Yesawul. In India, a state messenger; a servant of parade, who carries a gold or silver staff; an aide-de-camp.
York. The capital of Yorkshire, England, is situated at the junction of the rivers Ouse and Foss. Before the invasion of the Romans it formed one of the chief cities of the Brigantes, the most powerful of British tribes; and it is supposed that on their subjugation by Agricola, he founded here about the year 79 the Roman city of Eboracum, which became the great “Colonia” of the Romans in Britain, the seat of imperial government, and the “Altera Roma.” On the departure of the Roman cohorts, about 409, it became a prey to the wars which prevailed between the Picts and the Britons, and between the latter and the Saxons; and also to the invasions of the Danes; but under these vicissitudes it still maintained its distinction as one of the chief cities of the kingdom. William the Conqueror was long unable to overcome this stronghold of the north. One Norman garrison, numbering 3000 men, was put to the sword in 1069; but William exacted a terrible vengeance in the following year, when he laid waste the whole country between York and Durham. During the insurrections consequent upon the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII., York was seized by the insurgents of the “Pilgrimage of Grace”; and in its immediate neighborhood, Fairfax, in 1644, conquered Prince Rupert on Marston Moor; after which battle York was taken (July 16) for the Parliament.
York (Upper Canada, founded in 1794; since 1834 named Toronto). In the war between America and Great Britain, the U. S. forces made several attacks upon the province of Upper Canada, and succeeded in taking York, the seat of the government, April 27, 1813; but it was soon afterwards retaken by the British.
York and Lancaster, Wars of. See [Roses, Wars of the].
Yorkshire. The largest county of England, is situated in its northern part. The history of the county in early times may be mainly read in that of its chief city. In the troublous times which preceded the Conquest, many battles were fought against the invading Danes, and generally with success. At Stamford Brig, a few miles from York, Harold, the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, defeated the united Danish and Norwegian armies, three weeks before he fell before the Normans on the fatal field of Hastings. Among the more notable events of later history, may be named the battle of Wakefield, where the Duke of York was defeated by Queen Margaret in 1460; the battle of Towton Field, near Tadcaster, fought on Palm-Sunday in 1461, the most sanguinary conflict of the bitter war between the rival Roses; and that of Marston Moor, which gave the final blow to the falling fortunes of Charles I. Since that time, with slight exceptions, its history has been one of peace and prosperity.
Yorktown. Capital of York Co., Va., situated on the right bank of the York River, 70 miles from Richmond. This locality was the theatre of one of the most important events in American history,—the surrender of Lord Cornwallis to Gen. Washington, which occurred on October 19, 1781. Yorktown was besieged during the civil war in April, 1862, but before the Federals opened fire on the town, the Confederates evacuated it.
Youngsters. A familiar term to signify the junior officers of a troop or company.
Ypres, or Yperen. A fortified town of Belgium, province of West Flanders, 30 miles south-southwest from Bruges. Ypres in the 9th century, when only a strong castle, was destroyed by the Normans. It was rebuilt in 901; and was first walled in 1388. Louis XIV., in 1688, made it one of the strongest fortresses of the Low Countries. In the great European wars, it seldom escaped a siege or bombardment.
Yucatan. The most eastern department of Mexico, Central America. It is in the form of a peninsula, jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico. It was discovered in 1517, and conquered by Spain in 1541, and retained until 1821, when it became a department of Mexico. This department declared itself independent of Mexico in 1846, but it subsequently annexed itself to Mexico.
Yumas. A tribe of North American Indians, located on the Colorado River, near the village of Yuma. In 1781 they massacred a number of white settlers, and again in 1853 they rose and committed depredations. Since the latter date they have generally been peaceable. They numbered in 1876 about 900.