OJ7 f HE
I
-.'A1'
m
<s§
|UJ)
|UJJ
f/J]
I
OF
THE WORLD'S
GREAT NATIONS
FROM THE EARLIEST DATES TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY
CHARLOTTE M. YONGE,
Author of " Ihe Keir of tfedclijf." "gook of Golden (Deeds," etc.
[THK HISTORY OF AMERICA. BY JOHN A. DOYLK.]
'•' Segnius irritant animum demissa, per aures, quam quae sun.t ooulis
subjecta fidelibus."
': Things seen by the trustworthy eye, more deeply impress the mind than
those which are merely heard "
VOL. n.
NEW YORK:
SELMAR HESS.
1882,
HES8.
20
^
Elcctrotyped by
SMITH & McDOUGAL,
82 Beekman Street.
Printed by
D. G. F. CLASS,
17 & 19 Rose Street.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
FRENCH HISTORY— (CONTINUED).
CHAPTER rial
XIII.— Louis VII., THE YOUNG 681
XI V.— PHILIP II., AUGUSTUS 584
XV.— THE ALBIGENSES 587
Louis VIII., THE LION 587
XVI.— ST. Louis IX 591
XVII.— Piiii.ii' III., THE HARDY 594
PHILIP IV., THE FAIB 504
XVIII. — Louis X., HUTIN 598
PHILIP V., LE LONG 598
CHARLES IV., LE BEL 598
PHILIP VI 598
XIX.— JOHN » .*. 602
XX.— CHARLES V 805
XXI.— CHARLES VI 609
XXII.— BURGUNDIANS AND ARMAGNAC8 612
XXIII.— CHARLES VII 616
XXIV.— Louis XI 619
XXV.— CHARLES VIII 623
XXVI.-Louis XII ." 626
XXVII .—FRANCIS I.— YOUTH 630
XXVIII.— FRANCIS I.— MIDDLE AGE 634
XXIX.— HENRY II 687
XXX.— FRANCIS II 640
CHARLES IX 640
XXXI.— CHARLES IX 644
XXXII.— HENRY III 647
XXXIII.— HENRY IV 650
XXXIV.— Louis XIII 658
XXXV.— Louis XIV.— YOUTH 657
XXXVI.— Louis XIV.— MIDDLE AGE 660
XXXVII.— Louis XIV.— OLD AGE 664
XXXVIII.— Louis XV 667
XXXIX.— Louis XVI 671
XL. — THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION 674
XLI. — NAPOLEON 1 679
XLII.— Louis XVIII 684
XLIII.— CHARLES X 687
XLIV.— Louis PHILIPPE 689
XLV. — THE REPUBLIC 098
XLVI.— THE SECOND EMPIRE 695
XL VII.— THE SIEGE OF PARIS 699
iLVIII.— THE COMMUNISTS t 702
vi CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
ENGLISH HISTORY.
CHAPT. I. PAGF
I. — JULIUS C^ESAB .................................................................. 70ft
II.— THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN .......................................................... 703
III.— THE ANGLE CHILDREN .................................................. .......... 710
IV. — THE NORTHMEN ............................................................ 713
V. — THE DANISH CONQUEST .......... ................................................. 718
VI. — THE NORMAN CONQUEST ..................................................... 710
VII. — WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR ................................................. 731
VIII.— WILLIAM II., RUFUS ..................................................... \ 733
IX. — HENRY I., BEACCLERC ....................................................... _ 735
X. — STEPHEN ....................................................................... _ 73g
XI —HENRY II., FITZ- EMPRESS ......................................................... 731
XII.— RICHARD I., LION-HEART ......................................................... 733.
XIII.— JOHN, LACKLAND .............................................................. 730
XIV. — HENRY III., OP WINCHESTER ................................................ 73^
XV. — EDWARD I., LONOSHANKS ................................................... 743
XVI.— EDWARD II., OP CAERNARVON ................................................... 745.
XVII.— EDWARD III .........................................................
XVIII.— RICHARD II .......................................................
XIX.— HENRY IV ....................................................... ' 754
XX.— HENRY V., OP MONMOUTH ............................................... 757
XXL— HENRY VI., OP WINDSOR .............................................. 75^
XXII.— EDWARD IV ............................ _, ........................ " 763
XXIII. — EDWARD V ............................................... ; _ _ ,-»,»
XXIV.— RICHARD III ........... .......................... 168
XXV.— HENRY VII .............................................. ..."I.!!"".."...!.] 770
XXVI.— HENBY VIII., AND CARDINAL WOLSEY ....................... 773
XXVII.— HENRY VIII., AND His WIVES .................. ....... 777
XXVIII.— EDWARD VI .................................... ......... 780
XXIX.— MARY I ................................................ [ ' 783
XXX. — ELIZABETH ............................................. ~gg
XXXI. — ELIZABETH'S REIGN ..................................... /-go,
XXXII.— JAMES I ....................................... ' ^go
XXXIII.— CHARLES I .......................... ............*!!!.*.'.'!!'*. !.'!!!*! 793.
XXXIV. — THE LONG PARLIAMENT ...................................... ' 793
XXXV.— DEATH OF CHARLES I ........................................ \_\\\ 801
XXXVI. — OLIVES CBOMWELL .......................
XXXVII.— CHABLES II ..............
XXXVHI.-JAMES II .................................. '
XXXIX.— WILLIAM III., AND MARY II .................. .................
XL.— ANNK ............................. ' ~
XLI.— GEOBGE I
XLII.— GEOBGE II
XLHI.-GEOBOE III .............................. !.'.'.'.'.'.'".'.'.'.'.'!.'.'.'.'.'..'.'.'.'.'.' ' 826
XLIV.— GEORGE HI. (CONTINUED) ................................... 82&
XLV.— GEORGE III.— THE REGENCY .......
XLVI.— GEOBGE IV ................
XLVII.-WlLLIAM IV ..................
XLVIII.— VICTOBIA ......................
XLIX.— VICTORIA ....................
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IL vii
AMERICAN HISTORY.
CHAPTER
I.— AMERICA : IT§ GKIMIKAPIIY AND NATIVES 850
II.— TIIK EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 887
in.— VIKOINIA sea
IV.— PLYMOUTH 897
V.— MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT 004
VI.— TIIK S.MAI, i. KH NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 916
VII.— THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION 920
VIII.— NEW EN-GLAND FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 981
IX.— NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION 945
X.— MA KYI. A NI> 959
XL— NEW YORK ... 967
XI!.— THE CAROI.INAS 977
XIII. — THE QUAKER COLONIES 988
XIV.— THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA, AND THE SPANISH WAR 991
XV.— THE CONQUEST OF CANADA AND THE OHIO VALLEY 1000
XVI. — GENERAL VIEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES 1011
XVII.— THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA ACT 1016
XVIII.— TlIK I>K< I.ARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 1028
XIX.— THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 1088
XX.— THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 1057
X X I — THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN 1072
X XII. — SOUTH CAROLINA AND NULLIFICATION 1086
XXIII. — GROWING OPPOSITION BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH . . 1093
XXIV.— THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY 1102
XXV.— THE WAR OF SECESSION 1110
XXVI.— GENERAL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY ATER THE WAR 1142
APPENDIX.
I. — THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH 1147
II. — GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION 1159
III. — CONCILIATION AND PROGRESS • 1174
FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME II.
MOB
SCENE ON THE MEDITERRANEAN ............................................................ 682
II. IN PROCESSION ................................................................... 586
JOAN OP ARC RECOGNIZES THK KINO ......................................................... 61ft
I'm MAID OP ORLEANS IN PRISON ........................................................... 618
MKKTINU OK CHAIU.KS AND ANNE OF BRITTANY .............................................. 625
I'M \ INISTS IN LK.UIUE ......................... ............................................. 641
I>r: \ i n OK THK DUKE OP GUISE ............................................................ 640
Louis XIV. (MIDDLE AGE) ........................ . ........................................ 660
Louis X IV. (( )I.D AGE) ....................................................................... 601
TIIK HOTKI. UK VII.I.K ...................................................................... 671
'I'm: ATTMK ON THE PALAIS ROYAL .......................................................... 678
Louis XVI. THREATENED BY THE MOB ...... ................ . ............................... 674 '
MAI;IK ANTOINETTE .................. ..................................................... 676
NU-IH.KON 1 ............................................................................... 679
Tin: KKI MI.IN OK Moscow ................................................................. 688
A KTKK 'ni K BATTLE OF WATERLOO .......................................................... 685
K\iri.i:oK WILLIAM AND His PALADINES ..................................................... i 699
TIIIKKS .................................................................................... 704
I H.r vim 'in; i in; THK HUNT ......................................................... ........ 723
A Tor UN AM KM- IN THK MIDDLE AGES ...................................................... 733
1,11 KIN PHILIPPA INTERCEDING ................................... ........................... 749
.In \N OK ARC ................................................................................ 760
ELIZABETH SIGNS MARY STEWART'S DEATH-WARRANT ......................................... 787
MARY STKWART LED TO EXECUTION ...................... ................................... 789
ijri-.i-N Ki.i7.AiiK.Tn ........................................................................... 792
i ii IN OP CHARLES 1 ................................................................... 802
( 'itoM WELL DISSOLVING THE LONG PARLIAMENT ............................................... 804
CHUM. IN II. LANDING AT DOVER ............................................................. 800
THE PRINCE OP ORANGE AT TOULOUSE ...................................................... 813
( 'u YSTAL PALACE ............................................................................ 840
IN SIGHT OF THE XF.W WORLD ............................................................ 868
PKKILB op OUR FOREFATHERS ................................................................ 894
M.UN-T IDA .......................... ....................................................... »17
SCENE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE ....................... .............................. ........... 940
PENN'S TREATY WJTF INDIANS ........................................................ ...... 989
x FULL PAGE ILLUSTKATIONS OF VOLUME II.
PAUL BEVERE'S RIDE
PAGE
1029
1033
CONTINENTAL SOLDIER
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
WINTER CAMP AT VALLEY FORGE
THE PRAYER AT VALLEY FORGE
MORGAN'S RIFLEMAN
MARTHA WASHINGTON'S RECEPTION
BATTLE MONUMENT 1082
CONQUEST OF MEXICO 1097
DEPARTURE FOR THE WAR 1110
SIGNING TIIK EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. 1127
VIEW OF CENTENNIAL BUILDINGS 1171
OARFIELD.., 1180
STORIES OF Fi;i:.\( II
5g]
CHAPTER XIII.
LOUIS VII., THE YOUNO.
- 1037-1180.
• Young" is an odd historical name for a king who reigned
a good many years; but he was called so at first because he
was only eighteen years old when he caine t.. tin- throne, and
the name clung to him because there was always something
young and simple about his character.
The first great event of his reign was that St. Bernard
stirred Europe once more to a crusade to help the Christian-
in Palestine, who were hard pressed by the Mohammedans.
At Vezelay there was a great assembly <>f bishops and clergy, knights and
nobles; and St. Bernard preached to them so eagerly, that soon all were
fastening crosses to their arms, and tearing up mantles and robes because
enough crosses had not been made beforehand for the numbers who took
them. The young king and his beautiful queen, Eleanor of Aquitaiue,
vowed to make the crusade too, and set out with a great army of fighting
men, and, besides them, of pilgrims, monks, women, and children. The
«|iieen \vas very beautiful and very vain; and though she called herself a
pilgrim, she had no notion of denying herself, so she carried all her fine
robes and rich hangings, her ladies, waiting-maids, minstrels, and jesters.
The French had no ships to take them direct to the Holy Land, but had to
go by land all the way, along the shore of Asia Minor. Numbers of the
poor pilgrims sank down and perished by the way; and just as they had
passed the city of Laodicea, the Mohammedan army came down on the rear-
guard in a narrow valley, and began to make a great slaughter. The king
himself had sometimes to get behind a tree, sometimes behind a rock; and
the whole army would have been cut off, had not a poor knight nam-d
Gilbert, whom no one had thought much of, come forward, took the lead, and
helped the remains of the rear-guard to struggle out of the valley. Through
all the ivst of the march, Gilbert really led the army ; and yet after this he
never is heard of again, and never seems to have looked for any reward.
When Palestine was reached at last, there were not ten thousand left
out of the four hundred thousand who had set out from home ; and the gay
queen's zeal was quite spent ; and while the king was praying at the Holy
Sepulchre, and trying to fight for it, she was amusing herself with all the
.-,s-. THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
lively youths she could get round her. She despised her good, pious
husband, and said he was more like a monk than a king; and as soon as
th.-y returned from this unhappy crusade, they tried to find some excuse for
breaking their marriage.
The Pope allowed the king to rid himself of this wicked lady, and let
them both marry again. He married Constance of Castille, and Eleanor
took for her husband the young English king, Henry II., and brought him
all her great possessions.
The very thing had come to pass that the King of France feared-
nanu'ly, that the Dukes of Normandy should get more powerful than he was.
For Henry II. was at once King of England and Duke of Normandy and
Count of Anjou, and his wife was Duchess of Aquitaine and Guienne ; and,
as time went on, Henry betrothed his little son Geoffrey to Constance, the
orphan girl who was heiress to Brittany, and undertook to rule her lands
for her ; so that the lands over which Louis had any real power were a sort
of little island within the great sea of the possessions of the English king.
Besides, Henry was a much cleverer man than Louis, and always got the
better of him in their treaties. The Kings of France and Dukes of Nor-
mandy always met at Gisors, on their border, under an enormous elm-tree,
so large that three hundred horsemen could find shelter under the branches;
and these meetings never went on well for Louis. He was obliged to
promise that his two daughters, Margaret and Alice, should marry Hertry's
two sons, Henry and Richard, and to give them to Henry to be brought up.
When Henry had his great dispute with Archbishop Becket, about the
question whether clergymen were subject to the law of the land, Becket fled
to France. Louis loved and respected him very much, gave him shelter in
an abbey, and tried hard to make peace between him and Henry, but never
could succeed, till, after six years, Henry pretended to be reconciled, and
Becket went home in the year 1170. He was murdered very soon after, as
you will read in the history of England.
Louis must have been very much surprised when his own former wifer
Queen Eleanor, came disguised as a man with her three eldest sons to his
court, making great complaints of Henry for keeping the government of
their provinces in his own hands. He must have thought it only what they
and he both deserved, and he gave them what help he could ; but Henry
was a great deal more strong and crafty than any of them, and soon put
them down. Eleanor was thrown into prison, and kept there as long as she
lived. She richly deserved it ; but her sons and the people of Aquitaine
did not think so. Those people of Aquitaine were a curious race — they
were very courtly, though not very good ; and they thought more of music,
poetry, and love-making than of anything else, though they were brave men
too. Every knight was expected to be able to write verses and sing them,
STOIMKS OF FRKNVII IIKI'iHIY. 583
a&d to be able to hold an argument in tin- ccnirts of love. The l>est poets
among them were called troubadours; and Kleaiior her-elf, and her t\v.»
sons, Richard and Geoffrey, could compose -ongs and -inir t!i«-ni. All \\eiv
a- nnicli beloved in Aquitaiue, as Henry \\a> hated; and tin- troubadour-
did nothing but stir up the youth- to light with their father and >et their
mother free; hut though they broke out many times, they c-ould never pre-
vail against him.
Louis \'I1. was married three times — to Eleanor of Aquitaine, to Con-
stance of Castille, and to Alice of Champagne. These three queens had
among them six daughters, but no.son; and this was a great grief, since no
woman had ever reigned in France, and it was believed that the old Salian
Franks had a law against women reigning. At any rate, this grew to be
the rule in France, and it is called the Salic law. However, the question
had not to be settled this time, for at last a son was born to Louis ; and in
his joy he caused the babe to be christened Philip Dii n-<l<>n ne, or God-given.
The boy was the cleverest son who had sprung from the House of Paris for
a ires past; and while still quite young, cared for all that concerned his
father and his kingdom, at an age when other boys care only for sports and
games. When his father met the English king at the elm of Gisors, young
Philip looked on and saw how Henry overreached and took advantage of
Louis ; and he was bitterly grieved and angered, and made up his mind that
some day he would get back all that his father was losing.
However, in the midst of his plans, young Philip was one day out hunt-
ing in a forest with his father, when he missed his companions, lost his way,
and wandered about all night. When he was found, he was so spent with
hunger and cold that he had a bad illness, and was in great danger for some
days. When he grew better, King Louis, in great joy, thought this precious
life had been granted for the prayers of his old friend Thomas a Becket,
and asked leave of Henry to come and give thanks at the archbishop's tomb
at Canterbury. He caine, and was welcomed as a friend and guest He
gave great gifts to the cathedral, and especially a beautiful ring, which be-
came one of the great treasures of the place.
He had had his beloved son, though only fifteen, crowned, that France
might have a king over her while he was away ; and Philip was very soon
the only king, for good, honest, simple-minded Louis the Young died very
soon after his return from Canterbury, in the year 1180, nine years before
the death of his great enemy, Henry II.
584
THE WOHLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XIV.
PHILIP II., AUGUSTUS.
A.D. 1180-1223.
flULIP the Gift of God is most commonly known in history as
Philip Augustus. Why, is not quite plain ; but as he became
a very powerful King of France, it is most likely that one of
the old names of the Western Emperors, who were all Caesar
Augustus, got applied to him.
If his father had still been Louis the Young in his old age,
Philip might in his youth have been called Philip the Old, for
he was much older in skill and cunning at fifteen than his
father had been all his life. The whole history of his reign is of his en-
deavor to get the better of the Plantagenet kings of England. He so much
hated the thought of what he had seen under the elm-tree of Gisors, that he
cut it down ; and though he hated King Henry and his sons all alike, lie
saw that the best way to do them harm was by pretending to be the friend
of whichever was not king, and so helping on their quarrels. The eldest
and the third sons, Henry and Geoffrey, were by this time dead, and
Richard of the Lion-heart was the favorite of the Aquitaine troubadours.
There came news from Palestine that the Christians had been conquered
by the great Saracen chief Saladin, and that Jerusalem had been taken by
him. There was great lamentation, and a fresh crusade was determined on
by all the princes of Europe, the Emperor, the King of France, the King of
England, and his sons. The Emperor, Frederick of the Red Beard, set off
first, but he was lost by the way while bathing in a river in Asia Minor ;
and the two kings waited to arrange their affairs. Philip's way of doing
this was to get Richard to his court, and to pretend to be so fond of him,
that they both slept in the same bed, drank out of the same cup, and ate out
of the same dish ; but he was stirring up Richard — who needed it little—
to demand his mother's freedom and the land of Aquitaine, and to rebel
against his father, leading his brother John with him. This was the re-
bellion which broke the heart of Henry II. He died, and Richard went on
his crusade as king.
It was the first crusade when the armies went by sea instead of by land.
Richard had his own fleet, but Philip was obliged to hire ships of the mer-
chants of Genoa; and when the two fleets reached Sicily, they did not
STOIMKS OF 1 KKXCII III.sTnliY.
venture to sail on till the winter was over, Imt waited till spring.
that Richard was king, Philip no longer pretended to love liim ; and then-
were nianv disputes among the Crusaders. At last they sailed "ii t<> help
the Christiana, who were besieging Acre. Philip arrived first, and cpiiek-
eneil the works; but still no great things \vere clone till Richard arrived:
and then 1'hilip was vexed that every one talked so much more of the Kir_r-
lish kind's brave doings than of himself. The heat of the climate soon made
both kings fall sick; and when the city was taken. Philip's doctors declared
SAH.U KN \\'iiAi'i)N>.
that he must go home at once if he wished to recover. Most likely they
were right; but he was glad to go, for he hoped to do Richard a great deal
of harm in his absence. The Pope forbade any one to attack a Crusader's
lands while he was away ; but Philip could stir up Richard's subjects and
his brother against him. And when, as you remember, Richard was made
captive in Austria, on his way home, Philip even sent money to the Km-
peror of Germany to keep him a prisoner. At last, when the German
princes had forced the Emperor to set him free, Philip sent word to John,
in this short note, " Take care of yourself, for the devil is let loose."
But when, two years later, Richard of the Lion-heart was killed at
Limoges, Philip became John's most bitter enemy, and the friend of the
only other Plantagenet left, namely, Geoffrey's son Arthur, Duke of Brittam .
who appealed to his suxerain, Philip, to make him Duke of Normandy and
Count of Anjou, as son of the elder brother. Philip called on John to give
586 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
up these lands; but John offered to make a peace by marrying his niece,
Blanche the daughter of his sister and the King of Castille, to Philips son,
Louis the Lion. Philip was in trouble himself at the time, and consented
to make peace. .
Philip's trouble was by his own fault. His first wife, Isabel of Hamault,
wafl dead and he had thought to make friends with the King of Denmark
by marrying his daughter Ingeborg. But the Danes were then very rough
aii, I untaught, and poor Ingeborg was a dull, clumsy, ignorant girl, not at
all like a courtly lady. Philip took such a dislike to her that he sent her
into a convent, and married the beautiful Agnes de Meranie, the daughter
of the Duke of the Tyrol. But there was then ruling one of the mightiest
Popes who ever lived, called Innocent III. He was determined not to let
any one, however great, go on in sin unwarned ; and he called on Philip to
put Agnes away, and take back his only true wife. And when Philip would
not, Innocent laid the kingdom under an interdict— that is, he forbade any
service to go on in any church except in those of the monks and nuns, and
there only with the doors shut against all outside. The whole nation was,
as it were, cut off from God for their prince's sin. Philip tried to stand up
against this dreadful sentence at first; but he found the people could not
bear it, so he sent Agnes away, and took Ingeborg back. He was then ab-
solved, and his kingdom went on prospering. When, in 1203, Arthur of
Brittany perished in prison, Philip summoned John, as a vassal of France,
to answer for the murder. The great vassals met, the trumpets sounded,
and John was called on to appear ; but as he did not come, he was sentenced
to have forfeited his lands of the Normandy and Anjou, and Philip entered
them with his army and took the castle, while John could not get men or
money to come and stop him ; and only the lauds of old Eleanor of Aqui-
taine, who was still alive, remained to the English.
This forfeit made a great step in the power of the French kings, since
not only had the English kings lost Normandy and Anjou, but these two
great domains belonged to the French king as entirely as his County of
Paris. He had no duke or count between him and the barons or cities.
Philip's designs against the Plantagenets were favored by John's own crimes.
The quarrel with the Pope that you have heard of, about the Archbishop
of Canterbury, made Innocent III. invite Philip to go and conquer England,
but the fear of this brought John to make his peace with the Pope.
However, John's nephew, Otho of Brunswick, was emperor, and he too
had quarrelled with the Pope, who wanted to make young Frederick of
Sicily emperor. Philip took Frederick's part, and Otho marched against
him into Flanders. All the French nobles had gathered round their king,
and at Bouvines there was one of the greatest battles and victories that
French history tells of. Otho had to gallop away from the battle, and
PHILIP II. IX PROCESSION.
STORIES OF KI;I:N< ii III>T<M;Y.
687
Philip said, "We shall sec nothing more of him than his back." 'I'liis irreat
Kattlf \\as fought in tin- veai- liM4.
Very shortly after, Philip's eldest son, Louis, called the Lion, \\as in-
vited to Knu-land liytlie hanm-, liecan>e they could no longer hear the
horrible cruelties and wickednesses of John; and he would not keejt Ma^na
Charta, \\hicli he had signed. Louis went to Kn^land, and London \\ as put
into his hands; hut \\lien Kin- John died, the harons liked hetter to have
hi> little innocent son, Henry III., as their kin;_r, than to he joined on to
I-' ranee. So, after Louis's troops had been beaten by hind and hy >ea. he
came home and Li'ave up the attempt.
Milt Philip Augustus eertainh had the wish of his life fulfilled, for he
had seen his foes of the House of Plantagenet humbled, and brought to
hitter trouble, and he had taken to himself the chief of their great p< —
sessions.
He died in the year 1V2'2.'5, having lived in the reigns of four English
kinirs, and done his utmost to injure them all. He was not a good man ;
but as he was brave and clever, and a good friend to the towns, the French
were very proud of him.
CHAPTER XV.
THE ALBKiEXSES A.D. 1190.
LOUIS VIII., THE LION 1223-1220.
'GUIS the Lion had a very short reign, but most of his doings
had been in his father's time ; and they were passed over that
you might hear, all in one, as it were, the history of Philip
Augustus and his crafty dealings with the House of Plan-
tagenet.
Now, we will go back and speak of Louis before he came
to the throne, and of the people he chiefly fought with. You
remember that the South of France, which had first been
settled by the Romans, and had never been peopled by the
Franks, was much more full of learning and thinking than the northern
part. The Langue cToc was much more used for poetry and elegant speech
than the Langue (Poui. But, somehow, among these people there rose up a
heresy (that is, a false doctrine), which seems to have come to them from
the East. It would not be well to tell you all about it, even if we
could understand it; but one great point in it was that these people said
588 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
that the Power of Evil is as great and strong as the Power of Good, thus
making Satan like another God, as some old Eastern pagans had thought.
Tl»- evil ways of Christians strengthened the notions of these people, who
ttl.,v oalled Alburens..s. From the town of Albi. Their southern cleverness
saw what was amiss, and they made songs laughing at the clergy, and at the
way they dealt with holy things, and often at the holy things themselves,
till tlu-y led awav a -reat many ].eople after them, and even some of
neat princes of the South, who began to feel as if the Albigenses were
something specially belonging to themselves, and to the old culture of
Unman I'mvincia.
But the great Pope, Innocent III., could not allow all this country 1
fall away from the Church. While he was thinking what was to be done,
two men' offered themselves to him. One was a Spaniard, named Dominic,
who wished to found an order of brethren to go forth, preach, teach, and
brim' bac-k heretics; the other was an Italian, named Francis, who cared
above all for holiness, and longed to be like our Lord, and wanted to draw
together men within the Church to be more spiritual and less worldly, and
give the enemy no cause to take offence at their faults. _ Both these good
men were allowed to institute brotherhoods, orders not quite like the monks
in the old convents, but still poorer. Their brethren were called friars, and
went about preaching and hearing confessions, and helping men and women
to lead holier lives— those of St. Francis in Christian places, those of St.
Dominic wherever there was heresy. Dominic was further allowed to judge
and punish with severe penances and captivity such as would not be con-
vinced, and the inquiry into opinions which he and his friars made was
called the Inquisition.
But the great dukes and counts in the south of France — in Provence,
Toulouse, Foix, Albi, and many others— did not choose to have their people
interfered with. They all spoke much the same language, and they were
resolved, right or wrong, to hold together; and it is really one of the most
difficult questions in the world whether it is well or ill to put down false
teaching. The more people think and read, the more they doubt about
persecution ; and so these Provencal princes, being cleverer than their rough
neighbors, were the less disposed to punish their subjects ; but they were
also less religious and less earnest, and Pope Innocent had no question but
that they ought to be called to account. So he proclaimed a crusade against
them, as if they had been Saracens, and made the leader of it Simon, Count
de Montfort, a stern, hard, though pious old knight, the father of the Simon
de Montfort who fought with Henry III. Pedro II., King of Aragon,
joined the Albigenses, and there was a terrible war all over the south. In
the year 1213 a great battle was fought at Muret, in the County of Toulouse
in which the Albigenses were beaten, and the King of Aragou was killed.
STOKIKS (>F Fi;i-:\( I! lll>Toi;v. .-,„;,
Those were cmel times, and the Crusaders treated their captives very
savagely. Tlie Count of Toulouse, Raymond, stood on against the Crusaders,
and with his son, also named Raymond, fought hard; but the Pope declared
them unworthy to rule, and granted Simon de .Montfort all tlie land- he had
conquered in the south of France. In the northern parts he \\a- looked <m
as a >aint, and when he went to do homage to the kin-, people ran to touch
his horse and his clothes as something holy. Indeed, lie was a sincerely
good man ; and though he did many things so cruel that we cannot tell you
of them, it was all l.ecause he thought it was his duty. Louis the Lion
aided him, and learnt the art of war during these hat ties; luit when the
Crusaders tried to take the city of Toulouse, the people, knowing how
horribU they would be treated, held out against them; and at last, in 1217,
the year of King John's death, one night, when Simon was attacking the
walls, a woman threw down a heavy stone, which struck him on the head
and killed him.
1 1 is eldest son, Amaury. was not such an able warrior, and the Albi-
n-enses began to get the Letter of the Crusaders, while Louis the Lion \\a->
away in England; but in the year 1 L' •_'.">, when Philip died, and he became
King of France, he was called upon by the Pope to begin the war aLrain.
He fought with all his might: but in spite of his title of the Lion, he \\as
not as able a soldier as he was a brave man, and in the three years of his
reign he did not much weaken the Albigenses, though he was at war with t
them all through his short reign. While he was passing through Auvergne,
a >ickness broke out in his army, he fell ill himself, and died in the year
L386.
His eldest son, Louis IX., was only eleven years old; but the queen.
Blanche of Castille, his mother, was a very good and spirited woman, and
managed the kingdom excellently. She sent troops, who gained such suc-
cesses that at last Count Raymond of Toulouse was forced to make peace,
and to give his only child into Blanche's hands to be brought up as a wife
for her third son, Alfonso. The Count of Provence, who held from the
Kmperor, had four daughters, and no son, and these ladies were married in
due time to the King of France and his brother Charles, and to the King of
Kngland and his brother Richard, and thus all that great country of the
Languedoc was brought under the power and influence of the north. The
Dominican friars and the Inquisition were put in authority everywhere, that
the false doctrine of the Albigenses might be rooted out; and there was
much of barbarous punishment, imprisonment, torture, and even burning of
heretics. It was a cruel age. and no doubt terrible things were done; but
that the punishments were savage does not make the faith of the Albigenses
right.
It was a time when much thought was going on throughout Euroj>e.
590
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Pope Innocent III. had made the Church of Rome very powerful, and
though no one \vh<> c:mif after was as great as he was, his plans were fol-
io ued out, and the King of France, who was always called the Eldest Son
I
of the Church, was one of the first to be reckoned on for carrying them out.
They were often plans for mere earthly power more than spiritual, but all
good men thought it their duty to aid them, and it was a time when there
were many good men. The work of St. Bernard and the example of St.
STOHIKS OF i I;I:NCII IIISTOKY.
59]
1'Yancis were doing iiuic-li to make the lives of men and women more pure
and holy, and there waa more learning and less rou^lme» tlian in the la-t
aL'e. Kverythinir that \\a- then made wa> -traiiirely beautiful too — castle-,
churches, and cities were in most graceful architecture ; armor and dn--
were exquisite in color and shape, and the illuiuinat ions in the mantUCliptfl
were as lovely as liand could make them.
CHAPTER XVI.
ST. LOUIS IX.
A.D. 1226.
>HE little king, Louis IX., who came to the throne in 1226,
when he was only eleven years old, was happy in having a
good and wise mother, Queen Blanche of Castille, who Loth
brought him up carefully, and ruled his kingdom for him well
and wisely.
She was sometimes a little too stem, and as he grew up
she was jealous of his caring for anybody else. When he
married Margaret of Provence, she did not like the young
husband and wife to be very much together, for fear Louis
should be drawn oft' from graver matters; but on the whole she was an
excellent mother and queen, and there have been very few kings in any
country so good and just and holy as Louis was. He never seems in all his
life to have done anything that he knew to be wrong, and he cared more
for God's honor than for anything else. Sometimes such very pious kings
forgot that they had any duty to their people, and did not make good
rulers ; but Louis knew that he could not do his duty properly to God if he
did not do it to man, so he showed himself a wise, just prince, and good
\\arrior. He was so much stronger and cleverer than the poor, foolish
Henry III. of England, that his barons thought he could take away all
(inyenne, which had been left to King John; but he said he would not do
an injustice. Henry had married his queen's sister, and their children
would be cousins, so he would not do what would lead to wars between
them. But when Henry wanted him to give back Normandy and Anjou,
he had the matter well looked into; and he decided that King John had
justly forfeited them for murdering Arthur of Brittany, and so that he
to keep them. So he was always sensible as well as just.
THI-: wum.n-s HKKAT NATIONS.
He \\;is still a young man, when lit' had a very bad illness, and nearly
• lied. In the midst of it. he made a vow that if lie got well he \vould go to
the Holy Land, and light to set Christ's Sepulchre free from the Moham-
medans. As -ooii as he grew better he renewed the VOW, though it grieved
all his people very mneh ; but he left them to lie governed by his mother,
and as soon as he eonld get his army together, he set out on his ernsade
\\ith his wife and his brothers.
As the Mohammedans who held the Holy Land came from Egypt, it was
thought that the best \\.-iy «if fighting them would be to attack them in their
o\\ ii count r\. So Louis sailed for Egypt, and besieged and took Damietta;
and there he left his ((iieen. Margaret, while he marched on by the side of
the Nile, hoping to meet the enemy. Hut it \\ as a bad season, for the Nile
\\as overflowing, and the whole country u as one swamp, where the knights
and horses could hardly move, and grievous sickness broke out. The kinir
himself became verv ill. but he and his men roused themselves when thev
found that a battle was near. It \\ as fought at Mausoureh. The adver-
saries \\ere not native Egyptians, but soldiers called Memlooks. The\ had
been taken from their homes in early infancy, made Mohammedans, and
bred up to nothing but war: and verv terrible warriors thev were, and
quite as much feared by the Sultan and the Egyptians as by the enemv.
llou ever, the Erench feared nothing: they were only too foolhardy: and
when the English Earl of Salisbury gave advice to be prudent and keep a
guard at the camp, the king's brother Koliert ealled out that lie was afraid,
and the earl answered in a pas-ion that he should go as far among the
enemy as Robert himself. So the\ all dashed in, and many others, and the
Memlooks got between them and the camp, and eut them off and killed
them. The king was so weak that he could hardly sit on his horse, but he
tried to call his men together and save them; but it was all in vain, the
Memlooks were all round them, and he was so faint that his knights took
him off his horse, and laid him down \vith his head in a woman's lap, fear-
ing each moment to see him die. lie gave himself up as a prisoner, and lay
da\ after day in a hut with two priests waiting on him. 'lie respected them
so much that he eonld not bear to let them do servants' work for him : and
he was so patient and brave, that the Memlooks themselves said he was the
best man they had ever seen, and wanted to make him Sultan of Eir\ pt.
At last it was settled that he should be set free, if he would pay a heaw
ransom, and give up the i-ity of Damietta. which he had taken. ''Phis was
done, and afterward he embarked with his .pieen and the remains of his
army, and went to the Holy Land; but there was a peace just then,
and no tight iiu:: and after he had fulfilled his vow of pilgrima-e. he re-
turned to Erance. but not to find his mother there, for she had died in his
absence.
OF I'KKV H HISTORY. 593
Fourteen must happy ami good year- followed In', n-turn. II.- was a
most wise and valiant kin- in his own kingdom, ami thoroii-hlv just ami
upri-ht. Therv was a -n-at ..ak-Mv near his palace of Yim>-un«-. under
which lie u—d t.. -it. h.-arin- th.- .-an-.- <>f th- poor as well a- the ri<-h, ami
doin- justic,- t» all.
II- !ia<l a d.-ar. •_' 1 — n— ami judgment, that made him M-e the ri-ht
thin- t.. do. The Poj». had a -r-at quarrel with the Kriij»-r..r Frederick II..
and ^ tried to make Louis take up arm- a-ain-t him, as hi- father had done
a-ain-t Kin- John of En-land : l«it the -o.-d king saw that ev,-n the I',,,,,.\
biddin- wo.dd not make thi- riirht. and held back. II- nd H-nrv III
En-land w«- lovin- brother-in-law; and durm- th- l-ar.,I1--'Uar< j,,
En-land. Kleanor. the youn- wife of Kdward. the h.-ii ,,f Kn-land. was left
with his aunt. Qu.-en Margaret of France. Bear in mind th.v I\.
and Henry III. and their two hr-,- < harl—. Count .,f Anjou. and Hi,-h-
ard. K.u-1 of Cornwall, had married the four daughters of the Count of
Provence. The Karl of Cornwall wa- chosen to IK- King of the Romans—
that i-, next heir to the \\Y-t.-rn Kmj.in — and when her three sisters I
queen-, the fourth sister, Beatrice, k-j.t the ( o.u.ty of Provence. -
.-aid to have Wn unhappy because her sisters sat on thrones, when she onh
-1: but hefoiv ],,„<.' the Pope offered the kin-dorn of the two
to her hu.band, Charles of Anjou. It ri-htly Mom_-d to the grand-
son of the Emperor Frederick, and Louis wished his brother t,, have nothii.-
• with it: but Char;.- was a false and ambitious man. though he
ten, 1,^1 to be as religious as Louis; and with an army ..:'
md -ain.-d the kin-_'d..;ii \\v n-.w call Naples and Sicilv. Tl
heir Conradin set otf to try to regain his inheritance, but Charles defied him
in 1 iade him prisoner, and put him to death on the scaffold.
had always intended to make another crusade, and Charles
pronii-ed t.. join him in it, as well as Edward of England. All th-
\frica was held by the Moors, who were Mohammedans : but L
had letters that made him think that there was a chance of < ,,nv. rtimr the
th.- Chri>tian faith, and his brother Charles wished <
th.-m th- . -ru-adin- army in hoj,e- of alarming them, and getting power
tneTl So LOOM -rmy. land.-<l in the Bav of Tunis, and encanif»ed
in the plains ,,f old Carthage to wait for King Charles and E^lward of En-
land ; but the M.M.rs were foes instead of friends. It was very hot and
unwholesome, and deadly sickness broke out The good king went about
from ..ne tent to another comforting and helping the sick, but he was soon
laid lou himself. Ii lting Psalms, and dictating a beautiful letter
of advice to his daughter, as he grew worse and worse; and at hist, with the
Is, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem !" on his tongue, he died in the year ] j
nor has there ever been such a king in France again, and few in'any other
594 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
country. Charles of Sicily and Edward of England came three days later ;
and as* soon as they could get together the poor, broken, sad and sk-k urm\,
they sailed for Sicily, taking with them the poor young king, Philip, who
was vt-ry ill himself, and could not go on with the crusade, so that Edward
was obliged to go alone, as we all know. Louis and his youngest son, who
had died a day or two before him, were buried at St. Deuys', and he has
ever since borne the well-deserved title of saint.
CHAPTER XVII.
PHILIP III., THE HARDY; AND PHILIP IV., THE FAIR.
A.D. 1271-1284-1314.
. LOUIS left three sons. The second, Robert, Count of Cler-
mont, must be remembered, because three hundred years later
his descendants, the House of Bourbon, came to the throne of
France. The eldest son, Philip III., was a man who left very
little mark in history, though he reigned thirteen years. The
most remarkable thing that happened in his time was a great
rising against his uncle, Charles of Anjou, in Sicily. The
French and Provencal knights he had brought with him were
proud, and rude in their behavior to the people of the country,
and oppressed them heavily. At last, on the Easter Monday of 1282, as the
people of Palermo were on their way to hear vespers, all in holiday attire,
a French soldier was rude to a Sicilian girl, and a fight broke out, which
ended in the killing of all the Frenchmen in the island except one, who had
been more kind and gentle than the rest. This was called the Sicilian
Vespers. The Sicilians then sent to offer their crown to Pedro, King of
Aragon, the nearest kinsman left to their old line. The Pope was so angry
with him for accepting it as to declare his own kingdom forfeited, and to
send Philip of France to take it from him. But soon after the French army
had advanced into Aragon, sickness broke out among them, the king him-
self caught it, and died in the year 1284; and Pedro of Aragon gained the
island of Sicily and kept it, though Charles of Anjou and his sons reigned
on in Naples on the mainland.
Philip IV., called Le Bel, or the Fair, was only seventeen years old
when he came to the crown ; but he was as clever and cunning as his uncle,
STolMKS OF FIIKNC1I III>T()i;V.
Charles of Anjon, <>r his -Teat grandfather, Philip Augustus, and his great
object \\;is to increa-c the pouer of tin- crown \>y any mean- In- could. IK
had not to deal with an Kngli-h kinir like John ; Imt Kdward I. \vas
xi much more anxiou- to make one kingdom of (ir.-al Piritain than to
IK- powerful in France, that he took little concern for hi* French duchies.
So when Philip picked a quarrel and sei/ed (iiuenne, Kdward would not
draw oil' his men from Scotland to fight for it, Imt made a peace which
only left him (Jasmin, and -ealed it by himself niarn ing Philip'- -i-t.-r
Margaret, and lietrothed his son Kdward to Philip's little daughter Isaliel.
It \\as very wrong — almost the worst action of the great kind's life — for
young Kdward uas already bet rot hei I to the young daughter of the poor
Count of Flanders, (Juy Dampierre, whom Philip was cruelly oppressing.
When England thus forsook their cause, Philip made the count prisoner,
and so kept him all the rest of his life. Nothing but misery came of the
marriage.
But the most remarkable part of the history of Philip IV. is what con-
cerns the Church and the Popes. For the last two hundred years the Popes
had Keen Crowing more and more powerful, and riding over kings and
princes- -sometimes rebuking them manfully for their crime-, hut too often
only interfering with what disturbed the worldly power of the Church.
Now, Philip was a man of evil life, and was, besides, very hard and grasping
in requiring money from the clergy. The Pope, Boniface VIII., was an old
man, but full of fiery vehemence; and he sent a letter of reprimand, bidding
the king release the Count of Flanders, make peace, and exact no more from
the clergx .
Philip uas very angry, and the two went on writing letters that made
matters worse, until the Pope threatened to depose the king; and Philip
sent off to Anagni, where the Pope generally lived, a French knight, named
No-aret. and an Italian, called Sciarra Colonna, who had <|iiarrelled with
the Pope and tied to France. They rode into Anagni, cry ing, "Long live
the King of France ! death to Boniface!" at the head of a troop ,,f worth-
less fellows who had gathered round them. The people of Anagni were so
shocked that they never moved, and the men went on to the church, where
they found the Pope, a grand old man of eighty-six, seated calmly by the
altar in his robes, with his tiara on his head. They rushed up to him, in-
sulting him and striking him on the cheeks; indeed Colonna would have
killed him on the spot but for Nogaret. They dragged him out of the
church, and kept him prisoner for three days; but after that, the towns-
people recovered from their fright, rose, and rescued him, and conducted
him safely to Rome; but what he had gone through had been too much for
him, and a few mornings later he was found lying quite dead, the head of
his stick at his lips, gnawed and covered with foam, and his white haii
596 TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
stained with blood, as if in a lit of terror lie had dashed his head against
the wall. This piteous death was in the year !•">'>•">.
Another Pope was eliosen ; but as soon as Philip found that the new
one was determined to control him, he caused him to be poisoned, and then
determined to get the future one into his hands. There were a good many
French cardinals who would, he knew, vote for any one he chose; and meet-
ing in secret the Archbishop of Bordeaux, the king told him he should have
their votes on six conditions. Five of these related to the making up of
the old <piarrel with Boniface; the sixth Philip would not tell then, but the
archbishop swore it should be fulfilled ; and the king then brought about
his election as Pope, when he took the name of Clement V.
To every one's surprise, he chose to be crowned at Lyons instead of
Rome, and then took up his abode at Avignon, in Provence, which, though
it belonged to the empire, was so much in France as to be entirely in the
king's power. As long as the Popes remained at Avignon, they were
nothing but tools to the kings of France ; and this really seems to have
been the greatest misfortune that happened to France. The power of the
Popes was stretched much too far, and their interference in temporal matters
was often wrong, but it was the only authority that ever kept kings and
princes in order ; and when the Popes lived on French ground, and were
afraid to reprove the lords of the country, there was nothing to hinder the
evil ways of either kings or nobles, and they went on from bad to worse,
unrestrained by the Church, the witness of the truth.
Philip the Fair was a very greedy man, always seeking after money, and
oppressing his people heavily to obtain it. Now, you remember that two
orders of soldier monks had been set up to defend the Holy Sepulchre.
Soon after St. Louis's last crusade, Acre, the last spot that belonged to the
Christians, had been taken from them. The Knights Hospitallers had
settled in the island of Rhodes, hoping some day to return ; but the Knights
Templars had gone to the houses in Europe, where they used to train up
young men to arms. They were rich in lands, and, having nothing to do,
were proud and insolent. And Philip cast his eyes on their wealth, and
tcld the Pope that his sixth condition was that all the Templars should be
destroyed. Most of them were living in France, but the others were invited
to hold a great chapter there ; and when almost all were come, horrible
accusations were made — that they were really heathen, that no one came
into their order without being made to renounce his baptism and trample
on the Cross, that they murdered little children, and other frightful stories ;
and then five hundred and two were imprisoned by the Inquisition, and
seventy-two tortured to make them confess.
Most of them were brave, and denied it all ; but there were a few who
could not bear the pain, and said whatever was put into their mouths.
STOI,'ll->
Kl;l-:\<'II HISTORY.
Then, after being kept in prison two years, tin- rot were sentenced, brought
out in parties of lift\ and burnt to death, while the I 'ope declared the order
IM.AXD OF RHODES.
dissolved, and gave the king all their possessions. This was in 1311. The
Grand Master, James de Molay, was kept in prison three years longer, hut
tLen was brought out at Paris, and burnt before the king's palace-garden
598 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
He was a fine old white-bearded man ; and as he stood there in the fire, he
railed on Clement, Pope of Rome, and Philip, King of France, to appear
I >c tore the judgment-seat of God— the first within forty days, the second
within a year — to answer for their usage of him and his knights.
Before the fortieth day, Clement V. actually died: and before the year was
out, Philip the Fair sank away from consumption, and died in his forty-sixth
year, in the year 1314, leaving the most hateful name in French history.
CHAPTER XVIII.
LOUIS X., HUTIX A.D. 1814-1313.
PHILIP V., LE LONU 1310-1322.
CHARLES IV., LE BEL l:tt'.
PHILIP VI I:;*:.
>HILIP the Fair left three sons — Louis, Philip, and Charles—
and one daughter, Isabel, who was married to Edward of
England. Louis X. was called by the nickname of Hut in,
which is said to mean the Peevish or Ill-tempered. He was
married to the young Queen of Navarre, in her own right ;
but he only reigned two years, and his only son lived but five
days. The French barons declared it was against the old
law of the Salic Franks that their kingdom should fall to a
woman, so Louis's little daughter Joan was only to be Queen
of Navarre, while his brother, Philip V. (Le Long, or the Tall), became
king. He must have been as cruel as his father, for there rose up in his
time a foolish stoiy that the fountains of water had been poisoned by the
lepers and the Jews, whereupon he gave orders that they should suffer for
it. They were killed on the spot, or else burnt at the stake throughout
France, while the king and his nobles seized the treasures of the Jews ; but
in the midst the king died, at only thirty years old, in the year 1322, leaving
only four girls ; so that his brother, Charles IV., reigned after him. It was
during the six years that Charles wras on the throne that his sister Isabel
came from England with complaints of her husband, Edward II., and suc-
ceeded in collecting the knights, who helped her to dethrone him, after
which he was brought to a miserable end in prison.
Every one believed that the sins of the wicked father had been visited
on these three sons — dying young, and without heirs ; and the French were
glad when Charles the Fair died, in 1328, that their kingdom should go to
STORIES OF FI;I:\< ii HISTORY.
590
Philip VI., Count of Valois, tin- son of the younger In-other of Philip I \ '..
< 'harles of \'alois.
Hut Edward III. of Kngland called himself the right heir, declaring
himself nearer in Mood to his ande, Charln I V., than Philip of Yalois, their
tirst coii-iii, could he. This was true; hut then, if all the daughter- of the
three last kin-.'s \\ere shut out from reigning, it \vas not reasonable that lie
should pretend to a right through their anm. At first, though he put his
claim forward, he seems to have been willing to let it sleep; but there was
JEWS CONDEMNED TO BE BURNED AT TUB STAKE.
a certain Robert of Artois, who had been deprived of what he thought his
lawful inheritance, and who was suspected of wanting to bring about
Philip's death by sorcery. He was said to have made a waxen image of the
king and >tnck it full of pins, and set it before the fire, expecting that, as
the wax melted, so Philip would perish away and die. Philip believed the
story, and Robert was obliged to fly to England, where, out of hatred and
revenge, he stirred up the king to put forward his claim, and to begin the
\\ar with France which is sometimes called the Hundred Years' War. The
great cities in Flanders, where cloth was woven, were friendly to the Eng-
lish, because in that peaceable country the sheep that bore the wool could
feed quietly, and their supplies of material came from thence. Besides,
600 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Philip hud tried to make them accept a count whom they hated, so they
drove him away, and invited Edward to Ghent. The French fleet tried to
meet and stop him, but their ships were defeated and sunk, with great loss
of men, off Sluys, in the year 1340.
Not long after, there was a great dispute about the dukedom of Brittam ,
which was claimed by the daughter of the elder brother, and by the younger
brother, of the late duke. The niece had married Charles de Blois; the
uncle was the Count de Montfort. The King of France took the part of
the niece, the King of England that, of Montfort. Before long, Montfort
\\.-ts made prisoner and sent to Paris; but his wife, the brave Joan, defended
his cause as well as any knight of them all. She shut herself up in Henne-
bonne, and held out the town while De Blois besieged her; and when the
townsmen began to lose heart, and say they must surrender, she opened the
window of the castle, and bade them look out to sea; and there was the
English fleet coming to their aid. Sir Walter Manny commanded the troops
it brought, and the first thing he did was to lead a party to sally out and
burn the French machines for battering the town. When they came back,
Countess Joan came to meet them, and kissed all the knights, like a right
valiant lady as she was, says the old chronicler Froissart, who has left us a
charming history of these times. The war in Brittany lasted twenty-four
years altogether. Montfort made his escape from prison, but died very soon
after he reached home; and his widow sent her little son to be bred up in
Edward's court in England, while she took care of his cause at home. The
English were very much hated and disliked in Brittany, and seem to liave
been very fierce and rough with the people, whose language they did not
understand ; and some of the knights who were the greatest foes of all to
the English grew up in Brittany, more especially Bertrand du Guesclin and
Oliver de Clisson, but they were as yet boys.
Edward made his greatest attack on France in the year 1346. Philip
had gathered all the very best of his kingdom to meet him. The knights
of France were nearly as strong as the knights of England, but there was
one great difference between the two armies, and that arose from the harsh-
ness of the counts and barons. Every one below them was a poor, miserable
serf (unless he lived in a town), and had never handled arms. Now, in
England there were fanners and stout peasants, who used to practice shoot-
ing with the bow once a week. So there were always sturdy English archers
to fight, and the French had nothing of the same kind to meet them, and
tried hiring men from Genoa. The battle was fought at Crecy, near Poii-
thieu; and when it was to begin by each troop of archers shooting a flight
of arrows at one another, it turned out that a shower of rain which had just
fallen had slackened the bow-strings of the Genoese archers; but the' Eng-
lishmen had their bows safe in leathern cases, and their strings were in fuTl
STOIMKS OF I'KKM II IIKK>i;Y. ':<>!
order, so tin- arrow* galled tin- French knights, and ;i charge was ordered to
cut them down. But full in tin- way stood tin- poor (ienoe-e, fuml>liiiLr to
tighten their strings; and tin- knight.- \\ere so angry at being hindi-rfd. that
they began cutting them down right and left, thus >peiiding their strength
against their own arms, so that it '.\a- no wonder that the\ \\ere beaten
and put to flight. King Philip himself had to ride as fast as he could from
the battlefield; and coming to a castle just as niirht set in, lie bleu his horn
at the gates, and when the warder called out to know u ho was there, he
answered, "Open, open! it is the fortune of France!"
The Kiiu'li-li went on to besiege and take the city of Calais; and in
Brittany, Charle- de Blois was defeated and made prisoner; and then- u a*
the further misfortune of a horrible plague, called the Black Death, raging
all through France. Five hundred people a day died in the great hospital
called the Hotel Dieii, at Paris, and it was bad also in Filmland ; M» that
both kings were glad to have a truce, and rest for a few year.-, though
Fduard still called himself King of France, and the dispute was far from
settled. Philip paid his men l>\ causing the nation to pay a tax upon salt,
while Edward'B chief tax uas on wool; so while Philip called his rival the
\\ooluierchaiit, Kdward -aid that the \"alois did indeed reign by the Salic
law (xtil being the Latin for 8alt).
The Counts of the Vidimus, in the south of France, used to be called
Counts Dauphin, because there uas a dolphin in their coat of arms. The.
Dauphin Humbert, having neither children nor brothers, bequeathed his
county to the king's eldest grandson, Charles, on condition that it should
alwa\s be kept separate from the crown lands. Ever since that time the
eldest son of the king of France has always been called the Dauphin.
A year later Philip died, in the year 1350, after a reign that had been
little more than one long war.
602 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XIX.
J 0 H X .
A.D. 1350-1364.
'F Pliilip VI. had a reign which was all one war, it was much the
same with his son John, who thought himself a brave and hon-
orable knight, though he often did evil and cruel actions.
The little kingdom of Navarre, in the Pyrenees, had passed
from the .laughter of Louis Hutin to her son, Charles, called
the Bad. In right of his father, the Count d'Eveux, he was a
French noble, and he wanted to hold the highest office a noble
could hold — namely, that of Constable of France. The Con-
st.-il>le commanded all the armies, and was the most mighty
person in the realm next to the king; and when John gave the appointment
to the Lord Charles de la Cerda, Charles the Bad, in his rage and disappoint-
ment, contrived to poison the new Constable; and he was also said to have
tried to poison the Dauphin Charles ; and though the dose failed to kill, it
ruined the young man's health, and in the end shortened his life. It was
owing to the Dauphin that Charles the Bad was seized at last. He invited
him to dinner, and appeared to be very friendly ; but in the midst of the
feast the king appeared with a band of soldiers, seized the King of Navarre,
and carried him to prison. It was very treacherous ; but the Dauphin
Charles, young as he was, was much more cunning than his father.
Charles the Bad was clever, and had many friends who were angered by
his imprisonment, and went over to the cause of the King of England.
Edward, the Prince of Wales, who was at Bordeaux, the capital of Gascony,
took the opportunity of advancing into the French dominions, and John
assembled an army to meet and drive him back.
The battle was fought at Poitiers; John was there, with his sons and his
brother, and all his best knights, and the battle was long and hotly fought.
The French did much better than at Crecy ; but the English were too
strong for them, though the king was as brave as a lion, and struck vehe-
mently with his battle-axe, his youngest son Philip keeping close to him,
and warning him where to strike. " This way, father ! " or, " That way,
father ! " " To the right ! " " To the left ! " But at last the father and son
found themselves almost alone, with all their men scattered and dispersed,
and nothing but enemies around. The king had lost his helmet, and was
FI;I:.\< n IIIST(»I;V.
603
slight Iv wounded, and 'jTeatly \v«>rn out ; >•> he called to the first stpiire he
saw — one Denis de Riorbeque— and finding that he \\as a ireiitleman, -iii--
rendered id him. lie \\ a> ItruiiLfht t<> the I'rinee <•}' \\'ale>, wh<> treated him
\\ith the iitinnst kindness and courtesy, and did liis \»--\ to li;jhten the pain
and humiliation of ca|.t i\ it y.
-THIS WAV, FATHER 1"
The Dauphin had tied early in the day, and was thought to have been
the caiiM- of the loss of the battle. Everything fell into a deplorable state.
The Prince of \Yal;-> ruled the old Kn^iish Gascon territory at Bordeaux ;
and though there was a truce between the two kings, troops of soldiers—
i;<>4 'ITIE WORLD'S (iRKAT NATIONS.
Free Companions, as they called themselves — roamed about, plundering and
robbing all over France, while the king was a prisoner in England. The
I >nii|>liin was hated and despised, and had no power at all; and in Paris, a
burgher named Stephen Man-el was chosen provost, and led all the populace
to territ'v the (iovernment into doing what he pleased. The mark of his
followers was a hood, half red and half blue; and thinking that the Dau-
phin's friends g;ive him bad advice, Marcel suddenly rushed into his
presence, at the head of a whole troop of Parisians, wearing these colors,
and demanded, MYill you put an end to the troubles, and provide for the
defence of the kingdom?" "That is not my part," said Charles, "but that
of those who receive the money of the taxes." Marcel made a sign, and his
followers murdered the two noblemen who stood beside the Dauphin. The
prince, in terror, fell on his knees and begged for his life; and Marcel
thrust one of the red and blue hoods upon his head, and then told him,
pointing to the two corpses, "I require you, in the name of the people, to
consent to their death, for it is done by the will of the people."
The Dauphin consented ; but he soon made his escape, and took up arms
against Marcel. Charles of Navarre had been released from his prison, and
was fighting in the south of France ; and Charles de Blois had been ran-
somed, and was fighting in Brittany; and, to add to all these, the peasants,
who had been always ill-used and trampled down by the nobles, began to
rise against them. " Bon homme Jacques, " had been the nickname given
them by the nobles, and hence this rebellion was called the Jacquerie, and
a terrible one it was ; for the peasants were almost savages, and whenever
they could surprise a castle, they murdered every one in it. They set up a
king from among them, and soon one hundred thousand had risen in Picardy
and Champagne ; but they Avere armed only with scj-thes and axes, and the
nobles soon put them down, and then were just as brutal themselves in their
revenge. The " King of the Jacques " was crowned Avith a red-hot tripod,
and hung; and the poor wretches were hunted doAvn like wild beasts, and
slaughtered everywhere, and nothing Avas done to lessen the misery that
made them rebel.
The Dauphin besieged Paris, and Marcel, finding that he could not hold
out, invited the King of Navarre to help him ; but another magistrate, Avho
hated Charles the Bad, contrived to attack Marcel as he was changing the
guard, killed him and six of his friends, and brought the Dauphin back into
Paris. This Avas only the first of the many fierce and tumultuous outbreaks
that have stained the fair city of Paris with blood.
King John was so anxious to return, that he promised to give up to
Edward all that Henry II. and Coeur de Lion had held ; but the Dauphin
and the States-General did not choose to confirm his proposal, thinking it
better to leave him in prison than to weaken the kingdom so much. So
>T<>i;rr.s OF FI,T.\< n
606
Fdward invaded France again, and marched almost up to Paris, intcndiii'.:
to light another battle ; Inn the I>aii|>hin had made up his mind ne'er to
li-ht a Kattle with the English again ; and between the \\arand t lie Jacque-
rie, t he \\ hole (-,.11111 r\ u a- l»are <>f inhabitants, cattle, or cropa. 'I'he I
lish army uu-alm<iM starved, and a Frightful tempest did it much dama-e ;
so that Fd\\ard consented to make peace, and set John five, on condition
that his tuo son> should lie given up as hostages f,,i- the payment of a ^ivat
ran>oin, and a large pan of Aijiiitaiiie ceded to Kngland.
King .lohn returned: \>nt he found the kingdom in such a dreadful -tate
of misery and povertx, that he could not collect the money for the ransom,
nor would his >oiis remain as pledges for it. They \vere allo\\ed to live at
Calais, and make short journey-, into France; but they would not submit t,,
(his, and at la>t sta\ed away altogether. John was much grieved and
ashamed, and said the only tiling he could do was to return and give him-
>elf ii]i as a prisoner, since he could not fulfil the conditions of his release.
When lie \\a- entreated to remain at home, he >aid, " Where should honor
find a refuse if not in the lnvasts of kin^s?" and accordingly he went back
to London, \\here he was welcomed as a friend, by Kinir Kdward, and there
he died in the year l.".i'.l. lie left four sons — the Dauphin Charles; Louis,
the Duke of Anjou; John, Duke of Berry; aud Philip, who had married
the heiress of Burgundy, and was made duke of that province.
CHAPTER XX.
C II A l{ I. KS V.
A.D. l::t! 1-1380.
1 1. \KLFS V., in spite of his troubles as Dauphin, was a
much abler man than his father, John ; aud he had seen the
be>t \\a\ to treat the English enemy — namely, not to tight
with them, but to starve them out.
^ • ?l > The French knights could beat any one except the EUL:-
'"£:*/ A ^'s'' : a1"' Jllst 11(>xv there professed to lie peace with Kd \\ard
III., but with Charles the Bad of Navarre there was still
0£sJ6 war, until a battle was fought at Cocherel, between the
French, under the brave Breton knight, Bertram! du Gues-
clin, and the Navarrese, under the great friend of the Black Prince, the
brave (Jascon knight, the Captal de Buch. Du Guesclin gained a great
GOO
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
victory, and made the Captal prisoner, and from that time no French knight
was equal to him in fame. Thus Charles the Bad had to make peace.
The young De Montfort, who had been brought up in England, was by
tliis time old enough to try to fight for Brittany; and though the kings
were at peace, the Prince of Wales lent him a troop of English, commanded
by tlif best captain in all Europe, Sir John Chandos ; and at the battle of
Auray, Charles de Blois, who had so long striven to win the duchy, was
killed, and Du Guesclin was made prisoner. After this, the king accepted
Mimtfort as Duke of Brittany, and this war was likewise over.
FKEE COMPANIONS OVERPOWERED.
But after so many years of fighting, there were a great many men who
knew and cared for nothing else. They could not be quiet. All they
wanted was a horse and armor, and some one to hire them to fight, let them
gain plunder, and take prisoners to put to ransom. They called themselves
Free Companions, or Free Lances, and used to get some skilful warrior to
be their leader. When the wars were over and nobody wanted to hire them,
they would take possession of some castle, and live by plundering the trav-
elers in the country round, so that they were the 'most dreadful plague
imaginable.
(IF FI;F.\< ii
King Charles asked Du Guesclin how to gel rid of them, and Bert rand
thought <>( n plan. Castille, in Spain, had just then one <il' the \\ ickede-t
kinirs who ever lived, IVter the Cruel, who murdered his \\ilV (a cousin of
Charles), and killed most (>f his half -brothers, besides man] other persons.
One of the brothers, Ib-nrv nf Tra-lamare, managed to escape, and came to
France to Keif for help; anl Du (ruesclin told the kiiiLC that it would lie an
excellent wav of ^jetting rid of the Free Companions to draw them oil' into
Spain. Charles consented, and Du Guesclin invited their leaders to meet
him; and when they found that he would lead them, they all consented,
making sure of plenty of lighting and plundering. As they rode past
Avignon, the\ frightened the Pope into giving them a large contribution;
and as soon as they entered Castillc, Peter the Cruel fled away, and Henry
\\as crowned kinir. 1 1" kept Du Guesclin in his ser\ ice. but sent all the
ot hers back to France.
However, Peter came to Bordeaux, and showed himself to the Black
Prince as an ill-used, distressed kinir; and Fdward took up his cause, and
undertook to set him on his throne a^aiu. All the Free Companions, who
were coming back from Spain, no sooner heard that the Prince was piin^
there, than they took service with him to restore the very king they had
just dethroned. A great battle was fought at Navareta, in which the Prince
was victorious. Du Guesclin was made prisoner, and Henry of Trastamare
tied for his life. Pedro was placed on the throne once more ; but he kept
none of his promises to the English, and they soon perceived what a hor-
ribly cruel and wicked wretch he was. Sickness broke out among them,
and tliev went back to Bordeaux, leaving him to his fate. Every one in
France was most anxious to have Du Guesclin free again, and even the
maidens of Brittany are said to have spun day and night to earn money for
his ransom. As soon as the sum was raised and lie was at liberty, he re-
turned to Spain uith Henry, and they chased Pedro into the castle of Mon-
tiel, whence he came out in the night and attempted to murder bis brother,
but in the strii'^-le \\ as himself killed, to the great relief of all concerned
with him.
The Black Prince was, in the meantime, ill at Bordeaux, and in trouble
how to pa\ the Free Companions, since Pedro had not given him the prom-
ised sum. He was obliged to tax his Gascon subjects, and this made them
angry. They appealed to Charles V., who was still their suzerain, and he
summoned the Prince to appear at Paris and answer their complaint.
Edward said he should only come with his helmet on his head and sixty
thousand men behind him, and so the war began again ; but the Prince was
out of health, and could not fight as he used to do, and the French kinir
forbade his captains ever to give battle, even Du Guesclin, whom he made
Constable of France, and who grumbled much at being forbidden.
cos THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
The war \\-as carried on by sieges of castles, which, one by one, fell into
Fivncli hands tor want of means on the part of the English prince to relieve
them.
Stung and embittered, at last he roused himself; and though he could
no longer mount his horse, he went in a litter to besiege the city of Limoges,
and when it was taken, he sought his revenge in a terrible massacre of all
the inhabitants. This, his saddest, expedition was his last. He went back
to England a siek man, and never recovered. Governors were sent to Bor-
deaux; but they could do little against the continually advancing French,
and at last nothing in France was left to Edward but the province of Gas-
cony and the city of Calais. A truce was made; and before the end of it
both the great Edwards were dead, and Richard II. on the throne, under the
regency of his uncles, who tried to carry on the war, but still with no better
fortune.
It was while besieging a little castle, named Chateau Randon, that the
brave Du Guesclin fell sick of a fever and died. The English captain had
promised to surrender if help did not come to him within a certain time;
and when he heard that the great Constable was dead, he would not yield to
any one else, but caused himself to be led to the tent of the dead man, on
whose breast he laid down the keys of the castle. The king made Du
Guesclin's friend, Oliver de Clisson, Constable in his stead. He was a Bre-
ton too, a brave knight, and a skilful leader ; but his brother had been made
prisoner by the English, and hung, and he had made the savage ATOW that he
would never spare the life of an Englishman, so that he was called the
Butcher; and it was a dreadful thing to fall into his hands.
The king himself did not live much longer. He had never entirely
shaken off the effects of the poison his bad namesake had given him, and
knew he should die young. He carefully instructed his queen, Joan de
Bourbon, how to protect his two young sons, Charles and Louis ; but to his
great grief she died first, and he was obliged to leave the boys to the care of
their uncles, when he died on the 16th of September, 1380, after a reign of
so much success that he is commonly known as Charles the Wise.
STORIES OF FREXCII HISTORY.
c
C II A P T E R X X I .
«'H A KLES VI.
A.D. 1380-1396.
jtl «-,w an ,vil I.HH- for poor vounu'O.aH,. VI. wh,,,, at twelve
yean old, , uas 1, t an orphan kin* His un,!,,-,!,, I,llkea
»f A,,j,,,, l>,.,-n, an, Burgundy (his Brtheri brothers), an.l ,h,
I>..k, ,,f I,,,,,,-!.,,,, ,h,s n.oth,,.-, l,n,|,,r,-,iunl,vl,,| al|(iut t|||.
govmunent^«,d he was allowed togrowup little heeded or
restrained, and with all his passions iJi.ol,,,-UI.
Church was in a most iu.s,.ttl,.,| >tate. The Popes
1" liv.n^ at Avignon, were at t!,, beck of ,1,, Kn-,,,-!, ki w,
«IH| tins could not be borne by the other lan.ls of the Western
nm-1,. BeaMeMhey and their cardinals had not enough t,, to n Z
1'ttl- town, and nlleneas led to all kinds of wickedly wWle th-ir pro,
Aode at II,,,,,,. ,as [eft t,, wild tun.ults and oonfunc^ So at last n he
^^^l>^
N-. -.,,,! alt(.,a,,|,nals of Fren,h ],i,,h ,|i,l all kheyoouW to ^.
v.;nt Inn, II, died two v-ars after he came ther, : an.l then all tl,,-
•Imals « ,„ wanted to stay in Italy chose one Pope, and all the , li - ,
•'"' " »'""' to live at Avignon chose another, and went l,a,k u itl, ] ^
Popea, the real Pope and the anti-P,,,,. an.l ,ln, ade
, ,„,,, h kn,(U.M m tli(. Great P^ |!( <^a
•-. 1 t ,,,,- WenJ held by the Pope at Avignon, the Kn.lisl, an.l all t , „
"'"'"I""" ^J«d thing, grew worse th«ey^ for SthPou
I r-;';i(l ™"' « '—'' — as they could ;11I,1 th,v J , v d
offend either kings or bishis,for fear tin, sl.,,,,1 1 "l, ve th r
y, .-...d BO sin an.l mekedness went on um-he(-UI '
On,- of ,h,. i,,,,,1(Iest nobles was Louis, Count of Flanders He had
j-nvn,h dries n, his county, where almost all the best dot .' lin , ,'
;:; ' flir T;ni" "- ^ ••<<"' *** ** ^^n ^ "
there was alwayB In,,h (lislik(. an(, d]stnst * A
„ Loms was so sev,,v. that at last the men of Ghent
610 TIIK WORLD'S &BBAT NATIONS.
waa in Ghent ; all the people in the streets rose up against him, and i>"l>ody
W0uld give him shelter, till at last he found himself in the house of a poor
vndowwho l.a.l sometimes received alma at hi. gate. He begged her to
l.ide'him, un.l she bade him creep under the bed, where her three little clul-
dren were lying asleep. He had only just had time to do so when his
enemies burst open the door, declaring he had gone in there ; but the widow
bade them look in, and when they saw only the bed full of children, they
thought lu- could not be there, and went away.
In the morning he managed to get out of the city, and escaped to Pans,
where he begged the kin- and his uncles to come to his help.
one daughter^ who was to marry the son of the Duke of Burgundy; so it
u.,s their interest to briii- the Flemish towns to obedience, and the young
kin.' was very eager to make his first campaign. All the revolted burghers
came out to battle with the knights and gentlemen, but they could not
make head against such a well-tried old leader as the Constable de <
though they louu-ht desperately: and at the battle of Rosbecque twenty-six
thousand men were killed, and Philip von Artevelde was trampled to death
in the flight.
The young king loved and admired the Constable de <
any one else; but the old man was much hated by many others for his
harshness and cruelty ; and one night, in the streets of Paris, he was set
upon by some murderers, who wounded him badly, and he was only saved
by falling a-ainst a house-door, which gave way with his weight, so that he
fell into a dark passage, where his enemies left him for dead, and fled away
into Brittany. The king- demanded that they should be sent back to be put
to death, but the Duke of Brittany, who hated Clisson, would not give them
up. Charles made sure that the duke had set them on, and in a great rage
declared that he would lay all Brittany waste. He collected his troops and
set out, but a strange thing happened as he was riding through the forest of
Mans, on a burning-hot summer day. A man, probably mad, rushed out
from the bushes, caught his bridle, and cried, " Ride no further, king ; thou
art betrayed!" The man was drawn away; but presently after, as they
rode on, a page who had charge of the king's lance fell asleep on horseback,
and let the point ring against the helmet of the man in front. This must
have made the king fancy the treason had begun, and becoming frantic that
moment, he drew his sword and rushed upon his followers, crying, "Down
with the traitors ! " He killed four, but the others saved themselves by pre-
tending to fall before the stroke ; and at last, as his strength became spent,
a tall, strong knight sprang on his horse behind him and overpowered him.
He was carried back to Mans, where he had a brain-fever ; but he recovered,
and was for some time in perfect health, governing, not perhaps well, but
with kind intentions. He married Isabel of Bavaria ; and had she taken
STOIMKS OF Fi;i:\r|| His
better care of him. his life would have been far happier; but -he \\-i- a dull,
-elfish \\onian, \\lio cared more for -.rood eatin<_r and amu-ement than for her
liusband and children, whom sin- neglected -really.
At a threat festival, the kin- and five of hi- nobles div--ed tln-m-elves up
as \\ild men of the woods, in close garments, covered with pitch, \\itli IUIIL'
loose Hakes ,,f to\v hanirinir to them to repiv.-ent hair, and irreen bouirh-
round their heads and waists. Chained together, they danced in amon- tin-
ladies, \\ho were to unie-s \\ ln> they were. The kind's brotlier (the Duke of
Orleans) held a torch -o near to one (,f them. fh<- bettei' to , it \\;,-,
TURKS K.NTEKI.NO COKSTANTINOPLK
that he set fire to the tow, and the flames spread to the whole party. F,,U;-
were burnt to death, one saved himself by breaking the chain and leaping
into a tub of water, and the king himself was preserved by the Duchess of
Jem, who threw her mantle over him; but the shock had been so great
that his insanity came ,.n apiin. and In- was never sensible for long together
through the rest of his life. But he still was supposed to rule France, and
so the power was in the hand, of whoever had possession of him, and this
at first was his uncle Philip, Duke of Burgundv.
612 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Still as there was peace with England, the French knights thought of
crusades. Indeed, the Turks, under their great leader Bajazet, were begin-
niii" to make their way into Europe; and the eldest son of the
Bunnuidy, John the Fearless, set out with a party of French knights to sue-
t-or tlu- Hungarians against them. They came just as peace had been sworn
to on each side; Imt 'it seemrd such a pity that their aid should be wasted,
that the Ilunirarmns broke their word, and attacked the Turks. But their
Invac-h of faith met a due reward, for the whole army was defeated and
butchered, and John himself, with twenty-seven nobles, alone lived to be
ransomed.
Afterward, Marshal Boucicault led another troop to help the Emperor
of Constantinople, Manuel Pakeologos, and brought him home to France to
visit the king, and ask further aid from the princes of Europe.
CHAPTER XXII .
BURGUNDIANS AND ARMAGNACS.
A.D. 1415-1432.
OTHING could be more sad than the state of France under the
mad king. As long as his uncle (the*Duke of Burgundy)
lived, he was not so ill cared for, and. the country was under
some sort of -government ; but when Duke Philip died, and
the dukedom passed to his son, John the Fearless, there was a
perpetual quarrel between this rough and violent duke and
the king's brother Louis, Duke of Orleans. The Duchess of
Orleans — a gentle Italian lady (Valentina of Milan) — was the
only person who could calm the poor king in his fits of frenzy,
and the friends of Burgundy declared she bewitched him, and made him
worse. In the meantime, Queen Isabel would do nothing but amuse her-
self with the Duke of Orleans, and the king and her little children were
left without attendants, and often without proper clothes or food.
The people of Paris hated Orleans, and loved the Duke of Burgundy,
and this last was resolved to get the king into his power. So one night, as
the Duke of Orleans was going home from supper with the cpieen, he was
set upon by murderers and killed in the streets of Paris ; and, what was
even more horrible, the Duke of Burgundy caused a priest to preach a ser-
STOHIKS OF FI;K.\CII HISTORY. 6ia
in.,, defending the wicked act The Duchess of Orleans came with her BOM
:in.l knell at the km-- feet, imploring fur tin- miirdnvr to I,,- punish.-.! • lmt
he could do nothing f,,r her, and >he uent i,,,i,i,. ;ni,i died broken-hearted
However, her eon, th.- you,,- Duke of Orleans, married th«- .l.-m-i,,.-,- ,,f ,[„'.
('mint «.f Arinagna.-, who took up his cause SO vehemently that all the
Wends of the House of Orleans were caUed Annagnacs, and were known by
wearing a white scarf over the left sh«,ul,|er, while the Bur-undians won
blue hoods.
Th- kind's eldest son, the Dauphin Louis, was sixteen yean ,,],] -md
toed fco gel into power; l.ut he was a foolish. i,n,. pouth, whom no one
When he heard that th,- new king of En-Ian.!. llenn V meant
t.. invade l-Yan,-c, Louis sent hi,,, a present of a basket of tennis balls say.
in- they wen- his n,os, lilting weapons, consider!. i- his way of lift- a- the
madcap prince. Henry answered that he hoped to return baHa from the
mouths of cannon against Paris; and it was not long before he actually
crossed the channel, and laid si,-e to Harfleur, in Normandy.
He soon took it, for no aid was sent to it; and he proclaimed himself as
Kingoj I- ranee, like Edward III. before him, and proceeded to endeavor to
conquer the country. The Dauphin collected an army, and mar.-hed to in-
fcercepl him, as he was on his way from Ilarfl.-ur to Calais to obtain fresh
supplies. The French army -ready outnumbered the English, and thought
t would be easy to cut them off, seeing them hun-ry, sick, and worn with a
kmg march. But the carelessness, the dissensions, and the insubordination
French army would have caused it to be beaten by a far less skilful
general than was Henry V. ; and thou-h eaeh noble and kni-ht was person-
ally valiant, this did litrle good when they were not united. There was an
immense slaughter at this far-famed battle of Agincourt, and many noted
prisoners were taken by the Kn-lish. espeeially the Duke of Orleans- and
Henry would no1 allow these nobh-s to be ransomed, but kept then, in can-
tivit.\ m England, until he should have finished winnin- the kingdom
Ihe Dauphin Louis escaped from the battle, but died soon after- his
next brother (the Dauphin John) did not survive him 1,,,,-; and the third
brother (the Dauphin Charles) was entirely under the power of the Arm-,-
nac party, as well as his father and mother.
Hut the Count of Annagnac was so insolent that Queen Isabel could
t no longer, and fled to the Duke of Burgundy's protection; and soon
MM people of Paris rose against the Annagnacs, and murdered every-
one whom they found belonging to them. The count himself was horribly
shed, and his body was dragged up and down the streets. The poor king
in a, fit of madness in his palace; the Dauphin was carried away by his
lend, Mr 1 anneguy du Chastel ; and for a whole month there was nothin-
but saya-e murders throughout Paris Of all who were supposed to be
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Armagnacs, until the queen and the Duke of Burgundy arrived, and restored
something like order.
No one, of course, had leisure to do anything to relieve Rouen, which
Henry V. was besieging, and took in spite of the citizens holding out
bravely. The queen and duke determined to make peace with him, and
met him at a meadow near Pontoise, where beautiful embroidered tents
were pitched ; and they held a conference, in which Henry asked in marriage
Catherine, the youngest daughter of Charles and Isabel, with the whole of
the provinces that had once belonged to the English kings as her dowry —
JOHN THE FEARLESS STABISKD.
Normandy, Aquitaine, and all. If this were refused, he would conquer
the whole kingdom for himself.
No promises were absolutely made. The Duke of Burgundy coiild not
make up his mind to give up so large a portion of his native realm, and
began to consider of going over to the Dauphin and helping him to defend
himself. A meeting was arranged for the Duke and Dauphin on the
bridge of Montereau ; but Tanneguy du Chastel and the prince's other
friends had no intention of letting the boy get into the power of the
STOKIKS OF FIIKXCM HISTORY. <;i:.
great duke, and durinir tlie conference they treacherou-ly -tahbed John the
Fearless t<> tin- In-art. 1 1 i- murder of the Duke of ( )rleans was thus vi-iti-d
upon him, luit the crime uas dreadful in those who coiuniitted it. The
consequence \\ as that liis son Philip, called the (iood, went cntirelv over to
the Knglish; and he fore long. Henry \ . was married to Catherine, and was
to be Uegent of France as long a- |>oor Charles lived, and after that kin;:,
the Dauphin being disinherited as a murderer.
All the north of France had heeii co]|(|iiered by the Knglish, and the
Dauphin and his friends had retired to the xnith. Thence they sent to the
Scots to ask for help, and many brave ScotMiien came, glad of a chance of
lighting with the Knglish. Henry had t'oiie home to England to take hi>
bride, and had left his In-other, the Duke of Clarence, in command, when, aa
the English were marching into Anjou, the Scots fell on them at Beaiije,
and defeated them, killing the Duke of Clarence.
Henry came hack in haste, and again curried all before him. He took
the town of Meaux, where a horrible robber lived, cruelly preying on the
inhabitants of Paris; but the siege lasted the whole winter. Henry caught
cold there, and never was well again, though he kept his Whitsuntide at
Paris with great state. Soon after, he set out for another campaign, but he
became so ill on the journey that he had to be carried back to Vincenne>,
and there died. No one of all his own children had ever been so good to
poor King Charles as Henry had been, and the loss at last broke his heart.
He wept and wailed constantly for his good son Henry, pined away, and
died only three months later, in October, 1422, after thirty years of mad-
ness.
616 T1IK WOKI.irs <;i!KAT NATIONS.
CHAPTEK XXIII.
CHARLES VII.
A.D. 1432-1461.
'HOUGH all history counts the reign of Charles VII. as begin-
ning from the death of his unhappy father, yet it was really
the infant Henry, son of his sister Catherine and of Henry V.
of England, who was proclaimed King of France over the
»-rave in which Charles VI. was buried, and who was acknow-
ledged throughout France as far as the Loire, while his uncle,
the Duke of Bedford, acted as Regent.
Charles VII. was proclaimed king by the Armagnacs, but
most people still called him the Dauphin, and many termed
him the King of Bourges, for he lived in that little town, never seeming to
trouble himself about the state of his kingdom, but only thinking how to
amuse himself from day to day, and sometimes even talking of neeing to
Scotland, and leaving everything to the English.
Bedford, in the meantime, determined to push on the work of conquest,
and sent the Earl of Salisbury to lay siege to Orleans ; but the place was
bravely defended, and Salisbury was killed by a shot in the throat while
looking on at the works. Soon after, as some stores were being sent to the
English, a party of French nobles resolved to stop them, and fell upon the
wagons. The English came out to defend them, and there was a general
battle, which is known as the Battle of the Herrings, because the provisions
chiefly consisted of salt fish, intended to be eaten in Lent.
The siege lasted on, but a wonderful aid came to the French. A young
girl, named Joan d'Arc, thought she Avas called by the Angel St. Michael,
and the Virgin Saints, Catherine and Margaret, to deliver her country and
lead the king to be crowned at Rheirns. At first no one would believe her,
but she Avas so earnest that at last the king heard of her, and sent for her.
He received her by torchlight, and standing in the midst of many nobles,
more richly dressed than he Avas ; but she knew him at once among them
all, and led him a little apart, when she told him things that he declared no
one else could have known but himself, and Avhich made him sure she must
have some unearthly knowledge. She said her Voices directed her to go
and fetch a marvelous SAVord from the shrine of St. Catherine, at Fierbois,
and Avith this in her hand she led the troops to drive the English from.
* K
JOAN OF ARC RECOGNIZES THE KING.
>TOIMI-:S OF n;i:.\cii HISTORY.
617
Orleans; lnil >\n> never herself fought or struck ;i Mow; she only l.-il the
French, who li;td such trust in her, that \\hcre\er-he led the\ uHlin^'lv
I'olloued. The English soldiers, on tl thcr hand, Kelieved her to In- a
\\itdi, and fled in horror and dismay, leaving their leaders, who st 1 firm.
to be slain. Tims it \\as that she succeeded in cntci in- ( )|-l.-aiiN and ddix,-,-
JOAN D'AKC RECEIVES TUB BANNER.
ing it from the siege. Thenceforth she was called the Maid of Orleans, and
victory seemed to follow her. She fought in the name of Heaven, and did
all she could to make her followers holy and good, rebuking them for all
bad language or excess; and at last she had the great joy of opening the
way to Rheims, the city where all French kings had been crowned ever
since the beginning of the Meerwings. She saw Charles VII. cr<nvned and
618 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
anointed, and then .she begged to go home to her cottage ; but the king and
his council would not permit this, because she was such an encouragement
to their men, and a terror to the English. But her hope and confidence
were gone, and the French captains did not like her, though their men did;
and at Compiegne the governor shut the gates, and left her outside to be
made prisoner by the Burgundians. She was kept in prison a long time—
first in Burgundy, and then at Rouen — and tried before French and Bur-
gundian bishops, who decided that her Voices had been delusions of Satan,
and her victories his work; therefore, that she ought to be burnt as a witch.
To the eternal disgrace of Charles VII., he never stirred a finger to save her,
and she was burnt to death in the market-place at liouen.
No one ever deserved less to win back a kingdom than Charles. He
amused himself with one unworthy favorite after another ; but there was a
brave spirit among his knights and nobles, and the ablest of them was
Arthur, Count de Richemont, brother to the Duke of Brittany, and Con-
stable of France. As they grew stronger, the English grew weaker and less
prudent. The Duke of Burgundy was offended, and made his peace with
the King of France ; and the Duke of Bedford soon after died at Rouen,
worn out with care and trouble.
Step by step, bit by bit, did the French king regain his dominion. AY hen
his cause began to look hopeful, he shook off his sluggishness, and came in
person to receive the submission of Paris, and to reconquer Normandy.
But the war was not finally ended till the year 1453, when Bordeaux itself
was taken by the French ; and thus finished the hundred years' war that
Edward III. had begun.
Charles VII. was not at all a foolish person when once he chose to exert
himself. AVhen the war was over, and the bands of men-at-arms had noth-
ing to do,' he managed better than his grandfather, Charles V. ; for he laid
them under strict rules, and gave them pay, so that they made him stronger,
instead of being a torment to the whole country. But the nobles were very
angry, and rose in an insurrection, which the Dauphin Louis joined, chiefly
because he thought it would give his father trouble ; but when he found the
king too strong for the rebels, he made his peace, and left them to their jfate.
Charles was a prosperous man, and established peace. In the Church,
too, there was peace ; for at the council held by the Lake of Constance, in
the year 1415, the rival Popes of Rome and Avignon had both been made
to resign, and a new one had been elected, who was reigning at Rome ; but
a great deal of evil had grown up during the Great Schism, which had not
been remedied, and things were growing worse and worse ; for if religion
was not rightly taught, sin was sure to get unrestrained. One of the worst
parts of Charles's nature was that he was so cold and ungrateful. The
merchant, Jacques Coeur, had counseled him and lent him money, and done
THE MAID OF ORLEANS IN PRISON.
OK FIIKXCII IIIST(ti;V.
619
than any one else to bear him through his troubles; and yet lie let
false ami ridiculous accusations lie brought forward, mi which tlii- Lfi'-at
man uas stripped of all his property, and sent awav to die in exile. Yet
Charles's name in history is the Well-served ! But his <..n. I,,,nis the 1 >uu-
jihin, hated him, and in a cunning, bitter \\a\ did all he could to \c\and
anger him. After many quarrels, Louis tied from court, and asked the
protection of Duke Philip of Burgundy, who had liecome the most Magnifi-
cent ami stately of Kuropean princes, and hoped to make him-rl!' or his -on
kin-- of the Low Countries.
The old king lived in continual fear of this son of his, and at last fancied
that Louis meant to poison him, and refused to take any food or drink, until
he lost the power of swallowing; and thus this cold-hearted, ungrateful
king died a miserable death, in the year 14t'il. His coldness had made every
one the more admire the splendid and generous Duke of Burgundy, whose
riches and liberality were the talk of all, and whose court was the most
stately in existence. Through his mother, he had inherited Flanders, \\ith
all the rich manufacturing towns ; and Holland, with her merchant cities;
and his court was full of beauty and luxury.
CHAPTER XXIV.
LOUIS XI.
A.D. 1461-1483.
f'^OUIS XL was one of the cleverest of men, but also one of the
most crafty and cruel, and who has left the most hateful name
in history. The one thing he cared for was to be powerful,
and no sense of truth or pity would stop him in bringing this
about. But it was not for state or splendor that he cared.
He wore the meanest and most shabby clothes, and an old hat,
surmounted by little leaden images of the saints, which he
would take down and invoke to help him. For though his
religion could have been good for nothing, since it did not
keep him from ever committing any crime, he was wonderfully superstitious.
He must really have been taught, like all of his Church, that the saints did
not bestow benefits, and could only be asked to intercede for them ; but he
not only prayed to them direct, but to their images; and it actually seems
that he thought that if he told one image of the Blessed Virgin of some
620
THE WORLD'S CHEAT NATIONS.
crime, or made it some promise, it was a different thing from telling
another.
1 1 i> court fool once overheard him at his devotions and thought them so
absurd and foolish that he could not help telling of them. The truth was
that Louis had no love for God or man, he had only fear; and so he tried
TROOPS OP CHARLES THE BOLD.
to bribe the saints to keep from him the punishments he knew he deserved,
by fine promises of gifts to their shrines. And his fear of man made him
shut himself up in a grim castle at Plessis-les-Tours, with walls and 'moats
all round, and a guard of archers from Scotland, posted in iron cages on the
battlements, to shoot at any dangerous person. He did not like the com-
pany of his nobles and knights, but preferred that of his barber, Oliver le
STORIES OF I l;l-:\< II IHSTo|;y. 62]
Daini, und his cliief executioner, Trist an rilermite ; and whoever offended
liini, if not put t<> death, \\a-< imprisoned in the castle of Loclies, often in an
iron cage, so small that it \\as impossible to stand upright or lie at full
length in it.
He had one brother, the Duke of Berri, whom he feared and hated,
persecuting him till the Duke of Burirundy took the young man's part; Imt
Louis managed to break up their alliance, and get his brother back into his
ou n hands, and then to poison him.
The old duke, Philip the (iood, died just after Louis came to the throne,
and his son, Charles the Mold, was a brave, high-spirited prince, with much
that was noble and earnest about him, though very ambitious, and even
more bent than his father on making his dukedom into a kingdom, reaching
from the (iermaii Ocean to the Alps. To upset this power was Louis's
great object. First, he began to stir up the turbulent towns of Flanders to
break out against Charles; and then, while this was at \\ork, he came to
\i>it him at his town of Peronne, hoping to talk him over, and cajole him
\\ith polite words. But what the king had not expected came to pas-.
The mischief lie had been brewing at Liege broke out suddenly; and the
people rose in tumult, killed 'the duke's officers and shut their gates. No
wonder Charles went into a great rage; and since Louis had put himself
into a trap, thought it only fair to close the door on him. He kept him
there till the French army had been summoned, and helped to reduce and,
punish Liege; besides which, Louis made all manner of oaths, which, of
course, he never meant to keep.
King and duke hated one another more than ever; and Charles, who had
married the sister of Edward IV. of England, promised to aid the English if
they would come to conquer France. Then Edward should have all the
\\estern parts, and he all the eastern. L'dward actually came, with one of the
finest armies thai had ever sailed from England; but the Duke of Bur-
gundv had been drawn into a war with the German emperor, and could not
join him : and Louis sent cunning messages and bribes to Edward and his
friends, to persuade them to go away without fighting. The two kings met
one another on the bridge of Pecquiguy, across the Somnie, with a great
wooden barrier put up between, for fear they should murder one another;
and they kissed one another through the bars, while the two armies looked
on — the English ashamed, and the French well pleased, but laughing at them
for going back in this dishonorable way.
Charles the Bold would have gone on with the war, but Louis stirred up
fresh enemies for him in Switzerland. The French king sent secret messen-
gers into the Swiss towns and cantons to set them against the duke. The
town of Basle rose, and murdered Charles's governor, and then joined the
young Duke of Lorraine, his bitter enemy, and made war on him. Charles
G22 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
was beaten in two battles, at Morat and Granson ; and at last, when he was
besieging Nancy (the capital of Lorraine ), the wicked Count Campobasso, the
commander of his hired Italian troops, on Epiphany night, betrayed him to
the Swiss, opened the gates of the camp, and went over to the enemy. There
was a great slaughter of the Burgundians ; and after it was over, the body
of the brave Duke Charles was found, stripped naked and gashed, lying half
in and half out of a frozen pool of water.
lie only left one daughter, named Mary. His dukedom of Burgundy could
not go to a woman, so that returned to France ; but Mary had all Flanders
and Holland. Her father had betrothed her to Maximilian of Austria (the
son of the German emperor); and when Louis was stirring up her towns to
rebel against her, she sent her betrothed a ring as a token to beg him to
come to her help. He did so at once, and they were married, and were most
happy and prosperous for five years, till Mary was killed by a fall from her
horse, and her baby son Philip had her inheritance.
So Louis obtained the French part of the duchy of Burgundy. His
mother (Mary of Anjou) had been the sister of the Duke of Anjou, who
had been adopted as the son of Queen Jane of Naples, the descendant of
Charles of Anjou, St. Louis's brother. Rene, Duke of Anjou, his brother (the
father of Queen Margaret of England), had never been able to get the king-
dom of Naples, though he was always called King Rene, but he did get the
county of Provence, which belonged to it; and there he led a cheerful,
peaceable life, among painters, poets, and musicians, and was one of the few
good men of his time. His wife had been Duchess of Lorraine in her own
right, and the young Duke of Lorraine who fought with Charles the Bold
was the son of his eldest daughter, for all his sons died young. Louis could
not take away Lorraine from the young duke; but he did persuade old
King Rene at his death to leave the French kings all his claims to the king-
dom of Naples — a very unhappy legacy, as will be seen.
Louis had three children — Anne, who married the Duke of Bourbon's
brother, the Lord of Beaujeu, and whom he loved ; and Jane, a poor, de-
formed, sickly girl, whom he cruelly teased because she was ugly, so that
she used to hide behind her sister to escape his eye. She wanted to go into
a convent ; but he forced her to marry her cousin Louis, Duke of Orleans,
who made no secret that he hated the very sight of her, though she was as
good and meek as possible. Charles the Dauphin was sickly too, and the
king himself had lost his health. He was in great dread of death — sent
for a hermit from Italy (Francis de Paula) to pray for him, and vowed to
give silver and gold images and candlesticks and shrines to half the saints if
they would save him ; but death came to him at last, in 1483, just as wicked
Richard III. of England had gained the crown.
n;K\< II
CHAPTER X X V .
<' II A U I, K S VIII.
A.D. I is:; 1 |'.«.
Charles VIII. was but nine \ears old when he can.e
to the crown. lie was a \\eakly bo\, with thin I-".1- and a
large head, but very full of spirit. His father had never cared
about his learning, saying that to know how to dissimulate
\\as all that signified to a king; and his sister Anne, the Lady
of Beaujeu, who had the charge of him and his kingdom,
thought like her father, and took no pains to teach him. He
read nothing but poems and romances about knights and
ladies, dragons and enchanters; but he did really gain the
best lessons they could teach him, for instead of learning dissimulation, he
hated it. He never deceived any one, never broke his word, was alwa\-
courteous ; and so far from showing mean spite, like his father, he never
\\ilfully grieved or vexed any one of any sort through his whole life.
At first, the Lady of Beaujeu was taken up with quarrels \\ith their
cousin and brother-in-law, the Duke of Orleans, who thought he had a better
right to be Regent than a woman ; and when he could not rule, went off to
Brittany and made mischief there. The Duke of Brittany had no son, and
everybody wanted to marry his little daughter Anne. Orleans himself had
hopes of getting himself divorced from his poor, good Jane, and marrying
this young girl; and at last a battle was fought between the Bretons and
French, in which Orleans was knocked down, and made prisoner. He \\a-
s( nt o(V to one castle sifter another; but his good wife Jane always followed
him to do her best to comfort him, and never left him except to try to gain
his pardon ; but the Lady of Beaujeu knew better than to let him out as
long as Anne of Brittany was not married. Indeed, the Lady thought the
best thing would be if young Charles could marry Anne, and join the great
dukedom to his dominions.
But, on the one hand, Charles was betrothed to Maximilian's daughter
Margaret, and Anne to Maximilian himself ; and, on the other, there was
nothing the Bretons hated so much as the notion of being joined on to the
French. They wanted the poor girl of fourteen to marry a grim old baron,
Alan de Foix, who had eight children already, because they thought he
would fight for the duchy. In the midst of the dispute, the Duke of Brit-
624
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
tany died, and poor young Anne had to strive for herself — on the one side
against the French, who wanted to get her duchy into their hands ; and on
the other, against her own Bretons, who wanted to force her into taking old
Alan d'Albret. She waited in vain for Maximilian, hoping he would corne
to her, as he had once come to Mary of Burgundy ; and he was setting off,
FLEMISH BURGHERS RISING
when his son's Flemish subjects, jealous of his raising troops, rose in tumult ;
so that he had to hide in an apothecary's shop, till he was carried to prison
in the castle at Bruges.
Anne of Beaujeu, in the meantime, raised an army and entered Brittany,
taking one town after another. Still Anne of Brittany held out in her city
MEETING OF CHARLES AND ANNE OF BRITTANY.
STORIES OF FI!K.\( H HISTORY.
of Rennes. But late one evening a young gentleman, with a small suite,
came to the gates ami desired to see. the duchess. It was the kin^r: and so
sweet in manner, so gentle and knightly was he, that iMiche— Anne ft .i--.it
her objections, and consented tn marry him. And so the duchy of Brittam
was joined to the crown of France. The worst of it \\as, that Charle- V 1 1 1
had been betrothed to Maximilian's daughter Margaret; but his sister cared
little for scruples, and he was still under her charge. As soon as Charle-
and Anne were married, the Duke of Orleans was released.
Charles had always lived on romances, and wanted to be a king of
romance himself. So he recollected the right to the kingdom of Naples
which old King Rent- had left to his father, and he gathered together one of
the most splendid armies that ever was seen in France to go and conquer it
for himself. Nobody in Italy was ready to oppose him, for the cities were
all quarreling among themselves; and the Pope who was reigning then,
Alexander VI., was one of the wickedest men who ever lived. All good
men hoped that this young king would set things to rights — call a council
of the Church, and have the court of Rome purified ; but Charles was a
mere youth, who cared as yet chiefly for making a grand knightly display ;
and he could not even keep his army in order, so that they did dreadful
mischief to the people in Italy, and made themselves very much hated. He
was crowned King of Naples, and then left a division of his army to guard
the kingdom, while he rode back again the whole length of Italy, and on the
way claimed the duchy of Milan for his brother-in-law, the Duke of Orleans,
whose grandmother, Valentina Visconti, had been a daughter of the Duke
of Milan.
The Italian States, however, had all leagued against him, and a great
army gathered together to attack him at Fornova. Then he showed all the
high spirit and bravery there was in him. He really seemed to grow bigger
with joy and courage ; he fought like a lion, and gained a grand victory, so
that he could go home to Queen Anne feeling like a true knight.
But more goes to make a king than knighthood, and he did not keep up
what he had conquered, nor send men or provisions to his army in Naples ;
so they were all driven out by the great Spanish captain, Gonzalo de Cor-
dova, and only a remnant of them came home to France, in a miserable
condition.
Charles began to think more deeply as he grew older. He lost both his
infant sons, and his grief changed him a good deal. He read better books
than the romances of chivalry ; and as he had learnt truth, honor, and kind-
ness before, so now he learnt piety, justice, and firmness. He resolved to
live like St. Louis, and began, like him, sitting under the oak-tree to hear
the causes of the rich and poor, and doing justice to all.
Above all, he knew how vain and foolish he had been in Italy, and what
40
626
TIIK WIWUJ'S GREAT NATIONS.
a great opportunity he had thrown away of trying to get the terrible evils
that were going on among the Pope and his Cardinals cured, by helping the
good men left in Italy, together with Maximilian and Henry VII., to call a
council of the Church, and set matters to rights. He was just beginning to
make arrangements for another expedition to make up for his former mis-
takes, when one day, as he was going through a dark passage leading to the
tennis-court at Blois, he struck his forehead against the top of a doorway,
was knocked backward, taken up senseless, and after lying in that state for
a couple of hours, died, in the twenty-ninth year of his life and the fifteenth
of his reign, in 1498. He was so much loved that one of his servants died
of grief, and his noble temper liad trained up in France such a race of
knightly men as perhaps has never been seen at any other time.
CHAPTER XXVI.
LOUIS XII.
A.D. 1498-1515.
fHAKLES VIII. had lost both his children, so the throne
went to Louis, Duke of Orleans, grandson to the second son
of Charles V. He was a kindly man, when selfishness did
not come in his way, and he was much admired for saying,
when he was asked to punish some of his old enemies, that
the King of France forgot all injuries to the Duke of Or-
leans. The first thing he did, however, was to bribe the
wicked old Pope, Alexander VI., to separate him from his
good, faithful wife, Jane, who went into a convent and
spent the rest of her life in praying for him ; while he married Anne of
Brittany, in order to keep her duchy united with the crown. She was a
very noble and high-spirited queen, and kept her court in such excellent
order, that the time of good Queen Anne has always been looked back to as
the very best time of the French court.
Louis was a vain man, and could not rest till he had done as much as
Charles VIII. So he allied himself with the Pope, set off into Italy with
another brilliant army, and seized Milan. He did not himself go to Naples,
but he sent thither an army, who seized a large portion of the kingdom ;
but then the Spanish King Ferdinand persuaded Louis to make peace, and
divide the kingdom of Naples in half. But while the two kings and their
STOIMKS (iK I KT.NCII HISTORY.
ministers \vere settling where the <livi>i<m should !)••, the soldiers in tin
kingdom itself were constantly qiiarn-liii^, and the war \\t-nt on there JUM
as if the kings were not making a treaty. At first the French had tin-
advantage, for their knights were courage itself, especially one \\hose name
was Bayard, and who was commonly called "the fearless ami blameless
THE FRENCH SEIZE MILAN.
knight." The Spaniards, with Gouzalo de Cordova, their captain, were shut
up in the city of Barletta, and stood a long, weary siege ; but he was won-
derfully patient, and held out till fresh troops came out to him from Spain,
and then he beat the French completely at the battle of Cerignola, and then
• 1 rove them out, city by city, castle by castle, as he had done once before.
Cos THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
The Italians themselves hated both French and Spaniards alike, and only
wanted to get Italy free of them ; but instead of all joining openly together
against them, their little states and princes took different sides, according to
what they thought most likely to be profitable, though in a battle they did
not much care whom they killed, so long as he was a foreigner. A clever
Florentine, named Machiavelli, wrote a book called "The Prince," in which
he made out that craft and trickery was the right way for small states to
prosper and overthrow their enemies ; and this spirit of falsehood was taken
for good policy, and is known by his name.
The manner of fighting was curious. Able captains used to get together
bands of men-at-arms, who had been trained to skill in warfare, but who did
not care on what side they fought, provided they were paid well, allowed to
plunder the towns they took, and to make prisoners, whom they put to ran-
som. Some of these bands were on horseback, some on foot, and the most
feared of all among the foot-soldiers were the Swiss, who were very terrible
with their long pikes, and would hire themselves out to any one who paid
them well ; but if they did not get money enough, were apt to mutiny and
go over to the other side.
The wicked Pope, Alexander VI., was poisoned by drinking by mistake
the wine he had meant to poison another person with ; and the new Pope,
Julius II., made a league with Louis and Maximilian against the Venetians.
It was called the League of Cambrai, but no sooner had the brave French
army gained and given to Julius the towns he had been promised, than he
turned again to his Italian hatred of the foreigner, and deserted their cause.
He made another league, which he called the Holy League, with the Em-
peror Maximilian, the Spanish Ferdinand, and Henry VIII. of England, for
driving the French out of Italy. This was the sort of bad faith that Machia-
velli had taught men to think good policy.
The French army in Italy was attacked by the Spaniards and Italians,
and though the brave young general, Gaston de Foix, Duke of Nemours,
gained a grand battle at Ravenna, he was killed at the close of the day : and
the French having everybody against them, were driven back out of the
duchy of Milan, and over the Alps, and entirely out of Italy. Louis XII.
could not send help to them, for Ferdinand was attacking him in the south.
of France, and Henry VIII. in the north. The sister of the Duke of Ne-
mours was the second wife of Ferdinand, and he said she ought to be Queen
of Navarre ; and as the real queen was wife to a French count, Ferdinand
seized the little kingdom, and left only the possessions that belonged to the
French side of the family ; so that henceforth the King of Navarre was only
a French noble.
Henry VIII. brought a fine army with him, with which he besieged and
took the city of Tournay, and fought a battle at Enguingate, in which the
STORIKS OF FI;|.:N< ii HISTORY.
629
Frem-l, uvr, token l,y rarprfae; a panic s-ixed them, they left their l.rav,
^f^ Bayard amoythen^ to l» made priscme^aad groped off so^
« a tl,e« were only forty men killed, ami the English called i, ,11(. ,,„„,.
OI tllG OJHU's.
Terou,,,,,, wv&o t;lk,n, .,,„! Louis thought it time to make peace
I'^;: •',V" ..... ''•'•'"a.n.uas .jus, ,,,,,,. Sh, h,| had on] v , u o dau^
tore, land, and liem-e; ami as Claude was h,in,s of B.-iitany i, u,s
though „,.!! to man, 1,,, to l-Yan,is, I)llke of Angoul,,,,,, u iJwan li,,,
™™" <" '"''• t;" "'•• ••""' " ^0 woul.I be Kin, of France. F,,n,is ,as a fine
laome, gracefa] yorag man, but he had a veiy bad mother, Louise ,-f
Savoy. Queen Anne knew Claude would not be made ha,,,,v, and tried
l.;;.nl to prevent the match, but she could not succeed, and sh, died sooi,
^^ as concluded. Louis then offered himself to marry Henry's youno
esi s.ster, Mary, the most beautiful princess in Europe, and she uas obli^l
consent. Louis was not an ol.l nun,, but he had been long ohli^d to take
great care of his health, and the feastings and pageants with whirl, !„. „,
ceived Ins young bride quite wore him out, so that he died at the end of six
\\i-cks, on the New Year's Day of 1515.
lie is sometimes called the father of his people, though he does not seem
• have done much for their good, only taxed them heavily for his wars in
aly ; but his manners were pleasant, and that went for a great deal with
Drench. The Italian wars, though very bad in themselves, improved
ench in taste by causing them to see the splendid libraries and build-
gs, and the wonderful collections of statues, gems, and vases of the old
:imes, which the Italian princes were making, and those most beau-
ful pictures that were being produced by the greatest artists who have
lived. This brought in a love of all these forms of beauty, and from
1.1 1 time forward the French gentlemen were much more cultivated than
they had been in the old knightly days, though, unfortunately, they were
inch less religious, for the sight of those wicked Popes had done them all
much harm
630
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
FRANCIS I. — YOUTH.
A.D. 1.515-1526.
;
RANCIS I., the new King of France, was twenty years old, and
very brilliant, handsome, gracious, brave, and clever, with his
head full of chivalrous notions, but with no real sense of
religion to keep him up to the truth and honor that are the
most real part of chivalry.
To conquer Italy was, as usual, his first notion, and he set
out across the Alps ; but the Swiss had turned against him,
and blocked up his way at Marignano. There was a terrible
battle, beginning late in the day, and when night came on
everything was in confusion. The king lay down to rest on a cannon, and
asked for some water ; but the only water that could be found was red with
blood, arid he turned from it, sickened. All night the great cow-horns,
which were the signal of the Swiss troops, were heard blowing, to gather
them together ; but the French rallied sooner, and won a complete victory,
which was very much thought of, as no one had ever beaten the Swiss be-
fore. When it was over, Francis knelt down before Bayard, and desired
to be dubbed a knight by him, as the bravest and truest of knights. When
this was done, Bayard kissed his sword, and declared that it should never
be put to any meaner use.
After this, Francis went on to take possession of Milan ; and he had an
interview with the Pope at Bologna. It was a new Pope, called Leo X., a
man very fond of art and learning, and everything beautiful, though he
cared little for duty or religion. He made an agreement with Francis,
which is called the Concordat of Bologna. By this the king gave the Pope
certain payments every year for ever, and gave up the calling synods of his
clergy regularly ; and the Pope, in return, gave the king the right for him-
self and his successors of appointing all the bishops, deans, abbots, and
abbesses in France for ever. Nothing ever did so much harm in France, for
the courtiers used to get bad men, little children, and all sorts of unfit per-
sons appointed, for the sake of their lands and wealth ; and the clergy, being
hindered from taking counsel together, grew more idle and dull. The peo-
ple were taught nothing good, and every sin that they were prone to grew
worse and worse.
STOKIKS OF F|;K\( II
681
I-Yancis himself \vas a spoilt child, earing only for pleasure ami \\liat he
railed glory. He wanted t<> IK- Kmperor of Germany, and tried to ;_••»•(
Henry VIII. to help him; and they had a great meeting at Ardiv- (near
Calais), when sudi splendors in tents, ornament-, and apparel \\.T-- di-
played, that the cont'eivnce \\a- known as the Field of the Cloth of (iold.
The two kind's were Ixith joyous young men, and they \\ replied and played
together like two boys; but nothing came of this display, for Ilenrv reallv
preferred the young King Charles of Spain, who was grandson to the
Emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy, and thus inherited the Low
Countries.
'
THE CATHEDUAL OF MILAN.
When Maximilian died, Francis offered himself for the empire, and told
the electors they were to think of him and Charles, not as enemies, but as
rivals for the same lady. This, however, was only a fine speech, for Francis
was much discontented when Charles was chosen emperor, and began a war
again at once; but all he got by this was, that the Italians rose and drove
his army out of Milan. Another misfortune befel him. His mother, Louise
of Savoy, who had always spoilt him, and whom he gave way to more than
any one else, was so foolish as to fall in love with Charles, Duke of Bour-
632
THE WORLD'S OHEAT NATIONS.
bon and Constable of France ; an<l when the Constable laughed at her, she
resolved to ruin him, and made the king most unjustly decide against him
in a suit about his lands. The Constable was so angry that he went to
Spain, and offered to serve Charles against his king and country. He was
so good a captain that Charles was glad ; but every one felt that he was a
' >SP"
•S? \f"f 1
SPANISH TROOPS ox THE M.vm-ii.
^graced man, and the old Spanish noble in whose castle the emperor
dged him would not so much as shake hands with him. However, he was
he army that Charles sent into Italy to meet that with which Francis
,ned to regain Milan. In a little battle near Ivrea, the good knight, Bay-
ard, was shot through the back. The French were retreating brfoi the
STOIMKS OK KlfKNclI IIISTdKY.
enemy, and were forced to leave him lying under a tree ; but the Spaniard-
treated him with the deepest respect, and when the Constable de BowboD
came to him, it \\as with nnicli grief and sorrow. "Sir." said the dyinir
I!a\ard, "you need m,t pity me for dying in my duty, like a brave man:
but I pity you greatly for serving against your king, your country, and v<>ur
oath." And Hayard set up hi- cross- hand led suord before him, and died a-
a true and good knight.
Hut Bourbon did not take warning. He actually led a Spanish arinv to
in\ ade his own country, and ravaged I'roveiice ; but all the French rallied
under Francis, and he was driven back. Then Francis himself cn>--ed tin-
Alps, hoping to recover what he had lost in Italy, and for a time he had tin-
advantage; but Charles's best general, the Marquis of Pescara, marched
against him while he was besieging Pavia. There was a terrible battle,
fought on the 24th of February, 1.~>L.T>. Francis \\as «.o hasty in suppo-m-
the victory was his, charged with all his horse, got entangled in the firm
Spanish squadrons, and was surrounded, wounded, and obliged to \ ield him-
self as a prisoner. Most of his best knights were killed round him, and in
a fortnight after the battle there was not a Frenchman in Lombard} who
was not a prisoner.
The Marquis of Pescara treated Francis respectfully, and he was sent as
a prisoner to Madrid, where he was closely guarded ; and Charles, who had
given out as his object to break the pride of France, would only release him
upon very hard terms — namely, that he should yield up all his pretensions
to any part of Italy, renounce the sovereignty of the Low Countries, make
Henry d'Albret give up his claim to Navarre, and marry Charles's sister
Eleanor, giving his two sons as hostages till this was carried out. Francis
was in despair, and grew so ill that his sister Margaret came from Paris to
nurse him, when he declared that he would rather abdicate his throne than
thus cripple his kingdom. If he had held to that resolution, he would have
been honored for ever; but he had no real truth in him, and after about ten
months1 captivity, he brought himself to engage to do all that was demanded
of him ; but, at the same time, he made a protest, before a few of his French
friends, that he only signed the treaty with Charles because he was a
prisoner and in his power, and that he should not think himself bound to
keep it when he was free. If any Spaniard had heard him, this would have
been fair; but as -no one knew of it but the French, it was a shameful
deceit. However, he signed and swore to whatever Charles chose, and then
was escorted back to the borders, where, on the river Bidassua, he met his
two young sons, who were to be exchanged for him; and after embracing
them, and giving them up to the Spaniards, he landed, mounted his horse,
made it bound into the air, and, waving his sword above his head, cried out,
I am vet a king ! " He had better have been an honest man ; but though
•;:J4
THE WORLD'S URKAT NATION-
his first thought was lio\v to break the treaty, he was at first so glad to get
home that he spent his time in pleasures. He had one or two good and
noble tastes. He was so fond of those great artists who were then living,
that some of their very grandest pictures were painted for him, such as
Raffaelles beautiful picture of the Archangel St. Michael: and Leonardo da
Vinci, one of the greatest of painters, found a home with him, arid died at
last in his anus.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
FRANCIS I.— MIDDLE AGE.
A.D. 1526-L547.
other nations of Europe thought that the emperor was too
hard upon Francis, and they were the more inclined to join
against him when the Imperial army, without any orders to
that effect, marched to Rome, under the Constable de Bour-
bon, and actually took the city. Bourbon himself was shut
dead in the assault, and there was no one to stop the troops
in the horrible savage cruelties and profanations they com-
mitted. The Pope gave himself .up as prisoner, and Charles
could make what terms he pleased. Francis found he could
not stand up against him, so the mother of the French king ( Louise of
Savoy) and the aunt of the emperor (Margaret of Austria") met at Cambrai.
and made what was called the Ladies' Peace, which gave France somewhat
better terms than the treaty of Madrid had done.
Things were very bad in France just then, and good and earnest men
longed to set them right. John Calvin, a man of much 1 earning, who had
been intended for a priest, had, during his course of study, come to think
that much of the teaching of the Church of Rome was mistaken, and he put
forth books which were eagerly read by great numbers, especially by the
king's sister Margaret, who had married the dispo>-e-<nl King of Navarre :
and by his sister-in-law, Renee, the Duchess of Ferrara.
The king himself liked very well to laugh at the greedy and vicious
ways of the clergy he had got about him, and he was too clever a man not
to see that they let the people be taught a great deal that was foolish., and
could not be true; but Calvin and his friends condemned strongly all his
..wn easy, pleasure-loving ways of life. A real good priest of the Church
would have done just the same ; but Francis did not bring good ones about
s OF FRKNCII HI>ToKY. ,;.;;,
him, and the CalvinUt teaching made him angry. l'.e>ides, Calvin con-
demned things that wciv right a> \\ell a< tiling that \\ en- wrong, and his
follower! ahooked man\ devout and reverent >]>irits li\ treating all the tliimrs
that they had always thought sacred as idols. Sonic one broke a statue of
the Blessed Virgin in the streets of Paris, and this led to a cry on the part
of the people that such things should not be allowed to go on. The persons
who were pointed out as Calvinists were sei/.ed ; and when they showed
how little they agreed with the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.
they were delivered over \>y the clergy to the State, and tuiint alive, accord-
ing to the cruel laws foi dealing with heretics.
But their brethren were only the firmer in their doctrine, and hated the
Komish Church the more for thus trying to put down the truths that con-
tradicted some of her teachings. The Calvinists were called in France
Huguenots, though no one quite knows why. The most likely explanation
is, that it is from two Swiss words, meaning "oath-comrades," because they
\\ere all sworn brothers. Calvin himself, when he could not safely stay
in France, accepted an invitation from the Reformers of Geneva to come
and guide them, and thence he sent out rules \\hieh guided the French
Huguenots.
Margaret, the Queen of Navarre, thought with the Huguenots that much
\\as wrong in her Church, but she would rather have set the Church right ;
and her brother, the king, never allowed measures to be taken for driving
her to break with the Church. Her only child, Jane, was, however, brought
up an ardent Huguenot. She was a determined, high-spirited little girl ;
and when, in her twelfth year, her uncle, King Francis, wanted to marry her
to the dull, heavy Duke of Cleves, and send her off to Flanders, she cried
and entreated till the good-natured king could hardly bear it. When the
poor little bride was dressed, against her will, she either could not stand
under the weight of her jewels or she would not try, and her uncle bade the
stout Constable de Montmorency take her in his arms and carry her to the
church, and so the wedding was gone through; but before the feasts were
o\ •<•!•, or she could be carried to Cleves, Francis heard news of the duke's
having made friends with the emperor, and was very glad to be able to say
that, as the bride had never consented, the marriage was null and void.
Jane afterwards married Antony, Duke of Bourbon, who was always called
King of Navarre in her right, though the Spaniards had all the real king-
dom of Navarre, and she only had the little French counties of Beam and
Foix, but here she fostered the Huguenots with all her might.
Charles V. and Francis kept up a war for most of their lives, but with-
out any more great battles. Francis would do anything, however disgrace-
ful, to damage Charles ; and though he was persecuting the Calvinists at
home, he helped and made friends with the Protestants in Germany, because
TIIK WOK LI )'S (JKKAT NATIONS.
tli.-v were the emperor's, great trouble; and again, because Charles was at
\\.-u- \\itli the Turks and the Moors, Francis allied liiinself with them.
However, as he deserved, his treachery profited him little, for the emperor
Alined a fast hold <>n Italy, and, moreover, invaded Provence; but the Count
de Moiitiuoreney laid waste every town, village, and farm in his way, so
that his army found nothing to eat, and he was forced to retreat, though,
in truth, the poor Provencals suffered just as much from their own side as
CHARLES V.
they could have done from the enemy. However, Montmorency was made
Constable of 1 ranee as a reward.
After this, peace was made for a time, and Charles, who wanted to go
from Spam to Flanders, asked leave to pass through France; and
admired himself immensely for receiving him most courteously,
Ling the Dauphin to meet him, and entertaining him magnificently. But
the banquets, we are told that Francis pointed to the Duchess of
^atelherault, saying, "Here's a lady who says I am a great fool to let you
The emperor took the hint and dropped a costly ring into the
gold basin that the duchess held to him to wash his hands in
m safety, but no sooner did Francis hear of his bein* in
STOUKS OF FRENCH HISTORY.
637
trouble in his own domains, than all promises were again broken, and the
war bewail again. This time Henry VIII. was very angry with his bad
faith, and joined the emperor to punish it. Charles invaded Champagne,
and Henry landed at Calais, and besieged and took Boulogne. However,
the emperor first made peace, and then Henry, who promised, in eight years'
time, to give bark Moulogne for a ransom of two million crowns. Just after
this peace WM made Henry died, and Francis only lived two mouths after
him, dving in January, 1547, when only fifty-three years old. Poor (Jueen
Claude had long been dead, and he had married the emperor's sister Eleanor,
to whom he did not behave better than to Claude. She had had no children.
and most of Claude's were weakly and delicate, so that only two survived
their father — Henry, who had been the second son, but had become Dauphin;
and Margaret, the youngest daughter.
CHAPTER XXIX.
HENRY II.
A.D. 1547-1559. i
ENRY II., the son of Francis I, had better qualities than his
vain and faithless father, and if he had lived in better times,
and had good men about him, he might have been an excel-
lent person. He was not one of the men, however, who can
change the whole face of a country for good, but was led
along in the stream : his grandmother and father had made
the whole court wicked and corrupt, while, now that the
Church of France had lost its freedom, the clergy were so
much in bondage that nobody dared to speak plain truths to
the king, and he went on in sin unrebuked.
The Calvinists (or Huguenots), who read the Bible and tried to keep
the Commandments, looked at the wicked court with horror, and declared
that the way the clergy let it go on was a sign that their Church could not
be true ; and, on the other hand, the young nobles mixed up Calvinism and
strictness of life in their fancies, and laughed at both; and so the two
parties made one another worse.
The king was a kind-hearted man, and very constant in his affections.
His greatest friend was the Constable de Montmorency, to whom he held
fast all his life; and his other strongest feeling was for a beautiful lady
638 THE WORLD'S GKKAT NATIONS.
called Diana of Poitiers. She was a widow, and he wore her colors (black
and >ilv«-r) and t \\Utcd her initial (D.) up with his own (H.) in his device,
\\ithout ever being made to see how wrong it was to forsake his wife
Catherine, u ho liad been chosen for him when his father wanted to make
friends in Ital\. She was the daughter of the great Florentine family of
Medici, and was very \\ary and cunning, living so quietly while her husband
neglected her, that no one guessed how much ability she had. She had a
laiire famih. and the eldest son, Francis, was betrothed to the infant Mary,
Queen of Scots. \\ ho \\as sent from her own kingdom to be brought up with
her young husband in the court of France.
Ileiirv went on with the war with the emperor, and would not let the
French bishops go to Trent, where Charles was trying to get together a
council of the Church, to set to rights the evils that had led to the separa-
tions. Henry had one very able general, Francis de Lorraine, Duke of Guise
(a son of that Rene, Duke of Lorraine, who may be remembered as the
grandson to old King Rene). He sent this general to seize the city of
Met/, which he declared he had a right to; and there Guise shut himself up
and stood a siege by the emperor himself, until hunger and famine made
such havoc in the besieging army that they were forced to retreat.
The emperor was growing old, and suffered much from the gout, and he
longed for rest and time to prepare himself for death. So he decided on
resigning his crowns, and going and spending the remainder of his life in a
Spanish monastery. He gave the empire to his brother Ferdinand, and the
kingdoms of Spain and the two Sicilies, with Lombardy and the Low
Countries, to his son, Philip II., who was married to Mary Tudor, Queen of
England. This made the English join in the war against Henry II., and a
small, brave body was sent to the Spanish army, which, with Philip him-
self, was besieging St. Quentin, a town on the borders of Picardy. One of
the bravest men in France (a Huguenot nobleman), Gaspar de Chatillon,
Admiral de Coligny, was defending the town, and his brother, the Sieur
d'Andelot, tried hard to break through and bring him provisions, but he
was beaten back ; and there was a great battle fought on the 10th of August,
1557, before the walls, when the Constable de Montmorency, who com-
manded the French, was entirely beaten. He was himself made prisoner, four
thousand men were killed, and Coligny was forced to surrender. France had
not suffered such a defeat since the battle of Agincourt ; and Philip was so
hankful for this victory of St. Quentin, that, as it happened upon St. Law-
Day, he built, in Spain, a palace and a convent all in one, the ground
>lan of which was shaped like the gridiron, or bars of iron, on which St
Lawrence was roasted to death. However, it was some comfort to the'
the Duke of Guise managed to take by surprise the city of
Calais which the English had held ever since the time of Edward III and
STOKIKS ol-1 KKK.M'H HISTORY.
which was their last French po»e>sion. But other mischances forced
to make peace; and at ( 'hatcaii ( 'amlm-sis, in I.").")'.*, a treaty was -i'_riied \\ hid)
put an end tu the long Italian \vars tlial had been IM-J-IIM \>\ Charles VIII.
nearly seventy \ears l>efoiv. After tins, there were great rejoicing; Init the
persecution of the Calvinists was carried on with the more rigor, and the
killer and all liis court, even the ladie-, u-ed to he present at the l>uniin->
in the market-place. ( )ne jioor tailor, on his \vay to the stake, turned round
and gave the king a last look, which, it was said, Henry never forgot all the
davs of liis life.
These days \\ere not, however, very long afterward. One of the unjust
acts Francis had done was the seizing the little dukedom of Savoy, in the
Alps, and adding it to liis kingdom. The landless Duke of Savoy had gone
and served in the Spanish army, and was an able general — indeed, it was lie
who had really gained the battle of St. Quentin ; and one article in the
peace of Chateau Camhresis had been that the French should give him back
liis dukedom and marry him to Margaret, the only sister of Henry. The
wedding festivities were intended to be very magnificent, and Henry began
them with a splendid tournament, like those of the old times of knighthood,
when the knights, in full armor, rode against each other with their heavy
lances. Henry himself took part in this one, and tried to unhorse the Sieur
des I,orjv>, eldest son of the Count de Montgomery. There was generally
verv little danger to men in steel armor, but as these two met, the point of
Des Lorges' lance pierced a joint in the visor of Henry's helmet, and pen-
et rated his eye and his brain. He was carried from the lists, and lay speech-
less for two days ; and, in the meantime, his sister was hastily manned in
private to the Duke of Savoy, that his death might not delay the fulfil-
ment of the treaty. He died on the 29th of June, 1559, leaving four sons
( Francis, Charles, Henry, and Hercules) and three daughters (Elizabeth,
Claude, and Margaret), all very young. Some fortune-teller told their
mother, Catherine de Medicis, that her sons would be all kings ; and this
made her very uneasy, as she thought it must mean that they would all die,
one after the other, without heirs, like the three sons of the wicked Philip
the Fair. However, though the fortune-teller was nearly right, he was not
entirely so.
640
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXX.
FRANCIS II A-D- 1559-1562.
niAKI.KS IX 1572'
»HE next two reigns, though they are, of course, called the
reigns of Francis II. and Charles IX., were really the reigu
of their mother, Catherine de Medicis. Francis was only
fifteen when he lost his father, and was weakly and delicate ;
unil though his mother took the chief management of affairs,
she knew that he did not care for her half so much as for his
young wife Mary, Queen of Scots, who despised her for not
being a born queen, like herself, but only of a race of Italian
merchants.
Mary's mother had been a sister of the Duke of Guise, and Catherine
knew that she would help her uncle forward. Besides, the duke was the
handsomest and bravest gentleman in France, and had such gracious man-
ners that all loved him. He was quite the head of the zealous Roman
Catholics, and Catherine wanted to keep him down. So, as she did not
much care for any religion, she made friends with the chiefs of the Hugue-
nots. Queen Jane of Navarre was the real chief, for she had made her little
county of Beam quite Calvinist; but her husband, Antony, Duke of Bour-
bon, loved amusement more than anything else, and never cared enough to
make up his mind. However, his brother Louis, Prince of Conde, saw that
they would be thought more of by the Huguenots than by the other party ;
and though not a very religious man, he was sincere in thinking the Roman
errors wrong. So these two drew Antony their way. Besides, the Admiral
de Coligny, who had defended St. Quentin, was a thoroughly good, pious,
sincere man, and was much looked up to as the noblest of the Huguenots.
Conde hated nothing so much as the Duke of Guise, and he had a plan for
seizing him and the young king, but it was found out in time ; and Guise,
on his side, laid a plan for inviting the prince and his brother (who was
always called the King of Navarre) into the king's chamber. Francis was
to call out, " Here, guards ! " and the guards were to dash in and seize or
kill the two brothers. But Francis could not make up his mind to do such
a cruel, treacherous thing; so he would not give the word, and let the
princes go safely. Guise was very angry, and said he was a coward ; but it
was happy for the poor boy that he was kept from this evil deed, for it
was
CALVINISTS IN LEAGUE.
OK KKKNTH
the last act of his life. lie died of a swelling in the ear, in his seventeenth
\ear, in 1 :>»;<>. His uife, <v>ueen Mary, went hack to Scotland; and his
brothel', Charles IX., \\ ho was only twelve years old, 1,,-jaii to IV'I._MI.
The Duke of Guise lost power at court when his niece went a\\a\, and
Catherine listened more to Condi'-. Indeed, she consented that the chief
Calvinist ministers should have a conference at Pussy with the l.ish«.p~. t,.
try if they could not be reconciled to the Church ; but though thev lie^an
peaceaKh, the argument soon elided in a quarrel. However, the EugMDOte
were allowed to hold meetings for worship, provided it was not in a walled
PRINCE OP CONDE.
town, or where they could disturb Catholics ; and in their joy at gaining so
much, they ventured to do much more ; and wherever they were the
stronger, they knocked down the crosses and the images of the saints, and
did all they could to show their dislike of the Catholic worship.
At Vassy, where the mother of the Duke of Guise lived, there was a
barn where the Huguenots used to meet. When her son was visiting her,
she complained of them ; and when he went to church on Sunday, he heard
them singing. His followers were very angry at what they thought imper-
tinence, broke into the barn, made a not, and killed several. This was the
41
Till! WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
of the jri-eut war between the Catholics and the Huguenots— a
>:id ami terrible one. It was interrupted by many short times of peace, but
it \v..nld be tedious to enumerate all the wars and all the treaties. The
,-liit-f thinir t<' l>e remembered is, that a Guise was always at the head of the
Catholics, and a Bourbon at the head of the Huguenots; and that though
the .ineeii was a Catholic, she sometimes favored the Huguenots, for fear of
the (Jnises ; but she was so false that nobody could believe a word she said.
The most honest man at court was old Constable de Montmorency, but he
\\a> terribly stern and cruel, and every one feared him. The city of Rouen
fell into the hands of the Huguenots, and Guise besieged it; but in the
course of the siege he was shot by a murderer named Poltrot, and died in a
few hours. His son Henry, who was very young at the time, always be-
lieved that the murderer had been sent by the Admiral de Coligny ; and
thonirh this is not at all likely, the whole family vowed vengeance against
him. During this siege, Antony, Duke of Bourbon (called King of Navarre),
was also killed. He was no great loss to the Huguenots, for he had gone
over to the other side, and his wife, Queen Jane, was freer to act without
him.
Old Montmorency was killed not long after, in a battle with the Prince
of Conde, near St. Denis ; and the queen . thought the Huguenots so pros-
perous that she said, in a light way, to one of her ladies, " Well, we shall
have to say our prayers in French." Her sons were beginning to grow up.
She did not like to put the king forward, lest he should learn to govern,
and take away her power ; but her third son, Henry, the Duke of Anjou,
was very handsome and clever, and quite her favorite, for he was as false
and cruel as herself. In the battle of Jarnac, he commanded. The Prince
of Conde, who was on the other side, had his arm in a sling, from a hurt
received a few days before ; and just as he had ridden to the head of his
troops a horse kicked and broke his leg; but he would not give up, and
rode into the battle as he was. He was defeated, and taken prisoner. He
was lifted off his horse ; and while he sat under a tree, for he could not
stand, a friend of the Duke of Anjou shot him through the head.
The Queen of Navarre felt that she must come to the head of her party.
She had one son, Henry, Prince of Beam. As soon as he was born, his
grandfather had rubbed his lips with a clove of garlic, and bidden him be a
brave man ; and the cradle he was rocked in, a great tortoise's shell, is still
kept at Pau, in Beam. He had run about on the hills with the shepherd
lads to make him strong and hardy ; and Queen Jane had had him most
carefully taught both religion and learning, so that he was a boy of
great promise. He was fifteen years old at this time; and his cousin
Henry, son of the Prince of Conde, was about the same age. Queen
Jane took them to the head of the Huguenot army, and all were de-
<)!•• KI;K.\CH
lighted to serve under them, \vhile Admiral d<- ('oligny managed their
a Hairs.
I'nder him and Queen Jane tln-\ pro-percd m»iv than before, and
Queeii Catherine began to sec that -he should never put them down by
force. She pretended to make friends with them, and -he and her son,
Charles IX., made them grants that affronted all the /.ealoii- l!omun Cath-
olics very much; but it was all for the sake of getting them into her power.
She offered to marry her daughter Margaret to the Prince of Beam, and
invited him to her court. Poor Queeii Jane could not bear to let her \»>\
go, for she knew what would happen. Catherine kept a whole troop of
young ladies about her, who were called the Queen Mother's Squadron, ;uid
who made it their business, with their light songs, idle talk, and plea>ant
evil habits, to corrupt all the young men who came about them. IS'ow
Jane's little court was grave, strict, and dull, and Henry cnjo\ed the change.
Catherine read Italian poetry with him, put amusements in his way, and
found it only too easy to laugh him out of the strict notions of his home.
Poor Jane tried to keep up his love ; she wrote to him about his dogs and
horses, and all he used to care for; but cunning Catherine took care never
to have mother and son at her court together. She sent Henry home before
she inv.ited his mother to the court. When Jane came, Catherine said to
one of her friends, "I cannot understand this queen; she will alwa\< lie
reserved with me." "Put her in a passion," was the answer; "then she will
tell you all her secrets." But Jane never would be put in a passion, and
Catherine could get no power over her.
While still at court, Jane fell suddenly ill and died. Every one thought
Catherine had poisoned her. There was a man about court, a perfumer,
whom people called, in whispers, " The Queen's Poisoner."
H44
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXI.
CHARLES IX.
A.D. 1572-1574.
young Charles IX. would have been a good man if his
mother would have allowed him ; but she taught him that the
way to IVILTII was to deceive, and he was so much afraid of her
that he choked all his better feelings. She was exceedindy
afraid of the Huguenots, and thought they were conspiring
against her; and the young Henry, Duke of Guise, was ready
to do anything to be revenged on Coligny, whom he viewed
as his father's murderer. So, to get the Huguenots into her
power, Catherine invited all their chief nobles to come to the
wedding of her daughter Margaret with young Henry, who had become
King of Navarre. The Pope would not give leave for the princess to marry
one who stood outside the Church, but the queen forged his consent ; and
the poor bride, who was in love with the Duke of Guise, was so unwilling,
that, at the wedding itself, when she was asked if she would have this man
for her husband, she would not say yes ; but her brother Charles pushed
her head down into a nod, to stand for yes.
Coligny and all his friends had come to the wedding ; and the king was
so much delighted with the brave, honest old soldier, that Catherine thought
she should lose all her power over him. One day, Coligny was shot in
the streets of Paris by a murderer ; and though only his hands were shat-
tered, he was so ill that the king came to see him, and all his friends mus-
tered round him to protect him. Thereupon, Catherine settled with her
son, the Duke of Anjou, and the Duke of Guise, that, when the bell of the
Church of St. Germain 1'Auxerrois, close to the palace of the Tuileries,
should begin to ring at midnight before St. Bartholomew's Day, the people
of Paris, who were all devoted to the Duke of Guise, should rise upon the
Huguenots who were lodging in their houses, and kill them all at once. It
was hard to get King Charles to consent, for there were many Huguenots
whom he had learnt to love ; but when he found that he could not save
Coligny, he said, " Let them all die ; let none live to reproach me." How-
ever, he called into his own bedroom those whom he most wished to save —
namely, his good doctor and his old nurse ; but there were a great many
STOIMKS OF FKKNCII IIISTOUY. »;r.
more in the palace, attending upon the young King of Navarre, and even
one of these \\.-is slaughtered, except OIK- man, \vho dashed into (v)iiccn Mar-
garet's room and (•lung to lier. Everywhere murder waa ^oin^- on. The
followers of Guise wore \\liite scarves on one arm, that they mi-lit know
one another in the dark; and a troop of them rushed in, -le\\ .jood old
<'oli<_niv in his bedroom, and threw the corp.-e out at the window. IIU
chaplain escaped over the root', and hid in a hayloft, where a hen rame everv
day and laid an egg, which \\ as all he had to live on. All the rabble of
Paris were slaying and plundering their neighbors, and in all the other
ton us \\here the Huguenots \\ere the\\eake>t the same horrid \\orkwas
going on. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew is the deadliest crime in the
history of France. The young king \\as half mad that night.. He i- said
to have shot from the palace window at some whom he saw running a\\a\ ;
and though this may not be true, it is quite certain that he drew his sword
against the King of Navarre and Prince of Condi', and would have struck
them, if his young wife, Elizabeth of Austria, hail not heard of it, and ran
in, as she was, with her hair hanging down, entreating him to spare them :
and their lives were given them on condition that they would return to the
Church, which they did; but they were watched and forced to live like a
sort of prisoners at court.
When Queen Elizabeth of England heard of this shocking day, she
dressed herself and all her court in mourning, and would not speak to the
French ambassador. She broke off the plans for marrying her to the Duke
of Anjou — a scheme on which Catherine de Medicis was much set, a> it
would have made her third son a king without the death of the second.
However, a kingdom did come to him, for the old realm of Poland always
chose the king by election by all the nobles, and their choice fell upon
Henry, Duke of Anjou. He did not like going to that wild country, auay
from all the amusements of Paris, and delayed as long as he could, but he
was forced to set off at last.
Meantime, the poor young king was broken-hearted. He tried to forget
the horrors of the night of St. Bartholomew, and the good men he had
learnt to love and respect, while he was only drawing them into a trap.
He went out hunting, rode violently for long distances, and blew furious
blasts on his hunting-horn; but nothing could drive away that horrible
remembrance, and all that he did was to hurt his own health. His lungs
were injured ; and whenever a bleeding came on, it seemed to him that he
\\as in the midst of the blood of the Huguenots. All the comfort he
had was in his old nurse and surgeon, whom he had saved ; for his mother
was too busy trying to secure the throne for his brother to attend to him,
and kept him closely watched lest his grief for the massacre should be
known. So he died in the year. 1574, when only twenty-three years old,
TUB WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
j
,., ^ „.,„,,. „,.,,,, .„ „„,. Lorf J-s will have mercy OH me 1 And
„ ,„.,, bop. ,!,«, I,N ;>r">"""- ™ '™j- ^ on when he died, (or
• •«• ""•""•-"" still watched ami
A PREACHING OF THE HttGUEKOTS.
of France, to hold out against their enemies. Everybody was growing
dreadfully cruel on both sides. It was the fashion to boast of killing as
many as possible. If the troops of the queen and Duke of Guise came on a
1 in-wiling of the Huguenots, they burnt the building, and slew every one
who came out of it ; and if the Huguenots found a church or convent not
defended, they did not use the monks or ^iuns much better. The Count de
STOIMKS OF KKKNCI! IIISTOKY.
Montgomery, whose lance li;i<l caused the death of Henry II.. \\a- »n the
Huguenot side, and hud some ships, with which lie sailed about, capturiii'.:
all the vessel that came in his wa\ , and plundering them. It \\a> a mis-
erable time and every one watched anxioiish for the new king: but though
he was delighted to lea\e Poland, and galloped away in tlie ni-'lit from
Cracou as if he were a thief, for fear the I'oles should stop him, lie \\as in
no hurry to take all the troubles of his French kingdom upon him, but \\cnt
out of his way to Italy, and stayed there amusing himself, while all the time
the Duke of Guise was growing more and more strong, and a urn-ater fa\ »r-
ite with the people of Paris, who would do anything for him. Catherine,
too, was trying to marry her fourth son, the Duke of Alencon. to (v>nem
Elizabeth, who pretended to think about it, and even sent for him to see
her; but it was all in order to keep the peace with France — she never
really meant it — and the duke was an ugly little spiteful youth, whom
everybody at court hated and feared.
CHAPTER XXXII.
HENRY III.
A.D. 1574
>HE new king, Henry III., was a strange person. He seemed to
have used up all his spirit and sense at the battle of Jarnac,
which had made people think him a hero; and though he was
not a coward in battle, he had no boldness in thinking of
danger — no moral courage in making up his mind. On his
way home through Savoy, he saw Louise de Vaudemont, a
beautiful girl, a cousin of the Duke of Guise, and determined
to marry her. Queen Catherine tried to prevent it, because
Mary of Scotland had been so haughty with her, and poor
Louise herself was betrothed to a man she loved ; but the king would not
be withstood, and she led a dreary life with him. He cared for little but
fine clothes, his own beauty, and a sort of religion that did him no good.
He slept in a mask and gloves for the sake of his complexion, and painted
his face ; and every day he stood over his wife to see her hair dressed, and
chose her ornaments. He had a set of friends like himself, who were called
his miytwns, or darlings, and were fops like him ; but they all wore rosaries,
of which the beads were carved like skulls ; and they, king and all, used to
648 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
go in procession, barefoot and covered with sackcloth, to the churches in
Paris, \\ ith u hips in tlieir hands, with which to flog one another in penance
f.ir their >ins. Yet they were horribly cruel, and thought nothing of mur-
der. If cut- i.f tilt-in was killed, the king would go and weep over him, take
out i lie earrimrs he had himself given him, and then become just as fond of
another mifftum. Henry was also very fond of little dogs; he used to cany
a basket of them slung round his neck, and fill his carriage with them when
he went out with the queen, generally to church, where he used to stick
illuminations, cut out of old books of devotion, upon the wall.
Henry of Navarre stayed in this disgraceful court for nearly two years
longer; but at last, in ! f>7<>, he grew ashamed of the life he was leading, fled
away to the Huguenot army in the south of France, and professed himself a
Calvinist airain. He soon showed that he was by far the ablest leader that
the Hniruenots had had, and he obtained another peace, and also that his
wife Margaret should be sent to him to his little court at Nerac ; but she
had been entirely spoilt by her mother's wicked court, and had very little
sense of right or wrong. The pair never loved one another ; and as they
had no children, there was nothing to draw them together, though they were
friendly and civil to one another, and Margaret tried to help her husband
by the lively court she kept, and the letters she wrote to her friends at
Paria
Even the Duke of Alencon, the youngest brother, could not bear the life
at Henry's court, and fled from it. At one time the Dutch, who had
revolted from Philip of Spain, invited him to put himself at their head; but
he did them no good, and on his way home he died. He had never been
worth anything, but his death made a great difference, for Henry III. had
no children ; and as women could neither reign in France themselves nor
leave any rights to their children, the nearest heir to the crown was Henry
of Navarre, whose forefather, the first Count of Bourbon, had been a son of
St. Louis.
Everybody knew he was the right heir ; but to have a Calvinist king to
r.-ign over them seemed so frightful to all the more zealous Catholics, that
they formed themselves into a society, which they called a League for main-
taining the Church, and the great object of which was to keep Henry of
Navarre from being King of France. The Duke of Guise was at the head
of this League, which was so powerful, especially at Paris, that he could do
almost everything, and threatened and cowed the king till Henry was almost
a prisoner in his hands. There was a third party— Catholics, but loyal, and
with the Count de Montmorency at their head— and these were the persons
A hom Henry trusted most. He was fond of his bright, kindly brother-
in-law, the King of Navarre, and never would do anything to prevent him
om succeeding, although he found that it was not safe toremain in Paris,
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STORIES OF FI;KNCII HISTORY.
«nd went to his palace at Blois. Here he framed a plot for freeing himself
from the Duke of Guise. He placed guards on \\hom In- could depend
under the .staircase and in his ante-room ; and when (iiii-c came to visit (In-
king in early morning, they fell upon him, threw him doun, and murdered
him. His brother, the Cardinal of (iui>e, was killed tin- >ame day; and
Henry went up to his mother, Queen Catherine, \\lio \\as ill in bed, to tell
her that he was free from his enemy ; but she saw plainly that he was onlv
bringing more trouble on himself. "You have cut," she said; "can you
M-U up again? Have you thought of all that you will bring on yourself?"
He said he had done so. "Then you must be prompt and firm," she -aid;
but she did not live to help him through his difficulties. She died a foil-
night later, having done the most cruel harm to her children, her country,
and her Church.
1 1 en iv was far from able to sew up again. All the League was mad
with rage, (iuise's sons were little children; but his In-other, the' Duke of
Ma\enue, took the lead, and though he was not a clever man, the partv was
so strong that it took no great ability to make it terrible to the kin>_r. The
duke's sister, the Duchess of Montpensier, really was like a fury, and went
about the streets of Paris stirring up the people, who already hated and
despised the king, and now raged against him. They tried him in ellig\ ,
deposed him, carried his figure through the streets heaping insults upon It,
and made an anagram of his name, Henri de Valoi*, into I '/////// /Am/-*.
All the world seemed to have been turned against him, and he was brought
to such distress that he was obliged to beg Henry of Navarre to come and
help him. The two kings met at Plessis-les-Tours, and were most friendly
together. They joined their armies and began to besiege Paris; but of
course this made the Leaguers more violent against Henry than ever, and a
young monk named Clement, fancying that there was no sin, but even virtue,
in freeing the Church from a man like Henry, crept out of Paris \\ith a
packet of letters, and while the king was reading one, stabbed him in tin-
body with a dagger. Clement was at once slain by the gentlemen of the
guard, and the King of Navarre was sent for in time to see his brother-in-
law still alive. Henry embraced him, bade his people own him King of
France, and added, " But you will never be able to reign unless you become
a Catholic." Then he died, in the year 1589, the last and most contempt-
ible of the miserable house of Valois. The Leaguers rejoiced in his death,
and praised the murderer Clement as a saint and martyr, while they set up
as king the Cardinal of Bourbon, the old uncle of the King of Navarre,
declaring that it was impossible that a heretic should ever reign in France.
650
T1IK WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
HENRY IV.
A.D. t,J8))-1610.
new kins, Henry IV., was so poor, that he Avas obliged to
,l,vss himself in the velvet coat left by his brother-in-law to
' • A II !/• receive the gentlemen Avho came to make submission to him.
-'••&«r'Ji ].>,.,,,(.<. \\-;is now divided into two parties instead of three, for
the Leaguers Avere of course set against the Huguenots, Avhile
the moderate Catholics, Avho thought that the birthright of
the crown called them to be loyal to any sort of king, all
came over to Henry. And he Avas so bright, gracious, and
good-natured, that no one could help being fond of him, Avho
had once hear! his frank voice and seen his merry smile.
His old uncle, Cardinal Charles, the Leaguers' king, soon died, and then
they talked of Isabel, a daughter of Philip II. of Spain, because her mother
had been the eldest sister of the last three kings ; but as there Avas a great
hatred of the Spaniards among the French, this plan rather did harm to
their cause, and made many more of the Catholics turn to Henry. He A\ as
lighting his Avay to the throne, through more battles and sieges, ups and
doAvns, than it is possible to tell of here, though the adventures he met Avith
are delightful to read of. At the battle of Ivry, in Normandy, he told his
followers that if they wanted a guide in the thick of the fray they had only
to folloAV his Avhite feather ; and the saying became a by-word after his
great victory. The Spaniards came to help the League, and the Avar lasted
year after year, while Henry still Avas kept out of Paris. At last he made
up his mind that he Avonld return to the Roman Catholic Church. He used
to say in after times that one of the true things that nobody would believe
was, that he had changed out of an honest belief that the Calvinists Avere
Avrong ; and certainly he did gain a kingdom by so doing ; but the truth
Avas that he had very little right religion at all, and that he did not like the
strict Avays of the Calvinists. If the Catholic clergy had been hi a better
state, they would not have received him unless he had left off all the sinful
habits he loved ; but they Avere only too glad to gain him over, and accepted
liim heartily. But still the League was not satisfied, and only in the year
1.V.I4, when he had been king five years, did he ride into Paris, Avith his hair
and moustache gray from his cares and toils ; and even then the Leaguers
STOK1KS (IF FKFACH HISTORY.
651
went on opposing liiiu, till at last his wisdom, and that of his good old
friend, the Duke of Sully, succeeded in overcoming the remains of their dis-
like, and the Duke de Mayenne consented to make peace with him.
HENRY IV. AT IVRY.
Then only did Henry IV. really begin to reign. He had to put down
some of the great nobles, who had grown over-powerful and insolent during
the long civil war ; but he was one of the most kind-hearted of men, and
never punished if he could help it. He felt kindly toward the poor, and
•wished that the time should come when every Frenchman should have a fat
653 TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
lieu to boil in his pot. And, besides, he tried to do justice between the
( at holies and the Calvinists. He had friends on both sides, and was anxious
to make tin-in live in peaee, without fighting with one another or perse-
cuting one another— a plan which had been proved to convince nobody, and
only '"to lead to hatred, cruelty, and misery. So he brought about a law
which irave the Calvinists leave to have places of worship where there was
a sufficient congregation, provided it was not where they would annoy Cath-
olics. And they were not hindered from taking offices at court or in the
army, nor from keeping schools in certain places; and to secure all this to
them, they uere allowed to hold three towns as pledges— La Kochelle, Mon-
tanban, and Montpellier. In this last, there was a college for educating
the!:- pastors, and at each of the three in turn there were meetings of their
i'leiLfy to consult on the affairs of the Church. This law was called the
Edict of Nantes, because Henry had it registered by the parliament of the
old duchy of Brittany, since each old province still kept its own laws and
parliament. He obtained this Edict of Nantes with great difficulty, for
almost all the Catholics thought it a very wicked thing to allow any person
to remain outside the Church ; but every one was worn out with the long
and bloody civil war, and was glad to rest ; so the Edict was passed, and
France began to recover.
Henry had no children, and wished to be rid of his wife Margaret, that
he might marry another, instead of having to leave his crown to his young
cousin, the Prince of Conde. So, as there had never been real consent on
the Pope's part to the marriage of the cousins, and as the bride had been
forced into it against her will by her mother and brother, the Pope was per-
suaded to pronounce the wedding null and void, and that the two were free
to marry again. Still it was not easy to find a princess, for all the Span-
iards and Austrians and their allies were his greatest enemies, and he could
not now marry a Protestant ; so he ended by choosing one of the Medici
family, Mary, who proved to be a dull, selfish woman, not so clever as Cath-
erine, but not much of a companion to him.
However, she gave him two sons and three daughters, and there never
was a fonder father. Once, when the Austrian ambassador came to see him,
he was found on all-fours, with his little son riding on his back. "Are you
a father, sir ? " he said to the new-comer. " Yes, sire." " Then we will
finish our game," returned the king.
There were many of the remnants of the Leaguers who hated the king
for having once been a Huguenot, and for the Edict of Nantes ; and though.
the love of the whole country was more and more with him, he still was not
lling to gather a great crowd together in Paris, lest harm might follow.
So, as he had been crowned long before he was married, the coronation of
Mary de Medicis was put off, year after year, till it should seem safer; but
STOIUKS OF KKKNCII !II>T()RV. |||
she was \e\ed ;it the delay, and prevailed at last. Henry wa- nut with lier,
and only looked on from a private \>«\ at the pageant, and \\hile so doinir,
lie gravely said to the friend who was with him, that he had l>een thinking
how all this crowd would feel if the last trumpet were at once to .sound.
His o\\n call was nearer than he thought. The next day, just as he had
seated himself in his carriage, a man named Franci> Uavaillac spranir on the
wheel, held a paper to liim to read, and the next moment stabbed him to
the heart with a knife, so that he died in an .instant, one of the <_rreatr-t
losses his country had ever known. It was on the 14th of May, 1610. He
was known to the French as " le Grand Monarque," the Great Monarch;
and he really was a great man, and would have been a far greater if he had
been really good.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
LOUIS XIII.
A.D. 1610-1643.
E eldest son of Heniy IV., Louis XIII., was but nine years
old when his father was killed; and his mother, Mary de
Medicis, became regent. She was a weak, foolish woman, and
let herself be entirely guided by an Italian lady in her train,
named Galigai, who had married a man named Goncini.
Mary made her son give him the title of Marshal d'Ancre, and
it was they who really ruled France. When Leonora was
asked how she managed the queen, she answered, " By the
power of a strong mind over a weak one." But all the old
French nobles greatly hated d'Ancre for his pride and insolence, and Mary
declared that Leonora had bewitched the queen.
Their rule lasted seven years; but when the young king was sixteen
years old, a young nohleman named Luynes stirred him up to free himself
from them, telling him that, now he was growing up, they would secretly
kill him, that his mother might continue regent in the name of his little
brother. So Louis desired his guards to arrest d'Ancre next time he came
to the palace, and to kill him if he resisted. He did resist, and was cut
down and slain, and his wife was tried for bewitching the queen, and put to
death. Mary had to leave court, and go into the country; whence, after
some years of wrangling with her son, she went to England, after her
654
THK WORLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
youngest dan-liter, Henrietta Maria, had married King Charles I. ; and she
afterward died in jrreat poverty.
Louis XIII \va< a strange person— slow, dull, and cold-hearted, though
not ill-disposed. His health was bad, and he hated trouble and thinking
CONCINI AND MAHT DE MEDICIS.
more than anything else. What he chiefly cared for was to have some
friend about him, who would hunt, talk, and amuse him, while all trouble
was saved him. One very clever man was in his court, Armand de Richelieu,
Bishop of Lucon, who was the ablest man in court. Albert de Luynes was
STOIMKS OF FKK.M II IMSTolJY. • ;;,:,
the king's first minister after d'Ancre'a fall; hut when In- died of a fe\er,
Richelieu obtained the management of everything, He In the kin;.' ha\c
young men as his companions ami favorites; hut if ever one of thoe
slio\\fd an\ s|tirit, ami tried to stir the king up to act for himself and over-
throw the tyranny he lived under, Richelieu alwa\s found it out. and put
the hold man to deal h. The king did not hing to save his friends, and \\ hen
they were once out of his sight seemed to forget all ahoiit them: for in
truth lie disliked troiihle more than anxthing e|>e. and uoiild have heen
very sorry to think for himself instead of letting Kichelieii think and act for
him.
The cardinal, for so the Pope created him, \\as reallv one c.f the most.
wonderful statesmen who ever lived, and made France a much greater and
more mighty pouer than ever hefoiv, and the king much more powerful too.
He uas a hard, stern man, and did not care for justice, or for any one's suf-
fering, provided he could do that one thing — make thecroun of France
more powerful. The nohles, who had grown strong and haughty during
the long \\ars, were very sternly, and even cruelh, put down by him. He
thought nothing of getting them accused of treason, shut! ing them up in
prison, or having them put to death ; and he thus managed to get rid of all
the great men who had heen almost prince-, >udi as the Count de Mont-
inorency, grandson to the old Constable.
He also made \\ar upon the Huguenots, in spite of the Kdict of Nantes,
and tried to take La Hodielle from them. There was a long and terrible
siege. Charles I. of England sent them help; and his favorite, the Duke of
Buckingham, was to have had the command of the fleet that was coming to
them, but he was killed at Portsmouth, as you may have read. When at last
the people were starved out, after fourteen months, the cardinal made the
king himself come down to receive their siihmi->-ion. La Hodielle was a
terrible loss to them, and they were far more at the king's mercy than when
they had such a strong town. But at least the Konian Catholic- Church was
in a much better state than it had been when they had broken away from it.
Much still needed to he set right; but some of the worst evils had been put
a stop to. and there were many very good men among the clergy, especially
Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, and Vincent de Paul, a good priest, \\ ho
gathered toge'her the poor desolate children who had no homes, and were
starving in the streets of Paris, and set good ladies to take care of them.
He also first established the order of Sisters of Mercy, who are like nuns,
onlv not shut up in convents, but going about to nurse the sick, take care of
orphans, and teach poor children. The great ladies at court used to put on
plain dresses and go to nurse the sick in the hospitals, even the queen her-
self. She \\as a Spanish princess, called Anne of Austria — a good, kind,
and gracious lady — but no one cared for her much at court; and for many
WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
years she had no children, but at last, when all hope had been given up, she
had first one and then another boy, and there was immense rejo'icing.
Ware had been going on with the Spaniards, all through the reign, in
Italy ;ui<l the L;>.v Countries, as well as a terrible fight between the Roman
RICHELIEU AND FATHER JOSEPH.
STORIES OF FiiF.Nrn HISTORY.
.-UK! the Duke cTEnghien, eldeit son of the Prince of Conde, who gained >ome
\\onderful victories in (lit- Low Countries while still a mere youth.
But Richelieu's own iron rale was coming to an end, He had been in
very bud health for years, but he never seemed to care about it, ami was as
fierce as ever if a friend of the kinir tried to take away his power. The
I'.aron de Cinq Mars was put to death for conspiring against him u hen he
ua> almost at the gates of the grave, lie declared, when he was receiving
his last conimunioii, that he had alwaxs meant to work for the honor of (iod
and the good of the State ; and he died, in his fifty-eighth year, on the 4th
of December, Ki4i), after advising the king to trust to an Italian priest named
Mazarin, as he had truste<l to him.
Louis seemed to care very little for the loss of Richelieu. He onlv said,
" There's a great statesman dead;" and when there was a great storm on
the day of the funeral, he said, " The cardinal has a bad day for his journey."
But he \\as in a very weakly state himself, and only lived five months after
Richelieu, dying at forty-two years old, on the 14th of May, 1643. Never
was a son more unlike his father than he had been to Henry IV., seeming
to be his exact opposite in every one of his better or worse qualities; and
though his reign was a grand one to France, it was no thanks to him, but to
the great statesman who ruled both him and the country.
CHAPTER XXXV.
LOUIS XIV.— YOUTH.
A.D. 1643-1661.
AM Louis XIV.," cried the little five years' old Dauphin, as he
stood by his dying father's bedside. " Not yet," the old king
was still strong enough to say, though he did not live many
more hours. Poor child ! he did not know what he rejoiced
in. His was the longest reign that ever king had (no less
than seventy-seven years), and he was sick and weary of it
long before it ended.
At first his mother, Queen Anne, was regent, and she
trusted entirely to Cardinal Mazarin. He was not a great
man, like Richelieu, but he was clever and cunning, and the saying was,
" The fox comes after the lion ; " for as he was a foreigner, and of low birth,
the French found it much harder to submit to him than to Richelieu, who
42
C58 Til!! WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
*aa of one of tlie noblest families in France. Only four days after the
access!, ,11 <>f the littK- kinir, the Duke d'Enghien won the great battle of
I{ocn-\. in the Low Countries, which quite destroyed the fine old Spanish
foot soldiers ; and utter two more victories, peace was made between France
and Spain. Hut thi* did not make things easier for Mazarin, for all the
noble- \\ho had been away with tlie army came home, with nothing to do,
and especially the Duke d'Enghien, who soon, on his father's death, became
I'rince of ( 'onde, and who was proud and iien , and hated the upstart Mazarin.
All this hatred broke out in a great quarrel between the queen and the
parliament of Paris. You must remember that the parliament of Paris was
a very different thing fVom the parliament of England. It did not represent
the whole kingdom. I'm- each of the great old provinces had a separate par-
liament of its own : and it was only made up of the lawyers of Paris and
the irreat nobles who belonged to the old duchy of France, with the bishops
and princes of the blood-royal. It used to judge peers of France for State
offences, and in matters of property; but it could not make laws or grant
taxes. All it could do \vas to register the laws and the taxes when the king
had made them; and the king's acts were not valid till this had been done.
Now, when Mazarin, in the king's name, laid an unjust tax on all the food
that was brought into Paris, the parliament refused to register the act, and
there was a great struggle, which was known by the strange name of the
Fronde. Fronde is the French name of a sling; and in the earlier pail of
the quarrel the speakers used to stand up and throw sharp words at one
another, just like the little boys slinging stones at one another. But they
soon came to much worse weapons. You could not understand or remember
all the strange things that then took place ; it is enough for the present to
remember that the Fronde was the effort of the parliament to stand up
against the royal power, and that there were two sieges of Paris in the
course of it. The Prince of Conde at first would not turn against the king,
and helped to make a short peace ; but then he insisted on the queen sending
Mazarin away, and when he was gone, the queen found Conde such a stern,
indolent master, that she contrived to get Mazarin back, and he threw Conch5
into prison. Conde's wife joined with the other Frondeurs to try to gain
his freedom again, and he was set free, but only to make another war, in
which, however, he was overcome, and forced to go into banishment, when,
to his shame be it spoken, he joined the Spaniards, and helped them to make
war against his own country.
It was no small punishment for him that Marshal Turenne was com-
manding the French, and Conde was under a very lazy, indolent Spanish
general, so that he was sure that there must be a defeat. He said to -the
Duke of York, who was serving with him, "Now you will see how a battle
ought not to be fought."
OF KIM-ACII IIIVHUJY.
Km1 this was tlic time when all King Charles's family \\ere liviii'_r >cat-
tered about in banishment, (^ueen Henrietta w a> at Paris \\iih her \onnirest
daughter; hut when ( )livcr ( 'romwell made a treaty \\ith the French, lie had
required that Charles II. and his In-other, the Duke of York, >hoiild not be
allowed to live in France.
Cardinal Ma/arm, followed up all the plans of Richelieu, and France went
on prospering and •raining victories, until the Spaniards at la-t, in the \car
1C..V.I, made \\hat \\as called the Peace of the Pyrenees, giving Up several
towns in the Low Countries. The \oim-- Kin^ Louis was to forgive tin-
Prince of Conde, and to marry Maria Ten-si, the daughter of the King of
Spain.
<>nly two years later died Cardinal Ma/arin, leaving an immense fortune,
lie had, like Richelieu, eared for the greatness of the kingdom of France and
for the power of the crown more than for the character of the king who held
all this power, and so he had let the young king grow up very ignorant, for
fear of being interfered with. Anne of Austria, who was a good woman,
tried hard to make her boys religious, and they always respected religion;
l>ut their flatterers did not teach them how it should tame their pride or
make them care for the good of the people, and Louis XIV. grew up thinking
that the nation was made for his glory, and not himself for the good of his
people. Yet he was a wonderfully able man. Ma/arin said, "There is stuff
in him to make four kings, and an honest man into the bargain." When the
cardinal died, and the ministers asked to whom they should come, he
answered, "To myself;" and for all the half-century after that his reign
lasted, he was always ready for them. He tried afterward to study and
make up for the neglect of his youth, but he never was the same man he
might have been with good training. One thing he had from his mother,
namely, the grandest and most stately courtesy and the most kingly manners
that perhaps were ever seen. He never received a curtsey from any woman
without a bow, and his gracious dignity seems fairly to have dazzled the
e\es of the very best and wisest men. so that they looked up to him like a
sort of divinity, and could not even see his faults. His conrt was exceed-
ingly splendid, and very stiff. Every one had his place there, and never
came out of it; and who must stand or who might sit, who might be on
stools and who must kneel, in the royal presence, was thought a matter of
the greatest importance. Richelieu and Ma/arin had robbed the nobles of
all useful work, so all they eared for was war and waiting at court, and
getting money from their poor peasants to support the expense.
660
THE MOULD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
LOUIS XIV.— MIDDLE AGE.
A.D. 1661-1688.
I
>OUIS XIV. loved to be called the Great, but he did not under-
stand that real greatness is making a kingdom happier instead
.,f making it larger, and he only cared for his own glory. Hs
had the two best generals then in Europe, in the Viscount de
Tuivmic and the Prince of Conde, and his nobles were very brave
and spirited ; so he was always going to war, without thinking
whether it were justly or not, and fancying the honor was his,
whereas his victories were all owing to his generals ; and when
he went out to war, he only went to the siege of some city,
where he rode about in a splendid gold-laced coat, with a huge white feather
in his cocked hat, quite out of reach of danger. And yet his people were all
-<> proud of him that the very sight of him made his soldiers fight all the
1 ictter, and poets wrote verses comparing him to Jupiter, and Mars, and
every other warlike hero they could think of.
He had married Maria Teresa, daughter to the King of Spain ; and when
her father died, he pretended that he ought to inherit all the Low Countries,
instead of her little brother Charles. This was very unjust, and would have
made France much too powerful ; so the Dutch and English joined together
to prevent it, and there were some terrible fights. But it was when Charles
II. was king, and his youngest sister Henrietta had married Louis's brother,
the Duke of Orleans. So Louis sent the duchess to persuade King Charles
and his minister, by promises of money and favor, to desert the Dutch ; and,
to England's great shame, she succeeded. The brave Dutch were left alone
against all the power of France. William, Prince of Orange, commanded
their armies ; and though he was beaten again and again, the little State
never gave in ; though, to keep out the French, it was needful to open the
flood-gates that protect Holland from the sea, and let in so much water that
the enemy could not pass.
Then the Emperor of Germany took up the cause of the Dutch, but
Louis sent Turenne against his troops, and conquered Alsace. Turenne
went on into Germany, and there his army was grievously cruel. Crops
were burnt down, houses and villages burnt and plundered, and the inhabi-
tants brought to misery beyond imagination. Turenne could hardly help
[L,®QJO§
Selmar Hess. Publisher. New York
•
of !Si •
STOUIKS ()!•' I'1;K\C1I HISTORY.
wliat he was commanded to do, hut tliis war \\as tin- darkest spot in his life.
lie was a kind and merciful man in general, and very jn-t and upright ; and
hie soldiers loved him so much, that once, when he had fallen a-l.-.-p dnriir_r
a short halt on a bare, lileak hill-side, and it began to snow, the\ made a
tent for him with their o\vn cloaks. In this \\ar he u as killed, while stand-
in-; under a tree near the village of Sal/l.a.-h, 1,\ a cannon-hot, \\hich nearly
cut his body in two, and mortally wounded a nobleman clo-r by. "Do not
weep forme, hut for that great man," were the \\ords of this -entleiiian to
his son. Turenne was huried among the kings at St. Dems', and Condi-
Wii.i.iAM, PRINCE OP ORAM.K.
took the command of the army, gaining many hard-fought battles; until at
last peace was made, leaving Louis in possession of Alsace and of the city
of Strasburg, both of which properly belonged to the empire.
But glory, or what he fancied glory, was all Louis cared about ; and be-
sides his great generals, he had about him many of the ablest men who
ever lived in France, both ministers of State and writers. He had likeuis.-
most excellent bishops and clergy, such as Bossnet, bishop of Meanx, who
was a wonderfully good preacher, as well as a great scholar. Louis made
Bossuet tutor to his only son ; but the Dauphin was a very dull and silly
youth, who cared for nothing but playing at cards and shooting, and very
little could be taught him. He married a German princess, who was duller
still, and they had three sons, the Dukes of Burgundy, Anjou, and Berri.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
LOUIS XIV.— OLD AGE.
A.D. 1688-1715.
1688, Louis lost the English alliance. Charles II. and James
II. having spent their youth in France, and being Roman
Catliolii-s — the one at heart, and the other openly — had always
looked up to him and been led by him; but when the Revolu-
tion took place, and James was driven away to take refuge
once more in France, Louis's greatest enemy, William of
Orange, became King of England. Louis gave Jaines and his
queen a home at his palace of St. Germain's, and did all he
could for them, sending an expedition with James to Ireland ;
but all in vain— the English only hated James the more for bringing the
French upon them, and his troops were beaten at the river Boyne and his
ships at Cape La Hogue, so that he was obliged to cease from the attempt.
But another great war soon began. Charles II., King of Spain, died in
1700, leaving no children. His sister and his two aunts had married Em-
perors of Germany and Kings of France; but as the Spaniards did not
choose to have their kingdom joined on to another, it was always the cus-
tom for the princesses to renounce all right to the crown for themselves and
their children. However, the whole Spanish line had come to an end, and
there really was nobody else who had any right at all. Now, Louis XIV.
had married the sister, so his son was the nearest heir ; but, on the other
hand, the Emperor of Germany was descended from the brother of the great
Charles V., who had been Emperor and King of Spain both at once. The
emperor wanted to make his second son, the Archduke Charles, King of
Spain ; and Louis put forward his second grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou.
The Spaniards would have preferred Charles, but Louis was ready the
first. He made the Dauphin and the Duke of Burgundy give up their right
to Philip, saluted him as King of Spain, and sent him off with an army to
Madrid, saying, " There are no more Pyrenees ; " by which he meant that
France and Spain were now to be like only one country. Now this was
just what the rest of the world did not wish. France was a great deal too
powerful already, and nobody could be glad to see Spain and the Low
Countries ruled over by a young man who was sure to do exactly what his
LOUIS XIV.
STOKIKS OF FHKNCII HISTORY. 865
grandfather bade him ; and so England and all the other States of Europe
joined (o assist tin- Archduke Charles in winning Spain.
Thus began what was called the \Varof the Spanish Succession. The
Archduke Charles \\eiit to Spain, and the Knglish helped him there; and a
French army invaded (ieniiany, but there they met the Knglish and Austrian
armies, under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, and
were terribly defeated at Blenheim.
This Prince Eugene's father had always lived in France, and his mother
was a niece of Cardinal Maxarin ; but he and some other young men bad
grown tired of the dull court life, and had run away to light in the Austrian
army against the 'Turks. Louis had been very angry, and had had their
letters sei/ed ; and there he found himself laughed at, and railed a stage king
in peace, and a chess king in war. lie was very angry, and never forgave
Prince Kugenc, who took service under the Emperor of Germany, and \\as
the Bdcond-best general then in Europe. For all the great generals of Louis's
youth were dead; and though Marshals Villars and Bo ufflers were able men,
they were not equal to Marlborough, and were beaten again and again in the
Low Countries. The only victory the French did gain was in Spain, at
Almanza, where, strangely enough, the English were commanded by a French
Huguenot, and the French by Marlborough's nephew, the Duke of Berwick,
who had left home with James II.
But troubles came thick upon Louis XIV. He lost his only son, the
Dauphin ; and all his great men who had made his reign so splendid were
dying round him, and nobody rising up equal to them. His subjects, too,
were worn out ; all their strongest young men had been carried off to be
soldiers, and there were not enough left to till the ground properly. Besides,
the money that the- king wanted for his wars and buildings was far more
than they could pay, and it was the tradesmen, farmers, and lawyers who
had to pay it all ; for in France no priest and no noble ever paid taxes.
Moreover, all the. family of a noble was considered as noble for ever, instead
of, as it is in England, only the head of the house himself; and so all the
younger sons and their children for ever paid no taxes, and were allowed to
to be of no profession, but only to be clergy or soldiers. They were always
the officers, so that a soldier, however clever and brave, never could rise unless
he was of good birth. People were getting very discontented, and especially
when, instead of getting glory, they were always beaten, at Ramillies and
Oudenarde and Malplaquet ; and Louis's buildings and gardens at Versailles
and Trianon heavily oppressed them.
Old as Louis was, there was untamable pride and resolution in him, and
hi's steadiness was admired even by his enemies, when he continued daunt-
lessly to resist, even when there seemed little to hinder Marlborough and
Eugene from marching upon Paris. However, this humiliation was spared
666
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
tin- proud old king by the change in Queen Anne's councils, which deprived
Marlbormiirh of power, and led to a peace at last with France. The Arch-
duke Charles became emperor after the death of his father and brother; and
thus Philip of Anjou was allowed to remain King of Spain.
Evervthinir, however, was sad and mournful at the French court. The
kin- kept up all his old state, but his strength and spirit were gone ; and
Madame de Maintenon used to say no one could guess what a dreadful thing
it was to have to amuse an unauiusable king. The brightest person at
Ffoftunr.
court was the young Dauphiness, Adelaide of Savoy, wife to the Duke of
Burgundy, who was now Dauphin. She used to play merrily with the king,
and coax him into cheerfulness as no one else could ; but she was giddy and
gay, and sometimes grieved her husband. He was a grave, thoughtful mau,
Jry pious and religious, always trying to follow the counsels of his dear
lend and master, Fenelon, and thinking anxiously of the load that the
kingdom would be in the state in which his grandfather would leave it.
But he never had to bear that load. A dreadful form of malignant
STOKIKS OF FKF.M H HlsT<iKY
667
measles came into the court, and tin- Daaphinese caught it and died, then
the eldest of her two little sons, and lastly, tin- good I>aiiphin himself. All
\\ere ill so very feu days thai people talked ahoiit poison; and no one uas
left of the whole family except the old king and one little Lrreat-irrandsi>n,
the Dauphin's second ><m. a baby not able to walk alone, and the kingV
nephew, Philip, Duke of Orleans, the son of his brother, who uas knoun to
be a \ er\ bad and selfish man.
It was a sad prospect for France when, a year later, I.oiii- XIV. died,
after a reigO of sevent\ \ ears, \\hen he had been the greatest monarch in
Europe, and might have been one of the grandest i.f men, if he had onl\
known what true greatness is.
•'"(^J~^"V~i; ~rr"5-
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
LOUIS XV.
A.D. 1715—1774
11 K poor little boy who had become King of France was so
young that he could scarcely walk alone, and so forlorn that
he had no kinsman near enough to take his hand when he uas
shown to the people, but had to be held in purple ribbon
leading-strings.
It was a sad reign altogether. The regent was the Duke
of Orleans, a thoroughly dissipated man. not unlike Charles
II. of England, but worse in conduct, though ipiite as ^ 1-
natured ; and the whole court became nothing but a sink of
iniquity under him. He died just as the young king was grou ing up ; but
the boy uas slow, dull, and painfully shy — not at all fit to take the command
of everything, like Louis XI V. He had had a good tutor, Cardinal Fleury,
who was ruler for a little while, but soon died ; and then there was nothing
to hinder the kftig from being drawn into all sorts of evil by the wicked
men uho had grown up in the time of the regent, Duke of Orleans.
The queen was a Polish princess, named Maria Leckzinska. She was a
gentle, kindly person, though not at all clever, and at first the king was very
fond of her; but these wretches thought it dull to have a respectable court,
and wanted to manage the king their own way, so they taught him to be a
glutton and a drunkard, and to think it witty to talk the low, coarse lan-
guage of the vulgar crowd in Paris. The queen was shocked, and when she
i;,;s THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
showed her offence, Louis was angry, and never cared for her again, but only
showed himself with her in public, and spent all his spare time in the most
disgraceful amusements.
Yet the people, who did not know all as yet, had such a love and loyalty
for the very name of king, that they were ready to break their hearts when
he hud a bad fever, and almost went mad with joy when he recovered. They
then called him Louis the Well-beloved, a name that sounded very sad in
after times.
BATTLE OP FONTENOY.
There was a great war going on all this time between Maria Theresa, the
Hungary and Archduchess of Austria, and Frederick II Kino- Of
Prussia. The English held with the Austrians, and the French with the
nans ; and at the battle of Dettingen, George II. had been defeated by
Marshal de Noailles. Again, at Fontenoy, the English were defeated ; and '
. was with the army, the victory was owing to his general,
•shal Saxe. The wars, however, pressed very heavily on the French, and
STORIES OF FHKM'll HlSToUY.
CG9
the poor were even IM..IV \\retched tluui in the former reign. The Duke of
Orleans a -ood man, son to the wicked ivg,-nt, one .lay brought a horrible
bit of black bread to the council, to show the king what his >ubje,-N lived
upon; but nothing would make Louis care for anybody but himself.
However, there was peace made fora little \\hih-, but what was called
the Seven Years1 War soon broke out a.-raiii ; but this time ;he English \\ere
with the Prussians and the French with the Austrian*, and there was a -rival
battle at Minden, which the
French lost, and soon after
there was a more lasting peace
in Europe.
Hut nothing could do
the unfortunate kingdom of
France any good while it had
such a king as Louis XV., \vho
had no feeling for any one but
liimself, and had such low
tastes that he liked nothing
but the basest, coarsest pleas-
ures, and hated all that inter-
fered with them. He had only
one son, the Dauphin, who
had grown up, in the midst of
that wicked court, pure, up-
right, and pious, and lived a
peaceful, (piiet life with his
good wife, a Polish princess;
but there wras nobody the king
disliked so much, because their
goodness was a continual re-
proof, and he could not help
thinking that the people would
rather hare had the Dauphin
for their king than himself. VOLTAIRE.
So the Dauphin was never al-
lowed to take any part in business, and all he could do was to try- to bring
'up his children well, and to help his four sisters, whom the king had scarcely
educated at all, and who lived a very dull life in the palace, so that
happiest was Madame Louise, who became a nun.
The <rood Dauphin died of a decline, when only thirty-six years
leaving five children, the eldest eleven years old ; and his wife followed him
fifteen months later, begging her sisters-in-law to watch over her children.
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Tin- king only grew worse than ever, and used to amuse himself by going in
disgui-e to lou dances among tlie Paris mob. Yet all the time he went
r\i-rv morning to church ; and among all the clergy in the country, only one
mod Bishop once dared to tell him what a sinner he was. There were still a
great maii\ good clergy, but it was only the had ones who would not speak
out about the wickedness at court who met with any favor. Half the people
in the country were getting mad with misery; and when they saw that the
priests did nothing to rebuke all the crimes they suffered from, it seemed to
them that even the Christian religion itself must be a mistake. There were
a great man\ clever men at that rime, of whom the most noted were Voltaire
and Housseaii. who wrote books that every one was reading, which made
attack* on all Christianity, and pretended that the old heathen philosophers
were much better and wiser than Christians; and it was a strange thing
that though Huguenots were still persecuted, and their religious books
burnt, nobody meddled with these infidels, who had no religion at all.
K\ery one saw that a great storm was coming, and that there must be a
terrible downfall of the royal power that Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis
XIV. had built up, and which Louis XV. used so shamefully ; but when he
\\as told that there was danger, he only said the kingdom would last his
time. His grandson, the young Dauphin, had grown up, and was married
to the beautiful, bright young daughter of Maria Theresa— Marie Antoinette.
Tin- evening she arrived at Pans, there were grand illuminations and fire-
\\orks. and in the midst some terror seized the people that there was a fire,
and they all rushed crowding together in the gates of the Champs Elysees,'
so that a number of them were trampled to death ; and this, though the
poor young bride had nothing to do with it, made people feel that It had
been a bad beginning.
Louis XV. died at the age of sixty-four, in the year 1774, after a dis-
graceful reign of sixty years, in which he had constantly fallen deeper and
deeper into the mire of sin and disgrace.
.
.
tO !
tilt
\\ll» h;;<l 1"'.
"Oliml 1
H'T
icli
STOIMKS OF KKKNCII HISTORY.
C H A P T E R XXXIX.
LOUIS xvi.
A.D. 1774- K'.i:;.
>HE young kiii-_', Louis XVI., and his queen, Marie Antoinette,
threw themselves on their knees when they heard that their
grandfather uas <lca>l, crying out, "O God ! help us; we are
too young to reign."
It was as if they knew \vh.-it dreadful times were coining,
brought on by the selfishness and wickedness of those \\lio
na<l »olie before them. Nobody could be more good or an.\-
ions to set tilings right than Louis XVI. ; but the evils that
had been working nj> for hundred- of years could not be set
to rights by one word, and it was hard to know how to begin. And thouirh
the king wished well to all, he was not a clever man, and could not .-ee how
to act. Besides, he was very shy and awkward; lie hated speaking to;
strangers, and was so confused that people went away onYnded ; and, be-
sides, they were so much used to bad kings, that they could not believe that
he was a good and innocent man.
The queen gave offence in other ways. She was a young, merry girl,
who had Keen brought up in a court where the liubits were much more sim-
ple and less stately than those in France: and she \\as always laughing at
the formal court ways, and trying to iret free from them. When the ladies
came to pay their respects, some of her own attendants grew tired of stand-
ing round her, and sat down on the floor, hidden by the hoops of the others.
She saw and nodded and smiled; and the old ladies who were being pre-
sented thought she was making game of their dresses, and were \er\ anirn.
Her chief lady of the bedchamber, the Duchess of Noailles, tried to keep
her in order; but she laughed, and gave the old lady the name of Madame
1'Ktiqiiette. When once she was riding a donkey, and it fell with her, she
sat on the ground laughing till the duchess came up, and then said, "Pray,
madaine, when the queen and her donkey both tumbledown together, which
ought to be the first to get up '. "
The great palace that Louis XIV. had adorned at Versailles was so
grand that nobody could live in it in comfort. Even he had made a smaller
one at Trianon, and this was too stately for the queen's tastes; so she had
672 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
another smaller house, with a farm and dairy, where she and her ladies used
to amuse themselves, in white muslin dresses and straw hats; but the people
would not believe hut that something very wrong went on there; and they
hated her -reailx because she was an Austrian, and her country had been at
war with theirs.
It was just then that the Americans began their war with George III.,
and a yoimir French nobleman, the Marquis de la Fayette, ran away from
home to fight in their army. Afterward, Louis XVI. sent troops to help
them; and the si^ht of the freedom the United States had gained made
Lafayette and his friends feel far more bitterly the state of things at home,
REVOLUTIONISTS.
where the poor were ground down to wretchedness by all the old rights of
their lords ; and till the laws were changed, neither king, nobles, nor clergy,
however much they might wish it, could help them. No one felt this more
than the king himself. At last, in 1789, he called together his States-Gen-
eral—that is, all his peers, and deputies from the towns and provinces, to
see what could be done. It was not like the English parliament, where the
peers form one chamber and the commons another ; but they were all mixed
up together, and there were a great many more deputies than peers, so that
they had it all their own way. Besides, they sat in. the middle of Paris, and
the people of the city could not bear to wait. Perhaps it was no wonder,
they were very poor and miserable, and were fierce with hunger. When-
ea
1
'
ICM.
.
iiu
.
•
I
STol.'IKS OK l'i;i:.N( II HISTOUY. 673
ever they saw .-my one whom they fancied \\;i> against tin- change-, they
u~ed ti> tly .-it liiui, crying out, "To the lamp!" ami hang him up to the
lamps, which were fastened \>\ iron rods over the -tree|>.
They rushed to the great old prison, the lia»tile, where the former kiiiLfs
liad kept their State prisoners, and tore it down; l>ut they found liardlv aii\
one there, for Louis XVI. had released all his grandfather's prisoners. )[,,^
of the men were enrolled in what was called the National (inard, and all
wore cockades, and scarfs of red, Mne, and white. Lafavette \\ as made LICII-
eral of this guard.
The States. (ieneral called itself the National Assembly, and went on
changing the laws. It was at first settled that no law could he passed with-
out the kind's consent ; hut the notion that he could stop any plan added to
the people's hatred, and they were always fancying he would bring his
soldiers to stop the reforms. At la-st, when then- was a scarcity of food in
Paris, the mob all rushed out to Versailles, that most splendid of palaces,
upon which Louis XIV. had spent so much, and whose iron gates looked
down the long avenue of trees leading from Paris, a memorial how little
pity for their people the two last kings had had. It was the less wonder
that the mob of Paris believed that Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette had
the same hard hearts, and were willingly letting them starve. They came
and filled the courts of the palace, shouting and yelling for the queen to
show herself. She came out on the balcony, with her daughter of twelve
years old and her son of six. " No children ! " they cried ; and she sent
them hack, and stood, fully believing that they would shoot her, and hoping
that her death might content them. But no hand was raised, and night
came on. In the night they were seized with another fit of fury, and broke
into the queen's room, from which she had but just escaped, while a brave
lady and two of her guards were barring the outer door.
The next day the whole family were taken back into Paris, while the
fishwomen shouted before them, " Here come the baker, his wife, and the
little baker's boy ! "
The National Assembly went on to take away all the rights of the
nobles, and the property of the Church, and to decree that the clergy must
swear to obey them instead of the Church, while those who refused were
turned out of their parishes. The National Guard watched the Tuileries,
and made the life of the royal family so miserable that they tried to escape
in disguise; but fearing that they would come back with armies to put
down the Revolution, the National Guard seized and stopped them, and
they were more closely watched than ever. On the 20th of June, 1792, the
mob rushed into the palace, threatened all the family, and s[>ent three hours
in rioting and insulting them ; and on the 10th of August another attack
was made. The queen longed to let the Swiss guards and the loyal gentle-
43
,;;, Tin-: WORLD'S <;I;KAT NATIONS.
,„,.„ ti.'ht for her liusl.a.id ; but Louis could not bear to have a drop of
blood -hed in his defence and Imped to save life by going to the National
A~cmbl\ with his wife, children, and sister; but no sooner were they gone,
than every one of the gallant men who would have defended him was
sava-ely liiassa.-ivd, and their heads uere carried about the streets of Palis
on pike-. It was fear that made the Parisians so ferocious, for the German
princes and tlie French nobles liad collected an army to deliver the kino-,
and. as tin- mob thought, to destroy tlieni ; and in the bitter hatred that had
now risen against all kings, tlie Assembly voted that Louis XVI. was no
Ion ire r KiiiLr' of France, but that the nation was free. So his reign ended
.,11 the loth of August,
CHAPTER XL.
THE GREAT FRENCH REVOLUTION.
A.D. 1792-1796.
*HE Government, after the king was deposed, was placed in the
hands of the National Assembly — or Convention, as it now
called itself — of deputies chosen by the people.
There is nothing but what is sad and terrible to be told of
France for the next four or five years, and the whole account
of what happened would be too difficult to understand, and
some part is too dreadful to dwell upon.
The short account of it is that, for years and years before,
the kings, the nobles, and some of the clergy too, had cared
for little but their own pride and pleasure, and had done nothing to help on
their people — teach, train, or lead them. So now these people were wild
with despair; and when the hold on them was a little loosened, they threw
it <>tt', and turned in furious rage upon their masters. Hatred grew, and all
those who had once been respected were looked on as a brood of wolves,
who must be done away with, even the young and innocent. The king,
«|iieen, his children, and sister (Madame Elizabeth), were shut up in a castlo
called the Temple, because it had once belonged to the Knights Templars,
and there they were very roughly and unkindly treated. A National Guard
continually watched them, and these men were often shockingly rude and
insulting to them, though they were as patient as possible. Great numbers
of the nobles and clergy were shut up in the other prisons; and when news
came that an army of Germans and emigrant nobles was marching to rescue
AFTEKJIOITET,
UHJWXVI TMWEATENEU 1Y TME Ml (BIS ON
•
STOKIKS or H.T.M ii III>TOIJY.
675
kin£, a set of riitlians were sent to murder tlu-m all, cutting them down
like sheep for tin- slaughter, men and \\onien nil alike. The family in the
Temple \\ere spared for the time, hut the emigrant army \\ a- beaten at
.\1 u: vr.
Jemappea; and the ln-ave nobles and peasants \\lio had risen in the district
of La Vendee, in hopes of >aviiiiir them, could not make head against the
regular French army, all of \\hich had joined in the Revolution, beinir
aimered because no one not of noble birth could be an officer. All his friends
,..,; TIIH WOKLirs GKKAT NATIONS.
ili.l for the kinir only served to make his enemies hate him trebly ; and three
I,I,MI had obtained the leadership who seem to have had a regular thirst for
blood, and to have thought that the only way to make a fresh beginning
waa tt> kill every one who had inherited any of the rights that had been so
,,|,piv<sive. Tlieir names ucre Marat, Dantou, and Robespierre; and they
had a power over the minds of the Convention and the mob which no one
dared resist, so that this time was called the Reign of Terror. A doctor
named Guillotiu had invented a machine for cutting oft' heads quickly and
painlessly, which was called by his name; and this horrible instrument was
-,-t ii]. in' Paris to do this work of cutting off the old race. The king — whom
they called Louis Capet, after Hugh, the first king of his line— was tried
before the Assembly, and sentenced to die. He forgave his murderers, and
charged the Irish clergyman, named Edgeworth, who was allowed to attend
him in his last moments, to take care that, if his family were ever restored,
there should be no attempt to revenge his death. The last words of the
priest to him were, " Son of St. Louis, ascend to the skies."
The queen and her children remained in the Temple, cheered by the
piety and kindness of Madame Elizabeth, until the poor little prince — a
gentle, but spirited boy of eight — was taken from them, and shut up in the
lower rooms, under the charge of a brutal wretch (a shoemaker) named
Simon, who was told that the boy was not to be killed or guillotined, but to
be "got rid of "-—namely, tormented to death by bad air, bad living, blows,
and rude usage. Not long after, Marie Antoinette was taken to a dismal
chamber in the Conciergerie prison, and there watched day and night by
National Guards, until she too was brought to trial, and sentenced to die,
eight months after her husband. Gentle Madame Elizabeth was likewise
put to death, and only the two children remained, shut up in separate rooms ;
but the girl was better off than her brother, in that she was alone, with her
little dog, and had no one who made a point of torturing her.
Meanwhile the guillotine was every day in use. Cartloads were carried
from the prisons — nobles, priests, ladies, young girls, lawyers, servants, shop-
keepers— everybody whom the savage men who were called the Committee
of Public Safety chose to condemn. There were guillotines in almost every
town ; but at Nantes the victims were drowned, and at Lyons they were
placed in a square and shot down with grape shot.
Moreover, all churches were taken from the faithful. A wicked woman
was called the Goddess of Reason, and carried in a car to the great cathedral
of Notre Dame, where she was enthroned. Sundays were abolished, and
every tenth day was kept instead, and Christianity was called folly and
superstition ; in short, the whole nation was given up to the most horrible
frenzy against God and man.
In the midst, Marat was stabbed to the heart by a girl named Charlotte
EELAROCHE p'
Selmsj Hesa. Pulh alter KWY?rk
STOIMKS OF FI.'KNCII IMSToKY.
677
Corday, who Imped thus to cud these horrors; but the other two continued
their work of Mood, till Robespierre grew jealoos of I>;niton, mid had him
guillotined ; l.ut at last the more humane «>f the National Convention plneked
up courage to ri>e against him, and he and his inferior a— ociates \\ere carried
to prison. He tried to commit -uicide with a pistol, hut oiil\ shattered his
jaw, and in this condition he was guillotined, when the Kei-n of Terror had
la-ted about t\\o \ears.
Louis XVII. IN TIM: TEMPLE.
There was much rejoicing at his fall; the prisons were opened, and
people Ix^-an to 1. rear he freely once more. The National Convention gov-
eraed more mildly and reasonably; but they had a jri-eat deal on their hands,
for France had ir<,ne to war with all the countries round; and the soldiers
\vere so delighted at the freedom they had obtained, that it seemed as if no
one could beat them, so that the invaders \\eie e\ cry where driven back.
TIIK WOKUCS (IKKAT NATIONS.
Ami thus was brought to light tin- \\ underfill powers of a young Corsican
,,mVer, Napoleon liomtparte, who had been educated at a military school in
France as an engineer. When there was an attempt of the mob to rise and
brim: back the liorrible days of the Reign of Terror, Colonel Bonaparte
came with his grape-shot, and showed that there was a government again
that must be obeyed, so that sonic quiet and good order was restored.
Some pitv had at last been felt for the poor children in the Temple. It
came too late to save the life of the boy, Louis XVII., as he is reckoned,
who had for the whole ninth year of his life lain alone in a filthy room,
afraid to call any one lest he should be ill-used, and without spirit enough
to wash himself, so that he was one mass of sores and dirt; and he only
lingered till the sth of June, 1 "!>.">, when he died, thinking he heard lovely
music, \\ itli his mother's voice among the rest. In the end of the same year
his sister was released, and went to Russia to join her uncle, who had fled
at the beginning of the Revolution, and was now owned by the loyal amon*'
the French as Louis XVIII.
In the meantime, the French army had beaten the Germans on the fron-
tier, and had decided on attacking their power in the north of Italy. Bona-
parte made a most wonderful passage of the Alps, where there were then
>caively any roads but bridle-paths, and he gained amazing victories. His
plan was to get all the strength of his army up into one point, as it were,
and with that to fall upon the centre of the enemy; and as the old German
generals did not understand this Way of fighting, and were not ready, he
beat them everywhere, and won all Lombardy, which he persuaded to set up
for a republic, under the protection of the French.
All this time, the French were under so many different varieties of gov-
ernment, that it would be difficult to understand them all ; but that which
lasted longest was called the Directory. People were beginning to feel safe
at last ; the emigrants were corning home again, and matters were settling
down a little more.
STOKIKS <)F FilKNt II IIISTOKY.
CHAPTER XL I.
.N A I'O I, Ko.V I.
A.M. 1790-1814.
MIFN I'.oiiaparte li:nl come liack from Italy, In- persuaded the
Directory t<i scud him with an army to F'_rv pt to trv to train
the Kasi, and drive the English out of India. He landed
in Kirypt, and near (irand Cairo gained the battle of the
I'vramids, and tried to reeoinniend himself to the people of
jrpt by showing greal admiration for Mahomet and the
Koran. Hut his ships, \\hieh he had left on the coast, were
attacked b\ the Knirlish fleet, under Sir 1 loratio Nelson, and
every one of them taken or sunk except two, which carried
the tidings home. This was the battle of the Nile.
The Sultan of Turkey, to whom K^ypt belonged, fitted out an armv
a gainst the French, and Honaparte marched to meet it half-\\ay in the Ho!\
Land. There he took Jaffa, cruelly massacred the Turkish garrison, and
beat the Sultan's army at Tabor; but Acre was so bravely ami well defended,
under the management of a brave Knirlish sailor, Sir Sidney Smith, that he
was obliged to turn back without taking it. lie led his troops back. sun"eriii'_r
sadly from hunger and sickness, to Egypt, and there defeated another Turk-
ish army in the battle of Aboiikir. However, he there heard news from
home which showed him that he was needed. The French had, indeed, gone
on to stir up a revolution both in Rome and Naples. The Pope was a pris.
oner in France, and the King of Naples had fled to Sicily : but the Russians
had come to the help of the other nations, and the French had nearly l>een
driven out of Lombards . Mesides. the Directory \vas not able to keep the
unruly people in order; and Napoleon felt himself so much wanted, that.
finding there were two ships in the port, he embarked in one of them and
came home, leaving his lv_ryptian army to shift for themselves.
However, he was received at home like a conqueror; and the people of
France were so proud of him, that he soon persuaded them to change the
Directory for a government of three consuls, of whom he was first. He
lived in the Tuileries, and be^an to keep somethini: very like the old court ;
and his wife, Josephine, was a beautiful, graceful, kind lady, whom every
one loved, and who helped very much in «raininir people over to his cause.
Indeed, he ^ave the French rest at home and victories abroad, and that was
680
TIIK \\nKI.irS (JKKAT NATIONS.
all they d.-iivd He won Lack all that hud been lost in Italy; nnd the
batde ',,f Marengo, on the Hth of June, 1800, when the Austrian were
,,,,,llv routed, was a spl.-i.did victory. Austria made peace again, and no-
body was at war with France but England, which conquered everywhere by
H
X
§
sea, as France did by land. The last remnant of the French army in Egypt
was beaten at Alexandria, and obliged to let the English ships transport
them home to France; and after this there was a short peace called the
Peace of Amiens, but it did not last long : and as soon as Bonaparte had
STOKIKS in-- I.-KKM M IIISTMI;V.
C81
decided on war, lie pounced without notice on every Kn-li-h traveler in his
d<.mmi«.n>, ami kept tli.-in prismu-rs till the end ..f the uar.
o Norni i>\\n..
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
He II.-K! made up his mind to be Emperor of the French, and before
declaring this, he wanted to alarm the old royalists; so he sent a party to
seize the Duke d'Enirhien (heir of the Princes of Comic), who was living at
Baden, and conduct him to Vincenues, where, at midnight, he was tried by
a ,h:,m court-martial, and at six in the morning brought down to the court-
\anl. and shot beside his own grave.
Aft.-r this, every one was afraid to utter a whisper against Bonaparte
luM-omiiiir emperor, and on the 3d of December, 1804,he was crowned in Notre
Dam.-, with uivat splendor. The Pope was present, but Bonaparte placed
the crown on his own head— a golden wreath of laurel leaves^ and he gave
his soldiers eagle standards, in memory of the old Roman empire. He drew
up an excellent code of laws, which have been used ever since in France,
and are known by his name; and his wonderful talent did much to bring
the shattered nation into order. Still, England would not acknowledge his
unlawful power, and his hatred to her was very great. He had an army
n-ady to invade Kngland, but the English fleet never allowed him to cross
the Channel ; and his fleet was entirely destroyed by Lord Nelson, at the
iri-eat battle of Trafalgar, on the 21st of October, 1805.
But Napoleon was winning another splendid victory at Ulm over the
Anstrians ; and not long after, he beat the Prussians as entirely at Jena, and
had all Germany at his feet. He was exceedingly harsh and savage to the
Prussians, and was insolent in his manners to the good and gentle Queen
Louisa, when she came with her husband to try to make better terms for
her country; thus sowing seeds of bitter resentment which were to bear
fruit long after. The Russians advanced to the aid of Germany, but the
battles of Eylau and Friedland made them also anxious for peace. There
never, indeed, was a much abler man than Napoleon ; but he had no honor,
honesty, or generosity, and had very little heart amid all his seeming great-
ness. He made his family kings of conquered countries. His brother Louis
was King of Holland ; Jerome, of Westphalia ; and the eldest brother, Joseph,
King of Naples; but in 1808 he contrived to cheat the King of Spain of his
crown, and keep him and his son prisoners in France, while Joseph was sent
to reign in Spain, and General Murat, the .husband of his sister Caroline,
was made King of Naples. The Portuguese royal family were obliged to
flee away to Brazil ; but the Spaniards and Portuguese would not submit to
the French yoke, and called the English to help them. So year after year
the Duke of AVellington was beating. Napoleon's generals, and wearing away
his strength; but he still went on with his German wars, and in 1809, after
two terrible battles at Aspern and Wagram, entered Vienna itself. Again
there was a peace ; and Napoleon, who was grieved to have no child to leave
his empire to, had the wickedness and cruelty to decide on setting aside his
good, loving Josephine, and making the Emperor Francis of Austria give
.
STOIMKS or FI;K\( ii HISTORY.
him his yinin^ daughter. Marie Louise. In IMn, tin- d I \\ :is dune ; and
it \vus sai<l tliat from that time all his -<><>d fortune left him, thoiiirh In- had
one little son I Mini to him, whom he called KiiiLr of Rome.
Hi' set out \\ith what he named the (iraiid Army, to eoni|iuT KU--U :
and after winning the hattle of the Borodino, he entered Moscow; !mt no
sooner was he there than the \\hole town was on fire, and it lninit mi. -o
that it uas not possible to >tay there. \\'inter was just coming on, the
army uas watching everywhere, and he eoiild onl\ retreat : and the
INCIDENT OK TIIK HKTKEAT OF THE URAND AKMT.
nnhajipy (irand Army, stniuvlinir in the snow, with nothing to eat, and be-
set by the enemy everywhere, suffered the most frightful misery. Napoleon
left it in the midst, and hurried home ; but no sooner had this blow been
nix en him, than all the Germans — the Prussians especially, to whom he had
been so harsh — rose up and banded together anainM him. France was worn
out with the Ion-: wars; and though Napoleon still showed wonderful skill,
especially at the battle of Leipzic, he was driven back, inch by inch, as it
were, across Germany, and into France, by the Emperors of Austria and
Russia and Kiiisj; of Prussia; for though each battle of his was a victory,
force of numbers was too much for him.
,;.s.; TIM-: UOI.'LD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ami they wanted liini to acknowledge tliat they had forced it from royalty
by the Revolution. But his In-other Charles, Count of Artois, was much
more strongly and openly devoted to the old ways that eame before the
R. -volution, and. as Louis had no children, his accession was dreaded. His
eldest son, the Duke of Angouleme, had no children; and his second son,
the Duke of Herri, who uas married to a Neapolitan princess, was the most
amiable and hopeful person in the family ; but on the 12th of February, 1820,
he was stabbed by a wretch called Louvet, as lie was leaving the opera, and
died in a few hours. His infant son, Henry, Duke of Bordeaux, was the
only hope of tin- eider branch of the Hoiirbons.
France was worn out and weary of war, so that little happened in this
ivii;ii. except that the Duke of Angoul&ne made an expedition to assist the
King of Spain in putting down an insurrection. The French nobility had
returned to all their titles; but m;»i:y of them had lost all their property in
the Revolution, and hung about the court much needing offices and employ-
ments; while all the generation who had grown up among the triumphs of
Napoleon looked with contempt and dislike at the endeavor to revive old
habits and \\avs of thinking.
Louis XVIII. was in failing health, but he kept up much of the old state
of the French court, and was most careful never to keep any one waiting,
for he used to say, " Punctuality is the politeness of kings." Even when
very ill, he would never give up any of the court ceremonies; and when
urged to spare himself, said, "A king of France ought to die standing;" but
for some years he was unable to walk, being dreadfully tormented by the
gout, and he was obliged to let his brother manage his affairs. But he was
shre\vd enough to dread the Count of Artois' desire to return to the old
times of the overgrown royal power; and when he found himself dying, he
put his hand on the head of his little four years' old great-nephew, Henry,
and said to his brother, " Let Charles X. take care of the crown for this
child." He died in September, 1824.
STORIES OF l-KK.srll IHSToUY.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Cll .\ 1! I, KS X.
A.D.
MIKX Charles X. had been the youn.tr Count of Artois, before
the Revolution, he had l)een .tray, lively, and tliou--|itle>: -- a
playfellou of Marie Antoinette in those bright, giddy <la\-
when she had caused so much ill-will. After all his exile
and wandering^. and in his old age, he had become verv
religious; but not in a wise way, for lie uas guided en-
tirely by the Pope and a few clergy, who wanted to bring
things back to what they were before the Revolution. It
was just the same with the State. His ministers were try-
ing to get bark the old power of the crown, and this made every one dis-
contented and jealous, though Krai ire had a share in two victories in his
time.
The first was made on behalf of the Greeks, who had long been trying,
to break away from the rule of the Turks ; and at last the Prussian, English,
and French fleets joined and defeated the Turks and Egyptians at the battle
of Navarino; after which, Greece was able to become a kingdom, iind-T
( 'hristian rule.
The other was to clear the Mediterranean Sea of the Moorish robbers
who had infested it for centuries past. Ships came from the African porN.
especially Airier-, and fell upon any merchant vessel they could seixe, taking
the goods and carrying the crew and passengers off into slavery. Even tin-
coasts of France, Spain, and Italy were not safe; and people were contin-
ually carried oil', and set to work for the Moors, until they were ransomed
by their friends in Europe. But in 1830 the English and French fleets
united to attack this nest of pirates, and gained a grand victory, which put
an end to all further sea robberies in the Mediterranean.
But no one was pleased by the victory, for the doings of the king and
his ministers enraged the public, and the newspapers found great fault with
them, and accused them of all sorts of impossible things. On this, on the
L'lith of July, 1830, the king put out an edict putting an end to the liberty
of the press — that is, forbidding anything to appear in any newspaper with-
out beintr approved by the government. Some other edicts were also made,
which offended the people so much that there was a frightful disturbance at
690
would full upon tlu- farm in
(Juanls of soldiers had to be
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
i^ht and burn, destroy, and plunder,
in t e forts all round the border; and
1 j e Arabs were as brave as the French
Ab,el-Kade, At la,,
THE STOHMINQ OF ALGIEKS.
however, after years of fighting, he was forced to surrender himself a prie
oner, and was taken to France ; but this was not till quite at the end
reio-n of Louis Philippe, though related here all at once.
The French also tried to make settlements in the Pacific islands, especially
STOKIKS OF KIIKM II IllsTiHJY. i;:u
New Caledonia ami the island of Tahiti. They were not :it all welcome in
this last, for the native queen, I'omaiv, had lieen taught to Ite a Christian bv
the Knglish, and did not wish for French protection or Roman Catholic
teaching. However, the French were the strongest, and have taken the
management there, though the island still pn>fe>ses to be under its own
government,
Louis Philippe did his utmost to keep the Parisians in good humor,
knowing that he could only reign by their favor; and as the mi-eries of tin-
old \\ars were forgotten, and the French only thought of the vietories of the
times of Napoleon, praising him as the greate-t of heroes, the king gratified
them by requesting the Knglish to allow him to bring home the corpse of
the Kmperor fVom St. Helena, and bury it in the Church of the Invalide-. a
great asvliim for old soldiers at Paris. It was fetched in a man-of-war by
the kin</s sailor son, the Prince de Joiuville, and brought to Paris in a
triumphal car, which was followed through the streets by Louis Philippe
and his sons. A chapel was built, and ornamented with splendid marbles,
for the burials of the Bonaparte family. Napoleon's little son was dead, but
his brothei- Louis had left a son, who was living in exile in England or
Germany,
Do what he would, Louis Philippe could not prevent a great deal of dis-
content among the Bonapartists on the one hand, and the Republicans on the
oilier. The richer the shopkeepers and merchants grew, and the more show
they made, the more bitter was the hatred of the workmen, who said that
everybody ought to be equal not only in rank, but in property; and these
men used red alone, instead of the tricolor, for their badge. A horrible con-
spiracx was made by some wretches, of whom the chief was named Fieschi,
for destroying the king, as he rode out, by what was called the Infernal
^Machine, which was like a whole battery of guns fired off in a moment. The
king was not hurt, but fourteen people were killed, of whom one was an
old marshal of Napoleon's. The men were traced and seized, and Fieschi
was put to death.
The queen. Marie Ann-lie of Naples, was one of the best women who ever
lived, and did all she could to promote goodness and piety. So did the king's
prime minister, M. Guizot, who was one of a stanch old Huguenot family; but
the Republican dislike to having religion taught in schools hindered the
growth of good ; and there were a great number of unbelievers, though there
were good and holy men struggling with the evil. There were always inanv
parties. There were the Legitimists, who viewed first Charles X., and then
his grandson, Henry V., the Count of Chambord, as the only true king, and
would take no office under Louis Philippe; and there were the Bonaparti-t>
and the Red Republicans, as well as the Moderate ones, who held by the
king.
692 TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
The khii: had five sons, of whom the eldest, the Duke of Orleans, was
much loved and looked up to. He married the Princess Helen of Mecklen-
burg Schwerin, and they had had two little sons, before he was unhappily
killed 1)\- leaping out of his open carriage while the horses were running away.
It is a curious thing that the power of a French sovereign always seems
to melt away as soon as he shows any designs upon Spain. The king, Ferdi-
nand VII., whom Napoleon kept so long in prison, had left two little
(laughters ; and as they grew up, Louis Philippe interfered about their mar-
riages in a way that caused much displeasure. He could only gain the
\omiger one for his son, the Duke of Montpensier; but he was thought to
be grasping at the crown for him, and this made every one jealous. A little
later, a nobleman, the Duke de Praslin, horrified all Europe by murdering
his wife. He was, of course, condemned to death, but he put an end to his
own life in prison, and the Red Republicans fancied that he must have been
allowed the means, in order that there might not be a public execution of a
nobleman ; and this added to the discontent and hatred of poor against rich
that had been growing every year.
At last, in February, 1848, after the council and the chambers of deputies
had decided against some measures much desired by the people, there was a
rising of the mob throughout Paris. The troops were drawn up, and the
National Guard ; but when the moment came for action, the National Guard
would not fire, but made common cause with the people. The army would
still have fought, but Louis Philippe would not have blood shed for him.
He sent a message that he abdicated in favor of his little grandson, the
Count of Paris, with his mother, the Duchess of Orleans, as regent. Then
he left the Tuileries privately, and under the name of William Smith, safely
reached England.
The Duchess of Orleans bravely came forward to the people with her
two boys, but there was no shout in her favor, only angry looks, and her
friends saw it was all in vain, and hurried her away as fast as they could.
All the family made their way by different means, one by one, to England,
where the queen and her people received them as kindly as warm hearts
always welcome the unfortunate. Claremont Palace was lent to them as a
dwelling-place, and there Louis Philippe and his good queen spent the
remainder of their lives. He died in the year 1849, and Amelie a few years
later.
STOKIES OF FKKNCH Ill>Toi;Y.
C II AFTER X L V .
THK UK PUB LIC.
A.I). 1848-1*52.
^V™..
iFTER Louis Philippe and his family had fled from France,
there was a time of confusion. An assembly of deputies
met from all parts of France to arrange a fresh government;
and a very clever poet and author, named Lamartine, at first
tried to bring about something like order, but he was not
strong enough, and there was a great deal of tumult and
disorder.
In truth, the Red Republicans, who did not want to see
any one richer than themselves, were very much disappointed
that, though noblemen and gentlemen had no more rights than other people,
yet still rich men kept their money and estates; and though all sorts of
occupations were devised at Paris, for which they were highly paid, in hopes
of keeping them quiet and contented, they only became more fierce and
violent. They had devised a way of fortifying the streets, by seizing on all
the carts, carriages, and cabs they could lay hands on, and fastening them
together with ropes, so as to form a line across the street. Then they pulled
up the paving-stones, and built them up, banking them up with earth, and
thus making what they called a barricade. And when the top and back of
this was thronged with men and boys armed with muskets, it was almost
impossible to dislodge them.
In the end of June, 1848, there were three dreadful days of barricades.
It was really a fight of the Red Republicans against the Tricolored. Liberty,
Fraternity, and Equality were the watchwords of them both ; but the Red
Republicans meant much more than the Tricolored by these words, for they
thought liberty was no order at all, and equality was that no person should
be 1 tetter off than the rest. The good Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur
Afire, going out on one of these miserable days to try to make peace, was
shot through the back from behind a barricade, and died in a few hours.
However, General Cavaignac, one of the brave men who had been trained
to war by the fighting in Algeria, so managed the soldiers and the National
(Juard that they put down the Red Republicans, and restored order, though
not without shedding much blood, and sending many into exile.
Indeed, the two years 1847 and 1848 were unquiet all over Europe.
,;;,4 TIIK \V(»IM.D'S GREAT NATIONS.
Mm-h that lia.l been settled at the Congress of Vienna, in 1814, after Napo-
leon had been overthrown, had been done more as if estates were being
carved out than as if what was good for the people were considered; and
there had been distress and discontent ever since, especially in Italy, where
all the north was under the Emperor of Austria, and his German officers
\\ere very rough and disagreeable in the towns where they were quar-
tered.
The Italians rose, and tried to shake them off by the help of the King of
Sardinia; and at the same time there was a great rising against the Pope,
Pius IX., at Rome. The Popes had held Rome for more than a thousand
year-, and there ruled the Western Church; but they had never been very
li'ood princes to their Roman subjects, and things had fallen into a sad state
of confusion, which, when tirst he was chosen, Pius IX. had tried to improve ;
but his people went ou too fast for him, and at last rose up and so alarmed
him that he fled in the disguise of a servant behind an Austrian carriage.
Now, the Roman Catholics think the Pope cannot rule over the Church
freely unless he has Rome quite of his own, and lives there as a prince,
instead of only as a Bishop in a country belonging to some one else. And
though there were so many in France who had not much faith in anything,
yet there were a good many honest, religious people, who were very anxious
to have him back, and said that it mattered more that he should govern the
Church than that the Romans should be well off.
So a French army was sent to restore him ; and the Italians were griev-
ously disappointed, for the Austrians were putting them down in the north,
and they thought Republicans bound to help them. But Rome wyas taken,
and the Pope had his throne again ; and a strong guard of French soldiers
were placed in Rome, for without such help he could no longer have reigned.
The French at' home were in more parties than ever. The Red Repub-
licans still wanted to overthrow everything ; the Moderate ones cared chiefly
to keep peace and order; the Bonapartists longed to have another empire
like Napoleon's; the Orleanists wished to bring back the Count of Paris,
grandson of Louis Philippe ; and the Legitimists still held fast by Henry
V.. the son of the murdered Duke of Berri, and the natural king by birth.
Never was there such a house divided against itself ; but, in truth, the real
fear was of the Red Republicans. All the rest were ready to be quiet, and
submit to anything so long as these could be kept down.
After much deliberating in the Assembly, it was settled to have a
republic, with a president, as the Americans have. Then Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte, the son of Napoleon's brother Louis, offered himself as president,
and was elected, all the quiet people and all the Bonapartists joining in the
choice. Most of the army were Bonapartists, for the sake of the old victories
of Napoleon ; and when Algeria was quieted, and they came home, Louis
SToi;ii-:> Hi- FKKNrii m>T<>i;y.
Napoleon had ;i great power ill liis hands. Soon he persuaded tin- people to
change lii.- title from president to tli.-it of first ( >ul, a- liis uncle li;id miee
lieen called ; and then even one began to see what would follow, lint ino~t
were <_rlad to have a strong hand over them, to ^ive a little peace and re>r
after nil the changes.
And the ne.\t time there was any chance of a disturbance at Paris, Louis
Napoleon was befon hand with the mob. He surrounded them with >oldier>.
had cannon planted so as to command every street, and tired upon the mob
before it had time to do any harm, then captured the ringleader-, and either
had them executed or sent into banishment. Some violence and cruelty
there certainly was, but the Parisians were taught whom they must obey,
and quiet people were grateful. This master stroke is always called
the con/! <r<t<it. or stroke of policy, for it settled affairs for the time;
and after it Louis Napoleon did as he chose, for no one durst ivsi-t
him.
CHAPTER XLVI.
THE SECOND EMPIRE.
A.D. 1853-1870.
the beginning of the year 1852, the whole of the French nation
uas called upon to decide by vote whether they would form an
empire again, or continue to be a republic. Every man, rich or
poor, who \\as not a convict, had a vote; and the larger num-
ber decided for the empire, and for Louis Napoleon Bonaparte
'sj as the emperor. He considered himself as the successor of his
uncle, and therefore called himself Napoleon III., counting the
little child in whose favor the great Bonaparte had abdicated
at Fontaine! >]eaii as the second Napoleon.
He married a Spanish lady of high rank, but not royal, whose mother
\\a> Scottish. Her name was Kii-jvnie de Moiitijo, and she was one of the
most lovely women of her time. She uas pious and kind-hearted, and
always read\ to do anything good ; but it was thought that the court would
be more popular, and trade prosper more, if an example were set of great
splendor and magnificence. So the ladies were encouraged to dress in a
style of extravagance and brilliancy, with perpetual changes of fashion;
and this, as the Parisian dresses are always the models of those of other
THE WOHLIt'S GREAT NATIONS.
countries has led to much folly in all grades of society everywhere. One
a ,n \\.-is I,,, i'ii of this marriage, who was called the Prince Imperial.
The emperor ruled with a strong hand, but he got everything into order
au'ain, and he made Paris more beautiful than ever, throwing do\vn old
narro\\ streets, and building grand new ones, which, for the most part, had
asphalt pavement, so that there might be no pav ing-stones to take up and
make into barricades, lie took away a good many of the places to which
<,ld historical remembrances were attached ; and it has never seemed plain
whether he did so for the sake of sweeping away the old remembrances, or
only because they stood in the way of his plans.
The name the emperor wished to be called by was the Napoleon of
Peace, as his uncle had been the Napoleon of War ; but it was not always
possible to keep the peace. In the year 1853, just after he had been
frowned, the Russian emperor began to threaten to conquer Turkey, and
thereupon the French joined with the English to protect the Sultan. The
French and Knglish armies, both together, landed in Turkey, and then
made an expedition to the Crimea, where the Russians had built a very
strong fortified city named Sebastopol, whence to attack the Turks. Mar-
shal Bugeaud was the French general, and, with Lord Raglan, commanded
in the great battle fought on the banks of the Alma, and then laid siege to
Sebastopol, where again they fought a dreadful battle, when the Russians
sallied out, in the night of the 5th of November, 1854, and attacked the
camp at Inkerman. All the winter and spring the siege lasted, the two
armies having much bitter cold to fear as they watched in the trenches;
but in the summer it was possible to assault the city, and while the English
attacked the Redan, the French attacked the Malakoff Tower, and after
much hard fighting this was taken. Then peace was made, on condition
that all the fortifications of Sebastopol should be destroyed, and no fleet or
army kept there for the future.
Having thus been allies in war, England and France became much
greater friends, and Queen Victoria and the emperor made visits to one
another; and the trade of the two nations was so mixed up together as
to make it much less easy to go to war, for the emperor had a love
and affection for England, which had been a home to him in his days
of exile.
The Italians were more uneasy and miserable than ever under the rule
of the Austrians, and begged Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia, to help
them, and become an Italian king over them. Louis Napoleon gave them
help, and went in person to Lombardy, where the French and Italians
defeated the Austriana at Magenta and Solferino; after which there was
again a peace, and Victor Emmanuel was owned as King of Italy, on con-
dition that, in return for the help he had received, he should jjive'to France
>TOIMI-:S OF KKKNVII IIISTOKY.
the little province of Nice, which had always been pail of the dukedom . .f
Savoy, the old inheritance of his forefathers long before tliev \\erc kin^s,
luit which svemed as if it ought to he a part of France. The Romans hoped
that the\, too, should have shaken off the Papal government ; but the i;uard
of French >oldiers was still maintained at Rome.
Another undertaking of the emperor \\ as to bring Mexico into order.
This country had been settled by Spaniards, and belonged to Spain until it
revolted; and for manv \ear- there had been constant revolutions, and verv
little law, -.o that it was full of outlaws and rolibers. Some of the better
disposed thought that they might do better if they set up a monarchy, and
the French promised to help them. The Archduke Maximilian, brother of
the Kmperor of Austria, was chosen, and went out, with his young wife
Charlotte, daughter of tlie King of Holland, and guarded Ijy ;v French arnn.
Hut the Mexicans were much more tierce and treacherous than had been ex-
pected; and the French troops found that staying there only made them
more bitter, and it was costly to keep them there. So they \\ere brought
home; and no sooner had they left Mexico, than the Mexicans rose up,
made their emperor prisoner, and shot him, while his poor wife lost
her senses from grief. They were a good and noble pair — true-hearted.
and anxious to do right; and theirs is one of the saddest stories of our
time.
The Kmperor of the French had ruled prosperously for a long time; but
the burning hatred of the Red Republican- \\ as not quenched. His best
advisers, too, were growing old and dying, and his own health and spirit
were failing; but he was trying to teach the people to rule themselves in
some degree, instead of expecting him to keep order with his power
from above. He was anxious to be sure of his son reigning after him,
and he put it to the vote all over France whether the empire should be
hereditary.
The vote was in his favor, and he seemed quite secure. But at this
time the Prussians had been gaining great successes both against Denmark
and Austria, and the French were very jealous of them, and expected a fight
for some of the provinces that lie along the Rhine. Just then, too, the
Spaniards had risen, and driven away Queen Isabella, who had not ruled
well ; and they elected a cousin of the King of Prussia to be their king.
lie never accepted the Spanish crown, but the bare notion made the French
furious, and there was a great cry from the whole nation that the pride of
the Prussians must be put down. The emperor saw his popularity was fail-
ing him, and that his only chance was to please the people by going to war.
Nobody knew that the army had been badly managed, and that it was
<|iiite changed from what it was when it fought in Algiers and the
Crimea. Indeed, the French never think that anything but victory can
THE WORLD'S CHEAT XATIOXS.
happen t<> thorn, so the army went off in high spirits to meet the Prussians
on the Rhine — singing, shouting, drinking; and the emperor took his
vdunir son with him. and tried to seem as hopeful as they did; but all
\\lio saw him near saw that he was both ill and sad. This was in the
siiihmer of the year 1870.
) ^ ." • A.I/ '.:._'•;..: _; ~, ^u:.*!' ^'...,.
>TU1UES OF l-'KK.VII HI>To|;v.
CHAPTER XLVII.
THE SIEUE OF PARIS.
A.I). 1870-1871.
&* \ KR Y one knew that \\ hatever might be said to be the quar-
rel between France and Prussia, the truth \vas that the two
fighting nations uere jealous of one another, and wanted to
measure their strength together. The Prussians had never
forgotten the elder Napoleon's cruelty to their queen, and
the harshness with which the whole nation had been treated ;
and all the Germans distrusted Napoleon III., and thought
he had plans for spreading the French empire into the Ger-
man provinces beyond the Rhine. All the Germans, there-
lore, t'elt as if they were defending their fatherland, and came to the army
in a very dilVerent temper from the boastful one of the French.
It was in the provinces of the Rhine that the battle was to be fought
out. In the first light, at Werth, the French were successful, and a great
deal was made of the victory. The Prince Imperial was made to fire the
first cannon, and all the newspapers profanely called it his baptism of fire.
Indeed, one of the worst signs was that nobody was telling truth. The
emperor had been deceived as to the strength and order of his army ; and
the whole French nation were entirely deceived as to the state of things
with the army, and thought they were beating the Prussians, and should
soon be at Berlin. Instead of this, all round the city of Sedan there was a
most frightful battle, which lasted day after day, and in which the French
were entirely beaten, and so surrounded and cut off from retreat by the
German forces, that the emperor was obliged to surrender himself a prisoner
to the King of Prussia.
He had before sent his son to England, as soon as he saw how things
were going. The Empress Eugenie had been left as regent at Paris ; but as
soon as the dreadful news came, all the Parisians rose up, and declared that
the emperor was deposed, and that they would have a republic again. All
that her best friends could do for her was to help her to pass out of the
Tuileries in a plain black dress, get into a fly, and be driven to the station,
whence she safely reached England.
Marshal MacMalion and a large portion of the army who were in Sedan
\\ere made prisoners, ;liul sent off to Germany. Still there was a general
;oo
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
belief tliat help must come — that an army would come home from Algeria,
or be put together from the garrisons — or that the whole nation would rise
up and drive out the enemy. So the cities of Strasburg, Phalsburg, and
Xancv shut their gates, and bravely stood a siege from the Germans; and
when the Parisians found that the main body of the enemy was advancing,
they likewise prepared for a siege, under their commandant, General Trochu,
a uood man, but not enterprising. They were in a strange delirium of un-
grateful joy at being rid of the empire; they went about knocking down
the carved eagles and effacing the great crowned N's, and declaring that
SIEGE OF STKASBURG.
now they should prosper, as if the enemy were not actually on their own
ground.
Almost every available man was enrolled in the National Guard or the
'. Mobile ; but the Prussians put a stop to any warfare of the peasantry
;tle village called Bazeille, where some shots were fired on them'
burnt and destroyed every building, and killed all who fell into their
Lhey gave out that though regular soldiers would be treated as
9 of war, and those who did not fight would not be hurt, there was
mercy for places where Germans were fired upon.
The Prussians meant to be just, but their justice was of a hard kind-
STORIES OF rifKNt II HISTORY. 701
and thouirh they hardh ever did violence to any one's person, they had less
-.Tuple about plundering than they ought to have had. Indeed, they had
bitterly hated the French ever since the elder Napoleon had so tyraniioiisly
misiised IVus-ia, and broken the heart of Queen Louisa, the mother of the
Kiii'j- \Villiani who was no\v leading his forces to Pans; and much that
the\ called retribution, lookers-on called revenue.
The kiii'j- placed his head(|Uarters in the grand old palace of Versailles
and thence In-sieved Paris, cutting off all supplies and all Communication
from outside. No one could come in or out, save through the German
camp, except in a balloon ; and one of the Republican leaders, M. Gandietta.
actually came out in a Walloon, to try to raise the spirit of the rest of France
to come to the relief of the capital. Letters came and went, too, by carrier
pigeons; and tiny letter- on thin paper, and newspapers in print so small
that the\ could only lie read with a magnifying glass, were prepared for
this pigeon post. Meantime, the people ate up all their .stores ; and after
finishing the mutton and beef, all the horses were sei/ed. and the cats and
doirs were killed; the flour was diluted with sawdust; and the starvation
became all the more \\retched as the winter came on; and there was as sad
a want of fuel as of food. Meanwhile, the German shells were constantly
flying in, destroying houses, and killing all whom their splinters struck.
It was as bad at Strasbuig, while these Parisians were consoling them-
selves by offering garlands to the statue of that city in the Place de la Con-
corde; but Strasburg, Met/, and Phalsburg all were taken, and all the hopes
of help from without faded away. The supposed army in the south never
appeared at all, and one in the west, which at first had some success, was
soon defeated. The Prussian army occupied more and more ground ; and
though the Parisian troops tried to sally out and attack the German camp,
this turned out to be all in vain. For the Parisians, both in the National
( iii.nd and Garde Mobile, had no notion of obeying orders or observing dis-
cipline, and without these nobody can fight; while even as to bravery, they
sho\\ed themselves sadly unlike their loud boasts of themselves. Nobody
did show any steady courage but the few real soldiers, the gentlemen, and
the Bretons; and their bravery ended in their being killed when no one
supported them. It was all the worse, becaiise there was bitter distrust
between the Red Republicans and the Moderate party, and each expected to
be betrayed by the other. The only pleasant thing to think of in the
whole war was the care taken by a society, gathered from all nations—
chiefly Swiss, German, and English — for sending nurses to the wounded
and help to the ruined. They were known by the Red Cross, and wherever
this was seen they were respected.
One difficulty was — Who or what was the government which might
make peace with the Prussians; but after half a year of siege, M. Thiers
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
and General Troclni, and others of the Moderate party, made terms. Paris
was, in fact, surrendered ; but the King of Prussia promised not to grieve
tin- French by marching in at the head of his army, but to be content with,
quietly entering himself. The two provinces of Lorraine and Alsace, which
used to be German, were to be given up to him; Prussian troops were to be
left for a vear in garrison in France; and a fine was to be paid. At the
same time, quantities of food and firing were sent in for the famished
Parisians, the prisoners were released, and among them the emperor, who
went to England.
CHAPTER XL VII I.
clTTi
THE COMMUNISTS.
A.D. 1871.
terms of the treaty were no sooner known, than all the ill-
will and distrust of the Red Republicans openly broke out.
They declared that they were betrayed ; that their generals
and the National Guards w-ould not fight, and had sold them
to the enemy ; and that they would not give up their arms,
or be bound by the treaty. They drew together on a height
with their cannon, and closed the gates, and barricaded the
streets again. The Government withdrew to Versailles, to
wait for the arrival of all the troops who had been in
captivity ; and these Red Republicans did what they chose. One horrible
deed was, shooting, and that with many repeated wounds, two generals who
had tried to maintain discipline in the first siege, and had thus offended
them.
A sort of government was set up, calling itself the Commune— an old
word for a town council governing itself— and thus the Red Republicans
were known as the Communists. They were either newspaper writers, or
else workmen and mechanics; and there was one noble amono- them, quite as
desperate as the rest. All the former pride in the first Bonaparte had
irned into a ferocious hatred to the very name ; so that even the *reat
mm in the Place Vendome, raised in honor of his victories, was thrown
:vn; and the Communists were as furious against law, order, property, and
ion as ever their grandfathers in the Reign of Terror had been. 'They
the clergy out of the churches, and the Sisters of Charity out of the
STtiKIKS OF Fi;|-:\( H HlsToKY.
*•< l"
Jl.l
hospitals, mid uttered the maddest and most horrible blasphemies a'_rain.-t
all that was good or great. The \\oincn were equally violent, or even moiv
so, with the men they >anur song's of liberty, and carried \\ea|M,nN uttering
THE TUILERIES.
fearful threats. Some of the leaders had been captured, and kept at Ver-
sailles ; whereupon they seized on the archbishop, Monseigneur Darboy, and
five more elei'^y — good and holy men, who had spent their whole lives in
the endeavor to teach and help them, and who, all through the siege, had
toiled to lessen the sufferings of the poor. They were thrown into prison ;
;,.i THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
and when the Commune found that their own members were not released,
.•UK! that Marshal MacMahon and the army were closely besieging Paris, all
these irood priests were brought to the prison of La Roquette, and there
shot, and hastily buried. The good archbishop died with his hand uplifted,
as if in the act of blessing his murderers. This was on the 24th of May,
1871.
Al 1 France was against the madmen who had possession of their much-
loved Paris; but the Communists held out desperately, and forced many
quiet citizens to fight, by making their carrying arms the only condition of
obtaining food, which, of course, they could not earn by honest labor, as of
old. At last, however, the soldiers from Versailles began to force their way
in, and then, in their final madness, the Red Republicans set fire to the city.
The Hotel de Ville was soon blazing, and so was the Tuileries. It was said
that inflammable materials had been placed in them for this purpose, and
that women went about throwing petroleum in at the windows of houses to
set them on fire.
The Versailles government, their troops, and indeed all who looked on,
were in a frenzy of rage and grief at seeing their beautiful city, the pride
and darling of every Frenchman^ heart, thus destroyed before their eves.
And as the soldiers slowly fought their way in, with cannon pointed down
the streets, and mowing all before them, they made a most fearful slaughter
of men and women alike — and, it may be feared, the innocent with the
guilty. Indeed, the very cry of " une petrokuse " was enough to cause a
woman to be hunted down, and shot without further trial. There was a
last stand made by the Communists in the great cemetery of Pere la Chaise,
where most of them died the death of wolves ; and large herds of the cap-
tured were marched off toward Versailles— many to be shot at once, others
imprisoned, and after trial sent off to prison, and exiled to Cayenne or New
Caledonia.
Thus the Red Republic was extinguished in fire and blood, and order
was restored. The city was found to be less injured by the fires than had-
been feared when they were seen raging ; and for the time M. Thiers ruled
as a sort of president, and set matters as right as was possible in the torn
and bleeding country. Meanwhile, the emperor, Napoleon III., died in his
exile in England ; and the nation began to consider what should be the
government for the future. The old parties still existed— the Legitimists,
still loyal to Henry, Count of Chambord ; the Orleanists, wishing for a sou
or grandson of Louis Philippe ; the Bonapartists, loving the memory of
Napoleon III, and hoping to restore his son ; the Moderate Tricolored
Republicans, chiefly seeking rest and order, and now revenge upon Germany
and the remnant of the Communists.
Henry, Count of Chambord, having no children, so that the Count of
[L©[1JQS .A
I EX PRy.SlB7.NT C? r" ''
Sdmar Hess. PuMl sixer, uew
.
I
STOKIFS OF FKK.NTIl HISToliY. ;<»:,
Paris, eldest irrandson of Louis Philippe, was liis riirht heir, there was a plan
that the Legitimist and Orleans parlies should join, and a proposal \\asmade
to restore the Count of Chambord as such a kin-; as Louis Philippe was, and
that the Count of Paris should reiirn after him.
But the Count of Chambord's answer was that In- would eome to his
i'orefathers1 throne if he were invited, but only to rei^n as they did, by the
rin'lit -ixeii to his family by (Jod, not as tlie chosen of the people. He
\\oiild be the most Christian kinir — the Kin^ of Fi'ance, not of the French—
\\ith the white thu; of the Bourbons, not the tricolor — and the Kldest Son
of the Church, obedient to the Pope.
Nobodv except the old Legitimists was iii a mood to accept this an-.\\er;
and so, when the choice of a u'o\ -eminent was put to the vote of the nation,
it was decided to have a republic, with a president, instead of a monarchy;
and .Marshal Mac.Mahon was soon after elected as president.
=_. ->? :• ^'\'vr :•'•"' '^'i1'-'1'''
••• Ufcfeto-- .
SGLO-SAXOK WAHKIORS OF THE TENTH CENTUI
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY
CHAPTER I.
JULIUS CJESAB.
B.C. 55.
"Is aXear. a?d, to prevent twelve, , too, ben,g
hurt, they had helmets or brazen caps on their hen
Lg tufts of horse-hair upon them, by way of ornan.eut, ami
breLt.pl.te, of brass on their breasts, ami on «*•»££
carried a sort of screen, n»de of strong leather One oJ ! hem
carried a little brass figure of an eagle on a long pole, ,v,tl, a scark
STORIKS OF KMiUSlI IIISTOKY. 707
living belou, and wherever tin- ea-_de \\ a- >«-en, they all followed, and fought
•O bravely thai DOthiDg COUld long stand against them.
When Julius C.-i-ar rode at their head, with his keen, pale, hook-nosed
Face, and the scarlet cloak that the general always wore, they were so proud
of him, and so fond of him. I hat there was nothing they would not d<> for
him.
Julius Ca-sar heard that a little way off there, was a country nobody
knew anything al>oiit, except that the people were very tierce and savage,
and that a sort of pearl uas foiin<l in the shells of mussels which lived in
the rivers. He could not hear that tin-re should be any place that his o\\ n
people, the Romans, did not know and subdue. So he commanded the ships
to lie prepared, and lie and his soldiers embarked, watching the white cliffs
on the other side of the >t-a urow higher and higher as he came nearer and
nearer.
\Vhen he came <|iiite up to them, he found the savages were there in
earnest. They were tall men, with long red streaming hair, and such
clothes as they had were woolen, cheeked like plaid; but many had their
arms and lireasts naked, and painted all over in blue patterns. They had
spears and darts, and the chief men among them were in basket-work
chariots, with a scythe in the middle of each \\heel to cut down their
enemies. The\ yelled and brandished their darts, to make Julius Caesar
and his Roman soldiers keep away; but he only went on to a place where
the shore was not quite so steep, and there commanded his soldiers to land.
The savages had run along the shore too, and there was a terrible fight;
but, at last, the man who carried the eagle jumped down into the middle of
the natives, calling out to his fellows that they must come after him, or they
would lose their eagle. They all came rushing and leaping down, and thus
they managed to force back the savages, and make their way to the shore.
There was not much worth having when they had made their way there.
Though they came again the next year, and forced their way a good deal
farther into the country, they saw chiefly bare downs, or heaths, or thick
woods. The few lumses were little more than piles of stones, and the peo-
ple were rough and wild, and could do very little. The men hunted wild
l>oars, and wolves and stags, and the women dug the ground, and raised a
little corn, which they ground to flour between two stones to make bread :
and they spun the wool of their sheep, dyed it with bright colors, and wove
it into dresses. They had some strong places in the woods, with trunks of
trees, cut down to shut them in from the enemy, with all their flocks and
cattle; but Caesar did not get into any of these. He only made the natives
give him some of their pearls, and call the Romans their masters, and then
he went back to his ships, and none of the set of savages who were alive
\\hen he came saw him or his Romans anv more.
ros
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Do you know who these savages were who fought with Julius Cassar I
They were called Britons. The country he came to see is England, only it
was not called so then. And the place where Julius Caesar landed is called
Deal, and, if you look at the map, where England and France most nearly
touch one another, I think you will see the name Deal, and remember it was
there that Julius Ca'sar landed, and fought with the Britons.
It was fifty-five years before our blessed Saviour was born that the
Romans came. So at the top of this chapter stands B.C. (Before Christ) 55.
CHAPTER II.
THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN.
A.D. 41-418.
(T was nearly a hundred years before any more of the Romans
came to Britain ; but they were people who could not hear of a
place without wanting to conquer it, and they never left off
trying till they had done what they undertook.
One of their emperors, named Claudius, sent his soldiers to
conquer the island, and then came to see it himself, and called
himself Britannicus in honor of the victory, just as if he had
done it himself, instead of his generals. One British chief,
whose name was Caradoc, who had fought very bravely against
the Romans, was brought to Rome, with chains on his hands and feet, and
set before the emperor. As he stood there, he said that, when he looked at
all the grand buildings of stone and marble in the streets, he could not
think why the Romans should want to take away the poor rough stone huts
of the Britons. Claudius was kind to Caradoc ; but the Romans went on
conquering Britain till they had won all the part of it that lies south of the
river Tweed; and, as the people beyond that point were more fierce and
savage still, a very strong wall, with a bank of earth and deep ditch, was
made to keep them out, and always watched by Roman soldiers.
The Romans made beautiful straight roads all over the country, and
they built towns. Almost all the towns whose names end in Chester were
begun by the Romans, and bits of their walls are to be seen still, built of
very small bricks. Sometimes people dig up a bit of the beautiful pave-
ment of colored tiles, in patterns, which used to be the floors of their houses,
or a piece of their money, or one of their ornaments.
STdl.'IKS OF KMiUSI! HISToKY.
709
For the Romans held Britain for four hundred years, and tamed the wild
people in the Sooth, and taught them t<> speak and dress, and read and
write like themselves, BO that they could hardly be known from Romans.
Only the wild ones be\ond the wall, and in the mountains, \\nv ;i> -nva-v
a- ever, and, now and then, used to come and steal the cattle, and hum the
houses of their neighbors who had learnt better.
Another set of wild people u-ed to eom<- over in boats across the North
Sea and German Ocean. These people had their home in the country that
is called lloUtein and Jutland. They were tall men, and had blue eve-, and
fair hair, and they were very strong, and good-natured in a roii^h sort of
REMAINS OF THE ROMAN WALL.
way, though they were fierce to their enemies. There was a great deal
more lighting than any one has told us about ; but the end of it all was that
the Roman soldiers were wanted at home, and though the great British
chief we call King Arthur fought very bravely, he could not drive back the
blue-eyed men in the ships ; but more and more came, till, at last, they got
all the country, and drove the Britons, some up into the North, some into
the mountains that rise along the West of the island, and some out into its
west point.
The Britons used to call the blue-eyed men Saxons; but they called
themselves Angles, and the country wras called after them Angle-land.
no
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Don't you know what it i.s called now? England, and the people English;
t'i>r these were their forefathers — their great-great-great-great-great-great-
mat-grandfathers I They spoke much the same language as now, only
more as untaught country people, and they had not so many words, because
they had not so many things to see and talk about.
As to the Britons,' the English went on driving them back till they only
kept their mountains. There they have gone on living ever since, and talk-
ing their own old language. The English called them Welsh, a name that
meant strangers, and they are called Welsh still, and their country Wales.
They made a great many grand stories about their last brave chief, Arthur,
till, at last, they turned into a sort of fairy tale. It Avas said that, when
King Arthur lay badly wounded after his last battle, he bade his friend
fling his sword into the river, and that then three lovely ladies came in a
l)o.-it, and carried him away to a secret island. The Welsh kept on saying,
for years and years, that one day King Arthur would wake up again, and
give them back all Britain, which used to be their own before the English
got it for themselves ; but the English have had England now for thirteen
hundred years, and are likely to keep it still.
It Avas about four hundred years after our Lord Avas born that the
Romans Avere going and the English coming.
kindness
Thus
did was
CHAPTER III.
THE ANGLE CHILDREN.
A.D. 597.
'HE old English Avho had come to Britain were heathen, and
believed in many false gods ; the Sun, to Avhom they made
Sunday sacred, as Monday Avas to the Moon, Wednesday to a
great, terrible god, named Woden, and Thursday to a god
called Thor, or Thunder. They thought a clap of thunder
was the sound of the great hammer he carried in his hand.
They thought their gods cared for people being brave,
and that the souls of those Avho died fighting gallantly in
battle Avere the happiest of all; but they did not care for
or gentleness.
they often did very cruel things, and one of the worst that they
the stealing of men, women, and children from their homes, and
STOK1K- "[•• KM. [.Ml HlM'OKV. 711
aelliiig them to strangers, who made slaves of them. All Kngland had not
one king. There were generally about seven kings, cadi with a different
part nf the island; and, a-* they ueiv often at \\arwith one another, the\
aged to steal one another's subjects, and sell them to merchanis who came
from Italy and Greece for them.
Suine Knglish children \veiv made slaves, and carried tu Rome, \vliere
they were set in the market-place to lie si. Id. A good priest, named < iregon ,
Was walking by. He saw their fair faces, blue eyes, and long light hair,
and, stopping, he asked who the} \\en-. •• Angles," he \\a> tu Id, -from the
isle of Britain." "Angles!" lie said, "they have angel faces, and they
ouirht to be heirs with the angels in heaven/1 From that time \\i\- -""d
man tried to find means to send teachers to teach the Knglish the Christian
faith. lie had to wait for many years, and, in that time, lie \\ as made Pope,
namelv, Father-Bishop of Rome. At last he heard that one of the chief
Knglish kings, Ethelbert of Kent, had married Bertha, the daughter of tin-
King of Paris, who was a Christian, and that she was to be allowed to bring
a priest with her, and have a church to worship in.
Gregory thought this would make a beginning: so he sent a priest,
whose name was Augustine, with a letter to King Ethelbert and Queen
Bertha, and asked the king to listen to him. Ethelbert met Augustine in
the open air, under a tree at Canterbury, and heard him tell about the true
(Jod, and .h:srs CIIKJST, whom He has sent; and, after some time, and a
irreat deal of teaching, Ethelbert gave up worshipping Woden and Thor,
•u id believed in the true God, and was baptized, and many of his people
with him. Then Augustine was made Archbishop of Canterbury; and, one
after another, in the course of the next hundred years, all the English king-
doms learnt to know God, and broke down their idols, and became Chris-
tian.
Bishops were appointed, and churches were built, and parishes were
marked off — a great many of them the very same that exist now. Here
and there, when men or women wanted to be very good indeed, and to give
their whole lives to doing nothing but serving God, without any of the
fighting and feasting, the buying and selling of the outer world, they built
houses, where they might live apart, and churches, where there might be
services seven times a day. These houses were named abbeys. Those for
men were, sometimes, also called monasteries, and the men in them were
termed monks, while the women were called nuns, and their homes con-
vents or nunneries. They had plain dark dresses, and hoods, and the
women always had veils. The monks used to promise that they would
work as well as pray, so they used to build their abbeys by some forest or
marsh, and bring it all into order, turning the wild place into fields, full of
wheat. Others used to copy out the Holy Scriptures and other good books
;!•„• THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
14)011 parchment — because there was no paper in those days, nor any print-
i,,,, — drawing beautiful painted pictures at the beginning of the chapters,
\\hich \\ere called illuminations. The nuns did needlework and embroidery,
as hangings for the altar, and garments for the priests, all bright with beau-
tiful colors, and stiff with gold. The English nuns' work was the most
beautiful to be seen anywhere.
There were schools in the abbeys, where boys were taught reading,
writing, singing, and Latin, to prepare them for being clergymen ; but not
many others thought it needful to have anything to do with books. Even
the great men thought they could farm and feast, advise the king, and con-
sent to the laws, hunt or fight, quite as well without reading, and they did
not care for much besides : for, though they were Christians, they were still
rude, rough, ignorant men, who liked nothing so well as a hunt or a feast,
and slept away all the evening, especially when they could not get a harper
to sing to them.
The English men used to wear a long dress like a carter's frock, and
their legs were wound round with strips of cloth by way of stockings.
Their houses were only of one story, and had no chimneys — only a hole at
the top for the smoke to go out at; and no glass in the windows. The
only glass there was at all had been brought from Italy to put into York
Cathedral, and it was thought a great wonder. So the windows had shut-
ters to keep out the rain and wind, and the fire was in the middle of the
room. At dinner-time, about twelve o'clock, the lord and lady of the house
sat upon cross-legged stools, and their children and servants sat on benches ;
and square bits of wood, called trenchers, wero put before them for plates,
while the servants carried round the meat on spits, and everybody cut off a
piece with his own knife and ate it without a fork. They drank out of
cows' horns, if they had not silver cups. But though they were so rough
they were often good, brave people.
STORIES OF ENGLISH IIISTOKY. 713
CHAPTER IV.
THE NORTH M E X .
A.D. 838-958.
*HERE were many more of the light-haired, blue-eyed people on
the farther ride of the North Sea who worshipped Thor and
\V< >i leu still, and thought that their kindred in England had
fallen from the old ways. iVsidcs, they liked to make their
fortunes hy getting what they could from their neighbors.
Nobody was thought brave or worthy, in Norway or Den-
mark, who had not made some voyages in a "long keel," as a
shi|> was called, and fought bravely, and brought home gold
cups and chains or jewels to show where he had been. Their
captains were called Sea Kings, and some of them went a great way, even
into the Mediterranean Sea, and robbed the beautiful shores of Italy. So
dreadful was it to see the fleet of long ships coining up to the shore, with a
serpent for the figure-head, and a raven as the flag, and crowds of fierce
warriors with axes in their hands longing for prey and bloodshed, that
where we pray in church that God would deliver us from lightning and
tempest, and battle and murder, our forefathers used to add, " From the fury
of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us"
To England these Northern men came in great swarms, and chiefly from
Denmark, so that they were generally called "the Danes." They burnt the
houses, drove off the cows and sheep, killed the men, and took away the
women and children to be slaves; and they were always most cruel of all
\\here they found an Abbey with any monks or nuns, because they hated
the Christian faith. By this time those seven English kingdoms alluded
to had all fallen into the hands of one king. Egbert, King of the West
Saxons, \vlio reigned at Winchester, is counted as the first king of all Eng-
land. His four grandsons had dreadful battles with the Danes all their
lives, and the three eldest all died quite young. The youngest was the
greatest and best king England ever had — Alfred the Truth-teller. He was
only twenty-two years old when he came to the throne, and the kingdom
uas overrun everywhere with the Danes. In the northern part some had
even settled down, and made themselves at home, as the English had done
four hundred years before, and more and more kept coming in their ships:
so that, though Alfred beat them in battle again and again, there was no
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
71*4
U Inst he bad so very few faithful men
such thing . driving then, «*• *££ t,,, aivn/antl hid. hm«K
,,.,., „.•„!, him, that he thought , . to »enu , rf ^
in the Somersetshire mavsh eountn . Che.e a 1> e J J _. ^
""" '"' ":'- "T hl "'e £-« Kf^STta me,,du,g his bow and
' I""" "'" "hi-tt. bake upon the hearth.
the
b
victories
NORTHMEN LANDING IN ENGLAND.
the Danes, so that they asked for peace. He said he would allow those who
had settled in the North of England to stay there, provided they wo
come Christians ; and he stood godfather to their chief, and gave him 1
name of Ethelstane. After this, Alfred had stout English ships
meet the Danes at sea before they could come and land in England ; an
thus he kept them off, so that for all the rest of his reign, and that of Ins ,on
and grandsons, they could do very little mischief, and for a time leli
coming at all, but went to rob other countries that were not so well guard
by brave kings. ..
But Alfred was not only a brave warrior. He was a most good an
STOIJIKS <>F KNCUSII IIISTOKY. Jlfl
holy man, \vlio feared God above all things, and tried to do his V<T\
fur his people. lit- made good laws |'<>r them, and took care that every one
should lie justly treated, and tliat nobody should do his neighbor wroiiir
without being punished. S<> many Abbe\s had been burnt and the monk*
killed by the Danes, that there were hardly any books to be had, or scholar*
to read them. He invited learned men from abroad, and wrote and trans-
lated books himself for them; and he had a school in his house, \\herehe
made the young nobles learn with his own sons, lie built up the churches,
and gave alms to the poor; and he was always ready to hear the troubles of
any poor man. Though he was always working so hard, he had a disease
that used to cause him terrible pain almost every day. His last years were
!.•-- peaceful than the middle ones of his reign, for the Danes tried to come
again; but he beat them off by his ships at sea, and when he died at fifty-
two yeais old, in the year 901, he left England at rest and quiet; and the
Knii'lish always think of him as one of the greatest and best kings who ever
reigned in England, or in any other country. As long as his children after
him and his people went on in the good way he had taught them, all pros-
pered with them, and no enemies hurt them; and this was all through the
reigns of his son, his grandson, and great -grandsons. Their council of great
men was called by a long word that means in English, " Wise Men's Meet-
ing," and there they settled the affairs of the kingdom. The king's wife
was not called queen, but lady; and what do you think lady means? It
means "loaf-giver" — giver of bread to her household and the poor. So a
lady's great work is to be charitable.
716
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER V.
THE DANISH CONQUEST.
A.D. 958-1035.
last very prosperous king was Alfred's great grandson,
Edgar, who was owned as their over-lord by all the kings of
the remains of the Britons in Wales and Scotland. Once,
eight of these kings caine to meet him at Chester, and rowed
him in his barge along the river Dee. It was the grandest
(lav a king of England enjoyed for many years. Edgar was
called the Peaceable, because there were no attacks by the
Danes at all throughout his reign. In fact, the Northmen and
Danes had been fighting among themselves at home, and these fights gen-
erally ended in some one going off as a Sea-King, with all his friends, and
trying to gain a new home in some fresh country. One great party of
Northmen, under a very tall and mighty chief named Hollo, had, some time
before, thus gone to France, and forced the king to give them a great piece
of his country, just opposite to England, which was called after them Nor-
mandy. There they learned to talk French, and grew like Frenchmen,
though they remained a great deal braver, and more spirited than any of
their neighbors.
There were continually fleets of Danish ships coming to England ; and
the son of Edgar, whose name was Ethelred, was a helpless, cowardly sort
of man, so slow and tardy, that his people called him Ethelred the Unready.
Instead of fitting out ships to fight against the Danes, he took the money
the ships ought to have cost to pay them to go away without plundering ;
and as to those who had come into the country without his leave, he called
them his guard, took them into his pay, and let them live in the houses of
the English, where they were very rude, and gave themselves great airs,
making the English feed them on all their best meat, and bread, and beer,
and always call them Lord Danes. He made friends himself with the
Northmen, or Normans, who had settled in France, and married Emma, the
daughter of their duke; but none of his plans prospered : things grew worse
and worse, and his mind and his people's grew so bitter against the Danes,
that at last it was agreed that, all over the South of England, every English-
man should rise up in one night and murder the Dane who lodged in his
touse.
STORIES OF lACLISII HISTORY.
71?
Among those Danes who were thus wickedly killed was the mister of the
King of Denmark. Of course he was furious when he heard of it, and came
over to England determined to punish the cruel, treacherous kiiiLT and peo-
ple, and take the whole island for his own. He did punish the people, kill-
CANUTE BY THE SEASUOIIE.
ing, burning, and plundering wherever he went ; but he could never get the
king into his hands, for Ethelred went off in the height of the danger to
Normandy, where he had before sent his wife Emma, and her children,
leaving his eldest son (child of his first wife), Edmund Ironside, to fight for
the kingdom as best he might.
718 Tin-: \\oi.Mjrs <;I;I-:AT .\ATIONS.
This King of Denmark died in the midst of his English war; but his
son ('nut went on with the conquest he had begun, and before long Ethelred
tlie I'mvady died, and Kdniiiud Ironside was murdered, and ('nut became
Kintr of Knirland, as well as of Denmark. He became a Christian, and
married Kmma, Kthelred's widow, though she was much older than himself.
He had Keen a hard and cruel man, but he now laid aside his evil ways, and
became a noble and wise and just king, a lover of churches and good men;
and the Knglish seem to have been as well oft' under him as if he had been
one of their own kings. There is no king of whom more pleasant stones
are told. One is <>f his wanting to go to church at Ely Abbey one cold
Candlemas Day. Ely was on a hill, in the middle of a great marsh. The
marsh \\as fro/en over; but the king's servants told him that the ice was
not strong enough to bear, and they all stood looking at it. Then out
stepped a stout countryman, who was so fat, that his nickname was The
Pudding. "Are you all afraid;" he said, " I will go over at once before
the king." "AVill you 8O?" said the king; "then I will come after you, for
whatever bears you will bear me." Cnut was a little, slight man, and he got
easily over, and Pudding got a piece of land for his reward.
These servants of the king used to flatter him. They told him he was
lord of land and sea, and that everything would obey him. "Let us try."
said Cnut, who wished to show them how foolish and profane they were ;
"• bring out my chair to the sea-side." He was at Southampton at the time,
close to the sea, and the tide was coming in. "Now sea," he said, as he sat
down, "I am thy lord; dare not to come near, nor to wet my feet." Of
course the waves rolled on, and splashed over him ; and he turned to his
servants, and bade them never say words that took away from the honor
due to the only Lord of heaven and earth. He never put on his crown
again after this, but hung it up in Winchester Cathedral. He was a
thorough good king, and there was much grief when he died, stranger
though he was.
A great many Danes had made their homes in Yorkshire and Lincoln-
shire, ever since Alfred's time, and some of their customs and words still
remain in England. The worst of them was that they were great drunk-
ards, and the English learnt this bad custom from them.
>T(M;1KS (U KM.LISH HISTOKY.
(' II A I'T Ell VI.
TH K N O K M A -\
A.D.
i N ij I K ST.
left three son>; l»ut one was content to be only K5ng of
Denmark, and the other two died very soon. So a great
English iiolileinan. called Karl (io<l\vin, set ii|> as king—
Kduard, one of those sons of Ethel red the I'mvadx u ho
had lieen sent away to Normandy. He was a very kind,
good, pious man, who loved to do good. He began the
building of the grand cliureh at Westminster Alibey, and
he was so holy that he was railed the Confessor, which is a
word for good men not great enough to be called saints.
He was too good-natured, as voii will >ay when you hear that one da\, when
he was in bed. he saw a thief come cautiously into his room, open the chest
where his treasure was, and take out the money-bags. Instead of calling
any one, or sei/ing the man, the king only said, sleepily, "Take care, y>u
rogue, or my chancellor will catch you and give you a good whipping."
It can be easily seen that nobody much minded such a king as this, and >o
there were many disturbances in his time. Some of them rose out of the
king — who had been brought up in Normandy — liking the Normans better
than the English. They really were much cleverer and more sensible, for
they had learnt a great deal in France, while the English had forgotten
much of what Alfred and his sons had taught them, and all through tin-
long, sad reign of Ethelred had been getting more dull, and clumsy, and
rude. Moreover, they had learnt of the Danes to be sad drunkards; but
both they and the Danes thought the Norman French fine gentlemen, and
could not bear the sight of them.
Think, then, how angry they all were when it began to be said that
King Edward wanted to leave his kingdom of England to his mother's
Norman nephew, Duke William, because all his own near relations were
still little boys, not likely to be grown up by the time the old king died.
Many of the English wished for Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, a brave,
spirited man; but Edward sent him to Normandy, and there Duke William
made him swear an oath not to do anything to hinder the kingdom from
being given to Duke William.
Old King Edward died soon after, and Harold said at once that his
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
promise had Keen forced and cheated from him, so that he need not keep it,
and lie was crowned King of England. This filled William with anger.
He called all his lighting Normans together, fitted out ships, and sailed
across the English Channel to Dover. The figure-head of his own ship was
a likeness of his second little boy, named William. He landed at Pevensey,
in Siiss.-x, and set up his camp while Harold was away in the North, fight-
ing \\ith a runaway brother of his own, who had brought the Norwegians
to attack Yorkshire. Harold had just won a great battle over these enemies
\\lieii he heard that William and his Normans had lauded, arid he had to
hurry the whole length of Kngland to meet them.
Many of the English would not join him, because they did not want him
for their king. But though his
army was not large, it was very
brave. When he reached Sus-
sex, he placed all his men on
the top of a low hill, near Hast-
ings, and caused them to make
a fence all round, with a ditch
before it, and in the middle was
his own standard, with a fight-
ing man embroidered upon it.
Then the Normans rode up on
their war-horses to attack him,
one brave knight goino; first,
o o o
singing. The war-horses stum-
bled in the ditch, and the long
spears of the English killed
both men and horses. Then
AVilliam ordered his archers to
shoot their arrows hi^h in the
t
air. They canae down like hail
into the faces and on the heads
of the English. Harold him-
self was pierced by one in the
eye. The Normans charged
the fence again and broke through; and, by the time night came on,
himself, and all his brave Englishmen were dead Thev did
'<"< Bee away; they all stayed, and were killed, fighting to the last'- and
tl»;n was Harold's standard of the fighting man rooted up, and
ll.a.as stan.lar,l-a cross, which had been blessed by the Poi>e-
I'laiited instead of it. So ended the battle of Hastings, in the year
1066.
EDWARD THE CONFESSOR'S TOMB.
STOK1KS OK KNCLISH HISTORY. 1-1
We have related a great many "conquests" hitherto — the Roman
conquest, the Knglish conquest, the Danish conquest, and now the Norman
conquest. Hut there have been no more since : and the kings ami qiieen>
ha\e gone on in one long line ever >ince, from William of Normandy
down to Queen Victoria.
I
CHAPTER Vll.
WILLIAM T!1K CONO.rEROR.
A.D. 1066-1087.
king who had conquered Kngland was a brave, strong man.
who had been used to fighting and struggling ever since he
was a young child.
He really feared (Jod, and was in many ways a good
man; but it was not right of him to come and take another
people's country by force; and having done one wrong
thing often makes people grow worse and worse. Many of
the English were unwilling to have William as their king,
and his Norman friends \\eiv angry that he would not let them have more
of the Knglish lands, nor break the English laws. So they were often
rising up against him; and each time he had to put them down he grew
more harsh and stern. lie did not want to be cruel ; but he did many cruel
things, because it was the only way to keep England.
AVhen the people in Northumberland rose against him, and tried to get
back the old set of kings, he had the whole country wasted with fire and
sword, till hardly a town or village was left standing. He did this to pun-
ish the Northumbrians, and frighten the rest. But he did another thing
that was wor.-e, because it was only for his own amusement. In Hampshire,
near his castle of Winchester, there was a great space of heathy ground, and
holly copse and beeches and oaks above it, with deer and boars running wild
in the glades — a beautiful place for hunting, only that there were so many
villages in it that the creatures were disturbed and killed. AVilliam liked
hunting more than anything else — his people said he loved the high deer as
if he was their father, — and to keep the place clear for them, he turned out
all the inhabitants, and pulled down their houses, and made laws against
any one killing his game. The place he thus cleared is still called the New
Forest, though it is a thousand years old.
46
;.•.' THE AVOKLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
An "I'l Norman law that the English grumbled about very much was,
that as soon as a bell was rung at eight o'clock every evening, every one was
to put out caudle and tire, and go to bed. The bell was called the curfew,
and many old churches ring it still.
William caused a great list to be made of all the lands in the country,
and who held them. This list exists still, and is called the Domesday
Book. It sho.ws that a great deal had been taken from the English and
iciven to the Normans. The king built castles, with immensely thick, strong
walls, and loop-hole windows, whence to shoot arrows; and here he placed
his Normans to keep the English down. But the Normans were even more
unruly than the English, and only his strong hand kept them in order.
Thev rode about in armor* — helmets on their heads, a shirt of mail, made of
chains of iron linked together, over their bodies, gloves and boots of iron,
swords by their sides, and lances in their hands — and thus they could bear
down all before them. They called themselves knights, and were always
made to take an oath to befriend the weak, and poor, and helpless ; but they
did not often keep it toward the poor English.
William had four sons — Robert, who was called Court-hose or Short-legs;
William, called Rufus, because he had red hair; Henry, called Beau-clerc, or
the fine scholar ; and Richard, who was still a lad when he was killed by a
in the New Forest.
Robert, the eldest, was a wild, rude, thoughtless youth; biit he fancied
himself fit to govern Normandy, and asked his father to give it up to him.
King William answered, "I never take my clothes off before I go to bed,"
meaning that Robert must wait for his death. Robert could not bear to be
laughed at, and was very angry. Soon after, -when he was in the castle-
court, his two brothers, "William and Henry, grewr riotous, and poured water
down from the upper windows on him and his friends. He flew into a pas-
sion, dashed up-stairs with his sword in his hand, and might have killed his
brothers if their father had not come in to protect them. Then he threw
himself on his horse and galloped away, persuaded some friends to join him,
and actually fought a battle with his own father, in which the old king was
thrown off his horse, and hurt in the hand. Then Robert wandered about,
living on money that his mother, Queen Matilda, sent him, though his father
was angry with hev for doing so, and this made the first quarrel the husband
and wife ever had.
Not long after, William went to war with the King of France. He had
caused a city to be burnt down, and was riding through the ruins, when
his horse trod on some hot ashes, and began to plunge. The king was
thrown forward on the saddle, and, being a very heavy, stout man, was so
* See page 724.
u
H
O
-
u
ft!
g
o:
STOIMES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
788
much hurt, that, after a few weeks, in the year 1087, he died at a lit tit;
monastery, a short way from IJouen, the chief city of his dukedom of
Normandy.
He was the greatest man of his time, and he had much good in him;
and \vhen he lay on his death-lied he grieved much for all the evil he had
brought upon the Kurdish; but that could not undo it. He had been a
^rent church-builder, and so were his Norman bishops and barons. You
may always know their work, because it has round pillars, and round arches,
with broad borders of xig/ngs, and all manner of patterns round them.
In the end, the coming of the Normans did the English much good, by
brightening them up and making them h--> dull and hea\ \ : but thc\ did
not like having a kiii'j; and court who talked French, and who cared more
for Normandy than for England.
C II A P T E R VIII.
W I I, M A M II., H UFU 8.
A.D. 1087-1100.
^ILLIAM the Conqueror was obliged to let Normandy fall to
Robert, his eldest son ; but he thought he could do as he
pleased about England, which he had won for himself.
So he sent off his second son, William, to England, with
his ring to Westminster, giving him a message that he
hoped the English people would have him for their king.
And they did take him, though they would hardly have
done so if they had known what he would be like when he
was left to himself. But while he was kept under by his
father, they only knew that lie had red hair and a ruddy face, and had more
sense than his brother Robert. He is sometimes called the Red King, but
more commonly William Rufus. Things went worse than ever with the
poor English in his time; for, at least, William the Conqueror had made
everybody mind the law; but now, William Rufus let his cruel soldiers do
just as they pleased. They would come into the farms, have the best of
everything set before them, beat and misuse the people, carry off whatever
they pleased, and spoil what they did not want. It was of no use to com-
plain, for the king would only laugh and make jokes. He did not care for
or man; only for being powerful, for feasting, and for hunting.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
r
<••
\ &
HB a
ii?f ==
^
P
o
-
La> -?:•- -•«
% ^ - J
b» i
W_,- -^
and where He had risen from the dead— was a place where every one wished
to go and worship, and this they called going on pilgrimage. A beauti
STORIES "F KNCUSH HISTORY. 725
church had once been built over the sepulchre where our Lord had lain, and
enriched with gifts. But for a long time jiast Jerusalem had been in the
hands of an Eastern people, who think their false prophet. Mohaninied,
greater than <>ur l>le>-ed Lord. These Mohammedans used to rob and ill-
treat the pilgrims, and make them pay great sums of money for leave to
come into Jerusalem. At last a pilgrim, named IVter the Hermit, came
home, and got leave from the Pope to try to waken up all the Christian
princes and knights to go to the Holy Land, and tight to get the IIolv
Sepulchre hack into Christian hands again. He used to pi-each in the open
air, and the people who lizard him were so stirred up that they all shouted
out, "It is (iod's will! It U God's will!" And each who undertook logo
and ILdit in the Mast received a cro-s cut out in cloth, red or white, to \\ear
on his shoulder. Many thousands promised to g i this crusade, as thev
called it, and among them was Robert, Duke of Normandy. But he had
\\astcd hi* moiiex. 9O that, he could not tit out an army to take with him.
So he offered to give up Normandy to his brother William \\hile he was
gone, it' William would let him have the money he wanted. The Red King
wa* very ready to make sueh a bargain, but he laughed at the Crusaders,
and thought that they were wasting their time and trouble.
They had a very good man to lead them, named Godfrey de Bouillon;
and, after many toils and troubles, they did gain Jerusalem, and could
kneel, \\eeping, at the Holy Sepulchre. It was proposed to make Robert
King of Jerusalem, but he would not accept the offer, and Godfrey was
made king instead, and stayed to guard the holy places, while Duke Robert
set out on his return home.
In the meantime, the Red King had gone on in as fierce and ungodly a
\\a\- as ever, laughing good advice to scorn, and driving away the trood
Archbishop of Canterbury, St. Anselm, and every one else who tried to
warn him or withstand his wickedness. One day, in the year 1100, he went
out to hunt deer in the New Forest, which his father had wasted, laughing
and jesting in his rough way. By and by he Avas found dead under an oak-
tree, with an arrow through his heart; and a wood-cutter took up his body
in his cart, and carried it to Winchester Cathedral, where it was buried.
\\ ho shot the arrow nobody knew, and nobody ever will know. Some
thought it must be a knight, named Walter Tyrrell, to whom the king had
given three long good arrows that morning. He rode straight away to
Southampton, and went off to the Holy Land; so it is likely that he knew
something about the king's death. But he never seems to have told any
one, whether it was only an accident, or a murder, or who did it. Anvway,
it \\as a fearful end, for a bad man to die in his sin, without a moment to
repent and pray.
726
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER IX.
HENRY I., BEAUCLERC.
A.D. 1100-1135.
ENRY, the brother of William Rufus, was one of the hunting
] >nrty : and as soon as the cry spread through the forest that
the king was dead, he rode off at full speed to Winchester,
and took possession of all his brother's treasure. William
Rufus had never been married, and left no children, and
Henry was much the least violent and most sensible of the
brothers ; and, as he promised to govern according to the old
la\\ s of England, he did not find it difficult to persuade the
people to let him be crowned king.
He was not really a good man, and he could be very cruel sometimes, as
well as false and cunning; but he kept good order, and would not allow
such horrible things to be done as in his brother's time. So the English
were better off than they had been, and used to say the king would let
nobody break the laws but himself. They were pleased, too, that Henry
married a lady who was half English — Maude, the daughter of Malcolm
Greathead, King of Scotland, and of a lady of the old English royal line.
They loved her greatly, and called her good Queen Maude.
Robert came back to Normandy, and tried to make himself King of
England ; but Henry soon drove him back. The brothers went on quarrel-
ing for some years, and Robert managed Normandy miserably, and wasted
his money, so that he sometimes had no clothes to wear, and lay in bed for
want of them.
Some of the Normans could not bear this any longer, and invited Henry
to come and take the dukedom. He came with an army, many of whom
were English, and fought a battle with Robert and his faithful Normans at
Tenchebray, in Normandy. They gained a great victory, and the English
thought it made up for Hastings. Poor Robert was made prisoner by his
brother, who sent him off to Cardiff Castle, in Wales, where he lived for
twenty-eight years, and then died, and was buried in Gloucester Cathedral,
with his figure made in bog oak over his monument.
Henry had two children — William and Maude. The girl was married
to the Emperor of Germany, and the boy was to be the husband of Alice,
daughter to the Count of Anjou, a great French prince, whose lands were
STOKIKS OF KM, I. Ml IllSToKY. »"!
near Normandy. It was the custom to marry children very young then,
before they were old enough to leave their parents and make a home for
themselves. So William was taken by his father to Anjou, and there mar-
ried to the little girl, and then she was left behind, while he was to return
to England with his father. Just as he was going to embark, a man came
to the king, and begged to have the honor of taking him in his new \e->el,
called the White Ship, saying that his father had steered William the Con-
queror's ship. Henry could not change his own plans; but, as the man
begged so hard, lie said his son, the young bridegroom, and his friends
might go in the White Ship. They sailed in the evening, and there was
great merr\ -making on board, till the sailors grew so drunk that they did
not know how to guide the ship, and ran her against a rock. She tilled
with water and began to sink. A boat was lowered, and William safely
placed in it; but, just as he was rowed off, he heard the cries of the ladies
who were left behind, and caused the oarsmen to turn back for them. So
many drowning wretches crowded into it, as soon as it came near, that it
sank with their weight, and all were lost. Only the top-mast of the ship
remained above water, and to it clung a butcher and the owner of the ship
all night long. When daylight came, and the owner knew that the king's
son was really dead, and by his fault, he lost heart, let go the mast and was
drowned. Only the butcher was taken off alive; and for a long time no
one dared to tell the king what had happened. At last a boy was sent to
fall at his feet, and tell him his son was dead. He was a broken-hearted
man, and never knew gladness again all the rest of his life.
His daughter Maude had lost her German husband, and come home. He
made her marry Geoffrey of Anjou, the brother of his son's young wife, and
called upon all his chief noblemen to swear that they would take her for
their queen in England and their duchess in Normandy after his own death.
He did not live much longer. His death was caused, in the year 1135,
by eating too much of the fish called lamprey, and he was buried in Reading
Abbey.
728
TUE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER X.
STEPHEN.
A.D. 1135-1154.
EITHER English nor Normans had ever been ruled by a
woman, and the Empress Maude, as she still called herself
\\as a proud, disagreeable, ill-tempered woman, whom nobody
liked. So her cousin, Stephen de Blois — whose mother,
Adela, had been a daughter of AVilliam the Conqueror—
thought to obtain the crown of England by promising to give
every one what they wished. It was very wrong of him ; for
he, like all the other barons, had sworn that Maude should
reiirn. But the people knew he was a kindly, gracious sort of
person, and greatly preferred him to her. So he was crowned ; and at once
all the Norman barons, whom King Henry had kept down, began to think
thev could have their own way. They built strong castles, and hired men,
with whom they made war upon each other, robbed one another's tenants,
and, when they saw a peaceable traveler on his way, they would dash down
upon him, drag him into the castle, take away all the jewels or money he
had about him, or, if he had none, they would shut him up and torment
him till he could get his friends to pay them a sum to let him loose.
Stephen, who was a kind-hearted man himself, tried to stop these cruel-
ties ; but then the barons turned round on him, told him he was not their
proper king, and invited Maude to come and be crowned in his stead. She
came very willingly ; and her uncle, King David of Scotland, set out with
an army to fight for her; but all the English in the north came out to drive
him back ; and they beat him and his Scots at what they called the Battle
of the Standard, because the English had a holy standard, which was kept
in Durham Cathedral. Soon after, Stephen was taken prisoner at a battle
at Lincoln, and there was nothing to prevent Maude from being queen but
her own bad temper. She went to Winchester, and was there proclaimed ;
but she would not speak kindly or gently to the people ; and when her
friends entreated her to reply more kindly, she flew into a passion, and it is
even said that she gave a box on the ear to her uncle — the good King of
Scotland, who had come to help her — for reproving her for her harsh
answers. When Stephen's wife came to beg her to set him free, promising
that he should go away beyond the seas, and never interfere with her ajrain,
STOIMI-> OF I-:M;U>]| HISTORY.
she would lint listen, and drove her auav. Hut r-he ><x>n found how foolish
she li:id Keen. Stephen's friends would have !>.-en willing tliat he slmuld Lrive
uji trxiiiL;- t» l>e king, but they cnnikl not leave him in prison for life; and
'0
NOBMAX BARONS WAYLAYING TRAVELERS.
so they went oil fighting for him, while more and more of the English joined
them, as they felt how bad and unkind a queen they had in the Empn— .
Indeed, she was so proud and violent, that her husband would not conn-
7:{o THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
over to England to help her, but stayed to govern Normandy. She was soon
in great distress, and had to flee from Winchester, riding through the midst
of the enemy, and losing almost all her friends by the way, as they were
slain or made prisoners. Her best helper of all — Earl Robert of Gloucester
— was taken while guarding her; and she could only get to his town of
Gloucester by lying down in a coffin, with holes for air, and being thus
carried through all the country, where she had made every one hate her.
Stephen's wife offered to set the Earl free, if the other side would release
her husband ; and this exchange was brought about. Robert then went to
Normandy, to fetch Maude's little son Henry, who was ten years old, leaving
her, as he thought, safe in Oxford Castle ; but no sooner was he gone than
Stephen brought his army, and besieged the castle — that is, he brought his
men round it, tried to climb up the walls, or beat them down with heavy
beams, and hindered any food from being brought in. Everything in the
castle that could be eaten was gone ; but Maude was determined not to fall
into her enemy's hands. It was the depth of winter; the river below the
walls was frozen over, and snow was on the ground. One dark nio-ht,.
Maude dressed herself and three of her knights all in white, and they Avere,
one by one, let down by ropes from the walls. No one saw them in the
snow. They crossed the river on the ice, walked a great part of the night,
and at last came to Abingdon, where horses were waiting for them, and
thence they rode to Wallingford, where Maude met her little sou.
There was not much more fighting after this. Stephen kept all the east-
ern part of the kingdom, and Henry was brought up at Gloucester till his
father sent for him, to take leave of him before going on a crusade. Geoffrey
died during this crusade. He was fond of "hunting, and was generally seen
with a spray of broom blossom in his cap. The French name for this plant
is genet; and thus his nickname was " Plantagenet ; " and this became a
kind of surname to the kings of England.
Henry, called Fitz-empress— or " the Empress's son "—came to England
again as soon as he was grown up ; but, instead of going to Avar, he made an
agreement with Stephen. Henry would not attack Stephen any more, but
leave him to reign all the days of his life, provided Stephen engaged that
Henry should reign instead of his own son after his death. This°made Ste-
phen's son, Eustace, very angry, and he went away in a rage to raise troops
to maintain his cause ; but he died suddenly in the midst of his wild doino-s
and the king, his father, did not live long after him, but died in the year
1 Iu4.
Maude had learnt wisdom by her misfortunes. She had no further desire
be queen, but lived a retired life in a convent, and was much more
respected there than as queen.
STUKIK.S OF EMiLlMi ill.STOUY.
CHAPTER XI.
HENRY II., FITZ-EM I'K ESS.
A.D. 1154-1189.
ENRY FITZ-EMPRESS is counted as the first king of the
Plantagenet family, also called the House of Anjou. II"
was a very clever, brisk, spirited man, who hardly e\ er sat
down, but was always goinur from place to place, and who
would let nobody disobey him. He kept everybody in order,
pulled down almost all the Castles that had been built in
Stephen's time, and would not let the barons ill-treat the peo-
ple. Indeed, every one had been so mixed up together
during the wars in Stephen's reign, that the grandchildren of
the Normans who had come over with William the Conqueror were now
quite English in their feelings. French was, however, chiefly spoken at
court. The king was really a Frenchman, and he married a French wife,
Eleanor, the lady of Aquitaine, a great dukedom in the south of France ;
and, as Henry had already Normandy and Anjou, he really was lord of
nearly half France. He ruled England well ; but he was not a good man,
for he cared for power and pleasure more than for what was right ; and
sometimes he fell into such rages that he would roll on the floor, and bite
the rushes and sticks it was strewn with. He made many laws. One was
that, if a priest or monk was thought to have committed any crime, he
should be tried by the king's judge, instead of by the bishop. The Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, Thomas & Becket, did not think it right to consent to
this law; and, though he and the king had once been great friends, Henry
was so angry with him that he was forced to leave England, and take shel-
ter with the King of France. Six years passed by, and the king pretended
to be reconciled to him, but still, when they met, would not give him the
kiss of peace. The archbishop knew that this showed that the king still
hated him ; but his flock had been so long without a shepherd that he
thought it his duty to go back to them. Just after his return, he laid under
cens\ire some persons who had given offence. They went and complained
to the king, and Henry exclaimed in a passion, " Will no one rid me of this
turbulent priest ? " Four of his knights who heard these words set forth
for Canterbury. The archbishop guessed why they were come ; but he
would not flee again, and waited for them by the altar in the cathedral, not
T;k, . THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
i lettin- the doors be shut. There they slew him ; and thither in great
-rid at the effect of his own words, the king came-three years later-
fhow his penitence by entering barefoot, kneeling before Thomas s tomb,
and causing erery priest or monk in turn to strike him with a rod. We
should not exactly call Thomas a martyr now, but he was thought so then
because he died fo'r upholding the privileges of the Church, and he was
to be a \ erv threat saint.
While this dispute was going on, the Earl of Pembroke, called Strong-
bow one of Henry's nobles, had gone over to Ireland, and obtained a 1
kingdom there, which he professed to hold of Henry; and thus the Kings
of Kn.-hmd became Lords of Ireland, though for a long time they only
had the Province of Leinster, and were always at war with the
around.
Henry was a most powerful king; but his latter years were very un-
happy 'His wife was not a good woman, and her sons were all disobedient
and 'rebellious. Once all the three eldest, Henry, Richard, and Geoffrey,
and their mother, ran away together from his court, and began to make war
upon him. He was much stronger and wiser than they, so he soon forced
them to submit; and he sent Queen Eleanor away, and shut her up in a
strong <-a<tle in England as long as he lived. Her sons were much more
fond of her than oi their father, and they thought this usage so hard, that
they were all the more ready to break out against him. The eldest son,
Henry, was leading an army against his father, when he was taken ill, and
felt himself dying. He sent an entreaty that his father would forgive him,
and come to see him; but the young man had so often been false and
treacherous,- that Henry feared it was only a trick to get him as a
prisoner, and only sent his ring and a message of pardon; and young
Henry died, pressing the ring to his lips, and longing to hear his father's
voice.
Geoffrey, the third son, was killed by a fall from his horse, and there
were only two left alive, Richard and John. Just at this time, news came
that the Mohammedans in the Holy Land had won Jerusalem back again ;
and the Pope called on all Christian princes to leave off quarreling, and go
on a crusade to recover the Holy Sepulchre.
The kings of England and France, young Richard, and many more,
were roused to take the cross; but while arrangements for going were
being made, a fresh dispute about them arose, and Richard went away in a
rage, got his friends together, and, with King Philip of France to help him,
began to make war. His father was feeble, and worn out, and could not
resist as in former times. He fell ill, and gave up the struggle, saying he
would grant all they asked. The list of Richard's friends whom he was to
pardon was brought to him, and the first name he saw in it was that of
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
733
-John, his youngest son, and his darling, the one who had IK-VIM- In-fore
rel.elh-d. That quite broke his heart, his illness grew vrona, and In- talki-d
about an old eagle being torn to pieces by \n- eaglets. A-id ><>. in tin- year
llv.», HiMiiy II. died the saddest dcatli, ]>*'rha]>s, that an old man can
die, for his sons had brought down his gray liairs with sorrow to the
CHAPTER XII.
RICHARD I., LION. HEART.
A.D. 1189-1199.
.ICHARD was greatly grieved at his father's death, and wh.-ii
he came and looked at the dead body, in Fontevraud Al>!><-\
Church, he cried out, "Alas! it was I who killed him !" But
it was too late now: he could not make up for what he had
done, and he had to think about the Crusade he had promised
to make. Richard was so brave and strong that he was called ,
Lion-heart ; he was very noble and good in some way^ but his
fierce, passionate temper did him a great deal of harm. He,
and King Philip of France, and several other great princes, all
met in the Island of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, and thence sailed for
the Holy Land. The lady whom Richard was to marry came to meet him
in Sicily. Her name was Berengaria; but, as it was Lent, he did not marry
her then. She went on to the Holy Land in a ship with his sister Joan,
and tried to land in the island of Cyprus ; but the people were inhospitable,
and would not let them come. So Richard, in his great anger, conquered
the isle, and was married to Berengaria there.
The Mohammedans who held Palestine at that time were called Saracens,
and had a very brave prince at their head named Saladin, which means
Splendor of Religion. He was very good, just, upright, and truth-telling,
and his Saracens fought so well, that the Crusaders would hardly have won.
a bit of ground if the Lion-heart had not been so brave. At last, they did
take one city on the coast named Acre; and one of the princes, Leopold,
Duke of Austria, set up his banner on the walls. Richard did not think it
ought to be there : he pulled it up and threw it down into the ditch, asking
the duke how he dared take the honors of a king. Leopold was sullen and
brooded over the insult, and King Philip thought Richard so overbearing,
734 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
that he could not bear to be in the army with him any longer. In truth,
though Philip had pretended to be his friend, and had taken his part against
his father, that was really only to hurt King Henry; he hated Richard
quite as much, or more, and only wanted to get home- first in order to do
him as much harm as he could while he was away. So Philip said it was
too hot for him in the Holy Land, and made him ill. He sailed back to
France, while Richard remained, though the climate really did hurt his
health, and lie often had fevers there. When he was ill, Saladin used to
send him grapes, and do all he could to show how highly he thought of so
brave a man. Once Saladin sent him a beautiful horse; Richard told the
Karl of Salisbury to try it, and no sooner was the earl mounted, than the
horse ran away with him to the Saracen army. Saladin was very much
vexed, and was afraid it would be taken for a trick to make the English
king prisoner, and he gave the earl a quieter horse to ride back with.
Richard fought one ten-ible battle at Joppa with the Saracens, and then he
tried to go on to take Jerusalem; but he wanted to leave a good stron^
castle behind him at Ascalon, and set all his men to work to build it up.
When they grumbled, he worked with them, and asked the duke to do the
same; but Leopold said gruffly that he was not a carpenter or a mason.
Richard was so provoked that he struck him a blow, and the duke went
home in a rage.
So many men had gone home, that Richard found his army was not
strong tnough to try to take Jerusalem. He was greatly grieved, for he
knew it was his own fault for not having shown the temper of a Crusader ;
and when he came to the top of a hill, whence the Holy City could be seen,
he would not look at it, but turned away, saying, " They who are not worthy
to win it are not worthy to behold it." It was of no use for him to sta'v
with so few men ; besides, tidings came from home that King Philip and his
own brother, John, were doing all the mischief they could. So he made a
peace for three years between the Saracens and Christians, hoping to come
back again after that to rescue Jerusalem. But on his way home there were
terrible storms ; his ships were scattered, and his own ship was driven up
into the Adriatic Sea, where he was robbed by pirates, or sea-robbers, and
then was shipwrecked. There was no way for him to get home but through
the lands of Leopold of Austria ; so he pretended to be a merchant, and set
out attended only by a boy. He fell ill at a little inn, and while he was in
bed the boy went into the kitchen with the king's glove in his belt. It was
nn embroidered glove, such as merchants never used, and people asked
questions, and guessed that the boy's master must be some great man. The
Duke of Austria heard of it, sent soldiers to take him, and shut him up as a
prisoner in one of his castles. Afterward, the duke gave him up for a larj?e
•sum of money to the Emperor of Germany. All this time Richard's wife
STOK'IKS OF K\<;i.isil HISTORY.
and mother had I.een in great sorrow and fear, trying' to Hud out wli.-it had
liecnnie of liiin. It is said that he was found at last l>\ his friend, tin- iiiin-
stn-1 Blondel. A ininstivl was a person who made versus and sum_r them.
Many <>f the nobles and knights in Queen Eleanor's Duchy of Aquitaine
"\
MINSTRELS AND JCOGLEHS AT COCBT.
were minstrels— and Richard was a very p.od one himself, and amused him-
self in his captivity by making verses. This is certainly true ; though \\e
••aniK.t answer for it that the pretty story is true, which says that Blondel
sunir at all the castle courts in Germany, till he heard his master's voice take
up and reply to his song.
The Queens Eleanor and Berengaria raised a ransom — that is, a sum of
736
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
money to buy his freedom — though his brother John tried to prevent her,
and the King of France did his best to hinder the emperor from releasing
him ; but the Pope insisted that the brave crusader should be set at liberty-
and Richard came home, after a year and a half of captivity. He freely for-
gave John for all the mischief he had done or tried to do, though he thought
so ill of him as to say, "I wish I may forget John's injuries to nie as soon
,-i- In- will forget my pardon of him."
Richard only lived two years after he came back. He was besieging a
castle in Aquitaine, where there was some treasure that he thought was un-
lawfully kept from him, when he was struck in the shoulder by a bolt from
a cros:-bow, and the surgeons treated it so unskilfully that in a few days he
died. The man who had shot the bolt was made prisoner, but the Lion-
heart's last act was to command that no harm should be done to him. The
soldiers, however, in their grief and rage for the king, did put him to death
in a cruel manner.
Richard desired to be buried at the feet of his father, in Fontevraud
Abbey, where he had once bewailed his undutiful conduct, and now wished
his body for ever to lie in penitence. The figures, in stone, of the father,
mother, and son, who quarreled so much in life, all lie on one monument
now, and with them Richard's youngest sister, Joan, who died nearly at the
same time as he died, partly of grief for him.
CHAPTER XIII.
JOHX, LACKLAND.
A.D. 1 199-1210.
| S a kind of joke, John, King Henry's youngest son, had been
called Lackland, because he had nothing when his brothers
each had some great dukedom. The name suited him only
too well before the end of his life. The English made him
king at once. They always did take a grown-up man for
their king, if the last king's son was but a child. Richard
had never had any children, but his brother Geoffrey, who
was older than John, had left a son named Arthur, who was
about twelve years old, and who was rightly the Duke of
Normandy and Count of Anjou, King Philip, who was always jylad to vex
whoever was king of England, took Arthur under his protection, and pro-
STORIES OF KMJLISH HISTORY. 737
to get Normandy out of John's hands. However, John had a meeting
with liiiu and persuaded him to desert Arthur, and marry his son Loui> \«
John's own niece, Blanche, \\ho had a chance of being quern of part of Spain.
Still Arthur lived at the French King's court, and when he was sixteen
\ears old, Philip helped him to raise an army and go to try his fortune
against his uncle. He laid siege to Mirabeau, a town where hi> grandmother,
(v>ueeii Kleaiior, was living. John, who \\ as then in Normandy, hurried to
her re>riie, heat Arthur's army, made him prisoner and carried him off, lirst
t<> lioueii, and then to the strong castle of Falaise. Nobody quite knows
what was done t<> him there. The governor, Hubert de Burgh, once found
him lighting hard, though with no weapon but a stool, to defend himself
from some ruffians who had been sent to put out his eyes. Hubert saved
him from these men, but shortly after this good man was sent elsewhere by
the king, and John came himself to Kalaise. Arthur was never seen alive
again, and it is believed that John took him out in a boat in the river at
night, stabbed him with his own hand, and threw his body into the river.
There \\.-is, any way, no doubt that John was guilty of his nephew's death,
and he was fully known to be one of the most selfish and cruel men who
ever lived ; and so lazy, that he let Philip take Normandy from him, with-
out stirring a ringer to save the grand old dukedom of his forefathers; so
that nothing is left of it to England now but the four little islands, Guern-
sey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark.
Matters became much worse in England, when he quarreled with the
Pope, \\hose name was Innocent, about who should be archbishop of Canter-
bury. The Pope wanted a man named Stephen Langton to be archbishop,
but the king swore he should never come into the kingdom. Then the
Pope punished the kingdom, by forbidding all church services in all parish
churches. This was termed putting the kingdom under an interdict. John
was not much distressed by this, though his people were; but when he
found that Innocent was stirring up the King of France to come to attack
him, he thought it time to make his peace with the Pope. So he not only
consented to receive Stephen Langton, but he even knelt down before the
Pope's legate, or messenger, and took off his crown, giving it up to the
legate, in token that he only held the kingdom from the Pope. It was two
or three days before it was given back to him; and the Pope held himself
to be lord of England, and made the king and people pay him money when-
ever he demanded it.
All this time John's cruelty and savageness were making the whole
kingdom miserable; and at last the great barons could bear it no longer.
They met together and agreed that they would make John swear to govern
by the good old English laws that had prevailed before the Normans came.
The difficulty was to be sure of what these laws were, for most of the copies
47
T.-is
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
of them had been lost. However, Archbishop Langton and some of the
wisest of the barons put together a set of laws — some copied, some recol-
lected, sonic old, some new — but all such as to give the barons some control
of the king, and hinder him from getting savage soldiers together to frighten
people into doing whatever he chose to make them. These laws they called
Muirna Carta, or the great charter ; and they all came in armor, and took
John by sin-prise at Windsor. He came to meet them in a meadow named
Runnymede, on the bank of the Thames, and there they forced him to sign
the charter, for which all Englishmen are grateful to them.
KINO JOHN SIGNS MAONA CARTA.
But he did not mean to keep it ! No, not he ! He had one of his father's
fits of rage when he got back to Windsor Castle— he gnawed the sticks for
rage, and swore he was no king. Then he sent for more of the fierce sol-
diers, who went about in bands ready to be hired, and prepared to take
vengeance on the barons. They found themselves not strong enough to
make head against him ; so they invited Louis, the son of Philip of France
and husband of John's niece, to come and be their kin*. He came and
\vas received in London, while John and his bands of soldiers were roamino-
the eastern counties, wasting and Imrninsr everywhere till they came
to the Wash— that curious bay between Lincolnshire and Norfolk, where so
STOK1KS OF KNCUSH HISTORY.
M'.i
many fixers run into the sea. There is a -afe way acro-s the >aiids in this
bay \\heii the tide is low, but when it is coming in and meets the rivers, the
waters rise suddenly into a flood. So it happened to King.lohn; lie did
get out himself, hut all the carts with his g ..... Is and treasures \\eiv lost, and
many of his men. He was full of rage and grief, but he went on to the
abbey u here he meant to sleep. He supped on peaches and new ale, and
Minn after became very ill. lie died in a few days, a miserable, di>graced
man, with half his people fighting against him and London in the hands of
his worst enemy.
CHAPTER XIV.
HENUY III., OK WINCHESTER.
A.D. 1216-1272.
John left two little sons, Henry and Richard, nine and
seven years old, and all the English barons felt that they
would rather have Henry as their king than the French
Louis, whom they had only called in because John was such
a wretch. So when little Henry had been crowned at Glou-
cester, with his mother's bracelet, swearing to rule according
to Magna Carta, and good Hubert de Burgh undertook to
govern for him, one baron after another came back to him.
Louis was beaten in a battle at Lincoln ; and when his wife
sent him more troops, Hubert de Burgh got ships together and sunk many
vessels, and drove the others back in the Straits of Dover; so that Louis
was forced to go home and leave England in peace.
Henry must have been too young to understand about Magna Carta
when he swore to it, but it was the trouble of all his long reign to get him
to observe it. It was not that he was wicked like his father — for he was
very religious and kind-hearted — but he was too good-natured, and never
could say No to anybody. Bad advisers got about him when he grew up,
and persuaded him to let them take good Hubert de Burgh and imprison
him. When they seized him, they took him to a blacksmith to have chains
put on his feet, but the smith said he would never forge chains for the man
\\lio had saved his country from the French. He was afterward set free,
and died in peace and honor.
Henry was a builder of beautiful churches. Westminster Abbey, as it
is now, was one. And he was so charitable to the poor that, when he had
740 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
his children weighed, he gave their weight in gold and silver in alms. But
he gave to every one who asked, and so always wanted money; and some-
times his men could get nothing for the king and queen to eat, but by going
and taking sheep and poultry from the poor farmers around ; so that things
were nearly as bad as under William Rufus — because the king was so
foolishly good-natured. The Pope was always sending for money, too ; and
the king tried to raise it in ways that, according to Magna Carta, he had
sworn not to do. His foreign friends told him that if he minded Magna
Carta he would be a poor creature — not like a king, who might do all he
pleased ; and whenever he listened to them he broke the laws of Magna
Carta. Then, when his barons complained and frightened him, he swore
again to keep them ; so that nobody could trust him, and his weakness was
almost as bad for the kingdom as John's wickedness. When they could
licar it no longer, the barons all met him at the council which was called
the Parliament, from a French word meaning talk. This time they came in
armor, bringing all their fighting men, and declared that he had broken his
word so often that they should appoint some of their own number to watch
him, and hinder his doing anything against the laws he had sworn to ob-
serve, or from getting money from the people without their consent. He
was very angry; but he was in their power, and had to submit to sweat-
that so it should be; and Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who had
married his sister, was appointed among the lords who were to keep watch
over him. Heniy could not bear this ; he felt himself to be less than ever
a king, and tried to break loose. He had never cared for his promises ; but
his brave sou Edward, who was now grown up, cared a great deal : and they
put the question to Louis, King of France, whether the king was bound by
the oath he had made to be under Montfort and his council. This Louis
was son to the one who had been driven back by Hubert de Burgh. He
was one of the best men and kings that ever lived, and he tried to judge
rightly; but he scarcely thought how much provocation Henry had given,
when he said that subjects had no right to frighten their king, and so that
Henry and Edward were not obliged to keep the oath.
Thereupon they got an army together, and so did Simon de Montfort
and the barons ; and they met at a place called Lewes, in Sussex. Edward
got the advantage at first, and galloped away, driving his enemies before
him ; but when he turned round and came back, he found that Simon de
Montfort had beaten the rest of the army, and made his father and uncle
Richard prisoners. Indeed, the barons threatened to cut off Richard's head
if Edward went on fighting with them ; and to save his uncle's life he, too,
gave himself up to them.
Simon de Montfort now governed all the kingdom. He still called
Henry king, but did not let him do anything, and watched him closely that
STolMKS OF KMJUSII HISToKY.
741
he might not get away; and Edward was kept a prisoner — first in one
rastle, then in another. Simon was a good and high-minded man him>elf,
who onl\ wanted to do what was best for every one ; but he had a family
of proud and overbearing sons, who treated all who came in their \\a\ so ill,
that most of the barons quarreled with them. One of these barons sent
Kdward a beautiful horse; and one day when he was riding out from Ib i.-
ford Castle with his keepers, he proposed to them to ride races, while he
\\as to look on and decide which was the swiftest. Thus they all tired out
their horses, and as soon as he saw that they could hardly get them aloiiLr,
Edward spurred his own fresh horse, and galloped off to meet the friend-
'iu >.\DI;H?- IN BATTLE.
who were waiting for him. All who were discontented with the Montforts
joined him, and he soon had a large army. He marched against Montfort,
and met him at Evesham. The poor old king was in Montfort's army, and
in the battle was thrown down, and would have been killed if he had not
called out — " Save me, save me, I am Henry of Winchester." His son heard
the call, and, rushing to his side, carried him to a place of safety. His army
was much the strongest, and Montfort had known from the first that there
was no hope for him. " God have mercy on our souls, for our bodies are Sir
Edward's," he had said : and he died bravely on the field of battle.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Fdw.nl brought his father back to reign in all honor, but he took the
L,nent of the kingdom, and soon set things in order again-
r- ^jE ^n^t±^^
SKKSK ir? *S2 «i *• • -t •"•** >™
T h .,,. were only three English kings who reigned more than fifty years, and
these are e,,sv to remember, as each was the third of his name-Henry 1
' ;: HI.; ;md George III. In the reign of Henry III. the custom of
villl,. P.Hiaments was established, and the king was prevented irom get-
thl, Lney from the people unless the Parliament granted it. The Parha-
,,,,'nt has/ever since, been made up of great lords who are born to it; and,
them, of men chosen by the people in the counties and towns to
Kvide for them. The clergy have a meeting of their own called
; and these three-Clergy, Lords, and Commons-are called
Three Estates of the Realm.
CHAPTER XV.
EDWARD I., LONGSHANKS.
A.D. 1272-1307.
>HE son of Henry III. returned from the Holy Land to be one
of the noblest, best, and wisest kings. Edward I.— called
Longshanks in a kind of joke, because he was the tallest man
in the Court — was very grand-looking and handsome; and
could leap, run, ride, and fight in his heavy armor better than
any one else. He was brave, just, and affectionate ; and his
sweet wife, Eleanor of Castille, was warmly loved by him and
all the nation. He built as many churches and was as chari-
table as his father, but he was much more careful only to
make good men bishops, and he allowed no wasting or idling. He faith-
fully obeyed Magna Carta, and made every one else obey the law — indeed
many good laws and customs have begun from his time. Order was the
great thing he oared for, and under him the English grew prosperous and
happy, when nobody was allowed to rob them.
The Welsh were, however, terrible robbers. It must be remembered
that they are the remains of the old Britons, who used to have all Britain.
They had never left off thinking they had a right to it, and coming down
STORIKS OF KM, I. MI IIIST<i!;V. 74:5
of tlu-ir mountains t<> Itiii-ii the houses and steal the cattle of the Saxons,
as they still called tin- English. K<l\v;ir«l tried to make friends with their
princes — Llewellyn and David — and to make them keep their people in order.
He gave David lands in England, and let Llewellyn marry hi> cousin,
Eleanor de Montfort. But they broke their promise- shamefully, and did
such savage things to the English on their borders that he wa- (Weed to
put a stop to it, and went to uar. David was made prisoner, and put to
death as a traitor; and Llewellyn \\ as met by some soldiers near the bridge
of I'nilth and killed, without their knowing \\\\.(> he was. Edward had, in
the meantime, conquered most of the country; and he told the Welsh chief-;
that, if the\ would come and meet him at Caernarvon Castle, he would -rive
them a prince who had been born in their country -had never spoken a
word of any language but theirs. They all came, and the king came down
to them with his own little baby son i-n his arms, who had lately been bom
in Caernarvon Castle, and, of course, had never spoken any language at all.
The Welsh were obliged to accept him ; and he had a Welsh nurse, that the
iirst words he spoke might be Welsh. They thought he would have been
altogether theirs, as he then had an elder brother; but in a year or two t In-
oldest boy died ; and ever since that time, the eldest son of the King of
England has always bseu Prince of Wales.
There was a plan for the little Prince Edward of Caernarvon being
married to a little girl, who was grand-daughter to the King of Scotland,
and would be Queen of Scotland herself — and this would have led to the
whole island being under one king — but, unfortunately, the little maiden
died. It was so hard to decide who ought to reign, out of all her cousins,
that they asked King Edward to choose among them — since every one knew
that a great piece of Scotland belonged to him as over-lord, just as his own
dukedom of Aijuitaine belonged to the King of France over him ; and the
Kings of Scotland always used to pay homage to those of England for it.
Edward chose John Balliol, the one who had the best right; but he
made him understand that, as over-lord, he meant to see that as good order
was kept in Scotland as in England. Now, the English kings had never
meddled with Scottish affairs before, and the Scots were furious at finding
that he did so. They said it was insulting them and their king: and poor
iialliol did not kn->w what to do among them, but let them defy Edward in
his name. This brought Edward and his army to Scotland. The strong
places were taken and filled with English soldiers, and Balliol was made
prisoner, adjudged to have rebelled against his lord and forfeited his king-
dom, and was sent away to France.
Edward thought it would be much better for the whole country to join
Scotland to England, and rule it himself. And so, no doubt, it would have
been ; but many of the Scots were not willing, — and in spite of all the care
744 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
lie could take, the soldiers who guarded his castles often behaved shamefully
to tin- people round them. One gentleman, named William Wallace, whose
home had been broken up by some soldiers, fled to the woods and hills, and
drew so many Scots round him that he had quite an army. There was a
great tight at the Bridge of Stirling; the English governors were beaten,
an.l Wallace led his men over the Border into Northumberland, where they
plundered and burnt wherever they went, in revenge for what had been
done in Scotland.
I-M ward gathered his forces and came to Scotland. The army that Wal-
lace had drawn together could not stand before him, but was defeated at
Falkirk, and Wallace had to take to the woods. Edward promised pardon
to all who would submit, — and almost all did; but Wallace still lurked in
the hills, till one of hi* own countrymen betrayed him to the English, when
he was sent to London, and put to death.
All seemed quieted, and English garrisons — that is, guarding soldiers—
were in all the Scottish towns and castles, when, suddenly, Robert Bruce,
one of the half English, half Scottish nobles between whom Edward had
judged, ran away from the English court, with his horse's shoes put on
backwards. The next thing that was heard of him was, that he had quar-
reled with one of his cousins in the church at Dumfries, and stabbed him
to the heart, and then had gone to Scone and had been crowned King of
Scotland.
Edward was bitterly angry now. He sent on an army to deal un-
sparingly with the rising, and set out to follow with his son, now grown to
man's estate. Crueller things than he had ever allowed before were done to
the places where Robert Bruce had been acknowledged as king, and his
friends were hung as traitors wherever they were found ; but Bruce himself
could not be caught. He was living a wild life among the lakes and hills ;
and Edward, who was an old man now, had been taken so ill at Carlisle,
that he could not come on to keep his own strict rule among his men. All
the winter he lay sick there ; and in the spring he heard that Bruce, whom
he thought quite crushed, had suddenly burst upon the English, defeated
them, and was gathering strength every day.
Edward put on his armor and set out for Scotland ; but at Burgh-on-the-
Sands his illness came on again, and he died there, at seventy years old.
He was buried in Westminster Abbey, under a great block of stone, and
the inscription on it only says, "Edward L, 1308— The Hammer of the Scots
-Keep Treaties." His good wife, Queen Eleanor, had died many years
before him, and was also buried at Westminster. All the Avay from Grant-
ham, in Lincolnshire— where she died— to London, Edward set up a beauti-
ful stone cross wherever her body rested for the night— fifteen of them —
but only three are left now.
STORIES OF EMiLlsll HISTORY.
745
CHAPTER XVI.
EDWARD II., OP CAERNARVON.
A.D. 1307-1327.
NLIKE his father in everything was the young Edward, who
was just come to manhood when he became king. Nay, he
never did come to manhood in mind, for he was as silly and
easily led as his grandfather, Henry III., had been. He had
a friend — a gay, handsome, thoughtless, careless young man —
named Piers Gaveston, who had often led him into mischief.
His father had banished this dangerous companion, and for-
bidden, uiidrr pain of his heaviest displeasure, the two young
men from ever meet ing again; but the moment the old king was
dead, Kdward turned back from Scotland, where he was so much wanted, and
sent for Piers (iaveston again. At the same time his bride arrived — Isabel,
<laught»T to the King of France, a beautiful girl — and there was a splendid
wedding feast; but the king and Gaveston were both so vain and conceited, .
that they cared more about their own beauty and tine dress than the young
queen's, and she found herself quite neglected. The nobles, too, were angered
at the airs that Gaveston gave himself; he not only dressed splendidly, had
a huge train of servants, and managed the king as he pleased, but he was
very insolent to them, and gave them nick-names. He called the kind's
cousin, the Karl of Lancaster, "the old hog;" the Earl of Pembroke, "Joseph,
the Jew ;" and the Earl of Warwick, "the black dog." Meantime, the king
and he were wasting the treasury, and doing harm of all kinds, till the
barons gathered together and forced the king to send his favorite into banish-
ment, (iaveston went, but he soon came back again and joined the king,
who was at last setting out for Scotland. The nobles, however, would not
endure his return. They seized him, brought him to Warwick Castle, and
there held a kind of Court, which could hardly be called of Justice, for they
had no right at all to sentence him. He spoke them fair now, and begged
hard for his life; but they could not forget the names he had called them,
and he was beheaded on Blacklow Hill.
Kdward was full of grief and anger for the cruel death of his friend;
but he was forced to keep it out of sight, for all the barons were coming
round him for the Scottish war. While he had been wasting his time,
Robert Bruce had obtained every strong place in Scotland, except Stirling
Mfl
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Castle, and there the English governor had promised to yield, if succor did
not come from England within a year and a day.
The year was almost over when Edward came into Scotland with a fine
army of English, Welsh, and Gascons from Aquitaiue ; but Robert Bruce
\\ a- a givat and able general, and Edward was no general at all ; so when the
armies met at Bannockburn, under the walls of Stirling, the English were
worse beaten than ever they had been anywhere else, except at Hastings.
Edward was obliged to flee away to England, and though Bruce was never
owned by the English to be King of
Scotland, there he really reigned,
having driven every Englishman
away, and taken all the towns and
castles. Indeed, the English had
grown so much afraid of the Scots,
that a hundred would flee at sight
of two.
The king comforted himself with,
a new friend — Hugh le Despencer —
who, with his old father, had his
own way, just like Gaveston. Again
the barons rose, and required that
they should be banished. They went,
but the Earl of Lancaster carried his
turbulence too far, and, when he
heard that the father had come back,
raised an army, and was even found
to have asked Robert Brace to help
him against his own king. This
made the other barons so angry that
they joined the king against him,
and he was made prisoner and put
death for making war on the king, and making friends with the enemies
of the country.
Edward had his Le Despencers back again, and very discontented the
made the whole country— and especially the queen, whom he had
always neglected, though she now had four children. He had never tried
• love, and she hated him more and more. There was some danger
quarrel with her brother, the King of France, and she offered to go
. her son Edward, now about fourteen, and settle it. But this was only
She went about to the princes abroad, telling them how ill she
by her husband, and asking for help. A good many knights be-
heved and p^ed her, and came with her to England to help. All the Eng-
A SCOTTISH £HIEF.
STORIKS OF KM.I.ISH HISTOKY.
747
lisli \vlio hated the Le I )espen<vrs joined IK-I-, ;uid she led the young ]>rince
aua'mst his fiit her. Edward and his friends \\ere hunted across into Wales;
but they were tracked out one Ky one, and the Despenccrs were put to a
cruel death, though Kdward nave himself n|> in hopes of saving them.
The queen and her friends made him own that he did not deserve to
reign, and would give up the crown to his son. Then they kept him in
prison, taking him from one castle to another, in great miserv. The rude
>oldiers of his guard mocked him and crowned him with hay, and gave him
dirty ditch water to shave with ; and when they found he was too >tronir
and healthy to die only of bad food and damp lodging, they murdered him
one night in Berkeley Castle. He lies buried in Gloucester Cathedral, not,
far from that other foolish and unfortunate prince, Robert of Normandy.
He had reigned twenty years, and was dethroned in 1327.
The queen then wanted to get rid of Edmund, Earl of Kent, the poor
kind's vonngcst brother. So a report was spread that Edward was alive,
and Edmund was allowed to peep into a dark prison room, where he saw a
man who he thought was his brother. He tried to stir up friends to set the
king free; but this was called rebelling, and he was taken and beheaded at
Winchester by a criminal condemned to die, for it was such a wicked sen-
tence that nobody else could be found to carry it out.
CHAPTER XVII.
EDWARD III.
A.D. 1327-1377.
OR about three years, the cruel Queen Isabel and her friends
managed all the country ; but as soon as her son — Edward
III., who had been crowned instead of his father — understood
how wicked she had been, and was strong enough to deal
with her party, he made them prisoners, put the worst of
them to death, and kept the queen shut up in a castle as
long as she lived. He had a very good queen of his own,
named Philippa, who brought cloth-workers over from her
own country, Hainault (now part of Belgium), to teach the
English their trade, and thus began to render England the chief country in
the world for wool and cloth.
Queen Isabel, Edward's mother, had, remember, been daughter of the
74s TI1E WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Kin. of France. All her three brothers died without leaving a son, and
tht.ir ,,,usin, whose name was Philip, began to reign in their stead. Edward,
lowever tancted that the crown of France properly belonged to him, in
ri.ht of his mother; but he did not stir about it at once, and perhaps, never
u ouhl have done so at all, but for two things. One was, that the King of
Fi-m.v Philip VI had been so foolish as to fancy that one of his lords,
namedBobert of Artois, had been bewitching him— by sticking pins into a
wax ti-mre and roast ins? it before a fire. So this Robert was driven out of
Frimv and, coming to England, stirred Edward up to go and overthrow
Philip The other was, that the English barons had grown so restless and
THE GREAT SEA-FIGHT OFF SLUTS.
troublesome, that they would not stay peacefully at home and mind their
own estates; — but if they had not wars abroad, they always gave the king
trouble at home; and Edward liked better that they should fight for him
than against him. So he called himself King of France and England, and
bciran a war which lasted — with short spaces of quiet — for full one hundred
years, and only ended in the time of the great-grandchildren of the men
who entered upon it. There was one great sea-fight off Sluys, when the
king sat in his ship, in a black velvet dress, and gained a great victory ; but
it was a good while before there was any great battle by laud — so long, that
the king's eldest son, Edward Prince of "Wales, was sixteen years old. He
is generally called the Black Prince — no one quite knows why, for his hair,
like that of all these old kings of ours, was quite light and his eyes were
1
STORIES OF EM.I.IMI HISTORY. 749
blue. lie was such a spirited young soldier, that when the French army
under King Philip came iu sight of the English one, near the village of
(Very, King Edward said he should have the honor of the da\, and stood
under a windmill on a hill watching the fight, while the prince led the Eng-
lish army. He gained a very threat victory, and in the evening came and
knelt before his father, saying the praise was not his own but the kind's,
who had ordered all so wisel\. Afterward, while Philip had fled a\\a\,
Edward besieged Calais, the town just opposite' to Dover. The inhabitants
were very bra ve, and held out for a long time; and while Kdward was
absent, the Scots under David, the son of Robert Bruce, came over the
Border, and began to burn and plunder in Northumberland. However,
Philippa could be brave in time of need. She did not send for her husband,
but called an army together, and the Scots were so well beaten at Neville's
Cross, that their king, David himself, was obliged to give himself up to an
Knglish squire. The man would not let the queen have his prisoner, but
rode day and night to Dover, and then crossed to Calais to tell the king, who
bade him put King David into Queen Philippa's keeping. She came herself
to the camp, just as the brave men of Calais had been starved out ; and
Edward had said he would only consent not to burn the town down, if six
of the chief townsmen would bring him the keys of the gates, kneeling, with
sackcloth on, and halters round their necks, ready to be hung. Queen
Philippa wept when she saw them, and begged that they might be spared ;
and when the king granted them to her she had them led away, and gave
each a good dinner and a fresh suit of clothes. The king, however, turned
all the French people out of Calais, and filled it with English, and it re-
mained quite an English town for more than two hundred years.
King Philip VI. of France died, and his son John became king, while
still the war went on. The Black Prince and John had a terrible battle at
a place called Poitiers, and the English gained another great victory. King
John and one of his sons were made prisoners ; but when they were brought
to the tent where the Black Prince was to sup, he made them sit down at
the table before him, and waited on them as if they had been his guests in-
stead of his prisoners. He did all he could to prevent captivity being a
pain to them; and when he brought them to London, he gave John a tall
white horse to ride, and only rode a small pony himself by his side. There
were two kings prisoners in the Tower of London at once, and they were
treated as if they were visitors and friends. John was allowed to go home,
provided he would pay a ransom by degrees, as he could get the money
together; and, in the meantime, his two eldest sons were to be kept at
Calais in his stead. But they would not stay at Calais, and King John
could not obtain the sum for his ransom; so, rather than cheat King Edward,
he went back to his prison in England again. He died soon after ; and his
750
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
son Charles was a cleverer and wiser man, who knew it was better not to
fight battles with the English, but made a truce, or short peace.
Prince Edward governed that part of the south of France that belonged
to his father; but lie went on a foolish expedition into Spain, to help a very
had king whom his >ubjects had driven out, and there caught an illness from
which he never quite recovered. While he was ill, King Charles began the
war again, and, though there was no battle, he tormented the English, and
took the castles and towns they held. The Black Prince tried to fight, but
he was too weak and ill to do much, and was obliged to go home, and leave
the government to his brother John, Duke of Lancaster. He lived about
six years after he came home, and then died, to the great sorrow of every
one. His father, King Edward, was now too old and feeble to attend to
the affairs of the country. Queen Philippa was dead, too, and as no one
took proper care of the poor old king, he fell into the hands of bad servants,
who made themselves rich and neglected him. When, at length, he lay
dying, they stole the ring off his finger before he had breathed his last, and
left him all alone, with the doors open, till a priest came by, and stayed and
prayed by him till his last moment. He had reigned exactly fifty years.
It is as well to learn and remember the names of his sons, as more will be
related about some of them. They were Edward, Lionel, John, Edmund,
and Thomas. Edward was Prince of Wales; Lionel, Duke of Clarence;
John, Duke of Lancaster ; Edmund, Duke of York ; and Thomas, Duke of
Gloucester. Edward and Lionel both died before their father. Edward
had left a son named Eichard ; Lionel had left a daughter named Philippa.
STOKIES OF FAiiLlSll 1IISTOIIY.
751
CHAPTER XVIII.
RICHARD II.
A.D. 1377-1399.
*HESE were not very good times in England. The new king,
Richard, was only eleven years old, and his three uncles did
not care much for his good or the good of the nation. There
was not much fighting going on in France, hut for the little,
there was, a great deal of money was wanting, and the great
lords were apt to be very hard upon the poor people on their
estates. They would not let them be taught to read; and if
a pool- man who belonged to an estate went away to a town,
his lord could have him brought back to his old home. Any
tax, too, fell more heavily on the poor than the rich. One tax, especially,
called the poll-tax, which was made when Richard was sixteen, vexed them
greatly. Every one above fifteen years old had to pay fourpence, and the
collectors were often very rude and insolent. A man named Wat Tyler, in
Kent, was so angry with a rude collector as to strike him dead. All the
villagers came together with sticks, and scythes, and flails; and Wat Tyler
told them they would all go to London, and tell the king how his poor com-
mons were treated. More people and more joined them on the way, and an
immense multitude of wild-looking men came pouring into London, where
the Lord Mayor and Aldermen were taken by surprise, and could do
nothing to stop them. They did not do much harm then ; they lay on the
grass all night round the Tower, and said they wanted to speak to the king.
In the morning he came down to his barge, and meant to have spoken to
them; but his people, seeing such a host of wild men, took fright, and car-
ried him back again. He went out again the next day on horseback; but
while he was speaking to some of them, the worst of them broke into the
Tower, where they seized Archbishop Simon of Canterbury, and fancying
he was one of the king's bad advisers, they cut off his head. Richard had
to sleep in the house called the Royal "Wardrobe that night, but he went
out again on horseback among the mob, and began trying to understand
what they wanted. Wat Tyler, while talking, grew violent, forgot to whom
he was speaking, and laid his hand on the king's bridle, as if to threaten or
take him prisoner. Upon this, the Lord Mayor, with his mace — the large
crowned staff that is carried before him — dealt the man such a blow that he
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
v
fell from his horse, and an attendant thrust him through with a sword. The
prop!.- \\aveivd, and seemed not to know what to do: and the young king,
with irivat readiness, rode forward and said — "Good fellows, have ye lost
your leader? This fellow was but a traitor; I am your king, and will be
your captain and guide." Then he rode at their head out into the fields,
and the gentlemen, who had mustered their men by this time, were able to
iM I iet ween them and the city. The people of each county were desired to
state their grievances; the king engaged to do what he could for them, and
they went home.
Richard seems to have really wished to take away some of the laws that
. DEATH OF WAT TTLEB.
were so hard upon them, but his lords would not let him, and he had as yet
;tle power-being only a boy-and by the time he grew up his head
ivas full of vanity and folly. He was very handsome, and he cared more for
•thes and amusements than for business; and his youngest uncle, the
e of Gloucester, did all he could to keep him back, and hinder him from
rag Ins affairs into his own hands. Not till he was twenty-four did
begu, to govern for himself; and then the Duke of Gloucester was
8 grumHing and setting the people to crumble, because the kino- cli. >86
> have peace with France. Duke Thomas used to lament over the Tories
STOKIKS OF KNCI.ISII 1IISTOUY.
of the battles of Edward III., and trll the people (hey had taxes t<> pay to
keep the king in ermine robes, and rings, and jewels, and to let him give
feasts and tilt ing-matches — when the knights, in beautiful, gorgeous armor,
rode against one another in sham tight, and the king and ladies looked on
and '.rave the ]>ri/.e.
Now, Richard knew very well that all this did not eo-t half so much as
his grandfather's wars, and he said it did not signify to the people what he
\\ore, or how he amused himself, as long as he did not tax them and take
their lambs and sheaves to pay for it. But the people would not believe
him, and Gloucester was always stirring them up against him, and inter-
fering with him in eouneil. At last, Richard went as if on a visit to his
uncle at Fleshy Castle, and there, in his own presence, caused him to be
seized and sent oil' to C'alais. In a few days' time Thomas, Duke of Glou-
cester, was dead ; and to this day nobody knows whether his grief and rage
brought on a fit, or if he was put to death. It is certain, at least, that
Richard's other two uncles do not seem to have treated the king as if he had
been to blame. The elder of these uncles, the Duke of Lancaster, was called
John of (»aunt — -because he had been born at Ghent, a town in Flanders.
lie was becoming an old man, and only tried to help the king and keep
things i piiet ; but Henry, his eldest son, was a fine high-spirited young man
a favorite with everybody, and was always putting himself forward — and
the king was very much afraid of him.
One day, when Parliament met, the king *tood up, and commanded
Henry of Lancaster to tell all those present what the Duke of Norfolk had
said when they were riding together. Henry gave in a written paper, say-
ing that the duke had told him that they should all be ruined, like the Duke
of (iloueester, and that the king would find some way to destroy them.
Norfolk angrily sprang up, and declared he had said no such thing. In
those days, when no one could tell which spoke truth, the two parties often
would offer to fight, and it was believed that God would show the right, by
giving the victory to the sincere one. So Henry and Norfolk were to fight;
but just as they were mounted on their horses, with their lances in their
hands, the king threw down his staff before them, stopped the combat, and
sentenced Norfolk to be banished from England for life, and Henry for ten
years.
Xot long after Henry had gone, his old father — John of Gaunt — died,
and the king kept all his great dukedom of Lancaster. Henry would not
bear this, and knew that many people at home thought it very unfair; so
lie came to Knglaud, and as soon as he landed at Ravenspnr in Yorkshire,
people (locked to -him so eagerly, that he began to think he could do more
than make himself Duke of Lancaster. King Richard was in Ireland, where
his cousin, the governor — Roger Mortimer — had been killed by the wild
;-4 THE WORLD'S CHEAT NATIONS.
Iri*h. He came home in haste on hearing of Henry's arrival, but everybody
turned airainst him: and the Earl of Northumberland, whom he had chiefly
trusted, made him prisoner and carried him to Henry. He was taken to
London, and thnv set before Parliament, to confess that he had ruled so ill
that IK- was unworthy to reign, and gave up the crown to his dear cousin
Henry of Lam-aster,* in the jew 1399. Then he was sent away to Ponte-
fraet' Castle, and what happened to him there nobody knows, but he never
came out of it alive.
CHAPTER XIX.
HENRY IV.
A.D. 1399-1413.
>HE English people had often chosen their king out of the
Royal Family in old times, but from John to Richard II. he
had always been the son and heir of the last king.
though poor Richard had no child, Henry of Lancaster
not the next of kin to him, for Lionel, Duke of Clarence, had
come between the Black Prince and John of Gaunt ; and his
great-grandson, Edmund Mortimer, was thought by many to
have a better right to be king than Henry. Besides, people
did not know whether Richard was alive, and they thought
him hardly used, and wanted to set him free. So Henry had a very uneasy
time. Every one had been fond of him when he was a bright, friendly,
free-spoken noble, and he had thought that he would be a good king and
much loved ; but he had gained the crown in an evil way, and it never gave
him any peace or joy. The Welsh, who always had loved Richard, took up
arms for him, and the Earl of Northumberland, who had betrayed Richard,
expected a great deal too much from Henry. The earl had a brave son-
Henry Percy — who was so fiery and eager that he Avas commonly called
Hotspur. He was set to fight with the Welsh: and with the king's son,
Henry, Prince of Wales — a brave boy of fifteen or sixteen — under his
charge, to teach him the art of war ; and they used to climb the mountains
and sleep in tents together as good friends.
But the Scots made an attack on England. Henry Percy went north to
fight with them, and beat them in a great battle, making many prisoners.
The king sent to ask to have the prisoners sent to London, and this made
STORIES OF K.\<;U.-H HISTORY. JU
the pnnid Percy so angry that he gave up tin- cause of King Henry, and
went off to Wales, taking his prisoners with him ; and then — being by this
time nearly -lire that poor Hie-hard must be dead — lit- joined the \V»-l>h in
choosing, as the only right king of England, young Edmund Mortimer.
Henry IV. and his sons gathered an army easily — for the Wel>h u«-i.
•ayage and cruel, that the English, were sure to tight against them if they
broke into England. The battle was fought near Shrewsbury. It was a
very fierce one, and in it Hotspur was killed, the Welsh put to flight, and
the Prince of Wales fought so well, that every one saw he was likelv to be
a brave, warlike, king, like Eduard I., or Edward III.
The troubles were not over, however, for the Earl of Northumberland
himself, and Archbishop Scrope of York, took up arms against the king;
but they were put down without a battle. The earl fled and hid himself,
but the archbishop was taken and beheaded — the first bishop whom a king
of England had ever put to death. The Welsh went on plundering and
doing harm, and Prince Henry had to be constantly on the watch against
them ; and, in fact, there never was a reign so full of plots and conspiracies.
The king never knew whom to trust : one friend after another turned
against him, and he became soured and wretched ; he was worn out with
disappointment and guarding against every om;, and at last he grew even
suspicious of his brave son Henry, because he was so bright and bold, and
was so much loved. The prince was ordered home from Wales, and obliged
to live at Windsor, with nothing to do, while his younger brothers were
put before him and trusted by their father — one of them even sent to com-
mand the army in France. But happily the four brothers — Henry, Thomas,
John, and llumfrey — all loved each other so well that nothing could make
them jealous or at enmity with one another. At Windsor, too, the king
kept young Edmund Mortimer — whom the Welsh had tried to make king,
—and also the young Prince of Scotland, whom an English ship had caught
as he was sailing for France to be educated. It was very .dishonorable of
the king to have taken him; but he was brought up with the young English
princes, and they all led a happy life together.
There are stories told of Henry — Prince Hal, as he was called — leading
a wild, merry life, as a sort of madcap ; playing at being a robber, and
breaking into the wagons that were bringing treasure for his father, and then
giving the money back again. Also, there is a story that, when one of his
friends was taken before the Lord Chief Justice, he went and ordered him
to be released, and that when the justice refused he drew his sword, upon
which the justice sent him to prison ; and he went quietly, knowing it was
right. The king is said to have declared himself happy to have a judge
who maintained the law so well, and a son who would submit to it; but
there dor* not seem to be good reason for believing the story; and it seems
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
clear that young Henry, if he was full of fun and frolic, took care never to
do anything really wrong.
The king was an old man before his time. He was always ill, and often
had tits, and one of these came on when he was in Westminster Abbey. He
\\a> taken to the room called the Jerusalem chamber, and Henry watched
him there. Another of the stories is that the king lay as if he were dead, and
the prince took the crown that was by his side and carried it away. When
the king revived, Henry brought it back, with many excuses. "Ah, fail-
son," said the king, "what
right
have you to
crown ? you know
the
your
father had none."
"Sir," said Henry, "with
your sword you took it, and
with my sword I will keep
it,"
" May God Lave mercy on
my soul," said the king.
We cannot be quite cer-
tain about the truth of this
conversation, for many peo-
ple will write down stories
they have heard, without
making sure of them. One
thing we are certain of which
Henry told his son, which
seems less like repentance.
It was that, unless he made
war in France, his lords
would never let him be quiet
on his throne in England ;
and this young Henry was
quite ready to believe. There
had never been a real peace
tween France and England since Edward III. had begun the war— only
;ruces, which are short rests in the middle of a great war— and the English
were eager to begin again ; for people seldom thought then of the misery
comes of a great war, but only of the honor and glory that were to be
Hi, of making prisoners and getting ransoms from them.
So Henry IV. died, after having made his own life very miserable b
the crown unjustly, and, as you will see, leaving a great deal of bar
ome to the whole country, as well as to France.
PRINCE HENRY OFFERS HIS LIFE WHEN HIS FATHER DOUBTS
HIS LOYALTY UPON RETURNING THE CROWN.
STORIES OF KNCUSH HISTORY.
757
lie died in the year 14i:>. His family is called the House of Lancaster,
became his father had been Duke of Lancaster. Yon will In- amused to
heai' that Kit-hard Whittington really lived in his time. We cannot answer
for his cat, but he was really Lord Mayor of London, and supplied the
wardrobe of King Henry's daughter, when she married the King of Den-
mark.
CHAPTER XX.
HENRY V., OF MONMOUTH.
A. D. 1413-1423.
young King Henry was full of high, good thoughts. He
was most devout in going to church, tried to make good
bishops, gave freely to the poor, and was so kindly, and
hearty, and merry in all his words and ways, that even one
loved him. Still, he thought it was his duty to go and make
war in France. He had been taught to believe the kingdom
belonged to him, and it was in so wretched a state thai he
thought he could do it good. The poor king, Charles VI.,
was mad, and had a wicked wife besides ; and his sons, and
uncles, and cousins were always fighting, till the streets of Paris often ran
red with blood, and the whole country was miserable. Henry hoped to set
all in order for them, and, gathering an army together, crossed to Normandy.
lie called on the people to own him as their true king, and never let any
harm be done to them, for he hung any soldier who was caught stealing, or
misusing any one. He took the town of Harfleur, on the coast of Normandy,
but not till after a long siege, when his camp was in so wet a place that
there was much illness among his men. The store of food was nearly used
up, and he was obliged to march his troops across to Calais, which
belonged to England, to get some more. But on the way the French army
came up to meet him — a very grand, splendid-looking army, commanded by^
the king's eldest son, the dauphin. Just as the English kings' eldest son
was always Prince of Wales, the French kings' eldest son was always called
Dauphin of Vienne, because Vienne, the county that belonged to him, had a
dolphin on its shield. The French army was very large — quite ^wice the
number of the English — but, though Henry's men were weary and half-
starved, and many of them siek, thev were not afraid, but believed their
king when he told them that there were enough Frenchmen to kill, enough
;.-,s THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
t<> nm ;i\\ay, and enough to make prisoners. At night, however, the Eng-
lish hail solemn prayers, and made themselves ready, and the king walked
from tent to tent to see that each man was in his place; while, on the other
hand, the French were feasting and revelling, and settling what they would
do to the English when they had made them prisoners. They were close to
a little village which the English called Agincourt, and though that is not
quite its right name, the battle has been called after it ever since. The French,
owing to the quarrelsome state of the country, had no order or obedience
among them. Nobody would obey any other; and when their own archers
were in the way, the horsemen began cutting them down as if they were
the enemy. Some fought bravely, but it was of little use ; and by night
all the French were routed, and King Henry's banner waving in victory
over the field. He went back to England in great glory, and all the alder-
men of London came out to meet him in red gowns and gold chains, and
among them was Sir Richard Whittington, the great silk mercer.
Henry was so modest that he would not allow the helmet he had worn
at Agincourt, all knocked about with terrible blows, to be carried before
him when he rode into London, and he went straight' to church, to give
thanks to God for his victory. He soon went back to France, and went on
conquering it till the queen came to an agreement with him that he should
many her daughter Catherine, and that, though poor, crazy Charles VI.
should reign to the end of his life, when he died Henry and Catherine
should be king and queen of France. So Henry and Catherine were mar-
ried, and he took her home to England with great joy and pomp, leavino-
his brother Thomas, Duke of Clarence, to take care of his army in France.
For, of course, though the queen had made this treaty for her mad husband,
most brave, honest Frenchmen could not but feel it a wicked and unfair
thing to give the kingdom away from her son, the Dauphin Charles. He
was not a good man, and had consented to the murder of his cousin, the
Duke of Burgundy, and this had turned some against him ; but still he was
badly treated, and the bravest Frenchmen could not bear to see their country
given up to the English. So, though he took no trouble to fight for himself,
they fought for him, and got some Scots to help them ; and by and by news
came to Henry that his army had been beaten and his brother killed.
He came back again in haste to France, and his presence made every-
thing go well again; but all the winter he was besieging the town of
Meaux, where there was a very cruel robber, who made all the roads to
Paris unsafe, and by the time he had taken it his health was much injured.
» queen-came to him, and they kept a very grand court at Paris, at Whit-
suntide; but soon after, when Henry set out to join his army, he found
so ill and weak that he was obliged to turn back to the Castle of
Vincennes, where he grew much worse. He called for all his friends and
STORIES OF KMiLISH HISTORY.
;.v.i
begged them to be faithful to his little baby son, whom lit- had never even
seen : and lit- spoke especially to his brother John, Duke of Bedford, to
whom he left the charge o! all he had gained. He had tried to lie a good
man, and though his attack on France was really wrong, and caused great
mi-eiy, he had meant to do right. So he was not afraid to face death, and
he died when only thirty-four years old, while he was listening to the iit'tv-
tirst Psalm. Everybody grieved for him — even the French — and nobodv
had ever been so good and dutiful to poor old King Charles, who sat in a
corner lamenting for his good son Henry, and wasting away till he died,
onlv three weeks later, so that he was buried the same day, at St. I)en\>
Abbey, near Paris, as Henry was buried at Westminster Abbey, near
London.
CHAPTER XXI.
HENRY VI., OF WINDSOR.
A.D. 1423-1461.
poor little baby, Henry VI., was but nine months old when
—over the grave of his father in England, and his grandfather
in France — he was proclaimed King of France and England.
The crown of England was held over his head, and his lords
made their oaths to him ; and when he was nine years old he
was sent to Paris, and there crowned King of France. He
was a very good, little, gentle boy, as meek and obedient as
possible; but his friends, who knew that a king must be
brave, strong, and firm for his people's sake, began to be
afraid that nothing would ever make him manly. The war in France went
on all the time: the Duke of Bedford keeping the north and the old lands
in the south-west for little Henry, and the French doing their best for their
rightful king — though he was so lazy and fond of pleasure that he let them
do it all alone. Yet a wonderful thing happened in his favor. The English
were besieging Orleans, when a young village girl, named Joan of Arc, came
to King Charles and told him that she had had a commission from Heaven
to -a ve Orleans, and to lead him to Rheims, where French kings were always
crowned. And she did ! She always acted as one led by Heaven. She
never let anything wrong be done in her sight — no bad words spoken, no
savage deeds done ; and she never fought herself, only led the French sol-
diers. The English thought her a witch, and fled like sheep whenever they
760
them. And so
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ii selftsl, bad nobles liked he, She
they ,„„,,. ,,ot let ue, go no,™ to
her village as she wished, they gave her no proper help ; and once, when
there was a fight going on outside the walls of a town, the French all ran
away and left her outside, where she was taken by the English. And then,
we are sorry to say, the court that sat to judge her— some English and
some French of the English party— sentenced her to be burnt to death
DELAROCHE p*
Selmar Hese. Publiehor flnrt York
•
•
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 761
in the market-place at llouen as a witch, and her own king never tried t<>
save her.
But the spirit she had stirred up never died away. The French went on
\\iiiniiiLr back more and more; and there were so many quarrels among the
Kn-lisli that they had little chance of keeping anything. The king's
youngest uncle, Ilumfrey, Duke of Gloucester, was always disputing \\ith
the Beaufort family. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster — father to Henry
IV.— had, late in life, married a person of low birth, and her children were
called Beaufort, after the ca-tle \\ here they were born — not Plantagenet—
and \\ere hardly reckoned as princes by other people; but they were very
proud, and thought themselves equal to anybody. The good Duke of lied-
ford died quite worn out with trying to keep the peace among them, and to
get proper help from England to save the lands his brother had won in
France.
All this time, the king liked the Beauforts much better than Duke
Ilumfrey, and he followed their advice, and that of their friend, the Earl of
Suffolk, in marrying Margaret of Anjou — the daughter of a French prince,
who had a right to a great part of the lands the English held. All these
were given back to her father, and this made the Duke of Gloucester and
all the English more angry, and they hated the young queen as the cause.
She \\as as bold and high-spirited as the king was gentle and meek. He
loved nothing so well as praying, praising God, and reading; and he did
on" irreat thing for the country — which did more for it than all the fighting
kini:- had dont — he founded Eton College, close to Windsor Castle; and there
many of the best clergymen, soldiers, and statesmen, have had their education.
But while he was happy over rules for his scholars, and in plans for the
beautiful chapel, the queen was eagerly taking part in the quarrels, and the
nation hated her the more for interfering. And very strangely, Huuifrey,
Duke of Gloucester, was, at the meeting of Parliament, accused of hi^h
treason and sent to prison, where, in a few days, he was found dead in his
bed — just like his great-uncle, Thomas, Duke of Gloucester; nor does any
one understand the mystery in one case better than in the other, except that
we are more sure that gentle Henry VI. had nothing to do with it than we
can be of Richard II.
These were very bad times. There was a rising like Wat Tyler's, under
a man named Jack Cade, who held London for two or three days before he
was put down ; and, almost at the same time, the queen's first English
friend. Suffolk, was exiled by her enemies, and taken at sea and murdered
by some sailors. Moreover, the last of the brave old friends of Henry V.
was killed in France, while trying to save the remains of the old duchy of
Aquitaine, which had belonged to the English kings ever since Henry II.
married Queen Eleanor. That was the end of the hundred years' war, for
7,;o THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
peace \v.-i- made at last, and England kept nothing in France but the one
city <>f Calais.
Still things were growing worse. Duke Humfrey left no children, and
as time went on and the king had none, the question was who should reign.
If the Beauforts \\ ere to be counted as princes, they came next ; but every
one hated them, so that people recollected that Henry IV. had thrust aside
the younir Kdmund Mortimer, grandson to Lionel, who had been next eldest
to tlie Black Prince. Kdmund was dead, but his sister Anne had married a
son of the Duke of York, youngest son of Edward III.; and her son Rich-
ard, Duke of York, could not help feeling that he had a much better right
to be kinu: than any Beaufort. There was a great English noble named
Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick, who liked to manage everything — just the
sort of baron that was always mischievous at home, if not fighting in France
—and he took up York's cause hotly. York's friends used to wear white
roses, Beaufort's friends red roses, and the two parties kept on getting more
bitter; but as no one wished any ill to gentle King Henry — \vho, to make
matters worse, sometimes had fits of madness, like his poor grandfather in
Fi-ance — they would hardly have fought it out in his lifetime, if he had not
at last had a little son, who was born while he was so mad that he did not
know of it. Then, when York found it was of no use to wait, he began to
make war, backed up by Warwick, and, after much fighting, they made the
king prisoner, and forced him to make an agreement that he should reign as
long as he lived, but that after that Richard of York should be king, and
his son Edward be only Duke of Lancaster. This made the queen furiously
angry. She would not give up her sou's rights, and she gathered a great
army, with Avhich she came suddenly on the Duke of York near Wakefield,
and destroyed nearly his whole army. He was killed in the battle ; and his
second son, Edmund, was met on Wakefield bridge and stabbed by Lord
Clifford ; and Margaret had their heads set up over the gates of York, while
she went on to London to free her husband.
But Edward, York's eldest son, was a better captain than he, and far
fiercer and more cruel. He made the war much more savage than it had
been before ; and, after beating the queen's friends at Mortimer's Cross, he
hurried on to London, where the people — who had always been very fond
of his father, and hated Queen Margaret — greeted him gladly. He was
handsome and stately looking ; and though he \vas really cruel when offended,
had easy, good-natured manners, and every one in London was delighted to
receive him and own him as king. But Henry and Margaret were in the
north with many friends, and he followed them thither to Towton Moor,
where, in a snow-storm, began the most cruel and savage battle of all the
war. Edward gained the victory, and nobody was spared, or made prisoner
-all were killed who could not flee. Poor. Henry was hidden among his
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. TU
friends, and Margaret went to seek help in Scotland and abroad, taking her
son with her. Once she brought another army and fought at 1 lexliam, but
she was beaten airai n ; and before long King Henry was discovered by his
enemies, carried to London, and shut up a prisoner in the Tower. His
rei-'n is reckoned to have ended in 1461.
CHAPTER XXII,
EDWARD IV.
A.D. 1461-14*3.
'HOUGH Edward IV. was made king, the wars of the Red and
White Roses were not over yet. Queen Margaret and her
friends were always trying to get help for poor King Henry.
Edward had been so base and mean as to have him led into
London, with his feet tied together under his horse, while
men struck him on the face, and cried out, "Behold the
traitor!" But Henry was meek, patient, and gentle through-
out; and, when shut up in the Tower, spent his time in read-
ing and praying., or playing with his little dog.
• Queen Margaret and her son Edward were living with her father in
I'' ranee, and she was always trying to have her husband set free and brought
back to his throne. In the meantime, all England was exceedingly sur-
prised to find that Ivlward IV. had been secretly married to a beautiful
lady named Elizabeth Woodville — Lady Grey. Her first husband had been
killed fighting for Henry, and she had stood under an oak-tree, when King
Kdward was passing, to entreat that his lands might not be taken from her
little boys. The king fell in love with her and married her, but for a long
time he was afraid to tell the Earl of Warwick; and when he did, Warwick
\\as greatly otV.-nded- and all the more because Elizabeth's relations were
proud and gay in their dress, and tried to set themselves above all the old
nobles. Warwick himself had no son, but he had two daughters, .whom he
meant to marry to the king's two brothers- — George, Duke of Clarence, and
Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Edward thought this would make Warwick
too powerful, and though he could not prevent George from marrying
Isabel Nevil, the eldest daughter, the discontent grew so strong that War-
wick persuaded George to fly with him, turn against his own brother, and
offer Queen Margaret their help! No wonder Margaret did not trust them,
704
THE WOELD'S GEEAT NATIONS,
nersuude that Warwick could mean well^by her; but
LOUIS XI. PERSUADES EDWARD IV. TO RETURN HOME UPON PAYMENT OF A SUM OF MONEY.
(THEY CONVERSED THBOUGH A FENCE, BEING AFRAID OF MEETING WITHOUT A BAKU
BETWEEN THEM)
men, while she was to follow with her son and his young wife. Warwick
came so suddenly that he took the Yorkists at unawares. Edward had
flee for his life to Flanders, leaving his wife and her babies to take shell
in Westminster Abbey— since no one durst take any one out of a holy place
—and poor Henry was taken out of prison and set on the throne again.
However, Edward soon got help inv Flanders, where his sister Avas married
STORIES OF KNCiUSII HISTORY. TG5
to the Duke of Burgundy. He came back again, gathered his friends, and
>ent messages to his br"ther Clarence that lie would forgive him if he would
desert the earl. X<> one ever had less faith or honor than George of Clarence,
lie did desert Warwick, just as the battle of Barnet Ile.-ith \\ as beginning ;
and \Yar\\ ick's king-making all ended, for he was killed, with his brother
ami manv others, in the battle.
And this was the first news that met M a rgaret when, after being long
hindered by 1'oul weather, she landed at Plymouth. She would have done
more wisely to have gone back, but her son Edward longed to strike a blow
for his inheritance, and they had friends in Wales whom they hoped to
meet. So tliev made their way into Gloucestershire; but there King
Edward, with both his brothers, canie down upon them at Tewkesbury, and
there their army was routed, and the young prince taken and killed — some
say by the king himself and his brothers. Poor broken-hearted Queen
Margaret was made prisoner too, and carried to the Tower, where she
arrived a day or two after the meek and crazed captive, Henry VI., had
been slain, that there might be no more risings in his name. And so ended
the long war of York and Lancaster — though not in peace or joy to the
sax'age, faithless family who had conquered..
Edward was merry and good-natured when not angered, and had quite
sense and ability enough to have been a very good king, if he had not been
la/.v, selfish, and full of vices. He actually set out to conquer France, andi
then let himself be persuaded over and paid off by the cunning King of
France, and went home again, a laughing-stock to everybody. As to George,
the king had never trusted him since his shameful behavior when Warwick
rebelled ; besides, he was always abusing the queen's relations, and Richard
was always telling the king of all the bad and foolish things he did or said.
At last there was a great outbreak of anger, and the king ordered the Duke
of Clarence to be imprisoned in the Tower ; and there, before long, he too
\\a> killed. The saying was that he was drowned in a butt of Malmsey
\\ ine; but this is not at all likely to be true. He left two little children, a
boy and a girl.
So much cruel slaughter had taken place, that most of the noble families
in England had lost many sons, and a great deal of their wealth, and none
of them ever became again so mighty as the king-maker had beeo. His
daughter, Anne, the wife of poor Edward of Lancaster, was found by
Richard, Duke of Gloucester, hiding as a cook-maid in London, and she was
persuaded to marry him — as, indeed, she had always been intended for him.
He \\as a little, thin, slight man, with one shoulder higher than the other,
and keen, cunning dark eyes ; and as the king was very tall, with a hand-
-<>i lie, lil ue-eyed, fair face, people laughed at the contrast, called Gloucester
Uichard < 'rook back, and were very much afraid of him.
766
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
It was in this reign that books began to be printed in England instead
of written. Printing had been found out in Germany a little before, and
books had been shown to Henry VI., but the troubles of his time kept him
t'n«m attending to them. Now, however, Edward's sister, the Duchess of
Burirundv, much encouraged a printer named Caxton, whose books she sent
her brother, and other presses were set up in London. Another great change
liad now conie in. Long ago, in the time of Henry III., a monk named
Roger Bacon h:id made gunpowder; but nobody used it much until, in the
reign of Edward III., it was found out how cannon might be fired with it ;
and some say it was first used in the battle of Crecy. But it was not till the
ivign of Kdward IV. that smaller guns, such as each soldier could cany one
of for himself, were invented — harquebuses, as they were called ; — and after
this the whole way of fighting was gradually altered. Printing and gun-
powder both made very great changes in everything, though not all at once.
King Edward did not live to see the changes. He had hurt his health
with his revellings and amusements, and died quite in middle age, in the
year 1483: seeing, perhaps, at last, how much better a king he might have
been.
CHAPTER XXIII.
EDWARD V.
A.D. 1483.
jDWARD IV. left several daughters and two sons — Edward,
Prince of Wales, who was fourteen years old, and Richard,
Duke of York, who was eleven. Edward was at Ludlow
Castle — where the princes of Wales were always brought
up — with his mother's brother, Lord Rivers ; his half brother,
Richard Grey; and other gentlemen. When the tidings
came of his father's death, they set out to bring him to
London to be crowned king.
But, in the meantime, the Duke of Gloucester and several
of the noblemen, especially the Duke of Buckingham, agreed that it was
unbearable that the queen and her brothers should go on having all the
power, as they had done in Edward's time. Till the king was old enough
to govern, his father's brother, the Duke of Gloucester, was the proper
person to rule for him, and they would soon put an end to the Woodvilles.
The long wars had made everybody cruel and regardless of the laws, so that
(9
STOIMKS OF K.NCLISII HISTORY. , .
no one made much objection when Gloucester and Buckingham met lin-
king and took him from his uncle and half-brother, \vh<> were sent oil' to
I 'ontefract Castle, and in a short time their heads were cut off there. An-
other of the late king's friends was Lord Hastings; and as he sat at the
council table in the Tower of London, with the other lords, Richard came
in, and, showing his own lean, shrunken arm, declared that Lord Hastings
had In-witched him, and made it so. The other lords began to say that if
he had done so it was horrible. But Richard would listen to no />'*, and
Niid he \\onld not dine till Hastings'* head was off. And his cruel word
was done.
The queen saw that harm was intended, and went with all her other
children to her former refuge in the sanctuary at Westminster; nor would
she leave it when her sou Edward rode in state into London ;uid was taken
to the Tower, which was then a palace as well as a prison.
The Duke of Gloucester and the Council said that this pretence at fear
\\as very foolish, and was only intended to do them harm, and that the little
Duke of York ought to be with his brother ; and they sent the Archbishop of
Canterbury to desire her to give the boy up. He found the queen sitting
desolate, with all her long light hair streaming about her, and her children
round her; and he spoke kindly to her at first, and tried to persuade her of
what he really believed himself — that it was all her foolish fears and fancies
that the Duke of Gloucester could mean any ill to his little nephew, and
that the two brothers ought to be together in his keeping.
Elizabeth cried, and said that the boys were better apart, for they
quarrelled when they were together, and that she could not give up little
Richard. In truth, she guessed that their uncle wanted to get rid of them
and to reign himself; and she knew that while she had Richard, Edward
would lie safe, since it would not make him king to destroy one without the
other. Archbishop Bourchier, who believed Richard's smooth words, and
was a very good, kind man, thought this all a woman's nonsense, and told
her that if she would not give up the boy freely, he would be taken from
her by force. If she had been really a wise, brave mother, she would have
gone to the Tower with her boy, as queen and mother, and watched over
her children herself. But she had always been a silly, selfish woman, and
she was afraid for herself. So she let the archbishop lead her child away,
and only sat crying in the sanctuary instead of keeping sight of him.
The next thing that happened was, that the Duke of Gloucester caused
one Dr. Shaw to preach a sermon to the people of London in the open air,
explaining that King Edward IV. had been a very bad man, and had never
been properly married to Lady Grey, and so that she was no queen at all,
and her children had no light to reign. The Londoners liked Gloucester
and hated the AVoodvilles, and all belonging to them, and after some sermons
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
and speeches of this sort, there were so many people inclined to take as their
king the man rather than the boy, that the Duke of Buckingham led a
deputation to request Richard to accept the crown in his nephew's stead.
He met it as if the whole notion was quite new to him, but, of course,
.•uvfpted the crown, sent for his wife, Anne Nevil, and her son, and was
soon crowned as King Richard III. of England.
As for the two boys, they were never seen out of the Tower again.
They were sent into the prison part of it, and nobody exactly knows what
became of them there ; but there cannot be much doubt that they must have
been murdered. Some years later, two men confessed that they had been
employed to smother the two brothers with pillows, as they slept; and
though they added some particulars to the story that can hardly be believed,
it is most likely that this was true. Full two hundred years later, a chest
was found under a staircase, in what is called the White Tower, containing
bones that evidently had belonged to boys of about fourteen and eleven
years old ; and these were placed in a marble urn among the tombs of the
kings in Westminster Abbey. But even to this day, there are some people
\\ ho doubt whether Edward V. and Richard of York were really murdered,
or if Richard were not a person who came back to England and tried to
make himself king.
CHAPTER XXIV.
RICHARD III.
A.D. 1483-1485.
.ICHARD III. seems to have wished to be a good and great
king; but he had made his way to the throne in too evil a
manner to be likely to prosper. How many people he had
put to death we do not know; for when the English began
to suspect that he had murdered his two nephews, they also
accused him of the death of every one who had been secretly
slain ever since Edward IV. came to the throne, when he had
been a mere boy. He found he must be always on the watch ;
and his home was unhappy, for his son, for whose sake lie had
striven so hard to be king, died while yet a boy, and Anne, his wife, not
long after.
Then his former staunch friend, the Duke of Buckingham, beo-an to feel
that though he wanted the sons of Elizabeth Woodville to be set aside from
STORIES OF ENGLISH HIsTOKY. 769
reigning, it was finite another thing to murder them. He was a vain, proud
mail, who had a little royal blood — bring descended from Tlioii.as, the first
Duke of Gloucester, son of Edward III. — and he bethought himself that,
now all the House of Lam-aster was gone, and so many of the House of
York, he might possibly become king. But he had hardly begun to make a
plot, bci'cHv the keen-sighted, watchful Richard found it out, aud had him
sei/ed and beheaded.
There was another plot, though, that Richard did not find out in time.
The real House of Lancaster had ended when poor young Edward was
killed at Tewke.-bury ; but the Beauforts — the children of that younger
family of John of (Jaunt, who had first begun the quarrel with the Duke of
York — were not all dead. Lady Margaret Beaufort, the daughter of the
eldest son, had married a Welsh gentleman named Edmund Tudor, and had
a son called Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. Edward IV. had always
feared that this youth might rise against him, and he had been obliged to
wander about in France and Brittany since the death of his father ; but
nobody was afraid of Lady Margaret, and she had married a Yorkist noble-
man, Lord Stanley.
Now, the eldest daughter of Edward IV. — Elizabeth, or Lady Bessee, as
she was called — was older than her poor young brothers ; and she heard, to
her great horror, that her uncle wanted to commit the great wickedness of
making her his wife, after poor Anne Nevil's death. There is a curious old
set of verses, written by Lord Stanley's squire, which says that Lady Bessee
called Lord Stanley to a secret room, and begged him to send to his step-
son, Richmond, to invite him to come to England aud set them all free.
Stanley said he could not write well enough, and that he could not trust
a scribe ; but Lady Bessee said she could write as well as any scribe in
England. So she told him to come to her chamber at nine that evening,
with his trusty squire; and there she wrote letters, kneeling by the table,
to all the noblemen likely to be discontented with Richard, and appointing
a place of meeting with Stanley ; and she promised herself that, if Henry
Tudor would come and overthrow the cruel tyrant Richard, she would marry
him : and she sent him a ring in pledge of her promise.
Henry was in Brittany when he received the letter. He kissed the ring,
but waited long before he made up his mind to try his fortune. At last he
sailed in a French ship, and landed at Milford Haven — for he knew the
^\ elsh would be delighted to see him : and, as he was really descended from
the great old British chiefs, they seemed to think that to make him king of
England would be almost like having King Arthur back again.
They gathered round him, and so did a great many English nobles and
gentlemen. But Richard, though very angry, was not much alarmed, for he
knew Henry Tudor had never seen a battle. He marched out to meet him,
;;,, TIIE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
.-UK! a terrible fight took place at Red more Heath, near Market Bosworth,
\\ here, after long and desperate struggling, Kit-hard was overwhelmed and
slain, liis banner taken, and his men either killed or driven from the field.
His bodv \\as found gashed, bleeding, and stripped: and thus was thrown
Across a horse and carried into Leicester, where he had slept the night be-
fore. The crown he had worn over his helmet was picked up from the
brandies of a hawthorn, and set on the head of Henry Tudor. Richard was
the last king of the Plan tagenet family, who had ruled over England for
more than three hundred years. This battle of Bosworth likewise finished
the whole bloodv war of the Red and White Roses.
CHAPTER XXV.
HENRY VII.
A.D. 1485-1509.
' ENRY Tudor married the Lady Bessee as soon as he came to
London, and by this marriage the causes of the Red and
White Roses were united : so that he took for his badge a
great rose — half red and half white. It may be seen carved
all over the beautiful chapel that he built on to Westminster
Abbey to be buried in.
He was not a very pleasant person ; he was stiff, and cold,
and dry, and very mean and covetous in some ways — though
he liked to make a grand show, and dress all his court in
cloth of gold and silver, and the very horses in velvet housings, whenever
there was any state occasion. Nobody greatly cared for him ; but the whole
country was so worn out with the troubles of the Wars of the Roses, that
there was no desire to interfere with him ; and people only grumbled, and said
he did not treat his gentle, beautiful wife Elizabeth as he ought to do, but
was jealous of her being a king's daughter. There was one person who did
hate him most bitterly, and that was the Duchess of Burgundy, the sister of
Edward IV. and Richard III. : the same one who encouraged printing so
much. She felt as if a mean upstart had got into the place of her brothers,
and his having married her niece did not make it seem a bit the better to
her. There was one nephew left — the poor young orphan son of George,
Duke of Clarence— but he had always been quite silly, and Henry VII. had
Mm watched carefully, for fear some one should set him up to claim the
s OK KMiLISII HISTORY.
771
crown. He was called Ivirl of \Yaruick, ;is heir to his grandfather, the
lung-maker.
Snddenh, a yoiniLT man • •ame to Ireland and pretended to !•<• this Earl of
"\Vur\\ick. I Ii- deceived a good many of the Irish, and the Mayor of Dublin
CHAPEL OF HENRY VII.
actually took him to St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he was crowned as King
Edward the Sixth ; and then he was carried to the banquet upon an Irish
ebieftain's back. He came to England with some Irish followers, and some
(iermaii soldiers hired by the Duchess; and a few, but not many, English
joined him. Henry met him at a village called Stoke, near Newark, and all
772 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
his Germans and Irish were killed, and he himself made prisoner. Then he
confessed that he was really a bakers son, named Lambert Sinmel ; and, as
he turned out to be a poor weak lad, whom designing people had made to
do just what they pleased, the king took him into his kitchen as a scullion;
and, as he behaved well there, afterward set him to look after the falcons,
that people used to keep to go out with to catch partridges and herons.
But after this, a young man appeared under the protection of the Duch-
ess of Burgundy, who said he was no other than the poor little Duke of
York, Richard, who had escaped from the Tower when his brother was
murdered. Englishmen, who came from Flanders, said that he was a clever,
cowardly lad of the name of Peter (or Perkin) Warbeck, the son of a towns-
man of Tournax ; but the Duchess persuaded King James IV. of Scotland to
believe him a real royal Plantagenet. He went to Edinburgh, married a
beautiful lady, cousin to the king, and James led him into England at the
head of an army to put forward his claim. But nobody would join him,
and the Scots did not care about him ; so James sent him away to Ireland,
whence he went to Cornwall. However, he soon found fighting was of no
use, and fled away to the New Forest, where he was taken prisoner. He
was set in the stocks, and there made to confess that he was really Perkin
Warbeck and no dtike, and then he was shut up in the Tower. But there
he made friends with the real Earl of Warwick, and persuaded him into a
plan for escape; but this was found out, and Henry, thinking that he
should never have any peace or safety while either of them was alive,
caused Perkin to be hanged, and poor innocent Edward of Warwick to be
beheaded.
It was thought that this cruel deed was done because Henry found that
foreign kings did not- think him safe upon the throne while one Plantagenet
was left alive, and would not give their children in marriage to his sons and
daughters. He was very anxious to make grand marriages for his children,
and made peace with Scotland by a wedding between King James and his
eldest daughter, Margaret. For his eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales, he
obtained Katharine, the daughter of the King of Aragon and Queen of Gas-
tille, and she was brought to England while both were mere children.
Prince Arthur died when only eighteen years old; and King Henry then
said that they had been both such children, that they could not be con-
sidered as really married, and so that Katharine had better marry his next
son, Henry, although every one knew that no marriage between a man and
his brother's widow could be lawful. The truth was that he did not like to
give^up all the money and jewels she had brought; and the matter remained
in dispute for some years— nor was it settled when King Henry himself
died, after an illness that no one expected would cause his death. Nobody
was very sorry for him, for he had been hard upon eveiy one, and had en-
STORIES OF KMMJSIl HISTORY. r,:\
con raged two wicked judges, named I)udlev and Empson, who made people
pay most unjust demands, and did everything to fill the king's treasury and
make themselves rich at the same time.
It was a time when many changes were -joing on peacefully. The great
nobles had groun much poorer and less powerful; and the country squires
and chief people in the towns reckoned for much more in the State. More-
over, there was much learning and study going on everywhere, (ireek be-
gan to be taught as well as Latin, and the New ''Vstament was thus read in
the language in which the apostles themselves \\rote; and that led people
to think over some of the evil ways that had Ljrown up in their churches
and abbeys, during those long, grievous years, when no one thought of much
but fighting, or <>f getting out of the way of the enemy.
The king himself, and all his family, loved learning, and nobody more
than his son Henry, who — if his elder brother had lived — was to have been
archbishop of Canterbury.
It was in this reign, too, that America was disco vered— though not by
the English, but by Christopher Columbus, an Italian, who went out in ships
that were lent to him by Isabel, the Queen of Spain, mother to Katherine,
Princess of Wales. Henry had been very near sending Columbus, only he
did not like spending so much money. However, he afterward did send
out some ships, which discovered Newfoundland. Henry died in the year
1509.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HENRY VIII. AND CARDINAL WOL8EY.
A.D. 1509-1529.
HE new king was very fond of the Princess Katharine, and he
married her soon after his father's death, without asking any
more questions about the right or wrong of it. He began
with very gallant and prosperous times. He was very hand-
some, and skilled in all sports and games, and had such frank,
free manners, that the people felt as if they had one of their
best old Plantagenets back again. They were pleased, too,
when he quarreled with the King of France, and, like an old
Plantagenet, led an army across the sea and besieged the town
of Tournay. Again, it was like the time of Edward III., for James IV. of
Scotland was a friend of the French king and came across the Border with
774
th,
wen
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
of Scotland, to ravage England while Henry was away. But
ty of stout Englishmen left, and, under the Earl of Surrey,
9
0*
02
H
ft
O
S3
-
H
they beat the Scots entirely at the battle of Floddeu field : and King James
himself was not taken, but left dead upon the field, while his kingdom went
to his poor little baby son. Though there had been a battle in France, it
STOIMKS <>F !A(,I.I>II HISTORY. 775
was not anotlier Crecy, for the French ran away so fast that it was called
the battle of tin- Spurs. However, Henrx's expedition did not come to
much, for lie did not get all the help he \\as promised: and he made peace
with the French king, giving him in marriage his beautiful vomit: si-ter
.Mary though King Louis \\as an old, helpless, sickly man. Indeed, he
only lived six \veeks after the weddinir, and before there was time to fetch
(^iiecn Mary home again, she had married a irentleman named Charles Bran-
don. She told her brother that she had married once to please him, and
nou she had married to please herself. But he forgave her, and made her
Im-band Duke of Sull'olk.
Henry's chief adviser, at this time, was Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of
York: a very able man, and of most splendid tastes and habits — outdoing
even the Tndors in love of show. The pope had made him a cardinal — that
is, one of the clergy who are counted as parish priests in the diocese of
Koine, and therefore have a right to choose the pope. They wear scarlet
hats, capes, and shoes, and are the highest in rank of all the clergy except
the pope. Indeed, Cardinal Wolsey was in hopes of being chosen pope
himself, and setting the \\ hole Church to rights — for there had been several
ver\ nicked men reigning at Rome, one after the other, and they had
brought things to such a pass that every one felt there would be some great
judgment from God if some improvement were not made. Most of Wolsey's
arrangements with foreign princes had this end in view. The new king of
France, Francis I., was young, brilliant, and splendid, like Henry, and the
two had a conference near Calais, when they brought their queens and their
whole Court, and put up tents of velvet, silk, and gold — while everything
was so extraordinarily magnificent, that the meeting has ever since been
called the Field of the Cloth of Gold.
However, nothing came of it all. Cardinal Wolsey thought Francis's
enemy — the J'lmperor, Charles V. — more likely to help him to be pope, and
made hi.s master go over to that side ; but after all an Italian was chosen in
In- stead. And there came a new trouble in his way. The king and queen.
had been married a good many years, and they had only one child alive, and
that was a girl, the Lady Mary — all the others had died as soon as they
were born — and statesmen began to think that if there never was a son at
all, there might be fresh wars when Henry died ; while others said that the
loss of the children was to punish them for marrying unlawfully. Wolsey <
himself began to wish that the pope would say that it had never been a real
marriage, and so set the king free to put Katharine away and take another
wife— some grand princess abroad. This was thinking more of what seemed
prudent than of the right; and it turned out ill for Wolsey and all besides,.
lor no sooner had the notion of setting aside poor Katharine come into his
mind, than the king cast his eyes on Anne Boleyn, one of her maids of
776 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
|1(,i10r — a lively lady, who had been to France with his sister Mary. He
was bent on marrying her, and insisted on the pope's giving sentence against
Katharine. But the pope would not make any answer at all; first, because
he was enquiring, and then because he could not well oft'eud Katharine's
nephew, the Emperor. Time went on, and the king grew more impatient,
and at last a clergyman, named Thomas Cranmer, said that he might settle
the matter by asking the learned men at the universities whether it was
lawful for a man to marry his brother's widow. " He has got the right sow
by the ear," cried Henry, who was not choice in his words, and he deter-
mined that the universities should decide it. But Wolsey would not help
the king here. He knew that the pope had been the only person to decide
such questions all over the Western Church for many centuries ; and, besides,
he had never intended to assist the king to lower himself by taking a wife
like Anne Boleyn. But his secretary, Thomas Crumwell, told the king all
of Wolsey's disapproval, and between them they found out something that
the cardinal had done by the king's own wish, but which did not agree with
the old disused laws. He was put down from all his offices of state, and
accused of treason against the king; but while he was being brought to
London to be tried, he became so ill at the abbey at Leicester that he was
forced to remain there, and in a few days he died, saying, sadly — " If I had
, served my God as I have served my king, He would not have forsaken me
i in my old age."
With Cardinal Wolsey ended the first twenty years of Henry's reign, and
all that had ever been good in it.
STOIUES OF K.NJJLISII IIISTOltY.
777
CHAPTER XXVII.
HENKY VIII. AND HIS WIVES.
A.D. 1528-1547.
fHEN Henry VIII. had so ungratefully treated Cardinal
Wolsey, there was no one to keep him in order. He would
have no more to do with the pope, but said he was head
of the Church of England himself, and could settle matters
his own way. He really was a very learned man, and had
written a book to uphold the doctrines of the Church,
which had caused the pope to call him the Defender of the
Faith. After the king's or queen's name on a coin may be
seen F. D. — Fidei Defender. This stands for that name in
Latin. But Henry used his learning now against the pope. He declared
that his marriage with Katharine was good for nothing, and sent her away
to a house in Huntingdonshire, where, in three years' time, she pined away
and died. In the meantime, he had married Anne Boleyn, taken Crumwell
for his chief adviser, and had made Thomas Cranmer archbishop of Canter-
bury. Then, calling himself Head of the Church, he insisted that all his
people should own him as such ; but the good ones knew that our Lord
Jesus Christ is the only real Head of the Church, and they had learnt to
believe that the pope is the father bishop of the west, though he had some-
times taken more power than he ought, and no king could ever be the same
as a patriarch or father bishop. So they refused, and Henry cut off the
heads of two of the best — Bishop Fisher and Sir Thomas More — though
they had been his great friends. Sir Thomas More's good daughter, Mar-
garet, came and kissed him on his way to be executed ; and afterward,
when his head was placed on a spike on London Bridge, she came by night
in a boat and took it home in her arms.
There were many people, however, who were glad to break with the
pope, because so much had gone amiss in the Church, and they wanted to
set it to rights. There was so much more reading, now that printing had
been invented, that many persons could read who had never learnt Latin,
and so a translation of the Bible was to be made for them ; and there was a
"Teat desire that the Church Services — many of which had also been in
Latin — should likewise be put into English, and the litany was first trans-
lated,— but no more at present. The king and Crumwell had taken it upon
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
them to go on with what had been begun in Wolsey's time — the looking
into the state of all the monasteries. Some were found going on badly,
and the messengers took care to make the worst of everything. So all the
worst house* were broken up. and the monks sent to their homes, with a
small payment to maintain them for the rest of their lives.
As to the lands that good men of old had given to keep up the convents,
that God might be praised there, Henry made gifts of them to the lords
about court. AVhoever chose to ask for an abbey could get it, from the
king's good nature; and, as they wanted more and more, Henry went on
breaking up the monasteries, till the whole of them were gone. A good
deal of their riches he kept for himself, and two new bishoprics were
endowed from their spoils, but most of them were bestowed on the courtiers.
ANNE BOLETN.
JANE SEYMOUR.
KATHARINE HOWARD.
The king, however, did not at all intend to change the teaching of the
Church, and whenever a person was detected in teaching anything contrary
to her doctrines, as they were at that time understood, he was tried by a
court of clergymen and lawyers before the bishop, and, if convicted, was—
according to the cruel custom of those times— burnt to death at a stake in
the market-place of the next town.
Meantime, the new queen, Anne Boleyn, had not prospered. She had
ittle daughter, named Elizabeth, and a son, who died; and then the
king began to admire one of her ladies, named Jane Seymour. Seeing this,
Anne's enemies either invented stories against her, or made the worst of
some foolish, unlady-like, and unqueen-like things she had said and done, so
the king thought she wished for his death. She was accused of hi«-h
treason, sentenced to death, and beheaded : thus paying a heavy price for
the harm she had done good Queen Katharine.
STORIES OF ENGLISH HKroltY. 579
The king, direct 1\ after, married Jane Seymour; but she lived only .a
very short time, dying immediately after the christening of her tlrst son,
who was named Kdwanl.
Then the kin-- was persuaded by Lord Crumuell to marry a foreign
princess called Anne of Cle\es. A great painter was sent to bring her
picture, and made her very U-aiitiful in it; hut when she arrived, she proved
to be not only plain-featured l>ut large and clumsy, and the king could not
hear the sight of her, and said they had sent him a great Flanders mare by
\\a\ of (jiieen. So he made Cranmer find some foolish excuse for breaking
this marriage also, and was so angry with Thomas Crnmwell for having led
him into it, that this favorite was in his turn thrown into prison and be-
headed.
The king chose another English wife, named Katharine Howard; but,
after he had married her, it was found out that she had been very ill brought
u >, and the bad people with whom she had been left came and accused her
of the evil into which they had led her. So the king cut off her head like-
\\ise, and then \\anted to find another wife; but no foreign princess would
take a husband who had put away two wives and beheaded two more, and
one Italian lady actually answered that she was much obliged to him, but
she could not venture to marry him, because she had only one neck.
At last he found an English widow, Lady Latimer, whose maiden name
\\as Katharine Parr, and married her. He was diseased now, lame with
gout, and very large and fat; and she nursed him kindly, and being a good-
natured woman, persuaded him to be kinder to his daughters, Mary and
Elizabeth, than he had ever been since the disgrace of their mothers; and
she did. her best to keep him in good humor, but he went on doing cruel
things, even to the end of his life; and, at the very last, had in prison the
very same Duke of Norfolk who had won the battle of Flodden, and would
have put him to death in a few days' time, only that his own death pre-
vented it.
Yet, strange to say, Henry VIII. was not hated as might have been ex-
pected. His cruelties were chiefly to the nobles, not to the common people ;
and he would do good-natured things, and speak with a frank, open manner,
that was much liked. England was prosperous, too, and shopkeepers,
farmers, and all were well off; there was plenty of bread and meat for all,
and the foreign nations were afraid to go to war with England. So the
Knglish people, on the whole, loved "Bluff King Hal," as they called him,
and did not think much about his many wickednesses, or care how many
heads he cut off. He died in the year 1547. The changes in his time are
generally called the beginning of the Reformation.
rso
IK \\OKUVS (JUKAT NATIONS.
CHAPTKK XXVIII
K, 1>\V AHO VI.
A |> ir, I M553.
I .....
.
;.;, ,,,a?,;.,,s ..fhhu: I-.... »• l»- «• ""'.> •»"" >"""
, , ,,, , .flail* ,.f xtat,. were "la.u-.-.l l.v lus counoU.
••'•'•. ,;',, ,,,l— l-U
.
::;:;:;„;
' " long brfore
Tkom» Seymour,
,.f
worship
b^ke uiteoff fnnu the Ctuuvh. and faiu-uHl they oould do without
This ,Lt b^k wa, oalW tile Uefonnation Uvau* it ^ * t
mattor,of region to rights; and in Ge™ui«v the reformers ^1^ m
IVnostauts. \Hvauso they pwtwtel against some of the to.-u
tb* been in Germany, and had made friend,
^e of the^e Gorman aiul S.iss Trotostan.s. and he UJVIUH! them to
land to consult and help him and his friends. Several of thorn oame, a
>TI.IMKS OF EXMJSII HISTORY.
781
they found fault with the <,M Kmrli~li IYuyi-r-1 >',<.!< — tli<.ti'_rh it had never
been the same as the K«>man mi*-— and it was altered a<_ruin to please them
and their friends, and brought <>ut an Kinsr Kd ward's second book. Indeed,
they tried to persuade the English to be like themselves — with very few
AKD VI. WKiTl-aG HIS JOURNAL.
services, no ornaments in the churches, and no bishops ; and things seemed
e tending more and more to what they desired, for the king was too
young not to do what his tutors and governors wished, and his uncle and
Cranmer were all on their side.
However, there was another great nobleman, the Duke of Northumber-
land, who wanted to be as powerful as the Duke of Somerset He was the
78a THE WORLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
son of Dudley, the wicked judge under Henry VII., who hud made himself
so rich, and he managed to take advantage of the people being discontented
with Somerset to get the king into his own hands, accuse Somerset of
t reason, send him to the Tower, and cut off his head.
The kinir at this time was sixteen. He had never been strong, and he
had learnt and worked much more than was good for him. He wrote a
journal: and though lie never says lie grieved for his uncles, most likely he
did, for he had few near him who really loved or cared for him, and he was
fast falling into a decline, so that it became quite plain that he was not
likely ever to be a grown-up king. There was a great difficulty as to who
was to reign after him. The natural person would have been his eldest
sister, Mary, but King Henry had forbidden her and Elizabeth to be spoken
of as princesses or heiresses of the crown ; and, besides, Mary held so firmly
to the Church, as she had learnt to believe in it in her youth, that the re-
formers knew she would undo all their work.
There was a little Scottish girl, also named Mary — the grand-daughter
of Margaret, eldest daughter of Henry VII. Poor child, she had been a
queen from babyhood, for her father had died of grief when she was but a
week old ; and there had been some notion of marrying her to King Edward,
and so ending the wars ; but the Scots did not like this, and sent her away
to be married to the Dauphin, Francois, eldest son of the king of France.
If Edward's sisters were not to reign, she came next ; but the English would
not have borne to be joined on to the French; and there were the grand-
daughters of Mary, that other sister of Henry VIII., who were thorough
Englishwomen. Lady Jane Grey, the eldest of them, was a good, sweet,
pious, and diligent girl of fifteen, wonderfully learned. But it was not for
that reason, only for the sake of the royal blood, that the Duke of North-
umberland asked her in marriage for his son, Guildford Dudley. When
they were married, the duke and Cranmer began to persuade the poor, sick,
young king that it was his duty to leave his crown away from his sister
Mary to Lady Jane, who would go on with the Reformation, while Mary
would try to overthrow it. In truth, young Edward had no right to will
away the crown ; but he was only sixteen, and could only trust to what the
archbishop and his council told him. So he signed the parchment they
brought him, and after that he quickly grew worse.
The people grew afraid that Northumberland was shutting him up and
misusing him, and once he came to the window of his palace and looked out
at them, to show he was alive ; but he died only a fortnight later, and we
cannot guess what he would have been when he was grown up.
STOKIKS OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
CHAPTER XXIX.
«
S3 X-TN
M A H Y I .
A.I). 1553-15.W.
Duke of Northumberland kept King Kdward's death a
secret till he had proclaimed .lane queen of England. The
poor girl knew that a great wrong was being done in her
name. She wept bitterly, and Itegged that she might not be
forced to accept the crown ; but she could do nothing to pre-
vent it, when her father and husband, and his father, all were
bent on making her obey them : and so she had to sit as a
queen in the royal apartments in the Tower of London.
But as soon as the news reached Mary, she set off riding
toward London ; and, as every one knew her to be the right queen, and no
one would be tricked by Dudley, the whole of the people joined her, and
even Northumberland was obliged to throw up his hat and cry " God save
Queen Mary." Jane and her husband were safely kept, but Mary meant no
harm l»y them if their friends would have been quiet. However, the people
became discontented when Mary began to have the Latin service used again,
and put Archbishop Cranmer in prison for having favored Jane. She
showed in every way that she thought all her brother's advisers had done
very wrong. She wanted to be under the Pope again, and she engaged her-
self to marry the King of Spain, her cousin, Philip II. This was very fool-
ish of her, for she was a middle-aged woman, pale, and low-spirited ; and he
was much younger, and of a silent, gloomy temper, so that every one was
afraid of him. All her best friends advised her not, and the English hated
the notion so much, that the little children played at the queen's wedding
in their games, and always ended by pretending to hang the King of Spain.
Northumberland thought this discontent gave another chance for his plan,
and tried to raise the people in favor of Jane ; but so few joined him that
Mary very soon put them down, and beheaded Northumberland. She
thought, too, that the quiet of the country would never be secure while
Jane lived, and so she consented to her being put to death. Jane behaved
with beautiful firmness and patience. Her husband was led out first and
beheaded, and then she followed. She was most good and innocent in her-
self, and it was for the faults of others that she suffered. Mary's sister,
Elizabeth, was suspected, and sent to the Tower. She came in a boat on
>l
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
the Thames to the Traitor's Gate ; but. when she found where she was, she
sat down on the stone steps, and said, "This is a place for traitors,-and I am
none." After a time she was allowed to live in the country, but closely
watched.
Philip of Spain came and was married to Mary. She was very fond of
him, Imt he was not very kind to her, and he had too much to do in his
RETURN OF CATHOLIC PRELATES UNDER MARY I.
other kingdoms to spend much time with her, so that she was always pining
Her great wish in choosing him was to be helped in 'bringing
back to the old obedience to the Pope; and she succeeded in
W*h L Bgr V V i T^' '^ recdved a=ain to eomihnnion
But this displeased many of her subjects exceedingly. They
ought they should be forbidden to read the Bible-they could lot endure
Latm semce-and those who had been taught by the foreigners fancied
STORIES OF KN<;LISII HISTORY. 785
that all proper reverence awl beauty in church was a sort of idolatry.
lied away into Holland and Germany, and others, who stayed, and taught
loudly against the doctrines that wen- to lie brought hack again, were seized
and thrown into prison.
Those bishops who had been foremost in the changes of course were the
first to lie tried for their teaching. The punishment \\as the dreadful one
of being burnt alive, chained to a stake. Bishop Hooper died in this way
at Gloucester, and Bishop Ridley and Bishop Latimer were both burnt at
the same time at < >xl'ord. encouraging one another to die bravely as martyrs
for the truth, as they held it. Crannier was in prison already for support-
ing Jane (iivv, and he was condemned to death; but he was led to expect
that he would be spared the fire if he would allow that the old faith, as
Koine held it, was the right one. Paper after paper was brought, such as
would please the ijiieen and his judges, and he signed them all ; but after
all, it turned out that none would do, and that he was to be burnt in spite
of them. Then he felt what a base part he had acted, and was ashamed
when he thought how bravely his brethren had died on the same spot: and
w hen he was chained to the stake and the fire lighted, he held his right
hand over the flame to be burnt first, because it had signed what he did not
really believe, and he cried out, " This unworthy hand ! "
Altogether, about three hundred people were burnt in Queen Mary's
reign for denying one or other of the doctrines that the Pope thought the
right ones. It was a terrible time; and the queen, who had only longed to
do right and restore her country to the Church, found herself hated and dis-
liked by every one. Even the Pope, who had a quarrel with her husband,
did not treat her warmly ; and the nobles, who had taken possession of the
abbey lands, were determined never to let her restore them. Her husband
did not love her, or like England. However, he persuaded her to help him
in a war with the French, with which England ought to have had nothing
to do, and the consequence was that a brave French duke took the city of
Calais, the veiy last possession of the English in France. Mary was so ex-
ceedingly grieved, that she said that when she died the name of Calais
would be found written on her heart.
She was already ill, and there was a bad fever at the time, of which
many of those she most loved and trusted had fallen sick. She died, in
1558, a melancholy and sorrowful woman, after reigning only five years.
50
TIIE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXX.
E L I Z A B E T II .
A.D. 1558-15*7.
|LL through Queen .Mary's time, her sister Elizabeth, Anne
Bolevn's daughter, had been in trouble. Those who held
by Queen Mary, and maintained Henry's first marriage, said
that his wedding with Anne was no real one, and so that
Elizabeth ought not to reign ; but then there was no one
else to take in her stead, except the young Queen Mary of
Scotland, wife to the French dauphin. All who wished for
the Reformation, and dreaded Mary's persecutions, had
hoped to see Elizabeth queen, and this had made Mary
much afraid of her; and she was so closely watched and guarded that once
she even said she wished she was a milkmaid, to be left in peace. While
she had been in the Tower she had made friends witli another prisoner,
Robert Dudley, brother to the husband of Lady Jane Grey, and she con-
tinued to like him better than any other person as long as he lived.
When Mary died, Elizabeth was twenty-five, and the English were
mostly willing to have her for their queen. She had read, thought, and
learnt a great deal ; and she took care to have the advice of wise men,
especially of the great Thomas Cecil, whom she made Lord Burleigh, and
kept as her adviser as long as he lived. She did not always follow even his
advice, however; but, whenever she did, it was the better for her. She
knew Robert Dudley was not wise, so, though she was so fond of him, she
never let him manage her affairs for her. She would have wished to marry
him, but she knew her subjects would think this disgraceful, so she only
made him Earl of Leicester : and her liking for him prevented her from
ever bringing herself to accept any of the foreign princes who were always
making proposals to her. Unfortunately he was not a good man, and did
not make a good use of her favor, and he was much disliked by all the
queen's best friends.
She was very fond of making stately journeys through the country. All
the poor people ran to see her and admire her; but the noblemen who had
to entertain her were almost ruined, she brought so many people who ate so
much, and she expected such presents. These journeys were called Pro-
gresses. The most famous was to Lord Leicester's castle of Kenilworth, but
ELIZABETH SIGNING MARY'S DEATH-WARRANT.
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 787
he could quite afford it. He kept the clock's hands at twelve o'clock all the
time, that it might always seem to be dinner-time !
Elizabeth wanted to keep the Knu'Hsh Climvli a pure and true branch of
the Church, free of the mistakes that had crept in before her father's time.
So she restored the Knglish Prayer-Book, and canceled all that Mary had
done; the people who had gone into exile returned, and all the Protestants
abroad reckoned her as on their side. But, on the other hand, the I 'ope
would not regard her as queen at all, and cut her and her country oil' from
the Church, while Mary of Scotland and her husband called themselves the
true queen and king of England; and such of the English as believed the
Pope to have the first right over the Church, held with him and Mary of
Scotland. They were called Roman Catholics, while Elizabeth and her
friends were the real Catholics, for they held with the Church Universal of
old ; and it was the Pope who had broken off with them for not accepting
his doctrines, not they with the Pope. The Knglish who had lived abroad
in Mary's time wanted to have much more altered, and to have churches and
services much less beautiful and more plain than they were. But Elizabeth
never would consent to this ; and these people called themselves Puritans,
and continued to object to whatever had been done in the old times — as if
that made it wrong in itself.
Mary of Scotland was two years queen of France, and then her husband
died, and she had to come back to Scotland. There most of the people had
taken up doctrines that made them hate the sight of the clergy and services
she had brought home from France ; they called her an idolater, and would
hardly bear that she should hear the old service in her own chapel. She
was one of the most beautiful and charming women who ever lived, and if
she had been as true and good as she was lovely, nobody could have done
more good ; but the court of France at that time was a wicked place, and
she had learnt much of the wickedness. She married a young nobleman
named Henry Stewart, a cousin of her own, but he turned out foolish, self-
ish, and headstrong, and made her miserable; indeed, he helped to kill her
secretary in her own bedroom before her eyes. She hated him so much at
last, that there is only too much reason to fear that she knew of the plot,
laid by some of her lords, to blow the poor man's house up with gunpowder,
while he lay in his bed ill of small-pox. At any rate, she very soon married
one of the very worst of the nobles who had committed the murder. Her
subjects could not bear this, and they rose against her and made her prisoner,
while her husband fled the country. They shut her up in a castle in the
middle of a lake, and obliged her to give up her crown to her little son,
James VI. — a baby not a year old. However, her sweet words persuaded a
boy who waited on her to steal the keys, and row her across the lake, and
she was soon at the head of an army of her Roman Catholic subjects. They
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
safe for her in Scotland,
THE DEATH-WABBANT DELIVERED TO MARY STUART.
what to do. She believed that Mary really had to do with Henry Stewart'
death, but she could not bear to make such a crime known in a cousin anc
MARY STUART LED TO EXECUTION.
STOKIKS OF F.MiLISII HISTORY.
789
queen ; and \vliat made it all more difficult to judire was, that tin- kings of
France and Spain, and all the Roman Catholics at home, thought Mary
oil-lit to he queen instead of Kli/abeth, and she might have been set up
against England if she had gone abroad, or been left at large, \\hile in Scot-
laud she would have been murdered. The end of it \va>, that Kli/abeth
kept her shut up in different castles. There she managed to interest the
Kii'/lisli Roman Catholics in her, and get them to lay plots, which al\\a\>
\\ere found out. Then the nobles were put to death, and Mar\ was more
closely watched. This went on for nineteen years, ami at last a \\orse plot
than all was found out — for actually killing Queen Elizabeth. Her servant >
did not act honorably, for when they found out what was going on they
pretended not to know, so that Mary might go on writing worse and worse
things, and then, at last, the whole was made known. Mary was tried and
sentenced to death, but Elizabeth was a long time making up her mind to
sign the order for her execution, and at last punished the clerks who sent it
off, as if it had been their fault.
So Queen Mary of Scotland was beheaded at Fotheringay Castle, show-
ing much bravery and piety. There are many people who still believe that
she was really innocent of all that she was accused of, and that she only was
ruined by the plots that were laid against her.
CHAPTER XXXI.
ELIZABETH'S REIGN.
A.D. 1587-1602.
O reign ever was more glorious or better for the people than
Queen Elizabeth's. It was a time when there were many very
great men living — soldiers, sailors, writers, poets — and they all
loved and looked up to the queen as the mother of her coun-
try. There really was nothing she did love like the good of
her people, and somehow they all felt and knew it, and " Good
Queen Bess" had their hearts — though she was not always
right, and had some very serious faults.
The worst of her faults was not telling truth. Some-
how kings and rulers had, at that time, learnt to believe that when they
were dealing with other countries anything was fair, and that it was not
wrong to tell falsehoods to hide a secret, nor to make promises they never
79o THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
meant to keep. People used to do so who would never have told a lie on
ih. MI- ONVII account to their neighbor, and Lord Burleigh and Queen Eliza-
beth did so very often, and often behaved meanly and shabbily to people
who had trusted to their promises. Her other fault was vanity. She was
a little woman, witli bright eyes, a rather hooked nose, and sandy hair, but
she managed to look every inch a queen, and her eye, when displeased, \\as
like a lion's. She had really been in love with Lord Leicester, and every
now and then he hoped she would marry him ; indeed, there is reason to
fear that he had his wife secretly killed, in order that he might be able to
wed the queen; but she saw that the people would not allow her to do so,
and <rave it up. But she liked to be courted. She allowed foreign princes
to seud her their portraits, rings, and jewels, and sometimes to come and see
her, but she never made up her mind to take them. And as to the gentle-
men at her own court, she liked them to make the most absurd and ridicu-
lous compliments to her, ceiling her their sun and goddess, and her hair
golden beams of the morning, and the like; and the older she grew the
more of these fine speeches she required of them. Her dress — a huge hoop,
a tall ruff all over lace, and jewels in the utmost profusion — was as splendid
as it could be made, and in wonderful variety. She is said to have had
three hundred gowns and thirty wigs. Lord Burleigh said of her that she
was sometimes more than a man, and sometimes less than a woman. And so
she was, when she did not like her ladies to wear handsome dresses.
One of the people who had wanted to marry her was her brother-in-law,
Philip of Spain ; but she was far too wise, and he and she were bitter enemies
all the rest of their lives. His subjects in Holland had become Protestants,
and he persecuted them so harshly that they broke away from him. They
wanted Elizabeth to be their queen, but she would not, though she sent
Lord Leicester to help them with an army. With him went his nephew,
Sir Philip Sydney, the most good, and learned, and graceful gentleman at
court. There was great grief when Sir Philip was struck by a cannon-ball
on the thigh, and died after nine days' pain. It was as he was riding from
the field, faint and thirsty, that some one had just brought him a cup of
water, when he saw a poor soldier, worse hurt than himself, looking at it
with longing eyes. He put it from him untasted, and said, " Take it, thy
necessity is greater than mine."
After the execution of Mary of Scotland, Philip of Spain resolved to
punish Elizabeth and the English, and force them back to obedience to the
Pope. He fitted out an immense fleet, and filled it with fighting men. So
strong was it that, as armada is the Spanish for a fleet, it was called the In-
vincible Armada. It sailed for England, the men expecting to burn and
ruin all before them. But the English ships were ready. Little as they
were, they hunted and tormented the big Spaniards all the way up the
STOKIKS OF FAiiLIsIl iliSToKV.
FRANCIS DRAKE KNIGHTED BY ELIZABETH.
English Channel ; and, just as the Armada had passed the Straits of Dover,
there came <>n such dreadful storms that the ships were driven and broken.
before it, and wrecked all round the coasts — even in Scotland and Ireland —
7:,-.. THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
and very few ever reached home again. The English felt that God had pro-
tected them with His wind and storm, and had fought for them.
Lord Leicester died not long after, and the queen became almost equally
fond of his stepson, the Earl of Essex, who was a brave, high-spirited young
man, only too proud.
The sailors of Queen Elizabeth's time were some of the bravest and most
skilful that ever lived. Sir Francis Drake sailed round the world in the
good ship Pelican, and when he brought her into the Thames the queen
went to look at her. Sir Walter Raleigh was another great sailor, and a
most courtly gentleman besides. He took out the first Euglish settlers to
North America, and named their new home Virginia — after the virgin queen
—and he brought home from South America our good friend the potato-
root ; and, also, he learnt there to smoke tobacco. The first time his ser-
vant saw this done in England, he thought his master must be on fire, and
threw a bucket of water over him to put it out. •
The queen valued these brave men much, but she liked none so well as
Lord Essex, till at last he displeased her, and she sent him to govern Ire-
land. There he fell into difficulties, and she wrote angry letters, which
made him think his enemies were setting her against him. So he came back
without leave ; and one morning came straight into her dressing chamber,
where she was sitting, with her thin gray hair being combed, before she
put on one of her thirty wigs, or painted her face. She was very angry, and
would not forgive him, and he got into a rage too ; and she heard he had
said she was an old woman, crooked in temper as in person. What was far
worse, he raised the Londoners to break out in a tumult to uphold him.
He was taken and sent to the Tower, tried for treason, and found guilty of
death. But the queen still loved him, and waited and waited for some
message or token to ask her pardon. None came, and she thought he was
too proud to beg for mercy. She signed the death-warrant, and Essex died
on the block. But soon she found that he had really sent a ring she once
had given him to a lady, who was to show it to her, in token that he craved
her pardon. The ring had been taken by mistake to a cruel lady wlio hated
him, and kept it back. But by and by this lady was sick to death. Then
she repented, and sent for the queen and gave her the ring, and confessed
her wickedness. Poor Queen Elizabeth— her very heart was broken. She
said to the dying woman, " God may forgive you, but I cannot ?" She said
little more after that. She was old, and her strength failed her. Day after
day she sat on a pile of cushions, with her finger on her lip, still growing
weaker, and begging for the prayers the archbishop read her. And thus,
she who had once been so great and spirited, sank into death, when seventy
years old, in the year 1602.
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CHAPTER XXXII.
JAMES I .
A.I). 1003-1625.
FTER Queen Eli/nlictlfs death, the next heir was James, the
son of Mary of Scotland and of Henry Stewart. He was
the sixth James who had been king of Scotland, and had
reigned there ever since his mother had been driven away.
He had been brought up very strictly by the Scottish Re-
formers, who had made him very learned, and kept him
under great restraint ; and all that he had undergone had
tended to made him very awkward and strange in his man-
ners. He was very timid, and could not bear to see a drawn
•word; and he was so much afraid of being murdered, that he used to wear
a dress padded and stuffed out all over with wool, which made him look
even more clumsy than he was by nature.
The English did not much admire their new king, though it really was
a great blessing that England and Scotland should be under the same king
at last, so as to end all the long and bloody wars that had gone on for so
many years. Still, the Puritans thought that, as James had been brought
up in their way of thinking, they would be allowed to make all the changes
that Queen Elizabeth had stopped ; and the Roman Catholics recollected
that he was Queen Mary's son, and that his Reformed tutors had not made
IIH life very pleasant to him as a boy, so they had hopes from him.
But they both were wrong. James had really read and thought much,
and was a much wiser man at the bottom than any one would have thought
\\ln> liad seen his disagreeable ways, and heard his silly way of talking.
He thought the English Church was much more in the right than either of
them, and he only wished that things should go on the same in England,
and that the Scots should be brought to have bishops, and to use the
prayers that Christians had used from the very old times, instead of each ,
minister praying out of his own head, as had become the custom. But
though he could not change the ways of the Scots at once, he caused all the
best scholars and clergymen in his kingdom to go to work to make the
translation of the Bible as right and good as it could be.
Long before this was finished, however, some of the Roman Catholics
had formed a conspiracy for getting rid of all the chief people in the king-
794
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
<lom ; and so, as they hoped, bringing the rest back to the Pope. There
\\ere good men among the Roman Catholics who knew that such an act
\\ould be horrible; but there were some among them who had learnt to
lute every one that they did not reckon as of the right religion, and to
believe that everything \vas right that was done for the cause of their
Church. So these men agreed that on the day of the meeting of Parlia-
ment, when the king, with the queen and Prince of Wales, would all be
meeting the lords and commons, they would blow the whole of them up
SIR WALTER RALEIGH.
with gunpowder; and, while the country was all in confusion, the king
dead, and almost all his lords and the chief country squires, they would
take the king's younger children— Elizabeth or Charles, who were both
quite little— and bring one up as a Roman Catholic to govern England.
They bought some cellars under the Houses of Parliament, and stored
them with barrels of gunpowder, hidden by faggots ; and the time \\ as
nearly come, when one of the lords, called Monteagle, received a letter that
puzzled him very much, advising him not to attend the meeting of Parlia-
ment, since a sudden destruction would come upon all who would there I
present, and yet so that they would not know the doer of it. No one knov
STOIMKS oi- KN<;U>II HISTORY.
who wrote the letter, but most likely it was one of the gentlemen who had
been asked to join in the plot, and, though he would not In-tray his friends,
could not bear that Lord Monteagle should perish. Lord Monieagle took
the letter to the council, and there, after puzzling over it and wondering if
it were a joke, the king said gunpouder \\as a means of sudden de>t ruction;
and it uas agreed that, at any rate, it would be safer to look into the vaults.
A party was sent to search, and there they found all the powder readv pre-
pared, and, moreover, a man with a lantern, one Guy Fawkes, who had
undertaken to be the one to set fire to the train of gunpowder, hoping to
escape before the explosion. However, he was seized in time, and uas
forced to make confession. Most of the gentlemen concerned fled into the
country, and shut themselves up in a fortified house; but there, strange to
sa\. a l>arrel of gunpowder chanced to get lighted, and thus many were
much hurt in the very way they had meant to hurt others.
There \\as a great thanksgiving all over the country, and it became the
custom that, on the fifth of November — the day when the gunpowder plot
uas to have taken effect — there should be bonfires and fireworks, and Guy
Kau kes' figure burnt ; but people are getting wiser now, and think it better
not to keep up the memory of old crimes and hatreds.
Henry, Prince of Wales, was a fine lad, fond of all that was good, but
a little too apt to talk of wars, and of being like Henry V. He was very
fond of ships and sailors, and delighted in watching the building of a grand
vessel that was to take his sister Elizabeth across the sea, when she was to
many the Count Palatine of the Rhine. Before the wedding, however,
Prince Henry fell suddenly ill and died.
King James was as fond of favorites as ever Elizabeth had been, though
not of the same persons. One of the worst things he ever did was the keep-
ing of Sir Walter Raleigh in the Tower for many years, and at last cutting
off his head. Sir Walter had tried, when first James came, to set up a lady
named Arabella Stewart to be queen; but if he was to be punished for that,
it ought to have been directly, instead of keeping the sentence hanging over
his head for years. The truth was that Sir W7 alter had been a great enemy
to the Spaniards, and James wanted to please them, for he wished his son
Charles to marry the daughter of the King of Spain. Charles wanted to
her first, and set off for Spain, in disguise, with the Duke of Bucking-
ham, who uas his friend, and his father's greatest favorite. But when he
reached Madrid, he found that the princesses were not allowed to speak to
any gentleman, nor to show their faces; and though he climbed over a wall
to speak to her when she was walking in the garden, an attendant begged
him to go away, or all her train would be punished. Charles went back
disappointed, and, on his way through Paris, saw Henrietta Maria, the
bright-eyed sister of the King of France, and set his heart on marrying her.
796
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Before this was settled, however, King James was seized with an ague
and died, in the year 1625. He was the first king of the family of Stewart,
and a very strange person he was— wonderfully learned and exceedingly
«-,,nrciU>d;' indeed, he liked nothing better than to be called the English
Solomon. The worst of him was that, like Elizabeth, he thought kings and
rulers might tell falsehoods and deceive. He called this kingcraft, and took
i liis very bad sort of cunning for wisdom.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHARLES I.
A.D. 1625-1649.
many of the great nobles had been killed in the Wars of the
Roses, that the barons had lost all that great strength and
power they had gained when they made King John sign Magna
Carta. The kings got the power instead ; and all through the
reigns of the five Tudors, the sovereign had very little to hinder
him from doing exactly as he pleased. But, in the meantime
the country squires and the great merchants who sat in the
House of Commons had been getting richer and stronger, and
read and thought more. As long as Queen Elizabeth lived
they were contented, for they loved her and were proud of her, and she
knew how to manage them. She scolded them sometimes, but when she
saw that she was really vexing them she always changed, and she had smiles
and good words for them, so that she could really do what she pleased with
them.
But James I. was a disagreeable man to have to do with ; and, instead
of trying to please them, he talked a great deal about his own power as a
king, and how they ought to obey him : so that they were angered, and began
to read the laws, and wonder how much power properly belonged to him.
Now, when he died, his son Charles was a much pleasanter person ; he was
.a gentleman in all his looks and ways, and had none of his father's awk-
ward, ungainly tricks and habits. He was good and earnest, too, and there
was nothing to take offence at in himself ; so for some years all went on
quietly, and there seemed to be a great improvement. But several things
were against him. His friend, the Duke of Buckingham, was a proud,
selfish man, who affronted almost every one, and made a bad use of the
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 797
kind's favor; and the people were also vexed that the king should marry a
Unman Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria, who would not go to church
with him, nor even let herself be crowned by an English archbishop.
It will be remembered that, in Queen Elizabeth's time, there were Puritans
who would have liked to have the Prayer-book much more altered, and who
fancied that every pious rule of old times must be wrong. They would not
bow their heads at our blessed Lord's name; they did not like the cross in
baptism, nor the ring in marriage ; and they could not bear to see a clergy-
man in a surplice. In many churches they took their own way, and did just
as they pleased. But under James and Charles matters changed. Dr. Laud,
whom Charles made archbishop of Canterbury, saw that if things went on
in this way people would forget all their reverence, and all the outward
visible signs of the inward spiritual graces would be left off, and then IM.\\
could the grace be received 2 So he had all the churches visited, and insisted
on the parishioners setting them in order ; and if a clergyman would not
wear a surplice, nor make a cross on the baptized child's forehead, nor obey
the other laws of the Prayer-book, he was punished.
The Puritans were greatly displeased. They fancied the king and Dr.
Laud wanted to make them all Roman Catholics again ; and a great many
so hated these Church rules, that they took ship and went off to North Amer-
ica to found a colony, where they might set up their own religion as they
liked it. Those who stayed continued to murmur and struggle against Laud.
There was another great matter of displeasure, and that was the way in
which the king raised money. The right way is that he should call his
Parliament together, and the House of Commons should grant him what he
wanted. But there were other means. One was that every place in Eng-
land should be called on to pay so much for ship money. This had begun
when King Alfred raised his fleet to keep off the Danes ; but it had come
not to be spent on ships at all, but only to be money for the king to use.
Another way that the kings had of getting money was from fines. People
who committed some small offence, that did not come under the regular
laws, were brought before the Council in a room at Westminster, that had
a ceiling painted with stars — and so was called the Star Chamber — and there
were sentenced, sometimes to pay heavy sums of money, sometimes to have
their ears cut off. This Court of the Star Chamber had been begun in the
days of Henry VII., and it is only a wonder that the English had borne it
so long.
One thing Charles I. did that pleased his people, and that was sending
help to the French Protestants, who were having their town of Rochelle
besieged. But the English were not pleased that the command of the army
was given to the Duke of Buckingham, his proud, insolent favorite. But
Buckingham never went. As he was going to embark at Portsmouth, he
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
was stabbed to the heart by a man named Felton ; nobody clearly knows
why.
Charles did not get on much better even when Buckingham was dead.
Whenever he called a Parliament, fault was always found with him and
with the laws. Then he tried to do without a Parliament; and, as he, of
course, needed money, the calls for ship money came more often, and the
tines in the Star Chamber became heavier, and more cases for them were
limited out. Then murmurs arose. Just then, too, he and Archbishop Laud
\\ ere trying to make the Scots return to the Church, by giving them bishops
and a Prayer-book. But the first time the Service was read in a church at
Edinburgh, a fish woman, named Jenny Geddes, jumped tip in a rage and
threw a three-legged stool at the clergyman's head. Some Scots fancied they
were being brought back to Rome ; others hated whatever was commanded
in England. All these leagued together, and raised an army to resist the
king; and he was obliged to call a Parliament once more, to get money
enough to resist them.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE LONG PARLIAMENT.
A.D. 1641-1649.
>HEN Charles I. was obliged to call his Parliament, the
House of Commons met, angered at the length of time that
had passed since they had been called, and determined to
use their opportunity. They speedily put an end both to
the payment of ship money and to the Court of the Star
Chamber; and they threw into prison the two among the
king's friends whom they most disliked, namely, Archbishop
Laud and the Earl of Strafford. The earl had been gover-
nor of Ireland, and had kept great order there, but severely;
and he thought that the king was the only person who ought to have any
power, and was always advising the king to put down all resistance by the
strong hand. He was thought a hard man, and very much hated ; and when
he was tried the Houses of Parliament gave sentence against him that he
should be beheaded. Still, this 'could not be done without the king's
warrant; and Charles at first stood out against giving up his faithful friend.
But there was a great tumult, and the queen and her mother grew frighten*
STORIES OF EX<;M>II HISTORY.
and entreated the king to save himself by giving up Lord Strafford, until
«lt last ll(' ( Billed, and signed the paper ordering the execution. It wm
a sad act of weakness and cowardice, and he mourned over it all the days of
his life.
QUEEN HEKBIETTA MARIA.
Parliament only asked more and more, and at last the king thought
t put a check on them. So he resolved to go down to the House and
the five members who spoke most against his power to be taken
oners in hi* Own presence. But he told his wife what he intended, and
"< Maria was so foolish as to tell Lady Carlisle, one of her ladies,
she sent warning to the five gentlemen, so that they were not in the
800
THE WORLD'S (MEAT NATIONS.
House when Charles arrived ; and the Londoners rose tip in a great mob,
:iiid showed themselves so angry with him, that he took the queen and his
children away into the country. The queen took her daughter Mary to
Holland, to imirry the Prince of Orange; and there she bought muskets and
gunpowder for her husband's army — for things had come to such a pass now
that a civil war began. A civil war is the worst of all wars, for it is one
between the people of the same country. There were two civil wars before.
There were the Barons' wars, between Henry III. and Simon de Montfort,
about the keeping of Magna Carta; and there were the wars of the Roses,
to settle whether York or Lancaster should reign. This war between.
Charles I. and the Parliament was to decide whether the king or the House
of Commons should be most powerful. Those who held with the king
called themselves Cavaliers, but the friends of the Parliament called them
Malignants ; and they in turn nicknamed the Parliamentary party Round-
heads, because they often chose not to wear their hair in the prevailing
fashion, long and flowing on their shoulders, but cut short round their heads.
Most of the Roundheads were Puritans, and hated the Prayer-book, and all
the strict rales for religious worship that Archbishop Laud had brought in ;
and the Cavaliers, on the other hand, held by the bishops and the Prayer-
book. Some of the Cavaliers were very good men indeed, and led holy and
Christian lives, like their master the king, but there were others who were
only bold, dashing men, careless and full of mirth and mischief ; and the
Puritans were apt to think all amusements and pleasures wrong, so that
they made out the Cavaliers worse than they really were.
As it would be difficult to understand about all the battles, it is suf-
ficient to say that the king's army was chiefly led by his nephew, Prince
Rupert, the son of his sister Elizabeth. Rupert was a fiery, brave young
man, who was apt to think a battle was won before it really was, and would
ride after the people he had beaten himself, without waiting to see whether
his help was wanted by the other captains ; and so he did his uncle's cause
as much harm as good.
The king's party had been the most used to war, and they prospered the
most at first ; but, as the soldiers of the Parliament became more trained,
they gained the advantage. One of the members of Parliament, a gentle-
man named Oliver Cromwell, soon showed himself to be a much better cap-
tain than any one else in England, and from the time he came to the chief
command the Parliament always had the victory. The places of the three
chief battles were Edgehill, Marston Moor, and Naseby. The first was
doubtful, but the other two were great victories of the Roundheads. Just
after Marston Moor, the Parliament put to death Archbishop Laud, though
they could not find anything he had done against the law ; and at the same
time, they forbade the use of the Prayer-Book, and turned out all the parish
STORIES OF ENGLISH IIISToKY.
801
priests from the churches, putting in their stead men chosen after their own
I'u-hion, uiid not ordained by bishops. They likewise destroyed all they
disliked in the churches — the painted glass, the organs, and the carvings;
and when the Puritan soldiers took possession of a town or village, they
would stable their horses in the churches, use the font for a trough, and
shoot at the windows as marks.
After the battle of Naseby, King Charles was in such distress that In-
thought he would go to the Scots, remembering that, though he had offended
them by trying to make them use the Prayer-book, he had been born among
them, and he thought they would prefer him to the English. But when ho
came, the Scottish army treated him like a prisoner, and showed him very
few honors ; and at last they gave him up to the English Parliament for a
great sum of money.
So Charles was a prisoner to his own subjects. This Parliament is called
the Long Parliament, because it sat longer than any other Parliament ever
did: indeed it had passed, with the King's consent, a resolution that it
could not be dissolved.
CH APTER XXXV.
DEATH OF CHARLES I.
A.D. 1649-1651.
*HE Long Parliament did not wish to have no king, only to make
him do what they pleased ; and they went on trying whether
he would come back to reign according to their notions. He
would have given up a great deal, but when they wanted him
to declare that there should be no bishops in England he would
never consent, for he thought that there could be no real Church
without bishops, as our Lord Himself had appointed.
At last, after there had been much debating, and it was
plain that it would never come to an end, Oliver Cromwell sent some of his
ollicers to take King Charles into their hands, instead of the persons ap-
pointed by Parliament. So the king was prisoner to the army instead of to
the Parliament.
Cromwell was a very able man, and he saw that nobody could settle the
difficulties about the law and the rights of the people but himself. No one
can tell whether he wished to do right or to make himself great ; but his
heart could not have been set right or he would not have done so terrible an
51
802 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,-ict ;is he did. He saw that things never would be settled while the king
lived, nor by the Parliament ; so he sent one of his officers, named Pryde, to
turn out all the members of Parliament who would not do his will, and then
the fifty who were left appointed a court of officers and lawyers to try the
kin^. 'diaries was brought before them; but, as they had no right to try
him, he would not say a word in answer to them. Nevertheless, they sen-
tenced him to have his head cut off. He had borne all his troubles in the
most nu-ek and patient way, forgiving all his enemies and praying for them:
and he was ready to die in the same temper. His queen was in France,
and all his children were safe out of England, except his daughter Eliza-
beth, who was twelve years old, and little Henry, who was five. They were
brought to Whitehall Palace for him to see, the night before he was to die.
He took the little boy on his knee, and talked a long time to Elizabeth, tell-
ing her what books to read and giving her his messages to her mother and
brothers ; and then he told little Henry to mark what he said, and to mind
that he must never be set up as a king while his elder brothers, Charles and
James were alive. The little boy said, among his tears, " I will be torn in
pieces first." His father kissed and blessed the two children, and left them.
The next day was the 30th of January, 1649. The king was allowed to
have Bishop Juxon to read and pray with him, and to give him the holy
communion. After that, forgiving his enemies, and praying for them, he
was led to the Banqueting House at Whitehall, and out through a window,
on to a scaffold hung with black cloth. He said his last prayers, and the
executioner cut off his head with one blow, and held it up to the people.
He was buried at night, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, by four faithful
noblemen, but they were not allowed to use any service over his grave.
' The Scots were so much shocked to find what their selling of their king
had come to, that they invited his eldest son, Charles, a young man of nine-
teen, to come and reign over them, and offered to set him on the English
throne again. Young Charles came ; but they wrere so strict that they made
his life very dull and weary, since they saw sin in every amusement. How-
ever, they kept their promise of marching into England, and some of the
English cavaliers joined them ; but Oliver Cromwell and his army met them
at Worcester, and they were entirely beaten. Young King Charles had to
go away with a few gentlemen, and he was so closely followed that they
had to put him in charge of some woodmen named Penderel, who lived in
Boscobel Forest. They dressed him in a rough leather suit like their own,
and when the Roundhead soldiers came to search, he was hidden among tlie
branches of an oak tree above their heads. Afterward, a lady named Jane
Lane helped him over another part of his journey, by letting him ride on
horseback before her as her servant; but, when she stopped at an inn, he
was very near being found out, because he did not know how to turn the
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STOIMKS OK KXGLISH HISTOKY. MI:;
spit in the kitchen when the cook asked him. However, he got safely to
Brighton, which was only u little village then, und a boat took him to
France, where his mother was living.
In the meantime, his young sister and brotlier, Eli/abeth and Henry, had
been sent to the Isle of Wight, to ( 'arisbmok Castle. Elizabeth was pining
away with sorrow, and before long she uas found dead, with her cheek rest-
ing <>n her open Bible. After this, little Henry was sent to be with his
mother in France.
The eldest daughter, Mary, had been married, just as the war began, to
the Prince of Orange, who lived in Holland, and was left a widow with one
little son. James, Duke of York, the second brother, had at first been in
the keeping of a Parliamentary nobleman, with his brother and sister, in
London ; but, during a game of hide-and-seek, he crept out of the gardens
and met some friends, who dressed him in girls' clothes and took him to a
ship in the Thames, which carried him to Holland. Little Henrietta, the
youngest, had been left, when only six weeks old, to the care of one of her
mother's ladies. When she was nearly three, the lady did not think it safe
to keep her any longer in England. So she stained her face and hands
brown, with walnut juice, to look like a gipsy, took the child upon her
back, and trudged to the coast. Little Henrietta could not speak plain, but
she always called herself by a name she meant to be princess, and the lady
was obliged to call her Piers, and pretend that she was a little boy, when the
poor child grew angry at being treated so differently from usual, and did all
she possibly could to make the strangers understand that she was no beggar
1 u > \ . However, at last she was safe across the sea, and was with her mother
at Paris, where the King of France, Queen Henrietta's nephew, was very
kind to the poor exiles. The misfortune was, that the queen brought up
little Henrietta as a Roman Catholic, and tried to make Henry one also ;
but he was old enough to be firm to his father's Church, and he went away
to his sister in Holland. James, however, did somewhat later become a
Roman Catholic ; and Charles would have been one, if he had cared enough
about religion to do what would have lessened his chance of getting back to
England as king. But these two brothers were learning no good at Paris,
and were growing careless of the right, and fond of pleasure. James and
Henry, after a time, joined the French army, that they might learn the art
of war. They were both very brave, but it was sad that when France and
England went to war, they should be in the army of the enemies of their
country.
801
T1IE WOKLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
OLIVER CROMWELL.
A.D. 1049-1660.
LIVER Cromwell felt, as has been said, that there was no one
who could set matters to rights as he could in England, lie
had shown that the country could not do without him, i
was to go on without the old government. Not only had be
conquered and slain Charles I., and beaten that king's friend*
and those of his son in Scotland, but he had put down
terrible rising of the Irish, and suppressed them with mud
more cruelty than he generally showed.
He found that the old Long Parliament did nothing
blunder and talk, so he marched into the House one day with a company
soldiers, and sternly ordered the members all off, calling out, as be pointed
to the mace that lay before the Speaker's chair, "Take away that baub ,.
After that he called together a fresh Parliament ; but there were very few
members, and those only men who would do as he bade them. The Spea
was a leather-seller named Barebones, so that this is generally knoi
Barebones' Parliament. By these people he was named
tor of England ; and as his soldiers would still do anything for
he reigned for five years, just as .a king might have done, and a
king too.
It is hard to understand how a person can go on doing wr(
really meaning to do right all the time, and think it is doing God's
vice; but there have been many people like that, and, as far as we
understand, Oliver Cromwell was one of them. He was a religious man
but he chose to make out his religion from the Bible for himself, thouj
in the judgment of many good people, he erred greatly in his opn
ions; and when he felt within himself the understanding how to :
better than king or Parliament, he went on to make himself ruler, thinking
he was doing God's work— even though it led him through such sins
making war on the king, and putting him to death at last. He prayed often
and spoke much about religion ; but he was very apt to make long speeches
that so confused the people who heard him that they let him have his ow
way, because they did not know what he was talking about. Howevei
when he wanted to be obeyed, he was sharp and direct enough. He was by
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STORIES OF K.ViUSIl HISTOKY.
H05
no means a cruel or unmerciful man, and he did not persecute the Cavaliers
more than he could help, if he was to keep up his power ; though, of course,
they suffered a great deal, since they had fines laid upon them, and some
forfeited their estates for having resisted the Parliament. Many had to five
in Holland or France, because there was no safety for them in England,
and their wives went backward and forward to their homes to collect their
THE GREAT SEAL OP ENGLAND (CKOMWELL'S TIME).
rents, and obtain something to live upon. The bishops and clergy had all
been driven out, and in no church was it allowable to use the Prayer-book;
so there used to be secret meetings in rooms, or vaults, or in woods, where
the prayers could be used as of old, and the holy sacrament administered.
For five years Cromwell was Lord Protector, but in the year 1658 he
died, advising that his son Richard should be chosen Protector in his stead.
Richard Cromwell was a kind, amiable gentleman, but not clever or strong
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
^ery soon found that to govern England was quite
Ins father, and hej *?*» ^ ^ ^ owu home agam>
beyond hb power; »**£££ nickname of Tumble-down-Dick.
w^etheEn^hpeo0e^to^ fo ^ ^ ^ but General
Mont ^rstT^head of the anny, thought the best thing
GENERAL MONK.
possible would be to bring back the king. A new Parliament was elected,
and sent an invitation to Charles II. to come back again and reign like his
forefathers. He accepted it ; the fleet was sent to fi etch, him, and on the
29th of May, 1660, he rode into London between his brothers, James and
Henry. The streets were dressed with green boughs, the windows hung with
tapestry, and every one showed such intense joy and delight, that the king
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STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 807
said lie could not think why he should have stayed away so long, since every
one was so glad to see him back again.
But the joy of his return was clouded by the deaths of his sister Mary,
the Princess of Orange, and of his brother Henry, who was only just twenty.
Mary left a son, William, Prince of Orange, of whom more hereafter.
The bishops were restored, and, as there had been no archbishop since
Laud had been beheaded, good Juxon, who had attended King Charles at
his death, was made archbishop in his room. The persons who had been
put into the parishes to act as clergymen, were obliged to give place to the
real original parish priest ; but if he were dead, as was often the case, they
were told that they might stay, if they would be ordained by the bishops
and obey the Prayer-book. Some did so, some made an arrangement for
keeping the parsonages, and paying a curate to take the service in church ;
but those who were the most really in earnest gave up everything, and were
turned out — but only as they had turned out the real clergymen ten or
twelve years before.
All Oliver Cromwell's army was broken up, and the men sent to their
homes, except one regiment which came from Coldstream in Scotland. These
would not disband, and when Charles II. heard it, he said he would take
them as his guards. This was the beginning of there being always a regular
army of men, whose whole business it is to be soldiers, instead of any man
being called from his work when he is wanted.
Charles II. promised pardon to all the rebels, but he did try and execute
all who had been actually concerned in condemning his father to death.
I
THE WORLD'S GEE AT NATIONS.
s
CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHARLES II.
A.D. 1660-1685.
sad to have to say that, after all his troubles, Charles II.
disappointed everybody. Some of these disappointments could
not be heiPed> but °thers were his own fault> The Puritan
party thought, after they had brought him home again, he
should have been more favorable to them, and grumbled at the
restoration of the clergymen and of the Prayer-book. The
Cavaliers thought that, after all they had gone through for him
and his father, he ought to have rewarded them more ; but he
said truly enough, that if he had made a nobleman of every one
who had deserved well of him, no place but Salisbury Plain would have
been big enough for the House of Lords to meet upon. Then those gentle-
men who had got into debt to raise soldiers for the king's service, and had
paid fines, or had to sell their estates, felt it hard not to have them again ;
but when a Roundhead gentleman had honestly bought the property, it
would have been still more unjust to turn him out. These two old names
of Cavaliers aud Roundheads began to turn into two others even more
absurd. The Cavalier set came to be called Tories, an Irish name for a
robber, and the Puritans got the Scotch name of Whigs, which means butter-
milk.
It would have taken a very strong, wise, and good man to deal rightly
with two such different sets of people ; but though Charles II. was a very
clever man, he was neither wise nor good. He could not bear to vex him-
self, nor anybody else ; and, rather than be teased, would grant almost any-
thing that was asked of him. One of his witty courtiers once wrote upon
Iris bedroom door —
\
"Here lies our sovereign lord, the king,
Whose word no man relies on ;
Who never said a foolish thing,
And never did a wise one."
He was so bright and lively, and made such droll, good-natured answers,
that every one liked him who came near him ; but he had no steady prin-
ciple, only to stand easy with everybody, and keep as much power for him-
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
SO!)
self as he could without giving offence. He loved pleasure much better
than duty, and kept about him a set of people who amused him, but were a
disgrace to his court. They even took money from the French king to
persuade Charles against helping the Dutch in their war against the French.
The Dutch went to war with the English upon this, and there were many
terrible sea-tights, in which James, Duke of York, the king's brother, showed
himself a good and brave sailor.
The year 1665 is remembered as that in which there was a dreadful sick-
ness in London, called the plague. People died of it often after a very short
illness, and it was so infectious that it was difficult to escape it. When a
person in a house was found to have it, the door was fastened up and marked
with a red cross in chalk, and no one was allowed to go out or in ; food was
set down outside to be
fetched in, and carts came
round to take away the
dead, who were all buried
together in long ditches.
The plague was worse in
the summer and autumn ;
as winter came on more
recovered and fewer sick-
ened, and at last this
frightful sickness was
ended ; and, by God's
good mercy, it has never
since that year come to
London.
The next year, 1666,
there was a fire in Lon-
don, which burnt down
whole streets, with their churches, and even destroyed St. Paul's Cathedral.
Perhaps it did good by burning down the dirty old houses and narrow
streets where the plague might have lingered, but it was a fearful misfor-
tune. It was only stopped at last by blowing up a space by gunpowder all
round it, so that the flames might have no way to pass on. The king and
his brother came and were very helpful in giving orders about this, and in
finding shelter for the many poor, homeless people.
There was a good deal of disturbance in Scotland when the king wanted
to bring back the bishops and the Prayer-book. Many of the Scots would
not go to church, and met on hills and moors to have their prayers in their
own way. Soldiers were sent to disperse them, and there was much fierce,
bitter feeling. Archbishop Sharpe was dragged out of his carriage and
THE GREAT LONDON FIRE.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
fcflW ,ml then there was a civil war, in which the king's men prevailed;
J h ! were harshly treated, and there was great discontent.
T niirv was «* troubled because the king and queen had no
of York was a Roman Catholic. A strange story
Z&ttZ** a popish plot for killing the ;king
Jan.es on the throne. Charles himself laughed at it for he
and disliked his brother: « No one would kill me
ew™ "
Ike ?ou king, James," he said; but in his easy, selfish way, when he
found that all the°country believed in it, and wanted to have the men they
fancied guilty put to death, he did not try to save their live*
Soon after this false plot, there was a real one called the Rye-house
Long a^o, the king had pretended to marry a girl named Lucy Waters and
they had a son whom he had made Duke of Monmouth, but who could not
rei<m because there had been no right marriage. However, Lord
and some other gentlemen, who ought to have known better, so hated
idea of the Duke of York being king, that they joined in the Rye-house
Plot for killing the duke, and forcing the king to make Monmouth his heir.
Some of the worser sort, who had joined them, even meant to shoot Charles
and James both together, on the way to the Newmarket races. However,
the plot was found out, and the leaders were put to death. Lord Russell's
wife, Lady Rachel, sat by him all the time of his trial, and was his great
comfort to the last. Monmouth was pardoned, but fled away to Holland.
The best thing to be said of Charles II. was that he made good men
bishops, and he never was angry when they spoke out boldly about his
wicked ways ; but then, he never tried to leave them off, and he spent the
very last Sunday of his life among his bad companions, playing at cards and
listening to idle songs. Just after this came a stroke of apoplexy, andr
while he lay dying on his bed, he sent for a Roman Catholic priest, and was
received into the Church of Rome, in which he had really believed most of
his life — though he had never dared own it, for fear of losing his crown. So,
as he was living a lie, of course the fruits showed themselves in his selfish,
wasted life.
It was in this reign that two grand books were written. John Milton,
a blind scholar and poet, who, before he lost his sight, had been Oliver
Cromwell's secretary, wrote his Paradise Lost, or rather dictated it to his
daughters ; and John Bunyan, a tinker, who had been a Puritan preacher,
wrote the Pilgrim's Progress.
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
811
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
JAMES II.
A.D. 1685-1688.
^AMES II. had, at least, been honest in openly joining the Church
in which he believed ; but the people disliked and distrusted
him, and he had not the graces of his brother to gain their
hearts with, but was grave, sad, and stern.
The Duke of Monrnouth came across from Holland, and was
proclaimed king in his uncle's stead at Exeter. Many people
in the West of England joined him, and at Taunton, in Somer-
setshire, he was received by rows of little girls standing by the
gate in white frocks, strewing flowers before him. But at Sedgemoor he
was met by the army, and his friends were routed ; he himself fled away,
and at last was caught hiding in a ditch, dressed in a laborer's smock frock,
and with his pockets full of peas from the fields. He was taken to London,
tried, and executed. He did not deserve much pity, but James ought not
to have let the people who had favored him be cruelly treated. Sir George
Jeffreys, the chief justice, was sent to try all who had been concerned, from
Winchester to Exeter ; and he hung so many, and treated all so savagely,
that his progress was called the Bloody Assize. Even the poor little maids
at Taunton were thrown into a horrible, dirty jail, and only released on their
parents paying a heavy sum of money for them.
This was a bad beginning for James's reign : and the English grew more
angry and suspicious when they saw that he favored Roman Catholics more
than any one else, and even put them into places that only clergymen of the
Church of England could fill. Then he put forth a decree, declaring that a
person might be chosen to any office in the State, whether he were a mem-
ber of the English Church or no ; and he commanded that every clergyman
should read it from his pulpit on Sunday mornings. Archbishop Sancroft
did not think it a right thing for clergymen to read, and he and six more
bishops presented a petition to the king against being obliged to read it.
One of these was Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, who wrote the
morning hymn, " Awake, my soul, and with the sun," and the evening hymn,
" All praise to Thee, my God, this night." Instead of listening to their
petition, the king had all the seven bishops sent to the Tower, and tried for
libel — that is, for malicious writing. All England was full of anxiety, and
C12
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
when at last the jury gave a verdict of "not guilty," the whole of London
rang with shouts of joy, and the soldiers in their camp shouted still louder.
This might have been a warning to the king: for he had thought that,
as In- paid the army, they were all on his side, and would make the people
l.rar whatever he pleased. The chief comfort people had was in thinkin^
their troubles would only last during his reign : for his first wife, an Eng-
lishwoman, had only left him two daughters, Mary and Anne, and Mary was
married to her cousin, William, Prince of Orange, who was a great enemy of
the King of France and of the Pope ; and Anne's husband, Prince George
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THE PRINCE OF ORANGE AT TOULOUSE.
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 813
queen's room in a warming-pan, because James was resolved to prevent Mary
and William from reigning.
Only silly people could believe such a story as this ; but all the Whigs,
and most of the Tories, thought in earnest that it was a sad thing for the
country to have a young heir to the throne brought up to be a Roman Cath-
olic, and to think it right to treat his subjects as James was treating them.
Some would have been patient, and have believed that God would bring it
right, but others, who had never thought much of the rights of kings and
duties of subjects, were resolved to put a stop to the evils they expected;
and, knowing what was the state of people's minds, William of Orange set
forth from Holland, and landed at Torbay. Crowds of people came to meet
him, and to call on him to deliver them. It was only three years since the
Bloody Assize, and they had not forgotten it in those parts. King James
heard that one person after another had gone to the Prince of Orange, and
he thought it not safe for his wife and child to be any longer in England.
So, quietly, one night he put them in charge of a French nobleman who had
been visiting him, and who took them to the Thames, where, after waiting
in the dark under a church wall, he brought them a boat, and they reached
a ship which took them safely to France.
King James stayed a little longer. He did not mind when he heard that
Prince George of Denmark had gone to the Prince of Orange, but only
laughed, and said " Est-il possible? " but when he heard his daughter Anne, ;
to whom he had always been kind, was gone too, the tears came into his
eyes, and he said, " God help me, my own children are deserting me." He
would have put himself at the head of the army, but he found that if he did
so, he was likely to be made prisoner and carried to William. So he dis-
guised himself and set off for France ; but at Faversham, some people who
took him for a Roman Catholic priest seized him, and he was sent back to
London. However, as there was nothing the Prince of Orange wished so
little as to keep him in captivity, he was allowed to escape again, and this
time he safely reached France, where he was very kindly welcomed, and had
the palace of St. Germain given him for a dwelling-place.
It was on the 4th of November, 1688, that William landed, and the
change that now took place is commonly called the English Revolution.
We must think of the gentlemen, during these reigns, as going about in
very fine laced and ruffled coats, and the most enormous wigs. The Round-
heads had short hair and the Cavaliers long : so people were ashamed to
have short hair, and wore wigs to hide it if it would not grow, till every-
body came to have shaven heads, and monstrous wigs in great curls on their
shoulders; and even little boys' hair was made to look as like a wig as
possible. The barber had the wig every morning to fresh curl, and make it
white with hair powder, so that every one might look like an old man, with
a huge quantity of white hair.
TIIE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
WILLIAM III. AND MARY II.
A.D. 1079-1702.
HEN James II. proved to be entirely gone, the Parliament
agreed to offer the crown to William of Orange— the next
heir after James's children— and Mary, his wife, James's
eldest daughter; but not until there had been new condi-
tions made, which would prevent the kings from ever being
so powerful again as they had been since the time of Henry
VII. Remember, Magna Carta, under King John, gave the
power to the nobles. They lost it by the wars of the Roses,
and the Tudor kings gained it; but the Stewart kings
could not keep it, and the House of Commons became the strongest power
in the kingdom, by the Revolution of 1688. The House of Commons is
made up of persons chosen— whenever there is a general election — by the
in.-ii who have a certain amount of property in each county and large town.
There must be a fresh election, or choosing, again every seven years ; also,
whenever the sovereign dies ; and the sovereign can dissolve the Parliament
— that is, break it up — and have a fresh election whenever it is thought
right. But above the House of Commons stands the House of Lords, or
Peers. These are not chosen, but the eldest son, or next heir of each lord,
succeeds to his seat upon his death ; and fresh peerages are given as rewards
to great generals, great lawyers, or people who have deserved well of their
country. When a law has to be made, it has first to be agreed to by a
majority — that is, the larger number — of the Commons, then by a majority
of the Lords, and lastly, by the king or queen. The sovereign's council are
called the ministers, and if the Houses of Parliament do not approve of their
way of carrying on the government they vote against their proposals, and
this generally makes them resign, that others may be chosen in their place
who may please the country better.
This arrangement has gone on ever since William and Mary came in.
However, James II. still had many friends, only they had been out of reach
at the first alarm. The Latin word for James is Jacobus, and, therefore,
they were called Jacobites. All Roman Catholics were, of course, Jacobites ;
and there were other persons who, though grieved at the king's conduct,
did not think it right to rise against him and drive him away ; and, having
STORIKS OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
815
taken an oath to obey him, held that it would !><• wrong to swear obedience
to any one else while lie was alive. Archbishop Sancroft was one of these.
He thought it wrong in the new queen, Mary, to consent to take her father's
place; and when she sent to ask his blessing, he told her to ask her father's
first, as, without that, his own would do her little good. Neither he nor
Bishop Ken, and some other bishops, nor a good many more of the clergy,
would take the oaths to \Villiam, or put his name instead of that of James
in the prayers at church. They rather chose to be turned out of their
KING JAMES AT THE BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.
bishoprics and parishes, and to live in poverty. They were called the non-
jurors, or not-swearers.
Louis, King of France, tried to send James back, and gave him the
service of his fleet ; but it was beaten by Admiral Russell, off Cape La
Hogue. Poor James could not help crying out, "See my brave English
sailors ! One of Charles's old officers, Lord Dundee, raised an army of Scots
in James's favor, but he was killed just as he had won the battle of Killie-
vrankie ; and there was no one to take up the cause just then, and the Scotch
Whigs were glad of the change.
Most of James's friends, the Roman Catholics, were in Ireland, and Louis
lent him an army with which to go thither and try to win his crown back.
He got on pretty well in the South, bv.t in the North — where Oliver Crom-
BIO
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
well had given lands to many of his old soldiers— he met with much more
iv-istance. At Londonderry, the apprentice boys shut the gates of the town
an, I l.anvd them against him. A clergyman named George Walker took
the coininand of the city, and held it out for a hundred and five days against
him. till every one was nearly starved to death — and at last help came from
Kndand. William himself came to Ireland, and the father and son-in-law
met in I'.-ittle on the banks of the Boyne on the 1st of July, 1690. James
\\.-is routed ; and large numbers of the Irish Protestants have ever since kept
the 1st of July as a great holiday — commemorating the victory by wearing
orange lilies and orange-colored scarfs.
James \\as soon obliged to leave Ireland, and his friends there were
severely punished. In the meantime, William was fighting the French in
Holland — as he had done nearly all his life — while Mary governed the king-
dom at home. She was a handsome, stately lady, and was much respected ;
and there \\as great grief when she died of the small-pox, never having had
any children. It was settled upon this that William should go on reigning
as long as he lived, and then that Princess Anne should be queen ; and if
she left no children, that the next after her should be the youngest daughter
of Elizabeth, daughter of James I. Her name was Sophia, and she was
married to Ernest of Brunswick, Elector of Hanover. It was also settled
that no Roman Catholic, nor even any one who married a Roman Catholic,
could ever be on the English throne.
Most of the Tories disliked this Act of Settlement; and nobody had
much love for King William, who was a thin, spare man, with a 'large,
hooked nose, and very rough, sharp manners— perhaps the more sharp
because he was never in good health, and suffered terribly from the asthma.
However, he managed to keep all the countries under him in good order,
and he was very active, and always at war with the French. Towards the
end of his reign a fresh quarrel began, in which all Europe took part. The
;of Spam died without children, and the question was who should reign
The King of France had married one sister of this king, and the
mperor of Germany was the son of her aunt. One wanted to make his
grandson king of Spain, the other his son, and so there was a great war.
II. took part against the French-as he had always been their
; bi t as the war was going to begin, as he was riding near his
lace of Hampton Court, his horse trod into a mole-hill, and he fell, break-
his collar bone : and this hurt his weak chest so much that he died in a
tysm the year 1702 The Jacobites were very glad to be rid of him,
1 to drink the health of the "little gentleman in a black velvet coat,"
amng the mole which had caused his death.
STOiUES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 817
CHAPTER XL.
ANNE.
A.D. 1702-1714.
t
I UEEN Anne, the second daughter of James II., began to reign
on the death of William III. She was a well-meaning woman,
but very weak and silly ; and any person who knew how to
manage her could make her have no will of her own. The
person who had always had such power over her was Sarah
Jennings, a lady in her train, who had married an officer
named John Churchill. As this gentleman had risen in the
army, he proved to be one of the most able generals who ever
lived. He was made a peer, and, step by step came to be Duke of Marl-
borough. It was he and his wife who, being "Whigs, had persuaded Anne
to desert her father; and, now she was queen, she did just as they pleased.
The duchess was mistress of the robes, and more queen at home than Anne
was; and the duke commanded the army which was sent to fight against
the French, to decide who should be king of Spain. An expedition was
sent to Spain, which gained the rock of Gibraltar, and this has been kept
by the English ever since.
Never were there greater victories than were gained by the English and
German forces together, under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene
of Savoy, who commanded the Emperor's armies. The first and greatest bat-
tle of them all was fought at Blenheim, in Bavaria, when the French were
totally defeated, with great loss. Marlborough was rewarded by the queen
and nation buying an estate for him, which was called Blenheim, where
woods were planted so as to imitate the position of his army before the
battle, and a grand house built and filled with pictures recording his adven-
tures. The other battles were all in the Low Countries — at Ramillies,
Oudenarde, and Malplaquet. The city of Lisle was taken after a long siege,
and not a summer went by without tidings coming of some great victory,
.•ind the queen going in a state coach to St. Paul's Cathedral to return
thanks for it.
But all this glory of her husband made the Duchess of Marlborough
more and more proud and overbearing. She thought the queen could not
do without her, and so she left off taking any trouble to please her ; nay,
she would sometimes scold her more rudely than any real lady would do to
61
TUE WOBiJ>'S GREAT NATIONS.
l l,,low her iu rank. Sometimes she brought the
woman, however and b 1 > 1 er ^ wWch Ame went .n gtate to gt>
' "' U'a;U of Oudenarde, she was seen to be
the six cream-
QUEEN ASNE.
colored horses, because the duchess had been scolding her for putting on her
jewels in the way she liked best, instead 'of in the duchess's way.
Now, Duchess Sarah had brought to the palace, to help to wait on the
queen, a poor cousin of her own, named Abigail Masham, a much more
smooth and gentle person, but rather deceitful. When the mistress of the
robes was unkind and insolent, the queen used to complain to Mrs. Masham ;
STORIES OF KNCLISII HISTORY.
819
and by and by Abigail told her how to get free. There was a gentleman,
well known to Mrs. Masham — Mr. Harley, a member of Parliament and a
Tory, and she brought him in by the back-stairs to see the queen, wit lioiit
the duchess knowing it. lie undertook, if the queen would stand by him,
*o be her minister, and to turn out the Churchills and their Whig friends,
send away the tyrant duchess, and make peace, so thai the duke might not
be wanted any more. In fact, the war had gone on quite long enough : the
power of the King of France was broken, and he was an old man, whom it
was cruel to press further; but this was not what Anne cared about so
much as getting free of the duchess. There was great anger and indignation
among all the Whigs at the break-
ing off the war in the midst of so
much glory; and, besides, the nation
did not keep its engagements to the
others with whom it had allied it-
self.
Marlborough himself was not
THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.
treated as a man deserved who had
won so much honor for his country,
and he did not keep his health many
years after his fall. Once, when he
felt his mind getting weak, he
looked up at his own picture at
Blenheim, taken when he was one
of the handsomest, most able, and
active men in Europe, and said
sadly, " Ah ! that was a man."
Mr. Harley was made Earl of
Oxford, and managed the queen's
affairs for her. He and the Tories
did not at all like the notion of the German family of Brunswick — Sophia
and her son George — who were to reign next, and they allowed the queen
to look toward her own family a little more. Her father had died in exile,
but there remained the young brother whom she had disowned, and whom
the French and the Jacobites called King James III. If he would have
joined the English Church, Anne would have gladly invited him, and
many of the English would have owned him. as the right king ; but he
was too honest to give up his faith, and the queen could do nothing
for him.
Till her time the Scots — though since James I. they had been under the
same king as England — had had a separate Parliament, Lords and Commons,
who sat at Edinburgh ; but in the reign of Queen Anne the Scottish Par-
liament was united to the English one, and the members of it had come to
880 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Westminster. This made many Scotsmen so angry that they became
.Im-'.liitrs: hut as everybody knew that the queen was a gentle, old, well-
nifjiiiiiii: lady, nobody wished to disturb her, and all was quiet as long as
-he lived, so that her reign was an unusually tranquil one at home, though
there were such splendid victories abroad. It was a time, too, when there
\\ere almost as many able writers as in Queen Elizabeth's time. The two
Wks written at that day, which are the best known, are Robinson
Crusoe, written by Daniel Defoe, and Alexander Pope's translation of
Homer's Iliad.
Anne's Tory friends did not make her happy; they used to quarrel
among themselves and frightened her : and after one of their disputes she
had a stroke, and soon died of it, in the year 1714.
It was during Anne's reign that it became the fashion to drink tea and
coffee. One was brought from China, and the other from Arabia, not very
long before, and they were very dear indeed. The ladies used to drink tea
out of little cups of egg-shell china, and the clever gentlemen, who were
called the wits, used to meet and talk at coffee-houses, and read newspapers,
and discuss plays and poems ; also, the first magazine was then begun. It
was called "The Spectator," and was managed by Mr. Addison. It came
out once a week, and laughed at or blamed many of the foolish and mis-
chievous habits of the time. Indeed it did much to draw people out of the
bad ways that had come in with Charles II.
STOK1ES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
821
CHAPTER XLI.
»
GEORGE I.
A.D. 1714-1725.
'HE Electress Sophia, who had always desired to be queen of
England, had died a few months before Queen Anne ; and
her son George, who liked his own German home much bet-
ter than the trouble of reigning in a strange country, was in
no hurry to come, and waited to see whether the English
would not prefer the young James Stewart. But as no James
arrived, George set off, rather unwillingly, and was received
in London in a dull kind of way. He hardly knew any Eng-
lish, and was obliged sometimes to talk bad Latin and some-
times French, when he consulted with his ministers. He did not bring a
queen with him, for he had quarreled with his wife, and shut her up in a
castle in Germany ; but he had a son, also named George, who had a very
clever, handsome wife — Caroline of Anspach, a German princess; but the
king was jealous of them, and generally made them live abroad.
Just when it was too late, and George I. had thoroughly settled into his
kingdom, the Jacobites in the North of England and in Scotland began to
make a stir, and invited James Stewart over to try to gain the kingdom.
The Jacobites used to call him James III., but the Whigs called him the
Pretender ; and the Tories used, by way of a middle course, to call him the
Chevalier — the French word for a knight, as that he certainly was, whether
he were king or pretender. A white rose was the Jacobite mark, and the
Whigs still held to the orange lily and orange ribbon, for the sake of Wil-
liam of Orange.
The Jacobite rising did not come to any good. Two battles were fought
between the king's troops and the Jacobites — one in England and the other
in Scotland — on the very same day. The Scottish one was at Sheriff-muir,
and was so doubtful, that the old Scottish song about it ran thus —
Some say that we won,
And some say that they won,
Some say that none won
At a', man ;
But of one thing I'm sore,
That at Sheriff-muir
A battle there was,
Which I saw, man.
m THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
And we ran, and they ran,
And they ran, and we ran,
And we rau, and they ran —
A\v», man.
The Knirlish one was at Preston, and in it the Jacobites were all defeated
and made prisoners; so that when their friend the Chevalier lauded in Scot-
land, he found that nothing could be done, and had to go back again to
Italy, \\hciv he generally lived, under the Pope's protection; and where he
married a Polish princess, and had two sous, whom he named Charles
Kduard and Henry.
This rising of the Jacobites took place in the year 1715, and is, there-
fore, generally called the Rebellion of the Fifteeu. The chief noblemen who
\\ere ensured in it were taken to London to be tried. Three were be-
headed; one was saved upon his wife's petition; and one, the Earl of Niths-
dale, by the cleverness of his wife. She was allowed to go and see him in
the Tower, and she took a tall lady in with her, who contrived to wear a
double set of outer garments. The friend went away, after a time; and
then, after waiting till the guard was changed, Lady Nithsdale dressed her
lin>band in the clothes that had been brought in : and he, too, went away,
with the hood over his face and a handkerchief up to his eyes, so that the
guard might take him for the other lady, crying bitterly at parting with the
earl. The wife, meantime, remained for some time, talking and walking up
and down as heavily as she could, till the time came when she would
naturally be obliged to leave him— when, as she passed by his servant, she
told him that " My lord would not be ready for the candles just yet,"— and
then left the Tower, and went to a little lodging in a back street, where she
found her husband, and where they both lay hid while the search for Lord
N.thsdale was going on, and where they heard the knell tolling when his
••nds, the other lords, were being led out to have their heads cut off
ward, they made their escape to France, where most of the Jacobites
had been concerned in the rising were living, as best they could, on
urn a 1 1 t .•..., i , . . I j» , i •• - . ^ if
soldiers of the King of
England was prosperous in the time of George I., and the possessions of
untry m India were growing, from a merchant's factory here and there,
lands and towns. But the English never liked King George, nor
them ; and he generally spent his time in his own native country
He was taking a drive there in his coach, when a letter was
pat the wmdow As he was reading it, a sudden stroke of apo-
th 1 H at ^ d'ed 1D " few h°Ur8' time' No ^ ever knew what
e letter, but some thought it was a letter reproaching him with his
J£ ^ * ^ ^ ^eight months
STOKIKS OF K.MJLISH HISTORY.
Gentlemen were leaving off full-bottomed \\ -igs now, and wearing smaller
ones; and younger men had their own hair powdered, and tied up with
ribbon in a long tail behind, culled a <|tieue. Ladies powdered their hair,
and raised it to an immense height, and also wore monstrous hoops, long
ruffles, and high-heeled shoes. Another odd fashion was that ladies put
black patches on their faces, thinking they made them look handsomer.
Both ladies and gentlemen took snuff, and carried beautiful snuff-boxes.
CHAPTER XLII.
(i KG RU E II.
A.D. 1725-1760.
reign of George II. was a very warlike one. Indeed he was
the last king of England who ever was personally in a battle ;
and curiously enough, this battle — that of Fonteuoy — was the
last that a king of France was also present in. It was, how-
ever, not a very interesting battle, and it was not clear who
really won it, nor are the wars of this time very easy to under-
stand.
The battle of Fontenoy was fought in the course of a great
war to decide who should be emperor of Germany, in which
France and England took different sides; and this made Charles Edward
O '
Stewart, the eldest son of James, think it a good moment for trying once
again to get back the crown of his forefathers. He was a fine-looking young
man, with winning manners, and a great deal more spirit than his father:
and when he landed in Scotland with a very few followers, one Highland
gentleman after another was so delighted with him that they all brought
their clans to join him, and he was at the head of quite a large force, with
which he took possession of the town of Edinburgh ; but he never could take
the castle. The English army was most of it away fighting in German}',
and the soldiers who met him at Prestonpans, close to Edinburgh, were not
well managed, and were easily beaten by the Highlanders. Then he marched
straight on into England : and there was great terror, for the Highlanders—
with their plaids, long swords, and strange language — were thought to be
all savage robbers, and the Londoners expected to have every house and
shop ruined and themselves murdered : though on the whole the High-
landers behaved very well. They would probably have really entered Lon-
BM
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
.Ion if they had gone on, and readied it before the army could come home,
l»ut they grew discontented and frightened at being so far away from their
mvn hills; and at Derby, Charles Edward \vas obliged to let them turn back
to Scotland.
The Knglish army had come back by this time, and the Scots were fol-
|..\\ed closely, getting more sad and forlorn, and losing men in every day's
inarch, till at last, after they had reached Scotland again, they made a stand
against the English under the king's second sou, William, Duke of Cumber-
CHARLES EDWABD.
d u
ces
, and the
disguises' much as
Flora Macdonad took him frn , ^ ^ A y°™% ^ named
boat as her Irish naid Rf * °T °f the WeSter" Isles to another in a
a sort of bower cS S * *' ^ &* an°ther time' he ™8 hid in
where he lived with W w-T ' T^ °f branches of trees on a WU «de,
food. Oneo th m ont /lgh,an,der8' Wh° U8ed to go °^ by turns to ge
they loved h m heart lv for? ""• * P™ °f ^S^^read as a treat-L
did for him; SSS1^ CheerfUl' and thankful f°r M t]^
a way «f reaching France, and shook
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
hands with them on bidding them farewell, one of them tied up his right
hand, and vowed that no meaner person should ever touch it.
His friends suffered as much as he did. The Duke of Cumberland and
his soldiers cruelly punished all the places where he had been received, and
all the gentlemen who had supported him were, if they were taken, tried
and put to death as traitors — mostly at Carlisle. This, which was called
the Rebellion of the Forty-five — because it happened in the year 1745 — was
the last rising in favor of the Stewarts. Neither Charles Edward nor his
brother Henry had any children, and so the family came to an end.
The Empress Maria Theresa, of Germany, had a long war with Frederick,
King of Prussia, who was nephew to George II., and a very clever and brave
man, who made his little kingdom of Prussia very warlike and brave. But
he was not a very good man, and these were sad times among the great
people, for few of them thought much about being good : and there were
clever Frenchmen who laughed at all religion. You know one of the Psalms
says, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." There were a
great many such fools at that time, and their ways, together with the selfish-
ness of the nobles, soon brought ^rrible times to France and all the coun-
tries round.
The wars under George II. were by sea as well as by land : and, likewise,
in the distant countries where Englishmen, on the one hand, and French-
men, on the other, had made those new homes that we call colonies. In
North America, both English and French had large settlements ; and when
the kings at home were at war, there were likewise battles in these distant
parts, and the wild Red Indians were stirred up to take paii with the one
side or the other. They used to attack the homes of the settlers, burn them,
torment and kill the men, and keep the children to bring up among their
own. The English had, in general, the advantage, especially in Canada,
where the brave young General Wolfe led an attack on the very early morn-
ing, to the Heights of Abraham, close to the town of Quebec. He was
struck down by a shot early in the fight, and lay on the ground with a few
officers round him. " They run, they run ! " he heard them cry. " Who
run ? " he asked. " The French run." " Then I die happy," he said ; and it
was by this battle that England won Lower Canada, with many French in-
habitants, whose descendants still speak their old language.
In the East Indies, too, there was much fighting. The English and
French both had merchants there ; and these had native soldiers to guard
them, and made friends with the native princes. When these princes quar-
reled they helped them, and so obtained a larger footing. But in this reign
the English power was nearly ended in a very sad way. A native Indian
came suddenly down on Calcutta. Many English got on board the ships,
but those who could not — one hundred and forty-six in number — were shut
THE WOKLD-S GREAT NATIONS.
-
"""•"
ni,ht in a small
"r
time of the year, and they were
that, when the morning came,
o m
next year Calcutta was won back again;
d so much ground that the
English could go on obtaining
cuican 0-n, Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his
(.lv ,,,,, ^vT^Q^en Cardin*, many years before his death His
SS -,, first, Sir Robert Walpole, and afterwards the Earl of
! , h,m ;ll,l, ,nen, who knew how to manage the country through all
these wl The king died at last, quite suddenly, when sixty-eight years
old, in the year 1760.
CHAPTER XL II I.
GEORGE III.
A.D. 1760-1785.
| FTER George II. reigned his grandson, George III., the son
of Frederick, Prince of Wales, who had died before his
father. The Princess of Wales was a good woman, who
tried to bring up her children well ; and George III. was a
dutiful son to her, and a good, faithful man — always caring
more to do right than for anything else. He had been born
in England, and did not feel as if Hanover were his home, as
his father and grandfather had done, but loved England, and
English people, and ways. When he was at Windsor, he used
to ride or walk about like a country squire, and he had a ruddy, hearty face
and manner, that made him sometimes be called Farmer George ; and he had
an odd way of saying " What ? what ? " when he was spoken to, which
made him be laughed at ; but he was as good and true as any man who ever
lived : and when he thought a thing was right, he was as firm as a rock in
holding to it. He married a German princess named Charlotte, and they
did their very utmost to make all those about them good. They had a very
large family — no less than fourteen children — and it was long remembered
what a beautiful sight it was when, after church on Sunday, the king and
queen and their children used to walk up and down the stately terrace at
STORIES OF ENCUSII HISTORY.
Windsor Castle, with a band playing, and every one who was respectably
dressed allowed to come and look at them.
Just after George III. came to the crown, a great war broke out in the
English colonies in America. A new tax had been made. A tux means
the money that lias to be given to the Government of a country to pay the,
judires and their officers, the soldiers and the sailors, to keep up ships and
buy weapons, and do all that is wanted to protect us and keep us in order.
Taxes are sometimes made by calling on everybody to pay money in pro-
portion to what they have — say threepence for every hundred pounds;
sometimes they are made by putting what is called a duty on something
that is bought and sold — making it sell for more than its natural price — so
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.
that the Government gets the money above the right cost. This is generally
done with things that people could live without, and had better not buy too
much of — such as spirits, tobacco, and hair-powder. And as tea was still a
new thing in England, which only fine ladies drank, it was thought useless,
and there was a heavy duty laid upon it when the king wanted money.
Now, the Americans got their tea straight from China, and thought it was
unfair that they should pay tax on it. So, though they used it much more
than the English then did, they gave it up, threw whole ship-loads of it into
the harbor at Boston, and resisted the soldiers. A gentleman named George
Washington took the command, and they declared they would fight for free-
dom from the mother country. The French were beginning to think freedom
was a fine thing, and at first a few French gentlemen came over to fight
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,
among the Americans, and then the king, Louis XVI., quarreled with
(..-urge III, and helped them openly.
Tla-iv was a verv clever man among the Americans named Benjamin
Franklin, a printer by trade, but who made very curious discoveries. One
<.f tin-in was that lightning conies from the strange power men call electri-
city, and that there are some substances which it will run along, so that it
can be brought down to the ground without doing any mischief — especially
metallic wires. He made sure of it by flying a kite, with such an iron wire,
ii| i to the clouds when there was a thunder-storm. The lightning was
attracted by the wire, ran right down the wet string of the kite, and only
glanced off when it came to a silk ribbon — because electricity will not go
along silk. After this, such wires were fastened to buildings, and carried
down into the ground, to convey away the force of the lightning. They are
frequently seen on the tops of churches or tall buildings, and are called con-
ductors. Franklin was a plain-spoken, homely-dressing man ; and when he
was sent to Paris on the affairs of the Americans, all the great ladies and
gentlemen went into raptures about his beautiful simplicity, and began to
imitate him, in a very affected, ridiculous way.
In the meantime, the war went on between America and England, year
after year; and the Americans became trained soldiers and got the better, so
that George III. was advised to give up his rights over them. Old Lord
Chatham, his grandfather's minister, who had long been too sick and feeble
to undertake any public business, thought it so bad for the country to give
anything up, that he came down to the House of Lords to make a speech
against doing so ; but he was not strong enough for the exertion, and had
only just done speaking when he fainted away. He was carried to his coach
and taken home, where he died a month later.
The war went on, but when it had lasted seven years the English felt
that peace must be made ; and so George III. gave up his rights to all that
country that is called the United States of America. The United States set
up a Government of their own, which has gone on ever since, without a
nng, but with a President, who is freshly chosen every four years, and for
whom every man in the country has a vote.
As if to make up for what was lost in the West, the English were win-
.great deal in the East Indies, chiefly from a great prince called Tip-
ib, who was very powerful, and at one time took a number of Eng-
cers prisoners, and drove them to his city of Seringapatam, chained
i pairs, and kept them half starved in a prison, where several
but he was defeated and killed. They were set free by their country-
3n, after nearly two years of grievous hardship
STORIES OP ENGLISH HISTORY.
829
CHAPTER XLIV.
QEOROE III.
A.D. 1785-1810.
chief sorrow of George III. was that his eldest sons were
wild, disobedient young men. George, Prince of Wales,
especially, was very handsome, and extremely proud of his
own beauty. He was called the First Gentleman in Europe,
and set the fashion in every matter of taste; but he spent
and wasted money to a shameful amount, and was full of bad
habits ; besides which, he used to set himself in every way in
his power to vex and contradict his father and mother, whom
he despised for their plain simple ways and their love of duty.
The next two brothers — Frederick, Duke of York, and William, Duke of
Clarence — had also very bad habits ; but they went astray from carelessness,
and did not wilfully oppose their father, like their eldest brother.
William Pitt, son of Lord Chatham, was Prime Minister. He thought
that the Roman Catholics in England ought to have the same rights as the
king's other subjects, and not be hindered from being members of Parlia-
ment, judges, or, indeed, from holding any office ; and he wanted to bring a
bill into Parliament for this purpose. But the king thought .that for him to
consent would be contrary to the oath he had sworn when he was crowned,
and which had been drawn up when William of Orange came over. Nothing
would make George III. break his word, and he remained firm, though he
was so harassed and distressed that he fell ill, and lost the use of his reason
for a time. There were questions whether the regency — that is, the right
to act as king — should be given to the son, who, though his heir, was so un-
like him, when he recovered ; and there was a great day of joy throughout
the nation, when he went in state to St. Paul's Cathedral to return thanks.
In the meantime, terrible troubles were going on in France. Neither
the kings nor the nobles had, for ages past, had any notion of their proper
duties to the people under them, but had ground them down so hard that at
last they could bear it no longer; and there was a great rising up through-
out the country, which is known as the Great French Revolution. The
king who was then reigning was a good and kind man, Louis XVI., who
would gladly have put things in better order: but he was not as wise or
firm as he was good, and the people hated him for the evil doings of his
880
THE WORLD'S CHEAT NATIONS.
forefathers. So, while he was trying to make up his mind what to do, the
].o\\er was taken out of his hands, and he, with his wife, sister, and two
children, were shut up in prison. An evil spirit came into the people, aud
made them lielieve that the only way to keep themselves free would be to
get rid of all who had been great people in the former days. So they set
up a maehine for cutting oil' heads, called the guillotine; and there, day after
d;i\. noMes and priests, gentlemen and ladies — even the king, queen, and
princess, were Ill-ought and slain. The two children were not guillotined
lint the poor little boy, only nine years old, was worse off than if he had
been, for the cruel wretches who kept him called him the wolf-cub, and said
he was to be got rid of; and they kept him alone in a dark, dirty room, and
A PYRAMID (EGYPT).
His 8ister
till
the ki
th re kd v t ,
rilhtful I" V » ve; an
M king himself, found a home there too.
could no I11 g Weary °f tWs h°rriWe bloodshed : bllt
s, the Italian,
-a-s
f
™
wonderful- He beat the Ger-
her6Ver he went' There
that Was the ^K^ thouh
I
people got ready. All the men learnt
STOHIKS (>!• ENGLISH IIISToUY. *:;\
Something of how to he soldiers, and made themselves into regiment- of
volunteers; and careful \\atch was kept against the quantities of flat-
bottomed hoats that Bonaparte had made ready to bring his troops across the
English Channel. But no one had ships and sailors like the English; and,
besides, they had the greatest sea-captain who ever lived, whose name was
Horatio Nelson. When the French went under Napoleon to t rv to conquer
Kgypt and all the Fast, Nelson went after them with his ships, and heat the
whole French fleet, though it was a great deal larger than his own, at the
the mouth of the Nile, Mowing up the Admiral's ship, and taking and burn-
ing many more. Afterward, when the King of Denmark was being made
to take part against England, Nelson's fleet sailed to Copenhagen, fought a
sharp battle, and took all the Danish ships. And lastly, when Spain had
made friends with France, and both their fleets had joined together against
Kngland, Lord Nelson fought them both off Cape Trafalgar, and gained the
greatest of all his victories; but it was his last, for a Frenchman on the
mast-head shot him through the backbone, and he died the same night. No
one should ever forget the order he gave to all his sailors in all the ships
before the battle — "England expects every man to do his duty."
After the battle of Trafalgar the sea was cleared of the enemy's ships,
and there was no more talk of invading England. Indeed, though Bona-
parte overran nearly all the Continent of Europe, the smallest strip of sea
was enough to stop him, for his ships could not stand before the English
ones.
For the greater part of this time English affairs were managed by Mr.
Pitt, Lord Chatham's son; but he died the same year Lord Nelson was
killed, 1805, and then his great rival, Mr. Fox, held office in the ministry ;
but he, too, died veiy soon, and affairs were managed by less clever men, but
who were able to go on in the line that Pitt had. marked out for them : and
that was, of standing up with all their might against Bonaparte — though he
now called himself the Emperor, Napoleon I., and was treading down every
country in Europe.
The war time was a hard one at home in England, for everything was
very dear and the taxes were high ; but every one felt that the only way to
keep the French away was to go on fighting with them, and tiying to help
the people in the countries they seized upon. So the whole country stood
up bravely against them.
Sad trouble came on the good old king in his later years. He lost his
sight, and, about the same time, died his youngest child, the Princess Amelia,
of whom he was very fond. His grief clouded his mind again, and there
was no recovery this time. He was shut up in some rooms at Windsor
Castle, where he had music to amuse him, and his good wife, Queen Char-
lotte, watched over him carefully as long as she lived.
THE WORLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
i
CHAPTER XLV.
GEORGE III. -THE REGENCY.
A.D. 1810-1820.
fHEN George III. lost his senses, the government was given
to his son, the Prince of Wales — the Prince Regent, as he
was called. Regent means a person ruling instead of the
king. Every one expected that, as he had always quarreled
with his father, he would change everything and have
different ministers ; but instead of that, he went on just as
had been done before, fighting with the French, and helping
every country that tried to lift up its head against Bona-
parte.
Spain was one of these countries. Napoleon had wickedly managed to
get the king, and queen, and eldest son, all into his hands together, shut
them up as prisoners in France, and made his own brother king. But the
Spaniards were too brave to bear this, and they rose up against him, calling
the English to help them. Sir John Moore was sent first, and he marched
an army into Spain ; but, though the Spaniards were brave, they were not
steady, and when Napoleon sent more troops he was obliged to march back
over steep hills, covered with snow, to Corunna, where he had left the ships.
The French followed him, and he had to fight a battle to drive them back,
that his soldiers might embark in quiet. It was a great victory ; but in the
midst of it Sir John Moore was wounded by a cannon-shot, and only lived
long^ enough to hear that the battle was won. He was buried at the dead
of night on the ramparts of Corunna, by his officers, wrapped in his cloak,
just before they embarked for England.
However, before the year was over, Sir Arthur Wellesley was sent out
to Portugal and Spain. He never once was beaten, and though twice he
had to retreat into Portugal, he soon won back the ground he had lost ; and
three years' time he had driven the French quite out of Spain, and
i crossed the Pyrenean mountains after them, forcing them back into
own country, and winning the battle of Toulouse on their own
This grand war had more victories in it than can be easily
rem The chief of them were at Salamanca, Vittoria, Orthes, and
and the whole war was called the Peninsular War, because
ought m the Peninsula of Spain and Portugal. Sir Arthur
STOKIES 01" K.MJUSII HISTORY. 833
Wellesley had been made Duke of Wellington, to reward him, and lie
set off across France to meet the armies of (lie other European coun-
tries. For, while the English were lighting in Spain, the other states
of Europe had all joined together against Napoleon, and driven him aua\
from robbing them, and hunted him at last l>ack to Paris, where they made
him give iip all his unlawful power. The light kin» of France, Louis
XVIII., was brought home, and Napoleon was sent to a little island named
Elba, in the Mediterranean Sea, where it was thought he could do no harm.
But only the next year he managed to escape, and came back to France,
where all his old soldiers were delighted to see him again. The king was
obliged to fly, and Napoleon was soon at the head of as large and fierce an
army as ever. The first countries that were ready to fight with him w -re
England and Prussia. The Duke of Wellington with the English, and Mar-
shal Bliicher with the Prussian army, met him on the field of Waterloo, in
Belgium ; and there he was so entirely defeated that he had to flee away
from the field. But he found no rest or shelter anywhere, and at last was
obliged to give himself up to the captain of an English ship named the Bel-
lerophon. He was taken to Plymouth harbor, and kept in the ship while
it was being determined what should be done with him : and at length it
was decided to send him to St. Helena, a very lonely island far away in the
Atlantic Ocean, whence he would have no chance of escaping. There he
was kept for five years, at the end of which time he died.
The whole of Europe was at peace again ; but the poor old blind King
George did not know it, nor how much times had changed in his long reign.
The war had waked people up from the dull state they had been in so long,
and much was going on that began greater changes than any one thought of.
Sixty years before, when he began to reign, the roads were so bad that it
took three days to go by coach to London from Bath ; now they were
smooth and good, and fine swift horses were kept at short stages, which
made the coaches take only a few hours on the journey. Letters came
much quicker and more safely; there were a great many newspaper^
and everybody was more alive. Some great writers there were, too :
the Scottish poet, Walter Scott, who wrote some of the most delight-
ful tales there are in the world ; and three who lived at the lakes —
Wordsworth, Southey, and Coleridge. It was only in this reign that
people cared to write books for children. Mrs. Trimmer's " Robins," Mr.
Day's " Sandford and Merton," and Miss Edgeworth's charming stories were
being written in those days. Mrs. Trimmer, and another good lady called
Hannah More, were trying to get the poor in villages ^better taught ; and-
there was a very good Yorkshire gentleman — William Wilberforce — :who
wras striving to make people better.
As to people's looks in those days, they had quite left off wigs — except
52
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
l.ishops, judges, ami lawyers, in their robes. Men had their hair short aiid
curly, and wore coats shaped like evening ones — generally blue, with brass
buttons— boff waistcoats, and tight trousers tucked into their boots, tight
storks round their nrrks. and monstrous shirt-frills. Ladies had their gowns
and pelisses made very short-waisted, and as tight and narrow as they could
In-, though with enormous sleeves in them, and their hair in little curls on
their foreheads. Old ladies wore turbans in evening dress; and both they
and their daughters had immense bonnets and hats, with a high crown and
very large front.
In the year 1820, the good old king passed away.
CHAPTER XLVI.
'
GEORGE IV.
A.D. 1820-1830.
£o>\
Ij^EORGE IV. was not much under sixty years old when he
came to the throne, and had really been king in all but
the name for eight years past. He had been married to
the Princess Caroline of Brunswick, much against his will,
for she was, though a princess, far from being a lady in
any of her ways, and he disliked her from the first moment
he saw her; and though he could not quite treat her as
Henry VIII. had treated Anne of Cleves, the two were so
unhappy together that, after the first year, they never
the same house They had one child, a daughter, named Charlotte
wight sensible, high-spirited girl-on whom all the hopes of the
rere fixed ; but as she grew up, there were many troubles between
and her duty toward her father and mother. As soon as the peace
was made, the Princess of Walps ™^>nt t T± i j ^•
i » i L0 lt;aiy and lived there, with a great
-people f bad chamcte,, .boat her. Princess Calotte W.B nJLied
£££ X .If ££f2« •*. ™ 7* *W. -«" ""» : »'". <"
ra"ch 8lonein
.et ff to
that he -
and be crowned with him. He was exc«.,l.
STORIES OF ENGLISH IUSTOKY. s:j:,
ingly angry, forbade her name to be put into the Prayer-books as queen, and
called on the House of Lords to break his marriage with one who had
proved herself not worthy to be a wife. There was a great uproar about it,
for though the king's friends wanted him to be rid of her, all the country
knew that he had been no better to her than she had been to him, and felt
it unfair that the weaker one should have all the shame and disgrace, and
the stronger one none. One of Caroline's defenders said that if her name
were left out of the Litany, yet still she was prayed for there as one who
was desolate and oppressed. People took up her cause much more hotly
than she deserved, and the king was obliged to give up the inquiry into her
behavior, but still he would not let her be crowned. In the midst of all the
splendor and solemnity in Westminster Abbey, a carriage was driven to the
door and entrance was demanded for the queen ; but she was kept back, and
the people did not seem disposed to interrupt the sho\\ hy <!<>ing anything in
her favor, as she and her friends had expected. She wrent back to her rooms,
and, after being more foolish than ever in her ways, died, of fretting and
pining. It is a sad history, where both were much to blame ; and it shows
how hateful to the king she must have been, that, when Napoleon died, be-
ing told his greatest enemy was dead, he answered, "When did she die?"
But if he had been a good man himself, and not selfish, he would have borne
with the poor, ill-brought-up, giddy girl, when first she came, and that would
have prevented her going so far astray.
George IV. made two journeys — one to Scotland, and the other to Ire-
land. He. was the first of the House of Brunswick who ever visited these
other two kingdoms, and he was received in both with great splendor and
rejoicing; but after this his health began to fail, and he disliked showing
himself. He spent most of his time at a house he had built for himself at
Brighton, called the Pavilion, and at Windsor, where he used to drive about
in the park. He was kind and gracious to those with whom he associated,
but they were as few as possible.
He was vexed and angry at having to consent to the Bill for letting
Roman Catholics sit in Parliament, and hold other offices — the same that his
father had stood out against. It was not that he cared for one religion
more than another, for he had never been a religious man, but he saw that it
would be the beginning of a great many changes that would alter the whole
state of things. His next brother, Frederick, Duke of York, died before
him ; and the third, William, Duke of Clarence, who had been brought up
as an officer in the navy, was a friend of the Whigs, and of those who were
ready to make alterations.
Changes were coming of themselves, though — for inventions were making
progress in this time of peace. People had begun to find out the great
power of steam, and had made it move the ships, which had hitherto do
s
•nil.; \VOI;LD-S GUKAT NATIONS.
uinm tlu- winds, and thus it became much easier to travel from one
am>tlu,,. ;m(, to sell(l good* Mearn waa also being n«
for spiiinins,' «i«l weaving cotton, linen, and
PAKLIAXKNT Hors-E*.
io fiUftalf* ; MO that, \vlmt liud hitherto b.vn done by hand, by small numbers
f/f skilful fK'Ojil", was now brought about by large machines, where the labor
wa* don*; \>y strain; but (piantitios of people were needed to assist
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
837
engine. And as steam cannot be had without fire, and most of the coal is
in the Northern parts of England, almost all of these works were set up in
them, and people flocked to get work there, so that the towns began to
grow very large. Manchester was one, with Liverpool as the sea-port from
whiclrto send its calico, and get its cotton. Sheffield and Birmingham grew
famous for works in iron and steel, and so on ; and all this tended to make
the manufacturers as rich and great as the old lords and squires, who had
held most of the power in England ever since, at the Revolution, they had
got it away from the king. Every one saw that some great change would
soon come ; but before it came to the point George IV. fell ill, and died after
a reign of twenty years in reality, but of only ten in name, the first five of
which were spent in war, and the last fifteen in peace. The Duke of Wel-
lington and Sir Robert Peel were his chief ministers — for the duke was as
clear-headed in peace as he was in war.
CHAPTER XLVII.
WILLIAM IV.
A.D. 1830-1887.
SEORGE IV. had no child living at the time of his death.
His next brother, Frederic, Duke of York, died before him,
likewise without children, so the crown went to William,
Duke of Clarence, third son of George III. He had been a
sailor in his younger days, but was an elderly man when he
came to the throne. He was a dull and not a very wise
man, but good-natured and kind, and had an open, friendly,
sailor manner; and his wife, Queen Adelaide, of Saxe-
Meiniugen, was an excellent woman, whom every one
respected. They never had any children but two daughters who died in
infancy : and every one knew that the next heir must be the Princess Vic-
toria, daughter to the next brother, Edward, Duke of Kent, who had died
the year after she was born.
King William IV. had always been friendly with the Whigs, who wanted
power for the people. Those who went farthest among them were called
Radicals, because they wanted a radical reform — that is, going to the root.
In fact, it was time to alter the way of sending members to the House of
Commons, for some of the towns that had once been big enough to choose
T1IE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
^
l while on the other hand,
..... of s,.,,mg these things to r,gl,H but t he * rf c,>
2 ....... 1 .»"•'. f;'-'ert^i™k hfmS o« all at once, aid that
"'" """• **• iTTffa ri • in bt s ye and as much bread as he wanted;
every man would get a f. »»" about h] ban(,8 burn.
and they were so W*£T**« £ Jen their lim(llol,ds. And the
and yet, as they saw his quiet, calm *ay o g g , b y&
111 of "heir own, and, besides, allowed every one ,n a borough to.n
ho rented a house at ten pounds a year, to vote for the membei
Parliament. A borough, it must be remembered, is a town that has .
member of Parliament, and a city is one that is, or has been, the see
oev^u more changes were made under King William. Most of the
great union workhouses were built then, and it was made less easy to gel
help from the parish without going to live in one. This was meant to cu
people of being idle and liking to live on other folks' money— and it
done good in that way; but workhouses are sad places for the poor age
people who cannot work, and it is a great kindness to help them to keep
out of them.
The best thing that was done was the setting the slaves free. Loc
the map of America, and you will see a number of islands— beautiful places,
where sugar-canes, and coffee, and spices grow. Many of these belong to the
English, but it is too hot for Englishmen to work there. So, for more than
a hundred years, there had been a wicked custom that ships should go to
Africa, and there the crews would steal negro men, women, and children, or
buy them of tribes of fierce negroes who had made them captive, and carry
them off to the West Indian Islands, where they were sold to work for their
masters, just as cattle are bought and sold. An English gentleman — William
Wilberforce— worked half his life to get this horrible slave-trade forbidden;
and at last he succeeded, in the year 1807, whilst George III. was still reign-
ing. But though no more blacks were brought from Africa, still the people
STORIES OF KNCIJSir HISTORY. 839
in the West Indies were allowed to keep, and buy and sell the slaves they
already had. So Wilberforoe and his friends still worked on until the time
of William IV., when, in 1834, all the slaves in the British dominions were
set free.
This reign only lasted seven years, and there were no wars in it; so the
only other thing that I have to tell you about it is, that people had gone on
from finding that steam could be made to work their ships to making it
draw carriages. Railways were being made for trains of carriages and vans
to be drawn by one steam-engine. The oldest of all was between Manchester
and Liverpool, and was opened in 1830, the very year that William IV.
began to reign, and that answered so well that more and more began to be
made, and the \\hole country to be covered with a network of railways, so
that people and goods could be carried about much quicker than ever \\as
dreamt of in old times ; while steam-ships were made larger and larger, and
to go greater distances.
Besides this, many people in England found there was not work or food
enough for them at home, and went to settle in Canada, and Australia, and
Van Dieman's Land, and New Zealand, making, in all these distant places,
the new English homes called colonies ; and thus there have come to be
English people wherever the sun shines.
William IV. died in the year 1837. He was the last English king who
had the German State of Hanover. It cannot belong to a woman, so it went
to his brother Ernest, instead of his niece Victoria.
TIIE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
VICTORIA.
A.D. 1837-1855.
>HE Princess Victoria, daughter of the Duke of Kent, was but
eighteen years old when she was waked early one morning to
hear that she was Queen of England.
She went with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, to live,
sometimes at Buckingham Palace and sometimes at Windsor
,,-> Castle, and the next year she was crowned in state at West-
3 minster Abbey. Every one saw then how kind she was, for
when one of the lords, who was very old, stumbled on the
steps as he came to pay her homage, she sprang up from her
throne to help him.
Three years later she was married to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg, a
most excellent man, who made it his whole business to help her in all her
duties as sovereign of her great country, without putting himself forward.
Nothing ever has been more beautiful than the way those two behaved to
one another: she never forgetting that he was her husband and she only
his wife, and he always remembering that she was really the queen, and that
he had no power at all. He had a clear head and good judgment that every
one trusted to, and yet he always kept himself in the background, that the
queen might have all the credit of whatever was done.
He took much pains to get all that was good and beautiful encouraged,
and to turn people's minds to doing things not only in the quickest and
cheapest, but in the best and most beautiful way possible. One of these
plans that he carried out was to set up what he called an International Ex-
hibition, namely— a great building, to which every country was invited to
send specimens of all its arts and manufactures. It was called the World's
Fair. The house was of glass, and was a beautiful thing in itself. It was
opened on the 1st of May, 1851 ; and, though there have been many great
International Exhibitions since, not one has come up to the first.
People talked as if the World's Fair was to make all nations friends ;
a not showing off their laces and their silks, their ironwork and brass,
r pictures and statues, that can keep them at peace: and, only two years
after the Great Exhibition, a great war broke out in Europe— only a year
the great Duke of Wellington had died, full of years and honors. '
'
;
STORIES OF KXdUSH HISTORY.
The Only country in Europe that is not Christian is Turkey; and tin*
Russians Lave always greatly wished t<> conquer Turkey, and join it on to-
their great empire. TLe Turks Lave been getting less powerful for a long
time past, and finding it Larder to govern the country; and one day the
Emperor of Russia asked tLe English ambassador, Sir Hamilton Sr\ mour,
P
if Le did not think the TurkisL power a very sick man wLo would soon be
dead. Sir Hamilton Seymour knew what this meant ; and he knew the
English did not think it right that the Russians should drive out the Sultan
of Turkey — even though he is not a Christian ; so he made the emperor
understand that if the sick man did die, it would not be for want of
doctors.
>4o THE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
Neither the English nor the French could bear that the Russians should
get so much power as they would have if they gained all the countries
<1own to the Mediterranean Sea; so, as soon as ever the Russians began to
attack the Turks, the English and French armies were sent to defend them;
ami they found the best way of doing this was to go and fight the Russians
in their own country, namely— the Crimea, the peninsula which, hangs, as it
were, down into the Black Sea. So, in the autumn of the year 1854, the
Knirlish and French armies, under Lord Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud,
were landed in the Crimea, where they gained a great victory on their first
landing, called the battle of the Alma, and then besieged the city of Sebasto-
pol. It was a very long siege, and in the course of it the two armies suffered
sadly from cold and damp, and there was much illness ; but a brave English
lady, named Florence Nightingale, went out with a number of nurses to
take care of the sick and wounded, and thus she saved a great many lives.
There were two more famous battles. One was when six hundred English
horsemen were sent by mistake against a whole battery of Russian cannon,
and rode on as bravely as if they were not seeing their comrades shot down,
till scarcely half were left. This was called the Charge of Balaklava. The
other battle was when the Russians crept out, late in the evening of Novem-
ber 5th, to attack the English camp ; and there was a dreadful fight by
night and in the early morning, on the heights of Inkerman ; but at last the
English won the battle, and gave the day a better honor than it had had
before. Then came a terrible winter of watching the city and firing at the
walls; and when at last, on the 18th of June, 1855, it was assaulted, the
•defenders beat the attack off : and Lord Raglan, worn out with care and
vexation, died a few days after. However, soon another attack was made,
and in September half the city was won. The Emperor of Russia had died
•during the war, and his son made peace, on condition that Sebastopol should
not be fortified again, and that the Russians should let the Turks alone, and
keep no fleet in the Black Sea.
In this war news flew faster than ever it had done before. Remember,
Benjamin Franklin found that electricity— that strange power of which
lightning is the visible sign — could be carried along upon metal wire. It
had since been made out how to make the touch of a magnet at one end of
these wires make the other end move, so that letters can be pointed to, words
spelt out, and messages sent to any distance with really the speed of light-
nmg. This is the wonderful electric telegraph, the wires of which run
alongside the railway.
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY.
841$
CHAPTER XLIX.
VICTORIA.
A.D. 1857-1860.
fEACE had been made after the Crimean war, and everybody
hoped it was going to last, when very sad news came from
India. Remember that English people had gone from home
to live in India, and had gradually gained more and more
lands there, so that they were making themselves rulers and
governors over all that great country. They had some of the
regiments of the English army to help them to keep up their
power, and a great many soldiers besides — Hindoos, or natives
of India, who had English officers, and were taught to fight
in the English manner. These Hindoo soldiers were called Sepoys. They
were not Christians, but were some of them Mohammedans, and some be-
lieved in the strange religion of India, which teaches people to believe in a
great many gods — some of them very savage and cruel ones, according to-
their stories, and which forbid them many very simple things. One of the
things it forbids is the killing a cow, or touching beef, or any part of it.
Now, it seems the Sepoys had grown discontented with the English;
and, besides that, there came out a new sort of cartridge — that is, little par-
cels of powder and shot with which to load fire-arms. The Sepoys took it
into their heads that these cartridges had grease in them taken from cows,
and that it was a trick on the part of the English to make them break the
rules of their religion, and force them to become Christians. In their anger
they made a conspiracy together ; and, in many of the places in India, they
then suddenly turned upon their English officers, and shot them down on
their parade ground, and then they went to the houses and killed every
white woman and child they could meet with. Some few had very wonder-
ful escapes, and were kindly protected by native friends ; and many showed
great bravery and piety in their troubles. After that the Sepoys marched
away to the city of Delhi, where an old man lived who had once been king, v
and they set him up to be king, while every English person left in the city
was murdered.
The English regiments in India made haste to come into Bengal, to try
to save their country-folk who had shut themselves up in the towns or
strong places, and were being besieged there by the Sepoys. A great many
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
in Ca»,,,,,,,, H w« no,, a rtn»g placed only had a
I"" i;;;:": I' f. ^V officers-had gone out hunting with
•; ; illv t(,(, them to hi. house. They thought themselves safe near
to their horror, he forgot all this, and joined the Sepoys. The
the Se^B washed all day the ba,
"v nl where they were shut in, and shot every one who went for water.
A 1 st, after more pain and misery than we can bear to , hmk : of, they gave
themseh-es up to the Nana, and, horrible to tell, he .killed them all. The
men were shot the first day, and the women and little children were then
shut up in a house, where they were kept for a night Then the Nana
heard that the English, army was coming, and in his fright and rage he sent
in his men, who killed every one of them, and threw their bodies into a
deep well The English came up the next day, and were nearly mad witl
grief and anger. They could not lay hands on the Nana, but they punished
all the people he had employed; and they were so furious that they hardly
showed mercy to another Sepoy after that dreadful sight.
There were some more English holding out in the city of Lucknow, and
they longed to go to their relief; but first Delhi, where the old king was,
had to be taken ; and, as it was a very strong place, it was a long time be-
fore it was conquered; but at last the gates of the city were blown up by
three brave men, and the whole army made their way in. More troops had
been sent out from England to help their comrades, and they were able at
last to march to Lucknow. There, week after week, the English soldiers,
men of business, ladies, soldiers' wives, and little children, had bravely waited,
•with the enemy round, and shots so often coming through the buildings
that they had chiefly to live in the cellars ; and the food was so scanty and
bad, that the sickly people and the little babies mostly died ; and no one
seemed able to get well if once he was wounded. Help came at last. The
.brave Sir Colin Campbell, who had been sent out from home, brought the
army to their rescue, and they were saved. The Sepoys were beaten in
«very fight ; and at last the terrible time of the mutiny was over, and India
quiet again.
In 1860, the queen and all the nation had a grievous loss in the death of
• the good Prince Consort, Albert, who died of a fever at Windsor Castle,
and was mourned for by every one, as if he had been a relation or friend.
He left nine children, of whom the eldest, Victoria, the Princess Royal, was
married to the Prince of Prussia. He had done everything to help forward
improvements ; and the country only found out how wise and good he was
after he was taken away.
Pains began to be taken to make the great towns healthier. It is true
that the plague has never come to England since the reign of Charles II.,
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 845
but those sad diseases, cholera and typhus fever, come where people will not
attend to cleanliness. The first time the cholera came was in the year 1833,
under William IV. ; and that was the worst time of all, because it was a new
disease, and the doctors did not know what to do to cure it. But now they
understand it much better — both how to treat it, and, what is better, how
to keep it away ; and that is by keeping everything sweet and clean. If we
do that, we may trust that God in His mercy will keep deadly sickness
away.
M6
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER L.
VICTORIA.
A.D. 1860-1872.
more chapter, which, happily, does not finish the history
of the good and highly esteemed Queen Victoria, and these
Stories of the History of England will be over.
All the nation rejoiced very much when the queen's eldest
son, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, married Alexandra,
daughter to the King of Denmark. Her father and mother
brought her to England, and the prince met her on board ship
in the mouth of the Thames ; and there was a most beautiful
and joyous procession through London. When they were
married the next day, in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, the whole of Eng-
land made merry, and there were bonfires on every hill, and illuminations in
every town, so that the whole island was glowing with brightness all that
Spring evening. And there might well be rejoicing and thanksgiving, for
the English nation love the Princess of Wales, who is as good as she is
beautiful
STORIES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. 847
There is a country in Africa called Abyssinia, south of Egypt.- The
people there are Christians, but they have had very little to do with other
nations, and have grown very dull and half savage; indeed, they have many
horrid and disgusting customs, and have forgotten all the teaching that
would have made them better. Of late years there had been some attempt to
wake them up and teach them; and they had a clever king named Theodore,
\\lio seemed pleased and willing to improve himself and his nation. He
allowed missionaries to come and try to teach his people what Christianity
means a little better than they knew before, and invited skilled workmen to
come and teach his people. They came ; but not long after Theodore was
affronted by the Knglish Government, and shut them all up in prison. Mes-
sages were sent to insist upon his releasing them, but he did not attend or
understand ; and at last an army was sent to land on the coast from the east,
under General Napier, and march to his capital, which was called Magdala,
and stood on a hill.
General Napier managed so well that there was no fighting on the road.
He came to the gates of Magdala, and threatened to fire upon it if the
prisoners were not given up to him. He waited till the time was up, and
then caused his troops to begin the attack. The Abyssinians fled away,
and close by one of the gates Theodore was found lying dead, shot through.
No one is quite sure whether one of his servants killed him treacherously,
or whether he killed himself in his rage and despair. England did not try
to keep Abyssinia, though it was conquered ; but it was left to the Royal
Family whom Theodore had turned out, and Theodore's little son, about five
years old, was brought to England ; but as he could not bear the cold win-
ters, he was sent to a school in India. He did not live to grow up. This
war took place in 1868.
It was much feared that it would be necessary to have another wrar
on behalf of the Turks, because the Russians were not keeping the treaty
that had been made after the Crimean war. There was a sharp war in
1878-9, between the Turks and Russians. The British fleet was sent to the
Turkish seas, and soldiers were brought from India in case they should be
wanted ; but when the Russians found that the English were in earnest,
they consented that there should be a great meeting of messengers from all
the chief powers of Europe, at Berlin, and peace was made. The Turks
promised that, if the English would protect them, they would allow Eng-
lish officers to see that their Christian subjects were not ill-used, and that
violence and robbery were put down. They also gave up to England the
island of Cyprus, in pledge for the money that had been loaned them.
On the south-east coast of Africa, there is a great colony of English,
called Natal. The native people there are called Kaffirs. They are black,
"but they have much more sense and spirit than Negroes have. The most
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
import-nit amon" them are the tribes known as Zulus. These people, who
are independent, have had very fierce and able kings, who trained them up
to \v.r and who wi-re dreadfully cruel, so that a great number of their sub-
feete nVd am>ss the border, the river Tugela, between the free country and
thai sul.jirt to the English. These poor runaways are glad to pay a small
sum l.y the year for leave to live in the territory of the English, often work-
in;: for them, and becoming servants in their houses.
°On the further side, to the west, there is a great settlement called the
Tr;m>vaal. The people there are descended from the Dutch, who, when Cape
Colony was made over to England, did not choose to live under English
rule, but went off, with their wagons, oxen, and families, to find a free
home. They are called Boers, which is the Dutch word for a farmer.
There have always been a great many quarrels between the Boers and the
Kaffirs, and horridly savage things have been done on each side. At last,
as the English colonists spread further and further, and many of them be-
came mixed with the Dutch, it seemed well that the Transvaal should be
taken under the English rule, and that Government should guard it from
the Kaffirs, instead of each family fighting for itself. Some of the Boers
objected much, and some people thought the arrangement unjust. More-
over, the Zulu King, Cetewayo, who had for many years been a friend to
England, became angry, and began to show that he intended to make war.
The English governor thought it best to begin. So an army was
marched across the Tugela But most likely the officers did not under-
stand how fierce and brave wild savages like the Zulus could be, for one
division of the forces which were in the camp at Isandulana let itself be
lured out of shelter. The Zulus in huge numbers came round them, and
killed almost every man of them, then broke into the camp and made a
dreadful slaughter there. Only a very few escaped across the Tugela to tell
the sad story ; but at another little camp, called Korke's Drift, there was a
most brave defence, the biscuit tins were built up into a wall, and the sol-
diers fired over it, and beat off the enemy.
Cetewayo had lost a great many of his men, and he never tried to invade
Natal. There was a camp under Colonel Pearson which was closely
watched, and had to wait for relief till troops could be collected ; but when
; was possible to advance again, the English drove all before them, and at
last Cetewayo himself was made prisoner and sent to Cape Town, while his
lands have been broken up among smaller chiefs, who are not to be allowed
to follow his cruel customs. All the Kaffirs living under English rule were
faithful, and never tried to join their countrymen,
One sad thing happened in this war. The son of the Emperor Napo-
II. had been brought up in the English military school at Woolwich.
B was very anxious to share in the fighting, and though he was not in the
STORIES OF ENGLISH IIISTOKY. 849
army, he obtained leave to go out to Africa. Orders were given to be very
careful of him, and not let him run into any danger, but he was a bold,
dashing youth, and bent on seeing and doing everything. Thus he went out
with a small party to survey the country, and- while all were on foot sketch-
ing, some Zulus darted out of a cover of long grass and reeds, and the party
mounted and rode off, but unfortunately the Prince's saddle tore in his hand,
so that he could not mount: he was overtaken by the Zulus and killed, fight-
ing bravely, with fifteen wounds of assegais.
Another war was going on at the same time in Afghanistan, a country
to the north of India, because its prince, who is called the Ameer, refused
to have an English envoy placed at his court, and it was feared that he
meant to call in the Russians. In fact, there have, for the last hundred
and fifty years been many more wars in India than it is possible even to
name in this work. The Queen is now called Empress of India, where she
has nearly two hundred and forty millions of subjects, more than ten times
the number she has in England and Wales.
BAD LANDS MOUNTAIN.
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
BY JOHN A. DO Y LE.
of which
and Asia
CHAPTER I.
AMERICA : ITS GEOGRAPHY AND NATIVES.
EFORE entering upon the history of any people, it is well to
get a distinct idea of the land in which they dwell. This
knowledge is especially needful in the case of newly settled
nations like the European colonies in America. For there is
one great point of difference between the present inhabitants
of America and the rest of the civilized nations of the
world. Except the English settlers in Australia and New
Zealand, they are the only civilized people of any importance,
who have entered into their present dwelling-place in times
we have full and clear accounts. Of the great nations of Europe
some were settled in their present abodes in times so early that
STOIMKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. >.M
\ve know nothing certain alxmt tin-in The greater part moved in times of
which \ve know somet hing, often indeed a good deal, but of \vliich we have
no exact history. It is always very ditliciilt to say how far the condition
and character of a nation are the result of the physical features of the
1 t
country in which it dwells, or of other causes which we cannot trace. lint
in looking at the present nations of America, we have this great advantage.
We can see the country as it was before the inhabitants came to it, and \\e
can see the inhabitants as they were before they came to the country. For
they went there in times when nearly as much was known about the chief
nations of Europe as is now. Thus we can compare the people as they
were before they came to America with what their descendants became
afterwards, and we can also compare those descendant > with the descendants
of the men who stayed at home in Europe ; and as we also have full
knowledge of all that has befallen them since they went out, we can t<»
some extent make out how far their history since has been affected by the
nature of the land in which they dwell, and how far by other causes.
With every country it is needful to know something of its geography
before we can understand its history, but this is especially needful in
America. There is no reason for thinking that the character of the country
has had more influence on the history of the people there than elsewhere,
but the influence which it has had is more important to us, because we can
make out more about it.
There are two ways in which the geography of a country may be looked
at. We may look at it, so to speak, from within and from without. We
may consider the country merely as one of the various parts of which the
world is made up, and see how it stands toward other countries, how it is
separated from them, and how it may be most easily reached from them : or
we may consider the country by itself, setting all other lands aside for the
moment, and concerning ourselves entirely with its internal character, its
shape, soil, climate, and the like. In order to understand the history of the
American settlements, we must look at the geography of America in each
of these ways. As the founders of the settlements with which we have to
deal came from Europe, we must see how America stood towards Europe,
from what parts of Europe it could be most easily reached, and in what
parts of America men sailing thence would be likely to settle. Secondly,
we must look at the country in which the settlers established themselves,
and see what effects it was likely to have on the inhabitants ; how far it
was suited to trade, how far to agriculture, and generally what sort of a
state was likely to grow up in such a country.
However, the subject before us is not the history of America, but only
of a certain part of it, namely, of those English colonies which have since
become the United States; therefore we are only concerned with the internal
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ON
geography 01 so much of the country as those States occupy. That is, we
have to l»>"k ;it ;i strip of land along the Atlantic coast of America, nearly
t\\o thousand miles long, and at most parts about two hundred miles broad.
'I'hr present Koundary of the United States indeed extends much farther
inland, and so did their professed boundary when they were first settled.
But, as i> almost always the case in a newly colonized country, all the set-
tlements of any importance were along the coast, and, as they extended
inland, those that were near the coast still kept the lead in politics and
education and general activity. So that, just as for a time the history of
Europe was little more than the history of the nations along the coast of
the Mediterranean, so the history of the United States has been till recently
the history of the European settlements along the coast of the Atlantic.
Before going into the internal geography of the United States, it will
be as well to look at the subject in the other way, and to consider how
America stands towards other countries. The first thing probably which.
strikes every one on looking at a map of America is its complete separation
from the rest of the world. There is, we may say, no part of the eastern
coast less than three thousand miles from Europe, and no part of the
uestern less than six thousand from Asia. Toward the north both Asia
and Europe are much nearer to America, but in those parts the cold is
so great, the soil so barren, and the sea so unfit for navigation, that it is
scarcely possible for men to exist on either side in a state of civilization, or
if they did, to emigrate from one continent to the other. As far then as we
are concerned, America is separated from Europe by the whole of the
Atlantic ocean, and from Asia by the whole of the Pacific. We can also at
once see that America reaches almost in a straight line from north to south,
forming a sort of bar across the western half of the world, and facing
Europe on the one side and Asia on the other. We can see too that in
order to reach the west coast from Europe or the east coast from Asia, one
would have to sail right round Africa. So it is clear that no one in the
common course of things would ever sail from Europe to America except
the Atlantic, or from Asia across the Pacific. Thus America is twice
as far from Asia as it is from Europe. Nor is this all. If we look at any
lap of America in Avhich the height of the ground is shown, we shall at
s a great difference between the eastern, or, as we may call it, the
in, and the western or Asiatic coast. A chain of mountains runs
s whole length of the continent, not like a backbone, down the
le, but all along the west side, forming a sort of wall between the
iland and the Pacific. In many places these mountains form steep
tiptoes close to the shore, and there is scarcely a single spot on the whole
ere land does not almost at once rise more than five hundred feet
sea To make this barrier more complete, the face of these
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN I! IS'l'oi; V.
868
mountains is in many parts covered with thick woods, and, as we can easily
see, it was just as impossible for men coming from A>ia to make their
way into the country by water as by land. For, except far north, there is
not on the west side of America a single river large enough to be of any use
MOUNTAIN SCENEBY ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
I" expeditions of settlers wishing to make their way inland. And moreover
the greater part of the coast is barren and unhealthy, and badly supplied
with fresh water. If, on the other hand, we look at the opposite coast, we
shall see that its whole character is quite different. For nearly the whole
length of it consists of low land sloping down to the sea, and all the rivers
of the American continent flow into it ; and it is well supplied with harbors
s.VI
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
and fertile islands within easy reach of the mainland, where ships could
itopand take in supplies of food and water. Putting together all these
din"eren--es. and remembering that the voyage from Asia to America was
twice as loin: as that from Europe, we can see that those European nations
who could sail their ships ou the Atlantic were almost sure to be the
o>I. mixers of America.
Another point to be noticed is that, as the coast line of America runs
almost directly north and south, there was the greatest possible difference
of latitude, and therefore of climate, between the various parts of the coast.
Be>ides this, there were other points of difference between the various parts
of the eastern coast. It was all well supplied with rivers and harbors, and
none of it fenced in by mountains. But the most northerly part was cold
and barren, and unlikely to tempt either colonists or traders. Then a long
stretch of coast going southward from the river Orinoco was unhealthy, and
the land could hardly be traversed, partly for fear of wild beasts and partly
from the vast growth of forests and underwood; and the rivers, although
broad, Avere so swift as to be difficult to sail up, and full of alligators, and
it was unsafe to halt on the banks. To the south of this again there was a
tract of fertile land fit for settlements. But as this was much farther from
Europe than the more northerly parts, settlers would not be likely to go
there as long as any of the country which could be more easily reached was
unoccupied. So that the land which was in every way most fit for settle-
ments was that which lay somewhat to the south-west of Europe, stretching
from the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the north to the mouth of the Orinoco
on the south. This is not all mainland. For from Point Sable at the end
of the promontory of Florida where the coast turns northward, to the island
of Trinidad where the coast, after winding round the Gulf of Mexico and
the Caribbean Sea, again turns south, there is a belt of islands running
right across from point to point. And since the widest outlet between any
of these islands is less than one hundred miles, men sailing from Europe
could hardly fail to light on them before they reached the mainland beyond.
And as these islands are fertile and well watered, and have many good har-
bors, we can see that the possession of them would be a great advantage to
any nation attempting to colonize the mainland. For an island, if well
supplied with necessaries, is a far more secure position for a small force
than any point on the mainland can be ; especially for those who can com-
the sea and have nothing to fear from their neighbors except by land,
i who had once established themselves in these islands could form
ements and make forts and build fleets, and so use the islands as
•stones to farther conquests on the mainland. So that whatever
i nation held these islands held the key of America, and had it in its
Ionize the mainland both to the north and south, and to keep
ST01MKS OF AMKI.'K AN IIISTOIJY. 855
out other nations, so far as its resources and the number of settlers that it
could span- might allow.
The coast, however, which lies just to the north-west of these islands is
that on which the Knglish colonies were placed, ;m<l with which therefore
we are most concerned. One can easily see that there is no tract along the
whole coast of America better supplied with harbors and navigable rivers.
It will be seen too that there is no chain of mountains of any importance
for nearly three hundred miles inland. Of the nature of the .-oil, the chief
tiling to be noticed is that along the greater part of the coast, the most
fertile laud, or at least that which was best fitted for growing corn and the
other necessaries of life, is cut off from the sea by a belt of poorer soil.
Thus the general tendency of the settlements was to extend inland, as there
were neither mountains nor forests to hinder them, and the rivers offered
easy means of carriage. As was said before, the hi>tory of the United
Slates is the history of a strip of land along the Atlantic coast; but it is
also the history of a movement from that coast toward the west. But it
must be remembered that this movement was always an extension and not a
migration; that is to say, that it was made not by the inhabitants of the
coast leaving their abodes and moving inland, but by new settlers, or those
born in America who wanted land, gradually moving westward without
losing their connection with the original settlements. Of course, over such
a vast tract of country there were great differences in soil and climate, and
other respects, but it will be best to speak of these when we come to deal
one by one with the history of the separate States.
There is another subject besides the geography of America at which we
must look if we would understand in what sort of a country the European
colonists had to settle. They found men already dwelling in all those parts
of America which they explored, and the character of these inhabitants had
a great effect on the colonies. It will be most convenient for our purpose
to divide these people into three groups. Firstly, there were those nations
who in many things were quite as clever and skilful as any of the inhab-
itants of Europe, and had as much or more knowledge of many matters,
such as farming, road-making, building, carpentry, and working in gold and
silver, and who may therefore be fairly called civilized. Then there were
those who were not nearly so advanced in those acquirements, but who yet
had so much knowledge of many of the useful arts that we must call them
at least half-civilized. Lastly, there were those who understood as little of
those things as is possible for any nation who live together in settled groups
and are at all better than wild beasts, and these we may call savages. These
three groups will answer roughly to three geographical divisions. The first
group will occupy the whole of the mountain-chain along the west coast,
from the soiith of Peru to the north of Mexico, and will include four
85C
nations, the
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Muvscans, the Mexicans, and the Tlascalans.
' as occupying this region, since the
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN.
coast, and they seem to have been the only important tribe that kept its
independence when the Mexicans conquered the rest of the neighboring
countries. Besides the interval of country just mentioned between the
greater nations, the second group inhabited the whole coast from the mouth
of the Orinoco to the north side of the Gulf of Mexico, and all the islands
of that coast. The third group, that with which we are most closely con-
cerned, occupied all the country that now forms the territory of the United
States, of Canada, and some parts of Mexico.
STOUIKS OF AMKHICAN HISTORY
It must In- understood that such a division as this is not like that which
is usually made of the nations of Europe and Asia, when they are divided
into races or families. For then we may say distinctly that a nation is
Teutonic, or Celtic, or Slavonic, or it may be a mixture of Celtic and Teu-
tonic. But in our division of the natives of America into three Croups,
some tribes are just on the line between the gitoups, so that one person
mi'.'ht place them in one group and another in another, and it would l>e
difficult to say whether a particular nation was at the bottom of one class or
at the top of another. This being so, we have no names by which exa<-t ly
to describe each of the three groups. With the lirst this need cause no dif-
ficulty, for it includes only four nations, and we shall seldom have occasion
to speak of them as forming one class. With the others the case is differ-
ent ; for they are made up of so many small and scattered tribes, each with
a name of its own, that it would be quite impossible to deal with them
without some name which takes in the whole group. The name which was
given by the first settlers to all the natives alike, and which has come down
to our own time, is Indians, while the third group, or at least the chief part
of it, is distinguished as Red Indians. This name of Indians grew out of a
mistake made by the early voyagers as to the geography of America, For,
knowing nothing of the western side of America, and very little of the
eastern parts of Asia, they had no idea that these were separated by a vast
ocean, but believed that they were all parts of one
country, and this they called The Indies. Then, for
the sake of clearness, they called what they be-
lieved to be the two sides of this coast, The East
and West Indies, according as they were reached
from Europe by sailing east or west. Soon after
its discovery the mainland got the name of America
from an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, who was one of
the first voyagers thither. But those parts which
alone were known to the first discoverers, namely,
the islands outside the Mexican Gulf, still kept the
name of The West Indies, and keep it to this day. AMEUIOO VESPUCCI.
And though we have so far got rid of this mode of
speaking that we never make use of the name of India except for a par-
ticular part of Asia, we still keep the old use, not only in the name of the
West Indies, but when we speak of the East India Company and the East
India Trade, and the like. And the name Indian now usually means a
native of America, not of India itself. It will be most convenient to give
this name to our third group, and to call them simply Indians, and when we
have occasion to speak of the second group to call them the Indians of South
America, or of the Islands as the case may be. Only it must be remembered
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,H1,siMMouv,.,d, had its oii« lin'1^' } groups comes almost wholly
Our knowledge oi *"*^ ^J of America by Spain.
Srish Tr"' t o n iure into the history and customs of the
«""- ;t'1'1"1;;;:U:1t ; live ^wObg to do with the conquest,
natives, except - conquered at a single
TIllls M the M..VS,,, ns and —a we them_ The
-*• iik- ""• Mf r ;; ; r\ ^ ^™eut, Uk* ™ much
Tl!-"l!11"' 'H!TT ± ^h,v bee the bravest and most warlike of all
"""•" fnr- f K StT'\ i nr T e other three nations were all alike in
" ..... j-1,.,1 nat-ons ,,t . , c. ^ lu,mlitary line of mon-
' f ions ,,f Europe in that age. They were skilful husbandmen,
, , i , ..... 1 houses and richly decorated temples, and n; their dress they
lit.,l M ornament and comfort, and they worked cleverly with gold
; ih,,r J preciou, stone, In one of the most useful arts, that of road
Uten* the Mexicans and Peruvians were both far in advance of
Kuropelns of that age. For though both countries were woody and
mountainous, there were roads between all the great cities, and in
tlH-iv Witt a great high road as wonderful as any work ever made< by human
hands It was nearly two hundred miles long, and in places it was^car-
riecl by galleries and terraces and staircases along the side of precipice:
and steep ravines were either filled up with masonry or had hanging bridges
thrown across, them. On all the great roads, both in Peru and Mexico,
there were stations at short intervals, with messengers, kept by the govern-
ment, who ran from one to the other. In this way, without the use of
steam or horses, messages, and even goods> could be sent at the rate of two
hundred miles a day. So that it is said that, though the city of Mexico was
two hundred miles inland, yet fish from the sea was served at the Emperor's
table only twenty-four hours after it was caught. In the art of fortification
they seem to have been little, if at all, behind Europeans. For near Cuzco,
the* great city of PCTU> was a fortress twelve hundred feet long, all built of
finely-wrought stones closely fitted together without mortar, and this was
joined to the city by underground galleries. They also understood how to
make the best of naturally strong places by building their fortresses on the
f(lg«- of precipices, and cutting away rocks so as only to leave a steep face.
The Tlascalans had inclosed their whole country with a wall, and its
entrance was so arranged that any one coming in was liable to be shot at by
archers and spearmen, who were themselves behind the wall. In Peru and
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. BSD
Mexico all the public buildings, the temples and palaces and market-places
and gardens, \vere larger and in many \\a\> more beautiful than aiivthiiiir ")'
the kind in Kurope. What makes all this the more \\oiiderfiil is that Un-
people had no knowledge <>!' the use of iron, nor anv wheeled carriages, H()|-
bea-ts of burden alile to bear any great weight, so that e\ er\ tiling had to
he done by men's hands with scarcely anv lielp.
Though the Peruvians and Mexicans were in many \\a\s alike, still then-
were points in which they differed widely, and to nnderstand these we must
consider the two nations separately. The count ry of Peru formed a strip
of land along the west coast about three thousand miles long and four or
live hundred broad ; a great part of this is occupied by high mountains.
But the valleys between, and even
parts of the mountain slopes, were
fertile, and everything was done by
watering and skilful husbandry to
make the best of the soil, and all
the country except the very highest
ground was thickly peopled. The
inhabitants \\ere probably the most ANCIENT MOUND.
civili/ed of all the nations of Amer-
ica, and in one way at least they were the most remarkable of all the races
of the earth of whom we know anything. There is no people told of in
history who lived so completely according to the will of their rulers, and
who had all the arrangements of their life and all their doings so com-
pletely settled for them. They were governed by a hereditary line of
Emperors, called Incas. These Incas were believed to be, and probably
were, of a different race from the rest of the Peruvians; and the Inca
nobility, the kindred of the Emperor, held all the great offices, and seemed
to have been the only persons who enjoyed any kind of freedom. All the
land was divided into three parts — one for the Sun, whom they worshipped
as a god, another for the Inca, and the rest for the nation. The first two
shares were cultivated by all the people working together, and then they
were free to till their own land. This third portion was from time to time
divided into lots, and one of these lots given to every man in the nation, a
larger or smaller lot according to the number of his family, to be held till
the land was again divided. All the produce of the country besides what
was grown on the soil was got from the mines and from beasts, wild and
tame. All these belonged to the Inca, and all the labor of getting in the
produce and making it into useful articles was done by the people working
without pay as his servants. Then from the stores so procured such things
as were needed by the people, clothes and the like, were served out as they
were wanted. As the land allotted to each man was only enough to feed
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,V ' , i *
hin^lf and his family,i... one could have any property except his house
.„„, i,,,,!- :1,,(1 thew uas ,», buying and selling, and no man could grow
'„,.), except tin- Inca or his kindred, who were freed from work and perhaps
had estates oi their own. But though the people lived in this way, little
better than skvee, tl..-y seem to have been well off for all bodily comforts,
.„„! to have been most carefully watched over by the Incas, that none might
)„. overworked and all well cared for in old age and sickness. As there was
,„, tr;1,|e. !md no one except the Inca and his chief nobles had anything to
d<. with the irovemment, the only things besides manual labor in which the
mass of the people were concerned were religion and war. Their religion
consisted for the most part of the worship of the Sun. They had indeed
other gods, but the Sim was by far the most important. As we have seen,
a third of the land was set aside for the Sun, and the produce was used to
maintain a great number of priests, and to provide great public festivals, at
which wine and food were ottered to their god. This worship of the Sun
may be said to have been in a manner the object for which the nation
existed. For all its wars, like those of the Mohammedans, were made to
extend the religion of the nation and to force other people to worship as
they did. Yet their religion seems to have done very little towards (quicken-
ing their minds, nor do their priests seem to have had much influence over
them, nor to have taught them to think about matters of right and wrong.
Indeed in general it would seem as if the Peruvians had very little power of
thinking. For, even in those arts in which they excelled, they do not seem
to have had any turn for invention, or for anything more than doing well
and carefully what their fathers had done before them. Moreover, as every-
thing was done for them by the Incas, and no man could get rich by his
own skill or wit, or in any way advance himself, a clever man was no better
off than a stupid one, and there was nothing to sharpen men's powers and
to teach them to act and think for themselves. Such an empire, however
great and powerful it might seem, rested on no sure foundation. For if any
mischance befell the Inca, the whole empire was left helpless, and the dif-
ferent parts of it had no power of protecting themselves. For though the
skill of the Peruvians in fortification and making weapons and the like
might enable them to conquer neighboring nations who were backward in
such things, yet this would profit them little against civilized enemies. The
lize of the empire too was a source of weakness : for it is always hard
to manage and guard the distant frontier of a great empire, especially when
• up of newly-conquered, and perhaps unfriendly, provinces. For
bere will almost always be some disobedience and some remains of
; and a crafty enemy will make use of these, and so turn the strength
empire against itself and almost conquer it by the hands of its own
subjects. J
STOKIKS OK AMKUICAN HISTORY.
86]
The Mexicans, although in sonic ways like the IVnivi.-ms, differed from
them in many important points. Though under the government of a single
IDOL FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
ruler, they enjoyed far greater freedom in the general affairs of life. Men
bought and sold and got wealth, and rich merchants occupied positions of
great dignity in the state. In handicrafts they were perhaps scarcely equal
to the Peruvians ; but in other and more important matters they were far
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Hi* the Peruvians had no alphabet, and nothing of
:llu'ai1 °f tlU''"' ote tied on pieces of string as tokens, the Mexicans
,1;l(1 ., shrill of writing, m «] rpi/priertB also, who were the most
Hii"^ ''>' PictaWB a" ,a wne far in the knowledge of astronomy.
I'.'"''"'"1 d:T nl'L that of the Peruvians, seems to have had a great
'1 lu'ir rt'ii^rion, nincli on their crood and bad deeds
• a... ,>n tln»iv colHllK'l, alUl (l\\cll .._l,j.
no-ht hive done For they sacrificed men, and
mfaithful subiects and open enemies.
Of our second group! the people of the islands and the neighboring
niailllaml, it is not needful to say much. They were divided into many small
tribes living in separate villages, each governed by a chief or cacique of it,
own, and having little to do with one another either ,n the way of friend-
ship or of war. They dwelt in stone houses, and lived chiefly by tillag
depending but little either on hunting or fishing. They seem to have had
most of the comforts of life and to have shown some skill in handicrafts ;
but, scattered as they were in small groups, they could accomplish nothing
like the great works and buildings of Mexico and Peru. They were kindly
and well-disposed people, peaceable among themselves and hospitable
strangers. But they were weak in body and mind, and in no way fit to
resistTan enemy that came against them in any force. For they had neither
the strength of the civilized man which. lies in fortresses and military
engines, nor that of the savage in hardihood and cunning and being able to
leave his home at a moment's notice and plunge into the forest. So these
islanders were at the mercy of any civilized nation that attacked them, and
might almost be called born slaves.
The third group contains those with whom the English settlers had to
deal, and it is needful that we should have a clear idea of what manner
of people they were. In judging of what they were when the settlers
came among them, we must be careful not to be misled by those who
have only seen them in later times; for those white men who have had
most to do with the Indians have been traders whose only object was to
make money out of them, and who have seldom scrupled to cheat and injure
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. M;:;
them. Even the missionaries, and those who wished well to the Indians,
have for the most part only seen them after the traders had brought in
drunkenness and other vices, am! taught them to distrust all white men as
enemies and knaves, so that we can only learn the real character of the
Indians from the first explorers who saw them before any white men had
come among them, and from those travelers who have been in districts where
the traders had scarcely made their way. The account that we have from
these writers is very different from, and on the whole much more favorable
than, that generally given. Nothing could be more different than the life of
these northern nations from that of the civilized races of America. The
Indians were divided into a vast number of tribes, the largest of which
numbered about forty or fifty thousand, while most of them were much
smaller. Each of these tribes had its own territory, and was quite in-
dependent of the rest, and only in one instance do they seem to have
attempted to unite in larger bodies. In the northern countries on each side
of the Canadian lakes there was a league or confederacy, consisting at one
time of five and at another of six of the most powerful and warlike nations.
But this seems to have been the only attempt of the kind. All the tribes
of any size were subdivided into villages, which were almost independent,
each managing its own affairs under its own chief. Each tribe was
governed by a hereditary head chief, but, as is always the case wrhere there
are no written laws and scarcely a fixed system of government, the authority
of these head chiefs varied greatly. An able and ambitious chief was really
the king of the nation, and arranged matters after his own will ; but with a
weak or easy-tempered head, the under-chiefs, or sachems, as they were
called, governed their own villages much as they pleased. In no case, how-
ever, did the chief either of a tribe or of a nation govern by his own ar-
bitrary will, but all important matters were settled by public meetings, at
which every man renowned either for wisdom or courage was entitled to be
heard. As might be supposed, a people living in this scattered fashion had
none of the arts of life but in the simplest and rudest forms. They tilled
the soil, after a fashion, and grew scanty crops of corn and vegetables; but
this labor was considered disgraceful and left entirely to the women ; they
knew nothing about building in stone, but lived, some in huts made of tim-
ber daubed with mud, such as is sometimes used now in rude farm-buildings,
and most of them in tents made of poles and skins. Yet it seems as if they
neglected all useful industry rather because their mode of life did not need
it, and could not indeed have been much bettered by it, than from any in-
capacity. For they showed themselves in no way unskilful in those few
handicrafts to which they did apply themselves. Living in a country full
of lakes and rivers, they needed boats, and these they made with great skill.
Some tribes indeed hollowed them out of single logs by a slow and toilsome
.,„.,„. !,„, o,h,rs ma. I ;•»'
WT. toetl •" :
TIIK \YOKL1VS (SRKAT NATIONS.
f wicker-work covered with birch bark
.,„.,„. ,„, o, article9j suc]l as hatchets, bows.
skilfully WWT. togetl •" :> con8tructed, and often tastefully
h"""'S- slli<;1<N ", 1 StoJri ™t skill in dressing skins for their clothes,
<>n>an-"t-l : a... *« >< nd°head-dresses with feathers. As the woods
a,,d decorating fcheb rob* ... b-o ^^ ^ ^ ^ of food
i
. ^ ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ of foo
'asy'tt see what need they had for mechanical arts, or
PBAIKIB DOGS.
in what way such knowledge would have made them happier. For we must
not suppose that the degraded and unhappy life which they have been
leading in modern times is anything like their natural condition. On the
contrary, they seem to have been a remarkably happy and cheerful people,
fond of amusements and games, and clever in contriving them. Besides the
games of ball in which the whole tribe joined, they had public dances and sham
fights, both conducted with regular movements, which could only be learned
by careful study and drill. One matter in which all the tribes seemed to
have resembled one another more or less, was their religion. There were
various points of difference, and some tribes had different modes of worship
from others, yet all alike believed in one supreme God, or Great Spirit, as
they called him. They believed that he watched all their actions and re-
warded and punished them, and they sought to please him by penances
and prayers and fastings, and by great public feasts, though not, as it seems,
by human sacrifices as the Mexicans did. They also believed that men
STOIMKS or AMERICAN IIISTOIJY.
BCfi
would live again after death, and l>e happy <>r miserable according as they
deserved well or ill in this world. Though they were so far behind the
s
E
m
K
g
I
td
other nations of America in mechanical skill, yet in sagacity and political
cleverness they were probably in advance of them ; for, living as they did in
small bodies, where each man had a voice in affairs, every man's wits were
called out to the utmost, and no one was suffered to become a mere machine.
Their two chief pursuits, hunting and war, had the same effect. Fox hunt-
55
TIIH WOHLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ii,.r. .-serially when done not for sport but to get food, not only makes men
,tn>iK and active and quickens their eyesight, but teaches them readiness
and patience. And tlicir system of war was not like that of civilized
soldiers, \\here only one man in a thousand has to think and the rest have
little more to do than to obey, but they went out in small parties, sometimes
of two or three; and there was scarcely any hand-to-hand fighting, but
everything lay in outwitting and surprising the enemy. They did not think
mere strength and courage without wit enough for a ruler, for in many
tribes there were two chiefs, one to govern in peace and the other to lead in
war; and in some eases chiefs who had lost the use of their limbs, but whose
\\isdom was highly valued, still kept their power, and we even read of
women chiefs. Speaking generally, they seem to have been good friends
and dangerous foes, kind and hospitable to strangers so long as they
suspected no guile, but utterly merciless when they had once begun a
quarrel. For of their faults cruelty was by far the worst, and in war they
spared neither women nor children, and not content with killing their
prisoners, they put them to dreadful tortures. Yet it must be said that, if
they were ready to inflict torture, they were likewise ready to bear it ; and
indeed an Indian prisoner would have felt insulted if he had been merely
put to death without a chance of showing what tortures he could undergo
quietly. Nor' must we forget that it is only quite lately that civilized men
have ceased to inflict sufferings on one another fully as great, *both in war
and in the execution of cruel laws.
Such a people as this, one can easily see, would be stubborn foes for any
strangers to deal with. Their country too was ill-suited for civilized troops.
For as there were no cities or storehouses, and scarcely any crops, it would
be hardly possible for large bodies of men who did not know the country to
maintain themselves. Moreover, the two great advantages which civilized
men possess in Avar, horses and fire-arms, would be of much less value in
such a country. For among rivers and forests horses are of little use, and,
without horses and wagons to carry ammunition, fire-arms lose half their
value. So, altogether, settlers in such a country might look for a very
different resistance from that to be found in the islands, or even in Peru and
Mexico.
It has been necessary to say as much as this about the various races of '
natives, for without having a clear idea of them we cannot understand the
erences that there were between the various European Colonies
STOIMKS OK AMKIMCA.N HISTORY. 867
CHAPTER II.
THE EUROPKA.N S ET T I, KM K. N T S 1 \ A M K H I C A DUHINQ THE
SI XT KEN T II C K N T I |{ V.
studying the discovery of America and the first attempts ai
settlement there, two things must always In- homo in mind. In
the first place, it is really not at all easy to understand how
enormous a difference the discovery of America made to the
world. We are so familiar with the world as it is, that it is
difficult to imagine it as it seemed to those who lived in the
fifteenth century. We must remember that not only was
America then undiscovered, but other large parts of the world,
as we know it, were either actually unknown, or known only in a hazy
and uncertain fashion. We must remember too that only a few specially
learned and far-sighted men had any idea that there were other lands be-
yond those that they knew. So that the discovery of America was not like
the exploration of a new country which is believed to exist, but of whose
nature men are iguoraut ; it was, as it is often called, the discovery of a New
World, of a world whose existence was never suspected by most men. And
we can best understand how great a change this must have seemed by look-
ing at a map of the world as it really is, and at one of the world as it was
then supposed to be.
In the second place, we must remember that, like many things of which
we are apt to speak as if they had been done at a single stroke, the discovery
of America was really a very gradual process. Columbus himself, the first
discoverer, possibly never knew that he had found a new Continent ; and
many years passed before men fully understood how America stood to the
rest of the world. This ignorance of what lay beyond had a great deal to
do with the adventurous spirit in which the men of that age went to
America. For the further they went the more wonderful the New World
became ; and even when the bounds of it had been reached, there \\ as
nothing to tell them that there were not things more marvellous beyond.
Before the end of the fifteenth century, the only nations of Europe that
had made much progress in seamanship were the Portuguese and the
Italians. The Portuguese were the most enterprising voyagers, and had
sailed along the coast of Africa and to the Canary Islands. But the Italians
seem to have been the most scientific geographers and the most far-seeing
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
- -
,,„„„ a* UI,known portions of the world. There does not however seem
l,,v,. i „ nuR-l, zeal about voyages ot discovery in Italy itself, and
all the great Italian navigators
of that age made their discoveries
in the ships of other countries. Of
these navigators Christopher Co-
lumbus was the first and greatest.
Whether he hoped by sailing to
the west to discover a new conti-
nent, or only to get a direct route
to Eastern Asia, it is hard to say.
Whatever his scheme may have
been, he had no small trouble to
get the means for trying it. For
after spending some eight years in
seeking to persuade various sove-
reigns and great men to employ him
in a voyage of discovery, he at
last with great difficulty got what
he wanted from the sovereigns of
Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. On
the 3d of August, 1492, he sailed
with three ships, and on the 1 -'th
of October landed on the island which the Spaniards afterwards called His-
paniola, and we now St. Domingo. Here they later founded a town, and
named it St. Salvador, and Spanish settlements soon spread over the island.
But it was about twenty years before they extended to the neighboring
inlands or the mainland.
The next great discovery was made four years later. In 1497, Sebastian
Cabot, a Genoese by descent, but born and bred in England, set sail from
Bristol with a ship manned by Englishmen, and discovered Newfoundland
and all the coast fiorth of Florida. Thus, though Columbus discovered the
islands, Cabot was the first European who is known for certain to have
sailed to the mainland of America. On the strength of his voyage, England
for a long while after put forward a special claim to the land to which he
had sailed. In that age it was customary for such adventurers to obtain a
patent from the sovereign of the country from which they sailed. This
patent was a document giving various privileges, such as the right of im-
porting merchandise free of duty, and often granting some authority over
land that might be discovered. Cabot had obtained such a patent be-
first voyage, and on his return he procured a fresh one, and made a
second voyage, of which no details are known. In 1501 three Bristol mer-
CHHISTOPHER Cou \ir,Vs
Xs
•
i 11)) \\ i:
•1 f u nil
and li..
century
Then
inrds \\ lik-li
4 in ahiii
i>t it.
all tlie da
i<>la, and
I nit cuilv
did ;
and
ST01MKS OF A.MKIMCAN HISTORY.
chants and three Portuguese obtained a patent from the Knglish king, ami it
seems likely that sonic voyages \\ere made al«>;it this time, hut nothing cer-
tain is known ul)out them. In any east-, it did not seem as if Kii<_:land was
likely to take a leading part in the sell lenient of America for at that time
she was quite unlit for any great undertakings on the sea. She had no lan_re
ships or skilful seamen, and, exec] it a few boats that sailed north for fish
I'mm ISristol and other purls in the west, all her merchandise was carried in
foreign \essels. And IIeiir\ VII., u ho then reigned, \\as a cautious and
somewhat miserly king, and very unlikely to risk anything for an uncertain
return. So, looking at all the nations of Europe, it seemed as if Spain alone
\\as likely to do anything important in America. The Portuguese \\ere
taken up with their voyages to the coast of Africa, and the French seemed
fully occupied at home. For though Verra/aui. another Italian naviga-
tor, was sent out by the king of France, Francis I., and made great dis-
coveries on the American coast, yet France was too much taken up with
her long and unsuccessful war with Spain for these discoveries to he fol-
lowed further. Soon after that the country was torn to pieces with civil
wars, and had no time for distant enterprises. Thus during the sixteenth
century France had very little to do with the colonization of America.
There were, moreover, many things in the character and temper of the Span-
iards which specially fitted them for such a task. For many years they had
been engaged in almost continuous war with the Moors, and this had given
them a great love of adventure for its own sake, and a great desire for
preaching Christianity to the heathen, and, if necessary, for forcing them to
accept it. And it required some strong passions like these to make men
face all the dangers which lay before them in the New World.
For the first twenty years the Spaniards kept almost entirely to Hispan-
iola, and only a few unimportant settlements were made on the mainland or
on the neighboring islands, and most of them were not regular settlements,
but only stations for pearl-fishing. It was not till 1518 that any great
attempt was made on the mainland. In that year, Velasquez, the governor
of Hispaniola, sent out a small fleet to explore the mainland. As this fleet
did not return so soon as he expected, he sent out a larger expedition, with
about five hundred and fifty Spaniards and three hundred Indians. The
command of this expedition was given to Hernando Cortez, a man of thirty-
three, who had distinguished himself by courage and sagacity in an expedi-
tion on the mainland, but had never held any important office. Soon after
he reached the mainland he got tidings of the great empire and city of
Mexico. Hearing that the people were heathens and had much gold, he
resolved to disregard his orders, and with his small force to march to the
<-ity and compel the people to become Christians and acknowledge the King
of Spain as their lord. He made allies of the nations by the way, subduing
870
v
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
lino- others, and causing all of them to be baptized.
v
t n time of need, and all that Cortez could really depend on were his
^ hundred and fifty S^uiards. With these and some of the others he
& Ala •
marched into the city of Mexico. There he established himself, and was at
first received by the people as the friend of their emperor, and dwelt in one
of the palaces, and before long forced the emperor himself to live there as a
sort of state prisoner. The Mexicans soon resented this, and open war broke
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN II1STOKY. 871
out. After various changes of fortune, and being once driven out of the
city, in ir>^l Cortex dually conquered Mexico. He had by that time received
more than one reinforcement from home, but these only filled the places of
those whom he had lost, so that at the last he had less than six hundred
Spaniards with whom t<> conquer the great empire. Such a force would
have been utterly unequal to the task but for three things. They had
horses and fire-arms, neither of which the natives had ever seen; and in
Cortez himself they had one of the wisest and bravest captains that ever
lived. To conquer such an empire with such a force was a wonderful
exploit, but there were many things which made it even more wonderful
than it seems. For Cortez had no authority from the governor of Hispan-
iola for what he was doing, and was in constant dread of being recalled.
One Narvaez was actually sent out with a fresh force to bring him back.
But Cortez defeated Narvaez and joined this force to his own, and so turned
what was meant for a hindrance into a help. Not only was his force small,
but the men were such as he could hardly trust ; nor was there anything in
the former deeds of Cortez to put his soldiers in awe of him or to give them
confidence in his success. So little faith indeed had he in their loyalty, that
he sunk his fleet to guard against any chance of their deserting him. The
Tlascalans too, and the other native allies, were but an uncertain support,
and apt to fail him when things went badly with him and he most needed
their aid. But what was more wonderful still, and far more honorable to
Cortez, was that he not only conquered Mexico, but having conquered it,
ruled it well, and protected the natives against the Spaniards. Not indeed
that he, any more than the rest of his countrymen, was perfectly free from
blame. In establishing his power he did things which we in this day should
deem atrociously cruel. But these were all done in establishing Christianity
and Spanish rule, things which Cortez firmly believed to be for the good of
the Mexicans. They were not done, like many of the Spanish cruelties else-
where, from lust of gold or in mere wantonness. Moreover, after the war had
once begun, the Mexicans, unlike the natives elsewhere, provoked the Span-
iards by acts of great ferocity. When we consider what it is to keep men
in order who have just won a great victory and are all claiming their
reward, and how completely the other Spanish conquerors failed in this
matter, we see that Cortez was something far more than a great general.
Through his efforts the state of the natives was always far better in Mexico
than in the other Spanish provinces.
Immediately after the conquest of Mexico the other great Spanish
conquest took place, which we may say gave Spain possession of South
America. In 1512, one Balboa, a man of great wisdom and courage, had set
out from Darien, one of the earliest Spanish settlements on the east coast,
and marched across the Isthmus of Panama, and had seen the Pacific Ocean
87;, THi: WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ami heard of the rich hinds beyond. But he quarreled with the governor
of Parien, and \\as put to death as a traitor, and for the time nothing came
of his discoveries. In 1525, Francis Pizarro, a kinsman of Cortez, who no
doubt had the conquest of Mexico before his eyes as an example, undertook
an expedition to the south. He sailed along the west coast
and landed in the territory of Peru, and in about nine years
completely overthrew the Peruvian empire. Though, as far
as mere daring and skill in war go, Pizarro was little if at all
behind Cortez, in other respects he was far inferior. For
Cortez undertook a task the like of which no man had ever
attempted, and he persuaded his men to follow him in what
must have seemed a hopeless and almost a mad enterprise.
But Pizarro throughout had the example of Cortez to en.
courage himself and his followers. Pizarro too was well
BALBOA WADES m befriended at home and provided with men and supplies,
while Cortez had almost as much to fear from his country-
men behind him as from the enemy in front. After the conquest the real
difference was yet more fully shown. For Cortez not only overthrew a great
empire, but he succeeded in the harder task of establishing a fresh govern-
ment in its place, and that among a people of whose history and character
he knew but little. But Pizarro utterly failed in this respect. He was him-
self murdered by conspirators, and the. settlers fought amongst themselves,
and rebelled against the governors that were sent out from Spain, and for a
while Peru was utterly torn to pieces with conspiracies and civil wars, so
that it was nearly twenty years before the country was brought into any
kind of order.
In the meantime, and after this, other discoveries and conquests were
made by the Spaniards, which in any other age would have seemed wonder-
ful, but which were overshadowed by these two great exploits. Those we
may pass over, taking the cases of Mexico and Peru as specimens of the
Spanish conquests. One thing, however, must be noticed. Hitherto the
slands had been the great centre of all activity and enterprise among the
Spanish settlers. But now the islands became less important, and Mexico
and Peru served as two fresh starting-points from which discoveries and
s were made. This may have had some effect on the English settle-
by preventing the Spaniards from occupying the land which they after-
colonized. For men sailing from the islands would be far more likely
:tle on the northern coast than if they made their way inland from
The attempts that were made in that direction did not meet with
access as to encourage further efforts. In 1512 one Ponce de Leon
Florida in search of a fountain whose water was supposed to
ive endless life. But instead of finding the fountain, he was killed in an
STOKIKS OF AMKHICAN HISTORY. 873
affray with the natives. During Hie next thirty years the Spaniards made
other expeditions into Florida, Imt they all ended unluckily, either through
the hostility of the natives or the ditiicnlties of the country. The fate of
these adventurers leads one to think that Cortex and 1'ixarro might have
fared very dilVeivntly if they had tried their fortunes anywhere to the north
of the Gulf of Mexico.
In lf)<;-J the first attempt was made )>y another European nation to follow
the example of Spain. A number of French Protestants settled on the coast
of Florida. Many of them were disorderly and lawless, and a party of these
got possession of two ships without the leave of Laudonniere, the governor,
and betook themselves to piracy. The colony was soon exposed to dangers
from without as well as from within. The Spanish king Philip, a zealous
Roman Catholic, resolved not to suffer a Protestant colony to settle on the
coast of America, and sent out one Melendez to destroy the French town and
establish a Spanish one in its place. He obeyed his orders, fell upon the
French and massacred nearly all of them, and founded a Spanish town.
which he named St. Augustine. Two years later, this massacre was avenged
by a French captain, Dominic -de Gourgues. At his own expense he fitted
out a fleet and sailed to Florida. There he surprised the Spanish settle-
ment, and put to death the greater part of the inhabitants. But this success
was not followed up by the French, and Spain kept possession of the coun-
try. Dreadful as these doings were, England may be said in some measure
to have gained by them. The massacre of the French settlers may have
done something to withhold their countrymen from trying their fortunes in
the New World, and so may have helped to keep the country open for Eng-
lish colonists. So too De Gourgues' expedition may have taught the Span-
iards some caution in dealing with the settlements of other nations. After
this, St. Augustine continued to be the furthermost point occupied by the
Spaniards in that direction. Two voyages of discovery were made towards
the north, but nothing came of them, and all the coast beyond Florida
was left open to fresh settlers. The Spaniards were fully taken up with
their exploits in the south, and had no leisure for exploring the country
where there were no gold mines, and no great empires or cities to be
conquered.
Conquests like these could not be accomplished without great suffering
to the natives. For though it was some time before the Spanish government
openly and professedly allowed the Indians to be used as slaves, and though
it never gave the settlers full liberty to do as they pleased with them, yet in
most of the colonies the natives were from the very beginning completely at
the mercy of the Spaniards. Ten years after the discovery of Hispaniola,
the natives began to decrease so in numbers that the settlers found it neces-
sary to import slaves from other islands. For they were set to work in the
m i- UK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,„!„,., .m«l the fi.-Ms in a manner for which they were wholly unfit. With-
,„„ going through all the suffering inflicted on them, we may form some
i,|,,, ,,f uhat they underwent from the fact that many killed themselves, as
the only means ,',l- eseaping their tormentors. But though the sufferings of
tlu- In.iians were BO .trm-it as fully to outweigh any good that was done by
the conquest, \ve must not be too ready to blame the whole Spanish nation.
F,,r tin- mm wlio went to the Spanish settlements were the very dregs, not
only of Spain, but of almost every country in Europe, who flocked thither
in .'most of adventure and gain. And we must not think that this tyranny
was any special wickedness peculiar to
the Spaniards. For from none of the
settlers did the natives suffer more than
from a colony of Germans, to whom
the king of Spain had given a grant
of land in America. And there was at
least one class of Spaniards who were
not merely free from blame in this
matter, but deserve the highest praise.
For all that could be done to protect
the natives and to bring their griev-
ances before the government in Spain, and to
improve their condition in every way, was done
by the clergy. It is scarcely too much to say
that no class of men ever suffered so much and
toiled so unsparingly for the good of their fellow-
creatures, as the Spanish priests and missionaries
in America. The Spanish government, too,
strove to protect the natives, and not wholly
without success. But Spain was at that time
completely taken up with European affairs, and had not leisure enough
for a subject of such importance and difficulty. For there could not be a
harder task than to restrain such men as the conquerors of Mexico and
Peru. They were for the most part reckless men, and their success had in-
creased their confidence, and every one of them felt that Spain owed him a
•t greater than she could ever pay, and most of them were ready to rebel
at the least provocation. On various occasions the Spanish government
sent out orders strictly forbidding the enslavement of the natives, but was
obliged either to withdraw or relax this rule for fear of a rebellion among
the settlers.
Another great source of mischief was that one cruel or treacherous act
I make the inhabitants of a whole district enemies to all strangers, and
duce war, which was always the forerunner of slavery and oppres-
SPANISH ADVENTURER.
STOUIKS OK A.MKK'H'AN HISTORY. 875
sion. Thus one unprincipled man could do an amount of evil which no
wisdom or moderation afterwards could repair. \Vhat lav at the root of all
this evil was the gre.it rapidity with which the conquest was carried out.
For there are few tasks which need more experience and forethought than
the government of a newly-conquered country. Without a careful study of
(he people, and knowledge of their haliils and ideas, such a task is a hope-
less one. Yet here the Spaniards were suddenly called on to govern a \a-i
country, whose very existence the}' had not dreamed of forty years liefore.
This was due chiefly to the great riches of the natives, and to their weak-
ness. For if Mexico and Peru had either had less wealth to tempt invaders,
or if their spoils had been less easy to win, the conquest would in all prob-
ability have been far slower and more gradual. In that case the Spaniards
would have been able to learn more about the people with whom they were
dealing, and would have had more sympathy with them. Then probably
the conquest of Mexico would have been done bit by bit, like the English
conquest of India ; and although it might have been attended by much evil,
it would have had many good results too, instead of being, as it was, almost
an unmixed curse both to the conquerors and the conquered.
While all these things were being done, it seemed as if England was not
about to take any part in the settlement of the New World. Only one or
two voyages had been made hither, and these had been so disastrous that
there was very little encouragement to others to follow. In 1527 one Albert
de Prado, a foreign priest living in England, sailed out with two ships.
We know that the voyagers reached Newfoundland, since letters still exist
sent home thence by them ; but after that nothing more is known of them.
In 1536 another expedition set out, commanded by one Hore, a gentleman
of London. This voyage is somewhat remarkable, not for anything that
was accomplished, but because it seems to have been the first of any im-
portance that Englishmen undertook entirely without foreign help. Land-
ing far north, they suffered great hardships, and were on the very point of
killing and eating one of their own number, but were saved by the appear-
ance of another ship well victualled. This they seized, and so returned
to England. Such a voyage was not likely to encourage Englishmen to
pursue adventure in America, and for some time we hear of no more at-
tempts. But in the meantime a great deal was being done towards fitting
Kim-land to play her part in the settlement of America. During the past
eighty years trade had increased greatly, as is shown by the number of
commercial treaties with foreign towns, and of corporations of English
merchants in many of the great European cities, and foreign trade was al-
most sure to bring the pursuit of navigation with it. Moreover, Henry
VIII. did a great deal to further this. For though his misdeeds in other
ways were very great, yet, when his passions did not lead him astray, he
\\as
T1U, WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
tl,, •ou.'-ht the good of his country; and he
wisi, kin!r, and one that MU ht , ^ And ^
in the reign of his daugh-
*aw tliat
those V'':lt deeds tliat
«•
_
I
-n & t measure
SEBASTIAX CABOT.
tr • „>,.,«• -md foresight uorue «v
lue t<> Ilenn s euorgj il" i 1 N
;"7r r &££& r moiiuof r"hat *******
"* "" fi;± , I and sailor. Though this bore no great fruit m his
Yof it was seen in the next generation ; for in 1.49, in the
son Edward, Sebastian Cabot, who, it may be said was
the first oreat English navigator, was made Grand
Pilot of England, and planned great enterprise,
English ships soon began to sail in every quarter, and
En-land became as great on the sea as either Portugal
or Spain. Voyages were made to Guinea to trad<
gold and precious stones, and unhappily too in negro
slaves And great discoveries were made in
northern seas. For English ships sailed round the
northern point of Norway and to Archangel, and
Englishmen traveled by this way to the Russian court
at Moscow, and even to Persia. But as yet nothing was done in the dire.
turn of America. When at last a voyage was made hither, it was rathei
by chance than by design. For, in 1576, Martin Frobisher a west-coun r
sea-captain, sailed northward, thinking to find a passage to Asia round
northern coast of America. He did not, however, get further than that
•rulf to the north of Labrador called Frobisher Straits. But though he
failed in his main object, he brought back what was more valued than even
a passage to Asia would have been. A stone which he had found was
ported to contain gold. The stories of the Spanish conquest had set
England, like all the rest of Europe, mad after gold; and immediately a
company was formed to explore the supposed gold country. Frobisher was
sent out again, and came back with a great cargo of what was believed to
be ore. Queen Elizabeth then took up the scheme. A third and larger ex-
pedition was sent out in fifteen ships, and it was arranged that a hundred
men should be left there to form a settlement. In the arrangements for this
voyage a mistake was made, which was often repeated afterwards, and
which was a serious hindrance to the success, not only of the English
colonies, but those of other nations. It was thought that men who were
unfit to live at home would do for colonists, and accordingly a number of
condemned criminals were sent out. The expedition was an utter failure ;
the sailors almost mutinied ; one of the ships with provisions for the colony
deserted, and it was found hopeless to attempt a settlement. The fleet was
STOIflKS OF A.MKIMCAN IIISTOKY. *;:
loaded with ore, and sailed home. The ore proved worthless, and the whole
attempt resulted in titter failure and disappointment to all concerned.
By this time there was afresh motive for English voyages to America.
From the beginning of Elizabeth's reign many Englishmen of good family
liad sailed the seas as pirates, especially attacking Spanish ships. And as
English seamen grew more skilful, they ventured to harass the Spanish set-
tlements on the coast of America, and to cut off the Spanish fleets as they
came and went. Though many of the greatest and bravest Englishmen of
that day took part in these voyages, it is impossible to justit'v them. Yet
there was this much to be said in excuse, that the Spanish Inquisition not
unfrequently seized Englishmen on Spanish soil, and punished them for no
crime but their religion. It must be remembered too that the pope, who
was the close ally of Spain, was ever hatching conspiracies against the
Queen of England, and striving to stir up civil wars there, and it could
hardly seem a crime to Englishmen to annoy and weaken Spain even by un-
lawful means. Thus there was much fighting between Englishmen and
Spaniards on the seas, and on the American coast, though the countries
were not avowedly at war.
In 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a west-country gentleman of great learn-
ing and wisdom, seems to have bethought him of a scheme for injuring
Spain by planting an English settlement on the coast of America to serve
as a sort of outpost from which to attack the Spanish fleets. It is not quite
certain that Gilbert was the author of this scheme, but there is great likeli-
hood of it ; and it is certain that after this time he got a patent, granting
him leave to form a colony in America. He does not seem, however, to have
been as skilful in carrying out his designs as in planning them, and this
expedition, though sent out at great cost, was a complete failure and he him-
self a heavy loser. Four years later he renewed his attempt; this time he
was somewhat more successful. For though one of his ships deserted him
at the very outset, he reached America, landed on the coast of Newfound-
land, and took possession of the country in tlie Queen's name. He made no
further attempt at a settlement, partly from the character of his men, who
were lawless and disorderly, and thought only of getting on and making
attempts at piracy. Before long another ship deserted and reduced the fleet
to three, and of these one was wrecked with a load of ore thought to con-
tain gold. Last of all, the smallest vessel, the Squirrel, of only ten tons, in
which Gilbert himself sailed, went down, and one ship alone made its way
back to England. Though Gilbert's attempt ended in utter failure, yet his
name should ever be held in honor as the man who led the way in the
English settlement of America, and who forfeited his life in that cause from
which his countrymen afterwards gained such honor and reward.
Gilbert's scheme was taken up by a man fitter for such a task. His half-
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
.
y the greatest Englishman in an
.
re have been men too who were greater in one special way;
-;; , ,, \,vt,rlias ^ anyone equally distmguished in so many
s careers open to a man in that day— learn-
SIR WALTER RALEIGH.
all. As colonization was one of the great undertakings possible in that
age, Raleigh entered upon that. There he showed his wisdom beyond all
who had gone before him. Except perhaps the French settlers in Florida,
no one had thought of planting settlements save with an eye to gold and
silver; for Gilbert's was hardly so much a regular settlement as an out-
post against Spain. But Raleigh, though he probably had mines in view,
yet took care to settle his colony where it might maintain itself by agri-
culture, and enrich both itself and England by manufacture and trade. In
1584 he obtained a patent in precisely the same terms as Gilbert's, and sent
out two sea-captains, Amiclas and Barlow, to explore. They landed much
further south than Gilbert, where climate and soil were both better. The
natives received them with great kindness and hospitality, and two ac-
companied them back to England. Amidas and Barlow brought home a
STORIES OF AMERICA N HISTORY. 879
glowing account of the land they hud found, un I the Queen named it
\ irginia. Next year Raleigh sent out a hundred and ei^ht settlers. Sir
Richard (Jrem ille, one of the greatest sea-captains of the, -me. \\a< in com-
niand of the fleet. But he was only to see them estalilished, and then to
leave them under the command of Ralph Lain-, a soldier of some note.
Ileriot, a friend of Raleigh, and a man of great scientific learning, was sent
o:it to examine the country. The colony was established in an island called
Roaiioke, off what is now th" coast of North Carolina. At the very outset
a mishap occurred which afterwards did no small harm to the settlement.
As Grenville was exploring the country, an Indian stole a silver cup from
the English. In revenge (irenville, \\lio seems to have been of a severe and
somewhat cruel temper, burnt an Indian village. Up to this time the
Indians had appeared friendly, but henceforth the settlers had to be on
their guard. In August, (Jrenville sailed home, leaving Lane in full com-
mand. Instead of getting his settlement into good order and making
arrangements for building houses, growing corn, and the like, Lane almost at
once set off with a party in quest of mines. They suffered great hardships,
and, after being driven by lack of food to eat their dogs, at length returned
without having made any discovery. Lane on his return found his settle-
ment in great danger. The Indians, emboldened by his absence, were
plotting against the colony, and would have assailed them unawares, had
not one more friendly than the rest disclosed the plot to Lane. Though not
a very wise governor, Lane was a bold and able soldier. He at once fell
upon the Indians, killing fifteen of them, and thereby prevented an attack.
But though the settlers were saved from immediate danger, their prospects
were very gloomy. They were suffering from lack of food ; the Indians
were no longer their friends, and they began to fear that Grenville, who
was to have brought them supplies, would not return. While they were in
these difficulties, an English fleet appeared on its way back from a raid on the
Spanish coast. Drake, the commander of the fleet, fitted out a ship for the
settlers with a hundred men and provisions for six months, but just as it
was ready a storm arose, and it was driven out to sea. Another attempt
was made to send a ship to their relief, but the harborage was insufficient
and the attempt was given tip. At last the settlers in despair resolved to
embark in Drake's fleet, and by the end of July, 1586, they landed in Ports-
mouth. A few days after they had sailed, a ship reached Virginia, sent out
by Raleigh with provisions. After searching in vain for the settlers, it re.
turned to England. About a fortnight later, Grenville arrived with three
ships well provisioned. Having spent some time in seeking for the settle-
ment he landed fifteen men with supplies for two years, to keep possession
of the country, and sailed home.
All these disappointments did not withhold Raleigh from another and
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
nH.iv determined attempt. lu 1587 he sent out a fresh party of settlers.
One White \\;i> to \K> governor, with a council of twelve assistants, and the
settlement \vas to be called the City of Kaleigh. Hitherto the Indians had
A SHIP OP THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
o ^settlers at
worthy events occurred Ma ° Va88wtante- In A»S™* two note.
Arnidas and Barlow ^ 1 / °^ °f the Datives who had Burned with
daughter, the first chii;oSsehne; ^^ ^ °f One Dare W a
English parents born in the New World. Soon
STORIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
after this, White went to England to get supplies. Raleigh immediately
fitted out a fleet under the command of Grenville. Before it could >ail,
tidings came that the Spanish Armada was ready to attack Knirland, and
e\ery ship and sailor that could he put on the sea was need •<!. Neverthe-
less Raleigh contrived to send out White with two small vessels. Hut
instead of relieving the colony, the crew betook themselves to piracy airain^l
the Spaniards, and,- after sundry mishaps, returned to England without ever
having reached Virginia. Raleigh had now spent forty thousand pounds on
his Virginia colony, and had got absolutely nothing in return. Moreover,
he had just got a large grant of land in Ireland, and needed all his spare
time and money for that. Accordingly in March, 1589, he sold all his rights
in the Virginia plantation to a company. At the same time he showed his
interest in the colony by a gift of one hundred pounds, to be spent in the
conversion of the natives. The new company was slow in sending out
relief, and nothing was done till late in that year. White then sailed with
three ships. This fleet repeated the same folly which had undone the last
expedition, and went plundering among the Spanish islands. At last, after
much delay, White reached Virginia. The settlers had left the spot where
White had placed them, and as had been agreed, they had cut upon a tree
the name of the place, Croatan, whither they had gone. There some traces
of their goods were seen, but they themselves could not be found anywhere.
Though Raleigh had no longer any share in the settlement, he did not cease
to take an interest in it, and sent out at least two more expeditions, one as
late as 1602, in the bare hope of recovering the colonists, or at least of
getting some tidings of them. A vague rumor was afterwards heard that
some of them had been taken prisoners by the Indians and kept as slaves,
but nothing certain was ever known of them from the day that White left
America.
Thus, by the end of the sixteenth century, Spain had on each coast of
America a territory several thousand miles in length, with large and beau-
tiful cities, and yielding in gold and silver alone more than sixty thousand
pounds a year, while England had not so much as a single fishing-village.
Yet the last fifty years had done much towards training Englishmen for the
task of colonization. They had learnt familiarity with the sea and with dis-
tant lands, and they had discovered that the Spaniards were not, as they
had once seemed, invincible. The men who had conquered the Armada,
and had even plundered Spanish ships and towns on the American coast,
felt that they could surmount difficulties which had not baffled Cortez and
Pizarro. Englishmen in the sixteenth century did not establish a single
lasting settlement in America, bnt they did much toward showing how
America might be explored and colonized by the next generation.
56
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER III.
VIRGINIA..
j$y FTER the failure of White's expedition, no further attempt
at settlement was made for eighteen years. Gradually, how-
ever, new causes arose to make colonization important.
Hitherto distant settlements had been planned chiefly to
inrich the mother country by mines and trade, or to molest,
the Spanish colonies. But now men began to see that the
newly discovered lands might be valuable as a home for
those who could find neither work nor means of livelihood
in England. The beginning of the seventeenth century was
a time when this need was specially felt. During the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries there had been great pestilences and famines, which had
kept down the numbers of the people, and, except during special times of
scarcity, there had been no lack of food. But during the sixteenth century
the population had increased greatly, and there was neither work nor wages
enough for all. Two things especially had helped to cause this. Wool
trade and sheep farming had greatly increased, and much land which was
formerly tilled had been turned into pasture, and thus many laborers had
been thrown out of work. Besides, the breaking up of religious houses by
Henry VIII. had cut off another means whereby many were maintained.
Thus the land was full of needy and idle men ready for any ill deed. In
this strait men began to think of the rich and uninhabited lands beyond the
sea as offering a support for those who could find none at home. In one way,
the prospects of colonization might seem changed for the worse. Elizabeth,
who was now dead, had always looked on all distant adventures with favor,
and honored and encouraged those who undertook them. But her successor,
James, was of a timid temper, and had no pleasure in such things, but rather
trusted them as likely to strengthen the free spirit of his subjects. More-
er, he was specially attached to Spain, and valued its friendship beyond
hat of any other country. And as the Spaniards always did their utmost
eep any other nation from settling in America, they would not fail to
Jdice James against such attempts. One thing, however, helped to
! him to schemes for colonization. It was understood from the first
o omes were entirely under the control of the King and Privy
HI, and that Parliament had no power of interfering in their concerns.
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. *s:j
As might be expected, with this difference in the temp«-r of tin- sovcici-n.
the spirit of the nation, or at least, of the leading men in the nation, \\.-ts
somewhat changed too. There were no longer men like Krolii<her, and Gil-
bert, and Grenville, who loved adventure for its own sake, and readily
undertook long and costly voyages and risked great dangers, for distant and
uncertain hopes of gain. In reality, however, this change was favorable to
colonization. For it was the love of adventure and the desire to achic\c
some brilliant success by discovering mines or unknown seas, or by piracy
against the Spaniards, which caused the failure of all the early attempts.
So that settlements made with soberer views, though they might not be un-
dertaken so eagerly or promise such brilliant results, were more likely to
enjoy lasting success.
In 1602 and the three following years voyages of discovery were sent
out. The coast of America to the north of Chesapeake Bay was explored,
and a favorable report brought back. The failures of Gilbert and Raleigh
showed that a colony was too great an undertaking for a single man to carry
out successfully. The northern expeditions in the previous century sent out
by the Russian Company had been more prosperous. Accordingly in 1606
a company was formed for the establishment of two settlements in America.
The Northern colony was to be managed by gentlemen and merchants from
the west of England ; the Southern by Londoners, A. charter was obtained
from the king granting to each a tract on the coast at whatever spot it chose
to settle, the Northern colony between thirty-four and forty-one degrees of
latitude, the Southern between thirty-eight and forty-five. At the same time
it was provided that the colonies were to be one hundred miles apart. Each
was to have a tract of fifty miles along the coast on each side of the settle-
ment, and all islands within one hundred miles of the coast; and no other
English colony was to be founded on the mainland behind them without
express permission. Each was to be governed by a President and Council
of thirteen in America, while these were to be under the control of a Coun-
cil in England. The members of these Councils and the two Presidents
were to be appointed by the King. At the same time James drew up cer-
tain articles for the government of the colonies. All criminal cases involving
life and death were to be tried by a jury ; smaller offences by the President.
The President and Council of each colony had power to make ordinances ;
but these must agree with the laws of England, and were not to become law
till approved of by the Sovereign or the Council at home. The Sovereign
was also to issue such orders as from time to time should seem desirable.
There was to be no private industry in the colony for the first five years,
but the settlers were to bring all the fruit of their labor into a com-
mon store, whence food and other necessaries would be provided in
return.
TUE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
In December, 1606, the Southern colony set out. Three ships sailed
uith more than 'one hundred emigrants. By an ill-judged arrangement,
,1,,. list of the Council \vas not to be opened till they landed. The
Council was then to elect a Governor.
Thus during the voyage there was no one
with regular and settled authority. Among
the colonists was one John Smith, an English
yeoman by birth, who had spent his life as
a soldier of fortune. Europe in that age
swarmed with adventurers, but few of them
had gone through so many strange chances
as this man. He had served in the Low
Countries ; he had been captured by Barbary
pirates ; he had fought against the Turks in
Hungary ; he was left for dead on the battle-
field ; he then escaped from a Turkish prison
into Russia, and at length returned to England. Such a man was likely
enough to be of an unquiet temper, and before the fleet had been out six
weeks he was confined on suspicion of mutiny. On the 26th of April the
colonists landed in Chesapeake Bay and founded a settlement, which they
JOHN SMITH
BUILDIXG JAMESTOWN.
called Jamestown. The Council then elected Wingfield to be President.
. * ma° .of S°od birth and some military experience, but proud and
led, and indifferent to the friendship and esteem of those under him.
.ing now went wrong. The settlers themselves were idle and thrift-
t work as long as the supplies which they brought out
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTOKY. 885
lasted. Moreover, they found some earth which they fancied contained gold,
and all their time was spent in working at this. The natives were friendly,
but Newport, the captain of the ship, by his foolish liberality to the In<li;ui
king, Powhatan, made him hold the English goods cheap, and so prevented
the settlers from buying corn as easily as they might have done. But for
Smith's energy the colony could hardly have existed. He cruised about the
coast and explored the country, either conciliating or overawing the natives,
and getting abundant supplies of corn from them. As might have been ex-
pected, Smith and Wingfleld soon quarreled. We have only the accounts of
this affair written by each of them, so it is hard to tell the rights of the
case. Wingfield, however, himself admitted the great services done by Smith
to the colony, and we find Smith long afterwards enjoying the favor and
confidence of men connected with Virginia. The quarrel ended by Wing-
field being deposed. Smith did not at once become President, but he was
practically the head of the colony. For a short time things went on better.
The settlers built twenty houses, sowed some ground, set up a regular fac-
tory for trade with the Indians, and made some tar and other merchandise.
But soon they fell back into their old state. So badly off were they for
food, that they were forced to break up into three bodies and settle in differ-
ent parts. Some even ran off to the Indians and lived among them.
In spite of the evil tidings which came from the colony, and the disap-
pointment of all their hopes of gain, the company in England were not dis-
couraged. Hitherto they had only been a private association for trade, while
all the government of the colony was in the hands of the King and the two
Councils appointed by him. But in 1609 the company obtained a charter
from the King, forming them into a corporation, with a Treasurer and a
Council to manage their affairs and those of the colony in Virginia. They
were to make laws for the colony and to appoint officers. The company
now included many of the greatest men of the age — amongst others, the
philosopher Lord Bacon — and most of the great London trading companies
held shares in it.
The new company at once sent out an expedition on a larger scale than
the last. Nine ships sailed with five hundred settlers, under the command
of Sir Thomas Gates, an experienced soldier, who had distinguished himself
in the Low Countries, and Sir George Somers, one of the bravest of the
American adventurers in the days of Elizabeth. Lord Delaware was ap-
pointed Governor of the colony, and was to follow soon after. Unluckily,
before the fleet reached Virginia, the ship in which Gates and Somers sailed
got separated from the rest and was cast by a storm on the Bermuda Islands.
Thus the new colonists arrived without any proper head. The state of the
colony now was worse than ever. The new settlers were for the most part
the very scum of the earth : men sent out to the New World because they
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
unfit t.> live iii the Old. They were idle and mutinous, and utterly
.lespised Smith's authority. West, Lord Delaware's brother, whose position
miirht have given him some authority over them, fell sick, and to crown
their misfortunes, Smith met with an accident which obliged him to return
to Midland. Tin- Indians did not actually attack them, but they were
known to IK- plotting against the colony. While things were in this state,
(iatcs and Somers arrived in a pinnace which they had built in the Bermu-
,1;1- \\ith their oun hands. The state of the colony seemed so desperate
that they determined to break it up and return, with all the settlers, to
England It seemed as if this attempt would end, like Raleigh's, in utter
failure. But just as they were all embarked, Lord Delaware arrived with
three ships well supplied. He at once resettled the colony, and forced the
colonists to till the ground and fortify the settlement against the Indians.
From this time the history of Virginia as a settled country may be con-
sidered to begin.
Lord Delaware did not stay long in the colony, but left it under the
government of Sir Thomas Dale, who, like Gates, had served as a soldier in
the Netherlands. He was an able but a stern ruler. He enforced a code of
laws copied in many points from the military laws of the Low Countries,
so severe that it is wonderful how any community ever endured them. A
few of the harshest will serve as specimens. A man was to be put to death
for killing any cattle, even his own, without leave of the governor ; so was
any one who exported goods without leave. A baker who gave short
weight was to lose his ears, and on the third offence to be put to death. A
laundress who stole linen was to be flogged. Attendance at public worship
was enforced by severe penalties. We must not forget, however, that most
of the colonists were no better than criminals ; indeed, the colony had got
so evil a name in England by its disorders and misadventures that few
respectable men would go out.
The settlers were of various classes : all who subscribed twelve pounds
ten shillings to the company, or sent out a laborer at their own expense, got
shares of land— at first a hundred acres ; afterwards, as the colony improved,
fty acres each. These farmed their land either by their own labor or by
ured servants, and formed the class afterwards called planters. But the
reatest part of the land was in the hands, not of private persons, but of
mpany itself. This was cultivated by public servants who had been
the company's expense, and who were in great part maintained
a public store, but were also allowed each a patch of ground of his
upon which to support himself. Some of these public servants were
in handicrafts and in producing commodities to send home. More-
en of special skill, public officers, clergymen, physicians, and the
J maintained at the company's cost in return for their services.
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
887
Under the government of Dale the condition of the colony improved. One
important tribe of Indians, the Chickahominies, made a league \\ith the
settlers, and in return for some small presents of hatchets and red cloth,
acknowledged themselves English subjects, and undertook to pav a vearlv
tribute of corn. The chief body of
the Indians, under a great and power-
ful chief, Powhatan, were also closely
allied with the English. In 1612,
one Captain Argall, an unscrupulous
man with influence in the company, bv
a knavish scheme with Japazaus, an
Indian chief, kidnapped Pocahontas,
the favorite daughter of Powhatan.
During her captivity among the Eng-
lish she became converted to Chris-
tianity and married John Rolfe, a
leading man among the settlers. Thus
from the affair which seemed at one
time likely to embroil the colony with
the Indians came a friendship which
lasted as long as Powhatan lived.
The next year Dale departed. The
settlers showed that they needed his
strong hand over them by falling at once into idleness and improvidence.
The new governor, Yeardley, was an upright man, just and humane in his
dealings both with the settlers and the natives, but wanting in energy. One
great source of mischief which Dale had hardly been able to keep in check
was the excessive planting of tobacco. This crop was so profitable that the
colonists gave all their time and ground to it, and neglected the needful
cultivation of corn. Meanwhile the affairs of the company at home were
mismanaged. The treasurer, Sir Thomas Smith, was either negligent or
dishonest. Emigrants were sent out utterly unprovided with necessaries,
and the supplies forwarded to the colonists were almost worthless. Under
Yeardley's successor, Argall, matters were yet worse. He plundered both
the company and the colonists in every way that he could. He took the
stores, the servants, and the ships of the company for his own private profit
and use. Under his rule the state of the colony became utterly wretched.
Though more than a thousand persons had been sent thither, less than six
hundred were left. At one place, Henrico, where there had been forty set-
tlers, there was left but one house, and at Jamestown there were but ten or
twelve. The condition of the private planters seems to have been better,
and it was most likely this which encouraged the company to persevere and
POCAHONTAS.
m THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
to make one more attempt to bring the colony to a prosperous condition.
In ir.!.\ ;i change uas made in the company; Sir Thomas Smith was de-
posed t'rom'rlie treasinvrship, and in his place Sir Edwin Sandys appointed.
He was an able aud upright man, and a leading member of the party that
\\a- l)('iriiiiiiiii,r to resist the arbitrary policy of the king in political and re-
ligions matters. Side In side with this a change of even greater and more
lasting importance was made in the colony itself. Argall was deposed and
Yean I lev sent out in his place. His first act, no doubt by the wish of the
companv, was to form an independent legislature in Virginia. He called an
Assembly almost exactly modeled after the English parliament, It con-
sisted of the Council and a body of representatives, two from each of the
eleven plantations into which the colony was divided. These representa.
t ives were elected by the freeholders. The Assembly so formed imposed
taxes, considered petitions, and passed several laws for the management of
the colony. From this time the Assembly met, if not every year, at least
at frequent intervals, and the Virginians, though nominally dependent on the
king and the company, had in most things an independent government of
their own.
Under the new system the colony grew and flourished ; vines were planted,
and manufactories of iron and glass were set on foot. Guest-houses were
built, in spots carefully chosen for heal thfuln ess, for the emigrants when first
they landed. The company exerted itself to supply the colony with clergy-
men and schoolmasters ; business so increased that it was necessary to have
law courts in the different plantations. But the growing prosperity of the
colony was soon cruelly checked. From various causes the settlers lived for
the most part, not in villages, but in single houses, each with its own farm
about it. This was due partly to the system which gave every shareholder
a hundred acres of ground for each share, so that many of the planters
owned large estates, and partly too to the fact that the country was full of
navigable rivers, so that traveling was very easy, and the inconvenience of
separation little felt. The colony was thus more exposed to the Indians ;
that danger was little feared, since the relations between them and the
. seemed thoroughly friendly. The Indians came and went among the
»h, and were allowed to go in and out of their houses as they pleased.
Benevolent schemes had been proposed for converting and training up
Indian children. Unluckily for the English, Powhatan, who had ever
• fast friend, died in 1618. His successor, Opechancanough, was
for some time suspected of enmity to the settlers. Yet they do not seem to
ye been in the least on their guard against an attack. In 1622 an Indian
I murdered an English planter, in revenge for which he was killed by
the planter's servants. This supplied Opechancanough with a pre-
tirnngup his people against the settlers. Till the very moment
STOKMKS OF AMFIMCAN HISTORY.
that they were ready for the attack the Indians kept up e\ rr\ appearance
of friendship, and then suddenly fell upon t he >rtt |ci> and ninrdi-n-d .-v.-rv
one they could. Had it not been that one convened Indian --ave warning
to the English, few would have escaped. As it was, about three hundred
and fifty perished. A few years before this would have been fatal, but tin-
colony now numbered between two and three thousand. Public \\orks \\ere
INDIAN ATTACK UPON SETTLERS.
hindered, and the settlers were forced to abandon some of their outlying
plantations and draw closer together, but the evil effects soon passed off.
An event even more important than the massacre was at hand. The
king, though he granted such ample powers to the company, seems always
to have looked on it with some jealousy. This was due, in a great measure,
to the intrigues of Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador. For the Spaniards
naturally dreaded the growth of English colonies in the New World, lest
they should become as dangerous to the Spanish colonies as England had
been to Spain in the Old World. Hence there was perpetual intriguing
against the company, and Gondomar, who, by bribing right and left, had
gained great influence in England, did all he could against it. As the lead-
ing men in the company were of that party who chiefly opposed -the king,
James was easilv persuaded that the company was a training-school for a
WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
....litiotis parliament. Moreover, Sir Tliomas Smith, who hud IHVM displaced.
from tli.'. .Hire of treasurer, headed a disaffected party within t he company,
M thai it was divided against itself, and got an ill name for squabbling and
niis.-oiidiier. Hesides, the ne\\s of the massacre did much to make men
think Imhtly of the colony and distrust its management. In the colony too
there \\eivdisalVected and discontented ))cople, wlio spoke evil of the com-
panv. But when the king sent out coiiunissioiiers to inquire into the
charges brought against the company, all the serious accusations fell to the
./round. Nevertheless, the overthrow of the company was determined on,
and in li>i'."' they were summoned by an order of the Privy Council to sur-
render their charter, in order that the management of the colony might be
handed over to a Council appointed l>y the king. The company at once
refused to yield. Accordingly a writ was issued against the company,
called a writ of <Jn<> iritminto, by which any corporation can be compelled
to show good cause for its existence. At the same time they were deprived
of the power of defending themselves by the seizure of all their papers.
The details of the trial are not known, but the judges of that time were so
subservient to the Court that any matter in which the king was known to
take an interest was likely to be decided as he wished. Chief Justice Ley,
who had to decide the case, gave it against the company. Thus the
Virginia Company came to an end after a career of sixteen years.
Few corporations have in so short a time done so much good ; for from
the time that they were set free from the evil government of Sir Tliomas
Smith, they seem steadily to have sought the good of the colony rather than
their own gain. Yet in all probability Virginia gained by their dissolution,
for under the king the colony was left to itself, and learnt independence
and self-reliance, as it hardly could have done under the company.
The effect of the dissolution was to leave the colony entirely dependent
on the king. In May, 1625, he issued a proclamation settling the condition
of Virginia. It was to be governed by two Councils, one in Kn»-land and
the other in Virginia, both to be appointed by the king, and by a governor
also appointed by the king. The colonists had no charter, and no security
»f any kind against arbitrary government. Practically, however, tl.in-s went
on as before. The Assembly met every year, and enacted measures, which
were then sent to England, and, if approved of by the king, became laws.
B governor and all the chief officials received fixed salaries, so that they
u no way dependent on the Assembly. In general matters the colony
have prospered under the new system. By 1(529 the number of
>ad increased, in spite of the massacre, to more than four thousand.
iron were exported, and there seemed a likelihood of vines being
successfully cultivated. The damage done by the massacre was soon n7-
3d, and fnendship with the Indians restored. In 16:55, a dispute arose
STORIES OF AMKKICAN HISTORY. 801
with the neighboring colony, Maryland, recently settled hv L-.rd Baltimore.
Harvey, the governor <>f Virginia, took part with Lord Baltimore again-t
the Virginians. Enraged at this the people rose against Ilarvev, arrested
him. and sent him to England, lie, hovxever, defended himself successfully
from the charges brought against him, and v\as restored. In H'>.T.> proposals
were set on foot in England for restoring the company, but these came to
nothing, chiefly through the opposition offered by the colonists. They no
doubt found that they en j<>\ ed greater inilepenileiice under the king, and
feared that the restoration of the company would revive old claims to land,
and thus cause confusion.
When the civil war broke out in England, it seemed at first as if Vir-
ginia would he a stronghold of the Royalists. Berkeley, the successor of
Harvey, was a staunch partisan of the king, and so were niaiiy of the chief
inhabitants. Daring the supremacy of the Commonwealth the colonies were
placed under the government of a special Commission, with the Earl of
Warwick at its head. In October, 1649, nine months after the death of
Charles I., the Virginia Assembly passed an Act making it high treason to
speak disrespectfully of the late king, to defend his execution, or to ques-
tion Charles II. 's right to the crown. Nevertheless, as soon as a Parliament-
ary fleet reached the colony, the Virginians at once surrendered. The Par-
liamentary Commission granted moderate terms : the Governor and Council
were allowed a year in which to dispose of their estates and leave the colony,
and no one was to be punished for any act or word on behalf of the king.
The supremacy of Parliament does not seem in any way to have altered the
condition of the colony at the time. It had, however, one very important
and lasting effect. Hitherto it had been an acknowledged principle of law
that Parliament had no control over the colonies. In 1(524 the House of
Commons had attempted to interfere on behalf of the Virginia Company,
but were forbidden by the king to proceed further in the matter. They
murmured, but gave way. In 1H28 they sent a petition to the king on be-
half of the Bermudas. But in this they fully acknowledged that the entire
government of the colonies ought to be in the hands of the king. But after
the death of the king, Parliament hud in a great measure assumed his rights
and power, and so the government of the colonies naturally passed over to
them. Thus it became an established principle that Acts of Parliament were
binding on the colonies in the same way as on the mother country, and after
the Restoration this principle still remained in force. The chief enactment
made by Parliament during the Commonwealth with reference to the colo-
nies was that no goods should be carried to and from the colonies except in
English or colonial ships. After the Restoration this was re-enacted, under
the name of the Navigation Law. Its object was to confine the colonial
trade to England and to encourage English shipping. Another Act was
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
|,;i~ed, three years later, prohibiting the ini])ortatioii of foreign goods to the
colonies, unless they had bwn first landed in England. To make up for
tht-f restrictions, the planting of tobacco in England was forbidden, and
thus the colonists enjoyed ;i monopoly of the tobacco trade. The Navigation
I,u\\ \\as not strictly enforced, and therefore did not press hardly on the
(•(.Ionics. Nevertheless, it established the principle that Acts of Parliament
\\ere binding on the colonies, although their inhabitants had no voice in
electing Parliament, and very little power of making their wants known
to it.
The Restoration caused as little stir in Virginia as the overthrow of the
monarchy had done. No attempt was made to resist it, and Berkeley was
j
rSK. v,;.;
A VIRGINIA FOKBST.
forty tho
inhabl*ants had increased
death, but pa PrreiVlh° had beeD SentenCe<l t0
portation In s,,i e of tl • * " Cbanged ^ 8Pecial favor to tl>an«'
been very £ t m ^±7 °f ^ ^ ^ Col°^ — *o have
allowed £hang on hSTin ^T JT TM* ^ ^ ^^
Plenty that prevailed A V ^ pl'°bab1^ due to the comfort
and fif v b 1 ^fTf e mn C°Uld' by WS °WU labor' raise *™
' of hdian corn in a year. Cattle required no
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. HI
attention, but were turned out into the woods and throve there. The fon-t-
swanned with game, and the rivers \\ith fish. Ever since ir>4.'5 the relations
with the Indians had Keen friendly ; in that \ear war liad broken out. The
Indians were easily subdued; Opechancaiiough was raptured and put to
death, and a firm peace made with his successor. Fur nearly thirty \ears
from that time the peace remained unbroken. During this period, various
laws were passed for the protection of the Indians. Kll'ort- were made to
convert and to teach their children, and the English tried to civili/e them
by offering them cows as a reward for killing wolves. The colonists were
forbidden by law to enslave the Indians or to bu\ land from them. In
1 (>('>(>, two settlers, men of high position, were fined fifteen thousand pounds
of tobacco each, and were disqualified from holding any office in the colony,
because they had unlawfully kept an Indian as a prisoner. At the same
time another settler was disqualified in the same way, for cheating the In-
dians of some land.
The worst evils from which the colony suffered were the want of town<
and of education. The first of these was due to various causes: many of the
settlers had been landed gentry, and had a taste for large estates and for a
country life. In the time of the company, there was no difficulty about
acquiring large estates, since every share of twelve pounds ten shillings en-
titled the holder to fifty acres. After the dissolution of the company, the
government seems to have been careless in its grants of land, and many men
acquired estates far larger than they could properly manage. The number
of rivers, and the ease with which the settlers could transport themselves
and their goods from one place to another, favored this mode of life. The
cultivation of tobacco and the use of slave labor also helped to bring this
about. Slaves can seldom learn to cultivate more than one kind of crop ;
and as tobacco exhausts the soil, it was necessary to be always taking fresh
land into cultivation, and leaving that which had been already tilled to re-
cover. Thus each planter needed far more land than he would have done
under a more thrifty system. Various attempts were made to establish
towns, but they came to nothing ; chiefly because every one wanted to have
the town within easy reach of his own plantation. Thus the Assembly,
with whom the arrangement of these matters lay, could never fix on a site.
The result of this want of towns was that there were neither schools nor
printing-presses, and that the people grew up for the most part utterly un-
taught. Moreover, the clergy, from whom some kind of training might
have been expected, were for the most part ignorant men, and of low
station.
About 1670 political discontent began to show itself. There were
various causes for this: In 1655 a law had been passed restricting the right
of voting at elections to landowners and householders, whereas before all
MH-, WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
freemen had voted. Tliis law was repealed in tlie next year, on the ground
that it was unfair that persons should pay taxes and yet have no votes. In
1U7H the >ame la\\ was again enacted. Besides this, the governor had been
-radually acquiring an undue share of power. It had been originally in-
tended that the Council who were appointed by the king should be a check
upon the governor. But the king depended mainly for his information as
to the state of the colony on the governor. The result of this was that the
appointment of the Council came to be made in reality by the governor;
and instead of being a check upon him, they were his supporters. The clerk
of the Assembly also found it to his interest to stand well with the gov-
ernor, and for this object kept him informed as to all the doings of the
A--i-mbl\ : so that it was impossible for them to contrive any plan of action
against the irovernor without his hearing of it. As all the important public
officers were appointed by the governor, the whole control of affairs had passed
into his hands : and as Berkeley was a man of harsh and arbitrary temper, this
caused much discontent. Two things besides increased this feeling. In 1669
Charles II. granted the whole domain of Virginia to Lord Culpepper and
Lord Arlington for thirty-one years. The chief fear was lest the new pro-
prietors should claim land as unappropriated which had already been
granted to private persons. As the grant gave them the right of appoint-
ing public surveyors, they were certain of a favorable decision in, any ques-
tion of disputed boundaries. The Assembly took fright at this, and sent
over three agents to England to remonstrate against the grant. This agency
was a cause of public expense, and so did something to increase the existing
discontent. Moreover, Berkeley had recently enforced the laws against Non-
conformists with severity, and many had been obliged to leave the colony,
and probably many were left behind secretly disaffected. Thus everything
was read\- for a commotion, and it only needed some small event to set one
on foot.
In !<>::> a quarrel broke out between the settlers and two tribes of
Indians, the Susquehannahs and the Doegs. These Indians stole some pigs
revenge themselves on one Matthews, a planter, who, as they said, had
cheated them. The thieves were pursued, and some of them killed. The
Indians then killed Matthews, his son, and two of his servants. Upon this
>me planter,, without authority from the governor, got together a force,
besieged one of the Indian forts. The Indians then sent six of their
to make proposals for peace, but the settlers in their anger fell upon
i and slew them. This enraged the Indians yet more, and an irregular
a was carried on, in which three hundred of the English perished.
' settlers then besought Berkeley to send out a force, but he refused.
me Bacon, a resolute and able man whom misfortune had made
ent against the Indians without any commission from Berkelev.
X
I
;
1
Hi-i !
i
iSf till
f>ei
rtfl. i
•
fell
victory niei
\>~* '
inquire into
die<l soon ,-if
a source of
'
araoi
none of •
'
trilh
•
'
J of t
8TOUIKS OK A.MF.KH'AN IIISTollY.
Five hundred men at once joined him. Berkeley thereupon proclaimed
them rebels, und sent troops to arrest them. This only made Bacon's fol-
lowers more obstinate, and at the election that aiiTiimn he \\a> chosen a- a
member of the Assembly. NVh.'ii he came to .lamestoun to take his >i-at.
Berkeley at first opposed his entrance and tried to arrest him. Neverthe-
less, in a short time they \veiv seemingly reconciled. Possibly this was, as
was afterwards thought, a trick on Berkeley's part to get Bacou in his
power. Various laus uere then passed to remedy the abuses which had
excited discontent. The right of voting was restored to all freemen, the
fees of public olliees were reduced, and Bacon was promised a commission
against the Indians. But when the time came Berkeley refused to fulfil
this promise. Thereupon Bacon left Jamestown, and in a few days returned
with five hundred followers. Berkeley now granted the commission, and
Bacon marched against the Indians. News, however, soon reached him that
Berkeley had raised a force and was coming to attack him. Bacon there-
upon made his followers swear to be faithful to him, and, even if troops
were sent against them from England, to resist till such time as their
grievances could be laid before the king: he then marched against Berkeley,
who fled. Bacon then burnt down Jamestown, lest his enemy should take
shelter there, and pursued Berkeley. But before any engagement could take
place Bacon fell sick and died. There was no one to take his place; the
rebel force fell to pieces, and was easily overcome. Berkeley used his
victory mercilessly, putting rebels to death without due trial, and confis-
cating their estates before they were condemned. He was only stopped in
these misdeeds by the arrival of three commissioners sent out by the king to
inquire into the causes of the rebellion. Berkeley went to England, and
died soon after, as was thought, of vexation. The rebellion was in one way
a source of great loss to the colony. The agents who had been sent to
England had just obtained from the king the promise of a charter, which
amongst other privileges would have confined the right of levying taxes to
the Assembly ; but in consequence of the rebellion this was withdrawn, and
none of the grievances against which the agents protested were redressed.
In one respect Bacon and his followers had been clearly blameworthy : in
their undistinguishing rage against the Indians, they had attacked a friendly
tribe, and had driven their queen, who had been a faithful ally to the Eng-
lish, to flee into the woods at the risk of her life. Nevertheless, soon after
Berkeley's departure a firm peace was made with all the Indians, and their
relations with the settlers were thenceforth friendly.
Two governors who came soon after, Lord Culpepper and Lord
Effingham, governed the colony worse than any that had gone before them.
Lord Culpepper came out in 1680 ; he persuaded the Assembly to raise his
salary from one thousand to two thousand pounds. It had been a custom
,s;iG TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
for tlu- captains of ships to make certain presents to the governor: Culpep-
per changed these into fixed dues. In 1683 he left the colony. His suc-
cessor, Lord Kflingliam, created ne\v and unnecessary offices, and devised
pretexts for exacting additional fees. Both of these governors claimed and
exercised the right of repealing laws passed in the Assembly, by their own
proclamation. The English Revolution of 1688, though it introduced no
change into the constitution of Virginia, seems to have stopped, or at least
greatly lessened, these evils. One new abuse, however, came in. Hitherto,
the governor had always lived in Virginia; now it became the custom for
him to be represented by a deputy in the colony. From 1704 to 1740 the
Marl of Orkney was nominally governor, but during that long time he was
represented by a deputy, who received eight hundred pounds a year out of
the governor's salary. Thus the colony was taxed twelve hundred pounds
a year for the maintenance of the governor, whom they never saw. The
English government excused this on the ground that it would be of great
service to the colony to have some man of high position in England to look
after their interest : but as Lord Orkney was nearly the whole of the time
away on foreign service, it can hardly be thought that he was of much use to
the colony. The most important change introduced by the Revolution was the
establishment of a college, called the College of William and Mary. Large
subscriptions for this purpose were given by the colonists, as well as by
Virginia merchants and other persons in England. Professorships were
established, and a handsome building erected, after plans by Sir Christopher
Wren.
STOKIKS OF A.MKKICAN HISTORY.
897
PLYMOUTH ROCK.
CHAPTER IV.
PLYMOUTH.
r
>IIE Virginia Company originally consisted, as we have seen, of
two branches, one the South Virginia Company at London,
the other the North Virginia Company at Plymouth. In
1607 the latter sent out forty-five settlers, who established
themselves at the mouth of the river Kennebec. This attempt
came to nothing. The winter was unusually cold ; Popham,
their leader, died, and the colony broke up. This failure kept
Englishmen from making any attempt at settlement in that
quarter for some years. Fishing voyages were made; and
Smith, after his return from Virginia, explored the coast* gave it the name
57
898 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
of New England, and did his best to persuade rich men in England to
plant a colony there. Besides, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who had taken a
leading part in fitting out the expedition of 1606, had several times sent out
ships to explore the coast. But for fourteen years after Popharn's failure
no settlement was made. One reason possibly was, that the Virginia Com-
paiiv took off all who had money and energy to spend on such enterprises.
Tin- colonization of Virginia was, as we have already seen, brought about
In the pressure of poverty and the lack of food and employment in Eng-
land. The colonization of New England was due to a totally different
caii<c, namely, the ill-treatment which a particular sect received from the
English government. During the reign of Elizabeth the English Protest-
ants were divided into two parties. There were those who thought that
the Reformation had gone far enough, or even too far, and who wished to keep
as much as possible, and in some cases even to restore, something of the ritual
and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. There were others who wanted
to go much further than the English Church had yet gone, and to abolish
many things which reminded them of the old connection with Rome. This
party was itself again divided into vaiious bodies. There were those who
wished to maintain the system of Church-government by bishops, and only
to change some of the forms of worship. Others wanted to introduce the
Presbyterian system, that of government by elders, as established in
Switzerland and France by Calvin and his followers, and in Scotland by
John Knox. A third party, small and insignificant during the reign of
Elizabeth, wished to introduce the Independent system which existed in
some parts of Germany. Under this system each congregation was a
separate body, having full control over its own religious affairs. Neither of
these last named parties, the Presbyterian or the Independent, obtained
much importance under Elizabeth. But as James I. and Charles I., and the
leading men among the bishops in their reigns, showed no readiness to yield
anything to the reforming party in the Church, many of those who had
hitherto been in favor of keeping the existing Church-government, gradually
went over to the Presbyterians or Independents. During the reign of
Elizabeth several severe measures were passed against the Independents,
prohibiting them from holding religious meetings. Under James, yet
harsher measures were enacted. The result was to drive many of them to
Holland, where full toleration was granted to all sects. Among these
refugees was an Independent congregation from Scrooby, a village in Not-
tinghamshire. They fled in a body in 1608, under the guidance of their
minister, Robinson, one of the best and wisest of the English Independents,
and established themselves at Leyden. There they sojourned for more than
ten years, and were joined by many of their friends from England, so that
they grew to be a great congregation. But though they prospered, they
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 899
were not altogether satisfied \\itli their abode in Holland. Their children
were exposed to the temptations of a great city, and doubtless maiiv longed
for the quiet country life in which they had been bred. At length they be-
thought them of forming a settlement in America, to be a refuge from the
temptations of the world, and perhaps the means of conveying Christianity
to the heathen. They decided to settle, if they were allowed, as a separate
community, on the lands of the Virginia Company. With this view they
sent over to England two deputies to get a grant of land from the company
and a charter from the king. The land was granted, but the charter was
refused. The king, however, gave a general promise that, if they behaved
peaceably, they should not be molested. At first they had some doubt
about settling without a charter, but one of their
leaders remarked, that "if there should be a pur-
pose or desire to wrong them, though they had a
seal as broad as the house floor, it would not serve
the turn, for there would be means enough found to
recall it or reverse it." On the 6th of September,
1620, a hundred and twenty of them, having crossed
over from Leyden, set sail from Southampton in two
vessels, the Speedwell and the Mayflower. At first
everything seemed against them ; before they had
gone far, the Speedwell sprang a leak, and was obliged to return for repairs.
On the next attempt, when they were three hundred miles from land, the
Speedwell was found to be overmasted, and unfit for the voyage. They
decided to divide into two companies, one of which should return, and the
other proceed in the Mayflower.
On the 9th of November they sighted land. This proved to be Cape Cod,
a promontory some one hundred and thirty miles north of the spot where
they wished to settle ; they then directed the master of the ship to sail
south. This, however, he professed himself unable to do, and landed them
inside the bay formed by Cape Cod and the mainland. They believed that
he had been bribed by the Dutch, who traded with the Indians about the
mouth of the river Hudson, and who did not wish to have any rivals there.
As it turned out, the coast within the bay was a fitter spot for a weak
colony. The Indians had a few years before captured the crew of a French
vessel, and cruelly put them to death. One of the French had warned them
that their crime would not go unpunished. Shortly after, a great plague
fell upon them and swept off whole villages. This had a twofold effect : it
weakened the Indians, and left much of their country desolate and empty
for the new comers, and it made the savages believe that the God of the
white men would punish any wrong done to them. But for this protection,
a weak colony could hardly have escaped destruction by the Indians. In
900 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
oilier respects too, the spot was well-suited for a settlement; the soil was
f.-iirlv fertile, there was good harborage for ships, and the climate, though
sc\ civ in winter, was healthy. In fact it was, like England, a country less
attractive and less rich in its resources than southern lands, but more fitted
to call out energy and activity, and so to breed hardy and industrious
citizens,
The first act of the settlers on landing was to constitute themselves a
body politic, with power to make laws and ordinances for the management of
their joint alVairs. They then looked out for a suitable spot for a permanent
settlement. They decided on a place with a harbor, cornfields, and running
water, on the west side of the bay. There, on the 21st of December, they
landed, calling the place " Plymouth," after the last English town they had
left. As they had settled beyond the limits of the Virginia Company, their
patent was useless ; the land which they occupied was, however, in the pos-
session of another company. Gorges and other leading men had, in 1620,
obtained a charter from the king for the land which was to have been occu-
pied by the North Virginia Company. This was, in fact, a revival of that
company, and as the new company, like the old one, numbered among its
members many west-countrymen, it was called the Plymouth Company. But
it must be remembered that this Plymouth Company and Plymouth the Puri-
tan Colony were two distinct bodies, and that neither in any way took it.;
name from the other. In 1621 the colony obtained a patent from the com-
pany. This was not granted directly to the settlers themselves, but to a
body of London merchants. These men formed a sort of smaller corporation
under the Plymouth Company. They fitted out the colonists, and took the
expense of sending them out. The shares were allotted to the colonists
themselves, and to those who contributed money — one share to each emi-
grant, and one for every ten pounds invested. The colonists were to be pro-
vided with food and all other necessaries from the common stock. The
profits were to accumulate, and, at the end of seven years, to be divided
among all the shareholders. These merchants seem to have gone into the
matter merely as a question of profit, and to have had no special sympathy
with the Puritans, and accordingly they dealt somewhat harshly with the
colonists.
For the first few years the climate bore hard on the settlers, and the
history of the colony is little more than one long story of suffering and en-
durance. The first winter the cold was so severe that out of a hundred set-
tlers about half died, and of the rest all but six or seven were at one time
Slighter hardships had broken up the Virginia settlements under Lane
and Spmers. But the men of Plymouth were more endurin»-, and held on ;
the friendship of the Indians was of great service to them. The first meet-
ing, a few days after the settlers landed, was hostile, and the English had to
ST01IIKS OK AMKKM'AN IIISTOIJY. 901
use their guns in self-defence Hut soon after they met with a savage who
could speak English, and ihe\ soon made friends with Ma->a-<>it, the cliief
sachem in those pails. With him they made a linn league; t w< > years later
his life was saved by the medical skill of the Knglish, and he ua- ever after
their fast friend. The only shou of eiimitv on the part of the Indians \\as
made by a chief named Canonicu>. He sent the Knglish the skin of a snake
full of arrows, as a sort of challenge. Bradford, the governor of Plymouth,
stuffed the skin with powder and hall, and sent it back. The Indians seem
to have taken the warning, and made no attack. After this, the settlers of
P!\ mouth lived for many years at peace with their savage neighbors. One
exception there was indeed, but. that was due entirely to the misconduct of
other Knglish settlers. In 1622 one Weston obtained a patent from the
Plymouth Company, and settled sixty men in Massachusetts some thirty or
forty miles north of Plymouth. They proved idle and disorderly, and in-
stead of working, plundered the Indians, and so endangered the peace be-
tween them and the Plymouth settlers. Some trifling hostilities broke out
and a few Indians were killed, but peace was soon restored. Weston's
colony, in less than two years from its foundation, broke up, greatly op-
pressed by famine, but partly from dread of the Indians. Somewhat later,
one Captain Wollaston set up a plantation near the site of Weston's. This
too failed, and Wollaston, with most of his men, departed to Virginia. The
rest stayed under the leadership of one Morton, a dissolute and riotous man.
lie M>ld arms and ammunition to the Indians, and by this and other mis-
deeds became so dangerous to the men of Plymouth that they at length
arrested him and sent him home. At a later day, as we shall see, he returned
to America, repeated his offences, and was again banished.
Partly, perhaps, through these hindrances, the colony for a while did not
prosper. For the first five years the settlers had no cattle, and when their
corn was spent, they had often to live wholly on shell-fish. At the end of
four years the settlement numbered only a hundred and eighty persons,
dwelling in thirty-two houses, and the shareholders at home grumbled at the
small profits. In 1627 a change was made, greatly for the good of the
colony; the settlers themselves bought up the whole stock of the company,
paying for it by instalments; they had to raise the money at high interest.
Nevertheless, the knowledge that they were working for their own profit so
quickened their industry, that in six years from that time they had paid off
all their debts and had become the independent owners of their own land,
houses, and live stock. One important result of this was the rapid increase
of numbers. Hitherto the new comers were only such men as the share-
holders thought likely to make good colonists and were willing to send out.
Now it was free to the settlers to choose their own associates, and accord-
ingly many of the English Puritans joined them. By 1643 the colony num-
„„., TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
i.,.,,,1 ,h,ve tliousand inhabitants, divided among eight towns. Moreover,
the members of the Plymouth Company sent out fishing and exploring ex-
pcditions and formed trading stations along the coast, and these opened
fiv-.li markets for the produce of Plymouth.
The process by which Plymouth grew was quite different from that
which \\e have seen in Virginia. The settlers did not spread over a wide
surface of country, living in solitary plantations, but formed townships. As
their numbers increased and outgrew the original settlements, they moved
off in bodies, each occupying an allotted portion of ground, of which a part
was held in common. Thus there were no great estates, as in Virginia, and
all the towns, or, as we should rather call them, villages, were within easy
reach of one another. For some while they did not extend inland, but only
along the coast, so that of the eight townships first formed seven were by
the sea. There were various causes for this difference between Virginia
and Plymouth. One was, that the Puritans made it a great
point to worship frequently together, and so could not bear
to be widely scattered. Another was, that the Plymouth
settlers were not, like many of the Virginians, taken from
the landed gentry, and so they had no special taste for large
landed estates, even if they could have got them. Moreover,
at that time, among the English yeomen and cottagers much
of the land was still held and farmed in common by villages,
so that the system of townships fell in with the home usages
of the colonists. Moreover, there was no such means of
passing from one part of the country to another and of car-
rying goods as was afforded by the rivers in Virginia, and the
fear of the Indians served to keep the settlers together. It is very impor-
tant to bear all this in mind, since it was the leading point of difference,
not only between Virginia arid Plymouth, but between the southern and
northern colonies. The former for the most part consisted of scattered plan-
tations, the latter of closely connected townships.
The government of Plymouth consisted of a Governor, a body of Assist-
ants, and an Assembly. The Governor and Assistants were elected by the
vhole body of freemen. The Assembly was at first what is called primary,
that is to say, it consisted of the whole body of freemen meeting them-
selves, not sending their representatives. The first freemen were the
rnginal settlers, afterwards those who in each town were admitted by the
>dy of freemen already existing. As may be easily supposed, when the
townships increased, it was found inconvenient for the whole
y of freemen to meet together for public business. Accordingly, in a few
the system of representation, the same by which the English House
formed, was introduced. Every township sent two repre-
A PURITAN.
STORIES OF AMERICAN IIISTOI.'Y. 903
•
sentatives, and (lit- body so returned was, wit.li the Governor and A — i-1;tnts,
the General Court. Tin- primary Assembly of all the fret-men -till kept its
power of enacting laws, but this gradually fell into disuse, and the whole
government passed over to the General Court. Thus we see that in tin-
two earliest American colonies, the government \\as modeled on that of
England. But there, was this important difference between the t\\<>: in
Virginia the system of government was originally copied from the English
constitution; while in Plymouth it was at first quite different, and beca un-
like it only by gradually fitting itself to the wants of the people. This
change is of special importance, since it shows the way in which, in many
free communities in different parts of the world, a representative assembly
has taken the place of a primary one. But in most cases this change has
taken place in such early times, that our knowledge of it is vague and im-
perfect. The American colonies fiirnish almost the only instance in which
we can trace the whole process. After this change the Governor and As-
sistants were still elected by the whole body of freemen. The Assistants
sat as judges in criminal and civil cases, with a jury of freemen, and gen-
erally managed public business. So little ambition wras there in the state,
and so small was the profit and honor attached to the public offices, that a
law was passed imposing a fine on any one who refused the place of Gov-
ernor or Assistant when elected. For the first sixteen years the colony
lived under the laws of England. In 1636 a special committee was appointed
to help the Governor and Assistants in drawing up a code of laws. These
laws were simple in their character, not copied from the laws of England,
but suited to the wants of a small community living in a plain manner.
Cases too trifling to come before the Assistants were tried by magistrates in
the different townships.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER V.
MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT.
S
SHEN the North Virginia Company was renewed under the
name of the Plymouth Company, many important men
belonged to it, and some of the members, such as Sir
Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, took a great
interest in its prosperity. Yet it was far inferior in its
results to the Virginia Company. No successful settlements
were made at the expense of the company, nor does it seem
to have done much in the way of trade. The chief thing
done was to sell or let large tracts of land to private
persons, many of them members of the company, which they might occupy
if they chose. This hindered rather than furthered colonization. For the
leadinf men of the company knew so little of the country that they often
carelessly disposed of the same tract of land twice over, and this gave rise to
much confusion in later times. Thus for some years after the settlement of
Plymouth very little else was done in that quarter. We have already seen
what became of two settlements, those under Weston and Wollaston.
Another attempt v. as made in 1623. In that year, Robert Gorges, a son of
Sir Ferdinando, was sent out to plant a colony at Wessagusset, where
Weston had already failed. But though he went out with a commission
from the company as Governor-General of New England, he did nothing
worth speaking of, and only left a few scattered settlers. Some of the
members of the company too had regular establishments for fishing and
trading in furs, managed by hired servants, and a good many vessels fished
along the Massachusetts bay. Besides this, a few stray emigrants seem to
have settled themselves alone, but not to have formed any villages. Some
of these traders and fishermen did much harm by selling guns to the natives,
and this, together with the Virginia massacre, led the king to publish a
proclamation forbidding any one to sell arms or ammunition to the savages
in America, Before long the success of the Plymouth colonists led others
to follow in their footsteps. About 1627 some of the leaders among the
Puritan party, men of much greater wealth and education than the founders
of Plymouth, bethought them of forming a second Puritan colony in
America, Already some of these men had a fishing station on the coast
about sixty miles from Plymouth, which was to serve as a sort of foundation
for their colony. In 1628 they got a tract of land, about sixty miles along
STOIMKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
905
the oast, granted them by the Plymouth Company, ami -nit out a party of
sixty men to occupy it. So far the founders of the settlement were only a
private trading company; but in the spring of 1629 they took an important
step — they increased their number, and obtained a charter from tin- king
making them into a corporation, called the Company of the Massachusetts
Bay in New England. This company had nothing to do with the Plymouth
Company, beyond having bought a tract of land from it. In its character
and objects it was not unlike the Virginia Company. Its affairs were
managed by a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and eighteen Assistants. All
these officers were elected by the whole com-
pany once a year. The whole body of mem-
bers had the power of making laws for the
settlers in their territory so long as these did
not interfere with the laws of England. The
company immediately appointed a Council of
thirteen to manage their affairs in the colony,
and sent out six ships with three hundred
men and eighty women. Next year a very
important change was made. The charter
said nothing as to the place at which the
meetings of the company were to be held.
Accordingly the members resolved to carry
the charter over to America, and to hold
their meetings there. In this way they
would be less under the eye of the English
government, and better able to make such religious and political changes as
might please them. If the company had been really like the Virginia
Company, a trading corporation, this change would have been inconvenient.
But from the outset the formation of a Puritan colony was looked on as
their chief object. Rules were made about the joint trade of the company,
but these soon passed out of sight. The company seems never to have
divided any profits in money, and the only return which the subscribers re-
ceived for the money they had put in was the land allotted to them in
America. The real object of the company was something very different from
trade. It was to found a separate state, independent of England, and dif-
fering from it in many leading points. This attempt was even more
remarkable than the undertakings of the Virginia and Plymouth colonists.
The Virginia Company made their settlement with the intention that it
should be closely connected with England, and though it became in many
ways independent, yet it did so gradually, and rather by chance than of set
purpose. Plymouth was indeed quite as independent as Massachusetts.
But then, Plymouth was in every way a much less important place. The
PILGRIM
[BE WOKLU'S GREAT NATIONS.
who I on n. led it were poor and unlearned, and could be hardly said to
rj fikfii up the enterprise of their own free will, but were rather forced
So it bj the ill-treatment they met with in England. The founders of
M-i^a.-lmsrtts were in a very different position. We have seen that among
, h,,se who wished to carry the Protestant Reformation further than it had yet
•.mm- there were different parties. There were those who condemned the
Church of Knirland altogether, and wished instead to have Independent, or,
MS tlie\ may \>c called, Congregational churches. The founders of Plymouth
l>rloii"vd to this party. The party to which the founders of Massachusetts
belonged also \vished to remove many usages which seemed to them too much
like those of the Roman Catholic Church. But they sought to do so, not by
leaving the English Church and setting up a new system, but by altering
the practices of the Church itself. Most of those Puritans who were in
Parliament and took an active part in public affairs were of this latter
party. At this particular time those men were just as much opposed to the
system of political government in England as to the practices of the
Church ; for the king was beginning to set Parliament at naught, and to
govern by his own will. He levied taxes without the consent of the House
of Commons, and imprisoned those who would not pay : in short, he was
entering upon that system of government which led to the Great Rebellion.
In founding the colony of Massachusetts, the Puritans were securing a
refuge where they might be safe from this arbitrary government, and might
manage things according to their own political principles. This, coupled
with the greater wealth and higher birth of the first colonists, made the
settlement of Massachusetts a much more important event than that of
Plymouth ; for the founders of Massachusetts were for the most part rich
men, some country squires and some merchants, and several were kinsfolk
to the greatest men of the day. Many of those who furthered it, though
not of those who actually went out, were members of Parliament, who
afterwards took a leading part in English affairs ; and some of the actual
settlers seem to have been in nowise inferior to them in wisdom and energy,
and doubtless would have made great names for themselves if they had
stayed in England. So that, by looking at the colony of Massachusetts, we
can see what sort of a commonwealth was constructed by the best men of
the Puritan party, and, to some extent, what they would have made the
.vernment of England if they could have had their way unchecked. The
>t governor, John Winthrop, was a country gentleman of a good estate in
Balk, forty-two years of age. Eaton, one of the assistants, had been the
ish minister at the court of Denmark. To such as these it must have
sen no small sacrifice to leave England and their houses and estates, and to
in a wilderness. In this Massachusetts differed from Virginia : for
•ugh Lord Delaware and Gates and Dale had gone out to the colony, yet
STORIES OF AM KIM PAN HISTORY.
907
they only went for a while to set things in order, with no intention of stay-
ing; but in Massachusetts men <>f great ability and distinction went out at
the very first as regular settlers. This we may be sun- thcv would never
have done without the hope of enjoying such political and religious freedom
as was not to be had in England.
In the summer of 1630 Winthrop went out with a thousand emigrants.
Like the earlier settlers in Virginia and Plymouth, they suffered grievous hard-
ships. In the winter before nearly eighty of the colonists had died, and of
NEW ENGLAND SCENERY.
course, as their numbers increased, food was scarcer and their plight became
worse. Moreover, the cold weather came on before they had time to settle
and build houses, and many died. By ill luck it was a time of dearth in
England, and very little corn was sent over, and that at great prices. One
result of this was that the settlers, in their attempts to find food, spread
abroad, and instead of all forming one town, as was originally intended,
they formed eight small settlements.
One of the most interesting and remarkable things in the early history^
of Massachusetts is the series of changes in its system of government.
After a few years it had, like Virginia and Plymouth, a government which
was a sort of miniature of the English system, and consisted of a Governor,
a Council of Assistants, and a body of Representatives, two from each set-
tlement. In the process by which this came about Massachusetts resembled,
not Virginia, but Plymouth. The arrangement was not made once for all,
toe
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
but <:ivw irraduallv by various changes which were made as they became
iieces-.-m. Originally all important matters were managed by the whole
|HH!\ ..(''tin- freemen at their meetings four times in the year. The number
of freemen, ho\\ever, increased so fast that the system became inconvenient,
.-ui'l in October. lti.".u, the right of making laws and of electing the Governor
and I )eputy-(Jovernor \vas given over to the Assistants. Very soon it was
found difficult to get together seven Assistants, which was the number re-
quired to form a meeting. Accordingly the Assistants enacted that if less
than nine of them should be in the colony, the majority should be enough
to form a meeting. This change placed the authority in the hands of a very
small body.
In M;i\, IH.'SI. the manner of electing Assistants was altered ; the Assist-
ants, instead of being elected afresh every year, remained in office until they
were specially removed by a vote of the freemen. After these two measures,
the management of affairs was likely to fall into the hands of a very small
body of men, who could not easily be deprived of their office. In the sprinf
of 1031 the inhabitants of Watertown, one of the eight settlements, refused
to pay a tax levied by the Assistants. When the General Court of all the
freemen met in May, it was decided that two men should be sent from each
settlement to decide the question of taxation. Two points should be noticed :
1. The principle for which the men of Watertown had contended, that they
should not be taxed without their own consent, was admitted ; 2. The free-
men, instead of acting directly in the matter, found it more convenient to
send deputies to speak for them. For the present these deputies had no
power of law making, but only advised the Assistants about taxation. At
the same time the freemen claimed and were allowed the right of electing
the Governor and Assistants each year. Two years later a very important
change was made. The freemen, finding that to attend the meetings was
o great an interruption to their business, reserved to themselves only the
f electing the Governor and Deputy-Governor, and made over all
r other powers to their deputies. These Deputies, together with the
ernor and Assistants, formed the General Court. In the year 1634 the
i of Governor was by ballot, and, for the first time, Winthrop
Soon after, when seven men were appointed to settle the
on of town lands, Winthrop and several of the chief men were left out
r men chosen, from an idea that otherwise the lower class of set'
not get their fair share. In this same year a proposal was made
W°Uld ^^ C0raplete1^ Chan^ the ch—ter o* the
Sav a , ' S °i' ™ ««
and I Sele who were both members of the Plymouth Company and
thJf ,T C°l0niZati™> P-l-sed to come over. They required,
er, that two orders should be established in the colony, gentlemen and
STOH1KS OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY. '.MI-.*
freeholders. The rank of the first was to IK- hereditary, and the governor
was always to be chosen from it. The Here UK I order, the freeholders, was to
consist of those who had a certain amount of property, while all below that
were to be shut out from all political power. Such a system \\ould have
robbed many of the freemen of the very liberty in hopes of \\hieh they
<-;mie over. If the proposal had been made earlier, before the freemen had
strengthened themselves by naming representative*, it might have been en-
tertained; but as it was, it met with no favor. Two years later an attempt
was made to establish a Permanent Council. Its members were to hold
office for life, and could only be removed for some serious cause. Some
councillors were elected, but nothing further was ever done, and the >cheme
fell to the ground.
Up to 1(544 the Deputies sat together with the Assistants; but in that
year they sat apart, like the English House of Commons. The manner in
which this came about is a good illustration of the simple life of the colony,
and shows how the government had to manage all matters, great and small,
and how the two were in a great measure mixed up. A lawsuit about a
stolen pig came before the General Court. The parties to the suit were a
poor widow and one Captain Keayne, a rich man, who was thought hard to
the poor, and so was unpopular. Seven Assistants and eight Deputies were
on Kea\ lie's side; two Assistants and fifteen Deputies were against him.
The Assistants were looked on as the champions of the rich ; the Deputies, .
of the poor : and thus a bitter feeling sprang up. A long dispute followed,
and in the end the power of the Deputies was increased by their being
allowed to sit as a separate body. After that the constitution of Massachu-
setts underwent no important change for forty years.
All this while, though Massachusetts was in so many ways independent,
and had so little connection with the home government, yet it preferred to
be governed by the laws of England ; that is to say, the law of England was
the only law which held good in Massachusetts, except when anything dif-
ferent was specially enacted by the Court. But in 1636, the people, who, as
we have seen, were somewhat jealo.us of the leading men, demanded a code
of laws, feeling that they would be more secure if they were governed by
fixed statutes than by enactments made from time to time by the Court. On
the other hand, Winthrop and some of the principal men felt that the Gov-
ernment in England might resent the enactment of a regular code of laws, as
if the settlers thereby claimed to be independent of the mother count r\ .
The people, however, were determined to have a code, and at length got
their way. A committee was appointed to draw one up, and, though there
\\as much delay, in 1641 a complete set of laws was enacted under the name
of the Body of Liberties. This code was modeled in many of its parts, not on
the English law, but on that of Moses. In one respect it followed the prin-
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
910
f ,1 p Fn«li«h law in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All men
¥* X Hving in a state of idleness were compelled to give an
, to the government, and all heads o± families were
. chUdren were properly employed,
saelmsetts settlers differed from those ot Plymouth in
;,;. ",, ,, ^l, they had no such liking for it that they cared to continue
. , "tion with it when it was even easier and simpler to establish a
I,u,a,diatelv upon their first landing in 1628 they adopted a
,„ f Lpendent churches, like that of Plymouth. In 1631 a law was
3 that no nan should be a freeman of the colony, that is to say, should
lilt I1O IlliUi ouwiuM "~ " -. , ,
«,v -hare in the -overnmeut or in the election of officers, unless he be-
,,,,;i ,0 ., .Lurch. The effect of this was to establish a connection between
the churches and the civil government,
had the power of admitting fresh members to itself;
that is to say, of making fresh citizens. Such a power
was too important to be exercised without any control
on the part of the state ; moreover, the New England
Puritans believed, like most men in that age, that it was
their duty to root out every form of belief which they
thought false, and that, if needs were, by force. The
EAKI.V MKKTIM; HOUSE, result of this was, that those who held unpopular opin-
ions in Massachusetts were treated in much the same
way as the Puritans themselves were in England. Endicott, a harsh and
austere man, who was sent out in charge of the first party in 1628, was em-
powered to expel any one from the colony whom he thought an unsuitable
inhabitant. He accordingly drove out two brothers, John and Samuel
Brown, a lawyer and a merchant, who wished to celebrate worship according
to the forms of the Church of England. Three years later, one Lynn was
whipped and banished for writing home letters attacking the system of
church-government.
In 1634 a more serious contest arose. In that year, Roger Williams, an
able young Welshman, trained at Oxford, and of great integrity and gentle-
ness, was minister at Salem, a town in Massachusetts. There he taught
certain doctrines, both in religion and politics, which were thought danger-
ous to the state. He was brought before the Court, and after much discus-
sion they decided to send him back to England. Before this sentence could
be carried out, he escaped. Soon afterwards he established a small settle-
ment to the south of Massachusetts. In justice, it must be said that the
chief men in Massachusetts do not seem to have borne any ill-will against
Williams afterwards. Indeed, while he was still on his trial, Winthrop,
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. Ml
hearing that he was in need, sent him money. Two years later worse
troubles arose. A certain Mrs. Hutcliinson. ;m aHi\c and clever woman,
took to giving religious lectures at Boston. She soon became the leader of
a sect in many points opposed to the teaching of the regular ministers. In
this she \\as supported by Wheelwright, the mini>ter of Boston, and bv
nearly the whole of his church. The matter was brought before the
General Court, and ( Jreen smith, one of Mrs. Hutchinson's chief supporters,
was fined forty pounds. The church of Boston took up his cause, and sent
a petition to the Court on his behalf. For this they were punished in a
curious way. Hitherto Boston had been considered the chief town in the
colony. Winthrop's house was there, and the General Court held its meet-
ings there. It was now resolved that the Court should meet at Ne\\t<>wn,
the place next in importance. Soon after this the yearly election of Gov-
ernor and Assistants came on, and it almost seemed as if a civil war was at
hand. Henry Vane, who had been Governor for the past year, was a young
man of good family and education, and afterwards took a leading part
among the statesmen of the English Commonwealth. lie was, however, but
a new comer in Massachusetts, and most likely the old settlers, Winthrop
and his friends, looked on his youth and inexperience with some suspicion.
Though Vane was not exactly one of Mrs. Hutchinson's party, he regarded
her with more favor than most of the chief men did, and seems to have
been opposed to the proceedings against her. In such a state of things the
election was sure to be the signal for a great outbreak of angry feeling.
Winthrop was elected Governor, and Vane and his chief supporters were
not even chosen to be Assistants. After this a tumult arose and fierce
speeches were made, and some even came to blows. The men of Boston,
who had been wont to send an escort with the Governor on public oc-
casions, now refused it. Before the end of the year a conference of all the
churches was held to settle some way of dealing with these troubles. Vane,
whose influence might have been a help to those accused, had gone back to
England. At the conference, Wheelwright was put on his trial for a ser-
mon which he had preached, and for his opinions and practice generally.
Mrs. Hutcliinson was charged with imputing false teaching to all the minis-
ters in the country except those of Boston. Several others of her chief
supporters were accused of having made a heretical and scandalous state-
ment in their petition on behalf of Greensmith. For this offence Mrs.
' Hutcliinson and Wheelwright were banished ; the rest had to acknowledge
their guilt and to yield up their arms, and were deprived of any office that
they held. With this the troubles ended, and the churches of Massachusetts
for a while enjoyed peace. All traces of the storm soon passed away.
Wheelwright after a time confessed himself in error, and was allowed to
return. Many of the others who had been punished, afterwards held offices,
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
.' I •*.
,,,,1 Mrvfld M loyal eiti/ens in the wars against the Indians. It gives one a
I ;,!,., ,,f the small sixr <>f Massachusetts, and from what a little seed a
,~,,.-it iriti..n has grown, when one sees the whole state thrown into agitation,
™,| ftlmoel aril war, by an affair which in England Would not have occu-
';,,! ,]„. attention of a single county, or even a large town, and of which
ninety-nine persons out of a hundred might never have heard. It shows
one t.'.o how popular the government was in spite of all its severity, and
h,.\v loyal the ririxeiis were, when such an affair could pass over and leave
,„, ill r'nVts l.ehin.l, especially as only the leaders were banished, and many
ivm;iiiie.l \\lio might have served as the seed for a new faction.
Meanwhile, the colony was exposed to dangers from without as well as
from within. Certain persons, Gardiner, Morton, and Ratcliffe, had been
expelled from Massachusetts, the first two for disorderly conduct, the last
for speaking ill of the government. They had complained to the English
government of their ill-treatment. Such complaints were readily received.
Art-Ill >ishop Laud and his party must from the first have looked on the
colony witli dislike and distrust. The harshness with which the Browns
had l>een treated would increase this feeling. Ratcliffe too seems to have
heen dealt with severely; and though Gardiner and Morton were probably
disorderly and vicious men, they could easily make up a fair-sounding story
against the colonists. It is scarcely likely that the king, when he granted
the charter, ever imagined what sort of fruit it would bear. The Privy
Council at once took measures to control the independent spirit of Massa-
chusetts. In February, 1634, they issued an order setting forth that many
disaffected persons were crossing over to New England, and that, as evil
consequences would result from this, all ships should for a while be stopped
from sailing thither. At the same time they demanded that the Massachu-
setts charter should be laid before them. Two months later the kino- issued
o
a commission to Laud and ten others, empowering them to punish ecclesi-
astical offences in the colonies, to remove governors, to appoint judges and
magistrates, to establish courts, and to revoke all charters and patents that
might have been unfairly obtained. A little later, Sir Ferdinando Gorges
laid before the Privy Council a scheme for dividing New England into a
number of provinces, each under a Lieutenant-Governor, with one Governor
over the whole, all to be appointed by the Crown. Such proceedings natur-
ally alarmed the colonists. Even at this early time they showed that, if
needful, they were prepared to resist any attack on their liberties. They
fortified three of their chief towns, Boston, Charlestown, and Dorchester,
made arrangements for the collection and safe keeping of arms. A
sion was appointed to manage all military affairs, with power, if war
, to imprison, or even put to death, any persons that refused to
>bey them. At the same time it was enacted that the freemen should no
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN
longer take the oath of allegiance to the king, but instead, should swear to
lie faithful and true to the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In Ki.">f> the Plymouth Company came to an end. Its existence had done
no good, either to memben of the company or to others, and accordingly they
resolved to surrender their patent to the king. The only lasting effect of
the company was to create confusion by the reckless way in which it had
granted the same lands over and over again to different occupants. In the
autumn of Hi.'i.") vigorous measures were taken by the English government
against Massachusetts. A writ of Quo irnrr«nti>, like that which had over-
thrown the Virginia Company, was issued, and the Massachusetts charter
was declared null and void. Two events which could have been in no way
reckoned on made the attack vain. The ship in which Gorges was coming
out to support the interests of the English government fell to pieces almost
as soon as launched. About the same time Mason, a leading member of the
Plymouth Company, a friend of Gorges, and a most energetic opponent of
Massachusetts, died. For three years no further attempt was made to put
the judgment against the charter in force. But in 1638 some more dis-
affected people who hail been punished by the Massachusetts government
for disorderly and seditious conduct, came to England with complaints, and
stirred up the home government against the colony. A strict order was
sent out demanding the charter. The colony sent back, not the charter, but
a protest against the injustice of taking it from them. It seemed as if they
would have either to keep it by force or to yield. But the English govern-
ment soon had more serious matters to attend to at home. By 1639 the
Scotch were in arms against Charles I. The civil war took off all attention
from the colonies, and when peace was restored, the Puritans had the upper
hand, and the charter of Massachusetts was safe.
SETTLERS' FIRST HOME.
Of all the American colonies, Massachusetts was the first, and for a long
while the only one, which became itself the parent of other independent
states. About 1634 the people in three of the townships of Massachusetts
68
1(M THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
-Newtown Watertown, and Dorchester— being pressed by lack of pasture
f,,r their cattle, formed a scheme for settling the lands which lay to the west
IH.M.II.I the boundary of Plymouth. This was a fertile land, watered by a
|M.;,.,,| river, the Connecticut One reason for the movement was the fear
thai the Dutch, who were already settled on the river Hudson, might step
in and occupy this land. It \vas thought too that some of the leading
„),.„ ;i; Newtown wished for more influence and independence than they en-
j,.vt-d there. The measure was at first much opposed in the General Court.
It was thought that it would weaken the settlement, and take off some of
their must valued ministers. Moreover, the Dutch had already set up a
fort on the river, and might resent any trespass there. The Indians also in
that quarter were many and fierce. The home government too might dis-
approve of the settlers moving into lands to which they had no legal claim.
Amoii/ those who were most anxious for the change were the people of
Watertown. They, as we have seen, had been the first to resist the claim of
the Governors and Assistants to impose taxes, and it is possible that both
sides were influenced by the memory of that quarrel. Certain it is, at least,
that the Assistants \vere opposed to the emigration, and the Deputies in favor
of it. The latter view prevailed, and in 1635, with the leave of the Court,
a settlement was formed. The emigrants set out too late in the year, and they
suffered great hardships. The next year about a hundred emigrants with a
hundred and sixty cattle set forth. By 1637 the new settlement contained
three towns and eight hundred inhabitants.
The new colony was called Connecticut. At first the government was
unsettled. It was held that the inhabitants were still subject to the state of
Massachusetts; yet as early as 1636 they had a Court of their own, consist-
ing of two deputies from each town, who managed all the public business of
the settlement. This system went on for three years, but it was clear that
they could not continue dependent on the government of a state separated
from them by more than a hundred and thirty miles of wilderness. Accord-
ingly in 1639 the freemen of Connecticut all met together and formed a Con-
stitution very like that of Massachusetts. The whole body of freemen were
to elect a Governor and six Magistrates, who were to administer justice and
manage public affairs. Each town was to elect two Deputies, and those, to-
gether with the Governor and Assistants, were to form the supreme govern-
ment. The chief points of difference between this Constitution and that of
Massachusetts were two : 1. The freemen of each town only needed to be
admitted by the other freemen of that town, and were not obliged to be
•ch members : 2. No man could be governor for two years • together.
Massachusetts does not seem to have made any attempt to keep its hold over
sticut, but allowed its inhabitants to set up a perfectly independent
For the present, Connecticut had no charter or patent from
STOKIKS OF AMKUICAN IIISTOUY. 915
the Crown, ;tii(l the constitution, like that of Plymouth, re-tcd only on the
agreement of the citixens.
While this state \v;is hi-ing formed, an attempt uas also made by a party
in Kngland to colonixe the same country. In the autumn of U;:;r)? just when
the first migration was being made from Massachusetts .John \Viiifhro|>, the
son of the Massachusetts governor, came out with a commission from Lord
Brook, Lord Say and Self, and others, to be the governor of a tract of land
on the river Connecticut. According to their orders, he established a fort
at the mouth of the river, driving out a ship that had been sent by the
Dutch to lay claim to the place. This settlement, for a while, had no OOB-
nectioir with the towns founded from Massachusetts. Hut in 1<>44, Femvick,
the governor of the fort, made it over to the state of Connecticut, in return
for certain duties to be levied on ships sailing past.
A RUDE FORT.
Soon after the settlement of Connecticut, New England was engaged in
its first Indian war. The country near the river Connecticut was inhabited
by the Pequods, a fierce and warlike tribe, numbering nearly a thousand war-
riors. For three or four years there were various paltry quarrels between
the Pequods and the English, and some on each side were killed. The
Pequods tried to strengthen themselves by an alliance with a neighboring
tribe, the Narragansetts. Roger Williams, who had been banished from
Massachusetts, now showed a noble spirit of forgiveness. Being able to
speak the Indian language, he went at the risk of his own life to the Narra-
gansetts chiefs, and persuaded them to have no dealings with the Pequods.
They were the more easily persuaded to this as the Pequods had formerly
been their enemies. Soon after, the Narragansetts sent an embassy to Bos-
ton, and made a firm alliance with England. The Mohegans, the only other
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Dmitry, were also friendly to the colonists.
flll tribe of India.* m that ^ f u had beeu otherwise,
the Peqnodfl were eft to** * that the gettlers migllt
if *« "I*11.!*? 'I: IB le colonists considered that they had
have been ext.n.nHut-l n Massachusetts and Con-
g ..... 1 — "« ^""T? £ 2u They attacked the chief fort, where
•u.llt m;ir,,KMi ao,unst the Indi as n The Indians for a while
tll(. Peqttodfl had placed their wome and c ul dien ^.^
•*** tU1 fc -'^Tl M^tS meo,womengand children, to the
work u:, at once n, a blaze, f ! WQ the besiegers only two fell. The
^ i>i; t h^^p^S^^i^^^
z i S *. i: -
ceased to exist.
CHAPTER VI.
THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES.
N
BESIDES the three more important Puritan colonies, there were
other small settlements in the same neighborhood. AH of
these joined themselves sooner or later to the larger colonies.
But some remained separate long enough to make it necessary
that we should know something of their history. The most
important of these was New Haven. This was founded by a
small body of men from London and Massachusetts, some of
them of good birth and education. They wished to establish a
state which should in all its arrangements make the Bible its
rule of life. For this object, they quitted Massachusetts in 1638, and settled
themselves at a place called Quinipiac on the coast, thirty miles to the west of
the river Connecticut. Soon after, they changed the name to New Haven. For
a year they lived without any fixed constitution, thinking it would be better
to get some experience before they took the decisive step of forming a govern-
ment. At the end of that time they proceeded to settle a system of govern-
ment. As in Massachusetts, none but church members were to be freemen.
The}- appointed twelve men, who were in their turn to choose seven who
should draw up a constitution. The next year the freemen elected a Gov-
•
•
vuli;
•
,
of i;
lll!|>
which •
Haven >
inhabitai
of their
Wh< • • ;. of Mavstu'hi'.-
liimself \> : ! of folio u.
In
any
iiiiit- All t!
like thi
Khode i-i m • ;
when r'h
no ;
anta
in<l<
.
'. •
or, a 1 '
r.
be
ch«: got
ieuce,
e their
wa :irnl const itntion. Aiiotl»-r t- at once
A !':• 8i'd< .-it .'unl foil: j\vn, were
STOBIKS OF AMERICAN IIISToKY. 917
ernor and four Deputies, and it was resolved that the whole body of free-
men should meet once a year to transact public bu>iiit-s. By 1641 the
state had increased to three townships. Two small independent settlements
hud sprung up near, called Guilford and Milford. These were like Nrw
Haven in their general principles and system of government. In KH.'i they
voluntarily joined themselves to New Haven. It now became necessary to in-
troduce the system of representatives. Accordingly a government was
formed very like that of Massachusetts. There was a Governor, a I>rput\-
Governor, and a body of Assistants elected by all the freemen, and a body
of Representatives, two from each town. These were to meet once a year.
Important lawsuits were to be tried by the Assistants, small cases by magis-
trates elected by the freemen in each town. The whole number of house-
holders in the five towns amounted to a hundred and twenty-two. The
most noticeable point about New Haven was the wealth of its inhabitants,
which was greater than in any of the neighboring states. The town of New
Haven was the handsomest and best built in New England, and some of the
inhabitants displeased the people of Massachusetts by the size and costliness
of their houses.
When Roger Williams was driven out of Massachusetts, he established
himself with a small band of followers at a place which they called Provi-
dence, at the head of Narragansett Bay. In 1640 we find the first record of
any regular government among them. The colony then contained thirty-
nine members. All their affairs were managed by five men, called Arbitra-
tors. There does not seem to have been any fixed code of laws, nor any
regular rules for the choice of these Arbitrators. Another settlement much
like this sprang up in an island near Providence, called by its occupants
Rhode Island. This was founded by some of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers
when they were banished from Massachusetts. Here, too, there was at first
no fixed code of laws. Affairs were managed by a Judge and three Assist-
ants chosen by the whole people. In 1639 the settlement broke up into 'two
independent bodies, Newport and Portsmouth, but they were joined together
again in 1640. The whole settlement by that time contained about fifty in-
habitants, and a more regtdar system of government was introduced. Public
affairs were to be managed by a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and four
Assistants. The Governor and two Assistants were to be chosen from one
of the towns, the Deputy-Governor and the other Assistants from the other.
Neither here nor in Rhode Island was it necessary that freemen should be
church members. In 1644 Roger Williams returned to England and got
from the Commissioners for Plantations a patent incorporating Providence,
Portsmouth, and Newport into one colony, with full power to make their
own laws and constitution. Another town called Warwick was at once
added to these. A President and four Assistants, one from each town, were
918
THK WORLD'S (JIIKAT NATIONS.
chosen. In lt>47 a very peculiar system of making laws was introduced.
Six Deputies were chosen by each township; these formed the General
Court. Kit her this Court, or any of the towns at a public meeting of the
townsmen, might propose a law; this proposal was then sent round to the
four towns, and all the freemen might vote for or against it. The votes
were then collected, and, if the law was confirmed by a majority, it was
passed : if not, it fell to the ground. Thus, no doubt, they hoped to give
every man a direct share in making the laws, without putting all the inhab-
itants to the trouble of attending a
general meeting. In the same year a
code of laws was drawn up. Unlike
the codes of the other New England
states, this resembled the English law,
and was evidently drawn up by some
one familiar with that system. It is
also noteworthy that the General Court
sent persons accused of treason to Eng-
land for trial. This was almost the
only instance in which any of the New
England colonies invited the mother
country to interfere with its internal
affairs. The next year disputes broke
out. Coddington, the head of one
party, went over to England, and re-
turned with a patent constituting New-
port and Portsmouth a separate state.
This arrangement was strongly ob-
jected to by the other towns, and also by many of the inhabitants of New-
port and Portsmouth. They believed that Coddington wished to join them
to Massachusetts, and they disliked that scheme. Many of them were Bap-
tists, and severe laws had lately been passed against that sect in Massachu-
setts, and some of them who had gone thither from Rhode Island had been
flogged by order of the magistrates. The feud between Coddington and his
opponents lasted three years, and each refused to acknowledge the authority
of the other party as lawful. At last, in 1654, they were reconciled by
Roger Williams. By his persuasion the four townships reunited under the
patent of 1644. Williams himself was elected President. The management
of affairs was handed over to the General Court of six deputies from each
town, and the old code of laws was declared to be in force.
In 1638 Gorges obtained from the king a new charter, making him a
proprietor of the province of Maine in New England. All the colonies that
we have as yet considered were formed, either like Virginia and Massachu-
M'oKIKS OF AMKRICAN HlsToKY. 919
«Bfcte, l,y regular companies, or else like Plymouth MM.! Connecticut, by bodies
of men l.omi.l together by their own voluntary agreement for thia purpose.
I hew was, however, another class of colonies ,1, •pendent on a sin-Ie propri-
etor or ;. small numher of proprietors. In these cases, the king by a chart, r
gave certain rights and powers to the proprietor, and he in his turn gave
certain rights to the inhabitants. It will be better to consider this subject
more fully when we come to the important proprietary colon i.- ,,f Mai \ land,
Pennsylvania, and ( arolina. The grant to Gorges included all the land be-
fween the I'iscata.p.a and Kennebec rivers, as far as a hundred and twenty
miles from the sea. Ilis charter gave him almost kingly power over this
territory, With the consent of the freeholders he could enact laws. By
his own authority he could establish law courts, levy taxes, raise troops,
and make war. The colony contained two settlements, York and Saco, and
about three hundred citizens. Nevertheless Gorges, who seems to have had
more activity than wisdom, drew up a most elaborate constitution, with
enough of otlicials for the government of a great empire. The settlement of
York alone was to be governed by a Mayor, twelve Aldermen, and twenty-
four Common Councillors. Gorges never visited his colony, and before long
the settlers threw aside this cumbrous government, and established a simpler
system for themselves. Little is known of the character and position of the
earlier settlers in Maine. But as Gorges was no friend to the Puritans, and
a strong partisan of the king, we may be almost sure that his settlers dif-
fered both in religion and politics from their neighbors in Massachusetts and
Plymouth.
Several scattered settlements had been formed to the north of Massachu-
setts, in the neighborhood of the Piscataqua. Some of these were founded
by settlers under the Plymouth Company, others by Mrs. Hutchiuson's par-
tisans when driven from Massachusetts. About 1641, some of these settle-
ments of their own choice joined Massachusetts, and by 1643 one only
remained independent. As many of these settlers were not Puritans, the
Massachusetts government did not enforce the rule which held good in other
towns, that all freemen must be church members. The one settlement which
remained independent was called Lygonia. It was founded by some private
settlers under a grant from the Plymouth Company. The only point to be
noticed in its early history is, that part of the territory of Lygonia had
already been granted to Gorges. Disputes accordingly arose with Maine.
In these disputes the inhabitants of Lygonia appealed to Massachusetts.
That colony declined to do anything in the matter, but Maine was not
strong enough to enforce its claim. In 1646 the dispute was brought before
the Commissioners for Plantations, who decided in favor of Lygonia. In
one way these small settlements had an important effect ; they prevented
New England from being exclusively and entirely Puritan.
920 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER VII.
THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION.
JO far we have considered the various English colonies to the
east of the Hudson as separate provinces ; we may now treat
them as divisions of a single country, applying to all of them
together the name of New England. The whole territory of
New England extended about two hundred and fifty miles
along the coast. Excepting the towns on the Connecticut,
f &iX6 there vvere uo settlements more than eight or ten miles from
(f3 the sea. The whole English population amounted to about
twenty-six thousand, of whom fifteen thousand belonged to
Massachusetts. The laws, customs, and manners of life throughout all the
colonies were much alike; all, except the insignificant colonies on and near
the Piscataqua, were composed mainly of Puritans. In none were there any
very rich or very poor, or any class of wealthy landed gentry. Everywhere
there were laws providing for the teaching of children. Grown-iip citizens
too were subject to strict public discipline. Expense in dress and habits
likely to lead to disorder, such as card-playing and drinking healths, were
forbidden. As the soil and climate of all the colonies was much alike, so
was their industry and commerce. The chief exports were corn, salt, fish,
and timber. In Massachusetts shipbuilding was a thriving business, while
Plymouth depended more on trade with the Indians in fur and skins, and
from an early time had trading-houses up several of the livers. The most
important point of likeness, however, which ran through all the states, was
their system of townships and churches. Each town was a society by itself,
managing the chief part of its own affairs by public meetings of the whole
body of townsmen, and by officers elected at these meetings. The police,
the public roads, and the relief of the poor were all under the control of
the separate townships, although, if they neglected their duties, they could
be admonished, and even fined, by the colonial government. Moreover,
when the colony levied a tax, it only declared that each town must pay a
certain amount, and left the townsmen to settle how the payment should be
divided among individuals. At the same time each town had a church of
its own, and the congregation was for the most part identical with the town-
ship.^ Under this system every freeman gained a certain amount of practical
training in public affaire.
With this likeness of habits and institutions running through all the
STOKJKS OK A.MKIiH'AN HISTORY.
95J1
colonies, it was but natural that they should form some sort of political
union. Till 1638 the t\v<> original colonies, Plymouth and Massachusetts,
had little to do with one another, nor was that little always frit-no! I v. In
1634 one Hocking, with a vessel belonging to Lord Say and Sele, went to
trade up the Kennebec. The men of Plymouth claimed the exclusive ri<rht
of trading there, and resisted. A quarrel followed, in which Hocking shot
one of his opponents and was himself killed. The matter was taken up 1>\
the Court of Massachusetts. As neither Hocking nor the ship came from
Massachusetts, this was a sort of claim to deal with all questions which
affected the peace of New England. After some discussion it was decided
"**5~ "*:-.___
LEYDEN STREET, PLYMOUTH, ra 1874.
that Hocking had only himself to blame. This does not seem to have
caused any ill-feeling between the states, as immediately afterwards
Plymouth proposed to Massachusetts to establish a joint trading-house on
the Connecticut. There were also disputes about boundaries, but these
were settled in a friendly way.
The first definite proposal for a union between the colonies was made
in 1638; the reasons for it were plain enough. There was the danger
always to be feared from the Indians. There was also the possibility of en-
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
OOMbpflBtB by the Emrlish government. If the king conquered the parlia-
ment N.-w Kn'.'land was almost sure to be one of his first victims. Danger
also flttWtoned from two other ,1uarters. The French had by this time
established themselves in Canada and in the country now culled Nova
Srotia. tlu-n Acadia. The city of Quebec had been founded in 1608, and,
under the cm-nMic goreniment of Cardinal Richelieu, the great French
minister, the colony had grown and prospered. Indeed, it is likely that, if
th,. settlement of Massachusetts had been delayed for a few years, the
\\liole territory north of the Hudson would have been seized by the French.
The English and French settlers soon fell out. In 161 3 Argall, who after-
\\ards so misconducted himself as Governor of Virginia, had, without
provocation, attacked and destroyed two of the French settlements. In
1629, when. England and France were at war, a small English fleet, under a
brave sea-captain, David Kirk, captured Quebec, and destroyed or took all
the French settlements on the American coast. But before the capture was
made peace had been declared, on the condition that everything taken after
April 24, 1629, should be given back. Accordingly the captured territory
was restored to France. In 1631, though England and France were at
peace, the New Englanders heard that the French colonists were about to
attack them, and made ready to resist. In the next year a French ship
fell on a trading station belonging to Plymouth, and carried off goods worth
five hundred pounds.
Another European settlement threatened New England from the op-
posite side. In 1609 Henry Hudson, one of the greatest of English seamen,
had, in the service of the Dutch, explored the coast to the south-west of
Massachusetts Bay and sailed up the river which now bears his name. The
Dutch, who had just cast off the rule of Spain, were then one of the most
enterprising nations in Europe. They soon occupied the country between
Delaware Bay and the Connecticut, and gave it the name of New Nether-
lands. In 1627 they sent a friendly embassy to Plymouth. But as soon as
New England began to extend itself towards the Connecticut the Dutch
thought that their territory was being encroached on, and disputes arose.
Twice the Dutch sent vessels to drive the English away from the Con-
necticut, but each time without success. Besides this, small disputes arose
ever and again between the Dutch and the English on the borders.
As was natural, Connecticut, being one of the weakest colonies and
nearest to the Dutch, was most anxious for some sort of league among the
England colonies. In September, 1642, proposals from Connecticut
rere laid before the court of Massachusetts. In the next year a union
of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, 'was formed.
ae, Rhode Island, and Providence applied for admission, but were re-
the first because its political system was different from that of the
STOKIKS OF AMKKK AN II is'l'i )|;V. :r.':;
united colonies, tlir others on tin- ground of their disorderly condition. The,
form of the union \\as a Confederation. Kadi colony, that i< to -av, was to
preserve its full independence in all internal matters, while at the same time
there \\as to he a supreme government ovei1 all the colonies, \\ ith full con-
trol over their dealings with foreign states. Such a union is, looked at
from within, a group of sepai-ate states; looked at from withoiit.it is a
single state. The government was entrusted to eight Federal Commis-
sioners, two from eacli colony. The great defect of the Confederation \\as
the superiority of Massachusetts to the other colonies. Its population was
about fifteen thousand, that, of the three smaller states scarcely three thou-
sand each. In consideration of this it was agreed that if the Confederation
went to war, Massachusetts was to send a hundred men for every forty-five
from each of the other colonies. Besides, as the taxes levied for the defence
of the Confederacy were to be proportioned to the population of each colony,
Massachusetts had in two ways to hear the heaviest share of the common
burden. At the same time the constitution only gave an equal share in
the management of affairs to each colony. The result of this was that
Massachusetts repeatedly tried to exercise more power than the articles of
the union gave her. and that the harmony, and even the existence, of the
Confederation was thereby endangered.
As might have been expected, New England was a gainer by the victors
of the parliament over the king. In 1(542 the House of Commons passed a
resolution freeing New England from the import and export duties levied
on the other colonies. Two years later the Court of Massachusetts made a
law that any one who should try to raise a party there for the king should
be treated as an offender against the state. When the colonial commission-
ers appointed by parliament seized a Royalist vessel in Boston harbor, the
question arose whether this act should be allowed. After some discussion,
the Court decided not to resist. Their chief ground was that it would be
foolish to quarrel with parliament, which was their best friend. At the
same time, they made an important admission. It might be said, and it was
said at a later time, that parliament had no authority over the colonies, be-
cause they had no representatives in the House of Commons. As a matter
of form, all the land in America was reckoned, when it was granted by the
king, to be in the manor of East Greenwich. Accordingly the Court of
Massachusetts said that, as the colonists held their land in that manor, the
parliamentary representatives of the borough or county which included that
place, represented them also. In 1651 parliament demanded that Massachu-
setts should give up its charter and take another from them. For a year no
notice was taken of this. At last the General Court of Massachusetts sent
back a somewhat vague answer, setting forth all that the settlers had done
and suffered in founding a colony, and expressing a hope that no change
j,.M TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
would l>e made in its government. About this time, the General Court took
.-, very independent step. It established a mint, and coined money. This
practice lasted for thirty years. Cromwell himself, throughout his whole
career a> Protector. \\as a 'fast friend to New England. Twice he proposed
to the settlers to change their abode. After his desolation of Ireland he
uMied to move them in there, and at a somewhat later time he proposed
that tlie\ should emigrate to Jamaica, which England had just taken from
Spain. The colonists declined both these offers.
As had happened with Morton and Ratcliffe, the severity of Massachu-
setts touards offenders raised up enemies against her in England. About
Ki:;»; there came into New England one Gorton, a weak and hot-headed
man, who held religions opinions disapproved of by the churches of Massa-
chusetts. After getting into trotible in nearly every state in New England,
at last, in \('^l, he settled near Providence on land that he had bought from
Miantonomo, chief of the Narragansetts. Near this was a small independent
settlement called Pawtuxet, founded by some of Roger Williams's followers.
These men complained of Gorton as a troublesome neighbor, and asked
Massachusetts to protect them against him. Besides this, two Indians came
to Boston and declared that the land which Miantonomo had sold was really
theirs, and offered to submit themselves and their territory to Massachu-
setts. The Court of Massachusetts summoned Gorton and his companions
to appear before them and answer these charges. Gorton, although lie does
not seem to have been altogether in the wrong, sent back, not a temperate
answer, but a violent attack on the government and religion of Massachu-
setts. Thereupon the Court of Massachusetts, always severe in dealing
with those who differed from it, seized Gorton and brought him to Boston
in irons. There he took to preaching his religious doctrines, and got so
many disciples that the Court was glad to hurry him out of the country,
threatening him with death if he returned. He then lodged an appeal with
the Commissioners for Foreign Plantations. They sent out orders that
Gorton and his friends should be allowed to settle peaceably on the land
which they had bought from the Indians. Massachusetts had already sent
an agent, one Window, a leading man from the colony of Plymouth, to
plead their cause against Gorton in England. When this order came out,
sent back an answer to be presented by Winslow. In this they boldly
dared that the English government ought not to receive appeals against
il governments, and that it was impossible for men in England
r what was good for a distant settlement. The Commissioners for
ons wrote a very temperate answer, promising not to trespass on the
L power of the Massachusetts government. At the same time they
the mam point, and bade the General Court allow Gorton to
This was done, and the disturbance ended. Other inhabitants
STORIES OF A.MKKH A\ HISTORY, l^:,
of New England besides Gorton had grievances which they laid before the
English government. Many of the inhabitants of Massachusetts u ho Mood
high in position and character, had no share in the government, because
their religious opinions would not allou them to join any »f the Ne\\ K up-
land clnnvlies. In 1 1')4<) a part \ , small in numbers, but including some of
the best and ablest men in the colony, drew up a paper which set forth the
above grievance, and laid it before the General Court. As soon as the Ma-«-a-
chusetts settlers left the Church of England, they betook themselves to In-
dependency, and I'resbyterianism never found an\ fa\or uith the ireneralitv
of them. The conflict between the two sects uas now raging in Kngland,
and the result -eemed doubtful. The petitioners were for the most part
Presbyterians, and the fears of the Independents were aroused. The
petitioners were brought before the Court, accused of having made false and
scandalous charges against the churches and government of Massachusetts,
and fined. Afteruards a rumor got about that they meant to appeal to the
English government. Their papers were seized, and found to contain
treasonable matter, whereupon the writers were again heavily fined. At last
they made their way to England; but by that time the Independents had
the upper hand, and nothing came of the appeal.
In the great controversy in England between the Presbyterians and In-
dependents many of the chief writers on the Independent side came from
New England. At the same time, the New Englanders did not keep to the
pure Independent system. They found that their churches were threatened
by enemies both in America and England, and would be in danger unless
there was some union between them. In 1648 a meeting of all the churches
in Massachusetts was held. It sat for a fortnight, and drew up a system of
Church Discipline. This provided that similar meetings should be held
from time to time. These were to have the power of advising and reproving
the different churches. Any offending church might be refused a place in
these meetings, and if it should be obstinate, might be handed over for pun-
ishment to the General Court.
Till 1(546 there was no open quarrel between the Confederation and its
Dutch neighbors. In that year, Peter Stuyvesaut, a man of high spirit and
great courage, was appointed Governor of New Netherlands. One of his
first acts was to seize a Dutch smuggling vessel in New Haven harbor. The
men of New Haven resented this as an outrage, and Stuyvesant made matters
worse by addressing a letter to "New Haven in New Netherlands," as if lay-
ing claim to the territory. He then proposed to refer the dispute to the
Governors of Plymouth and Massachusetts. The Court of Massachusetts
thought that the question would be better referred to the Federal Commis-
sioners. Stuyvesant demurred to this, and for four years the question re-
mained open. In 1650 Stuyvesant himself came to Hartford in Connecticut
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
t,. M-ttlr the matter in dispute. His chief complaint was that, by occupying
('onmrti.-iit ami New Haven, the English had encroached on Dutch territory.
'I'll.- irrievam-es of the English were certain acts of dishonesty on the part of
|)iit.-h traders at Hartford. They also accused the Dutch of assisting crim-
inals to e^-ape from Xe\v England. After some discussion, arbitrators were
appointed, \vh<> settled the <piestion in dispute, and fixed a boundary line be-
tween the Dutch and English territories. Disputes soon broke out again.
In the next year war was declared between England and Holland. Rumors
lie-aii to run through the English settlements that the Dutch were con-
spiring with the Indians for a general attack on New England. Whether
there was any good ground for this belief it is impossible now to say. But
only twenty-four years earlier the Dutch had cruelly massacred a body of
English traders at Amboyna, an island in the- Moluccas. This had roused
the English people to a great pitch of fury. With this fresh in their mem-
ory, the New Englanders could hardly be blamed for somewhat readily be-
lieving the charges against the Dutch. So strong was their feeling, that
three of the four colonies wanted to declare war. Massachusetts alone resisted.
That colony was at once the most
powerful and the least exposed to
the Dutch, and therefore had least
to fear. Accordingly, presuming
on their greater strength, they de-
clared through their commission-
ers, that, in spite of the decision of
the Federal Court, they would not
take part in the war. When the
other commissioners repi-esented
that this was a breach of their
agreement, the Massachusetts com-
missioners declined to answer
them, and asked them to proceed
to other business. The commis-
sioners refused to do this till the
dispute was settled. Massachu-
setts still held out. In their dis-
tress, Connecticut and New Haven
applied to England for help.
Cromwell replied to the appeal by
sending a fleet, with a land force
on board. Connecticut and New
3 nused forces to assist them. Massachusetts would take no
H« war, but allowed the English commander to raise five hundred
ST01MKS OK AMKIMCAN HISTOKY. MM
volunteers in their territory. Before operations could begin, news .-aiiie of
the ntler defeat of the Dutch in the English Channel. This ended the \\.-ir,
and \ve hear no more of the disputes with the \e\\ Netherlands. The affair
served to show the weakness of the Confederation, and how utterly its affairs
were under the control of Massachusetts.
About the time when the Confederation was founded, a sort of civil uar
was going on in the French settlement of Acadia between two rival claim-
ants for the governorship. La Tour and IVAulney. In H>4:> La Tour made
overtures to Massachusetts, asking for help, and oHVring in return a free
trade between the New England ports and those under his jurisdiction. He
also appealed to the religious sympathies of the New Englanders, as he was
a Protestant and D'Auluey a Roman Catholic. Massachu>etls declined to
make any alliance with La Tour, but allowed him to raise soldiers in her
territory, and to charter vessels in her harbors. In return, he granted them
free trade with his ports. In consequence of this proceeding, a law was
made at the next meeting of the Federal Commissioners, forbidding any
state to allow a levy in its territory without the leave of the whole Confed-
eration. Soon after La Tour had been to Massachusetts, D'Aulney also
tried to make an alliance with that colony. No assistance was given him,
but a firm peace was made, and it was arranged that there should be free
trade between their territories. Soon after, a ship which was sailing from
Massachusetts with supplies for La Tour, was seized by D'Aulney, and the
crew severely treated. This led to a quarrel, but the Federal Commission-
ers interfered, and friendship was restored. La Tour was then defeated and
driven out. The men of Boston fitted him out with a ship, but he ungrate-
fully set the English part of the crew on shore in the dead of winter, and
sailed off on a voyage of piracy. The war ended with the accidental death of
D'Aulney and the establishment of La Tour as Governor ; but after his mis-
conduct the New Englanders had nothing more to do with the quarrel. In
1650 the Governor of New France made proposals to New England ^for an
offensive alliance against the Iroquois, or Five Nations, the most powerful
and warlike of all the Indian races. Hitherto these Indians had not had
much to do with the English, but they had never shown any hostile feeling
towards them. They had recently made a fierce and successful onslaught on
the Abenaquis, a nation allied to the French, and including many Christian
converts. The New Englanders refused to have anything to do with the
quarrel, and at a later time the Iroquois proved valuable allies against the
French.
The dealings of the Confederation with the Indians, like those with the
Dutch, showed the undue power of Massachusetts. Miantononio, the Nar-
ragansett chief, was .for some time suspected of designs against the New
Eno-landers. This charge rested chiefly on the evidence of Uncas, the chief of
928 THE WOKLP'S (SKEAT NATIONS.
tin- Molie-rans. He and his people had always been fast friends to the English,
and \\ere enemies tn the Narragansetts. Miautonomo too was the friend and
ally of (Jorton, and this no doubt embittered many of the settlers against
him. In Hi-!- the ((iiestion of declaring war on him came before the Federal
Commissioners. Massachusetts, in opposition to the other three States, was
for peace, and prevailed. Soon after, war broke out between Miantonomo
and Uncas. The former was defeated and taken prisoner. Uncas consulted
the Federal Commissioners as to how he should deal with his captive. Their
advice was that Miantonomo should be put to death, but without torture.
Cm -as followed this counsel. Next year the war between the Mohegans
and the Narrairausetts was renewed. The Confederacy at once prepared for
war — this time without any dispute. The Narragansetts, overawed by this,
came to terms, and a treaty was made. By this the Narragansetts bound
themselves to pay a yearly tribute to the Confederacy. But the tribute was
irregularly paid, and had to be extorted by force. It was even rumored that
the Narragansetts were trying to bring down the Iroquois upon the English.
At length, in 1650, the Confederacy sent a small force into the country of
the Narragansetts and seized Pesacus, their chief. This struck such terror
into them that for a while they left the English in security. Danger soon
threatened the English from another tribe, the Nyantics, allies of the Narra-
gansetts. They it was with whom the Dutch were thought to be plotting
against New England. Moreover, they had molested some Indians who
were friendly to the English. As Massachusetts refused to believe the
charge against the Dutch, it was but reasonable that she should oppose the
uar against the Nyantics, and she did so. This time, however, she was over-
ruled, and a force was sent out under the command of one Willard, a Massa-
chusetts man. Owing to his slackness the Indians were allowed to retire
into a strong position, and the troops went home without striking a blow.
Thus it was again seen how useless it was for the Confederacy to attempt
any measure which was disapproved of by Massachusetts.
Another dispute arose in which Massachusetts showed the same over-
bearing temper. As we have seen, the Government of Connecticut had
bought and maintained a fort at Saybrook. To repay them for this, they
charged toll on all goods carried up or down the river Connecticut on which
The men of Springfield, a town on the river within the
>undary of Massachusetts, refused to pay this toll, and the Government of
llassachusetts backed them in their refusal. The dispute was referred to
ideal Commissioners, who decided in favor of Connecticut. The
ourt of Massachusetts then drew up an answer making proposals very dan-
» the Confederacy. They suggested that Massachusetts should, in
deration of her greater size and services, be allowed three Commission-
I hey also proposed to lessen the power of the Federal Commissioners
STOIMKS (IF AMKKICAN 1I1ST< •!! V.
by limiting their meetings to one in every three years, and by a la\\ that, if
any colony chose not to follow the advice of the ('<>iiiinissioiirr>, thi> -hould
be considered no breach of the agreemrnt, and no power should be employed
to enforce such advice. At the same time they protested against the judg-
59
m WORLD'S GBBAT NATIONS.
thp toll The Commissioners refused to
m,nt of the (<onmuss,oners uln ut the . Massachusetts, in retaliation,
alt,-' tlu-ir .imsiou. n****^ their territory from any of the
"''I'"- ' :l (1"V <m aU .nil: com, nissioners drew up a remonstrance, and up-
""•'•" """Y-'T" het i conduct "agreed with the law of love
,,,„, to Mussn, us,tt> uh tl « *« Confederation." In the next
llll<1 *« "'T all(1 'l^T/tl lutv uul the dispute ended.
K^SW1 ^ its ^ iipi)earance hi Kev f ng"
v the Quakers, or, as ed a
T1;; t^Horthe^^ S-*
members of the sect *eie , loi em I E and Americis
v ,; Court of Massachusetts. Two years later some of them appeared
there in person. They were at once brought before the Court and ex
Inled They railed at the officials, and, for this and their opinions, were
Si In the same year a law was passed, that all Quakers coming
hi the colony should be flogged, and that any shipmaster bringing them
,, or any person entertaining them or having their books should be ban-
»hed. In the following May, Quaker meetings were forbidden by law
Nevertheless Quakerism spread, and in October a law was passed, that
any Quakers should return after they had been once banished, they shoi
be put to death. During the next two years this law was put in force
times Winthrop, the Governor of Connecticut, son of the former Grovernoi
of Massachusetts, begged for the lives of the offenders ; but the Deputies
<racourased by the Church elders, stood firm. At last public feeling showed
itself so'strongly that the Court gave way. They did not confess themselves
in the wrong by formally repealing the former law, but they practically set
it aside, by ordering that Quakers should be flogged in every town in the
colony. From that time no more were put to death. In Plymouth and New
Haven, Quakers were also flogged. In Connecticut, thanks to Winthrop, they
were almost free from persecution. In Rhode Island alone they escaped it
altogether, and found such a refuge as the early Puritans had found in Hol-
land. The Federal Commissioners wrote to the Government of Rhode Island
to remonstrate with them on their conduct. In their answer the Rhode
Islanders defended themselves by saying that they had found that, where
the Quakers are .''suffered to declare themselves freely, there they least desire
to come ; and that they are likely to gain more followers by the conceit of
their patient sufferings than by consent to their pernicious sayings."
STORIES OF A.MKI.'K AN IIISTOIIV. 931
CHAPTER VIII.
\F.\V ENGLAND FROM TIIK RESTORATION TO THE KEVOHTTION
OF Hiss.
|T the Restoration the management of the colonies was given
to a special Hoard called the Council for the IMantations.
A few months later, twelve Privy Councillors were ap-
pointed as a Committee to settle the government of New
England. No immediate change took place. But it was at
• >iu-c clear that the Ne\v Knglandera feared danger from the
restored monarchy. Rumors reached them from their
friends in England that Virginia and the West India
Islands were forbidden to trade with them, and that a
Governor over all the New England colonies was about to be sent out from
England. Moreover, the Quakers had been laying their grievances before
the king. The Court of Massachusetts at once sent over addresses to the
king and the parliament. In both they expressed a hope that they might
keep that freedom in quest of which they had faced such toils and dangers.
They also pointed out the extreme obstinacy and insolence of the Quakers,
and declared that if they would but have promised to stay away from
Massachusetts, they would have been pardoned. The address to the king
was answered by a letter with general promises of friendship and good
treatment. At the same time it forbade the colonists to inflict any bodily
punishment on the Quakers, and ordered that they should be sent over to
England for trial. This order was disregarded. By obeying it the colonists
would have given up their right of trying all offences in the colony, a point
on which they always stood firm. Two years later the law condemning
Quakers to be flogged was re-enacted, though it was granted as a favor that
it should only be inflicted in three towns. The position of the settlers now
became a difficult one. They wished to stand well with the king, and at
the same time to be on their guard against encroachment on their rights.
In the following March (1601) the Court of Massachusetts compelled John
Eliot, a leading minister, to apologize for a book he had written teaching
doctrines hostile to monarchy. Soon after, they drew up a very important
paper. It was a formal declaration, setting forth the rights of the settlers
and the duties which they owed to the Crown. It declared that the whole
body of freemen had power to add to their own number, to appoint officers,
and to carry on government ; and that there was no appeal from them, un-
TIIK WORLD'S ORKAT NATIONS.
less their laws \veiv contrary to those of England. They claimed the right
to make \\ar in defence *>f tlieil> mvn Country, and declared that any tax
injurious to the colony and contrary to any of its laws was an infringement
of their ri-rlits. In August the king was formally proclaimed in Massachu-
setts, The other New England colonies soon did likewise. New Haven,
ho\\e\er. \\ as so slow about it that the Court of Massachusetts at length
warned the irovernmeiit of the danger of delay. During the same year 'an
event happened which trave the New Englanders some cause for uneasiness.
Just liefore the kiiii: wa> restored, two of the judges who had sentenced
Charles I.— Goffe and Whalley — came to America. For some while they
lived openly in the neighborhood of Boston, and were well received by
many of the chief men. But in November, 1660, when they had been here
about three months, tidings came from England that all the king's judges
were to l>e pardoned except seven, of whom Goffe and Whalley were two.
Thereupon they fled to New Haven. In March, orders came to seize them,
but their friends bid them ; no hard matter in a wild country. They
escaped from their pursuers, lived in hiding, and died peaceably in New
Haven. Though the authorities in Massachusetts do not seem to have
furthered their escape, or to have failed in any way to obey the orders from
England, yet the matter might easily have been turned against the colony
by its enemies. With all these causes for alarm, the Court of Massachusetts
re-oked to send over two men to appear on behalf of the colony before the
king. They chose Simon Bradstreet, one of the original settlers, and John
Norton, a leading minister. They were graciously received by the king,
and brought back a letter from him to the Court of Massachusetts. He
promised to respect their patent and charter. At the same time he ordered
that the right of voting should be given to all freeholders, whether they
were Church-members or not, that the services of the Church of England
should be allowed, that the colonists should take the oath of allegiance* and
that for the future justice should be administered in the king's name. ' The
s would not have been injured by granting any of these demands,
they would have been giving up that right of self-government which
had so often claimed. They gave way so far that all legal papers were
up m the king's name, but they referred the other matters to a com-
ee and nothing was done about them. So indignant were the people at
er that they vented their wrath in abuse of Bradstreet and Norton.
>r died m a few months, broken-hearted, as it was thought, at the
ititude of his countrymen.
For two years after the king's letter came out, Massachusetts had no im-
lealmgs with the home government. But in 1664 four Commis-
• -re sent out by the king to set matters in order in New England.
mstructions were to settle the disputes about boundaries, to
STOHIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
933
remedy the grievances of those who urn- deprived of the rights of citizenH
and to inquire into the truth of certain complaints brought °by the Indians
against the settlers. They had power to hear complaints and appeals, and
,
to "proceed in all things for the providing for and settling the peace and
security" of New England. They were also to "dispose the people to an
entire submission and obedience to the king's government," and, if possible,
to persuade them to give the king the right of naming the governor of the
colony and the commander of the militia. At the same time there is
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
KM
, n.-it this was to be carried out except by full consent of
"
•>•>• « ° •
. l]in,s witll New England before WHS Samuel Maverick. He was one
,„.„" wfao in the time of the Commonwealth had pleaded the cause of
e Who were not Chnrclmemben, and for this had been fined by the
,,„„,. IIis pweenoe on the Commission may have served to amrm the
In July, 1664, the Commissioners arrived at Boston. Their first
for help against New Netherlands, as the Dutch were then at
witli Kii"lai»l. This was granted. In obedience to the Commissioners,
the law WU repealed which required that freemen should be church-
merabers. The Court then drew up an address to the king. In this they
set forth that their charter gave them the privilege of being governed by
rulers of their own choosing, and that this was taken from them by the
appointment of the Commissioners. They also declared that to set up a
government directly appointed by the king in the colony would increase
taxation, impoverish the inhabitants, and thus destroy their trade and hurt
England. During the whole stay of the Commissioners in Massachusetts
they were engaged in petty quarrels and bickerings with the colonists.
The Court showed a fixed determination not to comply \vith the demands
of the king, while the Commissioners took no pains to make their require-
ments lesS unpleasant by a courteous and conciliatory manner. On the
main point, whether the colony had complied with the king's instructions of
1662, the Commissioners could get no definite answer from the Court. In all
the other New England colonies the Commissioners met with a friendly re-
ception, and on their return the king wrote letters to Connecticut and
Plymouth, praising them for their obedience, and contrasting it with the
stubborn conduct of Massachusetts.
If Massachusetts seemed likely to lose by the Restoration, Rhode Island
and Connecticut were gainers by it. Rhode Island had proclaimed the king
before any other of the New England colonies. At the same time they sent
over an agent to England to ask for a charter. Their exclusion from the
New England confederation possibly told in their favor at the English
Court In July 1663, they received a charter constituting them a separate
colony. The election of the governor was left to the freemen of the colony,
and the existing system of government was in no way changed. The charter
also gave full religious liberty to all sects. Connecticut met with like favor.
This was probably due to the influence of its governor, Winthrop, who him-
self went over to plead their cause. He was a man of good breeding and
education, and seems to have ingratiated himself with the king and his Lord
Treasurer, Clarendon. At the same time that the charter was granted to
Rhode Island, Connecticut also received one confirming the existing consti-
tution. These two charters were so carelessly drawn up that the lands
STORIES OF A: MKi; I (AN HIS'nc.'Y. 935
assigned to each colony overlapped. Thus a dispute arose, which, however,
was fortunately settled before either of the charters were sent out
The Connecticut charter gave rise to more serious trouble. It included
the whole teiritory of New Haven, and thus empowered Connecticut to an-
nex that colony. The people of New Haven had incurred tin- displeasure of
the king in the matter of Goffe and \Vhalley, and it is not impossible that
this charter was in part designed to punish them. When the people of New
Haven learned what had been done, they petitioned the king not to unite
them to Connecticut. Winthrop, who was still in Knglaml, hearing of this
petition, promised that no union should be made except by the free consent
of New Haven. But the government of Connecticut did not consider that
Winthrop had any power to bind them by such a promise, and, when the
charter arrived, they required the people of New Haven to submit. New
Haven for a while held out, and was supported by the Federal Commission-
ers from Plymouth and Massachusetts. The union was at length brought
about by the news that Commissioners were coming out from England. It
was clearly better for New Haven to form part of a colony which had just
got a liberal charter, than to face the Commissioners without any charter,
and with the king's displeasure hanging over it. The Federal Commission-
ers represented this to the government of New Haven, and in 1664 the two
colonies were united. This practically put an end to the New England con-
federation. For the future the Commissioners only met once in three years,
and we hear but little of their action in important matters.
After the departure of the Commissioners, New England enjoyed a period
of security and great prosperity. Under the Commonwealth, Puritans had
been too well off in England to care to emigrate, and New England had not
received many fresh settlers. But now, the Act of Uniformity deprived
some two thousand non-conforming ministers of the livings of which they
had possessed themselves under the Commonwealth, and by leading many to
seek refuge in New England, furnished the colonies with some of their ablest
clergy. Trade also throve. In spite of the Navigation Act, no custom-
house was built ; and as all the officers of the colony, from the governor
downwards, were independent of the home government, there was little
chance of an unpopular law being strictly put in force. Moreover, the fire
of London and the Dutch war so fully occupied the English government
that for a while it neglected colonial affairs. Yet the inhabitants of Massa-
chusetts had much cause for uneasiness. From the outset their State had
only existed by the sufferance of the English government. Its charter was
merely the charter of a trading company. It gave no power to enact laws,
to inflict punishment, to form alliances, or to make war. Massachusetts had
indeed been allowed to grow under this charter into a free and prosperous
community, and it is no wonder that she should have been prepared to hold
TUK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
MI; , . ,, , .
1 Yet it was certain that in
.,11 ,l,ai sh«- had don ^^ly could help ruling that her charter was
forf.-iu-d. Oth«-r thing* might, am w , ^ ^ d ^
i ... *i,,, 1,1, ,«• u.-is sure to come ai id&u
f,,r.-t.-. - - ,,e „ la« Besides tere was anger
.™,".<-'i '"- ,";;;M"i;,;i:r;;;a ;:;:;::« at.^ .u p,^ ^ ,,f
»«'"" ''"•, '"'I""!-, „„«. wraker. A race of men Iiiul grown up,
•i- T1 ,1'n";l'1 ;', '','- • ^ -' "-»• 6"l«!rs- easi|J a"zzlei1 by the
1
veai/the settlers had been at peace with the Indians. Son,,
had been done towards converting and civilizing
In 1643 Thomas Mayhew, a Massachusetts Puritan, ob-
tained a grant of certain small islands off the coast of
Plymouth, but forming no part of its territory. Here
his son, a minister, established a small settlement of
Christian Indians. John Eliot followed his example,
and villages were formed in Massachusetts, inhabited by
• -r converts, living by husbandry and handicrafts. Thus
by 1674 there were in New England more than two
KIXO PHILIP, thousand Christian converts. Yet little had been done
to bring the whole race of Indians into friendly rela-
tions with the settlers. The missionaries had done their work by drawing
out small bodies of Indians and separating them from the great mass, not
by attempting to carry Christianity and civilization into the heart of the In-
dian country. Such an attempt would perhaps have been idle. The vil-
lages of praying Indians, as they were called, probably did something to
make the rest of the natives keep aloof from the English. They saw that,
in order to become Christians and friends of the white men, they must give
up their free life of hunting, and take to ways that they looked on as dis-
graceful. They saw too that, even so, they could not really win the friend-
ship or the respect of the English. The converted Indians too often lost the
happiness of the savage, without gaining that which belongs to civilized life.
The friendship between the Plymouth settlers and Massasoit lasted during
his life. His two sons, as a token of respect for the English, took the names
"f Alrxandt-r and Philip. Yet, after their father's death, they were sus-
pected of treacherous designs. During Alexander's reign no open war broke
STOK1KS OK AM KIM (AN HISTORY.
out, but the settlers, thinking that lit- wa- plotting against them. sei/e<l him
and carried liim by force to Boston. Soon after, lie died, and \\a< succeeded
1>\ Philip, a man of great ability and courage.
The Plymouth settlers had for some years been trying to \\eaken the
Indians, by buying u[> their lands and leaving them onlv some necks of
land running OUt into the sea, where, being surrounded by \\ater on three
sides, they could be more easily kept in check. In 1(>7<> IMiilip \vas siis-
pected of intrigues with the Narragan<ett< against the English, and tin-
Court of Plymouth demanded that he -hoidd give up his arms. He sent in
seventy guns, and promised the rest, but kept them. Soon after, ho\\e\er,
he came himself to Plymouth, and made a treaty, by which he owned him-
self subject to the king of England and the (i<>\ -eminent of Plymouth, and
promised not to make any war without the consent of the English. It ma\
be doubted whether the Indians, in this and like treaties, understood clearly
the nature of their own promises. In 1674 Sausamon, a Christian Indian,
warned the English that Philip was plotting against them. Soon after
Sausamon was killed by three Indians, employed, as was believed, by Philip.
For this crime they were tried and executed at Plymouth. Philip and his
subjects were not ready for an outbreak, but they saw that they were de-
tected, and must strike at once or never. Accordingly, in the spring of
1(175 they invaded the English territory. They did not march in a body,
but, following their own mode of warfare, fell upon the settlers in small
parties wherever a chance offered. In spite of the long peace with the
Indians, the settlers had not neglected the means of defence. All the male
inhabitants were bound to be provided with arms and ammunition, and
thev often met for military exercise. Again, traditions of warfare with
the Pequods did much to prepare the younger generation of New Eng-
landers for contests with the Indians. But no drill can supply the want
of actual practice in war, especially for irregular fighting in the forest,
and for a while it seemed as if the settlers would be worsted. If the
Indians had only been united, it is not unlikely that the settlers would have
been exterminated. But Philip had been hurried into war before his plots
were ripe, and many of the Indians were taken by surprise, and were not
ready for action. In July the settlers marched into the Narragansetts'
country and compelled that tribe to make a treaty, whereby they promised
to -ive no help to Philip or his people, but to kill or deliver up to the
English any who might enter their territory. In the next winter the Eng-
lish seemed to have the enemy at their mercy. They hemmed in Philip on
a narrow neck of land running out into the sea, where there seemed to be
no escape. But Philip and his bravest warriors made their way to the
mainland, either swimming or on rafts. Many who had hitherto stood aloof
now took up arms, and ravaged the English country. In the words of 4
,,,s THK WOHLD'S (iRKAT NATIONS.
New Knu'land writer, "tliere was no safety to man, woman, nor child; to
him \\lio went out or to him who came in. Whether they were asleep or
a\vake, whether tliey journeyed, labored, or worshiped, they were in con-
tinual jeopardy." The settlers in their rage forgot all the restraints of
justice and humanity. Some wished to massacre all the Christian Indians,
i.M they should turn traitors. In one town the magistrates refused to put
to deatli n\o captive Indians on mere suspicion of their guilt. On Sunday,
as the women of the place were coming away from their meeting-house, they
fell on the two Indian prisoners in a body, and killed them. As winter
came on the hopes of the Indians declined. They had been unable to sow
their corn during summer, and the war left them no leisure for hunting.
They were driven to live on roots and every kind of garbage. Many fell
.-ick and died. In November the English heard that the Xarragansetts had
received some of Philip's men as friends. They at
once determined to prevent the union of the two
tribes, and marched into the Narragansett country
with a thousand men. They reached the chief village
unchecked, and attacked it. The Indians opened so
BUIU.IMI. fierce a fire' tliat for a wn^e the assailants were kept
at bay. At last they stormed the fort, and the In-
dians fled, leaving their stores, their women and children, and many old,
sick, and wounded. The English then set fire to the village, and of those
who had been left behind some three hundred perished in the flames. The
settlers lost about one hundred and seventy men, many of whom died from
their wounds and the severity of the weather. Of the Indians more than a
thousand fell, of whom seven hundred were fighting men. During the next
summer Philip and his men again attacked the English settlements ; but,
though they did much damage, they were too much weakened to have any
chance of lasting success. Philip's forces were destroyed ; he was driven
from place to place, and at last, in August, he was shot" by a deserter from
Before the winter the whole of his tribe," save a few who
to the west, were either slain or captured. Among the prisoners was
i, a child of three years old. Some of the settlers wished to put
death but the more humane party prevailed, and he was sent, with
• fellow-prisoners, as a slave to the Bermudas. The settlers had
Ldred men ; whole towns were destroyed, and about six hundred
houses burnt to the ground.
In 1676 another Indian war brode out on the Piscataqua. The chief
t quarter were the Tarrateens. Among their chiefs was one
by clanmng magical powers, had gained great influence over
•ymen One day, as his wife was traveling down the river with
ant chdd, she met some English sailors, who wantonly upset her
STOKIKS OK A.MKHH AN IIISTOK'V. <M>>
canoe. The woman and child f-capcd, but thr child soon at'tcru ards died
from the mishap. Tlie savages, urged on by Squanto, and euci HI ra^ed b\
tin- example of Philip, fell upon the settlers. For three \ears t h.- \\.-n-
raged, and many lives were lost on both >ide>. In \<'<7*'< a large number of
the Indians made peace with the settlers, hut this was soon broken through
the treachery of one of the Knglish, Major Waldron. He suspected that
the Indians were plotting to break the peace, and he resolved to be before-
hand with them. With this aim he invited four hundred of them to a sham
fight. The Indians, by agreement, fired off their guns first. Before they
could reload, the English surrounded them, and took them prisoners. Two
hundred were sent to Boston; some of those who had slain Englishmen
were put to death, and the rest sold as slaves. The Indians never forgot
this treachery, and some thirteen years later, during another war, Waldn.n
was captured by the treachery of an Indian who pretended to be his friend,
and cruelly tortured to death. The capture of these Indians probably did
the English more harm than good, since it taught their enemies that there
was no safety in submission, and that their only chance was to fight it out.
So hard pressed were the English -that in 1678 they were glad to make
peace. They agreed to pay the Indians a bushel of corn for every English
household, on condition that they might inhabit their former settlements in
peace. This was the first treaty ever made with the Indians on terms dis-
advantageous to the English. One important event occurred during this
war. I have already spoken of the confederacy of the Five Nations, called
by the English the Mohawks, and by the French the Iroquois. They num-
bered some three thousand warriors, and their lands reached from the
frontier of New Netherlands to the Canadian lakes. But, beyond those
bounds, they exercised a supremacy over many tribes who did not belong to
the confederacy, but who paid them tribute and obeyed their commands.
Happily for the English, the Mohawks were unfriendly to the New Eng-
land Indians. They were also hostile to the French, and they may have
known something of the enmity between the French and the English, and so
have been inclined to favor the latter. In 1677 two ambassadors were sent
from the settlers on the Piscataqua to the Mohawks. They were well re-
ceived, and the Mohawks promised to attack the Tarrateens. No great
result seems to have come of this at the time, but it was the beginning of a
long and useful alliance. The conduct of the settlers during these wars in-
creased the displeasure of the home government. It was thought that they
might have made shorter work of their enemies if they had been willing to
ask help from England, but that their pride and independence had withheld
them.
In 1676 Massachusetts became engaged in a dispute about boundaries.
In 1629 John Mason had obtained from the Plymouth Company a grant of
TH1 WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,.,„, Memmac and Piscataqua. But the grant
«» th" himl bet;Tr t Massachusetts Company had for its northern
made tw() yt>al, ^tore to t . ^ Merrilnac. The Massachusetts gov-
lM:imil „ lhie three nnles > ot wflfl a gtraight line drawn
— « w i A ^ Me™™ * ** **
f,,im three mite beyond nortDe thg piscat ua. Mason's
This would have given them a 11 he s ct le be ft lhie three
,,u the other han.l, ,,nt,n. ed hat he boun j ^^^
rf. north of the Memniac^a 1 a hmg ^ ^^^^to revive this claim.
the grandma oi th, flrjt r^< ; ^^pting £ recover Maine. A,
A, the same tune the heirs of ea were ^ 0 1)roposed to sell
neither <f the- claunants seen^V ^^J Ihis proposal, in-
thnr rights to the Crown, ine K Monmouth.
^ling to make a province .for » "^^^ likely to accrue from
Monmouth, however, found that no great poht ^ y ^
2Xtt%Z£± up ever, charge that he could find
££?t£ Utlers, and Cutting all their conduct in the worst^Ugh possibly
s to ecr. on the English government against them.
report haHhere were nTany settlers in the disputed territory who wished
Separate from Massachusetts. The case was brought before the Engh
Chief Justice, who ruled that the land was not included m the Massachusetts
grant. Accordingly, the king placed the four towns on the *£*?**
der a separate government, and called the districts so. formed New Hamp-
shire It was 'to be governed by a President and Council nominated by 1
king' and a House of Deputies, from the different towns. The first governor
appointed under the new system was John Cutts, a leading man in 1
colony and esteemed by the inhabitants. After a year he was supers*
by Edward Cranfield, who had bought Mason's right to the land.
embroiled himself with the inhabitants by various misdeeds. Amongs
other things, he was accused of levying taxes without the consent of
Assembly, of having suits in which he was interested tried by courts
he had himself appointed, of raising the fees in the law courts so as to pre-
vent poor men from suing, and of committing men to prison without trial.
The people complained of these wrongs to the English government, and
Cranfield saved himself from being turned out of his government by resign-
ing it. The claims of Gorges' heirs were more easily settled. Massachuseti
bought their rights in the land for one thousand two hundred pounds, and
stepped into the place of the proprietor. Accordingly the government of
Massachusetts also governed Maine, but as a separate state, not forming
STOIMKS OF AMKI.'H'AX HlSTolfY. 941
any part of Massachusetts, ami governed according to tin- charter originally
granted to (ior^cs.
In 1679 the English government at hist found leisure to turn its atten-
tion to Massachusetts. In July the king sent out a letter, repeating some of
the demands made by him before, and in addition desiring that the colonists
should surrender the province of Maine on repayment of the one thousand
two hundred pounds, on the ground that they had dealt harshlv \\ith some
of the settlers there The Court of Massachusetts took no notice of thi<
demand. To all the others they replied that they either had been, or should
be, fulfilled. In 1(581 the long expected blow came. A general attack \\ a-
made by the king and his advisers on the charters of corporations through-
out England. In some cases the privileges granted to city corporations had
been used by the members as a means for setting at naught the laws. Such
charters might with justice have been forfeited. Hut this was made a pre-
text for extending the attack to others, against which no such charges could
be brought. The Judges of that day were so subservient to the Crown that
it was useless for the corporations to resist. A charter which had been so
wrested from its original purpose as that of Massachusetts, was not likely
to be overlooked. The king demanded that agents should be sent from
Massachusetts to explain the charges brought against the colony of neglect-
ing to enforce the Navigation Act, and of coining money by their own
authority. At the same time the settlers were privately informed that their
charter would be attacked. They sent over two agents, who wrote back
word that the charter was sure to be taken from them, and asked whether
they should surrender it of their own accord. The Court decided to let
matters take their course. About this time Cranfield maliciously persuaded
the Court of Massachusetts to instruct their agents to present two thousand
pounds to the king as the price of keeping the charter. This proposal
gained them nothing but mockery, as Cranfield wished. In October, 1683,
the agents came back, and soon after, the charter was declared null and void.
The constitution under which Massachusetts had existed from its foundation
was at an end.
Before the new government could be settled, Charles II. died. During
the first year of James's reign no material change was made. In 1686 the
king appointed a Council, with Joseph Dudley as its president, to govern
Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Dudley was the son of one of
the sternest of the old Massachusetts Puritans. But he had utterly forsaken
his father's ways, and cared more for the favor of the English Court than
for the rights of his fellow-citizens. In 1686 the charter of Connecticut
was also annulled. Rhode Island yielded up hers in 1687. The policy of
James was to unite all the northern colonies under one government. Ac-
cordingly, in 1686 Sir Edmund Andros was sent out with a commission as
.,4i T1IK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Governor of Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Hampshire, and Maine. At the
same time lit- had instructions from the king to join Connecticut to Massa-
chusetts. The commission empowered Audros and his Council to levy taxes,
to make laws, and to administer justice in civil and criminal cases. These
laws were to lie approved of )>y the king, and the legal proceedings were to
follow the English forms. Not a word was said of representatives, or of
any political lights to he granted to the people. Eleven years before, An-
dros had had unfriendly dealings with New England. Being then Governor
of New York, he had, by orders of the Duke of York, the proprietor of that
colony, inarched with a force to Saybrook. to demand that Connecticut
should give up to him several strong places, as being in his dominions. The
settlers prepared to resist by force, if needful, and after a fruitless interview
with them Andros departed. The dispute was referred to commissioners
appointed by the king, and was decided in favor of Connecticut.
In October, 1687, Andros marched into Connecticut, and demanded the
charter. One of the leading settlers, Captain Wadsworth, it is said, hid it
away ; at all events, the Court did not give up the actual document. But this,
of course, availed them nothing, and Andros declared the colony joined to
Massachusetts. In 1688, to complete the king's scheme of making one state
of all the northern colonies, Andros was made Governor of New York.
Thus he was ruler of all the English settlements north of Delaware Bay,
and was responsible to none but the king. During his governorship he was
accused of many arbitrary proceedings. It was said that lie would not
allow persons to marry until they had given surety to him, to be forfeited
if there should prove to be any impediment, and that he threatened not to
suffer the people to worship in their own fashion. Even private property
was not safe. Grants of land made by the former government were de-
clared invalid. When the people complained, Andros and his followers
mockingly told them that " the calf had died in the cow's belly," meaning
that the destruction of the charter had overthrown all lesser rights that
were connected with it. In this winter a campaign was made against the
Indians, but nothing was done, owing either to the incapacity of Andros or
to the slackness of men serving under a commander whom they disliked.
Whether the New England colonists would have long endured the mis-
government of Audros may be doubted. At all events, when the news of
the Revolution of 1688 reached them, they were quite ready for an out-
break. Seldom has a revolution been so easy and so bloodless. The people
rose with one accord, seized Andros, and turned out his officials. The other
New England colonies did likewise. All the old colonial governments were
restored, but only to hold their power till the English government made
ome definite arrangement. This was not done for four years, and during
that time the old constitutions were in force. In 1691 the case of Massa-
STOHIKS OF AMKIMCA.V HISTORY.
chusetts came before tin- Knglish government. The agents for the a
soon saw that it was hopeless to think of recovering their old charier, ami
only applied themselves to getting as favorable a one as they could in its
place. The English government proposed to unite Plymouth to Massachu-
setts. The Plymouth agent at first resisted this, but he soon found that
there was no chance of Plymouth being allowed to remain under a* separate
944 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
• rovernment, and that, if not joined to Massachusetts, it would be to New
York. As his countrymen would have liked this still less, he yielded. In
1692 the new charter was sent out. The one great change which it made
was, that the Crown appointed the Governor, while before the people had
elected him. The General Court was to consist of twenty -eight councillors
and an Assembly of representatives. The councillors were to be elected
even vrar by the General Court; the representatives by the inhabitants of
the various towns. No religious qualification was required from electors as
formerly, but all who had freeholds worth forty shillings a year, or other
estate of forty pounds value, were admitted to vote. All laws made by the
Court were to be sent home to England for approval. This, and the change
in the manner of appointing the Governor, quite deprived Massachusetts of
that independence which she had always hitherto claimed. In his appoint-
ment of a Governor the king showed his wish to conciliate the people. lie
sent out Sir William Phipps, a native of Massachusetts, of lowr birth, who
when a lad fed sheep, and afterwards became a ship's carpenter. In that
trade he heard of a Spanish ship which had sunk with treasure on board.
Having raised the vessel, he brought a great sum of money to England,
and was knighted by the king. James II. made him sheriff of New Eng-
land, but, unlike most of James's officers there, he did his best to serve his
country, and won the esteem of the New Englanders. He was a man of
no great ability, but honest, benevolent, and popular. The inhabitants of
Massachusetts and New Hampshire would have gladly seen the two states
again joined. But though the king had joined Plymouth against its wish
to Massachusetts, he chose to keep Massachusetts and New Hampshire
separate. This was ascribed to the influence .of one Allen, who had
bought the proprietorship of the soil in New Hampshire, and now obtained
the governorship. New Hampshire had never had a charter, and none was
granted to it now ; but the government went on as before. The New Eng-
land colonies which fared best at the Revolution were Connecticut and
Rhode Island. Their charters were restored, so that they retained their old
constitutions, and alone of all the colonies chose their own Governors. In
1690 and the two following years New England was engaged in a war with
the French settlers in Canada and their Indian allies. But this was only
•f a struggle between the French and English settlers which lasted, with
one break, for more than twenty years, and it will therefore be better to tell
of it in another chapter.
STORIES OK A.MKIMi AN IIISTui.'Y.
CHAPTER IX.
NEW ENULAM) AFTER THE REVOLUTION
>HE charter just mentioned left some important points un-
settled. It did not definitely decide whether the Acts of the
English Parliament were to lie in all cases binding on the
colony, nor did it say whether the Knglish Parliament had
any power of taxing the colonists. The Court of Massachu-
setts tried to decide this latter point in their own favor. In
1692 they passed an Act declaring that no tax should be
levied in the colony without the consent of the Court. To
this law the English government refused its assent. If it
had passed, it would have saved many quarrels between the colonists and
their governors, in which the latter were always worsted, and it might have
even prevented the separation of the colonies eighty-four years later. Con-
necticut soon found itself in opposition to the English government.
Colonel Fletcher, the Governor of New York, had a commission from the
Crown giving him the command of the Connecticut militia. He did not
wish to use this himself, but merely to assert his right, and then to transfer
the commission to the Governor of Connecticut. The Court of Connecticut
objected to this, and contended that such a commission was contrary to
their charter. Fletcher entered the country to enforce his commission.
Captain Wadsworth, the same man who was said to have hidden f,he
charter, was in command of the militia. When Fletcher ordered his com-
mission to be read, Wadsworth commanded the drums to beat, so that no
one could hear the commission. Fletcher ordered them to stop, whereupon
Wadsworth threatened him with violence. A mob soon assembled, and
Fletcher thought it prudent to retreat. It seems strange that he should
have suffered himself to be so easily baffled, yet he does not appear to have
made any further attempt to enforce his orders. But though he did not
succeed in appointing an officer in Connecticut, he still had the right of
giving orders as commander-in-chief ; and the people of Connecticut declared
that he revenged himself by issuing troublesome and harassing orders.
New Hampshire soon afterwards showed a like spirit of independence..
Allen, the new governor, got into a dispute with several persons, who had
settled on the lands that he claimed. The New Hampshire Court decided
against him. He then appealed to the king. The Colonial government
refused to admit this appeal, but their refusal was overruled by the king.
60
94(| TMK \\ORUCS (ih'KAT NATIONS.
In |i;;/7 Lord Bellainont was appointed Governor of New York, Massachu-
setts, and Xew H;iin])shire. He was sensible, conciliatory, and popular;
but. unhappily, lie dinl in 1700, little more than a year after his arrival.
DuriiiLT his irovernorship the Board of Trade, to which the management of
colonial a flairs liad been handed over, sent out a letter warning him against
the desire of the colonists for independence, and especially dwelling on their
misconduct in not allowing appeals to the king. Bellamont was succeeded
]>v Joseph Dudlev, who had been governor under James II. He was soon
enira-vd in disputes with the Assembly, in all of which he was worsted.
He claimed the right of annulling the election of a councillor. Neverthe-
le>s the councillor kept his seat. In 1705 Dudley laid before the Assembly
two points, on which he had special instructions from the English govern-
ment. These were : 1. The establishment of two forts, one on the Piscataqua,
the other at Peinaquid, a spot on the coast near Acadia: '2. The allotment
bv the Court of a fixed salary to the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and
Judges. The Assembly refused to entertain either of these proposals; the
former, because the forts would be useless to the colony; the latter, because
the means of the colonists varied from time to time, and because it was the
right of English subjects to raise by their own votes such sums of money as
might be wanted. Dudley gave way on both points. He seems to have
been a time-serving man, but not without regard for his fellow-countrymen,
and with nothing of the tyrant in his nature, and so to have lacked both the
wish and the power to constrain the settlers. Moreover, he was suspected
of various acts of dishonesty, and so perhaps felt himself in the power of
the Assembly.
Before going further, it will be well to speak of some important matters
which happened during the governorship of Dudley and his two predeces-
sors. The New Englanders, like most people in those days, believed in
witchcraft, and more than one person in the colony had been accused of it
and put to death. The most noted case was that of an old woman, a Mrs.
:ibbins, whose brother and husband had held high offices in Massachusetts,
and who was hanged as a witch in 1656. In 1692 a panic seized the colony.
Some children persuaded themselves that they were bewitched. The matter
** taken up by one Cotton Mather, a minister. His father, Increase Ma-
er, also a minister, was one of the ablest and boldest of those who had
Charles II. and James II. in their dealings with Massachusetts. The
ton was a vain, pushing man, with some learning, but no wisdom,
iraged by Mm and another influential minister, Parris, the children
used upwards of seventy people, many of them of high station and un-
.shed character. The whole colony was carried away by the panic, and
Y people were put to death on utterly trumpery evidence. This mad.
seemed, went away as suddenly as it came. In 1692, when
STOIMKS OF A.MKIJICAN
1)47
fifty people were brought up for trial, all Imt three \\civ acquitted, and t lux-
three were pardoned l>v the governor. Sonic of the children afterward*
confessed that they had done \\ nmg, but neither Matlu-r nor l'arri> ever
showed any sign of repentance. This affair seems to have done something;
to weaken the influence of the ministers in Massachusetts and for the future
we hear much less of them in public affairs.
The accession of \VilliamlII.at once engaged the Ne\\ England colo-
nists in war with the Frencli settlers in Canada. They had for a long while
been growing into dangerous neighbors. At this time their regular settle-
ments were confined to the peninsula of Acadia, the i-hmd of Ca{>e Breton,
RAPIDS OF THE ST. LA WHENCE.
and the north side of the river St. Lawrence, as far as Montreal. All the land
between the northern frontier of New England and the St. Lawrence, now
called Maine and New Brunswick, seems to have been then uninhabited.
Thus between the English and French settlements was a belt of wild foiv>t,
about two hundred miles broad, inhabited only by MvagW. The whole popu-
lation of the French settlements at this time was less than twelve thousand,
while that of New England and New York together was about one hundred
thousand. The chief resource of the French settlers was the fur trade with
the Indians. That which really might have been the most valuable part,
of their possession, Acadia, was utterly neglected, and only contained
some five hundred settlers. Although it lay conveniently for the New.-
TIIK \Vdl!LL)'S GREAT NATIONS.
foimdland fisheries, and also for an attack on New England, it was bandied
l.aekwards and forwards between England and France. In 1654 Cromwell
t,,,,k it from the Krem-h : Charles II. restored it by the treaty of Breda to
l-Yance ; and, as \ve shall see, it changed hands three times in the next eighty
\ears. From Hii'.S to 1663 the French colony was under the control of a
company, t'nder this system the settlers fared so ill, and were so hard
pres-ed l>\ the Indians, that they would at one time have abandoned the
country Imt for the energy of the Jesuit missionaries. In 1663 the coin-
pan \ \\i-re so disheartened by the poor results that they surrendered the
colony to the king. He handed it over to the French West India Com-
pan\ for a time, and afterwards sent out a governor, the Marquis of
Tracy, who by his energy and courage drove back the hostile Indians,
and saved the colony from destruction. From that time things seem to
have irone on somewhat better. The settlements gradually extended west-
ward up the St. Lawrence, and in 1671 a pillar bearing a cross and the
French arms was set up at the Falls of St. Mary, between Lake Superior
and Lake Huron. Unlike the New England settlers, who stood aloof from
the Indians and lived together in compact settlements, the French established
small outposts in the Indian country, which were at once forts, trading-
houses, and mission stations. The Jesuit missionaries were generally in
charge of those stations, and braved every danger and underwent all hard-
ships in the hope of converting the Indians. At the same time they seem
to have done little towards controlling their converts, and even to have en-
couraged them in their raids on the English and on their Indian enemies.
The French settlers, living in this way in scattered groups among the In-
dians, learned to suit themselves to their ways, and married among them ;
and thus acquired far more influence over them than the English ever did.
It is even said that Count Frontenac, a French nobleman, the governor of
Canada just before the invasion of New England, went among the Indians
and joined in their war-dance, like one of their own chiefs. Luckily for the
English, the French settlers were somewhat unfortunate in their choice of
Indian allies. The natives whom they first met with were the Hurons and
the Abenaquk Both these tribes seem to have been enemies to the Mo-
^ks, who were much the stronger race. Thus from the outset the French
ere on bad terms with the most powerful of all the Indian tribes.
Though there was no open hostility between the French and English
itlew before 1688, there were disputes about boundaries. For, though
Elements were separated by a tract of wilderness, each nation as-
girt to lands beyond those which it actually occupied, and the
ranch, « they spread towards the west, were accused of encroach^ on
. territory of New York. Each nation too suspected the other of under-
dflBigna One Castine, a French baron, had an outlyino- station at the
STOIMKS OF AMKI.'K AN IllsT<H;V.
940
mouth of the Penobscot. Here he lived like a savage chief, \\ith several
Indian wives. He, it was thought, had supplied Philip with arms and am-
munition during his war with New England. The French made like com-
plaints against the inhabitants of New York. In ir.sT a treaty v\as signed
between France and England whereby it was agreed that the colonist- of
the two nations should keep the peace towards each other, and that neither
should assist the Indians in their attacks on the other. This treaix \\as not
likely to have much effect, as it was impossible for either side to restrain
their Indian allies, and their misconduct might at any time give a pretext
for war. In the same year the governor of Canada treacherously sei/.ed
a number of Mohawk chiefs at a conference, and shipped them to France
for galley slaves. The Mohawks retaliated by invading Canada. They
were assisted, it is said, in this invasion by Dongan, the Governor of New
York. In revenge for this the French government in 1689 sent out an ex-
pedition against New York. Frontenac, who was now appointed governor
of Canada, was in command of this. He made prep-
arations for a great attack by land and sea. The fleet,
however, was hindered by storms, and Frontenac
reached Canada too late in the season to do anything
by land. He found his colony suffering from an attack
of the Mohawks, the fiercest they had yet made. Al-
though the French were unable to carry out their
scheme against Canada this year, their allies made raids
into New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and did great
harm to the settlers. In this year (1689) Avar was de-
clared between France and England. Accordingly in
1690 Frontenac made ready for a great invasion of the
English territory. In February he sent out three par-
ties of Indians to attack the English settlements at
three different points. One attacked New York,
another New Hampshire, the third Canseau, a settle-
ment on the coast of Maine. The English did not
believe that it was possible for their enemies to make LOOK OUT.
their way through the forests in winter, and so were
utterly unprepared. All three expeditions were successful, that against
New York most so. The Indians fell on Schenectady, a frontier town of
some importance, utterly destroyed it, and killed and captured about a
hundred of the inhabitants. In their distress, the English colonists, at the
suggestion of the Massachusetts government, held a congress of the North-
ern colonies. New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut sent each two
commissioners, who met at the city of New York. Maryland and Rhode
Island did not send commissioners, but promised to assist in an expedition.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Mv
i Por „!•, Nine hundred men, of whom four
It ww determined to mvajle < ,« -uU. ne n ^ ^ ^
>„, 1 ,,,Hlv by bad weather, and the whole expedition was a failure.
V: r,.',t wL to make bad blood between the different English settle-
,,,,ts; Leider, the Governor of New York, a rash, hot-headed man, was so
BOMB-SllKI.I,.
,,,,s ,
„„,,„.,, fchat ,,, ;ll,,sted WiBthrop and other leading men rom Connecticut,
,„,! would have tried them at New York by court-martial but ior the re-
monstrance of the Connecticut government. As some set-oft against
small Kn-Hsh fleet under Sir William Phipps conquered Acadia.
however, retaken the next year. FOP the next
five years the war consisted mainly of raids on
the frontiers, in which the French Indians in-
flicted great suffering on the English, and the
Mohawks on the French. During this period the
English made a change in their mode of defence.
Hitherto they had relied chiefly on regular forts
along the frontier. But they found that in the
woods these were of little use, as the savages, who
knew the country, had no difficulty in making their way between them.
Accordingly they established instead small parties along the frontier, whic
moved from point to point and did far more service. In 1696 the French
made great preparations for a general attack on New England by sea and
land. But they found it impossible to victual their fleet for so long a
voyage, and had to content themselves with conquering Newfoundland. In
the next year the French Indians penetrated farther into the English ter-
ritory than they had yet done and attacked Andover, a village only twenty-
five miles from Boston. In 1697 the peace of Ryswick put an end to the
war. By this peace no definite settlement was made as to the boundaries
between the French and English settlements. For five years, between this
peace and the declaration of war in the reign of Queen Anne, the colonies
were at peace. During this time the French sought to establish an alliance
witli the Mohawks. In 1701 a treaty was made at Montreal by the French
and three of the chief Canadian tribes, the Hurons, the Abenaquis, and the
Ottawas, with the five Mohawk nations. The French, however, were too
poor, and had too little trade, for their friendship to be much valued by the
Mohawks. Moreover, the French could not make their own allies keep the
treaty. Thus the Mohawks, except a few outlying villages, returned to their
STORIES OF A.MK1MCAN HISTOIfV. !,;,!
alliance with the English. At the same time they were inu.-li less zealou^md
serviceable allies than the French Indians. The latter really valued their
Kivncli allies aii.l fought for them xealously, while the M.,h:i\\ks ,mly eared
for the English as a useful check upon the Eivudi. Their p,,|j,.v WM t..
have as little as possible to do witli either nation, and to I.efriend those \\ ho
were least likely to interfere with them, or to trespass on t heir eoiintn .
Indeed, the English liad so little faith in the Mohawks that, a few years
later, when an English force in Canada sulTered greatly from sickness. 'thev
believed that their Indian allies had poisoned the wells. In KIH \\ai-
again broke out. By land the operations
were much what they had been in the pre-
vious war. Parties of savages from either
side made raids across the frontier, destroy-
ing villages and carrying off prisoners. The
brunt of this war fell especially on New
Hampshire and Massachusetts; while New
York, whose frontiers were covered by the
Mohawk country, for the most part escaped.
The English during this war made three
attempts to recover Acadia. In 1704 a ,,,.,
force of five hundred and fifty men was A CANNON TK«K.
sent out in a fleet of whale-boats for this
purpose, but did absolutely nothing. Three years later the attempt was re-
newed, and again failed. In both of these expeditions there seems to have
been a general and well-founded feeling of dissatisfaction with the leaders.
Indeed, it is said that, after the second, the chief officers would have been
tried by court martial, but that so many were accused that there were not
enough left to sit in judgment. It was thought too that many of the New
Englanders secretly favored the Acadians for .the sake of trading with them.
Dudley himself was suspected of this, and in 1706 six leading men were
prosecuted on this charge before the Court of Massachusetts and fined
various sums, from eleven hundred to sixty pounds. Their sentence, how-
ever, was annulled by the Crown. In 1710 a more successful attempt was
made. A force of more than three thousand men attacked Port Royal, the
chief fort in Acadia. Subercas, the French commander, had only three
hundred men. Moreover, he felt ill-used at the feeble support given him by
the French government, and had no heart for a stout resistance, and so
yielded. The English, in honor of the queen, changed the name of the
place to Annapolis.
In the next year a great expedition was planned against Canada, A fleet
of fifteen men-of-war was sent from England with five thousand soldiers.
These were to be joined by two regiments of New England militia, making
I'.V.'
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
the whole force up to nearly seven thousand. This army was considered
fully stroiii: enough to take Quebec. In June the Massachusetts govern-
ment received orders to provide pilots and a supply of provisions for the
fleet. Sixteen days later the fleet itself arrived. Considerable delay and
.lithViihy occurred in finding supplies. The blame of this was laid by the
English commander on the sloth, stinginess, and disloyalty of the New Eng-
landers. \\hile they, on the other hand, declared that they had done all they
could, but that unfairly short notice had been given them. This probably
\\as true. It is even said that the people of Boston were so far from being
backward in the matter that many families lived wholly on salt food in
order that the troops might be properly sup-
plied. Nevertheless, the complaints found
their way to England and did as much harm
as if they had been true. The expedition
itself was an utter failure. The fleet ran on
the rocks near the mouth of the St. Law-
rence, and eight or nine ships and more than
a thousand men were lost. The command-
ers, disheartened by this, and despairing of
getting up the river, returned home. The
blame of the failure was laid by some on the
admiral, Sir Hoveden Walker, by others, on
the Boston pilots. After its return the ad-
miral's ship blew up at Spithead, and his
papers, which might have helped to clear up
the affair, were lost. One advantage had
ensued from this expedition. It had with-
held the French from an attempt to recover
Annapolis, and as the English garrison there
was weak, such an attempt would probably
have succeeded. In 1713 peace was signed
at Utrecht. This peace gave Acadia to Eng-
land, but it did not determine what the
boundary of Acadia should be; consequently the unoccupied
try between the Kennebec and the St. Lawrence was still left to be a
ounce of dispute. In one way this war did a great deal to bring the
colonies into discredit with the mother country. The frontier warfare, in
B colonists showed great courage and defended their country sue-
My, was scarcely heard of by the English. It was not marked by any
«P oits, and thus little or nothing was known of it in England.
e regular attacks on the French coast all came under the notice oi the
government, and the colonists were blamed, not only for their own
A LIGHTHOUSE.
STOKIKS OF AMKKK'AN IlISToi.'V. !i:,;j
shortcomings, bat for the failtma of the Knglish commanders. Tims they
got an ill name in England for slackness ami disloyalty, and even co\\ardice,
which their general conduct throughout the war in no \\a\ deserved.
The peace of Utrecht did not end the war with the Indians. The set-
tlers on the frontier suffered so much that, about this time, the Xew Hamp-
shire government offered a reward of one hundred pounds for an Indian
prisoner, or the scalp of an Indian. One French settlement was specially
obnoxious to the English. This was an outpost called Norridgewock, about •
three days' march from the northern frontier of Massachusetts. This \\as
managed by Sebastian Ralle, a Jesuit, one of the bravest and most successful
of the French missionaries. He built a chapel there, and got together a
congregation of sixty Indians, whom he regularly trained to take part in the
services of the Church. He does not, however, seem to have attempted to
restrain their ferocity against the English, but rather to have inflamed it,
and was said to have even abetted their cruelties with his own hands. In
1722 a party from New England destroyed the settlement. Halle fled, leav-
ing his goods and papers in their hands. Next year another attack was
made, in which he was killed. In 1725 the Court of Massachusetts proposed
that commissioners should be sent from the five English colonies north of
the Hudson to remonstrate with the governor of Canada on his conduct in
aiding the Indians. New Hampshire alone consented. A deputation was
sent to Canada, and at the same time the English began to treat with the
Indians. The French governor, the Marquis of Vaudreuil, said that the In-
dians merely fought in defence of their own lands, and not in obedience to
him. The English then produced letters found at Norridgewock, which
proved the contrary. They also brought forward an Indian whom the gov-
ernor had furnished with arms and ammunition to be used against the Eng-
lish. The governor tried to make excuses, but the deputies stood their
ground, and their firmness withheld him from any attempt to break off the
negotiations between the English and the Indians. In 1725 peace was made
at Falmouth. The English promised to abolish all private trade, and to
establish trading-houses under the control of the Massachusetts government,
where the Indians would be supplied better and more cheaply than by pri-
vate traders. Thus, after more than thirty years of war, the New England
frontier enjoyed a long term of peace. This long struggle had a great effect
in accustoming the New Englanders to all the shifts and dangers of war in
a savage country. Every one on the New England frontiers had to be per-
force a soldier. It would be endless to tell all the feats of daring performed
by the settlers. Even the women learned to use weapons and face dangers
and accomplish exploits, which would have shown no little courage, even if
done by men. One woman, Hannah Dustin, was carried off by the Indians
with a young lad. In the night, while the Indians slept, the prisoners rose,
,,.4 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
killed and sealped the whole party, save two, and made their way back to
th,. English settlement One villas was attacked while all the men were
away. The \\omen dressed themselves in men's coats and hats, lest the
\\vakii-s of tlie place should he known, and kept up so hot a fire that the
Indian, retreated. One undoubtedly evil effect was produced by these wars.
.Fust a- in the ease of Philip's war, the colonists became so infuriated against
the Indians that they seaively distinguished between friend and foe. Thus,
in New Hampshire, it was for many years impossible to get any jury to con-
vict an Englishman for the murder of an Indian.
1 or some years after the Revolution, the New England charters seemed
to be in danger. In 1701 a bill was brought forward in Parliament for
witlidnnvin:.'1 them. This, however, fell through. Three years later, the
proposal was renewed. Connecticut, having the most liberal charter, was
naturally the most alarmed. The other colonies seem to have taken the
matter more quietly, and the Connecticut charter was made the chief subject
of contest. Dudley, the Governor of Massachusetts, and Lord Cornbury,
the Governor of New York, were its chief opponents. Dudley was a per-
sonal enemy to many of the chief men in Connecticut, and Lord Com bury
had been refused four hundred and fifty pounds which he had demanded
from Connecticut for the defence of his own colony. The government of
Connecticut was accused of harboring pirates and other criminals ; of setting
at naught the laws of England and disobeying the queen's officers ; of re-
fusing to contribute to the defence of New England, and of robbing some
Indians of their land. Luckily for the colony, Sir Henry Ashurst, its agent
in England, was a man of great energy. By his representations and those
of the counsel whom he employed, Connecticut was cleared of all the charges
brought against it. Ten years later the charters were again threatened.
They were defended by Jeremiah Dummer, a leading citizen of Massachu-
setts, a man of moderate views, who was afterwards Lieutenant-Governor.
He represented that the loss of the charters and the consequent danger of
arbitrary government would be a great blow to the welfare of the colonies ;
that anything which weakened the colonies would also affect the West In-
dies, which obtained many of their supplies thence, and so would injure the
mother country. He laughed at the idea of some who fancied that the colo-
s were aiming at independence, and said that it would be as reasonable
two of the king's beef-eaters to keep a baby from getting out of its
i and doing mischief as to guard against a rebellion in America. His
ts prevailed, and the attack on the charters was abandoned.
1 < 1 o, Dudley was succeeded in the governorship of Massachusetts by
During his term of office and that of the two next Gov-
s history of Massachusetts is one long series of contests between
the Governor and the Assembly. The chief subject of these dispute
res was
STORIKS OF AMKKICAN HISTORY. !i.->.-.
the steadfast refusal of the Assembly t<> grant the Govern. »r a fixed salary.
They insisted on voting him §uch a sum as they thought lit from year t«.
year, and so making him dependent on them. There \\ere beside- -mailer
subjects of difference which helped to embitter matter-. The cont.-t
about the salary had, as we have >.-i-u, begun in the time of Dudle\. II.
failed to carry his point. For the first four \ears ,,f Slmte's ^overniiieiM
things went on quietly. In 1720 lie claimed the right of rejecting a Speaker
chosen by the Assembly. They resisted, but at length so far gave \\a\ a-
to elect another Speaker. At the same time they reduced the (iover -1s
half-yearly salary from six hundred to five hundred pounds. Shute pa— <-d
over this without notice, but, when it was repeated, lie told them that he
had orders from the Crown to obtain a fixed salary. The Assembly asked
leave to postpone the question, and the Governor granted this. The next
year the Assembly refused to vote any salaries till they kne\\ whether
the Governor had given his consent to the Acts which they had pa--ed.
When they had done their business they asked leave to rise, but the Gov-
ernor refused to allow this. They then rose without leave. The Council
voted this an irregular proceeding. When they next met, they got into a
high dispute. The small-pox broke out at Boston, and it was unsafe for the
Assembly to meet there. Accordingly they decided to meet elsewhere.
The Governor considered this an encroachment on his rights. He did not
wish to force them to sit in Boston, but he objected to the matter being
taken out of his hands. Soon after this he produced letters from the Eng-
lish government, approving of his conduct about the election of a Speaker.
The Assembly still asserted its right, and there the matter rested. In 1 7'28,
Shute was succeeded by William Burnet, whose father, Gilbert Burnet,
Bishop of Salisbury, had been a well-known writer and a leading supporter
of William III. The new Governor was received with great pomp and
every expression of good-will. Nevertheless, the representatives were as
firm as before in the matter of the salary. To show that this was not done
out of any personal ill-will to Burnet, they voted him a grant of seventeen
hundred pounds. This he refused, and insisted on a fixed salary. The
Council tried to take a middle course, and proposed that a fixed salary
should be granted, but for a limited time. The Assembly, however, refused
even this concession. In their own defence they drew up a paper setting
forth their reasons. The principal of these were, that it was "the un-
doubted right of all Englishmen by Magna Charta to raise and dispose of
money for the public service of their own free accord without compulsion,"
and that it might "be deemed a betraying of the rights and privileges
granted in the charter." Burnet answered that to admit the claims of the
Assembly would throw the whole government into their hands. Moreover,
he said that it had never been considered unsafe in England to give the
TI1K WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
kinir an income for life. To this tlie Assembly answered that there was a
-reat difference Let \\een the king, who had a permanent interest in the wel-
fare ..f his subjects, and a governor, who only came for a time. They
plead.-*!, too, that it was impossible for them to usurp the whole government
,,f the colon \ so loin: as the Governor and Council had each power to refuse
their consent to laws. About this time the Assembly of Barbadoes was en-
_'t-d in a like contest with the Governor there, and their example possibly
-er\-<l to eiicoungc the people of Massachusetts. Things now came to a
dead-l.>ck. The (iovernor refused to dissolve the Assembly, and they were
obliged to sit on, greatly to their inconvenience, while he would not take
anv iiH'M'-v granted, since it did not come in the form of a fixed salary. The
A— einl'ly no\\ resolved to lay their case before the English government,
and sent over tun agents. The question was then brought before the Privy
Council, which strongly supported Burnet, and advised that Parliament
should attend to the matter. This, however, does not seem to have been
done, or if it was, nothing came of it. In 1729 Burnet died. In spite of
these disputes, the colonists liked and esteemed him, and the Assembly
ordered a very honorable funeral at the public charge. His successor,
Belcher, had been one of the two agents sent over by the Assembly to plead
their cause in England. The English government probably thought that his
appointment would conciliate the colonists. At first it seemed likely to do
so, and he was received with great joy. But it soon became clear that the
old strife was to be renewed. The Assembly, as before, refused to vote a
fixed salary. It was not easy for Belcher to fight successfully for a cause
which he had once opposed. Moreover, he weakened his own position by
his unfair conduct in some appointments to offices. In the next year
Belcher gave way, and asked the English government to allow him to ac-
cept the money granted him by the Assembly. Hitherto the Crown had
ordered the Governor to get a fixed salary or take nothing. This was now
far relaxed that Belcher was allowed to take the grant, although he was
ordered still to demand the salary. By this concession the English govern-
Lent acknowledged itself defeated, and in a few years afterwards it yielded
Thus the Assembly carried the point for which they had been
r for twenty-six years. Throughout these contests with the different
rs, Boston was always the chief stronghold of the colonial party.
influence of that party, therefore, was somewhat weakened by a law
that no man should represent any town in which he did not
the outlying towns which might otherwise have chosen emi-
from Boston, were obliged to put up with inferior men of their
own a, ,,,, v two of the leaders of the party at Boston could find seats in
But, though in one way this weakened the influence of the
%, it must have made it more attentive to the wants of the smaller
STOUIKS OF A.MKIMCAN IIIST< i|{ V. .,;,;
towns, and kept Boston from gaining an undue slum- of power, which it
might otherwise hiive done.
Belcher's dismissal from the governorship was brought about Ii\ mean-
in nowise creditable to his enemies. Letters containing various charj.-
against him were sent to England ; .some of the>c ueiv anonymous, other-
were forged in the names of leading men in Massachusetts. The char^«-
\\ere at length cleared up, but they did Belcher no little harm uith the
Knidish government. His final dismissal, if the story of it be true, as it
probably is, was disgraceful to all concerned. The ministry in Kngland
were very anxious that a certain member, Lord Euston, should be elected
for Coventry. The dissenters \\ere very strong in that town. One of the
Massachusetts agents promised the prime minister, the Duke of Grafton,
that he would secure Lord Euston's return on condition that Belcher \\a-
dismissed. This offer was accepted. The agent then told the Coventry
dissenters that, if they secured Lord Euston's election, Belcher, who \\a-
trving to get the Church of England established in Massachusetts, and who
was hostile to the Nonconformists, should be dismissed. The agreement
was earned out on both sides.
Under Belcher's successor, Shirley, war again broke out with the French
in Canada. War was not declared
between England and France in Eu-
rope, but English troops were fight-
ing against the French, the former
for the Queen of Hungary, the latter
for the Elector of Bavaria. Thus war
might at any moment break out be-
tween the colonists. In 1744 the
French gove'rnor of Cape Breton
took Canseau, and threatened Anna-
polis, which was only saved by a
reinforcement from Massachusetts.
Some of the English prisoners from A FoHT-
Canseau were sent to Louisburg, the
chief fort of Cape Breton. When they were restored and returned to Mas-
sachusetts they told Shirley of certain weaknesses in the fortification of
Louisburg, which would, they thought, lay it open to a surprise. The place
would be of great value to England, as it commanded Acadia, the mouth of
the St. Lawrence, and Newfoundland. Shirley therefore made the bold pro-
posal to the Assembly of attacking Louisburg in the winter, without waiting
for help from England. The Assembly at first was utterly against it, but
the matter got abroad, and the project became very popular. It was again
brought before the Assembly, which decided, though only by a majority of
"I1C
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
votC) to attack the place. Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode
Inland, al'l joined in ill'' expedition. The other colonies declined to assist.
V for.v «f about four thousand five hundred men was sent out in eight
Miiall ves>ek On their way they we're reinforced by four English ships.
The Frenrh \\eiv quite mi]>repared, and allowed the enemy to land unop-
|,,,MM|. 'I'll,- New Kim-landers had had no experience of any regular war
since the peace of Utrecht, and were quite ignorant of scientific warfare.
Thus they s uttered losses in the siege which might easily have been avoided.
The ^i.-L'e lie^-an in the last week of April. On the 18th of May a French
-hip. \\ell supplied with stores, and with five hundred men on board, was
taken by the English fleet on its way to relieve the garrison. A few days
later the fleet was strengthened by the arrival of two more ships from Eng-
land. On the 17th of June the French, believing that a general attack was
about to be made, surrendered the place. This success was a great triumph
for the colonists. A force taken entirely from New England, under officers
win) had never seen service before, had performed a feat of which any army
might have been proud. Besides capturing Louisburg, they probably saved
their own country from invasion. A French fleet of seven ships was on its
way to attack New England, when they heard of the capture of Louisburg,
and gave over the attempt. Next year the French sent a fleet of about fifty
sail, among them fourteen ships of the line, with three thousand soldiers on
board, to attack the English colonies. At this time England was far too
much taken up with its own troubles and the Jacobite insurrection to do
much for the help of its colonies. Had it not been for a series of mishaps
which befell the French fleet, New England could hardly have escaped.
But the ships met with storms, the chief officers fell sick and died, and the
fleet sailed back to France without striking a blow. In 1748 the peace of
Aix-la-('hapelle put an end to the war. To the great disappointment of
the New Engenders, Louisburg was restored to the French. This war had
no good effect on the relations between the colonists and the mother coun-
Ihe former felt that their services had been held cheap, and that the
Jnglish government had left them unprotected. Each country, in fact, was
busy with its own affairs to pay much attention to the other, or to un-
its difficulties. Such inconveniences must always be when two
stant countries are under one government.
'>'• ring all this time no important political events took place in Rhode
or Connecticut. This quiet was probably due to their being left
3 appointment of their own governor. Thus they had no cause for
and, moreover, they felt that anything like disorder might
anger their charters. In New Hampshire disputes between Mason's
» and the settlers on the land which they claimed was decided
e colonial courts by a verdict in favor of the latter. The defeated side
STOKIKS OK AMKIIICAN IIISTOIJY.
appealed to the Knglish government, hut incited iialh ; ami tlii> matter, \\ liidi
had disturbed the colony for forty \«-ar>, \\a< at la-t at an end. During tin-
time that the contest bet \\ccn the Governor and the Asscinblv had been
racing in Massachusetts, \e\\ I lampshire obtained the favor of the KiiL'lUh
government by granting the governor a fixed salary. In ITi'Tan Art \\a-
passed that assemblies should he d-cted every three years. All voters were
to have an estate of forty pounds value. This Act \\as confirmed bv the
Knii'lish irovernment, and henceforth served us a declaration of the constitu-
tion of New Hampshire.
A SCENE IN MARYLAND
CHAPTER X .
MARYLAND.
LL the colonies that we have considered hitherto, with one
exception, -were founded either by companies or by parties
of settlers, and were under governors chosen by themselves,
or appointed by the Crown. But, as we have seen in the
case of Maine, there was another kind of colony, called pro-
prietary. The first of these was Maryland, founded in 1632
by Lord Baltimore. His father, George Calvert, the first
Lord Baltimore, was a convert to the Roman Catholic Church,
and an adherent and personal friend of James I. and afterwards of Charles I.
Thus he easily obtained a grant of land for a colony. His first attempt was in
,„.„ TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
V.ufomidland. A settlement had already been formed there by some Bris-
tol me;i i" Hi HI. No success followed Lord Baltimore's attempt. The cli-
was severe, hifl health failed, and he was annoyed on account of his
i-'ii by the mMirhboring colonists, who seem to have been Puritans. In
;-.'"t he left Newfoundland and went to Virginia; but the Virginians, who
\u-iv stronir Protestants, gave him an imfriendly reception, and he left the
rolonv. He then applied for a grant of land to the south of James River,
within the hounds of Virginia. This, however, was resisted by some lead-
ing Virginians, and the scheme was given up. Finally he obtained a grant
of land' to the north of the River Potomac, to the north of Virginia, taking
in a laix'e portion of the soil included by the Virginia charter. This charter
had been annulled, and it might be held that the right over the soil returned
to i he kinir. At the same time it would have been evidently unjust to grant
away any land again which settlers had occupied trusting to the original
Virginia charter. There was, however, no such injustice in granting lands
which had been included by that charter, provided that the settlers had not
yet occupied them, and Baltimore's grant was strictly limited to unoccupied
lands. The country was to be called Maryland, in honor of the Queen Hen-
rietta Maria The charter granted to Baltimore made him almost an inde-
pendent sovereign. With the assistance of the freemen of the colony he
could make laws, which were to be as far as possible in accordance with the
laws of England, but did not require to be confirmed by the king. He had
also power to appoint judges and public officers, and to pardon criminals.
One very important concession was made ; no tax was to be levied by the
English Crown. This charter merely fixed the relations between the Crown
and the proprietor; it did not settle anything as to those between the pro-
prietor and the settlers, beyond ordering that they should be called together
to make laws. Everything beyond this was left to be arranged between
Baltimore and the colonists.
Before the charter was finally executed, Baltimore died. The grant,
however, was continued to his son and successor, Cecilius Calvert. In 1632
he Cutout about two hundred settlers, under his brother, Leonard Calvert.
Though Baltimore himself was a Roman Catholic, he does not seem to have
had any idea of confining his settlement to that religion, and many of those
who sailed were Protestants. Early in 1634 the settlers landed at the
mouth of the Potomac. By good luck they lighted on an Indian town,
Inch a large number of the inhabitants had just fled for fear of a
Ting tribe. Those who remained received the settlers hospitably,
d some presents, and granted the English the empty part of the
Jnhappdy the colonists had other and less friendly neighbors to
lib. A Virginian, one Clayborne, had established a station at a place
the Isle of Kent, in Chesapeake Bay, for trade with the Indians.
STOKIKS ()K AMI-CM AN IIISTOKY.
'.Mil
The territory came within the bounds of Baltimore':- irrant, and (io\
Culvert considered that lie was not hound to regard such a settlement .-^
inhabited land, and consequently that he had a riirlit to occupy it. Cla\-
borne resisted his attempt to take possession of it, and a fiirlit followed, in
which one Mary lander and three Virginians were killed. The question was
referred to the Privy Council, but no definite decision was given, and the
matter was left to become a source of dispute in future times.
The colony soon throve and increased. During the first two years,
Baltimore, it is said, spent forty thousand pounds on the exportation of
61
,„., THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,.mi.'.-,nts and in supplying the colony with necessaries. Notwithstanding
thjs'he ha<l some difficulties with the settlers. The charter, as we have
>,vn, did i">r "'x thf relations between them; ami Baltimore himself does
not seem to have drawn up any constitution for the colony. The nearest
.,,,,„,,;„.], to this was the commission by which he appointed Leonard Cal-
vert "overnor. This u'ave him power to call assemblies, to confirm or annul
tl,(. laws passed by them, to make grants of land, and to sit as judge in
criminal and civil cases. But the exact division of power between the
(Jovernor and the Assembly was not settled, and consequently for some time
there \\as irreat danger of each asserting claims which the other would not
admit. This evil, too, was increased by the fact of the proprietor being of a
different religion from many of the settlers. This, however, was less im-
portant than it iniirht have been, inasmuch as Lord Baltimore never seems
to have made the slightest attempt to press Romanism on the colonists, or
indeed to have troubled himself in any way about their religious condition.
As in Massachusetts, the Assembly was at first a primary one, and consisted
of the whole body of freemen. In the same way too the inconvenience of
the system was soon felt, and a Representative Assembly was substituted.
The process of change, however, was not exactly the same. In Massachu-
setts, as we have seen, a Representative Assembly grew up side by side
with the original assembly of all the freemen, and finally ousted it; but in
Maryland the primary assembly gradually changed into a representative one.
At first many of the settlers found it inconvenient to attend, and sent
proxies, that is, gave their neighbors power to vote for them. From this it
was an easy step to allow each county to send two proxies or representa-
tives. But for some time the two systems were mixed up, and those who
were dissatisfied with the result of the election were allowed to attend the
A-M-mbly themselves. After the representative system was definitely estab-
lished, the proprietor exercised the right of summoning any persons he
]• leased to the Assembly, to sit with the representatives. This right, if
freely used, would have thrown the whole power into the hands of the
proprietor, since he could fill the Assembly with his nominees. As, how-
ever, in about ten or twelve years the Assembly was divided, as in Vir-
ginia, into two Houses— the lower formed of the representatives, and the
upper of the councillors and the proprietor's nominees— this power was of
TIO great importance, nor does it seem to have been largely exercised.
The want of a fixed constitution was soon felt. It was ordered by the
larter that the proprietor and the freemen should make laws ; but nothing
said as to the way in which this power was to be divided, and what
to be done in case of a difference of opinion. In a long-established
nment, such as that of England, the absence of written regulations
this sort matters but little, as some settled usage is sure
STOIMKS OF A.MKIMCAN HISTORY.
to have grown up which is fully as binding as any law ; but in a new
country the want of a fixed regulation could not fail to be felt. This soon
happened. The Governor, acting for the proprietor, and the As^embh,
each proposed laws, and in each case the laws proposed bv the one wen-
refused by the other. At last it was settled by a compromise, in which the
proprietor made the chief concessions. These disputes did not interfere
with the good feeling which existed betueen Baltimore and the settler-.
This is shown by the fact that the Assembly voluntarily granted the pro-
prietor a subsidy, to be raised by a poll-tax, to repay him in some de^m-
for all that he had spent on the colony. By this act of courtesy and good-
will to Baltimore, the Assembly also asserted that the right of levying taxes
belonged to them rather than to the proprietor, a point on which the char-
ter said nothing.
We see that there were three subjects out of Avhich difficulties might
arise: Clayborne's claim to the Isle of Kent, the limits of the po\\er of the
Assembly, and the difference of religion between the proprietor and the set-
tlers. For this was an age in which difference of religion was almost sure
to lead to active hostility, since there was scarcely a single sect which \\a>
content to be merely tolerated, but each sought to force others to join it,
and none more so than the Puritan party, to which many of the influential
Mary landers belonged. The outbreak of the civil war in England was the
signal for all these causes of quarrel to come into action. Clayborne
thought that he was likely to get that redress from the Parliament which
was refused him by the king, and the settlers who opposed Baltimore in
religion and politics naturally seized the opportunity given them by the
success of their friends at home. Accordingly, soon after the outbreak of
the civil war in England, disturbance in Maryland began. In 1645 one
Richard Ingle, being suspected of treasonable practices, was arrested, but
escaped before he could be brought to trial. Soon after, he was sent out by
Parliament in a ship with letters of marque to cruise on the American coast.
Although his commission does not seem to have entitled him to meddle
with Maryland, he landed there, and headed an insurrection against the
Governor. Great disorders ensued, and those who remained loyal to the pro-
prietor were cruelly plundered. But the insurgents did not succeed in
overthrowing the established government, and Parliament does not appear
to have approved of their proceedings. "When the Parliament got the
upper hand in England, Baltimore felt that it was advisable to conciliate
that party. Although a Roman Catholic and a friend of the king, he does
not seem to have been zealous in either cause. His policy throughout was
that of a man whose chief aim was to keep his proprietorship and the ad-
vantages which it brought him, at the same time interfering as little as
possible with the wishes of the settlers. As early as 1641 a complaint had
,,,14 THE AVOKLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
I ..-en made in Parliament tlmt Maryland was practically an independent
State, likely to strengthen Romanism and to injure the Protestant cause.
In consequence of this, Baltimore had written to the Jesuit priests settled
in Marvlaml, warning them that he could not protect them against the laws
of Kiiirlantl, or grant them any special immunity. In the same spirit, at the
death ..f his brother in 1648, he appointed as governor William Stone, a
Protestant, and believed to be well affected to the Parliament. At the same
time, with a view to protecting his fellow-religionists, he compelled Stone
to take an oath not to molest Romanists, or to keep them out of office.
For the next t\\o years the relations between the different parties in the
colony, and between the proprietor and the Assembly, seem to have been
friendly. An Act was passed granting full toleration to all religions. At
the same time blasphemy, Sabbath-breaking by games and the like, and the
list- df abusive names for any sect, were strictly forbidden. This law may
be looked upon as a sort of compromise between the two parties. The
Roman Catholics, who were the weaker body, would ask for toleration, but
the prohibition of Sunday games is quite sure to have come from the Puri-
tans. Another Act was passed by which the right of levying taxes was
definitely granted to the Assembly. About this time the Puritan party was
reinforced by a number of emigrants from Virginia. It is possible that
they had found their way in gradually, but in 1649 they first appear as
forming a separate settlement, called Providence. In the next year they
returned a member to the Assembly. But though the Puritan party was
thus strengthened, the Assembly allowed Baltimore to impose an oath of
allegiance <jn all the settlers, a measure which they had refused to pass a
year before. In the next year the commissioners sent out by Parliament to
subdue the colonies in Chesapeake Bay, after they had reduced Virginia,
proceeded to Maryland. They demanded that the colonists should promise
to be faithful to the Commonwealth, and that the name of " the keepers of
iberties of England " should be substituted for that of "the proprietor"
in all legal documents. The first condition was readily accepted ; but Stone
demurred to the second, considering it an infringement of the proprietor's
ghts. Accordingly he was deposed. The commissioners, however, finding
: he was popular with the colonists, and not ill-affected to the Pai-lia-
came to terms with him by some concession on each side, and he was
a governor. For the next two years things went on smoothly.
Baltimore sent out instructions to Stone to demand an oath of
ity to the proprietor from all the colonists ; all who refused were to be
This was considered, not unfairly, a violation of the terms on
tone had submitted. The Puritan party rose; the commissioners,
Be * and Clayborne, were recalled from Virginia; and Stone was again
stone resisted; he raised a small force, and for a while seemed in
STOKIKS ()!• A.MKRK'AX HISTORY. 9C5
a fair way to be master of the colony. But the Puritans also took HJ, arms,
and an engagement followed in which Stone was defeated, and fift\ of hi,
followers killed. By this victory the colony came for a while mider the
power of the Puritans.
In the meantime Olayborne and his party had sei/ed the opportunity
given them by the ascendency of Parliament to renew their claims to the
SKIRMISH WITH THE PCKITANS.
land included in Baltimore's patent, but which they professed to have oc-
cupied. The matter was referred to the Commissioners for Plantations, but
their consideration of it was repeatedly postponed, and there is no trace to
be found of any decision having been given. At the same time the English
government was engaged in considering the validity of Lord Baltimore's
proprietary lights. The question was referred to a body called the Com-
missioners for Trade. Baltimore had already endeavored to ingratiate him-
self with the ruling party, by representing that Maryland was the only
,„;,;
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
. -s tho.-e of New England, that had readily submitted to the
Parliament, mid that it would be both unfair and unjust to join it to a
r..\.-ili>t colony like Virginia. While the ease was still before the commis-
sioners, Baltimore seems to have made an attempt to recover his authority
liy irrantiinr a commission as Governor to one Feudal, an unprincipled and
iiitriirninir man. Feudal, however, was at once arrested by the Parlia-
mentary leaders, fortunately perhaps for Lord Baltimore, since he had not
time, liy any act of violence, to bring the cause of the proprietor into dis-
credit. In ](>.">(> the Commissioners for Trade reported in favor of the
re-toration of the proprietor. This recommendation required to be adopted
by the government before it could take effect. Nevertheless, Baltimore,
without waiting for this, sent out his brother, Philip Gal vert, with instruc-
tions to establish Feudal as Governor. Thus there were in the colony two
governments, each claiming legitimate power. In the next year Bennett and
Matthews, the Parliamentary leaders, finding that Baltimore was sure to be
restored, came to terms with him. They handed over the government to
him, on the condition that all offences committed since the disturbances
began should be tried, not by the proprietor, but by the English govern-
ment ; that none should forfeit their land for the part they had taken ; and
that all of the Puritan party who wished to leave the country should have a
year in which to do so. On these conditions Baltimore was restored.
Though the English government does not seern to have given any final de-
cision in his favor, yet it seems to have accepted the report of the commis-
sioners, and no attempt was made to interfere with the authority of the
proprietor.
In 1662 Lord Baltimore sent over his son, Charles Calvert, as Governor.
Under him the colony soon recovered from the effect of its late troubles.
By 1075 it contained sixteen thousand inhabitants. In 1676 Charles Calvert
succeeded to his father's title and proprietorship. In 1681 he passed a law
limiting the right of voting to those who had freeholds of fifty acres, or
other property of forty pounds value. Perhaps in consequence of this, an
insurrection broke out, headed by Feudal. This was subdued before serf-
ous mischief could follow. Under James II. the proprietor's charter was
•eatened, and would probably have been taken away but for the Kevolu-
ter the Revolution the proprietor, being a 'Roman Catholic, was
>f all political rights in the colony, though he was allowed to keep
etary rights over the soil. His successor turned Protestant in
was restored to his full rights as proprietor. After the Revolu-
«wl harsh measures were passed against the Roman Catholics. Be-
'r' Tr m I0™ ln Engknd aSainst tbe Public celebration of the
Catholic religion which were held to apply to the colony, an Act
by the Assembly lmposing a duty on all Irish servants imported,
STOHJES OF AMERICAN HlsTnl.'Y.
with the view of preventing tlie introduction of Roman Catholics. This
seemed especially liarsli in a colony which had Keen founded hy !i Roman
Catholic, and where, under his government, all sects had enjoyed equal
freedom. In 1704 these restrictions \\ere so far lessened thai Roman
Catholic priests were allowed to celebrate worship in private houses. In
their industry, commerce, and mode of life the Marvlanders resembled their
neighbors in Virginia. In one respect they were more fortunate. Though
they did not altogether avoid quarrels with the Indians, yet there \\ei-e n<.
serious wars. While the records of Virginia are tilled with discii-sions ami
resolutions concerning the defence of the colony against the savages, we find
very little of this in the history of Maryland. The Buaqnehaanaa, the tribe
with whom the Virginians were engaged in one of their most serious wars,
were the chief enemies of Maryland. Their attacks were mostly confined
to the frontiers, and they do not seem ever to have endangered the interior
of the colony. As in Virginia, Acts were passed protecting the Indians
from being enslaved or otherwise ill-treated by the planters. So greatly
was the authority of the English respected by the Indians in Maryland, that
in 1663 a chief who was placed at the head of a league of tribes thought it
well to get the formal consent of the English Governor to his election.
CHAPTER XI.
NEW YORK.
S we have seen, Virginia and Maryland were separated from
New England by the Dutch colony of New Netherlands.
As that colony became an English possession, and after-
wards one of the United States, it is needful that we should
know something of its early history. It was, like Virginia,
\mder the government of a corporation, the Dutch West In-
dia Company. The whole management of the colony was
entrusted to this company, and the Dutch government only
kept the right of annulling the appointment of colonial officers. The com-
pany was also bound to inform the government from time to time as to the
state of the colony. Unlike the English settlements, New Netherlands de-
pended more on trade than agriculture. One result of this was that, for
convenience in dealing with the Indians, the settlers spread inland along the
Hudson, and not along the coast. Thus, while New Netherlands nominally
reached from the mouth of the Hudson to that of the Delaware, the whole
.,,,„., W()1!L1)-s GREAT NATIONS.
' li s
Besides the settlements
0 .
eoart between tin,, two r*er* a*-* P* ^ L^ Mand'
;il,in, t,1(. Hudson, t ,,,v were ve I ^ Coimectk.ut The
w, ,;,,, ,'u,s opposte the coas bet. » *£» femigl.ants, but left that
, feeM did Kttle m the »a £•«* » ^ ^^
t" 32. rf l-« P^tTrSd^^igLrrhom they fitted out
•*• ";' STKridS^SL" -limited Ttent °^e onl
.„„! sent over. WP Th ^ ht foun(J townships, and
oimlitiou of sending out ft "J^J ^ithin their own boundaries
:.1MH«nt officers and mag.s f ates fo it hem ^^^ ^ ^
ell of yeomen much like those of the New England colomes The t
em of paLons does not seem to have answered and before the ^co ony
passed into the hands of the English, they seem to have d,ed out. As lon^
L it lasted the system gave rise to much difficulty and many disputes.
patroons had disputes vvith the company as to the limits of their power, and
With private traders as to their right of trading in any patioon s country
without a license from him. Partly owing to these disputes, and partly 1
the folly of Kieft, the governor, who involved the colony in a needless war
with the Indians, for the first twenty years New Netherlands did not pros
per When Stuyvesant came out in 1647, he only found three hundre*
able to bear arms. Under his government things improved. By 16
population had increased to ten thousand; the chief place, New Amsterdam,
had become a flourishing town, with fifteen hundred inhabitants.
tiers were not all Dutch. Like Holland itself, New Netherlands was tli
chosen refuge of men persecuted in their own countries for their religion.
Besides the Dutch there were Puritans from England, French Huguenots
from Rochelle, Waldenses and Walloons. The Waldenses were Protestants
from the south-east of France and from Piedmont, who had suffered severe
persecutions, chiefly from the Dukes of Savoy. The Walloons were Koman
Catholics from the Netherlands. They and the Huguenots were so numerous
that public documents were sometimes written in French as well as in
Dutch. There were, too, some Swedish settlers on the Delaware. At a
later time, it was said that eighteen different languages were spoken in the
colony.
The people of New Netherlands did not enjoy anything like the same
STORIES OF AMKHICAX HISTORY.
political freedom as their English neighbors. They <li<l not make their <»\vn
laws or fix their own taxes; yet they were not altogether without means of
making their wants known, and protecting themselves against arliitrary gov-
ernment. In 1H41 Kieft called together a Board of twelve Deputies, elected
by the people, to advise him about the war with the. Indians. Thev had no
power beyond this. In the next year some of them of their own accord drew
up a paper calling the (iovernor's attention to certain grievances from which
the colonists suffered. The chief of these was that the Council, which oufht t<>
7 O
have been a check upon the Governor, consisted of one member only ; and a-
the Governor had two votes, the whole power was in his hands. They pro-
posed that the people should elect four members of the Council. Kieft
promised to allow this, and dissolved the Board, but did not keep his prom-
ise. In 1(>44 he called together a similar Board to consult about taxation.
Kieft wanted to lay a duty on certain articles. The Deputies opposed this,
declaring that the inhabitants could not pay it, and, moreover, that they
ought to be taxed only by the company itself, and not by the Governor.
After a dispute, Kieft imposed the tax, but had in some cases to use force in
making the colonists pay it. In the same year the Deputies sent a memorial
to the company. They represented the wretched state to which Kieft had
brought the colony by his folly in making war on the Indians. They ad-
vised the company to believe nothing that Kieft told them, and they peti-
tioned for a new Governor and a regular system of representation. The
company thereupon recalled Kieft. His successor, Stuyvesant, established
an imperfect system of representation. The people were to elect eighteen
Councillors, of whom he was to choose nine. Of these, six were to go
out of office each year, but before they went out the whole nine were to
choose the six incoming members. Thus after the first election the people
had no voice in the matter. In 1647 the Councillors sent a memorial to the
States-General, setting forth the wants and sufferings of the colony. The
government took up the matter, passed a resolution recommending certain
improvements, and sent it to the West India Company. The amendment in
the condition of the colony was to some extent due to this. In 1653 a dis-
pute arose between Stuyvesant and the people of New Amsterdam about the
tax on liquors, in which Stuyvesant at last gave way.
Besides these disputes, the colony was exposed to dangers from without.
The Dutch settlers, unlike the English, had constant dealings with the In-
dians, and those dealings often led to quarrels. In 1643 some trifling mis-
conduct on the part of the Indians was made the pretext for an attack. The
country of the Indians was cruelly ravaged, and many of them killed. In
making the attack Kieft was acting against the wishes of many of the set-
tlers. One man in particular, De Vries, a leading patroon, did his utmost to
check Kieft. Failing in this, he left the colony in despair, warning Kieft
:,;„ T1IK WORLD'S (iKEAT NATIONS.
that all the innocent blood that he had shed would be avenged on himself.
Tin- Indians were taken by surprise, but they soon collected their forces,
ra \a_red tin- Dutch country, and penned the settlers within the walls of New
Amsterdam. After heavy losses on each side, peace was made. Besides this
there \\ere other less important hostilities between the Dutch and the In-
dians. Luckily the settlers, like the New Englanders, contrived to make
friends with the Mohawks. It is said that the first Dutch colonists in 1617
made a treaty with them. This was renewed in 1645; and, as the Indians
whom the Dutch attacked were enemies to the Mohawks, the alliance was
nut weakened by. this war. In 1H46 the Dutch got into a dispute with the
Swedes. \\ ho were settled by the river Delaware, on land which both nations
claimed. In 1()31 Stuyvesant established a fort on the disputed territory.
In !»)."> I the Swedes appeared before the fort with a small force, and the
Dutch commander surrendered. In the next year Stuyvesant retook the
place. No further attempt was made to recover it, and the only Swedish
settlement in America became part of New Netherlands.
FORT ON THE DELAWARE.
It was but natural that England should covet the territory of New Neth-
Fhe Dutch were then, as the Spaniards had been a century before
the great naval and commercial rivals of the English. Moreover, as long as
Aether ands belonged to any other nation, it was impossible for the
bem and southern colonies of England to become united. If the En-
b government had foreseen the possibility of the colonies ever combining
to
upon them- But the
-
hat danger and looked on New Netherlands only as interfering
th,, commerce. Moreover, New Amsterdam had the best harbor of
i fur ! r^T1 "° °ther "Ver S™ 8Uch a highway for the
IwrthaM ^UdS°in- The °nl^ title Whlch ^ E^ had to
hat they claimed to have discovered it before the Dutch. But
be thought
t
fifty yean , to °CCUP>' te countlT unmolested for
STOHIKS ()F A.MKKICAX II IST< »l; V. ft]
sent out a fleet of four ships, with a force of four hundred and fifty men <>n
hoard, under the command of Colonel Nicholls. The commissioners who
were at the same time sent out to New Knghmd were ordered to a-Ut
Nicholls, and to get aid from the New England colonies. Massachusetts
refused lielj), but the Connecticut Bettien, being old enemies of the Dutch,
came forward readily. In August the fleet appeared before New Am-ter-
dam. The place was weakly fortified, and ill-supplied with men and ammu-
nition. Nevertheless, Stuyvesant was for holding out. When Nicholls -cut
a letter offering liberal terms of surrender, Stuyvesant tore it in pieces. The
settlers, however, demanded to see the letter, and the fragments \\e,e put
together and laid before them. The people, \\hen they heard the terms
offered, flocked to Stuyvesant, and besought him to surrender and avoid the
risk of an attack. At first he declared that he would rather be carried out
dead; but at length, finding that scarcely any one supported him, and that
even his own son was against him, he yielded. Hv the terms of the treat \,
the garrison was allowed to march out with all the honors of war, and the
property of the settlers was not injured. The remaining settlements fol-
lowed the example of the capital. One place alone, New Amstel, held out.
It was taken with slight loss, and by October the whole country had submit-
ted. By this conquest England obtained the whole sea-coast from the Ken-
nebec to the Savannah. Thus the acquirement of New Netherlands by
England was a turning-point in American history. It made it possible for
the English colonies to become one united dominion. The new territory
was granted to the Duke of York as proprietor. The name of the country
and of the capital were both changed to New York. Part of the territory'
was sold to a company of proprietors, and afterwards formed the province
of New Jersey. The rest was placed under the government of Nicholls.
The charter granted to the Duke of York gave him full power to make laws.
Nothing was said, as in the charter of Maryland, about the advice or assist-
ance of the freemen. In 1665 Nicholls called together a Convention of the
settlers, to advise and help him in drawing up a system of government and
a code of laws, but without allowing them any power of enacting laws. The
government was to be in the hands of a Governor and a Council. No steps
were taken towards giving the people representatives. The only harsh
measure adopted was that all grants of land had to be renewed, and a fee
paid for renewal. In 1667 Nicholls was succeeded by Francis Lovelace, the
head of a distinguished royalist family. In 1672 war broke out between
England and Holland. In the next year a Dutch fleet threatened New
York. Lovelace and the English officers with him showed no such resolute
spirit as Stuyvesant had displayed in a like case, and the place was at once
surrendered. The country took back its old name, while the capital was
called Orange, in honor of the Stadtholder, William of Orange, then at the
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
. u Hni the Dutch only held the country for fifteen
<e.«£stl£ "5 *£* f-f t li tt,S:
,.j LI..«. nnrl restored the territory to the Ibngn
in English
-'•"'""• i i,v ti,p T)nke of York was Andros, whose
eope petition for a government like those
of the New England colonies, and the Duke promised to consider their re-
in Wcokmel Donga.., an Irishman of good family, was sent over
^Governor. He was instructed to call an Assembly of eighteen represen a-
tives elected by the freeholders. They were to make laws, sublet to th
Duke's approval, and to decide about taxation. In October the first New
York Assembly met. Its first proceeding was to draw up a charter ,
liberties This enacted that the government should be perpetually vested
in a Governor, Council, and Assembly ; that all freeholders and freemen of
corporations should have votes; that freedom of conscience should
granted to all Christians, and that no tax should be levied without the con-
sent of the Assembly. This charter of liberties received the king's assent.
The dealings of James II. with New York are as hard to be understood as
any part of his seemingly strange and capricious policy. In 1686 the As-
sembly of New York, like those of the New England colonies, was annulled,
and the whole government transferred to Dongan and his Council.^ He was
instructed to provide for the celebration of the worship of the Church of
England throughout the colony. Moreover, no one was to keep a school
without a license from the Archbishop of Canterbury. About this time
the settlers had important dealings with the Indians. The English govern-
ment kept to the policy of their Dutch predecessors, and encouraged the
friendship of the Mohawks. In 1678 Andros had a friendly conference
with them, and in 1683 Dongan renewed the alliance. In the next year am-
bassadors from the five nations of the Mohawk confederacy met the Gov-
ernors of New York and Virginia at Albany, made them solemn promises of
friendship, and asked to have the Duke of York's arms placed 6ver the log
forts. Throughout his term of office, Dongan seems to have been more
alive than most of our Colonial Governors to the importance of encouraging
the friendship of the Mohawks, arid preventing any alliance between them
and the French ; it was in a great measure due to this that, while Massachu-
setts and New Hampshire were being ravaged by the Canadian Indians,
New York enjoyed security.
STOHIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. !»T:J
As in New England, so in New York, the English revolution of 1688
was accompanied by a colonial one. But the New York revolution was not
marked by the same moderation as that in New England. In KllSH Dongan
was succeeded by Andros. lie was represented in Ne\\ York by a deputy.
Nicholson, a man wanting in judgment, with neither fi mines-; t«> control nor
ability to conciliate the colonists. When the news of the revolution -ir-
rived the people rose, under the leadership of one Leisler. He was a Ger-
man by birth, able, honest, and energetic; but violent, ambitious, unedu-
cated, and utterly without political experience. He took the government
into his own hands, turned out those officers who differed from him in
politics or religion, and imprisoned some of them. He used his power in
so arbitrary a fashion that a counter-revolution soon sprang up. The part\
opposed to Leisler established itself at Albany, and for a time the colony
was divided between two governments. The Albany party was far more
temperate than Leisler, and, like the New Englanders, held its authority
only until some orders should come out from England, whereas Leisler
seized the governorship without waiting for any commission. When a
letter came out from King William to Nicholson, authorizing him to earn-
on the government, Leisler intercepted it, and told the people that he had a
commission from the Crown. In 1091 the king sent Colonel Sloughter as
Governor. Unluckily he was detained on his wray by bad weather. Major
Ingoldsby, who was next in command, but who had no authority to act as
commander-in-chief or governor, lauded in February, and summoned Leisler
to give up the government. He refused, on the ground that Ingoldsby had
no authority, to which the latter could only answer that Leisler had none
either. Leisler then established himself in the fort of New York and fired
on the king's troops. In March, Sloughter arrived. He summoned the in-
surgents to surrender, but Leisler, so far from complying, made a like de-
mand of Sloughter. Soon after, however, finding that he was deserted by
his followers, and that his two chief supporters, who had been sent to treat
with Sloughter, were seized and imprisoned, Leisler yielded. He and the
other ringleaders in the revolt were tried, and eight of them sentenced to
death ; but all of them, except Leisler and his chief supporter, Milborne,
were pardoned. Sloughter, it is said, was unwilling to put any to death,
but was overpersuaded by those who had suffered from Leisler's tyranny.
In March, 1691, Sloughter called an Assembly. The Assembly annulled
all the Acts of Leisler's government. It also passed an Act which was de-
signed to be a sort of charter for the colony, like the earlier charter of
liberties. This Act set forth the rights of the colonists and their relation
to the Crown. It enacted that New York should be under a government
consisting, like that of other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and Repre-
sentatives, and that this body only should have power to impose taxes.
T1IK WORLD'* UBEAT NATIONS.
t t, this \ct and New York was thus left with-
Th, kin, -vfus,l .ns assen *^^ the ropO8ed form of govern-
'"" "">• WIT"" 7" T e visim. i. to two partiei, which had begun with
"»•"< "as :l<lt)!)ted. ter his deatk Fletcher, who succeeded
5*S t,e cha-npion of those who had opposed
FIBST SETTLEMENT OF NEW YORK.
Leisler. His folly and violence soon involved him in disputes with the As-
sembly. A bill was passed by the Assembly for endowing the clergy at
the expense of the colony. Fletcher wished to add a clause giving the
Governor the right of appointment. The Assembly refused their assent to
tliis, whereupon Fletcher reproved and dismissed them. Moreover, he
-ranted large tracts of land in the backwoods to his favorites, thereby im-
poverishing the State and endangering the alliance with the Mohawks. In
1698 Fletcher was succeeded by Lord Bellomont. Though a far abler and
man than Fletcher, he too suffered himself to be made the leader of
STORIES OF AMKI!ICA.\ IIISTOKY. !.;:,
a party, consisting mainly of Leister's surviving follo\vers. He ;uinulle(l
Fletcher's grants of land, and in a speech to the Assembh heaped al»u>«
upon liis memor\, -a\ iiiir tliat lie hud himself received "the legacy of a
divided people, an empty purse, a few miserable, naked, half-starved sol-
diers; in a word, the whole government out of frame." In 17ol I'cllamont
died, having done as much to strengthen the popular party bv his en-
couragement as Fletcher had by his ill-judged severity. The next governor.
Lord Corn bury, made himself hateful to both parties alike. He \\as a
grandson of the famous Lord Clarendon. Like his father and grandfather,
lie was a strong partisan of the Established Church, but his whole conduct
and character \\ere such as to bring disgrace on any cause that he took up.
He was extravagant and dishonest, fond of low pleasures and indecent
buffoonery. He embezzled money raised by the Assembly for public pur-
poses, and imposed illegal taxes and exorbitant fees. He also incurred
the displeasure of the people by threatening to put in force the penal lau>
against Dissenters, which the colonists alleged were not binding out of
Kngland. The Assembly passed a series of resolutions denouncing his con-
duct, in one of which they declared that no money could be levied in the
colony without the consent of the Assembly. In 1708 Combury's misdeeds
were brought before the notice of the queen. She deprived him of his
governorship, and his creditors thereupon seized him and threw him into
prison.
For the next forty years the history of New York, like that of Massa-
chusetts during the same time, is little more than a string of disputes be-
tween the Governor and the Assembly. In Fletcher's time, the whole of the
State revenue was handed over to the Governor, and the expenditure of it
was entirely entrusted to him. In 1705 this was so far changed, that a
treasurer was appointed by the colony to receive all money raised for any
special purpose over and above the regular revenue. In 1710 the disputes
began. The Assembly claimed the sole power of levying taxes, and denied
the Council any right of amending money bills, declaring that the people
could not be deprived of their property except by their own consent as
given by their representatives. They also said plainly that, even if the
opinion of the English Board for Plantations was opposed to them, they
should still hold to their own view. Soon after this, Governor Hunter
established a Court of Chancery. The Assembly passed a resolution that
this was illegal, and that no fees could be exacted without their consent.
They also claimed the right of controlling the expenditure of the revenue.
Soon after, however, they gave way on this latter point. Hunter was suc-
ceeded in 1720 by William Burnet, the same who was afterwards Governor
of Massachusetts. In his time the dispute about the Court of Chancery was
renewed. The representatives so far prevailed that the fees in that court
,,.,; TIIK WOHLD'S (JKEAT NATIONS.
uere lowered. Under Governor Cosby, who came out in 1722, the disputes
readied their height. At first he succeeded in enlisting the Assembly on
his side, and for :i while tilings went on as he wished. The length of time
diirinir which an Assembly might continue without an election was not de-
fined l>\ la\\ : and ( 'osby, 'finding that he had got an Assembly that suited
him, kept it for the unprecedented period of six years from its election. The
people became furious, but the power of dissolving the Assembly lay with
the Governor, and there \vas no remedy. A fresh Assembly was not elected
till IT-'M, a veur after Cosby's death. But the temporary ascendency of
the Governor's party had only served to inflame and strengthen the oppo-
sition to it, and the next Assembly took a bolder course than any before it.
Their position \vas probably improved by the fact that the new Governor
had not yet come out, and was represented by a Lieutenant-Governor. The
Assembly at once drew up an address to the Lieutenant-Governor, plainly
declaring that they would only grant such a revenue as they deemed proper,
and that only for one year; and that they would not even do that, until
such laws had been passed as they thought needful for the welfare of the
colony. Upon this the Lieutenant-Governor dissolved the Assembly, and a
fresh one was elected ; but with the same result. The Assembly voted lib-
eral grants for the support of the French war then going forward, but
refused to give the Lieutenant-Governor the control over the public funds.
From this time the claims of the Assembly seem to have been quietly ad-
mitted.
During this time, New York, unlike the other northern colonies, had en-
joyed security from the Indians. This was partly due to its position, shel-
tered as it was by the country of the Mohawks. Moreover, Peter Schuyler,
who commanded the New York forces for a considerable time both before
and after the revolution, took great pains to renew the alliance with the Mo-
hawks ; and wishing to impress on the English Court the necessity of keep-
ing friends with them, he took five of their chiefs over to England. While
t remained in the possession of the Dutch, New York enjoyed no ereat
•rosperity; but under English rule it became one of the richest and most
riving of the American colonies. The climate was good, and the soil fer-
As in Virginia, the rivers gave great facilities for carriage. The peo-
le were more frugal in their habits, and, it is said, more thrifty and gain-
ig, than the New Englanders. Their exports consisted mainly of farm-
ce, timber, and fur. In the f ur-trade, the neighborhood of the Mohawks
e possession of the Hudson gave New York a great advantage over the
As under Dutch rule, the colony continued to be a refuge
"grant* of all nations. Governor Hunter brought out three thousand
Pro estants who had fled from the Palatinate to avoid persecution.
*r of French Huguenots also came out. Among this multitude of
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 977
different races there was of course great diversity of n-liirion. Then- wen-
English Episcopalians, Dutch and Fiviu-li Calviiiists, Scotch I'lvsbyt.-rians,
German Reformers, Quakers and Moravians, Baptists and -I.-ws. 'in f.,,.^
whether we look to the variety of its resources, tin- dm-rsity of its people'
or the number of its religions, we may say that New York in'thc eighteenth
century was a sort of model and representative of the whole body of Eng-
lish colonies.
THE OLD STATE-HOUSE AT COLUMBIA.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CAROLINAS.
lETWEEN the southern frontier of Virginia and the Spanish
settlements lay a large tract of land, for the most part fertile
and well watered. Raleigh's two1 colonies had been placed on
this coast. After them no English settlement seems to have
been made south of Virginia till about 1655. At that time
two small parties of emigrants established themselves in this
country, one from Virginia, the other from Massachusetts. In
1663 Lord Clarendon, Lord Shaftesbury, and other friends of
Charles II., obtained from him a grant of land. Their terri-
tory began at the southern boundary of Virginia, and reached nearly five
hundred miles along the coast. It was to be called Carolina, in honor of the
king. The colony was probably intended in a great measure as a refuge for
those royalists who had suffered heavy losses in the civil war, and whom
the king was unable or unwilling to compensate in any other way. Full
62
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
1 and to manage the affairs
,,. w,< pven to the proprietors to mak< * -^ (lid was to draw
:;; ££Z <>-f th«*? MS t* sL, ^ was a™ by
, a £ elaborate "tS^TLrf Shaftesbury, and was cabled
i|m ly,,kt, the great plnW.pl^ u i to be minutely and ex-
,, Funda—l Conntrtu ^ J £ Divided into seigmones,
ch **
,, una v
(liv. ,,.,! into counties, ul ich ** ^ ^ noblemen of two orders,
,,;,;mit,s, precincte, and oolong «* The eldest of the proprj-
h mimlK,s proportioned t» u -' be the flupreme officer. Each
(,,,,s ,:ls to be called the I . abtn, e, ^ ^ OWQ ^^ with ^ .
o{ th, proprietora was to hold a co WM to be a parliament,
,,„, J twelve deputies, called , aw*t^ ^ ^ ^^^
meeting once in two years, £«"£££^V
and the represent ative* e ec W%»*L as the elaborate one debased
This conrtitution met with t ^a ^ knowledge of
by Gorges for his colony. It wa. ^awn 1 ^ do the pro.
the special wants and the mannei of te ol effort to
.netors, after framing it, ever ^^^ ^ the various settle-
It in force. At first they d!d no even attempt ^.^
mente under a single government, « in Ae
pUoed under a separate government comp«ed 1 ^
colonies of a Governor, a Council and use o 1
,rhe
--
=« h
, t
|)rletor8 formed a third, about three hundred miles to the south
Ilivided into four counties, and like the northern settlement jasa^ tot
..hieHy peopled from Barbadoes. Though they were not yet so ca led, *
may for coavenience speak of these settlements by the names wl,
afterwards bore, North and South Carolina, the former mdndmg
Albemarle and Clarendon. .motors
The whole country before long fell into confusion. The propr
always gave out that the separate governments were only tempon
were to be replaced by the Fundamental Constitutions.
STOKIKS OK A.MKIMCAX IIISTOKY. '.,;<.,
though enjoying present freedom, were dissatisfied, not knowing how soon
they might be subjected to a government distasteful and unsiiited to them.
Moreover, many of the settlers seem to lutve been men of doubtful char-
acter. The proprieton ordered that no person should be sued for debts
incurred out of the colony. This apparently was done to attract settlers
thither. Thus the colony, like Virginia in early times, was in danger of
becoming a refuge fdr the destitute and ill-conducted. Their mode of life
was not likely to better matters. For several years there was no minister
of religion in Albemarle. The proprietors, too, showed litttle regard I'm-
the welfare of the colony in their choice of officers, and disturbances soon
broke out. In the northern province the proprietors appointed one of their
own body, Millar, who was already unpopular with the -settlers, to be the
collector of quit-rents. Among a poor and not over-loyal people, the post
was a difficult one, and Millar made it more so by harshness and impru-
dence. A revolution broke out. Millar was seized, but lie escaped, and the
Governor, Eastchurch, was deposed. He died just after, and one of the
proprietors, Sothel, went out as Governor. He fared no better, and after
six years of confusion was forced to resign. He then went to South Caro-
lina, where he took up the cause of the settlers, headed an insurrection, in
which Colleton, the Governor, also a proprietor, was deposed, and was him-
self chosen by the people in his stead. From this it would seem as if either
Sothel's misdeeds in North Carolina had been exaggerated by his enemies,
or as if there was hardly any communication between the Northern and
Southern provinces. The proprietors, though they had been indifferent to
the welfare of the settlers, showed no wish to deal harshly with them. In
1693 they passed a resolution declaring that, as the settlers wished to keep
their present government rather than adopt the Fundamental Constitutions,
it would be best to give them their own way. Thus Locke's constitution
perished, having borne no fruit.
Two years later John Archdale, one of the proprietors, went out as
Governor. He was a Quaker, and seems to have been in every way well
fitted for the post. By lowering the quit-rents and allowing them to be
paid in produce instead of money, by making peace with the Indians, and
by attention to roads and public works, he gave prosperity, and, for a
time, peace to the colony. One thing which especially furthered its welfare
was the introduction of rice. The climate and soil of South Carolina
were found to be specially suited to it, and the colony soon became the
rice-market for all the American colonies. Silk and cotton also might
have been produced to advantage, but the cultivation of rice was so
profitable that little time or labor was left for any other work. One bad
effect of this was that it forced the colonists to employ large numbers of
negro slaves. The work in the rice plantations was very unhealthy, and
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
, i hv the n,tives of a sultry climate. This familiarized
could only be endmvd >** feU into the regular pvacHee of
X; them to the West India Maud,
kidnai'W ** YtTribW tmioned practice, both Carolina* were at an
Partlv through t * more
ti
Partlv throug t lmlians These were the more
earlv time engaged m seno dangerous, because the settlers
lived, like those of Virginia,
for the most part in scattered
plantations, each on his o\vn
land. Fortunately for the set-
tlers in North Carolina, the
Indians in that neighborhood
were mostly broken up into
many small tribes, under no
common head. But in South
Carolina the Creeks, the Chero-
kees, the Appalachians, and
the Yamassees were all for-
midable nations. The first im-
portant contest with the In-
dians was in 1703. In that
year one Moore. Governor of
frontier » a sort of outpost against the Spaniard* in Flomia
S£ In 1711 North Carolina l*came engaged in a more
aenou* Indian war. About that time a number of German Prote.tant,
from the Palatinate, being persecuted by their Elector, fled to various .^
of \merica. A number of them settled in North Carolina. Their leader,
Baron Grafenried, with Lawson, the surveyor of the colony, went
ure lands for the German settlement. The Tuscaroras, a warlike
thinkin- that their territory was encroached on, seized them. Law sou ^s as
pat to death, but Grafenried pleaded that he was a foreigner, and had noth-
in" to do with the English, and the Indians accordingly spared him.
nems doubtful whether the Tnscaroras had been already meditating an at
tack, or whether they thought that, having killed Lawson, they would have
to fight, and so had better strike the first blow. They invaded the EnghsL
territory in small bands, and cut off in one day about a hundred am
twenty settlers. Yet they showed some sense both of humanity and honesty
-r-arhv.: the Germans," on the strength of a treaty made with Grafenned.
)I AMKIJH AN HI>Tf>i;V.
The North Carolina >ettler> sent for help to their -oiithern neL'lr
They at once sent a small force with a Dumber of Indian allies from the
Southern tril>es. No decisive blow was struck. But the next year a large
force was sent from the south, and the Tu>caroras were «-rnshe<l. A peace
was made, by which they promised to give up to the English twenty In-
dians, the chief contrivers of Law>on's murder and of the massacre. \«
re-tore all their prisoners and spoil, and to give two hostages from each of
their villages. The greater part of the Tuscarora nation left the country
and joined the confederacy ->f the Mohawks. In this, as in the New Hi in-
land wars, the Indians were defeated rather through their own divisions
than through the strength of the English.
In 1715 South Carolina was exposed to yet greater danger. From the
very outset, the Spaniards in Florida had been jealous and unfriendly neigh-
bors to the English. Their chief settlement was at St. Augustine, a hun-
dred and seventy miles south of the river Savannah, which was practically
the southern boundary of Carolina. They had encouraged the slaves of the
English to run away, and as early as 1670 had made a raid into the English
territory. For thirty years after this no open hostility took place. In
1 7( )-2, as Spain and England were at war, Moore planned an expedition
against St. Augustine by sea and land. He reached the town, but alarmed
by the arrival of two Spanish ships, he retreated without striking a blow.
Soon after the Spaniards began to seduce the Yamassees, a large and power-
ful tribe who had hitherto been friends of the English. This design was
furthered by the humanity of Charles Craven, the Governor of South
Carolina, who often sent back the Yamassees with Spanish prisoners, whom
they had taken and would have tortured. This gave the Spaniards oppor-
tunities of intriguing with the Yamassee chiefs. In 1715 a combined force
of the Yamassees and other southern tribes, making in all more than seven
thousand warriors, attacked the English settlements. The Governor could
onlv brino- against them twelve hundred men. Yet he defeated them after
J
a fierce battle, and drove them out of the colony, though not before they
had killed four hundred settlers. It is said that the Spaniards at St. Au-
gustine welcomed the Yamassees on their return, ringing bells and firing
cannon. Though repulsed, the Yamassees continued for many years to
harass the English. Four years later a Spanish fleet sailed from Havana
against the Carolinas. It first attacked the Bahamas, islands off the south-
ern point of Florida, where there was an English settlement, but it was
beaten off. The defeat, followed by a heavy storm, prevented it from at-
tacking the Carolinas. The multitude of slaves made the hostility of the
Spaniard specially dangerous. If the slaves should revolt, the settlers might
at any time have to deal with enemies \yithout and rebels within. In the
case of the Indians this danger was less felt, since the Indians and the
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
nd there was little fear of any sort of com-
,„.,,,„•> detested on *** <» s nm.u,ds looked upon the multitude of
l.ination between them. 1 P ,t!ttlements, and in a later war they
aUvea « a weak pon.t wg { officerg ^ all hl frout of
i I -i rMpmeni made up «n'*uj » '.
T «r "s "h,";1 fii-SS^: 5:n;.^ «,. » -., ^i..
In t he meantime, mte , nnpen call-
i S iiitli Carolina sent a petition to i
'^1^^^^^^^^^^ *°\* Yh °n^
came of this In 1717, the Assembly of
''•'"•'•""'"• Notlu"-- I,,;. Aa a1ontimi nf renresentatives should be
*i,i,,tli rnrolina passed a law
.
I;; ' ^bV^g it «£ for all the freemen, espeaally tor the poorer
"I trengtoed the hands of the people and weakened he mflu-
At the same time, the Assembly imposed a heavy
.
.U provoked tlJcolonists by increasing the number of the Council
from s ven'to twelve. Moreover, there was a general feeling in the^>lony
that the proprietors cared only for their own pockets, and were indifferent
, the welfare of the people. The colonists accordingly broke out into
open revolt against the proprietors. Robert Johnson, the Governor, was
himself popular, and the people endeavored to enlist him on their :
but he remained loyal to the proprietors. The colonists then deposed
him and appointed' James Moore to be Governor. At the same time 1
sent over an agent to England to plead their cause. The effect of his
representation was that South Carolina was made a royal colony.
son, a man of considerable experience in the colonies, was sent out as the
first Governor. Under the new system the colony throve, and the rapid
improvement in its condition was the best proof of the misgovernment of
the proprietors. Peace was made with the Southern Indians. Clergymen
were sent out, partly at the expense of the colony, partly by the Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel, and schools were established throughout
the colony. Before long, North Carolina too passed under the government
of the Crown. Though there was not such an open display of enmity as in
the southern colony, yet the people were known to be disaffected to the pro-
prietors. In 1729, the proprietors voluntarily surrendered their rights, and
North Carolina became a royal colony. The change was made without dis-
pute, and apparently with the good will of all concerned.
In spite of these disturbances the actual resources of the two colonies,
especially of the southern provinces, were so great that, when quiet was re-
stored, they quickly became rich and prosperous. In the whole country
there was but one town, Charlestown, the capital of South Carolina. Its
STOKIKS OK A.MKIMCAN HISTORY.
position, and its neighborhood to tin- West India Islands, made it the rno-t
important place south of New York. About two hundred ships sailed
thence every year. In climate and soil, the two colonies \\ere much alike.
But while the rivers of South Carolina afforded good harborage for small
vessels, most of those in North Carolina were lost in large and unwholesome
swamps before reaching the sea. This, coupled with the fact that there was
no place in North Carolina like Charlestown, gave the southern colony a
superiority in commerce, and hence in political activity and education,
which it long kept. In one point the two Carolina** resembled New York
rather than their southern neighbors, Virginia and Maryland. The popula-
tion included a large number of foreigners, French, German, and Swi<>, most
of them refugees, who had fled from persecution in their own country.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE QUAKER COLONIES.
f'N the history of New England we have already met with the sect
of Quakers, or Friends. The first members of that sect were
wild and noisy fanatics, but before long men of good family
and education joined them, and under such leaders the Quakers
took an important part in the colonization of America. The
greatest and most prominent of these men was William Penn,
the founder of Pennsylvania. But before that colony was set-
tled, another had come into being, not consisting wholly of
Quakers, but numbering many of them among its inhabitants.
That State was New Jersey. As we have already seen, the Duke of York,
as soon as he came into possession of New Netherlands, sold about one-
twelfth of it, that is to say, some seven thousand square miles, to Lord
Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Although this only formed a small paii
of his whole territory, it was in value scarcely inferior to all the rest put to-
gether. For it included nearly the whole seaboard of about a hundred and
twenty miles in length, and consequently it was the best place for fresh
colonists. Moreover, the greater part of it was almost uninhabited, and the
proprietors could sell or let the land in parcels, while in the rest of New
Netherlands there were Dutch and Swedes, who claimed the soil as their
own, and often refused any payment to the proprietors. This temtory was
also well protected from the Indians, on the west by the river Delaware, and
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
on the north and north-west l>y the inhabited districts of New Netherlands.
MMIVOMT. unlike most of the colonies, it had a fixed boundary to the west,
;tnd thus the settlers \\ere kept from straggling, and held together in towns
and villages. \Vhen Nicholls, the Governor of New York, discovered all
this. (Unking that his master had done unwisely to part with the land, he
tried to set aside the sule, but in vain. The new colony was called New
.leisey. in honor of Carteret, who had bravely defended Jersey against the
parliamentary forces in the great rebellion. The government was to consist,'
like those of the other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and Representatives.
No taxes were to be imposed except by consent of this government. The
proprietors retained the right of annulling any law, and of appointing colo-
nial officers. All religious sects were to enjoy liberty of worship, and equal
political rights. At the time of the purchase, New Jersey was almost un-
inhabited. A few Dutch and Swedes had settled in the country, and a few
Xew England Puritans, who had been driven out of Massachusetts, among
them some of Mrs. Hutchinson's fol-
lowers, had sought a refuge there, and
had been allowed by the Dutch to
form settlements. Several of these
had obtained a right to the soil by
purchase from the Indians. In 1665,
Philip Carteret, a nephew of Sir
George, was sent out as governor. lie
founded a town, called, after Lady
Carteret, Elizabethtown. A number
of colonists came in from New Eng-
land. In 1668, the first Assembly
was held at Elizabethtown, and some
of the laws passed show that the colo-
nists were influenced by the ideas and
habits of New England. In 1670 a
dispute arose between the proprietors
and the settlers. The former claimed
• quit-rents for the land. The latter
refused to pay, pleading that, by buy-
ing the ground from the Indians, they
mp of ,t, and that, if they allowed the proprietors' claim, they
e paying twice over. The dispute led to an insurrection. In 1672
drove out Phihp Carteret and the other government officers, and
wernor, James Carteret, a kinsman of Sir George, who had never-
taken the slde of the settlers. A year later, the Dutch, as we have
back for a short time all that had been taken from them by the
STOIMKS OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY. 965
Knglish. But in New Jersey, as in NYw York, the short period of Dutch
occupation made no special change.
\\'lien, by the treaty of 1(574, the Dutch settlements were finally given
up to the Knglish, the king granted them by a fresh deed to the Duke of
York. This tyrant t >ok in the lands which the Duke had sold to Berkeley
and Carteret. They contended that their right still held g I, and the
duke granted their claim. Nevertheless, he afterwards asserted a right of
levying certain duties in New Jersey, which led him into several disputes,
both with the proprietors and the settlers. In 1674, Lord Berkeley, being
dissatisfied with the results of his colony, and with his ill-treatment, as it
must have seemed to him, at the hands of the Duke of York and the colo-
nists, sold his right in the land to two Quakers, Fenwick and Bylling.
Soon after, Bylling, in consequence of a dispute with Femvick, sold his
share to three other Quakers, of whom William Penn was one. They, wish-
ing to set up a separate colony, persuaded Sir George Carteret to divide the
territory with them. This he did, and for some time it formed two separate
States, East and West New Jersey, the former belonging to Carteret, the
latter to the Quakers. The eastern division contained about four thousand
settlers. The western was much more scantily inhabited, and so was fitter
for the purpose of its proprietors. Their object was to found a colony
which might be a refuge for the Quakers, as New England had been for the
Puritans. They drew up a constitution for their new State. Except in «
two points, it was like the earlier constitution framed by Carteret and
Berkeley. The Council was not to be appointed by the proprietors, but
chosen by the Assembly, and to prevent disturbances at elections the voting
for representatives was to be by ballot. In 1677, four hundred Quakers
emigrated to West New Jersey. In 1680 a dispute arose between the pro-
prietors and the Duke of York. Andros, who was then Governor of New
York, tried to levy an import duty in New Jersey ; Penn and his colleagues
resisted. They pleaded that they had bought the land from Lord Berkeley ;
that they had thereby acquired his rights ; that one of these rights was that
the colony should be subject to no laws, but those of its own making and
those of England, and that therefore a law imposed by Andros could not
bind them. They represented that to tax the settlers without their consent
would be infringing their rights as Englishmen, and that they would never
have braved the perils of a distant voyage and a new country, unless with a
hope of having those rights enlarged rather than lessened. The English
Judges before whom the question came decided in favor of New Jersey.
Meanwhile East Jersey had undergone a complete change. In 1679, Sir
George Carteret died ; his affairs were in such a bad state that it was needful
to sell his property for the benefit of his creditors. The Quakers, satisfied
with the success of their settlement in West Jersey, decided to make a like
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
A -din^lv Penn and eleven others purchased
.ittt,nll,t ;„ ,i,«. eastern colony. J ^- ^ E^ unlike West> Jersey had
it from Cartetet'a HJM-" £* new roprietors did not attempt to
ahead; a btfge number - associated with them a number
^ i< ? h"1K ;l g?;:kel^ ^ i fiLd with Scotch emigrants. T!>e
.
<" B-t*r-u2'i?3 3T£» Colony, except that the Council
nt was bke i™ deputies The more important officers
rf ..... rPrCoJa AH ChrbtLu. were
aiiy >vay fo" hls
rlkiuf, 011e o-reat State out of the northern
T ttThe Jer"e s To can^ it into execution, in 1686, writs
m both the Je J governments. The professed
SCENE NEAK ELIZABETHTOWN.
supplied with rivers, and water carriage was easy ; but the settlers did not
live in scattered plantations like the Virginians. There were some twelve
towns, of which Burlington and Elizabethtown were the largest, each <
taining between two and three hundred houses. From the first the country
seems to have been almost deserted by the Indians, and by 1700 there were
not more than two hundred in both colonies. Their small number was no
due to any cruelty on the part of the settlers. On the other hand, the two
STOUIKS OF A.MKKK AN IIIST«»1!Y.
races seem to have been perfectly friendly, an<l the Knglish arc said to have
found tlie Indians so helpful that they wished for more of them.
Notwithstanding the prosperity of the two colonies, neither of them
brought much -rood to their proprietors. Both changed hands several time<.
and in the process various disputes arose. Different persons c-laimed the
governorship ai tlie same time, each professing to be appointed by a ma-
jority of the proprietors. Besides this, the settlers became ensured in a
dispute with New York. The government of that State, presuming on its
old connection with New Jersey, attempted to levy a tax on the inhabitants.
The Jersey settlers refused to pay, and the cpuestion was referred to the
Crown lawyers in England. They ruled that no colony could be taxed, ex-
cept by Act of Parliament or by its own Assembly. Wearied with tlioe
disputes, and muling little profit from their property, in 1702 the pro.
prietors of both colonies surrendered their rights to the Crown. The two
provinces were again united, and New Jersey became a royal colony. The
new constitution was after the ordinary colonial pattern. There was to be
a Governor and twelve Councillors, appointed by the Crown, and twenty-
four Deputies elected by the people. The right of voting for deputies was
confined to those who possessed a hundred acres of land, or fifty pounds
worth of other property. The Governor was to appoint all officers, and to
command the forces of the colony. Political equality was granted to all
sects, except Roman Catholics. The first Governor appointed was Lord
Cornbury. As in New York, he made himself odious by imposing ex-
orbitant fees and interfering with the proceedings of the Assembly. Yet
New Jersey fared somewhat better than New York, as, being fully occupied
with his government of the latter colony, Lord Cornbury for the most part
governed New Jersey by a deputy.
Of the early Quakers the most conspicuous was William Penn. In
position, ability, and education he stood far above the generality of his sect.
His father, Admiral Penn, was a distinguished seaman, and stood high in
the favor of Charles II., by whom he was knighted. His son, while at Ox-
ford, is said to have shown symptoms of those strict and unusual views in
religious matters which he afterwards displayed more fully. This temper,
however, seemed for a while to have disappeared, and he came back from a
foreign tour with all the graces and accomplishments of a polished gentle-
man. Soon after this, it became known, to the dismay of his friends and
the wonder of the fashionable world, that he had joined an obscure sect,
headed by an illiterate and fanatical cobbler. His father cast him off, and
the magistrates sent him to prison for attending Quaker meetings. After
xmdergoing all these trials with unswerving constancy, he was at length
reconciled to his father, and, like him, enjoyed the favor of the king and the
Duke of York.
TIIK WOKLIVS CREAT .NATIONS.
.INN
IVmi \\.-i-. as ue have seen, a proprietor both in East and West New
.l,-!-e\.and tonka lending part in the settlement of those colonies. Soon
afterwards. In- bethought him of founding an exclusively Quaker colony,
\\ith laws and institutions suited to the peculiar views of his sect. With
this object, in KM* he got from the king a grant of land between Maryland
and New York. This is said to have been given as a quittance for sixteen
thousand pounds, lent by Admiral Penn to the Crown. The territory was
called, by the wish of the king, Pennsylvania. The grant was opposed by
the Privy Council, by the Council for Plantations, by the proprietors of
New York and Maryland. All these obstacles, however, were overcome. At
the same time Penn received a charter as proprietor, much like that granted
to Baltimore. It gave him the power of making laws with the advice and
assent of the freemen. It also gave him the command over the forces of the
coloiiv, a provision somewhat inconsistent with the principles of the
Quakers, who condemned all war as sinful. In that year three ships sailed
out with emigrants, and in the next year Penn himself followed. He drew
up a set of rules for the first settlers. The most important of these was
that no one was to have more than a thousand acres of laud lying together,
unless within three years he should plant a family on every thousand acres.
To guard the Indians from being cheated, all trade with them was to be in
open market. This year Penn got from the
Duke of York a small grant of land at the
south-east of New York, then called the Ter-
ritories of Pennsylvania, and now forming the
State of Delaware. This tract of land and
Penn's original colony, as long as they re-
mained under one government, were generally
distinguished, the former as the Territories,
the latter as the Province. The whole coun-
try was divided into six counties, three in the
Province and three in the Territories. In
May, 1682, Penn set forth the constitution.
ASSKMHI.Y-HOCSE. The government was to consist, as in the
other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and
The councillors were not to be appointed by the proprietor,
••l-en as they had been in West Jersey, by the settlers. They were to
ted for three years, the deputies for one. Each county was to send
nembers to the Council and to the Assembly. At the same time Penn
vanous laws. No conformity in religion was to be required from
vat, person beyond a belief in one God. All public officers,
Kht T t r feVhrSelVe8 Chri8tians* A11 ch"d™ w« to
ome trade, and the criminals in prisons were to be usefully
poii
•
STORIES OF A.MKIMCAN HlSToKY. 989
employed. No part of Perm's conduct in settling his colony was more
honorable than bis treatment of the Indians. Soon after landing lit- held a
conference with them, and laid the foundation of a lasting friendship. In
none of the colonies were the relation- Let ween the two races -o uniformly
friendly ae in Pennsylvania For a long while the highest praise that tin-
Indians could give a white man was to liken him to <),,nx, a- th<-\- called
Perm.
In May, 1684, Penn was forced by stress of business to return to Eng-
land. Before he went he appointed a Governor in his place. Soon after his
departure dissension arose from various causes. A violent dispute had
broken out the year before with Maryland about boundaries. In 1684, the
Marx landers attempted to possess themselves by force of some of the dis-
puted lands. The question was settled in the next year by the Kn^li-h
government. In 1690 a quarrel broke out between the Province and the
Territories, Some of the deputies chosen by the Territories took upon them-
selves to usurp the place of the whole Assembly, and to carry on business in
its name. Other disputes followed, and at length Penn thought it best to
give the Territories a separate government. Penn's friendship for James II.
naturally prejudiced William and Mary against him, and in 1692 he was
deprived of his proprietorship on the ground that he had suffered the colony
to fall into disorder. Fletcher, the Governor of New York, was then ap-
pointed Governor of Pennsylvania. He soon got into disputes with the
Assembly. They held that the old constitution and laws were still in force,
while he contended that the forfeiture of the charter had made them void.
They also refused the help which he required for the protection of New
York against the Indians. In 1694 Penn so far recovered favor with the
Court as to be restored to his proprietorship. In 1696 the Assembly drew
up a fresh form of government, to which Penn assented. The principal
changes were that the number of councillors and deputies was reduced by
one-third, and that the Assembly was empowered to meet of its own free-
will, without being summoned by the Governor. In 1699 Penn again went
put, but in less than two years he was called back by a report that the pro-
prietary governments were in danger of being abolished, and he never re-
visited the colony. During his stay disputes again broke out between the
Province and the Territories, which had been reunited under Fletcher. The
deputies from the Territories, not being able to carry some measures for the
good of their own country, left the Assembly altogether. Peun endeavored
to mediate, but without success, and after his departure the feud grew worse.
In 1701 Penn granted a fresh charter, one of the clauses in which allowed
the Territories, if they chose, to separate from the Province. Accordingly, in
1703 they did so, and became a distinct State, known afterwards as Delaware.
Besides this dispute, other dissensions arose. Penn does not seem to have
,,.„, TIIE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
been fortunate in his choice of a Governor. Evans, who became Governor in
1704, .-in. I his successor, Gookin, both quarreled with the Assembly. In
1710 I Vim pathetically complained in a letter which he wrote to the colo-
nists, that he could not "but think it hard measure that, while that has
proved a land of freedom and flourishing, it should become to me, by whose
means it was principally made a country, the cause of grief, trouble, and
poverty." Being moreover embarrassed in his private affairs, in 1712 Perm
proposed to sell his right as proprietor to the Crown. Just before the sale
could be completed he was seized with apoplexy, and for the remaining
six years of his life he was incapable of doing any business. Thus the trans-
fer was never made, and the proprietorship was handed down to Penn's
descendants. They took little interest in the colony. They caused more
than one dispute by putting forward a claim to hold their lands free from
taxation, a demand which was always resisted by the Assembly.
None of the colonies, except perhaps New York, was better off for natu-
ral advantages than Pennsylvania. The climate was a mean between that of
New England and the southern colonies. Timber was plentiful, the soil was
fertile, and the rivers offered easy means of carriage. Philadelphia, the cap-
ital, was the best laid out and handsomest town in the colonies. The inhab-
itants were of various races and religions. Besides the Quakers, who for a
long time formed the greater part of the population, there were Swedes,
Germans, and Welsh. As in New England, there seem to have been few
very rich men or great landed proprietors. In this, and in the general mode
of life among the settlers, Pennsylvania resembled New York and the New
England colonies.
STORIES OF AMERICAN
Dili
CHAPTER XIV.
*
THE SETTLEMENT OE (iKOKUIA AND THE SPANISH \\ AH.
flBGINIA and Georgia, the first and lust of the English colonies
in America, resemMe one another in their origin. All tin-
settlements that came between were either founded, like Mary-
land and Carolina, for the profit of the proprietors, or, like
Pennsylvania and the New England colonies as a refuge for
a religious sect. Virginia and Georgia alone were established
as homes for the poor and needy. In one point, ho\\-<-\ n, they
differed. Virginia was colonized by a company of merchants,
who looked to their own gain as well as to the good of the
settlers. The founders of Georgia were benevolent men, who did not aim at
any profit to themselves, but only at founding a home for those who had no
means of livelihood in England. Georgia may also be likened to a still ear-
lier class of settlements, those planned by Gilbert and Raleigh. For it was
meant to serve, and it did serve, as a military outpost to guard the older
colonies, especially South Carolina, against Spanish invasion. About 17JJO,
some benevolent persons were struck by the evil state of English prisons.
At that time men could be, and commonly were, imprisoned for debt. The
prisons in which they were confined were shamefully managed. They were
dens of filth, and no heed was given to the health of the prisoners. About
that time also many wild and foolish schemes of speculation had been set on
foot, and had led to the ruin of many. Thus
the debtors' prisons were unusually full, and
their condition was worse than ever. One of
the first to call attention to this was James
Oglethorpe, a man of high birth and good
education, an officer in the army, and a member
of Parliament. From the outset of his public
career, he devoted himself to bettering the lot
of the wretched and helpless. By the account
which he gave of the evil state of prisons, he
got a committee of the House of Commons ap-
pointed, with himself as chairman, to inquire
into the matter. He was not content with lightening the sufferings of those
unhappy debtors. He bethought him of some means whereby those who
JAMES OOI.ETHOKPK.
m TIIH WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
could find no livelihood in England could be put in the way of earning
tln-ir lirea.l, and so be saved from debt. To found a colony specially fitted
for such a class seemed the readiest cure for the evil. Moreover, Ogle-
tlior|u-, l>fiiiir » good soldier and a patriotic man, thought that the same
M-hcine mL'ht be turned to account as a check on the Spaniards, who, as we
ha\v seen, threatened the southern counties of Carolina.
In IT.'ii', Oirh'thorpe and other benevolent men formed a company to
carry out this plan. They obtained a charter and a grant of all the land
lift \\een tin- rivers Savannah and Altamaha, to form a province called
Georgia, in honor of the king. Trustees were appointed, with full power
to nianaire the affairs of the colony. At first they were to appoint the
Governor ami other officers. After four years these appointments were to
be made by the Crown. Laws were to be made by the company and ap-
proved of by the Privy Council. The settlers themselves were to have no
share in the government. Lest the company should try to make profit
out of their scheme, no member of it was to hold any paid office in the
colony. All the arrangements kept in view the two main ends, to make
Georgia both a fit settlement for needy men working with their own hands
and a strong outpost against the Spaniards. Most of the settlers were to
be poor people, released debtors and bankrupt tradesmen, and those who,
having large families, were in receipt of parish relief. These were to
be sent out at the expense of the company. But, beside these, the com-
pany were ready to receive settlers who might choose to go out at their
own expense. Still they wished to make it specially a poor man's settle-
ment. With this view they prohibited slavery, as likely to interfere with
free labor and to give rich men an advantage. Besides, a revolt of the slaves
would have been specially dangerous with neighbors like the Spaniards on
the frontier. No one was to hold more than five hundred acres of land,
and, in order to keep up the number of proprietors, no land was allowed to
be sold, and, if a man left no son, his lot was to become the property of the
company. The object of this rule was to ensure a sufficient number of men
; for service in war. For the same reason all the settlers were to be drilled
as soldiers. As some of the settlers were likely to be of unsteady habits,
no rum was to be imported. The company hoped to have among their set-
me German Protestants, many of whom had lately been driven from
• homes by fierce persecution, and with this view a clause was inserted
the charter providing that all foreigners who settled in Georgia should
the same rights as English citizens. So, too, men of all religions, ex-
oman Catholics, were to enjoy equal rights. To guard against any
•wputo with its English neighbors/the colony was set free by the Crown
right which Carolina might have claimed over the land south of
the Savannah.
STOHIKS OF A.MKIJH'AN IIISToK'V. wi.-j
Oglethorpe was appointed Governor of tin- colony, with power to <-li..
a site for a settlement, ami to manage all public affairs. On the 16th of
November, 1732, he sailed from (iravesend with a hundred and twenty emi-
grants. On the 1. '5th of Januar\ they landed in Carolina, where they \s en-
kindly received. Oglethorpe went up the river Savannah to select a place
for a settlement. He chose a piece of high •.'round, round which the river
flowed in the shape of a horse-shoe. It was about ten miles from the sea,
and commanded a view of the river to its mouth. This was an advantage,
as there was always a danger of the settlement being attacked by the
Spaniards from the sea. The town was to be called Savannah, after the
river. At the same time Oglethorpe made an alliance with the chief of
the Creeks, the most powerful Indian nation in that quarter. On the 1st
of February the colonists arrived at Savannah'. The people of Carolina
assisted them with supplies of food. In May, Oglethorpe held a conference
with the Creeks. They promised not to meddle with the English settlers,
and to let them occupy any land that they did not need for themselves.
Presents were then exchanged; the Indians gave buckskins; Oglethorpe,
guns, ammunition, cloth, and spirits.
Next year a band of German emigrants came over. They had been
driven from Salzburg by a persecuting archbishop. Oglethorpe gave them
their choice of land, and they settled about twenty miles from Savannah.
They were well received both by English and Indians, and soon formed
a prosperous settlement. In April, 1734, Oglethorpe returned to England,
taking with him some of the Creek chiefs. The trustees now began to
learn that men who had failed in England were not very likely to succeed in
a colony. Accordingly they sent out some more German Protestants and a
number of Scotch Highlanders. The latter, from their hardihood and war-
like habits, were specially fitted for a colony which was likely to have to
defend itself by arms. On his return to Georgia, Oglethorpe set to work
to colonize the southern frontier. He planted a body of emigrants on an
island at the mouth of the Altamaha, and called the settlement Frederica.
This was intended to guard the colony against an attack from the south.
The Highlanders were posted on the river sixteen miles inland. Another
settlement called Augusta was founded two hundred and thirty miles up
the river Savannah to guard the western frontier. Augusta and Frederica
were both fortified, and other forts were erected near the mouth of the
Altamaha.
In the meantime disputes had arisen at Savannah. Some of the settlers
drew up a statement of their grievances, and laid it before the trustees.
Their chief complaints were that Causton, whom Oglethorpe had left in
charge of affairs, was tyrannical and unjust ; that the colony could not
thrive without the use of negroes; that the prohibition of rum was
63
Tlll, WOULD* B**LA* NAT1°NS-
; and
i
. I..- .n|."«' , -,. (,,1()(ls. As tor the
HersloBtthe beel ...:••*«• ' '..-,,, tll(. (;,,,nans, ,.n.t,stl,l fchat slaves
uble setflets, the Highlandi ' (loll,)t tlmt lh(.
.1-- ........ ll^l^SworM
,,,,,,,- ,mi?,'.-:.,,tsW,,vl^ •'««'«' ; (u. Qaturally have made
- vi,,-... «l.«' I"-""11 " '..!'.!,, s,,(l,rs
..so
«»«"" "ish r"r IW TV orhad deprived Bome of the mojt
^ w- !iiit r -v. "H- • ''"• '•-" -^ ')iiiilir si<"vs( , st '
Idle and wortfck-d temperate and re9pectfu] ^ay,
tf the grievances had been prei ' J ok rf rlilr|. art m
''-^hth^'lr't.t1^^^^ ..... B?tb
iiui •„, IT86; I..--
...!^,. ........ »««•««*-
n
that Ins In-lK.n l'n,,uls ,ni,ht attack the Spnumnls an,
„„„„ „ pretext Eor making wtt »n (Jeor-iu. 11, took stepn to P.vv iw
U,,U a U«, «,,,Ht«ntlv on ,„,„,, u,>on the Al..,n.»h», .„ ...vv..
pLribl a,,v Indian froo, croBsing; He then sent an embasBy .. il.. Spa,
LK to tell thetn what h, had <lm,e. At the same time he sent to arolma
£0rh,l,.l.u1hl.> -a and land, aud fortilicd and victualled
>TOIMK> OF AMKI.'KAN HI»TOl:Y.
-ome tiiii.- nothing wa- heard of the emba--\. Alarmed at tin-.
sailed to the south. On reaching fix- frontier, h<- |<-;u-nt that the Spaniard*
\\ -ere advancing. They believed, ;,- he afterward- found, that all tin- force,
of tin- i-olony were at Frcderica. and. accordingly. they \M-H- about to j-.ttack
I - <Jeor;/e. O'_'lethorpe, however, fired hi- iriin- in -i|rh au.v. • t.,
make the Spaniard- -uppo-e that, a -hip and a l»att«-ry on land wen- -alutin-_'
OIK- another. Tim- he tricked the Spaniard- into the belief that fre-h f.
had come up, and they retreated in c,,nfii-ion. A \',-\\ da\- later the\
an »mba--y which met O'_'let horpe near Fn-derica. Their meeting was
friendly. The Spaniard- promi-ed to make am.-inU for -ome un.nu'- that
they hud done the Indian-, and O^'lethorpe at the same time a-_n- ith-
draw hi- -oldiers from Fort St. <;«-,, ]••_,,-_ Thi- h«- did, and stationed them in-
ftead on an island -omewhat further north, which lie named Amelia I-land.
ThinjfH now we^re quiet enough for O^lethorpe to return to Kir.dand.
While he was there, the Spanish Amlnssador presented a memorial to the
Kir/li-li •government, requesting that n<> more troop- -hould I.e -i-nt to
Georgia, and that Oglethoq>e should not be allowed to return thither. Thi-
re<jue-t \\a< of course disregarded, and in September, IT-".*, O<rlethor|>e went
back, having raised a regiment in England for the defence of the colony. In
October a mutiny broke out arnon-_' hi- troop-, causer], it wan thought, by
the intrigue- of the Spaniard- ; but it was easily quelled. In the next sum-
mer Oglethorpe undertook a long and difficult journey into the Indian
count i y, to see some of the chiefs and stop negotiations which he heard were
going forward between the Indians and the Spaniards. For two hundred
miles he saw neither house nor human l»ein<_r. When he reached the Indian
settlements, the fame of hi- L">odness and his friendship for the Indians had
gone before him, and he was receiver! with all kindness and hospitality. The
Indians complained of wrongs done them by some traders from Carolina.
Oglethorpe promised to make amends for these, and a treaty was arranged.
In this autumn the war between England and Spain, which had long
seemed at hand, broke out. The Spaniards, like the English, forbade all
foreign vessels to trade with their colonies. This law was broken by Kn-_'-
lish merchants, and, in consequence, the Spanish guard-hip- frequently
stopped and searcher) English vessels. Many stories were afloat, some prol»-
ably true, others certainly exaggerated, if not false, of the cruelties infli
-panish officials on English sailors. One man in particular, named ,J.-n-
kins, exciter! great public indignation by declaring that the Spaniards hail
cut off his ears. Besides this, the Spanish government demanded that the
colony in Georgia should be removed, as it threatened the frontier of Flor-
ida. Walpole, then at the head of the ministry, did not think there was
ground enough for war, but it was clear that both Parliament and the nation
a-_'aiii-t him, and that he would have to declare war, or to resign. He
T11K Wom,l>-S CHEAT NATIONS.
* -..mil lint he loved his own power better, and
^C^W?"J£* «" "g& received
The first blow was struck by the Spaniards. In
: at Amelia Island, but retreated after kill-
e
•
,, hlanden, Oglethorpe, though ill-supphed with arms and ammu-
Ui ; ho^gh tha, his l,st policy was to act on the offensive, and march
, K' on St. Auuus.ine, the chief Spanish fort. He could depend on the
•„. ,,,,1 many oi the settlers were able and ready for service. His first
,™';,,, wnd out a small force, which captured a Spanish outpost called
It was important to hasten proceedings, as the English navy was
now blockading Cuba, the chief
Spanish island in the West Indies,
and thus the Spaniards in Florida
were less likely to receive any help.
Unluckily, the Government of Caro-
lina were slow in sending Ogle-
thorpe the help that he asked for.
In May he determined to set forth
without it, and with his own regi-
ment, numbering four hundred,
some of the Georgia militia, and a
body of Indians, he marched into
the Spanish territory. At first,
things went well with him. He
captured three small forts, and met
with no serious opposition till he
reached St. Augustine. This was a
strongly fortified place, and well
furnished with artillery. The num-
ber of men in it was two thousand, about the same as the whole English
land force. Oglethorpe resolved on a joint attack by sea and laud. But the
commodore commanding the English ships had effectually secured their har-
bor ; so that plan was abandoned. Oglethorpe then attempted to bombard
the place, but without success. The Spaniards then made a sortie, and fell
upon a small force that Oglethorpe had left in one of the captured forts. If
Oglethorpe's orders had been obeyed, his troops would have avoided an en-
gagement, but they despised the enemy, and rashly allowed themselves to be
surrounded, and were nearly all killed or taken. About the same time Ogle-
thorpe lost some of his Indian allies. One of them thought to please him
by bringing him the head of a Spaniard. Oglethorpe indignantly ordered
him out of his sight. The Indians took offence at this, and many of them de-
parted. It was soon seen that the English fleet could not keep the Spaniards
A SWAMP is FLORIDA.
STORIES OF A.MKKICAN II ISTlHJY.
997
\
LOOK in i
from bringing in supplies from the sea, and that any attempt at a blockade
would be useless. Oglethorpe then resolved to try his first plan of an
assault, and made all preparations. Hut before the time came, the fleet \\ ith-
drew, driven away, as their commanders said, by fair of hurricanes. The
Carolina troops, who had now come up,
were* but little help, and some of them,
even officers, deserted. Man\ of ( )gle-
thorpe's own men uere sick. It was soon
dear that the attack must be abandoned,
and in June Oglethorpe retreated. Though
he had failed in his main object, yet his
march probably kept the Spaniards in
check, and withheld them for some time
from any active operations against Georgia
or Carolina.
In the autumn of 1740, England sent
out one of the finest fleets that she had
ever put on the sea, to act against the Spaniards in the West Indies. There
were thirty ships of the line and eighty -five other vessels, with fifteen thou-
sand seamen and a land force of twelve thousand soldiers on board. Un-
luckily, Admiral Vernon, who commanded the fleet, and General Went-
worth, who commanded the land force, could not agree, and nothing was
done. In the following July an attack was made on Cuba, but it was an
utter failure, and the Spaniards were left free to employ all their forces
against the English settlements. Accordingly, early in 1742 they made
ready for an invasion. The woods, held as they were by Indians friendly
to the English, were a sufficient guard on the land side. Thus the Span-
iards could make their attack only from the sea. As they could not safely
leave a strong place like Frederica in their rear, it was necessary as a first
step to take it, and thus it became the key of the country. St. Simons, the
island on which Frederica stood, was about twelve miles long and from two
to five miles broad. Frederica was on the west side facing the mainland,
and the only approach to it was a road running for two miles between a
forest and a marsh, and so narrow that only two men could go abreast. On
every other side Frederica was protected by thick woods.
On the 5th of July the Spaniards began by attacking St. Simons, a fort
on the east side of the island. They had a fleet of thirty-six ships, but were
beaten off by the batteries, after an engagement which lasted four hours.
Oglethorpe, however, doubting whether St. Simons could be defended, de-
stroyed it, lest it should fall into the enemy's hands, and collected his whole
force in Frederica. Two days later his Indian scouts brought news that the
Spaniards were two miles from town. Oglethorpe at once marched out at
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
\/Jo
the head of hi* light troops, fell upon the Spanish vanguard and routed
, taking two prisoners with his own hand. He pursued the Spaniards
-„. ..U,, a'n.ile. ;m.l then halted till his regular troops had come up.
T|,,.l,. he ported in the woods, and returned to Fredenca to prepare for
efence Tlu- Spaniards man-lied forward and halted within a hundred
X,,,U ,,f the main ambush, \vlu> opened a heavy fire upon them. In spite
;,f the disgraceful tiSirht of the larger part of the English force, the
Si.-iniar.ls were utterly defeated with a loss of three hundred, besides
those wh.. tied t.. the woods and were there killed by the Indians. The
Spaniards, havin- failed by land, tried an attack by sea, but were beaten
off b\ tlu- -runs of the fort. Nevertheless, the English were far from safe.
Their Stock of food was scanty, and if this and the smallness of their force
Lvaine known, the enemy were almost sure to return to the attack. The
Kiiii-li>h, therefore, were much alarmed when they found that a Frenchman
who had joined them with some volunteers had fled to the Spaniards. In
this strait Oglethorpe bribed a Spanish prisoner to take a letter professedly
to the Frenchman, but really meant to fall into the hands of the Spanish
romiiiaiider. This letter told the Frenchman that he was to be rewarded for
misleading the Spaniards as to the English force, and so tempting them to
rush into destruction. The Spaniards fell into the trap, and believed that
the Frenchman was really a friend to the English. Oglethorpe had also
said in his letter, to alarm the Spaniards,
that he expected some ships in a day or
two. Just at this time, by good fortune,
some English ships appeared in the dis-
tance. This confirmed the Spaniards in
their distrust, and they at once embarked
hastily, leaving their fire-arms and am-
munition behind them. On their way-
back they attacked some of the English
forts, but were beaten off, and then re-
treated into their own territories. On the
14th of July a public thanksgiving was
celebrated in Georgia for the deliverance of the colony. After their defeat
no further attempt was made by the Spaniards to molest the English settle-
ments.
Next year Oglethorpe sailed to England, and never again visited the
colony that he had founded and saved. But his memory was long held in
honor there, and a city and county were called after him, and kept alive his
name. Of all the founders of American colonies, from Raleigh onwards,
none deserve such high honor as Oglethorpe. Penn labored unsparingly
and wisely, but it was for a sect to which he belonged, and for a colony
METHOD OF CARRYING A SHELL.
STORIES OF AMERICAN MlsToiJY. !.:.:»
which bore liis iiuiue. Winthrop and his friends left their homes and gu\e
up all their hopes of prosperity and greatness in Kngland, but it was d.
become the rulers of a new State and to win a refuge; from tyranny for
themselves and their children. Oglethorpe, urged l<y a yet nobler and more
unselfish .spirit, overcame the temptations of riches and high birth, cast be-
hind him the pleasures of the world and forsook the society of friends, to
spend the best years of his life in toil and hardship, with no hope of earthly
reward beyond the fickle gratitude of those whom he served.
After Oglethorpe's departure, the trustees placed the government in the
hands of a President and four assistants. They were to hold four courts a
year, to manage the affairs of the colony and to try law-suits, but the\
might not spend money without the consent of the trustees. It was soon
found that some of the restraints placed on the settlers were injurious to
the colony. In the first seven years Parliament granted ninety-four thousand
pounds towards the advancement of the settlement, and fifteen hundred
emigrants were sent out from England, but not more than half of these
stayed in Georgia. The trustees thought that the restriction on the sale of
land had led many of the settlers to leave the colony, and accordingly they
removed it. Still the colony did not thrive. Nearly all the inhabitants,
except the Germans and the Highlanders, were idle and discontented. In
1752 the trustees, dissatisfied with the result, gave up their charter to the
Crown. A government was established, modelled on that of South Caro-
lina. The prohibition of slavery and of the importation of rum was done
away with, and Georgia became in every respect like the other southern
colonies.
1000
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XV.
TOE CONQUEST OF CANADA AND OF THE OHIO VALLEY
BESIDES Canada, the French had another colony in North
America. This was Louisiana, a fertile tract of land at the
mouth of the Mississippi. In 1673, Marquette, a Jesuit mis-
sionary, starting from Canada, had penetrated into the coun-
tries now forming the State of Wisconsin, and had journeyed
some way down the Mississippi. A few years later, La Salle,
a French fur-trader, descended the Mississippi to the sea. In
1684 he persuaded the French government to found a colony
at the^outh of the river. He then explored the whole valley of the Mis-
sissippi ; but, before he could bring back the report of his discoveries, he
was murdered by two of his own followers. The position of this southern
French colony threatened the English settlements with not a little danger.
If once the French could connect Canada and Louisiana by a continuous
rano-e of forts along the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, they would
completely surround the English settlements. They would form, as it has
been described, a bow, of which the English colonies were the string. Even if
these did not annoy the English settlers, they would withhold them from
spreading towards the west. William III. saw the danger of this, and
planned a scheme for placing a number of French Protestants on the Missis-
sippi as a check on the French settlements there. This, however, came to
nothing. Like Canada, Louisiana was, in its early years, unprosperous. But
about 1730 it began to flourish, and iw a few years it contained seven thou-
sand inhabitants. Measured by actual numbers, the French colonies seemed
no match for the English. In 1740 the former contained only fifty-two
thousand Europeans, the latter nearly a million. But their alliance with
the Indians, and the strength of their position, made the French dangerous.
Moreover they had the advantage of being all under a single governor.
The two French colonies were separated by the valleys of the Ohio and
the Mississippi Between the Ohio and Virginia lay dense forests and a
range of mountains, the Alleghanies, rising at some points to four thou-
sand feet, and in few places to less than three thousand. The French and
English both claimed this territory, the former on the strength of Mar-
quette's and La Salle's discoveries, the latter by a treaty made with the
Mohawks in 1744. It seemed doubtful, however, whether the lands in ques-
tion really belonged to the Mohawks, and also whether the treaty gave the
STOIMKS OF AMKlilCA.N IIISTOI!Y.
1001
English more than the cast side of the river. But in ;i di-putc <>f -iich im-
portance between two nations who had been lately at war, neither >idr ua-
likely to be very scrupulous as to the grounds of its claims. Before 171!» no
regular settlements had been formed by the English bevond the Alleuhanie<,
and the mountains had only been crossed by traders. But in that year a
small body of rich men in England, called the Ohio Company, obtained from
the king a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land in the Ohio vallev.
This, as probably was expected, soon brought the dispute to an issue. In
\7->~2 the French governor proceeded to connect Canada and Louisiana by a
line of forts. Thereupon, Dinwiddie, the governor of Virginia, sent a com-
THE FRENCH FORT.
missioner to warn the French commander that he was trespassing, and to
find out the real state of affairs there. For this task he chose George Wash-
ington. He was twenty-one years old, of good family, brought up as a land-
surveyor. That he stood high in the governor's esteem is shown by his
holding a commission as major in the Virginia militia, and being chosen, in
spite of his youth, for this difficult service. After a wearisome journey
through the wilderness, Washington reached the spot where the Alleghany
and Monongahela meet to form the Ohio. These rivers here run in a west-
erly direction. About ten miles further up, the Monongahela is joined by
another river of some size, the Youghioghany. Besides this, two smaller
streams rise in the land between the Alleghany and the Monongahela, and
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ItMI'-i
Tl,,n the fork of land between the two rivers was
fall one into each river. position was in other ways
Mia"s' who
? , h „ ,.egul,led aa trespassers,
""" ' '"• '
'"
Engli.li of being anything more than
- a,°. twenty n,iles bevon.1 the ™*
t nders. , • i tl FreUch commander received
- "'' ."I" ±TS ^W^ tjtve no power to make terms,
I""' "itli *mlt cUlh ' -ule to the governor of Canada; he
aii(1 s;(i(, that , tim CouMgIt withdraw. On his
lu,as,lf W!ls only a
ed ten thousand pounds for the encouragement and pro-
t ',, 'I: £ west. \t the same ti.ne^inwiddie wrote to
v „ ,s of the other colonies to ask for help. North Carolina alone
,- ,1 to the call, and voted twelve thousand pounds There were now
a th colonies three classes of soldier, I. There were the militia of each
•olonv II There were the colonial regular troops, raised by each colony
at its' own expense. These, like the militia, were commanded by officers
appointed by 'the governor of the colony. III. There were the kings
Americans; regiments raised in the colonies, but commanded by officers
owmnisioned by the king. These last were dependent solely on the crown
and had no connection with any colony in particular. The crown also had
the right of appointing superior officers, whose command extended over the
first and second, as well as over the third class. It does not seem to have
been clearly settled whether the colonial officers took equal rank with the
king's officers, and this question gave rise to many disputes and to much in-
convenience. The Virginia force consisted, beside the militia, of six com-
panies of a hundred men each, of which Washington was lieutenant-colonel.
To quicken their zeal and to get recruits, Dinwiddie promised a grant of
two hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio, to be divided among the
troops, and to be free of all rent for fifteen years. This also was to serve as
a standing military outpost. In April, Washington set out towards the
Ohio, with three companies. He sent a small party in advance, who began
to build a fort at the meeting of the rivers. The French surrounded this
fort, compelled the occupants to retire, and took possession of the place,
which they strengthened and called Fort Duquesne. News of this reached
Washington when he was about ninety miles off. The French force was be-
lieved to be much stronger than his ; nevertheless he decided to push on and
take up a position on the banks of the Monongahela. Soon after, he learned
from the Indians that a small force was marching towards him. On May
27th he set off with forty soldiers and some Indians, and the next day he
STORIKS OF AMERICAN HISTOI.'V.
met the enemy. It is uncertain \vhic-li side began the engagement. After a
short skirmish, the Freneli force, which numbered about tit'tv, was defeated;
the commander, Jumoiiville, and ten others were killed, and twenty-two cap-
tured. The French have represented this as a treacherous onslaught made
oil men who had come on a peaceful embas-v. Washington, on the other
hand, declared that the French evidently approached with hostile intentions.
The French also represented that Jumonville was murdered during a confer-
ence. This was undoubtedly false, and throws discredit on their whole
story. After the fight, Washington, finding that the whole French force
would be upon him, entrenched himself at a spot called Great Meadow, some
fifty miles from Fort Duquesne. On the 2d of July he was attacked by a
force of about seven hundred men. The engagement lasted from four in the
morning till eight at night. The French then demanded a parley. Wash-
ington, finding that he could not hold his ground, surrendered the fort, on
condition that he might carry off all his effects except his artillery. He also
promised not to occupy that place, or any other beyond the Alleghany
Mountains, for a year. In spite of his retreat, Washington's conduct was
highly approved of, and he and his officers received a vote of thanks from
the Virginian Assembly. Dinwiddie was for sending out at once another
and a larger expedition; but it was soon clear that, before anything
effective could be done, snow and frost would make the mountains im-
passable.
During this same summer, by the recommendation of the English gov-
ernment, deputies from the different colonies met at Albany, to discuss a
general scheme of defence. Representatives attended from New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, and Penn-
sylvania. At the suggestion of Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts,
they discussed a scheme for a union of all the colonies. The author of this
scheme was Benjamin Franklin, a native of Boston, who had emigrated in
his youth to Pennsylvania. He was by trade a printer. By his energy and
ability he had become one of the most influential men in his own colony. In
Philadelphia he had already introduced many useful improvements, an
academy, a public library, a fire brigade, and a board for paving and clean-
ing the streets. He now proposed that the colonies should apply to Parlia-
ment for an Act uniting them all under one government. The separate
colonial governments were to remain as before, but there was to be one
federal government over them all. There was to be a president appointed
by the king, and a board of representatives elected by the people of each
colony. The number of representatives from each colony was to be propor-
tionate to its contribution to the general treasury. But the scheme was un-
popular both in England and in the colonies. The English government
feared that it would make the colonies too strong, while the Americans
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,tl,oritv of the crown, and interfering with the
„„! it :, *^**%ff£;£L fell to the ground. At the
<lltr,,vn, colonial asMMul.hes. « t ^^ be formed m
•uneti ..... '-^-I'-'^^^tonothing.
th(. (lisl)llt,(l t'"fnton ;-; , • ()f ^^ Braddock was sent out
I,, If 55 a force under frol,tier The Virginia regiment had
f,,)Ml fo^ to protect .W A,,*™ „ taer. 1 |a ^ on
1 ..... . '"^"' »IY;"" * ^^S^i-colonel to that of a captain.
''••"' **»* "fT3 "I ^ ed 1 commission. He was now asked to
DfegOgtod at ,1ns, he had >' » d the offer. At the
>1.n,asavoh,,.t,HM-w.thBnull«K,k a ^J * raisconduct of the
""-' "' ^S*?^^^ This
«tnjton -ho failed >upp l^the e ^ ^^^.^ Qn the 9A
difficdty w« »ve.vo.ne h J^f,^ picked men, forded the Mo-
of July, 17..o , BnuWock mUt ee 1 ^ ^^^ ^
the fear of a.nbuscades but
-a
(;k«l the warning, as coming from a colomrt and a civilian
; ! " d wLle force had°crossed the Monongahela, they heard a quick
, vv H e in their front. The two foremost detachments fell back and
' wkb force was in confusion. The officers, conspicuous on horseback,
,- \I ked off by riflemen. Braddock had five horses killed under him
, , 1 Jas at length mortally wounded. The officers behaved with great
"lie, and strove to rally their troops, but in vain. The men lost all sense
«f dWi,,lin,, tired so wildly that they did more harm to their own side thai
to the enemy, and then fled, leaving their artillery, provisions and bag;
The colonial troops alone behaved well; Washington himself had two horses
gbot under him, and four bullets through his coat, and yet was unhurt. 1.
total loss in killed and wounded was over seven hundred, while that ot tl.
enemy did not amount to one hundred. Braddock died two days aft
wards, and was buried secretly, lest his body should be insulted by the
Indians. _ . .
In the next summer Washington was appointed colonel of the Virg
forces, including the militia and the colonial regulars. Few commanders
have ever had a harder task set before them. The frontier was attacked by
bands of Indians, urged on by the French. Living, as the Virginians did,
each on his own separate plantation, such attacks were specially dangerous.
Washington wished them to collect together in small settlements, but his
advice does not seem to have been followed. The rich valley of the Shenan-
doah, the furthest land on which the English colonists had settled, seemed
likely to be wholly deserted. Meanwhile the defences of the frontier were
in a state of utter weakness and confusion. Washington was ill supplied
with stores and men. Desertions became so frequent that at one time nearly
STOIMKS OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY.
loo:,
one-lialf of tlie militia was employed in capturing tin- other half. No one
clearly knew what were the limits of Washington's |>o\\er, or how far he
had any authority over the forces sent out from other colonies. The m-i-h-
boring governments, too, were backward in sending help. The go\.-riior-
were for the most part zealous, but the assemblies \\ere so jealous of any-
thing like arbitrary power that they \\ere more anxious to restrain their
governors than to further the common cause. In Pennsylvania, \\ hidi \\ ith
Virginia was in the greatest danger, the governor and assembly could not
agree about taxation. The assembly were willing to grant a supply; but
the governor, in obedience to the
proprietors, insisted that the propri-
etary lands should be free from tax-
ation. To this the assembly natu-
rally objected, and no money could
be raised. Moreover, each colony
cared only for the defence of its own
frontier. Even among the Virgin-
ians themselves this feeling pre-
vailed, and Washington was more
than once hindered by the anxiety
of his officers to guard their own
plantations.
On the northern frontier matters
were not much better. In 1755
three expeditions were prepared
against Canada. The first was plan-
ned altogether by the Massachusetts
government. Its object was to re-
cover the country between the penin-
sula of Acadia and the St. Law-
rence, which the English claimed under the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and
which now is called New Brunswick. For this a force of seven hundred
men was sent out in May. The French forts were weakly defended, arid by
June the New Englanders found themselves masters of the whole territory
south of the St. Lawrence,
When Acadia was given up to the English in 1712, the French inhabi-
tants took the oath of allegiance to the English .government. At the same
time they asked not to be forced in time of war to take up arms against the
French. No formal agreement was made, but it seems to have been under-
stood that they would be allowed to stand neutral. At the capture of Fort
Beaujeu, the chief French fortress taken by the New Englanders, three hun-
dred Acadiaus were found among the garrison. The Acadians them-
QEOROE WASHINGTON.
1006 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Bdy* declared that they had been impressed against their will by the
French commander. The English government, however, was afraid to
,vt. , people ,,f doubtful loyalty in a place of such importance, and
,,,;,,,ved to banish them in a body. This may have been necessary hut
it u;(. ullll()U,,t(,dlv carried out with needless harshness. At five days
]1()ti(,. II10IV tl1:lll fen thousand persons were banished from their homes.
Nothii,.- vraa done by the English in authority to lighten this blow, much
to inciv.se it Eamiiies were torn asunder, and a prosperous and peaceful
(.ulllltrv red.urd to a wilderness. Some of the Acadians escaped to Canada,
I,,,, most were shipped to the English colonies, where many were left to beg
their bread umonir people of a different race and speech.
Besides the expedition from Massachusetts, two others were made, which
had been planned by Braddock before he set out himself. One force under
(J.-ii.-ral Johnson was to occupy Ticonderoga, an important place on Lake
St. George, hitherto neglected by the French. Dieskau, the French com-
mander in Canada, inarched out against Johnson. At first the French had
the best of it, but the militia and the Indian allies could not stand against
the Kndish artillery; Dieskau was compelled to retreat, and in the retreat
was dangerously wounded. The English, however, failed to follow up their
success, and allowed the French to occupy Ticonderoga. The other force,
that under Shirley, contented itself with fortifying Oswego, a place on the
frontier of New York. Hitherto hostilities had been confined to America,
but in the next year war was formally declared between England and
France. One hundred and fifteen thousand pounds was sent out by the
English government for the defence of the colonies, and preparations were
made for a great American campaign. But, partly through the slackness of
the various colonial governments, partly through an outbreak of small-pox
among the troops, nothing whatever was done. Montcalm, Dieskau's suc-
cessor, was a brave and skilful soldier. With five thousand men he marched
against Oswego, and took it. This place was on the territory of the Mo-
hawks, and they had looked on its fortification with jealousy. Montcalm,
to assure them that the French had no designs against them, destroyed the
fort. Next year things went on much as before. Montcalm captured Fort
William Henry, an English stronghold on the upper waters of the Hudson.
In this year a dispute arose between the English commander-in-chief, Lord
Loudon, and two of the colonial governments, those of New York and Mas-
sachusetts. The colonists denied that the Act of Parliament which provided
for the billeting of soldiers was binding on the colonies, and declared that
special leave must be granted by the various colonial governments. New
York soon gave way. Massachusetts was so obstinate that Lord Loudon
threatened to march all his troops into Boston. The Massachusetts govern-
ment then came to a compromise. It passed an Act ordering that the sol-
STOIUKS OF AMKIiK'AN HISTORY, loo:
(Hers should have the accommodation that they needed. Tims, \vliile the
colonists yielded, they implied, by passing this law, that the Art <>{ Parlia-
ment did not bind them.
The ill-fortune of the English anus was not routined to America. In
Europe they were defeated by sea and hind. The spirit of the nation
seemed utterly broken. But a mighty change was at hand. In IT.'iS. I'itt
became secretary of state, with a strong and popular ministry at his back.
He breathed fresh life into English forces in every <|iiarter. Nowhere
was the change more felt than in America. Pitt, beyond all statesmen
then living, understood the importance of the American colonies, and knew
how to deal with their inhabitants. He ordered that the colonial troops
should be supplied with munitions at the expense of the English govern-
ment. At the same time he won the hearts of the Americans by an order
that the colonial officers should hold equal rank \\ith those commissioned
by the Crown. He also planned an expedition against Fort Duquesne.
Washington had repeatedly urged the necessity of this, declaring that the
colonies would never be safe so long as that post was held by the French.
The expedition was somewhat hindered by the commander, General Forbes,
who, instead of marching along the road already made by Braddock, insisted
on cutting a fresh one, more direct, but over a more difficult country. It
was believed in America that he was persuaded to this by the Pennsylva-
nians, to whom the new road was a lasting gain. An advanced detachment
of about seven hundred men shared the fate of Braddock's army. But,
when the main body of six thousand men advanced, the French, finding
themselves too weak to hold the fort, retreated. Thus it was decided that
England, and not France, was to possess the valley of the Ohio and the rich
territory of the west. The name of Fort Duquesne was changed to Pitts-
burgh, in honor of the statesman to whom the colonists owed this great
gain.
Two other expeditions were sent out this year ; the first against Cape
Breton, the second against Ticonderoga. These were warmly supported by
the colonists. Massachusetts sent seven thousand men, Connecticut five
thousand, and New Hampshire three thousand. The whole force sent
against Louisburg, the chief stronghold in Cape Breton, consisted of four-
teen thousand men. Against this the French had little more than three
thousand. The defeat of the French fleet by Admiral Hawke, off Brest,
made it impossible to send help to Canada, and Louisburg surrendered.
This gave the English possession of the whole island of Cape Breton. The
other expedition was less successful. In a fruitless attempt against Ticon-
deroga, General Abercrombie lost two thousand men, and retreated. This
failure was to some extent made up for by the capture of Fort Frontenac, a
strong place on the west side of Lake Ontario. The next, year, three armies
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
1006
,1 tint thev had been impressed against their will by the
"to* declared th. tney ^^ vernment, however, was afraid to
F'V" C°" nf doubtful lovalty in a place of such importance, and
lt,ivt. a people ot doul *>} i necessary, but
.soh,d to banish them m a^ JJ^J^SJ! At five 'days'
it was undoubted!) , 1)erson8 were banished from their homes.
]i()ti(.t, more tliail tea thousand P61.*011^. to lio.hten this blow> muc.h
ll<Fan iHes we^'fom asunder, and a prosperous and peaceful
1(1 IIl:r1:1: ,:!:...,1 SrSSJ Some of the Acadians escaped to Canada,
were lett to beg;
had I,,-, -u rhu.n./bv Bracldock before he set out Inmsel . One force under
General Johnson wL to occupy Ticonderoga, an important place on Lake
St (i,o,,, hitherto neglected by the French. Dieskau, the French com-
Lder in Canada, marehed out against Johnson. At first the French had
the best of it but the militia and the Indian allies could not stand against
tl». En'luh artillery; Dieskau was compelled to retreat, and in the retreat
wa« dangeroudy wounded. The English, however, failed to follow up then-
success, and allowed the French to occupy Ticonderoga. The other force,
that under Shirley, contented itself with fortifying Oswego, a place on the
frontier of New York. Hitherto hostilities had been confined to America,
but in the next year war was formally declared between England and
France. One hundred and fifteen thousand pounds was sent out by the
English government for the defence of the colonies, and preparations were
made for a great American campaign. But, partly through the slackness of
the various colonial governments, partly through an outbreak of small-pox
among the troops, nothing whatever was done. Montcalm, Dieskau's suc-
cessor, was a brave and skilful soldier. With five thousand men he marched
against Oswego, and took it. This place was on the territory of the Mo-
hawks, and they had looked on its fortification with jealousy. Montcalm,
to assure them that the French had no designs against them, destroyed the
fort. Next year things went on much as before. Montcalm captured Fort
William Henry, an English stronghold on the upper waters of the Hudson.
In this year a dispute arose between the English commander-in-chief, Lord
Loudon, and two of the colonial governments, those of New York and Mas-
sachusetts. The colonists denied that the Act of Parliament which provided
for the billeting of soldiers was binding on the colonies, and declared that
special leave must be granted by the various colonial governments. New
York soon gave way. Massachusetts was so obstinate that Lord Loudon
threatened to march all his troops into Boston. The Massachusetts govern-
ment then came to a compromise. It passed an Act ordering that the sol-
STOKIKS OF AMKRK'A.N HISTORY. 1007
diers should have the accommodation that tliev nee<led. Thus, while the
•*
colonists yielded, they implied, by passing this la\v, that the Act «\ I'arlia-
ment did not bind them.
The ill-fortune of the English arms \vas not contined to America. In
Europe they were defeated by sea and land. The spirit of the nation
seemed utterly broken. Bat a mighty change was at hand. In IT.Vs. I'iit
became secretary of state, with a strong and popular ministry at liis back.
lie breathed fresh life into English forces in everv quarter. Nowhere
was the change more felt than in America. Pitt, beyond all statesmen
then living, understood the importance of the American colonies, and knew
how to deal with their inhabitants. He ordered that the colonial troops
should be supplied with munitions at the expense of the English govern-
ment. At the same time he won the hearts of the Americans by an order
that the colonial officers >hould hold equal rank with those commissioned
by the Crown. He also planned an expedition against Fort Dnquesne.
Washington had repeatedly urged the necessity of this, declaring that the
colonies would never be safe so long as that post was held by the French.
The expedition was somewhat hindered by the commander, General Forbes,
who, instead of marching along the road already made by Braddock, insisted
on cutting a fresh one, more direct, but over a more difficult country. It
was believed in America that he was persuaded to this by the Pennsylva-
nians, to whom the new road was a lasting gain. An advanced detachment
of about seven hundred men shared the fate of Braddock's army. But,
when the main body of six thousand men advanced, the French, finding
themselves too weak to hold the fort, retreated. Thus it was decided that
England, and not France, was to possess the valley of the Ohio and the rich
territory of the west. The name of Fort Duquesne was changed to Pitts-
burgh, in honor of the statesman to whom the colonists owed this great
gain.
Two other expeditions were sent out this year ; the first against Cape
Breton, the second against Ticonderoga. These were warmly supported by
the colonists. Massachusetts sent seven thousand men, Connecticut five
thousand, and New Hampshire three thousand. The whole force sent
against Louisburg, the chief stronghold in Cape Breton, consisted of four-
teen thousand men. Against this the French had little more than three
thousand. The defeat of the French fleet by Admiral Hawke, off Brest,
made it impossible to send help to Canada, and Louisburg surrendered.
This gave the English possession of the whole island of Cape Breton. The
other expedition was less successful. In a fruitless attempt against Ticon-
deroga, General Abercrombie lost two thousand men, and retreated. This
failure was to some extent made up for by the capture of Fort Frontenac, a
strong place on the west side of Lake Ontario. The next, year, three armies
1008
T11E WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
1 General Wolfe was to ascend the St.
io!n
WOLFE'S MONUMENT, QUEBEC.
two. The two latter forces failed to join Wolfe, who was then left to
attack Quebec single-handed. Quebec stands on a rock over the St. Law-
rence, and just above the junction of that river with the St. Charl
Thus it is placed in a fork of the two rivers, and being guarded on three
sides by water, can only be attacked from the north-west. To reach it on
that side, Wolfe would have to cross the St. Lawrence and to scale its
north bank, which is lofty and precipitous. Another river, the Mont-
morency, joins the St. Lawrence about six miles below Quebec. The
French force under Montcalm was stationed between the Montmorency and
the St. Charles. The position of the town seemed to defy an attack, and
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1009
even the fearless heart of Wolfe sank. With little hope of success, he
crossed the St. Lawrence below its meeting with tlie M<»itiii<>!vn<-v, ;m»l at-
tacked Montcalm, hut was beaten hack, partly through the eagerness of his
vanguard, who rushed forward before the main body could cross (lit- Mont-
morency to support tlicni. As a last re.-oiirce Wolfe resolved to CTOtt tin-
river above Quebec, aud to attack the town fioni the north-uest. The
stream was rapid, the landing difficult, and the precipice above the river
could only be climbed by one narrow path. .Nevertheless, the Kndish army
crossed in the night, aud safely reached the heights above the river. So
desperate did this attempt .seem that, when Montcalm heard of it, he
imagined that it was only a feint to draw him from his post. When he
learned his error, he at once marched by the city and made ready for battle.
After a tierce engagement, iu which Wolfe was killed and Montcalm mor-
tally wounded, the French were defeated. The battle decided the fate of
Quebec. Montcalm, when told that he had but a few hour> to li\e. replied
that it was best so, as he should escape seeing Quebec surrendered. No at-
tempt \\as made to defend the place, and it was given up to the Knglish,
•who garrisoned it with five thousand men. In the next campaign, the whole
energies of the French were devoted to the recovery of Quebec. Sickness
reduced th-- garrison to three thousand. Nevertheless, when the French
army appeared, Murray, the English commander, inarched out, and engaged
them on the same ground on which Wolfe had triumphed. This time the
French were successful, and the English troops retreated to the city with a
loss of a thousand men. The French then proceeded to bombard the place.
Fortunately the river, which was usually blocked with ice till late in the
spring, that year became open unusually early, and the English fleet was
able to sail up and relieve the city. The French now fell back upon Mon-
treal, their only important stronghold left. A force of more than ten
thousand men appeared before the place; Montreal surrendered, and the
rest of Canada soon followed.
In the meantime the southern colonies had become engaged in a war
with their Indian allies. The Cherokees, the most powerful and warlike of
the southern tribes, had been dissatisfied with their treatment by the
English, and, being pressed by want of food, had plundered some settle-
ments on the Virginia frontier. Hostilities followed, in which some
Cherokee chiefs and some Carolina settlers were slain. Lyttleton, the
governor of South Carolina, demanded the surrender of one Cherokee for
every Englishman killed. The Indians refused, and Lyttleton declared war
on them. They then sent messengers to excuse what they had done, and to
offer presents. Lyttleton not only refused to hear them, but arrested them.
The Cherokee chiefs thereupon signed a treaty, promising to surrender
twenty-four of their nation, and allowing Lyttleton to keep his prisoners
64
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ii I captured Fort London, an JMignsii ion on
fimp the ( litTOKfes iit-Mrncii aiui (-iij'i
In a spirit of rude justice they put to death twenty-seven
, including the commander, that being the number ot_ the
The rest they carried oft' as captives.
to any decisive blow. In September, 1761, however, the
wearied out, sued for peace, and the war ended.
Th, peace of Paris in 1762 completely overthrew the French power in
\nirrin Before the terms of peace were settled, doubts had arisen among
Ensrliafa statesmen whether it would be best to hold Canada, or to give it
hack to France, keeping instead Guadaloupe, an island in the West Indies,
whu-h had been taken by England from France, in the course of the war.
Sum.! thought that it was well to have French settlements on the frontier,
as a check on the English colonists. Pitt, by his anxiety for the conquest
of the Ohio Valley, had disclaimed any such ungenerous idea. The
colonists themselves wished to be relieved from the duty of guarding a
wide frontier. This view prevailed, and Canada and all Louisiana east of
the Mississippi became English possessions. The new territory was divided
into three provinces, Canada, and East and West Florida, the former to the
north of Massachusetts, the two latter to the south of Georgia, These
latter must not be confounded with the state which afterwards bore the
name of Florida. The whole territory to the west of the Ohio was to be
left unoccupied, partly to conciliate the natives, partly, it was thought, from
dread of the rapidly growing strength of the colonies.
The English were not suffered to hold their new possessions in the west
undisturbed. In 1763 a number of the Indian tribes, headed by Pontiac, a
distinguished warrior of the Ottawa nation, took up arms. They destroyed
most of the settlements in the Ohio Valley, massacred more than a hundred
traders, and drove five hundred families to take refuge in the woods. The
two strongest English forts, Detroit and Fort Pitt, were besieged, and were
for a while in serious danger, but the garrisons held out bravely. The
English were slow in sending help. Maryland and Virginia came forward
readily, but Pennsylvania, as in the French war, was backward. As soon
as the English forces marched against them, the enemy gave way. Partly
from necessity, and partly by the advice of a French officer who had not
yet departed, the Indians sued for peace, and the English again held the
eastern bank of the Ohio in safety.
STOKIKS ()!• AMERICAN IIISToltY.
101]
C II A P T E R XVI.
(iFNKKAL VIKW OF THE THIUTKK.N (OI.OMKS.
:jKFORK going further, it Will lie well to take a general view
of the thirteen colonies whoM- origin we have traced. I',\
1750 the whole population, not counting negroes, amounted
to about a million and a quarter. Certain general points of
likeness, as we have seen, ran through the institutions of all
the different colonies. All of them had governments which
were, to some extent, modeled on that of the mother country.
In all, the citizens retained their Knglish rights of electing
their own representatives and being tried by juries of their
own countrymen. But, in spite of these points of likeness, the colonies
were marked off from one another by great and manifold differences.
Roughly speaking, we may say that the colonies fell into two great groups.
the Northern and the Southern ; the former taking in those north of Mary-
land, the latter Maryland and those beyond it. This difference was partly
due to climate, and partly to the sources from which the first settlers had
been drawn. The latter cause has been already mentioned. The climate
and soil of the South were suited to the cultivation of rice and tobacco,
crops which require little skill on the part of the husbandman. Moreover,
the heat and the unwholesome air of the South, especially in the rice
swamps of Carolina, make it difficult for Europeans to work there. Thus
slave labor became the usual means of tillage in the South. The climate of
the Northern colonies, on the other hand, needed a system of mixed fann-
ing, which requires intelligence and care, and for which slaves therefore are
unfit. Thus the class of yeomanry and peasant farmers, who formed the
bulk of the population in the North, were almost unknown in the South.
There was also a wide difference in religion between the Northern and
Southern colonies. In all the Southern colonies the Church of England was
established by law. Its clergy enjoyed tithes and glebes, and the majority of
the people belonged to it. The Northern colonies, on the other hand, were
for the most part founded by men actively hostile to the English Church,
and they kept more or less of the character with which they had started.
While such differences as these existed, it seemed unlikely that the colonies
could ever be combined under a single government. Two other things;
helped to make this more difficult. The original grants of land had been
drawn up so carelessly that there was scarcely a colony which had not
1013
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
had disputes about boundaries with its neighbors, disputes which had
sometimes led to actual violence. Moreover, the populations of the various
colonies differed widely in size. We have seen how injurious such a differ-
ence was to the confederation of the New England colonies. If it was im-
possible to found a firm ami Listing union between four colonies so like in
their origin and character, because of that one drawback, how much more
would it lie so with thirteen colonies differing in 2'eligion, climate, character,
an I to some extent in race. Schemes for union had been at different times
•-ted. but none had got over this difficulty. If the large colonies were
allowed any superiority on account of their greater size, then the indepen-
dence of the smaller colonies would be endangered. If all took equal rank,
the larger colonies might fairly complain that they bore more than an equal
share of the burden without any corresponding gain.
The relation of the colonies generally to the mother country may be, to
some extent, seen from what has gone before. Scarcely any had altogether
avoided disputes with the English
government, but nowhere, except per-
haps in Massachusetts after the Kes-
toration, had these disputes ever
seemed to threaten separation. Vari-
ous Acts of Parliament were passed,
forbidding the colonists to make cer-
tain articles for themselves, lest they
should interfere with the manufac-
tures of the mother country. But
neither these nor the navigation laws,
though they sounded harsh, seem to
^ have been felt as a serious grievance.
The navigation laws were for the
most part set at nought, and few at-
tempts were made on the part of the
Custom House officers to enforce
them. Sir Eobert Walpole, it is said,
even admitted that it was well to con-
nive at American smuggling, since of
made in the
wages than are given in a country like
STORIES OF AMKKH'AX IHSToKY. 1013
England, where land is costly. Thus the colonists could not at that time
make articles so cheap as those manufactured in Kngland. In fact, as John
Adams, one of tlie ablest American state-men, said, America and Knrope
were two worlds, one fitted for manufacture, the other for production, and
each made to supply the wants of the other. The greatest grievance which
the colonists had against England was the character of the governor- -ent
out. Too many of them were men of evil reputation, ruined at home, and
looking upon their colonial governments merely as means of retrieving their
fortunes. Nothing interfered more with the friendly relations between K up-
land and America than the fact that the, home government depended on the-e.
men for most of its information about the colonies.
Slavery, as I have already said, was one of the great leading points of
difference between the Northern and Southern colonies. By the middle of
the eighteenth century slavery had reached such dimensions in the Southern
colonies as to be a serious source of uneasiness. In Virginia the number of
negroes was two to every three white men. In South Carolina the numbers
were equal. The injurious effect on the industry and social life of the
Southern colonies was already felt. When once slavery becomes prevalent,
labor is looked down upon as a badge of inferiority, and the existence of a
class of respectable free laborers becomes impossible. This was from an
early time the case in the South. There were other evils attendant on the
system. It bred up a set of men whom a Virginia writer describes as
"beings called overseers — a most abject, unprincipled race " The young
planter grew up surrounded by slaves, and learned from his very cradle to
be arbitrary and self-willed, indifferent to the feelings of others, and accus-
tomed to deal with those who knew no law but his word. In the North the
evils of slavery were less felt, but nevertheless they existed. In 1763 the
proportion of negroes to the whole population of New England was only
one in fifty. But there, just as in the South, they were treated as an inferior
race, and debarred from equal rights. In Massachusetts a negro who struck
a white man wras liable to be sold as a slave out of the colony. Marriages
between white persons and negroes were unlawful, and the clergyman who
performed the service was liable to a fine of fifty pounds. No negro might
be in the streets of Boston after nine at night. In New York, in 1712, an
alarm was raised, apparently without foundation, of a negro plot to burn
the city. The supposed conspirators were apprehended, and nineteen of
them put to death.
Throughout all the colonies there was abundant prosperity, but little
luxury ; enough of the necessities, but few of the superfluities, of life.
Owing to the abundance of unoccupied country and the consequent chtaj -
ness of land, there were scarcely any tenant farmers, and, except the South-
ern slaveholders, scarcely any large landed proprietors. The plainness of
THK WOHLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
d in letters written from England by Benjamin Franklin
t() his wife. I If tell - • - <= ld be t in Amei.ica?
""""• -'"';r1^ " I" "Cm, o/an English breakfast-table as
,,ii,l IIH ( wells on me < »»j ... ,, , . inj.4.^.
' 5 s ,
, nT^erally used in America at breakfast. This
;;:,;; r ;';•;:.: l&J aue to ^ d-~< ^ whe«
^ an ould beootae a farmer, few cared to work as artisans Moreover,
' ' , ,r ,lllllltrv, a,l the labor that can be got is needed lor bringing the
,1 nto cultivation, building houses, making roads, and the like, and httle
left for things not absolutely needful. Another result of the cheapness
of laud -as that men were not withheld from early marriages by fear of
want, and thus the population increased far more rapidly than ft does m c
countries. . ,
In .me point the Northern colonies from the very first were in advance,
not only of the Southern, but of most countries. This was the attention
paid to education. In all the New England colonies, provision was made for
tlu- maintenance of government schools. In all forms of intellectual and
library activity the Northern States, and especially Massachusetts, took the
I.vi.l. ' In 1638 a college was founded at Cambridge in Massachusetts, partly
by public funds, partly by private liberality. This was called Harvard Col-
lege, after its chief benefactor, John Harvard. In Virginia, as we have seen,
a college was founded about 1690. Yale College, in Connecticut, came into
being in 1701, and by 1762 there were six colleges, all, except that in Vir-
ginia, in the northern colonies. Yet, in spite of the spread of education,
there were in 1720 no booksellers' shops south of Boston, but only station-
ers' shops, where common school-books could be bought. At Charlestown,
however, whore there was the most educated and polished society to be
found in the South, a public library was started in 1700. By the middle of
the century these institutions had sprung up throughout the colonies, and
became important as means of spreading knowledge. The first American
newspaper was the Boston News Letter, started in 1704. Another Boston
paper appeared in 1719, and one at Philadelphia at the same time. As is
usual in a new country where nearly every one is pressing on to make a live-
lihood by farming or trade, and where there is little leisure for reading, the
colonies had not, before they became independent, produced many writers of
note. In the seventeenth century there were in New England a great num-
ber of writers on divinity, many of whom played important parts on the In-
dependent side in the great controversy between that sect and the Presbyte-
rians. Few of their works have any lasting interest or value. Besides these
a few books were written on the history of the various colonies. By far the
best of these books is Stith's History of Virginia, published in 1747. The
STOUIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1015
author was a Virginia clergyman, and had access to the private record- «>f
the Virginia Company. His book is clear and accurate, and for style it
may take rank with the best English writers of that day. Unluckily it does
not come down further than the dissolution of the ( 'oinpany. Hubbaid'-
History of the Indian Wars is a minute record of the war with King Philip,
marred to some extent by violent prejudice against the natives. Of all
American writers during the period through which we have gone, the
greatest was Jonathan Edwards, lie was born in 1703, and died in 17~>^.
He was the son of an Independent minister in Connecticut; he was brought
up at Yale College, became himself a minister, and shortly before his death
\\as appointed president of the college in New Jersey. He wrote on divin-
ity and metaphysics, and is a sort of link between the Puritan- of the seven-
teenth century and the great European philosopher! of the eighteenth.
The subject, perhaps, in which Americans most distinguished themselves
was natural science. Benjamin Franklin, whom we have already seen and
shall see again as a statesman, gained by his discoveries in electricity a place
scarcely surpassed by any of the natural philosophers of his age. Indeed
it was justly said of him that his exploits either as a statesman or as a
philosopher, taken by themselves, would have won him an undying reputa-
tion. Godfrey and Rittenhouse were mathematicians of some eminence ; and
Bartram, a self-taught Pennsylvania!), was described by the famous natural-
ist, Linmeus, as the greatest natural botanist in the world. James Logan,
another Pennsylvanian, wrote books of some merit on natural science and
other matters, and at his death in 1751 left a library of four thousand
volumes to the city of Philadelphia. In lighter branches of literature,
poetry, fiction, and the like, America as yet produced no writers of any re-
pute. This was, perhaps, because in New England and Pennsylvania, where
there was most education and culture, enough of the old Puritan and
Quaker temper was left to make men look with some disfavor on such
works. Thus, when in 1750 an attempt was made to establish a theatre at
Boston, it was forbidden by the Assembly as "likely to encourage im-
morality, impiety, and contempt for religion." The same causes checked
the growth of art. Nevertheless, about the middle of the eighteenth
century, there were three American painters of some note — West, Copley,
and Stuart. The two former went to England. West gained considerable
fame by large historical pictures. His works are for the most part dis-
figured by the coldness and formality which was common in the last
century. Copley obtained some repute as a painter of historical pictures
and portraits. His greatest work is a picture of Lord Chatham swooning
in the House of Lords, after his last speech there. Copley is perhaps
better known as the father of Lord Lyndhurst, the English Lord Chan-
cellor. Stuart remained in America, and painted the portraits of some of
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
_1 ll-CJ " V-1-*1-"
His works have considerable merit,
Ae hading American . **£*' ' .^ him superior in certain
- S""U' tThU'S ' inters of his age, save Sir Joshua.
points t»
R.-uiolds.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX.
i • i rlmvn Eno-lish judges had decided that tue
±ni I!" awful^be taxed by Parliament. But the
± n s had never formally acknowledged t us claim, and
P uuent had never attempted to exerc.se the right except
for the protection of English trade and manufactures,
ng the reigns of George I. and George II various proposals
against me, and do you think I will have New Eng-
land likewise 2" In 1754, Lord Halifax, the Secretary
of State for the Colonies, proposed that a general
n .tern of taxation should be put in force, arranged
by commissioners from the various colonies. Several
of the colonial governors took up the idea, and it
seemed likely to be adopted. The Massachusetts
A-embly gave its agent in England instructions
" to oppose everything that should have the remotest
tendency to raise a revenue in the plantations."
Other events happened about the same time to
breed ill blood between the colonists and the mother
country. In 1761 the custom-house officers at Boston demanded search-
warrants to assist them in searching for some smuggled goods. The legality
of these warrants, called writs of assistance, was then tried before the Su-
preme Court of Massachusetts. The verdict was in their favor, but public
feeling was strongly excited against the government, and James Otis, the
lawyer who opposed the custom-house officers, gained great popularity. In
the same year a dispute arose in New York. Hitherto the Chief Justice
JAMES OTIS.
STOKIKS OF AM KKI CAN. HISTORY. 1017
had been liable to be dismissed by the Assembly. This right of dismi— al
\\ as IK >u transferred to the Crown. The Assembly tried to meet this by
withholding the judge's salary, but the Knglisii government defeated them
by granting it out of the quit-rents paid for the public lands. In ITtli' a
third dispute sprang up. A ship was sent to guard the fisheries to the
north of New England against the French. The .Mas>aclm~rtt- A--embly
was ordered to pay the cost. They protested against this, and Otis drew
Up a remonstrance declaring that it would take from the Assembly "their
moat darling privilege, the right of originating all taxes," and would -an-
nihilate one branch of the legislature."
All these filings had been begetting an unfriendly feeling in the colonists
towards the mother country. But soon after Parliament adopted measures
which excited deeper and more wide-spread discontent. The two nio-t
influential ministers iii the Knglish government were Georyr Grenville and
Charles Townshend. (Jrenville was painstaking, honest, and well-meaning,
but self-confident, obstinate, and ill-informed about America. Townshend
\\a> a brilliant speaker, but rash and headstrong, utterly without fore-
thought or caution, and carried away by the love of new and startling
measures. He was at the head of the Board of Trade, which '.hen had a
large share in the management of the colonies. In March, 1763, Town-
shend brought forward a complete scheme for remodelling the colonial
governments. He proposed to make all the public officers in America
dependent on the Crown, to establish a standing army there, and strictly
to enforce the navigation laws. The last was the only part of the scheme
which was actually put in force. Before the other measures could be
carried out, Townshend had left the Board of Trade. His successor, Lord
Shelburne, refused to meddle with the taxation of the colonies. But in
1764 he was succeeded by Lord Hillsborough, a man of no great ability or
importance. Tims the control of the colonies was piactically handed over to
Grenville. The only.part of Townshend's scheme of which he approved
was the enforcement of the navigation laws, and he brought in a bill for
this purpose, which was carried. He also resolved to introduce a bill re-
quiring that all legal documents should bear stamps varying in price from
six cents to fifty dollars. This measure, known as the Stamp Act, has al-
ways been looked on as the beginning of the troubles which led to the War
of Independence. Grenville gave notice of this bill a year before he ac-
tually introduced it. Several of the colonies at once petitioned and passed
resolutions against it. The Virginia Assembly appealed to the king, the
Lords, and the Commons, declaring that the taxation of the colonies by
Parliament was unconstitutional. New York did likewise. Massachusetts
Rhode Island, and North Carolina appointed committees to correspond with
the neighboring colonies about means of resistance. When the bill was
,,lls TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
brought before Parliament in 1765, six colonies protested against it.
Nevertheless, only a few members of Parliament raised their voices against
the measure. The most conspicuous of these were Barre and Conway, both
Irishmen, and officers in the army.
The arrival of the news in America was at once the signal for an out-
IMIIM of indignation. The supporters of the measure were burnt in effigy.
Iliitehinson, the lieutenant-governor of Massachusetts, was especially odious
to the people, as the Act was believed to be in a great measure due to his
advice. This provoked the colonists the more, as he was a Boston man by
birth. His hons,- was attacked by night and pillaged, and he and his family
had to flee for their lives. This outrage was resented by the better class of
Bostonians, and the Assembly offered a reward of three hundred pounds for
the capture of any of the ringleaders. At the same time the Bostonians
>ho\\ed their gratitude to Conway and Barre by placing pictures of them in
their town-hall. The first colony which publicly, and through its govern-
ment, expressed its formal disapproval of the Stamp Act, was Virginia.
Among the members of the Virginia Assembly was a young lawyer named
Patrick Henry. He had already made himself conspicuous in a lawsuit
\\hich had taken place in Virginia. The stipend of the clergy there was
paid, not in money, but in tobacco. In 1758 there was a scanty crop of to-
bacco, and the price of it rose. The Assembly thereupon passed an Act that
the stipend of the clergy should be paid in money, at a certain fixed rate,
proportioned to the usual value of tobacco, but below its price at that time.
The king, persuaded, it is said, by the bishop of London, refused to confirm
this Act. The clergy then sued some persons who had paid them in money
the difference between that and the present value of the tobacco to which
they were entitled. Henry, who was engaged as counsel against the clergy,
Jly declared that the king's sanction was unnecessary to the validity of a
He lost his cause, but won a great reputation as the champion of the
r party. This, coupled with his eloquence, in. which he stood fore-
among the American statesmen of his day, marked him out as the
ader of the opposition to the Stamp Act. In May, 1765, Henry proposed
> Virginia Assembly a series of five resolutions declaring that the colo-
not be taxed without their own consent. The Assembly, after a
ntest, passed them, and, in the words of Bernard, the governor of
r; rc r^/"^ to the rest °f Ameri;a-" * *<>«»w*
• M<* achusetts Assembly took the bold step of proposing to call a
T'.t.es from a the colonies, to arrange means of resistance.
-. " 1 ?SouA f fi%C°ldVeCeived' and seemed likely to fall to the
outh Carohna took it up. In October, deputies from nine
i V t1'-'- representative assemblies, met at New York. Vir-
"."npslnre, North Carolina, and Georgia were prevented from
STOUIKS OF AMMIJK'AN HlSTOifY. 1<H:>
sending deputies, but expressed tlieir sympathy. The Congress drew up
addresses to the kiny, the lords, and the commons. In these the\ e.\pre>-.-d
their loyalty to the king and tlieir affection to Kngland, but declared that it
\vas unlawful to tax the colonies without their own eon>ent. Soon after, the
Assembly of Massachusetts passed a series of resolutions setting forth the
same principles. The people generally devised various means for evading
the Stamp Act. In some places they used bark instead of paper; in others
they compelled the distributors of stamps to resign. Klsewhere they per-
sisted so obstinately in the use of unstamped paper, that the colonial gover-
nors had to yield. Everything was done to make the colonies independent
of English trade. A society of arts, manufactures, and commerce was
formed to encourage native industry, and, to increase the supply of wool, no
lambs were killed. From the outset of the contest, those in America who
opposed the mother country \\ere divided into two parties. There were
some who held that the colonists ought not merely to resist the Stamp Act,
but to deny the right of the English Parliament to tax them, or to make laws
for them. There were others who objected to the Stamp Act, on the ground
that it was oppressive and ill-timed, but who did not wish to raise any wider
question as to the general rights of England over the colonies. This formed
an important difference of opinion, which, as the contest went on, grew
wider and produced important results.
The petition, and the expression of public opinion in America, was not
without effect in England. In the autumn of 1765 Grenville went out of
office. The king wished Pitt to form a ministry, and he would have done
so, if his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, would have joined him. Pitt was the
one leading statesman of that age who thoroughly understood the American
colonies, who knew the value of their friendship, and the danger of their
enmity. But unhappily, Temple would not support him, and he was unable
to form a ministry. Still, the change of government was a gain to the cause
of the colonies. Lord Rockingham was the new Prime Minister. He was a
moderate and sensible man, conciliatory in his views towards the colonies,
but unhappily without the courage needful to carry out an unpopular policy.
The real strength of his ministry lay in Conway and Edmund Burke. The
former was among the few who had opposed the Stamp Act. The latter was
as yet untried as a practical statesman, but he was specially fitted to deal
with the question of colonial taxation. He was an Irishman, and so had a
peculiar sympathy with a dependent nation. An account of the European
colonies in America, the best work of the kind then in existence, was gen-
erally, and it would seem justly, believed to have been written by him. Few
men had more knowledge of the history and institutions of his country, or
could judge better how far the claims of the Americans were well-founded.
Pitt too, though he would not join the ministry, gave it his support, as he
T1IK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS
-**
,„„,., eloquent speech*, he 'JJ"^ the principles on which the free-
. ()f tht, n)lomes, they uou d >;2.ca,, \ie Ja, uif 8he fell, would
;(t()ii () , .ca ie
do* of thfir own com. -v re <-• ,
fall Bta *• "'Yllfr ."lU"i ; h e " The ministry found help in another
t|iiwn rl|(. Ration u m* ' e ^ buginess ^ ^ agent
,,,, H,u,a,um tranklm *M then » Commons as to the
>f 1Vniis> lvallla. „, = -amined brf he ^ ^
Ut ' '
tet a < and would be, in the long run,
th, colonu,. II, F f mamifacture article, for them-
th, loeer, M the Anu,,-^ , W e ^ « ^ those §ent ^ from
7- " '; .; :: "n - moveTL repeal of the Stamp Act, and it
hundred The ministry marred
,' , lllSelveS,nuch about a measure which earned
i,te nnsc-hief. They received the news with great public rejoicings Special
,.; v,,e paid in various colonies to the king, Pitt, Conway, and Banv
H,U thou.l, the difficulty had been surmounted for the time, much mischief
had been done. Violent language had been used on each side. Even the
opponents of the Stamp Act in England regretted much what was said
the colonists, and complained that temperate remonstrances could find ne
tbet a publisher nor a reader in America. In England, on the other hand,
few took the trouble to acquaint themselves with the true state of
i.u-s and thus the nation was, to a great extent, acting in the dark.
Luuclon newspaper, if we may believe Franklin, tried to frighten its reade
about the increasing resources of the Americans, by telling them of a pro-
ject for establishing whale-fisheries in the upper Canadian lakes. Franklin,
in ridicule of this, told his English readers that there could not be a finer-
sight than the whales leaping up the Falls of Niagara.
In the following August, Rockingham went out of office. He was suc-
ceeded by Pitt, now raised to the peerage as Earl of Chatham. He was at
the head of an ill-assorted ministry, made up of men of different parties and
conflicting views. Townshend was his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Fail-
ing health drove Chatham into retirement, and Townshend was left to carry
out his own policy unchecked. He had been, as much as Grenville, the
author of the Stamp Act, and he now proceeded to carry out the same
policy. He brought forward and carried through a Bill imposing duties on
various commodities imported to America, The revenue thus raised was to-
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
10*1
v:
NlAOARA.
]t),, Tm.; WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
JH. placed at the kiuirV disposal, and the civil officers in America were to be
.,;,! ,,,,, rf it This. ;.s we have seen, was a scheme which the colonists had
,iwi\- stoutly rested. At the same time an Act was passed to punish the
Assembly of New V<.rk for its disobedience to the English government. It
j.,,1 refused to supply the king's troops with necessaries. Accordingly, Par-
li,mt.,lt enacted that' the -overnor of New York should not give his assent
„', aiiv measure passed by the Assembly till it had obeyed the law on this
point'. This Act had not the intended effect, as the New York Assembly
remained tinn.
When the news of these Acts came out to America, the spirit of re-
sistance was kindled afresh. Massachusetts again was one of the first
colonies to act. The Assembly drew up a remonstrance, and sent it to
the ministry. It rested mainly on the ground that the colonies could not
be taxed without their own consent. The Assembly then sent letters to
all the other colonies, telling them what it had done. Before long Massa-
chusetts found itself in open opposition to the English government. The
anniversary of the repeal of the Stamp Act was kept at Boston as a
public holiday. Some disorder, not apparently serious, followed; and
Governor Bernard made this the ground for demanding troops from Eng-
land. Accordingly a regiment was sent out to be quartered in the town,
and a frigate and four small vessels were ordered to lie in the harbor.
About the same time the custom-house officers seized a sloop called the
Liberty, belonging to one of the leading citizens of Boston, on the charge
of smuggling, and called on the crew of a man-of-war to help them. The
Bostonians resisted, and the Commissioners of Customs had to take refuge
in the castle. During the excitement and ill-feeling which followed these
proceedings, letters were sent out from Lord Hillsborough, the Secretary of
State, bidding Bernard to dissolve the Assembly, unless it would withdraw
its circular letters to the other colonies. This it refused to do, by a majority
of ninety-two votes to seventeen, whereupon Bernard dissolved it. Al-
though not allowed to sit as an Assembly, the members came together as a
convention without any legal power, and requested the governor to call an
Assembly. He refused, and ordered them to disperse. Instead of obeying
him they drew up a fresh petition to the king, remonstrating affainst being
1 by Parliament, and against the civil officers being made 'independent
The Council in the meantime had been also opposing the
Two regiments were to he sent to Boston from Halifax, and
(1 gave orders that the Council should provide quarters for them in
The Council declared that it was not intended by the Act of
iraent that the troops should be quartered in private houses while there
s room in barracks. After a dispute, Bernard and General Gage, who
»» in command of the troops, gave way. The citizens of Boston also
STORIES OF A.MKIMCAN HISTORY. 1023
agreed to abstain, as far as possible, from the use of imported articles, by
way of etriting a blow at English commerce. In this they were folh>\\t-d
by the southern colonies. In all these proceedings, except, perhaps, the
affair of the Liberty, the people of I5o>ton seem to have acted with judg-
ment and moderation. Another of their proceedings \\ns lc-> jnstiiiable.
Otis and others collected four hundred muskets, which tlie\ stoucd in the
town-hall, giving notice that they would be served out to the citi/en- it'
they were needed.
The English government now seemed inclined towards a moderate
policy. The ministry with one accord proposed the repeal of all the duties
except that on tea; on that they were divided. Just as Kockingham's
ministry, when it repealed the Stamp Act, still expressly reserved the right
of taxing the colonies, so now the ministry retained the tea tax, not for its
own sake, but lest, by repealing it, they should seem to give up their claim
altogether. Thus the intended concession failed to conciliate the colonists.
When the repeal of the duties was announced at Loston, the merchants of
the town held a meeting, and resolved that the concession was insufficient.
Boston soon became the scene of fresh and worse di turbances. The de-
parture of Governor Bernard was celebrated by public rejoicings, by bon-
fires, ringing of bells, and firing of cannon. An unfriendly feeling betwe- n
the soldiers and the Bosjtonians soon showed itself in variov.i ways. Early
in 1770 disturbances broke out, and the soldiers and citizens c \me to blows.
On the 5th of March a number of soldiers were surrounded by n mob, who
hooted and pelted them. It is said that the soldiers had already provoked
the mob by rushing through the streets, laying about them with sl:oks and
cutlasses. At length the troops wrere provoked into firing upon the people,
of whom they killed three and wounded eight, two mortally. Next i -orn-
ing a town-meeting was held, and delegates were sent to Hutchinson, 'he
lieutenant-governor, who after Bernard's departure was at the head o;
affairs, to demand the withdrawal of all the troops. He ordered one of the
two regiments, that specially concerned in the disturbance, to withdraw to
the castle ; but he kept the other in the town. The townsmen, however,
insisted on the withdrawal of all the troops, and Hutchinson at length
yielded. It is not easy to say how far the blame of this event — the Boston
massacre, as it was called — lay with the mob, and how far with the
soldiers. It is impossible altogether to acquit either. But it must be gaid
in justice that the better class of the townspeople showed no wish to deal
harshly with the case. When Captain Preston, the officer in command, and
eight of his men, were brought to trial, John Adams and Josiah Quincey,
two young barristers of considerable repute, both of whom sympathised
stronirly with the popular side, undertook the defence. It seemed quite
doubtful whether Preston had really given the order to fire, and how far
Tin, WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
If defence Accordingly Preston and six of the
the soldiers had acted in «01 ^icted of manslaughter.
1 It I It I «5 * '*
soldien were a,uuitted ; ^^^^^acre, which kept up the ill-
"th'"- "Vt"'" T ""I" nd to authorities. The king sent out
[ing between t - lei-s to exempt the Commissioners
ffflin ww~~
of Customs from taxation. The As-
sembly contended that the king had
no right to meddle with the question
of taxation, or to remit, any more
than to impose, taxes. Soon after
this it was announced that all the
la\v officers were to receive salaries
from the Crown, and to be independ-
ent of the Assembly. The citizens
thereupon, at a public meeting, ap-
pointed a committee to draw up a
statement of their grievances, and
to publish it in the various colonies.
In the latter part of 1773 Fianklin
sent out from England a number of
letters written by Hutchinson to
various public men in England, pro-
posing measures against the liberties
of the colonies. These letters called
forth great indignation, and the As-
sembly, on the strength of them,
petitioned for Hutch in son's removal.
On one point the colonists seemed inclined to give way. They had entered
into an agreement to injure English commerce by importing no go
En-hmd. The wisdom of this policy seems doubtful.
Americans to manufacture many articles which they might have impor
more easily and cheaply ; and, when the war actually broke out, they we
worse supplied than they need have been. In any case the agreement coi
have no effect, unless it were observed by all the colonies alike,
while the colonists remained firm, but gradually they gave way.
i-,,i,im,,.lity which was altogether excluded was tea. In December another
disturbance took place at Boston. Three ships containing tea arrived in
the har'nor. As this was the one commodity still taxed, those who were op-
posed to government were specially anxious that none should be landed.
Accordingly a number of them, disguised as Indians, seized the ships, and
emptied the cargo— three hundred and forty chests of tea — into the harbor.
N.-xt ye:-.r the English government took steps to punish the Bostomans
STORIES OK AM KIM CAN IIISTnl.'Y.
Id-.':.
for their various misdeeds. The port was to bf closed so as t<> cut off sup-
plies; the Assembly was suspended ; public officers or >oldier- ;u-ni-fd of
THE DESTRUCTION OF TEA IN BOSTON HARBOR.
;any offence were to be *ent to England or Nova Scotia for trial, and all
troops were to be quartered on the town of Boston. At the same time
tGeneral Ga<re, the commander of th • troops, was appointed governor. One
65
io.,ti THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
..easure was Adopted by the ministry. The French Canadians, most
;' ' „„,.,. KllIJn r:ltholics, were granted full freedom of worship.
', lt, Uere also allowed to take an oath of fldehty to the king, instead of
th,.;,;illMlf Bupremacy,aadto hold their property under their own kw8.
This ui,. and moderate policy was .warded by the loyal y of the Cam,
.li-,,,. The Acts a-amst Boston were opposed by Burke and others, but in
' fojune 1774, the last Assembly under the royal government was
held in Massachusetts. I. passed resolutions recommending a congress of
the ditlVivnt colonies. api»ointed five deputies, and voted them five hundred
pounds for their expenses. The Assembly also passed resolutions declaring
it. disapproval of the arbitrary conduct of the governor, and recommending
the inhabitants to leave off using imported articles, and to encourage home
manufactures. Thereupon the governor dissolved them. The other colonies
showed every disposition to support Massachusetts. The Assembly of
Yir-rinia set apart the 1st of June for a public fast, as on that day the Port
Act came into force. For this they were dissolved by the governor, but
nevertheless most of the other colonies followed their example. Virginia
and Maryland both resolved to export no tobacco to England ; and South
Carolina and Virginia gave rice and corn for the relief of Boston. In Mas-
sachusetts the spirit of disaffection increased. In some of the towns the
people were ready to take up arms. In two of them, mobs took possession
of the law courts, and would not suffer proceedings to go forward. When
Gage took possession of the public store of powder, and moved it to the
castle, the whole neighborhood rose up ; and in a day twenty thousand
people were gathered together. They dispersed, however, without doing
anything.
In September the Congress met at Philadelphia. The Massachusetts
deputies w«re received on their way with public honors. The 'Congress
passed various resolutions expressing its sympathy with Boston, and deny-
ing the right of Parliament to tax the colonies. It also drew up an agree-
ment pledging the colonies to have no commercial dealings with England.
At the same time it sent a petition to the king and a memorial to the people
of Great Britain, resembling the other documents of the kind which had
been issued before. The Congress also published an address to the people
of Quebec, representing that the Act of Parliament made them dependent
for their freedom on the pleasure of England, and exhorting them to make
common cause with the other colonists.
In November, 1774, a new Parliament met. The proceedings in its first
"ion. with reference to America, were the most important that had yet
<-ii place. Lord North, who was now at the head of the Ministry, being"
a peer's eldest son, sat in the House of Commons. He was little more
an the mouthpiece of the king, who was bitterly hostile to the colonies.
STOHIKS OK A.MKKICAN II IST< H{Y. 102T
Throughout the whole session a small minority, containing sonic of the
ablest me& and beet debater* in 1 iot h Houses, fought against the American
])<>licy of the government. The contest began when the Address to the
King was moved in the House of ( '(minions. An aiiieudiiient \\as proposed.
requesting that tlie king should lay all the facts about America before Par-
liament, In the ensuing debate, the ministry was se\erely blamed fur its
American policy, but the amendment was defeated by a majoritv <>f more
than two hundred. In the House of Lords a like debate was followed bv a
like result. On the :>d of February, Lord North announced his American
policy; the English forces in America were to be increased, the colonists
were to be cut off from the American fisheries, and the colonies \\ere to be
punished with a different amount of severity, according to their various de-
grees of guilt. Those measures \\ere brought forward separately, and, though
each of them successively was opposed, all were carried. At the same time,
Lord North introduced a measure intended to conciliate the colonies, and to
meet the difficulty about taxation. He proposed that the colonial assem-
blies should be allowed to vote a certain sum, and that, if the Kngli^h gov-
ernment thought it enough, the colonists should be left to raise the money
in what way they pleased. This was a concession, but only a slight one, not
likely to have much effect on the colonists in their present state of auger.
During the same session, Chatham and Burke each brought forward schemes
for conciliation. Chatham proposed that a congress from all the colonies
should meet, and should make a free grant of a perpetual revenue to the
king, to be spent, not on the payment of civil officers in America, but in re-
ducing the national debt ; that the recent Acts against America should be
suspended without being formally repealed, and that all the privileges
granted by the colonial charters and constitution should be confirmed. This
scheme seemed to meet the chief demands of the colonists, and at the same
time to save the ministry from an open confession of defeat. In spite of
this, and of the high position and past services of Chatham, the House of
Lords not only threw out the measure, but would not even suffer a copy of
the scheme to lie on the table of the House for consideration. Not long
after, Burke brought forward a motion in the House of Commons, proposing
to repeal the Acts against America, and to leave the taxation of the colonies
to their own Assemblies. He spoke strongly of the loyalty of the colonists,
and showed that, in claiming the right of taxing themselves, they were only
holding fast to principles which Englishmen had always asserted. Never-
theless, hie motion was defeated by a large majority. On the 10th of April a
petition was presented to the king from the city of London, representing tin-
injury to trade and to the welfare of the kingdom which was likely to fol-
low from the present policy towards America, The king, in answer, only
•expressed his surprise that any of his subjects should encourage the rebel-
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
, „.„,,,„. ,,f the Americana During the whole period which we have
gone through in this chapter, ministers and Parliament were misled ch
Moreover, there TOM «m the ].art of the kin- and his advisers a firm deter-
Blinatioil t<> hear no appeal from the colonists, however temperately worded,
unless it acknowledged the right of Parliament to tax them. On that one
|N.iut tin- colonists wen equally firm. At the outset they might perhaps not
lia\,. Muarreled with the mere claim to that right, if it had not been harshly
and unwisely exercised Hut as the struggle went on, they became hard-
ened in their resistance, and claimed freedom, not merely from a particular
tax. but from taxation generally.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
N the spring of -1775, the state of things at Boston became more
threatening. There was no longer an Assembly, but the Con-
vention of the colony was mustering the militia, providing for
the safe keeping of the military stores, and making other pre-
parations for active resistance. In February, Gage, hearing
that there were some cannon at Salem, sent to seize them.
\\ hen the soldiers came to a river, their passage was barred
by the country people, who took up the drawbridge and scut-
tled the only boat at hand, while the cannon were carried off. A fight
-eemed impending, but a clergyman interposed, and persuaded the people to
lower the- dm wbridge. The troops marched over unmolested, but failed to
the cannon. In Boston the ill-feeling between the people and the
showed itself in various ways. In Virginia the colonists were also
ready for action. There, too, a convention was called together.
' an eloquent speech, warned the colonists that all hope of'recon-
Wfl at an end, and that they must choose between war and slavery.
1 to Ins appeal, and proceeded to put the militia in order for
D.mmore, the governor, thereupon seized the public supply
He. also enraged the settlers by threatening that, if any vio-
:•<"•<• were done, he would free and arm the negro slaves, and burn Wil-
PAUL REVERE'S RIDE.
STORIES OF AMKIMt AN HISTORY. \n->\,
Before going further, it may be well to consider what resource- the
Americana had for the war on which they were al><>ut t<> enter. Their t\\<>
chief sources of weakness were want <>(' union ainmiL' the colonies, and
want of military organization and discipline. As \\c shall see t liroii-j-hont
the contest, the shortcomings of the Americans on these points wen- con-
stantlv creating difficulties. Besides, there was a \\ant of concert amoiiir
the leading men. Some of them had already given up all hopes of re-
conciliation, and were resolved to aim at once at independence, while
others, to the last, clung to the hope of maintaining the union \\ith K up-
land. Moreover, the Congress of delegates had no legal powers. It coiild
onlv pass resolutions; it could not enforce its decisions. As a >ct-off
against these drawbacks, there was much in the life and habits of the people
which fitted them for such a war. It was not necessary that the colonists
should win pitched battles. It was enough if they could harass the English
'I'm: PATRIOTS SKI/.I: \ CANNON AT SALEM.
troops, and cut off their supplies. For this sort of work the difference be-
tween well-disciplined soldiers and raw militia is less important than it
would be in regular warfare. Many of the Americans too had experience
in backwoods fighting with the Indians. Moreover the life of settlers in a
new country calls out activity and readiness. A settler is not only a
farmer, but a hunter, and to some extent a craftsman as well. Moreover,
America was not like an old country, where the loss of a few large trading
and manufacturing towns cripples the whole nation. There were also
several weak points in the position of England. The nation did not go
into the war heartily and with one accord.- Many of the wisest statesmen
and greatest thinkers were utterly opposed to the policy of the Ministry.
The merchants, the Dissenters, and the Irish people, for the most part
sympathized with the Americans. All these things made the case of the
colonists more hopeful than it might have seemed at first sight.
In April, 1775, the long-threatened contest began. Gage heard that the
colonists had cannon and other stores at Concord, an inland town about half a
day's march from Boston. He accordingly sent a force of eight hundred
men to seize them. At Lexington, a town on the road, the troops met a
small body of militia drawn up. One of the British officers ordered them
"'
THK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Tl,, refuel and the regulars fired, killing eight and wound-
, , i i r Tl e troops then continned their march to Concord.
the nun f b t f hundred men.
OutsidMlu-rl-.lH-ywereoppo^ ^° ^°^ , to t the
Thl. ,v,Hlurs ,o, rss,ssum of the ^ n nd J^ ^ ^
«tonW "lilitia t'n>'" r*T*' , x k U, Bo U They W re harassed on
, . , ,,,,„. and .nanr h«l Uk
from Boston, it would
INDEPENDENCE HALL.
probably have gone hard with the regular troops. As it was, they are said
to have lost nearly three hundred men before they reached Boston. The
M;i-s;ichusetts Congress at once raised an army. Recruits flocked in from
all quarters, and the British troops who were in possession of Boston were
blockaded by sea and land. The inhabitants were at length allowed to
leave the place on condition that they surrendered their arms. Many of
them, it is said, suffered considerable hardships in their departure. Soon
after, a force of a hundred and fifty New Englanders, under the command of
one Ethan Allen, marched against Ticonderoga, a post of great importance
• MI the Canadian frontier. The garrison was utterly unprepared, and the
place was surprised and taken without difficulty. Crown Point, another
STOK1KS OF AMKKICAN IHSToKY.
strong ]>lace, was soon afterwards seized in like manner. There were other
petty hostilities, in which the Americans had the liest of it.
In May the Congress met at Philadelphia Twelve of the thirteen colo-
nies sent delegate^, chosen 1>\ the people in general convention-. Strange
as it may seem, even after what had happened, the Americans did not i_rive
up all hope of reconciliation. They apparently thought that the poli<-\ of
the ministry did not represent the feelimj> of the British people. Accord-
ingly, Congress appointed committees to draw up a petition to the king, and
an address to the inhabitants of (treat Britain. At the same time it made
preparations for defence. It resolved that no l>ill> should be cashed for
British officers, and no provisions supplied to British troops or ships. The
armv already raised \>\ Massachusetts was adopted as the continental army.
Companies of riflemen were to l>e raised in Virginia, IVnn
sylvania, and Maryland. Money was coined, and a loan
raised, in the name of the united colonies. The Congn->
also advised the different
colonies to call out their
militia. The most impor-
tant step of all, was the ap-
pointment of a commander-
in-chief. Ward, the com-
mander of the Massachusetts
forces, was old, and had no
military experience and no
special capacity of any kind.
Washington's ability, his
high character, and his past
services, pointed him out as
the one man fitted above all
others for the post. This appointment was proposed by John Adams, a
leading man in Massachusetts, and was cordially accepted by the whole Con-
gress. The existence of such a leader at such a time was the greatest good
fortune that could have befallen the Americans. Had his ability and integ-
rity been less conspicuous, or had he been open to the least suspicion of
ambition or self-seeking, the northern colonies might not have endured the
appointment of a southern general. As it was, that appointment >er\ ed to
bind together the two great divisions, and enable each to feel that it bore an
equal part in the struggle.
Before Washington could take command of the forces, the first pitched
battle had been fought. On the 15th of June, Gage, who had been strength-
ened by the arrival of fresh troops, took ste\^ towards occupying Bunker's
Hill. This is a piece of high ground commanding Boston, at the end of the
Pl>AN OF BlINKEK illl.T..
ii(;!., WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
...i.M.la „„ whirl, Charlestown «*»** The Americans determined to an-
,ipftte Gage, and occupied the place with a thousand men The British
tn ' ,!,,„ marched upon the place to dislodge them. The ascent was
steep -.11.1 tli«- difficulty was made greater by the heat ot the day and the
lenjrthof the "niss. With these advantages, the Americans twice beat back
their assailants, l.nt at the third charge their stock of powder ran short, and
.», thev h-.d n.i bayonets, they were forced to retreat. The British were too
much exhausted to press them severely. The loss of the Americans was
about twu hundred killed, and three hundred wounded. The British lost
tw.. hundred and twenty killed, and over eight hundred wounded. Gage
urote home. th:it the rel.els were not so despicable as many had thought
them, and that their conquest would be no easy task.
It iiiiirht have been thought that Congress would now give up all hopes
of reconciliation, and would have seen 'hat nothing was left but either re-
si*tance or complete submission. This was the view of many of the ablest
members ,,f (\»iiirres>. They held that, until the colonies definitely threw off
the yoke of the mother-country, there could be no unity or firmness in their
proceeding. Hut the majority still looked forward to the possibility of re-
conciliation. The leader of this latter party was Dickinson, of Pennsylvania.
11.- drew up a petition to the king, which was adopted by the Congress,
loyal Mil I moderate in its tone. The views of the extreme men on either
side were .veil set forth in two speeches, made by Dickinson and one of his
chief opponents, Benjamin Harrison, of Virginia. Dickinson, in speaking of
his own address, *aid, "There is but one word in it that I disapprove of, and
that i>, Comoros." "There is but one word in it that I approve of," said
Bamaon, "and that is, Congress." The Americans, however, no longer ad-
dr"-s,.d themselves to Parliament. The Congress forwarded an address to
the inhabitants of Great Hritain, setting forth the hopelessness of the at-
tempts to subdue the colonies, and one to the Lord Mayor and City of
London, thanking them for their advocacy.
Congre>~ now ventured on a bolder step than any that it had yet taken.
It n-M.lved to send an invading force against Canada. To do this was in a
irreat measure to imit the purely defensive position which it had hitherto
held. Tlie Americans, however, believed that Carleton, the governor of
(amida. was about to invade their territory, and so considered that, by
mnivliiiiir agaiu^ Canada, they were only anticipating an attack. Three
Hand men were sent out commanded by Richard Montgomery. He was
an Irishman, who had served with distinction in the late Canadian war.
nog that he had been insufficiently rewarded, he had retired to a farm
i'k. and had married into the family of the Livingstons, impor-
hants ln ti,at t,(]ollv a]1(] conspieuous as Opp0nent8 of the English
At first Montgomery's efforts were successful; and St. John's
STOIMKS OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY.
L038
and Montreal both surrendered. The only check sustained by the Ainei i-
caus was the defeat and capture of Kthan Allen, who had headed an expe-
dition against Montreal, as n-ckl.-— but not a- successful as his earlier
attempt against Tieonderoga. Quebec wafl now threatened by t\\o foici--.
one under Montgomery, the other under Benedict Arnold, u ho had started
from the mouth of the Kennebec withele\eii hundred men. In December
their forces united before (Quebec, and on the :'. 1st t!ie\ assaulted the tour.
Tiie assailants were defeated, with a lo» of -ixty men killed and nearly foul
hundred taken prisoners. Among those >lain \\as Montgomery. No braver
or more high-minded man fell in the whole war. In Parliament, the friends
of America lamented his death and
praised his memory; and even Lord
North generously admitted that he,
was brave, able, and humane, and
that he had undone his country by
his virtues. The Americans con-
tinued to blockade (Quebec for four
months, notwithstanding that small-
pox broke out in their camp. From
the position of the place it was im-
possible for the besiegers to keep
out supplies and fresh troops from
Knghmd. When the garrison,
strengthened by reinforcements,
made a sally, the Americans re-
treated. Carleton. with great hu-
manit \ , issued a proclamation, order-
ing that the sick and wounded, many
of whom were scattered in the /
woods, should be sought out and
relieved at the public expense, and,
when well, should be suffered to depart home. He also checked the Cana-
dian Indians from making inroads on the New England frontier.
In Virginia, war had broken out between Lord Diinmore and the Assem-
bly. Dunmore seized the powder belonging to the colony, and then, fearing
the people, established himself on board a man-of-war. The A-<embl\
would not carry on business unless lie would hind. He refuse 1, and at
length the Assembly dissolved. As in Massachusetts, its plac-- was supplied
by a Convention, which proceeded to levy taxes and to put the colony in a
state of defence. Dunmore then collected a fleet, and petty hostilities broke
out between him and the people. In November he issued a proclamation,
declaring martial law, and requiring that all persons fit to bear arms should
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
I'M . . ,
, . ,lf being treated as traitors. At the same time he proved
join him. »" l«n» " , | ; Bv this means he raised a
"""1 " id ' ' -
** fm"1""1 " id ' ' h ,rf Dmber the first serious en-
' . Captain Fordyce, with more than a lain-
'1"ft'"'1"tl ' ' f " " islod^ them He was met by a heavy tire. For-
llivi1 ""'"• :"!t''".1 brave resistance, were beaten buck, having
d ,,,. J1I1( , troop*, a ttei a . ' ^ ^
" !lh °"t ^vtovl^^W^C brought three thousand
:;-;::!:;£
OlMU*"**' , TI_T ^^ lv«»»/1 ^liti +r\\tTTi 1 In
V * >.,v. 177.;, a cannonade was opened. Parties of *u ors landed
,,,,., ,,ve, of 'the ships' guns and set fire to the town and by the evening,
Norfolk the richest city in Virginia, was- a heap of ashes
I)lirin, (he session of 1775, various attempts were made by the friends
,,f VM.eri,; in both Houses of Parliament to change the policy of the nun-
M.er, n
grv Imt iu vain. Partly through mismanagement, partly through .
tone, the applies sent out to the British forces had miscarried, and great
wa.t'e hail ensued. The expenses of the war brought with them an increase
of taxation. Nevertheless, the ministry and the majority of Parliament hel
firmly to their previous policy. The King's Speech at the beginning of
—ion denounced, in strong language, "the desperate conspiracy" in North
America. The petition of Congress was presented by Penn, the propm
,.f Pennsylvania, but Parliament decided not to consider it. Penn himaeU
was examined before the House of Lords. His evidence went to show that
the colonists were both willing and able to hold out, and that they were
well supplied with men and arms. The Duke of Richmond in the Upper
House, and Burke in the Lower, brought forward proposals for conciliation,
but were defeated by large majorities. Lord Mansfield, who supported the
ministry, plainly and courageously told the House of Lords that England
must either conquer by force or give way altogether. He illustrated his
view by the story of a Scotch officer in the Thirty Years' War, who, pointing
to the enemy, said to his men, " See you those lads ? kill them, or they will
kill you." The results of the session showed that the Government would be
cot i teat with nothing less than the total submission of the colonists. The
changes in the ministry about this time made the prospects of America
look even darker than before. The Duke of Grafton, an honest and sensible
man, who had been at first in favor of the ministerial policy, but was after-
wards convinced of its folly, left office. Lord Dartmouth, also a friend to
the American", was succeeded as Secretary to the Colonies by Lord George
Germaine, an able man, but of harsh and violent temper. A still greater
STOUIKS ol-' AM KIM CAN HISTORY, n •:',:,
i
loss to the cause of America was the retirement of Chatham, who was with-
held by illness from taking any part in public- affairs. Yet he showed what
he thought of the ministerial policy, by ordering his son. \\ho \vas aide-dr-
canip to General Carleton, to throw up his appointment, rather than servi-
against the Americans. One proceeding <>n the part of the English govern-
ment, which especially enraged the colonists, was the hiring a number of
German troops to serve in America.
The position of Washington after he was placed in command was one of
great difficulty. His troops were undisciplined; there was great rivalry be-
tween the men of different colonies, and the supply of powder was quite in-
sufficient. There was scarcely enough for the infantry, and the artillery wa-
practically rendered useless. The Americans suffered too from the hindr.mci-
which always besets an army made up, not of regular soldiers, but of citi-
xen-. They were unwilling to stay long away from their homes and business.
They would only enlist for short periods, and thus the army was for the
most part made up of raw recruits. In numbers, the American- had the
best of it, being about sixteen thousand to twelve thousand of the enemy.
But this advantage was in some degree lessened by the fact that the Amer-
icans had to guard a wide frontier, while the British had only to hold a
single point. The chief superiority which the Americans possessed was
their better supply of food and clothing. The British stores had been ship-
wrecked on their way out, and the famine in the West Indies cut off an im-
portant source of help. In spite of all the difficulties which surrounded
him, the Americans grumbled at Washington for not striking some decisive
blow, and in December, 1775, Congress sent him a resolution, authorizing
him "to attack Boston in any manner that he might deem expedient." On
the 4th of March he resolved to make an attempt. After nightfall a heav\
cannonade began from the American lines, and was kept up on both sides
till morning. In the meantime Washington sent a force to occupy Dor-
chester heights, ground which commanded Boston harbor. The Americans,
as might have been expected from an army of countrymen and farmers, were
skilful at throwing up eartlnvorks, and by daybreak they were safely in-
trenched. The British prepared to dislodge them, but were prevented by a
storm ; and before they could renew the attempt, the earthworks had been
so strengthened that an attack was hopeless. It was impossible to hold the
town while the Americans were in possession of this point. Accordingly,
on the 17th of March the troops embarked, and Washington entered
Boston.
In March, hostilities broke out in North Carolina. The assembly accused
Martin, the governor, of exciting an insurrection among the negroes, declared
him a public enemy, and forbade any one to communicate with him. He
thereupon raised the royal standard and collected a force, consisting mainly
TI11.; WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
-*. f. • "
'''
mt.Ilt i i,s own framing. Congress, however, did not answer In,
, (1IU,, toping that reconciliation .night still be possible. But the king s
Bpeech in tl nntumn oi 1 776, and the rejection of the petition presented by
IV,,,, convinced the Americans that there was no hope of the king or the
ministry yielding. Axscordingly Congress assented to the proposal ui New
' ' Hampshire, and at the same time advised South Carolina
and Virginia to form independent governments. New
Hampshire, while it formed a government for itself,
yet declared its allegiance to Great Britain. Virginia
showed a more defiant spirit. In January the convention
of that colony passed a motion, instructing its delegates
to recommend Congress to open the ports of America
to all nations.
Those who supported a thorough-going policy of
resistance felt that it would not be enough for the states separately to de-
daiv themselves independent. The whole body of colonies must imite for
that purpose. As Franklin said, "We must all hang together unless ^ we
would all hang separately." In 'January, 1776, a scheme for confederation,
drawn up by Franklin, was laid before Congress, but Dickinson, Franklin's
colleague, op] x.sed it strongly, and it was thrown out. Nevertheless, Con-
gress about this time took steps which showed that it no longer acknowl-
edged the authority of Great Britain. A private agent wras sent to France,
and tlif, people of Canada were advised to set up a government for them-
selves. After long deliberation, the American ports were thrown open to
the world, whereby the English navigation laws were set at nought. Early
in June, Lee, of Virginia, proposed that Congress should declare the colonies
independent He was seconded by John Adams. Adams, like Franklin,
had clung to the hope of reconciliation as long as there seemed any reason-
able prospect of it ; but when once he was convinced that it was impossible,
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
he never wavered or looked behind him. A committee of five, including
Adams and Franklin, was appointed to draft a Declaration. The substance
\\as mainly supplied In Adams, but the for f words was due to Thoma-
Jefferson, lie ua- a young Virginian, already known a< a brilliant writer
and a strong opponent to the authority of (ireat Britain. He was extreme
in his views, and often hot-headed and intemperate in his exprc-.ion i,f
them. The Declaration of Independence, as it originally came from his pen,
contained many expressions, which were afterwards softened down In his
colleagues. On the 1st of July the general question, whether the colonies
should be independent, \\ as laid before Congress. Kadi colonv had a single
vote, decided by the majority of the delegates from that colony. Nine of
/
INDEPENDENCE
the thirteen colonies were in favor of independence. On the first day of the
discussion Dickinson vigorously opposed the motion, but next day he stayed
away, and thus the vote of Pennsylvania was altered. The arrival of an-
other delegate changed the vote of Delaware, and South Carolina, rather
than stand alone, withdrew its opposition. New York alone was unable to
vote, and on the 2d of July, by the decision of twelve colonies, it was
resolved "That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all political connection between them and tin- state of Great
Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved." On the 4th of July, the
Declaration of Independence was laid before Congress, and w:>s formally
WORLD'S (iHHAT NATIONS.
1 I '.»x
,(1(,oted It >et forth the grounds on which the revolt of the colonists was
.jthble- it brought eighteen charges against the king, and alleged
eole Finall
.the- roug
li wn £ - . to be the ruler of . free people^ Finally
|trl;u,.(1 that the liuite.l colonies were free and independent States that
"nnection with Gnat Britain was, and ought to be, at an end; and that,
th,. ,,,l,,nies had full power to levy wan make peace, contract alliances, and
:,,-t iii all things as five and independent States.
m
p
r
CHAPTER XIX.
THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE.
Declaration of Independence left the thirteen colonies,
according to their own claim, free and independent States.
But it did not give Congress any legal authority over the
citizens, or establish any central power over the whole body
of States. It was clear that, without some such power, the
war could not be carried on with any hope of success. Im-
mediately after the Declaration of Independence, a committee
\\.-is appointed to draw up Articles of Confederation; these,
however, were not agreed on by the Congress till the follow-
ing year, and they were not adopted by the whole body of States till 1781.
During tin- whole of that time all power lay with the independent State
•_ru\rrmiieuts. Congress, as before the Declaration of Independence, could
only advise, and i-ould not enforce its wishes. There were two main difficul-
tie- which Congress encountered in settling a scheme of confederation. The
committee who drew up the articles proposed that each colony should con-
tribute to the general treasury in proportion to its population. Most of the
delegates from the Southern States contended that the contribution should
l»e proportioned to the free population only. To count the slaves, they said,
\\ a- as unfair as to count cattle. To this the Northerners answered that, by
not counting the slaves, they would give slave labor an immense advantage
over five. Five labor, in fact, would be taxed, while slave labor was left
untaxeil. This, they said, would be at once unfair to the North, and would
have th<- evil effect of fostering slavery. In the end the original proposal'
wxt ran-ied by the votes of the seven northernmost States. The dispute is
interestim:. as hemcr perhaps the first symptom of a long and bitter conflict
between the Northern and Southern States, springing out of the question of
slavery. Another dispute arose as to the number of votes to be given to
u
o
55
u
o
z
a
o.
u
Q
Z
te.
O
o
O
u
Q
U
=
STOKIKS ()F A.MKIMCAN IIISTOI.'V. H':;:»
each State. Tin- committee proposed that cadi State -hoiild send what iiiim-
ber of delegates it pleased, from t\vo to seven, but that, as hitherto, they
should only have one vote between them. Others held that the States OUghl
to have votes in proportion to their population. Otherwise, as they pointed
out, if the seven smallest States carried a question, it would practically conn-
to this, that a large majority of the nation would be ruled by a small minor-
ity. On the other hand, there wa< a strong feeling that a different arrange-
ment would press hardlv on the rights of the smaller Stato. This view
prevailed, and the States retained equal votes. The Articles of Confedera-
tion were finally decided on in November, 1777. They declared the thirteen
States to be a Confederacy called the 1'iiited States of America. A citi/en
of any one State was to have full rights of citi/.enship in all the others. No
State was to form any independent alliance or treaty, or to make war, except
in case of invasion. Various causes, as we shall hereafter see, delayed the
acceptance of these articles by the different States.
At the same time that the committee was drawing up these articles, the
various States were forming their independent governments. All these, with
two exceptions, were modeled on the old colonial governments, and con-
sisted of a Governor, a Council, and a House of Representatives. Pennsyl-
vania and Georgia had only a House of Representatives, thinking a Council
unnecessary ; but this change was found to work badly, and after a while
they adopted a like system with the rest. Congress, during the summer of
1776, sent three Commissioners to France, to make secret negotiations for an
alliance. Franklin opposed this, saying that "a virgin State should preserve
the virgin character, and not go about suitoring for alliances, but wait with
decent dignity for the application of others." He was, however, overruled,
and he was himself appointed one of the Commissioners.
It must not be thought that the American people had gone into the con-
test with one accord. There was a party, not indeed numerous, but contain-
ing several men of influence, called by the Americans Tories, and by the
British Loyalists, who held fast to England. The middle colonies, New
York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, were the quarter in which this party
mustered strongest. The Americans seem to have regarded the Tories with
even greater hatred than they did their British enemies, and to have treated
them in many cases with great harshness. Even Washington, usually the
most just and moderate of men, was betrayed into using harsh language in
speaking of their sufferings, although he spoke with great severity of un-
lawful outrages committed by his own soldiers on the property of alleged
Tories; and he never seems to have given any sanction to their ill-treat-
ment. Though the Tories in the early part of the Avar caused a great deal
of uneasiness to the Americans, they seem on the whole to have been of very
little service to the British. Indeed, as we shall find throughout the whole
]i(4(| THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
. th, won* enemy with which the British had to deal was, not the armies
<lf' t ,'„. Americans, l,»t the enmity of the common people.
I,, M-.V 177<5 u British squadron of ten ships under Sir Peter Parker
llTjved OB the coast <>f South Carolina, and were joined by a land force
,,,.,. General Clinton. The point arrived at was Sullivan's Island, about
fc nibe from Charlestown, and commanding that place. This island was
fortified l.v the Americans. On the 28th of June, the fleet opened a cannon-
ade a-'ain<t the island, and the tiring was kept up all day. It was intended
tint Clinton's forces should wade across an arm of the river and attack the
island. Tin- water, however, was too deep to be forded, and this plan was
.riven up. Before ni-Jit the fleet withdrew with a loss of some two thou-
sand killed and wounded. The Americans stated their own loss at less than
,,nc-tifth ..f that number. The victory was of great importance, as for the
piv>ent ir saved Charlestown, practically the capital of the three southern-
ni'i-t colonies.
In the summer of 1776 Lord Howe was sent out to take command of the
British naval forces. His brother, Sir William Howe, was also serving in
America, as coinniander-in-chief of the land forces. The brothers Howe were
intrusted with a document called a commission for the pacification of Amer-
ir.i, drawn up by the Ministry, and approved of by Parliament. But as this
only empowered the Howes to receive submissions and to grant pardons,
and as the Americans had no wish to submit and would not allow that they
needed pardon, the commission was of no great value. In one way the
selection of Lord Howe for this post was a judicious one. His brother had
fallen in a former Canadian war against the French, and the colony of Mas-
sachusetts had set up a monument to him in Westminster Abbey. Lord
Howe himself had made great exertions for the reconciliation of the colonies
with the mother country, and the family seem to have been popular among
the Americans. Yet it was a measure of doubtful wisdom to make the same
men commanders of the forces and commissioners for pacification. Each
duty was likely to interfere with the other, and, as a matter of fact, it would
seem that Howe's overtures might have been listened to if he had not been
at the head of the army, and moreover that he was not anxious, when he
had secured a military advantage, to follow it up with the utmost vigor and
promptitude.
In August the British force disembarked on Long Island. That island
\\ii< the key of New York. It was held by the Americans under General
Putnam, who was stationed with about eight thousand men at Brooklyn, a
Mrong piece of ground just opposite the city of New York, and separated
; by the East River. Putnam suffered himself to be surrounded, and
:roops were defeated with great loss, under the eyes of Washington, who
the battle from the opposite shore. If Howe had followed up his sue-
STORIES OF AMERICAN IIIST<M:V. 1041
cess, it might have been nearly fatal to the American cause. But he hesi-
tated, and Washington succeeded in getting his whole force safely across the
East River. For forty-eight hours, it is said, he never slept, and scarcely
even dismounted. "With such care and <n>od order was the retreat managed.
o r" '
that it was not detected by the enemy till it was complete. The British
themselves allowed that the manner in which this \\.-i- executed did great
credit to the military skill of Washington. In another engagement a few-
days later, in front of New York, the Americans were again defeated. This
time, there is little doubt, that many of the Americans behaved with great
cowardice. Probably the defeat at Brooklyn had utterly shattered their
confidence. After this Washington made no attempt to hold New York.
and on the 15th of September the British soldiers entered the town unop-
posed. Here again it was thought that Howe did not follow up his advan-
tage as he might have done against the retreating Americans. During these
operations a conference was held between Lord Howe and three commission-
ers from Congress. The meeting was a friendly one, and Lord Howe ex-
pressed his sincere wish to befriend America, but nothing likely to lead to
peace could be arranged.
Washington now adopted an entirely new policy. It was clearly useless
to oppose his undisciplined troops to the British. Accordingly he deter-
mined to avoid a general engagement, and to content himself with petty
skirmishes, in which defeat would not be fatal, while success would give his
soldiers experience and confidence. In this policy he was helped by the
singular want of energy shown by the British commanders. Though a
pitched battle was almost sure to have resulted in their favor, and though
one decisive victory might almost have settled the war, yet no attempt \\ as
made to bring on a general engagement. Washington was suffered to fall
back beyond the Delaware, leaving the whole country between that river
and the Hudson in the hands of the British. But though the British had
not turned their superiority to full account, yet the cause of America never
looked more hopeless than it did at this time. The American troops were
no longer, as they were at Boston, in a country whence they could draw
ready and plentiful supplies. The three middle States, New York, Pennsyl-
vania, and New Jersey, were, as I have said, throughout the war the least
faithful to the American cause. The contrast between Washington's undis-
ciplined, ill-supplied, and retreating troops, and the well-drilled and trium-
phant British army must have strengthened the feeling in favor of Great
Britain. So completely did the invading forces seem to have gained the
command of the country, that the Congress fled from Philadelphia in fear of
an immediate attack. Washington's army was dwindling from day to day,
as many of the men had served their time and would not re-enlist. Lee,
one of his best officers, was surprised in his quarters, and taken prisoner.
66
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
a bold dash across the Delaware, and cut off a whole British detachment at
Trenton, taking a thousand prisoners and scarcely losing a single man him-
self. Encouraged by this, he fell unexpectedly on the rear of Cornwallis's
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
army and inflicted considerable loss on it. He then threw out scattered de-
tachments, who overran the country, taking one post after another, till at
last the British held only two places, Brunswick and Ambov. ^outh of the
Hudson. The effect of this campaign was most disastrous to the British.
The Tories, who were numerous in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, found
themselves left to the mercy of their enemies. Few \\oiild join the British
standard when it had proved so incapable of protecting them. Moreover.
the conduct of the British troops, and still more that of their allio, had not
been such as to win the friendship of the inhabitants.
During the spring of 1777 both armies kept quiet. Washington, as be-
fore, avoided a pitched battle, while the British contented themselves with
destroy MILT some of the American magazines. In some of the skirmishes
which ensued, great daring was shown on each side, especially by (Jeneral
Arnold. The Americans obtained one success which gave them -pecial
satisfaction. By a bold stroke they seized
Prescott, a British general, in his quarters,
and carried him off. This capture they con-
sidered an equivalent for the loss of General
Lee the year before. In June, Howe began
his operations against Philadelphia. Pre-
vented from marching straight on that place
through New Jersey, he embarked, sailed
southwards into the Chesapeake Bay, and
proceeded up the Elk river to a spot about
seventy miles from Philadelphia. Washing-
ton was at first puzzled by Howe's embark- AN ARMY FOBOE.
ation, and did not know at what part of the
coast the British were aiming. Finally he drew up his troops on the Bran-
dy wine, a stream some thirty miles from Philadelphia, and there awaited
Howe. Through the mistake of one of Washington's subordinates, Lord
Cornwallis was allowed to cross the river, and to fall upon the right flank
of the Americans before they were ready for an attack. After a sharp en-
gagement, the Americans were defeated with the loss of about one thousand
men and many pieces of artillery. No further attempt was made to hold
Philadelphia, and on the 26th of September the British entered the city.
The Americans, foreseeing -that they might lose Philadelphia, had taken
various precautions to block the navigation of the river below it, by sinking
ships, placing barriers across, and erecting batteries on the banks. These,
however, were all removed by the British. Their defeat at Brandywine and
the loss of Philadelphia do not seem to have dispirited the Americans as
much as might have been expected. The events of the previous year had
taught them with what speed a seemingly brilliant success might be reversed,
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
1 • '•*•»
„,! tmt it WM hard"- for the British to hold a district than to conquer it.
Moreover they had probably seen enough of Howe to know that he would
not follow np his victory promptly and vigorously. Washington soon
showed that he had not lost confidence either in himself or in his troops.
A lar-'f portion of the British army was at Germantown, a village six miles
from Philadelphia Washington marched against them and, helped by a
,,,„ took them by surprise. At first the battle seemed likely to be a com-
plete victory for 'the assailants, but the British rallied, the Americans fell
into confusion, which was made worse by the fog, and finally they retreated,
leavin-r the British in possession of the field. The British loss was about
five hundred, the American more than double. Nevertheless, the result of
the battle seems to have been looked on by the Americans as encouraging.
Their troops had attacked the British in superior force, and that for a while
with success. Most of their victories before had been surprises, or had con-
.-d in defending themselves behind earthworks or fortifications. Thus
the battle of (iermantown, though unimportant in itself, was looked on in
Home measure as a turning-point. The French especially deemed it a proof
of greater military prowess than they had yet given the Americans credit
t' •!•. After this no further operation of any importance took place before
l lie two armies went into winter quarters.
Though the condition of Washington and his army was on the whole
more hopeful than it had been in the summer of 1776, yet it was in many
respects deplorable. Many of the men were without the ordinary neces-
^•.ries of life. They had neither shoes, blankets, nor shirts. As Washington
said, they literally served in the field, since most of them had no tents to
cover them. So badly off were they for supplies, that Washington at one
time declared that the army would soon have "to starve, to dissolve, or to
disperse in quest of food.11 The same evil which had beset Washington at
tl utset still went on— the system, namely, of short enlistments. Till he
had an army definitely enlisted for the whole war, Washington felt that he
never could achieve any great success. Moreover, the recruiting was
hindered by the system which allowed each State to decide for itself the
terms on which its men should serve. Some States gave large bounties,
others small, and, as might have been expected, the latter got but few
recruits, and those discontented. Another grievance, against which Wash-
ington protested strongly and repeatedly, was the want of a system of half-
Tims the officers could never look upon their profession as affording
them a provision for life, and without this few could feel any real and last-
in- attachment to the service. This and other measures for the improve-
«i»l ''''lief of the army, were hindered by the extreme dread which
•<"1 "f 'he growth of a military despotism. It was especially op-
the system of half-pay, as tending to establish a privileged class,
^s fatal
-.ork and to
STOKIKS OF A.MKKICAN HISTORY. 104:,
and to weaken those principles of liberty and equality <>n which tin- govern-
iiu'nt rested. Under all these trials, Washington's moderation and patience
never failed. lie re ist rated with Congress on t heir inactivity, but alwav -
in a dignified and temperate tone. When compelled lo lew supplies \>\
force, he did his utmost to make his demands as little exacting and annoy-
ing as mighl be. No failure or disappointment betrayed him into har-di- ,
ness or injustice to his subordinates. No shadow of jealousy ever seems to
have crossed his mind. All who deserved praise received it, heariilv and
generously bestowed, while no man was ever more indifferent to hi> o\\n
just claims to honor.
In the meantime operations of great importance had been going forward
in the north. In June, 1777, a force of seven thousand men, under the
command of (Jeneral Burgoyne, set out from Canada for the invasion of the
Northern States. Their plan was to inarch down the valley of the Hudson
and so cut off New England from the rest of America. Amongst Bur-
Coyne's troops was a force of Indians, the lirst that had been used on either
side in any of the regular operations of this war. Their want of discipline
and their uniitness for regular service made them of little use to the British,
while the cruelties of which they weie guilty enraged the Americans and
greatly embittered the contest. It must be said in justice to Burgoyne that
he did his best to restrain his savage allies. Nor had the Americans much
right to complain of the employment of the Indians, since it would seem
that they themselves were willing enough to enlist them if the British had
not been beforehand w ith them. At lirst things went well witli Burgoyne.
Ticonderoga and other strong places on the frontier were taken, partly, ii
was thought, through the incapacity of their commanders. But before lon-j
the difficulties of Burgoyne's situation became manifest. lie had to march
through a country of forests and swamps, where no supplies could be got,
and thus the troops had to carry everything with them. Moreover, tin-
British were not strong enough in numbers to keep up communications with
Canada. Gates, who was in command of the American army in the north, was
a man of no great ability, but he was ably seconded !>v Arnold. The first
check that Burgoyne received was in August, at Benningtou, where two detach-
ments of his troops, sent off to seize an American magaxine, were attacked >uc-
cessively by (Jeneral Starke before they could unite, and both utterly defeated.
Encouraged by this and ur^ed by the immediate pressure of invasion, the
New Englanders flocked to (iate-'s standard, and he was soon at the head
of a large, well-armed, and active, though undisciplined force. In September
and October a number of tierce engagements took place in the neighborhood
of Saratoga, in all of which the British suffered heavy loss, though they
held their ground. But in their condition an undecided battle was as fatal
as a defeat. General Clinton was to have marched from New York ano! to
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
,,k,. llm,,,,,,, •;;; ;;--,»- u, »»,, out with
sMi-nii}.' pr°«* ml.ical to the greatest straits for supplies,
shi,,, „,„! tong 1"a;d"s'.; , ^1 Gates granted liim liberal terms.
.*" « '»»' "' ' '•' ..... •" ' " " ordinary prisoners of war, but
3
SABATOGA.
in America. The officers were to be admitted to parole, and the regiments
were to be kept together and to retain their baggage. This surrender,
Convention of Saratoga, as it was called, has been usually looked on as
great turning-point in the War of Independence. Hitherto the result of
the war seemed doubtful, inclining perhaps rather m favor of
N«,w it became clear that the success of the Americans was merely a ques
tion of time.
The treatment of the Saratoga prisoners, or, as they were called, the
Convention troops, was in no wise creditable to the Americans. Instead of
being properly quartered, as had been promised, they were crowded together
into dose barracks, regardless of rank. They were also broken up into
several detachments. The straitened circumstances of the Americans were
ui'iied in excuse of these breaches of agreement, but it would seem that the
difficulty might have been got over. The letters of Jefferson, written at the
time, show that he looked on this affair as a blot on the honor of his
country. Finally, the troops were not allowed to sail, although the British
furnished transports for them, on the ground that no time was fixed for the
fulfilment of the treaty, and that there was a difference between refusing
and merely delaying their departure. Throughout the whole of the war the
STOKIKS OK A.M-KIMCAN HISTORY.
104-i
treatment of prisoners generally was a matter of frequent, aim seemingly of
just, complaint on l>oth sides. The British in sonic cases claimed the right
of treating the Americans, not as prisoners of war, hut as rebels, and this
led to retaliation.
The most important immediate result of the American success \\as the
conclusion of an alliance with France. As \\<- have seen, one of the tir-t
steps taken by Congress was to send three commissioners, Deaiie, Lee, and
Franklin, to France. The choice of Franklin
\\as in many ways a happy one. There was
at that, time a strong passion for natural
science in France, and Franklin's attain-
ments in that study made him popular and
admired there. The Americans were less
fortunate in his colleague Deane. He caused
much trouble by entering into various con-
tracts in the name of Congress without any
t/
sufficient authority. For a time the French
government confined itself to secretly help-
ing the Americans with money and arms.
One form in which the friendship of the
French for America showed itself, though
well meant, was very inconvenient. Many
young and inexperienced Frenchmen volun-
teered their services to the Americans.
Their ignorance of the English language
<-' O O O
made them utterly useless, while their promotion was a constant source
of jealousy and dissatisfaction in the American army. To this there was
one notable exception, the Marquis of Lafayette. The Americans had
besides the assistance of an able German soldier, Baron Steuben, who
was an experienced soldier, and, though ignorant of the English language,
did good service in drilling and disciplining the American troops. La-
feyette was a young man of high family. Inflamed with enthusiasm at
the sight of a people fighting for their freedom, he crossed to America in
spite of the opposition of his friends and kinsfolk. His courage and other
noble qualities endeared him to Washington, and he took a prominent
part in military operations during the latter years of the war. He did
even greater service by enlisting the sympathies of the French court and
nation in favor of America. So persistent and so successful was he in
this that some one said that it was well that he did not want the furni-
ture of Versailles for his beloved Americans, as the king could never have
refused it. During the first two years of the war, the French had not
faith enough in the strength and perseverance of the Americans to enter
LAFAYETTE.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
into „„ alliant.e with them. But with the defeat of Burgoyne and the
1)<inlt. of Gennantown this feeling changed, and in February 1778, a
,.,tv w.,< rimed. Kach nation promised to help the other m defensive
all,i offensive \,pera,ions. The war was to be carried on in support of
fcfce freedom, ^vemgnty, and independence of the United States. All
eonquegte i.> America were to belong to the Americans; all in the West
I,1(|i, Nhmls to France. Neither nation was to conclude a separate peace.
Tbe French alliance was. iii a military point of view, an undoubted gain to
\meriea Without it, the war might have been prolonged for many years.
I, gave the Americans the one thing that they needed, a fleet. As long as
the British had command of the sea, they could move from point to point,
ami ,.,,iild atta.-k any part of the coast before the Americans could march to
it- defence. The alliance, however, had its drawbacks. It drew America
into the whirlpool of European politics, in which it had no natural share or
interest. Moreover, it great h strengthened the hostility of the British, and
made enemies of many who had hitherto been lukewarm or even friendly.
For more than a year after the Declaration of Independence the affairs
,,f America ma.le little stir in England. The declaration, if it had united
America, had united Kngland too, and many who before had been opposed
to the ministry now acquiesced in its policy. But in the spring of 1778
Chatham returned to parliament, and his voice was at once raised against
the ministry. He was, indeed, strongly opposed to the separation of
America from Great Britain ; but he was quite as strongly opposed to the
means hitherto used for preventing that separation. In one of his most
eloquent speeches he denounced the policy of the ministry, who had armed
the Indians against men of English blood. When the defeat of Burgoyne
was known, the feeling against the ministry became general. Hitherto the
opponents of the ministry had denounced the folly and injustice of an at-
tempt to coerce the Americans ; now they began to insist on its hopeless-
ness. The ministry itself was in a state of weakness and confusion. Lord
George Gennaine had resigned his office in consequence of quarrels with
Carleton and Howe. Lord North, who was now convinced of the hopeless-
ness of the undertaking, would gladly have yielded to the Americans or
have left office, but the king would not hear of either. In February, Lord
North so far changed his former policy as to bring in two bills, one pledg-
ing the English government never to impose a direct tax on the colonies,
the other to send out five commissioners to treat with the Americans, with
full power to suspend all Acts passed since 1763. Both bills were carried,
and the commissioners went out, but, like Howe two years before, they
could do nothing. Three or four years earlier such concessions might have
saved the colonies, but the time for them was past. During the course of
the session, the feeling of dissatisfaction with the ministry increased. All
•
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 10411
eyes turned to Chatham as the one man who might perchance save tin- nation.
To defeat France and to conciliate America were both tasks for \\hich in
earlier days lie had shown his fitness. It was not fated that his power-
should he tried again. On the 7th of April he was home fainting from tin-
House of Lords, and in a few weeks later he died. It may \\ell lie donated
whether, even if he had lived, and if all things had favored him, lie could
have contrived at once to conciliate the Americans and to retain their al-
legiance. Though he asserted strongly the necessity of doing lioth, \et he
does not seem himself to have seen any way in which they could he done.
The scheme of conciliation which he proposed in 177.") mi-lit then have
been successful, but in 177S, even the vigor of his best days could hard I v
have done more than prolong the struggle.
The operations of these two years were marked with little that uas
striking on eUher side. The Americans were weakened by internal jealousies
and divisions. A party hostile to Washington had sprung up in the army,
headed bv one Conway. They attempted to injure Washington by contrast-
ing his indecisive operations with the brilliant success of (Jates. (iates, wlio
seems to have been a weak and vain man, at last sanctioned, if he did not
encourage, this intrigue. The same spirit of division showed itself in Con-
gress. "For God's sake," Lafayette wrote from France, "prevent the Con-
gress from disputing loudly together ; nothing so much hurts the interest
and reputation of America." Washington drew an equally lamentable pic-
ture of the state of affairs at Philadelphia.
Writing thence he says, "Speculation, pecu-
lation, and an insatiable thirst for riches,
seem to have got the better of every other
consideration, and of almost every order of
men: party disputes and personal quarrels
are the meat business of the day/' This
was partly due to the fact that the various
States were so occupied with their o\\ n
affairs, and with the formation of their
own governments, that the best men were
serving in State offices, instead of in Con- FOHAGERS AT
gress. The American finances too were
in a desperate state. The notes issued by Congress had fallen to less
than one-thirtieth of their nominal value; so that, as Washington said,
a wagon-load of money could scarcely purchase a wagon-load of pro-
visions. The British generals took no advantage of the demoralized state
of their enemies. During the spring of 177* the British remained in-
active at Philadelphia; and in June they abandoned that city, and
gathered together their forces at New York, to be ready for an invading
,,,-,,, THK UOKLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
•
force from France. In the West, small bands of Tories and Indians wrought
•rreat llamas, destroying \vliole villages, and doing much to irritate, though
to subdue, tin- Americans. During the year, the French alliance
hut little fruit. A fleet was sent out under Admiral d'Estaing ; but,
after stavinir for some time in Boston harbor, it sailed off to attack the
British in the West Indies. A scheme proposed by Lafayette for the in-
V.-IMOII of Canada was rejected by Congress. The French themselves did
not loi.k favorably upon this scheme; and it is noteworthy that throughout
the \var thev showed no wish that Canada should be taken from the British:
this, no doubt, was because the French thought it better for themselves that
all Northern America should not be united under a single government.
Clinton, who in the spring of 1778, succeeded Howe in command of the
British forces, resolved to attack the Southern States. Hitherto, since the
opening year <>f the war, they had been left unassailed. Clinton thought
that they would be therefore less prepared for an attack than the Northern
colonies. At the same time, as their resources had not been much impaired,
the Americans depended mainly on them for supplies, and tluus Clinton
hoped that a blow there would be specially felt. At first, results seemed to
make good Clinton's hopes. In November, 1778, a small force under Colonel
Campbell took Savannah, drove the American forces out of Georgia, and
brought the whole of that State under the
British government. Campbell was soon
after succeeded by General Prevost. He
carried the war into South Carolina, defeated
General Lincoln, one of the ablest of the
American commanders, and seized Port
Royal, an island favorably placed for an
attack on Charlestown. In the autumn of
1779, Lincoln was joined by D'Estaing, with
a l;m'l force of about five thousand men, and
they proceeded to attack Savannah. All
IN THE WOODS. attempts, however, to take the place, by
bombardment, storm and blockade, were
unsuccessful; and in November D'Estaing departed from America.
tins tune other attacks were made by the British on Virginia and
•ther middle States. Much damage was done, and many places were
Vas imgton refused to be led into a pitched battle, and no decisive
|vas stnu-k The only set-off against these British successes was the
tony Pomt, by Wayne, an American general. This place had
lately aken irom th AmepicM1Bi w b a forced ^
<;< the place, and earned it at the point of the bayonet. Though the
ish soon recovered Stony Point, yet Wayne's success seems to have done
NTOKIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1051
a good deal h> encourage the Americans. In tlie spring of 1780, the British,
Commanded l>y Clinton himself, attacked Charlestown. The commander of
the American fleet, instead of waiting to oppose the British at the mouth of
the harbor, sank some of his ships to block the entrance, and retreated with
the rest. The British fleet made its entrance without much diiliciiltv; and
on the llth of May the place surrendered. The garrison were allowed to
march out with the honors of war. Congress now sent dates to take com-
mand in the South. The success which attended him in the North now
deserted him, and he was utterly defeated by Lord Cornwallis, whom Clin-
ton had left in command. Other smaller actions took place, in all of which
the British were successful. It seemed as if the British had completely
mastered the Southern States. But, as in New Jersey in 1777, it was soon
seen that it was easier for the English to conquer than to hold. Cornwallis
and Lord Rawdon, who was next in command, both em-aged the Americans
by their harsh treatment of those who had opposed the British govern-
ment.
In the North, the chief event of the year 1779 was. the utter and igno-
minious defeat of an American force which had attacked a newly-formed
British post at Penobscot. A fleet of thirty-seven ships had been prepared
at considerable expense by the State of Massachusetts, and placed under the
command of one Saltoustall. At the first sight of the British fleet he fled,
and then, finding escape impossible, blew up the whole of his ships, save two
which were captured. During the spring and summer of 1780 no important
operations took place in the North ; but later in
the year the Americans narrowly escaped a very
severe blow. Arnold, who had so distinguished
himself before Quebec and against Burgoyne, was
in command of a fort called West Point, on the
Hudson. As it commanded that river, the place
was of great importance. Various circumstances
helped to make Arnold dissatisfied and disaffect-
ed. He had been tried by court-martial on the
charge of having used his official power to extort
money from citizens, and of having applied public
funds and property to his own uses. On the last
of these charges he was found guilty. Moreover, MAJOE ANDRE.
his extravagant habits had got him into difficul-
ties. This, and the feeling that his services had been undervalued, led him
into the design of going over to the British. The agent appointed by the
British to arrange the treason was Major Andre, a young officer of great
ability and promise. Everything was in train for the surrender of West
Point, when Andre was captured within the American lines with a pass
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
PAUUHSO'S MONUMENT.
g !»*>«• 1» °>ulj Sf" ing-boat. AmMw*, tried
by court-martial, and hanged
as a spy. This sentence was
fully approved by Washing-
ton, who resisted all attempts
to lighten the sentence. By
some the execution of Andre
has been reckoned a blot on
the fame of the Americans.
He, it is said, was acting as
an authorized agent, under a
flag of truce, and with the
formal protection of Arnold,
and so was entitled by the
laws of war to pass in safety.
On the other hand, it has
been urged that the purpose
for which he came, that, namely, of arranging an act of treachery, deprived
him of all such rights; and that Arnold's protection was worthless, as being
.men by one whom Andre and the British knew to be a traitor.
Americans offered to release Andre on one condition : namely, that Arnold
should be surrendered in his stead ; but the British would not hear of this.
During the rest of the war Arnold served in the British army, but with no
great distinction.
Arnold's treason was not the only danger of that kind which threatened
the Americans. On New Year's day, 1781, thirteen hundred of the troop*
in Pennsylvania, wearied by want of food, clothing, and pay, and by the
indifference of Congress to their complaints, broke into open mutiny, killed
two of their officers, and declared their purpose of marching to Philadelphia
to obtain their rights by force. Washington, who understood the justice
of some of their demands and the extent of their provocation, sent instruc-
tions to General Wayne, who was in command in Pennsylvania, not to resist
the mutineers by force, but to get from them a statement of their griev-
ances. At the same time he persuaded Congress to send commissioners to
confer with the mutineers. One of their grievances was that they were
not relieved from service, though the period for which they had enlisted
had expired. On this point the commission gave way, though by doing
so they ran the risk of weakening the American forces. Some of the
mutineers took their discharge, but most of them returned to service.
Sir Henry Clinton had supposed that this would be a favorable op-
STORIKS OF AM KIM CAN HISTORY.
portunity for drawing .away the discontented forces from their allegiance,
and sent two messengers to treat with them. But, so far from listening
to these proposals, the mutineers seixed tlie messengers and handed them
over to the American commander, by whom they were put to death. The
spirit of disaffection seemed likely to spread, and another mutiny broke
out in New Jersey. This time, however, the government was prepared.
A force of .six hundred men held in readiness against such an emergency
was sent against them. The mutineers were taken by surprise, and two
of the ringleaders tried by court-martial and shot. This put an end for
the present to all outward show of disaffection.
For a while Cornwallis followed up his success at Charleston. Hi-
plan was to leave Lord Kawdon in command in South Carolina, and to
march through North Carolina and Virginia, so as to join Clinton in Ne\\
York. To do this it was necessary to take a line of march a considerable
distance from the sea, where the streams were small enough to be easilv
crossed. This cut him off from all communication with the coast, and
forced him to march through a country ill-provided with supplies and
difficult of passage. In his march through Carolina he was opposed by
the American forces under General Greene. This man, a Quaker by religion
and a blacksmith by trade, had served as a private soldier in the early
yearM of the war, and had risen by merit to the command which he now
held. Unlike Gates, he stood high in the confidence and esteem of
Washington. He showed considerable skill in his opposition to Cornwallis.
In an engagement between some irregular American troops under General
Morgan, and a part of Cornwallis's army under Colonel Tarleton, the
British were defeated with considerable loss, but in a pitched battle soon
after at Guilt'ord the British were, after a stubborn contest, successful.
Cornwallis, however, like Howe in the middle States, had other foes than
the American soldiers to deal with. Even those inhabitants who professed
themselves loyal showed no zeal or energy in supporting him. Horses
could not be got, and thus Cornwallis was compelled to destroy all his
wagons but four kept for the sick, and all his stores except those absolutely
needed for the bare support of his men. In the meantime the Americana
had received a great addition of strength. In July, 1780, a French fleet
arrived, with a force of six thousand soldiers on board. Thus strengthened,
in the spring of 1781, Washington was in a position to strike a decisive
blow, and he felt that such an effort was needed to restore the spirits and
confidence of his countrymen. For a time he doubted whether to attack
-Clinton at New York, or to march southward against Cornwallis. The ar-
rival of a fresh licet of twenty-eight ships from the West Indies, probably
decided him to adopt the latter course. For a considerable time Washing-
ton made as if he would attack New York, so as to deter Clinton from
WORLD'S GREAT KATIONS.
iv« n<\ when the American and French
TSSWhS £ a wbito ^ded th«
CnThilelafaUtte had b«n sent agamst Com-
wallis, not to engage in a pitched battle, but to harass him and lander his
movements. In this Lafayette succeeded. In September, Washington
marched into Virginia with a force of some twenty thousand men, against
seven thousand under Cormvallis. The position of Cornwallis was not unlike
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY.
1055
that of Burgoyne at Saratoga. He was stationed at Yorkt<»\vn. The chief
advantage of this position was that it might enable Clinton's force from
New York to join him by sea. But Clinton was delayed for a fortnight in
setting out, and, as in Burgo\ ne's case, arrived too late to be of any service.
On the 1st of October, Cormvallis found himself completeU -in-rounded by
land, and cut off from the sea by the French fleet. Many of hi* troops
were rendered useless by sickness, and a desperate attempt to cross the I'a\
and force his way northward to New York was stopped by a storm. The
Americans too were well supplied with heavy artillery, and the slender earth-
works of Yorktown gave no shelter against their fire. A sally, in which t\\o
of the American batteries were desi royed, only to be at once repaired,
showed the hopelcssnc>s of Connvallis's position, and on the 17th of
October he surrendered. This great defeat was in reality the conclusion of
the war. Petty hostilities were carried on during the summer of 1782, but
the defeat of Cornwallis left no question as to the final result.
Nothing has been said as yet of
the American navy. As it took no
part in any of the important opera-
tions of the war, it seems better to
consider it separately. At the outset
of the war the Americans were even
less prepared by sea than by land.
They had a militia, and their wars
with the Indians and the French had
given both officers and men some ex-
perience and skill. But at sea they
had no such advantages. It is an
easier matter, too, to drill and arm
active and able-bodied men than to
build a fleet. But, though there was
no possibility of the Americans cop-
ing with the British navy, yet they
were not altogether powerless on the
seas. The ports of the northern colo-
nies, especially of New England, had
trained up a race of hardy and ex-
perienced seamen. Piracy too was rife on the American coast and in the
West Indies, and thus the Americans had sailors ready to hand, well fitted
for privateering service. Whenever the Americans attempted any combined
operations by sea against the British, they failed, and, till the French fleet
came to their help, their seacoast was almost at the mercy of the enemy.
But a number of small vessels, some fitted out by Congress, others provided
1056 TIII: WORLD'S <;KKAT NATIONS.
uith letters of manpic, diil great damage to BritiHh traders. So great was
tli.- terror which rli.-y struck that the rate of insurance, even for voyage.
1,,-tueen KiiL'land and Holland, rose considerably. The most noteworthy
iiiniaiid.-r at «-a was Captain Paul Jones, an Englishman l>y birth, but in
the tervice «f the American government, who carried terror along the Eng-
IMi o.a-t, and even \u-nt so far as to burn the shipping in the harbor of
\Vliitchavcn.
Inside Comwallis's defeat there were other things to make England
ea-er f«»r peace. The country was now engaged in war with France, Spain,
and Holland, an allied fleet had been in the English Channel, and had
threatened the Irish coast. The news of the surrender at Yorkto\\ n
reached KiiL'land on the L'.~>th of November, and two days later, at the
openiii'j- of parliament, the king announced the evil tidings and called on
the nati .11 for "vigorous, animated, and united exertions." This \\asthc
iial for an attack on the government, led in the I'pper House by Shc|-
biirne, in the Lower by Hurke. The latter scofl'ed at the folly of attempt-
in IT to assert our rights in America, and likened it to the conduct of a man
uho should insist on shearing a uolf. Evil tidings from other (pnirtcrs
kept pouring in. Minorca, a British station and the best harbor in t he
Mediii-rraneaii, was in February surrendered to the French. In the same
month Conway, u ho had been among the first, to take up the cause of
America in Parliament brought forward a motion for giving over the war.
Soon after Lord North, seeing that, he could no longer reckon on the sup-
port of the House, resigned. His successor, Kockingham, died in lh,.
coiir-e of the year. Shell, iirne then became Prime "Minister. lie, like
Chatham, whose follower and disciple he professed himself, had spoken
-truiiirly a<_'ai.i,l separation, but now he fell t|,;(t the slrnggl.- was hope-
Us, and negotiations for peace went forward. There was little to hinder
the ,-ettlement of terms. Alneric;l 0,,|y wanted independence; Kiiir|..,,M|
sincerely ui-hed for peace; and «..<•!. side was ready to -rant what the
jiber asked for. Then, were only two points on' which there seemed
ikely to be an) dilnVulty. The British government was unwilling to rive
the Amcnca,,, the ri,l,t of using the Newfoundland fisheries, and also re-
quired that the^ American go vennnent should compensate the loyalists for
fcheir losses during the war. On both these points the British governmenl
gave way. A demand made by the Americans for the cession of
da wasquietly abandoned. Crushed ,| gh England was, there was
lihood of her making such « concession. All British territory,
- '"<-;<•" <-..vi.-M,,Ml the Mississippi ,a> ceded, uhile, bs ft treaty
ith Spain at the same time, England gave -np the Mississippi and
fc^f« arranged, i gh not formally signed, without
«-*hg the I'rench government. The ,n,,y between France and
S OF AMKKU'AN HISTORY.
Amoriea provided that neither should make a separate jvaee \vith England.
The Americans got over this In making the treat \ conditional onlx. ami
UiTiwinir that it .*hould not bo formallx signed till Filmland and Franee had
eomo to torn;*. Tin1 French not unnaturally thought tin* an evasion of (In-
spirit, if not of tho let tor of their treaty. The Americans, how ex or, justified
themselves on the ground that the Kiviu-h. in their proposals for peace, had
shown themselves indifferent to the advantage of America. \ open
breach, however, followed between the allies. On the ;>d of September
peace w a* signed, and the l/nited States of Ameriea Invame an indojHMident
po\\ or.
vltAl'TFK XX.
TllK I-' K 1M-: U \ 1 I'ON S f iTfTION.
S we have >een. the Articles of Confederation, although set-
tled by Congress in 1777, wore not accepted by all the
States till 17M. The main hindrance to their acceptance
was the claim of some of the larger States to unoccupied
lands. Some of the old grants from tho Fmrlish orow n
reached to the South Sea. that is toxix.thcx w ere practi-
cally unlimited to\\ards the west. The State most to profit
bx this xvas Virginia. In May. 177'.'. the delegates from
Maryland, instructed by the uox eminent of that State, op.
po-cd the olaim of Yiririnia to this vacant soil, and Yiiyinia, inlluoncod bx
the example of New York, irave up her olaims. so that in 17S1 the terms of
confederation wore finally accepted.
The history of the war ha* served in a jrreat measuiv to show the short-
comings of the Confederation. These mainly came from one i^roat defect :
its inability to force the citi/ens to comply with its wishes. After tho war
this x\a* oxen more felt. Congress had no power of maintaining an armx or
navy, no control over trade, no means of rai*inir public funds, and no mode
of enforcing its will but by an appeal to arm*. In the word* of Wa*hinur-
tou. it was "little more than a shadoxv without the sub*tanco." M-rcoxer.
from it* xvaut of power, it xvas despised ami neglected l>x those who *hould
have boon its chief support*. The ablest men were occupied x\ith tho poll-
lie* of their own States. Congress consisted of little moiv than txventx
members. The evils of this wore soon seen. In 17St'., after some difficult \.
txvelxe state* a**ented to a irenoral system of import duties. The thirteenth
hoxvovor. Ne\\ York, resisted, and thus one State was able to hinder a moas-
67
1058 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
HIV which was needful for the credit and security of the whole nation. Sor
too artic-K-s in the tiv.-ity with England were set at nought by the different.
State "ovcrm.ients. The treaty provided that all debts incurred up to that
time between citizens of either country should still hold good; that no per-
son si... ul. I suffer any loss or damage for any part which he might have-
taken in the war. Laws, however, were passed by the various State legisla-
tures in direct defiance of these articles, and all that Congress could do was
t.. exhort them to annul these laws and to comply with the treaty. Congress-
too showed itself unable to deal with great questions such as were sure to
come before a National Government. The inhabitants of the Southern
States, and of the newly opened western territory, held that it was of the
greatest importance to keep the right of navigating the Mississippi. Spain,.
which possessed the lower waters of the river, refused to grant this right,
and, in the negotiations which followed, Congress was thought to show a-
want of spirit, and an indifference to the welfare of the nation.
Moreover, there were signs of disaffection which showed that the hands-
of Government needed to be strengthened. In 1781, as we have seen, the in-
attention of Congress to the wants of the army had led to a mutiny. In the
next year a proposal was made by a colonel in the army, representing, as he
himself professed, a large number of his brother officers, to make Washing-
ton king. The defence for this proposal was the alleged weakness of the
Government. Though Washington met the proposal with a prompt and
utter refusal, he accompanied this with a promise to do all that he could to-
secure the just claims of the army. In spite of the mutiny and of repeated
warnings given by Washington, Congress showed an utter want of lib-
erality, and even of honesty and justice, in its dealings with the army. In
1780, after many difficulties and great discussion, Congress promised the
officers at the end of the war half-pay for life. But after the acceptance of
the Articles of Confederation, no law was passed providing for a fulfilment
of this engagement. A meeting of the officers was held, and an address was
issued, setting forth the gross injustice of this breach of contract, and, but
for the courage and wisdom of Washington, it is likely that a mutiny would
have broken out, fatal perhaps to the newly-gained freedom of America. In
the end the officers forwarded a temperate remonstrance, and Congress passed
a resolution granting them five years' full pay after the disbanding of the
army. An event which followed soon after showed the unreasonable dis-
trust with which the nation regarded that very army whose toil and sacri-
fices had saved it. A society was formed, called the Cincinnati, to consist
officers who had served in the war, and their descendants. This was
. friendly association to keep alive among the members the memory
r joint service, and to establish a fund for the relief of its poorer
ire, their widows and orphans. Washington consented to be the first
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN IIISTOl.'V.
L059
president of the society, and this fact, it might have been thought, was a
safeguard against any danger. Yet so strong "a* tin- popular dread of a
military despotism that the establishment of the society met with wide-
spread disapproval So violent was the attack, that Washington thought it
necessary to persuade the members to do away with hereditary membership,
and to alter other features in the scheme. Even so, public displeasure,
though lessened, \\as not altogether removed.
Besides the supposed danger from the army, there \\ere other and better
founded causes of fear. \o State had suffered more by the war than Mas-
sachusetts. Its fisheries and its commerce were destroyed. Taxes had in-
creased, while the means of paying them had lessened, and, as was natural
in a time of distress, private debts had accumulated. Tims there came int<»
being a distressed and discontented class, ready for any change. Public
meetings were held at which the dor-
trine was laid down that property
ought to be common, because all had
helped equally to prevent it from be-
ing confiscated by the English govern-
ment. The malcontents also proposed
to do away with the State Council,
and to abolish all taxes. In 178H an
open insurrection broke out, and fif-
teen hundred men took up arms head-
ed by one Shays, who had served as a
captain in the late war. Through the
firmness and courage of the governor,
James Bowdoin, the insurrection was
suppressed, but the most alari 1 1 i 1 1 g t lung
was that Congress, although it raised
ti'oops iii case such an emergency
should again arise, yet did not venture
openly to declare the object for which
these troops were enlisted. In short,
it dared not assert either the will or the power to deal with the rebellion.
In this state of things, thoughtful men began to see that, if the United
States were to exist as a nation, there must be a central government with
direct power both in internal and external affairs ; able to carry on foreign
negotiations in the name of the nation, to issue commands to the citizens of
the State, and to enforce these commands, if necessary, and to punish those-
who neglected them. The first man clearly to perceive, and boldly to de-
clare this was Alexander Hamilton, one of the most far-seeing and courage-
ous statesmen that any country ever produced. lie had already distin-
1060
TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
himself in the war as aide-de-camp to Washington, and at a still
time l'\ :t series of essays on the rights of the colonies. But, though
|i,. had l>eeii amnnu1 the most ardent supporters of American independence,
no one sa\v more clearly the dangers of the new system. So highly did he
value a strong central government, that frequently through his life he was
denounced as the advocate of monarchy, and the enemy of his country's lib-
erties. This charge was without the least foundation. Hamilton did indeed
M.VBTHA WASHINGTON.
believe that the English government was in itself, and where it was possible,
system, bnt he saw as clearly how unfitted it was for America. He
countrymen to copy, not the monarchical form of government,
ich of the English system as would make the constitution stable
In 1785 an opportunity offered for introducing such a change
| for. In the spring of that year commissioners 'were appointed
gmta and Maryland to settle certain difficulties about the navi-a-
i of the Potomac river and Chesapeake Bay. They met at Mount Ver-
on, \\ aslnngton's house, and there a plan was proposed for maintaining a
STOIMKS OF A.MKIMCAN HISTORY. 1061
fleet on the Chesapeake, and for settling commercial dutie-. This led to the
proposal made l>\ tin- Assembly of Virginia for a general conference of com-
missioners from all the States to consider the. state of trade. Hamilton saw
that this conference might he made the instrument of wider changes, and he
persuaded New York to send commissioners, himself amonir them. In 17*<>
commissioners from live States met at Annapolis in Maryland. Hamilton
laid hefore them a report, giving reasons why it \\oiild l>e uell if a conven-
tion of delegates from all the States should meet to consider the state of the
National Government. The proposal was adopted. It might have seemed
easier and more natural to refer the matter to Congress, rather than to form
a special hody for this one object. Hut Congress no longer represented the
strength and wisdom of the nation, and it was generally felt that the task
would be beyond it. On the other hand, it shows the wisdom of tho.se \\Iio
proposed the great measure that they so earned it out as not to weaken the
authority of the existing government — that they did nothing to sweep away,
or even to weaken, the old constitution till the new \\as ready.
In 1787 the Convention met at Philadelphia. It is scarcely too much to
say that no body of men ever met together for a task of such vast impor-
tance to the welfare of mankind, or needing so much the highest powers of
statesmanship. The President of the Convention was Washington. At the
end. of the war he had retired into private life, and had ardently believed
and hoped that his career as a public man was over. So strongly did he
wish for privacy, that he at first declined the presidency of the Convention.
But the insurrection in Massachusetts showed him the dangerous condition
of the country, and the need which she had for the service of every loyal
and able citizen, and he accepted the post. In sending delegates to the Con-
vention each State seems to have put out its utmost strength. But few
statesmen of note, Patrick Henry included, were away. His hostility to any
change in the government was so intense that his presence could have been
nothing but a hindrance. The mere summoning of a Convention implied
that something was to be done, and it was no place for those who were
against all change. Hamilton, though he was in a great measure the cause
of the Convention being called together, and though he afterward, by his
arguments, did much to get the new Constitution accepted, yet had little to
do with framing it. He differed widely in his views from the great bulk
of the nation, and he seems to have seen the hopelessness of any attempt to
force his opinions upon it. The man who was, above all others, the author
of the Constitution was James Madison, of Virginia. He was a man of:
peculiarly moderate temper, able to understand both sides, and to sympa-
thize in some measure with each, and he was therefore specially fitted to
deal with a question which could only be managed by a compromise. FOP
it must never be forgotten that the American Constitution did not represent
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
what anv one party considered the best possible system but was framed by
' v Jain* something. The difficulties before the Convention were
; ,! •pi.-st, there was the one great obstacle, the wide difference of
i()I1 a, to what the new Government should be. Some wished to see it
"letelv override the various State governments. This view was ex-
,.,, by Governor Morris, one of the ablest of Hamilton's supporters, who
Ld, said that he regarded the State governments as serpents whose teeth
tual 'he ,h-iwn Others were opposed to anything which could tend even
to w."ik«Mi the State governments. Besides this, there were other, though
perhaps leaser, difficulties. All except the men of extreme views felt that
must be a strong central government, able at least to conduct the
affairs of the nation, and possessing such authority over the citizens
as was needful for that purpose. At
the same time, all wished to preserve
the State governments. To combine
these two objects was no easy matter.
The differences between the various
States greatly increased the difficulty.
Some depended on trade, others on.
agriculture. Here every thing was
done by free labor, here by slaves.
Moreover, the forms of law procedure
and the rules as to the right of voting
were different in the different States.
Above all was the great difficulty of
dealing with small and large States, of
giving due weight to the former with-
out sacrificing the latter. All these
difficulties could only be got over by
ff y f some system of compromise, by a con-
ffat***^ t&C&Z&CfpVv, stitution, that is to say, which should
in almost every point fall somewhat
short of what each party would consider the best probable plan. Even so,
nothing but a strong sense of the evils from which the nation was suffering,
and of the dangers of its present condition, could have led the different par-
ties to make such sacrifices of their own wishes as were needful. On one
point, and one only, were all agreed, namely, that" the new government must
be republican and democratic ; that is to say, that the rulers must be chosen
by the mass of the people, and be really answerable to the people for their
conduct while in office.
Two rough schemes were laid before the Convention, one by Edmund
Randolph, of Virginia, the other by William Patterson, of New Jersey.
!
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 10C3
The former, which, with some changes, was finally accepted, represented
the views of those who wanted a strong central government, the Federal
party, as they \\ere afterwards called ; the other, those of their opponents.
Hamilton also brought forward a scheme, but this went so far beyond
the wishes and views of the mass of the Federals, that it met with no
support. Finally Randolph's scheme was adopted, and the Convention
applied itself to casting it into shape. The result, with some changes,
has continued to be the Constitution of the United States to the present
day. The chief provisions were as follows : The government was to be in
the hands of a President and Congress. Congress was to consist of two
Houses, the upper called the Senate, the lower the House of Represen-
tatives. In this the Convention was no doubt influenced by the example
• of the State governments, and so indirectly by that of England. There
was, however, this special advantage in having two Houses. It got over, as
no other contrivance could have done, the difficulty resulting from the differ-
ence of size between the various States. The members of the Upper House
were to be elected by the State Legislatures, those of the Lower House by
the qualified electors of the various States. But in the Upper House each
.State was to have two senators, in the Lower the number of representatives
was to be proportioned to the population of the States. Thus the smaller
States were not altogether put on an equality with their larger neighbors, •
nor altogether subjected to them. As in the Congress of the revolution, the
question how the slaves should be reckoned in apportioning the representa-
tives gave rise to much discussion. Finally a compromise was adopted, and
three-fifths of the slaves were counted as population. The power of making
laws was entrusted to Congress, but the President's assent was necessary.
If the President should refuse his assent to a measure, it was to be sent
back to Congress, and if again passed by a majority of two-thirds in each
House, it became law. The President himself was to be elected for four
years. He was not to be directly elected by the people, but by electors
chosen by the citizens in each State. This was introduced with the idea
that it would secure a wiser and more deliberate choice than if the people
voted directly. But in practice the electors have been chosen, not for their
general ability, but simply to vote for this or that candidate. The number
of electors for each State was to be equal to the number of senators and
representatives together from that State. The manner of choosing these
electors in each State was to be decided by the Legislature of that State.
In most States they were chosen by the mass of the citizens ; in some by the
:State Legislature. If two candidates for the Presidency got an equal num-
ber of votes, the House of Representatives was to vote between them,
voting, not singly, but by States. If no candidate had more than half the
•votes, then the House of Representatives was to elect one out of the five
Till- WORLD'S (JltKAT NATIONS.
on the list. There was to be a Vice-President, who was to fill the
President's phi.-.- in case of a vacancy. At first the Vice-Preside.it was to be;
the second candidate for the Presidency, but this was found to give rise to
great confusion, and after IXOJ the Yice.President was chosen by a separate
election, thoiitrh upon the same system. Voting in all kinds of election was
t,, |,e by ballot. The President was to have tin; appointment of all public,
oflicer,, and to be coinmaiider-in-chief of the army and navy. The seat of
._ro\ eminent uas io be a neutral territory belonging to none of the Mates,
but under the direct control of Congress. This district (of Columbia) was
-ranted by Man land, and the seat of government is the City of Washing-
ton. There uas to be one Supreme Judicial Court, presided over by a chief
ju-tice, who was appointed by the President for life. This .Supreme Court
uas cut nisted \\ith the important task of dealing with all cases in which
the enactments of Congress might, clash with the enactments of the various
State governments. By this means one of the great obstacles to a con-
federation uas ._rol over. All disputes between the two conflicting powcis,
the central Legislature and the State governments, wen; referred to a
body independent of each. Moreover, those who felt the danger of a
democratic constitution valued this
court as the one part of the govern-
ment which was hot directly depend-
ent on the people. On the other
hand, thoroughgoing democrats !il«;
Jefferson looked on this as a flaw in
the constitution.
When the constitution was drawn
up, the difficulties of its framers had
little more than begun. The question
at once arose, how was the constitu-
tion to be put in force? Congress had
no power to grant away its own au-
thority to a new government, nor had
the nation enough confidence in it to-
accept its decision. Accordingly the
Convention resolved to lay it before.
the various States. The serious ques-
tion then arose, what was to be dono
if some States accepted, some refused (
Finally it was decided that, if nine
s accepted it, the constitution should take effect, and that, if any of the-
-mg States refused, they must be left out of the new confederation.
y Conventions of the various States were summoned. The con-
STOIMKS OK AMKIMi AN HISTOKV.
KM;;,
test was a hard one. (Jn-at service was done f,, the eau>e of the constitu-
tioii by u scries of essays called (lie "Federalist."1 The-e \\ere \\ritten \>\
Hamilton, Madison, and u third Federal statesman. Jay. The stru^l'' \vas
most severe in New York and Virginia, Imt in both the constitution at,
length prcxailed. In New York the result was mainly due to Hamilton.
In Virginia, Patrick Henry opposed it \\iih the utmost animosity , and \\ilh
the power and eloquence of his l>est da\ s. It is even said that at one meet-
ing he spoke for seven hours at a st retch. Injustice to him, it should In-
said, as indeed it ma\ he said of all the leading opponents of the ne\\ s\s-
lem, that, \\ hen the constitution uas carried, the\ accepted it honolh and
Io\all\. Henry in particular became conspicuous l.cfoiv his death a- a -up-
porter of the Central government against the rights of the separate Stales.
Rhode Island and North Carolina held out the longest, Imt t he\ too at
length acceded.
Washington, as all had foreseen from the outset, \\as called |,\ the
united \oice of the nation to the Presidency. It is hardly too much to -a\
that, if he had not existed, the
Federal Constitution \\ould never
have been accepted I iv all the States.
Ill him the nation had a leader \\iio
commanded the love and conlidence
of his fellow-countrymen :is no other
man ever 1ms. But for this extra-
ordinary i^ood fortune, it is unlikely
that the American people, \\ith its
\iolcnt dread and hatred of mon-
archy, would ever have consented to
the rule of a President. The new
government did not hm^ enjoy peace.
lu the \ear 17*7 hostilities broke
out between the inhabitants of the
IICN\ ly-settled western territory and
the Indians there. As in such cases
generally, there seem to have been
acts of unprovoked and unjustifiable
violence on each side. Forces were
sent against the Indians in 1790 and
1701, but both were defeated with heavy loss. Both the commanders in
those expeditions, (leneral Manner and (icneral St. ('lair, \\ere tried for in-
capacity, but acquitted. In 1794 Wayne, NN!IO had distinguished himself in
the War of Independence, was sent against the Indians. Iledefea'ed them
in a decisive battle, and in 17'.';"i they sued for peace. In this war the
1(M.,. THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
government met with BO small difficulty in enlisting an army. One party
jn G>BgreeB maintained that the war should be earned on solely by the
bolder militia. <iivat inconvenience too was felt, as in the war with Eng-
|.m,l. from tin- system of short enlistments. In 1794 an insurrection
1,,-oke out in Pennsylvania. This sprung out of the discontent felt at
the imposition of a duty on spirits. In this same year Washington was re-
elected President. His second term of office was marked by still more
st-rions dilliculties. The relations of the States with England, France, and
Spain were unfriendly. The English government refused to quit some of
the western forts, on the ground that the States had not fulfilled the terms
of the treaty. John Adams was sent as envoy to England, and was well
received by the kin?. But for a while the points in dispute remained un-
M-ttled. The Spanish government refused the Americans the use of the
lower water* of the Mississippi, and seized ships sailing there. Moreover,
there \\ere disputes about the boundaries of the Spanish and American
territories. The manner in which peace had been made had done some-
thing to sow the seeds of discord between England and France. The
outbreak of the French Revolution served further to alter the relations
Ix-r ween the two countries. The moderate party in the States stood aloof
from the successful revolutionists, and looked upon the influence of that
party in America as dangerous, while the Democrats, headed by Jefferson,
were drawn more closely towards France. The war between England and
France threw the relations of America to both nations into still greater
confusion.
I'.efore going further, it should be said that two distinct political parties
had now sprung up within the United States. As we have seen, there was,
at the time of the settlement of the Constitution, a State-rights party on the
one side, and a Federal party, as it was called, on the other. The State-
rights party always denied the right of their opponents to the name of Fed-
eralist, declaring that they were equally in favor of a Federal government ;
that the Veal question was, which system was most truly federal, and that
for one party to call themselves Federalists, and their opponents Anti-
federalists, was begging the question. But the names, however incorrect in
their origin, stuck to the parties, and so it is better to use them. The pass-
ing of the Constitution in a great measure overthrew the Anti-federal party.
But, as soon as the Constitution was established, the old struggle was re-
id in a slightly different form. The interpretation of the Constitution,
t came to be applied to particular cases, was almost as important as
*nal form of it. The Anti-federals, on the one hand, strove to limit
f the central government as much as possible, and to interpret
itution in the way most favorable to the State governments; the
I in everything to strengthen the central government at the
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 10G7
expense of the separate States. In this, there can be no doubt that the ex-
treme men on each side, and most, perhaps, those of the Federal party,
strove to stretch the Constitution beyond what they must have known to be
the wishes of its frainers. It is important to understand clearly the origin
and nature of these two parties, as the division between them runs on
through all later American histoiy, changing its form indeed, but still
remaining in many important points the same. The Federal partv \\;i-
headed by Hamilton. Its main strength lay in the commercial States of the
north and east, and especially among the New York merchants. The other
party, with Jefferson for its leader, drew its strength mainly from, the south-
ern planters. Washington could riot be said strictly to belong to either
party; indeed, his neutrality was one of the points which gave the nation
such confidence in him. His leanings, however, were toward the Federals.
He had sought to do justice to both parties by appointing Hamilton and
Jefferson the two chief secretaries of his cabinet, and making them thereby
his principal advisers. The first great subject on which the two parties
joined battle was the question of a national bank. This was Hamilton's
project. The Anti-federals were opposed to it, as throwing toq much power
into the hands of government. They denied that the Constitution gave the
government any power to form such an institution. Finally, the bank was
established. Another even more serious matter, was the foreign policy of
the government. As was said before, Jefferson and his followers were the
friends of France ; Hamilton and the Federals, of England. Reckless
charges were brought against each of these statesmen, and have been re-
peated since, accusing them of readiness to sacrifice the interest of America
to that of the European nation whom they respectively favored. But, what-
ever may have been the case with inferior members of the two parties, there
can be no doubt that both Hamilton and Jefferson were above any such
designs. Faults they both had as statesmen ; but, widely as they differed
in all things else, they agreed in serving their country faithfully, though on
different principles, and in different ways. The ill-feeling of both parties
was strengthened by the reckless conduct of Genet, whom the French revo-
lutionary government sent as their representative to America. He sent out
privateers from the American ports, and abused the American government
openly for not breaking the existing laws of neutrality, where those laws
favored England at the expense of France. This served to inflame both
parties. So violent was the feeling called out among one section of the peo-
ple that, but for Washington's firmness, they would probably have engaged
the country in a war with England. A bill for stopping all trade with
England was carried in Congress, and was only prevented from becoming
law by the President's veto. In 1794, a treaty was made with England.
Here, too, it was only Washington's influence which carried the question by
. a bare majority.
106g THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
In i:nr Washington retired. Although his popularity was marred by
the course h«- took' about the treaty, yet he was pressed by many to stand
fora third Presidency, and he probably would have been elected if he had
Stood Knt lu' steadilv refused, thereby setting a precedent which has been
followed ever since. At the same time that he declined to stand, he issued
a farewell address to his countrymen. He reminded them forcibly of the
need for forgetting all distinctions and remembering only that they were
Americans. '"The name," lie said, "of American must always exalt the just
pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discrimina-
tions." Following up the same line of thought, he pointed out that the
ditVerence between the northern, southern, eastern, and western States, so far
from beinir causes for separation were in reality only reasons for a closer
union, since each quarter required to be helped, and to have its wants sup-
plied, by the resources of the rest. After his retirement, Washington took
no active part in public life, but employed himself with the management of
\\\- c>tatcs and with farming, in which he took great delight. In the next
year the fear of a French war obliged the government to make military
preparations, and Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. The dan-
ger, however, passed over, and the rest of his life was spent in peaceful re-
tirement. That, however, did not last long. In the next year, 1799, a cold,
brought on by exposure, carried him off after a short illness. Not only in
America, but in France and even in England, the news of his death was
received with marks of public sorrow. The unpopularity which his foreign
policy had brought upon him passed away, and did nothing to weaken the
love, gratitude, and esteem with which his countrymen have ever regarded
his memory. Never in all history have such feelings been better deserved.
Fr ..in first to last, no selfish ambition, no desire for aggrandizement, had ever
led hitn astray from the duty which he owed to his country. Successful
leaders of revolutions have always been exposed to special temptations, and
have seldom altogether resisted them. Few have been more tempted than
Washington; yet none has ever passed through the ordeal so free, not
merely from guilt itself, but even from the faintest suspicion of guilt.
The election of a successor to Washington was the signal for a severe
truggle between the parties. Jefferson was brought forward as the repre-
-ntat.ve of the Republicans, Adams of the Federals. After a close contest
latter was elected. The Federals started another candidate, Thomas
cney, of South Carolina. The bulk of the party wished to see Adams
i.t. and Pmckney Vice-President, but some of the Federals who were
H.v to Adams-Hamilton, it was thought, among them— supported
fcney for the Presidency. The result of this manoeuvring was, that Jef-
came m second, and so was Vice-President. Before Washington's
•ement, Jefferson and Hamilton had both left the cabinet. Adams could
o
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o
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o
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«
STOIMKS OF A.MKRICAN HISTORY.
10U9
not ha\e been expected to Imve much confidence in Hamilton, nor is it likely
that Ilaniilton would have served under him. His position, however, outside
the cabinet, was in every way unfortunate and unsatisfactory. The members
of Adams's cabinet \\eiv Hamilton's followers, and completely under his
guidance. His influence was always separate from, and often hostile to, thai
of the President. At first, however, the prospects of the Federal party and
of the government looked bright. The conduct of the French government
was so outrageous as to disgust even those Americans who were naturally
inclined to sympathize with France. When the news of the English trealv
reached Paris, the American envoy was treated with great disrespect. C..m-
missioners were sent out from America in hopes of settling the difficulty.
The Directory, then at the head of French affairs, told the commissioners
through private agents that the good-will of France could only be recovered
by the payment of a sum of money. This demand created a great outburst
of indignation in America, and a conflict seemed at hand ; though war was
not formally declared, an American frigate attacked and captured a French
one. France, seeing that America was really roused, drew back, and in 1800
a treaty was signed between the two nations.
The conduct of France served for a while to make the Federals popular
at the expense of the Republicans. But this did not last long. Adams,
though an honest and upright man
and an able statesman, was vain, ill-
tempered, and unconciliatory. More-
over, he naturally resented the secret
influence which Hamilton exercised
over the cabinet. Before long, Adams
was at war with his whole cabinet,
and the Federal party was hopelessly
broken up. To complete its ruin
Congress forced upon the country
two most unpopular measures, the
Alien Law and the Sedition Law.
The former of these empowered the
President to order out of the United
States, at his own discretion, any
alien whose presence he should judge
dangerous. The Sedition Law en-
forced penalties on any person who
published false, scandalous, or ma-
licious writings against the govern-
ment, either House of Congress, or
the President. Both these laws were generally felt to be opposed to the
1()70 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
of the American nation, and they brought the government into
disrepute. Moreover, the extreme Federals, led by Hamilton, were
suspected of seeking to involve the country in a war with France. The
French .government too became more moderate in its conduct. Lhus a
rtrong reaction sprang np in favor of the Republicans. Accordingly when
Idama a-ain stood for the Presidency, he was beaten. The Republicans
,,„.,.•„.,! tlieir two candidates, Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The latter was a
profligate adventurer of bad character. The intention of the Republicans
was that Jefferson should be carried as President, and Burr as Vice-
PivM.l.-ut. The two, however, were equal, and the House of Representa-
tives had' to vote between them. So bitter was the feeling among the
Federals against Jefferson that many of them stooped to vote for Burr, and
the two were again equal. The votes were taken thirty-four times with the
same result. At last one voter went over, and Jefferson became President.
It should be said to the honor of Hamilton, that he opposed this disgraceful
intrigue against Jefferson.
In 1787 Congress made special provision for the admission of fresh
States. This was of course necessary, as there was a vast territory to the
\\.-t which was sure to be occupied sooner or later. The central govern-
ment was empowered to form districts called Territories. These were to be
formed, either out of soil which the nation had acquired by treaty or other-
\\ise, or out of land voluntarily surrendered by any of the States. These
Territories were to be governed, each by its own inhabitants, but according
to a set constitution, and were to have governors appointed by the central
government. When its number of inhabitants reached sixty thousand, it
might then be admitted as a State, with the same rights as the older States,.
both as regards self-government and as a member of the Union. The first
new State added to the Union was Vermont. This was a district to the
north of Massachusetts, lying between the rivers Hudson and Connecticut.
As early as 1760 disputes for its possession had arisen between New York
and New Hampshire. The English government decided in favor of New
York, but the people of Vermont refused to acknowledge the claim. In
1777 they applied to Congress to be admitted to the confederation as a,
separate State. New York opposed this, and the application was refused.
Accordingly Vermont remained for some years nominally under the
jurisdiction of New York. Its leading men even made overtures to the
British government, wishing to be joined to Canada. Nothing however
came of this, and after the Constitution was adopted Vermont applied to
be admitted into the Union. The request was granted ; New York accepted
thirty thousand dollars as compensation, and in 1791 Vermont became one
of theJQnited States. The next State admitted was Kentucky. This was
a district to the west of Virginia, which originally formed a part of that
STOIMKS 01 A.MKKH AN HISTORY.
1071
State and gradually detached itself from it. Till about 1770 the country
was only occupied l>y a fe\v hunters and scattered settlers ; !.ut in IT^i' tin-
population had so increased that the distance from the capital of Virginia
was felt to be an inconvenience. To meet this, a Law Court was established
in the district, equal in power to that at Richmond. In 1785 a convention
was held which petitioned the legislature of Virginia to make the district
into a separate State. This was done, and in 1792 the State of Kentucky
was admitted to the Union. In 1785 the inhabitants of the north-west
"| V
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
frontier of North Carolina wished to separate, and proposed to become a
State under the Dame of Franklin. The matter, however, could not be set-
tl(,,l „ ,1,,. ,jmt. In ITS'.) the legislature of North Carolina handed over
the district in question to the United States. It was formed into a Ter-
ritory. ami seven years later it was admitted into the Union as the State of
Tennessee. The 'treaty of peace with Great Britain gave to the United
States a vast district between the Mississippi and the Alleghanies. This
n-inn was formed into a Territory in 1787, out of which five States have
l.t-eu formed sinee. In 1802 Ohio was admitted as a State.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN.
fHE election of Jefferson marked the complete triumph of the
. It \\as followed, as such political victories
V' J • in America have been ever since, by wholesale changes in all
the government offices. Jefferson turned out numbers of
public servants, and replaced them with his own supporters.
He pleaded in defence of this, that he could not trust the
followers of his political opponents, Adams and Hamilton.
Later Presidents, however, have, without any such excuse, fol-
lowed his example. They have created vacaucies simply to
reward their own followers, and this has been shamelessly defended, on the
plea that the conquerors are entitled to the spoils. In his opening ad-
dress Jefferson laid down clearly the general principles of his party. He de-
clared his intention of "supporting the State governments in all their rights
as the most competent administration for our domestic concerns, and the
surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies." At the same time he
spoke of " the preservation of the general government in its whole consti-
tutional vigor, as the sheet-anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad."
Be also spoke strongly of the folly and danger of any attempt at separa-
tion, thereby differing widely from the champions of State-rights in later
times.
Soon after Jefferson took office, Napoleon, then First Consul, extorted
•pmisiana from the Spanish government. This naturally alarmed the Amer-
icans. An active, ambitious, warlike nation, like France, was a far more
danger. .us neighbor than a worn-out power such as Spain. It was fortunate
for America that the Republicans then in power had always striven to stand
STOUIKS OF A.MKIIK AN IllSTOliY. 1073
well with France. Jefferson, knowing tliat the French government \\.-mtcil
money, at once entered into negotiations for the purchase of the territory in
question. After some discussion, the whole of Louisiana was bought by
the Americans for fifteen million dollars. This arrangement \\as carried out
by the President and his cabinet, without the previous consent of ( 'ongre--..
In this exercise of arbit rary power JeffenOD and his party were guiltv of a
breach of those principles which they had always upheld. The nation, how.
ever, u as too well pleased with the result to question the nature of the pro-
(•ceding. The Spanish government at first objected to the arrangement, and
urged that it had given up Louisiana on the understanding that France
should not part with it ; but France and America were both reads to enforce
the arrangement by arms, and Spain gave way. In 1804 the southern part
of the newly -acqui red land was formed into a Territory, and in 1812 it was
admitted as the State of Louisiana.
In 1801 the United States were engaged in their first foreign war.
When the Federals came into power under Adams, the American navy was
far too weak to protect the rapidly growing commerce of the country. In
spite of the opposition of the Republicans, who were hostile to everything
which strengthened the hands of government, much was done during
Adams's presidency to put the navy on a better footing. The result of
tljis \\-as soon seen in the dealings of the American government with the
petty states on the coast of Barbary, namely, Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis, and
Morocco. Pirates from these states, sanctioned, if not sent out, by their
rulers, harassed the commerce of civilized nations. The rapidly growing
trade of America was especially exposed to these attacks, and accordingly
the American government, like some of the European governments, secured
its citizens against the pirates by a yearly payment to the rulers of the Bar-
bary States. In 1800, the Dey of Algiers, presuming on the weakness of
the Americans, ordered the captain of the ship which brought the yearly
tribute to take an ambassador for him to Constantinople. As the ship lay
under the guns of the fart, the captain dared not endanger her by refusing.
In 1801 the Pasha of Tripoli, thinking that his State had been treated with
less respect than Algiers, threatened to declare war on America. Next year
the Americans sent a fleet of four ships to pacify the various Barbary States,
or if, as seemed likely, war had been already declared, to attack them. The
American commander found on his arrival that the Pasha of Tripoli had
declared war. During the year the Americans took several ships belonging
to Tripoli, but struck no serious blow. Next year a fleet of six ships \\as
:sent out. It attacked Tripoli without any decisive result. In 1805, the
fleet blockaded Tripoli, and was helped by a land force under the command
of Hamet Caramalli. He was the elder brother of the reigning Pasha, but
had been deposed, and had fled to Egypt. With a mixed force, officered in
68
1074 THE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
part I iy Americans, he marched on Derne, a town in the State of Tripoli,
and took it. This was the first time that the American flag was hoisted
over juiv place in the Old World. Thus, threatened both by land and sea,
t lie I'asha was glad to make peace. The terms granted him were liberal-
in tin- opinion of many of the Americans, too liberal. No more tribute was
to IK- paid, but the Pasha was to receive sixty thousand dollars as ransom
for American prisoners. The claims of Hamet Caramalli, having served
their turn, were forgotten. Immediately afterwards the Dey of Tunis threat-
ened the American fleet with war, unless they restored a vessel which they
had >eiml on its way into Tripoli. The American commander not only
refused to do this, but told the Dey that no tribute would be paid in future.
The Dey at first blustered, but when the American fleet appeared before
Tunis, lie irave way entirely. These successes put an end, as far as America
was concerned, to the disgraceful system of paying blackmail to the Medi-
terranean pirates. During the war great courage was shown in many cases
by American officers and seamen, and the practice which they gained bore
fruit in the ensuing war with Great Britain.
\Ve have seen how, through the intrigues of a section of the Federal
party, Colonel Burr pressed Jefferson closely for the Presidency. In the
spring of 1804 Burr stood unsuccessfully for the governorship of New York.
During the contest Hamilton used severe, though just language, about Bur£
liiirr challenged him; they fought, and Hamilton was killed. Other Amer-
ican statesmen have done greater service to their country ; none probably
ever understood the nature of its Constitution so well as Hamilton, or fore-
saw so dearly the special dangers which lay before it. Burr was soon en-
gaged in fresh misdeeds. He was detected in a plot, the object of which has
never been clearly discovered. He was found to be transporting troops and
supplies to the southern valley of the Ohio. It seems doubtful whether his
object was to raise an insurrection in the West, or to make an independent
and unauthorized, attack on Mexico with the help of disaffected inhabitants
of that country. He was tried on the first of these charges and acquitted.
The second was then allowed to drop, as the government probably felt that
his schemes were completely discredited and his power of mischief destroyed.
He fled to Europe, and was no more heard of in public life.
The election of Jefferson and the ascendency of the Republicans naturally
w the Umted States towards friendship with France and enmity to Great
The great European war, by crippling the resources both of Eng-
France, threw the carrying trade into the hands of America, and
increased the American merchant navy. A demand for sailors
up and to supply this, American merchant captains readily received
<>n, the British navy. British commanders sought to recover
thus a question arose as to the right of search— the right,
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1075
that is to say, of British officers t<> search neutral ve->els for deserters. The
bitter feeling which thus sprang up \\a< increased by the fact that British
coniiiiiinders were often unscrupulous in forcibly impn->iii'_:' Anifi-ican citi-
xens. To such a length was this carried that it was believed that, before
the end of the great European war, several thousand American-bom citixens
had been pressed into the Briti>h navy. In ls<>7 a question of this kind
led to a conflict between two vessels, the British I,«>/xir>/ and the American
The commander of \\\c L«,j><m/ demanded to search the <'li,*<i-
The American captain refused. Thereupon the Lf-<>j><ir<l attacked,
killing tive men and wounding sixteen. The British captain carried oil' four
men who were alleged to be deserters. Three of these were proved to be
American citixens wrongfully claimed by the British. The British govern-
ment made full amends, but the ill-feeling created did not pass away. The
growing commercial greatness of the United States soon brought them into
conflict, both with Great Britain and France. Each of these nations tried
to injure the other by forbidding neutral vessels to enter the ports of its
enemy. The American government met this by laying on an embargo, for-
bidding all vessels to leave the American ports. This measure naturally
annoyed the New England merchants, and drove them even more than be-
fore into the ranks of the Federal party. At the same time the government
began to make active preparations for war, and especially to strengthen the
navy. In 1807, Madison succeeded Jefferson as President. He had taken a
leading part in forming the Constitution, and in pressing it upon the nation.
At first he was a moderate Federal, but he had gradually drifted round, and
was now Jefferson's Secretary of State. In 1810 France and Great Britain
*ach professed itself ready to repeal its decrees, if the other would do so
first. But neither would take the first step. So far, the quarrel had been
as much with France as with Great Britain, but circumstances arose which
turned the scale against the latter. Another fight between two ships sprang
up out of a claim to search, put forward by the British. Another grievance
was the complaint that English agents were stirring up disaffection in the
border settlements and intriguing with the Indians there. Moreover, in
1811 Napoleon withdrew his decree against commerce between England and
America. No similar concession was made by the British government. On
the 18th of June, 1812, the American government, on the ground of tin-
various injuries received from Great Britain, declared war. Five days after-
ward, before that declaration reached England, the British government with-
drew its orders against commercial intercourse with France. Attempts were
then made to restore peace. Each government, however, stood firm on the
one point of the right of search. In going to war on such trivial grounds,
there can be no doubt that the Americans were influenced by their old sym-
pathy and alliance with France, then engaged in her great struggle against
the free nations of Europe.
1076
THE WOBLD'S GBEAT NATIONS.
The Vn.ericans began the war with an attack on Canada General Hull
,,.,, , invadin, foWcomposed of two thousand rmlitia and five hundred
, Tin- British were aided by an Indian force under Tecumseh. He
; Shawnee chief, a man of great ability and energy. He had gained
„.,;,, llltlll(,m.e over the Indians, and had made vigorous, and partially suc-
•fa] efforts to restrain the Americans from encroaching on his country.
, to wean the Indians from their habits of drunkenness,' and to withhold
them from selling their lands. Tecumseh had a brother called the
.. i>m,, hot " a man fully as ambitious as himself, but far less wise. Under
his leadership the Shawuees had in 1811 attacked the settlers in Ohio and
been defeated by General Harrison at a place called Tippecanoe, after a
l,,n,r and fierce engagement. But as this attempt had been made in
Tecumseli'8 absence and against his wishes, the failure had in no way
weakened his influence. His
alliance now was of much
service to the British. Aided
by him, Brock, the British
commander in Canada, drove
back the invading force into
the town of Detroit, and there
surrounded and captured them.
A smaller American force soon
afterwards made another at-
tack on the Canadian frontier.
This attempt also failed, and
nearly the whole of the in-
vaders were captured, but the
British lost their commander,
PICKETS ON DOTY. Brock. Next year the attack
on Canada was renewed, but
with no great success. Several detached attacks were made, but one only
effected its object. A force of two thousand men under General Dearborn
destroyed the British town of York (now called Toronto). In all the other
expeditions the Americans were defeated, in some cases with great loss.
Finally, they concentrated their forces, numbering four thousand, for an
attack on Montreal. Some trifling engagements followed, in which the
British had the best of it, but nothing decisive was done. The British,
however, were unsuccessful in their one attempt to push the war into the
United States. A British force of five hundred regulars and seven hundred
Indians, well provided with artillery, under General Proctor, attacked Fort
Stephenson on the north-west frontier. This place was held by Colonel
Croghan with one hundred and thirty-three men. He refused to surrender,,
STORIES OF AM I.KK AN HISTORY. 10;;
and beat off the assailants, killing one hundred and fifty of them, ami
losing, it is said, only one of his own men. Later in the year the Americans
were more successful. In September Commodore IVrry, with nine vessr!-,
defeated a British squadron of like size on Lake Erie. In the same vear.
General Proctor was defeated on the River Thames in Canada after an en-
gagement, in which Tecumseh fell. As a set-off against these defeats, the
British took Fort Niagara, with large stores, and Buffalo, then a village on
the American frontier.
At sea the Americans were more successful than by land. Their fleet at
the outset of the war was weak in numbers, containing only seven frigates
and eight smaller vessels. But their officers were for the most part brave
and skilful seamen, and the flourishing American merchant service gave the
country the means of manning its regular navv quickly and well. The
British navy, on the other hand, had become careless through continued
success, and the press-gang system rendered the service unpopular and the
men disaffected. In the first year of the war the Americans were victorious
in four successive engagements between single ships. But in the spring of
181tt a British fleet of twenty sail entered the Chesapeake Bay. The
Americans could not encounter so large a force, and it sailed along the
coast, doing much damage. The most remarkable naval event of this
year, and indeed of the whole war, was the fight between the Chesapeake
and the Shannon. The CltesapeaJce was the same vessel that had been at-
tacked by the Leopard six years before. She was a ship of thirty-eight
guns, under the command of Captain Lawreuce, and was fitted with every war-
like appliance that the skill
of the day could suggest. Her
crew, however, had been ag-
grieved by some prize-money
being withheld from them,
and some of her officers were
inexperienced. The Shannon
was also a thirty-eight gun
ship, commanded by Captain
Broke. She had taken twenty- A FLOATING BATTEBY.
five prizes, every one of which
Broke had destroyed, rather than weaken his crew by drawing out men
to take charge of them. Her inferiority to the Chesapeake in fittings and
resources was more than made up for by the courage of her captain and
the high training and seamanship of her crew. During the spring Broke
lay off Boston harbor, waiting for an American vessel to come out. None
came, and his supplies began to ran short. At length he sent a written
challenge to any of the American fleet, whereupon the Chesapeake bore
10i8
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
il opened fire After ten minutes the Shannon was
Ude The British boarded, and in five minutes, after a fight in
, Ml the Americans struck their flag. The American loss
,
:
,, kill,d, and Broke with fifty-eight others wounded. After this
,,.,1KU.kah]e rather as a brilliant duel than for any real importance m
its ,vsul,s, nothing noteworthy was done by sea on either s^e.
Th, V(,,r 1 8 1 :', saw the Americans engaged with a fresh toe The Creek
WiaM 'led on by the influence and example of Tecumseh, made war on the
Bouttw'estern state*. This was of interest and importance, not only for its
own sake, but because it
brought into public view
one of the most remarkable
men in American history,
Andrew Jackson. The
leader of the Indians was
one Weathersford, a half-
breed, a man second only
to Tecumseh in ability and
influence. The first place
attacked was Fort Mims,
an outpost on the borders
of Alabama. So little did
the commander of this
place expect an attack that,
when a negro brought news
of the Indian preparations,
he was flogged for raising
a false alarm. A few hours
afterward the fort was at-
tacked, and after a fierce
fight was taken. Some of the garrison escaped, but out of five hundred and
fifty occupants of the fort four hundred, including all the women and chil-
dren, perished. Four hundred of the Indians also fell. Weathersford did
his best to restrain the ferocity of his countrymen, but to no purpose. The
south-western States at once raised forces for an Indian war. That from
Tennessee was the first in the field. It was commanded by Andrew Jack-
son, whose ancestors had emigrated from the North of Ireland. He was now
forty-six years old; he was a lawyer by profession, and had been appointed
judge of the Supreme Court in his own State. He had also served against
the Indians, and was now appointed major-general of the Tennessee army.
I !<• was a man of great decision and energy, and considerable ability, but
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN HIsT-MiY. 1070
wild in his habits and liable to fearful outbursts of passion, which had fre-
quently engaged him in disreputable quarrels. He was still suffering from
wounds received in one of those affairs when he was called on to take the field
against the Creeks. Nevertheless, he rose from his sick-bed and went forth
at the head of two thousand five hundred men. A detachment of his force
attacked and took a stronghold of the Indians called Tallushatches, and soon
after Jackson himself defeated the enemy in a pitched battle at Talladega.
After this a succession of mishaps seemed at one time to threaten the army
with destruction. A party of Indians who had come to make their submis-
sion and to ask for terms, were by mistake attacked and cut off. This made
the Indians feel that there was no resource but to fight it out to the last,
and turned some who might have been friendly, or at least neutral, into
enemies. Moreover it was midwinter, and the troops suffered both from the
severity of the weather and from lack of provisions. Jackson, too, was beset
by the same difficulty as the commanders in the revolutionary \\ar. His men
were only enlisted for short periods, and they claimed their discharge just
when their services were most
needed. Once they openly muti-
nied, but they were brought back
by Jackson's prompt dealing and
resolute bearing. At last they re-
fused to advance, as it seemed, to
certain starvation, and even Jack-
son had to yield. Supplies, how- -;^p||^pc ' ^
ever, came just when they were most
wanted, and the troops were able to i \KIT FOR DUTY.
advance. In two skirmishes with
parties sent out by Jackson the Indians had the best of it, but for more than
two mouths nothing decisive was done. In March, Jackson advanced with
his whole force, numbering about one thousand. The Creeks made their
stand at a bend of the river Tallapoosa. During the delays caused by the
disturbances in the American army the Indians had ensconced themselve> in
a strong log-fort. Their number of fighting men was about nine hundred.
After a fierce fight the Indians were routed with great loss. This, called
the battle of Tallapoosa, is generally looked upon as the blow which de-
stroyed the last remnant of Indian power. In the meantime Governor Clay-
borne of Alabama had attacked and defeated an Indian force under
\\Cathersford. Weathersford himself saved his life by leaping his horse-
into the river off a bluff fifteen feet high. By these two defeats the power
of the Creeks "was utterly broken. Some fled to Florida ; the bulk of the
nation sued for, and obtained peace, surrendering more than half their terri-
tory to the American government. This war was important in two ways;
THE WORLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
„.„•„„, flv, the Southern States, and thereby Aiding them to
, ,,,-umst the British invasion; secondly, as being the
^S Andrew Jackson, a man who probably had more
country for good and evil than any Present between Jef-
and ,t
'
oi the campaign of 1814 was disastrous to the Americans,
ogether creditable to the British. The settlement of peace in
S (Jreat Britain to turn all her forces against America. But,
oi concentrating all its power in one great attack, the British govern-
mt,t ed a succession of blows at different points In August a force of
four thousand men under General ROBS sailed into Chesapeake Bay. The
comnnnder of the American fleet, instead of opposing their landing, burnt
hi. shins and joined the land force. The British thereupon decided to march
,,n ANVhiiK'ton The force opposed to them consisted of one thousand regu-
l,,x ,iul tivT. thousand militia. Instead of contenting themselves with harass-
ii,,r tlu- British, for which they were better fitted, they drew up ready for a
VIEW OP FORT HENRY
pitched battle at Bladensburg, a point covering Washington. The British
drove them back, without much loss on either side. The American com-
mander, however, decided that his force was too much weakened by the
flight of the militia to hold Washington, and accordingly he evacuated the
<-ity. The British marched in and destroyed the government property, in-
cluding the Capitol, the President's house, and the national records ; a bar-
barous violation of the usages of war among civilized nations. Their next
proceeding was to march on Baltimore. They were supported by a squad-
ron of fifty sail under Admiral Cochrane, which sailed up the Patapsco
river. The town was garrisoned with one thousand five hundred men,
nearly all militia. Its chief defence was an outwork called Fort Henry, on
the Patapsco. The land force met with little resistance in 'its advance,
although it lost its commander, Ross, in a skirmish. The fleet bombarded
Fort Henry, but was unable either to silence the enemy's guns or to force
STORIES OP AMERICAN HISTORY.
1081
its way past. As the land force did not appear strong enough to make the
attack unsupported, the attempt was abandoned. In the meantime tin-
British had sustained a severe loss on the coast. Sir Peter Parker, a na\al
otlicei- of much note, who was in command of a frigate in the Chesapeake
Bay, had landed with a small force, and had been killed by an outlying
party of Americans.
On the northern frontier the war had been carried on actively on both
sides, but without any decisive result. In May the British took Oswego, an
important place on the American side of Lake; Ontario. In June the Ameri-
cans renewed their attempt to invade Canada. They crossed near Niagara with
more than three thousand men, captured Fort Erie, and defeated the advance,
guard of the British at Chippeway. On the 25th of July they encountered
the whole British force at Lundy's Lane, near Niagara. A fierce engage-
ment followed, with heavy and nearly equal losses on each side, but with no
decisive result. The Americans kept Fort Erie for a while, but finally
judging that they could not hold the place, they destroyed it, and returned
to their own territory. In September Sir George Prevost, the governor of
Canada, made an attempt, somewhat like Burgoyne's, to invade the United
States by way of Lake Cham plain. He was supported by a fleet of seven-
teen sail. But a small American fleet tinder Commodore McDonough
engaged the British fleet and utterly defeated it at Plattsburgh, near the
northern end of the lake. There-
upon Prevost abandoned his at-
tempted invasion.
By far the most important
events of this war were those in
the South. In the course of the
summer of 1814 it became known
that the British were meditating
an attack on the Southern States,
probably at the mouth of the
Mississippi. The defence was en-
trusted to Jackson, fresh from his
victory over the Creeks. He
found that the British had estab-
lished themselves at Pensacola, in
the Spanish territory of Florida.
Jackson himself took up his posi-
tion at Mobile, on the coast of Alabama. The chief defence of Mobile was
Fort Bowyer, on a point commanding Mobile Bay. On the 15th of Septem-
ber the fort was attacked by the British both by sea and land, but was gal-
lantly and successfully defended by Major Lawrence. Jackson sent a ship
A HKATY UUN.
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
A • i,0 no- a terrific explosion, came back and told
' '
A ,0 no- a ,
'" US reHf M! I' Jtt in r'eality was caused by
fcdo. that the fo 1 Mlei, 1 ^ ^ ^ fire ^ of
up of a I P * Pensacola and seized it,
now proceeded to attack New Orleans. Some
,mi, to have l>een leit on each side how far
, d be t,ue to the American Union, of which they had lately be-
•itixens. There seems to have been no ground for these suspicions,
I1(1 the Louisiana *ew throughout loyal to their new government. There
also the fear of a rising among the slave,. Moreover the American
only of arms was miserably insufficient; but the strong will and courage
of' Lkson overcame or lightened every difficulty. On the 24th of ISoyeni-
ber t'he British fleet of fifty sail anchored off the mouth of the Mississippi
Two plans of attack were open to the British: to ascend the river and
attack New Orleans by water, or to land the troops and march on the city.
To do the former it would have
been necessary to destroy the forts
which guarded the river, or at least
to silence their guns. This was con-
sidered too difficult, and the British
commanders decided to attack by
land. Accordingly, on the 21st of
December the British troops disem-
barked. They were opposed by a
fleet of small vessels, but the British FLAT-BOATS USED FOB DISEMBARKING TROOPS.
gunboats beat these off, and the
troops made good their landing. They were under the command of General
Pakenham, a brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington. He had shown
himself a brave soldier in the Peninsula, but had done nothing to prove his
fitness for command where much skill and judgment were needed. He him-
self, with a considerable body of troops, did not arrive till some days after
the landing of the first detachment. Till his coming, the British troops,
numbering about three thousand, were commanded by General Keane. At
first the Americans were ignorant of the exact position of the enemy, but on
the 23d they learned that the British army was within nine miles of the
city. The news was brought by a young planter, whose house had been
seized by the British troops. All the rest of the household had been cap-
tured, and but for his escape the city might have been surprised. Jackson
then marched out, and an engagement followed. After a whole night's
fighting, during which the British were much harassed by the fire of two
vessels in the river, the Americans retired. Keane, it has been thought,
STOIMKS OK AM Hi; 1C AN HISTORY.
L083
ought then to have inarched straight <m the city. Few mm, however, would
have ventured <>:i such a -\c\> in the absence of their superior otlirer. More-
over, I'akciili.iin \vas e.xpecle;! to bring u\> large reinforcements, and Keane
B!
H
w
tz!
pi
o
could not know that fresh troops were daily pouring into New Orleans and
that Jackson's hopes were rising with every hour of delay. After this,
Jackson stationed himself outside the city and threw up earthworks for its
)|is4 TIIK WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Kverv man and horse that could be pressed into the service was
1 ,u.,l On the -'atli Pakeiilmra arrived, and three days later an unsuc-
eegrfni attark w<* made on the American works. Here, as before the two
American -l.ip< in the river greatly annoyed the British troops, till one was
sUIlk -m<l tin- other driven off by the enemy's guns. On the 8th of January
the British made their general attack. They numbered seven thousand
three hundred, the Americans twelve thousand. Pakenham sent a detach-
i,,«Mit across the river to seize the forts on that side, which would otherwise
have annoyed his main body by a cross-tire. This attempt was completely
successful, bnl the main body was defeated with terrific loss, and Pakenham
himself fell. Jackson did not attempt to follow up his victory, and, after a
iVw skirmishes between the outposts, the British embarked and sailed off.
FULTON'S FIRST STEAMBOAT.
Though the war was in reality over and peace signed when this battle was'
fought, yet the victory was of great importance to the Americans. It saved
New Orleans, a rich and populous city, from the horrors of a sack. Coming
also immediately after the Indian war, and contrasted with the American
defeat at Washington, it begot an enthusiastic admiration for Jackson which
laid the foundation of his great political influence.
While this carnage was going on before New Orleans, the two nations
were no longer at war. Commissioners from Great Britain and the United
States had met at Ghent in July to discuss the terms of peace. These were
easily arranged. Great Britain at first insisted that her right of impressing
sailors on the high seas should be acknowledged by the Americans ; America
insisted that it should be formally renounced. Each at length gave way on
STORIES OP AMERICAN IIISTOKY. 1085
this point, mid the matter was left as before. Tlic British gave up their
conquests on the Canadian frontier, so that the boundaries remained as tln-v
had been before tlie \\ar. The Americans refuse* 1 to admit the Indians who
were allied with the British to a share in the treaty, but at length promised
not to molest them. On the 24th of December peace was signed; the terms
of it are the best proof of the trivial grounds on which war was declared.
Two mechanical inventions, made in America about this time, deserve
special notice from the important effects which they at once produced. One
was the cotton-gin, invented in 17!).'} by Eli Whitney of Massachusetts. This
was a machine for separating the fibre of the cotton, the part used in manu-
facture, from the seeds. Hitherto this had been done by hand. Machinery
had already been contrived in England for the making of cotton goods, but,
its full use was hindered by the cost of the raw material. Before Whitney's
invention not much cotton was exported from the United States. In I 7'.M a
million and a half pounds were exported, and in the next year five and a
quarter millions. The immediate effect of this in America uas to call into
life a new form of industry, cotton-planting. The warm swampy lands of
the Southern States rose enormously in value, and at the same time the de-
mand for slave labor was greatly increased. Soon after this, another inven-
tion was brought in, more wonderful than the cotton-gin, and far more
remarkable in its effects on the whole world, though not perhaps on Amer-
ica. This was the steamboat, which was introduced into America by Robert
Fulton of Pennsylvania. The idea of the steamboat had been thought of
by others, but Fulton was the first who successfully carried it into practice.
His first steamboat was launched on the Hudson in 1807. The great imme-
diate effect of this was to increase immensely the importance of the two
main rivers of the United States, the Hudson and the Mississippi. The Mis-
sissippi became more than ever the great line of communication, binding
together the Southern and Western States. Some twenty years earlier,
Franklin had put forth emphatically the value of the Mississippi to the
United States, declaring that to ask them to part with it was like asking a
man to sell his front door. The invention of the steamboat gave double
force to Franklin's words.
1086
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXII.
SOUTH CAROLINA AND NULLIFICATION.
I BOUT this time tire differences between the North and South
be^au to make themselves felt. But as those differences
and the conflicts that rose out of them, at least so far as
they concerned slavery, form one connected chain of events
ending in the War of Secession, it will be better to consider
them separately, and to pass them over for the present, ex-
cept when they are inseparably mixed up with the events
of the day. In 1817 Madison was succeeded as President
by another Republican, Monroe. He was a man of no
special power, who had served creditably in various public offices. He is
best known by his assertion of
what was called the Monroe
doctrine of "America for the
Americans." A rumor was afloat
that the European powers in-
tended to interfere to restore the
authority of Spain in her re-
volted colonies in South America.
Thereupon Monroe declared that
he should consider any attempt
on the part of European powers
" to extend their system to any
portion of this hemisphere as
dangerous to our peace and
safety."
In 1825, at the end of Mon-
roe's second term of office,
Adams, the son of the great
Federal statesman, became Presi-
<leut. He was a highly-educated
and thoughtful man, too much so indeed to be a popular statesman. He
strengthened the navy, and supported improvements, roads, canals, and the
like, which the Republicans wished to leave to the various States. But the
point on which the two parties were most strongly opposed was the ques-
tion of import duties. Originally the North was for Free Trade and the
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN HISTORY.
1087
South for Protection. The former took this line from the belief that tin-
shipping and carrying business would gain by free trade; the latter upheld
protection because they were the chief producers and so wished to keep out
foreign rivals. Accordingly, in 1810, Calhouu of South Carolina brought
in and carried a bill imposing protective duties. Hut before long the
Northerners found that they were the gainers by this. Their niaiiul'aetures
rapidly grew, and thus it became their interest to keep out foreign uoods.
At the same time the heavy import duties prevented the South from buying
imported articles, and forced them to depend for such on the North. Thus,
when the question of duties was brought forward in 1828, the two parties
had changed sides. The South, under ( 'alhoim, were fighting for Free Trade ;
the North, led by Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, for Protection.
In 182(3 the 4th of July was kept with great national rejoicings. It
was marked by one of the most notice-
able events in history, the death on
that day of Jefferson and Adams, the
two men who had drawn up the
Declaration of Independence. Though
for a while estranged, they had been
reconciled and had for many years
corresponded as friends. Adams's last
words were "Thomas Jefferson yet sur-
vives." In reality, when those words
were spoken, Jefferson had been dead
a few hours. The death of those old
men seemed a sort of omen for the
time to come. No President of the
United States has been chosen since
the election of John Quincy Adams,
as were his father and Jefferson, as
being the most cultivated and en-
lightened statesman of the day. He
and all that went before him were men raised by training and social position
above the ranks of the people ; all that have come since have been taken
from the common run of citizens.
In his second candidature Quincy Adams was opposed by General Jack
son. The main issue between the two parties was the commercial one.
The one, consisting mainly of Northern merchants, were for high protective-
duties ; the other, whose strength lay among the Southern planters, for free
trade. Jackson's chief claim to office was the popularity gained by his ser-
vices in war. Over and above this, he showed a strength of will and a
power of commanding men which, as we shall see, were perhaps more
1088
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
n.vdful for a President just at this time than knowledge and culture.
Hitherto however, his force of character had shown itself chiefly in high-
I,.,,,,!,.,! abuses of authority, as commander. After his defence of New
< kleana, lie had conducted a war against the Seminole Indians in the South.
There he had set at nought the orders of his own government ; he had
.sei/ed Spanish towns without due authority, and had executed two British
prisoners on the ground that they were intriguing with the Indiana, but on
evidence far too weak to justify such a measure. In 1824 he had been
lirou-rht forward as candidate for the Presidency, and had been beaten by
Adams. In l.S-JS they were again rival candidates, and this time Jackson
\\.-i- elected.
Like Jefferson, Jackson signalized his entry to office by a wholesale dis-
charge of government officials. True to the principles of his party, he
reversed as far as possible Adams's measures for
strengthening the navy and for granting the aid
of the government to internal improvements.
His term of office was marked by two great
struggles. The most important of these was
against the extreme members of his own, the
Democratic or States Rights party. In 1832 the
import duties were lowered, but not enough to
satisfy the South. South Carolina had always
been the most active and independent of the
Southern States. There, more than elsewhere,
the planters regarded themselves as a separate
and superior class, and looked down upon the
traders of the North. In Calhoun, South Carolina
found a leader well suited to her. He had been
elected Vice-President under Jackson. His family
came from Ireland, but had been for many years
settled in America. He may be looked on as a type of all the best,
and of many of the most dangerous, characteristics of the Southern
planters. As a speaker, he was clear and forcible, though unpolished. But
his influence lay not in his oratory, but in the intense earnestness ot his
Convictions, his devotion to his own State, and the loftiness and purity of
his private character. He believed firmly in slavery as a system of life, a
form of industry, and above all as insuring the political ascendency of the
South. He held this belief like a religious creed, to which he clung with
the unbounded devotion of a fanatic. Under his leadership, South Carolina
lied a Convention and refused to accept the tariff. This line of action
is called Nullification, and was based on the doctrine that any State had a
ght in extreme cases to refuse to be bound by the enactments of the
THE PALMETTO, EMBLEM OP
SOUTH CAROLINA.
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1080
central government. This was not the first case in which a State had
shown such a tendency to disobedience. During the war of 1812, a Con-
vention of Northern citizens, who were strongly oj. posed to the \\ar and to
the other measures of the government, had met at Hartford, in Connecticut,
and had, it is said, discussed the possibility of separation. But the affairs
of the Hartford Convention were conducted with great seerecx . and -ccm to
have excited little alarm. It was not so with the hot-blooded planters of
South Carolina. They were known to be making preparations for resi<t-
ance, and it seemed for a while that civil war was at hand. Jackson's
courage and promptitude, and the power which he had shown of striking
swiftly and effectually with hastily-collected and ill-organized forces, now
stood the Union in good stead. Southerner and Democrat though he was,
he was as passionately attached to the cause of the Union as Calhoun was
to that of his own State. Jackson publicly announced that the Union mu>t
be preserved at all hazards, and made preparations as for war. He was
supported, not only by his own party, but by the Federals. Webster made
in Congress one of his greatest speeches, in which lie clearly pointed out
that there was no alternative for any State between obedience and rebellion,
and that to allow each State to decide how far it need obey the National
Government was practically to destroy that government, A conflict was
prevented by a compromise. This was effected in a bill brought forward
by Clay of Kentucky, providing that the import duties should be gradu-
ally reduced. This was finally carried. The supporters of it thought that
any measure ought to be adopted which would remove the danger of
civil war, and at the same time preserve the authority of the Constitution.
Many of them too must have seen that the demands of South Carolina were
in themselves reasonable, whatever might be said of .the way in which t hex-
were urged. Others felt that, by yielding anything to threats, they would
weaken the authority of the Constitution, and encourage like attempts in
the future.
Jackson's other great struggle was against his natural opponents, the
Federals, and on behalf of Democratic principles. In 1832 the National
Bank applied for. a renewal of its charter from government. This was op-
posed in Congress. The Federals, headed by Webster, supported it, and it
was carried : but the President refused his approval. The bank retaliated
by using its vast influence to prevent Jackson's re-election, but failed.
Jackson then withdrew all the public moneys in it and transferred them to
banks in the various States. The opposition to the bank was based, partly
on the old Democratic hostility to central institutions, partly on alleged
mismanagement and corruption. These charges seem to have had some
foundation, though they were probably exaggerated. The withdrawal of
ihe public money and the refusal of a charter did not at once destroy
69
1090
THE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
the bank, but they deprived it of its character as a public institution and
led to its downfall.
About thin time a new political party sprang up, calling themselves at
»i,,t' National Republicans and afterwards Whigs. As the latter name
showed, thev supported the Constitution as tire safeguard of national
liberty The leaders of this party were Henry Clay and Daniel Webster.
The former was the son of a Kentucky clergyman, the latter of a New Eng-
1-md firmer Both were sprung from the middle class and rose into public
life by their success as lawyers. Both were men of liberal mind and wide
,,,ltuir. and remarkable for sobriety of judgment. In eloquence, Webster
has probably never been equalled by any of his countrymen, unless, perhaps,
by I 'at rick Henry. Neither Clay nor Webster ever attained the Presidency,
partly because tile allegiance of the party was in a measure divided between
them'. Moreover, during their period of public life it was found necessary
to select as candidates for the Presidency, not men of brilliant ability, but
moderate and safe men, against whom no special objection could be urged
by any one. Though Webster and the
Whigs supported Jackson on the ques-
tion of Nullification, yet on the Bank
Charter and other important matters-
they were opposed to him. In 1829
Van Buren, the Secretary of State, in
a paper of instructions to the American
minister in England, blamed the policy
of Adanis's government, and instructed
the minister to disavow their proceed-
ings in his dealings with the British
cabinet. Webster held that this in-
troduction of party politics into di-
plomacy would be injurious to the
relations, of America with other coun-
tries. The Senate supported this view,
and when, in 1 832, Jackson nominated
Van Buren as minister to England,
they took the serious step of refusing
to sanction the appointment.
Jackson was succeeded by Van Buren, a Northern Democrat. He was a
man of education, and his writings on American politics show that he un-
derstood the Constitution of his country far better than the generality of
his party, better perhaps than any statesman of his day except Clay and
Webster. But he was either wanting in energy and force of will, or un-
fortunate in having few opportunities of showing such qualities. He seems-
x-i ^f3<t
W3KU*^
STOHIES OP AMEKICAN ULSTOHV.
to have shrunk from the exercise of power, but, when forced to use it, to
have done so with wisdom and dignity. During his term of office the
government was involved in considerable trouble with the Indians. For
more than ten years measures had been going on for moving them westward.
Hitherto the Indians had been merely savage enemies on the outskirts of
the Slates; but now things took a new turn. They began to form settle-
ments, which might fairly be called civilized, in territory which the Tinted
States claimed. Those settlements refused to acknowledge the authority of
the United States, and so were likely to be a source of much trouble. The
National Government therefore adopted the policy of buying up the lands
and transferring the Indians to territories in the West. Such bargains
must always be one-sided affairs, with craft on the one hand and ignorance
on the other, and quarrels soon broke out, leading to a number of detached
wars. The most troublesome of these was with Jackson's old foes, the
Semiiioles, who held out in Florida under a brave chief named Osceola.
They made themselves specially obnoxious to the Southern planters by
receiving runaway slaves. At length Osceola was treacherously captured
by his opponent, General Jessop, and resistance gradually died out. These
wars cannot be regarded as of much importance. When once the Indians
and the white settlers began to be mixed up together, and their territories
to overlap and interlace, the fate of the Indians was sealed. Their only
chance was to present an unbroken frontier of wild country tenanted only
by savages. As soon as the traders could come among them, corrupting
and dividing them, all possibility of united and effective resistance was at
an end.
In 1841 General Harrison, the Whig candidate, who had been defeated
by Van Buren in 1837, was elected President. His claim to office rested
entirely on his military services. His fitness for his position was never
tested, as, after holding office for a month, he died. According to the pro-
vision of the Constitution he was succeeded by the Vice-President, John
Tyler. The most important event of his Presidency was the settlement of
certain threatening differences between America and Great Britain. For a
long while there had been an unsettled question between the two countries
as to the boundary of Nova Scotia. There were also more serious subjects
of dispute. In 1837 an insurrection broke out in Canada. The insurgents
were aided by a party of Americans. To check the latter some of the loyal
Canadians crossed over to the American bank of the St. Lawrence, and de-
stroyed the Caroline, a vessel belonging to the friends of the insurgents. In
the affray which followed, one American was killed. For this, Alexander
Macleod, a British subject, was arrested. Fortunately he was acquitted. In
1841 an American vessel, the Creole, was sailing from Richmond to New
Orleans with a cargo of slaves. The slaves rose, seized the vessel, and took
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
her into the British port of New Providence in the West Indies. The
authorities there assisted the slaves to escape. Thus each nation was fur-
nished with a grievance against the other, and such ill-feeling resulted that
serious fears of Avar were entertained.
Fortunately \Vebster, who was Tyler's Secretary of State, was liked and
respected by British statesmen. In 1842 Lord Ashburton was sent out
from England to negotiate a treaty. The main point to be settled was the
boundary between Canada and the
Northern States. The difficulty oc-
curred which specially besets Federal
governments in their dealings with
foreign nations, in the matter of ter-
ritory. The question affected, not
merely the whole American Union,
but more especially the States of
Maine and Massachusetts, to which
the territory in dispute would be-
long. These States might reasonably
suspect that their special interest
would be sacrificed to those of the
Union. At length the matter was
settled by a compromise. Great Bri-
tain gave up the larger and more
valuable share of the disputed terri-
tory, and the United States govern-
ment paid a sum of two hundred and
fifty thousand dollars to the States of
Maine and Massachusetts to make up
the loss of the rest. Two other points of importance were settled by this
treaty. One was the suppression of the slave-trade by the two governments.
This it will be better to deal with when we come to the whole question of
slavery. The other was the mutual surrender of criminals. This was beset
by some difficulty. The United States demanded that this arrangement
should include fugitive slaves, a point on which the British government was
resolved not to yield, or even to admit anything which could be afterwards
twisted into a pretext for such dealings. At length Lord Ashburton was
satisfied on this point, and the treaty was signed in the summer of 1842.
Both in England and America fault was found with the provisions 'of the
treaty as going too much to the other side. Webster and the other defend-
ers of the treaty reasonably enough appealed to this as a proof of its fair-
ness.
During the period through which we have passed several new States
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
[093
"had been added to the Union. Indiana and Michigan were formed out of
the unappropriated western territory; and .Missouri and Arkansas out of the
remainder of the French province of Louisiana. The Territory of Florida
had been formed out of the land ceded l.y Spain. Mesidcs this, Territories
had been formed in the \\est out of the lands gained from the Indians. In
the North, too, a fresh State had come into existence. In I.SL'O, with tin-
consent of Massachusetts, Maine was formed into an independent State.
CHAPTEE XXIII.
GROWING OPPOSITION BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH.
must now go back somewhat to trace from its beginning;
the contest between the Northern and Southern State-.
This struggle turned on two points, Free Trade and Slavery.
So far as Free Trade was concerned, we have a 1 read v seen
•
how matters stood. We have now to deal with that which
proved in the long run a far more serious difficulty. Slavery.
When the Constitution was drawn up, there seemed every
prospect of slavery being gradually and peaceably extin-
guished. Some of the leading statesmen, notably Wash-
ington and Jefferson, themselves Virginia slaveholders, looked forward to
abolition. It was provided by the Constitution that the importation of
slaves should not be interfered with till 1808, and in that year it was made
illegal. The first origin of the distinct struggle for and against slavery was
the admission of new States to the Union. The five old Southern States-
Maryland, Virginia, the two Carolines, and Georgia — soon found themselves
united in opposition to the North.
Their habits and ideas, and, above
all, their commercial interests,
were different from those of the
Northerners. Thus it was clearly
to the interest of the South that
the new States should also be
Slave States, and so be inclined A SLAVE CHAIN.
to cast their lot in with it. Ac-
cordingly, when Carolina and Georgia gave up to the Union those districts
which afterward became Tennessee and Alabama, they specially stipulated
1094
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
that Congress should not interfere with slavery in. those Territories. As
the Southerners favored slavery on political grounds, so the Northerners
opposed it. Thus, when, in 1820, it was proposed that Missouri be admit-
ted as a State, a fierce struggle ensued. The North demanded that slavery
should be prohibited in Missouri; the South denied the right of Congress
to impose any such restriction. At last an arrangement, was made, known
as the Missouri Compromise. Slavery was permitted in Missouri ; but, to
compensate the North, it was provided that slavery should henceforth be
prohibited north of 36° 30' north latitude in all new Territories and new
States.
As we have seen, the number of representatives which each State sent
to Congress was determined by the number of its inhabitants, and the
slaves were reckoned, not in full, but at the rate of three-fifths. This gave
the Southern States a distinct
interest in increasing their num-
ber of slaves. Thus they learnt
to look on slavery as the sheet-
anchor of their political power.
And as the differences between the
North and South on matters of
commerce and foreign policy grew
wider, so much the more firmly
did the South hold to slavery.
In this, as in the matter of Free
Trade, Calhoun was the great
leader and representative of
Southern opinion. The ascend-
ency of the South, and above all
that of his own State, were the
objects to which his whole life
xvas devoted, and, as was but
natural, he looked on slavery, the
corner-stone of that ascendency,
with like devotion. In this con-
test the South enjoyed one great advantage. They were united ; the North
was not. The South were almost to a man Democrats. In the North, the
most eminent men, and especially the New England merchants, were nearly
all Federals ; but there were many Northern Democrats who were allied
with the South.
In spite of the Southern anxiety for the spread of slavery, enough of
the old feeling against it still remained for various measures to be passed
against the slave trade. By the Treaty of Ghent both nations pledged
STORIES OF A.MKIMCAN IIISToKY.
themselves to oppose it. In 1K20 it was declared by Congress to he pirac\ :
and b\ the A>hl)iirton treaty the two nation-, agreed to employ a joint
squadron on the African coast to suppress it.
We may now take up the general history where \\e left oil', and trace
thO86 events which brought the contest between the North and South to a
head. In iNi'l Mexico threw oil' the \ oke of Spain, and became an in-
dependent Republic. In I *!' 7, and again in 1 s •_".), attempts were made by
the United States to purchase from Mexico Texas, a fertile territory ad-
jacent to the Southern Slates, and resembling the bc-t parts of them.
Mexic-o, however, refused to part with it. Soon afterwards a number of
emigrants from the Southern States moved into Texas. In 18:55 the in-
habitants of Texas, headed by one Houston, a Virginian adventurer, rose
against the Mexican government. They defeated the forces sent again-t
them, captured Santa Anna, the President of Mexico, and forced from him
an acknowledgment of their independence. They then formed Texas into a
republic, with a constitution modelled on that of the United States, and
made Houston president. In less than a year the people of Texas asked to
be joined to the United States. Indeed it was generally believed that from
the outset this had been the object of the Southern adventurers who went
thither. The South were extremely anxious for their admission. The soil
and climate of Texas fitted it for slave labor, and thus it was sure, if it
were admitted and slavery allowed there, to swell the strength of the
Slave States. All the ablest statesmen in the North were strongly op-
posed to its admission. They pointed out that it would involve the nation
in a war with Mexico, that it would strengthen the South unduly, and lead
to disputes which might rend the Union asunder. Webster put forward
these views strongly. Van Buren, a Democrat,
and Clay, a Southerner, went with him.
Calhoun, alone among statesmen of note, was
in favor of annexation, avowedly as a means of
strengthening the Slave States. Adams and a
number of members of Congress drew up a
protest, pointing out that all the proceedings
about Texas had for "their objects the per-
petuation of slavery and the continual ascend-
ency of the slave power," and going on to say
that annexation would " not only result in a
dissolution of the Union, but fully justify it."
I>ut the Democrats \\ere bent on annexation.
The\ refused to support Van Buren for the Presidency, and brought forward
an obscure man named Polk, who opposed Clay, and was elected. The
Whigs then, seeing that annexation was certain, tried to lessen the evil
A TKXAS RANGER.
1096 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
by providing that in half the newly-acquired territory slavery should be-
prohibited. They failed, however, to carry this. It was finally arranged
that Texas should be at once admitted, and four additional States gradu-
ally formed out of the newly-acquired land. As regarded slavery, the old
line of the Missouri Compromise was to be observed, but as that was two
hundred miles beyond the northernmost part of Texas the concession was of
no value. Under these conditions, in 1845 Texas became one of the United
States.
As might have been expected, Mexico did not sit down tamely under
the loss of Texas. The United States government, fearing some attempt
A MKXICAN TOWN.
to recover their new territory, garrisoned it with a small force. Their
commander, General Taylor, was warned by the Mexican government that,
if he advanced beyond a certain boundary, it would be taken as a declara-
tion of war. He disregarded this warning, and the war began. After
some unimportant operations in the west, in which the Americans were
easily victorious, Taylor took possession of the town of Matamoras. By
June, 1846, his force was brought by fresh reinforcements up to six
thousand. With this he marched on Monterey, a strong place, where the
Mexicans had concentrated their forces to the number of ten thousand.
After three days' hard fighting, Monterey fell. Taylor's force, however, was
too much weakened for him to venture on an advance. Early in 1847 Santa
Anna, the President of Mexico, marched against Taylor with twenty thou-
sand men. Taylor, with five thousand men, advanced to meet him. The
Mexicans made the first attack at Buena Vista. Partly through Taylor's
accidental absence, the Americans were for a while thrown into confusion,
but upon his return they rallied. The battle was indecisive, but next morn-
CONQUEST OF NEW MEXICO
STORIES OF AM HI! 1C AN Hl.sTolJY.
109-3
ing the Mexicans withdrew. In the meantime another army had invaded
Mexico in the west, and had conquered California \\ith scarcely, anv
difficulty, except whnt arose from the nature of the country. In flu-
spring of this year an invading force of twelve thousand men >ailed under
(ieneral Scott, the American coiiimaiider-iii-cliief. On the Dili of Man-h
they reached Vcra Crn/. This place was very strongly fortilied. Imt in e\er\
other respect wretchedly unprovided with means of re>i>tance. The
Americans \\ere allowed to laud unresisted ; they threu up earthuork- and
A MKXICAX FARM IIOISE.
opened fire on the place from sea and land. After four days1 bombardment,
to which the besieged made no attempt to reply, the place surrendered.
Scott then marched inland and defeated Santa Anna, who had taken a
strong position at Sierra Gordo. The Americans then advanced unchecked
within fifteen miles of the city of Mexico. Here serious operations really
began. At the time of the Spanish conquest the city of Mexico was sur-
rounded by a lake. This was drained by Cortez, and the city consequently
now stood in the middle of a valley. The approaches to it were guarded
by a number of strong fortresses, and a canal forming a moat belted the
city. One by one these outlying fortifications were captured, and on the
14th of September the American army fought its way into the capital.
After this the Mexicans made no further resistance. From a military
point of view, the chief importance of the war was the education which it
gave to the American officers, especially in the art of marching troops
through an enemy's country cut off from their own base. The most dis-
tinguished officers in the great Northern and Southern war had learned
1098 THE WOKLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
their business in Mexico, and such marches, daringly planned and success-
fully carried out, were among its most conspicuous features.
• On the 2d of February, 1848, peace was signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Mexico resigned her claim to Texas, and also handed over New Mexico and
California to the United States for a payment of fifteen million dollars. By
far the most important part of the acquisition was California. This gave
tin- United States the Pacific as well as the Atlantic seaboard. In fact, it
may be looked on as, in some sort, the completion of that great westward
movement which had been going on during the whole of this century. The
possession of California made it certain that the American people must in
time form one continuous community across the whole continent of America.
The only other noticeable feature in Folk's Presidency was the dispute
with Great Britain as to the north-west boundary between the British pos-
sessions and a district belonging to the United States called Oregon. Polk
and the Democratic party laid claim, without a shadow of foundation, to
territory which twenty-five years earlier had been universally recognized as
British. So resolutely was this claim urged that there seemed at one time
danger of war. Webster, however, with the same anxiety to preserve peace
which had guided him in framing the Ashburton treaty, opposed the Demo-
crats. For this he was bitterly denounced as having, both in this case and
in the Ashburton treaty, betrayed his country. But the claims put forward
by the Democrats were so clearly untenable that they were abandoned, and
the boundary proposed by Webster was adopted. In 1848 this north-west
district was formed into a Territory with the name of Oregon, and five years
later a fresh Territory was taken out of it, called Washington.
In 1849 Polk was succeeded by General Taylor, who died on the 9th of
July following. His successor, Vice-President Fillmore, was a well-meaning
and fairly sensible man, but unfit for the difficult times in which, his lot was
cast. The forebodings of Webster and the other Northern statesmen as to
the result of the increase of territory was soon fulfilled. California claimed
to be admitted as a State, and the newly-acquired districts were to be settled
as Territories. The question then arose whether slavery was to be permit-
ted in these districts. It seemed at first that, if they were left to themselves,
slave-labor would prevail there, as their natural character was suited to that
system. But the gold discoveries in California had drawn thither numbers
of free worlanen. Consequently it was clear that, if it was left to the ma-
jority of the inhabitants to settle the question, they were sure to vote
against slavery. There were various circumstances which made the South
specially anxious that slavery should be admitted into California. They be-
lieved that, once admitted, it would become prevalent, and that California
would be added to the number of Slave States. Moreover, the hostility to
slavery was growing stronger in the North. The Northern States were
STOi;il-> (}\- AMF.KK AN II|ST< »|; V. in:,;.
showing themselves li;ick\v:inl in helping tin- South to recover rnnawav
slaves. Moivo\er, t\\o Five States, \\'isconsin and Iowa, had been lately
added to the I'nioii, and the Slave States were anxious to tv.-over the influ-
ence which they had thus lost. Hitherto they had taken up the ground
that slaver\ \\ a> a question to he dealt with hy each State for itself. Now
they changed their ground, and declared that it was unjust to allow the
government of any State or Territory to prevent any citizen of the I'nited
States from emigrating with his property, that is to say his slaves, into the
newly-acquired lands. The contest began in 1846, while the acquimtion oi
the land in question was still douhtful. In that \ear David Wilmot of
Pennsylvania hrought forward a motion, providing that slavery should be
excluded from all Territories acquired by treaty. This, commonly called
the VVilmot Proviso, was carried in the House of Representatives, but de-
feated in the Senate'. Next year it was again proposed with a like result.
Calhoun met this by a series of resolutions, declaring that any such measure
would deprive the slave-holding States of their rights, and would tend to
subvert the Union. So fierce did the strife become that many of the most
thoughtful statesmen began to fear separation or civil war. In this crisis
Clay, now a man of seventy-two, and in broken health, came forward as a
peace-maker. Like Webster, who now supported him, Clay had always held
a moderate position between the two extreme parties. His proposal was
that the question of slavery in California and in the new Territories should
be left to the local governments. This was a concession to the South in the
matter of Territories, to the North in the matter of California. He. also pro-
posed that the inland slave-trade should be abolished in the District of
Columbia, hut that provision should be made for the stricter enforcement
of the law for recovering runaway slaves in Free States. The success of
this scheme, called Clay's Omnibus Bill, was in a great measure due to the
support of Webster, who, in one of his most eloquent speeches, pointed out
the danger of separation. During this struggle the South lost its great
leader, Calhoun, who died at the age of sixty-eight.
Fillmore was succeeded as President by Pierce, a man much of the same
stamp as Polk. His Presidency was conspicuous for a number of petty
quarrels with foreign nations. He and his cabinet contrived to embroil the
United States with Great Britain, Denmark, Spain, Brazil, Paraguay, and
the Sandwich Islands. In internal politics there was a lull. Clay's bill had
hrought peace, but only for a while. A great change had gradually come
over both North and South in the matter of slavery. In the beginning of
the century the feeling about slavery had been much the same in the North
and South. Both regarded it as morally evil, and looked forward to a time
•when it should die out. Indeed there seems to have been a stronger feeling
against it among the Southern planters, who knew its evils, than among the
1100
THE AVORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
A BLOODUOUNU.
Northern merchants. As late as 1831 and 1832 the Assembly of Virginia
discussed the question of extinguishing shivery. But gradually this feeling
changed. Shivery was the keystone on which the political power of the
South rested; and they came to value it, and we may almost say to love it,
for its own sake. So far from regarding it as an evil
to be gradually extinguished, they openly defended it
as the only proper and wholesome form of society, and
any one in the South who ventured to speak against
slavery was in danger of his life. On the other hand,
a strong feeling had been growing up in the North
against slavery. A small but active party had sprung
up, called Abolitionists, who denounced slavery, and
published books setting 'forth its evils, and telling
stories, some no doubt false and exaggerated, but many certainly true, of the
horrible cruelties perpetrated by Southern slave-holders. At first this party
was almost as unpopular in the North as in the South, and the publisher of
the first Abolition newspaper, William Garrison, was nearly pulled to pieces
by a mob. Gradually, however, the Abolition party gained numbers and
influence, and ventured to put forward the doctrine that Congress ou«-ht to
•*• o <^
suppress slavery. Moreover, they assisted slaves to escape, thereby break-
ing the fugitive-slave law. When we consider what sufferings the re-capture
of a runaway often brought with it, it is hard to blame men for resisting it,
and breaking a law which they believed to be unjust. Yet, considering how
important it was not to irritate the South,
or to give them any just ground for com-
plaint, such doings were to be regretted.
Many leading Northern statesmen felt this.
They believed that slavery would gradually
die out of itself, that the Abolitionists were
only infuriating the South and hardening it
in its support of slavery, and that the only
effect of their efforts would be to break
up the Union. In 1846 a political party
sprang up called Free-soilers, who opposed
slavery, but by constitutional means, namely,
by supporting the Wilmot Proviso. This
party put forward Van Buren as its candidate at the Presidential election in
1845, but was defeated. Before long they played a very important part in
American history, under the name of the Republican Party.
In 1857 an event occurred, which strengthened the Northern feeling-
against slavery. A case was tried on appeal before the Supreme Court,
concerning the freedom of a negro, Dred Scott. Chief Justice Taney's de-
EXODUS OF SLAVES.
lid
STOIMI-> OF AMKIMCAN IIISTOIIV.
cisiou was understood to lay down the following rules; — I. That
although free, could only be citi/ens ,,f some one particular State, but not
of the 1'iiion, and so could not enjoy any of the ri-ht- -ecured l,\ the
United States Constitution. II. That Coiiirress had no po\\,-r to forbid
slavery in any Territory. III. That slaves, if bought in Slave States, could
then be moved to Free States and still remain slaves. This judgment made
the Abolitionists feel that the prc--ure of slavery was far more severe, and
the task of abolition far more difficult, than they had thought.
In 1<S.~">4 part of the Missouri Compromise was repealed. This left e\er\
Territory free to take its own course about slavery. The result \\as that the
Territory of Kansas became:; battle-ground for the two parties. The North
wished that a majority of the inhabitants should be against slavery; the
South for it. Each kept pouring in fresh emigrants to outnumber the
LAWKENCE, KANSAS, IN 1857.
other. At first the South was successful, and a code of laws was es-
tablished with many and stringent provisions on behalf of slavery. This
was brought about, it is said, not by legitimate emigrants, but by a mob
of low Southerners, with no occupation and no real connection with
Kansas, who passed across the border, took possession of the polling
places, and curried the elections against the real citizens. A succession
of outrages, amounting almost to a civil war on a small scale, followed.
At last, however, the party from the North was successful, and Kansas was
definitely settled as a free State.
1102
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Pierce was succeeded in 1857 by Buchanan. Of all the American Presi-
dents he seems to have been the most utterly unfit for his place. The main
events of his Presidency will be better mentioned when we come to deal
with the war. One, however, may be noticed now, as it stands by itself
and has no direct connection with the political proceedings of the time.
That was the execution of John Brown. He was a New Englander, de-
scended from the original Puritan settlers. His four sons were among
the Northerners who fought to keep slavery out of Kansas. Not content
with joining and helping them, lie led a sort of crusade against slavery into
the South. He was attacked at Harper's Ferry in Virginia by the United
States troops, as well as by the State militia. After a desperate fight, in
\vhich most of his followers were killed, he was himself taken and hanged.
His attempt was lawless, and, considering the time and the temper of the
South, it was unwise. Yet he deserves the credit due to all who lay down
their lives in a hopeless struggle for what they believe to be right and just.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY.
»HE contest for the election of Buchanan's successor was marked
by a new subdivision of parties. The Democrats were split
into two divisions. The main issue on which the Democrat*
separated was that of allowing each Territory to settle for
itself whether slavery should be permitted within it. The
Southern Democrats held that this was an unfair interference
with the rights of slaveholders. Moreover, this section of
the Democratic party showed signs of favoring the re-
establishment of the African slave-trade. On these points
the Northern and Southern Democrats separated. The former brought for-
ward, as their candidate for the Presidency, Douglas, United States Senator
from Illinois. The extreme Democrats, chiefly the Southerners, brought for-
ward Breckinridge of Kentucky, who was serving as Vice-President under
Buchanan. The old Whigs, the followers of Webster, under the name of
the Constitutional Union party, brought forward Bell of Tennessee as-
their candidate. The Republicans, which had grown out of the old free-
soil party, supported Abraham Lincoln. He had been born in Kentucky
STORIK> i IF AMFl.'K'AN HISTORY. 1103
and brought up in Indiana. His father was a poor man of unsettled habits.
with no regular occupation. The son, Abraham, emigrated when voiinir to
Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, bed ire he was thirty, liad been a boatman, a
sailmaker, a shopkeeper, and a lau yer. Besides this, lie had fought in the
Black Hawk war, and had sat in the legislature of Illinois. In >ome re-
speds he may be compared with Patrick Henry. Both were men of humble
origin, rough and uncultivated in manner, and with little out ward shou of
the qualities which ensure worldly success. In both, political conflict called
forth [lowers of which their every-day life gave no promise. Both owed
their success as speakers, not to culture or learning, but to the earnest ne-^
of their convictions and the native vigor of their minds. But, Lincoln had
none of that brilliancy of imagination and vivid strength of speech \\hidi
made Henry the foremost orator among the statesmen of the Involution.
On the other hand, he far surpassed Henry in world I v wisdom, in self-con-
trol and patience, and in the art of availing himself of the weaknesses of
others and making them the instruments of his own success. In 1846
Lincoln was elected representative of Illinois, and before long he became
known as a rising statesman. He was proposed \u\ successfully as Vice-
IVesident in 18.")*',, and in 1860 was brought forward as the Republican
candidate for the Presidency. Though not a profe-<ed Abolitionist, he \\as
more in harmony with the Abolition party than any of the other three can-
didates. From the outset of his public life, Lincoln had been careful not to
pledge himself too strictly to any one party. In the matter of slaver\ he
had been especially cautious. He clearly saw the difficulties which beset
any scheme for freeing the negroes, but his sympathies were in a great
measure with the Abolitionists. When in Congress, he had supported the
"VVilmot proviso, and had himself brought forward a Bill for gradually
freeing the slaves in the District of Columbia. He had repeatedly denounced
the evils of slavery, though, like many other wise men, he confessed himself
unable to overcome the difficulties in the way of abolition. He and his
supporters now declared that Congress ought to forbid the introduction of
slavery into the Territories, and on this point lay the main issue between
himself and his opponents. Thus he rallied round him all the anti-slavery
feeling in the North, both that of the extreme Abolitionists and of those
who were for opposing slavery by more moderate means.
In November, 1860, Lincoln was elected President. The Southern Demo-
crats at once felt that their political ascendency was doomed. Many of them
had declared before the election that the South would quit the Union if de-
feated. Ever since the days of Nullification, South Carolina had taken the
lead among the Southern States. Nowhere was the passion for slavery so
strong; nowhere did the Southern planters view the Northern merchants
with so much hatred and contempt. B.-sides, the position of South Carolina
1104
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
inclined her to take the lead in secession. She could not be reached from
the North except through other slave-holding States — Maryland, Virginia,
and North Carolina. They would be at onc-e compelled either to assist in
subduing her or to join her; neutrality would be impossible, and the South
Carolinians did not doubt which side their neighbors would take. On
December the l"th, six weeks after Lincoln's election, a Convention of the
State <>f South Carolina met at Charleston, and formally repealed their
acceptance of the United States Constitution in 1788. The event was cele-
brated with public rejoicings; cannon were fired, and a procession was
made to the grave of Calhoun. A South Carolina newspaper, by way of
asserting the complete severance of the Union, published news from the
other States under the head of " Foreign Intelligence."
In name and form the proceeding of South Carolina was a peaceful one.
The Convention sent Commissioners to Washington to arrange the transfer
of the forts, arms, and
other property of the
Federal government with-
in the State of South Car-
olina. It was agreed by
the commissioners and the
government at Washing-
SAND-BAG BATTERY AT FOKT MOULTRIE.
ton that, while those ar-
rangements were being
discussed, no hostile ac-
tion should be taken on
either side. In spite of
this agreement, hostilities
broke out. Major Ander-
son held Fort Moultrie, one of the smaller works in Charleston harbor, with
a garrison of seventy men, for the Federal government. He asked for a
reinforcement, but Floyd, the Secretary of War, refused it, on the ground
that to grant it would enrage the secessionists. Anderson then spiked his
guns, carried off his stores, and moved into Fort Sumter, a stronger work,
also in Charleston harbor. This act was held by the South Carolinians and
their supporters to be a breach of faith. Floyd recommended the with-
drawal of the garrison, and, when this was not carried out, he resigned. The
commissioners refused to carry on further negotiations till the garrison was
withdrawn. Buchanan gave a hesitating answer, saying that the acknowl-
edgment of the independence of South Carolina was a question for Congress,
not for the President, and refusing either to approve of or condemn Ander-
son's proceedings. The commissioners answered this with an insolent letter,
denouncing Anderson's conduct, and railing at Buchanan for not condemn-
STOKIKS OF AMERICAN III>Tni:Y.
1 1 ' I.',
ing him and withdrawing the garrison. Buchanan, with the approval nf
his cabinet, refused to consider thr letter, and the opmmimonen \\cnt home.
On .January the 5th, tlie Federal Government at last took active mea-uiv-.
A steamer, the Star of tin M'<.< \\as sent to Fort Suniter with reinforce-
ineiits and munitions. 'I'lie Slate government of South Carolina \\as \\arneil
of this by a member of Buchanan*! cabinet. They made preparations for
the arrival of (lie ship and lired upon her. Being \\ithont cannon, she made
no attempt to resist, and sailed home.
Tlie state of the go\ ci •nment at Washington favored the enterprise of
the seces-ioiiists. 'I'he result of a Presidential election is known as -o. in a-
the electors are chosen in the various States. But the new President does
not come into office for some months afterward. Thus, although Lincoln
was practically elected in November 1860, he was not formally "inaugu-
rated" till March 1861. Even with a strong government there is always
STAH OK THK WKST.
a danger that the party whose term of power is about to expire will be in-
attentive to the public welfare, and that its hands will be weakened by the
certainty of its approaching end. Buchanan's government, always feeble,
was utterly powerless at this crisis. Had a man like Andrew Jackson been
in power, secession might have been crushed in its very outset. Buchanan
only addressed a message to Congress which recognized the grievances <5f
the South in the matter of slavery, but made no attempt to grapple with tin-
difficulties of the case. In Congress, South Carolina found influential sup-
porters. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, proposed in the Senate that any
State should have the right to demand the withdrawal of all Federal troops
from its territory. Mason, of Virginia, also proposed that the laws empower-
ing the President to employ the army and navy for enforcing the laws in
any State should be suspended in South Carolina. Sympathy with South
Carolina soon showed itself even more strongly. Early in February, 1861, a
-Convention of six States, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, and Florida, was held at Montgomery in Alabama. A Federal
70
1106
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Constitution was drawn up for these six States, modeled on the Constitution
of the United States. The main difference was that the President was
chosen for six years, and could not be re-elected, and that some portion of his
power of appointing government officials was transferred to the Senate.
Jefferson Davis, a man of ability, was chosen President, and Alexander Ste-
phens of Georgia Vice-President. The latter, upon his entry to office, made
a remarkable speech, setting forth that slavery was to be the corner-stone of
the new Confederacy, and that this was the first government which had
recognized and acted upon the principle that the inferior races were intended
by God and nature to be in bondage to the superior. The Middle States
were invited to join the new Confederacy.
Neither side seem at the outset to have foreseen the results of secession,
The Northerners had heard the threat of separation so often, that they had
at last come to look upon it as no more than a threat, made to extort
political concessions. The South, on the other hand, emboldened
by Buchanan's weakness and trusting to their alliance with the
northern Democrats, seem to have anticipated little or no resist-
ance. They utterly underrated the iron will and set purpose of
their new ruler, the growing hatred to slavery, and, above all, the
passionate love of the North for the Union, and their fixed deter-
mination not to suffer it to be broken up. Yet the South did
not so far reckon on the forbearance of their opponents as to
neglect preparations for defence. For some time before South
Carolina seceded, the Southerners in the employment of govern-
ment had been laying their plans to cripple the action and un-
dermine the resources of the Federal Government. Fore-
most in this policy was Floyd of Virginia, the Secretary of
War. He had transferred more than a hundred thousand
muskets and rifles from Northern arsenals to
the South. He had also placed a large portion
of the army under the command of General
Twiggs, who handed over his forces and stores,
with more than a million of dollars from the
national funds, to the secessionists. The same
policy was adopted with the navy. -Ships were
sent off to distant stations, and many of those
that remained were carried over by their com-
manders to the side of the South. Nothing can WAR BALLOON.
justify or palliate the conduct of men like Floyd.
They deliberately used the opportunities which their official position gave
them to destroy the power of the government which they served. Mean,
while Buchanan, paralyzed by the treachery of his cabinet, by the contempt
STORIES OF AMK1MCAN IIISTolIY.
with which nil parties alike looked on him, and, it is said, l>v the fear of
assassination, remained utterly helpless and inactive. Whatever iiiiirht he
the right policy, Buchanan's was certainly wrong. If the Southern State-
were to l>e kept witliin tlie I'nioii, every step should have been at once
taken to check the growth of their liiilitary poucr, and reclaim them either
hy persuasion or force. If the North was quietly to acquiesce in secession.
measures should have heen taken at once for a friend I \ and peaceful separa-
tion. Yet Buchanan's conduct was only that of a weak and irresolute man
in a position far beyond his powers. Part of the evil, too, was due to the
arrangement which leaves puhlic alVairs in the hands of a partv after tin-
nation has shown hy the Presidential election that that partv no longer en-
joys its confidence or represents its views.
On March the 4th, 18H1, Lincoln formally
entered on office. In his open in:/ address he
Hpoke out clearly and unhesitatingly on the
one great subject, the preservation of the
Union. Secession, he said, meant rebellion,
and to acknowledge the right of any State to
secede was to destroy the central government
and to introduce anarchy. The Constitution,
he said, must be enforced throughout the
United States — peacefully, if it might be, but,
if needed, by force. On the subject of slavery,
he announced that he had neither the wish
nor the right to meddle with it where it al-
ready existed. By this he clearly separated
himself from the thoroughgoing Abolitionists.
The South soon took active measures for
resistance. Volunteer forces were assembled
at Charleston and at Pensacola in Florida.
The force at Charleston was placed under the
command of Beauregard, a Louisianian of
French descent, who distinguished himself throughout the war by his
activity and enterprise. He at once erected batteries at Fort Sumter. In
March, commissioners from the new Confederacy came to Washington to
demand an audience of the President. This was refused, and Seward, the
Secretary of State, who at this time was the most influential member of the
cabinet, told them that he could not recognize them as holding any official.
position. They answered that the refusal of an audience was practically a
declaration of war, and that they received it as such. This was immediately
followed by an attack on Fort Sumter. The guns of the fort were ill-placed
and its supplies insufficient. After three days' resistance, Anderson sur-
rendered, without the loss of a single life on either side.
INAUGURATION OF LINCOLN.
1108
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
The fall of Fort Suniter was the signal for action on the part of the
North. Line-bin issued a proclamation declaring that the seceding States
were obstructing the execution of the laws ; that the ordinary forms of pro-
cedure were insufficient for the occasion, and that he had called out the
militia to suppress the unlawful combinations existing in the South, Troops
FORT SUMTEII.
were brought down from the North for the defence of Washington. The
o *.--•
feeling of the Marylauders was shown by the conduct of a mob, who at-
tacked the soldiers dxiring their passage through Baltimore and killed some
of them. The establishment of these troops at Washington cut off Mary-
land from the other Southern States, and withheld her from following her
natural bent, and joining the new Confederacy. The proclamation calling
out the militia was quickly followed by another, declaring the Southern
ports to be in a state of blockade. This was in one way a mistake on the
part of the Federal Government. By a rule of International Law, a govern-
ment cannot blockade its own ports, but only those of a foreign enemy.
Thus the blockade was au admission by the North of the point for which
the South contended, namely, that it was entitled to be treated as a separate
and independent power.
So far it was uncertain what line of policy Virginia would adopt.
Clearly she could not remain neutral. By refusing to help the Federal
Government she would practically make herself a party to secession. Her
interests and her sympathies seemed to draw her both ways. She was a
slaveholding State, and so far her interests lay with the South. But she
had never thrown herself into the cause of slavery with the same passionate
earnestness as South Carolina, nor had she ever shown the same bitter
enmity to the North. Her commercial interests too were not wholly the
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
same as those of the South. A large portion of her resources was derived
from the. breeding and rearing of negro slaves ; and the re-opening of tin-
African slave-trade, as advocated by the South, \\oidd have been a heavy
blow to her prosperity. Moreover, the native State of AVashiugton ami
Jefferson and Madison could not but be loath
to quit that Union in whose creation she had
so large a share. Still she had ever elnng to
the doctrine of State rights. That view now
prevailed, and the State Convention decided,
albeit against the wishes of a large minority,
to join the Southern Confederacy. Even if \\ e
blame South Carolina, or the Southern States
generally, for Virginia we can feel nothing but
pity. On no State did the burden of the \\ar
fall so heavily. Yet she was not responsible
for secession itself, and only in part for those
events which led to it. Compelled to choose a
side in a war which she had not kindled, she
reluctantly took that towards which her natural
sympathies inclined her, and which her political training taught her to
believe was in the right. The example of Virginia was soon followed by
Texas, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In July the seat of
the new government was fixed at Richmond. The members of the new
Confederacy were known as Confederates ; the inhabitants of the Northern
Slates who held by the old Constitution, as Federals. There is no special
meaning in the distinction. It arose from the fact that Federal had al-
ways been the name for central institutions, as distinguished from those
belonging to the different States, and that the party who had opposed
the extreme doctrine of State rights in the early days of the Constitution
were called Federalists.
A TORPEDO.
1110
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE WAR OF SECESSION.
fT may be well, before going further, to give some idea of the
means and prospects with which each party entered on the war.
As far as mere military resources went, there was no very wide
difference. The advantage which the Federal Government
ought to have enjoyed from the possession of the national
arsenals and stores was in a great measure lost, owing to the
treachery of those Southerners who had held public offices.
Neither side was at first well off for skilled officers. On the
other hand, both in the North and South the absence of
aristocratic exclusiveness allowed the best men to come quickly to the front.
DUBYEA'S ZOUAVES.
Thus the armies on both sides were soon led by men of ability, while there
was a great want of soldierly skill and knowledge among the subalterns
In many ways the South furnished better raw material for soldiers than the
The Southern planters were more given to outdoor pursuits, to
5
'J
$
s
V i
STOIIIKS or AMERICAN UlSToKY.
out it was clear that Washing,.., WptArtecl as it WM fr»... Virginia oolj
by the Potomac, wai one of the mod rolnewbie p-int> in 'I- Sortbern ,.•••
nton Accordingly, the defence of fee capital beeuM .1,- tir-t objed wi1
,he Federal Government Karthworks were thrown up in the neigiiboni
h.-i-hts and troops were posted aCTOSS the I'otoi.ia.- to 8OT«f the city.
Before entering «»» the detailed history of th.- war, it will I..- well
a general Idea of tlu- military position of both parties, an.l of their mam Ob-
;,.",. Th,. object of the South was. ,,f couree. im-ivly defenmv«,
toryma\f be looked on as a vast f,»rtn-ss bouml.-.! by the Potom^,the (
the Mississippi, and the Atlantic, Her unm,.> did indre,!. BMN than om-,-,
penetrate into the Northern tertttory. Hut sm-h nMararai wen merely I
tlH- sorties of a besieged garrison, intende.1 to draw off or weaken the assail-
ante and had no permanent occupation or eeaqaeri ... view
fine* of attack lay open to the Federals :-l. An invasion of Virg.nm from
the north 2 An' invasion of Tennessee to the south-west of the Alleghanies.
RAILWAY BATTKUY.
3 An attack from the sea-coast. 4. An invasion from the south-west after
they had obtained the control of the Mississippi. As the war si,,,,
re^f points on which the military strength of the Confederacy turned were
the Cession of the Mississippi and of those hues of railway whfchc
nected the south-western State, with the coast. By ma, en,* the M
pi, the Federals would out off their enemies from the n,h Mates „ the wesl
Sf the river, beside interfering with the commonicatioi. between he west and
the sea. Possession of the Mississippi might be obtained either from the sea,
or by following its course down from the north, or by a combined attack in b
directions. Bv bearing in mind these general features of the war, ope«tio«
spreadin, over man v thousand miles and seemingly ™^^^
seen to form part of one distinct scheme of attack and defence
terestin, feature of the war in a military point of view ,s that ,t *» th ,
in whioh railways had ever played an important part. The effect >
to lessen the advantage of superior numbers as a small body , -
terously handled. mi,ht be rapidly moved from point to point, an,
1114
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
successively against different portions of the enemy's force. This was of
especial value to an army acting in its own country against invaders.
In July, the Northern and Southern armies confronted one another on
the south side of the Potomac. The Southern army numbered about thirty
thousand men, under Beauregard. The Northerners mustered forty thou-
sand, under McDowell. His troops were ill-drilled and unsoldierly, and his
officers inexperienced, but, as many of his men were enlisted only for three
months, it was needful to do something at once, and accordingly he advanced.
Both armies were in two divisions, the main force to the east, while two
bodies of about ei°-ht thousand each, the Federals under Patterson, the Con-
O "
federates under Johnston, faced each other about fifty miles further west.
The two divisions of the Confederates enjoyed the great advantage of being
connected by a line of railway. McDowell's plan was that Patterson should
keep Johnston in check, while he himself attacked Beauregard. But this
plan was thwarted by a difficulty which we have
met with before. The Pennsylvania volunteers
under Patterson refused to serve for a day
longer than their engagement bound them. Pat-
terson was obliged to withdraw, leaving Mc-
Dowell to cope single-handed with Johnston ami
Beauregard. Johnston at once hurried, with all
the troops he could bring up, to the assistance
of the main body. On the morning of July the
21st, McDowell fell upon the right of the Con-
federate line, and drove them back. The Fed-
eral advance was stopped only by the Virginia
troops under General Jackson. " There's Jack-
son standing like a stone wall," cried the Southern General Bee, to en-
courage his men, and " Stonewall Jackson " was the name by which the
Virginia commander was ever after known. This check on the Federal right
was soon turned into a repulse along the whole line. At the very crisis of
the battle, the remainder of Johnston's force came up from the west, fell
upon the Federal right, and rendered the victory complete. With undis-
ciplined troops, however brave they may be, a defeat is almost sure to be-
come a rout, and the Federals fled from the field a panic-stricken mob, with-
out a semblance of order or discipline. From a military point of view the
result was of no great importance. The Federal loss was not more than
three thousand in all, and their enemies gained no advantage of position.
The real value of victory to the South was the confidence and enthusiasm
which was called out by so complete a triumph at the very outset of the
war. But probably the hopeful and exulting spirit which, the battle kin-
-dled in the South was equaled, if not outweighed, by its effect on the Nor-
STONEWALL JACKSON.
STulMKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
1115
iherners. Their defeat did not so much di -hearten as sober them. Hitherto
they had been possessed by a spirit of idle and vain-glorious confidence.
They had fancied that -.•cession could be crushed in two or three month.-.
Now they saw that a great war was l>H'oiv them, \\hicli \\oiil<l tax their
energies and their resources to the utmost. They learned that success could
be bought only at a heavy price, and they soon showed that they were not
unwilling to pay it.
It will be impossible in the history of the war to take in all the events
in strict order of time. If we did so, we should be constantly shifting our
view from one scene of operations to another, and be unable to get any con-
nected idea of each. Many different sets of operations were going on to-
gether, which can only be kept clear and distinct by tracing out one for a
considerable time, and then going back to another. We must now go back
to events earlier than Bull Run. Virginia,
as we have seen, was not unanimous in its
resolution to secede. The wish to remain
in the Union prevailed in the western part
of the State beyond the Alleghanies. The
inhabitants of this district wished to form
themselves into a separate State, and to
cleave to the Union. A convention met,
which carried out the wishes of the in-
habitants by establishing a separate gov-
ernment. This was regarded by the other
Virginians as treachery to the State, which
had a higher claim on their loyalty than
the Union. Accordingly it became of im-
portance both to the Federals and to the Confederates to secure this district.
General McClellan advanced towards AVest Virginia with a considerable
force. The defending force, numbering about eight thousand, was stationed
at Rich Mountain, on the western slope of the Alleghanies. When McClellan
approached, they attempted to retreat, but were forced to give battle, ami
were completely defeated. Later in the year a Confederate force under Lee
.attempted to dislodge the Federals, but without success. It was not, how-
ever, till two years later that West Virginia was admitted into the Union as
a separate State.
During the summer and autumn of 1861 important operations went for-
ward in the west. The -States of Missouri and Kentucky were, from their
position, of great importance in the war. They commanded the Upper
Mississippi and the southwest portion of the seceding States. Accord-
ingly, it was an object with each party to secure them. Both States would
have wished to remain neutral, if they could have done so, but, as with
til.N. MCCLELLAN.
1110
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Virginia, this was impossible. In each the sympathies of the inhabitants
were about equally balanced. As Kentucky would not join the Southern
Confederacy, in September General Polk, a Louisianian bishop who had
turned soldier, invaded and took possession of it. In Missouri, a long and
severe struggle between the two parties within the State was settled by the
Federals occupying it with an army. In both Kentucky and Missouri there
was some fighting during the autumn of 1861, which resulted somewhat in
favor of the Confederates, but nothing decisive was done. In the autumn
of 1861, the Federal Government created a separate military province,
called the Western Department, with its centre at St. Louis on the Mis-
sissippi. This was placed under the command of General Halleck. His
part in the war was a very important one. His understanding of military
geography and his judgment as to the general course of operations were
probably equal to that of any man in either army. He saw that the true
policy of the Federals was to advance up the Tennessee and the Cumberland,
a river which runs for the most part parallel to
it, and so to penetrate into the south- western
States, and to master the upper valley of the
Mississippi. To carry out this it was necessary
to take Fort 'Henry on the Tennessee, and Fort
Donelson on the Cumberland. Accordingly,
at the beginning of 1862, General Grant with
seventeen thousand men was sent against Fort
Henry. It was evident that the place could
not be held, but the Confederate general in
command made a determined resistance, and
enabled the main body of his troops to escape
to Fort Donelson. The Federal gunboats then
attacked Fort Donelson, but were beaten off.
The Confederates, however, finding themselves
outnumbered by the besieging force, attempted to cut their way through,
but were driven back, mainly through the resolution of Grant and his sub-
ordinate Smith. Part of the garrison escaped during the night and the rest
surrendered. By this victory the Federals gained about ten thousand
prisoners, twenty thousand small-arms, and sixty -five guns, with a loss of
little more that two thousand men. It also gave them possession of Ken-
tucky, and of a large part of Tennessee. Moreover, the Confederate line
of defence was driven back some fifty miles, and Nashville, a large and im-
portant town, and Columbus, a fortress which commanded the upper waters
of the Mississippi, were abandoned to the Federals. This was soon followed
up by further successes. The Confederates held New Madrid on the right
bank of the Mississippi, and No. 10 Island just opposite. General Pope
GENERAL UALLBCK.
STOKIKS OF AMI-UK AN UI>Toi;V.
1117
was sent from St. Louis to attack them. Batteries were erected against
New Madrid, whereupon the garri>on tied, leaving large quantities of arm-
and ammunition. No. 10 Island \vas then bombarded from the ri\er, but to
no purpose. Pope could not attack it, as it could only be reached from the
left bank, and he could not bring up l>oats to carry his troop> acr<»>, OU'IIILT
to the Confederate batteries which commanded the river. This dillictiltv
\vas at length overcome by cutting a canal twelve miles long acn»s a ),, ,,-„..
shoe formed by the river. By this means transports were brought do\\u
the river. Pope crossed, ami the island surrendered, with nearly seven
thousand men and large supplies. Following up this success, the Federals
in two engagements defeated the Confederate fleet of gunboats and obtained
possession of the Upper Mississippi as far as the frontier of Tennessee.
In spite of these di>a-ters, the Confederate forces in the we>t proceeded
to act on the offensive. The position of the two armies was not altogether
unlike that at Bull Run. Each was in two divisions, the main bodies facing
FKDEIIAL GUNBOATS.
each other under Grant and Beauregard, the smaller division also facing
each other under Buell and Sydney Johnston. This Johnston must not be
confounded with the other Confederate general of that name, Joseph John-
ston, the hero of Bull Run. As at Bull Run, the Southern armies had
the advantage of railway communication. Their commanders resolved to
unite, and to deal with Grant before Buell could join him. This scheme
was successful, and the whole Confederate army under Johnston marched
against Grant. The numbers were about equal, forty thousand on each
side. Early on the morning of April the 6th the Confederates attacked.
Many of the Federal troops were taken completely by surprise, and fell
back in confusion. A second Bull Run seemed to be at hand, with this
addition, that the Federals had a river immediately at their back, and
were thus cut off from retreat. Such a misfortune was warded off by
the determination with which General Sherman held his ground, and by
the death of Johnston. Struck by a bullet, in the eagerness of victory
1118
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
-
he disregarded the wound, and only learned its severity when he found
himself fast Weeding to death. Had he lived, he would probably have
followed up his success, and crushed Grant's demoralized army before Buell
could come up. The delay saved the Federals. Grant was joined by Buell
with twenty thousand men, and, with that dogged courage which distin-
guished him throughout the war, he returned next day to the attack. His
troops, by rallying so readily and so successfully, showed 'that the panic of
the day before was due to want of discipline, and not to cowardice. In the
second engagement the Confederates were worsted, and withdrew in good
order ; their total loss in the two days was about eleven thousand, that of
the Federals some three thousand more. Throughout these two days'
engagements, called the Battle of Shiloh, there was little room for skilful
tactics. It has been described as a gigantic bush-fight. From the nature of
the ground, neither commander could get any comprehensive idea of the
state of affairs/ or even attempt to exercise control over more than a part of
his army. Soon after this, the Confederate Government, considering its
forces unequal to the task of holding
Missouri and Arkansas, abandoned those
States to the enemy. The troops with-
drawn thence were concentrated under
Beauregard at Corinth. Shortly after, the
Federals took Memphis on the Mississippi,
a town of considerable commercial im-
portance, and valuable as a centre of rail-
way communication.
On the Lower Mississippi the Federals
had achieved even more brilliant and valu-
able successes. In no department was the
North weaker at the outset than in its-
navy, and in none were so much energy
and determination shown in rapidly mak-
ing up for shortcomings. At the beginning
of 1861 there were only four ships fit for duty in harbors held by the
Federal Government. All the rest of the national navy was either seized
by the Confederates or was at foreign stations. Yet/ by the end of the
year, the blockade had been so successfully maintained, that a hundred and
fifty vessels had been captured in the attempt to break through. Moreover,
the Federals had taken Port Royal, a fortress on the coast between Charles-
ton and Savannah, and of importance for the defence of those two places.
This was followed by an unsuccessful endeavor to block up Charleston
harbor by sinking ships, filled with stone, across its mouth. This attempt
to destroy forever a valuable harbor, of great importance to Southern com-
GENEKAL SHERMAN.
sToKIKs (iK A.Mi:i;icA\ HISTORY. Hi:»
meree, \v;is not much to the credit of tin- Federal Government. The next
important Daval attempt was of a far more glorious character. Thi~ \\.-i-:
the ca] it u iv of New Orleans l>y Admiral Farragut, wherein the Southern
States were cut off from the lower waters of the Missi»i|.]ii. Considering
the great importance of the place, the Confederate Government do not seem
to have done enough for its defence. In April, IM;I', the I-'ederal fleet
entered the mouth of the liver, and for six days ami nights lioinliarded the
fortification which guarded the entrance. On the morning of the 24tht
before daybreak, the Federals fought their way up the river, past the
THE LEVEE AT NEW ORLEANS.
forts, and through the gunboats of the enemy. The Confederate flotilla-
was completely destroyed, while the assailants only lost one vessel.
General Lovell, the commander at New Orleans, considering that it would
be impossible to hold the city, withdrew his troops. Farragut took
possession of the place, and was joined by General Butler with a land forcer
which had been at hand, though it had taken no part in the attack. The
city was then placed under the military government of Butler. He kept
order, and the inhabitants do not seem to have suffered much under his
rule. But his overbearing manner, his summary and, as it was considered,,
illegal execution of a citizen who had cut down the United States flag, and
the brutal language of his public documents, earned for him, alone among;
all the Federal commanders, the universal hatred of the South.
Vicksburg was now the one Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi,
It stands on a horseshoe of land and commands the river in both directions.
Moreover it is protected on the north-west by the Yazoo, a river which
flows into the Mississippi above the town, and it is also surrounded by
swamps and forest. On June the 24th the Federal fleets from New Orleans
and St. Louis united. The same manoeuvre was tried here which had suc-
ceeded at New Madrid. A canal was cut across the horseshoe, and thus
the Federal fleet was enabled to command the whole river without passing;
1120 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
the batteries of the town. The siege was marked by a most brilliant
exploit on the part of a small Confederate ram, the Arkansas. She steamed
out of the mouth of the Yazoo, fought her way through the Federal fleet of
fifteen vessels, doing much damage to them, and anchored safely under the
trims of Vicksbnrg. In July, after months of continuous bombardment, the
Federals .-ibundoned the attack.
One feature in the naval
history of the war deserves
notice, since it ushered in a
change of the greatest impor-
tance in naval warfare. This
was the use of iron-clad vessels.
The first of these that ap-
peared in the war was a some-
what roughly-built ram with
iron plating, called the Mumix-
RAM MANASSKS. «**. devised by a Confederate
officer, Commodore Hollins.
She fell upon the Federal squadron which was blockading the mouth of
the Mississippi, dashed into the midst of it, and put it to flight. Soon
afterwards it became known that the Confederates were preparing a large
iron-clad. This was the Merrimac, a steamer which had belonged to the
Federal Government, and had been captured in Norfolk Navy-yard. The
Federals set to work to build an iron-clad turret-ship, called the Monitor, to
match her. Each worked hard to be the first in the field. In this the Con-
federates succeeded. On March the 8th, 1862, the Merrimac appeared in
the mouth of the James River, and immediately destroyed two Federal
vessels. She attacked a third, but, before she could complete its destruc-
tion, the Monitor, just launched, camq to the rescue. She stood the shock
of the Merrimac, which had been fatal to the wooden ships, and at last beat
her off with much damage. This fight was the first fair trial of iron-clad
ships.
The Southern Confederacy at the outset confidently expected help from
foreign powers. But in this it was disappointed. The European nations
all stood neutral. The British government excited the anger of the North
by recognizing the South as belligerents. In the winter of 1861 an event
occurred which threatened to embroil the Federal Government with Great
Britain. The Confederate Government sent two agents, Messrs. Slidell and
Mason, to England. They ran the blockade, and then sailed in an English
steamer, the Trent, from Havana. Captain Wilkes, in the Federal war-
ship San Jacivto, intercepted the Trent, ordered her to heave to, and when
she refused, fired upon her. He then sent a party on board, and carried off
STORIES OF AMERICAN IIISTOKY.
112]
the agents to New York. This act was, in kind, not unlike those which
Lad driven the Americans into the war of I M L', though it \vns a far more
distinct and glaring In-each of tlie law of nations. Tin- British government
at once demanded the liberation of the Southern agent-, giving the Federal
Government seven da\s to consider the matter. President Lincoln and Mr.
Seward, the Secretary of State, saw that the act could not be justified, and
the agents were released.
We, must n«>w go back sonie\\ hat in time to trace the operations on the
Virginia frontier since Bull Hun. A vast Federal force, called the Arm\
of the Potomac, was being concentrated near Washington under General
McClellan. In his hands it was gradually changed from a mere horde c.f
undisciplined recruits into a well-drilled and well-appointed army. By
THE NEW IRONSIDES AND MONITORS.
February, 1862, this force had grown to about two hundred thousand. The
autumn and winter of 1861 had passed, and nothing was done. For this
inactivity McClellan was greatly blamed. He was a Democrat, and it \\a-
thought that his political sympathies withheld him from inflicting a crush-
ing blow on the South. It must be said in his defence that, before he could
light, he had to create a serviceable army. The President, too, interfered
with his arrangements by detaching troops under separate commands, and
thwarted his \\ishes by sacrificing every other military object to the defence
of Washington. In April, 1862, McClellan set out against Richmond with
more than one hundred thousand men. He first marched into the peninsula
between the Rappahannoek and the James River. His first proceeding was
to lay siege to Voiktown, a place garrisoned by eight thousand men under
General Magnider. Elaborate preparations were made for opening fire, but,
before they were completed, Magnider had withdrawn. An attempt was
made to pursue Magnider, but his rear-guard checked the Federals at Wil
71
1122
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
liamsburg, and inflicted on them considerable loss. After this, McClellan
advanced slowly on Richmond, while the Confederates retired before him.
At this time the Federal army suffered severely from sickness. On May the
31st, the Confederates turned upon their pursuers at Fair Oaks, and, though
overpowered by superior numbers, dealt them a serious blow. Soon after,
Stuart, a Confederate general of cavalry, performed an exploit which deserves
special mention. With one thousand five hundred horsemen he rode right
round the Federal army, doing great damage, and for a while cutting off
McClellan's communications with the rear. In the meantime operations
were going on further to the west, which had an important influence on
McClellan's movements. The Shenandoah River runs north-west, and joins
the Potomac about fifty miles above Washington. Here Jackson had been
fighting with extraordinary success against a Federal force far larger than
his own. By falling on the different divisions of the enemy in succession,
he had inflicted on them three severe defeats, and, by seriously alarming the
Federal government as to the safety of Washington, he had drawn off large
forces which would otherwise
have joined McClellan. He then,
by forced marches withdrew
from the Shenandoah valley, and
he had joined the Confederate
army near Richmond before the
enemy knew of his departure.
That army was now under the
command of General Lee. Lee
was a Virginian of an old fam-
ily, several of whose members
had distinguished themselves in
HOSPITAL AT FAIR OAKS. tne Revolutionary war. Like
many other Virginians, he had
reluctantly joined the secessionists in obedience to the commands of his
State. It would have been hard to find a general more peculiarly fitted for
the command of the Southern forces. An army far inferior to the enemy
in number and resources specially needs the encouragement of personal loy-
alty and love for their commander, and no general ever called out those
feelings more fully or more deservedly than Lee. Moreover his dashing and
enterprising system of warfare was exactly suited to troops of great natural
courage, who required to be buoyed up in a seemingly hopeless task by the
prospect of brilliant success. Late in June, Lee advanced against McClellan
and defeated him. In order to effect this, Lee had to leave Richmond in a
great measure unguarded. McClellan did not avail himself of this by ad-
vancing, as he feared that he might be cut off from his supplies. He soon
ST01MKS OF AMKIMCAN lIISToliY.
11 ','3
abandoned all hope of an attack on Richmond, ;ni<i withdrew his army. An
attempt to harass his retreat was repulsed with severe loss ami he retired
to a secure position on the .lames River. Considering how much time had
hern spent in organizing his army, and remembering that mi cost had lieen
spared in making all needful preparations for the campaign, it is impossible
to acquit McClellan of the charge.-* brought against him of over-eaiition and
\\ant of derision. His troops were indeed raw, but not more >o than those
\\iili which (irant and Lee had successfully carried out a far bolder policy,
while McClellan was far better furnished with supplies of every kind than
those commanders. This much praise however must be Driven to him, that
he never placed his troops in a position where a defeat would be fatal, that
lie conducted his retreat without suffering Ins army to become demoralized,
and that the discipline which he introduced did much to \\anls training the
Northern armies for their later victories.
In June, 1862, the three ar.nies which had been opposed to Jackson were
placed under the command of Pope, fresh from his successes in the west.
He issued a boastful address,
contrasting the success of the
western army with the failure
in Virginia, and sneering at
McClellan's inaction. As might
be supposed, after such a begin-
ning, there was no cordial co-
operation between the armies.
In August, Pope advanced to the
Rapidan River. Before march-
ing he issued orders that his
army was to live on the enemy's
country, that if any Federal soldier was fired at from a house it was to be
pulled down, and that Southern citizens refusing to give security for good
conduct were to be sent south, and, if they returned, to be treated as spies.
In this, Pope contrasted unfavorably with McClellan, who had done his best
during his march through Virginia to save the country from the horrors of
war. Pope's conduct excited great indignation in the South, and the Con-
federate Government issued orders that Pope and his commissioned officers
should, if captured, be treated as common prisoners, not as prisoners of war.
On August the 9th, Pope encountered a detachment of Lee's army under
Jackson. The Federals were defeated in two battles, the first at Cedar
Mountain, the other, somewhat later, at Gainsville, near the field of Bull
Run. Early in September, Pope was driven back into the works of Wash-
ington, having lost thirty thousand men. He laid the blame of
.defeats on McClellan, who, he said, had withheld from him the support
MILLS
WOUSDKD MKN.
11 -,'4
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
which he needed, and to which lie was entitled. Pope, however, was super-
seded, and McClellan was placed in command of the whole army.
By the defeat at Shiloh and the earlier Federal successes, the Confederate
line was a second time driven back. Halleck advanced with great caution
and deliberation towards Corinth, but before he could reach the place Beau-
regard had secretly withdrawn his forces. For this he was severely, though
it would seem unjustly, blamed in the South, and was superseded by Gen-
eral Bragg. Soon after, Halleuk was called off to undertake the defence of
Washington, now threatened by the Confederate successes in Virginia. This
left Grant in command of the western army. A large portion of his forces
was sent off under Buell to attack Chattanooga. This place is on the west
SOLDIERS ON THE MAKCH.
frontier of Georgia, on the Tennessee River, and was of great importance as
a centre of railway communication for the south-west. The Confederates
now set to work resolutely to repair their losses in the west. Fresh troops
were raised. Not only was Bragg thus largely reinforced, but his position
was a much stronger one than that which the Confederates had before held.
The country through which the right of the Federal line now had to advance
was swampy and difficult to march through. Accordingly, while the main
body of the Confederates faced Buell, two smaller forces under General*
Van Dorn and Price were left to deal with Grant. Their first attempt waa
to dislodge the Federal force, twenty thousand strong, under General Rose-
crans, from Corinth. But, though the Confederates were superior in num-
STORIES OF \Mi:i;l('AN IIISTOHY.
L125
"bers, they were defeated with heavy loss. Grant would have followed up
this success liy an advance on Yirk-bnrg. lnit \\a- uiihheld by a brilliant
and successful attack made by Van Dorn on the Federal quarter- at Il..ll\
Springs. By this the Federals lost supplies to tlie value of t\\o million
dollars. Soon after this, the Federal general Sherman was defeated at Chirk-
asaw, while attempting to penetrate through the rountrv betueen the
Ya/oo River and Yicksburg.
In the autumn of 1 M'rJ the war assumed a new rhararter. Hitherto the
Confederates had stood entirely on the defensi\e. No\\- the\ ventured io
invade their enemy's territory, both in the west and near the coa-t. A- -A--
have seen, liragg was set free with a strong army to art against Buell in
Kentucky. His plan was to invade that State, both for the sake of the
supplies whirh it contained and with the view of diverting the Federal
forces from their operations
on the Mississippi. Hopes too
were entertained that Ken-
tucky might be induced by
this pressure to join the
Southern Confederacy. Seri-
ous operations were preceded
by some dashing raids of ir-
regular cavalry under Morgan
and Forrest, two Southern
officers who specially distin-
guished themselves in such
warfare. t Bragg's invading
army numbered fifty thou-
sand. Buell's force against
him was raised by detach-
ments from Grant's army and
other reinforcements to a hun-
dred thousand. Thus outnumbered, Bragg withdrew, after a single battle at
Perry vi lie, in which the loss on each side was about equal. But for the lai^
supplies which he carried off, this invasion would have been a complete failure.
The Federal Government, considering that Buell had not followed up his suc-
cess as he might have done, transferred the command to Rosecrans. Bragir
again advanced, and was met by Rosecrans at Murfreesboro. On December
the 31st a fierce battle followed, in which the Federals were defe-ited.
Bragg, nevertheless, retreated, and thus ended the Confederate attempt to.
carry the war into the enemy's territory in the west.
Meanwhile Lee had been carrying out a yet bolder policy, with better,
though not with complete success. On September the 5th, 1862, he cros-ed
REMOVING OBSTKUCTIONS FROM THE MISSISSIPPI.
THE WORLD'S ftREAT NATIONS.
the Potomac. The conduct of his army contrasted favorably with that of
Pope's. Nevertheless the Confederates were disappointed in the hope of
support from the Marylanders. That had been one of the main objects of
the invasion. But the sight of the ill-supplied, ill-clad, often unshod,
soldiers from the South, \vas not encouraging. Lee's order for the campaign
accidentally fell into McClellan's hands. Thus instructed, McClellan fol-
lowed the line of Lee's inarch. Pressed as he was by superior numbers,
Lee daringly detached twenty-five thousand men, under Jackson, to cross
the Potomac and attack Harper's Ferry. The place was garrisoned by
fourteen thousand men, of whom the cavalry, twenty-five hundred in num-
ber, cut their way out. The rest surrendered, and the place, with large
stores, fell into the hands of the Confederates. Jackson at once hurried
back and joined Lee, who had
been brought to bay by his
pursuers at Antietam. There
a battle was fought with a
loss of about thirteen thou-
sand on each side. Lee then
withdrew across the Potomac.
McClellan might, it was
thought, by a vigorous ad-
vance, have crushed the Con-
federate army before it could
reach the river. But it must
be said in his defence, that on
his army rested the last hopes
of the Federals in "the east,
and that defeat might have
involved the capture of Wash-
ington. Soon after, however, McClellan was superseded by Burnside. He
crossed the Potomac at Fredericsburg, on the Rappahannock. There he gave
battle, but was defeated with a loss of nearly fourteen thousand men,
against about five thousand on the Confederate side. After this defeat the
Federals withdrew to the Potomac.
From the beginning of the war, a number of Acts had been passed by
Congress with reference to the Southern slaves. As early as August, 1861,
it had been enacted that all slaves used by the Confederates for military
purposes, such as constructing batteries, intrenching, and the like, should
be free. Another Act forbade the surrender of slaves who should take
refuge within the Federal lines. Laws were also passed, carrying out two
measures which the anti-slavery party had always advocated, namely, the
abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and the prohibition of it
FREDERICKSBURG AFTER THE BATTLE.
STOIJIKS i»F AMKIMCAN I!I>T< >IiV.
1129
ington from its defending force. Meade, like McClellan in the previous in-
vasion, got information as to his enemy's doings from an intercepted letter
sent by Davis to Lee. This told Mcadc that the Smith was utterly stripped
of troops, that no reinforcements could be sent to Lee, and that Richmond
\\as without defenders, lie then posted his forces at (Jett\ sburi:, in a
strong position, covering Washington and Baltimore. Lee attacked him on
the 1st of July, and was defeated after three days' hard fighting, with the
loss of rn'ore than thirty thousand men. The Federal loss was t \\enty-three
thousand. Meade made no immediate attempt to follow up his victory, and
the defeated Confederates retreated across the Potomac. Meade folhmed
them, and the war was again transferred to Virginia. Lee now avoided an
engagement, and Meade advanced to the Rappahannoek.
Yicksburg was, as we have seen, the principal remaining stronghold --f
the Confederates on the Mississippi. It was garrisoned by a siilotantial
force under General Pemberton. During the spring of 1863 repeated
attempts were made upon Vicksburg by water, but without success. In
May, Grant proceeded to surround the place. Johnston, who was in com-
mand of the Confederate armies
in the south-west, tried to join
Pemberton, but, before he could
do so, Grant had thrown him-
self between the two armies.
He then defeated Pemberton in
two engagements, and drove
him back into Vicksburg. Grant
then assaulted the place three
times, but in vain. Then, having
brought up all the reinforce-
ments he could to guard against
an attack by Johnston, he in-
vested Vicksburg. Pemberton
held out for nearly seven weeks, but no assistance reached him, and on the
3d of July he surrendered. Next day, on the anniversary of Independence
and the day after the Federal victory of Gettysburg, Grant took possession
of the place, which gave the North command of the Mississippi.
In June, 1863, the Federal army in Tennessee under Rosecrans advanced
upon Chattanooga. This place was the key to the Southern States on their
western frontier, and the capture of it would lay the South open to invasion.
The Confederate army under Bragg had been weakened in order to reinforce
Johnston, and was now reduced to forty-six thousand, fourteen thousand
less than the Federal force. Bragg made but little attempt t«- .'heck Rose-
crans' advance or to hold Chattanooga. On September the 8th, the town
GHAUT'S HEAD^BABTERS AT VICKBBCBO.
1130
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
RIFLE PITS.
was abandoned, and the Federal army took possession of it. Bragg then
rallied his troops at Lafayette. Fortunately for him, the Virginia army was
able to spare him a detachment, and twelve thousand of Lee's best troops
under Longstreet were hurried up to his assistance. Thus reinforced, Bragg
gave battle at Chickaniauga on September the 19th. The Federals were
worsted, and their defeat would have been far more serious but for the firm-
ness with which General Thomas stood his
ground. Longstreet would have followed
up his success, and would perhaps have
converted defeat into destruction. But
Bragg restrained him, and the Federals
withdrew into Chattanooga. Their loss was
about sixteen thousand ; that of the Con-
federates about twelve thousand. Bragg
then stationed his forces on the heights
above the town. In consequence of this
defeat, Rosecrans was superseded, and
Thomas was appointed in his stead. The
position of his army, with its communica-
tions harassed and interrupted, became one of serious danger. The Federal
Government, fully alive to the importance of holding Chattanooga, took
active measures for its relief. Grant was appointed commander-in-chief in
the west, and was sent to take charge of the defence of Chattanooga in per-
son, and twenty thousand men under Hooker
were brought from Virginia. At the same
time Sherman's force was hurried up from
luka, two hundred miles off. On the other
hand, Bragg had imprudently Aveakened his
army by detaching Longstreet with fifteen
thousand men to besiege Burnside in Knox-
ville, a hundred miles to the north-east of
Chattanooga. In the battle which ensued
Grant showed greater skill in combining the
movements of large bodies of troops, and his
subordinates showed greater power of carry-
ing out such combinations harmoniously and
successfully than had yet been seen in the war except in the Southern
armies under Lee. On the 24th of November, Sherman fought his way
across the Tennessee river on the north of the town, and Hooker took pos-
session of Look-out Mountain, a height to the south. Thus the whole Fed-
eral force was brought into line on the east side of the river. Bragg's army
now lay opposite, on a line of heights called Missionary Ridge, a strong
HAND-LITTER.
STORIES OF AMi:i;i('A.\ IIIVKM.'Y.
1131
position, Imt too extensive to he properly held l.\ the diminished |',,r,-,-~ .»f
the Confederates. The battle opened with a fierce attack by Sherman m
the Confederate right. This compelled Bragg to ucakt-n hi~ centre. (Jraut
then attacked \vitli his main body, and after a hard Mni'.rgle tin-
were driven down the heights. The loss on each >ide \\a> about live
sand. The victory of Chattanooga saved Knoxville. Sliennan's
though wearied by the battle and their previous marches, were at once hur-
ried off to relieve Burnside. Longstreet, on hearing of Brugg's defeat, made
one desperate and unsuccessful assault on Knoxville, and then \\ithdre\\
into Virginia.
It was seen early in the war that the voluntary enthusiasm of the South
was unequal to the support of so great a struggle. In the summer of 1862
an Act was passed by the Southern Government, making all male citizens
between eighteen and thirty-five years of age liable for military -er\ ice,
with a special exemption in favor of certain professions. As the war went
on, fresh Acts were passed, extending the age, till at length no male between
eighteen and fifty-three was exempt. The North, rich and able to offer
liberal bounties, did not feel the need for compulsion so soon, but it came
at last. In February, 1864, an Act was passed, making all male citizens
between eighteen and forty -five
liable for military duty. Payment
or provision of a substitute was
allowed in place of personal ser-
vice. These measures were differ-
ently received in the North and in
the South. The Southerners were,
as I have said, thoroughly united,
and fired by an enthusiastic pas-
sion for their cause. Moreover,
they felt that they were fighting
to ward off invasion from their
own homes. The population of
the North had not the same direct and personal interest in the war. Ac-
cordingly the ballot for conscripts at New York led to disturbances,
which seemed at one time likely to endanger the city. Troops, however,
were brought up, the municipality raised a fund to enable poor persons to
pay for substitutes, and tranquillity was restored. It is remarkable, as
showing how little sympathy New York had with the anti-slavery feeling
of New England, that the negroes were made the special object of attack
by the rioters.
All this while the blockade of the Southern ports was successfully
maintained. By this means the staple commodity of the South, cotton, was
BALLOTING FOR COJ«M.I:IIT>,
1132
THE AVORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
rendered worthless. At the same time, fort after fort was taken along the
Southern coast. The only two affairs of this kind which were important
ADMIRAL FAKRAOUT AT MOBILE.
enough to need separate notice were the capture of Mobile by the Federals
and their unsuccessful attempt upon Charleston. The attack on Charleston
was undertaken rather for political than for military reasons. The place
STORIES OF A.MKIMCAN HISTniiY.
1133
had always been the object of peculiar hatred ill the North, as beim.: the
hotbed of secession. From a military j.<iint of view, any advantage that its
<*ptore might give was probably equalled by the fact that it kept thirty
thousand men idle within it- defences. On April 7th, INC,:;, the Federal
fleet of iron-dads entered the harbor and opened tire upon the works, but
uere utterly unable to stand against the irnns of the forts. After an en-
gagement lasting forty minutes the fleet retreated, and their commander.
Admiral Dupont, declared that in another half-hour every ve-sel \\oiild
have been sunk. The Federal force then confined itself t<> detached attack-
on Fort Wanner and Fort Siimter. The former was evacuated, the latter
was bombarded till it was a heap of ruins. Nevertheless, the possession of
it enabled the defenders of the place to impede the entrance of the harbor
by the use of torpedoes and the like. Accordingly an attempt was made to
dislodge them by an assault, but without success. Further south the
Federals fared better. In the summer of 1864 Farragut attacked Mobile.
The harbor was strongly fortified, and was a frequent resort for blockade-
runners. With fourteen wooden ships and four iron-clads, Farragut forced
his way in, destroyed the Confederate fleet in the harbor, and reduced the
forts. Throughout the war the commerce of the Northern States was
greatly harassed by Confederate cruisers,
some of them built in British dockyards.
The most noteworthy of these was the
Alabama, which was launched in July,
1862. Dining the next two years she
captured sixty-five vessels, till she was at
length destroyed by the Federal war-ship
Katrsarge, near Cherbourg harbor.
In the spring of 1864 Grant was ap-
pointed commander-in-chief of the whole
Federal forces, under the title of Lieu-
tenant-General, a distinction never con-
ferred by the Federal Government on any
one since Washington. He undertook,
and successfully carried out, a more
definite and continuous policy than had hitherto been attempted. Yet, in
comparing him with those who had gone before him, we must not overlook
several advantages which he enjoyed. The Southern Confederacy \\a- fa-t
becoming exhausted. Every campaign was draining it both of men and
resources. The North, on the other hand, was becoming more united and
more alive to the necessity of vigorous efforts. Grant too could learn by
the failures of his predecessors, and he was at the head of armic- \\hom
those very failures had trained and disciplined. And, successful as Grant
U. S. OKAXT.
1134
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
was, it must never be forgotten that his success was won by a deliberate
sacrifice of life on a fearful scale, a sacrifice from which perhaps his pre-
decessors would have shrunk. Yet, with all these drawbacks, the clearness
with which Grant saw what were the great leading movements needful for
success, and the dogged courage and unwearied patience with which he
strove for those ends, must ever give him a high place among great com-
manders. His policy was to abandon all minor movements, to concentrate
the whole force of the Federal arms on two great lines of attack, and to
penetrate the Southern States from the southwest and from the north. The
superior resources of the JJorth would, he Knew, enable him to wear down
the South by sheer hard fighting. He would be able to bring fresh soldiers
into the field when the Southern armies were annihilated and there were
none to fill their place.
One part of this scheme, the invasion of the west, was entrusted to the
ablest of Grant's subordinates, Sherman, to whose support, as Grant ever
frankly acknowledged, his ear-
lier successes in the west were
in a great measure due. Sher-
man's first point of attack was
Atlanta in Georgia, an im-
portant centre of railway com-
munication. It was about a
hundred miles from Chatta-
nooga, Sherman's point of de-
parture. He set out early in
May. His line of march lay
along a railway which kept up
his communication with Chattanooga. His army numbered nearly a hun-
dred thousand. The Confederate force opposed to him, under Johnston,
was barely half that number. Johnstdn gradually fell back, impeding
Sherman's advance and harassing him on every occasion, but avoiding a
pitched battle. The march was, in Sherman's own language, "one gigantic
skirmish." Johnston had never stood well with the Southern Government,
and his present policy met with no favor. On the 17th of July the com-
mand of the Confederate army was transferred to Hood. Whatever may be
thought of Johnston's policy, it was hardly a well-chosen time for such a
change. All the mischief that might result from Johnston's caution had
now been done. His previous career showed that his retreat was not the
result of weakness or indecision, but part of a deliberately arranged plan.
To make a change now was to suffer all the mischief of such a plan and to
forego the compensating gain. Hood at once adopted a bolder policy, but
with no good result. He was defeated with heavy loss in a series of en-
ARMY-HTJTS.
STOKIKs MI-' AMI-UK AX HISTOKY.
1135
round Atlanta. Sherman then marrhed t.. tin- west of Atlanta,
ami by threatening Hood's coimminicution with tin- rear, forced him t..
evacuate the place. On tin- id of September Sherman telegraphed to
Washington "Atlanta is ours." His total loss in the campaign Ml,j,.M ,.nded
thus was about thirty thousand, that of the en. •my >omc ten thon-aiid more.
Merciless seventy in liis dealings with the inhabi'tants of the South, when
the operations of war seemed to need it, was Sherman's fixed and deliberate
policy. He was n.,t wantonly, or even revengefully, cruel; but he uent on
the principle that the South could be crashed only by bringin>_: home to the
inhabitants a full sense of the miseries of war. and that no feeling of pity
for them ought to stand in the way of any arrangement which could bring
the war to a speedy end. In his own \\ords, "war is cruelty, and you can-
not refine it." In this spirit he ordered that all the inhabitants, without
regard for sex, age, or sickness,
should quit Atlanta, and he de-
stroyed the buildings of the
town, sparing only churches
and dwelling-houses. The cap-
ture of Atlanta was but a step
towards further ends. To pene-
trate into the heart of the
Southern Confederacy was Sher-
man's ultimate aiir. With this
\ lew he quitted Atlanta, aban-
doning his communications with
the rear, and determining to
maintain his army, nearly sev-
enty thousand men, on the resources of the country and such supplies as
he could cany with him. Hood, instead of opposing him, resolved to
invade Tennessee ; thus two invasions were going on simultaneously. The
object of Sherman's march was the city of Savannah. On the 14th of
November he started, and from that time till he arrived at the sea no
clear tidings of his army reached the North. On the 20th of December
a division of the army appeared before Fort McAlister, some fourteen
miles from Savannah. The Federals had made more than one unsuccessful
attack on this place from the sea, but it now fell at the first assault.
General Hardee, who was in command of the Confederate forces at
Savannah, found that it would be impossible to hold the place, and evacu-
ated it. Sherman sent a message to the President announcing that he pre-
sented him, as a Christmas gift, with the city of Savannah. He had
marched more than three hundred miles in thirty-six days, with a loss of
little more than five hundred men. His own report stated that he had done
BCRKING IlultSKS FALLEN IK BATTLE.
1136 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
damage to the amount of a hundred millions of dollars, of which eighty
millions \vas sheer waste and destruction. The march of an invading army,
subsisting on the country, must always be accompanied by great suffering
to the inhabitants, and little was done by Sherman or his officers to lessen
it. The absence of an enemy relaxed discipline, and the army became little
better than a horde of savage plunderers. The negroes rushed in troops to
the army and followed their march, hailing them as deliverers; but, as
miirht be supposed, they could find no means of support, and perished in
numbers from misery and hunger.
Widely different in its result from Sherman's invasion had been Hood's
sortie into Tennessee. The army opposed to his was commanded by Thomas,
and was stationed at Nashville. A detachment was sent forward under Gen-
eral Schofield to harass Hood and check his advance. Having done this suc-
cessfully, Schofield fell back and joined the main body. On December the
15th the two armies engaged in front of Nashville, and after two days' fight-
ing the Confederates fled in confusion, hotly pursued. Their sufferings in
the retreat were intensified by all the horrors of mid-winter.
In the meantime Grant had been himself endeavoring to carry out the
other half of his scheme in Virginia. His object was twofold : firstly, to
destroy or cripple Lee's army ; secondly, to capture Richmond. Accord-
ingly he began by a direct advance on Richmond, intending if that failed to
proceed against it on the south-east side, as McClellan had done two years
before. The Federal army advanced in three bodies. The main body
inarched through the country in which the battle of Chancellorsville had
been fought. The right wing, under Sigel, marched up the Shenandoah
valley, the left, under Butler, near the coast between the Rappahannock
and the James river. The country through which the main body inarched
was called the Wilderness. It consisted of tobacco-fields, thrown out of
cultivation, covered with low, scrubby wood, and cut across by deep ravines.
Most of the fighting throughout the war had been carried on in woody
and broken country. This gave the battles a peculiar character. No one,
in reading an account of the war, can fail to notice that the great battles
often took several days, almost always more than one. From the nature of
the ground, it was usually impossible for the general to carry out move-
ments with great masses of troops, such as in the great battles of Europe
have often decided the matter almost at a single blow. Moreover, in a
country where a foe could always approach unseen, troops were liable to be
taken suddenly in flank. This led to the general use of roughly and hastily-
constructed defences. Thus a great battle was often a series of petty sieges,
the troops defending themselves in one post after another by felling trees
and hastily throwing up earthworks. All these peculiarities were seen in
the highest degree in the battles of the Wilderness. The centre of the
oK AMK.IMCAN
Federal army, under Meade, numbered one hundred and forty thousand.
Against this Lee could only KriiiLT sixty thousand men. Outnumbered a- he
\\.-is, Lee at first acted on the offensive. In the tir-t en:_rai_remeiit he lost ten
thousand men, the Federals double that number. After thi>, Lee contented
himself with holding his Around against the attacks of the Federal-, A-ain
and nirain did Grant hurl his forces upon Lee's line, and each time lie \\a>
forced by a flank movement to turn the position \\hich he had failed to
carrv. After a month of this continuous carnage, Grant found himself on
the south-east side of Richmond, with the Confederate line still unbroken,
and his own force lessened by sixty thousand men. His position was one
which Mcl'lellan had reached with comparatively trifling loss. All that he
had to compensate him was the enemy's loss of eighteen thousand men, a
loss in reality more serious than his o\\n, since they could not be replaced.
The South, too, had lost the services of Stuart and Longstreet. The former
had fallen in some detached cavalry operations to the north-east of the main
army. Longstreet, by a strange chance, had nearly met the same fate as
Jackson. He and his staff, as they rode along in front of his line, were mis-
taken for Federal cavalry. The men fired, and Longstreet fell, seriously,
though not, as was at first thought, mortally wounded. In the meantime
Butler's force had been checked by Beauregard. That general had formed
the daring scheme of withdrawing fifteen thousand men from Lee's army,
falling with his force thus strengthened on Butler, and then, if successful,
attacking Grant's left flank. Jefferson Davis, however, refused to sanction
this scheme, fearing that it would endanger Lee's army.
The operations in the Shenandoah valley are important enough to need
a separate notice. Early in May, Sigel was utterly routed by Breckinridge.
Sigel resigned his command and was succeeded by Hunter. He obtained
some trifling success, but was afterward out-mano3iivred and forced to retreat
into Western Virginia. Lee then, in hopes of creating a diversion, detached
Early with twelve thousand men to threaten Washington. Hunter threw
himself across Early's line of march, and, although defeated, created a hin-
drance and gave time for the defence of Washington. When the rumor
came thither that Early had crossed the Potomac, the inhabitants at first
mocked at all idea of danger. Extravagant terror soon took the place of
over-confidence, and it was reported that Lee with sixty thousand men \\as
marching on the capital. The danger was undoubtedly real, but troops
arrived in time to make an attack impossible. Early, who had advanced
within a few miles of Washington, withdrew across the Potomac. In his
march through Maryland he ravaged the country mercilessly, giving the in-
habitants their first insight into the actual horrors of war. In tfce begin-
ning of August, Grant sent Sheridan, one of the ablest of his subordinates,
with forty-five thousand men to act against Early. For some weeks nothing
72
1138
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
\\;is done beyond skirmishing. On September the 19th, Sheridan attacked
Early at Opiquan Creek and defeated him, with a loss of about five thou-
sand men on each side. Sheridan then, obeying Grant's orders, utterly laid
waste the valley. The alleged defence for this was the necessity of making
it impossible for a Southern army to advance by that route against Washing-
ton. On the 18th of October Early surprised the Federal army at Cedar
Creek. His attack was at first completely successful, but his forces became
scattered and demoralized in pursuit, and betook themselves to plundering
the enemy's camp and feasting. Sheridan rallied his troops, fell upon Early,
and utterly defeated him, capturing all his stores and a large portion of his
artillery. The actual loss of men was about equal, but the Confederates
RUINS OF CHARLESTON.
Avere driven out of the Shenandoah valley. Thus ended the last attempt of
the South to carry the war into the North.
In the autumn of 1864 the Presidential election took place. It seemed
at first as if the parties would again be subdivided. A section of the Ke]>ul>-
licans were inclined to think that Lincoln would not show enough vigor in
his dealings with the South. These still distrusted his views about slavery.
They proposed to bring forward General Fremont, a man of great energy
and high personal character. Early in the war he had held command in the
west, and had incurred the displeasure of the Federal Government by his
summary and, as it was thought, unconstitutional dealings with slavery.
The Democrats, too, were divided into War Democrats and Peace Demo-
crats. The representative of the former was General McClellan. The latter
supported Governor Seymour of New York. The main difference between
the two parties was, that the War Democrats, although opposed to abolition
>TOI(IKS OF AMKIMCAX HlsTnKY. 1139
and in favor of State rights, refused to listen to anything like recognition
of Southern independence At la-t the extreme wing of each part\ uith-
drew, and the contest lay between Lincoln and .McClellan. The latter
labored under many disadvantage*. His military career, though respectable,
had not been brilliant, and was no\v utterly eclipsed by Grant's succe-
The time too was a bad one for putting forward the established doctrine of
the Democrats, that of State rights. Moreover, as Lincoln himself put it in
a homely way, it was not well to change horses while cro»ing a -tivam.
These considerations were strong enough to enlist on the Republican side all
those who were led rather by the special circumstances of the time, than by
any lixed preference for either party, and Lincoln was re-elected by an enor-
mous majority.
During the winter of 1864 the cause of the South became more and more
hopeless. Lee's forces were gradually lessened by desertions and sickness,
while he was straitened for supplies, both by mismanagement and by
scarcity. In the meantime, Sherman was rapidly approaching from the
South. At the end of Jamiary he left Savannah and advanced through
South Carolina. Columbia, the political capital of that State, was evacu-
ated, and Hampton, the Southern commander, in his anxiety to destroy the
stores of cotton there, lest they should fall into the hands of the Federal^,
burnt down a large part of the city. A like fate befell Charleston. By the
last week in March, Sherman had brought his army to the southern frontier
of Virginia, Lee, it was clear, would, if he remained before Richmond, be
crushed between the two Federal armies.
His only hope was to join Johnston, who
commanded the Confederate forces in South
Carolina. On the 25th of March a Confed-
erate force under General Gordon attacked
the Federal lines, in the hope of cutting a
way through for the escape of the army. At
the outset the attempt was successful, and
Fort Stcadman, a strong work on the Fed-
eral right, was seized. The Federals, how-
ever, rallied, repulsed their assailants, and
recaptured the fort. On the 29th of March
Grant resolved to strike a decisive blow. JKKKKHSOX I>AM-
Sheridan, by a daring and skilful attack,
utterly defeated the Confederate right. This was immediately followed by
an attack on the whole. The Confederate lines were forced, and the defence
of Richmond became impossible. On Sunday, April 2, the news of I.
defeat was brought to Jefferson Davis while he was in church. In a few
hours the whole city was seized by a panic. As in Columbia and Charles
1140 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
ton, the attempt to destroy the public property was followed by a fire, by
which half of the town was destroyed. On the 3d of April the Federal flag
floated over the Southern capital. Petersburg!! was evacuated on the same
day.
The retreat of Lee and the fall of Richmond practically ended the war.
The South might prolong the struggle, but all hopes of success were at an
end. Yet men remembered how, after Antietam and Gettysburg, Lee's
retreating army had turned upon its pursuers, and it yet seemed possible
that some signal triumph might win for the South better terms than she
could expect by an immediate surrender. But Lee's wearied, starving, dis-
heartened forces were no longer the same men who had conquered at Fred-
ericks! mrg and Chancellorsville. Through mismanagement, his supplies went
astray, and after the 5th of April his army had no food but such as it could
glean from an exhausted country in the face of an ever-watchful enemy. The
men were glad to feed on the shoots of trees, and the mules fell down in the
road from weakness. Whole bodies of soldiers laid down their arms and
surrendered, till Lee was left with little more than ten thousand men. By
April the 9th, the energy of Sheridan had barred the path of Lee's retreat-
ing force. Once more Gordon tried to cut a way through, but in vain, and
then Lee sent in a flag of truce. Grant allowed liberal terms of surrender.
The Southern soldiers were to become prisoners on parole, and were to
return to their homes and stay there unmolested as long as they refrained
from bearing arms. Men and officers alike were to retain those horses that
had been their private property, a condition of no small importance to the
Southern farmers. Grant and his officers left nothing undone which could
lessen the bitterness of defeat, or relieve the sufferings of the Confederate
troops. Lee's parting with his soldiers showed that he had won from them
a love and confidence which no defeat or misfortune could lessen. "War-
worn men, with tears running down their cheeks, pressed round him to say
farewell, and all personal distress seemed swallowed up in sympathy for
their commander. Johnston's army soon shared the fate of Lee's. On the
18th of April, Sherman and Johnston met to settle the terms of surrender.
Sherman, going far beyond his province as a general, granted, not merely
the personal safety of the Southern army, but the restoration of political
rights to the South. The Federal Government refused to confirm these
terms. Johnston then offered to surrender on the same conditions that had
been granted to Lee, and this was accepted.
The few remaining Confederate forces soon yielded, and the Avar was at
an end. Jefferson Davis, after his flight from Richmond, sought to establish
the Confederate seat of government at Danville in North Carolina. The
surrender of the Confederate armies obliged him to flee.- After many adven-
tures and hardships he reached Georgia, but was there taken prisoner. In
STOKIKS ()K A \ll.mr AN III>Tni;y.
1141
the meantime an event had occurred in the North which threatened to em-
bitter greatly the feelings of the conquerors, <>n the i ith of April, Lincoln
was assassinated in the theatre at Washington. \\\^ murderer was an actor,
named .John \Vilkes Booth, a fanatical partisan of the Southern cau-e and
of slavery. Ilr was at the head of a conspiracy for murder'niL' the 1're-i-
dent, the Vice-President, the members of the cabinet, am' (ieneral (irant.
The assassination of Lincoln was the only part of the plot \\hich succeeded.
One of the conspirators, Powell, broke into the house of Mr. Seward. the
Secretary of State, who was routined in his room by an accident, and
Wounded both him and his son severely, but not mortally. Booth \\a- pur-
sued and shot down, Powell and three accomplices were handed, and four
others were imprisoned. No Confederate in any high station or otlicial
position was in anywise implicated in this
atrocious and purposeless crime. Lincoln was
succeeded by the Vice-President, Andrew
Johnson, a native of South Carolina, who had
i-miurated when young to Tennessee, and had
warmly taken up the cause of the North.
Johnson's term of office and that of hi-
successor, General Grant, have been taken up
with the process of reconstructing the Union.
During the autumn of 1865 several of the
Southern States annulled their ordinances of
secession, and abolished slavery within their
own limits. A test oath was framed by Con-
gress to be taken by all its members. They
were to swear that they had never voluntarily borne arms against, or re-
nounced their allegiance to, the United States Government. This, as long as
it remained in force, excluded all who had taken any active part on behalf
of the South, though it might be doubted how far it applied to those who
had only yielded compulsory military service. In January, 1866, a commit-
tee of Congress was appointed to consider the question of reconstruction.
From that time the old struggle between North and South may be looked
on as having taken a new form, and American history as having entered on
a new epoch.
Fi mints* MUM. OK
1142
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER XXVI,
GENERAL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AFTER THE WAR.
S we have already said, the history of the United States is, in
a great measure, the history of the process by which a small
body of colonies on the Atlantic seaboard have spread toward
the west. When that process is ended, it is possible that many
of the peculiar features which distinguish America from the
Old World will disappear. Hitherto land has been so abun-
dant that the position of a tenant renting from a landlord has
been 'almost unknown. But when the time comes that the un-
occupied districts in the west have all been taken into cultivation, land may
perhaps come to have the same value which it has in the Old World. So,
too, men may be driven by want of land into manufactures. Hitherto, men
in the United States have always had before them the possibility of better-
ing themselves by a change of abode. Moreover, the great demand for labor
has <;iven them a free choice of occupation, and thus led to rapid changes.
When the power of extension towards the west is at an end, all this will
change, and we may reasonably suppose that the United States will become
far more like the great nations of Europe.
The most remarkable feature in the history of Western America is the
discovery of gold in California in 1848, and its immediate results. Such
was the rush of immigrants that in eighteen months one hundred thousand
people had gone to California. All were intent on the one object of gold-
digging. Labor could not be procured ; the necessaries of life commanded
fabulous prices ; gold alone was plentiful and cheap. Wages, it is said, were
at first as high as fifty dollars (ten pounds) a day, and the rent of a small
cellar twelve feet by six was two hundred and fifty dollars a month. The
city of San Francisco sprang up as if by magic ; upwards of twenty houses
a day were built on an average. As might be supposed, a mob of adven-
turous gold-hunters from all nations formed but poor material for a settled
population. In 1850 California became a State, without passing through
the intermediate stage of being a Territory. But the authorities were
utterly unequal to the task of preserving law and order, and San Francisco
seemed likely to become a mere den of criminals. A private body was
formed, consisting of the most respectable citizens, and -called the Vigilance
Committee. This body took the law into its own hands, and succeeded by
STORIES OF A.MKIMCAX IIIsT«)i:Y.
114;}
isuminary measures in establishing order. In 185»'. thing- again becan,
bad that the citizens were driven to like mea-ures.
The main commerce Of America has lain, a> nm-t always he the case
with an imperfectly settled country, in the exportation of raw produce.
corn, rice, cotton, and tobacco. But, though the oo*t of labor has hitherto
prevented America from competing successfully in manufactures \\ith theOld
World, in one way it has quickened her manufacturing skill. In the art of
substituting machinery for human labor the Americans have far surpassed
the people of Europe. The greater part of the inventions for saving labor
in farming, or in the e very-day tasks of life, by the u>e of machinery, come
from the United States. We may reasonably expect that the skill thus
SAN FRANCISCO.
learned will enable the Americans, when their market for labor shall be
better stocked, to equal, or even to surpass, the manufactures of Europe.
We have already seen how various nations of the Old World have con-
tributed to make up the population of the United States. This will always
have an important influence on their social and political condition. The
Southern States have been, comparatively speaking, free from this influence.
Where slavery exists, there is little temptation for free laborers to im-
migrate, and thus the \vhite population of the South is mainly descended
from the original English settlers. But in the North the population is
largely made up of blood other than English. There have always been
many Germans in Pennsylvania and New York, and the population of the
latter State has been recruited by a continuous inpouring of Irish. Tin-.
coupled with the constant emigration westward, give- a peculiar character
to the great cities of the Eastern States. Men look on them rather as mere
places of business than as fixed and lasting abodes.
1144
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
MIXING IN CALIFORNIA.
This familiarity with sudden and rapid changes, may have had some-
thing to do with the origin of various religious sects, holding strange
doctrines, and living in peculiar fashions. Two of these sects are impor-
tant enough to deserve separate notice. These are the Shakers and the
Mormons. The sect of Shakers was founded about 1780, by Anne Lee,
the daughter of a Lancashire blacksmith. There are now about three
thousand five hundred of them
ill the United States, living
in fifty-eight separate commu-
nities. These communities are
not altogether unlike the re-
ligious houses of the Middle
Ages. Their inhabitants are
unmarried, and live with great
temperance and good order,
altogether shut off from the
world. Almost all kinds of
diversion and enjoyment are
forbidden to the Shakers, and
their time is spent in religious
exercises aud farming. In the
latter pursuit they have been
remarkably successful. The whole brotherhood owns as much as a hundred
thousand acres of land, and the Shakers are reputed the best farmers in
America. The sect of Mormons was founded about 1830, by Joseph
Smith, the son of a farmer in Vermont. He professed to have discovered
a book called the Book of Mormon, revealing a new religion, and telling
the history of the American continent before its discovery by Europeans.
The book was really an ill-written imitation of the Bible, and those parts
which professed to be historical were taken from an unpublished novel,
written some years before by one Spaulding. Smith also professed to have
direct communication with God, and to receive from Him instructions as-
to the conduct of his disciples. The first State in which he preached
his doctrines was Missouri. There his disciples met with much persecu-
tion, and were hunted from one place to another. Mobs attacked them in
defiance of law, and Smith was taken prisoner, and narrowly escaped death.
In 1838 the Mormons fled to Illinois. There they built a town called
Nauvoo, and became a prosperous community. Disciples flocked to them
from various parts of Europe, and before ten years Nauvoo contained more
than ten thousand Mormon inhabitants. This prosperity, however, turned
their heads, and they soon brought persecution upon themselves. In 1843
Smith professed to have received a revelation permitting the Mormons to-
ST01MKS OF A\Ii:i;i< AN HISTORY.
1146
marry as many wives as they plea-.-d. In th.. >aim- \ear lie announced him-
self as a candidate for tin- !Vsiden<-\ of the I'nited Stai.-. .\,.\i \,.;ir tin-
office of a ncusj taper which liad attacked Smith and hi- follower- ua-
sei/.ed by a Mormon mob, and the printing-pr.-^ dr-t n>\ «-d. ThU \\ as the
signal for a sort of civil war brtueeii the .Mormons and their n»-i^|il>or~.
Smith \\as taken prisoner, draped out of jail by a lawless mob, and >hot
without trial. lie was -ueeeeded by Hrigham ^'OIIIIL:. a <-ar| tenter by trade,
SHAKERS' DANCE.
and, like Smith, a native of Vermont. The troubles of the Mormons soon
became so great that they resolved to leave Illinois, and to seek a refuge
beyond the Kocky Mountains. After great hardships they settled in an
uninhabited spot, by a lake called the Great Salt Lake, within the borders
of Mexico. Soon after they found that the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo-
had given this territory to the United States Government. However, in
1850, the country which they had occupied was formed into a Territory
under the name of Utah, and Brigham Young was Appointed Governor.
The industry of the Mormons soon converted an unpromising and seemingly
barren district into a fertile one, and they became a rich and prosperous
community. Young's arbitrary rule, and the way in which he and his
followers have set the Government at defiance, have more than once
brought the Mormons into conflict with the Federal authorities, and it
seems likely that serious troubles may yet arise. There are many other sects
in the United States, whose doctrines and manner of life are even stranger
than those of the Shakers or Mormons, but none of sufficient importance to
deserve separate notice.
1146
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
We have seen that the northern colonies were, from the first, dis-
tinguished by the wide spread of knowledge among all classes. The United
States have in that respect kept up the same character, and in that way
contrast favorably with most European countiies. Schooling is cheap and
abundant. Books, magazines, and newspapers are placed within the reach
of all by public libraries in the large towns. In the department of history
America has produced remarkable writers. Prescott's histories of the Con-
quests of Mexico and Peru, and Motley's histories of the Kise of the Dutch
Republic and of the United Netherlands,
rank among the best historical works of
the age. Moreover, there are many works
on the history of States, districts, or towns
in America, compiled with considerable
care and learning. In fiction America has
produced less that is valuable or distinc-
tive. Two novelists, however, Cooper and
Hawthorne, deserve special notice. Cooper,
in default of a picturesque historical past,
has fallen back on the Red Indians as a
subject for fiction. As Sir Walter Scott
in the Waverley Novels invested the wild
highlanders and the border yeomen with
a romantic interest, hitherto unfelt in
them, so Cooper has thrown a gleam of
romance over the savage life and strange
customs of the American Indians. Haw-
thorne too may be looked upon as repre-
senting an interesting side of American feeling. The „ same craving for
spiritual excitement, which has led to the formation of so many strange
sects, shows itself in Hawthorne's novels and tales, where the romantic
interest is furnished by partly supernatural incidents, while the substance
•of the story generally deals with the every-day country life of New Eng-
land. Of many other notable writers (too many to note in a work like
this), Washington Irving and the poet Longfellow deserve particular
mention, the latter being probably as well known and appreciated abroad as
at home.
LONGFELLOW.
APPENDIX,
CHAPTER I.
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE SOUTH.
Y the provisions of the Constitution, Andrew Johnson of Ten-
nessee became, upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, President of
the United States. On the 15th of April he took the oath of
office and was inaugurated as President. The public mind
was »Te;itly excited, and a feeling of insecurity prevailed. The
first act demanded by the country was the anv<t and punish-
ment of all concerned in the murder of Lincoln and its at-
tendant crimes. It was a general belief that the whole affair
had been plotted by the Confederate leaders, and, under this
impression, President Johnson issued a proclamation offering regards for
Jefferson Davis, Jacob Thompson, and others supposed to have been insti-
gators of the crime. As minds grew calm, however, it became clear that it
was the work of a few desperate men.
Booth fled through Maryland, but was pursued and at last <-l«>-rly followed
by a body of cavalry. He, with one of his ac-
complices, took refuge in a barn, and was sum-
moned to surrender : as he refused, he was shot
down by one of the soldiers and died soon after.
Harrold, the companion of his flight, Payne, the
assailant of Mr. Seward, and some others, in-
cluding Mrs. Surratt, the woman at whose house
Booth boarded, were arrested. The government
diil not deem it safe to allow these persons to be
tried by a judge and jury. With doubtful le- M Kfl \
gality, a military court was constituted, before
which the accused were tried; four of them were
sentenced to death and hanged, including Mr-.
Surratt, although the evidence against her might, perhaps, not have found
WM. H. SKWAHD.
1148 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
weight before any civil tribunal. The whole course of government was a
dangerous precedent, and was regretted when the excitement of the moment
had passed.
Though the war had virtually ended with the surrender of Lee and the
fall of the Confederate government, some of the Southern armies still were-
in the field. On the 14th of April, the very day when Mr. Lincoln fell by
the hand of Booth, General Johnston seeing the hopelessness of the struggle,
sent to General Sherman to propose a suspension of hostilities. Terms were
agreed upon ; but at Washington, Sherman was regarded as having gone too
far, and on the 26th Johnston surrendered on the same terms that had been
accorded to General Lee. The Confederate General Taylor surrendered to
General Canby with all the forces in the department of Alabama, Missis-
sippi, and Eastern Louisiana, on the 4th of May ; and on the 20th, General
Kirby Smith surrendered beyond the Mississippi. The war on land was
thus ended ; but at sea the Confederate flag floated for some months, the
Confederate cruiser the Shenandoah continuing to evade the United States
vessels and destroy merchantmen till the 6th of November, when she ran
into Liverpool, and surrendered to the English authorities.
After the surrender of the armies of Lee, Johnston, and others, the
Southern soldiers straggled off to their ruined homes and wasted country ;
the volunteers in the armies of the United States were rapidly discharged,
and the regular army reduced. In a few months, more than a million of men
thus returned to their usual avocations.
The war had ruined the South. Its trade, manufactures, and industries
were ruined; the destruction of property by the war and by the lawless
ravages of the army followers had been immense. The planters, ruined as
they were, could cultivate their plantations only by hiring their former
slaves. "Worst of all, they did not know their future condition, or what
rights their conquerors would grant them. The North, which had lost
heavily in men and means by the war, seemed to feel it less, as from the
great issue of paper money prices had advanced, and a seeming prosperity
prevailed ; but the industry of the country was crippled by a debt of nearly
three thousand millions of dollars.
The great question before the government was to determine on a course
to be pursued with the States that had seceded. It seemed impossible to
recognize the actual State governments and allow Senators and Represent-
atives of the South to be elected and take their places at once in Congress.
The Constitution gave no powers or directions for solving the difficulty. Mr.
Lincoln had advocated a lenient policy, and his popularity gave him such
a strong hold, that he would have been able to carry it out to some extent, at
least. Booth, in his mad folly, did the greatest possible harm to the very
States he wished to serve. President Lincoln had, by a proclamation,
> OF AMF.IIK AN 1 1 is'I ( i|; V.
1149
December *, 1863, recogiii/ed government a- reop_raiii/.ed in tin- Slat.-- of
Louisiana and Tennessee ; but while Congress did not \enture \« annul hi-
acts it declined to receive Senators or Repiv-entati\ «•- from tlio-e State-.
President Johnson had not, however, the support of the coimtrv \\hich his
predecessor enjoyed, and his administration of fehe executive office and polic\
involved him in threat ditlicnltio. made the Presidential power a mere shado\\ ,
and dreu on the Soutli a more rigorous and sterner policy. On the L".'th
of May, l.Slif), the President i — ued a proclamation granting pardon to all
who had taken part in the recent rebellion, excepting certain -pecitied classes,
on condition of their taking an oath of allegiance to the Tinted States. He
recognized as loyal the governments of Virginia and Arkansas, and ap-
THK NATIONAL
pointed provisional governors of the other seceded States, with power to
call conventions and establish permanent governments loyally subordinate
to the United States. They were required to repeal the Act of Secession.
repudiate any debt incurred in support of the Confederate iT"\ -eminent, and
to ratify an amendment for the abolition of slavery which had passed both
Houses of Congress, and been submitted to the States for their ratification.
The provisional governors appointed by President Johnson called conven-
tions, at which the proposed amendment was ratified and new State consti-
tutions adopted.
When Congress assembled on the 4th of December, 1865, it was evident
that it would not recognize the system of reconstruction adopted by the
President. Conceiving his terms to be too liberal, a majority of Con_
resolved to impose on the seceded States most ri-on.n- conditions.
were introduced for establishing new governments in the Southern Stat.--.
1150 THE WOHLD'S (JREAT NATIONS.
which were divided into five military districts and placed under the control
of generals who were to call a constitutional convention in each State.
These military commanders were authorized to allow civil tribunals to take
jurisdiction of and try offenders, or to organize military commissions fop
that purpose. No one was to be allowed to vote for a member of this con-
vention, or to vote under the new constitution, unless he took an oath that
he had taken no part in the recent civil war against the United States. This
provision virtually excluded nearly every white citizen in the Southern
States, and gave the control to the emancipated slaves and a few whites,
most of whom entered those States after the war.
The President vetoed the series of reconstruction acts passed by Con-
gress, but they were all passed over his veto by a majority of two-thirds,
and became laws. The President and Congress differed completely in their
ideas, and the power of the President in legislation became for the time an-
nulled. The question of the constitutionality of the Reconstruction Acts
came before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1869, in the case of
Texas against White, when that Court sustained them, and held that during
the Rebellion the seceding States had no governments competent to repre-
sent them in their relations with the National Government.
The first of the Southern States which was organized under the Con-
gressional Reconstruction Acts was Tennessee, which was readmitted into
the Union b}T Congress on the 23d of July, 1866.
While the United States were distracted by civil war, France, with whom
England and Spain at first acted in concert, sent armies into Mexico to en-
force claims against that republic. Meeting but slight and ineffectual resist-
ance, the French army under Marshal Bazaine reached the city of Mexico,
and the national government was overthrown. A convention of notables
imder French influence declared in favor of a monarchy, and invited the
Austrian Archduke Maximilian to become Emperor of Mexico. He accepted
the crown, and proceeded to Mexico, where he attempted to organize the
government. The establishment of a monarchy in North America on the
ruins of a republic could not be regarded with indifference by the people of
the United States. One of the earliest acts of Johnson's administration was
a protest to the French government against the continuance of their armies
in Mexico. Early in 1866 the government of the Emperor Napoleon assured
the United States that they should be promptly withdrawn. The power
manifested by the United States government in reducing the seceded States
had increased its influence abroad, and secured greater respect from foreign
powers. In time the French withdrew from Mexico, and the unfortunate
Maximilian, too high-spirited to retire from his dangerous position, at-
tempted to maintain it, was defeated and betrayed into the hands of the
republican party, and summarily shot with some of his generals at Queretaro.
STOIMKS OF AMKIMCAN III>T<>|;Y. 1151
The Republican government, with Juaivx. as President, was again restored at
the capital.
The influence of the military power manifested by the I'nited State- \\as
seen also on the northern frontier. Previous to tin- Civil War. England had
maintained in Canada an army of some thirty thousand men, and a -y-lem
of fortifications deemed adequate to protect that colony from inva-ioii. and
it had, indeed, been boasted that in case of \\ai-. the English army \\niihl
easily march to Washington. After the close of the Civil War in America
it became manifest that, even for the defence of Canada, the force \\as
useless: the troops were soon withdrawn, and the fort itications abandoned.
The absence of troops in Canada emboldened a revolutionary orirani/ati<in
among the Irish in Ireland and the United States to form a project of
invading that province with a military force raised in the I'nited States.
Afany officers and soldiers who had seen service in the recent Civil Wai-
joined the Fenian Brotherhood, as the association was called, and men and
arms were collected near the frontier in New York and Vermont. The gov-
ernment of the I'nited States took steps to prevent this illegal course, but a
small body of Fenians crossed at Niagara, and a slight skirmish occurred at
Ridgewood. The whole movement was soon suppressed.
In the month of July, 1866, a telegraphic cable was successfully laid be-
tueen England and the United States, which proved permanent, the cable
laid in 1862 having failed to work almost immediately, from some unex- .
plained cause. This new channel of information by means of the telegraphic
sNstem throughout the United States and Europe enabled news of every im-
portant event to be transmitted instantly from any part of either continent
to the great centres of the other. A. morning paper, instead of giving news
brought by sailing vessels or steamers, always at least ten days, and often
several weeks after the event, now tells the citizens of Ne\\ York, San Fran-
cisco, or New Orleans, what happened the day before in London or Paris,
Berlin, Rome, or Constantinople, as regularly as it does the news of the city
where the journal itself is issued.
The Civil War in America, from the fertility of resource displayed on
both sides, had led to a host of experiments which eventually greatly mod-
ified the whole system of war on land and water. The importance of rail-
roads in transporting men and war material, made future campaigns depend
on the control of railroad lines, and rendered great railroad centres objects-
of strategic importance. The employment of heavy siege artillery or naval
iruns, made stone forts of comparatively little service in protecting harbors.
On ships, the old system of cannon on each side of the vessel to pour broad-
sides into a fort or hostile vessel gave place to a few cannon of immense size
in revolving iron turrets; and to resist the new projectiles introduced, ships
were sheathed with heavy plates of iron. As one country increased the
1152 THE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
armor and strength of vessels, another introduced heavier and more effective
cannon. The system of torpedoes, originated in America by Bushnell and
Fulton, became an object of study, and by employing electricity to ignite
them, these instruments for the destruction of shipping were rendered very
effective as a means of harbor defence.
In the sessions of Congress in 1866 and 1867, many acts were passed
which President Johnson deemed unwise, and which he returned without
his signature, giving his reasons. In all cases these were passed over his
veto, so that for the time the legislative power conferred on the President by
the Constitution was much curtailed. The Houses of Congress then went
further, and, in vesting in the General of the Army a power independent of
the President, and at a subsequent period in preventing the President from
dismissing any member of his cabinet, they assumed much of the former
power of the Executive. In this they were sustained by the majority in
the States which were then permitted by Congress to be represented in its
lialls. Congress was thus supreme, the position was a critical one, and
fraught with great danger; but the Providence which had so wisely guided
the destinies of America saved it from the perils which menaced its ex-
istence.
Bent on carrying out its own plans, the Kepublican majority in Congress
would brook no opposition. As early as January, 1867, Mr. Ashley of Ohio
moved the impeachment of the President for high crimes and misdemeanors ;
and though this was not pushed at the time, Congress in March passed the
Tenure of Office Bill by which the President of the United States was de-
prived of a power which he had always hitherto exercised, that of dismissing
any member of his cabinet. Under this law the President was forbidden to
remove any member of his cabinet without the consent of the Senate, and it
was enacted that those officers should hold office for and during the term of
the President by whom they have been appointed, and for one mouth there-
after, subject to removal by and with the consent of the Senate. This bill
President Johnson vetoed as a palpable infringement of his constitutional
rights as Executive, he being responsible for the acts of his cabinet, which
were regarded as his executive acts. But the bill was passed over his
veto.
Bills had been passed for the admission of Colorado and Nebraska as
States, but had been vetoed. In 1867 similar bills were passed which the
President thought fit also to veto; but a bill for the admission of Ne-
braska, with a condition requiring impartial suffrage and the adoption of the
pending amendments to the Constitution was passed March 1, 1867, and Ne-
braska took its place among the States of the Union.
The United States, which, as established by the triumphant issue of the
Revolutionary War, reached only to the Mississippi on the west, and the
STORIES OK AMKIMCAN llls'|'u|;y.
1153
St. Mary's (,n the south, had, by tin- purchase of Florida and Louisiana. e\-
tended its limits over all the territory of North America between tin- forts-
ninth degree and the frontiers of .Mexico; and tlien, l>y the annexation of
Texas and the resulting Mexican Wai-, had acquired a lar-e part of the
neighboring repablia It was now to acquire a part oi North America not
immediately contiguous. Russia had long possessed the northwest extremity
of the continent, but desired to withdraw. When it was proposed that tin-
United States should purchase this province, to which the name Alaska \\;i-
given, the project found many warm advocates. The territon con-i-i.-d of
ST. NICHOLAS INLET, ALASKA.
nearly six hundred thousand square miles, had several good harbors, its
fisheries were abundant, and the trade in furs was very lucrative. Its me-
tallic resources were not explored, but were supposed to l)e valuable. It
was piirchased of Russia in October, 1867, for seven million two hundred
thousand dollars. As it did not meet the anticipations formed, no regular
territorial government was established, and for the next fifteen years it de-
clined, losing much of the prosperity it had enjoyed under Russian rule.
In August, President Johnson, finding that Mr. Stanton, the Secretary of
"War, was not in harmony with his views, asked him to resign. This Mr. Stan-
ton declined to do. The President thereupon suspended him ( Augu-t 1 1' ).
regarding the Tenure of Office Act as inapplicable to his case, as Mr. Stanton
73
1154 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
had not been appointed by him. General Ulysses S. Grant was then ap-
pointed Secretary of War. This was followed by the removal of General
Sheridan and General Sickles from the departments under their control.
When Congress assembled, President Johnson in a message notified the two
Houses of his action, and the causes that led to it; but on the 13th of Jan-
uary, the Senate reinstated Mr. Stanton. This was followed by a new act
for reorganizing the Southern States, by which almost absolute power was
given to the General-in-Chief, and the President was deprived of much power
over the army. Congress thus curtailed the power of the executive. The
President resolved not to submit, and on the 21st of February, 1868, removed
Mr. Stanton from the office of Secretary of War, and appointed General
Thomas, Secretary ad interim, and communicated the fact to the Senate.
The struggle had now come to a decisive point. The President insisted
that if he was President of the United States, Mr. Stanton should not be
Secretary of War ; Congress resolved that if Mr. Stanton was not retained,
Mr. Johnson should cease to be President of the United States. The some-
what complicated system of government was now to be put to a strain that
had never been anticipated. Congress had been manifestly diminishing'
executive powers; it had evinced the greatest hostility to the President,
deprived him of powers exercised freely by every other Chief Magistrate,
and now one House was to be his accuser, and the other his judge. On the
22d of February, 1868, by a strictly party vote, one hundred and twenty-six
to forty-seven, the House of Representatives resolved that Andrew Johnson,
President of the United States, should be imp«iched of high crimes and
misdemeanors. Articles of impeachment were then drawn up, and managers
appointed to conduct the prosecution before the Senate, sitting as a Court.
The Constitution of the United States provides: "The Senate shall have
the sole power to try all impeachments. When sitting for that purpose,
they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the United
States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside ; and no person shall be con-
victed without the concun'ence of two-thirds of the members present."
Under the Constitution a person impeached could, if convicted, be re-
moved from office and disqualified to enjoy any office of honor, trust, or
profit under the United States.
The country was now to witness for the first time in its history, a Chief
Magistrate, elected by the votes of the people, placed on trial for high
crimes and misdemeanors. The Senate was organized as a Court on the
5th of March, 1868, Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
presiding. After the usual delays for presenting the Articles of Impeach-
ment, and awaiting the President's answer, the trial began on Monday,
March 30th. The prosecution was conducted chiefly by Benjamin F. Butler
of Massachusetts, the defence by Henry Stanbery of Ohio, with whom were
STORIES OF AMKIMCAN HISTOIIV.
1155
associated William M. Kvarts of New York, W. S. Groesbeck of Ohio,
B. R. Curtis of Massurlm-rtts, and T. A. R. Nelson of Tennessee. Tin-
President was not personally present. A (jiu-iion ar..-r whether tin- I'r.-i-
dent of the Senate, who would become Act in- I'lv-iil.-nt of the I'nited
EDWIN M. STANTON.
States on the removal of President Johnson, could sit as his judge, and also
whether the Chief Justice had the right to pass on the admissibility of
evidence. The managers introduced testimony to sustain the Articles of
Impeachment, and the President's counsel in support of his answer; but
they were not allowed to show that in cabinet meetings it had been agreed
to take a step that would obtain from the Supreme Court of the United
115C THE WORLD'S GEEAT NATIONS.
States a decision as to the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act.
The Senate sat in judgment on its power to decide on the constitutionality
of its own acts.
After elaborate arguments the Senate proceeded to vote. The first vote
was on the eleventh article, charging the President with denying the consti-
tutionality of the Thirty-ninth Congress. Thirty-five members, all repub-
licans, voted for conviction ; nineteen, embracing all the democratic members
and a few republicans, for acquittal. As the number for conviction was
not two-thirds of the whole body, the President was acquitted on that
charge. A vote was then taken on the second and third articles, charging
him with unlawfully appointing General Thomas Secretary of War ad in-
terim. On this the same vote was given. The Court then adjourned, with-
out at all voting on the first and principal article, that which charged him
with unlawfully removing Mr. Stanton.
The acquittal of the President on these few charges brought against him
was virtually a decision in favor of his right to remove Mr. Stanton. That
officer, in consequence, resigned the position which he had held in defiance
of the President, and Mr. Johnson appointed John M. Schofield of Missouri,
Secretary of War.
The twenty -eighth day of July, 1868, is a remarkable day in American
history. On that day Congress, by a joint resolution, declared that the
Fourteenth Amendment, the acceptance of which by the Southern States
had been made compulsory, had been ratified by the requisite number of
States, and was part of the Constitution of the United States. It made all
persons born or naturalized in the United States, citizens, and prohibited
any State from abridging their privileges or immunities ; and where the right
of suffrage was denied in any State to any portion of the citizens, its num-
ber of representatives in Congress was to be reduced in proportion. It ex-
cluded from Congress, and from all civil and military office under the United
States, all persons who had been engaged in insurrection or rebellion against
the same, or who had given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, until the
disability was removed by a two-thirds vote of Congress. It established the
validity of the debt of the United States, and prohibited the States from
assuming any debt incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the
United States. This amendment had been ratified by Arkansas, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and those States
had been readmitted to the Union on the 24th of June. As the military
rule had been established over the South, the General-in-Chief on the day
that Congress declared the amendment part of the Constitution, issued a
proclamation declaring the reconstruction act, so far as it vested the govern-
ment of the South in the military power, no longer in force.
A treaty negotiated with China, through Mr. Burlingame, was this year
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1157
ratified by the Senate, by which mutual privileges <>f trade, travel, education
and religion were secured to citi/.en> of either country within the limits of
the other. In subsequent years, owing to the great influx of C'hine>e emi-
gration into California, and the opposition excited against them, the pro-
visions of this treaty became an object of much censure and complaint.
Under it, heathen temples were established in many State-, and communities
grew up governed by the rules, customs, ami usages of China.
By this time much had been done to terminate the war with the Sioux
Indians, which began in the year l.sfVJ with a terrible massacre. The Indian
department had long been sadly mismanaged, treaties were made \\ith the
tribes which were not carried out, Indians were removed from place to
place without regard to their wishes or necessities, and they wen- practically
at the mercy of dishonest but all-powerful Indian agents. Several bands of
the large and powerful nation of Sioux had been suffering under grievances,
and in the summer of 1862 some of the Upper Sioux, nearly starving, broke
into a government warehouse, and obtained food. Fearing punishment,
they resolved to massacre the whites, and for three days bands of Sioux
went from settlement to settlement in Minnesota killing and plundering.
Nearly a thousand men, women, and children were butchered, and property
destroyed to the emount of millions of dollars. A tract two hundred miles
by fifty was abandoned, the survivors forsaking their homes and seeking
refuge in towns and forts. Troops were sent to chastise the Indians, many
prisoners were recovered, and hundreds of Sioux were taken and tried by mil-
itary commission. Three hundred were sentenced to death, but only thirty-
nine were executed. The rest of the Minnesota Sioux were removed to a
tract of land in Dakota. Their dissatisfaction with this place induced other
bauds to assume hostilities. After great loss, and a cost of forty millions of
dollars, treaties were made with the Sioux, the hostile bands fled across the
Canadian border, the peaceable were removed to Nebraska,
As the time for a Presidential election approached, the Republicans, in a
convention held at Chicago in May, nominated as their candidate for Presi-
dent, General Ulysses S. Grant, and for Vice-President, Schuyler Colfax,
then Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Democratic party, in a
convention held in New York in July, nominated Horatio Seymour of New
York for the Presidency, and Francis P. Blair of Missouri for Vice-President.
Thirty-four States took part in the election, Virginia. .Mississippi, and Texas
being still disfranchised. The re-admitted Southern States were under
negro rule and Republican, few whites being allowed to vote. Grant
received 3,021,020 votes, and Seymour 2,716,475 ; but in the electoral college
Grant had -214 votes and Seymour only 80. Ulysses S. Grant and Schuyler
Colfax were accordingly elected.
Subsequent to the election another amendment to the Constitution of the
1158 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
United States passed both Houses of Congress, and was submitted to the
people of the States. By it the right of suffrage is secured to all citizens of
the United States, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of
servitude : but a State could still require a property qualification in natural-
ized citi/riis.
To maintain the credit of the United States, and to relieve the fears of
those who believed that the bonds issued 'by government during the war
might be paid off in depreciated paper money, an act was passed pledging
the faith of the United States for their payment in coin, or its equivalent.
Soon after the close of the war, the United States government demanded
of Great Britain compensation for the vessels and cargoes which had been
destroyed by the Confederate cruisers fitted out in English ports, and
equipped and manned mainly by British subjects. Reverdy Johnson, Min-
ister to Great Britain, negotiated a treaty with that power in June, 1868;
but when it was submitted to, the Senate, it was rejected. These claims were
thus left for subsequent adjustment. As the greatest part of the destruction
was caused by the Alabama, under the command of Commodore Sernmes,
these claims were generally called the Alabama Claims.
8TOBIES
AMKKICAN Hl>Toi;V.
1169
NOKTII FRONT OF TUK \VHHK Il<n -K.
CHAPTER II.
GRANT'S ADMINISTRATION.
election of General Grant gave the country a President
who was in full accord with the dominant party in Coin
— a man accustomed to military rule, who lm<! never held any
civil office, and therefore disposed to be determined. !!<• was
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1869. Ulysses S. Grant \\as
bom in Clermont County, Ohio, April 27, IM'I', was educated
at West Point, and entering the army, -rnvil through the
Mexican war, and rose to the rank of captain. He subse-
quently left the army, and became associated with his father
in the tannery business. During the Civil War he rose from Colonel of the
Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers to be General-in-Chief. The reputation he
had acquired by his brilliant campaigns in the West and East, made him
extremely popular.
By the Tenure of Office Act the cabinet retained their places for ten
days after the inauguration, but President Grant at once appointed a cabinet
consisting of Hamilton Fish of New York, Secretary of State; George 8.
Boutwell, Secretary of the Treasury; John A. Rawlins, Secretary of War;
Adolph E. Borie, Secretary of the Navy; Jacob D. Cox, Secretary of tl it-
Interior ; John A. J. Creswell, Postmaster General ; E. Rockwood Hoar,
Attorney General. The Senate confirmed them on the 5th.
President Grant in his first message urged the desirability of a speeVIy
restoration of the Southern States to their proper relations to the United
1160 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
States government, and on the 10th of April an Act was passed authorizing
the people of Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas to vote on the constitutions
prepared by the State conventions, elect members of Congress and State
officers, but requiring them before re-admission to ratify the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments. It was not, however, till early in the following
year that these States were actually admitted.
The restoration of the Southern States gave the citizens power once more
to manage their own local affairs. The negroes, with persons recently come
from the North, and popularly known as " carpet-baggers," were Repub-
licans ; the mass of the white population was Democratic. The negro vote
in several States was very heavy, and the whites, especially in South Caro-
lina, saw ignorant negroes or mere adventurers filling the legislative halls,
and occupying the most important positions in the State. Extravagance
and corruption followed, taxes increased with rapidity, and deep and bitter
feelings were aroused. Secret organizations were formed to overawe and
terrify the negroes; to suppress these, Congress passed a series of Acts.
The corruption prevalent among the white Republican adventurers who
traded on the ignorance of the negroes, enabled the native Democrats grad-
ually to recover the control of public affairs, and schemes of all kinds were
adopted to reduce the negro vote.
Doubts had been raised as to the constitutionality of the paper money
issued during the war, and commonly called "greenbacks." By a decision
of the Supreme Court in December, 1869, the law under which the paper
money was authorized was declared to be unconstitutional. Congress im-
mediately increased the number of justices, and availing themselves of a
vacancy, the Republican President and Congress appointed two new justices
who were known to be of a contrary opinion. By the Court thus formed,
the previous decision was reversed in March, 1870.
The eastern or Spanish portion of the island of Hayti after being for
years under negro rule, regained freedom, and became the Dominican Repub-
lic. It was for a time under Spanish authority, but did not prosper. The
people looked to annexation to the United States as their only hope. Gen-
eral Grant entered warmly into the project, and in September, 1869, a treaty
was negotiated between him and the President of the Dominican Republic.
In 18VO President Grant recommended the annexation in a message in which
o
he set forth the military advantages. Commissioners were sent to that
Republic who reported favorably, but the subject was abandoned. Some-
what later a project was started the object of which was to acquire Samaua
Bay, a port in Santo Domingo, for a coaling station.
The failure of the treaty negotiated in the time of President Johnson,
left many questions to be adjusted with Great Britain. The most irritating
of these was the question of indemnity to the United States for the ravages
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1161
on her commerce caused by the Confederate cruisers. These vessels
fitted out from English ports, ;ill,l they not only destroyed many American
vessels, but made the sea so unsafe that American ship-owners sold their
vessels at great loss to avoid their capture, and the United States, from pos-
sessing one of the largest mercantile navies in the world, sank very low.
This caused a deep-seated feeling against England. In the Kastern States
there was another ground of complaint, because American Ishing-TBMek
were prevented by the governments of the British colonies from taking ti-h
where they had a treaty right ; and in the northwest there was a dispute as
to the boundary channel near Vancouver's Island. To adjust all these, a
Joint High Commission of fourteen British and American diplomatists met
at Washington in February, 1871. This resulted in the Treaty of Washing-
ton, concluded May 8th, by which the Alabama claims were submitted to
arbitrators, one chosen by each country, and three^ others named by Italy,
Switzerland, and Brazil. This board met at Geneva, in Switzerland, and
awarded to the United States the sum of fifteen million fiw hundred thou-
sand dollars in gold. The treaty of Washington also adjusted the Fishery
questions, though not in a manner to be permanently satisfactory. It secured
the free navigation of the St. Lawrence and other rivers to American ves-
sels, and submitted the question regarding the north-west boundary to the
Emperor of Germany, who decided in favor of the channel claimed by the
United States, and gave that republic the island of San Juan.
On the 22d of May, 1872, a bill was passed removing all legal and
political disabilities imposed on citizens of the seceded States, excepting only
those who had been members of Congress, judges, foreign ministers, or
officers in the army or navy. The pardon was subsequently extended to all
persons except Jefferson Davis.
Georgia, the most powerful of all the Southern States, steadily resisted
the reconstruction measures, and passed laws which Congress insisted on her
repealing. It was not till July 15th, 1870, that she finally yielded to the
will of the Northern States, and adopted the laws they imposed upon her.
The States were again united in fact, as well as in name, yet it was not till
the 23d of May, 1872, that all the States in the Union were represented in
Congress, or permitted to take part in making the laws and guiding the
destinies of a great nation.
Even after this happy event, Congress continued to pass laws aimed at
the South. The Force Bill was intended to enforce rigidly the provisions
of the Fourteenth Amendment, which had been frequently evaded in
many Southern States. It allowed the President to suspend the writ of
habeas corpus, and to employ the military and naval forces to suppress
conspiracies to take away any one's rights as a citizen, and declared such
conspiracies rebellion against the government of the United States. This
1162 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Act excited opposition not only from the Democrats, but also from mod-
erate Republicans, many of whom considered the dominant policy no longer
patriotic or just.
While many Republicans adhered to the former policy, and were willing
to go to any lengths to maintain their supremacy, there was a growing feeling
in the party that severity had been carried far enough. This led to distinct
action in Missouri by the Liberal Republicans, who united with the Derno-
IHDIANS' FIBST VIEW OP THE PACIFIC RAILROAD.
crats of that State in removing the disabilities imposed on all Avho had sym-
pathized with the South. This led to the organization of the Liberal Re-
publicans as a party in many parts of the country ; Horace Greeley, editor
of the " New York Tribune," lending all the support of that paper to its
cause.
A great public work had for some years been in progress — a railroad
which was to connect the Eastern States with California. The road was
extended from the East and from the West, and the road was completed in
1869, at a point near Great Salt Lake. This road received vast grants of
STOHIKS OF A.MKKK'AN lll>T»|;Y. 11,;.;
the public land from Congress, and uas built by a cor]., .rat i<.n known at*
the "Credit Mobili.-r." A charge uas m.-ult- that tin- Credit M obi Her lia.l
bribed members of Congress l.\ gifts of stork. This h-.l to in\ .-Miration,
ami though distinct liril.t-ry \\as not |>rov«-d. th.- atVair weak. -n<-<l tin- con-
tidrlirr of the people ill many members of l.oth Iloll-r-.
Ill Loiiisian-i IVaud and corruption prevailed to such a degree that in
1875 there were tu» Ueturning I Joan Is, and by their d.-ri-i..n- t\\.. <.
ernora and two LegUlataree claimed power in th.- Stat.-. This was finally
adjusted by a Committee of Congn— . but tin- >ame n-snh took plan- in
187l>. In all these troubles livrs wen- lost, tin- commandim.: -vnci-als in-
terfered, legislatures were invaded. Th.-iv was a -T<.\\ in-- srnsr in tin- rom-
innnity that Fetlrral iiiti-rf.-rt-iirf had Ix-t-n rarri.-d far t-noiiirli. and miirht
prove prejudirial to the whole nation.
The country was recovering from the effects ,,f the Civil \\'ar which had
laid waste so many Southern cities, when the North experienced several ter-
rible visitations. The first of these was the Chicago tire, which broke out
in the rich and thriving commercial capital of Illinois on the sth of < )<-tob.-r,
1871. All efforts to check the spread of the flames proved unavailing; the
fire swept like a torrent through the city, dotroying all in its path, till
twenty-five thousand public and private buildings were consumed, leaving
five square miles of the area of the city a smouldering mass of embers. Two
hundred lives were lost; ninety-eight thousand five hundred persons were
suddenly deprived of home and all worldly means, and the loss of proj>erty
amounted to one hundred and ninety-six millions of dollars. The utmost
distress prevailed, but the charity of America and Europe sent prompt
succor, and in a short time the people were energetically rebuilding th.-ir
ruined city. Almost at the same time a fire swept through the wooded
regions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, consuming in its course
whole villages, and leaving those who lived by forest industry homeless and
destitute. So sudden was the spread of. the fire and so rapid, that nearly
two thousand lives were lost. In November of the ensuing year, 1872, Bos-
ton, the capital of Massachusetts, was similarly chastened. A fire broke out
in the centre of the business part of the city, where buildings were solid
and substantial, and a rapidly spreading fire unexpected. But buildings
reared by man proved of no avail against the surging flames. Seventy-five
acres were laid waste in the very centre of the business activity of Boston,
and the losses of property were estimated at more than seventy millions of
dollars.
The feeling throughout the country against any further severity to the
South, and the disorders arising in Louisiana, with revelations of great cor-
ruption in many departments, even in the President's cabinet, the Secretary
of the Interior, Belknap, resigning and undergoing impeachment-^-all this
1164
THE WOKLD'S GKEAT NATIONS.
led many Republicans to join the Liberal movement, and favor a lenient
policy.
In the convention called by this new party and held at Cincinnati in
May, Horace Greeley of New York, Editor of the New York Tribune, and
one of the founders of the Republican party, was nominated for President,
and B. Gratz Brown of Missouri for Vice-President. The regular Repub-
HORACE GREELEY.
licans met at Philadelphia in June, and here Ulysses S. Grant was renomi-
nated for the Presidency, with Henry Wilson of Massachusetts for Vice-
President. The Democratic party was discouraged by the result of previous
elections, and many thought the best policy would be to strengthen the
hands of the Liberal Republicans. When their convention assembled at
Baltimore in June, it was proposed to adopt the ticket of the Liberal Repub-
licans, and to call on their party to vote for Greeley and Brown, rather than
STOHIKS OF AMKIMCAN lll>Tu|;Y.
set up a ticket of their own. Tliis project \\a> \ i'_'«>r<>uslv opposed, hut
was finally adopted. A portion of tin- Demo<m£ic party, dissatisfied with
this determination, called a convention, which met at Louisville, and Domi-
nated Charles ( H'onor of New York for President, ami -John <vMiine\ Adams
of Massachusetts for Vice-Preeident. The election showed thai the Liberal
Republicans had failed to influence any considerable portion of the party.
Grant and Wilson received two hundred and eighty-six votes. \\ hile (in-dry
and Brown received but sixty-six, two Slates in the South, Louisiana and
Arkansas, being deprived of a vote. Mr. (ireeley did not live to \\ itness the
official action of the electoral college.
The study of the changes of temperature and the condition of the barom-
eter at various points led to a more extended knowledge of atmospheric
variations, from which the laws regulating the dinmjv> became dearer. The
approach of storms from the point of their origin was thus more accurately
estimated. This study was begun in England, and after much opposition,
the government created a department for carrying it out effective!}, e-ta!>-
lishim' a central office which was connected with observation-stations in all
O
parts of the kingdom. The result was most encouraging: warned by the
daily reports from this bureau, vessels were detained till storms were over,
and the number of wrecks was greatly diminished. In the first term of
General Grant a Signal Bureau was established under the War Depart-
ment, and by means of telegraphic communication with all parts of our im-
mense country, constant record is kept of every change at any point. Daily
bulletins are issued, notifying the public of imminent changes, of storms
occurring in any part, and the direction they assume. This bureau owed its
efficiency in no small degree to the efficiency and skill of the fii-st Chief Sig-
nal Officer, General Albert J. Myer, to whom the special duty of observing
and giving notice by telegraph of approaching storms was confided by an
Act of Congress passed in February, 1870. In direct communication with
this is the Life Saving Service, which has stations on the Atlantic and Pa-
cific coasts, and on the Northern Lakes. These stations are provided with
life-boats and the most perfected systems for sending lines to vessels in dis-
tress, so as to enable those on board to save their lives and property.
An embassy of twenty-one persons, embracing several of the heads of
departments of the Japanese government, reached the United States in l*7i'.
to renew the former treaties, and acquire a better knowledge of the relations
of the two countries, and the means of developing advantageous intercourse
between them. By their influence numbers of young men of rank in Japan
came to the United States to prosecute their studies in our best univ. T-iti.-
and scientific schools, and educational establishments under American direc-
tion were opened in Japan. This gave that country in a few years many
intelligent and educated men, fully informed as to this country and our peo-
1166
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
pie, and able to render service to the Japanese government in all inter-
national questions.
a
1
By an Act passed in 1871, the President of the United States was
authorized to prescribe rules and regulations for admission into the civil
STOUKs OF A.MKIIICAN lll>Ti>i;Y. H,;7
service as will best promote the efficiency tlu-rcnf, :m<l ascertain the fitness
of each candidate for the hrandi of service into which lie «.eek~ to enter.
Under this, ;i commission was aj)i>ointed to draft rule-; hut the law lias not
proved an adequate remedy for the evil sought to be corrected. Many
ollices are filled with incompetent and unlit men, who ohtain them as re-
\\ards for services at elections, rendere"d to the leaders in their respective
political partis. The object of the Act was to secure competent men, and to
make promotion a reward for honest and efficient discharge of official duties.
The subject has been revived from time to time, but the system of giving
offices after an election as rewards for services is too deeply rooted in Amer-
ican politics to be easily set aside.
After the inauguration of General Grunt as President, and 1 lenry Wilson
as Vice-President, the Senate confirmed the members of the new cabinet :
Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State ; VV7illiam W. Belknap, Secretary of War;
William A. Richardson, Secretary of the
Treasury ; George M. Robeson, Secretary of
the Navy ; Columbus Delano, Secretary of
the Interior; John A. J. Creswell, Post-
master-General; George H. Williams, At-
torney-General.
Soon after the commencement of Presi-
dent Grant's second term the country was
involved in hostilities with the Modocs.
They were a tribe who had resided for
many years near the boundary between
California and Oregon. An Act was passed
for removing them to the Klainath reserva- GENERAL CANBY
tion. This, the majority of the Modocs
refused to do, preferring to die rather than to leave the home of their ances-
tors. Troops were sent to reduce them, and, overpowered by numbers, the
Modocs agreed to meet peace commissioners by appointment. When they
came together, the Indians treacherously fired upon the whites, killing Gen-
eral Canby and Rev. Dr. Thomas, one of the commissioners. The war was
renewed, and the Modocs, taking refuge in the most inaccessible portion of a
broken country known as the Lava Beds, defied pursuit. They were, how-
ever, persistently hunted down, and the whole party captured on the 1st of
June, 1873. The leader of the hostile Modocs, known as Captain Jack, with
two others implicated in the assassination, were tried, found guilty, and ex-
ecuted at Fort Klamath in October. The rest of the hostile Modocs were
transported to Indian Territory,
A civil war had been raging for several years in Cuba, the people of that
island having, in 1868, attempted to put an end to the authority of Spain in
1168 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
America. A republican government was adopted, and the revolutionists
had successfully held their ground against the large and well-commanded
Spanish armies sent against them; but they had not succeeded in liberating
the island, or in capturing any of the large cities. None of the great powers
had recognized them a& belligerents, and the government of the United
States prohibited the shipment of arms and war material to them. Occasion-
ally, however, a vessel would elude the vigilance of the authorities, and,
clearing for some other port, would run in at the Cuban coast, where it
would land men and arms. Spanish cruisers were constantly hovering
around the shores of the island to prevent the insurgents from receiving relief
in this way. In 1873, an American vessel, named the Virginius, while on
the high sea, and not within Spanish waters, was pursued by the Spanish
war-steamer Tornado, overtaken near the island of Jamaica, and carried into
Santiago de Cuba. The American flag was hauled down and trampled upon ;
the captain, crew, and passengers were taken on shore, committed to prison,
and immediately tried by court-martial. Their claim to be American citi-
zens was disregarded, and no regard was paid to the protest of the Amer-
ican consul. With the most indecent haste, and allowing no time for appeal,
the captain and several of the passengers, citizens of the United States, were
shot. The entrance into the harbor of a British man-of-war compelled
respect to the American flag, and saved the lives of the rest of the persons
captured on the Virginius. When the tidings of this massacre reached the
United States, the indignation was universal. President Grant at once de-
manded reparation, and the Spanish government disavowed the act of the
commander at Santiago de Cuba. The Virginius was restored in December,
and eighty thousand dollars paid as indemnity to the families of the men so
unjustly executed. While the Virginius was on her way to New York, in
charge of a vessel of the United States navy, she sprung a leak and went to
the bottom, near the coast of North Carolina.
During the war, the currency of the country was almost entirely the de-
preciated paper money issued by government, of which at one time two
hundred and eighty dollars were required to equal one hundred dollars in
gold. The prices of property and of all goods in paper money rose exces-
sively, and all transactions were carried on upon a fictitious basis. Sound
policy required the resumption of specie payments at the earliest possible
moment; but it was almost impossible to effect this without creating a
financial panic. This was precipitated in the autumn of 1873 by the failure
of Jay Cooke & Co., who had been extensive bankers and operators in gov-
ernment and railroad bonds. A general panic ensued, unparalleled in the
history of the country. Heavy failures occurred in banking, mercantile, and
manufacturing circles; trade was crippled, and a general stagnation fol-
lowed. Real estate declined in value, and by the foreclosure of mortgages,
STORIES OF AMEIMCAN HISToKV 1169
many saw all the savings of years swept away, and thon- \\ln. had laid up
their money iu savings-banks and life insurance companies were in inanv
cases deprived of everything. Many cities and towns which hail rashly un-
dertaken improvements and issued bonds, became hopelessly involved, from
the impossibility of raising money by taxation.
The unwise system forced on Louisiana by the Acts of Reconstruct inn
continued to produce disastrous results. In an election for governor,
McEnery and Kellogg both claimed to have been elected, and each pro-
ceeded to appoint officers. In many districts the two parties took up
arms, and reports of murders and massacres were sent to the North by Re-
publican officers. McEuery, who had the support of the white popula-
tion, called out the militia, but President Grant espoused Kellogg's cause;
he sent General Sheridan to Louisiana, and on the 13th of January, 1874,
sent a special message to Congress advocating Kellogg's claim, and detailing
the lawless doings of his opponents. Early in March, both Houses, by a
strict party vote, recognized the Kellogg government, and, by what was
called the Wheeler Compromise, a committee of the House of Representa-
tives decided who were entitled to seats iu the Legislature of the State of
Louisiana. In pursuance of its decision, five members were removed from
the Hall of a State Legislature by United States troops. The whole sys-
tem was radically wrong, and the evil was only aggravated by Federal in-
terference.
Under the administration of President Grant, a new system of managing
Indian affairs was inaugurated; the selection of agents was given to some of
the religious denoininations, and the Society of Friends obtained a wide-
spread control. The result proved disastrous. Fraud and oppression in-
creased, and two Indian wars arose out of the troubles caused. The Nez
Perces, who had always been a friendly tribe, lived in peace in the Wallows
Valley in Oregon, till an agent came. In time they were required to give
up their lands and accept a temporary reservation, of which they could be
dispossessed by the stroke of a pen. One band, known as Joseph's band,
refused to join in the treaty, accept annuities, or leave their old homes.
Their right was recognized, and President Grant in 1873 refused to interfere
with them ; but in 1875 troops were sent to expel them. A chief was arrested
in a council held with them by General Howard, and the Indians under
Chief Joseph yielded to force. While surrounded by soldiers, and on the
march with their families and cattle they were attacked by white men. Then
they began a warfare which lasted two months. Chief Joseph, though fol-
lowed by General Howard, with General Crook on his right, and General
Miles with another force in front, baffled them all, and surrendered at Bear
Paw Mountain only to save his wounded and suffering. The terms of his
surrender were shamefully violated, and the whole baud transported to Indian
74
1170
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
Territory. A more serious trouble arose with the Sioux Indians, who occu-
pied the Black Hills in Dakota and Wyoming Territories. The land had
been assured to them as a reservation, but gold was discovered there, and
the attempts of miners to enter and of government surveyors to lay off the
lands roused a hostile feeling, and the Sioux prepared for war. Govern-
ment resolved to crush them at once. Early in 1876 a strong military force
was sent into the Yellowstone country. It consisted of three columns under
Generals Terry, Crooke, and Gibbon. Crooke met the Sioux under Sitting
Bull on June 15th, but finding them too strong in numbers and arms, was
compelled to retreat ; General Ouster with Terry's column formed a junction
with Gibbon, and marched to the Big Horn river, taking the advance.
Here he discovered a large Indian camp,
and without waiting for Gibbon to come
up prepared to attack them. He detached
General Reno with several companies of
cavalry to attack the camp on one side,
while he led the main assault. One of the
most sanguinary and disastrous engagements
ensued. In this battle of the Little Horn,
June 25th, Ouster, an officer of great experi-
ence and bravery, was killed, with almost
every man of his command. Reno, assailed
in turn, reached a defensive position, and
saved most of his detachment ; but Sitting
Bull, after his victory, though pursued, baf-
fled the troops, and retreated into British
territory, where this band of Sioux remained
peaceably for about five years.
Death was invading the highest circles
of offices in our government. In a period of
twenty years two Presidents were assassin-
ated, and one Vice -President died. On the 22d of November, 1875, Vice-
President Wilson, an earnest advocate of the abolition of slavery, died, and
his decease, with that of Seward in 1872, Chase in 1873, and Sumner in the
following year, removed from the Republican party several of its prominent
leaders.
Americans all looked forward with pride to the year 1876, which would
complete the first century of the existence of the United States as a republic.
To celebrate so gratifying an event, it was resolved to open in the city of
Philadelphia, where Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, an
" International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and products of the Soil
and Mines." Congress passed an Act empowering the President to appoint
SITTING BULL.
STORIES OF AMK1MCAN III-T<>KY.
1171
a Commission from each State and Territory. The whole affair \\as organ-
ized with great judgment, and five elegant buildings were erected in Kair-
nioiint Park, Philadelphia, at a cost of nearly five millions of dollars: they
comprised a main exhibition building, a machinery hall, an agricultural hall,
and a horticultural hall, constructed mainly of gla-.- and iron, so as to unite
FAIRMOUNT PARK, PHILADELPHIA.
light and strength. The fifth building, which was intended to be perma-
nent, was erected of marble, and this was the Art Gallery. Foreign nations
were invited to contribute their products, manufactures, and works of art.
Thirty-six nations accepted the invitation, and to each, space was assigned in
the buildings. Nothing had yet been seen-in America to approach in inter-
est and value this collection of the fruits of the world's industry, art, and
talent. Here were seen in contrast the manufactures of all lands, enabling
1172 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
men to compare and judge of the superiority in every branch, and affording
to our own industrial workers opportunities for studying and imitating every-
thing in which we could improve. The Exhibition was formally opened by
the President of the United States on the 10th of May, 1876, in presence of
the Emperor and Empress of Brazil, and the ambassadors of most nations in
amity with the United States. The railroads" of the country made arrange-
ments to facilitate visitors in reaching Philadelphia, and the attendance rose
to about ninety thousand a day.
On the 4th of July, 1876, Colorado was, after the usual stipulations, and
on its adopting a constitution acceptable to Congress, and recognizing the
Constitution of the United States as amended, admitted into the Union
as the thirty-eighth State. The great mineral wealth of Colorado, and its
advantages as a grazing State, seemed to promise a rapid increase of popula-
tion. It was not, at the time, such as to demand its admission, or to entitle
it to a representative, but it was, rather, a political move, in order to give one
more Republican State, and, in fact, its three votes gave Hayes his majority
of one over Tilden.
Far less gratifying to the country was the impeachment of a member of
the President's cabinet, William W. Belknap, who, involved in corrupt prac-
tices, had resigned his high position of trust and honor, and was then
arraigned before the Senate, on charges presented by the House of Repre-
sentatives. Thirty-seven out of sixty members declared him guilty, but as
this was not two-thirds of the body, he was acquitted.
This year was marked by great political feelings evoked by the approach
of the time for another Presidential election. The differences in the Repub-
lican party had widened. The administration of President Grant had dis-
appointed the country, which had expected much from a man who had
displayed such remarkable military ability. But corruption and extrava-
gance had prevailed, and the South, after a lapse of more than ten years
since the close of the war, was still far from a condition of prosperity ; with
political institutions unsettled, subject to military interference, and with
citizens embittered against each other. The friends of General Grant, how-
ever, strongly pressed his claims to a renomination, asking that he should be
elected for a third term. As no previous President had ever sought this,
the feeling of the country was decidedly against it. In the Republican Con-
vention the leading candidates were, on the withdrawal of Grant, James G_
Blaine of Maine, and Roscoe Conkling of New York. Their strength was too-
evenly balanced to allow the nomination of either, and the choice fell on Ruth-
erford B. Hayes, Governor of Ohio, who became the Republican nominee for
the Presidential chair, with William A. Wheeler of New York, as candidate
for Vice-President. The Democratic Convention which met at St. Louis at
the close of June, nominated Samuel J. Tilden of New York for President,,
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 117.'l
and Thomas A. Hendrieks of Indiana, for Yice-IYc>ident. A new party,
favoring the issue by government of paper money to pay off the debt, and
facilitate trade, and hence called Greenbecken, nominatfil Peter COOJKM-. of
New York, and Samuel F. Cary of Ohio. The flection showed an immense
increase of strength in the Democratic part\. Tilden carried all the South-
ern States by admitted majorities, except South Carolina, Florida, and Loui-
siana, which were claimed by both. Hayes earned all the Northern States.
except Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Indiana. South Carolina,
after an investigation of the returns by a committee, was conceded to lla\.--;
in Florida, all turned on one county, in which each party claimed a majority.
In Louisiana the Returning Board excluded Democratic members, but Gov-
ernor McEnery gave the Democratic Electors a certificate. To add to the
difficulties of the situation, the United States Senate was Republican, and
the House of Representatives Democratic, and the two Houses could not
agree to a revision of the joint rule regulating the count. The Republicans
claimed that the power to open and announce the returns was in the hands
of a single man, the President of the Senate ; while the Democrats claimed
that the joint body could control the count. Fearing that Tilden would
seek to be inaugurated by force, General Grant prepared to use the military
power, and concerted with Governor Hartranft of Pennsylvania to use the
militia of that State and a political organization, " The Grand Army of the
Republic." Secretary Cameron summoned General Sherman, and prepara-
tions were made to prevent Tilden's obtaining the Presidency. After con-
ferences between the leading men of the two parties, an Electoral Commis-
sion Act was passed by Congress, January 29, 1877, by which the decision
of all questions as to returns from any State were to be decided by a com-
mission consisting of five members from each house, and five associate
justices of the Supreme Court of the United States. This commission of
fifteen, when organized, consisted of eight Republicans and seven Demo-
crats, and acted on strict party principles. By a vote of eight to seven, an
irregular return was accepted from Louisiana, and every disputed vote was
assigned to Hayes, who was declared duly elected President of the United
States by a majority of one vote.
The State of Maryland demanded the passage of an Act to submit the
whole case to the Supreme Court ; but Congress decided that the Forty-fourth
Congress having counted the vote, there was no power in any subsequent
Congress to reverse its declaration that Hayes and Wheeler were elected.
1174
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
CHAPTER III.
CONCILIATION AND PROGRESS.
assuming the Presidency, Hayes selected for his cabinet, Wil-
liam M. Evarts of New York, as Secretary of State ; John
Sherman of Ohio, as Secretary of the Treasury ; George W.
McCrary of Iowa, as Secretary of War ; Richard W. Thomp-
son of Indiana, as Secretary of the Navy; Carl Schurz of
Missouri, Secretary of the Interior ; David M. Key of Ten-
nessee, Postmaster-General, and Charles Devins of Massachu-
setts, Attorney-General. His policy at first was marked by a
disposition to conciliate the Southern States, and he removed
one cause of animosity against the North and of local trouble by withdraw-
ing the troops which the late administration had used so frequently and use-
lessly. The State government in Louisiana, claimed by the Republicans,
when deprived of military support, at once succumbed ; and Hayes recog-
nized that claimed by the Democrats. This aroused a strong feeling against
him among one section of the Republicans,
led by Senators Conkling, Cameron, and
L<>'_ran. He recoiled, therefore, from going
further, and condemning the use of the
troops and of posses under United States
marshals at elections.
The gradual contraction which pre-
ceded the resumption of specie payments
was not without some serious results.
Wages were lowered, and thousands were
thrown out of employment. In Maryland,
the firemen and brakemen on freight trains
began a strike against a proposed reduc-
tion of wages ; the movement spread to
Pennsylvania and other States, and soon
became general. The strikers refused to
work, or to permit others to run the trains,
\\M. M. EVARTS.
8O that travel and transportation through-
out a large extent of country were virtually arrested. Riots ensued, and
the military forces were called out to protect property and restore order.
STORIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 1175
At Pittsburgh the mob resisted the militia, and destroyed railroad stations,
locomotives, trains of cars, and merchandise to the amount of six million^ c,f
dollars, and many lives were lost before the violence of the mob was sujv
pressed. Rioting occurred at several other p<>int> from Reading and Scr.-m-
toQ in the East to Chicago and St. Louis in the West. It was not till the
expiration of three weeks that State and National troops succeeded in com-
pletely restoring peace and order.
Although Mr. Hayes had shown his desire to avoid, if possible, the i-m-
ployment of military in the South, there was, on the part of many, a demand
for a definite legal enactment taking from the Executive the power to em-
ploy the army during elections. When Congress met at the close of the
year 1877, the Democrats, for the first time since 1861, were powerful
enough to modify the legislation of the country. The use of the military,
and the arbitrary arrest of electors by United States marshals at the polls
were, in their eyes, a grievance that required distinct and positive condem-
nation by law. The session ended without any appropriation being made
for the maintenance of the army at all. As this left the army subject to be
disbanded, President Hayes called an extra session of Congress in October ;
but nothing was effected, and when the regular session began in December,
he called attention to organizations in the South for overawing the negroes,
and again urged the passage of the usual appropriation bills. It was not,
however, till June that a judicial expenses bill passed, but as it contained
clauses forbidding the use of the money to pay deputy marshals at elections,
it was vetoed by the President.
A similar course was adopted in the following year, the Democrats hold-
ing a majority, passing bills which the President vetoed, but which they
were unable to pass again over his veto, inasmuch as they had not the two-
thirds required by the Constitution. Their conduct was far from politic,
and they were compelled ultimately to recede from the position they had
taken, and pass such bills as the President could approve. The result was
that the Republicans throughout the country were aroused, the popularity
of Mr. Hayes increased among them, and the more radical portion of the
party gained new strength. The attempt to pass a bill directly revoking
that passed during the war, under which the army could be employed to in-
sure the freedom of elections, was also defeated by a Presidential veto.
This unwise agitation enabled designing men to excite widespread alarm
through the negroes in the South, and in 1879 there was a general move-
ment in the Carol inas and in the States on the Mississippi, thousands of
negroes of all ages starting for the North, especially for the States of Kansas
and Indiana. They came in such numbers, and frequently in such want,
that measures had to be taken for their relief and gradual scattering to parts
where they might be enabled to earn their livelihood. Investigation failed
1170 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
to trace the movement to its source, and if it was initiated with the view of
swelling the party vote iu some Northern States, it proved futile. A similar
movement of negroes from South Carolina to Arkansas occurred subsequently,
but in both cases the South learned that the negro labor was essential to its
prosperity, and could not easily be replaced.
After the great financial panic the condition of the country steadily
improved, and on the first day of January, 1879, payment in specie was
resumed by the government and by the banks throughout the country.
Then, for the first time in nearly eighteen years, a gold dollar and a
dollar in paper were of equal value. This desirable result was attained
without any of the disastrous consequences which had been foretold by some,
and which had been the great argument of the Greenback or Paper Money
Party.
In 1879 an outbreak occurred among the Ute Indians, due in no small
degree to the unwise exercise by an Indian agent of the arbitrary powers
vested in him by law and custom. The Utes rose on Meeker, then agent,
killed him, and subjected his family to great cruelty and hardship. A de-
tachment of United States troops under Major Thornburgh, sent to repress
the Indians, was attacked, the commander and ten of his men slain, and the
rest so closely hemmed in, that they had great difficulty in holding out till
relief was sent. The tribe was soon reduced to submission.
Many countries have by war and mismanagement accumulated vast
national debts, but that of the United States seemed unparalleled, and it
was supposed would remain for years, perhaps centuries, a heavy burden on
the country. The result was, however, most gratifying. Although economy
and wisdom had not always guided the management of public affairs, the
debt was steadily reduced from two thousand eight hundred millions of
dollars, to which it had swollen on the 1st of January, 1866, to two thousand
millions on the 1st of January 1881, no less than eight hundred millions of
dollars having been paid off in fifteen years. This rapid liquidation of the
debt raised the national credit, so that government was enabled to refund
much of the outstanding debt at a lower rate of interest, the United States
bonds finding ready sale though bearing only four, or four and a half per
cent interest. One of Hayes' last acts was to veto a bill for funding the
debt at three per cent, the President deeming some parts of the bill dan-
gerous.
During the years 1878 and 1879 the yellow fever created great ravages
in the lower part of the Mississippi valley, especially in New Orleans, Vicks-
burg, and Memphis. All intercourse with the infected places was sus-
pended, many of the inhabitants fled, business ceased, and the greatest
distress prevailed among the poor. Camps were formed outside the cities iu
healthy spots, where many took refuge ; physicians and clergymen hastened
STolUKS OF AMERICAN
1177
from other parts to give their services ; and tin- Howard A — .riation, and
several sisterhoods iiobly devoted themselves to nursiiiL' tin- sick and
dying.
The increasing influx of Chinese into California, into which they were
ln-ought l»y some large coninicrcial companies —really as slaves -excited dis-
content and alarm. These immigrants did not come to settle pennanenth
in this country and mingle with the rest of the population. They came
with their heal lien worship, a low grade of moralitv, few of the men
married, and scarcely any women of decent character coming at all.
and other disgusting diseases were prevalent among these people. More-
over, the small pittance for which they were willing to work excited tin-
hostility of workmen in many trades, and demagogues formed a political
party opposed to further immigration of
Chinese. Laws were passed in California
to carry out this view, and a law with a
similar object was carried through both
Houses of Congress, but was vetoed by
President Hayes, as conflicting with the
treatv between China and the United States.
During the excitement many acts of violence
were perpetrated on the Chinese, and in
consecpuence numbers of them left that State
and scattered through the country. Com-
missioners were at once sent to China to
negotiate a new treaty allowing our govern-
ment to prevent the importation of Chinese
coolies. This led to modifications agreed
upon at Pekin, in 1881.
In the Republican Convention which
assembled at Chicago in June, 1880, a strong effort was made to nominate
General Grant for a third term. Three hundred and five delegates, with
scarcely an exception, voted steadily for him for more than thirty ballots;
the opposition divided their votes chiefly between James G. Blaine and
John Sherman, till, finding it impossible to elect either, and resolved to ex-
clude Grant, the friends of those candidates united on James A. Garfield,
who, on the thirty-sixth ballot, received three hundred and ninety-nine votes.
To conciliate the Grant or Stalwart section of the party, the Convention
then nominated for Vice-President Chester A. Arthur of New York. The
Democratic Convention which met at Cincinnati in June, on the second bal-
lot nominated General W. S. Hancock for President, and W. II. English of
Indiana for Vice-President. In the ensuing canvass the Stalwarts showed
little interest in the election, and the chances of Garfield's election seemed
JAMKS G. HI.AINK.
nrvQ
I O
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
very slight, when at last a concert of action was reached. In the Demo-
cratic party, especially iu New York State, a violent division arose, and in
the election in November, that State was carried by the Republicans, This
gave Garfield and Arthur two hundred and fourteen votes, and Hancock and
English only one hundred and fifty-five votes in the Electoral College,
although the popular vote stood 4,442,950 for Garfield ; 4,442,635 for Han-
cock. The election was remarkably a sectional one, the Southern States
going for Hancock, while all the rest, except New Jersey in the East, and
Nevada and California on the West, cast their vote for Garfield.
Notwithstanding the peril to the country at the election of Hayes, no
law had been passed to avoid similar difficulties, but on Feb. 4, 1881, the
Senate adopted a resolution de-
claring that the President of the
Senate had no constitutional
right to count the votes of elec-
tors for President and Vice-
President, so as to determine
what votes shall be received
and counted, and what votes
shall be rejected. The House of
Representatives concurred, but
no steps were taken to pass a
law to meet the case.
The election of James A. Gar-
field, when the votes came to be
counted in Congress, was recog-
nized by both parties, and no
question was raised as to the
result. The Democrats accepted
their defeat, but in the Repub-
CHKSTEB A. ARTHUR. lican party itself there was a
breach between the two sections
which aroused great bitterness of feeling. The organization of the Senate
was delayed by a contest between the two great bodies in regard to the
appointment of the officers of that house. The President's nominations of
his cabinet were then confirmed. James G. Elaine became Secretary of
State ; William Windom of Minnesota, Secretary of the Treasury ; William
H. Hunt of Louisiana, Secretary of the Navy ; Robert F. Lincoln of Illinois,
Secretary of War; Wayne McVeagh of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General;
Thomas L. James of New York, Postmaster-General ; and Samuel J. Kirk-
wood of Ohio, Secretary of the Interior.
In the appointment of Federal officers in New York, Roscoe Conkling,
STOHIKS OF AMERICAN HISTORY. 117H
Senator from that State, claimed the right to propose nominee-, and in-i-t. d
oil filling all positions with persons belonging to the radical or stalwart
branch of the party, to the exclusion of those who had supported Hhiinc or
Gai-field himself in the last convention. The President declined to yield
passively, and, withholding the names proposed by the Senator from New
York, sent in to the Senate the name of Judge Robertson for Collector of
the Port of New York. Vice-President Arthur, with the New York Sena-
tors, remonstrated, but Garfield was firm, and Conkling, failing to defeat the
nomination in the Senate, resigned his seat in that body, March 17th, 1881,
his course being followed by his associate, Senator Platt. They antici-
pated being almost certainlyre-elected by the legislature of their State, but
found that the opposition was strong and determined. Vice-President
Arthur went on from "Washington to aid their cause, and a general excite-
ment prevailed throughout the country. The struggle ended in the defeat
of Conkling, and the election of Miller and Lapham as Senators from New-
York. A somewhat similar struggle in Pennsylvania widened the breach
between the two divisions of the Republican party.
This feeling, and the lawlessness of word and thought which grew out of
it, soon bore terrible and startling fruit. A man of depraved life, visionary
and self-conceited to the verge of insanity, by name Charles J. Guiteau, as-
pired to be appointed Minister to Austria. Failing to obtain a recognition
of his services, he resolved to make away with the President, so as to raise
Mr. Arthur to the Presidency, avowing himself a stalwart of the stalwarts.
He more thamonce laid plans to shoot Mr. Garfield. On the 2d of July, as
the President entered the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Wash-
ington, in order to take a special train to New England, where he proposed
to visit the college at which he had been graduated, Guiteau approached and
fired two pistol-shots at him. One ball entered the President's body near
the spine, and struck his ribs in its course. Mr. Garfield fell, and was at
once placed on a couch and a surgeon summoned. The ball could not be
found, and he was removed with the utmost care to the Executive Mansion.
Eminent surgeons were called in to save if possible the life of the President,
and the country watched with anxiety the bulletins announcing the con-
dition of the illustrious patient. The interest extended to Europe, and ex-
pressions of sympathy and hope came from all countries. The case baffled
the surgeons, who failed to trace the real course of the ball, or relieve the
sufferer. He gradually sank, and as a removal to Long Branch failed to
recruit his system, he expired on the night of the 19th of September.
The Queen of England, and personages of rank in Europe, sent
words of sympathy to the afflicted widow, and the country, without dis-
tinction of party, united in mourning the untimely fate of their Chief
Magistrate.
1180
THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
President Gaitfeid had performed some official acts after receiving his
fatal wound, and signed an important extradition paper on the 10th of July;
but at a later period the question arose whether there existed such "in-
ability to discharge the powers and duties " of his office, as caused it to
devolve under the Constitution on the Vice-President. The position was a
QARFIELD'S HOME.
delicate one, inasmuch as Mr. Arthur's views had been so much at \ iriance
with those entertained by the President. He took no steps to claim any
right, and the public business was conducted through the Cabinet. On the
death of the President, Mr. Arthur became at once President of the United
States. On receiving the intelligence, he took the oath of office before a
SelmarHeas. W)lis1\er NewYodt
•
•
By : «
.
11M
STOHIKS OF A.MKIMi AN !!l>Tol;v.
local judge, and proceeding to Washington, renewed it l.ef. .re tin-
Justice of the Supreme Court On a— inning tin- Mdminutntion of -_ro\ em-
inent, he requested tin- members of the caliinrt to retain tlicir |«)-iti<ni».
but he gradually formed a new one more in harmony with hi> \ic\\-, r'red-
erick W. Krelinghuyseii of New Jersey l>eing Serrctarv of State.
After the death of Mr. Garfield, (iuiteaii was indicted and l>roii'_rht to
trial. The feeling against him was .so intense, that attempts urn- made to
kill him as he was conveyed through the streets, and a soldier «\i guard
attempted to shoot him in his cell. On the trial, the defence of insani:\
was interposed, and every latitude given to the accused, \\hose violence
during the trial was extreme. He was convicted, sentenced, and executed.
1 \ULKN A< 1.1.
LAKE CITY.
By the census of 1880 the total population of the United States was
ascertained to be 50,155,774. According to the Constitution it became
necessary to fix the numbers of representatives in the House, and apportion
them among the States, according to their population. The Act passed
February 25, 1882, established the number of members of the House of
Representatives at three hundred and twenty-five. Twenty-two !
gained in representation, thirteen retained their old number, and three New
England States, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, each lost one repre-
sentative.
The Territory of Utah had been occupied by the strange religious bod
the Mormons, founded by Joseph Smith, a pretended prophet, who was
killed in Illinois. His followers, driven from that State and from Missouri,
1182 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
took refuge in what was then a remote and unattractive part of the country.
Here they were left, virtually to form their own government. They at-
tempted to form the State of Deseret, but Congress established the Territory
of Utah, and for a time made Brigham Young the head of the Mormon
church, governor of the Territory. All members of the legislature were
Mormons, and the laws were frequently in defiance of those of the United
States. Polygamy was established, and all the leading men had several
wives. When the railroads to California brought Utah in the line of travel,
and persons who were not Mormons sought to settle in the Territory, the
condition of Utah became a question of importance.
Attempts made to put a stop to polygamy were defeated by the
Mormons, and in 1882 a new and well-planned effort was made to sup-
press it. An Act introduced by Senator Edmunds was passed, March
23d, 1882. As the marriages to the second and subsequent wives were
performed by a secret rite, it had been ^ound impossible to prove them,
and the guilty escaped. By this Act the cohabiting with several women
was made punishable, without proving the subsequent marriages. More-
over, every polygamist, or person favoring polygamy, can be challenged
as a juror in any trial for polygamy. Polygamists, and women living
with them, are excluded from voting, and from holding any office in the
Territory. That the innocent offspring of the marriages contracted pre-
vious to the Act might not be made to suffer, all children born of
them before January 1, 1883, were to be deemed legitimate. The President
was invested with the power of granting an amnesty to offenders who
abandoned their former reprehensible mode of life.
One of the projects of the Garfield administration was the calling of
a Congress of the different States in North and South America, in order
to adjust international questions, and prevent the constant wars and revo-
lutions that are the bane of Spanish America. An invitation to the
various Republics to meet in Congress in November, 1882, was sent out
by Mr. Elaine after the accession of President Arthur, but it was revoked
by Mr. Frelinghuysen, when he assumed the portfolio of the Department
of State. Chili had, in a recent war, humbled Bolivia and overrun Peru,
which no longer had a recognized government. The action of the Amer-
ican minister in Peru had not been very judicious, and suspicions existed of
fraudulent claims to be enforced by the authority of the United States.
This union of the American republics was deemed all the more neces-
sary from the attempt made by De Lesseps, the projector of the Suez Canal,
to cut a ship-canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Capital, to a certain
extent, was readily subscribed in France, but his project found no favor
in the United States, and all parties agreed that no such canal could be
permitted, unless it was under the control of our government. De Lesseps
STORIES OF A.MKUICAN HI8TOBY.
1!-::
visited the United States, hut failed to remove the objections entertained,
and to induce American capitalists to favor the undertaking. Th.-uhol.-
matter \\as discussed in diplomatic correspondence \\ith (Jreat Britain, hut,
no concert of action among the leading po\\<-rs \\ as attained. |),- I. ps
finally began operations on the isthmus, hut new diHiculties arose, and
o\\ing to the deadly influence of the climate, the loss of life was enor-
mous. The activity of the projectors declined, and the work was reallv
abandoned.
The necessity of a canal at Panama, or elsewhere, as a channel of
communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States, diminished an
the railroad system of the country developed, and successive lines of road
were completed across the country. The
general desire for such lines led Con-
gress to grant to these corporations im-
mense quantities of public lands, and to
aid them by other means. The extrav-
agant and lavish grants of the public
domain at last excited the attention of
the people, and were generally con-
demned. Steps were then taken to
reclaim all lands where the terms of
the grant had not been carried out.
As the system of railroads in the
south-west developed, the advantage of
running roads into Mexico became ap-
parent. The government of that re-
public readily made grants of land and
money to favor the plan, and during
the administration of President Arthur
the lines connecting the great cities of the United States and Mexico
were rapidly advanced.
The increasing population of the Territories by immigration from
abroad, developing their mineral and agricultural resources, made several
of them fit for admission as States. Prominent among these was ^"c\\
Mexico, which was acquired by the treaty of Gnadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
It had, in 1880, a population of about one hundred and twenty thousand ;
but the people of New Mexico, although nearly forty years under the
American flag, had never been allowed to vote in a Presidential election,
or to be represented in Congress. Their prayer for admission was seriously
brought before Congress in 1874, but lay dormant for nearly ten years.
The Territory of Dakota, which had attained a population of one hundred
and seventy-five thousand in 1882, solicited division, and the admission of
1)K LB88EP8.
HS4 THE WORLD'S GREAT NATIONS.
the southern and more populous part as a State, the rest to remain as a
Territory, under the name of North Dakota. Bills have been introduced
for admitting Washington, organized as a Territory in 1853, and Wyoming,
organized in 1868. The admission of Utah will undoubtedly be delayed
till the question of polygamy is finally settled ; and, to render the power of
the Mormon church less absolute, it has been proposed to divide the present
area among adjoining Territories. The admission of States does not always
depend on the actual population, but on other grounds, and is sometimes
guided by mere political considerations. In some cases, as in that of Ne-
vada, it has been manifestly premature. Alaska, detached from the rest of
the Republic, is only just about to receive an organized Territorial govern-
ment.
The progress of a great nation from a few straggling settlements of
white men on a strange soil, amid distrustful savages, to a degree of
power and prosperity almost unequaled in the annals of the past, or
in the present condition of the world, has been traced step by step.
Now, when every state in the Old World is honeycombed by discon-
tent, with masses of the population, led by men of education and ability,
seeking to destroy not only the existing governments, but the whole
social fabric ; when the most powerful armies and fleets, with all the
resources of human science, fail to give security to thrones or govern-
ments, the United States, with but the shadow of an army or navy,
enjoys profound peace ; prosperity is within the reach of all, so that a
quarter of a million of discontented Europeans arriving annually, are
absorbed into the mass of the people, and without any effort to mould
or change them, become in a few years contented and happy citizens,
contributing to the general welfare, and attached to the country and
the institutions which have proved so beneficent. The constant assimi-
lation of millions of men from countries widely differing in language,
political and social training, and the blending of all into one people,
with a character, an energy, and an activity of its own, where all trace
of origin is rapidly lost, is one of the striking marks of the influence
of an overruling Providence in shaping the destinies of America, and
should convince us that if true to itself and to Providence, there
is a future before it to which the history of mankind affords no
parallel.
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