Basle Treaties.
Two treaties made by Napoleon with Prussia and Spain respectively in 1795, by which he detached these two powers from the European coalition. His bribe to Prussia was the withdrawal of the French troops from the right bank of the Rhine, while the inducement offered to Spain was the return to her of the Spanish half of the island of San Domingo.
Basle, Treaty of.
A treaty between Austria and the Swiss Cantons in 1499, whereby the virtual independence of the thirteen cantons was recognized.
Bassein, Treaty of.
A treaty between the British and Baji Rao II, Peshwa of Poonah, signed in 1802. The Peshwa agreed to receive a subsidiary force, and to pay for its maintenance; to admit into the Mahratta States no European hostile to England; to surrender all claims to Surat, and to remain the faithful ally of the English. This treaty practically put an end to the Mahratta independence.
Bastard of Orleans.
Jean Dunois (natural son of Louis of Orleans), the famous French general (1402-1468), was so called.
Bastille.
The famous state prison of Paris, built in 1370 by Charles V, and destroyed by the mob in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution.