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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
This volume is based upon my Ancient History and Mediæval and Modern History . In some instances I have changed the perspective and the proportions of the narrative; but in the main, the book is constructed upon the same lines as those drawn for the earlier works. In dealing with so wide a range of facts, and tracing so many historic movements, I cannot hope that I have always avoided falling into error. I have, however, taken the greatest care to verify statements of fact, and to give the lates
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PREFACE LIST OF MAPS GENERAL INTRODUCTION: THE RACES AND THEIR EARLY MIGRATIONS PART I.
PREFACE LIST OF MAPS GENERAL INTRODUCTION: THE RACES AND THEIR EARLY MIGRATIONS PART I.
IX. The Land and the People. X. The Legendary or Heroic Age. XI. Religion of the Greeks. XII. Age of the Tyrants and of Colonization: the Early Growth of Sparta and of Athens. 1. Age of the Tyrants and of Colonization. 2. The Growth of Sparta. 3. The Growth of Athens. XIII. The Græco-Persian Wars. XIV. Period of Athenian Supremacy. XV. The Peloponnesian War: the Spartan and the Theban Supremacy. 1. The Peloponnesian War
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PART II. MEDIÆVAL AND MODERN HISTORY.
PART II. MEDIÆVAL AND MODERN HISTORY.
FIRST PERIOD.—THE DARK AGES. (From the Fall of Rome, A.D. 476, to the Eleventh Century.) XXXII. Migrations and Settlements of the Teutonic Tribes. XXXIII. The Conversion of the Barbarians. XXXIV. Fusion of the Latin and Teutonic Peoples. XXXV. The Roman Empire in the East. XXXVI. Mohammed and the Saracens. XXXVII. Charlemagne and the Restoration of the Empire in the West. XXXVIII. The Northmen. XXXIX. Rise of the Papal Power. SECOND PERIOD.—THE AGE OF REVIVAL. (From the opening of t
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LIST OF COLORED MAPS.
LIST OF COLORED MAPS.
1. Ancient Egypt 2. The Tigris and the Euphrates 3. Lydia, Media, and Babylonia, c. B.C. 550 4. Greece and the Greek Colonies 5. Greece in the 5th Century B.C. 6. Dominions and Dependencies of Alexander, c. B.C. 323 7. Kingdoms of the Successors of Alexander, c. B.C. 300 8. Italy before the Growth of the Roman Power 9. Mediterranean Lands at the Beginning of Second Punic War 10. Roman Dominions at the End of the Mithridatic War, B.C. 64 11. The Roman Empire under Trajan, A.D. 117 12. Roman Empir
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GENERAL INTRODUCTION: THE RACES AND THEIR EARLY MIGRATIONS.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION: THE RACES AND THEIR EARLY MIGRATIONS.
DIVISIONS OF HISTORY.—History is usually divided into three periods,— Ancient, Mediæval, and Modern. Ancient History begins with the earliest nations of which we can gain any certain knowledge, and extends to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, A.D. 476. Mediæval History embraces the period, about one thousand years in length, lying between the fall of Rome and the discovery of the New World by Columbus, A.D. 1492. Modern History commences with the close of the mediæval period and extends
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RACES OF MANKIND, WITH CHIEF FAMILIES AND PEOPLES.
RACES OF MANKIND, WITH CHIEF FAMILIES AND PEOPLES.
BLACK RACE (Ethiopian, or Negro). Tribes of Central and Southern Africa, the Papuans and the Australians. (This group includes two great divisions, the Negroid and Australoid.) YELLOW RACE (Turanian, or Mongolian). (1) The Chinese, Burmese, Japanese, and other kindred peoples of Eastern Asia; (2) the Malays of Southeastern Asia, and the inhabitants of many of the Pacific islands; (3) the nomads (Tartars, Mongols, etc.) of Northern and Central Asia and of Eastern Russia; (4) the Turks, the Ma
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1. INDIA.
1. INDIA.
THE ARYAN INVASION.—At the time of the great Aryan migration (see p. 4), some Aryan bands, journeying from the northwest, settled first the plains of the Indus and then occupied the valley of the Ganges. They reached the banks of the latter river as early probably as 1500 B.C. These fair-skinned invaders found the land occupied by a dark-skinned, non-Aryan race, whom they either subjugated and reduced to serfdom, or drove out of the great river valleys into the mountains and the half- desert pla
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2. CHINA.
2. CHINA.
GENERAL REMARKS: THE BEGINNING.—China is the seat of a very old civilization, older perhaps than that of any other land save Egypt; yet Chinese affairs have not until recently exerted any appreciable influence upon the general current of history. All through ancient and mediæval times the country lay, vague and mysterious, in the haze of the world's horizon. During the Middle Ages the land was known to Europe under the name of Cathay. The beginning of the Chinese nation was a band of Turanian wa
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1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
EGYPT AND THE NILE.—Egypt comprises the delta of the Nile and the flood- plains of its lower course. The whole land is formed of the deposits of the river; hence Herodotus, in happy phrase, called the country "the gift of the Nile." The delta country was known to the ancients as Lower Egypt; while the valley proper, reaching from the head of the delta to the First Cataract, a distance of six hundred miles, was called Upper Egypt. [Footnote: About seven hundred miles from the Mediterranean a low
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2. RELIGION, ARTS, AND GENERAL CULTURE.
2. RELIGION, ARTS, AND GENERAL CULTURE.
CLASSES OF SOCIETY.—Egyptian society was divided into three great classes, or orders,—priests, soldiers, and common people; the last embracing shepherds, husbandmen, and artisans. The sacerdotal order consisted of high-priests, prophets, scribes, keepers of the sacred robes and animals, sacred sculptors, masons, and embalmers. They enjoyed freedom from taxation, and met the expenses of the temple services with the income of the sacred lands, which embraced one third of the soil of the country. T
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1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
BASIN OF THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES.-The northern part of the Tigris and Euphrates valley, the portion that comprised ancient Assyria, consists of undulating plains, broken in places by considerable mountain ridges. But all the southern portion of the basin, the part known as Chaldæa, or Babylonia, having been formed by the gradual encroachment of the deposits of the Tigris and Euphrates upon the waters of the Persian Gulf, is as level as the sea. During a large part of the year, rains are infrequ
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2. ARTS AND GENERAL CULTURE.
2. ARTS AND GENERAL CULTURE.
TOWER-TEMPLES.—In the art of building, the Chaldæans, though their edifices fall far short of attaining the perfection exhibited by the earliest Egyptian structures, displayed no inconsiderable architectural knowledge and skill. The most important of their constructions were their tower-temples. These were simple in plan, consisting of two or three terraces, or stages, placed one upon another so as to form a sort of rude pyramid. The material used in their construction was chiefly sun-dried bric
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1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
TIGLATH-PILESER I. (1130-1110 B.C.).—It is not until about two centuries after the conquest of Chaldæa by the Assyrian prince Tiglathi-Nin (see p. 43), that we find a sovereign of renown at the head of Assyrian affairs. This was Tiglath-Pileser I., who came to the throne about 1130 B.C. The royal records detail at great length his numerous war expeditions, and describe minutely the great temples which he constructed. For the two centuries following the reign of Tiglath-Pileser, Assyria is quite
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2. RELIGION, ARTS, AND GENERAL CULTURE.
2. RELIGION, ARTS, AND GENERAL CULTURE.
RELIGION.—The Assyrians were Semites, and as such they possessed the deep religious spirit that has always distinguished the peoples of this family. In this respect they were very much like the Hebrews. The wars which the Assyrian monarchs waged were not alone wars of conquest, but were, in a certain sense, crusades made for the purpose of extending the worship and authority of the gods of Assyria. They have been likened to the wars of the Hebrew kings, and again to the conquests of the Saracens
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
BABYLONIAN AFFAIRS FROM 1300 TO 625 B.C.—During the six centuries and more that intervened between the conquest of the old Chaldæan monarchy by the Assyrian king Tiglathi-Nin and the successful revolt of the low countries under Nabopolassar (see pp. 43, 51), the Babylonian peoples bore the Assyrian yoke very impatiently. Again and again they made violent efforts to throw it off; and in several instances they succeeded, and for a time enjoyed home rulers. But for the most part the whole country a
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HEBREW RELIGION AND LITERATURE.
HEBREW RELIGION AND LITERATURE.
The ancient Hebrews made little or no contribution to science. They produced no new order of architecture. In sculpture they did nothing: their religion forbade their making "graven images." Their mission was to teach religion. Here they have been the instructors of the world. Their literature is a religious one; for literature with them was simply a medium for the conveyance of religious instruction and the awakening of devotional feeling. The Hebrew religion, a pure monotheism, the teachings o
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE.—Ancient Phoenicia embraced a little strip of broken sea-coast lying between the Mediterranean and the ranges of Mount Lebanon. One of the most noted productions of the country was the fine fir-timber cut from the forests that crowned the lofty ranges of the Lebanon Mountains. The "cedar of Lebanon" holds a prominent place both in the history and the poetry of the East. Another celebrated product of the country was the Tyrian purple, which was obtained from several variet
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1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
1. POLITICAL HISTORY.
KINSHIP OF THE MEDES AND PERSIANS.—It was in very remote times, that some Aryan tribes, separating themselves from the other members of the Aryan family, sought new abodes on the plateau of Iran. The tribes that settled in the south became known as the Persians; while those that took possession of the mountain regions of the northwest were called Medes. The Medes, through mingling with native non-Aryan tribes, became quite different from the Persians; but notwithstanding this, the names of the t
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2. GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND ARTS.
2. GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, AND ARTS.
THE GOVERNMENT.—Before the reign of Darius I., the government of the Persian Empire was like that of all the great monarchies that had preceded it; that is, it consisted of a great number of subject states, which were allowed to retain their own kings and manage their own affairs, only paying tribute and homage, and furnishing contingents in time of war, to the Great King. We have seen how weak was this rude and primitive type of government. Darius I., who possessed rare ability as an organizer,
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TABLE OF KINGS OF MEDIA AND PERSIA.
TABLE OF KINGS OF MEDIA AND PERSIA.
Kings of Media Phraortes. . . . . . . . . . . . ? -625 Cyaxares . . . . . . . . . . . . 625-585 Astyages . . . . . . . . . . . . 585-558 Kings of Persia Cyrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558-529 Cambyses . . . . . . . . . . . . 529-522 Pseudo-Smerdis . . . . . . . . . 522-521 Darius I. . . . . . . . . . . . 521-486 Xerxes I. . . . . . . . . . . . 486-465 Artaxerxes I. (Longimanus) . . . 465-425 Xerxes II. . . . . . . . . . . . 425 Sogdianus . . . . . . . . . . . 425-424...
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
DIVISIONS OF GREECE.—Long arms of the sea divide the Grecian peninsula into three parts, called Northern, Central, and Southern Greece. Northern Greece included the ancient districts of Thessaly and Epirus. Thessaly consists mainly of a large and beautiful valley, walled in on all sides by rugged mountains. It was celebrated far and wide for the variety and beauty of its scenery. On its northern edge, lay a beautiful glen, called the Vale of Tempe, the only pass by which the plain of Thessaly co
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
THE LEGENDARY, OR HEROIC AGE. (From the earliest times to 776 B.C.) CHARACTER OF THE LEGENDARY AGE.—The real history of the Greeks does not begin before the eighth century B.C. All that lies back of that date is an inseparable mixture of myth, legend, and fact. Yet this shadowy period forms the background of Grecian history, and we cannot understand the ideas and acts of the Greeks of historic times without at least some knowledge of what they believed their ancestors did and experienced in thos
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
INTRODUCTORY.—Without at least some little knowledge of the religious ideas and institutions of the ancient Greeks, we should find very many passages of their history wholly unintelligible. Hence a few remarks upon these matters will be in place here. COSMOGRAPHY OF THE GREEKS.—The Greeks supposed the earth to be, as it appears, a plane, circular in form like a shield. Around it flowed the "mighty strength of the ocean river," a stream broad and deep, beyond which on all sides lay realms of Cimm
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1. AGE OF THE TYRANTS AND OF COLONIZATION.
1. AGE OF THE TYRANTS AND OF COLONIZATION.
THE TYRANTS.—In the Heroic Age the preferred form of government was a patriarchal monarchy. The Iliad says, "The rule of many is not a good thing: let us have one ruler only,—one king,—him to whom Zeus has given the sceptre." But by the dawn of the historic period, the patriarchal monarchies of the Achæan age had given place, in almost all the Grecian cities, to oligarchies or aristocracies. THE OLIGARCHIES GIVE WAY TO TYRANNIES.—The nobles into whose hands the ancient royal authority thus passe
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2. THE GROWTH OF SPARTA.
2. THE GROWTH OF SPARTA.
SITUATION OF SPARTA.—Sparta was one of the cities of the Peloponnesus which owed their origin or importance to the Dorian Invasion (see p. 96). It was situated in the deep valley of the Eurotas, in Laconia, and took its name Sparta (sown land) from the circumstance that it was built upon tillable ground, whereas the heart and centre of most Greek cities consisted of a lofty rock (the citadel, or acropolis). It was also called Lacedæmon, after an early legendary king. CLASSES IN THE SPARTAN STATE
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3. THE GROWTH OF ATHENS.
3. THE GROWTH OF ATHENS.
THE ATTIC PEOPLE.—The population of Attica in historic times was essentially Ionian in race, but there were in it strains of other Hellenic stocks, besides some non-Hellenic elements as well. This mixed origin of the population is believed to be one secret of the versatile yet well- balanced character which distinguished the Attic people above all other branches of the Hellenic family. It is not the absolutely pure, but the mixed races, like the English people, that have made the largest contrib
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
EXPEDITIONS OF DARIUS AGAINST GREECE.—In narrating the history of the Persians, we told how Darius, after having subdued the revolt of his Ionian subjects in Asia Minor, turned his armaments against the European Greeks, to punish them for the part they had taken in the capture and burning of Sardis. It will be recalled how ill-fated was his first expedition, which was led by his son-in-law Mardonius (see p. 80). Undismayed by this disaster, Darius issued orders for the raising and equipping of a
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THE AGE OF PERICLES (459-431 B.C.).
THE AGE OF PERICLES (459-431 B.C.).
GENERAL FEATURES OF THE AGE.—Under the inspiration of Pericles, the Athenian state now entered upon the most brilliant period of its history. The epoch embraces less than the lifetime of a single generation, yet its influence upon the civilization of the world can hardly be overrated. During this short period Athens gave birth to more great men—poets, artists, statesmen, and philosophers—than all the world besides has produced in any period of equal length. [Illustration: PERICLES.] Among all th
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1. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (431-404 B.C.).
1. THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR (431-404 B.C.).
CAUSES OF THE WAR.—During the closing years of the life of Pericles, the growing jealousy between Athens and Sparta broke out in the long struggle known as the Peloponnesian War. Pericles had foreseen the coming storm: "I descry war," said he, "lowering from the Peloponnesus." His whole later policy looked toward the preparation of Athens for the "irrepressible conflict." The immediate causes of the war were, first, the interference of Athens, on the side of the Corcyræans, in a quarrel between
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2. THE SPARTAN AND THE THEBAN SUPREMACY.
2. THE SPARTAN AND THE THEBAN SUPREMACY.
SPARTAN SUPREMACY.—For just one generation following the Peloponnesian War (404-371 B.C.), Sparta held the leadership of the Grecian states. Aristocratical governments, with institutions similar to the Spartan, were established in the different cities of the old Athenian Empire. At Athens, the democratical constitution of Solon, under which the Athenians had attained their greatness, was abolished, and an oppressive oligarchy established in its stead. The Thirty Tyrants, however, who administere
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CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF GRECIAN HISTORY TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF GRECIAN HISTORY TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT.
Legendary Age The Trojan War, legendary date 1194-1184 The Dorians enter the Peloponnesus, about 1104 Early History of Sparta Lycurgus gives laws to Sparta, about 850 The Messenian Wars, about 750-650 Early History of Athens Rule of the Archons 1050-612 Rebellion of Cylon 612 Legislation of Solon 594 Pisistratus rules 560-527 Expulsion of the Pisistratidæ 510 Period of Græco-Persian War First Expedition of Darius (led by Mardonius) 492 Battle of Marathon 490 Battle of The
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER.—There was no one who could wield the sword that fell from the hand of Alexander. It is told that, when dying, being asked to whom the kingdom should belong, he replied, "To the strongest," and handed his signet ring to his general Perdiccas. But Perdiccas was not strong enough to master the difficulties of the situation. [Footnote: Perdiccas ruled as regent for Philip Arridæus (an illegitimate brother of Alexander), who was proclaimed titular king.] Indeed, w
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1. ARCHITECTURE.
1. ARCHITECTURE.
PELASGIAN ARCHITECTURE.—The term Pelasgian is applied to various structures of massive masonry found in different parts of Greece, Italy, and Asia Minor. The origin of these works was a mystery to the earliest Hellenes, who ascribed them to a race of giants called Cyclops; hence the name Cyclopean that also attaches to them. These works exhibit three well-defined stages of development. In the earliest and rudest structures the stones are gigantic in size and untouched by the chisel; in the next
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2. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING.
2. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING.
PROGRESS IN SCULPTURE: INFLUENCE OF THE GYMNASTIC ART.—Wood was the material first employed by the Greek artists. About the eighth century B.C. bronze and marble were generally substituted for the less durable material. With this change sculpture began to make rapid progress. [Illustration: PITCHING THE DISCUS, OR QUOIT (Discobolus.)] But what exerted the most positive influence upon Greek sculpture was the gymnastic art. The exercises of the gymnasium and the contests of the sacred games afford
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1. EPIC AND LYRIC POETRY.
1. EPIC AND LYRIC POETRY.
THE GREEKS AS LITERARY ARTISTS.—It was that same exquisite sense of fitness and proportion and beauty which made the Greeks artists in marble that also made them artists in language. "Of all the beautiful things which they created," says Professor Jebb, "their own language was the most beautiful." This language they wrought into epics, lyrics, dramas, histories, and orations as incomparable in form and beauty as their temples and statues. THE HOMERIC POEMS,—The earliest specimens of Greek poetry
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2. THE DRAMA AND DRAMATISTS.
2. THE DRAMA AND DRAMATISTS.
ORIGIN OF THE GREEK DRAMA.—The Greek drama, in both its branches of tragedy and comedy, grew out of the songs and dances instituted in honor of the god of wine—Dionysus (the same as the Roman Bacchus). Tragedy (goat-song, possibly from the accompanying sacrifice of a goat) sprang from the graver songs, and comedy (village-song) from the lighter and more farcical ones. Gradually, recital and dialogue were added, there being at first but a single speaker, then two, and finally three, which last wa
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3. HISTORY AND HISTORIANS.
3. HISTORY AND HISTORIANS.
Poetry is the first form of literary expression among all peoples. So we must not be surprised to find that it was not until several centuries after the composition of the Homeric poems—that is, about the sixth century B.C.—that prose-writing appeared among the Greeks. Historical composition was then first cultivated. We can speak briefly of only three historians,—Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon,—whose names were cherished among the ancients, and whose writings are highly valued and carefully
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4. ORATORY.
4. ORATORY.
INFLUENCE OF THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY.—The art of oratory among the Greeks was fostered and developed by the democratic character of their institutions. The public assemblies of the democratic cities were great debating clubs, open to all. The gift of eloquence secured for its possessor a sure pre- eminence. The law-courts, too, especially the great jury-courts of Athens, were schools of oratory; for every citizen was obliged to be his own advocate and to defend his own case. Hence the attention best
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5. THE ALEXANDRIAN AGE.
5. THE ALEXANDRIAN AGE.
The Alexandrian period of Greek literature embraces the time between the break-up of Alexander's empire and the conquest of Greece by Rome (300-146 B.C.). During this period Alexandria in Egypt was the centre of literary activity, hence the term Alexandrian , applied to the literature of the age. The great Museum and Library of the Ptolemies afforded in that capital such facilities for students and authors as existed in no other city in the world. [Illustration: IDEAL SCENE IN THE ALEXANDRIAN LI
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SCIENCE AMONG THE GREEKS.
SCIENCE AMONG THE GREEKS.
The contributions of the Greek observers to the physical sciences have laid us under no small obligation to them. Some of those whom we have classed as philosophers, were careful students of nature, and might be called scientists. The great philosopher Aristotle wrote some valuable works on anatomy and natural history. From his time onward the sciences were pursued with much zeal and success. Especially did the later Greeks do much good and lasting work in the mathematical sciences. MATHEMATICS:
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
EDUCATION.—Education at Sparta, where it was chiefly gymnastic, as we have seen (p. 115), was a state affair; but at Athens and throughout Greece generally, the youth were trained in private schools. These schools were of all grades, ranging from those kept by the most obscure teachers, who gathered their pupils in some recess of the street, to those established in the Athenian Academy and Lyceum by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle. [Illustration: A GREEK SCHOOL. (After a vase-painting.)
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
THE ROMAN KINGDOM. (Legendary Date, 753-509 B.C.) DIVISIONS OF ITALY.—The peninsula of Italy, like that of Greece, divides itself into three parts—Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. The first comprises the great basin of the Po, lying between the Alps and the Apennines. In ancient times this part of Italy included three districts— Liguria, Gallia Cisalpina, which means "Gaul on this (the Italian) side of the Alps," and Venetia. The countries of Central Italy were Etruria, Latium, and Campani
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THE ROMAN RELIGION.
THE ROMAN RELIGION.
THE CHIEF ROMAN DEITIES.—The basis of the Roman religious system was the same as that of the Grecian: the germs of its institutions were brought from the same early Aryan home. At the head of the Pantheon stood Jupiter, identical in all essential attributes with the Hellenic Zeus. He was the special protector of the Roman people. To him, together with Juno and Minerva, was consecrated, as we have already noticed, a magnificent temple upon the summit of the Capitoline Hill, overlooking the Forum
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SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS.
SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS.
FIRST SECESSION OF THE PLEBEIANS (494 B.C.).—Taking advantage of the disorders that followed the political revolution, the Latin towns which had been forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome rose in revolt, and the result was that almost all the conquests that had been made under the kings were lost. For a long time the little republic had to struggle hard for bare existence. [Illustration: LICTORS.] Troubles without brought troubles within. The poor plebeians, during this period of disorder
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WARS FOR THE MASTERY OF ITALY.
WARS FOR THE MASTERY OF ITALY.
THE FIRST SAMNITE WAR (343-341 B.C.).—The union of the two orders in the state allowed the Romans now to employ their undivided strength in subjugating the different states of the peninsula. The most formidable competitors of the Romans for supremacy in Italy were the Samnites, rough and warlike mountaineers who held the Apennines to the east of Latium. They were worthy rivals of the "children of Mars." The successive struggles between these martial races are known as the First, Second, and Thir
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
CARTHAGE AND THE CARTHAGINIAN EMPIRE.—Foremost among the cities founded by the Phoenicians upon the different shores of the Mediterranean was Carthage, upon the northern coast of Africa. The city is thought to have had its beginnings in a small trading-post, established late in the ninth century B.C., about one hundred years before the founding of Rome. Carthage was simply another Tyre. She was mistress and queen of the Western Mediterranean. At the period we have now reached, she held sway, thr
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ROME BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
ROME BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
THE FIRST ROMAN PROVINCE.—For the twenty-three years that followed the close of the first struggle between Rome and Carthage, the two rivals strained every power and taxed every resource in preparation for a renewal of the contest. The Romans settled the affairs of Sicily, organizing all of it, save the lands belonging to Syracuse, as a province of the republic. This was the first territory beyond the limits of Italy that Rome had conquered, and the Sicilian the first of Roman provinces. But as
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CARTHAGE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
CARTHAGE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
THE TRUCELESS WAR.—Scarcely had peace been concluded with Rome at the end of the First Punic War, before Carthage was plunged into a still deadlier struggle, which for a time threatened her very existence. The mercenary troops, upon their return from Sicily, revolted, on account of not receiving their pay. Their appeal to the native tribes of Africa was answered by a general uprising throughout the dependencies of Carthage. The extent of the revolt shows how hateful and hated was the rule of the
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THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR.
HANNIBAL'S PASSAGE OF THE ALPS.—The Carthaginian empire was now stirred with preparations for the impending struggle. Hannibal was the life and soul of every movement. His bold plan was to cross the Pyrenees and the Alps and descend upon Rome from the north. [Illustration: HANNIBAL] With his preparations completed, Hannibal left New Carthage early in the spring of 218 B.C., with an army numbering about one hundred thousand men, and including thirty-seven war elephants. Crossing the Pyrenees and
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EVENTS BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THE THIRD PUNIC WAR.
EVENTS BETWEEN THE SECOND AND THE THIRD PUNIC WAR.
The terms imposed upon Carthage at the end of the Second Punic War left Rome mistress of the Western Mediterranean. During the fifty eventful years that elapsed between the close of that struggle and the breaking-out of the last Punic war, her authority became supreme also in the Eastern seas. In a preceding chapter (see p. 170), while narrating the fortunes of the most important states into which the great empire of Alexander was broken at his death, we followed them until one after another the
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THE THIRD PUNIC WAR.
THE THIRD PUNIC WAR.
"CARTHAGE MUST BE DESTROYED."—The same year that Rome destroyed Corinth (146 B.C.), she also blotted her great rival Carthage from the face of the earth. It will be recalled that one of the conditions imposed upon the last-named city at the close of the Second Punic War was that she should, under no circumstances, engage in any war without the permission of the Roman Senate. Taking advantage of the helpless condition of Carthage, Masinissa, King of Numidia, began to make depredations upon her te
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WAR IN SPAIN.
WAR IN SPAIN.
SIEGE OF NUMANTIA.—It is fitting that the same chapter which narrates the destruction of Corinth in Greece, and the blotting-out of Carthage in Africa, should tell the story of the destruction of Numantia in Spain. The expulsion of the Carthaginians from the Spanish peninsula really gave Rome the control of only a small part of that country. The war-like native tribes—the Celtiberians and Lusitanians—of the North and the West were ready stubbornly to dispute with the new-comers the possession of
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
We have now traced the growth of the power of republican Rome, as through two centuries and more of conquest she has extended her authority, first throughout Italy, and then over almost all the countries that border upon the Mediterranean. It must be our less pleasant task now to follow the declining fortunes of the republic through the last century of its existence. We shall here learn that wars waged for spoils and dominion are in the end more ruinous, if possible, to the conqueror than to the
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE LAST CENTURY OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC ( concluded ). (133-31 B.C.) POMPEY THE GREAT IN SPAIN.—The fires of the Civil War, though quenched in Italy, were still smouldering in Spain. Sertorius, an adherent of Marius, had there stirred up the martial tribes of Lusitania, and incited a general revolt against the power of the aristocratic government at Rome. Cnæus Pompey, a rising young leader of the oligarchy, upon whom the title of Great had already been conferred as a reward for crushing the Mari
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE. (From 31 B.C. to A.D. 180.) REIGN OF AUGUSTUS CÆSAR (31 B.C. to A.D. 14).—The hundred years of strife which ended with the battle of Actium left the Roman republic, exhausted and helpless, in the hands of one wise enough and strong enough to remould its crumbling fragments in such a manner that the state, which seemed ready to fall to pieces, might prolong its existence for another five hundred years. It was a great work thus to create anew, as it were, out of anarchy and chaos
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LAST DAYS OF THE EMPIRE IN THE WEST.
LAST DAYS OF THE EMPIRE IN THE WEST.
FIRST INVASION OF ITALY BY ALARIC.—Only a few years had elapsed after the death of the great Theodosius, before the barbarians were trooping in vast hordes through all the regions of the West. First, from Thrace and Moesia came the Visigoths, led by the great Alaric. They poured through the Pass of Thermopylæ, and devastated almost the entire peninsula of Greece; but, being driven from that country by Stilicho, the renowned Vandal general of Honorius, they crossed the Julian Alps, and spread ter
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FINAL PARTITION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. (A.D. 395.)
FINAL PARTITION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. (A.D. 395.)
EMPERORS IN THE EAST. (From A.D. 395 to Fall of Rome.) A.D. Arcadius . . . . . . . . . . 395-408 Theodosius II. . . . . . . . 408-450 Marcian . . . . . . . . . . 450-457 Leo I . . . . . . . . . . . 457-474 Zeno . . . . . . . . . . . . 474-491 EMPERORS IN THE WEST. A.D. Honorius . . . . . . . . . . 395-423 Valentinian III. . . . . . . 425-455 Maximus . . . . . . . . . . 455 Avitus . . . . . . . . . . . 455-456 Count Ricimer creates a
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1. ARCHITECTURE.
1. ARCHITECTURE.
GREEK ORIGIN OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: THE ARCH.—The architecture of the Romans was, in the main, an imitation of Greek models. But the Romans were not mere servile imitators. They not only modified the architectural forms they borrowed, but they gave their structures a distinct character by the prominent use of the arch, which the Greek and Oriental builders seldom employed, though they were acquainted with its properties. By means of it the Roman builders vaulted the roofs of the largest building
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2. LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND LAW.
2. LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY, AND LAW.
RELATION OF ROMAN TO GREEK LITERATURE: THE POETS OF THE REPUBLICAN ERA.— Latin literature was almost wholly imitative or borrowed, being a reproduction of Greek models; still it performed a most important service for civilization: it was the medium for the dissemination throughout the world of the rich literary treasures of Greece. It was the dramatic productions of the Greeks which were first studied and copied at Rome. Livius Andronicus, Nævius, Ennius, Plautus, and Terence, all of whom wrote
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3. SOCIAL LIFE.
3. SOCIAL LIFE.
EDUCATION.—Roman children were subject in an extraordinary manner to their father ( paterfamilias ). They were regarded as his property, and their life and liberty were in general at his absolute disposal. This power he exercised by usually drowning at birth the deformed or sickly child. Even the married son remained legally subject to his father, who could banish him, sell him as a slave, or even put him to death. It should be said, however, that the right of putting to death was seldom exercis
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
DIVISIONS OF THE SUBJECT.—As we have already noted, the fourteen centuries since the fall of the Roman empire in the West (A.D. 476) are usually divided into two periods,—the Middle Ages , or the period lying between the fall of Rome and the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, and the Modern Age , which extends from the latter event to the present time. The Middle Ages, again, naturally subdivide into two periods,—the Dark Ages , and the Age of Revival ; while the Modern Age also falls int
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CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
INTRODUCTORY.—In connection with the history of the break-up of the Roman empire in the West, we have already given some account of the migrations and settlements of the German tribes. In the present chapter we shall relate briefly the political fortunes, for the two centuries following the fall of Rome, of the principal kingdoms set up by the German chieftains in the different provinces of the old empire. KINGDOM OF THE OSTROGOTHS (A.D. 493-554).—Odoacer will be recalled as the barbarian chief
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
INTRODUCTORY.—The most important event in the history of the tribes that took possession of the Roman empire in the West was their conversion to Christianity. Many of the barbarians were converted before or soon after their entrance into the empire; to this circumstance the Roman provinces owed their immunity from the excessive cruelties which pagan barbarians seldom fail to inflict upon a subjected enemy. Alaric left untouched the treasures of the churches of the Roman Christians, because his o
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
INTRODUCTORY.—Having seen how the Hebrew element, that is, the ideas, beliefs, and sentiments of Christianity, became the common possession of the Latins and Teutons, it yet remains to notice how these two races, upon the soil of the old empire, intermingled their blood, their language, their laws, their usages and customs, to form new peoples, new tongues, and new institutions. THE ROMANCE NATIONS.—In some districts the barbarian invaders and the Roman provincials were kept apart for a long tim
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CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE REIGN OF JUSTINIAN (A.D. 527-565).—During the fifty years immediately following the fall of Rome, the Eastern emperors struggled hard and doubtfully to withstand the waves of the barbarian inundation which constantly threatened to overwhelm Constantinople with the same awful calamities that had befallen the imperial city of the West. Had the new Rome—the destined refuge for a thousand years of Græco-Roman learning and culture—also gone down at this time before the storm, the loss to the caus
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
[Illustration: AN ARAB RIDER.] INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT.—The Arabs, or Saracens, who are now about to play their surprising part in history, are, after the Hebrews, the most important people of the Semitic race. Secure in their inaccessible deserts, the Arabs have never as a people bowed their necks to a foreign conqueror, although portions of the Arabian peninsula have been repeatedly subjugated by different races. RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF ARABIA BEFORE MOHAMMED.—Before the reforms of Mohammed, the
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
GENERAL REMARKS.—In the foregoing chapter we traced the rise and decline of the power of the Saracens. We saw the Semitic East roused for a moment to a life of tremendous energy by the miracle of religious enthusiasm, and then beheld it sinking rapidly again into inaction and weakness, disappointing all its early promises. Manifestly the "Law" is not to go forth from Mecca. The Semitic race is not to lead the civilization of the world. But returning again to the West, we discover among the Teuto
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE PEOPLE.—Northmen, Norsemen, Scandinavians, are different names applied in a general way to the early inhabitants of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. These people formed the northern branch of the Teutonic family. We cannot be certain when they took possession of the northern peninsulas, but it is probable that they had entered those countries long before Cæsar invaded Gaul. THE NORTHMEN AS PIRATES AND COLONIZERS.—For the first eight centuries of our era the Norsemen are hidden from our view in t
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CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
INTRODUCTION.—In an early chapter of our book we told how Christianity as a system of beliefs and precepts took possession of the different nations and tribes of Europe. We purpose in the present chapter to tell how the Christian Church grew into a great spiritual monarchy, with the bishop of Rome as its head. It must be borne in mind that the bishops of Rome put forth a double claim, namely, that they were the supreme head of the Church, and also the rightful, divinely appointed suzerain of all
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1. FEUDALISM.
1. FEUDALISM.
FEUDALISM DEFINED.—Feudalism is the name given to a special form of society and government, based upon a peculiar military tenure of land which prevailed in Europe during the latter half of the Middle Ages, attaining, however, its most perfect development in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries. A feudal estate, which might embrace a few acres or an entire province, was called a fief , or feud , whence the term Feudalism. The person granting a fief was called the suzerain , liege , or
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2. CHIVALRY.
2. CHIVALRY.
CHIVALRY DEFINED: ORIGIN OF THE INSTITUTION.—Chivalry has been, aptly defined as the "Flower of Feudalism." It was a military institution, or order, the members of which, called knights , were pledged to the protection of the church, and to the defence of the weak and the oppressed. Although the germs of the system may be found in society before the age of Charlemagne, still Chivalry did not assume its distinctive character until the eleventh century, and died out during the fifteenth. [Illustra
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CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLI.
INTRODUCTORY.—The history of the Normans—the name, it will be recalled, of the transformed Scandinavians who settled in Northern Gaul (see p. 4l3)—is simply a continuation of the story of the Northmen. The most important of the enterprises of the Normans, and one followed by consequences of the greatest magnitude not only to the conquered people, but indirectly to the world, was their conquest of England. [Footnote: Not long before the Normans conquered England, they succeeded in gaining a footh
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1. INTRODUCTORY: CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES.
1. INTRODUCTORY: CAUSES OF THE CRUSADES.
GENERAL STATEMENT.—The Crusades were great military expeditions undertaken by the Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of rescuing from the hands of the Mohammedans the holy places of Palestine. They were eight in number, the first four being sometimes called the Principal Crusades, and the remaining four the Minor Crusades. Besides these there were a Children's Crusade, and several other expeditions, which, being insignificant in numbers or results, are not usually enumerated. CAUSES OF
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2. THE FIRST CRUSADE (1096-1099).
2. THE FIRST CRUSADE (1096-1099).
MUSTERING OF THE CRUSADERS.—All Western Europe now rang with the cry, "He who will not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me." The contagion of enthusiasm seized all classes; for while the religious feelings of the age had been specially appealed to, all the various sentiments of ambition, chivalry, love of license, had also been skilfully enlisted on the side of the undertaking. The council of Clermont had declared Europe to be in a state of peace, and pronounced anathemas agains
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3. THE SECOND CRUSADE (1147-1149).
3. THE SECOND CRUSADE (1147-1149).
ORIGIN OF THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD.—In the interval between the Second and the Third Crusade, the two famed religious military orders, known as the Hospitallers and the Templars, [Footnote: The Hospitallers, or Knights of St. John, took their name from the fact that the organization was first formed among the monks of the Hospital of St. John, at Jerusalem; while the Templars, or Knights of the Temple, were so called on account of one of the buildings of the brotherhood occupying the s
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4. THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192).
4. THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192).
THE THREE LEADERS.—The Third Crusade was caused by the capture of Jerusalem (1187) by Saladin, the sultan of Egypt. Three of the great sovereigns of Europe, Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, Philip Augustus of France, and Richard I. of England, assumed the Cross, and set out, each at the head of a large army, for the recovery of the Holy City. The English king, Richard, afterwards given the title of Coeur de Lion , the "Lion-hearted," in memory of his heroic exploits in Palestine, was the central
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5. THE FOURTH CRUSADE (1202-1204).
5. THE FOURTH CRUSADE (1202-1204).
CAPTURE OF CONSTANTINOPLE BY THE LATINS.—None of the Crusades after the Third effected much in the Holy Land; either their force was spent before reaching it, or they were diverted from their purpose by different objects and ambitions. The crusaders of the Fourth expedition captured Constantinople instead of Jerusalem. The circumstances were these: A usurper had seized upon the Byzantine throne. The rightful claimant, Alexius, besought the aid of the Frankish warriors to regain the sceptre. The
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6. CLOSE OF THE CRUSADES: THEIR RESULTS.
6. CLOSE OF THE CRUSADES: THEIR RESULTS.
THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (1212).—During the interval between the Fourth and the Fifth Crusade, the epidemical fanaticism that had so long agitated Europe seized upon the children, resulting in what is known as the Children's Crusade. The preacher of this crusade was a child about twelve years of age, a French peasant lad, named Stephen, who became persuaded that Jesus Christ had commanded him to lead a crusade of children to the rescue of the Holy Sepulchre. The children became wild with excitemen
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CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
INTRODUCTORY.—In a previous chapter we traced the gradual rise of the spiritual and temporal power of the Papacy, and stated the several theories respecting its relation to secular rulers. In the present chapter, we purpose to follow its increasing power to the culmination of its authority in the thirteenth century, and then to speak of some of the circumstances that caused, or that marked, the decline of its temporal power. POPE GREGORY VII. (HILDEBRAND) AND HIS REFORMS.—One of the greatest pro
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THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE.—The latest, most permanent, and most important of the Tartar sovereignties was established by the Ottoman Turks, who were an offshoot of the Seljukians. Gradually this martial race seized province after province of the Asiatic possessions of the Byzantine emperors. Through the quarrels that were constantly distracting Constantinople, they at last gained a foothold in Europe (1353). During the reign of Amurath I. (1360-1389), a large part of the country known as Turkey in
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CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLV.
RELATION OF THE CITIES TO THE FEUDAL LORDS.—When Feudalism took possession of Europe, the cities became a part of the system. Each town formed a part of the fief in which it happened to be situated, and was subject to all the incidents of feudal ownership. It owed allegiance to its lord, must pay to him feudal tribute, and aid him in his war enterprises. As the cities, through their manufactures and trade, were the most wealthy members of the Feudal System, the lords naturally looked to them for
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CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVI.
By the Revival of Learning, in the most general sense, is meant the intellectual awakening of Europe after the languor and depression of the first mediæval centuries. In a narrower sense, however, the phrase is used to designate that wonderful renewal of interest in the old Greek and Latin authors which sprung up in Italy about the beginning of the fourteenth century. We shall use the expression in its most comprehensive sense, thus making the restoration of classical letters simply a part of th
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1. ENGLAND.
1. ENGLAND.
GENERAL STATEMENT.—In preceding chapters we have told of the origin of the English people, and traced their growth under Saxon, Danish, and Norman rulers (see pp. 375, 411, 433). We shall, in the present section, tell very briefly the story of their progress under the Plantagenet kings, thus carrying on our narrative to the accession of the Tudors in 1485, from which event dates the beginning of the modern history of England. The era of the Plantagenets, which covers three hundred and thirty-one
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2. FRANCE.
2. FRANCE.
BEGINNING OF THE FRENCH KINGDOM.—The kingdom of France begins properly with the accession of the first of the Capetian rulers, late in the tenth century. The Merovingian and Carolingian kings were simply German princes reigning in Gaul. The Capetians held the throne for more than three centuries, when they were followed by the Valois kings. The last of the main line of the Valois family gave way to the first of the Valois-Orleans sovereigns in 1498, which date may be allowed to mark the beginnin
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3. SPAIN.
3. SPAIN.
The Beginnings of Spain.—When, in the eighth century, the Saracens swept like a wave over Spain, the mountains of Asturia, in the northwest corner of the peninsula, afforded a refuge for the most resolute of the Christian chiefs who refused to submit their necks to the Moslem yoke. These brave and hardy warriors not only successfully defended the hilly districts that formed their retreat, but gradually pushed back the invaders, and regained control of a portion of the fields and cities that had
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4. GERMANY.
4. GERMANY.
BEGINNINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GERMANY.—The history of Germany as a separate kingdom begins with the break-up of the empire of Charlemagne (see p. 408). Germany at that time comprised several groups of tribes,— the Saxons, the Suabians, the Thuringians, the Bavarians, and the Franks. Closely allied in race, speech, manners, and social arrangements, all these peoples seemed ready to be welded into a close and firm nation; but, unfortunately, the circumstances tending to keep the several states or c
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5. RUSSIA.
5. RUSSIA.
BEGINNINGS OF RUSSIA.—We have seen how, about the middle of the ninth century, the Swedish adventurer Ruric laid, among the Slavonian tribes dwelling eastward from the Baltic, the foundation of what was destined to become one of the leading powers of Europe (see p. 411). The state came to be known as Russia, probably from the word Ruotsi (corsairs?), the name given by the Finns to the foreigners. THE TARTAR CONQUEST.—In the thirteenth century an overwhelming calamity befell Russia. This was the
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6. ITALY.
6. ITALY.
NO NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.—In marked contrast to all those countries of which we have thus far spoken, unless we except Germany, Italy came to the close of the Middle Ages without a national or regular government. This is to be attributed in large part to that unfortunate rivalry between Pope and Emperor which resulted in dividing Italy into the two hostile camps of Guelph and Ghibelline. And yet the mediæval period did not pass without attempts on the part of patriot spirits to effect some sort of
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7. THE NORTHERN COUNTRIES.
7. THE NORTHERN COUNTRIES.
THE UNION OF CALMAR.—The great Scandinavian Exodus of the ninth and tenth centuries drained the Northern lands of some of the best elements of their population. For this reason these countries did not play as prominent a part in mediæval history as they would otherwise have done. The constant quarrels between their sovereigns and the nobility were also another cause of internal weakness. In the year 1397, by what is known as the Union of Calmar, the three kingdoms of Norway, Denmark, and Sweden
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SECTION II.—MODERN HISTORY.
SECTION II.—MODERN HISTORY.
As an introduction to the history of the Modern Age, we shall give a brief account of the voyages and geographical discoveries of Columbus, Vasco da Gama, and Magellan, and of the beginning of European conquests and settlements in the New World, inasmuch as these great events lie at the opening of the era and form the prelude of its story. DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD BY COLUMBUS (1492).—Christopher Columbus was one of those Genoese navigators who, when Genoa's Asiatic lines of trade were broken b
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FIRST PERIOD.—THE ERA OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. (FROM THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA, IN 1648.) CHAPTER XLVIII.
FIRST PERIOD.—THE ERA OF THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION. (FROM THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA, IN 1648.) CHAPTER XLVIII.
GENERAL STATEMENT.—We have already indicated (see pp. 366-7), the two periods of modern history; namely, the Era of the Protestant Reformation and the Era of the Political Revolution . We need here simply to remind the reader that the first period, extending from the opening of the sixteenth century to the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, is characterized by the revolt of the nations of Northern Europe against the spiritual jurisdiction of Rome, and the great combat between Protestantism and Catholi
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1. REIGN OF THE EMPEROR CHARLES V. (1519-1556).
1. REIGN OF THE EMPEROR CHARLES V. (1519-1556).
CHARLES' DOMINIONS.—Charles I. of Spain, better known to fame as Emperor Charles V., was the son of Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Austria, and Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. He was "the converging point and heir of four great royal lines, which had become united by a series of happy matrimonial alliances." These were the houses of Austria, Burgundy, Castile, and Aragon. Before Charles had completed his nineteenth year, there were heaped upon his head, through the removal
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2. SPAIN UNDER PHILIP II. (1556-1598).
2. SPAIN UNDER PHILIP II. (1556-1598).
PHILIP'S DOMAINS.—With the abdication of Charles V. the Imperial crown passed out of the Spanish line of the House of Hapsburg. [Footnote: The Imperial crown went to Charles' brother, Ferdinand, of Austria.] Yet the dominions of Philip were scarcely less extensive than those over which his father had ruled. All the hereditary possessions of the Spanish crown were of course his. Then just before his father's abdication gave him these domains, he had become king-consort of England by marriage with
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1. INTRODUCTORY.
1. INTRODUCTORY.
THE TUDOR PERIOD.—The Tudor period [Footnote: The Tudor sovereigns were Henry VII. (1485-1509); Henry VIII. (1509-1547); Edward VI. (1547-1553); Mary (1553-1558); and Elizabeth (1558-1603).] in English history covers the sixteenth century, and overlaps a little the preceding and the following century. It was an eventful and stirring time for the English people. It witnessed among them great progress in art, science, and trade, and a literary outburst such as the world had not seen since the best
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2. THE REIGN OF HENRY VII. (1485-1509).
2. THE REIGN OF HENRY VII. (1485-1509).
THE UNION OF THE ROSES.—Henry VII. and his queen united the long-disputed titles of the two Roses [Footnote: Henry represented the claims of the House of Lancaster, and soon after his coronation he married the Princess Elizabeth, a daughter of Edward IV., and the representative of the claims of the House of York.] (see p. 488); but the bitter feelings engendered by the contentions of the rival families still existed. Particularly was there much smothered discontent among the Yorkists, which mani
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3. ENGLAND SEVERED FROM THE PAPACY BY HENRY VIII. (1509-1547).
3. ENGLAND SEVERED FROM THE PAPACY BY HENRY VIII. (1509-1547).
CARDINAL WOLSEY.—We must here, at the opening of Henry VIII.'s reign, [Footnote: In 1512, joining what was known as the Holy League,—a union against the French king, of which the Pope was the head,—Henry made his first campaign in France. While Henry was across the Channel, James IV. of Scotland thought to give aid to the French king by invading England. The Scottish army was met by the English force at Flodden, beneath the Cheviot Hills, and completely overwhelmed (1513). King James was killed,
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4. CHANGES IN THE CREED AND RITUAL UNDER EDWARD VI. (1547-1553).
4. CHANGES IN THE CREED AND RITUAL UNDER EDWARD VI. (1547-1553).
CHANGES IN THE CREED.—In accordance with the provisions of Henry's will, his only son Edward, by Jane Seymour, succeeded him. As Edward was but a child of nine years, the government was entrusted to a board of regents made up of both Protestants and Catholics. But the Protestants usurped authority in the body, and conducted the government in the interests of their party. The young king was carefully taught the doctrines of the reformers, and changes were made in the creed and service of the Engl
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5. REACTION UNDER MARY (1553-1558).
5. REACTION UNDER MARY (1553-1558).
RECONCILIATION WITH ROME.—Upon the death of Edward, an attempt was made, in the interest of the Protestant party, to place upon the throne Lady Jane Grey, [Footnote: The leaders of this movement were executed, and Lady Jane Grey was also eventually brought to the block.] a grand-niece of Henry VIII.; but the people, knowing that Mary was the rightful heir to the throne, rallied about her, and she was proclaimed queen amidst great demonstrations of loyalty. Soon after her accession, she was marri
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6. FINAL ESTABLISHMENT OF PROTESTANTISM UNDER ELIZABETH (1558-1603).
6. FINAL ESTABLISHMENT OF PROTESTANTISM UNDER ELIZABETH (1558-1603).
THE QUEEN.—Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn. She seems to have inherited the characteristics of both parents; hence the inconsistencies of her disposition. [Illustration: ENTRANCE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH INTO LONDON. (Showing the costumes of the time.)] When the death of Mary called Elizabeth to the throne, she was twenty-five years of age. Like her father, she favored the reformed faith rather from policy than conviction. It was to the Protestants alone that she could look f
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CHAPTER LI.
CHAPTER LI.
THE COUNTRY.—The term Netherlands (low-lands) was formerly applied to all that low, marshy district in the northwest of Europe, sunk much of it below the level of the sea, now occupied by the kingdoms of Holland and Belgium. The entire strip of land is simply the delta accumulations of the Rhine and other rivers emptying into the North Sea. Originally it was often overflowed by its streams and inundated by the ocean. But this unpromising morass, protected at last by heavy dykes against the invas
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CHAPTER LII.
CHAPTER LII.
THE HUGUENOT WARS IN FRANCE. (1562-1629.) BEGINNING OF THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE.—Before Luther posted his ninety- five theses at Wittenberg, there appeared in the University of Paris and elsewhere in France men who, from their study of the Scriptures, had come to entertain opinions very like those of the German reformer. The land which had been the home of the Albigenses was again filled with heretics. The movement thus begun received a fresh impulse from the uprising in Germany under Luther. T
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CHAPTER LIII.
CHAPTER LIII.
THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR. (1618-1648.) NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WAR.—The long and calamitous Thirty Years' War was the last great combat between Protestantism and Catholicism in Europe. It started as a struggle between the Protestant and Catholic princes of Germany, but gradually involved almost all the states of the continent, degenerating at last into a shameful and heartless struggle for power and territory. The real cause of the war was the enmity existing between the German Protestants and Cat
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SECOND PERIOD.—THE ERA OF THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION. (FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA IN 1648 TO THE PRESENT TIME.) CHAPTER LIV.
SECOND PERIOD.—THE ERA OF THE POLITICAL REVOLUTION. (FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA IN 1648 TO THE PRESENT TIME.) CHAPTER LIV.
THE ASCENDENCY OF FRANCE UNDER THE ABSOLUTE GOVERNMENT OF LOUIS XIV. (1643-1715.) THE DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS.—Louis XIV. stands as the representative of absolute monarchy. This indeed was no new thing in the world, but Louis was such an ideal autocrat that somehow he made autocratic government strangely attractive. Other kings imitated him, and it became the prevailing theory of government that kings have a "divine right" to rule, and that the people should have no part at all in government. Acco
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I. THE FIRST TWO STUARTS.
I. THE FIRST TWO STUARTS.
1. Reign of James the First (1603-1625). THE "DIVINE RIGHT" OF KINGS AND THE "ROYAL TOUCH."—With the end of the Tudor line (see p. 561), James VI. of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart, came to the English throne, as James I. of England. The accession of the House of Stuart brought England and Scotland under the same sovereign, though each country still retained its own Parliament. The Stuarts were firm believers in the doctrine of the "Divine Right" of kings. They held that hereditary princes are the
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II. THE COMMONWEALTH (1649-1660).
II. THE COMMONWEALTH (1649-1660).
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH.—A few weeks after the execution of Charles, the Commons voted to abolish the Monarchy and the House of Lords, and to establish a republic, under the name of "The Commonwealth." The executive power was lodged in a Council of State, composed of forty-one persons. Of this body Bradshaw, an eminent lawyer, was the nominal, but Cromwell the real, head. TROUBLES OF THE COMMONWEALTH.—The republic thus born of mingled religious and political enthusiasm was beset with d
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III. THE RESTORED STUARTS.
III. THE RESTORED STUARTS.
1. Reign of Charles the Second (1660-1685). PUNISHMENT OF THE REGICIDES.—The monarchy having been restored in the person of Charles II, Parliament extended a general pardon to all who had taken part in the late rebellion, save most of the judges who had condemned Charles I. to the block. Thirteen of these were executed with the revolting cruelty with which treason was then punished, their hearts and bowels being cut out of their living bodies. Others of the regicides were condemned to imprisonme
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IV. THE ORANGE-STUARTS.
IV. THE ORANGE-STUARTS.
1. Reign of William and Mary (1689-1702). THE BILL OF RIGHTS.—The Revolution of 1688, and the new settlement of the crown upon William and Mary, marks an epoch in the constitutional history of England. It settled forever the long dispute between king and Parliament—and settled it in favor of the latter. The Bill of Rights,— the articles of the Declaration of Rights (see p. 624) framed into a law, —which was one of the earliest acts of the first Parliament under William and Mary, in effect "trans
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CHAPTER LVI.
CHAPTER LVI.
GENERAL REMARKS.—The second great struggle between the principles of Liberalism and of Despotism, as represented by the opposing parties in the English Revolution, took place in France. But before proceeding to speak of the French Revolution, we shall first trace the rise of Russia and of Prussia, as these two great monarchies were destined to play prominent parts in that tremendous conflict. We left Russia at the close of the Middle Ages a semi-savage, semi-Asiatic power, so hemmed in by barbar
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CHAPTER LVII.
CHAPTER LVII.
THE BEGINNINGS OF PRUSSIA.—The foundation of the Prussian Kingdom was laid in the beginning of the seventeenth century (1611) by the union of two small states in the North of Germany. These were the Mark, or Electorate, of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia. Brandenburg had been gradually growing into prominence since the tenth century. Its ruler at this time was a prince of the now noted House of Hohenzollern, and was one of the seven princes to whom belonged the right of electing the emperor
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1. CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION: THE STATES-GENERAL OF 1789.
1. CAUSES OF THE REVOLUTION: THE STATES-GENERAL OF 1789.
INTRODUCTORY.—The French Revolution is in political what the German Reformation is in ecclesiastical history. It was the revolt of the French people against royal despotism and class privilege. "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," was the motto of the Revolution. In the name of these principles the most atrocious crimes were indeed committed; but these excesses of the Revolution are not to be confounded with its true spirit and aims. The French people in 1789 contended for those same principles that
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1. THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE (1799-1815).
1. THE CONSULATE AND THE EMPIRE (1799-1815).
THE VEILED MILITARY DESPOTISM.—After the overthrow of the Directorial government, a new constitution—the fourth since the year 1789—was prepared, and having been submitted to the approval of the people, was heartily indorsed. This new instrument vested the executive power in three consuls, elected for a term of ten years, the first of whom really exercised all the authority of the Board. Napoleon, of course, became the First Consul. The other functions of the government were carried on by a Coun
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2. FRANCE SINCE THE SECOND RESTORATION (1815-).
2. FRANCE SINCE THE SECOND RESTORATION (1815-).
CHARACTER OF THE PERIOD.—The history of France since the second restoration of the Bourbons may be characterized briefly. It has been simply a continuation of the Revolution, of the struggle between democratic and monarchical tendencies. The aim of the Revolution was to abolish privileges and establish rights,—to give every man lot and part in shaping the government under which he lives. These republican ideas and principles have, on the whole, notwithstanding repeated reverses, gained ground; f
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CHAPTER LX.
CHAPTER LX.
ALEXANDER I. AND THE HOLY ALLIANCE.—Upon the downfall of Napoleon, Alexander I. (1801-1825) of Russia organized the celebrated union known as the Holy Alliance . This was a league embracing as its chief members Russia, Austria, and Prussia, the ostensible object of which was the maintenance of religion, peace, and order in Europe, and the reduction to practice in politics of the maxims of Christ. The several sovereigns entering into the union promised to be fathers to their people, to rule in lo
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CHAPTER LXI.
CHAPTER LXI.
FORMATION OF THE GERMAN CONFEDERATION (1815).—The German states, thirty- nine in number, were reorganized by the Congress of Vienna as a Confederation, with the emperor of Austria President of the league. A Diet formed of representatives, of the several states was to settle all questions of dispute between the members of the Confederation, and determine matters of general concern, In all affairs concerning itself alone, each state was to retain its independence. It might carry on war with foreig
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CHAPTER LXII.
CHAPTER LXII.
ITALY AT THE DOWNFALL OF NAPOLEON.—The Italian people, as being the most dangerously infected with the ideas of the Revolution, were, by the reactionary Congress of Vienna, condemned to the most strict and ignominious slavery. The former commonwealths were forbidden to restore their ancient institutions, while the petty principalities were handed over in almost every case to the tyrants or the heirs of the tyrants who had ruled them before the Revolution. Austria appropriated Venetia and Lombard
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1. PROGRESS TOWARDS DEMOCRACY.
1. PROGRESS TOWARDS DEMOCRACY.
EFFECTS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION UPON LIBERALISM IN ENGLAND.—The French Revolution at first gave a fresh impulse to liberal tendencies in England. The English Liberals watched the course of the French Republicans with the deepest interest and sympathy. It will be recalled how the statesman Fox rejoiced at the fall of the Bastile, and what auguries of hope he saw in the event (see p. 652). The young writers Coleridge, Wordsworth, and Southey were all in sympathy with democratic sentiments, and in
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2. EXPANSION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.
2. EXPANSION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND RELIGIOUS EQUALITY.—Alongside the political movement traced in the preceding section has run a similar one in the religious realm. This is a growing recognition by the English people of the true principle of religious toleration. At the opening of the nineteenth century there was in England religious freedom, but no religious equality. That is to say, one might be a Catholic or a dissenter, if he chose to be, without fear of persecution. Dissent from the Established Church
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3. GROWTH OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN THE EAST.
3. GROWTH OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN THE EAST.
THE CLEW TO ENGLAND'S FOREIGN POLICY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.—Seeking the main fact of modern English history, Professor Seeley [Footnote: J. R. Seeley, in his work entitled The Expansion of England .] finds it in the expansion of England. He says, in substance, that the expansion of England in the New World and in Asia is the formula which sums up for England the history of the last three centuries. As the outgrowth of this extension into remote lands of English population or influence, Engla
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CONCLUSION: THE NEW AGE.
CONCLUSION: THE NEW AGE.
The Age of Material Progress, or the Industrial Age.—History has been well likened to a grand dissolving view. While one age is passing away another is coming into prominence. During the last fifty years the distinctive features of society have wholly changed. The battles now being waged in the religious and the political world are only faint echoes of the great battles of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. A new movement of human society has begun. Civilization has entered up
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