History for ready reference, Volume 5, Tunnage to Zyp and Supplement

by J. N. Larned

of them had migrated westward at the time of the wars of Keen
Lung, and had colonized various parts of the Chinese
conquests. During a century this movement westward had
continued, and in 1862 the Tungani represented the majority of
the population, not only in parts of Kansuh, but also in the
country to the west, as far as Ili and the city of Turfan.
Although Mahomedans, they had acted as the soldiers of the
Chinese. They had won their battles, laid down their roads,
and held the Tartar population in check. From the Tungani the
Chinese never for an instant expected danger. They were
certainly heretics; but then they were part and parcel of
themselves in every other respect. They hated the Khokandians
and the people of Kashgar with a hatred that was more bitter
than that they bore to the Khitay or Buddhist Chinese. In all
essentials the Tungani were treated exactly like the most
favoured children of the empire. … The only cause that it is
possible to assign for their rebellion is that vague one of
the religious revival which was then manifesting itself among
the Mahomedans all over the world. But whatever the cause, the
consequences were clear enough. In 1862 a riot occurred at a
village in Kansuh. Order was restored with some small loss of
life; and the momentary alarm which had been caused by it
passed away. The alarm was, however, only too well founded. A
few weeks afterwards a more serious riot took place at the
town of Houchow or Salara. This was the signal for the rising
of the Tungani in all directions. The unanimity shown by the
various Tungani settlements proved that there had been a
preconcerted arrangement amongst them; but the Chinese had
known nothing of it. … The few Imperial troops remaining in
the province of Kansuh were unable to withstand the desperate
and unanimous assault of the Mahomedans. They were swept out
of existence, and with them the larger portion of the Khitay
population as well. The Mahomedan priests took the lead in
this revolt, and the atrocities which they and their followers
enacted were of the most horrible and blood-thirsty character.
The butchery of tens of thousands of their Buddhist subjects
in Kansuh appealed loudly to the Chinese Government for
revenge; and it was not long before their troops restored
Kansuh to its allegiance. Those of the Tungani who were
captured were given over to the executioner. But a large
number escaped, fleeing westward to those cities beyond the
desert, where other Mussulmans had imitated, with like
success, the deeds of their kinsmen in Kansuh. … No sooner
then did the tidings of the events in Kansuh reach Hamil and
Barkul, Turfan and Manas, than risings at once took place
against the Khitay. In all cases the movement was successful.
The Manchus were deposed: the 'mollahs' were set up in their
stead. After a short interval the other cities of Karashar,
Kucha, and Aksu, followed the example, with an identical
result. The Tungan revolt proper had then reached its limit. …
The communications between Pekin and Jungaria were cut, and a
hostile territory of nearly 2,000 miles intervened. To restore
those communications, to reduce that hostile country, would
demand a war of several campaigns; and China was not in a
condition to make the slightest effort. All that her statesmen
could hope for was, that she would not go irretrievably to
pieces.
{3663}
The Tungani flourished on the misfortunes of the empire. …
During some months after the first successes of the Tungani,
the people of Kuldja and Kashgaria remained quiet, for the
prestige of China's power was still great. But when it became
evident to all, that communication was hopelessly cut off
between the Chinese garrisons and the base of their strength
in China, both the Tungan element and the native population
began to see that their masters were ill able to hold their
own against a popular rising. This opinion gained ground
daily, and at last the whole population rose against the
Chinese and massacred them. … But no sooner had the Chinese
been overthrown, than the victors, the Tungani and the
Tarantchis, began to quarrel with each other. Up to the month
of January, 1865, the rising had been carried out in a very
irregular and indefinite manner. … It was essentially a blind
and reckless rising, urged on by religious antipathy; and,
successful as it was, it owed all its triumphs to the
embarrassments of China. The misfortunes of the Chinese
attracted the attention of all those who felt an interest in
the progress of events in Kashgaria. Prominent among these was
a brother of Wali Khan, Buzurg Khan [heir of the former
rulers, the exiled Khojas], who resolved to avail himself of
the opportunity afforded by the civil war for making a bold
attempt to regain the place of his ancestors. Among his
followers was Mahomed Yakoob, a Khokandian soldier of fortune,
already known to fame in the desultory wars and feuds of which
Central Asia had been the arena. His previous career had
marked him out pre-eminently as a leader of men, and he now
sought in Eastern Turkestan that sphere of which Russian
conquests had deprived him in its Western region. There is
little to surprise us in the fact that, having won his
battles, Yakoob deposed and imprisoned his master Buzurg. In
several campaigns between 1867 and 1873 he bent back the
Tungani from his confines, and established an independent
government in the vast region from the Pamir to beyond Turfan,
and from Khoten and the Karakoram to the Tian Shan. He treated
on terms of dignity with the Czar, and also with the
Government of India. He received English envoys and Russian
ambassadors, and his palace was filled with presents from
London and St. Petersburg. … Urged on by some vague ambition,
he made war upon the Tungani, when every dictate of prudence
pointed to an alliance with them. He destroyed his only
possible allies, and in destroying them he weakened himself
both directly and indirectly. In the autumn of 1876 Yakoob Beg
had indeed pushed forward so far to the east that he fancied
he held Barkul and Hamil in his grasp; and the next spring
would probably have witnessed a further advance upon these
cities had not fate willed it otherwise. With the capture of
the small village of Chightam, in 92° E. longitude, Yakoob's
triumphs closed. Thus far his career had been successful; it
may then be said to have reached its limit. In the autumn of
1876, the arrival of a Chinese army on his eastern frontier
changed the current of his thoughts. … From November, 1876,
until March, 1877, the Chinese generals were engaged in
massing their troops on the northern side of the Tian Shan
range. … Yakoob's principal object was to defend the Devan
pass against the Chinese; but, while they attacked it in
front, another army under General Chang Yao was approaching
from Hamil. Thus outflanked, Yakoob's army retreated
precipitately upon Turfan, where he was defeated, and again a
second time at Toksoun, west of that town. The Chinese then
halted. They had, practically speaking, destroyed Yakoob's
powers of defence. That prince retreated to the town of Korla,
where he was either assassinated or poisoned early in the
month of May. … Korla was occupied on the 9th of October
without resistance; and towards the end of the same month,
Kucha, once an important city, surrendered. The later stages
of the war were marked by the capture of the towns of Aksu,
Ush Turfan, and Kashgar. With the fall of the capital, on the
17th of December, 1877, the fighting ceased. The Chinese
authority was promptly established in the country as far south
as Yarkand, and after a brief interval in Khoten."
D. C. Boulger,
Central Asian Questions,
chapter 12.
YALE COLLEGE.
See EDUCATION, MODERN: AMERICA: A. D. 1701-1717.
YAMASIS AND YAMACRAWS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MUSKHOGEAN FAMILY.
YAMCO, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS.
YANACONAS.
MAMACONAS.
"The Yanaconas were a class existing [in Peru] in the time of
the Incas, who were in an exceptional position. They were
domiciled in the houses of their masters, who found them in
food and clothing, paid their tribute, and gave them a piece
of land to cultivate in exchange for their services. But to
prevent this from degenerating into slavery, a decree of 1601
ordered that they should be free to leave their masters and
take service elsewhere on the same conditions." The Mamaconas
of Peru were a class of domestic servants.
C. R. Markham,
Colonial History of South America,
(Narrative and Critical History of America,
volume 8, page 296).
YANAN FAMILY, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: YANAN FAMILY.
YANKEE:
Origin of the term.
"The first name given by the Indians to the Europeans who
landed in Virginia was 'Wapsid Lenape' (white people); when,
however, afterwards, they began to commit murders on the red
men, whom they pierced with swords, they gave to the
Virginians the name 'Mechanschican' (long knives), to
distinguish them from others of the same colour. In New
England they at first endeavoured to imitate the sound of the
national name of the English, which they pronounced
'Yengees.'" After about the middle of the Revolutionary War
the Indians applied the name "Yengees" exclusively to the
people of New England, "who, indeed, appeared to have adopted
it, and were, as they still are, generally through the country
called 'Yankees,' which is evidently the same name with a
trifling alteration. They say they know the 'Yengees,' and can
distinguish them by their dress and personal appearance, and
that they were considered as less cruel than the Virginians or
'long knives.' The proper English they [for 'they' read 'the
Chippeways and some other nations.'—Editor's foot-note] call
'Saggenash.'"
J. Heckewelder,
History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations
(Pennsylvania Historical Society Memoirs, volume 12)
pages 142-143.
{3664}
"The origin of this term [Yankees]. so frequently employed by
way of reproach to the New England people, is said to be as
follows. A farmer, by name Jonathan Hastings, of Cambridge,
about the year 1713, used it as a cant, favorite word, to
express excellency when applied to any thing; as a Yankee good
horse, Yankee cider, &c., meaning an excellent horse and
excellent cider. The students at college, having frequent
intercourse with Mr. Hastings, and hearing him employ the term
on all occasions, adopted it themselves, and gave him the name
of Yankee Jonathan; this soon became a cant word among the
collegians to express a weak, simple, awkward person, and from
college it was carried and circulated through the country,
till, from its currency in New England, it was at length taken
up and unjustly applied to the New Englanders in common, as a
term of reproach: It was in consequence of this that a
particular song, called 'Yankee doodle,' was composed in
derision of those scornfully called Yankees."
J. Thatcher,
Military Journal during the Revolutionary War,
page 19.
"Dr. William Gordon, in his History of the American War,
edition 1789, volume i., pages 324,325, says it was a
favourite cant word in Cambridge, Massachusets, as early as
1713, and that it meant 'excellent.' … Cf. Lowland Sc.
'yankie,' a sharp, clever, forward woman; 'yanker,' an agile
girl, an incessant speaker; 'yanker,' a smart stroke, a great
falsehood; 'yank,' a sudden and severe blow, a sharp stroke;
'yanking,' active, pushing (Jamieson). … If Dr. Gordon's view
be right, the word 'yankee' may be identified with the Sc.
'yankie,' as above; and all the Scotch words appear to be of
Scandinavian origin, due, ultimately Icel. 'jaga,' to move about. …
The fundamental idea is that of 'quick motion'; see 'yacht.'
But the word cannot be said to be solved."
W. W. Skeat,
Etymological Dictionary.
"The best authorities on the subject now agree upon the
derivation of this term from the imperfect effort made by the
Northern Indians to pronounce the word 'English.'"
M. Schele de Vere,
Americanisms,
page 22.
ALSO IN:
Notes and Queries,
series 1, volume 6, page 57.
YANKTONS. The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: SIOUAN FAMILY.
YARD-LAND.
An ancient holding of land in England equivalent to the
virgate.
See HIDE OF LAND;
and MANORS.
YATASSEES. The.
See TEXAS: THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS.
YEAR BOOKS, English.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1307-1509.
YEAR OF ANARCHY, The.
See ATHENS: B. C. 404-403.
YEAR OF METON, The.
See METON, THE YEAR OF.
YELLOW FEVER, Appearance of.
See PLAGUE: 18TH CENTURY.
YELLOW FORD, Battle of the (1598).
See IRELAND: A. D. 1559-1603.
YELLOW TAVERN, Battle of.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1864 (MAY: VIRGINIA) SHERIDAN'S RAID.
YELLOWS (of Venezuela) The.
See VENEZUELA: A. D. 1829-1886.
YEMAMA, Battle of.
See ACRABA.
YENIKALE, Attack on (1855).
See RUSSIA: A. D. 1854-1856.
YEOMEN.
"A 'yeoman' is defined by Sir Thomas Smith (Rep. Anglor. lib.
1. c. 24) as he whom our law calls 'legalem hominem,' a
free-born man that may dispend of his own free land in yearly
revenues to the sum of forty shillings. But it had also a more
general application, denoting like 'valet' a higher kind of
service, which still survives in the current phrase to do
'yeoman's service.' In the household of the mediæval knight or
baron the younger sons of yeomen would form a large proportion
of the servitors, and share with the younger sons of knight or
squire the common name of 'valetti.' The yeomen too who lived
on their own land, but wore the 'livery of company' of some
baron or lesser territorial magnate, would also be his
'valets.' The mediæval 'yeoman' was the tenant of land in free
socage. The extent of his holding might be large or small."
T. P. Taswell-Langmead,
English Constitutional History,
page 343, foot-note.
"At the period when the higher gentry began to absorb what
remained of the feudal nobility, and established themselves
definitely as an upper class, the small landowners—freeholders
holding estates of inheritance or for life—long leaseholders
and the larger copyholders made corresponding progress, and
the yeomen (the common term applied to all of them) began in
their turn to fill the position and take the rank of an
agricultural middle class. The reign of Henry VI. had marked
the zenith of their influence; they had by that time fully
realized the fact of their existence as a body. The inferior
limit of their class was approximately determined by the
electoral qualification of the forty-shilling freeholder
(under the Act of 1430), or by the £4 qualification for the
office of juror. The superior limit was marked from a legal
point of view by the property qualification of a magistrate,
but socially there was not on this side any definite boundary
line. In 1446 it was considered necessary to forbid the county
electors to return 'valetti,' that is yeomen, to the House of
Commons, a proof that custom and opinion left to themselves
did not look upon the higher section of their class as
unworthy of a seat in Parliament, an honour originally
confined to the knights. Fortescue testifies almost with
triumph to the fact that in no country of Europe were yeomen
so numerous as in England."
E. Boutmy,
The English Constitution,
part 2, chapter 4.
In later English use the word "yeoman" has signified "a man of
small estate in land, not ranking among the gentry."
YEOMEN OF THE GUARD.
"This corps was instituted by Henry VII. in 1485. It now
consists of 100 men, six of whom are called Yeomen Hangers,
and two Yeomen Bed-goers; the first attending to the hangings
and tapestries of the royal apartments, and the second taking
charge of all beds during any royal removals. The yeomen of
the guard carry up the royal dinner, and are popularly
designated as 'beef-eaters, 'respecting the origin of which
name some differences of opinion exist, for many maintain that
they never had any duties connected with the royal beaufet. A
yeoman usher and a party of yeomen attend in the great chamber
of the palace on drawing-room and levee days, to keep the
passage clear."
C. R. Dodd,
Manual of Dignities,
part 2, section 1.
YERMOUK, Battle of (A. D. 636).
See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 632-639.
YEZID I., Caliph, A. D. 679-683.
Yezid II., Caliph, 720-724.
Yezid III., Caliph, 744.
YNCAS,
INCAS.
See PERU.
{3665}
YNGAVI, Battle of (1841).
See PERU: A. D. 1826-1876.
YORK: The Roman capital of Britain.
See EBORACUM.
YORK:
The capital of Deira and Northumbria.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 547-633.
YORK: A. D. 1189.
Massacre of Jews.
See JEWS: A. D. 1189.
YORK: A. D. 1644.
Parliamentary siege raised by Prince Rupert.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1644 (JANUARY-JULY).
YORK, Pennsylvania: A. D. 1777.
The American Congress in session.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1777 (JANUARY-DECEMBER).
YORKINOS, The.
See MEXICO: A. D. 1822-1828.
YORKISTS.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1455-1471.
YORKTOWN: A. D. 1781.
Surrender of Cornwallis and his army to Washington.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1781 (MAY-OCTOBER).
YORKTOWN: A. D. 1862.
McClellan's siege.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1862 (MARCH-MAY: VIRGINIA).
YOUNG, Brigham, and the Mormons.
See MORMONISM: A. D. 1830-1846, 1846-1847;
and UTAH: A. D. 1849-1850, and 1857-1859.
YOUNG IRELAND MOVEMENT, The.
See IRELAND: A. D. 1841-1848.
YOUNG ITALY.
See ITALY: A. D. 1831-1848.
YPRES: A. D. 1383.
Unsuccessful but destructive siege by the English.
See FLANDERS: A. D. 1383.
YPRES: A. D. 1648.
Taken by the French.
See NETHERLANDS (SPANISH PROVINCES): A. D. 1647-1648.
YPRES: A. D.1659.
Restored to Spain.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1659-1661.
YPRES: A. D. 1679.
Ceded to France.
See NIMEGUEN, THE PEACE OF.
YPRES: A. D. 1713.
Ceded to Holland.
See NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1713-1715.
YPRES: A. D. 1744-1748.
Taken by the French and restored to Austria.
See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743-1744;
and AIX-LA-CHAPELLE: THE CONGRESS.
YPRES: A. D. 1794.
Siege and capture by the French.
See FRANCE; A. D. 1794 (MARCH-JULY).
YUCATAN:
The aboriginal inhabitants, their civilization
and its monuments.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MAYAS, and QUICHES;
also MEXICO, ANCIENT.
YUCATAN:
Discovery.
Disputed origin of the name.
See AMERICA: A. D. 1517-1518.
YUCHI.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: UCHEAN FAMILY.
YUGUARZONGO, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS.
YUKIAN FAMILY, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: YUKIAN FAMILY.
YUMAN FAMILY, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: YUMAN FAMILY.
YUMAS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: APACHE GROUP.
YUNCAS, The.
See PERU: THE ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS.
YUNGAY, Battle of (1839).
See PERU: A. D. 1826-1876.
YUROKS,
EUROCS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MODOCS.
Z.
ZAB, Battle of the (A. D. 750).
See MAHOMETAN CONQUEST: A. D. 715-750.
ZACHARIAS, Pope, A. D. 741-752.
ZAGONARA, Battle of (1424).
See ITALY: A. D. 1412-1447.
ZAHARA: A. D. 1476.
Surprise, capture and massacre by the Moors.
See SPAIN: A. D. 1476-1492.
ZALACCA, Battle of (1086).
See ALMORAVIDES;
and PORTUGAL: EARLY HISTORY.
ZAMA, Battle of (B. C. 202).
See PUNIC WARS: THE SECOND.
ZAMBESIA.
See SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1885-1893.
ZAMINDARS, OR ZEMINDARS.
See TALUKDARS;
also INDIA: A. D. 1785-1793.
ZAMZUMMITES, The.
See JEWS: EARLY HEBREW HISTORY.
ZANCLE.
See MESSENE IN SICILY, FOUNDING OF.
ZANZIBAR: A. D. 1885-1886.
Seizure of territory by Germany.
See AFRICA: A. D. 1884-1891.
ZAPORO, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ANDESIANS.
ZAPOTECS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ZAPOTECS, etc.
ZARA: A. D. 1203.
Capture and Destruction.
See CRUSADES: A. D. 1201-1203.
ZARAGOSSA.
See SARAGOSSA.
ZARAKA, The.
See SARANGIANS.
ZARANGIANS, The.
See SARANGIANS.
ZARATHUSTRA,
ZOROASTER.
See ZOROASTRIANS.
ZEA.
See PIRÆUS.
ZEALOTS, The.
A party among the Jews which forced on the great struggle of
that people with the Roman power,—the struggle which ended in
the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. A party of ardent
patriots in its origin, and embracing the flower of the
nation, it degenerated, by enlistment of the passions of the
populace, into a fierce, violent, desperate faction, which
Ewald (History of Israel, book 7) compares to that of the
Jacobins of the French Revolution.
Josephus,
The Jewish War.
ZEEWAND.
See WAMPUM.
ZEGRIS, The.
See SPAIN: A. D. 1238-1273; and 1476-1492.
ZELA, Battle of (B. C. 47).
See ROME: B. C. 47-46.
ZEMINDARS,
ZAMINDARS.
See TALUKDARS;
also INDIA: A. D. 1785-1793.
{3666}
ZEMSTVO, The.
"The Zemstvo (in Russia] is a kind of local administration
which supplements the action of the rural communes [see MIR],
and takes cognizance of those higher public wants which
individual communes cannot possibly satisfy. Its principal
duties are to keep the roads and bridges in proper repair, to
provide means of conveyance for the rural police and other
officials, to elect the justices of peace, to look after
primary education and sanitary affairs, to watch the state of
the crops and take measures against approaching famine, and in
short to undertake, within certain clearly-defined limits,
whatever seems likely to increase the material and moral
well-being of the population. In form the institution is
parliamentary—that is to say, it consists of an assembly of
deputies which meets at least once a year, and of a permanent
executive bureau elected by the assembly from among its
members. … Once every three years the deputies are elected in
certain fixed proportions by the landed proprietors, the rural
communes, and the municipal corporations. Every province
(guberniya) and each of the districts (uyezdi) into which the
province is subdivided has such an assembly and such a
bureau."
D. M. Wallace,
Russia,
chapter 14.
ZENDAVESTA, The.
See ZOROASTRIANS.
ZENDECAN, Battle of (1038).
See TURKS: A. D. 999-1183.
ZENGER'S TRIAL.
See NEW YORK: A. D. 1720-1734.
ZENO, Roman Emperor (Eastern). A. D. 474-491.
ZENOBIA, The Empire of.
See PALMYRA.
ZENTA, Battle of (1697).
See HUNGARY: A. D. 1683-1699.
ZEPHATHAH, Battle of.
Fought by Asa, king of Judah, with Zerah the Ethiopian, whom
he defeated.
2 Chronicles, xiv. 9-15.
ZEUGITÆ, The.
See ATHENS: B. C. 594.
ZEUGMA.
See APAMEA.
ZIELA, Battle of.
A battle fought in the Mithridatic War, B. C. 67, in which the
Romans were badly defeated by the Pontic king.
T. Mommsen,
History of Rome,
book 5, chapter 2.
ZIGANI.
ZIGEUNER.
ZINCALI.
ZINGARRI.
See GYPSIES.
ZINGIS KHAN, The conquests of.
See MONGOLS: A. D. 1153-1227;
and INDIA: A. D. 977-1290.
ZINGLINS.
See HAYTI: A. D. 1804-1880.
ZINZENDORF, Count, and the Moravian Brethren.
See MORAVIAN OR BOHEMIAN BRETHREN.
ZION.
See JERUSALEM: CONQUEST AND OCCUPATION BY DAVID.
ZNAIM, Armistice of.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (JULY-SEPTEMBER).
ZOAN.
TANIS.
SAN.
These are the names which, at different periods, have been
given to an ancient city near the northeastern borders of
Egypt, the ruins of which have been identified and are being
explored, on the east bank of the canal that was formerly the
Tanitic branch of the Nile. Both in Egyptian history and
Biblical history Zoan was an important place. "The whole
period of the Hebrew sojourn is closely interwoven with the
history of Zoan. Here ruled the king in whose name Egypt was
governed by the Hebrew, who was no less than regent; here
ruled those who still favoured the people of Israel. Under the
great Oppression, Zoan was a royal residence."
R. S. Poole,
Cities of Egypt,
chapter 5.
ALSO IN:
W. M. F. Petrie,
Tanis (2d Mem., Egypt Expl. Fund).
See, also, JEWS: THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN EGYPT.
ZOBAH, Kingdom of.
A kingdom of brief importance, extending from the Orontes to
the Euphrates, which appears among the allies of the
Ammonites, in their war with David King of Israel.
H. Ewald,
Lectures on the History of Israel,
volume 3, pages 150-152.
ZOE AND THEODORA, Empresses in the East
(Byzantine, or Greek). A. D. 1042.
ZOHAR, The.
See CABALA.
ZOHARITES, The.
A singular Jewish sect which sprang up in Poland during the
seventeenth century, taking its name from the Zohar, one of
the books of the Cabala, on which it founded its faith.
H. H. Milman,
History of the Jews.
book 28.
ZOLLPARLAMENT, The.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1866-1870.
ZOLLVEREIN, The German.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS (GERMANY): A. D. 1833.
Also (in Supplement) GERMANY: A. D. 1815-1848.
ZOQUES, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ZAPOTECS. etc.
ZORNDORF, Battle or.
See GERMANY: A. D. 1758.
ZOROASTRIANS.
MAGIANS.
PARSEES.
"The Iranians were in ancient times the dominant race
throughout the entire tract lying between the Suliman
mountains and the Pamir steppe on the one hand, and the great
Mesopotamian valley on the other. … At a time which it is
difficult to date, but which those best skilled in Iranian
antiquities are inclined to place before the birth of Moses,
there grew up, in the region whereof we are speaking, a form
of religion marked by very special and unusual features. …
Ancient tradition associates this religion with the name of
Zoroaster. Zoroaster, or Zarathrustra, according to the native
spelling, was, by one account, a Median king who conquered
Babylon about B. C. 2458. By another, which is more probable,
and which rests, moreover, on better authority, he was a
Bactrian, who, at a date not quite so remote, came forward in
the broad plain of the middle Oxus to instil into the minds of
his countrymen the doctrines and precepts of a new religion. …
His religion gradually spread from 'happy Bactra,' 'Bactra of
the lofty banner,' first to the neighbouring countries, and
then to all the numerous tribes of the Iranians, until at last
it became the established religion of the mighty empire of
Persia, which, in the middle of the 6th century before our
era, established itself on the ruins of the Assyrian and
Babylonian kingdoms, and shortly afterwards overran and
subdued the ancient monarchy of the Pharaohs. In Persia it
maintained its ground, despite the shocks of Grecian and
Parthian conquest, until Mohammedan intolerance drove it out
at the point of the sword, and forced it to seek a refuge
further east, in the peninsula of Hindustan. Here it still
continues, in Guzerat and in Bombay, the creed of that
ingenious and intelligent people known to Anglo-Indians—and
may we not say to Englishmen generally?—as Parsees [see
PARSEES]. The religion of the Parsees is contained in a volume
of some size, which has received the name of 'the Zendavesta.'
… 'Anquetil Duperron introduced the sacred book of the Parsees
to the knowledge of Europeans under this name; and the word
thus introduced can scarcely be now displaced.
{3667}
Otherwise, 'Avesta-Zend' might be recommended as the more
proper title. 'Avesta' means 'text,' and Zend means 'comment.'
'Avesta u Zend,' or 'Text and Comment,' is the proper title,
which is then contracted into 'Avesta-Zend.' … Subjected for
the last fifty years to the searching analysis of first-rate
orientalists—Burnouf, Westergaard, Brockhaus, Spiegel, Haug,
Windischmann, Hübschmann,—this work has been found to belong
in its various parts to very different dates, and to admit of
being so dissected as to reveal to us, not only what are the
tenets of the modern Parsees, but what was the earliest form
of that religion whereof theirs is the remote and degenerate
descendant. Signs of a great antiquity are found to attach to
the language of certain rhythmical compositions called Gâthâs
or hymns; and the religious ideas contained in these are found
to be at once harmonious, and also of a simpler and more
primitive character than those contained in the rest of the
volume. From the Gâthâs chiefly, but also to some extent from
other, apparently very ancient, portions of the Zendavesta,
the characteristics of the early Iranian religion have been
drawn out by various scholars, particularly by Dr. Martin
Haug. … The most striking feature of the religion, and that
which is generally allowed to be its leading characteristic,
is the assertion of Dualism. By Dualism we mean the belief in
two original uncreated principles, a principle of good and a
principle of evil. … Both principles were real persons,
possessed of will, intelligence, power, consciousness, and
other personal qualities. To the one they gave the name of
Ahura-Mazda, to the other that of Angro-Mainyus. … The names
themselves sufficiently indicated to those who first used them
the nature of the two beings. Ahura-Mazda was the
'all-bountiful, all-wise, living being' or 'spirit,' who stood
at the head of all that was good and lovely, beautiful and
delightful. Angro-Mainyus was the 'dark and gloomy
intelligence' that had from the first been Ahura-Mazda's
enemy, and was bent on thwarting and vexing him. And with
these fundamental notions agreed all that the sacred books
taught concerning either being. … The two great beings who
thus divided between them the empire of the universe were
neither of them content to be solitary. Each had called into
existence a number of inferior spirits, who acknowledged their
sovereignty, fought on their side, and sought to execute their
behests. At the head of the good spirits subject to
Ahura-Mazda stood a band of six dignified with the title of
Amesha-Spentas, or 'Immortal Holy Ones.' … In direct
antithesis to these stood the band, likewise one of six, which
formed the council and chief support of Angro-Mainyus. …
Besides these leading spirits there was marshalled on either
side an innumerable host of lesser and subordinate ones,
called respectively 'ahuras' and 'devas,' who constituted the
armies or attendants of the two great powers, and were
employed by them to work out their purposes. The leader of the
angelic hosts, or 'ahuras' was a glorious being, called
Sraosha or Serosh—'the good, tall, fair Serosh,' who stood in
the Zoroastrian system where Michael the Archangel stands in
the Christian. … Neither Ahura-Mazda nor the Amesha-Spentas
were represented by the early Iranians under any material
forms. The Zoroastrian system was markedly anti-idolatrous:
and the utmost that was allowed the worshipper was an
emblematic representation of the Supreme Being by means of a
winged circle, with which was occasionally combined an
incomplete human figure, robed and wearing a tiara. … The
position of man in the cosmic scheme was determined by the
fact that he was among the creations of Ahura-Mazda. Formed
and placed on earth by the Good Being, he was bound to render
him implicit obedience, and to oppose to the utmost
Angro-Mainyus and his creatures. His duties might be summed up
under the four heads of piety, purity, industry, and veracity.
Piety was to be shown by an acknowledgment of Ahura-Mazda as
the One True God, by a reverential regard for the
Amesha-Spentas and the Izeds, or lower angels, by the frequent
offering of prayers, praises, and thanksgivings, the
recitation of hymns, the occasional sacrifice of animals, and
the performance from time to time of a curious ceremony known
as that of the Haoma or Homa [see SOMA.—HAOMA). … The purity
required of the Iranians was inward as well as outward. … The
duty of veracity was inculcated perhaps more strenuously than
any other. … If it be asked what opinions were entertained by
the Zoroastrians concerning man's ultimate destiny, the answer
would seem to be, that they were devout and earnest believers
in the immortality of the soul, and a conscious future
existence. … The religion of the early Iranians became
corrupted after a time by an admixture of foreign
superstitions. The followers of Zoroaster, as they spread
themselves from their original seat upon the Oxus over the
regions lying south and south-west of the Caspian Sea, were
brought into contact with a form of faith considerably
different from that to which they had previously been
attached, yet well adapted for blending with it. This was
Magism, or the worship of the elements [see MAGIANS). The
early inhabitants of Armenia, Cappadocia, and the Zagros
mountain-range, had, under circumstances that are unknown to
us, developed this form of religion, and had associated with
its tenets a priest-caste. … The four elements, fire, air,
earth, and water, were recognised as the only proper objects
of human reverence. … When the Zoroastrians came into contact
with Magism, it impressed them favourably. … The result was
that, without giving up any part of their previous creed, the
Iranians adopted and added on to it an the principal points of
the Magian belief, and all the more remarkable of the Magian
religious usages. This religious fusion seems first to have
taken place in Media. The Magi became a Median tribe, and were
adopted as the priest-caste of the "Median nation." This
"produced an amalgam that has shown a surprising vitality,
having lasted above 2,000 years—from the time of Xerxes, the
son of Darius Hystaspis (B. C. 485-465) to the present day."
G. Rawlinson,
Religions of the Ancient World,
chapter 3.
"As the doctrines of Zoroaster bear in several points such a
striking resemblance to those of Christianity, it is a
question of grave importance to ascertain the age in which he
lived. … Since there can be no doubt that … we must assign to
Zarathustra Spitama a date prior to the Median conquest of
Babylon by a Zoroastrian priest king, the only question
remaining to be solved is, whether he lived only a short time,
or long, before that event.
{3668}
I am inclined to believe that he lived only about 100 or 200
years before that time, and that the conquest of Babylon was
one of the last consequences of the great religious enthusiasm
kindled by him. He preached, like Moses, war and destruction
to all idolaters and wicked men. … According to this
investigation we cannot assign to Zarathustra Spitama a later
date than about 2300 B. C. Thus he lived not only before
Moses, but even, perhaps, before Abraham. … He was the first
prophet of truth who appeared in the world, and kindled a fire
which thousands of years could not entirely extinguish."
M. Haug,
Lectures on an Original Speech of Zoroaster
(Yasna 45),
pages 17, 26.
M. Haug,
Essays on the Sacred Language, Writings
and Religion of the Parsees.
"Prof. Darmesteter has published a new translation [of the
Zend Avesta] with a most ably written introduction, in which
he maintains the thesis that not a line of our Avesta text is
older than the time of Alexander's conquest, while the greater
part belongs to a much later date. We may briefly remind our
readers that, according to the traditional view, the old
Zoroastrian books, which belong to the times of the
Achæmenidæ, were destroyed at the Macedonian conquest, but
that portions were preserved by the people, who retained the
old faith, during the long period of the Arsacidan rule,
though the Court favoured Greek civilization. … According to
this view, we still possess the genuine remains of the old
pre-Alexandrine literature, mutilated and corrupted during the
period of Arsacidan indifference, but yet, so far as they go,
a faithful representative of the sacred text of the Achæmenian
time. … Professor Darmesteter, on the contrary, maintains that
all our texts are post-Alexandrine in form and in substance.
Some may belong to the 1st century B. C. or A. D., and some,
as the legislative parts of the Vendidad, may be founded on
older texts now lost; but a large portion was composed by the
priests of Ardashir's Court in the 3d century. The Gâthâs,
which till now have been generally considered as the ancient
nucleus of the whole system and ascribed to Zoroaster himself,
are, in the Professor's opinion, certainly modern, and are
relegated to the 1st century of our era."
The Athenæum,
June 30, 1894
ALSO IN:
W. Geiger,
Civilization of the Eastern Iranians.
W. Geiger, and F. von Spiegel,
The Age of the Avesta.
D. F. Karaka,
History of the Parsis.
S. Johnson,
Oriental Religions: Persia.
ZOTTS.
See GYPSIES.
ZOUAVES, The.
During the wars of the French in Algeria, there arose a body
of soldiers "who, both in the campaign in Algeria and in the
contest in the Crimea, have acquired the very highest renown.
The name of the Zouaves will never be forgotten as long as the
story of the siege of Sebastopol endures. … They were
originally intended to be regiments composed of Frenchmen who
had settled in Algeria, or their descendants; but the
intermixture of foreigners in their ranks ere long became so
considerable, that when they were transported to the shores of
the Crimea, though the majority were French, they were rather
an aggregate of the 'Dare-devils' of all nations. In their
ranks at Sebastopol were some that held Oxford degrees, many
those of Göttingen and Paris, crowds who had been ruined at
the gaming-table, not a few who had fled from justice, or
sought escape from the consequences of an amorous adventure.
Yet had this motley crowd, composed of the most daring and
reckless of all nations, become, in the rude school of the
wars in Algeria, an incomparable body of soldiers, second to
none in the world in every military duty, perhaps superior to
any in the vehemence and rush of an assault."
Sir A. Alison,
History of Europe, 1815-1852,
chapter 45.
ZÜLPICH, Battle of (A. D. 496).
See ALEMANNI: A. D. 496-504;
also FRANKS: A. D. 481-511.
ZULUS,
AMAZULU.
The Zulu War.
See SOUTH AFRICA: ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS:
and SOUTH AFRICA, A. D. 1877-1879.
ZUÑI.
See AMERICA, PREHISTORIC;
also AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ZUÑIAN FAMILY, and PUEBLOS.
ZURICH: A. D. 1519-1524.
Beginning of the Swiss Reformation, under Zwingli.
See PAPACY: A. D. 1519-1524;
and SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1528-1531.
ZURICH: A. D. 1799.
Battle of French and Russians.
Carnage in the city.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (AUGUST-DECEMBER).
ZURICH, Treaty of (1859).
See ITALY: A. D. 1859-1861.
ZUTPHEN: A. D. 1572.
Massacre by the Spaniards.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1572-1573.
ZUTPHEN: A. D. 1586.
Battle of English and Spaniards.
Death of Sir Philip Sidney.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1585-1586.
ZUTPHEN: A. D. 1591.
Capture by Prince Maurice.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1588-1593.
ZUYDERZEE, Naval battle on the (1573).
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1573-1574.
ZWINGLI, and the Swiss Reformation.
See PAPACY: A. D. 1519-1524;
and SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1528-1531.
ZYP, Battle of the.
See FRANCE: A. D. 1799 (APRIL-SEPTEMBER).
{3669}
SUPPLEMENT.
This Supplement contains:
1. Some passages translated from German and French writings,
touching matters less competently treated in the body of the
work, where the compilation is restricted to "the literature
of history in the English language," either originally or in
published translations.
2. Some postscripts on recent events, and some excerpts from
recent books.
3. Treatment of some topics that were omitted from their
places in the body of the work, either intentionally or by
accident, and which it seems best to include.
4. Some cross-references needed to complete the
subject-indexing of the work throughout.
5. A complete series of chronological tables, by centuries.
6. A series of dynastic genealogies, in a form different from
the usual plan of their construction, and which, it is hoped,
may be found more easily intelligible.
7. Select bibliographies, partly annotated, of several of the
more important fields of history.
8. A full list of the works quoted from in this compilation of
"History for Ready Reference and Topical Reading," with the
names of the publishers.
The selections and translations from the German, excepting
Bismarck's speeches, have been made by Ernest F. Henderson,
A. M., Ph. D., author of "A History of Germany in the Middle
Ages." Mr. Henderson has also prepared and annotated the
bibliography of German and French writings.
---------- A --------
ABELARD AND THE RISE OF THE UNIVERSITIES.
See EDUCATION, MEDIÆVAL (page 692).
ABHORRERS.
Charles II. and his court, in England, were troubled about
1680 with numerous petitions for the calling of parliament.
"As the king found no law by which he could punish those
importunate, and, as he deemed them, undutiful solicitations,
he was obliged to encounter them by popular applications of a
contrary tendency. Wherever the church and court party
prevailed, addresses were framed, containing expressions of
the highest regard to his majesty, the most entire
acquiescence in his wisdom, the most dutiful submission to his
prerogative, and the deepest abhorrence of those who
endeavoured to encroach upon it, by prescribing to him any
time for assembling the parliament. Thus the nation came to be
distinguished into 'petitioners' and 'abhorrers.'"
D. Hume,
History of England,
chapter 68.
ACCAD.
ACCADIANS.
See SEMITES: PRIMITIVE BABYLONIA (page 2888).
ADAIS.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: ADAIS (page 77).
ADAMS, John Quincy.
His defense of the right of petition.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1842 (page 3378).
ADELBERT COLLEGE.
See EDUCATION (page 743).
ADMIRALTY LAW, History of.
See LAW (page 1955).
ADVENTURERS, Merchant.
See MERCHANT ADVENTURERS (page 2153).
----------AFRICA: Start--------
AFRICA.
A chronological record of European Exploration,
Missionary Settlement, Colonization and Occupation.
AFRICA: 1415.
Conquest of Ceuta by the Portuguese.
AFRICA: 1434-1461.
Portuguese explorations down the western coast, from Cape
Bojador to Cape Mesurado, in Liberia, under the direction of
Prince Henry, called the Navigator.
AFRICA: 1442.
First African slaves brought into Europe by one
of the ships of the Portuguese-Prince Henry.
AFRICA: 1471-1482.
Portuguese explorations carried beyond the Guinea Coast,
and to the Gold Coast, where the first settlement was
established, at El Mina.
AFRICA: 1482.
Discovery of the mouth of the Zaire or Congo by the
Portuguese explorer, Diogo Cao, or Diego Cam.
AFRICA: 1485-1596.
Establishment of Roman Catholic missions on the western coast,
and creation, by Pope Clement VIII., of the diocese of Mbazi
(San Salvador), embracing Congo, Angola and Benguela.
AFRICA: 1486.
Unconscious rounding of the Cape of Good Hope by
Bartholomew Diaz.
AFRICA: 1490-1527.
Visit to Abyssinia of Pedro da Covilhão, or Covilham,
the Portuguese explorer.
AFRICA: 1497.
Voyage of Vasco da Gama round the Cape of Good Hope to India.
{3670}
AFRICA: 1505-1508.
Portuguese settlements and fortified stations' established on
the eastern coast, from Sofala to Zanzibar.
AFRICA: 1506.
Discovery of Madagascar by the Portuguese.
AFRICA: 1520-1527.
Portuguese embassy to Abyssinia, narrated by Father Alvarez.
AFRICA: 1552-1553.
Beginning of English voyages to the Guinea and Gold Coasts.
AFRICA: 1560.
French trading to the Senegal and Gambia begun.
AFRICA: 1562.
First slave-trading voyage of Sir John Hawkins to the Guinea
Coast.
AFRICA: 1569.
Expedition of Barreto up the Zambesi from its mouth to Sena
and beyond.
AFRICA: 1578.
Founding of St. Paul de Loando, the capital of the Portuguese
possessions on the west coast.
AFRICA: 1582 (about).
Founding of the French post, St. Louis, at the mouth of the
Senegal.
AFRICA: 1588.
First (English) African Company chartered by Queen Elizabeth.
AFRICA: 1595.
Opening of trade on the western coast by the Dutch.
AFRICA: 1618-1621.
Exploration of the River Gambia by George Thompson and Captain
Richard Jobson, for the Royal Niger Company of England.
AFRICA: 1625.

Jesuit mission of Father Lobo and his companions to Abyssinia.
AFRICA: 1637.
Visit of Claude Jannequin, Sieur de Rochfort, to the River
Senegal.
AFRICA: 1644.
Fort Dauphin founded by the French in the island of Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1652.
Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
AFRICA: 1662.
British African Company chartered by Charles II.
and fort built on the Gambia.
AFRICA: 1664-1684.
Wars of France with the Algerines.
AFRICA: 1681-1683.
Brandenburg African Company formed by "the Great Elector";
settlements established and trade opened on the western coast.
AFRICA: 1694-1724.
Explorations of the River Senegal and interior by André Brue,
the French governor, for the Royal Senegal Company.
AFRICA: 1698.
Arab conquests from the Portuguese on the eastern coast,
breaking their ascendancy.
AFRICA: 1702-1717.
Captivity of Robert Drury in Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1723.
Exploration of the Gambia by Captain Bartholomew Stibbs, for
the English Royal African Company.
AFRICA: 1736.
Moravian Mission planted on the Gold Coast.
AFRICA: 1737.
Moravian Mission planted by George Schmidt among the
Hottentots; suppressed by the Dutch government in 1744, and
revived in 1792.
AFRICA: 1754.
Substantial beginning of the domination in Madagascar of the
Hovas, a people of Malay origin.
AFRICA: 1758.
British conquest of the French establishments on the Senegal.
AFRICA: 1761-1762.
Dutch expedition from Cape Colony beyond the Orange River into
Namaqualand.
AFRICA: 1768-1763.
Journey of James Bruce to the fountains of the Blue Nile in
Abyssinia.
AFRICA: 1774.
Founding of a French colony in Madagascar by Count Benyowsky.
AFRICA: 1775-1776.
Explorations of Andrew Sparrman from Cape Town to Great Fish
River.
AFRICA: 1778.
Cession by Portugal to Spain of the island of Fernando Po.
AFRICA: 1779.
Recovery of Senegal from the English by the French.
AFRICA: 1781-1785.
Travels of M. Le Vaillant from the Cape of Good Hope into the
interior of South Africa, among the Hottentots and Kafirs.
AFRICA: 1787.
Founding of the English settlement for freed slaves at Sierra
Leone.
AFRICA: 1788.
Formation of the African Association in England, under the
presidency of Sir Joseph Banks, for systematic exploration in
the interest of geographical science.
AFRICA: 1789-1794.
Fruitless attempts by agents of the African Association to
reach the Niger and Timbuctoo from the west coast and from the
Nile.
AFRICA: 1795.
The Cape Colony taken from the Dutch by the English.
AFRICA: 1795-1797.
The first exploring journey of Mungo Park, in the service of
the African Association, from the Gambia, penetrating to the
Niger, at Sego.
AFRICA: 1798.
Mission of Dr. John Vanderkemp to the Kafirs, with the support
of the London Missionary Society.
AFRICA: 1798.
Journey of the Portuguese Dr. Lacerda from the Lower Zambesi
to the kingdom of Cazembe, on Lake Moero.
AFRICA: 1800.
Unsuccessful attempts of the Dutch Missionary Society in Cape
Town among the Bechuanas.
AFRICA: 1801-1805.
War of the United States with the pirates of Tripoli.
AFRICA: 1802-1806.
Restoration of Cape Colony to the Dutch and its reconquest by
the English.
AFRICA: 1802-1811.
Journey of the Pombeiros, Baptista and Jose (negroes) across
the continent from Angola to Tete, on the Zambesi River.
AFRICA: 1804.
Founding of the Church of England Mission in Sierra Leone.
AFRICA: 1805.
Second expedition of Mungo Park from the Gambia to the Niger,
from which he never returned.
AFRICA: 1805.
Travels of Dr. Lichtenstein in Bechuanaland.
AFRICA: 1806.
Missionary journey of Christian and William Albrecht beyond
the Orange River.
AFRICA: 1809.
Second conquest of Senegal by the English.
AFRICA: 1810.
Missions in Great Namaqualand and Damaraland begun by the
London Missionary Society.
AFRICA: 1812.
Exploration of the Orange River and the headwaters of the
Limpopo by Campbell, the missionary.
AFRICA: 1812-1815.
Journey of Burckhardt under the auspices of the African
Association, up the Nile, through Nubia, to Berbera, Shendy,
and Suakin; thence through Jidda to Mecca, in the character of
a Mussulman.
AFRICA: 1815.
Senegal restored to France by the Treaty of Paris.
AFRICA: 1815.
War of the United States with the piratical Algerines.
AFRICA: 1815.
Shipwreck and enslavement of Captain James Riley in Morocco.
AFRICA: 1816.
Bombardment of Algiers by a British fleet under Lord Exmouth.
AFRICA: 1816-1818.
Fatal and fruitless attempts of Tuckey, Peddie, Campbell, Gray
and Dochard to explore the lower course and determine the
outlet of the Niger.
{3671}
AFRICA: 1818.
Mission in Madagascar undertaken by the London Missionary
Society.
AFRICA: 1818.
Beginning, on the Orange River, of the missionary labors of
Robert Moffat in South Africa.
AFRICA: 1818.
Exploration of the sources of the Gambia by Gaspard Mollien,
from Fort St. Louis, at the mouth of the Senegal.
AFRICA: 1818-1820.
Exploration of Fezzan to Its southern limit, from Tripoli, by
Captain Lyon.
AFRICA: 1820.
First Wesleyan Mission founded in Kafirland.
AFRICA: 1820.
Treaty abolishing the slave-trade in Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1821.
Mission-work in Kaffraria undertaken by the Glasgow Missionary
Society.
AFRICA: 1822.
Founding of the republic of Liberia by the American
Colonization Society.
AFRICA: 1822.
Official journey of Lieutenant Laing from Sierra Leone in the
"Timannee, Kooranko and Soolima" countries.
AFRICA: 1822-1825.
Expedition of Captain Clapperton, Dr. Oudney, and Colonel
Denham, from Tripoli to Lake Tchad and beyond.
AFRICA: 1825-1826.
Expedition of Major Laing, in the service of the British
Government, from Tripoli, through the desert, to Timbuctoo,
which he reached, and where he remained for a month. Two days
after leaving the city he was murdered.
AFRICA: 1825-1827.
Expedition of Captain Clapperton from the Bight of Benin to
Sokoto.
AFRICA: 1827.
Moravian Mission settled in the Tambookie territory, South
Africa.
AFRICA: 1827.
Journey of Linant de Bellefonds, for the African Association,
up the White Nile to 18° 6' north latitude.
AFRICA: 1827-1828.
Journey of Caillé from a point on the west coast, between
Sierra Leone and the Gambia, to Jenna and Timbuctoo; thence to
Fez and Tangier.
AFRICA: 1828.
Undertakings of the Basle Missionary Society on the Gold
Coast.
AFRICA: 1830-1831.
Exploration of the Niger to the sea by Richard and John
Lender, solving the question as to its mouth.
AFRICA: 1830-1846.
French conquest and subjugation of Algiers.
AFRICA: 1831.
Portuguese mission of Major Monteiro and Captain Gamitto to
the court of Muata Cazembe.
AFRICA: 1831.
Absorption of the African Association by the Royal
Geographical Society of London.
AFRICA: 1832-1834.
First commercial exploration of the lower Niger, from its
mouth, by Macgregor Laird, with two steamers.
AFRICA: 1833.
Mission in Basutoland established by the Evangelical
Missionary Society of Paris.
AFRICA: 1834.
Beginning of missionary labors under the American Board of
Missions in South Africa.
AFRICA: 1834.
Mission founded at Cape Palmas on the western coast, by the
American Board for Foreign Missions.
AFRICA: 1834.
The Great Trek of the Dutch Boers from Cape Colony and their
founding of the republic of Natal.
AFRICA: 1835.
Mission among the Zulus established by the American Board of
Foreign Missions.
AFRICA: 1835-1849.
Persecution of Christians in Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1836-1837.
Explorations of Captain Sir James E. Alexander in the
countries of the Great Namaquas, the Bushmen and the Hill
Damaras.
AFRICA: 1839-1811.
Egyptian expeditions sent by Mehemet Ali up the White Nile to
latitude 6° 35' North; accompanied and narrated in part by
Ferdinand Werne.
AFRICA: 1839-1843.
Missionary residence of Dr. Krapf in the kingdom of Shoa, in
the Ethiopian highlands.
AFRICA: 1840.
Arrival of Dr. Livingstone in South Africa as a missionary.
AFRICA: 1841.
Expedition of Captains Trotter and Allen, sent by the British
Government to treat with tribes on the Niger for the opening
of commerce and the suppression of the slave trade.
AFRICA: 1842.
Travels of Dr. Charles Johnston in Southern Abyssinia.
AFRICA: 1842.
Gaboon Mission, on the western coast near the equator, founded
by the American Board of Foreign Missions.
AFRICA: 1842.
The Rhenish Mission established by German missionaries at
Bethanien in Namaqualand.
AFRICA: 1842.
Wesleyan and Norwegian Missions opened in Natal.
AFRICA: 1842-1862.
French occupation of territory on the Gaboon and the Ogowé.
AFRICA: 1843.
British annexation of Natal, and migration of the Boers to
found the Orange Free State.
AFRICA: 1843.
Exploration of the Senegal and the Falémé by Huard-Bessinières
and Raffenel.
AFRICA: 1843-1845.
Travels and residence of Mr. Parkyns in Abyssinia.
AFRICA: 1843-1848.
Hunting journeys of Gordon Cumming in South Africa.
AFRICA: 1844.
Mission founded by Dr. Krapf at Mombassa, on the Zanzibar
coast.
AFRICA: 1845.
Duncan's journey for the Royal Geographical Society from
Whydah, via Abome, to Adofudia.
AFRICA: 1845.
Mission to the Cameroons established by the Baptist Missionary
Society of England.
AFRICA: 1846.
Unsuccessful attempt of Raffenel to cross Africa from Senegal
to the Nile, through the Sudan.
AFRICA: 1846.
Mission of Samuel Crowther (afterwards Bishop of the Niger), a
native and a liberated slave, to the Yoruba country.
AFRICA: 1846.
Mission on Old Calabar River founded by the United
Presbyterian Church in Jamaica.
AFRICA: 1847-1849.
Interior explorations of the German missionaries Dr. Krapf and
Mr. Rebmann, from Mombassa on the Zanzibar coast.
AFRICA: 1848.
Founding of the Transvaal Republic by the Boers.
AFRICA: 1849.
Missionary journey of David Livingstone northward from the
country of the Bechuanas, and his discovery of Lake Ngami.
AFRICA: 1849-1851.
Journey of Ladislaus Magyar from Benguela to the kingdoms of
Bihe and Moluwa on the interior table-land, and across the
upper end of the Zambesi valley.
AFRICA: 1850.
Sale of Danish forts at Quetta, Adds, and Fingo, on the
western coast, to Great Britain.
AFRICA: 1850-1851.
Travels of Andersson and Galton from Walfish Bay to
Ovampo-land and Lake Ngami.
AFRICA: 1850-1855.
Travels of Dr. Barth from Tripoli to Lake Tchad, Sokoto and
the Upper Niger to Timbuctoo, where he was detained for nine
months.
AFRICA: 1851.
Discovery of the Zambesi by Dr. Livingstone.
{3672}
AFRICA: 1852-1863.
Hunting and trading journeys of Mr. Chapman in South Africa,
between Natal and Walfish Bay and to Lake Ngami and the
Zambesi.
AFRICA: 1853.
Founding of the Diocese of Natal by the English Church and
appointment of Dr. Colenso to be its bishop.
AFRICA: 1853-1856.
Journey of Dr. Livingstone from Linyanti, the Makololo
capital, up the Zambesi and across to the western coast, at
St. Paul de Loando, thence returning entirely across the
continent, down the Zambesi to Quilimane at its mouth,
discovering the Victoria Falls on his way.
AFRICA: 1853-1858.
Ivory-seeking expeditions of John Petherick, up the
Bahr-el-Ghazel.
AFRICA: 1853-1859.
Roman Catholic mission established at Gondokoro, on the Upper
Nile.
AFRICA: 1854.
Exploration of the Somali country—the "eastern horn of
Africa"—by Captains Burton and Speke.
AFRICA: 1855.
Beginning of attempts by the French governor of Senegal,
General Faidherbe, to carry the flag of France into the
Western Sudan.
AFRICA: 1856-1859.
Journeys of Du Chaillu in the western equatorial regions, on
the Gaboon and the Ogobai.
AFRICA: 1857-1858.
Expedition of Captains Burton and Speke, from Zanzibar,
through Uzaramo, Usagara, Ugogo, and Unyamwezi, to Ujiji, on
Lake Tanganyika—making the first European discovery of the
lake; returning to Kazé, and thence continued by Speke alone,
during Burton's illness, to the discovery of Lake Victoria
Nyanza.
AFRICA: 1858.
Journey of Andersson from Walfish Bay to the Okavango River.
AFRICA: 1858.
English mission station founded at Victoria on the Cameroons
coast.
AFRICA: 1858-1863.
Expedition of Dr. Livingstone, in the service of the British
Government, exploring the Shiré and the Rovuma, and
discovering and exploring Lake Nyassa—said, however, to have
been known previously to the Portuguese.
AFRICA: 1860-1861.
Journey of Baron von Decken from Mombassa on the Zanzibar
coast, to Kilimanjaro mountain.
AFRICA: 1860-1862.
Return of Speke, with Captain Grant, from Zanzibar to Lake
Victoria Nyanza, visiting Karagwe, and Uganda, and reaching
the outlet of the Nile; thence through Unyoro to Gondokoro,
and homeward by the Nile.
AFRICA: 1861.
Establishment of the Universities Mission by Bishop Mackenzie
on the Upper Shiré.
AFRICA: 1861-1862.
English acquisition of the town and kingdom of Lagos on the
Bight of Benin by cession from the native ruler.
AFRICA: 1861-1862.
Sir Samuel Baker's exploration of the Abyssinian tributaries
of the Nile.
AFRICA: 1861-1862.
Journey of Captain Burton from Lagos, on the western coast, to
Abeokuta, the capital of the Akus, in Yoruba, and to the
Camaroons Mountains.
AFRICA: 1861-1862.
Journey of Mr. Baines from Walfish Bay to Lake Ngami and
Victoria Falls.
AFRICA: 1862.
Resumption of the Christian Mission in Madagascar, long
suppressed.
AFRICA: 1862-1867.
Travels of Dr. Rohlfs in Morocco, Algeria and Tunis, and
exploring journey from the Gulf of the Syrtes to the Gulf of
Guinea.
AFRICA: 1863.
Travels of Winwood Reade on the western coast.
AFRICA: 1863.
Incorporation of a large part of Kaffraria with Cape Colony.
AFRICA: 1863.
Second visit of Du Chaillu to the western equatorial region
and journey to Ashangoland.
AFRICA: 1863-1864.
Official mission of Captain Burton to the King of Dahomey.
AFRICA: 1863-1864.
Exploration of the Bahr-el-Ghazel from Khartoum by the wealthy
Dutch heiress, Miss Tinné, and her party.
AFRICA: 1863-1865.
Expedition by Sir Samuel Baker and his wife up the White Nile
from Khartoum, resulting in the discovery of Lake Albert
Nyanza, as one of its sources.
AFRICA: 1864.
Mission of Lieutenant mage and Dr. Quintin, sent by General
Faidherbe from Senegal to the king of Segou, in the Sudan.
AFRICA: 1866.
Founding of a Norwegian mission in Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1866-1873.
Last journey of Dr. Livingstone, from the Rovuma River, on the
eastern coast, to Lake Nyassa; thence to Lake Tanganyika, Lake
Moero, Lake Bangweolo, and the Lualaba River, which he
suspected of flowing into the Albert Nyanza, and being the
ultimate fountain head of the Nile. In November, 1871,
Livingstone was found at Ujiji, on Lake Tanganyika, by Henry
M. Stanley, lender of an expedition sent in search of him.
Declining to quit the country with Stanley, and pursuing his
exploration of the Lualaba, Livingstone died May 1, 1873, on
Lake Bangweolo.
AFRICA: 1867.
Mission founded in Madagascar by the Society of Friends.
AFRICA: 1867-1868.
British expedition to Abyssinia for the rescue of captives;
overthrow and death of King Theodore.
AFRICA: 1868.
British annexation of Basutoland in South Africa.
AFRICA: 1869.
Christianity established as the state religion in Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1869.
Fatal expedition of Miss Tinné from Tripoli into the desert,
where she was murdered by her own escort.
AFRICA: 1869-1871.
Explorations of Dr. Schweinfurth between the Bahr-el-Ghazel
and the Upper Congo, discovering the Wellé River.
AFRICA: 1869-1873.
Expedition of Dr. Nachtigal from Tripoli through Kuka,
Tibesti, Borku, Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan, to the Nile.
AFRICA: 1870-1873.
Official expedition of Sir Samuel Baker, in the service of the
Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, to annex Gondokoro, then named
Ismalia, and to suppress the slave-trade in the Egyptian
Sudan, or Equatoria.
AFRICA: 1871.
Transfer of the rights of Holland on the Gold Coast to Great
Britain.
AFRICA: 1871.
Annexation of Griqualand West to Cape Colony.
AFRICA: 1871.
Scientific tour of Sir Joseph D. Hooker and Mr. Ball in
Morocco and the Great Atlas.
AFRICA: 1871.
Missionary journey of Mr. Charles New in the Masai country and
ascent of Mount Kilimanjaro.
AFRICA: 1871-1880.
Hunting journeys of Mr. Selous in South Africa, beyond the
Zambesi.
AFRICA: 1872-1875.
Travels of the naturalist, Reinhold Buchholz, on the Guinea
coast.
AFRICA: 1872-1879.
Trave]s of Dr. Holub between the South African diamond fields
and the Zambesi.
AFRICA: 1873-1875.
Expedition of Captain V. L. Cameron, from Zanzibar to Lake
Tanganyika, and exploration of the Lake; thence to Nyangwe on
the Lnalaba, and thence across the continent, through Ulunda,
to the Portuguese settlement at Benguela, on the Atlantic
coast.
{3673}
AFRICA: 1873-1875.
Travels of the naturalist, Frank Oates, from Cape Colony to
the Victoria Falls.
AFRICA: 1873-1876.
Explorations of Güsfeldt, Falkenstein and Pechuel-Loesche,
under the auspices of the German African Association, from the
Loango coast, north of the Congo.
AFRICA: 1874.
British expedition against the Ashantees, destroying their
principal town Coomassie.
AFRICA: 1874.
Mission of Colonel Chaillé-Long from General Gordon, at
Gondokoro, on the Nile, to M'tesé, king of Uganda, discovering
Lake Ibrahim on his return, and completing the work of Speke
and Baker, in the continuous tracing of the course of the Nile
from the Victoria Nyanza.
AFRICA: 1874-1875.
Expedition of Colonel C. Chaillé-Long to Lake Victoria Nyanza
and the Makraka Niam-Niam country, in the Egyptian service.
AFRICA: 1874-1876.
First administration of General Gordon, commissioned by the
Khedive as Governor of Equatoria.
AFRICA: 1874-1876.
Occupation and exploration of Darfur and Kordofan by the
Egyptians, under Colonels Purdy, Mason, Prout and Colston.
AFRICA: 1874-1877.
Expedition of Henry M. Stanley, fitted out by the proprietors
of the New York Herald and the London Daily Telegraph, which
crossed the continent from Zanzibar to the mouth of the Congo
River; making a prolonged stay in the empire of Uganda and
acquiring much knowledge of it; circumnavigating Lakes
Victoria and Tanganyika, and exploring the then mysterious
great Congo River throughout its length.
AFRICA: 1874-1877.
Explorations of Dr. Junker in Upper Nubia and in the basin of
the Bahr-el-Ghazel.
AFRICA: 1875.
Expedition of Dr. Pogge, for the German African Association,
from the west coast, south of the Congo, in the Congo basin,
penetrating to Kawende, beyond the Ruru or Lulua River,
capital of the Muata Yanvo, who rules a kingdom as large as
Germany.
AFRICA: 1875.
Expedition of Colonel Chaillé-Long into the country of the
Makraka Niam-Niams.
AFRICA: 1875.
Founding by Scottish subscribers of the mission station called
Livingstonia, at Cape Maclear, on the southern shores of Lake
Nyassa; headquarters of the mission removed in 1881 to
Bandawé, on the same lake.
AFRICA: 1875.
Mission founded at Blantyre, in the highlands above the Shiré,
by the Established Church of Scotland.
AFRICA: 1875-1876.
Seizure of Berbera and the region of the Juba River, on the
Somali Coast, by Colonel Chaillé-Long, for the Khedive of
Egypt, and their speedy evacuation, on the remonstrance of
England.
AFRICA: 1876.
Conference at Brussels and formation of the International
African Association, under the presidency of the king of the
Belgians, for the exploration and civilization of Africa.
AFRICA: 1876.
Voyage of Romolo Gessi around Lake Albert Nyanza.
AFRICA: 1876.
Mission in Uganda established by the Church Missionary Society
of England.
AFRICA: 1876-1878.
Scientific explorations of Dr. Schweinfurth in the Arabian
Desert between the Nile and the Red Sea.
AFRICA: 1876-1880.
Explorations and French annexations by Svorgnan de Brazza
between the Ogowé and the Congo.
AFRICA: 1877.
The Livingstone Inland Mission, for Christian work in the
Congo valley, established by the East London Institute for
Home and Foreign Missions.
AFRICA: 1877-1879.
Second administration of General Gordon, as Governor-General
of the Sudan, Darfur and the Equatorial Provinces.
AFRICA: 1877-1879.
War of the British in South Africa with the Zulus, and
practical subjugation of that nation.
AFRICA: 1877-1879.
Journey of Serpa Pinto across the continent from Benguela via
the Zambesi.
AFRICA: 1877-1880.
Explorations of the Portuguese officers, Capello and Ivens, in
western and central Africa, from Benguela to the territory of
Yacca, for the survey of the river Cuango in its relations to
the hydrographic basins of the Congo and the Zambesi.
AFRICA: 1878.
Founding in Glasgow of the African Lakes Company, or "The
Livingstone Central Africa Company," for trade on Lakes Nyassa
and Tanganyika; by which company the "Stevenson Road" was
subsequently built between the two lakes above named.
AFRICA: 1878.
Walfish Bay and fifteen miles around it (on the western coast,
in Namaqualand) declared British territory.
AFRICA: 1878.
Journey of Paul Soleillet from Saint-Louis to Segou.
AFRICA: 1878-1880.
Royal Geographical Society's East Central African expedition,
under Joseph Thomson, to the Central African lakes,
Tanganyika, Nyassa and Leopold, from Zanzibar.
AFRICA: 1879.
Establishment, by the Belgian International Society, of a
station at Karema, on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1879.
Formation of the International Congo Association and the
engagement of Mr. Stanley in its service.
AFRICA: 1879.
Missionary expeditions to the Upper Congo region by the
Livingstone Inland Mission and the Baptist Missionary Society.
AFRICA: 1879.
Journey of Mr. Stewart, of the Livingstonia Mission, on Lake
Nyassa, from that lake to Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1879.
Discovery of the sources of the Niger, in the hills about 200
miles east of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, by the
French explorers, Zweifel and Moustier.
AFRICA: 1879-1880.
Journey of Dr. Oskar Lenz, under the auspices of the German
African Society, from Morocco to Timbuctoo, and thence to the
Atlantic coast in Senegambia. The fact that the Sahara is
generally above the sea-level, and cannot therefore be
flooded, was determined by Dr. Lenz.
AFRICA: 1879-1881.
Expedition of Dr. Buchner from Loanda to Kawende and the
kingdom of the Muata Yanvo, where six months were spent in
vain efforts to procure permission to proceed further into the
interior.
AFRICA: 1880.
Mission established by the American Board of Foreign Missions
in "the region of Bihé and the Coanza," or Quanza, south of
the Congo.
AFRICA: 1880-1881.
War of the British with the Boers of the Transvaal.
AFRICA: 1880-1881.
Official mission of the German explorer, Gerhard Rohlfs,
accompanied by Dr. Stecker, to Abyssinia.
{3674}
AFRICA: 1880-1884.
Campaigns of Colonel Borgnis-Desbordes in Upper Senegal,
capturing Bamakou and extending French supremacy to the Niger.
AFRICA: 1880-1884.
German East African Expedition, under Kaiser, Böhm, and
Reichard, to explore, in the Congo Basin, the region between
the Lualaba and the Luapula.
AFRICA: 1880-1886.
Explorations of Dr. Junker in the country of the Niam-Niam,
seeking to determine the course and the outlet of the great
river Wellé, and his journey from the Equatorial Province held
by Emin Pasha against the Mahdl, through Unyoro and Uganda, to
Zanzibar.
AFRICA: 1880-1889.
Journey of Captain Casati, as correspondent of the Italian
geographical review, "L' Exploratore," from Suakin, on the Red
Sea, into the district of the Mombuttu, west of Lake Albert,
and the country of the Niam-Niam; in which travels he was
arrested by the revolt of the Mahdi and forced to remain with
Emin Pasha until rescued with the latter by Stanley, in 1889.
AFRICA: 1881.
French Protectorate extended over Tunis.
AFRICA: 1881.
Portuguese expedition of Captain Andrada from Senna on the
Zambesi River to the old gold mines of Manica.
AFRICA: 1881.
Journey of F. L. and W. D. James from Suakin, on the Red Sea,
through the Base country, in the Egyptian Sudan.
AFRICA: 1881.
Founding of a mission on the Congo, at Stanley Pool, by the
Baptist Missionary Society of England.
AFRICA: 1881-1884.
Expedition of Dr. Pogge and Lieutenant Wissmann to Nyangwe on
the Lualaba, from which point Lieutenant Wissmann pursued the
journey to Zanzibar, crossing the continent, while Dr. Pogge,
returning, died soon after his arrival at St. Paul de Loanda.
AFRICA: 1881-1885.
Revolt of the Mahdl in the Sudan; the mission of General
Gordon to Khartoum to effect the evacuation of the country;
his beleaguerment there by the Mahdists; the unsuccessful
expedition from England to rescue him; the fall of the city
and his death.
AFRICA: 1881-1887.
French protectorate established over territory on the Upper
Niger and Upper Senegal.
AFRICA: 1882.
Italian occupation of Abyssinian territory on the Bay of
Assab.
AFRICA: 1882.
Formation in England of the National African Company for the
development of trade in the region of the Niger.
AFRICA: 1882.
Missionary visit to the Masal people by Mr. J. T. Last.
AFRICA: 1882-1883.
German scientific expedition, under Dr. Böhm and Herr
Reichard, to Lakes Tanganyika and Moero.
AFRICA: 1882-1883.
Journey of Mr. H. H. Johnston on the Congo.
AFRICA: 1882-1885.
Mr. Stutfield's travels through Morocco.
AFRICA: 1883.
German acquisition of territory on Angra Pequeña Bay, in Great
Namaqualand.
AFRICA: 1883.
Exploration of Masailand by Dr. Fischer, under the auspices of
the Hamburg Geographical Society.
AFRICA: 1883.
Explorations of Lieutenant Giraud in East Central Africa,
descending for some distance the Luapula, which flows out of
Lake Bangweolo, but driven back by hostile natives.
AFRICA: 1883.
Geological and botanical investigation of the basins of Lakes
Nyassa and Tanganyika, by Mr. Henry Drummond, for the African
Lakes Company.
AFRICA: 1883.
Journey of Mr. O'Neill to Lake Shirwa and the sources of the
Lujenda.
AFRICA: 1883.
Journey of Mr. Révoil in the South Somali country to the Upper
Jub.
AFRICA: 1883-1884.
Explorations of Mr. Joseph Thomson from Mombassa, through
Masailand, to the northeast corner of the Victoria Nyanza,
under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society.
AFRICA: 1883-1885.
War of the French with the Hovas of Madagascar, resulting in
the establishment of a French Protectorate over the island.
AFRICA: 1883-1885.
Exploration of Lieutenant Giraud in the lake region—Lake
Nyassa to Lake Bangweolo, Lake Moero and Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1883-1886.
Austrian expedition, under Dr. Holub, from Cape Colony,
through the Boer states, Bechuanaland and Matabeleland to the
Zambesi, and beyond, to the borders of the Mashukulumbe
territory, where the party was attacked, plundered, and driven
back.
AFRICA: 1884.
Annexation by Germany of the whole western coast (except
Walfish Bay) between the Portuguese Possessions and those of
the British in South Africa.
AFRICA: 1884.
German occupation of territory on the Cameroons River, under
treaties with the native chiefs. English treaties securing
contiguous territory to and including the delta of the Niger.
AFRICA: 1884.
German Protectorate over Togoland on the Gold Coast declared.
AFRICA: 1884.
Expedition of Dr. Peters, representing the Society of German
Colonization, to the coast region of Zanzibar, and his
negotiation of treaties with ten native chiefs, ceding the
sovereignty of their dominions.
AFRICA: 1884.
Crown colony of British Bechuanaland acquired by convention
with the South African Republic.
AFRICA: 1884.
Portuguese Government expedition, under Major Carvalho, from
Loanda to the Central African potentate called the Muata
Yanvo.
AFRICA: 1884.
Exploration of the Benué and the whole region of the Adamawa,
by Herr Flegel, for the German African Society.
AFRICA: 1884.
Scientific expedition of Mr. H. H. Johnston to Kilimanjaro
mountain, sent by the British Association for the Advancement
of Science and the Royal Society.
AFRICA: 1884.
Discovery of the M'bangi or Ubangi River (afterwards
identified with the Wellé—see below, 1887), by Captain Hansens
and Lieutenant Van Gèle.
AFRICA: 1884.
Exploration of Reichard in the southeastern part of the Congo
State.
AFRICA: 1884-1885.
The Berlin Conference of Powers, held to determine the limits
of territory conceded to the International Congo Association;
to establish freedom of trade within that territory, and to
formulate rules for regulating in future the acquisition of
African territory.
AFRICA: 1884-1885.
Journey of Mr. Walter M. Kerr from Cape Colony, across the
Zambesi, to Lake Nyassa, and down the Shiré River to the
coast.
AFRICA: 1884-1885.
Travels of Mr. F. L. James and party in the Somali country.
AFRICA: 1884-1887.
Exploration by Dr. Schinz of the newly acquired German
territories in southwest Africa.
AFRICA: 1885.
Transfer of the rights of the Society of German Colonization
to the German East Africa Company, and extension of imperial
protection to the territories claimed by the Company. German
acquisition of Witu, north of Zanzibar.
{3675}
AFRICA: 1885.
Agreement between Germany and France, defining their
respective spheres of influence on the Bight or Biafra, on the
slave coast and in Senegambia.
AFRICA: 1885.
Transformation of the Congo Association into the Independent
State of the Congo, with King Leopold of Belgium as its
sovereign.
AFRICA: 1885.
British Protectorate extended to the Zambesi, over the country
west of the Portuguese province of Sofala, to the 20th degree
of east longitude.
AFRICA: 1885.
British Protectorate extended over the remainder of
Bechuanaland.
AFRICA: 1885.
Italian occupation of Massowa, on the Red Sea.
AFRICA: 1885.
Mission of Mr. Joseph Thomson, for the National African
Company, up the Niger, to Sokoto and Gando, securing treaties
with the sultans under which the company acquired paramount
rights.
AFRICA: 1885-1888.
Mission of M. Borelli to the kingdom of Shoa (Southern
Ethiopia) and south of it.
AFRICA: 1885-1889.
When, after the fall of Khartoum and the death of General
Gordon, in 1885, the Sudan was abandoned to the Mahdi and the
fanatical Mohammedans of the interior, Dr. Edward Schnitzer,
better known as Emin Pasha, who had been in command, under
Gordon, of the province of the Equator, extending up to Lake
Albert, was cut off for six years from communication with the
civilized world. In 1887 an expedition to rescue him and his
command was sent out under Henry M. Stanley. It entered the
continent from the west, made its way up the Congo and the
Aruwimi to Yambuya; thence through the unexplored region to
Lake Albert Nyanza and into communication with Emin Pasha;
then returning to Yambuya for the rearguard which had been
left there; again traversing the savage land to Lake Albert,
and passing from there, with Emin and his companions, by way
of Lake Albert Edward Nyanza (then ascertained to be the
ultimate reservoir of the Nile system) around the southern
extremity of the Victoria Nyanza, to Zanzibar, which was
reached at the end of 1889.
AFRICA: 1886.
Settlement between Great Britain and Germany of the coast
territory to be left under the sovereignty of the Sultan of
Zanzibar, and of the "spheres of influence" to be appropriated
respectively by themselves, between the lakes and the eastern
coast, north of the Portuguese possessions.
AFRICA: 1886.
Agreement between France and Portugal defining limits of
territory in Senegambia and at the mouth of the Congo.
AFRICA: 1886.
Transformation of the National African Company into the
British Royal Niger Company, with a charter giving powers of
administration over a large domain on the River Niger.
AFRICA: 1886.
Mission station founded by Mr. Arnot at Bunkeya, in the
southeastern part of the Congo State.
AFRICA: 1886-1887.
Journey of Lieutenant Wissmann across the continent, from
Luluaburg, a station of the Congo Association, in the dominion
of Muata Yanvo, to Nyangwe, on the Lualaba, and thence to
Zanzibar.
AFRICA: 1886-1889.
Expeditions of Dr. Zintgraff in the Cameroons interior and to
the Benue, for the bringing of the country under German
influence.
AFRICA: 1887.
Annexation of Zululand, partly to the Transvaal, or South
African Republic, and the remainder to the British
possessions.
AFRICA: 1887.
French gunboats launched on the Upper Niger, making a
reconnoissance nearly to Timbuctoo.
AFRICA: 1887.
Identity of the Wellé River with the M'bangi or Ubangi
established by Captain Van Gèle and Lieutenant Liénart.
AFRICA: 1887.
First ascent of Kilimanjaro by Dr. Hans Meyer.
AFRICA: 1887-1889.
Exploration by Captain Ringer of the region between the great
bend of the Niger and the countries of the Gold Coast.
AFRICA: 1887-1890.
Expedition of Count Teleki through Masailand, having for its
most important result the discovery of the Basso-Narok, or
Black Lake, to which the discoverer gave the name of Lake
Rudolf, and Lake Stefanie.
AFRICA: 1888.
Chartering of the Imperial British East Africa Company, under
concessions granted by the sultan of Zanzibar and by native
chiefs, with powers of administration over a region defined
ultimately as extending from the river Umba northward to the
river Jub, and inland to and across Lake Victoria near its
middle to the eastern boundary of the Congo Free State.
AFRICA: 1888.
British supremacy over Matabeleland secured by treaty with its
King Lobengula.
AFRICA: 1888.
British Protectorate extended over Amatongaland.
AFRICA: 1888.
Ascent of Mt. Kilimanjaro by Mr. Ehlers and Dr. Abbott; also
by Dr. Hans Meyer.
AFRICA: 1888.
Travels of Joseph Thomson in the Atlas and southern Morocco.
AFRICA: 1889.
Royal charter granted to the British South Africa Company,
with rights and powers in the region called Zambesia north of
British Bechuanaland and the South African Republic, and
between the Portuguese territory on the east and the German
territory on the west.
AFRICA: 1889.
Will of King Leopold, making Belgium heir to the sovereign
rights of the Congo Free State.
AFRICA: 1889.
Protectorate of Italy over Abyssinia acknowledged by the
Negus.
AFRICA: 1889.
Portuguese Roman Catholic Mission established on the south
shore of Lake Nyassa. Portuguese exploration under Serpa Pinto
in the Lake Nyassa region, with designs of occupancy
frustrated by the British.
AFRICA: 1889.
Journey of M. Crampel from the Ogowé to the Likuala tributary
of the Congo, and return directly westward to the coast.
AFRICA: 1889.
Dr. Wolf's exploration of the southeast Niger basin, where be
met his death.
AFRICA: 1889.
Major Macdonald's exploration of the Benue, sometimes called
the Tchadda (a branch of the Niger), and of its tributary the
Kebbi.
AFRICA: 1889.
Journey of Mr. H. H. Johnston north of Lake Nyassa and to Lake
Leopold.
AFRICA: 1889.
Journey of Mr. Sharpe through the country lying between the
Shiré and Loangwa Rivers.
AFRICA: 1889.
Mr. Pigott's journey to the Upper Tana, in the service of the
Imperial British East Africa Company.
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
British Protectorate declared over Nyassaland and the Shiré
Highlands.
{3676}
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
Italian Protectorate established over territory on the eastern
(oceanic) Somali coast, from the Gulf of Aden to the Jub
River.
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
Imperial British East Africa Company's expedition, under
Jackson and Gedge, for the exploring of a new road to the
Victoria Nyanza and Uganda.
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
Captain Lugard's exploration of the river Sabakhi for the
Imperial British East Africa Company.
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
Journey of Lieutenant Morgen from the Cameroons, on the
western coast to the Benue.
AFRICA: 1889-1890.
French explorations in Madagascar by Dr. Catat and MM. Maistre
and Foucart.
AFRICA: 1890.
Anglo-German Convention, defining boundaries of the
territories and "spheres of influence" respectively claimed by
the two powers; Germany withdrawing from Vitu, and from all
the eastern mainland coast north of the river Tana, and
conceding a British Protectorate over Zanzibar, in exchange
for the island of Heligoland in the North Sea.
AFRICA: 1890.
French "sphere of influence" extending over the Sahara and the
Sudan, from Algeria to Lake Tchad and to Say on the Niger,
recognized by Great Britain.
AFRICA: 1890.
Exploration of the river Sangha, an important northern
tributary of the Congo, by M. Cholet.
AFRICA: 1890.
Exploring journey of M. Hodister, agent of the Upper Congo
Company, up the Lomami river and across country to the
Lualaba, at Nyangwe.
AFRICA: 1890.
Journey of Mr. Garrett in the interior of Sierra Leone to the
upper waters of the Niger.
AFRICA: 1890.
Journey of Dr. Fleck from the western coast across the
Kalihari to Lake Ngami.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Italian possessions in the Red Sea united in the colony of
Eritrea.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Mission of Captain Lugard to Uganda and signature of a treaty
by its king acknowledging the supremacy of the British East
Africa Company.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Exploration by M. Paul Crampel of the central region between
the French territories on the Congo and Lake Tchad, ending in
the murder of M. Crampel and several of his companions.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Journey of Mr. Sharpe from Mandala, in the Shiré Highlands, to
Garenganze, the empire founded by an African adventurer,
Mshidi, in the Katanga copper country, between Lake Moero and
the Luapula river on the east, and the Lualaba on the west.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Journey of Lieutenant Mizon from the Niger to the Congo.
AFRICA: 1890-1891.
Journey of Captain Becker from Yambuya, on the Aruwimi,
north-northwest to the Wellé.
AFRICA: 1890-1892.
Italian explorations in the Somali countries by Signor
Robecchi, Lieutenant Baudi di Vesme, Prince Ruspoli, and
Captains Bottego and Grixoni.
AFRICA: 1890-1893.
Expedition of Dr. Stuhlmann, with Emin Pasha, from Bagamoyo,
via the Victoria Nyanza and the Albert Edward, to the plateau
west of the Albert Nyanza. From this point Dr. Stuhlmann
returned, while Emin pursued his way, intending it is said, to
reach Kibonge, on the right bank of the Congo, south of
Stanley Falls. He was murdered at Kinena, 150 miles northeast
of Kibonge, by the order of an Arab chief.
AFRICA: 1891.
Extension of the British Protectorate of Lagos over the
neighboring districts of Addo, Igbessa, and Ilaro, which form
the western boundary of Yoruba.
AFRICA: 1891.
Treaty between Great Britain and Portugal defining their
possessions; conceding to the former an interior extension of
her South African dominion up to the southern boundary of the
Congo Free State, and securing to the latter defined
territories on the Lower Zambesi, the Lower Shiré, and the
Nyassa, as well as the large block of her possessions on the
western coast.
AFRICA: 1891.
Convention between Portugal and the Congo Free State for the
division of the disputed district of Lunda.
AFRICA: 1891.
Convention of the Congo Free State with the Katanga Company,
an international syndicate, giving the Company preferential
rights over reputed mines in Katanga and Urua, with a third of
the public domain, provided it established an effective
occupation within three years.
AFRICA: 1891.
French annexation of the Gold Coast between Liberia and the
Grand Bassam.
AFRICA: 1891.
Opening of the Royal Trans-African Railway, in West Africa,
from Loanda to Ambaca, 140 miles.
AFRICA: 1891.
Survey of a railway route from the eastern coast to Victoria
Lake by the Imperial British East Africa Company.
AFRICA: 1891.
Exploration of the Jub River, in the Somali country, by
Commander Dundas.
AFRICA: 1891.
Exploration by Captain Dundas, from the eastern coast, up the
river Tana to Mount Kenia.
AFRICA: 1891.
Mr. Bent's exploration of the ruined cities of Mashonaland.
AFRICA: 1891.
Journey of M. Maistre from the Congo to the Shari.
AFRICA: 1891.
Journeys of Captain Gallwey in the Benin country, West Africa.
AFRICA: 1891.
Mission established by the Berlin Missionary Society in the
Konde country, at the northern end of Lake Nyassa.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Incorporation of the African Lakes Company with the British
South Africa Company. Organization of the administration of
Northern Zambesia and Nyassaland.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Expedition of the Katanga Company, under Captain Stairs, from
Bagamoyo to Lake Tanganyika, thence through the country at the
head of the most southern affluents of the Congo, the Lualaba
and the Luapula.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Belgian expeditions under Captain Bia and others to explore
the southeastern portion of the Congo Basin, on behalf of the
Katanga Company, resulting in the determination of the fact
that the Lukuga River is an outlet of Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Journey of Dr. James Johnston across the continent, from
Benguela to the mouth of the Zambesi, through Bihe, Ganguela,
Barotse, the Kalihari Desert, Mashonaland, Manica, Gorongoza,
Nyassa, and the Shiré Highlands.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Expedition of Mr. Joseph Thomson, for the British South Africa
Company, from Kilimane or Quillimane on the eastern coast to
Lake Bangweolo.
{3677}
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Journey of Captain Monteil from the Niger to Lake Tchad and
across the Sahara to Tripoli.
AFRICA: 1891-1892.
Exploration by Lieutenant Chaltin of the river Lulu, and the
country between the Aruwimi and the Welle Makua rivers, in the
Congo State.
AFRICA: 1891-1893.
Journey of Dr. Oscar Baumann from Tanga, a port on the eastern
coast, in the northern part of the German Protectorate;
passing to the south of Kilimanjaro, discovering two lakes
between that mountain and the Victoria Nyanza; exploring the
southeastern shores of the Victoria, traversing the Shashi
countries lying east of the lake, and the Urundi country
between the Victoria and Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1891-1894.
Expedition under the command of Captain Van Kerckhoven and M.
de la Kéthulle de Ryhove, fitted out by the Congo Free State,

for the subjugation of the Arabs, the suppression of the slave
trade and the exploration of the country, throughout the
region of the Wellé or Ubangi Uellé and to the Nile.
AFRICA: 1892.
Decision of the Imperial British East Africa Company to
withdraw from Uganda.
AFRICA: 1892.
Practical conquest of Dahomey by the French, General Dodds
taking possession of the capital November 16.
AFRICA: 1892.
Journey of M. Méry in the Sahara to the south of Wargla,
resulting in a report favorable to the construction of a
railway to tap the Central Sudan.
AFRICA: 1892.
French expedition under Captain Binger to explore the southern
Sudan and to act conjointly with British officials in
determining the boundary between French and English
possessions.
AFRICA: 1892.
Journey of Mr. Sharpe from the Shiré River to Lake Moero or
Mweru and the Upper Luapula.
AFRICA: 1892-1893.
Construction of a line of telegraph by the British South
African Company, from Cape Colony, through Mashonaland, to
Fort Salisbury, with projected extension across the Zambesi
and by the side of Lakes Nyassa and Tanganyika to Uganda,—and
ultimately down the valley of the Nile.
AFRICA: 1892-1893.
French scientific mission, under M. Dècle, from Cape Town to
the sources of the Nile.
AFRICA: 1892-1893.
Italian explorations, under Captain Bòttego and Prince
Ruspoli, in the upper basin of the River Jub.
AFRICA: 1893.
Brussels Antislavery Conference, ratified in its action by the
Powers.
AFRICA: 1893.
Official mission of Sir Gerald Porter to Uganda, sent by the
British Government to report as to the expediency of the
withdrawal of British authority from that country.
AFRICA: 1893.
Scientific expedition of Mr. Scott-Elliot to Uganda.
AFRICA: 1893.
Scientific expedition of Dr. Gregory, of the British Museum,
from Mombassa, on the eastern coast, through Masailand to
Mount Kenia.
AFRICA: 1893.
Journey of Mr. Bent to Aksum, in Abyssinia, the ancient
capital and sacred city of the Ethiopians.
AFRICA: 1893.
Journey of M. Foureau in the Sahara, crossing the plateau of
Tademait from north to south.
AFRICA: 1893-1894.
German scientific survey of Mount Kilimanjaro, under Drs. Lent
and Volkens.
AFRICA: 1893-1894.
Expedition of Mr. Astor Chanler and Lieutenant von Höhnel from
Witu, on the eastern coast, to the Jombini Range and among the
Rendile.
AFRICA: 1893-1894.
Explorations of Baron von Uechtritz and Dr. Passarge on the
Benue.
AFRICA: 1893-1894.
Journey of Baron von Schele from the eastern coast to Lake
Nyassa, and thence by a direct route to Kihsa.
AFRICA: 1893-1894.
Journey of Count von Götzen across the continent, from
Dar-es-Salaam, on the eastern coast, to the Lower Congo.
AFRICA: 1894.
Treaty between Great Britain and the Congo Free State,
securing to the former a strip of land on the west side of the
Nile between the Albert Nyanza and 10° north latitude, and to
the latter the large Bahr-el-Ghazel region, westward. This
convention gave offense to France, and that country
immediately exacted from the Congo Free State a treaty
stipulating that the latter shall not occupy or exercise
political influence in a region which covers most of the
territory assigned to it by the treaty with Great Britain.
AFRICA: 1894.
Franco-German Treaty, determining the boundary line of the
Cameroons, or Kamerun.
AFRICA: 1894.
Treaty concluded by Captain Lugard, November 10, at Nikki, in
Borgu, confirming the rights claimed by the Royal Niger
Company over Borgu, and placing that country under British
protection.
AFRICA: 1894.
Agreement between the British South Africa Company and the
Government of Great Britain, signed November 24, 1894,
transferring to the direct administration of the Company the
Protectorate of Nyassaland, thereby extending its domain to
the south end of Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1894.
Renewed war of France with the Hovas of Madagascar.
AFRICA: 1894.
Expedition of Dr. Donaldson Smith from the Somali coast,
aiming to reach Lakes Rudolf and Stefanie, but stopped and
turned back by the Abyssinians, in December.
AFRICA: 1894.
Visit of Mr. Cecil Rhodes to England to arrange financially
for the extension of the Cape railway system northwards from
Mafeking into Matabeleland.
AFRICA: 1894.
Completed conquest of Dahomey by the French; capture of the
deposed king, January 25, and his deportation to exile in
Martinique. Decree of the French Government, June 22,
directing the administrative organization of the "colony of
Dahomey and Dependencies"; with a ministerial order of the
same date which divides the new conquest into "Territoirés
annexés; Territoirés protégés; Territoirés d'action
politique."
AFRICA: 1894.
Occupation of Timbuctoo by a French force.
AFRICA: 1894.
Journey of Count von Götzen across the continent, from the
eastern coast, through Ruanda and the Great Forest to and
along the Lowa, an eastern tributary of the Congo, reaching
the Lower Congo in December.
AFRICA: 1894.
Exploration of the Upper Congo and the Lukuga by Mr. R. Dorsey
Mohun, American Agent on the Congo, and Dr. Hinde.
AFRICA: 1894.
Scientific to the Zambesi and Lake Tanganyika.
AFRICA: 1894-1895.
War of the Italians in their colony of Eritrea with both the
Abyssinians and the Mahdists. Italian occupation of Kassala as
a base of operations against the Mahdists.
{3678}
AFRICA: 1895.
Franco-British agreement, signed January 21, 1895, respecting
the "Hinterland" of Sierra Leone, which secures to France the
Upper Niger basin.
AFRICA: 1895.
Convention between Belgium and France signed February 5,
recognizing a right of pre-emption on the part of the latter,
with regard to the Congo State, in case Belgium should at any
time renounce the sovereignty which King Leopold desires to
transfer to it.
AFRICA: 1895.
Russian scientific expedition to Abyssinia, under Lieutenant
Leontieff.
----------AFRICA: End--------
AKKADIANS,
ACCADIANS.
See SEMITES: PRIMITIVE BABYLONIA (page 2888).
ALEXANDRIA:
Early Christian Church.
See CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 33-100,
and 100-312 (pages 43 and 445).
ALEXANDRIA:
Library.
See LIBRARIES, ANCIENT (page 2003).
AMANA COMMUNITY, The.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1843-1874 (page 2945).
----------AMERICA: Start--------
AMERICA:
The discoverers of the Northern Continent.
Mr. Harrisse's conclusions.
"The main points attained in this elaborate survey of all the
facts and documents known can be recapitulated as
follows,—perhaps with less assurance than a desire to be
succinct may undesignedly impart to our expressions:
1. The discovery of the continent of North America, and the
first landing on its east coast were accomplished not by
Sebastian Cabot, but by his father John, in 1497, under the
auspices of King Henry VII.
2. The first landfall was not Cape Breton Island, as is stated
in the planisphere made by Sebastian Cabot in 1544, but eight
or ten degrees further north, on the coast of Labrador; which
was then ranged by John Cabot, probably as far as Cape
Chudley.
3. This fact was tacitly acknowledged by all pilots and
cosmographers throughout the first half of the 16th century;
and the knowledge of it originated with Sebastian Cabot
himself, whatever may have been afterwards his contrary
statements in that respect.
4. The voyage of 1498, also accomplished under the British
flag, was likewise carried out by John Cabot personally. The
landfall on that occasion must be placed south of the first;
and the exploration embraced the northeast coast of the
present United States, as far as Florida.
5. In the vicinity of the Floridian east coast, John Cabot, or
one of his lieutenants, was detected by some Spanish vessel,
in 1498 or 1499.
6. The English continued in 1501, 1502, 1504, and afterwards,
to send ships to Newfound·land, chiefly for the purpose of
fisheries. …
7. The Portuguese mariners who lived in the Azores were the
first who probed the Atlantic in search of oceanic islands and
continents. Their objective, after the discovery achieved by
Christopher Columbus, was the north-east coast of the New
World.
8. The earliest authentic records of Lusitanian transatlantic
expeditions begin only with Gaspar Corte-Real, who made three,
and not two voyages only; all to the same regions, as follows:
The first voyage of that navigator was undertaken previous to
May, 1500, in the direction of Greenland and Newfoundland, and
proved an absolute failure. The second voyage lasted from the
early part of the summer of 1500 until the autumn of that
year, and embraced the east coast of Newfoundland, from its
northernmost point down to Cape Race. The third expedition set
out from Lisbon early In the spring of 1501. It was composed
of three vessels. One of these returned to port On the 8th or
9th of October, the second on the 11th following. As to the
third, which was under the Immediate command of Gaspar
Corte-Real, it was ice-bound or shipwrecked, we do not know
when nor where, but probably in Hudson Bay, during the winter
of 1501-1502. The country visited during the first part of the
expedition seems to have been the northern extremity of
Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.
9. The expedition of Miguel Corte-Real in search of his
brother, sailed May 10, 1502, and was also lost. …
10. Portugal continued to send ships to the fishing banks; and
the region south of Newfoundland was explored, particularly by
João Alvares Fagundes before 1521. …
11. The assertion that already in the time of Christopher
Columbus navigators and geographers believed in the existence
of a continent interposed between the West Indies and Asia,
and which was not Cathay, stands uncontroverted either by
contemporary authorities, or by the early Spanish charts. Nay,
it is corroborated by that class of proofs.
12. The absolute insularity of Cuba was an acknowledged fact
years before the periplus made by Sebastian de Ocampo, in
1508.
13. The mainland of the New World was believed to be a
continent distinct from Cathay and from India the moment
navigators commenced to search after a strait leading from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Asiatic seas.
14. The idea that America was a mere prolongation of Asia
ceased therefore to be entertained almost immediately after
the discovery of its east coast; by John Cabot in 1497; by
Americus Vespuccius, before 1501; by Gaspar Corte-Real, before
1502.
15. Christopher Columbus himself soon ceased to think that he
had discovered Cathay, or the Asiatic coast.
16. So early as October, 1501, the notion prevailed in Europe
that from Circulus articus to Pollus Antarticus, the newly
discovered land formed a single coast line belonging to a
separate continent."
H. Harrisse,
Discovery of North America,
part 1, book 8, chapter 5.
AMERICA:
The alleged first voyage of Vespucius.
In the first volume of this work (page 52) the argument in
support of the disputed claim for Amerigo Vespucci, or
Vespucius, that he made a voyage in 1497-8 during which he
coasted the American continent from Honduras to Cape Hatteras,
is given in an excerpt from Dr. Fiske's "Discovery of
America." The following, from a paper by Mr. Clements R.
Markham, read before the Royal Geographical Society in June,
1892, presents, in part, the counter argument: "Vespucci's
account of his alleged first voyage is briefly as follows. He
says that he went to Spain to engage in mercantile pursuits,
but that after some years he resolved to see the world and its
marvels. King Ferdinand having ordered four ships to go forth
and make discoveries to the westward, Vespucci was chosen by
His Highness to go in the fleet, to assist in the work of
discovery. They sailed from Cadiz on May 10th, 1497, and
reached Grand Canary, which, he says, is in 27° 30' North, and
280 leagues from Lisbon.
{3679}
There they remained eight days, and then sailed for
thirty-seven (twenty-seven, Latin version) days on a W. S. W.
course ('Ponente pigliando una quarta di libeccio'), reaching
land when they were nearly 1,000 leagues from Grand Canary.
For they found, by their instruments, that they were in 16°
North latitude and 75° West longitude. Vespucci then gives a
long account of the natives. After some days they came to a
village built over the water, like Venice, about forty-four
houses resting on very thick poles. Sailing along the land for
80 leagues, they came to another people, speaking a different
language, where Vespucci saw an iguana being roasted, which he
describes. He made an excursion inland for 18 leagues, and
found the country very populous. This place was on the Tropic
of Cancer, where the latitude is 23° North. The province is
called 'Parias' (Latin version), 'Lariab' (Italian version).
Thence they sailed, always in sight of the land, on a
Northwest course ('verso el maestrale') for 870 leagues,
having intercourse with many tribes, and finding some gold.
When they had been absent thirteen months the ships begun to
leak, and required caulking, so they entered the best harbour
in the world, where there were many friendly people. Here they
refitted, and remained for thirty-seven days. They then sailed
eastward for seven days, and carne to some islands 100 leagues
off the mainland, inhabited by fierce people called 'Iti.'
They had encounters with the natives, when one of their men
was killed and twenty-two were wounded. They then sailed for
Spain with 222 slaves, arriving at Cadiz on October 15th,
1498, where they sold their slaves, and were well received.
This is the story of Vespucci. It has been considered to be a
fabrication from that time to this, for the following reasons.
Vespucci was at Seville or San Lucar, as a provision merchant,
from the middle of April, 1497, to the end of May, 1498, as is
shown by the official records, examined by Muñoz, of expenses
incurred in fitting out the ships for western expeditions.
Moreover, no expedition for discovery was despatched by order
of King Ferdinand in 1497; and there is no allusion to any
such expedition in any contemporary record. The internal
evidence against the truth of the story is even stronger.
Vespucci says that he sailed West South West for nearly 1,000
leagues from Grand Canary. This would have taken him to the
Gulf of Paria, which is rather more than 900 leagues West
South West from Grand Canary. It would never have taken him
near the land at 16° North. Even with a course direct for that
point, instead of a West North West course, and disregarding
intervening land, the distance he gives would leave him 930
miles short of the alleged position. No actual navigator would
have made such a blunder. He evidently quoted the dead
reckoning from Ojeda's voyage, and invented the latitude at
random. It is useless for the defenders of Vespucci to refer
to the faulty reckonings of those days, and to pilots thinking
they were near the Canaries when they were off the Azores.
This is a different matter. It is the case of a man alleging
that he has fixed his position by observations, and giving a
dead reckoning nearly a thousand miles out, in the belief that
it would bring him to the same point. It is fudging, but the
fudging of a man ignorant of a pilot's business. His statement
that he went Northwest for 870 leagues (2,610 miles) from a
position in latitude 23° North, is still more preposterous.
Such a course and distance would have taken him right across
the continent to somewhere in British Columbia. The chief
incidents in the voyage are those of the Ojeda voyage in 1499.
There is the village built on piles called Little Venice.
There is the best harbour in the world, which was the Gulf of
Cariaco, where Ojeda refitted. There was the encounter with
natives, in which one Spaniard was killed and 22 were wounded.
These numbers are convincing evidence. … Vespucci does not
mention the commanders of the expedition, nor any Spanish name
whatever, and only gives two names of places, namely, 'Parias'
or 'Lariab,' and 'Iti,' both imaginary. Humboldt was aware of
the proofs that Vespucci could not have been absent from Spain
in 1497-98, and that the incidents of his alleged first voyage
belonged to that of Ojeda; but he was reluctant to believe in
actual fraud. He therefore suggested that there were misprints
with regard to the dates; that the first voyage of Vespucci
was that of Ojeda; and that the Florentine merchant returned
home from Española in time to join the voyage of Pinzon in
1500, which was the second voyage. But no one was allowed to
land from Ojeda's ships at Española, and the dates are too
detailed, and occur too clearly in both versions, to admit of
the wholesale alterations demanded by this theory. The Baron
Varnhagen, in his defences of Vespucci, published in 1865 at
Lima, and in 1869 at Vienna, takes a bolder course. He adopts
the whole of the statements of Vespucci as perfectly true,
including the dates; but his defence does not amount to much.
He was evidently unaware of the extent of the error in
Vespucci's reckoning, and did not realise the inevitable
inference. He got over the Little Venice difficulty by
suggesting that there were many other villages built on piles,
and that there might have been one on the coast of Tabasco.
That is true. There was also the old Quebec hotel in
Portsmouth Harbour; but this is not the point, and he failed
to see where the difficulty lies. The Little Venice was a
discovery in Ojeda's voyage when Vespucci was present. Its
recurrence here, and its omission in the version of Ojeda's
voyage by Vespucci, are the suspicious points which Varnhagen
fails to explain away. Of the words 'Parias' and 'Lariab' in
the two versions, Varnhagen prefers the latter. It is quite
impossible to tell which form, or whether either, was in the
original manuscript. Although there is no such place as
'Lariab,' yet a Mexican author, named Orozco, said that some
of the names of places near Tampico, where the Huasteca
language is spoken, ended in 'ab.' This is a point, so far as
it goes—which is not very far. Even the voyage of 870 leagues
Northwest from latitude 23°, does not daunt the Baron. He
ignores Vespucci's course, and takes him a marvellous voyage
round the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the peninsula of
Florida, to Cape Hatteras, where he certainly does not find
the best harbour in the world. Thence Vespucci is taken to
Bermuda, identified as 'Iti,' and so home. It is well known
that Bermuda was uninhabited before its settlement by
Europeans, and that there were no signs of previous
inhabitants; while the 'Iti' of Vespucci was densely peopled
with fierce savages. But this is ignored by Varnhagen.
{3680}
It would certainly have been a most extraordinary voyage, and
it is still more extraordinary, that though the secret must
have been known to many people at the time, it should have
been inviolably kept without any object in such secrecy, and
that the discoveries should have appeared on no map and in no
narrative. Yet Vespucci's story, though a bold flight, bears
no comparison with the grandeur of Varnhagen's conception of
it."
C. R. Markham,
Fourth Centenary of his Discovery,
note 2 (Royal Geographical Society,
Proceedings, 1892, September).
AMERICA:
Monetary effects of the discovery of America.
See MONEY AND BANKING: 16-17TH CENTURIES (page 2208).
----------AMERICA: End--------
AMERICAN ABORIGINES:
Iroquois Confederacy.
Hiawatha the founder.
See IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY (page 1802).
AMERICAN COLONIAL TRADE.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, MODERN.
AMERICAN LIBRARIES.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN (page 2017, and after).
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN (page 2021).
AMHERST COLLEGE, The founding of.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 733).
AMPERE'S ELECTRO-MAGNETIC DISCOVERIES.
See ELECTRICAL DISCOVERY AND INVENTION:
A. D. 1820-1825 (page 772).
[Transcriber's note: For a detailed look at electrical
theory of 1892.]
T. O'Conor Sloane,
The Standard Electrical Dictionary,
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26535.
AMSTERDAM, The founding of the Bank of.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2208).
ANÆSTHETICS, The discovery of.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 19TH CENTURY (page 2143).
ANARCHISM AND NIHILISM.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1839-1894;
and 1860-1870 (pages 2941 and 2948).
ANDORRA.
"The pastoral and picturesque valley of Andorra, a jumble of
hills, enclosed on all sides by the Pyrenean spurs, extends
about 7 L. long by 6 broad, and is bounded by the French and
Spanish ridges, by Puigcerdá to the South and East, by the
Comté de Foix (départ. de l'Ariège) to the North, and by the
Corregimiento of Talaru to the West. Watered by the Balira [or
Valira], Ordino, and Os, it is one of the wildest districts of
the Spanish Pyrenees, abounding in timber, which is floated
down the Balira and Segre to Tortosa. The name Andorra is
derived from the Arabic Aldarra, 'a place thick with trees,'
among which is found the Cabra Montaraz, with bears, boars,
and wolves."
R. Ford,
Handbook for Travellers in Spain,
part 1, section 6.
"The republic of Andorra is said to owe its existence to a
defeat of the Saracens by Charlemagne or Louis le Débonnaire,
but in reality up to the French Revolution the valley enjoyed
no sovereign rights whatever. It was a barony of the Counts of
Urgel and of Aragon. In 1278 it was decided that Andorra
should be held jointly by the Bishops of Urgel and the Counts
of Foix. In 1793 the French republic declined to receive the
customary tribute, and in 1810 the Spanish Cortes abolished
the feudal regime. Andorra thus became an independent state.
The inhabitants, however, continue to govern themselves in
accordance with old feudal customs, which are not at all
reconcilable with the principles of modern republics. The land
belongs to a few families. There is a law of entail, and
younger brothers become the servants of the head of the
family, whose hospitality they enjoy only on condition of
their working for him. The tithes were only abolished in 1842.
The 'liberty' of these mountaineers consists merely in
exemption from the Spanish conscription and impunity in
smuggling; and, to increase their revenues, they have recently
established a gambling-table. Their legitimate business
consists in cattle-breeding, and there are a few forges and a
woollen factory. The republic of Andorra recognises two
suzerains, viz. the Bishop of Urgel, who receives an annual
tribute of £25, and the French Government, to whom double that
sum is paid. Spain and France are represented by two provosts,
the commandant of Séo de Urgel exercising the functions of
viceroy. The provosts command the militia and appoint the
bailiffs, or judges. They, together with a judge of appeal,
alternately appointed by France and Spain, and two
'rahonadores,' or defenders of Andorran privileges, form the
Cortes. Each parish is governed by a consul, a vice-consul,
and twelve councillors elected by the heads of families. A
General Council, of which the consuls and delegates of the
parishes are members, meets at the village of Andorra. But in
spite of these fictions Andorra is an integral part of Spain,
and the carabineers never hesitate to cross the frontiers of
this sham republic. By language, manners, and customs the
Andorrans are Catalans. Exemption from war has enabled them to
grow comparatively rich."
E. Reclus,
The Earth and its Inhabitants: Europe, Spain,
section 6.
ANN ARBOR, University at.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 732).
ANNAM.
See TONKIN (page 3114).
ANSELM: Dispute with William Rufus.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1087-1135 (page 796).
ANTIOCH, The early Christian Church in.
See CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 33-100 (page 435).
ANTIOCH COLLEGE.
See EDUCATION (page 744).
ANTI-SEMITE MOVEMENT, The.
See JEWS: 19TH CENTURY (page 1931).
APOSTLES, Missionary labors of the.
See CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 33-100 (page 433).
ARABS:
Ancient and Mediæval Commerce.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE.
ARABS:
Medical Science.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 7-11TH CENTURIES (page 2129).
----------ARCTIC EXPLORATION: Start--------
ARCTIC EXPLORATION:
A Chronological Record.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1500-1502.
Discovery and exploration of the coast of Labrador and the
entrance of Hudson Strait by the Cortereals.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1553.
Voyage of Willoughby and Chancellor from London, in search of
a northeast passage to India. Chancellor reached Archangel on
the White Sea, and opened trade with Russia, while Willoughby
perished with all his crew.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1556.
Exploring voyage of Stephen Burroughs to the northeast,
approaching Nova Zembla.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1576-1578.
Voyages of Frobisher to the coast of Labrador and the entrance
to Davis Strait, discovering the bay which bears his name, and
which he supposed to be a strait leading to Cathay; afterwards
entering Hudson Strait.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1580.
Northeastern voyage of Pet and Jackman, passing Nova Zembla.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1585-1587.
Three voyages of John Davis from Dartmouth, in search of a
northwestern passage to India, entering the strait between
Greenland and Baffinland which bears his name and exploring it
to the 72nd degree north latitude.
{3681}
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1594-1595.
Dutch expeditions (the first and second under Barentz) to the
northeast, passing to the north of Nova Zembla, or Novaya
Zem]ya, but making no progress beyond it.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1596-1597.
Third voyage of Barentz, when he discovered and coasted
Spitzbergen, wintered in Nova Zembla with his crew, lost his
ship in the ice, and perished, with one third of his men, in
undertaking to reach the coast of Lapland in open boats.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1602.
Exploration for a northwest passage by Captain George
Weymouth, for the Muscovy Company and the Levant Company,
resulting in nothing but a visitation of the entrance to
Hudson Strait.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1607.
Polar voyage of Henry Hudson, for the Muscovy Company of
London, attaining the northern coast of Spitzbergen.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1608.
Voyage of Henry Hudson to Nova Zembla for the Muscovy Company.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1610.
Voyage of Henry Hudson, in English employ, to seek the
northwest passage, being the voyage in which he passed through
the Strait and entered the great Bay to which his name has
been given, and in which he perished at the hands of a
mutinous crew.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1612-1614.
Exploration of Hudson Bay by Captains Button, Bylot, and
Baffin, practically discovering its true character and shaking
the previous theory of its connection with the Pacific Ocean.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1614.
Exploring expedition of the Muscovy Company to the Greenland
coast, under Robert Fotherby, with William Baffin for pilot,
making its way to latitude 80°.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1616.
Voyage into the northwest made by Captain Baffin with Captain
Bylot, which resulted in the discovery of Baffin Bay, Smith
Sound, Jones Sound, and Lancaster Sound.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1619-1620.
Voyage of Jens Munk, sent by the King of Denmark to seck the
northwest passage; wintering in Hudson Bay, and losing there
all but two of his crew, with whom he succeeded in making the
voyage home.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1632.
Voyages of Captains Fox and James into Hudson Bay.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1670.
Grant and charter to the Hudson Bay Company, by King Charles
II. of England, conferring on the Company possession and
government of the whole watershed of the Bay, and naming the
country Prince Rupert Land.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1616.
Voyage of Captain John Wood to Nova Zembla, seeking the
northeastern passage.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1728.
Exploration of the northern coasts of Kamtschatka by the
Russian Captain Vitus Behring, and discovery of the Strait
which bears his name.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1741.
Exploration of northern channels of Hudson Bay by Captain
Middleton.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1743.
Offer of £20,000 by the British Parliament for the discovery
of a northwest passage to the Pacific.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1746.
Further exploration of northern channels of Hudson Bay by
Captains Moor and Smith.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1753-1754.
Attempted exploration of Hudson Bay by the colonial Captain
Swaine, sent out from Philadelphia, chiefly through the
exertions of Dr. Franklin.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1765.
Russian expedition of Captain Tchitschakoff, attempting to
reach the Pacific from Archangel.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1768-1769.
Exploration of Nova Zembla by a Russian officer, Lieutenant
Rosmyssloff.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1769-1770.
Exploring journey of Samuel Hearne, for the Hudson Bay
Company, from Churchill, its most northern post, to Coppermine
River and down the river to the Polar Sea.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1773.
Voyage of Captain Phipps, afterwards Lord Mulgrave, toward the
North Pole, reaching the northeastern extremity of
Spitzbergen.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1779.
Exploration of the Arctic coast, east and west of Behring
Strait, by Captain Cook, in his last voyage.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1789.
Exploring journey of Alexander Mackenzie, for the Northwest
Company, and discovery of the great river flowing into the
Polar Sea, which bears his name.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1806.
Whaling voyage of Captain Scoresby to latitude 81° 30' and
longitude 19° east.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1818.
Unsatisfactory voyage of Commander John Ross to Baffin Bay and
into Lancaster Sound.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1818.
Voyage of Captain Buchan towards the North Pole, reaching the
northern part of Spitzbergen.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1819-1820.
First voyage of Lieutenant Parry, exploring for a northwest
passage, through Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, Lancaster Sound,
and Barrow Strait, to Melville Island.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1819-1822.
Journey of Captain (afterwards Sir John) Franklin, Dr.
Richardson, and Captain (afterwards Sir George) Back, from
Fort York, on the western coast of Hudson Bay, by the way of
Lake Athabasca, Great Slave Lake, and Coppermine River, to
Coronation Gulf, opening into the Arctic Ocean.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1819-1824.
Russian expeditions for the survey of Nova Zembla.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1820-1824.
Russian surveys of the Siberian Polar region by Wrangel and
Anjou.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1821-1823.
Second voyage of Captain Parry, exploring for a northwest
passage to the Pacific Ocean, through Hudson Strait and Fox
Channel, discovering the Fury-and-Hecla Strait, the northern
outlet of the Bay.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1821-1824.
Russian surveying expedition to Nova Zembla, under Lieutenant
Lutke.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1822.
Whaling voyage of Captain Scoresby to the eastern coast of
Greenland, which was considerably traced and mapped by him.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1822-1823.
Scientific expedition of Captain Sabine, with Commander
Clavering, to Spitzbergen and the eastern coast of Greenland.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1824-1825.
Third voyage of Captain Parry, exploring for a northwest
passage, by way of Davis Strait, Baffin Bay, and Lancaster
Sound, to Prince Regent Inlet, where one of his ships was
wrecked.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1825-1827.
Second journey of Franklin, Richardson, and Back, from Canada
to the Arctic Ocean; Franklin and Back by the Mackenzie River
and westward along the coast to longitude 149° 37'; Richardson
by the Mackenzie River and the Arctic coast eastward to
Coppermine River.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1826.
Voyage of Captain Beechey through Behring Strait and eastward
along the Arctic coast as far as Point Barrow.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1827.
Fourth voyage of Captain Parry, attempting to reach the North
Pole, by ship to Spitzbergen and by boats to 82° 45' north
latitude.
{3682}
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1829-1833.
Expedition under Captain Ross, fitted out by Mr. Felix Booth,
to seek a northwest passage, resulting in the discovery of the
position of the north magnetic pole, southwest of Boothia, not
far from which Ross' ship was ice-bound for three years.
Abandoning the vessel at last, the explorers made their way to
Baffin Bay and were rescued by a whale-ship.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1833-1835.
Journey of Captain Back from Canada, via Great Slave Lake, to
the river which he discovered and which bears his name,
flowing to the Polar Sea.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1836-1837.
Voyage of Captain Back for surveying the straits and channels
in the northern extremity of Hudson Bay.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1837-1839.
Expeditions of Dease and Simpson, in the service of the Hudson
Bay Company, determining the Arctic coast line as far east as
Boothia.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1845.
Departure from England of the government expedition under Sir
John Franklin, in two bomb-vessels, the Erebus and the Terror,
which entered Baffin Bay in July and were never seen
afterward.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1848.
Expedition of Sir John Richardson and Mr. John Rae down the
Mackenzie River, searching for traces of Sir John Franklin and
his crews.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1848-1849.
Expedition under Sir James Clarke Ross to Baffin Bay and
westward as far as Leopold Island, searching for Sir John
Franklin.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1848-1851.
Searching expedition of the Herald and the Plover, under
Captain Kellett and Commander Moore, through Behring Strait
and westward to Coppermine River, learning nothing of the fate
of the Franklin party.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850.
Searching expedition sent out by Lady Franklin, under Captain
Forsyth, for the examination of Prince Regent Inlet.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850-1851.
United States Grinnell Expedition, sent to assist the search
for Sir John Franklin and his crew, consisting of two ships,
the Advance and the Rescue, furnished by Mr. Henry Grinnell
and officered and manned by the U. S. Government, Lieutenant
De Haven commanding and Dr. Kane surgeon. Frozen into the ice
in Wellington Channel, in September, 1850, the vessels drifted
helplessly northward until Grinnell Land was seen and named,
then southward and westward until the next June, when they
escaped in Baffin Bay.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850-1851.
Franklin search expedition, sent out by the British
Government, under Captain Penny, who explored Wellington
Channel and Cornwallis Island by sledge journeys.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850-1851.
Discovery of traces of Franklin and his men at Cape Riley and
Beechey Island, by Captain Ommaney and Captain Austin.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850-1852.
Franklin search expedition under Captain Collinson, through
Behring Strait and eastward into Prince of Wales Strait,
sending sledge parties to Melville Island.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1850-1854.
Franklin search expedition under Captain McClure, through
Behring Strait and westward, between Banks Land and Prince
Albert Land, attaining a point within 25 miles of Melville
Sound, already reached from the East; thus demonstrating the
existence of a northwest passage, though not accomplishing the
navigation of it. McClure received knighthood, and a reward of
£10,000 was distributed to the officers and crew of the
expedition.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1851.
Expedition of Dr. Rae, sent by the British Government to
descend the Coppermine River and search the southern coast of
Wollaston Land, which he did, exploring farther along the
coast of the continent eastward to a point opposite King
William's Land.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1851-1852.
Franklin search expedition sent out by Lady Franklin under
Captain Kennedy, for a further examination of Prince Regent
Inlet and the surrounding region.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1852-1854.
Franklin search expedition of five ships sent out by the
British Government under Sir Edward Belcher, with Captains
McClintock, Kellett, and Sherard Osborn under his command.
Belcher and Osborn, going up Wellington Channel to
Northumberland Sound, were frozen fast; McClintock and Kellett
experienced the same misfortune near Melville Island, where
they had received Captain McClure and his crew, escaping from
their abandoned ship. Finally all the ships of Belcher's fleet
except one were abandoned. One, the Resolute, drifted out into
Davis Strait in 1855, was rescued, bought by the United States
Government and presented to Queen Victoria.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1853-1854.
Hudson Bay Company expedition by Dr. Rae, to Repulse Bay and
Pelly Bay, on the Gulf of Boothia, where Dr. Rae found Eskimos
in possession of articles which had belonged to Sir John
Franklin, and his men, and was told that in the winter of 1850
they saw white men near King William's Land, traveling
southward, dragging sledges and a boat, and, afterwards saw
dead bodies and graves on the mainland.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1853-1855.
Grinnell expedition, under Dr. Kane, proceeding straight
northward through Baffin Bay, Smith Sound and Kennedy Channel,
nearly to the 79th degree of latitude, where the vessel was
locked in ice and remained fast until abandoned in the spring
of 1855, the party escaping to Greenland and being rescued by
an expedition under Lieutenant Hartstein which the American
Government had sent to their relief.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1855.
Cruise of the U. S. ship Vincennes, Lieutenant John Rodgers
commanding, in the Arctic Sea, via Behring Strait to Wrangel
Land.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1855.
Expedition of Mr. Anderson, of the Hudson Bay Company, down
the Great Fish River to Point Ogle at its mouth, seeking
traces of the party of Sir John Franklin.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1857-1859.
Search expedition sent out by Lady Franklin, under Captain
McClintock, which became ice-bound in Melville Bay, August,
1857, and drifted helplessly for eight months, over 1,200
miles; escaped from the ice in April, 1858; refitted in
Greenland and returned into Prince Regent Inlet, whence
Captain McClintock searched the neighboring regions by sledge
journeys, discovering, at last, In King William's Land, not
only remains but records of the lost explorers, learning that
they were caught in the ice somewhere in or about Peel Sound,
September, 1846; that Sir John Franklin died on the 11th of
the following June; that the ships were deserted on the 22d of
April, 1848, on the northwest coast of King William's Land,
and that the survivors, 105 in number, set out for Back or
Great Fish River. They perished probably one by one on the
way.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1860-1861.
Expedition of Dr. Hayes to Smith Sound; wintering on the
Greenland side at latitude 78° 17'; crossing the Sound with
sledges and tracing Grinnell Land to about 82° 45'.
{3683}
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1860-1862.
Expedition of Captain Hall on the whaling ship George Henry,
and discovery of relics of Frobisher.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1864-1869.
Residence of Captain Hall among the Eskimos on the north side
of Hudson Strait and search for further relics of the Franklin
expedition.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1867.
Tracing of the southern coast of Wrangel Land by Captains Long
and Raynor, of the whaling ships Nile and Reindeer.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1867.
Transfer of the territory, privileges and rights of the Hudson
Bay Company to the Dominion of Canada.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1868.
Swedish Polar expedition, directed by Professor Nordenskiöld,
attaining latitude 81° 42', on the 18th meridian of east
longitude.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1869.
Yacht voyage of Dr. Hayes to the Greenland coasts.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1869-1870.
German Polar expedition, under Captain Koldewey, one vessel of
which was crushed, the crew escaping to an ice floe and
drifting 1,100 miles, reaching finally a Danish settlement on
the Greenland coast, while the other explored the east coast
of Greenland to latitude 77°.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1871-1872.
Voyage of the steamer Polaris, fitted out by the U. S.
Government, under Captain Hall; passing from Baffin Bay,
through Smith Sound and Kennedy Channel, into what Kane and
Hayes had supposed to be open sea, but which proved to be the
widening of a strait, called Robeson Strait by Captain Hall,
thus going beyond the most northerly point that had previously
been reached in Arctic exploration. Wintering in latitude 81°
38' (where Captain Hall died), the Polaris was turned homeward
the following August. During a storm, when the ship was
threatened with destruction by the ice, seventeen of her crew
and party were left helplessly on a floe, which drifted with
them for 1,500 miles, until they were rescued by a passing
vessel. Those on the Polaris fared little better. Forced to
run their sinking ship ashore, they wintered in huts and made
their way south in the spring, until they met whale-ships
which took them on board.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1872-1874.
Austro-Hungarian expedition, under Captain Weyprecht and
Lieutenant Payer, seeking the northeast passage, with the
result of discovering and naming Franz Josef Land, Crown
Prince Rudolf Land and Petermann Land, the latter (seen, not
visited) estimated to be beyond latitude 83°. The explorers
were obliged to abandon their ice-locked steamer, and make
their way by sledges and boats to Nova Zembla, where they were
picked up.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1875.
Voyage of Captain Young, attempting to navigate the northwest
passage through Lancaster Sound, Barrow Strait and Peel
Strait, but being turned back by ice in the latter.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1875-1876.
English expedition under Captain Nares, in the Alert, and the
Discovery, attaining by ship the high latitude of 82° 27', in
Smith Sound, and advancing by sledges to 83° 20' 26", while
exploring the northern shore of Grinnell Land and the
northwest coast of Greenland.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1876-1878.
Norwegian North-Atlantic expedition, for a scientific
exploration of the sea between Norway, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland, Jan Mayen, and Spitzbergen.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1878.
Discovery of the island named "Einsamkeit," in latitude 77°
40' North and longitude 860 East, by Captain Johannesen, of
the Norwegian schooner Nordland.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1878-1879.
Final achievement of the long-sought, often attempted
northeast passage, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, by
the Swedish geographer and explorer, Baron Nordenskiöld, on
the steamer Vega, which made the voyage from Gothenburg to
Yokohama, Japan, through the Arctic Sea, coasting the Russian
and Siberian shores.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1878-1883.
Six annual expeditions to the Arctic Seas of the ship Willem
Barentz, sent out by the Dutch Arctic Committee.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1879.
Cruise of Sir Henry Gore-Booth and Captain Markham, R. N., in
the cutter Isbjorn to Nova Zembla and in Barentz Sea and the
Kara Sea.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1879-1880.
Journey of Lieutenant Schwatka from Hudson Bay to King William
Island, and exploration of the western and southern shores of
the latter, searching for the journals and logs of the
Franklin expedition.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1879-1882.
Polar voyage of the Jeannette, fitted out by the proprietor of
the New York Herald and commanded by Commander De Long, United
States Navy. The course taken by the Jeannette was through
Behring Strait towards Wrangel Land, and then northerly, until
she became ice-bound when she drifted helplessly for nearly
two years, only to be crushed at last. The officers and crew
escaped in three boats, one of which was lost in a storm; the
occupants of the other two boats reached different mouths of
the river Lena. One of these two boats, commanded by Engineer
Melville, was fortunate enough to find a settlement and obtain
speedy relief. The other, which contained commander De Long,
landed in a region of desolation, and all but two of its
occupants perished of starvation and cold.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1880-1882.
First and second cruises of the United States Revenue Steamer
Corwin in the Arctic Ocean, via Behring Strait, to Wrangel
Land seeking information concerning the Jeannette and
searching for two missing whaling ships.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1880-1882.
Two voyages of Mr. Leigh Smith to Franz Josef Land, in his
yacht Eira, in the first of which a considerable exploration
of the southern coast was made, while the second resulted in
the loss of the ship and a perilous escape of the party in
boats to Nova Zembla, where they were rescued.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1881.
Expedition of the steamer Rodgers to search for the missing
explorers of the Jeannette; entering the Arctic Sea through
Behring Strait, but abruptly stopped by the burning of the
Rodgers, on the 30th of November, in St. Lawrence Bay.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1881.
Cruise of the United States Alliance, Commander Wadleigh, via
Spitzbergen, to 79° 3' 36" north latitude, searching for the
Jeannette.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1881-1884.
International undertaking of expeditions to establish Arctic
stations for simultaneous meteorological and magnetic
observations: by the United States at Smith Sound and Point
Barrow; by Great Britain at Fort Rae; by Russia at the mouth
of the Lena and in Nova Zembla; by Denmark at Godhaab, in
Greenland; by Holland at Dickson's Haven, near the mouth of
the Yenisei; by Germany in Cumberland Sound, Davis Strait; by
Austro-Hungary on Jan Mayen Island; by Sweden at Mussel Bay in
Spitzbergen. The United States expedition to Smith Sound,
under Lieutenant Greeley, established its station on Discovery
Bay. Exploring parties sent out attained the highest latitude
ever reached, namely 83° 24'. After remaining two winters and
failing to receive expected supplies, which had been
intercepted by the ice, Greeley and his men, twenty-five in
number, started southward, and all but seven perished on the
way. The survivors were rescued, in the last stages of
starvation, by a vessel sent to their relief under Captain
Schley, United States Navy.
{3684}
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1882-1883.
Danish Arctic expedition of the Dijmphna, under Lieutenant
Hovgaard; finding the Varna of the Dutch Meteorological
Expedition beset in the ice at 69° 42' North latitude and 64°
45' East longitude; both vessels becoming frozen in together
and drifting for nearly twelve months, being carried to 71°
North; the Dijmphna taking the crew of the Varna, which
succumbed to the ice pressure and went down; the Danish ship
finally being liberated, August 1, 1893, and regaining Vardo,
Norway, in October of that year.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1883.
Expedition of Lieutenant Ray, United States Navy, from Point
Barrow, on the Arctic Ocean, to Meade River.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1883.
Expedition of Baron Nordenskiöld to Greenland, making
important explorations in the interior, but failing to find
the temperate central valleys which the Baron's theoretical
studies had led him to expect.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1883-1885.
East Greenland expedition of Captain Holm and Lieutenant
Garde, surveying and mapping the coast from 59° 49' to 68° 45'
North latitude, and studying its geology, meteorology and
natural history.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1884.
Second cruise of the U. S. Revenue Marine Steamer Corwin in
the Arctic Ocean.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1886.
Reconnoissance of the Greenland inland ice by Civil Engineer
R. E. Peary, United States Navy, "to gain a practical
knowledge of the obstacles and ice conditions of the
interior," and "to put to the test of actual use certain
methods and details of equipment."
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1888.
Journey of Dr. Nansen across South Greenland, from the
icebound eastern coasts to the Danish settlements on the
western.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1890.
Swedish expedition to Spitzbergen, under G. Nordenskiöld and
Baron Klinkowström.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1890.
Danish scientific explorations in North and South Greenland.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1890.
Russian exploration of the Malo-Zemelskaya, or Timanskaya
tundra, in the far north of European Russia, on the Arctic
Ocean.

ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1891-1892.
Expedition of Lieutenant Peary, United States Navy, with a
party of seven persons, including Mrs. Peary, establishing
headquarters on McCormick Bay, on the north side of Murchison
Sound, north west Greenland; thence making sledge journeys to
the northeastern coast of Greenland, at Independence Bay and
northward from it to latitude 82°, and following the coast
southward to Cape Bismarck. The surveys of Lieutenant Peary
have gone far toward proving Greenland to be an island.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1891-1892.
Danish East Greenland expedition of Lieutenant Ryder,
wintering on Denmark Island in Scoresby's Sound, from which
boat journeys were made and the interior ramifications of the
Sound surveyed and mapped.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1891-1893.
Expeditions of Dr. Drygalski to Greenland for the study of the
movement of the great glaciers.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1892.
Swedish expedition of Bjorling and Kallstenius, the last
records of which were found on one of the Cary Islands, in
Baffin Bay, in the autumn of 1892.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1892.
French expedition under M. Ribot to explore the islands of
Spitzbergen and Jan Mayen.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1893.
Expedition of Dr. Nansen, who sailed June 24, in the Fram from
Christiania, for the New Siberian Islands, thence aiming to
enter a current which flows, in Dr. Nansen's belief, across
the Arctic region to Greenland, touching the North Pole, or
nearly, in its course.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1893.
Russian expedition, under Baron Toll, to the New Siberian
Islands and the Siberian Arctic coasts.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1893.
Danish expedition to Greenland, under Lieutenant Garde, for a
geographical survey of the coast and study of the inland ice.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1893-1894.
Expedition of Lieutenant Peary and party (Mrs. Peary again of
the number), landing in Bowdoin Bay, Inglefield Gulf, north of
McCormick Harbor, in August, 1893; attempting in the following
March a sledge journey with dogs to Independence Bay, but
compelled to turn back when no more than a quarter of the
distance had been traversed. An auxiliary expedition brought
back most of the party to Philadelphia in September, 1894; but
Lieutenant Peary with two men remained in Greenland to
continue explorations.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1893-1894.
Scientific journey of Mr. Frank Russell, under the auspices of
the State University of Iowa, from Lake Winnipeg to the mouth
of Mackenzie River and to Herschel Island.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1894.
Expedition of Mr. Walter Wellman, an American journalist,
purposing to reach Spitzbergen via Norway, and to advance
thence towards the Pole, with aluminum boats, weighing only
400 pounds each, and provided with runners for use on the ice.
The party left Tromsoë May 1, but were arrested before the end
of the month by the crushing of their vessel in the ice at
Walden. They were picked up and brought back to Norway.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1894.
Departure of what is known as the Jackson-Harmsworth North
Polar Expedition, which sailed from Greenhithe, in England,
July 11, under the command of Mr. F. G. Jackson, Mr.
Harmsworth equipping the expedition at his personal cost. Its
plan is to make Franz Josef Land a base of operations from
which to advance carefully and persistently towards the Pole.
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1895.
Preparations of Herr Julius von Payer, the explorer of Franz
Josef Land, for an artistic and scientific expedition to the
east coast of Greenland, in which he will be accompanied by
landscape and animal painters, photographers, and savants.
----------ARCTIC EXPLORATION: End--------
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, The Constitution of.
See CONSTITUTION OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC (page 511).
ARMENIA, Atrocities in.
See TURKS: A. D. 1895 (page 3157).
ARYAN NATIONS OF EUROPE.
See EUROPE (page 990, and after).
ASCHAM, Roger, and "The Scholemaster."
See EDUCATION, RENAISSANCE (page 708).
{3685}
ASCLEPIADÆ, The.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE, GREEK (page 2124).
ASIA MINOR, Missionary journeys of St. Paul in.
See CHRISTIANITY: A. D. 33-100 (page 436).
ASOKA, and the rise of Buddhism.
See INDIA: B. C. 312 (page 1704).
ASSIGNATS OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
See MONEY AND BANKING: A. D. 1789-1796 (page 2212).
ASSYRIAN EDUCATION, Ancient.
See EDUCATION, ANCIENT (page 674).
ASSYRIAN LIBRARIES.
See LIBRARIES, ANCIENT (page 2000).
ASSYRIAN MONEY AND BANKING.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2199).
ATHENS: Outline sketch of ancient history.
See EUROPE (pages 992-996).
ATLANTIC CABLE, The laying of the.
See ELECTRICAL DISCOVERY AND INVENTION:
A. D. 1854-1866 (page 776).
ATTAINDER.
BILL OF ATTAINDER.
"An attainder ('attinctura') is a degradation or public
dishonouring, which draws after it corruption of blood. It is
the consequence of any condemnation to death, and induces the
disherison of the heirs of the condemned person, which can
only be removed by means of parliament. A bill of attainder,
or of pains and penalties, inflicts the consequences of a
penal sentence on any state criminal. … By the instrumentality
of such bill the penalties of high treason are generally
imposed. Penalties may, however, be imposed at pleasure,
either in accordance with, or in contravention of, the common
law. No other court of law can protect a person condemned in
such manner. The first bill of the kind occurred under Edward
IV., when the commons had to confirm the statute condemning
Clarence to death. This convenient method of getting rid of
disagreeable opponents was in high favour during the reign of
Henry VIII. The bills of pains and penalties were hurried
through the parliament, and the parties accused were not even
put upon their trial. Thus were the illustrious Sir Thomas
More and Bishop Fisher, for misprision of treason, without
regular trial, without examination of witnesses, or hearing
the accused in their self-defence, legally consigned to the
scaffold. Anne Boleyn was formally tried for high treason by
the house of peers; but the head of Catharine Howard was
disposed of by a simple bill of attainder. This was the first
case in which the offence charged was created by the very bill
against which the pretended criminal was held to have
offended. Under Philip and Mary the benefit of clergy was, by
means of a bill, withheld from a certain Rufford. What had
been an instrument of kingly despotism, under Tudor sway, was
converted, under the Stuarts, into a parliamentary engine
against the crown. The points of indictment against Strafford
were so weak that the lords were for acquitting him.
Thereupon, Sir Arthur Haselrig introduced a bill of attainder
in the commons. The staunch friends of freedom, such as Pym
and Hampden, did not support this measure; but yet it passed
through the commons with only 59 dissentient voices. After the
35 peers opposed to the trial of Strafford had withdrawn, the
terror-stricken lords accepted the bill by 26 against 19
votes. … This parliamentary administration of justice has by
no means been relinquished. A bill of attainder may refer
simply to a concrete case, and contrive penalties for acts
which are not specially punishable by statute, whereas an
impeachment applies to some violation of recognized legal
principles, and is a solemn indictment preferred by the
commons to the house of lords."
E. Fischel,
The English Constitution,
book 7, chapter 9.
"By the 33 & 34 Vict. c. 23, forfeiture and attainder for
treason or felony have been abolished."
T. P. Taswell-Langmead,
English Constitutional History,
chapter 10 (2d edition, page 393), foot-note.
----------AUSTRIA: Start--------
AUSTRIA: A. D. 1273-1349.
The House of Hapsburgh in the earlier period of its fortunes.
"It was just now [1273] that the German monarchy received once
more a real king [in the person of Rudolph of Hapsburgh]. It
is evident that Ottocar's remarkable rise into power was due
essentially to the previous excessive weakness of German
kingship. He had acquired Austria and Styria by doubtful right
according to German notions, Carinthia and Carniola without
any acquiescence at all on the part of the empire. … In the
election of Rudolph he was not willing to take part and
afterwards he refused him recognition. No wonder that from the
very beginning the German princes felt the necessity of
driving him from his usurped position. … For the German cause
it was the greatest gain that through Ottocar's fall (1278)
room was won on the Middle Danube for a national rule: the
House of Austria was enabled there to found that power which
played so great a part in the world's history. The victory on
the marchfeld was a victory of the renewed imperial might over
a recalcitrant vassal whose power had extended the due measure
of that of a prince of the realm. Looked at in this light the
fall of Ottocar reminds one of the fall of Henry the Lion a
hundred years before; the gain for Rudolph, however, was still
greater and more essential than it had been at that former
time for Frederick I. His position was for the first time now
actually assured; for if the battle had resulted unfavorably
it is doubtful if he could have continued to command
obedience. Besides this the possibility presented itself now
of using the position of ruler, conferred on him personally,
to the lasting advantage of his house; at the same time he
could only go to work in the matter very slowly and
cautiously. … At his departure from these parts in 1281 he
conferred the regency in Austria proper and in the other lands
to his own son Albrecht. The latter appears already as a
matured man with a certain talent for ruling. He overthrew all
those who opposed them but, having done this, he bore no
malice and cherished no hostility. No one could be in doubt
but that for Albrecht, and for his house altogether, the king
thought to found there a separate territorial principality. To
begin with, the fiefs which the dukes of Austria had held of
the neighboring bishoprics, especially the Bavarian ones, were
conferred by Rudolph on his sons, other privileges in
compensation being granted to the bishoprics. The consent of
the electors, according to the new order of things, was
necessary in such a case, and the king next sought to gain
them over. … On December 27, 1282, he invested his sons
Albrecht and Rudolph in common with Austria, Styria, Carniola
and the Windischmark. …
{3686}
At the request of the Estates of those lands, who wished
neither a joint rule nor a separation from each other, Rudolph
in 1283 invested his son Albrecht alone with those four
provinces. To the younger Rudolph the promise of another
appanage or at least of a compensation was held out—a fatal
matter! For the son of this Rudolph was John the Parricide. It
was an event of the greatest import that in these
south-eastern marks of the empire the Babenbergers were
replaced by the Hapsburghs. The latter now, in consequence of
their all-decisive victory, turned their attention at the same
time to Bohemia and Hungary. Although neither in the one land
nor the other did they now actually attain their goal, yet
their efforts in this direction deserve our close attention as
being the first tokens of a policy that was most strongly to
affect the world's history. … One sees, even in these
unsuccessful attempts, the bold dynastic ambition of King
Rudolph; the kingdom of Arles, also, he had had in view for
one of his sons. The acquisition of Austria alone, indeed,
marks an epoch in itself; all the more so as only through this
did he gain the prestige which he needed to enable him to do
justice to his task as king of Germany. If this task be
regarded as having consisted chiefly in restoring and
maintaining the public peace after thirty years of utter
confusion, then, indeed, he showed himself completely equal to
it. … In short, through valor and steadfastness he strongly,
in internal matters, upheld the power of the empire.
Rebellions, indeed, were not wanting; now the archbishop of
Cologne, now the duke of Savoy revolted; now Bern or Colmar,
now the counts in Suabia and Burgundy. He overcame and humbled
them all. … He was a very tall, thin man, pale of countenance
and with very little hair on his small head; in all things
moderate and of a genial nature as was shown by his offering
to become the guest of artisans and by his darning his own
doublet. … When giving Austria to his son Albrecht who was to
try and establish here a dynastic power (Hausmacht), Rudolph
had really intended to give the German crown to his younger
son, Rudolph, and he might have put this through had not this
son died before himself. In May 1291 the king then held a diet
at Frankfort for the purpose of inducing the electors now to
give their vote to his son Albrecht. This he was unable to
bring about and with his hopes unrealized he died on the 15th
of July 1291. … After long preliminary negotiations between
the separate electors … the election took place on May 5th,
1292. Albrecht had not yet abandoned hope and had appeared in
the vicinity. … The electors laid down the principle that it
was not right for the son to directly follow the father on the
throne of the empire. … They chose again a simple count,
Adolphus of Nassau. … The less Adolphus fulfilled the
expectations of his electors … the more did he lose his
authority. … In short it appears that Adolphus's whole
attitude, his league with England, his conception of the
rights of the empire, the way he insulted ecclesiastical and
secular princes, his policy with regard to the majority of the
cities, caused a general ferment. … It was at a great assembly
of princes in Prague, where Mainz, Bohemia, Brandenburg and
Saxony met together that Albrecht's influence began to gain
the upper hand. Albrecht promised, in case he should become
king, to give to King Wenzel the conquests made by Adolphus in
Meissen. Albrecht and all his friends then girded themselves
up to conquer the empire. In April 1298 we find him in Alsace
opposing Adolphus who, however, still had the upper hand. The
archbishop of Mainz then summoned the electors to Mainz for
June 15 to consult about the disturbances in the empire. …
They determined now to depose the king whom they had elected.
This was done in the Thiergarten near Mainz on June 23, 1298.
… The battle for the possession of the empire took place on
July 2nd at Göllheim, where a stone cross still marks the
spot. … The kings wore the same coat-of-arms—yellow with a
black eagle—and bore the same banner. According to one
account, for which Albert of Strassburg is voucher, they came
into hand to hand conflict with each other. Adolphus cried
out: 'Here you will relinquish the Empire!' Albrecht answered
'The decision lies in the hand of God.' The one-eyed Albrecht
struck the surer blow, hitting his antagonist directly over
the eye. The blood ran down Adolphus s face; he fell and died.
Albrecht would never acknowledge that he had been the slayer
of the Lord's anointed. Be that as it may he won the crown for
himself on the battle-field. … Albrecht is altogether a
striking figure in German history. Everywhere, in the lowest
plains of Switzerland or in the highest mountains of
Switzerland he is busy in founding his dynastic power. Under
him the House of Austria made a vigorous beginning in the
matter of establishing a great and extensive authority in all
parts of the empire. … It was fatal for him that the harsh
want of consideration which forms the chief feature of his
sway as a statesman should have raised up a murderer against
him in his own immediate vicinity—in the person of his own
nephew."
L. Ranke,
Weltgeschichte
(translated from the German),
volume 8, pages 566-601.
See, also, AUSTRIA (pages 199-201).
AUSTRIA: A. D. 1648-1715.
Relations with Germany and France.
See (in this Supplement) GERMANY: A. D. 1648-1715.
AUSTRIA: A. D. 1780-1790.
Joseph II., the enthroned Philosopher.
"The prince who best sums up the spirit of the century, is not
Frederic [the Great, of Prussia), it is Joseph II. [the
emperor]. Frederic was born a master, Joseph II. a disciple,
and it is by disciples that we judge schools. The king of
Prussia dammed up the waters, directed their flow, made use of
the current: the emperor cast himself upon them and permitted
himself to be carried. With Frederic the statesman always
dominates, it is he who proposes and finally decides; the
philosopher is subordinate: he furnishes to the results
brought about by policy their abstract cause for existence and
their theoretical justification. With Joseph II. rational
conception precedes political calculation and governs it. He
had breadth of mind, but his mind was superficial; ideas
slipped from it. He had a taste for generosity, a passion for
grandeur; but there was nothing profound in him but ambition,
and it was all counter-stroke and reflection. He wished to
surpass Frederic; his entire conduct was but an awkward,
imprudent and ill-advised imitation of this prince whom he had
made his hero, whom history made his rival and whom he copied
while detesting him.
{3687}
The political genius of Frederic was born of good sense and
moderation: there was nothing in Joseph II. but the
immoderate. He was a man of systems: he had only great
velleities. His education was mediocre, and, as to methods,
entirely jesuitical. Into this contracted mould he cast
confusedly notions hastily borrowed from the philosophers of
France, from the economists especially. He thus formed a very
vague ideal of political aspirations and an exaggerated sense
of the power at his disposition to realize them. 'Since I
ascended the throne and have worn the first crown of the
world,' wrote he in 1781, 'I have made Philosophy the lawmaker
of my empire. Her logical applications are going to transform
Austria.' He undertakes reforms in every direction at once.
History is null for him, traditions do not count, nor do facts
acquired. There is no race, nor period, nor surrounding
circumstances: there is the State which is everything and can
do everything. He writes in 1782, to the bishop of Strasbourg:
'In a kingdom governed conformably to my principles,
prejudice, fanaticism, bondage of mind must disappear, and
each of my subjects must be reinstated in the possession of
his natural rights.' He must have unity, and, as a first
condition, the rejection of all previous ideas. Chance makes
him operate on a soil the most heterogeneous, the most
incoherent, the most cut up, parceled out and traversed by
barriers, that there is in Europe. Nothing in common among his
subjects, neither language, nor traditions, nor interests. It
is from this, according to him, that the defect of monarchy
arises. 'The German language is the universal language of my
empire. I am the emperor of Germany, the states which I
possess are provinces which form but one body with the State
of which I am the head. If the kingdom of Hungary were the
most important of my possessions, I should not hesitate to
impose its tongue on the other countries.' So he imposes the
German language on the Hungarians, the Croats, the Tchèques,
the Poles, on all the Slavs. He suppresses the ancient
territorial divisions; they recall the successive
agglomerations, the irregular alluvions which had formed the
monarchy; he establishes thirteen governments and divides them
into circles. The diets disappear; the government passes into
the hands of intendants according to the French formula. In
the cities the burgomaster appointed by the government becomes
a functionary. The nobles lose the part, already much
curtailed, that they still had, here and there, in the
government. He taxes them, he taxes the ecclesiastics; he
meditates establishing a tax proportional to incomes and
reaching all classes. He protects the peasants, alleviates
serfdom, diminishes the corvées, builds hospitals, schools
above all, in which the state will form pupils to obey her.
His ideal would be the equality of his subjects under the
uniform sway of his government. He unifies the laws; he
institutes courts of appeal with a supreme court for the
entire empire. He makes regulations for manufactures, binds
commerce to the most rigorous protective system. Finally he
puts a high hand on the church and decrees tolerance. … This
immense revolution was accomplished by means of decrees, in
less than five years. If we compare the state of cohesion
which the Bourbon government had brought about in France in
1789, with the incoherence of the Austrian monarchy on the
death of Maria Theresa in 1780, it will be seen that the
revolution which caused the Constituent Assembly was a small
matter compared with that which Joseph II. intended to
effect."
A. Sorel,
L'Europe et la Rêvolution française
(translated from the French),
part 1, pages 119-122.
----------AUSTRIA: End--------
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, Libraries of.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN (page 2013).
AUSTRIAN SCHOOLS.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 709).
AVICENNA AND ARABIAN MEDICAL SCIENCE.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 7-11TH CENTURIES (page 2130).
B.
BÂB, The.
The word Bâb, "meaning, in Arabic, 'a gate,' is the title of a
hero of our own days, the founder, if not of a new religion,
at least of a new phase of religious belief. His history, with
that of his first followers, as told by M. le Comte de
Gobineau in his 'Religions et Philosophies dans l'Asie
Centrale,' presents a picture of steadfast adherence to truth
(as they held it), of self-denial, of joyful constancy in the
face of bitterest suffering, torture and death, as vivid and
touching as any that are found in the records of the heroic
days of old. … Among the crowd of pilgrims who flocked to
Mecca in the summer of 1843 was a youth who had then hardly
completed his nineteenth year. He had come from the far
distant city of Shiraz, where his family held an honourable
position, claiming, indeed, to trace their descent from the
great Prophet himself. Thoughtful and devout from his
childhood, Mirza Ali Mohammed had zealously and regularly
practised all religious duties considered binding on an
orthodox Mussulman. He had received a liberal education, and
while still a mere boy had eagerly examined and weighed every
new set of ideas with which he came in contact. Christians,
Jews, Fire-worshippers—he conversed with them all, and studied
their books. … Up to the time of his visiting the shrine of
the Prophet there had been no indication of any departure from
the faith of his fathers. But this pilgrimage, instead of
confirming his faith in Islam, had a quite contrary effect.
While still in the holy city, and still more on the return
journey, he had begun to confide to a select few views which
attracted and delighted them, not more, perhaps, by their
breadth and freedom than by the vague mystery in which they
were still wrapped. His decisive breach with the old faith was
not far distant. … Arrived at Shiraz, his first overt act was
to present to his friends his earliest written works. These
were two: a journal of his pilgrimage and a commentary on a
part of the Korân. In the latter the readers were amazed and
charmed to find meanings and teachings of which they had never
dreamed before. From this time he began to teach more
publicly; and day by day larger crowds flocked around him.
{3688}
In public he still spoke with reverence of the Prophet and his
laws; while in more private conferences he imparted to his
disciples those new ideas which were, perhaps, not yet very
clearly defined in his own mind. Very soon he had gathered
round him a little band of devoted followers, ardently
attached to himself, and ready to sacrifice wealth, life, all,
in the cause of truth. And throughout the great empire men
began everywhere to hear of the fame of Mirza Ali Mohammed.
There was much in the young teacher himself, apart from the
subject of his teaching, to account for this rapid success. Of
blameless life; simple in his habits; strict and regular in
all pious observances, he had already a weight of character to
which his extreme youth added a tenfold interest. But in
addition to these things, he was gifted with striking beauty
of person, and with that subtle, winning sweetness of manner
so often possessed by leaders of men, and to which, more than
to the most weighty arguments, they have often owed their
power. … Ere long, Mirza assumed the title by which he has
since been known throughout Persia—the Bâb—that is, the Door,
the only one through which men can reach the knowledge of God.
It may be well to give here an outline of what the Bâb did
teach. He believed in one God, eternal, unchangeable, Creator
of all things, and into whom all shall finally be reabsorbed.
He taught that God reveals His will to men by a series of
messengers, who, while truly men, are not mere men, but also
divine; that each of these messengers—Moses, Jesus,
Mohammed—is the medium of some new truth, higher than that
brought by the one who preceded him; that he himself, the Bâb,
though claiming divine honours while he lived, was but the
forerunner of one greater than he, the great Revealer—'He whom
God shall manifest, who should complete the revelation of all
truth, and preside at the final judgment, at which all the
good shall be made one with God, and all evil annihilated. One
of the most marked and singular characteristics of his system
is the prominence given in it to that mysterious and fanciful
theory of numbers which had always had so great a charm for
him. Taking various forms of the name of God—'ahyy,' meaning
'the giver of life'; 'wahed,' 'the only One'; or that which is
a most sacred formula, 'Bismillah elemna elegdous,' 'in the
name of God, highest and holiest'—he shows that the letters
composing each of those names, taken by their numerical value,
make up the number 19. This he therefore concludes is the
number which lies at the foundation of all things in heaven
and earth, the harmony of the universe, the number which must
rule in all earthly arrangements. The year should have 19
months, the month 19 days, the day 19 hours. … There are three
points in particular in which the reforms proposed by the Bâb
cannot fail, so far as they gain ground, to have a mighty
effect on society. In the first place, he abolished polygamy;
that is, he so strongly discountenanced it that his followers
universally regard it as a prohibition. In close
connection—almost as a necessary accompaniment of this—he
forbade divorce; that festering sore which corrupts the mass
of Persian society to its very heart, and makes pure family
life almost impossible. His third revolutionary step was in
the same direction. He abolished the veiling of the women. …
While the fame and popularity of the young preacher were daily
increasing, his bold exposure of the vices of the clergy
aroused against him their bitterest enmity." This hostility
soon became influential enough to prevail on the king and his
ministers to silence the Bâb. Mirza was placed under
confinement in his own house; but a chosen band of apostles
went forth to do missionary work throughout the empire, and
their success was great. Ere long, they began to combine
political with religious aims, and one of them, Moulla
Houssein, organized a movement which assumed a revolutionary
character and spread to formidable proportions. The government
became greatly alarmed, and an energetic minister took
measures to suppress the Bâbys, which was done with merciless
vigor. The Bâb, himself, though he had taken no part in the
political doings of his disciples, and had remained a quiet
prisoner on parole at Shiraz, was put to death, after being
brutally exposed for several hours to the insults of a mob.
This was in 1851. The following year witnessed the martyrdom
of a large number of the surviving Bâbys of prominence, all of
whom died for their faith without shrinking—as exalted in
spirit, it would seem, as the early Christian martyrs. But
Bâbism was not extinguished. It is said to have spread
secretly and continually throughout Persia, and to be of
unknown extent at the present day."
M. F. Wilson,
The Story of the Bâb
(Contemporary Review, December, 1885).
BABŒUF, Conspiracy of.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1753-1797 (page 2934).
BABYLONIA: Captivity of the Jews.
See JEWS: B. C. 604-536;
and 537 (page 1907).
BABYLONIA:
Commerce.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, ANCIENT.
BABYLONIA:
Education, ancient.
See EDUCATION, ANCIENT (page 674).
BABYLONIA:
Libraries.
See LIBRARIES, ANCIENT (page 2000).
BABYLONIA:
Medical Science.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE, BABYLONIAN (page 2122).
BABYLONIA:
Money and banking.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2199).
BACK, Captain, Northern explorations of.
See (in this Supplement)
ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1833-1835; and 1836-1837.
BACTERIOLOGY, Development of the science of.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 19TH CENTURY (page 2146).
BALOCHISTAN,
BALUCHISTAN.
"Balochistan, in the modern acceptation of the term, may be
said, in a general sense, to include all that tract of country
which has for its northern and north-eastern boundary the
large kingdom of Afghanistan, its eastern frontier being
limited by the British province of Sindh, and its western by
the Persian State, while the Arabian Sea washes its southern
base for a distance of nearly six hundred miles. … In area
Balochistan had long been supposed to cover in its entirety
quite 160,000 square miles, but the latest estimates do not
raise it higher than 140,000 square miles, of which 60,000 are
said to belong to what is termed Persian Balochistan, and the
remaining 80,000 to Kalāti Balochistan, or that portion which
is more or less directly under the rule of the Brāhui Khān of
Kalāt. …
{3689}
Balochistan may be said to be inhabited chiefly by the Baloch
tribe, the most numerous in the country, and this name was
given to the tract they occupy by the great Persian monarch,
Nadir Shah, who, as St. John remarks, after driving the Afghan
invaders from Persia, made himself master in his turn of the
whole country west of the Indus, and placed a native chief
over the new province, formed out of the districts bounded on
the north and south by the Halmand valley and the sea, and
stretching from Karmān on the west to Sindh on the east. This
newly formed province he called Balochistan, or, the country
of the Baloch, from the name of the most widely spread and
numerous, though not the dominant, tribe. According to Masson,
who, it must be admitted, had more ample opportunities of
obtaining correct information on this subject than any other
European, the Balochis are divided into three great classes,
viz.,
(1) the Brahuis;
(2) the Rinds; and
(3) the Lumris (or Numris);
but this must be taken more in the sense of inhabitants of
Balochistan than as divisions of a tribe, since the Brahuis
are of a different race and language and call the true
Balochis 'Nhāruis,' in contradistinction to themselves as
'Brahuis.' … The origin of the word 'Baloch' is evidently
involved in some obscurity, and has given rise to many
different interpretations. Professor Rawlinson supposes it to
be derived from Belūs, king of Babylon, the Nimrod of Holy
Writ, and that from 'Kush,' the father of Nimrod, comes the
name of the Kalāti eastern district, 'Kachh.' Pottinger
believes the Balochis to be of Turkoman lineage, and this from
a similarity in their institutions, habits, religion—in
short, in everything but their language, for which latter
anomaly, however, he has an explanation to offer. But be this
as it may, the very tribe themselves ascribe their origin to
the earliest Muhammadan invaders of Persia, and are extremely
desirous of being supposed to be of Arab extraction. They
reject with scorn all idea of being of the same stock as the
Afghan. They may possibly be of Iranian descent, and the
affinity of their language, the Balochki, to the Persian,
bears out this supposition; but the proper derivation of the
word 'Baloch' still remains an open question. … The Brahuis,
who, as a race, are very numerous in Balochistan, Pottinger
considers to be a nation of Tartar mountaineers, who settled
at a very early period in the southern parts of Asia, where
they led an ambulatory life in Khels, or societies, headed and
governed by their own chiefs and laws for many centuries, till
at length they became incorporated and attained their present
footing at Kalāt and throughout Balochistan generally. Masson
supposes that the word 'Brahui' is a corruption of Ba-roh-i,
meaning, literally, of the waste; and that that race entered
Balochistan originally from the west. … The country may be
considered as divided into two portions—the one, Kalāti
Balochistan, or that either really or nominally under the rule
of the Khān of Kalāt; and the other as Persian Balochistan, or
that part which is more or less directly under the domination
of the Shah of Persia. Of the government of this latter
territory, it will suffice to say that it is at present
administered by the Governor of Bam-Narmashir, a deputy of the
Kermān Governor; but the only district that is directly under
Persian rule is that of Banpur—the rest of the country, says
St. John, is left in charge of the native chiefs, who, in
their turn, interfere but little with the heads of villages
and tribes. … It would … appear that the supremacy of the Shah
over a very large portion of the immense area (60,000 square
miles) known as Persian Balochistan is more nominal than real,
and that the greater number of the chiefs only pay revenue to
their suzerain when compelled to do so. As regards Kalāti
Balochistan, the government is, so to speak, vested
hereditarily in the Brahui Khān of Kalāt, but his sovereignty
in the remote portions of his extensive territory (80,000
square miles), though even in former times more nominal than
real, is at the present moment still more so, owing to the
almost constant altercations and quarrels which take place
between the reigning Khān and his Sardārs, or chiefs. … In …
the modern history of Kalāti Balochistan under the present
dynasty, extending from about the commencement of the 18th
century, when Abdula Khān was ruler, down to the present time,
a period of, say, nearly 180 years, there is not much to call
for remark. Undoubtedly the Augustan age of Balochistan was
the reign of the first Nasir Khān [1755-1795], the Great
Nasir, as he is to this day called by the Balochis. Of his
predecessors little seems to be known; they were indeed simply
successful robbers on a large scale, with but few traces of
any enlightened policy to gild over a long succession of deeds
of lawlessness, rapine, and bloodshed. … Had his successors
been of the same stamp and metal as himself, the Kalāti
kingdom of to-day would not perhaps show that anarchy and
confusion which are now its most striking characteristics."
A. W. Hughes,
The Country of Balochistan,
pages 2-48, and 285.
BANKING, History of.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2198).
BANKS, Nathaniel P.
His election to the Speakership.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1855-1856 (page 3396).
BAPTIST CHURCH, The first in Rhode Island.
See RHODE ISLAND: A. D. 1639 (page 2641).
BAPTISTS.
The name 'Baptist' was not a self-chosen one. In the early
Reformation time those who withdrew from the dominant
churches because of the failure of these churches to
discriminate between the church and the world, between the
regenerate and the unregenerate, and who sought to organize
churches of believers only, laid much stress on the lack of
Scriptural warrant for the baptism of infants and on the
incompatibility of infant baptism with regenerate membership.
Following what they believed to be apostolic precept and
example, they made baptism on a profession of faith a
condition of church-fellowship. This rejection of infant
baptism and this insistence on believers' baptism were so
distinctive of these Christians that they were stigmatized as
'Anabaptists,' 'Catabaptists,' and sometimes as simply
'Baptists'; that is to say, they were declared to be
'rebaptizers,' 'perverters of baptism,' or, as unduly
magnifying baptism and making it the occasion of schism,
simply 'baptizers.' These party names they earnestly
repudiated, preferring to call themselves Brethren,
Christians, Disciples of Christ, Believers, etc. …
{3690}
Baptists have, for the most part, been at one with the Roman
Catholic, the Greek Catholic, and most Protestant communions
in accepting for substance the so-called Apostles', Nicene,
and Athanasian creeds, not, however, because they are
venerable or because of the decisions of ecclesiastical
councils, but because, and only in so far as, they have
appeared to them to be in accord with Scripture. … As regards
the set of doctrines on which Augustin differed from his
theological predecessors, and modern Calvinists from
Arminians, Baptists have always been divided. … The great
majority of the Baptists of today hold to what may be called
moderate Calvinism, or Calvinism tempered with the
evangelical anti-Augustinianism which came through the
Moravian Brethren to Wesley and by him was brought powerfully
to bear on all bodies of evangelical Christians. Baptists are
at one with the great Congregational body and with most of
the minor denominations as regards church government."
A. H. Newman,
A. History of the Baptist Churches in the United States,
introduction.
"Baptist principles are discoverable in New England from the
very earliest colonial settlements. The Puritans of Plymouth
had mingled with the Dutch Baptists during the ten years of
their sojourn in Holland, and some of them seem to have
brought over Baptist tendencies even in the Mayflower. Dutch
Baptists had emigrated to England and extended their
principles there; and from time to time a persecuted Baptist
in England sought refuge in America, and, planted here,
brought forth fruit after his kind. But as every offshoot of
these principles here was so speedily and vigorously beaten
down by persecution, and especially as, after the banishment
of Roger Williams, there was an asylum a few miles distant,
just over Narraganset Bay, where every persecuted man could
find liberty of conscience, Baptist principles made little
progress in the New England colonies, except Rhode Island, for
the first hundred and twenty years. A little church of Welsh
Baptists was founded in Rehoboth, near the Rhode Island line,
in 1663, and shortly afterwards was compelled by civil force
to remove to Swanzea, where, as it was distant from the
centres of settlement, it was suffered to live without very
much molestation. It still exists, the oldest Baptist church
in the State. In 1665, the First Baptist Church in Boston was
organized, and, alone, for almost a century, withstood the
fire of persecution,—ever in the flames, yet never quite
consumed. In 1693, a second church was constituted in Swanzea,
not as a Regular, but as a Six-Principle, Baptist Church. In
1705, a Baptist church was formed in Groton, Connecticut.
These four churches, three Regular and one Six-Principle,
having in the aggregate probably less than two hundred
members, were all the Baptist churches in New England outside
of Rhode Island previous to the Great Awakening."
D. Weston.
Early Baptists in Massachusetts
(The Baptists and the National Centenary),
pages 12-18.
"The representative Baptists of London and vicinity, who in
1689 put forth the Confession of Faith which was afterward
adopted by the Philadelphia Association, and is therefore
known in this country as the Philadelphia Confession, copied
the Westminister Confession word for word, wherever their
convictions would permit, and declared that they would thus
show wherein they were at one with their brethren, and what
convictions of truth made impossible a complete union. And
wherever Baptists appeared however or by whomsoever they were
opposed, the ground of complaint against them was their
principles. Some of these principles were sharply antagonistic
to those of existing churches, and also to those on which the
civil governments were administered. They were widely
disseminated, especially in Holland, England, and Wales, and
there were separate churches formed. From purely doctrinal
causes also came divisions among 'the Baptized churches'
themselves. The most notable one was that in England between
the General or Arminian Baptists, and the Particular or
Calvinistic Baptists. With the latter division do the Regular
Baptists of America hold lineal connection. … The churches of
Philadelphia and vicinity kept the closest connection with the
mother country, and were most affected by it. In New England,
in 'the Great Reformation' under the lead of Jonathan Edwards,
there was made from within the Congregational churches a most
vigorous assault against their own 'half-way Covenant' in the
interest of a pure church. Along his lines of thought he
started multitudes who could not stop where he himself
remained and would fain have detained them. They separated
from the Congregational churches, and were hence called
Separates. A large proportion of them became Baptists, and
formed themselves into Baptist churches. Through the labors of
earnest men who went from them to Carolina and Virginia, their
principles were widely disseminated in those and the
neighboring colonies, and, in consequence, many churches came
into existence."
G. D. B. Pepper,
Doctrinal History and Position (The same),
pages 51-52.
BARDI, The.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2206).
BARENTZ, Voyages of.
See (in this Supplement) ARCTIC EXPLORATION:
1594-1595; and 1596-1597.
BARNARD COLLEGE.
See EDUCATION (page 743).
BARRE, Colonel Isaac.
Speech against the Stamp Act.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1765 (page 3186).
BATTLE, Trial by.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1077,
and CRIMINAL: A. D. 1818 (pages 1957 and 1985).
BELCHER, Sir Edward,
Franklin search expedition of.
See (in this Supplement) ARCTIC EXPLORATION: 1852--1854.
BELGIUM:
Constitutional revision of 1893.
See (in this Supplement) CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM.
BELGIUM:
King Leopold's legacy of the Congo State.
See (in this Supplement) AFRICA: 1889.
BELGIUM:
Libraries.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN (page 2013).
BELGIUM:
Schools.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 709).
BELL TELEPHONE, The invention of the.
See ELECTRICAL DISCOVERY AND INVENTION:
A. D. 1876-1892 (page 776).
[Transcriber's Note.]
T. O'Conor Sloane
The Standard Electrical Dictionary,
www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26535.
BELLAMY, Edward, and the Nationalist Movement.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1888-1893 (page 2956).
BENTHAM, Jeremy, and reforms in the Law of Evidence.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1851 (page 1979).
{3691}
BERNADOTTE:
Election to the throne of Sweden.
See (in this Supplement) SWEDEN: A. D. 1810.
BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN: FRANCE (page 2010).
BICHAT, and the progress of physiological science.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 18TH CENTURY (page 2142).
BILL OF ATTAINDER.
See (in this Supplement) ATTAINDER
BILLS OF EXCHANGE.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1603 (page 1968).
BIORKO.
See (in this Supplement), COMMERCE, MEDIÆVAL.
BISMARCK'S POLICY AND SPEECHES.
See (in this Supplement) GERMANY: A. D. 1862-1890.
BLACK FRIDAY.
See NEW YORK: A. D. 1869 (page 2347).
BLAKE, Admiral Robert, Victories of.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1652-1654 (page 885).
BLANC, Louis, and his scheme of stateaided co-operation.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1840-1848 (page 2942).
BLUE LAWS OF CONNECTICUT, The.
"Just when or by whom the acts and proceedings of New Haven
colony were first stigmatized as Blue Laws, cannot now be
ascertained. The presumption, however, is strong that the name
had its origin in New York, and that it gained currency in
Connecticut, among episcopalian and other dissenters from the
established church, between 1720 and 1750. … In the colony of
New Haven, before the union with Connecticut, the privileges
of voting and of holding civil office were, by the
'fundamental agreement,' restricted to church-members. This
peculiarity of her constitution was enough to give color to
the assertion that her legislation was, pre-eminently, blue.
That her old record-book contained a code of 'blue laws' which
were discreditable to puritanism and which testified to the
danger of schism—became, among certain classes, an assured
belief. To this imaginary code wit and malice made large
additions, sometimes by pure invention, sometimes by borrowing
absurd or arbitrary laws from the records of other colonies.
And so the myth grew—till the last vestige of truth was lost
in fable. The earliest mention of the 'New Haven Blue Laws'
that I remember to have seen in print, is in a satirical
pamphlet published in 1762, entitled; 'The Real Advantages
which Ministers and People may enjoy, especially in the
Colonies, by conforming to the Church of England,' etc. … From
the manner in which this allusion is introduced it is evident
that reproach of New Haven for her 'blue laws' was already a
familiar weapon of religious controversy. A few years later—in
1767—William Smith, Chief-Justice of New York, had the
curiosity to inspect 'the first records of the colony of New
Haven, vulgarly called the Blue Laws.' In the continuation of
his history of New York, he gives (p. 93) the result of his
examination: 'A note ought not to be suppressed concerning
these records, to correct a voice of misplaced ridicule. Few
there are, who speak of the Blue Laws, … who do not imagine
they form a code of rules for future conduct, drawn up by an
enthusiastic, precise set of religionists; and if the
inventions of wits, humorists, and buffoons were to be
credited, they must consist of many volumes. The author had
the curiosity to resort to them, when the Commissaries met at
New Haven, for adjusting a partition line between New York and
the Massachusetts in 1767; and a parchment-covered book of
demi-royal paper was handed to him for the laws asked for, as
the only volume in the office passing under this odd title. …
It contains the memorials of the first establishment of the
colony, which consisted of persons who had wandered beyond the
limits of the old charter of the Massachusetts Bay, and who,
as yet unauthorized by the crown to set up any civil
government in due form of law, resolved to conduct themselves
by the Bible. As a necessary consequence, the judges they
chose took up an authority similar to that which every
religious man exercises over his own children and domestics.
Hence their attention to the morals of the people, in
instances with which the civil magistrate can never
intermeddle under a regular well-policied institution;
because, to preserve liberty, they are cognizable only by
parental authority. … So far is the common idea of the blue
laws being a collection of rules from being true, that they
are only records of convictions, consonant, in the judgment of
the magistrates, to the word of God, and dictates of reason.'
… Occasional allusions to the 'Blue Laws' are found in
newspapers and pamphlets printed before the Revolution, but no
specimens of the laws so stigmatised seem to have been
published before 1781, when 'a sketch of some of them' was
given to the world by the Rev. Samuel Peters, in 'A General
History of Connecticut, from its First Settlement under George
Fenwick, Esq.,' etc.: 'By a Gentleman of the Province:'
printed in London, 'for the Author.' … As the sole authority
for the only 'New Haven Blue Laws' that are now popularly
known by the name, he and his book are entitled here to a
larger notice. The late Professor J. L. Kingsley, in the notes
to his Historical Discourse at New Haven (1838), was at the
pains of pointing out 'a few errors'—as he charitably named
them—of 'the work which, more than any other, has given
currency to various misrepresentations respecting the New
Haven colony:' and in this connection he quoted a remark made
by the Rev. Dr. Trumbull, the historian, who was a townsman of
Peters and had known him from childhood,—that, 'of all men
with whom he had ever been acquainted, Dr. Peters, he had
thought, from his first knowledge of him, the least to be
depended upon as to any matter of fact, especially in
story-telling.' The best excuse that can be made for him is,
that he was a victim of pseudomania; that his abhorrence of
truth was in fact a disease, and that he was not morally
responsible for its outbreaks. He could not keep even his name
clear of falsification. It passes into history with doubtful
initials and fictitious titles. … In 1774, his obstinate and
aggressive toryism rendered him very obnoxious to his
neighbors and finally provoked the resentment of the Sons of
Liberty. A party of two or three hundred men paid him a visit,
threatened him (so he averred) with tar and feathers, handled
him somewhat roughly when they detected him in falsehood, and
drew from him a promise that he would not again meddle in
public affairs. … He found his only comfort in the
anticipation that, if his plans of vengeance should succeed,
Connecticut might be blotted out: 'the bounds of New York may
directly extend to Connecticut river, Boston meet them, New
Hampshire take the Province of Maine, and Rhode Island be
swallowed up as Dathan.'
{3692}
In October, 1774, he sailed for England, where he remained
until 1805. He obtained a small pension from the crown, and
some compensation for the property he professed to have lost
in Connecticut: and it was perhaps in the hope of eking out a
livelihood, as well as of gratifying his resentment, that he
employed his pen in abuse of the colony which gave him birth,
and the religion of his fathers. He did not, says Mr.
Duykinck, 'carry his point of dismembering Connecticut, but he
punished the natives almost as effectually by writing a
book—his History of the State.'"
J. H. Trumbull,
Introduction to "The True-Blue Laws of
Connecticut and New Haven."
"In this 'History' were collected all the extravagant stories
that had been set afloat during the previous fifty years to
gratify the stupidity of those among the lower classes in New
York who were descended from the Dutch, or the hatred of the
most bitter of the British royalists. This 'History' is the
first and the only 'authority' for the 'Blue Laws' which were
attributed to the early New Haven colonists. … No person in
America who knew anything about the history of his country
ever seriously quoted Dr. Peters's 'History' as an authority
on any subject whatever. The 'Comic History of England,' or
the 'Travels of Baron Munchausen,' would be as little likely
to be quoted in England for any serious purpose. And yet this
falsehood about the 'Blue Laws,' which was thus first
concocted for a purpose, has a vitality which, in some of its
aspects, is amusing."
W. L. Kingsley,
Blackwood's Magazine on the "Blue Laws"
(New Englander, April, 1871), pages 296-299.
BODLEIAN LIBRARY, The.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN (page 2016).
BOERHAAVE, and humoral pathology.

See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 17TH CENTURY (page 2136).
BOLOGNA, University of.
See EDUCATION, MEDIÆVAL (page 696).
"BOMBA," King.
See ITALY: A. D. 1848-1849 (page 1862).
BOOTH, Reverend General William, and the Salvation Army.
See (in this Supplement) SALVATION ARMY.
BOROUGH FRANCHISE, English.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1884-1885 (pages 973-978).
BOSTON LATIN SCHOOL.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 727).
BOTHWELL, James Hepburn, Earl of, and Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots.
See SCOTLAND: A. D. 1561-1568 (page 2857).
BOWDOIN COLLEGE.
An act of the Legislature of the province of Maine, approved
in 1794, incorporated the above-named institution. The
management of the college was placed under a board of
trustees, with full powers of control. … That the institution
might not want for proper support, it was further enacted,
'That the clear rents, issues, and profits of all the estate,
real and personal, of which the said corporation shall be
seized or possessed, shall be appropriated to the endowment of
the said college, in such manner as will most effectually
promote virtue, piety, and the knowledge of such of the
languages and the useful and liberal arts and sciences as
shall hereafter be directed from time to time by said
corporation.' Five townships of land, each six miles square,
were granted to the college for Its endowment and vested in
the trustees, provided that fifteen families be settled in
each of the said townships within a period of twelve years,
and provided further that three lots containing 320 acres each
be reserved, one for the first settled minister, one for the
use of the ministry, and one for the support of schools within
the township where it is located. These townships were to be
laid out and assigned from any of the unappropriated lands
belonging to the commonwealth of the district of Maine. The
first money endowment was instituted by a general law of
Massachusetts, approved February 24, 1814, which reads as
follows: 'Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Court now assembled, That the tax
which the president, directors and company of the
Massachusetts Bank are and shall be liable to pay to the
commonwealth, shall be and hereby is granted to and
appropriated as follows, viz: ten-sixteenths parts thereof to
the president and fellows of Harvard College; and
three-sixteenths parts thereof to the president and trustees
of Williams College; and three-sixteenths thereof
to the president and trustees of Bowdoin College.'"
F. W. Blackmar,
History of Federal and State Aid to Higher Education in
the United States (Bureau of Education,
Circular of Information, 1890, number 1),
pages 123-124.
The college was named in honor of Governor James Bowdoin, of
Massachusetts, whose son made valuable gifts to it.
BRACTON, Henry de, and early English Law.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1216-1272 (page 1961).
BRADFORD PRESS, The.
See PRINTING AND PRESS: A. D. 16815-1693:
and 1704-1729 (page 2597).
BRAZIL: A. D. 1891.
Adoption of the Constitution.
For text see CONSTITUTION OF BRAZIL (page 518).
BRAZIL: A. D. 1893-1894.
Triumph of the Peixoto government.
"The civil war In Brazil resulted in the complete triumph of
the Peixoto government in the spring. During November [1893]
the insurgents held their own in the harbor of Rio Janeiro,
and in the following month occupied a number of islands in the
bay. On December 1 Admiral Mello, their leader, with two of
his ships, ran past the government batteries and out to sea,
leaving in command in the harbor Admiral da Gama, who up to
that time had remained neutral. The latter shortly after
issued a manifesto pointing to a restoration of the monarchy
as the ultimate purpose of the rebels. This seems to have
tended rather to weaken the insurgent cause, and a month later
da Gama tried in another proclamation to explain away the
interpretation that had been put upon the first. The
government, meanwhile, confined itself to strengthening its
positions in the city and along the shore so as to make any
attempt to land unsuccessful. Desultory hostilities continued
throughout December and January, incidentally to which the
American commander on one occasion enforced respect for
merchant vessels bearing his flag by firing on an insurgent
vessel. On February 12 da Gama made his most elaborate attempt
to gain a foothold on the main land at Armacao, but was repulsed
with severe losses.
{3693}
By this time the insurgent cause was clearly on the decline.
On the first of March a presidential election was held, which
resulted in the choice of Prudente Moraes, a civilian. This
removed the leading grievance of the rebels, that Piexoto was
perpetuating a regime of pure militarism. On the 11th of March
the fleet which the government had been fitting out in the United
States and Europe appeared at the entrance to the harbor of
Rio, and Peixoto gave notice of an active movement against the
rebels. Da Gama promptly offered to surrender on certain
conditions, which being refused, he and his officers sought
asylum on first a French and later a Portuguese war vessel.
Thus deserted, the crews of the insurgent vessels surrendered
without resistance when the government batteries opened fire
on the 13th. Admiral Mello, meanwhile, had been operating with
some success in connection with the insurgents on land in the
southern states of Brazil. In the first part of April,
however, the government forces totally defeated the rebels in
Rio Grande do Sul, and Mello, about the middle of the month,
surrendered himself and his command to the Uruguayan
authorities, by whom they were disarmed."
Political Science Quarterly,
June, 1894.
BREAKSPEAR, Nicholas.
Pope Hadrian IV., 1154-1159.
BRETHREN OF THE COMMON LIFE, Schools of the.
See EDUCATION, RENAISSANCE (page 705).
BRISBANE, Albert, and Fourierism in America.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1832-1847,
and 1841-1847 (pages 2940 and 2944).
BRITANNIC FEDERATION, Proposed.
See FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (page 1112).
BRITISH MUSEUM LIBRARY, The.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN: ENGLAND (page 2014).
BROCTON COMMUNITY, The.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1867-1875 (page 2951).
BROOK FARM.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS; A. D. 1841-1847 (page 2943).
BROTHERHOOD OF THE NEW LIFE, The.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1867-1875 (page 2951).
BROWN UNIVERSITY.
"Brown University, the oldest and best endowed institution of
learning connected with the Baptist denomination, dates back
for its origin to a period anterior to the American
Revolution, when in all the thirteen colonies there were less
than 70 Baptist churches, with perhaps 4,000 communicants. It
is not surprising that, at the memorable meeting of the
Philadelphia Association, held on the 12th of October, 1762,
when the members were finally led to regard it, in the words
of Backus, as 'practicable and expedient to erect a College in
the Colony of Rhode Island, under the chief direction of the
Baptists, in which education might be promoted and superior
learning obtained, free from any sectarian tests,' the mover
in the matter should at first have been laughed at, the thing
being looked upon as, under the circumstances, an utter
impossibility. But lenders at that time, like Morgan Edwards
and Isaac Eaton, Samuel Jones, Abel Morgan, Benjamin Griffith,
John Sutton and John Gano, were men of faith. … At the time of
which I speak, there was graduated from Princeton, with the
second honors of his class, a man of wonderful mental and
physical endowments, an early pupil of Isaac Eaton at
Hopewell, James Manning, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey. To him
the enterprise of the college was by common consent intrusted.
… The first commencement of the college, which was held in the
then new Baptist meeting-house of the town of Warren, on the
7th of September, 1769, has already been regarded as a Red
Letter Day in its history. Five years previous, the General
Assembly, begun and holden by adjournment at East Greenwich,
on the last Monday in February, 1764; after various
difficulties and delays, in consequence of the determined
opposition of those who were unfriendly to the movement, had
granted a charter for a 'College or University in the English
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, in New
England in America.' Such is the language of the act of
incorporation. But though Rhode Island had been selected for
its home by the original projectors of the institution, and a
liberal and ample charter had thus been secured, the college
itself was still in embryo. Without funds, without students,
and with no present prospect of support, a beginning must be
made where the president could be the pastor of a church, and
thus obtain an adequate compensation for his services. Warren,
then as now, a delightful and flourishing inland town,
situated 10 miles from Providence, seemed to meet the
requisite requirements and thither, accordingly, Manning
removed with his family in the spring of 1764. He at once
commenced a Latin School, as the first step preparatory to the
work of college instruction. Before the close of the year a
church was organized, over which he was duly installed as
pastor. The following year, at the second annual meeting of
the corporation, held in Newport, Wednesday, September 3d, he
was formally elected, in the language of the records,
'President of the College, Professor of Languages and other
branches of learning, with full power to act in these
capacities at Warren or elsewhere.' On that same day, as
appears from a paper now on file in the archives of the
Library, the president matriculated his first student, William
Rogers, a lad of fourteen, the son of Captain William Rogers,
of Newport. Not only was this lad the first student of the
college, but he was also the first freshman class. Indeed, for
a period of nine months and seventeen days, as appears from
the paper already referred to, he constituted the entire body
of students. From such feeble beginnings has the university
sprung."
R. A. Guild,
The First Commencement of Rhode Island College
(Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, v. 7),
pages 269-271.
Six years after the founding of the University it was removed
from Warren to Providence, and its name changed from Rhode
Island College to Brown University, in honor of John Brown, of
Providence, who was its most liberal benefactor.
G. W. Greene,
Short History of Rhode Island,
page 196.
Although founded by the Baptist Church, the charter of the
University "expressly forbids the use of religious tests. The
corporation is divided into two Boards—the Trustees, 36 in
number, of whom 22 must be Baptists, 5 Quakers, 5
Episcopalians, and 4 Congregationalists, and the Fellows, 12
in number, of whom 8, including the President, must be
Baptists, and the remainder of other denominations. Twelve
Trustees and 5 Fellows form a quorum. The college estate, the
students, and the members of the faculty, with their families,
are exempt from taxation and from serving as jurors."
S. G. Arnold,
History of the State of Rhode Island,
chapter 18 (volume 2).
{3694}
BRUCHION, Library of the.
See LIBRARIES, ANCIENT (page 2003).
BRUNONIAN SYSTEM, The.
See MEDICAL SCIENCE: 18TH CENTURY (page 2141).
BRYN MAWR COLLEGE.
See EDUCATION (page 743).
BUBBLE ACT, The.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1710 (page 1971).
BULGARIANS, The conversion of the.
See CHRISTIANITY: 9TH CENTURY (page 464).
BUREAU OF EDUCATION, The United States.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 735).
BURKE, Edmund.
Speech on Conciliation of the American Colonies.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1775 (pages 3218-3221).
BYNG, Admiral John, Execution of.
See MINORCA: A. D. 1756 (page 2187).
BYZANTINE TRADE.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, MEDIÆVAL.
CABOTS, Voyages of the.
See (in this Supplement) AMERICA.
C.
CALHOUN, John C., The aggressive proslavery policy of.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1837-1838, and 1847 (pages 3375 and 3380).
CAMBOJA.
See TONKIN (page 3114).
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY.
See EDUCATION (pages 701, 706 and 710).
CAMPBELLITES, The.
See (in this Supplement) DISCIPLES OF CHRIST.
CANADA:
Constitution of the Dominion.
See CONSTITUTION OF CANADA (page 526).
CANADA:
Libraries.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN: CANADA (page 2023).
CANADA:
The Ontario school system.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 733).
CANALS.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, MODERN.
CANULEIAN LAW, The.
See ROME: B. C. 445-400 (page 2667).
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
See LAW, CRIMINAL: A. D. 1600,
and 1660-1820 (pages 1983 and 1984).
CARNATIC, The.
See (in this Supplement) KARNATIC.
CARNOT, President Sadi, The assassination of.
See (in this Supplement) FRANCE: A. D. 1894-1895.
CARTHAGINIAN COMMERCE.
See (In this Supplement) COMMERCE, ANCIENT.
CASHGAR.
See TURKESTAN (page 3130);
and YAKOOB BEG (page 3662).
CASIMIR-PERIER,
Election to the Presidency of the French Republic,
and resignation.
See (in this Supplement) FRANCE: A. D. 1894-1895.
CATHOLIC REACTION IN GERMANY, The.
See (in this Supplement) GERMANY: 16TH CENTURY;
also, page 2457.
CAUCASUS, The Races of the.
"One of the most remarkable characteristics of the Caucasus is
that, while it has acted as a barrier between the north and
the south, stopping and turning aside the movements of
population, it has also preserved within its sheltered
recesses fragments of the different peoples who from time to
time have passed by it, or who have been driven by conquest
into it from the lower country. Thus it is a kind of
ethnological museum, where specimens may be found of countless
races and languages, some of which probably belong to the
early ages of the world; races that seem to have little
affinity with their present neighbours, and of whose history
we know nothing except what comparative philology can reveal.
Even before the Christian era it was famous for the variety of
its peoples. … No more inappropriate ethnological name was
ever propounded than that of Caucasian for a fancied division
of the human family, the cream of mankind, from which the
civilized peoples of Europe are supposed to have sprung. For
the Caucasus is to-day as it was in Strabo's time, full of
races differing in religion, language, aspect, manners,
character."
J. Bryce,
Trans-caucasia and Ararat,
chapter 2.
CELESTINES,
CELESTINIANS.
A religious order founded by the hermit, Peter of Morone, who
afterwards, in 1294, became Pope, and took the name Celestine
V. The rules of the order were austere. It became widespread
throughout Europe, but was suppressed in France in 1766.
CENSORSHIP OF THE PRESS, in England and Germany.
See PRINTING AND PRESS: A. D. 1695 (pages 2597 and 1602).
CENSUS, United States.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A. D. 1790 (page 3305); 1800 (page 3324), and after.
CHANCELLOR.
CHANCERY.
See LAW, EQUITY (page 1988).
CHARLEMAGNE'S EMPIRE.
See GERMANY: A. D. 687-800, 800, and
814-843 (pages 1436-1438); and (in this Supplement) ROME.
CHARLEMAGNE'S PALATINE SCHOOL.
See EDUCATION, MEDIÆVAL (page 689).
CHARTERHOUSE SCHOOL.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 712).
CHASE, Judge, Impeachment and trial of.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1804-1805 (page 3329).
CHATHAM, John Pitt, Earl of, and the Walcheren expedition.
See ENGLAND: A. D. 1809 (page 947).
CHATHAM, William Pitt, Earl of,
Speech on the repeal of the Stamp Act.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1766 (page 3201).
CHICAGO UNIVERSITY, The founding of the.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 738).
CHILE.
The account of Chilean affairs given in volume 1 (pages
411-415) ends with the overthrow and suicide of the
dictatorial usurper, Balmaceda (September 20, 1891), the
triumph of the Congress party, and the election to the
Presidency of Admiral Jorge Montt. During the civil war which
had this termination, the representative of the United States,
Minister Egan, showed marked favor to Balmaceda and his party,
which irritated the Chileans and produced among them a hostile
feeling towards Americans and the American government. This
was increased by the action of Mr. Egan, after the defeat of
the Balmacedists, in sheltering a large number of refugees of
that party within the walls of the American legation.
{3695}
The same was done by other foreign representatives, but to no
such extent, except in the case of the Spanish legation. A
telegram sent by Mr. Egan on the 8th of October to the State
Department at Washington stated: "80 persons sought refuge in
his legation after the overthrow of the Balmaceda government;
about the same number in the Spanish legation, 8 in the
Brazilian, 5 in the French, several in the Uruguayan, 2 in the
German and 1 in the English. Balmaceda sought refuge in the
Argentine. All these have gone out except 15 in his own
legation, 1 in the German and 5 in the Spanish." Not venturing
to violate the privileges of the American Minister's
residence, the Chilean authorities placed it under police
surveillance, and arrested a number of persons entering the
premises. The Minister complained, and was supported in his
complaints at Washington, causing further irritation in Chile.
This was again greatly increased by his claiming the right,
not only to shelter the refugees in his residence, but to
protect them in their departure from the country. In that,
too, he was sustained by his government, and the refugees were
safely sent away. Meantime a more serious cause of quarrel
between the two countries had risen. A party of sailors on
shore at Valparaiso, from the United States ship Baltimore,
had been assailed by a mob, October 16, and two were killed,
while eighteen were wounded. The United States demanded
satisfaction, and much angry correspondence ensued, made
particularly offensive on the Chilean side by an insulting
circular which Señor Matta, the Chilean Foreign Minister,
issued December 13, and which he caused to be published in the
Chilean newspapers. But Señor Matta disappeared from the
Foreign Department soon after and his successor made
apologies. "On January 16th the Chilean authorities notified
Mr. Egan that they would withdraw any offensive passages in
the Matta circular, and had instructed their Minister in
Washington to express regret. The apology, thus expressed both
in Washington and Santiago, was stiff and ungraceful, perhaps
inadequate; but it was made in good faith. On January 20th,
evidently feeling that all was now serene, the Chileans
ventured, acting on a hint of Mr. Blaine's, to ask for Egan's
withdrawal as a 'persona non grata.' What, therefore, must
have been the dismay of the Chileans on January 23d, to
receive an official notice, which the newspapers dubbed an
'ultimatum,' containing the statement that the United States
Government was not satisfied with the result of the judicial
investigation at Valparaiso and still asked 'for a suitable
apology;' that for the Matta note there must be still another
'suitable apology,' without which the United States would
terminate diplomatic relations; and that the request for Mr.
Egan's withdrawal could not at that time be considered. It was
a bitter draught for any government; but threats of war were
resounding through the United States; American naval vessels
were hurriedly being made ready; coal and supplies were going
into the Pacific. There was power behind the note, and Chile
prepared to bend to the storm. The 'ultimatum' appears to have
reached the Chileans on Saturday, January 23d. On Monday,
January 25th, they sent an answer which could not possibly be
read as anything but a complete and abject apology on all the
three points." But on the same day on which this answer was
being forwarded, the President of the United States sent a
warlike message to Congress. "It rehearsed the whole
controversy at great length, submitted copious correspondence,
and ended with the significant phrase: 'In my opinion I ought
not to delay longer to bring these matters to the attention of
Congress for such action as may be deemed appropriate.' … It
is an unprofitable controversy as to whether the authorities
in Washington knew that an answer was on its way: if they had
read the correspondence they knew that an answer must come,
and that the Chilean Ministry must sent a peaceful answer. It
is therefore difficult to understand the purpose of the
President's message. … The effect … was to inflict an
unnecessary humiliation on Chile. Spanish-Americans have good
memories. Mexico still cherishes resentment for the war begun
against her forty-five years ago; and forty-five years hence
the Chileans are likely to remember the Balmaceda affair as
Americans remembered the impressment of American seamen by
Great Britain. We have the apology, but with it we have the
ill-will."
A. B. Hart,
Practical Essays on American Government,
essay 5.
CHINA,
Education in.
See EDUCATION (pages 675 and 724).
CHINA,
Imperial Library of.
See LIBRARIES, MODERN: CHINA (page 2024).
CHINA,
Mediæval trade with India and the West.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, MEDIÆVAL.
CHINA,
Paper Money, ancient.
See MONEY AND BANKING: CHINA (page 2200}.
CHINA,
War with Japan.
See (in this Supplement) COREA.
CHOLERA, Asiatic, The visitations of.
See PLAGUE: 19TH CENTURY (page 2543).
CHRISTIAN BROTHERS, The.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 739).
CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1816-1886 (page 2939).
CID, The.
See (in this Supplement)
SPAIN: A. D. 1034-1090.
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM:
Progress in the United States.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895 (page 3586).
CLARK UNIVERSITY, The founding of.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 738).
CLEVELAND, Grover.
Message on the Tariff question.
See TARIFF LEGISLATION: A. D. 1884-1888 (page 3083).
Special Message on the National Finances.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1895 (page 3586).
COCHIN-CHINA.
See TONKIN(page 3141).
CODES, New York.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1848-1883, and 1848 (page 1979).
COINAGE.
See MONEY, &c. (page 2198).
COLET, John, and St. Paul's School.
See EDUCATION, RENAISSANCE (page 707).
COLLECTIVISM.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: DEFINITION OF TERMS (page 2933).
COLLEGES.
See EDUCATION (page 673) and the same in this Supplement.
COLUMBIA COLLEGE, The founding of.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 730).
COMENIUS, and Educational Reform.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 739).
{3696}
----------COMMERCE: Start--------
COMMERCE:
Ancient.
The Earliest Records of Trade.
Probably the oldest commercial record that exists was found
sculptured on the rocks in the valley of Hammamat, east from
Koptos on the Nile. It relates to an expedition which was sent
out by the Pharaoh Sankh-ka-ra, to trade in the "land of
Punt." Dr. Brugsch fixes the reign of Sankh-ka-ra at about
2500 B. C., which is five or six centuries before the time
when Abraham is supposed to have lived. The "land of Punt" he
considers to have been the Somali coast of Africa, south of
the extremity of the Red Sea, on the Gulf of Aden. Other
writers maintain that it was southern Arabia. It was the "Holy
Land" of the Egyptians, from which their gods were supposed to
have anciently come. The trading expedition of Sankh-ka-ra was
commanded by one Hannu (a name which has a Phœnician sound)
and it is he who tells the story of it in the inscription at
Hammamat. "I was sent," he says, "to conduct ships to the
country of Punt, to bring back odoriferous gums." He then
describes the army of 3,000 men which accompanied him, and
narrates their march from Koptos to the Red Sea, through the
desert, at several stations in which they dug reservoirs for
water. "I arrived," he continues, "at the port Seba [believed
to be the harbor now called Koseir or Quosseir] and I made
transport vessels to bring back all kinds of products. I made
a great offering of oxen, cows and goats. When I returned from
Seba I executed the order of his Majesty; I brought him back
all kinds of products which I met with in the ports of the
Holy Land. I came back by Uak and Rohan. I brought back
precious stones for the statues of the temples. Never was a
like thing done since there were kings." It would seem from
this that Hannu's expedition opened the first direct trade of
the Egyptians with the land of Punt. But it is evident that
they already had knowledge of the country and of its products,
and it is probable they had formerly been receiving its gums
and precious stones through the traders of some other country.
Some seven or eight centuries after Hannu's voyage to Punt was
made, we obtain in the Bible a most interesting glimpse of the
trade then going on between Egypt and surrounding countries.
It is found in the story of Joseph. When Joseph's brethren
threw him into a pit, intending that he should be left there
to die, their plans were changed by seeing a "Company of
Ishmaelites from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and
balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt." Then Judah
said, "let us sell him to the Ishmaelites," and when these
"Midianites, merchantmen," as they are called in the next
verse, came near, the heartless brothers of Joseph drew him
out of the pit and sold him, to be taken as a slave into
Egypt. Now this story is found to agree well with other facts
that have been learned, and which go to show that some, at
least, among the ancient tribes in northern Arabia—the
Ishmaelites of the Bible—were great traders between the richer
countries that surrounded them. The Midianites and Edomites,
who occupied the region near the head of the Red Sea, were
especially the masters of that trade. Their poor land, which
gave them little to subsist upon, had one gift for its people
that went far toward making up for its barren poverty. It gave
them the camel—that strange and homely beast, which is better
fitted than any other for bearing burdens and for making long
journeys without food or drink. At a later day they acquired
the horse, from Media or from Mesopotamia, and bred that noble
animal to such perfection that Arabia was long supposed to be
its native home. But in Joseph's time the horse can hardly
have been in use among the Arabs, since it seems to have been
unknown in Egypt, which they constantly visited, until a
considerably later day. However that may be, the camel was
always the Arab's most useful servant—his carrier, his patient
burden-bearer, his "ship of the desert," as Eastern poets have
fitly named it. By the poverty of their country, by their
wandering disposition, by their possession of the camel, and
by their geographical situation, intermediate between several
of the richest regions of antiquity, these Arabs of the olden
time must have naturally been made a trading people, as early
as it became possible for trade to exist. To the west of them
was Egypt, with its fertile basin of the Nile and its
remarkable people, probably first among all races that we know
to rise out of barbarism and acquire order and industrial
arts. To the east, in the valley of the Euphrates and Tigris,
were the fertile plains of Mesopotamia, where the second
oldest civilization that Is known was growing up. To the north
were Canaan and Gilead, the Scripture "land of promise," full
of vineyards, of pastures and of harvest fields, with wide
Syria beyond, and with Phœnician merchant cities just rising
along the coast of the sea. To the south, in their own
peninsula, was Arabia Felix, or Arabia the Blest, a famous
land of pleasantness and plenty in ancient days. With their
caravans of camels they traveled back and forth, very busily,
no doubt, through the desert, which needed no building of
bridges or making of roads. In one direction they carried the
barley, wheat, millet, flax and woven goods of Egypt; in
another, the honey, wine, wax, wool, skins, gums, resins and
asphalt of Canaan and Syria; in still another the more costly
freight of gold ornaments, precious stones, pearls, ivory,
ebony, spices and fragrant gums from the south. In all
directions, it is probable, they dragged poor unfortunates
like Joseph, whom they bought or kidnapped from home and
friends, to sell as slaves.
COMMERCE:
Babylonia.
"The industry of the Babylonians quickly attained great skill
and wide development. They were famous for their weaving in
wool and linen. The nations of the West agree in acknowledging
the excellence of the cloths and coloured stuffs of Babylonia.
Their pottery was excellent and the manufacture active; the
preparation of glass was not unknown; the ointments prepared
in Babylon were famous and much sought after, and the stones
cut there were highly valued. The products of Babylonian skill
and industry were first brought to their kinsmen in Syria, who
could offer oil and wine in exchange. In the Hebrew scriptures
we find Babylonian cloaks in use in Syria before the
immigration of the Hebrews into Canaan. … The rough material
required by Babylonian industry was supplied in the first
place by the Arabs, who exchanged their animals, skins, and
wool for corn and weapons.
{3697}
Wine, and more especially wood, of which there was none in
Babylonia, were brought by the Armenians from their valleys in
the north down the Euphrates to Babylon. Before 1500 B. C. the
commerce of the Arabs brought the products of South Arabia,
the spices of Yemen, and even the products and manufactures of
India, especially their silks, which reached the coasts of
Southern Arabia, to Babylon. The Babylonians required the
perfumes of Arabia and India to prepare their ointments. …
When the cities of Phenicia became great centres of trade
which carried the wares of Babylonia by sea to the West in
order to obtain copper in exchange, the trade between
Babylonia and Syria must have become more lively still. It was
the ships of the Phenicians which brought the cubic measure,
and the weights, and the cubit of Babylonia to the shores of
Greece, and caused them to be adopted there."
M. Duncker,
History of Antiquity,
book 2, chapter 3 (volume 1).
See, also, MONEY AND BANKING (page 2199).
COMMERCE:
Egypt.
"In ancient Egypt agricultural counted for more than
manufactures, and manufactures were of more importance than
commerce. The trade which existed was brisk enough as far as
it went, but it aimed at little more than the satisfaction of
local wants by the more or less direct exchange of commodities
between producers. The limited development of internal traffic
was due to two principal causes: the natural products of
different parts of the country were too much alike for much
intercourse to be necessary for purposes of exchange, and the
conformation of the country, in itself scarcely larger than
Belgium, was such as to give the longest possible distance
from north to south. … The Nile was the only known highway, so
much so that the language scarcely possessed a general word
for travelling; going southward was called 'going up stream,'
and a journey to the north, even by land into the desert, was
described by a term meaning to sail with the current. … While
internal traffic was thus brought to a minimum by natural
causes, foreign commerce can scarcely be said to have existed,
before the establishment of peaceable intercourse with Syria
under the new empire. The importation of merchandize from
foreign countries was a political rather than a commercial
affair. Such foreign wares as entered the country came as
tribute, as the spoil of war, or as memorials of peaceful
embassies. … The list of the spoil taken by Thothmes III.
gives a tolerably exhaustive account of the treasures of the
time. It includes, of course, bulls, cows, kids, white goats,
mares, foals, oxen, geese, and corn; then follow strange
birds, negroes, men and maid-servants, noble prisoners and the
children of defeated kings, chariots of copper, plated with
gold and silver, iron armour, bows, swords and other
accoutrements, leather collars ornamented with brass, gold and
silver rings, cups, dishes and other utensils, vessels of iron
and copper, statues with heads of gold, ell-measures with
heads of ivory, ebony, and cedar inlaid with gold, chairs,
tables and footstools of cedar wood and ivory, a plough inlaid
with gold, blocks of bluestone, greenstone and lead, 'a golden
storm-cap inlaid with bluestone,' jars of balsam, oil, wine
and honey, various kinds of precious woods, incense,
alabaster, precious stones and colours, iron columns for a
tent with precious stones in them, bricks of pure brass,
elephants' tusks, natron, and, finally, by way of curiosity,
from the land of the kings of Ruthen, three battle-axes of
flint."
E. J. Simcox,
Primitive Civilizations,
book 1, chapter 3, section. 1 (volume 1).
See, also, MONEY AND BANKING (page 2199).
COMMERCE:
India.
"It is said in the Rig-Veda that 'merchants desirous of gain
crowd the great waters with their ships.' And the activity in
trade, thus early noted, has continued ever since to be
characteristic of the country. Professor Lassen considers it
remarkable that Hindus themselves discovered the rich,
luxurious character of India's products. Many of the same
beasts, birds, and fragrant oils are produced in other
countries, but remain unnoticed until sought for by
foreigners; whereas the most ancient of the Hindus had a keen
enjoyment in articles of taste or luxury. Rajas and other rich
people delighted in sagacious elephants, swift horses,
splendid peacocks, golden decorations, exquisite perfumes,
pungent peppers, ivory, pearls, gems, &c.; and, consequently,
caravans were in constant requisition to carry these, and
innumerable other matters, between the north and the south,
and the east and the west, of their vast and varied country.
These caravans, it is conjectured, were met at border
stations, and at out-ports, by western caravans or ships bound
to or from Tyre and Egypt, or to or from the Persian Gulf and
the Red Sea. To the appearance of India goods in Greece,
Professor Lassen attributes the Greek invasion of India. … The
indirect evidence afforded by the presence of India's products
in other ancient countries, coincides with the direct
testimony of Sanskrit literature, to establish the fact that
ancient Hindus were a commercial people. The code of Manu
requires the king to determine the prices of commodities, and
also the trustworthiness of the weights and measures used. And
that the transactions contemplated were not restricted to
local products is evident from reference to the charges for
freight for articles in river boats, and the undetermined and
larger charges to which sea-borne goods were liable. The
account of King Yudhishthira's coronation in the Mahâbhârata
affords an instance of precious articles from distant lands
brought into India. So also in the Ramayana, we read that when
Rama and his brothers were married, the brides were clad in
silk from China. … Merchants are constantly being introduced
into Sanskrit fiction, and equally often into Buddhist legend.
They seem to have been always at hand to give variety and
movement to the monotony of daily life."
Mrs. Manning,
Ancient and Mediæval India,
chapter 40 (volume 2).
COMMERCE:
Phœnicians and Carthaginians.
"The Phœnicians for some centuries confined their navigation
within the limits of the Mediterranean, the Propontis, and the
Euxine, land-locked seas, which are tideless and far less
rough than the open ocean. But before the time of Solomon they
had passed the pillars of Hercules, and affronted the dangers
of the Atlantic. Their frail and small vessels, scarcely
bigger than modern fishing-smacks, proceeded southwards along
the West African coast, as far as the tract watered by the
Gambia and Senegal, while northwards they coasted along Spain,
braved the heavy seas of the Bay of Biscay, and passing Cape
Finisterre, ventured across the mouth of the English Channel
to the Cassiterides.
{3698}
Similarly, from the West African shore, they boldly steered
for the Fortunate Islands (the Canaries), visible from certain
elevated points of the coast, though at 170 miles distance.
Whether they proceeded further, in the south to the Azores,
Madeira, and the Cape de Verde Islands, in the north to the
coast of Holland, and across the German Ocean to the Baltic,
we regard as uncertain. It is possible that from time to time
some of the more adventurous of their traders may have reached
thus far; but their regular, settled and established
navigation did not, we believe, extend beyond the Scilly
Islands and coast of Cornwall to the north-west, and to the
south-west Cape Non and the Canaries. The commerce of the
Phœnicians was carried on, to a large extent, by land, though
principally by sea. It appears from the famous chapter [xxvii]
of Ezekiel which describes the 'riches and greatness of Tyre
in the 6th century B. C., that almost the whole of Western
Asia was penetrated by the Phœnician caravans, and laid under
contribution to increase the wealth of the Phœnician traders.
… Translating this glorious burst of poetry into prose, we
find the following countries mentioned as carrying on an
active trade with the Phœnician metropolis:—Northern Syria,
Syria of Damascus, Judah and the laud of Israel, Egypt,
Arabia, Babylonia, Assyria, Upper Mesopotamia, Armenia,
Central Asia Minor, Ionia, Cyprus, Hellas or Greece, and
Spain."
G. Rawlinson,
History of Phœnicia,
chapter 9.
"Though the invincible industry and enterprise of the
Phenicians maintained them as a people of importance down to
the period of the Roman empire, yet the period of their widest
range and greatest efficiency is to be sought much
earlier—anterior to 700 B. C. In these remote times they and
their colonists [the Carthaginians especially] were the
exclusive navigators of the Mediterranean: the rise of the
Greek maritime settlements banished their commerce to a great
degree from the Ægean Sea, and embarrassed it even in the more
westerly waters. Their colonial establishments were formed in
Africa, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Isles, and Spain. The
greatness as well as the antiquity of Carthage, Utica, and
Gades, attest the long-sighted plans of Phenician traders,
even in days anterior to the first Olympiad. We trace the
wealth and industry of Tyre, and the distant navigation of her
vessels through the Red Sea and along the coast of Arabia,
back to the days of David and Solomon. And as neither
Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, or Indians, addressed
themselves to a sea-faring life, so it seems that both the
importation and the distribution of the products of India and
Arabia into Western Asia and Europe were performed by the
Idumæan Arabs between Petra and the Red Sea—by the Arabs of
Gerrha on the Persian Gulf, joined as they were in later times
by a body of Chaldæan exiles from Babylonia—and by the more
enterprising Phenicians of Tyre and Sidon in these two seas as
well as in the Mediterranean."
G. Grote,
History of Greece,
part 2, chapter 18.
"The Commerce of Carthage may be conveniently considered under
its two great branches—the trade with Africa, and the trade
with Europe. The trade with Africa … was carried on with the
barbarous tribes of the inland country that could be reached
by caravans, and of the sea-coast. Of both we hear something
from Herodotus, the writer who furnishes us with most of our
knowledge about these parts of the ancient world. … The goods
with which the Carthaginian merchants traded with the African
tribes were doubtless such as those which civilized nations
have always used in their dealings with savages. Cheap finery,
gaudily coloured cloths, and arms of inferior quality, would
probably be their staple. Salt, too, would be an important
article. … The articles which they would receive in exchange
for their goods are easily enumerated. In the first place
comes … gold. Carthage seems to have had always at hand an
abundant supply of the precious metal for use, whether as
money or as plate. Next to gold would come slaves. … Ivory
must have been another article of Carthaginian trade, though
we hear little about it. The Greeks used it extensively in
art. … Precious stones seem to have been another article which
the savages gave in exchange for the goods they coveted. …
Perhaps we may add dates to the list of articles obtained from
the interior. The European trade dealt, of course, partly with
the things already mentioned, and partly with other articles
for which the Carthaginian merchants acted as carriers, so to
speak, from one part of the Mediterranean to another. Lipara,
and the other volcanic islands near the southern extremity of
Italy, produced resin; Agrigentum, and possibly other cities
of Sicily, traded in sulphur brought down from the region of
Etna; wine was produced in many of the Mediterranean
countries. Wax and honey were the staple goods of Corsica.
Corsican slaves, too, were highly valued. The Iron of Elba,
the fruit and the cattle of the Balearic islands, and, to go
further, the tin and copper of Britain, and even amber from
the Baltic, were articles of Carthaginian commerce. Trade was
carried on not only with the dwellers on the coast, but with
inland tribes. Thus goods were transported across Spain to the
interior of Gaul, the jealousy of Massilia (Marseilles) not
permitting the Carthaginians to have any trading stations on
the southern coast of that country."
A. J. Church and A. Gilman,
The Story of Carthage,
part 3, chapter 3.
A high authority on questions of intercourse in ancient times
throws doubt on the supposed African caravan trade of the
Carthaginians—as follows: "There seems no doubt that the
existing system of caravan trade dates only from the
introduction of Islamism into Africa. It was the Arabs who
first introduced the camel into Northern Africa, and without
camels any extensive intercourse with the interior was
impossible. The Negro races have never shown any disposition
to avail themselves of this mode of transport, and at the
present day the commerce of the interior is carried on almost
entirely by Moorish, that is, by Mohammedan, traders. The
spread of Islamism has doubtless led to increased
communication from another cause, the necessity for the
Mohammedan inhabitants of the outlying and detached regions of
the continent to make the pilgrimage to Mecca. Even in the
most flourishing times of the Carthaginians they do not appear
to have made any use of camels; and as late as the days of
Strabo the communications with the tribes of Western Africa
who dwelt beyond the Sahara were scanty and irregular. In the
time of Herodotus there is certainly no indication that either
the Carthaginians or the Greeks of the Cyrenaica had any
commercial intercourse with the regions beyond the Great
Desert."
E. H. Bunbury,
History of Ancient Geography,
chapter 8, note I (volume 1).
See, also, PHŒNICIANS (pages 2530-2534);
and CARTHAGE (pages 392-395).
{3699}
COMMERCE:
Jews.
Beginning early in his reign, Solomon made great and
enlightened efforts to promote the commerce and industries of
the people of Israel. "To increase the land traffic, he had
small cities built in advantageous localities, in which goods
of all sorts in large quantities were kept in suitable
storehouses; a practice similar to that which had from ancient
times prevailed in Egypt. … They were established chiefly in
the most northern districts of Israel, towards the Phœnician
boundaries, as well as in the territories of the kingdom of
Hamath, which was first conquered by Solomon himself.—The main
road for the land traffic between Egypt and the interior of
Asia must have been the great highway leading past Gaza and
further west of Jerusalem to the Northern Jordan and Damascus.
Here it was joined by the road from the Phœnician cities, and
continued as far as Thapsacus, on the Euphrates. This was
entirely in the dominions of the king; and here, under the
peaceful banner of a great and powerful monarchy, commerce
could flourish as it had never flourished before. It was
clearly for the improvement of this route, which had to
traverse the Syrian desert on the north, that Solomon built,
in a happily chosen oasis of this wilderness, the city of
Thammor, or Tadmor, of which the Greek version is Palmyra.
There is not a single indication that this city was of
importance before Solomon's time, but from that era it
flourished for more than a thousand years. … For any distant
navigation, however, Solomon was obliged to rely on the aid of
the Phœnicians, inasmuch as they were in that age the only
nation which possessed the necessary ability and inclination
for it. It is true that the idea of competing with the
Phœnicians upon the Mediterranean could hardly have occurred
to him, since they had long before that time attracted all the
commerce upon it to themselves, and would scarcely have
desired or even tolerated such a rival. … But the Red Sea,
which had been thrown open to the kings of Israel by the
conquest of the Idumeans, offered the finest opportunity for
the most distant and lucrative undertakings, the profit of
which might perfectly satisfy a nation in the position of
Israel in the dawn of maritime activity; and on their part,
the Phœnicians could not fail to be most willing helpers in
the promotion of undertakings which it lay in the hands of the
powerful king of Israel entirely to cut off from them, or at
any rate to encumber with great difficulties. In this way the
mutual desires and needs of two nations coincided without any
injury to the one or the other. … Phœnician sailors were at
first, it is true, the teachers of the Israelite. It was they
who aided them in constructing and manning the tall ships,
which, destined to distant voyages upon uncertain seas, needed
to be strongly built; but yet how many new ideas and what
varied knowledge the nation would in this way acquire! The
ships were built in Ezion-geber, the harbour of the town of
Elath (or Eloth), probably on the very spot where Akaba now
stands. The cargo brought back each time from the three years'
voyage consisted of 420 talents of gold, besides silver,
ivory, red sandal-wood, apes, and peacocks, probably also nard
and aloe."
H. Ewald,
History of Israel,
volume 3, page 261-264.
COMMERCE:
Greeks.
"When the Greeks had established themselves, not only on the
peninsula, but also on the islands and on the east coast of
the Ægean Sea, their navigation was greatly extended. That
this, even in the first half of the 8th century, was
profitable in its results, we see from the instance of Dius of
Cyme, the father of Hesiod, who maintained himself in this
manner. The works of art in which Lydia and Caria excelled,
together with the products and manufactures of the east, which
reached the western coasts of Asia, the products of these
coasts, and wine and oil from Lesbos and Samos—all these could
be shipped from the Greek maritime cities of Asia Minor, and
carried to the peninsula. It was through this commerce … that
Chalcis and Eretria laid the foundation of their greatness. To
what proportions it had attained, even in the course of the
8th century, we find from the mint marks of Phocæa and Cyme,
the standards of Chalcis and Eretria, the coins and weights
and measures of Phidon of Argos. … From the middle of the 8th
century, the Greeks no longer merely practised navigation;
they became, in an eminent sense, a maritime nation. At the
time when Sinope and Trapezus were founded in the east, Naxos,
Catana, and Syracuse in Sicily, and Cyme in Campania, a
nautical discovery had already been made, by means of which
the Greeks surpassed the Phœnicians, the ancient voyagers of
Syria; this was the building of triremes. To what an extent
and proficiency must seamanship have attained, what importance
naval battles must have assumed, to give rise to the attempt
to replace the ancient war vessels by others of a far more
powerful kind! When the first triremes were built at Corinth
and Samos, about the year 700 B. C., Greek cities already
existed on the southern shore of the Black Sea, on the coasts
of Thrace, in Corcyra and Sicily; the southern coast of Italy
had also been colonised. The products of Greek industry,
pottery, implements, and weapons, were advantageously bartered
on the coasts of the Thracians, Scythians, Illyrians,
Sicilians, and Oscans, for the fruits of the soil, and for the
cattle of those regions. The need of the means of exchange
must have given great encouragement and impetus to
manufactures in the Greek cities of the peninsula, on the
coasts of Asia, and in the newly-founded Asiatic settlements
themselves. … Navigation and commerce must have become
permanent occupations. And the great increase of manufactures
must also have given employment to numbers of the country
people. Thus there grew up under the very rule of the
aristocracy a powerful rival to itself; a nautical, artisan,
commercial class, side by side with the land population. If
the protecting walls of the chief place of the canton had
previously been sought only in time of need, in case of
surprises or hostile landings, the new industrial classes were
now settled together in the harbours and centres of trade.
Handicrafts, navigation, and commerce, could not exist without
one another. In the maritime cantons on the east of the
peninsula, and in the cantons on the coasts of the
Peloponnesus, there sprang up simultaneously with the burgher
class a town population."

M. Duncker,
History of Greece,
book 4, chapter 2 (volume 2).
{3700}
"Between 700 B. C. and 530 B. C., we observe … an immense
extension of Grecian maritime activity and commerce—but we at
the same time notice the decline of Tyre and Sidon, both in
power and traffic. The arms of Nebuchadnezzar reduced the
Phenician cities to the same state of dependence as that which
the Ionian cities underwent half a century later from Crœsus
and Cyrus; while the ships of Miletus, Phokæa and Samos
gradually spread over all those waters of the Levant which had
once been exclusively Phenician. In the year 704 B. C., the
Samians did not yet possess a single trireme: down to the year
630 B. C. not a single Greek vessel had yet visited Libya. But
when we reach 550 B. C. we find the Ionic ships predominant in
the Ægean, and those of Corinth and Korkyra in force to the
west of Peloponnesus—we see the flourishing cities of Kyrene
and Barka already rooted in Libya, and the port of Naukratis a
busy emporium of Grecian commerce with Egypt. The trade by
land—which is all that Egypt had enjoyed prior to
Psammetichus, and which was exclusively conducted by
Phenicians—is exchanged for a trade by sea, of which the
Phenicians have only a share, and seemingly a smaller share
than the Greeks. Moreover the conquest by Amasis of the island
of Cyprus, half-filled with Phenician settlements and once the
tributary dependency of Tyre—affords an additional mark of the
comparative decline of that great city. In her commerce with
the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf she still remained without a
competitor, the schemes of the Egyptian king Nekos having
proved abortive. Even in the time of Herodotus, the spices and
frankincense of Arabia were still brought and distributed only
by the Phenician merchant. But on the whole, both political
and industrial development of Tyre are now cramped by
impediments, and kept down by rivals, not before in operation.
… The 6th century B. C., though a period of decline for Tyre
and Sidon, was a period of growth for their African colony
Carthage, which appears during this century in considerable
traffic with the Tyrrhenian towns on the southern coast of
Italy, and as thrusting out the Phokæan settlers from Alalia
in Corsica."
G. Grote,
History of Greece,
part 2, chapter 21.
"It is a remarkable fact in the history of Greek colonies that
the exploration of the extreme west of the Mediterranean was
not undertaken either by the adventurers who settled at Cyme,
or by the powerful cities of Sicily. A century or more elapsed
from the foundation of Syracuse before any Greek vessel was
seen on the coast of Spain or Liguria, and when the new
beginning was made, it was not made by any of the colonies,
Chalcidian, Dorian, or Rhodian, which had taken part in the
discovery of the West. It was the Phocaeans of Ionia,
Herodotus tells us, who first made the Greeks acquainted with
the Hadriatic, with Tyrrhenia, Iberia (Spain), and Tartessus
(the region round Cadiz). The first impulse to these distant
voyages arose from a mere accident. At the time of the
foundation of Cyrene, about the year 630 B. C., a Greek of
Samos, by name Colaeus, when on his way to Egypt, was carried
by contrary winds beyond the pillars of Heracles to Tartessus.
There he found a virgin market, from which he returned to
realise a profit of 60 talents (£12,000), an amount only
surpassed by the gains of Sostratus of Aegina, who was the
premier of Greek merchants. But this was the beginning and the
end of Samian trade to the West; why they left it to the
Phocaeans to enter into the riches which they had discovered,
we cannot say, but within thirty years of this date, the
enterprising Ionian town sent out a colony to Massilia near
the mouth of the Rhone, in the district known as Liguria. …
The mouth of the Rhone was the point where all the routes met
which traversed France from the English Channel to the Gulf of
Genoa. Of these Strabo specifies three. Merchandise was
carried by boats up the Rhone and Saône, from which it was
transferred to the Seine, and so passed down the river; or it
was taken by land from Marseilles (or Narbo) to the Loire; or
again carried up the Aude and transported thence to the
Garonne. By one or other of these routes, the wares collected
by the Gaulish merchants—more especially the tin, which they
imported from Britain—was brought into the Greek market, if
indeed it was not carried on pack-horses straight across the
narrowest part of the country. The importance of these lines
of transit at a time when the western Mediterranean was held
by the Carthaginians, and the northern Hadriatic by the
Tyrrhenians, can hardly be over-estimated. The colonists
extended their borders by degrees, though not without severe
contests with the Ligurians and Tyrrhenians by sea and land.
New cities were founded to serve as outposts against the
enemy; Agatha in the direction of the barbarians of the Rhone;
Olbia, Antipolis, and Nicaea in the direction of the Salyans
and Ligurians of the Alps. They also spread themselves down
the coast of Spain."
E. Abbott,
History of Greece,
part 2, chapter 13.
COMMERCE:
Rome.
"Rome, placed like a mightier Mexico in the centre of her
mighty lake, was furnished with every luxury and with many of
her chief necessaries from beyond the waters; and cities on
every coast, nearly similar in latitude and climate, vied in
intense rivalry with each other in ministering to her
appetite. First in the ranks of commerce was the traffic in
corn, which was conducted by large fleets of galleys, sailing
from certain havens once a year at stated periods, and pouring
their stores into her granaries in their appointed order. Gaul
and Spain, Sardinia and Sicily, Africa and Egypt were all
wheat-growing countries, and all contributed of their produce,
partly as a tax, partly also as an article of commerce, to the
sustentation of Rome and Italy. The convoy from Alexandria was
looked for with the greatest anxiety, both as the heaviest
laden, and as from the length of the voyage the most liable to
disaster or detention. The vessels which bore the corn of
Egypt were required to hoist their topsails on sighting the
promontory of Surrentum, both to distinguish them from others,
and to expedite their arrival. These vessels moreover,
according to the institution of Augustus, were of more than
ordinary size, and they were attended by an escort of war
galleys. The importance attached to this convoy was marked by
the phrases, 'auspicious' and 'sacred,' applied to it. … A
deputation of senators from Rome was directed to await its
arrival at the port where it was about to cast anchor, which,
from the bad condition of the haven at Ostia, was generally at
this period Puteoli in Campania.
{3701}
As soon as the well-known topsails were seen above the horizon
a general holiday was proclaimed, and the population of the
country, far and near, streamed with joyous acclamations to
the pier, and gazed upon the rich flotilla expanding gaily
before them. The vessels engaged in this trade, however
numerous, were after all of small burden. The corn-fleets did
not indeed form the chief maritime venture of the
Alexandrians. The products of India, which had formerly
reached Egypt from Arabia, and were supposed indeed in Europe
to have come only from the shores of the Erythræan Sea, were
now conveyed direct to Cleopatris or Berenice from the mouths
of the Indus and the coast of Malabar, and employed an
increasing number of vessels, which took advantage of the
periodical trade winds both in going and returning. The
articles of which they went in quest were for the most part
objects of luxury; such as ivory and tortoise shell, fabrics
of cotton and silk, both then rare and costly, pearls and
diamonds, and more especially gums and spices. The consumption
of these latter substances in dress, in cookery, in the
service of the temples, and above all at funerals, advanced
with the progress of wealth and refinement. The consignments
which reached Alexandria from the East were directed to every
port on the Mediterranean; but there was no corresponding
demand for the produce of the West in India, and these
precious freights were for the most part exchanged for gold
and silver, of which the drain from Europe to Asia was
uninterrupted. The amount of the precious metals thus
abstracted from the currency or bullion of the empire, was
estimated at 100,000,000 sesterces, or about £800,000 yearly.
The reed called papyrus, the growth of which seems to have
been almost confined to the banks of the Nile, was in general
use as the cheapest and most convenient writing material, and
the consumption of it throughout the world, though it never
entirely superseded the use of parchment and waxen tablets,
must have been immense. It was converted into paper in Egypt,
and thence exported in its manufactured state; but this
practice was not universal, for we read of a house at Rome
which improved on the native process, and produced what Pliny
calls an imperial or noble out of a mere plebeian texture.
With respect to other articles of general use, it may be
remarked that the most important, such as corn, wine, oil, and
wool, were the common produce of all the coasts of the
Mediterranean, and there was accordingly much less interchange
of these staple commodities among the nations of antiquity
than with ourselves, whose relations extend through so many
zones of temperature. Hence, probably, we hear of none of
their great cities becoming the workshops or emporiums of the
world for any special article of commerce. The woollens indeed
of Miletus and Laodicea, together with other places of Asia
Minor, were renowned for their excellence, and may have been
transported as articles of luxury to distant parts; but Africa
and Spain, Italy and parts of Greece, were also breeders of
sheep, and none of these countries depended for this prime
necessary on the industry or cupidity of foreigners. The
finest qualities of Greek and Asiatic wines were bespoken at
Rome, and at every other great seat of luxury. The Chian and
Lesbian vintages were among the most celebrated. … Again,
while the clothing of the mass of the population was made
perhaps mainly from the skins of animals, leather of course
could be obtained abundantly in almost every locality. When we
remember that the ancients had neither tea, coffee, tobacco,
sugar, nor for the most part spirits; that they made little
use of glass, and at this period had hardly acquired a taste
for fabrics of silk, cotton, or even flax, we shall perceive
at a glance how large a portion of the chief articles of our
commerce was entirely wanting to theirs. Against this
deficiency, however, many objects of great importance are to
be set. Though the ruder classes were content with wooden cups
and platters fashioned at their own doors, the transport of
earthenware of the finer and more precious kinds, and from
certain localities, was very considerable. Though the Greeks
and Romans generally were without some of our commonest
implements of gold and silver, such for instance as watches
and forks, it is probable that they indulged even more than we
do in personal decoration with rings, seals, and trinkets of a
thousand descriptions. … The conveyance of wild animals,
chiefly from Africa, for the sports of the amphitheatres of
some hundreds of cities throughout the empire, must alone have
given occupation to a large fleet of ships and many thousand
mariners. Nor were the convoys smaller which were employed to
transport marble from the choicest quarries of Greece and Asia
to many flourishing cities besides the metropolis. … After due
deduction for the more contracted sphere of ancient commerce,
and the lesser number of articles, for the extent also to
which the necessaries and conveniences of life were
manufactured at home in the establishments of wealthy slave
owners, we shall still readily believe that the
inter-communication of the cities of the Mediterranean, such
as Corinth, Rhodes, Ephesus, Cyzicus, Antioch, Tyrus,
Alexandria, Cyrene, Athens, Carthage, Tarraco, Narbo and
Massilia, Neapolis and Tarentum, Syracuse and Agrigentum, and
of all with Rome, must have been a potent instrument in fusing
into one family the manifold nations of the empire. … In the
eyes of the Orientals and the Greeks, the mistress of lands
and continents, the leader of armies, and the builder of roads
was regarded as the greatest of all maritime emporiums, and
represented in their figurative style as a woman sitting
enthroned upon the waves of the Mediterranean. The maritime
aspect thus assumed by Rome in the eyes of her subjects beyond
the sea, is the more remarkable when we consider how directly
her ancient policy and habits were opposed to commercial
development. … The landowners of Rome, in the highday of her
insolent adolescence, had denounced both commerce and the arts
as the business of slaves or freedmen. So late as the year 535
a law had been passed which forbade a senator to possess a
vessel of burden, and the traffic which was prohibited to the
higher class was degraded in the eyes of the lower. … It was …
by following the natural train of circumstances, and by no
settled policy of her own, that Rome secured her march across
the sea, and joined coast to coast with the indissoluble chain
of her dominion. On land, on the contrary, she constructed her
military causeways with a fixed and definite purpose. … The
population of Gaul crept, we know, slowly up the channel of
the rivers, and the native tracks which conveyed their traffic
from station to station were guided by these main arteries of
their vital system.
{3702}
But the conquerors struck out at once a complete system of
communication for their own purposes, by means of roads cut or
built as occasion required, with a settled policy rigidly
pursued. These high roads, as we may well call them, for they
were raised above the level of the plains and the banks of the
rivers, and climbed the loftiest hills, were driven in direct
lines from point to point, and were stopped by neither forest
nor marsh nor mountain."
C. Merivale,
History of the Romans,
chapter 39.
COMMERCE:
Gaul under the Romans and after the fall of the Empire.
"In the second century of our era, in the time of Trajan and
the Antonines, Gaul with its fertile fields, its beautiful
meadows, its magnificent forests, was one of the best
cultivated countries of the Roman world. It exported into
Italy grain from Aquitaine, Celtique and from the country of
the Allobroges (Dauphiné), flax from Cadurques (Quercy) and
Bituriges (Berry), hemp from Auvergne and the valley of the
Rhône, spikenard from Provence (valeriana celtica according to
M. Littré) renowned in the Roman pharmacopœia, oak and pine
from the immense forests which still covered the Pyrenees, the
Cevennes, the Alps, the Jura, the Vosges and nearly all the
north of Gaul (forest of Ardennes), horses from Belgium, wool
from the Narbonnaise, cheese from the Alps and from Nîmes,
hams and salt provisions from Séquanaise (Franche-Comté), and
the Pyrenees. The wines of the Narbonnaise and the valley of
the Rhône, often adulterated and little relished by the
Italians, were notwithstanding one of the principal objects of
commerce in the interior of Gaul, in Great Britain and
Germany. The oysters of the Mediterranean and even those of
the Atlantic and the Channel which the ancients had perhaps
found means of keeping in fresh water, figured upon the tables
of the gourmets of Rome. We know that long before the
conquest, the Gauls took gold from the sands of their rivers
and that in certain regions (Upper Pyrenees), territory of the
Tarbelles, and Val d'Aoste, territory of the Salasses, they
extracted gold from the auriferous rocks by processes quite
analogous to those which are now employed by the great
Californian companies. These mines which were yet in existence
under Augustus were not long in being exhausted, but the iron
of Berry, Sénonais, Perigord, Rouergue, the valley of the
Rhône and of the Saône, the copper of the Pyrenees
(Saint-Etienne-de-Baïgorry), of the Alps (country of the
Centrons, now Upper Savoy), of the Cevennes (Cabrieres in
Hérault and Chessy in Rhône), the tin of Limousin, the
argentiferous lead of the territory of the Rutènes (Rouergue),
of the Gabales (Gévaudan), of the Centrons, etc., were mined
and wrought with a skill which placed the metallurgy of Gaul
in the first rank of the industries of the empire. These
mining operations, superintended by the State, although they
belonged to the proprietors of the soil, were often directed
by companies which combined the working of the metal with its
extraction from the ore. One which had its seat at Lyons is
known to us by many inscriptions. Textile industries were not
less flourishing than metallurgy, the manufacture of
sail-cloth was carried on all over Gaul; the bleached linens
of Cahors, the carpets of the Narbonnaise, the sagums of
mingled bright colors were renowned even in Italy. The
progress of commerce had followed that of agriculture and
manufacture. The network of Roman roads planned by Agrippa was
completed and four roads accessible to carriages or beasts of
burden, crossed the Alps by the passes of the Little (Graius
Mons) and of the Great Saint-Bernard (Summus Penninus), of
Mount Genèvre (Mons Matrona) and of the Argentière: the
Corniche road stretched along the Mediterranean from Genoa to
Marseilles: those of the pass of Pertus (Summa Pyrenoeco), of
the valley of Aran, of the Somport, of Roncevaux, and from
Lapurdum (Bayonne) to Pampeluna connected Gaul to Spain. …
Notwithstanding the competition of new roads, river navigation
had retained all its activity. … We know from inscriptions of
a certain number of associations for water transportation
which appear to have played a great rôle in the interior
commerce of Gaul from the first century of our era. The
boatmen of the Rhône, the Saône, the Durance, the Seine, the
Loire, the Aar, an affluent of the Rhine, formed corporations
recognized by the State, organized on the model of cities,
having their regulations, property, elective chiefs, and
patronized by great personages who charged themselves with
defending their interests against the Roman authorities. The
most celebrated, If not the most important of these
associations, is that of the Nautæ Parisiaci, the memory of
which has been preserved to us by the remains of an altar
raised, under Tiberius, at the point of the Isle of the City
(the ancient Lutetia) and found in 1711 under the choir of
Notre-Dame. … The two great commercial ports of the
Mediterranean were Narbonne and Arles, after Marseilles had
lost her maritime preponderance and was only a city of
science, luxury and pleasure. … Immense labor upon embankments
and canalization which had thrown within Narbonne the mass of
the river and deepened the maritime channel made of the
metropolis of the Narbonnaise one of the safest ports upon the
coast of Gaul. It communicated with the Rhône by the
navigation of the lakes (étangs) which at that time extended
without interruption to the western mouth of the river, with
the ocean by the course of the Garonne, navigable from
Toulouse (Tolosa). The port of the Garonne was then as now
Bordeaux (Burdigala) which already had intercourse with Great
Britain and Spain. Aries, connected with the sea by the canal
of Marius and perhaps also by the small arm of the Rhône and
the navigation of the lakes (étangs), was a maritime port and
at the same time the outlet for the navigation of the Rhône
which was prolonged by the Saône as far as Chalon
(Cabillonum). Upon the banks of the river rose the wealthy
cities of Tarascon, Avignon (Avenio), Orange (Arausio),
Vienne. Lyons is the commercial and also the political
metropolis of Gaul, the seat of the most powerful
manufacturing and commercial companies; the boatmen of the
Saône and the Rhône, the wine merchants, the mining and
smelting company of the valley of the Rhône. Above Chalon,
four great commercial routes start from the valley of the
Saône. The first ascends the Doubs as far as Besançon
(Vesuntio) and terminates at the Rhine near Augst (Augusta
Rauracorum), where the river is already navigable.
{3703}
The second follows the valley of the Saône and descends by the
Moselle, navigable above Trèves (Augusta Trevirorum), and by
the Meuse, toward the middle and lower valley of the Rhine. …
The third route, that from the Saône to the Loire, set out
from Chalon, crossed Autun (Augustodunum), and reached the
Loire above Orleans (Genabum, later Aurelianum). Goods
embarked upon the river arrived, after a voyage of 870
kilometers (2,000 stades), at Nantes (Portus Namnetum) which
appears to have been substituted, about the beginning of the
first century, for the ancient port of Corbilo and which was
also in intercourse with Great Britain. The fourth route, that
from the Saône to the Seine, crossed Autun, was there divided
into two branches which went by way of Avallon and Alise to
meet at Sens (Agedincum) on the Yonne, and descended the Seine
to its mouth by Melun (Melodunum), Paris (Lutetia) and Rouen
(Rotomagus). This was the shortest route between the new
province of Britani and the Mediterranean; but the ancients,
notwithstanding the progress in navigation, always distrusted
long passages by sea; so the principal emporium of commerce
with Britani was not Caracotinum (Harfleur), the port of the
Seine, but Gesoriacum, later Bononia (Boulogne), which is
distant only 50 kilometers from the English coast. It was
there that Caligula erected that gigantic pharos known to the
middle-ages under the name of the tower of Odre and which
existed until 1645. … When one thinks of Gaul in the second
half of the 5th century, after those great streams of invasion
which swept it for fifty years, one easily fancies that the
flood has carried everything away, that the Roman institutions
have disappeared, that private fortunes are swallowed up in a
frightful catastrophe, that the barbarians have enslaved the
Gallo-Romans, that social life is suspended, manufactures
ruined, commerce interrupted. This picture which responds to
the idea we form of a barbarian conquest, is necessarily
exaggerated, because the Germanic invasion was not a conquest.
The Germans who established themselves upon the Roman
territory, those even who had employed force to make a place
for themselves within it, did not consider themselves
conquerors, but subjects and soldiers of the Empire: they
dreamed so little of destroying it that they aspired to serve
it whether it would or no. Notwithstanding the decadence of
manufactures and the inevitable disorders which weakness of
the central power brings in its train, commerce appears to
have preserved a certain amount of activity. In the 6th
century, post stages still existed. Upon the Roman roads,
maintained and repaired by the Merovingians, heavy wagons
which served for the transportation of goods and travelers
circulated with their teams of oxen or horses. Royal decrees
commanded the preservation of towing-paths along navigable
rivers; the rivers had remained the high-ways of interior
commerce, and the boatmen's companies of Roman Gaul had
perhaps survived the fall of the imperial domination. The
ports of the Atlantic, Bordeaux and Nantes, those of the
Channel, Alet (between Saint-Malo and Saint-Servan), Rouen,
Quantovic (Etaples or Saint-Josse-sur-Mer?) on the bay of the
Canche, Boulogne, were in relations with the Visigoths and the
Suevi of Spain, the Irish, the Frisians, and received in
exchange for the wines, honey, madder, grains and linens of
Gaul, oils and lead from Spain, metals and slaves from Great
Britain, coarse cloths from Ireland and finer fabrics which
they were beginning to make in Frisia. Marseilles, Arles,
Narbonne, the great ports of the Mediterranean, were always
the depots for the trade of the Orient, where their vessels
went for spices, silks, papyrus from Alexandria, cloths and
carpets from Antioch and Laodicea, which their merchants
exchanged in part for money, in part for metals, honey,
saffron, almonds and linens from southern Gaul, coral brought
from Italy, and amber brought overland from the borders of the
Baltic. The conquests of the Franks, masters of central and
southern Germany, had opened to commerce two new roads: one,
by the Danube, stretched away to the frontiers of the Eastern
Empire and to Constantinople through the countries occupied by
the fierce tribes of the Avars and the Bulgarians; the other
arrived by Thuringia in the regions where the Slav tribes,
Sorbs (Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Pomerania) and Wends
(Bohemia, Moravia, Austria, Carinthia) dominated. In these
uncultivated countries, covered with forests and marshes, in
the midst of these warlike peoples, the merchants could risk
themselves only in large caravans, sword at the side and lance
in hand. These distant and perilous expeditions were
attractive to the adventurous spirit of the Frank race. …
Faith, as well as ambition, found its account in these
journeys to the countries of the pagan. On the way, they
distributed religious images to the heathen, they tried to
convert them while profiting by them. … This mingling of
commerce and religion is one of the characteristic traits of
the middle ages, as it is of antiquity. The most ancient fairs
of Gaul, that of Troyes which was in existence as early as the
5th century, that of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, that of
Saint-Denis, which goes back to the time of Dagobert (629),
were at the same time pilgrimages. This latter the most
celebrated of all, under the Merovingians, was held outside
the walls of Paris, between the churches of Saint-Martin and
Saint-Laurent, upon the lands watered by the brook
Ménilmontant; it was opened on the festival of Saint-Denis and
continued four weeks, in order to permit, says its charter,
merchants from Spain, Provence and Lombardy and even those
from beyond the sea, to take part in it. … The fair of
Saint-Denis was the rendezvous of merchants from all parts of
Gaul and Europe. Beside the wines and oils of the South might
be seen the honey and wax of Armorica, the linens and madder
of Neustria, the metals of Spain and England, the furs of the
North, the products of the royal manufactories; but the
choicest goods were the spices, pepper, tissues of silk and of
cotton, jewels, enamels, goldsmiths' work, which came from the
Orient by the Mediterranean ports, more rarely by way of the
Danube, and whose guardians were the Syrians or Jews destined
to hold so great a place in the commerce of the middle ages.
The Syrians,—and under this name the Franks comprehended,
without doubt, all merchants native to Egypt or Roman
Asia,—formed powerful communities at Marseilles, Narbonne,
Bordeaux; at Paris they had sufficient influence to enable one
of them, Eusebius, to succeed in purchasing the episcopate, in
591. … As to the Jews, a great number were already established
in Gaul before the fall of the Roman Empire, but their
prosperity dates only from the epoch of disorganization which
followed the barbarian invasion."
H. Pigeonneau,
Histoire du Commerce de la France
(translated from the French), tome 1, livre 1.
{3704}
COMMERCE: Mediæval.
Early trade with China.
"During the Tang Dynasty the intercourse between China and
other considerable powers was not only closer but conducted on
more nearly equal terms than at any other time. … The
neighbouring kingdom of Tibet is first mentioned in the annals
for 634 A. D. as sending ambassadors with tribute and being
able to raise a large and formidable army. … Appeals from
Persia and India for help against the Saracens were addressed
to China more than once in the 7th and 8th centuries; and the
heir apparent to the Persian throne resided for a time as
hostage at the court of China. … But for the physical
structure of the continent, which isolates India and China,
while freezing Tibet and nomadizing Tartary, the spread of
Arab conquest round or across the desert would have reached a
point near enough to bring about a collision with China. As it
was, a general impetus was given to foreign travel and foreign
commerce; and … colonies of traders established themselves in
the southern ports, as well as along the continental trade
routes. … About the year 700 A. D. a market for strangers was
opened at Canton, and an imperial commission appointed to levy
duties. In 714 A. D. we hear of a petition of foreign
merchants, arriving by way of the southern sea, which is
forwarded from the coast in quite modern fashion for the
emperor's consideration. It set forth all the precious things
which the merchants could bring from the countries of the
West, and represented them as only desirous of collecting
medicinal drugs and simples. Unfortunately for the traders,
they arrived at the beginning of a new reign, when a vigorous
attempt had been made to put down the luxury of the court. …
It was concluded to take no further notice of the petition.
Foreign trade continued to exist on sufferance, but so far as
the Chinese were concerned, it was limited by the attitude of
the Government to a moderate exportation of staple
commodities, paid for in foreign coin or precious metals. What
China had to sell was much more important to the Western
nations than anything she or her rulers could be prevailed
upon to buy; and so long as the trade dealt with surplus
manufactures, like silk, or natural products, like musk or
rhubarb, and did not endanger the local food supply, it was
not interfered with. In 794 A. D. complaints were made that
trade was leaving Canton for Cochin China, but the traders'
schemes for recovering or pursuing it were discouraged by the
Government, which opined that there must have been intolerable
extortions used to drive it away, or a want of natural
inducements to bring it, and quoted the Shoo: 'Do not prize
strange commodities too much, and persons will come from
remote parts.' Arab geographers and travellers of the 9th
century show what a development had been reached by foreign
commerce under this modified freedom. The Jewish merchants
described by Ibn Khordadbeh as speaking Persian, Latin, Greek,
Arab, Spanish, Slavonic, and Lingua franca, and trading by sea
and land to the remotest regions, had their representatives at
Canton; and the four trade routes, enumerated by Sir Henry
Yule, enabled all the great commercial communities to try
their hand at the China trade. The first of these routes led
from the Mediterranean over the Isthmus of Suez, and onwards
by sea; another reached the Indian sea viâ Antioch, Bagdad and
Bussora and the Persian Gulf; a third followed the coast of
Africa by land from Tangiers to Egypt and thence by Damascus
to Bagdad, while the fourth led south of the Caspian Sea and
north of the central Asian desert to the gates of the Great
Wall. The Chinese traders either met the Western merchants at
Ceylon, or themselves came as far as the mouth of the
Euphrates."
E. J. Simcox,
Primitive Civilizations,
book 4, chapter 12, section 2 (volume 2).
COMMERCE: Mediæval.
The Arabs.
The earliest date to which any positive statement of
intercourse between the Arabs and the Chinese "appears to
refer is the first half of the 5th century of our era. At this
time, according to Hamza of Ispahan and Masudi, the Euphrates
was navigable as high as Hira, a city lying south-west of
ancient Babylon, near Kufa, (now at a long distance from the
actual channel of the river), and the ships of India and China
were constantly to be seen moored before the houses of the
town. Hira was then abounding in wealth, and the country
round, now a howling wilderness, was full of that life and
prosperity which water bestows in such a climate. A gradual
recession took place in the position of the headquarters of
Indian and Chinese trade. From Hira it descended to Obolla,
the ancient Apologos, from Obolla it was transferred to the
neighbouring city of Basra, built by the Khalif Omar on the
first conquest of Irak (636), from Basra to Siraf on the
northern shore of the gulf, and from Siraf successively to
Kish and Hormuz. Chinese Annals of the Thang dynasty of the
7th and 8th centuries, describe the course followed by their
junks in voyaging to the Euphrates from Kwangcheu (Canton). …
The ships of China, according to some authorities, used to
visit Aden as well as the mouths of Indus and Euphrates. I do
not think that either Polo or any traveller of his age speaks
of them as going further than Malabar, the ports of which
appear to have become the entrepôts for commercial exchange
between China and the west, nor does it appear what led to
this change. Some time in the 15th century again they seem to
have ceased to come to Malabar. … The Arabs at an early date
of Islam, if not before, had established a factory at Canton,
and their numbers at that port were so great by the middle of
the 8th century that in 758 they were strong enough to attack
and pillage the city, to which they set fire and then fled to
their ships. Nor were they confined to this port. … In the 8th
century also the Arabs began to know the Chinese not only as
Sinæ, but as Seres, i. e. by the northern land route. …
Besides … communication by land and sea with Arabia, and with
the various states of India, … there existed from an old date
other and obscurer streams of intercourse between China and
Western Asia, of which we have but fragmentary notices, but
which seem to indicate a somewhat fuller mutual knowledge and
freer communication than most persons probably have been
prepared to recognise. Thus, China appears to have been well
known from an early period to the Armenians."
H. Yule,
Cathay and the Way thither, preliminary essay
(volume 1), pages lxxvii-lxxxii.
{3705}
After the Arabs began their career as a conquering people,
under Mahomet and his successors, and took possession of the
great ancient fields of Asiatic and African commerce, with its
highways and its capital seats, from Ispahan to Palmyra,
Damascus, Baalbec, Tyre, Alexandria, and the old Carthaginian
ports, they quickly caught the large ideas of trade that were
then opened up to them. They improved the early caravan routes
and established new ones in many directions. They dug wells,
made cisterns and built caravansaries, or public places of
shelter for travelers and traders, along the important desert
roads. The pilgrimages which their religion encouraged had a
lively traffic connected with them, and by spreading one
language and one set of customs and laws over the wide region
which they ruled, they helped commerce as the Romans had done.
From Bagdad, the new capital city which they built on the
Tigris, nearly opposite the deserted ruins of Babylon, on the
other side of the Chaldean plain, they carried on direct trade
with India, through Afghanistan; with China by three routes
through Bokhara, or Tartary; with Siberia and with Russia, to
the very center of it, through the agency of the Turkish and
Tartar races. This city of Bagdad became a marvel of
magnificence under the early Arabian caliphs. Other cities of
Asia that acquired importance in manufactures or trade, or
both, during the period of Arabian power, were Ispahan, in
Persia, the woolens and linens from which were equally noted
for their fineness; Damascus, in Syria, which produces cutlery
of steel, and especially sword blades, that have never been
surpassed, and which gave the name of "damasks" to certain
raised patterns in linen that are well known by that term to
this day; Herat, in Afghanistan, which was famous for its
carpet looms and for its cultivation of saffron and
assafœtida; Balkh and Khotan, in Bokhara, the former of which,
on the banks of the Oxus, was a populous seat of trade between
China, India and the West. From its great antiquity, Balkh was
called "the mother of cities." In their native country, the
Arabs, during this brilliant period of their history,
increased the ancient trade which they had carried on by sea,
with India, on one hand, and with the eastern coasts of
Africa, on the other. They extended the latter far south of
the limits of ancient Ethiopia, and even to the island of
Madagascar. There are few settlements now existing on the east
African coast, below the straits of Babel-Mandeb, which were
not of Arabian origin. The pilgrimages to Mecca, their holy
city, where the remains of Mahomet were interred, made that a
great market and both industry and commerce were enlivened
throughout the Arabian peninsula. As masters of Egypt, the
Arabians reorganized with fresh vigor the ancient caravan
traffic with central Africa and with the countries on the
Upper Nile. Alexandria, it is true, lost much of its former
importance. This was owing, in part, to the bitter hostility
that existed between the Mahometans and the European
Christians, which broke up, for a long period, nearly all open
commerce between the two. But Alexandria was also hurt by the
rise of new Arabian cities, in Egypt and on the Barbary coast,
which drew away some of the trade that had centered almost
wholly at Alexandria before. Cairo, the modern capital of
Egypt, stood first among these and became a wealthy seat of
many manufactures and of much commercial exchange. The
interior caravan traffic of Egypt centered principally at
Syene, while Temnis and Damietta were busy productive towns.
Within the old Carthaginian dominions, west of Egypt, on the
Mediterranean, the Arab conquerors revived a traffic quite as
extensive, perhaps, as the greatest that ancient Carthage had
controlled. Not far from the site of that ancient emporium,
and twelve miles from the modern city of Tunis, they built the
now forgotten city of Kirwan, which was one of the largest and
most magnificent of its time. It was a point from which
numerous caravan routes led southward into the heart of the
African continent, even beyond the great desert, as well as
eastward to Egypt and westward to the Atlantic coasts and
Spain. Many flourishing towns surrounded this African
metropolis and were the centers of many different activities,
such as the cultivation of grain, the making of salt, the
rearing of silk-worms and the production of silk. In
Mauritania, which embraced the modern empire of Morocco and
part of Algiers, the Arabs introduced the same spirit of
enterprise. In their hands, the barren country—which has
since become almost a desert again—was made fertile, through
wide regions, by extensive irrigation, and produced wheat,
olives, grapes, dates and other fruits in great abundance,
besides feeding flocks and herds of sheep, goats, horses,
asses and camels in rich pastures. The people became skilful
in several manufactures, including weaving and dyeing, the
making of silk and gold thread, the mining and smelting of
copper and iron, the preparation of soap and the tanning of
leather. From the Atlantic coast of their Mauritanian
dominion, the Arabs pushed their traffic far down the western
shores of the continent, while they opened caravan routes to
the interior quite as widely, perhaps, as they did from Kirwan
and from Egypt. The chief city that they founded in Mauritania
was Fez, which still bears witness to its former glory in a
lingering university, or collection of Mahometan schools; in
the remains of many mosques, and in a vast number of
caravansaries. The native inhabitants whom the Arabs found in
Mauritania derived from their country the name of Moors. They
embraced the Mahometan religion and joined their Saracen
conquerors in invading Spain, A. D. 712. This led, in Europe,
to the applying of the name "Moors" to the whole of the mixed
races which took possession of southern Spain, and finally
gave that name to all the Mahometans on the western
Mediterranean coasts. But the Moors and the Arabs were
distinct races of people. The conquest of southern Spain gave
the Arabs the finest field in which their energy and genius
were shown. They made the most of its mineral treasures, its
delightful climate and its fertile soil. On the remains of
Roman civilization, which Vandals and Visigoths had not wholly
destroyed, they built up, with wonderful quickness, a new
culture—of industry, of manners and of taste, of art, of
literature, of government and of social life—that was
splendidly in contrast with the rude state of Europe at large.
The trade of the Spanish Moors was considerably extended
among the Christians of Europe, notwithstanding the religious
enmities that opposed it.
{3706}
The products of their skilful workmanship were so eagerly
desired, and they controlled so many of the coveted luxuries
found in Africa and the East that their Christian neighbors
could not be restrained, by war nor by the commands of the
church nor by the hatred which both stirred up, from dealings
with them. With other parts of the Mahometan dominion, and
with the countries in commercial connection with it, the trade
of Moorish Spain was active and large. In exchange for the
varied products which they received, they gave the fine
fabrics of their looms; exquisite work of their goldsmiths and
silversmiths; famous leather; iron, quicksilver and silver
from the old Spanish mines, which they worked with new
knowledge and skill; sugar, the production of which they had
learned and introduced from India; olive oil, raw silk,
dye-stuffs, sulphur and many commodities of less worth. The
career of the Arabs, in the large region of the world which
they conquered, was brilliant but not lasting. The energy
which carried them for a time far ahead of their slower
neighbors in Europe showed signs of decay before two centuries
of their career had been run.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL.
Byzantine Trade.
"The commerce of Europe centred at Constantinople in the 8th
and 9th centuries more completely than it has ever since done
in any one city. The principles of the government, which
reprobated monopoly, and the moderation of its duties, which
repudiated privileges, were favourable to the extension of
trade. While Charlemagne ruined the internal trade of his
dominions by fixing a maximum of prices, and destroyed foreign
commerce under the persuasion that, by discouraging luxury, he
could enable his subjects to accumulate treasures which he
might afterwards extort or filch into his own treasury,
Theophilus prohibited the persons about his court from
engaging in mercantile speculations, lest by so doing they
should injure the regular channels of commercial intercourse,
by diminishing the profits of the individual dealer. … During
this period the western nations of Europe drew their supplies
of Indian commodities from Constantinople, and the Byzantine
empire supplied them with all the gold coin in circulation for
several centuries. The Greek navy, both mercantile and
warlike, was the most numerous then in existence. Against the
merchant-ships of the Greeks, the piratical enterprises of the
Egyptian, African, and Spanish Arabs were principally
directed. Unfortunately we possess no authentic details of the
commercial state of the Byzantine empire, nor of the Greek
population during the Iconoclast period, yet we may safely
transfer to this time the records that exist proving the
extent of Greek commerce under the Basilian dynasty. Indeed,
we must remember that, as the ignorance and poverty of western
Europe was much greater in the 11th and 12th centuries than in
the 8th and 9th, we may conclude that Byzantine commerce was
also greater during the earlier period. The influence of the
trade of the Arabians with the East Indies on the supply of
the markets of western Europe has been overrated, and that of
the Greeks generally lost sight of. … The Byzantine markets
drew their supplies of Indian and Chinese productions from
Central Asia, the trade passing north of the caliph's
dominions through the territory of the Khazars to the Black
Sea. This route was long frequented by the Christians, to
avoid the countries in the possession of the Mohammedans, and
was the highway of European commerce for several centuries.
Though it appears at present a far more difficult and
expensive route than that by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean,
it was really safer, more rapid, and more economical, in the
8th, 9th, and 10th centuries. This requires no proof to those
who are acquainted with caravan life in the East, and who
reflect on the imperfections of ancient navigation, and the
dangers and delays to which sailing vessels of any burden are
exposed in the Red Sea. When the Venetians and Genoese began
to surpass the Greeks in commercial enterprise, they
endeavoured to occupy this route; and we have some account of
the line it followed, and the manner in which it was carried
on, after the East had been thrown into confusion by the
conquests of the Crusaders and Tartars, in the travels of
Marco Polo. For several centuries the numerous cities of the
Byzantine empire supplied the majority of the European
consumers with Indian wares, and it was in them alone that the
necessary security of property existed to preserve large
stores of merchandise. Constantinople was as much superior to
every city in the civilised world, in wealth and commerce, as
London now is to the other European capitals. And it must also
be borne in mind, that the countries of central Asia were not
then in the rude and barbarous condition into which they have
now sunk, since nomade nations have subdued them. On many
parts of the road traversed by the caravans, the merchants
found a numerous and wealthy population ready to traffic in
many articles sought after both in the East and West; and the
single commodity of furs supplied the traders with the means
of adding greatly to their profits. Several circumstances
contributed to turn the great highway of trade from the
dominions of the caliphs to Constantinople. The Mohammedan
law, which prohibited all loans at interest, and the arbitrary
nature of the administration of justice, rendered all
property, and particularly commercial property, insecure.
Again, the commercial route of the Eastern trade, by the way
of Egypt and the Red Sea, was suddenly rendered both difficult
and expensive, about the year 767, by the Caliph Al Mansur,
who closed the canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea. The
harvests of Egypt, which had previously filled the coast of
Arabia with plenty, could no longer be transported in quantity
to the ports of the Red Sea; living became expensive; the
population of Arabia declined; and the carrying trade was
ruined by the additional expenditure required. The caliph
certainly by this measure impoverished and depopulated the
rebellious cities of Medina and Mecca to such a degree as to
render their military and political power less dangerous to
the central authority at Bagdat, but at the same time he
ruined the commerce of Egypt with India and the eastern coast
of Southern Africa. Since that period, this most important
line of communication has never been restored, and the coarser
articles of food, of which Egypt can produce inexhaustible
stores, are deprived of their natural market in the arid
regions of Arabia.
{3707}
The hostile relations between the caliphs of Bagdat and Spain
likewise induced a considerable portion of the Mohammedan
population on the shores of the Mediterranean to maintain
close commercial relations with Constantinople. A remarkable
proof of the great wealth of society at this period is to be
found in the immense amount of specie in circulation. … The
poverty of Europe at a later period, when the isolation caused
by the feudal system had annihilated commerce and prevented
the circulation of the precious metals, cannot be used as an
argument against the probability of this wealth having existed
at the earlier period of which we are treating."
G. Finlay,
History of the Byzantine Empire, 716-1057,
book 1, chapter 4, section 1.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL.
Venice and Genoa.
In the slow revival of commerce which took place in Christian
Europe, during the later half of the middle ages, no one city
or people can be said to have taken a lead from the beginning.
At various points, north and south, on the Mediterranean and
the Adriatic, on the Baltic, on the Rhine and other rivers
which flow into the North Sea, and on the Danube, the Dnieper
and the Don, centers of trade were growing up in a gradual
way, out of which it would be hard to name one that ranked
much above the rest for many generations. But the 11th century
brought a great commercial leader to the front. This was
Venice. The circumstances of the founding of Venice, in the
5th century, and the history of the rise of the singular
republic, are given elsewhere.
See VENICE (page 8602).
The condition of the unfortunate refugees, who sought shelter
from invading savages on a few small mud banks, barely
separated from the shore of their Adriatic coast, did not seem
to be a promising one. Nor was it so. While the neighboring
parts of Italy were being overrun by Huns, Goths and Lombards
in succession, and while the settlement of the barbarous new
races was going on over all Southern Europe, in the midst of
great disorder and constant war, these islanders and their
descendants, for generations, were protected as much by their
poverty as by the shallow waters that surrounded them. They
had nothing to tempt either plunder or conquest. They lived by
salt-making, fishing and fish-salting. They began trade in a
small way by exchanging their salt and salted fish for other
articles. It grew in their hands from year to year, for they
were enterprising, industrious and courageous. Procuring
timber on the opposite Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic, they
became expert ship builders and sailors. The safety of their
situation caused increasing numbers of their Italian fellow
countrymen to join them. The islands of the Venetian lagune
were, in time, all occupied, and bridges between several of
them were built. From the selling of salt and fish to their
neighbors, the Venetians went on to more extensive commercial
business. By slow degrees, they took the occupation of general
merchants, buying goods here and there to sell again. They
became friendly with the Greeks on the eastern side of the
Adriatic, in Dalmatia and Albania, and this led them into
important relations, both commercial and political, with the
Byzantine Empire and its capital city, Constantinople. By the
time they had gained wealth and consequence enough to attract
the notice of their rough neighbors and invite attack, they
had also gained strength enough to defend themselves. They
took part then in the wars of the Byzantines, rendering
valuable services in Italy and elsewhere, and they joined the
Greeks in destroying the pirates who infested the Adriatic
Sea. The early important trade of the Venetians was with
Constantinople, where they enjoyed, for a long period, the
peculiar favor of the Byzantine rulers. After the Saracens had
mastered Syria and Persia, and taken possession of Alexandria
(A. D. 640), Constantinople became the emporium of Eastern
trade, adding it to a great traffic which the Byzantine
capital had always carried on with the Tartar and Russian
territories in Asia and Europe. When the Venetians gained a
footing there, as political friends and favored merchants,
their fortunes were made. While the Greeks were busy in
desperate wars with their Mahometan neighbors, these
enterprising Italians took into their own hands more and more
of the profitable trade which the Greeks had opened to them.
They soon had the handling of Byzantine commerce in western
Europe almost wholly. From partners they became rivals, and
especially in the Russian traffic, which they drew away from
Constantinople, to a large extent, by opening direct dealings
with the Russian traders, at a market place established on the
Dnieper. From the beginning of the Crusades, in the 11th
century, the rise of Venetian commerce and Venetian power was
very rapid. The Venetians were prepared, as no other people
were, at the time, to furnish fleets, both for transportation
and for naval war. They enlisted in the crusading enterprises
with a zeal which was not, perhaps, purely pious. Their
carrying ships were busy conveying men and supplies; their war
galleys were in the front of some sea fighting with the
Moslems, and more with Christian rivals; their shrewd
politicians were alert, at all points and among all parties,
looking after the interests of the republic; their merchants
were everywhere ready to improve the new opportunities of
trade which these times of excitement opened up. In all
directions, and throughout the whole of Europe, new activities
were awakened, and especially such as led to a busier trade.
The crusaders who lived to return, into France, Flanders,
Italy, Germany, and England, brought home with them many ideas
which they had picked up in the East, and much new knowledge
of oriental products and arts, all of which became widely
diffused and produced great effects. The result was to
stimulate and improve the industries and to increase the
commerce which the Europeans carried on among themselves, as
well as to greatly enlarge their demand for the products of
the Asiatic world. A new era in European commerce was opened,
therefore, by the Crusades, and the Venetians, by their
enterprise, their energy and their early experience, took the
lead in its activities. They organized the traffic between the
East and the West, the North and the South, upon a great
scale, and centered the larger part of it in their island
city. By sea and by land they managed it with equal vigor.
Their merchant fleets were under the protection of the state
and made voyages, at regular and appointed times, under the
convoy of vessels of war. On the landward side, they arranged
an extensive trade with the interior of Germany, Hungary and
Bohemia, through the Tyrol and Carinthia.
{3708}
As the first bitterness of hatred between Christians and
Mahometans wore away, they grew willing to trade with one
an·other, though the Popes still forbade it. The Venetians
were among the first in such willingness. Having many quarrels
with the Byzantine Greeks, they were eager to reopen the old
eastern market at Alexandria, and did so at the earliest
opportunity. From that beginning they spread their trade with
Arabs, Moors and Turks, along the whole Mahometan line, in
Asia and Africa. But, though Venice took the lead in the
reviving commerce of the middle ages and held it substantially
to the end of that period of history, she had powerful rivals
to contend with, and the strongest were among her near
neighbors in Italy. The same commercial spirit was alive in
several other Italian cities, which had grown up in the midst
of those disorderly times and had contrived to acquire more or
less of independence and more or less of power to defend
themselves. Amalfi, Genoa and Pisa were the earliest of these
in growing to importance, and Florence at a somewhat later day
rose to high rank. Florence, which did not become a free city
until near the end of the 12th century, gained its subsequent
wealth more by manufactures and by banking than by trade. Its
chief products were woolens, silk and jewelry, and its
money-lenders were everywhere in Europe.
See FLORENCE (pages 1130-1143).
The commercial career of Amalfi was cut short in the 12th
century by events connected with the Norman conquest of
Southern Italy. Pisa, an ancient city, whose history goes back
to Etruscan times, was a considerable seat of trade while
Venice was little known; but she fell behind both Venice and
Genoa, soon after those vigorous republics were fairly entered
in the race. The Pisans prospered highly for some time, by
going into partnership or alliance with the Venetians, first,
and afterwards with the Genoese; but they quarreled with the

latter and were ruined in the wars that ensued. After the
thirteenth century Pisa had no commercial importance.
See PISA (pages 2537-2539).
The great rival of Venice was Genoa, a city which claims to
be, like Pisa, of more than Roman antiquity. In the trade of
the Levant—that is, the eastern ports of the Mediterranean
Sea—the Genoese pushed themselves into competition with the
Venetians at an early day, and they seemed for some time to
hold an equal chance of controlling the prize. During the
later part of the 12th century, such unfriendly feelings had
grown up between the Venetians and the Byzantine court that
the latter transferred its commercial favors to the merchants
of Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi, and gave them many privileges at
Constantinople. The Venetians were thus placed at a
disadvantage in the Bosphorus and the Black Sea; but they did
not long submit. In 1204 they persuaded one of the crusading
expeditions to join them in attacking Constantinople, which
was taken, and the dominions of the ancient Empire of the East
were divided among the captors, Venice receiving a goodly
share.
See CRUSADES (page 631).
This was a golden era for Venice and she improved it to the
utmost. For almost sixty years she triumphed over her rivals
completely. But in 1261 her merchants were again expelled from
Constantinople and the Black Sea. The Greeks had continued to
hold a large part of the ancient domain of the Byzantine
Empire in Asia Minor, and now, with the help of the Genoese,
they succeeded in retaking their old capital city. The Frank
Empire, or Latin Empire as it was differently called, which
the Crusaders and the Venetians had set up, was extinguished
and the Genoese again took the place of the Venetians as
masters of the Byzantine trade, including that of the Black
Sea and the Asiatic traffic which was carried on from its
ports. But by this time the better disposition to deal
commercially with one another had grown up between the
Christians and the Mahometans. So the Venetians, when they
lost their footing at Constantinople, very promptly went over
to Alexandria and made excellent arrangements with the
Saracens there, for supplying Europe once more with the
commodities of the East, by those easier and shorter ancient
routes which Christian commerce had not used for several
hundred years. This opening of trade with the Mahometan races,
at Alexandria, and elsewhere soon afterwards, may easily have
repaid the Venetians for what they lost in the Byzantine
direction; but they did not give up the latter. A long series
of desperate wars between the competitors ensued, with such
shiftings of victory that Venice seemed sometimes to be almost
in a hopeless strait; but, in the end, she broke the power of
her rival completely. The final peace, which was concluded in
1381, left her quite undisputed]y, for a time, the mistress of
the Mediterranean and its trade.
See GENOA: A. D. 1261-1299 (page 1419);
and VENICE: A. D. 1378-1379, and 1379-1381 (page 3608).
Both the northward and the southward lines of traffic between
Asia and Europe, through Alexandria and through
Constantinople, were now chiefly in the hands of the
Venetians. Between those great courses were important minor
currents of commerce, along caravan routes through Asia Minor
and Syria, which they mainly controlled. The trade of the rich
islands of the Levant and of Moorish Africa was under their
management for the most part, and they found on the northern
shores of the Black Sea a commerce with the Russian region
which the Genoese had increased while they ruled in those
waters. For three quarters of a century the Venetians enjoyed
this large extent of commerce with the East. Then the Turks
came, besieged and captured Constantinople (A. D. 1453) and
spread over the country which they now occupy. For the next
two centuries the Venetians were at war with the Turks
—defending Christendom in the Mediterranean with little help.
At the same time they had to encounter an almost fatal attack
from Christian princes who had become jealous of their
formidable wealth and power and who united against the
republic in the League of Cambrai.
See VENICE: A. D. 1508-1509 (page 3611).
They might have recovered from this attack, for they still
held the Mediterranean trade; but a great event had occurred,
just ten years before the League of Cambrai, which was more
fatal than war, not to Venice alone, but to most of her rivals
in trade as well. This was the discovery, by Vasco da Gama, of
the ocean passage to the Eastern world around the Cape of Good
Hope. The toiling traffic of desert caravans, to Alexandria,
to Constantinople, to Tyre, Antioch, Ephesus and Erzeroum, was
soon reduced to insignificance. The rich trade of the Indies
and of all the farther East—the trade of the silk countries
and the cotton countries, of the spice islands, of the pearl
fisheries, of the lands of ivory, of ebony, of gold, of
precious stones, of fragrant gums, of curious things and
curious arts—was quickly swept into a different course—into
broader seas than the Mediterranean and into new hands.
{3709}
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL.
Northern Europe.
The Baltic Cities.
The Hansa.
The earliest commercial seaports of northwestern Europe had
their rise, not on the North Sea, but on the Baltic and the
straits which enter it. The Northmen of that region were not
alone in the traffic which grew up there, for the Wends (a
Slavonic people), who occupied most of the southern shores of
the Baltic, east of the Elbe, appear to have stoutly rivalled
them from the first. Biorko, on an island in Lake Maelar,
Sweden (the inlet upon which Stockholm is situated), was one
of the first of the seats of commerce at the North. It is
supposed to have been destroyed about 1008. But the most
famous was the city of Winet, or Vineta, on the island of
Usedom, at the mouth of the river Oder. It may not have been
quite as rich and magnificent a town as some would infer from
accounts given in early chronicles; but no doubt it was
remarkable for the age, in that part of the world, and carried
on a large trade. The Swedes and Danes were the destroyers of
Vineta, before the middle of the 9th century, and the former
people are said to have carried away from it great quantities
of marble, brass and iron work, with which they gave splendor
to their own newer city of Wisby, then just rising on the
island of Gothland. The career of Wisby lasted several
centuries and it was prominent in commerce throughout the
Middle Ages. All that can be said of that most ancient
commerce in northern Europe is gathered from sources which are
uncertain and obscure. It is not until the 12th century that
much of the real history of trade in the Baltic region opens.
In 1140 the modern city of Lubeck was founded, on the site of
a more ancient town, known as Old Lubeck, which is supposed to
have been a thriving port of trade in its day but which had
been utterly destroyed by its rivals or enemies. The new
Lubeck established close relations with the Genoese and soon
took the lead in the commerce of the north, among a large
number of enterprising towns which, about that time, came into
prominence on the northern coast and on the rivers which run
to it. The city of Hamburg, on the Elbe, lying inland and not
very distant from Lubeck, was one of the earliest of these.
Like Lubeck, it had suffered destruction, in the constant
warfare of the earlier time, and had made a new beginning of
existence about 1013. Hamburg had access to the North Sea by
the Elbe and Lubeck to the Baltic by the Trave. Trading in
different directions, therefore, by sea, they carried on an
active traffic with one another, across the narrow stretch of
land which divides them,—as they still do to this day. But
this inland commerce was greatly disturbed by robbers who
infested the country, until the two cities, Lubeck and
Hamburg, in 1241, agreed to establish and support in common a
body of soldiers for the protection of their merchants. That
agreement is believed to have been the beginning of a
wide-spread union which afterwards took shape among the
commercial cities of northern Europe, and which became
powerful and famous in the later history of the Middle Ages,
under the name of the Hanseatic League.
See HANSA TOWNS: (pages 1624-1626),
and (in this Supplement) GERMANY, 13-15th,
and 15-17th CENTURIES.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL.
Frisians and Flemings.
The early Netherlands.
The two peoples who inhabit the region called the
Netherlands—a purely Germanic stock in the north (modern
Holland) and a mixed but largely Celtic population in the
south (modern Belgium)—have had a history so much in common
that it cannot well be divided, though they have differed in
experiences as widely as in character. The struggle with
nature for a foothold in the lowland itself was harder in the
north than in the south, and no doubt that is why the Teutonic
Frisians led the way in industrial training. It was among them
that the arts of weaving and dyeing were cultivated first to a
notable excellence. As early as the age of Charlemagne (8-9th
centuries), Frisian robes, of white and purple woolen stuffs,
are mentioned among the choice gifts which the Emperor
sometimes sent to foreign princes, and even to the great
caliph, Haroun al Raschid. In the 9th century, Frisian weavers
are said to have been persuaded by an enterprising count of
Flanders to settle in his dominions, at Ghent, and introduce
there a better knowledge of their art. But if the Flemish
people borrowed from the Frisians in this matter, they soon
outran their teachers and made the loom their own peculiar
property. The shuttle, ere long, was in the hands of a very
large part of the whole south Netherland or Belgian
population, and they became almost a nation of weavers. The
same Count Baldwin of Flanders who brought the Frisian weavers
into Ghent established annual markets, or fairs, in various
towns, which drew merchants from abroad, promoted trade and
stimulated manufacturing industries throughout the country.
Woolen, linen, and finally silk looms multiplied to a
prodigious extent, and the weavers in all these branches
acquired remarkable skill. The working of metals was also
learned with great aptness, and Flemish cutlery, weapons and
armor became very nearly as renowned as those of Milan and
Damascus. Tanning was another valuable art which the Flemings
and their Netherland neighbors cultivated, and the tilling of
the soil was so industriously pursued that flax, hemp, grain
and other farm products were raised quite abundantly for sale
abroad. In the north Netherlands—the Hollow-land of the sturdy
"Free Frisians" and Batavians, who were afterwards called the
Dutch—the hard working energy of the people had been pushed in
some different directions. The old trade of weaving was still
vigorously carried on, in nearly every important town, and
Dutch woolens, damask linens, carpets, velvets, etc., were
largely produced and widely sought after; but this industry
was never so prominent as it became in the Belgian provinces.
The fortunes of the Hollanders were founded to a large extent
upon their fisheries, and especially the herring fishery,
which assumed great importance in their hands after the middle
of the 12th century. Before that time, they appear to have
been obliged to seek the herring in other waters than their
own—along the shores of England, Scotland and Norway. But some
change in the movements of those curiously swarming fish, about
the time above mentioned, brought great shoals of them to the
Dutch coast, and the herring harvest thereafter was a rich
source of gain to the Hollanders.
{3710}
They discovered some secrets of salting or curing the fish
which were very much valued, and the Dutch herring were
eagerly bought for all parts of Europe. The making of pottery
was another industry to which the Dutch applied themselves
with success, and particularly at the town of Delft, which
gave its name for many centuries to the common earthenware
used in western Europe. In dairy farming and skilful
horticulture, or gardening, the Hollanders were superior to
all other people at an early time. Wherever sea-fisheries are
extensive, sailors and ship builders are trained and ocean
navigation and commerce are sure, in time, to be prosperously
pursued. It was so with the Dutch. Their Frisian ancestors had
suffered so much on their coasts from the harassing raids of
the Norse pirates, or Vikings, that they did not figure very
early in seafaring enterprise. But they fought the
free-booters in their stubborn and stout-hearted way and were
able at last to make the harbors of their coast tolerably
safe. From that time the seaport towns of Holland grew
rapidly, and Dutch merchants and merchant ships, trading with
the cities of the Baltic, with England and with Flanders and
France increased in number. The Hollanders had an advantage in
this matter over their Flemish neighbors of the South
Netherlands. They were provided with better harbors and they
held the outlets of the great rivers in their hands. This
latter was the cause of incessant quarrels between the two
peoples. The 15th century found the whole Netherlands, both
north and south, in a thriving state, so far as industry and
trade were concerned, notwithstanding bad government and
disorderly times. The people were counted among the richest in
Europe. Many great and wealthy cities had grown up, containing
large populations and very busy ones. In the north, there were
Dordrecht or Dort, Hoorn, Zierikzee, Haarlem, Delft, Leyden,
Deventer, Enkhuizen, Middelburg, Nimeguen, Utrecht, Rotterdam,
and Amsterdam, which last named city eclipsed them all in the
end, though it was one of the latest to rise. In the south
there was Ghent, with forty thousand weavers inside its strong
walls, who were always as ready to string the bow as to throw
the shuttle, and whose hot-tempered revolts against tyranny
and wrong are among the most exciting incidents of history.
There was Bruges, which became for a time the great emporium
of the commerce of northern and southern Europe, but which
lost its importance before the 15th century closed. There was
Antwerp, which succeeded to the trade of Bruges and rose to
unrivalled rank; and there were Lille, Mechlin (or Malines),
Courtrai, Ypres, Louvain, and other towns, all centers of
flourishing manufactures, chiefly those of the loom.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL.
Trade Routes, west and north from the Mediterranean.
"The connection between the two great divisions of European
commerce, the northern including the Hansa and the Flemish
towns, and the southern the Italian republics and
Mediterranean ports, was effected by two chief routes. One was
by sea from the Mediterranean through the Straits of
Gibraltar, up the coasts of Spain and France to Flanders. This
route was used more by the southern, and especially by
Venetian, merchants than by the northern traders, for … Venice
sent every year a large fleet to Flanders and the English
Channel, which fleet would meet at Bruges, the great Hansa
depot, the most important merchants of North Europe and the
Hansa traders. Bruges was indeed for a long time the central
mart in the north for the commercial world, till 1482, when
the canal connecting it with the port of Sluys was blocked up.
But at Bruges also the maritime trade just mentioned met the
overland trade through central Europe, a trade that was very
important, and which enriched many a city upon the Rhine and
farther south, from Augsburg to Cologne. We must consider this
overland route more carefully. The great centre from which it
started, or to which it tended, was Venice, where as we know
were collected most of the products of the East, coming both
via Egypt and via the lands round the Black Sea. … Starting …
from Venice, the merchants used to cross the Alps by the
Brenner or Julier Passes, and then would make for the Upper
Danube or one of its tributaries, and thence get on to the
stream of the Rhine. Their object was generally to utilise a
natural waterway wherever possible, rather in contrast to the
old Roman traders, who preferred the roads. But the roads of
the Middle Ages were far inferior to the old Roman highways.
One of the first great cities which the mediæval trader passed
on this route, coming from Venice, was Augsburg. … Thence he
might go down the stream to Regensburg (Ratisbon) and Vienna;
or he might go up to Ulm and then make a short land journey
till he reached the Rhine, and so right away down that
convenient stream. This was perhaps the main route from north
to south. But many others converged from central Europe to
Italy, and many important cities owed their wealth to the
stream of trade. In Karl the Great's time the cities on the
great waterway to the East along the Danube became very
flourishing; Regensburg, Passau, and Vienna being the most
important. From Regensburg there ran north and west two great
commercial highways into the interior of Germany, one by way
of Nürnberg and Erfurt and the other past Nürnberg to the
Rhine. Another route from Regensburg, by river, to Trentschin
on the river Waag took its merchants through Galicia into
Russia, whither they went as far as Kief, the centre of
Russian trade. Along this great waterway of the Danube and its
tributaries came the products of the East from Constantinople
and the Black Sea. … Another important route was that from the
cities of the Rhine, such as Coblenz and Basle, up that river
and on to Chur and then by the Julier Pass and the Engadine
and the Etschthal to Venice; or again, after passing Chur,
through the Septimer Pass and the Bergeller Thal to Genoa.
These Rhine cities were very flourishing, from Basle to
Cologne. … Like most trading towns in the Middle Ages, the
Rhine cities were compelled to form themselves into a
confederacy to resist the robbery and extortions of feudal
nobles, whose only idea of trade seems to have been that it
providentially existed as a source of plunder to themselves.
But besides this Confederacy of the Rhine there was another
great Confederacy of the Swabian cities, arising from the same
causes. … That of the Rhine included ninety cities, and
existed in a fully organised form in 1255.
{3711}
The Swabian Confederacy was formed a little later, about 1300
or 1350, under the leadership of Augsburg, Ulm, and Nürnberg,
and was in close political and commercial relations both with
Venice and Genoa. … If now we turn from trade routes in Europe
itself to those which led to Europe from the East, we find
that at the time of which we are now speaking there were three
main streams of commerce. In the 12th century the caravan
trade in Central Asia had passed along several different
paths; but after the Crusades, and the decline of the Eastern
empire by the capture of Constantinople (1204), the various
tribes of Central Asia, rendered more fanatical and warlike
than ever by these military and religious events, caused
caravan trading to become very unsafe. The first of the three
routes which now remained in the 13th century was from India
and the western coasts of Asia, past Basra on the Persian Gulf
to Bagdad by water. From Bagdad merchants went, still by
water, along the Tigris to the point on that river nearest to
Seleucia and Antioch, and so to Orontes, and then to the coast
of the Levant. The second route followed the same course as
the first till the point of leaving the Tigris, and then
proceeded over the Highlands of Asia Minor and Armenia to the
port of Trebizond on the Black Sea, where Venetian vessels
used to meet Asiatic traders. For both these routes Bagdad
formed a very important centre. … The third route from the far
East was from India by sea to Aden, then by land across the
desert to Chus on the Nile, which took nine days, and then
again by water down the Nile to Cairo, a journey of thirteen
days. From Cairo there was a canal, 200 miles long, to
Alexandria, where again Venetian and Genoese merchants were
ready to receive the rich spices, sugar, perfumes, precious
stones, gum, oil, cotton, and silk brought from the East."
H. de B. Gibbins,
History of Commerce in Europe,
book 2, chapter 5.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL:
The English.
"Whilst the Italians were vigorously pursuing their trade in
India and Europe, and Spain was renowned for her manufactures;
whilst the Hanse merchants were extending their factories, and
Portuguese navigators were bent upon maritime discoveries;
whilst the Dutch were struggling for independence, and France
was planting the seeds of her industries; England was only
known as possessing a few articles of commerce of great value.
Her wools and her metals were eagerly sought by foreign
traders, but she had no ships of her own to carry them abroad.
She had many raw materials, but she produced no manufactures
for exportation. Nor was her policy respecting foreign trade
the most wise. The chief concern of the legislature in those
days seemed to be to prevent foreign nations doing with
English produce what, after all, the English could not do
themselves. Again and again the export of wool was prohibited,
or was hindered by prohibitory duties. … The people regarded
the introduction of foreigners with the utmost jealousy. They
resented their competition, they grudged their profits and
their advantages. The guilds would not admit them as members,
and it was hard for the poor strangers to establish a footing
in England, even although Magna Charta had long before
declared that all merchants shall have safety in coming to or
going out of England, and in remaining and travelling through
it, by land or water, for buying or selling, free from any
grievous imposition. Anyhow, whatever the opposition of cities
and corporations, the nation was benefited by the foreign
merchants. Thankful, indeed, might England have been for the
Lombards, who brought hither money and merchandise, banking
and insurance; for the Flemings, who, driven by intestine
dissension, found refuge on British soil, and became the
founders of the woollen manufacture; and for the Huguenots,
who brought with them the silk manufacture. … But a new era
advanced. The discovery of the American continent by Columbus,
and of a maritime route to India by Vasco da Gama, altered the
course and character of commerce. Till then trade was
essentially inland, thenceforth its most conspicuous triumphs
were to be on the ocean. Till then, the Mediterranean was the
centre of international trading. From thenceforth the tendency
of trade was towards the countries bordering on the Atlantic.
… It was not long … before England followed the lead of Spain
and Portugal. John Cabot and his sons went in quest of land to
North America; Drake went to circumnavigate the globe;
Chancellor sailed up the White Sea to Russia; Willoughby went
on his ill-fated voyage in search of a north-eastern passage
to India; Sir Walter Raleigh explored Virginia; the Merchant
Adventurers pushed their adventures to Spain and Portugal; and
English ships began to be seen in the Levant. Meanwhile,
English trade enlarged its sphere, English bravery at sea
became most conspicuous, and English industry advanced apace."
L. Levi,
History of British Commerce,
2d edition, introduction.
"In the 14th century the whole of the external, and much of
the internal, trade of the country had been in the hands of
foreigners; in the 15th our merchants began to push their way
from point to point in the Mediterranean and the Baltic; in
the 16th they followed slowly in the wake of other
adventurers, or tried to establish themselves in unkindly
regions which had attracted no one else. When Elizabeth
ascended the throne England appears to have been behind other
nations of Western Europe in the very industrial arts and
commercial enterprise on which her present reputation is
chiefly based."
W. Cunningham,
Growth of English Industry and Commerce,
volume 2, page 2.
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL:
Trade and Piracy.
"It would be wrong to infer from the prevalence of piracy at
this period [the 15th century] that commerce must have
declined. On the contrary, it was probably the increase of
commerce, unaccompanied by the growth of adequate means for
its defence, which made the pirate's calling so profitable.
Nor was the evil confined to the professional pirate class, if
we may use the expression. Even recognised associations of
merchants frequently indulged in practices which can only be
characterised as piracy. Commerce, in fact, was deeply imbued
with the spirit of lawlessness, and in these circumstances it
is probable that the depredations of pirates did not excite
the same alarm nor discourage trade in the same degree as
would be the case in more law-abiding times. In the 15th
century the profession of Christianity and extreme
respectability were not incompatible with a life of violence
and outrage, and it is to be feared that in some cases the
Governments which should have repressed pirates by the
severest measures, encouraged their depredations.
{3712}
Certainly they have never enjoyed such immunity from the
strong arm of the law as in the 15th century. Outrage and
robbery went on unchecked along the coasts and in the track of
merchant vessels. No trader was safe even in the rivers and
ports of his own country. The pirates burnt and sacked towns
as important as Sandwich and Southampton; they carried off not
only the goods they could lay their hands on, but men and
women, and even children, whom they held to ransom. Unable to
look to the Government for protection of life and property
while they were engaged in trade, the merchants were thrown
upon their own resources to provide security. The best method
of grappling with the pirates, and that which was most
frequently adopted, was for merchant vessels to sail together
in such numbers that they could repel attack; and these
voluntary efforts were sometimes aided by the Government. In
1406 Henry IV. granted the merchants 3s. on every cask of wine
imported, and certain payments on Staple exports for purposes
of defence. Two Admirals were appointed, one for the north and
the other for the south, with full jurisdiction in maritime
affairs and power to organise naval forces. But this scheme
was unsuccessful. A similar expedient was tried in 1453, but
abandoned two years afterwards. The only satisfactory remedy
would have been a strong navy, but the conditions necessary
for this had not yet been realised. The country could not have
supported the charge of maintaining a strong naval force. …
That merchants were beginning to realise the importance of the
subject, and were becoming wealthy enough to build vessels of
a considerable size, is evident from the operations of John
Taverner, of Kingston-upon-Hull, and the famous William
Cannynges of Bristol, the latter of whom is said to have
possessed 2,470 tons of shipping and some vessels of 900 tons
burthen."
W. A. S. Hewins,
Industry and Commerce
(in "Social England," edited by H. D. Traill,
chapter 7, volume 2).
COMMERCE: MEDIÆVAL:
The Portuguese, and the finding of the Ocean Way to the Indies.
It was not by accident that the Portuguese rose all at once,
in the closing years of the 15th century and the early years
of the 16th, to a position in which they controlled and
directed the main current of trade between Europe and the
Eastern world. The discovery by Vasco da Gama of an ocean
route to the Indies, and all the results (hereafter
described), which it yielded to his countrymen for the time,
were a reward of enterprise which the Portuguese had fully
earned. They had worked for it, patiently and resolutely,
through almost a hundred years. The undertaking was begun, at
about the commencement of the 15th century, by a Portuguese
prince who ought to enjoy greater fame than if he had
conquered an empire; because his ambition was nobler and the
fruits were of higher worth to the world. He was known as
"Prince Henry the Navigator," and he was the third son of the
Portuguese King John I. who was called the Great, on account
of his success in wars with the Castillians and the Moors. But
this young son, Prince Henry, was much the greater man of the
two. He could not endure the ignorance of his time with regard
to the mysterious ocean that stretched westward and southward
from the shores of the little country which his father ruled.
He was bent on knowing more about it; and he was specially
bent on having the Portuguese sailors make their way down the
shores of the African continent, to learn where it ended and
what track to the farther side might be found. Beyond Cape
Nun, at the southern extremity of the modern empire of
Morocco, nothing was known of the western coast of Africa when
Prince Henry began his work. The Phœnicians and Carthaginians,
two thousand years earlier, had probably known more about it;
but their knowledge was lost. Prince Henry studied everything
that could give him light and became well convinced that round
the continent of Africa there was a way to the Indies for bold
sailors to find. Then he applied himself, with a zeal which
never flagged, to the working out of that achievement. He was
a young man when he began, and during more than forty years of
his life he devoted his time and his means almost wholly to
the fitting out and directing of exploring ships and he fixed
his residence upon the most southerly promontory of Portugal,
to watch their going and coming. But the art of navigation was
so little understood and the navigators were so timid, that
slow progress was made. Each explorer only ventured a little
farther than the one before him; and so they went feeling
their way, league by league, down the African coast. The
forty-three years of Prince Henry's endeavors were consumed in
reaching what is now the settlement of Sierra Leone, near the
head of the gulf of Guinea. But even this added more than a
thousand miles of the western coast of Africa to the maps of
the 15th century and was a greater advance in geographical
knowledge than had been made since Carthage fell. Before he
died (A. D. 1460), Prince Henry secured from the Pope (who was
supposed to have the giving of all heathen countries) a grant
to Portugal of all these discoveries, both island and
mainland, and of all which the Portuguese explorers might make
in the future, between Europe and India. So he died well
content, let us hope, with the work which he had done for his
country and for mankind. The enthusiasm for exploration which
Prince Henry had awakened in Portugal did not die with him,
though his efforts had met with unending opposition and
excited very much discontent. Repeated expeditions were still
sent down the African coast, and they crept farther and
farther toward the goal of desire. At last, in 1486,
Bartholomew Diaz, with three ships, actually rounded the Cape
of Good Hope without knowing it, and only learned the fact
when he turned backward from his voyage, discouraged by
storms. Eleven years later, Vasco da Gama set out, fired with
fresh determination, by the great discovery of a new world
which Columbus had so lately made for Spain, and this time
there was no failure. He passed the Cape, sailed up the
eastern shores of the African continent to Melinda, in
Zanguebar, and thence across the Indian Ocean to Calicut in
Hindostan. The ocean route to India was now fully proved; the
new era was opened and its grand prize plucked by the
Portuguese—thanks to Prince Henry the Navigator.
See, also, PORTUGAL: A. D. 1415-1460
and 1463-1498 (pages 2571-2573).
{3713}
COMMERCE: MODERN:
New Routes and New Marts.
There is nothing at all imaginary in the line which is drawn
in history across the later years of the 15th and the early
years of the 16th century, to mark the beginning of a new era
in human affairs. It is a line very real and very distinct,
dividing one state of things, known as the mediæval, from
another state of things, known as the modern. It was fixed by
the occurrence of a series of extraordinary events, which came
quickly, one after the other, and which brought about, either
singly or together, the most tremendous changes, in many ways,
that ever happened to the world in the same space of time. The
first of these was the invention of printing, which dates as a
practical art from about 1454. The second was the discovery of
the new world by Columbus, A. D. 1492. The third was the
passage around the Cape of Good Hope by the Portuguese
navigator, Vasco da Gama, A. D. 1497. The fourth was the
religious reformation set in motion by Martin Luther, at
Wittenberg, A. D. 1517. The combined effect of these great
events was to make really a new starting point in almost every
particular of human history, and to do so very quickly. The
commercial changes which resulted are among the most
remarkable. No sooner had the route by sea to southern and
eastern Asia and the islands of the Indian ocean been found,
than almost the whole traffic of Europe with that rich eastern
world abandoned its ancient channels and ran into the new one.
There were several strong reasons for this. In the first
place, it cost less to bring goods by ship from India, Ceylon
or China direct to European ports, than to carry them over
long distances by land to the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean and there ship them to the West. In the second
place, by taking its new route, this commerce escaped the
Moorish pirates in the Mediterranean, who had long been very
troublesome. And, lastly, but not least in importance, the
European merchants gained a great advantage in becoming able
to deal directly with the East Indians and the Chinese,
instead of trading at second hand with them, through Arabs and
Mahometan Turks, who controlled the Asiatic and African
routes. So the commerce of the Indies, as it was generally
called, fled suddenly away from the Mediterranean to the
Atlantic; fled away from the Venetians, the Genoese, the
Marseillaise, and the Barcelonians; from Constantinople,
lately conquered by the Turks; from Antioch and Alexandria;
and from many cities of the Hansa League in the north, which
had learned the old ways of traffic and were slow to learn
anything new. Soon many of the great marts which had been
busiest, grew silent and deserted and fell into slow decay.
The most enriching commerce of the world was passing to
different hands and bringing younger races into the front of
history.
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The Portuguese in the lead.
Having found the way to India by sea, the Portuguese were
prompt in taking measures to make themselves strong in that
part of the world and to control the trade with it. They were
helped in this effort by the grant of imagined rights which
Prince Henry had obtained from the Pope, long before. But they
strengthened the rights which the Pope gave them, by the older
fashioned methods of conquest and possession. They began at
once to plant themselves firmly at important points in the
eastern seas and on the Indian coast. They sent out one of
their ablest military men, Francesco d'Almeida, with a strong
force of ships and volunteers, and appointed him Viceroy of
India. He took possession of several parts of the Malabar
coast (the western coast of the southern extremity of
Hindostan) and built forts in which garrisons were placed. He
similarly established the Portuguese power in Ceylon, took
possession of the Maldive Islands and founded trading
settlements in Sumatra. The Venetians, who saw that their
ancient trade with the East was doomed unless this new rivalry
could be crushed, now joined their Mahometan allies of Egypt
in a great effort to drive the Portuguese back. A formidable
fleet was fitted out on the Red Sea and sent against Almeida.
He was unfortunate in his first encounter with these allied
enemies and lost the squadron that opposed them. But the
resolute viceroy was undaunted. Recalled from his command, he
refused to give it up until he had equipped and led another
fleet against the navy of the Egyptians and completely
destroyed it. The successor of Almeida, as viceroy of India,
was a remarkable personage who is known in the annals of his
time as "the great Afonso D'Albuquerque." The chronicle of his
exploits in Africa and India, compiled by his son from his own
letters and records, and entitled "The commentaries of the
great Afonso D'Albuquerque," has been translated into English
and published by the Hakluyt Society. He was a remarkably
energetic commander, and very honest in his way, according to
the notions of his time; but he did the work of subjugation
and conquest which he was sent to do in a cruel and rapacious
style. He was not rapacious on his own account; but he saw no
wrong in anything done for the profit of his country. In the
course of seven years he spread the Portuguese power so widely
and fixed it so firmly on the East Indian coasts and in the
neighboring seas that there was hardly an attempt for many
years to disturb it. None but Portuguese ships dared enter the
Indian ocean without special permits, and the few which
received admission were forbidden to trade in spices—the most
precious merchandise of the region. From the Indies the
Portuguese made their way to the coasts of China and put
themselves on friendly terms with its people. They were
permitted to occupy the port of Macao and have possessed it
ever since. Some years later they discovered the islands of
Japan and opened the earliest European commerce with that
singular country. So they held for a time the complete mastery
of eastern trade and enlarged it to greater bounds than it had
ever reached before. But they were satisfied with keeping the
sources of the supply of eastern goods to Europe in their own
hands. The first handling of the commodities was all that they
tried to control. They brought to Lisbon the spices, silks,
cotton, pearls, ivory, sugar, aromatic drugs and the like,
which their ships and merchants gathered up, and there sold
them to other traders, Dutch, English and German for the most
part, who found the final markets for them and who enjoyed a
good half of the profits of the trade. These latter derived
great advantages from the arrangements—much more than they had
gained in their trading with Genoa and Venice—and the commerce
of Holland and England grew rapidly as the result.
{3714}
But the glory and prosperity of the Portuguese, as masters of
the rich traffic of the eastern world, were not of long
duration. Before the 16th century closed, they had lost the
footholds of their power and were slipping into the background
very fast. By misfortunes and by folly combined, all the
fruits of the patient wisdom of Prince Henry, the persevering
courage of Vasco da Gama, the bold energy of Almeida, and the
restless enterprise of Albuquerque, were torn out of their
hands. Almost from the first, a greedy and jealous court had
done all that could be done to destroy the grand opportunities
in trade which the country had gained. Private enterprise was
discouraged; the crown claimed exclusive rights over large
parts of the commerce opened up, and these rights were sold,
given to favorites and dealt with in many ways that are
ruinous to successful trade. Royal jealousy sent three
viceroys to divide among them the government of the Portuguese
possessions in the East, when there should have been but one,
and the same jealousy kept these vice-royalties ever changing.
Of course, there was nowhere good government nor thrifty
management of trade. In the midst of this bad state of things,
the royal family of Portugal died out, in 1580, and Philip II.
of Spain set up claims to the crown which he was strong enough
to make good. Portugal thus became joined to Spain, for the
next sixty years, and was dragged into Philip's wicked war
with the Netherlands. Her Spanish masters did what they could
to draw her trade away from Lisbon to Cadiz and Seville. The
Dutch and English, her former customers and friends, made
enemies now by Philip of Spain, pushed their way into the
eastern seas, defying the mandates of the Pope, and broke down
her supremacy there. When the Portuguese, in 1640, threw off
the Spanish yoke and asserted their independence again,
calling a prince of the house of Braganza to the throne, there
was not much left of their former power or their former trade.
They still held Goa, on the western coast of Hindostan, and
the Chinese port of Macao—as they do to the present day; and
they retained, as they still do, considerable possessions in
Africa. But their brief importance in navigation, in
colonization and trade, was quite gone and they dropped back
to a humble position in the history of the world. Even the
management of their home trade with other countries fell
mostly, after a time, into the hands of the English, who
became their special allies and friends.
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The Spaniards.
While the Portuguese were pursuing glory and gain in the track
of Vasco da Gama, which led them south and east, the Spaniards
were doing the same in the wake of the three little ships
which Columbus, with a bolder hand, had steered westward, to
strange shores which he never dreamed of finding. These newly
opened regions of the globe, in the Atlantic and on both sides
of it, were divided between the two nations by the Pope, and
it was a bold matter in those days to dispute his right. He
gave to the Spaniards all islands and countries found west of
a meridian line drawn 27½° west of the island of Ferro, in the
Canary group. This nearly corresponds with the meridian 45½°
west of Greenwich. To the Portuguese he assigned all
discoveries east of it. So they both went on their appointed
ways, with pious hearts and untroubled consciences, busily
hunting for heathen lands to seize and despoil. But the
eastern field, in which the Portuguese did most of their work,
was one where commerce was old and where something of Europe
and its people was already known. They were forced to look
upon trade as the chief object of their pursuit. With the
Spaniards the case was different. They found their way to a
quarter of the world which Europe had never heard of and came
upon people who never saw the faces of white men until then.
These strange races of the new world were some of them quite
as civilized, in certain respects, as the Spaniards who
invaded them, and even more so, it would seem, in their
notions of truth and in the refinement of their manners and
modes of life. But they were simple and unsuspecting; they
were not warlike in disposition and they were rudely and
poorly armed. So the mail-clad cavaliers of Spain crushed them
into helpless slavery with perfect ease. From the islands of
the West Indies, which they discovered and occupied first, the
Spaniards had soon made their way to the shores of the two
continents of America, North and South. They found cities and
nations which astonished them by their splendor and wealth and
set them wild with greedy desires. Europe looked poor in
comparison with the shining wealth of Mexico and Peru. The
Spaniards went mad with the lust of gold. They lost human
feeling and common sense in their greediness to grasp the
metal treasures of the new world. They were indifferent to the
more precious and abounding products that it offered, and
neglected to build up the great commerce which might have
filled their hands with lasting riches. They made the old
fable of the goose which laid golden eggs a piece of real
history. They killed the goose; they destroyed their source of
wealth in Peru and Mexico by their eager extortions. Of true
commerce between the old world and the new there was little
while the Spaniards controlled it. They did, in the course of
time, ship considerable quantities of sugar, tobacco, hides,
logwood, indigo, cochineal, cocoa, cinchona, or Peruvian bark
(from which quinine is extracted) and other American products,
from their various colonies; but to no such extent as a wise
and enterprising people would have done, having the same
opportunities. Once a year, or once in two years, a fleet of
ships was sent from Seville, at first, and afterwards from
Cadiz, to Vera Cruz, for freights from Mexico, and another to
Porto Bello, on the Isthmus of Panama, for the South American
freights. The ships which made the latter voyage were
distinguished from the Mexican fleet by being called the
galleons. For a long time, twelve galleons in the one squadron
and fifteen ships in the other, making their voyage once a
year, and sometimes only every other year, conveyed all the
trade that passed between Spain and America; which shows how
little the Spaniards drew from their great possessions, except
the enormous treasure of silver and gold which a few ships
could transport. This glittering treasure formed, in fact, the
main cargo of the Peruvian galleons and the Mexican fleet.
Before the close of the reign of Philip II. the number of
galleons was increased to about forty and that of the fleet to
fifty or sixty.
{3715}
It is quite certain that no country had ever before received
such a quantity of gold and silver as came into Spain during
the 16th century. Instead of enriching, it ruined the nation.
Neither rulers nor people had sense enough to see what a
treacherous and delusive kind of wealth it formed, if trusted
to alone. They vainly fancied that, with such a store of
precious metals to draw upon, they could afford to despise the
homely labors by which other people lived. With such mad
notions as these, the honest industries of Spain were treated
with neglect or worse. Her trade with neighboring countries
was looked upon as a business too insignificant for Spaniards
to care for or trouble themselves about. It was mostly given
over to the Dutch and Flemings, while they remained under
Spanish rule, and it was afterwards kept up in great part by
smugglers, Dutch and English. Agriculture decayed, and its
destruction was helped by the formation of a great
aristocratic company of sheep-farmers, called the Mesta, to
which such tyrannical rights and privileges were given by the
crown that the most fertile parts of Spain were finally turned
into sheep-pasture, under its control. The best artisans and
the most enterprising merchants of the kingdom were driven
out, because they were Moors and Jews, or they were burned for
Christian beliefs which the Church did not approve. The
Inquisition was so busy, with its racks and its fires, that no
other business could thrive. Every kind of production
dwindled, and for the supplying of all descriptions of wants
the Spaniards were soon driven to look to other countries. The
few who laid hands upon the riches coming in from the plunder
of America spent it recklessly, in extravagant ways, while
costly foreign wars which had no success, and plots in France
and England which came to nothing, drained the coffers of the
king. And thus the great stream of gold and silver which
flowed into Spain from the new world ran out of it quite as
fast, until nearly every other country in Europe held more of
it than Spain herself. The strong hand with which the
Spaniards were able at first, and for some time, to hold the
vast domain of sea and land which the Pope had given them and
which their own sailors and soldiers had explored and seized,
grew weak before the end of a hundred years after the
memorable voyage of Columbus was made. The hardy Dutch, driven
to revolt and enmity by tyrannical government and by cruel
religious persecutions, attacked them everywhere, in the
eastern and western world. The English, just beginning to grow
ambitious and bold on the ocean, and constantly threatened by
the armadas of Spain, did the same. But these were not the
only enemies who harassed the Spanish colonies and fleets. In
a general way, the whole world went to war with the insolent
nation which claimed the lordship of the earth. There came
into existence, in the 17th century, a powerful organization
of pirates or freebooters, made up of daring men of all
nations, who carried on for many years a villainous warfare of
their own against the Spaniards at sea and against their
American settlements. These Buccaneers, as they were called,
gained strongholds in several islands of the West Indies, from
which the Spaniards were not able to dislodge them. Under the
attacks of all these enemies, combined with her own
misgovernment and her contempt and abuse of thrifty industries
and fair trade—which no people can neglect without ruin—Spain
steadily and rapidly sank.
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The Flemings and the Dutch.
In the first half of the 16th century, the people of the
Netherlands were the tolerably contented subjects of that
famous monarch, the Emperor Charles V., who ruled in Spain, in
Naples, in Germany (the old Empire), and in Burgundy, as well
as in the Lowland principalities, Flanders, Holland, and the
rest. They were already very prosperous, working hard at many
callings, trading shrewdly and busily with the rest of the
world, and diligently picking up all kinds of knowledge
everywhere. In the southern provinces (which we may call the
Belgian, because they are mostly now embraced in the modern
kingdom of Belgium) the chief industries were those of the
loom, in all branches of weaving; and in skilful workmanship
of every kind the people were tasteful and apt. These
provinces were the seat of a much greater and more general
activity in manufactures than appeared in the states to the
north of them (which we will call the Dutch states, without
distinction, because they are now included in the kingdom of
Holland). The latter were more extensively employed in
fisheries, in navigation and in ship building, although most
kinds of industry, manufacturing and agricultural, were
thriftily and successfully carried on. At the time when
Charles V. ruled the Netherlands, the city of Antwerp, in the
Belgian circle of provinces, was the great metropolis of
Netherland trade. It was much more than that. It was the
foremost commercial capital of the world. The traffic which
slipped away from Venice and Genoa, had fixed its central seat
in this younger town on the Scheldt. It was sure to plant its
new emporium somewhere in the Netherlands, because there was
nowhere else in Europe so much energy, so much enterprise, so
much industry, so much commercial wisdom, so much activity of
domestic trade. Spain and Portugal held the wealth of the
Indies and the Americas in their hands, but we have seen how
incapable they were of using the commercial advantage it gave
them. Lisbon, Cadiz and Seville were only depots for the
transfer of merchandise; it was impossible to make them real
capitals of trade, because they could not and would not
furnish either the spirit, or the genius, or the organized
agencies that it demands. The Netherlands, with their long
schooling in commerce upon a smaller scale, were ready to meet
every requirement when the new era opened and gave them their
greater chance. There was no other mercantile organization so
well prepared. The league of the Hansa Towns was breaking and
failing; the English were just beginning to show their
aptitude for manufactures and trade. Some one of the
Netherland cities was sure to win the sovereignty in
commercial affairs which Venice gave up, and Antwerp proved
the winner, for a time. During most of the 16th century, it
was the business center of Europe. It was the gathering-place
of the merchants and the seat of the money-changers and
bankers. Two and three thousand ships were often crowded in
its harbor, at one time. It distributed the merchandise of the
East and West Indies, which it took from Portugal and Spain,
and the manifold wares of the many manufacturing towns of
Flanders, Brabant, southern Germany, to a great extent, and
northern France.
{3716}
At the same time, its own looms, anvils, tanneries,
glass-works, dyeing-vats and mechanic shops of various kinds
were numerous and busy. Its thriving population was rapidly
increased, for it welcomed all who came with skill or
knowledge or money or strong hands to take part in its work.
Such was Antwerp during the reign of Charles V., and at the
time (A. D. 1555-1556) when that weary monarch gave up his
many crowns to his evil son, Philip II. of Spain, and went
away to a Spanish monastery to seek for rest. The government
of Charles in the Netherlands had been hard and heavy, but the
people were left free enough to prosper and to grow
intelligent and strong. Under Philip the prospect changed. The
story of his malignant persecutions and oppressions, of the
revolt to which they drove the Netherland provinces, of the
long, merciless war in which he strove to ruin or subdue them,
of the independence which the Dutch provinces achieved and the
prosperous career on which they entered, is told in another
place.
See NETHERLANDS (page 2256, and after).
Antwerp, the great capital of trade, stood foremost in the
struggle, as became its greatness, and it suffered
correspondingly. The death-blow to its fortunes was given in
1585, when, after a siege that is almost unexampled, it was
taken by the Spaniards under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma,
and given up to pillage and slaughter. Its surviving
inhabitants fled in large numbers, the greater part of them to
Holland, some to England, and some to other countries.
Commerce abandoned the port. The chief merchants who had made
it the center of their undertakings chose Amsterdam for their
future seat of business, and that city rose at once to the
commercial rank of which Antwerp had been stripped by the
stupid malice of its Spanish sovereign. While the Belgian
Netherlands fell hopelessly under the fatal despotism of
Spain, the Dutch Netherlands fought their way slowly to
independence, which Spain was forced to acknowledge in 1648.
But long before that time the Dutch Republic had become a
power in Europe—much greater in every way than Spain. Its
foundations had been laid by the union of the seven provinces
of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, Utrecht, Groningen, Overyssel
and Gelderland. It had grown firmer and stronger year by year,
and the people, after a time, had not only found themselves
able to thrive generally in the midst of their desperate war
with Spain, but the war itself opened their way to wealth and
power. They learned, early, as we have seen, that they could
attack their enemy to the best advantage at sea. In pursuing
this ocean warfare they were led on to the East and West
Indies, and soon broke, in both regions, the exclusive power
which the Spanish and Portuguese had held. When Portugal was
dragged into a fatal union with Spain, under Philip II., it
had to suffer the consequences of Philip's wars, and it bore
more than its share of the suffering. The Dutch and the
English forced their way pretty nearly together into the
eastern seas, and, between them, the Portuguese were mostly
driven out. They divided the rich commerce of that great
Asiatic and Oceanic region, and, for a time, the most
lucrative part of it was gained by the Dutch. While the
English got their footing on the coasts of Hindostan and were
laying the foundations of their future empire in India, the
Dutch gained control of the spice-growing islands, which, in
that day, were the richer commercial prize. The first Dutch
fleet that rounded the Cape of Good Hope and made its way into
East Indian waters, sailed under the command of one Cornelius
Houtmann, who had been in the service of the Portuguese and

learned the route. He started in 1595 with four ships and
returned, after a voyage of eighteen months, with only two. He
had lost more than half his men, and he brought back very
little cargo to pay for the adventurous undertaking. But the
Dutch were well satisfied with the experiment; they knew that
more experience would lead to better success. Another fleet of
eight ships was sent out in 1598 and when four of them
returned the next year with a precious cargo of spices and
other merchandise from Java, which they had procured very
cheaply in exchange for the cloths, the metal wares and the
trinkets that they took out, the delight of the nation can
hardly be described. Part of the fleet had remained in the
East to hold and strengthen the position they had gained, and
other ships were sent speedily to join them. Very soon the
armed merchantmen of the Dutch were thickly swarming in that
part of the world, ready for fight or for trade, as the case
might be. So many companies of merchants became engaged in the
business that too lively competition between them occurred and
they threatened to ruin one another. But that danger was
overcome in 1602 by joining the rival interests together in
one strong association, to which the government gave exclusive
rights of trade in the East. Thus the Dutch East India Company
was formed, in which the merchants of Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
Delft and other cities of the republic put their capital
together. By its charter, this great company held powers of
war as well as of commerce and it used them both with
prodigious energy. At first, the chief trading stations of the
Dutch in the East were at Bantam, in Java, and Amboyna, one of
the group of the Moluccas or Spice Islands; but the city of
Batavia, which they founded in Java in 1619, became afterwards
their principal seat of trade and the capital of their
surrounding possessions. The chief aim of the Dutch was to
gather into their hands the profitable commerce of the island
world of the Eastern Archipelago, but they did not fail to
pursue their Spanish and Portuguese enemies in other quarters,
where the chances of traffic looked inviting. They seized
positions on the Guinea coast of western Africa and took their
full share of the trade with its savage natives, who gave gold
dust, ivory, ebony, gums, wax, ginger, pepper, palm oil,
various choice kinds of wood, and slaves (for the West Indies
and America, when the plantations there began to want labor),
in exchange for trinkets and cheap goods. They also occupied
and colonized the Cape of Good Hope, which the Portuguese had
neglected, and made it, in time, a very prosperous and
valuable possession. That they should carry their war with
Spain into the West Indies and to the American coasts, was a
matter of course. In 1623 a Dutch West India Company was
chartered, to organize these operations in the western world,
as the East India Company had organized undertakings in
the East.
{3717}
But the West India Company was much less commercial and much
more warlike in its aims than the corporation of the orient.
Its first object was to take spoils from the enemy, and it
found the prizes of war so rich that not much else was thought
of. On the North American continent, a most important lodgment
was made, as early as 1614, at the mouth of the Hudson River,
where the colony of New Netherland was founded. In this
quarter, as everywhere, the Dutch and English were rivals, and
before many years they came to open war. In the series of wars
which followed (1652, 1665, 1672), and in the long contest
with Louis XIV. of France which they shared with England, the
Dutch expended more of their energies than they could afford.
The English, with their well protected island, rich in soil
and in minerals, had heavy advantages on their side, when once
they had acquired the knowledge of commerce and the ability in
labor which enabled them to compete with the Dutch. To the
latter nature had always been wholly unfriendly. They had
fought against circumstances at every step in their history,
and had won their wealth, their knowledge, their high
importance and influence in the world, by sheer hard work,
tireless patience and indomitable will. But the natural
advantages against which they struggled were sure to overcome
them in the end. It must be said, too, that they did not grow
in character as their fortunes rose. It is not difficult,
therefore, to account for the fact that the Dutch nation
slowly slipped back, during the 18th century, from the high
and leading position in civilization to which it had climbed,
and lost by degrees its commercial supremacy, while the
English nation came to the front.
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The English:
16-17th Centuries.
Commercial progress.
The East India Company.
As English commerce slowly freed itself from foreign hands, it
fell under the control of monopolies at home. The merchants of
the Middle Ages, in England and elsewhere, had formed
themselves into societies, or guilds, just as the artisans and
mechanics in different trades had done. Such associations had
originally grown out of the disorderly state of the times,
when government and law were weak, and when men who had common
interests were forced to unite to protect themselves, and to
establish customs and rules for regulating their business
affairs. But the guilds almost always became, in time,
oppressive monopolies, each acquiring, in its own department
of business, such exclusive rights and privileges as
practically shut out from that business all persons not
admitted to its membership. This occurred among the merchants,
as it did elsewhere, and English commerce grew up under the
control of various societies of "Merchant Adventurers," as
they were called.
See MERCHANT ADVENTURERS (page 2153).
The disputes and contests of these companies, at home and
abroad, and their suppression of individual enterprise, appear
to have hindered the growth of English commerce for a long
period. But it did grow steadily, notwithstanding, and through
the reigns of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, the number of English
ships set afloat and of English merchants trading abroad, was
rapidly multiplied. Meantime the English people gained skill
in weaving, dyeing and other arts, and were fast extending the
manufacture at home of their own famous Wool. This, in turn,
made the sheep farming more profitable, and so much land was
taken for that purpose that other products were diminished and
most articles of food rose in price. That occurrence caused
grave anxiety, and the meddling statesmen of the time, who
thought that nothing could go well if their wisdom did not
regulate it by law (as too many meddling statesmen think yet)
began to frame acts of Parliament which directed how farming
lands should be managed and how many sheep a single farmer
should be permitted to own. The same kind of statesmanship
took alarm at the spread of weaving, in a small way, among
industrious villagers and country people, who set up looms and
made and sold cloth, outside of the guilds of the town
weavers. So the complaints of the latter were listened to, and
Parliament forbade weaving to be done outside of certain
towns, except for home use in the family of the weaver. There
was much of that sort of legislation during Tudor times, and
the industry and enterprise of the country had to struggle
long and hard for freedom to fairly exercise themselves. But
in spite of meddling statesmen and tyrannical monopolies, the
people went all from year to year, learning more, doing more,
producing more, wanting more, buying and selling more, and
living in a better way. After about 1511, there appears to
have been a considerable direct trade growing up between
England and the countries of the eastern Mediterranean (the
Levant), and consuls, to look after the rights and interests
of English merchants, began to be appointed, at Candia, and
elsewhere, as early as 1530. The voyage from London to the
Levant and return then occupied from eleven months to a year.
About 1535 the English made their appearance as traders on the
Guinea coast of West Africa, disputing the exclusive rights
which the Portuguese claimed there, and in 1537 they opened
trade with the Moors of the Barbary coast, in northern Africa.
In 1553 a chartered company of London merchants was formed
with the object of exploring for a northeastern passage to
China, around Europe, through the Arctic seas, as a means of
dividing the trade of the East with the Portuguese, who
controlled the southern route, around Africa. This is believed
to have been the first joint stock corporation of shareholders
that was organized in England. Sebastian Cabot, then "Grand
Pilot of England," was at the head of it. The northwestern
passage was not found, but the company opened a trade with
Russia which proved to be exceedingly valuable. Accepting
this, in lieu of the China trade which it could not reach, it
became, as the Russia Company, a rich and powerful
corporation. The success of the Russia Company stimulated the
adventurous disposition of the English people and set other
enterprises in motion. But still more energy was roused by the
hostility of national feeling toward Spain. The destruction of
the Armada broke the Spanish naval power and made the English
bold. They began to navigate the sea from that time with
intent to become its masters, though the Dutch were still
superior to them in maritime strength and experience. During
the reign of Elizabeth there rose a new race of Vikings, very
much like the old Norse heroes of the sea, and pursuing a very
similar career.
{3718}
The most daring and most famous among them, such as Grenville,
Drake and Hawkins, were more than half pirates, and their
voyages were chiefly expeditions for plunder, directed against
the Spaniards and Portuguese. The trade which they first gave
attention to was the trade in negro slaves. But those
piratical adventurers of the 16th century made England the
"mistress of the seas." They trained for her a body of sailors
who were able in time to more than cope with the Dutch, and
they opened the newly known regions of the world for her
merchants and colonists to spread over them. Before the end of
the 17th century, the English had become the foremost power in
the western world and were making the most of its
opportunities for production and trade. Meantime they were
pushing their way with equal energy in the East. On the last
day of the year 1600 the "Company of Merchants of London
trading into the East Indies," which became afterwards so
great and famous as the "East India Company" of England, was
chartered by the Queen. The Company sent out its first fleet
of five vessels in 1601. The expedition returned, after an
absence of two years and seven months, richly laden, in part
with pepper from Sumatra and in part with the spoils of a
Portuguese ship which it had captured in the straits of
Malacca. It had settled a trading agency, or factory, at
Bantam—and that was the beginning of the vast empire which
England now rules in the East.
See INDIA: A. D. 1600-1702 (page 1709).
COMMERCE: MODERN: The English:
17-18th Centuries.
The Colonial or Sole Market Commercial System.
"The doctrine that the commercial prosperity of a country
depends on the creation, maintenance, and extension of a sole
market for its products and for its supplies, was prevalent
from the discovery of the New World and the Cape Passage down
to the war of American Independence. This was the principal
object of Borgia's Bulls. This was what animated the Dutch, in
their successful, in the end too successful, struggle, after a
monopoly of the Spice islands. This was the motive which led
to the charters of the Russian Company, the Levant Company,
the East India Company, the Turkey Company, the Hudson's Bay
Company, in England. The theory was organized in the colonial
system, which Adam Smith examined, attacked, and as far as
argument could go, demolished in his great work. But the dream
of a sole market is still possessing the Germans and the
French. … The early wars of Europe were wars of conquest. …
After them came the wars of religion, from the outbreak of the
Insurrection in the Low Countries, and the civil wars in
France, down to the Peace of Westphalia in the middle of the
17th century. From that day to our own, European wars have
been waged on behalf of the balance of power, the principal
mischief-maker in the contest being France. The English, the
French, and the Dutch were the competitors in the wars for a
sole market. But Holland was practically ruined at the peace
of Aix-la-Chapelle, and France was stripped … of her colonies
at the peace of Paris, and England became not only the
principal maritime, but the principal manufacturing and
mercantile country in the world. As regards English trade,
however, though India was an outlet to some extent for English
goods, its trade was in the hands of a chartered company, whom
the Seven Years' War had left in serious straits. The most
important sole market which Great Britain had acquired by her
wars was the seaboard of North America. To support the
finances of the chartered company, the British Parliament
determined on taxing the inhabitants of her sole market, and
the result as you know was the war of American Independence. …
The colonial or sole-market system was based on a strict
reciprocity. The English Government admitted colonial produce
into the English markets at differential duties, or prohibited
the produce of foreign nations and foreign colonies
altogether. The Colonies were not only the customers of
English manufacturers only, to the absolute exclusion of
foreign manufactures, but were prohibited from undertaking
those manufactures themselves. The English Government adopted
with their colonies the policy which they adopted with Irish
manufactures, which they also prohibited, but with this
difference, that they disabled the Irish from having any trade
whatever with England, with the Colonies, and with foreign
countries. They wished to extinguish, with one exception,
every Irish product, and to constitute themselves the sole
manufacturers and shopkeepers for the Irish. They allowed only
the linen manufacture of Ulster. The Irish were to be, with
this exception, agriculturists only, but they were to be
disabled from selling their agricultural produce in England,
or elsewhere. They were practically denied the right of trade.
… It was the doctrine of the sole market in its most
exaggerated form. … The colonial system, under which
advantages were secured to the colonial producer by giving him
a preferred market in Great Britain, while the colonist was
debarred from engaging in manufactures, was a selfish one on
the part of the English merchants and manufacturers. It gave
the colonist a sole market, it is true. But it does not follow
that a sole market is a high market. On the contrary, it is
probable that the offer of a sole market is intended to secure
a low market. The Virginian planter sent the whole of his
tobacco to England. The English trader re-exported it to other
countries, say Holland or Germany. It may be presumed that he
made a profit on the original consignment, and on the
re-exportation, or he would not have undertaken the business.
… The colonial system did not preclude the plantations from
sending, under the strict conditions of the Navigation Act,
certain kinds of produce to other countries than England.
These were called non-enumerated commodities, the principal
being corn, timber, salted provisions, fish, sugar, and rum.
There was a reason for this, which was to be found in the
fiscal system of England. We did not want colonial corn, for
there were duties on corn, levied in the interest of the
landlords, nor colonial timber, salted meat and salted fish,
for the home produce of these articles were similarly
assisted. Sugar and rum were allowed to be exported, for the
owners of the plantations in the Leeward isles were chiefly
absentee English proprietors, who had already a monopoly of
English supply, and were powerful enough in Parliament to get
an extended market elsewhere. But in 1769, just before the
troubles broke out with the American plantations, an Act was
passed, disabling the colonists from sending even the
non-enumerated commodities to any country north of Cape
Finisterre, in Northern Spain. … The enumerated goods, and
there was a long list of them, could be exported to Great
Britain only. They consisted, as Adam Smith says, of what
could not be produced in this country, and what could be
produced in great quantity in the Colonies."
J. E. T. Rogers,
The Economic Interpretation of History,
lecture 15.
{3719}
COMMERCE: MODERN: The Americans:
Colonial Trade.
"We are a nation of land-traffickers, but our ancestors in the
colonies traded and traveled almost entirely by water. There
were but twelve miles of land-carriage in all the province of
New York; beyond Albany the Indian trade was carried on by
'three-' or 'four-handed batteaus,' sharp at both ends, like
the Adirondack boat of to-day. Yachts, with bottoms of black
oak and sides of red cedar, brought wheat in bulk and peltries
down the Hudson; other craft carried on the domestic trade of
New York town with the shores of Long Island, Staten Island,
and the little ports beyond the Kill von Kull. … The first
regular wagon-carriage from the Connecticut River to Boston
did not begin until 1697; Massachusetts had then been settled
seventy years. The flat-bottomed boat, which has since played
so important a part in the trade of the Ohio and the
Mississippi, and whose form was probably suggested by that of
the 'west country barges' of England, appears to have been
used for floating produce down the Delaware before 1685. In
the Chesapeake colonies, until late in the provincial period,
there were almost no roads but the numerous bays and
water-courses, and almost no vehicles but canoes, row-boats,
pinnaces and barks. Places of resort for worship or business
were usually near the waterside. … But of all means of travel
or trade the Indian canoe was the chief. … Roads in the
colonies were hardly ever laid out, but were left where Indian
trail or chance cart-track in the woods had marked them. …
From England, along with bad roads, the colonists brought the
pack-horse which, in Devon and Cornwall, at the close of the
last century, still did the carrying, even of building-stones
and cord-wood. Most of the inland traffic of the colonial
period was done by packing. … The Germans, whose ancestors had
four-wheeled vehicles in the days of Julius Cæsar, made good
roads wherever they planted themselves. While their English
neighbors were content to travel on horseback and to ford and
swim streams, the Salzburgers in Georgia began by opening a
wagon-road twelve miles long, with seven bridges, 'which
surprised the English mightily.' Pennsylvania, the home of the
Germans, alone of the colonies built good straight roads; and
the facility which these afforded to ten thousand
freight-wagons was the main advantage that gave Philadelphia
the final preeminence among the colonial sea-ports, and made
Lancaster the only considerable inland mart In North America.
… Proximity to the wampum-making savages at one end of Hudson
River navigation and to the beaver-catchers at the other made
New York the chief seat of the fur trade. Wagon-roads, soil,
climate, and an industrious people made Philadelphia the
principal center of the traffic in bread and meat. The
never-ending line of convenient shore that bordered the
peninsulas of Maryland and Virginia, and gave a good
landing-place at every man's door, with a tobacco currency,
rendered it difficult to build towns or develop trade among
the easy-going planters of the Chesapeake and Albemarle
regions. A different coast-line, and rivers less convenient,
made Charleston the rich and urbane commercial and social
center of southern Carolina. Until about 1750 Boston was the
leading sea-port, and its long wharf, 2,000 feet in length
with warehouses on one side of it, was the New World wonder of
travelers. Five or six hundred vessels annually cleared out of
Boston in the middle of the 18th century for the foreign trade
alone, and the city contained between twenty and thirty
thousand people at the outbreak of the Revolution. But
Newport, with its thirty distilleries to make rum of the
molasses brought from the islands, and its seventeen sperm-oil
and candle factories to work up the results of the whaling
industry, had nearly half as many ships in foreign trade as
Boston, and three or four hundred craft of all sorts in the
coast-wise carrying trade. He was thought a bold prophet who
said then that 'New York might one day equal Newport'; for
about 1750 New York sent forth fewer ships than Newport, and
not half so many as Boston. … But Philadelphia—planted late in
the 17th century—outstripped all rivals, and for the last
twenty years of the colonial period was the chief port of
North America. … The imports and exports of the two tobacco
colonies together were far larger than those of Philadelphia,
but their profits were far less."
E. Eggleston,
Commerce in the Colonies
(Century, June, 1884).
COMMERCE: MODERN: The English:
18-19th Centuries.
Rising prosperity and commercial supremacy.
Successful War, Free Trade and Steam Power.
"If we look at the state of the European powers after the
conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, we shall see how
favourable our position then was. In the first place, England
had seriously crippled her commercial rival, France, both in
her Indian and American possessions, and thereby had gained
extensive colonial territories which afforded a ready market
for British goods. Spain, which had been allied with France,
had lost at the same time her position as the commercial rival
of England in trade with the New World. Germany had for some
time ceased to be a formidable competitor, and was now being
ravaged by internal conflicts between the reigning houses of
Austria and Prussia. Holland, which had once been England's
most serious rival—especially in foreign commerce—was at this
time in a similar condition, and had greatly declined from the
prosperity of the 16th and 17th centuries. Hence England alone
had the chance of 'the universal empire of the sole market.'
The supply of this market was in the hands of English
manufacturers and English workmen, so that the great
inventions which came into operation after 1763 were thus at
once called into active employment, and our mills and mines
were able to produce wealth as fast as they could work,
without fear of foreign competition. It is not surprising,
therefore, to find that in the ten years, from 1782 to 1792,
our entire foreign trade was nearly doubled, the exact figures
being:
1782, imports £10,341,628, exports £13,009,458;
1792, Imports £19,659,358, exports £24,905,200.
And this remarkable progress was still kept up even during the
great continental wars which were caused by the French
Revolution, and which lasted for almost a quarter of a
century. …
{3720}
In spite of the almost entire loss of our trade in some
directions, English commerce improved in others; and, in fact,
any loss was more than counterbalanced by an increase in
regard to the (now independent) United States, Russia, Venice,
Germany, and Northern Europe, as well as with the West and
East Indian colonies, both British and foreign. In fact, many
of the countries whom France had compelled to become our
enemies found themselves unable to do without British
manufactures, especially as their own industries were
suffering from the warfare that was going on on the Continent,
and therefore had to find means to procure our goods. … The
close of the 25 years of continental war (1815) is sometimes
taken as being the date when the modern system of commerce may
be said to have had its beginning. Up to that time, although
great changes and advances had been made, the spirit of
monopoly and the general restrictive policy which
characterised previous centuries, were still, to some extent,
in force. But not very long after the peace that was won by
the battle of Waterloo, a remarkable change was made in the
commercial policy of England. … We now come to the beginnings
of freedom of trade."
H. de B. Gibbins,
British Commerce and Colonies,
pages 91-102.
"When the wars of the French Revolution began, the foundations
of a great empire had already been broadly laid; and when it
ended, England stood out as a power which had grown greater in
the struggle. … Dutchman, Dane, and Spaniard, Frenchman and
Venetian, all ancient competitors of England, fell before her;
and, when the sword was sheathed in 1815, it was no
exaggerated boast to call her mistress of the seas. These
facts should never be lost sight of in any consideration of
the causes which have led us to where we now are. Without
these preparatory steps, both in domestic industries and in
foreign wars and conquests, England would not, with all her
material advantages, have been so entirely the gainer by the
progress of the last fifty years as she has so far proved to
be. … There is the more need to remember this because the time
immediately following the war was one of severe domestic
suffering, and of much retrograde legislation, conceived with
a view to, if possible, lessen that suffering. … The worst of
all the laws which then restricted trade were those relating
to the exports and imports of corn, which the younger men of
to-day have well-nigh forgotten. … It was not till after long
years of agitation by John Bright, Richard Cobden, and other
leaders of the Anti-Corn Law League, that the landed party
gave way sullenly, and assented, amid the most gloomy
predictions of impending ruin, to the repeal of the sliding
scale altogether, and the virtual abolition of all corn laws
by the substitution of a fixed duty of 1 s. per quarter. Thus
recently was one of the most oppressive pieces of fiscal
legislation that man could have conceived withdrawn; and not
until 1849, when that law came into force, could the
industries of the country be said to be anything like
unfettered. Yet twenty years more passed before this shilling
duty—the last rag of protection—was itself flung aside, and
the import of corn became perfectly free. … But many other
changes had in the meantime taken place, all tending more and
more to throw off the shackles of trade. … As late as 1840 our
customs tariff was described in the report of a committee of
the House of Commons as 'presenting neither congruity nor
unity of purpose;' as 'often aiming at incompatible ends,'
seeking both to produce revenue and to protect interests in
ways incompatible with each other. There were no fewer than
1,150 different rates of duty chargeable on imported articles,
… and the committee gave a list of 862 of such articles which
were subject to duty, seventeen of which then produced 94 per
cent. of a revenue amounting to £23,000,000. … The present
customs tariff contains less than two dozen articles all told,
and including those on which duty is imposed to countervail
the excise charges on internal products. The ordinary import
articles on which duty is charged number only seven. … But
there is yet another hindrance the removal of which has to be
noticed, and which, till removed, cramped England very
seriously, viz. the navigation laws and the great trade
monopoly of the East India Company. … It took longer time … to
accomplish the complete deliverance of our mercantile marine
from the baneful influence of 'protective' jealousy than to
accomplish any other great free-trade reform. A tentative
effort to lessen the consequences of confining the carrying
trade of England to English ships was made in 1825 by Mr.
Huskisson; but it was not till 1854 that complete free trade
on the sea was granted by the abolition of any restriction as
to the nationality of vessels engaged in the coasting trade of
the kingdom. … Here, then, we have noted briefly the various
steps and leading characteristics of the commercial reforms
which, in this country, either paved the way for or secured
the benefit of the great outburst of enterprise and influx of
wealth which began in the second quarter of the present
century. These various reforms constitute, so to say, the
negative side of the modern commercial prosperity which this
country built upon the foundations of her world-wide empire;
and, in order to get a complete outline of the position which
we at present occupy, we must now revert briefly to the
positive side of the subject; we must find out where the great
modern wealth has come from, and on what it has been based.
Freedom of trade no doubt did much to call wealth and
enterprise into being; but in what did this wealth consist?
Happily the leading features are not difficult to trace.
Although the foundations of the great manufacturing industries
of this country lie far back in the past, their development,
like the growth of free-trade principles, is quite modern, and
dates in reality from the day when George Stephenson won the
competition at Liverpool with his locomotive 'the Rocket,'
settling thereby the question of railroad travelling by steam
beyond dispute. The mere stimulus to all kinds of mining and
manufacturing industries which this victory and the subsequent
railway operations gave, was itself enough to cause the trade
of this country to press forward by 'leaps and bounds.' Since
November 1830, it may be said to have done so; and the mere
fact that England was the originator of the railway systems of
the world, and that she contained within herself almost
boundless materials wherewith to supply those systems, would
itself suffice to explain the pre-eminence which from that day
to this has been unquestionably hers.
{3721}
The great natural resources of the country were first employed
in supplying the materials for home development, and then
gradually the wealth thus acquired by digging in the bowels of
the earth was utilised in tempting or leading other nations
into a career of 'progress' similar to our own. In spite of
the many losses which individuals suffered in the early days
of this progress, the nation grew steadily richer and its
stores of realised wealth increased with every new enterprise
almost that it took up. … Each year the realised wealth of the
one before told, as it were, in swelling the working power of
the nation, and in enlarging the business capacities and scope
of its credit. … Side by side with the increased produce of
the country, the increased manufactures, and the increasing
wealth, there were growing up facilities for
intercommunication with all parts of the world, and with that
an increasing tendency to emigration. The home hives were
constantly throwing off young swarms, which, settling now in
America, now in Australia, now in Africa, became so many new
centres of demand, so many links in the trade chain that we
had bound round the world."
A. J. Wilson,
British Trade
(Fraser's Magazine, September, 1876),
pages 271-277.
"The almost unlimited expansion which becomes marked about
1850 and culminates in 1873, has been pointed to by many
different people as proof of the great effect of different
measures or inventions; as a matter of fact, it was due to no
one cause, but was rather the result of multitudinous
discoveries and events, acting and reacting on each other.
Perhaps the following list of dates shows this most clearly;—
Opening of first English railway, 1830;
Wheatstone's telegraph, 1837;
first ocean steamer, 1838;
settlement in New Zealand, 1840;
reduction of duties on raw materials, 1842;
repeal of Corn Laws, 1846;
commercial treaty with France, 1860.
Here are seven events of widely different natures, each of
which must have had its effect in the period under
consideration, and it would be useless, even if it were
possible, to weigh the separate result of each. We cannot
estimate, we can obtain no criterion of the vast effects of
the adoption of Free Trade. Three things, however, are clear;—
First, that till the suffocating restrictions were removed,
trade could not expand; when exports were prohibited, imports
could not be plentiful; when imports were taxed, the demand at
enhanced prices could not be great. Secondly, if every
restriction was removed from every branch of trade, there
would be no increase without natural causes of manufacture and
demand, no increased demand without a cheapening or
improvement of supply; that, in fact, Free Trade is the
method, not the source, of commerce, and that the claim of
this increase as the direct result of freedom and a proof of
its expediency is an inaccurate exaggeration. Thirdly, that
the date of the marked commencement of the expansion coincides
exactly with the reductions and abolitions of duties, pointing
to the fact, borne out by all concurrent events, that the
adoption of Free Trade was the opening of the valve which
allowed the forces of commerce full play. … It was in the
trades of comparatively recent establishment, in England
especially, that there were immense outputs (of cotton goods
and machinery, for instance), in great excess of the home
demand; and this could only pay if the foreign demand grew in
proportion to the growing efficiency; that is to say, our
newer industries became the most important, and were marked as
our division of international labour. The foreign demand,
indeed, for our manufactures and our machines was
extraordinary. Now, every country is trying to rival our
goods, and each to produce for herself the manufactures she
requires; then, rivalry was out of the question. … On every
side new markets were opened; old trades were increased, new
developed. The railways built with our materials opened up
districts hitherto inaccessible; this acted as a fresh
stimulus to our manufacturers—more capital was forthcoming,
and more railways were built. Not only were countries, with
which we had already established some trade, brought nearer
and in closer relation, but new countries were discovered.
Australia and New Zealand were ready to take our surplus
population, and were not behindhand in the new system of
development. Our older colonies also increased. With each
emigration the number of our customers abroad was multiplied.
In 1850 and 1852 this process was accelerated by the news of
the gold discoveries in California and Australia. So great was
the emigration and the consequent demand for ships that all
freights were increased, and, with a short lull, this
continued till 1856. … The last great impetus was given by the
Suez Canal, by which the journey to India and the East was
quickened by one-half, and, at the same time, rendered more
secure."
A. L. Bowley,
England's Foreign Trade in the Nineteenth Century.
chapter 4.
See, also, TARIFF LEGISLATION (pages 3073-3077).
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The Americans: A. D, 1856-1895.
Decay of American shipping interests.
"Down to the year 1856, the United States had rapidly advanced
in commercial greatness, and had overcome all the obstacles
which had clustered about their path. At that time we were
close upon the heels of England, and everything pointed to our
speedily passing her in the race for commercial supremacy.
Since then our commerce has steadily declined,—a misfortune
usually attributed to the civil war, and subsequently to the
competition of more profitable forms of investment. These
circumstances no doubt hastened the loss of our commerce; but,
as Lieutenant Kelley points out, they are not the true causes
of its decline, inasmuch as that began before the civil war.
The origin of our difficulties lay in the abandonment of our
old policy, which, from the beginning of the century,
consisted in surpassing all the world in the quality and speed
of our ships and in our naval architecture. With the
substitution of iron for wood we began to drop behind, until,
with a population of 55,000,000, we have a tonnage but little
greater than we had when half as numerous. Moreover, our
percentage of wrecks is larger than that of any other
seafaring people, and our ships and steamers are
shorter-lived.
The Question of Ships
(Atlantic Monthly, June, 1884, pages 859-861).
{3722}
"The first symptoms of the decadence appeared in 1856, in the
falling-off in the sales of American tonnage to foreigners;
the reduction being from 65,000 in 1855 to 42,000 in 1856, to
26,000 in 1858, and to 17,000 in 1860. During the war,
however, the transfers of American tonnage to foreign flags
again increased very largely, and, for the years 1862 to 1865
inclusive, amounted to the large aggregate of 824,652 tons, or
to more than one-fourth of all the registered tonnage (the
tonnage engaged in foreign trade) of the United States in
1860. But these transfers, it is well understood, were not in
the nature of ordinary business, but for the sake of obtaining
a more complete immunity from destruction upon the high seas
than the United States at that time was able to afford. The
year 1856 also marks the time when the growth of our foreign
steam-shipping was arrested, and a retrograde movement
inaugurated; so that … our aggregate tonnage in this
department was 1,000 tons less in 1862 than it was in 1855.
The total tonnage of every description built in the United
States also declined from 583,450 tons in 1855 (the largest
amount ever built in any one year) to 469,393 in 1856, 378,804
in 1857, and 212,892 in 1860, a reduction of 68 per cent in
five years. During the year 1855, American vessels carried
75.6 per cent of the value of the exports and imports of the
United States. After 1855 this proportion steadily declined to
75.2 per cent in 1856, 70.5 in 1857, 66.9 in 1859, and 65.2 in
1861, the year of the outbreak of the war. … Of the enormous
increase in the foreign commerce of the United States since
1860, as above noted, every maritime nation of any note, with
the exception of the United States, has taken a share.
American tonnage alone exhibits a decrease. Thus, comparing
1880 with 1856, the foreign tonnage entering the seaports of
the United States increased nearly 11,000,000 of tons; whereas
the American tonnage entered during the same period exhibits a
decrease of over 65,000 tons. British tonnage increased its
proportion from 935,000 tons in 1856 to 7,903,000 in 1880;
Germany, during the same time, from 166,000 to 1,089,000; and
Sweden and Norway from 20,662 to 1,234,000. Austria, limited
to almost a single seaport, jumped up from 1,477 tons in 1856
to 206,000 tons in 1880, and had, in 1879, 179 large-class
sailing-vessels engaged in the American trade. Sleepy Portugal
increased during the same period from 4,727 tons to 24,449
tons. … How is it, that the United States, formerly a maritime
power of the first class, has now no ships or steamers that
can profitably compete for the carrying of even its own
exports; not merely with the ships of our great commercial
rival, England, but also with those of Italy, Sweden, Norway,
Germany, Holland, Austria, and Portugal? … The facts already
presented fully demonstrate that the war was not the cause,
and did not mark the commencement, of the decadence of
American shipping; although the contrary is often and perhaps
generally assumed by those who have undertaken to discuss this
subject. The war simply hastened a decay which had already
commenced. … The primary cause was what may be termed a
natural one, the result of the progress of the age and a
higher degree of civilization; namely, the substitution of
steam in place of wind as an agent for ship-propulsion, and
the substitution of iron in the place of wood as a material
for ship-construction. … The means and appliances for the
construction of iron vessels did not then [in 1855] exist in
the United States; while Great Britain, commencing even as far
back as 1837 (when John Laird constructed his first iron
steamers of any magnitude for steam navigation), and with
eighteen years of experience, had become thoroughly equipped
in 1855 for the prosecution of this great industry. The
facilities for the construction of steam machinery adapted to
the most economical propulsion of ocean vessels, furthermore,
were also inferior in the United States to those existing in
Great Britain; and, by reason of statute provisions, citizens
of the United States interested in ocean commerce were
absolutely prevented and forbidden from availing themselves of
the results of British skill and superiority in the
construction of vessels when such a recourse was the only
policy which could have enabled them at the time to hold their
position in the ocean carrying trade in competition with their
foreign rivals. … The inability of the ships of the United
States to do the work which trade and commerce required that
they should do as well and cheaply as the ships of other
nations having been demonstrated by experience, the decadence
of American shipping commenced and was inevitable from the
very hour when this fact was first recognized, which was about
the year 1856. Here, then, we have the primary cause of the
decay of the business of ship-building in the United States
and of our commercial marine. … The question which next
naturally presents itself in the order of this inquiry and
discussion is, Why is it that the people of the United States
have not been permitted to enjoy the privileges accorded to
other maritime nations, of adjusting their shipping interests
to the spirit and wants of the age? Why have they alone been
debarred from using the best tools in an important department
of commerce, when the using meant business retained, labor
employed, and capital rewarded, and the non-using equally
meant decay, paralysis, and impoverishment? The answer is,
Because of our so-called navigation laws."
D. A. Wells,
Our Merchant Marine,
chapters 2-3.
"Somewhat curtailed, the navigation laws may be summarized as
follows: No American is allowed to import a foreign-built
vessel in the sense of purchasing, acquiring a registry, or
using her as his property; the only other imports, equally and
forcibly prohibited, being counterfeit money and obscene
goods. An American vessel ceases to be such if owned in the
smallest degree by a naturalized citizen, who may, after
acquiring the purchase, reside for more than one year in his
native country, or for more than two years in any other
foreign state. An American ship owned in part or in full by an
American citizen who, without the expectation of relinquishing
his citizenship, resides in any foreign country except as
United States Consul, or as agent or partner in an exclusively
American mercantile house, loses its register and its right to
protection. A citizen obtaining a register for an American
vessel must make oath that no foreigner is directly or
indirectly interested in the profits thereof, whether as
commander, officer, or owner. Foreign capital may build our
railroads, work our mines, insure our property, and buy our
bonds, but a single dollar invested in American ships so
taints as to render it unworthy of the benefit of our laws. No
foreign-built vessel can, under penalty of confiscation, enter
our ports and then sail to another domestic port with any new
cargo, or with any part of an original cargo, which has once
been unladen previously, without touching at some port of some
foreign country.
{3723}
This law is construed to include all direct traffic between
the Atlantic and Pacific ports of the United States via Cape
Horn, the Cape of Good Hope, or the Isthmus of Panama; and
being a coasting trade, foreigners cannot compete. An American
vessel once sold or transferred to a foreigner, can never
again become American property, even if the transaction has
been the result of capture and condemnation by a foreign power
in time of war. Vessels under 30 tons cannot be used to import
anything at any seaboard town. Cargoes from the eastward of
the Cape of Good Hope are subject to a duty of 10 per cent. in
addition to the direct importation duties. American vessels
repaired in foreign ports must pay a duty on the repairs equal
to one-half the cost of the foreign work or material, or pay
50 per cent. ad valorem, the master or owner making entry of
such repairs as imports. This liberal provision, which dates
from 1866, is made to include boats obtained at sea, from a
passing foreign vessel, in order to assure the safety of our
own seamen. … All other nations have the power of buying ships
for foreign trade in the cheapest market, and the effort to
protect our shipbuilders by the denial of this right forbids
the return of commercial prosperity."
J. D. J. Kelley,
The Question of Ships,
chapters 4-5.
COMMERCE: MODERN:
The recent revolution in Commerce.
"All economists who have specially studied this matter are
substantially agreed that, within the period named
[1860-1885], man in general has attained to such a greater
control over the forces of Nature, and has so compassed their
use, that he has been able to do far more work in a given
time, produce far more product, measured by quantity in ratio
to a given amount of labor, and reduce the effort necessary to
insure a comfortable subsistence in a far greater measure than
it was possible for him to accomplish 20 or 30 years anterior
to the time of the present writing (1889). In the absence of
sufficiently complete data, it is not easy, and perhaps not
possible, to estimate accurately, and specifically state the
average saving in time and labor in the world's work of
production and distribution that has been thus achieved. In a
few departments of industrial effort the saving in both of
these factors has certainly amounted to 70 or 80 per cent; in
not a few to more than 50 per cent. … Out of such results as
are definitely known and accepted have come tremendous
industrial and social disturbances, the extent and effect of
which—and more especially of the disturbances which have
culminated, as it were, in later years—it is not easy to
appreciate without the presentation and consideration of
certain typical and specific examples. … Let us go back, in
the first instance, to the year 1869, when an event occurred
which was probably productive of more immediate and serious
economic changes—industrial, commercial, and financial—than
any other event of this century, a period of extensive war
excepted. That was the opening of the Suez Canal. … The old
transportation had been performed by ships, mainly
sailing-vessels, fitted to go round the Cape, and as such
ships were not adapted to the Suez Canal, an amount of
tonnage, estimated by some authorities as high as two million
tons, and representing an immense amount of wealth, was
virtually destroyed. The voyage, in place of occupying from
six to eight months, has been so greatly reduced that steamers
adapted to the canal now make the voyage from London to
Calcutta, or vice versa, in less than 30 days. The notable
destruction or great impairment in the value of ships
consequent upon the construction of the canal did not,
furthermore, terminate with its immediate opening and use; for
improvements in marine engines, diminishing the consumption of
coal, and so enabling vessels to be not only sailed at less
cost, but to carry also more cargo, were, in consequence of
demand for quick and cheap service so rapidly effected, that
the numerous and expensive steamer constructions of 1870-1873,
being unable to compete with the constructions of the next two
years, were nearly all displaced in 1875-1876, and sold for
half, or less than half, of their original cost. And within
another decade these same improved steamers of 1875-1876 have,
in turn, been discarded and sold at small prices. … Again,
with telegraphic communication between India and China, and
the markets of the Western world, permitting the dealers and
consumers of the latter to adjust to a nicety their supplies
of commodities to varying demands, and with the reduction of
the time of the voyage to 30 days or less, there was no longer
any necessity of laying up great stores of Eastern commodities
in Europe; and with the termination of this necessity, the
India warehouse and distribution system of England, with all
the labor and all the capital and banking incident to it,
substantially passed away. Europe, and to some extent the
United States, ceased to go to England for its supplies. …
Importations of East Indian produce are also no longer
confined in England and other countries to a special class of
merchants; and so generally has this former large and special
department of trade been broken up and dispersed, that
extensive retail grocers in the larger cities of Europe and
the United States are now reported as drawing their supplies
direct from native dealers in both China and India. … In
short, the construction of the Suez Canal completely
revolutionized one of the greatest departments of the world's
commerce and business; absolutely destroying an immense amount
of what had previously been wealth, and displacing or changing
the employment of millions of capital and thousands of men. …
The deductions from the most recent tonnage statistics of
Great Britain come properly next in order for consideration.
During the ten years from 1870 to 1880, inclusive, the British
mercantile marine increased its movement, in the matter of
foreign entries and clearances alone, to the extent of
22,000,000 tons; or, to put it more simply, the British
mercantile marine exclusively engaged in foreign trade did so
much more work within the period named; and yet the number of
men who were employed in effecting this great movement had
decreased in 1880, as compared with 1870, to the extent of
about 3,000 (2,990 exactly). What did it? The introduction of
steam hoisting-machines and grain-elevators upon the wharves
and docks, and the employment of steam-power upon the vessels
for steering, raising the sails and anchors, pumping, and
discharging the cargo; or, in other words, the ability,
through the increased use of steam and improved machinery, to
carry larger cargoes in a shorter time, with no increase—or,
rather, an actual decrease—of the number of men employed in
sailing or managing the vessels. …
{3724}
Prior to about the year 1875 ocean-steamships had not been
formidable as freight-carriers. The marine engine was too
heavy, occupied too much space, consumed too much coal. … The
result of the construction and use of compound engines in
economizing coal has been illustrated by Sir Lyon Playfair, by
the statement that 'a small cake of coal, which would pass
through a ring the size of a shilling, when burned in the
compound engine of a modern steamboat would drive a ton of
food and its proportion of the ship two miles on its way from
a foreign port.' … Is it, therefore, to be wondered at, that
the sailing-vessel is fast disappearing from the ocean? …
Great, however, as has been the revolution in respect to
economy and efficiency in the carrying-trade upon the ocean,
the revolution in the carrying-trade upon land during the same
period has been even greater and more remarkable. Taking the
American railroads in general as representative of the
railroad system of the world, the average charge for moving
one ton of freight per mile has been reduced from about 2.5
cents in 1869 to 1.06 in 1887; or, taking the results on one
of the standard roads of the United States the (New York
Central), from 1.95 in 1869 to 0.68 in 1885. … One marked
effect of the present railroad and steamship system of
transportation has been to compel a uniformity of prices for
all commodities that are essential to life. … For grain
henceforth, therefore, the railroad and the steamship have
decided that there shall be but one market—the world."
D. A. Wells,
Recent Economic Changes,
pages. 27-47.
A recent English writer says: "Formerly we [the English] were
the great manufacturers of the world; the great distributors
and the great warehousemen of the world. Our country was the
point on which the great passenger traffic impinged from
America and from our Colonies, and from which passengers
distributed themselves over the continent of Europe. The
products of the world as a general rule came to English ports,
and from English ports were distributed to their various
markets. All this has much changed. Probably the alteration is
more marked in our distributing trade than in that of our
manufacturing trade or in any other direction. About twenty
years ago all the silk that was manufactured or consumed in
Europe was brought to England from the East, mostly in a raw
state, and was thence distributed to continental mills.
Notwithstanding the increased consumption in Europe, silk now
coming to England for distribution is only about one-eighth of
the quantity that came here some twelve years ago. This is one
single example of an Oriental product. The same diversion of
our distributing trade can be traced in almost every other
commodity. Many people believe that the opening of the Suez
Canal has caused this diminution of our distributing trade,
and it cannot be denied that the Suez Canal has done much to
divert Oriental trade from this country, and to send goods
direct through the Canal to the continental ports, where they
are consumed, or where they can be placed on railways and be
forwarded without break of bulk to their destinations. But
whatever the Suez Canal may have done to divert trade in
Oriental goods such as tea or silk, it cannot account for the
diversion of the trade coming from America. Yet we find the
same diversion of American products which formerly came to
England for distribution. With cotton the same result is
found, and with coffee from the Brazil. Nor does the diversion
of these articles merely demonstrate that our distributing
trade is being lost to us: it also shows that the
manufacturers of England now permit the raw material of their
industries to be sent straight to the factories of their
competitors on the Continent. It shows that the great
manufactures of the world are being transferred from England
to Belgium, France, Germany, and even to Portugal and Spain.
In the train of these manufactures are rapidly following all
the complex and complicated businesses which are the
hand-maidens of commerce. For instance, the financial business
which used to centre in London is being transferred to Paris,
Antwerp, and Germany, mainly because the goods to which this
business relates are now consigned to continental countries
instead of as formerly being brought to England to be
distributed therefrom. … The loss of our distributing trade is
to my mind in a great measure due to the fact that goods
consigned to continental ports can be there put upon railways
and sent straight to their destination; while goods sent to
English ports must be put upon a railway, taken to our coast,
there taken out of the railway, put on board a vessel, taken
across to the Continent, there unloaded, then put on the
railway and sent off to their ultimate destination. These
transhipments from railway to vessel and from vessel to
railway are always costly, always involve time, and in the
case of some perishable articles render the transaction almost
prohibitive. To get over this difficulty and to retain our
distributing trade, there appears to me to be only one course
open, and that is in some way to obtain direct
railway-communication from Liverpool, from London, from

Bristol, from Hull, from Glasgow, and from Dundee, to the
continental markets where the goods landed at those ports are
consumed."
H. M. Hozier,
England's Real Peril
(Macmillan's Magazine, July, 1888).
COMMERCE: MODERN:
Waterways and Railways in modern inland commerce.
"There are three great epochs in the modern history of canal
navigation, each marked by characteristics peculiar to itself,
and sufficiently unlike those of either of the others to
enable it to be readily differentiated. They may be thus
described:
1. The era of waterways, designed at once to facilitate the
transport of heavy traffic from inland centres to the
seaboard, and to supersede the then existing systems of
locomotion—the wagon and the pack-horse. This era commenced
with the construction of the Bridgewater Canal between 1766
and 1770, and terminated with the installation of the railway
system in 1830.
2. The era of interoceanic canals, which was inaugurated by
the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, and is still in
progress.
3. The era of ship-canals intended to afford to cities and
towns remote from the sea, all the advantages of a seaboard,
and especially that of removing and dispatching merchandise
without the necessity of breaking bulk.
{3725}
The second great stage in the development of canal transport
is of comparatively recent origin. It may, in fact, be said to
date only from the time when the construction of a canal
across the Isthmus of Suez was proved to be not only
practicable as an engineering project, but likewise highly
successful as a commercial enterprise. Not that this was by
any means the first canal of its kind. On the contrary, … the
ancients had many schemes of a similar kind in view across the
same isthmus. The canal of Languedoc, constructed in the reign
of Louis XIV., was for that day as considerable an
undertaking. It was designed for the purpose of affording a
safe and speedy means of communication between the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean; it has a total length of
148 miles, is in its highest part 600 ft. above the level of
the sea, and has in all 114 locks and sluices. In Russia,
canals had been constructed in the time of Peter the Great,
for the purpose of affording a means of communication between
the different inland seas that are characteristic of that
country. The junction of the North and Caspian Seas, of the
Baltic and the Caspian, and the union of the Black and the
Caspian Seas, had all been assisted by the construction of a
series of canals which were perhaps without parallel for their
completeness a century ago. In Prussia a vast system of inland
navigation had been completed during the last century, whereby
Hamburg was connected with Dantzic, and the products of the
country could be exported either by the Black Sea or by the
Baltic. In Scotland the Forth and Clyde Canal, and the
Caledonian Canal, were notable examples of artificial
navigation designed to connect two seas, or two firths that
had all the characteristics of independent oceans; and the
Erie Canal, in the United States, completed a chain of
communication between inland seas of much the same order. But,
although a great deal had been done in the direction of
facilitating navigation between different waters by getting
rid of the 'hyphen' by which they were separated anterior to
the date of the Suez Canal, this grand enterprise undoubtedly
marked a notable advance in the progress of the world from
this point of view. The work was at once more original and
more gigantic than any that had preceded it. … The Suez Canal
once completed and successful, other ship canal schemes came
'thick as autumnal leaves in Vallombrosa.' Several of these
were eminently practical, as well as practicable. The Hellenic
Parliament determined on cutting through the tongue of land
which is situated between the Gulfs of Athens and Lepantus,
known as the Isthmus of Corinth. This isthmus divides the
Adriatic and the Archipelago, and compels all vessels passing
from the one sea to the other to round Cape Matapan, thus
materially lengthening the voyages of vessels bound from the
western parts of Europe to the Levant, Asia Minor and Smyrna.
The canal is now an accomplished fact. Another proposal was
that of cutting a canal from Bordeaux to Marseilles, across
the South of France, a distance of some 120 miles, whereby
these two great ports would be brought 1,678 miles nearer to
each other, and a further reduction, estimated at 800 miles,
effected in the distance between England and India. The Panama
Canal (projected in 1871, and actually commenced in 1880) is,
however, the greatest enterprise of all, and in many respects
the most gigantic and difficult undertaking of which there is
any record. The proposed national canal from sea to sea,
proposed by Mr. Samuel Lloyd and others for Great Britain, the
proposed Sheffield Ship Canal, the proposed Irish Sea and
Birkenhead Ship Canal, and the proposed ship canal to connect
the Forth and the Clyde, are but a few of many notable
examples of the restlessness of our times in this direction. …
There are not a few people who regard the canal system almost
as they might regard the Dodo and the Megatherium. It is to
them an effete relic of a time when civilisation was as yet
but imperfectly developed. … Canals do, indeed, belong to the
past. … That canals also belong to the present, Egypt, the
American isthmus, Manchester, Corinth, and other places, fully
prove, and, unless we greatly err, they are no less the
heritage of the future."
J. S. Jeans,
Waterways and Water Transport,
section 1, chapter 1.
"'The sea girt British Isles have upwards of 2,500 miles of
canals, in addition to the Manchester Ship Canal, which is
thirty-five and one-half miles, and is said to be one of the
most remarkable undertakings of modern times.' … In 1878,
Germany had in operation 1,289 miles of canals, and had
ordered the construction of 1,045 miles of new canals. Belgium
has forty-five canals. Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Holland and
Russia have their respective systems of canals. France has
expended a larger amount of money than any other European
nation, to provide for canal navigation, and in 1887 the total
length of its canals was 2,998 miles. About forty-eight per
cent of the tonnage of that Republic was transported on its
waterways. The average capacity of boats used therefor was 300
tons. The total length of the canals in operation in the
United States in 1890 was upwards of 2,926 miles."
H. W. Hill,
Speech on Canals in New York
Constitutional Convention of 1894.
"In most of the leading countries of the world, a time arrived
when the canal system and the railway system came into strong
competition, and when it seemed doubtful on which side the
victory would lie. This contest was necessarily more marked in
England than in any other country. England had not, indeed,
been the first in the field with canals, as she had been with
railways. … But England having once started on a career of
canal development, followed it up with greater energy and on a
more comprehensive scale than any other country. For more than
half a century canals had had it all their own way. … But the
railway system, first put forward as a tentative experiment,
and without the slightest knowledge on the part of its
promoters of the results that were before long to be realised,
was making encroachments, and proving its capabilities. This
was a slow process, as the way had to be felt. The first
railway Acts did not contemplate the use of locomotives, nor
the transport of passenger traffic. The Stockton and
Darlington Railway, constructed in 1825, was the first on
which locomotives were employed.
See Steam Locomotion (page 3029).
Even at this date, there were many who doubted the expediency
of having a railroad instead of a canal, and in the county of
Durham … there was a fierce fight, carried on for more than
twenty years. In the United States, the supremacy of waterways
was maintained until a much later date. …
{3726}
A keen and embittered struggle was kept up between the canal
and the railroad companies until 1857; and even in the latter
year the Legislature of the State of New York, finding that
railway competition was making serious inroads upon their
canal traffic, were considering whether they should not either
entirely prohibit the railways from carrying freight, or
impose such tolls upon railway tonnage as would cripple the
companies in their competition with canals. … The agitation,
however, came to nothing. It had no solid bottom. It was an
agitation similar in kind to that which had disturbed Europe
when Arkwright's spinning machine and Compton's mule were
taking the place of hand labour. The clamour suddenly
collapsed, and was never heard of afterwards. Meanwhile the
railway system proceeded apace. The records of human progress
contain no more remarkable chapter than that which tells of
the growth of American railroads. … In the annals of
transportation, there is no more interesting chapter than that
which deals with the contest that has been carried on for
nearly half a century between the railways and the lakes and
canals for the grain traffic between Chicago and New York.
This contest is interesting, not only to Americans, as the
people who are engaged in it, and whom it more directly
concerns; but also to the people of Europe, and of Great
Britain in particular, the cost of whose food supplies is
affected thereby. … The circumstances of the Erie Canal are,
however, exceptional. Seldom, indeed, do railway freights run
so low as they do on the 950 miles of rail way that separate
Chicago from New York. Over this distance, the great trunk
lines have recently been carrying freight at the rate of 15
cents, or 7½ d. per 100 lbs. This is equivalent to about 14 s.
per ton, or exactly 0.174 d. per ton per mile. There is
probably no such low rates for railway transport in the world.
But this low rate is due entirely to the competition of the
lakes, rivers, and canals."
J. S. Jeans,
Waterways and Water Transport,
chapters 26-27.
"The early railroad engineers overestimated the speed which
could be readily attained. Fifty years ago it was generally
expected that passenger trains would soon run at rates of from
seventy-five to one hundred miles an hour—a prediction which
has as yet remained unfulfilled. On the other hand, they
underestimated the railroad's capacity for doing work cheaply.
It was not supposed that railroads would ever be able to
compete with water-routes in the carriage of freight, except
where speedy delivery was of the first importance. Nor was it
at that time desired that they should do so. The first English
railroad charter contained provisions expressly intended to
prevent such competition. A generation later, in the State of
New York itself, there was a loud popular cry that the New
York Central must be prohibited from carrying freight in
competition with the Erie Canal. The main field of usefulness
of railroads, and the means by which that field was to be
developed, were not merely ignored, they were positively
shunned. This period of railroad infancy ended about the year
1850. The crisis of 1847 marked its close in England. The
Revolution of 1848-51 was the dividing line on the continent
of Europe. The land grants of 1850, and the formation of three
trunk lines from the seaboard to the interior may be taken as
the beginning of the new era in the United States. It began to
be seen and felt that a steam railroad was something more than
an exaggerated turnpike or horse railroad, and that it had
functions and laws of its own. The changes were: first, the
consolidation of old roads; second, the construction of new
ones in a great variety of conditions; third, and most
important, the development of traffic by cheap rates and new
methods. … Under all these influences the railroad mileage of
the world increased from 20,000 in 1850 to 66,000 in 1860,
137,000 in 1870, 225,000 in 1880, and [406,416 in
1893.—'Archiv für Eisenbahnwesen']. … Rapid as has been the
growth of the railroad mileage, traffic has kept pace with it.
It is estimated that the total number of tons moved in 1875
was about 800,000,000. At present [1885] it is about
1,200,000,000 annually, while the passenger movement has
increased from 1,400,000,000 to 2,400,000,000. If we could
take distance as well as quantity into account, the change
(for freight at any rate) would be still greater. To a certain
extent this increased intensity of use of railroads is due to
improvements in engineering; to a much greater extent it is
the result of improved business methods. … Between 1850 and
1880 rates were reduced on an average to about one half their
former figures, in spite of the advance in price of labor and
of many articles of consumption. A variety of means were made
to contribute to this result. The inventions of Bessemer and
others, by which it became possible to substitute steel rails
for iron, made it profitable for the railroads to carry larger
loads at a reduction in rates. Improvements in management
increased the effective use of the rolling stock, while the
consumption of fuel and the cost of handling were diminished.
By other changes in railroad economy it became possible to
compete for business of every kind, with the best canals or
with natural water-courses. The railroad rates of to-day are
but a small fraction of the canal charges of two generations
ago; while in volume of business, speed, and variety of use
there is an inestimable advance."
A. T. Hadley,
Railroad Transportation,
chapter 1.
"The railway mileage in the United States on June 30, 1893,
was 176,461.07 miles. This shows an increase during the year
of 4,897.55 miles, being an increase of 2.80 per cent. The
previous report showed an increase during the year ending June
30, 1892, of 3,160.78, being an increase of 1.88 per cent over
the mileage of the year 1891. The rate of increase from 1886
to 1887 was 9.08 per cent; from 1887 to 1888, 6.05 per cent;
from 1888 to 1889, 3.22 per cent; from 18139 to 1890, 4.78 per
cent; and from 1890 to 1891, 2.94 per cent. … The total number
[of men] in the service of railways in the United States on
June 30, 1893, was 873,602, being an increase of 52,187 over
the number employed the previous year."
Interstate Commerce Commission,
Statistics of Railways, 1883
pages 11 and 31.
----------COMMERCE: End--------
COMMON LAW, History of.
See LAW (page 1956).
COMMUNISM.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS (page 2932).
COMPURGATION, Disappearance of.
See LAW, CRIMINAL: A. D. 1166 (page 1981).
CONGO STATE, The.
See (in this Supplement) AFRICA.
{3727}
CONNECTICUT, Early provision for education in.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 729).
CONNECTICUT BLUE LAWS.
See (in this Supplement) BLUE LAWS.
CONSTANTINOPLE: LIBRARIES.
See LIBRARIES, ANCIENT (page 2006).
Mediæval Commerce.
See (in this Supplement) COMMERCE, MEDIÆVAL.
----------CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM: Start--------
On page 2304 of this work, under NETHERLANDS (BELGIUM): A. D.
1892-1893, there is given some account of the revision of the
constitution of the kingdom, in 1893, and the peculiar new
features introduced in its provisions, relative to the
elective franchise. The following is a translation of the text
of the revised constitution:
Title I.
Of the Territory and of its Divisions.
Article 1.
Belgium is divided into provinces, these provinces are:
Antwerp, Brabant, Western Flanders, Eastern Flanders, Hainaut,
Liège, Limburg, Luxemburg, Namur. It is the prerogative of
law, if there is any reason, to divide the territory into a
larger number of provinces. Colonies, possessions beyond the
seas or protectorates which Belgium may acquire, are governed
by particular laws. The Belgian forces appointed for their
defense can only be recruited by voluntary enlistment.
Article 2.
The subdivisions of the provinces can be established only by
law.
Article 3.
The boundaries of the State, of the provinces and of the
communes can be changed or rectified only by a law.
Title II.
Of the Belgians and their Rights.
Article 4.
The title Belgian is acquired, preserved and lost according to
the regulations determined by civil law. The present
Constitution, and other laws relating to political rights,
determine what are, in addition to such title, the conditions
necessary for the exercise of these rights.
Article 5.
Naturalization is granted by the legislative power. The great
naturalization, alone, assimilates the foreigner to the
Belgian for the exercise of political rights.
Article 6.
There is no distinction of orders in the State. Belgians are
equal before the law; they alone are admissible to civil and
military offices, with such exceptions as may be established
by law in particular cases.
Article 7.
Individual liberty is guaranteed. No person can be prosecuted
except in the cases provided for by law and in the form which
the law prescribes. Except in the case of flagrant
misdemeanor, no person can be arrested without the order of a
judge, which must be served at the time of the arrest, or, at
the latest, within twenty-four hours.
Article 8.
No person can be deprived, against his will, of the judge
assigned to him by law.
Article 9.
No punishment can be established or applied except by
provision of law.
Article 10.
The domicile is inviolable; no domiciliary visit can be made
otherwise than in the cases provided for by law and in the
form which it prescribes.
Article 11.
No person can be deprived of his property except for public
use, in the cases and in the manner established by law, and
with prior indemnity.
Article 12.
The penalty of confiscation of goods cannot be imposed.
Article 13.
Civil death is abolished; it cannot be revived.
Article 14.
Religious liberty, public worship, and freedom of expressed
opinion in all matters are guaranteed, with a reserve for the
repression of offenses committed in the exercise of these
liberties.
Article 15.
No person can be compelled to join, in any manner whatsoever,
in the acts and ceremonies of any worship, nor to observe its
days of rest.
Article 16.
The State has no right to interfere in the appointment nor in
the installation of the ministers of any religion, nor to
forbid them to correspond with their superiors and to publish
their acts under the ordinary responsibility of publication.
Civil marriage shall always precede the nuptial benediction,
with the exceptions to be prescribed by law in case of need.
Article 17.
Teaching is free; all preventive measures are forbidden; the
repression of offenses is regulated only by law. Public
instruction given at the expense of the State is also
regulated by law.
Article 18.
The press is free; censorship can never be re-established;
caution-money from writers, editors or printers cannot be
required. When the author is known and is a resident of
Belgium, the editor, the printer or the distributor cannot be
prosecuted.
Article 19.
Belgians have the right to meet peaceably and without arms, in
conformity with such laws as may regulate the use of their
right but without the requirement of a previous authorization.
This stipulation does not apply to open air meetings, which
remain entirely subject to police regulations.
Article 20.
Belgians have the right of association; this right cannot be
subject to any preventive measure.
Article 21.
It is the right of every person to address to the public
authorities petitions signed by one or several. The
constituted authorities alone have the right to address
petitions in a collective name.
Article 22.
The secrecy of correspondence is inviolable. The law
determines who are the agents responsible for violation of the
secrecy of letters confided to the post.
Article 23.
The use of the languages spoken in Belgium is optional; it can
be prescribed only by law, and only for acts of public
authority and for judicial transactions.
Article 24.
No previous authorization is necessary for the undertaking of
proceedings against public officials, on account of acts in
their administration, except that which is enacted concerning
ministers.
Title III. Of Powers.
Article 25.
All powers are derived from the nation. They are exercised in
the manner prescribed by the Constitution.
{3728}
Article 26.
Legislative power is exercised collectively by the King, the
Chamber of Representatives and the Senate.
Article 27.
The initiative belongs to each one of the three branches of
the legislative power. Nevertheless, all laws relating to the
revenue or to the expenditures of the State, or to the
contingent of the army must be voted first by the Chamber of
Representatives.
Article 28.
The interpretation of laws by authority belongs only to the
legislative power.
Article 29.
The executive power, as regulated by the Constitution, belongs
to the King.
Article 30.
The judicial power is exercised by the courts and tribunals.
Decrees and judgments are executed in the name of the King.
Article 31.
Interests exclusively communal or provincial, are regulated by
the communal or provincial councils, according to the
principles established by the Constitution.
Chapter First.—Of The Chambers.
Article 32.
Members of both Chambers represent the nation, and not merely
the province or the subdivision of province which has elected
them.
Article 33.
The sittings of the Chambers are public. Nevertheless, each
Chamber forms itself into a secret committee on the demand of
its president or of ten members. It then decides by absolute
majority whether the sitting on the same subject shall be
resumed publicly.
Article 34.
Each Chamber verifies the powers of its members and decides
all contests on the subject that may arise.
Article 35.
No person can be at the same time a member of both Chambers.
Article 36.
A member of one of the two Chambers who is appointed by the
government to any salaried office, except that of minister,
and who accepts the same, ceases immediately to sit, and
resumes his functions only by virtue of a new election.
Article 37.
At every session, each Chamber elects its president and its
vice-presidents and forms its bureau.
Article 38.
Every resolution is adopted by the absolute majority of the
votes, excepting as may be directed by the rules of the
Chambers in regard to elections and presentations. In case of
an equal division of votes, the proposition brought under
deliberation is rejected. Neither of the two Chambers can
adopt a resolution unless the majority of its members is
present.
Article 39.
Votes are given by the voice or by sitting and rising; on
"l'ensemble des lois" the vote is always taken by the call of
the roll of names. Elections and presentations of candidates
are made by ballot.
Article 40.
Each Chamber has the right of inquiry [or investigation].
Article 41.
A bill can be passed by one of the Chambers only after having
been voted article by article.
Article 42.
The Chambers have the right to amend and to divide the
articles and the amendments proposed.
Article 43.
The presenting of petitions in person to the Chambers is
forbidden. Each Chamber has the right to refer to ministers
the petitions that are addressed to it. Ministers are required
to give explanations whenever the Chamber requires them.
Article 44.
No member of either Chamber can be prosecuted or called to
account for opinions expressed or votes given by him in the
performance of his duties.
Article 45.
No member of either Chamber can be prosecuted or arrested in
affairs of repression, during the session, without the
authorization of the Chamber of which he is a member, except
the case be "de flagrant delit." No bodily constraint can be
exercised against a member of either Chamber during the
session, except with the same authorization. The detention or
the prosecution of a member of either Chamber is suspended
during the whole session if the Chamber so requires.
Article 46.
Each Chamber determines by its rules the mode in which it will
exercise its powers.
Section I.—Of the Chamber of Representatives.
Article 47.
Deputies to the Chamber of Representatives are elected
directly under the following conditions: A vote is conferred
on citizens who have completed their 25th year, who have
resided for at least one year in the same commune, and who are
not within one of the cases of exclusion provided for by law.
A supplementary vote is conferred on each citizen who fulfills
one of the following conditions:
1. To have completed 35 years of age, to be married, or to be
a widower having legitimate offspring, and to pay to the State
a tax of not less than 5 francs on account of dwelling-houses
or buildings occupied, unless exempted by reason of his
profession.
2. To have completed the age of 25 years and to be owner:
Either of real property, valued at not less than 2,000 francs
to be rated on the basis of the "revenu cadastral," or of a
"revenu cadastral" proportioned to that value; Or of an
inscription in the great book of the public debt, or of a
"carnet de rente Belge" at the savings bank of at least 100
francs of "rente." The inscriptions and bank books must have
belonged to the incumbent for at least two years and a half.
The property of the wife is assigned to the husband; that of
children under age, to the father. Two supplementary votes are
assigned to citizens fully 25 years of age who are included in
one of the following cases: A. To be the holder of a diploma
of higher instruction or of a similar certificate of
attendance on a complete course of medium instruction of the
higher degree, without distinction between public and private
establishments. B. To fill or to have filled a public office,
to occupy or to have occupied a position, to practise or to
have practised a private profession, which implies the
supposition that the titulary has at least an average
education of the higher degree. The law determines these
functions, positions and professions, as well as, in given
cases, the time during which they shall have been occupied or
practised. No person can accumulate more than three votes.
Article 48.
The constitution of the electoral colleges is regulated by law
for each province. The vote is obligatory and takes place in
the commune with exceptions to be determined by law.
Article 49.
The electoral law fixes the number of deputies according to
the population; this number cannot exceed the proportion of a
deputy for 40,000 inhabitants. It determines also the
qualifications of an elector and the mode of the electoral
operations.
{3729}
Article 50.
To be eligible, it is necessary:
1. To be a Belgian by birth or to have received the "grand
naturalization";
2. To enjoy civil and political rights;
3. To have completed 25 years of age;
4. To reside in Belgium.
No other condition of eligibility can be required.
Article 51.
The members of the Chamber of Representatives are elected for
four years. Half of them are changed every two years,
according to the order of the series determined by the
electoral law. In case of dissolution, the Chamber is entirely
renewed.
Article 52.
Each member of the Chamber of Representatives receives a
yearly indemnity of 4,000 francs. He is, besides, entitled to
free travel on the State railways and on the "conceded"
railways, from his residence to the city where the session is
held.
Section II.—Of the Senate.
Article 53.
The Senate is composed:
1. Of members elected in proportion to the population of each
province, conformably to Article 47; though the law may
require that the electors shall be 30 years of age, the
provisions of Article 48 are applicable to the election of
these senators.
2. Of members elected by the provincial councils, to the
number of two from each province having less than 500,000
inhabitants, of three from each province having from 500,000
to 1,000,000 of inhabitants, and of four from each province
having more than one million of inhabitants.
Article 54.
The number of senators elected directly by the electoral body
is equal to half the number of the members of the Chamber of
Representatives.
Article 55.
Senators are elected for eight years; half of them are changed
every four years, according to the order of the series
determined by the electoral law. In case of dissolution, the
Senate is entirely renewed.
Article 56.
To be eligible for election and to remain a senator, it is
necessary:
1. To be a Belgian by birth or to have received the "grande
naturalization";
2. To enjoy civil and political rights;
3. To reside in Belgium;
4. To be at least 40 years of age;
5. To pay into the treasury of the State at least 1,200 francs
of direct taxes, patents included; Or to be either proprietor
or usufructuary of real property situated in Belgium, the
cadastral revenue from which is at least 12,000 francs. In the
provinces where the number of those eligible does not attain
the proportion of one in 5,000 inhabitants, the list is
completed by adding the heaviest tax-payers of the province to
the extent of that proportion. Citizens whose names are
inscribed on the complementary list are eligible only in the
province where they reside.
Article 56 bis.
Senators elected by the provincial councils are exempted from
all conditions of census; they cannot belong to the assembly
which elects them, nor can they have been a member of it
during the year of the election, nor during the two previous
years.
Article 57.
Senators receive neither salary nor indemnity.
Article 58.
The King's sons, or in their absence the Belgian Princes of
the branch of the Royal family called to reign, are by right
senators at 18 years of age. They have a deliberative voice
only at 25 years of age.
Article 59.
Any assembly of the Senate which may be held outside the time
of the session of the Chamber of Representatives is null and
void.
Chapter II.—Of the King and his Ministers.
Section II.—Of the King.
Article 60.
The constitutional powers of the King are hereditary in the
direct, natural and legitimate descent from His Majesty
Leopold-George-Christian-Frederick of Saxe-Coburg, from male
to male, by order of primogeniture, and to the perpetual
exclusion of the females of their line. The prince who marries
without the consent of the King or of those who, in his
absence, exercise his powers, in the cases provided for by the
Constitution, shall forfeit his rights. Nevertheless he can be
restored to his rights by the King or by those who, in his
absence, exercise his authority in the cases provided for by
the Constitution, with the consent of both Chambers.
Article 61.
In default of male descendants of his Majesty
Leopold-George-Christian-Frederick of Saxe-Coburg, the King
can name his successor, with the assent of the Chambers,
expressed in the manner prescribed by the following article.
If no nomination has been made according to the proceeding
here stated, the throne will be vacant.
Article 62.
The King cannot be, at the same time, the chief of another
State, without the consent of both Chambers. Neither of the
two Chambers can deliberate on this subject if two-thirds at
least of the members who compose it are not present, and the
resolution is adopted only if it receives two-thirds at least
of the votes cast.
Article 63.
The person of the King is inviolable; his ministers are
responsible.
Article 64.
No act of the King can have effect if it is not countersigned
by a minister, who, thereby, makes himself responsible.
Article 65.
The King appoints and dismisses his ministers.
Article 66.
He confers the grades in the army. He appoints to the offices
of general administration and of foreign relations, with the
exceptions determined by law. He appoints to other offices
only by virtue of express provisions of a law.
Article 67.
He makes the regulations and decrees necessary to the
execution of the laws, without power to suspend the laws
themselves, nor to exempt from their execution.
Article 68.
The King commands the land and naval forces, declares war,
makes treaties of peace, of alliance, and of commerce. He
announces them to the Chambers as soon as the interest and the
safety of the State admit of it, adding to them appropriate
communications. Treaties of commerce and those which might
burden the State or bind Belgians individually become
effective only after having received the approval of the
Chambers. No cession, nor exchange, nor addition of territory
can take place without authority of a law. In no case can the
secret articles of a treaty be destructive to the open
articles.
Article 69.
The King sanctions and promulgates the laws.
Article 70.
The Chambers meet by right every year, on the 2d Tuesday in
November, unless previously summoned by the King. The Chambers
must remain in session at least 40 days in each year. The King
declares the closing of the session. The King has the right to
call extra sessions of the Chambers.
{3730}
Article 71.
The King has the right to dissolve the Chambers, either
simultaneously or separately; the act of dissolution to
contain a convocation of the electors within forty days and of
the Chambers within two months.
Article 72.
The King may adjourn the Chambers. The adjournment, however,
cannot exceed the term of one month, nor be renewed in the
same session, without the consent of the Chambers.
Article 73.
He has the right to remit or to reduce penalties pronounced by
the judges, except those which are enacted concerning the
ministers.
Article 74.
He has the right to coin money, in execution of the law.
Article 75.
He has the right to confer titles of nobility, without power
to attach any privilege to them.
Article 76.
He confers the military orders, observing in that regard what
the law prescribes.
Article 77.
The law fixes the civil list for the duration of each reign.
Article 78.
The King has no other powers than those formally conferred on
him by the Constitution, and by laws enacted pursuant to the
Constitution.
Article 79.
On the death of the King, the Chambers meet without
convocation, not later than the tenth day after that of his
decease. If the Chambers had been previously dissolved, and if
the convocation had been fixed in the act of dissolution for a
later date than the tenth day, the old Chambers resume their
functions until the meeting of those which are to take their
place. If one Chamber only had been dissolved, the same rule
is followed with regard to that Chamber. From the death of the
King and until his successor on the throne or the regent has
taken the oath, the constitutional powers of the King, are
exercised, in the name of the Belgian nation, by the ministers
assembled in council and under their responsibility.
Article 80.
The King is of age when he has completed his 18th year. He
takes possession of the throne only after having solemnly
taken, in the midst of the Chambers assembled together, the
following oath: "I swear to observe the Constitution and the
laws of the Belgian people, to maintain the national
independence and to preserve the integrity of the territory."
Article 81.
If, on the death of the King, his successor is a minor, both
Chambers meet in one body for the purpose of providing for the
regency and the guardianship.
Article 82.
If it is impossible for the King to reign, the ministers,
after having caused that inability to be established, convoke
the Chambers immediately. Guardianship and regency are to be
provided for by the Chambers convened.
Article 83.
The regency can be conferred on one person only. The regent
enters upon his duties only after he has taken the oath
prescribed by Article 80.
Article 84.
No change can be made in the Constitution during a regency.
Article 85.
In case of a vacancy on the throne, the Chambers deliberating
together, arrange provisionally for the regency until the
meeting of new Chambers, that meeting to take place within two
months, at the latest. The new Chambers deliberating together
provide definitely for the vacancy.
Section II.—Of the Ministers.
Article 86.
No person can be a minister who is not a Belgian by birth, or
who has not received the "grande naturalization."
Article 87.
No member of the royal family can be a minister.
Article 88.
Ministers have a deliberative voice in either Chamber only
when they are members of it. They have free admission into
each Chamber and must have a hearing when they ask for it. The
Chambers may require the presence of ministers.
Article 89.
In no case, can the order of the King, verbal or written,
relieve a minister of responsibility.
Article 90.
The Chamber of Representatives has the right to accuse
ministers and to arraign them before the Court of Cassation
[Appeal], which alone has the right to judge them, the united
Chambers reserving what may be enacted by law concerning civil
action by a party wronged, and as to crimes and misdemeanors
which ministers may have committed outside of the performance
of their duties. A law shall determine the cases of
responsibility, the penalties to be inflicted on the
ministers, and the manner of proceeding against them, either
upon the accusation admitted by the Chamber of
Representatives, or upon prosecution by parties wronged.
Article 91.
The King may pardon a minister sentenced by the Court of
Cassation only upon the request of one of the two Chambers.
Chapter III.—Of the Judiciary Power.
Article 92.
Contests concerning civil rights are exclusively within the
jurisdiction of the tribunals.
Article 93.
Contests concerning political rights are within the
jurisdiction of the tribunals, with exceptions determined by
law.
Article 94.
No tribunal can be established otherwise than by law. Neither
commissions nor extraordinary tribunals, under any
denomination whatever, can be created.
Article 95.
There is for the whole of Belgium one Court of Cassation. This
Court does not consider the ground of causes, except in the
judgment of ministers.
Article 96.
Sittings of the tribunals are public, unless such publicity be
dangerous to order or morals, and in that case the tribunal
declares it by a judgment. In the matter of political or press
offenses, the exclusion of the public must be voted
unanimously.
Article 97. The ground of every judgment is to be stated. It
is pronounced in public sitting.
Article 98.
The jury is established in all criminal cases, and for
political and press offenses.
Article 99.
The judges of the peace and judges of the tribunals are
appointed directly by the King. Councillors of the Courts of
appeal and presidents and vice-presidents of the courts of
original jurisdiction are appointed by the King, from two
double lists, presented, one by those courts and the other by
the provincial Councils. Councillors of the Court of Cassation
are appointed by the King from two double lists, one presented
by the Senate and the other by the Court of Cassation. In
these two cases the candidates whose names are on one list may
also be inscribed on the other. All presentations are made
public at least fifteen days before the appointment. The
courts choose their presidents and vice-presidents from among
their members.
{3731}
Article 100.
Judges are appointed for life. No judge can be deprived of his
position or suspended, except by a judgment. The displacement
of a judge can take place only through a new appointment and
with his consent.
Article 101.
The King appoints and dismisses the public prosecutors to the
courts and tribunals.
Article 102.
The salaries of the members of the judicial order are fixed by
law.
Article 103.
No judge may accept salaried offices from the government
unless he exercises them gratuitously, and excluding the cases
of incompatibility defined by law.
Article 104.
There are three courts of appeal in Belgium. The law
determines their jurisdiction and the places in which they
shall be established.
Article 105.
Special enactments regulate the organization of military
courts, their powers, the rights and obligations of the
members of such courts, and the duration of their functions.
There are tribunals of commerce in the places determined by
law, which regulate their organization, their powers, the mode
of appointment of their members and the term of the latters'
duties.
Article 106.
Conflicts of jurisdiction are settled by the Court of
Cassation, according to proceedings regulated by law.
Article 107.
Courts and tribunals shall apply general, provincial and local
decisions and regulations only so far as they are conformable
to the laws.
Chapter IV.—Of Provincial and Communal Institutions.
Article 108.
Provincial and communal institutions are regulated by the
laws. These laws sanction the application of the following
principles:
1. Direct election, with the exceptions which the law may
establish in regard to the chiefs of communal administration
and the government commissioners to the provincial councils;
2. The assigning to provincial and communal councils of all
which is of provincial and communal interest without prejudice
to the approval of their acts in the cases and according to
the proceedings which law determines;
3. The publicity of the sittings of the provincial and
communal councils within the limits established by law;
4. The publicity of budgets and accounts;
5. The intervention of the King' or of the legislative power
to prevent the provincial and communal councils from going
beyond their powers and injuring the general welfare.
Article 109.
The drawing up of certificates of birth, marriage and death,
and the keeping of the registers, are the exclusive
prerogatives of communal authorities.
Title IV. Of the Finances.
Article 110.
No tax for the profit of the State can be imposed otherwise
than by a law. No charge or provincial assessment can be
imposed without the consent of the provincial council. No
charge or communal assessment can be imposed, without the
consent of the communal council. The law must determine those
exceptions of which experience will show the necessity in the
matter of provincial and communal impositions.
Article 111.
Taxes for the profit of the State are voted annually. The laws
which impose them are valid for one year only, unless renewed.
Article 112.
There can be no creation of privilege in the matter of taxes.
No exemption from nor diminution of taxes can be established
otherwise than by a law.
Article 113.
Beyond the cases expressly excepted by law, no payment can be
exacted from citizens, otherwise than in taxes levied for the
profit of the State, of the province, or of the commune. No
innovation is made on the actually existing system of the
polders and the wateringen, which remain subject to the
ordinary legislation.
Article 114.
No pension, nor gratuity at the expense of the public treasury
can be granted without authority of law.
Article 115.
Each year, the Chambers determine the law of accounts and vote
the budget. All the receipts and expenditures of the State
must be entered in the budget and in the accounts.
Article 116.
The members of the court of accounts are appointed by the
Chamber of Representatives and for the term fixed by law. That
court is intrusted with the examination and the settlement of
the accounts of the general administration and of all the
accountants for the public treasury. It sees that no article
of the expenses of the budget has been exceeded and that no
transfer has taken place. It determines the accounts of the
different administrations of the State and is required for
that purpose to gather all information, and all documents that
may be necessary. The general account of the State is
submitted to the Chambers with the observations of the court
of accounts. This court is organized by law.
Article 117.
The salaries and pensions of the ministers of religion are
paid by the State; the sums required to meet these expenses
are entered annually in the budget.
Title V. Of the Army.
Article 118.
The mode of recruiting the army is determined by law. The law
also regulates promotions, and the rights and obligations of
the military.
Article 119.
The contingent of the army is voted annually. The law that
fixes it is of force for one year only, unless renewed.
Article 120.
The organization and the powers of the gendarmerie are the
subject of a law.
Article 121.
No foreign troops can be admitted to the service of the State,
nor to occupy or pass through its territory, except by
provision of law.
Article 122.
There is a civic guard; its organization is regulated by law.
The officers of all ranks, up to that of captain at least, are
appointed by the guards with exceptions judged necessary for
the accountants.
Article 123.
The mobilization of the civic guard can occur only by
direction of law.
{3732}
Article 124.
Military men can be deprived of their grades, honors, and
pensions only in the manner determined by law.
Title VI. General Provisions.
Article 125.
The Belgian nation adopts the colors red, yellow and black,
and for the arms of the kingdom the Belgic lion with the
motto: "L'Union fait la Force" ["Union is Strength">[.
Article 126.
The city of Brussels is the capital of Belgium and the scat of
its government.
Article 127.
No oath can be imposed except by law. The law also determines
its formula.
Article 128.
Any foreigner who is within the territory of Belgium enjoys
the protection accorded to persons and goods, with the
exceptions defined by law.
Article 129.
No law, decree, or administrative regulation, general,
provincial, or communal, is obligatory until it has been
published in the form prescribed by law.
Article 130.
The Constitution cannot be suspended, either wholly or in
part.
Title VII. Of the Revision of the Constitution.
Article 131.
The legislative power has the right to declare that there is
occasion for revising such constitutional provision as it
designates. After such declaration, the two Chambers are
dissolved. Two new Chambers shall then be convoked, in
conformity with Article 71. These Chambers act, in concurrence
with the King, on the points submitted for revision. In such
case, the Chambers cannot deliberate unless two-thirds at
least of the members composing each one of them are present,
and no change which does not receive at least two-thirds of
the votes in its favor shall be adopted.
Title VIII.—Temporary Provisions.
Article 132.
For the first choice of the chief of the State, the first
stipulation of Article 80 may be departed from.
Article 133.
Foreigners who settled in Belgium before the 1st of January
1814, and who have continued to reside in the country, are
considered as Belgians by birth, on condition that they
declare their intention to enjoy the benefit of this
provision. The declaration must be made within six months,
dating from the day when the present Constitution becomes
obligatory, if they are of age, and in the year following
their majority if they are under age. The declaration must be
made before the provincial authority within whose jurisdiction
they reside. It must be made in person or through a

representative bearing a special and authentic power of
attorney.
Article 134.
Until otherwise provided for by a law, the Chamber of
Representatives shall have a discretionary power to accuse a
minister, and the Court of Cassation to judge him,
characterizing the offense and determining the penalty.
Nevertheless the penalty cannot exceed that of imprisonment,
without prejudice to the cases expressly provided for by penal
laws.
Article 135.
The staff of courts and tribunals is maintained as it actually
exists, until it shall have been provided for by law. Such law
shall be enacted during the first legislative session.
Article 136.
A law enacted in the same session shall determine the mode of
the first appointment of members of the Court of Cassation.
Article 137.
The fundamental law of the 24th of August 1815, is hereby
repealed, as well as the provincial and local statutes; but
the provincial and local authorities will exercise their
powers until the law shall have otherwise provided.
Article 138.
From the day on which this Constitution goes into effect, all
laws, decrees, decisions, regulations, and other acts that are
in conflict with it are abrogated.
Supplementary Provisions.
Article 139.
The National Congress declares that it is necessary to provide
by separate laws and with the least possible delay for the
following objects:
1. The Press;
2. The organization of the jury;
3. The finances;
4. Provincial and communal organization;
5. The responsibility of ministers and
other agents of authority;
6. The organization of the judiciary;
7. The revision of the pension list;
8. Proper measures for preventing the
abuse of plurality of offices;
9. Revision of the laws of bankruptcy and suspension;
10. The organization of the army, the rights of
promotion and retirement, and the military penal code;
11. Revision of the codes.
The executive power is charged with the execution of the
present decree.
----------CONSTITUTION OF BELGIUM: End--------
----------CONSTITUTION OF ITALY: Start--------
The kingdom of Italy is still governed under the constitution
which was granted in 1848, by Charles Albert, to his Sardinian
subjects. It remains unchanged in form, but in practice has
been modified by legislation. The following translation of the
instrument, made by S. M. Lindsay, Ph. D., and L. S. Howe, Ph.
D., University of Pennsylvania, is borrowed, under permission,
from the:
"Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science,"
November, 1894, Supplement.
In their historical introduction to the instrument, the
translators say: "The extension of this constitution to the
various parts of the present Kingdom of Italy was effected by
a series of Plebiscites:
Lombardy, December 7, 1859;
Emilia by decree of March 18, 1860, and law of April 15, 1860;
Neapolitan Provinces, December 17, 1860;
Tuscany, decree March 22, and law April 15, 1860;
Sicily, Marches and Umbria, December 17, 1860;
Province of Venice, decree July 28, 1866;
Roman Provinces, decree October 9 and law December 31, 1870.
… Although no provision is to be found in this constitution
for amendment, most Italian constitutional jurists have held
that Parliament, with the approval of the King, has the power
to make laws amending the constitution, for an immutable
constitution is sure in time to hamper the development of a
progressive people. It is hardly necessary to add that such an
instrument is contrary to the true conception of an organic
law.
{3733}
As a matter of fact several provisions have been either
abrogated or rendered null and void through change of
conditions. Thus the second clause of Article 28, requiring
the previous consent of the bishop for the printing of Bibles,
prayer books and catechisms, has been rendered of no effect
through subsequent laws regulating the relations of Church and
State. Article 76, which provides for the establishment of a
communal militia, has been abrogated by the military law of
June 14, 1874. The fact that no French-speaking provinces now
form part of the kingdom has made Article 62 a dead-letter. So
also Articles 53 and 55 are no longer strictly adhered to. At
all events their observance has been suspended for the time
being."
The translated text of the Constitution is as follows:
(Charles Albert, by the Grace of God, King of Sardinia, Cyprus
and Jerusalem, Duke of Savoy, Genoa, Monferrato, Aosta, of the
Chiablese, Genovese and of Piacenza; Prince of Piedmont and
Oneglia; Marquis of Italy, Saluzzo, Ivrea, Susa, Ceva, of the
Maro, of Oristano, of Cesana and Savona; Count of Moriana,
Geneva, Nice, Trenda, Romonte, Asti, Alexandria, Goceano,
Novara, Tortona, Vigevano and of Bobbio; Baron of Vaud and
Faucigny; Lord of Vercelli, Pinerolo, Tarantasia, of the
Lomellina and of the Valley of Sesia, etc., etc., etc.) With
the fidelity of a king and the affection of a father, we are
about to-day to fulfill all that we promised our most beloved
subjects in our proclamation of the eighth of last February,
whereby we desired to show, in the midst of the extraordinary
events then transpiring throughout the country, how much our
confidence in our subjects increased with the gravity of the
situation, and how, consulting only the impulse of our heart,
we had fully determined to make their condition conform to the
spirit of the times and to the interests and dignity of the
nation. We, believing that the broad and permanent
representative institutions established by this fundamental
statute are the surest means of cementing the bonds of
indissoluble affection that bind to our crown a people that
has so often given us ample proof of their faithfulness,
obedience and love, have determined to sanction and promulgate
this statute. We believe, further, that God will bless our
good intentions, and that this free, strong and happy nation
will ever show itself more deserving of its ancient fame and
thus merit a glorious future. Therefore, we, with our full
knowledge and royal authority and with the advice of our
Council, have ordained and do hereby ordain and declare in
force the fundamental perpetual and irrevocable statute and
law of the monarchy as follows:
Article 1.
The Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion is the only
religion of the State.
See Law of the Papal Guarantees,
under PAPACY: A. D. 1870 (page 2478)].
Other cults now existing are tolerated conformably to the law.
Article 2.
The State is governed by a representative monarchical
government, and the throne is hereditary according to the
Salic law.
Article 3.
The legislative power shall be exercised collectively by the
King and the two Chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of
Deputies.
Article 4.
The person of the King is sacred and inviolable.
Article 5.
To the King alone belongs the executive power. He is the
supreme head of the State; commands all land and naval forces;
declares war; makes treaties of peace, alliance, commerce and
other treaties, communicating them to the Chambers as soon as
the interest and security of the State permits, accompanying
such notice with opportune explanations; provided that
treaties involving financial obligations or change of State
territory shall not take effect until they have received the
consent of the Chambers.
Article 6.
The King appoints to all the offices of the State and makes
the necessary decrees and regulations for the execution of the
laws, provided that such decrees do not suspend or modify
their observance.
Article 7.
The King alone sanctions and promulgates the laws.
Article 8.
The King may grant pardons and commute sentences.
Article 9.
The King convokes the two Chambers each year. He may prorogue
their sessions and dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, in which
case he shall convoke a new Chamber within a period of four
months.
Article 10.
The initiative in legislation belongs both to the King and the
two Houses. All bills, however, imposing taxes or relating to
the budget shall first be presented to the Chamber of
Deputies.
Article 11.
The King shall attain his majority upon completion of his
eighteenth year.
Article 12.
During the King's minority, the Prince who is his nearest
relative in the order of succession to the throne, shall be
regent of the realm, provided he be twenty-one years of age.
Article 13.
Should the Prince upon whom the regency devolves be still in
his minority and this duty pass to a more distant relative,
the regent who actually takes office shall continue in the
same until the King becomes of age.
Article 14.
In the absence of male relatives, the regency devolves upon
the Queen-Mother.
Article 15.
In the event of the prior decease of the Queen-Mother, the
regent shall be elected by the legislative Chambers, convoked
within ten days by the Ministers of the Crown.
Article 16.
The preceding provisions in reference to the regency are also
applicable in case the King has attained his majority, but is
physically incapable of reigning. Under such circumstances, if
the heir presumptive to the throne be eighteen years of age,
be shall be regent of full right.
Article 17.
The Queen-Mother has charge of the education of the King until
he has completed his seventh year; from this time on his
guardianship passes into the hands of the regent.
Article 18.
All rights pertaining to the civil power in matters of
ecclesiastical benefices and in the execution of all
regulations whatsoever coming from foreign countries shall be
exercised by the King.
Article 19.
The civil list of the Crown shall remain, during the present
reign, at an amount equal to the average of the same for the
past ten years. The King shall continue to have the use of the
royal palaces, villas, gardens and their appurtenances, and
also of all chattels intended for the use of the Crown, of
which a speedy inventory shall be made by a responsible
ministerial department. In the future the prescribed dotation
of the Crown shall be fixed for the duration of each reign by
the first Legislature subsequent to the King s accession to
the throne.
{3734}
Article 20.
The property that the King possesses in his own right, shall
form his private patrimony, together with that to which he may
acquire title either for a consideration or gratuitously in
the course of his reign. The King may dispose of his private
patrimony either by deed or will exempt from the provisions of
the civil law as to the amount thus disposable. In all other
cases, the King's patrimony is subject to the laws that govern
other property.
Article 21.
The law shall provide an annual civil list for the heir
apparent to the throne when he has attained his majority, and
also earlier on occasion of his marriage; for the allowances
of the Princes of the royal family and royal blood within the
specified conditions; for the dowries of the Princesses and
for the dowries of the Queens.
Article 22.
Upon ascending the throne, the King shall take an oath in the
presence of the two Chambers to observe faithfully the present
constitution.
Article 23.
The regent, before entering on the duties of that office,
shall swear fidelity to the King and faithful observance of
this constitution and of the laws of the State.
Article 24.
All the inhabitants of the Kingdom, whatever their rank or
title, shall enjoy equality before the law. All shall equally
enjoy civil and political rights and be eligible to civil and
military office, except as otherwise provided by law.
Article 25.
All shall contribute without discrimination to the burdens of
the State, in proportion to their possessions.
Article 26.
Individual liberty is guaranteed. No one shall be arrested or
brought to trial except in cases provided for and according to
the forms prescribed by law.
Article 27.
The domicile shall be inviolable. No house search shall take
place except in the enforcement of law and in the manner
prescribed by law.
Article 28.
The press shall be free, but the law may suppress abuses of
this freedom. Nevertheless, Bibles, catechisms, liturgical and
prayer books shall not be printed without the previous consent
of the bishop.
Article 29.
Property of all kinds whatsoever shall be inviolable. In all
cases, however, where the public welfare, legally ascertained,
demands it, property may be condemned and transferred in whole
or in part after a just indemnity has been paid according to
law.
Article 30.
No tax shall be levied or collected without the consent of the
Chambers and the sanction of the King.
Article 31.
The public debt is guaranteed. All obligations between the
State and its creditors shall be inviolable.
Article 32.
The right to peaceful assembly, without arms, is recognized,
subject, however, to the laws that may regulate the exercise
of this privilege in the interest of the public welfare. This
privilege is not applicable, however, to meetings in public
places or places open to the public, which shall remain
entirely subject to police law and regulation.
Article 33.
The Senate shall be composed of members, having attained the
age of forty years, appointed for life by the King, without
limit of numbers. They shall be selected from the following
categories of citizens:
1. Archbishops and Bishops of the State.
2. The President of the Chamber of Deputies.
3. Deputies after having served in three Legislatures, or
after six years of membership in the Chamber of Deputies.
4. Ministers of State.
5. Secretaries to Ministers of State.
6. Ambassadors.
7. Envoys Extraordinary after three years of such service.
8. The First Presidents of the Courts
of Cassation and of the Chamber of Accounts.
9. The First Presidents of the Courts of Appeal.
10. The Attorney-General of the Courts of Cassation
and the Prosecutor-General, after five years of service.
11. The Presidents of the Chambers of the Courts of Appeal
after three years of service.
12. The Councillors of the Courts of Cassation and of the
Chamber of Accounts after five years of service.
13. The Advocates-General and Fiscals-General of the Courts
of Appeal after five years of service.
14. All military officers of the land and naval forces with
title of general. Major-generals and rear-admirals after five
years of active service in this capacity.
15. The Councillors of State after live years of service.
16. The members of the Councils of Division after three
elections to their presidency.
17. The Provincial Governors (Intendenti generali)
after seven years of service.
18. Members of the Royal Academy of Science
of seven years standing.
19. Ordinary members of the Superior Council of Public
Instruction after seven years of service.
20. Those who by their services or eminent merit have done
honor to their country.
21. Persons who, for at least three years, have paid direct
property or occupation taxes to the amount of 3,000 lire.
Article 34.
The Princes of the Royal Family shall be members of the
Senate. They shall take rank immediately after the President.
They shall enter the Senate at the age of twenty-one and have
a vote at twenty-five.
Article 35.
The President and Vice-Presidents of the Senate shall be
appointed by the King, but the Senate chooses from among its
own members its secretaries.
Article 36.
The Senate may be constituted a High Court of Justice by
decree of the King for judging crimes of high treason and
attempts upon the safety of the State, also for trying
Ministers placed in accusation by the Chamber of Deputies.
When acting in this capacity, the Senate is not a political
body. It shall not then occupy itself with any other judicial
matters than those for which it was convened; any other action
is null and void.
Article 37.
No Senator shall be arrested except by virtue of an order of
the Senate, unless in cases of flagrant commission of crime.
The Senate shall be the sole judge of the imputed misdemeanors
of its members.
Article 38.
Legal documents as to births, marriages and deaths in the
Royal Family shall be presented to the Senate and deposited by
that body among its archives.
Article 39.
The elective Chamber is composed of deputies chosen by the
electoral colleges as provided by law.
{3735}
["The election law long in force was that of December 17,
1860, which was subsequently modified in July, 1875, and in
May, 1877. In January, 1882, a comprehensive electoral
reform was inaugurated by which the electoral age
qualification was reduced from twenty-five to twenty-one
years, and the tax qualification to an annual payment of
nineteen lire eighty centesimi as a minimum of direct
taxes. This law introduced a new provision requiring of
electors a knowledge of reading and writing. It is an
elaborate law of 107 articles. The provisions relating to
the elections by general ticket were further revised by law
of May and decree of June, 1882, and the text of the whole
law was co-ordinated with the preceding laws by Royal
Decree of September 24, 1882. It was again modified May
5th, 1891, by the abolition of elections on general tickets
and the creation of a Commission for the territorial
division of the country into electoral colleges. The number
of electoral colleges is at present fixed at 508, each
electing one Deputy. Twelve articles of this law of 1882,
as thus amended, have been again amended by a law dated
June 28, 1892, prescribing further reforms in the control
and supervision of elections, and by law of July 11, 1894,
on the revision of electoral and registration
lists."—Foot-note.]
Article 40.
No person shall be a member of the Chamber who is not a
subject of the King, thirty years of age, possessing all civil
and political rights and the other qualifications required by
law.
Article 41.
Deputies shall represent the nation at large and not the
several Provinces from which they are chosen. No binding
instructions may therefore be given by the electors.
Article 42.
Deputies shall be elected for a term of five years; their
power ceases ipso jure at the expiration of this period.
Article 43.
The President, Vice-presidents and Secretaries of the Chamber
of Deputies shall be chosen from among its own members at the
beginning of each session for the entire session.
Article 44.
If a Deputy ceases for any reason whatsoever to perform his
duties, the electoral college that chose him shall be convened
at once to proceed with a new election.
Article 45.
Deputies shall be privileged from arrest during the sessions,
except in cases of flagrant commission of crime; but no Deputy
may be brought to trial in criminal matters without the
previous consent of the Chamber.
Article 46.
No warrant of arrest for debts may be executed against a
Deputy during the sessions of the Chamber, nor within a period
of three weeks preceding or following the same.
["This article has been practically abolished by
the Mancini law of December 6, 1877, doing
away with personal arrest for debts."—Footnote.]
Article 47.
The Chamber of Deputies shall have power to impeach Ministers
of the Crown and to bring them to trial before the High Court
of Justice.
Article 48:
The sessions of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies shall begin
and end at the same time, and every meeting of one Chamber, at
a time when the other, is not in session, is illegal and its
acts wholly null and void.
Article 49.
Senators and Deputies before entering upon the duties of their
office shall take an oath of fidelity to the King and swear to
observe faithfully the Constitution and laws of the State and
to perform their duties with the joint welfare of King and
country as the sole end in view.
Article 50.
The office of Senator or Deputy does not entitle to any
compensation or remuneration.
Article 51.
Senators and Deputies shall not be held responsible in any
other place for opinions expressed or votes given in the
Chambers.
Article 52.
The sessions of the Chambers shall be public. Upon the written
request of ten members secret sessions may be held.
Article 53.
No session or vote of either Chamber shall be legal or valid
unless an absolute majority of its members is present.
[This article is not observed in actual parliamentary
practice.—Foot-note.]
Article 54.
The action of either Chamber on any question shall be
determined by a majority of the votes cast.
Article 55.
All bills shall be submitted to committees elected by each
House for preliminary examination. Any proposition discussed
and approved by one Chamber shall be transmitted to the other
for its consideration and approval; after passing both
Chambers it shall be presented to the King for his sanction.
Bills shall be discussed article by article.
Article 56.
Any bill rejected by one of the three legislative powers
cannot again be introduced during the same session.
Article 57.
Every person who shall have attained his majority has the
right to send petitions to the Chambers, which in turn must
order them to be examined by a committee; on report of the
committee each House shall decide whether they are to be taken
into consideration, and if voted in the affirmative, they
shall be referred to the competent Minister or shall be
deposited with a Government Department for proper action.
Article 58.
No petition may be presented in person to either Chamber. No
persons except the constituted authorities shall have the
right to submit petitions in their collective capacity.
Article 59.
The Chambers shall not receive any deputation, nor give
hearing to other than their own members and the Ministers and
Commissioners of the Government.
Article 60.
Each Chamber shall be sole judge of the qualifications and
elections of its own members.
Article 61.
The Senate as well as the Chamber of Deputies shall make its
own rules and regulations respecting its methods of procedure
in the performance of its respective duties.
Article 62.
Italian shall be the official language of the Chambers. The
use of French shall, however, be permitted to those members
coming from French-speaking districts and to other members in
replying to the same.
Article 63.
Votes shall be taken by rising, by division, and by secret
ballot. The latter method, however, shall always be employed
for the final vote on a law and in all cases of a personal
nature.
Article 64.
No one shall hold the office of Senator and Deputy at the same
time.
Article 65.
The King appoints and dismisses his ministers.
Article 66.
The Ministers shall have no vote in either Chamber unless they
are members thereof. They shall have entrance to both Chambers
and must be heard upon request.
Article 67.
The Ministers shall be responsible. Laws and decrees of the
government shall not take effect until they shall have
received the signature of a Minister.
{3736}
Article 68.
Justice emanates from the King and shall be administered in
his name by the judges he appoints.
Article 69.
Judges appointed by the King, except Cantonal or District
judges (di mandamento), shall not be removed after three years
of service.
Article 70.
Courts, tribunals and judges are retained as at present
existing. No modification shall be introduced except by law.
Article 71.
No one shall be taken from his ordinary legal jurisdiction. It
is therefore not lawful to create extraordinary tribunals or
commissions.
Article 72.
The proceedings of tribunals in civil cases and the hearings
in criminal cases shall be public as provided by law.
Article 73.
The interpretation of the laws, in the form obligatory upon
all citizens, belongs exclusively to the legislative power.
Article 74.
Communal and provincial institutions and the boundaries of the
communes and provinces shall be regulated by law.
Article 75.
The military conscriptions shall be regulated by law.
Article 76.
A communal militia shall be established on a basis fixed by
law.
Article 77.
The State retains its flag, and the blue cockade is the only
national one.
Article 78.
The knightly orders now in existence shall be maintained with
their endowments, which shall not be used for other purposes
than those specified in the acts by which they were
established. The King may create other orders and prescribe
their constitutions.
Article 79.
Titles of the nobility are guaranteed to those who have a
right to them. The King may confer new titles.
Article 80.
No one may receive orders, titles or pensions from a foreign
power without the King's consent.
Article 81.
All laws contrary to the provisions of the present
constitution are hereby abrogated.
Given at Turin on the fourth day of March, in the year of Our
Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and of Our
Reign the eighteenth.
Transitory Provisions.
Article 82.
This statue shall go into effect on the day of the first
meeting of the Chambers, which shall take place immediately
after the elections. Until that time urgent public service
shall be provided for by royal ordinances according to the
mode and form now in vogue, excepting, however, the
ratifications and registrations in the courts which are from
now on abolished.
Article 83.
In the execution of this statute the King reserves to himself
the right to make the laws for the press, elections, communal
militia and organization of the Council of State. Until the
publication of the laws for the press, the regulations now in
force on this subject remain valid.
Article 84.
The Ministers are entrusted with, and are responsible for the
execution and full observance of these transitory provisions.
----------CONSTITUTION OF ITALY: End--------
CONSTITUTION OF NEW YORK STATE, and its Revisions.
See NEW YORK: A. D. 1777, 1821, 1846, 1867-1882,
and 1894 (page 2339, and after).
CONSTITUTION OF RHODE ISLAND.
See RHODE ISLAND: A. D. 1888 (page 2646).
CONTRACT TABLETS, BABYLONIAN.
See MONEY AND BANKING (page 2199).
COOKE AND WHEATSTONE, Telegraphic Inventions of.
See ELECTRICAL DISCOVERY AND INVENTION:
A. D. 1825-1874 (page 773).
CO-OPERATION.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D). 1816-1886, 1840-1848,
1848-1883 (pages 2938, 2942, 2946).
COPYRIGHT.
See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1499;
and EQUITY: A. D. 1875 (pages 1965 and 1994).
COREA.
The war between Japan and China.
"The peninsula which projects between the Japanese and Yellow
Seas southwards in the direction of the southern islands of
Nippon is completely limited landwards. Like Italy, with which
it may be compared in extent, and even to some degree in its
orographic configuration, it is separated from the mainland by
the Alpine Taipeishan or 'Great White Mountains,' of
Manchuria. It has also its Apennines stretching north and
south, and forming the backbone of the peninsula. … Like most
regions of the extreme East, Korea is known to foreigners by a
name which has little currency in the country itself. This
term, belonging formerly to the petty state of Korié, has been
extended by the Chinese and Japanese to the whole peninsula,
under the forms of Kaokiuli, Korai, Kaoli. When all the
principalities were fused in one monarchy, towards the close
of the 14th century, the country, at that time subject to
China, took the official title of Chaosien (Tsiosen)—that is,
'Serenity of the Morning'—in allusion to its geographical
position east of the empire. Thus it is now designated by a
poetical expression which exactly indicates its position
between China and Japan. While for the people of the continent
Japan is the land of the Rising Sun, Korea is the 'Serene'
land, illumined by the morning rays. Although washed by two
much-frequented seas, and yearly sighted by thousands of
seafarers, Korea is one of the least known Asiatic regions. …
From its very position between China and Japan, Korea could
not fail to have been a subject of contention for its powerful
neighbours. Before its fusion in one state it comprised
several distinct principalities, whose limits were subject to
frequent changes. These were, in the north, Kaokiuli (Kaoli),
or Korea proper; in the centre, Chaosien and the 78 so-called
'kingdoms' of Chinese foundation, usually known as the San Kan
(San Han), or 'Three Han'; in the south, Petsi, or Hiaksaï
(Kudara), the Sinlo of the Chinese, or Siragi of the Japanese;
beside the petty state of Kara, Zinna, or Mimana, in the
south-east, round about the Bay of Tsiosan. The northern
regions naturally gravitated towards China, whose rulers
repeatedly interfered in the internal affairs of the country.
But the inhabitants of the south, known in history by the
Japanese name of Kmaso, or 'Herd of Bears,' were long subject
to Japan, while at other times they made frequent incursions
into Kiu-siu and Hondo, and even formed settlements on those
islands. The first conquest of the country was made by the
forces of the Queen Regent Zingu in the 3d century.
{3737}
Towards the end of the 16th the celebrated Japanese dictator
and usurper Taïkosama, having conceived the project of
conquering China, began with that of Korea, under the pretext
of old Japanese rights over the country of the Kmaso. After
wasting the land he compelled the King to become his
tributary, and left a permanent garrison in the peninsula. A
fresh expedition, although interrupted by the death of
Taïkosama, was equally successful. Tsu-sima remained in the
hands of the Japanese, and from that time till the middle of
the present century Korea continued in a state of vassalage,
sending every year presents and tribute to Nippon. … Thanks to
the aid sent by the Ming dynasty to Korea, in its victorious
struggle with the other petty states of the peninsula, and in
its resistance to Japan, its relations with China continued to
be of the most friendly character. Admirers of Chinese
culture, the native rulers felt honoured by the investiture
granted them by the 'Son of Heaven.' But after the Manchu
conquest of the Middle Kingdom, Korea remaining faithful to
the cause of the Mings, the new masters of the empire invaded
the peninsula, and in 1637 dictated a treaty, imposing on the
Koreans a yearly tribute. … But although since that time the
native ruler takes the title of 'Subject,' China exercises no
real sovereign rights in Korea."
E. Reclus,
The Earth and its Inhabitants: Asia,
volume 2, chapter 6.
"Since the conclusion of that treaty [of 1637], Corea has been
at peace with both her neighbours and able, till within the
last twenty years, to maintain the seclusion she so much
desired. Until the beginning of the present century—when the
doctrine preached by Roman missionaries in China began to
filter across the frontier, and to provoke a fitful and
uncertain intercourse between them and the few Coreans who had
been attracted by the new religion—the only fresh glimpse we
obtain of the interior of the country and its inhabitants is
afforded by the well-known story of Henry Hamel, who was
wrecked off the Corean coast in 1653, and detained there
twelve years as a prisoner at large. … We come now to events
nearer our own time, in which the propaganda of Rome and the
proceedings of its emissaries begin to play a prominent and
interesting part. In the year 1784, a young Corean named Le,
who had come to Peking in the suite of the tribute-bearing
embassy, applied to the Roman Catholic Mission for books and
instruction in the science of mathematics, of which he was
naturally fond. The missionaries profited by the occasion to
lend him books on religion, which awakened his interest and
led to his eventual conversion. As usual in such cases, the
neophyte set himself, directly on his return, to propagate the
new creed he had learned, among his relations and friends; and
with so much success that, in less than five years, he had,
according to Mgr. Govéa, gained 4,000 adherents. As may be
imagined, however, the doctrine acquired from a convert who
had had only a few months' instruction, and disseminated again
at second-hand by men who had caught the crude idea from his
conversation, was of a somewhat obscure description. … Neither
letter nor news was received from the Corean Christians for
more than two years; but two converts made their way to
Peking, at the close of 1793, with news of a severe
persecution which had occurred in the interval. … No sooner
had the persecution … subsided, than a priest was successfully
introduced across the frontier, to instruct and impart new
life to the converts. Nor, it is affirmed, has the flock ever
since been left unguarded. Persecution has followed
persecution; but from Jacques Velloz, the first missionary to
cross the frontier, who suffered martyrdom in 1800, to Mgr.
Ridel, who has returned to Europe with health shattered by the
anxieties and hardships undergone during the latest outbreak,
there have always been some priests alternately tolerated or
hiding in the country, and the spark lighted by the young
Corean attache has never been quite extinguished. … On July
7th, 1866, a Roman Catholic missionary arrived in a Corean
boat at Chefoo, with a tale of dire persecution. Two bishops,
nine priests, and a number of Christians of both sexes had
been massacred, many of them after judicial tortures of
atrocious cruelty. Three members of the mission only survived,
and M. Ridel had been chosen to carry the news to China, and
endeavour to procure assistance. It was to the French
authorities, naturally, that he addressed himself; and both
Admiral Roze, the Commandant of the French fleet in Chinese
waters, and M. de Bellonet, then charge-d'affaires at Peking,
lent a sympathetic ear to his protest. … An expedition was
accordingly resolved on. … Admiral Roze started from Chefoo
with the expeditionary force on October 11th, arrived off
Kang-hwa on the 14th, and occupied it, after a merely nominal
resistance, two days later. The Coreans were apparently taken
by surprise, having perhaps thought that the danger had
passed. … The forts along the banks of the river were found
ungarrisoned, and Kang-hwa itself, a considerable fortress
containing large stores of munitions of war, was practically
undefended. A letter was received, a few days later, inviting
Admiral Roze to come or send delegates to Söul, to talk over
matters in a friendly spirit; but he replied that, if the
Corean authorities wished to treat, they had better come to
Kang-hwa. This attitude was meant, no doubt, to be impressive,
but the event proved it to be slightly premature. So far all
had gone well; but the expedition was about to collapse with a
suddenness contrasting remarkably with the expectations raised
by M. de Bellonet's denunciations and Admiral Roze's hauteur.
… The disastrous termination of … two movements appears to
have persuaded Admiral Roze that the force at his disposal was
insufficient to prosecute the enterprise to a successful
issue, in face of Corean hostility. It was no longer a
question whether he should go to Söul or the Coreans come to
him: the expedition was at a deadlock. He had rejected the
first overtures, and was not strong enough to impose terms. A
retreat was accordingly decided on. The city of Kang-hwa was
burned, with its public offices and royal palace."
R. S. Gundry,
China and her Neighbours,
chapter 9.
In 1866, when the French threatened Corea, the latter sought
help from Japan and received none. Two years later, after the
Japanese revolution which restored the Mikado to his full
sovereignty, the Coreans declined to acknowledge his
suzerainty, and bitterly hostile feelings grew up between the
two peoples. The Japanese were restrained from war with
difficulty by their more conservative statesmen.
{3738}
Without war, they obtained from Corea, in 1876, an important
treaty, which contained in the first article "the remarkable
statement that 'Chosen, being an independent State, enjoys the
same sovereign rights as does Japan'—an admission which was
foolishly winked at by China from the mistaken notion that, by
disavowing her connection with Korea, she should escape the
unpleasantness of being called to account for the
delinquencies of her vassal. This preliminary advantage was
more than doubled in value to Japan when, after the revolution
in Söul in 1884, by which her diplomatic representative was
compelled to flee for the second time from the Korean capital,
she sent troops to avenge the insult and declined to remove
them until China had made a similar concession with regard to
the Chinese garrison, which had been maintained since the
previous outbreak in 1882 in that city. By the Convention of
Tientsin, which was negotiated in 1885 by Count Ito with the
Viceroy Li Hung Chang, both parties agreed to withdraw their
troops and not to send an armed force to Korea at any future
date to suppress rebellion or disturbance without giving
previous intimation to the other. This document was a second
diplomatic triumph for Japan. … It is, in my judgment, greatly
to be regretted that in the present summer [1894] her
Government, anxious to escape from domestic tangles by a
spirited foreign policy, has abandoned this statesmanlike
attitude, and has embarked upon a headlong course of
aggression in Korea, for which there appears to have been no
sufficient provocation, and the ulterior consequences of which
it is impossible to forecast. … Taking advantage of recent
disturbances in the peninsula, which demonstrated with renewed
clearness the impotence of the native Government to provide
either a decent administration for its own subjects, or
adequate protection to the interests of foreigners, and
ingeniously profiting by the loophole left for future
interference in the Tientsin Agreement of 1885, Japan … (in
July 1894) landed a large military force, estimated at 10,000
men, in Korea, and is in armed occupation of the capital. Li
Hung Chang … responded by the despatch of the Chinese fleet
and of an expeditionary force, marching overland into the
northern provinces."
G. N. Curzon,
Problems of the Far East,
chapter 7.
"The ostensible starting-point of the trouble that resulted in
hostilities was a local insurrection which broke out in May in
one of the southern provinces of Corea. The cause of the
insurrection was primarily the misrule of the authorities,
with possibly some influence by the quarreling court factions
at the capital. The Corean king applied at once to China as
his suzerain for assistance in subduing the insurgents, and a
Chinese force was sent. Japan, thereupon, claiming that Corea
was an independent state and that China had no exclusive right
to interfere, promptly began to pour large forces into Corea,
to protect Japanese interests. By the middle of June a whole
Japanese army corps was at Seoul, the Corean capital, and the
Japanese minister soon formulated a radical scheme of
administrative reforms which he demanded as indispensable to
the permanent maintenance of order in the country. This scheme
was rejected by the conservative faction which was in power at
court, whereupon, on July 23, the Japanese forces attacked the
palace, captured the king and held him as hostage for the
carrying out of the reforms. The Chinese were meanwhile
putting forth great efforts to make up for the advantage that
their rivals had gained in the race for control of Corea, and
to strengthen their forces in that kingdom. On the 25th a
Chinese fleet carrying troops to Corea became engaged in
hostilities with some Japanese war vessels, and one of the
transports was sunk. On August 1 the Emperor of Japan made a
formal declaration of war on China, basing his action on the
false claim of the latter to suzerainty over Corea, and on the
course of China in opposing and thwarting the plan of reforms
which were necessary to the progress of Corea and to the
security of Japanese interests there. The counter-proclamation
of the Chinese Emperor denounced the Japanese as wanton
invaders of China's tributary state, and as aiming at the
enslaving of Corea. On August 26 a treaty of offensive and
defensive alliance against China was made between Japan and
Corea. … A severe engagement at Ping-Yang, September 16,
resulted in the rout of the Chinese and the loss of their last
stronghold in Corea. A few days later the hostile fleets had a
pitched battle off the mouth of the Yalu River, with the
result that the Japanese were left in full control of the
adjacent waters. On the 26th of October the Japanese land
forces brushed aside with slight resistance the Chinese on the
Yalu, which is the boundary between Corea and China, and began
their advance through the Chinese province of Manchuria,
apparently aiming at Pekin."
Political Science Quarterly,
December, 1894.
On the 3d of November, Port Arthur being then invested by the
Japanese land and naval forces, while Marshal Yamagata, the
Japanese commander, continued his victorious advance through
Manchuria, Prince Kung made a formal appeal to the
representatives of all the Powers for their intervention,
acknowledging the inability of China to cope with the
Japanese. On the 21st of November, Port Arthur, called the
strongest fortress in China, was taken, after hard fighting
from noon of the previous day. In retaliation for the murder
and mutilation of some prisoners by the Chinese, the Japanese
gave no quarter, and are accused of great atrocities. To the
advance of the Japanese armies in the field, the Chinese
opposed comparatively slight resistance, in several
engagements of a minor character, until the 19th of December,
when a battle of decided obstinacy was fought at Kungwasai,
near Hai-tcheng. The Japanese were again the victors.
Overtures for peace made by the Chinese government proved
unavailing; the Japanese authorities declined to receive the
envoys sent, for the reason that they were not commissioned
with adequate powers. Nothing came of an earlier proffer of
the good offices of the Government of the United States.
Obstinate fighting occurred at Kai-phing, which was captured
by the Japanese on the 10th of January, 1895. On the 26th of
January the Japanese began, both by land and sea, an attack on
the stronghold of Wei-hai-wei, which was surrendered, with the
Chinese fleet in its harbor on the 12th of February. Shortly
afterwards, China made another effort to obtain peace,
commissioning her able Statesman, Li-Hung-Chang, as a special
envoy to Japan, with full power to negotiate terms. At the
time of this writing, the result has not appeared.
{3739}
CORNELL UNIVERSITY, The founding of.
See EDUCATION, MODERN (page 735).
CORONER AND CORONER'S JURY.
See LAW, CRIMINAL LAW: A. D. 1215, and 1276 (page 1982).
CORRUPT AND ILLEGAL PRACTICES AT ELECTIONS,
The English Act to prevent.
See England: A. D. 1883 (page 972).
CORTEREALS, Voyages of the.
See (in this Supplement) AMERICA.
COTTON-GIN, Whitney's, and its effect.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1793 (page 3306).
COURTS, Origin of the English Criminal.
See LAW, CRIMINAL: A. D. 1066-1272 (page 1981).
COURTS OF OYER AND TERMINER.
See LAW, CRIMINAL: A. D. 1285 (page 1982).
COXEY MOVEMENT, The.
See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: A. D. 1894 (page 2956).
CRIMINAL LAW.
See LAW, CRIMINAL (page 1981).
CRUSADES:
The initial movements.
"The pious legend according to which Peter the Hermit is
supposed to have been miraculously chosen by God Himself to
call Christendom to arms for the purpose of freeing the Holy
Sepulchre has long since been proved unhistorical by
scientific investigators. That account of the matter may have
given suitable expression to the religious enthusiasm which
the crusades called forth in those circles that were
especially strongly influenced by the church; but it is
entirely without any actual foundation in fact, nay, more; the
religious element altogether did not play nearly so important
a part in the origin of the crusades as it would seem to have
done to judge by the later character of the great movement.
For if in those days church influences and the religious
impulses on which they were based made a mighty impression and
in many ways produced an almost overwhelming effect;
nevertheless the reason for all this lay essentially herein
that the whole age, more than any other, was in a condition,
through crying agricultural, social and political needs, to
give itself up without reserve to the influence of similar
impelling forces, and that just for this reason it took up
with such enthusiasm the impulse furnished by the church. In
its most general form the thought which lies at the base of
the crusades springs from the idea of the calling of
Christendom to have and to hold the rule of the world. The
desire to practically carry out this idea was especially
active whenever the Christian ideal of world-rule,
incorporated as it was in a double form in the empire and in
the papacy, seemed near to realization; then it was that its
inherent magic unfolded most irresistibly its animating and at
the same time ensnaring power. Thus did Otto II, already, plan
a great undertaking for the protection of Christendom against
the Arabs. Thus did the fantastic mind of his immature son
busy itself with plans for a great crusade. Neither one nor
the other carried out his intention. But, little more than two
generations later, the commanding position which the empire
had at that time held, passed into the holding of the
hierarchical papacy. The creator of this hierarchical papacy,
who was beyond a doubt a reformer of genius, but revolutionary
in his means and hostile to the state as regarded his final
ends, was far from contenting himself with the spiritual power
which belongs uncontestedly to the church, but strove for an
actual, secular rule of the world. He thought to bring into
his own hands the complete political guidance of Christendom
as well as the command over its war-forces. … Plans for
widening his political and ecclesiastical sphere of power
formed the pith of Gregory VIIth's crusading plans. … Already
the victorious course had come to a stand-still in which the
Arabs up to the beginning of the eleventh century had
threatened to flood southwestern Europe. It was to rid
themselves of their troublesome enemies and their deeds of
violence, but not, however for the sake of the Faith, that
those who were threatened had determined to help themselves.
This led to the rapid rise of the naval power of Pisa and
Genoa, which soon won brilliant victories on the north coast
of Africa, and at the same time the brave Normans struggled
with growing success against the Arabs for the possession of
fair Sicily. There and not in Rome was the thought of a holy
war against the power of the Crescent first taken hold of; it
sprang from the knightly zeal for action and the political
genius of Robert Guiscard. … About the same time, moreover,
the Christians of the Pyrenean peninsula had energetically
roused themselves to a new attack against the Mohammedans.
Along the whole line therefore, in southwestern Europe, the
Christian arms were already victoriously pressing forward
against the followers of the prophet when the call from Rome
to the crusades first sounded out. Regarded as a whole,
therefore, the crusades cannot simply be looked upon as the
exclusive work of the church. The movement was already in full
progress and had, independently of the church, most successful
results to show, when that church's head undertook through a
skillful act to concentrate the separate movements and to
unite and organize them under his own guidance. This policy
was cleverly carried out by Urban. The church succeeded
effectually in bringing under her own undivided direction the
undertakings which different peoples of the Occident had
separately begun against their Mohammedan adversaries. For on
the one hand the empire, to which even then the opinion of the
world ascribed the first right of leadership in such a
struggle, lay prostrate in abject weakness and degradation; it
was incapable of fulfilling its calling. The whole age on the
other hand was so thoroughly roused to its depths and so
exhausted through the mighty spiritual struggles by which
church-life especially was shaken to its very foundation that
it submitted without opposition and even willingly to a
churchly right of guidance emphatically asserted; the more so
as this new guide promised to show the individual the way to
inward rest and peace of soul. The deeply sunken church had
been reformed by Cluny ideas; in place of the worldly doings
and sensual pleasures which had formerly engrossed her
servants and dignitaries, stern asceticism and saintly
enthusiasm ruled the day. Although it was among the clergy of
the eleventh century that the effect of this was primarily to
be seen, yet it was not without influence on the great body of
laymen.
{3740}
Not seldom do princes and nobles emulate each other in strict
ecclesiasticism, in monkish practices and pilgrimages. An age
without a parallel began of founding monasteries and churches.
Was it to be wondered at that the people also, otherwise bound
fast by the barren monotony of toilsome existence, turned
their thoughts often in the same direction? The more frequent
coming forward of popular saints and popular preachers, the
overwhelmingly rapid increase in the worship of relics, which
assumed a hitherto unheard-of significance for the catholic
system of religious observance, and the astonishing renewal of
life which came about in the matter of pilgrimages and sacred
undertakings customary though they had been of old: all these
show clearly how the enthusiastic frame of mind which had been