he 
failed  to  stand  by  the  Revolution. 
Parties  in  the  The  ncw  Legislative  Assembly  was  not  well  qualified  to 
AsSmb/y^  cope  with  the  many  difficulties  which  faced  it.  It  was  made 
up  almost  entirely  of  young  and  inexperienced  men,  for  the 
National  Assembly,  on  motion  of  the  virtuous  Robespierre,  had 
passed  a  self-denying  ordinance  excluding  all  its  members  from 
election  to  the  new  body.  The  Jacobin  clubs  in  the  provinces 
had  succeeded  in  securing  the  election  of  a  good  many  of  their 
candidates,   sometimes   by  resorting   to  violence  in   order   to 

1  By  June,  1791,  there  were  406  of  these  affiliated  Jacobin  clubs.  See  Readings^ 
section  37. 


The' First  French  Republic  225 

defeat  the  more  conservative  candidates.  Consequently  the 
most  active  and  powerful  party  in  the  Legislative  Assembly 
was,  on  the  whole,  hostile  to  the  king. 

Many  young  and  ardent  lawyers  had  been  elected,  among  The  Giron- 
whom  the  most  prominent  were  from  the  department  of  the 
Gironde,  in  which  the  important  city  of  Bordeaux  was  situated. 
They  and  their  followers  were  called  Girondists.  They  had 
much  to  say  in  their  brilliant  speeches  of  the  glories  of  Sparta 
and  of  the  Roman  Republic ;  they  too  longed  for  a  republic  and 
inveighed  against  "  tyrants."  They  applauded  the  eloquence  of 
their  chief  orator,  Vergniaud,  and  frequently  assembled  at  the 
house  of  the  ardent  and  fascinating  Madame  Roland  to  con- 
sider the  regeneration  of  their  beloved  country.  But  in  spite  of 
their  enthusiasm  they  were  not  statesmen  and  showed  no  skill 
in  meeting  the  troublesome  problems  that  kept  arising. 

The  Assembly,  not  unnaturally,  promptly  turned  its  atten-   The  emigrant 
tion  to  the  emigrant  nobles.    These  had  been  joined  by  the  ciare? 
king's  elder  brother,  the  count  of  Provence,  who  had  managed  traitors 
to  escape  at  the  time  that  the  royal  family  had  been  arrested  at 
Varennes.    Having  succeeded  in  inducing  the  Emperor  and  the 
king  of  Prussia  to  issue  the  Declaration  of  Pillnitz,  they  con- 
tinued to  collect  troops  on  the  Rhine.    The  Assembly  declared 
that  "  the  Frenchmen  assembled  on  the  frontier "  were  under 
suspicion  of  conspiring  against  their  country.    The  count  of 
Provence  was  ordered  to  return  within  two  months  or  forfeit 
any  possible  claim  to  the  throne.^    Should  the  other  emigrh 
fail  to  return  to  France  by  January  i,  1792,  they  were  to  be 
regarded  as  convicted  traitors,  and  punished,  if  caught,  with 
death ;  their  property  was  to  be  confiscated. 

The  harsh  treatment  of  the  emigrant  nobles  was  perhaps   Harsh  meas- 
justified  by  their  desertion  and  treasonable  intrigues;  but  the  Assembly 
conduct  of  the  Assembly  toward  the  clergy  was  impolitic  as   •°J^n'^^cTei5v 
well  as  cruel.    Those  who  had  refused  to  pledge  themselves 
to  support  a  system  which  was  in  conflict  with  their  religious 

1  See  Readings^  section  37,  for  the  count  of  Provence's  saucy  reply. 


226 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Legisla- 
tive Assem- 
bly precipi- 
tates a  war 
with  Europe 


convictions  and  which  had  been  condemned  by  the  Pope  were 
commanded  to  take  the  prescribed  oath  within  a  week,  on 
penalty  of  losing  their  income  from  the  State  and  being  put 
under  surveillance  as  "  suspects,"  As  this  failed  to  bring  the 
clergy  to  terms,  the  Assembly  later  (May,  1792)  ordered  the 
deportation  from  the  country  of  those  who  steadily  persisted 
in  their  refusal  to  accept  the  Civil  Constitution  of  the  Clergy. 
In  this  way  the  Assembly  aroused  the  active  hostility  of  a  great 
part  of  the  most  conscientious  among  the  lower  clergy,  who 
had  loyally  supported  the  commons  in  their  fight  against  the 
privileged  orders.  It  also  lost  the  confidence  of  the  great  mass 
of  faithful  Catholics,  —  merchants,  artisans,  and  peasants, — • 
who  had  gladly  accepted  the  abolition  of  the  old  abuses,  but 
who  would  not  consent  to  desert  their  priests  at  the  bidding  of 
the  Assembly. 

By  far  the  most  important  act  of  the  Legislative  Assembly 
during  the  one  year  of  its  existence  was  its  precipitation  of  a 
war  between  France  and  Austria.^  To  many  in  the  Assembly, 
including  the  Girondists,  it  seemed  that  the  existing  conditions 
were  intolerable.  The  emigrant  nobles  were  forming  little 
armies  on  the  boundaries  of  France  and  had  induced  Austria 
and  Prussia  to  consider  interfering  in  French  affairs.  The 
Assembly  suspected  —  what  was  quite  true  ^  —  that  Louis  was 
negotiating  with  foreign  rulers  and  would  be  glad  to  have 
them  intervene  and  reestablish  him  in  his  old  despotic  power. 
The  Girondist  deputies  argued,  therefore,  that  a  war  against 
the  hated  Austria  would  unite  the  sympathies  of  the  nation 
and  force  the  king  to  show  his  true  character ;  for  he  would 
be  obliged  either  to  become  the  nation's  leader  or  to  show 
himself  the  traitor  they  believed  him  to  be. 


1  See  Readings^  section  37,  for  reasons  assigned  by  the  French  for  going  to  war. 

2  See  Readings,  section  37,  for  a  letter  of  Louis  XVI,  to  the  king  of  Prussia, 
suggesting  the  intervention  of  the  foreign  powers  in  French  affairs. 


The  First  French  Republic  227 

Section  36.    The  Founding  of  the  First 
French  Republic 

It  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  Louis  XVI,  urged  on  by   France  de- 
the  clamors  of  the  Girondists,  declared  war  upon  Austria  on   Austria^^"^  °" 
April  20,   1792.     Little  did  the  ardent  young  lawyers  of  the   (^P"l2o, 
Assembly  surmise  that  this   was  the  beginning  of  the  most 
terrific  and  momentous  series  of  wars  that,  up  to  that  time,  had 
ever  swept  over  Europe,  involving,  during  twenty-three  years 
of  almost  continuous  conflict,  every  country  and  people  from 
Ireland  to  Turkey,  and  from  Norway  to  Naples.     Moreover, 
although  they  later   became  wars   of   conquest   and    empire, 
these  wars  brought  the  principles  of  the  French  Revolution 
home   to    all    the    European   peoples,   everywhere    slowly  but 
surely  destroyed  the  old  regime,  and  gave  to  the  people  liberty 
and  the  control  of  the  government. 

The  French  army  was  in  no  condition  for  war.    The  officers,   The  French 
who,  according  to  the  law,  were  all  nobles,  had  many  pf  them   first'attacT 
deserted  and  joined  the  hnigres.    The  regular  troops  were  con-  °"  ^^N^h^" 
Sequently  demoralized,  and  the  new  national  guard  had  not  yet  lands 
been  employed  except  to  maintain  order  in  the  towns.    It  was 
not  unnatural,  therefore,  that  the  first  troops  dispatched  to  the 
frontier  ran  away  as  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  Austrian 
cavalry.    The  emigrant  nobles  rejoiced,  and  Europe  concluded 
that  the  "  patriots  "  were  made  of  poor  stuff. 

Meanwhile  matters  were  going  badly  for  the  king  of  France.   The  king 

The  Assembly  had  passed  two  bills,  one  ordering  those  priests  measure!  of 

who  refused  to  take  the  oath  to  the  constitution  to  leave  the  ^^^  Legisla- 
tive Assembly 
country  within   a  month ;   the  other  directing  the  formation,   and  dismisses 

just  without  the  walls  of  Paris,  of  a  camp  of  twenty  thousand  ministers 

volunteers  from  various  parts  of  France  as  a  protection  to  the  J^gX"^""^' 

capital.    The  king  resolved,  for  very  good  reasons,  to  veto  both 

of  these  measures  and  to  dismiss  his  Girondist  ministry. 

All  this  served  to  make  the  king  far  more  unpopular  than  Rising  of 

ever.    The  "  Austrian  woman."  or  "  Madame  Veto,"  as  the  ^""^  ^°'  '^^"^ 


228 


Outlines  of  European  History 


queen  was  called,  was  rightly  believed  to  be  actively  betraying 
France,  and  it  is  now  known  that  she  did  send  to  Austria  the 
plan  of  campaign  which  had  been  adopted  before  the  war  be- 
gan. In  June  some  of  the  lesser  leaders  of  the  Paris  populace 
arranged  a  "  demonstration "  to  influence  the  Assembly  and 
the  king.  A  crowd  of  ''  patriots "  invaded  the  palace  of  the 
Tuileries.  They  wandered  through  the  beautiful  apartments 
shouting,  "  Down  with  Monsieur  Veto ! "  The  king  might 
have  been  killed  by  some  ruffian  had  he  not  consented  to 
drink  to  the  health  of  the  "  nation  "  —  whose  representatives 
were  roughly  crowding  him  into  the  recess  of  a  window  — 
and  put  on  a  red  "liberty  cap,"  the  badge  of  the  "citizen 
patriots." 

This  invasion  of  the  Tuileries  seemed  to  the  European  rulers 
a  new  and  conclusive  proof  that  the  Revolution  meant  anarchy. 
Prussia  had  immediately  joined  Austria  when  France  declared 
war  against  the  latter  in  April,  and  now  the  army  which  Fred- 
erick the  Great  had  led  to  victory  was  moving,  under  his  old 
general,  the  duke  of  Brunswick,  toward  the  French  boundary 
with  a  view  of  restoring  Louis  XVI  to  his  former  independ- 
ent position. 

The  Assembly  now  declared  the  country  in  danger.  Every 
citizen,  whether  in  town  or  country,  was  to  report,  under 
penalty  of  imprisonment,  what  arms  or  munitions  he  possessed. 
Every  citizen  was  ordered  to  wear  the  tricolored  cockade  —  the 
red,  white,  and  blue  of  the  Revolution.  In  this  way  the  peas- 
ants, who  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  war  as  a  matter  of 
purely  personal  interest  to  kings,  were  given  to  understand  that 
they- were  not  now  called  upon  to  risk  their  lives,  as  formerly, 
because  the  Polish  king  had  lost  his  throne,  or  because  Maria 
Theresa  had  a  grudge  against  Frederick  the  Great.  Now,  if 
they  shed  their  blood,  it  would  be  to  keep  out  of  France  two 
"tyrants"  who  proposed  to  force  them  to  surrender  the  precious 
reforms  of  the  past  three  years  and  restore  to  the  hated  run- 
away nobles  their  former  privileges. 


The  First  French  Republic 


229 


As  the  allies  approached  the  French  frontier  it  became 
clearer  and  clearer  that  the  king  was  utterly  incapable  of 
defending  the  country,  even  if  he  were  willing  to  oppose  the 
armies  which  claimed  to  be  coming  to  his  rescue  and  with 
which  he  was  believed  to  be  in  league.  France  seemed  almost 
compelled  under  the  circumstances  to  rid  herself  of  her  traitor- 
ous and  utterly  incompetent  ruler.  The  duke  of  Brunswick, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  Prussian  army,  sealed  the  king's 
fate  by  issuing  a  manifesto  in  the  name  of  both  the  Emperor 
and  the  king  of  Prussia,  in  which  he  declared  that  the  allies 
proposed  to  put  an  end  to  anarchy  in  France  and  restore  the 
king  to  his  rightful  powers ;  that  the  inhabitants  of  France  who 
dared  to  oppose  the  Austrian  and  Prussian  troops  "  shall  be 
punished  immediately  according  to  the  most  stringent  laws  of 
war,  and  their  houses  shall  be  burned."  If  Paris  offered  the 
least  violence  to  king  or  queen,  or  again  permitted  the  Tuileries 
to  be  invaded,  the  allies  promised  to  "  inflict  an  ever-to-be- 
remembered  vengeance  by  delivering  over  the  city  of  Paris  to 
military  execution  and  complete  destruction." 

The  leaders  in  Paris  now  determined  to  force  the  Assembly 
to  depose  the  king.  Five  hundred  members  of  the  national 
guard  of  Marseilles  were  summoned  to  their  aid.  This  little 
troop  of  "patriots"  came  marching  up  through  France  singing 
that  most  stirring  of  all  national  hymns,  the  ''Marseillaise," 
which  has  ever  since  borne  their  name.^ 


The  procla- 
mation of 
the  duke  of 
Brunswick 
(July  25, 
1792) 


The  volun- 
teers of  Mar- 
seilles and 
their  war 
song 


1  This  famous  song  was  not  meant  originally  as  a  republican  chant.  It  had 
been  composed  a  few  months  before  by  Rouget  de  Lisle  at  Strassburg.  War 
had  just  been  declared,  and  it  was  designed  to  give  heart  to  the  French  army 
on  the  Rhine.  The  "  tyrants  "  it  refers  to  were  the  foreign  kings  Frederick 
William  II  of  Prussia  and  the  Emperor,  who  were  attacking  France,  not 
Louis  XVI.    The  "  Marseillaise  "  begins  as  follows  : 

Allons,  enfants  de  la  patrie, 

Le  jour  de  gloire  est  arrive  ; 

Contre  nous  de  la  tyrannic 

L'etendard  sanglant  est  leve.    (repeat) 

Entendez-vous,  dans  les  campagnes, 

Mugir  ces  feroces  soldats  ? 

lis  viennent  j  usque  dans  vos  bras 


230  Outlines  of  European  History 

Danton  and  other  leaders  of  the  insurrection  had  set  their 
SecT  hearts  on  doing  away  with  the  king  altogether  and  establishing 

(August  10,  ^  republic.  After  careful  preparations,  which  were  scarcely 
concealed,  the  various  sections  into  which  Paris  was  divided 
arranged  to  attack  the  Tuileries  on  August  10.  The  men 
from  Marseilles  led  in  this  attack.  The  king,  who  had  been 
warned,  retired  from  the  palace  with  the  queen  and  the  dauphin 
to  the  neighboring  Riding  School,  where  they  were  respectfully 
received  by  the  Assembly  and  assigned  a  safe  place  in  the 
newspaper  reporters'  gallery.  The  king's  Swiss  guards  fired 
upon  the  insurgents,  but  were  overpowered  and  almost  all  of 
them  slain.  Then  the  ruffianly  element  in  the  mob  ransacked 
the  palace  and  killed  the  servants.  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  an 
unknown  lieutenant  who  was  watching  affairs  from  across  the 
river,  declared  that  the  palace  could  easily  have  been  defended 
had  not  the  commander  of  the  guards  been  brutally  murdered 
before  hostilities  opened. 
The  revoiu-  Meanwhile  the  representatives   of  the   various  quarters  of 

mune  of  Paris  Paris  had  taken  possession  of  the  City  Hall.  They  pushed  the 
members  of  the  municipal  council  off  their  seats  and  took  their 
places.  In  this  way  a  new  revolutionary  Commune  was  formed, 
which  seized  the  government  of  the  capital  and  then  sent  mes- 
sengers to  demand  that  the  Assembly  dethrone  the  king. 

The  Assembly  agreed  with  the  Commune.     If,  as  was  pro- 
posed, France  was  henceforth  to  do  without  a  king,  it  was 

lEgorger  vos  fils,  vos  compagnes  ! 

Aux  armes,  citoyens  !  formez  vos  bataillons  ! 

Marchons,  qu'un  sang  impur  abreuve  nos  sillons. 

Que  veut  cette  horde  d'esclaves, 

De  traitres,  de  rois  conjures? 

Pour  qui  ces  ignobles  entraves, 

Ces  fers  des  longtemps  prepares  ?   (repeat) 

Frangais,  pour  nous,  ah  !  quel  outrage  I 

Quels  transports  il  doit  exciter ! 

C'est  nous  qu'on  ose  mediter 

De  rendre  ^  I'antique  esclavage  ! 

Aux  armes,  citoyens  !  formez  vos  bataillons  I 

Marchons,  qu'un  sang  impur  abreuve  nos  sillons. 


The  First  French  Republic  231 

obviously  necessary  that  the  monarchical  constitution  so  recently  The  Legisla- 

completed  should   be   replaced   by   a  republican  one.    Conse-  caih  Ae  "^  ^ 

quently,  the  Assembly  arranged  that  the  people  should  elect  Convention 
delegates  to  a  constitutional   Convention. 

The  task  of  this  Convention  was  truly  appalling  since  it  had  Appalling 

not  only  to  draft  a  new  constitution  to  suit  both  monarchists  Convention 
and  republicans,  but  to  conduct  the  government,  repel  invading 
armies,  keep  down  the  Paris  mob  —  in  a  word,  see  France 
through  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

Section  37.    The  Revolutionary  War 

The  Convention  met  on  the  twenty-first  of  September,  and   France  pro- 
its  first  act  was  to  abolish  the  ancient  monarchy  and  proclaim   repubUc^ 

France  a  republic.    It  seemed  to  the  enthusiasts  of  the  time  that   (September 
^  22, 1792) 

a  new  era  of  liberty  had  dawned,  now  that  the  long  oppression 
by  "  despots  "  was  ended  forever.  The  twenty-second  day  of 
September,  1792,  was  reckoned  as  the  first  day  of  the  Year 
One  of  French  Libert}'.-^ 

Meanwhile  the  usurping  Paris  Commune  had  taken  matters  The  Septem- 
into  its  own  hands  and  had  brought  discredit  upon  the  cause  of  cSs™i;92) 
liberty  by  one  of  the  most  atrocious  acts  in  history.  On  the 
pretext  that  Paris  was  full  of  traitors  w^ho  sympathized  with  the 
Austrians  and  the  emigrant  nobles,  they  had  filled  the  prisons 
with  three  thousand  citizens,  including  many  of  the  priests  who 
had  refused  to  take  the  oath  required  by  the  Constitution.  On 
•September  2  and  3,  hundreds  of  these  were  executed  with 
scarcely  a  pretense  of  a  trial.  The  excuse  offered  was :  ''  How 
can  we  go  away  to  the  war  and  leave  behind  us  three  thousand 
prisoners  who  may  break  out  and  destroy  our  wives  and  our 
children !  "     The  members  of  the  Commune  who  perpetrated  - 

1  a  committee  of  the  Convention  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  new  republican 
calendar.  The  year  was  divided  into  twelve  months  of  thirty  days  each.  The  five 
days  preceding  September  22,  at  the  end  of  the  year,  were  holidays.  Each  month 
was  divided  into  three  decades^  and  each  "  tenth  day  "  (decadi)  was  a  holiday. 
The  days  were  no  longer  dedicated  to  saints,  but  to  agricultural  implements, 
vegetables,  domestic  animals,  etc. 


232 


Outlines  of  European  History 


this  deed  probably  hoped  to  terrify  those  who  might  still  dream 
of  returning  to  the  old  system  of  government. 

Late  in  August  the  Prussians  crossed  the  French  boundary 
and  on  September  2  took  the  fortress  of  Verdun.  It  now 
seemed  as  if  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  their  marching  upon 
Paris.  The  French  general,  Dumouriez,  blocked  the  advance 
of  the  Prussian  army,  however,  at  Valmy,  scarcely  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  capital,  and  forced  the  enemy  to  retreat  with- 
out fighting  a  pitched  battle.  Notwithstanding  the  fears  of  the 
French,  King  Frederick  William  II  of  Prussia  (who  had  suc- 
ceeded his  uncle,  Frederick  the  Great,  six  years  before)  had 
but  litde  interest  in  the  war.  As  for  the  Austrian  troops,  they 
were  lagging  far  behind,  for  both  powers  were  far  more  ab- 
sorbed in  dividing  Poland,  than  in  the  fate  of  the  French  king. 

The  French  were  able,  therefore,  in  spite  of  their  disorgani- 
zation, not  only  to  expel  the  Prussians  but  to  carry  the  Revo- 
lution beyond  the  bounds  of  France.  They  invaded  Germany 
and  took  several  important  towns  on  the  Rhine,  including 
Mayence,  which  gladly  opened  its  gates  to  them.  They  also 
occupied  Savoy  on  the  southeast.  Then  Dumouriez  led  his 
barefooted,  ill-equipped  volunteers  into  the  Austrian  Nether- 
lands. This  time  they  did  not  run  away,  but,  shouting  the 
"  Marseillaise,"  they  defeated  the  Austrians  at  Jemappes  (Novem- 
ber 6)  and  were  soon  in  possession  of  the  whole  country. 

The  Convention  now  proposed  to  use  its  armies  to  revolu- 
tionize Europe.  It  issued  a  proclamation  addressed  to  the 
peoples  of  the  countries  that  France  was  occupying :  "  We 
have  driven  out  your  tyrants.  Show  yourselves  freemen  and 
we  will  protect  you  from  their  vengeance."  Feudal  dues,  un- 
just taxes,  and  all  the  burdens  which  had  been  devised  by  the 
"tyrants"  were  forthwith  abolished,  and  the  French  nation 
declared  that  it  would  treat  as  enemies  every  people  who,  "  re- 
fusing liberty  and  equality,  or  renouncing  them,  may  wish  to 
maintain  or  recall  its  prince  or  the  privileged  classes."  ^ 

1  This  decree  may  be  found  in  the  Readings^  section  38. 


The  First  French  Republic 


233 


Meanwhile  the  Convention  was  puzzled  to  determine  what  Trial  and 
would  best  be  done  with  the  king.  A  considerable  party  felt  the  king 
that  he  was  guilty  of  treason  in  secretly  encouraging  the  ^^^^^^' 
foreign  powers  to  come  to  his  aid.  He  was  therefore  brought 
to  trial,  and  when  it  came 
to  a  final  vote  he  was,  by  a 
small  majority,  condemned 
to  death.  He  mounted  the 
scaffold  on  January  21, 
1793,  with  the  fortitude  of 
a  martyr.  Nevertheless  it 
cannot  be  denied  that, 
through  his  earlier  weak- 
ness and  indecision,  he 
brought  untold  misery 
"upon  his  own  kingdom 
and  upon  Europe  at  large. 
The  French  people  had 
not  dreamed  of  a  republic 
until  his  absolute  incompe- 
tence forced  them,  in  self- 
defense,  to  abolish  the 
monarchy  in  the  hope  of 
securing  a  more  efficient 
government. 

The  execution  of  Louis 
XVI  had  immediate  and 
unhappy  effects.  The  Con- 
vention had  thrown  down 
the  head  of  their  king 
Europe 


Fig. 


61.     Louis  XVI  ox  the 
Roof  of  his  Prison 


The  prison  to  which  the  royal  family 
was  taken  on  August  13  was  known  as 
the  Temple,  because  it  had  been  part  of 
the  building  of  the  Knights  Templars  in 
Paris.  It  was  a  gloomy  tower  with  mas- 
sive walls.    It  was  torn  down  in  181 1 


as  a  challenge  to  the  "despots"  of 
the  monarchs  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  French 
Republic  soon  found  all  the  powers  of  Europe  ranged  against 
it.  Nowhere  did  the  tragic  event  of  January  21  produce  more 
momentous  results  than  in  England.  George  III  went  into 
mourning  and  ordered  the  French  envoy  to  be  expelled  from 


234 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Pitt  declares 
that  England 
must  oppose 
the  Revolu- 
tion 


France  de- 
clares war  on 
England     • 
(Februar}'  i, 
1793)  and 
gives  her 
reasons 


Second  parti 
tion  of 
Poland 
(1793) 


French 
driven  from 
the  Nether- 
lands :  deser- 
tion of 
Dumouriez 


the  kingdom.  The  prime  minister,  Pitt,  forgetting  the  work  of 
Cromwell  and  the  Puritan  revolutionists,  declared  the  killing  of 
the  French  king  to  be  the  most  awful  and  atrocious  crime  in 
all  recorded  histor\'.  All  England's  old  fears  of  French  aggres- 
sion were  aroused.  It  was  clear  that  the  Republic  was  bent 
upon  carr}-ing  out  the  plans  of  Louis  XIV  for  annexing  the 
Austrian  Netherlands  and  Holland  and  thereby  extending  her 
frontiers  to  the  Rhine.  Indeed  there  was  no  telling  where  the 
excited  nation,  in  its  fanatical  hatred  of  kings,  would  stop.  On 
February  i  Pitt  urged,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  that  the 
Revolution  was  incompatible  with  the  peace  of  Europe,  and 
England  must  in  honor  join  the  allies  and  save  Europe  from 
falling  under  the  yoke  of  France.^ 

On  the  same  day  that  Pitt  made  this  speech,  the  French 
Convention  boldly  declared  war  upon  England  and  Holland. 
No  one  could  have  foreseen  that  England,  the  last  of  the  Euro- 
pean powers  to  join  the  coalition  against  France,  was  to  prove 
her  most  persistent  enemy.  For  over  twenty  years  the  struggle 
was  to  continue,  until  an  English  ship  carried  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte to  his  island  prison. 

The  war  now  began  to  go  against  the  French.  Prussia  and 
Austria  had  been  hitherto  suspicious  of  one  another,  and  es- 
pecially afraid  that  Russia  would  take  advantage  of  their  pre- 
occupation with  France  to  seize  more  than  her  share  of  Poland. 
The  second  partition  was  made  in  January,  1793,^  and  the 
allies  then  turned  with  new  energy  against  France. 

The  war  of  the  Revolution  now  took  on  a  wholly  new  aspect. 
When,  in  March,  1793,  Spain  and  the  Holy  Roman  Empire 
joined  the  coalition,  France  was  at  war  with  all  her  neighbors. 
The  Austrians  defeated  Dumouriez  at  Neerwinden,  March  18, 
and  drove   the   French   out   of  the   Netherlands.     Thereupon 

1  Many  Englishmen  sympathized  with  the  Revolution.  Against  Pitt's  argu- 
ments some  of  the  Whigs,  especially  Fox,  urged  in  vain  the  bloody  mani- 
festo of  the  duke  of  Brunswick  which  had  maddened  the  French,  and  the 
atrocious  conduct  of  the  aUies  in  the  partition  of  Poland  upon  which  they  were 
just  then  engaged.  2  See  above,  p.  95. 


The  First  Freftck  Republic  235 

Dumouriez,  disgusted  by  the  failure  of  the  Convention  to  sup- 
port him  and  by  their  execution  of  the  king,  deserted  to  the 
enemy  with  a  few  hundred  soldiers  who  consented  to  follow  him. 

Encouraged  by  this  success,   the  allies   began  to   consider  The  allies 
partitioning  France  as  they  had  Poland.    Austria  might  take  possible^  ^ 
the  northern  regions  for  herself  and  then  assign  Alsace  and  ^^JjJ"°"  °^ 
Lorraine  to  Bavaria  in  exchange  for  the  Bavarian  territor}-  on 
her  boundaries,  which  Austria  had  long  wished  to  annex.    Eng- 
land could  have  Dunkirk  and  what  remained  of  the  French  col- 
onies.   A  Russian  diplomat  suggested  that  Spain  and  the  king 
of  Sardinia  should  also  help  themselves.     ''  This  done,  let  us 
all  work  in  concert  to  give  what  remains  of  France  a  stable 
and  permanent  monarchical  government.    She  will  in  this  way 
become  a  second-rate  power  which  will  harm  no  one,  and  we 
shall   get   rid    of   this    democratic   firebrand    which   threatens 
to  set  Europe  aflame." 


Section  38.    The  Reign  of  Terror 

The  loss  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  treason  of  their  best  The  French 
general  made  a  deep  impression  upon  the  members  of  the  puUrTthe" 
Convention.    If  the  new  French  Republic  was  to  defend  itself  ^"^^^  of  the 

^  Committee  of 

against  the  "  t\Tants  "  without  and  its  manv  enemies  within,  it   Public 

•^  ■  Safet)', 

could  not  wait  for  the  Convention  to  draw  up  an  elaborate,  Aprii^i793 
permanent  constitution.  An  efficient  government  must  be  de- 
vised immediately  to  maintain  the  loyalty  of  the  nation  to  the 
Republic,  and  to  raise  arid  equip  armies  and  direct  their  com- 
manders. The  Convention  accordingly  put  the  government 
into  the  hands  of  a  small  committee,  consisting  originally  of 
nine,  later  of  t\velve,  of  its  members.  This  famous  Committee 
of  Public  Safety  was  given-  practically  unlimited  powers.  "  \\t 
must,"  one  of  the  leaders  exclaimed,  "  establish  the  despotism 
of  liberty  in  order  to  crush  the  despotism  of  kings." 

Within  the   Convention   itself   there  was    dissension,   espe-  The  Giron- 
cially  between  two  groups  of  active  men  who  came  into  bitter 


236 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  extreme 
republicans, 
called  the 
"  Mountain  " 


conflict  over  the  policy  to  be  pursued.  There  was,  first,  the  party' 
of  the  Girondists,  led  by  Vergniaud,  Brissot,  and  others.  They 
were  enthusiastic  republicans  and  counted  among  their  num- 
bers some  speakers  of  remarkable  eloquence.  The  Girondists 
had  enjoyed  the  control  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  in  1792 
and  had  been  active  in  bringing  on  the  war  with  Austria  and 
Prussia.  They  hoped  in  that  way  to  complete  the  Revolution 
by  exposing  the  bad  faith  of  the  king  and  his  sympathy  with 
the  emigrant  nobles.  They  were  not,  however,  men  of  suffi- 
cient'decision  to  direct  affairs  in  the  terrible  difficulties  in  which 
France  found  herself  after  the  execution  of  the  king.  They 
consequently  lost  their  influence,  and  a  new  party,  called  the 
"  Mountain "  from  the  high  seats  that  they  occupied  in  the 
Convention,  gained  the  ascendency. 

This  was  composed  of  the  most  vigorous  and  uncompromis- 
ing republicans,  like  Danton,  Robespierre,  and  Saint-Just,  who 
had  obtained  control  of  the  Jacobin  clubs  and  were  supported 
by  the  Commune  of  Paris.  They  believed  that  the  French 
people  had  been  depraved  by  the  slavery  to  which  their  kings 
had  subjected  them.  Everything,  they  argued,  which  suggested 
the  former  rule  of  kings  must  be  wiped  out.  A  new  France 
should  be  created,  in  which  liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity 
should  take  the  place  of  the  tyranny  of  princes,  the  insolence 
of  nobles,  and  the  impostures  of  the  priests.  The  leaders  of 
the  Mountain  held  that  the  mass  of  the  people  were  by  nature 
good  and  upright,  but  that  there  were  a  number  of  adherents 
of  the  old  system  who  would,  if  they  could,  undo  the  great 
work  of  the  Revolution  and  lead  the  people  back  to  slavery 
under  king  and  Church.  All  who  were  suspected  by  the 
Mountain  of  having  the  least  sympathy  with  the  nobles  or  the 
persecuted  priests  were  branded  as  "  counter-revolutionary." 
The  Mountain  was  willing  to  resort  to  any  measures,  however 
shocking,  to  rid  the  nation  of  those  suspected  of  counter- 
revolutionary tendencies,  and  its  leaders  relied  upon  the  popu- 
lace of  Paris  to  aid  them  in  carrying  out  their  designs. 


The  First  French  Republic  237 

The  Girondists,  on  the  other  hand,  abhorred  the   restless  Girondist 

populace  of  Paris  and  the  fanatics  who  composed  the  Commune  p^elled^from 

of  the  capital.    They  ars^ued  that  Paris  was  not  France,  and  ^"^^  Conven- 

^  J         ^  '  tion,  June  2, 

that  it  had  no  right  to  assume  a  despotic  rule  over  the  nation.  1793 
They  proposed  that  the  Commune  should  be  dissolved  and  that 


Fig.  62.    Maximilien  Robespierre 

Robespierre  was  an  honest  though  narrow-minded  man.  It  was  his 
intense  love  of  liberty  and  equality  that  made  him  a  dangerous  fanatic. 
He  sanctioned  using  terror  to  force  upon  France  an  ideal  democracy, 
with  the  sad  results  that  for  a  long  time  to  come.  Jacobinism  and 
democracy  in  France  suffered  from  the  memory  of  his  acts 


the  Convention  should  remove  to  another  town  where  they 
would  not  be  subject  to  the  intimidation  of  the  Paris  mob. 
The  Mountain  thereupon  accused  the  Girondists  of  an  attempt 
to  break  up  the  Republic,  "one  and  indivisible,"  by  questioning 
the  supremacy  of  Paris  and  the  duty  of  the  provinces  to  fol- 
low the  lead  of  the  capital.  The  mob,  thus  encouraged,  rose 
against  the  Girondists.    On  June  2  it  surrounded  the  meeting 


238 


Outlines  of  European  History 


France 
threatened 
with  civil 
war 


The  revolt  of 
the  peasants 
of  Brittany 
against  the 
Convention 


Revolt  of 
the  cities 
against  the 
Convention 


French  for- 
tresses fall 
into  the 
hands  of 
Austria 
and  England 

(July,  1793) 


place  of  the  Convention,  and  deputies  of  the  Commune  de- 
manded the  expulsion  from  the  Convention  of  the  Girondist 
leaders,  who  were  placed  under  arrest. 

The  conduct  of  the  Mountain  and  its  ally,  the  Paris  Com- 
mune, now  began  to  arouse  opposition  in  various  parts  of 
France,  and  the  country  was  threatened  with  civil  war  at  a 
time  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary  that  all  Frenchmen 
should  combine  in  the  loyal  defense  of  their  country  against 
the  invaders  who  were  again  approaching  its  boundaries. 

The  first  and  most  serious  opposition  came  from  the  peas- 
ants of  Brittany,  especially  in  the  department  of  La  Vendee. 
There  the  people  still  loved  the  monarchy  and  their  priests, 
and  even  the  nobles ;  they  refused  to  send  their  sons  to  fight 
for  a  republic  which  had  killed  their  king  and  was  persecuting 
those  clergymen  who  declined  to  take  an  oath  which  their  con- 
science forbade. 

The  cities  of  Marseilles  and  Bordeaux  were  indignant  at  the 
treatment  to  which  the  Girondist  deputies  were  subjected  in 
Paris,  and  they  also  organized  a  revolt  against  the  Convention. 
In  the  manufacturing  city  of  Lyons  the  merchants  hated  the 
Jacobins  and  their  republic,  since  the  demand  for  silk  and 
other  luxuries  produced  at  Lyons  had  come  from  the  nobility 
and  clergy,  who  were  now  no  longer  in  a  position  to  buy.  The 
prosperous  classes  were  therefore  exasperated  when  the  com- 
missioners of  the  Convention  demanded  money  and  troops. 
The  citizens  gathered  an  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  placed  it 
under  a  royalist  leader,  and  prepared  to  bid  defiance  to  the 
Jacobins  who  controlled  the  Convention. 

Meanwhile  France's  enemies  were  again  advancing  against 
her.  The  Austrians  laid  siege  to  the  border  fortress  of  Conde', 
which  they  captured  on  July  10,  1793,  and  two  weeks  later 
the  English  took  Valenciennes.  In  this  way  the  allies  gained  a 
foothold  in  France  itself.  Once  more  they  were  hardly  more 
than  a  hundred  miles  away  from  the  capital,  and  there  appeared 
to  be  no  reason  why  they  should  not  immediately  march  upon 


The  First  French  Republic  239 

Paris  and  wreak  the  vengeance  which  the  duke  of  Brunswick 
had  threatened  in  his  proclamation  of  the  previous  year.  The 
Prussians  had  driven  the  French  garrison  out  of  Mayence  and 
were  ready  to  advance  into  Alsace.  Toulon,  the  great  naval 
station  of  southern  France,  now  revolted  against  the  Conven- 
tion. It  proclaimed  the  little  dauphin  as  king,  under  the  title 
of  Louis  XVII,  and  welcomed  the  English  fleet  as  an  ally. 

The  French  Republic  seemed  to  be  lost;    but  never  did  a  Camotor- 
body  of  men  exhibit  such  marvelous  energy  as  the  Committee  french 
of  Public  Safety.    Carnot,  who  was  to  earn  the  title  of  Organ-  ^^i^s 
izer  of  Victory,  became  a  member  of  the  Committee  in  August. 
He  immediately  called  for  a  general  levy  of  troops  and  soon 
had  no  less  than  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.   These 
he  divided  into  thirteen  armies  which  he  dispatched  against  the 
allies.     Each  general  was  accompanied  by  two  "  deputies  on 
mission  "  who  were  always  on  the  watch  lest  the  commanders 
desert,   as   Lafayette  had  done  after  August    10,    1792,  and 
Dumouriez  a  few  months  later.    These  Jacobin  deputies  not 
only  roused  the  patriotism  of  the  raw  recruits,  but  they  let  it 
be  known  that  for  a  general  to  lose  a  battle  meant  death. 

Fortunately  for  the  Convention  the  allies  did  not  march  on  The  French 
Paris,  but  Austria  began  occupying  the  border  towns  and  the  th? allies 
English  moved  westward  to  seize  the  coveted  Dunkirk.  The 
French  were  able  to  drive  off  the  English  and  Hanoverians 
who  were  besieging  Dunkirk,  and  in  October  General  Jourdan 
defeated  the  Austrians  at  Wattignies.  Since  Frederick  William 
continued  to  give  his  attention  mainly  to  Poland,  there  was 
little  to  fear  from  the  duke  of  Brunswick  and  his  army,  so  that 
by  the  close  of  1793  all  danger  from  foreign  invasion  was  over 
for  the  time  being. 

As  for  the  revolt  of  the  cities  and  of  the  Vendean  peasants,   The  revolt  of 
the  Committee  of  Public  Safety  showed  itself  able  to  cope  with   suppressed 
that  danger  too.   It  first  turned  its  attention  to  Lyons.    Some  of  ^^^^^^  ^J^' 
the  troops  from  the  armies  on  the  frontiers  were  recalled  and   Public 
the  city  was  bombarded  and  captured.    Then  Collot  d'Herbois, 


240  Outlines  of  European  History 

one  of  the  stanchest  believers  in  terrorism,  was  sent  down  to 
demonstrate  to  the  conquered  city  what  a  fearful  thing  it  was 
to  rise  against  the  Mountain.  Nearly  two  thousand  persons 
were  executed,  or  rather  massacred,  as  traitors,  within  five 
months.  Indeed  the  Convention  declared  its  intention  to 
annihilate  the  great  and  flourishing  city  and  rename  its  site 
Freedville  (^Commu?te  affranchie).  Happily  a  close  friend  of 
Robespierre,  who  was  sent  to  execute  this  decree,  contented 
himself  with  destroying  forty  houses. 

Bonaparte  Frightened  by  the  awful  fate  of  Lyons,  the  cities  of  Bor- 

deaux and  Marseilles  judged  it  useless  to  oppose  the  Conven- 
tion and  admitted  its  representatives,  who  executed  three  or 
four  hundred  "  traitors  "  in  each  place.  Toulon  held  out  until 
an  artillery  officer  hitherto  entirely  unknown,  a  young  Corsicari 
by  the  name  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  suggested  occupying  a 
certain  promontory  in  the  harbor,  from  which  he  was  able  to 
train  his  cannon  on  the  British  fleet  which  was  supporting  the 
city.  It  sailed  away  with  some  refugees,  leaving  the  town  to 
the  vengeance  of  the  Convention,  December  19,  1793. 

Defeat  of  the       Although  the  Vendean  peasants  fought  bravely  and  defeated 

the  Vend6e  several  corps  of  the  national  guard  sent  against  them,  their  in- 
surrection was  also  put  down  in  the  autumn  —  at  least  for  a 
time  —  with  atrocious  cruelty.  A  representative  of  the  Con- 
vention at  Nantes  had  perhaps  two  thousand  Vendean  insur- 
gents shot  or  drowned  in  the  Loire.  This  was  probably  the 
most  horrible  episode  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  not  approved 
by  the  Convention,  which  recalled  its  bloodthirsty  agent,  who 
was  finally  sent  to  the  scaffold  for  his  crimes. 

The  Reign  of  In  spite  of  the  extraordinary  success  with  which  the  Com- 
mittee of  Public  Safety  had  crushed  its  opponents  at  home  and 
repelled  the  armies  of  the  monarchs  who  proposed  to  dismem- 
ber France,  it  was  clear  that  the  task  of  rendering  the  Revo- 
lution complete  and  permanent  was  by  no  means  accomplished. 
The  revolt  of  the  Vende'e  and  of  the  cities  had  shown  that 
there  were  thousands  of  Frenchmen  who  hated  the  Jacobins. 


Terror 


The  First  French  Republic 


241 


All  such  were  viewed  by  the  Convention  as  guilty  of  holding 
counter-revolutionary  sentiments  and  therefore  "  suspect."  It 
was  argued  that  any  one  who  was  not  an  ardent  sa?is-culotte 
might  at  any  time  become  a  traitor  to  the  Republic.    In  order 


t\i4?T' 


r^<^^t 


^^ 


Fig.  63.   The  Palace  of  Justice  (Law  Courts)  in  Paris 

In  the  thirteenth  century  part  of  the  royal  palace  on  the  island  in  the 
Seine  was  made  over  to  the  lawyers  of  the  court,  and  it  has  remained 
ever  since  the  seat  of  the  chief  law  courts  of  France.  The  square  clock 
tower  at  the  corner,  the  round  towers,  and  the  chapel  (Sainte-Chapelle, 
just  visible  at  the  left),  all  date  from  the  old  palace  —  also  the  lower 
floor  and  cellar  facing  the  river,  made  over  into  the  prison  of  the  Con- 
ciergerie.  In  it  Marie  Antoinette  and  many  other  illustrious  prisoners 
were  kept  when  tried  by  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal. 


to  prevent  this  the  Convention  decided  that  they  must  be  ter- 
rorized by  observing  the  fearful  vengeance  which  the  Republic 
wrought  upon  traitors.  The  Reign  of  Terror  was  only  a  sys- 
tematic attempt  to  secure  the  success  of  the  Revolution  by 
summarily  punishing  or  intimidating  its  enemies.  While  it  had 
no  definite  beginning  or  end,  it  lasted,  in  its  more  acute  stages, 
for  about  ten  months  —  from  September,  1793,  to  July,  1794. 


242 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Revolu- 
tionary 
Tribunal 


Execution 
of  Marie 
Antoinette 
(October, 
1793) 


Schism  in  the 
party  of  the 
Mountain 


Even  before  the  fall  of  the  Girondists  a  special  court  had 
been  established  in  Paris,  known  as  the  Revolutionary  Tri- 
bunal. Its  function  was  to  try  all  those  who  were  suspected 
of  treasonable  acts.  At  first  the  cases  were  very  carefully  con- 
sidered and  few  persons  were  condemned.  In  September,  after 
the  revolt  of  the  cities,  two  new  men  who  had  been  implicated 
in  the  September  massacres  were  added  to  the  Committee  of 
Public  Safety.  They  were  selected  with  the  particular  purpose 
of  intimidating  the  counter-revolutionary  party  by  bringing  all 
the  disaffected  to  the  guillotine.-^  A  terrible  law  was  passed, 
declaring  all  those  to  be  suspects  who  by  their  conduct  or  re- 
marks had  shown  themselves  enemies  of  liberty.  The  former 
nobles,  including  the  wives,  fathers,  mothers,  and  children  of 
the  "emigrants,"  unless  they  had  constantly  manifested  their 
attachment  to  the  Revolution,  were  ordered  to  be  imprisoned. 

In  October  Marie  Antoinette,  after  a  trial  in  which  false  and 
atrocious  charges  were  urged  against  her  in  addition  to  the 
treasonable  acts  of  which  she  had  been  guilty,  was  executed 
in  Paris.  A  number  of  high-minded  and  distinguished  persons, 
including  Madame  Roland  .and  a  group  of  Girondists,  suffered 
a  like  fate.  But  the  most  horrible  acts  of  the  Reign  of  Terror 
were,  as  has  been  noted,  perpetrated  in  the  provinces,  especially 
at  Lyons  and  Nantes. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  members  of  the  radical  party 
who  were  conducting  the  government  began  to  disagree  among 
themselves.  Danton,  a  man  of  fiery  zeal  for  the  Republic,  who 
had  hitherto  enjoyed,  great  popularity  with  the  Jacobins,  became 
tired  of  bloodshed  and  convinced  that  the  system  of  terror  was 
no  longer  necessary.  On  the  other  hand,  the  radical  leader  of 
the  Paris  Commune,  Hubert,  called  on  the  people  to  complete 


1  In  former  times  it  had  been  customary  to'  inflict  capital  punishment  by 
decapitating  the  victim  with  a  sword.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolution  a  cer- 
tain Dr.  Guillotin  recommended  a  new  device,  which  consisted  of  a  heavy  knife 
sHding  downward  between  two  uprights.  This  instrument,  called  after  him  the 
guillotine,  which  has  until  very  recently  been  used  in  France,  was  more  speedy 
and  certain  in  its  action  than  the  sword  in  the  hands  of  the  executioner. 


The  First  French  Republic  243 

the  Revolution.     He   proposed   that   the  worship  of   Reason   Hebertand 
should  be  substituted  for  that  of  God  and  arranged  a  service   radical?" 
in  the  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame  where  Reason,  in  the  person 
of  a  handsome  actress,  took  her  place  on  the  altar. 

Robespierre,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Pub-  Robespierre 
lie  Safety,  sympathized  neither  with  the  moderates  nor  with  jugt 
Hebert  and  his  Goddess  of  Reason.  He  himself  enjoyed  a 
great  reputation  for  high  ideals, 'republican  virtue,  and  incor- 
ruptibility. He  and  Saint-Just  had  read  their  Rousseau  with 
prayerful  attention  and  dreamed  of  a  glorious  republic  in 
which  there  should  be  neither  rich  nor  poor ;  in  which  men 
and  women  should  live  in  independence  and  rear  healthy  and 
robust  children.  These  should  be  turned  over  to  the  republic 
at  five  years  of  age  to  be  educated  in  Spartan  fashion  by  the 
nation ;  they  were  to  eat  together  and  to  live  on  roots,  fruit, 
vegetables,  milk,  cheese,  bread,  and  water.  The  Eternal  was  to 
be  worshiped  in  temples,  and  in  these  temples  at  certain  times 
every  man  should  be  required  publicly  to  state  who  were  his 
friends.  Any  man  who  said  he  had  no  friends,  or  was  con- 
victed of  ingratitude,  was  to  be  banished.^ 

Robespierre,  in  his  fanatical  attempt  to  establish  his  ideal  re-  Robespierre 
public,  now  viewed  the  moderation  of  Danton  and  his  friends  eS  of  both  ' 
as  treason,  and  coldly  advocated  the  execution  of  his  former  themoderater 

'  •'  and  extrem- 

associates  for  attempting  to  betray  the  Republic  and  frustrate  ists  executed 
the  Revolution.     On  the  other  hand,  as  a  deist,  he  believed   April,  1794) 
that  He'bert  and  his  followers  were  discrediting  the  Revolu- 
tion by  their  atheism.     Accordingly,  through  his  influence,  the 
leaders  of  both  the  moderate  and  the  extreme  parties  were 
arrested  and  sent  to  the  guillotine  (March  and  April,  1794). 

Robespierre  now  enjoyed  a  brief  dictatorship.  But  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  maintain  his  power  long.  When  he  had 
the  Revolutionary  Tribunal  divided  into  four  sections  in  order 
fo  work  more  rapidly,  and  a  law  passed  by  which  it  could 

1  See  Readings^  section  38,  for  extracts  from  Saint-Just's  book  on  Republican 
Institutions, 


244 


Outlines  of  European  History 


condemn  any  suspected  "  enemy  of  the  people  "  on  almost  any 
evidence,  many  of  his  colleagues  in  the  Convention  began 
to  fear  that  they  might  at  any  moment  follow  Danton  and 
He'bert  to  the  guillotine.  A  conspiracy  was  formed  against 
him  and  the  Convention  was  induced  to  order  his  arrest. 
When,  on  July  27,  —  the  9th  Thermidor  of  the  new  republican 
calendar,  —  he  appeared  in  the  Convention  and  attempted  to 
speak  he  was  silenced  by  cries  of  "  Down  with  the  tyrant ! " 
In  his  consternation  he  could  not  at  first  recover  his  voice, 
whereupon  one  of  the  deputies  shouted,  ^^  The  blood  of  Danton 
chokes  him ! "  Finally  he  called  upon  the  Commune  of  Paris 
to  defend  him,  but  the  Convention  was  able  to  maintain  its 
authority  and  to  send  Robespierre  and  Saint-Just,  his  fellow 
idealist,  to  the  guillotine.  It  is  sad  enough  that  two  of  the 
most  sincere  and  upright  of  all  the  revolutionists  should,  in 
their  misguided  and  over-earnest  efforts  to  better  the  con- 
dition of  their  fellow  men,  have  become  objects  of  execration 
to  posterity. 

In  successfully  overthrowing  Robespierre  the  Convention 
and  Committee  of  Public  Safety  had  rid  the  country  of  the 
only  man  who,  owing  to  his  popularity  and  his  reputation  for 
uprightness,  could  have  prolonged  the  Reign  of  Terror.  There 
was  almost  an  immediate  reaction  after  his  death,  for  the 
country  was  weary  of  executions.  The  Revolutionary  Tribunal 
henceforth  convicted  very  few  indeed  of  those  who  were 
brought  before  it.  It  made  an  exception,  however,  of  those 
who  had  themselves  been  the  leaders  in  the  worst  atrocities, 
as,  for  example,  the  public  prosecutor,  who  had  brought  hun- 
dreds of  victims  to  the  guillotine  in  Paris,  and  the  terrorists 
who  had  ordered  the  massacres  at  Nantes  and  Lyons.  Within 
a  few  months  the  Jacobin  Club  at  Paris  was  closed  by  the  Con- 
vention and  the  Commune  of  Paris  abolished. 

The  importance  and  nature  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  are  so 
commonly  misunderstood  that  it  is  worth  our  while  to  stop  a 
moment  to  reconsider  it  as  a  whole.   When  the  Estates  General 


The  First  French  Republic 


245 


met,  the  people  of  France  were  loyal  to  their  king  but  wished  First  stage 
to  establish  a  more  orderly  government;  they  wanted  to  vote 
the  taxes,  have  some  share  in  making  the  laws,  and  abolish  the 
old  feudal  abuses,  including  the  unreasonable  privileges  of  the 
nobility  and  the  clergy.  The  nobility  were  frightened  and  be- 
gan to  run  away.    The  king  and  queen  urged  foreign  powers 


Fig.  64.   The  Closing  of  the  Jacobin  Club 

The  hall  of  the  Jacobins  had  been  the  scene  of  debates  almost  as  im- 
portant as  those  in  the  Convention,  during  the   attempt  to  found  a 
democratic  republic.   When  it  was  closed  and  the  Commune  of  Paris 
abolished,  the  wealthier  classes  resumed  their  rule 


to  intervene  and  even  tried  to  escape  to  join  the  traitorous 
emigrant  nobles.  Austrian  and  Prussian  troops  reached  the 
frontier  and  the  Prussian  commander  threatened  to  destroy 
Paris  unless  the  royal  family  were  given  complete  liberty. 
Paris,  aided  by  the  men  of  Marseilles,  retaliated  by  deposing 
the  king,  and  the  Convention  decided  by  a  narrow  majority  to 
execute  Louis  XVI  for  treason,  of  which  he  was  manifestly 
guilty.     In  the  summer,  just   as   Austria  and   England  were 


246  Outlines  of  European  History 

taking  the  French  border  fortresses  of  Conde  and  Valen- 
ciennes, the  cities  of  Lyons,  Marseilles,  and  Toulon  and  the 
peasants  of  the  Vende'e  revolted.  The  necessity  of  making 
head  against  invasion  and  putting  down  the  insurrection  at 
home  led  to  harsh  measures  on  the  part  of  the  Convention  and 
its  Committee  of  Public  Safety. 

When  the  immediate  danger  was  dispelled  Robespierre, 
Saint-Just,  and  others  sought  to  exterminate  the  enemies  of 
that  Utopian  republic  of  which  they  dreamed  and  in  which 
every  man  was  to  have  a  fair  chance  in  life.  This  led  to  the 
second,  and  perhaps  less  excusable,  phase  of  the  Reign  of 
Terror.  To  the  executions  sanctioned  by  the  government 
must  be  added  the  massacres  and  lynchings  perpetrated  by 
mobs  or  by  irresponsible  agents  of  the  Convention.  Yet 
Camille  Desmoulins  was  right  when  he  claimed  that  the  blood 
that  had  flowed  ''  for  the  eternal  emancipation  of  a  nation  of 
twenty-five  millions"  was  as  nothing  to  that  shed  by  the  Roman 
emperors  (and  it  may  be  added,  by  bishops  and  kings),  often 
in  less  worthy  causes. 

Then  it  should  be  remembered  that  a  great  part  of  the 
French  people  were  nearly  or  quite  unaffected  by  the  Reign 
of  Terror.  In  Paris  very  few  of  the  citizens  stood  in  any  fear 
of  the  guillotine.  The  city  was  not  the  gloomy  place  that  it 
has  been  pictured  by  Dickens  and  other  story-tellers.  Business 
went  on  as  usual.  Theaters  and  restaurants  were  crowded. 
The  mass  of  the  people  were  little  affected  by  the  execution 
of  "  aristocrats." 

Moreover  the  Convention  had  by  no  means  confined  its 
attention  during  the  months  of  the  Reign  of  Terror  to  hunting 
down  ''  suspects  "  and  executing  traitors.  Its  committees  had 
raised  a  million  troops,  organized  and  equipped  them  with 
arms,  and  sent  them  forth  to  victory.  The  reforms  sketched 
out  by  the  National  Assembly  had  been  developed  and  carried 
on.  The  Convention  had  worked  out  a  great  system  of  ele- 
mentary education  which  should  form  the  basis  of  the  new 


The  First  French  Republic  247 

Republic  and  which  became  a  model  for  later  reform.  It  had 
drafted  a  new  code  of  laws  which  should  replace  the  confu- 
sion of  the  ancien  regime,  although  it  was  left  for  Napoleon  to 
order  its  revision  and  gain  the  credit  of  the  enterprise.  The 
republican  calendar  was  not  destined  to  survive,  but  the  rational 
system  of  weights  and  measures  known  as  the  metric  system,  The  metric 
which  the  Convention  introduced,  has  been  adopted  by  most  ^^^^^^ 
of  the  nations  of  Continental  Europe  and  is  used  by  men  of 
science  in  England  and  America. 

In  its  anxiety  to  obliterate  every  suggestion  of  the  old  order  Anxiety  of 
of  things,  the  Convention  went  to  excess.     The  old  terms  of  ^on^o  ^0"' 
address.  Monsieur  and  Madame,  seemed  to  smack  of  the  ancien   °"*  ^^^  ^"S" 

gestions  of 

regime  and  so  were  replaced  by  "  citizen "  and  "  citizeness."  the  past 
The  days  were  no  longer  dedicated  to  St.  Peter,  St.  James, 
St.  Bridget,  or  St.  Catherine,  but  to  the  cow,  the  horse,  celery, 
the  turnip,  the  harrow,  the  pitchfork,  or  other  useful  creature 
or  utensil.  The  Place  Louis  XV  became  Place  de  la  Revolu- 
tion. Throne  Square  was  rechristened  Place  of  the  Overturned 
Throne.  The  Convention  endeavored  to  better  the  condition 
of  the  poor  man  and  deprive  the  rich  of  their  superfluity.  The 
land  which  had  been  taken  from  the  Church  and  the  runaway 
nobles  was  sold  in  small  parcels,  and  the  number  of  small  land- 
holders was  thus  greatly  increased.  In  May,  1793,  the  Con- 
vention tried  to  keep  down  the  price  of  grain  by  passing  the 
Law  of  the  Maximum,  which  forbade  the  selling  of  grain  and 
flour  at  a  higher  price  than  that  fixed  by  each  commune.  This 
was  later  extended  to  other  forms  of  food  and  worked  quite  as 
badly  as  the  grain  laws  which  Turgot  had  abolished. 

The  reckless  increase  of  the  paper  currency,  or  assignats,  Trouble  with 
and  fhe  efforts  to  prevent  their  depreciation  by  a  law  which 
made  it  a  capital  offense  to  refuse  to  accept  them  at  par  caused 
infinite  confusion.  There  were  about  forty  billions  of  francs  of 
these  assignats  in  circulation  at  the  opening  of  the  year  1796. 
At  that  time  it  required  nearly  three  hundred  francs  in  paper 
to  procure  one  in  specie. 


248 


Outlines  of  European  History 


At  last  the  Convention  turned  its  attention  once  more  to 
the  special  work  for  which  it  had  been  summoned  in  Septem- 
ber, 1792,  and  drew  up  a  constitution  for  the  Republic.  This 
was  preceded  by  a  "  Declaration  of  the  Rights  and  Duties  of 
Man  and  the  Citizen,"  which  summed  up,  as  the  first  Declara- 
tion of  Rights  had  done,  the  great  principles  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  lawmaking  power  is  vested  by  the  Constitution  of 
the  Year  III  in  a  Legislative  Body  to  be  composed  of  tv/o 
chambers,  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred  and  the  Council  of 
the  Elders.  Members  of  the  latter  were  to  be  at  least  forty 
years  old  and  either  married  or  widowers.  To  take  the  place 
of  a  king,  a  Directory  composed  of  five  members  chosen  by 
the  Legislative  Body  was  invested  with  the  executive  power. 

Before  the  Convention  completed  the  constitution  its  ene- 
mies had  become  very  strong.  The  richer  classes  had  once 
more  got  the  upper  hand;  they  abhorred  the  Convention  which 
had  killed  their  king  and  oppressed  them,  and  they  favored  the 
reestablishment  of  the  monarchy  without  the  abuses  of  the  ancien 
regime.  The  Convention,  fearing  for  itself  and  the  Republic, 
decreed  that  in  the  approaching  election,  at  least  two  thirds  of 
the  new  Legislative  Body  were  to  be  chosen  from  the  existing 
members  of  the  Convention.  Believing  that  it  could  rely  upon 
the  armies,  it  ordered  that  the  constitution  should  be  submitted 
to  the  soldiers  for  ratification  and  that  bodies  of  troops  should 
be  collected  near  Paris  to  maintain  order  during  the  elections. 
These  decrees  roused  the  anger  of  the  wealthier  districts  of 
Paris,  which  did  not  hesitate  to  organize  a  revolt  and  prepare 
to  attack  the  Convention. 

The  latter,  however,  chose  for  its  defender  that  same 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  who,  after  helping  to  take  Toulon,  had 
resigned  his  commission  rather  than  leave  the  artillery  and  join 
the  infantry  as  he  had  been  ordered  to  do,  and  was  earning  a 
bare  subsistence  as  a  clerk  in  a  government  office.  Bonaparte 
stationed  the  regulars  around  the  building  in  which  the  Con- 
vention sat  and  then  loaded  his  cannon  with  grapeshot.    When 


The  First  Fr-ench  Republic  249 

the  bourgeois  national  guard  attacked  him,  he  gave  the  order 
to  fire  and  easily  swept  them  from  the  streets.^  The  royalists 
were  defeated.  The  day  had  been  saved  for  the  Convention 
by  the  army  and  by  a  military  genius  who  was  destined  soon 
not  only  to  make  himself  master  of  France  but  to  build  up  an 
empire  comprising  a  great  part  of  western  Europe. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  35.  Account  for  the  failure  of  Mirabeau  to  strengthen 
the  monarchy.  What  was  the  effect  of  the  king's  flight  to  Varennes, 
June,  1 79 1?  Name  the  leaders  of  the  new  republican  party  and 
give  an  account  of  their  work.  What  legislative  body  replaced  the 
National  Assembly,  October  i,  1791  ?  What  problems  were  before 
it  from  the  beginning? 

Describe  the  effect  of  the  Declaration  of  Pillnitz  on  the  French. 
Who  were  the  Jacobins?  W^hat  parties  were  to  be  found  in  the 
Legislative  Assembly  ?  Name  the  leaders  of  the  Girondists.  Give  the 
reasons  which  prompted  the  Assembly  to  declare  war  against  Austria. 

Section  36,  What  caused  the  uprising  of  June  20,  1792?  Give 
the  terms  of  the  manifesto  of  the  duke  of  Brunswick.  What  was 
its  effect  upon  the  leaders  of  Paris  ?  What  problems  did  the  Legis- 
lative Assembly  leave  to  be  solved  by  the  Convention  ? 

Section  37.  What  was  the  first  act  of  the  Convention?  Trace 
the  course  of  the  war.  What  effect  did  the  death  of  the  French  king 
have  upon  the  relations  of  England  and  France  ?  Account  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  French  in  the  Austrian  Netherlands  during  the  autumn 
of  1792.    W^hat  change  took  place  in  the  following  spring? 

Section  38,  Name  the  leading  parties  in  the  Convention  and 
tell  about  their  quarrel.  What  was  the  Reign  of  Terror  ?  Describe 
the  work  of  the  Revolutionary  Tribunal.  In  what  way  did  Robes- 
pierre differ  from  the  other  factions  of  the  Mountain  ?  What  means 
did  he  take  to  secure  his  ends?  What  was  the  effect  of  his  death 
upon  the  Reign  of  Terror  ?  Describe  the  Constitution  of  the  Year  IIL 
How  was  opposition  to  the  Convention  overcome? 

1  More  people  were  killed  on  the  13th  Vendemiaire  than  on  August  10,  1792, 
when  the  monarchy  was  overthrown. 


CHAPTER  X 


NAPOLEON  BONAPARTE 


Section  39.    Bonaparte's  First  Italian  Campaign 


How  the 
Revolution 
transformed 
and  democ- 
ratized the 
army 


The  Napo- 
leonic Period 


The  French  army  had  undergone  a  complete  transformation 
during  the  Revolution.  The  rules  of  the  a7icien  regime  had 
required  all  officers  to  be  nobles,  and  many  of  these  had  left 
France  after  the  fall  of  the  Bastille.  Others,  like  Lafayette  and 
Dumouriez,  who  had  at  first  favored  the  Revolution,  deserted 
soon  after  the  opening  of  the  war  which  began  in  1792.  Still 
others,  like  Custine  and  Beauharnais  (the  Empress  Josephine's 
first  husband),  were  executed  because  the  "  deputies  on  mis- 
sion" believed  that  they  were  responsible  for  the  defeats  that 
the  armies  of  the  French  Republic  had  suffered. 

The  former  rigid  discipline  disappeared,  and  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  volunteers  who  pressed  forward  to  defend  and 
extend  the  boundaries  of  the  Republic  found  new  leaders, 
who  rose  from  the  ranks,  and  who  hit  upon  novel  and  quite 
unconventional  ways  of  beating  the  enemy.  Any  one  might 
now  become  a  general  if  he  could  prove  his  ability  to  lead 
troops  to  victory.  Moreau  was  a  lawyer  from  Brittany,  Murat 
had  been  a  waiter,  Jourdan  before  the  Revolution  had  been 
selling  cloth  in  Limoges.  In  short,  the  army,  like  the  State, 
had  become  democratic. 

Among  the  commanders  who  by  means  of  their  talents  rose 
to  take  the  places  of  the  "  aristocrats  "  was  one  who  was  to 
dominate  the  history  of  Europe  as  no  man  before  him  had 
ever  done.  For  fifteen  years  his  biography  and  the  political 
history  of  Europe  are  so  nearly  identical  that  the  period  we 
are  now  entering  upon  may  properly  be  called  after  him,  the 
Napoleonic  Period. 

250 


Napoleon  Bonaparte 


251 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  was  hardly  a  Frenchman  by  birth.  It  is 
true  that  the  island  of  Corsica  where  he  was  born,  August  15, 
1769,  had  at  that  time  belonged  to  France  for  a  year/  but 
Napoleon's  native  language  was  Italian,  and  he  was  descended 
from  Italian  ancestors  who  had  come  to  the  island  in  the 
sixteenth  century.  His  father.  Carlo  Buonaparte,  although  he 
claimed  to  be  of  noble  extraction,  busied  himself  with  the 
profession  of  the  law 
in  the  town  of  Ajac- 
cio,  where  Napoleon 
was  born.  He  was 
poor  and  found  it 
hard  to  support  his 
eight  boys  and  girls, 
all  of  whom  were  one 
day  to  become  kings 
and  queens,  or  at 
worst,  princes  and 
princesses.  Accord- 
ingly he  took  his  two 
eldest  sons,  Joseph 
and  Napoleon,  to 
France,  where  Joseph 
was  to  be  educated 
for     the     priesthood 

and  Napoleon,  who  was  but  ten  years  old,  after  learning  a 
little  French  was  to  prepare  for  the  army  in  the  military 
academy  at  Brienne. 

Here  the  boy  led  an  unhappy  life  for  five  or  six  years.  He 
soon  came  to  hate  the  young  French  nobles  with  whom  he  was 
associated.  He  wrote  to  his  father,  "  I  am  tired  of  exposing  my 
poverty  and  seeing  these  shameless  boys  laughing  over  it,  for 
they  are  superior  to  me  only  in  wealth,  and  infinitely  beneath 


Fig.  65.    Napoleon's  Birthplace 


Napoleon 
Bonaparte 
(b. 1769),  a 
Corsican  by 
birth,  an 
Italian  by 
descent 


1  It  is  possible  that  Bonaparte  was  bom  in  the  previous  year,  when  Corsica^ 
still  belonged  to  the  republic  of  Genoa. 


252 


OiUlmes  of  European  History 


His  political 
intrigues 
in  Corsica 


The  Bona- 
partes  ban- 
ished from 
Corsica 
(1793) 


How  Bona- 
parte won 
the  confi- 
dence of 
Barras  and 
the  Directory 


Napoleon 
marries 
Josephine 
Beauharnais 


Bonaparte 
made  com- 
mander in 
chief  of  the 
army  of  Italy 
(1796) 


me  in  noble  sentiments."  Gradually  the  ambition  to  free  his 
little  island  country  from  French  control  developed  in  him. 

On  completing  his  course  in  the  military  school  he  was  made 
second  lieutenant.  Poor  and  without  influence,  he  had  little 
hope  of  any  considerable  advance  in  the  French  army,  and  he 
was  drawn  to  his  own  country  both  by  a  desire  to  play  a  politi- 
cal role  there  and  to  help  his  family,  which  had  been  left  in 
straitened  circumstances  by  his  father's  death.  He  therefore 
absented  himself  from  his  command  as  often  and  as  long  as  he 
could,  and  engaged  in  a  series  of  intrigues  in  Corsica.  When 
the  Revolution  came,  he  tried  to  turn  it  to  his  own  advantage 
on  the  island,  but  he  and  his  family  were  banished  in  1793, 
and  fled  to  France. 

The  next  three  years  were  for  Bonaparte  a  period  of  great 
uncertainty.  Soon  after  his  return  his  knowledge  of  artillery 
enabled  him,  as  we  have  seen,  to  suggest  the  way  to  capture 
Toulon.  This  brought  him  some  recognition  ;  but  he  refused  a 
chance  to  fight  the  rebels  of  La  Vendee  and  remained  in  Paris, 
waiting  for  something  to  turn  up.  His  opportunity  came  two 
years  later,  when  his  friend  Barras  selected  him  to  defend  the 
Convention  on  the  13th  Vendemiaire.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  his  career,  for  Barras,  now  one  of  the  Directors,  introduced 
him  into  the  gay  and  reckless  social  circle  to  which  he  belonged. 
Here  he  met  and  fell  in  love  with  the  charming  widow  of 
General  Beauharnais,  who  had  lost  his  head  just  before  Ther- 
midor.  Madame  Beauharnais  agreed  to  marr}^  the  pale,  nervous 
little  republican  officer  in  spite  of  his  awkward  manners  and  ill- 
fitting  uniform.  Nine  years  later  he  was  able  to  place  an  imperial 
crown  upon  her  brow. 

In  the  spring  of  1796  Bonaparte  was  selected  by  the 
Directory  to  command  one  of  the  three  armies  which  it  was 
sending  against  Austria.  This  important  appointment  at  the 
age  of  twenty-seven  forms  the  opening  of  an  astonishing 
military  career  which  can  be  compared  only  with  that  of 
Alexander  the  Great. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  253 

France,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  found  herself  in  1793  at  How  Prussia 
war  with  Austria,  Prussia,  England,  Holland,  Spain,  the  Holy  ^gi^JtedThe 
Roman  Empire,  Sardinia,  the  kingdom  of  Naples  (that  is,  of  war  with 
the  Two  Sicilies),  and  Tuscany.  This  formidable  alliance,  how-  1794 
ever,  only  succeeded  in  taking  a  few  border  fortresses  which 
the  French  easily  regained.  Prussia  and  Austria  were  far 
more  interested  in  Poland,  where  the  third  and  last  partition  was 
pending,  than  in  fighting  the  Revolution  and  keeping  the 
French  out  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands.  The  Polish  patriot, 
Kosciusko,  had  led  a  revolt  of  the  Poles  against  their  oppres- 
sors, and  the  Russian  garrison  which  Catherine  had  placed 
in  Warsaw  was  cut  down  by  the  Polish  rebels  in  April,  1794. 
Catherine  then  appealed  to  Frederick  William  for  assistance. 
He  therefore  turned  his  whole  attention  to  Poland,^  and  Pitt 
had  to  pay  him  handsomely  to  induce  him  to  leave  sixty  thou- 
sand Prussian  troops  to  protect  the  Netherlands  from  the 
French  invaders.  But  England's  money  was  wasted,  for  the 
Prussians  refused  to  take  active  measures,  and  even  Austria, 
after  one  or  two  reverses,  decided  to  evacuate  the  Nether- 
lands, in  the  summer  of  1794,  in  order  to  center  all  her  ener- 
gies upon  Polish  affairs  and  prevent  Russia  and  Prussia  from 
excluding  her,  as  they  had  done  the  last  time,  when  it  came  to 
a  division  of  the  booty. 

England  was  naturally  disgusted.     She  had  joined  the  war  England 
in  order  to  aid  Austria  and  Prussia  to  maintain  the  balance  of   check  the 
power  and  defend  the  Netherlands,  which  formed  a  protective  qccu'^v'hoK 
barrier  between  Holland  and  France.    Lord  Malmesbury,  one  land  and 
of  the   English  diplomats,  declared  that  in  his  dealings  with  region 
the  allies  he  encountered  only  "shabby  art  and  cunning,  ill  will, 
jealousy  and  every  sort  of  dirty  passion."    By  October,  1794, 
the  Austrians  had  disappeared  beyond  the  Rhine ;  the  English 
were  forced  to  give  up  Holland  and  to  retreat  forlornly  into 
Hanover  before  the  French  under  General  Pichegru,  who  cap- 
tured the  Dutch  fleet  imprisoned  in  the  ice  near  Texel.    The 
1  See  above,  p.  95. 


254 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  French 
Republic 
concludes  the 
Treaties  of 
Basel  with 
Prussia  and 
Spain  (April 
and  July, 
1795) 


Dutch  towns  contained  some  enthusiastic  republicans  who  re- 
ceived the  French  cordially.  The  office  of  hereditary  stadholder, 
which  was  really  that  of  a  king  except  in  name,  was  abolished, 
and  the  United  Netherlands  became  the  Batavian  Republic 
under  French  control. 

Instead  of  being  crushed  by  the  overwhelming  forces  of  the 
allies,  the  armies  of  the  French  Republic  had,  in  the  three 
years  since  the  opening  of  the  war,  conquered  the  Austrian 
Netherlands,  Savoy,  and  Nice ,-  they  had  changed  Holland  into 
a  friendly  sister  republic,  and  had  occupied  western  Germany 
as  far  as  the  Rhine.  The  Convention  was  now  ready  to  con- 
clude its  first  treaties  of  peace.  Prussia  signed  the  Treaty  of 
Basel  with  the  new  republic  (April,  1795),  in  which  she  secretly 
agreed  not  to  oppose  the  permanent  acquisition  by  France  of 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  provided  Prussia  were  indemnified 
for  the  territory  which  she  would  in  that  case  lose.  Three 
months  later  Spain  also  made  peace  with  France.  Early  in 
1796  the  Directory  decided,  in  accordance  with  General  Bona- 
parte's advice,  to  undertake  a  triple  movement  upon  Vienna, 
the  capital  of  its  chief  remaining  enemy.  Jourdan  was  to  take 
a  northerly  route  along  the  river  Main ;  Moreau  was  to  lead 
an  army  through  the  Black  Forest  and  down  the  Danube, 
while  Bonaparte  invaded  Lombardy,  which  was,  since  the 
French  had  occupied  the  Netherlands,  the  nearest  of  the 
Austrian  possessions. 

Italy  was  still  in  the  same  condition  in  which  it  had  been 
left  some  fifty  years  before  at  the  Peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
when  the  Austrian  Hapsburgs  and  the  Spanish  Bourbons  had 
come  to  a  final  agreement  as  to  what  each  was  to  have  for  the 
younger  members  of  the  two  families.^  In  the  kingdom  of 
Naples^  the  feeble  Ferdinand  IV ^  reigned  with  Caroline  his 

1  See  Development  of  Modem  Europe^  Vol.  I,  pp.  44-46. 

2  We  shall  use  this  name  hereafter  instead  of  the  more  cumbersome  title, 
Kingdom  of  the  Two  Sicilies. 

•  3  The  successor  of  Don  Carlos,  who  had  become  Charles  III,  king  of  Spain, 
in  1759. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  255 

wife,  the  sister  of  Marie  Antoinette.    To  the  north,  stretching 

across  the  peninsula,  lay  the  Papal  States.     Tuscany  enjoyed 

the  mild  and  enlightened  rule  of  the  successors  of  Joseph  of 

Lorraine.    Parma's  duke  was  related  to  the  Spanish  house  and 

Modena's  to  the  Austrian,  but  the  only  part  of  Italy  actually 

under  foreign  rule  was  Lombardy  and  its  capital,  Milan,  which 

had  fallen  to  Austria  after  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession. 

The  once  flourishing  republics  of  Venice  and  Genoa  still  existed, 

but  had  long  since  ceased  to  play  a  role  in  European  affairs. 

The  only  vigorous  and  promising  state  in  Italy  that  was  not 

more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  either  Austria  or  Spain  was 

the  kingdom  of  Sardinia,  composed  of  Piedmont,  Savoy,  Nice, 

and  the  island  of  Sardinia. 

General  Bonaparte  had  to  face  the  combined  forces  of  Aus-   Bonaparte 

tria  and  Sardinia,  which  had  joined  the  enemies  of  France  in  dinia  to  con- 

1793.    By  marching  north  from  Savona  he  skillfully  separated   ^[^(f^^ters^ 

his  two  enemies.    He  forced  the  Sardinian  troops  back  toward   Milan  (May, 

.       1796) 
Turin  and  compelled  the  king  to  conclude  a  treaty  by  which 

Savoy  and  Nice  were  ceded  to  France.  Bonaparte  was  now 
free  to  advance  into  Lombardy.  He  marched  down  the  Po, 
and  the  Austrians,  fearing  that  he  might  cut  them  off,  hastened 
eastward,  leaving  Milan  to  be  occupied  by  the  French.  Here 
Bonaparte  made  a  triumphal  entry  on  May  15,  1796,  scarcely 
more  than  a  month  after  the  campaign  opened. 

As  he  descended  the  mountains  into  the  plains  of  Lombardy,  The  French 
Bonaparte  had  announced  that  the  French  army  came  to  break  plunder  Italy 
the  chains  of  the  tyrants,  for  the  French  people  was  the  friend 
of  all  peoples.  Nevertheless  the  Directory  expected  him  to 
force  those  that  he  ''  freed  "  to  support  the  French  armies. 
Their  directions  to  Bonaparte  were  sufficiently  explicit:  "Leave 
nothing  in  Italy  which  will  be  useful  to  us  and  which  the  politi- 
cal situation  will  permit  you  to  remove."  Accordingly  Milan 
was  not  only  required  to  pay  its  deliverers  twenty  million  francs 
but  also  to  give  up  some  of  the  finest  old  masterpieces  in  its 
churches  and  galleries.  The  dukes  of  Parma  and  Modena  made 


256 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  cam- 
paign about 
Mantua 
(May,  1796- 
February, 
1797) 


Bonaparte 
defeats  the 
Austrians 
at  Arcole 
(November 

15-^7,  1796) 
and  at  RivoU 
(January  14- 
15. 1797) 

Fall  of 
Mantua 


Truce  at 
Leoben 
(April,  1797) 


similar  "  contributions "  on  condition  that  Bonaparte  would 
grant  them  an  armistice. 

Bonaparte  soon  moved  east  and  defeated  the  Austrian  army, 
a  part  of  which  took  refuge  in  the  impregnable  fortress  of 
Mantua,  to  which  the  French  promptly  laid  siege.  There  is  no 
more  fascinating  chapter  in  the  history  of  warfare  than  the 
story  of  the  audacious  maneuvers  by  which  Bonaparte  success- 
fully repulsed  the  Austrian  armies  sent  to  relieve  Mantua. 
Toward  the  end  of  July  an  Austrian  army  nearly  twice  the 
size  of  Bonaparte's  descended  in  three  divisions  from  Tyrol. 
The  situation  of  the  French  was  critical,  but  Bonaparte  man- 
aged to  defeat  each  of  the  three  divisions  before  they  had  an 
opportunity  to  join  forces.  In  five  days  the  Austrians  retired, 
leaving  fifteen  thousand  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  French. 
Bonaparte  now  determined  to  advance  up  the  river  Adige  into 
Germany.  He  again  routed  the  Austrians  and  took  possession 
of  Trent.  Wurmser,  the  Austrian  commander,  tried  to  cut  him 
off  from  Italy  but  was  himself  shut  up  in  Mantua  with  the 
remains  of  his  army. 

In  November  two  more  Austrian  armies  were  sent  down  to 
relieve  Mantua,  one  approaching  by  the  Adige  and  the  other 
descending  the  Piave.  Bonaparte  met  and  defeated  the  Piave 
army  in  a  three  days'  battle  at  Arcole,  after  which  the  other 
Austrian  division  retreated.  The  last  effort  to  relieve  the  fortress 
was  frustrated  by  Bonaparte  at  Rivoli  (January  14-15,  1797) 
and  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  Mantua,  which  gave  the 
French  complete  control  of  northern  Italy. 

All  danger  of  an  attack  in  the  rear  was  now  removed,  and 
the  victorious  French  general  could  lead  his  army  through  the 
mountains  to  Vienna.  He  forced  back  the  Austrians,  who 
attempted  to  block  the  road,  and  when,  on  April  7,  he  was 
within  eighty  miles  of  the  capital,  the  Austrian  commander  re- 
quested a  truce,  which  Bonaparte  was  not  unwilling  to  grant, 
since  he  was  now  far  from  home,  and  both  the  other  armies 
which  the  Directory  had  sent  out,  under  Moreau  and  Jourdan, 


Napoleon  Bonaparte 


257 


had  been  routed  and  forced  back  over  the  Rhine.  A  prelimi- 
nary peace  was  accordingly  arranged,  which  was  followed  by 
the  definitive  Treaty  of  Campo  Formio  (October,  1797). 


Central  Europe  to  illustrate  Napoleon's  Campaigns, 
1 796-1 801 

The  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Campo  Formio  illustrate  the   Provisions  of 
unscrupulous  manner  in  which  Bonaparte  and  Austria  disposed   of^CanTpo^ 
of  the  helpless  lesser  states.    It  inaugurated  the  bewilderingly   Fq""'^ 
rapid  territorial  redistribution  of  Europe  which  was  so  charac-   1797) 
teristic  of  the  Napoleonic  Period.    Austria  ceded  to  France  the 
Austrian  Netherlands  and  secretly  agreed  to  use  its  good  offices 
to  secure  for  France  a  great  part  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine. 


258 


Outlines  of  Eu7'opea7i  History 


Creation  of 
the  Cisalpine 
Republic 


General 
Bonaparte 
establishes 
a  court 


Bonaparte's 
analysis  of 
the  French 
character  and 
of  his  own 
aims 


Austria  also  recognized  the  Cisalpine  Republic,  which  Bona 
parte  had  created  out  of  the  smaller  states  of  northern  Italy, 
and  which  was  under  the  ''  protection  "  of  France.  This  new 
state  included  Lombardy,  which  Bonaparte  had  conquered,  the 
duchy  of  Modena,  some  of  the  papal  dominions,  and,  lastly,  a 
part  of  the  possessions  of  the  venerable  and  renowned  but  now 
defenseless  republic  of  Venice,  which  Napoleon  had  ruthlessly 
destroyed.  Austria  received  as  an  indemnity  for  the  Nether- 
lands and  Lombardy  the  rest  of  the  possessions  of  the  Venetian 
republic,  including  Venice  itself. 

While  the  negotiations  were  going  on,  the  young  general  had 
established  a  brilliant  court  at  a  villa  near  Milan.  "His  salons," 
an  observer  informs  us,  ''  were  filled  with  a  throng  of  generals, 
officials,  and  purveyors,  as  well  as  the  highest  nobility  and  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  Italy,  who  came  to  solicit  the  favor 
of  a  glance  or  a  moment's  conversation."  It  would  appear, 
from  the  report  of  a  most  extraordinar}^  conversation  which 
occurred  at  this  time,  that  he  had  already  conceived  the  role 
that  he  was  to  play  later. 

"What  I  have  done  so  far,"  he  declared,  "is  nothing.  I  am 
but  at  the  opening  of  the  career  that  I  am  to  run.  Do  you 
suppose  that  I  have  gained  my  victories  in  Italy  in  order  to 
advance  the  lawyers  of  the  Directory,  —  the  Carnots  and  the 
Barrases  ?  Do  you  think  either  that  my  object  is  to  establish 
a  republic  ?  What  a  notion !  .  .  .  Let  the  Directory  attempt 
to  deprive  me  of  my  command  and  they  will  see  who  is  the 
master.  The  nation  must  have  a  head,  a  head  who  is  rendered 
illustrious  by  glory  and  not  by  theories  of  government,  fine 
phrases,  or  the  talk  of  idealists." 

There  is  no  doubt  whom  General  Bonaparte  had  in  mind 
when  he  spoke  of  the  needed  head  of  the  French  nation  who 
should  be  "  rendered  illustrious  by  glory."  This  son  of  a  poor 
Corsican  lawyer,  but  yesterday  a  mere  unlucky  adventurer,  had 
arranged  his  program ;  two  years  and  a  half  later,  at  the  age 
of  thirty,  he  was  the  master  of  the  French  Republic. 


Napoleon  Bo7iaparte  259 

Bonaparte  was  a  little  man,  less  than  five  feet  four  inches  in  Personal 
height:.  At  this  time  he  was  extremely  thin,  but  his  striking  Js^fcr^^'^' 
features,  quick,  searching  eye,  abrupt,  animated  gestures, 
and  rapid  speech,  incorrect  as  it  was,  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  those  who  came  in  contact  with  him.  He  possessed  in 
a  supreme  degree  two  qualities  that  are  ordinarily  considered 
incompatible.  He  was  a  dreamer  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  man 
whose  practical  skill  and  mastery  of  detail  amounted  to  genius. 
He  once  told  a  friend  that  he  was  wont,  when  a  poor  lieuten- 
ant, to  allow  his  imagination  full  play  and  fancy  things  just  as 
he  would  have  them.  Then  he  would  coolly  consider  the  exact 
steps  to  be  taken  if  he  were  to  try  to  make  his  dream  come  true. 

In  order  to  explain  Bonaparte's  success  it  must  be  remem-  Sources  of 
bered  that  he  was  not  hampered  or  held  back  by  the  fear  of   >,°apoleon's 
doing  wrong.     He  was  utterly  unscrupulous,  whether  dealing  character 
with  an  individual  or  a  nation,  and  appears  to  have  been  abso- 
lutely without  any  sense  of  moral  responsibility.     Neither  did 
affection  for  his  friends  and  relatives  ever  stand  in  the  way  of 
his  personal  aggrandizement.     To  these  traits  must  be  added 
unrivaled  militar)^  genius  and  the  power  of  intense  and  almost 
uninterrupted  work. 

But  even  Bonaparte,  unexampled  as  were  his  abilities,  could   The  poHtical 
never  have  extended  his  power  over  all  of  western  Europe,   ^v^"ch^°"^ 
had  it  not  been  for  the  peculiar  political  weakness  of  most  of  rendered 

^  ^  Napoleons 

the  states  with  which  he  had  to  deal.    There  was  no  strong  wonderful 

successes 

German  Empire  in  his  day,  no  united  Italy.  The  French  Re-  possible 
public  was  surrounded  by  petty,  independent,  or  practically 
independent,  principalities,  which  were  defenseless  against  an 
unscrupulous  invader.  IMoreover  the  larger  powers  were  inclined 
to  be  jealous  of  each  other  and  did  not  support  each  other 
properly.  Prussia,  much  smaller  than  it  is  now,  offered  no 
efficient  opposition  to  the  extension  of  French  control,  while 
Austria  had  been  forced  to  capitulate,  after  a  short  campaign, 
by  an  enemy  far  from  its  source  of  supplies  and  led  by  a  young 
and  inexperienced  general. 


26o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Bonaparte 
conceives  the 
plan  of  an 
expedition 
to  Egypt 


Section  40.    How  Bonaparte  made  himself 
Master  of  France 

After  arranging  the  Peace  of  Campo  Formio,  General  Bona- 
parte returned  to  Paris.  He  at  once  perceived  that  France,  in 
spite  of  her  enthusiasm  over  his  victories,  was  not  yet  ready  to 
accept  him  as  her  ruler.  The  pear  was  not  yet  ripe,  as  he  ob- 
served. He  saw,  too,  that  he  would  soon  sacrifice  his  pres- 
tige if  he  lived  quietly  in  Paris  like  an  ordinary  person.  His 
active  mind  promptly  conceived  a  plan  which  would  forward 
his  interests.  France  was  still  at  war  with  England,  its  most 
persevering  enemy  during  this  period.  Bonaparte  convinced 
the  Directory  that  England  could  best  be  ruined  in  the  long 
run  by  occupying  Egypt  and  so  threatening  her  commerce  in 
the  Mediterranean,  and  perhaps  ultimately  her  dominion  in  the 
East.  Fascinated  by  the  career  of  Alexander  the  Great,  Bona- 
parte pictured  himself  riding  to  India  on  the  back  of  an  ele- 
phant and  dispossessing  England  of  her  most  precious  colonial 
dependencies.-^  He  had,  however,  still  another  and  a  character- 
istic reason  for  undertaking  the  expedition.  France  was  on  the 
eve  of  a  new  war  with  the  European  powers.  Bonaparte  fore- 
saw that,  if  he  'could  withdraw  with  him  some  of  France's 
best  officers,  the  Directory  might  soon  find  itself  so  embar- 
rassed that  he  could  return  as  a  national  savior.  And  even  so 
it  fell  out. 

Accordingly  General  Bonaparte,  under  authority  of  the  Direc- 
tory, collected  forty  thousand  of  the  best  troops  and  fitted  out 

1  The  expedition  to  Egypt  did  not  establish  a  new  empire,  but  it  led  to  the 
revelation  of  thousands  of  years  of  ancient  history.  A  band  of  French  scholars 
accompanied  the  army  and  started  collecting  the  remains  of  monuments  and 
tombs. 

The  tombs  were  covered  with  hieroglyphs  which  no  one  could  read ;  but  in 
the  spoil  collected  —  and  captured  by  Nelson  so  that  it  is  now  in  the  British 
Museum  —  was  a  stone  with  both  Greek  text  and  hieroglyphs  in  parallel  columns, 
which  a  French  scholar,  Champollion,  used,  a  few  years  later,  as  a  key  to  unlock 
the  literature  of  ancient  Egypt.  So  it  turned  out  that  the  few  scientists,  whom 
the  soldiers  on  the  expedition  heartily  despised,  accomplished  most.  See  Part 
I,  chap.  ii. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte 


& 


MEDITERRANEAN 
SEA 


<S"- 


a  strong  fleet,  which  should  serve  to  give  France  the  control 
of  the  Mediterranean.  He  did  not  forget  to  add  to  the  expedi- 
tion a  hundred  and  twenty  scientists  and  engineers,  who  were 
to  study  the  country  and  prepare  the  way  for  French  colonists 
to  be  sent  out  later. 

The  French  fleet  left  Toulon,  May  19,  1798.    It  was  so  for-  Thecam- 
tunate  as  to  escape  the  English  squadron  under  Nelson,  which   ^^.J^pWi^oS. 
sailed  by  it  in  the  ^799) 

night.  Bonaparte 
arrived  at  Alexan- 
dria, July  I,  and 
easily  defeated  the 
Turkish  troops  in 
the  famous  battle 
of  the  Pyramids. 
Meanwhile  Nelson, 
who  did  not  know 
the  destination  of 
the  enemy's  fleet, 
had  returned  from 
the  Syrian  coast, 
where  he  had  looked 
for  the  French  in 
vain.  Rediscovered 

Bonaparte's  ships  in  the  harbor  of  Alexandria  and  completely   Nelson  de- 
annihilated  them  in  the  first  battle  of  the  Nile  (August  i,  1798).    French  ffeet 
The  French  troops  were  now  completely  cut  off  from  Europe, 

The  Porte  (that  is,  the  Turkish  government)  having  declared 
war  against  France,  Bonaparte  resolved  to  attack  Turkey  by 
land.  He  accordingly  marched  into  Syria  in  the  spring  of 
1799,  but  was  repulsed  at  Acre,  where  the  Turkish  forces  were 
aided  by  the  English  fleet.  Pursued  by  pestilence,  the  army 
regained  Cairo  in  June,  after  terrible  suffering  and  loss.  It  was 
still  strong  enough  to  annihilate  a  Turkish  army  that  landed  at 
Alexandria;  but  news  now  reached   Bonaparte  from  Europe 


Egyptian  Campaign 


Syrian 
campaign 


262 


Oictlines  of  European  History 


Bonaparte 
deserts  the 
army  in 
Egypt  and 
returns  to 
Paris 


The  coup 
d'etat  of 
the  i8th 
Brumaire 
(November  9, 
1799) 


Bonaparte 
made  First 
Consul 


The  consti- 
tution of  the 
Year  VIII 


The  Council 
of  State 


which  convinced  him  that  the  time  had  come  for  him  to  hasten 
back.  The  powers  had  formed  a  new  coalition  against  France. 
Northern  Italy,  which  he  had  won,  was  lost;  the  allies  were 
about  to  invade  France  itself,  and  the  Directory  was  hopelessly 
demoralized.  Bonaparte  accordingly  secretly  deserted  his  arm); 
and  managed,  by  a  series  of  happy  accidents,  to  reach  France 
by  October  9,  1799. 

The  Directory,  one  of  the  most  corrupt  and  inefficient  gov- 
ernmental bodies  that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  had  completely 
disgraced  itself,  and  Bonaparte  readily  found  others  to  join  with 
him  in  a  conspiracy  to  overthrow  it.  A  plan  was  formed  for 
abruptly  destroying  the  old  government  and  replacing  it  by  a 
new  one  without  observing  any  constitutional  forms.  This  is  a 
procedure  so  familiar  in  France  during  the  past  century  that  it 
is  known  even  in  English  as  a  coup  d'etat  (literally  translated,  a 
"  stroke  of  state  ").  The  conspirators  had  a  good  many  friends 
in  the  two  assemblies,  especially  among  the  "  Elders."  Never- 
theless Bonaparte  had  to  order  his  soldiers  to  invade  the  hall 
in  which  the  Assembly  of  the  Five  Hundred  was  in  session  and 
scatter  his  opponents  before  he  could  accomplish  his  purpose. 
A  chosen  few  were  then  reassembled  under  the  presidency  of 
Lucien  Bonaparte,  one  of  Napoleon's  brothers,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  Assembly.  They  voted  to  put  the  government 
in  the  hands  of  three  men,  —  General  Bonaparte  and  two 
others,  —  to  be  called  "Consuls."  These  were  to  proceed, 
with  the  aid  of  a  commission  and  of  the  Elders,  to  draw  up 
a  new  constitution. 

The  new  constitution  was  a  very  cumbrous  and  elaborate 
one.  It  provided  for  no  less  than  four  assemblies,  one  to  pro- 
pose the  laws,  one  to  consider  them,  one  to  vote  upon  them, 
and  one  to  decide  on  their  constitutionality.  But  Bonaparte 
saw  to  it  that  as  First  Consul  he  himself  had  practically  all  the 
power  in  his  own  hands.  The  Council  of  State,  to  which  he 
called  talented  men  from  all  parties  and  over  which  he  presided 
was  the  most  important  of  the  governmental  bodies. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte 


263 


Fig.  66.    Bonaparte's  Coup  d'Etat  of  the  i8th  Brumaire 

Bonaparte's  invasion  of  the  hall  of  the  Assembly  with  his  soldiers,  to 
"  restore  liberty,"  was  a  military  conspiracy  against  the  existing  govern- 
ment. The  legislators  accused  him  of  treason,  and  he  almost  lost  his 
nerve  at  the  critical  moment.  His  brother,  however,  harangued  the 
soldiers  outside,  telling  them  their  general's  life  was  in  danger,  and  they 
drove  everyone  from  the  hall.   Thus  Bonaparte  got  control  of  France 


Bonaparte's    chief  aim   was    to  centralize   the   government.  The  central- 

1  SzQ.^  adminis- 

Nothmg  was  left  to  local  assemblies,  for  he  proposed  to  con-  trative  sys- 

trol  everything  from  Paris.     Accordingly,  in  each  departement  Sfshe?by" 

he  put  an  officer  called  2.  prefect;    in  each  subdivision  of  the  Bonaparte 
departemejit  a  subprefect.    These,  together  with  the  mayors  and 


264 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  new 
government 
accepted  by  ; 
plebiscite 


Bonaparte 
generally- 
acceptable 
to  France  as 
First  Consul 


police  commissioners  of  the  towns,  were  all  appointed  by  the 
First  Consul.  The  prefects  —  "little  First  Consuls,"  as  Bona- 
parte called  them  —  resembled  the  former  intendants,  the  king's 
officers  under  the  old  re'gime.  Indeed,  the  new  government 
suggested  in  several  important  respects  that  of  Louis  XIV. 
This  administrative  system  which  Bonaparte  perfected  has  en- 
dured, with  a  few  changes,  down  to  the  present  day.  It  has 
rendered  the  French  government  very  stable  in  spite  of  the 
startling  changes  in  the  constitution  which  have  occurred. 
There  is  no  surer  proof  of  Napoleon's  genius  than  that,  with 
no  previous  experience,  he  could  conceive  a  plan  of  govern- 
ment that  should  serve  a  great  state  like  France  through  all  its 
vicissitudes  for  a  century. 

The  new  ruler  objected  as  decidedly  as  Louis  XIV  had  done 
to  the  idea  of  being  controlled  by  the  people,  who,  he  believed, 
knew  nothing  of  public  affairs.  It  was  enough,  he  thought,  if 
they  were  allowed  to  say  whether  they  wished  a  certain  form 
of  government  or  not.  Fie  therefore  introduced  what  he  called 
a  plebiscite}  The  new  constitution  when  completed  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  nation  at  large,  and  all  were  allowed  to  vote  "yes" 
or  "  no  "  on  the  question  of  its  adoption.  Over  three  million 
voted  in  favor  of  it,  and  only  fifteen  hundred  and  sixty-two 
against  it.  This  did  not  necessarily  mean,  however,  that  practi- 
cally the  whole  nation  wished  to  have  General  Bonaparte  as  its 
ruler.  A  great  many  may  have  preferred  what  seemed  to  them 
an  objectionable  form  of  government  to  the  risk  of  rejecting 
it.  Herein  lies  the  injustice  of  the  plebiscite ;  there  are  many 
questions  that  cannot  be  answered  by  a  simple  "  yes  "  or  "  no." 

Yet  the  accession  to  power  of  the  popular  young  general 
was  undoubtedly  grateful  to  the  majority  of  citizens,  who 
longed  above  all  for  a  stable  government.  The  Swedish  envoy 
wrote,  just  after  the  coup  d'etat :  ''  A  legitimate  monarch 
has    perhaps    never   found    a    people    more   ready   to  do   his 


1  The  plebiscitum  of  the  Romans,  from  which  the  French  derived  their  terra 
plebiscite^  was  originally  a  law  voted  in  the  Assembly  of  the  plebs,  or  people. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  265 

bidding  than  Bonaparte,  and  it  would  be  inexcusable  if  this 
talen:ed  general  did  not  take  advantage  of  this  to  introduce 
a  better  form  of  government  upon  a  firmer  basis.  It  is  liter- 
ally true  that  France  will  perform  impossibilities  in  order  to 
aid  him  in  this.  The  people  (with  the  exception  of  a  despica- 
ble horde  of  anarchists)  are  so  sick  and  weary  of  revolutionary 
horrors  and  folly  that  they  believe  that  any  change  cannot  fail 
to  be  for  the  better.  .  .  .  Even  the  royalists,  whatever  their 
views  may  be,  are  sincerely  devoted  to  Bonaparte,  for  they 
attribute  to  him  the  intention  of  gradually  restoring  tHe  old 
order  of  things.  The  indifferent  element  cling  to  him  as  the 
one  most  likely  to  give  France  peace.  The  enlightened  repub- 
licans, although  they  tremble  for  their  form  of  government, 
prefer  to  see  a  single  man  of  talent  possess  himself  of  the 
power  than  a  club  of  intriguers." 

Section  41.    The  Second  Coalition  against  France 

Upon    becoming    First    Consul,    General    Bonaparte    found   The  Second 
France  at  war  with   England,   Russia,  Austria,  Turkey,  and 
Naples  —  a   somewhat    strange   coalition   which   must  be   ex- 
plained.    After    the    treaties    of    Basel    and    Campo    Formio, 
England  had  been  left  to  fight  the  Revolution  single-handed. 
But  in  1798  Pitt,  the  English  prime  minister,  found  an  unex- 
pected ally  in  the  Tsar  Paul.-^    Like  his  mother,  Catherine  II,   Russia  enters 
whom  he  succeeded  in   1796,  he  hated  the  Revolution;  but,   EngTancTs 
unlike  her,  he  consented  to  send  troops  to  fight  against  France,   ^^'^ 
for  which  Pitt  agreed  to  help  pay.    Austria  was  willing  to  take 
up  the  war  again  since  she  saw  no  prospect  of  getting  all  the 
territory  that  Bonaparte  had  half  promised  her  in  the  Treaty 

1  Paul  was  an  ill-balanced  person  whose  chief  grievance  against  the  French 
was  that  Bonaparte,  on  the  way  to  Egypt,  had  captured  the  island  of  Malta. 
Malta  had  for  centuries  been  held  by  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Malta,  which 
had  originated  during  the  Crusades.  Now  the  knights  had  chosen  Paul  as  their 
"  Protector,"  an  honor  which  enchanted  his  simple  soul  and  led  him  to  dream  of 
annexing  Malta  to  his  empire.  Bonaparte's  seizure  of  the  island  interfered  with 
his  plans  and  serv^ed  to  rouse  a  desire  for  vengeance. 


266 


O  7Lt  lines  of  El  Lr ope  an  History 


The  Sultan 


France  re- 
publicanizes 
her  neighbors 


The  Roman 

Republic 

proclaimed 

(February, 

1798) 


The  Direc- 
tory revolu- 
tionizes and 
plunders 
Switzerland 
(^798) 


of  Campo  Formio.  As  for  the  Sultan,  Bonaparte's  Egyptian 
expedition  brought  the  French  to  his  very  doors  and  led  him 
to  join  his  ancient  enemy,  Russia,  in  a  common  cause. 

It  certainly  appeared  to  be  high  time  to  check  the  restless 
new  Republic  which  was  busily  engaged  in  spreading  "  liberty  " 
in  her  own  interest.  Holland  had  first  been  republicanized  \  then 
Bonaparte  had  established  the  Cisalpine  Republic  in  northern 
Italy ;  and  the  French  had  stirred  up  a  revolution  in  Genoa, 
which  led  to  the  abolition  of  the  old  aristocratic  government 
and  the  founding  of  a  new  Ligurian  Republic  which  was  to  be 
the  friend  and  ally  of  France. 

Next,  with  the  encouragement  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  Napo- 
leon's brother,  who  was  the  French  ambassador  in  Rome,  the 
few  republicans  in  the  Pope's  capital  proclaimed  a  republic. 
In  the  disturbance  which  ensued  a  French  general  was  killed, 
a  fact  which  gave  the  Directory  an  excuse  for  declaring  war 
and  occupying  Rome.  On  February  15,  1798,  the  republi- 
cans assembled  in  the  ancient  forum  and  declared  that  the 
Roman  Republic  was  once  more  restored.  The  brutal  French 
commissioner  insulted  the  Pope,  snatched  his  staff  and  ring 
from  his  hand,  and  ordered  him  out  of  town.  The  French 
seized  the  pictures  and  statues  in  the  Vatican  and  sent  them 
to  Paris  and  managed  to  rob  the  new  republic  of  some  sixty 
million  francs  besides. 

More  scandalous  still  was  the  conduct  of  the  Directory  and 
its  commissioners  in  dealing  with  Switzerland.  In  that  little 
country,  certain  of  the  cantons^  or  provinces,  had  long  been 
subject  to  others  which  possessed  superior  rights.  A  few  per- 
sons in  the  canton  of  Vaud  were  readily  induced  by  the  French 
agitators  to  petition  the  Directory  to  free  their  canton  from 
the  overlordship  of  Berne.  In  January,  1798,  a  French  army 
entered  Switzerland  and  easily  overpowered  the  troops  of 
Berne  and  occupied  the  city  (in  March),  where  they  seized 
the  treasure — some  four  millions  of  dollars  —  which  had  been 
gradually  brought  together  through  a  long  period  by  the  thrifty 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  267 

government  of  the  confederation.  A  new  Helvetic  Republic,  The  Helvetic 
"  one  and  indivisible,"  was  proclaimed,  in  which  all  the  cantons  ^^" 
should  be  equal  and  all  the  old  feudal  customs  and  inequalities 
should  be  abolished.  The  mountaineers  of  the  conservative 
cantons  about  the  lake  of  Lucerne  rose  in  vain  against  the  in- 
truders, but  the  French  party  mercilessly  massacred  those  who 
dared  to  oppose  the  changes  which  they  chose  to  introduce. 

The  new  outbreak  of  war  against  France  was  due  to  Naples,    Naples  re- 
where  Marie  Antoinette's  sister,  Caroline,  watched  with  horror  warTo^ainst 
the  occupation  of  Rome  by  the  French  troops.    Nelson,  after   ^,^^^^ 
destroying  Bonaparte's  fleet  in  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  had  re-   1798) 
turned  to  Naples  and  there  arranged  a  plan  for  driving  the 
French  from  the  Papal  States.     But  everything  went  badly ; 
the  French  easily  defeated  the  Bourbon  armies  and  the  mem-   Naples 
bers  of  the  royal  family  of  Naples  were  glad  to  embark  on  the   the  Par- 
British  ships  and  make  their  way  to  Palermo.    Thereupon  the   ^e"°bnc" 
French  republicanized  Naples  (renaming  it  the  Parthenopean    (January, 
Republic),  seized  millions  of  francs  as  usual,  and  carried  off  to 
Paris  the  best  works  of  art. 

At  the  same  time  Piedmont  was  occupied  by  the  French,   Piedmont 
and  the  king  was  forced  to  abdicate.     He  retired  to  Sardinia,   the  French 
where  he  remained  until  Napoleon's  downfall  fifteen  years  later. 

Early  in  the  year  1799  the  French  Republic  seemed  every-  France 
where  victorious.  It  had  at  last  reached  its  "  natural  bounda- 
ries "  by  adding  to  the  Austrian  Netherlands  those  portions  of 
the  Holy  Roman  Empire  which  lay  on  the  left  bank^  of  the 
Rhine,  and,  to  the  south,  the  duchy  of  Savoy.  It  had  reorgan- 
ized its  neighbors,  the  Batavian  Republic,  the  Helvetic  Repub- 
lic, the  Ligurian  Republic,  the  Cisalpine  Republic,  the  Roman 
Republic,  and  the  Parthenopean  Republic  —  all  of  which  were 
to  accept  its  counsel  and  aid  it  with  money,  troops,  and  supplies. 
Bonaparte  had  occupied  Egypt  and  was  on  his  way  to  Syria 
with  gorgeous  visions  of  subjugating  the  whole  Orient. 

1  That  is  to  say,  the  bank  which  would  He  to  the  left  of  one  traveling  down 
the  river,  in  this  case  the  west  bank. 


"  natural 
boundaries ' 
in  1799 


268 


Outlmes  of  E?  trope  art  History 


Suvaroff  and 
the  Austrians 
force  the 
French  out 
of  Italy 
(April- 
August, 
1799) 


Russia  with- 
draws from 
the  war 
(October, 
-799) 


The  First 
Consul 
writes  to 
George  III 
and  Francis 
II  in  the 
interests  of 
Deace 


His  advances 
not  well 
"iceived 


Within  a  few  months,  however,  the  situation  was  completely 
changed.  The  Austrians  defeated  the  French  in  southern  Ger- 
many, and  they  retreated  to  the  Rhine.  In  Italy  the  brave 
Russian  general,  Suvaroff,  with  the  small  but  valiant  army 
which  the  Tsar  had  sent  to  the  west,  forced  the  French  out  of 
northern  Italy  and,  with  the  aid  of  the  Austrians,  repeatedly 
defeated  their  armies  and  shut  up  the  remains  of  their  forces 
in  Genoa,  to  which  the  Austrians  laid  siege.  Suvaroff  then 
turned  north  through  the  Swiss  mountains,  across  which  he 
forced  his  way  in  spite  of  incredible  difficulties,  only  to  find 
that  a  second  Russian  army,  which  he  had  expected  would 
join  him,  had  been  defeated  by  the  French.  Thereupon  the 
Tsar,  attributing  the  reverses  of  his  armies  to  the  intrigues  of 
Austria,  broke  off  all  relations  with  her  and  recalled  his  gen- 
erals (October,   1799).^ 

In  November,  1799,  the  corrupt  and  inefficient  Directory 
was,  as  we  have  seen,  thrust  aside  by  a  victorious  general  to 
whom  France  now  looked  for  peace  and  order.  The  First 
Consul  sought  to  make  a  happy  impression  upon  France  by 
writing  personal  letters  on  Christmas  Day  to  both  George  III 
and  Emperor  Francis  II,  in  which  he  deplored  a  continuation 
of  war  among  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  Europe.  Why 
should  they  ''sacrifice  to  ideas  of  empty  greatness  the  blessings 
of  commerce,  internal  prosperity,  and  domestic  happiness  ? 
Should  they  not  recognize  that  peace  was  at  once  their  first 
need  and  their  chief  glory  ? " 

The  English  returned  a  gruff  reply  in  which  Pitt  declared  that 
France  had  been  entirely  at  fault  and  had  precipitated  war  by 
her  aggressions  in  Holland,  Switzerland,  and  Egypt.  England 
must  continue  the  struggle  until  France  offered  pledges  of 
peace,  and  the  best  security  would  be  the  recall  of  the  Bourbon 


1  Naturally  the  republics  which  had  been  formed  in  Italy  under  French  influ- 
ence collapsed.  F^dinand  returned  to  Naples  and  instituted  a  royalist  reign  of 
terror,  in  which  Nelson  took  part.  His  general's  conduct  met  with  hearty  dis- 
approval in  England. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  269 

dynasty.^    The  Austrians  also  refused,  though  somewhat  more 

graciously,  to  come  to  terms,  and   Bonaparte  began  secretly 

collecting  troops  which  he  could   direct  against  the  Austrian 

army  that  was  besieging  the  French  in  Genoa. 

Bonaparte  now  proceeded  to  devise  one  of  the  boldest  and   Bonaparte 

most  brilliant  of  campaigns.     Instead  of  following  one  of  the   st^Bernard 

usual  roads  into  Italy,  either  along  the  coast  to  Genoa  or  across   Pass  (May, 

^  1000) 

the  Alps  of  Savoy,  he  resolved  to  take  the  enemy  in  the  rear. 

In  order  to  do  this  he  concentrated  his  forces  in  Switzerland 
and,  emulating  Hannibal,  he  led  them  over  the  difficult  Alpine 
pass  of  the  Great  St.  Bernard.  There  was  no  carriage  road 
then  as  there  is  now,  and  the  cannons  had  to  be  dragged  over 
in  trunks  of  trees  which  had  been  hollowed  out  for  the  purpose. 
Bonaparte  arrived  safely  in  Milan  on  June  2,  1800,  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  the  Austrians,  who  had  received  no  definite 
news  of  his  line  of  approach.  He  immediately  restored  the 
Cisalpine  Republic,  wrote  to  Paris  that  he  had  delivered  the 
Lombards  from  the  "  Austrian  rod,"  and  then  moved  westward 
to  find  and  crush  the  enemy. 

In  his  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  whereabouts  of  the  Austri-  The  battle 
ans,   Bonaparte  divided   his  forces  when  near  the  village  of   (june^iT^*^ 
Marengo  (June  14)  and  sent  a  contingent  under  Desaix  south-   ^^°°) 
ward  to  head  off  the  enemy  in  that  direction.    In  the  mean- 
time the  whole  Austrian  army  bore  down  upon  the  part  of  the 
French  army  which   Bonaparte  commanded  and  would  have 
utterly  defeated   it  if    Desaix  had   not    heard   the  firing  and 
hurried  back  to  charge  the  Austrians  on  the  flank.    The  brave 
Desaix,  who  had  really  saved  the  day,  was  killed ;    Bonaparte 
simply  said  nothing  of  his  own  temporary  defeat,  and  added 
one  more  to  the  list  of  his  great  military  triumphs.    A  truce 
was  signed  next  day,  and  the  Austrians  retreated  behind  the 
Mincio  River,  leaving  Bonaparte  to  restore  French  influence  in 
Lombardy.    The  districts  that  he  had  "  freed  "  were  obliged  to 

1  This  suggestion  irritated  the  French  and  convinced  them  that  England  was 
their  implacable  enemy. 


270 


Oiitlijies  of  European  History 


Moreau  de- 
feats the  Aus- 
trian army  in 
the  forest  of 
Hohenlinden 
(December, 
1800) 


Provisions  of 
the  Treaty  of 
Luneville 
(February, 
1801) 


General 
peace  of 
1801 


Two  most 
important 
results  of 
the  treaties 
of  1801 


(a)  Bonaparte 
sells  Louisi- 
ana to  the 
United 
States  (1803) 


support  his  army,  and  the  reestablished  Cisalpine  Republic  was 
forced  to  pay  a  monthly  tax  of  two  million  francs. 

While  Bonaparte  had  been  making  his  last  preparations  to 
cross  the  St.  Bernard,  a  French  army  under  Moreau,  a  very 
able  commander,  had  invaded  southern  Germany  and  prevented 
the  Austrian  forces  there  from  taking  the  road  to  Italy.  Some 
months  later,  in  the  early  winter,  when  the  truce  concluded 
after  Marengo  had  expired,  he  was  ordered  to  march  on  Vienna. 
On  December  3  he  met  the  Austrian  army  in  the  snowy  roads 
of  the  forest  of  Hohenlinden  and  overwhelmingly  defeated  it. 
This  brought  Austria  to  terms  and  she  agreed  to  a  treaty  of 
peace  at  Luneville,  February,  1801. 

In  this,  the  arrangements  made  at  Campo  Formio  were  in 
general  reaffirmed.  France  was  to  retain  the  Austrian  Nether- 
lands and  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine.  The  Batavian,  Helvetic, 
Ligurian,  and  Cisalpine  republics  were  to  be  recognized  and 
included  in  the  peace.    Austria  was  to  keep  Venice.-^ 

Austria's  retirement  from  the  war  was  the  signal  for  a  general 
peace.  Even  England,  who  had  not  laid  down  her  arms  since 
hostilities  first  opened  in  1793,  saw  no  advantage  in  continuing 
the  struggle.  After  defeating  the  French  army  which  Bonaparte 
had  left  in  Eg)'pt,  she  suspended  hostilities  and  made  a  treaty 
of  peace  at  Amiens. 

Among  many  merely  transitory  results  of  these  treaties,  there 
were  two  provisions  of  momentous  import.  The  first  of  these, 
Spain's  cession  of  Louisiana  to  France  in  exchange  for  certain 
advantages  in  Italy,  does  not  concern  us  here  directly.  But 
when  war  again  broke  out  Bonaparte  sold  the  district  to  the 
United  States,  and  among  the  many  transfers  of  territory  that 
he  made  during  his  reign,  none  was  more  important  than  this. 
We  must,  however,  treat  with  some  detail  the  second  of  the 
great  changes,  w^hich  led  to  the  complete  reorganization  of 
Germany  and  ultimately  rendered  possible  the  establishment 
of  the  present  powerful  German  Empire. 

1  The  text  of  this  treaty  may  be  found  in  the  Readings,  section  42. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  271 

In  the  Treaty  of  Luneville,  the  Emperor  had  agreed  on  his   (t)  Effects  of 
own  part,  as  the  ruler  of  Austria,  and  on  the  part  of  the  Holy  oAheTeft" 
Roman  Empire,  that  the  French  Republic  should  thereafter  bank  of  the 
possess  in  full  sovereignty  the  territories  of  the  Empire  which   France 
lay  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  and  that  thereafter  the  Rhine 
should  form  the  boundary  of  France  from  the  point  where  it 
left  the  Helvetic  Republic  to  the  point  where  it  entered  the 
Batavian  Republic.    As  a  natural  consequence  of  this  cession, 
numerous  German  rulers  and  towns  —  nearly  a  hundred  in 
number  —  found  themselves  dispossessed  wholly  or  in  part  of 
their  lands.    The  territories  involved  included,  besides  Prussia's 
duchy  of  Cleves  and  Bavaria's  possessions  (the  Palatinate  and 
the  duchy  of  Jiilich),  the  lands  of  prince-bishops  like  those  of 
Treves  and  Cologne,  the  ancient  free  cities  of  Worms,  Speyer, 
and  Cologne,  and  the  tiny  realms  of  dozens  of  counts  and  abbots. 

The  Empire  bound  itself  by  the  treaty  to  furnish  the  heredi-   Only  the 
tary  princes  who  had  been  forced  to  give  up  their  territories   pri'l^ce^t^  be 
to  France  "  an  indemnity  within  the  Empire."    Those  who  did   indemnified 
not  belong  to  the  class  of  hereditary  rulers  were  of  course  the 
bishops  and  abbots  and  the  free  cities.   The  ecclesiastical  princes 
were  to  be  indemnified  by  pensions  for  life.    As  for  the  towns, 
once  so  prosperous  and  important,  they  now  seemed  to  the 
more  powerful  rulers  of  Germany  scarcely  worth  considering. 

There  was,  however,  no  unoccupied  land  within  the  Empire  The  eccle- 
with  which  to  indemnify  even  the  hereditary  princes,  —  like  the  states^and  the 
elector  of  Bavaria,  the  margrave  of  Baden,  the  king  of  Prussia,  ^''^^  ^o\^%  to 
or  the  Emperor  himself,  —  w^ho  had  seen  their  possessions  on  indemnify 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  divided  up  into  French  departe-  tary  rulers 
ments.    So  the  ecclesiastical  rulers  and  the  free  towns  through- 
out the  Empire  were  obliged  to  surrender  their  lands  for  the 
benefit  of  the  dispossessed  secular  princes.    This  secularization 
of  the  church  lands  —  as  the  process  of  transferring  them  to  lay 
rulers   was   called  —  and    the  annexation  of   the    free    towns 
implied  a  veritable  revolution  in  the  old  Holy  Roman  Empire, 
for  the  possessions  of  the  ecclesiastical  prir^ces  were  vast  in 


272 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  work  of 
the  Imperial 
Commission 


structmg 
Germany 


Destruction 
of  the  eccle- 
siastical 
states  and 
free  towns 


Examples  of 
indemnifica- 


extent  and  were  widely  scattered,  thus  contributing  largely  to 
the  disunion  of  Germany. 

A  commission  of  German  princes  was  appointed  to  under- 
take the  reconstruction  of  the  map ;  and  the  final  distribution 
was  preceded  by  an  undignified  scramble  among  the  hereditary 
rulers  for  bits  of  territor}-.  All  turned  to  Paris  for  favors,  since 
it  was  really  the  First  Consul  and  his  minister,  Talleyrand,  who 
determined  the  distribution.  Needy  princelings  are  said  to 
have  caressed  Talleyrand's  poodle  and  played  ''  drop  the  hand- 
kerchief "  with  his  niece  in  the  hope  of  adding  a  monastery 
or  a  shabby  village  to  their  share.  At  last  the  Imperial  Com- 
mission, with  France's  help,  finished  its  intricate  task,  and  the 
Reichsdeputationshauptschluss,  as  the  outcome  of  their  labors 
was  officially  called,  was  ratified  by  the  diet  in   1803. 

All  the  ecclesiastical  states,  except  Mayence  were  turned 
over  to  lay  rulers,  while  of  the  forty-eight  imperial  cities  only 
six  were  left.  Three  of  these  —  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  Liibeck 
—  still  exist  as  members  of  the  new  German  Empire.  No  map 
could  make  clear  all  the  shiftings  of  territor}'  which  the  Im- 
perial Commission  sanctioned.  A  few  examples  will  serve  to 
illustrate  the  complexity  of  their  procedure  and  the  strange 
microscopic  divisions  of  the  Empire.^ 

Prussia  received  in  return  for  Cleves  and  other  small  terri- 
tories the  bishoprics  of  Hildesheim  and  Paderbom,  a  part  of 
the  bishopric  of  Miinster,  various  districts  of  the  elector  of 
Mayence,  and  the  free  towns  of  Miihlhausen,  Nordhausen, 
and  Goslar  —  over  four  times  the  area  that  she  had  lost.  The 
elector  of  Bavaria,  for  more  considerable  sacrifices  on  the  left 
bank,  was  rewarded  with  the  bishoprics  of  Wiirzburg,  Bamberg, 
Freising,  Augsburg,  and  Passau,  besides  the  lands  of  twelve 
abbots  and  of  seventeen  free  towns  ;  which  materially  extended 
his  boundaries.    Austria  got  the  bishoprics  of  Brixen  and  Trent ; 


1  It  has  not  been  deemed  feasible  to  give  a  map  here  to  illustrate  the  innu- 
merable changes  effected  by  the  Reichsdeputationshauptschluss.  See  map  in 
Shepherd's  Historical  Atlas. 


Napoleon  Bonaparte  273 

the  duke  of  Wiirtemberg  and  the  margrave  of  Baden  also 
rounded  out  their  dominions.  A  host  of  princes  and  counts 
received  little  allotments  of  land  or  an  income  of  a  few  thousand 
gulden  to  solace  their  woes,^  but  the  more  important  rulers 
carried  off  the  lion's  share  of  the  spoils.  Bonaparte  wished  to 
add  Parma  as  well  as  Piedmont  to  France,  so  the  duke  of 
Parma  was  given  Tuscany,  and  the  grand  duke  of  Tuscany 
was  indemnified  with  the  archbishopric  of  Salzburg.- 

These  bewildering  details  are  only  given  here  to  make  clear   Over  two 
the   hopelessly   minute   subdivision  of    the    old    Holy   Roman  independent 
Empire  and  the  importance  of  the  partial  amalgamation  which  gSin^uished 
took  place  in  1803.     One  hundred  and  twelve  sovereign  and 
independent  states  lying  to  the  east  of  the  Rhine  were  wiped 
out  by  being  annexed  to  larger  states,  such  as  Prussia,  Austria, 
Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  Baden,  Hesse,  etc.,  while  nearly  a  hun- 
dred more  had  disappeared  when  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine 
was  converted  into  depa?ieme?its  by  the  French. 

Although  Germany  never  sank  to  a  lower  degree  of  national   Bonaparte's 
degradation  than  at  this  period,  this  consolidation  was  never-  g^in  allies  in 
theless  the  beginning  of  her  political  regeneration.    Bonaparte,   q^^^ 
it  is  true,   hoped    to  weaken  rather  than   to   strengthen  the 
Empire,  for  by  increasing  the  territory  of  the  southern  states 
—  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  Hesse,  and  Baden  —  he  expected  to 
gain  the  friendship   of   their  rulers    and   so    create    a  "  third 
Germany  "  which  he  could  play  off  against  Austria  and  Prussia. 
He  succeeded  for  a  time  in  this  design,,  but  the  consolidation 
of  1803  paved  the  way,  as  we  shall  see,  for  the  creation  sixty- 
seven  years  later  of  the  present  German  Empire. 

1  For  example,  the  prince  of  Bretzenheim,  for  the  loss  of  the  villages  of  Bret- 
zenheim  and  Winzenheim,  was  given  a  '■  princely "'  nunnery  on  the  lake  of  Con- 
stance ;  the  poor  princess  of  Isenburg,  countess  of  Parkstein,  who  lost  a  part  of 
the  tiny  Reipoltskirchen,  received  an  annuity-  of  twent\--three  thousand  gulden 
and  a  share  in  the  tolls  paid  by  boats  on  the  Rhine,  and  so  on. 

2  As  for  the  knights,  who  were  the  least  among  the  German  rulers,  those  who 
had  lost  their  few  acres  on  the  left  bank  were  not  indemnified,  and  those  on  the 
right  bank  were  quietly  deprived  of  their  political  rights  within  the  next  two  or 
three  years  by  the  princes  within  whose  territories  they  happened  to  lie. 

II 


2/4  Outlines  of  European  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section  39.  Outline  the  life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  to  the  year 
1 796.  What  did  France  gain  by  the  Treaty  of  Basel  ?  Describe  the 
political  condition  of  Italy  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Trace  on  a  map  Bonaparte's  Italian  campaign  of  1 796-1  797.  State 
the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Campo  Formio. 

Section  40.  Describe  the  political  situation  which  made  pos- 
sible the  career  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Why  did  Bonaparte 
undertake  the  Egyptian  expedition.^  What  was  the  Coup  d'Etat 
of  the  1 8th  Bmmaire,''    Outline  the  constitution  of  the  Year  VIII. 

Section  41.  What  means  did  the  Directory  take  to  injure  Eng- 
land? Name  the  countries  republicanized  by  France.  Draw  a  map 
showing  the  boundaries  of  France  early  in  i  797.  Indicate  the  change 
which  took  place  before  the  close  of  the  year.  Trace  on  a  map  Bona- 
parte's Italian  campaign  of  1800. 

State  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Luneville.  Mention  the  two 
most  important  results  of  the  treaties  of  1801.  Explain  fully  the 
problems  involved  in  the  cession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine. 
How  was  this  difficulty  settled?  What  was  Bonaparte's  reason  for 
insisting  upon  the  cession  of  German  territory? 


Europe  and  Napoleon  277    • 

General  Bonaparte,  although  himself  a  deist,  nevertheless  Bonaparte 
fully  appreciated  the  importance  of  gaining  the  support  of  the  the'suppo?'" 
Church  and  the  Pope,  and  consequently,  immediately  upon 
becoming  First  Consul,  he  set  to  work  to  settle  the  religious 
difficulties.  He  freed  the  imprisoned  priests  upon  their  promis- 
ing not  to  oppose  the  constitution,  while  those  who  had  been 
exiled  began  to  return  in  considerable  numbers  after  the  i8th 


of  the 
Church 


Fig.  67.    Napoleon  I 

Brumaire.  Sunday,  which  had  been  abolished  by  the  republican 
calendar,  was  once  more  generally  observed,  and  all  the  revolu- 
tionary holidays,  except  July  14,  the  anniversary  of  the  fall  of 
the  Bastille,  and  September  22,  the  first  day  of  the  republican 
year,  were  done  away  with. 

A  formal  treaty  with  the  Pope,  known  as  the  Concordat,  was  The  Concor- 
concluded  in  September,  1801,  which  was  destined  to  remain 
in  force  for  over  a  hundred  years.    It  declared  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  was  that  of  the  great  majority  of  the  French 
citizens  and  that  its  rites  might  be  freely  observed ;  that  the 


274 


Outlines  of  European  History 


QUESTIONS 

Section  39.  Outline  the  life  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  to  the  year 
1 796.  What  did  France  gain  by  the  Treaty  of  Basel  ?  Describe  the 
political  condition  of  Italy  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Trace  on  a  map  Bonaparte's  Italian  campaign  of  1 796-1  797.  State 
the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Campo  Formio. 

Section  40.  Describe  the  political  situation  which  made  pos- 
sible the  career  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  Why  did  Bonaparte 
undertake  the  Egyptian  expedition?  What  was  the  Coup  d'Etat 
of  the  1 8th  Brumaire?    Outline  the  constitution  of  the  Year  VIII. 

Section  41.  What  means  did  the  Directory  take  to  injure  Eng- 
land? Name  the  countries  republicanized  by  France.  Draw  a  map 
showing  the  boundaries  of  France  early  in  1 797.  Indicate  the  change 
which  took  place  before  the  close  of  the  year.  Trace  on  a  map  Bona- 
parte's Italian  campaign  of  1800. 

State  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Luneville.  Mention  the  two 
most  important  results  of  the  treaties  of  1801.  Explain  fully  the 
problems  involved  in  the  cession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine. 
How  was  this  difficulty  settled?  What  was  Bonaparte's  reason  for 
insisting  upon  the  cession  of  German  territory? 


Europe  aiid  N'apoleon 


277 


of  the 
Church 


General  Bonaparte,  although  himself  a  deist,  nevertheless  Bonaparte 
fully  appreciated  the  importance  of  gaining  the  support  of  the  thTsuppo?^" 
Church  and  the  Pope,  and  consequently,  immediately  upon 
becoming  First  Consul,  he  set  to  work  to  settle  the  religious 
difficulties.  He  freed  the  imprisoned  priests  upon  their  promis- 
ing not  to  oppose  the  constitution,  while  those  who  had  been 
exiled  began  to  return  in  considerable  numbers  after  the  i8th 


Fig.  67.    Napoleon  I 

Brumaire.  Sunday,  which  had  been  abolished  by  the  republican 
calendar,  was  once  more  generally  observed,  and  all  the  revolu- 
tionary holidays,  except  July  14,  the  anniversary  of  the  fall  of 
the  Bastille,  and  September  22,  the  first  day  of  the  republican 
year,  were  done  away  with. 

A  formal  treaty  with  the  Pope,  known  as  the  Concordat,  was  The  Concor 

,     ,     ,    .       ^  ,  r.  ,  •   ,  1        •       J  .       daiol  1801 

concluded  m  September,  1801,  which  was  destmed  to  remam 
in  force  for  over  a  hundred  years.  It  declared  that  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  was  that  of  the  great  majority  of  the  French 
citizens  and  that  its  rites  might  be  freely  observed;  that  the 


^'ff 


28o 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


General 
Bonaparte 
becomes 
Napoleon  I, 
emperor  of 
the  French 
(1804) 


A  new  royal 
court  estab- 
lished in  the 
Tuileries 


Bonaparte  had  always  shown  the  instincts  of  a  despotic  ruler, 
and  France  really  ceased  to  be  a  republic  except  in  name  after 
the  1 8th  Brumaire.  The  First  Consul  was  able  to  bring  about 
changes,  one  by  one,  in  the  constitution,  which  rendered  his 
own  power  more  and  more  absolute.  In  1802  he  was  appointed 
Consul  for  life  with  the  right  to  choose  his  successor.  But  this 
did  not  satisfy  his  insatiable  ambition.  He  longed  to  be  a 
monarch  in  name  as  well  as  in  fact.  He  believed  heartily  in 
kingship  and  was  not  averse  to  its  traditional  splendor,  its 
palaces,  ermine  robes,  and  gay  courtiers.  A  royalist  plot  gave 
him  an  excuse  for  secretly  urging  that  he  be  made  emperor. 
Bonaparte  used  it  to  advantage.^  The  Senate  was  induced  to 
ask  him  (May,  1804)  to  accept  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the 
French,  which  he  was  to  hand  down  to  his  children  or  adopted 
heirs.^ 

December  2,  1804,  General  Bonaparte  was  crowned,  in 
the  Cathedral  of  Notre  Dame,  as  Napoleon  I,  emperor  of  the 
French.  The  Pope  consented  to  grace  the  occasion,  but  the 
new  monarch  seized  the  golden  laurel  chaplet  before  the  Pope 
could  take  it  up,  and  placed  it  on  his  own  head,  since  he  wished 
the  world  to  understand  that  he  owed  the  crown  not  to  the 
head  of  the  Church  but  to  his  own  sagacity  and  military  genius. 
A  royal  court  was  reestablished  in  the  Tuileries,  and  Se'gur,  an 
emigrant  noble,  and  Madame  de  Campan  —  one  of  Marie 
Antoinette's  ladies-in-waiting,  who  had  been  earning  an  honest 
livelihood  by  conducting  a  girls'  school  —  were  called  in  to 
show  the  new  courtiers  how  to  conduct  themselves  according  to 
the  rules  of  etiquette  which  had  prevailed  before  the  red  cap  of 
liberty  had  come  into  fashion.  A  new  nobility  was  established 
to  take  the  place  of  that  abolished  by  the  first  National  Assem- 
bly in  1790:  Bonaparte's  uncle  was  made  Grand  Almoner; 
Talleyrand,  Lord  High  Chamberlain;  General  Duroc,  High 
Constable ;  and  fourteen  of  the  most  important  generals  were 

1  See  Readings^  section  42,  for  Napoleon's  report  of  recent  events  submitted 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1804.  2  Josephine  had  borne  him  no  children. 


^  "  £i 

O   -     D 

Is. a 

u    ^   a. 

nd  ce 
iadem 
f  the 

rt  T3    O 

w 

a  oj  4i- 

X 

pom 
ed  th 
me  le 

o 

v5 

j:^    o    (u 

1^  ^    '" 

^ 

o 

ris,  w 
eon  p 
he  ex 

1 

<1 

03    -^    -t-" 

a,  rt 

^ 

^ 

<+-!        ST 

CO 

3 

-J 

< 

hedral  o 
pire.    N; 
:s  seated 

o 

a 

z 

«  £  (U 

M 

"fl 

o 

% 

Dame,  the 
oly  Roman 
ne.    The  Po 

o 

'o 
cu 

03 

< 

z; 

-^ 

o 

0)     KH     •'-' 

13 

o 
U 

Notr 
the  I 
oseph 

o 

y 

S    C  ^~' 

rt 

X! 

■"   13 

X3 

■-I 

CU   T3     <U 

u 

y     OJ     C 

j3 

^     >     ^ 

00 

took  p 
t  obser 
len  cro 

_c 

O 

-a 

d 

c 

01 

^ 

in 

ti   ^   c: 

2   <u   rt 

C     ^-' 

o  tJ  '^ 

Vh    «    rt 

o  —    <u 

The 
copi 
own 

s 

6 


Europe  and  Napoleon  281 

exalted  to  the  rank  of  Marshals  of  France.  The  stanch  re- 
publicans, who  had  believed  that  the  court  pageantry  of  the 
old  re'gime  had  gone  to  stay,  were  either  disgusted  or  amused 
by  these  proceedings,  according  to  their  temperaments.  But 
Emperor  Napoleon  would  brook  no  strictures  or  sarcastic 
comment. 

From  this  time  on  he  became  increasingly  tyrannical  and  Napoleon's 
hostile  to  criticism.  At  the  very  beginning  of  his  administra-  the  press^  ° 
tion  he  had  suppressed  a  great  part  of  the  numerous  political 
newspapers  an-l  forbidden  the  establishment  of  new  ones.  As 
emperor  he  showed  himself  still  more  exacting.  His  police 
furnished  the  news  to  the  papers,  and  carefully  omitted  all  that 
might  offend  their  suspicious  master.  He  ordered  the  editors 
to  "  put  in  quarantine  all  news  that  might  be  disadvantageous 
or  disagreeable  to  France."  ^  He  would  have  liked  to  sup- 
press all  newspapers  but  one,  which  should  be  used  for 
official  purposes. 

Section  43.     Napoleon  destroys  the   Holy  Roman 
Empire  and  reorganizes  Germany 

A   great   majority   of  the   French  undoubtedly  longed  for  Napoleon  on 
peace,  but  Napoleon's  position  made  war  a  personal  necessity  oi^^xioT^ 
for  him.    No  one  saw  this  more  clearly  than  he.    "  If,"  he  said   ^^"^"^^ 
to  his  Council  of  State  in  the  summer  of  1802,  "  the  European 
states  intend  ever  to  renew  the  war,  the  sooner  it  comes  the 
better.    Every  day  the  remembrance  of  their  defeats  grows 
dimmer  and  at  the  same   time  the  prestige  of  our  victories 

*  The  officers  of  the  Prussian  army  were  very  anxious  to  try  con- 
clusions with  the  incredible  ''upstart"  Bonaparte.  Napoleon  fed  their 
zeal  by  insults  and  so  brought  Prussia  to  fight  just  when  he  wished, 
w^hen  she  had  no  friends  to  help  her.  The  picture  opposite  (Fig.  71) 
shows  how  the  young  officers  of  the  crack  Prussian  regiments  felt 
about  the  war  before  the  battle  of  Jena. 

1  When  the  French  fleet  was  annihilated  by  Nelson  at  Trafalgar  in  1805,  the 
event  was  not  mentioned  in  the  Moniteur^  the  official  newspaper. 


282 


Outlines  of  European  Histo7y 


Napoleon 
dreams  of 
becoming 
emperor 
of  Europe 


Reasons  for 
England's 
persistent 
opposition  to 
Napoleon 


War  between 
France  and 
England 
renewed  in 
1803.    Napo- 
leon insti- 
tutes a  coast 
blockade 


pales. . .  .  France  needs  glorious  deeds,  and  hence  war.  ...  I  shall 
put  up  with  peace  as  long  as  our  neighbors  can  maintain  it,  but 
I  shall  regard  it  as  an  advantage  if  they  force  me  to  take  up  my 
arms  again  before  they  rust.  ...  In  our  position  I  shall  look 
on  each  conclusion  of  peace  as  simply  a  short  armistice,  and 
I  regard  myself  as  destined  during  my  term  of  office  to  fight 
almost  without  intermission." 

On  another  occasion,  in  1804,  Napoleon  said,  "There  will 
be  no  rest  in  Europe  until  it  is  under  a  single  chief  —  an 
emperor  who  shall  have  kings  for  officers,  who  shall  distribute 
kingdoms  to  his  lieutenants,  and  shall  make  one  man  king  of 
Italy,  another  of  Bavaria  ;  one  ruler  of  Switzerland,  another 
governor  of  Holland,  each  having  an  office  of  honor  in  the 
imperial  household."  This  was  the  ideal  that  he  now  found 
himself  in  a  position  to  carry  out  with  marv^elous  exactness. 

There  were  many  reasons  why  the  peace  with  England  (con- 
cluded at  Amiens  in  March,  1802)  should  be  speedily  broken. 
Napoleon  obviously  intended  to  conquer  as  much  of  Europe  as 
he  could,  and  to  place  high  duties  on  English  goods  in  those 
territories  that  he  controlled.  This  filled  commercial  and  indus- 
trial England  with  apprehension.  The  English  people  longed 
for  peace,  but  peace  appeared  only  to  offer  an  opportunity  to 
Napoleon  to  develop  French  commerce  at  their  expense.  This 
was  the  secret  of  England's  perseverance.  All  the  other  Euro- 
pean powers  concluded  treaties  with  Napoleon  at  some  time 
during  his  reign.  England  alone  did  not  lay  down  her  arms  a 
second  time  until  the  emperor  of  the  French  was  a  prisoner. 

War  was  renewed  between  England  and  France,  May,  1803. 
Bonaparte  promptly  occupied  Hanover,  of  which  it  will  be  re- 
membered that  the  English  king  was  elector,  and  declared  the 
coast  blockaded  from  Hanover  to  Otranto.  Holland,  Spain, 
and  the  Ligurian  Republic  —  formerly  the  republic  of  Genoa 
—  were,  by  hook  or  by  crook,  induced  to  agree  to  furnish  their 
contingents  of  men  or  money  to  the  French  army  and  to  ex- 
clude English  ships  from  their  ports. 


Europe  a7id  Napoleon  283 

To  cap  the  climax,  England  was  alarmed  by  the  appearance   Napoleon 
of  a  French  army  at  Boulogne,  just  across  the  Channel.    A   invad?"^  ^^ 
great  number  of  flatboats  were  collected  and  troops  trained   England 
to  embark  and  disembark.    Apparently  Napoleon  harbored  the 
firm  purpose  of  invading  the  British  Isles.     Yet  the  transpor- 
tation of  a  large  body  of  troops  across  the  English  channel, 
trifling  as  is  the  distance,  would  have  been  very  hazardous, 
and  by  many  it  was  deemed  downright  impossible.-^     No  one 
knows  whether  Napoleon  really  intended  to  make  the  trial.    It 
is  quite  possible  that  his  main  purpose  in  collecting  an  army  at 
Boulogne  was  to  have  it  in  readiness  for  the  continental  war 
which  he  saw  immediately  ahead  of  him.    He  succeeded,  at  any 
rate,  in  terrifying  England,  who  prepared  to  defend  herself. 

The  new  Tsar,  Alexander  I,^  had  submitted  a  plan  for  the   Alexander  I 
reconciliation  of  France  and   England  in  August,   1803;   the  jaid^  Apnl 
rejection  of  this,  the  aggressions  of  Napoleon  during  the  next   ^^°5 
year,  and  above  all,  his  shocking  execution  of  the  duke  of 
Enghien,   a   Bourbon  prince  whom   he   had   arrested    on  the 
ground  that  he  was  plotting  against  the  First  Consul,  roused 
the  Tsar's  indignation  and  led  him  to  conclude  an  alliance  with 
England,  the  objects  of  which  were  the  expulsion  of  the  French 
from  Holland,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Hanover,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  European  affairs  upon  a  sound  and  permanent  basis  by 
a  great  international  congress. 

Russia  and  England  were  immediately  joined  by  Austria,  Austria  joins 
who  found  Napoleon  intent  upon  developing  in  northern  Italy  of^iSoSj'bm 
a  strong  power  which  would  threaten  her  borders.     He  had   P^'^^sia 

°    ^  remains 

been  crowned  king  of  Italy  in  May,  1805,  and  had  annexed   neutral 
the  Ligurian  Republic  to   France.     There  were  rumors,   too, 
that  he  was  planning  to  seize  the  Venetian  territories  which 
had  been  assigned  to  Austria  at  Campo  Formio.    The  timid 

1  The  waves  and  currents  caused  by  winds  and  tides  make  the  Channel  very 
uncertain  for  all  except  steam  navigation.  Robert  Fulton  offered  to  put  his 
newly  invented  steamboat  at  Napoleon's  disposal,  but  his  offer  was  declined. 

2  Alexander  had  succeeded  his  father,  Paul,  when  the  latter  was  assassinated 
in  a  palace  plot,  March,  1801. 


284  Outlines  of  European  History 

king  of  Prussia,  Frederick  William  III,  could  not  be  induced 
to  join  the  alliance,  nor  would  he  ally  himself  with  Napoleon, 
although  he  was  offered  the  electorate  of  Hanover,  a  very  sub- 
stantial inducement.  He  persisted  in  maintaining  a  neutrality 
which  was  to  cost  him  dear. 
Napoleon  Napoleon  had  been  endeavoring  to  get  the  advantage  of  the 

comroiofthe  English  on  the  sea,  for  there  was  no  possibility  of  ferrying  his 
sea  and  turns   armies  across  to  England  so  long  as  English  men-of-war  were 

his  attention  °  fc>  to 

to  Austria  guarding  the  Channel.  But  the  English  fleets  blockaded  the 
French  in  port,  and  kept  England  safe  from  invasion.  Conse- 
quently, August  27,  1805,  four  days  after  the  declaration  of 
war  with  Austria,  Napoleon  suddenly  turned  his  well-trained 
Boulogne  army  eastward  to  meet  an  Austrian  army  advancing 
through  southern  Germany. 
Napoleon  He  misled  Austria  by  massing  troops  about  Strassburg,  and 

MaS  army  the  Austrian  general,  Mack,  came  on  as  far  as  Ulm  to  meet 
atuim(0c-  j^jj^^  Napoleon  was,  however,  really  taking  his  armies  around 
1805)  and  to  the  north  through  Mayence  and  Coblenz,  so  that  he  occupied 
Vienna  Munich,  October  14,  and,  getting  in  behind  the  Austrians,  cut 

them  off  from  Vienna.  Six  days  later  General  Mack,  finding 
himself  surrounded  and  shut  up  in  Ulm,  was  forced  to  capitu- 
late, and  Napoleon  made  prisoners  of  a  whole  Austrian  army, 
sixty  thousand  strong,  without  losing  more  than  a  few  hundred 
of  his  own  men.  The  French  could  now  safely  march  down 
the  Danube  to  Vienna,  which  they  reached,  October  31. 
Battle  of  Emperor  Francis   II    had    retired   before   the    approaching 

(December  2,  enemy  and  was  joined  by  the  Russian  army  a  short  distance 
1805)  north  of  Vienna.     The  allies  determined  to  risk  a  battle  with 

the  French  and  occupied  a  favorable  position  on  a  hill  near  the 
village  of  Austerlitz,  which  was  to  be  made  forever  famous  by 
the  terrible  winter  batde  which  occurred  there,  December  2. 
The  Russians  having  descended  the  hill  to  attack  the  weaker 
wing  of  Napoleon's  army,  the  French  occupied  the  heights 
which  the  Russians  had  deserted,  and  poured  a  deadly  fire 
upon  the  enemy's  rear.    The  allies  were  routed  and  reports  of 


Europe  and  Napoleon  285 

the  battle  tell  how  thousands  of  their  troops  were  drowned  as 
they  sought  to  escape  across  the  thin  ice  of  a  little  lake  which 
lay  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  The  Tsar  withdrew  the  remnants  of 
his  forces,  while  the  Emperor  in  despair  agreed  to  submit  to  a 
humiliating  peace,  the  Treaty  of  Pressburg. 

By  this  treaty  Austria  recognized  all  Napoleon's  changes  in   The  Treaty 
Italy,  and  ceded  to  his  kingdom  of  Italy  that  portion  of  the    (December^ 
Venetian  territory  which  she  had  received  at  Campo  Formio.   ^^'  ^^°5) 
Moreover,  she  ceded  Tyrol  to  Bavaria,  which  was  friendly  to 
Napoleon,  and  other  of  her  possessions  to  Wiirtemberg  and 
Baden,  also  friends  of  the   French  emperor.    As  head  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  Francis  II  also  agreed  that  the  rulers  of 
Bavaria   and  Wiirtemberg  should  be   raised  to   the  rank  of 
kings,  and  that  they  and  the  grand  duke  of   Baden   should 
enjoy  "  the  plenitude  of  sovereignty "  and   all  rights  derived 
therefrom,  precisely  as  did  the  rulers  of  Austria  and  Prussia. 

These  provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Pressburg  are  of  vital  im-   Napoleon 
portance  in  the  history  of  Germany.    By  explicitly  declaring  sev-   dependency, 
eral  of  the  larger  of  the  German  states  altogether  independent  ^deradon^of 
of  the  German  Emperor,  Napoleon  prepared  the  way  for  the  the  Rhine 
formation  in  Germany  of  another  dependency  which,  like  Hol- 
land and  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  should  support  France  in  future 
wars.    In  the  summer  of  1806  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  Baden, 
and  thirteen  lesser  German  states  united  into  a  league  known 
as  the   Confederation   of   the   Rhine.    This  union  was  to  be 
under  the  ^'  protection  "  of  the  French  emperor  and  to  furnish 
him  with  sixty-three  thousand  soldiers,  who  were  to  be  organ- 
ized by   French  officers*  and  to   be  at  his  disposal  when  he 
needed  them. 

On  August  I  Napoleon  announced  to  the  diet  of  the  Holy   Napoleon 
Roman  Empire  at  Ratisbon  that  he  had,  "  in  the  dearest  in-  to  recognize 
terests  of  his  people  and  of  his  neighbors,"  accepted  the  title   JJj^thg^HcJy^ 
of  Protector  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  and  that  he   Roman 
could  therefore  no  longer  recognize  the  existence  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  which  had  long  been  merely  a  shadow  of  its 


286 


Oj( times  of  European  History 


Francis  II 
of  the  Holy 
Roman  Em- 
pire becomes 
Francis  I  of 


former  self.  A  considerable  number  of  its  members  had  be- 
come sovereign  powers  and  its  continuation  could  only  be  a 
source  of  dissension  and  confusion. 

The  Emperor,  Francis  II,  like  his  predecessors  for  several 
hundred  years,  was  the  ruler  of  the  various  Austrian  domin- 
ions.   He  was  officially  known  as  King  of  Hungary,  Bohemia, 


Austria  (1804)  Dalmatia,  Croatia,  Galicia,  and  Laodomeria,  Duke  of  Lorraine, 


Fig.  70.    Francis  I  of  Austria 


Venice,  Salzburg,  etc.,  etc.  When,  however,  the  First  Con- 
sul received  as  ruler  of  France  the  title  of  Emperor  of  the 
French,  Francis  had  determined  to  •  substitute  for  his  long 
array  of  individual  tides  the  brief  and  dignified  formula, 
Hereditary  Emperor  of  Austria  and  King  of  Hungary. 

After  the  Treaty  of  Pressburg  and  the  formation  of  the 

Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  he  became  convinced  of  the  utter 

impossibility  of  longer  fulfilling  the  duties  of  his  office  as  head 

Holy  Roman    of   the    Holy  Roman   Empire   and   accordingly   abdicated   on 

Empire  is  ^        r.     /■       t        1  •  1        r  n  t 

dissolved         August  6,  1806.    In  this  way  he  formally  put  an  end  to  a  Ime 


Francis  ab- 
dicates as 
Emperor 
(August  6, 
1806)  and  the 


Europe  a7id  Napoleon  287 

of  rulers  who  had,  for  well-nigh  eighteen  centuries,  proudly 
maintained  that  they  were  the  successors  of  Augustus  Caesar, 
the  first  Roman  Emperor. 

Napoleon  went  on  steadily  developing  what  he  called  ''  the   Napoleon 
real  French  Empire,"  namely,  the  dependent  states  under  his   Naples  to 
control  which  lay  outside  the  bounds  of  France  itself.    Imme-  Joseph 
diately  after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz,  he  had  proclaimed  that  and  Holland 
Ferdinand   IV,  the   Bourbon  king  of  Naples,  had  ceased  to 
reign.    He  ordered  one  of  his  generals  to  proceed  to  southern 
Italy  and  ''  hurl  from  the  throne  that  guilty  woman,"    Queen 
Caroline,  who  had  favored  the  English  and  entertained  Lord 
Nelson.     In   March  he  appointed  his    elder  brother,   Joseph, 
king  of  Naples  and  Sicily,  and  a  younger  brother,  Louis,  king 
of  Holland. 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  continental  states,  it  will   Prussia 
have  been  noticed,  had  taken  no  part  as  yet  in  the  opposition   war  with 
to  the  extension  of  Napoleon's  influence.     Prussia,  the  first   France 
power  to  conclude  peace  with  the  new  French  Republic  in 
1795,  had  since  that  time  maintained  a  strict  neutrality.     Had 
it  yielded  to  Tsar  Alexander's  persuasions  and  joined  the  coali- 
tion in  1805,  it  might  have  turned  the  tide  at  Austerlitz,  or  at 
any  rate  have  encouraged  further  resistance  to  the  conqueror. 
The  hesitation  of  Frederick  William  HI  at  that  juncture  proved 
a  grave  mistake,  for  Napoleon  now  forced  him  into  war  at  a 
time  when  he  could  look  for  no  efficient  assistance  from  Russia 
or  the  other  powers. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  declaration  of  war  was  the  The  question 
disposal  of  Hanover.  This  electorate  Frederick  William  had 
consented  to  hold  provisionally,  pending  its  possible  transfer 
to  him  should  the  English  king  give  his  assent.  Prussia  was 
anxious  to  get  possession  of  Hanover  because  it  lay  just  be- 
tween her  older  possessions  and  the  territory  which  she  had 
gained  in  the  redistribution  of  1803. 

Napoleon,  as  usual,  did  not  fail  either  to  see  or  to  use  his 
advantage.     His  conduct   toward   Prussia  was   most   insolent. 


288 


Oiitlifiis  of  liuropcafi  History 


Napoleon's 

insolent 

behavior 

toward 

Prussia 


Decisive 
defeat  of  the 
Prussian 
army  at 
Jena,  iSo6 


The  cam- 
paign in 
Poland  (No- 
vember-June, 
iSa6-iSo7) 


Napoleon 
dismembers 
Prussia  to 
create  the 
grand  duchy 
of  Warsaw 
and  the 
kingdom  of 
Westphalia 


After  setting  her  at  enmity  with  England  and  promising  that 
she  should  have  Hanover,  he  unblushingly  offered  to  restore 
the  electorate  to  George  III.  His  insults  now  began  to  arouse 
the  national  spirit  in  Prussia,  and  the  reluctant  Frederick  Wil- 
liam was  forced  by  the  party  in  favor  of  war,  which  included 
his  beautiful  queen,  Louise,  and  the  great  statesman  Stein,  to 
break  with  Napoleon. 

The  Piiissian  army  was,  however,  as  has  been  well  said, 
"  only  that  of  Frederick  the  Great  grown  twenty  years  older  "  ; 
one  of  Frederick's  generals,  the  aged  duke  of  Brunswick,  who 
had  issued  the  famous  manifesto  in  1792,  was  its  leader.  A 
double  defeat  near  Jena  (October  14,  1806)  put  Prussia  en- 
tirely in  the  hands  of  her  enemy.  This  one  disaster  produced 
complete  demoralization  throughout  the  countr)'.  Fortresses 
were  surrendered  without  resistance  and  the  king  fled  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  his  realm  on  the  Russian  boundary. 

After  crushing  Prussia,  Napoleon  led  his  army  into  what  had 
once  been  the  kingdom  of  Poland.  Here  he  spent  a  winter  of 
great  hardships  and  dangers  in  operations  against  the  Russians 
and  their  feeble  allies,  the  Prussians.  He  closed  a  difficult 
campaign  far  from  France  by  the  signal  victor}^  of  Friedland 
(not  far  from  Konigsberg),  and  then  arranged  for  an  interview 
with  the  Tsar.  The  two  rulers  met  on  a  raft  in  the  river  Nie- 
men  (June  25,  1S07),  and  there  privately  arranged  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Treaty  of  Tilsit  bet\veen  France,  Russia,  and 
Prussia.  The  Tsar,  Alexander  I,  was  completely  won  over  by 
Napoleon's  skillful  diplomacy.  He  shamefully  deserted  his 
helpless  ally,  Frederick  William  HI  of  Prussia,  and  turned 
against  England,  whose  subsidies  he  had  been  accepting. 

Napoleon  had  no  mercy  upon  Prussia,  which  he  ruthlessly 
dismembered  by  depriving  it  of  all  its  possessions  west  of  the 
Elbe  River,  and  all  that  it  had  gained  in  the  second  and  third 
partitions  of  Poland.  From  the  lands  which  he  forced  Fred- 
erick William  to  cede  to  him  at  Tilsit,  Napoleon  established 
two  new  French  dependencies  by  forming  the  Polish  territories 


Europe  and  Napoleon  289 

into  the  grand  duchy  of  Warsaw,  of  which  his  friend,  the  king 
of  Saxony,  was  made  ruler;  and  creating  from  the  western 
territory  (to  which  he  later  added  Hanover)  the  kingdom  of 
Westphalia  for  his  brother  Jerome. 

Russia,  on  the  other  hand,  he  treated  with  marked  consid-  Terms  of  the 
eration,  and  proposed  that  he  and  the  Tsar  should  form  an  ance  of  Tilsit 
alliance  which  would  enable  him  to  have  his  way  in  western   ^f^^,g"^ 
Europe  and  Alexander  in  the  east.     The  Tsar  consented  to  and  the  Tsar 
the  dismemberment  of  Prussia  and  agreed  to  recognize  all  the 
sweeping  changes  which  Napoleon  had  made  during  previous 
years.    He  secretly  promised,  if  George  HI  refused  to  conclude 
peace,  to  join  France  against  England,  and  to  force  Denmark 
and  Portugal  to  exclude   English  ships  from  their  ports.    In 
this  way  England  would  be  cut  off  from  all  of  western  Europe, 
since  Napoleon  would  have  the  whole  coast  practically  under 
his  control.    In  return  for  these  promises,  Napoleon  engaged 
to  aid  the  Tsar  in  seizing  Finland  from  Sweden  and  annexing 
the  so-called  Danubian  provinces,  —  Moldavia  and  Wallachia, 
—  which  belonged  to  the   Sultan  of  Turkey.^ 

Section  44.    The  Continental  Blockade 

In  arranging  the  Treaty  of  Tilsit,  it  is  evident  that  Napoleon   Napoleon's 
had  constantly   in  mind  his  most  persistent  and  inaccessible  bringing 
enemy,  England.     However  marvelous  his  successes  by  land   ^J^^^^y  ^'^ 
might  be,  he  had  no  luck  on  the  sea.    He  had  beheld  his  Egyp-  ruining  her 
tian  fleet  sink  under  Nelson's  attack  in  1798.    When  he  was 
making  preparations  to  transport  his  army  across  the  Channel 
in  1805,  he  was  humiliated  to  discover  that  the  English  were 
keeping  his  main  squadron  penned  up  in  the  harbors  of  Brest 
and  Cadiz.    The  day  after  he  captured  General  Mack's  whole 
army  with  such  ease  at  Ulm,  Nelson  had  annihilated  off  Cape 
Trafalgar  the  French  squadron  which  had  ventured  out  from 
Cadiz,    After  Tilsit,  Napoleon  set  himself  more  earnestly  than 

1  They  now  form  the  kingdom  of  Roumania, 


commerce 


290 


Old  lines  of  E?  crop  e  an  History 


iiuiiwiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiijiir 

^ .mHilAJJUlllllii  M   I 


Fig.  71.  Nelson's  Column,  Trafal- 
gar Square,  London 

The  English  regard  Nelson  as  the  man  who 
safeguarded  their  liberty  by  the  victories  of 
the  fleet.  Nelson  was  killed  at  Trafalgar 
and  buried  with  great  ceremony  in  the 
crypt  of  St.  Paul's,  under  the  very  center 
of  the  dome.  Some  years  later  "  Trafalgar 
Square  "  was  laid  out  at  the  point  where 
the  street  leading  to  the  Parliament  build- 
ings joins  a  chief  business  street  —  the 
Strand  —  and  a  gigantic  column  to  Nelson 
erected,  surmounted  by  a  statue  of  the 
admiral.  In  the  distance  one  can  see  the 
towers  of  the  Parliament  buildings 


ever  to  bring  England 
to  terms  by  ruining  her 
commerce  and  indus- 
try, since  he  had  no 
hope  of  subduing  her 
by  arms.  He  proposed 
to  make  ''  that  race  of 
shopkeepers "  cry  for 
peace  by  absolutely 
cutting  them  off  from 
trade  with  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  and  so 
drying  up  their  sources 
of  prosperity. 

In  May,  1806,  Eng- 
land had  declared  the 
coast  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Elbe  to  Brest  to 
be  "blockaded,"  that 
is  to  say,  she  gave 
warning  that  her  war 
vessels  and  privateers 
would  capture  any  ves- 
sel that  attempted  to 
enter  or  leave  any  of 
the  ports  between  these 
two  points.  After  he 
had  won  the  battle  of 
Jena,  Napoleon  replied 
to  this  by  his  Berlin 
Decree  (November, 
1806),  in  which  he 
proclaimed  that  Eng- 
land had  "  disregarded 
all  ideas  of  justice  and 


fc 


i    1 


Europe  a?id  Napoleon  29 1 

every  high  sentiment  which  civilization  should  bring  to  man- 
kind " ;  that  it  was  a  monstrous  abuse  on  her  part  to  declare 
great  stretches  of  coast  in  a  state  of  blockade  which  her  whole 
fleet  would  be  unable  to  enforce.  Nevertheless  he  believed  it 
a  natural  right  to  use  the  same  measures  against  her  that  she 
employed  against  him.  He  therefore  retaliated  by  declaring  the 
British  Isles  in  a  state  of  blockade  and  forbidding  all  commerce 
with  them.  Letters  or  packages  addressed  to  England  or  to  an 
Englishman,  or  even  written  in  the  English  language,  were  not 
to  be  permitted  to  pass  through  the  mails  in  the  countries 
he  controlled.  All  trade  in  English  goods  was  prohibited.  Any 
British  subject  discovered  in  the  countries  occupied  by  French 
troops,  or  in  the  territories  of  Napoleon's  allies,  was  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  prisoner  of  war  and  his  property  as  a  lawful  prize. 
This  was,  of  course,  only  a  ^'  paper "  blockade,  since  France 
and  her  allies  could  do  little  more  than  capture,  now  and  then, 
some  unfortunate  vessel  which  was  supposed  to  be  coming 
from,  or  bound  to,  an  English  port. 

A  year  later  England  established  a  similar  paper  blockade   England 
of  the  ports  of  the  French  Empire  and  its  allies,  but  hit  upon   {'J^gram 
the  happy  idea  of  permitting  the  ships  of  neutral  powers  to   ^eutraTshlps 
proceed,  provided  that  they  touched  at  an   English  port,  se-   Napoleon's 
cured    a   license  from    the   English    government,   and   paid   a   (December; 
heavy  export  duty.    Napoleon  was  ready  with  a  still  more  out-   '  °'^' 
rageous  measure.    In  a  decree  issued  from  ''  our  royal  palace 
at  Milan"  (December,   1807),  he  ordered  that  all  vessels,  of 
w^hatever  nationality,  which  submitted  to  the  humiliating  regu- 
lations of  England,  should  be  regarded  as  lawful  prizes  by  the 
French  privateers. 

The  ships  of  the  United  States  were  at  this  time  the  most   Sad  plight 

1   •  r     ^  ^  1  •  ^u       ^f  the  vcssels 

numerous  and  important  of  the  neutral  vessels  carr}'mg  on  tne   of  the  United 
world's   trade,  and   a  very  hard  time   they  had  between   the   ^^^^^^ 
Scylla  of  the  English  orders  and  the  Charybdis  of  Napoleon's 
Berlin   and  Milan  decrees.^    The   Baltimore  Eve?iing  Post  in 

1  For  the  text  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  see  Readings,  section  44. 


292 


Outlmes  of  Europeau  History 


The  United 
States  tries 
to  defend  its 
shipping 
interests  by 
an  embargo 


Napoleon 
proposes  to 
render  Eu- 
rope inde- 
pendent of 
colonial 
products 


September,  1808,  calculated  that  if  an  American  ship  bound 
for  Holland  with  four  hundred  hogsheads  of  tobacco  should 
decide  to  meet  England's  requirements  and  touch  at  London 
on  the  way,  its  owners  would  pay  one  and  a  half  pence  per 
pound  on  the  tobacco,  and  twelve  shillings  for  each  ton  of  the 
ship.  With  a  hundred  dollars  for  England's  license  to  proceed 
on  her  way,  and  sundry  other  dues,  the  total  would  come  to 
about  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  On  the  way  home,  if  the 
neutral  vessel  wished  to  avoid  the  chance  of  capture  by  an 
English  cruiser,  she  might  pay,  perhaps,  sixteen  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  more  to  England  for  the  privilege  of  returning 
to  Baltimore  with  a  cargo  of  Holland  gin.  This  would  make 
the  total  contributions  paid  to  Great  Britain  for  a  single  voyage 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Alarmed  and  exasperated  at  the  conduct  of  England  and 
France,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  at  the  suggestion  of 
President  Jefferson,  passed  an  embargo  act  (December,  1807), 
which  forbade  all  vessels  to  leave  port.  It  was  hoped  that  this 
would  prevent  the  further  loss  of  American  ships  and  at  the 
same  time  so  interfere  with  the  trade  of  England  and  France 
that  they  would  make  some  concessions.  But  the  only  obvious 
result  was  the  destruction  of  the  previously  flourishing  com- 
merce of  the  Atlantic  coast  towns,  especially  in  New  England. 
Early  in  1809  Congress  was  induced  to  permit  trade  once  more 
with  the  European  nations,  excepting  France  and  England, 
whose  vessels  were  still  to  be  strictly  excluded  from  all  the 
ports  of  the  United  States. 

Napoleon  expressed  the  utmost  confidence  in  his  plan  of 
ruining  England  by  cutting  her  off  from  the  Continent.  He 
was  cheered  to  observe  that  a  pound  sterling  was  no  longer 
worth  twenty-five  francs,  but  only  seventeen,  and  that  the  dis- 
couraged English  merchants  were  beginning  to  urge  Parliament 
to  conclude  peace.  In  order  to  cripple  England  permanently, 
he  proposed  to  wean  Europe  from  the  use  of  those  colonial 
products   with  w^hich  it  had  been  supplied  by  English   ships. 


Europe  mid  Napoleon  293 

He  therefore  encouraged  the  substitution  of  chicory  for  coffee, 
the  cultivation  of  the  sugar  beet,  and  the  discovery  of  new 
dyes  to  replace  those  —  such  as  indigo  and  cochineal  —  which 
came  from  the  tropics.  This  "  Continental  System,"  as  it 
was  called,  caused  a  great  deal  of  distress  and  discontent  and 
contributed  to  Napoleon's  downfall,  inasmuch  as  he  had  to 
resort  to  despotic  measures  to  break  up  the  old  system  of 
trade.  Then  he  was  led  to  make  continual  additions  to  his 
already  unwieldy  empire  in  order  to  get  control  of  the  whole 
coast  line  of  western  Europe,  from  the  boundaries  of  Prussia 
around  to  those  of  the  Turkish  Empire. 

Section  45.    Napoleon  at  the  Zenith  of  his 
Power  (1808-18 12) 

France  owed  much  to  Napoleon,  for  he  had  restored  order  Napoleon's 
and  guaranteed  many  of  the  beneficent  achievements  of  the  pJance" 
Revolution  of  1789.  His  boundless  ambition  was,  it  is  true, 
sapping  her  strength  by  forcing  younger  and  younger  men  into 
his  armies  in  order  to  build  up  the  vast  international  federation 
which  he  planned.  But  his  victories  and  the  commanding  posi- 
tion to  which  he  had  raised  France  could  not  but  fill  the  nation 
with  pride. 

He  sought  to  gain  popular  approval  by  great  public  improve-  Public  works 
ments.  He  built  magnificent  roads  along  the  Rhine  and  the 
Mediterranean  and  across  the  Alps,  which  still  fill  the  traveler 
with  admiration.  He  beautified  Paris  by  opening  up  wide  streets 
and  quays  and  constructing  bridges  and  triumphal  arches  that 
kept  fresh  in  the  people's  minds  the  recollection  of  his  victories. 
By  these  means  he  gradually  converted  a  medieval  town  into 
the  most  beautiful  of  modern  capitals. 

In  order  to  be  sure  that  the  young  people  were  brought  up  to  The  "  uni- 
venerate  his  name  and  support  his  government.  Napoleon  com-  SiTshed^by 
pletely  reorganized  the  schools  and  colleges  of  France.    These   Napoleon  in 
he  consolidated   into  a   single  ''  university,"   which  comprised 


294 


Outlines  of  European  History 


all  the  instruction  from  the  most  elementary  to  the  most  ad- 
vanced. A  ''  grand  master  "  was  put  at  its  head,  and  a  uni- 
versity council  of  thirty 
members  drew  up  regula- 
tions for  all  the  schools, 
prepared  the  textbooks, 
and  controlled  the  teach- 
ers, high  and  low,  through- 
out France.  The  university 
had  its  own  large  endow- 
ment, and  its  instructors 
were  to  be  suitably  pre- 
pared in  a  normal  school 
established  for  the  purpose. 
The  government  could 
at  any  time  interfere  if  it 
disapproved  of  the  teach- 
ing; the  prefect  was  to 
visit  the  schools  in  his  de- 
partment and  report  on 
their  condition  to  the 
minister  of  the  interior. 
The  first  schoolbook  to  be 
drawn  up  was  the  Impe- 
rial Catechism ;  in  this  the 
children  were   taught    to 


Fig.  72.   Arch  of  Triumph 

Begun  by  Napoleon  in  1806,  this  largest 
arch  of  triumph  in  the  world  was  not 
completed  until  1836.  It  is  160  feet 
high  and  stands  on  a  slight  hill,  with 
streets  radiating  from  all  sides,  so  that 
it  is  known  as  the  Arch  of  Triumph  of 
the  Star.  It  is  therefore  visible  from 
all  over  the  western  part  of  the  city. 
The  monument  recalls  the  days  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  upon  which  so  many  of 
the  institutions  and  ideas  of  Republican 
and  Napoleonic  France  were  based 


say: 


Christians  owe  to 


the  princes  who  govern 
them,  and  we  in  particu- 
lar owe  to  Napoleon  I, 
our  emperor,  love,  respect, 
obedience,  fidelity,  military  service,  and  the  taxes  levied  for 
the  preservation  and  defense  of  the  empire  and  of  his  throne. 
We  also  owe  him  fervent  prayers  for  his  safety  and  for  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  prosperity  of  the  State." 


aet  lo^from    Greenirjch   15" 


Europe  and  Napoleon  295 

Napoleon  not  only  created  a  new  nobility  but  he  endeavored   The  new 
to  assure  the  support  of  distinguished  individuals  by  making  [h^Legio^rfof 
them  members  of  the  Legion   of   Honor  which  he  founded,   ^^^o^ 
The  "  princes,"  whom  he  nominated,  received  an  annual  in- 
come of  two  hundred  thousand  francs.    The  ministers  of  state, 
senators,  members  of  his  Council  of  State,  and  the  archbishops 
received  the  title  of  Count  and  a  revenue  of  thirty  thousand 
francs,  and  so  on.    The  army  was  not  forgotten,  for  Napoleon 
felt  that  to  be  his  chief  support.    The  incomes  of  his  marshals 
were  enormous,   and  brave   actions  among  the  soldiers   w^ere 
rewarded  with  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of  Honor.^ 

As  time  went  on  Napoleon's  despotism  grew  more  and  more  Napoleon's 
oppressive.  No  less  than  thirty-five  hundred  prisoners  of  state  France ^"^  ^" 
were  arrested  at  his  command,  one  because  he  hated  Napo- 
leon, another  because  in  his  letters  he  expressed  sentiments 
adverse  to  the  government.  No  grievance  was  too  petty  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  emperor's  jealous  eye.  He  ordered 
the  title  of  A  Histo?'}'  of  Bonapa?te  to  be  changed  to  The  His- 
tory of  the  Campaigns  of  Napoleon  the  Great.  He  forbade  the 
performance  of  certain  of  Schiller's  and  Goethe's  plays  in  Ger- 
man towns,  as  tending  to  arouse  the  patriotic  discontent  of 
the  people  with  his  rule. 

Up  to  this  time  Napoleon  had  had  only  the  opposition  of   Napoleon's 
the  several  European  courts  to  overcome  in  the  extension  of  power  threat- 
his  power.    The  people  of  the  various  states  which  he  had  con-   ^^ovvth^of^^ 

quered  showed  an  extraordinary  indifference  toward  the  politi-  national  op- 
position to 
cal  changes.    It  was  clear,  however,  that  as  soon  as  the  national   him 

1  Napoleon  was,  however,  never  content  with  his  achievements  or  his  glory. 
On  the  day  of  his  coronation  he  complained  to  his  minister,  Decres,  that  he  had 
been  bom  too  late,  that  there  was  nothing  great  to  be  done  any  more.  On  his 
minister's  remonstrating,  he  added  :  "  I  admit  that  my  career  has  been  brilliant 
and  that  I  have  made  a  good  record.  But  what  a  difference  is  there  if  we  com- 
pare ours  with  ancient  times.  Take  Alexander  the  Great,  for  example.  When 
he  announced  himself  the  son  of  Jupiter,  the  whole  East,  except  his  mother, 
Aristotle,  and  a  few  Athenian  pedants,  believed  this  to  be  true.  But  now,  should 
I  declare  myself  the  son  of  the  Eternal  Father,  there  isn't  a  fishwife  who 
would  n't  hiss  me.  No,  the  nations  are  too  sophisticated,  nothing  great  is  any 
longer  possible." 


296  Outlines  of  European  History 

spirit  was  once  awakened,  the  highly  artificial  system  created  by 
the  French  emperor  would  collapse.     His  first  serious  reverse 
came  from  the  people,  and  from  an  unexpected  quarter. 
A  French  After  concluding  the  Treaty  of*  Tilsit,  Napoleon  turned  his 

pies  Portugal  attention  to  the  Spanish  peninsula.  He  was  on  friendly  terms 
r8*o°77"^^^'^'  '^^^^^  ^^  Q-ovxt  of  Spain,  but  little  Portugal  continued  to  admit 
English  ships  to  her  harbors.  In  October  he  ordered  the  Por- 
tuguese government  to  declare  war  on  England  and  to  confis- 
cate all  English  property.  Upon  its  refusal  to  obey  the  second 
part  of  the  order,  he  commanded  General  Junot  to  invade 
Portugal  and  take  charge  of  the  government.  Thereupon  the 
royal  family  resolved  to  take  refuge  in  their  vast  Brazilian 
empire,  and  when  Junot  reached  Lisbon  they  were  receiving 
the  salutes  of  the  English  squadron  as  they  moved  down  the 
Tagus  on  the  way  to  their  new  home  across  the  Atlantic. 
Easy  and  simple  as  was  the  subsequent  occupation  of  Portugal, 
it  proved  one  of  Napoleon's  serious  mistakes. 

Owing  to  quarrels  in  the  Spanish  royal  family,  Spain  also 
seemed  to  Napoleon  an  easy  prey  and  he  determined  to  add 
it  to  his  subject  kingdoms.  In  the  spring  of  1808  he  induced 
both  Charles  IV  of  Spain  and  the  Crown  Prince  Ferdinand  to 
meet  him  at  Bayonne.  Here  he  was  able  to  persuade  or  force 
both  of  them  to  surrender  their  rights  to  the  throne,^  and  on 
June  6  he  appointed  his  brother  Joseph  king  of  Spain.  Murat, 
one  of  Napoleon's  ablest  generals,  who  had  married  his  sister, 
succeeded  Joseph  on  the  throne  of  Naples. 

Joseph  entered  Madrid  in  July,  armed  with  excellent  inten- 
tions and  a  new  constitution.  The  general  rebellion  in  favor 
of  the  Crown  Prince  Ferdinand,  which  immediately  broke  out, 

1  Charles  IV  resigned  all  his  rights  to  the  crown  of  Spain  and  the  Indies  "  to 
the  emperor  of  the  French  as  the  only  person  who,  in  the  existing  state  of 
affairs,  can  reestablish  order."  He  and  his  disreputable  queen  retired  to  Rome, 
while  Napoleon  kept  Ferdinand  under  guard  in  Talleyrand's  country  estate 
Here  this  despicable  prince  lived  for  six  years,  occasionally  writing  a  cringing 
letter  to  Napoleon.  In  1S14  he  was  restored  to  the  Spanish  throne  as  Ferdi- 
nand VII,  and,  as  we  shall  see  later,  showed  himself  the  consistent  enemy  of 
reform.    See  below,  section  53. 


Europe  and  Napoleon 


297 


had  an  element  of  religious  enthusiasm  in  it ;  for  the  monks 
stirred  up  the  people  against  Napoleon,  on  the  ground  that  he 
was  an  enemy  of  the  Pope  and  an  oppressor  of  the  Church. 
One  French  army  was  captured  at  Baile'n,  and  another  capitu- 
lated to  the  English  forces  which  had  landed  in  Portugal.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  July  Joseph  and  the  French  troops  had  been 
compelled  to  retreat  behind  the  Ebro  River. 

In  November  the  French  emperor  himself  led  into  Spain  a 
magnificent  army,  two  hundred  thousand  strong,  in  the  best  of 
condition  and  commanded  by  his  ablest  marshals.  The  Spanish 
troops,  perhaps  one  hundred  thousand  in  number,  were  ill  clad 
and  inadequately  equipped ;  what  was  worse,  they  were  over- 
confident in  view  of  their  late  victory.  They  were,  of  course 
defeated,  and  Madrid  surrendered  on  December  4.^ 

Decrees  were  immediately  issued  in  which  Napoleon  abol- 
ished all  vestiges  of  the  feudal  system,  and  declared  that  it 
should  be  free  to  every  one  who  conformed  to  the  laws  to 
carry  on  any  industry  that  he  pleased.  The  tribunal  of  the 
Inquisition,  for  which  Spain  had  been  noted  for  hundreds  of 
years,  was  abolished  and  its  property  seized.  The  monasteries 
and  convents  were  to  be  reduced  to  one  third  of  their  number, 
and  no  one,  for  the  time  being,  was  to  be  permitted  to  take 
any  monastic  vows.  The  customs  lines  which  separated  the 
Spanish  provinces  and  hampered  trade  were  obliterated  and 
the  customhouses  transferred  to  the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom. 
These  measures  illustrate  the  way  in  which  Napoleon  spread 
the  principles  of  the  French  Revolution  by  arms  in  those 
states  which,  in  spite  of  their  benevolent  despots,  still  clung 
to  their  half-medieval  institutions. 


Revolt  in 
Spain  against 
the  foreign 
ruler  (1808) 


Spain  sub- 
dued by  arms 
(December, 


Napoleon 
begins  radi- 
cal reform 
in  Spain 


1  Napoleon  thereupon  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  Spanish  people  in  which 
he  said:  "It  depends  upon  you  alone  whether  this  moderate  constitution  that  I 
offer  you  shall  henceforth  be  your  law.  Should  all  my  efforts  prove  vain,  and 
should  you  refuse  to  justify  my  confidence,  then  nothing  will  remain  for  me  but 
to  treat  you  as  a  conquered  province  and  find  a  new  throne  for  my  brother.  In 
that  case  I  shall  myself  assume  the  crown  of  Spain  and  teach  the  ill-disposed  to 
respect  that  crown,  for  God  has  given  me  the  power  and  the  will  to  overcome 
all  obstacles." 


298 


OiUlhies  of  Europe  an  History 


Spain  contin- 
ues to  require 
the  presence 
of  French 
troops 


Austria 
takes  the 
field  against 
Napoleon 
(April,  1809) 


Battles  of 
Aspern  and 
Wagram 
(May  and 
July,  1809) 


The  Treaty 
of  Vienna 
(October, 
1S09) 


The  next  month  Napoleon  was  back  in  Paris,  as  he  saw 
that  he  had  another  war  with  Austria  on  his  hands.  He  left 
Joseph  on  a  very  insecure  throne,  and,  in  spite  of  the  arrogant 
confidence  of  his  proclamation  to  the  Spaniards,  he  was  soon 
to  discover  that  they  could  maintain  a  guerilla  warfare  against 
which  his  best  troops  and  most  distinguished  generals  were 
powerless.  His  ultimate  downfall  was  in  no  small  measure  due 
to  the  persistent  hostility  of  the  Spanish  people. 

Austria  was  fearful,  since  Napoleon  had  gained  Russia's 
friendship,  that  he  might  be  tempted,  should  he  succeed  in 
putting  down  the  stubborn  resistance  of  the  Spaniards,  still 
further  to  increase  his  empire  at  her  expense.  She  had  been 
reorganizing  and  increasing  her  army,  and  decided  that  it  was 
best  to  strike  while  some  two  hundred  thousand  of  Napoleon's 
troops  were  busy  in  Spain. 

Napoleon  hurried  eastward,  easily  defeated  the  Archduke 
Charles  in  Bavaria,  and  marched  on  to  Vienna.  But  he  did  not 
succeed  in  crushing  the  Austrian  forces  as  easily  and  promptly 
as  he  had  done  at  Austerlitz  in  1805.  Indeed  he  was  actually 
defeated  at  the  battle  of  Aspern  (May  21-22),  but  finally  gained 
a  rather  doubtful  victory  in  the  fearful  battle  of  Wagram,  near 
Vienna  (July  5-6).  Austria  was  disheartened  and  again  con- 
sented to  conclude  a  peace  quite  as  humiliating  as  that  of 
Pressburg. 

She  had  announced  that  her  object  in  going  to  war  once 
more  was  the  destruction  of  Napoleon's  system  of  dependent 
states  and  had  proposed  ''  to  restore  to  their  rightful  pos- 
sessors all  those  lands  belonging  to  them  respectively  before 
the  Napoleonic  usurpation."  The  batde  of  Wagram  put  an 
end  to  these  dreams  and  the  emperor  of  Austria  was  forced 
to  surrender  to  the  victor  and  his  friends  extensive  territories, 
together  with  four  million  Austrian  subjects.  A  strip  of  land, 
including  Salzburg,  was  given  to  the  king  of  Bavaria;  on  the 
north,  Galicia  (which  Austria  had  received  in  the  first  partition 
of  Poland)  was  ceded  to  Napoleon's  ally,  the  grand  duke  of 


Europe  and  Napoleo7i  299 

Warsaw ;  and  finally,  along  the  Adriatic,  Napoleon  exacted  a 
district  which  he  added  to  his  own  empire  under  the  name  of 
the  Illyrian  Provinces.  This  last  cession  served  to  cut  Austria 
entirely  off  from  the  sea. 

The  new  Austrian  minister,  Metternich,  was  anxious  to  es- 
tablish   a    permanent    alliance    with    the    seemingly    invincible 


ij 


i 


Fig.  73.    Music  Room  in  the  Palace  of  Compiegne 

Napoleon  used  the  various  palaces  erected  by  the  previous  rulers  of 
France.  That  at  Compiegne,  fifty  miles  from  Paris,  was  built  by 
Louis  XV.  The  smaller  harp  was  made,  it  is  said,  for  Napoleon's  heir, 
"the  King  of  Rome,"  as  his  father  called  him.  The  boy  was  but  three 
years  old,  however,  when  Napoleon  abdicated  in  1814,  and  was  carried 
"off  to  Austria  by  his  Austrian  mother,  Maria  Louisa.  He  was  known 
by  the  Bonapartists  as  Napoleon  II,  but  never  ruled  over  France 

emperor  of  the  P>ench  and  did  all  he  could  to  heal  the  breach   Napoleon 
between  /Austria  and  France  by  a  royal  marriage.     Napoleon   Archduche^ss 
ardently  desired  an  heir  to  whom  he  could  transmit  his  vast   fl^"fi  ^g^'^^f 
dominions.   As  Josephine  had  borne  him  no  children,  he  decided 
to  divorce  her,  and,  after  considering  and  rejecting  a  Russian 
princess,   he    married    (April,    18 10)   the    Archduchess    Maria 
Louisa,  the  daughter  of  the  Austrian  emperor  and  a  grand- 
niece  of  Marie  Antoinette.     In  this  way  the  former  Corsican 


300 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Napoleon 
"reunites" 
the  Papal 
States  to 
France 
(1809) 


Annexation 
of  Holland 
and  the 
Hanseatic 
towns  (1810) 


Maximum 
extent  of 
Napoleon'; 
power 


adventurer  gained  admission  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  proudest 
of  reigning  families,  the  Hapsburgs.  His  second  wife  soon 
bore  him  a  son,  who  was  styled   "  King  of  Rome." 

While  Napoleon  was  in  the  midst  of  the  war  with  Austria,  he 
had  issued  a  proclamation  "  reuniting  "  the  Papal  States  to  the 
French  Empire.  He  argued  that  it  was  Charlemagne,  emperor 
of  the  French,  his  august  predecessor,  who  had  given  the  lands 
to  the  Popes  and  that  now  the  tranquillity  and  welfare  of  his 
people  required  that  the  territory  be  reunited  to  France. 

Holland,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  been  formed  into  a 
kingdom  under  the  rule  of  Napoleon's  brother  Louis.  The 
brothers  had  never  agreed,^  and  in  18 10  Holland  was  annexed 
to  France,  as  well  as  the  German  territory  to  the  north,  includ- 
ing the  great  ports  of  Bremen,  Hamburg,  and  Liibeck. 

Napoleon  had  now  reached  the  zenith  of  his  power.  All  of 
western  Europe,  except  England,  was  apparently  under  his 
control.  France  itself  reached  from  the  Baltic  nearly  to  the 
Bay  of  Naples  and  included  a  considerable  district  beyond  the 
Adriatic.  The  emperor  of  the  French  was  also  king  of  Italy 
and  ''  protector  "  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  which  now 
included  all  of  the  German  states  except  Austria  and  the  re- 
mains of  the  kingdom  of  Prussia.  Napoleon's  brother  Joseph 
was  king  of  Spain,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Murat,  king  of 
Naples.  Poland  once  more  appeared  on  the  map  as  the  grand 
duchy  of  Warsaw,  a  faithful  ally  of  its  "  restorer."  The  pos- 
sessions of  the  emperor  of  Austria  had  so  shrunk  on  the  west 
that  Hungary  was  now  by  far  the  most  important  part  of 
Francis  I's  realms,  but  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  beholding 
in  his  grandson,  the  king  of  Rome,  the  heir  to  unprecedented 
power.  Surely  in  the  history  of  the  world  there  is  nothing  com- 
parable to  the  career  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte  I  He  was,  as  a  sage 
Frenchman  has  said,  "  as  great  as  a  man  can  be  without  virtue." 


1  Louis  Bonaparte,  the  father  of  Napoleon  III,  and  the  most  conscien- 
tious of  the  Bonaparte  family,  had  been  so  harassed  by  Napoleon  that  he  had 
abdicated. 


Eii7vpe  and  N^apoleoti  301 

Section  46.    The  Fall  of  Napoleon 

But  all  Napoleon's   military  genius,  his   statesmanship,  his   insecurity  of 
tireless    vigilance,    and    his    absolute    unscrupulousness    could  acWevem'eri 
not  invent  means  by  which  an  empire  such  as  he  had  built 
up  could  be  held  together  permanently.    Even  if  he  could,  by 
force  or  persuasion,  have  induced  the  monarchs  to  remain  his 


entF 


Fig.  74.    The  Duke  of  Wellington 

vassals,  he  could  not  cope  with  the  growing  spirit  of  nationality 
among  their  subjects  which  made  subordination  to  a  French 
ruler  seem  a  more  and  more  shameful  thing  to  Spaniards,  Ger- 
mans, and  Italians  alike.  Moreover  there  were  two  governments 
that  he  had  not  succeeded  in  conquering  —  England  and  Russia. 

The  English,  far  from  begging  for  peace  on  account  of  the  Wellington 
continental  blockade,  had  annihilated  the  French  sea  power  and  Hsh  in  Spa^n 
now  began  to  attack  Napoleon  on  land.    Sir  Arthur  Wellesley 
(a  commander  who  had  made  a  reputatiort  in  India,  and  who  is 
better  known  by  his  later  title  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington)  had 


(1808-1812) 


302 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  lines  of 

Torres 

Vedras 


Relations 
between 
Napoleon 
and  Alexan- 
der I  of 
Russia 


Russia  could 
not  afford  to 
enforce  the 
continental 
blockade 


landed  English  troops  in  Portugal  (August,  1808)  and  forced 
Junot  and  the  French  army  to  evacuate  the  country.  While 
Napoleon  was  busy  about  Vienna  in  1809  Wellesley  had  in- 
vaded Spain  and  gained  a  victory  over  the  French  there.  He 
then  retired  again  to  Portugal  v^^here  he  spent  the  winter  con- 
structing a  system  of  fortifications — the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras 
—  on  a  rocky  promontory  near  Lisbon.  f>om  here  he  could 
carry  on  his  operations  against  the  French  with  security  and 
success.  He  and  his  Spanish  allies  continued  to  occupy  the 
attention  of  about  three  hundred  thousand  of  Napoleon's  troops 
and  some  of  his  very  best  generals.  So  Napoleon  never  really 
conquered  Spain,  which  proved  a  constant  drain  on  his  re- 
sources, a  source  of  humiliation  to  him  and  of 'exultation  and 
encouragement  to  his  enemies. 

Among  the  continental  states  Russia  alone  was  entirely  out 
of  Napoleon's  control.  Up  to  this  time  the  agreement  of  Tilsit 
had  been  maintained.  There  were,  however,  plenty  of  causes 
for  misunderstanding  between  the  ardent  young  Tsar,  Alexan- 
der I,  and  Napoleon.  Napoleon  was  secretly  opposing,  instead 
of  aiding,  Alexander's  plans  for  adding  the  Danubian  provinces 
to  his  possessions.  Then  the  possibility  of  Napoleon's  rees- 
tablishing Poland  as  a  national  kingdom,  which  might  threaten 
Russia's  interests,  was  a  constant  source  of  apprehension  to 
Alexander. 

The  chief  difficulty  lay,  however,  in  Russia's  unwillingness 
to  enforce  the  continental  blockade.  The  Tsar  was  willing,  in 
accordance  with  the  Treaty  of  Tilsit,  to  continue  to  close  his 
harbors  to  English  ships,  but  he  refused  to  accede  to  Napo- 
leon's demand  that  he  shut  out  vessels  sailing  under  a  neutral 
flag.  Russia  had  to  dispose  of  her  own  products  in  some  way 
and  to  obtain  English  manufactures,  as  well  as  coffee,  sugar, 
spices,  and  other  tropical  and  semi-tropical  products  which  she 
had  no  hope  of  producing  herself.  Her  comfort  and  prosperity 
depended,  therefore,*  upon  the  neutral  vessels  which  visited 
her  Baltic  ports. 


Ei-^-'  Europe  and  Napoleon  303 

Napoleon  viewed  the  open  Russian  ports  as  a  fatal  flaw  in   Napoleon  de- 
his  continental  system  and  began  to  make  preparations  for  an   attark"Russia 
attack  upon  his  doubtful  friend,  who  was  already  beginning  to   ('^^2) 
look  like  an  enemy.    In  1812  he  believed  that  he  was  ready  to 
subdue  even  distant  Russia.     His  more  far-sighted  counselors 
vainly  attempted  to  dissuade  him  by  pointing  out  the  fearful 
risks  that  he  was  taking.    Deaf  to  their  warnings,  he  collected 
on  the  Russian  frontier  a  vast  army  of  half  a  million  men,  com- 
posed to  a  great  extent  of  young  French  recruits  and  the  con- 
tingents furnished  by  his  allies. 

The  story  of  the  fearful  Russian  campaign  which  followed  Napoleon's 
cannot  be  told  here  in  detail.  Napoleon  had  planned  to  take  h^^RSia 
three  years  to  conquer  Russia,  but  he  was  forced  on  by  the  (^^^2) 
necessity  of  gaining  at  least  one  signal  victory  before  he  closed 
the  first  season's  campaign.  The  Russians  simply  retreated  and 
led  him  far  within  a  hostile  and  devastated  country  before  they 
offered  battle  at  Borodino  (September  7).  Napoleon  won  the 
battle,  but  his  army  was  reduced  to  something  over  one  hun- 
dred thousand  men  when  he  entered  Moscow  a  week  later. 
The  town  had  been  set  on  fire  by  the  Russians  before  his 
arrival ;  he  found  his  position  untenable,  and  had  to  retreat  as 
winter  came  on.  The  cold,  the  lack  of  food,  and  the  harassing 
attacks  of  the  people  along  the  route  made  that  retreat  the  most 
signal  military  tragedy  on  record.  Napoleon  regained  Poland 
early  in  December,  accompanied  by  scarcely  twenty  thousand 
men  of  the  five  hundred  thousand  with  whom  he  had  opened 
the  campaign  less  than  six  months  before.^ 

He  hastened  back  to  Paris,  where  he  freely  misrepresented   Napoleon 
the  true  state  of  affairs,  even  declaring  that  the  army  was  in  new  army 
good  condition  up  to  the  time  when  he  had  turned  it  over  to 
Murat  in  December.    While  the  loss  of  men  in  the  Russian 


1  This  does  not  mean  that  all  but  twenty  thousand  had  been  killed.  Some  of 
the  contingents,  that  of  Prussia  for  example,  did  not  take  an  active  part  in  the 
war.  Some  idea  of  the  horrors  of  the  Russian  campaign  may  be  obtained  from 
the  descriptions  given  in  the  Readings^  section  ^6. 


304 


Oiitlmes  of  European  History 


What  Prus- 
sia had  suf- 
fered from 
Napoleon 


Reform  of 
Prussia  after 
the  battle  of 
Jena 


Prussia 
forced  to 
undertake 
reforms 


Serfdom 

abolished, 

1807 


campaign  was  enormous,  just  those  few  had  naturally  survived 
who  would  be  most  essential  in  the  formation  of  a  new  army, 
namely,  the  officers.  With  their  help  Napoleon  soon  had  a  force 
of  no  less  than  six  hundred  thousand  men  with  which  to  return 
to  the  attack.  This  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
conscripts  who  should  not  have  been  called  into  service  until 
1814,  besides  older  men  who  had  been  hitherto  exempted. 

The  first  of  his  allies  to  desert  Napoleon  was  Prussia  —  and 
no  wonder.  She  had  felt  his  tyranny  as  no  other  country  had. 
He  had  not  only  taken  her  lands ;  he  had  cajoled  and  insulted 
her ;  he  had  forced  her  to  send  her  ablest  minister,  Stein,  into 
exile  because  he  had  aroused  the  French  emperor's  dislike ;  he 
had  opposed  every  measure  of  reform  which  might  have  served 
to  strengthen  the  diminished  kingdom  which  he  had  left  to 
Frederick  William  HI. 

Prussia,  notwithstanding  the  reforms  of  Frederick  the  Great, 
had  retained  its  half-feudal  institutions  down  to  the  decisive  de- 
feat of  Jena.  The  agricultural  classes  were  serfs  bound  to  the 
soil  and  compelled  to  work  a  certain  part  of  each  week  for  their 
lords  without  remuneration.  The  population  was  still  divided 
into  three  distinct  castes  —  nobles,  burghers,  and  peasants  —  who 
could  not  acquire  one  another's  land.  The  overwhelming  defeat 
of  the  Prussian  army  at  Jena  and  the  provisions  of  the  Treaty 
of  Tilsit,  which  reduced  Prussia  to  territorial  insignificance, 
forced  the  leaders  of  that  old-fashioned  country  to  consider 
whether  its  weakness  was  not  partly  due  to  its  medieval  in- 
stitutions. Neither  the  king  nor  his  usual  advisers  were  ready 
for  thoroughgoing  reform,  but  there  were  some  more  progres- 
sive spirits,  among  whom  Baron  vom  Stein  and  Prince  Harden- 
berg  were  conspicuous,  who  induced  the  government  to  alter 
the  old  system. 

The  first  step  was  taken  in  October,  1807,  when  a  royal 
decree  was  issued  which  declared  its  purpose  to  be  nothing 
less  than  ''  to  remove  every  obstacle  that  has  hitherto  prevented 
the  "individual  from  attaining  such  a  degree  of  prosperity  as  he 


Europe  and  Napoleon  305 

is  capable  of  reaching."  Serfdom  was  abolished,  and  the  old 
class  system  done  away  with,  so  that  any  one,  regardless  of  social 
rank,  was  legally  free  to  purchase  and  hold  landed  property, 
no  matter  to  whom  it  had  formerly  belonged.  ' 


Fig.  149.    Stein 

It  is  important  to  note  that  while  serfs  had  practically  dis-   Continued 
appeared  in  England  and  France  hundreds  of  years  earlier,  it   prJ^sia^of" 
was  not  until  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  then   ^uJ^i'^J^JJg 
under  the  stress  of  dire  calamity,  that  Prussia  sufficiently  mod- 
ernized herself  to  abolish  the   medieval  manor  and  free  the 
peasants  until  then  bound  to  the  soil  and  sold  with  it.    But  the 
manorial  lords,  the  so-called  Junkers,  remained  rich  and  influ- 
ential, and  have  continued  down  to  this  day,  with  their  ancient 
notions  of  kingship  by  the  grace  of  God  and  of  military  prowess, 
to  exercise  a  fatal  influence  on  the  Prussian  government.   More- 
over, the  mass  of  the  Prussian  people  seem  to  retain  something 
of  their  old  servile  attitude  toward  their  masters. 


3o6 


0?(tlines  of  EuropccDi  History 


Origin  of 
the  modem 
Prussian 
army 


Fichte's 
addresses 

(1807-1808) 


Fatal  effects 
of  the  teach- 
ing of  Fichte 
and  other 
German 
writers 


The  old  army  of  Frederick  the  Great  had  been  completely 
discredited,  and  a  few  days  after  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of 
Tilsit  a  commission  for  military  reorganization  was  appointed. 
The  object  of  the  reformers  was  to  introduce  universal  military 
service.  Napoleon  permitted  Prussia  to  maintain  only  a  small 
force  of  not  more  than  forty-two  thousand  men,  but  the 
reformers  arranged  that  this  army  should  be  continually  recruited 
by  new  men,  while  those  who  had  had  some  training  should 
retire  and  form  a  reserve.  In  this  way,  in  spite  of  Napoleon's 
restrictions  on  the  size  of  the  regular  Prussian  army,  there  were 
before  long  as  many  as  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men 
sufficiently  trained  to  fight  when  the  opportunity  should  come. 
This  system  was  later  adopted  by  other  European  states  and 
was  the  basis  of  the  great  armies  of  the  Continent  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Great  War  in  19 14. 

While  serfdom  and  the  old  system  of  social  classes  were  being 
abolished  in  Prussia,  attempts  were  being  made  to  rouse  the 
national  spirit  of  the  Germans  and  prepare  them  to  fight  against 
their  French  conquerors.  A  leader  in  this  movement  was  the 
well-known  philosopher  Fichte.  He  arranged  a  course  of  public 
addresses  in  Berlin,  just  after  the  defeat  at  Jena,  in  which  he  laid 
the  foundation  for  the  modern  German  arrogance  from  which 
the  world  has  suffered  so  much.  He  told  his  auditors,  with 
impressive  warmth  and  eloquence,  that  the  Germans  were  the 
one  really  superior  people  in  the  whole  world.  All  other  nations 
were  degraded  and  had,  he  was  confident,  seen  their  best  days ; 
but  the  future  belonged  to  the  Germans,  who  would  in  due 
time,  owing  to  their  supreme  natural  gifts,  come  into  their  own 
and  be  recognized  as  the  leaders  of  the  world.  The  German 
language  was,  he  claimed,  infinitely  stronger  than  the  feeble 
speech  of  the  French  and  Italians,  borrowed  from  ancient  Latin. 
Unhappily,  later  German  writers,  economists,  philosophers,  and 
even  the  clerg^^men,  as  we  shall  see,  have  followed  Fichte 's  lead 
in  cultivating  the  Germans'  self-esteem  and  their  ill-concealed 
contempt  for  every  other  race. 


Ejirope  and  Napoleon  307 

The  University  of  Berlin,  whicli,  before  the  Great  War,  was  University 
one  of  the  largest  institutions  in  the  world,  was  founded  in  the  opened'(i8io) 
interest  of  higher  education.  Four  hundred  and  fifty-eight  stu- 
dents registered  the  first  year  (1810-1811).  A  League  of 
Virtue  was  formed  to  foster  fidelity  to  the  Fatherland  and  to 
cultivate  hatred  of  Napoleon  and  the  French.  In  this  way  the 
Prussian  people  were  roused  from  their  lethargy  and  prepared 
to  join  their  leaders  in  an  attack  on  their  foreign  oppressors. 

The  Prussian  contingent  which  Napoleon  had'  ordered  to  Yorck 
support  him  in  his  campaign  against  Alexander  was  under  Napoleon 
the  command  of  Yorck.  It  had  held  back  and  so  was  not 
involved  in  the  destruction  of  the  main  army.  On  learning  of 
Napoleon's  retreat  from  Moscow,  Yorck  finally  resolved  to  j.oin 
the  Russians  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  timid  king  was  still 
afraid  to  declare  war  on  Napoleon. 

This  action  of  Yorck  and  the  influence  of  public  opinion   Prussia  joins 
finally  induced  the  faint-hearted  king,  who  was  still  apprehen-  agaSS  Na- 
sive  of  Napoleon's  vengeance,  to  sign  a  treaty  with  the  Tsar  Pol^on  (Feb- 
(February  27,  18 13),  in  which  Russia  agreed  not  to  lay  down 
arms  until  Prussia  should  be  restored  to  a  total  area  equal  to 
that  she  had  possessed  before  the  fatal  battle  of  Jena.    It  was 
understood  that  she  should  give  up  to  the  Tsar  all  that  she 
had  received  in  the  second  and  third  partitions  of  Poland  and 
be   indemnified  by   annexations   in   northern   Germany.     This 
proved  a  very  important  stipulation.    On  March  17  Frederick 
William  issued  a  proclamation  "  1  o  my  People,"  in  which  he 
summoned  his  subjects —  Brandenburgers,  Prussians,  Silesians, 
Pomeranians,  and  Lithuanians  —  to  follow  the  example  of  the 
Spaniards  and  free  their  country  from  the  rule  of  a  foreign 
tyrant. 

Napoleon's  situation  was,  however,  by  no  means  desperate   Napoleon's 
so  long  as  Italy,  Austria,  and  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine   \^  saxony 
stood   by  him.     With   the   new  army  which  he  had  collected    (^^^3) 
after  his  disastrous  campaign  in  Russia  the  previous  year,  he 
marched  to  Leipzig,   where  he  found   the   Russians   and   the 


3o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Austria  and 
Sweden  turn 
against 
Napoleon 


Napoleon 
defeated  in 
the  battle  of 
Leipzig 
(October, 
1813) 


Prussians  under  Bliicher  awaiting  him.  He  once  more  de- 
feated the  allies  at  Liitzen  (May  2,  18 13),  and  then  moved  on 
to  Dresden,  the  capital  of  his  faithful  friend,  the  king  of 
Saxony.  During  the  summer  he  inflicted  several  defeats  upon 
the  allies,  and  on  August  26-27  he  won  his  last  great  victory, 
the  battle  of  Dresden. 

Metternich's  friendship  had  grown  cold  as  Napoleon's  posi- 
tion became  more  and  more  uncertain.  He  was  willing  to 
maintain  the  alliance  between  Austria  and  France  if  Napoleon 
would  abandon  a  considerable  portion  of  his  conquests  since 
1806.  As  Napoleon  refused  to  do  this,  Austria  joined  the 
allies  in  August.  Meanwhile  Sweden,  which  a  year  or  two 
before  had  chosen  one  of  Napoleon's  marshals,  Bernadotte, 
as  its  crown  prince,  also  joined  the  allies  and  sent  an  army 
into  northern  Germany. 

Finding  that  the  allied  armies  of  Russia,  Prussia,  Austria, 
and  Sweden,  under  excellent  generals  like  Bliicher  and  Berna- 
dotte, had  at  last  learned  that  it  was  necessary  to  cooperate  if 
they  hoped  to  crush  their  ever-alert  enemy,  and  that  they 
were  preparing  to  cut  him  off  from  France,  Napoleon  re- 
treated early  in  October  to  Leipzig.  Here  the  tremendous 
''  Battle  of  the  Nations,"  as  the  Germans  love  to  call  it,  raged 
for  four  days.  No  less  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand 
men  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  Napoleon  was  totally  defeated 
(October  16-19J. 

As  the  emperor  of  the  French  escaped  across  the  Rhine  with 
the  remnants  of  his  army  the  whole  fabric  of  his  vast  political 
edifice  crumbled.  The  members  of  the  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine  renounced  their  protector  and  joined  the  allies.  Jerome 
fled  from  his  kingdom  of  Westphalia,  and  the  Dutch  drove  the 
French  officials  out  of  Holland.  Wellington  had  been  steadily 
and  successfully  engaged  in  aiding  the  Spanish  against  their 
common  enemy,  and  by  the  end  of  18 13  Spain  was  practically 
cleared  of  the  French  intruders,  so  that  Wellington  could  press 
on  across  the  Pyrenees  into  France. 


Europe  and  Napoleon 


309 


In   spite  of  these  disasters,   Napoleon  refused   an  offer  of   Occupati^ 


peace  on  condition  that  he  would  content  himself  henceforth 
with  France  alone.  The  allies  consequently  marched  into  France, 
and  the  almost  superhuman  activity  of  the  hard-pressed  em- 
peror could  not  prevent  their  occupation  of  Paris  (March  31, 
18 1 4).  Napoleon  w^as  forced  to  abdicate,  and  the  allies,  in 
seeming  derision,  granted  him  full  sovereignty  over  the  tiny 


Fig.  ']'].   The  Abdication  of  Napoleox  —  the  Document 
IN  HIS  Own  Handwriting  1 


of  Paris  by 
the  allies 
(March  31, 
1814) 


island  of  Elba,  off  the  coast  of  Tuscany,  permitting  him  to  retain   Napoleon  ab- 
his  imperial  title.    In  reality  he  was  a  prisoner  on  his 
king^dom,  and  the  Bourbons  rei2:ned  ao:ain  in  France. 


.  1        1    dicates  and 
island    is  banished 
to  the  island 
of  Elba 


affairs  in  Europe.  The  Americans  succeeded  in  capturing  a  surprising  number 
of  English  ships  and  preventing  the  enemy  from  invading  New  England  or  tak- 
ing New  Orleans.  On  the  other  hand,  the  English  succeeded  in  defending  the 
Canadian  boundary'  and  took  and  destroyed  Washington  (August,  1S14)  just 
before  the  opening  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna.  Peace  was  concluded  at  Ghent 
before  the  end  of  the  year,  after  about  a  year  and  a  half  of  hostilities. 

1  The  document  reads  as  follows :  ''  Les  puissances  alliees  ayant  proclame 
que  I'Empereur  Napoleon  etait  le  seul  obstacle  au  retablissement  de  la  paix  en 
Europe,  I'Empereur,  fidele  a  son  serment,  declare  qu'il  renonce  pour  lui  et  pour 
ses  successeurs,  aux  trones  de  France  et  d'ltalie  et  qu'il,  fidele  a  son  serment, 
n'est  aucun  sacrifice  personnel,  meme  celui  de  la  vie  qu'il  ne  soit  pret  a  faire  aux 
interets  de  la  France."   Which,  being  translated,  reads : 

"  The  allied  powers  having  proclaimed  that  the  Emperor  Napoleon  was  the 
sole  obstacle  to  the  reestablishment  of  peace  in  Europe,  the  Emperor,  faithful 
to  his  oath,  proclaims  that  he  renounces,  ior  himself  and  his  successors,  the 
thrones  of  France  and  of  Italy,  and  that,  faithful  to  his  oath,  there  is  no  personal 
sacrifice,  even  that  of  life,  that  he  is  not  ready  to  make  for  the  interests  of  France." 


3IO 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Return  of 
Napoleon 


Within  a  year,  encouraged  by  the  dissensions  of  the  allies 
and  the  unpopularity  of  the  Bourbons,  he  made  his  escape, 
landed  in  France  (March  i,  1815),  and  was  received  with 
enthusiasm  by  a  portion  of  the  army.    Yet  France  as  a  whole 


W^' 


Fig.  ']%.   The  Return  of  Napoleon  from  Elba 

Napoleon  landed  almost  alone  in  France,  but  had  a  triumphal  march 
to  Paris.  The  old  soldiers  of  the  armies  of  the  empire  responded  to  his 
call,  and  even  those  sent  against  him  yielded  to  the  spell  of  his  person- 
ality and  joined  his  small  but  growing  army.  Louis  XVIII  fled  from 
Paris  and  took  refuge  with  the  allies,  until  Waterloo  ended  this  last 
great  adventure  of  Napoleon,  one  hundred  days  later.  The  period  is 
often  known  as  "the  Hundred  Days" 


was  indifferent,  if  not  hostile,  to  his  attempt  to  reestablish  his 
power.  Certainly  no  one  could  place  confidence  in  his  talk  of 
peace  and  liberty.  Moreover,  whatever  disagreement  there 
might  be  among  the  allies  on  other  matters,  there  was  perfect 
unanimity  in  their  attitude  toward  "  the  enemy  and  destroyer 


Europe  and  Napoleo7i 


311 


of  the  world's  peace."    They  solemnly  proclaimed  him  an  out- 
law, and  proceeded  to  devote  him  to  public  vengeance. 

Upon  learning  that 
English  troops  under 
Wellington  and  a  Prus- 
sian army  under  Bliicher 
had  arrived  in  the 
Netherlands,  Napoleon 
decided  to  attack  them 
with  such  troops  as  he 
could  collect.  In  the  first 
engagements  he  de- 
feated and  drove  back 
the  Prussians.  Welling- 
ton then  took  his  station 
south  of  Brussels,  at 
Waterloo.  Napoleon  ad- 
vanced against  him 
(June  18,  18 1 5)  and 
might  have  defeated  the 
English  had  they  not 
been  opportunely  re- 
enforced  by  Bliicher's 
Prussians,  who  had  re- 
covered themselves.  As 
it  was,  Napoleon  lost 
the  most  memorable  of 
modern  battles.  Yet 
even  if  he  had  not 
been  defeated  at  Water- 
loo, he  could  not  long 
have  opposed  the  vast 
armies  which  were  being  concentrated  to  overthrow  him. 

The  fugitive  emperor  hastened  to  the  coast,  but  found  it  so 
carefully  guarded  by  English  ships  that  he  decided  to  throw 


Battle  of 
Waterloo, 
June,  1S15 


^^:C^>ZW 


Fig.  79.   Tomb  of  Napoleon 

Napoleon  died  at  St.  Helena  in  182 1. 
The  body  was  brought  to  Paris  in  1840 
and  placed  with  great  military  splendor  in 
this  sarcophagus  of  reddish-brown  gran- 
ite, which  was  hewn  in  Finland  out  of  a 
solid  block  weighing  sixty-seven  tons. 
Around  it  in  the  pavement  are  inscribed 
the  names  of  Napoleon's  greatest  victo- 
ries, while  some  sixty  captured  banners 
stand  beside  colossal  statues  of  victory. 
The  tomb  is  under  the  lofty  gilded 
dome  of  the  church  which  is  connected 
with  the  old  soldiers'  asylum,  known  as 
the  Invalides 


312 


Outlines  of  European  History 


himself  upon  the  generosity  of  the  English  nation.  The  British 
government  treated  him,  however,  as  a  dangerous  prisoner  of 
war  rather  than  as  a  retired  foreign  general  and  statesman  of 
distinction  who  desired,  as  he  claimed,  to  finish  his  days  in 
peaceful  seclusion.  He  was  banished  with  a  few  companions 
and  guards  to  the  remote  island  of  St.  Helena.^  Here  he 
spent  the  six  years  until  his  death  on  May  5,  182 1,  brooding 
over  his  past  glories  and  dictating  his  memoirs,  in  which  he 
strove  to  justify  his  career  and  explain  his  motives. 

''  For  the  general  history  of  Europe  the  captivity  at  St.  Helena 
possesses  a  double  interest.  Not  only  did  it  invest  the  career 
of  the  fallen  hero  with  an  atmosphere  of  martyrdom  and  pathos, 
which  gave  it  a  new  and  distinct  appeal,  but  it  enabled  him  to 
arrange  a  pose  before  the  mirror  of  history,  to  soften  away  all 
that  had  been  ungracious  and  hard  and  violent,  and  to  draw  in 
firm  and  authoritative  outline  a  picture  of  his  splendid  achieve- 
ments and  liberal  designs.  .  .  .  The  great  captain,  hero  of  ad- 
ventures wondrous  as  the  Arabiaii  Nights,  passes  over  the 
mysterious  ocean  to  his  lonely  island  and  emerges  transfigured 
as  in  some  ennobling  mirage."  ^ 


QUESTIONS 

Section  42.  Outline  Bonaparte's  domestic  policy  in  general. 
What  was  the  Concordat?  What  was  the  importance  of  the  Code 
NapoleoiO.  Why  did  Napoleon  revive  the  splendors  of  a  court.? 
Why  did  France  accept  him  as  emperor.? 

Section  43.  What  did  Napoleon  consider  the  ideal  government 
for  Europe?  Account  for  England's  hostility  to  France.  Describe 
Napoleon's  foreign  policy.  Give  the  terms  and  state  the  importance 
of  the  Treaty  of  Pressburg.  Describe  the  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine.    When  and  under  what  circumstances  did  the  Holy  Roman 

1  An  isolated  rocky  island  lying  south  of  the  equator  between  Brazil  and  the 
African  coast,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  some  thirteen  hundred  miles  of  water. 

2  H.  A.  L.  Fisher  in  the  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  IX,  p.  757.  Some 
historians  have  accepted  Napoleon  at  his  own  valuation,  among  them  J.  S.  C. 
Abbott,  whose  popular  but  misleading  life  of  Napoleon  has  given  thousands  of 
readers  a  wholly  false  notion  of  his  character  and  aims. 


Europe  and  Napoleon  3 1 3 

Empire  cease  to  exist?  Continue  the  sketch  of  Napoleon's  foreign 
policy  from  the  dissolution  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  to  the  alliance 
of  Tilsit 

Section  44,  Outline  the  various  stages  in  Napoleon's  continental 
blockade.  Who  suffered  most  by  it?  Why  was  England  able  to 
endure  it  so  well? 

Section  45.  Name  some  of  the  public  works  for  which  Napo- 
leon was  reponsible.  Describe  the  university  system  which  he  es- 
tablished. What  was  the  Legion  of  Honor?  Describe  the  despotic 
character  of  the  latter  part  of  Napoleon's  rule.  Outline  his  cam- 
paigns in  Portugal  and  Spain. 

Take  Spain  as  an  example  to  show  the  manner  in  which  Napo- 
leon introduced  the  reforms  of  the  French  Revolution  into  the 
countries  which  came  under  his  sway.  Describe  the  Austrian  cam- 
paign of  1809.  Draw  a  map  of  Europe  and  on  it  indicate  the 
greatest  extent  of  Napoleon's  power. 

Section  46.  Describe  the  relations  bet^veen  France  and  Russia 
which  led  to  Napoleon's  attack  on  the  latter  country.  Give  an 
account  of  the  Russian  campaign.  Describe  the  regeneration  of 
Prussia.  Outline  Napoleon's  campaign  of  181 3  and  describe  the 
downfall  of  his  empire.  Discuss  the  terms  offered  to  Napoleon  by 
the  allies.  Give  an  account  of  the  return  from  Elba  and  of  the  cam- 
paign which  ended  with  W^aterloo.    Describe  Napoleon's  last  years. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  RECONSTRUCTION  OF  EUROPE  AT  THE 
CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA 

Section  47.  The  Congress  of  Vienna  and  its  Work- 

Extreme diffi-       The  readjustment  of  the  map  of  Europe  after  Napoleon's 
justmg  the       downfall  was  an  extremely  perplexing  and  delicate  operation. 
ro^^aft^The    Boundary   lines   centuries   old   had   been   swept  away  by   the 
great  changes   storms    of  war    and   the   ambition   of    the    conqueror.     Many 
leonic  Period   ancient    States   had    disappeared   altogether  —  Venice,    Genoa, 
Piedmont,  the  Papal  States,  Holland,  and  scores  of  little  Ger- 
man principalities.    These  had  been  either  merged  into  France 
or  the  realms  of  their  more  fortunate  neighbors,  or  formed  into 
new  countries  —  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  the  kingdom  of  West- 
phalia, the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine,  the  grand  duchy  of 
Warsaw.    Those  which  had  survived  had,  with  the  exception 
of  England  and  Russia,  received  new  bounds,  new  rulers,  or 
new  institutions.    When  Napoleon  was  forced  to  abdicate,  the 
princes  whose  former  realms  had  vanished  from  the  map,  or 
who  had  been  thrust  aside,  clamored  to  be  restored  to  their 
thrones.     The  great  powers,    England,   Austria,    Russia,    and 
Prussia,  whose  rulers  had  finally  combined  to  bring  about  his 
overthrow,  naturally  assumed  the  role  of  arbiters  in  the  settle- 
ment.    But  they  were  far  from  impartial  judges,  since  each 
proposed  to  gain  for  itself  the  greatest  possible  advantages  in 
the  reapportionment  of  territory. 
Some  matters        The  least  troublesome  points  were  settled  by  the  allies  in 
first  Peace  oi  ^^"^^  ^^^^  Treaty  of  Paris,  which  had  been  concluded  in  May, 
Paris, May 30,    ^^14,  immediately  after  Napoleon  had  been  sent  to  Elba.   They 
readily  agreed,  for  instance,  that  the  Bourbon  dynasty  should  be 

314 


r 


<  8 

■  ^    O 


<    S 


Reconstruction  of  Etirope  at  Coiigress  of  Vienna     315 

restored  to  the  throne  of  France  in  the  person  of  Louis  XVI's 
younger  brother,  the  count  of  Provence,  who  took  the  title  of 
Louis  XVIIL^  They  at  first  permitted  France  to  retain  the 
boundaries  she  had  had  on  November  i,  1792,  but  later  de- 
prived her  of  Savoy  as  a  penalty  for  yielding  to  Napoleon  after 
his  return  from  Elba."  The  powers  also  agreed,  at  Paris,  upon 
a  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands,  with  increased  territories,  to  be 
established  under  the  House  of  Orange ;  the  union  of  Germany 
into  a  confederation  of  sovereign  states ;  the  independence  of 
Switzerland ;  and  the  restoration  of  the  monarchical  states  of 
Italy.  The  graver  issues  and  the  details  of  the  settlement  were 
left  to  the  consideration  of  the  great  congress  which  was  to  con- 
vene at  Vienna  in  the  autumn.^ 

This  Congress  of  Vienna  continued  the  old  policy  of  carving   Holland 
out  and  distributing  states  —  especially  the  smaller  ones  —  with-  dcmi^and'"^ 
out  reo^ard  to  the  wishes  of  the  people  concerned.    The  allies   f^^'^"  ^^f 

*=■  ^      '  former  Aus- 

confirmed  their  former  decision  that  Holland  should  become  an  trian  Nether- 
hereditary  kingdom  under  the  House  of  Orange,  which  had  so 
long  played  a  conspicuous  role  in  the  Dutch  republic.  In  order 
that  Holland  might  be  better  able  to  check  any  encroachments 
on  the  part  of  France,  the  Austrian  Netherlands  (which  had 
been  seized  by  the  French  Convention  early  in  the  revolu- 
tionary wars)  were  joined  to  the  new  Dutch  kingdom.  The 
fact  that  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Austrian  Netherlands 
were  not  closely  connected  by  language,^  traditions,  or  religion 
with  the  Dutch  was  ignored  just  as  it  had  been  in  former  times 

1  The  young  son  of  Louis  XVI  had  been  imprisoned  by  the  Convention  and, 
according  to  reports,  maltreated  by  the  jailers  set  to  guard  him.  His  fate  has 
been  a  fruitful  theme  of  historical  discussion,  but  it  is  probable  that  he  died  in 
1795.  Though  he  never  exercised  power  in  any  form,  he  takes  his  place  in  the 
line  of  French  kings  as  Louis  XVII. 

2  The  second  Peace  of  Paris  (November,  1S15)  also  provided  for  the  return 
of  the  works  of  art  and  manuscripts  which  Napoleon  had  carried  off  from  Venice, 
Milan,  Rome,  Naples,  and  elsewhere.    But  not  all  were  returned. 

3  On  the  rivalry  of  the  rulers  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  see  Readings, 
Vol.  I,  p.  375. 

4  About  half  the  people  of  Belgium  to-day  speak  French,  while  the  remainder 
use  Flemish,  a  dialect  akin  to  Dutch,  and  a  few  speak  German. 


3i6 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  consoli- 
dation of  Ger- 
many leaves 
only  thirty- 
eight  surviv- 
ing states 


Strength- 
ening of 
Germany's 
western 
boundary 


In  the  read- 
justment of 
Italy,  Austria 
is  assigned  a 
predominat- 
ing influence 


when  the  provinces  had  passed  to  Spain  by  inheritance  and, 
later,  to  Austria  by  conquest. 

The  territorial  settlement  of  Germany  did  not  prove  to  be 
so  difficult  as  might  have  been  expected.  No  one  except  the 
petty  princes  and  the  ecclesiastics  desired  to  undo  the  work  of 
1803  and  restore  the  old  minute  subdivisions  which  had  been 
done  away  with  by  the  Reichsdepiitationshauptschluss.  The  res- 
toration of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  could  not  be  seriously  con- 
sidered by  any  one,  but  they  all  felt  the  need  of  some  sort  of 
union  between  the  surviving  thirty-eight  German  states.  A 
very  loose  union  was  therefore  created,  which  permitted  the 
former  members  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Rhine  to  continue 
to  enjoy  that  precious  ''  sovereignty "  which  Napoleon  had 
granted  them.  Formerly  that  portion  of  Germany  which  lies 
on  the  Rhine  had  been  so  broken  up  into  little  states  that 
France  was  constantly  tempted  to  take  advantage  of  this  dis- 
integration to  encroach  upon  German  territory.  After  18 15 
this  source  of  weakness  was  partially  remedied,  for  Prussia  was 
assigned  a  large  tract  on  the  Rhine,  while  Baden,  Wiirtemberg, 
and  Bavaria  stood  by  her  side  to  discourage  new  aggressions 
from  their  dangerous  enemy  on  the  west. 

Italy  was  not  so  fortunate  as  Germany  in  securing  greater 
unity  than  she  had  enjoyed  before  the  French  Revolution. 
Napoleon  had  reduced  and  consolidated  her  various  divisions 
into  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  of  which  he  was  the  head,  and  the 
kingdom  of  Naples,  which  he  had  finally  bestowed  on  Murat, 
while  Piedmont,  Genoa,  Tuscany,  and  the  Papal  States  he  had 
annexed  to  France.-^  Naturally  the  powers  had  no  reason  for 
maintaining  this  arrangement  and  determined  to  restore  all  the 
former  monarchical  states.  Tuscany,  Modena,  the  Papal  States, 
and  Naples  were  given  back  to  their  former  princes,  and  litde 
Parma  was  assigned  to  Napoleon's  second  wife,  the  Austrian 
princess,  Maria  Louisa.     The  king  of  Sardinia  returned  from 


1  Nothing  need  be  said  of  a  half  dozen  petty  Italian  territories — Lucca, 
San  Marino,  Benevento,  etc. 


Reconst7iictio7i  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vieima     317 

his  is^'and  and  reestablished  himself  in  Turin.  There  were  few 
at  the  congress  to  plead  for  a  revival  of  the  ancient  republics 
of  Genoa  and  Venice.  The  lands  of  the  former  were  therefore 
added  to  those  of  the  king  of  Sardinia,  in  order  to  make  as  firm 


Fig.  82.   General  Berxadotte,  King  Charles  XIV  of 
Sweden 

The  son  of  a  lawyer  in  southern  France,  Bernadotte  (1763-1844)  won 
his  way  in  the  French  army  by  merit  and  was  one  of  Napoleon's  great- 
est marshals.  In  1810  he  was  surprised  by  the  news  that  some  Swedish 
statesmen  were  proposing  him  as  successor  to  the  throne,  owing  to  his 
kindness  to  Swedish  prisoners  he  had  taken  once,  and  also  in  order  to 
secure  Sweden  against  Russia  by  having  a  warrior  king,  a  good  friend  of 
Napoleon.  Elected,  he  became  very  popular,  and  after  the  Napoleonic 
wars  his  reign  was  peaceful 

a  bulwark  as  possible  against  France.  Austria  deemed  the  terri- 
tories of  Venice  a  fair  compensation  for  the  loss  of  the  Nether- 
lands, and  was  accordingly  permitted  to  add  Venetia  to  her  old 
duchy  of  Milan  and  thus  form  a  new  Austrian  province  in 
northern  Italy,  the  so-called  Lombardo-Venetian  kingdom. 


3i8 


Oiitlities  of  European  History 


Switzerland 


Personal 
union  of 
Sweden  and 
Norway 
under  the  rule 
of  the  House 
ofBemadotte 


Russia  and 
Prussia  agree 
upon  the 
fate  of  the 
grand  duchy 
of  Warsaw 
and  of  the 
kingdom  of 
Saxony 


Switzerland  gave  the  allies  but  little  trouble.  The  Congress 
of  Vienna  recognized  the  cantons  as  all  free  and  equal,  and 
established  their  "  neutrality "  by  agreeing  never  to  invade 
Switzerland  or  send  troops  through  her  territory.  The  cantons 
(which  had  been  joined  by  the  former  free  city  of  Geneva) 
then  drew  up  a  new  constitution,  which  bound  them  together 
into  a  Swiss  federation  consisting  of  twenty-two  little  states. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna  ratified  an  arrangement  by  which 
Sweden  and  Norway  were  joined  under  a  single  ruler,  one  of 
Napoleon's  generals,  Bernadotte  (see  Fig.  84).  The  Norwe- 
gians protested,  drew  up  a  constitution  of  their  ow^n,  and  elected 
a  king,  but  Bernadotte  induced  them  to  accept  him  as  their 
ruler  on  condition  that  Norway  should  have  its  own  separate 
constitution  and  government.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  "  per- 
sonal union  "^  of  Sweden  and  Norway  under  Bernadotte  and 
his  successors,  which  lasted  until  October,  1905.'^ 

In  these  adjustments  all  was  fairly  harmonious,  but  when  it 
came  to  the  rewards  claimed  by  Russia  and  Prussia  there  de- 
veloped at  the  congress  serious  differences  of  opinion  which 
nearly  brought  on  war  between  the  allies  themselves,  and  which 
encouraged  Napoleon's  return  from  Elba.  Russia  desired  the 
grand  duchy  of  Warsaw,  which  Napoleon  had  formed  princi- 
pally out  of  the  territory  seized  by  Austria  and  Piussia  in  the 


1  This  is  the  term  applied  in  international  law  to  describe  the  union  of  two  or 
more  independent  states  under  a  single  ruler. 

2  This  personal  union  worked  very  well  so  long  as  the  joint  king  was  tolerably 
free  from  control  by  the  Swedish  parliament,  for  the  Norwegians  had  their  own 
constitution  and  parliament,  or  Storthing,  as  it  is  called,  and  they  could  regard 
themselves  as  practically  independent  under  a  sovereign  who  also  happened  to 
be  kmg  of  Sweden.  However,  especially  near  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, the  interests  of  the  two  countries  diverged  more  and  more  widely.  With 
the  development  of  parliamentary  government  the  diets  of  both  countries  desired 
to  control  the  king's  choice  of  ministers  and  the  foreign  policy  of  the  two  king- 
doms. So,  after  a  long  period  of  friction,  the  two'  states  agreed  to  separate  on 
October  26,  1905.  Sweden  retained  her  old  king,  Oscar  II  (1872-1907),  while 
Norway  elected  as  king  Prince  Carl,  second  son  of  Frederick,  king  of  Denmark, 
and  gave  him  the  title  of  Haakon  VII.  The  Norwegians  still  retain  the  con- 
stitution which  was  drawn  up  in  1814,  but  it  has  been  several  times  modified  by 
democratic  measures. 


12°      Longitude  East  fruui  Gr 


Plevna 


'S' 


PhmppopoL«   ^^^.^^^j 


'nstanii^opli 


Fig.  83.    Three  Important  Members  of  the  Congress  of 
Vienna 


319 


320 


Outlines  of  European  History 


England, 
Austria,  and 
France  pre- 
pare to  op- 
pose the 
plans  of 
Russia  and 
Prussia 


Skillful 
diplomacy  of 
Talleyrand 


The  Tsar 
gets  Poland, 
and  Prussia 
becomes 
powerful  on 
the  Rhine 


partitions  of  the  previous  century.  The  Tsar  proposed  to 
increase  this  duchy  by  the  addition  of  a  portion  of  Russian 
Poland  and  so  form  a  kingdom  to  be  united  in  a  personal 
union  with  his  other  dominions.  The  king  of  Prussia  agreed 
to  this  plan  on  condition  that  in  return  for  the  loss  of  such 
a  large  portion  of  his  former  Polish  territories  he  should  be 
allowed  to  annex  the  lands  of  the  king  of  Saxony,  who,  it  was 
argued,  had  deserved  this  punishment  for  remaining  faithful  to 
Napoleon  after  the  other  members  of  the  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine  had  deserted  him. 

Austria  and  England,  on  the  other  hand,  were  opposed  to 
this  arrangement.  They  did  not  approve  of  dispossessing  the 
king  of  Saxony  or  of  extending  the  Tsar's  influence  westward 
by  giving  him  Poland  ;  and  Austria  had  special  grounds  for  ob- 
jection because  a  large  portion  of  the  duchy  of  Warsaw  which 
the  Tsar  proposed  to  take  had  formerly  belonged  to  her.  The 
great  French  diplomatist,  Talleyrand,  now  saw  his  chance  to 
disturb  the  good  will  existing  between  England,  Prussia,  Austria, 
and  Russia.  The  allies  had  resolved  to  treat  France  as  a  black 
sheep  and  arrange  everything  to  suit  themselves.  But  now  that 
they  were  hopelessly  at  odds  Austria  and  England  found  the 
hitherto  discredited  France  a  welcome  ally.  Acting  with  the 
consent  of  Louis  XVIII,  Talleyrand  offered  to  Austria  the  aid 
of  French  arms  in  resisting  the  proposal  of  Russia  and  Prussia, 
and  on  January  3,  181 5,  France,  England,  and  Austria  joined 
in  a  secret  treaty  against  Russia  and  Prussia,  and  even  went  so 
far  as  to  draw  up  a  plan  of  campaign.  So  France,  the  disturber 
of  the  peace  of  Europe  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  was 
received  back  into  the  family  of  nations,  and  the  French  ambas- 
sador joyfully  announced  to  his  king  that  the  coalition  against 
France  was  dissolved  forever. 

A  compromise  was,  however,  at  length  arranged  without 
resorting  to  arms.  The  Tsar  gave  up  a  small  portion  of  the 
duchy  of  Warsaw,  but  was  allowed  to  create  the  kingdom  of 
Poland  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart.    Only  about  one  half  of 


Reco7istntction  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vieiuia     321 

the  possessions  of  the  king  of  Saxony  were  ceded  to  Prussia, 
but  as  a  further  indemnity  Prussia  received  certain  districts  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine,  which  had  belonged  to  petty  lay 
and  ecclesiastical  princes  before  the  Peace  of  Luneville.  This 
proved  an  important  gain  for  Prussia,  although  it  was  not 
considered  so  at  the  time.  It  gave  her  a  large  number  of 
German  subjects  in  exchange  for  the  Poles  she  lost,  and  so 
prepared  the  way  for  her  to  become  the  dominant  power  in 
Germany. 

If  one  compares  the  map  of  Europe  as  it  was  reconstructed   Map  of 
by  the  representatives  of  the  great  powers  at  Vienna,  with  the   fs  K°as  com- 
situation  after  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  a  hundred  years  before,   pared  with 

■'  •'  '    the  condi- 

several  veiy  important  changes  are  apparent.  A  general  con-  tjons  estab- 
solidation  had  been  effected.  Holland  and  the  Austrian  Nether-  'neaty  of 
lands  were  united  under  one  king.  The  Holy  Roman  Empire,  ^'^''^^^^ 
with  its  hundreds  of  petty  principalities,  had  disappeared  and  a 
union  of  thirty-eight  states  and  free  towns  had  taken  its  place. 
Prussia  had  greatly  increased  the  extent  of  its  German  terri- 
tories, although  these  remained  rather  scattered.  The  kingdom 
of  Poland  had  reappeared  on  the  map,  but  had  lost  its  inde- 
pendence and  been  reduced  in  extent.  Portions  of  it  had  fallen 
to  Prussia  and  Austria,  but  the  great  mass  of  Polish  territory 
was  now  brought  under  the  control  of  the  Tsar,  who  was  no 
longer  regarded  by  the  western  nations  as  an  eastern  poten- 
tate, but  was  regularly  admitted  to  their  councils.  Austria 
had  lost  her  outlying  provinces  of  the  Netherlands,  which 
had  proved  so  troublesome,  but  had  been  indemnified  by 
the  lands  of  the  extinct  Venetian  republic,  while  her  future 
rival  in  Italy,  the  king  of  Sardinia,  had  been  strengthened 
by  receiving  the  important  city  of  Genoa  and  the  adjacent 
territory.  Otherwise,  Italy  remained  in  her  former  state  of  dis- 
ruption and  more  completely  than  ever  under  the  control  of 
Austria. 

The  gains  of  England  resulting  from  the  Napoleonic  con- 
flict, like  all  her  other  acquisitions  since  the  War  of  the  Spanish 


322 


Outlines  of  European  History 


England 
gains  Ceylon 
and  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope 


Vast  extent 
of  England's 
colonial  pos- 
sessions in 
1815 


Succession,  were  colonial.  The  most  important  of  these 
were  Ceylon,  off  the  southeastern  coast  of  the  Indian  penin- 
sula, and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  latter  had  been 
wrested  from  the  Dutch  (1806)  while  Holland  was  under 
Napoleon's  influence.  This  seemingly  insignificant  conquest 
proved  to  be  the  basis  of  further  British  expansion,  which  has 
secured  for  England  the  most  valuable  portions  of  southern 
Africa.^ 

In  spite  of  the  loss  of  the  American  colonies  on  the  eve  of 
the  French  Revolution,  England  possessed  in  18 15  the  foun- 
dations of  the  greatest  commercial  and  colonial  power  which 
has  ever  existed.  She  still  held  Canada  and  all  the  vast  north- 
west of  the  North  American  continent,  except  Alaska.  Im- 
portant islands  in  the  West  Indies  furnished  stations  from 
which  a  lucrative  trade  with  South  America  could  be  carried 
on.  In  Gibraltar  she  had  a  sentinel  at  the  gateway  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  the  possession  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
afforded  not  only  a  basis  for  pressing  into  the  heart  of  the 
most  habitable  part  of  Africa  but  also  a  halfway  port  for 
vessels  bound  to  distant  India.  In  India  the  beginnings  of 
empire  had  already  been  made  in  the  Bengal  region  and  along 
the  east  and  west  coasts.  Finally,  in  Australia,  far  away  in  the 
southern  Pacific,  convict  settlements  had  been  made  which  were 
in  time  to  be  supplanted  by  rich,  populous,  and  prosperous 
commonwealths.  In  addition  to  her  colonial  strength  England 
possessed  the  most  formidable  navy  and  the  largest  mercantile 
marine  afloat. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna  marks  the  condemnation  of  one  of 
the  most  atrocious  practices  which  Europe  had  inherited  from 

1  England  also  received  from  France  the  island  of  Mauritius  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  east  of  Madagascar;  Tobago,  a  small  island  north  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco  River;  and  Saint  Lucia,  one  of  the  Windward  Islands.  From  Spain 
England  got  the  island  of  Trinidad  near  Tobago,  and  from  Denmark  the  island 
of  Heligoland,  commanding  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe  (ceded  to  Germany  in  1890). 
In  the  Mediterranean  England  held  Malta  and,  as  a  protectorate,  the  Ionian 
Islands  off  the  coast  of  Greece,  thus  securing  a  basis  for  operations  in  the 
eastern  Mediterranean. 


Recoiistniction  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vienna     323 

ancient  times,  namely,  the  slave  trade.^    The  congress  itself  did   The  Congress 
no  more  than  declare  the  traffic  contrary  to  the  principles  of  civi-  under  the' 
lization  and  human  right ;  but,  under  the  leadership  of  England,   E^gfa^^jJ  °^ 
the  various  states,  with  the  exception  of  Spain  and  Portugal,   condemns  the 
were  already  busy  doing  away  with  the  trade  in  human  beings. 
The  horrors  of  the  business  had  roused  the  conscience  of  the 
more  enlightened  and  humane  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen  in 
the  eighteenth  century.     Finally,  in  March,  1807,  three  weeks 
after  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  had  forbidden  the  im- 
portation of  slaves,^  Parliament  prohibited  Englishmen  from 
engaging  in  the  traffic.    Sweden  followed  England's  example 
in  18 13,  and  Holland  a  year  later.     Napoleon,  on  his  return 
from  Elba,  in  order  to  gain  if  possible  the  confidence  of  Eng- 
land, abolished  the  French  slave  trade. 

Napoleon  had  done  more  than  alter  the  map  of  Europe  and   Disregard  of 
introduce  such  reforms  in  the  countries  under  his  control  as  before  the 
suited    his    purposes ;   he  had   aroused   the  modern   spirit   of  ^^^^^^^^^ 
nationality^  which  is  one  of  the  forces  that  helped  to  make 
the  nineteenth  century  different  from  the  eighteenth.     Before 
the  French  Revolution  kings  went  to  war  without  consulting 
their  subjects,  and  made  arrangements  with  other  monarchs 
in  regard  to  the  distribution,  division,  and  annexation  of  terri- 
tory without  asking  the  consent  of  those  who  lived   in  the 
regions  involved.     Practically  no  attention  was  paid  to  differ- 
ences in  race,  for  kings  gladly  added  to  their  realms  any  lands 
they  could  gain  by  conquest,  negotiation,  marriage,  or  inherit- 
ance, regardless  of  the  particular  kind  of  subjects  that  they 
might  bring  under  their  scepters. 

1  The  slave  trade  had  been  greatly  stimulated  by  the  discovery  that  African 
slaves  could  be  profitably  used  to  cultivate  the  vast  plantations  of  the  New  World. 
The  English  navigator,  Hawkins,  had  carried  a  cargo  of  three  hundred  negroes 
from  Sierra  Leone  to  Hispania  in  1562,  and  so  introduced  English  seamen  to  a 
business  in  which  Portugal,  Spain,  and  Holland  were  already  engaged.  It  is 
estimated  that  previous  to  1776  at  least  three  million  slaves  had  been  imported 
into  French,  Spanish,  and  English  colonies,  while  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  million 
more  had  perished  during  the  voyages. 

2  England  abolished  slavery  throughout  all  her  colonies  in  1833. 


324 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  French 
National 
Assembly 
declares  the 
monarch  re- 
sponsible to 
the  nation, 
and  so  awak- 
ens political 
life  among 
the  people 


The  awaken- 
ing of  nation- 
alism 


However,  the  French  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  in 
1789  had  proclaimed  that  the  law  was  the  expression  of  the 
general  will,  and  that  every  citizen  had  a  right,  personally  or 
through  his  representatives,  to  participate  in  its  formation.  The 
king  and  his  officials  were  made  responsible  for  their  public 
acts  not  to  God  but  to  the  people.  This  idea  that  the  nation 
had  a  right  to  control  the  making  of  the  laws  and  the  granting 
of  the  taxes,  and  to  choose  or  depose  its  ruler,  who  was  respon- 
sible to  it,  served  to  rouse  a  general  interest  in  political  ques- 
tions, which  could  not  possibly  have  developed  as  long  as 
people  were  content  to  believe  that  God  had  excluded  them 
from  all  participation  in  affairs  of  State.  Political  leaders  ap- 
peared, the  newspapers  began  to  discuss  public  questions,  and 
political  societies  were  formed. 

The  various  nations  became  more  and  more  keenly  conscious 
that  each  had  its  own  language  and  traditions  which  made  it 
different  from  other  peoples.  Patriotic  orators  in  Germany, 
Italy,  and  Greece  recalled  the  glorious  past  of  the  ancient 
Germans,  Romans,  and  Hellenes,  with  a  view  to  stimulating 
this  enthusiasm.  National  feeling  may  be  defined  as  a  general 
recognition  that  a  people  should  have  a  government  suited  to 
its  particular  traditions  and  needs,  and  should  be  ruled  by  its 
own  native  officials,  and  that  (if  nations  were  entitled  to  politi- 
cal rights,  as  the  French  Revolution  had  taught)  it  is  wrong 
for  one  people  to  dominate  another,  or  for  monarchs  to  divide, 
redistribute,  and  transfer  territories  v/ith  no  regard  to  the 
wishes  of  the  inhabitants,  merely  to  provide  some  landless 
prince  with  a  patrimony. 

We  shall  have  to  reckon  hereafter  with  this  national  spirit, 
which  continued  to  spread  and  to  increase  in  strength  during 
the  nineteenth  century.  It  has  played  a  great  part  in  the  unifi- 
cation of  Italy  and  Germany,  in  the  emancipation  of  Greece 
and  the  Balkan  States  from  Turkish  dominion,  and  finally  in 
the  causes  of  the  great  war  of  19 14. 


Reconstruction  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vienna     325 

Section  48.    The  Holy  Alliance  :    Metternich  be- 
comes THE  Chief  Opponent  of  Revolution 

In  June,  18 15,  the  Congress  of  Vienna  brought  together  Horror  of 
the  results  of  all  the  treaties  and  arrangements  which  its  and°suspicion 
various  members  had  agreed  upon  among  themselves,  and  "f^g^^^g^- 
issued  its  "  Final  Act,"  in  which  its  work  was  summed  up  for 
convenient  reference.^  A  few  days  later  the  battle  of  Water- 
loo and  the  subsequent  exile  of  Napoleon  freed  the  powers 
from  their  chief  cause  of  anxiety  during  the  past  fifteen 
years.  No  wonder  that  the  restored  monarchs,  as  they  com- 
posed themselves  upon  their  thrones  and  reviewed  the  wars 
and  turmoil  which  had  begun  with  the  French  Revolution  and 
lasted  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  longed  for  peace  at 
any  cost,  and  viewed  with  the  utmost  suspicion  any  individ- 
ual or  party  who  ventured  to  suggest  further  changes.  The 
word  "  revolution  "  had  acquired  a  hideous  sound,  not  only  to 
the  rulers  and  their  immediate  advisers,  but  to  all  the  aristo- 
cratic class  and  the  clergy,  who  thought  that  they  had  reason 
enough  to  abhor  the  modern  tendencies  as  they  had  seen 
them  at  work. 

It  was  clear  that  the  powers  which  had  combined  to  reestab-  The  Holy 
lish  order  must  continue  their  alliance  if  they  hoped  to  maintain   devised  by 
the  arrangements  they  had  made  and  stifle  the  fires  of  revo-   ^geptembeJ, 
lution  which  were  sure  to  break  out  at  some  unexpected  point   1^15) 
unless  the  most  constant  vigilance  was  exercised.    Alexander  I 
proposed  a  plan  for  preserving  European  tranquillity  by  the 
formation  of  a  religious  brotherhood  of  monarchs,  which  was 
given  the  name  of  ''  The  Holy  Alliance."    This  was  accepted 
by  the  emperor  of  Austria  and  the  king  of  Prussia,  and  pub- 
lished in  September,  18 15.     In  this  singular  instrument  their 
majesties  agreed  to  view  one  another  as  brothers  and  compa- 
triots, as  "  delegates  of  Providence  to  govern  three  branches 
of  the  same  family."     All  the  other  European  powers  which 

1  The  chief  provisions  are  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  381. 


326 


Outlines  of  Europe aii  History 


The  Holy 
Alliance  not 
a  union  to 
prevent 
revolution 


Mettemich's 

political 

creed 


Any  devel- 
opment of 
the  spirit  of 
nationality 
dangerous  to 
Austria 


recognized  the  sacred  principles  of  the  act  were  to  be  welcomed 
cordially  and  affectionately  into  this  ''  holy  alliance."  ^ 

The  Tsar  and  Frederick  William,  who  were  pious  men,  took 
the  alliance  seriously,  but  to  most  of  the  diplomats  who  had 
participated  in  the  scramble  for  the  spoils  at  Vienna,  and  who 
looked  back  upon  the  habits  of  monarchs  in  dealing  with  one 
another,  it  was  an  amusing  vagary  of  the  devout  Tsar.  It  was 
not,  as  has  often  been  supposed,  a  conspiracy  of  despotic  mon- 
archs to  repress  all  liberal  movements.  It  contained  no  definite 
allusions  to  the  dangers  of  revolution  or  to  the  necessity  of 
maintaining  the  settlement  of  Vienna.  The  name  "  Holy  Alli- 
ance "  came  nevertheless  to  be  applied  by  the  more  liberal 
newspapers  and  reformers  to  a  real  and  effective  organization 
of  the  powers  opposed  to  change.  In  this  case  the  monarchs 
did  not  unite  in  "  the  name  of  the  Most  High  "  to  promote 
Christian  love,  but  frankly  combined  to  fight  against  reform, 
under  the  worldly  guidance  of  Clement  Wencelaus  Nepomuk 
Lothaire,  Prince  of  Metternich-Winneburg-Ochsenhausen. 

Metternich,  who  was  destined  to  succeed  Napoleon  as  the 
most  conspicuous  statesman  in  Europe,  was  born  in  1773  and 
had  followed  the  course  of  the  French  Revolution  from  the 
beginning,  with  hatred  and  alarm.  All  talk  about  constitu- 
tions and  national  unity  was  to  him  revolutionary,  and  there- 
fore highly  dangerous.^ 

He  was  doubtless  much  strengthened  in  his  hostility  to 
reform  by  the  situation  of  Austria,  whose  affairs  he  had  been 
guiding  since  1809.  No  country,  except  Prussia,  had  suffered 
more  from  the  Revolution,  which  it  had  been  the  first  to  op- 
pose in  1792.  Should  the  idea  of  nationality  gain  ground  the 
various  peoples  included  in  the  Austrian  Empire  —  Germans, 
Czechs,  Poles,  Hungarians,  Italians,  and  the  rest  —  would 
surely  revolt  and  each  demand  its  own  constitution.  Liberal 
ideas,  whether  in  Austria,  Italy,  or  Germany,  foreboded  the 


1  See  the  text  of  this  interesting  document  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  I,  p.  384. 
?  For  Mettemich's  viewg  on  politics,  see  Readings,  V9I.  I,  p.  386. 


Reco7istruction  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vienna     327 

destruction  of  the  highly  artificial  Austrian  realms,  which  had 
been  accumulated  through  the  centuries  by  conquest,  marriage, 
and  inheritance,  without  regard  to  the  great  differences  between 
the  races  which  were  gathered  together  under  the  scepter  of 
Francis  I.  Consequently,  to  Metternich  the  preservation  of 
Austria,  the  suppression  of  reformers  and  of  agitators  for 
constitutional  government,  and  '^  the  tranquillity  of  Europe " 
all  meant  one  and  the  same  thing. 

On    November   20,    18 15,    Austria,    Prussia,    England,   and   Secret  alli- 
Russia  entered  a  secret  agreement  to  keep  peace  in  Europe.   vember2or 
In  order  to  effect  their  ends  the  powers  agreed  to  hold  peri-   ^^'5 
odical   meetings    with    a   view    to    considering    their   common 
interests  and  taking  such  measures  as  might  be  expedient  for 
the  preservation  of  general  order.    Thus  a  sort  of  international 
congress  was  established  for  the    purpose  of  upholding  the 
settlement  of  Vienna, 

The  first  formal  meeting  of  the  powers  under  this  agree-  Congress 
ment  took  place  at   Aix-la-Chapelle  in    18 18,   to  arrange  for  chapelle" 
the   evacuation   of  France  by  the  troops  of  the  allies,  which   ^^^^ 
had  been  stationed  there  since  18 14  to  suppress  any  possible 
disorder.     France,  once  more  admitted  to  the  brotherhood  of 
nations,  .  joined    Mettemich's    conservative    league,    and    that 
judicious   statesman   could   report  with  complacency  that  the 
whole  conference  was  a  brilliant  triumph  for  those  principles 
which  he  held  dearest. 


Section  49.   Thought  and  Culture  at  the  Opening 
OF  THE  Nineteenth  Century 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that,  because  histories  deal  almost  ex-   The  historj' 
clusively  with  the  politics  of  the  Revolutionary  and  Napoleonic  includes 
periods,  the  people  of  that  time  were  continually  and  completely   ["hanyoi'ti^s 
immersed  in  wars  and  treaties.    During  all  these  years  artisans 
worked  at  their  trades,  farmers  gathered  in  their  harvests  and 
grumbled  at  high  prices  and  the  weather,  manufacturers  were 


328  07itlines  of  European  History 

seeking   new   markets,    and    inventors    were    contriving   new 
machines    to    do    the    world's    work.     For   instance,    just   as 
Napoleon  was  landing  from  Elba  for  his  desperate  adventure 
which  ended  at  Waterloo,  a  poor  young  fireman  at  a  Newcasde 
colliery,  named  George  Stephenson,  was  perfecting  the  loco- 
motive, by  which  vaster  continents  were  to  be  conquered  for 
the  arts  of  peace  than  even  Napoleon  ever  dreamed  of.    The 
changes  in  industry  and  the  methods  of  work  due  to  the  appli- 
cation of  science,  which  were  taking  place  at  that  time,  is  so 
large  a  subject  that  we  shall  describe  it  by  itself  below.^    But 
alongside  the  busy,  unresting  world  of  commerce  and  industry, 
there  are  other  fields  of  achievement  hardly  less  important  — 
those  of  literature,  art,  and  philosophy.    In  all  of  these,  great 
masters  were  at  work  through  the  whole  period  just  described. 
The  influence        During  the  eighteenth  century  the  literatures  of  all  Europe 
uponlitera-      were  profoundly  under  the  influence  of  the  culture  of  France, 
ture  in  the       ^]^q  poctry  was  Stately  and  formal,  such  as  Dryden  and  Pope 
century  wrote  in  England ;  the  prose,  although  often  witty  and  clever, 

seems  to  us,  nowadays,  rather  artificial  and  affected.    This  was 
partly  due  to  the  fact  that  ever  since  the  work  of  the  humanists 
of  the  Renaissance,  education  had  been  largely  taken  up  with 
studying  the   Greek  and   Latin  classics.     Ancient  masters  of 
rhetoric  like  Cicero  were  imitated  by   all  writers  of  correct 
prose,  and  the  tranquil  dignity  of  Vergil's  poetry  furnished 
the  model  for  thousands-of  rather  monotonous  lines  of  courtly 
The  influence  versc.    Thcsc  writers  used  only  a  limited  number  of  words, 
upon  liter-       which  v/ere  sanctioned   by  good  taste  as  properly  belonging 
ature  ^^  literature.    In  the  choice  of  subjects,  too,  they  were  limited, 

for  this  lofty,  "  classical "  style  was  regarded  as  suited  only  to 
lofty  subjects.  The  result  was  that  literature  did  not  deal  with 
the  common  affairs  of  daily  life  as  it  does  now,  but  with  some- 
what unreal  events  and  persons,  generally  the  heroes  and  hero- 
ines of  antiquity.  In  the  hands  of  a  master  like  Voltaire  one 
did  not  feel  the  restraint  which  such  formality  imposed,  but 

1  See  the  chapter  on  The  Industrial  Revolution,  below. 


Reconstmction  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vienna     329 

upon  the  whole,  the  effect  was  to  make  both  prose  and  poetry 
commonplace.-^  Rousseau's  great  success  as  a  writer  had  been 
partly  due  to  his  passionate  revolt  against  the  stiffness  and 
formality  which  French  good  taste  had  insisted  upon. 

Britain  had  no  Rousseau,  but  the  popularity  of  Robert  Burns,  Nature  and 
the  plowman  poet,  and  of  Wordsworth  and  his  friends  who  fn  Ht^rature 
sought  to  ''  get  back  to  nature  "  was  a  sign  of  the  same  kind 
of  revolt  against  artificiality.  It  also  pointed  to  the  rise  of  a 
less  courtly  audience  than  that  of  noble  patrons  for  whose  favor 
and  gold  authors  used  to  write,  namely,  the  great  middle  class 
now  rapidly  acquiring  wealth  and  the  leisure  to  read. 

At  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  especially  after  Romanticism 
the  Napoleonic  w^ars,  this  new  reading  public  was  entertained 
by  a  new  theme  —  the  romantic  glorification  of  the  past.  During 
the  eighteenth  century  and  the  Revolutionary  era,  the  past  had 
been  decried,  and  people  looked  forward  to  the  future  for  inspi- 
ration. Now  writers  turned  to  the  despised  Middle  Ages  and 
depicted  in  glowing  terms  the  picturesque  life  of  feudal  times. 
One  of  the  main  leaders  in  this  movement,  which  is  called 
Romanticism,  was  Sir  Walter  Scott,  w^hose  poems  and  novels 
of  the  days  of  chivalry  were  read  everywhere.  The  movement 
spread  through  France  ^  and  Germany.  It  fitted  admirably  with 
the  conservative  ideas  of  the  period  after  Waterloo,  and  yet 
even  its  extravagant  praise  of  the  past,  which,  to  progressive 
minds,  seemed  to  obscure  the  duties  of  the  present,  had  one 
important  result  —  the  rise  of  scientific  history. 

The  past  which  the  Romanticists  wrote  about  was  an  unreal  The  modem 

,  ,     ,  ,        ,  .  -     ,     .      .  .        .  ,  ,1       historians 

world,  largely  the  creation  of  their  imagination,  where  noble 
warriors  and  fair  ladies  v>rere  true  heroes  and  heroines,  with 
even  the  cruelty  and  triviality  of  their  lives  touched  with  the 
attraction  of  romance.    But  this  attraction  led  others  to  study 

1  A  clever  writer  like  Voltaire  could  manage  to  make  one  see  that,  while  pre- 
tending to  talk  about  an  ancient  king,  he  often  had  the  king  of  France  and  present 
politics  in  mind.  In  this  way  he  could  poke  fun  at  absurdities  in  his  own  day,  or 
denounce  them  roundly  without  being  forbidden  by  the  censor. 

2  In  France  one  of  the  greatest  Romanticists  was  Victor  Hugo. 


330 


Outlines  of  European  History 


the  past  more  critically,  and  scientific  scholars  set  to  work  de- 
ciphering documents  in  dusty  libraries  in  order  to  find  out  the 
truth.  These  historians  were  also  animated  by  a  deep  interest 
in  the  story  of  politics  and  the  rise  of  that  most  important 
factor  in  modern  times  —  the  nation.  The  French  Revolution 
had,  as  we  have  seen,  brought  out  strongly  in  the  peoples  of 
the  Continent  that  national  sentiment  which  the  English  had 
possessed  for  at  least  two  centuries.  Now  the  French,  German, 
and  other  historians  began  the  great  task  of  recovering  the 
sources  of  their  national  history.  As  this  scientific  work  was 
extended  to  cover  the  nations  of  antiquity  as  well,  the  later 
nineteenth. and  twentieth  centuries  have  been  enabled  to  know 
more  about  the  history  of  civilization  than  any  previous  age. 
Such  little  manuals  as  this  could  not  have  been  written  but 
for  the  patient  labor  of  these  great  scholars,^  to  whose  works 
it  is  hoped  that  it  may  offer  an  introduction. 

This  study  of  history  was  especially  developed  in  Germany, 
where  the  War  of  Liberation  had  profoundly  stirred  the  patri- 
otism of  the  people.  In  the  great  deeds  of  their  forefathers, 
the  Germans  who  submitted  to  the  tyranny  of  Metternich 
could  find  some  consolation  for  the  present.  Indeed,  these 
historians  have  been  largely  responsible  for  the  remarkable 
growth  of  the  spirit  of  nationality  in  Germany,  which  the  great 
war  of  19 1 4  has  revealed. 

But  German  literature  and  thought,  at  the  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  were  enriched  by  great  contributions  in 
philosophy  and  poetry  as  well  as  in  histor)^    Immanuel  Kant^ 

1  It  should  be  noted  that  their  work  is  by  no  means  done,  Histor}'  is  not  an 
unchanging  repetition  of  an  old  tale.  It  is,  like  any  other  branch  of  learning,  a 
constantly  changing  body  of  facts,  in  proportion  as  new  research  and  greater 
enlightenment  bring  other  data  to  prominence.  Until  recently  it  has  been 
largely  a  branch  of  literature,  with  emphasis  upon  the  picturesque  or  dramatic. 
Now  it  is  tending  to  pay  more  attention  to  economics  and  commonplace  things. 

•-2  Kant's  grandfather  was  a  Scotchman;  hence  his  Scottish  name.  He  lived  all 
his  life  (1724-1804)  in  Konigsberg,  where  he  was  professor  of  philosophy.  His 
life  followed  such  a  steady  routine  for  thirty  years  that  it  was  a  jocular  saying 
that  people  in  Konigsberg  could  set  their  clocks  by  his  regular  appearance  on 
the  way  to  his  lectures. 


Fig.  84.    Count  Rumford 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  pioneers  in  the  development  of  Ger- 
many was  Benjamin  Thompson,  who  won  the  title  Count  Rumford  for 
his  services  to  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  in  the  years  just  before  the 
French  Revolution.  Like  Benjamin  Franklin,  he  combined  a  scientific 
genius  with  great  statesmanlike  qualities,  only  in  his  case  these  were 
devoted  to  a  foreign  country.  Rumford's  life  reads  like  a  romance. 
Born  in  1753,  the  son  of  a  Massachusetts  farmer,  he  left  for  England 
at  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  There  he  held  public  office  and  at  the 
same  time  carried  on  scientific  experiments.  Going  to  fight  against 
the  Turks,  he  was  given  the  post  of  minister  by  the  Elector  of  Bavaria. 
He  boldly  advocated  reforms  in  government  so  that  problems  of  social 
welfare,  such  as  the  care  of  the  poor  and  the  treatment  of  criminals,  or 
the  development  of  the  country's  resources,  should  be  met  by  scientific 
study  instead  of  by  old-fashioned  remedies.  It  is  part  of  the  romance 
that  when  he  was  made  a  count  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  he  chose 
as  his  title  the  name  of  the  little  village  of  Rumford,  now  Concord, 
New  Hampshire,  where  his  wife's  home  had  been. 


33' 


332 


0?itli?ies  of  Europeafi  History 


stands  first  among  modern  philosophers.  One  of  his  most 
important  doctrines  was  that  we  live  in  a  moral  world  as  well 
as  in  a  physical  one,  and  he  emphasized  the  importance  of 
duty  as  the  fundamental  principle  in  life.  Other  philosophers, 
especially  Fichte  and  Hegel,  taught  that  this  duty  should  be 
first  of  all  obedience  to  the  State,  —  and  they  taught  that  the 
German  people  and  its  ideals  were  the  choicest  product  of 
world  history. 

The  greatest  German  of  the  period  was  the  poet  and  scientist 
Goethe.^  He  is  best  known  by  his  drama  Faust.  The  hero, 
Faust,  is  a  scholar  who  sells  himself  to  the  devil  (Mephistopheles) 
in  order  to  taste  to  the  full  all  the  pleasures  of  the  world  —  a 
theme  so  vast  and  varied  that  through  the  story  of  Faust's  own 
experiences  and  the  sufferings  of  others,  Goethe  is  able  to  lay 
bare  the  deeper  passions  and  impulses  of  life  in  tragic  form. 
But  this  greatest  dramatist  was  also  the  greatest  lyric  writer 
of  Germany  and  a  distinguished  scientist  and  thinker  as  well. 
As  a  student  of  plant  and  animal  life  he  was  a  forerunner  of 
Darwin  in  announcing  the  theory  of  evolution.  His  novels  long 
exerted  a  strong  influence  on  the  writers  of  the  best  German 
fiction.  The  ideal  he  set  before  him  was  the  old  Greek  one  of 
the  well-balanced  mind  and  life.  Like  the  poet  Heine  (1797- 
1856)  he  disliked  the  Prussians  heartily  and  says  many  harsh 
and  scornful  things  of  their  brutal  militaristic  characteristics. 

The  rise  of  the  modern  German  literature,  which  reached 
its  climax  in  the  works  of  Goethe,  is  all  the  more  remarkable 
when  we  recall  that  as  recently  as  the  days  of  Frederick  the 
Great,  German  had  not  been  regarded  as  a  literary  language. 
Frederick  had  written  his  poems  and  books  in  French.  It  was 
only  after  his  victories  had  given  a  new  self-confidence  to  the 
North  Germans  that  they  ventured  to  use  the  tongue  of  Luther 


1  Pronounced  g'e'te.  The  greater  part  of  his  life  (1749-1832)  was  spent  at 
the  small  court  of  the  Duke  of  Weimar.  He  was  not  much  disturbed  by  the  con- 
quests of  Napoleon,  and  cannot  be  counted  among  the  distinctively  patriotic 
Germans  of  his  day.  His  wider  outlook  kept  this  greatest  German  poet  from 
mere  local  sympathies  and  absorption  in  temporary  problems. 


Reconstr2ictio7i  of  Europe  at  Congress  of  Vieiina     333 

as  a  rival  to  that  of  the  court  of  Versailles.  Thus  the  rapid  rise 
of  German  literature  is  of  great  importance  in  the  creation  of 
that  new  and  dangerously  arrogant  national  feeling  which  has 
cost  the  world  so  much  suffering  in  recent  years. 

It  is  clear  that,  with  the  rise  of  the  middle  class  and  the  The  new  age 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  readers,  a  new  era  dawned  °  ^^^  '"^ 
at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  the  literatures  of 
Europe,  In  addition  to  the  histories,  the  poetry  and  novels, 
which  for  the  first  time  began  to  attract  thousands  of  readers, 
newspapers  and  other  periodicals  began  to  take  the  place  of 
pamphlets.  Improvements  in  the  printing  press  made  it  pos- 
sible to  print  as  many  as  eight  hundred  pages  in  an  hour,^ 
instead  of  a  few  score,  and  so  the  great  age  of  reading  began. 

This  involved  more  education.    In  the  eighteenth  century  the   The  slow  be- 
mass  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  could  not  read  or  write,   national  ° 
Education  was  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy  and,  beyond   J^ance^^d" 
a  grounding  in  the  merest  rudiments,  was  generally  confined  England 
to  the  well-to-do.    In  France,  as  we  have  seen,^  an  attempt  had 
been  made  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  to  establish  a  national 
free  public  school   system,   but    it    was   not    carried   out.     In 
England  little  was  done  to  improve  matters  until  the  second 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  Prussia  a  new  school  system  was  part  of  the  work  of  re-  Prussian  edu- 
generation  begun  by  the  group  of  men  around  Stein,  of  whom 
Karl  Wilhelm  Humboldt  was  a  distinguished  leader.  The 
founding  of  the  University  of  Berlin  in  18 10  was  one  of  the 
most  noticeable  events  in  this  important  movement.  Before 
the  opening  of  the  Great  War  in  19 14  the  German  universities 
attracted  many  foreigners.  But  the  attitude  of  German  pro- 
fessors, who  have  almost  without  exception  supported  and  loudly 
defended  the  atrocious  policy  of  their  government,  has  brought 
German  learning  into  disrepute  among  other  nations. 

1  This  was  printed  on  only  one  side.  Now  there  are  presses  which  can  print 
almost  one  hundred  thousand  newspapers  an  hour,  consuming  paper  at  the  rate 
of  seven  hundred  miles  an  hour.  2  See  above,  p.  246. 


334  Outlines  of  European  History 

QUESTIONS 

Section  47.  Outline  the  work  accomplished  by  the  Treaty  of 
Paris.  Describe  the  work  of  territorial  redistribution  in  the  Congress 
of  Vienna.  Give  an  account  of  Talleyrand's  diplomacy.  What  was 
the  result  of  the  compromise  between  Russia  and  Prussia  ? 

Draw  two  maps,  one  showing  Europe  in  171  5,  the  other,  in  181  5. 
Show  on  a  map  the  colonial  possessions  gained  by  England  in  181  5. 
Account  for  the  awakening  of  the  spirit  of  nationality  towards  the 
end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

Section  48.  What  was  the  Holy  Alliance.?  Describe  Metternich's 
political  aims.  Who  were  the  members  and  what  was  the  purpose 
of  the  quadruple  alliance  formed  November  20,  181 5.? 

Section  49.  What  effect  did  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Latin 
classics  have  upon  the  style  of  authors  in  the  eighteenth  century.? 
When  and  how  did  writers  begin  to  write  differently?  What  is 
romanticism.?    Describe  Goethe's  views. 


CHAPTER  XIII      ' 

EUROPE  AFTER  THE  CONGRESS  OF  VIENNA 

Section  50.    The  Restoration  in  France  and  the 
Revolution  of  1830 

When,  in  18 14,  the  allies  placed  on  the  throne  the  brother  The  French 
of  Louis  XVI,  a  veteran  emigre,  who  had  openly  derided  the   oppose  the 
Revolution    and    had    been    intriguing   with    other    European   ^u^^g'^^^' u"  °^ 
powers   for  nearly  twenty  years   to   gain   the   French   crown,   in  18 14 
there  w^as  no   organized   opposition   to  the  new  king.    There 
had  never  been  a  majority  in  France  in  favor  of  a  republic. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Jacobins  had  been  held  by  no  more  than  a 
vigorous  minority.    The  French  were  still  monarchical  at  heart. 

There  was,  however,  no  danger  that  Louis  XVIII  would   Louis  xviil 
undo  the  great  work  of  the  Revolution  and  of  Napoleon.    He  lempted  to 
was  no  fanatic  like  his  younger  brother,  the  count  of  Artois.   ""^°  *^^ 
In  his  youth  he  had  delighted  in  Voltaire  and  the  writings  of   Napoleon 
the  philosophers ;  he  had  little  sympathy  for  the  Church  party.    Revolution 
His  sixty  years,  his  corpulence,  his  gout,  and  a  saving  sense  of 
humor  prevented  him  from  undertaking  any  wild  schemes  for 
restoring  the  old  regime  which  might  be  suggested  to  him  by  the 
emigrant  nobles,  who  now  returned  to  France  in  great  numbers. 

The  Constitutional  Charter  which  he  issued  in  June,  18 14,   The  Consti- 
was  indeed  a  much  more  liberal  form  of  government  than  that  Jer  granted^to 
which  Napoleon  had  permitted  the  French  to  enjoy,  and  sug-   France  by 
gested  in   some  ways  the  English  constitution.^    There   was  June,  1814 
to  be  a  parliament  consisting  of  two  chambers  —  a  house  of 
peers  chosen  by  the  king,  and  a  chamber  of  deputies  elected 

1  The  leading  provisions  pf  the  Charter  are  to  be  found  in  th?  Readings^ 
Vol.  II,  p.  2, 

335 


336 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  moder- 
ate royalists 


by  the  wealthier  citizens.  -The  king  alone  could  propose  laws, 
but  the  chambers  could  petition  the  sovereign  to  lay  before 
them  any   measure  which  they  thought  desirable. 

In  addition  to  establishing  representative  government  the 
Charter  guaranteed  almost  all  the  great  principles  of  reform 
laid  down  in  the  first  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man.  It 
proclaimed  that  all  men  were  equal  before  the  law  and  equally 
eligible  to  offices  in  the  government  and  the  army ;  taxation 
was  to  be  apportioned  according  to  the  wealth  of  each  citizen ; 
personal  and  religious  liberty  was  assured,  although  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith  was  to  be  the  religion  of  the  State ;  freedom  of 
the  press  was  guaranteed,  but  subject  to  such  laws  as  might  be 
passed  for  the  purpose  of  checking  the  abuses  of  that  freedom. 

Naturally  different  political  parties  soon  appeared.  The  re- 
actionary group,  known  as  the  ultra-royalists,  was  composed 
largely  of  emigrant  nobles  and  clergy,  who  wished  to  undo  the 
work  of  the  past  twenty-five  years  and  to  restore  the  old  regime 
in  its  entirety.  They  clamored  for  greater  power  for  the  clergy, 
for  the  restriction  of  the  liberal  press,  for  the  king's  absolute 
control  over  his  ministers,  and  for  the  restoration  of  the  prop- 
erty that  they  had  lost  during  the  Revolution.  This  party, 
though  small  in  numbers,  was  composed  of  zealots,  and  with 
the  king's  brother,  the  count  of  Artois,  at  their  head,  they 
formed  an  active  and  influential  minority. 

The  most  valuable  and  effective  support  for  the  king,  how- 
ever, came  from  a  more  moderate  group  of  royalists  who  had 
learned  something  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  They 
knew  that  the  age  of  Louis  XVI  and  Marie  Antoinette  could 
not  return,  and  consequently  they  urged  the  faithful  observ- 
ance of  the  Charter,  and  sought,  on  the  one  hand,  to  induce 
the  reactionary  nobility  and  clergy  to  accept  the  results  of  the 
Revolution,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  to  reconcile  the  people  to 
the  restored  monarchy.  The  two  royalist  parties  —  extreme 
and  moderate  —  doubtless  made  up  the  greater  portion  of 
the  nation. 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  337 

A  third  party  was  composed  of  liberals,  who,  though  loyal  The  liberals 
to  the  king,  did  not  believe  the  Charter  gave  as  much  power 
to  the  people  as  it  should.  They  favored  a  reduction  of  the 
amount  of  property  which  a  man  was  required  to  own  in 
order  to  vote,  and  they  maintained  that  the  king  should  be 
guided  by  ministers  responsible  to  the  parliament. 

Then  there  was  a  large  group  of  persons  who  were  irrecon-  The  irrecon- 
cilable enemies  of   the   Bourbons  and  everything  savoring  of 
Bourbonism.     Among   them    were    the    Bonapartists,    soldiers   The  Bona- 
of  Napoleon,  who  remembered  the  glories  of  Austerlitz  and   P^"^^^^ 
Wagram  and  were  angered  by  the  prestige  suddenly  given  to 
hundreds  of  Frenchmen  who   had  borne   arms   against  their 
country,  but  who  now  crowded  around   the   king  to   receive 
offices,    rewards,    and    honors.^     While    Napoleon    lived    they 
longed  for  his  return,  and  after  his  death  in  182 1  they  placed 
their  hopes  upon  his  youthful  son,^  "  Napoleon  II,"  as  they 
called  him. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  the  republicans,  who  detested  The  repub- 
Bonapartism  no  less  than  Bourbonism  and  wished  to  restore 
the  republic  of   1792. 

As  long  as  Louis  XVI II  lived  the  party  loyal  to  him  grew  views  of 
stronger,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1824  the  restored  (1824-1830) 
Bourbon  line  seemed  to  have  triumphed  completely  over  its 
enemies.  Had  his  brother,  who  succeeded  him  as  Charles  X, 
been  equally  wise,  he  too  might  have  retained  the  throne  until 
his  death.  But  he  frankly  declared  that  he  would  rather  chop 
wood  than  be  king  on  the  same  terms  as  the  king  of  England. 
During  the  early  years  of  his  reign  the  clergy  and  Jesuits  exer- 
cised a  great  deal  of  influence  upon  the  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  nobles,  who  had  been  deprived  of  their  lands 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  6. 

2  The  son  of  Napoleon  and  Maria  Louisa,  born  in  iSii,  to  whom  his  father 
gave  the  title  "  King  of  Rome,"  was  taken  to  Vienna  after  Napoleon's  overthrow, 
and  given  the  title  of  "  Duke  of  Reichstadt."  He  lived  at  his  grandfather's  court 
until  his  death  in  1832,  and  is  the  hero  of  Rostand's  popular  drama,  L^Aiglon 
(The  Eaglet). 

II 


338 


Outlines  of  Europe ati  History 


The  July 
ordinances, 
July  25   1830 


The  protests 
of  the 
journalists 


The  republi- 
cans start  an 
insurrection 
in  Paris, 
July  27 


A  new  candi- 
date for  the 
throne 
appears 


during  the  Revolution,  were  granted  a  thousand  million  francs 
by  way  of  indemnity. 

Charles's  policy  naturally  aroused  violent  antagonism.  But 
he  did  not  heed  the  warnings,  and  in  July,  1830,  determined 
upon  a  bold  stroke.  Acting  under  a  provision  of  the  Charter 
which  empowered  him  to  make  regulations  for  the  security  of 
the  realm,  he  and  his  ministers  issued  a  series  of  ordinances 
establishing  press  censorship,  increasing  the  property  qualifi- 
cations for  voters,  and  confining  the  proposing  of  laws  to  the 
king.^  These  ordinances  practically  destroyed  the  last  vestiges 
of  constitutional  government  and  left  the  French  people  with- 
out any  guaranty  against  absolutism. 

The  day  following  the  promulgation  of  the  ordinances, 
July  26,  1830,  the  Paris  journalists  published  a  protest,  which 
became  the  signal  for  open  resistance  to  the  king.  They  de- 
clared that  they  would  issue  their  newspapers  in  spite  of  the 
king,  and  that  all  citizens  were  freed  from  their  allegiance  by 
this  attack  on  their  rights. 

The  revolt,  however,  w^hich  brought  about  the  overthrow  of 
Charles  X  was  the  work  of  the  fearless  though  small  republican 
party  which  faithfully  cherished  the  traditions  of  1792.  On 
July  27  they  began  tearing  up  the  paving  stones  for  barricades, 
behind  which  they  could  defend  themselves  in  the  narrow  streets 
against  the  police  and  soldiers. 

On  July  29  the  entire  city  of  Paris  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
insurgents.  The  king,  now  realizing  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation,  opened  negotiations  with  the  members  of  the  parlia- 
ment and  promised  to  repeal  the  obnoxious  ordinances.  It 
was,  however,  too  late  for  concessions ;  a  faction  of  wealthy 

*  The  picture  represents  Louis  Philippe  riding  through  the  streets 
of  Paris  after  the  fighting  had  ceased,  in  the  revolution  of  July,  He  is 
going  from  his  residence,  in  the  center  of  the  city,  to  the  Hotel  de  Ville, 
or  City  Hall,  where  the  leading  revolutionists,  the  aged  Lafayette  at 
their  head,  await  him.  Notice  the  barricades  in  the  street,  formed  of 
paving  stones  and  other  obstacles. 

1  See  the  ordinance  against  the  press,  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  ii. 


'^m 


Fig.  86.    The  Monument  to  the  Revolutionists  of 
July,  1830* 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  3  39 

bankers  and  business  men  was  busily  engaged  in  an  intrigue 
to  place  upon  the  throne  Louis  Philippe,  the  son  of  that  duke 
of  Orleans  who  had  supported  the  reformers  in  the  early  days 
of  the  first  revolution  and  had  finally  been  executed  as  a  ''  sus- 
pect "  during  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  son  had  been  identified 
with  the  Jacobins  and  had  fought  in  the  army  of  the  Republic 
at  Valmy  and  Jemappes.  He  was  later  exiled,  and  spent  some 
time  in  England.  When  he  returned  to  France  after  the  resto- 
ration he  sought  popularity  by  professing  democratic  opinions, 
going  about  like  a  plain  citizen,  and  sending  his  children  to 
ordinary  schools  instead  of  employing  private  tutors.  He  was 
therefore  the  logical  candidate  of  those  who  washed  to  preserve 
the  monarchy  and  yet  establish  the  middle  class  in  power  in 
place  of  the  nobles  and  clergy. 

Charles  X,  despairing  of  his  ability  to  retain  the  crown  for  him-   Charles  x 
self,  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  grandson,  the  duke  of  Bordeaux.    LouiT^^^' 
He  then  charged  Louis  Philippe  with  the  task  of  proclaiming  J^iiippe 
the  young  duke  as  King  Henry  V,  and  fled  with  his  family  to   lieutenant 


England.  Though  this  arrangement  might  very  well  have  met 
the  approval  of  the  nation  at  large,  Louis  Philippe  was  not  in- 
clined to  execute  the  orders  of  Charles  X.  On  the  contrary  he 
began  to  seek  the  favor  of  the  republicans  who  had  done  the 
actual  fighting,  and  who  had  already  formed  a  provisional 
government  with  the  aged  Lafa^'^tte  at  its  head. 

This  committee  occupied  the  City  Hall  and  was  surrounded 
by  the  insurgents  who  supported  it.  Louis  Philippe  forced  his 
way  through  the  throng,  and,  in  a  conference  with  Lafayette, 
won  him  over  to  his  cause  by  fair  promises.  The  two  men 
then  went  out  on  the  balcony  and  Lafayette  embraced  his  com- 
panion before  the  crowd  as  a  sign  of  their  good  understanding, 

*  This  column  was  erected  in  memory  of  those  who  fell  in  the  street 
fighting  in  Paris  in  July,  1830.  It  stands  on  the  site  of  the  Bastille,  which 
was  torn  down  after  its  capture  in  1789.  The  stones  of  the  Bastille  were 
used  for  bridges  and  other  public  works  ;  but  when  the  Paris  subway 
was  dug  through  the  square  recently  the  foundations  of  the  old  building 
were  found,  and  are  used  as  walls  for  a  station. 


general 


340 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Chamber 
of  Deputies 
calls  Louis 
Philippe  to 
the  throne 


while  the  duke  on  his  part  showed  his  sympathy  for  liberal 
doctrines  by  waving  the  tricolored  flag,  —  the  banner  of  the 
Revolution,  —  which  had  not  been  unfurled  in  Paris  since  the 
last  days  of  Napoleon.  The  hopes  of  the  republicans  who  had 
borne  the  brunt  of  the  Revolution  were  now  at  an  end,  for 
they  realized  that  they  formed  too  small  a  party  to  prevent 
Louis  Philippe's  accession  to  the  throne.-^ 

Louis  Philippe  convoked  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  on  August  3 
and  announced  the  abdication  of  Charles  X,  carefully  omitting 
any  allusion  to  the  fact  that  the  dethroned  king  had  indicated 
his  grandson  as  his  successor.  Four  days  later  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  passed  a  resolution  —  which  was  ratified  by  the 
Chamber  of  Peers  —  calling  Louis  Philippe  to  the  throne  as 
"  king  of  the  French  "  ;  he  accepted  their  invitation,  declaring 
that  "  he  could  not  resist  the  call  of  his  country." 


1  The  Bourbon  Kings 

Henry  /F(the  first  of  the  Bourbon  line;  d.  1610) 

I 

Louis  XIII  (d.  1643) 


1 

Louis  XIV  (d..  17 15) 
1 

1 

Philip,  duke  of  Orleans  (d.  1701) 

Louis  XV  {6..  1774) 

Philip  the 

Regent  (d.  1722) 

great-grandson  of  Louis  XIV 

1 

1 

Louis  (d.  1752) 

Louis  the  Dauphin  (d.  1765) 

1 

T.onis  Philinne  M.  i78c^ 

Louts  XVI            Louis 

1 
XVIII 

1 
Charles  X 

Philippe 

(d.  1793) 

(d. 

1824) 

(deposed  1830) 

(Egalite) 

count  of  Provence 

count  of  Artois 

(d.  1793) 
1 

Louis  XVII  (6..  1795) 

Louis 
Phihppe  I 

1 

(deposed 

Louis 

Charles 

1848) 

duke  of 

duke  of 

1 

Angouleme 

Berri 

Duke  of 

(d.  1844) 

(d.  1820) 

(Duke  of 

Bordeaux 

later  count 

of  Chambord) 

"Henrv  V" 

Orleans 
(d.  1842) 

1 
Count 
of  Paris 
(d.  1894) 

(d. 

1S83) 

Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  341 

The  parliament  undertook  to  make  the  necessar}-  changes  in  The  charter 
the  existing  Charter  which  Louis  XVIII  had  granted,  and  re- 
quired the  new  king  to  accept  it  before  his  coronation.  The 
preamble  of  the  Charter  was  suppressed  because  it  wounded 
national  dignity  "  in  appearing  to  grant  to  Frenchmen  the 
rights  which  essentially  belonged  to  them."  Freedom  of  the 
press  and  the  responsibility  of  the  ministers  to  the  parliament 
were  expressly  proclaimed.  Lastly,  the  provision  establishing 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  as  the  religion  of  the  State  was 
stricken  out. 

In  reality,  however,  the  Revolution  of  1830  made  few  inno-  The  slight 
vations.    One  king  had  been  exchanged  for  another  who  pro-   Revolution 
fessed  more  liberal  views,  but  the  government  was  no  more  °^  ^^3° 
democratic  than  before.    The  right  to  vote  was  still  limited  to 
the   few  wealthy   taxpayers,   and  government   by   clergy   and 
nobility  had  given  place  to  government  by  bankers,  specula- 
tors,  manufacturers,   and  merchants.     The  tricolored   flag  of 
the   Revolution  was  adopted   as  the  national  flag  instead  of 
the  white  banner  of  the   Bourbons,   but   France   was   still  a 
monarchy,  and  the  labors  of  the  republicans  in  organizing  the 
insurrection  had  gone  for  naught. 

Section  51.    Establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Belgium 

The  Revolution  of   1830  in  France  was  the  signal  for  an  Grievance  of 

.  A  •  -NT     1       1       1  1  '  the  Belgians 

outbreak  m  the  former  Austrian  Netherlands,  where  many  against  the 
grievances  had  developed  since  the  Congress  of  Vienna  had  gov'Jrnment 
united  the  region  with  the  Dutch  Netherlands  under  the  rule 
of  William  of  Orange.  In  the  first  place,  the  inhabitants  of  his 
southern  provinces  were  dissatisfied  with  William's  government. 
He  had  granted  a  constitution  to  his  entire  kingdom  on  the 
model  of  the  French  Charter,  but  many  people  objected  to  his 
making  the  ministers  responsible  to  himself  instead  of  to  the 
parliament,  and  also  to  the  restricted  suffrage  which  excluded 


342 


Outlines  of  European  History 


all  but  the  well-to-do  from  the  right  to  vote.  Although  the 
southern  provinces  had  over  a  million  more  inhabitants  than 
the  Dutch  portion  of  the  kingdom,  they  had  only  an  equal 
number  of  representatives.  Moreover,  the  Dutch  monopolized 
most  of  the  offices  and  conducted  the  government  in  their  own 


Palace  of  Justice  at  Brussels 


Belgium  was  for  centuries  one  of  the  busiest  and  most  thrifty  sections 
of  Europe.  Its  rich,  industrial  cities,  like  Brussels,  Ghent,  Bruges,  and 
Antwerp,  were  nurseries  of  democracy  during  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
sturdy  self-dependence  of  the  Belgians  was  shown  in  many  wars  against 
their  own  feudal  rulers  and  neighboring  monarchs.  This  picture  shows 
how  the  great  courthouse  at  Brussels  towers  over  the  roofs  of  the  city. 
It  is  not  a  monument  of  the  old  days,  however,  but  of  the  new  kingdom 
of  the  nineteenth  century 


and  Catholics 


Religious  interests.  There  were  religious  difficulties  too.  The  southern 
aSe  bluveen  provinccs  were  Catholic,  the  northern  mainly  Protestant.  The 
Protestants      Ymg  was  a  Protcstant,  and  took  advantage  of  his  position  to 

convert  Catholics  to  his  own  faith.^ 

Louis  Philippe  had  been   seated  on  his  throne  only  a  few 

days  when  the  agitation  over  these  grievances  broke  out  into 

I  For  the  Belgians'  statement  of  their  grievances,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  14. 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vieima  343 

open  revolt  at  Brussels.    The  revolution  spread ;  a  provisional  The  inde- 
government  was  set  up;  and  on  October  4,  i83o,*it  declared:   dom  of  Bd-^ 
"  The  province  of  Belgium,  detached  from  Holland  by  force,   ^^""^r^  j 
shall  constitute  an  independent  state."     The  declaration  was 
soon  followed  by  the  meeting  of  a  congress  to  establish  a  per- 
manent form  of  government.    This  assembly  drew  up  a  consti- 
tution based  on  the  idea  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  and 
decided  that  the  head  of  the  new  government  should  be  a  king 
constrained  by  oath  to  observe  the  laws  adopted  by  the  people. 
The  Belgians  were  therefore  very  much  in  the  same  position  as 
the  English  in  1688  when  they  made  William  of  Orange  their 
king  on  their  own  terms.    They  finally  chose  as  their  sovereign 
Leopold  of  Coburg,  and  in  July,  1831,  he  was  crowned  king  of 
the  new  state. -^ 

Section  52.    Formation  of  the  German 
Confederation 

The  chief  effects  of  the  Napoleonic  occupation  of  Germany  Three  chief 

were  three  in  number.    First,  the  consolidation  of  territory  that  Napoleon's 

followed  the  cession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  Rhine  to  France,  '^^^^^^ '" 
as  explained  previously,  had  done  away  with  the  ecclesiastical 

states,  the  territories  of  the  knights,  and  most  of  the  free  towns,  i.  Disap- 

^    ,       ,  .  .    ,       ^  -IT         r  r  ,  pearance  of 

Only  thirty-eight  German  states,  including  four  free  towns,  were  ^ost  of  the 
left  when  the  Congress  of  Vienna  took  up  the  question  of  form-  ^'"^^  ^^^^^^ 
ing  a  confederation  to  replace  the  defunct  Holy  Roman  Empire.^ 

1  The  constitution  which  the  Belgians  drew  up  for  themselves  in  1831,  with 
some  modifications,  is  the  basis  of  their  government  to-day,  and  Leopold  II,  the 
son  of  their  first  king,  Leopold  I,  was  their  sovereign  until  1909,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  his  nephew,  King  Albert. 

The  loss  of  Belgium  made  no  important  change  in  the  government  of  the  Neth- 
erlands. In  1848  King  William  II  was  forced  to  grant  his  subjects  a  new  and  en- 
lightened constitution  in  place  of  the  charter  which  he  had  issued  some  thirty 
years  before.  On  the  death  of  William  III  in  1890  his  daughter,  Wilhelmina, 
came  to  the  throne,  and  as  the  grand  duchy  of  Luxemburg  was  hereditary  only 
in  the  male  line  it  passed  to  a  relative  of  the  deceased  king,  the  duke  of  Nassau. 

2  The  leading  provisions  of  the  Act  of  Confederation  are  given  in  the 
Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  16  ff. 


344 


Outlines  of  European  History 


2.  Advanta- 
geous posi- 
tion of 
Prussia 


3.  Demand 
for  constitu- 
tional govern- 
ment 


The  German 
Confedera- 
tion of  1815 


Secondly,  the  external  and  internal  conditions  of  Prussia  had 
been  so  changed  as  to  open  the  way  for  it  to  replace  Austria 
as  the  controlling  power  in  Germany.  A  great  part  of  the  Slavic 
possessions  gained  in  the  last  two  partitions  of  Poland  had  been 
lost,  but  as  an  indemnity  Prussia  had  received  half  of  the  king- 
dom of  Saxony,  in  the  very  center  of  Germany,  and  also  the 
Rhine  provinces  on  the  west,  where  the  people  were  thoroughly 
imbued  with  the  revolutionary  doctrines  "that  had  prevailed  in 
France.  Prussia  now  embraced  all  the  various  types  of  people 
included  in  the  German  nation  and  was  comparatively  free  from 
the  presence  of  non-German  races.  In  this  respect  it  offered  a 
marked  contrast  to  the  heterogeneous  and  mongrel  population 
of  its  great  rival,  Austria. 

The  internal  changes  in  Prussia  were  no  less  remarkable. 
The  reforms  carried  out  after  the  battle  of  Jena  by  the  distin- 
guished minister  Stein  and  his  successor,  Hardenberg,  had  done 
for  Prussia  somewhat  the  same  service  that  the  first  National  As- 
sembly had  done  for  France.  The  abolition  of  the  feudal  social 
castes  and  the  liberation  of  the  serfs  made  the  economic  devel- 
opment of  the  country  possible.  The  reorganization  of  the  whole 
military  system  prepared  the  way  for  Prussia's  great  victories  in 
1866  and  1870,  which  led  to  the  formation  of  a  new  German 
Empire  under  her  headship. 

Thirdly,  the  agitations  of  the  Napoleonic  Period  had  aroused 
the  national  spirit.-^  The  appeal  to  the  people  to  aid  in  freeing 
their  country  from  foreign  oppression,  and  the  idea  of  their  par- 
ticipation in  a  government  based  upon  a  written  constitution,  had 
produced  widespread  discontent  with  the  old  absolute  monarchy. 

When  the  form  of  union  for  the  German  states  came  up  for 
discussion  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  two  different  plans  were 
advocated.  Prussia's  representatives  submitted  a  scheme  for  a 
firm  union,  in  some  respects  like  that  of  the  United  States,  in 
which  the  central  government  should  control  the  individual  states 
in  all  matters  of  general  interest.    This  idea  was  successfully 

1  See  above,  p.  322. 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vie7i7ia 


345 


opposed  by  Metternich,  supported  by  the  other  German  rulers. 
Austria  realized  that  her  possessions,  as  a  whole,  could  never 
be  included  in  any  real  German  union,  for  even  in  the  western 
portion  of  her  territory  there  were  many  Slavs,  while  in  Hungary 
and  the  southern  provinces  there  were  practically  no  Germans 
at  all.    On  the  other  hand,  she  felt  that  she  might  be  the  leader 


Fig.  88.   The  Palace  of  the  Eiviperor  of  Austria  at  \'ienxa 

Under  the  influence  of  Metternich,  Vienna  became  almost  as  much  the 

center  of  European  politics  after  Waterloo  as  Paris  had  been  under 

Napoleon.    The  vast  palace  of  the  Hapsburgs  stands  in  the  center  of 

the  city,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  Europe 


in  a  very  loose  union  in  which  all  the  members  should  be  left 
practically  independent.  Her  ideal  of  a  union  of  sovereign 
princes  under  her  own  headship  was  almost  completely  realized 
in  the  constitution  adopted. 

The  confederation  was  not  a  union  of  the  various  countries 
involved,  but  of  ''  The  Sovereign  Princes  and  Free  Towns  of 
Germany,"  including  the  emperor  of  Austria  and  the  king  of 
Prussia  for  such  of  their  possessions  as  were  formerly  included 
in  the  Holy  Roman  Empire ;  the  king  of  Denmark  for  Holstein ; 


346 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  insignifi- 
cant diet  at 
Frankfort 


Weakness  of 
the  German 
union 


Political 
associations 
of  German 
students 


and  the  king  of  the  Netherlands  for  the  grand  duchy  of  Luxem- 
burg. The  union  thus  included  two  sovereigns  who  were  out- 
and-out  foreigners,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  did  not  include  all 
the  possessions  of  its  two  most  important  members.^ 

The  assembly  of  the  confederation  was  a  diet  which  met  at 
Frankfort.  It  was  composed  (as  was  perfectly  logical)  not  of 
representatives  of  the  people,  but  of  plenipotentiaries  of  the 
rulers  who  were  members  of  the  confederation.  The  diet  had 
very  slight  powers,  for  it  could  not  interfere  in  the  domestic  af- 
fairs of  the  states,  and  the  delegates  who  composed  it  could  not 
vote  as  they  pleased,  since  they  had  to  obey  the  instructions  of 
the  rulers  who  appointed  them,  and  refer  all  important  questions 
to  their  respective  sovereigns.  So  powerless  and  so  dilatory 
was  this  assembly  that  it  became  the  laughingstock  of  Europe. 

The  members  of  the  confederation  reserved  to  themselves  the 
right  of  forming  alliances  of  all  kinds,  but  pledged  themselves 
to  make  no  agreement  threatening  the  safety  of  the  union  or 
of  any  of  its  members,  and  not  to  make  war  upon  any  member 
of  the  confederation  on  any  pretense  whatsoever.  The  con- 
stitution could  not  be  amended  without  the  approval  of  all  the 
governments  concerned.  In  spite  of  its  obvious  weaknesses,  the 
confederation  of  1815  lasted  for  half  a  centur)^,  until  Prussia 
finally  (in  1866)  expelled  Austria  from  the  union  by  arms,  and 
began  the  formation  of  the  present  German  federation. 

The  liberal  and  progressive  party  in  Germany  was  sadly 
disappointed  by  the  failure  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna  to  weld 
Germany  into  a  really  national  state.  The  university  students 
denounced  the  reactionary  party  in  their  meetings,  and  drank 
to  the  freedom  of  Germany.  On  October  18,  18 17,  they  held 
a  celebration  in  the  Wartburg  to  commemorate  both  Luther's 
revolt  ^  and  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipzig.  Speeches 
were  made  in  honor  of  the  brave  who  had  fallen  in  the  war 
against  Napoleon, 

1  Observe  the  boundary  of  the  German  Confederation  as  indicated  on  the 
map,  pp.  318-319.  2  The  tercentenary  of  the  outbreak. 


Europe  after  tJie  Congress  of  Vienna  347 

This  innocent  burst  of  enthusiasm  excited  great  anxiety  in  The  murder 
the  minds  of  the  conservative  statesmen  of  Europe,  of  whom 
Metternich  was,  of  course,  the  leader.  The  murder  by  a  fa- 
natical student  of  a  newspaper  man,  Kotzebue,  who  was  sup- 
posed to  have  influenced  the  Tsar  to  desert  his  former  liberal 
policy,  cast  further  discredit  upon  the  liberal  party.  It  also 
gave  ]\Ietternich  an  opportunity  to  emphasize  the  terrible  re- 
sults which  he  anticipated  would  come  from  the  students'  asso- 
ciations, liberal  governments,  and  the  freedom  of  the  press. 

Metternich  called  together  the  representatives  of  the  larger  The  "  Carls- 
states  of  the  confederation  at  Carlsbad  in  August,  18 19.  Here  tions,"^i8i9 
a  series  of  resolutions  were  drawn  up  with  the  aim  of  checking 
the  free  expression  of  opinions  in  newspapers  and  universities 
hostile  to  existing  institutions,  and  of  discovering  and  bringing 
to  justice  the  revolutionists  who  w^ere  supposed  to  exist  in 
dangerous  numbers.  These  "  Carlsbad  Resolutions  "  were  laid 
before  the  diet  of  the  confederation  by  Austria  and  adopted, 
though  not  without  protest.-^ 

The  attack  upon  the  freedom  of  the  press,  and  especially 
the  interference  with  the  liberty  of  teaching  in  the  great  insti- 
tutions of  learning,  which  were  already  beginning  to  pride  them- 
selves on  their  scholarship  and  science,  scandalized  some  of  the 
progressive  spirits  in  Germany ;  yet  no  successful  protest  was 
raised,  and  Germany  as  a  whole  acquiesced  for  a  generation 
in  Metternich's  system  of  discouraging  reform  of  all  kinds. 

Nevertheless,    important    progress   was   made    in    southern  The  southern 
Germany.     As  early   as    18 18    the   king  of    Bavaria   granted  states^r'eceive 

his  people  a  constitution  in  which  he  stated  their  rights  and  constitutions, 

^      ^  °  1818-1820 

admitted  them  to  a  share  in  the  government  by  establishing  a 

parliament.    His  example  was  followed  within  two  years  by  the 

rulers  of  Baden,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Hesse.    Another  change  was  Formation  of 

the  gradual  formation  of  a  customs  union,  which  permitted  union^^ 

goods  to  be  sent  freely  from  one  German  state  to  another  ^[/^'^^gsia 

without  the  payment  of  duties  at  each  boundary  line.     This  at  its  head 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  20,  for  the  "  Carlsbad  Resolutions." 


348  Otitlmes  of  European  History 

yielded  some  of  the  advantages  of  a  political  union.  This 
economic  confederation,  of  which  Prussia  was  the  head  and 
from  which  Austria  was  excluded,  was  a  harbinger  of  the 
future  German  Empire  (see  Chapter  XVIII,  below). 

Section  53.    Restoration  in  Spain  and  Italy 

State  of  The    restoration    in   Spain   after    Napoleon's    downfall    was 

jSph^BlTna-  ^ore  thoroughgoing  than  in  any  other  country  involved  in  the 
parte  revolutionary  conflicts.    Napoleon's  efforts  to  keep  his  brother 

Joseph  on  the  Spanish  throne  had  led  to  a  war  which  brought 
misery  and  demoralization  upon  the  country  until  the  autumn 
of  18 1 2,  when  Wellington  drove  the  French  invaders  over  the 
Pyrenees.  During  this  entire  period  the  Spanish  people  steadily 
resisted  French  dominion  and  maintained  the  semblance  of  an 
independent  government. 

The  Cortes,  or  parliament,  was  loyal  to  the  dethroned  Bour- 
bon, Ferdinand  VII,  but  it  took  advantage  of  his  absence  to 
draw  up  a  liberal  constitution  in  18 12. 
Ferdinand  When  Ferdinand  VII  (who  had  spent  the  previous  six  years 

tVe^ctlTsto^   in  France  surrounded  by  Napoleon's  guards)  was,  in  18 14,  r&- 
tion  stored  to  power  by  the  strength  of  English  arms,  he  repudiated 

entirely  this  liberal  government.  He  declared  that  the  Cortes 
which  had  drawn  up  this  instrument  had  usurped  his  rights 
by  imposing  on  his  people  "  an  anarchical  and  seditious  con- 
stitution based  on  the  democratic  principles  of  the  French 
Revolution."  _He  accordingly  annulled  it  and  proclaimed  those 
who  continued  to  support  it  guilty  of  high  treason  and  worthy 
of  death.^  With  the  old  absolute  government,  he  restored  the 
Inquisition,  feudal  privileges,  and  the  religious  orders.  The 
Jesuits  returned,  the  books  and  newspapers  were  strictly  cen- 
sored, free  speech  was  repressed,  monastic  property  was  returned 
to  the  former  owners,  and  the  liberals  were  imprisoned  in  large 
numbers  or  executed. 

1  This  manifesto  is  printed  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  23. 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  349 

Turning  to  Italy,  we  find  that  the  Congress  of  Vienna  had   Italy  only"  a 
left  it,  as  Metternich  observed,  merely  ''  a  geographical  expres-  fxpfe?sion"^ 
eion " ;    it   had  no   political   unity   whatever.     Lombardy  and  ^^"^^^  ^^^5 
Venetia,  in  the  northern  part,  were  in  the  hands  of  Austria, 
Ivhile  Parma,  Modena,  and  Tuscany  belonged  to  members  of 
the  Austrian  family.    In  the  south  the  considerable  kingdom  of 
Naples  was  ruled  over  by  a  branch  of  the  Spanish  Bourbons. 
In  the  center,  cutting  the  peninsula  in  twain,  were  the  Papal 
States,   which  extended  north  to  the   Po.     The   presence  of 
Austria,  and  the  apparent  impossibility  of  inducing  the  Pope 
to  submit  to  any  government  but  his  own,  seemed  to  preclude 
all  hope  of  making  Italy  into  a  true  nation. 

Although  Napoleon  had  governed  Italy  despotically,  he  had  Reforms 
introduced  many  important  reforms.  The  vestiges  of  the  feudal  |JJ  itaiy'^^ 
reVime  had  vanished  at  his  approach ;  he  had  established  an   ^"""f  *^^ 

^  .      .  Napoleonic 

orderly  administration  and  had  forwarded  public  improvements,   occupation 
But  his  unscrupulous  use  of  Italy  to  advance  his  personal  am- 
bitions disappointed  those  who  at  first  had  received  him  with 
enthusiasm,  and  they  came  to  look  eagerly  for  his  downfall. 

The  king  of  Sardinia,  Victor  Emmanuel  I,  entered  his  capi-  Abolition  of 
tal  of  Turin  on  May  20,  18 14,  amid  great  rejoicing,  but  im-  piedmont 
mediately  proceeded  to  destroy  with  a  stroke  of  his  pen  all  the 
reforms  which  the  Revolution  had  accomplished  in  Piedmont 
during  his  absence.  He  gave  back  to  the  nobility  their  ancient 
feudal  rights;  he  restored  to  the  clergy  their  property,  their 
courts,  and  their  press  censorship ;  religious  freedom  was 
suppressed. 

The  same  policy  was  adopted  in  the  States  of  the  Church,   The  clergy 
where,  in  18 14,  an  edict  was  issued  which  swept  away  French  temporal 
legislation  and  restored  the  old  order.    In  the  zeal  to  destroy  ^^pa/'stJeg^ 
the  work  of  the  French,  root  and  branch,  vaccination  and  street 
lighting  at  Rome  were  abolished  as  revolutionary  innovations. 

In  Lombardy  and  Venetia,  where  Austrian  sovereignty  was  The  Austrian 
established,  the  reforms  instituted  during  the  Napoleonic  Period  \^  itaiy' 
were   practically   nullified.     In   order  to   fasten   securely   their 


350 


Outlmes  of  Europeaii  History 


government  on  these  provinces,  the  Austrians  set  up  a  public 
and  secret  police  system,  which  constantly  interfered  with  indi- 
vidual liberty  in  the  most  arbitrary  fashion. 

In  addition  to  his  Lombardo-Venetian  kingdom  in  the 
northern  part  of  Italy,  the  Austrian  emperor  enjoyed  a  pro- 
tectorate over  Modena ;  by  treaty  the  duke  of  Tuscany  prac- 
tically surrendered  his  duchy  to  him  ;  Maria  Louisa  of  Parma 
turned  the  administration  of  her  domain  over  to  his  officers ; 
and  Ferdinand  of  Naples  was  bound  to  him  in  a  defensive  and 
offensive  alliance.  In  short,  only  Sardinia  and  the  Papal  States 
retained  their  freedom  from  ''  German  "  domination. 

Though  dismembered  and  subjected  to  a  foreign  yoke,  the 
Italy  of  1815  was  not  the  Italy  which  Napoleon  had  found  when 
he  first  entered  it  at  the  head  of  the  French  army  in  1796. 
Despite  the  restoration,  traces  of  the  Revolution  were  every- 
where apparent,  not  only  in  law  and  government  but,  above  all, 
in  the  minds  of  men.  National  aspirations  had  been  awakened 
which  the  Austrian  police  could  not  stamp  out;  Italians,  high 
and  low,  came  to  know  and  appreciate  French  reforms  at  first 
hand,  though  they  might  loathe  the  memory  of  Napoleon  as  a 
conqueror  and  a  tyrant. 

Section  54.    The  Spanish-American  Colonies  and 
THE  Revolution  of  1820 


The  very  thoroughness  with  which  Metternich's  ideas  were 
carried  out  in  Spain  and  Italy  led  to  renewed  attempts  on  the 
part  of  the  liberals  to  abolish  despotism.  It  was  not,  therefore, 
in  Germany  or  France,  as  the  allies  had  feared,  but  in  Spain 
and  then  in  Italy,  that  the  spirit  of  revolution  was  first  to 
reawaken. 

Spain  itself  was,  of  course,  but  a  small  part  of  the  vast 
Spanish  empire,  which  included  Mexico  (and  the  regions  to 
the  northwest  later  acquired  by  the  United  States),  Central 
America,   and  large   portions   of   South  America,  besides  her 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vienfia 


351 


island  possessions.    The  Spanish  colonies  had  from  the  first  The  Spanish 
been  the  victims  of  the  selfish  commercial  policy  of  the  mother   Northland 
country,  which  forced  them  to  carry  on  all  their  trade  with  one   South  Amer- 

•^  ica  begin  to 

or  two  favored  Spanish  ports.   The  success  of  the  North  Amer-  dream  of  in- 
ican  colonies  in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  England  suggested     ^^^" 
ideas  of  independence  to  the  Spanish  colonies.   These  suddenly 
broke  out  into  revolt  when  the  news  reached  the  colonies  that 


^ ,,     ^^:r^ 


Fig.  89.    Bolivar 

Napoleon  had  placed  his  brother  on  the  Spanish  throne  and 
proposed  to  control  the  Spanish  commerce  in  his  own  interests. 
Beginning  in  1810,  the  colonies  of  Mexico,  New  Granada 
(now  Colombia),  Venezuela,  Peru,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Chile, 
while  they  still  professed  to  be  loyal  to  Ferdinand  VII,  took 
their  government  into  their  own  hands,  drove  out  the  former 
Spanish  agents,  and  finally  rejected  Spanish  rule  altogether. 
At  first  the  revolt  was  put  down  with  great  cruelty,  but  in 
181 7,  under  the  leadership  of  Bolivar,  Venezuela  won  its  inde- 
pendence, and  during  the  following  five  years  the  Spaniards  lost 


Revolt  of 
the  Spanish 
colonies, 
1S10-1825 


352 


Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 


England 
opposes  re- 
conquest  of 
the  Spanish 
colonies 


Restora- 
tion of  the 
constitution 
of  1812  in 
Spain,  1820 


News  of  the 
Spanish  revo- 
lution reaches 
Italy 


New  Granada,  Peru,  Ecuador,  Chile,  Mexico,  and  lastly  (1825) 
Upper  Peru,  which  was  renamed  Bolivia  after  its  liberator. 

Ever  since  his  restoration  Ferdinand  VII  had  been  sending 
thousands  of  men  to  die  of  fever  and  wounds  in  the  vain  attempt 
to  subdue  the  insurgents.  He  had  called  upon  the  other  powers 
to  help  him,  on  the  ground  that  his  colonies  were  guilty  of 
revolutionary  crimes  which  it  was  to  the  interest  of  all  the  allied 
monarchs  to  aid  in  suppressing.  He  was  disappointed  however. 
England  did  not  wish  to  lose  the  trade  which  had  grown  up  with 
South  American  ports  since  they  were  freed  from  the  restric- 
tions of  the  mother  country. 

At  last,  in  January,  1820,  the  soldiers  who  were  waiting  in 
Cadiz  to  be  sent  to  America,  well  aware  of  the  sufferings  of  the 
regiments  which  had  preceded  them,  were  easily  aroused  to 
revolt  by  two  adventurous  officers.  The  revolutionists  proclaimed 
the  restoration  of  the  constitution  of  18 12,  which  Ferdinand  had 
abolished  on  his  return.  Their  call  was  answered  by  the  liberals 
in  the  larger  towns,  including  Madrid,  where  a  mob  surrounded 
the  palace  (March  9),  and  forced  the  king  to  take  the  oath  to 
the  constitution  of  18 12. 

News  of  the  Spanish  revolt  spread  quickly  throughout  Italy, 
where  the  spirit  of  insurrection  had  been  at  work  among  the 
secret  societies  which  had  everywhere  been  organized.  By  far  the 
most  noted  of  these  was  that  which  called  itself  the  Carbonari, 
that  is,  charcoal  burners.  Its  objects  were  constitutional  govern- 
ment and  national  independence  and  unity.  When  the  Nea- 
politans heard  that  the  king  of  Spain  had  been  forced  by  an 
insurrection  to  accept  a  constitution,  they  made  the  first  attempt 
on  the  part  of  the  Italian  people  to  gain  constitutional  liberty 
by  compelling  their  king  (July,  1820)  to  agree  to  accept  this 
same  Spanish  constitution  of  18 12.  The  king,  however,  at  once 
began  to  cast  about  for  foreign  assistance  to  suppress  the  revo- 
lution and  enable  him  to  return  to  his  former  ways. 

He  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  alert  Mettemich  invited 
Russia,  Prussia,   France,   and   England  to   unite,  in  order  to 


Europe  after  the  Congress  of  Vie7ina  353 

check  the  development  of  "  revolt  and  crime."    "  Revolution  "   Mettemich 
appeared  to  him  and  his  sympathizers  as  a  fearful  disease  that  [udon^L^r^^ 
not  only  destroyed  those  whom  it  attacked  directly,  but  spread   terrible 
contagion  wherever  it  appeared.    Therefore  prompt  and  severe 
measures  of  quarantine  were  justified,  in  view  of  the  necessity 
of  stamping  out  the  devastating  plague. 

A  conference  was  called  in  January,  1821,^  for  the  purpose  Austrian 
of  taking  practical  measures  to  restore  absolutism  in  southern  Jn^iSuT^^^" 
Italy.  To  this  conference  King  Ferdinand  of  Naples  was  sum- 
moned, and  once  safely  away  from  the  reformers,  he  heartily 
concurred  in  the  plan  to  send  an  Austrian  army  to  Naples  to 
abolish  the  noxious  constitution.  The  leaders  of  the  revolt  were 
executed,  imprisoned,  or  exiled,  and  the  king  was  freed  from  the 
embarrassments  of  the  constitution. 

Meanwhile  the  revolution  in  Spain  had  developed  into  a  civil  The  Con- 
war,  and  the  representatives  of  the  great  powers,  Russia,  Austria,   fona^  ^822^ 
Prussia,  France,  and  England,  met  at  Verona  in  1822  to  discuss 
their  common  interests  and  decide  what  should  be  done  about 
the  Spanish  crisis.^    England  refused  to  interfere  in  any  way; 
so  finally  it  was  left  to  Louis  XVIII,  urged  on  by  the  clerical 
and  ultra-royalist  party,  to  send  an  army  across  the  Pyrenees   France  aids 
"  with  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  descendant  of  Henry  IV   vi\  toTup- 

on  the  throne  of  Spain."    This  interference  in  the  affairs  of  a  ^l^^^  reform, 
^  1823-1825 

neighboring  nation  which  was  struggling  for  constitutional 
government  disgusted  the  French  liberals,  w^ho  saw  that  France, 
in  intervening  in, favor  of  Ferdinand  VII,  was  doing  just  what 
Prussia  and  Austria  had  attempted  in  1792  in  the  interests  of 
Louis  XVI.  But,  unlike  the  duke  of  Brunswick,  the  French 
commander  easily  defeated  the  revolutionists  and  placed  Ferdi- 
nand in  a  position  to  stamp  out  his  enemies  in  such  a  ferocious 
and  bloodthirsty  manner  that  his  French  allies  were  heartily 
ashamed  of  him. 

While  France  was  helping  to  restore  absolutism  in  Spain  the 
Spanish  colonies,  as  we  have  seen,  were  rapidly  winning  their 

1  It  met  at  Laibach.  2  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  38. 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Question  of 
the  revolted 
Spanish 
colonies 


The  Monroe 
Doctrine 


England 
recognizes 
the  independ- 
ence of  some 
Spanish 
colonics 


Portuaral 


independence,  encouraged  by  the  United  States  and  England. 
At  the  Congress  of  Verona  all  the  powers  except  England  were 
anxious  to  discuss  a  plan  by  which  they  might  aid  Spain  to  get 
the  better  of  her  rebellious  colonies,  since  it  was  the  fixed  pur- 
pose of  the  allies  to  suppress  "  rebellion  in  whatever  place  and 
under  whatever  form  it  might  show  itself/' 

The  threats  of  Metternich  and  his  friends  led  President 
Monroe,  in  his  message  to  Congress,  December,  1823,  to  call 
attention  to  the  dangers  of  inter\'ention  as  practiced  by  the 
European  alliance  of  great  powers,  and  clearly  state  what  has 
since  become  famous  as  the  ''  Monroe  Doctrine,"^  namely,  that 
the  United  States  would  consider  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
European  allies  to  extend  their  system  to  any  portion  of  this 
hemisphere  as  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  safet}-  of  the  United 
States  and  as  an  unfriendly  act. 

About  the  same  time  the  English  foreign  secretary,  Canning, 
informed  the  French  ambassador  in  London  that  any  attempt 
to  bring  the  Spanish  colonies  again  under  their  former  submis- 
sion to  Spain  would  prove  unsuccessful ;  and  that  while  Eng- 
land would  remain  neutral  in  the  troubles  between  the  mother 
countrv-  and  her  American  dominions,  it  would  not  tolerate  the 
intervention  of  a  third  party.  Toward  the  close  of  1824  Eng- 
land recognized  the  independence  of  Buenos  A\Tes,  Mexico, 
and  Colombia,  and  paid  no  heed  to  the  remonstrance  of  the 
continental  powers  that  such  an  action  "  tended  to  encourage 
the  rev^olutionar\'  spirit  which  it  had  been  found  so  difficult  to 
restrain  in  Europe," 

A  word  may  be  said  here  of  Spain's  little  neighbor  Portugal. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Napoleon  dispatched  his 
troops  thither  Ir  1S07  the  royal  family  fled  across  the  Adantic 
to  their  colony  of  Brazil.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  French  by 
the  English,  the  government  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  an 
English   general,    Beresford,    who    ruled    so   despotically   that 


1  See    Readings^ 
famous  message. 


Vol.  II,  p.   42,  for  an  extract  from  President  Monroe's 


Eiirope  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  355 

he  stirred  up  a  revolt  in  1820,  at  the  time  when  the  insur- 
rection in  Spain  was  in  progress.  The  insurgents  demanded 
the  return  of  the  royal  family  from  Brazil  and  the  granting  of 
a  constitution.  The  king,  John  VI,  accordingly  set  sail  for 
Portugal,  leaving  his  elder  son,  Pedro,  to  represent  him 
in  Brazil.-^ 

It  will  have  become  apparent  that  Metternich's  international  Mettemich's 
police  system,  designed  to  prevent  innovation  and  revolution,  po^u^^system 
was  for  all  practical  purposes  a  failure.  The  action  of  Great  ^^^^^ 
Britain  and  the  United  States  had  weakened  it.  The  struggle 
of  the  Greek  revolutionists  against  Turkey  for  independence,^ 
which  finally  involved  Russia  in  a  war  with  the  Sultan  and 
ended  in  victory  for  the  Greeks,  demonstrated  that  even 
Russia  would  not  hesitate  to  aid  and  abet  revolution  if  she 
could  thereby  advance  her  own  interests.  The  climax  was 
reached  in  1830  by  the  revolution  in  France  described  above, 
which  deposed  the  older  Bourbon  line  and  established  a  liberal 
government,  thus  violating  the  principles  for  which  Metternich 
had  fought  with  so  much  determination.  In  fact,  the  Holy 
Alliance,  as  such,  never  accomplished  any  great  work,  and  it 
went  to  pieces  as  much  through  its  own  inherent  weakness 
as  through  the  growth  of  revolutionary  spirit. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  50.  Account  for  the  fact  that  the  French  people  did  not 
oppose  the  restoration  of  181 4.  Describe  the  Constitutional  Charter 
granted  to  France,  June,  181 4.  Account  for  the  origin  of  political 
parties  in  France.    State  the  principles  for  which  they  stood. 

Contrast  the  political  views  of  Charles  X  with  those  of  his  brother 
Louis  XVIII.  What  were  the  July  ordinances?  Describe  the  way  in 
which  Louis  Philippe  secured  the  tide  of  king.  Give  the  terms  of  the 
revised  Charter.   What  gains  were  made  by  the  Revolution  of  1830? 

1  In  1822  Pedro  proclaimed  the  independence  of  Brazil  and  took  the  title  of 
emperor.  In  1831  he  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  son,  who  retained  the  crown  un- 
til he  was  deposed  by  the  revolution  of  18S9,  which  established  the  United  States 
of  Brazil  as  a  republic.  2  See  below,  p.  577. 


35^  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  51.  State  the  objections  of  the  Belgians  to  the  Dutch 
government.  Describe  the  government  established  in  the  new  king- 
dom of  Belgium. 

Section  52.  What  were  the  most  important  results  of  Napoleon's 
influence  in  Germany.?  What  plans  for  German  union  were  discussed 
in  the  Congress  of  Vienna?  What  objections  were  made  to  any  of 
these  plans  .-^  Describe  the  plan  adopted  in  the  German  Confedera- 
tion of  1 81 5.  Point  out  the  weaknesses  of  this  union.  Mention  two 
important  changes  in  the  government  of  the  German  states  during 
the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Section  53.  Describe  the  condition  of  Spain  from  18 12  to  the 
restoration  of  Ferdinand  VII.  Draw  a  map  showing  the  territory 
held  by  Austria  in  Italy.    What  was  the  kingdom  of  Sardinia? 

Section  54.  Describe  the  revolt  of  the  Spanish-American  col- 
onies. In  what  way  did  Spain  regain  the  constitution  of  181 2? 
What  was  the  effect  of  the  Spanish  revolt  upon  the  people  of  Italy? 
What  hindrances  were  placed  in  the  way  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment in  Spain  from  1823  to  1825? 

Who  was  Bolivar?  What  is  the  Monroe  Doctrine?  When  and 
why  was  it  first  stated?  Give  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of 
Portugal  from  1807  to  the  restoration  of  the  House  of  Braganza. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  INDUSTRIAL  REVOLUTION 

Section  55.   Invention  of  Machinery  for  Spinning 
AND  Weaving 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  reviewed  the  startling  The  Indus- 
changes  and  reforms  introduced  by  the  leaders  of  the  French  tion  duJto" 
Revolution  and  by  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  and  the  reconstruction  pechanical 

J  ^  r  '  inventions 

of  Europe  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna.  These  were  mainly  the 
work  of  statesmen,  warriors,  and  diplomats  —  who  have  cer- 
tainly done  their  part  in  making  Europe  what  it  is  to-day.  But 
a  still  more  fundamental  revolution  than  that  which  has  been 
described  had  begun  in  England  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Estates  General. 

The  chief  actors  in  this  never  stirred  an  assembly  by  their 
fiery  denunciation  of  abuses,  or  led  an  army  to  victory,  or  con- 
ducted a  clever  diplomatic  negotiation.  On  the  contrary,  their 
attention  was  concentrated  upon  the  homely  operations  of  every- 
day life  —  the  housewife  drawing  out  her  thread  with  distaff  or 
spinning  wheel,  the  slow  work  of  the  weaver  at  his  primitive 
loom,  the  miner  struggling  against  the  water  which  threatened 
to  flood  his  mine.  They  busied  themselves  perseveringly  with 
wheels,  cylinders,  bands,  and  rollers,  patiently  combining  and 
recombining  them,  until,  after  many  discouragements,  they 
made  discoveries  destined  to  alter  the  habits,  ideas,  and  pros- 
pects of  the  great  mass  of  the  people  far  more  profoundly  than 
all  the  edicts  of  the  National  Assembly  and  all  the  conquests  of 
Napoleon  taken  together. 

The  Greeks  and  Romans,  notwithstanding  their  refined  civi- 
lization, had,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  shown  slight  aptitude  for 

357 


358 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Few  new 
inventions 
added  to  the 
old  stock 
before  the 
eighteenth 
century 


Improve- 
ments in 
spinning  and 
weaving 


mechanical  invention,  and  little  had  been  added  to  their  stock  of 
human  appliances  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Up  to  that  time  the  people  of  western  Europe  for  the  most 
part  continued  to  till  their  fields,  weave  their  cloth,  and  saw  and 
plane  their  boards  by  hand,  much  as  the  ancient  Egyptians  had 
done.  Merchandise  was  still  transported  in  slow,  lumbering 
carts,  and  letters  were  as  long  in  passing  from  London  to  Rome 

as  in  the  reign  of  Constantine. 
Could  a  peasant,  a  smith,  or  a 
weaver    of    the    age    of    Caesar 
Augustus  have  visited  France  or 
England  eighteen  hundred  years 
later,  he  would  have  recognized 
the   familiar   flail,   forge,   distaff, 
and  hand  loom  of  his  own  day. 
Suddenly,    however,    a    series 
of    ingenious    devices    were    in- 
vented, which  in  a  few  genera- 
tions eclipsed  the   achievements 
"    of  ages  and  revolutionized  every 
branch  of  business.    This  Indus- 
trial Revolution  serves  to  explain 
the  world  in  which  we  live,  with 
Fig.  90.    Distaff  and    its  busy  cities,  its  gigantic  factories 
piNDLE  ^ijg^  ^-^^  complicated  machinery, 

its  commerce  and  vast  fortunes, 
its  trade-unions  and  labor  parties,  its  bewildering  variety  of  plans 
for  bettering  the  lot  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  This  story 
of  mechanical  invention  is  in  no  way  inferior  in  importance  to 
the  more  familiar  history  of  kings,  parliaments,  wars,  treaties, 
and  constitutions. 

The  revolution  in  manufacture  which  has  taken  place  in  the 
last  hundred  and  fifty  years  can  be  illustrated  by  the  improve- 
ment in  making  cloth,  which  is  so  necessary  to  our  comfort  and 
welfare.    In  order  to  produce  cloth  one  must  first  spin  (that  is, 


The  Indzistrial  Revolution 


59 


twist)  the  wool,  cotton,  or  flax  into  thread ;  then  by  means  of  a 
loom  the  thread  can  be  woven  into  a  fabric.  A  simple  way  of 
spinning  thread  was  discovered  thousands  of  years  ago,  but  it 
was  possible  by  the  old  methods  for  a  person  to  make  only  a 
single  thread  at  a  time.^  By  1767  James  Hargreaves,  an  Eng- 
lish spinner,  invented  what  was  called  a  spinning  jenny,  which 
enabled  a  single  workman,  by  turning  a  wheel,  .to  spin  eight 
or  ten  threads  at  once,  and  thus  do  the  work  of  eight  or  ten 
spinners.  A  year  later  a  barber,  Richard  Arkwright,^  patented 
a  device  for  drawing  out  thread  by  means  of  rollers,  and  made 
a  large  fortune  — 
for  his  time  —  by 
establishing  a  great 
factory  filled  with 
power-driven  ma- 
chines. In  1779 
Samuel  Crompton 
made  a  happy  com- 
bination of  Har- 
greaves's  spinning 
jenny      and     Ark- 

wright's  roller  ma-         yig.  91.   The  First  Spinning  Jenny 
chine,    which    was 

called  the  mule.  Before  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
machines  spinning  two  hundred  threads  simultaneously  had 
been  invented,  and  as  they  were  driven  by  power  and  required 
only  one  or  two  watchers,  the  hand  workers  could  by  no  means 

1  The  hand  spinner  had  bunches  of  wool,  which  had  been  combed  into  loose 
curls,  on  the  end  of  a  stick,  or  distaff,  and  then  pulled  and  twisted  this  with  her 
fingers  into  a  yarn,  which  she  wound  on  the  spindle  (see  Fig.  90).  By  whirl- 
ing the  spindle  around  she  could  help  twist.  The  spinning  wheel  was  invented 
to  give  a  better  twist  to  the  spindle.  It  was  used  by  our  great-grandmothers,  and 
became  common  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  By  means. of  the 
spinning  wheel  it  was  possible  in  some  cases  for  one  person  to  make  two  threads, 
one  in  one  hand  and  the  other  in  the  other. 

2  See  picture  opposite  page  366.  Arkwright  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  founder 
of  the  factory  system.  He  was  not  only  an  inventor  but  also  a  clever  business 
man,  and  knew  how  to  make  large  profits  from  the  machines  he  set  up. 


36o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


compete  with  them.    Such  inventions  as  these  produced  the 
factory  system  of  manufacture. 

The  enormous  output  of  thread  and  yarn  on  these  new- 
machines  made  the  weavers  dissatisfied  with  the  clumsy  old 
hand  loom,  which  had  been  little  changed  for  many  centuries 
until  the  eighteenth  century.  At  length,  in  1738,  John  Kay  in- 
vented a  fly  shuttle,  a  contrivance  by  which  the  weaver,  without 


FuHT^imiN^IOSiJUii  0  1.. 


Fig.  92.    Spinning  Mule 

This  huge  frame  is  in  principle  much  like  Hargreaves's,  though  now 

the  long  row  of  spindles  —  which  the  boy  is  touching  —  moves  in  and 

out  instead  of  the  spinner  with  the  wool.    The  combed  wool  is  held  on 

the  frame  behind,  to  be  pulled  out  and  spun  from  the  spindle  tops 


any  assistant,  could  drive  the  shuttle  to  and  fro,  by  means  of  a 
handle  placed  conveniently  near  his  stool.  This  improved  hand 
loom  was  in  use  during  the  entire  eighteenth  century,  although 
in  1784  Dr.  Cartwright,  a  clergyman  of  Kent,  patented  a  new 
loom,  which  automatically  threw  the  shuttle  and  shifted  the 
weft.  Cartwright's  self-acting  loom,  however,  did  not  supplant 
the  hand  loom  for  almost  fifty  years,  when  its  mechanism  was 
so  perfected  that  the  hand  workers  could  no  longer  compete 
with  it.    It  was  steadily  improved  during  the  nineteenth  century 


The  htdustrial  Revolution  361 

until  now  a  single  machine  watched  by  one  workman  can  do 
as  much  weaving  in  a  day  as  two  hundred  weavers  could  do 
with  old-fashioned  hand  looms.  Other  inventions  followed. 
The  time  required  for  bleaching  was  reduced  from  several 
months  to  a  few  days  by  the  use  of  acids,  instead  of  relying 
principally  upon  the  sunlight.  In  1792  Eli  Whitney,  in  the 
United  States,  invented  a  power  ''  gin,"  which  enabled  one 
man  to  take  the  seeds  out  of  over  a  thousand  pounds  of  cotton 
a  day  instead  of  five  or  six  pounds,  which  had  been  the  limit  for 
the  hand  worker. 

The  effect  of  these  inventions  in  increasing  the  amount  of 
cloth  manufactured  was  astonishing.  In  1764  England  im- 
ported only  about  four  million  pounds  of  raw  cotton,  but  by 
1 841  she  was  using  nearly  five  hundred  million  pounds  annually. 
At  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  Robert  Owen,  a  distin- 
guished manufacturer  and  philanthropist  (see  'below),  declared 
that  his  two  thousand  workmen  at  New  Lanark  could  do  as 
much  work  with  the  new  machinery  which  had  been  invented 
during  the  past  forty  years  as  all  the  operators  of  Scotland 
could  do  without  it. 

Section  56.    The  Steam  Engine 

In  order  that  inventions  could  further  develop  and  become   iron  and 
widely  useful,  two  things  were  necessary :  In  the  first  place,   sa^^Yor^h?' 
there  must  be  available  a  sufficiently  strong  material  out  of  development 

J  ^  of  machinery 

which  to  construct  the  machinery,  and  for  this  purpose  iron 
and  steel  have,  with  few  exceptions,  proved  the  most  satisfac- 
tory. In  the  second  place,  some  adequate  power  had  to  be 
found  to  propel  the  machinery,  which  is  ordinarily  too  heavy 
to  be  run  by  hand  or  foot.  Of  course  windmills  were  common, 
and  waterfalls  and  running  streams  had  long  been  used  to  turn 
water  wheels,  but  these  forces  were  too  restricted  and  uncer- 
tain to  suffice  for  the  rapid  development  of  machinery  which 
resulted  from  the  beginnings  we  have  described.    Consequently 


3^2 


Outlines  of  European  History 


while  Arkwright,  Hargreaves,  and  Crompton  were  successfully 
solving  the  problem  of  new  methods  of  spinning  and  weav- 
ing, other  inventors  were  improving  the  ways  of  melting  and 
forging  iron  for  the  machines  and  of  using  steam  to  run  them. 
Although  iron  had  been  used  for  tools,  weapons,  and  armor 
for  hundreds  of  years,  the  processes  of  reducing  the  iron  from 

the  ore  and  of  working 
it  up  were  very  crude. 
It  was  not  until  1750 
that  coal  began  to  be 
used  instead  of  charcoal 
for  melting,  or  soften- 
ing, the  metal.  The  old- 
fashioned  bellows  gave 
way  to  new  ways  of  pro- 
ducing the  blast  neces- 
sary for  melting  iron, 
and  steam  hammers 
were  invented  to  pound 
out  the  iron  instead  of 
doing  it  by  hand. 

Contrary  to  popular 
impression,  James  Watt 
did  not  invent  the  steam 
engine.  Important  parts 
of  the  engine  —  the 
boiler,  the  cylinder,  and 
the  piston  —  had  been 
invented  before  he  was 
born,  and  crude  engines  had  been  employed  for  a  long  time 
in  pumping  water.  Indeed,  Watt's  inteiest  in  the  steam  engine 
seems  to  have  been  awakened  first  during  the  winter  of  1763- 
1764,  when,  as  an  instrument  maker  in  Glasgow,  he  was 
called  upon  to  repair  the  model  of  a  steam  engine  which  had 
been  invented  sixty  years  before  by  an  ingenious  mechanic 


Fig.  93.    Newcomen's  Steam  Engine 

Newcomen's  steam  engines  were  run  by 
condensing  the  steam  in  the  cyHnder  [a] 
by  cold  water  {g),  so  that  the  air  on  the 
piston  [5)  pressed  it  down  on  the  vacuum. 
Watt  covered  both  ends  of  the  cyhnder 
and  used  steam  instead  of  air  to  push 
the  piston 


The  Industrial  Revolution  363 

named  Newcomen.  Watt,  however,  was  a  brilliant  and  indus- 
trious experimenter,  and,  building  upon  the  work  of  Newcomen 
and  other  men,  he  was  able  to  make  the  steam  engine  a  prac- 
tical machine  for  furnishing  power  to  the  new  factories.  In 
1785  the  steam  engine  was  first  applied  to  run  spinning 
machinery  in  a  factor}^  in  Nottinghamshire.    Arkwright  adopted 


Fig.  94.   James  Watt 

Watl  was  enabled  to  make  his  invention  a  success  by  securing  the 

financial  support  of  a  rich  iron  manufacturer  of  Birmingham.    The  firm 

to  Boulton  and  Watt  soon  supplied  most  of  the  engines  for  the  whole 

country.    Their  first  use  was  as  a  pump  in  the  mines 

it  in  1790,  and  by  the  end  of  the  century  steam  engines  were 
becoming  as  common  as  wind  and  water  mills. 

England  was  the  first  countr}^  to  develop  the  modern  use  of   The  indus- 
machiner)^  for  manufacturing.    It  was  not  until  after  the  estab-  tion  in  France 
lishment  of  peace  in  18 15  that  the  Industrial  Revolution  really 
began  in  France.    Napoleon  endeavored  to  foster  and  protect 
French  industries  and  stimulate  the  employment  of  machinery  in 


364  Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 

manufacturing ;  but  in  spite  of  his  best  efforts,  French  industry 
remained  in  a  backward  state.  On  the  eve  of  his  downfall  there 
was  only  one  small  steam  engine  employed  in  French  industry 
—  at  a  cotton  factory  in  Alsace ;  but  by  1847  France  had  nearly 
five  thousand  steam  engines  with  a  capacity  of  sixty  thousand 
horse  power.    Germany  was  also  much  behind  England. 

The  consumption  of  raw  cotton  was  multiplied  fivefold  in 
thirty  years,  and  in  1847  there  were  over  one  hundred  thou- 
sand spinning  machines  with  three  and  a  half  million  spindles 
at  work.  By  1848  France  had  many  important  manufacturing 
centers.  Paris  alone  had  three  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand 
working  people,  and  other  cities,  such  as  Lyons,  Marseilles, 
Lille,  Bordeaux,  and  Toulouse,  had  their  great  factories  and 
whole  quarters  peopled  by  factory  laborers.  And  the  working 
class  had  begun  by  that  time  to  form  unions  and  organize 
strikes  against  their  employers  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
wages  and  reducing  the  hours  of  labor. 

Section  57.    Capitalism  and  the  Factory  System 

The  "  domes-  Having  seen  how  machinery  was  introduced  into  England  in 
of  industry  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  how  steam  came 
to  be  utilized  as  a  motive  power,  we  have  now  to  consider  the 
important  results  of  these  inventions  in  changing  the  conditions 
under  which  people  lived  and  worked.  Up  to  this  time  the 
term  "  manufacture  "  still  meant,  as  it  did  in  the  original  Latin 
{manu  facere),  "to  make  by  hand."  Artisans  carried  on  trades 
with  their  own  tools  in  their  own  homes  or  in  small  shops,  as 
the  cobbler  does  to-day.  Instead  of  working  with  hundreds  of 
others  in  great  factories  and  being  entirely  dependent  upon  his 
wages,  the  artisan,  in  England  at  least,  was  often  able  to  give 
some  attention  to  a  small  garden  plot,  from  which  he  derived  a 
part  of  his  support.  This  "  domestic  system,"  as  it  is  called,  is 
graphically  described  by  the  journalist  Defoe,  as  he  observed  it 
in  Yorkshire  during  a  journey  through  England  in  1 724-1 726  : 


The  hidus trial  Revolution  365 

"  The  land  was  divided  into  small  enclosures  of  from  two   Defoe's  de- 
acres  to  six  or  seven  acres  each,  seldom  more,  every  three  or  Yorkshire^' 
four  pieces  having  a  house  belonging  to  them ;  hardly  a  house  ^j^^isans 
standing  out  of  speaking  distance  from  another.    We  could  see 
at  every  house  a  tenter  and  on  almost  every  tenter  a  piece  of 
cloth,  or  kersie,  or  shalloon.    At  every  considerable  house  there 
was  a  manufactory.     Every  clothier  keeps  one  horse  at  least 
to  carry  his  manufactures  to  market,  and  every  one  generally 
keeps  a  cow  or  two,  or  more,  for  his  family.     By  this  means 
the  small  pieces  of  enclosed  land  about  each  house  are  occu- 
pied, for  they  scarce  sow  corn  [that  is,  grain]  enough  to  feed 
their  poultry.    The  houses  are  full  of  lusty  fellows,  some  at 
their  dye  vat,  some  at  their  looms,  others  dressing  the  cloth; 
the  women  and  children  carding  or  spinning,  all  being  employed 
from  the  youngest  to  the  eldest." 

As  the  Industrial  Revolution  progressed,  these  hand  workers  Principle  of 
found  themselves  unable  to  compete  with  the  swift  and  tireless  systenT" 
machines.  Manufacturing  on  a  small  scale  with  the  simple  old 
tools  and  appliances  became  increasingly  unprofitable.  The 
workers  had  to  leave  their  cottages  and  spend  their  days  in 
great  factories  established  by  capitalists  who  had  enough  money 
to  erect  the  huge  buildings  and  install  in  them  the  elaborate  and 
costly  machinery  and  the  engines  to  run  it. 

One  of  the  principal  results  of  this  factory  system  -^  is  that  it   Chief  results 
makes  possible  a  minute  division  of  labor.     Instead  of  work-  auction  of 
ing  at  the  whole  process,  each  worker  concentrates  his  atten-  "machinery 
tion  upon  a  single  stage  of  it,  and  by  repeating  a  simple  set   i.  Division 
of  motions  over  and  over  again  acquires  wonderful  dexterity. 
At  the  same  time  the  apprenticeship  is  shortened,  because  each 
separate  task  is  comparatively  simple.     Moreover  the  invention 
of  new  machinery  is  increased,  because  the  very  subdivision  of 
the  process  into  simple  steps  often  suggests  some  way  of  sub- 
stituting mechanical  action  for  that  of  the  human  hand. 

^  For  an  account  of  the  way  in  which  Arkwright  founded  the  factory  system, 
see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  63. 


of  labor 


366 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Printing 


3.  Growth  of 
great  manu- 
facturing 
towns 


An  example  of  the  greatly  increased  output  rendered  possible 
by  the  use  of  machinery  and  the  division  of  labor  is  given  by 
the  distinguished  Scotch  economist,  Adam  Smith,  whose  great 
work,  The  Wealth  of  Nations,  appeared  in  1776.  Speaking  of 
the  manufacture  of  a  pin  in  his  own  time,  Adam  Smith  says  •. 
"  To  make  the  head  requires  two  or  three  distinct  operations ; 
to  put  it  on  is  a  peculiar  business,  to  whiten  the  pin  is  another. 
It  is  even  a  trade  by  itself  to  put  them  into  the  paper,  and  the 
important  business  of  making  a  pin  is,  in  this  manner,  divided 
into  about  eighteen  distinct  operations."  By  this  division,  he 
adds,  ten  persons  can  make  upwards  of  forty-eight  thousand 
pins  in  a  day.  This  was  when  machinery  was  in  its  infancy. 
A  recent  writer  reports  that  an  English  machine  now  makes 
one  hundred  and  eighty  pins  a  minute,  cutting  the  wire,  flat- 
tening the  heads,  sharpening  the  points,  and  dropping  the  pins 
into  their  proper  places.  In  a  single  factory  which  he  visited 
seven  million  pins  were  made  in  a  day,  and  three  men  were  all 
that  were  required  to  manage  the  mechanism. 

Another  example  of  modern  mechanical  work  is  found  in 
printing.  For  several  centuries  after  Gutenberg  printed  his  first 
book,  the  type  was  set  by  hand,  inked  by  hand,  each  sheet  of 
paper  was  laid  by  hand  upon  the  type  and  then  printed  by 
means  of  a  press  operated  by  a  hand  lever.  Nowadays  our 
newspapers,  in  the  great  cities  at  least,  are  printed  almost  alto- 
gether by  machinery,  frorri  the  setting  up  of  the  type  until  they 
are  dropped,  complete,  and  counted  out  by  hundreds,  at  the 
bottom  of  a  rotary  press.  The  paper  is  fed  into  the  press  from 
a  great  roll  and  is  printed  on  both  sides  and  folded  at  the  rate 
of  five  hundred  or  more  newspapers  a  minute. 

Before  the  coming  of  machinery,  industry  was  not  concen- 
trated in  a  few  great  cities,  but  was  scattered  more  or  less 
evenly  over  the  country  in  the  hands  of  small  masters,  or  in- 
dependent workmen,  who  combined  manufacturing  with  agri- 
culture on  a  small  scale.  For  example,  the  metal  workers  of 
West  Bromwich  and  the  cutlers  of  Sheffield  (already  famous 


Fig.  95.    Richard  Arkwkight 

Arkwright  was  one  of  the  first  men  to  acquire  wealth  from  the  use  of 

machinery  in  the  factories,  and  so  is  sometimes  termed  the  father  of 

the  Factory  System 


Fig.  96.   A  Workixg-Class  Demoxstration  in  England 
AGAINST  Unemployment 


The  Industrial  Rezwhitiofi  367 

in  Chaucer's  day)  lived  in  cottages  with  small  plots  of  land 
around  them,  and  in  dull  seasons,  or  to  change  their  occupa- 
tion, engaged  in  gardening.  The  factory  system  put  an  end  to 
all  this.  The  workmen  now  had  to  live  near  their  work ;  long 
rows  of  houses,  without  gardens  or  even  grassplots,  were 
hastily  built  around  the  factory  buildings,  and  thus  the  ugly 
tenement  districts  of  our  cities  came  into  existence. 

This  great  revolution  in  the  methods  of  manufacturing  pro-  4.  Appear- 
duced  also  a  sharp  distinction  between  two  classes  of  men  itafitt^ciass^^ 
involved.  There  were,  on  the  one  hand,  the  capitalists  who 
owned  the  buildings  and  all  the  rnechanism,  and,  on  the  other, 
the  workmen  whom  they  hired  to  operate  the  machines.  Previ- 
ous to  the  eighteenth  century  those  who  owned  large  estates 
had  been,  on  the  whole,  the  most  important  class  in  political 
and  social  life.  But,  alongside  of  the  landed  aristocracy,  a 
powerful  mercantile  class  had  arisen,  whose  wealth,  gained  by 
commerce  and  trade,  gave  them  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the 
nation.^  With  the  improvements  in  machinery  there  was  added 
the  new  class  of  modem  capitalists,  who  amassed  fortunes  by 
establishing  great  manufacturing  industries.^ 

The  workingman   necessarily  became  dependent  upon  the   5.  The  work- 
few  who  were  rich  enough  to  set  up  factories.    He  could  no   dependent  ^ 
longer  earn  a  livelihood  in  the  old  way  by  conducting  a  small  ^^^"Jj^j 
shop  to  suit  himself.    The  capitalist  owned  and  controlled  the 
necessary  machinery,  and  so  long  as  there  were  plenty  of  work- 
men seeking  employment  in  order  to  earn  their  daily  bread,  the 
owner  could  fix  a  low  wage  and  long  hours.    While  an  indi- 
vidual employee  of  special  ability  might  himself  become  a  capi- 
talist, the  ordinary  workman  would  have  to  remain  a  workman. 
The  question  of  the  proportion  of  the  product  which  should 

1  See  Defoe's  description  of  eighteenth-century  merchant  princes,  Readings, 
Vol.  II,  p.  67. 

2  The  industrial  capitalist  began  to  appear  even  before  the  days  of  Arkwright 
and  Watt,  for  there  were  employers  earlier,  who  in  some  cases  collected  ten, 
twenty,  or  more  looms  in  a  town  and  employed  workmen  who  had  no  tools  of 
their  own,  thus  creating  something  like  the  later  factory  system. 


368 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Problem  of 
labor  vs. 
capital 


6.  Women 
and  children 
in  the  fac- 
tories 


The  Indus- 
trial Revolu- 
tion relieves 
some  women 
of  their 
former  duties 


go  to  the  workers,  and  that  which  may  properly  be  taken  by 
the  capitalist,  or  manager,  who  makes  a  successful  business  pos- 
sible, lies  at  the  basis  of  the  great  problem  of  capital  and  labor. 

The  destruction  of  the  domestic  system  of  industry  had  also 
a  revolutionary  effect  upon  the  work  and  the  lives  of  women 
and  children.  In  all  except  the  heaviest  of  the  mechanical 
industries,  such  as  ironworking  or  shipbuilding,  the  introduc- 
tion of  simple  machines  tended  greatly  to  increase  the  number 
of  women  and  children  employed  compared  with  the  men.  For 
example,  in  the  textile  industry  in  England  during  the  fifty 
years  from  1841  to  189 1,  the  number  of  males  employed  in- 
creased fifty-three  per  cent,  and  the  number  of  females  two 
hundred  and  twenty-one  per  cent.  Before  the  invention  of 
the  steam  engine,  when  the  simple  machines  were  worked  by 
hand,  children  could  be  employed  only  in  some  of  the  minor 
processes  such  as  preparing  the  cotton  for  spinning.  But  in 
the  modern  factory  labor  is  largely  confined  to  watching  ma- 
chines, piecing  broken  threads,  and  working  levers,  so  that 
both  women  and  children  can  be  utilized  as  effectively  as  men, 
and  much  more  cheaply. 

Doubtless  the  women  were  by  no  means  idle  under  the  old 
system  of  domestic  industry,  but  their  tasks  were  varied  and 
performed  at  home,  whereas  under  the  new  system  they  must 
flock  to  the  factory  at  the  call  of  the  whistle,  and  labor  monot- 
onously at  a  speed  set  by  the  foreman.  This  led  to  many  grave 
abuses  which,  as  we  shall  see,^  the  State  has  been  called  upon 
to  remedy  by  factory  legislation,  which  has  served  to  save  the 
women  and  children  from  some  of  the  worst  hardships,  although 
a  great  deal  still  remains  to  be  done.  On  the  other  hand,  thou- 
sands of  women  belonging  to  the  more  fortunate  classes  have 
been  relieved  of  many  of  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  the 
housewife  in  the  eighteenth  century,  when  many  things  were 
made  at  home  which  can  now  be  better  and  more  cheaply 
produced  on  a  large  scale. 

1  See  below,  p.  512, 


The  Industrial  Revoltition  369 

Before  the  Industrial  Revolution  there  had  been  no  sudden   7.  Broaden- 
change  in  the  life  and  habits  of  the  people,  since  the  same  tools   mfchankal  °^ 
had  been  used  in  the  same  way,  often  by  the  same  family,  from   progress  on 

■'  ■'  ■'  the  working' 

generation  to  generation.  When  invention  began  change  began,  man 
and  it  seems  likely  to  become  more  and  more  rapid,  since  new 
and  better  ways  of  doing  things  are  discovered  daily.  Old 
methods  give  way  to  new  ones,  and  the  workman  of  to-day 
may  successively  engage  in  a  considerable  variety  of  occupa- 
tions during  his  life  as  industries  rise,  are  transformed,  and 
decline  under  the  stress  of  competition  and  invention.  This 
serves  to  shake  the  workingman  out  of  the  old  routine,  encour- 
ages him  to  move  from  place  to  place  as  circumstances  dictate, 
and  so  widens  his  experience  and  broadens  his  mind.  He  has 
also  learned  to  combine  with  his  fellows  into  national  unions, 
and  even  international  congresses  of  workingmen  are  held  to 
consider  their  common  interests  and  agree  upon  general  policies. 

To  these  changes  still  another  may  be  added,  that  is,  the  8.  Expansion 
expansion  of  commerce.  In  spite  of  the  development  of  trade  °  conimerce 
before  the  eighteenth  century,  a  great  part  of  the  goods  pro- 
duced was  destined  to  be  consumed  in  the  neighborhood, 
whereas,  after  the  invention  of  machinery,  it  became  cus- 
tomary to  manufacture  goods  to  be  sold  in  any  part  of  the 
world ;  so  that  one  would  find  the  products  of  Manchester 
or  Birmingham  in  Hongkong,  Melbourne,  or  Bulawayo.  Ac- 
cording to  official  estimates,  the  exports  of  England,  which 
amounted  to  less  than  fourteen  million  pounds  sterling  in  1783, 
exceeded  twenty-nine  millions  thirteen  years  later.-^ 

The  Industrial  Revolution,  in  addition  to  changing  funda-  9.  Effect  of 
mentally  the  old   methods  of  living,   traveling,   and   working.   Revolution 
gave   an   entirely  new  direction  to   European   politics   and   to   ^g^tTand 
theories  of  government  and  industry.    The  two  great  classes   politics 
created  by  the  Industrial  Revolution,  namely,  the  middle  class 
and  the  working  class,  each  entered  politics  on  its  own  ac- 
count;   and    the    struggle  of   these    two   groups   against   the 

1  See  p.  648  for  the  output  to-day. 


370 


Outlines  of  Europeaft  History 


The  middle 
class 


Political 
economy 


The  theory  of 
individualism 


large  landlords  and  the  clergy  constitutes  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  political  history  of  Europe  during  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  contest  of  the  manufacturers  of  Europe  to  win  markets 
for  their  products  in  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  is  largely 
responsible  for  the  opening  up  of  backward  places  in  the 
Orient  and  Africa. 

The  enterprising  mill  owners  and  merchants  handling  prod- 
ucts naturally  were  discontented  with  the  way  in  which  feudal 
landlords  and  absolute  monarchs  monopolized,  or  attempted  to 
monopolize,  government.  They  also  were  dissatisfied  with  the 
attempts  of  governments  to  maintain  many  of  the  restrictions 
on  industry  and  business  enterprise  which  originated  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  which  only  hampered  the  individual  initiative 
of  the  man  who  wanted  to  run  his  business  in  his  own  way 
and  sell  his  goods  as  he  pleased. 

This  middle  class  of  manufacturers  and  traders  developed  a 
theory  of  government  suited  to  their  particular  interests,  which 
they  called  political  economy.  According  to  this  theory  of 
government  or  political  economy,  which  was  formulated  by 
Adam  Smith  and  developed  by  later  writers,  the  government 
should  keep  its  hands  off  of  industry.  It  should  not  attempt 
to  regulate  prices  of  goods  or  pass  upon  their  quality.  Neither 
should  it  interfere  with  the  employer  and  his  workmen,  nor 
prescribe  the  hours  or  conditions  of  labor  in  factories.^ 

The  principle  on  which  this  early  political  economy  was 
based  was  that  everj  person  was  the  best  judge  of  what  was 
good  for  himself,  and,  if  left  alone,  would  rise  or  fall  in  the 
scale  of  prosperity  according  to  his  individual  efforts  and  abili- 
ties. Prices  would  be  kept  at  the  lowest  possible  point  by 
competition  among  manufacturers,  and  a  "  natural "  rate  of 
wages  would  be  established  in  each  industry  under  the  law 
of  supply  and  demand.    This  theory  was  peculiarly  acceptable 


1  This  was  known  as  the  doctrine  of  laissez  faire,  from  the  French  phrase 
meaning  "let  things  be,"  which  was  used  by  the  economists  of  the  eighteenth 
century.   See  above,  p.  159. 


The  hidiistrial  Revolution 


371 


to  the  prosperous  middle  class  of  merchants  and  manufacturers, 
and  they  assumed  that  their  doctrines  were  not  only  sound  and 
productive  of  the  greatest  happiness,  but  partook  of  the  char- 
acter of  "  natural  laws  "  which  could  not  be  broken  by  govern- 
ments or  by  organizations  of  workingmen  without  disastrous 
consequences. 

The  chief  trouble  with  this  political  economy  was  that  it  did 
not  work  well  in  practice.  On  the  contrary,  the  great  manu- 
facturing cities,  instead  of  being  filled  with  happy  and  prosper- 
ous people,  became  the  homes  of  a  small  number  of  capitalists 
who  had  grown  rich  as  the  owners  and  directors  of  the  factories 
and  multitudes  of  poor  working  people  with  no  other  resources 
than  their  wages,  which  were  often  not  enough  to  keep  their 
families  from  starvation.  Little  children  under  nine  years  of 
age  working  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hours  a  day  and  women 
forced  to  leave  their  homes  to  tend  the  machines  in  the  fac- 
tories were  now  replacing  the  men  workers.  After  their  long 
day's  work  they  returned  to  miserable  tenements  in  which 
they  w^ere  forced  to  live. 

After  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  as  things  got  worse 
rather  than  better,  there  were  increasing  signs  of  discontent  in 
England.  This  led  to  various  attempts  to  improve  matters.  On 
the  one  hand  there  were  those  who  hoped  to  secure  reforms  by 
extending  the  right  to  vote,  in  order  that  the  working  classes 
might  be  represented  in  Parliament  and  so  have  laws  passed 
to  remedy  the  worst  evils  at  least.  In  this  movement  some  of 
the  wealthier  class  often  joined,  but  the  working  people  were 
naturally  chiefly  interested  and  they  embodied  their  ideas  of 
reform  in  a  great  ''  people's  charter,"  which  is  described  below 
in  Chapter  XXI. 

In  addition  to  this  attempt  to  secure  reform  by  political 
action,  the  workingmen  formed  unions  of  their  own  in  the 
various  trades  and  industries,  in  order  to  protect  themselves  by 
dealing  in  a  body  with  their  employers.  This  trade-union 
movement   is   one   of   the  most  important  things   in   modern 


Sad  results  of 
the  Industrial 
Revolution 


Attempts  to 
secure  laws 
to  help  the 
working 
classes 


Origin  of 
trade-unions 


372 


Outlines  of  European  History 


times.  It  began  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.^ 
At  first  the  formation  of  unions  was  forbidden  by  English  law, 
and  it  was  regarded  as  a  crime  for  workingmen  to  combine 
together  to  raise  wages.  Men  were  sentenced  to  imprisonment 
or  deportation  as  convicts  because  they  joined  such  "  combina- 
tions," or  unions.  In  1824  Parliament  repealed  this  harsh  law, 
and  trade-unions  increased  rapidly.  They  were  hampered,  how- 
ever, by  various  restrictions,  and  even  now,  although  they  have 
spread  widely  all  over  the  world,  people  are  by  no  means  agreed 
as  to  whether  workingmen's  unions  are  the  best  means  of  im- 
proving the  conditions  of  the  laboring  classes. 

The  third  general  plan  for  permanently  bettering  the  situa- 
tion of  the  working  people  is  what  is  known  as  socialism. 
As  this  has  played  a  great  role  in  the  history  of  Europe 
during  the  past  fifty  years  we  must  stop  to  examine  the 
meaning:  of  this  word. 


Section  58.    The  Rise  of  Socialism 

Socialism  teaches  that  ''  the  means  of  production ""  should 
belong  to  society  and  not  be  held  as  the  private  property  of 
individuals.  ^'  The  means  of  production  "  is  a  very  vague  phrase, 
and  might  include  farms  and  gardens  as  well  as  tools  ;  but  when 
the  Socialist  uses  it  he  is  generally  thinking  of  the  machines 
which  the  Industrial  Revolution  has  brought  into  the  world  and 
the  factories  which  house  them,  as  well  as  the  railroads  and 
steamships  which  carry  their  goods.  In  short,  the  main  idea  of 
the  Socialists  is  that  the  great  industries  which  have  arisen  as  a 
result  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  should  not  be  left  in  private 
hands.  They  claim  that  it  is  not  right  for  the  capitalists  to  own 
the  mills  upon  which  the  workingman  must  depend  for  his 
living;   that  the  attempt  of  labor  unions  to  get  higher  wages 

1  The  craft  guilds  described  in  a  previous  chapter  (see  above,  p.  126)  somewhat 
resembled  modem  labor  unions,  but  they  included  both  capitalists  and  laborers. 
Our  labor  unions  did  not  grow  out  of  the  medieval  guilds  but  were  organized  to 
meet  conditions  that  resulted  from  the  Industrial  Revolution. 


The  Indies  trial  Revolution  373 

does  not  offer  more  than  a  temporary  relief,  since  the  system 
is  wrong  which  permits  the  wealthy  to  have  such  a  control  over 
the  poor.  The  person  who  works  for  wages,  say  the  Socialists, 
is  not  free ;  he  is  a  '^  wage  slave  "  of  his  employer.  The  way 
to  remedy  this  is   to   turn   over  the   great  industries  of  the 


Fig.  97.    Robert  Owen 

Robert  Owen  rose  from  a  mill  worker  to  be  a  rich  factory  owner.  He 
was  convinced  that  mankind  is  naturally  good  and  that  the  evil  in  society 
comes  from  bad  surroundings.  One  of  the  worst  influences,  he  thought, 
was  the  competitive  system,  which  makes  people  try  to  get  the  best  of 
one  another ;  while  common  ownership  would,  he  thought,  make  each 
interested  in  the  other's  welfare 

capitalists  to  national,  state,  or  local  ownership,  so  that  all 
should  have  a  share  in  the  profits.  This  ideal  state  of  society, 
which,  they  say,  is  sure  to  come  in  the  future,  they  call  the 
Cooperative  Commonwealth. 

The  first  Socialists  relied  on  the  kind  hearts  of  the  capital-  The  early 
ists  to  bring  the  change,  once  the  situation  was  made  clear, 
They  dreamed  of  a  future  civilization  which  would  be  without 


Socialists 


374  Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 

poverty,  idleness,  or  ugliness.-^  Of  these  early  Socialists  the 
most  attractive  figure  was  Robert  Owen,  a  rich  British  mill 
owner,  who  had  much  influence  in  England  in  the  period  of 
hard  times  after  Waterloo.  To  him,  probably,  is  due  the  word 
'^  socialism."  There  were  also  Socialist  writers  and  teachers 
in  France  who  exercised  a  great  influence  over  the  working 
classes  there  during  the  second  quarter  of  the  century  (see 
next  chapter). 

Modern  Socialists,  however,  regard  these  early  Socialists  as 
dreamers  and  their  methods  as  impracticable.  They  do  not 
think  that  the  rich  will  ever,  from  pure  unselfishness,  give  up 
their  control  over  industries.  So  they  turn  to  working  people 
only,  point  out  the  great  advantage  to  them  of  socialism,  and 
call  upon  them  to  bring  it  about  in  the  face  of  the  opposition 
of  the  capitalists.  They  claim  that  wealth  is  produced  by  labor, 
for  which  capital  but  furnishes  the  opportunity,  and  that  labor 
is  justified  in  taking  what  it  produces.^ 

The  great  teacher  of  this  modern  doctrine  of  socialism  was 
Karl  Marx,  a  German  writer  who  lived  most  of  his  life  in  Lon- 
don. He  was  a  learned  man,  trained  in  philosophy  and  political 
economy,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  from  a  study  of  history 
that  just  as  the  middle  class  or  capitalists  ^  had  replaced  feudal 
nobles,  so  the  working  class  would  replace  the  capitalists  in  the 
future.  By  the  working  class  he  meant  those  who  depend  upon 
their  work  for  a  living.  The  introduction  of  the  factory  system 
had  reduced  the  vast  majority  of  artisans  to  a  position  in  which 
the  capitalist  was  able  to  dictate  the  conditions  upon  which  this 
work  should  be  done.    Marx,  in  an  eloquent  appeal  to  them 

1  Among  these  dreamers  may  be  mentioned  Sir  Thomas  More,  who,  in  the 
time  of  Henry  VIII,  wrote  the  famous  little  book  called  "  Utopia,"  or  "the  land 
of  nowhere,"  where  everything  was  arranged  as  it  should  be,  and  where  men  lived 
together  in  brotherly  love  and  prosperity.  Since  his  day  those  who  advocate  any 
fundamental  revolution  in  society  have  commonly  been  called  Utopians. 

2  This  does  not  mean  that  Socialists  would  divide  up  all  private  property. 
Socialists  claim  only  that  there  shall  be  no  unearned  wealth  in  private  hands,  con- 
trolling, as  now,  the  industries  of  the  country.   Brain  workers  are  also  "  workers." 

3  The  French  term  bourgeoisie  is  often  used  by  Socialists  for  this  class. 


The  hidiLsU'ial  Revohitioji  375 

in  1847,^  called  upon  the  members  of  this  "  proletariat," 
"who  have  nothing  to  lose  but  their  chains,"'  to  rise  and  seize 
the  means  of  production  themselves.    His  appeal  had  almost 


Fig.  98.   Karl  Marx 

Karl  Marx  was  born  in  18 18  in  Treves,  reared  in  an  enlightened  home, 
and  educated  at  the  universities  of  Bonn  and  BerHn.  He  had  early  de- 
cided upon  the  career  of  a  university  professor,  but  the  boldness  of  his 
speech  and  his  radical  tendencies  barred  his  way,  and  consequently  he 
entered  journalism.  His  attacks  on  the  Prussian  government  led  to  the 
suppression  of  his  paper  in  1843,  ^^id  he  soon  migrated  to  Paris.  He  was, 
however,  expelled  from  France,  and  after  some  wanderings  he  finally 
settled  in  London,  where  he  studied  and  wrote  until  his  death,  in  1883 

no  effect  at  the  time,  but  it  has  been  an  inspiration  to  later 
generations  of  Socialists  and  is  frequently  quoted  by  them. 

Modern,  or  ''Marxian,"  socialism  is  therefore  a  movement   Socialism  and 

r     1  1  •  1-1  r    democracy 

of  the  working  class.    As  such,  it  must  be  viewed  as  part  01 

1  The  Communist  Manifesto,  written  jointly  with  Frederick  Engels.  Marx 
used  the  word  "  communism  "  to  distinguish  his  plan  from  the  socialism  of  Owen 
and  the  "  dreamers  "  who  looked  to  capitalists  to  help. 


international 
movement 


376  Outlines  of  European  History 

the  history  of  democracy.  It  is  never  satisfied  with  partial  re- 
forms so  long  as  the  conditions  remain  which  make  possible 
the  control  of  the  work  of  one  man  by  another  for  the  latter's 
benefit.  So  it  insists  that  the  workers  shall  keep  one  aim  clearly 
in  mind  and  not  be  drawn  into  other  political  parties  until  the 
Cooperative  Commonwealth  is  gained. 
Socialism  an  There  is  one  other  important  element  in  socialism.  It  is  inter- 
national. It  regards  the  cause  of  workers  in  different  countries 
as  a  common  cause  against  a  common  oppressor  —  capitalism. 
In  this  way  socialism  was  a  force  for  peace  between  nations  until 
the  war  of  191 4. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  ^$.  What  do  you  mean  by  the  Industrial  Revolution? 
Describe  the  contribution  to  the  Industrial  Revolution  of  each  of  the 
following  men,  giving  dates  of  their  inventions :  Kay,  Hargreaves, 
Arkwright,  Crompton,  Cartwright,  Whitney. 

Section  56.  Give  an  account  of  the  invention  of  the  steam 
engine.    Give  a  short  sketch  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  in  France. 

Section  57,  What  was  the  domesdc  system  of  industry?  Con- 
trast this  system  with  the  factory  system.  Oudine  the  main  results 
of  the  factory  system.  What  is  political  economy?  What  is  meant 
by  individualism  ? 

Section  58.  What  is  meant  by  socialism?  Give  a  brief  account 
of  the  life  of  Karl  Marx."  W^hat  difference  is  there  between  the 
socialism  of  Marx  and  that  of  the  earlier  Socialists? 


CHAPTER  XV 

REVOLUTION  OF  1848  IN  FRANCE 

Section  59.    Unpopularity  of  Louis  Philippe's 
Government 

The  Revolution  of  1830  gave  the  final  blow  in  France  to  character  of 
the  divine  right  of  kings.  The  sovereignty  of  the  people  was  Philippe 
proclaimed  in  the  revised  Charter  which  Louis  Philippe  ac- 
cepted from  the  parliament.  He  added  to  the  former  title  — 
"  King  of  the  French  by  the  Grace  of  God  "  —  the  significant 
phrase  "  and  the  Will  of  the  Nation."  But  in  spite  of  these 
externals,  only  a  small  fraction  of  the  nation  had  any  part  in 
the  new  government.  The  revised  election  law,  which  reduced 
the  voting  age  from  forty  to  thirty  years  and  the  property 
qualification  by  one  third,  still  excluded  the  majority  of  French- 
men from  political  life.  The  king  himself  announced  that  his 
policy  would  be  the  golden  mean  between  conservatism  and 
liberalism. 

The  so-called  "  July  monarchy "  was  therefore  stoutly  op-  The  Legiti- 
posed  by  two  types  of  extremists  —  the  adherents  of  the  older  "^^^^^ 
Bourbon  line  (or  Legitimists,  as  they  were  called)  and  the 
Republicans.  The  former  regarded  as  their  lawful  king  a 
grandson  of  Charles  X  whom  they  called  Henry  V  (see  table, 
p.  340).  This  party  was  numerically  small;  it  was  mainly  re- 
cruited from  the  nobility  and  the  clergy,  and  was  not  given  to 
violent  measures,  such  as  throwing  up  barricades  and  seizing 
public  buildings. 

It  was  an  altogether  different  matter  with  the  Republicans,   The  Repubii- 
who  cherished  the  memories  of  1793  and  continued  to  threaten 
France  with  another  violent  revolution.    This  party  carried  on 

377 


378 


Outlines  of  European  History 


its  work  mainly  through  secret  societies,  similar  to  the  Car- 
bonari in  Italy,  which  spread  rapidly  in  the  new  manufacturing 
towns.  Remembering  the  ease  with  which  they  had  shaken  a 
monarch  off  the  throne  in  1830,  the  Republicans  made  several 


Fig.  99.    Louis  Philippe 

Louis  Philippe  lived  without  the  pomp  of  royalty,  and  was  fond  of 
going  shopping,  almost  unattended,  carrying  his  green  umbrella  under 
his  arm.  He  was  cautious,  grasping,  and  avaricious,  and  as  time  wore 
on  he  grew  more  and  more  conservative.  His  reign  of  eighteen  years 
was  a  period  of  political  stagnation 


futile  attempts  to  organize  insurrections,  which  were  speedily 
put  down,  however,  by  Louis  Philippe's  troops. 

In  addition  to  their  other  efforts  to  destroy  the  monarchy,  the 
Republicans  published  a  number  of  papers  which  attacked  the 
government  and  even  ventured  to  make  sport  of  the  king. 
The  administration  thereupon  determined  to  suppress  entirely 
this  revolutionary  party  by  strict  police  supervision  of  socie- 
ties and  by  press  censorship.    By  the  use  of  these  vigorous 


Revolution  0/1848  in  France  379 

and  tyrannical  methods  the  Republicans,  as  a  political  party, 
were  reduced  for  the  time  being  to  insignificance. 

Meanwhile  there  was  growing  up  in  the  large  industrial  cities  The 
a  socialistic  party,  which  no  mere  change  of  rulers  or  extension  °^*^  ^^*^ 
of  the  suffrage  would  satisfy.  Its  members  had  seen  the  re- 
public, the  empire,  and  the  Bourbon  monarchy  come  and  go, 
and  constitutions  made  and  unmade,  leaving  the  peasants  and 
workingmen  in  the  same  poverty  as  before.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  had  seen  the  nobles  deprived  of  their  privileges 
and  the  clergy  of  their  property,  and  it  was  only  natural  that 
bold  thinkers  among  them  should  demand  that  the  triumphant 
m^iddle  class,  who  owed  their  wealth  to  commerce  and  the  new 
machinery,  should  in  turn  be  divested  of  some  of  their  riches 
and  privileges  in  the  interest  of  the  working  classes. 

Denunciations  of  private  property  and  of  the  unequal  distri-   Babceufadvo- 
bution  of  wealth  had  been  heard  during  the  first  French  Revo-  [sdrsys^terrT 
lution  and  even  earlier,  but  they  had  attracted  little  attention,   during  the 

-^  Reign  of 

Baboeuf  (i 760-1 797)  had  declared  in  the  days  of  the  Terror  Terror 
that  a  political  revolution  left  the  condition  of  the  people 
practically  unchanged.  What  was  needed,  he  claimed,  was 
an  economic  revolution.  "  When  I  see  the  poor  without  the 
clothing  and  shoes  which  they  themselves  are  engaged  in 
making,  and  contemplate  the  small  minority  who  do  not  work 
and  yet  want  for  nothing,  I  am  convinced  that  government  is 
still  the  old  conspiracy  of  the  few  against  the  many,  only  it  has 
taken  a  new  form."  His  proposal  to  transfer  all  property  to 
the  State  and  so  administer  it  that  every  one  should  be  assured 
employment,  speedily  found  adherents,  and  a  society  was  formed 
to  usher  in  the  new  order.  The  organization  was  soon  suppressed 
and  Baboeuf  himself  executed  ;  but  his  writings  were  widely 
circulated,  and  after  the  July  revolution  in  1830  several  groups 
of  Socialists  began  to  agitate  their  plans  of  social  revolution. 

Some  of  these  were  dreamers,  like  Fourier,  who  wished  to   "Utopian" 
establish  groups  of  cooperative  workers  in  well-arranged  settle- 
ments, living  by  themselves,  where  all  would  be  happy  in  each 


380  Oiitliiies  of  European  History 

other's  welfare.  Fourier  relied,  as  Robert  Owen  did,  upon  the 
kind  hearts  of  philanthropists  to  start  the  movement.  Of  a 
different  character,  however,  was  the  practical  program  of 
Louis  Blanc's  Louis  Blanc,  whose  volume  on  The  Organization  of-  Labor ^ 
of  Labor  \%Iq  published  in  1839,  gave  definiteness  to  the  vague  aspirations 
of  the  reformers.-^  Blanc  proclaimed  the  right  of  all  men  to 
employment  and  the  duty  of  the  State  to  provide  it.  He  pro- 
posed that  the  government  should  furnish  the  capital  to  found 
national  workshops  which  should  be  managed  by  the  workmen, 
who  were  to  divide  the  profits  of  the  industry  among  themselves, 
thus  abolishing  the  employing  class  altogether.  The  "  organi- 
zation of  labor "  became  the  battle  cry  of  the  labor  leaders ; 
it  was  heard  even  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  no  well-organized  socialist  party  ready  to  enter  the 
political  field  or  to  work  for  a  definite  aim. 
Views  of  The  political  power  at  this  time  was  really  in  the  hands  of 

Guizot  two  groups  of  statesmen,  one  headed  by  Thiers,  and  the  other 

by  Guizot,  both  famous  as  historians  and  men  of  letters.  Thiers 
wished  to  have  a  constitution  like  that  of  England,  where,  as 
he  was  wont  to  say,  "  the  king  reigns  but  does  not  rule." 
Guizot  wished  the  king  to  exercise  real  power;  he  did  not 
want  the  throne  to  become  an  ''  empty  armchair,"  and  re- 
garded further  changes  in  the  constitution  as  undesirable.  In 
1840  he  became  prime  minister,  and  he  and  the  king  together 
ruled  France  for  eight  years.  Though  personally  honorable, 
Guizot  placed  the  government  on  a  thoroughly  corrupt  basis 
and  then  attempted  to  stifle  protest  by  police  measures  and 
the  prosecution  of  newspaper  editors.  He  steadily  refused 
to  undertake  any  legislation  for  the  benefit  of  the  working 
classes  and  opposed  all  efforts  to  extend  the  suffrage,  main- 
taining that  there  were  not  more  than  one  hundred  thousand 
persons  in  all  France  ''  capable  of  voting  with  good  judgment 
and  independence."  This  extreme  conservatism,  which  checked 
reform,  brought  instead  a  revolution. 

1  For  Blanc's  labor  program,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  76. 


Revolution  0/1848  in  France  381 

Section  60.    The  Second  French  Republic 

In  spite  of  Guizot's  strong  position,  there  were,  in  Febru-  The  Febru- 
ary, 1848,  disturbances  in  the  streets  of  Paris  which  fright-  tiSiiTn  Paris 
ened  Louis  Philippe  and  led  to  the  resignation  of  the  unpopular 
minister.  But  this  did  not  restore  quiet,  for  the  leaders  in  the 
street  disturbances  wanted  far  more  than  a  change  in  the 
ministry.  During  the  evening  of  the  twenty-third  they  made 
a  formidable  demonstration  before  the  Foreign  Office,  where 
Guizot  resided ;  thereupon  the  soldiers  on  guard  fired  upon  and  • 
killed  several  of  the  rioters.  This  roused  the  anger  of  the 
populace  to  fever  heat;  the  bodies  of  the  victims  were  placed 
on  a'cart  and  carried  through  the  boulevards  in  a  weird  torch- 
light procession.  Before  the  dawn  of  February  24  the  eastern 
part  of  the  city  was  covered  with  barricades.  In  the  narrow 
winding  streets  a  cart  or  two  and  a  heap  of  cobblestones  formed 
an  effective  fortification,  while  the  tall  houses  on  either  side  en- 
abled a  few  defenders  to  check  a  considerable  body  of  soldiers. 

The  entire  city  was  soon  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents,  and   Abdication 
Louis  Philippe  in  despair  abdicated  in  favor  of  his  grandson,   phiiippe, 
the  count  of  Paris.    Both  the  Republicans  and  the  labor  party   fg^^g^"^^  ^4> 
were  determined  to  have  no  more  royalty,  so  they  proclaimed 
a  republic  on  the  afternoon  of  the  twenty-fourth,  subject  to   A  republic 
the  ratification  of   the  people  in  a  national  assembly  to  be  P^^'^^^"^^ 
summoned  immediately. 

The  moderate  Republicans  were  quite  satisfied  with  merely   How  the 
abolishing  the  monarchy,  but  the  workingmen,  whose  active  coop-  was^able^to 
eration  had  put  the  revolutionists  in  power,  had  set  their  hearts  ^^"trol  the 

^  ^  '  provisional 

on  introducing  the  whole  scheme  advocated  by  Louis  Blanc.    So   government 
they  induced  the  provisional  government  to  issue  a  decree  estab- 
lishing "  national  workshops,"  and  empowering  the  minister  of 
public  works  to  put  the  plan  into  execution. 

As  a  further  concession  to  the  labor  element  the  provisional 
government  established  in  the  Luxembourg  palace,  the  former 
meeting  place  of  the  House  of  Peers,  a  committee  charged 


382 


Outlines  of  Europe aii  History 


A  labor  com- 
mission es- 
tablished at 
the  Luxem- 
bourg 


The  labor 
parliament 
assembles  in 
the  hall 
hitherto  occu- 
pied by  the 
House  of 
Peers 


The  national 
workshops  a 
mere  tem- 
porary ex- 
pedient 
unworthy 
the  name 


with  the  special  task  of  looking  after  the  interests  of  the  work- 
ing classes.  This  was  really  a  shrewd  move  on  the  part  of  the 
opponents  of  the  "  Socialists,"  for  it  sent  the  latter  away  from 
the  City  Hall  to  waste  their  time  in  making  fine  speeches  and 
expounding  theories  for  carrying  out  which  no  money  had 
been  appropriated. 

The  Luxembourg  committee,  headed  by  Louis  Blanc  and  a 
leader  of  the  workingmen  named  Albert,  began  its  sessions  on 
March  i,  and  at  once  proceeded  to  organize  a  labor  parliament 
composed  of  delegates  from  each  trade.  This  was  opened  on 
March  lo  with  a  speech  by  the  eloquent  Blanc.  He  declared 
that  as  he  beheld  the  workmen  assembled  in  the  Hall  of  the 
Peers,  hitherto  the  sanctuary  of  privilege,  in  which  so  many 
laws  directed  against  them  had  been  made,  he  felt  an  emotion 
which  he  could  with  difficulty  repress.  ^'  On  these  same  seats," 
he  exclaimed,  "  once  glittering  with  embroidered  coats,  what  do 
I  see  now  ?  Garments  threadbare  with  honorable  toil,  some 
perhaps  bearing  the  marks  of  recent  conflict."  The  labor  par- 
liament,  however,  accomplished  very  little,  for  the  government 
had  furnished  them  with  no  money,  and  consequently  Louis 
Blanc  and  his  supporters  were  powerless  to  carry  out  their 
plan  for  cooperative  workshops,  which  they  regarded  as  the 
most  vital  of  all  their  reforms.-^ 

The  provisional  government  had,  it  is  true,  ordered  the  estab- 
lishment of  national  workshops  and  issued  a  decree  guarantee- 
ing employment  to  all,  but  with  very  different  motives  from 
those  of  the  labor  committee.  Louis  Blanc  and  his  followers 
sought  to  organize  the  various  trades  into  permanent,  self- 
supporting  cooperative  industries,  financed  in  the  beginning  by 
the  State,  but  managed  by  the  workingmen  themselves.  The 
provisional  government,  on  the  contrary,  merely  desired  to  allay 
the  restlessness  of  the  unemployed  by  fair  promises.  It, opened 
relief  works  accordingly,  which  offered  more  or  less  useless 
occupation  to  the  idle  men  who  thronged  to  Paris.    It  attempted 

1  Blanc's  version  of  this  experiment  is  given  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  S2. 


RevohUion  0/1848  in  France  383 

no  more  than  merely  to  organize  into  brigades  those  who  ap- 
plied for  work,  and  set  them  to  digging  ditches  and  building 
forts  at  a  uniform  wage  of  two  francs  a  day.  In  fact  the  min- 
ister placed  in  charge  of  these  so-called  ''  national  workshops  " 
was  opposed  to  the  whole  scheme. 

This  crude  temporary  expedient  was  put  into  operation 
March  i,  and  in  fifteen  days  six  thousand  men  had  enrolled  in 
the  government  employ.  In  April  the  number  reached  a  hun- 
dred thousand,  and  several  million  francs  were  being  expended 
to  pay  these  labor  gangs.  The  plan,  however,  realized  the  orig- 
inal object  of  the  government  —  it  kept  the  idle  busy  and  pre- 
vented disorder  until  the  conservative  classes  could  regain  their 
usual  ascendency. 

On  May  4  the  provisional  government  gave  way  to  a  National  The  National 
Assembly  elected   by  practically   universal  manhood   suffrage,   ex^hfbTts  no 
which  was  called  upon  to  draft  a  new  republican  constitution-  sympathy  for 

^  ^  socialism 

for  the  country.  The  majority  of  the  deputies  were  moderate 
Republicans  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  all  socialistic  tendencies. 
The  rural  districts  which  had  taken  no  part  in  the  Revolution 
could  now  make  themselves  felt,  and  it  was  clear  enough  that 
the  representatives  of  the  peasants  did  not  sympathize  in  any 
way  with  the  projects  and  demands  of  the  Paris  workingmen. 

Before  it  could  proceed  to  consider  seriously  the  form  of  the  The  terrible 
new  constitution  the  National  Assembly  was  forced  to  take   0/^848  ^^^ 
decisive  measures  in  regard  to  the  "  national  workshops,"  to 
which  crowds  continued  to  flock,  draining  the  treasury  to  pay 
for  their  useless  labor.    It  soon  resolved  to  close  the  "  work-    • 
shops,"  and  ordered  the  men  either  to  join  the  army  or  leave 
the  city.    The  people  at  once  set  up  the  cry  of  "  bread  or  lead," 
and  the  most  terrible  street  fighting  that  Paris  had  ever  wit- 
nessed ensued.    The  streets  of  the  districts  inhabited  by  the 
working  classes  were  again  torn  up  for  barricades,  and  from 
Friday,  June  23,  until  the  following  Monday  a  desperate  con- 
flict raged.    The  Assembly,  fearing  the  triumph  of  the  labor 
party,  invested  General  Cavaignac  with   dictatorial   power  to 


384 


Outlines  of  European  History 


crush  the  revolt.  Victory  was  inevitably  on  the  side  of  the  gov- 
ernment troops,  who  were  well  disciplined  and  well  equipped, 
while  the  insurgents  fought  irregularly  and  were  half-starved. 
In  its  hour  of  triumph  the  government's  retaliation  was  most 

unjustifiably  severe;  for 
about  four  thousand  citi- 
zens were  transported 
without  trial,  thirty-two 
newspapers  were  sup- 
pressed, and  the  leading 
writers  among  the  radi- 
cals imprisoned.  Order 
was  restored,  but  the 
carnage  of  the  "  June 
days  "  left  a  heritage  of 
undying  hatred  between 
the  workingmen  and  the 
capitalists  of  Paris. 

After  this  cruel  "  so- 
lution "    of    the    labor 
problem   the  Assembly 
turned  to  the  work  of 
drawing  up  a  constitu- 
tion. In  spite  of  a  strong 
royalist     minority,     the 
Assembly  had  declared 
itself  in  favor  of  a  re- 
public on  the  very  first 
day  of  meeting.    It  re- 
vived the  motto  of  "Liberty,  Equality,  and  Fraternity,"  and 
urged  all  Frenchmen  to  forget  their  former  dissensions  and 
"  to  constitute  henceforth  but  a  single  family." 

After  six  months  of  debate  a  new  constitution  was  promul- 
gated. It  proclaimed  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  guaran- 
teed religious  freedom  and  liberty  of  the  press.   The  government 


Fig.  I  go.   Conflict  between  Work- 
ingmen AND  THE  Troops  in  Paris, 
June,  1848 


Revolution  0/1848  in  France  385 

was  vested  in  a  single  chamber  elected  by  popular  vote,  and  in 
a  president,  to  be  chosen,  also  by  popular  vote,  for  a  term  of 
four  years. 

After  the  establishment,  of  the  constitution,  interest  centered   The  candi- 
in  the  first  presidential  election,  held  on  December  10,  1848,   presidency  ^ 
Three   leading  candidates  entered  the  contest,   Ledru-Rollin, 
representing  the  labor  party,  General  Cavaignac,  who  had  so 
ruthlessly  suppressed  the  June  insurrection,  and  Louis  Napoleon, 
a  nephew  of  Napoleon  I. 

The  last  of  these  candidates  had  up  to  this  time  led  a  varied   Checkered 
and  interesting  life.    He  was  born  in  Paris  while  his  father,   Loufs^^ 
Louis  Napoleon,  was  king  of  Holland.    After  his  uncle's  down-   ^'^po'eon 
fall,  when  he  was  six  years  old,  he  was  expelled  from  France 
with  his  mother,  who  wandered  about  with  him  for  some  time. 
She  continually  impressed  upon  his  youthful  mind  the  fact  that 
one  who  bore  the  great  name  of  Bonaparte  was  destined  to 
accomplish  something  in  the  world,  and  he  came  firmly  to  be- 
lieve that   it   was  his  mission  to  reestablish  the    Napoleonic 
dynasty  on  the  throne  of  France. 

After  the  death  of  Napoleon  Fs  son  in  1832^  he  put  himself 
forward  as  the  direct  claimant  to  the  imperial  crown,  and  four 
years  later  he  attempted  to  provoke  a  military  uprising  at 
Strassburg,  designed  to  put  him  on  the  throne  of  France.  This 
proved  a  m.iserable  failure.  He  then  settled  in  England,  where 
he  published  in  1839  a  volume  on  Napoleonic  Idcas^  in  which 

1  Chief  members  of  the  Napoleonic  House. 

Carlos  Buonaparte 

Joseph              Napoleon  I              Louis  Caroline                Jerome 

king  of  Spain                    1             king  of  Holland  m.  Murat,  king  of  Westphalia 

I                          I              king  of  Naples  I 

Napoleon  II         Napoleon  III  I 

king  of  Rome                 \  Napoleon  Joseph 

<L  1832          Eugene  Louis  (Plon  Plon) 

(killed  in  Zululand,  I 

1879)  ,,.l 

Victor 

2  Extracts  from  this  work  are  printed  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  84. 
II 


The  caricaturist  rep- 
resents Louis  Napoleon 
fallen  upon  evil  times. 
But  as  lie  sits  in  his  Lon- 
don lodgings  despondent 
over  his  past  failures  to 
make  himself  master  of 
France,  his  pet  eagle 
alights  upon  the  Inist  of 
his  famous  itncle.  Napo- 
leon I,  and  prophesies 
a   great  future  for   his 


Fig.  loi.   English  Caricature  of  Louis  Napoleon  (1848; 


386 


Revolution  of  1848  in  France  387 

he  represented  Napoleon  as  the  servant  of  the  principles  of  the   Louis  Napo- 
Revolution,  his  empire  as  the  guardian  of  the  rights  of  the  peo-  l^^Zde^ 
ple,  and  his  fondest  desire,  the  progress  of  democracy.    In  short,   ^'"'^  ^'^^^^ 
he  created  a  fictitious  Napoleon  who  hoped  and  labored  only 
for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  who  was  overthrown  by  tyrants. 

In  1840  it  seemed  to  Louis  Napoleon  that  the  time  was  ripe 
for  another  attempt  to  win  the  coveted  crown.  He  landed  with 
a  few  companions  at  Boulogne,  bringing  with  him  a  tame  eagle 
as  an  emblem  of  the  empire.  This  second  enterprise,  like  the 
first,  proved  a  fiasco,  and  the  unhappy  leader  was  shut  up  in  a 
fortress,  from  which,  in  1846,  he  escaped  to  England  to  await  the 
good  fortune  to  which  he  still  firmly  believed  himself  destined. 

The  insurrection  in  1848  offered  just  the  opportunity  he  de-   Louis  Napo- 
sired,  and  four  days  after  the  proclamation  of  the  republic  he  ^^  France  in 
announced  his  presence  in  Paris  to  the  provisional  government,    ^^4^ 
pledged  himself  to  support  it,   and  declared  that  he  had  no 
other  ambition  than  that  of  serving  his  country.    Shortly  after- 
ward he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  National  Assembly  and 
soon  found  favor  with  the  populace. 

He  had  for  years  professed  himself  a  democrat  and  pro-   He  concili- 
claimed  his  belief  in  the  sovereignty  of  the  people.-^    He  had   of  all  classes 
written  several  essays   in  which  he  had  expressed  sympathy  ^"fgj^enTof'^ 
with  the  working^  classes,  and  he  was  known  to  have  interested   the  French 

rr         1  1  •  ir    Republic 

himself  in  the  projects  of  Louis  Blanc.  He  now  offered  himself 
as  a  candidate  for  the  presidency  and  issued  a  campaign  mani- 
festo, as  adroitly  worded  as  many  of  his  famous  uncle's  procla- 
mations, in  which  he  promised  the  working  classes  special  laws 
for  their  benefit;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he  distinctly  repudi- 
ated all  socialistic  schemes  and  reassured  the  middle  classes  by 
guaranteeing  order  and  the  security  of  property.  This  time  his 
plans  worked  admirably,  for  he  was  elected  president  by  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  five  and  a  half  million  votes  to  less  than 
one  million  and  a  half  cast  for  the  two  other  candidates  combined. 

1  An  interesting  characterization  of  Louis  Napoleon  by  one  who  knew  him  is 
given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  92. 


l88 


Oiitlmes  of  E7i7'opeaii  History 


How  Louis 
Napoleon  be- 
gan to  work 
toward  rees- 
tablishing the 
empire 


Ccnip  cfetat 
of  December 


The  presi- 
dent is  given 
dictatorial 
power  by  a 
plebiscitum 


Section  6i.    Louis  Napoleon  and  the  Second 
French  Empire 

It  soon  became  dear  that  the  man  whom  the  French  had 
put  at  the  head  of  their  second  republic  was  bent  on  making 
himself  emperor. 

He  speedily  began  to  work  for  a  revision  of  the  constitution 
that  would  extend  his  term  of  office  from  four  to  ten  years. 
He  selected  his  ministers  from  among  his  personal  friends, 
courted  the  favor  of  the  army  and  the  government  officials, 
and  by  journeys  through  the  country  sought  to  arouse  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  people  for  the  restoration  of  the  empire. 

As  the  Assembly  refused  to  cooperate  in  his  plans  he  finally 
determined  to  risk  a  coup  diktat,  which  he  had  been  meditating 
for  some  time.  After  a  social  function  held  in  his  palace  on  the 
evening  of  December  i,  185 1,  he  gathered  about  him  a  few 
of  his  most  trusted  advisers  and  confided  his  designs  to  them. 
When  the  morning  of  December  2  —  the  anniversary  of  the 
glorious  victory  of  Austerlitz  —  broke,  the  w^alls  of  Paris  were 
placarded  with  copies  of  a  decree  issued  by  the  president,  dis- 
solving the  Assembly,  reestablishing  universal  suffrage,  and 
ordering  a  new  election.-^ 

Finally,  he  submitted  to  the  people  of  France  the  following 
proposition :  "  The  French  people  desire  the  maintenance  of 
the  authority  of  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  and  delegate  to  him 
the  necessary  powers  in  order  to  make  a  constitution  on  the 
basis  announced  in  his  proclamation  of  December  2."  Every 
Frenchman  twenty-one  years  of  age  was  permitted  to  vote 
"  yes "  or  "  no  "  on  this  proposition,  and  the  result  was  offi- 
cially estimated  at  7,740,000  for  the  measure  and  646,000 
against  it.  The  figures  were  doubtless  quite  inaccurate,  but 
the  coup  d'etat  was  approved  by  the  people,  and  what  may  be 
called  the  constitutional  absolutism  of  the  first  Napoleon  was 
again  introduced  into  France. 

1  For  Louis  Napoleon's  appeal  to  the  French,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  88. 


Revolution  0/1848  in  France  389 

Save  for  a  little  bloodshed  in  Paris  on  December  4,  this   Peaceful 
revolution  was  accomplished  very  quietly.     About  a  hundred   theTevofu- 
thousand  opponents  of  Napoleon  throughout  aie  country,  in-  tion  of  De-^ 
eluding  the  leaders  of  the  opposition  in  the  Assembly,  were 
arrested,  and  nearly  ten  thousand  were  exiled  from  France,  but 
the  people  at  large  accepted  the  situation  without  protest.    The 
workingmen  generally  rejoiced  in  the  overthrow  of  the  politicians 
who  had  waged  war  on  them  in  the  bloody  June  days  of  1848. 

The  president  was  now  master  of  France.    He  appointed   Reestablish- 
officers,  proposed  laws,  declared  war,  made  peace,  and  in  fact  ^pire,  No- 
himself  constituted  the  real  power  in  the  government.    Though  member,  1852 
already  an  emperor  in  reality,  he  was  not  satisfied  until  he  se- 
cured the  title,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  country  was  ready 
for  the  fulfillment  of  his  hopes,  for  wherever  he  went  he  was 
greeted  with  cries  of  "  Long  live  the  Emperor."    Part  of  this 
public    sentiment  was    doubtless    inspired    by   the    president's 
officials,  but  the  name  of  Napoleon  awakened  glorious  mem- 
ories, and  there  was  a  genuine  desire  throughout  France  to  see 
the  empire  reestablished. 

Toward  the  close  of  1852  Louis  Napoleon,  in  a  speech  at 
Bordeaux,^  at  last  openly  announced  his  belief  that  France  was 
ready  for  the  abolition  of  the  second  republic.  Inasmuch  as  the 
members  of  the  senate  were  chosen  by  Louis  Napoleon  himself 
they  readily  agreed  to  pass  a  decree  making  him  Napoleon  III, 
emperor  of  the  French.  This  decree  was  submitted  to  popular 
vote  (November,  1852)  and  ratified  by  an  overwhelming  major- 
ity. The  dream  of  Louis  Napoleon's  life  was  at  last  realized  — 
the  Napoleonic  dynasty  was  restored. 

For  over  ten  years  his  government  was  a  thinly  veiled  des-   Despotic 
potism.    Though  the  imperial  constitution  confirmed  the  great   Napoleon 
principles  of  the  Revolution,  a  decree  abolishing  the  liberty  of  J^^gn^t  ^°^'^"^' 
the  press  was  immediately  issued.    No  periodical  or  newspaper 
treating  of  political  or  social  economy  could  be  published  with- 
out previous    authorization   on    the   part  of   the   government. 

1  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  91. 


390  Outlines  of  European  History 

Moreover  the  government  officers  could  suppress  journals  at 
will.  Napoleon  III  had  promised  liberty  of  instruction,  but  he 
compelled  the  teachers  in  the  university  to  take  an  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  himself.  Instruction  in  history  and  philosophy  was 
discouraged,  and  the  university  professors  were  directed  to 
shave  their  moustaches  "  in  order  to  remove  from  their  appear- 
ance, as  well  as  from  their  manners,  the  last  vestiges  of  anarchy." 


Fig.  1 02.    Napoleon  III 

Prosperity  of  Notwithstanding  this  autocratic  re'gime,  the  country  was  pros- 
the  second  perous  and  the  people  fairly  contented.  If  the  emperor  was  a 
empire,  1852-  (jgspot,  he  endeavored  —  and  with  no  little  success  —  to  be  an 
enlightened  one.  Benevolent  institutions  increased  in  num.ber. 
Railway  construction  was  rapidly  pushed  forward,  and  great 
trunk  lines  which  had  been  begun  under  Louis  Philippe  were 
completed.  The  city  of  Paris  was  improved  and  beautified ; 
the  narrow  streets  were  widened  and  broad  avenues  laid  out. 
The  great  exposition  of  1855  testified  to  the  industrial  and 
scientific  advance  of  France ;  and  if  litde  of  all  this  progress  is 


Revolution  0/1848  in  France  391 

to  be  attributed  to  the  emperor's  initiative,  it  nevertheless  re- 
mains a  fact  that  it  was  accomplished  under  his  rule.  Moreover, 
in  1870,  he  yielded  to  the  imperative  demand  of  the  liberals 
for  a  reform  of  the  constitution,  and  established  the  responsi- 
bility of  his  ministers  to  parliament.  If  it  had  not  been  for  a 
series  of  foreign  events  which  weakened  his  reputation  at  home. 
Napoleon  III  might  have  remained  securely  on  his  throne  until 
his  death. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  59.  Give  a  sketch  of  the  two  parties  which  opposed  the 
"  July  monarchy,"  Discuss  the  work  of  Babceuf  and  Blanc.  Contrast 
the  political  views  of  Thiers  and  Guizot. 

Section  60.  Give  an  account  of  the  February  revolution  in  Paris. 
Describe  the  part  taken  in  the  provisional  government  by  the  labor 
party.  What  were  the  ''June  days  of  1848".'*  Describe  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Second  French  Republic.  Sketch  the  life  of  Louis 
Napoleon  to  the  year  1848. 

Section  61.  What  means  did  Louis  Napoleon  take  to  reestablish 
the  empire?  Characterize  the  government  of  Napoleon  III.  What 
did  the  empire  do  for  France.^ 


CHAPTER  XVI 


The  issues 
of  the  Revo- 
lution of  1848 
broader  than 
those  of  the 
First  French 
Revolution 


REVOLUTION  OF  1848  -  AUSTRIA,  GERMANY,  ITALY 

Section  62.    The  Fall  of  Metternich 

When  Metternich  heard  of  the  February  revolution  in  France 
all  his  old  fears  were  revived.  ''  Europe  finds  herself  to-day," 
he  declared,  "in  the  presence  of  a  second  1793."  Great 
changes  had,  however,  taken  place  during  the  fifty-five  years 
which  had  elapsed  since  France  first  offered  to  aid  other 
nations  to  free  themselves  from  their  ''  tyrants  "  and  throw  off 
the  trammels  of  feudalism.  In  1848  the  principles  proclaimed 
in  the  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man  were  accepted  by  the 
liberal  parties  which  had  come  into  existence  in  every  state  of 
Europe,  and  which  were  actively  engaged  in  promoting  the 
cause  of  popular  government,  a  free  press,  equality  of  all  be- 
fore the  law,  and  the  abolition  of  the  vestiges  of  the  feudal 
system.  Moreover  the  national  spirit  which  had  awakened 
during  the  Napoleonic  Period  was  at  work,  and  served  more 
than  anything  else  to  excite  opposition  to  the  existing  order. 
Lastly,  the  Industrial  Revolution  was  beginning  to  quicken  the 
thought  and  arouse  the  aspirations  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
population.  Those  who  lived  by  the  labor  of  their  hands  and 
were  employed  in  the  new  industries  which  were  rapidly  devel- 
oping, now  had  their  spokesmen,  especially  in  France  and  Eng- 
land, and  claimed  the  right  to  vote  and  to  mold  the  laws  to 
meet  their  particular  interests.  So  in  1848  the  rights  of  nations 
and  of  the  laborer  were  added  to  the  rights  of  man,  which  had 
constituted  the  main  issue  in  1793. 

In  nearly  every  European  country  the  liberals  were  encour- 
aged by  the  successful  February  revolution  in  Paris  to  undertake 

392 


Revolution  0/1848  —  Austria,  Germany,  Italy     393 

to  win,  by  violence  if  necessary,  the  reforms  which  they  had  The  agitation 
so  long  been  advocating.  In  England  a  body  of  workingmen,  g^al  thrmigh- 
known  as  "  Chartists,"  made  a  desperate  though  futile  effort  5?^  western 

'  ^  °  Europe 

to  wring  from  Parliament  the  right  to  vote.^  The  Swiss,  who 
had  just  passed  through  a  civil  conflict,  swept  away  the  consti- 
tution which  had  been  adopted  in  18 14,  and  drew  up  a  new 
one.^  But  the  chief  agitations  of  1848,  outside  of  France,  were 
directed  against  the  governments  of  Germany,  where  Metternich 
had  for  forty  years  been  doing  his  best  to  prevent  any  hint 
of  change. 

But  before  proceeding  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  more   Extraordi- 
carefully  than  we  have  hitherto  done  the  singular  composition  "f  p'eopier^ 
of  the  realms  of  the  House  of  Hapsburg.    The  regions  west  of  "j.'ian  ^uie^ 
Vienna,  extending  to  Switzerland  and  Bavaria,  were  inhabited 
chiefly  by  Germans.    To  the  south,  in  the  provinces  of  Carniola, 
Styria,  Carinthia,  and  Istria,  there  were  many  Slavs ;   and  to 
the  north,  in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  were  the  Czechs,  inter- 
spersed   among    twice    their    number   of    Germans.     On    the 
borders  of  Russia  dwelt  the  Poles,  whose  territories  the  em- 
peror had  received   at  the  partition  of  their  kingdom.    The 

1  See  below,  p.  497. 

2  The  settlement  of  1815  in  Switzerland,  like  that  in  Germany,  Italy,  and 
other  European  countries,  met  with  opposition  from  the  liberals.  It  had  left  the 
internal  government  of  each  canton  in  the  hands  of  a  small  minority  of  the 
wealthy  classes,  and  had  modeled  the  diet  on  that  of  Germany,  making  it  merely 
a  congress  of  ambassadors  with  slight  powers.  Agitation  for  a  revision  of  this 
system  was  begun  immediately  after  its  establishment,  but  it  was  opposed  es- 
pecially by  the  Catholics,  who  were  in  a  slight  minority  and  feared  that  a  stronger 
central  government  would  be  used  by  the  Protestants  to  restrict  their  rights.  In 
1841  the  government  of  Aargau  precipitated  a  civil  conflict  by  suppressing  the 
monasteries  within  its  jurisdiction.  Although  the  Swiss  constitution  guaranteed 
the  monasteries  in  their  rights,  the  federal  government  refused  to  interfere  with 
the  domestic  concerns  of  Aargau.  Thereupon  the  Catholic  cantons,  under  the 
leadership  of  Lucerne,  Uri,  and  Zug,  formed  a  Catholic  alliance,  or  Sotiderbimd, 
which  defied  the  entire  democratic  and  nationalist  party.  After  some  skirmishes 
which  scarcely  deserve  the  name  of  war,  this  party  of  disunion  was  suppressed, 
and  in  1848  a  new  federal  constitution  was  drawn  up.  Instead  of  a  diet  of  ambas- 
sadors it  provided  for  a  senate  representing  the  states,  and  for  deputies  elected 
by  the  people  at  large  on  the  plan  of  the  government  of  the  United  States. 
This  constitution  was  revised  in  1874,  when  still  larger  powers  were  given  to 
the  federal  government. 


394 


Revohition  0/1848  —  Austria,  Germany ,  Italy     395 

inhabitants  of  the  kingdom  of  Hungary  included,  besides  the 
Magyars,  or  Hungarians  proper,  who  dwelt  in  the  vast  plains 
of  the  Danube  valley,  Roumanians  in  the  south  and  east,  and 
the  independence-loving  Croats  (Croatians)  in  the  south  and 
west.  Beyond  the  Alps  was  the  Lombardo-Venetian  kingdom 
inhabited  by  Italians.  Among  this  mass  of  people  of  different 
tongues  and  traditions,  the  most  important  were  the  Germans 
of  Austria,  the  Czechs  of  Bohemia,  the  Magyars  of  Hungary, 
and  the  Italians  in  Lombardy  and  Venetia. 

In  the  provinces  of  the  Austrian  Empire,  Ferdinand  I  ruled  The  govern- 
personally  through  ministers  whom  he  appointed  and  dismissed.  Austria 
Laws  were  made,  taxes  levied,  and  revenues  spent  without  con- 
sulting the  people.  Newspapers,  books,  theaters,  and  teachers 
were  watched  closely  by  the  police  to  prevent  the  introduction 
of  any  new  ideas.  Travel  abroad  was  restricted  by  a  decree 
which  required  every  citizen  leaving  the  realm  to  have  a  govern- 
ment passport.  Scholars  were  therefore  largely  cut  off  from 
the  thought  of  western  Europe,  and  Metternich  boasted  that 
the  scientific  spirit  had  been  kept  out  of  even  the  universi- 
ties. The  nobles  still  enjoyed  their  ancient  authority  over  their 
serfs,  including  the  right  to  prevent  their  leaving  the  villages 
without  permission,  and  to  exact  from  them  the  old  feudal 
services.  The  clergy  were  as  powerful  as  they  had  been  be- 
fore the  French  Revolution,  and  non-Catholics  were  excluded 
entirely  from  government  offices. 

In  the  kingdom  of  Hungary  the  government  was  under  the   Hungary 
control  of  the  proud  and  tyrannical  Magyar  nobles,  who  still  by  the 
enjoyed  their  old  feudal  privileges.    There  was  a  diet,  or  parlia-  ^^^f^^^^ 
ment,  composed  of  an  upper  house  of  nobles,  and  a  lower  house 
of  representatives  chosen  by  the  smaller  landlords.    Although 
the  Magyars,  or  Hungarians  proper,^  constituted  less  than  one 

1  The  Hungarians  —  who  belong  to  a  very  different  race  from  the  Slavic 
peoples,  more  akin  to  the  Mongolian  or  Tartar,  and  speak  the  Magyar  tongue  — 
invaded  the  Danube  valley  in  the  year  895,  and  wedged  themselves  in  between 
the  Slavic  Russians  and  Poles  on  the  north  and  the  "  South  Slavs  "  composed 
of  Croats,  Slovaks,  Montenegrins,  and  Serbians, 


396 


Outlines  of  Eiiropeaii  History 


half  of  the  population,  they  held  their  neighbors,  the  Croats, 
Roumanians,  and  Slovaks,  in  contempt,  and  denied  them  all 
national  rights.  There  were,  however,  enlightened  liberals  in 
Hungary,  whose  program  included  the  admission  of  the  public  to 
the  discussions  in  the  diet ;  a  parliamentary  journal  in  which  the 
debates  should  be  published  in  full ;  regular  yearly  meetings  of 
the  diet ;  equal  taxation  of  all  classes  ;  the  abolition  of  the  forced 
labor  required  of  the  peasant,  and  all  other  vestiges  of  serfdom. 

The  government  did  all  it  could  to  suppress  these  tenden- 
cies. The  publication  of  reform  speeches  was  forbidden,  and  a 
prominent  Hungarian  leader,  Kossuth,  was  imprisoned  for  cir- 
culating them  in  manuscript.  Undaunted  by  this  punishment, 
however,  Kossuth,  on  his  release,  established  a  newspaper  at 
Pesth  and  began  to  advocate  radical  reforms  in  the  Hungarian 
government  itself,  as  well  as  greater  freedom  from  Austrian 
interference.  With  fiery  zeal  he  wrote  and  spoke  on  the  aboli- 
tion of  feudal  privileges,  the  introduction  of  trial  by  jury,  re- 
vision of  the  barbarous  criminal  law,  and  similar  questions 
which  had  long  agitated  the  rest  of  Europe. 

The  Italians  in  Lombardo-Venetia  were  no  less  dissatisfied 
than  the  Hungarians.  The  Austrian  government  there  was  in 
the  hands  of  police  officials  and  judges  who  arrested  and  im- 
prisoned freely  all  advocates  of  Italian  rights.  Tariffs  were  so 
arranged  as  to  enrich  the  emperor's  treasury  and  check  Italian 
industries  in  favor  of  those  of  Austria.  The  forts  were  garri- 
soned with  Austrian  troops  which  the  government  employed  to 
suppress  any  violent  demonstrations. 

The  ground  w^as  therefore  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  seeds 
of  insurrection  when  the  overthrow  of  Louis  Philippe  encour- 
aged the  opponents  of  Metternich  in  Germany,  Austria,  Hun- 
gary, and  Italy  to  hope  that  they  could  destroy  his  system  at 
once  and  forever.  On  March  13,  1848,  a  number  of  students 
proceeded  to  the  assembly  hall  in  Vienna  where  the  local 
diet  was  in  session,  and,  supported  by  the  crowd  that  quickly 
gathered,  invaded  the  building.    Outside,  the  mob  continued  to 


Revolution  0/1848  —  A^Lstria,  Germany,  Italy     397 

increase,  barricades  were  built,  street  fighting  began,  and  shouts   Fall  of 
of  "  Down  with  Metternich ! "  penetrated  the  imperial  palace. 
The  aged  minister,  convinced  that  it  was  no  longer  possible  to 
check  the  rising  torrent  of  revolution,  tendered  his  resignation. 


Fig.  103.   Louis  Kossuth 

Kossuth  was  a  wonderful  orator,  speaking  with  passionate,  fiery  elo- 
quence. He  was  largely  responsible  for  the  Magyars'  revolt  in  1S48, 
and  became  their  virtual  dictator  during  it.  After  it  was  crushed  he 
fled  to  Turkey,  then  visited  France,  England,  and  the  United  States. 
He  had  learned  in  prison  the  tongue  of  Shakespeare  and  the  King 
James  Bible,  and  surprised  everyone  by  his  eloquent  command  of 
English.  His  great  popularity  was  later  clouded  by  the  protests  of  other 
refugees  that  he  was  claiming  altogether  too  much  for  himself.  From 
1859  to  his  death,  in  1894,  he  lived  in  Italy,  refusing  to  return  home 
while  a  Hapsburg  was  ruling  over  Hungary 

He  fled  from  Austria  and.  found  refuge  in  England,  where  he 
was  heartily  welcomed  by  his  old  friend,  the  duke  of  \\' ellington, 
who  was  himself  occupied  with  a  threatened  uprising  in  London. 
After  the  flight  of  Metternich  a  new  ministry  was  formed,  which 
began  to  draft  a  constitution. 


Metternich 


398 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Two  days  after  the  uprising  in  Vienna  the  Hungarian  diet 
at  Pressburg,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  dispatched  a  delegation  to 
the  emperor,  demanding  a  responsible  ministry,  freedom  of  the 
press,  trial  by  jury,  and  a  national  educational  system.  Then 
the  Hungarian  diet,  under  the  influence  of  the  zealous  patriot, 
Kossuth,  swept  away  the  old  offices  through  which  the  emperor 
had  ruled  in  Hungary,  and  established  its  own  ministries  of 
finance,  w^ar,  and  foreign  affairs  —  a  first  step  toward  inde- 
pendence. It  also  emancipated  the  peasants  without  provid- 
ing compensation  to  the  landlords,  leaving  that  as  a  ''  debt  of 
honor"  to  be  paid  in  the  future.  The  king,  owing  to  the  in- 
surrection in  Vienna,  was  in  no  position  to  reject  even  these 
revolutionary  measures. 

His  troubles  were,  moreover,  not  yet  at  an  end,  for  on 
March  15  the  patriotic  Czechs  in  the  city  of  Prague  held  a 
mass  meeting  at  which  a  petition  for  civil  liberty  and  the  abo- 
lition of  serfdom  was  drawn  up.  Solemn  mass  was  then  said, 
and  a  delegation  bearing  the  petition  left  by  special  train  for 
Vienna  amid  the  cheers  of  the  crowd  and  the  waving  of  Czech 
flags.  The  emperor  addressed  the  Bohemian  delegates,  to  their 
great  joy,  in  their  own  language,  and  approved  most  of  their 
proposals.  It  will  be  observed  that  so  far  neither  in  Hungary 
nor  in  Bohemia  had  the  patriots  shown  any  desire  to  throw  off 
their  allegiance  to  their  Austrian  ruler. 

In  Italy,  however,  the  Austrian  rule  was  thoroughly  hated. 
Immediately  on  hearing  the  news  of  Metternich's  fall  the 
Milanese  expelled  the  imperial  troops  from  their  city,  and  the 
Austrians  were  soon  forced  to  evacuate  a  great  part  of  Lombardy. 
The  Venetians  followed  the  lead  of  Milan  and  set  up  once  more 
their  ancient  republic,  which  Napoleon  had  suppressed.  The 
Milanese,  anticipating  a  struggle,  appealed  to  Charles  Albert, 
king  of  Sardinia,  for  aid.  By  the  middle  of  March  a  great  part 
of  Italy  was  in  revolt,  and  constitutions  had  been  granted  by  the 
rulers  in  Naples,  Rome,  Tuscany,  and  Piedmont.  The  king  of 
Sardinia  was  forced  by  public  opinion  to  assume  the  leadership 


Revolution  0/1848  —  Austria,  Germany,  Italy     399 

in  the  attempt  to  expel  Austria  from  Italy  and  ultimately 
perhaps  to  found  some  sort  of  an  Italian  union  which  would 
satisfy  the  national  aspirations  of  the  Italian  people.  Pope 
Pius  IX,  who  was  just  beginning  his  long  and  celebrated  pon- 
tificate of  more  than  thirty  years,  and  even  the  Bourbon  king 
of  Naples,  were  induced  to  consent  to  the  arming  of  troops  in 
the  cause  of  Italian  freedom,  and  thus  Italy  began  her  first 
war  for  independence. 

The  crisis  in  Vienna  and  the  war  in  Italy  now  made  it  im-  The  Prus- 
possible  for  Austria  to  continue  to  exercise  the  control  over  the  a  constitution 
German  states  which  she  had  enjoyed  for  more  than  thirty 
years.  Consequently  there  were  almost  simultaneous  risings  in 
Baden,  Wiirtemberg,  Bavaria,  and  Saxony.  The  news  of  the 
February  revolution  in  Paris  caused  great  excitement  also  in 
Berlin,  where  deputations  were  sent  to  the  king,  asking  him  to 
grant  Prussia  a  constitution.  On  March  18  a  crowd  gathered  be- 
fore the  royal  palace  and  the  police  tried  to  disperse  it ;  fighting 
ensued,  and  barricades  were  constructed  after  the  Paris  fashion 
in  the  districts  in  which  the  w^orking  people  lived.  Frederick 
William  IV,  hoping  to  avoid  more  disorder  and  bloodshed,  prom- 
ised to  summon  an  assembly  to  draft  the  desired  constitution. 

Now  that  Mettemich  was  overthrown  there  was  some  hope  A  national 
of  reorganizing  the  weak  German  confederation  and  forming  a  convoked  at 
new  and  firm  union  which  would  at  last  make  a  real  nation  Jlf,'J^f°'^  ^° 

UlaW   up  d. 

of  the  Germans.    At  the  instio^ation  of  the  liberals  the  diet  of  new  constitu- 

^  tion  for 

the  confederation  convoked  a  national  assembly  made  up  of   Germany, 
representatives  chosen  by  popular  vote  in  all  the  states.    This        ^' 
met  at  Frankfort,  May  18,   1848,  amid  high  hopes,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  take  up  the  difficult  question  of  drafting  a  constitu- 
tion which  should  please  at  once  the  German  princes  and  their 
liberal-minded  subjects.^ 

1  The  events  of  the  year  1848  moved  so  rapidly  that  one  is  likely  to  be  at  first 
confused  by  them.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  revolutionary  movements 
in  the  various  countries  of  Germany,  such  as  Austria  and  Prussia,  were  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  attempt  to  reform  the  whole  confederation,  which  has  just  been 
referred  to. 


400 


Outlines  of  Europe aii  History 


Bright  out- 
look for 
reform  in 
March,  1848 


How  the 
radicals  aided 
the  conserva- 
tives to  re- 
gain their 
power 


Divergent 
views  of  the 
Czechs  and 
Germans  in 
Bohemia 


Section  63.    Failure  of  the  Revolution  in 
Bohemia  and  Hungary 

By  the  end  of  March,  1848,  the  prospects  of  reform  seemed 
bright  indeed.  Hungary  and  Bohemia  had  been  granted  the 
rights  which  they  had  so  long  desired ;  a  committee  in  Vienna 
was  busy  drawing  up  a  constitution  for  the  Austrian  provinces ; 
Lombardy  and  Venetia  had  declared  their  independence ;  four 
other  Italian  states  had  obtained  their  longed-for  constitutions ; 
a  Prussian  convention  to  reform  the  government  had  been 
promised ;  and,  lastly,  a  great  national  assembly  was  about 
to  be  convened  at  Frankfort  to  prepare  a  constitution  for  a 
united  Germany. 

The  reformers  who  had  gained  these  seeming  victories  had, 
however,  only  just  reached  the  most  difficult  part  of  their  task. 
For,  as  in  France,  so  also  in  the  other  countries,  the  revolutionists 
were  divided  among  themselves,  and  this  division  enabled  the 
reactionary  rulers  and  their  supporters  to  recover  from  the 
extraordinary  humiliations  which  they  had  suffered  during 
the  various  uprisings  in  March. 

The  first  notable  victory  for  the  reaction  was  in  Bohemia, 
where  race  rivalry  proved  favorable  to  the  reestablishment  of 
the  emperor's  former  influence.  The  Czechs  hated  the  Ger- 
mans, while  the  Germans,  on  their  part,  feared  that  they  would 
be  oppressed  if  the  Czechs  were  given  a  free  hand.  They  there- 
fore opposed  the  plan  of  making  Bohemia  practically  independent 
of  the  government  at  Vienna,  for  it  was  to  German  Vienna  that 
they  were  accu§tomed  to  look  for  protection  against  the  enter- 
prises of  their  Czechish  fellow  countrymen.  The  German  ele- 
ment in  Bohemia  also  wanted  to  send  delegates  to  the  Frankfort 
convention  and  were  very  anxious  that  Bohemia  should  not  be 
excluded  from  the  reorganized  German  confederation. 

The  Czechs,  on  the  other  hand,  determined  to  offset  the 
movement  toward  German  consolidation  by  a  Pan-Slavic  con- 
gress, which  should  bring  together  the  various  Slavic  peoples 


Revolutio7i  0/1848  —  Aust7'ia^  Germany,  Italy     401 

comprised  in  the  Austrian  Empire.    To  this  assembly,  which   The  Pan- 
met  at  Prague  early  in  June,   1848,  came  representatives  of  grels^ forced 
the  Czechs,  Moravians,  and  Ruthenians  in  the  north,  and  the  !°  '^f^f'^  °" . 

'  _        \  'its  debates  r 

Serbians  and  Croatians  in  the  south.   Unfortunately  the  several   German 
Slavonic  languages  differ  from  one  another  quite  as  much  as 
English,  Swedish,  Dutch,  and  German,  and  after  trying  French  as 
a  common  tongue,  the  delegates  had  to  fall  back  upon  German, 
which  was  the  only  language  with  which  they  were  all  familiar. 

The  congress  accomplished  nothing  and  was  about  to  dis-  windisch^ 
solve  on  June  12,  when  some  of  the  more  radical  students  and   fn?tothe^^' 
workingmen  began   singing  Bohemian  songs  and  denouncing   Bohemian 
General  Windischgratz,  the  Austrian  commander  of  the  troops  June  18, 1848 
in  Prague,  who  was  especially  hated  on  account  of  his  aristo- 
cratic bearing  and  sentiments.   A  street  fight  broke  out  between 
the  crowd  and  his  soldiers,  which  was  followed  by  an  attack  on 
his  residence.     On  June  17  he  retaliated  by  bombarding  the 
town,  which  caught  fire.    The  next  day  he  entered  the  flaming 
streets  and  announced  that  the  revolution  in  Bohemia  was  at  an 
end.    This  was  Austria's  first  real  victory  over  her  rebellious 
subjects. 

In  Vienna  affairs  were  going  from  bad  to  worse.    Frightened  windisch- 
by  the  growing  disorder,  the  incompetent  emperor  fled  to  Inns-  ^ards  and' 
bruck  (May  18).    A  provisional  government  was  set  up  and  an   Q^fA,^'^""^' 
assembly  called  to  draft  a  new  cohstitution,  but  nothing  was   1848 
accomplished.    Meantime  the  turmoil  increased.    The  emperor's 
government  was  helpless,  and  finally  Windischgratz  announced 
his  intention  of  marching  on  Vienna  and,  with  the  emperor's 
approval,  putting  an  end  to  revolution  there  as  he  had  done  in 
Prague.    The  Viennese  attempted  to  defend  the  city,  but  all  in 
vain.     After  a  cruel  bombardment  Windischgratz  entered  the 
capital  on  October  31,  and  once  within  the  walls,  he  showed 
little  mercy  on  the  people.^ 

A  reactionary  ministry  was  soon  formed,  and  a  new  Metter- 
nich  discovered  in  the  person  of  Schwartzenberg,  who  forced 

1  An  account  by  an  eyewitness  is  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  loi. 
II 


402 


Outlines  of  European  History 


the  weak  Ferdinand  to  abdicate,  December  2,  in  favor  of  his 
youthful  nephew,  Francis  Joseph,  who  still  (19 16)  sits  on  the 
Austrian  throne. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the  fall  of  Metternich  the 
emperor  had  not  been  in  a  position  to  refuse  the  demands  of 


Fig.  104.    Franxis  Joseph   at  his  Accession 

Francis  Joseph  was  born  in  1830,  so  that  he  witnessed  the  revolutions 

of  1848  at  the  age  of  eighteen  and  the  great  war  of  191 4  at  the  age  of 

eighty-four.   Pictures  of  him  as  an  old  man  are  familiar ;  but  this  one  of 

him  at  his  accession  recalls  to  us  his  long  reign 


the  Hungarians,  and  that  they  had  succeeded  in  gaining  prac- 
tical independence  for  their  kingdom.  But  the  spirit  of  na- 
tionalism had  also  been  awakened  in  the  other  races  which  the 
Magyars  had  so  long  dominated.  The  Slavs  in  Hungary, 
southern  Austria,  and  the  neighboring  Turkish  Empire  had 
long  meditated  on  the  possibility  of  a  united  Slavic  kingdom 
in  the  south,  and  when  the  Magyars  attempted  to  force  their 
language  on  the  Croats,  one  of  the  Slav  leaders  hurled  back 


RevohUion  0/1848  —  Austria,  Germa?iy,  Italy     403 

at  them :  "  You  Magyars  are  only  an  island  in  an  ocean  of 
Slavs.  Take  heed  that  the  waves  do  not  rise  and  overwhelm 
you."  Indeed,  the  Croats  and  Serbians  were,  on  the  whole, 
friendly  to  the  Vienna  government,  and  ready  to  fight  the 
Hungarians. 

The  emperor  finally  threw  off  the  mask  and,  in  a  manifesto   Austria,  with 
on  October  3,  declared  the  Hungarian  parliament  dissolved  and  crushes^ the ' 
its  acts  void.    In  December  Windischgratz,  the  conqueror  of   JJ^"jf^^^^" 
Prague  and  Vienna,  crossed  into  Hungary  at  the  head  of  an   August,  1849 
army,  and  on  January  5  entered  Pesth.    The  war  seemed  for  a 
time  at  an  end,  but  the  Hungarians,  inspired  by  Kossuth,  rallied 
in  a  mighty  national  uprising  against  the  Austrians,  and  on 
April  19,  1849,  they  declared  their  complete  and  eternal  separa- 
tion from  the  Vienna  government.    They  might  have  succeeded 
in  maintaining  their  independence  had  not  the  Tsar,  Nicholas  I, 
placed  his  forces  at  the  disposal  of  Francis  Joseph.    Attacked 
by  an  army  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Russians,  who 
marched  in  from  the  east,  the  Hungarians  were  compelled,  by 
the  middle  of  August,  to  give  up  the  contest.  Austria  took  terri- 
ble vengeance  upon  the  rebels.    Thousands  were  shot,  hanged, 
or  imprisoned,  and  many,  including  Kossuth,^  fled  to  England 
or  the  United  States.    The  ancient  kingdom  of  Hungary  seemed 
about  to  be  reduced  to  the  state  of  an  insignificant  Austrian 
province,  but,  as  we  shall  see,^  within  less  than  twenty  years 
she  was  able  to  secure  substantially  the  coveted  independence. 

Section  64.    Austria  regains  her  Power  in  Italy 

Austria  was  no  less  successful  in  reestablishing  her  power  Defeat  of 

in  Italy  than  in  Hungary.    The  Italians  had  been  unable  to  yn^er 

drive  out  the  Austrian  army  which,  under  the  indomitable  gen-  ^fiD^gJ^  of 

eral,    Radetzky,    had    taken    refuge    in    the    neighborhood    of  Sardinia 

July,  1840 

Mantua,  in  the  so-called  Quadrilateral,  where  it  was  protected 

1  Kossuth's  version  of  the   revolution   is   given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II, 
pp.  103  ff.  2  See  below,  p.  439. 


404 


Outlines  of  European  History 


by  four  great  fortresses.^  Charles  Albert  of  Sardinia  found  him^ 
self,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  volunteers,  almost  unsupported 
by  the  other  Italian  states.  The  best  ally  of  Austria  was  the 
absence  of  united  action  upon  the  part  of  •  the  Italians  and  the 
jealousy  and  indifference  which  they  showed  as  soon  as  war  had 
actually  begun.  Pius  IX  decided  that  his  mission  was  one  of 
peace,  and  that  he  could  not  afford  to  join  in  a  war  against 
Austria,  the  stanchest  friend  of  the  Roman  Church.  The  king 
of  Naples  easily  found  a  pretext  for  recalling  the  troops  that 
public  opinion  had  compelled  him  to  send  to  the  aid  of  the  king 
of  Sardinia.  Charles  Albert  was  defeated  at  Custozza,  July  25, 
and  compelled  to  sign  a  truce  with  Austria  and  to  withdraw  his 
forces  from  Lombardy. 

The  Italian  republicans  were  undismayed,  however,  and  now 
attempted  to  carry  out  their  own  program.  Florence  followed 
the  example  of  Venice  and  proclaimed  itself  a  republic.  At 
Rome  the  liberal  and  enlightened  Rossi,  whom  the  Pope  had 
placed  at  the  head  of  affairs,  was  assassinated  in  November 
just  as  he  was  ready  to  promulgate  his  reforms.  Pius  IX  fled 
from  the  city  and  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  the  king 
of  Naples.  A  constitutional  assembly  was  then  convoked  by 
the  revolutionists,  and  in  February,  1849,  under  the  influence  of 
Mazzini,  it  declared  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope  abolished, 
and  proclaimed  the  Roman  Republic. 

While  these  local  insurrections  were  weakening  the  already 
distracted  Italy,  the  truce  between  Piedmont  and  Austria  ex- 
pired, and  in  March,  1849,  Charles  Albert  renewed  the  war 
which  had  been  discontinued  after  the  disaster  at  Custozza. 
The  campaign  lasted  but  five  days  and  closed  with  his  crushing 
defeat  at  Novara  (March  23),  which  put  an  end  to  the  hopes 
of  Italian  liberty  for  the  time  being.  Charles  Albert  abdicated 
in  favor  of  his  son,  Victor  Emmanuel  II,  who  was  destined 
before  many  years  to  exchange  the  title  of  "King  of  Sardinia" 
for  that  of  "  King  of  Italy." 

1  See  the  map  of  Napoleon  I's  campaigns  in  this  country,  p.  257. 


Revolution  0/1848  —  Austria^  Germany,  Italy    405 

After  bringing  tlie  king  of  Sardinia  to  terms,  Austria  pushed  Austria 
southward,  reestablishing  the  old  order  as  she  went.   The  newly   the  former 
established  Italian  republics  were  unable  to  offer  any  effectual   jS^^^exceT 
resistance.   The  former  rulers  were  restored  in  Rome,  Tuscany,   i"  Piedmont 
and  Venice,  and  the  new  constitutions  were  swept  away  from 
one  end  of  the  peninsula  to  the  other,  except  in  Piedmont,  the 


^*^ 


Fig.  105.   Pius  IX 

most  important  part  of  the  king  of  Sardinia's  realms.  There 
Victor  Emmanuel  not  only  maintained  the  representative  gov- 
ernment^ introduced  by  his  father,  but,  by  summoning  to  his 
councils  men  known  throughout  Italy  for  their  liberal  senti- 
ments, he  prepared  to  lead  the  Italian  states  once  more  against 
their  foreign  oppressors. 

1  Extracts  from  the  constitution  are  given  in  the  Readmgs,  Vol.  IlJ  p.  109. 


4o6 


Ontliiies  of  Europe a7i  History 


Section  65.    Outcome  of  the  Revolution  of   1848 
IN  Germany 

In  Germany,  as  elsewhere,  Austria  profited  by  the  dissen- 
sions among  her  opponents.  On  May  18,  1848,  the  national 
assembly,  consisting  of  nearly  six  hundred  representatives  of 
the  German  people,  had  met  at  Frankfort.  It  immediately 
began  the  consideration  of  a  new  constitution  that  should  sat- 
isfy the  popular  longings  for  a  great  free  German  state,  to  be 
governed  by  and  for  the  people.  But  what  were  to  be  the  con- 
fines of  this  new  German  state.''  The  Confederation  of  18 15 
did  not  include  all  the  German  inhabitants  of  Prussia,  and  did 
include  the  heterogeneous  western  possessions  of  Austria  — 
Bohemia  and  Moravia,  for  example,  where  many  of  the  people 
were  Slavs.  There  was  no  hesitation  in  deciding  that  all  the 
Prussian  territories  should  be  admitted  to  the  new  union.  As 
it  appeared  impossible  to  leave  out  Austria  altogether,  the 
assembly  agreed  to  include  those  parts  of  her  territory  which 
had  belonged  to  the  confederation  formed  in  18 15.  This 
decision  rendered  the  task  of  founding  a  real  German  state 
practically  impossible ;  for  the  new  union  was  to  include  two 
great  European  powers  which  might  at  any  moment  become 
rivals,  since  Prussia  would  hardly  consent  to  be  led  forever 
by  Austria.  So  heterogeneous  a  union  could  only  continue 
to  be,  as  it  had  been,  a  loose  confederation  of  practically 
independent  princes. 

The  improbability  that  the  assembly  at  Frankfort  would 
succeed  in  its  undertaking  was  greatly  increased  by  its  unwise 
conduct.  Instead  of  proceeding  immediately  to  frame  a  new 
form  of  government,  it  devoted  several  months  to  formulating 
the  general  rights  of  the  German  citizen.  Consequently  by 
the  time  that  the  constitution  itself  came  up  for  discussion, 
Austria  had  begun  to  regain  her  influence  and  was  ready  to 
lead  the  conservative  forces  once  more.  She  could  rely  upon 
the  support  of  the  rulers  of  the  states  of  southern  Germany, 


Revolution  0/1848  —  Austria,  Genna?iy,  Italy     407 

for  they  were  well  satisfied  with  the  old  confederation  and  the 
degree  of  independence  that  it  gave  them. 

In  spite  of  her  partiality  for  the  old  union,  Austria  could  not  The  assem- 
prevent  the  assembly  from   completing  its   new  constitution,   king  0/  ^ 
This  provided  that  there  should  be  an  hereditary  emperor  at   P^'y^sia 

^  ^  ^  to  become 

the  head  of  the  government,  and  that  exalted  office  was  tendered  emperor  of 
to  the  king  of  Prussia.    Frederick  William  IV  had  been  alienated 
from  the  liberal  cause,  which  he  had  at  first  espoused,  by  the 
insurrection  in  Berlin.    He  was,  moreover,  timid  and  conserva- 
tive at  heart ;    he  hated  revolution  and  doubted  whether  the 
national  assembly  had  any  right  to  confer  the  imperial  title. 
He  also  greatly  respected  Austria,  and  felt  that  a  war  with  her,   Frederick 
which  was  likely  to  ensue  if  he  accepted  the  crown,  would  be   refuses  the 
dans^erous  to  Prussia.     So  he  refused  the  imperial  title  and  ™pe"^l 

"  '^  crown 

announced  his  rejection  of  the  new  constitution  (April,  1849). 
This  decision  rendered  the  year's  work  of  the  national  assem-  The  national 
bly  fruitless,  and  its  members  gradually  dispersed.   Austria  now  dSperse^  an* 
insisted  upon  the  reestablishment  of  the  old  diet  and  Germany   ^^^  °^^  ^^^^ 

^  -'is  restored 

returned  once  more  to  its  old  ways. 

Yet  amid  the  meager  results  of  the  Revolution  of  1848  there   Prussia 
was  one  gain  of  seeming  importance  for  the  future  of  Germany ;   fon"tkutton 
Prussia  emerged  from  the  turmoil  of  the  period  with  a  written   teM^^'^'^Yv^ 
constitution  which  established  a  legislative  assembly  and  admitted   (January, 
a  portion  of  the  people  to  a  slight  share  in  the  government.    As       ^ 
we  have  seen,  the  news  of  the  revolution  in  France  caused  great 
excitement  in   Berlin,  and  the  king,  fearing  a  continuance  of 
violence,  promised  to  convoke  an  assembly  to  formulate  a  con- 
stitution.   This  convention  met  at  Berlin  in  May  of  the  same 
year,   and,   amid   prolonged   debates,   advocated   many  radical 
measures  which  displeased  the  king.    It  proposed  to  abolish 
the  nobility  and  to  strike  from  the  royal  title  the  phrase  ''  King 
by  the  Grace  of  God."    Meanwhile  there  was  disorder  in  the 
quarters  occupied  by  the  working  class,  and  on  June  14  a  mob 
stormed  the  arsenal.    This  situation  frightened  the  king,  and     * 
he  withdrew  to  Potsdam.     He  then  ordered  the  assembly  to 


4o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Prussian 
constitution 
disappoints 
the  liberals 


adjourn  to  Brandenburg,  some  distance  away,  and  on  its  refusal, 
he  dissolved  it  in  spite  of  its  protests.  After  getting  rid  of  the 
popular  assembly,  the  king,  in  1849,  submitted  a  constitution 
of  his  own  to  a  more  tractable  convention  of  carefully  selected 
subjects.  This  document,  which  was  promulgated  in  January, 
1850,  remains,  with  some  minor  changes,  the  constitution  of 
Prussia  to-day. 

It  proved,  however,  a  great  disappointment  to  the  liberals, 
who  had  hoped  for  a  really  democratic  form  of  government. 
It  provides  for  a  ministry,  but  makes  it  responsible  to  the  king 
rather  than  to  the  diet.  The  latter  comprises  a  house  of  lords 
—  consisting  of  princes,  nobles,  life  peers  selected  by  the  king, 
representatives  of  the  universities,  and  burgomasters  of  the 
large  towns  —  and  a  house  of  deputies. 

All  men  over  twenty-five  years  of  age  may  vote  for  the  elec- 
tors, who  in  turn  select  the  deputies  to  the  lower  house,  but  the 
constitution  carefully  arranges  to  give  the  rich  a  predominating 
influence  in  the  election.  Those  who  stand  first  on  the  tax  list, 
and  pay  together  one  third  of  the  total  taxes,  are  permitted  to 
choose  one  third  of  the  electors.  The  second  third  on  the  list 
also  choose  a  third  of  the  electors,  and,  finally,  the  great  mass 
of  the  poorer  people,  whose  small  contributions  to  the  treasury 
make  up  the  remaining  third  of  the  revenue,  are  entitled  to  cast 
their  votes  for  the  remaining  third  of  the  electors  assigned  to  the 
district.  It  may  happen  that  a  single  wealthy  man,  if  he  pays 
a  third  of  the  taxes,  has  as  much  influence  in  electing  represent- 
atives from  his  district  as  all  the  working  people  combined.^ 


QUESTIONS 

Section  62.  Show  the  effect  of  the  February  revolution  upon 
the  English  and  the  Swiss.  Over  what  lands  and  peoples  did  the 
House  of  Hapsburg  rule  in  1848?  Describe  the  government  of 
Austria;  of  Hungary.  Who  was  Kossuth?  What  were  the  objec- 
tions of  the  Italians  in  Lombardo-Venetia  to  Austrian  rule.?  Describe 


1  F"or  further  discussion  of  the  Prussian  constitution,  see  below,  pp.  445  f. 


Revohition  0/1848  —  Austria ^  Germany,  Italy     409 

the  March  revolution  in  Vienna.  Give  an  account  of  the  reform 
legislation  of  the  Hungarian  diet.  What  were  the  demands  of  the 
Bohemians  in  March,  1 848 1  Trace  the  course  of  the  revolution  in 
Italy.  What  were  the  demands  of  the  Prussians  at  this  period? 
How  were  they  met? 

Section  63.  With  what  two  groups  of  people  were  the  reformers 
of  1 848  forced  to  deal  ?  Describe  the  manner  in  which  the  different 
revolutionary  movements  were  put  down. 

Section  64.  Account  for  the  defeat  of  the  Italians  at  Custozza, 
July,  1 848,  by  the  Austrian  forces.  Describe  the  result  of  the  defeat 
by  Austria  of  the  king  of  Sardinia  at  Novara. 

Section  65.  What  problem  faced  the  members  of  the  national 
assembly  which  met  at  Frankfort,  May,  1 848  ?  Account  for  the  re- 
fusal of  Frederick  William  IV  to  accept  the  imperial  tide  offered  to 
him  by  the  national  assembly.  What  was  the  effect  of  his  act  upon 
the  work  of  this  assembly?  What  permanent  gain  was  made  by 
Prussia  as  a  result  of  the  Revolution  of  1 848  ?  Describe  the  Prus- 
sian constitution. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


THE  UNIFICATION  OF  ITALY 


Section  66.    Cavour  and  Italian  Unity 


1850  The  efforts  of  the  Italian  liberals  to  expel  Austria  from  the 
peninsula  and  establish  constitutional  governments  in  the  vari- 
ous Italian  states  had  failed,  and  after  the  battle  of  Novara 
it  seemed  as  if  the  former  political  conditions  were  to  be  re- 
stored. The  king  of  Naples  broke  all  the  promises  which  he 
had  made  to  his  subjects,  revoked  the  constitution  which  he 
had  granted,  and  imprisoned,  exiled,  or  in  some  cases  executed 
the  revolutionists.  The  Pope,  with  the  assistance  of  France, 
Austria,  Naples,  and  Spain,  was  able  to  destroy  the  Roman 
Republic  which  had  been  set  up  and  to  place  the  government 
again  in  the  hands  of  the  clergy.  In  northern  Italy  Austria 
was  once  more  in  control,  and  she  found  faithful  adherents 
in  the  rulers  of  Modena,  Parma,  and  Tuscany,  who  looked  to 
her  for  continued  support.  The  leading  spirits  of  the  revolution 
who  had  escaped  prison  or  death  fled  to  foreign  countries  to 
await  a  more  auspicious  opportunity  to  secure  their  ends,  for 
they  did  not  surrender  the  hope  that  Austria  would  sometime 
be  driven  from  their  country,  and  all  the  Italian  states  brought 
together  in  a  federation  or  perhaps  united  into  a  single  mon- 
archy or  republic. 

However,  those  who,  since  the  fall  of  Napoleon  I,  had  been 
interested  in  promoting  Italian  independence  and  liberty  dif- 
fered among  themselves  as  to  the  best  way  in  which  to  make 
Italy  a  nation.  There  were  the  republicans,  who  became  more 
and  more  disgusted  with  monarchy  and  believed  .that  nothing 
could  be  accomplished  until  the  various  rulers  should  give  way 

410 


The  U7iification  of  Italy  4 1 1 

to  a  great  democratic  republic,  which  should  recall  the  ancient 
glories  of  Rome ;  others  were  confident  that  an  enlightened 
Pope  could  form  an  Italian  federation,  of  which  he  should  be 
the  head ;  lastly,  there  was  a  practical  party,  whose  adherents 
placed  their  hopes  in  the  king  of  Sardinia,  who  seemed  to  them 
to  be  the  natural  leader  in  the  emancipation  of  Italy.    Little  as 


1805-1872 


Fig.  108.    AIazzini 

the  Revolution  of  1848  had  accomplished,  it  had  at  least  given 
Sardinia  a  young  and  energetic  king  and  a  new  constitution. 

Among  the  republican  leaders  the  most  conspicuous  was  the  Mazzim, 
sensitive  and  highly  endowed  Giuseppe  Mazzini.  Born  in  1805, 
he  had,  as  he  tells  us,  become  a  republican  from  hearing  his 
father  discuss  the  achievements  of  the  French  Revolution,  and 
had  read  eagerly  the  old  French  newspapers  which  he  found 
hidden  behind  the  medical  books  in  his  father's  library.  He 
joined  the  secret  society  of  the  Carbonari,  and  in  1830  was 
caught  by  the  police  and  imprisoned  in  the  fortress  of  Savona, 


412 


Oiitlines  of  European  History 


"  Young 
Italy" 


Progressive 
government 
of  Victor 
Emmanuel 


west  of  Genoa.  Here  he  arranged  a  secret  code,  which  enabled 
him  to  keep  in  communication  with  the  revolutionists. 

Becoming  disgusted  with  the  inefficiency  and  the  silly  mystery 
of  the  Carbonari,  Mazzini  planned  a  new  association,  which  he 
called  "  Young  Italy."  This  aimed  to  bring  about  the  regen- 
eration of  Italy  through  the  education  of  young  men  in  lofty 
republican  principles.  Mazzini  had  no  confidence  in  princes  or 
in  foreign  aid.  He  urged  that  all  the  Italians  should  be  brought 
together  into  a  single  republic,  for  he  feared  that  any  form 
of  federation  would  leave  the  country  too  weak  to  resist  the 
constant  interference  of  neighboring  nations.  Mazzini  was  not 
a  man  to  carry  through  a  successful  revolution,  for  he  lacked  the 
necessary  practical,  business  sense,  but  he  inspired  the  young 
Italians  with  almost  religious  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  Italy's 
liberation.^  Still  other  patriots,  however,  who  dreamed  of  a  new 
Italy,  placed  their  hopes,  not  in  a  republic  in  which  the  common 
man  should  have  a  voice  in  the-  conduct  of  the  government,  but 
in  a  federation  of  princes  under  that  most  ancient  of  all  Italian 
princes,  the  bishop  of  Rome. 

The  future,  however,  belonged  neither  to  the  republicans 
nor  to  the  papal  party,  but  to  those  who  looked  to  the  king 
of  Sardinia  to  bring  about  the  salvation  of  Italy.  Only  under 
his  leadership  was  there  any  prospect  of  ousting  Austria,  and 
until  that  was  done  no  independent  union  could  possibly  be 
formed.  Practical  men  therefore  began  to  turn  to  the  young 
Victor  Emmanuel,  whose  devotion  to  the  cause  of  freedom  in 
the  war  with  Austria  in  1848,  and  whose  frank  acceptance  of 
the  principles  of  constitutional  government,  distinguished  him 
from  all  the  other  rulers  of  Italy.  His  father,  Charles  Albert, 
had  granted  Piedmont  a  constitution  in  1848,  which  provided 
for  a  parliament  with  two  houses  and  a  responsible  ministry. 
This  constitution  (which  was  later  to  become  that  of  a  united 
Italy)  Victor  Emmanuel  maintained  in  spite  of  Austria's  de- 
mands that  he  suppress  it. 

1  For  Mazzini's  doctrines,  see  Readings,  Vol,  II,  pp.  115  ff. 


The  Unificutio7i  of  Italy  413 

Victor  Emmanuel  was  wise  enough  to  call  to  his  aid  one  Count 
of  the  most  distinguished  of  modern  statesmen,  Count  Cavour,  is^o-^isei 
who  had  long  been  an  advocate  both  of  constitutional  govern- 
ment and  of  Italian  unity.-^  Cavour,  however,  did  not  believe 
that  unity  could  be  secured  without  foreign  aid,  for  Sardinia 
was  a  rather  insignificant  kingdom  when  compared  with  the 
more  important  countries  of  Europe.    It  had  a  population  of 


Fig.  109.    Cavour 

less  than  five  millions  and  consisted  of  four  distinct  regions 
which  were  more  or  less  hostile  to  one  another.  In  view  of 
this  fact  Cavour  held  that  it  was  impossible  to  disregard  the 
other  powers  of  Europe,  who  had  so  long  interfered  freely 
in  Italian  affairs.  In  particular  he  looked  to  France.  He  early 
declared,  "  Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  our  destinies  depend 
upon  France ;  we  must  be  her  partner  in  the  great  game  which 
will  be  played  sooner  or  later  in  Europe." 

'^Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  iigff. 


414  Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 

Sardinia  joins  An  opportunity  soon  offered  itself  for  Sardinia  to  become 
Crimean"war  the  ally  of  France.  The  Crimean  War^  had  broken  out  in 
1854  between  England  and  France  on  the  one  side,  and  Russia 
on  the  other,  and  in  1855  Cavour  signed  an  offensive  and  de- 
fensive alliance  with  France  and  sent  troops  to  her  aid  in  the 
Crimea.  This  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  take  part  in  the 
European  congress  which  met  in  Paris  in  1856  to  conclude 
a  peace.  There  he  warned  the  powers  that  Austrian  control 
in  northern  Italy  was  a  menace  to  the  peace  of  Europe,  and 
succeeded  in  enlisting  the  interest  of  Napoleon  III  in  Italian 
affairs ;  —  it  will  be  remembered  that  in  his  younger  days  the 
French  emperor  had  sympathized  with  the  Carbonari,  and 
he  had  a  number  of  Italian  relatives  who  besought  his  aid 
in  forwarding  the  cause  of  Italian  unity. 
Position  and  There  were  other  reasons,  too,  why  Napoleon  was  ready 
Napoleon  III  ^^  Consider  interfering  in  Italy.  Like  his  distinguished  uncle, 
he  was  after  all  only  a  usurper.  He  knew  that  he  could  not 
rely  upon  mere  tradition,  but  must  maintain  his  popularity  by 
deeds  that  should  redound  to  the  glory  of  France.  A  war  with 
Austria  for  the  liberation  of  the  Italians,  who  like  the  French 
were  a  Latin  race,  would  be  popular,  especially  if  France  could 
thereby  add  a  bit  of  territory  to  her  realms  and  perhaps  be- 
come the  protector  of  the  proposed  Italian  confederation, 
A  conference  was  arranged  between  Napoleon  and  Cavour. 
Just  what  agreement  was  reached  we  do  not  know,  but 
Napoleon  no  doubt  engaged  to  come  to  the  aid  of  the  king 
of  Sardinia,  should  the  latter  find  a  pretense  for  going  to  war 
with  Austria.  Should  they  together  succeed  in  expelling  Austria 
from  northern  Italy,  the  king  of  Sardinia  was  to  reward  France 
by  ceding  to  her  Savoy  and  Nice,  which  belonged  to  her  geo- 
graphically and  racially. 
Victories  at  By  April,  1859,  Victor  Emmanuel  had  managed  to  involve 
Sotfe^rino^"  himself  in  a  war  with  Austria.  The  French  army  promptly 
joined  forces  with  the  Piedmontese,  defeated  the  Austrians  at 

1  See  below,  pp.  578  f. 


-H.    ENO'.,    BUFFALO      10 


-   > 


Garibaldi, 
1807-1882 


416 


Outlines  of  European  History 


In  southern  Italy,  on  the  contrary,  the  king  of  Naples  stub- 
bornly refused  either  to  form  any  kind  of  an  alliance  with  the 
king  of  Sardinia  or  to  grant  his  people  a  constitution.  Gari- 
baldi, an  ardent  disciple  of  Mazzini,  thereupon  determined  to 


t!:^^ 


Fig.  1 10.    Garibaldi 

Garibaldi  shares  with  Victor  Emmanuel  the  national  enthusiasm  of  Italy, 
and  his  monument,  one  of  the  finest  in  Rome,  looks  proudly  over  the 
Eternal  City  from  a  high  hill.  He  was  a  republican,  a  convert  of  Maz- 
zini, and  had  lived  a  restless  life,  having  fought  in  South  America  and 
living  for  a  time  in  New  York  (where  his  house  is  preserved  as  a  me- 
morial). At  the  head  of  his  "  legion  "  of  volunteers,  clad  in  their  gay  red 
blouses,  he  was  a  most  picturesque  figure,  and  his  rapid  success  in  the 
south  lent  an  element  pf  romance  to  the  unification  of  Italy 

bring  him  to  terms  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  union  of 
southern  Italy  and  Sicily  with  the  expanding  Sardinia.  This 
bold  sailor,  warrior,  and  revolutionist  accordingly  set  sail  from 
Genoa  for  Sicily  in  May,  i860,  on  his  own  responsibility,  with 
a  band  of  a  thousand  "  Red  Shirts,"  as  his  followers  were  called 


The  Unification  of  Italy 


417 


i!i 


infltaly, 


I* 


from  their  rough  costume.^  He  gained  an  easy  victory  over 
the  few  troops  that  the  king  of  the  Two  Sicilies  was  able  to 
send  against  him,  and  made  himself  dictator  of  the  island  in 
the  name  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  He  then  crossed  over  to  the 
mainland,  and  after  a  slight  skirmish  he  was  received  in  Naples 
with  enthusiasm  on  September  6. 

Garibaldi  now  proposed  to  march  on  Rome  and  proclaim   Napoleon  11 1 
there  the  kingdom  of  Italy.    This  would  have  imperiled  all  the  prev^n"the 
previous  gains,  for  Napoleon  HI  could  not,  in  view  of  the  ^"jJe^to^the^ 
strong  Catholic  sentiment  in  France,  possibly  permit  the  occu-  kingdom  of 
pation  of  Rome  and  the  destruction  of  the  political  independ- 
ence of  the  Pope.     He  agreed  that  Victor  Emmanuel  might 
annex  the  outlying  papal  possessions  to  the  north  and  reestab- 
lish a  stable  government  in  Naples  instead  of  Garibaldi's  dic- 
tatorship.     But    Rome,    the   imperial  city,   with    the    territory 
immediately   surrounding  it,   must  be  left  to   its  old  master. 
Victor  Emmanuel  accordingly  marched  southward  and  occu- 
pied Naples  (October).     Its  king  capitulated  and  all  southern 
Italy  became  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 

In  February,  1861,  the  first  Italian  parliament  was  opened 
at  Turin,  and  the  process  of  really  amalgamating  the  hetero- 
geneous portions  of  the  new  kingdom  began.  Yet  the  joy  of 
the  Italians  over  the  realization  of  their  hopes  of  unity  and 
national  independence  was  tempered  by  the  fact  that  Austria 
still  held  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Italian  provinces,  and 
that  Rome,  which  typified  Italy's  former  grandeur,  was  not 
included  in  the  new  kingdom. 


riis 


Section  6j .    The  Kingdom  of  Italy  since  1861 

The  fact  that  Italian  unification  was  not  complete  did  not  Attitude  of 

cause  the  patriots  to  lose  hope.    In  a  debate  in  the  very  first  toward  the 

parliament  held  in  the  new  kingdom  of  Italy,  Cavour  directed  jjfn'^dom^ 
the  thoughts  and  energies  of  the  nation  to  the  recovery  of  the 

1  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p,  126. 


4i8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


\*  Eternal  City  and  the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic."  Meanwhile, 
however,  Pius  IX  excommunicated  the  king  of  Sardinia  and 
his  ministers  and  declared  the  new  constitution  to  be  a  crea- 
tion of  revolution,  which  was  a  thing  to  be  struck  down  like  a 
mad  dog  wherever  it  showed  itself.    And  Napoleon  III,  at  the 


Map  of  the  Unification  of  Italy 


instigation  of  the  French  Catholics,  sent  a  French  garrison  to 

Rome  with  a  view  to  protecting  the  Pope  from  attack. 

How  Venetia        Help,  however,  soon  came  from  an  unexpected  quarter.    In 

tlTe  kingdom    ^^  early  months  of   1866  Prussia  and  Austria  were  on  the 

of  Italy,  1866   eve  of  war,  and  in  order  to  gain  the  support  of  Italy,  Prussia 

concluded   a  treaty  with  Victor   Emmanuel  in   April  of  that 

year.     When  the  war  came  in  July  the  Italians  as  well  as  the 

Prussians  attacked  Austria.    The  Italians  were  worsted  in  the 


The  Unificatio7i  of  Italy  419 

battle  of  Custozza,  but  the  Prussians  more  than  made  up  for 
this  defeat  by  their  memorable  victory  at  Sadowa.  Thereupon 
Austria  consented  to  cede  Venetia  to  Napoleon  III,  with  the 
understanding  that  he  should  transfer  it  to  Italy.  The  efforts 
of  the  Italians  to  wrest  Trent  and  Trieste  from  Austria  failed, 
however,  for  their  fleet  was  defeated,  and  they  were  forced  to 
content  themselves  with  Venetia,  which  they  owed  rather  to 
the  victories  of  others  than  to  their  own. 

Four  years  later,   in   1870,  when  war  broke  out  between   Rome  occu- 
France  and  Prussia,  Napoleon  III  was  forced  to  withdraw  the  king  of  Italy, 
French  garrison  from   Rome,  and  Victor  Emmanuel,  having   ^^^o 
nothing  further  to  fear  from  French  intervention,  demanded 
of  Pius  IX  that  he  make  terms   with  the  kingdom  of  Italy. 
The  Pope  refused,  whereupon  the  Italian  troops  blew  open  a 
gate  of  the  city  and,  without  further  violence,  took  possession 
of  Rome,  while  the  Pope  withdrew  to  the  Vatican  palace  and 
proclaimed  himself  the  prisoner  of  the  Italian  government.    The 
inhabitants,  however,  welcomed  the  invaders,  and,  by  a  vote  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred,  Rome  and 
the  remaining  portions  of  the  Papal  States  were  formally  an- 
nexed to  the  kingdom  of  Italy  in  January,  187 1. 

Italy  was  at  last  free  and  united  from  the  Alps  to  the  sea,   Rome  be- 
and,  as  King  Victor  Emmanuel  said   at  the  opening  of  the   capital  of 
parliament  of  187 1,  ''It  only  remains  to  make  our  country   of^ita^y^iSTi 
great  and  happy."    The  capital,  which  had   been  transferred 
from  Turin  to  Florence  in  1865,  was  moved  to  Rome  in  187 1, 
and  the  king  made  his  solemn  entry  into  the  city,  announcing 
to  the  people,  "  We  are  at  Rome  and  we  shall  remain  here." 
The  Sardinian  constitution  became  the  constitution  of  the  king- 
dom of  Italy. 

It  was  a  difficult  problem  to  determine  the  relations  which   Position  of 
should  exist  between  the   new  government  and  the   head  of  *  ^    °^^ 
the  Christian  Church,  who  for  a  thousand  years  had  regarded 
the  city  of  Rome  as  his  capital.    By  a  law  of  May,  187 1,  the 
Pope  was  declared  to  enjoy  perfect  freedom  in  all  his  spiritual 


420 


Outlines  of  European  History 


functions,  and  his  person  was  made  sacred  and  inviolable  like 
that  of  the  king.  He  was  to  continue  to  enjoy  the  honors  and 
dignity  of  a  sovereign  prince,  and  to  send  and  receive  diplo- 
matic agents  like  any  other  sovereign.  Within  the  trifling  domain 


Fig.  III.   The  Papal  Gardens    at  the  Vatican,  Rome 

These  few  acres,  along  with  a  summer  residence  which  the  Popes  never 
use,  and  the  two  churches  of  the  Vatican  and  the  Lateran  in  Rome,  are 
all  that  is  left  of  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  Papacy.  The  Pope 
refuses  to  leave  this  little  territory,  claiming  that  he  is  practically  a  pris- 
oner of  the  Italian  government,  and  has  never  given  up  his  claim  to 
rule  Rome.  He  maintains  a  small  guard  of  picturesque  Swiss  soldiers, 
who  keep  watch  along  the  garden  walls  with  bayonets  fixed  on  their 
rifles,  as  if  they  were  in  perpetual  siege.  The  Vatican  palace  has  over 
a  thousand  rooms  and  galleries,  many  of  them  decorated  by  the  greatest 
artists,  like  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo.  The  dome  of  the  church 
rises  directly  over  the  shrine,  or  tomb,  of  St.  Peter 


which  was  left  to  him,  he  may  live  as  an  independent  ruler, 
since  no  officer  of  the  Italian  government  is  permitted  to  enter 
these  precincts  on  any  business  of  State.  In  order  to  indem- 
nify him  decently  for  the  loss  of  his  possessions,  the  Italian 
government  assigned  him  something  over  six  hundred  thousand 


The  Unification  of  Italy  421 

dollars  a  year  from  the  State  treasury.  The  Pope,  however, 
has  not  only  always  refused  to  accept  this  sum,  but  he  per- 
sistently declines,  down  to  the  present  day,  to  recognize  the 
Italian  government,  and  continues  to  consider  himself  the 
prisoner  of  a  usurping  power,-^ 

In  order  to  maintain  the  dignity  of  her  new  position,  Italy   Italy 
adopted  the  expensive  policy  of  rapidly  increasing  her  army  and   European 
navy.    Modem  warships  were  constructed,  the  principle  of  uni-  pow^'^ 
versal  military  service  was  introduced,  and  the  army  reorganized 
on  the  Prussian  model.    This  nearly  doubled  the  military  ex- 
penses and  served  to  produce  a  deficit,  which  amounted  in  1887 
to  $83,000,000. 

Nevertheless,  Italy  cherished  ambitions  of  expansion  and  Italy  joins 
colonial  empire.  Just  across  the  Mediterranean  lay  the  ancient  AlUance  ^ 
territory  of  Carthage,  modern  Tunis,  and  from  sentimental  as 
well  as  practical  reasons,  Italy  coveted  it.  But  in  1882,  before 
it  could  act,  France  seized  the  land,  which  bordered  on  its  prov- 
ince of  Algeria.  This  increased  Italy's  bitterness  toward  France, 
and  Bismarck  used  the  occasion  to  win  Italy  over  to  sign  the 
famous  triple  alliance  with  Germany  and  Austria-Hungary  ^  — 
an  alliance  which  lasted  until  the  great  war  of  19 14. 

Frustrated  in  northern  Africa,  the  Italians  next  turned  their   Italy's  colo- 

,.,,  .        .,  .  c    Kt         ••        i^ial  policy  in 

attention  to  wmnmg  colonial  domains  m  the  region  of  Abyssinia,  Africa 
near  the  outlet  of  the  Red  Sea.  An  army  of  occupation  was 
dispatched  thither  in  1887,  and  after  some  fifteen  years  of  in- 
termittent warfare,  treaties,  negotiations,  and  massacres  of  the 
Italian  troops  by  the  natives,  the  Italians  were  able  to  make 
themselves  masters  of  an  area  about  twice  the  size  of  the  state 
of  Pennsylvania,  inhabited  by  half  a  million  of  nomad  peoples. 
More  recently  the  Italians  have  waged  war  on  the  Turks  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  dominion  in  northern  Africa  by  the 
conquest  of  Tripoli.^ 

1  For  Pius  IX's  protest,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  136. 

2  This  triple  alliance  was  renewed  in  1902. 

3  See  below,  p.  588. 


422 


Outlines  of  European  History 


It  is  clear  that  the  old  ideals  of  Cavour  and  King  Victor 
Emmanuel  have  been  left  far  behind.  The  heavy  burden  of 
taxation  which  the  Italians  have  had  to  bear,  in  order  to  play 
the  part  of  a  European  power  and  pay  for  the  very  expensive 
luxury  of  colonization,  has  roused  deep  discontent  among  the 
peasants  and  workingmen.  The  patriotic  feelings  which  had 
nerved  the  people  to  heroic  service  in  behalf  of  unity  and 
independence  gave  way  later  to  a  spirit  of  selfishness  in  the 
various  provinces,  the  interests  of  which  were  by  no  means 
identical,  for  the  conditions  in  Naples  were  essentially  different 
from  those  of  Venetia  or  Piedmont.  The  republicans,  who  still 
clung  to  the  ideas  of  Mazzini  and  Garibaldi,  continued  to  oppose 
the  monarchy,  while  the  ideals  of  socialism,  as  elsewhere  in 
Europe,  appealed  strongly  to  the  workingmen.  Lastly  there 
were  the  defenders  of  the  Pope's  political  power,  who  were 
among  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  new  government. 

Notwithstanding  these  adverse  circumstances,  the  kingdom 
has  made  remarkable  progress  during  the  last  generation.  Italy 
is  rapidly  becoming  an  industrial  state,  and  to-day  more  than 
one  third  of  its  population  is  engaged  in  manufacturing  and 
commercial  pursuits.  Silk,  cotton,  and  woolen  mills  export  large 
quantities  of  goods  to  foreign  markets. 

Many  laws  have  been  passed  for  the  improvement  of  the 
public  schools,  in  the  hope  of  diminishing  the  illiteracy  which  is 
a  reproach  to  the  kingdom.  The  republicans  and  socialists 
are  not  satisfied,  however,  with  the  amount  of  money  voted  for 
education ;  they  admit  that  there  has  been  a  steady  reduction  in 
the  number  of  persons  over  twenty  years  of  age  who  are  un- 
able to  read  and  write,  —  from  73  per  cent  in  1862  to  52  per 
cent  in  1901,  —  but  they  contend  that  it  is  a  disgrace  for  the 
nation  to  spend  six  or  eight  times  as  much  a  year  on  the  army 
and  navy  as  it  does  for  the  schools.-^ 


1  In  1901,  28  per  cent  of  the  population  of  northern  Italy  over  six  years  of 
age  could  not  read  or  write,  and  in  southern  Italy,  whence  a  large  proportion  of 
the  American  immigrants  come,  70  per  cent  were  illiterate. 


The  Unification  of  Italy  423 

In  proportion  to  its  wealth,  the  Italian  nation  has  had  the  Burden  of 
largest  debt  and  the  heaviest  taxation  of  any  country  in  Eu- 
rope.-^ It  has  had  to  pay  the  land  tax,  the  income  tax,  the  house 
tax,  the  inheritance  tax,  the  stamp  tax,  the  excise,  the  customs 
duties,  in  addition  to  the  government  monopolies  of  tobacco, 
lotteries,  salt,  and  quinine.  These  are  so  distributed  that  the 
most  burdensome  of  them  fall  on  the  workingmen  and  the  peas- 
ants, who  receive  very  low  wages,  so  that  it  is  estimated  that 
the  poor  pay  over  one  half  of  the  revenue  of  the  government. 

The  heaviest  taxes  are  imposed  on  the  necessities  of  life, 
such  as  grain  and  salt ;  and  in  times  of  scarcity  this  has  been  a 
source  of  serious  bread  riots  in  the  towns.  As  for  the  salt,  the 
government  in  1900  was  charging  eight  dollars  for  a  quintal 
(two  hundred  and  twenty  pounds)  of  salt,  which  cost  it  only 
thirty  cents.  An  Italian  economist  estimated  in  1898  that  the 
family  of  a  Florentine  workingman  was  forced  to  pay  in  local 
and  national  taxes  no  less  than  one  fourth  of  its  income, 
whereas  in  England  the  government  demanded  less  than  one 
twentieth  of  the  earnings  of  a  workman  in  a  similar  position. 

Yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  in  most  of  the  Italian 
states  before  the  union,  there  was  as  heavy  taxation,  combined 
with  bad  government.  United  Italy  has  at  least  spent  much  of 
its  money  on  national  improvements,  on  railways  and  public 
buildings,  as  well  as  on  colonial  enterprises. 

Victor  Emmanuel  died  in  1878.  His  son  and  successor,  Assassina- 
Humbert  I,  although  personally  courageous  and  faithful  to  the  Humbert ^"^ 
constitution,  was  not  the  man  to  undertake  the  reforms  neces- 
sary to  relieve  the  prevailing  discontent.  He  did  not  control 
the  government  either  for  or  against  reform ;  nevertheless  the 
anarchists  marked  him  as  one  of  their  victims,  and  on  July  29, 
1900,  he  was  assassinated  while  distributing  prizes  at  a  great 
public  meeting.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Victor  Emman- 
uel III,^  who  has  continued  the  general  policy  of  his  father. 

1  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  141, 

2  The  title  is  reckoned  from  the  former  kingdom  of  Sardinia, 


424 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  discontent  continues,  and  if  emigration  can  be  taken  as 
in  any  sense  a  measure  of  it,  the  year  after  the  assassination 
of  Humbert  was  a  period  of  exceptional  distress.  In  1888 
Italy  lost  by  emigration  one  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand 
subjects;    this  had  increased  by   1900  to  three  hundred  and 


Fig.  112.    Monument  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  at  Rome 

On  the  northwestern  slope  of  the  Capitoline  Hill  the  Italians  have 
erected  the  most  imposing  monument  in  Europe,  to  commemorate  the 
unification  of  Italy.  Its  size  is  indicated  in  the  picture  by  the  relative 
size  of  people  and  buildings.  A  colossal  statue  of  Victor  Emmanuel 
adorns  the  center,  while  a  vast  colonnade  surmounts  the  hill.  The 
Forum  of  ancient  Rome  lies  just  behind  it ;  but  it  faces  in  the  opposite 
direction  down  a  broad,  busy  street  of  the  modern  city,  which  is  grow- 
ing rapidly.  Electric  cars  now  connect  the  seven  hills,  and  arc  lights 
shine  beside  the  Colosseum  (cf.  Outlines^  Part  I,  pp.  250  and  273) 


fifty-two  thousand,  and  in  1901  to  over  half  a  million.  Italy  had 
never  come  into  possession  of  any  of  those  new  territories  which 
her  sons,  Columbus,  Cabot,  and  Verrazano,  had  laid  claim  to 
in  the  name  of  other  European  nations,  and  her.  acquisitions  in 
Africa  were  entirely  uninviting  to  her  discontented  peasants  and 
workingmen.    Those  who  leave  Italy,  therefore,  go  to  foreign 


The  Unification  of  Italy  425 

lands  —  to  Brazil,  Argentina,  Uruguay,  and  Paraguay ;  while 
hundreds  of  thousands  settle  in  the  United  States.  In  19 10, 
however,  no  less  than  147,000  returned  from  abroad. 

This  enormous  emigration  does  not  appear  to  relieve  the 
discontent.  In  1905  the  strength  of  the  socialists  became  so 
alarming  that  Pope  Pius  X  instructed  faithful  Catholics  to  aid 
in  the  struggle  against  socialism  by  taking  part  in  the  elections, 
from  which  they  had  hitherto  been  admonished  by  the  Church 
to  abstain.  Others,  on  the  contrar}^,  have  reached  the  conclusion 
that  the  socialist  party  is  an  effective  instrument  for  arousing 
the  more  conservative  people  to  undertake  important  reforms. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  66.  Describe  the  political  condition  of  Italy  in  1850. 
What  were  the  views  of  those  who  desired  the  unification  of  Italy? 
Describe  the  government  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  What  was  the  for- 
eign policy  of  Cavour .?  What  was  the  outcome  of  the  participation 
of  Sardinia  in  the  Crimean  War,?  Outline  the  war  waged  by  Sardinia 
and  France  against  Austria.  What  gains  were  made  by  Sardinia  as 
a  result  of  this  war .? 

Describe  the  changes  which  took  place  in  Parma,  Modena,  Tus- 
cany, and  the  Romagna  in  1859.  What  part  was  played  by  Garibaldi 
in  the  unification  of  Italy  ?  What  prevented  the  complete  unification 
of  Italy  in  i860.?  Draw  a  map  of  Italy  in  1848  showing  the  chief 
political  divisions.  Draw  a  map  of  Italy  in  1861  showing  the  changes 
effected  between  these  two  periods. 

Section  6j.  Describe  the  attitude  of  Pope  Pius  IX  toward  the 
new  Italian  kingdom.  By  what  means  did  the  kingdom  of  Italy 
gain  possession  of  Venetia  in  1866?  When  and  in  what  way  was 
Rome  finally  made  the  capital  of  Italy  }  What  has  been  the  position 
of  the  Pope  in  Italy  since  1871?  Describe  Italy's  colonial  policy. 
Discuss  the  advantages  to  Italians  of  a  united  Italy.  How  is  the 
burden  of  taxation  injuring  the  country.? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

FORMATION  OF  THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE  AND  THE 
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN  UNION 

Section  68.    Prussia  assumes  the  Leadership 
IN  Germany 


Industrial 
Revolution 
in  Germany 


Commercial 
disadvan- 
tages of  the 
division  of 
Germany  into 
practically 
independent 
states 


The  failure  of  the  liberals  to  bring  about  the  unity  of  Ger- 
many at  the  congress  at  Frankfort  in  1848  was  largely  due  to 
the  tenacity  with  which  the  numerous  German  rulers  clung  to 
their  sovereignty  and  independence.  However,  industry  and 
commerce  were  silently  but  surely  welding  the  German  people 
into  a  nation.  In  1835  the  first  railway  line  had  been  built  and 
the  era  of  steam  transportation  begun ;  a  network  of  telegraph 
lines  quickly  brought  the  separate  states  into  close  and  con- 
stant touch  with  one  another;  and  the  growth  of  machine  in- 
dustry compelled  them  to  seek  wider  markets  beyond  their 
borders.  A  solid  foundation  for  unity  was  thus  laid  by  steam, 
electricity,  and  machinery,  and  the  growth  of  common  business 
interests. 

Statesmen  as  well  as  leaders  in  commerce  and  industry  began, 
shortly  after  the  settlement  of  18 15,  to  realize  the  disastrous 
effects  of  the  existing  division  of  Germany  into  numerous  in- 
dependent countries.  Each  of  the  thirty-eight  states  had  its 
own  customs  line,  which  cut  it  off  from  its  German  neighbors 
as  well  as  from  foreigners.  How  this  hampered  trade  can  be 
readily  seen  by  examining  the  map  of  Germany  at  that  time. 
One  who  traveled  in  a  straight  line  from  Fulda  to  Altenburg, 
a  distance  of  some  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles,  crossed 
on  the  way  thirty-four  boundary  lines  and  passed  through 
the  dominions  of  nine  sovereign  and  independent  monarchs. 

426 


Formation  of  the  Germmi  Empii-e 


427 


A  merchants'  association  complained  to  the  diet  of  the  Confeder- 
ation in  18 19  that  in  order  to  trade  from  Hamburg  to  Aus- 
tria, or  from  Berlin  to  Switzerland,  one  had  to  cross  ten  states, 
study  ten  different  customs  systems,  and  pay  ten  tariff  charges. 
In  January,  1834,  a  ZoUverei7i,  or  tariff  union,  was  formed, 
which  was    composed   of  seventeen  states  with   a   combined 


«    SWITZERLAND 


50  100  150         200 

Wji  ZoUverein  in  1834 


r^  Later  additions 


The  ZoUverein 


population  of  twenty-three   millions.     Goods  were  allowed   to   The  customs 
pass  freely  from  one  of  these  states  to  another,  while  the  entire   (^zollverein) 
group  was  protected  against  all  outsiders  by  a  common  tariff 
frontier.     Austria,   after  some  hesitation,  decided  not   to  join 
this  union,  but  other  German  states  were  from  time  to  time 
compelled  by  their  own  interests  to  do  so. 

As  the  center  of  this  commercial  reorganization  of  Germany,   Accession  of 
Prussia  gathered    strength   for  the  coming  conflict  with  her   1858^1861) 
great  rival,  Austria;    and  with  the  accession  of  William  I  in 


428 


Outlines  of  Eiiropea7i  History 


The  strength- 
ening of  the 
Prussian 
army 


Bismarck 
sets  out  to 
Prussianize 
Germany 


1858/  a  new  era  dawned  for  Prussia.  A  practical  and  vigorous 
man  was  now  at  the  helm,  whose  chief  aim  was  to  expel  Austria 
from  the  German  Confederation,  and  out  of  the  remaining 
states  to  construct  a  firm  union  under  the  leadership  of  Prussia, 
which  would  then  take  its  place  among  the  most  powerful 
nations  of  Europe.  He  believed  that  war  must  come  sooner 
or  later,  and  therefore  made  it  his  first  business  to  develop 
the  military  resources  of  his  realms. 

The  German  army,  which  owes  much  of  its  power  to  the 
reforms  of  William  I,  has  proved  so  fatal  to  the  peace  of  the 
world  that  its  organization  merits  attention.  Fifty  years  before, 
the  necessity  of  expelling  Napoleon  had  led  Scharnhorst  to 
revolutionize  the  military  strength  of  the  kingdom  by  making 
military  service  compulsory  for  all  healthy  male  citizens,  who 
were  to  be  trained  in  the  standing  army  in  all  the  essentials  of 
discipline  and  then  retired  to  the  reserve,  ready  for  service  at 
need.  The  first  thing  that  William  I  did  was  to  increase  the 
annual  levy  from  forty  to  sixty  thousand  men  and  to  see  that 
all  the  soldiers  remained  in  active  service  three  years.  They 
then  passed  into  the  reserve,  according  to  the  existing  law,  where 
for  two  years  more  they  remained  ready  at  any  time  to  take  up 
arms  should  it  be  necessary.  William  wished  to  increase  the 
term  of  service  in  the  reserve  to  four  years.  In  this  way  the 
State  would  claim  seven  of  the  years  of  early  manhood  and 
have  an  effective  army  of  four  hundred  thousand,  which  would 
permit  it  to  dispense  with  the  service  of  those  who  were  ap- 
proaching middle  life.  The  lower  house  of  the  Prussian  parlia- 
ment refused,  however,  to  make  the  necessary  appropriations 
for  thus  increasing  the  strength  of  the  army. 

The  king  proceeded,  nevertheless,  with  his  plan,  and  in  1862 
summoned  to  his  side  the  most  commanding  figure  among 
the  statesmen  of  modern  times.  It  was  an  evil  moment  in  the 
world's   history  when   Otto  von   Bismarck  was  called  to  the 


i  He  ruled  until  1861  as  regent  for  his  brother,  Frederick  William  IV,  who 
had  become  incapacitated  by  disease. 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  429 

presidency  of  the  Prussian  cabinet.  He  was  a  Prussian  of  the 
Prussians,  and  dedicated  his  great  abilities  to  the  one  supreme 
object  of  Prussianizing  all  Germany  —  and  with  such  success 
that  his  country  has  become  a  fearful  menace  against  which  a 
great  part  of  the  civilized  world  has  been  summoned  to  fight. 
Bismarck  firmly  believed  in  the  divine  right  of  the  Hohen- 
zollerns  ;  he  hated  parliaments  and  freely  displayed  his  contempt 
for  the  ideas  of  the  liberal  party  which  had  attempted  to  unify 
Germany  in  1848.  He  had  every  confidence  in  the  mailed  fist 
and  shining  sword,  by  which  he  foresaw  he  must  gain  his  ends. 
He  belonged  to  the  highly  conservative  class  of  Prussian  landed 
proprietors,  —  the  so-called  Junkers,  —  the  same  group  who  had 
so  much  to  do  with  precipitating  and  prolonging  the  war  of 
19 1 4.  To  accomplish  his  purposes  he  started  three  wars,  and 
by  his  policy  prepared  the  way  for  a  fourth  which  after  his 
death  should  involve  the  whole  globe. 

In  order  to  raise  Prussia  to  the  position  of  a  dominating   Fourele- 

T-i  T->-  1  •        1       1  r  1  •  merits  in  the 

European  power  Bismarck  perceived  that  four  things  were  accomplish- 
essential:  (i)  The  Prussian  army  must  be  greatly  strength-  B^marck's 
ened,  for  without  that  he  could  not  hope  to  carry  out  his  P^^^ 
audacious  program.  (2)  Austria,  hitherto  so  influential  in  Ger- 
man affairs,  must  be  pushed  out  of  Germany  altogether,  leaving 
the  field  to  Prussia.  (3)  Prussian  territory  must  be  enlarged 
and  consolidated  by  annexing  those  German  states  that  sepa- 
rated the  eastern  possessions  of  the  Hohenzollerns  from  the 
Rhine  districts.  (4)  And,  lastly,  the  large  South  German 
states,  which  disliked  Prussia  and  suspected  her  motives,  must 
in  some  way  be  induced  to  join  a  union  under  her  headship. 
The  task  seemed  hopeless,  for  attempts  to  consolidate  Germany 
had  failed  from  the  times  of  Otto  the  Great  down  to  those  of 
William  I.  Nevertheless,  within  ten  years  Bismarck  had,  by  a 
combination  of  diplomacy,  deceit,  and  violence,  succeeded  in 
uniting  Germany  under  the  Hohenzollerns. 

The  first  obstacle  Bismarck  encountered  was  the  refusal  of 
the  lower  house  of  the  Prussian  parliament  to  grant  the  money 


430 


Outlines  of  European  History 


necessary  for  increasing  the  army.  But  Bismarck  was  not 
the  man  to  be  stopped.  In  defiance  of  the  lower  house  and 
of  the  newspapers  he  carried  on  the  strengthening  of  the 
army  without  formal  appropriations  by  parliament,  on  the 
theory  that  the  constitution  had  made  no  provision  in  case 
of  a  deadlock  between  the  upper  and  lower  houses  and  that 
consequently  the  king,  in  such  a  case,  might  exercise  his  former 
absolute  power.^  In  one  of  his  first  speeches  in  parliament  he 
said  with  brutal  frankness,  "  The  great  questions  of  the  time 
are  to  be  decided  not  by  speeches  and  votes  of  majorities,  but 
by  blood  and  iron."  For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  Prussia  was 
returning  to  a  pure  despotism,  for  there  was  assuredly  no 
more  fundamental  provision  of  the  constitution  than  the  right 
of  the  people  to  control  the  granting  of  the  taxes.  Yet  after 
Bismarck  had  succeeded  in  his  policy  of  "  blood  and  iron," 
he  was  eventually  fully  forgiven  by  the  Germans,  on  the  ground 
that  the  end  had  justified  the  means. 

Prussia  now  had  a  military  force  sufftcient  to  encourage 
hope  of  victory  should  she  undertake  a  war  with  her  old  rival. 
In  order  to  bring  about  the  expulsion  of  Austria  from  the 
Confederation,  Bismarck  took  advantage  of  a  knotty  problem 
that  had  been  troubling  Germany,  known  as  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  affair.  The  provinces  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein, 
although  inhabited  largely  by  Germans,  had  for  centuries 
belonged  to  the  king  of  Denmark.  They  were  not  considered 
a  part  of  Denmark,  however,  any  more  than  Hanover  had  been 
a  part  of  Great  Britain.  But  in  1847  the  king  of  Denmark 
proclaimed  that  he  was  going  to  incorporate  these  provinces 
into  the  Danish  kingdom  in  spite  of  the  large  proportion  of 
Germans  in  the  population.  This  aroused  great  indignation 
throughout  Germany.  The  controversy  over  the  relation  of 
these  provinces  to  Denmark  continued,  and  finally,  in  1863, 
just  after  Bismarck's  ascension  to  power,  Schleswig  was  definitely 
united  with  the  Danish  kingdom. 

1  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  143. 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  431 

Bismarck  saw  a  way  of  settling  the  whole  matter  by  annex-   Bismarck's 
ing  the  Danish  provinces  to  his  dear  Prussia  and  at  the  same  ^  ^^^^    ^^"^^ 
time  securing  an  excuse  for  a  fight  with  Austria,  for  which 
he  now  felt  himself  ready.    His  first  step  was  politely  to  ask 
Austria  to  cooperate  with  Prussia  in  an  effort  to  settle  the 
question  of  the  provinces.    The  king  of  Denmark  refused  to   The  victory 
make  any  concessions,  and  so  the  two  great  German  powers  ^^j-k,  1864 
declared    war  on  him   (February,    1864).     The   little    Danish 
army  was  no  match  for  them,  and  a  few  months  later  Denmark 
ceded  the  duchies  to  Austria  and  Prussia.    They  were  to  make 
such  disposition  of  the  provinces  as  they  saw  fit.     Bismarck 
did  everything  to  prevent  any  permanent  rearrangement,  for 
he  was  anxious  to  fall  out  with  Austria  and  at  the  same  time 
get  both  the  Danish  provinces  for  Prussia.    He  boldly  began 
to  turn  Kiel,  on  the  Baltic  coast  of  Holstein,  into  a  Prussian  * 

naval  station,  and  did  all  in  his  power  to  irritate  Austria.^ 

Section  69.    The  War  of  1866  and  the  Formation 
OF  the  North  German  Federation 

In  April,   1866,   Bismarck   made  a  treaty   with   Italy   that,   Prussia 
should  the  king  of  Prussia  take  up  arms  during  the  following   German  Con- 
three  months,  it  too  would  immediately  declare  war  on  Austria,   Jjgg^JfJg^" 
with  the  hope,  of  course,  of  obtaining  Venetia.    The  relations  June,  1866 
between  Austria  and  Prussia  grew  more  and  more  strained, 
until  finally,  in  June,  1866,  Austria  induced  the  diet  to  call  out 
the  forces  of  the  Confederation  for  the  purpose  of  making  war 
on  Prussia.    Prussia's  representative  in  the  diet  declared  that 
this  act  put  an  end  to  the  existing  union. 

1  Prussia  definitely  annexed  the  provinces  in  1866.  Later  the  Germans  built 
a  canal  across  Holstein  from  Kiel  to  the  mouth  of  the  Elbe  and  so  connected 
the  two  stretches  of  German  coast  which  are  separated  by  the  Danish  peninsula. 
The  Danes  of  northern  Schleswig  were  promised  the  right  to  say  whether  or  no 
they  desired  to  be  united  with  Denmark.  But  Prussia  has  paid  no  attention  to 
this  pledge,  and  these  Danes  send  to  the  present  German  parliament  a  deputy 
who  takes  every  opportunity  to  protest  against  the  ugly  efforts  of  the  Prussian 
government  to  compel  them  to  adopt  the  German  language. 


432 


Outlines  of  European  History 


War  declared 
between 
Austria  and 
Prussia 


Prussia  wins 
the  battle  of 
Sadowa, 
July  3,  1866 


The  North 

German 

Federation 


Require- 
ments of 
the  proposed 
constitution 


On  June  14  war  was  declared  between  Austria  and  Prussia. 
With  the  exception  of  Mecklenburg  and  the  small  states  of  the 
north,  all  Germany  sided  with  Austria  against  Prussia.  Bis- 
marck immediately  demanded  of  the  rulers  of  the  larger  North 
German  states  —  Hanover,  Saxony,  and  Hesse-Cassel  —  that 
they  stop  their  warlike  preparations  and  agree  to  accept  Prus- 
sia's plan  of  reform.  On  their  refusal,  Prussian  troops  imme- 
diately occupied  these  territories  and  war  actually  began. 

So  thorough  was  the  organization  of  the  Prussian  army  that 
all  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  states  of  the  north  w^as  promptly 
prevented;  Austria  was  miserably  defeated  on  July  3  in  the 
decisive  battle  of  Koniggratz,  or  Sadowa,^  and  within  three 
weeks  after  the  severance  of  diplomatic  relations  the  war  was 
practically  over.  Austria's  influence  was  at  an  end,  and  Prussia 
had  won  the  right  to  dictate  to  the  rest  of  Germany. 

Prussia  was  aware  that  the  larger  states  south  of  the  river 
Main  were  not  ripe  for  the  union  that  she  desired.  She  there- 
fore organized  a  so-called  North  German  Federation,  which 
included  all  the  states  north  of  the  Main.  Prussia  had  seized 
the  opportunity  to  increase  considerably  her  own  boundaries 
and  round  out  her  territory  by  annexing  the  North  German 
states  (with  the  exception  of  Saxony)  which  had  opposed  her 
in  the  war.  Hanover,  Hesse-Cassel,  Nassau,  and  the  free  city 
of  Frankfort,  along  with  the  duchies  of  Schleswig  and  Holstein, 
all  became  Prussian. 

Prussia,  thus  enlarged,  summoned  the  lesser  states  about 
her  to  confer  upon  a  constitution  that  should  accomplish  three 
ends.  First,  it  must  give  to  all  the  people  of  the  territory 
included  in  the  new  union,  regardless  of  the  particular  state  in 
which  they  lived,  a  voice  in  the  government.  A  popular  assembly 
satisfied  this  demand.  Secondly,  the  predominating  position  of 
Prussia  must  be  secured ;  but  at  the  same  time,  thirdly,  the 
self-respect  of  the  other  monarchs  whose  lands  were  included 
must  not  be  sacrificed.     The  king  of   Prussia  was  therefore 

1  Bismarck's  account  of  the  battle  is  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  147. 


Formation  of  the  Germa7t  Empire 


433 


made  "  president "  of  the  federation  but  not  its  sovereign. 
The  chief  governing  body  was  the  Federal  Council  (Bufidesrat). 
In  this  each  ruler,  however  small  his  state,  and  each  of  the  three 
free  towns  —  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  Liibeck  —  had  at  least 
one  vote;  thus  it  was  arranged  that  the  other  rulers  should 
not  become  subjects  of  the  king  of  Prussia.    The  real  sovereign 


German  States  seized  by  Prussia  in  1866 


of  the  North  German  Federation  was  not  the  king  of  Prussia, 
but  ''  all  of  the  united  governments."  At  the  same  time,  by- 
distributing  the  votes  as  in  the  old  diet,  Prussia,  including  the 
territory  she  seized  in  1866,  enjoyed  seventeen  votes  out  of 
forty-three.  Moreover,  Prussia  could  count  upon  the  support 
of  some  of  the  lesser  states.  Lastly,  the  constitution  was  so 
arranged  that  when  the  time  came  for  the  southern  states  — 
Bavaria,  Wurtemberg,  Baden,  and  South  Hesse. —  to  join  the 
union,  there  would  be  litde  need  of  change. 


434  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  70.    The  Franco-Prussian  War  and  the 
Foundation  of  the  German  Empire 

Foreign  No  one  was  more  chagrined  by  the  abrupt  termination  of 

Napoleon  III  the  war  of  1866  and  the  victory  of  Prussia  than  Napoleon  III. 
He  had  hoped  that  both  combatants  might  be  weakened  by  a 
long  struggle,  and  that  in  the  end  he  might  have  an  opportunity 
to  arbitrate,  and  incidentally  to  gain  something  for  France,  as 
had  happened  after  the  Italian  war.  His  disappointment  was 
the  more  keen  because  he  was  troubled  at  home  by  the  demands 
of  the  liberals  for  reform,  and  had  recently  suffered  a  loss  of 
prestige  among  his  people  by  the  failure  of  a  design  for  getting 
a  foothold  in  Mexico.-^  Napoleon  was  further  chagrined  by  his 
failure  to  secure  the  grand  duchy  of  Luxemburg,  which  its 
sovereign,  the  king  of  Holland,  would  have  sold  to  him  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  intervention  of  Prussia.  In  other  diplo- 
matic negotiations  also  it  was  believed  that  Napoleon  had 
been  outwitted  by  Bismarck,  and  a  war  fever  developed  both 

1  This  Mexican  episode  is  one  of  the  most  curious  incidents  in  the  checkered 
career  of  Napoleon  III.  He  desired  to  see  the  Latin  peoples  of  the  western 
world  develop  into  strong  nations  to  offset  the  preponderance  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons  in  North  America;  and  furthermore,  like  his  uncle,  he  cherished  imperial 
designs  outside  of  the  confines  of  Europe.  What  appeared  to  him  to  be  an  excel- 
lent opportunit)'  to  build  up  a  Latin  empire  under  his  protection  was  afforded  by 
disorders  in  Mexico.  In  the  summer  of  1861,  at  the  opening  of  the  great  Civil 
War  in  America,  the  republic  of  Mexico  suspended  payments  on  its  debts.  Eng- 
land, France,  and  Spain  made  a  joint  demonstration  against  Mexico  in  favor  of 
their  subjects  who  held  Mexican  bonds.  Napoleon  then  entered  into  negotiations 
with  some  Mexicans  who  wanted  to  overthrow  the  republic,  and  he  offered  to 
support  the  establishment  of  an  empire  if  they  would  choose  as  their  ruler  Arch- 
duke Maximilian,  brother  of  the  Austrian  emperor,  to  which  they  agreed.  Little 
realizing  how  few  of  the  Mexican  people  wanted  him  for  their  ruler,  Maximilian 
landed  in  his  new  realm  in  1864,  strongly  supported  by  French  troops.  As  soon 
as  the  Civil  War  in  the  United  States  was  brought  to  a  close,  the  American  gov- 
ernment protested,  in  the  name  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  against  foreign  inter- 
vention in  Mexican  affairs,  and  as  Napoleon  III  was  in  no  position  to  wage  war 
with  so  formidable  a  power,  he  withdrew  his  soldiers  and  advised  Maximilian  to 
abdicate  and  return  to  Europe.  The  new  emperor,  however,  refused  to  leave 
Mexico,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  was  captured  and  shot  (June,  1867).  The 
whole  affair  cost  France  a  great  deal  of  money  and  the  lives  of  many  soldiars, 
and  discredited  Napoleon's  ability  as  a  statesman. 


Fig.  io6 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  435 

in  France  and  Germany,  which  was  fostered  by  the  sensa- 
tional press  of  Paris  and  Berlin.  Frenchmen  began  to  talk 
about  "  avenging  Sadowa,"  and  the  Prussians  to  threaten 
their  "  hereditary  enemy "  with  summary  treatment  for  past 
wrongs. 

In  the  midst  of  this  irritation  a  pretext  for  war  was  afforded  Question  of 
by  the  question  of  the  Spanish  throne,  then  vacant  as  the  result  sion  to  the 
of  the  expulsion  of  Queen  Isabella  in  1868.  After  the  flight  of  ^^^^^^  °^ 
the  queen  a  national  Cortes  was  summoned  to  determine  upon 
a  form  of  government,  and  after  long  deliberations  it  finally 
tendered  the  crown  to  Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  a  distant 
relative  of  William  I  of  Prussia.  This  greatly  excited  the 
journalists  of  Paris,  who  loudly  protested  that  it  was  only 
an  indirect  way  of  bringing  Spain  under  the  influence  of 
Prussia.  The  French  minister  of  foreign  affairs  declared  that 
the  candidacy  was  an  attempt  to  reestablish  the  empire  of 
Charles  V.  This  belief  was  unfounded,  for,  in  spite  of  the 
apprehensions  of  the  French,  the  mass  of  the  Spanish  people 
were  more  anxious  to  see  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbon  line 
in  the  person  of  Alfonso,  the  son  of  Queen  Isabella,  than  they 
were  to  have  as  their  ruler  Leopold  of  Hohenzollern,  or  Ama- 
deus  (the  son  of  the  king  of  Italy),  who  was  finally  induced 
in  1870  to  accept  the  crown.^ 

1  Amadeus  was  an  enlightened  prince,  and  endeavored  to  rule  according  to 
the  wishes  of  his  new  subjects,  but  he  found  himself  opposed  by  the  Carlists, 
who  supported  a  grandson  of  Don  Carlos  as  their  candidate  ;  by  the  clergy,  who 
opposed  the  new  constitution  because  it  granted  religious  liberty ;  and  by  the 
moderate  royalists,  who  favored  placing  Isabella's  son,  Alfonso,  on  the  throne. 
After  little  more  than  two  years'  experience,  Amadeus  laid  down  his  crown,  and 
the  revolutionists  proclaimed  a  republic  (February  12,  1873),  which  lasted  only 
about  a  year.  At  last,  in  1875,  ^^  crown  was  given  to  Isabella's  son,  who  took 
the  title  of  Alfonso  XII,  and  after  a  short  civil  war  with  the  Carlists  a  new  con- 
stitution was  drawn  up  in  1876  providing  for  a  parliament  of  two  houses  —  a 
senate  composed  of  grandees,  appointed  dignitaries,  and  elected  persons,  and 
a  lower  house  of  representatives  chosen  by  popular  suffrage.  (By  the  electoral 
law  of  1890  all  male  Spaniards  twenty-five  years  of  age  are  entitled  to  vote.) 
This  is  the  present  constitution  of  Spain.  Alfonso  XII  died  in  1885,  and  was 
succeeded  by  the  present  king,  Alfonso  XIII,  who  was  bom  a  few  months  after 
his  father's  death. 


436 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Attitude  of 
France 
toward  the 
candidacy  of 
Leopold  of 
Hohenzollem 


But  the  war  parties  in  France  and  Prussia  were  looking  for 
a  pretext  for  a  conflict,  and  consequently  the  candidacy  of 
Prince  Leopold  was  given  an  exaggerated  importance.  In 
June,  1870,  with  the  consent  of  the  king  of  Prussia,  Leopold 
accepted  the  proffered  crown;  but  when  the  French  govern- 
ment protested  he  withdrew  his  acceptance,  also  with  the  ap- 
probation of  the  Prussian  king.  The  affair  now  seemed  to  be 
closed,  but  the  French  ministry  was  not  satisfied  with  the  out- 
come and  demanded  that  the  king  of  Prussia  should  pledge 
himself  that  the  candidacy  should  never  be  renewed.  This 
William  refused  to  do,  and  Bismarck,  anxious  both  to  force 
a  war  and  to  throw  the  blame  for  it  upon  the  French,  with 
gleeful  malice,  so  edited  the  account  given  to  the  German 
newspapers  of  the  refusal  as  to  make  it  appear  that  the  French 
ambassador  had  insulted  King  William,  and  had  been  rebuffed.-^ 
This  excited  the  "jingoes"  in  both  countries  to  a  state  of 
frenzy,  and  although  the  war  party  in  France  was  a  small 
minority,  that  country'  nevertheless  declared  war  against  Prussia 
on  July  19,  1870. 

The  French  minister  proclaimed  that  he  entered  the  conflict 
v/ith  a  "  light  heart,"  but  it  was  not  long  before  he  realized  the 
folly  of  the  headlong  plunge.  The  hostility  which  the  South 
German  states  had  hitherto  shown  toward  Prussia  had  encour- 
aged Napoleon  III  to  believe  that  so  soon  as  the  French  troops 
should  gain  their  first  victory,  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  and  Baden 
would  join  him.  But  that  first  victory  was  never  won.  War 
had  no  sooner  been  declared  than  the  South  as  well  as  the 
North  Germans  ranged  themselves  as  a  nation  against  a  na- 
tional assailant.  The  French  army,  moreover,  was  neither  well 
equipped  nor  well  commanded.  The  Germans  hastened  across 
the  Rhine  and  within  a  few  days  were  driving  the  French 
before  them.  In  a  series  of  bloody  encounters  about  Metz, 
one  of  the  French  armies  was  defeated  and  finally  shut  up 
within  the  fortifications  of  the  town.  Seven  weeks  had  not 
I  For  Bismarck's  version  of  the  affair,  see  Readings,  Vol  II,  pp.  158  ff. 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  437 

elapsed  after  the  beginning  of  the  war  before  the  Germans  had 
captured  a  second  French  army  and  made  a  prisoner  of  the 
emperor  himself  in  the  great  battle  of  Sedan,  September  i,  1870. 

The   Germans    then    surrounded    and    laid    siege   to    Paris.    Siege  of  Paris 
Napoleon  III  had  been  completely  discredited  by  the  disasters  the  Franco- 
about  Metz  and  Sedan,  and  consequently  the  empire  was  abol-   Prussian  War 
ished  and  France  for  the  third  time  was  declared  a  republic.^ 
In  spite  of  the  energy  which  the  new  government  showed  in 
arousing  the  nation  against  the  invaders,  prolonged  resistance 
was  impossible.    The  capital  surrendered  on  January  28,  187 1, 
after  a  memorable  siege,  and  an  armistice  was  concluded. 

In  arranging  the  terms  of  peace  their  exultation  led  the  Ger-  The  Germans 
mans  to  make  a  mistake  for  which  not  only  they  but  the  whole  cession  of 
world  is  now  paying.  When  Bismarck  concluded  the  war  with  LoTrSne 
Austria  he  wisely  took  precautions  to  leave  as  little  bitterness 
behind  as  possible.  With  France  it  was  different.  The  Germans 
wished  a  visible  sign  that  they  had  had  their  revenge.  They 
forced  the  French  to  cede  to  them  two  provinces  —  Alsace  and 
northeastern  Lorraine.^  In  this  way  France  was  cut  off  from 
''  the  German  Rhine,"  and  the  crest  of  the  Vosges  mountains 
became  the  frontier.  Many  of  the  Alsatians,  it  is  true,  spoke  a 
German  dialect,  and  the  provinces  had  long  before  been  a  part 
of  the  extinct  Holy  Roman  Empire.  But  the  people  felt  them- 
selves to  be  an  integral  part  of  the  French  nation,  and  rather 
than  submit  to  the  hated  rule  of  the  Germans  many  of  them  left 
their  homes  and  settled  in  France.  Those  who  remained  have 
never  ceased  to  protest  against  the  harsh  attempts  of  the  Ger- 
man government  to  prevent  the  expressions  of  their  resentment. 

1  See  below,  Chapter  XX. 

^  Alsace  had,  with  certain  reservations,  —  especially  as  regarded  Strassburg 
and  the  other  free  towns,  —  been  ceded  to  the  French  king  by  the  treaty  of 
Westphalia  at  the  close  of  the  Thirty  Years'  War.  Louis  XIV  disregarded  the 
reservations  and  seized  Strassburg  and  the  other  towns  (1681),  thus  annexing 
the  whole  region  to  France.  The  duchy  of  Lorraine  had  fallen  to  France  in 
1766,  upon  the  death  of  its  last  duke.  It  had  previously  been  regarded  as  a  part 
of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire.  In  187 1  less  than  a  third  of  the  original  duchy  of 
Lorraine,  including  the  fortified  city  of  Metz,  was  ceded  back  to  Germany. 


438 


Outlines  of  Europe a?i  History 


Proclamation 
of  the  Ger- 
man,Empire, 
January  i, 
1871 


The  Germans  exacted  a  heavy  war  indemnity  from  France — 
a  billion  dollars — and  proclaimed  that  German  troops  would 
remain  in  France  until  the  sum  was  paid.  The  French  people 
made  pathetic  sacrifices  to  hasten  the  payment  of  the  indemnity 
in  order  to  free  their  country  from  the  presence  of  the  detested 
"  Prussians."  The  bitter  feeling  between  France  and  Germany 
dates  from  this  war.  The  longing  for  revenge  on  the  part  of  the 
French,  and  the  suspicions  of  the  Germans,  not  only  prevented 
the  nations  from  becoming  friends  but  had  much  to  do  with 
the  sudden  and  inexcusable  attack  which  Germany  made  on 
France  in  August,  19 14.  The  fate  of  Alsace-Lorraine  is  one 
of  the  crucial  issues  of  the  Great  War.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
troublesome  questions  that  will  have  to  be  decided  at  the  peace 
table  when  the  awful  struggle  is  over. 

As  Bismarck  had  hoped,  the  successful  war  against  France 
completed  his  work,  begun  in  1866,  of  creating  a  German 
empire.  The  southern  states,  —  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  Baden, 
and  South  Hesse, —  having  sent  their  troops  to  fight  side  by 
side  with  the  Prussian  forces,  consented,  after  their  common 
victory  over  France,  to  join  the  North  German  Federation.  By 
a  series  of  treaties  it  was  agreed,  among  other  things,  that  the 
name  "  North  German  Federation ''  should  give  way  to  that  of 
"  German  Empire  "  and  that  the  king  of  Prussia,  as  president 
of  the  union,  should  be  given  the  title  of  "  German  Emperor." 
Surrounded  by  German  princes,  William,  king  of  Prussia  and 
president  of  the  North  German  Federation,  was  proclaimed 
German  Emperor  in  the  former  palace  of  the  French  kings  at 
Versailles,  January  18,  187 1. 

French  politicians  and  newspaper  men  certainly  played  into 
Germany's  hands  when,  imposed  upon  by  Bismarck's  garbled 
edition  of  the  Ems  dispatch,  they  urged  a  declaration  of  war 
against  their  neighbor.  France  had  to  pay  for  this  terrible  mis- 
take by  losing  her*  provinces  and  watching  Germany  increase 
in  population  and  wealth  until  Prussian  ambition  and  insolence 
reached  such  a  point  that,  forty-three  years  later,  the  German 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  439 

armies;  once  more  swept  into  France,  this  time  without  any 
plausible  excuse  whatsoever.  In  1870  Europe  and  the  United 
States  either  sympathized  on  the  whole  with  Germany  or  at 
least  observed  strict  neutrality  during  the  conflict.  In  1 9 1 4,  on 
the  contrary,  the  conduct  of  Germany  speedily  aroused  the 
hostility  of  most  of  the  other  nations  of  the  world,  and  they 
gradually  formed  a  gigantic  alliance  against  her  and  her  allies. 

Section  71.    Austria-Hungary  since   1866 

The  defeat   at   Sadowa   and    the    formation    of    the  North   Problems 
German  Federation  had  served  to  cut   off  Austria  from  Ger-  Austfiain 
many  altogether,  and  she  was  left  to  solve  as  best  she  might   ^^^^ 
the  problems  of  adjusting  her  relations  with  Hungary,  recon- 
ciling the  claims  of  the  various  races  within  her  borders,  and 
meeting  the  demands  of  the  liberals  for  constitutional  govern- 
ment and  reforms  in  general. 

An  attempt  had  been  made  in  1861  to  unite  all  the  posses-  The  Austro- 
sions  of  Francis  Joseph  into  a  single  great  empire  with  its  parlia-  dual  mon- 
ment  at  Vienna,  but  the  Hungarians  obstinately  refused  to  take  ^shed!n^867 
part  in  the  deliberations  and,  by  encouraging  the  Bohemians, 
Poles,  and  Croats  to  withdraw,  caused  the  plan  to  fail. 

Soon  after  the  defeat  of  Austria  by  Prussia  in  1866  the  rela- 
tions between  the  Austrian  Empire  and  the  kingdom  of  Hun- 
gary were  finally  settled  by  a  compromise  (^Aiisgleich,  as  the 
Germans  call  it).^  Francis  Joseph  agreed  to  regard  himself  as 
ruling  over  two  separate  and  practically  independent  states : 
(i)  the  Austrian  Empire,  which  includes  seventeen  provinces, 
—  Upper  and  Lower  Austria,  Bohemia,  Moravia,  Carinthia, 
Carniola,  and  the  rest ;  and  (2)  the  kingdom  of  Hungary,  in- 
cluding Croatia  and  Slavonia.  While  each  of  these  had  its  own 
constitution  and  its  own  parliament,  one  at  Vienna  and  the 
other  at  Pesth,  and  managed  its  own  affairs  under  the  guid- 
ance of  its  own  ministers,  the  two  governments,  in  dealing  with 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  165  ff.,  for  extracts. 


440 


Outlines  of  European  History 


foreign  nations,  declaring  war,  and  concluding  treaties,  were  to 
appear  as  one  state,  to  be  called  Austria-Hungary.  They  were 
to  have  a  common  army  and  navy  and  to  be  united  commer- 
cially by  using  the  same  coins,  weights,  and  measures,  and 
agreeing  upon  a  common  tariff.  Although  this  particular  kind 
of  union  between  two  states  was  a  new  thing  in  Europe,  it  has 
proved  to  be  strong  enough  to  last  to  the  present. 

In  order  to  manage  the  affairs  common  to  the  two  states, 
their  joint  monarch  appoints  three  ministers  —  of  foreign  affairs, 
war,  and  finance.  These  ministers  are  responsible  to  a  curious 
kind  of  joint  parliament,  called  the  Delegations^  one  section  of 
which  is  chosen  by  the  Austrian  parliament,  and  the  other  by 
the  Hungarian  diet.  These  Delegations  consist  of  sixty  mem- 
bers each  and  hold  their  sessions  alternately  at  Vienna  and  at 
Pesth,  in  order  to  avoid  all  jealousy.  They  sit  as  separate 
bodies,  one  carrying  on  its  discussions  in  German  and  the 
other  in  Hungarian,  and  ordinarily  communicate  with  each 
other  in  writing,  except  in  cases  of  disagreement,  when  the 
two  Delegations  come  together  and  vote  as  a  single  body, 
but  without  debate. 

The  problem  of  satisfying  the  various  races,  with  their  dif- 
fering languages  and  their  national  aspirations,  has  been  the 
most  serious  difficulty  which  both  Austria  and  Hungary  have 
had  to  face.  In  1867  there  were  in  Austria  7,100,000  Ger- 
mans, 4,700,000  Czechs,  2,440,000  Poles  (in  Galicia),  2,580,000 
Ruthenians  (in  eastern  Galicia),  1,190,000  Slovenians  (princi- 
pally in  Carniola),  520,000  Croats  (in  Dalmatia  and  Istria), 
580,000  Italians  (in  Trieste  and  southern  Tyrol),  and  200,000 
Roumanians  (in  Bukowina).^  The  Germans  held  that  the 
German  town  of  Vienna,  the  old  seat  of  the  court,  was  the 
natural  center  of  all  the  provinces,  and  that  the  German  lan- 
guage, since  it  was  spoken  more  generally  than  any  other  in 
the  Austrian  provinces  and  was  widely  used  in  scientific  and 
literary  works,  should  be  given  the  preference  everywhere  by 

1  See  map,  p.  394. 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  44 1 

the  gcvernment.  The  Czechs  and  Poles,  on  their  part,  longed 
for  their  old  freedom  and  independence,  wished  to  use  their 
own  language,  and  constantly  permitted  their  dislike  of  the 
Germans  to  influence  their  policy  in  the  parliament  at  Vienna.^ 

The  three  most  noteworthy  achievements  in  Austria  during  Power  of  the 
the  past  fifty  years  have  been  the  establishment  of  a  consti-  duced  in 
tutional  system  in  1867,  the  readjustment  of  the  relations  be-  -^"^tna 
tween  Church  and  State  in  1 867-1 868,  and  the  extension  of 
the  suffrage  in  1906.  After  the  settlement  of  1867  the  German 
liberal  party  forced  through  the  Austrian  parliament  a  series 
of  laws  which  restricted  the  time-honored  prerogatives  of  the 
Catholic  clergy.^  Every  individual  was  given  the  right  to  choose 
his  own  religion  and  to  worship  as  he  pleased.  Government 
offices  and  positions  in  the  schools  were  thrown  open  to  all 
citizens,  regardless  of  creed ;  the  State,  not  the  Church,  was 
thereafter  to  manage  the  schools ;  civil  marriage  was  instituted 
for  those  who  did  not  wish  to  have  a  priest  officiate  at  their 
marriage,  as  well  as  for  those  whom  the  priests  refused  to 
unite.  The  Pope  vigorously  condemned  the  constitutional  laws 
of  1867,  which  had  guaranteed  complete  religious  liberty;  the 
laws  of  1868  he  pronounced  ^'abominable,"  and  null  and  void. 
Nevertheless  the  reforms  which  Joseph  II  had  striven  to  intro- 
duce before  the  French  Revolution  were  at  last  secured. 

Austria,  like  the  other  European  states,  has  been  profoundly  Question  of 
affected  by  the  Industrial  Revolution.  The  ever-increasing 
numbers  of  workingmen  began  to  urge  that  the  old  system  of 
voting,  which  permitted  the  richer  classes  to  choose  the  mem- 
bers of  the  parliament,  should  be  changed  so  as  to  allow  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  to  send  representatives  to  Vienna.^ 

1  In  the  newspapers  we  read  of  the  "  Young "  Czechs,  who  agree  with  the 
"  Old  "  Czechs  in  working  for  Bohemian  independence,  but  are  more  progressive 
than  their  fellow  representatives.  2  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  169  ff. 

3  The  system  adopted  in  1867,  according  to  which  the  local  diets  of  the  prov- 
inces elected  the  deputies,  was  later  abolished,  and  the  right  to  select  the  425 
deputies  w^s  put  into  the  hands  of  four  classes :  the  landowners  were  assigned 
85  seats;  the  chambers  of  trade  and  commerce,  21  ;  the  towns,  118;  the  rural 
districts,  129.   The  adult  males  were  permitted  to  choose  the  remaining  72. 


442 


Outlines  of  European  History 


At  last,  in  1906,  the  suffrage  was  extended  to  all  males  over 
twenty-four  years  of  age.  The  first  election  under  the  new  law 
took  place  in  May,  1907.^  The  socialists  gained  over  fifty  seats, 
many  of  which  they  secured  at  the  expense  of  the  Czechs. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  conservative  clerical  party  also 
gained.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  various  little  parties 
formed  on  the  basis  of  race  issues  will  give  way  in  time  to 
those  representing  grave  economic  and  social  problems  such 
as  ejyst  in  the  other  European  states. 


Fig.  113.  Farming  Scene  in  Hungary 

The  vast  plains  of  Hungary  are  now  farmed  much  like  the  prairies  of 

America,  with  implements  made  by  American  firms.    But  the  peasants 

on  the  great  feudal  estates  are  still  dressed  in  quaint  costumes,  the  kilts 

of  the  men  being  almost  indistinguishable  from  women's  skirts 

The  history  of  Hungary  since  1867  has  resembled  that 
of  Austria  in  some  respects.  The  Magyars  have,  however, 
been  more  successful  than  the  Germans  in  maintaining  their 
supremacy.  The  population  of  Hungary  proper  in  19 11  was 
about  eighteen  millions,  of  which  the  Magyars  formed  some- 
thing over  half.  Croatia  and  Slavonia  had  together  slightly 
more  than  two  and  a  half  millions.  In  the  lower  house  of  the 
diet  four  hundred  and  thirteen  deputies  are  chosen  in  Hungary, 
and  only  forty  in  Croatia  and  Slavonia.  Magyar  is  naturally  the 
language  chiefly  used  in  the  diet,  and  by  government  officials 
and  railway  employees,  and  in  the  universities.    The  government 

1  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  171  ff. 


l}V.»     \      J      •  10 Longitude      Ea^ 


o 

/Pilsen 


\ 


H)e  MIA 


J  J    (Tioi'.lTajj'! 

,Tal;.n-      ,^^   p[lo    ij    ^J    y    J 


<4y 


Greenwich  20' 


Formation  of  the  German  Empire  443 

encoui^ages  the  migration  of  the  people  to  the  cities,  especially 
to  Budapest,  for  it  is  the  rapidly  growing  cities  which  are  the 
strongholds  of  the  Magyars,  and  the  number  of  those  who 
speak  their  language  is  steadily  increasing. 

Croatia  and  Slavonia  have  been  dissatisfied  with  the  way  Race  discon- 
they  have  been  treated  in  the  national  parliament  at  Budapest.  Hungary 
The  Serbians  are  discontented,  and  some  of  the  extremists 
among  them  have  been  cherishing  the  hope  that  the  region 
they  inhabit  might  be  annexed  some  day  to  the  kingdom  of 
Serbia ;  while  the  Roumanians  look  longingly  to  the  independ- 
ent kingdom  of  Roumania,  of  which  they  feel  they  should 
form  a  part.-^  It  was  this  racial  discontent  which  furnished  the 
cause  for  the  events  leading  to  the  great  war  of  19 14  (see  below, 
Chapter  XXVII). 

QUESTIONS 

Section  d^.  What  was  the  effect  of  the  Industrial  Revolution 
upon  the  German  states  t  Describe  the  Zollverein  of  1 834.  By  what 
means  was  Prussia  enabled  to  assume  the  leadership  of  the  German 
states  ?  Describe  the  way  in  which  the  Prussian  army  was  strength- 
ened.   Give  an  account  of  Bismarck's  views  and  aims. 

Section  69.  What  use  did  Bismarck  make  of  the  Schleswig- 
Holstein  question.?  Show  on  a  map  the  position  taken  by  the 
different  German  states  in  the  Austro-German  war  of  1866.  Trace 
on  a  map  the  extent  of  the  North  German  Federation,  indicating 
the  gains  made  by  Prussia  as  a  result  of  the  war  with  Austria.  Con- 
trast the  constitution  of  the  North  German  Federation  with  that  of 
the  German  Confederation. 

Section  70.  Describe  the  foreign  policy  of  Napoleon  III. 
Describe  the  situation  which  led  to  the  war  between  France  and 
Prussia  in  1870.  Outline  the  main  events  of  this  war.  What  were 
the  terms  of  peace?  Discuss  the  effect  of  this  war  upon  German 
unity. 

Section  71.  Show  the  result  of  Austria's  war  with  Prussia,  in 
1866,  on  the  relations  between  Austria  and  Hungary.  Describe  the 
government  of  the  dual  monarchy.  What  are  the  internal  problems 
which  confront  Austria  at  the  present  day  1 

1  For  the  annexation  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  sec  below,  p.  586. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


THE  GERMAN  EMPIRE 


Section  72.    The  German  Constitution 


The  war  of 
1914  makes 
the  German 
government 
a  world  issue 


President 

Wilson's 

arraignment 

of  the 

German 

government 


Prussian 
origin  of 
the  German 
constitution 


Few  persons  outside  of  Germany  knew  much  about  the 
German  constitution  and  methods  of  government  before  the 
opening  of  the  Great  War  in  19 14.  Then  suddenly  these 
became  a  matter  of  world-wide  interest.  The  ravaging  of  a 
helpless,  blameless  little  country  like  Belgium,  with  no  further 
excuse  than  that  it  suited  the  interests  of  the  German  high 
military  command  to  pass  through  that  country  in  order  to 
crush  France,  woke  other  nations  to  the  dangers  that  lurked 
in  the  German  system. 

When,  in  April,  19 17,  the  policy  of  the  German  military 
authorities  finally  forced,  the  United  States  into  the  war,  Presi- 
dent Wilson  explained  to  Congress  that  Germany  had  "  an' 
irresponsible  government  which  has  thrown  aside  all  considera- 
tions of  humanity  and  of  right  and  is  running  amuck  "  ;  that 
"  the  Prussian  autocracy  was  not  and  could  never  be  our 
friend  "  ;  that,  with  its  control  of  the  German  military  machine, 
it  was  the  "  natural  foe  to  liberty  "  ;  that  ''  no  autocratic  govern- 
ment could  be  trusted  to  keep  faith  "  ;  and  that  since  the  German 
Empire  had  become  a  menace  to  the  peace  and  freedom  of  the 
world  the  United  States  should  combine  with  other  democratic 
nations  against  it  and,  if  necessary,  ''  spend  the  whole  force  of 
the  nation  to  check  and  nullify  its  pretensions  and  its  power." 

In  the  previous  chapter  the  origin  of  the  present  German 
Empire  was  described.  Its  constitution  was  originally  drawn  up 
after  Prussia  defeated  Austria  in  1866,  and  was  designed  to 
secure  Prussian  predominance  in  Germany.    Even  if  some  little 

444 


The  Gerniari  Empire  445 

influence  was  granted  to  the  representatives  of  the  people,  we 
might  be  sure  that  Bismarck,  with  his  autocratic  ideas  and  his 
confidence  in  kings  and  armies,  would  not  consent  to  any  essen- 
tial weakening  of  the  monarch's  power  or  of  the  control  enjoyed 
by  the  military  and  landowning  classes  (Junkers)^  to  which 
he  himself  belonged. 

In  the  North  German  Federation  of  1866  Prussia,  with  the  Predomi- 
German  states  she  had  seized,  constituted  nearly  the  whole  Prussia 
union.  When,  after  the  successful  war  with  France  in  18 70- 
187 1,  the  southern  states  of  Bavaria,  Wiirtemberg,  Baden,  and 
South  Hesse  were  induced  to  join  the  federation  and  so  com- 
plete the  present  German  Empire,  little  change  was  made  in 
the  original  constitution  framed  four  years  earlier.  In  spite 
of  the  addition  of  the  states  south  of  the  Main  River,  Prussia 
still  forms  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  empire,  and  her  citizens 
amount  to  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  population  of  Germany. 

So  before  considering  the  constitution  of  the  empire,  we  must  The  Prussian 

.        ■     _  .  ^  ,  ...  constitution 

see  the  nature  01  the  Prussian  government  under  which  a  ma-  of  1850 
jority  of  the  Germans  live.  When,  in  1850,  the  king  of  Prussia 
''  granted  "  his  people  a  constitution,  Bismarck  heartily  opposed 
the  measure;  and,  when,  as  we  have  seen,  in  1862,  he  decided 
that  the  army  must  be  increased  he  paid  no  attention  to  the 
refusal  of  the  Prussian  lower  house  to  grant  him  the  necessary 
money.  The  king  of  Prussia  still  rules  by  the  grace  of  God  ;  he 
and  the  Austrian  rulers  are  the  only  old-fashioned  autocrats  left 
in  Europe  since  the  overthrow  of  the  Tsar  of  Russia.  The 
militaristic  landowning  class  are  in  control  of  the  upper  house 
of  the  Prussian  parliament,  or  diet.  The  method  of  electing 
members  to  the  lower  house  is  so  arranged  as  to  give  the  richer 
classes  an  overwhelming  influence. 

The  members  of  the  lower  house  are  elected  indirectly,  that  is,   "  The  three- 
by  conventions,  the  delegates  to  which  are  chosen  in  each  elec-  of  voting 
toral  district.    Every  man  who  has  reached  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years  is  permitted  to  vote,  but  care  is  taken  that  if  he  is  poor 
and  discontented  with  the  government  his  vote  shall  count  for 


446 


Outlines  of  Eitropean  History 


Character  of 

Prussian 

elections 


Powerless- 
ness  of  the 
lower  house 


practically  nothing.  This  is  effected  by  dividing  the  voters  into 
three  classes,  according  to  the  amount  of  taxes  they  pay.  Those 
who  are  richest  and  together  pay  a  third  of  the  taxes  have  a 
third  of  the  votes  ;  those  who  pay  the  second  third  have  a  third ; 
and,  finally,  the  great  mass  of  the  people  who  make  up  the  other 
third  have  a  right  to  select  a  third  of  the  deputies  to  the  elec- 
toral convention,  which  meets  to  select  representatives  of  the 
district  to  sit  in  the  diet. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  single  rich  Junker^  or  even  a 
Berlin  sausage  manufacturer,  may  elect  a  third  of  the  delegates 
in  his  district.  In  1900  the  Social  Democrats  cast  a  majority 
of  votes  for  members  of  the  conventions  and  found  themselves 
with  only  seven  seats  in  the  diet  out  of  nearly  four  hundred,  the 
rest  having  been  filled  by  the  richer,  conservative  classes.  But 
not  satisfied  with  the  workings  of  "  the  three-class  system," 
the  Prussian  government  makes  everyone  vote  aloud,  so  that 
the  government  officials  can  tell  what  his  sentiments  are. 
Moreover,  it  shamelessly  interferes  with  the  elections,  as  one 
of  the  Prussian  chancellors  frankly  admits  in  his  memoirs, 
to  prevent  the  election  of  deputies  opposed  to  the  plans  of 
the  small  group  which  controls  the  policy  of  Prussia. 

Even  when  the  lower  house  gets  together,  it  has  little  power. 
The  king  is  in  control  of  the  upper  house,  the  members  of 
which  are 'elected  as  he  wishes.  He  initiates  all  laws  and  has 
an  absolute  veto  on  all  measures  passed  by  the  parliament. 
He  manages  the  administration,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  a 
permanent  bureaucracy  of  the  most  conservative  militaristic 
type.  The  members  of  the  lower  house  can  talk,  so  far  as 
they  think  it  prudent,  and  can  refuse  to  approve  appropria- 
tions ;  but  there  are  various  forms  of  pressure  that  can  be 
brought  to  bear  on  them  to  support  the  king  and  his  advisers. 
These  are  the  facts  which  justify  one  in  calling  Prussia,  which 
is  the  predominating  state  of  the  German  Empire,  auto- 
cratic, or  highly  aristocratic,  in  its  frame  of  government  and 
methods.    We  must  now  turn  to  the  federal  constitution  and 


The  Germa7i  Empire  447 

note  the  ingenious   manner  in  which  the  control  of  Prussia 
and  its  king  is  extended  over  the  whole  empire. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  constitution  of  the  North  Position  of 
German  Federation  had  been  drawn  up  with  the  hope  that  EmSo?^" 
the  South  German  states  would  consent  in  time  to  join 
this  union  which  Prussia  arranged  in  1866.  Consequently, 
when  the  new  German  Empire  was  proclaimed,  four  years 
later,  fewer  changes  needed  to  be  made  than  might  have  been 
expected.  The  ancient  title  "  German  Emperor "  {Deutscher 
Kaiser)  was  bestowed  on  King  William  I  of  Prussia  and  his 
successors  on  the  throne  of  tl>^  Hohenzollerns  forever.  He 
was  not,  however,  regarded  as  the  sovereign  of  Germany,  for 
this  would  have  offended  the  pride  of  the  various  German 
kings  and  princes,  like  the  kings  of  Bavaria  and  Wiirtemberg, 
who  would  not  consent  to  be  subkings  under  the  chief  king 
of  Prussia.  So  the  Kaiser  was  only  given  the  "  presidency  " 
of  the  empire.  It  is  true  that  William  II  is  accustomed  to 
talk  as  if  he  ruled  Germany  by  the  grace  of  God,  but  he  has 
no  constitutional  right  to  make  this  claim. 

The  emperor  does  not  have  the  right  directly  to  veto  the  Powers  of 
measures  passed  by  the  imperial  parliament,  but  he  exercises  ^  ^'^^"^ 
many  of  the  powers  that  would  fall  to  an  absolute  monarch. 
He  appoints  and  dismisses  the  chancellor  of  the  empire,  who, 
with  his  "  all-highest "  self,  is  the  chief  official  spokesman  of 
Germany.  What  is  most  dangerous  for  the  rest  of  the  world, 
the  Kaiser  commands  the  unconditional  obedience  of  all 
German  soldiers  and  sailors  and  appoints  the  chief  officers  in 
the  army  and  navy.  He  has  only  to  say  that  the  fatherland  is 
attacked  and  he  can  hurl  the  German  army  against  any  inno- 
cent neighbor  he  chooses  without  asking  anyone's  approval. 
This  he  did  when  he  ordered  the  invasion  of  Belgium  and 
France  in   19 14. 

The  sovereignty  of  the  empire  is  theoretically  vested  not  in   The 
the   Kaiser  but  in   a  sort  of   composite  monarch  called   the 
Federal    Council   {Bimdesrat),   the  most    peculiar,   important. 


448 


Outlines  of  European  History 


and  least  understood  feature  of  the  German  system.  This 
is  made  up  of  the  personal  representatives  of  the  twenty-two 
monarchs  and  of  the  three  free  cities  included  in  the  federation 
(see  above,  p.  433)-  The  Bundesrat^  like  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  consists  of  representatives  of  the  individual 
states  of  the  union ;  but,  unlike  the  senators,  its  members  are 
agents  of  their  respective  governments,  which  they  represent, 
and  not  of  the  people  of  the  several  states.  They  have  to  vote 
as  their  rulers  command.  The  king  of  Prussia  has  seventeen 
votes,  to  which  he  adds  the  three  assigned  to  Alsace-Lorraine, 
which  he  controls ;  this  insurgs  him  twenty  out  of  a  total  of 
sixty-one.  The  king  of  Bavaria  has  six,  the  ruler  of  Saxony 
four,  the  ruler  of  Wiirtemberg  four,  and  a  great  part  of  the 
smaller  countries  only  one.-^ 

1  Composition  of  the  German  Empire 


Population 
Dec.  I,  1910 

(in  Round 
Numbers) 

Number  of 
Members 

Present  Nuji- 

BER  OF  ReITvE- 

Names  of  the  States 

IN  the 

BUNDES- 
RAT 

sentatives 

IN  THE 

Reichstag  , 

Kingdom  of  Prussia 

40,100,000 

17 

236 

Kingdom  of  Bavaria 

6,800,000 

6 

4S 

Kingdom  of  Saxony 

4,800,000 

4 

23 

Kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg 

2,400,000 

4 

17 

Grandduchy  of  Baden 

2,100,000 

.3 

14 

Grandduchy  of  Hesse 

1,200,000 

3 

9 

Grandduchy  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin 

639,000 

6 

Grandduchy  of  Saxe-\V  eimar   .... 

417,000 

I 

3 

Grandduchy  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz     . 

106,000 

I 

I 

Grandduchy  of  Oldenburg 

482,000 

I 

3 

Duchy  of  Brunswick 

494,000 

2 

3 

Duchy  of  Saxe-l\Ieiningen 

278,000 

I 

2 

Duchy  of  Saxe-Altenburg 

216,000 

1 

I 

Duchy  of  Saxe-Coburg-Gotha  .... 

257,000 

I 

2 

Duchy  of  Anhalt 

331,000 

I 

2 

Principality    of    Schwarzburg-Sonders- 

hausen    

89,000 
100,000 

I 

Principality  of  Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 

J 

Principality  of  Waldeck 

61,000 

J 

I 

Principality  of  Reuss,  elder  line   .     .     . 

72,000 

I 

I 

Principality  of  Reuss,  junior  line  .     .     . 

152,000 

I 

I 

Principality  of  Schaumburg-Lippe    .     . 

46,000 

I 

Principality  of  Lippe 

150,000 

•            J 

J 

Free  town  of  Liibeck 

I 

J 

Free  town  of  Bremen 

298,000 

J 

J 

Free  town  of  H  amburg 

J 

Imperial  territory  of  Alsace-Lorraine    . 

1,800,000 

3 

'5 

Total  (details  added) 

64,903,423 

61 

397 

The  Gernimt  Empire  449 

The  democratic  element  in  the  government  is  the  Reichstags   The  Rekhs- 
or  House  of  Representatives,  which  consists  of  about  four   House  of 
hundred  members  distributed  among  the  various  states  accord-   R^presenta- 

^  tives 

ing  to  their  population.  The  constitution  provides  that  every 
German  citizen  twenty-five  years  of  age  may  vote  for  members 
of  the  Reichstag.  The  representatives  are  elected  for  a  term 
of  five  years,  but  the  house  may  at  any  time  be  dissolved  by 
the  emperor  with  the  consent  of  the  Bundesrat.  Members 
of  the  Reichstag,  under  a  law  of  May,  1906,  are  paid  for 
their  services. 

The  chief  minister  of  the  empire  is  the  chancellor,  who  is  The  chan- 
appointed  by  the  Kaiser  from  among  the  Prussian  delegates 
in  the  Bundesrat  and  may  be  dismissed  by  him  at  will  without 
regard  to  the  rise  and  fall  of  parties  in  the  Reichstag.  The 
chancellor  is  not  bound  by  any  resolutions  or  votes  of  the 
Reichstag ;  he  is  entirely  at  the  command  of  the  emperor,  from 
whom  alone  he  derives  his  authority.  He  presides  over  the 
Bundesrat,  appoints  the  federal  officers  in  the  name  of  the 
emperor,  and  supervises  the  discharge  of  their  duties. 

In  short,  Germany  has  never  introduced  the  cabinet  system   No  cabinet 
of  government  which  prevails  in  other   European  countries.-^  the  German 
The  Kaiser  exercises,  through  the  chancellor  and  in  view  of  Empire 
his  position  as  king  of  Prussia,  a  power  unrivaled  by  any  of 
the  constitutional  rulers  of  Europe,  and  the  Reichstag  serves 
rather  as  a  critic  of,  and  a  check  on,  the  government  than  as 
the  directing  force. 

When  German  unity  was  finally  achieved  in   1871   by  the   Necessity  for 

r  •  r     ^  •  i  •  1-^1        unifomi  laws 

formation  of  the  empire,  the  new  nation  was  very  much  in  the   for  the  whole 
position  of  the  United  States  after  the  adoption  of  the  Consti-  ernp"^ 
tution  in  1789.    A  federation  had  been  entered  into  by  states 
bound  together  by  ties  of  a  common  race  and  language,  but 
its  permanence  was  by  no  means  assured.   The  various  German 
rulers  were  zealous  in  safeguarding  their  dignity  and  their  own 

1  See  above,  pp.  56,  168.   See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  176  ff.,  for  Bismarck's 
view. 
II 


450 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Powers  of 
the  imperial 
government 


Imperial 
legislation 


particular  rights,  and  they  were  not  altogether  pleased  with  the 
preeminence  assumed  by  the  king  of  Prussia.  Each  state  had 
its  own  traditions  of  independence,  its  own  peculiar  industrial 
interests,  and  its  own  particular  form  of  government.  Realizing 
the  strength  of  these  local  tendencies,  the  imperial  government 
undertook  to  establish  stronger  national  ties  through  the  intro- 
duction of  uniform  laws  for  the  whole  German  people,  to 
supplant  the  diverse  laws  of  the  various  states. 

The  leadership  in  this  nationalizing  movement  fell  naturally 
to  Bismarck,  chancellor  of  the  empire  and  president  of  the 
Prussian  ministry.  Fortunately  for  him  the  constitution  con- 
ferred on  the  federal  legislature  wide  powers  in  regulating 
matters  which  in  the  United  States  are  reserved  entirely  to 
the  states.  The  imperial  parliament  is  given  the  power  to  regu- 
late commerce  and  intercourse  between  the  states  and  with  for- 
eign nations,  to  coin  money,  to  fix  weights  and  measures,  and  to 
control  the  banking  system,  railways,  telegraph,  and  post  office, 
besides  other  general  powers.  But,  more  than  this,  the  federal 
government  in  Germany  is  empowered  by  the  constitution  to 
make  uniform  throughout  the  empire  the  criminal  and  civil  law, 
the  organization  of  the  courts,  and  judicial  procedure,  whereas  in 
the  United  States  each  state  defines  crimes,  regulates  the  form 
of  contracts,  and  so  forth.  Consequently  the  Prussian  chancellor 
could  proceed  to  direct  the  reform  of  all  Germany  according  to 
his  ideas  of  what  was  best  for  her. 

The  parliament  at  once  set  to  work  to  exercise  the  im- 
portant powers  conferred  upon  it.  In  1873  a  uniform  cur- 
rency law  was  passed,  and  the  bewildering  variety  of  coins 
and  paper  notes  of  the  separate  states  was  replaced  by  a 
simple  system  of  which  the  7nark  (about  twenty-five  cents) 
is  the  basis.  The  new  coins  bore  on  one  side  the  effigy  of 
the  emperor  and  on  the  other  the  arms  of  the  empire,  *'  to 
preach  to  the  people  the  good  news  of  unity."  In  187 1  a 
uniform  criminal  code  was  introduced;  in  1877  a  law  was 
passed    regulating    the    organization   of    the    courts,   civil  and 


The  German  Empire  451 

criminal  procedure,  bankruptcy,  and  patents;  and  from  1874 
to  1887  a  commission  was  busy  drafting  the  civil  code,  which 
went  into  effect  in  1900. 

Although  the  champions  of  states'  rights  looked  with  disfavor  The  Kultur- 
upon  Bismarck's  policy  of  strengthening  the  imperial  govern- 
ment and  making  uniform  laws  for  the  whole  empire,  the 
greatest  opposition  came  from  the  Catholics,  who  feared  the 
growing  influence  of  Protestant  Prussia.  At  the  first  imperial 
elections  in  1871  the  Catholics  returned  sixty-three  members 
to  parliament,  and  in  this  the  chancellor  saw,  or  pretended  to 
see,  a  conspiracy  of  clerical  forces  against  the  state.  The  de- 
crees of  the  Vatican  Council,  issued  in  1870,  definitely  asserted 
that  the  secular  governments  might  not  interfere  with  the  Pope 
in  his  relations  with  the  clergy  or  with  lay  Catholics  in  church 
matters.  Bismarck  insisted  on  the  supremacy  of  the  civil  law,  and, 
mainly  over  a  question  of  control  of  schools,  began  what  was  called 
the  Kulturkampf,  or  ^'  war  in  defense  of  civilization,"  by  laws 
expelling  the  Jesuits  and  other  religious  societies"  and  imposing 
penalties  upon  the  clergy  for  any  criticism  of  the  government.-^ 
This  was  followed  by  other  harsh  legislation  in  Prussia;  and 
the  Pope  and  German  clergy  in  general  were  moved  to  resist 
Bismarck's  anti-clerical  policy.  Instead  of  submitting,  the 
Catholics  were  welded  into  a  strong  political  party,  which 
elected  ninety-one  members  to  the  Reichstag  in   1874. 

Finding  the  Catholic  opposition  growing  stronger,  and  dis-   Bismarck 
covering  a  new  danger  to  his   policy  in  the  rapid  rise  of  a  wkhThe^'^'"^ 
socialistic  party,   Bismarck   came   to   terms  with  the   Church,   Catholic 
repealed  nearly  all  of  the  measures  directed  against  the  clergy, 
and  established  cordial  relations  with  the  Vatican.   The  Catholic 
political  party  —  whose  representatives   in  the  Reichstag  are 
called  the  Center  —  was  not,  however,  broken  up  by  the  re- 
versal of  the  government  policy ;   and  the  attempt  to  destroy 
the   Socialist  party,  which   Bismarck  was  now  free  to  make, 
proved  no  more  successful. 

1  See  i^^^a'm^j,  Vol.  II,  p.  183. 


452 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  73.    Bismarck  and  State  Socialism 


Beginnings 
of  socialism 
in  Germany 


Karl  Marx 


Lassalle 


The  Social 
Democrats 
organize  in 
i86q 


The  Socialist  party  had  grown  up  in  Germany  practically 
within  Bismarck's  own  time.  In  1842  a  German  professor 
had  declared  that  Germany  had  nothing  to  fear  from  that 
movement  since  the  country  had  no  distinct  working  class. 
But  within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  Germany,  like 
England  and  France,  underwent  a  radical  industrial  revolution 
Large  manufacturing  towns  sprang  up;  railways  were  built; 
the  working  classes  inevitably  combined  to  protect  and  advance 
their  own  interests ;  and  all  the  problems  of  capital  and  labor 
were  suddenly  thrust  upon  the  German  people. 

The  Socialist  view  of  the  labor  problems  and  their  solution 
had  been  elaborated  by  a  German  scholar,  Karl  Marx,  before 
the  Revolution  of  1848,^  but  it  was  not  until  nearly  twenty 
years  later  that  a  party  championing  his  doctrines  entered 
German  politics.  Under  the  leadership  of  Lassalle,  a  radical 
thinker  and  a  brilliant  orator,  a  General  Workingmen's  Asso- 
ciation was  formed  at  a  labor  congress  in  Leipzig  in  1863. 
After  more  than  a  year's  vigorous  agitation  Lassalle  had, 
however,  mustered  less  than  five  thousand  members  for  his 
association,  and  he  was  thoroughly  discouraged  when  he  met 
his  end  in  a  duel  over  a  love  affair  in  1864. 

Notwithstanding  the  death  of  Lassalle,  the  campaign  which 
he  had  begun  continued  to  be  prosecuted  with  greater  vigor 
than  before,  although  by  no  means  all  of  the  workingmen 
believed  in  his  program.  Some  of  the  more  radical  among 
them,  under  the  influence  of  the  teachings  of  Marx,  founded 
at  Eisenach,  in  1869,  a  new  association,  which  bore  the  name 
of  the  Social  Democratic  Labor  Party  of  Germany.  The  two 
groups  worked  side  by  side  until  1875,  when,  at  a  general 
labor  congress  held  at  Gotha,  they  combined  and  issued  an 
important  statement  of  the  views  and  purposes  of  the  party.^ 
In  the  elections  of  that  year  for  the  Reichstag  the  Socialists 

1  See  above,  p.  375.  2  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  493. 


The  German  Empire  453 

polled  three  hundred  and  forty  thousand  votes  and  began 
to  arouse  the  apprehension  of  the  government,  which  was 
naturally  suspicious  of  them. 

Bismarck  resented  the  attitude  of  the  Socialists,  and  after  Bismarck 
two  attempts  had  been  made  upon  the  life  of  the  emperor,  cSsh"i'ur*° 
which  he  ascribed  without  justification  to  Socialist  conspiracies,  socialism, 
he  had  a  law  passed  in  1878  designed  to  suppress  socialistic 
agitation  altogether.  It  prohibited  meetings,  publications,  and 
associations  having  for  their  purpose  "the  overthrow  of  the 
social  order  "  or  the  promotion  of  socialistic  tendencies  danger- 
ous to  the  public  peace,  and  authorized  the  government  to 
proclaim  martial  law  in  any  city  threatened  by  labor  disturb- 
ances. This  repressive  law  remained  in  force  for  twelve  years 
and  completely  disorganized  the  party  as  far  as  national  politics 
were  concerned.  It  failed,  however,  in  accomplishing  its  full 
purpose,  for  the  Socialists  continued  to  form  local  societies 
in  spite  of  the  precautions  of  the  police,  and  to  spread  their 
doctrines  by  secret  propaganda  in  the  factories  and  the 
army  and  by  means  of  papers  smuggled  in  principally  from 
Switzerland.^ 

While  these  attempts  were  being  made  to  suppress  the  Social  Origin  of 
Democrats,  there  was  growing  up  in  Germany  a  new  school  of  socialist"^ 
political  economists  known  as  "  State  socialists,"  who  maintained  ^^^ 
that  the  government  should  adopt  a  number  of  the  socialistic 
schemes  for  the  benefit  of  the  working  classes  in  order  to  re- 
move the  causes  of  their  discontent.    The  practical  proposals 
of  the  State  socialists  were  exceedingly  numerous.     They  ad- 
vocated providing  steady  employment  for  the  working  classes, 
reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor,  improvement  of  the  sanitary 
and  moral  conditions  in  factories,  restriction  of  the  labor  of 
women  and  children,  and  adequate  precautions  against  accidents 
and  sickness.     They  proposed  to  equalize  the  distribution  of 
wealth  by  taxing   those    whose    incomes   were   derived    from 
rents,  interest,  or  speculation,  and  favored  government  ownership 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  185  ff. 


454  Outli7tes  of  European  History 

of  railways,  canals,  and  all  means  of  communication  and  trans- 
port, water  and  gas  works,  a  large  portion  of  the  land  within 
city  limits,  markets,  and  the  business  of  banking  and  insurance. 
Attitude  of  Bismarck  himself  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  theories  of  the 

toward^ social-   State  Socialists,  and  from  1878  to  the  close  of  his  administration 
ism  and  the     j^g  advocated  a  number  of  reforms  for  the  benefit  of  the  work- 

workmg 

classes  ing  people  and  carried  out  a  few  of  them.     In  undertaking 

these  measures  he  frankly  admitted  that  he  was  only  renewing 
the  old  Brandenburg  policy  of  paternal  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  people  and  in  increasing  the  power  and  prosperity  of  the 
State.  He  accepted  the  capitalist  system  of  industry  and  the 
division  of  society  into  rich  and  poor  as  a  natural  and  perma- 
nent arrangement,  but  considered  it  the  duty  of  the  State  to 
better  the  condition  of  the  working  people  by  special  laws,  as 
well  as  to  encourage  industry  by  protective  tariffs. 
State  insur-  He  looked  upon  certain  reforms  in  favor  of  the  working 

interest  of       classcs  as  the  bcst  means  of  undermining  the  influence  of  the 
dasse^^^^"^     Socialists.    In  1882  the  government  introduced  two  bills  pro- 
viding for  accident  and  sickness  insurance,  which  were  given 
their  final  form  after  two  years  of  deliberation  and  went  into 
Accident  and   effect  in  1 885.     According  to  the  provisions  of  the  first  law. 

Sickness 

insurance  employers  are  obliged  to  provide  a  fund  to  insure  their  em- 
ployees against  accidents.  From  this  fund  the  workmen  are 
compensated  when  partially  or  totally  disabled,  and  in  case  of 
death  provision  is  made  for  the  family  of  the  deceased.  The 
sickness  insurance  law  compels  working  men  and  women  to 
insure  themselves  against  sickness,  but  helps  them  to  bear 
the  burden  by  requiring  the  employer  to  pay  a  portion  of  the 
premium  and  to  be  responsible  for  carrying  out  the  law. 
Insurance  for  These  measures  were  supplemented  in  1889,  after  the  acces- 
incapacitated  sion  of  the  present  Kaiser,  by  an  old-age  insurance  law  which 
compels  every  workman  with  an  income  under  five  hundred 
dollars  a  year  to  pay  a  certain  proportion  into  a  State  fund 
which  provides  an  annual  pension  for  him  after  he  has  reached 
the  age  of  seventy  years.    In  case  h^  is  incapacitated  earlier 


The  German  Empire  455 

in  life  he  may  begin  to  draw  the  pension  before  he  reaches 
that  age.  As  in  other  forms  of  workingmen's  insurance,  the 
employers  pay  a  portion  of  the  premium ;  and  the  State  also 
makes  a  regular  contribution  to  every  annuity  paid.^  In  1913 
over  twenty-five  million  persons  were  insured  under  these  laws. 

These  measures  by  which  the  government  assumes  a  large  state  social- 
degree  of  oversight  over  the  welfare  of  the  working  class  con-  bTsociaS"^ 
stitute  what  is  known  as  State  socialism.  Socialists,  however, 
insist  that  one  most  important  element  of  socialism  is  lacking, 
namely,  democratic  control.  It  is  a  revival  and  extension  of 
the  paternalism  so  familiar  to  Prussia  in  the  days  of  Frederick 
the  Great,  and,  however  valuable  as  philanthropy,  Socialists  claim 
that  it  still  leaves  the  system  of  capitalist  ownership  which  keeps 
the  poor  from  a  fair  share  of  what  they  earn.  However,  the 
State  has  kept  enlarging  its  ownership  of  railways  and  of  mines, 
and  has  engaged  in  other  forms  of  productive  employment.^ 

Section  74.    Germany's  Policy  of  Protection 
AND  Colonization  ;  Foreign  Affairs 

Closely  connected  with  Bismarck's  paternal  attitude  toward   Demand  for 
the  working  classes  was  his  policy  of  protecting  German  Indus-  German^"  ° 
tries  against  foreign    competition.     The    successful   war  with  industries 
France,  the  establishment  of  the  empire,  and,  above  all,  the 
payment  of  the  French  indemnity  had  created  a  great  "  boom  " 
in  Germany.    New  enterprises  multiplied  ;  in  Prussia  alone  the 
number  of  joint-stock  companies  increased  from  410  in  1870 
to  2267  in  1874;  wages  rose  rapidly  and  times  were  "good" 
until  the  inevitable    reaction  due   to    overspeculation    set   in. 
Prices  and  wages  then  began  to  fall,  companies  failed,  and 
factories  closed.     The  manufacturers  then  commenced  to  de- 
mand that  they  be  protected  from  foreign  competition,  and  the 
farmers  asked  that  high  duties  be  placed  upon  the  grain  that 
was  being  shipped  into  the  country  from  the  United  States  and 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  189  ff.  2  See  below,  p.  651. 


456 


Outlines  of  Europemi  History 


Germany 
establishes  a 
protective 
system  in 
1879 


African 
colonization 


Togoland 

and 

Kamerun 


Russia.  It  was  urged  that  the  German  "  infant "  industries 
(of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  in  the  United  States)  could 
not  maintain  themselves  without  aid  from  their  government 
when  rival  nations,  especially  England,  were  so  much  better 
equipped  with  machinery,  experience,  and  natural  resources. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  that  the  imperial  chan- 
cellor presented  to  the  Reichstag  in  1878  a  program  of  tariff 
revision  embodying  two  main  points :  (i)  protective  duties  de- 
signed to  give  German  industries  the  advantage  over  foreign 
producers ;  (2)  a  reduction  of  duties  on  raw  materials  not  pro- 
duced within  the  empire.  In  the  following  year  the  Reichstag 
adopted  the  new  tariff  laws  by  a  large  majority  and  thus  ini- 
tiated a  system  under  which  Germany  has  become  one  of  the 
greatest  manufacturing  countries  in  the  world. 

German  manufacturers  were,  however,  not  satisfied  with 
securing  preference  over  foreign  competitors  in  their  domestic 
trade ;  they  soon  began  to  demand  government  aid  in  finding 
new  markets  abroad.  In  spite  of  many  misgivings  about  the 
ultimate  value  of  distant  colonies  peopled  by  barbarous  races, 
Bismarck  was  induced  to  take  steps  toward  the  acquisition  of 
territory  in  Africa. 

He  sent  out  Dr.  Gustav  Nachtigal  in  1884  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  German  control  at  certain  points  along  the  western 
coast  of  Africa.  In  a  short  time  the  German  agent  had  induced 
native  chiefs  to  acknowledge  a  German  protectorate  over  two 
large  provinces,  Togoland  in  Upper  Guinea,  a  region  about  the 
size  of  the  state  of  Indiana,  and  Kamerun,  adjoining  the  French 
Congo  —  in  all  an  area  of  over  two  hundred  thousand  square 
miles. ^  In  the  same  year  Herr  Liideritz,  a  Bremen  merchant, 
acting  under  orders  from  Bismarck,  raised  the- German  flag  at 
Angra  Pequena  (a  point  on  the  west  coast  a  short  distance 
above  the  English  possessions  at  the  Cape),  where  German  mer- 
chants and  traders  had  been  active  for  some  time.  Within  a  few 
years  the  German  government  carved  out  a  block  of  territory 

1  See  map  of  Africa  below,  p.  622. 


The  German  Empire 


457 


East  Africa 


Bismarck 


estimated  at  over  three  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  square 
miles,  an  area  far  greater  than  that  of  the  entire  German  Empire. 
This  colony  was  given  the  name  of  German  Southwest  Africa, 
but  its  entire  European  population  is  less  than  fifteen  thousand. 

Even  larger  territories  were  secured  by  Germany  in  East  German 
Africa.  In  1884  the  Society  for  German  Colonization  sent 
Dr.  Karl  Peters  to  determine  what  could  be  done  in  that  region. 
The  sultan  of  Zanzibar  was  induced  in  1888  to  lease  a  narrow 
strip  of  territory  over  six  hundred  miles  long  to  the  Germans, 
and  in  two  years  transferred  all  his  rights  to  the  German  Empire 
for  a  million  dollars.  The  few  German  settlers  then  established 
plantations  of  cocoa  palms,  coffee,  vanilla,  tobacco,  caoutchouc, 
sugar,  tea,  etc.,  and  the  government  founded  several  experiment 
stations  for  determining  the  possibilities  of  profitable  agriculture.-^ 

In  foreign  affairs  Bismarck  was  very  active.  Russia  had  been 
a  valued  friend  during  the  period  of  German  unification,  and  affairs^^'^ 
for  some  years  afterwards  the  three  emperors  of  Germany 
Russia,  and  Austria  stood  together  against  any  chance  of  French 
revenge  on  Germany.  But  in  1878  Austria  turned  against 
Russia  to  check  the  latter's  successful  career  in  the  Balkans.^ 
Bismarck  then  sided  with  Austria,  making  an  alliance  with  it 
the  next  year.  This  alliance  was  joined  by  Italy  ^  in  il 
was  known  as  the  Triple  Alliance.  In  the  summer  of  19 14  Ger- 
many's friendly  attitude  toward  Austria  was  one  of  the  direct 
causes  of  the  outbreak  of  the  world  war,  as  we  shall  see.  But 
Italy,  soon  after  the  conflict  began,  repudiated  the  unnatural 
Triple  Alliance  and  joined  Germany's  enemies. 

1  About  the  same  time  German  agents  found  their  way  into  the  Pacific  and 
occupied  a  region  in  New  Guinea  to  which  the  name  of  "  Kaiser  Wilhelm's  Land  " 
was  given.  The  CaroHne  Islands  (except  Guam,  which  belongs  to  the  United 
States)  and  a  part  of  the  Solomon  group  were  also  acquired.  German  mei chants 
and  investors  also  developed  railways  in  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Mesopotamia 
with  a  view  to  opening  up  the  natural  resources.  Their  activities -in  Morocco 
brought  them  into  conflict  with  the  French,  who  believed  that  they  possessed 
special  rights  there,  and  for  a  time  there  was  talk  of  war,  but  matters  were  ad- 
justed in  1906  at  a  congress  of  European  powers  held  at  Algeciras  on  the  Strait 
of  Gibraltar  and  later  (in  191 1)  by  a  special  arrangement  between  France  and 
Germany  (see  Chapter  XXVII).         2  See  below,  p.  581.        3  See  above,  p.  421. 


i2,  and    The  Triple 
Alliance 


458  Outliftes  of  Europe afi  Histo7y 

Section  75.    Reign  of  William  II 

Accession  of  With  the  accession  of  the  present  emperor,  William  11,^  in 
1888*^"^  '  1888,  Prince  Bismarck  lost  his  power.  He  had  been  implicitly 
trusted  by  the  old  Kaiser,  William  I,  who  had  been  content  to 
leave  the  practical  management  of  the  empire  largely  in  the 
hands  of  the  chancellor.  The  new  emperor  proved  a  very 
different  man.  He  was  fond  of  making  speeches  ^  in  which  he 
had  much  to  say  of  the  power  which  God  had  given  him; 
indeed,  he  seemed  to  be  a  stout  adherent  of  that  conception 
of  kingship  which  Bossuet  extracted  from  the  Holy  Scriptures 
and  urged  upon  the  willing  Louis  XIV.^  On  his  accession  to 
the  throne  he  expressed  himself  as  follows :  "  Summoned  to 
the  throne  of  my  fathers,  I  have  taken  up  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, looking  for  aid  to  the  King  of  kings.  I  have  sworn  to 
God  to  follow  the  example  of  my  fathers  and  be  to  my  people 
a  just  and  firm  ruler,  to  nurture  piety  and  the  fear  of  God, 
to  cherish  peace,  and  to  be  a  helper  of  the  poor  and  oppressed, 
and  a  faithful  guardian  of  justice." 
Bismarck  It  is  not  Strange  that  Bismarck  should  have  found  it  hard  to 

Mar^h%89o  tolerate  the  intervention  of  the  inexperienced  young  emperor. 
In  March,  1890,  he  presented  his  resignation,  and,  amid  a  great 
demonstration  of  popular  feeling,  the  "  Iron  Chancellor  "  retired 
to  private  life.  Upon  the  announcement  of  Bismarck's  resigna- 
tion William  II  declared,  with  his  usual  unction  :  ''  I  am  as 
much  afflicted  as  if  I  had  lost  my  grandfather  anew,  but  we 
must  endure  whatever  God  sends  us,  even  if  we  should  have 
to  die  for  it.  The  post  of  officer  of  the  quarterdeck  of  the 
ship  of  state  has  fallen  to  me.  The  course  remains  unchanged. 
Forward,  with  full  steam  1 " 

1  William  II  is  the  eldest  son  of  Frederick  (who  succeeded  his  father, 
William  I,  in  March,  1888,  and  died  in  June  of  the  same  year)  and  of  Victoria, 
the  daughter  of  Queen  Victoria  of  England.  Frederick  was  the  third  of  that 
name  in  the  royal  line  of  Prussia. 

2  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  193  ff.,  198  ff, 

3  See  Readmgs,  Vol.  I,  pp.  5  ff. 


The  German  Empire  459 

For  a  time  it  seemed  as  if  William  II  proposed  to  conciliate   Attitude  of 
the  Socialist  party,  although  he  could  not  possibly  have  had   tovUnT 
any    real    sympathy    with    its    aims.     The    legislation    against  socialism 
the  Socialists  which  Bismarck  had  inaugurated  in   1878   was 
allowed    to    lapse    in    1890,   and    they   now    carried    on    their 
agitation  openly  and  with  vigor  and   success.     The   emperor 
pledged   himself  to   continue   the   social  legislation   begun  by 
his  grandfather,  since  he  deemed  it  one  of  the  duties  of  the 
State   to   relieve   poverty ;    and  he  declared  that  the  welfare 
of  the  workingman  lay  close  to  his  heart.    Irritated,  however, 
at  his  failure  to  check  the  expression  of  discontent   on  the 
part  of  the  working  classes,^  he  grew  angry  and  pronounced 
the   Social   Democrat   as  ''  nothing  better  than  an  enemy  of 
the  empire  and  his  country." 

United  Germany,  as  we  have  seen,  embarked  on  a  colonial  Germany  in 
policy,  and  William  II  showed  himself  very  ready  to  partici- 
pate in  world  politics.  At  the  close  of  the  war  between 
China  and  Japan,  in  1895,  he  joined  with  Russia  and  France 
in  preventing  Japan  from  occupying  the  Liaotung  peninsula. 
Two  years  later  the  Germans  seized  the  port  of  Kiaochow 
on  the  Shantung  peninsula  opposite  Korea. 

Notwithstanding  Germany's  extensive  colonial  dominion  and   Doubtful 
commercial  adventures  in  the  Far  East,  the  whole  enterprise   many's^ex-^'^' 
proved  of  doubtful  value.     None  of  the  lands  acquired  were   periments  in 

^  .  colonization 

really  suitable  for  settlement  by  German  people  who  wish  to 
emigrate  from  the  fatherland.^  Especially  in  Africa  the  native 
races  under  the  German  flag  are  very  warlike,  and  in  1905- 
1906  the  government  spent  the  sum  of  nine  million  dollars  in 
suppressing  local  uprisings,  while  the  value  of  the  exports  and 
imports  of  the  provinces  scarcely  exceeded  two  million  dollars. 
(When  the  Great  War  began  Germany  lost  all  her  colonies.  It 
is  impossible  to  say  whether  they  will  ever  be  returned  or  not.) 

1  See  table  below,  p.  460,  note. 

2  In  1910  there  were  only  340  Germans  in  Togoland,  1132  in  Kamerun,  about 
10,000  in  German  Southwest  Africa,  and  2700  in  East  Africa, 


460 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sources  of 
dissatisfac- 
tion on  the 
part  of  the 
liberals  and 
Socialists 


However,  both  the  colonial  policy  and  the  system  of  auto- 
cratic government  represented  by  the  Kaiser  were  not  without 
powerful  opponents,  for  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  imperial 
government  is  founded  on  a  written  constitution  and  the 
Reichstag  is  elected  by  popular  vote,  the  German  govern- 
ment is  the  least  democratic  in  western  Europe.  The  emperor 
is  not  controlled  by  a  ministry  representing  the  majority  in 
parliament,  and  public  criticism  of  the  government  is  liable 
to  cause  the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  the  offender.  Fur- 
thermore, the  Reichstag  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  really 
representing  the  views  of  the  nation.  The  government  has 
refused  to  revise  the  apportionment  of  representatives  as  it 
was  arranged  in  187 1,  although  great  changes  have  taken 
place  since  that  year.  As  a  result  Berlin,  for  instance,  has 
only  six  members  in  the  Reichstag,  although  its  population 
of  two  million  inhabitants  would  entitle  it  to  twenty.  This 
accounts  for  the  relatively  small  number  of  Socialists  and  the 
large  number  of  conservatives  in  the  parliament,  for  in  1907 
the  Socialists,  although  they  could  muster  3,250,000  voters, 
returned  only  43  members,  whereas  the  conservatives  secured 
83  seats  with  less  than  1,500,000  supporters,  mainly  in  the 
country  districts.  In  the  elections  of  1 9 1 2  the  Socialists  made 
large  gains  in  spite  of  the  unequal  distribution  of  seats.-^ 

There  has  been  no  large  liberal  party  in  Germany  to  oppose 
the  ancient  Prussian  despotism  and  militarism.  This  task  has 
fallen  on  the  Social  Democrats,  who  have  in  general  talked 
freely  against  militarism  and  imperialism  and  have  derided  the 
Kaiser's  solemn  nonsense  about  his  partnership  with  God.  But 
when  the  war  came,  in  19 14,  only  a  minority  of  the  Socialists 
were  proof  against  the  war  spirit.    Some  of  them,  however, 

1  The  steady  increase  of  socialism  is  shown  by  the  following  table  : 


Year  of 
election 

Socialist 
votes 

Members 
elected 

Year  of 
election 

Socialist 
votes 

Members 
elected 

1877 
1881 
1887 
1890 

493,288 

311,961 

763,000 

1,497,298 

12 
12 

36 

1903 
1907 
1912 

3,008,000 
3,251,009 
4,250,300 

81 
43 
no 

The  German  Empire  461 

have  bravely  continued  to  assert  that  the  fearful  conflict  was  a 
criminal  enterprise  of  the  Jiuikers  and  generals.-^ 

QUESTIONS 

Section  72.  What  powers  are  given  to  the  German  emperor  by 
the  constitution  of  the  German  Empire?  Give  an  account  of  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  imperial  government.  Who  are  permitted 
to  vote  for  members  of  the  Reichstag?  Describe  the  office  of  im- 
perial chancellor.  Outline  the  powers  of  the  imperial  government. 
What  was  the  KMlturkampft 

Section  73.  Give  an  account  of  the  Socialist  movement  in  Ger- 
many through  the  year  1875.  What  was  the  purpose  of  the  legisla- 
tion of  1878  with  reference  to  socialism?  What  is  meant  by  State 
socialism  ?  What  were  the  proposals  of  the  State  Socialists  of  Ger- 
many ?  Discuss  Bismarck's  attitude  toward  socialism.  Describe  the 
system  of  State  insurance  for  the  working  classes. 

Section  74.  Account  for  the  policy  of  protection  of  German 
industries.  Describe  the  tariff  adopted  in  1879.  What  was  the  effect 
of  the  development  of  German  industries  upon  colonization  in  Africa? 
in  other  parts  of  the  world  ? 

Section  'j^.  Under  what  circumstances  did  Bismarck  resign  the 
chancellorship?  What  has  been  the  attitude  of  William  II  toward 
socialism?  Discuss  the  German  colonial  policy  in  the  Far  East. 
What  criticism  of  the  government  is  made  by  the  Socialists? 

1  For  more  recent  developments  m  Germany,  see  below,  pp.  648  f. 


CHAPTER  XX 

FRANCE  UNDER  THE  THIRD  REPUBLIC 

Section  76.    Establishment  of  the  Third  French 
Republic 


The  Third 

French 

Republic 

proclaimed, 

September  4, 

1870 


The  Germans 
invade 
France  and 
lay  siege  to 
Paris 


On  September  3,  1870,  Napoleon  III  telegraphed  from 
Sedan  to  Paris,  "  The  army  is  defeated  and  captured,  and  I 
am  a  prisoner."^  This  meant  an  immediate  collapse  of  the 
empire  which  he  had  established  some  twenty  years  before. 
The  Chamber  of  Deputies  was  invaded  by  a  mob  shouting  for 
the  republic,  and  a  motion  was  made  to  dethrone  Napoleon 
and  his  dynasty.  Next  day  Gambetta,  a  fiery  young  orator 
from  the  south  of  France,  and  the  deputies  representing  the 
city  of  Paris  betook  themselves  to  the  old  revolutionary  storm 
center,  the  City  Hall,  and  there  proclaimed  the  reestablish- 
ment  of  a  republic.  This  was  sanctioned  by  an  overwhelming 
majority  of  the  Parisians.  Meanwhile  other  large  cities,  such  as 
Bordeaux,  Marseilles,  and  Lyons,  took  similar  action. 

The  terrible  defeat  at  Sedan  and  the  capture  of  the  emperor 
did  not,  as  we  know,  bring  the  war  to  a  close.  The  German 
invaders  pressed  on ;  city  after  city  was  taken ;  the  strongly 
fortified  Strassburg  fell  at  the  end  of  September  after  a  terrific 
bombardment,  and  the  fortress  of  Metz  a  month  later.  Paris 
itself  was  surrounded  by  an  immense  German  army,  and  the 
king  of  Prussia  took  up  his  quarters  at  Versailles.  Gambetta, 
escaping  from  Paris  in  a  balloon,  floated  safely  over  the  lines 
of  the  besieging  Germans  and  reached  Tours.  Here  he  invoked 
the  memories  of  1793  and  sought  to  organize  a  national  army 

1  After  the  conclusion  of  peace  between  France  and  Germany  the  Germans  . 
set  Napoleon  III  free  and  he  retired  to  England,  where  he  died  in  1873. 

462 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  463 

of  volunteers ;  but  the  raw  French  battalions  were  easily  de- 
feated by  the  disciplined  German  regiments  which  had  been 
set  free  by  the  surrender  of  Metz.  In  January,  187 1,  the  • 
French  made  their  last  effort  to  bring  the  enemy  to  terms  by 
endeavoring  to  cut  off  his  communications  with  Germany,  but 
the  attempt  failed  and  a  considerable  part  of  the  French 
forces  were  compelled  to  take  refuge  in  the  neutral  territory 
of  Switzerland,  whither  the  Germans  could  not  pursue  them. 
Paris,  reduced  after  a  terrible  siege  to  the  point  of  starvation,^ 
capitulated  on  January  28,  and  an  armistice  was  concluded. 

Since  the  fall  of  the  government  of  Napoleon  III  early  in  The  National 
September,  France  had  had  no  opportunity  to  work  out  a  new  elected  Feb- 
constitution,  and  had  drifted  on  under  a  provisional  "  Govern-  ^"^'^'  ^^^^i, 

'  ^  proves  to  be 

ment  of  the  Public  Defense,"  which  Gambetta  and  others  among  strongly 

...  .       ,       ,^-  monarchical 

the  former  deputies  had  improvised.  There  was  some  doubt 
whether  this  revolutionary  body  was  authorized  to  conclude  a 
peace,  and  accordingly  it  was  arranged,  upon  the  surrender 
of  Paris,  ^that  the  French  should  elect  a  national  assembly 
which  would  legally  represent  the  nation  in  dealing  with  the 
victorious  enemy.  The  result  of  the  elections  was  surprising, 
for  only  two  hundred  republican  candidates  were  chosen  as 
against  five  hundred  monarchists  of  various  kinds,  namely, 
Legitimists,  who  adhered  to  the  grandson  of  Charles  X,  Or- 
leanists,  who  were  in  favor  of  the  grandson  of  Louis  Philippe, 
and  a  few  Bonapartists.  This  was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that 
Gambetta  and  other  prominent  republicans  had  talked  so  fer- 
vidly of  continuing  the  war  at  any  cost  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  was  fearful  lest  if  put  in  power  they  might  prolong 
the  disastrous  conflict  which  was  ruining  the  country.  The 
National  Assembly,  aware  that  Paris  was  strongly  republican 
in  its  sentiments,  determined  to  meet  in  Bordeaux,  where  it 
held  its  first  session  on  February  12. 

Foremost  among  the  brilliant  men  who  composed  this  body  Adolphe 

....  1       Thiers 

was  Adolphe  Thiers,  the  historian,  journalist,  and  politician,  who 

1  For  a  description  by  an  eyewitness,  see  Readings^  Vol  II,  pp-  208  ff. 


464  Outlines  of  European  History 

for  more  than  forty  years  had  been  a  prominent  figure  both 
in  literature  and  in  affairs  of  State.  In  the  grave  crisis  in  which 
France  found  herself  in  February,  187 1,  he  appeared  to  be 
the  natural  leader.    His  popularity  was  demonstrated  by  the 


Fig.  115.    Gambetta 

Gambetta,  who  was  only  thirty-two  years  old  in  1870,  was  a  lawyer  and 
journalist  from  southern  France,  who  had  already  become  prominent 
before  the  war  by  his  attacks  upon  the  empire.  After  the  war  he  be- 
came the  leader  of  the  republicans  against  the  monarchists  and  an 
emphatic  opponent  of  clh'icalisme.  He  also  advocated  a  policy  of 
social  reform.    He  died  suddenly  at  the  age  of  forty-four 


fact  that  in  the  elections  for  the  National  Assembly  he  had 
received  over  two  million  votes.  The  National  Assembly  there- 
fore appointed  him  "  Head  of  the  Executive  Power  of  the 
French  Republic"  and  provided  that  he  should  exercise  his 
authority  through  ministers  of  his  own  choice.  This  was,  of 
course,  a  temporary  arrangement,  and  the  vital  question  whether 


Fraiice  tmder  the  Third  Republic  465 

France  was  to  remain  a  republic  or  to  be  reconverted  into  a 
monarchy  was  deferred  until  the  hated  Germans  should  be  got 
rid  of.    Thiers  declared  that  in  the  face  of  the  trying  situation 


t^^- 

9^W 


f^'- 


J:'iG.  1 10.    Thiers 

Thiers,  as  a  young  man,  had  been  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Revolution 
of  1830,  a  minister  of  Louis  Philippe,  then  a  strong  opponent  of  his 
policy.  He  was  also  partly  responsible  for  the  Revolution  of  1848.  After 
Sedan  he  visited  the  various  courts  of  Europe  in  the  vain  effort  to  win 
help  for  France.  Then,  as  president  of  the  French  Assembly,  he  had 
to  make  the  treaty  which  closed  the  war  and  arrange  to  pay  the  German 
indemnity.  The  title  ''  liberator  of  the  country  "  is  applied  to  him  by  the 
middle  classes  of  France,  but  the  working  class  charge  him  with  much 
cruelty  in  the  suppression  of  the  Commune 

in  which  France  found  herself,  all  enlightened  and  patriotic 
citizens,  whatever  their  individual  views  of  government,  should 
unite  to  free  their  country  from  the  invader  and  restore  her  to 
her  former  prosperity. 


466 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  conclu- 
sion of  peace 
with  the 
Germans. 
Treaty  of 
Frankfort, 
May  10,  187 1 


The  National 
Assembly 
moves  to 
Versailles, 
March,  1871 


The  first  step  in  the  realization  of  this  policy  was  the  con- 
clusion of  a  final  peace  with  the  Germans,  for  the  armistice 
which  had  been  agreed  upon  at  the  capitulation  of  Paris  had 
almost  expired.  On  February  21  Thiers  hurried  to  Versailles 
to  open  negotiations  with  the  German  emperor  and  Bismarck, 
and  on  the  twenty-sixth,  after  many  stormy  scenes,  the  terms  of 
the  preliminary  treaty  were  formulated.  France  was  to  re- 
nounce Alsace  and  a  part  of  Lorraine,  which  together  included 
a  population  of  almost  1,600,000  ;  pay  an  enormous  indemnity 
of  five  billion  francs ;  and  submit  to  the  presence  of  German 
troops  until  the  last  payment  was  made.  The  Assembly,  con- 
vinced that  a  renewal  of  the  war  would  be  futile,  accepted 
the  terms  imposed  by  the  victorious  Germans,  and  the  peace 
documents  were  formally  signed  at  Frankfort  on  May  10.^ 

As  soon  as  peace  had  been  duly  concluded  with  Germany 
the  republican  minority  urged  that  the  National  Assembly 
should  dissolve  itself,  since  it  had  now  fulfilled  its  purpose. 
The  majority,  however,  insisted  upon  continuing  to  govern 
France  and  proceeding  to  draft  a  constitution.  The  Assembly 
refused  to  remove  to  Paris,  where  the  monarchists  had  good 
reason  to  fear  the  strong  republican  sentiment,  so  they  chose 
Versailles  as  their  place  of  meeting.^  Louis  Blanc  warned  the 
members  that  "if  they  thus  neglected  the  claims  of  Paris  as 
the  seat  of  government,  there  might  arise  "  from  the  ashes  of 
a  horrible  war  with  the  foreigner  a  still  more  horrible  civil  con- 
flict." His  fears  proved  only  too  well  founded,  for  Paris  rose 
in  revolt  against  an  assembly  which  it  regarded  as  made  up  of 
obstinate  and  benighted  "  rustics  "  who  still  clung  to  monarchy 
and  had  no  sympathy  with  the  needs  of  the  great  cities. 


1  The  Germans  were  disappointed  in  their  hope  that  the  indemnity  would 
seriously  cripple  France,  for  the  first  loan  of  two  billion  francs  was  secured  in 
1871  with  ease,  and  the  next  year  the  second  loan  of  three  billions  was  subscribed 
twelve  times  over  —  thus  demonstrating  both  the  patriotism  and  the  credit  of 
the  French  people.  In  the  autumn  of  1873  ^^  amount  was  paid  in  full  and  the 
last  German  soldier  left  the  soil  of  France. 

2  Not  until  1879  did  the  French  legislature  again  return  to  Paris. 


France  tmder  the  Third  Republic  467 

Troable  had  been  brewing  in  Paris  for  several  months.    The   Paris  resolves 
siege   had   thrown  tens  of    thousands   out  of   work   and  had   gJice  to  die 
produced   general   demoralization.     The    revolutionary   group,  ^ssembl 
which  was  speedily  formed  and  which  now  attempted  to  govern 
Paris,  included  republicans,  socialists,  communists,  anarchists, 
and  some  who  could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  had  much  interest 
in  anything  except  disorder.    Many  of  the  leaders  were  honest 
men  of  high  ideals,  who  were  determined  to  defend  the  republic, 
even  by  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives,  as  the  ''only  form  of  gov- 
ernment compatible  with   the  rights  of   the  people  and   the 
development  of  a  free  society."    They  all  agreed  in  demanding  views  of  the 
that  every  commime,  or  municipality,  should  be  left  free  to     °'^"^""^''  ^ 
manage  its  own  affairs  in  the  interests  of   its  own   people. 
France  would  then  become  a  sort  of  federation  of  communes, 
each  community  electing  its  own  officers  and  introducing  freely 
such  social  reforms   as   suited  local  conditions.     It  was  this 
exalted  confidence  in  the  commune,  or  local  government,  that 
gained  for  the  leaders  the  name  of  "  Communards."  ^ 

The  doctrines  of  the  Communards  failed,  however,  to  gain  The  Com- 
any  considerable  support  in  the  other  cities  of  France,  and  the  ^ressed^with 
Assembly  at  Versailles  determined  to  reduce  rebellious  Paris  to  Jj^ife^and  ^ 
subjection.    Toward  the  close  of  April,  Thiers  ordered  a  bom-  property, 

11  r       ^  r  -n  •  i  i    •  r       i  •  April-MaV, 

bardment  of  the  fortifications  on  the  outskirts  of  the  city  pre-  1871 
paratory  to  its  capture.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  desperate 
struggle ;  the  Versailles  troops,  under  orders,  refused  to  accord 
to  the  Communards  the  rights  of  soldiers,  and  shot,  as  traitors 
and  rebels,  all  who  fell  into  their  hands.  After  three  weeks  of 
fighting  on  the  outskirts,  the  forces  of  the  Assembly  entered 
Paris  by  an  unguarded  gate  on  May  21,  arid  then  began  a  ter- 
rible period  of  war,  murder,  and  arson  in  the  city  itself.    For  a 

1  The  word  "  communist "  is  often  unhappily  applied  to  the  Communards. 
But  "  communist "  is  best  reserved  for  those  who  advocate  the  more  or  less 
complete  abolition  of  private  property  and  maintain  that  society  as  a  whole 
should  own  and  control,  in  the  interests  of  all,  the  capital  which  is  now  left  in 
the  hands  of  individuals.  Many  of  the  Communards  were  communists,  but  the 
terms  are  not  synonymous. 


468 


Oiitlijies  of  European  History 


whole  week  the  fratricidal  strife  raged,  until  finally,  on  May  28, 
Marshal  MacMahon,  who  was  in  command  of  the  troops,  was 
able  to  announce  the  close  of  the  conflict  and  the  restoration  of 
order.  The  slaughter,  however,  was  not  yet  at  an  end,  for  the 
monarchists  set  up  courts-martial  and,  with  scarcely  the  sem- 
blance of  a  trial,  shot  hundreds  of  the  prisoners  that  had  been 
taken.  Unlike  the  government  of  the  United  States  after  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War,  that  of  France  under  the  leadership 
of  Thiers  —  once  a  revolutionist  himself  —  forgave  no  one. 
Seventy-five  hundred  of  the  insurgents  were  sent  to  the  penal 
colony  in  New  Caledonia  and  thirteen  thousand  were  condemned 
to  imprisonment  at  hard  labor  or  sent  into  exile. 

The  National  Assembly  was  at  last  free  to  turn  to  the  vexed 
question  of  settling  upon  a  permanent  form  of  government  for 
the  distracted  country.  There  would  have  been  little  difficulty 
in  reestablishing  the  monarchy  if  the  monarchists  had  not  been 
hopelessly  divided  among  themselves.  Some  of  them,  known 
as  the  Legitimists  because  they  regarded  the  older  Bourbon 
line  as  the  lawful  one,  were  in  favor  of  bestowing  the  crown 
on  the  count  of  Chambord,  a  grandson  of  Charles  X,  who 
had  been  deposed  by  the  Orleanist  revolution  in  1830.  The 
Orleanists,  who  wished  to  see  a  restoration  of  the  House 
of  Orleans  which  had  been  overthrown  in  1848,  had  a  strong 
candidate  in  the  person  of  the  count  of  Paris,  a  grandson  of 
Louis  Philippe.  These  two  groups  of  monarchists  had  nothing 
in  common  but  their  opposition  to  a  republic ;  their  hatred  of 
each  other  was  bitter  and  uncompromising. 

In  view  of  these  divisions  all  factions  were  willing  to  post- 
pone for  a  time  the  final  solution  of  the  problem,  each  hoping 
meanwhile  to  gain  strength  by  delay.  This  policy  was  sanctioned 
by  Thiers,  who,  elected  president  of  the  republic  in  August, 
1 87 1,  urged  the  Assembly  to  devote  its  attention  to  the  press- 
ing task  of  strengthening  the  army  and  restoring  the  prosperity 
of  France.  Smarting  under  the  humiliation  of  their  defeat  by 
the  Germans,  the  Assembly  passed  a  new  army  law  modeled 


France  under  the  Third  Repitblic  469 

upon  that  of  Prussia,  which  bound  every  Frenchman  to  military 
service  for  five  years  in  the  active  service  and  fifteen  years  in 
the  reserve  force.^  The  frontier  defenses  were  strengthened, 
the  army  equipped  with  the  most  improved  instruments  of  war, 
and  the  war  department  completely  reorganized. 

At  last,  in  December,  1872,  Thiers,  who  had  been  an  Orlean-  Thiers  over- 
ist,  declared  himself  for  the  republic,  arguing  that  its  overthrow   MacMahon 
would  mean  a  new  revolution.    His  conservative  republicanism,   ^e^nt^^STT^^ 
however,  did  not  save  him  from  attacks  by  Gambetta  and  the 
radical  republicans  of  the  extreme  left ;  while  the  monarchists, 
angered  by  his  defection,  determined  on  his  downfall.    In  May, 
1873,  they  secured  a  majority  vote  in  the  Assembly  for  a  reso- 
lution condemning  Thiers's  policy,  and  he  thereupon  resigned, 
leaving  the  government  in  the  hands  of  the  monarchists,  who 
chose  Marshal  MacMahon  as  president  and  formed  a  coalition 
ministry  representing  Orleanists,  Legitimists,  and  Bonapartists. 

The  various   monarchist   parties   soon   saw  that   they  must   The  Legiti- 

,  ,  mists  and 

arrange  a  compromise  if  they  wished  to  restore  the  monarchy,  orleanists 
Accordingly  the  Orleanists  and  Legitimists  agreed  that  the  count 
of  Chambord  should  be  recognized  as  Henry  V,  and  that  since  1873 
he  had  no  children  he  should  be  succeeded  by  the  count  of  Paris, 
the  candidate  of  the  Orleanists.  The  thorny  question  whether 
France  should  cling  to  the  tricolored  flag,  which  suggested  revo- 
lution, or  adopt  the  ancient  white  banner  of  the  Bourbons  was 
deferred  until  the  monarchy  should  be  securely  established. 

In  this  adjustment  of  affairs  the  parties  had  not  reckoned   The  count 

TT  T-  ^^  Chambord 

with  the  character  of  the  count  of  Chambord.    He  was  then   refuses  to 
over  fifty  years  of  age  and  had  spent  most  of  his  life  as  an  fhlte^fl^g^o^f 
exile  in  Scotland,  Germany,  Austria,  and  Italy.    He  had  been  the  Bourbons 
educated  by  pious  Catholics  and  ardent  supporters  of  the  Legiti- 
mist cause,  who  had  imbued  him  with  a  passionate  devotion  to 

1  This  was  gradually  reduced  later  to  two  years  in  active  service  and  eleven 
years  in  the  reserve.  In  19 13,  however,  the  term  of  active  service  was  length- 
ened to  three  years,  in  order  to  keep  pace  with  the  increasing  German  army. 
See  below,  section  116. 


agree  on  a 
compromise, 


470 


Outlines  of  European  History 


MacMahon's 
term  pro- 
longed to 
seven  years 


The  Assem- 
bly at  last 
agrees  to 
sanction  a 
republican 
form  of  gov- 
ernment, 
January,  1875 


the  ancient  rights  of  his  house  and  with  an  equally  passionate 
hatred  of  revolution  in  every  form.  Immediately  after  the  sup- 
pression of  the  Paris  Commune  he  had  issued  a  manifesto  in 
which  he  declared,  "  France  will  come  to  me,  and  I  to  her, 
just  as  I  am,  with  my  principles  and  my  flag."  He  consented 
to  negotiate  with  the  count  of  Paris  only  on  condition  that  he 
himself  should  be  recognized  as  the  legitimate  head  of  the 
family  and  the  lawful  king.  He  then  published  an  open  letter 
in  which  he  declared  that  he  would  not  renounce  the  white  flag 
which  had  so  long  been  the  standard  of  his  house. 

The  Orleanists,  enraged  by  the  conduct  of  the  fusion  candi- 
date, determined  that  he  should  not  ascend  the  throne  upon 
his  own  terms  and  took  measures  to  prevent  his  coronation, 
although  he  had  come  to  Versailles  to  superintend  the  prepara- 
tions. They  turned  to  the  Bonapartists  and  republicans  with 
a  proposition  to  prolong  the  term  of  Marshal  MacMahon,  as 
president  of  the  republic,  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  in  the 
hope  that  by  the  time  his  term  expired  they  could  gain  sufficient 
strength  to  place  their  own  candidate  on  the  throne. 

The  Assembly  meanwhile  continued  its  confused  and  heated 
debates,  the  republicans  demanding  the  establishment  without 
further  delay  of  a  republican  constitution ;  the  Legitimists,  the 
retirement  of  Marshal  MacMahon  in  favor  of  the  count  of 
Chambord ;  and  the  Orleanists,  the  president's  continuance  in 
office  until  1880.  Finally,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1875, 
four  years  after  the  election  of  the  Assembly,  it  at  last  took  up 
seriously  the  consideration  of  a  permanent  form  of  government, 
and  on  January  29  a  motion  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  one, 
providing  that  the  president  of  the  republic  should  be  elected 
by  the  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies  meeting  in  a  joint 
assembly.  Thus  the  republicans  finally,  by  the  narrowest  pos- 
sible margin,  secured  the  statement  in  the  constitution  itself 
that  France  was  to  be  a  republic. 

The  restoration  of  the  monarchy  having  now  become  impos- 
sible, for  the  time  being  at  least,  the  Assembly  proceeded  with 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  471 

the  work  of  completing  a  form  of  government,  not  by  drafting  Peculiar  form 
an  elaborate  constitution  but  by  passing  a  series  of  laws.  These  consdtudon"^ 
separate  laws,  supplemented  by  later  amendments,  form  the  °^  France 
constitution  of  the  Third  Republic,  which  consequently  differs 
in  many  fundamental  ways  from  all  the  previous  French  con- 
stitutions. It  contains  no  reference  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
people ;  it  includes  no  bill  of  rights  enumerating  the  liberties  of 
French  citizens ;  and  it  makes  no  definite  provision  for  main- 
taining a  republican  form  of  government.  It,  in  fact,  bears 
throughout  the  marks  of  hasty  compilation,  designed  as  it  was 
to  tide  the  nation  over  a  crisis  until  one  of  the  contending 
parties  in  the  Assembly  could  secure  a  triumphant  majority. 
Nevertheless,  despite  the  expectations  of  many  who  took  part 
in  its  making,  it  has  lasted  longer  and  provided  a  more  stable 
government  than  any  of  the  numerous  constitutions  France  has 
had  since  1789.  Indeed  many  students  of  politics  now  regard 
it  as  one  of  the  best  constitutions  in  existence. 

Under  this  new  constitution  the  president  of  the  French  Position  of 
republic  occupies  a  position  rather  more  like  that  of  the  king  of^the^French 
of  England  than  that  of  the  president  of  the  United  States —  ^public 
he  presides  over  the  government  but  leaves  the  conduct  of 
affairs  to  a  premier  and  cabinet ;  he  is  more  an  ornamental 
than  an  active  head  of  the  State,  representing  it  in  great  official 
functions,  but  exercising  little  of  the  power  he  outwardly  seems 
to  possess.  He  is  elected  for  a  term  of  seven  years,  not  by  the 
people  at  large  but  by  the  Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
which  meet  as  one  body  in  Versailles  for  the  purpose.  There 
is  no  vice  president,  and  in  case  of  the  death  or  resignation  of 
the  president  a  new  one  is  immediately  chosen  for  the  full  term 
of  seven  years.  He  selects  his  cabinet  principally  from  among 
the  members  of  the  chambers,  and  the  ministers  thus  chosen 
exercise  a  powerful  control  over  his  policy  and  appointments. 
The  real  head  of  the  government  is  the  prime  minister,  as  in 
England.  The  president  has  no  veto,  but  may  return  a  measure 
to  the  Chamber  and  Senate  for  reconsideration. 


472 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  parliament  consists  of  two  houses,  differing  in  this  re- 
spect from  the  legislative  bodies  established  in  1791  and  1848. 
The  members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  (about  600  in  num- 
ber) are  chosen  for  a  term  of  four  years  directly  by  the  people, 
and  every  man  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  —  unless  he  be  in 
active  service  in  the  army  —  is  permitted  to  vote.  The  three 
hundred  senators  are  chosen  indirectly  for  a  term  of  nine  years 
—  one  third  of  them  each  three  years  —  by  a  small  group  of 
local  government  officers  in  each  department. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  French  parliament  is  more  power- 
ful than  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  It  not  only  elects 
the  president,  who  is  under  the  control  of  a  ministry  represent- 
ing the  majority  in  the  chambers,  but  it  may  by  meeting  in 
joint  session  amend  the  constitution  without  the  necessity  of 
submitting  the  changes  to  the  people  for  their  ratification. 
There  is  no  supreme  court  in  France  to  declare  the  measures 
of  parliament  unconstitutional,  and  the  president  cannot  veto 
them.  Like  the  members  of  the  English  cabinet,  the  French 
ministers  resign  when  they  find  their  policy  is  no  longer  sup- 
ported by  a  majority  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies. 


Section  'jj .    The  Third  French  Republic  since 
1875  ;  THE  Dreyfus  Affair 

The  National  Assembly,  after  completing  the  laws  which  now 
serve  France  as  a  constitution,  dissolved  on  December  31, 
1875,  ^^^  ^  regular  election  was  held  throughout  France  for 
the  purpose  of  choosing  the  members  of  the  Senate  and 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  This  resulted  in  an  overwhelming 
majority  for  the  republicans  in  the  Chamber,  and  even  in  the 
Senate  there  were  enough  of  them  to  give  them  the  balance 
of  power  among  the  conflicting  royalist  factions.  The  Orleanist 
president,  Marshal  MacMahon,  found  himself  unable  to  work 
in  harmony  with  the  deputies,  and  in  1877  he  dissolved  the 
Chamber  with  the  hope  that  by  meddling  in  the  elections  and 


.52   w   CI   o 


•£^  cQ 

x;   <u  i3   o 

5  -^   cfl   a;   oj 
o  .^  5  -o 

W     C     cfl     CJ 

y    c;    ^    e 
~  •*-■   o  j:: 

3       bJOvM      "^ 

rv   C     O     M 
^   O     O     <U 

rt    o    c    c, 

P  <^  s  • 

i2  ^  i  oj 

D     1)     !5     O 
ID   x;     (U   -rj 

i3     *^    -C      M 

-^  J.  >^^ 

^   W     >-     05    ^ 

-^    <u  t^   ^ 

.ti  -^  rt  ° 

^     <U     JJ     (U 

,„-   rt    bJD  S' 

OT  TO 

J-i    flj    (!)  _e 


^    ^    ^^ 


■^      d)     <D 


cfl  ti  9   o 

H^     3     (U     « 

^   c  ^  '^ 
o  .5   o   c 

^•5  S,-£ 


473 


474 


Outlines  of  European  History 


manipulating  the  returns  he  could  secure  at  last  a  monarchical 
majority.  This  coup  d^etat  failed.  The  new  election  left  the 
republicans  still  in  power;  they  denounced  the  president's 
policy  and  refused  to  approve  the  budget  that  he  presented. 
After  continuing  the  struggle  until  1879,  MacMahon  resigned 
and  was  succeeded  by  an  unmistakable  republican,  Jules  Grevy. 

Still  further  strengthened  by  the  elections  of  1881,  the  re- 
publicans undertook  a  number  of  urgent  reforms.  The  press 
had  been  declared  free  in  1789  and  in  18 15,  but  the  govern- 
ment had  constantly  watched  the  newspapers  and  punished 
editors  who  offended  it  by  too  frank  criticism.  At  last,  in  1881, 
the  licenses  previously  required  of  those  who  wished  to  under- 
take new  publications  were  abolished,  publishers  were  no  longer 
forced  to  make  deposits  in  order  to  insure  their  respectful  treat- 
ment of  the  government,  and  the  police  courts  were  deprived 
of  their  right  to  try  those  accused  of  defaming  government 
officials.  Akin  to  this  reform  was  the  right  extended  to  any 
group  of  citizens  to  hold  public  meetings,  on  condition  that 
they  should  merely  announce  their  intention  to  the  authorities. 
In  1884,  after  nearly  a  hundred  years  of  harsh  repressive 
legislation  directed  against  all  labor  associations,  a  law  was 
passed  permitting  workingmen  to  form  unions.  Finally,  the 
government  undertook  a  series  of  measures  with  a  view  of 
freeing  the  schools  from  the  influence  of  the  clergy,  who  were 
accused  of  undermining  the  loyalty  of  the  children  to  the 
republic.    These  measures  will  be  considered  presently. 

Year  by  year  the  French  republic  gained  in  the  number  of 
its  adherents  and  in  the  confidence  of  the  other  powers  of 
Europe.  The  death  of  the  son  of  Napoleon  III  in  1879  was  a 
fatal  blow  to  the  already  declining  hopes  of  the  Bonapartists, 
and  the  death  of  the  childless  count  of  Chambord  in  1883  left 
the  Legitimist  faction  without  a  head.  A  few  Orleanists  clung 
to  their  candidate,  the  count  of  Paris,  until  his  death  in  1894, 
but  the  elections  of  the  preceding  year,  which  resulted  in  the 
choice  of  only   seventy-three   royalist  deputies,  —  Legitimists, 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  475 

Orleanists,  and  Bonapartists,  —  had  shown  that  France  was  at 
last  irrevocably  committed  to  the  republic. 

Only  twice  since  the  formation  of  the  republic  has  it  been  Boulanger's 
seriously  threatened  by  political  disturbances.  Gambetta  was  overtum*^the 
in  favor  of  a  policy  of  reform,  with  the  aim  of  winning  the  sup-  ^^pubhc 
port  of  the  working  class.  But  there  were  many  republicans 
who,  in  such  matters,  were  as  conservative  as  the  monarchists, 
and  these  succeeded  in  frustrating  Gambetta's  program.  After 
his  death,  in  1881,  the  government  attempted  by  colonial  enter- 
prises abroad,  particularly  in  Tonkin,  China,  to  turn  people's 
minds  away  from  conditions  at  home.  But  the  working  class 
was  discontented,  and,  encouraged  by  this  situation,  a  popu- 
lar officer,  General  Boulanger,  began  courting  the  favor  of  the 
army  and  the  workingmen  in  somewhat  the  same  way  that 
Napoleon  III  had  done  when  he  was  planning  to  make  himself 
master  of  France.  In  1889  he  was  reelected  to  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  by  an  overwhelming  majority,  and  it  seemed  for  a 
time  that  he  might  be  able  to  gain  sufficient  popularity  to  enable 
him  to  get  control  of  the  government.^  His  enemies  charged  him 
with  threatening  the  safety  of  the  State,  and  he  was  tried  and 
condemned  to  life  imprisonment.  He  escaped  from  France, 
however,  and  in  189 1  committed  suicide,  leaving  his  party 
to  go  to  pieces.  This  episode  served  rather  to  discredit  the 
monarchists  than  to  weaken  the  republic. 

France  had  scarcely  settled  down  after  the  Boulanger  episode  The  opening 
before  a  singular  incident  rent  the  country  into  angry  factions   fus^affair^^" 
and  stirred  up  the  most  bitter  animosity  which  had  distracted    ^^94 
the  nation  since  the  Franco-German  War  and  the  suppression 
of  the  Commune.    In  1894  Captain  Alfred  Dreyfus,  a  Jew  from 
Alsace,  in  the  French  artillery  service,  was  charged  with  having 
been  a  spy  in  the  pay  of  the  German  army.    He  was  secretly 
tried  by  a  military  tribunal,  condemned  to  life  imprisonment, 
degraded  from  his  rank,  and  sent  into  solitary  confinement  on 
the  lonely  Devil's  Island  off  the  coast  of  French  Guiana. 

1  For  a  defense  of  Boulanger,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  216  ff. 


4/6 


Outlines  of  European  Histor)' 


France 
roused  to 
frenzy  over 
the  affair 


Dreyfus  at 
last  declared 
innocent 
1906 


Dreyfus  protested  all  the  time  that  he  was  entirely  innocent 
of  the  charge,  and  his  friends  began  to  work  for  a  new  trial. 
Prominent  military  officers,  however,  were  determined  that  the 
Dreyfus  affair  should  not  be  reopened  for  fear,  apparently,  that 
something  discreditable  to  the  army  might  be  unearthed. 

The  supporters  of  Dreyfus  charged  the  army  officers  with 
unscrupulousness  and  corruption ;  his  opponents,  on  the  other 
hand,  appealed  to  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  honor  of  the 
army ;  churchmen  attacked  him  as  a  Jew  and  as  an  enemy  of 
Christian  France.  Government  officials  in  general  maintained 
his  guilt,  but  many  politicians,  journalists,  and  prominent  radicals 
declared  their  belief  in  his  innocence  and  accused  those  in 
power  of  shielding  criminal  injustice.  Monarchists  cited  the 
whole  scandal  as  conclusive  evidence  of  the  failure  of  repub- 
lican government.  Thus  the  Dreyfus  affair  became  a  military, 
religious,  and  political  question,  which  created  a  sort  of  frenzy 
in  France  and  aroused  the  interest  of  the  whole  civilized  world.-^ 

The  controversy  reached  a  crisis  in  1898  when  the  well- 
known  novelist,  iSmile  Zola,  published  an  article^  accusing  all  the 
officials  connected  with  the  trial  and  conviction  of  Dreyfus  not 
only  of  wanton  injustice  but  of  downright  dishonesty.  Zola's 
charges  greatly  increased  the  excitement,  and  distinguished 
scholars  and  men  of  letters  raised  their  voices  in  defense  of 
Dreyfus.  Zola  was  tried  and  condemned  for  his  bold  indict- 
ment,^ but  the  reconsideration  of  the  whole  case  could  not 
be  postponed  any  longer,  and  a  new  trial  was  ordered,  which 
began  at  Rennes  in  the  summer  of  1899.  This  resulted  in  the 
condemnation  of  Dreyfus  to  six  years'  imprisonment,  but  he 
was  immediately  pardoned  by  President  Loubet.  It  was  hoped 
that  the  credit  of  those  who  had  originally  condemned  Dreyfus 
might  in  this  way  be  saved  and  yet  no  penalty  be  imposed  on 


1  There  was  clear  evidence  that  somebody  had  been  a  traitor  to  France ;  the 
only  point  at  issue  was  whether  Dreyfus  was  the  guilty  one  or  not. 

2  An  extract  is  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  219  ff. 

3  He  escaped  punishment  by  retiring  to  England. 


France  tmder  the  Third  Republic  477 

an  innocent  man.  Naturally  enough,  however,  this  did  not 
satisfy  Dreyfus,  who  wanted  not  freedom  as  a  pardoned  crimi- 
nal but  a  judicial  declaration  of  his  innocence.  Consequently 
his  numerous  sympathizers  continued  to  work  for  a  new  trial, 
and  finally,  in  1906,  the  highest  court  in  France  completely 
exonerated  Dreyfus. 

The  affair  was  thus  at  an  end,  but  the  effects  of  the  contro    Effects  of  the 
versy  on  the  political  situation  in  France  could  not  be  undone.    It    ^"  ^versy 
produced  an  alliance,  called  the  ''  bloc,''  among  the  republicans  The  forma- 
of  all  shades,  including  the  Socialists,  for  the  purpose  of  reduc-  ^^bio% 
ing  the  political  importance  of  the  army  and  the  Church.    The 
army  was  republicanized  by  getting  rid  of  the  royalist  officers ; 
the  destruction  of  the  political  power  of  the  clergy  was  by  no 
means  so  easy  a  matter. 

Section  78.    The  Separation  of  Church 
AND  State 

The  Catholic  clergy  had  from  the  first  been  hostile  to  the  Natural 
republic,  for  they  had  reason  to  fear  that  the  new  government,  the  clergy  to 
composed  largely  of  anti-clericals,  insisting  upon  freedom  of  republfc"^^ 
the  press  and  public  schools,  would  sooner  or  later  undermine 
their  authority.  The  head  of  the  Church,  Pius  IX,  in  a  solemn 
statement  called  the  Syllabus  of  1864,  had  denounced  in  no 
uncertain  terms  what  he  regarded  as  the  great  dangers  and 
errors  of  the  age.  Among  these  were  religious  toleration, 
liberty  of  conscience,  freedom  of  the  press  and  of  speech, 
separation  of  Church  and  State,  and  secular  education.  The 
republicans  were  therefore  pledged  to  just  those  things  which 
the  Pope  condemned.  It  was  inevitable,  therefore,  that  the 
clerical  party  should  do  all  in  its  power  to  discredit  the  republic 
and  bring  about  a  restoration  of  the  monarchy.  The  Jesuits 
and  other  religious  orders  who  maintained  schools  aroused  in 
the  children's  minds  a  distrust  of  the  government,  and  the 
clergy  actively  engaged  in  electioneering  whenever  there  was 


478 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


The  republi- 
cans become 
anti-clerical 


Main  objects 
of  the  anti- 
clericals  dur- 
ing the  past 
twent}^-five 
years 


Establish- 
ment of  pub- 
lic schools 
under  purely 
secular 
influence 


hope  of  electing  deputies  who  would  favor  their  cause.  The 
religious  newspapers  represented  the  republic  as  an  unfortunate 
accident  w^hich  had  put  ungodly  men  in  power  but  which  would 
doubtless  speedily  give  way  to  a  more  legitimate  form  of 
government. 

This  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  clergy  naturally  made  the 
republicans  more  strongly  anti-clerical  than  ever.  They  came  to 
hate  the  clergy  and  all  they  stood  for.  Gambetta  declared  that 
clericalism  was  ''''the  enemy."  Indeed,  it  was  not  until  1892 
that  Leo  XIII  admonished  the  French  bishops  and  priests  to 
"  accept  the  republic,  that  is  to  say,  the  established  power 
which  exists  among  you ;  respect  it  and  submit  to  it  as  repre- 
senting the  power  which  comes  from  God." 

In  spite  of  this  peaceful  advice  on  the  part  of  the  head  of 
the  Church,  peace  did  not  follow.  On  the  contrary  the  struggle 
between  Church  and  State  in  France  grew  in  bitterness,  until 
finally  the  republic  proved  the  victor  and  succeeded  in  depriving 
the  Church  of  a  great  part  of  those  sources  of  political  influence 
which  remained  to  it  after  the  losses  it  suffered  during  the 
French  Revolution.  The  opponents  of  the  Church  have  had 
two  main  objects  in  view:  (i)  to  take  the  schools  from  the 
control  or  influence  of  the  clergy  and  thus  prevent  the  children 
of  France  from  being  brought  up  as  monarchists,  and  (2)  to 
relieve  the  government  from  the  burden  of  paying  the  salaries 
of  the  clergy  and  to  bring  about  the  complete  separation  of 
Church  and  State. 

The  first  step  was  to  increase  the  number  of  public  schools 
which  might  serve  to  attract  pupils  away  from  the  convent  and 
other  Church  schools.  Over  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  have 
been  appropriated  for  this  purpose  during  the  past  thirty  years; 
By  laws  passed  in  1 881- 1886  instruction  was  made  free  in 
the  primary  public  schools,  no  clergyman  was  to  be  employed 
as  a  teacher  in  them,  and  compulsory  education  for  children 
between  six  and  thirteen  years  was  established.  The  private 
schools  were  also  placed  under  strict  government  supervision. 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  479 

Many  of  the  monastic   orders  and  various  other  religious   Opposition 
associations    which    had    lost    their    property    and    then    been   g^ous^astoda- 
abolished  during  the  first  revolution  had   been  reestablished,   ^'°"^ 
and  new  ones  had  been  created.    Most  of  them  were  devoted 
to   charitable  work    or   to   education.     The  Jesuits,   however, 
were  accused  of  working  in  the  interests  of  the  Pope,  and  the 
Dominicans  of  preaching  openly  against  the  republic,  while  the 
innumerable  schools  in  the  convents  and  elsewhere   were  re- 
proached with  instilling  monarchical  and  reactionary  ideas  into 
the  tender  minds  of  the  children  committed  to  their  charge. 

From  time  to  time  some  anti-clerical  deputy  would  propose  The  Associa- 
the  abolition  of  all  the  religious  associations,  and  finally,  in  ^^^l 
1900,  Waldeck-Rousseau,  then  prime  minister,  committed  him- 
self and  his  cabinet  to  a  measure  for  greatly  reducing  their 
number,  declaring,  ''  There  are  too  many  monks  in  politics 
and  too  many  monks  in  business."  ^  The  following  year  the 
Associations  Law  was  passed.  This  provided  that  no  reli- 
gious order  could  continue  to  exist  in  France  without  a  specific 
authorization  from  the  parliament,  and  that  no  one  belonging 
to  a  nonauthorized  association  should  be  permitted  to  teach  or 
to  conduct  a  school.  At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  law 
there  were  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  members 
(mainly  women)  in  the  various  religious  associations,  which 
maintained  about  twenty  thousand  establishments.  The  parlia- 
ment refused  to  grant  most  of  the  applications  made  by  the 
many  unauthorized  associations,  and  as  a  result  numerous 
teaching,  preaching,  and  commercial  societies  which  had  been 
organized  under  the  auspices  of  the  Catholic  Church  were 
broken  up,  and  within  two  years  ten  thousand  religious  schools 
were  closed.  In  the  year  1909-19 10  there  were  over  five 
million  French  children  in  the  public  and  other  secular  schools 

1  Sometimes  the  orders  carried  on  a  little  industry'  in  the  interests  of  their 
convent.  For  example,  the  monks  of  the  great  Carthusian  monaster)-  above 
Grenoble  manufactured  the  famous  liqueur  known  as  Chartreuse.  The  labor 
parties  denounced  the  monks  for  thus  going  into  business  and  competing  with 
other  manufacturers. 


480  Outli7tes  of  European  History 

and  less  than  one  hundred  thousand  enrolled  in  those  connected 

with  religious  associations.    A  law  of  1904  provided  that  within 

ten  years  all  teaching  by  religious  associations  should  cease. 

The  Con-  The  attack  on  the  religious  orders  was  only  the  prelude  to 

estabHshedr   the  complete  separation  of  Church  and  State  which  had  been 

close  relation   advocated  for  a  century  by  the  opponents  of  the  Church.    It 

between  j       j  i  i 

Church  and  will  be  remembered  that  the  French  Convention  proclaimed 
this  separation  in  1795  and  refused  longer  to  pay  the  salaries 
of  the  clergy,  or  in  any  way  to  recognize  the  existence  of  the 
Church  except  as  a  voluntary  association  which  should  be 
supported  by  those  who  wished  to  belong  to  it.  Bonaparte, 
however,  partially  restored  the  old  system  in  the  Concordat 
which  he  arranged  with  the  Pope  in  1801.^  This,  with  a 
supplementary  act,  remained  the  basis  of  the  relations  between 
Church  and  State  in  France  down  to  1906."  Bonaparte  did  not 
give  back  the  property  of  the  Church  of  which  it  had  been 
deprived  by  the  first  French  Assembly  in  1789,  but  he  agreed 
that  the  government  should  pay  the  salaries  of  the  bishops  and 
priests  whose  appointment  it  controlled.  Although  the  Catholic 
religion  was  recognized  as  that  of  the  majority  of  Frenchmen, 
the  State  also  helped  support  the  Reformed  and  Lutheran 
churches  and  the  Jewish  religious  communit}^ 
Power  of  the  From  the  standpoint  of  the  government  this  was  in  many 
the'^Sne^^^^^  ways  an  excellent  arrangement,  for  it  was  thus  enabled  pro- 
foundly to  influence  public  opinion  through  its  control  over  the 
clergy.  Consequently,  amid  all  the  later  political  changes,  the 
settlement  reached  by  Bonaparte  was  retained  essentially 
•unaltered.  Louis  XVIII,  Charles  X,  Louis  Philippe,  and 
Napoleon  III  had  no  desire  to  do  away  with  the  Concordat 
which  afforded  them  such  great  political  power. 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  224  f. 

2  The  policy  of  the  leaders  of  the  French  Revolution  and  of  Eonaparte  in 
regard  to  the  clergy  and  the  religious  associations  has  already  been  carefully 
described  with  a  view  of  preparing  the  way  for  an  understanding  of  the  recent 
important  legislation  in  France  affecting  the  Church.  See  above,  pp.  211  ff.,  225, 
and  276  ff. 


teenth 
century 


Frmice  imder  the  Third  Republic  48 1 

But   with  the  establishment  of   the    republic   all   this   was   Final  separa- 
changed,  owing  to  the  strong  monarchical  sympathies  of  the   church  and 
clergy.    There  were,  moreover,  large  numbers  of  Frenchmen   '^^^^^  *"  ^905 
who,  if  not  actively  opposed  to  the  Church,  had  no  interest  in 
religion.    To  this  class  it  seemed  wTong  that  the  government 
should  be  paying  forty  million  francs  a  year  to  clergymen  for 
teaching  the  people  what  they  did  not  believe  in,  especially  since 
they  were  so  openly  opposed  in  politics.    Nevertheless,  it  was 
no  easy  task  to  put  asunder  Church  and  State,  which  had  been 
closely  associated  with  each  other  from  the  times  of  Constantine 
and  Theodosius  the  Great.    It  was  not  until  December,  1905, 
that  the  Separation  Law  was  promulgated. 

The  main  provisions  of  the  new  law  were  relatively  simple.    Main  provi- 

_  1      11  •     ■  r  -i-    •  sions  of  the 

It  suppressed  all  government  appropriations  tor  religious  pur-  separation 
poses,  but  provided  pensions  for  clergymen  of  long  service  -^^^ 
and  the  gradual  extinction  of  the  salaries  of  others.  It  de- 
clared that  cathedrals,  churches,  the  residences  of  bishops, 
and  other  ecclesiastical  buildings  belonged  to  the  government, 
but  should  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  congregations  and  their 
pastors  free  of  charge.  The  management  of  these  edifices  and 
the  control  of  other  property  of  the  Church  were  vested  in 
"  associations  for  religious  worship "  (associations  culttielles) 
composed  of  from  seven  to  twenty-five  persons  according  to 
the  size  of  the  commune.  The  Concordat  concluded  in  1801 
was,  of  course,  expressly  abolished.^ 

It  soon  became  evident  that  the  Pope  and  a  large  Catholic  The  Pope 
party  were  determined  not  to  accept  these  provisions.    Crowds  oppo'se't¥e 
collided  with  the  soldiers   sent  to  guard  the  churches   while  "^^  ^^* 
inventories  were  being  made   of  the  property  to  be  handed 
over  to  the  "associations  for  religious  worship."   In  February, 
1906,  the  Pope  condemned  the  entire  law  in  a  long  letter  to 
the  archbishops  and  bishops  of  France  in  which  he  protested 

1  The  statesman  who  had  most  to  do  in  framing  and  applying  this  law  was 
Aristide  Briand,  who  won  a  great  reputation  for  combined  tact  and  firmness. 
He  has  been  premier  several  times,  especially  during  the  Great  War,  from  1915. 

11 


482  Outlines  of  European  History 

especially  against  the  religious  associations  for  which  it  pro- 
vided/   Unfortunately  he   did   not  advise  the   French  clergy 
just  how  to  get  out  of  the  predicament  in  which  they  found 
themselves. 
National  The  clcrgy,  obedient  to  the  commands  of  the  head  of  the 

uphoid'the       Church,  refused  to  countenance  the  formation  of  associations, 
government     ^^^  most  of  them  declined  the  proffered  pensions.    The  nation 
at  large,  however,  evidently  supported  the  government  in  its 
plans,  for  the  elections  held  in  May,  1906,  returned  a  large 
majority  of  radicals.  Socialists,  and  progressives  committed  to 
the  full  execution  of  the  law. 
The  govern-         When  the  year  allowed  for  the  formation  of  the  religious 
the^continu- ^   associations  expired  in  December,  1906,  the  Church  property 
ance  of  public   ^yhich  had  no  legal  claimants  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  gov- 

worship  by  a  &  r  & 

new  law,  ernment.    However,  the  minister  of  public  worship,  M.  Briand, 

December,  ^      . '  .  .,,.  ,.    .  .  , 

1906  a  former  Socialist,  unwilling  to  stop   religious   services,  took 

steps  to  allow  the  churches  to  remain  open  in  spite  of  the 
failure  to  comply  with  the  law.  At  his  instigation  the  French 
parliament  passed  a  very  important  supplementary  measure, 
which  provided  that  buildings  for  public  worship  and  their  en- 
tire furniture  should  remain  at  the  disposal  of  priests  and  their 
congregations  even  if  the  associations  required  by  the  original 
law  were  not  formed. 

In  January,  1907,  the  Pope  again  denounced  the  govern- 
ment, which,  he  declared,  was  confiscating  Church  property 
and  attempting  to  destroy  Christianity  in  France ;  and  he 
has  not  yet  been  reconciled  to  the  policy  of  the  government. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  quite  clear  that  the  republic  means  to  render 
permanent  the  separation  of  Church  and  State.  Subsidies  to 
the  clergy  are  no  longer  provided,  although  the  promised 
pensions  are  paid  to  such  clergy-men  as  apply  for  them.  In 
the  budget  of  19 12  only  about  $50,000  was  set  aside  for 
"  the  assistance  of  retired  clergymen."  The  government  leaves 
the  Church  to  choose  its  own  bishops  and  priests  and  hold 

1  The  protest  is  printed  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  226  ff. 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  483 

conventions  when  and  where  it  wishes.  It  has  converted  the 
palaces  of  the  bishops,  the  parsonages,  and  the  seminaries  into 
schools,  hospitals,  or  other  public  institutions,  although  it  still 
pernyts  the  churches  to  be  used  for  public  worship. 

Section  79.    Political  Parties  in  France 

The  parties  and  factions  in  the  French  parliament  are  Parties  in 
bewildering  in  number.  The  election  of  1906  sent  to  the  parliament 
Chamber  of  Deputies  representatives  of  the  following  groups : 
radicals,  socialist  radicals,  dissident  radicals,  independent  social- 
ists, unified  socialists,  republicans  of  the  left,  progressivists, 
nationalists,  monarchists  and  Bonapartists,  and  a  few  other 
minor  factions.  With  the  exception,  of  course,  of  the  monarch- 
ists and  Bonapartists,  they  all  agree  that  the  republic  shall  be 
maintained,  and  they  have  been  able  to  unite  upon  many 
important  measures,  such  as  those  relating  to  education  and 
the  relations  of  the  State  to  the  Church,  but  they  differ  on 
other  questions  of  reform  which  are  constantly  coming  up. 
Some  are  pretty  well  satisfied  with  things  as  they  are,  while 
others,  especially  the  various  socialist  groups,  would  like  to  see 
the  government  undertake  a  complete  social  and  economic 
revolution  for  the  benefit  of  the  laboring  classes.  The  State 
should,  they  believe,  take  possession  of  lands,  mines,  mills, 
and  other  sources  of  wealth  and  means  of  production,  and 
see  that  they  are  used  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  do  the 
work  and  no  longer  serve  to  enrich  men  who  seem  to  them 
to  sit  idly  by  and  profit  by  the  labor  of  others. 

The  socialistic  party,  which  figured  so  prominently  in  the   Socialism 
Revolution  of  1848  and  the  revolt  of  the  Paris  Commune,  dis-  underThe 
appeared  for  a  time  after  the  suppression  of  the  insurrection   ^g'^^^iic 
in  187 1,  but  again  reappeared  shortly  after  the  final  establish- 
ment of  the  republic.     In  1879  the  Socialists  held  their  first 
congress  under  the  republic  at  Marseilles,  where  they  may  be 
said  to  have  initiated  the  present  socialist  movement  in  France. 


4S4  Outlines  of  European  History 

The  following  year  a  general  amnesty  was  granted  to  all  who 
had  been  connected  with  the  Commune,  and  a  great  labor 
convention  was  immediately  held  in  Paris,  where  the  doctrines 
of  Karl  Marx  were  accepted  as  the  fundamental  principjes  of 
French  socialism. 
Divisions  Notwithstanding  their  general  agreement  as  to  their  ends, 

Socialists—  the  French  Socialists  have  from  the  very  first  been  divided 
"FosSbihsts^'  ^^^^  ^^  question  of  the  best  methods  of  attaining  their  aims. 
Broadly  speaking,  there  have  been  two  groups,  each  with 
varying  shades  of  opinion.  In  the  first  place  there  have  been 
the  Marxians,  —  who  are  in  general  strongly  opposed  to  voting 
for  candidates  of  other  parties,  though  willing  to  wring  conces- 
sions from  them  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  —  who  expect 
socialism  to  be  ushered  in  by  a  crisis  in  which  the  workingmen 
will  seize  the  supreme  power  and  use  it  for  their  own  benefit, 
as  the  middle  class  did  in  the  previous  revolutions.  The  second, 
and  more  numerous,  socialist  group  goes  by  the  name  of  the 
"  Possibilists,"  because  they  do  not  believe  that  socialistic  ideas 
can  be  carried  into  effect  as  the  result  of  a  violent  revolution, 
but  hope  to  see  them  realized  by  a  gradual  process  in  which 
the  government  will  assume  control  and  ownership  of  one 
industry  after  another. 
The  Socialists  The  various  socialistic  factions,  numbering  six  or  seven  at 
times,  united  at  the  general  election  in  1893,  and  by  remark- 
able energy  succeeded  in  returning  about  fifty  members  to  the 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  thus  inaugurating  a  new  era  in  French 
politics.  The  socialist  vote  steadily  increased  until  in  1899  the 
prime  minister,  Waldeck-Rousseau,  was  forced  to  accept  a 
Socialist,  M.  Millerand,  as  Minister  of  Commerce  in  order  to 
control  enough  votes  in  the  Chamber  to  carry  on  the  govern- 
ment. Since  then  the  Possibilists  have  from  time  to  time  been 
represented  in  the  cabinet,  and  they  have  worked  for  their  ends 
by  combining  with  other  parties.-^ 

1  For  a  speech  by  the  former  prime  minister,  Clemenceau,  on  socialism,  see 
Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  233  ff. 


become  a 

political 

factor 


France  tinder  the  Third  Republic  485 

In   England   and    the   United   States    there    are    two  great  Contrast 

parties,  one  of  which  is  ordinarily  in  unmistakable  control.    In  F^enchVar^ 

France  there  are  so  many  parties  that  no  single  one  can  ever  ties  and  those 

long  command  a  majority  of  votes  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  and  the 

.  ,  1  •     1      .        1      ,  ,        United  States 

As  a  result  measures  cannot  be  carried  simply  because  the 
leaders  of  one  party  agree  on  them,  but  they  must  appeal  to 
a  number  of  groups  on  their  own  merits.  Minorities,  conse- 
quently, have  an  opportunity  to  influence  legislation  in  France, 
and  there  is  litde  chance  for  machine  politics  to  develop.  It  is 
true  that  French  ministries  rise  and  fall  at  very  short  intervals, 
but  nevertheless  the  laws  which  do  pass  receive  more  careful 
attention,  perhaps,  than  they  would  if  pushed  through  as  party 
measures.-^ 

The  opponents  of  a  ministry  in  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  "  inter- 
take  advantage  of  the  privilege  of  asking  the  ministers  ques-  ^^ 
tions  in  regard  to  their  policy  and  thus  force  them  to  explain 
their  motives.  When  a  deputy  formally  announces  that  he 
is  going  to  ''  interpellate "  the  ministers,  he  must  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  do  so  within  a  certain  period  at  a  regular 
session  of  the  Chamber.  These  "  interpellations "  are  more 
common  in  France  than  elsewhere,  but  are  not  unknown  in 
other  governments. 

Section  80.    Expansion  of  France 

While  solving  grave  problems  at  home  the  Third  Republic   French 
has   pushed   forward   its   commercial,   exploring,   and    military   dominion  in 
enterprises  until  it  has  built  up  a  colonial  dominion  vaster  than    ^^7° 
that  lost  during  the  eighteenth  century  in  the  conflicts  with 
England,    though   less    valuable   and    less   inviting   to    French 
emigrants.    When  the  Third  Republic  was  established  French 
colonial  possessions   consisted   of  Algeria  in  northern  Africa, 
the  Senegal  region  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  some  minor 
posts  scattered  along  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  down  to  the  Congo 

1  For  recent  social  legislation  in  France,  see  below,  p.  657. 


486 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


The  French 

annex 

Algeria 


The  French 
in  Senegal 


River,  a  foothold  in  Cochin  China,  and  a  number  of  small 
islands  in  various  parts  of  the  world.  The  basis  of  territorial 
expansion  had  thus  been  laid,  and  after  the  quick  recovery 
which  followed  the  reverses  of  the  German  War,  the  French 
government  frankly  committed  itself  to  a  policy  of  imperialism. 

After  the  defeat  of  France  by  Germany  in  1870,  there  was 
a  serious  revolt  in  the  African  province  of  Algeria,  which  had 
been  seized  in  1830  on  account  of  the  refusal  of  the  native 
ruler  to  give  satisfaction  for  having  slapped  the  French  consul 
general  in  the  face  at  a  public  reception.  This  insurrection  was 
not  put  down  until  more  than  two  hundred  battles  and  skir- 
mishes had  been  fought.  The  great  province  of  Algeria  is  only 
slightly  smaller  than  France  itself,  and  has  a  population  of  over 
five  millions,  of  whom  only  about  eight  hundred  thousand  are 
of  European  origin.-^  To  the  east  of  Algeria  lies  the  province 
of  Tunis,  equaling  in  area  the  state  of  New  York  and  having 
a  population  akin  to  that  of  Algeria  in  race  and  religion. 
Tunisian  tribes  were  accused  by  the  French  of  disturbing  the 
peace  of  the  Algerian  border,  and  in  1881  France  dispatched 
troops  into  Tunis.  After  some  serious  fighting  the  province 
was  occupied  and  the  Bey  was  virtually  forced  to  surrender 
the  administration  of  his  possessions  to  the  French  govern- 
ment, in  whose  hands  it  remains.^ 

While  these  enterprises  were  bringing  northern  Africa  under 
French  dominion,  a  series  of  daring  explorations  and  conquests 
in  western  and  central  Africa  were  adding  vast  regions  and 
millions  of  African  natives  to  the  French  colonial  domain. 
France  had  taken  formal  possession  of  the  province  of  Senegal 
on  the  west  coast  as  early  as  1637,  but  no  serious  efforts  to 
extend  her  control  inland  were  made  until  the  annexation  of 
Algeria  called  attention  to  the  possibility  of  joining  the  two 
provinces.  After  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  steady 
pressure  inland  began  and  Timbuktu  was  conquered  in  1894. 


1  The  French  have  also  been  mapping  out  and  occupying  the  vast  desert  to 
the  south.  2  See  above,  p.  421. 


France  under  the  Third  Republic  487 

A  post  on  the  equator  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gabun  River,  French 
bought  in  1839,  became  the  base  for  celebrated  expeditions  °"^° 
headed  by  du  Chaillu  and  de  Brazza,  which  added  a  vast 
region  north  of  the  Congo  River  more  than  twice  the  size  of 
France  and  now  known  as  French  Congo.^  The  vast  extent  of 
the  French  possessions  in  northwestern  Africa  will  become 
apparent  as  one  glances  at  the  map,  p.  622,  below. 

While  the  French  explorers  were  pushing  their  way  through  The  annexa- 
the  jungles  of  the  Senegal  and  Congo  regions,  or  braving  the   Madagascar, 
sand-storms  of  the  Sahara,^  French  missionaries  and  commer-   ^^^6 
cial  agents  were  preparing  the  way  for  the  annexation  of  the 
island  of  Madagascar.    Using  as  a  pretext  the  murder  of  some 
French  citizens  by  the  natives,  the  French  waged  war  on  the 
ruler  of  Madagascar  (i  882-1 885),   and  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing a  protectorate  over  the  entire  island.    Later  they  ac- 
cused Queen  Ranavalona  III  of  bad  faith  and  of  inability  to 
suppress  brigandage.    A  second  war  which  broke  out  in  1895 
ended  in  the  deposition  and  expulsion  of  the  queen. 

In  the  year  1898  Marchand,  a  French  explorer,  pressed  The 
eastward  across  the  Sahara  desert  from  the  French  possessions  incident'' 
on  the  west  and  reached  the  Nile  region,  where  he  raised  the 
French  flag  at  Fashoda,  in  the  Sudan,  over  lands  claimed  by  the 
English.  An  English  force,  however,  compelled  Marchand  to 
lower  the  flag,  and  for  a  time  it  looked  as  if  the  two  countries 
might  come  to  blows.  Fortunately,  however,  the  French  with- 
drew, and  the  two  nations  arranged  the  disputed  boundaries 
between  them.  Indeed,  the  "  Fashoda  incident,"  as  it  was 
called,  which  threatened  to  plunge  the  two  nations  into  war, 
thus  became  the  basis  of  an  ''  understanding,"  or  "  entente," 


1  In  addition  to  their  larger  African  dependencies  the  French  control  French 
Guiana,  south  of  Senegal,  the  Ivory  Coast,  and  the  native  kingdom  of  Dahomey. 

'■^  In  the  contest  for  the  east  coast  of  Africa  the  French  have  taken  little  part. 
In  1862  they  purchased  from  a  native  chief  the  post  of  Obock,  but  it  was  not 
actually  occupied  until  1884.  Since  that  time,  however,  slight  additions  of  land 
have  been  made,  and  the  post  has  grown  into  French  Somaliland,  a  province  of 
about  six  thousand  square  miles. 


488 


Outlines  of  European  History 


as  the  French  call  it,  between  England  and  France.  For  while 
France  withdrew  from  Egypt  and  the  Sudan,  England  with- 
drew from  any  claims  upon  Morocco,  which  was  the  next 
tempting  bit  of  Africa  to  divide  up.    France  then  was  free, 

apparently,  to  round 
out  its  great  empire 
of  northwest  Africa. 
But  one  neighbor 
had  been  left  out  of 
account  in  this  agree- 
ment between  Eng- 
land and  France, 
namely  Germany,  and 
no  sooner  had  France 
started  to  penetrate 
Morocco  than  Ger- 
many protested,  as 
we  shall  see.^ 

The  Third  Repub- 
lic also  has  extensive 
colonial  dominions  in 
Asia,  where  French 
missionaries  and  trad- 
ers had  been  attracted 
under  Colbert's  ad- 
ministration. Interest 
in  the  province  of 
Anam  was  renewed 
about  1850,  when 
some  French  missionaries  were  murdered  there.  Napoleon  III 
waged  war  on  the  king  in  1857,  forcing  from  him  the  payment 
of  an  indemnity  and  the  cession  of  a  small  portion  of  his  terri- 
tory. The  foothold  thus  obtained  formed  the  basis  for  rapid 
expansion  in  every  direction ;  a  protectorate  was  extended  over 

1  See  below,  section  115. 


FiG.  118.    The  "  Fashoda  Incident" 

The  English  expedition,  which  has  just  come 
up  the  Nile  in  the  steamboats,  is  surprised 
to  find  the  tricolor  of  France  floating  at  Fa- 
shoda.  Colonel  Marchand  is  just  receiving 
the  Sirdar,  as  the  English  commanding  offi- 
cer in  Egypt  was  termed 


France  tinder  the  Third  Republic  489 

the  kingdom  of  Cambodia  in  1864;  and  in  1867  Cochin  China 
was  entirely  annexed.  An  attempt  in  1873  to  force  the  opening 
to  navigation  of  the  Red  River  in  Tonkin  led  to  a  war  with 
the  ruler  of  that  province  which  resulted  in  the  extension  of 
a  protectorate  over  all  of  Anam,  of  which  Tonkin  was  a  dis- 
trict. This  defiance  of  the  Chinese  emperor's  claims  at  length 
stirred  him  to  resistance;  but  the  war  of  1884  which  resulted 
cost  him  all  his  rights  over  Tonkin  and  the  remainder  of  Anam. 
In  1893  France  extended  her  authority  over  the  territory  of 
Laos  to  the  south.  The  French  possessions  are  thus  in  close 
contact  with  the  provinces  of  southern  China,  into  which  French 
influence  is  already  penetrating  in  the  form  of  railways  and 
mining  concessions.-^ 

COLONIES  AND  DEPENDENCIES  OF  FRANCE 

In  Asia^:  Five  towns  in  India,  Anam,  Cambodia,  Cochin  China, 
Tonkin,  and  Laos. 

In  Africa  :  Algeria,  Tunis,  Sahara,  Senegal,  Upper  Senegal  and 
Niger,  French  Guinea,  Ivory  Coast,  Dahomey,  Congo,  Somaliland, 
Mauretania,  Madagascar,  the  islands  of  Reunion  and  Mayotte,  and  the 
Comoro  Isles. 

In  America:  Guiana,  Guadeloupe,  Martinique,  St.  Pierre,  and 
Miquelon. 

In  Oceania:  New  Caledonia  and  dependencies.  Various  stations 
in  the  Pacific. 

Total  area,  4,776,126  square  miles.    Population,  41,653,650. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  '](>.  Under  what  circumstances  did  the  Third  French 
Republic  come  into  existence.^'  Outline  the  course  of  the  Franco- 
Prussian  War  from  the  batde  of  Sedan  to  the  capitulation  of  Paris, 
For  what  purpose  was  the  National  Assembly  elected  in  1871.? 
Describe  the  means  by  which  the  Assembly  accomplished  this  pur- 
pose. What  was  the  cause  of  the  ill  feeling  between  the  people  of 
Paris  and  the  National  Assembly  in  March,  1871  } 

1  On  the  recent  tendencies  in  French  thought  and  society  see  Chapter 
XXVI,  below. 


490  Ojitlincs  of  European  History 

Who  were  the  Communards  and  what  were  their  views  on 
government?  Describe  the  suppression  of  the  Commune.  What 
parties  were  to  be  found  in  the  National  Assembly?  What  was 
the  effect  of  their  inability  to  agree  upon  the  form  of  government 
established  in  France  in  August,  1871?  Describe  the  means  taken 
in  1 87 1  to  strengthen  the  position  of  France. 

What  led  to  the  resignation  of  Thiers?  Who  succeeded  Thiers 
as  president  of  France?  Upon  what  problem  were  the  monarchist 
parties  at  work  from  1873  to  1875?  Describe  the  constitution  of 
France.  Compare  the  position  of  the  president  of  the  French 
republic  with  that  of  the  king  of  England  and  the  president  of 
the  United  States.  Describe  the  legislative  branch  of  the  French 
government,  contrasting  it  with  that  of  the  United  States. 

Section  ']'].  Under  what  circumstances  did  Marshal  MacMahon 
resign  the  presidency?  Mention  the  reforms  instituted  by  the  republi- 
cans in  the  years  1 881-1884.  Outline  the  Dreyfus  case.  What  effect 
did  it  leave  upon  the  political  situation  in  France  ? 

Section  78.  Account  for  the  hostility  between  Church  and  State 
in  France.  What  has  been  the  program  of  the  anti-clerical  party 
during  the  last  twenty-five  years?  Outline  the  relations  of  Church 
and  State  in  France  from  1901  to  1905.  What  was  the  nature  of 
the  public-worship  law  passed  in  December,  1 906  ? 

Section  79.  Give  a  brief  account  of  the  history  of  political 
parties  in  France.  In  what  way  does  the  party  system  of  France 
differ  from  that  of  England  and  the  United  States?  What  is  an 
"  interpellation  "  ? 

Section  80.  Locate  on  a  map  the  colonial  possessions  of  France 
before  1870.  Trace  on  maps  the  colonial  expansion  of  France  since 
the  establishment  of  the  Third  Republic.  Sketch  the  whole  of  the 
"  Fashoda  incident." 


CHAPTER  XXI 
POLITICAL  AND  SOCIAL  REFORMS  IN  ENGLAND 

Section  8i.  Parliamentary  Reform 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  English  government  had  been  Political 

extolled  by  students  of  politics  as  by  far  the  most  liberal  and  En"giand  S 

enlightened  in  Europe.    Although  they  had  no  written  constitu-  ^Jj^th^n^ine? 

tion,  the  Endish  had  won  two  important  safeguards  for  their  teenth 

r  r  ^     '  r  1  CCIltUry 

liberties  —  a  parliament,  free  from  royal  mterterence,  to  make 
their  laws,  and  a  good  system  of  courts,  equally  free  from 
royal  interference,  to  see  that  the  laws  were  properly  carried 
out.  But  in  the  nineteenth  century  it  became  apparent  that 
there  was  great  need  of  reform  in  both  branches  of  the 
government,  and  that  the  mass  of  the  people,  if  free  from 
the  tyranny  of  a  king,  were,  after  all,  not  trusted  with  the 
right  of  self-government 

The  reform  of  Parliament  was  the  most  pressing  need ;  for  "  Rotten 
Parliament  had  ceased  to  represent  the  nation  at  large  and  had  ^'^^"^  ^ 
become  a  council  of  wealthy  landlords  and  nobles.  This  was 
due  to  two  things.  In  the  first  place  there  were  the  so-called 
"rotten  boroughs."  Such  towns  as  had  in  earlier' times  been 
summoned  by  the  king  to  send  their  two  representatives  each 
to  Parliament,  continued  to  do  so  at  the  opening  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  regardless  of  the  number  of  their  inhabitants, 
and  no  new  boroughs  had  been  added  to  the  list  since  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  Dunwich,  which  had  been  buried  under 
the  waters  of  the  North  Sea  for  two  centuries,  was  duly  repre- 
sented, as  well  as  the  famous  borough  of  Old  Sarum,  which 
was  only  a  green  mound  where  a  town  had  once  stood.  On 
the  other  hand,  mere  villages  had  grown  into  great  cities,  and 

491 


492 


Outlines  of  Euivpean  History 


Few  persons 
permitted  to 
vote 


Many  seats 
controlled 
by  Lords 


Situation  in 
the  country 
districts 


Prevalence 
of  bribery 


the  newer  towns  which  had  developed  under  the  influence 
of  the  Industrial  Revolution,  like  Birmingham,  Manchester, 
and  Leeds,  had  no  representatives  at  all.  Moreover  it  was 
not  only  in  the  towns  that  representation  was  wholly  unequal. 
The  county  of  Cornwall,  with  a  population  of  a  quarter  of 
a  million,  had  forty-four  representatives,  while  all  Scotland, 
with  eight  times  that  population,  was  entitled  to  only  one 
more  member. 

In  the  second  place,  few  persons  had  a  right  to  vote,  even 
in  the  towns  which  had  representation  in  Parliament.  In  some 
boroughs  all  taxpayers  had  the  right  to  take  part  in  elections, 
but  this  varied  greatly.  In  one  of  these  —  Gatton  —  there 
were  only  seven  voters.  In  other  boroughs  the  right  of  choos- 
ing the  members  of  Parliament  was  exercised  by  the  mayor 
and  town  council,  who  were  often  not  elected  by  the  people 
at  all. 

Many  of  the  boroughs  were  owned  outright  by  members  of 
the  House  of  Lords  or  others,  who  easily  forced  the  few  voters 
to  choose  any  candidate  they  proposed.^ 

In  the  country  districts  matters  were  no  better.  It  is  true 
that  every  person  owning  land  which  brought  in  forty  shillings 
a  year  was  permitted  to  vote  for  members  of  Parliament,  but 
the  disappearance  of  most  of  the  small  farmers  had  reduced 
the  voters  to  the  few  who  owned  large  estates.  To  take  an  ex- 
treme case,  in  the  Scottish  county  of  Bute,  with  its  population 
of  fourteen' thousand  inhabitants,  there  were  twenty-one  voters, 
of  whom  all  but  one  were  nonresidents. 

Bribery  was  prevalent  and  was  fostered  by  the  system  of 
public  balloting.  The  election  was  held  in  the  open  air.  The 
sheriff,  presiding,  read  off  the  list  of  candidates  and  the  voters 


1  The  duke  of  Norfolk  chose  eleven  members  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
Lord  Lonsdall,  nine,  and  Lord  Darlington,  seven  ;  while  other  peers  had  one  or 
more  representatives  in  the  Commons.  In  1828  the  duke  of  Newcastle  evicted 
over  five  hundred  of  his  tenants  because  they  refused  to  vote  for  his  candidate, 
and  when  this  led  to  a  protest  in  Parliament  he  replied,  "  Have  I  not  a  right  to 
do  as  I  like  with  my  own  ?  " 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England        493 

shouted  and  raised  their  hands  to  show  their  choice.  A  defeated 
candidate  might  then  demand  a  roll  call,  and  each  voter  had 
then  to  sign  his  name  in  a  poll  book  so  that  every  one  might 
know  how  he  voted.  Naturally  there  was  much  intimidation 
and  electioneering  as  well  as  bribery.-^ 

Thus,   through  the    gross    inequalities    in   apportioning   the   England 
members,  the  curious  methods  of  balloting,  open  bribery,  and   emed  by^n 
ownership  of  boroughs,  the  House  of  Commons  was  ordinarily  oligarchy 
under  the  control  of  a  comparatively  few  men.   A  very  cautious 
scholar  of  our  own  day  estimates  that  not  more  than  one  third  of 
the  representatives  in  the  House  of  Commons  were  fairly  chosen. 

The  whole  system  was  so  obviously  preposterous  that  it  is   Proposals 
not  surprising  that  objections  to  it  had  long  been  common.    As   before  the 
early  as  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  abuses  were  "entu^"^^ 
severely  attacked,  and  during  the  democratic  agitation  which 
preceded  and  accompanied  the  French  Revolution  several  at- 
tempts were  made  to  induce  Parliament  to  reform  itself.    The 
elder  Pitt  (Lord  Chatham),  in  1770,  and  later  his  distinguished 
son,   the  younger    Pitt,   proposed   changes.     But   the    French  The  French 
Revolution  came  before  anything  was  done,  and  the  excesses  puts  an  end 
of  the  French  Convention  during  the  Reign  of  Terror  put  an   [^^j^op^^of 
end  to  all  hope  of  reform  for  some  time.    Even  t-he  more  cool-  reform  in 

England 

headed  and  progressive  among  the  English  statesmen  were  dis- 
couraged by  the  apparently  disastrous  results  in  France  of 
permitting  the  people  at  large  to  vote.  Indeed,  until  1830  Eng- 
land was  under  Tory  rule,  and  the  government  adopted  harsh 
measures  to  prevent  all  agitation  for  reform. 

After  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon,  orators,  writers,  and  agita-   The  "  Peter- 

1       1  1     1      1     •         rr  1-1  l<^o  massa- 

tors  redoubled  their  efforts  to  arouse  the  working  classes  to 
action.  Hampden  clubs  were  founded  to  propagate  reform  doc- 
trines, and  monster  demonstrations  and  parades  were  organized 


1  Hogarth,  the  great  artist,  shows  the  humorous  side  of  such  an  election  in 
the  picture  which  is  reproduced  on  page  170,  above.  The  crippled,  the  sick,  and 
the  old  are  brought  to  the  election  booth,  where  they  are  being  persuaded  to  vote 
one  way  or  another.  The  secret  ballot  was  established  m  1872  ;  see  below,  p.  501. 


494 


Outlines  of  European  History 


to  prove  to  the  government  the  strength  of  the  popular  feeling. 
At  one  of  these  meetings  in  Manchester  in  1819,  the  police  and 
soldiers  charged  the  populace  without  provocation  and  killed 


Fig.  119.   The  Parliament  Buildings,  London 

This  massive  pile  stands  on  the  site  of  an  old  royal  palace,  between 
Westminster  Abbey,  which  is  not  shown  but  is  just  across  the  street 
at  the  right,  and  the  river  Thames,  which  runs  along  the  other  side. 
The  House  of  Commons  met  in  the  chapel  of  this  palace  —  St.  Stephens 
—  from  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  until  1834,  when  the  palace 
was  burned  down,  with  the  exception  of  the  great  hall  with  the  plain 
roof  in  the  foreground.  The  new  building,  completed  in  1867,  is  richly 
ornamented.  From  its  main  tower,  340  feet  high,  a  flag  is  flown  by 
day  when  Parliament  is  in  session,  and  by  night  a  light  shines  over  the 
clock  tower,  which  stands  by  Westminster  Bridge 

and  wounded  a  large  number.^  The  government  was  frightened 
by  the  popular  outcry  and  passed  a  series  of  laws  known  as  the 
Six  Acts,  which  restricted  the  rights  of  free  press,  free  speech, 
and  public  meeting. 


1  This  assault,  known  as  the  "  Peterloo  massacre,"  occurred  in  St.  Peter's 
Field,  then  on  the  outskirts,  but  now  in  the  heart,  of  Manchester. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  Ejigland        495 

This  attempt  at  repression  could  not  last,  however,  for  it  was  Merchants 
not  only  the  working  classes  but  the  rich  and  powerful  mer-  frcturers" 
chants  and  manufacturers  as  well  who  demanded  the  revision   '^^sm  to 

urge  reform 

of  a  system  which  excluded  them  from  political  power.  The 
Whigs,  under  the  leadership  of  Lord  John  Russell,  urged 
parliamentary  reform  again  and  again  in  the  Commons.  The 
Revolution  of  1830  in  France  added  impetus  to  the  agitation  in 
England,  and  that  stanch  Tory,  the  duke  of  Wellington,  was 
obliged  to  resign  his  premiership  under  pressure  of  a  growing 
public  opinion  that  seemed  verging  on  open  violence. 

The  Whigs,  or  "Reformers,"  then  were  called  to  power,  and  The  passage 
in  March,  1831,  Lord  John  Russell  introduced  a  reform  bill  Bill  of  1832"^ 
into  the  House  of  Commons,^  where  it  was  violently  opposed. 
A  new  election  was  then  held,  resulting  in  a  triumph  for  the 
reform  party,  which  then  carried  the  bill  through  the  Commons 
by  a  substantial  majority.  It  was,  however,  rejected  by  the 
House  of  Lords.  The  Commons  then  replied  by  passing  an- 
other bill  of  the  same  character  as  the  first,  and  the  country 
awaited  with  breathless  anxiety  the  action  of  the  peers.  Finally, 
King  William  IV  gave  way  to  the  Reformers  and  granted  per- 
mission to  the  prime  minister  "  to  create  such  a  number  of 
peers  as  will  insure  the  passage  of  the  reform  bill."  The  lords, 
realizing  that  further  opposition  was  useless,  gave  way,  and  in 
June,  1832,  the  long-debated  bill  became  a  law. 

According  to  its  provisions  fifty-six  ''  rotten  boroughs,"  each  Provisions  of 
containing  less  than  two  thousand  inhabitants,  were  entirely  gjn  Qf  13^^^ 
deprived  of  representation ;  thirty-two  more,  with  less  than 
four  thousand  inhabitants,  lost  one  member  each ;  and  forty- 
three  new  boroughs  were  created  with  one  or  two  members 
each,  according  to  their  respective  populations.  The  counties 
were  divided  into  election  districts  and  assigned  a  representa- 
tion corresponding  more  nearly  than  heretofore  with  the  num- 
ber of  their  inhabitants.    The  suffrage  was  given  in  the  towns 

1  For  Lord  John  Russell's  speech  on  parliamentary  reform,  see  Readbtgv, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  239  ff,    A  speech  in  opposition  is  printed  on  pp.  2.^2  ff. 


496 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Reform 
Bill  of  1832 
far  from  a 
democratic 


The  demands 
of  the  Charter 


The  Chartist 
movement 


to  all  citizens  who  owned  or  rented  houses  worth  ten  pounds 
(about  fifty  dollars)  a  year,  and  to  renters  as  well  as  owners  of 
lands  of  a  certain  value  in  the  country.  In  this  way  the  shop- 
keepers and  manufacturers  and  some  of  the  more  prosperous 
people  in  the  country  were  given  the  right  to  vote,  but  nearly 
all  workingmen  and  agricultural  laborers  were  still  excluded 
from  the  franchise. 

The  great  Reform  Bill  of  1832  was  therefore  not  really  a 
triumph  for  democrac}'.  It  was  estimated  from  official  returns 
in  1836  that  out  of  a  total  number  of  6,023,752  adult  males 
there  were  only  839,519  voters.  The  thousands  whose  parades 
and  demonstrations  had  frightened  the  duke  of  Wellington  and 
the  king  into  \ielding  were  naturally  dissatisfied  with  the  out- 
come. The  fact  that  those  who  came  into  power  under  the  new 
bill  —  mostly  representing  the  new  capitalistic  class  —  showed 
little  inclination  to  relieve  the  condition  of  the  working  classes, 
whose  wages  were  pitiably  low  and  whose  homes  were  miserable 
hovels,  added  bitterness  to  their  disappointment. 

The  Reform  Bill  had  scarcely  been  signed  before  a  veritable 
flood  of  pamphlet  literature  appeared,  proposing  more  radical 
measures.^  Translations  of  Magna  Carta  and  reprints  of  the 
Bill  of  Rights  and  the  acts  of  the  Long  Parliament  abolishing 
the  House  of  Lords  and  the  kingship  were  circulated  as  leaflets 
among  the  working  classes.  At  last  six  demands  were  embodied 
in  a  "charter";  to  wit,  universal  suffrage,  vote  by  secret  ballot, 
annual  election  of  Parliament,  payment  of  members  of  Parlia- 
ment, abolition  of  property  qualifications  for  members  of 
Parliament,  and  equal  electoral  districts. 

In  the  opening  year  of  Queen  Victoria's  reign,^  this  charter 
won  thousands  of  adherents,  to  whom  the  name  of  "  Chartists  " 


1  For  extracts  from  contemporary  pamphlets  on  the  extension  of  the  suffrage, 
see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  245  ff. 

2  George  III  died  in  182c.  He  had  been  insane  for  some  years,  during  w-hich 
his  son,  afterward  George  IV,  was  regent-  George  IV's  reign  lasted  from  1820 
to  1830,  when  his  brother,  William  IV,  succeeded.  Their  niece,  Victoria,  suc- 
ceeded in  1837,  reigning  until  1901. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  iji  England        497 

was  given.  Local  Chartist  clubs  were  founded  in  ever}-  manu- 
facturing town,  and  in  1S40  a  national  Charter  Association  was 
organized  for  the  purpose  of  federating  the  various  clubs.  Lead- 
ers of  remarkable  oratorical  ability  sprang  into  prominence; 
papers  were  established ;  Chartist  songs  and  poems  were  com- 
posed, and  national  conventions  assembled.  Great  meetings 
and  parades  were  held  all  over  England;  the  charter  was  trans- 
formed into  a  petition  to  which  it  was  claimed  that  over  a  million 
signatures  were  obtained.  This  petition  was  presented  to 
Parliament  in  1839  only  to  be  rejected  by  a  large  vote. 

Despairing  of  securing  reforms  by  peaceful  means,  some  of   Some  of  the 
the  leaders  began  openly  to  advocate  revolutionar}^  violence,   ad\x)cate^ 
and  rioting  spread  to  such  an  extent  that  the  government  had  violence 
to  resort  to  extraordinary  police  measures  to  suppress  it.    The 
disorders  did  not  amount  to  much,  however,  considering  the 
size  of  the  Chartist  movement,  and   the   main  agitation   con- 
tinued   on    peaceful    lines. ^     Several    Chartist    members    were 
elected   to    Parliament,    and    another   petition   was    submitted 
to  that  body. 

The  Revolution  of  1848  in  France  and  the  establishment  of  Final  Chart- 
the  Second  Republic  gave  the  signal  for  the  last  great  outburst  of  fs^s  °" 
of  Chartist  enthusiasm.    Owing  to  the  hard  times  in  that  year, 
thousands  of  workmen  were  unemployed,  and  the  poor  were 
roused  to  bitter  hatred  for  a  government  that  replied  to  demands 

1  The  Chartists  were  violently  attacked  by  the  opponents  of  their  democratic 
proposals,  which  seem  harmless  enough  to-day.  The  statements  of  these  conser\-a- 
tive  people,  on  the  contrary',  seem  ver\'  absurd.  In  1840  the  Reverend  E.  Jenkins 
issued  a  book  called  Chartism  Unmasked,  in  which  he  made  the  following  obser- 
vations :  '■  What  would  you  gain  by  universal  suffrage  ?  1  am  certain  that  you 
would  gain  nothing  but  universal  confusion,  universal  setting  of  workmen  against 
each  other.  .  . .  All  workmen  would  then  become  politicians  —  they  would  neglect 
their  vocations  in  life — spend  their  time,  their  strength,  their  talents  in  what 
would  increase  their  poverty.  Vote  by  ballot  would  be  nothing  but  a  law  for 
rogues  and  knaves,  nothin?  but  a  cloak  for  dishonesty,  insincerity-,  hx-pocrisy  and 

lies With  respect  to  having  members  of  Parliament  paid  and  void  of  property 

qualifications  —  really  this  is  too  absurd  for  an  idiot  to  be  the  author  of  it The 

famous  Chartist  doctrine  of  EqualiU'  is  diametrically  opposed  to  Nature  and  the 
word  of  God :  it  is  a  doctrine  taught  only  by  lying  prophets  — men  who  are  of 
their  father  the  06%^!,  for  his  works  they  do." 
II 


498 


Ojctliftes  of  Europea7i  History 


Gladstone 
espouses  the 
cause  of 
parliamen- 
tary reform 
in  1866 


for  reform  by  police  measures.  Preparations  were  made  to  pre- 
sent another  gigantic  petition  to  the  House  of  Commons,  to 
which  it  was  claimed  that  six  million  names  had  been  secured, 
and  the  Chartist  leaders  determined  to  overawe  Parliament  by 
a  march  on  London.  Though  this  show  of  force  was  frustrated 
by  the  aged  duke  of  Wellington,  then  commander  of  the  troops 
policing  London,  the  petition  was  finally  presented  to  the  House 
of  Commons.  It  was  there  referred  to  a  committee,  which  re- 
ported that  there  were  less  than  two  million  names  and  that 
many  of  these  were  evident  forgeries,  such  as  ''  Victoria  Rex," 
"  the  Duke  of  Wellington,"  "  Pugnose,"  and  ''  Snooks."  The 
petition  was  thereby  greatly  discredited,  and  Parliament  refused 
to  take  any  action  on  it.  Chartism,  as  an  organized  movement, 
thereupon  collapsed. 

The  cause  of  parliamentary  reform  was  not,  however,  lost 
with  the  failure  of  the  Chartist  movement.  The  doctrines  of 
democracy  had  been  spread  among  the  people  by  the  agita- 
tion, and  from  time  to  time  advocates  were  found  to  introduce 
reform  measures  in  the  House  of  Commons.  Although  these 
proposals  were  easily  defeated,  there  was  a  steadily  growing 
recognition  that  some  changes  were  inevitable,  and  at  length, 


*  Victoria  was  much  beloved  by  the  British,  and. her  name  was  con- 
nected with  the  proudest  age  of  the  British  empire.  English  literature 
and  art  of  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  often  spoken  of  as 
belonging  to  the  Victorian  age,  and  it  was  in  her  reign  that  the  colo- 
nies became  real,  self-governing  "  dominions."  The  celebration  of  the 
Diamond  Jubilee  of  the  queen's  reign  in  1897  was  the  most  magnificent 
spectacle  of  modern  times.  It  was  attended  by  practically  all  the  other 
sovereigns  of  Europe,  including  Victoria's  grandson,  the  German 
emperor,  and  it  brought  together,  for  the  first  time,  the  statesmen  of 
the  widely  scattered  "  dominions  beyond  the  seas."  One  should  have 
in  mind  all  this  splendor  and  power  of  the  empress-queen  when  one 
looks  at  this  picture  of  the  young  girl  who  was  roused  from  her  sleep 
on  June  20,  1837,  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  another  official, 
to  be  Jtold  of  the  death  of  her  uncle,  William  IV,  and  her  accession  to 
the  throne.  Victoria  received  them  with  quiet  dignity,  although  clad 
with  wrapper  and  shawl,  with  her  hair  falling  over  her  shoulders  and 
her  feet  hurriedly  thrust  into  slippers. 


Platk  \'.    QuEKN  Victoria  xottfikd  of  her  Accession 

TO    THE   ThKOXE* 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  E^igland        499 

in  1866,  Gladstone,  as  leader  of  the  House  of  Commons,  made 
the  question  an  issue  of  practical  politics.  Mr.  Gladstone  was 
then  fifty-seven  years  old.  He  had  entered  Parliament  as  a 
Tory  at  the  first  election  after  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832,  and 
had  quickly  shown  himself  a  commanding  orator  and  a  capable  1 

politician.  At.  the  end  of  a  few  years  his  views  on  public  ques- 
tions began  to  change,  and  at  length  he  broke  with  the 
conservative  traditions  of  his  youth.  In  a  debate  on  parliamentary 
reform  in  1864  he  maintained  that  the  burden  of  proof  rested 
on  those  ''who  would  exclude  forty-nine  fiftieths  of  the  working 
classes  from  the  franchise."  The  very  next  year  the  veteran 
reformer  of  1832,  Lord  Russell,  now  elevated  to  the  peerage, 
was  called  upon  to  form  a  new  ministr}^,  and  he  selected 
Gladstone  as  leader  of  the  lower  house. 

At  the  opening  of  Parliament  in  1866  Gladstone  proposed   Disraeli 

succcccis 

a  moderate  extension  of  the  franchise,  which  was  still  based  Gladstone 
on  property  .qualifications.  This  measure-  displeased  many  of  ^^  Ihe^House 
Gladstone's  followers  because  it  went  too  far,  and  others  be-  of  Commons 
cause  it  did  not  go  far  enough.  Consequently  the  cabinet  felt 
compelled  to  resign,  and  a  Conservative  ministry  was  formed 
under  the  leadership  of  Lord  Derby,  who  was  represented  in  the 
House  of  Commons  by  Benjamin  Disraeli  (afterwards  created 
Lord  Beaconsfield),  one  of  the  most  striking  figures  in  the 
political  life  of  England  during  the  nineteenth  centurs'-.  When  a 
young  man  of  twenty-two  he  had  sprung  into  prominence  as  the 
author  of  a  successful  novel,  Vivia7i  Grey,  and  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  he  entered  upon  his  political  career  as  a  Conserva- 
tive member  of  Parliament.  His  Jewish  origin,  his  obtrusive 
st)'le  of  dress,  and  his  florid  oratory  immediately  brought  him 
into  conspicuous  notoriety ;  but  those  who  laughed  at  him  at 
first  soon  came  to  recognize  him  as  a  leader  of  great  force 
and  a  politician  of  remarkable  ability. 

The  Conservatives,  as  the  old  Tory  party  had  come  to  be 
called,  were  alarmed  by  the  general  demand  for  reform  and 
some  rioting  which  took  place  in  Hyde  Park,  but  Disraeli  was 


Soo 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Disraeli's 
reform  bill  of 
1867  doubles 
the  number 
of  voters 


able  to  secure  the  passage  of  a  reform  bill  in  spite  of  the  de- 
nunciations of  some  of  his  fellow  Conservatives  and  the  smiles 
of  the  Liberals,^  who  taunted  him  with  advocating  changes  which 
he  had  long  opposed.^  The  new  law  of  1867  granted  the  right 
to  vote  to  every  adult  male  in  the  larger  towns  who  occupied 
for  twelve  months,  either  as  owner  or  tenant,  a  dwelling  within 
the  borough  and  paid  the  local  poor  tax ;  also  to  lodgers  who 


Fig.  120.    Disraeli 


paid  ten  pounds  or  more  a  year  for  unfurnished  rooms.  In  the 
country  it  permitted  those  to  vote  who  owned  property  which 
produced  an  income  of  at  least  five  pounds  net  a  year,  and  all 
renters  paying  at  least  twelve  pounds  annually.  This  served  tc 
double  the  previous  number  of  voters.^ 

1  The  followers  of  Gladstone  were  termed  Liberal  rather  than  Whig,  fronr. 
which  party  most  of  them  came.   The  old  name  "  Reformer,"  however,  persisted. 

2  Extracts  from  a  contemporary  speech  against  giving  the  vote  to  working- 
men  are  given  in  the  Readings^  Vol.  1 1,  pp.  251  ff. 

8  It  may  be  said  here,  once  for  all,  that  in  England,  as  in  most  European 
countries,  it  is  customary  to  exclude  from  the  suffrage  all  paupers,  criminals,  the 
insane,  and  certain  other  classes  of  nersons. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England        501 

A  further  reform  was  the  adoption  of  the  secret  ballot  in 
1872,  instead  of  the  old,  disorderly  method  of  public  elections, 
described  above. ^ 

In  1884  the  Liberal  party,  again  lihder  Gladstone's  leader- 
ship, resolved  to  carry  still  further  the  reforms  of   1832  and 


Fig.  121.   Men  rioting  for  the  Suffrage  in 
Hyde  Park  (1866) 

The  great  reforms  in  England  in  the  nineteenth  century  were  achieved 

with  Httle  disorder,  but  there  would  have  been  more  if  the  government 

had  not  yielded  in  time 

1867,  for  over  two  million  men,  chiefly  agricultural  laborers.   Extension  of 
were  denied   the  right  to  vote.^    By   extending  the   suffrage  10^1884"^  '^^ 
to  them  the  Liberals  hoped  to  gain  their  support  to  offset  the 
control  of  the  rural  districts  which  had  hitherto  been  enjoyed 


1  See  p.  493.  The  form  of  ballot  used  was  copied  from  that  in  use  in  the 
colony  of  Victoria,  Australia,  and  is  known  as  the  Australian  ballot.  It  has  been 
adopted  in  many  countries. 

2  For  Gladstone's  speech  on  suffrage  in  1884,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II. 
pp.  255  ff. 


502  Outlines  of  European  History 

by  the  Conservatives.  The  new  law  which  they  succeeded  in 
passing  provided  that  the  franchise  established  for  the  larger 
towns  in  1867  should  be  extended  to  all  towns,  and  to  the 
country  districts  as  well,  thus  introducing  general  uniformity 
throughout  the  United  Kingdom.  While  this  measure  seemed 
to  establish  something  approaching  the  manhood  suffrage 
already  common  on  the  Continent,  many  men  are  still  ex- 
cluded from  voting,  especially  unmarried  laborers  who,  owing 
to  the  low  rents  in  England,  do  not  pay  as  much  as  ten  pounds 
(fifty  dollars)  a  year  for  unfurnished  lodgings. 

For  twenty  years  the  matter  of  the  franchise  excited  little 
attention,  for  the  Conservatives  were  in  power  and  were  satis- 
fied to  leave  things  alone.  But  when  the  Liberal  party  was 
again  called  to  the  helm  in  1906,  it  had  to  face  not  only 
the  question  of  including  more  men  among  the  voters  but  the 
much  more  novel  demand  that  women  also  should  be  allowed 
to  vote.  The  Industrial  Revolution,  by  opening  up  new  em- 
ployments to  women,  has  given  them  a  certain  kind  of  inde- 
pendence which  they  never  before  had.  During  the  latter  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  women  were  admitted  to  universities, 
and  colleges  began  to  be  established  for  them  as  well  as  for 
men.  All  these  things  have  produced  the  demand  that  women 
be  given  the  right  to  vote. 

In  1870  the  women  of  England  were  given  the  right  to  vote 
for  members  of  the  newly  created  school  boards,  and  in  1888 

*  Royalty  in  England  keeps  up  its  splendor  for  the  most  part  upon 
social  occasions,  when  distinguished  or  wealthy  people  are  "  presented 
at  court,"  which  means  that  they  pass  in  line  before  the  monarchs  and 
bow  their  way  out.  But  the  monarchs  also  appear  in  state  upon  one 
political  occasion,  —  outside  of  royal  marriages,  funerals,  coronations,  and 
the  like,  —  and  this  is  when  they  go  to  open  Parliament  in  the  midst  of 
a  pageant,  which  this  .picture  represents.  When  the  king  mounts  the 
throne  in  the  House  of  Lords,  however,  and  all  the  members  of  Parlia- 
ment are  summoned  to  hear  "  the  king's  speech,"  he  has  to  read  the 
words  set  before  him  by  the  prime  minister  and  cabinet.  The  Houses 
then  meet  and  debate  it  with  little  regard  for  the  feelings  of  the  real 
authors. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  Engla7id         503 

and  1894  they  were  admitted  to  the  franchise  in  certain  local   Steady  exten- 
government  matters.    In    1893   women  were  enfranchised   in   suffrage  to 
New  Zealand.    Shortly  after  the  establishment  of  the  new  Com-  "^"^^^ 
monwealth  of  Australia  in  1901  full  parliamentary  suffrage  was 
granted  to  them.    In  1906  the  women  of  Finland,  and  in  1907, 
19 1 2,  and  19 1 5  the  women  of  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Denmark 
respectively,  were  given  the  vote  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 
The   British  government,  however,  steadily  refused   to  grant 
woman  suffrage.    As  a  result,  some  leaders  of  the  suffrage 
movement,  notably  Mrs.  Pankhurst,  resorted  to  violent  demon- 
strations, but  this  apparently  alienated  lukewarm  supporters,  and 
Parliament  finally,  in  19 13,  rejected  a  bill  proposing  a  general 
reform  of  the  suffrage,  in  which  women  should  share. 

Section  82.    The  English  Cabinet 

These  reforms,  which  permit  a  large  number  of  voters  to  The  position 
select  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  have  left  un-  Hshsoverefgn 
touched,  so  far  as  appearances  are  concerned,  the  ancient  and 
honorable  institutions  of  the  king  and  the  House  of  Lords.-^ 
The  sovereign  is  crowned  with  traditional  pomp ;  coins  and 
proclamations  still  assert  that  he  rules  "  by  the  grace  of  God  " ; 
and  laws  purport  to  be  enacted  "  by  the  king's  most  excellent 
Majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Commons 
in  Parliament  assembled ."  ^  Justice  is  executed  and  the  colo- 
nies are  governed  in  the  name  of  the  king.  The  term  "  royal " 
is  still  applied  to  the  army,  the  navy,  and  the  mail  service, 
reserving,  as  a  wit  once' remarked,  the  word  "national"  only 
for  the  public  debt. 

There  was  a  time,  of  course,  when  sovereign  power  was 
really  exercised  by  the  king  of  England.  Henry  VIII,  for 
example,  appointed  his  own  ministers  and  dismissed  them  at 

1  For  recent  attacks  on  the  Lords,  see  below,  pp.  644  f. 

'-  Prior  to  the  Parliament  Act  of  191 1  the  formula  ran  "by  and  with  the 
consent  of  the  Lords  Spiritual  and  Temporal  and  Commons  in  Parliament 
assembled." 


504 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  cabinet 


How  the 
members  of 
the  cabinet 
are  chosen 


will.  He  made  war  and  peace  at  his  pleasure,  and  exercised 
such  an  influence  on  the  elections  that  Parliament  was  filled 
with  his  supporters.  The  long  struggle,  however,  between  the 
king  and  the  Parliament  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the 
circumstances  of  the  Revolution  of  1688  which  placed  William 
and  Mary  on  the  throne,  made  Parliament  the  predominant 
element  in  the  English  government.  The  king  is  still  legally 
empowered  to  veto  any  bill  passed  by  Parliament,  but  he  never 
exercises  this  power.  He  has  in  reality  only  the  right  to  be 
consulted,  the  right  to  encourage,  and  the  right  to  warn.  He 
cannot  permanently  oppose  the  wishes  of  the  majority  in  Par- 
liament, for  should  he  venture  to  do  so,  he  could  always  be 
brought  to  terms  by  cutting  off  the  appropriations  necessary  to 
conduct  his  government. 

The  king  of  England  must  now  act  through  a  ministry 
composed  of  the  heads  of  the  various  departments  of  the 
government,  with  the  prime  minister  as  their  head.^  The  devel- 
opment of  this  ministry,  which  is  known  as  the  cabinet,  has 
been  described  in  an  earlier  chapter.^  It  was  pretty  firmly 
established  under  George  I  and  George  II,  who  were  glad  to 
let  others  manage  the  government  for  them.  While  the  king 
nominally  appoints  the  members  of  the  cabinet,  that  body  is 
in  reality  a  committee  selected  from  the  party  which  has 
a  majority  in  the  House  of  Commons.  The  leader  of  the 
party  which  secures  the  majority  in  a  parliamentary  election 
is  charged  by  the  king  with  the  task  of  naming  the  other 
cabinet  ministers,  who  may  be  selected  from  among  the 
lords  as  well  as  the  commons.^  Thus,  unlike  the  president 
of  the  United  States  and  his  cabinet,  who  in  general  communi- 
cate with  Congress  through  written  messages,  reports,  or 
other   indirect   means,  the   prime   minister   and   the   heads   of 

1  Gladstone's  description  of  the  cabinet  system  is  given  in  Readings^  Vol.  II, 
pp.  258  ff.  2  See  above,  pp.  55  ff. 

3  He  may  choose  some  distinguished  man  not  in  Parliament  at  the  time,  but 
in  that  case  the  nominee  must  be  immediately  elected  a  member.  This  can  be 
done  by  inducing  some  obscure  member  to  resign  so  as  to  have  a  by-election. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England         505 


departments  in  England  themselves  sit  in  Parliament  and  are 
obliged  therefore  to  present  and  defend  their  own  proposals. 

The  cabinet  drafts 
the  more  important 
measures  to  be  laid 
before  Parliament  and 
presents  its  general 
program  at  the  open- 
ing of  each  session 
of  Parliament  in  the 
form  of  "  the  king's 
speech,"  which  is  read 
by  the  sovereign  or 
his  representative.  In 
all  matters  the  cabinet 
acts  as  a  unit,  and 
whenever  a  member 
cannot  agree  with  the 
majority  on  an  im- 
portant point  he  is 
bound  to  resign.  The 
cabinet,  therefore,  pre- 
sents a  united  front 
to  Parliament  and  the 
country.^ 

Whenever  it  hap- 
pens that  the  House  of 
Commons  expresses 
its  disapproval  of  the 
policy  of  the  ministry, 
either  by  defeating  an 


Fig.    122.     The    Residence    of    the 
Prime  Minister,  10  Downing  Street, 

LOXDOX 

The  official  residences  of  the  prime  minister 
of  England  and  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  respectively,  are  these  two  plain- 
looking  buildings  on  a  little  street  near  the 
Parliament  buildings,  named  after  a  Sir 
George  Downing,  who  was  a  nephew  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Winthrop  of  Massachusetts  and 
a  graduate  of  Harvard  College.  Downingwas 
a  strong  partisan  of  Cromwell,  but  on  the 
restoration  of  Charles  II  abandoned  the 
principles  "he  had  sucked  in"  in  America 
and  was  rewarded  for  services  by  a  gift  of 
this  land 


1  An  interesting  illustration  of  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  story  told  of  a  prime 
minister  of  the  middle  of  the  century,  Lord  Melbourne.  His  cabinet  was  divided 
on  the  question  of  the  duty  on  grain,  and  with  his  back  against  the  door,  he  de- 
clared to  them  ;  "  Now,  is  it  to  lower  the  price  of  com,  or  is  n't  it?  It  does  not 
matter  much  what  we  say,  but  mind,  we  must  all  say  the  same  thing." 


5o6  Outlines  of  European  History 

important  measure  or  by  a  direct  vote  of  censure,  the  cabinet 
is  bound  to  do  one  of  two  things.    It  may  resign  in  a  body  and 
thus  give  way  to  a  new  ministry  made  up  from  the  opposite 
party.    If,  however,  the  ministers  feel  that  their  policy  has  pop- 
ular support'  outside  of  Parliament,  they  may  "go  to  the  coun- 
try " ;  that  is,  they  may  ask  the  king  to  dissolve  the  existing 
Parliament  and  order  a  new  election  in  the  hope  that  the  peo- 
ple may  indicate  its  approval  of  their  policy  by  electing  their 
supporters.    The  further  action  of  the  ministry  is  then  deter- 
mined by  the  outcome  of  the  election.    A  failure  to  gain  a 
majority  is  the  signal  for  the  resignation  of  the  entire  ministry 
and  the  transference  of  power  to  their  opponents. 
The  English        As  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons  are  not  elected 
more™nder      ^01*  2-  definite  term  of  years  (though  according  to  a  law  passed 
of^  ublkf "^^    ^^  191 1  elections  must  be  held  at  least  every  five  years),  that 
opinion  than    body  may  be  dissolved  at  any  time  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
United  States   an  expression  of  the  popular  will  on  any  important  issue.    It  is 
thus  clear  that  the   British  government  is  more  sensitive  to 
public  opinion  than  are  governments  where  the  members  of 
the  legislatures  are  chosen  for  a  definite  term  of  years.    For 
example,  in  the  United  States,  Congressmen  are   elected  for 
two  years  and   Senators  for  six ;   consequently  when  a  crisis 
arises  it  usually  has  to  be  settled  by  men  who  were  not  chosen 
according  to  their  views  on  that  particular  question,  while  in 
England  a  new  election  can  be  held  with  direct  reference  to 
the  special  issue  at  hand. 
The  House  Nevertheless,  the   reader  will  naturally  ask  how  it  is   that 

the  British  government  could  be  so  democratic  and  yet  retain, 
in  its  upper  house,  a  body  of  hereditary  peers  responsible  to 
no  constituents.  The  explanation  is  that  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, by  reason  of  its  ancient  right  of  initiating  all  money  bills, 
could  control  the  king  and  force  him,  if  necessary,  to  create 
enough  new  peers  to  pass  any  measure  blocked  by  the  House 
of  Lords.  In  practice  the  king  has  not  had  to  do  more  than 
threaten  such  a  measure  to  bring  the  House  of  Lords  to  terms. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England        507 

Although  many  bills  have  been  defeated  in  the  House  of  Unpopularity 
Lords  during  the  nineteenth  century,  a  sort  of  constitutional  of  Lords°"^^ 
understanding  has  grown  up  that  the  upper  house  must  yield 
to  an  unmistakable  and  definite  expression  of  public  opinion 
in  favor  of  a  measure  which  it  has  previously  opposed.  How- 
ever, the  House  of  Lords  is  increasingly  unpopular  with  a  large 
class  in  England.  Its  members  for  the  most  part  take  little  or 
no  interest  in  their  duties  and  rarely  attend  the  sessions.  The 
opposition  of  the  peers  to  an  educational  bill  introduced  in 
1906,  and  also  to  the  budget  of  1909,  again  raised  the  ques- 
tion of  the  abolition  or  complete  reorganization  of  the  upper 
house,  and  the  result  was  the  important  Parliament  Act  of 
19 1 1,  by  which,  under  certain  circumstances,  the  House  of 
Commons  may  force  a  bill  through  in  spite  of  the  Lords.-^ 

Section  83.    Freedom  of  Speech  and  Opinion,  and 
Reform  of  the  Criminal  Law 

While  England  was  transforming  herself  into  a  democracy 
by  remodeling  her  Parliament,  the  people  gradually  gained  the 
right  freely  to  discuss  political  questions  in  the  newspapers 
and  in  public  meetings,  and  to  express  religious  opinions  differ- 
ing from  those  sanctioned  by  the  government  without  thereby 
sacrificing  the  possibility  of  holding  office. 

Freedom    of   the    press    from    governmental    censorship   is   Taxes  on 
commonly  regarded  as  having  been  established  in  1695  by  the   "nd  other" 
refusal  of  Parliament  to  renew  an  eld  law  providing  for  such  publications 

1  According  to  the  terms  of  this  important  act,  any  bill  relating  to  raising 
taxes,  or  making  appropriations,  which  the  House  of  Commons  passes  and  sends 
up  to  the  House  of  Lords  at  least  one  month  before  the  close  of  a  session  may 
become  a  law  even  if  the  House  of  Lords  fails  to  ratify  it.  Other  bills  passed  by 
the  Commons  at  three  successive  sessions  and  rejected  by  the  Lords  may  also 
be  presented  to  the  king  for  his  signature  and  become  laws  in  spite  of  their 
rejection  by  the  upper  house.  In  this  way  control  of  the  financial  policy  of  the 
government  is  practically  taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  House  of  Lords,  and  in 
the  case  of  all  other  laws  the  House  of  Commons  is  able,  by  a  little  patience  and 
waiting  a  couple  of  years,  to  do  what  it  pleases  without  regard  to  the  sentiments 
of  the  peers. 


5o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Freedom  of 
the  press 


Freedom  of 
speech 


control.  However,  in  times  of  disturbance  the  government 
adopted  repressive  measures,  as,  for  instance,  during  the  French 
Revolution  and  in  1819,  when  there  was  extensive  popular 
unrest.  Moreover  the  stamp  duties  on  newspapers  and  adver- 
tisements hampered  the  publication  of  cheap  journals  spreading 
political  information  among  the  masses.  The  necessity  of 
paying  an  eight-cent  tax  on  each  copy  made  the  average  price 
of  a  newspaper  fourteen  cents,  while  the  price  of  the  London 
Times  was  eighteen  cents.  In  addition  to  these  stamp  duties 
there  was  a  special  tax  on  paper,  which  increased  its  cost  about 
fifty  per  cent. 

These  '''  taxes  on  knowledge,"  as  they  were  called,  were 
attacked  by  those  who  advocated  popular  education,  and  by 
the  political  reformers  who  wanted  cheap  newspapers  through 
which  to  carry  on  agitation.^  At  length,  in  1833,  the  tax  on 
advertisements,  and  in  1836  the  stamp  taxes,  were  reduced, 
bringing  the  price  of  most  London  papers  down  to  ten  cents. 
Twenty  years  later  these  taxes  were  swept  away  altogether, 
and  in  186 1  the  duty  on  printing  paper  was  removed,  and  thus 
England  secured  a  free  press.  The  government,  however, 
does  not  give  low  postal  rates  to  the  newspapers  as  in  the 
United  States. 

No  less  important  to  democracy  than  freedom  of  the  press  is 
the  right  to  hold  public  meetings  and  to  criticize  the  government 
Although  during  the  eighteenth  century  English  laws  were  less 
oppressive  than  those  on  the  Continent,^  it  was  not  until  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  full  liberty  of  speech  was 
attained.  Now  England  is  very  proud  of  this  necessary 
institution  of  a  free  people,  and  every  one  agrees  that  it  does 
no  harm  to  let  people  talk.^ 


1  For  Bulwer-Lytton's  speech  in  favor  of  a  free  press,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II, 
pp.  270  ff. 

2  See  above,  p.  140. 

3  A  somewhat  amusing  illustration  of  the  extent  of  this  tolerance  is  the  way 
the  British  police  will  protect  from  his  audience  an  anarchist  or  a  republican 
attacking  the  monarchy. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England        509 

It  was  natural  that,  in  the  midst  of  this  general  movement   Religious 
for  political  liberty  and  freedom  of  the  press,  the  Dissenters    ^ 
and  Catholics  should  have  put  in  a  claim  for  the  abolition  of 
the  laws  which  placed  them  under  many  disabilities.    The  Dis- 
senters, although  they  enjoyed  a  certain  liberty  of  religious 


Fig.  123.    Westminster  Abbey,  London 

Westminster  Abbey  is  the  famous  church  in  which  are  buried  the  most 
distinguished  statesmen,  authors,  artists,  and  scientists  of  England.  It 
stands  on  the  site  of  a  church  founded  in  Anglo-Saxon  times,  but  the 
present  building  dates  mainly  from  later  centuries,  the  last  notable 
addition  having  been  added  by  the  fifteenth  century.  The  tombs  of 
Chatham,  Pitt,  Beaconsfield,  Gladstone,  and  other  great  statesmen  'lie 
just  inside  the  door  shown  in  the  picture.  The  Parliament  buildings 
stand  just  across  the  street  from  the  church,  to  the  left  of  the  picture 


worship,  were  excluded  from  municipal  offices  and  from  all 
places  of  trust,  civil  and  military,  in  the  government,  although, 
curiously  enough,  they  were  not  forbidden  to  sit  in  Parliament 
—  a  disability  imposed  on  Catholics  in  addition  to  exclusion 
from  public  offices.  The  rapid  increase  of  the  dissenting  sects 
in  wealth,  numbers,  and  influence,  especially  after  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Methodists,  at  last  forced  Parliament  to  respect 


5IO  Outlines  of  European  History 

their  demand,  and  in  1828  the  old  laws  against  them  were 
repealed,  and  they  were  admitted  freely  to  public  offices  on 
condition  that  they  would  take  an  oath  "  upon  the  true  faith  of 
a  Christian  "  not  to  use  their  influence  to  injure  or  weaken  the 
Established  Church.  The  following  year  the  Catholics  secured 
the  passage  of  the  famous  Emancipation  Act,  which  admitted 
them  to  both  houses  of  Parliament  and  to  practically  all  munic- 
ipal and  government  offices,  upon  condition  that  they  would 
take  an  oath  renouncing  the  temporal  supremacy  of  the  Pope 
and  disclaiming  any  intention  of  injuring  the  Protestant 
religion.^ 
Religion  and        Thcsc  reforms  by  no  means  took  religious  controversies  out 

the  schools  .....__,,,     ^  ,  ...  .,, 

01  politics  in  England,  for  the  religious  sects  are  still  at  war 
over  the  question  as  to  who  shall  control  the  schools.  Anglicans, 
Catholics,  and  Dissenters  during  the  nineteenth  century  built 
schoolhouses  and  maintained  schools  of  their  own,  and  when 
the  demand  for  free  popular  education  became  so  strong  that 
in  1870  the  government  provided  for  the  erection  and  equip- 
ment of  schools  at  public  expense,  religious  bodies  began  to 
contend  among  themselves  for  a  representation  on  the  school 
boards  having  charge  of  the  government  schools.  All  of  the 
sects  agreed  that  education  without  religious  instruction  was 
bad,  but  they  differed  hotly  on  the  particular  kind  of  religious 
instruction  that  should  be  given.  The  problem  of  how  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  the  several  bitterly  contending  sects  has 
constituted  one  of  the  main  issues  of  English  politics  up  to  the 
present  time.  Nevertheless,  the  efficiency  of  the  schools  has 
steadily  increased,  and  there  has  been  a  corresponding  decline 
in  illiteracy.  In  1843  thirty-two  per  cent  of  the  men  and  forty- 
nine  per  cent  of  the  women  had  to  sign  their  names  in  the 
marriage  registers  with  a  cross.  In  1903  only  two  per  cent  of 
the  men  and  three  per  cent  of  the  women  were  unable  to  write 
their  own  names  in  the  registers. 

1  For  speeches  for  and  against  religious  toleration,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp. 
274  ff. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England        5 1 1 

While  some  reformers  were  busy  with  securing  freedom  of  The  crimi- 
the  press  and  removing  religious  disabilities,  others  were  attack-  "^  ^^ 
ing  the  criminal  law,  which,  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  as  an  English  writer  has  observed,  sacrificed  the  lives 
of  men  with  a  reckless  barbarity  worthier  of  an  Eastern  despot 
than  of  a  Christian  state.-^  This  drastic  code  included  no  less 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  offenses  for  which  the  death  penalty 
was  imposed.    It  is  estimated  that  between   18 10  and   1845 


v-^- 


^M$k 


iS^i^. 


Fig.  132.  Till-:  Ruixs  of  Melrose  Abbey 


there  were  fourteen  hundred  executions  for  acts  which  were 
not  regarded  as  capital  offenses  after  the  latter  date. 

It  required  many  years  of  agitation,  however,  to  move  the  Reform  of 
British  Parliament,  and  although  some  of  the  worst  abuses  i^^ 
were  gotten  rid  of  in  the  third  decade  of  the  century,  the  list 
of  capital  offenses  was  not  reduced  to  three  until  1861.  In 
1835,  after  a  parliamentary  investigation  had  revealed  the 
horrible  conditions  of  prisons,  a  law  was  passed  providing  for 
government  inspection  and  the  improvement  of  their  administra- 
tion, and  this  marked  the  beginning  of  prison  reform,  which 

1  See  /headings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  279  ff. 


512  Outlines  of  European  History 

includes  sanitary  buildings,  separation  of  the  sexes,  separation 
of  the  hardened  criminals  from  the  younger  offenders,  and  a 
more  enlightened  treatment  of  criminals  generally,  with  ^  view 
to  reforming  them  ^  while  protecting  society. 

Section  84.    Social  Reforms 

Wretched-  The  Cruelty  of  the  criminal  law  had  its  origin  in  the  Middle 

in  the  Agcs,  but  with,  the  coming  of  the  Industrial  Revolution  in  the 

facSries  reign   of  George   III   new  forms   of    inhumanity  had  arisen. 

These  were  the  result  of  the  factory  system,  which  brought 
untold  misery  to  the  working  classes  of  England.^  Great 
factory  buildings  were  hastily  erected  by  men  ignorant  of  the 
most  elementary  principles  of  sanitary  science,  and  often  too 
avaricious  to  care  for  anything  but  space  enough  to  operate  the 
machines  and  light  enough  to  enable  the  laborers  to  do  their 
work.  To  these  industrial  centers  flocked  thousands  of  landless 
and  homeless  men  and  women  entirely  dependent  upon  the 
factory  owners  for  the  opportunity  to  earn  their  daily  bread. 
Fluctuations  in  trade  caused  long  periods  of  enforced  idleness, 
which  resulted  in  great  uncertainty  in  the  life  of  the  workman. 
Child  labor  The  introduction  of  steam-driven  machinery  had  made  pos- 

sible the  use  of  child  labor  on  a  large  scale,  and  it  was  the 
condition  of  the  children  which  first  attracted  the  attention  of 
philanthropists  and  reformers.  Thousands  of  little  paupers 
were  taken  from  the  poorhouses  and  nominally  apprenticed, 
but  practically  sold,  to  the  proprietors  of  the  mills.  Necessity 
or  greed  on  the  part  of  parents,  and  the  demand  for  "  cheap 
labor"  on  the  part  of  manufacturers,  brought  thousands  of 
other  children  into  industrial  life. 


1  It  should  be  stated  that  the  attitude  of  the  English  toward  such  matters  as 
crime  and  its  punishment  was  shared  by  the  other  nations  as  well,  although  no 
place  can  be  found  in  this  history  to  describe  them.  The  proper  treatment  of 
criminals  and  the  causes  of  crime  are  still  subjects  but  little  understood. 

2  For  extracts  from  parliamentary  reports  on  conditions  in  the  factories,  see 
Readiyigs^  Vol.  II,  pp.  282  ff. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England         513 

The  conditions    of   adult   labor,   save   in   the  most    skilled   General 
classes,   were    almost   as   wretched    as    those    of    child    labor.   Sctory  hands 
Women  and  ^irls  were  employed  in  great  numbers  in  mills  and  ^?^  opera- 
even  in  the  dark  and  dangerous  recesses  of  the  mines,  which  mines 
were    badly  ventilated    and    perilous   to   work   in ;    dangerous 
machinery   was   not    properly    safeguarded,   and    the   working 
time  was  excessively  prolonged.    The  misery  of  the  poor  is 
reflected  in  Mrs.  Browning's  poem,  "  The  Cry  of  the  Children," 
in  the  bitter  scorn  which  Carlyle  poured  out  on  the  heads  of 
the  factory  owners,  in  the  impassioned  pages  of   Kingsley's 
Alton  Locke,  and  in  the  vivid  word  pictures  of  Dickens. 

The  working  classes  were  excluded  from  representation  in   Opposition 
Parliament,  they  were  denied  opportunities  for  education,  and  andTtates-^*^^ 
the  statesmen  of  the  time  refused  to  take  action  in  their  behalf  ^^"  ^^ 

factory 

until  after  long  and  violent  agitation.  In  this  refusal  Parliament  legislation 
was  supported  by  the  economic  theorists,  who  defended  the 
rights  of  mill  owners  as  Bossuet  had  defended  the  divine  right 
of  kings.  These  theorists  believed  that  government  inter- 
ference with  industry  or  commerce  would  only  make  matters 
worse,^  since  the  business  men  knew  what  was  good  for  their 
business  better  than  members  of  Parliament.  If  capitalists 
were  obliged  to  shorten  hours  of  labor,  they  claimed  that  it 
would  make  profits  impossible,  thus  closing  the  factories  and 
bringing  still  greater  hardships  for  the  workers. 

The  result  of  such  a  theory  was  that  during  the  first  thirty  Early  agita- 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  government  did  almost  factoiy^aws 
nothing  to  remedy  conditions.  In  1802  an  act  reduced  the 
hours  of  pauper  children  in  cotton  mills  to  seventy-two  per 
week  and  made  some  other  reforms,  such  as  compelling  em- 
ployers to  furnish  at  least  one  suit  of  clothes  a  year.  But  even 
this  act  was  not  enforced  and  conditions  remained  as  bad  as 
ever.  From  1815  to  1819  Robert  Owen,  the  great  philanthro- 
pist,^ labored  to  secure  a  better  law  for  the  protection  of  chil- 
dren. He  had  shown  by  the  conduct  of  his  own  factories  the 
1  See  above,  p.  160.  2  See  above,  p.  ^73- 


514 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


Parliament 
at  last  begins 
to  adopt 
reforms 


The  report 
of  the  factory- 
commission 
appointed  by 
Parliament 
in  1832 


Agitation  for 
a  ten-hour 
day  for 
women  and 
children 


advantage  of  treating  employees  well,  and  appealed  to  other 
manufacturers  to  help  secure  such  conditions  in  the  mills  as 
would  produce  healthier  and  happier  workers.  But  his  appeal 
fell  on  deaf  ears,  and  the  bill  he  finally  got  passed  was  but  a 
slight  part  of  his  demands.  It  only  forbade  the  employment  of 
children  under  nine  in  the  cotton  mills,  and  limited  the  working 
time  of  those  between  nine  and  sixteen  to  twelve  hours  per  day. 

During  the  following  years,  however,  ardent  reformers  dis- 
regarding the  advice  of  the  theorists,  and  discontented  workmen 
filling  the  country  with  unrest,  at  last  forced  Parliament  to 
undertake  to  improve  conditions.  Indeed,  the  bad  ventilation, 
scanty  food,  long  hours,  and  lack  of  sanitation  led  to  the  spread 
of  epidemics  in  the  factory  districts,  and  action  could  not  longer 
be  delayed  without  endangering  the  health  of  the  well-to-do. 
A  group  of  men,  aroused  by  these  conditions,  of  whom  the 
most  notable  was  Lord  Ashley,  by  unselfish  and  untiring  labors 
so  stirred  public  opinion  that  Parliament  in  1832  appointed  a 
select  commission  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  the  whole 
question  of  factory  legislation.  The  appalling  disclosures  of 
this  commission  resulted  in  a  new  bill  still  further  reducing 
the  working  hours  for  children  and  providing  for  the  first  time 
for  regular  factory  inspectors.  In  1842  Lord  Ashley  carried 
through  Parliament  a  mining  law  which  forbade  the  employ- 
ment of  women  and  children  in  underground  occupations. 

These  laws  did  not  satisfy  the  reformers,  and  they  now 
began  to  work  for  another  measure,  restricting  the  labor  of 
women  and  children  in  mills  to  ten  hours  per  day  exclusive  of 
meal  times.  This  proposition  gave  rise  to  a  heated  contest  in 
the  House  of  .Commons  between  manufacturers  and  landed 
proprietors.  In  vain  did  John  Bright  (champion  of  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  in  the  United  States)  denounce  the  proposition 
as  ''  most  injurious  and  destructive  to  the  best  interests  of  the 
country,"  "  a  delusion  practiced  upon  the  working  classes," 
and  "  one  of  the  worst  measures  ever  passed."  ^    Nevertheless, 

1  Extracts  from  Bright's  speech  are  given  in  Read'mgs^  Vol.  II,  pp.  2S5  f. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England         5 1 5 

in  1847  the  ten-hour  bill  for  women  and  children  became  a  law. 
In  practice  it  applied  to  all  adults  as  well,  for  the  mills  could 
not  run  after  the  women  and  children  had  stopped  working. 

With  this  great  victory  for  the  reformers  the  general  resist-  John  Mor- 
ance  to  state  interference  was  broken  down,  and  year  after  t^on^o/^^"^'^" 
year,  through  the  long  reign  of  Queen  Victoria  (1837-1901)   England's 
and  those  of  her  successors,  new  measures  were  carried  through  protecting 

-r^     ,.  .   .  ,  ,  .  ,.       1  -1         ,         the  laboring 

Parliament,  revismg  and  supplementmg  earlier  laws,  until  to-day  classes 
England  does  more  than  any  other  European  country  to  pro- 
tect the  factory  operatives.  In  the  language  of  Lord  Morley, 
England  has  "  a  complete,  minute,  voluminous  code  for  the 
protection  of  labor ;  buildings  must  be  kept  clear  of  effluvia ; 
dangerous  machinery  must  be  fenced  ;  children  and  young  per- 
sons must  not  clean  it  while  in  motion  ;  their  hours  are  not  only 
limited  but  fixed ;  continuous  employment  must  not  exceed  a 
given  number  of  hours,  varying  with  the  trade,  but  prescribed 
by  law  in  given  cases;  a  statutable  number  of  holidays  is  im- 
posed ;  the  children  must  go  to  school,  and  the  employer  must 
every  week  have  a  certificate  to  that  effect ;  if  an  accident 
happens,  notice  must  be  sent  to  the  proper  authorities ;  special 
provisions  are  made  for  bakehouses,  for  lacemaking,  for  col- 
lieries, and  for  a  whole  schedule  of  other  special  callings ;  for 
the  due  enforcement  and  vigilant  supervision  of  this  code  of 
minute  prescriptions,  there  is  an  immense  host  of  inspectors, 
certifying  surgeons,  and  other  authorities,  whose  business  it  is 
to  '  speed  and  post  o'er  land  and  ocean '  in  restless  guardian- 
ship of  every  kind  of  labor,  from  that  of  the  woman  who  plaits 
straw  at  her  cottage  door  to  the  miner  who  descends  into  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  and  the  seaman  who  conveys  the  fruits 
and  materials  of  universal  industry  to  and  *fro  between  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  globe." 

Important  as  are  the  measures  thus  summarized,  far  more 
revolutionary  legislation  for  the  working  class  has  been  enacted 
during  the  last  decade  than  during  the  entire  nineteenth  century.^ 

'^  See  below,  Chapter  XXVI. 


Si6 


OiLtliiies  of  European  History 


Section  85.    Free  Trade 


Policy  of 
protection  in 
England 
before  the 
nineteenth 
century 


Manufac- 
turers 
demand  a 
repeal  of 
the  duties 
on  grain 


The  Com 
Laws 


From  the  fourteenth  century  onward  England  endeavored, 
by  high  tariffs,  navigation  laws,  and  numerous  other  measures, 
to  protect  her  manufacturers,  farmers,  and  ship  owners  against 
foreign  competition.  Special  tariffs  were  imposed  on  the  manu- 
factured goods  of  other  countries ;  bounties  were  paid  from  the 
government  treasury  to  encourage  various  forms  of  commercial 
enterprise ;  Englishmen  were  obliged  to  import  their  goods  from 
the  colonies  in  English  ships,  no  matter  how  much  cheaper  they 
could  get  them  carried  by  Dutch  merchantmen ;  and  high  duties 
were  imposed  on  grain. 

Adam  Smith  and  other  economists  denounced  this  system  of 
protection,  claiming  that  it  hampered  commerce  and  so  injured 
industry  as  well.  However,  the  free-trade  movement  which  in 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  opened  British  markets 
freely  to  the  products  of  all  nations  was  mainly  the  work  of 
the  owners  of  the  new  factories,  who  objected  to  the  tariffs  on 
grain,  which,  they  argued,  made  the  bread  of  their  workmen 
dear.  They  contended,  as  well,  that  undeveloped  countries  like 
Russia  or  America  would  be  happy  to  buy  English  cloth,  shoes, 
and  cutlery  if  they  could  freely  send  to  England,  in  return,  a 
portion  of  their  great  crops  of  wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  barley. 
Having  little  fear  of  foreign  competition  in  their  industries, 
and  owning  no  land,  they  wanted  no  protection  for  them- 
selves or  the  farmers. 

The  manufacturers  began,  therefore,  to  attack  the  Corn 
Laws,^  as  the  tariff  acts  protecting  grain  were  called.  The 
duties  on  grain  had  been  made  especially  high  after  18 15, 
when  the  fall  of  the  inflated  war  prices  threatened  to  ruin 
the  farmers. 

To  secure  the  repeal  of  these  duties  on  grain  and  to  propa- 
gate the  principles  of  free  trade  generally,  the  manufacturers 


1  The  term  "  corn,"  usually  confined  to  Indian  com,  or  maize,  in  the  United 
States,  is  commonly  used  in  England  to  mean  grain  in  general. 


Political  and  Social  Refo7"ms  in  England         5  1 7 

founded  in  1838  the  Anti-Corn-Law  League,  and  for  almost  The  Ami. 
ten  years  this  organization,  under  the  brilliant  leadership  of  Le^'u^^^8^8 
Richard  Cobden  ^  and  John  Bright,  carried  on  one  of  the  most 
thoroughgoing  campaigns  of  popular  education  in  the  history 
of  democracy,  expending  in  one  year  over  a  million  dollars  in 
publications  and  meetings.  The  attack  was  concentrated  on 
the  Corn  Laws  because  it  was  easier  to  rouse  feeling  against 
the  landlords  than  in  favor  of  any  abstract  theories  of  polit- 
ical economy.    It  was  a  war  on  the  landed  aristocracy. 

The  agitation  was  brought  to  a  crisis  in  1845  by  a  failure  of  Sir  Robert 
crops  in  England  and  a  potato  famine  in  Ireland,  which  raised  thTre^pearof 
the  price  of  food  stuffs  enormously  and  brought  thousands  to   Law^^ig  6 
the  verge  of  starvation,  especially  in  Ireland.     In  the  midst  and  opens 
of  such  distress  it  appeared  to  thinking  men  nothing  short  of  free  trade 
criminal  to  maintain  high  prices  of  grain  by  law.    Consequently 
Sir  Robert  Peel,  then  prime  minister,  determined  that  the  Com 
Laws  must  go,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  had  hitherto  de- 
fended them,  and  in  1846  he  succeeded  in  carrying  through 
Parliament  a  law  which  led  to  their  practical  repeal.    Though 
compelled  to  resign  immediately  after  the  passage  of  this  bill. 
Peel  had  given  the  whole  protective   system  in  England  its 
death  blow,  since  it  was  chiefly  the  tariff  on  grain  that  could 
claim  any  really  active  defenders. 

Within  ten  years  all  of  the  old  navigation  laws  were  abolished  Free  trade 
and  English  ports  opened  freely  to  the  ships  of  other  nations.  1852-1867  ' 
Gladstone,  as  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  1852,  removed 
the  duties  on  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  articles  entirely, 
and  reduced  them  on  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  more.  On 
his  return  to  office,  some  fifteen  years  later,  he  made  a  clean 
sweep  of  all  protective  duties,  retaining,  for  revenue  purposes, 
those  on  tea,  wines,  cocoa,  and  a  few  other  articles. 

The  tendency  toward  free  trade  was  not  confined  to  Eng- 
land.   Indeed,  until  the  seventies,  it  looked  as  if  a  network  of 

1  Some  of  Cobden's  arguments  against  the   Corn   Laws  are  given   in  the 
Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  287  ff. 


518 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Tendency 
toward  free 
trade  in 
Europe  fol- 
lowed by  a 
reaction  in 
the  seventies 


Growing  dis- 
satisfaction 
with  free 
trade  in 
England 


commercial  treaties,  combined  with  low  tariffs,  would  carry  all 
Europe  into  a  free-trade  policy.  The  liberals  in  France  under 
Napoleon  III  favored  it,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  Germany  had 
accepted  it  in  a  modified  form  until  Bismarck's  tariff  law  of 
1879.  At  last,  however,  a  reaction  set  in.  The  protectionists 
rose  to  power  in  the  continental  countries ;  the  United  States 
converted  what  was  once  regarded  as  a  temporary  policy  of 
encouraging  infant  industries  and  of  increasing  the  revenue 
during  the  Civil  War  into  a  permanent  policy  of  high  protec- 
tion ;  and  foreign  competitors,  having  free  access  to  England's 
markets,  began  to  undersell  her  at  home  as  well  as  abroad. 

This  radical  change  in  the  economic  conditions  in  the  conti- 
nental countries  and  the  United  States  has  convinced  many 
Englishmen  that 'some  alteration  will  have  to  be  made  in  Eng- 
land's free-trade  policy.  In  the  election  of  1906  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain sought  to  make  the  establishment  of  some  form  of  a 
protective  tariff  the  leading  campaign  issue.  Although  the 
free  traders  carried  the  day  and  the  possibility  of  a  change 
in  policy  seemed  remote,  yet  the  arguments  of  the  protection- 
ists have  gained  a  new  force  through  the  war  of  19 14,  and 
the  continuance,  to  some  degree,  of  tariffs  adopted  during  the 
war  finds  many  adherents. 


The  land 
question 


Section  86.    The  Irish  Question 

In  addition  to  the  important  problems  the  English  have 
had  to  solve  at  home,  they  have  been  constantly  involved  in 
perplexities  in  their  dealings  with  the  Irish,  who  belong  to 
the  Celtic  race  and  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  and  differ  essen- 
tially from  their  English  neighbors  in  sentiments  and  traditions. 
The  principal  troubles  with  Ireland  have  been  over  the  land 
question,  religious  differences,  and  Home  Rule. 

The  first  of  these  questions,  the  land  question,  grew  out 
of  the  fact  that  Ireland  had  been  frequently  invaded  by  the 
English,  and  Irish  estates  had  been  handed  cxver  to  English 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England         519 

warriors,  fortune  hunters,  and  royal  favorites.    These  invasions   Conquests 
dated   back   to    the    twelfth   century,   when,   under    Henry  II    ments 
(1154-1189),  certain  eastern  districts  around   Dublin,  known 
as  the  '*  Pale,"  were  wrested  from  the  Irish.    In  the  sixteenth 
century,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  revolts  of  the   Under 
Irish  led  to  new  conquests,  particularly  of  Ulster  in  the  north.       ^ 
Under  James  I  Protestant  colonists  from  Scodand  and  England   Under 
were  setded  in  Ulster,  adding  a  permanent  element  of  discord.   ^^^^^ 
A  little   later,   when  the   Puritans   in   England  were  fighting 
Charles  I,  the  Catholic  Irish  rose  in  revolt,  but  as  they  were 
hopelessly  divided  into  factions,   Oliver  Cromwell's  well-disci-   Under 
plined  army  crushed   them   all.     Cromwell  took   terrible  and     ^  '"^ 
bloody  vengeance,  scourging  the  country  with  fire  and  sword 
and  confiscating  more  land.    During  the  English  Revolution  of 
1688  the  Irish  again  rose  for  their  Catholic  king,  James  II,  and 
drove  the  Protestants  out  or  into  a  few  strongholds.^    Finally 
William  III  defeated  James  at  a  battle  by  the  river  Boyne,   Under 
July  I,  1690.    The  Ulster  Protestants  annually  celebrate  this      '  **"^ 
deliverance    by    "  William   of    Orange,"    and    their   lodges    of 
''  Orangemen  "  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  Irish 
Catholics  and  the  fear  of  what  might  happen  if  they  got  control 
of  the  country.^ 

The  result  of  these  unsuccessful  rebellions  was  that  still  Evil  of 
more  lands  were  taken  from  the  Irish.  Now  the  English  landlordism 
landlords,  to  whom  these  estates  were  given,  and  their  de- 
scendants, for  the  most  part,  lived  in  England.  In  the  nine- 
teenth century  millions  of  pounds  yearly  were  drained  away 
from  Ireland  to  pay  absentee  landlords,  who  rarely  set  foot 
in  that  country  and  took  little  or  no  interest  in  their  tenants 
beyond  the  collection  of  their  rents.  If  the  tenants  did  not 
pay  or  could  not  pay,  they  were  speedily  evicted  from  their 

1  One  of  these,  Londonderry,  held  out  heroically,  with  but  slight  resources, 
till  help  came.  The  town  owes  its  name  to  the  settlement  of  Derry  by  Protes- 
tants from  London. 

2  The  first  Orange  lodges  date  from  1795,  but  the  movement  began  earlier. 


520 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


The  condi- 
tion of  the 
peasantry 


The  potato 
famine 


The  Protes- 
tant Estab- 
lished Church 
in  Ireland 


cottages  and  lands.  It  was  estimated  in  1847  that  about  one 
third  of  the  entire  rental  of  Ireland  was  paid  to  absentee 
landlords. 

Throughout  large  portions  of  Ireland  the  peasants  were 
constantly  on  the  verge  of  starvation.  They  were  deprived  of 
nearly  all  incentive  to  work  at  the  improvement  of  their  little 
holdings,  because  they  were  liable  to  be  evicted  and  lose  the 
results  of  their  own  labors.  Whenever  there  was  a  failure  of 
the  potato  crop,  on  which  from  one  third  to  one  half  the 
population  depended  for  food,  there  w^ere  scenes  of  misery 
in  Ireland  which  defy  description.  This  was  the  case  in  the 
"  Black  Year  of  Forty-Seven,"  when  the  potato  crop  failed 
almost  entirely  and  thousands  died  of  starvation  in  spite  of 
the  relief  afforded  by  the  government.-^  It  was  in  the  midst 
of  this  terrible  famine  that  the  stream  of  emigration  began 
to  flow  toward  America.  Within  half  a  century  four  million, 
emigrants  left  the  shores  of  Ireland  for  other  countries,  princi- 
pally the  United  States,  taking  with  them  their  bitter  resentment 
against  England. 

The  second  source  of  trouble  in  Ireland  was  the  Established' 
Church.  When  England  adopted  the  Protestant  faith  an  at- 
tempt was  made  to  force  it  upon  the  Irish,  who  however  clung 
steadfastly  to  the  Pope  and  their  ancient  Church.  The  monas- 
teries were  suppressed  and  their  lands  confiscated.  Catholic- 
clergy  were  expelled  from  their  parishes  and  Protestant  priests, 
installed  in  their  places,  to  be  supported  by  tithes  collected  fromi 
a  people  still  loyal  to  their  old  faith.  Even  in  the  darkest  days; 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  Irish  peasants  were  starving,, 
the  Established  Church  in  Ireland  continued  to  draw  its  ample- 
revenues  from  the  tithes  and  endowments,  although  its  mem- 
bers numbered  but  one  tenth  of  the  population.  These  tithes,, 
however,  were  collected  from  the  peasants  only  with  the  utmost 
difficulty  and  pitched  battles  were  sometimes  fought  between 

1  For  contemporary  accounts  of  suffering  during  famines  in  Ireland,  see 
Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  297  ff. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  England         521 


them  and  the  police  when  the  latter  undertook  to  drive  off  the 
last  cow  to  pay  the  dues  to  the  hated  priest  of  an  alien  faith.^ 

It  is  small  wonder,  therefore,  that  the  Irish  were  deeply 
embittered  on  the  religious  question  and  began  a  movement  to 
overthrow  the  Anglican  Church  in  their  midst.  By  the  Catholic 
Emancipation  Act,  mentioned  above,  Irish  Catholics,  along 
with  the  English  Catholics,  had  been  admitted  to  Parliament, 


Disestablish- 
ment of  the 
EngHsh 
Church 


.:% 


Fig.  124.    Dublin 

The  fine  buildings  along  this  beautiful  street  were  badly  injured  in  the 

street  fighting  in  1916,  mentioned  at  the  end  of  the  chapter.    The  slums 

of  Dublin  furnish  a  sad  contrast  with  the  impressive  public  buildings  in 

the  main  street,  and  most  of  the  rebels  were  from  the  very  poor 


as  well  as  to  other  public  offices ;  and  they  carried  on  an  agita- 
tion which  ended  in  1869  in  the  passage  of  an  act  by  Parlia- 
ment which  disestablished  the  English  Church  in  Ireland  and 
abolished  its  tithes.^  The  Anglicans,  however,  were  allowed  to 
retain  the  beautiful  buildings  which  had  been  seized  during  the 
period  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  clergy  were  recompensed 

1  For  extracts  from  parliamentary  reports  showing  the  difficulties  of  collect- 
ing tithes,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  293  ff. 

2  For  John.  Bright's  plea  for  disestablishment,  see  Rcadhiss,  Vol.  II,  pp.  295  f. 


522  Otitli7ies  of  European  History 

for  the  loss  of  the  tithes,  which  they  found  it  difficult  to  collect, 
by  a  large  grant  of  money  from  the  government. 

Although  the  burden  of  the  tithes  was  thus  removed  from 
the  peasants,  the  evils  of  absentee  landlordism  remained ;  and 
finding  themselves  victorious  in  the  struggle  against  the 
Anglican  Church  they  undertook  an  agitation  for  a  drastic 
land  reform. 
Parnell  and  In  1 879  a  great  Land  League,  with  Charles  Stewart  Pamell, 

League,  1879  ^  member  of  Parliament,  at  its  head,  was  established  with  the 
aim  of  securing  three  things  for  the  Irish  peasant  —  fair  rent, 
fixed  holding,  and  fair  sale ;  that  is  to  say,  they  asked  for 
legislation  providing  that  the  rent  should  not  be  fixed  by  the 
landlord  at  any  amount  he  thought  he  could  get,  but  by  a 
court  taking  into  consideration  the  fair  value  of  the  land ;  that 
the  tenant  should  hold  his  land  as  long  as  he  paid  the  rent  so 
fixed ;  and  finally  that,  in  case  he  surrendered  his  holding,  he 
should  be  allowed  to  sell  his  improvements  to  the  tenant  who 
succeeded  him. 
The  Irish  Parnell,  with  the  support  of  the  Irish  members  in  Parlia- 

1881-1903  ment,  resorted  to  ''  filibustering  "  until  that  body  was  forced  in 
188 1  to  pass  a  land  act  granting  these  three  demands.  This 
measure  has  been  supplemented  by  land-purchase  acts  by  which 
the  government  puts  at  the  disposal  of  the  tenants  money  to 
buy  their  holdings,  with  the  privilege  of  repayment  on  the  in- 
stallment plan.  One  of  these  acts,  passed  in  1903,  appropriates 
a  practically  unlimited  amount  for  this  purpose,  and  off"ers  a 
considerable  inducement  to  landlords  to  sell,  so  that  the  land 
question  seems  in  a  fair  way  to  be  settled  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  peasantry.^ 

The  third  source  of  trouble  between  England  and  Ireland 
has  been  the  contest  over  Home  Rule.     Until  1801   Ireland 


1  The  Land-Purchase  Act  of  1885,  passed  by  Lord  Salisbury,  set  apart  twenty- 
five  million  dollars;  that  of  1888,  a  second  sum  of  the  same  amount;  that  of  1891 
devoted  one  hundred  and  seventy  million  dollars  to  the  purchase  of  lands,  and 
that  of  1903  an  almost  unlimited  sum. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  i7i  E^igland         523 


had  maintained  a  separate  parliament  of  her  own ;  but  in  that 
year  the  English  government  determined  to  suppress  it,  as  a 
result  of  an  uprising  in  1798  led  by  Wolfe  Tone,  a  Protes- 
tant who  had  imbibed  socialistic  principles  in  France.  The  Act  Act  of  Union, 
of  Union  of  1801  abolished  the  Irish  parliament  and  provided 
that  Ireland  should  be  represented  by  one  hundred  members 
in  the  House  of  Commons  and,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  by 


1801 


^^0^^''    #(i>>\r%^f>^  \4  ^\.jl  \^^^.^^ 


Fig.  125.   Irish  Cottages 

• 
The  pictures  show  the  contrast  between  the  quaint,  but  filthy  and  un- 
sanitary, old  thatched  cottages  of  Ireland  and  the  clean  and  comfortable, 
if  unpicturesque,  new  ones.  The  American  traveler  often  regrets  the 
disappearance  of  these  old  houses  from  the  landscape  of  the  Old 
World,  but  wherever  the  peasantry  of  Europe  is  prosperous,  as  in 
Ireland  now,  it  is  replacing  picturesqueness  by  comfort.  Hence  much 
of  the  Old  World  looks  as  new  as  America 


twenty-eight  peers  chosen  by  the  Irish  baronage.  This  Act  of 
Union  was  resented  by  the  Irish  patriots.  Accordingly,  they 
at  once  began  an  agitation  for  Home  Rule,  that  is,  for  a  par-  Home  Rule 
liament  of  their  own  in  which  they  can  legislate  on  their  own  ^^'  ^  '°" 
affairs  instead  of  being  forced  to  rely  upon  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, where  the  English  and  the  Scotch  have  an  overwhelming 
majority. 

The  repeal  of  the  Act  of  Union  was  warmly  urged  by  Daniel   Daniel 
O'Connell  after  the  emancipation  of  1829,  and  at  the  general 
election  of  1834  fortv  members  of  Parliament  favored  Home 


524  Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 

Rule.  A  Repeal  Association  was  organized,  monster  meetings 
were  arranged  by  O'Connell,  and  the  examples  of  Belgium  and 
Greece  in  winning  independence  were  cited  as  indications  of 
what  the  Irish  might  do.  All  Ireland  seemed  on  the  verge  of 
rebellion,  and  Irish  Americans  planned  an  invasion  of  Canada. 
The  British  government  met  this  agitation  by  stationing  thirty- 
five  thousand  troops  in  the  island,  and  O'Connell,  in  spite  of 
his  violent  and  inflammatory  speeches,  shrank  from  the  test 
of  civil  war. 
Gladstone  O'Connell  died  in  1847,  but  the  cause  of  Home  Rule  did 

causeS Irish  riot  perish  with  him,  for  it  was  taken  up  by  the  Fenians  and 
1886^^  ^"'^'  the  Land  League,  who  inaugurated  a  reign  of  terror  for  the 
landlords  and  thus  kept  steadily  before  the  people.  In  1882 
the  shocking  murder  of  Lord  Frederick  Cavendish,  the  chief 
minister  for  Ireland,  and  his  secretary  took  place  in  Phoenix 
Park,  Dublin.  This  deed  aroused  the  horror  of  the  civilized 
world  and  convinced  Gladstone  that  nothing  short  of  Home 
Rule  could  solve  the  perennial  Irish  problem.  After  the  parlia- 
mentary election  of  1886,  which  gave  him  a  small  majority  in 
the  Commons  and  made  him  dependent  upon  the  Irish  mem- 
bers for  their  support,  he  undertook  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the 
Act  of  Union.^  Many  of  his  followers,  who  did  not  believe  in 
the  policy  of  Home  Rule,  broke  away  from  his  leadership  and 
formed  the  party  of  the  Liberal  LTnionists,  thus  defeating  the 
bill  by  about  thirty  votes.  Seven  years  later  Gladstone  brought 
forward  a  new  Home  Rule  bill  providing  that  the  Irish  should 
have  a  parliament  of  their  own  at  Dublin  and  also  retain  repre- 
sentation in  that  of  the  United  Kingdom.  This  bill,  though 
passed  by  the  Commons,  was  rejected  by  the  House  of  Lords. 
The  Home  For  some  years  thereafter  the  issue  almost  dropped  out  of 

of  1914  English  politics,  but  the  majority  of  the  Irish  members  of  Par- 

liament continued  to  agitate   the  question,  and   in    19 14  the 
Liberal  government  passed   a  Home  Rule  bill  which  almost 

1  Extracts  from  Gladstone's  speech  on  Home  Rule  in  1886  are  given  in  the 
Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  301  f. 


Political  and  Social  Reforms  in  Englaiid        525 

threatened  to  plunge  Ireland  into  civil  war.    The  inhabitants  of 

Ulster,  in  northern  Ireland,  are  mainly  Protestant   and   they 

have  been  the  bitterest  opponents  of  Home  Rule,  fearing  the 

rule  of  a  Catholic  majority.    When  the  bill  v^as  on  the  point  of 

becoming  law,  they  prepared  to  rebel,  and  openly  armed  and 

drilled  a  small  army  of  volunteers.    Protestant  army  officers   The  protest 

declared  that  they  would  refuse  to  put  down  the  ''  Ulsterites,"    ^^  ^'^*^^ 

and  the  government,  to  avoid  bloodshed,  modified  the  bill  so  as 

to  allow  the  various  divisions  of  Ulster  to  decide  for  themselves 

whether   they  would    send    their   members   of   parliament   to 

London  or  to  Dublin.^  This  did  not  suit  extreme  Home  Rulers 

or  extreme  Unionists,  but  the  Liberals  sought  to  calm  them 

by  proposing  a  federal  system  for  other  parts  of  the  United 

Kingdom  as  well,  with  parliaments  for  Wales  and   Scotland, 

much  like  the  system  in  use  in  Canada.    The  European  war, 

however,  put  an  end  to  these  plans,  and  the  actual  application 

of  Home  Rule,  along  with  other  such  schemes,  was  postponed. 

Meanwhile,   although   the   old   discontent   burst   out  in   the   Revolt  of 
spring  of  19 16  into  a  revolt  which  was  not  crushed  without   ^^^ 
serious  damage  to  Dublin  and  heavy  loss  of  life,  new  prosperity 
has  come  to  the  island   since  the   British  government,  some 
half-dozen  years  ago,  voted  money  to  aid  the  Irish  peasant 
to  buy  his  land  instead  of  holding  it  as  a  tenant.    Much  prog-   New  pros- 
ress  has  been  made  in   establishing   cooperative   dairies   and   Ireland" 
farmers'    banks.     Ireland   is  now  probably  more   prosperous 
than  she  has  ever  been  before. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  81.  Give  an  account  of  the  political  situation  in  Eng- 
land at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century.  What  were  the 
''  rotten  boroughs  " .?  Who  enjoyed  the  right  to  vote  ?  Describe  an 
election  before  the  introduction  of  the  secret  ballot.  Discuss  the 
attempts  made  to  secure  parliamentary  reform  before  1832. 

1  At  the  end  of  six  years  all  should  send  members  to  Dublin,  and  so  Home 
Rule  would  be  gradually  established. 


526  Outlines  of  European  History 

Describe  the  passage  of  the  Reform  Bill  of  1832.  State  the  pro- 
visions of  the  bill.  Outline  the  history  of  the  Chartist  movement. 
Sketch  the  course  of  parliamentary  reform  from  1 848  to  1 884,  giving 
the  terms  of  the  bills  of  1867  and  1884.  What  problems  connected 
with  the  extension  of  the  franchise  are  yet  to  be  solved  ? 

Section  82.  What  powers  does  the  king  of  England  possess? 
What  is  the  English  cabinet?  Describe  the  method  of  selecting  cabi- 
net officers ;  the  manner  in  which  the  cabinet  acts.  What  is  meant 
by  the  ''  rise  and  fall  of  ministries  "  ? 

For  what  reason  is  the  English  government  said  to  be  more  under 
the  influence  of  public  opinion  than  that  of  the  United  States?  What 
effect  did  the  Parliament  Act  of  191 1  have  upon  the  power  of  the 
House  of  Lords  ? 

Section  83,  What  were  the  "taxes  on  knowledge"?  When 
were  they  abolished?  When  and  by  what  means  was  religious  liberty 
secured  by  Dissenters  and  Roman  Catholics  ?  Describe  the  criminal- 
law  system  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  the 
reforms  instituted  after  the  parliamentary  investigation  of  1835. 

Section  84.  Give  a  brief  account  of  the  abuses  of  the  factory 
system.  Account  for  the  opposition  to  factory  legislation.  Outline 
the  history  of  factory  legislation. 

Section  85.  Discuss  the  policy  of  protection  in  England.  Give 
the  arguments  of  those  who  favored  free  trade.  Indicate  the  steps 
by  which  free  trade  was  established.  What  is  the  present-day  feeling 
in  England  about  the  free-trade  policy  ? 

Section  86.  Outline  the  history  of  England's  relations  with  Ire- 
land from  the  twelfth  to  the  eighteenth  century.  What  have  been 
the  three  sources  of  trouble  between  England  and  Ireland  in  the 
nineteenth  and  twentieth  centuries  ?  What  attempts  have  been  made 
to  remove  these  causes  of  discontent  in  each  case  ? 


*  W.  E.  Gladstone  was  one  of  the  greatest  orators  and  statesmen  of 
England.  He  began  as  a  Tory,  but  grew  more  and  more  liberal  and 
forced  along  much  reform  legislation.  The  picture  shows  him,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-two,  introducing  the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1893.  '^^^  House 
of  Commons  is  crowded  with  the  most  distinguished  men  of  the  day. 
Note  how  it  is  divided  into  opposing  rows  of  benches,  the  party  in 
power  holding  those  on  the  right,  the  opposition  party  those  on  the 
left,  of  the  Speaker,  who  sits  in  the  thronelike  chair,  clad  in  quaint 
robes  and  wfearing  a  wig,  as  do  the  clerks  in  front  of  him.  On  this 
occasion  the  aisle  in  the  foreground  is  as  crowded  as  the  benches. 


Fig.  126.    Gladstone  addressing  the  House  of  Commons  on 
THE  Home  Rule  Bill* 


Fig.  127.    The  Imperial  Durbar,  India 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

Section  87.    The  Extension  of  British  Dominion 
IN  India 

The  story  of  the  British  struggles  for  colonial  dominions  and   The  British 
world  markets  — the  rivalry  with  the  Dutch  in  the  Spice  Islands,   eSph-t  whiL 
the  wars  for  Spanish  trade,  the  struo^srle  with  France  in  India  making 

^  °^  reforms  at 

and  North  America  —  we  have  brought  down  to  the  settlement  home 
at  Vienna,  which  left  England  foremost  among  the  commercial 
and  colonial  powers  of  all  time.  The  task  of  developing  the  re- 
sources acquired  in  India,  Africa,  Canada,  and  Australasia,  was 
one  of  the  important  problems  which  the  eighteenth  century 
bequeathed  to  the  nineteenth. 

Turning  first  to  India,  the  British  rule,  in  the  opening  years   British 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  extended  over  the  Bengal  region  and   india"at"he 
far  up  the  Ganges  valley  beyond  Delhi.    A  narrow  strip  along  opening  of 
the  eastern  coast,  the  southern  point  of  the  peninsula,  and  the  teenth 
island  of  Ceylon  had  also  been  brought  under  England's  con-  ^^"  ^^ 
trol,  and  in  the  west  she  held  Bombay  and  a  considerable  area 
north  of  Surat.^   In  addition  to  these  regions  which  the  English 
administered  directly,  there  were  a  number  of  princes,  such  as 
the  Nizam  of  Hyderabad,  over  whom  they  exercised  the  right 
of  "  protection."    They  had  secured  a  foothold  which  made  it 
evident  that  the  Mogul  emperor,  who  retained  but  the  shadow 

*  In  a  great  ceremonial  gathering,  or  dtirbar,  the  princes  of  India 
meet  to  offer  allegiance  to  the  British  ruler  upon  his  accession.  The 
last  imperial  durbar  was  a  scene  of  great  magnificence,  as  this  proces- 
sion of  bejeweled  princes  and  elephants  shows.  The  actual  ceremony 
was  upon  too  vast  a  scale  to  be  reproduced  in  a  single  picture. 

1  See  map  above,  p.  ro6. 

527 


528 


Outlines  of  European  History 


of  power  at  Delhi,  could  never  recover  the  shattered  dominions 
of  the  great  Aurangzeb.  The  French  and  Portuguese  posses- 
sions had  declined  into  mere  trading  posts  along  the  coast,  and 
in  the  heart  of  India  only  one  power  disputed  the  advance  of 
the  English  toward  the  complete  conquest  of  the  peninsula. 


Fig.  128.   Scene  on  the  Ganges 

Benares,  the  religious  center  of  Hinduism,  rises  from  the  curving  shore 
of  the  sacred  Ganges  River,  its  many  dom.es  and  minarets  giving  it  an 
appearance  of  great  splendor.  Along  the  river  are  many  richly  orna- 
mented landing  places  built  by  pious  devotees.  The  narrow  streets 
behind  are  crowded  with  Brahmans  and  religious  pilgrims 


The  Mahratta 

wars 


This  one  political  power  was  a  union  of  native  princes, 
known  as  the  Mahratta  Confederacy.  The  country  occupied 
by  this  confederation  extended  inward  from  the  Bombay  coast 
and  was  inclosed  on  the  western  border  by  mountain  ranges. 
The  ruling  princes,  however,  who  had  formed  the  confederation, 
were  usually  warring  with  one  another,  except  when  dangers 
from  without  compelled  them  to  unite.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
the  jealousy  amongst  these  princes,  they  might  have  checked  the 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    529 

growing  power  of  the  English  and  seized  India  for  themselves 
as  it  fell  from  the  relaxing  grasp  of  the  Great  Mogul.  But 
they  were  generally  contending  among  themselves,  and  where 
their  territory  bordered  on  British  dominion  the  people  were 
kept  in  constant  turmoil  by  their  restless  and  unsettled  life.  At 
length  the  English  determined  to  suppress  them  altogether  and 
in  a  great  war  (18 16-18 18)  they  were  finally  conquered,  a  large 
part  of  their  territories  was  annexed,  and  some  of  the  princes 
were  transformed  into  feudal  lords  under  British  sovereignty 
—  a  position  which  they  retain  to-day. 

While  pacifying  the  interior  of  India  the  British  were  also   The  British 
occupied  with  the  defense  and  extension  of  their  frontiers  on   the  borders 
the  north,  east,  and  west.     For  six  hundred  miles  along  the   ^^  ^^'"^ 
northern  frontier,  where  the  foothills  of  the  Himalayas  gradually 
sink  into  the  valley  of  the  Ganges,  there  was  chronic  disorder 
fomented  by  the  Gurkhas  —  a  race  composed  of  a  mixture  of 
the  hill  men  and  the   Hindu  plain  dwellers.    Periodically  the 
Gurkha  chieftains,  like   the   Highlanders   of   Scotland   or  the 
Mahrattas  of  western  India,  would  sweep  down  into  the  valley, 
loot  the  villages  of  the  defenseless  peasants,  and  then  retire  to 
their  mountain  retreats.    A  few  of  the  most  powerful  of  these 
chieftains   succeeded   in   building  up   a  sort  of  confederation, 
under  a  rajah  in  whose  name  they  governed  Nepal,  as  their 
kingdom  was  called.    They  then  sought  to  extend  their  sway 
at  the  expense  of  the  British  in  the  Ganges  valley,  but  were 
badly  beaten  in  a  two  years'  war  (181 4- 181 6)  and  compelled 
to  cede  to  the   British  empire  a  vast  northern  region,  which 
brought  the  Anglo-Indian  boundary  at  that  point  to  the  borders 
of  Tibet,  high  up  in  the  Himalaya  mountains. 

While  the  British  were  busy  with  the  Mahrattas  and  Nepa-   Annexation 
lese,  the  Burmese  were  pressing  into  the  Bengal  districts  from   1826-1885 
the  east,  and  as  they  had  never  met  the  disciplined  Europeans 
in  armed  conflict,  they  were  confident  that  they  would  be  able  to 
expand  westward  indefinitely.    Their  ambitions  were,  however, 
checked  by  the  British  (182 4-1 82 6),  and  they  were  compelled 


530 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Conquest  of 
the  Sindh 
and  Punjab 
regions 


to  cede  to  the  victors  a  considerable  strip  of  territory  along  the 
east  coast  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  Having  thus  made  their  first 
definite  advance  beyond  the  confines  of  India  proper,  the 
British,  after  twent}'-five  years  of  peace  with  the  Burmese, 
engaged  in  a  second  war  against  them  in  1852  and  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  Irawadi  valley  and  a  long  narrow- 
strip  of  coast  below  Rangoon.^ 

After  the  gains  made  at  the  expense  of  the  Burmese,  the 
northwestern  frontier  next  attracted  the  attention  of  the  con- 
quering British.  In  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  where  the  soldiers 
of  Alexander  the  Great  had  faltered  on  their  eastward  march, 
there  was  a  fertile  region  known  as  the  Sindh,  ruled  over  by  an 
Ameer,  who  seems  to  have  shown  an  irritating  independence  in 
his  dealings  with  the  British.  On  the  ground  that  the  Ameer's 
government  was  inefficient  and  corrupt,  the  British  invaded  his 
territory  in  1843,  and  after  some  brilliant  campaigning  they 
wrested  his  domain  from  him  and  added  it  to  their  Indian 
empire,  thus  winning  a  strong  western  frontier.  This  enter- 
prise was  scarcely  concluded  when  a  war  broke  out  with  the 
Sikhs  in  the  northwest,  which  resulted  in  the  addition  of  the 
great  Punjab  region  farther  up  the  valley  of  the  Indus,  north- 
east of  Sindh,  and  the  extension  of  the  boundary  of  the  Anglo- 
Indian  empire  to  the  borders  of  Afghanistan.^  In  addition  to 
this  policy  of  annexation  through  war  with  the  natives,  a  process 
of  "  peaceful  assimilation  "  was  adopted  under  the  governorship 


1  Additional  annexations  were  made  after  another  Burmese  war  in  1884-1885. 

2  The  province  of  Baluchistan  on  the  northwest  has  been  brought  under 
British  dominion  by  gradual  annexations  beginning  in  1876  and  extending  down 
to  1903.  Several  of  the  districts  were  formally  organized  as  British  Baluchistan  in 
1887.  In  attempting  to  extend  their  authority  over  the  neighboring  Afghanistan, 
the  British  have  waged  two  wars  with  the  ruler  of  that  country,  one  in  1837- 
1843  and  the  last  in  1878-1880.  The  problem  how  to  maintain  control  over 
Afghanistan  and  use  it  as  a  protecting  state  against  Russia's  southeasterly  ad- 
vance has  constituted  one  of  the  fundamental  issues  of  Anglo-Indian  politics. 
Recently,  however,  Russia  and  England  have  come  to  terms  on  the  question  of 
the  boundaries,  and  they  have  proceeded  to  divide  up  Persia,  Russia  taking  the 
north  and  Britain  the  south,  leaving  only  a  strip  of  autonomous  territory  be- 
tween.  See  map,  p.  610. 


The  British  Empire  iji  the  Nineteenth  Centicry    531 

of  Lord  Dalhousie  (1848-185 6),  who  quietly  transfonned 
"  protected  "  states  into  British  provinces  whenever  the  direct 
line  of  the  ruling  houses  became  extinct.^ 

It  was  inevitable  that  the  conquest  and  annexation  of  so  Causes  of 
many  native  Indian  states  should  stir  up  intense  hatred  against  in^india" 
the  British  aggressors.  In  the  provinces  which  were  under  the 
direct  administration  of  the  British,  ruling  families  and  the 
official  classes  attached  to  them  had  been  set  aside,  and  in 
those  which  were  merely  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  con- 
querors as  feudal  states,  the  rulers  chafed  at  their  vassalage. 
The  Mohammedans  cherished  a  religious  abhorrence  for  the 
Christian  intruders  in  addition  to  their  bitterness  at  the  loss 
of  their  former  power.  The  native  Mahrattas  had  good  reason 
to  feel  that  only  the  advent  of  the  British  had  prevented  them 
from  transforming  the  peninsula  into  a  Mahratta  empire.^ 

There  were  embers  of  discontent  everywhere,  and  they  were   introduction 
fanned  into  a  consuming  flame  in   1857   by  several  military  carfrkfges 
reforms  undertaken   by  the   English  government.     The  year  ^^S^g 
before,  the  British  had  become  impressed  with  the  advantages 
of  a  new  rifle  invented  by  a  Frenchman.    It  was  loaded  with  a 
paper  cartridge  containing  powder  and  ball,  which  was  slipped 
into  the  barrel  and  then  rammed  down  into  place.    In  order  to 
slide  more  easily  into  the  gun  the  paper  was  greased,  and  the 
soldier  had  to  tear  off  one  end  of  it  with  his  teeth  so  that  the 
powder  would  take  fire  when  the  cap  was  exploded. 

The  introduction  of  this  new  rifle  seemed  innocent  enough.  The  sepoys 
but  the  government  had  not  taken  into  account  certain  religious  ^^}l^^  '" 
scruples  of  the  sepoys,  as  the  native  troops  were  called.  The 
Hindu  regarded  touching  the  fat  of  a  cow  as  contamination 
worse  than  death,  and  to  Mohammedans  the  fat  of  swine  was 
almost  as  horrifying.  The  government  soon  heard  of  this 
grievance  and  promised  not  to  use  the  objectionable  grease. 
Peace  was  thus  maintained  for  a  time,  but  in  May,  1857,  some 

1  For  Dalhousie's  justification  for  annexations,  see  Readings,Yo\.  II,  pp.  307f. 
3  For  a  summary  of  Indian  grievances,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  310  ff. 


532 


O^itlines  of  European  History 


The  rebellion 
crushed 


Queen 
Victoria 
assumes  the 
East  India 
Company's 
political 
power,  1858 


soldiers  at  Meerut,  in  the  broad  plain  between  the  Jumna  and 
the  Ganges,  refused  to  receive  the  cartridges  served  out  to 
them  and  were  thereupon  sentenced  to  prison  for  ten  years. 
Their  native  companions  rallied  to  their  support  and  rose  in 
rebellion ;  the  next  day,  May  1 1 ,  the  soldiers  mutinied  at  Delhi, 
massacred  the  English  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  besieged  the 
garrison  ;  in  a  few  days  the  entire  northwest  was  in  full  revolt. 
Lucknow,  with  its  population  of  seven  hundred  thousand 
natives,  rose  against  the  British  and  besieged  them  in  their 
fortifications.  At  Cawnpore,  about  forty  miles  to  the  south,  a 
thousand  British  men,  women,  and  children  were  cruelly  massa- 
cred after  they  had  surrendered,  and  by  the  middle  of  July  all 
Oudh  and  the  northwest  seemed  lost. 

Immediately  after  the  insurrection  at  Meerut  the  governor 
general  telegraphed  to  Bombay,  Madras,  and  Ceylon  for  instant 
help.  Though  there  were  as  yet  no  railroads  in  the  rebellious 
provinces,  the  telegraph  helped  to  save  the  empire.  Aid  was 
at  once  sent  to  Lucknow  under  the  command  of  General  Colin 
Campbell,  a  hero  of  the  Napoleonic  and  Crimean  wars,  and 
in  November  he  succeeded  in  relieving  the  brave  garrison, 
which  had  held  out  for  nearly  six  months.  Many  of  the  sepoys 
remained  loyal,  and  with  aid  from  the  coast  provinces  city 
after  city  was  wrested  from  the  mutineers  until  by  the  end 
of  November  British  India  was  saved,  but  at  a  frightful  cost. 
In  the  punishment  of  the  rebels  the  frenzied  English  showed 
themselves  as  cruel  as  the  natives  had  been  in  their  treatment 
of  English  prisoners. 

After  the  suppression  of  the  sepoy  rebellion  the  Parliament 
of  Great  Britain  revolutionized  the  government  of  India.  The 
administration  of  the  peninsula  was  finally  taken  entirely  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  East  India  Company,  which  had  directed 
it  for  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  vested  in  the 
British  sovereign,  to  be  exercised  under  parliamentary  control. 
In  November,  1858,  a  royal  proclamation^  announced  to  the 

1  For  the  proclamation,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  312  ff. 


The  British  Empire  i^i  the  Nineteenth  Cetittiry    533 

inhabitants  of  British  India  that  all  treaties  made  under  the 
authority  of  the  East  India  Company  would  be  maintained, 
the  rights  of  feudatory  princes  upheld,  and  religious  toleration 
granted.  The  governor  general  of  the  company  in  India  was 
supplanted  by  a  viceroy,  and  the  company's  directors  in  Lon- 
don surrendered  their  power  into  the  hands  of  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  India.  The  Mogul  of  Delhi,  successor  of  the  great 
Aurangzeb,  was  expelled  from  his  capital,  but  w^hen,  nearly 
twenty  years  later  (on  January  i,  1877),  Victoria  was  proclaimed  Queen 
Empress  of  India  amid  an  illustrious  gathering  of  Indian  princes  prodaJmed 
and  British  officials,  the  pomp  and  mas^nificence  of  the  ancient   f  "?P''^^^  °^ 

^        ^  °  India,  1877 

Moguls  were  invoked  to  bind  their  former  subjects  more  closely 
to  their  English  conquerors.  George  V,  Emperor  of  India, 
now  rules  over  about  three  hundred  millions  of  Indian  subjects 
inhabiting  a  domain  embracing  1,773,000  square  miles. 

Since  the  great  mutiny  the  British  government  in  India  has  Progress  in 
been  concerned  chiefly  with  problems  of  internal  reform  and  the  mutiny 
administration  and  with  the  defense  of  the  frontiers,  especially 
in  the  northwest.  The  proportion  of  natives  to  white  men  in 
the  army  was  greatly  reduced  and  the  artillery  placed  almost 
entirely  in  charge  of  the  latter.  Codes  of  law  and  of  criminal 
procedure  were  introduced  in  i860  and  186 1.  The  construc- 
tion of  railway  lines  was  pushed  forward  with  great  rapidity  Railroads 
for  military  and  economic  purposes,  so  that  the  vast  interior 
might  be  quickly  reached  by  troops,  and  an  outlet  opened  for 
its  crops  of  cotton,  rice,  wheat,  indigo,  and  tobacco.  Cotton 
mills  are  rising  by  the  tombs  of  ancient  kings,  cities  are  in- 
creasing rapidly  in  population,  and  the  foreign  trade  by  sea  has 
multiplied  twenty-fold  in  the  past  seventy  years.  About  eight 
hundred  newspapers,  printed  in  twenty-two  languages,  including 
Burmese,  Sanskrit,  and  Persian,  are  published ;  educational 
institutions  have  been  provided  for  nearly  five  million  students. 
In  short,  an  industrial  and  educational  revolution  is  taking  place 
in  India,  and  the  Indians  are  beginning  to  be  discontented  with 
a  government  in  which  they  have  little  share. 


papers 


534 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section 


The  Dominion  of  Canada 


The  French 
in  Canada 
obtain  a 
Uberal  gov- 
ernment by 
the  Quebec 
Act,  1774 


Loyalists 
settle  in 
Canada 
during  the 
American 
Revolution 


Canada 
divided  into 
two  prov- 
inces, Ontario 
and  Quebec 


When  the  English  government  was  established  in  Canada 
after  the  capture  of  Montreal  in  1760,  only  about  two  hundred 
of  the  sixty-five  thousand  inhabitants  were  of  English  origin ; 
the .  rest  were  French.  Barriers  of  race,  language,  laws,  and 
religion  separated  the  conquerors  from  the  conquered.  For 
a  few  years  the  English  administration,  not  unnaturally,  was 
badly  adapted  to  the  needs  of  its  new  subjects,  but  in  1774, 
on  the  eve  of  the  war  with  the  American  colonies,  the  British 
Parliament,  in  order  to  insure  the  allegiance  of  the  Canadians, 
passed  the  famous  Quebec  Act  —  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
enactments  in  the  history  of  English  law.  In  an  age  of  intoler- 
ance it  recognized  the  Catholic  faith,  allowed  the  clergy  to 
collect  their  tithes,  perpetuated  the  French  civil  law,  and  left 
French  customs  and  traditions  undisturbed. 

Under  this  act  the  new  colony  stood  patriotically  by  England 
during  the  American  Revolution,  and  though  France  was  herself 
allied  with  the  revolting  colonies,  the  Canadians  repulsed  their 
advances  and  received  fugitive  loyalists  in  great  numbers.  The 
latter,  known  as  the  United  Empire  Loyalists,  settled  in  what 
are  now  the  Maritime  Provinces  and  also  in  Upper  Canada  — 
the  region  lying  along  the  Great  Lakes,  which  was  to  become 
the  province  of  Ontario.  It  is  estimated  that  by  1806  about 
eighty  thousand  loyalist  immigrants  had  crossed  the  frontier 
from  the  United  States  —  the  British  government  offering  lands 
and  subsidies  to  encourage  their  coming. 

The  influx  of  an  English  population  necessitated  a  change 
in  the  government,  which  had  been  designed  especially  for 
the  French.  Consequently ^^  in  1791,  representative  government 
was  established  in  Canada  by  a  new  act  of  Parliament.  The 
country  was  divided  into  two  provinces — an  upper  one,  Ontario, 
lying  mainly  along  the  Great  Lakes,  which  was  being  rapidly 
settled  by  the  English,  and  a  lower  Qne<  Quebec^  which  had  long 
been  fhe  home  of  the  French, 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    535 

Under  this  new  government   the   English   and   French  in-   French 
habitants   once  more   showed   their  loyalty   to  England   when   loyaUcT"^ 
the  armies  of  the  United   States  prepared  to  invade  Canada   ^"^f,P  ^"  . 

^     ^  the  War  of 

during  the  War  of  181 2;  for  the  old  loyalists  in  Ontario  1812 
still  remembered  with  bitterness  their  expulsion  during  the 
American  Revolution.  The  French  Canadians  likewise  flocked 
to  the  support  of  the  English  cause.  The  invasion  failed,  and 
the  result  of  the  conflict  was  merely  to  increase  the  ill  will 
already  felt  for  the  neighboring  republic,  whose  designs  of 
annexation  were  regarded  with  distrust  and  aversion. 

Amicably  as  the  Canadians  in  the  two  provinces  cooperated  The  Cana- 
against  the  United  States,  they  were  troubled  by  domestic  dis-  ^f  ig^^  ^nd 
sensions.     In  Upper  Canada  (now   Ontario),  United   Empire   Rg'^ort"'^ 
Loyalists   were    in   control   of    the    government.    They   were 
mostly  Tories,  and  the  ruling  group  was  known  as  the  "  Family 
Compact"   because  it  was  largely  composed  of  relatives  or 
intimate   friends.    The    Liberals    became    exasperated    at   the 
lack  of  responsible  government,  and  a  section  of  them  took 
up  arms  in  rebellion  in  1837.    In  Lower  Canada  (now  Quebec) 
rebellion  broke  out  as  well,  due  to  irritation  of  the  French  at 
British   rule.     Both    rebellions   were   easily  crushed,    but   the 
British  sent  over  an  investigator.  Lord  Durham,  whose  report 
(1840),  advocating  self-government  for  the  colonies,  marks  a   Self- 
turning  point  in  the  attitude  of  England  toward  the  treatment  colonies"^ 
of  her  possessions  beyond  the  seas.    From  that  time  on,  it  has 
been   a   matter  of  principle   in    British  politics   to  give  self- 
government  to  the  colonies  so  far  as  it  can  be  done.    This  is  one 
of  the  most  important  revolutions  in  the  history  of  government. 
The  British  self-governing  colonies  even  make  their  own  treaties, 
and  are  practically  free  nations. 

The  report  was  followed  by  a  union  of  the  two  provinces  Act  of  Union 
under  one  government,  which  was  responsible  to  the  people.^ 

1  In  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  Prince  Edward  Island  there  were 
demands  for  more  local  rights,  and  about  the  middle  of  the  century  they  were 
granted  self-government  through  responsible  ministries. 


S36 


Outlines  of  European  History 


This  was  an  important  step  in  the  direction  of  the  Canadian 
federation,  which  was  organized  a  few  years  later.  By  the  British 
North  America  Act  of  1867  Ontario,  Quebec,  New  Brunswick, 
and  Nova  Scotia  were  united  into  the  Dominion  of  Canada, 
with  the  provision  that  the  remaining  provinces  and  territories 
might  be  admitted  later.  This  federation  was  given  a  constitu- 
tion providing  for  a  governor  general  representing  the  sovereign 
of  England,  who  is  a  mere  figure  head;  a  Senate,  the  members 


Fig.  129.   The  Parliament  Buildings,  Ottawa 

Parliament  Hill  is  beautifully  situated  beside  the  Ottawa  River.    The 
main  building  was  burned,  February,  19 16 

of  which  are  appointed  for  life  by  the  governor  general ;  and  a 

House  of  Commons,  which  is  the  real  governing  body,  elected 

by  popular  vote.    The  new  plan  of  federation  went  into  effect 

on  July  I,  1867  — a  day  which  is  celebrated  as  the  Canadian 

national  holiday,  like  the  Fourth  of  July  in  the  United  States. 

New  prov-  Since  the  formation   of  the  federation,   the  history  of  the 

mitted  to  the    dominion  has  been  characterized  by  rapid  material  develop- 

federation        ment  and  the  growth  of  a  national  spirit  among  the  Canadian 

people.     The  great  western  regions  have    been  divided  into 

territories  and  then  into  provinces,  just  as  the  western  part 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Cetttury    537 

of  the  United  States  has  been  organized  into  territories  and 
then  into  states.  In  1869  the  extensive  rights  which  the 
Hudson  Bay  Company  had  possessed  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years  over  vast  regions  encircling  Hudson  Bay  were 
purchased.  The  province  of  Manitoba  was  laid  out  in  1870; 
in  187 1  British  Columbia,  which  had  been  occupied  after  the 
settlement  of  the  Oregon  controversy  with  the  United  States, 
was  admitted  to  the  federation ;  Prince  Edward  Island  followed 
two  years  later;  and  in  1905  the  great  provinces  of  Alberta 
and  Saskatchewan  came  into  the  union,  leaving  only  New- 
foundland outside.  The  tide  of  immigration  has  slowly  risen, 
and  the  population,  which  was  a  little  over  half  a  million  in 
1820,  was  more  than  five  millions  at  the  close  of  the  century, 
and  is  now  nearly  eight  millions. 

The  development  of  Canadian  industries  under  the  encour-  Growth  of 
agement  of  protective  tariffs  and  government  bounties  is  in-  spirit  in 
timately  connected  with  the  growth  of  a  feeling  that  Canada  Canada 
constitutes  a  nation  by  herself,  in  spite  of  her  position  as  a 
member  of  the  British  empire.  The  close  trading  relations 
which  were  once  fostered  between  Canada  and  the  United 
States  by  reciprocity  treaties,  guaranteeing  mutual  interests, 
were  long  hampered  by  the  protective  policy  which  the  gov- 
ernment at  Washington  followed  after  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War.  As  a  result,  Canada  was  driven  to  look  more  and  more 
to  Great  Britain  as  her  industrial  ally  rather  than  to  the  neigh- 
boring republic.  In  the  seventies  Sir  John  MacDonald,  leader 
of  the  Conservative  party,  made  the  idea  of  a  ''national  policy," 
or  protection  for  Canadian  interests,  a  current  political  issue, 
and  since  that  time  both  the  Conservative  and  Liberal  parties 
have  labored  to  make  Canada  an  independent  manufacturing 
nation.  In  the  fostering  of  this  ''  colonial  nationalism,"  as  it  is 
aptly  called,  there  has  been  found  no  more  ardent  advocate 
than   the    former   premier.    Sir  Wilfrid    Laurier,^    who,    as    a 

1  Extracts  from  one  of  Laurier's  speeches  on  his  attitude  toward  England 
are  given  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  320  ff. 


538 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Liberal,  had  once  been  for  free  trade.  The  way  in  which 
Canada  rejected  the  plan  for  trade  reciprocity  with  the  United 
States  in  191 1  shows  that  there  is  little  support  for  anything 
that  has  the  faintest  resemblance  to  annexation  to  the  republic. 
In  the  election  of  that  year  the  Conservative  party,  which  stands 
for  closer  ties  with  the  mother  country  and  a  protective  tariff 
against  the  United  States,  was  returned  to  .power  with  a  very 
large  majority.  Sir  Robert  Borden,  its  leader,  as  premier,  has 
been  prominent  in  imperial  conferences  held  from  time  to 
time  in  England. 


Section  89.    The  Australasian  Colonies 

The  British  The    Australasian    colonies    of    Great    Britain  —  Australia, 

contend  wddi^'^  Tasmania,  New  Zealand,  and  some  of  the  minor  islands  — 
many  natives  ^^gj-g  practically  unoccupied  when  the  English  colonists  began 
to  flock  there  in  the  nineteenth  century.  The  aborigines  of 
Australia  and  Tasmania  were  never  very  numerous  or  war- 
like. The  English  were  therefore  free,  in  these  vast  regions, 
to  work  out  in  their  own  way  a  democratic  government 
suited  to  the  conditions  in  which  they  found  themselves.  They 
have  neither  been  forced  into  conflict  with  other  European 
peoples,  as  in  Canada,  nor  have  they  had  to  control  alien  races, 
as  in  India. 

The  continent  of  Australia,  with  the  neighboring  island  of 
Tasmania,  somewhat  exceeds  in  extent  the  area  of  the  United 
States,  while  New  Zealand  alone  is  somewhat  larger  than  the 
island  of  Great  Britain.  Although  a  great  part  of  Australia 
lies  in  the  temperate  zone,  the  northern  region  nearest  the 
equator  is  parched  in  summer,  and  the  whole  central  portion 
suffers  from  a  scarcity  of  water,  which  makes  vast  areas  of 
the  interior  permanently  uninhabitable  unless  some  means  of 
irrigation  on  a  large  scale  can  be  introduced.  The  eastern  and 
southern  coasts  have  always  been  the  chief  centers  of  coloni- 
zation.    Melbourne,   in  the  extreme  scruth,  lies  in  a  latitude 


The  extent 
and  natural 
resources  of 
Australasia 


lOOLoii-itiuleBO      WisL      GO        from      ■J0Gieeii\vicli20 


^    'P'A  c\l  FIC 

O  CEAN 

Tropic  of  Cancer 


•■\i<^  \r^7  "^1t;:<l^. .;:i^    Equator  -^^..^c:^^^<^ 


Guam 
Caroline  Islan 


'^  cM^ 


-_       ,     .'t/vAFRiCASeyclielle.-l  l.s..     ^N    > 

•    '— ---^^--^   -       -  1/        Is:      %?.^Ksflin_,'  I     Th,  i.st:.ias  I, 


JSisiiiarek-'     *^^ 

^Arcliipelago' 

-  -  ^.«  JSoloinon     •-•, 

Santa  CruzTs^   =^ 


*'-       •^     l-E  OF^ij^   SOITH  .y^ICA 

^^T'ort  Elizffljeth 


Cai>e  Towi 


THK  BRITISH  EMPIRE 

British  Po^9scssions  are  colored 
in  Pink 

1000  2000  3000  4000  5000 


Scale  of  Miles  along  the  Equat 


20Loiigitiifle40        East       60      from      80  Gn-onwiililOO 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    539 

corresponding  to  that  of  Washington,  St.  Louis,  and  San 
Francisco  in  the  northern  hemisphere.  The  country  affords 
gold,  silver,  coal,  tin,  copper,  and  iron.  Tasmania  and  New 
Zealand  are  more  fortunate  than  Australia  in  the  diversity  of 
their  scenery  and  the  general  fertility  of  their  soil,  while  their 
climate  is  said  to  possess  all  the  advantages  of  the  mother 
country  without  her  fog  and  smoke. 

The  English  occupation  of  Australasia  belongs  to  the  nine-  Early  ex- 
teenth  century.     The  Portuguese,  in  their  eager  hunt  for  the   AuSalasia" 
Spice  Islands,  may  perhaps  have  come  upon  Australia,  but  it  ~^^P^^'" 
long  remained  an  unknown  portion  of  the  globe,  as  shown  by  voyages 
the  rude  outline  of  Terra  Australis  (or  Southern  Land)  which 
appears  on  the  maps  of  the  Elizabethan  age.    In  1642  a  Dutch 
seaman,  Tasman,  discovered  the  island  which  now  bears  his 
name  (originally  called  Van  Dieman's  Land).    He  also  sighted 
in  the  same  year  the  islands  to  the  east,  which,  in  spite  of  their 
almost  Alpine  character,  were  named  New  Zealand,  after  the 
low-lying  meadows  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine.    The  Dutch  did 
not,  however,  occupy  these  lands,  which  were  later  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  English  by  the  famous  voyages  of  Captain 
Cook.    He  skirted  around  the  entire  coast  of  New  Zealand  in 
1 769-1 7  70,  and  then  sailed  westward  to  Australia,  reaching 
land  at  a  point  which,  owing  to  its  luxuriant  foliage,  he  called 
Botany  Bay.    He  took  possession  of  the  continent  in  the  name 
of  the  English  sovereign,  and  it  was  called  New  South  Wales, 
on  account  of  its  fancied  resemblance  to  the  Welsh  shore  line. 

In  1787  England  began  the  colonization  of  Australia  by  Founding  the 
transporting  to  Botany  Bay  a  number  of  convicts.  Just  north  colonies 
of  Botany  Bay  lies  an  excellent  harbor,  and  the  town  of 
Sydney,  which  grew  up  on  its  shores,  became  the  chief  city 
of  New  South  Wales,  the  first  of  six  sister  states,  which  now 
form  the  Australian  federation.  Tasmania,  with  the  town  of 
Hobart  established  in  1804,  and  Western  Australia  also  began 
as  penal  stations.  Some  settlements  which  had  grown  up 
around  the  town  of  Melbourne  were  united  in  1851  to  form 


540 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Aus- 
tralian 
Common- 
wealth 
formed  by 
the  union  of 
six  colonies 


The  settle- 
ment of  New 
Zealand 


the  colony  of  Victoria.  Shortly  after,  the  region  to  the  north  of 
Sydney  was  organized  into  the  colony  of  Queensland.  South 
Australia,  with  its  town  of  Adelaide,  sprang  up  as  an  inde- 
pendent setdement  of  free  men,  never  having  had  the  misfor- 
tune of  being  used  as  a  station  for  criminals.  The  discovery  of 
gold  in  Australia  in  185 1  brought  in  many  settlers,  and  as  the 
colonies  advanced  in  wealth  and  prosperity,  protest  was  made 
against  the  transportation  of  criminals,  and  the  British  govern- 
ment finally  abandoned  it.  Civil  government  supplanted  the 
military  rule  which  had  been  exercised  over  the  penal  stations, 
and  each  colony  at  length  secured  self-government,  that  is,  a 
parliament  and  a  ministry  of  its  own,  under  the  general  sover- 
eignty of  the  British  crow^n. 

It  was  natural  that  in  time  the  people  of  these  colonies, 
speaking  the  same  language  and  having  the  same  institutions, 
should  seek  a  closer  union.  The  question  of  a  federation  was 
long  discussed,  and  at  last,  in  189 1,  a  general  convention  com- 
posed of  delegates  from  all  the  states  drafted  a  federal  consti- 
tution, which  was  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  ratification. 
In  1900  the  British  Parliament  passed  an  act  constituting  the 
Commonwealth  of  Australia  on  the  basis  of  this  draft.^  The 
six  states  —  New  South  Wales,  Tasmania,  Victoria,  Queens- 
land, South  Australia,  and  Western  Australia  —  are  now 
formed  into  a  union  similar  to  that  of  the  United  States. 
The  king  is  represented  by  a  governor  general ;  the  federal 
parliament  is  composed  of  two  houses,  a  Senate,  consisting  of 
six  senators  from  each  state,  and  a  House  of  Representatives 
chosen  in  the  same  way  as  in  the  United  States.  This  body 
has  extensive  power  over  commerce,  railways,  currency,  bank- 
ing, postal  and  telegraph  service,  marriage  and  divorce,  and 
industrial  arbitration. 

To  the  southeast  of  Australia,  twelve  hundred  miles  away, 
lie  the  islands  of  New  Zealand,  to  which  English  pioneers  began 
to  go  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.    In  1840  the 

1  Extracts  from  the  constitution  are  given  in  the  Readings,  Vol.  II.  pp.  326  f. 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Ni^ieteenth  Century    541 

English  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  native  Maoris,  by  which  the 
latter  were  assigned  a  definite  reservation  of  lands  on  condition 
that  they  would  recognize  Queen  Victoria  as  their  sovereign. 
The  English  settlers  established  the  city  of  Auckland  on  North 
Island,  and  twenty-five  years  later  New  Zealand  became  a 
separate  colony,  with  the  seat  of  government  at  Wellington. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  New  Zealand  Company  colonization 
was  actively  carried  on,  and  before  long  the  whites  began  to 
press  in  upon  the  reservations  of  the  Maoris.  This  led  to  two 
revolts  on  the  part  of  the  natives  (i860  and  187 1),  which  were, 
however,  speedily  repressed  and  have  not  been  repeated. 

New  Zealand  has  recently  become  famous  for  its  experiments  Social  reform 
in  social  reform.^  During  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  Zealand 
century  the  workingmen  became  very  influential,  and  they  have 
been  able  to  carry  through  a  number  of  measures  which  they 
believe  to  be  to  their  advantage.  Special  courts  are  established 
to  settle  disputes  between  employers  and  their  workmen ;  a 
pension  law  helps  the  poor  in  their  old  age.  Various  measures 
have  been  adopted  for  discouraging  the  creation  of  large  estates, 
which  are  heavily  taxed,  while  small  farms  pay  but  little.  The 
right  to  vote  is  enjoyed  by  w^omen  as  well  as  by  men.^ 

The  colony  of  Victoria  has  vied  with  New  Zealand  in  re-  Victoria 
spect  to  social  reform.    The  government  has  attempted  to  stop   ma^JJJain 
''  sweating "  in  the  poorly  paid  industries,  and  public  boards   ^^^^^^^^ 
composed  of  employers  and  workmen  have  been  established  workingmen 
for  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  minimum  wages  and  standards 
of  work,  so  that  these  matters  are  no  longer  arranged  by  pri- 
vate bargaining  between  individuals.   The  system  of  secret  vot- 
ing which  originated  in  Australia  —  the  so-called  "  Australian 
ballot"  —  is   one  of  the   reforms  which   has    already    spread 
beyond  Australasia,  and  is  in  use  both  in  England  and  in  the 
United  States. 

1  For    a   summary    of   the    principles    of   reform,   see    Readings^   Vol.   II, 
pp.  322  ff. 

2  In  Australia  women  are  also  permitted  to  vote  for  members  of  the  federal 
parliament  and  in  the  local  elections  of  all  the  states. 


542 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  90.    Growth  of  the  British  Empire 
IN  Africa 


Early  conflict 
between  the 
British  and 
Dutch  in 
South  Africa 


Many  thou- 
sand Boers 
leave  Cape 
Colony  for 
the  interior 


The  chief  centers  of  British  advance  in  Africa  have  been 
two  —  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  at  the  extreme  south  and 
Egypt  ^  in  the  north.  The  Cape  Colony  was  permanently  ac- 
quired, as  we  have  seen,  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna  in  18 14, 
some  eight  years  after  its  actual  seizure  from  the  Dutch  during 
the  war  v/ith  Napoleon.  When  this  colony  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  British  it  contained  slightly  over  twenty-five  thou- 
sand people  of  European  descent,  mainly  Dutch,  and  it  is  from 
this  original  Dutch  stock  that  the  majority  of  the  present  white 
inhabitants  are  derived,  although  immigration  from  England 
set  in  after  the  fall  of  Napoleon.  These  Dutch  settlers  were  a 
sturdy,  resolute  people,  strongly  attached  to  their  customs, 
including  slavery,  and  though  of  peaceable  spirit,  they  were 
unwilling  to  submit  to  interference.  It  was  just  these  charac- 
teristics which  the  new  rulers  overlooked.  Shortly  after  their 
occupation  the  British  reconstructed  the  system  of  local  govern- 
ment and  the  courts ;  they  insisted  on  the  use  of  the  English 
language;  and  finally,  in  1833,  they  abolished  slavery. 

Owing  to  these  grievances,  about  ten  thousand  of  the  Boers  ^ 
left  the  Cape  during  the  years  1836  to  1838,  and,  pressing 
northeastward  beyond  the  Orange  River  into  the  interior,  partly 
inhabited  by  warlike  savages,  set  up  a  new  colony.  During  the 
succeeding  years  large  numbers  of  the  Boers  pushed  farther 
eastward  and  northward  into  the  regions  now  known  as  Natal 
and  the  Transvaal.  For  a  time  they  had  their  own  way  in 
these  barren  wildernesses. 

Natal,  however,  was  on  the  seacoast,  and  the  British  had 
no  desire  to  see  a  strong  unfriendly  state  established  there. 


1  The  circumstances  which  led  England  to  interfere  in  Egyptian  affairs  will 
be  considered  below,  pp.  627  ff. 

'■^  This  is  the  Dutch  word  for  "  farmer  "  and  has  come  to  be  especially  applied 
to  the  Dutch  population  of  South  Africa. 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    543 

Consequently  they  sent  troops  over  to  occupy  Durban  (then  called  The  British 
Port  Natal),  which  had  formerly  been  the  seat  of  some  English    (1842)  and 
settlers.    These  troops  came  into  conflict  with  the  Dutch  there   Riv^'^cSony 
in  1842  and  drove  them  out  —  adding  more  bitterness  to  the   (1848) 
ill  will  which  the  Boers  already  felt  for  the  English.    The  con- 
querors cared  little,  however,  for  Dutch  opinion,  and  six  years 
later  (in  1848)  they  seized  the  Orange  River  Colony,  which 
the  Boers  had  founded  between  the  Orange  and  Vaal  rivers. 

Once  more  a  great  Boer  migration  began,  this  time  into  the   The  Trans- 
region  beyond  the  Vaal,  where  pioneers  had  already  broken  the  f^ndedTnd 
way.    There  the  Transvaal  Colony  was  founded.    The  British  ^*^  independ- 

•'  _  -^  ence  recog- 

believed  that  the  vast  inland  wilderness  was  good  only  for  cattle  nized  by  the 
raising  and  rude  agriculture  and  was  therefore  not  worth  the     "     ' 
trouble  of  annexation  and  defense.    Accordingly,  in  1852,  by  a 
treaty  known  as  the  Sand  River  Convention,  they  recognized 
the  independence  of  the  Boers  in  the  Transvaal  region,  guaran- 
teeing them  the  right  "to  manage  their  own  affairs  and  to  govern 
themselves  according  to  their  own  laws,  without  any  interference 
on  the  part  of  the  British  government."   This  was  followed,  two   independ- 
years  later,  by  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the  Orange   orSige  Free 
River  Colony  under  the  name  of  the  Orange  Free  State,  until  ^^  ^^°^' 
the  recent  war  brought  it  again  under  British  sovereignty. 

In  the  Transvaal  the  Dutch  lived  a  rude  wild  life,  having 
little  government  and  desiring  little.     They  were  constantly 
embroiled  with  the  natives,  and  as  time  went  on  the  British 
began  to  complain,  as  they  had  previously  of  the  Orange  River 
Colony,  that  their  disorders  constituted  a  standing  menace  to 
the  peace  of  the  neighboring  colonies.    Whether  or  not  there 
was    any  justification  for  this    claim,   Great   Britain   in   1877    The  British 
annexed  the  Transvaal  Republic,^  whose  independence  it  had   xransvS 
recognized   twenty-five  years  before.     The  government   thus   Republic, 
imposed  upon  the  Boers  was  extremely  galling,  and  in  1880 
they  organized  an  insurrection  and  destroyed  at  Majuba  Hill 
(1881)  a  small  detachment  of  English  troops. 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  11.  pp.  328  ff. 


544  Outlines  of  European  History 

But  Glad-  At  that  time  Gladstone  was  in  office,  and  turning  a  deaf  ear 

Du'tch^'^^"^^     to  the  demands  of  the  imperialists  for  vengeance,  he  determined 
independence   |-q  nri-ant  to  the  Dutch  that  independence  for  which  they  had 

again  °  r  j 

fought  Consequently  he  concluded  a  convention  with  the 
Transvaal  provisional  government  by  which  autonomy  under 
the  suzerainty  of  the  queen  of  England^  was  granted  to  the 
Boers,  except  that  their  foreign  affairs  were  to  be  subject  to 
British  control.  Regarding  this  measure  not  as  an  act  of  mag- 
nanimity on  the  part  of  the  British  government  but  as  a  con- 
cession wrung  from  it  by  force  of  arms,  the  Boers  determined 
to  secure  complete  independence,  and  succeeded  in  1884  in 
obtaining  a  new  convention  recognizing  the  Transvaal  as  free 
and  independent  in  all  respects  except  the  conclusion  of  treaties 
with  foreign  powers.  They  thus  regained,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  the  freedom  which  they  had  enjoyed  before  the 
annexation  of  1877. 
Thediscov-  The   very  next   year  (1885)   gold   was    discovered   in   the 

the  Transvaal  southem  part  of  the  Transvaal,  and  wild  lands  which  the 
negroes  had  despised  and  from  which  the  Boers  could  scarcely 
wring  a  scanty  living  now  became  exceedingly  valuable.  Thou- 
sands of  miners,  prospectors,  speculators,  and  the  customary 
rabble  of  the  mining  camp  began  to  flow  into  the  Transvaal, 
and  within  a  short  time  the  population  had  trebled.  The  Boers 
were  now  outnumbered  by  the  newcomers,  the  Uitlanders^  or 
foreigners,  as  they  were  called.  The  Dutch,  in  order  to  retain 
their  supremacy,  put  all  sorts  of  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the 
newcomers  who  wished  to  acquire  citizenship  and  the  right 
to  vote. 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Uitlanders  (who  were  largely 
English)  to  protest.^     They  declared   that  their   energy  and 

1  Just  what  "  suzerainty  "  meant  was  to  be  a  matter  of  dispute.  The  term 
eomes  from  feudal  days  when  a  lord  was  the  suzerain  of  his  vassal,  leaving  him 
free  to  do  much  as  he  wanted  to,  so  long  as  the  vassal  recognized  his  dependence 
and  complied  with  the  conditions. 

2  For  a  summary  of  English  grievances  against  the  Boers,  see  Readings, 
Vol.  II,  p.  332. 


The  British  Empire  iii  the  Ninetee^itJi  Century    545 

enterprise  had  transformed  a  poor  and  sparsely  settled  country   The  British 
into  a  relatively  populous  and  prosperous  one ;  that  they  had   J^^i  protesT' 
enriched  the  treasury  of  an  almost  bankrupt  government ;  and  ^g^'^st  the 

•'  r     o  5  government 

that  since  they  also  had  a  stake  in  the  country,  they  should  be   as  managed 

,,  ,  .        .  1  .  ,       ,  1-1  ^     •    •  .  by  the  Dutch 

allowed  a  voice  m  making  the  laws  and  in  the  administration 
of  justice.  They  tried  to  effect  a  change  in  the  Transvaal  con- 
stitution, and,  failing  that,  they  planned  in  1895  an  insurrection 
against  the  Boer  authorities. 

The  conspiracy  was  encouraged  by  Cecil  Rhodes,  prime  The  Jameson 
minister  of  Cape  Colony  and  head  of  the  British  South  Africa  ^^^  '  ^  ^^ 
Company.  It  is  alleged  that  he  was  supported  in  this  by  some 
of  those  who  were  then  in  control  of  the  home  government. 
Dr.  Jameson,  an  agent  of  the  company,  who  was  much  inter- 
ested in  promoting  some  of  Rhodes's  great  schemes,  started 
for  the  interior  of  the  Transvaal  at  the  head  of  an  armed  band 
of  the  company's  forces  with  the  intention  of  cooperating  with 
those  who  were  preparing  for  an  uprising  at  Johannesburg. 
The  enterprise  miscarried,  however,  and  the  insurgents  were 
captured  by  the  Boers. 

This  "Jameson  raid,"  as  it  is  called,  only  served  further  to   President 
embitter  the  Boers  and  afforded  them  a  pretext  for  collecting  refufes'^to 
large  military  supplies  in  self-defense.     The  president  of  the   ^^"^A^^f^gj^ 
Transvaal  Republic,  Paul  Kruger,  was  firmly  opposed  to  all 
compromise  with  the  British.^     He  was  practically  master  of 
the  little  oligarchy  that  controlled  the  republic ;  he  persistently 
disregarded  the  petitions  of  the  Uitlanders,  and  entered  into  an 
offensive  and  defensive  alliance  with  the  Orange  Free  State  to 
the  south. 

The  English  now  began  to  claim  that  the  Boers  would  not  The  Boer 
_  be  satisfied  until  they  had  got  control  of  all  the  British  posses-      ^'^'  ^  ^^ 
sions  in  South  Africa.     The   Boers   with  more  reason,  as  it 
seemed  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  declared  that  England  was  only 
trying  to  find  an  excuse  for  annexing  the  two  republics  which  the 

1  For  Kruger's  appeal  to  the  Boers  to  resist  the  British,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II, 

PP-333f- 
II 


54^  Outlines  of  European  History 

Dutch  farmers  had  built  up  in  the  wilderness  after  a  long  fight 
with  the  native  savages.  Finally,  in  1899,  the  weak  Transvaal 
and  the  Orange  Free  State  boldly  declared  war  on  England. 
The  Boers  made  a  brave  fight  and  the  English  managed  the 
war  badly.  Many  Englishmen  thought  it  a  shame  to  be  fighting 
Paul  Kruger  and  his  fellow  farmers,  and  Germany  especially, 
among  foreign  nations,  was  in  full  sympathy  with  the  Boers. 


W"^ 


^f  _■ 


FiG.  130.  General  Louis  Botha 

But  no  foreign  power  intervened,  and  finally  England,  after 
some  humiliating  defeats,  was  victorious  and  annexed  the  two 
Boer  republics. 
Formation  of       With  a  wisc  liberality  toward  the  conquered  Boers,  Britain 
African  proceeded  to  give  them  self-government  like  other  parts  of  thfe 

empire.  In  19 10  an  act  of  Parliament  formed  a  South  African 
Union  on  the  model  of  Canada  and  Australia.  This  includes 
the  flourishing  Cape  Colony,  with  its  great  diamond  mines 
about  Kimberley,  Natal  to  the  northeast,  and  the  two  Boer 


Union 


The  Bntish  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    547 


republics  —  the  Orange  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  These  are 
now  managed  as  a  single  federation  by  a  representative  of  the 
British  ruler  and  a  par- 
liament which  makes 
laws  for  the  whole  union. 
When  war  broke  out 
between  England  and 
Germany  in  19 14  the 
Germans  expected  the 
Boers  to  rise  against 
England,  but  they  were 
disappointed.  The  prime 
minister  of  the  South 
African  Union,  General 
Botha,  who  had  been  the 
best  Boer  general  in  the 
war  against  England 
fifteen  years  before,  not 
only  easily  suppressed  a 
rising  of  some  of  his  old 
comrades  but  conquered 
German  Southwest  Africa 
for  the  British  empire. 
In  addition,  South  Afri- 
can troops  have  invaded 
German  East  Africa  and 
have  fought  on  the  main 
battle  line  in  France. 
The  British  look  with 
much  natural  pride  upon 
this  tribute  to  their  wis- 
dom in  granting  freedom  and  self-government  to  the  Boers.^ 

1  There  are  about  six  millions  of  people  in  the  South  African  Union,  but  a 
large  portion  of  these  are  colored.  The  white  population,  including  both  those 
of  English  and  those  of  Dutch  descent,  do  not  equal  in  number  the  inhabitants 
of  Philadelphia. 


Fig.  131.    Bridge  across  the  Zam- 
besi   River,  near  Victoria   Falls 

Built  in  1905  on  the  "  Cape  to  Cairo  "  rail- 
way, this  bridge  crosses  the  great  canon 
in  which  for  40  miles  the  river  runs 
below  the  falls.  The  falls  are  twice  the 
height  of  Niagara  and  over  a  mile  wide. 
They  occur  about  midway  in  the  2000-mile 
course  of  the  river 


possessions 
in  Africa 


548  Otitlmes  of  Europe a7i  History 

Other  British  In  addition  to  these  colonies  Great  Britain  has  three  enor- 
mous provinces  in  Africa  occupied  almost  entirely  by  negroes. 
North  of  the  Cape  lies  the  Bechuanaland  protectorate,  inhabited 
by  peaceful  native  tribes.  Beyond  Bechuanaland  and  the  Trans- 
vaal is  Rhodesia,  which  was  acquired  through  the  British  South 
Africa  Company  by  two  annexations  in  1888  and  1898  and, 
with  subsequent  additions,  brought  under  the  protection  of  the 
British  government.  On  the  east  coast,  extending  inland  to  the 
great  lakes  at  the  source  of  the  Nile,  lies  the  valuable  ranching 
land  of  British  East  Africa.  It  is  of  especial  value  as  control- 
ling the  southern  approach  to  the  Sudan  and  Egypt,  which  are 
so  important  to  Britain. 

In  addition  to  these  colonies  in  Africa,  British  Somaliland 
was  secured  on  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  in  1884  in  con- 
nection with  the  establishment  of  the  English  power  in  Egypt. 
Along  the  west  coast  Great  Britain  has  five  centers,  Gambia, 
Sierra  Leone,  the  Gold  Coast,  Lagos,  and  Nigeria  —  the  begin- 
nings of  which  date  back  to  the  days  of  Drake  and  Hawkins, 
when  the  British  were  ravaging  the  coast  for  slaves  to  carry 
to  the  New  World.  The  English  now,  however,  are  making 
atonement  for  the  past  by  helping  the  natives  to  become 
civilized,  sending  physicians  to  fight  tropical  diseases  and 
governing  well. 

Several  railways  have  been  built  in  South  Africa,  one  running 
through  the  whole  country  from  Cape  Town  to  the  northern 
border  of  Rhodesia.  There  was  once  much  talk  of  an  "  all 
British  line  from  the  Cape  to  Cairo "  across  Africa,  but  the 
extension  of  the  Belgian  Congo  Free  State  on  the  northwest, 
and  especially  of  German  East  Africa  on  the  northeast,  blocked 
this  plan.  The  hope  was  revived,  however,  by  the  victories  of 
the  Boer  armies  fighting  for  England  against  the  Germans  in 
Africa  during  the  great  war  of  1 9 1 4.  The  fate  of  these  sections 
of  Africa  will  be  one  of  the  most  important  matters  to  be 
settled  after  the  war. 


The  British  Empire  in  the  Nijieteenth  Century    549 

TABLE  OF  PRINCIPAL  BRITISH   POSSESSIONS 

In  Europe:  The  United  Kingdom,  Gibraltar,  and  Malta. 

In  Asia  :  Aden,  Perim,  Sokotra,  Kuria  Muria  Islands,  Bahrein 
Islands,  British  Borneo,  Ceylon,  Cyprus,  Hongkong,  India  and  depend- 
encies, Labuan,  the  Straits  Settlements,  the  Federated  Malay  States, 
Weihaiwei. 

In  Africa  :  Ascension  Island,  Basutoland,  Bechuanaland  Protecto- 
rate, British  East  Africa,  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Nyasaland  Protectorate, 
Zanzibar,  Mauritius,  Natal,  Orange  River  Colony,  Rhodesia,  St.  Helena, 
Tristan  da  Cunha,  Seychelles,  Somaliland,  Transvaal  Colony,  Swaziland, 
Northern  Nigeria,  Southern  Nigeria,  the  Gold  Coast,  Gambia,  Sierra 
Leone. 

In  North  and  South  America  :  Bermudas,  Canada,  Falkland 
Islands,  British  Guiana,  British  Honduras,  Newfoundland  and  Labrador, 
the  West  Indies,  including  Bahama  Islands,  Barbados,  Jamaica,  Leeward 
Islands,  Trinidad,  and  Windward  Islands. 

In  Australasia  and  the  Pacific  Islands  :  The  Commonwealth 
of  Australia  (including  New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Queensland,  South 
Australia,  Western  Australia,  and  Tasmania),  New  Zealand,  New  Guinea 
(British),  Fiji  Islands,  Tonga  or  Friendly  Islands,  and  other  minor 
islands  in  the  Pacific. 

Total  area,  11,447,954  square  miles.    Population,  419,401,371. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  87.  Describe  the  position  of  the  British  in  India  at  the 
opening  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Show  on  a  map  the  extension 
of  British  control  over  India  in  this  century.  Mention  the  causes 
of  discontent  in  India  prior  to  the  Indian  mutiny.  What  was  the 
immediate  cause  of  the  mutiny  of  1857?  What  change  in  govern- 
ment resulted  from  this  uprising?  Show  the  progress  which  has 
been  made  in  India  since  1857. 

Section  88.  Outline  the  history  of  the  British  in  Canada  from 
1760  to  181 2.  What  was  the  cause  of  the  Canadian  rebellion  of 
1837?  Describe  the  federation  of  the  Canadian  provinces  in  1867. 
Draw  a  map  of  Canada,  showing  the  additions  to  the  federation 
down  to  the  year  1905. 

Section  89.  Give  a  short  account  of  Australian  exploration 
and  colonization.  Describe  the  Australian  Commonwealth.  Give 
an  account  of  social  reform  in  New  Zealand. 


5  50  Outlines  of  European  History 

Sectiox  90.  How  did  the  British  gain  possession  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope?  Describe  the  relations  between  the  Boers  and  the 
British  down  to  1848,  and  from  that  date  to  1881.  What  was  the 
result  of  Gladstone's  South  African  policy?  Show  the  effect  of 
the  discovery  of  gold  upon  the  relations  of  the  British  and  the 
Dutch  in  South  Africa  from  1885  to  1899. 

Give  a  brief  account  of  the  Boer  War.  What  colonies  make  up 
the  South  African  Union  ?  Describe  the  form  of  government  of  the 
South  African  Union.  Draw  a  map  showing  the  British  possessions 
in  South  Africa. 


SJ'J 


%f^'fjm  Hnf**ry 


f 


Participation 
of  Alex- 
ander I  in 
European 
affairs 


552  Outlines  of  European  History 

When,  in  18 15,  Tsar  Alexander  I  returned  to  SL-PetetsbuFg 
after  the  close  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  he  could  view  his 
position  and  recent  achievements  with  pride.  He  had  par- 
ticipated in  Napoleon's  overthrow,  and  had  succeeded  in  uniting 
the  rulers  of  western  Europe  in  that  Holy  Alliance  which  he 


Fig.  134.   The  Kremlin,  Moscow 

The  Kremlin  is  a  walled  inclosure  occupying  a  hill  of  about  100  acres 
in  the  heart  of  Moscow.  Five  gates  surmounted  with  towers  open  into 
its  picturesque  courts,  where  some  three  cathedrals,  a  convent  and  a 
monastery,  a  palace  of  the  Tsars,  and  various  other  remarkable  buildings 
are  found,  in  which  are  priceless  treasures  of  art  as  well  as  sacred  relics 
venerated  through  all  Russia.  Note  the  peculiar  architecture  of  the 
churches,  due  largely  to  oriental  and  Byzantine  influence 


had  so  much  at  heart.  But  his  chief  interests  lay,  of  course,  in 
his  own  vast  empire.  He  was  the  undisputed  and  autocratic  ruler 
of  more  than  half  of  the  whole  continent  of  Europe,  not  to 
speak  of  the  almost  interminable  reaches  of  northern  Asia 
which  lay  beneath  his  scepter. 

Under  Alexander's  dominion  there  were  many  races  and 
peoples,  differing  in  customs,  language,  and  religion  —  Finns, 


The  Rtissian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    553 

Germans,  Poles,  Jews,  Tartars,  Armenians,  Georgians,  and  Mon-   Heterogene- 
gols.^  The  Russians  themselves,  it  is  true,  had  colonized  the  south-  of  the  Rus- 
em  plains  of  European  Russia  and  had  spread  even  into  Siberia.    ^^^"  empire 
They  made  up  a  large  proportion  of  the  population  of  the  empire, 
and  their  language  was  everywhere  taught  in  the  schools  and 
used  by  the  officials.    The  people  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Finland, 
speaking  Swedish  and  Finnish,  did  not  like  their  incorporation 
with  Russia ;  and  the  Poles,  recalling  the  time  when  their  king- 
dom far  outshone  the  petty  duchy  of  Moscow  among  the  Euro- 
pean powers,  still  hoped  that  the  kingdom  of  Poland  might  form 
an  independent  nation  with  its  own  language  and  constitution. 

In  the  time  of  Alexander  I  the  Russians  had  not  begun  to 
flock  to  the  cities,  which  were  small  and  ill-constructed  com- 
pared with  those  of  western  Europe.  The  great  mass  of  the 
population  still  lived  in  the  countr}^  and  more  than  half  of  them 
were  serfs,  as  ignorant  and  wTctched  as  those  of  France  or 
England  in  the  twelfth  century. 

,  Alexander  I  had  inherited,  as  "  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,"  Absolute 
a  despotic  power  over  his  subjects  as  absolute  as  that  to  which  {^e  Tsar 
Louis  XIV  laid  claim.  He  could  make  war  and  conclude  peace 
at  will,  freely  appoint  or  dismiss  his  ministers,  order  the  arrest, 
imprisonment,  exile,  or  execution  of  any  one  he  chose,  without 
consulting  or  giving  an  account  to  any  living  being.  Even  the 
Russian  national  Church  was  under  his  personal  control.  There 
was  no  thought  of  any  responsibility  to  the  people,  and  the 
Tsar's  officials  ruled  corruptly  and  tyrannically. 

During  his  early  years  Alexander  entertained  liberal  ideas, 
but  after  his  return  from  the  Congress  of  Vienna  he  began  to 
dismiss  his  liberal  advisers.^    He  became  as  apprehensive  of 

1  The  Cossacks,  or  light  cavalry,  who  constitute  so  conspicuous  a  feature  of 
the  Russian  army,  were  originally  lawless  rovers  on  the  southern  and  eastern 
frontiers,  composed  mainly  of  adventurous  Russians  with  some  admixture  of  other 
peoples.  Certain  districts  are  assigned  to  them  by  the  government,  on  the  lower 
Don,  near  the  Black  Sea,  the  Urals,  and  elsewhere,  in  return  for  militar)'  service. 

2  For  a  contemporary  account  of  Alexander's  liberal  ideas,  see  Readings, 
Vol.  II,  pp.  338  ff. 


554 


Outlines  of  European  History 


How  Tsar 
Alexander 
became  the 
enemy  of 
revolution 
and  of 
liberal  ideas 


The  "Decem- 
brist" revolt 
of  1825 


Polish 

rebellion, 

1830-1831 


revolution  as  his  friend  Metternich,  and  threw  himself  into 
the  arms  of  the  "  Old  Russian "  party,  which  obstinately 
opposed  the  introduction  of  all  Western  ideas.  The  Tsar  was 
soon  denouncing  liberalism  as  a  frightful  illusion  which  threat- 
ened the  whole  social  order.  He  permitted  his  officials  to  do 
all  they  could  to  stamp  out  the  ideas  which  he  had  himself 
formerly  done  so  much  to  encourage.  The  censorship  of  the 
press  put  an  end  to  the  liberal  periodicals  which  had  sprung  up, 
and  professors  in  the  universities  were  dismissed  for  teaching 
modern  science.  The  attraction  of  the  new  ideas  was,  however, 
too  strong  for  the  Tsar  to  prevent  some  of  his  more  enlightened 
subjects  from  following  eagerly  the  course  of  the  revolutionary 
movements  in  western  Europe  and  reading  the  new  books 
dealing  with  scientific  discoveries  and  questions  of  political  and 
social  reform. 

Alexander  I  died  suddenly  on  December  i,  1825.  The  revo- 
lutionary societies  seized  this  opportunity  to  organize  a  revolt 
known  as  the  ''  Decembrist  conspiracy."  But  the  movement 
was  badly  organized ;  a  few  charges  of  grapeshot  brought  the 
insurgents  to  terms,  and  some  of  the  leaders  were  hanged. 

Nicholas  I  never  forgot  the  rebellion  which  inaugurated  his 
reign,  and  he  proved  one  of  the  most  despotic  of  all  the  long 
list  of  autocratic  rulers.  His  arbitrary  measures  speedily  pro- 
duced a  revolt  in  Poland.  The  constitution  which  Alexander  I 
had  in  his  liberal  days  granted  to  the  kingdom  was  violated. 
Russian  troops  were  stationed  there  in  great  numbers,  Russian 
officials  forced  their  way  into  the  government  offices,  and  the 
petitions  of  the  Polish  diet  were  contemptuously  ignored  by  the 
Tsar.  Secret  societies  then  began  to  promote  a  movement  for 
the  reestablishment  of  the  ancient  Polish  republic,  which  Cathe- 
rine II  and  her  fellow  monarchs  had  destroyed.  Late  in  1830  an 
uprising  occurred  in  Warsaw ;  the  insurgents  secured  control 
of  the  city,  drove  out  the  Russian  officials,  organized  a  provi- 
sional government,  and  appealing  to  the  European  powers  for 
aid,  proclaimed  the  independence  of  Poland,  January  25,  1831. 


alone  could 
save  Russia 


The  Russian  Empire  iii  the  Nineteenth  Century    555 

Europe,  however,  made  no  response  to  Poland's  appeal  for   Nicholas 
assistance.    The  Tsar's  armies  were   soon   able  to  crush  the   revolt^and^ 
rebellion,  and  when  Poland  lay  prostrate  at  his  feet,  Nicholas   p^?"^f^    . 
gave  no  quarter.    He  revoked  the  constitution,^  abolished  the   constitution 
diet,  suppressed  the  national  flag,   and  transferred  forty-live 
thousand    Polish  families  to  the  valley  of  the   Don  and   the 
mountains    of   the    Caucasus.     To    all   intents    and    purposes 
Poland  became  henceforth  merely  a  Russian  province,  governed, 
like  the  rest  of  the  empire,  from  St.  Petersburg.^ 

Nicholas  I  sincerely  believed  that  Russia  could  only  be  saved  Nicholas  I's 
from  the  "  decay"  of  religion  and  government,  which  he  believed  autocracy 
to  be  taking  place  in  western  Europe,  by  maintaining  autocracy, 
for  this  alone  was  strong  enough  to  make  head  against  the  de- 
structive ideas  which  some  of  his  subjects  in  their  blindness  mis- 
took for  enlightenment.  The  Russian-Greek  Church  ^  and  all  its 
beliefs  must  be  defended,  and  the  Russian  nation  preserved  as 
a  separate  and  superior  people  who  should  maintain  forever  the 
noble  beliefs  and  institutions  of  the  past.*  Certainly  a  great 
many  of  his  advisers  were  well  content  with  the  system,  and 
his  army  of  officials  were  loath  to  recommend  reform. 

1  His  proclamation  is  printed  in  the  Eeadi7tgs,\o\.  II,  pp.  343  f. 

2  Thirty  years  later,  in  1863,  the  Poles  made  another  desperate  attempt  to  free 
themselves  from  the  yoke  of  Russia,  but  without  success.  Napoleon  III  refused 
to  assist  them,  and  Bismarck  supported  the  Tsar  in  the  fearful  repression  that 
followed. 

8  The  Russians  were  converted  to  Christianity  by  missionaries  from  Con- 
stantinople, the  religious  capital  of  the  Eastern,  or  Greek,  Church,  which  had 
gradually  drifted  away  from  the  Latin,  or  Roman  Catholic,  Church  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries.  For  many  centuries  the  Russian  Church  remained  in  close 
relations  with  the  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  but  after  that  city  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  infidel  Turks  it  occurred  to  the  Russian  rulers  that  the  Tsars  must 
be  the  divinely  appointed  successors  of  the  Eastern  emperors.  Old  Rome,  on 
the  Tiber,  and  new  Rome,  on  the  Bosporus,  had  both  fallen  on  account  of  their 
sins.  Russia  thus  became  the  "  third  Rome,"  and  the  Tsar,  the  head  of  all  true 
Christians  who  accepted  the  only  orthodox  faith,  that  of  the  Greek  Church. 
Under  Peter  the  Great  the  Russian  Church  was  brought  completely  under  the 
control  of  the  government. 

4  Nicholas  introduced  into  the  schools  a  catechism  which  recalls  that  of 
Napoleon  I  :  "  Question.  What  does  religion  teach  us  as  to  our  duties  to  the 
Tsar?  Answer.  Worship,  fidelity,  the  payment  of  taxes,  service,  love,  and 
prayer  —  the  whole  being  comprised  in  the  words  worship  and  fidelity." 


556 


Oictlines  of  European  History 


Accordingly,  in  the  name  of  Russian  nationality,  the  Tsar 
adopted  strong  measures  to  check  the  growth  of  liberalism. 
The  officials  bestirred  themselves  to  prevent  in  every  way  the 
ingress  into  Russia  of  western  ideas.  Books  on  religion  and 
science  were  carefully  examined  by  the  police  or  the  clergy ; 
foreign  works  containing  references  to  politics  were  confis- 
cated or  the  objectionable  pages  were  blotted  out  by  the 
censors.  The  government  officials  did  not  hesitate  freely  to  open 
private  letters  committed  to  the  post.  It  may  be  said  that,  ex- 
cept for  a  few  short  intervals  of  freedom,  this  whole  system 
has  been  continued  down  to  the  present  time. 


Section  92.    The  Freeing  of  the  Serfs  and  the 
Growth  of  the  Spirit  of  Revolution 

In  1854  the  efforts  of  Russia  to  increase  her  influence  in 
Turkey  led  to  a  war  with  France  and  England.  The  Russians 
were  defeated,  and  their  strong  fortress  of  Sebastopol,  in  the 
Crimea,  was  captured  by  the  allies.-^  Nicholas  I  died  in  the  midst 
of  the  reverses  of  the  Crimean  War,  leaving  to  his  son,  Alexander 
II,  the  responsibility  of  coming  to  terms  with  the  enemy,  and 
then,  if  possible,  strengthening  Russia  by  reducing  the  flagrant 
political  corruption  and  bribery  which  had  been  revealed  by  the 
war  and  by  improving  the  lot  of  the  people  at  large. 

Nearly  one  half  of  the  Tsar's  subjects  were  serfs,  whose 
bondage  and  wretched  lives  seemed  to  present  an  insurmount- 
able barrier  to  general  progress  and  prosperit}^  The  landlord 
commonly  reserved  a  portion  of  his  estate  for  himself  and 
turned  over  to  his  serfs  barely  enough  to  enable  them  to  keep 
body  and  soul  together.  They  usually  spent  three  days  in  the 
week  cultivating  their  lord's  fields.  He  was  their  judge  as  well 
as  their  master  and  could  flog  them  at  will.  The  serf  was 
viewed  as  scarcely  more  than  a  beast  of  burden.^ 

1  See  next  chapter. 

2  For  an  account  of  Russian  serfdom,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  345  ff. 


The  Russian  Emph-e  in  the  Nineteenth  Ceritiiry    557 


From  time  to  time  the  serfs,  infuriated  by  the  hard  condi- 
tions imposed  upon  them,  revolted  against  their  lords.  Dur- 
ing the  reign  of  Catherine  the  Great  a  general  uprising  had 
taken  place  which  grew  to  the  proportions  of  a  civil  war  and 
was  only  put  down  with  terrible  bloodshed  and  cruelty.  Under 
Nicholas  I  over  five  hundred  riots  had   occurred,  and  these 


Peasant 
revolts 


Fig.  135.    Russian  Peasant's  Home 

seemed  to  increase  rather  than  decrease,  notwithstanding  the 
vigilance  of  the  police  and  the  severity  of  the  government. 

Alexander  II,  fearful  lest  the  peasants  should  again  attempt   Emancipa- 
to  win  their  liberty  by  force,  decided  that  the  government  must   serfs  March, 
undertake  the  difficult  task  of  freeing  forty  millions  of  his  sub-   ^^^' 
jects  from  serfdom.    After  much  discussion  he  issued  an  eman- 
cipation proclamation,  March  3,  1861,^  on  the  eve  of  the  great 


1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  348  ff.  According  to  the  Russian  calendar  the 
date  is  February  19,  for  Russia  has  never  followed  the  example  of  the  western 
nations  and  rectified  her  mode  of  indicating  dates  by  adopting  the  Gregorian 
calendar. 


558  Outlines  of  European  History 

Civil  War,  which  was  to  put  an  end  to  negro  slavery  in  the 
United  States.'  In  his  anxiety  to  prevent  any  loss  to  the  land- 
owners, who  constituted  the  ruling  class  in  the  Russian  govern- 
ment, the  Tsar  did  his  work  in  a  very  half-hearted  manner.  It 
is  true  the  government  deprived  the  former  lord  of  his  right  to 
force  the  peasants  to  work  for  him  and  pay  him  the  old  dues ; 
he  could  no  longer  flog  them  or  command  them  to  marry  against 
their  will ;  but  the  peasants  still  remained  bound  to  the  land, 
for  they  were  not  permitted  to  leave  their  villages  without  a 
government  pass.  The  landlords  surrendered  a  portion  of  their 
estates  to  the  peasants,  but  this  did  not  become  the  property 
of  individual  owners,  but  was  vested  in  the  village  conwumity 
as  a  whole.  The  land  assigned  to  each  village  was  to  be 
periodically  redistributed  among  the  various  families  of  the 
community  so  that,  aside  from  his  hut  and  garden,  no  peasant 
could  lay  claim  permanently  to  any  particular  plot  of  land 
as  his  own. 

The  government  dealt  very  generously  with  the  landlords, 
as  might  have  been  anticipated.  It  not  only  agreed  that  the 
peasants  should  be  required  to  pay  for  such  land  as  their 
former  masters  turned  over,  to  them,  but  commonly  fixed  the 
price  at  an  amount  far  greater  than  the  real  value  of  the  land 
—  a  price  which  the  government  paid  and  began  to  collect  from 
the  serfs  in  installments.  His  new  freedom  seemed  to  the  peas- 
ant little  better  than  that  enjoyed  by  a  convict  condemned  to 
hard  labor  in  the  penitentiary.  Indeed,  he  sometimes  refused 
to  be  "  freed  "  when  he  learned  of  the  hard  bargain  which  the 
government  proposed  to  drive  with  him.  There  were  hundreds 
of  riots  while  the  readjustments  were  taking  place,  which  were 
sternly  suppressed  by  the  government.  The  peasants  were  com- 
pelled by  force  of  arms  to  accept  their  "  liberty  "  and  pay  the 
land  tax  which  emancipation  imposed  upon  them. 

Naturally,  if  the  people  in  a  given  community  increased,  the 
size  of  the  individual  allotments  inevitably  decreased,  and  with 
that  the  chances  of  earning  a  livelihood.    At  present,  more  than 


The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Ceittttry    559 

fifty  years  after  the  ''  freeing  "  of  the  serfs,  the  peasant  has, 
on  the  average,  scarcely  half  as  much  land  as  that  originally 
assigned  to  him.  Although  he  lived  constantly  on  the  verge  of 
starvation,  he  fell  far  behind  in  the  payment  of  his  taxes,  so 
that  in  1904  the  Tsar,  in  a  moment  of  forced  generosity,  can- 
celed the  arrears,  which  the  peasants  could,  in  any  case,  never 
have  paid.    A  little  later  the  Tsar  issued  an  order  permitting 


..y^'^ 


Fig.  136.  Alexander  11 

the  peasants  to  leave  their  particular  village  and  seek  employ- 
ment elsewhere.  They  might,  on  the  other  hand,  become 
owners  of  their  allotments.  This  led  to  the  practical  abolition 
of  the  ancient  mir^  or  village  community.-^ 

Alexander  IPs  despotic  regime  developed  among  the  more   Original 
cultivated  classes  a  spirit  of  opposition,  known  as  Jtihilism?  This   <<  nihilism  " 

1  These  village  communities  had  long  existed  in  Russia,  since  the  lords  had 
usually  found  it  convenient  to  have  the  village  redistribute  the  land  from  time 
to  time  among  the  serfs  as  the  number  of  inhabitants  changed. 

2  The  term  "  nihilist"  was  first  introduced  in  Russia  by  Turgenev  in  his  novel, 
Fathers  and  Children.  It  was  applied  to  the  chief  character  on  account  of  his 
denial  of  the  authority  of  all  tradition.    vSee  Readings,  Vol.  IT,  p.  353. 


56o 


Outli7tes  of  European  History 


was  not  in  its  origin  a  frantic  terrorism,  as  commonly  supposed, 
but  an  intellectual  and  moral  revolt  against  tyranny  in  the  State, 
bigotry  in  the  Church,  and  all  unreasonable  traditions  and  un- 
founded prejudices.  In  short,  the  nihilist  would  have  agreed 
with  Voltaire,  Diderot,  and  the  Encyclopedists  in  exalting  reason 
as  man's  sole  guide  in  this  mysterious  world. 

The  government  officials  regarded  the  reformers  with  the 
utmost  suspicion  and  began  to  arrest  the  more  active  among 
them.  The  prisons  were  soon  crowded  and  hundreds  were 
banished  to  Siberia.  The  Tsar  and  his  police  seemed  to  be 
the  avowed  enemies  of  all  progress,  and  any  one  who  advanced 
a  new  idea  was  punished  as  if  he  had  committed  a  murder.  The 
peaceful  preparation  of  the  people  for  representative  govern- 
ment could  not  go  on  so  long  as  the  police  were  arresting  men 
for  forming  debating  clubs.  It  seemed  to  the  more  ardent  re- 
formers that  there  was  no  course  open  to  them  but  to  declare 
war  on  the  government  as  a  body  of  cruel,  corrupt  tyrants  who 
would  keep  Russia  in  darkness  forever  merely  in  order  that 
they  might  continue  to  fill  their  own  pockets  by  grinding  down 
the  people.  They  argued  that  the  wicked  acts  of  the  officials 
must  be  exposed,  the  government  intimidated,  and  the  eyes  of 
the  world  opened  to  the  horrors  of  the  situation  by  conspicu- 
ous acts  of  violent  retribution.  So  some  of  the  reformers  be- 
came terrorists,  not  because  they  were  depraved  men  or  loved 
bloodshed,  but  because  they  were  convinced  that  there  was  no 
other  way  to  save  their  beloved  land  from  the  fearful  oppression 
under  which  it  groaned. 

The  government  fought  terrorism  with  terrorism.  In  1879 
sixteen  suspected  revolutionists  were  hanged  and  scores  sent 
to  the  dungeons  of  St.  Petersburg  or  the  mines  of  Siberia.^ 
The  terrorists,  on  their  part,  retaliated  by  attacks  on  the 
Tsar  and  his  government.  A  student  tried  to  kill  the  Tsar  as 
the  head  and  representative  of  the  whole  tyrannical  system. 

1  For  a  description  of  the  horrors  of  Siberian  exile  life,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II. 
pp.  354  ff. 


The  Ritssian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Ce^itury    561 

Attempts  were  made  to  blow  up  a  special  train  on  which  the 
Tsar  was  traveling,  and,  in  another  effort  to  kill  him,  the 
Winter  Palace  in  St.  Petersburg  was  wrecked  by  a  revolu- 
tionist disguised  as  a  carpenter. 

In  short,  the  efforts  of  the  Tsar's  officials  to  check  the  revo-  Alexander  1 1 
lutionists  proved  vain,  and  the  minister,  to  whom  the  Tsar  had   permit  the 
given  almost  dictatorial  powers  to  suppress  the  agitation,  finally   [f^^^^nh' 
saw  that  the  government  must  make  some  concessions  in  order  people  to 

•r      •  •  1  1-1*1  ITT  give  their 

to  pacify  Its  enemies ;  so  he  advised  Alexander  II  to  grant  a   opinion  on 

species  of  constitution,  in  which  he  should  agree  to  convoke  an   j^^^s^^^^ 

assembly  elected  by  the  people  and  thereafter  ask  its  opinion 

and  counsel  before  making  new  and  important  laws.    The  Tsar  Assassina- 

finally  consented,  but  it  was  too  late.    On  the  afternoon  that  anderll  1881 

he  gave  his  assent  to  the  plan  he  was  assassinated  as  he  was 

driving  to  his  palace  (March,  1881).^ 

The  reign  of  Alexander  II  had  not  been  entirely  given  up  The  Balkan 
to  internal  reforms  and  repression,  however.  In  1877  Russia  jg^J  ^  '^'^~ 
was  again  at  war  with  Turkey,  aiding  the  ^'  south  Slavs  "  — 
Serbians,  Montenegrins,  and  Bulgarians  —  in  their  attempt  to 
throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke.  Successful  in  arms,  Russia  was, 
however,  obliged  to  relinquish  most  of  her  gains  and  those  of 
her  allies  by  a  congress  of  the  European  powers  held  at  Berlin 
in  1878.    But  all  this  is  described  in  the  next  chapter. 

While  the  body  of  the  murdered  Tsar,  Alexander  II,  was  still   Terrorism 
lying  in   state,  the  executive  committee   of  the  revolutionists  dedines  after 
issued  a  warning  to  his   son  and   successor,   Alexander  III,   ^.^  ^^^^^  °^ 
threatening  him  with  the  evils  to  come  if  he  did  not  yield  to 
their  demand  for  representative  government,  freedom  of  speech 
and  of  the  press,  and  the  right  to  meet  together  for  the  discus- 
sion of  political  questions.^    The  new  Tsar  was  not,  however, 
moved  by  the  appeal,  and  the  police  redoubled  their  activity. 
The  plans  of  reform  were  repudiated,  and  the  autocracy  settled 
back  into  its  usual  despotic   habits.     The    terrorists    realized 
that,  for  the  time  being,  they  had  nothing  to  gain  by  further  acts 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  362  f.  2  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  364  ff. 

II 


562  Outlines  of  European  History 

of  violence,  which  would  only  serve  to  strengthen  the  govern- 
ment they  were  fighting.    It  was  clear  that  the  people  at  large 
were  not  yet  ready  for  a  revolution. 
Belief  of  the         The  reign  of  Alexander  III  (1881-1894)  was  a  period  of 

rc3.ction3.rics 

that  Russia  quiet,  during  which  little  progress  seemed  to  be  made.  The 
"frozen "^^^  people  Suffered  the  oppression  of  the  government  officials  with- 
out active  opposition.  Their  occasional  protests  were  answered 
by  imprisonment,  flogging,  or  exile,  for  Alexander  III  and  his 
intimate  advisers  believed  quite  as  firmly  and  religiously  in 
autocracy  as  Nicholas  I  had  done.  Freedom  and  liberalism, 
they  agreed,  could  only  serve  to  destroy  a  nation. 

Section  93.    The  Industrial  Revolution  in  Russia 

The  Indus-  It  became   increasingly  difficult,   however,   to   keep   Russia 

don  overtakes   ''frozen,'"'  for  during  the  last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century' 
Russia  ^he   spread   of  democratic   ideas   had   been  hastened   by  the 

coming  of  the  steam  engine,. the  factory,  and  the  locomotive,  all 
of  which  served  to  unsettle  the  humdrum  agricultural  life  which 
the  great  majority  of  the  people  had  led  for  centuries.    In  spite 
of  her  mineral  resources  Russia  had  lagged  far  behind  her 
western  neighbors  in   the  use  of  machinery.     She  had  little 
capital  and  no  adequate  means  of  transportation  across  the  vast 
stretches  of  country  that  separated  her  chief  towns,  and  the 
governing  classes  had  no  taste  for  manufacturing  enterprises.^ 
The  liberation  of  the  serfs,  with  all  its  drawbacks,  favored 
the  growth  of  factories,  for  the  peasants  were  sometimes  per- 
mitted to  leave  their  villages  for  the  manufacturing  centers 
Rapid  growth  which  were  gradually  growing  up.     The  value  of  the  products 
industHeT       ^^  ^^  &iv^i  industries  doubled  between  1887  and  1897  ;  and  the 
1887-1897        number  of  people  employed  in  them  increased  from  1,318,048 
to  2,098,262.    If  Napoleon  could  come  once  more  to  Moscow, 
he  would  not  recognize  the  city  which  met  his  gaze  in  18 12. 
It  has  now  become  the  center  of  the  Russian  textile  industries, 

1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  368  ff. 


WESTERN  PORTION  OF  THE 

KUSSIAX  EMPIRE 

IL_^  Boundary  of  tlie  Russian  Empire 
0  100         200  300         400         500 


The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    563 

and  the  sound  of  a  thousand  looms  and  forges  announces  the 
creation  of  a  new  industrial  world.  There  are  in  Russia  to-day 
twenty-five  cities  with  a  population  of  one  hundred  thousand 
or  more,  and  two  of  them  —  Petrograd  and  Moscow  —  have 
over  a  million  each.  The  industrial  cities  have  developed  espe- 
cially in  the  densely  populated  Polish,  or  central  western,  part 
of  Russia. 

Along  with  this  industrial  development  has  gone  the  con-  Railway 
struction  of  great  railway  lines,  built  largely  by  the  government  £*  R^s*ia  °" 
with  money  borrowed  from  capitalists  in  western  Europe.  Some 
of  the  railroads  have  been  constructed  chiefly  for  political  and 
military  purposes,  but  others  are  designed  to  connect  the  great 
industrial  centers.  Railway  building  was  first  seriously  under- 
taken in  Russia  after  the  disasters  of  the  Crimean  War,  when 
the  soldiers  suffered  cruel  hardships  in  consequence  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining  supplies.  By  1878  upward  of  eight  thousand 
miles  had  been  built,  connecting  the  capital  with  the  frontiers 
of  European  Russia.  In  1885  the  railway  advance  toward  the 
frontiers  of  India^  was  begun,  and  within  a  short  time  Afghan- 
istan was  reached  and  communication  opened  to  the  borders 
of  China.  Important  lines  have  also  been  built  in  the  region 
between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Caspian. 

1  The  expansion  of  Russia  to  the  southeast  has  been  very  rapid.  In  1846  the 
southern  boundary  ran  along  the  lower  edge  of  the  Aral  Sea.  In  1S63  Russia, 
claiming  that  the  Turkestan  tribesmen  pillaged  caravans  and  harried  her  frontiers, 
sent  forces  which  captured  the  cities  of  Turkestan,  Chemkent,  and  Tashkent,  and 
two  years  later  organized  the  region  into  the  new  province  of  Russian  Turkestan. 
Shortly  afterward  the  Ameer  of  Bokhara  declared  war  on  the  Tsar,  only  to  have 
the  Russians  occupy  the  ancient  cit)^  of  Samarkand  (where  Alexander  the  Great 
had  halted  on  his  eastward  march)  and  later  establish  a  protectorate  over  Bokhara, 
which  brought  them  to  the  borders  of  Afghanistan.  In  1S72  the  Khan  of  Khiva 
was  reduced  to  vassalage.  During  the  following  years  (1S73-1886)  the  regions  to 
the  south,  about  Mer\',  down  to  the  borders  of  Persia  and  Afghanistan,  were 
gradually  annexed.  In  1S76  the  province  of  Kokand  on  the  boundary  of  the 
Chinese  empire  was  seized  and  transformed  into  the  province  of  Ferghana.  By 
securing  railway  concessions  and  making  loans  to  the  Shah,  the  Russians  have 
become  powerful  in  Persia,  and  thus  all  along  their  southeastern  frontiers  they 
are  struggling  for  predominance  against  British  influence.  In  1907  the  British 
and  Russian  governments  marked  off  their  spheres  of  influence  in  Persia.  See 
above,  p.  530,  and  map,  p.  610,  also  Chapter  XXVI,  below. 


564 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Trans- 
Siberian 
railroad 


The  greatest  of  all  railway  undertakings  was  the  Trans-Sibe- 
rian road,  which  was  rendered  necessary  for  the  transportation 
of  soldiers  and  military  supplies  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
empire.  Communication  was  established  between  St.  Peters- 
burg and  the  Pacific  in  1900,  and  a  branch  line  from  Harbin 
southward  to  Port  Arthur  was  soon  finished.^     One  can  now 


Fig.  137.    Harbin,  a  City  on  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway 

Cities  have  sprung  up  along  the  great  Russian  railway  just  as  they  did 
along  the  transcontinental  lines  in  the  United  States  or  Canada.  This 
Western-looking  town  is  northeast  of  Peking,  in  the  farming  country  of 
Manchuria,  nominally  a  part  of  the  Chinese  republic  but  in  reality 
held  by  Russia 

travel  in  comfort,  with  few  changes  of  cars,  from  Havre  to 
Vladivostok,  via  Paris,  Cologne,  Berlin,  Warsaw,  Moscow, 
Irkutsk  on  Lake  Baikal,  and  Harbin,  a  distance  of  seventy- 
three  hundred  miles.  In  addition  to  the  main  line,  some  impor- 
tant branches  have  been  built,  and  more  are  planned.  By  means 
of  these  the  vast  plains  of  central  Asia  may,  before  long,  be 
peopled  as  the  plains  of  America  have  been.  Russian  migration 
has  been  moving  eastward. 

1  See  map  below,  p.  6io. 


The  Russian  Empire  i7t  the  Nineteenth  Century    565 

Section  94.    The  Struggle  for  Liberty  under 
Nicholas  II 

When  Nicholas  II  succeeded  his  father,  Alexander  III,  in  Nicholas  11 
1894,^  he  was  but  twenty-six  years  old  and  there  was  some  d^s^pels^the 
reason  to  hope  that  he  would  face  the  problems  of  this  new   '^^Pf.?  °^ , 

^  the  hberals 

industrial  Russia  in  a  progressive  spirit.  He  had  had  an  op- 
portunity in  his  travels  to  become  somewhat  familiar  with  the 
enlightened  governments  of  western  Europe,  and  one  of  his 
first  acts  was  to  order  the  imprisonment  of  the  prefect  of  police 
of  St.  Petersburg  for  annoying  the  correspondents  of  foreign 
newspapers.  Nicholas,  however,  quickly  dispelled  any  illusions 
which  his  more  liberal  subjects  entertained.  ''  Let  it  be  under- 
stood by  all,"  he  declared,  "  that  I  shall  employ  all  my  powers 
in  the  best  interests  of  the  people,  but  the  principle  of  autoc- 
racy will  be  sustained  by  me  as  firmly  and  unswervingly  as  it 
was  by  my  never-to-be-forgotten  father." 

The  censorship  of  the  press  was  made  stricter  than  ever.  Censorship 
one  decree  alone  adding  two  hundred  books  to  the  already  ^  ^  ^^^^^ 
long  list  of  those  which  the  government  condemned.^    The 

1  On  page  163  we  have  indicated  the  line  of  Russian  rulers  from  Peter  the  Great 
to  Catherine  II.    From  Catherine  to  the  present  the  line  runs  as  follows: 

Catherine  II  (the  Great) 
( 1 762-1796) 

Paul  I 
(1796-1801) 


Alexander  I  Nicholas  I 

(1801-1825)  (1825-1855) 

Alexander  II 
(1855-1881) 

Alexander  III 
(1881-1894) 

Nicholas  II 
(1894-       ) 
2  Among  the  books  which  the  government  prohibits  in  public  libraries  are  the 
Russian  translation  of  Mill's  Political  Economy^  Green's  History  of  the  English 
People,  Bryce's  Atnerican  Commonwealth,  and  Fyffe's  Modern  Europe. 


566 


Outliftes  of  European  History 


Attempt  to 
■  Russify 
Finland 
given  up 


Harsh  policy 
of  von  Plehve 


distinguished  historian,  Professor  Milyoukov,  was  dismissed 
from  the  University  of  Moscow  on  the  ground  of  his  "  gen- 
erally noxious  tendencies,"  and  other  teachers  were  warned 
not  to  talk  about  government.^ 

Nowhere  did  the  Tsar  show  his  desire  for  absolute  control 
more  clearly  than  in  his  dealings  with  Finland.  When  Alex- 
ander I  had  annexed  that  country  in  1809  he  had  permitted 
it  to  retain  its  own  diet  and  pass  its  own  laws,  although  it 
of  course  recognized  the  Tsar  as  its  ruler  under  the  title  of 
Grand  Duke.  The  Finns  cherished  their  independence  and 
have  in  recent  times  shown  themselves  one  of  the  most  pro- 
gressive peoples  of  Europe.  In  1899,  however,  Nicholas  began 
a  harsh  and  determined  Russification  of  Finland.  He  sent 
heartless  officials,  like  von  Plehve,  to  represent  him  and  crush 
out  all  opposition  to  his  changes.  He  placed  the  Finnish  army 
under  the  Russian  minister  of  war,  deprived  the  diet  of  the 
right  to  control  the  lawmaking,  except  in  some  minor  and 
purely  local  matters,  and  undertook  to  substitute  the  Russian 
language  so  far  as  possible  for  the  Finnish. 

Finally,  on  June  17,  1904,  the  Russian  governor  of  Finland 
was  assassinated  by  the  son  of  one  of  the  senators,  who  then 
killed  himself,  leaving  a  letter  in  which  he  explained  that  he 
had  acted  alone  and  with  the  simple  purpose  of  forcing  on 
the  Tsar's  attention  the  atrocities  of  his  officials.  The  new 
governor  permitted  the  newspapers  to  be  started  once  more 
and  forbade  the  Russian  officials  to  mterfere  in  the  elections. 
A  year  later  the  Tsar,  under  the  influence  of  revolution  at 
home  and  disaster  abroad,  consented  to  restore  to  Finland 
all  her  former  rights. 

We  must  now  trace  the  history  of  the  terrible  struggle 
between  the   Russian  people   and  their  despotic  government, 


1  One  may  judge  of  the  sober,  high-minded  scholars  upon  whom  the  Russian 
autocracy  believed  it  essential  to  make  war  by  reading  Professor  Milyoukov's 
Russia  and  its  Crisis,  which  is  based  on  a  series  of  lectures  which  he  delivered 
in  the  United  States  during  the  year  1903-1904. 


The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    567 

which  oegan  openly  in  1904,  In  1902  an  unpopular  minister 
of  the  interior  had  been  assassinated,  and  the  Tsar  had  ap- 
pointed a  still  more  unpopular  man  in  his  place,  namely, 
von  Plehve,  who  was  notorious  for  his  success  in  hunting 
down  those  who  criticized  the  government  and  for  the  vigor 
with  which  he  had  carried  on  the  Russification  of  Finland. 

Von  Plehve  connived  at  the  persecution  of  those  among  the  Massacres 
Tsar's  subjects  who  ventured  to  disagree  with  the  doctrines 
of  the  Russian  official  Church,  to  which  every  Russian  was  sup- 
posed to  belong.  The  Jews  suffered  especially.  There  were 
massacres  at  Kishinef  ^  and  elsewhere  in  1903  which  horrified 
the  western  world  and  drove  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Jews 
to  foreign  lands,  especially  to  the  United  States.  There  is  good 
reason  to  believe  that  von  Plehve  actually  arranged  these 
massacres. 

Von  Plehve  was  mistaken,  however,  in  his  belief  that  all  the  The  liberals. 
trouble  came  from  a  handful  of  deluded  fanatics.  Among  those  tional  demo- 
who  detested  the  cruel  and  corrupt  government  which  he  rep-  '^^^^^ 
resented  were  the  professional  men,  the  university  professors, 
the  enlightened  merchants  and  manufacturers,  and  the  public- 
spirited  nobility.  These  were  not  at  first  organized  into  a 
distinct  party,  but  in  time  they  came  to  be  known  as  the 
constitutional  de?nocrats.  They  hoped  that  a  parliament  elected 
by  the  people  might  be  established  to  cooperate  with  the  Tsar 
and  his  ministers  in  making  the  laws  and  imposing  the  taxes. 
They  demanded  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  the  right 
to  hold  public  meetings  to  discuss  public  questions,  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  secret  police  system,  of  arbitrary  imprisonment  and 
religious  persecutions,  and  the  gradual  improvement  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  peasants  and  workingmen  through  the  passage 
of  wise  laws. 

In  the  towns  a  socialistic  party  had  been  growing  up  which  The  social 
advocated  the  theories  of  Karl  Marx.^    It  desired,  and  still  de- 
sires, all  the  reforms  advocated  by  the  constitutional  democrats 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  371  f.       2  See  above,  pp.  375  ff. 


568  Outlines  of  European  History 

just  described,  but  looks  forward  to  the  time  when  the  working- 
men  will  become  so  numerous  and  powerful  that  they  can  seize 
the  government  offices  and  assume  the  management  of  lands, 
mines,  and  industries,  which  shall  thereafter  be  used  for  the 
benefit  of  all  rather  than  for  the  small  class  of  rich  men  who 
now  own  them.  Unlike  the  reformers  next  to  be  described, 
they  do  not  believe  in  terrorism  or  in  murderous  attacks  upon 
unpopular  government  officials. 
The  socialist  In  contrast  with  these  were  those  Russian  agitators  who 
party"  ^  ^'^  belonged  to  the  socialist  revolutionary  part}',  which  was  well 
organized  and  was  responsible  for  the  chief  acts  of  violence 
during  the  years  of  the  revolution.  They  maintained  that  it 
was  right  to  make  war  upon  the  government  which  was  op- 
pressing them  and  extorting  money  from  the  people  to  fill  the 
pockets  of  dishonest  officeholders.  Its  members  selected  their 
victims  from  the  most  notoriously  cruel  among  the  officials,  and 
after  a  victim  had  been  killed  they  usually  published  a  list  of 
the  offenses  which  cost  him  his  life.  Lists  of  those  condemned 
to  death  were  also  prepared,  after  careful  consideration,  by  their 
executive  committee.  They  did  not  practice,  or  in  any  way  ap- 
prove of,  indiscriminate  assassination,  as  is  sometimes  supposed. 
Great  unpop-  The  more  von  Plehve  sought  to  stamp  out  all  protest  against 
war  with  -he  autocracy,  the  more  its  enemies  increased,  and  at  last,  in 

beSninFeb-  ^9°4'  ^^  open  revolution  may  be  said,  to  have  begun.  On 
ruary,  1904  February  5  of  that  year  a  war  commenced  with  Japan,  which 
was  due  to  Russia's  encroachments  in  Korea  and  her  evident 
intention  of  permanently  depriving  China  of  Manchuria.  The 
liberals  attributed  the  conflict  to  bad  management  on  the  part 
of  the  Tsar's  officials,  and  declared  it  to  be  inhuman  and 
contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  people. 
Russian  The   Japanese    succeeded    in    beating    back   the    Russians, 

destroying  their  vessels,  and  besieging  their  fortress  of  Port 
Arthur,  which  they  had  cut  off  from  any  aid  or  supplies.  The 
liberal-minded  among  the  Russians  regarded  these  disasters  with 
a  certain   satisfaction.    The   reverses,  they  held,  were  due  to 


The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    569 

the  in:ompetence  and  corruption  of  the  Tsar's  officials,  and 
served  to  make  plain  how  very  badly  autocracy  really  worked 
in  practice. 

Von  Plehve  continued,  however,  in  spite  of  the  rising  indig-  Assassina- 
nation,  to  encourage  the  police  to  break  up  scientific  and  literary   p°ehve,yuly 
meetings,  in  which  disapprobation  of  the  government  was  pretty    ^9^4 
sure  to  be  expressed,  and  to  send  men  eminent  in  science  and 
literature  to  prison  or  to   Siberia,  until,  on  July  28,   1904,  a 
bomb  was  thrown  under  the  minister's  carriage  by  a  former 
student  in  the  University  of  Moscow  and  his  career  was  brought 
to  an  abrupt  close. 

Meanwhile  disasters  and  revolt  met  the  government  on  every  General 
hand.  The  Japanese  continued  to  force  back  the  Russians  in 
Manchuria  in  a  series  of  terrific  conflicts  south  of  Mukden.  In 
one  long  battle  on  the  Sha-ho  River  sixty  thousand  Russians 
perished.  Their  fleets  in  the  East  were  annihilated,  and  on 
January  i,  1905,  Port  Arthur  fell,  after  the  most  terrible  siege 
on  record.  The  crops  failed  and  the  starving  peasants  burned 
and  sacked  the  houses  and  barns  of  the  nobles,  arguing  that 
if  the  buildings  were  destroyed,  the  owners  could  not  come 
back,  and  the  Tsar's  police  could  no  longer  make  them  their 
headquarters. 

The  war  had  produced  a  stagnation  of  commerce  and  indus- 
try, and  strikes  became  common.  It  became  known  that  the 
government  officials  had  been  stealing  money  that  should  have 
gone  to  strengthen  and  equip  the  armies ;  rifles  had  been  paid 
for  that  had  never  been  delivered,  supplies  bought  which  never 
reached  the  suffering  soldiers,  and  —  most  scandalous  of  all  — 
high  Russian  dignitaries  had  even  misappropriated  the  funds  of 
the  Red  Cross  Society  for  aiding  the  wounded. 

On  Sunday,  January  22,  1905,  a  fearful  event  occurred.   The   "Red  Sun- 
workingmen  of  St.  Petersburg  had  sent  a  petition  to  the  Tsar  aS'W,  1905 
and  had  informed  him  that  on  Sunday  they  would  march  to  the 
palace  humbly  to  pray  him  in  person  to  consider  their  suffer- 
ings, since  they  had  no  faith  in  his  officials  or  ministers.    When 


570 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Sunday  morning  came,  masses  of  men,  women,  and  children, 
wholly  unarmed,  attempted  to  approach  the  Winter  Palace  in 
the  pathetic  hope  that  the  "  Little  Father,"  as  they  called  the 
Tsar,  would  listen  to  their  woes.  Instead,  the  Cossacks  tried 
to  disperse  them  with  their  whips,  and  then  the  troops  which 
guarded  the  palace  shot  and  cut  down  hundreds,  and  wounded 
thousands  in  a  conflict  which  continued  all  day.^    "  Red  Sunday  '' 


Fig.  138.   The  Winter  Palace,  Petrograd 
The  massacre  took  place  just  in  front  of  the  palace 

was,  however,  only  the  most  impressive  of  many  similar  encoun- 
ters between  citizens  and  the  Tsar's  police  and  guards. 

The  day  after  "  Red  Sunday  "  all  the  leading  lawyers  and 
men  of  letters  in  St.  Petersburg  joined  in  the  following  declara- 
tion :  "  The  public  should  understand  that  the  government  has 
declared  war  on  the  entire  Russian  people.  There  is  no  further 
doubt  on  this  point.  A  government  which  is  unable  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  people  except  with  the  assistance  of  sabers 
and  rifles  is  self-condemned.  We  summon  all  the  vital  energies 
of  Russian  society  to  the  assistance  of  the  workingmen  who 
began  the  struggle  for  the  common  cause  of  the  whole  people." 

)  For  a  contemporary  newspaper  account,  see  Readings,  Vol.  11,  pp.  3/ iff. 


The  Russian  Empire  in  the  Nineteenth  Century    571 

Finally,  the  Tsar  so  far  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  public  The  Tsar 

opinion  that  on  August  19  he  promised  to  summon  a  Duma,  or  summon^ the 

council,  which  should  meet  not  later  than  January,  1906.^  It  was  P^"^^ 

to  represent  all  Russia,  but  to  have  no  further  power  than  that  1905) 
of  giving  to  the  still  autocratic  ruler  advice  in  making  the  laws. 

This  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  even  the  most  moderate 

liberals.    It  was  pointed  out  that  both  the  workingmen  and  the  The  great 

professional  men  were  excluded  by  the  regulations  from  voting,  ffrikes  Octo- 

A  more  effective  measure  in  bringing  the  Tsar  and  his  advisers  ^^^  t"^  ^^ 

°     ^  vember,  1905 

to  terms  was  a  great  general  strike  in  the  interest  of  reform 
which  began  late  in  October.  All  the  railroads  stopped  running; 
in  all  the  great  towns  the  shops,  except  those  that  dealt  in  pro- 
visions, were  closed ;  gas  and  electricity  were  no  longer  furnished ; 
the  law  courts  ceased  their  duties,  and  even  the  apothecaries, 
refused  to  prepare  prescriptions  until  reforms  should  be  granted. 

The  situation  soon  became  intolerable,  and  on  October  29   The  Tsar 
the  Tsar  announced  that  he  had  ordered  ''  the  government "    ("oSober  29, 
to  grant  the  people  freedom  of  conscience,  speech,  and  associa-   ^905)  that 
tion,  and  to  permit  the  classes  which  had  been  excluded  in  his   go  into  force 
first  edict  to  vote  for  members  of  the  Duma.    Lastly,  he  agreed   Duma's 
"  to  establish  an  immutable  rule  that  no  law  can  come  into  ^^^^"* 
force  without  the  approval  of  the  Duma." 

The  elections  for  the  Duma  took  place  in  March  and  April,   The  Duma 
1906,  and,  in  spite  of  the  activity  of  the  police,  resulted  in  an  [he^Ts^ar,  ^ 
overwhelming  majority  for  the  constitutional  democrats.    The   ^^^  ^°'  ^9°^ 
deputies  to  the  Duma  assembled  in  no  humble  frame  of  mind. 
Like  the  members  of  the  Estates  General  in  1789,  they  felt  that 
they  had  the  nation  behind  them.    They  listened  stonily  to  the 
Tsar's  remarks  at  the  opening  session,  and  it  was  clear  from 
the   first   that   they   would    not    agree   any  better  with   their 
monarch  than  the  French  deputies  had  agreed  with  Louis  XVI 
and  his  courtiers. 

The  Tsar's  ministers  would  not  cooperate  with  the  Duma  in 
any  important  measures  of  reform,  and  on  July  21  Nicholas  IT 

1  For  the  manifesto  calling  the  first  Duma,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  373  ff. 


572 


Outlines  of  European  History 


declared  that  he  was  "  cruelly  disappointed  "  because  the  deputies 
had  not  confined  themselves  to  their  proper  duties  and  had 
commented  upon  many  matters  which  belonged  to  him.  He 
accordingly  dissolved  the  Duma,^  as  he  had  a  perfect  right  to 
do,  and  fixed  March  5,  1907,  as  the  date  for  the  meeting  of  a 
new  Duma. 

The  revolutionists  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  in  August 
to  blow  up  the  Tsar's  chief  minister  in  his  country  house  and 
continued  to  assassinate  governors  and  police  officials.  The 
"  Black  Hundreds,"  on  the  other  hand,  murdered  Jews  and 
liberals  while  the  government  established  courts-martial  to  in- 
sure the  speedy  trial  and  immediate  execution  of  revolutionists. 
In  the  two  months,  September  and  October,  1906,  these  courts 
summarily  condemned  three  hundred  persons  to  be  shot  or 
hanged.  During  the  whole  year  some  nine  thousand  persons 
were  killed  or  wounded  for  political  reasons. 

A  terrible  famine  was  afflicting  the  land  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  and  it  was  discovered  that  a  member  of  the  Tsar's 
ministry  had  been  stealing  the  money  appropriated  to  furnish 
grain  to  the  dying  peasants.  An  observer  who  had  traveled 
eight  hundred  miles  through  the  famine-stricken  district  reported 
that  he  did  not  find  a  single  village  where  the  peasants  had 
food  enough  for  themselves  or  their  catde.  In  some  places  the 
peasants  were  reduced  to  eating  bark  and  the  straw  used  for 
their  thatch  roofs. 

In  October  a  ukase  permitted  the  peasants  to  leave  their 
particular  village  community  and  join  another,  or  to  seek  em- 
ployment elsewhere.  On  November  25  the  peasants  were 
empowered  to  become  owners  of  their  allotments,  and  all 
redemption  dues  were  remitted.  This  constituted  the  first  step 
toward  a  practical  abolition  of  the  system  of  common  owner- 
ship by  village  communities,  described  above,  which  was  finally 
achieved  by  a  law  of  June  27,  19 10.  Thus,  although  autocracy 
remains  in  Russia,  great  social  changes  are  in  operation. 

1  For  the  decree  dissolving  the  first  Duma,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp=  377  f- 


The  Russian  Eniph^e  hi  the  Nineteenth  Centuiy    573 

The  Tsar  has  continued  to  summon  the  Duma  regularly,   The  Dumas 
but  has  so  changed  suffrage  that  only  the  conservative  sections  Se^T^ar's 
of  the  nation  are  represented,  and  his  officials  do  all  they  can  "^misters 
to  keep  out  liberal  deputies.    In  spite  of  this  the  fourth  Duma, 
elected  in  19 12,  showed  much  independence  in  opposing  the 
oppressive  rule  of  the  Tsar's  ministers.    Although  parliamentary 
government  is  by  no  means  won  in  Russia,  many  important 
reforms  have  been  achieved.    The  Tsar  continues  to  retain  the 
title  of  "Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias,"  and  his  officials  go  on 
violating  all  the  principles  of  liberty  and  persecuting  those  who 
venture  to  criticize  the  government. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  91.  Explain  the  racial  problem  which  confronts  the 
Russian  government.  Why  have  the  Tsars  of  Russia  borne  the 
title  of  "  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias  "  t  Account  for  the  changed 
attitude  of  Alexander  I  after  181 5.  Tell  of  the  revolt  of  the  Poles 
under  Nicholas  I. 

Section  92.  Describe  the  life  of  the  Russian  serfs.  What  change 
in  their  condition  resulted  from  the  emancipation  proclamation  of 
1861.^    Define  nihilism.    Account  for  the  origin  of  terrorism. 

Section  93.  What  were  the  effects  of  the  Industrial  Revolution 
in  Russia?  Show  on  a  map  the  advance  of  Russia  to  the  southeast 
and  the  line  of  the  Trans-Siberian  railroad. 

Section  94.  Describe  the  attempt  to  russify  Finland.  Outline 
the  platforms  of  the  three  great  political  parties  of  Russia.  Describe 
the  Russo-Japanese  War  of  1 904-1 905.  What  was  "  Red  Sunday  "  ? 
Mention  the  other  important  events  of  the  year  1905. 

Describe  the  first  session  of  the  Duma.  What  change  in  the  life 
of  the  peasant  resulted  from  the  ukase  of  November,  1906?  Describe 
the  session  of  the  second  Duma.  What  changes  in  the  election  regu- 
lations were  made  before  the  third  Duma  assembled  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
TURKEY  AND  THE  EASTERN  QUESTION 

Section  95.    The  Greek  War  of  Independence 

In  our  narrative  reference  has  been  made  now  and  again  to 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  and  especially  to  his  troubles  with  his 
neighbors,  Russia  and  Austria.  In  order  to  understand  this 
''Eastern  question,"  —  which  has  involved  the  gradual  expul- 
sion of  the  Turks  .from  Europe,  the  interminable  quarrel  over 
the  Sultan's  government  and  finances,  and  the  formation  of 
the  new  states  of  Serbia,  Roumania,  Greece,  and  Bulgaria, — 
it  is  necessary  to  turn  back,  for  the  moment,  to  the  origin  of 
the  Turkish  empire  in  Europe. 

Although  there  had  been  an  almost  steady  conflict  between 
the  Cross  and  the  Crescent  ever  since  the  days  of  Mohammed, 
it  was  not  until  the  fourteenth  century  that  southeastern  Europe 
was  threatened  by  a  Mohammedan  invasion.  Under  Othman 
(died  1326)  a  Turkish  tribe  from  western  Asia  established 
itself  in  Asia  Minor,  across  the  Bosporus  from  Constantinople. 
From  their  leader  they  derived  the  name  of  Ottoman  Turks, 
to  distinguish  them  from  the  Seljuk  Turks,  with  whom  the 
Crusaders  had  in  earlier  centuries  come  in  contact.  Under 
successive  sultans  the  Ottoman  Turks  extended  their  dominion 


*  The  colored  picture  opposite  shows  the  Bosporus  as  one  looks 
across  it  to  Asia,  from  a  point  near  the  grounds  of  Robert  College, 
Constantinople.  The  towers  in  the  foreground  form  part  of  "  the  Castle 
of  Europe,"  built  by  the  Turkish  invaders  when  attacking  Constanti- 
nople, 1452.  On  the  opposite  shore  is  "  the  Castle  of  Asia,"  so  that  the 
Turks  who  held  both  sides  could  soon  control  Constantinople.  The 
towers  are  now  in  ruins,  and  American  teachers  play  lawn  tennis  almost 
under  their  shadow. 

574 


Turkey  and  the  Easteric  Question  575 

into  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  Arabia,  and  Egypt,  while  to  the  west 
they  conquered  the  Balkan  regions  and  Greece.  In  1453  the 
capital  of  the  Eastern  Empire,  Constantinople,  fell  into  their 
hands,  and  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  thereafter  they 
were  a  source  of  serious  apprehension  to  the  states  of  western 
Europe. 

The  Turks  pushed  up  the  valley  of  the  Danube  almost  to 
the  borders  of  the  German  Empire,  and  for  nearly  two  cen- 
turies the  republic  of  Venice  and  the  House  of  Hapsburg  were 
engaged  in  an  almost  continuous  war  with  them.  In  1683 
they  laid  siege  to  Vienna,  but  were  defeated  by  the  Polish 
king,  John  Sobieski,  who  came  to  the  relief  of  the  Austrians. 
The  following  year,  the  Emperor,  Poland,  and  Venice  formed 
a  Holy  League,  which  for  fifteen  years  waged  an  intermittent 
war  against  the  infidels  (in  which  Peter  the  Great  joined) 
and  which,  by  1699,  succeeded  in  forcing  the  Turks  out  of 
Hungary. 

While  Turkey  ceased,  thereafter,  to  be  dangerously  aggres-   Catherine  the 
sive,  she  was  able  for  several  decades  to  resist  the  efforts  of  territo^  on 
Russia  and  Austria  to  deprive  her  of  further  territory.    In  1774  the  Black  Sea 
Catherine  the  Great  managed  to  secure  the  Crimea  and  the 
region  about  the  Sea  of  Azof,  thus  giving  Russia  a  permanent 
foothold  on  the  Black  Sea.    Moreover  the  Porte,  as  the  Turkish 
government  is  commonly  called,  conceded  to  Russia  the  right 
to  protect  the  Sultan's  Christian  subjects,  most  of  whom  were 
adherents  of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church,  the  State  Church 
of  Russia.-^ 

These  and  other  provisions  seemed  to  give  the  Russians  an  Russian 
excuse  for  intervening  in  Turkish  affairs,  and  offered  an  oppor-  \^  Turkey 
tunity  for  fomenting  discontent  among  the  Sultan's  Christian 
subjects.  In  181 2,  just  before  Napoleon's  march  on  Moscow, 
Alexander  I  forced  Turkey  to  cede  to  him  Bessarabia  on  the 
Black  Sea,  which  still  remains  the  last  of  Russia's  conquests 
toward  the  southwest. 

1  See  above,  p.  555,  note  ?. 


576 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Serbia  be- 
comes a 
tributary 
principality 
in  1817 


The  national 
spirit  is 
awakened 
in  Greece 


The  inde- 
pendence of 
Greece  de- 
clared, Janu- 
ary, 1822 


Sympathy 
of  western 
Europe  for 
the  cause  of 
Greek  inde- 
pendence 


Shortly  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  the  Serbians,  who  had 
for  a  number  of  years  been  in  revolt  against  the  Turks,  were 
able  to  establish  their  practical  independence  (18 17),  and  Ser- 
bia, with  Belgrade  as  its  capital,  became  a  principality  tributary 
to  Turkey.  This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  states  which 
have  emerged,  during  the  nineteenth  century,  from  beneath  the 
Mohammedan  inundation. 

The  next  state  to  gain  its  independence  was  Greece,  whose 
long  conflict  against  Turkish  despotism  aroused  throughout 
Europe  the  sympathy  of  all  who  appreciated  the  glories  of 
ancient  Greece.  The  inhabitants  of  the  land  of  Plato,  Aristotle, 
and  Demosthenes  were,  it  is  true,  scarcely  to  be  regarded  as 
descendants  of  the  Greeks,  and  the  language  they  spoke  bore 
little  resemblance  to  the  ancient  tongue.  At  the  opening  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  however,  the  national  spirit  once  more 
awoke  in  Greece,  and  able  writers  made  modern  Greek  a 
literary  language  and  employed .  it  in  stirring  appeals  to  the 
patriotism  of  their  fellow  countrymen. 

In  182 1  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  Morea,  as  the  ancient 
Peloponnesus  is  now  called.  The  revolutionists  were  supported 
by  the  clergy  of  the  Greek  Church,  who  proclaimed  a  savage 
war  of  extermination  against  the  infidel.  The  movement  spread 
through  the  peninsula ;  the  atrocities  of  the  Turk  were  rivaled 
by  those  of  the  Greeks,  and  thousands  of  Mohammedans  — 
men,  women,  and  children  —  were  slaughtered.  On  January  27, 
1822,  the  Greek  National  Assembly  issued  a  proclamation  of 
independence.^ 

To  Metternich  this  revolt  seemed  only  another  illustration 
of  the  dangers  of  revolution,  but  the  liberals  throughout  Europe 
enthusiastically  sympathized  with  the  Greek  uprising,  since  it 
was  carried  on  in  the  name  of  national  liberty.  Intellectual 
men  in  England,  France,  Germany,  and  the  United  States 
held  meetings  to  express  sympathy  for  the  cause,  while  to  the 
ardent  Christian  it  seemed  a  righteous  war  against  infidels 
1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  384  ff. 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Question  577 

and  persecutors.  Soldiers  and  supplies  poured  into  Greece. 
Indeed,  the  Greeks  could  scarcely  have  freed  themselves  had 
the  European  powers  refused  to  intervene. 

It  is  needless  to  follow  the  long  negotiations  between  the  The  powers 
various  European  courts  in  connection  with  Greek  affairs.    In   the  war  for 
1827  England,  France,  and  Russia  signed  a  treaty  at  London   Greek  mde- 
providing  for  a  joint  adjustment  of  the  difficulty,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  the  sanguinary  struggle 
which  left  Greece  and  the  adjacent  islands  a  prey  "  to  all  the 
disasters  of  anarchy,  and  daily  causes  fresh  impediments  to 
the  commerce  of  Europe."   The  Porte  having  refused  to  accept  The  Turks 
the  mediation  of  the  allies,  their  combined  fleets  destroyed  that   N^varino^ 
of  the  Sultan  at  Navarino  in  October,  1827.    Thereupon  the   ^"  ^^^^7 
Porte  declared  a  ''  holy  war  "  on  the  unbelievers,  especially  the 
Russians.    But  the  latter  were  prepared  to  push  the  war  with 
vigor,   and   they  not  only  actively  promoted   the   freedom   of 
Greece,   but   forced   the    Sultan   to    grant   practical  independ-   Wallachia 
ence  to  the  Danubian  principalities  of  Wallachia  and  Moldavia,    (Rournanfa^' 
which  came  thereby  under  Russian  influence  and  later  were  to 
become  the  kingdom  of   Roumania.     Turkey  was   no  longer   Estabiish- 
able  to  oppose  the  wishes  of  the  allies,  and  in  1832  Greece   kingdom^ of 
became  an   independent  state,   choosing   for  its  king   Prince   Greece,  1832 
Otto  of  Bavaria. 


Section  96.    The  Crimean  War  (1854-1856) 

A  fresh  excuse  for  interfering  in  Turkish  affairs  was  afforded   The  intema- 
the  Tsar  in  1853.    Complaints  reached  him  that  Christian  pil-  versy  over  the 
grims  were  not  permitted  by  the  Turks  (who  had  long  been   ^^hj^stjans  \l 
in  possession  of  the  Holy  Land  and  Jerusalem)  freely  to  visit  Turkey  - 
the  places  made  sacred  by  their  associations  with  the  life  of 
Jesus.    Russia  seemed  the  natural  protector  of  those,  at  least, 
who  adhered  to  her  own  form  of  Christianity,  and  the  Russian 
ambassador  rudely  demanded  that  the  Porte  should  grant  the 
Tsar  a  protectorate  over  all  the  Christians  in  Turkey. 


5/8  Outlifies  of  European  History 

France  and  When  news  of  this  situation  reached  Paris  Napoleon  III, 

dJdare  war  '^^'^0  had  recently  become  emperor  and  was  anxious  to  take 
on  Russia  ^  hand  in  European  affairs,  declared  that  France,  in  virtue  of 
earlier  treaties  with  the  Porte,  enjoyed  the  right  to  protect 
Catholic  Christians.  He  found  an  ally  in  England,  who  feared 
that  if  Russia  took  Constantinople  it  would  command  the  route 
to  India,  and  who  accordingly  advised  the  Sultan  not  to  accede 
to  Russia's  demands.  When  the  Tsar's  troops  marched  into  the 
Turkish  dominions  France  and  England  came  to  the  Sultan's 
assistance  and  declared  war  upon  Russia  in  1854. 
The  Crimean  The  Crimean  War,  which  followed,  owes  its  name  to  the  fact 
^'^' ^  ^^  that  the  operations  of  the  allies  against  Russia  culminated  in 
the  long  and  bloody  siege  of  Sebastopol,  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  Crimean  peninsula.  Every  victory  won  by  the  allies 
was  dearly  bought.  The  English  soldiers  suffered  at  first  in 
consequence  of  the  inefficiency  of  the  home  government  in 
sending  them  the  necessary  supplies.  The  charge  of  the  light 
brigade  at  Balaklava,  which  has  been  made  famous  by  Tenny- 
son's poem,  and  the  engagement  at  Inkerman  were  small  com- 
pensation for  the  immense  losses  and  hardships  endured  by 
both  the  French  and  the  English.  Russia  was,  howe\4er,  dis- 
heartened by  the  sufferings  of  her  own  soldiers,  the  inefficiency 
and  corruption  of  her  officials,  and  the  final  loss  of  the  mighty 
fortress  of  Sebastopol.-^  She  saw,  moreover,  that  her  near 
neighbor,  Austria,  was  about  to  join  her  enemies.  The  new 
Tsar,  Alexander  II,  therefore,  consented  in  1856  to  the  terms 
of  a  treaty  drawn  up  at  Paris. ^ 
Terms  of  This   treaty  recognized   the   independence  of  the  Ottoman 

of^Pari?  empire  and  guaranteed  its  territorial  integrity.    The  "  Sublime 

1856  Porte  "  was  also  included  within  the  scope  of  the  international 

law  of  Europe,  from  which  it  had  hitherto  been  excluded  as  a 

1  For  a  description  of  scenes  in  the  storming  of  Sebastopol,  see  Readings^ 
Vol.  II,  pp.  391  ff. 

2  It  will  be  remembered  that  Sardinia  had  joined  the  allies  against  Russia, 
and  in  this  way  forced  the  powers  to  admit  it  to  the  deliberations  at  Paris,  where 
Cavour  seized  the  opportunity  to  plead  the  cause  of  Italy.   See  above,  p.  414. 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Question  579 

barbarous  government,  and  the  other  powers  agreed  not  to   The  Black 
interfere   further  with   the   domestic   affairs   of  Turkey.     The  neutral^  ^^^ 
Black  Sea  was  declared  neutral  territory  and  its  waters  were 
thrown  open  to  merchant  ships  of  all  nations,  but  no  warships 


Fig.  139.    Florence  Nightingale 

The  most  famous  of  nurses  was  a  wealthy  English  woman  who,  having 
studied  medicine  and  directed  a  hospital  of  her  own,  took  with  her 
some  forty  nurses  to  the  Crimea,  where  the  soldiers  were  suffering 
from  cholera  as  well  as  from  wounds.  Her  heroic  work  won  her  the 
devotion  of  the  soldiers.  The  Red  Cross  organization  for  nursing  sol- 
diers dates  only  from  an  international  convention  at  Geneva  in  1864, 
which  arranged  that  such  nurses  should  not  be  fired  on  in  battle 

were  to  pass  through  the  Bosporus  or  Dardanelles.  In  short, 
Turkey  was  preserved  and  strengthened  by  the  intervention 
of  the  powers  as  a  bulwark  against  Russian  encroachment  into 
the  Balkan  peninsula,  but,  although  the  Sultan  made  liberal 
promises,  nothing  was  really  done  to  reform  the  Turkish 
administration  or  to  make  the  lot  of  the  Christian  subjects 
more  secure. 


58o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Section  97.    Revolts  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula 


Terrible  con- 
ditions in 
Bosnia  and 
Herzegovina 
under  Turk- 
ish rule 


The  Bulga- 
rian atroci- 
ties (1876) 


Gladstone 
pleads  with 
his  country- 
men to  aid 
the  Balkan 
Christians 


Some  idea  of  the  situation  of  the  people  under  the  Sultan's 
rule  may  be  derived  from  the  report  of  an  English  traveler 
(Mr.  Arthur  Evans)  in  1875.  ^^  ^^^  Turkish  provinces  of 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  he  found  that  outside  the  large  towns, 
where  European  consuls  were  present,  there  was  no  safety  for 
the  honor,  property,  or  lives  of  the  Christians,  because  the  author- 
ities were  blind  to  any  outrage  committed  by  a  Mohammedan. 
The  Sultan's  taxes  fell  principally  on  the  peasants,  in  the  form 
of  a  tenth  of  their  produce.  It  was  a  common  custom  for 
the  collectors  (who  were  often  not  Mohammedans  but  brutal 
Christians)  to  require  the  peasant  to  pay  the  tax  in  cash  be- 
fore the  harvesting  of  the  ripe  crop,  and  if  he  could  not 
meet  the  charges,  the  taxgatherer  simply  said,  "  Then  your 
harvest  shall  rot  on  the  ground  till  you  pay  it."  When  this 
oppression  was  resisted  the  most  cruel  punishments  were 
meted  out  to  the  offenders. 

In  1874  a  failure  of  crops  aggravated  the  intolerable  condi- 
tions and  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina 
which  set  the  whole  Balkan  peninsula  aflame.  The  Bulgarians 
around  Philippopolis,  incited  to  hopes  of  independence  by  the 
events  in  the  states  to  the  west,  assassinated  some  of  the 
Turkish  officials  and  gave  the  Ottoman  government  a  pretext 
for  the  most  terrible  atrocities  in  the  history  of  Turkish  rule  in 
Europe,  murdering  thousands  of  Bulgarians  in  revenge. 

While  the  European  powers,  in  their  usual  fashion,  were  ex- 
changing futile  diplomatic  notes  on  the  situation,  Serbia  and 
Montenegro  declared  war  on  the  Sultan,  and  the  Christians  in 
the  Balkan  region  made  a  frantic  appeal  to  the  West  for  im- 
mediate help.  A  good  deal  naturally  depended  on  the  position 
taken  by  England  —  the  stanch  defender  of  Turkey.  Glad- 
stone, then  leader  of  the  Liberals,  urged  his  countrymen  to 
break  the  unholy  alliance  between  England  and  ''the  unspeak- 
able Turk."     But   Gladstone's  party  was  not  in  power,  and 


Ttirkey  and  the  Eastern  Question  581 

Lord  Beaconsfield  was  fearful  that  English  encouragement  to 
the  Slavic  rebels  in  the  Sultan's  dominions  would  only  result  in 
their  becoming  independent  and  allying  themselves  with  Eng- 
land's enemy,  Russia.  The  English  believed  that  in  the  interest 
of  their  trade  they  must  continue  to  resist  any  movement  which 
might  destroy  the  power  of  the  Sultan,  who  was  not  likely  to 
hamper  their  eastern  commerce. 

The  negotiations  of  the  powers  having  come  to  nothing,    Russia  over- 
Russia  determined,  in  1877,  to  act  alone.    Her  declaration  of   sukanlna^ 
war  was  shortly  followed  by  Russian  victories,  and  in  1878  a   ^J^'^^^^j^ 
Russian  army  entered  Adrianople  —  which  was  equivalent  to  an 
announcement  to  the  world  that  Ottoman  dominion  in  Europe 
had  come  to  an  end.     England  protested,  but  the  Sultan  was 
forced  to  sign  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano  with  the  Tsar  and 
to  recognize  the  complete  independence  of  Serbia,  Montenegro, 
and  Roumania,^  while  Bulgaria  was  made  independent  except 
for  the  payment  of  tribute  to  the  Sultan. 

England   and   Austria    had   naturally   serious    objections    to   England 
this   treaty,  which   increased   the  influence  of    Russia   in   the  settlement 
Balkans.     They  therefore  forced  Tsar  Alexander  II  to  submit   "^^r^s'^^n^^ 
the  whole  matter  to  the  consideration  of  a  general  European   the  Berlin 

Conference 

congress  at  Berlm,  where,  after  prolonged  and  stormy  sessions,  in  1878 
the  powers  agreed  that  Serbia,  Roumania,  and  little  Montenegro 
should  be  entirely  independent  and  that  Bulgaria  should  also  be 
independent  except  for  the  payment  of  a  tribute  to  the  Sultan.^ 
The  Tsar  was  permitted  to  annex  a  district  to  the  east  of  the 
Black  Sea,  including  the  towns  of  Batum  and  Kars.  The  prov- 
inces of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  were  to  be  occupied  and  ad- 
ministered by  Austria-Hungary.^ 

1  In  1862  the  so-called  '' Danubian  provinces"  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia 
had  formed  a  voluntary  union  under  the  name  "  Roumania."  In  1866  the 
Roumanians  chose  for  their  ruler  a  German  prince,  Charles  of  Hohenzollern- 
Sigmaringen,  who  in  1881  was  proclaimed  King  of  Roumania  as  Carol  I.  He 
died  in  1914  and  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew  Ferdinand. 

2  For  extracts  from  the  Treaty  of  Berlin,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  397  f. 

3  They  were  finally  annexed  by  Austria-Hungary  in  1908,  See  below, 
pp.  690  ff.,  and  Readings,  Vol.  II,  p.  401. 


582 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Bulga- 
rians discon- 
tented with 
the  BerHn 
Treaty 


Union  of 
Bulgaria  and 
Eastern  Rou- 
melia,  1885 


Turkish 
dominion  in 
Europe  re- 
stricted to  the 
Macedonian 
region  in- 
habited by 
Greeks,  Bul- 
garians, Ser- 
bians, Rou- 
manians, and 
Albanians 


The  territorial  settlement  at  Berlin,  like  that  at  Vienna  half 
a  century  before,  disregarded  many  national  aspirations.  The 
Bulgarians  were  especially  disappointed  with  the  arrangement, 
for,  instead  of  being  all  united  in  one  state,  as  they  had  hoped, 
only  the  region  between  the  Danube  and  the  Balkans,  with 
some  slight  additions,  was  recognized  as  the  principality  of 
Bulgaria.  Those  dwelling  just  south  of  the  Balkans  were  left 
under  the  Turkish  province,  Eastern  Roumelia,  although  under 
a  Christian  governor  general.  As  for  Macedonia  and  the 
region  about  Adrianople,  where  there  were  also  many  Bul- 
garians, it  was  left  under  the  direct  administration  of  Turkish 
officials. 

Under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  inhabitants  of  the  Bul- 
garian principality  proceeded  to  frame  a  constitution  and  chose, 
as  their  prince,  Alexander  of  Battenberg  (succeeded  by  Ferdi- 
nand of  Coburg  in  1886).  They  adopted  as  their  watchword 
"  Bulgaria  for  the  Bulgarians,"  and  took  the  first  step  toward 
the  reunion  of  their  race  by  a  bloodless  revolution  in  1885 
which  joined  Eastern  Roumelia  and  Bulgaria.  At  length,  in 
1908,  they  refused  to  pay  the  Sultan's  tribute  and  took  their 
place  among  the  independent  nations  of  the  world. 

Thus  the  Turkish  Empire  in  Europe  was  cut  down  to  a 
narrow  strip  of  territory  —  less  in  extent  than  the  state  of 
Missouri  —  extending  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Adriatic,  to 
the  main  part  of  which  the  name  Macedonia  is  generally 
applied.  This  area  is  broken  everywhere  by  mountain  ranges 
and  is  inhabited  by  such  a  complicated  mixture  of  races  that 
it  has  been  aptly  called  "  a  perfect  ethnographic  museum." 
Along  the  coast  line  of  the  y^gean  Sea  and  the  borders  of 
Greece  the  Greeks,  numbering  roughly  three  hundred  thousand, 
predominate.  To  the  north  and  east,  over  against  Bulgaria  and 
Eastern  Roumelia,  dwell  the  Macedonian  Bulgarians.  In  the 
north  are  the  Serbs,  a  nation  of  sturdy  peasant  farmers,  owning 
their  own  farms.  They  resemble  the  thrifty  Bulgarians  of  the 
northeast  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  the  Irish  resemble  the 


Turkey  and  the  Eastei'u  Qiiestio7i  583 

wScotch.  They  speak  somewhat  similar  languages  but  are  rivals 
of  each  other  in  the  Macedonian  regions.^  In  the  west,  border- 
ing on  the  Adriatic,  are  the  Albanians,  a  wild  people,  primitive 
in  their  civilization  and  lawless  in  their  habits.  Almost  two 
thirds  of  them  have  accepted  Mohammedanism,  and  they  are 
often  used  by  the  Sultan  to  overawe  their  Christian  neighbors 
in  the  rest  of  Macedonia.  Scattered  through  all  this  Balkan 
region  there  are  also,  naturally,  some  Turks. 

Clearly  a  population  representing  so  many  races,  and  varying  Disorders  in 
in  stages  of  culture  from  wild  mountain  outlaws  to  orderly  in- 
dustrial communities,  would  present  grave  problems  even  to  a 
government  which  was  entirely  honest  and  efficient.  Unfortu- 
nately the  Turkish  rule  over  Macedonia  was  neither.  Christian 
bandits  would  carry  off  other  Christians  into  the  mountains  and 
hold  them  for  ransom ;  isolated  uprisings  often  resulted  in  the 
assassination  of  the  Mohammedan  officials  in  the  district;  and 
constant  friction  between  the  two  faiths  made  orderly  govern- 
ment impossible.  The  Turkish  administration  in  Macedonia 
was  bound  to  excite  opposition  and  disorder,  in  which  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  many  of  the  Christians  delighted  to  share. ^ 

Section  98.  The  Independent  Balkan  States 

Unhappy  as  the  Macedonian  peoples  have  been  who  re- 
mained under  direct  rule  of  the  Turks,  it  can  scarcely  be  said 
that  the  success  of  the  independent  states  —  Greece,  Serbia, 
Roumania,  and  Montenegro  —  has  been  such  as  to  encourage 
greatly  those  who  advocate  self-government  for  the  minor  na- 
tions in  the  Balkan  regions. 

The   Greeks  found   their    Bavarian  king,    Otto,   inclined  to   Development 
be  a  despot  and,  after  considerable  trouble,  expelled  him  from   since  inde- 
his  kingdom  in  1862  and  chose  in  his  stead  George  I,  son  of  pendence 

1  Throughout  the  central  districts  there  are  also  Macedonian  "  Roumans,"  of 
old  native  stock,  but  roughly  latinized  in  language  and  civilization  by  the  Roman 
colonists  vi^ho  settled  in  this  country  after  the  Roman  conquest  of  Greece. 

2  For  recent  revolutionary  events  in  Turkey,  see  below,  pp.  586  ff. 


584  Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 

the  former  king  of  Denmark.^  The  country  has  made  prog- 
ress slowly.  In  the  mountain  regions  bands  of  brigands  were 
long  so  powerful  as  to  defy  the  police  and  make  traveling  dan- 
gerous. The  fertile  soil  of  the  valleys  is  badly  tilled  by  an 
ignorant  peasantry  overburdened  with  taxes,  and  the  persistent 
efforts  of  the  government  to  educate  the  people  still  leave 
about  one  third  of  the  population  illiterate. 
Efforts  to  Nothwithstanding  adverse  circumstances,  the  Greeks  are  am- 

Greeks  within  bitious  to  bccome  a  great  and  enlightened  nation,  and  they 
have^scfflr™  have  driven  themselves  almost  into  bankruptcy  in  the  con- 
failed  struction  of  canals,  railways,  and  roads,  and  in  the  maintenance 
of  a  large  army.  They  have  regarded  themselves  as  morally 
bound  to  free,  as  soon  as  possible,  their  fellow  Greeks  still  under 
Ottoman  rule  in  Macedonia,  Asia  Minor,  Crete,  and  the  other 
islands  in  the  eastern  Mediterranean,  and  in  1897  they  declared 
war  on  Turkey  in  the  hope  of  accomplishing  their  long-cherished 
designs.  Though  sadly  w^orsted  in  this  war,  they  continued  to 
encourage  agitation  in  Crete,  where  disorders  became  so  com- 
mon that  Great  Britain,  France,  Russia,  and  Italy  undertook  to 
guard  it  in  the  name  of  the  Sultan,  finally,  in  1906,  allowing  the 
king  of  Greece  to  name  the  governor  of  the  island.  Still  dis- 
contented, in  1908  Crete  declared  its  annexation  to  Greece  in 
spite  of  the  powers,  and  in  19 13  Turkey  formally  gave  it  up. 
Revolutions  Nowhere  in  the  Balkan  regions  has  the  experiment  of  self- 
government  been  less  successful  than  in  the  kingdom  of  Serbia, 
which  was  declared  independent  in  1878  after  about  sixty  years 
of  practical  exemption  from  Turkish  authority.  Its  ruler,  who, 
in  1882,  assumed  the  tide  of  King  Milan  I,  proved  to  be 
both  despotic  and  immoral,  and  the  radicals  among  his  subjects 
forced  him  to  call  a  national  assembly,  which  drew  up  a  new  con- 
stitution in  1889.   Angered  at  this  interference,  Milan  abdicated, 

1  After  the  expulsion  of  Otto  the  Greeks  drew  up  a  constitution  (1864),  which 
provided  for  a  parliament  of  one  chamber  elected  by  popular  vote.  In  1911  it 
was  modified  and  a  sort  of  second  chamber  established.  George  I  was  assassi- 
nated in  19 1 3  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Constantine  I,  who  had  married  a 
sister  of  Kaiser  William  II. 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Qtiestion  585 

declaring  that  he  would  not  be  a  puppet  king.  His  son,  Alexan- 
der, proved  even  less  acceptable  to  the  nation,  for  he  suspended 
the  new  constitution  and  recalled  his  father  from  exile.  In  1903 
King  Alexander  was  assassinated  by  some  discontented  army 
officers,  and  the  Serbians  then  chose  for  their  ruler  Peter 
Karageorgevitch,  the  grandson,  of  Kara  George,  or  "  Black 
George,"  who  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  had 
led  the  struggle  for  independence  and  become  a  national  hero. 

Although  the  Roumanian  kingdom  has  undergone  no  palace   Roumania 
revolutions  like  the  neighboring  Serbia,  it  has  suffered  from   with  agra- 
political  agitations  and  agrarian  disorders.    The  constitution  is  ^lan  disorders 
so  arranged  as  to  vest  nearly  all  political  power  in  the  hands 
of  those  possessing  considerable  property ;    and  this  state  of 
affairs  rouses  the  constant  protests  of  a  rapidly  growing  radical 
party.    Even  more  serious,  however,  than  the  political  agitation 
is  the  unrest  among  the  peasants,  who  compose  the  vast  majority 
of  the  nation.    They  claim  that  ever  since  the  emancipation  of 
the  serfs,  in  1864,  they  have  been  the  victims  of  grasping  money 
lenders  and  tyrannical  landlords.    Roumania,  however,  has  suf- 
fered less  than  the  other  countries  from  the  wars  of  the  last 
few  years,  as  we  shall  see. 

The  new  state,  Bulgaria,  which  secured  its  independence  in   Bulgaria 
1908,  is  in  many  respects  the  most  progressive  of  alL   It  has  a  proTpSity 
population  of  over  four  millions,  and  good  order  is  being  main- 
tained there  under  a  democratic  constitution.     Through  the 
growing  trade  at  the  ports  on  the   Black  Sea  the  wealth  of 
the  kingdom  is  increasing  rapidly. 

The  petty  kingdom  of  Montenegro,  smaller  in  area  than  the  Montenegro 
state  of  Connecticut  and  with  a  population  of  about  two  hundred  sdtutiona?"' 
and  thirty  thousand,  has  caused  Europe  more  trouble  than  its  government 

•'  '^  in  1905 

size  warrants.  From  1878,  when  it  became  independent,  until 
1905  it  was  governed  by  an  absolute  prince,  but  he  was  at  last 
forced  to  adopt  the  fashion  of  western  Europe  and  establish 
constitutional  government  with  a  parliament  elected  by  popular 
vote.    In  1910  the  prince  assumed  the  title  of  king. 


586  Outlines  of  European  History 

Section  99.     ICxtinction  of  Turkkv  in  Europe 

The  massa-  TuiUoy  was  naturally  anxious  to  hold  on  to  Macedonia,  the 

Macctluiiia  ''^^^  ii'miianl  of  her  once  large  dominion  in  l'*urope,  but  she 
did  not  mind  the  subject  people  lighting  one  another  when 
they  were  so  inclined.  The  Kuropean  p(jwers  were  well  aware 
of  the  horrible  local  massacres,  assassinations,  and  robberies 
that  were  constantly  going  on  in  Macedonia,  but  they  dreaded 
the  general  war  that  might  come  if  any  attempt  was  made 
to  take  the  region  from  'J'urkey  and  divide  it  up  among  the 
independent  Balkan  states,  —  Oeece,  Serbia,  and  Bulgaria,  — 
for  each  of  these  countries  declared  that  Macedonia  rightfully 
belonged  to  it. 
The  Till kish  III  recent  years  a  small  party  of  reformers,  known  as  Young 
o/ioos"*"  lurks,  developed,  especially  in  the  army,  f(^r  as  officers  they 
had  had  to  study  the  methods  of  Western  nations.  In  1908 
a  so-called  "Committee  of  Union  and  I'rogress  "  was  formed 
in  tlu'  Turkish  ])ort  of  Salonica.  In  July  this  committee  declared 
thai  Turkry  must  have  a  constitution  and  that  the  reformers 
would  march  on  Constantinople  if  the -Sultan  did  not  yield. 
The  aged  Sultan,  Abdul  Ilamid,  did  not  feel  himself  in  a  posi- 
tion t()  opi)()se  the  movement,  and  so  even  Turkey  got  a  consti- 
tution at  last.  The  election  of  representatives  to  the  Turkish 
parliament  took  j)lace,  and  the  assembly  was  opened  by  the 
Sultan  with  gnat  pomp  in  December,  1908.  This  "bloodless 
revolution  "  attracted  the  attention  of  Kurope,  and  every  one 
wondered  whether  the  \'oung  Turks,  who  were  few  in  number 
and  impracticable  in  tiieir  notions  of  government,  would  really 
succeed  in  reforming  such  a  thoroughly  corrupt  government  as 
that  of  Abdul  Ilamid,  who  iiad  hated  and  cruelly  suppressed 
every  tendency  toward  betterment  during  his  long  reign. 
Austria  Bulgaria   immediately  seized   the   occasion   to  declare   itself 

nllsnta^aiui       entirely  inde|)endent  of  Turkey.     Next  Austria  proclaimed  the 
Herzegovina     atiuexation  t)f   Bosnia  and   Herzegovina,  two  Slavic  provinces 
of  Turkey  which  she  had  been  managing  since  the  settlement 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Question 


587 


of  1878  at  the  Congress  of  Berlin.  She  set  to  work  to  Germanize 
them  as  completely  as  possible  and  suppress  all  tendencies  to 
join  their  Slavic  relatives  in  Serbia.  A  glance  at  the  map  will 
show  how  important  these  provinces  are  for  Austria,  since  they 
connect  her  other  main  possessions  with  Dalmatia  and  her 
ports  on  the  Adriatic.  It  was  in  the  capital  of  Bosnia  that  the 
event  occurred  which  led  to  the  general  European  war  of  19 14. 


^^^ 


Fig.  140.   Turkish  Parliament  Buildings 

A  representative  parliament  in  Turkey  would  naturally  include  Arme- 
nians, Greeks,  Bulgarians,  Albanians,  and  Arabs.    But  the  Young  Turk 
party  managed  it  so  that  the  Turks  should  rule 


The  Young  Turks  encountered  ever-increasing  difficulties. 
They  naturally  thought  that  it  would  be  a  wise  thing  to  deprive 
the  unruly  populations  of  Albania  and  Macedonia  of  their  arms. 
This  led  to  a  vast  amount  of  trouble,  for  the  people  were  at- 
tached to  their  guns  and  swords,  and  besides  they  might  need 
them  any  minute  either  to  kill  their  neighbors  or  defend  them- 
selves. The  Albanians  had  always  been  willing  to  fight  for  the 
Turks,  but  on  their  own  terms,  and  they  had  no  inclination  to 


Difficulties 
of  the 
Young  Turks 


588 


Outlines  of  European  History 


War  between 
Italy  and 
Turkey 


The  Balkan 
alliance 
against 
Turkey 


The  first 
Balkan  War, 
1912 


join  the  regular  army  or  to  pay  taxes,  as  the  new  government 
wished.  So  there  were  successive  revolts  in  Albania  and  Mace- 
donia, and  the  disorder  under  the  new  constitution  was  worse 
than  under  the  old  despotism.  Then  the  officials  and  politicians 
who  liked  the  old  ways  of  doing  things  organized  a  revolt  in 
Constantinople  which  had  to  be  put  down.  Old  Abdul  Hamid 
was  deposed  and  imprisoned,  and  his  brother  was  made  Sultan 
under  the  title  of  Mohammed  V.  In  spite  of  this  the  Young 
Turks  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  maintain  their  position 
against  their  many  opponents. 

In  September,  191 1,  Italy  determined  to  declare  war  on 
Turkey,  on  the  ground  that  Italian  subjects  in  Tripoli  were  not 
properly  treated.  All  Europe  protested  against  this  "  high- 
handed "  action  by  Italy ;  but  Italy  replied  that  she  was  merely 
following  the  example  set  by  other  countries  —  protecting  the 
lives  and  property  of  her  citizens  by  annexing  a  country  beset 
by  chronic  disorders.  Turkey  was  no  match  for  Italy.  There 
was  not  a  great  deal  of  fighting,  but  Italy  took  possession  of 
such  portions  of  Tripoli  as  she  could  hold  with  her  troops,  and 
also  captured  the  island  of  Rhodes.  The  Young  Turks  did  not 
feel  that  they  could  face  the  unpopularity  of  ceding  these  to 
Italy,  but  after  the  war  had  dragged  on  for  a  year  they  were 
forced  in  October,  19 12,  by  the  oncoming  of  a  new  Balkan 
war,  to  cede  Tripoli,  reserving  only  a  vague  Turkish  suzerainty. 
Italy  continued  to  hold  Rhodes  too. 

Venizelos,  who  had  been  reorganizing  Greece  with  the  ability 
of  a  Cavour,  secretly  arranged  an  alliance  with  Bulgaria,  Serbia, 
and  little  Montenegro  for  a  war  with  Turkey,  which  began  in 
October,  19 12.  The  Turkish  army  disappointed  ever)'  one,  and 
the  Bulgarians  were  able  in  a  few  days  to  defeat  it,  invest  the 
important  fortress  of  Adrianople,  and  drive  the  Turkish  forces 
back  close  to  Constantinople.  The  Greeks  advanced  into 
Macedonia  and  Thrace,  and  the  Montenegrin  and  Serbian  army 
defeated  the  Turkish  army  sent  against  them  and  attacked 
Albania. 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Qttestion 


589 


Austria  now  began  to  get  very  nervous  lest  the  Serbians   Austria 


should  establish  themselves  on  the  Adriatic.  She  forbade  Serbia 
to  hold  the  port  of  Durazzo.  Had  Russia  been  inclined  to  sup- 
port Serbia  at  that  moment  the  general  European  war  would 
probably  have  broken  out  at  the  end  of  19 12  instead  of  two 


balks  Serbia 


The  Rival  Claims  of  the  Balkan  Powers 

Each  of  the  Balkan  powers  claims  that  it  should  hold  the  land  where 
members  of  its  nation  or  race  live.  Since  these  are  intermingled,  there 
is  constant  source  of  quarrel,  especially  in  Macedonia,  where  Bulgars, 
Serbs,  and  Greeks  are  all  found,  along  with  Turks.  The  .^gean  islands 
and  parts  of  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  are  also  claimed  by  Greece 


years  later.  Serbia,  however,  backed  down.  A  truce  was  ar- 
ranged and  representatives  of  the  Balkan  states  and  of  Turkey 
met  in  London  to  see  if  peace  could  be  arranged.  The  powers 
advised  Turkey  to  give  up  everything  in  Europe  except  Con- 
stantinople and  the  region  immediately  to  the  west.  The  Young 
Turks  decided,  however,  to  fight  a  little  longer,  and  the  war  was 
resumed  in  January.    Everything  went  against  them,  and  in  May 


590 


Outlines  of  Eu7'opean  History 


Treaty  of 
London 


Second 
Balkan  War, 


preliminaries  of  peace  were  signed  in  London  in  which  Turkey 
turned  over  Macedonia  and  Crete  ^  to  the  Balkan  allies. 

But  Serbia,  Bulgaria,  and  Greece  were  all  jealous  of  one  an- 
other, and  the  division  of  the  booty  led  immediately  to  Bulgaria's 
turning  around  to  wage  war  on  Greece  and  Serbia.  There  was 
a  month  of  frightful  war  (July,  19 13)  and  then  the  Bulgarians, 


Fig.  141.   Trees  from  which  War  Victims  have  eaten 
THE  Bark 

Most  of  the  atrocities  of  the  Balkan  wars  are  too  horrible  even  to  repeat. 

This  grove  of  trees,  on  a  small  island,  was  stripped  of  bark  by  the 

starving  victims  imprisoned  there  without  food.    Each  side  seems  to 

have  been  guilty  of  cruelty  and  murder 


Treaty  of 
Bucharest 


defeated  on  all  sides,  —  for  even  the  Turks  recovered  Adrianople 
and  the  Roumanians  invaded  on  the  east,  —  agreed  to  consider 
peace,  and  delegates  met  in  Bucharest,  the  capital  of  Roumania, 
The  treaties  concluded  at  Bucharest  between  the  Balkan 
kingdoms  disposed  of  practically  all  of  Turkey's  possessions  in 
Europe.  The  Sultan  was  left  with  Constantinople  and  a  small 
area  to  the  west  including  the  important  fortress  of  Adrianople. 


1  This  island  had  revolted  from  Turkey  in  1908  and  raised  the  Greek  flag 


Turkey  and  the  Eastern  Qtiestion  591 

The  great  powers,  particularly  Austria,  had  insisted  that  Albania 
should  be  made  an  independent  state,  so  as  to  prevent  Serbia's 
getting  a  port  on  the  Adriatic.  The  rest  of  the  former  Turkish 
possessions  were  divided  up  between  Greece,  Serbia,  Bulgaria, 
and  Montenegro.  Greece  got  the  important  port  of  Salonica  and 
the  island  of  Crete  as  well  as  a  considerable  area  in  Macedonia. 
Bulgaria  was  extended  to  the  yEgean  Sea  on  the  south.  Serbia 
was  nearly  doubled  in  area,  and  Montenegro  as  well.  (See  map.) 

QUESTIONS 

Section  95.  Outline  the  rise  and  fall  of  Turkish  power  in  Europe. 
Describe  the  relations  between  Russia  and  Turkey  in  the  eighteenth 
and  nineteenth  centuries.  What  state  in  Europe  first  freed  itself  from 
the  yoke  of  Turkey  ?  Give  a  short  history  of  the  Greek  struggle  for 
independence.  Describe  the  part  played  in  this  war  by  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Russia.  Which  of  the  Balkan  states  owes  its  origin  to  the 
war  of  Greek  independence .? 

Section  96.  W^hat  circumstances  led  to  the  Crimean  War  ?  Give 
the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  1856. 

Section  97.  Describe  conditions  in  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina 
under  Turkish  rule.  W^hat  was  Gladstone's  attitude  on  the  Turkish 
question?  State  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  San  Stefano.  Men- 
tion the  most  important  changes  made  in  the  treaty  by  the  Congress 
of  Berlin,  1878.  What  are  the  two  most  important  events  in  Bulgarian 
history  since  this  date  ? 

Section  98.  Trace  the  history  of  Greece  as  an  independent  state. 
Outline  the  history  of  Serbia  from  1878  to  the  present  war.  What 
have  been  Roumania's  problems  in  the  past  half  century.''  What 
change  has  taken  place  in  Montenegro  in  the  past  few  years? 

Section  99.  Give  a  short  account  of  the  Turkish  revolution  of 
1908.  In  what  way  did  Bulgaria  and  Austria  take  advantage  of  the 
situation  in  Turkey  in  1908?  Mention  some  of  the  difficulties  which 
confronted  the  Young  Turks.  What  reason  did  Italy  give  for  making 
war  on  Turkey  ?  W^hat  was  the  outcome  of  the  war  ? 

Outline  the  history  of  the  Balkan  states  from  the  formation  of  the 
Balkan  alliance  to  the  Treaty  of  Bucharest.  Show  on  a  map  the 
territory  in  Europe  under  Turkish  rule;  the  territorial  changes  in 
the  Balkans  since  the  Treaty  of  Bucharest, 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  EUROPE  AND  THE  SPREAD  OF 
WESTERN  CIVILIZATION 

Section  ioo.    The  Growth  of  International 
Trade  and  Competition  :  Imperialism 


The  foreign 
trade  of 
Europe 


Beginnings 
of  steam 
navigation 


Robert 
Fulton 


As  a  result  of  the  Industrial  Revolution,  Europe  has  become 
a  busy  world  of  shops  and  factories,  which  produce  much  more 
than  Europeans  can  use.  So  new  markets  are  constantly 
sought  in  distant  parts  of  the  world.  The  trade  with  the  Far 
East,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  led  to  the  discovery  of  America, 
has  grown  in  the  nineteenth  century  to  enormous  extent,  scat- 
tering the  wares  of  London,  Paris,  or  Hamburg  through  China 
and  India  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  This  world  trade  is 
one  of  the  great  facts  of  history ;  for  it  has  led  the  European 
nations  to  plant  new  colonies  and  to  try  to  monopolize  markets 
in  Asia  and  Africa  and  wherever  else  they  could.  This  has 
brought  rivalries  between  the  nations  at  home,  and  it  was  one 
of  the  causes  of  the  great  European  war. 

This  prodigious  expansion  of  commerce  was  made  possible  by 
the  discovery  that  steam  could  be  used  to  carry  goods  cheaply 
and  speedily  to  all  parts  of  the  earth.  Steamships  and  railways 
have  made  the  world  one  great  market  place. 

The  problem  of  applying  steam  to  navigation  had  long  occu- 
pied inventors,  but  the  honor  of  making  the  steamship  a  success 
commercially  belongs  to  Robert  Fulton.  In  the  spring  of  1807 
he  launched  his  Oennont  at  New  York,  and  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year  the  "new  water  monster"  made  its  famous  trip 
to  Albany.  Transoceanic  steam  navigation  began  in  18 19 
with  the  voyage  of  the  steamer  Savannah  from  Savannah  to 

592 


The  Expansion  of  Europe 


593 


Liverpool,  which  took  twenty-five  days,  sails  being  used  to  help   steady 
the  engine.   The  Great  Western,  which  startled  the  world  in  1838   Jhelke  ^d 
by  steaming  from  Bristol  to  New  York  in  fifteen  days  and  ten  ^P^^^  °^     , 

J  ^  J  ocean  vessels 

hours,  was  a  ship  of  1378  tons,  212  feet  long,  with  a  daily 
consumption  of  36  tons  of  coal.-^  Now  a  commercial  map  of 
the  world  shows  that  the  globe  is  crossed  in  every  direction  by 
definite  routes  which  are  followed  by  innumerable  freight  and 


Fig.  142.   The  Savannah 


passenger  steamers  passing  regularly  from  one  port  to  another, 
and  few  of  all  these  thousands  of  ships  are  as  small  as  the 
famous   Great  Westerfi. 

The  East  and  the  West  have  been  brought  much  nearer 
together  by  the  piercing  of  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  which  for- 
merly barred  the  way  from  the  Mediterranean  Sea  to  the 
Indian    Ocean.     This    enterprise  was    carried   out  under  the 

1  Compare  this  with  the  Lusitania,  which  had  a  tonnage  of  32,500  tons, 
engines  of  68,000  horse  power,  was  785  feet  long,  and  carried  a  supply  of  over 
5000  tons  of  coal  for  its  journey  across  the  Atlantic,  which  lasted  less  than  five 
days.  A  German  vessel,  the  Imperator,  was  launched  in  1912,  having  a  tonnage 
of  over  50,000  tons. 
II 


The  Suez 
Canal  com- 
pleted in 
1869 


594 


OiUlines  of  EiLwpean  History 


Panama 
Canal 


The  begin- 
nings of 
steam  loco- 
motion on 
land 


direction  of  the  great  French  engineer  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps. 
After  ten  years  of  work  the  canal  was  opened  to  traffic  in 
November,  1869.  Now  annually  over  five  thousand  vessels 
take  advantage  of  it,  thus  avoiding  the  long  voyage  around  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  construction  of  a  canal  through  the  Isthmus  of  Panama 
was  undertaken  in  1881  by  a  French  company  organized  by 
de  Lesseps.  But  those  promoting  the  enterprise  were  guilty  of 
wholesale  bribery  of  members  of  the  French  parliament,  and 
the  work  itself  was  mismanaged.  This  was  disclosed  in  1892, 
and  the  scandal  led  to  the  dissolution  of  the  company.  In  1902 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  authorized  the  President  to 
purchase  for  forty  million  dollars  the  property  in  which  the 
French  investors  had  sunk  so  much  money.  Arrangements 
with  the  republic  of  Colombia  for  the  construction  of  the  canal 
by  the  United  States  having  come  to  naught,  the  state  of 
Panama,  through  which  the  line  of  the  proposed  canal  passes, 
seceded  from  Colombia  in  1903,  and  its  independence  was 
immediately  recognized  by  President  Roosevelt.  A  treaty  in 
regard  to  the  canal  zone  was  then  duly  concluded  with  the 
new  republic,  and  after  some  delays  the  work  of  the  French 
company  was  resumed  by  the  United  States  and  practically 
completed  in   19 15. 

Just  as  the  gigantic  modern  steamship  has  taken  the  place 
of  the  schooner  for  the  rapid  trade  of  the  world,  so,  on  land, 
the  merchandise  which  used  to  be  dragged  by  means  of  horses 
and  oxen  or  carried  in  slow  canal  boats  is  being  transported  in 
long  trains  of  capacious  cars,  each  of  which  holds  as  much  as 
fifteen  or  twenty  large  wagons.  The  story  of  the  locomotive, 
like  that  of  the  spinning  machine  or  steam  engine,  is  the  history 
of  many  experiments  and  their  final  combination  by  a  successful 
inventor,  George  Stephenson. 

In  18 1 4  Stephenson  built  a  small  locomotive,  known  as  '*  Puff- 
ing Billy,"  which  was  used  at  the  mines,  and  in  1825,  with  the 
authorization  of  Parliament,  he  opened  between  Stockton  and 


The  Expansion  of  Europe 


595 


Darlington,  in  the  northern  part  of  England,  a  line  for  the  con- 
veyance of  passengers  and  freight.  About  this  time  a  road  was 
being  projected  between  Liverpool  and  Manchester,  and  in 
an  open  competition,  in  which  five  locomotives  were  entered, 
Stephenson's  "  Rocket  "  was  chosen  for  the  new  railroad,  which 
was  formally  opened  in  1830.  This  famous  engine  weighed 
about  seven  tons  and  ran  at  an  average  speed  of  thirteen  miles 
an  hour  —  a  small  affair  when  compared  with  the  giant  loco- 
motive of  our  day,  weighing  a  hundred  tons  and  running  fifty 
miles  an  hour.^ 
Within  fifteen 
years  trains  were 
running  regularly 
between  Liver- 
pool, Manches- 
ter, Birmingham, 
and  London,  and 
at  the  close  of 
the  century  Great 
Britain  had 

twenty-two  thou- 
sand miles  of  rail- 
way carrying  over 
a  billion  passen- 
gers annually. 

The  first  railway  was  opened  in  France  in  1828;  the  first 
in  Gerniany  in  1835,  t»ut  the  development  of  the  system  was 
greatly  hindered  by  the  territorial  divisions  which  then  existed. 
Now  Europe  is  bound  together  by  a  network  of  over  two 
hundred  thousand  miles  of  railway. 

Railway  construction  is  also  rapidly  advancing  in  Africa 
and  Asia,  preparing  cheap  outlets  for  the  products  of  Western 


fk 

^^%~^ 

- 

-f*    . 

1-^ 

-I 

-j: 

^ 

.     r^ 

-  ^ 

r 

t   «   L 

^S5&- 

J 

f ^ 

'<4 

— 

—      -_, — 

^>9S 

^^-^^ 

fe^'     z 

-  -  ,  '^  ^'- 

-  -«v-«„^~   ~ 

AKa2o}'^''-~- 

■      ■=; 

■^ — —ji.— 

~T~ 

Fig.  143.   A  Locomotive  built  by  George 
Stephenson 

Stephenson  forced  the  exhaust  steam  up  the 
smokestack  to  get  a  hot  fire 


George 
Stephenson 
(1781-1848) 
and  the  de- 
velopment of 
railways  in 
England 


Railways  in 
Germany 
and  France 


1  It  will  be  noted  that  this  is  the  average  speed  on  regular  runs.  For  short 
distances  the  "  Rocket"  made  thirty-five  miles  an  hour,  while  the  modern  loco- 
motive, as  is  well  known,  sometimes  runs  over  a  hundred  miles  an  hour. 


596 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Railways  as 
pioneering 
enterprises 


The  penny 
post 


mills  and  mines.  As  we  have  seen,  the  Trans-Siberian  road 
has  connected  Europe  overland  with  the  Pacific/  and  Russia 
has  also  pushed  lines  southward  toward  Persia  and  Afghanistan ; 
British  India  has  some  thirty-five  thousand  miles.  Even  Africa 
has  been  penetrated,  and  now  trains  run  many  thousands  of 
miles  through  forest,  plain,  and  jungle,  where  no  white  man 
had  ever  gone  before  the  nineteenth  century.  These  railroads 
are  of  the  greatest  importance,  for  those  who  own  them  are 
placed  in  a  position  to  control,  to  a  very  large  degree,  the 
economic  or  even  the  political  life  of  the  regions  through  which 
they  pass.  Therefore,  as  we  shall  see,  the  various  European 
nations  have  been  jealous  of  each  other's  railroad  enterprises 
in  the  undeveloped  countries.  For  instance,  the  importance  of 
the  new  railroads  in  China  and  Turkey  was  so  great  as  to  in- 
volve the  rival  European  nations  interested  in  them,  and  so 
contribute  a  cause  of  war.^ 

Quite  as  essential  to  the  world  market  as  railway  and  steam- 
ship lines  are  the  easy  and  inexpensive  means  of  communica- 
tion afforded  by  the  post,  telephone,  telegraph,  and  cable.  The 
English  "  penny  post "  is  now  so  commonplace  as  no  longer  to 
excite  wonder,  but  to  men  of  Frederick  the  Great's  time  it  would 
have  seemed  impossible.  Until  1839  in  England  the  postage  on 
an  ordinary  letter  was  a  shilling  for  a  short  distance,  and  the 
cost  varied  with  the  distance  sent.  In  that  year  a  reform 
measure  long  advocated  by  Rowland  Hill  was  carried;  estab- 
lishing a  uniform  penny  post  throughout  Great  Britain.  The 
result  of  reducing  the  rate  of  postage  to  this  nominal  sum  sur- 
prised every  one,  in  vastly  increasing  the  frequency  with  which 
people  wrote  to  one  another.  Moreover,  in  cheapening  the  rate 
for  sending  mail,  the  isolation  of  the  past  was  broken  up,  and 


1  See  above,  p.  564. 

2  See  below,  p.  691.  The  Japanese  and  Russians  have  used  the  railways  of 
Manchuria  to  establish  themselves  along  the  route.  The  German  concession 
from  Turkey  of  a  railroad  from  Constantinople  to  Bagdad  was  very  unwelcome 
to  English  and  Russians.  The  United  States  has  the  greatest  railroad  systems 
in  the  world,  extending  over  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  597 

people  were  able  to  lead  more  intelligent  lives.  Other  European 
countries  followed  the  example  of  Great  Britain  in  reducing 
postage,  and  now  the  world  is  moving  rapidly  in  the  direction 
of  a  universal  two-cent  rate.  Already  letters  may  be  carried 
from  China  to  New  York  for  two  cents  in  less  time  than  it  took 
news  to  cross  the  Atlantic  when  penny  postage  was  begun. 

No  less  wonderful  is  the  development  of  the  telegraph  and  Telegraph 
telephone  systems,  the  former  an  invention  of  1837,  the  latter  phone  ^' 
as  recent  as  1876.^  Distant  and  obscure  places  in  Africa  and 
Asia  are  being  brought  into  close  touch  with  one  another  and 
with  Europe.  China  now  has  lines  connecting  all  the  important 
cities  of  the  republic  and  affording  direct  overland  communica- 
tion between  Peking  and  Paris.  In  October,  1907,  Marconi 
established  regular  communication  across  the  Atlantic  by  means 
of  the  wireless  system  of  telegraphy  discovered  some  years  be- 
fore ;  and  now  the  wireless  telephone  can  carry  the  voice  from 
Washington  to  Paris,  and  perhaps  twice  as  far. 

The  industrial  revolution  which  enables  Europe  to  produce  Competition 
far  more  goods  than  it  can  sell  in  its  own  markets,  and  the  markets'^" 
rapid  transportation  which  permits  producers  to  distribute  their 
commodities  over  the  whole  surface  of  the  globe,  have  com- 
bined to  produce  a  keen  competition  for  foreign  markets.  The 
European  nations  have  secured  the  control  of  practically  all  the 
territory  occupied  by  defenseless  peoples  in  Africa  and  Asia, 
and  have  introduced  Western  ideas  of  business  into  China  and 
Japan,  where  steamships  now  ply  the  navigable  rivers,  and 
railroads  are  being  rapidly  built. 

The  process  of  colonization  and  of  Westernizing  the  oriental 
peoples  has  been  further  hastened  by  European  and  American 

1  The  electric-telegraph  instrument  was  invented  in  America  by  Morse,  and 
in  England  by  Cooke  and  Wheatstone  at  the  same  time.  Alexander  Graham  Hell 
invented  the  telephone  just  in  time  to  exhibit  it  at  the  Centennial  Exposition, 
celebrating  one  hundred  years  of  American  independence,  in  Philadelphia,  1876. 
Now  the  combined  length  of  wire  used  for  messages  in  the  United  States  is  about 
fifteen  million  miles.  Telegrams  are  cheaper  in  Europe  than  in  the  United  States 
and  therefore  more  frequently  used. 


598 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Various 
forms  of 
imperialism 


The  mission- 
ary as  an 
agent  of  im- 
perialism 


capitalists  investing  in  railroads  and  mines  in  backward  coun- 
tries. Great  Britain  alone  is  said  to  have  about  ten  billion 
dollars  invested  abroad ;  one  fifth  of  Russian  industrial  enter- 
prises are  financed  by  foreigners,  who  are  also  to  a  consider- 
able extent  constructing  the  railroads  in  China.  The  -Germans 
supply  the  money  for  large  banking  concerns  in  Brazil,  Buenos 
Aires,  and  Valparaiso,  which  in  turn  stimulate  industry  and 
the  construction  of  railways. 

These  two  powerful  forces  —  factories  seeking  markets  and 
capital  seeking  investment  —  are  shaping  the  foreign  and  com- 
mercial policies  of  every  important  European  country.  They 
alone  explain  why  the  great  industrial  nations  are  embarking 
on  what  has  been  termed  a  policy  of  imperialisin,  which  means 
a  policy  of  adding  distant  territories  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
trolling their  products,  getting  the  trade  with  the  natives,  and 
investing  money  in  the  development  of  natural  resources. 
Sometimes  this  imperialism  takes  the  form  of  outright  annex- 
ation, such  as  the  acquisition  of  Hawaii  by  the  United  States, 
or  of  Togoland  by  Germany.  Again,  it  assumes  the  form  of  a 
"  protectorate,"  which  is  a  declaration  on  the  part  of  a  nation 
somewhat  as  follows  :  "  This  is  our  particular  piece  of  land ;  we 
are  not  intending  to  take  all  the  responsibility  of  governing  it  just 
now ;  but  we  want  other  nations  to  keep  out,  for  we  may  annex 
it  sooner  or  later."  Sometimes  imperialism  goes  no  farther 
than  the  securing  of  concessions  in  undeveloped  countries, 
such  as  foreigners  have  obtained  in  China  or  citizens  of  the 
United  States  in  Mexico.-^ 

The  way  for  imperialism  had  been  smoothed  by  the  mission- 
aries.^ There  have  always  been  ardent  Christians  ready  to  obey 
the  command,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature  "  (Mark  xvi,  15).  No  sooner  was  a  new  coun- 
try brought  to  the  attention  of  Europeans  than  missionaries 


1  For  an  argument  in  favor  of  imperialism,  see  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  411  ff. 

2  See   Readings,   Vol.    II,   pp.  415  ff.     On   the  explorations   of  Jesuits   in 
America,  see  above,  p.  105, 


TJie  Expansion  of  Europe  .      599 

flocked  thither  with  the  traders  and  soldiers.  When  America 
was  discovered  and  the  sea  route  opened  to  the  East,  the  Fran- 
ciscan and  Dominican  friars  braved  every  danger  to  bring  the 
gospel  to  them  that  sat  in  darkness.  They  were  reenforced 
about   1540  by  the  powerful  Jesuit  order. 

In  1622  the  great  missionary  board  of, the  Roman  Catholic  The  Roman 
Church  was  given  its  final  organization  and  the  name  it  still  SollS^Jmoie- 
retains —  Congt'egatio  de  propaganda    Fide.    It  has   its  head-  "^^"'^ 
quarters  at  Rome  and  is  composed  of  twenty-nine  cardinals 
and  their  assistants.    In  its  colleges  and  schools  missionaries  are 
trained  for  their  work  and  taught  the  requisite  languages.    The 
Roman  Catholic  Church  now  reckons  millions  of  adherents  in 
Turkey,  Persia,  Arabia,  India,  Siam,  Indo-China,  Malaysia,  the 
Chinese  republic,  Korea,  Japan,  Africa,  and  Polynesia. 

For  a  long  time  after  the  Protestant  Revolt  the  reformed  Protestant 
churches  showed  little  ardor  for  foreign  missions.  The  Dutch  ™^^^'°"^ 
undertook  to  Christianize  the  East  Indies  in  1602,  and  their 
rivals,  the  English,  also  did  something  to  promote  missions. 
Among  the  earliest  Protestant  missionary  associations  was  the 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Christian  Knowledge,  founded  in 
1695  and  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land. In  the  eighteenth  century  the  Methodists  and  Baptists 
joined  in  the  efforts  to  convert  the  heathen.  The  United  States 
entered  the  field  in  18 10,  when  the  American  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  was  organized.  As  time  went  on,  practically  all  the 
Protestant  denominations  established  each  its  board  of  foreign 
missions,  and  the  United  States  has  rivaled  Europe  in  the  dis- 
tinction and  energy  of  the  missionaries  it  has  sent  out  and 
in  the  generous  support  its  people  have  given  them.  Bible 
societies  have  been  engaged  in  translating  the  Scriptures 
into  every  known  language  and  scattering  copies  of  them 
broadcast. 

Missionaries  have  not  alone  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Missionaries 
Christian  religion,  but  have  carried  with  them  modern  scientific  and'teachers 
ideas  and  modern  inventions.    They  have  reduced  to  writing  the 


6oo 


Outlines  of  European  History 


How  mis- 
sions have 
led  to  the 
extension  of 
European 
control  in 
Asia  and 
Africa 


languages  of  peoples  previously  ignorant  of  the  existence  of  an 
alphabet.  They  have  conquered  cruel  superstitions,  extirpated 
human  sacrifices  and  cannibalism,  and  done  much  to  make  the 
lot  of  woman  more  tolerable.  Their  physicians  have  introduced 
rational  methods  of  treating  the  sick,  and  their  schools  have 
given  an  education  to  millions  who  without  them  would  have 
been  left  in  complete  barbarism.  Finally,  they  have  encouraged 
thousands  of  Japanese,  Chinese,  and  representatives  of  other 
peoples  to  visit  Europe  and  America,  and  thus  prepare  them- 
selves to  become  apostles  of  Western  ideas  among  their  fellows. 
The  explorations  and  investigations  carried  on  by  the  mission- 
aries have  vastly  increased  the  knowledge  of  the  world  and  its 
inhabitants.  Their  maps  and  their  scientific  reports  on  lan- 
guages and  customs  have  often  proved  of  the  highest  value. 
They  have  also  created  a  demand  for  Western  goods  and 
opened  the  way  for  trade. 

In  some  instances  injudicious  missionaries  have  doubtless 
shown  too  little  appreciation  of  the  ancient  culture  of  India, 
China,  and  Japan,  and  have  rudely  denounced  the  cherished 
traditions  and  the  rooted  prejudices  of  the  peoples  to  whom 
they  came.  Even  the  most  prudent  and  sagacious  among  them 
could  hardly  have  avoided  arousing  the  hostility  of  those  whose 
most  revered  institutions  they  felt  it  their  duty  to  attack.  So  it 
has  come  about  that  the  missionaries  have  often  been  badly 
treated,  have  undergone  great  hardships,  and  have  even  been 
murdered  by  infuriated  mobs. 

This  has  generally  led  to  the  armed  interference  of  their 
respective  governments,  and  has  more  than  once,  as  we  shall 
see,  served  the  none  too  religious  ambitions  of  these  govern- 
ments as  an  excuse  for  annexing  the  territory  in  which  these 
outrages  have  happened,  or  at  least  establishing  protectorates 
and  spheres  of  influence.  Some  illustrations  of  the  role  of 
the  missionaries  will  be  found  in  the  following  sections. 
We  shall  turn  first  to  the  development  of  Europe's  interest 
in  China. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  60 1 

Section  10  i.    Relations  of  Europe  with  China 

The  relations  of  Europe  to  China  extend  back  into  ancient  Early  knowi- 
times.  Some  of  the  Roman  emperors,  including  Marcus  ^^^s^^^^^^"^ 
Aurelius,  sent  embassies  to  the  Chinese  monarch,  and  in  the 
Middle  Ages  some  missionaries  labored  to  introduce  Christianity 
into  China.  It  was  not,  however,  until  after  the  opening  of  the 
water  route  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  that  European 
trade  with  China  became  important.  Early  in  the  sixteenth 
century  Portuguese  merchants  appeared  in  Chinese  harbors, 
offering  Western  merchandise  in  exchange  for  tea  and  silks.  In 
1537  the  Portuguese  rented  a  trifling  bit  of  land  of  Macao,  off 
Canton  —  a  post  which  they  hold  to-day. 

However,  the  Chinese  did  not  welcome  foreign  interference.  Europeans 
Their  officials  regarded  the  European  merchants  as  barbarians,  fr^onl' china 
When,  in  1655,  the  Dutch  sent  two  envoys  to  the  Chinese  em- 
peror, they  were  received  only  on  condition  that  they  would 
prostrate  themselves  before  his  throne  and  strike  their  heads 
nine  times  on  the  earth  as  evidence  of  their  inferiority.  In  spite 
of  this  treatment  Dutch  and  English  merchants  flocked  to 
Canton,  the  sole  port  at  which  the  Chinese  emperor  permitted 
regular  commerce  with  foreign  countries. 

Repeated  efforts  were  made,  particularly  by  the  English,  to  The  "Opium 
get  into  direct  communication  with  the  government  at  Peking, 
but  they  were  steadily  rebuffed  and  were  only  able  to  establish 
the  commercial  relations  which  they  sought  by  an  armed  con- 
flict in  1840,  known  as  the  "Opium  War."  The  Chinese  had 
attempted  to  prevent  all  traffic  in  this  drug,  but  the  English 
found  it  so  profitable  that  they  were  unwilling  to  give  up  the 
trade.  When,  in  1839,  the  Chinese  government  seized  many 
thousand  chests  of  opium  and  informed  the  British  that  the 
traffic  would  have  to  stop,  war  broke  out. 

The  British,  of  course,  with  their  modern  implements  of  war-  The  opening 
fare,  were  speedily  victorious,  and  the  Chinese  were  forced  to  ports 
agree,  in  the  Treaty  of  Nanking,  to  pay  a  heavy  indemnity,  to 


602 


Outlines  of  European  History 


cede  to  the  British  the  island  of  Hongkong,  which  lies  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Canton  River,  and  to  open  to  foreign  commerce 
the  ports  of  Amoy,  Foochow,  Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  on  the 
same  terms  as  Canton.  The  United  States,  taking  advan- 
tage of  this  war,  secured  similar  commercial  privileges  in  1844. 


r\ 


i-:&  ^^^^/>s^.^ 


Fig.  144..  The  Great  Wall  of  China  at  the  Nankow  Pass 

This  great  wall,  15  to  30  feet  high  and  15  to  25  feet  broad,  extends  for 
1400  miles  along  the  northern  borders  of  China.  Part  of  it  was  built  in 
the  third  century  B.C.,  part  in  the  fourteenth  century  A.D.,  as  a  barrier 
to  the  Tartar  tribes.  The  civilization  of  China  is  very  old  and  the 
Chinese  have  been  proudly  disdainful  of  Western  ways  and  inventions 
until  recently,  when  nations  supplied  with  these  inventions  have  been 
threatening  the  very  independence  of  China 


From  the  Opium  War  to  the  present  date  China  has  been 

Napoleon  III,  supported  by  the 
English,  waged  war  on  China  in  1858  and  forced  the  emperor 


The  French 

Tn  China^^       troubled  with  foreign  invasions. 


*  The  picture  opposite  shows  how  the  thrifty  Chinese  have  terraced 
the  hills  so  that  not  a  drop  of  water  is  wasted  nor  a  foot  of  the  fertile 
ground  left  uncultivated. 


Fig.   i4n.     Cili-Mi:^^    CuuLii^-,    HAULING   A    BoAT  * 


The  Expajtsio7i  of  Ewvpe  603 

to  open  new  ports  to  European  trade,  including  Tientsin, 
which  was  dangerously  near  the  imperial  city  of  Peking.  Re- 
cently China  has  been  thrown  open  to  the  foreign  merchants 
to  a  very  great  extent,  and  the  "  concessions  "  demanded  by 
the  great  powers  have  caused  some  fear  that  the  whole  country 
might  be  divided  among  them.^ 


Section  102.    Japan  becomes  a  World  Power; 
Intervention  in  China 

To  the  northeast  of  China  lies  a  long  group  of  islands  which,  The  extraor- 
if  they  lay  off  the  eastern  coast  of  North  America,  would  ex-  of'Ta'^an^*'''^ 
tend  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  This  archipelago,  comprising 
four  main  islands  and  some  four  thousand  smaller  ones,  is  the 
center  of  the  Japanese  Empire.  Fifty  years  ago  Japan  was  still 
almost  completely  isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  but  now, 
through  a  series  of  extraordinary  events,  she  has  become  one 
of  the  conspicuous  members  of  the  family  of  nations.  American 
newspapers  deal  as  fully  with  her  foreign  policy  as  with  that  of 
France  or  Germany ;  we  are  familiar  with  the  portraits  of  her 
statesmen  and  warriors,  and  her  exquisite  art  has  many  enthusi- 
astic admirers  in  England  and  America.  Her  people,  who  are 
somewhat  more  numerous  than  the  inhabitants  of  the  British 
Isles,  resemble  the  Chinese  in  appearance  and  owe  to  China 
the  beginnings  of  their  culture  and  their  art,  for  it  was  Buddhist 
missionaries  from  Korea  who,  in  the  sixth  century,  first  aroused 
Japan  from  its  previous  barbarism. 

Little  is  known  of  the  early  Mikados  (emperors)  of  Japan,   The  feudal 
and  during  the  twelfth  century  the  shogiui^  or  commander  in  japSi 
chief  of  the  empire,  was  able  to  bring  the  sovereign  powers 

*  The  picture  opposite  gives  an  example  of  cheap  Chinese  labor. 
Each  coolie  received  one  fourteenth  of  one  cent  for  hauling  the  ship 
up  the  rapids.  Now  the  rocks  have  been  cleared  away  by  dynamite, 
and  steamboats  have  displaced  the  coolies.    See  below,  p.  612. 

1  See  below,  p.  6io. 


6o4 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


into  his  own  hands  (somewhat  as  the  mayor  of  the  palace 
had  done  in  the  Frankigh  kingdom),  while  the  emperor  began 
to  live  in  retirement  in  his  capital  of  Kyoto.  Conditions  in 
Japan  resembled  those  in  western  Europe  during  the  same 
period.  Scattered  about  the  country  were  the  castles  of 
powerful  feudal  lords  (the  daimios),  who  continued,  until  the 


"^>    ^  \  SI  «i   ^^\  ^^ 


Fig.  147.   Japanese  Feudal  Castle 

Contrast  this  stronghold  of  feudal  days  in  Japan  with  the  grim  castles 

of  Europe   in   the   Middle   Ages.    Rival   parties  among  the  Japanese 

nobles  now  contend  only  in  parliament 


Brief  period 
of  intercourse 
with  Euro- 
peans in  the 
late  sixteenth 
and  early 
seventeenth 
centuries 


nineteenth  century,  to  enjoy  powers  similar  to  the  vassals  of 
the  medieval  European  kings. 

Rumors  of  the  existence  of  Japan  reached  Europe  through 
the  Venetian  traveler,  Marco  Polo,  at  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  but  the  Portuguese  navigator  Pinto  appears  to  have 
been  the  first  European  to  reach  Japan,  in  the  year  1542. 
Some  years  later  the  great  Jesuit  missionary,  Francis  Xavier, 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  605 

accompanied  by  some  Japanese  who  had  been  converted  to 
Christianity  at  Goa,  made  the  first  attempt  to  preach  the 
Christian  faith  in  the  island.  Spanish  missionaries  from 
Manila  carried  on  the  work,  and  it  is  reported  that  within 
thirty  years  two  hundred  Christian  churches  had  been  erected 
and  fifty  thousand  converts  made. 

The  arrogance  of  the  bishops,  however,  led  the  Japanese  Persecution 
government  to  issue  an  edict,  in  1586,  forbidding  the  Japanese  mis^kJi^rfe" 
to  accept  Christianity,  and  ten  years  later  some  twenty  thou-  and  expulsion 

^  .  -'of  foreigners 

sand  converts  are  said  to  have  been  put  to  death.  For  a  time 
the  shoguns  favored  the  few  Dutch  and  English  merchants 
who  came  to  their  shores  and  permitted  factories  to  be  opened 
at  Yedo  and  elsewhere,  but  the  quarrels  between  the  Dutch 
and  English  and  the  constant  drain  of  silver  paid  out  for 
foreign  merchandise  led  the  Japanese  to  impose  restrictions 
on  foreigners,  so  that  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV  all  of  them 
had  departed,  except  a  few  Dutch  on  the  island  of  Deshima. 
From  that  time  on,  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  Japan 
remained  a  nation  apart,  with  practically  no  intercourse  with 
foreigners. 

In   1853  Commodore  Perry  visited  Yokohama  with  a  mes-   Commodore 
sage  from  the  United  States  government  to  the  ''  Sovereign  negotiations 
of  Japan,"  asking  that  arrangements  be  made  to  protect  the  ^^^"^  '^^. 
property  and  persons  of  Americans  wrecked  on  the  coasts,  and    1S53 
that  the  right  be  extended  to  Americans  to  dispose  of  their 
cargoes  at  one  or  more  ports.^     Supposing  that  the  shogun 
was  the  ruler  of  Japan,  Commodore  Perry  presented  his  de- 
mands to  him.     These  led  to  a  long  and  earnest  discussion 
in  the  shogun's  council,  as  to  whether  foreigners  should  be 
admitted  or  not,  but  their  demands  were  finally  conceded,  and 
two  ports  were  opened  to  American  and  English  ships. 

Within  the  next  few  years  several  of  the  European  powers   Foreigners 
had  arranged  to  trade  at  three  or  four  of  the  ports  (Hakodate,   the  name  of 
Yokohama,   Nagasaki,   and   a  little  later  at   Kobe).    Attacks,   the  Mikado 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  424  ff. 


6o6 


Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 


however,  were  made  upon  foreigners  in  the  name  of  the 
emperor,  who  disapproved  the  shogun's  action.  An  English- 
man by  the  name  of  Richardson  was  killed  in  1862,  on  the 
great  highroad  between  Yedo  and  Kyoto,  by  the  retainers 
of  the  powerful  daimio  of  Satsuma,  whereupon  the  English 
bombarded  Kagoshima,  the  stronghold  of  the  Satsuma  clan. 

This  produced  an 
extraordinary  change 
of  heart  in  this  lead- 
ing clan,  one  of  the 
most  powerful  in 
Japan,  for  it  saw  that 
the  foreigners  were 
much  more  powerful 
than  the  Japanese, 
and  that  Japan  would 
suffer  as  China  had 
done  unless  she  ac- 
quainted herself  with 
foreign  science  and 
i||ri ,. .  .  ^ «  I  ^ .  « ^ ,  SI  H  .    .     '  „„      inventions.  The  next 

IIl  'J.      y^^^    English    ships 

bombarded    another 
port    (Shimonoseki), 
on    account    of    the 
refusal  of  its  feudal 
ruler  to  permit  them 
to  pass  freely  through 
the  Inland  Sea.    This  produced  an  effect  similar  to  the  bom- 
bardment of  Kagoshima,  and  public  opinion  in  Japan  gradually 
changed  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  foreigners. 

In  1867  the  late  Mikado,  Mutsuhito  (d.  19 12),  then  fifteen 
years  of  age,  ascended  the  throne.  In  March  of  the  next  year, 
he  invited  Sir  Harry  Parkes,  a  representative  of  Great  Britain, 
as  well  as  the  representatives  of  France  and  the  Netherlands, 


Fig.  1 48.   Japanese  Warriors 

The  men  who  led  the  Japanese  armies  in 

the  great  war  with  Russia  had  learned,  as 

boys,  to  fight  in  armor  with  sword  and  spear, 

like  these  warriors 


6o7 


6o8 


Ontlmes  of  European  History 


The  Mikado 
orders  his 
people  to 
cease  mal- 
treating 
Europeans, 
1868 


Revolution 
in  Japan. 
Disappear- 
ance of  the 
shogunate 
and  of 
feudalism 


The  Indus- 
trial Revolu- 
tion in  Japan 


to  Kyoto.  He  was  deeply  chagrined  by  an  attack  made  upon 
the  retinue  of  Sir  Harry  Parkes  and  publicly  declared  that  any 
one  who  committed  any  deed  of  violence  toward  foreigners 
would  be  acting  in  opposition  to  his  Majesty's  express  orders. 
With  this  episode  the  period  of  resistance  to  the  foreigners, 
their  trade  and  their  religion,  may  be  said  to  have  closed. 

Meanwhile  a  great  revolution  was  taking  place  in  Japan ; 
the  power  of  the  shogun  was  rapidly  declining,  and  in  October, 
1867,  he  was  forced  to  resign  his  office.  This  left  the  Mikado 
not  only  the  nominal  but  the  real  ruler  of  Japan.  He  emerged 
from  his  ancient  seclusion  in  the  sacred  city  of  Kyoto,  and 
removed  the  capital  to  Yedo,  which  was  given  the  new  name 
of  Tokyo,  or  '^  northern  capital."  The  feudal  princes,  who  had, 
in  general,  sided  with  the  Mikado  against  the  shogun,  now 
agreed  peacefully  to  surrender  their  titles  and  prerogatives  in 
the  interests  of  their  country,  and  in  July,  187 1,  feudalism  was 
formally  abolished  throughout  the  empire.  Serfdom  was  also 
done  away  with  and  —  a  fact  of  great  importance  —  the  army 
and  navy  were  reformed  in  accordance  with  Western  models. 

Since  that  date  the  modernizing  of  Japan  has  progressed 
with  incredible  rapidity.  Although  the  Japanese  still  continue 
to  carry  on  their  ancient  industries,  kneeling  on  their  straw 
mats,  with  a  few  simple  implements  and  no  machinery.  Western 
industries  have  been  introduced  side  by  side  with  the  older 
arts.  Students  were  sent  abroad  to  investigate  the  most  recent 
achievements  in  science,  a  university  was  established  at  Tokyo, 
and  the  system  of  education  completely  revolutionized.  There 
was  not  a  steam  mill  in  the  islands  when  Commodore  Perry 
cast  anchor  there;  now  there  are  about  a  hundred  great  cotton 
factories,  with  over  two  million  spindles.  Since  the  railroad 
between  Tokyo  and  the  neighboring  port  of  Yokohama  was 
opened  in  1872,  several  thousand  miles  of  railways  have  been 
constructed,  and  the  Japanese,  who  are  very  fond  of  travel,  can 
go  readily  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  their  archipelago. 
Great  towns  have  sprung  up.     Tokyo  has  over  two  million 


tional  gov- 
ernment es- 
tablished 
in  Japan, 
i8qo 


The  Expansio7i  of  Europe  609 

inhabitants,  and  the  manufacturing  city  of  Osaka  more  than 
a  million.  The  total  population  of  the  islands  is  now  about 
fifty-four  millions,  more  than  one  half  that  of  the  United  States, 
but  crowded  into  an  area  of  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand square  miles. 

With  this  progress  came  inevitably  a  demand  for  representative  Constitu- 
government,  and  as  early  as  1877  petitions  for  a  constitution  were 
laid  before  the  emperor.  Four  years  later  he  announced  that 
a  parliament  would  be  established  in  1890,  and  a  commission 
was  sent  to  Europe  to  study  constitutional  government  there. 
In  1889  a  constitution  was  completed  which  vested  the  powers 
of  government  in  the  Mikado  and  a  parliament  of  two  houses.-^ 


Section   103.    War  between  Japan  and  China  and 
ITS  Results 

After  carrying  out   the  various  reforms   mentioned   above,   japan  seeks 
Japan  found  herself  confronted,  like  the  Western  nations,  with  for  her^ 
the  necessity  of  extending  her  trade  and  securing  foreign  mar-  Products 
kets.    Her  merchants  and  her  ships  became  the  rivals  of  the 
Europeans  in  the  neighboring  seas,  where  her  commerce  has 
increased  far  more  rapidly  than  that  of  the  W^estern  nations. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  Sea  of  Japan  lies  Korea,  a  land   The  Chino- 
which  has  become  well  known  throughout  the  world  on  account   war'cTver 
of  the  two  bloody  wars  to  which  the  question  of  its  possession   J^^^^^^'g 
has  given  rise.    For  a  long  time  China  and  Japan  were  rival 
claimants  to  the  Korean  kingdom.   When  Japanese  trade  devel- 
oped, the  question  of  control  in  Korea  became  an  important 
one,  and  in  1894  it  led  to  war  between  the  two  countries.    But 
the  Chinese,  with  their  ancient  weapons  and  organization,  were  no 
match  for  the  Japanese,  who  had  eagerly  adopted  every  device 
of  Western  warfare,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Chinese  armies 
had  been  driven  from  Korea  and  the  campaign  was  transferred 

1  For  extracts,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  431  ff. 


6io 


Outlines  of  Europe  an  History 


Russia, 
France,  and 
Germany 
drive  Japan 
from  the 
mainland 


Russia  there- 
upon gains 
valuable  con- 
cessions in 
China 


to  the  neighboring  Manchuria,  where  the  Japanese  took  Port 
Arthur.  China  then  called  upon  the  Western  powers  for  assist- 
ance, but  they  did  not  take  action  until  Japan,  in  the  Treaty 
of  Shimonoseki,  had  forced  China's  representative,  Li  Hung 
Chang,  to  recognize  the  complete  independence  of  Korea 
(which  practically  meant  opening  it  up  to  the  Japanese)  and  to 
cede  to  Japan  Port  Arthur,  the  Liaotung  peninsula  on  which 
it  lies,  and  the  island  of  Formosa. 

Russia,  France,  and  Germany  had  watched  the  course  of 
events  with  jealous  eyes,  and  now  intervened  to  prevent  Japan 
from  securing  a  foothold  on  the  mainland.  Russia  was  the  real 
leader  in  this  intervention,  for  she  coveted  just  the  region  which 
had  been  ceded  to  Japan,  Japan  was  exhausted  by  the  war 
with  China  and  at  that  time  had  no  adequate  navy.  Therefore 
the  Mikado,  at  the  demand  of  the  three  powers,  withdrew  from 
Manchuria. 

The  result  of  this  compromise  was  to  throw  China  into  the 
arms  of  Russia,  which  proceeded  to  take  every  advantage  of 
the  situation.  China  had  been  forced  to  pay  a  heavy  indemnity 
to  Japan  in  order  to  get  the  Liaotung  peninsula  back  agam  ; 
and  when  the  Chinese  government  attempted  to  borrow  a  large 
sum  from  England  to  meet  this  obligation,  Russia  interfered 
and  herself  loaned  China  eighty  million  dollars  without  security. 
In  this  way  China  became  dependent  upon  her  as  a  creditor. 
The  Russians  were  permitted  by  the  Chinese  emperor  to  build 
their  great  Trans-Siberian  railroad  across  his  territoiy,  which 
would  enable  them  to  reach  Vladivostok  by  a  direct  line  from 
Irkutsk.  Moreover,  in  order  to  guard  the  railway  line,  Russian 
soldiers  were  to  be  introduced  freely  into  Manchuria.  It  is 
clear  that  these  arrangements  gave  Russia  a  great  advantage 
over  the  other  European  powers,  since  she  controlled  the 
Chinese  government  through  its  debt  and  occupied  Manchuria 
with  her  soldiers. 

Meanwhile  the  Germans  found  an  excuse  for  strengthening 
themselves  in  the  same  region.    A  German  missionary  having 


THE  MATTHEWS-NORTHRUP  WORKS 


Longitude    50°      East 


tT<>*. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  6 1 1 

been  murdered  in  the  province  of  Shantung,  which  lies  opposite  Germany 


seizes  terri- 
tory in  the 


Korea,  a  German  squadron  appeared  in  Kiaochow  Bay,  in  No- 
vember, 1897,  landed  a  force  of  marines,  and  raised  the  Ger-  Shantung 
man  flag.  As  a  compensation  for  the  murder  of  the  missionary, 
Germany  demanded  a  long  lease  of  Kiaochow,  with  the  right  to 
build  railways  in  the  region  and  work  mines.  Upon  acquiring 
Kiaochow  the  Germans  built  harbors,  constructed  forts,  military 
barracks,  machine  shops,  etc.  In  short,  a  model  German  town 
was  constructed  on  the  Chinese  coast,  which,  with  its  defenses, 
constituted  a  fine  base  for  further  extension  of  Germany's 
sphere  of  influence. 

At  first  the  Tsar  hoped  to  balk  the  plans  of  Germany,  but  Russia 
decided,  instead,  to  secure  additional  advantages  for  himself.  Arthur 
Accordingly  Port  Arthur  and  the  waters  adjacent  to  the  Liao- 
tung  peninsula,  upon  which  it  lies,  were  leased  by  China  to 
Russia,  in  March,  1898,  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years,  sub- 
ject to  renewal  by  mutual  consent.  Port  Arthur  was  to  be 
open  only  to  Chinese  and  Russian  vessels,  and  Russia  immedi- 
ately began  to  build  fortifications  which  were  believed  to  render 
the  town  impregnable.  A  railway  was  constructed  to  Harbin,^ 
connecting  Port  Arthur  with  Vladivostok  and  the  Trans-Siberian 
railway.  This  at  last  gave  Russia  a  port  on  the  Pacific  which, 
unlike  Vladivostok,  was  free  from  ice  the  year  round. 

Great  Britain,  learning  of  the  negotiations,  sent  a  fleet  north-  The  British 
ward  from  Hongkong  to  the  Gulf  of  Chihli  (or  Pechili),  and   hTiwei  and 
induced  China  to  lease  to  her  Weihaiwei,  which  lay  just  be-  ^^g"  ^'^^f  ^ni 
tween  the  recent  acquisitions  of  Germany  and  Russia.   England,   ance  with 

Japan 

moreover,  believed  it  to  be  for  her  interest  to  be  on  good  terms 
with  Japan,  and  in  1902  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
was  concluded  between  the  two  powers,  binding  each  to  as- 
sist the  other  in  case  a  third  party  joined  in  a  conflict  in 
which  either  was  involved.  For  example,  under  the  provisions, 
England  had  to  aid  Japan  in  a  war  with  Russia,  should  France 
or  Germany  intervene*. 

1  See  picture  of  Harbin,  p.  564. 


6l2 


Outlines  of  Eiiropean  History 


Section  104.    Changes  in  China;  the  Boxer  Rising 

The  foreigners  were  by  no  means  content  with  establishing 
trading  posts  in  China ;  they  longed  to  develop  the  neglected 
natural  resources  of  the  empire,  to  open  up  communication  by 
railroads  and  steamships,  and  to  Westernize  the  Orientals,  in 
order  that  business  might  be  carried  on  more  easily  with  them 
and  new  opportunities  be  found  .for  profitable  investments. 

The  first  railroad  in  China  was  built  by  British  promoters  in 
1876,  from  Shanghai  to  a  point  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  north 
of  that  city.  The  Chinese,  however,  were  horrified  by  this  in- 
novation, which  they  felt  to  be  a  desecration  of  the  graves  of 
their  ancestors.  Yielding  to  popular  prejudice  the  government 
purchased  the  railroad,  only  to  destroy  it  and  throw  the  locomo- 
tives into  the  river.  Nevertheless,  five  years  later,  the  Chinese 
themselves,  with  the  aid  of  British  capital,  began  the  construc- 
tion of  an  imperial  railroad  system,  and  in  1895  other  foreigners 
besides  the  Russians  were  once  more  permitted  to  undertake 
the  construction  of  railway  lines,  and  there  are  now  several 
thousand  miles  of  road  open  for  traffic.  The  French  and  Ger- 
mans are  also  interested  in  opening  up  the  regions  within  their 
spheres  of  influence,  and  the  British  are  planning  to  push  into 
the  interior  of  China  a  line  running  northward  from  Rangoon 
through  Mandalay.  Thousands  of  miles  of  railway  are  now 
projected,  one  of  the  most  important  running  south  from 
Peking,  through  Hankow  to  Canton,  thus  for  the  first  time 
linking  north  China  with  the  south,  which  is  quite  different 
in  many  ways.  The  result  will  be  to  help  unify  the  Chinese 
and  develop  a  stronger  nationality.  Doubdess  within  half  a 
century  China  will  be  covered  with  a  network  of  lines  which 
cannot  fail  to  do  much  to  revolutionize  her  ancient  habits  and 
civilization. 

In  1898  the  internal  waterways  of  China  were  opened  to 
foreign  ships.  Several  lines  of  well-equipped  steamships  now 
ply  on  the  Canton  River  and  follow  the  waters  of  the  Yangtze 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  613 

River  for  a  thousand  miles  inland.  Many  thousand  miles  of 
telegraph  lines  are  in  operation,  affording  overland  connection 
with  Europe,  while  wireless  stations  have  been  planted  even 
in  the  inland  cities.  The  post  office,  organized  in  1897,  has 
branches  throughout  the  country. 

It  was  inevitable  that  intercourse  with  European  nations  China  begins 
should  affect  the  whole  policy  and  ideals  of  the  Chinese  govern-  onSSrmT^* 
ment.  In  1889  a  decree  was  issued  establishing  an  annual 
audience  in  which  the  emperor  might  show  his  "  desire  to  treat 
with  honor  all  the  foreign  ministers  resident  in  Peking."  A 
few  years  later  the  cumbersome  ancient  ceremonial  was  abolished, 
and  foreigners  were  received  in  a  manner  which  indicated  the 
recognition  of  their  equality  with  Chinese  of  the  same  rank. 
In  1898,  when  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  visited  Peking,  he 
was  cordially  greeted  by  the  emperor,  who  shook  hands  with 
him  in  Western  fashion  and  conversed  with  him  on  a  familiar 
footing. 

In  the  same  year  a  series  of  decrees  was  issued  with  the 
object  of  reforming  the  army  on  models  offered  by  those  nations 
that  had  given  so  many  proofs  of  their  military  superiority. 
New  schools  and  colleges  were  planned  with  a  view  of  starting 
the  country  on  the  road  to  progress.  Chinese  students  were 
sent  to  Europe  to  study  foreign  methods  of  government, 
agricultural  schools  were  built,  patent  and  copyright  laws  were 
introduced,  and  a  department  of  mines  and  railroads  was 
established,  in  order  that  China  might  no  longer  be  obliged  to 
leave  these  matters  entirely  in  the  hands  of  foreigners.  Jour- 
nalists were  even  encouraged  to  write  on  political  questions. 

These  abrupt  reforms  aroused  the  superstitious  horror  of   The  conserv- 
the  conservative  party.    They  found  a  sympathetic  leader  in  the  Jeforms^ir^^ 
Dowager  Empress,  who  had  been  regent  during  the  early  years   ^^^"^ 
of  the  emperor's  reign.    She  succeeded  in  regaining  her  influ- 
ence and  in  putting  an  end,  for  the  time  being,  to  the  distasteful 
reforms.    The  Europeans,  both  missionaries  and  business  men, 
nevertheless  continued  their  activities,  and   the   conservatives 


6i4 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  powers 
intervene  and 
settle  affairs 
in  China 


believed  it  necessary,  therefore,  to  organize  a  great  movement 
to  drive  out  the  ''  foreign  devils,"  who  had  been,  in  their  eyes, 
steadily  undermining  the  ancient  traditions  of  China. 

Among  those  hostile  to  the  foreigner  none  were  more  con- 
spicuous than  the  secret  society  of  the  "  Boxers,"  or,  as  they 
appear  to  have  called  themselves,  the  ''  Order  of  the  Patriotic 
Harmonious  Fists."  They  were  quite  willing  to  cooperate  with 
the  Dowager  Empress  in  carrying  out  her  designs  against 
foreign  influence.  They  proclaimed  that  the  Western  nations 
were  ''  lacerating  China  like  tigers " ;  and  summoned  every 
patriotic  Chinaman  to  rise  in  defense  of  his  country. 

The  party  in  favor  of  meeting  the  ''  Christian  Peril "  by 
violence  rapidly  increased.  The  Boxers,  who  were  arming  and 
drilling,  knew  very  well  that  neither  the  Chinese  officials  nor 
the  imperial  troops  would  interfere  with  them.  Missionaries 
and  traders  were  murdered  in  the  provinces,  and  although  the 
government  at  Peking  always  declared  that  it  was  doing  all  it 
could  to  suppress  disorder,  the  representatives  of  foreign  nations 
in  the  capital  became  thoroughly  alarmed.  On  June  20,  1900, 
the  Boxers,  supported  by  the  troops,  killed  the  German  ambas- 
sador. Baron  von  Ketteler,  while  on  his  way  to  the  palace  to 
expostulate  with  the  government.  The  Europeans  were  then 
besieged  in  the  several  legations  and  in  the  Catholic  cathedral, 
but,  for  some  reason  which  is  not  clear,  the  Chinese  did  not 
murder  them  all,  as  they  might  easily  have  done. 

The  powers  determined  upon  immediate  intervention,  and 
in  August  a  relief  expedition,  made  up  of  Japanese,  Russian, 
British,  American,  French,  and  German  troops,  fought  its  way 
from  Tientsin  to  Peking,  and  brought  relief  to  the  imprisoned 
foreigners.  The  Chinese  court  left  Peking,  and  the  royal  palace 
was  desecrated  and  pillaged  by  the  European  troops,  whose 
scandalous  conduct  disgraced  the  Western  world.  Negotiations 
were  now  opened,  and  the  aged  Li  Hung  Chang  rendered  his 
last  services  by  concluding  an  agreement  in  which  China  made 
certain  reparations,  including  the  payment  of  an  indemnity  of 


The  Expmision  of  Europe  615 

three    hundred   and   twenty   million   dollars,   and   promised   to 
repress  all  anti-foreign  societies.-^ 

Although  the  Dowager  Empress  still  retained  her  power,  the  The  Chinese 
work  of  reform  was  again  undertaken.  The  work  of  reorganiz-  mentTenewed 
ing  the  army  was  renewed,  and  students  were  again  sent  abroad 
in  large  numbers  to  investigate  Western  methods  of  industry 
and  government.  By  one  of  the  most  m.omentous  decrees  in 
the  intellectual  history  of  the  world,  the  ancient  classical  system 
of  education,  which  had  for  centuries  been  deemed  an  essential 
preparation  for  public  office,  was  abolished  in  1905.^  Students 
preparing  for  the  government  service  are  no  longer  examined 
upon  Confucius  and  asked  to  write  essays  on  such  subjects  as 
^'  How  the  moonlight  sleeps  on  the  lake " ;  for  the  new  ex- 
amination questions  deal  with  the  history  of  the  West,  with 
Metternich  and  Bismarck,  and  w4th  such  grave  questions  as  the 
relation  of  capital  to  labor  and  the  methods  of  stimulating 
modern  industry.  Even  the  Dowager  Empress  was  obliged  to 
yield  to  the  progressive  party,  and  in  September,  1906,  she 
went  so  far  as  to  announce  that  China  should  prepare  herself 
for  the  introduction  of  representative  government  and  of  a 
parliament.^ 

Section  105.    The  Russo-Japanese  War;  the 
Revolution  in  China 

Scarcely  had    the  troubles  due   to    the   Boxer  rising   been   Russo-jap- 
ad justed  when  a  new  war.  cloud  appeared  in  the  East.    The  fn  KorTa^a^d 
interest  of  Japan  in  findins:  markets  has  already  been  mentioned.    Manchuria 

■'       '  leads  to  war, 

The  occupation  of  Manchuria  and  Port  Arthur  by  the  Russians   February, 
seriously  threatened  Japanese  extension  in  that  direction  ;  and 
when   Russia  secured   from   Korea  a   lumber  cession   in   the 

■^  For  an  account  of  the  Boxer  rising,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  436  ff.  The 
United  States  returned  its  share  of  the  indemnity,  and  China,  in  gratitude,  is 
spending  it  to  educate  students  in  America. 

2  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  441  ff. 

3  For  the  revolution  of  1911-1912  in  China,  see  below,  p.  618. 


1904 


6i6 


Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 


Yalu  valley  and  sent  Cossacks  to  build  forts  in  that  region, 
Japan,  which  regarded  Korea  as  lying  within  her  sphere  of 
influence,  could  hardly  fail  to  protest.  Russia  had  agreed 
repeatedly  to  withdraw  from  Manchuria,  but  had  always  failed 
to  keep  her  promises  when  the  time  came.  She  had,  moreover, 
guaranteed  the  integrity  of  Korea,  upon  whose  territory  she 
was  now  encroaching.  Accordingly,  the  Japanese,  determined 
to  have  Korea  for  themselves,  after  spending  some  months  in 
futile  negotiations  with  the  Tsar's  government,  broke  off  diplo- 
matic relations  on  February  5,  1904,  and  opened  hostilities 
with  Russia. 

Japan  was  well  prepared  for  war  and  was,  moreover,  within 
easy  reach  of  the  field  of  conflict.  The  Russian  government, 
on  the  contrary,  was  rotten  to  the  core  and  was  already 
engaged  in  a  terrible  struggle  with  the  Russian  nation.^  The 
eastern  boundary  of  European  Russia  lay  three  thousand  miles 
from  Port  Arthur  and  the  Yalu  River,  and  the  only  means  of 
communication  was  the  single  line  of  badly  constructed  railroad 
that  stretched  across  Siberia  to  the  Pacific. 

Three  days  after  the  war  opened  the  Japanese  fleet  surprised 
the  Russian  battleships  lying  off  Port  Arthur,  sank  four  of 
them,  and  drove  the  rest  into  the  harbor,  where  they  succeeded, 
in  the  main,  in  keeping  them  "  bottled  up."  A  second  fleet 
which  had  been  stationed  at  Vladivostok  was  defeated  early  in 
May,  thus  giving  Japan  control  of  the  seas.  At  the  same  time 
the  Russians  were  driven  back  from  the  Yalu,  and  the  Japa- 
nese under  General  Oku  landed  on  the  Liaotung  peninsula,  cut 
off  Port  Arthur  from  communication  with  Russia,  and  captured 
the  town  of  Dalny,  which  they  made  their  naval  headquarters. 
General  Oku  then  began  pushing  the  Russians  northward 
toward  Mukden,  while  General  Nogi  was  left  to  besiege  Port 
Arthur.  For  months  the  world  watched  in  suspense  the  heroic 
attacks  which  the  Japanese,  at  deadly  cost  to  themselves,  made 
upon  the  Russian  fortress.  Meanwhile  fighting  continued  to 
1  See  above,  pp.  568  ff. 


The  Expaiision  of  Europe  6 1 7 

the  north  along  the  line  of  the  railroad.  In  October  the  Japa- 
nese were  victorious  in  a  fearful  battle  which  raged  south  of 
Mukden  for  days,  thus  putting  an  end  to  General  Kuropatkin's 
designs  for  relieving  Port  Arthur.  As  winter  came  on,  the 
Japanese  redoubled  their  efforts  and  the  fortress  at  last  sur- 
rendered, on  January  i,  1905,  after  a  siege  of  seven  months, 
the  horrors  of  which  were  then  perhaps  without  a  parallel. 

The  conduct  of  the  war  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  affords   Mukden 
one  of  the  most  extraordinary  examples  on  record  of  military   the7apanese 
organization  and  efficiency.    By  means  of  an  ingenious  system   March,  1905 
of  telephones  they  kept  every  division  of  the  army  in  direct 
communication  with    the    war   office    in    Tokyo,   and    by  the 
strictest  discipline  they  checked  disease  and  contagion  in  the 
hospitals.    The  Russian  sanitary  service  was  also  of  high  order, 
as   compared  with  previous  wars.    Late  in  February  fighting 
again    began,   and    for    three    weeks    the    Russians    struggled 
against  the  combined  Japanese  armies ;  but  on  March  9  they 
deserted  Mukden  and  moved  northward,  after  forty  thousand 
of  them  had  been  killed  and  over  a  hundred  thousand  wounded. 

On  learning  of  the  destruction  of  the  fleets  in  the  Pacific  the   Togo  de- 
Russian  government  determined  to  dispatch  its  Baltic  squadron   Ru^skn  fleet 
to  the  Orient.    After  some  strange  adventures,  which  aroused   '"  S^  Straits 

°  of  Korea, 

both  the  amusement  and  the  disgust  of  those  who  were  follow-  May  27, 1905 
ing  the  war,^  the  fleet  arrived  in  May  in  the  Straits  of  Korea, 
where  Admiral  Togo  was  waiting  for  it.  In  a  few  hours  he 
sank  twenty-two  of  the  Russian  vessels  and  captured  six.  The 
Tsar's  fleet  was  practically  annihilated,  with  terrible  loss  of  life, 
while  the  Japanese  came  out  of  the  conflict  almost  unscathed.^ 
Lest  the  war  should  drag  on  indefinitely,  President  Roosevelt, 
acting  under  the  provisions  of  the  Hague  Convention,^  took 

1  As  the  squadron  was  passing  through  the  North  Sea  the  Russians  fired 
upon  a  fishing  fleet  off  Dogger  Bank,  and  alleged  later  that  they  mistook  the 
poor  fishermen  for  Japanese.  This  is  but  one  of  numerous  examples  of  the 
incompetence  which  was  shown  by  the  Russians  throughout  the  war. 

2  For  Admiral  Togo's  account  of  the  battle,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  445  f. 

3  See  below,  p,  683. 


6i8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


measures  which  brought  about  a  peace.  After  consulting  the 
representatives  of  Japan  and  Russia  at  Washington  and  ascer- 
taining the  attitude  of  the  neutral  powers,  he  dispatched  notes 
to  the  Tsar  and  Mikado,  urging  them  to  open  negotiations.^ 
This  invitation  was  accepted,  and  on  August  9  the  first  session 
of  the  conference  was  held  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 
On  September  5  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth  was  signed.  This 
recognized  the  Japanese  influence  as  paramount  in  Korea, 
which,  however,  was  to  remain  independent.^  Both  the  Japa- 
nese and  Russians  were  to  evacuate  Manchuria ;  the  Japanese 
were,  however,  given  the  rights  in  the  Liaotung  peninsula  and 
Port  Arthur  which  Russia  had  formerly  enjoyed.  Lastly,  the 
southern  part  of  the  Russian  island  of  Sakhalin  was  ceded 
to  Japan. 

Thus  this  great  conflict  produced  by  the  friction  of  the 
powers  in  the  East  was  brought  to  an  end,  but  the  wealth  of 
China  and  the  fact  that  it  has  not  yet  organized  a  strong  army 
or  navy  leave  it  as  attempting  prize  for  further  aggression. 
Nevertheless,  China  has  been  changing  as  rapidly  during  the 
last  five  years  as  Japan  ever  did.  Students  of  Western  coun- 
tries returning  home  determined  to  overthrow  the  Manchu  (or 
Manchurian)  dynasty,  which  had  ruled  for  two  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  years,  and  their  corrupt  officials.  After  a  heroic  and 
bloody  struggle  they  forced  the  court,  on  February  12,  191 2, 
to  declare  the  abdication  of  the  boy-emperor  then  on  the  throne 
and  the  creation  of  a  republic.  But  the  emperor's  prime  minis- 
ter, Yuan  Shih-kai,  skillfully  had  himself  granted  full  power  to 
establish  the  republic  which  the  revolutionists  had"  won.  In  this 
way  he  prevented  the  ardent  republicans,  who  had  done  the 


1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  p.  447, 

2  The  Japanese  have  not  left  Korea  independent.  They  immediately  took 
control  of  the  administration,  and  in  the  summer  of  1907  forced  the  Korean  em- 
peror most  unwillingly  to  abdicate.  Finally,  by  the  treaty  of  August  23,  1910, 
Korea  was  annexed  to  the  Japanese  empire  and  named  "  Chosen."  There  are 
now  many  thousand  Japanese  colonists  in  it,  and  the  country,  which  was  very 
backward,  is  being  rapidly  developed. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  619 

fighting,  from  carrying  out  their  program  of  immediate  reform.   President 
Instead,  he  secretly  thwarted  their  plans,  and  when  he  had  a  kai^attempts 
sufficient  pretext  he  lessened  the  powers  of  the  new  Chinese   buf^^iilf"^^' 
parliament  so  that  it  was  unable  to  oppose  his  will.     Having  become 
thus  prepared  the  way  for  a  coup  d^etat^  he  announced  in  the 
autumn  of  19 14  that  he  would  assume  the  title  of  "  Emperor 
of  China."   The  protest  of  Japan,  and  possibly  of  other  powers, 


^-\. 


Fig.  150.    Yuan  Shih-kai 

against  this  move  led  him  to  postpone  the  actual  assumption  of 
the  crown ;  for  Japan  feared  that  with  a  strong  emperor  China 
might  defend  itself  successfully,  and  even  become  a  dangerous 
rival.  Then  the  republicans  revolted,  and  Yuan  Shih-kai  finally, 
March,  19 16,  fearing  to  lose  all,  declared  that  he  would  never 
accept  the  tide  ''  emperor,"  and  that  the  whole  incident  had 
been  a  mistake.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  republicans,  however, 
who  rose  in  revolt  against  a  president  who  seemed  to  them  to 
be  steadily  violating  the  principles  of  republican  rule.    During 


-•/^»  Hitf^rr 


f»  X 


J>m 


xfonsu^ 


ft^bikig,  ffwn  carrAir.;:  . 

InstcaH   ^- tiv  Um- 

8uflio<  ^■<  k-vkcncd 

parliimcnt  to  thait  «  wm 
thus  prcporad  the  way  for 
autumn  of  1914  that  he 
The  pcotcit 


1 


% 


Vxi..  1 


\ 


af^ainst  this  mmx  led  him  to  post- 

the  crown  ;   for  Japa"  ^■-^r.-.X  ••  • 

mi^ht  dt!!.-nd  itself  - 

riN-al.    Then  the  republicans  r 

March,  19 16.  fearing  to  lose  .»ii.  vj«« 

accept  the  title  "emperor/*  and  tl 

been  a  mistake.    This  did  not  satiJthc  republicans,  however, 

who  XT-     --  -       '♦  -      ^-^  — ^od  to  them  to 

be  ste..  rule.    During 


1  Ix-come  a  ' 

i  Yuan  ^ 

rd  that  he   

the  whole  incident  ha<' 


622 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Advance  of 
France  and 
England  in 
Africa  during 
the  first  half 
of  the  nine- 
teenth 
century 


Explorations 
of  Living- 
stone and 
others 


Tunis,  and  Algeria.  Morocco  was,  however,  an  independent 
state,  as  it  still  is  nominally,  under  the  sultan  of  Morocco. 
France  maintained  her  foothold  at  the  mouth  of  the  Senegal ; 
the  most  important  Portuguese  possessions  were  in  Lower 
Guinea  and  on  the  east  coast  opposite  the  island  of  Mada- 
gascar ;  the  British  held  some  minor  posts  along  the  west 
coast,  and  had  wrested  Cape  Colony  from  the  Dutch  during 
the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  heart  of  Africa  was  still  unknown ; 
no  European  power  contemplated  laying  claim  to  the  arid 
waste  of  the  Sahara  desert,  and  the  more  attractive  regions 
of  the  upper  Nile  were  ruled  by  semicivilized  Mohammedan 
chiefs. 

For  fifty  years  after  the  Congress  of  Vienna  the  advance  of 
European  powers  in  Africa  was  very  slow  indeed.  England 
and  France  were,  it  is  true,  gradually  extending  their  spheres 
of  influence,  and  explorers  were  tracing  the  rivers  and  moun- 
tain chains  of  the  interior.  France,  as  has  been  explained,  con- 
quered Algiers  during  this  period,^  and  formally  annexed  it 
in  1848.  The  Dutch  Boers,  disgusted  with  English  rule,  had 
migrated  to  the  north,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  Trans- 
vaal and  Orange  River  colonies.^ 

The  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was,  however,  a 
time  of  active  exploration  in  Africa.  It  is  impossible  here  even 
to  name  all  those  adventurers  who  braved  the  torrid  heat  and 
fevers  and  the  danger  from  savages  and  wild  beasts.  Under 
the  auspices  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England  a 
search  was  begun  for  the  mysterious  sources  of  the  Nile,  and 
a  lake  lying  just  south  of  the  equator  was  discovered  in  1858 
and  named  Victoria  Nyanza.  In  1864  Sir  Samuel  Baker  dis- 
covered another  lake,  Albert  Nyanza,  to  the  northwest,  and 
explored  its  connections  with  the  Nile  River.  Livingstone  had 
visited  Bechuanaland  twenty  years  before,  and  pushed  up  the 
valley  of  the  Zambesi  River,  tracing  it  nearly  to  its  source..  In 
1866  he  explored  the  regions  about  the  lakes  of  Nyasa  and 

1  See  above,  p.  486.         2  See  above,  pp.  542  ff . 


4/°X, 


,^ 


3i  e  d  i  t  e  7'  y. 


Cape  Town\ 

C.  0/  Good  Hope- 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  623 

Tanganyika,  and  reached  a  point  on  the  upper  Congo.  This 
expedition  attracted  general  attention  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  His  long  absence  roused  the  fear  that  he  was,  perhaps, 
the  prisoner  of  some  savage  tribe,  and  on  his  return  to  Lake 
Tanganyika  he  was  met  by  Henry  Stanley,  another  explorer, 
who  had  been  sent  out  by  the  New  York  Herald  to  search  for 
him.^  Livingstone,  who  was  both  missionary  and  explorer,  con- 
tinued his  work  until  his  death  in  1873. 

Two  years  later  Stanley  set  out  upon  an  expedition  which  is  Stanley's 
regarded  as  the  most  important  in  the  annals  of  African  ex- 
ploration. After  visiting  lakes  Victoria  Nyanza  and  Tangan- 
yika, he  journeyed  across  the  country  to  the  headwaters  of 
the  Congo,  down  which  he  found  his  way  to  the  Atlantic. 
Meanwhile  other  explorers,  French  and  German,  as  well  as 
English,  were  constantly  adding  to  the  knowledge  of  a  hitherto 
unknown  continent. 

Stanley's  famous  journey  through  the  heart  of  "  Darkest  Rapid  parti- 
Africa  "  naturally  aroused  the  intense  interest  of  all  the  Euro-  ^'°"  ""^  ^^^""^ 
pean  powers,  and  within  ten  years  after  his  triumphant  return 
to  Marseilles  in  1878,  the  entire  surface  of  Africa  had  been 
divided  up  among  the  powers,  or  marked  out  into  '*  spheres 
of  influence."  A  generation  ago  a  map  of  Africa  was  for  the 
most  part  indefinite  and  conjectural,  except  along  the  coast. 
To-day  its  natural  features  have  been  largely  determined,  and 
it  is  traversed  by  boundary  lines  almost  as  carefully  drawn  as 
those  which  separate  the  various  European  countries.  The 
manner  in  which  the  English,  French,  and  Germans  have 
asserted  their  claims  in  Africa  has  been  briefly  explained  in 
preceding  chapters. 

The  northwestern  shoulder  of  the  continent,  from  the  mouth    French 
of    the   Congo   to   Tunis,   belongs,   with    some   exceptions,   to   P^^^^^^^°"^ 
France.^    It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  a  very  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  French  claim  is  nothing  but  a  desert, 

1  For  Stanley's  account  of  the  meeting,  see  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  449  ff- 

2  See  above,  p.  488. 


624 


Ciitlines  of  European  History 


German 
possessions 


The  Bel- 
gian Congo 


The  Berlin 
conference 
on  the 
Congo 
territory 


totally  useless  in  its  present  state.  On  the  east  coast  of  Africa 
France  controls  French  Somaliland,  and  her  port  of  Jibuti, 
which  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea,  gives  her  somewhat 
the  same  advantages  that  Aden  affords  the  English.  The 
French  also  hold  the  island  of  Madagascar.  Their  attempt  to 
penetrate  Morocco,  mentioned  above,  was  one  of  the  remoter 
causes  of  the  war  .of  \<^\\y 

Between  1884  and  1890  Germany  acquired  four  consider- 
able areas  of  African  territory,  which  include  together  nearly 
a  million  square  miles :  Togoland,  Kamerun,  German  South- 
west Africa,  and  German  East  Africa.  The  Germans  have 
made  heroic  efforts  to  develop  these  regions  by  building 
railways  and  schools,  and  expending  enormous  sums  in  other 
ways,  but  the  wars  with  the  natives  and  the  slight  commerce 
which  has  been  established,  leave  the  experiment  one  of  doubt- 
ful value. 

Wedged  in  between  German  East  Africa  and  the  French 
Congo  is  the  vast  Belgian  Congo,  the  history  of  which  began 
with  a  conference  held  in  Brussels  in  1876  under  the  auspices 
of  the  king  of  Belgium.  Representatives  of  most  of  the  Euro- 
pean countries  were  invited  to  attend,  with  a  view  to  consider- 
ing the  best  methods  of  opening  up  the  region  and  of  stopping 
the  slave  trade  which  was  carried  on  by  the  Mohammedans  in 
the  interior.  The  result  was  the  organization  of  an  international 
African  Association  with  its  center  at  Brussels.  The  enterprise 
was,  however,  in  reality  the  personal  affair  of  King  Leopold, 
who  supplied  from  his  own  purse  a  large  portion  of  the  funds 
which  were  used  by  Stanley  in  exploring  the  Congo  basin, 
establishing  posts,  and  negotiating  hundreds  of  treaties  with 
the  petty  native  chiefs. 

The  activity  of  the  African  Association  aroused  the  appre- 
hensions of  the  European  powers  interested  in  Africa,  especially 
England  and  Portugal,  and  a  congress  was  called  at  Berlin  to 
consider  the  situation.  This  met  in  November,  1884,  and  every 
1  See  below,  pp.  626  f. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  625 

European  state  except  Switzerland  sent  delegates,  as  did  the 
United  States.  The  congress  recognized  the  right  of  the  Afri- 
can Association  to  the  vast  expanse  drained  by  the  Congo 
River,  and  declared  the  new  territory  a  neutral  state,  the 
Congo  Free  State,  open  to  the  trade  of  all  nations. 

The  following  year  King  Leopold  announced  to  the  world 
that  he  had  assumed  sovereignty  over  the  Congo  Free  State, 
and  that  Le  proposed  to  unite  it  in  a  personal  union  with  Bel- 
gium. He  gradually  filled  the  government  offices  with  Belgians 
and  established  customs  lines  with  a  view  to  raising  revenue. 

During  the  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century  the  Bel-  Alleged 
gians  were  charged  with  practicing  atrocious  cruelties  on  the  ment  of  the 
natives.^  There  is  reason  to  think  that  the  hideous  reports  co^ng?Free^ 
published  in  the  newspapers  were  much  exaggerated,  but  there  State 
is  little  doubt  that  the  natives,  as  commonly  happens  in  such 
cases,  have  suffered  seriously  at  the  hands  of  the  European 
invader.  King  Leopold  claimed  ownership  over  the  vacant 
land,  and  in  this  way  roused  the  hatred  of  the  peoples  who 
had  been  used  to  roaming  freely  in  every  direction.  By  a 
system  of  ''  apprenticeship "  many  of  the  blacks  had  been 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  slaves.  Labor  was  hard  to  secure, 
for  the  natives,  accustomed  to  a  free  life  in  the  jungle,  did 
not  relish  driving  spikes  on  railways  or  draining  swamps  for 
Belgian  capitalists.  The  government  therefore  required  native 
chiefs  to  furnish  a  certam  number  of  workmen,  and  on  their 
failure  to  supply  the  demand  it  had  been  customary  to  burn 
their  villages.  The  government  also  required  the  natives  to 
furnish  a  certain  quantity  of  rubber  each  year ;  failure  to  com- 
ply with  these  demands  had  also  brought  summary  punishment 
upon  them.  Finally,  protests  in  England  and  America  led  the 
Belgian  ministry  to  take  up  the  question  of  the  Congo,  and  at 
length,  in  1908,  the  government  assumed  complete  ownership 
of  the  Free  State,  which  then  took  the  name  of  the  Belgian 
Congo. 

1  See  Readings^  Vol.  II,  pp.  453  f. 


626 


Outlmes  of  Eiiropean  History 


African  pos- 
sessions of 
Portugal, 
Italy,  and 
Spain 


Morocco 


The  confer- 
ence at 
Algeciras 


The  Portuguese  still  control  remnants  of  the  possessions  to 
which  they  laid  claim  when  South  Africa  was  first  brought  to 
the  attention  of  Europe,  namely,  Guinea,  Angola,  and  East 
Africa.  Italy  has  the  colony  of  Eritrea  on  the  coast  of  the 
Red  ?ea,  and  Italian  Somaliland  to  the  south  of  Cape  Guarda- 
fui,  and  in  19 12  wrested  Tripoli  from  Turkey  by  a  costly  war.^ 
Spain's  two  colonies,  one  on  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  the  other 
on  the  Gulf  of  Guinea,  only  serve  to  remind  her  of  the  vast 
colonial  empire  which  she  has  lost. 

Morocco  still  remains  nominally  independent  of  European 
powers,  but  has  been  an  object  of  contention  among  them. 
Its  population,  which  is  a  curious  mixture  of  Berbers,  Arabs, 
and  negroes,  has  not  materially  changed  its  civilization  during 
the  past  thousand  years.  The  fierce  tribesmen  often  defy  the 
rule  of  their  sultan  at  Fez.  A  bandit  leader,  Raisuli,  seized 
an  English  envoy  to  the  sultan.  Sir  Harry  McLean,  during  the 
summer  of  1907  and  held  him  a  prisoner  for  several  months. 
This  is  but  one  of  many  instances  which  illustrate  the  inability 
of  the  sultan  of  Morocco  to  control  his  subjects  and  protect 
foreigners. 

The  French,  who  are  neighbors  of  the  Moors  on  the  east, 
have,  in  spite  of  many  difficulties,  gradually  been  developing 
relations  with  Morocco.  They  carry  on  a  trade  in  almonds,  gum, 
and  the  famous  Moroccan  goatskin,  and  have  also  lent  money 
to  the  sultan.  It  will  be  recalled  that,  after  the  settlement  of  the 
"  Fashoda  incident,"  Britain  allowed  France  a  free  hand,  so  far 
as  Britain  was  concerned,  in  dealing  with  Morocco,  The  French 
soon  found  either  the  necessity  or  the  pretext  for  interv^ention, 
and  were  proceeding  to  deal  with  "  the  Moroccan  problem  "  as 
though  it  were  their  own  affair  when  Germany  protested  that 
it  too  had  interests  in  Morocco.  The  result  was  a  conference 
of  the  powers,  including  the  United  States,  at  Algeciras,  Spain 
(just  across  the  bay  from  Gibraltar),  in  1906.  Their  represent- 
atives agreed  on  the  formation  of  a  police  force  under  French 

1  See  above,  p.  588. 


The  Expansion  of  Enrope  627 

and  Spanish  officers,  and  the  organization  of  a  state  bank,  which 
should  be  controlled  by  the  powers.^ 

The  English,  as  we  have  seen  already,  have  built  up  a  great  The  English 
federal  dominion  in  South  Africa,  which  is  the  most  important  ^^  ^^"^^ 
of  all  the  European  colonies  in  Africa.    They  also  hold  valuable 
territories  on  the  east  coast,  running  inland  to  the  great  lakes. 
But  much  more  interesting  to  the  historian  is  their  control  over 
Egypt. 

This  ancient  center  of  civilization  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been   Mehemet  AH 
conquered  by  the  Arabs  in  the  seventh  century.    Through  the  h^msdf^an^d 
late  Middle  Ages  it  was  ruled  by  a  curious  military  class  known   his  successors 

"^  -^  as  rulers  of 

as  the  Mamelukes,  and  only  fell  to  the  Ottoman  Turks  in  15 17.  Egypt 
With  the  decline  of  the  Sultan's  power  the  country  fell  under 
the  domination  of  Mameluke  beys,  or  leaders;  and  it  was  against 
these  that  Bonaparte  fought  in  1798.  Shortly  after  Nelson  and 
the  English  had  frustrated  Bonaparte's  attempt  to  bring  Egypt 
under  French  rule,  a  military  adventurer  from  Albania,  Mehemet 
xA.li,  compelled  the  Sultan  to  recognize  him  as  governor  of  Egypt 
in  1805.  A  few  years  later  he  brought  about  a  massacre  of  the 
Mamelukes  and  began  a  series  of  reforms.  He  created  an  army 
and  a  fleet,  and  not  only  brought  all  Egypt  under  his  sway,  but 
established  himself  at  Khartum  where  he  could  control  the 
Sudan,^  or  region  of  the  Upper  Nile.  Before  his  death  in  1849 
he  had  induced  the  Sultan  to  recognize  his  heirs  as  rightful  ^ 
rulers,  khedives,^  of  Egypt. 

The  importance  of  Egypt  for  the  Western  powers  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal,  begun  in  1859,'' 
for  both  Port  Said  on  the  Mediterranean  and  Suez  on  the  Red 
Sea  are  Egyptian  ports.    The  English  were  able  to  get  a  foothold 

1  A  continuance  of  disorder  in  Morocco  enabled  France  to  use  the  situation 
for  further  penetration,  which  led  to  a  second  German  protest.  But  this  belongs 
rather  to  the  history  of  Europe  than  of  Africa,  as  it  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the 
great  war  of  19 14. 

2  The  term  "  Sudan  "  (see  map)  was  applied  by  the  Mohammedans  to  the  whole 
region  south  of  the  Sahara  desert,  but  as  now  used  it  commonly  means  Anglo- 
Egyptian  Sudan  only.         8  This  title  was  assumed  with  the  consent  of  the  Sultan, 

4  See  above,  p.  593. 


628 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


in  Egypt  through  the  improvidence  of  the  Egyptian  ruler, 
Ismail  I,  who  came  to  the  throne  in  1863,  and  by  reckless 
extravagance  involved  his  country  in  a  heavy  debt  which  forced 
him  to  sell  a  block  of  his  canal  shares  to  the  British  government 
at  a  low  price.  Still  heavily  in  debt,  however,  Ismail  was  forced 
by  his  English  and  French  creditors  to  let  them  oversee  his 


Fig.  151.   Gordon  College,  Khartum 

This  college,  named  for  their  murdered  general,  was  erected  by  the 
British  to  teach  the  sons  of  their  former  enemies  the  arts  of  civiliza- 
tion.   On  the  campus  is  a  mosque,  for  the  British  do  not  interfere  with 
the  religion  of  these  Sudanese  tribesmen 


financial  administration.  This  foreign  intervention  aroused  dis- 
content in  Egypt,  and  the  natives  revolted  in  1882,  demanding 
"  Egypt  for  the  Egyptians."  Inasmuch  as  France  declined  to 
join  in  suppressing  the  rebellion,  England  undertook  it  alone, 
and  after  putting  down  the  uprising  assumed  a  temporary 
occupation  of  the  country  and  the  supervision  of  the  army  and 
finances  of  Egypt.  The  British  continued  their  "  temporary  "' 
occupation,  until  shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  war  of  19 14, 
when  Britain  assumed  a  permanent  protectorate  over  Egypt, 
which  was  declared  independent  of  Turkey.^ 

1  The  khedive,  remaining  loyal  to  the  Turks,  was  dethroned,  the  title  abolished, 
and  the  new  ruler  acclaimed  as  sultan. 


The  Expansion  of  Europe  629 

Shortly  after  the  British  conquest  of  Egypt,  a  revolt  arose  in  The  Mahdi 
the  Sudan,  under  the  leadership  of  Mohammed  Ahmed,  who  of  Gordon 
claimed  to  be  the  Messiah,  and  found  great  numbers  of  fanat- 
ical followers  who  called  him  El  Mahdi, ''  the  leader."  ^  General 
Gordon  was  in  charge  of  the  British  garrison  at  Khartum. 
Here  he  was  besieged  by  the  followers  of  the  Mahdi  in  1885, 
and  after  a  memorable  defense  fell  a  victim  to  their  fury,  thus 
adding  a  tragic  page  to  the  military  history  of  the  British 
empire.  This  disaster  was  avenged  twelve  years  later,  when 
in  1897-1898  the  Sudan  was  reconquered  and  the  city  of 
Khartum  was  taken  by  the  British  under  General  Kitchener. 

During  the  occupation  of  Egypt  by  the  British  the  progress   Results  of 
of  the  country  has  been  unquestioned ;  industry  and  commerce   occupation 
are  growing  steadily,  public  works  have  been  constructed,  and  °^  Egypt 
financial  order  has  been  reestablished  under  the  supervision  of 
the  British  agent,  whose  word  is  law.    A  large  dam  has  been 
built  across  the  Nile  at  Assuan  to  control  the  floods,  and  also 
to  increase  greatly  the  fertility  of  the  valley.    There  is  strict 
honesty  in  the  government,  and,  in  spite  of  some  racial  irritation 
against  the  European  "  unbelievers  "  who  are  running  the  coun- 
try, Egypt  has  never,  in  all  its  long  history,  been  so  prosperous. 

Section  107.    Decline  of  the  Spanish  World 
Empire  ;  Portugal 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  colonial  expansion  of  the  other   Decline  of 
powers  of  Europe  stand  the  two  which,  in  the  era  of  discovery,   colonial  ^ 
led  them  all  in  enterprise  and  achievement  —  Spain  and  Portu-  P^^^'^ 
gal.   Spain,  who  could  once  boast  that  the  sun  never  set  on  her 
empire,  was  already  in  decline  from  the  days  of  Philip  II.   After 
losing  her  colonies  on  the  American  continents  in  the  early  nine- 
teenth century,^  she  made  no  compensating  gains  in  other  parts 
of  the  world,  and  at  the  close  of  thejiineteenth  century  received 
the  final  blow  in  a  war  with  the  United  States. 

1  See  Readings^  Vol,  II,  pp.  456  ff.  2  See  above,  pp.  350  ff. 


630 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  cause  of  this  war  was  the  chronic  disturbance  which 
existed  in  Cuba  under  Spanish  government  and  which  led  the 
United  States  to  decide  upon  the  expulsion  of  Spain  from  the 
western  hemisphere.  In  1895  the  last  of  many  Cuban  insurrec- 
tions against  Spain  broke  out,  and  sympathy  was  immediately 
manifested  in  the  United  States.  Both  political  parties  during  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1896  declared  in  favor  of  the  Cubans, 
and  with  the  inauguration  of  McKinley  a  policy  of  intervention 
was  adopted.  The  American  government  demanded  the  recall  of 
General  Weyler  —  whose  cruelty  had  become  notorious  —  and  a 
reform  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners  of  war.  In  February,  1898, 
the  battleship  Maine  was  mysteriously  blown  up  in  the  harbor  of 
Havana,  where  it  had  been  sent  in  American  interests.  Although 
the  cause  of  this  disaster  could  not  be  discovered,  the  United 
States,  maintaining  that  the  conditions  in  Cuba  were  intolerable, 
declared  war  on  Spain  in  April. 

The  war  was  brief,  for  the  American  forces  were  everywhere 
victorious.  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  were  lost  to  Spain,  and  by  the 
capture  of  the  city  of  Manila  in  May,  the  Philippine  Islands  also 
fell  to  the  United  States.  Peace  was  reestablished  in  August,  and 
representatives  were  shortly  sent  to  Paris  to  arrange  the  final 
terms.  Cuba  w^as  declared  independent ;  Porto  Rico,  with  the 
adjoining  islands  of  Vieques  and  Culebra,  and  the  Philippines 
were  ceded  to  the  United  States.^  The  following  year  the  Car- 
oline and  Pelew  islands  were  transferred  to  Germany,  and  thus 
the  territory  of  Spain  was  reduced  to  the  Spanish  peninsula,  the 
Balearic  and  Canary  islands,  and  her  small  holdings  in  Africa. 

By  the  Spanish-American  War,  therefore,  Spain  lost  its 
colonial  empire  and  the  United  States  began  its  career  as 
a  world   power. 

As  for  Portugal,  which  had  lost  its  greatest  possession, 
Brazil,  about  the  same  time  as  Spain  had  lost  its  South 
American    colonies,    it   still   retains    considerable    stretches   of 


i  Spain  also  ceded  to  the  United  States  the  island  of  Guam  in  the  Ladrgne 
archipelago. 


The  Expansion  of  Etirope  631 

Africa,  as  a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  but  its  holdings  in 
Asia  are  reduced  to  the  posts  of  Macao  in  China,  Goa  in  India, 
and  two  small  islands.  In  foreign  affairs  it  is  closely  allied 
with  England. 

The  chief  event  in  recent  Portuguese  history,  however,  took  Assassination 
place  at  home.  The  attempt  of  the  king,  Carlos  I,  to  establish  carios^ 
a  dictatorship  and  squander  the  revenues  without  account- 
ability, raised  up  a  party  determined  upon  his  overthrow,  and 
on  February  i,  1908,  King  Carlos  and  the  Crown  Prince, 
while  riding  in  the  streets  of  Lisbon,  were  assassinated.  The 
late  king's  eighteen-year-old  son  was  at  once  proclaimed  as 
Manuel  II,  but  he  found  that  he  had  received  a  troublesome 
heritage.  The  little  realm  was  disturbed  by  party  dissensions ; 
finances  were  in  a  bad  way ;  workingmen  were  discontented ; 
the  radicals  were  waging  war  against  the  clergy  and  the 
monks ;  and  the  republicans  daily  gained  in  strength  in  spite 
of  the  promises  of  reform  made  by  the  young  ruler. 

Early  in  October  a  revolt  broke  out  at  the  capital.    After  The  estab- 
some  serious  street  fighting  and  the  bombardment  of  the  royal   the  Portu- 
palace,  the  king  fled  to  England,  protesting  that  his  hasty  flight  fjc^j^^o^"^ 
did  not  mean  abdication.     The  republicans  at  once  set  up  a 
provisional  government  and  began  the  expulsion  of  the  monks 
and  nuns  and  the  confiscation  of  their  property.-^   In  May,  191 1, 
elections  were  held  for  a  constitutional  convention,  which  met 
in  June.    This  convention  drafted  a  constitution  providing  for 
a  legislative  body  of  two  chambers,  one  elected  directly  by  uni- 
•versal  manhood  suffrage  and  the  other  indirectly  by  the  munici- 
palities ;    for  a  president  to  be  elected  for  four  years  by  the 
legislature ;  and  for  a  ministry  responsible  to  parliament. 

The    government    under    the    new    constitution    began    the   Troublesome 
difficult  task  of  conciliating  the  factions  which  the  revolution  ^^^  republic 
had  left  behind.    The  Catholic  priests  and  bishops  were  offered 
pensions,  but  ^ they  declined  to  receive  them.   The  Pope  issued 

1  Monastic  establishments  were  suppressed  in   1834,  and  the  new  republic 
reenforced  the  old  law. 


63^  Outlines  of  European  History 

an  encyclical  condemning  the  anti-clerical  measures  of  the  re- 
public, which  granted  toleration  to  all  religions  ;  and  the  republic 
replied  by  confiscating  the  government  securities  held  by  the 
clergy  to  the  amount  of  $25,000,000.  The  finances  of  the 
government  have  been  in  critical  shape ;  there  has  been  some 
unrest  among  the  workingmen  of  the  industrial  centers ;  but 
the  young  republic  seems  to  have  gained  in  stability  in  spite 
of  the  continued  efforts  of  the  monarchists  to  overturn  it. 

QUESTIONS 

Section  too.  Contrast  the  commercial  position  of  Great  Britain 
in  1 81 5  with  that  of  the  other  nations  of  Europe  and  the  United 
States.  Describe  the  earliest  attempts  at  steam  navigation.  Give 
a  brief  account  of  the  construction  of  the  two  great  interoceanic 
canals.  Outline  the  history  of  railroad  development  in  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa. 

Sketch  the  history  of  each  of  the  following:  the  post;  the  tele- 
phone ;  the  telegraph ;  the  cable.  What  is  meant  by  imperialism  ? 
Describe  the  work  of  missionaries.  What  is  the  connection  between 
the  Industrial  Revolution  and  imperialism  ? 

Section  loi.  What  were  the  relations  betvveen  China  and  Europe 
prior  to  the  nineteenth  century.?  Show  on  a  map  the  ports  opened 
to  Western  commerce  as  a  result  of  the  Opium  War  of  1840,  and 
the  war  waged  by  England  and  France  against  China  in  1858. 

Section  102.  Outline  the  early  history  of  Japan  through  the 
twelfth  century.  Describe  the  relations  of  Japan  with  Europe  in 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  Give  a  brief  account  of 
the  relations  of  the  United  States  and  Japan  in   1853. 

Why  did  Great  Britain  bombard  certain  of  the  Japanese  ports  in 
1 863- 1 864?  Describe  the  revolution  which  took  place  in  Japan  after 
the  accession  of  the  Mikado  Mutsuhito.  What  was  the  effect  of  the 
Industrial  Revolution  on  the  form  of  government  of  Japan .? 

Section  103.  What  gave  rise  to  the  war  between  China  and 
Japan  in  1 894-1 895  ?  Give  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  Shimonoseki, 
What  changes  were  made  in  this  treaty  as  a  result  of  the  intervention 
of  Russia,  France,  and  Germany  ?  What  did  Russia  gain  as  a  result 
of  the  compromise  effected?  In  what  way  and  when  did  Germany 
get  possession  of  territory  in  the  Shantung  peninsula? 


The  Expansioji  of  Europe  633 

What  compensation  did  Russia  seek  in  1898?  What  was  the 
importance  of  this  acquisition  to  Russia?  How  did  Great  Britain 
secure  possession  of  W^eihaiwei?  What  arrangement  was  made  by 
Great  Britain  and  Japan  in  1902?  Draw  a  map  of  the  east  coast 
of  Asia  and  on  it  show  the  territory  leased  to  foreigners  by  China. 

Section  104.  What  led  to  the  Boxer  uprising?  Describe  the  Peking 
insurrection  and  the  intervention  of  the  powers  to  restore  order. 

Sectiox  105.  Describe  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  Russo- 
Japanese  War.  Outline  the  history  of  the  war  and  give  the  terms 
of  the  Treaty  of  Portsmouth.  Give  a  short  account  of  the  history 
of  China  since  191 2. 

Section  106.  Outline  the  history  of  Africa  to  181 5.  Describe 
the  situation  in  Africa  in  the  year  181 5.  What  progress  in  the 
opening  up  of  Africa  during  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century 
was  made  by  France  and  England?  Indicate  on  a  map  the  parts  of 
Africa  explored  by  Livingstone  and  Stanley. 

Describe  the  development  of  the  Belgian  Congo  and  discuss  the 
problems  involved.  What  has  England  had  to  do  with  the  French 
occupation  of  Morocco?  Briefly  sketch  the  history  of  Egypt  to  the 
middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  what  way  did  Great  Britain 
gain  a  foothold  in  Egypt? 

What  was  the  position  of  Great  Britain  in  Egypt  from  1882  to 
1 91 4?  What  has  been  Great  Britain's  position  in  Egypt  since  191 4? 
Describe  the  revolt  in  the  Sudan  in  1885  and  the  conquest  of  the 
territory  in  1 897-1 898.  What  are  the  results  of  the  British  occu- 
pation of  Egypt? 

Section  107.  Review  the  story  of  Spain  in  the  nineteenth  century. 
How  did  it  lose  its  colonies  ?  W^hat  colonial  possessions  has  Portugal? 
Sketch  conditions  in  Portugal  during  the  last  ten  years. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY  IN  EUROPE,  PRIOR  TO 
THE  GREAT  WAR 

Section  io8.  Review  of  the  Previous  Chapters 

Review  of  In  the  preceding  twenty  chapters  we  have  tried  to  bridge  the 

chapter?  '"^  gap  which  separates  the  Europe  of  Louis  XIV  from  the  world 
of  to-day.  We  have  seen  how,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the 
European  monarchs  light-heartedly  made  war  upon  one  another 
in  the  hope  of  adding  a  bit  of  territory  to  their  realms,  or  of 
seating  a  relative  or  friend  on  a  vacant  throne.  Such  enter- 
prises were  encouraged  by  the  division  of  Germany  and  Italy 
into  small  states  which  could  be  used  as  counters  in  this  royal 
game  of  war  and  diplomacy.  But  nevertheless  in  the  eighteenth 
century  European  history  was  already  broadening  out.  The 
whole  eastern  half  of  the  continent  was  brought  into  relation 
with  the  West  by  Peter  the  Great  and  Catherine,  and  merchants 
and  traders  were  forcing  the  problem  of  colonial  expansion  upon 
their  several  governments.  England  succeeded  in  driving  France 
from  India  and  America  and  in  laying  the  foundation  of  that 
empire,  unprecedented  in  extent,  over  which  she  rules  to-day. 
Portugal  and  the  Netherlands,  once  so  conspicuous  upon  the 
seas,  had  lost  their  importance,  and  the  grasp  of  Spain  upon 
the  New  World  was  relaxing. 

We  next  considered  the  condition  of  the  people  over  whom 
the  monarchs  of  the  eighteenth  century  reigned  —  the  serfs, 
the  townspeople  with  their  guilds,  the  nobility,  the  clergy, 
and  the  religious  orders.  We  noted  the  unlimited  authority 
of  the  kings  and  the  extraordinary  prerogatives  and  privileges 
enjoyed  by  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy.  The  origin  of  the 
Anglican  Church  and  of  the  many  Protestant  sects  in  England 

634 


The  Twentieth  Centtiiy  in  Europe  635 

was  explained.  We  next  showed  how  the  growing  interest  in 
natural  science  served  to  wean  men  from  their  reverence  for 
the  past  and  to  open  up  vistas  of  progress ;  how  the  French 
philosophers,  Voltaire,  Diderot,  Rousseau,  and  many  others, 
attacked  existing  institutions,  and  how  the  so-called  enlightened 
despots  who  listened  to  them  undertook  a  few  timid  reforms, 
mainly  with  a  view  of  increasing  their  own  power.  But  when 
at  last,  in  1789,  the  king  of  France  was  forced  to  call  together 
representatives  of  his  people  to  help  him  fill  an  empty  treasury, 
they  seized  the  opportunity  to  limit  his  powers,  abolish  the  old 
abuses,  and  proclaim  a  program  of  reform  which  was  destined 
to  be  accepted  in  turn  by  all  the  European  nations. 

The  wars  which  began  in  1792  led  to  the  establishment  of 
a  temporary  republic  in  France,  but  a  military  genius,  the 
like  of  which  the  world  had  never  before  seen,  soon  brought 
not  only  France  but  a  great  part  of  western  Europe  under  his 
control.  He  found  it  to  his  interest  to  introduce  many  of  the 
reforms  of  the  French  Revolution  in  the  countries  which  he 
conquered  and,  by  his  partial  consolidation  of  Germany  and 
the  consequent  extinction  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  he 
prepared  the  way  for  the  creation  later  of  one  of  the  most 
powerful  European  states  of  to-day. 

Since  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  readjusted  the  map  of 
Europe  after  Napoleon's  downfall,  a  number  of  very  important 
changes  have  occurred.  Both  Germany  and  Italy  have  been  con- 
solidated and  have  taken  their  places  among  the  great  powers. 
The  Turk  has  been  steadily  pushed  back,  and  a  group  of  states 
unknown  in  the  eighteenth  century  has  come  into  existence 
in  the  Balkan  peninsula.  Everywhere  the  monarchs  have  lost 
their  former  absolute  powers  and  have  more  or  less  gracefully 
submitted  to  the  limitations  imposed  by  a  constitution.  Even 
the  Tsar,  while  still  calling  himself  "  Autocrat  of  all  the  Rus- 
sias,"  has  promised  to  submit  new  laws  and  the  provisions 
of  his  yearly  budget  to  a  parliament,  upon  which  he  and  his 
police,  however,  keep  a  very  sharp  eye. 


636  Outlines  of  Europe a7i  History 

Alongside  these  important  changes  an  Industrial  Revolution 
has  been  in  progress,  the  influence  of  which  upon  the  lives 
of  the  people  at  large  has  been  incalculably  greater  than  all 
that  armies  and  legislative  assemblies  have  accomplished.  It 
has  not  only  given  rise  to  the  most  serious  problems  which 
face  Europe  to-day  but  has  heralded  an  imperialism  which 
carries  European  civilization  through  all  the  world.  During 
the  latter  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  European  powers, 
especially  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Russia,  have  been 
busy  opening  up  the  vast  Chinese  Empire  and  other  Asiatic 
countries  to  European  influences,  and  in  this  way  the  whole 
continent  of  Asia  has,  in  a  certain  sense,  been  drawn  into 
the  current  of  European  history.  Africa,  the  borders  alone 
of  which  were  known  in  1850,  has,  during  the  past  fifty 
years,  been  explored  and  apportioned  out  among  the  European 
powers.  It  will  inevitably  continue  for  many  years  to  be  com- 
pletely dominated  by  them.  These  are  perhaps  the  most 
striking  features  of  our  study  of  the  past  two  hundred  years. 

It  remains  for  us  to  see  what  Europe  itself  was  like  in  the 
opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century,  to  examine  how  it  took 
over  the  heritage  of  the  past  and  what  further  contributions  it 
offered  to  civilization. 


Section  109.    The  Social  Revolution  in  England, 
1906-19 I 4 

England  At  the  closc  of  the  nineteenth  century  England  was,  to  all 

servat^e  appearances,  as  conservative  as  any  nation  in  western  Europe. 

The  enthusiasm  for  the  extension  of  the  suffrage  and  for  the 
reform  of  ancient  abuses,  which  had  stirred  the  country  for  a 
hundred  years,  seemed  to  have  died  away.  Contentment  with 
the  existing  order,  and  interest  in  great  imperial  enterprises  in 
South  Africa  and  other  parts  of  the  world,  characterized  English 
politics.  During  the  twenty  years  from  1886  to  1906  (except 
for  a  short  period  in  1892-1895)  the  Conservative  party  was 


The  Tzventieth  Ce^ittLvy  in  Europe  637 

in  cortrol  of  the  House  of  Commons  and  the  government. 
Liberalism  appeared  to  be  dead,  and  the  agitation  of  the  Social- 
ists apparently  made  no  impression  on  the  workingmen. 

But  the  general  election  of  1906  brought  a  startling  change. 
The  Conservatives  were  completely  defeated  by  the  Liberals, 
and  no  less  than  fifty  labor  representatives  were  elected  to 
Parliament.  Several  of  these  were  avowed  Socialists.-^  In  the 
next  ten  years  the  Liberals,  with  their  radical  and  laborite 
colleagues,  made  such  sweeping  reforms  as  to  amount  to  a  real 
revolution  in  British  society  and  politics. 

The  change  in  English  sentiment  was  clearly  expressed  by  Social  reform 
a  Liberal,  Mr.  Winston  Churchill,  in  a  political  speech  at  Not-  "n^Engknd"^ 
tingham,  on  January  30,  1909  :  "The  main  aspirations  of  the 
British  people  are  at  the  present  time  social  rather  than  polit- 
ical. They  see  around  them  on  every  side,  and  almost  every 
day,  spectacles  of  confusion  and  misery  which  they  cannot 
reconcile  with  any  conception  of  humanity  or  justice.  They  see 
that  there  are  in  the  modern  state  a  score  of  misfortunes  that 
can  happen  to  a  man  without  his  being  at  fault  in  any  way. 
They  see,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mighty  power  of  science, 
backed  by  wealth  and  power,  to  introduce  order,  to  provide 
safeguards,  to  prevent  accidents,  or  at  least  mitigate  their  con- 
sequences. They  know  that  this  country  is  the  richest  in  the 
world ;  and  in  my  sincere  judgment  the  British  democracy  will 
not  give  their  hearts  to  any  party  that  is  not  able  and  willing 
to  set  up  that  larger,  fuller,  more  elaborate,  more  thorough 

1  Socialism  made  very  little  progress  in  Britain  during  the  nineteenth  century. 
In  1883  a  Social  Democratic  Federation  had  been  formed  to  promote  the  teach- 
ings of  Marx,  but  it  had  little  success.  The  Independent  Labor  party  appeared 
in  1893,  under  the  leadership  of  Keir  Hardie,  a  miner  who  was  elected  to  Parlia- 
men.t.  It  was  moderately  socialistic  and  grew  slowly.  The  Fabian  Society,  of 
which  Sidney  and  Beatrice  Webb,  G.  B.  Shaw,  and  H.  G.  Wells  have  been  mem- 
bers, believes  in  reaching  the  socialists'  goal  by  going  slowly  (like  the  old  Roman 
general,  Fabius,  who  gained  his  end  by  going  slowly).  So  it  has  advocated 
municipal  or  national  ownership  of  land  and  industrial  capital.  But  the  Fabians 
do  not  form  a  political  party.  It  was  not  until  the  trade-unions  "  entered 
politics"  in  1905,  cooperating  with  the  Independent  Labor  party,  that  anything 
much  was  accomplished. 


638 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Recent  Eng- 
lish labor 
laws 


Booth's  sur- 
vey of  Lon- 
don poverty 


social  organization,  without  which  our  country  and  its  people 
will  inevitably  sink  through  sorrow  to  disaster  and  our  name 
and  fame  fade  upon  the  pages  of  history." 

In  this  spirit  the  Liberal  government  began,  shortly  after 
its  accession  to  power  in  1906,  a  series  of  laws  designed  to 
mitigate,  at  least,  if  not  to  abolish,  the  evils  of  poverty,  sweat- 
ing, unemployment,  and  industrial  accidents.  The  provisions 
of  the  Workmen's  Compensation, Act  of  1897  were  extended 
to  agricultural  laborers  and  domestic  servants.  Under  this  law 
employers  in  the  industries  covered  are  required  to  pay  com- 
pensation to  workmen  injured  in  their  employ,  except  when  the 
accident  is  due  to  the  "  serious  and  willful  misconduct  of  the 
injured  workman  himself."  At  the  same  time  (1906)  a  law  was 
passed  exempting  the  funds  of  trade-unions  from  the  liability  of 
being  attached  for  damages  caused  by  their  officials  in  strikes 
and  industrial  conflicts  generally.  Two  years  later  (1908) 
Parliament  passed  an  act  providing  that,  subject  to  certain  inci- 
dental reservations,  "  a  workman  shall  not  be  below  ground  in 
a  mine  for  the  purpose  of  his  work  and  of  going  to  and  from 
his  work,  for  more  than  eight  hours  during  any  consecutive 
twenty-fours  hours." 

Measures  for  the  benefit  of  trade-unionists,  miners,  and  in- 
jured workmen,  however  important  they  may  be,  do  not  solve 
the  problem  of  poverty,  due  to  low  wages,  uncertain  employ- 
ment, illness,  and  causes  other  than  those  which  may  be  ascribed 
to  individual  faults.  Undoubtedly  poverty  on  a  large  scale  has 
been  one  of  the  inevitable  accompaniments  of  the  Industrial 
Revolution,  and  in  England  the  amount  of  depressing,  hopeless 
poverty  is  enormous.  Several  years  ago  Mr.  Charles  Booth,  a 
wealthy  shipowner,  feeling  that  there  was  no  accurate  informa- 
tion available  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  working  people 
of  London,  undertook  a  house-to-house  canvass  at  his  own  ex- 
pense. With  a  large  corps  of  helpers  he  set  about  ascertaining 
the  "  numerical  relations  which  poverty,  misery,  and  deprav- 
ity bear  to  regular  earnings  and  comparative  comfort,"   and 


The  Twentieth  Centitry  in  Europe  639 

published,  as  the  result  of  his  survey,  The  Life  and  Labor  of 
the  People  of  Londofi,  in  sixteen  volumes.  In  the  district  of  East 
London,  embracing  a  population  of  nearly  a  million,  he  found 
that  more  than  one  third  of  the  people  belonged  to  families 
with  incomes  of  a  guinea  (about  $5.15)  or  less  a  week;  that 
forty-two  per  cent  of  the  families  earned  from  about  $5.50  to 
$7.50  a  week ;  and  that  only  about  thirteen  per  cent  had  more 
than  $7.50  a  w^eek  to  live  on.  His  studies  further  revealed 
terrible  overcrowding  in  squalid  tenements  which  were  badly 
lighted,  poorly  equipped  with  water  and  sanitary  arrangements, 
and  reeking  with  disease.  He  reached  the  startling  conclusion 
that  throughout  the  vast  city  of  London  nearly  one  third  of 
the  people  were  in  poverty ;  that  is,  lived  on  wages  too  low  to 
provide  the  necessaries  for  a  decent  physical  existence,  to  say 
nothing  of  comforts  or  luxuries. 

It  might  at  first  sight  seem  that  the  poverty  of  London  is   indications 
exceptionally  great,  but  Mr.  Rowntree,  in  an  equally  careful  povert>'  in 
survey,  proved  that  in  the  city  of  York,  with  its  population  of  not"exce^ 
less  than  eighty  thousand  inhabitants,  toward  one  third  of  the  tional 
people  are  also,  as  in  London,  in  dire  poverty.^    He  showed, 
too,  that  the  physical  development  of  the  children,  the  preva- 
lence of  disease,  and  the  death  rate  corresponded  with  the  rate 
of  wages ;  in  short,  that  health,  happiness,  and  well-being  in- 
creased as  wages  increased.    There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
conditions  are  essentially  the  same  in  many  other  modern  cities, 
not  only  in  England  but  throughout  the  world,  although  this 
has  not  as  yet  been  demonstrated  by  scientific  investigations. 

Formerly  it  was  generally  assumed  that  poverty  was  inevita-  Possibility  of 
ble  and  that  little  could  be  done  to  remedy  it,  since  there  was  poverty 
not  enough  wealth  in  any  given  community  to  make  everybody 
comfortable ;  but  the  progress  of  practical  inventions  and  of 
scientific  discovery  has  roused  the  hope  in  the  minds  of  many 
that  if  industries  were  reorganized  in  a  way  to  avoid  waste 
and  to  promote  efficiency,  if  the  idle  were  set  to  work  and 
1  See  Readings,  Vol.  II,  pp.  487  f, 


640 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  English 
government 
declares  war 
on  poverty 


Government 
employment 
bureaus 


Regulation 
o'f  wages  in 
"  sweated  " 
trades 


precautions  taken  to  distribute  the  wealth  in  such  a  way  that 
a  few  could  not,  as  they  can  now,  appropriate  vast  fortunes, 
there  might  sometime  be  enough  for  all  who  were  willing  to  do 
their  part,  so  that  all  could  live  in  comfort  and  bring  up  their 
children  in  healthful  surroundings,  thus  greatly  reducing  vice 
and  disease.  As  the  kindly  Pope  Leo  XIII  well  said,  ''  There 
can  be  no  question  that  some  remedy  must  be  found,  and 
that  quickly,  for  the  misery  and  wretchedness  which  press  so 
heavily  at  this  moment  on  a  large  majority  of  the  very  poor." 

The  English  government  boldly  grappled  with  the  situation 
and  proceeded  to  "  make  war  on  poverty  "  a  part  of  its  official 
program.  In  1908  it  passed  an  old-age  pension  law,  the  lead- 
ing provisions  of  which  follow :  The  recipient  of  a  government 
pension  must  be  seventy  years  of  age,  a  British  subject,  neither 
a  pauper  nor  in  receipt  of  a  private  income  of  more  than  $150 
(;^3i  IDS.).  Criminals  and  those  who  have  not  honestly  worked 
for  their  self-support  are  debarred.  The  maximum  pension 
allowed  is  about  $1.25  per  week  (5  s.)  to  those  having  incomes 
not  exceeding  about  $100  (^£21  4  s.)  a  year. 

To  help  in  reducing  the  large  amount  of  unemployment,  Par- 
liament passed  an  act  in  1909  authorizing  the  establishment  of 
labor  exchanges  throughout  the  country  to  collect  information 
as  to  employers  requiring  working  people  and  as  to  laborers 
seeking  employment.  Provisions  were  also  made  whereby  the 
government  may  advance  loans  to  laborers  to  pay  their  travel- 
ing expenses  to  the  places  where  employment  may  be  found 
for  them  by  the  labor  exchanges. 

Parliament  has  sought  to  raise  the  level  of  wages  in  some 
industries  which  do  not  pay  the  employees  enough  to  uphold  a 
fairly  decent  standard  of  life.  By  an  act  passed  in  1909,  pro- 
vision is  made  for  the  establishment  of  trade  boards  in  certain 
of  the  "sweated"  trades,  such  as  tailoring,  machine  lace-making, 
and  box-making  industries,  or  any  other  trade  which  may  fall 
below  decent  standards  of  wages  oi*  conditions  of  labor.  These 
trade  boards  consist  of  representatives  of  the  working  people 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  64  i 

and  of  the  employers  and  also  persons  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernment, and  are  empowered  to  fix  minimum  rates  of  wages 
for  time  work  and  general  minimum  rates  for  piece  work  in 
^.heir  respective  trades.  Agreements  for  wages  lower  than 
those  fixed  by  the  board  are  forbidden,  and  employers  paying 
under  the  minimum  are  liable  to  heavy  fines. 

Meanwhile  the  opposition  to  these  sweeping  reforms  was  The  House 
becoming  intense  among  the  Conservatives.  As  they  were  in  blocks  ^ 
a  minority  in  the  House  of  Commons,  however,  they  were  un-  J'^form 
able  to  do  more  than  to  protest  that  the  country  was  going  to 
ruin  and  that  the  upper  and  middle  classes  would  be  submerged 
by  the  rising  power  of  democracy.  The  Conservatives,  how- 
ever, were  firmly  intrenched  in  the  House  of  Lords,  where  they 
had  a  large  majority,  and  there  they  began  to  take  up  arms 
against  measures  which  were,  in  their  opinion,  nothing  short  of 
revolutionary.  In  December,  1906,  the  Lords  mutilated  a  bill 
which  the  Commons  had  passed  for  the  support  of  a  system  of 
national,  free  secular  schools  —  like  those  of  America  —  at  a 
disadvantage  to  those  of  the  Established  Church,  and  a  few  days 
later  they  threw  out  a  plural-voting  bill  abolishing  the  ancient 
practice  of  allowing  a  man  to  vote  in  all  counties  in  which  he 
had  the  requisite  property  to  entitle  him  to  the  ballot.  Such 
action  angered  the  Commons,  which  claimed  that  the  principles 
of  representative  government  were  violated  by  it. 

The  real  clash  between  the  Lords  and  Commons  came  in  The  "  revo- 
1909   over   the    budget  —  that   is,   over  the  taxes   which   the  budget'of 
Liberals  proposed  to  lay  and  the  expenses  they  proposed  to   ^909 
incur.    In  April  of  that  year,  Mr.  Lloyd-George,  Chancellor  of 
the  Exchequer  in  Mr.  Asquith's  government,  laid  before  the 
House  of  Commons  a  scheme  of  taxation  which  stirred  up  a 
veritable  hornets'  nest.      In  this  ''  revolutionary  budget "   he 
proposed  a  high  tax  on  automobiles,  a  heavy  income  tax  with 
a  special  additional  tax  on  incomes  over  ;!{^5ooo,  —  heavier  on 
unearned  than  on  earned  incomes,  —  and  an  inheritance  tax  on 
a  new  scale,  varying  according  to  the  amount  of  the  inheritance 


642 


Outlines  of  European  History 


A  budget 
for  war 
on  poverty 


The  Conserv- 
atives attack 
the  budget 


up  to  fifteen  per  cent  of  estates  over  ;^  1,000, 000.  He  also 
proposed  a  new  land  tax,  distinguishing  sharply  between  land- 
owners who  actually  worked  their  lands  and  the  owners  of 
mineral  lands  and  city  lots  who  exacted  royalties  and  made 
large  profits  from  growth  in  land  values.  The  budget  also  in- 
cluded a  twenty  per  cent  tax  on  unearned  values  in  land,  pay- 
able on  its  sale  or  transfer,  so  that  any  one  who  sold  property 
at  a  profit  would  have  to  pay  a  good  share  of  the  gain  to  the 
public  treasury.  The  chancellor  also  proposed  a  special  tax  on 
undeveloped  and  on  mineral  lands. 

These  special  taxes,  in  addition  to  the  other  taxes,  made  a 
heavy  budget;  but  the  chancellor  defended  it  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  a  war  budget  for  ''  waging  implacable  war  against 
poverty."  He  concluded  his  opening  speech  in  defense  of  his 
policy  by  expressing  the  hope  "that  great  advance  will  be  made 
during  this  generation  toward  the  time  when  poverty  with  its 
wretchedness  and  squalor  will  be  as  remote  from  the  people 
of  this  countr)^  as  the  wolves  which  once  infested  the  forests." 

The  budget  was  at  once  hotly  attacked  by  the  Conservatives 
as  socialistic  and  revolutionary.  They  claimed  that  the  distinc- 
tion between  "  earned  "  and  "  unearned  "  incomes  was  an  un- 
warranted and  invidious  attack  on  the  rights  of  property.  "  If  a 
man,"  asked  one,  "is  to  be  more  heavily  taxed  on  an  income 
that  he  has  not  earned  than  on  an  earned  income,  on  the 
ground  that  he  does  not  have  the  same  absolute  right  to  both 
incomes,  why  may  not  the  government  advance  step  by  step 
until  it  takes  away  all  unearned  incomes  on  the  theory  that  their 
possessors  have  no  right  to  them  at  all  ? "  Some  of  the  m.ore 
conservative  defenders  of  the  budget  shrank  from  answering 
this  question,  and  contented  themselves  by  replying  that  it  was 
a  matter  of  degree,  not  of  fundamental  principles.  Other  sup- 
porters of  the  budget  frankly  declared  that  a  man's  right  to 
his  property  depended  upon  the  way  in  which  he  got  it. 

Speaking  on  this  point,  Mr.  Winston  Churchill  said :  "  For- 
merly the  question  of  the  taxgatherer  was,  '  How  much  have 


The  Twentieth  Centiuy  in  Europe  643 

you  got  ? '  .  .  .    Now  a  new  question  has  arisen.    We  do  not  a  new  ques- 

only  ask  to-day,  'How  much  have  you  got?'  we  also  ask,  'How  tSation 

did  you  get  it?   Did  you  earn  it  by  yourself,  or  has  it  been  left  ■ 
to  you  by  others  ?    Was  it  gained  by  processes  which  are  in 


Fig.  152.    David  Lluvd-Geokge 

The  son  of  a  Welsh  school-teacher,  Mr.  Lloyd-George  knew  himself 
the  meaning  of  that  poverty  he  has  tried  to  lessen  in  Britain.  Studying 
law  he  entered  politics,  and  was  elected  to  ParHament  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven.  He  bitterly  opposed  the  Boer  War,  and  was  noted  as  a 
fearless  radical,  as  well  as  the  leader  of  Welsh  nationalism.  Becoming 
a  cabinet  minister  when  the  Liberals  came  to  power  in  1905,  he  con- 
tinued his  radical  attacks  on  "  property  "  but  combined  with  them  much 
far-seeing  statesmanship.  It  was  mainly  due  to  him  that  England  went 
so  far  in  its  "war  against  poverty."  When  the  great  war  of  1914  came 
Lloyd-George  was  the  one  whose  energy  and  skill  did  most  to  awaken 
England  to  its  danger  and  to  prepare  to  meet  it 

themselves  beneficial  to  the  community  in  general,  or  was  it 
gained  by  processes  which  have  done  no  good  to  anyone,  but 
only  harm  ?  Was  it  gained  by  the  enterprise  and  capacity  neces- 
sary to  found  a  business,  or  merely  by  squeezing  and  bleeding  the 


644 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  Lords 
reject  the 
budget 


The  Com- 
mons protest 


The  cam- 
paign for  the 
election  of 
January,  1910 


The  Lords 
pass  the 
budget 


owner  and  founder  of  the  business  ?  Was  it  gained  by  supply- 
ing the  capital  which  industry  needs,  or  by  denying,  except  at 
extortionate  price,  the  land  which  industry  requires  ?  Was  it  de- 
rived by  active  reproductive  processes,  or  merely  by  squatting  on 
some  piece  of  necessary  land  till  enterprise  and  labor,  national 
interests  and  municipal  interests,  had  to  buy  you  out  at  fifty 
times  the  agricultural  value  ?  Was  it  gained  by  opening  new 
minerals  to  the  service  of  man,  or  by  drawing  a  mining  royalty 
from  the  toil  and  adventure  of  others  ?  .  .  .  How  did  you  get 
it  ? '  That  is  the  new  question  which  has  been  postulated,  and 
which  is  vibrating  in  penetrating  repetition  through  the  land." 

The  arguments  in  favor  of  the  budget  convinced  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  it  was  carried  by  a  handsome  majority.  In 
the  House  of  Lords,  however,  it  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of 
350  to  75. 

The  Liberals  immediately  took  up  the  gage  thus  thrown 
down.  On  December  2,  Mr.  Asquith  moved  in  the  House  of 
Commons  a  resolution  ''That  the  action  of  the  House  of  Lords 
in  refusing  to  pass  into  law  the  financial  provision  made  by  the 
House  for  the  services  of  the  year  is  a  breach  of  the  Constitu- 
tion and  a  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the  House  of  Commons." 
This  resolution  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  349  to  134,  showing 
that  there  was  little  hope  for  a  compromise  on  the  issue.  Then, 
to  test  the  feeling  of  the  country  upon  the  matter,  a  new 
election  was  held,  January,   1910. 

The  election  campaign  was  unusually  bitter,  being  marked 
by  open  violence. in  some  places.  The  Socialists,  radicals,  and 
Irish  demanded  the  speedy  abolition  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
but  the  moderate  Liberals  were  content  to  lessen  its  power. 
The  election  still  gave  the  Liberals  a  majority,  although  they 
lost  almost  one  hundred  seats.  Their  majority  was  so  small, 
however,  that  for  working  purposes  they  had  to  cultivate 
friendly  relations  with  the  Labor  and  Irish  members. 

When  Parliament  met,  the  Lords,  threatened  with  loss  of 
their  powers,  passed  the  obnoxious  budget.    But  the  Liberals 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  645 

were  determined,  none  the  less,  to  render  that  ancient  seat  of 
privilege  harmless  to  thwart  the  will  of  the  Commons  in  future. 

In  the  midst  of  this  constitutional  crisis,  King  Edward  VII  The  election 
died  (May  6,  19 10),  and  a  sort  of  truce  was  made  between  the  iQio^)^on  the 
leaders.    This  was  followed  by  conferences  between  the  repre-   J^o"f^  ?f 

■'  ^  Lords'  issue 

sentatives  of  the  Liberals  and  Conservatives,  at  which  attempts 
were  made  to  arrive  at  a  compromise.  These  efforts  failed,  and 
at  the  opening  of  Parliament  in  November  it  was  found  that  the 
deadlock  was  as  fast  as  ever.  Thereupon  the  Liberals  dissolved 
Parliament  and  appealed  to  the  country  in  a  new  election  that 
closed  on  December  19,  19 10.  The  result  of  this  campaign 
was  as  unsatisfactory  as  that  of  the  preceding  January,  for  the 
Liberals  only  made  slight  gains  in  spite  of  a  hard  fight. 

Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  new  Parliament  in  February,  The  House 
191 1,  a  bill  designed  to  check  the  exercise  of  the  ''veto"  conquered 
power  by  the  Lords  was  introduced  in  Commons  and  passed 
by  a  good  round  majority.  The  measure  was  then  sent  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  Mr.  Asquith  announced  that  he  had  re- 
ceived the  consent  of  King  George  V  to  create  enough  new 
peers  to  insure  its  passage  in  case  the  Conservative  opponents 
were  able  to  defeat  it.  Thus  intimidated,  the  upper  house,  on 
August  18,  191 1,  passed  the  Parliament  Act,  or  the  Lords'  Veto 
Bill  as  it  was  called,  the  leading  provisions  of  which  follow. 

If  any  money  bill — that  is,  a  bill  relative  to  raising  taxes  and   The  Lords' 

.  .  '  .     .  .  11/-.  ^  Veto  Bill 

making  appropriations  —  is  passed  by  Commons  and  sent  up  to 
the  Lords  at  least  one  month  before  the  end  of  a  session,  and 
is  not  passed  by  the  Lords  within  one  month  without  amend- 
ment, the  bill  may  be  presented  to  the  king  for  his  signature 
and,  on  being  approved,  becomes  a  law  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  Lords  have  not  consented  to  it.  Any  public  bill 
(other  than  a  money  bill,  or  a  bill  changing  the  provision  for  a 
maximum  term  of  five  years  for  a  parliament),  passed  by  the 
House  of  Commons  at  three  successive  sessions  and  rejected 
by  the  Lords  at  each  of  the  three  sessions,  may  be  presented 
to  the  king  and,  on  receiving  his  approval,  will  become  a  law 


646 


Outlines  of  Eitropean  History 


National 
insurance 
against  ill 
health  and 
unemploy- 
ment 


vjreat  Britain 
finally  a 
democracy 
in  politics 
though  re- 
taining social 
^.ristocracy 


without  the  consent  of  the  Lords  —  provided  that  two  years 
have  elapsed  between  the  date  of  the  second  reading  of  the 
bill  in  the  Commons  in  the  first  of  those  sessions  and  the  date 
on  which  it  passes  the  Commons  in  the  third  of  those  sessions. 
The  veto  bill  also  fixed  five  years  instead  of  seven  years  as  the 
time  which  any  parliament  may  last.  That  is,  under  the  law 
of  August  18,  a  new  parliamentary  election  must  be  held  at 
least  every  five  years,  although  of  course  a  dissolution  may 
be  ordered  at  any  time  by  the  cabinet.  Provision  was  also 
made  in  191 1  to  pay  members  of  the  House  of  Commons 
;^4oo  a  year.  Thus  one  more  demand  of  the  Chartists  was 
realized. 

With  the  House  of  Lords  curbed,  the  Liberal  government  pro- 
ceeded with  further  reforms.  The  most  comprehensive  of  all 
recent  measures  is  the  National  Insurance  Act  of  191 1,  which 
went  into  effect  in  July,  19 12.  One  part  of  this  law  requires 
the  compulsory  insurance  of  nearly  all  employees  (except  those 
not  engaged  in  manual  labor  and  enjoying  an  income  of  more 
than  ;^i6o  a  year)  against  ill  health  of  every  kind.  The  insured 
persons,  the  employers,  and  the  government  are  all  contributors 
to  the  fund.  Among  the  benefits  for  the  insured  are  medical 
treatment  and  attendance,  sanatorium  treatment  for  tuberculosis, 
payments  during  sickness,  disablement  allowances,  and  the  pay- 
ment of  30  s.  to  each  mother  on  the  birth  of  a  child.  A  second 
portion  of  the  act  requires  employers  and  employees  in  certain 
trades  to  contribute  a  small  sum  weekly  to  a  fund  for  insur- 
ance against  unemployment,  and  provides  government  assistance 
as  well. 

By  these  measures  we  can  see  that  political  democracy  has  at 
last  been  achieved  in  Great  Britain.  The  British  are  still  at- 
tached to  their  monarch,  and  they  retain  a  genuine  respect  for 
the  nobility  in  social  life.  But  political  power  has  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  great  majority,  who  are  using  it  with  but  slight 
regard  for  the  feelings  or  pockets  of  the  aristocracy.  Even 
the  so-called  upper  classes  accept  this  transformation  of  British 


The  Twentieth  Cefitury  in  Europe  647 

politics  as  a  settled  fact,  and  have  confined  their  efforts  to 
preventing  further  change.  But  the  program  of  social  legisla- 
tion in  the  hands  of  Asquith  and  Lloyd-George  has  been  as 
progressive  as  ever,  down  to  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  of 
1914.-^  Indeed,  the  Liberal  government  has  been  charged  by 
the  Conservatives  with  having  been  so  absorbed  with  these 
problems  of  social  reform  at  home  —  or,  as  they  call  it,  with 
confiscating  their  property  —  as  to  have  been  blind  to  the 
danger  of  war,  until  it  suddenly  burst  upon  an  unprepared 
country.  This  charge  seems  hardly  fair,  however,  for  not 
only  had  Sir  Edward  Grey,  the  foreign  minister,  been  ener- 
getic, as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter,  in  keeping  on  terms 
of  close  friendship  with  France  and  arranging  a  friendly  under- 
standing with  Russia,  but  the  minister  in  charge  of  naval 
defense  had  the  British  fleet  ready  on  the  opening  day  of 
the  war. 

Parallel  with  these  measures  of  Parliament  for  the  nation  as   Local 
a  whole,  there  has  gone  on  a  movement  for  civic  betterment,   mun^ielpal 
Local  self-government  for  the  cities  as  well  as  for  the  country   ^^^1^^^^'^  °^ 
districts  was  reorganized  in  1835,  when  representative  bodies   utilities 
replaced    the  old   authorities   whose    offices   had    lasted   down 
from  the  Middle  Ages.    In  recent  years  there  has  been  much 
increase  in  municipal  enterprise  and  ownership  of  public  utili- 
ties.  Cities,  like  Manchester  and  Birmingham,  as  well  as  Lon- 
don, have  undertaken  great  public  works.     Most  of  them  own 
their  street  railways  as  well  as  gas  and  electric-light  plants 
and    experiments    in    the    development  of  model    suburbs  or 
workmen's  houses,  and  are  proud  of  the  success  of  their  enter- 
prises.   There  is  still  much  dire  poverty  in  Britain,  and  little 
has  been  done  to  check  the  evil  of  intemperance,  but  the  nation 
has  been  awakened  to  new  possibilities. 

1  Among  Lloyd-George's  further  plans  was  a  heavy  tax  on  the  land,  arranged 
so  as  to  hit  the  great  landowners,  mainly  nobles,  very  hard,  and  so  perhaps 
bring  back  under  cultivation  the  vast  parks  which  have  formed  many  of  the 
beauty  spots  of  England  but  do  not  help  feed  the  people  nor  pay  much  to  the 
State.   The  war  taxes  since  19 14  promise  to  accomplish  this  in  any  case. 


648 


Outlmes  of  European  History 


Prosperity 
in  Great 
Britain 


Finally,  in  spite  of  the  prophecies,  by  conservative  people,  of 
financial  disaster  if  the  country  were  to  meet  the  burden  of 
these  taxes  for  social  regeneration.  Great  Britain  kept  steadily 
increasing  in  prosperity.  Its  commerce,  just  before  the  war, 
reached  stupendous  figures,  the  imports  into  the  United  King- 
dom in  19 1 3  being  worth  over  three  and  a  half  billion  dollars 
and  the  exports  about  three  billion.  Industries  have  prospered 
in  like  manner.  The  total  output  of  the  main  textile  industries, 
in  which,  it  will  be  recalled,  the  Industrial  Revolution  largely 
began,  has  grown  in  a  century  from  slightly  over  a  hundred 
million  to  almost  a  billion  dollars  a  year,  and  in  19 13  was 
supporting  over  five  million  people. 


Section  iio.    Recent  History  in  Germany 


Germany  be- 
comes a  world 


German 
prosperity 


The  iron 
and  steel 
industries 


The  Great  War  which  opened  in  1 9 1 4  has  completely  altered 
the  attitude  of  the  rest  of  the  world  toward  Germany.  No  one 
can  view  the  history  of  that  country  in  the  same  way  that  he 
did  before  the  Prussian  military  party  precipitated  the  terrific 
conflict  which  is  described  in  a  later  chapter.  The  chief  interest 
of  Germany's  development  after  the  dismissal  of  Bismarck  in 
1890  is  likely  to  lie  hereafter  in  the  manner  in  which  her  gov- 
ernment reached  a  degree  of  power  and  insolence  which  tempted 
them  to  defy  the  world,  and  which  has  made  her  such  an  inter- 
national menace  that  even  our  great  republic,  separated  from 
her  by  the  broad  Atlantic,  was  forced  finally  to  array  its  whole 
strength  against  her. 

During  the  reign  of  William  II,  Germany  has  grown  aston- 
ishingly in  wealth  as  well  as  in  population.  The  foundations 
for  this  prosperity  lie  partly  in  the  fact  that  the  country  has 
been  unified  politically  into  an  empire.  But  almost  as  impor- 
tant has  been  the  development  of  German  manufactures,  which 
in  its  turn  has  largely  depended  upon  the  growth  of  the  great 
iron  and  steel  industries  that  center  in  western  Prussia,  along 
the  Rhine,  and  in  Saxony.    Strangely  enough,  it  was  a  young 


The  Twefitieth  Century  in  Europe  649 

English  engineer,  Mr.  Sidney  G.  Thomas,  who  invented  in  1878 
the  process  upon  which  much  of  this  vast  industry  and,  there- 
fore, also,  much  of  the  might  of  modern  Germany  rests.  The 
iron  ore  of  Germany,  particularly  that  in  the  great  deposits 
along  the  Moselle  River,  in  Lorraine,  which  was  seized  by' 
Germany  in  187 1,  contained  a  good  deal  of  phosphorus,  and 
the  system  of  making  steel  then  most  in  use,  the  Bessemer 
system,  did  not  convert  this  into  steel  satisfactorily.  Hence 
England,  whose  iron  industry  did  not  suffer  from  the  handicap 
of  too  much  phosphorus  in  the  ore,  had  developed  great 
steel  works  much  more  successfully  than  Germany  could. 
Mr.  Thomas  solved  the  problem,  however,  and  his  invention, 
introduced  in  the  cities  along  the  Rhine,  enabled  Germany 
ultimately  to  surpass  the  English,  whose  supply  is  more  limited. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Germany  stood  next  to  the  United 
States  in  the  output  of  her  iron  industries. 

Parallel  with  the  increase  in  wealth  has  come  an  increase  in   Growth  of 
population.    The  population  in  1870  was  about  40,000,000;  in   numbers'^" 
1914  it  was  almost  68,000,000,  —  a  larger  increase  than  was   and  wealth 
shown  in  any  other  country  in  western   Europe.     Vast  new 
cities  therefore  grew  up ;  old  ones  did  away  with  their  narrow 
streets,  destroyed  their  slums,  and  spread  out  along  miles  of 
wide  boulevards  as  new  as  those  of  Chicago. 

A  number  of  municipalities,  like   Berlin,  Munich,   Leipzig,   Municipal 

,    TT  1  11  r    1       J  socialism  in 

and  Hanover,  have  purchased  enormous  areas  01  land  so  as  oermanv 
to  gain  the  profit  arising  from  the  increase  in  value  and  make 
it  easier  to  prevent  congestion.  Several  cities  are  laid  out  into 
zones,  and  the  building  in  each  zone  is  restricted  by  law,  to  stop 
overcrowding.  Some  of  the  more  progressive  towns  own  their 
street-car  lines,  gas  works,  electric-light  plants,  and  slaughter- 
houses, manage  theaters,  operate  pawnshops,  build  houses  for 
workingmen,  and  attempt  to  plan  their  growth  in  such  a  way 
as  to  obviate  the  hideous  and  unsanitary  features  which  have 
too  often  been  supposed  to  be  quite  unavoidable  in  factory 
towns. 


The  German 
business  men 
controlled  by 
the  State 


650 


Outlines  of  En7'opean  History 


Germany's  trade  increased  surprisingly.  German  steamship 
lines,  heavily  subsidized  by  the  government,  developed  rapidly, 
and  their  vessels  were  soon  sailing  on  every  sea.  The  farmers 
and  manufacturers  flourished  owing  to  the  new  markets 
throughout  the  world  opened  by  the  new  German  merchant 
marine.    Workmen  stopped   emigrating  to  the  United   States 


Fig.  153.    Bridge  across  the  Rhine  at  Mainz 

This  long  bridge  spans  the  Rhine  where,  over  nineteen  hundred  years 

before,  Julius  Caesar  built  a  bridge  to  subdue  the  barbarian  Germans 

of  that  day.     Wooden  stakes  and  iron  spikes  of  Caesar's  bridge  are 

kept  in  the  museum  at  Mainz 


and  South  America  because  times  were  good  ever)' where  in 
Germany  and  it  was  easy  to  get  enough  to  do  at   home. 

But  Germany  did  not  play  the  game  fairly.  Individual 
Englishmen  and  individual  English  companies  had  built  up 
England's  world  commerce.  But  German  business  men  were 
generally  backed  by  the  German  government,  which  put  its 
power  and  money  at  their  disposal.  So  they  did  not  work  simply 
for  themselves,  but  the  State  saw  to  it  that  they  worked  for  the 
aggrandizement  of  the  German  government. 


TJie  Twentieth  Cetiticjy  in  Europe  651 


From  a  relatively  poor  country  in   187 1   Germany  became   Ugly  spirit 

of  German 
competition 


rich  and  insolent.    Commercial  spies  were  everywhere  on  the   °     erman 


alert  to  gain  some  advantage  for  Germans  as  Germans.  Instead 
of  acting  in  a  spirit  of  decent  competition  they  formed  a  sort 
of  gigantic  conspiracy  utterly  regardless  of  the  rights  of  others. 
Although  the  Germans  were  freely  received  by  all  other  nations, 
including  England  and  France,  they  abused  the  hospitality 
granted  them  by  their  neighbors.  They  judged  others  by  them- 
selves. They  imagined  that  they  were  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  an  "■  iron  ring  "  of  enemies.  When  by.  peaceful  means  they 
were  becoming  a  highly  important  commercial  nation  they 
nevertheless  began  to  denounce  England  as  a  pirate  and  to  talk 
of  making  "a  place  in  the  sun"  for  themselves  by  crushing  her 
as  their  chief  enemy. 

Unfortunately  the  other  nations  did  not  take  this  German   How  the 
talk  seriously.    Few  imagined  that  the  old  Prussian  spirit  of  the   happened 
Great  Elector,  Frederick  the  Great,  and  Bismarck  and  the  silly 
talk  of  Fichte  and  other  German  philosophers,  historians,  and 
economists  about  German  superiority  would  take  the  form  of 
an  armed  attempt  to  put  the  theories  into  practice.    Neverthe- 
less this  has  happened.    The  German  conception  of  the  State   The  Germans 
is  quite  different  from  that  which  prevails  in  democratic  coun-   revere*^  the 
tries.     Lincoln   once   defined  democracy  as  ''  the  government   ■^^^^^^"'^ 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people."     But  in  Ger- 
many the  people  are  taught  by  their  officials  that  the  State  is 
something  more  precious  than  the  interests  of  all  those  who 
compose  it.    And  it  is  the  duty  of  the  people  not  to  control  the 
State  in  their  own  interests  but  to  obey  the  government  officials 
and  believe  what  the  government  tells  them.    There  has  been 
no  large  liberal  party  in  Germany  to  oppose  ancient  Prussian 
despotism   and  militarism.    The   Social  Democrats,  it  is  true, 
have  often   talked   against   autocracy  and   militarism   and   the 
Kaiser's  nonsense  about  his  partnership  with  God.    But  few 
of  them  were  proof   against  the  war  spirit  when  the  Kaiser 
and  his  advisers  precipitated  the  great  conflict  in   19 14. 


652 


Outlines  of  European  Histoiy 


Constant 
strengthen- 
ing of  the 
German 
army 


The  German 
navy 


Germany's  astonishing  growth  in  wealth  and  commercial 
importance  produced  in  some  classes  a  spirit  of  arrogant  self- 
confidence.  Her  military  leaders  fostered  pride  in  her  ''  invin- 
cible "  army ;  they  recalled  the  victories  of  the  past,  especially 
those  of  1866  and  1870-1871,  and  suggested  that  "the  next 
war "  might  give  her  further  opportunities  for  subduing  her 
jealous  neighbors  and  enhancing  her  power  and  glory.  The 
Reichstag  was  induced  in  19 13  to  grant  money  to  increase 
the  army  in  time  of  peace.  There  was  no  intermission  in  war- 
like preparations.  Great  attention  was  given  to  the  manufacture 
of  improved  artillery  and  the  invention  of  high  explosives,  to 
the  development  of  gigantic  dirigible  balloons  (Zeppelins),  and 
to  the  opening  possibilities  of  undersea  warfare.  When  the 
Germans  considered  that  they  possessed  an  army  of  four  million 
men,  more  carefully  trained  and  more  fully  and  ingeniously 
equipped  than  those  of  any  other  State,  and  that  they  had, 
besides,  six  million  men  who  could  be  summoned  in  case  of  war 
to  fill  gaps  or  guard  the  fatherland,  it  seemed  impossible  that 
they  could  suffer  defeat,  no  matter  who  should  attack  them. 

But  they  were  not  satisfied  with  their  superior  army;  they 
must  have  a  powerful  navy  as  well,  —  one  that  would  vie  with  the 
sea  power  of  Germany's  chief  rival.  Great  Britain.  Accordingly, 
urged  on  by  the  Kaiser,  Germany  began  in  1898  to  construct 
a  huge  modern  navy.  She  added  cruiser  to  cruiser  and  dread- 
naught  to  dreadnaught,  until  she  was  second  only  to  England  in 
the  size  and  equipment  of  her  marine.  She  has  two  stretches 
of  seacoast,  separated  by  the  Danish  peninsula.  By  means  of 
a  canal  (opened  in  1895)  between  her  war  port  of  Kiel  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Elbe  River  she  connected  her  coasts  from  the 
Dutch  to  the  Russian  boundary,  and  her  ships  passed  easily  back 
and  forth  between  the  Baltic  and  the  North  Sea.  But  when  the 
war  really  came  England  promptly  blockaded  Germany's  ports 
on  the  North  Sea,  and  except  for  one  sally  with  doubtful  results 
a  great  part  of  the  German  navy  remained  during  the  first  four 
years  of  the  war  peacefully  ensconced  in  her  own  ports. 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  653 

The  Prussian   crown   prince  certainly  expressed  the  views   views  of  the 
of  many  German  leaders  and  writers  when  he  said,  in  1913  :   crown^" 
"  Our  country  is  obliged  more  than  any  other  country  to  place  P""^^ 
all  its  confidence  in  its  good  weapons.    Set  in  the  center  of 
Europe,  it  is   badly  protected  by  its  unfavorable  geographic 
frontiers,  and  is  regarded  by  many  nations,  without  affection. 
Upon  the  German  Empire,  therefore,  is  imposed  more  emphati- 
cally than  upon  any  other  people  of  the  earth  the  sacred  duty 
of  watching  carefully  that  its  army  and  its  navy  be  always 
prepared  to  meet  any  attack  from  the  outside.    It  is  only  by 
reliance  upon  our  brave  sword  that  we  shall  be  able  to  maintain 
that  place  in  the  sun  which  belongs  to  us,  and  which  the  world 
does  not  seem  very  willing  to  accord  us." 

But  to  many  Germans  the  ''  safety  "  and  "  defense  "  of  the  German  idea 
fatherland  means  the  right  to  expand  in  various  ways  at  the  and  defen^se 
expense  of  its  neighbors.  Other  countries  must  be  weakened,  fatherland 
especially  England,  before  Germany  is  really  safe.  She  must 
have  European  dependencies  as  well  as  colonial  possessions  in 
Africa,  Asia,  and  South  America.  It  would  be  quite  impossible 
here  to  set  down  all  the  schemes  of  national  aggrandizement 
suggested  by  German  writers  during  the  past  twenty  years.^ 
Before  the  war  little  attention  was  paid  to  these  seemingly  wild 
projects.  As  President  Wilson  said  in  June,  191 7,  most  people 
"  regarded  what  German  professors  expounded  in  their  class- 
rooms, and  German  writers  set  forth  to  the  world  .  .  .,  as  the 
dream  of  minds  detached  from  practical  affairs,  as  preposterous 
private  conceptions  of  German  destiny."  But  since  the  opening 
of  the  war  and  Germany's  occupation  of  Belgium,  northern 
France,  and  large  portions  of  Russia,  it  has  been  necessary  to 
take  account  of  that  fierce  party  in  Germany  which  seems 
willing  to  cast  aside  every  obligation  of  international  law  and 
humanity  in  order  to  make  Germany  a  "  world  power." 

1  The  United  States  government  has  published  for  free  distribution  an  invalu- 
able selection  of  extracts  from  German  writers,  called  Co7iquest  and  Kultur ; 
Aims  of  the  Gejtnans  in  their  Own  Words. 


654 


Outlines  of  Eiiropea^i  History 


German 
application 
of  Darwin's 
theory 


The  supreme 
issue  of  the 


Many  Germans  hold  that  Darwin's  idea  that  the  fittest 
survive  in  the  constant  struggle  for  existence  should  be  ap- 
plied to  modern  States,  War,  or  its  equivalent,  they  argue, 
has  always  been  nature's  way  of  eliminating  the  weak  and 
inferior  and  leaving  the  field  to  the  strong  and  resourceful. 
But  the  German  might  be  reluctant  to  welcome  war  if  he  was 
not  assured  by  his  philosophers,  clergymen,  and  government 
leaders  that  his  race  is  superior  to  all  others  and  his  civiliza- 
tion unequaled  elsewhere.  German  victories  in  the  past,  Ger- 
man science  and  art  and  learning,  all  combine  to  prove  to 
the  German's  satisfaction  that  his  people  are  undoubtedly  the 
'^  fittest."  They  should  therefore  welcome  war,  not  only  be- 
cause they  think  that  they  are  sure  to  win  but  because  it  is 
their  natural  duty  and  prerogative,  as  they  assume,  to  spread 
their  civilization  ^^Kultur)  among  the  inferior  peoples  abcrut  them.^ 

Their  opponents  in  the  Great  War  are  bent  on  showing  the 
Germans  that  this  theory  is  the  result  of  criminal  self-delusion. 
The  fact  that  a  country  has  a  big  army  is  no  sign  that  it  is 
"  fittest "  to  play  a  part  in  our  modern  world.  Germany  was 
able  to  crush  little  Belgium  in  19 14  and  to  sink  the  Ltisitania 
in  19 1 5,  but  the  world  refuses  to  think  these  are  proofs  of 
her  superior  civilization.  It  would  seem  that  only  defeat  can 
force  the  Kaiser  and  the  Prussian  war  party  to  conclude  that 
military  glory  and  conquest  are  outworn  ambitions  which  the 
present  world  cannot  tolerate. 


Section 


France  in  the  Twentieth  Century 


The  contri-  Perhaps  no  country  in  Europe  has  contributed  more  to  the 

France °to  history  of  civilization  than  France.  A  home  of  new  ideas,  of 
civilization       freedom  in  thinking  and  experiment  in  politics,  it  has  also  been 

the  main  center,  through  most  of  the  modern  period,  for  the 

development  of  art. 

1  The  ideas  that  the  Germans  harbor  of  themselves  and  their  mission  are 
somewhat  more  fully  stated  in  the  supplementary  chapter,  in  the  section  dealing 
with  the  problem  of  reestablishing  peace. 


The  Tzventieth  Ceiittiry  in  Eitrope 


655 


Paris  is  the  painters'  city.     Not  only  do  its  vast  galleries   Paris  the 
contain  priceless  treasures  of  the  worid's  masterpieces,  but  its   of^Europ? 
schools  of  art  draw  students  from  every  country.    In  this  way 
it  has  influenced  the  taste  and  ideals  of  the  whole  art  world. 


Fig.  154.   The  Opera  House,  Paris 

The  Opera  House  stands  in  the  very  center  of  the  city.  It  is  the  most 
magnificent  building  devoted  to  music  in  the  world,  and  was  begun  by 
Napoleon  III  but  completed  under  the  Third  Republic.  On  opening 
nights  high  officials  of  the  government  come  in  state.  But  once  a  month 
free  performances  by  the  best  artists  are  given,  open  to  the  people  of 
Paris ;  for  the  French  government,  like  other  European  governments, 
supports  art  by  national  subsidies 

It  is  also  a  great  musical  center.  The  great  masters  and  geniuses 
in  music,  whether  they  come  from  Germany,  Italy,  Poland, 
or  Russia,  regard  the  manner  of  the  reception  of  their  work  in 
the  great  opera  house  in  Paris  as  a  matter  of  the  first  importance. 

Although  France  stands  so  high  in  the  realm  of  art  and  has   France  mis- 
made  contributions  to  science  not  less  phenomenal,^  yet,  until  by  foreigners 
the  war  of  19 14  revealed  the  courage  and  moral  devotion  of 

1  See  next  section. 


656 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  consen'- 
ativism  of 
the  French 


The  French 
parHament 
controls  its 
cabinet 


the  people,  it  was  the  custom  for  foreigners  to  refer  to  the 
France  of  the  Third  Republic  as  an  outworn  country,  which 
was  already  in  decline.  The  main  reason  for  this  was  that  those 
who  wrote  about  modern  France  did  not  really  know  their  sub- 
ject. The  serious,  hard-working,  thrifty  Frenchmen  and  French- 
women, of  which  the  nation  is  mainly  composed,  have  not 
interested  pleasure-seeking  travelers  who  write  about  their  ex- 
periences abroad.  These  writers  have  been  struck  by  small 
things,  differences  in  ways  and  manners,  and  have  failed  to  see 
beneath  the  quick  wit  and  lively  expression  the  real  seriousness 
of  the  French  people. 

The  modern  history  of  France,  if  studied  superficially,  adds 
to  this  impression  of  "the  volatile  French."  Paris  is  "the  home 
of  revolutions."  But  Paris  is  not  France,  and  the  country  as  a 
whole  is  rather  conservative  in  many  ways.  It  is  mainly  a  coun- 
try of  prosperous  peasant  farmers,  who  own  their  land  and  in- 
vest their  savings  at  interest  rather  than  spend  them  on  such 
luxuries  as  automobiles  or  piano  players.  They  are  quite  happy 
to  leave  things  as  they  are,  and  object  to  reforms  that  increase 
the  taxes.  The  shrewd,  well-to-do  merchants  of  the  towns  are 
of  much  the  same  mind.  Hence  when  really  vital  reforms  are 
proposed  they  are  likely  to  meet  with  sufficient  opposition  to 
bring  about  some  sort  of  a  political  crisis.-^ 

During  the  earlier  years  of  the  history  of  the  Third  Republic 
the  cabinet  was  defeated  every  few  months,  and  a  new  prime 
minister  would  be  called  to  power.  This  was  regarded  in  Eng- 
land and  America  as  a  sign  of  political  instabilit}'.  But  if  one 
examines  the  situation  more  closely,  one  sees  that  the  change 
of  cabinet  did  not  matter  in  France  as  it  would  have  mattered 
in  England  or  America.     For  in   most  cases  the  policy  was 


1  See  above,  p.  485.  On  the  other  hand,  this  also  explains  the  success  of 
revolutions  in  which  apparently  so  few  people  took  part.  The  mass  of  the  nation 
was  rather  indifferent  to  politics  so  long  as  things  went  along  about  as  they  had 
been  going ;  and  the  successive  governments,  republic  or  monarchy,  generally 
made  little  change  in  the  great  administrative  structure,  which  dates  from 
Napoleon  and  the  Revolution,  or  even  from  the  old  regime. 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  657 

unchanged.  The  new  cabinet  would  often  be  just  a  more  compe- 
tent group  of  men  to  accomplish  the  same  end.  The  point  to 
be  kept  in  mind  is  that,  whereas  in  the  English  system  the 
cabinet  tends  to  run  the  Parliament,  in  the  French  system  the 
parliament  controls  the  cabinet. 

This  is  the  result  of  the  "group  system"  of  political  parties.   The  group 
The  government  is  faced  with  the  possibility  of  a  hostile  coali-  panS  ° 
tion  of  the  various  groups  at  any  time,  whereas  with  the  bi-party 
system  the  government  is  practically  sure  of  the  support  of  its 
party,  which,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  is  in  the  majority. 

As  we  have  intimated  above,  France  has  been  a  little  slow   Social 
to  follow  the  example  of  Germany  and  England  in  matters  of 
social  reform,  partly  because  the  problems  of  poverty  have  not 
been  so  pressing  there.    But  in  19 10,  building  upon  earlier  laws,   France  fol- 
it  established  a  thorough-going  system  of  old-age  and  disability   e°  ample  of 
pensions.    The  law  requires  all  wage  workers  and  salaried  em-   England  ana 

^  no  Germany 

ployees  to  be  insured,  and  permits  certain  other  workers  to 
take  advantage  of  the  law  if  they  wish.  Employers  and  em- 
ployees make  equal  contributions  to  the  fund,  and  the  govern- 
ment also  lends  its  aid.  The  pension  begins  at  the  age  of 
sixty-five  —  five  years  earlier  than  in  Germany  —  and  will  nor- 
mally amount  to  about  $75  per  annum  for  men  and  $60  per 
annum  for  women.  Provisions  are  also  made  for  those  disabled 
through  sickness  or  accident ;  and  widows  and  orphans  receive 
certain  death  benefits.  In  19 13  over  eight  million  persons  were 
registered  under  this  scheme. 

The  Napoleonic  tradition  of  military  glory  was   the  worst  The  Third 
handicap  of  France  during  the  nineteenth  century.    The  memo-  be^comes 
ries  of  the  empire,  when   Paris  was   the  capital  of  most  of  P^^^^^ 
Europe,  continued  to  haunt  a  certain  section  of  the  people, 
mainly  the  aristocracy,  down  to  the  disastrous  war  of  1870. 
During   the    Third    Republic    the    military    party,    particularly 
the  Bonapartists,  tried  to  keep  up  the  old  spirit  by  harping 
upon  the  need    for   reconquering  Alsace-Lorraine  from   Ger- 
many.   Demonstrations  in   Paris  were  held  before  the  statue 


658  Outlines  of  Europe aii  History 

representing  the  lost  city  of  Strassburg.  But  in  recent  years 
the  jingoes  have  had  little  support  either  in  parliament  or  out 
of  it.  The  demonstrations  have  been  witnessed  by  smaller 
and  smaller  crowds  of  bystanders,  and  a  strong  pacifist  move- 
ment has  been  noticeable  in  the  republic.-^  The  growth  of  the 
Socialist  party,  which  was  strongly  antimilitarist,  was  a  definite 
sign  of  the  new  spirit,  and  the  government,  at  least  in  the 
eyes  of  the  militarists,  did  not  support  a  consistent  policy  of 
preparedness. 
The  effect  This   attitude  was   changed,   however,   by  the   trouble  with 

Morocro  Germany  over  Morocco  in  1911.^    After  that,  France  was  thor- 

^  ^^^  oughly  alarmed,  and  all  but  the  Socialists  were  for  increasing 

the  army.  The  great  Socialist  leader,  Jaures,  one  of  the  great- 
est orators  and  statesmen  in  Europe,  continued,  even  up  to  the 
outbreak  of  the  war,  to  argue  against  any  yielding  to  a  warlike 
policy.  But  upon  the  actual  outbreak  of  the  war  in  19 14,  many 
people  thought  his  idealism  no  longer  patriotic.  He  was  assas- 
sinated just  as  the  invasion  of  France  began. 

Section  112.    Progress  and  Effects  of  Natural 
Science 

This  story  of  politics  and  social  reform,  and  of  achievement 
in  producing  wealth  and  penetrating  continents,  which  has  been 
our  main  theme  during  the  last  twenty  chapters,  has,  however, 
left  almost  unmentioned  a  phase  of  the  histoiy  which  is  per- 
haps of  more  lasting  importance  than  anything  else  that  has 
taken  place  —  indeed,  more  important  than  anything  else  that 
has  ever  been  accomplished  by  mankind  in  all  its  long  history 
—  the  rise  of  modern  science. 

In  Chapter  VI  the  extraordinary  advance  of  natural  science 
in  the  eighteenth  century  was  briefly  described.  Through 
careful  observation    and    experimentation,   and    the    invention 

1  As  an  illustration  of  the  popular  outlook  see  the  vote  for  Pasteur  referred 
to  below,  p.  672.  2  See  below,  p.  685. 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  659 

of  scientific  instruments  like  the  microscope  and  telescope,  Great  im- 
and  by  laborious  watching,  musing,  and  calculating,  men  of  scientific  ° 
science  —  Newton,  Linnaeus,   Buffon,  Lavoisier,  and  hundreds   research  on 

'  '  '  '  the  lives  of 

of  Others  —  laid  the  foundations  of  our  modern  sciences,  as-  men 
tronomy,  botany,  zoology,  chemistry,  physics.  Their  researches 
greatly  increased  man's  knowledge  of  himself,  of  the  animals 
and  plants  about  him,  of  the  minerals  and  gases  which  he 
had  hitherto  so  ill  understood,  of  the  earth  itself,  and  of  the 
universe  in  which  it  revolves.  These  scientific  discoveries  have 
not  served  merely  to  gratify  a  noble  curiosity ;  they  have 
deeply  affected  the  lives  even  of  those  who  never  heard  of  oxy- 
gen and  hydrogen  or  the  laws  of  motion.  Scarcely  any  human 
interest  has  escaped  the  direct  influence  of  natural  science,  for 
it  has  not  only  begotten  a  spirit  of  reform  but  is  supplying  the 
means  for  infinitely  improving  our  human  lot  by  bettering  the 
conditions  in  which  we  live.^ 

Great  as  were  the  achievements  of  the  eighteenth  century,   Some  exam- 
those  of  the  nineteenth  were  still  more  startling.    In  order  to  fific  advance^ 
appreciate  this  we  have  only  to  recollect  that  the  representa-  ^y""g  Jjjj 
tives  of  the  European  powers  who  met  together  at  Vienna  century 
after  Napoleon's  fall  had  not  only  never  dreamed  of  telegraphs, 
telephones,  electric  lights,  and  electric  cars,  which  are  everyday 
necessities  to  us,  but  they  knew  nothing  of  ocean  steamships 
or  railways,  of  photography,  anaesthetics,  or  antiseptics.    Such 
humble  comforts  as  matches,  kerosene  oil,   illuminating  gas, 
and  our  innumerable  India-rubber  articles  were  still  unheard  of. 
Sewing  machines,  typewriters,  and  lawn  mowers  would  have 
appeared  to  them  wholly  mysterious  contrivances  whose  uses 
they  could  not  have  guessed.    Probably  none  of  them  had  ever 
heard  of  the  atomic  theory ;  certainly  not  of  the  cellular  theory, 
the  conservation  of  energy,  evolution,  the  germ  theory  of  dis- 
ease —  all  these,  which  every  college  boy  and  girl  now  finds  in 
the  textbooks,  would  have  been  perfectly  strange  to  Stein  or 
Alexander  I. 


L 


Unfortunately,  it  is  also  capable  of  heightening  the  horrors  of  war. 


66o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


The  progress  of  science  in  the  twentieth  century  bids  fair, 
with  our  ever  more  refined  means  of  research,  to  solve  many 
another  deep  mystery  and  add  enormously  to  man's  power  and 
resources.  Yet,  so  far,  each  discovery  has  suggested  problems 
hitherto  unsuspected.  The  universe  is  far  more  complicated 
than  it  was  once  believed  to  be,  and  there  seems,  therefore, 
to  be  no  end  to  profitable  research.  It  should  be  the  aim  of 
every  student  of  modern  history  to  follow  the  development  of 
science  and  to  observe  the  ways  in  which  it  is  constantly  chang- 
ing our  habits  and  our  views  of  man,  his  origin  and  destiny. 
It  will  be  possible  here  to  do  no  more  than  suggest  some  of 
the  more  astonishing  results  of  the  scientific  research  which 
has  been  carried  on  during  the  past  hundred  years  with  ever- 
increasing  ardor,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 

To  begin  with  the  earth  itself,  practically  every  one  in 
Europe  fifty  years  ago  believed  that  it  had  existed  but  five  or 
six  thousand  years,  and  that  during  the  successive  days  of  a 
single  week  God  had  created  it  and  all  the  creatures  upon  it 
and  had  set  the  sun  and  moon  in  the  firmament  to  light  it. 
For  this  conception  of  creation  the  geologist,  zoologist,  paleon- 
tologist, anthropologist,  physicist,  and  astronomer  have  been 
substituting  another,  according  to  which  all  things  have  come 
to  their  present  estate  through  a  gradual  process  extending 
through  millions,  perhaps  billions,  of  years. 

The  earth  is  now  commonly  believed  to  have  once  been  a 
gaseous  ball  which  gradually  cooled  until  its  surface  became 
hardened  into  the  crust  upon  which  we  live.-^  Geologists  do 
not  agree  as  to  the  age  of  the  earth  in  its  present  state,  and 
there  appears  to  be  no  means  of  definitely  settling  the  question. 

1  Some  distinguished  scientists  hold  that  there  are  weighty  reasons  for  sup- 
posing that  this  crust  is  not  more  than  thirty  or  forty  miles  thick,  and  that  the 
volcanoes  are  openings  which  reach  down  to  the  molten  and  gaseous  interior. 
Other  geologists,  however,  either  believe  that  the  globe  is  solid,  or  humbly  con- 
fess that  we  can  form  no  satisfactory  conclusions  as  to  its  interior,  since  we  have 
no  means  of  determining  the  condition  of  matter  under  such  a  tremendous  pres- 
sure. Recently  the  theory  has  been  advanced  that  the  earth  was  gradually  built 
of  particles  previously  flying  about  in  space,  and  was  never  a  molten  mass. 


r 


The  Twentieth  Century  iri  Enrope  66 1 

They  infer,  however,  that  it  must  have  required  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  thousand  millions  of  years  for  the  so-called  sedi- 
mentary rocks  to  be  laid  down  in  the  beds  of  ancient  seas 
and  oceans.  Many  of  these  rocks  contain  fossils  which  indi- 
cate that  plants  and  animals  have  existed  on  the  earth  from 
the  very  remote  periods  when  some  of  these  older  strata  were 
formed.  Accordingly  it  seems  possible  that  for  at  least  a  hun- 
dred million  years  the  earth  has  had  its  seas  and  its  dry  land, 
differing  little  in  temperature  from  the  green  globe  familiar 
to  us. 

Even  if  we  reduce  this  period  by  one  half,  it  is  impossible  to 
form  more  than  a  faint  idea  of  the  time  during  which  plants 
and  the  lower  forms  of  animals  have  probably  existed  on 
the  earth.  Let  us  imagine  a  record  having  been  kept  during 
the  past  fifty  million  years,  in  which  but  a  single  page  should 
be  devoted  to  the  chief  changes  occurring  during  each  suc- 
cessive five  thousand  years.  This  mighty  journal  would  now 
amount  to  ten  volumes  of  a  thousand  pages  each ;  and  scarcely 
more  than  the  last  page.  Volume  X,  page  looo,  would  be  as- 
signed to  the  whole  recorded  history  of  the  world  from  the 
earliest  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  inscriptions  to  the  present  day. 

As  for  the  starry  universe  of  which  our  sun  and  his  little 
following  of  planets  form  an  infinitesimal  part  —  that  seems 
to  our  poor  minds  to  have  existed  always  and  to  be  boundless 
in  extent.  Nevertheless  the  revelations  of  the  spectroscope  and 
the  samples  of  substances  which  reach  the  earth  in  the  form 
of  meteoric  dust  and  stones  indicate  that  heavenly  bodies  are 
composed  of  the  same  chemical  constituents  with  which  we 
are  familiar  —  hydrogen,  oxygen,  nitrogen,  carbon,  sodium, 
iron,  and  so  forth. 

As  early  as  1795  ^^  Scotch  geologist,  James  Hutton,  pub-   Lyeirs 
lished  his  conclusion  that  the  earth  had  gradually  assumed  its   opGeology 
present  form   by   slow   natural   processes ;    and    he    roused   a   f^^j^g^  ^^^^"^^ 
storm   of   protest   by  declaring   that  he  found   "'  no  traces  of 
a  beginning  and  no  prospect  of  an  end,"    In  1830  Sir  Charles 


662 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Buffon,  1707- 
1788,  dis- 
covers signs 
of  a  gradual 
evolution  of 
vegetable  and 
animal  life 


The  idea  of 
evolution 
adopted  by  a 
very  few 
advanced 
thinkers  in 
the  first  half 
of  the  nine- 
teenth 
century 


Lyell  published  his  famous  Principles  of  Geology,  in  which  he 
explained  at  great  length  the  manner  in  which  the  gradual  con- 
traction of  the  globe,  the  action  of  the  rain  and  the  frost, 
had,  through  countless  seons,  and  without  any  great  general 
convulsions  or  cataclysms,  formed  the  mountains  and  valleys 
and  laid  down  the  strata  of  limestone,  clay,  and  sandstone. 
He  showed,  in  short,  that  the  surface  of  the  earth  was  the 
result  of  familiar  causes,  most  of  which  can  still  be  seen  in 
operation.  The  work  of  more  recent  geologists  has  tended 
to  substantiate  Lyell's  views. 

And  just  as  the  earth  itself  has  slowly  changed  through  the 
operation  of  natural  forces,  so  plants  and  animals  appear  to 
have  assumed  their  present  forms  gradually.  Buffon,  a  French 
naturalist  who  was  busy  upon  a  vast  Natural  History  at  the 
time  that  Diderot's  Encyclopcedia  was  in  the  course  of  publi- 
cation, pointed  out  that  all  mammals  closely  resemble  each 
other  in  their  structure,  unlike  as  they  may  .appear  to  the 
casual  observer.  If  a  horse  be  compared  point  by  point  to 
a  man,  "  our  wonder,"  he  declares,  "  is  excited  rather  by  the 
resemblances  than  by  the  differences  between  them."  As  he 
noted  the  family  resemblances  between  one  species  and  another 
he  admitted  that  it  looked  as  if  Nature  might,  if  sufficient  time 
were  allowed,  "  have  evolved  all  organized  forms  from  one 
original  type." 

In  other  passages  Buffon  forecast  the  great  theory  of  evolu- 
tion, and  in  the  opening  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  his 
fellow  countryman,  Lamarck,  published  a  work  in  which  he 
boldly  maintained  that  the  whole  animal  world  has  been 
gradually  developed.  He  was  half  a  century  in  advance  of 
his  times  in  this  conviction,  although  the  causes  of  develop- 
ment which  he  assigned  would  not  seem  at  all  adequate  to 
modem  zoologists.  Nevertheless  other  investigators  were  im- 
pressed by  the  same  facts  which  had  led  Buffon  and  Lamarck 
to  their  conclusions,  and  in  1852  Herbert  Spencer,  in  one  of 
his   very    earliest   works,    gave    many    strong    and    seemingly 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Rjirope 


663 


unanswerable  arguments  to  support  the  idea  that  the  whole 
visible  universe  —  the  earth,  the  plants  and  animals,  even 
man  himself  and  all  his  ideas  and  institutions  —  had  slowly 
developed  by  a  natural  process. 

Seven  years  later  (1859)  Charles  Darwin's  The  Origin  of  Darwin's 
Species  by  Means  of  Natural  Selectio?i  —  the  result  of  years  of  natural ° 
the  most  patient  study  of  plants  and  animals  —  finally  brought  election 


Fig.  155.    Darwin 

Charles  Darwin  (1809-1882),  after  college  days  and  a  trip  around  the 
world  (1832-1836)  as  naturalist  to  a  scientific  exploration,  spent  a 
secluded  but  studious  and  busy  life  in  an  English  village.  He  pub- 
lished many  books ;  one  of  the  best  known  was  "  The  Descent  of 
Man"  (187 1) 


the  whole  theory  of  evolution  to  the  attention  of  the  world  at 
large.  Darwin  maintained  that  the  various  species  of  animals 
and  plants  —  all  the  different  kinds  of  monkeys,  sparrows, 
and  whales,  of  maple  trees,  blackberries,  and  violets  —  were 


664 


Outlines  of  Eu7'opean  History 


The  nature 
of  "  the 
struggle  for 
existence  " 


Variation 
and  the 
survival  of 
the  fittest 


not  descendants  from  original  separate  and  individual  species 
created  in  a  certain  form  which  they  had  always  kept,  but  that 
these  species  as  they  exist  in  the  world  to-day  were  the  result 
of  many  changes  and  modifications  which  have  taken  place 
during  the  millions  of  years  in  which  plants  and  animals  have 
lived  upon  the  earth.^ 

Darwin  pointed  out  that  if  any  animal  or  plant  were  left 
free  to  multiply  it  would  speedily  fill  the  earth.  For  instance,  a 
single  pair  of  robin  redbreasts,  or  sparrows,  if  allowed  to  live 
and  breed  unmolested,  would  under  favorable  circumstances  in- 
crease to  more  than  twenty  millions  in  ten  years.  Consequently 
since  the  number  of  plants  and  animals  shows  no  actual  general 
increase,  it  is  clear  that  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  the  eggs 
of  birds  and  fishes,  the  seeds  of  plants,  and  the  young  of  mam- 
mals are  destroyed  before  they  develop.  Heat  and  cold,  rain 
and  drought,  are  largely  responsible  for  this,  but  organisms 
also  kill  one  another  in  a  thousand  different  ways,  often  by 
merely  crowding  out  one  another  and  consuming  all  the  avail- 
able food.  There  is  thus  a  perpetual  struggle  for  existence 
among  all  organisms,  whether  of  the  same  or  different  species, 
and  few  only  can  possibly  survive  —  one  in  five,  or  in  ten,  or 
in  a  thousand,  or,  in  some  cases,  in  a  million. 

''  Then  comes  the  question.  Why  do  some  live  rather  than 
others  ?  If  all  the  individuals  of  each  species  were  exactly  alike 
in  every  respect,  we  could  only  say  that  it  is  a  matter  of  chance, 
but  they  are  not  alike.  We  find  that  they  vary  in  many  different 
ways.  Some  are  stronger,  some  swifter,  some  hardier  in  consti- 
tution, some  more  cunning.  An  obscure  color  may  render  con- 
cealment more  easy  for  some ;  keener  sight  may  enable  others 


1  In  the  introduction  to  his  book  he  says  :  "  Although  much  remains  obscure, 
I  can  entertain  no  doubt,  after  the  most  deliberate  and  dispassionate  judgment  of 
which  I  am  capable,  that  the  view  which  most  naturalists  till  recently  entertained, 
and  which  I  formerly  entertained,  —  namely,  that  each  species  has  been  independ- 
ently created,  —  is  erroneous.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  species  are  not  immu- 
table, but  that  those  belonging  to  what  are  called  the  same  genera  are  lineal 
descendants  of  some  other  and  generally  extinct  species." 


The  Twentieth  Century  m  Eu7vpe  66$ 

to  discover  prey  or  escape  from  an  enemy  better  than  their 
fellows.  Among  plants  the  smallest  differences  may  be  useful 
or  the  reverse.  The  earliest  and  strongest  shoots  may  escape 
the  slugs ;  their  greater  vigor  may  enable  them  to  flower  and 
seed  earlier  in  wet  autumn  ;  plants  best  armed  with  spines  or  hair 
may  escape  being  devoured  ;  those  whose  flowers  are  most  con- 
spicuous may  be  soonest  fertilized  by  insects.  We  cannot  doubt 
that,  on  the  whole,  any  beneficial  variation  will  give  the  posses- 
sor of  it  a  greater  probability  of  living  through  the  tremendous 
ordeal  they  have  to  undergo.  There  may  be  something  left 
to  chance,  but  on  the  whole  the  fittest  will  survivey^ 

Darwin's  theory  was,  in  short,  that  species  did  not  endure 
unchanged,  but,  owing  to  the  constant  variations,  those  best 
fitted  to  survive  escaped  destruction  in  the  constant  struggle  for 
existence  and  transmitted  their  advantageous  characteristics  to 
their  offspring.  This  idea  that  all  plants  and  animals,  and  even 
man  himself,  had  developed  instead  of  being  created  in  their 
present  form,  and  that  man  belonged,  physically,  to  the  "  pri- 
mates," the  group  of  animals  which  includes  the  apes,  shocked 
a  great  many  people,  and  the  subject  began  to  be  discussed 
with  no  little  heat  and  sometimes  with  much  indignation 
by  men  of  science,  theologians,  and  the  cultivated  public  in 
general. 

Among  those  who  enthusiastically  w^elcomed  Darwin's  book  The  theory 
were  Spencer,  Alfred  Wallace  (who  had  reached  the  same  con-  findrde-''°" 
elusion  before  he  knew  of  Darwin's  work),  Huxley,  and  the   fenders  and 

'  -^  IS  now  ac- 

American  botanist,  Asa  Gray,  all  of  whom  devoted  their  gifted  cepted  by 
pens  to  the  defense  and  explanation  of  the  new  ideas.  Evolu-  scientists 
tion,  although  far  more  disturbing  to  the  older  ideas  of  the 
world  than  the  discovery  of  Copernicus  that  the  earth  revolves 
around  the  sun,  made  its  way  far  more  rapidly  into  general 
acceptance,  and  to-day  a  large  majority  of  zoologists,  botanists, 
geologists,  and  biologists,  and  indeed  a  great  part  of  those  who 
have  received  a  scientific  training,  accept  the  general  theory  of 

1  Alfred  Wallace,  Daizvinis7n,  chap.  i. 


666 


Outlines  of  European  History 


evolution  as  confidently  as  that  of  universal  gravitation  or  the 
fact  that  water  is  composed  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen.^ 

The  opponents  of  the  theory  of  evolution  have  slowly  de- 
creased in  numbers.  At  first  the  clergy,  both  Protestant  and 
Catholic,  could  find  no  words  too  harsh  to  apply  to  the  patient 
and  careful  Darwin,  who  seemed  to  them  to  contradict  the 
express  word  of  God  and  to  rob  man  of  all  his  dignity. 
But  as  time  went  on  many  religious  leaders  became  reconciled 
to  the  new  view.  For  on  further  thought  it  seemed  to  them  to 
furnish  a  more  exalted  notion  of  God's  purposes  and  methods 
than  that  formerly  universally  entertained,  and  they  came  to 
feel  that  instead  of  being  degraded  by  being  put  on  a  level  with 
the  brutes  man  still  remains  as  before  the  goal  toward  which 
all  Nature's  work  through  the  ages  is  directed. 

While  the  zoologist,  the  botanist,  and  the  geologist  were 
elaborating  the  theory  of  evolution,  the  chemists,  physicists, 
and  astronomers  were  busy  with  the  problems  suggested  by 
matter  and  energy  —  heat,  light,  electricity,  the  nature  and 
history  of  the  sun  and  stars.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century 
an  Englishman,  Dalton,  suggested  that  all  matter  acted  as  if  it 
consisted  of  atoms  of  the  various  elements,  which  combined 
with  one  another  to  form  the  molecules,  or  little  particles  of  the 
innumerable  compound  substances.  For  example,  an  atom  of 
carbon  combined  with  two  atoms  of  oxygen  to  form  the  gas 
commonly  called  carbonic  acid.  Moreover  as  twelve  parts  by 
weight  of  carbon  always  combined  with  thirt}^-two  parts  of 
oxygen,  it  might  be  inferred  that  the  carbon  atom  weighed 
twelve  units  and  each  of  the  two  oxygen  atoms  sixteen.    This 

1  Many  investigators  feel,  however,  that  Darwin's  explanation  of  evolution  is, 
as  he  himself  freely  admitted,  only  a  partial  one  and  quite  inadequate  to  account 
for  the  existing  forms  of  animals  and  plants.  Recently  the  Dutch  naturalist,  de 
Vries,  has  proved  that  the  marked  variations  known  as  "  sports,"  or  freaks  of 
nature,  may  sometimes  be  perpetuated  from  generation  to  generation.  These 
sudden  developments  are  known  as  "  mutations."  They  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  species  we  know,  including  perhaps  man  himself,  have  come  into  existence 
more  rapidly  than  would  be  possible  in  the  slow  process  of  ordinary  variation  and 
natural  selection.  For  a  summary  of  recent  discussions,  see  Kellogg,  Darwinism 
To-day  (1907). 


The  Twentieth  Cetttiiry  iii  Ezirope  66^ 

formed  the  basis  of  the  atomic  theor)^  which,  after  being  very 
carefully  worked  out  by  a  great  many  celebrated  investigators, 
has  become  the  foundation  of  modern  chemistry. 

The  chemist  has  been  able  to  analyze  the  most  complex  Great  im- 
substances  and  discover  just  what  enters  into  the  make-up  of  fhe^chemSt 
a  plant  or  the  body  of  an  animal.  He  has  even  succeeded  in  to-day 
properly  combining  (''  synthesizing  ")  atoms  in  the  proper  pro- 
portions so  as  to  reproduce  artificially  substances  which  had 
previously  been  produced  only  by  plants  or  in  the  bodies  of 
animals ;  among  these  are  alcohol,  indigo,  madder,  and  certain 
perfumes.  The  chemist  has  given  us  our  aniline  dyes  and 
many  useful  new  drugs ;  he  has  been  able  greatly  to  improve 
and  facilitate  the  production  of  steel.  The  Bessemer  process  is 
estimated  to  have  added  to  the  world's  wealth  no  less  than  two 
billion  dollars  annually.  The  chemist,  since  he  knows  just  what 
a  plant  needs  in  its  make-up,  can,  after  analyzing  a  soil,  supply 
those  chemicals  which  are  needed  to  produce  a  particular  crop. 
He  is  able  to  determine  whether  water  is  pure  or  not.  He  is 
becoming  ever  more  necessary  to  the  manufacturer,  mine 
owner,  and  agriculturist,  besides  standing  guard  over  the 
public  health. 

During  the  nineteenth  century  the  nature  of  heat  and  light   Nature  of 
was  at  last  explained.    Light  and  radiant  heat  are  transmitted    '^  ^ 
by  minute  waves  produced  in  the  et/ier,  a  something  which  it  is 
assumed  must  ever}^where  exist,  for  without  some  medium  the 
light  would  not  reach  us  from  the  sun  and  stars. 

Electricity,  of  which  very  little  was  known  in  the  eighteenth   Fundamental 
century,  has  now  been  promoted  to  the  most  important  place   o?electddty 
in  the  physical  universe.    It  appears  to  be  the  chemical  affinit)% 
or  cement,  between  the  atoms  of  a  molecule  which  serves  to 
hold   them   together.^    Light  is  believed   to   be  nothing  more 

1  The  chemist  was  long  satisfied  with  his  idea  of  an  atom  as  the  smallest 
particle  of  matter  of  whose  existence  there  was  any  indication.  He  gradually 
added  to  the  list  of  different  kinds  of  atoms  and  has  now  named  some  eighty 
elements,  each  of  which  has  its  special  atomic  weight,  hydrogen  being  the 
lightest.   The  physicist  has,  however,  discovered  a  method  of  breaking  up  the 


668  Outlmes  of  Europe mt  History 

than  electric  forces  traveling  through  the  ether  from  a  source 

of  electrical  disturbance,  namely,  the  luminous  body.    Matter 

itself   may    ultimately    be    proved   to    be    nothing  more    than 

electricity.    The  practical  applications  of  electricity  during  the 

past  thirty  years  are  the  most  startling  and  best  known  of 

scientific  achievements. 

Radio-activ-  As  early  as  the  seventeenth  century  the  chemists  reached 

t^at  the?k-     the  conclusion  that  the  attempts  of  the  alchemists  to  change 

ments  are  not  Qj^g  metal  into  another  were  futile,  since  each  element  had  its 

permanent 

and  immu-  particular  nature,  which  so  long  as  it  was  unmixed  with  other 
substances  remained  forever  the  same.  Within  the  last  ten 
years  even  this  idea  has  been  modified  by  the  strange  conduct 
of  the  so-called  radio-active  bodies,  of  which  radium  is  the  most 

Radium  Striking.    This  new  substance  was  extracted  with  the  utmost 

difficulty  from  a  mineral,  pitchblende,  by  Professor  Curie  of 
Paris  and  his  distinguished  wife  and  fellow  worker,  Madame 
Curie.  Although  a  ton  of  pitchblende  yielded  only  the  seventh 
part  of  a  grain  of  radium  in  an  impure  state,^  and  although 
there  are  as  yet  perhaps  only  a  hundred  or  so  grains  in  the 
world,  this  minute  quantity  has  served  by  its  extraordinary 
properties  to  indicate  that  an  atom  can  change  its  character 
and  become  a  different  substance.  So  it  may  be  that  all  matter, 
as  well  as  all  life,  has  been  gradually  evolved. 

Great  energy        Radium  gives  out  heat  enough  in  an  hour  to  raise  its  own 

atom  weight  of  water  from  the  freezing  to  the  boiling  point,  yet  it 

v^astes  away  so  gradually  that  it  has  been  estimated  that  it 
would  require  well-nigh  fifteen  hundred  years  to  lose  half  its 

atom  into  bits  which  are  only  a  thousandth  part  of  the  mass  of  a  hydrogen  atom. 
Moreover  these  inconceivably  minute  particles  act  as  if  they  were  pure  negative 
electricity  wholly  free  from  matter.  The  atom  is  shown  in  this  way,  and  by  the 
use  of  the  spectroscope,  to  be  a  tremendously  complex  affair.  The  "  electrons  " 
which  compose  it  appear  to  revolve  within  the  atom  in  somewhat  the  same  way 
that  the  planets  revolve  about  the  sun. 

1  The  Associated  Press  reports,  November  23,  1907,  that  experiments  made 
by  the  Vienna  Imperial  Academy  of  Sciences  promise  greatly  to  cheapen  radium. 
Some  forty-six  grains  have  been  extracted  from  a  ton  of  pitchblende,  thus  reduc- 
ing the  estimated  cost  of  an  ounce  from  three  million  dollars  to  one  million 
dollars. 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  669 

weight.  This  extraordinary  display  of  energy  must  be  due  to 
something  within  the  atom  itself  and  not  to  the  breaking  up  of 
the  molecule,  which  is  called  chemical  change  and  •  of  which 
we  take  advantage  when  we  burn  coal  or  explode  gasoline 
vapor  in  order  to  run  our  engines.  Some  optimistic  spirits  have 
begun  to  dream  of  a  time  when  the  energy  of  the  atoms  may 
be  utilized  to  take  the  place  of  the  relatively  weak  chemical 
processes  upon  which  we  now  rely.  But  as  yet  no  means  has 
been  discovered  of  hastening,  retarding,  or  in  any  way  con- 
trolling the  operations  which  go  on  within  the  atoms  of  radium 
and  other  radio-active  substances. 

In  the  world  of  plants  and  animals  the  discoveries  have  The  cell 
been  quite  as  astonishing  as  in  the  realm  of  matter  and  elec-  ^°^ 
tricity.  About  1838  two  German  naturalists,  Schleiden  and 
Schwann,  one  of  whom  had  been  studying  plants  and  the 
other  animals,  compared  their  observations  and  reached  the 
conclusion  that  all  living  things  were  composed  of  minute 
bodies,  which  they  named  cells.  The  cells  are  composed  of  a 
gelatinous  substance,  to  which  the  name  of  protoplasm  was  Protoplasm 
given  by  the  botanist  Mohl  in  1846.  All  life  was  shown  to 
have  its  beginning  in  this  protoplasm,  and  the  old  theory 
that  very  simple  organisms  might  be  generated  spontaneously 
from  dead  matter  was  shown  to  be  a  mistake.  As  Virchow, 
the  famous  German  physiologist,  expressed  it,  only  a  cell 
can  produce  another  cell  —  om?iis  cellula  a  cellula.  The  cell 
corresponds,  in  a  way,  to  the  molecules  which  form  inanimate 
substances.-^ 

1  Many  very  low  organisms,  like  the  bacteria,  consist  of  a  single  cell.  The 
human  body,  on  the  other  hand,  is  estimated  to  contain  over  twenty-six  billions 
of  cells,  that  is,  of  minute  masses  of  protoplasm,  each  of  which  is  due  to  the 
division  of  a  previous  cell,  and  all  of  which  sprang  from  a  single  original  cell, 
called  the  ovum,  or  egg.  "  All  these  cells  are  not  alike,  however,  but  just  as  in  a 
social  community  one  group  of  individuals  devotes  itself  to  the  performance  of 
one  of  the  duties  requisite  to  the  well-being  of  the  community  and  another  group 
devotes  itself  to  the  performance  of  another  duty,  so  too,  in  the  body,  one  group 
of  cells  takes  upon  itself  one  special  function  and  another,  another."  (McMurrich, 
The  Development  of  the  Hximan  Body,  1907,  p.  2.) 


6/0 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Importance 
of  modern 
biology 


Vaccination, 
1796 


Discovery  of 
anaesthetics, 
1846-1847 


The  cell  theor)^  underlies  the  study  of  biology  and  is  shed- 
ding a  flood  of  light  upon  the  manner  in  which  the  original 
&g%  develops  and  gradually  gives  rise  to  all  the  tissues  and 
organs  of  the  body.  It  has  helped  to  explain  many  diseases 
and  in  some  cases  to  suggest  remedies,  or  at  least  rational 
methods  of  treatment.  Indeed  it  is  most  important  for  our 
happiness  and  efficiency,  as  Dr.  Osier  well  says,  that  the  leaves 
of  the  tree  of  knowledge  are  serving  for  the  healing  of  the 
nations.  The  human  body  and  the  minute  structure  of  its 
tissues  in  health  and  disease,  the  functions  of  its  various 
organs  and  their  relations  to  one  another,  digestion,  assimila- 
tion, circulation,  and  secretion,  the  extraordinary  activities  of  the 
blood  corpuscles,  the  nerves  and  their  head  and  master,  the 
brain  —  all  these  subjects  and  many  others  have  been  studied 
in  the  ever-increasing  number  of  laboratories  and  well-equipped 
hospitals  which  have  been  founded  during  the  past  century. 
It  is  clear  enough,  in  the  light  of  our  present  knowledge,  that 
the  physicians  of  the  eighteenth  and  most  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries  relied  upon  drugs  and  other  treatment  which  were 
often  far  worse  than  nothing. 

In  1796  Edward  Jenner  first  ventured  to  try  vaccination  and 
thus  found  a  means  of  prevention  for  one  of  the  most  terrible 
diseases  of  his  time.  With  the  precautions  which  experience 
has  taught,  his  discovery  would  doubtless  rid  the  world  of 
smallpox  altogether  if  vaccination  could  be  everywhere  en- 
forced. But  there  are  always  great  numbers  of  negligent  per- 
sons as  well  as  some  actual  opponents  of  vaccination  who  will 
combine  to  give  the  disease,  happily  much  diminished  in 
prevalence,  a  long  lease  of  life. 

Just  fifty  years  after  Jenner's  first  epoch-making  experiment. 
Dr.  Warren  performed,  in  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital 
in  Boston,  the  first  serious  operation  upon  a  patient  who  had  been 
rendered  unconscious  by  the  use  of  an  anaesthetic,  namely,  ether. 
The  following  year  chloroform  began  to  be  used  for  the  same 
purpose  in   Edinburgh.     Before  the  discovery  of  anaesthetics 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  671 

few  could  be  induced  to  undergo  the  terrible  experiences  of 
an  operation ;  even  the  most  unsympathetic  surgeon  could  not 
bring  himself  to  take  the  necessary  time  and  care  as  the  agonized 
victim  lay  under  his  knife.  Now  operations  can  be  prolonged, 
if  necessary,  for  an  hour  or  more  with  no  additional  pain  to 
the  patient.^ 

But  even  after  a  means  was  discovered  of  rendering  patients  Joseph  Lister 
insensible  and  operations  could  be  undertaken  with  freedom   antisepdc 
and  deliberation,  the  cases  which  ended  fatally  continued  to  be  surgery 
very  numerous  by  reason  of  the  blood  poisoning,  erysipelas,  or 
gangrene  which  were  likely  to  set  in.    To  open  the  head,  chest, 
or  abdomen  was  pretty  sure  to  mean  death.    Joseph  Lister,  an 
English  professor  of  surgery,  finally  hit  upon  the  remedy.    By 
observing  the  most  scrupulous  cleanliness  in  everything  con- 
nected with   his  operations  and   using   certain   antiseptics,  he 
greatly  reduced  the  number  of  cases  which  went  wrong.    The 
exact  reason  for  his  success  was  not,  however,  understood  in 
the  early  sixties,  when  his  work  first  began  to  attract  attention ; 
but  a  new  branch  of  science  was  just  being  born  which  was  not   Bacteriology 
only  to  reveal  the  cause  of  infection  in  wounds  but  to  explain 
a  number  of  the  worst  diseases  which  afflict  mankind.    Medicine  . 
must  have  remained  a  blundering  and  incomplete  science  had 
bacteriology  not  opened  up  hitherto  undreamed-of  possibilities 
in  the  treatment  and  prevention  of  disease. 

As  early  as  1675  the  microscope  had  revealed  minute  organ-  Bacteria 
isms  (animalcuIcB)  in  putrefying  meat,  milk,  and  cheese,  and  a  "3^^ 
hundred  years  later  Pleincz  of  Vienna  declared  that  he  was 
firmly  convinced  that  both  disease  and  the  decomposition  of 
animal  matter  were  due  to  these  minute  creatures.  But  another 
hundred  years  elapsed  before  a  Frenchman,  Pasteur,  claimed  (in 
1863)  that  the  virulent  ulcer  called  anthrax  was  due  to  little 
rod-shaped  bodies,  which  he  named  bacteria. 

1  During  the  five  years  before  Dr.  Warren  performed  his  famous  operation 
but  thirty-seven  persons  on  the  average  consented  annually  to  undergo  an  opera- 
tion in  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital.    Fifty  years  later  thirty-seven  hun-  .  . 
dred  went  through  the  ordeal  in  the  same  hospital  in  a  single  year. 


6^2 


Outlines  of  Etiropean  History 


Pasteur  was  a  French  chemist  who  made  many  important 
discoveries  besides  the  treatment  for  hydrophobia,  with  which 
his  name  is  most  commonly  associated.  He  proved  that  bac- 
teria were  very  common  in  the  air,  and  that  it  was  they  that 
gave  rise  to  what  had  previously  been  mistaken  for  spontaneous 
generation.  He  was  sent  by  the  government  to  the  south  of 
France  to  study  the  disease  of  the  silkworm,  the  ravages  of 
which  were  impoverishing  the  country-.  He  found  the  bodies 
and  eggs  of  the  silkworms  full  of  bacteria  and  suggested  the 
proper  remedy.  His  study  of  fermentation  enabled  him  to 
prevent  great  losses  also  among  the  wine  growers. 

Koch  of  Berlin  discovered  the  ''  bacillus  '*'  of  tuberculosis, 
which  produces  the  most  common,  perhaps,  of  all  diseases, 
consumption  of  the  lungs.  Other  workers  have  found  the 
germs  which  cause  pneumonia,  diphtheria,  lockjaw,  the  bubonic 
plague,  etc.^ 

It  would,  at  first  sight,  seem  hopeless  to  attempt  to  avoid 
bacteria,  since  they  are  so  minute  and  so  numerous,  but  experi- 
ence has  shown  that  they  can  be  fended  off  in  surgical  cases 
by  a  scrupulous  sterilization  of  ever}-thing  that  enters  into  the 
operation.  That  t^'phoid  fever  is  due  ordinarily  to  impure  water 
or  milk,  that  tuberculosis  is  spread  mainly  through  the  dried 
sputum  of  those  afflicted  with  it,  that  the  germs  of  yellow  fever 


1  These  bacteria  are  minute  plants,  rodlike,  beadlike,  or  spiral  in  shape,  which 
multiply  by  dividing  into  two  parts,  or  by  forming  a  germ  or  spore.  They  are  very 
tiny.  Four  thousand  of  the  larger  kinds  put  end  to  end  would  extend  only  an 
inch,  whereas  the  smaller  are  but  one  four-hundred-thousandth  of  an  inch  in 
length,  and  it  is  possible  that  some  diseases  are  due  to  those  too  small  to  be  seen 
under  the  most  powerful  microscopic  lenses.  They  would  do  little  harm  were  it 
not  for  their  tremendous  powers  of  multiplication.  Under  favorable  circumstances 
the  offspring  of  a  single  bacillus  dividing  itself  into  two  even,-  hour  would  amount 
to  seventeen  millions  at  the  end  of  twent>'-four  hours.  It  has  been  calculated  that 
if  the  proper  conditions  could  be  maintained  a  little  rodlike  bacterium  which  would 
measure  only  about  a  thousandth  of  an  inch  in  length  would,  in  less  than  five  days, 
form  a  mass  which  would  completely  fill  all  the  oceans  on  the  earth's  surface  to 
the  depth  of  a  mile.  They  are  well-nigh  everj-where  —  in  air,  water,  milk,  on  the 
bodies  of  men  and  animals,  and  in  the  earth.  Many  kinds  are  harmless,  and  some 
even  appear  to  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  growth  of  certain  most  useful 
plants.    Only  a  few  species  cause  infectious  diseases. 


The  Twe7itieth  Cejitiiry  m  Europe  673 

and  malaria  ^  are  transmitted  by  the  mosquito  —  all  suggest 
obvious  means  of  precaution,  which  will  greatly  reduce  the 
chances  of  spreading  the  diseases.  Moreover  remedies  are 
being  discovered  in  addition  to  these  preventive  measures. 
Pasteur  found  that  animals  could  be  rendered  immune  to 
hydrophobia  by  injections  of  the  virus  of  the  disease.  So-called 
antitoxins  (counter  poisons)  have  been  discovered  for  diph- 
theria and  lockjaw,  but  none  has  yet  been  found  for  tubercu- 
losis or  pneumonia. 

The  Russian  Metchnikoff,  a  scientist  working  at  the  institute   MetchnikofiF 
erected  in  honor  of  Pasteur  in  Paris,  demonstrated  that  the  theory'  of  the 
white  blood  corpuscles  keep  up  a  constant  warfare  on  the  bac-  ^(Jl^^sdes^ 
teria  which  find  their  way  into  the  body,  and  devour  them. 
Methods  of  helping  these  white  corpuscles  to  increase  and  to 
make  a  good  fight  against  the  noxious  bacteria  are  now  occupy- 
ing the  attention  of  scientists.    So  the  enemies  of  mankind  are 
one  by  one  being  hunted  down,  and  the  means  of  warding 
them  off  or  of  rendering  our  bodies  able  to  cope  with  them 
are  being  invented. 

It  is  clear,  however,  that  two  things  are  essential  if  the  Necessity  of 
struggle  against  disease,  and  suffering,  and  inconvenience  of  all  attention  to 
kinds  is  to  make  the  progress  that  the  achievements  of  the  past 
would  warrant  us  in  hoping.  Far  more  money  must  be  appro- 
priated by  states  or  given  by  rich  individuals  than  has  been  the 
case  hitherto  that  an  army  of  investigators  with  their  labora- 
tories and  the  necessar}'  delicate  and  costly  apparatus  may  be 
maintained.  In  the  second  place,  our  schools,  colleges,  and 
universities  must  give  even  more  attention  than  they  now  give 
to  spreading  a  knowledge  of  natural  science  and  of  its  uses. 
A  famous  English  scientist  has  recommended  not  only  that 
many  more  institutions  be  established  in  which  nature  search- 
ing shall  be  the  chief  aim,  but  that  a  political  part}-  should  be 
formed  which  should  make  a  proper  scientific  training  a  test 

1  Malaria  is  not  caused  by  bacteria,  nor  is  the  terrible  sleeping  sickness  in 
Africa,  but  both  are  due  to  minute  animal  organisms. 
II 


natural 
science 


6/4 


Outlines  of  Ei trope a7i  History 


Possibility  of 
a  new  kind 
of  histor}%  in 
which  kings 
and  warriors 
will  give 
place  to  men 
of  science 


question  in  all  elections.  No  candidate  for  Parliament  would 
receive  the  votes  of  the  party  "  unless  he  were  either  himself 
educated  in  the  knowledge  of  Nature  or  promised  his  support 
exclusively  to  ministers  who  would  insist  on  the  utilization  of 
nature-knowledge  in  the  administration  of  the  great  depart- 
ments of  State,  and  would  take  active  measures  of  a  financial 
character  to  develop  with  far  greater  rapidity  and  certainty 
than  is  at  present  the  case,  that  inquiry  into  and  control  of 
Nature  which  is  indispensable  in  human  w^elfare  and  progress."  ^ 

In  1906  a  popular  newspaper  in  France  asked  its  ieaders  to 
give  a  list  of  notable  Frenchmen  of  recent  times  in  the  order 
of  their  greatness.  Pasteur  the  scientist  came  first  in  the  esti- 
mation of  his  countrymen,  receiving  several  million  votes  more 
than  the  soldier  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  came  fourth.  It 
may  well  be  that  men  of  science,  not  kings  or  warriors  or 
even  statesmen,  are  to  be  the  heroes  of  the  future.  Perhaps 
during  the  twentieth  century  the  progress  of  science  and  its 
practical  applications  will  be  recognized  as  the  most  vital  ele- 
ment in  the  history  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries. 
Our  histories  will  have  to  be  rewritten.  Diderot's  Encyclopcedia 
will  receive  more  space  than  the  wars  of  Frederick  the  Great, 
and  the  names  of  Lyell,  Darwin,  Lister,  Koch,  and  Curie  will 
take  their  place  alongside  those  of  Metternich,  Cavour,  and 
Bismarck. 

For,  after  all,  the  real  progress  of  civilization  depends  less 
upon  statesmen  who  control  the  fate  of  nations  than  upon  the 
scientist  and  discoverer,  who  gives  us  control  of  nature  and,  to 
some  extent,  of  life  itself.  From  his  laboratory  comes  much 
of  the  wealth  and  power  of  modem  nations.  The  statesm.en  of 
the  future  must,  therefore,  reckon  with  these  new  contributions 
as  the  statesmen  of  the  past  have  had  to  reckon  with  the  new 
sea  routes  which  changed  the  fate  of  the  Mediterranean,  or  the 
Industrial  Revolution  which  readjusted  the  nations  of  Europe 
and  led  to  their  expansion  throughout  the  whole  world. 

1  E.  Ray  Lankester,  TJie  Kingdom  of  Man,  pp.  60-61,  note. 


The  Twentieth  Century  in  Europe  675 

QUESTIONS 

Section  108.  What  are  the  main  topics  treated  of  so  far? 
Would  it  be  possible  to  write  a  parallel  volume  of  modern  European 
history,  emphasizing  different  things  ?  What  is  the  main  heritage  of 
the  twentieth  century  ? 

Section  109.  Describe  the  political  temper  of  England  at  the 
close  of  the  nineteenth  century.  What  political  change  occurred  in 
1906?  Trace  briefly  the  history  of  socialism  in  England.  Review 
the  history  of  labor  legislation  in  England  from  1897  to  1908. 
Mention  the  most  important  points  made  by  Mr.  Charles  Booth  in 
his  survey  of  London  poverty. 

What  is  the  modern  view  regarding  the  possibility  of  abolishing 
poverty?  State  the  provisions  of  the  old-age  pension  law  of  1908. 
What  means  have  been  taken  to  lessen  the  amount  of  unemploy- 
ment ?  In  what  way  has  an  attempt  been  made  to  regulate  wages  in 
''  sweated  "  trades?  By  what  measures  did  the  House  of  Lords  seek 
to  block  the  reforms  of  the  Liberals?  What  was  the  "revolutionary" 
budget  of  1909? 

For  what  purpose  were  the  special  taxes  to  be  used  ?  Discuss  the 
opposition  of  the  House  of  Lords  to  the  budget  of  1909  and  the  pro- 
test of  the  House  of  Commons.  Under  what  circumstances  was  the 
budget  finally  passed?  Outline  the  Parhament  Act  of  191 1.  Give 
the  main  provisions  of  the  National  Insurance  Act  of  191 1.  In  what 
sense  is  Great  Britain  both  a  democracy  and  an  aristocracy  ? 

What  progress  has  been  made  in  local  reforms  during  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  centuries?  What  was  the  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial condition  of  Great  Britain  at  the  opening  of  the  war  in  191 4? 

Section  no.  What  are  the  chief  explanations  of  Germany's 
recent  wealth  and  importance?  What  measures  were  to  be  taken 
to  make  her  a  "  world  power  "  ?  Describe  some  of  the  activities  of 
the  German  government,  federal  and  local.  What  application  do 
certain  German  writers  make  of  Darwin's  idea  of  the  survival 
of  the  fittest? 

Section  in.  What  have  been  the  contributions  of  France  to 
civilization  ?  Account  for  our  misunderstanding  of  the  French  of  the 
Third  Republic.  Contrast  the  position  of  the  French  cabinet  with 
that  of  the  cabinet  in  England.  Describe  the  French  system  of  social 
insurance.  Has  militarism  grown  or  decreased  during  the  Third 
French  Republic? 


6^6  Otitlmes  of  EiLWpean  History 

Section  112.  How  did  the  growth  of  the  science  of  geology 
affect  the  perspective  of  historians  ?  What  is  meant  by  the  theory  of 
evolution?  When  was  it  first  advanced?  What  contribution  did 
Darwin  make  to  it?  Why  was  it  opposed?  What  has  the  chemist 
contributed  to  civilization?  How  did  the  discovery  of  radium  affect 
our  views  of  matter  ?  What  is  the  cell  theory  in  biology  ?  Describe 
various  steps  in  the  development  of  the  science  of  medicine. 

*  Before  the  germ  theory  of  disease,  which  Pasteur  did  so  much  to 
establish,  medicine  was  hardly  a  genuine  science.  It  was  impotent  in 
some  of  the  commonest  diseases  and  generally  used  haphazard  cures. 
Now  it  is  confidently  saving  human  life  and  so  adding  to  the  possibili- 
ties of  happiness  more  than  any  other  science.  This  service  of  the 
scientists  to  make  men  live  is  to  be  contrasted  with  the  terrible  power 
they  have  also  acquired  over  the  engines  of  death,  as  the  Great  War, 
described  in  the  next  chapter,  has  shown.  But  wars  will  pass  away  and 
the  arts  of  peace  and  the  science  of  life  will  remain. 


Fig.  156.   Pasteur  in  his  Laboratory 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1914 

Section  113.    The  Armies  and  Navies  of  Europe 

In  August,  T  9 1 4,  the  most  terrible  and  destructive  war  in   The  incredi- 
ble w 
1914 


the  history  of  Europe  bjsgan.    Never  before  had  millions  and      ^  ^^"^  ° 


millions  of  men  been  carefully  trained  to  be  ready  at  a  moment's 
notice  to  march  against  the  enemy ;  never  before  had  the  Euro- 
pean armies  been  supplied  with  such  deadly  weapons ;  never 
before  had  any  war,  however  serious,  so  disturbed  the  affairs  of 
the  whole  globe.  To  most  thoughtful  people  the  war  came  as 
a  horrible  surprise.  They  could  not  believe  that  the  European 
governments  would  dare  take  the  fearful  responsibility  of  enter- 
ing upon  a  war  which  they  all  knew  would  involve  untold  woe 
and  destruction.  Nevertheless  the  war  came,  and  since  it  is  the 
most  important  single  event  in  the  whole  history  of  Europe  and 
perhaps  of  the  world,  we  must  endeavor  to  see  how  it  came 
about  and  what  are  the  great  questions  involved. 

After  Germany  defeated  France  in  1870-187 1,  nearly  fifty  The  growth 
years  passed  without  any  of  the  Western  powers  coming  to  Ji  Europ?"^ 
blows  with  one  another.  This  was  a  long  and  hopeful  period 
of  peace ;  but  meanwhile  all  the  powers  had  been  busy  getting 
ready  for  war  and  each  year  spent  vast  sums  to  train  soldiers 
and  supply  them  with  arms.  Prussia  has  been  the  chief  pro- 
moter of  militarism.  i\.s  we  have  seen,  it  began  to  aspire 
more  than  two  hundred  years  before  to  become  a  great  power 
through  the  might  of  its  army.  Frederick  the  Great  was  the 
supreme  military  genius  of  the  eighteenth  century.  But  the 
modern  Prussian  army  dates  from  the  period  when  Napoleon 
humbled  Prussia  at  Jena,  for  after  that  her  statesmen  had  to 

677 


6/8 


Outliiies  of  Eitropea7i  History 


The  origin  of    rely   upon 
the  Prussian 
army  system 


the  nation  in  arms  "  rather  than  an  old-fashioned 
standing  army.  This  had  to  be  done  at  first  in  such  a  way  as 
not  to  arouse  the  suspicions  of  the  Corsican,  so  she  hit  upon 
the  idea  of  giving  her  men  a  brief  period  of  training  in  the 

army  and  then  send- 
ing them  into  the 
reserve  forces.  In 
this  way,  without 
increasing  the  num- 
ber of  troops  under 
the  colors  at  any 
one  time,  she  se- 
cured a  very  much 
larger  force  upon 
which  she  could  call 
when  war  came. 
Moreover,  Prussia 
trained-  her  officers 
very  carefully. 

As  we  know,  this 
army  of  Prussia 
was  able  to  take  an 
important  part  in 
the  conflict  which 
led  to  Napoleon's 
final  defeat.  Her 
idea  of  "  the  na- 
tion in  arms  "  was 
not  forgotten.  The 
law  passed  in  Na- 
poleon's time  making  every  able-bodied  male  subject  of 
Prussia  liable  to  military  service  in  the  army  was  not  repealed. 
When,  fifty  years  later,  William  I  and  Bismarck  were  prepar- 
ing to  take  the  lead  in  German  affairs  and  foresaw  a  war 
with  Austria,  the  annual  levy  of  recruits  was  increased,  the 


Fig.  158.   Hammering  Cannon  in  the 
Kruep  Works,  Germany 

This  enormous  hammer  was  made  in  Sheffield, 
England,  as  the  plate  near  the  top  of  it  shows. 
Yet  it  is  installed  in  the  Krupp  gun  works  to 
make  cannon  used  in  the  great  war  against  Eng- 
land. This  is  a  striking  example  of  the  inter- 
national aspects  of  the  munition  trades.  The 
gun  barrel,  at  white  heat,  lies  between  anvil 
and  hammer 


Origin  of  the  IVar  of  1Q14 


679 


Fig.  I 


:>"-)■ 


The  Munition  Works,  Le  Creusot,  France 


France  has  relied  much  upon  its  artillery  for  defense,  since  Germany 
has  more  soldiers,  but  in  the  great  war  of  1914  the  Germans  had  pre- 
pared more  heavy  cannon  than  the  French,  who  used  mainly  a  lighter 
gun.  The  Creusot  works  are  next  to  the  German  Krupp  works  in  im- 
portance in  Europe.  This  picture  of  them  is  from  an  etching  by  the 
American  artist  Mr.  Joseph  Pennell 


period  of  active  service  lengthened  from  two  to  three  years, 
and  the  term  of  service  in  the  reserve  to  four  years.  Thus 
Prussia  secured  an  effective  army  of  four  hundred  thousand 
troops,  and  with  these  she  defeated  Austria  in   1866,  led  in 


68o 


Outlines  of  European  History 


the  successful  war  against  France,  and  gained  her  end  of  con- 
solidating Germany  into  the  present  German  Empire,  of  which 
the  king  of  Prussia  became  the  head,-^ 

Not  long  after  the  war  of  1870-187 1  all  the  European 
powers,  except  England,  adopted  the  Prussian  plan  of  building 
up  an  army  by  requiring  all  able-bodied  men  that  the  govern- 
ment could  afford  to  train  to  enter  the  army  for  two  or  three 
years,  after  which  they  were  sent  into  the  reserve  to  be  ready 
in  case  of  war.  A  large  number  of  permanent  officers  have  to 
be  maintained  to  see  that  the  military  education  of  the  soldiers 
is  properly  conducted,  and  a  vast  amount  has  to  be  spent  on 
rifles,  cannon,  and  other  arms,  which  are  being  constantly 
improved  and  rendered  more  and  more  deadly. 

The  result  of  this  competition  in  armaments  has  been  a 
tremendous  increase  in  the  size  of  the  European  armies  and 
a  fearful  burden  of  taxation,  which  the  people  have  to  bear. 
When  the  war  opened,  Germany  and  France  had  each  over  four 
millions  of  men  in  their  armies,  Russia  six  or  seven  millions, 
Austria-Hungary  over  two  and  a  half  millions.  England's 
forces,  on  the  other  hand,  numbered  less  than  two  hundred 
thousand,  only  a  few  of  whom  were  kept  in  Europe ;  for  her 
army,  like  that  of  the  United  States,  was  recruited  by  voluntary 
enlistment  and  not  built  up  by  national  conscription. 

England,  however,  has  relied  for  her  protection  upon  her 
unrivaled  navy,  which  she  has  maintained  at  a  strength  equal 
to  that  of  any  two  other  powers.  The  reason  for  this  great 
navy  is  that  England  has  a  much  larger  population  than  can 
be  fed  by  her  own  farms,  and  so  has  to  import  most  of  her 
food.  Her  manufactures  also  depend  largely  upon  her  com- 
merce. If,  therefore,  England  should  be  defeated  at  sea  she 
would  be  utterly  overcome. 

Other  nations,  however,  have  not  been  willing  to  grant  this 
supremacy  of  England  at  sea,  which  she  regards  as  essential 
to  her  existence.    They  have  resented  the  ability  of  England 

1  See  above,  sections  69-70. 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4 


^^J-< 


to  plant  and  maintain  such  widely  scattered  dominions,  and  are 
as  anxious  as  the  English  to  capture  distant  markets  with  their 
commerce  and  to  protect  that  commerce  by  fleets.  Germany, 
especially,  has  recently 
become  the  chief  rival 
of  England.  Kaiser  Wil- 
liam II  was  from  the 
first  interested  in  the 
navy,  and  twenty  years 
ago  he  declared  that  Ger- 
many's future  lay  upon 
the  ocean.  So  in  189^7  a 
bill  was  passed  for  the 
development  of  the  Ger- 
man navy,  which  was 
built  up  so  rapidly  that 
the  English  began  to 
fear  for  their  supremacy. 
This  made  the  English 
government  increase  the 
number  and  size  of  its 
ships.  Other  nations  fol- 
lowed its  example.  So 
to  the  crushing  cost  of 
armies  European  nations 
added  the  cost  of  navies,  in  which  the  rapid  progress  of  inven 
tion  made  battleships  worthless  if  they  were  but  a  few  years  old 


■;t3C.^S»-'-^ 


Fig.  160.  The  Burden  of  Militarism 

A  cartoon  by  Robert  Carter  in  the 
New  York  Stin 


Section  114.    Movements  for  Peace:  the  Hague 
Conferences  ;  Pacifism  ;  Socialism 

The  enormous  cost  of  armaments,  combined  with  horror  at 
the  thought  of  a  war  in  which  so  many  millions  would  be  fight- 
ing provided  with  such  terrible  weapons  as  modern  science  sup- 
plies, led  many  earnest  people  to  try  to  prevent  war  altogether. 


Movements 
for  peace 


682  Outlines  of  Eiiropeaji  History 

The  Tsar  The  first  notable  movement  toward  arranging  for  a  lessening 

fere^ncem"       ^^  armaments  originated  with  the  Tsar,  Nicholas  11,  when  in 
lessen  mill-      1898  he  proposed  a  great  conference  of  the  powers  at  The 
The  Hague      Hague  to  discuss  the  problem.^    Unlike  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
or  Berlin,  this  Peace  Conference  of  1899  did  not  meet  to  bring 
a  war  to  a  close ;  it  came  together  in  a  time  of  European  peace 
to  consider  how  the  existing  peace  might  be  maintained  and 
military  expenditures  reduced. 
Hague  The  Hague  Conference  did  nothing  to  limit  armaments,  but 

1899  and  1907  established  a  permanent  Court  of  Arbitration  to  which  difficul- 
ties arising  between  nations  "  involving  neither  honor  nor  vital 
interests"  might  be  submitted.  But  there  was  no  way  of 
compelling  a  nation  to  submit  its  grievances,  and  just  those  very 
sources  of  war  that  make  most  trouble  were  excluded  from 
consideration.  The  second  conference,  held  in  1907,  established 
rules  in  regard  to  laying  mines,  the  bombardment  of  unfortified 
towns,  and  the  rights  of  neutrals  in  war,  —  to  which  no  particular 
attention  was  paid,  at  least  by  Germany,  when  war  actually  came. 
Peace  treaties  Since  the  first  Hague  Conference  more  than  one  hundred 
nations  ^^id  thirty  treaties  have  been  made  between  nations,  pledging 

them  to  submit  to  arbitration  all  disputes  which  "  do  not  affect 
the  vital  interests,  the  independence,  or  the  honor  of  the 
contracting  parties,  and  do  not  concern  the  interests  of  third 
parties."  Recently  some  nations  have  gone  further  and  pro- 
posed treaties  binding  themselves  to  submit  to  arbitration  ''  all 
questions  which  are  in  their  nature  justiciable  in  character." 

There  were  many  other  signs  besides  the  Hague  conferences 
and  the  different  arbitration  treaties  which  encouraged  the  hope 
that  there  would  not  be  another  great  European  conflict.  The 
number  of  international  societies  and  congresses  was  steadily 
increasing  before  the  war,  and  there  was  a  general  recognition 
that  peoples  of  different  nations  had  innumerable  common 
interests  which  they  should  help  one  another  to  promote. 

1  For  the  Tsar's  rescript  calling  the  conference,  sec  Readings  in  Modern 
European  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  463  ff. 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4  683 

Among  the  other  forces  making  for  international  peace,  one   Socialism 


as  an  inter- 
national 
movement 


of  the  Strongest  has  been  socialism,  which  is  an  international 
movement  ot  working  people  with  the  common  aim  of  getting 
rid  of  the  private  ownership  of  the  ''  means  of  production."  ^ 
The  socialists  have  had  great  international  congresses  and  refer 
to  each  other  as  ''  comrades."  They  have  constantly  criticized 
governments  which  have  embarked  on  "  imperialistic  "  policies,^ 
for  they  claim  that  only  the  rich  man  profits  from  investments 
in  distant  lands  and  that  the  wars  which  ensue  are  not  the 
affair  of  the  working  class.  Above  all,  socialists  have  insisted 
that  the  poor  suffer  most  in  war.  Extreme  socialists  have  there- 
fore been  antimilitarist.  This  means  that  they  have  objected  to 
serving  in  the  armies  of  Europe,  and  so  have  sometimes  been 
imprisoned  for  what  was  viewed  as  treason.  However,  a  great 
majority  of  the  socialists  of  all  countries  were  carried  away  by 
the  ardor  of  the  vast  conflict  which  began  in  19 14,  and  while  they 
still  profess  to  detest  imperialism  and  wars  of  conquest,  they 
have  nevertheless  been  fighting  each  other  in  the  Great  War. 

Section  115.    Matters  of  Dispute:   National 
Rivalries 

The  chief  underlying  conditions  which  made  the  Great  War  "imperial- 
possible  have  been   outlined   in    the  last  two    chapters  —  on   "Near-East- 
the  one  hand   ''imperialism,"   and  on  the  other  the  ''Near-  em  question" 
Eastern  question."    We  have  seen  how  the  nations  of  Europe 
began  in  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  as  rivals  for 
the  world's  trade,  to  seize  colonies  and  trading  posts  in  Africa 
and  Asia,  and  we  have  also  seen  how  they  stood  eying  each 
other  suspiciously  as  to  which  was  to  profit  most  from  the 
decline  of  Turkey.     Now  we  must  see  how  these  rivalries  — 
which    for   almost   fifty    years    had    somehow    been    adjusted 
peacefully  —  were  allowed,  in  the  summer  of  19 14,  to  burst 
out  into  war. 

1  See  above,  pp.  372  ff .         2  See  above,  p.  598. 


684 


Outlines  of  Eiu'opean  History 


First,  let  us  recall  the  exploration  and  partition  of  Africa, 
France  has  taken  most  of  the  Mediterranean  shore,  and  in  so 
doing  has  incurred,  at  different  times,  the  rivalry  of  Italy,  Eng- 
land, and  Germany.  Its  province  of  Algeria,  conquered  in  1830 
and  thoroughly  subdued  in  187 0-187 4,  had  two  native  states 
as  neighbors  —  Tunis  and  Morocco.  Claiming  that  the  Tunisian 
tribesmen  were  raiding  the  border,  France  conquered  Tunis  in 
1 88 1  and  thus  forestalled  Italy,  which  had  intended  taking  the 
site  of  ancient  Carthage  for  itself.  This  threw  Italy  into  the 
hands  of  Bismarck,  and  it  became  a  member  of  the  Triple 
Alliance  with  Germany  and  Austria. 

France  and  England  fell  out,  as  we  have  seen,  over  Eg^'pt. 
France  backed  out  when  England  got  financial  control  in  Egypt, 
and  this  was  bitterly  resented  by  the  French.  When  the  English, 
under  General  Kitchener,  had  conquered  the  Sudan  in  1898,  at 
the  cost  of  many  lives,  a  French  explorer,  Colonel  Marchand, 
rapidly  crossed  the  heart  of  Africa  from  the  west  and  planted 
the  French  tricolor  at  Fashoda,  in  the  upper  Sudan,  before 
Kitchener  could  reach  there.  When  word  of  this  reached  Paris 
and  London,  war  seemed  inevitable,  and  it  would  have  come  had 
not  the  French  given  way.  The  "  Fashoda  affair  "  made  English 
and  French  still  more  bitter  enemies  —  a  fact  emphasized  by 
outspoken  French  sympathy  with  the  Boers  in  their  war  with 
England  two  years  later.  Englishmen  were  insulted  in  France, 
and  both  nations  talked  of  each  other  as  "'  hereditary  enemies." 

This  was  all  changed,  however,  inside  of  four  years.  King 
Edward  VII,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  England  upon 
the  death  of  his  mother,  Victoria,  in  1901,  was  personally  fond 
of  France  —  and  the  French,  of  him.  Skillful  statesmen  made 
the  most  of  the  new  situation,  and  in  1904  France  and  England 
came  to  a  "  cordial  understanding "  —  or,  to  use  the  French 
phrase,  entente  cordiale — concerning  all  their  outstanding  sources 
of  quarrel.  This  Entente,  as  it  is  generally  called,  has  turned 
out  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  facts  in  the  world's 
history.    France  was  to  recognize  British  interests  in  Eg}-pt,  and 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4 


685 


England  those  of  France  in  Morocco,  which  country  France 
had  begun  to  penetrate  from  the  Algerian  border.^  The  Entente 
was  hailed  with  great  delight  on  both  sides ;  Englishmen 
cheered  French  marines  marching  on  a  friendly  visit  through 
London  streets,  and  Frenchmen  began  to  admire  traits  of  char- 
acter in  the  Anglo-Saxon  which  they  had  not  appreciated  before. 

England's  isolation  had  been  ended  even  before  the  e?ite?ite 
with  France,  by  an  alliance  with  Japan  in  1902.^  Then,  when, 
after  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  the  Japanese  and  Russians  decided, 
instead  of  fighting  over  Manchuria,  to  join  together  and  help  each 
other  "  penetrate  "  it,  and  so  became  friends,  England  made  terms 
with  Russia  also.  This  seemed  almost  incredible,  for  England 
had  long  been  suspicious  of  Russian  designs  upon  India,  where 
it  had  detected  Russian  agents  causing  border  uprisings.  More- 
over, the  English  bitterly  hated  Russian  autocracy,  and  London 
was  a  place  of  refuge  for  Russian  revolutionists.  The  incredi- 
ble happened,  however.  In  1907  England  and  Russia  settled 
their  Asian  boundary  disputes  by  agreeing  to  limit  their  ambitions 
in  Persia.^ 

In  addition  to  its  alliance  with  Japan  and  its  entetite  with 
France  and  Russia,  England  had  as  friends  Denmark  —  resent- 
ful of  Germany  since  the  war  of  1864  —  and  Portugal,*  while 
English  princesses  became  queens  of  Norway  and  Spain. ^ 

1  In  addition,  fishery  troubles  off  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  were  adjusted. 

2  According  to  this  alliance  England  was  to  support  Japan  if  attacked  by  a 
third  power.  The  alliance  was,  therefore,  strictly  Hmited,  but  was  strengthened 
in  1905,  after  the  Russo-Japanese  War,  to  be  a  mutually  defensive  alliance  to 
safeguard  the  integrity  of  eastern  Asia  and  India. 

8  See  map,  p.  610.  Britain  was  to  have  as  its  ''  sphere  of  influence  "  a  south- 
ern zone,  Russia  a  northern,  and  neither  was  to  interfere  in  the  center.  This 
left  Persia  itself  only  the  central  strip.  There  was  much  protest  in  both  Eng- 
land and  America  over  the  cruel  way  in  which  the  Russians  treated  the  natives, 
but  Sir  Edward  Grey,  the  British  foreign  minister,  refused  to  interfere,  since 
the  only  way  to  keep  the  Russians  out  of  the  boundary  he  had  taken  was  for  the 
English  to  stay  out  of  Russian  Persia. 

'^  Its  tyrannical  king,  Carlos  I,  and  the  crown  prince  were  murdered  in  Lisbon 
in  1908,  and  Portugal  became  a  republic,  but  this  has  not  altered  its  foreign 
policy. 

5  On  the  other  hand,  the  royal  houses  of  Sweden,  Roumania,  Greece,  and 
Bulgaria  were  closely  connected  with  the  Hohenzollems. 


France  to 
have  free 
hand  in 
Morocco 


Alliance  of 
England 
and  Japan 


Entente 
with  Russia 


The  small 
states 


686 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Germany 
suspicious  of 
the  ententes 


Germany  op- 
poses France 
in  Morocco 


Algeciras 

Conference, 

1905 


The  Agadir 
incident,  191 1 


Europe  on 
the  brink 
of  war 


One  great  power  had  been  rather  noticeably  left  out  of  this 
circle  of  friends  —  Germany.  Although  the  Kaiser,  William  II, 
was  the  nephew  of  King  Edward  Vll,^  the  two  monarchs  were 
personally  never  on  cordial  terms,  and  the  two  nations,  rivals  in 
wealth  and  power,  distrusted  each  other  also.  The  Germans 
thought  that  the  group  of  alliances  and  enteiites  which  Edward 
had  encouraged  was  formed  with  designs  hostile  to  the  Triple 
Alliance  of  the  central  powers,  —  Germany,  Austria,  and  Italy,  — 
and  resolved  if  possible  to  break  them  up. 

In  1905,  therefore,  Germany,  supported  by  Austria,  objected 
to  the  agreement  between  England  and  France  by  which  the 
latter  was  to  have  a  free  hand  in  Morocco.  Germany  claimed 
to  have  interests  there  too,  and  the  emperor  spoke  in  such  a  way 
as  to  bring  on  a  general  "  war  scare."  France  agreed  to  the 
conference  at  Algeciras,  which  gave  the  French  police  power  in 
Morocco  but  guaranteed  the  latter's  independence.  By  exercis- 
ing this  police  power  France  in  the  next  five  years  had  left  little 
of  the' '' independence"  guaranteed  to  Morocco.  So  in  19 11 
Germany  sent  a  cruiser  to  Agadir,  on  the  coast  of  Morocco,  as 
a  warning  to  the  French  to  change  their  policy.  War  was  very 
narrowly  averted.  France  gave  up  some  of  its  possessions  on 
the  Congo  to  Germany  in  order  to  be  allowed  a  free  hand 
in  Morocco. 

The  Agadir  incident  alarmed  statesmen  in  England  as  well. 
Every  one  saw  how  near  Europe  had  come  to  the  brink  of  war. 
Imperialists  in  Germany  said  the  Agadir  incident  had  been  a 
failure  for  Germany,  since  France  was  left  in  possession  of 
Morocco,  and  they  demanded  stronger  action  in  future.  Im- 
perialists in  France  and  England  were  angered  at  the  bold 
way  Germany  had  apparently  tried  to  humble  them  before 
the  world  and  were  bitter  that  Germany  got  any  satisfaction 
at  all.  The  result  was  that  all  nations  increased  their  warlike 
preparations. 


1  Edward  died  in  1910  and  was  succeeded  by  George  V. 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4  6^^ 

Section  ii6.    The  Near-Eastern  Question 

Although  war  between  Germany  and  England  and  France 
over  the  occupation  of  Morocco  was  avoided  in  191 1,  an- 
other great  danger  appeared  in  the  strained  relations  between 
Austria  and  Russia.  The  wars  in  the  Balkan  region  described 
in  a  previous  chapter  (section  99)  had  revived  old  rivalries 
between  these  two  great  powers  and  speedily  precipitated  a 
general  European  conflict.  In  order  to  understand  the  situ- 
ation we  must  first  briefly  review  the  history  of  Austria  since 
she  was  defeated  by  Prussia  in  1866  (see  above,  pp.  439-443). 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Bismarck  excluded  her  from  his 
new  North  German  Confederation  and  left  her  to  arrange  her 
affairs  as  best  she  could. 

The  Hapsburg  dynasty  with  its  capital  at  Vienna  ruled  The  races  of 
over  a  great  number  of  countries  and  provinces  which  it  had  domii^ons"^^ 
brought  together  since  the  days  of  Rudolph  of  Hapsburg 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  One  of  its  greatest  difficulties  has 
been  to  reconcile  the  interests  of  the  German  population  in 
xA-ustria  proper  (and  the  regions  to  the  west)  with  those  of  the 
Hungarians  on  the  one  hand  and  of  the  various  Slavic  peoples 
—  such  as  the  Bohemians,  Poles,  "and  Croats  —  on  the  other. 
It  will  be  recollected  that  this  difficulty  had  caused  revolts  in 
1848  which  led  to  civil  war,  in  which  both  the  Bohemians  and 
the  Hungarians  were  defeated  (see  above,  p.  398).  In  1867,  Formation 
the  year  after  the  unsuccessful  war  with  Prussia,  an  arrange-  Hungaiy^' 
ment  was  made  between  Austria  and  Hungar}'  which  divided 
the  Hapsburg  empire  into  two  practically  independent  parts. 
The  western  provinces,  together  with  Galicia  and  Dalmatia  form- 
ing the  Austrian  Empire  (the  regions  colored  red  on  the  map, 
p.  442),  were  to  have  their  government  carried  on  in  Vienna ; 
the  southeastern  portion,  consisting  of  the  kingdom  of  Hungary 
and  some  outlying  provinces  (colored  green  on  the  map),  was  to 
have  its  capital  in  Budapest.  The  emperor  of  Austria  was  also 
king  of  Hungary,  but  there  were  to  be  two  parliaments  —  one 


688 


Outlines  of  Europeaii  History 


Austria  an- 
nexes Bosnia 
and  Herze- 
govina, 1908 


meeting  in  Vienna,  the  other  in  Budapest.  In  this  way  a  fed- 
eration of  two  states  was  created  —  the  so-called  dual  mon- 
archy of  Austria-Hungary.  The  common  interest  of  these  two 
states  in  matters  of  tariff,  negotiations  with  foreign  nations,  and 
military  arrangements  are  in  the  hands  of  a  curious  sort  of 
joint  house,  known  as  the  ''  Delegations."^  Even  this  arrange- 
ment was  made  only  for  a  few  years  at  a  time.  For  the  great 
feudal  lords  of  Hungary — a  proud,  unyielding  nobility  —  have 
seen  in  Austria's  necessity  their  opportunity,  and  they  have  not 
only  gained  their  own  independence  but  have  generally  aimed 
to  control  as  well  the  policy  of  the  dual  monarchy. 

The  Slavic  subjects  of  the  Hapsburgs  have  bitterly  resented 
this  arrangement,  w^hich  has  kept  them  in  an  inferior  political 
position.  Moreover,  since  these  Czechs,  Croats,  Ruthenians, 
and  Slovenians  cannot  understand  one  another's  language,  it 
has  been  a  favorite  policy  for  the  government  to  play  one  over 
against  another,  or,  as  the  phrase  goes,  "  divide  and  rule." 
The  result  has  been  great  racial  bitterness. 

This  difficult  situation  at  home  was  made  still  more  difficult 
by  the  fact  that  the  "  South  Slav  "  peoples  (Jugo  Slavs)  extend 
beyond  the  borders  of  Austria-Hungary  and  form  the  majority 
of  the  population  of  the  whole  Balkan  region.  With  the  decline 
of  the  Turkish  Empire,  Russia  came  forward  as  the  rightful 
protector  of  these  Balkan  peoples,  and  so  she  naturally  came 
into  conflict  with  the  policies  of  Austria-Hungary.  This  was 
especially  clear  in  1878,  when  Austria,  supported  by  England  and 
Germany,  checked  victorious  Russia  by  the  Congress  of  Berlin. 

As  a  result  of  that  congress  Austria  was  allowed  to 
occupy  the  Turkish  provinces  of  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina. 
Austria  governed  these  provinces  well  for  the  next  thirty  years, 
while  the  rest  of  Turkey  continued  to  suffer  from  misrule. 
When  the  Turkish  revolution  took  place  in  1908,  however,  and 

1  The  three  ministers  of  finance,  war,  and  foreign  affairs  are  responsible  to  the 
Delegations,  which  sit  as  separate  bodies  of  sixty  members  each  (one  debating  in 
German,  the  other  in  Hungarian),  and  ordinarily  communicate  with  each  other  io 
writing.    If  they  disagree,  they  may  meet  together  and  vote,  but  without  debate. 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4  689 

there  seemed  to  be  some  chance  of  a  new  and  strong  Turkey, 

Austria  determined  to  prevent  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  from 

ever  entering  into  it,  and  so  boldly  annexed  them  to  the  Austro- 

Hungarian    Empire.    The   neighboring   state   of    Serbia   was  Serbia  angry, 

alarmed  and  indignant  at  this,  since  the  annexed  provinces  acqufe^ces 

were  peopled  with  South  Slavs,^  and  the  Serbians  had  cherished 

the  ambition  of  uniting  with  them  and  the  Montenegrins  in  a 

new  south  Slavonic  state  which  would  reach  from  the  Danube 

to  the  Adriatic.    Russia  also  was  angered,  but  when  Germany, 

Austria's  ally,  declared  that  it  would  support  Austria,  in  arms 

if  need  be,  Russia,  which  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  war 

with  Japan  and  its  own  revolutions,  was  obliged  to  submit  to 

the  humiliation,  as  she  viewed  it,  of  being  unable  to  protect 

those  of  her  own  race  in  the  Balkans, 

Foi  Serbia,  indeed,  the  annexation  was  a  serious  blow.    It  Serbia,  victor 
was  nov/  apparently  shut  in  from  the  sea  for  all  time  to  come,  wars^is^" 
and  so  would  be  dependent  for  a  market  for  its  farm  products  thwarted 

^  '■  again  by 

upon  its  enemy   across  the  Danube,  Austria-Hungary.     This  Austria 
would  reduce  it  to  the  condition  of  a  weak   and    somewhat 
dependent  state,  which  was  what  Austria  wanted. 

In  the  wars  of  19 12-19 13,  however,  Serbia  burst  its  bound-  Serbia's  gains 
aries  upon  the  south  and  all  but  reached  the  Adriatic  through  wars^ 
Albania.     Again  Austria  interfered,  and  had  an  independent 
prince  set  up  in  Albania  to  shut  Serbia  in.   The  Serbians  felt  that 
the  natural  rewards  of  their  victories  had  been  denied  them  by 
their  powerful  but  jealous  neighbor,  and  bitter  hatred  resulted. 

The  situation  at  the  end  of  the  Second  Balkan  War  augured   Critical  con- 
ill  for  the  peace  of  Europe.    Although  Austria  had  managed  to   ciosTo^f  the^ 
frustrate  Serbia's  hope  of  getting  a  port  on  the  Adriatic,  and   ^^l^an  wars, 
had  succeeded  in  having  Albania  made  an  independent  princi- 
pality under  a  German  prince,^  Serbia  had  nearly  doubled  her 
territory,  and  there  was  danger  that  with  her  victorious  army 

1  They  are  mainly  Croats,  professing  the  Catholic  religion,  while  the  Serbs 
are  of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church;  but  they  have  common  traditions. 

2  William    of  Wied,   who   was    soon   driven    out   by   insurrections    of  the 
inhabitants, 

II 


690 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Germany's 
position 


The  Bagdad 
railroad 


Feverish 
military  prep- 
arations, 191 3 


she  might  undertake  to  carry  out  her  former  plan  of  uniting 
the  discontented  Southern  Slavs  in  the  neighboring  provinces 
of  Austria-Hungary  —  Bosnia,  Croatia,  and  Slavonia.  Germany 
was  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  plans  of  Austria,  while  Russia 
was  supposed  to  be  ready  to  support  Serbia  and  the  Southern 
Slavs,  their  distant  kinsmen. 

Germany  pretended  to  be  much  afraid  of  Russia,  her  great 
neighbor  on  the  east.  Moreover,  she  could  not  bear  to  think  of 
Russia  and  Serbia  combining  in  a  '^  Pan-Slavic  "  plan  for  domi- 
nating the  Balkan  regions  and  perhaps  seizing  Constantinople, 
for  this  would  put  an  end  to  a  cherished  plan  of  Germany ; 
namely,  to  build  a  railroad  from  Berlin  to  Bagdad  and  the 
Persian  Gulf,  and  thus  control  a  vast  trade  with  the  Orient. 
She  had  already  arranged  a  "  concession "  from  Turkey  to 
construct  the  road  through  Asia  Minor  and  Mesopotamia,  but 
it  remained  to  overcome  the  natural  opposition  of  England  and 
France.  Nevertheless  the  road  was  well  under  way  when  Serbia, 
through  whose  territory  the  trains  from  Germany  must  pass,  be- 
came a  danger,  and  Turkey  seemed  about  to  collapse  altogether. 
So  "  Pan-Germanism,"  as  the  combined  aspirations  of  Germany 
and  Austria  were  called,  came  to  be  opposed  to  "  Pan-Slavism." 

The  year  19 13,  therefore,  brought  a  feverish  competition  in 
military  '^  preparedness."  Germany  took  the  lead  by  increasing 
its  standing  army,  and  the  Reichstag  voted  about  a  billion  marks 
for  unusual  military  expenses  (June,  1913).  France  replied  by 
increasing  the  term  of  active  service  in  the  army  from  two  to 
three  years.  Russia  made  heavy  appropriations,  and  General 
Joffre,  the  French  commander  in  chief,  was  called  in  to  make  sug- 
gestions in  regard  to  reorganizing  the  Russian  army.  Austria- 
Hungary  strengthened  herself  with  improved  artillery;  England 
devoted  heavy  sums  to  her  navy  ;  and  even  Belgium  introduced 
universal  military  service  on  the  ground  that  Germany  had  been 
constructing  railroad  tracks  up  to  her  borders,  which  could  only 
be  explained  by  her  purpose  to  pass  through  Belgium  when  the 
fight  began. 


691 


692  Out  lines  of  European  History 

Section  117.    The  Outbreak  of  the  War 

Last  efforts  Meanwhile  the  friends  of  peace  did  not  despair.    The  Eng- 

or  peace,        j-^^^  Statesmen  did  all  they  could  to  end  the  misunderstandings 
between  the  great  powers.    England  was  willing  to  agree  to  let 
Germany  develop  its  railroad  to  Bagdad   and  thus  dispel  the 
impression,  common   in  Germany,  that   England  was  weaving 
her  efitentes  with   a  view  of  hemming  in  and  weakening  that 
country.     Some  of   Germany's  statesmen,   including  their  am- 
bassador at  London,  seemed  anxious  to  reach  a  peaceful  settle- 
ment, but  they  were  frustrated  by  the  German  war  party,  who 
were  eager  for  a  conflict.    Had  it  not  been  for  their  criminal 
activity  peace  might  have  been  maintained  indefinitely. 
The  murder         But  on  Junc  28,  1914,  an  event  happened  which  wrecked  all 
trian  arch-        these  hopcs.    Archduke  Francis  Ferdinand,  heir  to  the  throne 
FerdimirKr^^^  of  Austria-Hungary,  and  his  wife  were  assassinated  while  upon 
June  28, 1914   a  visit  to  Bosnia.    The   Serbian  government  had  warned  the 
archduke  not  to  go  there,  because  it  feared  that  hot-headed  pro- 
Serbian  conspirators  might  attempt  an  assassination.    Austria 
nevertheless  asserted  that  Serbia  had  favored  such  conspiracies 
and  was  therefore  responsible  for  the  assassination.    It  allowed 
a  month  to  pass,  however,  before  making  formal  protest.    Then, 
on  July  23,  it  sent  to  Serbia  not  a  protest  but  an  ultimatum. 
The  Austrian   It  gave  Serbia  forty-eight  hours  in  which  to  agree  to  suppress 
to  Serb's^        anti- Austrian  propaganda  in  press,  schools,  or  by  societies ;  to 
July  23, 1914    dismiss  from   the  army  or  civil  office  any  one  obnoxious  to 
Austria ;  and  to  allow  Austrian  officials  to  sit  in  Serbian  courts 
in  order  to  bring  the  guilty  to  justice.    Serbia  agreed  to  all  these 
humiliating  conditions  except  the  last,  and  offered  to  refer  even 
that  to  the  Hague  Tribunal.    This  Austria  refused  to  do,  and 
this  decision  was  cheered  in  Vienna. 
Germany's  The  last  week  of  July,  19 1 4,  was  perhaps  the  most  momen- 

toward  the       ^ous  in  the  world's  histor)^    It  was  clear  that  Russia  would  not 
SerbiTn  Stand  by  and  see  Serbia  conquered  by  Austria.    Germany,  on 

conflict  the  other  hand,  declared  that  she  would  assist  Austria  in  every 


Origin  of  the  War  of  igi4  693 

way  if  attacked  by  Russia.  She  resisted  the  efforts  of  the 
Russian,  French,  and  English  diplomats,  who  urged  that  the 
difficulties  between  Austria  and  Serbia  be  referred  to  the  Hague 
Tribunal,  and  insisted  that  it  was  Austria's  affair,  which  she 
must  be  allowed  to  settle  for  herself.  In  short,  Germany  wanted 
Serbia  punished  and  was  willing  to  risk  a  world  war  to  have  her 
desire.  She  did  nothing  to  stop  the  impending  war  as  she  might 
have  done.  Her  leaders  seem  to  have  felt  that  they  were  ready 
for  war,  no  matter  on  how  large  a  scale ;  and  they  well  knew 
that  Russia  had  not  finished  her  preparations,  nor  France 
either.    As  for  England,  she  had  only  a  trifling  army. 

xA-s  soon  as  Austria  declared  war  on  Serbia,  July  28,  Russia   How  Ger- 
began  rapidly  to  mobilize,  and  Germany,  pretending  this  to  be   [he"iead°in 
an  attack  on  her,  declared  war  on  Russia,  August  i .    She  then  ^^^  ^^"^^^  '^^^ 
demanded  of  France,  Russia's  ally,  what  she  proposed  to  do 
and  gave  her  eighteen  hours  to  reply.    The  French  government 
returned  an  evasive  answer  and  began  to  mobilize.    So  Germany 
declared  war  on  France  also,  August  3.    But  Germany  was  in 
such  a  hurry  to  strike  first  that  her  troops  were  marching  on 
France  a  day  before  war  was  declared.    On  August  2  they  occu- 
pied the  neutral  country  of  Luxemburg,  in  spite  of  the  protests 
of  its  ruler.    Germany  issued  an  ultimatum  to  Belgium,  giving   ultimatum 
her  twelve  hours,  from  7  p.m.  to  7  a.m.,  to  decide  whether  she  Augus?"'"' 
would  permit  the  German  troops  to  cross  the  little  kingdom  on   ^9H 
their  way  to  France.    If  she  consented,  Germany  promised  to 
respect  her  territory  and  people;  if  she  refused,  Germany  would 
treat  her  as  an  enemy.    Now  others  as  well  as  the  Belgians 
could  see  why  Germany  had  constructed  such  an  abundance 
of  railroad  sidings  close  to  the  Belgian  boundarv.    The  Belgian 
government  replied  to  the  German  demand  with  great  firmness 
and  dignity,  urging  that  her  neutrality  had  been  at  once  decreed 
and  guaranteed  by  the  powers,  including  Germany,  and  that 
she  should  resist  any  attempt  to  violate  it. 

It  was  almost  inevitable  that  Great  Britam  should  be  drawn 
into  the  conflict.    She  was  not  pledged  to  come  to  the  assistance 


694  Oictlines  of  European  History 

of  France  and  Russia,  but  on  August  2  she  informed  Germany 
that  she  could  not  permit  the  German  fleet  to  attack  the  coasts 
of  France,  —  for  this  would  bring  war  close  home  to  England. 
Two  days  later,  learning  that  German  troops  were  making  their 
way  into  Belgium,  Sir  Edward  Grey  sent  an  ultimatum  to  Ger- 
many demanding  assurances  within  twelve  hours  that  she  would 
respect  Belgian  neutrality.  The  German  chancellor  replied 
that  military  necessity  required  that  the  German  armies  cross 
Belgium.  He  told  the  English  ambassador  in  Berlin  that  Eng- 
land ought  not  to  enter  the  war  just  for  the  sake  of  '^  a  scrap  of 
paper."  This  contemptuous  reference  to  the  solemn  treaties  by 
which  the  European  powers  had  guaranteed  the  neutrality  of 
Belgium  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  outside  world.  It  was 
the  invasion  of  Belgium  which  arrayed  the  English  people  solidly 
behind  the  government,  although  England  had  made  no  finan- 
cial preparations,  had  but  a  tiny  army,  and  was  forced  at  first 
to  rely  almost  solely  on  her  vast  sea  power. 

Japan  speedily  declared  war  on  Germany,  and  early  in  No- 
vember Turkey  decided  to  join  the  Central  Powers.  So  within 
three  months  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,  and  Turkey  were 
pitted  against  Serbia,  Russia,  France,  Belgium,  England,  Mon- 
tenegro, and  Japan.  Italy  declared  herself  neutral  and  not 
bound  to  help  Austria  and  Germany,  since  in  the  Triple  Alliance 
of  1882  she  had  pledged  her  aid  only  in  case  they  were 
attacked ;  she  considered  that  they  were  now  the  aggressors 
and  that  she  was  consequently  free  to  keep  out  of  the  struggle. 

As  soon  as  Asquith  announced  that  a  state  of  war  existed 
between  Great  Britain  and  Germany  the  Germans  vociferously 
accused  England  of  being  responsible  for  the  world  war,  and 
that  continued  to  be  their  theory.-^    Bethmann-Hollweg  informed 

1  On  September  5,  1^17,  the  German  chancellor,  Michaelis,  said  :  "  Germaxiy 
was  obliged  to  enter  a  most  serious  struggle  for  the  defense  of  her  existence,  be- 
cause she  was  threatened  by  her  neighbors  France  and  Russia,  who  were  eager 
for  booty  and  power,  who  were  bent  on  destroying  her,  and  who  were  urged  on 
by  the  Island  Empire."  This  is  Germany's  official  explanation  of  the  cause  of  the 
war,  as  repeated  ly  stated  by  her  government. 


Oiigin  of  the   Wa7-  of  igi4  694a 

the  Reichstag  that  England  could  have  made  the  war  impos- 
sible if  she  had  plainly  told  the  Russians  that  she  would  not 
permit  the  trouble  between  Austria  and  Serbia  to  involve  the 
rest  of  Europe.  Germany,  in  short,  claimed  that  the  punish- 
ment of  Serbia  by  Austria  was  so  fully  justified  that  she  could 
see  no  reason  why  any  other  power  should  dream  of  interfering. 
She  argued  that  England  should  have  seen  this  too,  and  that 
because  she  refused  to  do  so  she  is  the  archcriminal  to  whom 
all  the  incalculable  loss  of  life  and  property  is  due. 

In  regard  to  this  position  the  London  Times  observed,  De-  The  English 
cember  5,  1914:  ''If  the  British  government  had  made  the 
declaration  to  the  Russians  [which  the  Germans  desired]  it 
would  have  meant  simply  that  England  declared  for  Germany 
and  Austria  against  Russia.  But  according  to  that  argument 
all  of  the  great  powers  at  war  are  equally  responsible  because 
they  did  not  do  something  different  from  what  they  did  do. 
France,  for  instance,  could  have  prevented  the  war  if  she  had 
declined  to  support  Russia ;  Russia  could  have  prevented  it  if 
she  had  taken  no  interest  in  the  fate  of  Serbia ;  and  finally 
Germany  could  have  prevented  it  if  she  had  refused  to  sup- 
port Austria ;  while,  as  for  Austria,  she  could  have  prevented 
it  if  she  had  never  presented  her  ultimatum  [to  Serbia]." 

The  assertions  of  German  leaders  that  England  desired  war  A  German 
and  is  responsible  for  it  may  now  safely  be  regarded  by  the  refutes  the 
rest  of  the  world  as  clear  and  well-planned  lies.    Certain  brave   accusation  of 

^  the  (jrerman 

Germans  have  dared  to  confess  this  freely.  Indeed,  the  chief  war  party 
witness  against  the  Kaiser  and  his  advisers  is  no  less  a  person 
than  the  German  ambassador  in  London  at  the  time  that  the 
war  began.  Prince  Lichnowsky.  He  published  in  19 18  an  ac- 
count of  his  negotiations  with  English  statesmen  during  the 
fatal  days  just  preceding  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  makes 
his  own  country,  together  with  Austria,  not  England  or  France, 
responsible  for  the  criminal  decisions  which  produced  it. 

Lichnowsky  found  the  English  statesmen  highly  reasonable 
and  eager  by  every  means  to  adjust  matters  without  recourse 


694t>  Outlines  of  European  History 

to  the  sword.  He  says  that  England  had  harbored  no  ideas  of 
fighting  Germany  either  because  she  was  increasing  her  fleet  or 
extending  her  trade,  and  that  English  diplomats  left  no  stone 
unturned  to  prevent  the  war  when  it  became  imminent. 

In  a  remarkable  passage  he  sums  up  the  whole  ancient  Prus- 
sian spirit  as  eloquently  as  any  enemy  of  Germany's  might : 
''  Is  it  not  intelligible  that  our  enemies  declare  that  they  will  not 
rest  until  a  system  is  destroyed  which  constitutes  a  permanent 
threatening  of  our  neighbors  ?  Must  they  not  otherwise  fear 
that  in  a  few  years  they  will  again  have  to  take  up  arms,  and 
again  see  their  provinces  overrun  and  their  towns  and  villages 
destroyed  ?  Were  these  people  not  right  who  prophesied  that 
the  spirit  of  Treitschke  and  of  Bernhardi  dominated  the  Ger- 
man people  —  the  spirit  which  glorifies  war  as  an  aim  in  itself 
and  does  not  abhor  it  as  an  evil ;  that  among  us  it  is  still  the 
feudal  knights  and  Junkers  and  the  caste  of  warriors  who  rule 
and  who  fix  our  ideals  and  our  values  —  not  the  civilian  gentle- 
man ;  that  the  love  of  dueling,  which  inspires  our  youths  at  the 
universities,  lives  on  in  those  who  guide  the  fortunes  of  the 
people  ? " 

QUESTIONS 

Section  113.  Show  the  historical  connection  between  nationalism 
and  militarism  in  Europe.  What  advantage  has  America  had  over 
Europe,  owing  to  European  militarism.? 

Section  i  i  4.  What  resulted  from  the  first  Hague  Conference .? 
from  the  second .?  What  movements  are  there  making  for  peace  ? 

Section  i  i  5.  How  has  the  partition  of  Africa  bred  international 
rivalries?  What  change  did  Edward  VH  make  in  the  foreign  affairs 
of  England.?  What  countries  were  friendly  to  England  in  19 14? 
Sketch  the  history  of  the  Triple  Alliance.  Trace  the  history  of 
the  Morocco  affair. 

Section  116.  What  interests  have  Russia  and  Austria  in  the 
Balkans?  How  did  the  Balkan  wars  of  191 2-1 91 3  affect  Germany, 
France,  and  Russia? 

Section  117.    Trace  the  events  of  the  summer  of  191 4. 


APPENDIX   I 

RULERS  OF  THE  CHIEF  EUROPEAN  STATES 
SINCE  THE  AGE  OF  LOUIS  XIV 

One  of  the  chief  conclusions  reached  in  these  volumes  is  that  kings 
have,  during  the  nineteenth  century,  come  to  be  held  in  ever-diminishing 
esteem  ;  and  it  must  be  confessed  that  their  names  are  now  of  relatively- 
slight  importance.  Nevertheless  they  are  often  referred  to  in  historical 
works,  and  we  may  atone  for  some  seeming  slights  to  royalty  in  our 
pages  by  giving  a  convenient  list  of  all  the  rulers  down  to  July,  1918, 
whose  names  are  likely  to  be  met  with.  The  countries  are  given  in 
alphabetical  order. 

Austria-Hungary  (see  Holy  Roman  Empire) 
Belgium 

Leopold  I,  1 83 1 -1 865  Albert,  1909- 

Leopold  n,  1865-1909 

Denmark  (including  Norway  until  1814) 

'  Frederick  HI,  1648- 1670  Frederick  VI  (regent,  1784- 
Christian  V,  1 670-1 699  1808),  1 808-1 839 

Frederick  IV,  1699-1730  Christian  VIII,  1839-1848 

Christian  VI,  1730-1746  Frederick  VII,  1848-1863 

Frederick  V,  1 746-1 766  Christian  IX,  1 863-1 906 


Christian  VII,  1 766-1 808  Frederick  VIII,  1906-1912 

Christian  X,  191 2- 


France 


Louis  XIV,  1643-1715  (Napoleon  as  First  Consul) 

Louis  XV,  171 5-1 774  The  First  Empire,  1804-1815 

Louis  XVI,  1 774-1 792  (Napoleon  I,  Emperor  of 

The  Convention,  1 792-1 795  the  French) 

The  Directory,  1 795-1 799  Louis  XVIII,  1 814-1824 

The  Consulate,  i  799-1804  Charles  X,  1824-1830 
695 


696 


Outlines  of  Europea7i  History 


France  [contirmed') 

Louis  Philippe,  1830- 1848 
The  Second  Republic, 
1848-1852 
(Louis  Napoleon,  President) 
The  Second  Empire, 
1852-1870 
(Napoleon  III,  Emperor  of 
the  French) 
The  Third  Republic 

Government  of  National 
Defense,  1870-1871 

German  Empire 

William  I,  1 871-1888 
Frederick  III,  March-June,  1S88 


Adolphe   Thiers,    President, 

1871-1873 
Marshal   MacMahon,    1873- 

1879 
F.    P.    Jules    Grevy,    1879- 

1887 
F.  Sadi  Carnot,  1 887-1 894 
Casimir-Perier,  1894- 1895 
Fdlix  Faure,  1 895-1 899 
Emile  Loubet,  1899-1906 
Armand  Fallieres,  1906-1913 
Raymond  Poincare,  1913- 


William  II.  li 


Great  Britain 

Charles  II,  1660-1685 
James  II,  1 685-1 688 
William  and  Mary,  1689- 

1694 
William  III,  1694- 1702 
Anne,  1 702-1 71 4 
George  I,  171 4-1 727 


George  II,  i  727-1 760 
Ge.orge  III,  1 760-1820 
George  IV,  1 820-1 830 
William  IV,  1830- 1837 
Victoria,  1837-1901 
Edward  VII,  1901-1910 
George  V,  1910- 


Greece 


Otto  I,  1833-1862 
George  I,  1863-1913 


Constantine,  191 3- 191  7 
Alexander,  1917- 


HoLY  Roman  Empire  and  Austria-Hungary 

Leopold  I,  1658-1705 
Joseph  I,  1  705-171 1 
Charles  VI,  171 1-1740 
(Charles  VII  of  Bavaria, 
1742-1745) 


(Maria  Theresa,  Austro-Hun- 
garian  ruler,  1 740-1  780) 
Francis  I,  i  745-1  765 
Joseph  II,  1765-1790 
Leopold  II,  1790-1792 


Appendix  I 

Holy  Roman  Empire  axd  Austria-Hungary  {continued) 
Francis  H  as  Holy  Roman  Ferdinand  I,  1835-184 


697 


Emperor,  1792-1806 
As  Austrian  Emperor, 
Francis  I,  1 806-1 835 


Francis  Joseph,  1 848-1916 
Charles  VHI,  191 6- 


Italy 


Victor  Emmanuel  H, 

1849-1878 
(King  of  Italy  from  1861) 


Humbert,  1 878-1900 
Victor  Emmanuel  HI,  1900- 


MONTENEGRO 

Nicholas  I,  1860- 


Netherlands 

William  I,  181  5-1840 
William  H,  1840- 1849 


William  HI,  1849- 1890 
Wilhelmina,  1890- 


NORWAY 


Same  rulers  as  Denmark, 

1523-1814 
Christian  Frederick,  181 4 


Same  rulers  as  Sweden,  1814- 

1905 
Haakon  VH,  1905- 


POLAND 


John  Sobieski,  1 674-1 696 
Frederick  Augustus  of  Sax- 
ony, I 697-1 704 
Stanislas  Leszczynski, 
1 704- 1 709 


Frederick  Augustus  of  Saxony 
(restored),  1 709-1  733 

Frederick  Augustus  H,  1733- 
1763 

Stanislas  H,  1 764-1 795 


The  Popes 

Clement  IX,  1 667-1 669 
Clement  X,  1670- 1676 
Innocent  XI,  1676-1689 
Alexander  VIII,  1689-1691 
Innocent  XII,  1 691 -1700 


Clement  XI,  i  700-1  721 
Innocent  XIII,  i  721-1724 
Benedict  XIII,  i  724-1 730 
Clement  XII,  i  730-1  740 
Benedict  XIV,  1740- 1758 


700 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Turkey 


Mohammed  IV,  1 649-1687 
Solyman  II,  1687- 1691 
Achmet  II,  1691-1695 
Mustapha  II,  1 695-1 703 
Achmet  III,  1 703-1 730 
Mahmoud  I,  1 730-1 754 
Othman  III,  1 754-1 757 
Mustapha  III,  1 757-1 774 
Abdul  Hamid  I,  i  774-1 789 


Selim  III,  I  789-1807 
Mustapha  IV,  1 807-1 808 
Mahmoud  II,  1808- 1839 
Abdul  Medjid,  1 839-1 861 
Abdul  Aziz,  1 861 -1 876 
Amurath  V  (Murad),  1876 
Abdul  Hamid  II,  1876- 1909 
Mohammed  V,  1 909-1 91 8 
Mohammed  VI,  191 8- 


APPENDIX    II 

INTRODUCTION 

BrYce,  The  Holy  Roi7ian  Empire.  Burckhardt,  The  Civilization  A.  General 
of  the  Renaissance  in  Italy.  Cheyney,  A  Short  History  of  Eitglatid,  reading 
chaps,  xii-xiii ;  An  Introduction  to  the  Industrial  and  Social  History 
of  England,  chaps,  iv,  vi.  Cross,  A  History  of  England  and  Greater 
Britain,  chaps,  xx-xxii.  Cunningham,  Ati  Essay  on  Western  Civiliza- 
tion :  Mediaeval  and  Modern  Times.  Day,  A  History  of  Commerce. 
De  Vinne,  The  hivention  of  Printing.  DuRUY,  History  of  France. 
Emerton,  Desideriics  Erasmus.  Encyclopcedia  Britafinica,  articles  on 
"Calvin,"  "Charles  V,"  "The  Middle  Ages,"  "The  Reformation," 
"  Zwingli."  Henderson,  A  Short  History  of  Germany.  Johnson,  Europe 
in  the  Sixteenth  Century.  Lindsay,  A  History  of  the  Reformation  (2  vols.). 

Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  xxiii-xxix.    B    Source 
Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History.    Gee  and  Hardy,  Documents    matenal 
Illustrative  of  Etiglish  Church  History.  Wace  and  BUCHHEIM  (Editors). 
Luther's  Prijnary   Works   and    The  Augsburg  Confession.     Whitcomb, 
A  Source  Book  of  the  German  Renaissance  and  A  Literary  Source  Book 
of  the  Italian  Renaissance. 

Beard,  Martin  Luther-,  especially  introductory  chapters  on  general  C.  Additional 
conditions.  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vols.  I-IV.  Creighton,  A  ^^^^ing 
History  of  the  Papacy.  Gasquet,  The  Eve  of  the  Reformation.  Janssen, 
History  of  the  German  People,  Vols.  I-II.  McGiffert,  Martin  Ltcther. 
Motley,  The  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic.  Pastor,  The  History  of  the 
Popes.  Payne,  Voyages  of  Elizabethan  Seamen  to  America.  Pollard, 
Factors  in  Modem  History.  Putnam,  G.  H.,  Books  and  their  Makers  dur- 
ing the  Middle  Ages.  Putnam,  R.,  William  the  Silent.  Sichel,  The  Renais- 
sance {Yiome,  \]xi\.\ers\ty  SQX\t.s).   Van  Dyck,  The  History  of  Painting. 

•CHAPTER   \ 

Cheyney,  A  Short  Histo>y  of  England,  chaps,  xiv^xvi.    Cross,  A  His-   A.  General 
toiy   of  England  and   Greater   Britain,   chaps,   xxvii-xxxviii.  -  Green,    "^^^""^S 
A  Short  History  of  the  English  People,  chaps,  viii-ix. 

701 


702 


Outlines  of  European  History 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap.  xxx. 
Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History,  chaps,  xiv-xvi.  Colby,  Selec- 
tions from  the  Soiirces  of  English  History,  Pt.  VI,  the  Stuart  Period. 
Gee  and  Hardy,  Documents  Illustrative  of  English  Chiwch  History, 
pp.  508-664. 

Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  Ill,  chap,  xvii ;  Vol.  IV,  chaps,  viii- 
xi,  XV,  xix ;  Vol.  V,  chaps,  v,  ix-xi.  Gardiner,  The  Eirst  Two  Stuarts 
and  the  Puritan  Revolution.  Macaulay,  Essay  on  Miltofi.  Morley, 
Oliver  Cromwell. 

CHAPTER  II 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Adamg,  The  Grozvth  of  the  French  Nation,  chaps,  xii-xiii.  Cambridge 
Modern  History,  Vol.  V,  chaps,  i-ii,  xiii-xiv.  DURUY,  History  of  France, 
Thirteenth  Period.  Wakeman,  The  Ascendancy  of  France,  chaps,  ix-xi, 
xiv-xv. 

Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap.  xxxi. 
Memoirs  of  the  period  are  often  obtainable  in  translation  at  reason- 
able prices.  The  greatest  of  these,  those  of  Saint  Simon,  are  con- 
densed to  a  three-volume  English  edition. 

Lowell,  The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution,  general  in  treatment, 
less  picturesque  but  gives  a  fairer  idea  of  conditions  than  the  work  of 
Taine  mentioned  below.  Perkins,  France  under  the  Regency,  one  of 
several  valuable  books  by  this  author.  Taine,  The  Ancient  Regime^ 
a  brilliant  picture  of  life  in  France  in  the  eighteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  III 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  V,  chaps,  xvi,  xx-xxi ;  Vol.  VI, 
chap.  XX.  Henderson,  A  Short  History  of  Germany,  Vol.  I,  pp.  148- 
218.  Rambaud,  History  of  Russia,  Vols.  I-II,  the  best  treatment  of 
Russia.  '^zw.YNYLL,  Modem  Europe,  pp.  21 5-247,  good  outline.  Tuttle, 
Histoiy  of  Prussia  (4  vols.). 

Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  VoL  II,  chap,  xxxii. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  iv. 

Bright,  Maria  Theresa.  Carlyle,  History  of  Frederick  the  Second, 
called  Frederick  the  Great,  a  classic.  Eversley,  The  Partitions  of  Poland. 
Hassall,  The  Balance  of  Power.  Kluchevsky,  A  History  of  Russia 
(3  vols.).  Phillips,  Poland  (Home  University  Series),  good  short 
account.  Schevill,  The  Maki'/i^  of  Modern  Germany,  Lectures  I-II. 
ScR\jyL^R,  Peter  the  Great,  standard  English  biography.  Waliszewskl 
Life  of  Peter  the  Great.  .      ' 


Appendix  II 


703 


CHAPTER  IV 


A.  General 
reading 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modem  Europe,  Vol.  I, 
chaps,  vi-vii.  Ca?nbridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  V,  chap,  xxii ;  Vol.  VI, 
chaps,  vi,  XV.  Cheyney,  A  Short  History  of  Englattd,  chap.  xvii.  Cross, 
A  Histoiy  of  England  and  Greater  Britain,  chap,  xli,  detailed  manual. 
Egerton,  a  Sho?'t  Histoiy  of  British  Colonial  Policy,  best  treatment. 
GiBBiNS,  British  Commerce  and  Colonies  from  Elizabeth  to  Victoria. 
Lyall,  The  Rise  of  British  Do7ninion  in  India.  PoLLARD,  Factors  in 
Modern  History,  chap,  x,  a  most  suggestive  treatment  of  the  rise  of 
nationalism  in  modern  England.  Woodward,  A  Short  History  of  the 
Expansion  of  the  British  Empire,  best  introduction. 

Robinson,  Readings  iti  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxxiii. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chaps,  vi-vii.  Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History,  chaps,  xiii,  xvii. 
Hart,  American  History  told  by  Contemporaries,  Vol.  I.  MuzzEY, 
Readings  in  American  History. 

Cheyney,  The  Eiiivpeart  Background  of  American  History,  an  excel- 
lent survey.  ^T>GA.R,  The  Struggle  for  a  Continent.  Hunter,  ^  ^r/V/"  ^'^^'^'"8 
History  of  the  Indian  Peoples.  LucAS,  A  Historical  Geography  of  the 
British  Colonies  (5  vols.),  the  most  extensive  treatment.  Macaulay, 
Essay  071  Clive.  Mahan,  The  Influence  of  Sea  Power  upon  History.^ 
1660-17SJ,  a  classic.  Morris,  A  History  of  Colonization  (2  vols.).  Park- 
man,  A  Half  Century  of  Conflict  (2  vols.).  Seeley,  The  Expansion  of 
England,  a  well-known  general  survey.  Thvvaites,  The  Colonies. 
Traill,  Social  England,  Vol.  V. 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 


CHAPTER  V 


AsHTON,  Social  Life  ift  the  Reign  of  Queen  Anne.  GiBBlNS,  Industry 
171  Engla7id,  chaps,  xvii-xx.  Henderson,  A  Short  History  of  Germa7ty, 
chaps,  iii-vii.  Lowell,  The  Eve  of  the  Fre7ich  Revolution,  sane  and 
reliable.  Prothero,  English  Far77iing,  Past  and  Prese7it,  chaps,  v-xi, 
excellent.  Sydney,  England  and  the  English  in  the  Eighteenth  Ce7itury 
(2  vols.),  admirable. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  viii.  Translations  and  Repri7tts  of  the  University  of  Pe7i7tsylvania, 
Vol.  V,  No.  2;  Vol.  VI,  No.  I.  Young,  Travels  in  Fra7ice,  lySj-iySg, 
a  first-hand  source  of  great  importance. 

Cunningham,  7"/^^  Growth  of  English  Industry  a7id  Com7nerce,  Mod- 
em Times,  Pt.  I,  the  standard  manual  of  economic  history;  con- 
servative.   De  Tocqueville,   The  State  of  Society  in  France  before  the 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


704 


Outlmes  of  Europe a7i  History 


Revolution,  a  careful  analysis  of  conditions.  Lecky,  A  History  of 
England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  (8  vols.),  a  work  of  high  order. 
McGiFFERT,  Protestant  Thought  before  Kant,  excellent  for  religious 
thought,  Overton,  The  English  Church  in  the  Eighteenth  Century. 
Taine,  The  Ancient  Regime,  a  brilliant  but  somewhat  overdone  analysis 
of  social  conditions  in  France. 

CHAPTER  VI 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Bury,  A  History  of  Freedom  of  Thought  (Home  University  Series), 
chap,  vi,  admirable.  Ca?nbridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  V,  chap,  xxiii. 
Dunning,  A  History  of  Political  Theories  from  Luther  to  Montesquieu^ 
chaps,  x-xii,  admirable  summary  of  political  doctrines  to  1750.  Marvin, 
The  Living  Past,  chap,  viii,  a  stimulating  outline.  McGiffert,  Protes- 
tant Thotight  before  Kant,  chap,  x,  splendid  treatment  of  the  religious 
aspects  of  rationalism. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  i^t  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chaps,  ix-x.  Montesquieu,  The  Spirit  of  Laivs  (Nugent's  translation). 
Rousseau,  Discourses,  and  Emile,  and  The  Social  Contract  (Everyman's 
Library).  Smith,  The  Wealth  of  Nations.  Stephens,  The  Life  and 
Writings  of  Turgot. 

Carlyle,  History  of  Frederick  the  Second,  called  Frederick  the  Great. 
GiDE  and  RiST,  A  History  of  Economic  Doctrines  (translated  by  Richards). 
Lecky,  A  History  of  the  Rise  and  Influence  of  Rationalism  in  Europe 
(2  vols.),  a  general  survey.  Morley,  Critical  Miscellanies',  Rousseau  \ 
Voltaire,  eloquent  and  stimulating  essays.  Perkins,  France  under 
Louis  XV,  Vol.  H.  Robertson,  A  Short  Histoiy  of  Free  Thought,  Ancient 
and  Modern  (2  vols.).  Schuyler,  Peter  the  Great.  Waliszewski,  Life 
of  Peter  the  Great.  An  excellent  summary  of  the  history  of  the  various 
sciences  is  to  be  found  in  The  IListory  of  the  Sciences  series  published 
by  Putnam. 

CHAPTER  VH 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


Lowell,  The  Eve  of  the  French  Revolution,  the  best  treatment  in 
English.  Maclehose,  The  Last  Days  of  the  Fj'ench  Monarchy,  excellent. 
Matthews,  The  French  Revolution,  Pts.  \-\\,  the  best  short  survey. 

Robinson,  Readings  in  European  Histoiy,  Vol.  H,  chap,  xxxiv. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  xi.  Translations  attd  Reprints  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Vol.  IV,  No.  5,  for  "Cahiers";  Vol.  V,  No.  2,  for  "  Protest  of  the  Cour 
des  Aides  of  1775";  Vol.  VI,  No.  i,  for  "Philosophers."  Young, 
Travels  in  France. 


Appendix  II 


705 


Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.    VIII,   chaps,   ii-iv.     De  Tocque-    C.  Additional 
VILLE,    The  State  of  Society  in   France  before  the   Revolution  of  lySg.    ^'^^^^'^S 
ROCQUAIN,  The  Revoliitiottary  Spirit  preceding  the  Revolution.    Taine, 
The  Ancient  Regime, 

CHAPTER  VIII 


Robinson,  The  New  History,  chap.  vii.  Belloc,  The  French  Revolu- 
tion, chaps,  i-iii,  iv,  sects,  i-iii  suggestive.  Cambridge  Modeiit  History, 
Vol.  VIII,  especially  chaps,  i-iii.  Matthews,  The  Fretich  Revolution, 
Pt.  III.  Rose,  The  Revolutionary  ajtd  N^apoleonic  Era,  chaps,  i-iii. 
Stephens,  Revolutionaiy  Europe,  chaps,  iii-iv,  excellent ;  A  History  of 
the  French  Revolution  (2  vols.),  detailed  treatment  of  the  early  years  of 
the  Revolution,  replacing  Carlyle  and  earlier  literary  historians. 

Robinson,  Readings  in  Eiiropean  Histoiy,  Vol.  II,  chap.  xxxv. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  xii.  Anderson,  Constitutions  a?id  Other  Select  Documents  Illus- 
trative of  the  History  of  France,  ijSg-igoy,  a  valuable  collection  for 
modern  French  history.  Burke,  Reflections  on  the  French  Revolution 
(Everyman's  Library),  a  bitter  criticism  of  the  whole  movement. 
Morris,  Diary  a?id  Letters  (2  vols.),  contains  some  vivid  description  by 
an  American  observer.  Paine,  The  Rights  of  Maji,  an  effective  answer 
to  Burke. 

AULARD,  The  Fj-ench  Revolution :  A  Political  History,  j'j8g-i8o4 
(4  vols.),  a  great  political  history.  Bourne,  The  Revolutiojia^y  Period  in 
Ettrope,  chaps,  vii-x,  a  recent  manual.  Ca-rlyle,  The  French  Revolution, 
a  literary  masterpiece  but  written  from  insufficient  materials.  Taine, 
The  French  Revolution  (3  vols.).  Vol.  I ;  Vol.  II,  chaps,  i-iv,  brilliant 
but  unsympathetic. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  IX 


Belloc,  The  French  Revohition,  chap,  iv,  sects,  iv-vi ;  chaps,  v-vi. 
Cambridge  Modey-n  History,  Vol.  VIII,  especially  chap.  xii.  Matthews, 
The  French  Revolution,  Pt.  IV.  Rose,  The  Revolutionary  and  Napoleo7tic 
Era,  chaps,  iv-vi.    Stephens,  Revolutionary  Ettrope,  chaps,  i-iii. 

Robinson,  Readings  in  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxxvi. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  xiii. 

AuLARD,  The  French  Revolution,  Vols.  II-IV.    Belloc,  Danton  and 
Robespierre.    Bourne,  The  Revolutio7iary  Period  in  Europe,  chaps,  xi- 
xiv.   Taine,  The  French  Revoltttion,  Vol.  II>  chaps,  v-xii ;  Vol.  III. 
II 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


yo6 


Out  lines  of  European  History 


CHAPTER  X 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  VIII,  chaps,  xviii-xxv ;  Vol.  IX, 
chaps,  i-iii.  Fisher,  Napoleon  (Home  University  Series),  chaps,  i-v. 
FouRNiER,  Napoleon  the  First,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  i-vii,  excellent.  Johnston, 
Napoleon,  chaps,  i-vi,  the  best  brief  account  in  English.  Rose,  The  Lije 
of  Napoleon  the  First,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  i-xi,  the  most  scholarly  account  in 
English. 

Robinson,  Readi?tgs  in  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxxvii. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  I, 
chap.  xiv.  Anderson,  Constitutions  and  Other  Select  Documents  Illus- 
trative of  the  Histojy  of  France,  ijSg-igoy.  Bourrienne,  Memoirs  of 
Bourrienne,  Vol.  I;  Vol.  II,  chaps,  i-iv.  Napoleon's  private  secretary, 
spiteful  but  spicy. 

Sloane,  Life  of  Napoleon  Boitaparte  (4  vols.),  Vols.  I-II,  monumental, 
with  very  complete  illustrations.  Stephens,  Revolutionary  Eu7-ope, 
chaps,  vi-vii. 

CHAPTER  XI 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  IX,  chaps,  iv-xx.  Fisher,  Napoleon 
(Home  University  Series),  chaps,  vi-x.  Fournier,  N'apoleo7t  the  First, 
Vol.  I,  chaps,  viii-xii ;  Vol.  II.  Johnston,  N'apoleo7i,  chaps,  vii-xvii. 
Rose,  The  Life  of  Napoleon  the  First,  Vol.  I,  chaps,  xii-xxi;  Vol.  II. 
Robinson,  Readings  i?i  European  History,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxxviii. 
Anderson,  Constitutions  and  Other  Select  Documents  Illustrative  of  the 
History  of  France,  lySg-igoy.  BiNGHAiM,  A  Selection  from  the  Letters 
and  Despatches  of  the  First  Napoleon  (3  vols.).  Bourrienne,  Memoirs  of 
Bourrienne,  Vol.  II,  chaps,  v-xxxiv ;  Vol.  Ill;  Vol.  IV.  Las  Cases,  The 
Journal  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  at  St.  Helena.  Lecestre,  New  .Letters 
of  Napoleon  I.  De  Remusat,  Memoirs  of  Aladame  de  Remusat.  MiOT 
DE  Melito,  Memoirs  of  Miot  de  Melito. 
C.  Additional  BiGELOW, /^  History  of  the  German  Struggle  for  Liberty.  Seeley,  The 
reading  j^^j-^  ^^^  Times  of  Stein,  an  exhaustive  study  of  Prussia  under  Stein. 

Sloane,  Life  of  Napoleon  Bonapa^ie,  Vols.  III-IV.    TaiNE,  The  Modern 
Regime  (2  vols.),  keen  analysis  of  Napoleon. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A.  General  RoBiNSON  and  Beard,   The  Development  of  Modem  Europe,  Vol.  I, 

reading  chap.    xvi.     Fyffe,    A    History   of  Modem    Europe,   Vol.    II,   chap.    L 

Hazen,  Europe  since  181^,  chap.  i.    Seignobos,  A  Political  History  of 

Europe  since  18 14,  chap.  i. 


Appendix  II 


707 


Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  m  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  I,    B.  Source 


chap.  xvi. 

Andrews,  The  Historical  Development  of  Modem  Enrope,  Vol.  I. 

CHAPTER  XIII 


material 

C.  Additional 
reading 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xvii.  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  X.  Fyffe,  A  History  of 
Modern  Europe^  Vol.  II.  Hazen,  Etc7'ope  since  181^,  chaps,  ii-viii,  excel- 
lent. Phillips,  Alodem  Eiuvpe,  chaps,  i-ix,  especially  good  sections. 
Seignobos,  a  Political  History  of  Europe  since  18 14,  chaps,  viii-x,  most 
comprehensive  single  manual  of  the  century.     • 

Robinson,  Readings  in  Ezcjvpeatt  History,  Vol.  II,  chap,  xxxix. 
Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  Histofy,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xvii. 

Andrews,  The  Historical  Development  of  Modern  Europe  (2  vols.). 
Hume,  Modem  Spain.  Phillips,  The  Confederation  of  Europe,  an 
excellent  survey  of  congresses  and  the  plans  of  the  Tsar.  Stillman, 
The  Union  of  Italy.    Sybel,  The  Eoundingofthe  German  Empire,Yo\.  I. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XIV 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xviii.  Allsopp,  An  Introduction  to  English  Industrial  History, 
Pt.  IV,  excellent  book  for  young  students.  Cheyney,  An  Introduction 
to  the  Industrial  and  Social  History  of  Englaftd,  chap.  viii.  Gibbins, 
Industry  in  England,  chaps,  xx-xxi.  Marvin,  The  Living  Past,  chaps, 
ix-x.  Pollard,  The  History  of  England  (Home  University  Series), 
chap.  vii.  Slater,  The  Making  of  Modern  England  (American  edition), 
especially  the  introduction,  excellent. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  Histoty,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xviii.  Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History',  chap,  xviii. 
Excels,  The  Condition  of  the  Working  Class  in  England  in  1844,  largely 
drawn  from  official  sources  and  observation.  Marx  and  Engels, 
Manifesto  of  the  Communist  Party,  the  most  important  pamphlet  in 
the  history  of  socialism. 

Byrn,  The  Progress  of  Invention  in  the  Nineteenth  Century.  Coch- 
rane, Modem  Industrial  Progress.  CUNNINGHAM,  The  Givivth  of 
English  Industry  and  Commerce:  Mode7-n  Times.,  Pt.  II.  HoBSON,  The 
Evolution  of  Modern  Capitalism,  excellent.  KiRKUP,  A  Histoiy  of 
Socialism,  well  written  and  fair.  Spargo  and  Arner,  The  Elements  0f 
Socialism.    WooLMAN  and  McGowAN,  Textiles. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


7o8 


Outlines  of  European  History 


CHAPTER  XV 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Robinson  and  Beard,  7^he  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xix.  Andrews,  The  Historical  Developmetit  of  Modem  Europe, 
Vol.  I.  Fyffe,  a  History  of  Modem  Europe,  Vol.  Ill,  chaps,  i-ii. 
Hazen,  Europe  since  i8i^,  chap.  ix.  Phillips,  Modem  Europe,  chaps, 
xi-xiv.    Seignobos,  A  Political  History  of  Europe  since  /814,  chap.  vi. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xix.  Anderson,  Cofistitutio?is  and  Other  Select  Documents  Illus- 
trative of  the  Histojy  of  F7-ance,  lySg-igoy. 

Cambj-idge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XI,  chaps,  ii,  v.  Evans,  Memoirs  of 
Dr.  Thomas  W.  Evans  :   The  Second  French  Empire. 


A-  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  XX.  Andrews,  The  Historical  Development  of  Modern  Europe, 
Vol.  I,  excellent.  Fyffe,  A  History  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  Ill,  chaps, 
i-ii.  Hazen,  Europe  since  181^,  chaps,  viii,  xxvi.  Phillips,  Modem 
Europe,  chaps,  xi-xiii.  Seignobos,  A  Political  Histoiy  of  Europe  since 
1814,  chaps,  xi-xiv. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History, 
Vol.  II,  chap.  XX.  Marx,  Revolution  and  Counter  Revolution,  or  Ger- 
many in  1848,  keen  analysis  ;  formerly  articles  in  the  iVeiu  York  Trib- 
une. SCHURZ,  The  Reminiscences  of  Carl  Schurz,  of  great  interest  to 
American  students. 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XI,  chaps,  iii-iv,  vi-vii.  Maurice, 
The  Revolutionary  Movement  of  1848-184^.  MuRDOCK,  The  Reconstruc- 
tion of  Europe. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XI,  chaps,  xiv,  xix;  Vol.  XII, 
chap.  viii.  Barry,  The  Papacy  and  Modern  Times  (Home  University 
Series),  chap.  vii.  Hazen,  Europe  since  181^,  chap.  x.  Ogg,  The  Gov- 
ernments of  Europe,  chaps,  xix-xxi.  Seignobos,  A  Political  History  of 
Europe  since  18 14,  chap.  xi. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  Histofy,Yo\.  H, 
chap.  xxi.  Garibaldi,  Autobiography  (3  vols.).  Mazzini,  Duties  of  Man' 
(Everyman's  Library). 

Andrews,  The  Historical  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  IL 
Cesaresco,  Cavour  and  the  Liberation  of  Italy.  King,  A  History  of 
Italian  Unity  (2  vols.).  King  and  Okey,  Italy  To-day,  \Qry  readable,  but 
a  little  out  of  date.    Stillman,  The  Union  of  Italy. 


Appendix  II 


709 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modem  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxii.  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  XI,  chaps,  vii,  xv-xvi,  xxi ; 
Vol.  XII,  chap.  vii.  Hazen,  Europe  since  j8i^,  chaps,  xi,  xiii,  xvii. 
Macy  and  Gannaway,  Comparative  Free  Government,  Pt.  II,  chap.  1. 
Ogg,  The  Governmejit  of  Europe,  chaps,  xxiv-xxvii.  Seignobos,  ^  Polit- 
ical "Nistory  of  Europe  si7ice  18 14,  chaps,  xiv-xvii. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxii.  Bismarck,  Bismarck,  The  Man  and  The  Statesman,  an  auto- 
biography.   BusCH,  Bismarck,  Some  Secret  Pages  of  his  History. 

Guilland,  Modem  Germany  and  her  Historiaits,  shows  their  impor- 
tance in  molding  the  ideas  of  modern  Germany.  Headlam,  Bis7narck 
and  the  Foundation  of  the  Gertnati  Etnpire.  ScHEViLL,  The  Makijig  of 
Modern  Germany,  Lectures  I-V,  very  enthusiastic.  Smith,  Bisfnarck 
and  German  Unity.  Treitschke,  Treitschke's  History  of  Germany  in 
the  Nineteenth  Centtuy. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


CHAPTER  XIX 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Develop?nent  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II,  A.  General 
chap,  xxiii.  Barker,  Modem  Germany.  Cambridge  Modern  History,  ^^^  '"^ 
Vol.  XII,  chap.  vi.  Hazen,  Europe  since  iSis,  chap.  xiv.  Henderson, 
A  Short  Histoiy  of  Gennany  (1916  edition),  chaps,  xi-xiii.  Kruger, 
Government  and  Politics  of  the  German  Empire,  excellent.  Macy  and 
Gannaway,  Comparative  Free  Government,  Pt.  II,  chap.  li.  Ogg,  The 
Govemmejits  of.  Europe,  chaps,  ix-xiv.  Seignobos,  A  Political  History 
of  Europe  since  1814,  chap.  xvi. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  Europea7i  History,  Vol.  II,    B.  Source 
chap,  xxiii.    Dodd,  Modern  Constitutions .    Howard,  The  Germati  Em- 
pire, chap.  xiii. 

Andrews,  Contemporary  Europe  (History  of  All  Nations  Series, 
Vol.  XX),  chaps,  iv-vi.  Dawson,  The  Evolution  of  Modertt  Germany. 
Dewey,  German  Philosophy  and  Politics.  Howard,  The  German  Empire, 
chaps,  i-xii.  Schevill,  The  Making  of  Modem  Germany,  Lecture  VI, 
Appendixes  A-H; 


material 


CHAPTER  XX 

Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modem  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxiv.  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  XII,  chap.  v.  Hazen, 
Europe  since  181^,  chap.  xv.  Macy  and  Gannaway,  Comparative  Free 
Government,  Pt.  II,  chaps,  xlvi-xlix.    Ogg,  The  Governments  of  Europe, 


A.  General 
reading 


7IO 


Outlifies  of  European  History 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Pt.  Ill,  best  brief  analysis.  Seignouos,  A  Political  Histo7y  of  Europe 
since  1814,  chap.  vii. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readitigs  in  Modem  Eiiropeati  Histo?y,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxiv.  Anderson,  Constitutions  and  Other  Select  Doctiments  Illus- 
trative of  the  History  of  France,  ijSg—igoy.    Dodd,  Modern  Co7tstitutions. 

Andrews,  Contemporary  Europe  (History  of  All  Nations  Series, 
Vol.  XX),  chaps.  V,  vii.  Bodley,  France,  by  an  English  Conservative. 
Bracq,  France  under  the  Republic.  Coubertin,  The  Evolution  of  France 
lender  the  Third  Republic.  Hanotaux,  Contejuporary  France  (3  vols.), 
the  standard  history.  Lowell,  Governments  and  Parties  m  Continental 
Europe  (2  vols.).  Vizetelly,  Republicaji  France,  a  readable,  gossipy 
volume.    Wendell,  The  France  of  To-day. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chaps,  xxv-xxvi.  Cambridge  Modem  History,  Vol.  XI,  chaps,  i,  xii ; 
Vol.  XII,  chaps,  iii-iv.  Cheyney,  A  Short  History  of  Engla7td,  chaps. 
xix-xx.  Cross,  A  Histoiy  of  Ejigland  and  Greater  Britain,  chaps.  1-lv. 
Hazen,  Europe  since  181^,  chaps,  xviii-xxi,  excellent.  Macy  and 
Gannaway,  Comparative  Free  Govemme7it,  Pt.  II,  chaps,  xxx-xli.  Ogg, 
The  Gove7'nme7its  of  Europe,  chaps,  i-viii.  Oman,  E7tgland  m  the  Nine- 
tee7ith  Ce7itury,  best  brief  account.  Slater,  The  Maki7ig  of  Modern 
E7igland  (American  edition),  excellent,  with  select  bibliography. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readi7igs  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chaps,  xxv-xxvi.  Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History,  chaps,  xix- 
xx,  sects,  i-iv.  Hayes,  British  Social  Politics,  a  collection  of  speeches 
covering  the  most  recent  period.  Kendall,  A  Source  Book  of  E7tglish 
Histo7y.  Lee,  Source  Book  of  English  Histo7y,  Pt.  VIII,  chaps,  xxx-xxxii. 
White  and  Notestein,  Source  P7vble7ns  i7i  English  Histo7y,  Pt.  VIII. 
Winbolt,  English  History  Source  Books,  a  long  series  of  cheap  source 
books. 

Bagehot,  The  English  Constitutio7t.  HuTCHiNS  and  Harrison,  A 
History  of  Factory  Legislation.  Lowell,  The  Govemme7it  of  England 
(2  vols.),  a  standard  work.  McCarthy,  A  History  of  Our  Ozv7i  limes 
(7  vols.).  Medley,  FjigUsh  Constitutional  History,  a  good  reference 
manual.  Paul,  A  Histo7y  of  Mode/it  E7igland  (5  vols.),  liberal  in  politics. 
Smith,  Irish  History  and  the  Hish  Question.  Walpole,  A  History  of 
England  si7ice  181^.^  Webb,  P7-oblems  of  Modem  hidustry.  Three 
famous  biographies  are :  Monypenny  and  Buckle,  The  Life  of 
Benjami7i  Disraeli;  MoRLEY,  The  Life  of  William  Etvart  Gladst07te\ 
Trevelyan,    The  Life  of  fohn   Bright. 


Appendix  II 


711 


CHAPTER  XXII 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xxvii.  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XI,  chap,  xxvii ;  Vol.  XII, 
chap.  XX.  Cheyney,  A  Short  Histoiy  of  E?tgland,  chap.  xx.  Hazen, 
Eicrope  since  181^,  chap.  xxii.  Qyik.^,- England  iji  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, chaps,  ix-xii.    Story,  The  British  Empire. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readi7igs  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xxvii.  Cheyney,  Readings  in  English  History,  chap,  xx,  sect.  v. 
Lee,  Source  Book  of  English  Histoiy,  Pt.  VIII,  chaps,  xxxiii-xxxv. 
The  Statesman''s   Year  Book.    Winp.olt,  English  History  Source  Books. 

BURINOT,  Canada  under  British  Rule.  DiLKlE,  Problems  of  Greater 
Britain.  Y.GY.^IO^,  A  Short  Histoiy  of  British  Colonial  Policy.  Fraser, 
British  Rule  in  India.  HoBSON,  The  War  in  South  Afi-ica.  Innes,  A 
History  of  England  and  the  British  Empire,  Vol.  IV.  Jenks,  A  Histoiy 
of  the  Australasian  Colonies.  LoWELL,  The  Government  of  England, 
Vol.  II,  chaps,  liv-lviii.  McCarthy,  A  History  of  Our  Own  Times 
(7  vols.).  Vols.  V-VII.  Paul,  A  History  of  Modern  England,  Vols.  II, 
IV.    Walpole,  a  History  of  England  since  181^,  Vol.  VI,  chap,  xxvii. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xxviii.  Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  X,  chap,  xiii ;  Vol.  XI, 
chap,  xxi ;  Vol.  XII,  chap.  xiii.  Hazen,  Europe  since  181^,  chaps,  xxix- 
xxxi.  Seignobos,  a  Political  Histoiy  of  Europe  since  1814,  chap.  xix. 
Skrine,  The  Expansion  of  Russia,  best  brief  survey. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modern  Eicropean  Histoiy,  Vol.  II, 
chap,  xxviii.  YiET<i'iiAT<i,  Siberia  and  the  Exile  System  (2  vols.).  Kropotkix, 
Memoirs  of  a  Revolutionist. 

Alexinsky,  Modem  Russia.  Krausse,  Russia  in  Asia.  Mayor,  An 
Economic  Histoiy  of  Russia  (2  vols.),  elaborate  and  excellent.  Milyou- 
Kov,  Russia  and  its  Crisis,  a  valuable  work  by  a  leader  in  Russian 
thought  and  politics.  Rambaud,  History  of  Russia,  Vol.  Ill;  Expan- 
sion of  Russia.  Sarolea,  Great  Russia.  WALLACE,  Russia  (2  vols.), 
readable  and  thorough  survey.    Wesselitsky,  Rjissia  and  Democracy. 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


Robinson  and  Beard,  The  Development  of  Modern  Europe,  Vol.  II,    A.  General 
chap.  xxix.     Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XII,  chap.  xiv.     Hazen,    ^^^"'"S 
Europe  since  18  ij,  chap,  xxviii.    Seignobos,  A  Political  History  of  Europe 


712 


Outlines  of  European  History 


B.  Source 
material 

C.  Additional 
reading 


since  1814.,  chaps,  xx-xxi.  Sloane,  The  Balkans,  a  recent  study.  Gib- 
bons, The  New  Map  of  Europe,  very  readable. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxix.    Holland,  The  European  Concert  in  the  Eastern  Question. 

Abbott,  Turkey  in  Transition.  Buxton,  Turkey  in  Revolution. 
Courtney  (Editor),  Nationalisjn  and  War  in  the  Near  East.  Davey, 
The  Sultafi  and  his  Subjects  (2  vols.).  Lane-Poole,  The  Story>  of  Turkey. 
Miller,  The  Ottoman  Empire  and  The  Balkans.  Rose,  The  Developjnent 
of  the  Eicropean  Nations  (2  vols.).  Vol.  I. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 

C.  Additional 
reading 


Cambridge  Modern  History,  Vol.  XII,  chaps,  xv-xxii.  Douglas, 
Europe  and  the  Far  East,  excellent.  Hazen,  Europe  since  1815,  chaps, 
xxiii,  XXX.  Holderness,  Peoples  and  Problems  of  India  (Home  Uni- 
versity Series).  Johnston,  The  Opening  up  of  Africa  (Home  University 
Series).  Reinsch,  World  Politics.  Rose,  The  Developmeyit  of  the  Euro- 
pean Nations. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  Histojy,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  XXX.    The  Annual  Register.    The  Statesman^  Year  Book. 

Dennis,  Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress.  Giles,  The  Civiliza- 
tion of  Chijia  (Home  University  Series) ;  China  and  the  Chinese. 
Hunter,  The  Indiati  Empire.  Y.'i^ox,  Japa7iese  Life  in  Town  and  Coun- 
try. Harris,  hitervention  and  Colonization  ift  Africa,  a  recent,  reliable 
guide.  Keltie,  The  Partition  of  Africa.  Weale,  The  Reshaping  of  the 
Far  East  (2  vols.). 


CHAPTER  XXVI 


A.  General 
reading 


B.  Source 
material 


C.  Additional 
reading 


Bracq,  France  tinder  the  Republic.  Cross,  A  History  of  England  a7td 
Greater  Britai7i,  chap.  Ivii.  Dawson,  The  Evolution  of  Modem  Germany. 
Howe,  Socialized  Germany ;  The  British  City.  Kruger,  Government 
and  Politics  of  the  Germajt  Empire.  Ogg,  The  Governments  of  Europe, 
chap.  V.    Seignobos,  A  Political  History  of  Europe  since  1814. 

Robinson  and  Beard,  Readings  in  Modem  European  History,  Vol.  II, 
chap.  xxxi.  Hayes,  British  Social  Politics.  White  and  Notestein, 
Source  Problems  in  E?iglish  History,  Pt.  VIII. 

Lankester,  The  Ki^tgdom  of  Man.  Tower,  Gemiafiy  of  To-day 
(Home  University  Series).  Vizetelly,  Republican  France.  Wallace • 
The  Wonderful  Century.    Wendell,  The  France  of  To-day. 


Appendix  II 


713 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


Angell,    The   Great  Jlliision,   a   criticism   of  the  whole   militaristic    A.  General 
system.    Stowell,   The  Diplomacy  of  the  War  of  igi^,  the  best  and    ^^^^'"& 
most  thorough  analysis  of  the  diplomacy  involved.    Gibbons,  The  A-ew 
Map  of  Europe,  well  written. 

Collected  Diplomatic  Documents  relating  to  the  Outbreak  of  the  Euro-  B.  Source 
pean  War,  London,  191 5,  contains  the  publications  of  the  various  "material 
nations  relative  to  their  diplomatic  exchanges  prec^eding  the  outbreak 
of  the  war.  The  documents  were  reprinted  by  the  A'exv  York  Times  and 
the  Association  for  International  Conciliation.  The  N'ew  York  Times, 
Cicrrent  Histojy  of  the  Eic7Vpean  War,  contains  valuable  current  material. 
Stowell's  volume  analyzes  the  documents. 

The  Association  for  International  Conciliation  (Secretary  at  Columbia  C.  Additional 
University)  distributes  free  pamphlets  which  are  often  of  great  value.  ^^^"^^"S 
Bernhardt,  Germany  and  the  A^ext  War,  an  example  of  German  mili- 
taristic views.  Dewey,  Germati  Philosophy  atid  Politics,  a  survey  of 
thought  in  the  last  century.  Foster,  Arbitration  and  the  Hagne  Court. 
llvi^ivuRYN,  Ittternational  Socialism  and  the  War.  Labberton,  Belgium 
and  Germany.  Ogg,  The  Governme^its  of  Europe,  chaps,  xxiv-xxvii. 
Price,  The  Diplomatic  History  of  the  War.  Sarolea.  The  Anglo-  Gei-man 
Problem,  a  suggestive  book  by  a  Belgian.  Schmitt,  England  and 
Ger?nany,  ly^o-igi^.    Von  Mach,   Gerffiajiy's  Point  of  View. 


INDEX 


Marked  letters  sound  as  in  ask,  far,  her,  there,  move,  6rb,  hour,  fiill ;   Frencli 
bofi,  menii;  K  like  German  ch  i?i  ich,  ach 


Abdul  Hamid  (ab  dul  ha  med')  II, 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  586,  588 

Absentee  landlordism  in  Ireland, 
519  f.,   522 

Ab  ys  sin'i  a,  421 

Academy,  French,  64 

Act  of  Uniformity  (1662),  50 

Act  of  Union,  Ireland  (1801),  523 

Ads  of  the  Apostles,  The,  223 

Address  to  the  German  N'obility,  20  f . 

Ad'ri  an  6'ple,  581  f.,  588,  590 

Afghanistan  (af  gan  1  stau'),  530 
and  note,  563  and  note 

Africa,  322,  421  ;  German  East, 
and  German  Southwest,  456, 
460,  547  f.,  624 ;  French  in  north 
and  west,  485,  487  f.,  623  f. ; 
British  and  Dutch  in  South, 
542  ff.;  British  East,  548,  627  ff.; 
colonization  of,  by  European 
powers,  620  ff. ;  conference  at 
Algeciras  (1906),  626;  imperial 
policy  of  European  nations  in  : 
Fashoda  {1898),  685;  Algeciras 
(1905),  687;  Agadir  (1911), 
687  f. 

Agadir  (ag  a  der')  (1911),  687  f. 

Aix-la-Chapelle  (aks-la-sha  pel'), 
Peace  of  (1748),  87,  no,  254; 
Congress  of  (1818),  327 

A  las'ka,  322 

Al  ba'ni  a,  587  f.,  591,  691 

Albanians,  583,  587 

Albert  I,  king  of  Belgium,  343 

Alberta,  537 

Alexander,  king  of  Serbia,  585 

Alexander,  prince  of  Bulgaria,  582 

Alexander  I,  Tsar  of  Russia,  283, 
287  f.,  302,  306,  325,  552  ff.,  575 

Alexander  II,  Tsar  of  Russia,  556, 
559,  561,  578,  581 


Alexander  III,  Tsar  of  Russia, 
561  f. 

Alfon'so  XII,  king  of  Spain,  435 
note 

Alfonso  XIII,  king  of  Spain,  435 
note 

Algeciras  (al  je  se'ras),  conference 
at  (1906),  456  note,  626  f. 

Algeria  (al  je'ri  a),  421,  485  f.,  685 

Alliance,  Triple  (England,  Hol- 
land, and  Sweden,  1668),  66  f. ; 
Grand  (1701),  70  ;  of  France  and 
Austria  (1756),  87  ;  Holy  (Sep- 
tember, 1815),  325,  355,  552; 
Secret  (November,  181 5),  327; 
of  Austro-Hungarian  dual  mon- 
archy, German  Empire,  and 
Italy  (1882,  1887,  1892,  1902, 
1912),  421,  456,  685,  687;  of 
England  and  Japan  (1902,  1905), 
686 

Alsace  (al  sas'),  30,  66, 175,  437  and 
note,  466.    See  Alsace-Lorraine 

Alsace-Lorraine  (al  sas'  lo  ran'), 
445,  466.    See  Alsace  ;  Lorraine 

Alton  Locke  (ol'ton  lok),  513 

Alva,  duke  of,  28 

Am  a  de'us,  king  of  Spain,  435 

America,  South,  104,  350  ff.,  630; 
Central,  350  ff. 

American  colonies,  108 

Am'i  ens.  Treaty  of,  270,  282 

A  moy',  602 

Anaesthetics,  670  f. 

A  nam',  488  f. 

Angelo  (an'jelo),  Michael  (mi'kel), 

3 
Anglican    Church,    37  ff.,    137  ff., 

168,   510,   520  ff.,  641 
Angra  Pequena  (paka'na),  456 
Anjou  (an'jo),  Charles  of,  12 


715 


7i6 


OntU}ics  of  European  History 


Anne,  queen  of  England,  52  ff. ; 
war  (1 701),  70  {see  War  of  the 
Spanish  Succession) 

Antitoxins,  673 

Ant'werp,  28 

Ar'abs,  626 

Arbitration,  Permanent  Court,  683 

Arcole  (ar'ko  la),  battle  of,  256 

Argentina  (ar  jen  te'na),  425 

Arkwright,  359,  362,  367 

Ar  ma'da,  Spanish,  8,  29 

Army,  Austro-Hungarian,  680; 
English,  680;  French,  during 
the  Third  Republic,  468  f.,  680, 
692  ;  Italian,  in  twentieth  cen- 
tury, 421 ;  Prussian  :  under  Fred- 
erick William  I,  84 ;  during 
Napoleonic  Period,  344,  677  f. ; 
in  nineteenth  and  twentieth 
centuries,  678  ff.,  691  ;  Rus- 
sian, 680 

Artois  (artwa'),  count  of,  201,  205, 
218,  336.  See  Charles  X,  king  of 
France 

Ashley,  Lord,  514 

Asia  Minor,  456  note,  584 

Aspern,  298 

Asquith,  641,  645,  647 

Assignats  (aseiiya'),  212  f.,  247, 
274  f. 

Associations  cultuelles  (a  so  sya- 
syoii'  ktil  tti  el')  48 1  f . 

Associations  Law  (1901),  479  f. 

Atomic  theory,  666  f. ;  effect  of 
radio-activity  upon,  668 

Augsburg,  Peace  of,  23,  29 

Augsburg  Cojtfessioji,  23 

August  4-5,  night  of,  206 

Augustus  III,  king  of  Poland,  92 

Aurangzeb  (6'rungzeb'),  106,  528, 

533 

Ausgleich  (ous'gliK),  between  Aus- 
tria and  Hungary,  439 

Aus'ter  litz,  284,  287,  298,  337,  388 

Australasia  (6s  tral  a'sha),  538  ff. 

Australia,  322  ;  nature  of  original 
settlements  of,  538  f. ;  discovery 
of  gold  in,  539 ;  Western  and 
South,  539  f.;  Commonwealth  of 
(1900),  540,   546 

Austria,  influence  of,  on  Italy  in 
Middle   Ages,    13;  foundations 


of,  16;  division  of  possessions 
by  Charles  V,  28  and  note ; 
secures  Spanish  Netherlands 
{1713),  70  f.  ;  under  Maria 
Theresa,  85 ;  War  of  Austrian 
Succession  (1740),  86;  first 
partition  of  Poland,  92  ;  second 
and  third  partitions,  95,  117; 
Bohemia  and  Hungary  acquired, 
96;  reforms  of  Joseph  II,  i65ff.; 
war  with  France  (1792),  226  ff.; 
Treaty  of  Campo  Formio  (1797), 
257  f . ;  Treaty  of  Luneville 
(1801),  270  ff. ;  war  with  France 
(1805),  283  ff. ;  Treaty  of  Press- 
burg  (1805),  285;  assumption 
of  title  of  Emperor  of  Austria 
by  sovereign,  286 ;  dissolution 
of  Holy  Roman  Empire  (1806), 
286  f.;  war  with  France  (1809), 
298;  Treaty  of  Vienna  (1809), 
298 ;  part  played  at  Congress 
of  Vienna  (1815),  314  ff.;  at- 
titude of,  toward  plans  for 
German  unification,  344  ff. ;  in- 
fluence of,  in  Italy,  349 ;  races, 
393  ff. ;  loss  of  Italian  posses- 
sions in,  410,  414  f.,  417  ff.; 
refusal  to  join  Zollverein,  427 ; 
Schleswig-Holstein  controversy, 
war  with  Prussia  (1866),  429  ff. 

Austria-Hungary.  See  Austria ; 
Austro-Hungarian  dual  mon- 
archy 

Austrian  Empire.  See  Austro- 
Hungarian    dual    monarchy 

Austrian  Succession,  War  of, 
86  f. 

Austro-Hungarian  dual  monarchy, 
Austria  and  Hungary  since 
1866:  establishment  of  dual 
monarchy  (1867),  nature  of 
union,  races  included,  439  f. ; 
reduction  of  power  of  Church, 
extension  of  franchise,  441  f . ; 
Hungary,  442  f. ;  at  Congress 
of  Berlin  (1878),  581  and  note; 
made  administrator  of  affairs 
for  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina, 
586  f. ;  in  the  Near-Eastern 
question :  conflicting  interests 
of  races  in  the  dual  monarchy, 


Index 


717 


688 ;  Slav  problem,  689  f. ;  an- 
nexation of  Bosnia  and  Herze- 
govina (1908),  690;  exclusion 
of  Serbia  from  seacoast,  691  ; 
assassination  of  Archduke 
Francis  Ferdinand  (1914),  693; 
ultimatum  to  Serbia,  693 

Austro-Prussian  War  (1866),  432, 

..  439,  678,  688  f. 

A'zof,  Sea  of,  575 

Ba'ber,  106  and  note 

Baboeuf  (babef),  379 

Bacon,  Francis,  34,  145  f. 

Bacon,  Roger,  144  f. 

Bacteriology,  671 

Ba'den,  14,  273,  279,  285,  316,  347, 

399'  433'  436,  438,  444  f- 

Bagdad,  690  note ;  railway  from 
Berlin  to,  691  f. 

Ba  la  kla'va,  578 

Balkan  region,  579  f.,  582 

Balkan  States,  324,  456,  589 

BalkanWar(i9i2),588ff. ;  (191 3), 
590,  688  ff. 

Balkan  war  with  Turks  (1877), 
561 

Ballot,  Australian  or  secret,  advo- 
cated by  Chartists,  496;  adopted 
by  England  (1872),  501  and  note 

Baluchistan  (ba  lo  chi  stan'),  530 
note 

Bank  of  France,  276 

Barbary  States,  621 

Barras  (ba  ra^,  252 

Basel  (ba'zel),  Treaties  of  (1795), 
254,  265 

Bastille  (basteF),  the,  203  ff.,  215, 

^n^  339 

Batavian  Republic,  254,  267,  270  f. 

Ba  tiim',  581 

Bavaria,  14,  271  ff.,  279,  285,  316, 

347'  399'  433'  436>  438,  444  f-, 

447  note 
Beaconsfield,   Tord.    See  Disraeli, 

Benjamin 
Beauharnais  (bo  ar  ne/).  General, 

250,  252 
Beauharnais,  Madame  (madam'), 

252.    See  Josephine,  empress  of 

the  French 
Beccaria  (bekkare'a),  156  f.,  161 


Bech  u  a'na  land,  548,  622 
Belgium,  8,  279,  315;  revolution 
of  1830,  342  f.;  constitution  of, 

343 
Bell,  597 
Bengal   (bengOl'),    108,   in,  322, 

527,  529  f. 
Berbers,  626 
Beresford   (ber'e.s  ferd).   General, 

354  f- 

Berkeley  (berk'Ii),  149  note 

Berlin',  University  of  (1810-1811), 
305 ;  representation  in  Reichs- 
tag, 460  f. ;  Treaty  of  (1878),  581 
and  note;  Congress  of  (1878), 
587;  Congress  of  (1884),  624; 
railway  to  Bagdad  from,  691 
note,  692 

Berlin  Decree  (1806),  290  f. 

Bernadotte  (ber  na  dot').  Marshal, 

3°/' 317^- 
Bes  a  ra'bi  a,  575 
Bes'se  mer  process,  667 
Bill  of  Rights  (England,  1689),  53, 

496 
Biology,  670 

Birmingham,  369,  492,  647 
Bismarck,  421,  428  ff.,  447  ff.,  518, 

555  note,  678,  685 
Black  Sea,  575,  579,  581,  585 
"Black    Year    of    Forty-Seven" 

in  Ireland,  520 
Blackstone,  141 
Blanc  (blaii),  380  ff.,  466 
Bleaching,  361 
Bloc  (blok),  477 
Bliicher    (blii'Ker;    Etiglish   blo'- 

cher).  General,  307,  311 
Boers    (borz),    542  ff. ;    war   with 

England  (1899),   545  f.,  621   ff. 
Bo  he'mi  a,  14,  29,  393,  395  ;  revo- 
lution in  Prague,  398,  400,  406, 

439 
l>ohemians,  72,  439.    See  Slavs 
Bo  Ka'ra,  563  note 
Bolivar  (bo  le'var),  351  f. 
Bo  liv'i  a,  352 
Bombay',  108,  527  f.,  532 
B5'na  parte,  Jerome,  289,  308 
Bonaparte,  Joseph,  251,  266,  287, 

296  f.,  298,  348 
Bonaparte,  Louis,  287,  300 


7i8 


Outlines  of  Eiuvpcaii  History 


Bo'na  parte,  Louis  Napoleon, 
385  ff.    See  Napoleon  III 

Bonaparte,  Lucien,  262 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon,  30,  217, 
230, 240,  248  f.,  250  ff.,  277  ff., 627 

Bonapartists,  337,  463,  469,  474  f., 

483 
Booth,  638 
Bordeaux   (bor  do'),    238  ff.,    339, 

364.  463 
Borden,  538 

Borodino  (bo  ro  dye  no'),  303 
Bosnia,  580,  581  and  note,  586  f. ; 

annexation   by   Austria   (1908), 

690 
Bos'po  rus,  579 
Bossuet  (boswe'),  457,  513 
Boston  Tea  Party,  114 
Botany  Bay,  539 
Botha  (bo'ta),  General,  547 
Boulanger  (bolanzha').  General, 

475 
Bourbons,    25,    58  ff.,    69  f.,     loi, 

254,  267  f.,  283,  287,  309  f.,  314, 

337»  340,  348  f.,  355.  377,   379, 

399,  435'  468  f. 
Bourgeoisie     (bor  zhwa  ze'),    374 

note 
Boxer  insurrection  (1900),  614 
Boyne  (boin),  battle  of  the,  519 
Braddock,  General,  108 
Brandenburg,  electorate.  14,  79  ff. 
Brazil,   7,    104 ;    establishment    of 

empire,  354  f.,  425,  630 
Bremen  (bra'men),  272,  300,  433 
Brest,  289  f. 
Briand  (bre  aii'),  482 
Bright,  514,  517,  521  note 
Brissot  (bre  so'),  236 
British  empire,  103  ff.  See  England 
British    South    Africa    Company, 

545'  548 

Browning,  513 

Bruges  (bro'jez;  French  bruzh),8 

Brumaire  (briimer'),  coup  ifetat 
(ko  da  ta')  of  the  i8th,  262 

Brunswick,  duke  of,  288  ;  procla- 
mation of,  229,  234  note 

Bucharest  (bo  ka  rest').  Treaty  of, 
590  f . 

Budget,  English,  55  f.;  "revolu- 
tionary" (1909),  641  ff. 


Buenos  Ayres  (bwa'nos  i'res),  351, 

354 
Buffon  (bii  fori'),  659,  662 
Bukowina  (bo  ko  ve'na),  440 
Bulgaria,     581  ;     independent    of 

Turkey  (1908),  582,  585  f.,  590  f. 
Bulgarians,  561,  580,  582,  590 
Bulwer-Lytton,  508  note . 
Bundesrat(bun'desrat),433,444ff. 
Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  115 
Buonaparte  (bwo  napar'te).  Carlo, 

251 
Burgoyne     (bergoin').     General, 

116 
Burke  (berk),  115 
Burma,  529  f.  and  note 
Burns,  Robert,  329 

Cabinet,  English,  56  f.,  169,  504  ff. 

Cabot,  424 

Cadiz,  289 

Cahiers  (ka  ya'),  197  f.,  207  f. 

Calcutta,  108,  I II 

Calonne  (ka  Ion'),  192,  194  f.,  203, 
218 

Calvin,  24 

Calvinists.    Sec  Protestants 

Cambodia,  489 

Campbell  (kam'bel),  General,  532 

Campo  Formio,  Treaty  of  (1797), 
257,  260,  265  f.,  270,  285,  285 

Canada,  71,  105  ff.,  322,  524;  in 
the  nineteenth  and  twentieth 
centuries,  534  ff. ;  war  of  1812, 
535;  rebellion  of  1837,  535; 
Dominion  of  (1867),  536 f.;  "na- 
tional policy,,"  537  f. 

Canal,  Suez,  593  f. ;  Panama,  594  ; 
Kiel,  692  note 

Canning,  354 

Canton,  601  f. 

Cape-to-Cairo  railroad,  548 

Ca'pet,  Hugh,  king  of  France,  10 
note 

Capital    and     labor,    367  f.,    450, 

Capitalist  class,  origin  of,  367  ff., 
452  ;  investment  by,  in  back- 
ward countries,   598  f. 

Carbonari  (kar  bo  na're),  352,  378, 
411  f..  414 

Carinthia,  439 


Index 


719 


Carlos  I,  king  of  Portngal,  631,  687 

"  Carlsbad  Resolutions,"  347 
■  Carlyle,  513 

Carniola  (kjir  iiyo'la),  439  f. 

Carnot  (kkr  no'),  239 

Carol  I,  king  of  Roumania,  58 1 
note 

Caroline,  queen  of  Naples,  2S7 

Caroline  Islands,  456  note,  630 

Cartwright,  360  f. 

Catherine  of  Aragon,  queen  of 
England,   26 

Catherine  the  Great,  Tsarina  of 
Russia,  79,  161,  163  ff.,  173,  187, 
253,  265,  554,  557 

Catholic  Church,  Roman,  3,  17, 
27  ff.,  138,  150;  in  Austria  un- 
der Joseph  II,  i66ff. ;  in  France, 
177  f.,  211  ;  Concordat  in  France 
(1801),  277  f.,  336,  341  ;  separa- 
tion of,  from  State,  in  France  : 
(1795),  276;  ( 1 881-1906),  477  ff.; 
in  Ireland,  518 

Catholic  League,  35 

Catholics,  in  England  and  Ireland, 
36  ff.,  44,  509  f.,  519  ff. ;  in 
France,  58  ff.,  135  f-,  417  f-, 
477  ff. ;  in  Prussia,  82,  163  ; 
in  Poland,  90 ;  in  North  Amer- 
ica, 105,  138  note;  in  Switzer- 
land, 393  ;  in  German  Empire, 
449  ;  in  Turkey,  578 

Cavaignac  (ka  ven  yak').  General, 

383  ff- 
Cavaliers,  141  f. 
Cavendish,  524 
Cavour  (kavor'),  413  f.,  417,  422, 

588 
Cawnpore  (konpor'),  532 
Cell  theory,  669  f. 
Censorship    of   the-  press,  under 

the  old  regime,  136;  in  France, 

281,  295,  338,  389;    in  Russia, 

565 
Center  party,  in  German  Empire, 

449'  650 
Ceylon  (selon'),  322,  527,  532 
Chamberlain,  518 
Chambord   (sliiiii  bor'),   count   of, 

469  ff. 
Champollion  (shan  p61  yCii'),  260 

note 


Chancellor  of  German  Empire, 
444,  446  f. ;  question  of  respon- 
sibility to  Reichstag,  648  f.  See 
von  Biilow 

Charlemagne  (shar'le  man).  Em- 
peror of  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, 1 1 

Charles  I,  king  of  England,  35  ff., 
40,  138,  519 

Charles  II,  king  of  England,  49  ff. ; 
491 

Charles  VIII,  king  of  France, 
12  f. 

Charles  IX,  king  of  France,  24 

Charles  X,  king  of  France,  -^^yj  ff., 
yil->  463,  468,  480.  See  Artois, 
count  of 

Charles  V,  Emperor  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  13,  16  f.,  21  ff., 

435 
Charles  VI,  Emperor  of  the  Holy 

Roman  Empire,  85 
Charles  VII,  Emperor  of  the  Holy 

Roman  Empire,  86  note 
Charles  II,  king  of  Spain,  66  f. 
Charles  III,  king  of  Spain,  161 
Charles  IV,  king  of  Spain,  296 
Charles    XII,    king    of    Sweden, 

77  ff. 
Charles    XIV,    king   of    Sweden, 
317  f.    See  Bernadotte,  Marshal 
Charles  Albert,  king  of  Sardinia, 

398  f.,  404  f.,  412 
Charles   of   Hohenzollern-Sigma- 

ringen,  581  note 
Charles    Stuart,   Prince,    54   note, 

169 
Charter,  Great.  See  Magna  Carta 
ChaHisvi  i^nmasked,  497  note 
Chartist  movement,  393,  496  ff. 
Chemistry,  synthetic,  667 
ChihH  (che'le).  Gulf  of,  611 
Child  Labor.  See  Factory  system  ; 

Industrial  Revolution 
Chile  (che'la),  351  f. 
China,  early  history,  601  ;  in  the 
nineteenth  and  twentieth  cen- 
turies, 601  ff. ;  wars  with  Europe 
and  Japan,  601  f.,  609  ff. ;  treaty 
ports,  601  ff.;  investment  of 
European  capital  in  develop- 
ment of  natural  resources,  612; 


720 


Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 


reform  movement,  613;  oppo- 
sition, 613  f.;  Boxer  rebellion, 
614;  intervention  of  European 
powers,  614  f.;  renewal  of  re- 
form movement,  615;  establish- 
ment of  republic,  618  ff. 

Chino-Japanese  War  (1894-1895), 
459,  609  f. 

Christians,  in  Turkey,  576  f.,  578  ff. ; 
in  Japan,  605 

Church,  Anglican,  26  f.,  37  ff., 
137  ff.,  168,  510,  520  ff.,  641; 
Catholic  {see  Catholic  Church) ; 
Greek,  74,  90 ;  secularization 
of  church  property :  in  Russia 
under  Catherine  II,  165;  in 
Austria  under  Joseph  II,  166  f. ; 
in  France  in  1789,  211  ff.;  in 
France  in  1905,  482  ff. ;  Greek 
Orthodox  (Russian),  555  and 
note,   575 

Church  and  State,  in  Austria, 
adjustment  of  relations  be- 
tween, 166  f.,  441;  in  France, 
separation  of:  (1795),  276; 
(1881-1906),  478  ff. ;  opinion 
of,  477  ;  in  England,  problem 
of  religious  teaching  in  schools, 
510,  641  ;  in  Ireland,  disestab- 
lishment of  Anglican  Church 
(1869),   520  f. 

Church  of  England.  See  Church, 
Anglican 

Churchill,  637 

Cisalpine  (sis  arpin)  Republic, 
258,  266  f.,  269  f. 

Cities,  free,  or  imperial,  14 

"  Civil  list,"  56 

Civil  War  (England,  1642),  41  ff. 

Clemenceau(klamaiiso'),484note 

Clermont,  the,  592 

Cleves  (klevz),  80,  271 

Clive  (kliv),  109  ff. 

Cobden,  517 

Co'chin  China,  486,  489 

Code  Napoleon  (kod  napolaon'), 
279 

Colbert  (kol  ber'),  63  ff.,  158  f. 

Coligny  (ko  len'ye),  25 

Collot  d'Herbois  (ko  lo'  der  bwa'), 
239  f. 

Cologne  (kolon'),  14,  271 


Colom'bia,  351  f.,  354,  594 

Colonial  expansion.  See  Imperial- 
ism 

Columbia,  British,  537 

Columbus,  5,  7,  16,  424 

Committee  of  Public  Safety  ( 1 793), 
235  f-'  239  f.,  242,  244,  246 

"  Committee  of  Union  and  Prog- 
ress," Turkey,   586 

Commons,  House  of  (England), 
37,  40  ff.,  171,  493,  495,  498  f., 
503  ff.,  637,  641,  644  ff. 

Commonwealth  (England),  43  ff. 

Com'mu  nards,  467  f. 

Com'mune,  during  French  Revolu- 
tion (1789),  205  f.,  230 f.,  236 ff.; 
war  of  (187 1 ),  467  f.,  470,  483 

Comnninist  Alanifesto^  375 

Con  cor'dat  (France,  1801),  277  f., 
480  f. 

Conde  (koii  da'),  218 

Confederation,  of  the  Rhine,  285, 
300, 307  f.,  314,  316,320;  German 
(181 5-1866),  345  ff.,  406  f.,  428, 
430  f. 

Conference  of  Algeciras  (al  je  Se'- 
ras)  (1906),  626 

Congo,  French,  455,  487,  623,  687; 
Belgian,  548,  624  f. ;  Free  State, 
625;  German,  687 

Congregatio  de  propaganda  Fide 
(kon  gre  ga'shi  o  de  prop  a gan'da 
fi'de)  (1622),  599 

Congregationalists,  39.  See  Pres- 
byterians 

Congress,  Continental,  115; 
Vienna  (1815),  309,  315  ff.,  341, 
343  U  346,  349'  357  ;  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  (1818),  327;  Laibach 
(i82i),353;  Verona (1822), 353f.; 
labor,  at  Leipzig  (1863),  and  at 
Gotha(i875),45o;  Berlin(i878), 
581  and  note 

Conservative  party,  in  England, 
499  ff.,  502,  636  f.,  641  f.,  645, 
647  ;  in  Canada,  537  f. ;  in  Ger- 
many, 650 

Con'stance,  council  of,  18 

Con'stan  tine  I,  king  of  Greece, 
584  note 

Constantinople,  6, 96,  575,  578,  588, 
590 ;  railroad  from  Berlin  to,  596 


Index 


721 


Constitution,  England,  55  ff.,  375; 
Poland  (1791),  93;  France:  in 
1 791,  210  f. ;  of  the  Year  I  (1793), 
231  ;  of  the  Year  III  (1795),  248; 
of  the  Year  Y^III  (1799),  262  ff. ; 
in  1814,  335  ff.;  in  1830  (re- 
vision of  that  of  1814),  341  ;  in 
1852,  38S;  in  1875, 470  ff.;  Civil, 
of  the  Clergy  (France),  212  ff., 
226,  276  f.;  Spain  :  in  1808,  296; 
in  1812,  352  ;  Sweden  (1814),  318 
and  note  ;  Switzerland:  in  1815, 
318;  in  1848  and  1874,  393  and 
note;  Norway  (1814),  318  and 
note;  Belgium  (1831),  343; 
Netherlands  (1815,  1848),  343 
note ;  German  Confederation 
(181 5),  345  f-;  Naples,  352; 
Prussia  (1850),  407  f. ;  Sardinia 
(1848),  412,  415,  419;  Italy 
(1871,  adoption  of  Sardinian 
constitutionof  1848),  419;  North 
GermanFederation(i867),432f.; 
German  Empire  (1871),  444  ff. ; 
Austro-Hungarian  dual  mon- 
archy, 439  f.,  689  ;  Canada,  536  ; 
Australia,  540;  Japan  (1889), 
609;  China  (1912),  618  f. 

Constitutional  Charter  in  France. 
See  Constitution:  France  in 
1814;  in  1830 

Constitutional  democrats  in  Rus- 
sia, 567 

Consulate  (France,  1799-1S04), 
262  ff. 

Consuls  (France),  262,  264,  271  f., 
275,  278,  280 

Continental  Congress,  115 

Continental  system,  289  ff. 

Conventicle  Act,  50  f. 

Conventicles,  37,  39 

Convention  (France,  1792),  231  ff. ; 
reforms  of,  246  ff.,  254,  276,  315 

Cook,  Captain,  539 

Cooke.    See  Telegraph 

Cooperative  Commonwealth,  373, 
376 

Co  per'ni  cus,  147  note 

Co7'deliers  (kor  de  lerz'),  220 

Corn  Laws,  516  f. 

Corneille  (kor  nay'),  64 

Corn  wariis,  General,  116    • 


Cor'si  ca,  118,  176,  251 

Cor'tes,  348,  435.  See  Parliament 
of  Spain 

Cortez,  7 

Cossacks,  553  note,  570 

Cotton  gin,  361 

Council,  of  Constance,  18 ;  of 
Elders,  248,  262  ;  of  Five  Hun- 
dred, 248,  262 

Coup  d'etat  (ko  data'),  iSth  Bru- 
maire  (brii  mer'),  or  Nov.  9, 
1799,  262,  264  ff.,  277,  280; 
Dec.    1-2,    1851,   388  f. 

Crete  (kret),  584,  590  f. 

Cri  me'a,  575,  578 

Crimean    \Var    (1854),    414,    556, 

563'  577 

Cmnes  atid  Piuiishmeitts^  On,  I'^G 

Criminal  Law,  reform  of,  511 

Croatia  (kro  a'shi  a),  439,  442  f. 

Cro'ats,  97,  395  f.,  401  f.,  439  f. 
See  Slavs 

Crompton,  359,  362 

Cromwell,  Oliver,  42  f.,  46-48,  519 

Cromwell,  Richard,  49 

Cry  of  the  Children,  The,  513 

Cuba,  117,  630 

Cul  lod'en,  54  note 

Curie  (kii  re'),  668 

Customs  lines,  interior :  in 
France,  175  map,  176;  in  Ger- 
many, 426  f. 

Custozza  (kostod'za),  404,  419 

Czechs  (checks),  97,  326,  393  ff., 
440  ff. 

da  Gii'ma,  5,  103,  106 
Dahomey  (daho'ma),  487  note 
Daimios  (dl'myoz,)  604 
d'Alembert  (dalaiiber'),  165 
Dalhousie  (dal  ho'zi),  531 
Dalmatia  (dal  ma'shi  a),  440 
Dalton,  666 

Dan'ish  War  (1864),  431 
Danton     (dan  tori'),    220  f.,    236, 

242  ff. 
Dardanelles  (dar  da  nelz'),  579 
Dar'win,  663  ff. 
da  Vinci  (da  vin'che),  3 
de  Brazza  (da  brat'sa),  487 
de  Campan  (de  kari  pari'),  280 
"Decembrist"  revolt  (1825),  554 


722 


Outluies  of  Eiiropeaii  History 


Declaration,  of  Independence 
(1776),  115;  of  Rights  of  Man 
(France,  1789),  207  ff.,  211,  24S, 
324,  336,  392 

Decree,  Berlin  (1806),  290  f. ; 
Milan  (1807),  291 

Defoe  (de  fo'),  364  f. 

Deists,  148  ff. 

Delegations,  440 

de  Lesseps  (de  le  seps'),  594 

Delhi  (dere),  527  f.,  532 

de'  Medici  (da  ma'de  che),  Cathe- 
rine, queen  of  France,  24  f. 

Democratic  Labor  Party,  Social, 
in  German  Empire,  450,  459 

Democrats  in  Russia,  constitu- 
tional, 567  ;  social,  567  f. 

de  Mont'fort,  9 

Denmark,  29,  36,  289,  322,  345; 
war  with  Prussia  and  Austria 
(1864),  429  ff- 

Dipartements  (da  par  te  man') 
(France),  176,  207,  213,  263, 
271,    273 

Deputies,  Chamber  of  (France), 
334  f.,  380,  462,  470  ff.,  475, 
484  f.   See  Parliament  of  France 

Derby  (dar'bi),  499 

Desaix  (de  za').  General,  269 

Deshima  (da'shema),  605 

Desmoulins  (da  mo  laiV),  203,  220, 
246 

Devil's  Island,  475 

Dickens,  513 

Diderot  (ded  ro'),  151  ff-,  165,  186, 
560,  662 

Diet,  of  German  Confederation, 
346,  399 ;  of  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire, 15,  285;  of  Hungary,  398, 
440  [see  Parliament  of  Hungary) 

Directory  (France,  1 795-1 799), 
248,  252,  254,  260  ff.,  275  f. 

Disraeli  (diz  ra'li),  499  ff. 

Dissenters,  50,  140,  509  f. 

Distaff,  358  f. 

Divine-right  theory  of  monarchy, 
34,  59  f.    See  Bossuet 

'■  Domestic  system  "  of  industry, 
364  f. 

Dominicans,  479,  599 

Don  Carlos  of  Spain,  435 

Dresden,  battle  of  (1813),  307 


Dreyfus  (dra  fits'),  475  ff. 

Dryden,  328 

Dual  monarchy  of  Austria- 
Hungary,  439  ff.  See  Austro- 
Hungarian  dual  monarchy 

DubHn,  519,  524;  revolt  of  1916, 

525 

du  Chaillu  (dli  shayli'),  487 

Duma  (do'ma),  571  ff.  See  Parlia- 
ment of  Russia 

Dumouriez  (dli  morya'),  232, 234  f., 
239,  250 

Dunkirk,  47,  239 

Dunwich,  491 

Dupleix  (diipleks'),  109  f. 

Duquesne  (dii  kan'),  Fort,  108 

Durazzo  (do  rat'so),  589 

Durham,  535 

East  India  Company,  107,  532  f. 
"  Eastern  question,"  origin  of,  117, 

574  ff. 
Ecuador  (ek'wador),  352 
Education,    national :    in    France, 
233,  246,  293  f.,  478  ;  in  Prussia, 
333;  in  England,  333,  507,  5^0; 
in  Italy,  422  ;  in  Japan,  608  ;  de- 
feat  of   education   bill   in   Eng- 
land   (1906),    641  ;    in    German 
Empire,  652  f. 
Edward  I,  king  of  England,  9 
Edward  III,  king  of  England,  9 
Edward  VI,  king  of  England,  27 
Edward    VII,    king    of    England, 

645,  68 5,  687 
Egypt,  Napoleon's  campaign  in, 
260  ff. ;  withdrawal  of  French 
claims  as  result  of  "  Fashoda 
incident,"  487  f. ;  revolt  in 
Sudan,  results  of  British  occu- 
pation, 548,  629,  685  f. ;  con- 
quest by  Turks,  620,  627 ; 
Mehemet  Ali  as  governor 
(1805),  627;  under  Ismail  I, 
British  and  French  interven- 
tion, and  "  temporary  "  occupa- 
tion by  British  (i882-i9i4),628 ; 
establishment  of  British  pro- 
tectorate and  declaration  of 
independence  from  Turkey 
(1914),  628 
Eisenach  (i'zen  an),  450 


Index 


723 


Erba,  309,  314  f-,  3'^.  2^-7)^  328 

El'be,  290 

Elders,  Council  of  the,  248,  262 

Electors  of  the  Holy  Roman  Em- 
pire,   14 

Electricity,  667 

Elizabeth,  queen  of  England,  27, 
32  ff,  519 

Emancipation,  of  Dissenters  (Eng- 
land, 1828),  509  f. ;  of  Catholics 
(England,  1829),  510,  521  ;  of 
serfs  (Russia,   1861),   556  f. 

Embargo  act  (1807)^  292 

Emigres  (a  me  gra'),  205,  218,  222, 
225,  227 

E77iile  (amer),  155  f. 

Empire.  See  Austria ;  Austro- 
Hungarian  dual  monarchy ; 
Brazil ;  England ;  British  em- 
pire ;  France ;  German  Em- 
pire ;  Holy  Roman  Empire ; 
Russia 

Ejuyclopcrdia,  151  ff.,  186,  662 

Enghien  (aiigaiV),  duke  of,  283 

England,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  8  ff., 
28;  under  the  Stuarts  (1603- 
1649),  31  ff. ;  period  of  the 
Commonwealth  and  Protector- 
ate (1649-1660),  43  ff. ;  Stuart 
Restoration  ( 1 660-1 688),  49  ff. ; 
revolution  of  1688,  51  ff.;  Eng- 
lish constitution,  55  ff. ;  colonial 
expansion  in  India  and  North 
America  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, loi  ff. ;  rivalry  of  England 
and  France  for  colonial  posses- 
sions, 105  ff. ;  loss  of  American 
colonies  (1783),  112  ff.;  London 
in  the  eighteenth  century,  1 23  f . ; 
guilds,  126  f.;  nobility,  132;  An- 
glican Church,  attitude  toward 
Catholics  and  Dissenters,  1 37  ff.; 
war  with  France  (1792),  234; 
Peace  of  Amiens  (1801),  270; 
renewal  of  war  (1S03),  282  ff. ; 
Continental  blockade,  289  ff. ; 
Spanish  and  Portuguese  cam- 
paign, 301  f. ;  Waterloo  (1815), 
311;  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
(181 5),  314  ff.;  attitude  toward 
Spanish  colonies,  354 ;  the 
Industrial     Revolution,    357  ff. ; 


results  of  the  Industrial  Revo- 
lution, 364  ff. ;  Crimean  War, 
414,  556,  577  ff. ;  reforms,  polit- 
ical and  social,  491  ff. ;  Reform 
Bill  of  1832,  495  f.;  Chartist 
movement,  496  ff. ;  Reform  Bill 
of  1867,  498  ff. ;  Reform  Bill  of 
1884,  501  f . ;  cabinet  govern- 
ment, 503  ff. ;  emancipation  of 
Dissenters  and  Catholics  (1828, 
1829),  509  f. ;  reform  of  criminal 
laws,  511;  factory  and  mines 
legislation,  513  ff. ;  commercial 
policy,  adoption  of  free  trade, 
516  ff. ;  attitude  toward  free 
trade  to-day,  518;  at  the  Con- 
gress of  Berlin  (1878),  581  ff.; 
Ireland:  early' history,  518!.; 
causes  of  dissatisfaction,  eco- 
nomic, religious,  and  political, 
with  English  rule  in  the  nine- 
teenth and  twentieth  centuries, 
519  ff. ;  efforts  made  by  England 
to  remove  these  causes,  521  ff. ; 
condition  at  the  present  time, 
revolt  in  1916,  525;  the  British 
empire  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury :  India,  527  ff. ;  China, 
"Opium  War"  (1840)  and  re- 
sults, 601  ff.;  lease  of  Weihaiwei 
(1898),    611;     Canada,    534  ff. 


Australasia, 


ff. ;       South 


Africa,  542  ff. ;  Egypt,  627  ff. ; 
"  Fashoda  incident"  (1898), 
487  f. ;  the  British  empire  in  the 
twentieth  century :  the  Liberal 
party  in  power  (1906),  reform 
program,  636  f. ;  social  legisla- 
tion, 637  ff.;  revolutionary  budget 
(1909),  641  ff. ;  Parliament  Bill 
(191 1 ),  645;  local  reforms,  647; 
municipal  ownership,  647  ;  im- 
perial policy  in  Africa :  Alge- 
ciras,  Agadir,  629,  684  ff. ; 
alliance  with  Japan  (1902,  1905), 
686 ;  eiitejite  cordiale  with 
France  (1904),  487  f.,  686  f. ; 
agreement  with  Russia  as  to 
intervention  in  Persia  (1907), 
530  note,  563  note,  586  and 
note ;  entrance  into  the  great 
war  of  1914,  694 


724 


Outlines  of  European  History 


English-Japanese  Alliance   {1902, 

1905),  686 
English  revolution  (i688),3,  52  ff., 

343,  504,  519 
Entente  cord  idle  (aii  tai'it/kor  dyar) 

between  England   and   France, 

487  f.,  686  f. 
E  ras'mus,  18 
Estates    General    (France),    10  f., 

60,  194  ff.,  244  f. 
Es  tho'ni  a,  79 
Evolution,  theory  of,  662  ff. 

Factory  commission  (England. 
1832),  514 

Factory  legislation  (England)  : 
Act  of  1802,  513^  Act  of  1819, 
513;  Act  of  1833,  514;  Act  of 
1847  (Ten-Hour  Bill),  515 

Factory  system,  359,  365,  512  ff. 

"  Fa  sho'da  incident,"  487  f.,  626, 
685 

Federation,  North  German  (1867- 
1870),  432  f.,  438  f.,  444 

Ferdinand  I,  emperor  of  Austria 
and  king  of  Hungary,  395 

Ferdinand,  prince  of  Bulgaria, 
tsar  of  Bulgaria  (1908-         ),  582 

Ferdinand  IV,  king  of  Naples, 
287,  350,  352  f. 

Ferdinand,  king  of  Roumania, 
581  note 

Ferdinand  (of  Aragon),  king  of 
Spain,  12  f. 

Ferdinand  VII,  king  of  Spain, 
296,  348,  352  f. 

Ferghana  (fer  ga'na),  563  note. 
See  Kokand 

Feudalism,  before  the  eighteenth 
century,  129  ff. ;  in  the  eight- 
eenth century :  in  England, 
132;  in  France,  129  ff.,  173  ff.; 
abolition  of  dues  (August  4-5, 
1789),  206,  211;  in  Germany, 
132  f. ;  abolition  of  feudal  social 
caste  in  Prussia  (1807),  344;  in 
Japan  (1871),  603  ff. 

Fichte  (fiK'te),  305,  332 

Finland,  289;  suffrage,  503,  553; 
Russification  of,  566  f. 

Five  Hundred,  Council  of,  248,  262 

Flemish  language,  315 


Flemish  people,  97 

Flemish  weavers,  flight  to  Eng- 
land (1 567-1673),  28 

Florence,  12,  419 

Florida,  116 

Fly  shuttle,  360 

Foochow  (fo  cho'),  602 

Foreign  Missions,  American 
Board  of  (1810),  599 

For  mo'sa,  610 

Forty-two  Articles,  27 

Fourier  (fo  re  a'),  379  f. 

Fox,  Charle^James,  234  note 

Fox,  George,  138 

France,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  8  ff., 
30;  under  Louis  XIV  (1643- 
17 1 5):  divine-right  monarchy 
in  France,  59  f. ;  Versailles, 
62  f. ;  reforms  of  Colbert,  63  f. ; 
foreign  policy,  65  ff. ;  treatment 
of  Protestants,  68  f. ;  colonial 
expansion  in  India  and  in  North 
America,  loi  ff.  ;  conflict  with 
England,  105  ff.;  loss  of  pos- 
sessions in  India  and  in  Canada, 
108  ff;  in  the  old  regime: 
manorial  survivals,  i2of. ;  Paris, 
124;  guilds,  127;  nobility  and 
monarchy,  129  ff.;  the  Church 
and  the  Huguenots,  134  f.;  cen- 
sorship of  the  press,  136;  re- 
form spirit  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  149  ff.;  eve  of  the 
Revolution,  feudal  survivals, 
17311.;  the  Revolution  (1789- 
1795),  194  ff.;  the  Estates  Gen- 
eral (1789),  199  ff. ;  work  of  the 
National  Assembly  (17S9-1791), 
201  fT. ;  the  Legislative  Assem- 
bly, limited  m.onarchy  (1791- 
1792),  221  ff. ;  the  First  Republic 
( 1 792-1 795),  227  ff . ;  revolution- 
ary war  (1792),  231  ff.;  death  of 
Louis  XVI,  233 ;  the  Terror, 
reforms  of  the  Convention, 
246  f.;  the  Directory  (1795^ 
1799),  248  ff. ;  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, 250  ff.;  Italian  campaign 
(1796-1797),  252  ff.;  Egypt 
( 1 798-1 799),  260  f. ;  coup  d^etat 
of  i8th  Brumaire  (1799),  262; 
consulate    (1799-1804),    262  ff. ; 


Index 


725 


ideas     of     French     Revolution 
spread  over  Europe  by  force  of 
arms,  266  ff. ;   Italian  and  Aus- 
trian campaigns  (1800),   269  f. ; 
Peace   of   Amiens  (1801),  270; 
reconstruction      of      Germany, 
272  f.;   restoration   of  order  in 
France,  275;  Concordat  (1801), 
277  ;    Code  iVapoleon,    279 ;    es- 
tablishment   of    First    Empire 
(1804),    280;    renewal    of    war 
with  England  (1803),  282;  war 
with     Austria      (1-805),     284  f. 
war  with  Prussia  (1806),  287  f. 
war  with  Russia  (1807),  288  f. 
Continental    blockade,     289  ff. 
Napoleonic     reforms,     293  ff. 
Spanish  campaign  (1807),  296  ff. 
war  with  Austria  (1809),  298  f. 
annexations    (1809-1810),    300 
war  with  Russia  (1812),  303  f. 
defeat  at  Leipzig  (1813),  307  f. 
abdication    (1814),    309;     "the 
Hundred  Days,"  310;  Waterloo 
(1815),   311;    St.   Helena,  312; 
part  played  by  France  at  Con- 
gress of  Vienna  (181  5),  314  ff.; 
the  Bourbon  Restoration  (1S14- 
1830),  335  ff.;  Revolution  of  1830, 
335  ff. ;  reign  of  Louis  Philippe 

(1830-1848),  340,377ff-;  Revo- 
lution of  1848,  381  ff. ;  establish- 
ment of  Second  Republic  (1848- 
1852),  381  ff.;  establishment  of 
Second  Empire  (1852-1870), 
388  ff. ;  Crimean  War,  414, 
577  ff. ;  alliance  with  Piedmont, 
414  f.;  intervention  in  Italian 
affairs  in  interest  of  the  papacy 
(i860),  417;  Franco-Prussian 
War  (1870),  434  ff.;  Third  Re- 
public (1870-  ),  462  ff.;  Com- 
mune, 467  f. ;  constitution  of 
1875,  471  ff-;  Dreyfus  affair, 
472  ff.;  separation  of  Church 
and  State  (1881-1906),  477  ff. 
Associations  Law  (1901),  479 
Separation  Law  (1905),  48 1 
Supplementary  Law  ( 1906),  482 
political  parties,  483  ff. ;  colonial 
expansion  in  Africa,  485  ff., 
623  f.;     Algeria    and     Senegal, 


486;  Congo  and  Madagascar, 
487  ;  Morocco,  626  f. ;  joint 
intervention  with  England  in 
Egyptian  affairs  (1879-1882), 
628  ;  "  Fashoda  incident"  (1898) 
and  resulting  entente  with  Eng- 
land (1904),  487  f. ;  Asiatic  pos- 
sessions, 488  f. ;  in  the  twentieth 
century  :  contributions  to  civili- 
zation, 654  f. ;   the  real  France, 

655  f. ;    nature    of   government, 

656  f. ;  social  legislation,  657  f. ; 
peaceful  character  of  Third  Re- 
public, 657  f.  ;  the  Morocco  ques- 
tion, 658 

Franche-Comte  (fransh-kOn  ta'), 
66  f . 

Franchise,  extension  of,  to  men  : 
Austria,  441  f. ;  England,  Re- 
form Bill  (1832),  495  ff.;  Reform 
Bill  (1867),  501;  Reform  Bill, 
(1884),  501  f.;  France,  in  1789, 
208;  in  181 4,  335  f.;  in  1848, 
385;  in  1875,  47-5  German 
Empire,  444  f.,  460 ;  Prussia 
(1850),  408;  Russia  (1905),  571  ; 
Spain  (1876),  435  note ;  exten- 
sion of,  to  women :  Common- 
wealth of  Australia  (1901),  503, 
541;  Denmark  (1915),  503; 
England,  school  vote  (1870), 
502;  local  vote  (1888,  1894), 
502  f. ;  national  franchise  for 
women  at  present  day,  503 

Francis  I,  emperor  of  Austria  and 
king  of  Hungary,  286,  300,  327 

Francis  I,  king  of  France,  13,  21 

Francis  II,  king  of  France,  24 

Francis  I  (of  Lorraine),  Emperor 
of  Holy  Roman  Empire,  86  note 

Francis  II,  Emperor  of  Holy  Ro- 
man Empire,  268,  284  ff.  See 
Francis  I,  emperor  of  Austria 
and  king  of  Hungary 

Francis  Ferdinand,  archduke  of 
Austria,  692 

Francis  Joseph,  emperor  of  Aus- 
tria and  king  of  Hungary,  402  f., 

439  f- 
Franco-Prussian       War       (1870), 
434  ff. ;  terms  of  treaty  (Frank- 
fort,  187 1 ),  466 


-jiCi 


Ontlhies  of  Europeati  History 


Frankfort,  14,  346;  national  as- 
sembly at  (1848),  399,  406,  426; 
Treaty  of  (1871),  432,  437  and 
note,  466  and  note 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  115 

Frederick  III,  elector  of  Branden- 
burg, 82  ff.  See  Frederick  I, 
king  in  Prussia 

Frederick  II,  Emperor  of  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  12 

Frederick  III,  Emperor  of  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  14 

Frederick  I,  king  in  Prussia,  83  ff. 

Frederick  II  (the  Great),  king  of 
Prussia,  73,  84  ff.,  161  ff.,  173, 
187,  332,  677 

Frederick  III,  king  of  Prussia  and 
German  emperor,  457  note 

Frederick,  elector  of  Saxony,  21 

Frederick  William,  the  Great  Elec- 
tor of  Brandenburg,  80  ff. 

Frederick  William  I,  king  in  Prus- 
sia, 83  ff. 

Frederick  William  II,  king  of 
Prussia,  222,  229,  232,  239,  253 

f^ederick  William  III,  king  of 
Prussia,  284,  287  f.,  304,  307, 
326 

Frederick  William  IV,  king  of 
Prussia,  399,  407 

Free  trade,  theory  of,  1 59  f. ;  in 
England:  adoption  of  (1852- 
1867),  517;  dissatisfaction  with, 
at  the  present  time,  518;  in 
France  :  reference  to  abolition 
of,  in  France  and  America,  454; 
favored  until  1879,  5^7  !  i^^  the 
German  Empire :  abolition  of 
(1879),  454  f- ;  favored  until 
1879,   517 

Freedom  of  the  press,  in  Eng- 
land :  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, 140;  in  1695,  5075  iri  1833, 
1836,  and  1861,  508;  in  France: 
in  1879,  208;  in  1814,  336;  in 
1881,  474;  hostility  to,  477 

French  and  Austrian  alliance 
(1756),  87 

French  and  Indian  War  (1754), 
108.    See  Seven  Years'  War 

French  Revolution.    See  France 

Friedland  (f red'lant),  battle  of,  288 


Friend  of  the  People,  The,  206  note, 

210,  220,  223 
Fulton,  283  note,  592 

Gabun  (gabon')  River,  487 

Galicia  (ga  lish'i  a),  298,  440 

Gal  i  le'o,  147 

Gam  bet'ta,  462  f.,  464  note 

Gam'bi  a,  548 

Ganges  (gan'jez)  valley,  527,  529, 

532 

Garibaldi  (ga  re  bal'de),  416  f.,  422 

Gatton,  492     . 

General  Workingmen's  Associa- 
tion, 450 

Geneva  (je  iie'va),  38,  318 

Genghis  Khan  (jen'giz  Kan'),  74  f. 

Genoa  (jen'o  a),  6,  255,  266,  268  f., 
314,  316  f.,  321 

George  I,  king  of  England, 
52  note,  54,   169,   504 

George  II,  king  of  England,  169, 

504 

George  III,  king  of  England,  115, 
170  f.,  223  f.,  268,  288  f.,  512 

George  V,  king  of  England,  533, 
645,  687 

George  I,  king  of  Greece,  583  f. 

Germ  theory  of  disease,  672 

German  Confederation  (1815- 
1866),  345  ff.,  406  f. 

German  Elmpire  (187 1—  ),  proc- 
lamation of,  at  Versailles,  438  f. ; 
constitution  of,  444  ff. ;  Bundes- 
rat,  444  f. ;  Reichstag,  445  ;  pow- 
ers of  chancellor,  446  ;  powers  of 
imperial  government,  imperial 
legislation,  447  ff.;  KiJturkatnpf, 
449  ;  state  socialism,  Bismarck's 
attitude  toward,  450  ff.;  social 
legislation,  accident  and  sick- 
ness insurance,  old-age  pensions, 
452,  651  f . ;  adoption  of  protec- 
tive-tariff policy,453;  colonial  ex- 
pansion in  Africa,  455  f. ;  Triple 
Alliance,  456;  reign  of  Wil- 
liam II,  457  ff.;  colonial  policy 
in  Asia,  459  f. ;  Kiaochow,  459  ; 
dissatisfaction  of  Socialists, 
460  f. ;  in  the  twentieth  century, 
648  ff. ;  question  of  minister- 
ial   responsibility    and    popular 


Index 


727 


government,  649  ff.;  government 
ownership,  651;  prosperity  of 
empire,  653 ;  development  of 
iron  and  steel  industries,  653 
Germany,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  5, 
8,  1 1  ff. ;  Protestant  Revolt,  17  f.; 
Thirty  Years'  War,  29  ff. ;  Prus- 
sia, origin  of,  79  f. ;  development 
under  Frederick  William,  the 
Great  Elector  of  Brandenburg, 
81  f.;  Frederick  III  of  Bran- 
denburg (Frederick  I,  king  in 
Prussia),  82  f. ;  Frederick  Wil- 
liam I,  king  in  Prussia,  83  f. ; 
Frederick  II  (the  Great),  king  of 
Prussia,  84  ff. ;  reforms  of  Fred- 
erick the  Great,  162  f. ;  Declara- 
tion of  Pillnitz,  222  ;  war  between 
Prussia  and  France  (1792),  22Sf., 
232,  254;  neutrality  of  Prussia, 
282  f.;  Confederation  of  the 
Rhine  (1806),  285!;  war  be- 
tween Prussia  and  France,  287  f . ; 
dissolution  of  Holy  Roman 
Empire  (1806),  286  f. ;  work  of 
Stein,  Hardenberg,  von  Hum- 
boldt, Fichte,  Scharnhorst,  in 
regeneration  of  Prussia,  304  ff. ; 
abolition  of  serfdom  (1807), 
304  f. ;  foundation  of  University 
of  Berlin  (1810-1811),  305;  re- 
organization of  army,  306 ;  war 
between  Prussia  and  France 
(1813),  306 ff.;  German  interests 
at  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
(1815),  314  ff.;  literature  at 
opening  of  nineteenth  century, 
327  ff.;  German  Confederation 
(181 5-1866),  343  ff.,  406  f.; 
"Carlsbad  Resolutions  "  (1819), 
347 ;  constitutions  granted  in 
southern  German  states  (1818- 
1820),  347  ;  Zollvereiii^  347,  427  ; 
Revolution  of  1848,  399;  Prus- 
sian demand  for  constitution, 
399;  national  assembly  at  Frank- 
fort, 399  ;  results  of  Revolution 
of  1848,  406  ff.;  refusal  of  im- 
perial crown  by  king  of  Prus- 
sia, 406  ;  Prussian  constitution 
(1850),  407  ff.;  effects  of  In- 
dustrial Revolution,  426 ;  reign 


of  William  I,  427  ff.;  army  of 
Prussia,  428;  Bismarck  and  the 
Prussian  parliament,  428  f . ; 
Schleswig-Holstein  question, 
429  ff. ;  war  between  Prussia, 
Austria,   and    Denmark  (1864), 

431  ;  dissolution  of  German 
Confederation  (1866),  431  ;  war 
between  Austria  and  Prussia 
(1866),  418  f.,  431  ;  North  Ger- 
man    Federation     (i  867-1870), 

432  ff. ;  Franco-Prussian  War 
(1870),  434  f.;  formation  of  Ger- 
man Empire  (1871-  ),438.  6"^^ 
Austria;  German  Empire;  Holy 
Roman  Empire 

Ghent  (gent),  8;  Peace  of,  309 

Gibraltar,  71,  iii,  322,  456  note, 
626 

Girondists  (ji  ron'dists),  225  ff. 

Gladstone  (glad'stun),  499  ff.,  517, 
544,  580 

Go'a,  605,  631 

Goethe  (ge'te),  332 

Good  Hope,  Cape  of,  103  f.,  594, 
621 ;  colony  of,  542,  622 

Gordon,  General,  629 

Gotha  (go'ta),  general  labor  con- 
gress at  (1875),  450 

"  Government  of  the  Public  De- 
fense "  (France,  1870),  463 

Grand  Alliance  (1701),  70 

Gray,  Asa,  665  f. 

Great  Britain.  See  England ;  Ire- 
land ;  etc. 

Great  war  of  1914,  324,  330,  421, 
443,  456,  518,  547  U  627  f.,  658, 
697  ff. 

Great  IVestefyt,  the,  593 

Greece,  324,  355;  revolt  against 
Turkey  (182 1 ),  576  f . ;  establish- 
ment of  independent  kingdom 
(1832),  577,  583  f.,  586,  590  f. 

Greek  Church  in  Russia,  74,  90, 
555  and  note,  575 

Gregory  VII,  Pope,  20 

Grevy  (gra  ve'),  president  of 
France,    474 

Grey,  Sir  Edward,  647,  694 

Grotius  (gro'shi  us),  71 

Guard,  national  (France,  1789), 
205 


728 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Guiana  (ge  a'na),  French,  4S7  note 
Guilds,  64,  125  ff.,  372 
Guillotin  (geyotan'),  242  note 
Guillotine  (gil'o  ten),  242  note 
Guiscard  (ges  kar'),  12 
Guizot  (ge  zo'),  380 
Gurkhas  (gor'kas),  529 
Gus  ta'vus     A  dol'phus,    king     of 

Sweden,  29  f. 
Gutenberg  (go'ten  bern),  366 

Haakon    (ho'kon)    VII,    king    of 

Norway,    318 
Ha'be  as  Cor'pus  Act,  51 
Hague  (hag)    Conference   (1899), 

682  f.;  (1907),  683 
Hague  Convention,  617,  683 
Hague  Tribunal,  693 
Hakodate  (ha'ko  da'ta),  605 
Halberstadt  (hal  bershtat'),  81 
Hamburg,  272,  300,  433 
Hampden  (ham'den),  John,  37 
Hampden  clubs,  493 
Hand  loom,  358,  360  f. 
Han'o  ver,  169,  253,  282  f.,  287  ff.. 

429,  432 
Han  o  veri  an  line,  52  note,  54, 169 
Hansa,  8 
Hapsburg,  16,  29,  69,  85  ff.,  96  ff., 

117,  254,  300,  393,  575,  688  f. 
Hardenberg   (har'den  bern),  304, 

344 
Hardie   (har'di),   Keir   (ker),  637 

note 
Hargreaves  (har'grevs),  359,  362 
Harvey,  34 
Hawkins,  323  note 
Hebert  (a  ber'),  242  ff.,  276 
Hegel  (ha'gel),  332 
Hel'i  go  land,  322  note 
Hel  vet'ic  Republic,  266  f.,  270  f. 
Henry,  duke  of  Bordeaux  (bor  do') 

("Henry  V,  king  of  France"), 

339 
Henry  II,  king  of  England,  519 
Henry  VII,  king  of  England,  10,32 
Henry  VIII,  king  of  England,  10, 

26,  36,  503 
Henry  II,  king  of  France,  24 
Henry  III,  king  of  France,  25 
Henry  IV  (king  of  Navarre),  king 

of  France,  25  f.,  58 


"  Henry  V,  king  of  France,"  339,. 
377,  469.  See  Henry,  duke  of 
Bordeaux 

Henry,  duke  of  Guise,  25 

Herzegovina  (liert  se  go  ve'iia), 
580,  581  and  note,  586;  annexed 
by  Austria  (1908),  690 

Hesse  (hes),  14,  273,  347,  445.  See 
Hesse,  South 

Hesse,  South,  433,  438,  444.  See 
Hesse 

Hesse-Cassel  (hes'-kas'el),  432 

Hill,  Rowland,  596 

Hi  ma'la  yas,  529 

Hindu,  531 

Hin  du  Stan',  106  ff. 

Historians,  modern,  329  f. 

Hohenlinden  (ho  en  lin'den),  battle 
of,  270 

Hohenstaufen  (ho  en  shtou'fen), 
12,  15 

Hohenzollern  (ho  en  tsorern), 
79  ff.,  96,  687 

Holland,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  8, 
28,  30 ;  refuge  for  English 
Separatists  in  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, 39  f. ;  war  with  England 
(1651),  45,  51;  replaces  Portu- 
gal in  India  and  Spice  Islands 
in  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  ■ 
centuries,  104  f. ;  as  member 
of  the  Triple  Alliance  (1668), 
66  ff. ;  occupied  by  France 
(1794),  253  f. ;  republicanized 
by  France  (1795),  ^66,  268; 
Code  N^apoleon  .  used  in,  279, 
282  f.,  285  ;  Louis  Napoleon  as 
king  (1806),  287;  annexed  by 
France  (iSio),  300;  French 
driven  from  (1813),  308;  abo- 
lition of  slave  trade  (1814),  323  ; 
fate  of,  in  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  (1815),  314  f . ;  union 
with  Austrian  Netherlands  to 
form  an  independent  kingdom 
(181 5),  315,  321  ;  separation  of 
Belgium  from  ( 1 830)  {see  Nether- 
lands) 

Holstein  (horshtin),  345 

Holy    Alliance,    (1815),  325,  355, 

552 
Holy  Land,  577 


Index 


729 


Holy  League,  575 

Holy  Roman  Empire  (800-1806), 
origin  of  and  history  during 
Middle  Ages,  1 1  ff.,  86  note, 
117,  165  ff.,  234;  reconstruction 
of  Germany  after  Luneville 
(1801),  271  f.;  destruction  of, 
by  Napoleon,  281  ff. ;  abdication 
of  Francis  II  as  Emperor  and 
dissolution    of    Empire    (1806), 

343.  345:  437 
Home  Rule  in  Ireland,   question 

of,   522  ff. 
Home    Rule    party   (Irish  party), 

523  ff.,  644 
Hong'kong',  602,  611 
Hudson  Bay,  region  of,  71,  106 
Hudson  Bay  Company,  537 
Hugo,  Victor,  329 
Huguenots  (hu'ge  nets),  24  ff.,  36, 

58,  68f.,  138,  163 
Humanism,  4 

Humbert  I,  king  of  Italy-,  423  f. 
Humboldt,    Heinrich    Alexander, 

333 
Humboldt,  Karl  Wilhelm,  333 
Hundred     Years'     War      (1337- 

1453).  9f- 

Hungary,  96!.,  300,  345,  395  ff., 
439  f.,  442  f.,  689.  See  Austria- 
Hungary  ;  Austro-Hungarian 
dual  monarchy 

Hutton,  661 

Huxley,  665  f. 

Hyderabad  (hi  der  a  bad'),  Nizam 
(ne  zam')  of,  527 

Illiteracy,  decrease  of,  in  Italy, 
422;  in  England,   510 

II  lyr'i  an  Provinces,  299 

Imperial  Catechism,  294 

Imperialism,  in  England,  103  ff.; 
in  Italy,  421  ;  in  the  German 
Empire,  455  f.,  459;  in  France, 
475,  485  ff.;  forms  of,  598;  mis- 
sionaries as  agents  of,  598  ff. ; 
policy  of  England,  France,  the 
German  Empire,  and  Italy  in 
Africa,  684  ff. 

Independents,  39 

India,  5,  103  ff.,  322,  526  ff.,  563 

Indian  mutiny  (1857),  531  f. 


Indies  (in'diz),  Spanish  West,  104; 
French  West,  iii,  114;   British 

West,  322  ;  East,  621 
Indulgences,  19  f. 
Indus,  530 

Industrial  Revolution,  in  England, 
iii»  357  ff-.  392,  492,  5p2,  512; 
in  France,  363  f. ;  in  Italy, 
422  ff. ;  in  the  German  Empire, 
426,  450  ff.;  in  Austria,  441  f.; 
in  Russia,  562  f. ;  a  cause  of 
competition  for  foreign  markets, 
597  f. ;  in  Japan,  608  f. 
Inquisition,  28,  69,  136,  297,  348 
Insurance,  State,  or  national:  in 
the  German  Empire,  452  ff. ;  in 
New  Zealand,  541  ;  in  England, 
638  ff. ;  in  France,  657 
"  Interpellations,"  485 
I  5'ni  an  Islands,  322  note 
Irawadi  (ir  a  wa'de)  valley,  530 
Ireland,  revolt,  conquest,  and  con- 
fiscation under  Cromwell,  44, 
519;  conquest  of,  by  Henry  II 
of  England  (11 54-1 189),  519; 
revolts  and  conquests  during 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  519; 
colonization  of  Ulster  by  Scotch 
and  English  during  the  reign 
of  James  I,  519;  battle  of  the 
Boyne  (1690),  519;  absentee 
landlordism,  519!.;  poverty  of 
peasantry,  520  ;  the  Established 
Church  in,  and  its  disestablish- 
ment in  1869,  520  ff. ;  Land 
League  (1879),  522;  land  acts 
(1881-1903),  522;  Home  Rule 
question,  522  ff.;  revolt  of  1916, 
525  ;  prosperity  at  present  time, 

525 
"  Iron  Chancellor."    See  Bismarck 
Irreconcilables  (France),  337.   See 

Political  parties  in  France 
Is  a  beria,  queen  of  Spain,  435 
Isabella  of  Castile,  queen  of  Spain, 

16 
Ismail  (is  nia  el')   I,  khedive  (ke- 

dev')  of  Egypt,  628 
Is'tri  a,  440 

ItaHan-Turkish  War  (191 1),  588 
Italy,  in  the   Middle  Ages,  irff., 

125;      Napoleon's      campaigns 


730 


Outlines  of  European  History 


(1796-1797),  252  ff. ;  creation  of 
the  Roman  and  Parthenopean 
republics  (1798),  266  f. ;  Napo- 
leon's campaigns  {1800),  269; 
annexation  of  the  Papal  States 
by  France  (1809),  300;  at  the 
Congress  of  Vienna  (18 15), 
314  ff.;  restoration  in  Italy, 
348  ff. ;  Revolution  of  1848, 
396;  Austria  regains  power  in, 
403  f. ;  unification,  410  ff. ;  Maz- 
zini,  411  f.;  Victor  Emmanuel 
412;  Cavour,  413;  entrance  of 
Sardinia  into  the  Crimean  War 
(1854),  414;  acquisition  of  Lom- 
bardy  from  Austria  (1859). 
414  f. ;  annexation  of  Parma, 
Modena,  and  Tuscany  (1859), 
415;  Garibaldi, 416 f.;  formation 
of  kingdom  of  Italy  (1861),  417  ; 
kingdom  of  Italy  (1861-  ), 
417  ff.;  hostility  of  the  Pope, 
418;  acquisition  of  Venice  from 
Austria  (1866),  418  f. ;  addition 
of  Rome  to  the  kingdom  (1871), 
419;  position  of  the  Pope  and 
his  attitude  toward  the  govern- 
ment of  Italy,  419  ff.;  becomes 
a  member  of  the  Triple  Alliance 
(1887),  421  ;  colonial  expansion 
in  Africa,  421 ;  war  with  Turkey 
(191 1),  421  ;  political  parties, 
422 ;  problems  of  taxation  and 
education,  422  f. 
Ivan  the  Terrible,  Tsar  of  Russia, 

75 
Ivory  Coast,  487  note 

Jac'o  bins,  224,  238  ff.,  335,  339 

Jac'o  bites,  169 

Jamaica  (jama'ka),  47 

James  I,  king  of  England,  32  ff., 

519 
James  II,  king  of  England,  51  ff., 

Jameson  (jam'siin)  raid  (1895),  545 
Japan,  appearance  of  feudalism  in 
twelfth  century,  603  f. ;  relations 
with  Europe  in  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries,  604  f. ; 
treatment  of  Christians  in  six- 
teenth   century,   605 ;    isolation 


until  middle  of  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, 605  ;  opening  of  Japanese 
ports  to  American  and  English 
ships  after  1853,  605  ;  treatment 
of  foreigners  in  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, 605  f. ;  bombardment  of 
Kagoshima  (1863)  and  Shimo- 
noseki  (1864),  606;  change  in 
attitude  toward  foreigners 
{1868),  608  ;  abolition  of  feudal- 
ism and  serfdom  (1871),  608; 
army  and  navy  modeled  after 
those  of  Europe,  608  ;  Industrial 
Revolution,  608  f. ;  moderniza- 
tion of  educational  system,  608  ; 
establishment  of  constitutional 
governm^ent  (1890),  609  ;  Chino- 
Japanese  War  (1894),  609  f. ; 
Treaty  of  Shimonoseki  {1895), 
610;  forced  withdrawal  from 
Manchuria,  610;  alliance  with 
England  (1902),  611,  686;  Russo- 
Japanese  War  (1904),  568, 
615  ff.;  Treaty  of  Portsmouth 
(1905),  618;  annexation  of 
Korea  (1910),  618 

Jaures  (zhores'),  658 

Ja'va,  105 

Jefferson,  181,  292 

Jemappes  (zhemap'),  battle  of, 
232,  339 

Jena  (ya'na),  battle  of,  281,  288, 
304,  306,  344 

Jen'ner,  670 

Jerusalem,  577 

Jes'u  its,  foundation  (1540)  and 
character  of  order,  27  f. ;  in 
Japan  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
604  f. ;  influence  during  the 
old  regime,  136;  in  Prussia 
during  reign  of  Frederick  the 
Great,  163;  influence  in  France 
during  reign  of  Charles  X,  337  ; 
in  Spain  after  1815,  348;  in 
France  under  the  Third  Repub- 
lic, 477,  479 

Jews, in  France.  480;  in  Poland, 90; 
in  Russia,  567,  572  ;  in  Spain,  7 

Joanna  of  Spain,  16 

John,  king  of  England,  9 

John,  king  of  Portugal,  355 

JoHet  (zho  lya' ;  jo'li  et),  105 


Index 


731 


Joseph  II,  Emperor  of  the  Holy 

Roman    Empire,    86    note,    97, 

161,  i65ff.,  173,  188,  215,  441 
Josephine  (Beauharnais,  bo  ar  ne'), 

empress  of  the  French,  279,  299. 

See  Beauharnais,  Madame 
Jourdan  (zhor  dan').  General,  239, 

250,  254,  256 
Journal  des  Sava;iis,  (zhor  nal'  da 

sa  vail'),  65 
July    ordinances    (France,    1830), 

338 
"June  Days"  (France,  1848),  383 
Junot  (zhiino').  General,  296,  300 

Kagoshima  (ka'go  she'ma),  606 

Kaiser  Wilhelm's  Land  (krzer 
vil'helms  lant),  456  note 

Kamerun  (kama  ron'),   455,624 

Kant,  330  f. 

Kars,  581 

Kay,  John,  360 

Khartum  (Kar  tom'),  629 

Kiaochow  (kyou  cho'),  seized  by 
Germany,  459  ;  leased  by  Ger- 
many, 61 1 

Kitch'e  ner.  General,  629,  685 

Knox,  John,  40 

Ko'be,  605 

Koch  (koK),  672 

Kokand  (ko  kant'),  563  note.  See 
Ferghana 

Kciniggratz  (ke  niK  grets'),  battle 
of,  432,  435.    See  Sadowa 

K5  re'a,  459;  Buddhist  mission- 
aries carried  civilization  to  Japan 
in  the  sixth  century,  603  ;  the 
cause  of  war  between  China  and 
Japan  (1894),  609  f . ;  independ- 
ence recognized  by  Treaty  of 
Shimonoseki  (1895),  610;  a 
cause  of  war  between  Japan  and 
Russia  (1904),  615  f.;  annexed 
by  Japan  (1910),  618  note 

Kosciusko  (kosius'ko),  253 

Kossuth  (kosh'ut),  396,  397  note, 

403 
Kotzebue  (kot'sebo),  347 
Krii'ger,  545  f. 

KulUirkampf  {V.vA  tor'kampf),  449 
Kii  ro  pat'kin,  617 
Kyoto  (kyo'to),  604,  606,  608 


Labor  exchanges  (England,  1909), 
640 

Labor  party,  Independent  (Eng- 
land, 1893),  ^yi  r»ote 

Labor  unions,  371  f. 

Lafayette  (la  fa  yet'),  116,  199, 
205,  209,  216,  239,  250,  338  f. 

La  Fontaine  (la  foil  ten'),  68 

Laibach  (li'baK),  Congress  of 
(1821),  353 

Laissez/atre  (le'sa  fer'),  policy  of, 
160 

Lakes,  Albert  Nyanza  (nyan'zii), 
Nyasa  (nya'sa),  Tanganyika 
(tan  ganye'ka),  Victoria  Ny- 
anza,   622  f. 

La  marck',  662 

Lan'cas  ter,  House  of,  9  f. 

Land  acts  (Ireland,  1881-1903), 
522 

Land  League  (Ireland),  522,  524 

Laos  (la'oz),  489 

La  Salle  (la  sal'),  105 

Lassalle  (la  sal'),  450 

Laud  (lod).  Archbishop,  37  ff. 

Laurier  (lo'ri  a),  537 

Lavoisier  (la  vwa  zya'),  147,  659 

Law,  in  England,  criminal  code 
and  its  reform  in  the  nineteenth 
century,  511  ;  in,  France,  civil 
code  {Code  N^apoleon),  com- 
mercial code,  criminal  code, 
279;  of  the  Maximum  (1793), 
247;  of  the  Suspects  (1793), 
242  ;  international,  origin  of, 
71  {see  Grotius) 

Ledru-Rollin  (le  drii  ro  Ian'),  385 

Leeds,  492 

Legion  of  Honor  (France),  295 

Legislative  Assembly  (France, 
1791-1792),  210  f.,  215,  221  f. 

Legitimists,  377,  463,  468  f.,  470, 

474 
Leipzig  (lip'sik),  battle  of,  307,  346; 

labor  congress  in  (1863),  450 
Leo  XIII,  Pope,  478,  640 
Leoben  (la  o'beii).  Truce  of,  256  f. 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  (la  d  nar'do  da 

ven'che),  3 
Le'o  pold  L  king  of  Belgium,  343 
Leopold  n,  king  of  Belgium,  343, 

624  f. 


n- 


Outlmes  of  European  History 


Leopold,  prince  of  HohenzoUern, 

435  f- 

Leopold  I,  Emperor  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  69 

Leopold  II,  P2mperor  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  86  note,  218, 
220,  222,  229 

Lettres  de  cachet  (let'r  de  ka  she'), 
183,  204,  208 

Leuthen  (loi'ten),  battle  of,  89 

Lexington,  battle  of,  115 

Liaotung  (le  ou  timg')  Peninsula, 
459,  610  f.,  616 

Liberal  party,  in  France,  337  ;  in 
England,  500 f.,  580;  in  Canada, 
537  ;  social  legislation  of  party 
( 1 906-19 1 6),  637  ff.;  National,  in 
German  Empire,  650.  See  Polit- 
ical parties 

Liberty,  religious.  See  Toleration, 
religious 

Lib' e  rum  veto,  91  ff. 

Life  and  Labor  of  the  People  of 
Londoji,  The,  639 

Light,  667 

Li  gu'ri  an  Republic,  266  f .,  270, 
282  f. 

Li  Hung  Chang  (le'  hung'  chang'), 
610,  614 

Lille  (lei),  364 

Linnaeus  (li  ne'us),  659 

Lisbon,  5,  296 

Lister,  671 

Literature,  in  France,  under  Louis 
XIV,  64  f. ;  at  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  328  f. ;  in 
Germany,  at  opening  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  329  ff. ;  ver- 
nacular, rise  of,  5  and  note 

Livingstone  (liv'ing  stun),  622  f. 

Li  vo'ni  a,  79 

Li  Yuan  Hung  (le'  yii  an'  hung'), 
president  of  China,  620 

Lloyd-George,  641,  647  and  note 

Locke  (lok),  149  and  note 

Lombard  League,  12 

Lombardo-Venetian  kingdom,  317, 
349  U  395  f"  398,  400,  403  f- 

Lom'bar  dy,  254  f.,  269,  415 

London,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
123  f.;  Treaty  of  (1827),  577; 
Treaty  of  (191 3),  590 


Lon  don  der'ry,  519  note 

Loom,  hand,  358,  360  f. ;  power, 
360  f. 

Lords,  House  of,  43,  171,  492, 
495  f.,  506,  641,  644  ff. ;  loss  of 
power  by  passage  of  Parliament 
Act  of  191 1,  507  and  note,  645 
{see  Parliament  of  England)  ; 
Veto  Bill  (191 1 ),  645  {see  Parlia- 
ment Act  of  191 1) 

Lorraine  (lo  ran'),  67,  118,  176, 
437  and  note,  466.  See  Alsace- 
Lorraine 

Loubet  (lo  be'),  president  of 
France,  476 

Louis  IX  (St.  Louis),  king  of 
France,  12,  621 

Louis  XII,  king  of  France,  13 

Louis  XIII,  king  of  France,  26,  58 

Louis  XIV,  king  of  France,  47, 
58  ff.,  i75ff.,  437,  457,  553 

Louis  XV,  king  of  France,  71, 
176,   183  ff. 

Louis  XVI,  king  of  France,  176, 
182,  185  ff.,  233,  245,  315,  335  f., 

353 
Louis  XVII,  king  of  France,  239, 

315 
Louis    XVIII,    king    of    France, 

3^5'    320,    335,    353'    480.    See 

Provence,  count  of 
Louis   Philippe,   king  of   France, 

339  ff-    377ff->    381,    39O'    396, 

463,  468,  480 
Louisiana,  105,  116,  270,  279 
L5  y5'la,  27 
Lii'beck,  272,  300,  433 
Lucknow  (luk'nou),  532 
Luederitz  (Iti'deritz),  Herr,  455 
Luneville    (lii  navel').  Treaty   of 

(1801),   270  f.,   321 
Luther,  17  ff.,  346 
Lutherans.    See  Protestants 
Liitzen  (liit'sen),  battle  of,  30,  307 
Luxemburg,  grand  duchy  of,  343 

note,  346,  434 
Ly'ell,  661  f. 
Lyons,  238  ff.,  244,  246,  364 

Ma  ca'o,  601,  631 
MacDonald,  537 
Macedonia,  96,  582  f.,  586  ff. 


hidcx 


733 


Machinery,  introduction  of,  359  ff. ; 
results  of  introduction  of,  365  ff. 

Mack,  General,  284,  2S9 

McLean  (maklan').  Sir  Harry,  626 

MacMahon  (makmaoiV),  presi- 
dent of  France,  468  ff. 

Mad  a  gas'car,  322,  487,  624 

Ma  dras',  .107  ff.,  532 

Ma  gen'ta,  battle  of,  415 

Magna  Car'ta,  9,  ii,  36,  183,  496 

Magyars  (mod'yors),  97  f.,  395, 
402  f.,   442  f. 

Mahratta  (marat'a)  Confederacy, 
528  f.,  531 

Ma  ju'ba  Hill,  battle  of,  543 

Malmesbury  (mamz'ber  1),  253 

Malta,  265  note,  322 

Mam'e  lukes,  627 

Manchester,  369,  492,  494,  647 

Manchu'ria,  568  f.,  610,  615,  686 

Man'da  lay,  612 

Man  i  to'ba,  537 

Man'u  el  II,  king  of  Portugal,  631 

Maoris  (ma'o  riz),  541 

Marat  (mara'),  206  note,  210,  220 

Marcel',  fitienne  (a  tyen'),  10 

Marchand  (mar  shaii'),  Major,  487, 
685 

Marconi  (mar  ko'ne).  See  Tele- 
graph _ 

Ma  ren'go,  battle  of,  269 

Maria  Louisa  (ma  re'a  16  e'za), 
empress  of  the  French,  299, 
316,  337  note,  350.  See  Maria 
Louisa,    duchess    of    Parma 

Maria  Louisa,  duchess  of  Parma, 
316,  350.  See  Maria  Louisa, 
empress  of  the  French 

Maria  Theresa  (ma  ri'a  te  re'sa), 
archduchess  of  Austria,  85  ff., 
161,    165,    188 

Marie  Antoinette  (ma  re'  an  twa- 
net'),  queen  of  France,  188  f., 
201  f.,    209  f.,  215,    227  f.,    242, 

299'    336 
Mark,  80 
Mark,  made  the  basis  of  German 

currency  system,  448 
Marlborough,  duke  of,  70 
Marquette  (mar  kef),  105 
"Marseillaise"   (marselaz'),   229 

and   note 


Marseilles  (mar  salz'),  229  f.,  238, 
240,  245  f.,  338  ff.,  364,  483 

Marston  Moor,  battle  of,  42 

Marx,  Karl,  374  ff.,  450,  484,  567 

Mary  of  Burgundy,  16 

Mary  (of  Mo'da  na),  queen  of  Eng- 
land, 51  f. 

Mary  (Stuart),  queen  of  England 
(wife    of    William    III),    52  f., 

504 
Mary  (Stuart),  queen  of  Scotland, 

32 
Mary  (Tudor),  queen  of  England, 

27 
Maryland,  105,  138 
Massachusetts,  112,  115 
Mauritius  (mo  rish'i  us),  322  note 
Maximilian,  archduke  of  Austria, 

emperor  of  Mexico,  434  note 
Maximilian   I,    Emperor    of    the 

Holy  Roman  Empire,   13,   16 
Mayence  (mayaiis'),  14,  232,  272 
Mayjioiver,  39 
Mazarin    (ma  za  rail').    Cardinal, 

58   ff. 
Mazzini    (matse'ne),    404,   411  f., 

416,  422 
Mecklenburg,  432 
Mecklenburg- Schwerin  (mek'len- 

burK-shva  ren'),  445 
Medici  (med'e  clie).  House  of,  12 
Meerut  (me'rut),  532 
Mehemet    Ali    (ma'he  met   a'le), 

627 
Melbourne  (mel'burn),  505  note 
Mendelyeev(men  dye  lya'yef ),  551 
Mercantile  policy,  theory  of,  159  f. 
Mes  o  po  ta'mi  a,  456  note 
Metch'ni  koff,  551,  673 
Methodists,  138  ff.,  509 
Metric  system,  247 
Metternich  (met'erniK),  299,  307, 

33O'  333'  334  U  345'  347-  349' 

352,  354  f.,  392  ff.,  576 
Metz,  30,  436,  437  and  note,  462  f. 
Mexico,  7,  105,  350,  434 
Middle  Ages,  i  ff.,  329,  370 
Middle  class,  370 
Mi  ka'do,  603 
Mi  Ian',  in  the  Middle  Ages,  1 2,  28; 

given  to  Austria  by  the  Treaty 

of  Utrecht  (1713),  71,  255 ;  as  a 


734 


Outlines  of  European  History 


part  of  Austria,  97  ;  Napoleon's 
court  near,  258  ;  works  of  art  to 
be  restored  by  order  of  the 
second  Peace  of  Taris  (181 5), 
315  note;  reestablishment  of 
republic  during  the  Revolution 
of  184S,  381 

Milan  (me'lan)  I,  king  of  Serbia, 
584  f. 

Milan'  Decree  (1807),  291  f. 

Militarism,  677  ff. 

Military  service,  universal.  See 
Army 

Millerand  (mel  ran'),  484 

Min'den,  81 

Mining  Act  (England,  1842),  514 

Mi  nor'ca,  1 1 1 

Mir  (mer),  558  f. ;  dissolution  of 
(1906),  572 

Mirabeau  (me  ra  bo'),  183,  201, 
219 

Missions,  Catholic  and  Protestant, 

599  f- 
Modena  (mo'dana),  255,  258,  316, 

349  f.,  410,  415 
Mo  gill'  emperors,  106  and  note, 

527,  532 
Mo  ham'med,  574,  620 
Mohammed  V,  Sultan  of  Turkey, 

588 
Mohammed   Ahmed    (a'nied)    (El 

Mahdi,  ma'de),  629 
Mohammedans,    96  f.,    531,     574, 

576,  580,  582,  620  f. 
Mol  da'vi  a,    289,    577.     See   Rou- 

mania 
Moliere  (mo  Iyer'),  64 
Monarchist   party   (France),   483. 

See  Political  parties 
Moniteur  (mo  ne  ter'),  223 
Monk,  49 
Monroe,  President  of  the  United 

States  of  America,  354 
Monroe  Doctrine,  354,  434 
Montene'grins,  561,690.  ^i',?  Slavs 
Montenegro,  580  f.,  583,  585,  588, 

591 
Montesquieu  (mon  tes  ke  e'),  154, 

161 
Montreal  (niont  re  ol'),  105 
Moors,  7,  16,  621 
Mo  ra'vi  a,  406,  439 


Moravians,  401.    Sec  Slavs 

More,  Sir  Thomas,  374 

Moreau  (mo  ro'),  General,  250,  254, 
256,  270 

Morley,  Lord,  515 

Morocco,  clash  of  P>ance  and 
Germany  in,  and  Conference 
of  Algeciras  (1906),  456,  488, 
624,  626  and  note,  687  f. ;  agree- 
ment between  England  and 
France  {entente  cordiale,  1904) 
as  to  respective  rights  in  Egypt 
and  Morocco,  685  f. ;  Agadir 
incident  (191 1),  658,  687;  Mo- 
hammedans in,  620 ;  nominally 
an  independent  state,  622 

Morse.    See  Telegraph 

Moscow  (mos'ko),  75,  77,  303,  306, 
562  f.,  575 

"  Mountain,"  the,  236  ff. 

Mukden  (moK  den'),  battle  of,  569, 
616  f. 

Mule,  359 

Municipal  ownership,  in  England, 
647 ;  in  the  German  Empire, 
651  f. 

Murat  (mlira'),  250,  297,  300,  303 

Mutsuhito  (mut'suhe'to),  Mikado 
of  Japan,  606 

Nachtigal  (naiv'te  gal),  Dr.  Gustav 
(giis'taf),  455 

Nagasaki  (na'ga  sa'ke),  605 

Nan  king'.  Treaty  of,  601  f. 

Nantes  (nant),  Edict  of  (1598),  25; 
revocation  of  Edict  (1685),  68 f., 
135;   massacres  of  (1793),  240, 

244 
Naples  (na'p'lz)  (Kingdom  of  the 
Two  Sicilies),  history  of,  prior 
to  1494,  12  ;  attempt  of  Charles 
VIII  to  regain  Naples  for 
P"rance  (1494-1495),  12  f.;  given 
to  Austria  by  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  (17 13),  71;  aid  against 
French  Revolution  asked  by 
Emperor  Leopold  II  (1791), 
222  ;  at  war  with  France  (1793), 
253  ff.;  made  into  the  Parthe- 
nopean  Republic  by  France 
(1799),  267;  Joseph  Bonaparte 
made    king    of    Naples    (1806), 


Index 


735 


287 ;  Murat  given  the  throne 
of  Naples  (1808),  316;  works 
of  art  and  manuscripts  ordered 
to  be  returned  by  the  second 
Peace  of  Paris  (18 15),  315  and 
note  ;  constitution  granted  dur- 
ing the  Revolution  of  1848,  398  ; 
joined  Sardinia  and  Pope  Pius 
IX  in  preparation  for  war  with 
Austria,    398  f. ;    revocation    of 

■  constitution  by  the  king  after 
the  Revolution  of  1848,  410; 
refusal  of  the  king  either  to 
grant  a  constitution  or  to  form 
an  alliance  with  Sardinia,  416; 
conquest  by  Garibaldi  (i860), 
.416  f.;  annexation  by  Sardinia 
(i860),  417 

Na  po'le  on  I,  emperor  of  the 
French,  2Soff..  314  ff.,  -i^y],  346, 
348  ff.,  363,  385,  387,  410.  See 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon 

Napoleon  II,  emperor  of  the 
French,  337,  385.  See  Reich- 
stadt,  duke  of 

Napoleon  III,  emperor  of  the 
French,  389  ff.,  414  f.,  417  ff., 
434  ff.,  462  f.,  474  f.,  480,  489, 
518,  555  note,  578,  602.  See 
Bonaparte,  Louis  Napoleon 

N^apd  le  oii'ic  Ideas,  385,  387 

Nar'va,  78 

Nase'by,  battle  of,  42 

Nassau  (na'soii),  432 

Natal',  542  f. 

National  Assembly,  in  France : 
during  the  Revolution  (1789- 
1791)'  "^IZ^  i99ff-»  275,  280. 
344;  during  the  Second  French 
Republic  (1848-1852),  383  f., 
387  ff. ;  during  the  Third  French 
Republic  (1870-  ),  463, 
466  ff. ;  in  Greece,  proclaims 
independence  (1822),  576 

National  guard  (France,  1879), 
205 

National  Insurance  Act  (England, 
1911),  646 

National  workshops  (France, 
1848),  381  ff. 

Nationalists  (France),  483.  See 
Political  parties 


Nationality,  spirit  of,  323  f. 
Xatural  Nisiofy,  Buffon's,  662 
Natural  laws,  146,  371 
Navarino  (navare'no),  battle  of, 

577 
Navigation  laws,  45  ff.,  113 
Navy,  English,  680;  German,  681 
Necker,  191  f.,  195,  203,  205 
Neerwinden   (nar  vin'deii).  battle 

of,  234 
NelscJn,    Admiral,    261,    267,    268 

note,  281  note,  289,  290  note 
Nepal  (ne  pel'),  529 
Netherlands,  Austrian :  given  to 
Austria  by  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  (1713),  70  f.;  inhabit- 
ants of,  97;  revolt  (1790),  167; 
failure  of  first  French  attack 
on  (1792),  227  ;  French  defeat 
Austrians  at  Jemappes  (1792), 
232 ;  Austrians  defeat  French 
at  Neerwinden  (1793)  ^^^  drive 
them  from  Netherlands,  234 ; 
Austrian  neglect  of,  due  to 
preparations  for  the  third  par- 
tition of  Poland,  253  f. ;  ceded 
to  France  by  the  Treaty  of 
Campo  Formio  (1797),  257  f. ; 
defeat  of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo 
(1815),  311;  joined  to  Holland 
by  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
(181 5),  to  form  the  kingdom  of 
Holland,  315;  Austria  compen- 
sated for  loss  of,  321  ;  revolution 
(1830)  and  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  Belgium,  341  ff. ; 
kingdom  of :  size  of  colonial 
possessions,  103  ;  Spanish  :  de- 
clare independence  of  Spain 
(I58i),8;  inherited  by  Phihp  II, 
28 ;  invaded  by  Louis  XIV 
(1667),  66;  towns  gained  on 
border  by  Louis  XIV  (1667- 
1668),  175;  United:  in  seven- 
teenth century,  52  ;  invaded  by 
Louis  XIV  (1672),  67;  seized 
possessions  of  Portugal  in  the 
East  during  union  of  Spanish 
and  Portuguese  crowns  (1580- 
1640),  104  f.  ;  changed  to  Bata- 
vian  Republic  by  France  (1795), 
254 


r*' 


--1 


\^Aan  ai  the 


ao: 
v., 

s 


I 


738 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Pius  IX,  Pope,  399,  404,  410  f., 
415,  418  ff.,  477 

Pius  X,  Pope,  425,  481  f.,  631 

Pi  zar'ro,  7 

Plassey  (plas'e),  battle  of,  iii 

Plebiscite  (pleb'i  sit ;  French  ple- 
biscite, pla  be  set'),  264  and  note 

Poland,  union  formed  with  Den- 
mark and  Russia  to  secure 
possessions  of  Sweden,  77  f. ; 
various  peoples  and  religions 
in,  90 ;  character  of  the  gov- 
ernment, libei'iim  veto,  and  elec- 
tive kingship,  91  ;  nobility  and 
peasantry,  91  ;  interference  of 
Russia  and  Prussia  in  the  gov- 
ernment, 92 ;  first  partition 
(1772),  93  f. ;  Polish  revival 
in  art,  literature,  etc.  (1772- 
1791)'  93;  ^^w  constitution, 
and  interference  of  Catherine  II 
of  Russia,  93  f. ;  second  parti- 
tion (1793),  95,  234  and  note; 
revolt  of  1794,  95;  third  parti- 
tion (1795),  95,  253  ;  Napoleon's 
campaign  in  (1806-1807),  288; 
changed  into  the  grand  duchy 
of  Warsaw  (1807),  300;  terri- 
tory gained  in  second  and  third 
partitions  to  be  exchanged  by 
Prussia  for  northern  German 
territory,  306  f . ;  revolt  of  1830, 
554  f . ;  revolt  of  1863,  555  note 

Poles  (polz),  72,  95,  97  f.,  326,  393, 

439  ff- 

Political  economy,  158  ff.,  370  ff. 

Political  parties,  Canada,  537 ; 
England,  41  f.,  57  f.,  168  ff.,  234, 
485,  493,  495,  499  f.,  500,  502, 
523  ff. ;     France,     224  ff.,     238, 

335  ff.,  377  ff-,  463  ff.,  483  ff- ; 

German    Empire,    449  ff.,    650; 

Italy,  412,  422  ff. ;  Russia,  567  f. ; 

United  States,  485 
Polo,  Marco,  604 
Pom  e  ra'ni  a,  ^Farther,  81 
Pondicherry  (pon  di  sher'i),  108  ff. 
Poniatowski  (po  nya  tof  ske)  ( Stan'- 

islas  II,  king  of  Poland),  92 
Pope,  Alexander,  148,  328 
Port  Arthur,  568  f.,  610,  6i5ff. 
Port  Said  (sa  ed'),  627 


Porte  (port),  the,  261,  575,  577  f. 

P5r't6  Rico  (re'ko),  630 

Portsmouth  (ports'miitli),  Treaty 
of,  618 

Por'tu  gal,  established  trading 
posts  in  the  Far  East  after  da 
Gama  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  (1498),  103  ff.,  601  ;  East- 
ern colonial  possessions  seized 
by  the  Dutch  (i  580-1640),  7, 
104  f.;  the  French  in  Portugal 
(1807-1808),  296  f.;  the  Eng- 
lish in  Portugal  (1808),  302; 
slave  trade  in  the  early  nine- 
teenth century,  323 ;  under 
English  rule,  revolt  (1820),  and 
return  of  the  king  from  Brazil, 
354  f.;  establishment  of  the 
republic  (1910),  631,  687  note 

"  Possibilist  "  party  (France),  484. 
See  Political  parties 

Post,  penny  (England,  1839),  596  f. 

Poverty,  as  a  result  of  the  factory 
system,  364  ff. ;  Booth's  survey 
of  living  conditions  of  the  Lon- 
don poor,  638  f. ;  Rowntree's 
survey  of  poverty  in  York,  639  ; 
possibility  of  doing  away  with, 
639  f. ;  war  of  English  govern- 
ment against,  640  ff.  See  Social 
legislation 

Power  loom,  360  f. 

Prag  mat'ic  sanction,  85 

Prague  (prag),  Revolution  of  1848, 
398;  Pan-Slavic  congress (1848), 
401 

Presbyterians,  24,  39  f.  43  f.,  50 

Press.  .S"^^  Censorship  of  the  press; 
Freedom  of  the  press 

Pressburg  (pres'boiK),  Treaty  of, 
285  f.,  298 

"Pretender,  the  Old"  (England), 
54  note,  168 

"  Pride's  Purge,"  42 

Prime  minister  (England),  169. 
See  Walpole,  Robert ;  Cabinet 

Prince  Edward  Island,  535,  537 

Priitciples  of  Geology,  Lyell's,  661  f. 

Printing,  invention  of,  5,  366;  at 
present  time,  366 

Progressivist  party  (France),  483. 
See  Political  parties 


Index 


739 


Protestant  Revolt,  the  Church  in 
the  Middle  Ages,  17  ff.;  Eras- 
mus, 18  ;  theory  of  indulgences, 
19;  Luther:  attack  on  indul- 
gences, and  the  jYinely-jive 
Theses,  19  f.  ;  Address  to  the 
German  N'obility,  20  f. ;  burning 
of  the  papal  bull,  21  ;  at  the 
Diet  of  AVorms,  and  at  the 
Wartburg,  21  ;  ''  Peasants'  Re- 
volt," 22;  "protest"  at  Diet  of 
Speyer,  22  f. ;  Protestants,  23  ; 
Augsburg  CoHfessio?t,  and  the 
Peace  of  Augsburg,  23 ;  com- 
memoration of  Luther's  revolt 
at  the  Wartburg  (18 17),  346 

Protestantism,  23,  27  ff.,  37  ff.,  81  f., 
137  ff.,  148,  449,  510,  520 

Protestants,  origin  of  term,  23  ;  in 
Austria,  167  ;  in  England,  Tfj^.; 
in  France,  68  ff.,  135  ;  in  Poland, 
90;  in  Prussia,  81  f.,  163,  449; 
intolerance  of,  135 

Provence  (pro  vans'),  count  of, 
217  f.,  225,  315.  See  Louis 
XVIII,    king  .of    France 

Prussia  (prush'a),  duchy  of,  80  ff. 

Prussia,  kingdom  of,  under  the 
Great  Elector  of  Brandenburg 
( 1 640-1 688),  81  f.;  under  Fred- 
erick I  (Frederick  III  of  Bran- 
denburg), king  in  Prussia  (1688- 
17 13),  raised  to  the  rank  of  a 
kingdom  (1701),  82  f. ;  under 
Frederick  William  I  (1713- 
1740),  83  ff.;  under  Frederick  II 
(the  Great,  1740-1786),  86  ff. ; 
War  of  the  Austrian  Succession 
(1740-1748),  86f. ;  Seven  Years' 
War  (1756-1763),  87  ff. ;  share 
in  partitions  of  Poland  (1772, 
I793»  1795)'  89  ff-'  "17  ;  war  with 
France  (1792),  228,  232  ;  Treaty 
of  Basel  ([795),  254;  fate  in  the 
Napoleonic  reconstruction  of 
Germany,  271  ff.  ;  war  with 
France  (1806),  287  f. ;  reforms 
after  the  battle  of  Jena,  304  ff. ; 
war  with  France  (1813),  306  f. ; 
at  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
(1815),  318  ff.;  literature  at  the 
opening     of     the      nineteenth 


century,  327  ff. ;  position  at  the 
opening  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, 344  ff. ;  in  the  German 
Confederation  (181  5),  399;  pro- 
posed German  union  (1848),  and 
refusal  of  the  imperial  crown  by 
the  king  of  Prussia  (1849),  406 f.; 
constitution  of  Prussia  (1850), 
407  f.  ;  reign  of  William  I 
(i858[i86i]-i888),  427  ff.;  army 
reforms,  428 ;  Bismarck  and 
parliament,  428  f. ;  the  Schles- 
wig-Holstein  affair,  429  ff. ;  war 
with  Denmark  (1864),  431  ; 
declares  German  Confederation 
dissolved  (1866),  431  ;  war  with 
Austria  (1866),  432;  formation 
of  North  German  Federation 
(1867),  432  f. ;  Franco-Prussian 
War  (1870),  434  ff.;  proclama- 
tion of  the  German  Empire 
(1871),  43S  f. ;  since  1871,  see 
German  Empire 

Public  Safety,  Committee  of,  235  f., 
-39  f-  242>  244,  246 

"  Puffing  Billy,"  594 

Pultowa  (pol'to  va),  battle  of,  79 

Pun  jab',  530 

Puritans,  39,  49  f. 

Quadrilateral,  the,  403  f.,  415 

Quakers,  50 

Que  bee',  105,  108  f. 

Quebec,  province  of,  534  f. 

Quebec  Act,  534 

Queen  Anne's  War  (1701),  70.  See 
War  of  the  Spanish  Succes- 
sion 

Queensland,  540 

Races,  in  Austria,  440  ff. ;  in  Hun- 
gary, 442  ff. ;  in  Russian  empire, 
552  f.     . 

Racine  (rasen'),  64 

Radetzky     (ra  dets'ke),'  General, 

403 

Radicals,  in  France,  483 ;  in  the 
German  Empire,  650.  See  Politi- 
cal parties 

Radio-activity,  668  f. 

Radium,  668 

Raisuli  (ri  so'le),  626 


I 


740 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Ra  na  va  lo'na,  queen  of  Madagas- 
car, 487 

Ran  goon',  530,  612 

Raphael  (raf  a  el),  3 

"  Red  Sunday,"  569  f. 

Reform  Bill  (England,  1832), 495 f. 

Reformation,  the.  See  Protestant 
Revolt 

Reichsdeputationshauptschhiss, 
(riKS  da  pii  tat  si  ons  houpt'- 
shlus),  272,  316 

Reichstadt  (riK'shtat),  duke  of, 
337  note.    See  Napoleon  II 

Reichstag  (riKs'taK),  445  ff. 

Renaissance  (ren  e  saris'),  3  ff.,  328 

Republic,  Batavian  (1795),  254, 
267,  270  f. ;  Cisalpine  (1797), 
258,  266  f.,  269  f. ;  First  French 
(1792),  231  ff.,  276,  278,  287; 
Second  French  (1848),  381  ff., 
497;  Third  French  (1870), 
462  ff.;  Helvetic  (1798),  266  f., 
270  f.;  Ligurian  (1797),  266  f., 
270, 282  f. ;  Parthenopean  ( 1 799), 
267;  Roman  (1798),  266  f. ; 
Roman  (1849),  4^4  f- 

Republican  party,  in  France, 
220  ff.,  337,  377  ff.,  483  ;  in  Italy, 
422.    See  Political  parties 

Restitution,  Edict  of  (1629),  29 

Revolt,  Irish  (1916),  525;  ''Peas- 
ants'" (1525),  22;  Protestant 
{see  Protestant  Revolt) 

Revolution,  Austria  {1848),  392  ff. ; 
Belgium  (1830),  342  f. ;  Bohemia 
(1848),  398;  China  (191 1),  61S; 
England  (1688),  3,  52  ff.,  343, 
504,  519;  France  (1789),  3,  11, 
34,  51,  173  ff.,  293,  297,  316, 
322  ff.,  335  f- 338,  348,379.478, 
493  ;  France  (1830),  338  ff.,  377, 
468,  495  ;  France  (1848),  381  ff., 
468,  497  {see  France)  ;  Germany 
( 1848),, 406  ff.;  Industrial  {see 
Industrial  Revolution)  ;  Italy 
(1848),  398  ff.;  Poland  (1794), 
95;  Poland  (1830),  554;  Poland 
(1863),  555  note  ;  Turkey  (1908), 
586 

Revolutionary  Tribunal  (France), 
242  ff. 

Rhodes  (rodz),  545 


Rhodesia  (rode'zhia),  548 

Richard  III,  king  of  England, 
10 

Richelieu  (re  she  lye'),  Cardinal, 
26,  30,  36,  58  ff. 

Rights  of  Man,  Declaration  of 
(France),  207  ff.,  211,  248,  324, 
336,  392 

RivoU  (re'vole),  battle  of,  256 

Robespierre  (ro  bes  pyer'),  224, 
236  f.,  243  f.,  246,  276 

"  Rocket,"  Stephenson's,  595 

Roland  (ro  Ian'),  Madame  (ma- 
dam'), 225,  242 

Roller  machine,  357 

Romagna  (roman'ya),  415 

Roman  Republic,  in  1798,  266  f . ; 
in  1849,  404  f- 

Romanticists,  329 

Rome,  establishment  of  republic 
(1798),  266  f.;  second  Peace  of 
Paris  (18 1 5)  orders  works  of  art 
returned,  315  note  ;  constitution 
granted  (1848),  398;  establish- 
ment of  republic  (1849),  4^4  f- ! 
republic  overthro.wn  by  Austria 
( 1849),  405  !  occupied  by  Italian 
troops  (1870),  419;  added  to 
kingdom  of  Italy  as  capital 
(1871),  419 

Roosevelt  (ro'ze  velt),  President 
of  the  United  States,  594,  617 

Roses,  War  of  the,  26 

Rossbach  (ros'ban),  battle  of,  89 

Rossi  (ros'se),  404 

"  Rotten  boroughs,"  491 

Roumania  (ro  ma'ni  a),  443 ; 
formed  by  the  union  of  Molda- 
via and  Wallachia  (1862),  and 
the  ruler  assumes  title  of  king 
(1881),  581  and  note;  internal 
affairs,  585 

Roumanians,  97  f.,  395  f.,  440,  443 

"  Roumans,"  583  note 

Roumelia  (ronie'lia).  Eastern, 
582 

Roundheads,  41  f. 

Rousseau  (ro  so'),  154  ff.,  161  ff., 

243.  329 

Rowntree,  639 

Royalists  (France),  336.  See  Politi- 
cal parties 


Index 


741 


Rubinstein  (ro'bin  stin),  551 
Rudolph  of  Hapsburg,  16,  688 
Rumford,  Count  (Thomson),  333 

note 
Russell,  Lord  John,  495,  499 
Russia,  the  Hansa  in,  8 ;  under 
Peter  the  Great  (1672-1725), 
73  ff.,  117;  under  Catherine  II 
(1762-1796),  163  ff. ;  alliance 
with  England  against  France 
(1805),  283  f. ;  secret  alliance 
with  Fi-ance  (1807),  288  f. ;  re- 
lations with  Napoleon,  302  f., 
314;  agreement  with  Prussia  as 
to  Warsaw  and  Saxony,  318  ff. ; 
Holy  Alliance  (181 5),  326;  Se- 
cret Alliance  (1815),  327;  sym- 
pathy with  absolutism  in  other 
countries,  352  ff. ;  reign  of  Alex- 
ander I,  551  ff. ;  reign  of  Nicho- 
las I,  554  ff. ;  aids  Greece  in 
struggle  for  independence 
(1827),  577;  Polish  revolution 
(1830),  554  f. ;  reign  of  Alexan- 
der II,  556  ff. ;  Crimean  War 
(1854),  414,  578;  emancipation 
of  the  serfs  (1861),  557  f. ; 
Polish  revolution  (1863),  555 
note;  nihilism,  559;  terrorism, 
560  f.;  war  with  Turkey  (1877), 
561,  581 ;  Treaty  of  San  Stefano 
(1878),  and  Congress  of  Berlin 
(1878),  581;  reign  of  Alex- 
ander III,  561  f. ;  Industrial 
Revolution,  562  ff. ;  reign  of 
Nicholas  II,  565  ff. ;  struggle 
for  constitutional  government, 
565  ff. ;  intervenes  to  keep  Japan 
from  continent  of  Asia  (1895), 
5io ;  leases  Port  Arthur  (1898), 
61 1 ;  political  parties,  567  f . ; 
war  with  Japan  (1904),  568  f., 
615  ff. ;  Treaty  of  Portsmouth 
(1905),  618;  opening  of  the 
Duma  {1906),  57 iff.;  agreement 
with  England  as  to  respective 
rights  in  Persia  (1907),  530  note, 
563  note,  686  f. 
Russo-Japanese  War  (1904),  568  f., 

615  ff. 
Ru  the'ni  ans,  401,  440.    See  Slavs 
Rys'wick,  Peace  of  (1697),  69 


Sacraments,  17 

Sadowa  (sa'do  va),  battle  of,  419, 

432»  435'  439-    See    Koniggratz 
Sa  ha'ra  desert,  487,  620 
Said  (saed'),  Port,  627 
St.    Bar  thoro  mew,  massacre   of, 

25,  69 
St.    Ber  nard'    Pass,    crossed   by 

Bonaparte,  269 
St.  He  le'na,  312 
Saint-Just  (san-zhtisf),  236,  243  f., 

246 
Saint  Lucia  (lo'shi  a),  322  note 
St.  Petersburg,  77,  555,  560  f.,  570 
Saint-Simon  (san-se  mofi'),  64 
Sakhalin  (saKalyen'),  618 
Salisbury    (solz'beri).    Lord,    522 

note 
Salonica  (salone'ka),  586,  591 
Salt   tax,    France,   176  map,   177, 

192  ;  Italy,  423 
Sand  River  Convention,  543 
Sar  a  to'ga,  battle  of,  116 
Sar  din'i  a.    See  Piedmont 
Sas  katch'e  wan,  537 
Sat'su  ma,  606 
Sa  van'nah^  the,  592  f. 
Savoy',  66,  254  f.,  267,  269,  315 
Sax'o  ny,    14,  19,    21,  289,  320  f., 

344,   399,   432 
Scharnhorst     (sharn'horst),     306, 

428 
Schiller  (sliirier),  332 
Schleswig-Holstein,       (shlaz'viK- 

hsrsbtin),    controversy    about, 

429  ff. ;    war,    429,    432 
Schwartzenberg  (shvar'tsen bei'K), 

401  f. 
Science    and    invention,    in    the 

eighteenth  century,  143  ff.,  357 

ff.;    in  the  nineteenth  century, 

592  ff. ;  in  the  twentieth  century, 

658  ff. 
Scotland,  32,  40  ff. 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  329 
Se  bas'to  pol,  556,  578 
Secret  alliance  (181 5),  327 
Se  dan',  battle  of,  437,  462 
Segur  (sagiir'),  280 
Senate  (France),  471  f. 
Senegal  (sen  eg6F)  region,  485  ff., 

621 


742 


Outlines  of  Eu7Vpean  History 


Se'poys,  109  ff.,  531  f. 
September     massacres     (France, 

1792),  231  f. 
vSer'bi  a,  443,  580  f.,  583  ff.,  690  ff. 
Serbians,  401 ,  403, 443,  561 ,  589, 690 
Serfdom,  in  Austrian  territory,  1 67 ; 

in    England,    121;    in    France, 

i2of. ;  in  Japan,  608;  in  Poland, 

91  ;  in  Prussia,  344  ;  in  Russia, 

165,  556  f- 
Settlement,  Act  of,  54 
Seven  Years'  War    (1756),    87  f., 

108  ff. 
Sevigne  (sa  ven  ya'),  64,  68 
Sforza  (sfor'tsa).  House  of,  12 
Sha-ho'  River,  battle  of,  569 
Shakespeare,  34 
Shangh'a'i,  602,  612 
Shan'tung',  61 1 
Shaw,  G.  B.,  637  note 
Sheffield,  366 
Shimonoseki      (she'mo  no  sa'ke). 

Treaty    of    (1895),    ^o^,    610 
"  Ship  money,"  37 
Shogtin  (sho'gon),  603  f. 
Si  be'ri  a,  560,  569 
Sic'i  lies,   Kingdom   of   the   Two. 

See  Naples 
Si  er'ra  Le  o'ne,  548 
Sigismund  (sij'is  mund  ;  Ger.  ze'- 

gis  mimt).  Emperor  of  the  Holy 

Roman  Empire,  79 
Silesia  (si  le'shi  a),  86  ff. 
Sindh  (sind),  530 
Six  Acts,  494 
Slave  trade,  323 
Sla  vo'ni  a,  439,  442  f. 
Slavs,  72,  96  f.,  393  ff.,  401  fT.,  440, 

561,  581,  587,  688  ff.    See  "Pan- 
Slavism  " 
Slovenes  (slo  venz').    See  Slavs 
Slo  ve'ni  ans.    See  Slavs 
Smith,  Adam,  160,  366,  370,  516 
Sobieski  (so  byes'ke),  575 
Social  Contract,  Rousseau's,  156 
Social      Democratic      Federation 

(England),  637  note 
vSocial    Democratic    Eabor    party 

(German  Empire),  450 
Social     Democrats,     in     German 

Empire,    451,    459;    in    Russia, 

567 


Social  legislation,  in  Australia, 
541 ;  in  England  :  factory,  5 1 2  f . ; 
mines,  514;  Workmen's  Com- 
pensation Act,  638 ;  old-age 
pension  law,  640 ;  labor  ex- 
changes, 640 ;  trade  boards, 
640  f. ;  national  insurance 
(against  ill  health  and  unem- 
ployment), 646;  local  reforms 
and  municipal  ownership,  647  ; 
in  France,  national  insurance 
(accident,  sickness,  old-age), 
657 ;  in  German  Empire,  na- 
tional insurance  (accident,  sick- 
ness, old-age),  452  f.,  651  ff . ; 
in  New  Zealand,  541 

Socialism,  372  ff . ;  origin  of  word, 
374;  earlier  phase,  372  f.;  Uto- 
pian, 379  f . ;  later  phase,  374  ff. ; 
in  Austria,  442 ;  in  England, 
dy]  ;  in  France,  382,  477,  482, 
483  f.,  658;  in  German  Empire, 
449  ff.,  644,  650,  652  f .;  in  Russia, 
567  f. ;  as  an  international  move- 
ment, 684 

Socialists.  See  Political  parties ; 
Socialism 

Society,  for  German  Colonization, 
456;  for  the  Promotion  of  Chris- 
tian Knowledge,  599 

Solferino   (sol  fe  re'no),  battle  of. 

So  ma'li  land,  British,  548;  French, 
487,  624  ;  Italian,  626 

Sonderbund  (zon'der  bunt),  393 
note 

South  African  Union,  546  ff. 

South  iVmerica,  103  f. 

Spain,  in  the  Middle  Ages,  7  ff., 
28  f. ;  treasure  ships  captured 
by  English,  35;  Franche-Comte 
seized  by  France,  returned  in  ex- 
change for  border  towns,  66  f. ; 
War  of  Spanish  Succession 
(1701-1713),  69  ff.;  joins  coali- 
tion against  France  (1793),  234; 
at  war  with  France  (1793-1795)7 
253  f.;  cedes  Louisiana  to  France 
(1801),  702;  comes  to  aid  of 
France  (1803),  282;  Joseph 
Bonaparte  made  king  (1808), 
296  ff. ;  England  and  France  in 


Index 


743 


Spain,  Contimied 

(1809),  302;  England  in  (1813), 
308 ;  slave  trade  in  the  nine- 
teenth century,  323  ;  restoration 
after  181 5,  348;  revolution  in 
the  colonies  (1810-1825)  and  at 
home  (1820),  350  ff.;  assists  in 
destroying  the  Roman  Repub- 
lic, 410;  joins  in  demonstration 
against  Mexico,  434  f. ;  expul- 
sion of  the  queen  (1868),  435; 
Leopold  of  Hohenzollern  can- 
didate for  throne  (i 869-1 870), 
435;  Amadeus  of  Italy  becomes 
king(i87o)  and  abdicates  (1873), 
435  note;  repubhc  (1873),  435 
note  ;  accession  of  Alfonso  XII 
(1875),  constitution  (1876),  and 
reign  of  Alfonso  XIII,  435 
note;  loss  of  American  colonies 
(1898),  117,  629  f.;  decHne  as  a 
colonial  power,  629  f.;  colonial 
possessions  in  Africa,  626  ;  in- 
fluence in  Morocco,  626  f. 

Spanish  Succession,  War  of  the 
(1701),  69,  loi,  255,  321  f. 

Spanish-American  War  (1898),  630 

Spencer,  662  f.,  665  f . 

Speyer  (sprer),  271  ;  diet  at,  22  f. 

Spice  Islands,  105,  539 

Spindle,  358  f. 

Spinning,  358  ff. 

Spirit  of  Laws,  The,  Montesquieu's, 

154 
Stamp  Act,  112  ff. 
Stanley,  623  f. 
"  State  socialists,"  451  ff. 
Std'tus  quo,  87 
Steam  engine,  361  ;  Newcomen's, 

362  f. ;  Watt's,  362  ff. 
Steam  navigation,  early  history  of, 

592  f. ;  at  present  time,  593  and 

note  {see  Fulton) 
Steam  railways,  in  England,  early 

history   of    (1814,    1825,    1828), 

594  f.;  in  France  (1828),  595; 
in  Germany  (1835),  595;  at 
present  day,  in  Asia  and  Africa, 

595  f.  and  note 

Stein  (shtrn),  304  f.,  333,  344 
Stephenson     (ste'ven  sun),     328, 
594  f- 


Storthing  (stor'ting),  318  note 

Strassburg,  30,  67,  175,  284,  385, 
437  and  note,  462,  649 

Struggle  for  existence,  664  ff. 

Stuart,  31  ff.,  49  ff.,  168  f. 

Sudan  (so  dan'),  487  f.,  548,  627 
and  note,   629.  685 

Suez  (so  ez')  Canal,  593  f.,  627 

Suffrage.    See  Franchise 

Sii  ma'tra,  105 

Supremacy,  Act  of,  26 

Sii  rat^  527 

Surgery,  antiseptic,  671 

Su  va'roff.  General,  268 

Sweden,  receives  territory  on  the 
Baltic  (1648),  30;  under  Charles 
XII,  ']']  f. ;  Finland  given  to 
Russia  (1807),  289;  joins  allies 
against  France,  307;  abolishes 
slave  trade  (1813),  323  ;  personal 
union  with  Norway  (1814),  318 
and  note 

Switzerland,  independence  ac- 
knowledged (1648),  30;  estab- 
lishment of  Helvetic  Republic 
(1798),  268,  283;  cantons  recog- 
nized as  free  and  equal,  neu- 
trality guaranteed,  constitution 
drawn  up  (181 5),  318;  Sonder- 
bictid,  constitution  of  1848,  393 
and  note,  451,  463 

Syllabus   of  1864,  477 

Syr'i  a,  261,  267,  456 

Taille  (ta'ye),  11,  177,  182  f.,  192, 
194 

Talleyrand  (tale  ran'),  272,  280, 
320 

Tariff,  protective,  in.  England, 
516;  in  German  Empire,  452  ff. 

Tasmania  (taz  nia'ni  a)  (Van  Die- 
man's  Land),  538  ff. 

"  Taxation  without  representa- 
tion,"  114 

Telegraph,  invention  of,  597  and 
note  ;  wireless,  597 

Telephone,  invention  of,  597  ; 
wireless,   597 

"  Tennis  Court  "  oath,  200 

Terror,  Reign  of,  174,  206,  215, 
217,  219,  23s  ff.,  275,  279,  333, 
339.  379 


744 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Terrorism,  Russian,  560  ff. 
Test  Act,  51 
Tetzel  (tet'sel),  20 
Teu  ton'ic  Order,  80 
Tiiermidor  (ter  me  dor'),  244 
Thiers  (tyer),  463  ff. 
Third  estate  (France),  181  ff. 
Thirty  Years'  War  (1618),  29,  35, 

71,  81,  437  note 
Thirty-Nine  Articles,  137 
Thomas,  Sidney  G.,  653 
Thrace  (thras),  588 
Ti  bet',  529 

Ti  con  der  6'ga,  Fort,  108 
Tientsin  (ti  en'tsen'),  603 
Tilly  (tiri;  French  teye'),  36 
Til'sit,  Peace  of  (1807),  288  f.,  296, 

302,  304,  306 
Timbuktu  (tim  buk'to),  486 
Tithes,   church,   in    France,    177; 

abolition  of,  206,  211  ;   Ireland, 

521 

To  ba'go,  322  note 

T6'g5,  Admiral,  617 

To'go  land,  455,  598,  624 

Tokyo  (to'ke  0),  608, 617.  6>^  Yedo 

Toleration,  religious,  in  Austria, 
167;  in  England,  50,  51  note, 
105,  140,  509  f. ;  in  France, 
276;  in  Prussia,  163;  in  Russia, 

11 
Tolstoy,  551 
Tonkin',  475,  489 
Torres  Vedras  (tor'resh  va'drasli), 

302 
Tory   party,   57,   168  ff.,  493,  495, 

499 
Toul  (tol),  30 

Toulon  (to  Ion'),  239  ff.,  246 
Toulouse  (to  loz'),  364 
Tours  (tor),  462 
Towns,  123  ff. 
Trade,    European    foreign,     5  ff., 

592 
Trade  boards,  640  f. 
Trade  laws,  113  f. 
Trade-unions,  origin  of,  371  ff. 
Traf  al  gar',  281,  289,  290  note 
Trans-Si  be'ri  an      railroad,      564, 

610  f. 
Transvaal  (trans  val'),  542  ff.,  622 
Tran  syl  va'ni  a,  97 


Treaty  of  (Peace  of ;  Convention), 
Aix-la-Chapelle  (1748),  87,  210, 
254;  Amiens  (1801),  270,  282; 
Augsburg  (1555),  23,  29;  Basel 
(1795),  254>  265;  Berlin  (1878), 
581  and  note;  Bucharest  (1913), 
590  f. ;  Campo  Formio  (1797), 
257,  260,  265  f.,  270,  283,  285: 
Frankfort  (1871),  437  and  note, 
466  and  note;  Ghent  (1814), 
309;  London  (1827),  577;  (1913), 
590;  Luneville  (i8oi),270,  321; 
Nanking  (1842),  601  f. ;  Nim- 
wegen  (1678),  67;  Paris  (1763), 
89;  (1783),  117;  (1814),  3i4f.; 
(1815),  315;  (1856),  414;  Ports- 
mouth (1905),  618;  Pressburg 
(1805),  285  f.,  298;  Ryswick 
(1697),  69;  Sand  River  Conven- 
tion (1852),  543;  San  Stefano 
(1878),  581;  Shimonoseki(i895), 
606,  610;  Tilsit  (1807),  288  f., 
296,  302,  304,  306 ;  Utrecht 
(1713),  70,  105  f.,  321;  Vienna 
(1809),  298;  Westphalia  (1648), 
30,81 

Treaty  ports  (China),  601  f. 

Trent,  city  of,  419;  council  of,  27 

Treves  (trevz;  French  trav),  14, 27 1 

Triennial  Bill,  40 

Trieste  (tre  es'ta),  419,  440 

Trin'i  dad,  322  note 

Triple  Alliance,  between  England, 
Holland,  and  Sweden  (1668), 
66  f. ;  between  German  Empire, 
Austro-Hungarian  dual  mon- 
archy, and  Italy  (1882,  1887. 
1892,  1902,  1912),  421,  456, 
685,  687 

Trip'oh,  421,  588,  621,  626 

Tschaikowsky  (chl  kof'ske),  551 

Tudor,  10,  32  ff. 

Tiigendbund  (to'gent  biint),  306 

Tuileries  (twel  re'),  invasion  of 
(June  20,  1792),  228;  attack  on 
(August  ID,  1792),  230,  279  f. 

Tunis,  421,  486,  620,  622,  685 

Turgot  (turgo'),  166,  189  ff.,  203, 
247 

Turin,  317,  349,  417.  4i9 

Turkestan  (tiir  ke  Stan'),  Russian, 
563  note 


Index 


745 


Turkey,  early  history,  574  f. ;  siege 
of  Constantinople  (1453),  6,  575  ; 
relations  with  Russia,  575  ;  siege 
of  Vienna  (1683),  67,97,  575; 
European  conquests  and  origin 
of  "  Eastern  question,"  117  ;  at 
war  with  France  in  Egypt  (1798), 
and  in  Syria  (1879),  -61  ;  posi- 
tion in  North  Africa  at  begin- 
ning of  nineteenth  century,  62 1  ; 
Balkan  War  (1877),  561  ;  Serbia 
becomes  tributary  principality 
(1817),  576;  war  with  Greece 
(1821),  576  f . ;  Crimean  War 
(1854),  577  f . ;  terms  of  Treaty 
of  Paris  {1856),  578  f . ;  Balkan 
revolt  {1874),  580;  war  with 
Russia  (1877),  Treaty  of  San 
Stefano  {1878)  and  Congress  of 
Berlin  (1878),  581  f . ;  relations 
with  Macedonia,  582  f. ;  war 
with  Italy  (191 1),  588,626;  loss 
of  Crete  {1913),  584;  revolution 
(1908),  586  ff. ;  annexation  of 
Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  by 
Austria  {1908),  690;  First  Bal- 
kan War  (1912),  588  ff. ;  Second 
Balkan  War  (191 3),  590  f. 

Turkish  Revolution  (1908),  586 

Turks.,  Ot'to  man,  96,  574  ff.,  580, 
584,  627;  Seljuk,  96,  574; 
Young  Turks,  586  ff. 

Tus'cany,   97,   253,  255,  273,  316, 

349  f-»  398,  405»  410,  415 
"  Twelve  Articles,"  22 
Tyrol  (terol'),  285,  441 

Uitlanders  (oit'lan  derz),  544  f. 

Ulm,  battle  of,  284,  289 

Ul'ster,  conquest  and  settlement 
of,  519;  protest  of,  525 

Uniformity,  Act  of,  50 

Union  of  vSouth  Africa,  546  ff. 

United  States  of  America,  54, 
270,  292,  308  f.,  323,  350,  354, 
355.  434,  444  f-,  447  f-.  468, 
471  f-,  504,  518,  534  ff-,  558, 
594 

Uruguay  (o  ro  gwf),  425 

U to' pi  a,  374 

Utrecht  (yo'trekt),  Treaty  of,  70, 
105  f.,  321;  Union  of,  28 


Vaccination,  670 
Valenciennes  (va  laii  syen'),  238 
Valmy  (val  me'),  battle  of,  232,  339 
Varennes  (va  ren'),  flight  of  royal 

family  to  (1791),  2i9f. 
Vassy  (vase"),  massacre  of,  25 
Vat'i  can,  419  ff. 
Vatican  Council  (1870),  449 
Vendee  (van  da'),  La,  238  ff. 
Vendemiaire  (van  damyer'),   248 
Venetia  (ve  ne'shi  a).   See  Venice 
Ven  e  zue'la,  351 

Venice,  5,  6  and  note,  12,  97,  255, 
258,  270,  283,  285,  314,  315  note, 
317,  321,  404  f.,  415,  417  f.,  422, 

431,  575 

Venizelos  (va  ne  za'los),  588 

Verdun  (ver  dun'),  30 

Vergniaud  (vernyo'),  225 

Verona  (varo'na).  Congress  of 
(1822),   353  f. 

Verrazano  (ver  rat  sa'no),  424 

Versailles  (ver  salz' ;  French  ver- 
say'),  62,  439,  462,  466 f.,  470 

Victor  Emmanuel  I,  king  of  Sar- 
dinia, 349 

Victor  Emmanuel  II,  king  of  Sar- 
dinia, 404  f.,  412  ff. 

Victor  Emmanuel  III,  king  of 
Italy,  423 

Victoria  (Australia),  540 

Victoria,  queen  of  England,  457, 
496,  515,  533>  541,  685 

Vienna,  67,  76,  284,  302,  439  ff. ; 
Congress  of  (1815),  309,  314  ff-, 
341,  343  ff-,  346,  349,  357,  542, 
552  f.  ;  revolution  in  (1848), 
401  f.  ;     siege    of,     by    Turks 

(1683),  96 f.,  575 
Virginia,  105,  112 
Vladivostock     (via  dye  vos  tdk'), 

610  f.,    616 
Voltaire  (vol  ter'),  Arouet  (aru  6'), 

87,  149  ff.,   162  f.,  186,  329,  335, 

560 
Von  Billow  (fon  bii'lo),  649  f. 
Von  Ket'te  ler,  614 
Von  Plehve  (pla've),  566  ff. 
Vote,  plural,  England,  641 

Wagrarri  (va'gram),  battle  of,  298, 

■337 


746 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Waldeck-Rousseau  (val  dek'-ro- 
so'),   479  f.,    484 

Wallace,  Alfred,  665  f. 

Wallachia  (wola'kia),  289,  577. 
See    Roumania 

Wallenstein  (varen  shtin),  29,  36 

Walloons  (wo  lonz'),  97 

Wal'pole,  112,  169 

War,  Austrian  Succession  (1840), 
84  ff. ;  Austro-Prussian  (1866), 
432,  439,  678,  688  f.;  Austro- 
Sardinian  (1859),  414  f.;  Balkan 
(1877),  561;  Balkan  (1912), 
588  ff.;  Balkan  (1913),  590; 
Boer  (1899),  545^-;  Chinese 
revolution  (191 1 ),  618  ff.;  Chino- 
Japanese  (1894-1895),  459, 
609  f.;  Civil  (England,  1642), 
41  f.;  Commune  (1871),  467  f. ; 
Crimean  (1854),  414,  556,  563, 
577  ff.;  Danish  (1864),  431  ; 
Franco-Prussian  (1870),  434  ff., 
466;  French  Revolution  (1792), 
227  ff.;  French  and  Austrian 
(1792),  and  French  and  English 
(1793)  (-s^^^  War  of  French  Rev- 
olution) ;  French  and  Chinese 
(1858),  602  f. ;  French  and 
Indian  (1754),  108  {see  Seven 
Years'  War) ;  "  Glorious  Revo- 
lution" (England,  1688),  51  f.; 
great  war  of  1914,  324,  330,421, 
443,  456,  518,  547  f.,  627  f.,  658, 
677ff. ;  Hundred  Years'  (1337), 
9f.;  ItaUan-Turkish  (i9ii),588; 
"Opium"  (1840),  601  f. ;  Queen 
Anne's  (1701),  70  {see  War  of 
Spanish  Succession) ;  of  the 
Roses  (1455),  26;  Russo-Jap- 
anese (1904),  568  f. ;  Seven 
Years'  (1756),  87  f.,  108  ff.; 
South  African  (1899),  545  f.  {see 
Boer  War)  ;  Spanish-American 
(1898),  630;  Spanish  Succes- 
sion (1701),  69f.,  loi,  255,  321  f.; 
Thirty  Years'  (1618),  29  f.,  35, 
71,  81,  437  note 

War  and  Peace,  Grotius's,  7 1 

Warsaw,  grand  duchy  of,  289, 
299  f.,  314,  318'  320 

Wartburg  (vart'burK),  21,  346 

Washington,  309 


Washington,  George,  1 1 5  f . 

Waterloo',  311,  328  f.,  374 

Watt,  362  ff. 

Wattignies  (vatenye'),  239 

Wealth  of  Naiiofis,  160,  366 

Weaving,  359  ff. 

Webb,  637  note 

Weihaiwei  (wa'hi'wa'),  leased  by 

British  government,  611 
Wellesley     (welz'li),    301    f.     See 

Wellington,  duke  of 
Wellington,    duke    of,    301,    308, 

311,348,  397,  495  f. 
Wells,  637  note 
Wesley,  Charles,  139 
Wesley,  John,  138  ff. 
West  Bromwich  (brum'ich),  366 
West  pha'li  a,    kingdom    of,    289, 

314;  Treaty  of,  30,  81 
Wheatstone.    See  Telegraph 
Whig  party  (England),  57,  168  f., 

234  note,  495,  500  f. 
Whitefield  (hwit'feld),  139 
Whitney,  Eli,  361 
Wilhelmina  (vil  hel  me' na),  queen 

of  the  Netherlands,  343  note 
William  I,  king  of  England,  9 
William    III,    king    of    England, 

52  ff.,  70,  169,  504,  519 
William    IV,    king    of    England, 

495 
William  I  (of  Orange),  king  of  the 

Netherlands,  341  ff.,  346 
William  II   (of  Orange),  king  of 

the  Netherlands,  343 
William,  Prince  of  Orange,  28  f., 

52  f.,  343.   See  William  III,  king 

of  England 
William  I,  king  of  Prussia,  427  f., 

435  f.,   439;    German  Emperor, 

439.  444,  457  U  678 
William  II,  king  of  Prussia,  Ger- 
man Emperor,  457  ff.,  584  note, 

681,  687 
Windischgratz      (vin'dish  grets), 

General,    401,    403 
Windward  Islands,  322 
Wit'ten  berg,  19,  21 
Wolfe  (witlf),  General,  108 
Wolsey  (wiirzT),  Cardinal,  26 
Wordsworth,  329 
Working  class,  367  f. 


Index 


747 


Workmen's     Compensation     Act 

(1897),  638 
Worms,  city  of,  271  ;  Diet  of,  17, 

21  ;  Edict  of,  22 
Wurmser  (viirm^zer).  General,  256 
Wiirtemberg    (vlir'tem  bern),    14, 

273'  285,  316,  347,  399,  433,  436, 

438,  444  f.,  447  note 

Xavier  (zav'i  er),  604  f. 

Yed'6,  605  f.,  608 
Yo'ko  ha'ma,  605 


Yorck,  General,  306 

York,  House  of,  9  f. 

Yorktown,  116 

Young,  181 

"  Young  Italy,"  412 

Young  Turks,  586  ff. 

Yuan  Shih-kai  (yu  an'  she-ki'), 
president  of  the  Chinese  re- 
public, 618  ff. 

Zan  zi  bar',  456 

Zola,  476 

Zollverei)i  (tsorfer  In),  347  f.,  427 


SUPPLEMENT 

CHAPTER    XXVIII 
THE  GREAT  WAR 

Section  ii8.    Course  of  the  War  in  19 14  and  191 5 

The  vast  German  army  advanced  on  France  in  three  The  Germans 
divisions,  one  through  Belgium,  one  through  Luxemburg  (also  sep^embeT'i| 
a  neutral  state)  down  into  Champagne,  and  the  third  approached  ^9M 
from  Metz  toward  Nancy.  The  Belgians  offered  a  determined 
resistance  to  the  advance  of  the  northern  division  and  hindered 
it  for  ten  days  —  a  delay  of  vital  importance  to  the  French. 
But  the  heavy  German  guns  proved  too  much  for  the  forts 
around  Liege,  which  were  soon  battered  to  pieces,  and  Brussels 
was  occupied  by  the  enemy,  August  20.  The  central  army 
advancing  down  the  Meuse  met  with  no  serious  opposition. 
The  French,  reenforced  by  English  forces  hastily  dispatched 
across  the  Channel,  made  their  first  stand  around  Namur.  This 
famous  fortress  however  immediately  collapsed,  and  the  French 
and  English  rapidly  retreated  southward.  The  western  division 
of  the  German  army  had  come  within  twenty-five  miles  of  Paris 
by  September  i .  The  French  government  fled  to  Bordeaux,  and 
the  capital  prepared  for  a  siege. 

But  Von  Kluck,  the  German  commander,  instead  of  investing  Battle  of  the 
the  city,  marched  his  troops  to  the  east  with  a  hope  of  envelop-  tember  iSl 
ing  the  French  and  English  forces.  But  instead  he  was  nearly 
enveloped  himself,  as  the  French  made  a  stand  south  of  the 
Marne,  and  a  fresh  army,  which  had  been  quietly  collected 
around  Paris,  attacked  the  Germans  on  the  west.  This  famous 
Battle  of  the  Marne  put  an  end  to  the  danger  which  threatened 
Paris,  for  the  Germans  were  compelled  to  retreat  to  a  line  of 
hills  running  from  Soissons  to  Rheims.    There  they  intrenched 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Conquest  and 
ill-treatment 
of  Belgium 


The  German 
occupation 
of  northeast- 
em  France 


Permanence 
of  the  battle 
line  in  France 


themselves  before  the  P>ench  and  English  could  drive  them 
farther  back. 

After  the  Germans  had  given  up  their  hope  of  surrounding 
Paris  they  proceeded  to  overrun  Belgium.  They  captured  Ant- 
werp, October  lo,  and  conquered  the  whole  country,  except  a 
tiny  corner  southwest  of  Ostend.  It  was  their  hope  to  push  on 
to  Calais  and  occupy  this  port  nearest  to  England  as  a  base  of 
attack  against  the  British  Isles,  but  they  were  checked  at  the 
Yser  River.  They  treated  the  Belgians  as  a  conquered  people, 
exacted  huge  tribute,  partially  burned  the  city  of  Louvain,  bru- 
tally executed  many  civilians,  and  seized  such  machinery  and 
supplies  as  suited  their  purposes.  This  treatment  of  a  peaceful 
little  neighbor,  whose  safety  from  invasion  they  themselves  had 
solemnly  guaranteed,  has  done  more  to  rouse  the  anger  of  the 
rest  of  the  world  than  any  other  act  of  the  German  government. 

The  southernmost  of  the  German  armies,  and  the  only  one 
which  had  ventured  to  advance  directly  on  France  without 
taking  the  unfair  advantage  of  a  neutral  boundary  line,  was  at 
first  unable  to  make  much  headway.  But  before  long  it  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  its  lines  within  French  territory  just  east 
of  the  Meuse  on  a  line  running  east  of  Verdun  and  St.  Die 
(see  map).  The  French,  however,  invaded  southern  Alsace  and 
occupied  a  little  German  territory  there.  Thus  the  first  three 
months  of  the  war  saw  the  Germans  in  practically  complete  pos- 
session of  Belgium  and  Luxemburg,  together  with  a  broad  strip 
of  northeastern  France,  filled  with  prosperous  manufacturing 
towns,  farms  and  vineyards,  and  invaluable  coal  and  iron  mines. 

The  lines  established  after  the  battle  of  the  Marne  and  the 
check  on  the  Yser  have  not  changed  greatly  in  four  years,  in 
spite  of  the  constant  fighting  and  the  sacrifice  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  men  on  both  sides.  The  Germans  have  not  been 
able  to  push  very  much  farther  into  PYance,  and  the  French  and 
English  have  been  almost  equally  unsuccessful  in  their  repeated 
attempts,  at  terrible  sacrifice  of  life,  to  force  the  Germans  more 
than  a  few  miles  back.    Both  sides  "  dug  themselves  in  "  and 


iv  Outlines  of  European  History 

trench  warfare  has  gone  on  almost  incessantly,  with  the  aid  of 
machine  guns,  shells,  and  huge  cannon.    Airplanes  fly  hither 
and  thither,  observing  the  enemy's  positions  and  operations  and 
dropping  bombs  in  his  midst.    Poisonous  gases  and  liquid  fire, 
introduced  by  Germany,  add  their  horrors  to  the  situation. 
The  Russians       On  the  Eastern  Front  the  Russians  at  first  advanced  far 
anVlose^  ^"^'^  more    rapidly  than   had   been   expected.    They  succeeded    in 
Poland  and      invading  East  Prussia  but  v^ere  soon  driven  out  by  Hindenburg 
1915  and  his  army.   They  made  their  main  attack  on  the  Austrians 

in  Galicia  but  were  forced  to  withdraw,  owing  to  the  operations 
of  the  German  and  Austrian  armies  in  Poland.  These  had  com- 
bined in  a  drive  on  Warsaw  and  thus  threatened  the  Russians 
on  the  north.  During  the  winter  of  19 15  the  Russians  made 
fierce  attempts  to  pass  the  Carpathians  and  invade  Austria- 
Hungary.  They  failed,  however,  on  account  of  lack  of  supplies, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  lives  were  sacrificed  in  vain.  In 
August,  19 1 5,  Russia  was  forced  to  surrender  Warsaw  and 
other  large  Polish  towns  to  the  Germans,  who  pushed  on  beyond 
Poland  and  occupied  Courland,  Livonia  and  P^sthonia.  They 
therefore  held,  August,  19 18,  very  important  Russian  territories 
in  addition  to  their  control  of  Poland.^ 

1  Inasmuch  as  the  fate  of  Poland  is  one  of  the  problems  raised  by  the  war  we 
may  recall  the  following  facts  :  At  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  ancient 
kingdom  of  Poland  disappeared  in  a  series  of  three  partitions  arranged  by  Prussia, 
Russia,  and  Austria.  (See  above,  section  i6,  The  Three  Partitions  of  Poland.) 
After  Napoleon  succeeded  in  defeating  both  Austria  and  Prussia,  1805-1806,  he 
erected  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw  out  of  the  territory  which  Austria  and 
Prussia  had  received  in  the  third  partition  of  Poland  and  what  Prussia  had 
acquired  in  the  second.  As  he  was  on  good  terms  with  Russia  at  that  time  he 
left  her  in  undisturbed  possession  of  her  part  of  the  old  Polish  kingdom.  At 
the  Congress  of  Vienna  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw  was  turned  over  to  the 
Tsar,  who  promised  to  give  it  a  constitutional  form  of  government.  But  the 
region  around  Posen  was  given  back  to  Prussia,  and  the  Prussian  government 
has  roused  constant  irritation  and  opposition  by  its  efforts  to  stamp  out  the 
Polish  language  in  the  province  of  Posen  and  to  Germanize  the  people.  As 
for  the  Kingdom  of  Poland  created  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  that  has  given 
the  Russians  much  trouble.  The  term  "  Poland,"  as  now  used,  includes  but  a 
small  part  of  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Poland  as  it  existed  before  the  three  par- 
titions. It  comprises  Napoleon's  Grand  Duchy  of  Warsaw,  less  Posen,  and,  to 
the  south,  Cracow,  which  has  fallen  into  Austrian  hands. 


\,-^':^'if'\  Germany- Austria-Hungary  and  their.  Allies 
V/////^//A  Countries  at  War  with  Teutonic  Alliea. 

The  Eastern  Front,  i  914- 191 7 


VI 


Oictlines  of  European  History 


Geiinany 
loses  all  her 
colonies 


Turkey  joins 
the  Central 
Powers, 
November, 
1914 


The  Gallipoli 
disaister 


The  war  early  began  to  show  an  irresistible  tendency  to 
envelop  the  whole  world.  Japan  quickly  captured  the  German 
port  of  Kiau  Chau  and  took  possession  of  the  German  stations 
in  the  northern  Pacific,  while  the  Australians  and  New  Zealanders 
captured  those  in  the  southern  Pacific.  Troops  from  the  South 
African  Union,  with  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  Boers, 
Britain's  late  enemies,  occupied  German  Southwest  Africa. 
The  remaining  German  colonies,  Togoland,  Kamerun,  and 
German  East  Africa,  gradually  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Eng- 
lish or  French.  So  while  Germany  was  able,  as  we  shall  see, 
to  conquer  important  portions  of  central  Europe  as  the  war 
proceeded,  she  lost  all  her  colonies.  The  question  whether  she 
is  to  have  them  back  or  be  indemnified  for  them  now  constitutes 
one  of  the  great  problems  to  be  adjusted  at  the  end  of  the  war. 

In  November,  19 14,  the  Teutonic  allies  were  reenforced  by 
Turkey.  The  Sultan  issued  a  call  to  all  faithful  Mohammedans 
to  wage  a  Holy  War  on  the  "  enemies  of  Islam."  But,  con- 
trary to  the  hopes  of  Germany,  there  was  no  general  rising  of 
the  Mohammedans  in  India  and  Egypt  against  the  British  rule. 
Nor  were  the  plans  announced  for  capturing  the  Suez  Canal 
carried  out.  England  seized  the  opportunity  to  declare  Egypt 
altogether  independent  of  Turkey,  December,  19 14,  and  estab- 
lished a  new  ruler,  who  was  given  the  title  of  Sultan  of  Egypt 
and  accepted  an  English  protectorate  over  his  country.  The 
English  also  invaded  Mesopotamia  and  later  Syria,  and  finally 
captured  the  famous  old  city  of  Bagdad,  in  March,  19 17,  and 
then  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem,  in  December,  1917. 

An  attempt  of  the  English  and  French  in  19 15  to  take 
Constantinople  proved,  however,  a  terrible  failure.  In  April  of 
that  year  their  forces,  greatly  strengthened  by  contingents  from 
Australia  and  New  Zealand,  who  had  come  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean by  way  of  the  Red  Sea,  tried  to  force  their  way  up  the 
Dardanelles.  The  Turks,  well  supplied  with  German  com- 
manders and  equipment,  defended  themselves  with  such  success 
that  the  Allies,  in  spite  of  the  sacrifice  of  a  hundred  thousand 


The  Great  War  vii 

men,  killed  and  wounded,  were  unable  to  hold  their  positions 
on  the  peninsula  of  Gallipoli,  where  they  had  secured  a  footing. 
After  some  months  the  English  government  was  obliged  to 
recognize  that  it  had  made  a  tragic  mistake,  and  the  attempt 
was  given  up. 

In  May,  19 15,  Italy  finally  decided  that  it  was  to  her  interest  Italy  enters 
to  enter  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Entente  Allies  against  her  ^  ^^^'  ^^ 
former  allies  of  the  Triple  Alliance.  She  hoped  to  win  "  Italia 
Irredenta," — those  portions  of  the  Italian  people  still  unredeemed 
from  Austrian  rule,  who  live  around  Trent,  in  Istria  and  the 
great  seaport  of  Triest,  and  along  the  Dalmatian  coast.  So 
this  added  another  "  front "  which  the  Central  Powers  had 
to  defend. 

So  the  line-up  at  the  opening  of  the  second  year  of  the  war  The  bellig- 
consisted  of  the  Central  Powers,  —  Germany,  Austria-Hungary,   the"opening 
and  Turkey,  —  opposed  to  Russia,  France,  Italy,  Great  Britain  °^  the  second 
(including    Canadians,    Australians,    New    Zealanders,    South  war 
Africans,  and  East  Indian  troops,  all  ready  to  shed  their  blood 
in  the  cause  of  the  British  Empire),  Belgium,   Serbia,  Japan, 
and   the  tiny   countries   of    Montenegro  and  San  Marino, — 
twelve  belligerents  in  all,  scattered  over  the  whole  globe.    But, 
as  we  all  know,  the  infection  of  war  was  not  destined  to  stop 
at  this  point  but  was  to  reach  hundreds  of  millions  of  people 
who  were  at  that  time  still  neutral. 

It  was  the  war  on  the  sea  that  raised  the  chief  problems  for  Extinction 
the  world  at  large.    At  the  beginning  of  the  war  many  people  commercT 
supposed  that  there  would  soon  be  a  great  and  perhaps  decisive 
naval  engagement  between  the  German  and  British  fleets,  but 
no  such  thing  has  so  far  happened.-^   The  Germans  kept  their 
dreadnaughts  safe  in  their  harbors,  protected  by  cruisers  and 

1  On  May  31,  1916,  a  portion  of  the  German  fleet  ventured  out  of  the  Baltic  and 
fell  in  with  a  strong  detachment  of  the  British  fleet.  After  a  few  hours  the  mist, 
smoke,  and  darkness  put  an  end  to  the  fight.  Several  important  vessels  were 
sunk,  the  English  losing  about  twice  as  many  ships  and  men  as  the  Germans. 
Both  claimed  to  have  gained  a  victory,  for  the  English  declared  that  the  Ger- 
mans only  saved  themselves  from  a  complete  disaster  by  stealing  off  as  darkness 
approached.  This  was  the  so-called  Battle  of  Jutland. 


viii  Outlines  of  European  History 

mines.  The  German  merchant  ships  took  shelter  at  home  or 
in  neutral  ports,  and  the  few  cruisers  that  remained  at  large, 
and  for  a  time  scoured  the  seas  and  sunk  English  vessels,  were 
Role  of  the  captured  or  sunk.  So  German  commerce  was  soon  cut  off 
su  manne  altogether,  and  England  ruled  the  ocean.  Had  it  not  been  for 
the  recently  discovered  and  rapidly  improved  submarines,  or 
U-boats,  as  they  are  popularly  called,  the  Germans  would  have 
been  helpless  against  the  British  control  of  the  seas.  It  is  this 
new  kind  of  warfare  that  has  largely  determined  the  course  of 
the  conflict  of  the  nations. 

It  was  easy  for  England  to  block  the  German  ports  of  Ham- 
burg and  Bremen,  the  egress  from  the  Kiel  Canal,  and  the  out- 
let from  the  Baltic  without  violating  the  established  principles 
of  international  law.  But  the  German  submarines  could  still 
steal  out  and  sink  English  merchant  ships  and  manage  now  and 
then  to  torpedo  a  great  war  vessel.  Great  Britain  claimed  the 
right  under  these  new  conditions  of  naval  warfare  to  force  all 
neutral  ships  bound  for  the  neutral  ports  of  Holland,  Nor\vay, 
and  Sweden  to  stop  and  be  inspected  at  Kirkwall,  in  the 
Orkney  Islands,  to  see  if  they  were  carrying  contraband  of 
war  —  namely,  munitions  and  materials  to  be  used  directly  or 
indirectly  for  military  ends — and  if  their  cargoes  were  really  des- 
tined for  Germany.  When,  February  i,  191 5,  the  German  gov- 
ernment ordered  the  confiscation  of  all  grain  in  private  hands 
with  a  view  of  keeping  its  great  armies  well  fed,  England 
declared  that  thereafter  all  shipments  of  foodstuffs  to  Germany 
would  be  deemed  absolute  contraband  of  war,  since  feeding  her 
fighting  men  was  even  more  necessary  than  supplying  them 
with  munitions. 
The  Germans  This  was  regarded  by  the  Germans  as  an  obvious  attempt 
fe^nd^hezone  *'  through  stan.^ation  to  doom  an  entire  nation  to  destruction." 
of  marine  ^he  German  government  thereupon  declared  that  the  waters 
around  England  should  be  regarded  as  within  the  zone  of 
war,  that  within  this  zone  all  enemy  merchant  vessels  would 
be  sunk,  whether  it  were  possible  to  save  the  passengers  and 


The  Great  War  ix 

crews  or  not.  Neutrals  were  warned  that  they  would  be  in 
great  danger  if  they  entered  the  zone.  In  former  days  it  was 
possible  for  a  man-of-war  to  hold  up  a  vessel,  and  if  the 
cargo  was  found  to  be  contraband  to  capture  or  sink  the  vessel 
after  taking  off  the  people  on  board.  But  the  submarine  has  no 
room  for  extra  persons  and  finds  it  much  more  convenient  to 
torpedo  vessels  without  even  the  warning  necessary  to  enable 
the  passengers  and  crew  to  take  to  the  lifeboats. 

In  February,  19 15,  German  submarines  began  to  sink  not  Sinking  of 

,  ,      ,  ,  „  ...  the  Lusita- 

only  enemy  vessels  but  neutral  ones  as  well,  sometimes  givmg  nia,Ma.y,i^it^ 

the  people  on  board  warning,  but  often  not.    The  most  terrible 

example  of  the  ruthlessness  of  the  U-boats  was  the  sinking, 

without  warning,  of  the  great  liner  Lusifania,  May  7,   19 15, 

involving  the  loss  of  nearly  1200  men,  women,  and  children, 

including  over  a  hundred  American   citizens.    The  Germans 

hailed  this  as  a  heroic  deed.    They  claimed  that  the  vessel  was 

armed  and  laden  with  shells,  and  that  the  Americans  had  no 

business  to  be  on  it,  since  a  notice  in  the  New  York  papers  had 

warned  them  against  traveling  on  the  fated  boat.     But  after 

careful  investigation  an  American  court  decided  that  the  vessel 

was  not  armed  and  did  not  carry  any  explosives  and  that  her 

destruction  was  nothing  less  than  an  act  of  piracy.    This  crime 

aroused  the  greatest  horror  and  indignation  not  only  in  England 

and  the  United  States  but  throughout  the  rest  of  the  world.  ^ 

On  the  Western  Front  the  English  forces  had  steadily  in-  English 
creased,  until,  by  the  end  of  September,  19 15,  Sir  John  French  autumn,  1915 
had  a  million  men  under  his  command.  The  English  had  also 
been  very  busy  producing  arms  and  munitions  of  war,  in  which 
they  had  been  sadly  deficient  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  and 
they  had  greatly  added  to  their  supplies  by  purchases  in  the 
United  States.  They  therefore  resolved  upon  a  drive  northeast 
of  Arras.    After  a  period  of  terrific  fighting  they  succeeded  in 

1  The  questions  of  the  rights  of  neutrals,  of  contraband,  and  the  rights  of 
search,  are  very  complicated,  and  only  the  main  issues  in  the  long  and  lieated 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Invasion  of 
Serbia,  Octo- 
ber, 1915 


Bulgaria 


joins  m 
the  war 


Neutrality 
of  Greece 


The  attempt 
to  break 
through  at 
Verdun,  Feb- 
ruary-July, 
1916 


forcing  back  the  German  lines  two  or  three  miles  on  a  front  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  This  gave  the  world  some  notion  of 
the  difficulty  the  Allies  would  have  to  meet  in  their  attempt  to 
oust  the  German  armies  from  France  and  Belgium. 

In  spite  of  the  English  drive,  the  Germans,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  back  the  Russians  in  Galicia,  now  undertook 
the  invasion  of  Serbia,  This  encouraged  Serbia's  bitter  enemy, 
Bulgaria,  to  declare  in  favor  of  the  Central  Powers  and  join 
vigorously  in  the  cruel  punishment  of  her  neighbor.  In  spite  of 
heroic  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Serbians,  their  country,  at- 
tacked on  two  sides,  quickly  fell  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies. 
So  far  (August,  19 18)  they  have  been  able  to  regain  very 
little  of  their  lost  territory. 

The  British  and  French  had  landed  troops  at  the  Greek  port 
of  Salonica  but  were  unable  to  prevent  the  disaster.  There  was 
a  grave  difference  of  opinion  in  Greece  as  to  the  proper  atti- 
tude for  it  to  take.  The  royal  family  was  strongly  pro-German, 
but  many,  especially  Greece's  chief  statesman,  Venizelos, 
favored  siding  with  the  Allies.  King  Constantine  managed,  in 
spite  of  the  strenuous  exertions  of  both  the  German  party  and 
of  the  Allies,  to  maintain  the  nominal  neutrality  of  liis  country 
until  the  year  19 17. 

Section  119.    The  Campaigns  of   1916 

After  the  small  success  of  the  English  drive  at  the  end 
of  19 1 5  the  Germans  resolved  to  show  Vv^hat  they  could  do  on 
the  Western  Front.  They  decided  to  attack  the  ancient  fortress 
of  Verdun,  the  loss  of  which  would  greatly  discourage  the 
French,  for  it  was  popularly  regarded  as  one  of  the  country's 
chief  strongholds.  The  fact  that  Metz,  a  very  important  center 
of  German  supplies,  lies  not  far  east  of  Verdun  served  to  increase 
the  German  chances  for  breaking  through  the  French  lines  at 
this  point.  Great  masses  of  troops,  under  the  general  command 
of  no  less  a  personage  than  the  German  Crown  Prince,  were 
brought  together,  and  the  attack  began  February  21,  1 9 1 6. 


The  Great  War  xi 

For  a  time  the  French  lines  gave  way,  and  those  throughout   Repulse  of 
the  world  who  favored  the  Allies  held  their  breath,  for  it  seemed   PHncraT" 
as  if  the'  Germans  were  about  to  crush  the  French  defense  Verdun 
and  again  threaten  Paris.    But  the  French  recovered  and  held 
their  own  once  more.    The  English  troops  were  now  numerous 
enough  to  hold  the  lines  to  the  north.    A  series  of  terrible  en- 
counters followed,  but  the  French  under  General  Joffre  were 
able  during  May  and  June  to  push  the  Germans  back  from 
the  points  occupied  in  the  first  onrush.    Those  who  feared  a 
German  victory  could  now  breathe  more  freely,  and  by  July  all 
danger  of  collapse  at  that  point  seemed  to  be  over.    It  was  a 
great  source  of  satisfaction  to  the  Allies  and  their  sympathizers 
to  behold  the  insolent  Crown  Prince  repulsed  after  a  supreme 
effort  to  distinguish  himself  in  the  longest  and  bloodiest  of  all 
the  fearful  combats  that  had  yet  occurred. 

At  the  opening  of  the  war  England  had  an  available  force  of  England 
less  than  a  hundred  thousand  men,  "  a  contemptible  army,"  as   scriptiorT'^' 
the  Kaiser  is  reported  to  have  scornfully  denominated  it.    Ger-  ^^y,  1916 
many,  Russia,  France,  had  their  millions  of  trained  men,  owing 
to  their  long-established  system  of  universal  military  service,  — 
conscription,  as  it  is  called  —  which  makes  every  able-bodied  man 
liable  to  service.    For  a  time  England  tried  to  increase  its  army 
by  voluntary  enlistments,  and  on  the  whole  succeeded  very  well. 
But  after  much  discussion  and  opposition  she  introduced  (May, 
1 9 1 6 )  a  system  of  universal  compulsory  military  service,  which  in- 
cluded all  able-bodied  men  between  the  ages  of  18  and  41.    (The 
limits  were  extended  later  to  include  men  from  18  to  50  years 
of  age,  with  limited  service  also  for  those  between  50  and  55.) 

Shortly   after,  the   long-talked-of   Anglo-French   drive,    the   Battle  of  the 
Battle  of  the  Somme,  began,  which  was  fought  for  four  months,   Nov^be"  ^ 
from  July  to  November,  east  and  northeast  of  Amiens.    Here  a   ^9^6 
new  English  military  invention  made  its  first  appearance,  the  so- 
called  "  tanks,"  —  huge  heavily  armored  motor  cars   so  built 
as  to  break  through  barbed-wire  entanglements  and  crawl  over 
great  holes  and  trenches.   The  English  had  also  their  fifteen-inch 


Xll 


OntUiics  of  European  History 


mortars  for  hurling  big  shells.  The  Germans  retreated  a  few 
miles,  but  the  cost  was  terrible,  since  each  side  lost  six  or  seven 
hundred  thousand  men  in  killed  or  wounded.  • 

While  the  Batde  of  Verdun  was  raging,  the  Italians,  who  had 
made  but  little  progress  against  the  strong  Austrian  fortifica- 
tions, were  suddenly  pushed  back  by  a  great  Austrian  drive  in 
May,  19 1 6.  By  the  middle  of  June  they  had  not  only  lost  the 
little  they  had  gained  but  had  been  forced  to  evacuate  some  of  their 
o\\Ti  territory.  At  this  point  the  Russians,  in  spite  of  the  loss 
of  Poland,  attacked  Austria  once  more  and  again  threatened  to 
press  into  Hungar}-.  So  Austria  had  to  give  way  in  Italy  in 
order  to  defend  her  Galician  boundary,  and  the  Italians  were 
able  not  only  to  regain  what  they  had  lost  but  to  capture  the 
important  town  of  Goritz  on  their  way.  as  they  hoped, 'to  Triest. 

In  spite  of  sacrificing,  according  to  German  reports,  toward 
two  millions  of  men  the  Russians  were  unable  to  hold  their 
conquests,  but  their  momentary  success  encouraged  Roumania 
to  join  in  the  war  on  the  side  of  the  Allies,  who  seemed  to  be 
getting  the  better  of  the  Central  Powers.  She  invaded  Transyl- 
vania, which  she  had  long  claimed  as  properly  hers.  The 
resourceful  Germans,  however,  notwithstanding  the  pressure  on 
the  Somme,  sent  two  of  their  best  generals  and  with  the  help 
of  the  Bulgarians  attacked  Roumania  from  the  west  and  south 
and  captured  Bucharest,  the  capital,  in  December,  19 16.  About 
t\vo  thirds  of  Roumania  was  soon  in  possession  of  her  enemies, 
and  the  Germans  could  supplement  their  supplies  from  her  rich 
fields  of  grain  and  abundant  oil  wells. 

It  is  estimated  that  by  January-  i,  191 7,  somewhere  between 
five  and  seven  millions  of  men  had  been  killed,  and  a  far  greater 
number  had  been  wounded  or  taken  prisoner,  Russia  had  lost 
the  greatest  number,  but  France  the  greatest  in  proportion  to  her 
population.  Germany  is  supposed  to  have  suffered  about  four 
million  casualties ;  but  owing  to  the  excellently  organized  medical 
care  a  great  part  of  the  wounded  recover,  and  possibly  not  over 
a  million  of  her  soldiers  had  at  that  time  actually  been  killed. 


The  Great  War  xiii 

For  the  first  time  in  the  histon-  of  war  men  have  been  able  Aerial 
to  fly  high  above  the  contending  forces,  making  obsen^ations  ^  ^^ 
and  engaging  in  aerial  battles.  Airplanes  are  now  among  the 
essentials  of  war,  and  they  bring  new  horrors  in  their  train.  The 
Germans  have  made  repeated  air  raids  on  England,  apparently 
with  the  foolish  notion  that  they  were  going  to  intimidate  the 
people.  They  first  used  the  huge  dirigible  balloons  called 
Zeppelins ;  but  these  have  now  been  replaced  by  airplanes  of 
various  kinds.  They  have  killed  two  or  three  thousand  English 
civilians  —  men,  women,  and  children  —  in  town  and  countr}- 
and  destroyed  some  propert}'.  ^^'ithout  accomplishing  any  im- 
portant mUitar)'  aims,  they  have  increased  their  reputation  for 
needless  brutalit)'  and  stirred  the  English  to  make  reprisals. 
English  and  French  airmen  have  dropped  bombs  on  the  more 
accessible  German  towns,  Freiburg,  Karlsruhe,  and  Mannheim, 
killing  and  maiming  a  few  score  \ictims. 

Section  120.    The  World  agaix.st  Germany,  191 7 

Early  in  the  year  19 17  Germany's  submarine  policy  and  Division  of 
reckless  sinking  of  neutral  ships  final!}-  involved  her  in  war  vAih  u'niled  sites 
a  new  antagonist,  the  great  and  powerful  republic  across  the 
Atlantic.  The  government  of  the  United  States  had  been  very- 
patient  and  long-suffering.  When  the  war  broke  out  President 
Wilson  declared  that  the  government  would  observe  strict 
neutralit}-,  and  he  urged  American  citizens  to  avoid  taking  sides 
in  a  conflict  that  did  not  directly  concern  them.  But  it  was 
impossible  to  remain  indifi'erent  when  such  tremendous  events 
were  being  reported  day  by  day.  The  German  newspapers  in 
the  United  States  eagerly  defended  the  Central  Powers  and 
laid  the  responsibilit}-  for  the  \\'2X  at  England's  door.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  great  body  of  the  American  people  were  deeply 
shocked  by  the  invasion  of  Belgium,  by  the  burning  of  Louvain, 
by  the  needless  destruction  of  Rheims  Cathedral  by  German 
guns.   They  disliked  the  arrogant  talk  of  the  Kaiser,  and  they 


XIV 


Outlines  of  European  History 


felt  a  quick  sympathy  for  France,  who  had  lent  such  essential  aid 
in  the  American  Revolution.  Those  of  English  descent  naturally 
found  themselves  drawn  to  her  side  in  the  great  struggle. 

So  the  bitter  feelings  engendered  by  war  began  to  show 
themselves  immediately  in  the  United  States.  German  agents 
and  spies  were  everywhere  active,  eagerly  misrepresenting  the 
motives  of  England  and  her  allies  and  doing  everything  in  their 
power  to  prejudice  the  people  of  the  United  States  against 
Germany's  foes.  The  German  government  stooped  to  the  most 
shameful  expedients.  It  even  sent  to  its  ambassador,  Count 
von  Bernstorff,  funds  with  which  to  attempt  to  bribe  Congress. 
The  minister  of  Austria-Hungary  had  to  be  sent  off  at  the 
opening  of  the  war  for  informing  his  home  government  that 
he  had  a  plan  for  so  disorganizing  the  great  steel  factories  that 
they  would  be  unable  for  months  to  supply  England  and  France 
with  arms  and  ammunition.^ 

As  time  went  on  President  Wilson  dispatched  note  after  note 
to  Germany  expostulating  against  the  merciless  and  indiscrimi- 
nate manner  in  which  the  submarines  sent  vessels  to  the  bottom, 
not  only  British  ships,  like  the  Lusifajiia,  carrying  American  pas- 
sengers but  American  ships  and  those  of  other  neutral  nations. 
There  was  often  no  warning  until  the  torpedo  actually  struck  the 
ship,  and  no  sufficient  time  even  to  take  to  the  lifeboats  and 
face  the  hazards  of  a  troubled  sea.  The  anger  of  those  who  had 
no  particular  reason  for  loving  Germany  became  hotter  and  hot- 
ter, and  President  Wilson  began  to  be  denounced  for  tolerating 
any  diplom.atic  relations  with  the  German  imperial  government. 


1  There  was  a  very  bitter  difference  of  feeling  between  the  pro-Germans  and 
the  friends  of  the  AUies  in  regard  to  the  exportation  of  arms  and  munitions. 
Since  Germany  had  no  way  of  getting  supplies  from  the  United  States,  owing  to 
the  English  control  of  the  Atlantic,  she  maintained  that  it  was  unncidral  for  the 
manufacturers  in  the  United  States  to  sell  arms  to  the  Allies.  Yet  it  has  always 
been  considered  the  right  of  neutrals  to  sell  to  any  belligerent  anything  they 
are  in  a  position  to  furnish.  When  the  Germans  succeeded  in  getting  a  freight 
submarine,  the  Deutschland^  over  to  New  London,  Connecticut,  the  captain  found 
people  willing  enough  to  sell  warlike  supplies  to  Germans.  But  the  German 
government's  idea  of  "neutrality"  is  taking  sides  with  it. 


The  Great  War  XV 

In  January,  19 17,  England,  in  her  eagerness  to  cut  off  all  sup-   intensifi- 
plies  from  Germany,  extended  the  area  which  she  declared  to  be  submarine 
in  a  state  of  blockade.    Germany  then  proclaimed  to  the  world  warfare,  Feb- 

ruary,  1917 

that  in  order  to  make  head  against  "British  tyranny"  and  Eng- 
land's alleged  plan  to  starve  Germany  she  proposed  to  establish 
a  vast  barred  zone  extending  far  to  the  west  of  Great  Britain, 
in  which  sea  traffic  with  England  would  be  prevented  by  every 
available  means.  In  this  way  she  flattered  herself  that  England, 
who  draws  much  of  her  food  from  distant  regions,  would  soon 
be  reduced  to  starvation  and  the  war  brought  to  a  speedy  end. 
One  of  the  most  insulting  features  of  Germany's  plan  was  that 
a  narrow  lane  was  to  be  left  through  which  the  United  States 
was  to  be  permitted  to  send  one  ship  a  week  provided  it  was 
painted  with  bright  stripes  of  color  and  carried  no  contraband. 
By  these  measures  Germany  reserved  a  vast  area  of  the  high 
seas  for  her  murderous  enterprises,  utterly  regardless  of  every 
recognized  right  of  neutral  nations,  (see  map.  p.  xvi). 

On  February  i,  19 17,  the  Germans  opened  their  unrestricted   The  United 
submarine  warfare  in  this  great  barred  zone,  and  many  vessels   relations  with 
were   sunk.    President  Wilson   broke  off  diplomatic  relations'  p^^™^"^' 
with  the   German   government   February   3,    and   Count  von   1917 
Bernstorff  was  sent  home,  to  the  great  relief  of  those  who  had 
criticized  the  President  for  being  too  patient.   The  sinkings  went 
on,  and  popular  opinion  was  more  and  more  aroused  against 
Germany.    The  hostility  was  intensified  by  the  publication  of  a 
letter  from  the  German  minister  of  foreign  affairs  to  the  Mexi- 
can government,  which  proposed  that  if  war  broke  out  between 
the  United   States  and   Germany,  Mexico  should   attack  the 
United  States  and  should  take  Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona 
as  its  reward. 

President  Wilson  finally  decided  that  war  was  unavoidable.   The  United 
He  summoned  a  special  session  of  Congress  and  on  April  2,   chreswar 
1917,  read  a  memorable  address  to  its  members  in  which  he   April  6,  1917 
said  that  Germany  had  to  all  intents  and  purposes  declared  war 
on  the  United   States.    "  Our  object,"  he  maintained,   "  is  to 


XVI 


Outlines  of  European  History 


vindicate  the  principles  of  peace  and  justice  in  the  life  of  the 
world,  as  against  selfish  and  autocratic  power."  The  free  and 
self-governed  peoples  of  the  world  must  combine,  he  urged,  "to 


German  War  Zone  of  February  i,  191 7 

Late  in  the  year  1917  and  early  in  1918  the  German  government  ex- 
tended the  barred  zone  so  as  to  include  the  islands  off  the  coast  of 
Africa,  Madeira,  the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  and  the  Azores,  in  order  to 
cut  the  routes  between  Europe  and  South  America 

make  the  world  safe  for  democracy,"  for  otherwise  no  perma- 
nent peace  is  possible.  He  proposed  that  the  United  States 
should  fight  side  by  side  with  Germany's  enemies  and  aid  them 
with  liberal  loans.    Both  houses  of  Congress  approved  by  large 


The  Great  War  xvii 

majorities  the  proposed  resolution  that  the  United  States  had   The  United 
been  forced  into  war.    Provisions  were  made  for  borrowing  vast  g[|lndc^^'"^ 
sums ;  old  forms  of  taxation  were  greatly  increased  and  many  preparations 
new  ones  added.    In  May,  19 17,  conscription  was  introduced, 
and  all  able-bodied  men  between  the  ages  of  twenty-one  and 
thirty-one  were  declared  liable  to  military  service.    Preparations 
were  made  for  training  great  bodies  of  troops  to  be  sent  across 
the  Atlantic  to  aid  the  cause  of  the  Allies  and  measures  taken 
for  building  ships  to  replace  those  destroyed  by  German  sub- 
marines.   The  people  of  the  United  States  showed  themselves 
eager  to  do  their  part  in  the  war  on  autocracy  and  militarism.^ 

One  result  of  the  entrance  of  the  United  States  into  the  war  The  conflict 
was  a  great  increase  in  the   number  of  Germany's  enemies  wor?dwar^ 
during  the  year  1917.    Cuba  and  Panama  immediately  follow^ed   ^9^7 
the  example  set  by  the  great  North  American  Republic ;  Greece, 
after  much  internal  turmoil  and  dissension,  finally,  under  the 
influence  of  Venizelos,  joined  the  Allies ;   in  the  latter  half  of 
the  year  Siam,  Liberia,  China,  and  Brazil  proclaimed  war  on 
Germany.    The  war  had  become  literally  a  world  conflict.    The 
governments  of  nearly  a  billion  and  a  half  of  the  earth's  popula- 
tion were  involved  in  the  amazing  struggle.    Thirteen  hundred 
and  forty   millions  of  people  have  been   committed  by  their 
rulers  to  the  side  of  the  Allies,  whereas  the  countries  included  in 
the  Central  European  alliance  have  a  total  population  of  less 
than  one  hundred  and  sixty  millions.    So  nearly  seven  eighths  ' 
of  the  population  of  the  globe  are  nominally  at  war,  and  of 
these  nine  tenths  are  arrayed  against  one  tenth,  led  by  Prussia. 
Of  course  the  vast  population  of  India  and  China  play  a  great 
part  in  these  figures  but  have  little  or  no  part  in  the  active 
prosecution  of  the  war.    And  since  the  Russian  revolution  has 

1  When  the  unrestricted  submarine  sinkings  began  February  i,  1917,  the 
German  newspapers  informed  their  readers  that  England  would  speedily  be 
brought  to  her  knees.  But  while  hundreds  of  ships  have  been  sunk  thousands 
come  and  go  from  English  ports,  managing  in  various  ways  to  escape  the 
U-boats.  Then  by  economy,  raising  more  food,  and  building  more  ships  England 
is,  with  America's  help,  successfully  offsetting  the  damage  done  by  the  Germans. 
O2 


XVlll 


Outlines  of  European  History 


destroyed  the  old  government,  that  country,  with  its  millions 
of  inhabitants,  appeared  by  the  end  of  1 9 1 7  to  have  fallen  out 
of  the  reckoning.  Keeping  these  facts  in  mind,  the  following 
tables  will  make  the  situation  clear. 


THE  WORLD  WAR  AT  THE  OPENING  OF  1918 
The  Allies  and  their  Colonies  and  Dependencies 


Country 

Date  of  Entrance 

Population 

Men  under  Arms  ^ 

igi4 

Serbia     .... 

July  28 

4,550,000 

300,000 

Russia     .... 

August  I 

175,000,000 

9,000,000  2 

France    .... 

August  3 

87,500,000 

6,000,000 

Belgium      .    .     . 

August  4 

22,500,000 

300,000 

British  Empire   . 

August  4 

440,000,000 

5,000,000 

Montenegro    .     . 

August  7 

5 1 6,000 

40,000 

Japan      .... 

August  23 

74,000,000 

1,400,000 

Italy 

May  23 

37,000,000 

3.000,000 

San  Marino    .     . 

June  2 
igib 

12,000 

1,000 

Portugal      .    .     . 

March  10 

I  5,000,000 

200,000 

Roumania        .     . 

August  27 
igij 

7,500,000 

320,000 

United  States      . 

April  6 

113,000,000 

i.ooo,ooo(?| 

Cuba       .... 

April  8 

2,500,000 

11,000 

Panama       .    .     . 

April  9 

427,000 

Greece   .... 

July  16 

5,000,000 

300,000 

Siam 

July  22 

8,150,000 

36,000 

Liberia  .... 

August  7 

1,800,000 

400 

China      .... 

August  14 

320,000,000 

540.000 

Brazil      .... 

October  26 

25.000,000 

25,000 

i'339>455'000 

27,473,400 

1  The  population  is  only  approximate  and  in  round  numbers.  The  strength 
of  the  armies  given  is  based  on  an  estimate  of  the  United  States  War  Depart- 
ment, October,  191 7. 

-  The  Russian  armies  appeared  at  the  e.?i.d  of  191 7  to  be  in  a  state  of  com- 
plete dissolution. 


The  G7'eat  War 


XIX 


Central  Powers,  with  Colonies  and  Dependencies 
AT  THE  Opening  of  the  War 


Country 

Date  of  Entrance 

Population 

Men  under  Arms 

Austria-Hungary 
Germany    .    .    . 
Turkey  .... 

igi4 
July  28 
August  I 
November  3 

50,000,000 
80,600,000 
21,000,000 

3,000,000 

7,000,000 

300,000 

Bulgaria.    .    .    . 

October  4 

5,000,000 

300,000 

• 

1 56,600,000 

10,600,000 

As  for  the  countries  which  have  remained  neutral,  they  include    Position  of 


a  population  of  perhaps  one  hundred  and  ninety  millions.  Hol- 
land, Switzerland,  Denmark,  Norway,  and  Sweden  are  far  too 
close  to  Germany  to  risk  breaking  with  her,  although  it  would 
seem  that  many  of  their  people  abhor  her  conduct.  Spain  and 
a  number  of  Latin-American  states,  including  Mexico  and  Chile, 
have  held  aloof.  But  no  country  can  escape  the  burdens  and 
afflictions  of  a  war  of  such  magnitude.  Real  neutrality  is  almost 
impossible.  Everywhere  taxes  and  prices  have  risen,  essential  sup- 
plies have  been  cut  off,  and  business  has  been  greatly  dislocated. 
In  addition  to  the  increase  in  Germany's  enemies  the  chief 
military  events  of  19 17  were  the  following:  In  March  the 
Germans  decided  to  shorten  their  lines  on  the  Western  Front 
from  Noyon  on  the  south  to  Arras  on  the  north.  They  with- 
drew, devastating  the  land  as  they  went,  and  the  French  and 
English  were  able  to  reoccupy  about  one  eighth  of  the  French 
territory  that  the  enemy  had  held  so  long.  The  Germans  were 
disturbed  by  fierce  attacks  while  establishing  their  new  line  of 
defense,  but  in  spite  of  great  sacrifices  on  the  part  of  the 
French  and  English,  and  especially  of  the  Canadians,  this 
"  Hindenburg "  line  was  so  well  fortified  that  it  held,  and 
with  slight  exceptions  continued  to  hold  during  the  year.  The 
English  made  some  progress  in  forcing  back  the  enemy  on 


the  few 
neutral 
countries 


The  Western 
Front,  191 7 


XX 


Outlines  of  Eiiropean  History 


Russia  out 
of  the  war 
by  the  end 
of  1917 


the  Belgian  coast,  with  the  hope  of  gaining  Zeebrugge,  the 
base  from  which  German  submarines  make  their  departure  to 
prey  on  English  commerce.  Attempts  to  take  St.  Quentin,  the 
important  mining  town  of  Lens,  and  the  city  of  Cambrai  have 
so  far  failed.  But,  at  the  time  of  writing,  the  terrible  slaughter 
goes  on  and  tens  of  thousands  are  killed  every  week. 

On  the  Eastern  Front  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  Russian 
attack  in  the  summer  of  1 9 1 6  failed  and  that  the  Central  Powers 
got  control  of  two  thirds  of  Roumania.  After  the  great  Russian 
revolution  of  March,  1917,^  in  which  the  Tsar  was  deposed,  the 
new  popular  leader,  Kerensky,  made  a  last  attempt  to  rally  the 
Russian  armies,  but  his  efforts  came  to  naught.  He  was  sup- 
planted in  November,  19 17,  by  the  leaders  of  the  extreme 
socialists,  the  Bolsheviki,^  who  were  opposed  to  all  war  except 
that  on  capital.  They  took  immediate  steps  to  open  negotiations 
with  the  Germans  and  their  allies  (see  below,  p.  xxxv). 


Grave  prob- 
lems ante- 
dating the 
war 


Section  121.    The  Question  of  Peace 

The  war  has  rendered  acute  every  chronic  disease  which 
Europe  had  failed  to  remedy  in  the  long  period  of  general 
peace.  France  had  never  given  up  hopes  of  regaining  Alsace- 
Lorraine,  which  had  been  wrested  from  her  after  the  war  of 
1870-187 1.  The  Poles  continued  to  aspire  to  appear  on 
the  map  as  an  independent  nation.  Both  the  northern  Slavs 
of  Bohemia  and  the  southern  Slavs  in  Croatia,  Bosnia,  and 
Slavonia  were  discontented  with  their  relations  to  Austria- 
Hungary,  of  which  they  formed  a  part.  The  Irredentists  of 
Italy  had  long  laid  claim  to  important  coast  lands  belonging  to 
Austria.  Serbia  and  Bulgaria  w^ere  bitterly  at  odds  over  the 
arrangements  made  at  the  close  of  the  Second  Balkan  War.^ 

1  See  below,  p.  xxxii. 

2  This  name,  meaning  "  majority  men,"  was  given  to  the  faction  at 
an  earlier  time,  when  they  constituted  the  majority  of  the  Russian 
socialists.  It  was  at  first  wrongly  explained  in  the  American  press  as 
"  those  who  want  more,"  and  mistranslated  "  Maximalists." 

3  See  above,  pp.  590  and  691. 


"Middle   Europe,"   under   the    Control   of  the   Teutonic 
Allies  at  the  End  of  191 7 


xxii  Outlines  of  Europe  mi  History 

Roumania  longed  for  Transylvania  and  Bukowina.  Then  there 
were  the  old  questions  as  to  whether  Russia  should  have  Con- 
stantinople, what  was  to  be  done  with  the  remaining  vestiges 
of  the  Turkish  empire,  and  who  was  to  control  Syria  and 
Mesopotamia.  In  the  far  East,  Japan's  interests  in  China  offered 
an  unsolved  problem.  The  Germans  emphasize  the  necessity  of 
meeting  the  discontent  with  British  rule  in  India  and  Ireland. 

New  prob-  The  progress  of  the  war  added  new  territorial  perplexities. 

thTwar^  °  The  Central  Powers  at  the  end  of.  19 17  were  in  military  pos- 
session of  Belgium,  Luxemburg,  Northeastern  France,  Poland, 
Lithuania,  Courland,  Serbia,  Montenegro,  and  Roumania  (see 
map,  p.  xxi).  Great  Britain  had  captured  Bagdad  and  Jerusalem. 
In  Africa  all  the  German  colonies  were  in  the  hands  of  her 
enemies,  and  in  Australasia  her  possessions  had  been  taken 
over  by  Japan  and  Australia.  Are  all  these  regions  conquered 
by  one  or  the  other  of  the  belligerent  groups  to  be  given  back 
or  not .''  Then  what  about  Belgium,  whose  people  have  been 
mulcted  and  abused  and  pillaged  by  their  conquerors ;  and 
what  of  northeastern  France  wantonly  devastated?  Was  not 
reparation  due  to  these  unhappy  victims  of  the  war? 

War  on  war  But  all  these  questions  seem  of  minor  importance  compared 

with  the  overwhelming  world  problem.  How  shall  mankind 
conspire  to  put  an  end  to  war  forever?  The  world  of  to-day, 
compared  with  that  of  Napoleon's  time,  when  the  last  great 
international  struggle  took  place,  is  so  small,  the  nations  have 
been  brought  so  close  together,  they  are  so  dependent  on  one 
another,  that  it  would  seem  as  if  the  time  had  come  to  join  in 
a  last,  victorious  war  on  war.  It  required  a  month  or  more  to . 
cross  the  Atlantic  in  1815  ;  now  less  than  six  days  are  neces- 
sary, and  airplanes  may  soon  be  soaring  above  its  waves  far 
swifter  than  any  steamer.  Formerly  the  oceans  were  great  bar- 
riers separating  America  from  Europe,  and  the  Orient  from 
America;  but,  like  the  ancient  bulwarks  around  medieval 
cities,  they  have  now  become  highways  on  which  men  of  all 
nations  hasten  to  and  fro.    Before  the  war,  express  trains  were 


The  Great  War  xxiii 

regularly  traversing  Europe  from  end  to  end  at  a  speed  of  forty 
to  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  the  automobile  vies  with  the  locomo- 
tive in  speed ;  whereas  at  the  time  of  the  Congress  of  Vienna 
no  one  could  get  about  faster  than  a  horse  could  travel.  The' 
telegraph  and  telephone  enable  news  to  be  flashed  to  the  most 
distant  parts  of  the  earth  more  quickly  than  Louis  XVIII  could 
send  a  message  from  one  part  of  Paris  to  another.  The  wire- 
less apparatus  keeps  vessels,  no  matter  how  far  out  at  sea,  in 
constant  touch  with  the  land. 

Nations  depend  on  one  another  for  food,  clothes,  and  every  interdepend 
sort  of  necessity  and  refinement.  Britain  has  hoped  to  end  the  nations 
war  by  cutting  off  Germany  from  her  usual  communication  with 
other  countries ;  and  Germany  has  flattered  herself  she  could 
starve  England  by  sinking  the  thousands  of  vessels  which  supply 
her  tables  with  bread  and  meat.  Even  the  rumor  of  war  upsets 
the  stock  exchanges  throughout  the  world.  Nations  read  one  an- 
other's books,  profit  by  one  another's  scientific  discoveries  and 
inventions,  and  go  to  one  anotner's  plays.  Germans,  Italians, 
French,  and  Russians  contribute  to  musical  programs  listened 
to  in  New  York,  Valparaiso,  or  Sydney.  We  continue  to  talk  of 
indepe7ide7it  nations ;  but  only  a  few  isolated,  squalid  savage 
tribes  can  be  said  any  longer  to  be  independent  of  other  peoples. 
In  an  ever-increasing  degree  America  is  a  part  of  Europe  and 
Europe  a  part  of  America;  and  their  histories  tend  to  merge 
into  the  history  of  the  whole  world. 

The  war  has  only  greatly  emphasized  all  these  things,  which   international 
were  being  recognized  in  the  previous  quarter  of  a  century.   The   ancTenter-^ 
Hague  conferences,  the  establishment  of  the  Hague  interna-  [J^g^^ar^^^*^^ 
tional  tribunal,   the  various   arbitration   treaties,  had  all  been 
directed  toward  the  suppression  of  the  ancient  plague  of  war. 
International  arrangements  in  regard  to  coinage,  postal  service, 
commerce,  and  transportation  had  encouraged  good  understand- 
ing and  cooperation.     Innumerable  international  societies,  con- 
gresses, and  expositions  had  brought  foreign  peoples  together 
and  illustrated  their  manifold  common  interests. 


XXIV 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Cost  of  pre- 
paredness 
greatly  in- 
creased by 
recent  inven- 
tions 


Issue  of 

"  militarism  " 

fundamental 


The  German 
claim  to  a 
natural  su- 
periority and 
supremacy 


The  old  problem  of  armaments,  the  possibility  of  getting  rid 
of  the  crushing  burden  and  constant  peril  of  vast  standing 
armies  and  the  competition  in  dreadnaughts  and  cruisers,  has 
assumed  a  somewhat  new  form.  The  nations  now  in  the  thick 
of  war  will  come  out  either  bankrupt  or  with  unparalleled  finan- 
cial obligations.  At  the  same  time  the  progress  of  the  deadly 
art  of  killing  one's  fellow  men  has  advanced  so  rapidly,  with 
the  aid  of  scientific  discovery  and  the  stress  of  war,  that  what 
was  considered  adequate  military  preparedness  before  the  war 
will  seem  absurdly  inadequate  after  its  close.  Giant  guns,  air 
craft,  "  tanks,"  and  poisonous  gases  have,  among  other  things, 
been  added  to  the  older  devices  of  destruction,  and  the  sub- 
marine suggests  a  complete  revolution  in  naval  strategy.  So 
there  is  some  hope  in  the  fact  that  no  nation  can  longer  afford 
the  luxury  of  military  preparedness. 

The  great  issue  of  the  war  is  really  "  militarism,"  which  in- 
cludes two  closely  associated  problems  :  first,  shall  diplomats  be 
permitted  any  longer  to  carry  on  secret  negotiations  and  pledge 
their  respective  nations  to  secret  agreements  which  may  involve 
war  ?  and,  secondly,  shall  a  government  be  permitted  to  declare 
war  without  the  approval  of  the  great  mass  of  its  citizens? 
Now  those  opposed  to  Germany  are  all  in  hearty  agreement  in  re- 
garding her  as  representing  the  most  dangerous  form  of  militar- 
ism, which  has  plunged  the  whole  world  into  a  horrible  war 
and  will,  unless  destroyed,  remain  a  constant  menace  to  future 
peace.  Let  us  first  see  how  the  Germans  seem  to  view  their 
own  institutions  and  ideals  and  then  we  shall  be  in  a  better  posi- 
tion to  understand  the  attitude  of  their  adversaries. 

The  Germans  have  been  taught,  during  the  past  hundred  years, 
by  their  philosophers,  teachers,  clergymen,  and  government  offi- 
cials to  regard  themselves  as  the  leading  nation  of  the  world. 
Their  natural  ability,  virtue,  insight,  and  prowess,  they  are  told, 
far  exceed  those  of  all  other  peoples.  They  are  taught  that  the 
Russians  are  barbarians ;  the  Italians,  and  more  especially  the 
French,  decadent  Latin  races,  whose  vices  should  be  abhorred 


The  Great  War  xxv 

by  all  right-minded  Germans.  As  for  the  English,  although 
racially  akin  to  the  Germans,  they  are  represented  as  hypo- 
crites, who  disguise  their  selfish  commercial  enterprises  under 
the  cloak  of  religion  and  humanity,  and  who  have  piratically 
seized  all  the  choice  spots  of  the  earth  while  Germany  was 
absorbed  in  establishing  her  national  unity. 

Germany  alleges  that  her  peculiar  civilization  makes  her  the  The  German 
rightful  ruler  and  guide  of  mankind ;  but  she  is,  she  contends,  of^j'^4  Smy^ 
held  within  narrow  geographical  limits  by  the  jealous  intrigues 
of  neighboring  nations.  The  Russian  hordes  threaten  her  on 
the  east,  and  the  French  cry  out  for  revenge  on  her  for  rein- 
corporating Alsace-Lorraine  into  the  German  Empire,  to  which, 
she  argues,  it  historically  belongs.  The  British  seek  to  frustrate 
Germany's  colonial  expansion.  Surrounded  by  enemies,  the 
Germans  must  have  an  invincible  army,  the  primary  purpose 
of  which  is  to  protect  the  Fatherland  from  those  unscrupulous 
neighbors  who  in  previous  centuries  made  Germany,  disunited 
and  helpless,  their  battleground.  Moreover,  the  power  of  an 
unconquerable  army,  and  of  the  new  navy  William  II  had 
developed,  might,  when  the  right  moment  came,^  be  used  to 
extend  Germany's  confined  limits,  reduce  the  naval  insolence 
of  England,  assure  Germany  a  "  place  in  the  sun,"  and  enable 
her  to  spread  her  beneficent  Kultiir  among  peoples  whom  she 
was  naturally  so  well  qualified  to  rule  for  their  own  good."-^ 

Nevertheless  it  is  not  easy  to  make  the  Germans  admit  that  Germans  re- 
they  are  "militaristic."    They  claim  to  be  a  peace-loving  people  ptlJadon'S" 
with  a  peace-loving  emperor  who  has  done  everything  to  avoid   militarism 
war !    The  army  is  an  essential  part  of  their  national  constitu- 
tion, they  maintain.    It  is  "  the  people  in  arms  "  {Das  Folk  in 

1  German  officers  were  accustomed  to  drink  to  this  future  moment  as  '•'■  The 
Xi2.y-\Der  Tag). 

■^  One  of  Germany's  most  influential  historians,  Treitschke,  says  :  "  Depth  of 
conviction,  ideaHsm,  universaHty,  the  power  to  look  beyond  the  limits  of  a  finite 
existence,  to  sympathize  with  all  that  is  human,  to  traverse  the  realm  of  ideas 
in  companionship  with  the  noblest  of  all  nations  and  ages  —  this  has  been 
extolled  as  the  prerogative  of  German  civilization."  Quoted  by  Bemhardi,  The 
Next  War,  p.  74. 


XXVI 


Outlines  of  European  History 


Waffeti).  Unqualified  obedience  and  deference  to  military 
authorities  is  part  and  parcel  of  their  bounden  duty  to  the 
State.  "  To  us,"  a  German  scholar  writes,  "  the  State  is  the 
most  indispensable  as  well  as  the  highest  requisite  to  our 
earthly  existence."  No  interest  of  the  individual  subject  must 
be  allowed  to  conflict  with  its  claims,  since  it  "is  of  infinitely 
more  value  than  the  sum  of  all  the  individuals  within  its 
jurisdiction."^ 

The  visible  head  of  the  State,  the  king  of  Prussia  as  em- 
peror of  Germany,  demands  the  absolute  fidelity  of  every 
German.  He  is  descended  from  the  Hohenzollem  line  under 
which  first  Prussia  and  then  the  German  Empire  have  been 
laboriously  built  up,  under  the  Great  Elector,  Frederick  the 
Great,  Kaiser  William  I,  and  William  II.  At  the  opening  of 
the  war  William  II  is  reported  to  have  said  to  the  Army 
of  the  East :  "  Remember  you  are  the  chosen  people.  The 
spirit  of  the  Lord  has  descended  upon  me  because  I  am  Em- 
peror of  the  Germans.  I  am  the  instrument  of  the  Almighty ; 
I  am  his  sword,  his  agent.  Woe  and  death  to  all  those  who 
shall  oppose  my  will.  Woe  and  death  to  those  who  do  not 
believe  in  me." 

These  are  the  officially  accepted  views  in  regard  to  the 
German  nation,  the  German  State,  the  German  army,  and  the 
German  Kaiser.  Those  who,  before  the  war,  indiscreetly  ques- 
tioned the  claims  of  the  Kaiser  frequently  found  themselves 
imprisoned  for  lese  majesty,  the  crime  of  insulting  "  The  All- 
Highest."  Since  the  war  began,  the  popularity  of  the  Kaiser 
appears  to  have  greatly  increased ;  but  it  is  impossible  to  say 
whether  the  socialists  and  other  critics  of  the  government 
have  really  changed  their  opinion  of  the  Hohenzollern  rule  or 
are  merely  keeping  still  from  patriotic  and  prudential  motives. 

1  Eduard  Meyer,  a  well-known  historian.  He  adds,  "  This  conception  of  the 
State,  which  is  as  much  a  part  of  our  life  as  is  the  blood  in  our  veins,  is  nowhere 
to  be  found  in  the  English  Constitution,  and  is  quite  foreign  to  English  thought, 
and  to  that  of  America  as  well."  Quoted  by  Veblen,  On  the  Nature  of  Peacey 
p.  86  n. 


The  Great  War  xxvii 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  great  landholders  of  Prussia^ 
and  the  military  class  are  as  ardent  supporters  of  the  ancient 
monarchy  as  they  have  ever  been. 

When  the  war  broke  out  the  Germans  and  their  "peace-  Germans  de- 
loving  "  emperor  assumed  no  responsibility  for  it.  The  Kaiser  f JfrcecTup^n^ 
declared  that  his  enemies  had  forced  the  sword  into  his  reluctant  ^^^"^ 
hand.  An  appeal  "  To  the  Civilized  World,"  signed  by  ninety- 
three  of  Germany's  most  distinguished  representatives  of  art, 
literature,  and  science,  was  sent  out  w^arning  mankind  that 
Germany's  enemies  were  seeking  to  stain  her  honor  "in  her 
hard  struggle  for  existence"  by  lies  and  calumnies;  that  "not 
till  a  numerical  superiority,  which  had  been  lying  in  wait  on  the 
frontiers,  assailed  us  did  the  whole  nation  rise  as  a  man  " ;  that 
Belgium  was  not  invaded  until  it  was  proved  that  she  had 
agreed  to  allow  England  and  France  to  pass  through  her  terri- 
tory ;  that  Germany's  enemies  were  not  combating  her  "  so- 
called  "  militarism,  as  they  hypocritically  pretended,  but  her 
very  civilization.  And  it  seems  probable  that  the  signers 
accepted  all  this  as  true,  for  their  government  had  so  repre- 
sented the  case,  and  they  were  bound  by  German  loyalty  to 
believe  what  their  officials  told  them. 

German  clergymen  assured  their  flocks  that  "Our  enemies  The  pastors' 
envy  us  our  freedom,  our  power  to  do  our  work  in  peace,  to 
excel  in  virtue  of  our  ability,  to  fulfil  our  appointed  task  for  the 
good  of  the  world  and  humanity,  to  heal  the  world  by  the 
German  spirit."  ^    Another   pastor  said    that   "  Germany  has 

1  These  are  popularly  known  as  the  Junkers  (pronounced  "yoonkers"),  or 
country  squires.  They  are  the  successors  of  the  manorial  lords  who  controlled 
the  land  until  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in  Prussia  at  the  opening  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  They  do  not  confine  themselves  to  agriculture  but  invest  their 
money  in  industries  and  so  merge  into  the  capitalistic  class. 

2  One  of  the  most  oft-quoted  sentiments  in  Germany  since  the  war  began  is 
contained  in  the  lines  of  the  patriotic  poet  Geibel  (d.  1884) : 

Und  es  mag  am  deutschen  Wesen 
Einmal  noch  die  Welt  genesen, 

which,  being  translated,  means  "  Once  again  the  world  may  be  healed  by  the 
German  nature." 


views 


xxviii  Outlines  of  Europea?i  History 

never  made  war  from  unclean,  immoral  motives.  I  regard  it  as 
absolutely  the  fundamental  feature  of  German  character,  this 
passionate  love  of  right,  of  justice,  of  morality.  This  is  some- 
thing that  the  other  nations  do  not  have."  Others  boldly  claimed 
that  Germany  was  "  God's  seed  corn  for  the  future  "  and  that 
she  was  engaged  *'  in  defending  God  against  the  world."  ^ 
View  of  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  rest  of  the  world  entertains  a  very 

tak^bT  different  notion  of  the  Germans  and  of  the  origin  of  the  war 
other  peoples  £j-qj^  ^]-j^I-  jyg|-  gfyen.  It  is  generally  recognized  that  Germany 
has  been  in  some  respects  a  progressive  country  ;  that  its  scien- 
tists and  scholars  have  played  their  part  in  modem  investigation 
and  discovery.  But  other  nations  have  made  vast  contributions 
too  in  all  the  sciences,  and  in  ingenious  inventions,  literature, 
and  art  other  peoples  outshine  the  Germans. 
Ruthlessness  Before  the  war  the  utterances  of  the  Kaiser  and  his  talk 
militarism  about  his  German  God  merely  amused  or  disgusted  foreigners. 
The  plans  of  the  Pan-Germanists  were  known  to  few,  but  a 
book  by  the  German  general,  Bernhardi,  called  Germany  and 
the  Next  War,  which  appeared  in  191 1,  made  clear  their 
program.  "  We  must  not,"  Bernhardi  says,  "  hold  back  in  the 
hard  struggle  for  the  sovereignty  of  the  world."  ^  France  and 
England  had  grown  increasingly  fearful  of  German  power,  but 
nevertheless  the  war  came  as  a  hideous  surprise  to  even  the 
best  informed  people.  Everyone  knew  that  Germany  had  the 
strongest  and  best  organized  and  equipped  army  in  Europe,  but 
when  it  was  suddenly  hurled  against  Belgium,  in  August,  19 14, 
the  world  was  aghast.  The  spoliation  of  Belgium,  the  shooting 
down  of  civilians,  the  notorious  atrocities  of  the  German  sol- 
diers, the  cold-blooded  instructions  to  the  officers  to  intimidate 
the  civil  population  by  examples  of  cruel  punishments  {Schreck- 
lichkeit),  the  scandalous  and  criminal  activities  of  German  spies, 
the  ruthless  submarines,  the  slaughter  of  noncombatants  in  the 

1  An  interesting  collection  of  published  war  sermons,  called  Hurrah  and 
Hallelujah  (the  title  of  one  German  clergyman's  book),  has  been  issued  by  a 
Danish  minister,  J.  P.  Bang.  2  English  translation,  p.  79. 


The  Great  War  xxix 

air  raids  over  England,  the  destruction  of  the  noble  cathedral 
of  Rheims  by  German  gunners,  the  "  Song  of  Hate  "  in  which 
a  German  poet  summoned  his  fellow  countrymen  to  execrate 
England  with  undying  animosity  —  all  these  things  have  com- 
bined to  produce  world-wide  horror  and  apprehension.  To 
their  adversaries  the  Germans,  so  righteous,  so  peace-loving,  so 
favored  of  God  I  as  they  seem  to  themselves,  are  "  Huns  "  led 
by  a  modem  Attila,-^  ready  to  deluge  the  world  in  blood  in  order 
to  realize  the  dream  of  world  domination. 

The  fatal  readiness  of  the  German  military  force  for  instant  "  Militarism  " 
action  has  also  been  thoroughly  impressed  on  the  world.  The  racy" 
Kaiser  has  but  to  say,  ''the  country  is  attacked,"  —  and  he  is 
the  judge  of  what  constitutes  an  attack,  —  posters  will  appear 
everywhere  ordering  those  liable  to  service  to  be  at  a  certain 
railroad  station  at  a  given  hour,  under  penalty  of  imprison- 
ment or  death,  to  be  dispatched  anywhere  the  general  staff 
orders.  When  mobilization  is  proclaimed,  the  civil  government 
immediately  gives  way  to  military  rule  throughout  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land.  At  the  opening  of  August  the  Ger- 
man people  knew  that  they  were  going  to  war  with  Russia; 
but  the  soldiers  sent  to  the  Belgian  boundary  had  no  idea 
where  they  were  going.  This  is  what  the  world  calls  militarism 
and  autocracy. 

The  great  difficulty  of  reestablishing  peace  between  the  two   Germany's 
great  hostile  alliances  is  well  brought  out  in  the  various  peace   DecembeV 
suggestions  made  during  the  third  year  of  the  war.    In  Decern-   ^^^6 
ber,    19 1 6,   after   the  Central    Powers   had  occupied   Poland, 

1  When  a  German  expedition  was  starting  for  China  in  July,  1900,  after  the 
Boxers  had  killed  the  German  ambassador,  the  Kaiser  addressed  the  troops  as 
follows :  "  You  know  very  well  that  you  are  to  fight  against  a  cunning,  brave, 
well-armed  and  terrible  enemy.  If  you  come  to  grips  with  him,  be  assured  quar- 
ter will  not  be  given.  Use  your  weapons  in  such  a  way  that  for  a  thousand  years 
no  Chinese  shall  dare  to  look  upon  a  German  askance.  Be  as  terrible  as  Attila's 
Huns."  While  the  last  sentence  was  deleted  in  the  later  ofiRcial  issues  of  the 
speech,  the  public  did  not  forget  the  impressions  they  got  from  the  Kaiser's 
exhortation  to  act  like  H7cns.  And  the  German  soldiers  by  no  means  neglected 
his  suggestions  when  they  reached  Peking. 


XXX 


Outlines  of  Enropeaji  History 


President 
Wilson's 
peace  sug- 
gestions, 
December  1 8, 
1916 


Aims  of  the 
Allies, 
January,  19 17 


Serbia,  and  Roumania,  and  Germany  seemed  to  be  victorious 
on  all  hands,  she  made  what  she  called  a  peace  offer.  She  pro- 
posed that  the  belligerents  send  representatives  to  some  point 
in  a  neutral  country  to  consider  the  terms  of  settlement.  The 
German  government  must  have  known  well  enough  that  the 
Allies  could  not  possibly  consider  making  peace  at  a  time  when 
their  enemies  were  at  the  height  of  military  success.  The  prop- 
osition was  scornfully  rejected,  but  it  served  in  German  eyes  to 
throw  the  burden  for  continuing  the  fearful  conflict  upon  the 
Allies.  Whoever  might  have  been  responsible  for  beginning  the 
war,  Germany  had  been  the  first  to  propose  to  end  it.  The 
Kaiser  could  say  exultantly  that  the  Allies  had  at  last  cast  off  the 
mask  of  hypocrisy  and  plainly  revealed  their  "  lust  of  conquest." 
The  refusal  of  their  adversaries  to  consider  peace  also  furnished 
an  excuse  for  a  resort  to  the  unrestricted  and  brutal  submarine 
warfare  which  Germany  was  contemplating.  She  argued  that 
if  her  enemies  really  proposed  to  "  crush  "  Germany,  no  means 
of  self-defense  on  her  part  could  be  too  ruthless. 

Before  the  Allies  had  replied  to  the  German  peace  suggestion 
President  Wilson  intervened  (December  18)  with  a  circular  note 
sent  to  the  belligerents,  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  both 
sides  seemed  to  agree  that  there  should  be  a  league  for  main- 
taining peace,  and  small  states  should  be  protected,  but  neither 
side,  he  said,  had  stated  the  "  concrete  objects  "  for  which  they 
were  fighting.  He  accordingly  suggested  a  conference  on  the 
essential  conditions  of  peace.  Germany  expressed  herself  as 
ready  for  a  meeting  of  delegates  to  consider  peace  terms.  The 
Allies,  however,  received  the  proposition  coldly  and  declined 
to  negotiate,  but  went  so  far  in  replying  to  President  Wilson, 
January  10,  191 7,  as  to  define  the  oft-used  terms  "  restoration," 
"  restitution,"  and  "  guarantees." 

The  Central  Powers  were  to  evacuate  all  the  regions  they 
had  conquered  during  the  course  of  the  war ;  indemnities  were 
to  be  paid  for  damage  and  loss  caused  by  the  war ;  moreover 
"  provinces  or  territories  wrested  in  the  past  from  the  Allies  by 


The  Great  War  xxxi 

force  or  against  the  will  of  their  populations  "  were  to  be  re- 
turned. The  principle  of  nationality  was  to  be  recognized,  and 
the  Italians,  southern  and  northern  Slavs,  and  Roumanians  were 
to  be  freed  from  foreign  domination ;  the  populations  subject 
to  "  the  bloody  tyranny  of  the  Turks  "  were  to  be  liberated  and 
the  Turk  expelled  altogether  from  Europe.  Poland  was  to  be 
united  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  Tsar.  Finally,  the  "  reorgan- 
ization of  Europe  was  to  be  guaranteed  by  a  stable  regime." 
As  for  the  German  colonies,  high  officials  in  both  England  and 
Japan  said  that  they  would  be  retained  by  their  conquerors. 

This  meant  that  the  Central  Powers  should  acknowledge  The  terms  of 
their   guilt  and   pay  for    the   damage   they  had   done;    that  pear'^ibsurT 

Germany   should   give   up   Alsace-Lorraine,    Austria-Hungary  to  their 

.  ^     ■'     adversaries 

should  make  serious  concessions  to  meet  "  the  principle  of 

nationality,"  Bulgaria  should  give  up  her  dreams  of  annexing 

Serbian  territor}',  and  Turkey  should  leave  Europe  and  lose 

control  over  her  Asiatic  peoples.    In  view  of  the  extraordinary 

military  achievements  of  the  Central  Powers  and  Germany's 

claim  to  have  been  acting  from  the  first  in  sheer  self-defense, 

these  conditions  were  immediately  condemned  by  the  Teutonic 

allies  as  intolerable  and  ludicrous. 

On  January  22,   19 17,  President  Wilson,  in  addressing  the   President 

Senate,  said  that  peace  must,  among  other  things,  provide  for  essentials  of 

equality  of  right  for  both  great  and  small  nations,  security  for  P^^^^' 

subject  "peoples,"   direct  outlet  to  the   sea  for  every  great   1917 

people,  "  freedom  of  the  seas,"  ^  and  limitation  of  armaments. 

1  In  time  of  peace  the  high  seas  —  that  is,  the  ocean  outside  of  the  three-mile 
limit  drawn  along  the  coast  —  are  free  to  all  and  are  not  supposed  to  be  under 
the  control  of  any  particular  government.  It  is  in  time  of  war  that  the  question 
of  "  the  freedom  of  the  seas"  arises.  England  was  in  a  position  at  the  opening 
of  the  war  to  cut  off  Germany's  maritime  commerce.  By  way  of  reprisal  Ger- 
many established  vast  barred  zones,  in  which  she  has  sunk  not  only  her  enemies' 
vessels  but  those  of  neutrals  which  ventured  to  neglect  her  warnings.  So  the 
ocean  has  been  anything  but  free  during  the  conflict.  Another  element  in  the 
freedom  of  the  seas  is  the  control  of  such  narrow  passages  as  the  Dardanelles, 
the  Straits  of  Gibraltar,  the  Suez  and  Panama  Canals,  and  the  entrances  to  the 
Baltic.  It  is  hard  to  imagine  any  arrangement  that  will  keep  the  seas  open  and 
safe  so  long  as  wars  continue  to  take  place  among  maritime  powers. 


XXXll 


Outlines  of  Eicropean  History 


Principle  of 
Democracy 


Armaments 

constant 

menace 


The  Russian 
revolu- 
tion, March, 
1917 


The  Tsar 
attempts  a 
reaction, 
December- 
March,  19 16- 
1917 


"  Dark 
forces  " 


"  No  peace  can  last,"  he  declared,  "  or  ought  to  last,  which  does 
not  recognize  and  accept  the  principle  that  governments  derive 
all  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed,  and  that 
no  right  anywhere  exists  to  hand  peoples  about  from  sovereignty 
to  sovereignty  as  if  they  were  property." 

"  There  can  be  no  sense  of  safety  and  equality  among  the 
nations  if  great  preponderating  armaments  are  henceforth  to 
continue  here  and  there  to  be  built  up  and  maintained.  The 
statesmen  of  the  world  must  plan  for  peace,  and  nations  must 
adjust  and  accommodate  their  policy  to  it  as  they  have  planned 
for  war  and  made  ready  for  pitiless  contest  and  rivalry.  The 
question  of  armaments,  whether  on  land  or  sea,  is  the  most 
immediately  and  intensely  practical  question  connected  with  the 
future  fortunes  of  nations  and  of  mankind." 

In  March,  19 17,  one  of  the  chief  belligerent  countries,  Russia, 
underwent  such  a  great  internal  change  as  greatly  to  modify  the 
course  of  the  war  and  the  problem  of  peace.  We  must  now  con- 
sider the  astonishing  revolution  which  led  to  the  overthrow  of  the 
old  Russian  despotism  and  the  retirement  of  Russia  from  the  war. 

The  world  conflict  had  hardly  opened  in  19 14  before  it 
revealed  the  corruption,  the  weakness,  the  inefficiency,  indeed 
the  treason,  of  the  Tsar's  court  and  his  imperial  officials.  The 
millions  of  Russians  who  perished  in  the  trenches  of  the  Eastern 
Front  in  vain  endeavors  to  advance  into  Germany  and  Austria- 
Hungary  or  to  stem  the  tide  of  German  invasion  were  ill  sup- 
ported by  their  government.  The  Duma  became  unmanageable, 
and  in  December,  19 16,  it  passed  a  resolution  declaring  that 
"  dark  forces  "  were  paralyzing  the  government  and  betraying 
the  nation's  interests.  This  referred  especially  to  the  German  wife 
of  the  Tsar,  and  the  reactionary  influence  exercised  over  her  and 
at  court  by  a  monk  named  Rasputin,  who  opposed  every  modern 
reform.  He  was  murdered,  and  the  angry  Tsar  proceeded  to  dis- 
miss the  liberals  from  the  government  and  replace  them  by  the 
most  unpopular  bureaucrats  he  could  find.  He  seemed  to  be 
declaring  war  on  every  liberal  movement  and  reverting  to  the 


The  Great  War  xxxiii 

methods  of  Nicholas  I.  Meantime  the  country  was  becoming  more 
and  more  disorganized.  There  was  a  distressing  scarcity  of  food  in 
the  cities  and  a  growing  repugnance  to  the  continuance  of  the  war. 

Bread  riots  broke  out  in  Petrograd^  in  March,  19 17,  but  the  Outbreak  of 
troops  refused  to  fire  on  the  people,  and  the  Tsar's  government  JioV^^°  "" 
found  itself  helpless.  When  ordered  to  adjourn,  the  Duma  defied 
the  Tsar  and  ordered  the  establishment  of  a  provisional  govern- 
ment. The  Tsar,  hastening  back  to  Petrograd  from  the  front,  was 
stopped  at  Pskov  by  representatives  of  the  new  provisional  gov- 
ernment on  March  15,  19 17,  and  induced  to  sign  his  own  and 
his  son's  abdication  in  favor  of  his  brother,  Grand  Duke  Michael. 
But  Michael  refused  the  honor  unless  it  were  authorized  by  a 
constitutional  assembly ;  this  amounted  to  an  abdication  of  the 
Romanoffs,  who  had  ruled  Russia  for  more  than  three  centuries. 
There  was  no  longer  any  such  thing  in  the  world  as  "  the  autocrat 
of  all  the  Russias."  The  Tsar's  relatives  renounced  their  rights, 
his  high  officials  were  imprisoned  in  the  very  fortress  of  Peter  and 
Paul  where  they  had  sent  so  many  revolutionists,  and  political 
prisoners  in  Russia  and  Siberia  received  the  joyous  tidings  that 
they  were  free.  The  world  viewed  with  astonishment  this  abrupt 
and  complete  collapse  of  the  ancient  system  of  tyranny. 

A  revolutionary  cabinet  was  formed  of  men  of  moderate  views  The  moder- 
on  the  whole,  but  Alexander  Kerensky,  a  socialist  and  repre-  toThe^mod?^ 
sentative  of  the  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers'  Council,  was  made 
minister  of  justice.  The  new  cabinet  declared  itself  in  favor  of 
many  reforms,  such  as  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press ;  the 
right  to  strike ;  the  substitution  of  militia  for  the  old  police ; 
universal  suffrage,  including  women.  But  the  socialists  were 
not  content,  and  through  their  Council  of  Workingmen's  and 
Soldiers'  Delegates  began  to  exercise  great  power.  Large 
incomes  were  taxed  60  per  cent ;  a  state  coal  monopoly  was 
established ;  it  was  proposed  to  have  the  government  manufac- 
ture and    supply   the   food   and  clothing  where  there  was  a 

1  The  name  of  the  Russian  capital  was  changed  from  its  German  form, 
St.  Petersburg,  to  Petrograd  at  the  opening  of  the  war. 
O2 


erate  social- 
ists 


xxxiv  Outlines  of  European  History 

shortage ;   in  Petrograd  the  six-hour  day  was  introduced  into 
one  hundred  and  forty  factories.    By  July,  191 7,  all  the  more 
moderate  members  of  the   provisional  government  had  been 
forced   out   and    their   places   taken   by  socialists.     The   con- 
gress of  Workingmen's  and  Soldiers'  Delegates  and   the  na- 
Kerensky        tional  Peasants'  Congress  chose  Kerensky  as  dictator,  July  23. 
juiy^  1917        Opposed  on  one  hand  by  the  reactionaries,  on  the  other  by 
the  extreme  socialists,  or  Bolsheviki,  Kerensky  declared  that 
if  necessary  Russia  must  be  beaten  into  unity  "  by  blood  and 
iron."     Kerensky  had    earlier   made   a   desperate   attempt   to 
lead  the  flagging  Russian  troops  to  victory,  but  as  time  went 
on  the  demand  for  immediate  peace  "without  annexations  or 
indemnities  "  became  louder  and  louder. 
The  Pope's  On  August  i ,  Pope  Benedict  XV  sent  forth  a  peace  message 

sage^ancT         i^i  which  he  urged  Christendom  to  cease  from  its  fratricidal  car- 
President        nage,  lay  down  its  arms,  and  revert  in  general  to  the  status  quo 
reply,  August,  a?ite.    This  was  answered  by  President  Wilson  (August  27).    He 
maintained  that  no  peace  was  possible  with  the  existing  irrespon- 
sible government  of  Germany.   "  This  power  is  not  the  German 
people.   It  is  the  ruthless  master  of  the  German  people.  .  .  .  We 
cannot  take  the  word  of  the  present  rulers  of  Germany  as  a  guar- 
antee of  anything  that  is  to  endure,  unless  explicitly  supported  by 
such  conclusive  evidence  of  the  will  and  purpose  of  the  German 
people  themselves  as  the  other  peoples  of  the  world  would  be 
justified  in  accepting.   Without  such  guarantees  for  disarmament, 
covenants  to  set  up  arbitration  in  the  place  of  war,  territorial 
adjustments,  reconstitution  of  small  nations,  if  made  with  the 
German  government,  no  man,  no  nation  could  now  depend  on." 
President's  In  his  message  on  the  opening  of  Congress,  December  4,  1 9 1 7 , 

December,       President  Wilson  was  still  clearer ':   "  The  people  of  Germany 
'9^^  are  being  told  by  the  men  whom  they  now  permit  to  deceive 

them  and  to  act  as  their  masters  that  they  are  fighting  for  the 
very  life  and  existence  of  their  Empire,  a  war  of  desperate  self- 
defense  against  deliberate  aggression.  Nothing  could  be  more 
grossly  or  wantonly  false,  and  we  must  seek  by  the  utmost 


The  Great  War 


XXXV 


openness  and  candor  as  to  our  real  aims  to  convince  them  of 
its  falseness.  We  are  in  fact  fighting  for  their  emancipation  from 
fear  ...  of  unjust  attack  by  neighbors,  or  rivals  or  schemers 
after  world  empire.  No  one  is  threatening  the  existence  or 
independence  or  the  peaceful  enterprise  of  the  German  Empire. 
.  .  .  We  intend  no  wrong  against  the  German  Empire,  no  interfer- 
ence with  her  internal  affairs."  Lloyd  George  reiterated  this  last 
sentiment  in  a  speech  before  the  House  of  Commons. 

Germany's  leaders,  in  order  to  keep  up  the  war  spirit,  con- 
stantly proclaim  that  the  sole  aim  of  the  Allies  is  to  "  crush  " 
the  fatherland.  But  it  is  the  German  militaristic  government 
that  must  be  crushed  by  forcing  Germany  so  far  to  alter  her 
system  as  to  secure  democratic  control  of  the  power  to  declare 
war ;  in  other  respects  she  may  go  her  own  way. 

The  kaiser's  reply  may  be  gathered  from  his  address  to  the 
soldiers  of  the  Western  Front,  December  22,  191 7  :  "  The  year 
19 1 7  has  proved  that  the  German  people  has  in  the  Lord  of 
Creation  above  an  unconditional  and  avowed  ally  on  whom  it 
can  absolutely  rely.  ...  If  the  enemy  does  not  want  peace,  we 
must  bring  peace  by  battering  down  with  the  mailed  fist  and 
shining  sword  the  portals  of  those  who  will  not  have  peace !  " 

At  the  very  end  of  19 17  peace  negotiations  were  opened 
between  representatives  of  the  "  Quadruple  Alliance  "  —  Ger- 
many, Austria-Hungary,  Bulgaria,  and  Turkey  —  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Bolsheviki,  who  had  control  at  that  time  of  the 
Soviets,  or  local  assemblies  that  sprang  up  throughout  Russia  after 
the  disappearance  of  the  old  autocratic  government  of  the  Tsar. 
They  met  at  Brest-Litovsk,  on  the  eastern  Polish  boundary,  late 
in  December.  The  Russian  delegation  submitted  their  program 
of  no  annexations  and  no  indemnities,  and  complained  that  the 
Teutonic  allies  did  not  express  themselves  clearly  in  regard 
to  the  evacuation  of  Russian  territory  and  reestablishing  the 
violated  rights  of  small  and  oppressed  nationalities. 

But  the  Bolsheviki  were  helpless  in  the  face  of  the  German 
demands.    Finland  and  the  Ukraine,  which  comprises  a  great 


Attitude  of 
the  Germans 
and  their 
kaiser 


Peace  con- 
ference at 
Brest- 
Litovsk,  De- 
cember, 1917 


xxxvi  Ontlines  of  European  History 

part  of  southern  Russia,  declared  themselves  independent,  and 
established  governments  of  their  own,  under  German  influence, 
it  is  supposed.  So  on  March  3,  19 18,  the  representatives  of 
the  Bolsheviki  concluded  a  peace  v^^ith  the  Central  Powers  in 
which  they  agreed  to  "  evacuate  "  the  Ukraine  and  Finland,  and 
surrendered  Poland,  Lithuania,  Courland,  Livonia,  and  certain 
districts  in  the  Caucasus  (see  map,  p.  v),  all  of  which  were 
to  exercise  the  right  of  establishing  such  government  as  they 
pleased.  Shortly  after,  the  capital  of  Russia  was  transferred 
from  Petrograd  to  Moscow.  The  result  is  that  Russia  has  been 
dismembered,  and  all  the  western  and  southern  regions  are, 
for  the  time  being,  under  the  strong  influence  of  the  Germans. 
Whether  this  disruption  will  prove  permanent  no  one  can  say.  A 
new  problem  has  been  added  to  the  overwhelming  perplexities  of 
the  situation,  namely,  the  question  of  the  restoration  of  Russia. 
It  is  estimated  that  by  the  Treaty  of  Brest-Litovsk  Russia 
has  lost  about  a  third  of  her  population,  a  third  of  her  railways, 
nearly  three  fourths  of  her  iron  mines,  about  90  per  cent  of 
her  coal  mines,  and  her  chief  industrial  towns  and  richest  fields. 
President  On  January  8,  19 18,  President  Wilson  stated  a  program  of 

teen  pofnts"^'  ^^^^^  pcace  which  embraced  fourteen  points.  The  chief  of  these 
January  8,  were  no  secret  international  understandings  or  treaties  ;  absolute 
freedom  of  navigation  in  peace  and  war,  except  when  portions 
of  the  sea  might  be  closed  by  international  understanding ;  re- 
moval of  economic  barriers  and  reduction  of  armaments  ;  impar- 
tial adjustment  of  all  colonial  claims  ;  restoration  of  Belgium  and 
evacuation  of  territories  occupied  by  Teutonic  allies  during  the 
war;  righting  of  the  wrong  done  to  France  when  Alsace-Lorraine 
was  seized  by  Germany;  freeing  of  Asiatic  dependencies  of 
Turkey ;  and  the  formation  of  a  general  association  of  nations 
for  the  purpose  of  insuring  the  independence  of  great  and 
small  states  alike.  This  program  was  heartily  and  unreservedly 
approved  by  the  representatives  of  the  English  workingmen, 
and  makes  clearer  than  any  previous  declaration  the  purposes 
of  the  world  alliance  against  Germany. 


The  Great  War  xxxvii 

On  March  21,  19 18,  the  Germans  began  a  great  drive  on  the   whytheGer- 
Western  Front  with  the  hope  of  gaining  a  decisive  victory  and  ^speedy*^ 
forcing  the  Allies  to  sue  for  peace.    Germany  was  in  a  hurry,   decision 
for  she  knew  that  her  U-boat  war  was  not  bringing  England 
to  her  knees,  that  the  United  States  troops  were  beginning  to 
arrive  in  ever-increasing  numbers,  and  that  the  German  plans 
for  getting  supplies  from  Russia  were  meeting  with  little  suc- 
cess.   Moreover,  the  German  people  were  undergoing  all  sorts 
of  bitter  hardships,  and  might  at  any  time  begin  to  complain 
that  the  final  victory  which  the  Kaiser  had  been  promising  from 
the  first  was  long  in  coming. 

The  southern  and   eastern   portion  of  the   Western   Front  The  German 
was  held  by  French  armies,  the  northern  line  by  the  British,   begirisj  '^^ 
Hindenburg  and  the  other  German  generals  decided  to  strike   March  21 
at  the  southernmost  of  the  British  armies,  in  the  region  of  the 
Somme.    If  they  could  defeat  it,  they  would  thereby  separate 
the  French  and  British  and  so  prevent  their  helping  one  another. 
For  several  days  the  Germans  were  victorious  and  were  able 
to  push  back  the  British  almost  to  Amiens.    But  the  French 
rushed  to  the  aid  of  their  allies ;  the  drive  was  checked  and 
Amiens,  with  its  important  railroad  connections,  was  saved.    No 
previous  conflict  of  the  war  had  been  so  terrible  as  this,  and 
it  is  supposed  that  over  four  hundred  thousand  men  were  killed, 
wounded,  or  captured.    The  Germans,  however,  only  regained 
the  devastated  territory  from  which  they  had  retired  a  year 
before,  and  their  fierce  efforts  to  advance  further  failed. 

The  grave  danger  in  which  the  Allies  found  themselves  finally  Foch  made 
convinced  them  that  their  safety  lay  in  putting  all  their  forces  jn  chief  of 
—  French,  British,  Italian,  and  the  newly  arriving  troops  from 
America  —  under  a  single  commander  in  chief.  All  agreed  that 
the  French  general,  Ferdinand  Foch,  was  the  most  likely  to 
lead  them  all  to  victory  ;  and  their  confidence  proved  justified, 
for  before  long  matters  began  to  mend. 

Every  one  knew  that  the  Germans  would  soon  make  a  second 
drive  somewhere  on  the  long  front  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 


the  Allied 
Armies 


XXXVlll 


OiUlmes  of  European  History 


Efforts  of  the 
Germans  to 
reach  Calais 
and  Paris 


Rapid  Ger- 
man retreat 
during  July 
and  August, 
1918 


Strength  of 
the  Allies 


miles,  but  at  what  point  the  Allies  could  only  conjecture.  The 
new  blow  came  April  9,  when  the  Kaiser's  armies  attempted  to 
break  through  the  British  defenses  between  Arras  and  Ypres, 
with  the  intention  of  reaching  Calais  and  the  English  Channel. 
The  suspense  was  tense  for  a  time,  but  after  retreating  a  few 
miles  the  British  made  a  stand  and  were  ordered  by  their  com- 
mander to  die  if  necessary  at  their  posts.  This  checked  the 
second  effort  of  the  Germans  to  break  through.  In  the  latter 
part  of  May  the  German  armies  attempted  a  third  great  attack, 
this  time  in  the  direction  of  Paris.  They  took  Soissons  and 
Chateau-Thierry,  which  brought  them  within  about  forty  miles 
of  the  French  capital.  In  June  they  made  a  feebler  effort  to 
extend  to  the  south  the  territory  gained  in  the  first  drive.  Here 
they  were  opposed  for  the  first  time  by  the  American  troops, 
who  fought  with  great  bravery  and  ardor.  And  here  the  German 
successes  came  to  an  end. 

During  the  following  weeks  the  Germans  lost  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  men  in  minor  engagements,  and  finally,  on  July  15, 
19 18,  made  a  final  great  effort  to  take  Rheims  and  force  their 
way  to  Paris,  but  this  drive  was  speedily  turned  into  a  retreat. 
The  French,  supported  by  the  fresh  American  troops,  of  whom 
no  less  than  a  million  were  then  in  France,  began  steadily  to 
push  back  the  enemy  toward  the  Aisne  River.  Then  the  British 
began  an  offensive  on  the  Somme,  east  and  south  of  Amiens. 
At  the  time  this  history  is  brought  to  an  end  the  Germans  are 
retreating  as  fast  as  they  can  to  their  old  Hindenburg  line  of 
19 1 7.  One  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  prisoners  were  cap- 
tured by  the  Allies  during  July  and  August ;  two  thousand 
cannon  and  vast  military  supplies  were  left  behind  by  the 
enemy  as  they  hastily  withdrew. 

At  the  end  of  August,  19 18,  there  were  many  things  which 
served  to  cheer  the  Allies  and  at  the  same  time  filled  the  Ger- 
mans with  the  deepest  apprehensions.  Under  their  new  and 
skillful  commander  in  chief,  Foch,  the  Allies  had  turned  a  loudly 
heralded  German  ''  peace  drive  "  into  an  unmistakable  retreat. 


The  Great  War  xxxix 

They  had  succeeded  in  taking  the  offensive,  and  pushed  the 
enemy  back  so  persistently  that  he  had  no  time  to  dig  himself 
in  or  even  carry  off  his  supplies.  The  oncoming  American 
troops,  which  were  steadily  streaming  across  the  x\tlantic, 
brought  new  hope";  for  they  were  fresh  and  brave  and  full  of 
enthusiasm,  and  they  were  supported  by  a  great  and  rich  coun- 
try, which  had  thrown  all  its  well-nigh  inexhaustible  resources 
on  the  side  of  the  Allies  against  Prussianism.  Finally,  the  Allies 
enjoyed  the  assurance  that  they  were  fighting  not  only  for  the 
safety  of  their  own  particular  country  but  for  the  peace  and 
freedom  of  the  world. 

The  Germans,  on  the  other  hand,  began  to  see  that  they  had  Causes  of 
been  grossly  deceived  by  their  leaders.  The  wicked  use  of  depression 
U-boats  had  not  brought  England  to  her  knees,  but  had  roused 
a  new  and  mighty  enemy  across  the  Atlantic,  whose  armies 
found  themselves  able  to  cross  the  ocean  in  spite  of  Germany's 
submarines.  The  Germans  had  forced  shameful  treaties  upon 
the  former  Russian  provinces,  with  the  purpose  of  making  the 
poor,  demoralized,  and  famine-stricken  people  help  support  the 
German  armies.  This  plan  had  failed  to  bring  relief.  Germany's 
commerce  was  ruined,  her  reputation  lost,  her  national  debt 
tremendous,  with  no  hope  of  forcing  her  enemies  to  pay  the 
costs  of  the  war.  She  had  no  real  friends  and  faced  a  world- 
coalition  which  was  united  in  a  common  abhorrence  of  her 
policy  and  aims. 

As  an  English  statesman  (Lord  Hugh  Cecil)  has  said,  "  The  The  war  now 
war  is  now  a  crusade.  We  fight  to  overthrow  a  principle,  stamp  ^  *^^"^^  ^ 
out  a  moral  disease,  extirpate  an  abomination.  The  war  is  no 
longer  one  between  two  groups  of  nations.  It  is  the  civilized 
world  fighting  to  chastise  rebels  against  its  fundamental  laws. 
.  .  .  The  war  must  be  fought  until  it  ends  with  the  submission 
of  Germany.  By  submission  I  do  not  in  the  least  mean  destruc- 
tion. .  .  .  We  do  not  seek  to  destroy  Germany,  but  we  seek 
to  force  the  Germans  to  recognize  that  they  have  been  defeated 
and  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  a  world  stronger  than  they. 


xl  Outlines  of  European  History 

Moloch  must  be  humiliated  in  the  sight  of  all  his  votaries  if 
they  are  to  accept  a  purer  faith."  This  would  be  accepted  by 
all  loyal  Americans  and  their  leaders  in  Washington  as  a  true 
statement  of  the  great  aim  of  this  war  on  war. 

Our  country  has  rightly  been  summoned  to  take  up  its  part 
of  the  burden  of  conflict  which  the  Allies  have  borne  for  four 
bitter  years,  and  it  is  facing  its  obligations  bravely  and  cheerfully 
and  will  make  all  the  great  sacrifices  necessary  to  bring  the 
struggle  to  a  victorious  end. 


The  Great  War  xli 

SOME    SUGGESTIONS    IN    REGARD   TO   THE   BOOKS 

DEALING  WITH  THE  ORIGIN  AND  ISSUES  OF  THE 

GREAT  WAR 

The  United  States  Committee  on  Public  Information  distributes 
(free,  except  the  last  mentioned)  the  following  valuable  pamphlets : 

Hoiv  the  War  came  to  America. 

The  President's  Flag-Day  Speech  with  Evidence  of  Germany''s 
Pla?ts. 

Conquest  and^  Kiiltur.  Ai^ns  of  the  Germans  in  their  Own 
Words,  edited  by  Notestein  and  Stoll. 

Ge7'jnafi  War  Practices,  edited  by  D.  C.  Munro,  Sellery,  and 
Krey. 

The  War  Message  and  Facts  behind  it. 

The  Go7Jerninent  of  Ger77tany,  by  C.  D.  Hazen. 

The  Great  War:  fvm  Spectator  to  Participant,  by  A.  C. 
McLaughlin. 

A7nerica7i  Literest  i7i  Popular  Gover7t7nent  Abroad,  by  E.  B. 
Greene. 

War  Cyclopcedia.   A  very  valuable  work  of  reference.    25  cents. 

For  the  conditions  which  led  up  to  the  Great  War  see  H.  A.  Gib- 
bons, The  New  Map  of  Europe,  igii-igi4  :  the  Story  of  the 
Rece7it  Diplo77tatic  Crises  arid  Wars  a7td  of  Eu7'ope^s  Present  Catas- 
t7vphe.  Admirable  account  of  the  chief  international  issues  before 
the  War,  especially  of  the  Balkan  troubles.  A  more  general  intro- 
duction will  be  found  in  Carlton  J.  H.  Hayes,  A  Political  a7id 
Social  History  of  Moder7t  Etwope,  Vol.  II,  191 6,  dealing  with 
Europe  since  181 5  and  giving  excellent  bibliographies,  especially 
pp.  719  sqq.  Arthur  Bullard,  The  Diplo77iacy  of  the  Great 
War,  deals  in  a  sprighdy  manner  with  the  negodations  preceding 
the  conflict.  C.  Seymour,  The  Diplo77iatic  Backgrotmd  of  the 
War,  1 91 6.  J.  H.  Rose,  The  Origi7is  of  the  War,  191 4,  from 
the  standpoint  of  an  Englishman.  W.  S.  Davis,  The  Roots  of  the 
^'^'  ,  from  an  American  point  of  view.  These  may  be  compared 
with  Edmund  von  Mach,  Ger7nany''s  Point  of  View,  an  attempt  to 
justify  Germany's  policy  in  American  eyes.    A  very  full  treatment  of 


xlii  Outlines  of  European  History 

international  affairs  will  be  found  in  E.  C.  Stowell,  The  Diplomacy 
of  the  War  of  I gi 4^  Vol.  I,  1916. 

The  following  give  extracts  from  German  writers  illustrating  the 
attitude  of  the  Germans  toward  themselves  and  others:  Out  of 
their  Own  Mouths,  191 7;  Getns  (?)  of  German  Thought,  edited 
by  William  Archer,  191 7;  and  Hurrah  and  Hallelujah,  by 
J.  P.  Bang. 

Germa?iy  and  the  Next  War,  by  General  Vox  Bernhardi,  a 
man  who  believes  ardently  in  war,  may  be  compared  with  The  Great 
illusion,  by  Norman  Angell,  who  believes  only  in  war  on  war. 
R.  H.  Fife,  The  German  Empire  between   Two  Wars. 

The  History  Teachers'  Magazine  publishes  excellent  bibliogra- 
phies and  an  admirable  syllabus  of  war  history.  Current  History, 
published  monthly  by  the  New  York  Times  Company,  gives  many 
important  documents  and  admirable  maps,  portraits,  and  pictures  of 
war  episodes.  The  Atlantic  Monthly  contains  many  serious  articles 
on  the  war,  as  do  a  number  of  other  well-known  magazines,  such  as 
the  Review  of  Reviews  and  the  Hidependent. 

The  following  deal  with  some  of  the  deeper  problems  raised  by 
the  war:  J.  H.  Rose,  A^atio?iality  in  Modem  History,  191 6; 
G.  L.  Beer,  The  English  Speaki?ig  Peoples,  their  Future  Rela- 
tions and  Joint  I?tternatio7tal  Obligations,  191 7;  Ramsay  Muir, 
The  Expansion  of  Europe,  191 7;  J.  Dewey,  German  Philosophy 
a?td  Politics,  191 5;  Walter  Lippmann,  The  Stakes  of  Diplomacy, 
191 5;  Olgin,  The  Soul  of  the  Russian  Revo  hition,  191 8;  Munroe 
Smith,  Militarism  and  Statecraft,  191 8. 


rOLUMBIA  UNIV  \T^^  ^^TES 

ook  n  du     "'" 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


940 


R5-4  4 


a* 


1 


00 

> 

O  vO 

o  ex: 


AUG  2  3  ^'^^^ 


r  i'n 


*■  > 


'^Jyl'i'^ 


i  jf