grandson, then became heir to the throne, and succeeded to it when, in 1774, the worthless king died of smallpox. Spain and Portugal. The history of Spain at this time was not particularly eventful. The kingdom was still on the down grade, though one or two fairly good kings did a little to retard the process of dissolution. Most of the West India islands were however losttaken by the English. Portuguese history was marked with the good work of Pombal, the great Minister, who reformed the government, and with the terrible earthquake at Lisbon in 1755, in which 30,000 people lost their lives. In Italy the Duke of Savoy became King of Sardinia, and thus took another long step in the road which was in time to lead to a reunited and powerful Italy. The rest of the country remained, however, the prey of foreign powers. Frederick the Great. The rise of Prussia was the leading feature of German history in the eighteenth century. Frederick William I. came to the throne of the new kingdom in 1713 and laid the foundations of its military greatness. He was a rude despot, but he formed a strong standing army of 83,000 men and made it the best equipped force in Europe. He also added considerably to the extent of Prussia by conquest from Sweden. In 1740 he died and was succeeded by Frederick the Great. In the same year the death of Charles VI. extinguished the male line of the Hapsburgs, rulers of Austria-Hungary, and plunged Europe into war over the succession to that throne. The true heir to the throne was Maria Theresa, daughter of Charles. But her cousin, Charles Albert of Bavaria, was also a claimant, on the ground that a woman could not inherit it. There were also several other claimants. Frederick the Great offered to help Maria Theresa if she would let him have Silesia. She refused, whereupon he went to war against her, and got France, Spain, Bavaria, and Saxony to join him in it. In her extremity Maria Theresa made a personal appeal to the Hungarians, who responded to it with great enthusiasm. They soon conquered Bavaria and held the French in check at Prague. Then a compromise was made with Frederick, by which he received Silesia, whereupon he withdrew from the alliance against Maria Theresa. Then the intervention of England and the victory of Dettingen turned the scale so strongly in favor of Austria, that Frederick became alarmed, fearing Maria Theresa would become too strong and would demand Silesia back. Accordingly he again made war against her, with varying results, until the peace of 1748. Thereafter he devoted himself to the peaceful development of his country for a time. Then the rapid rise of Prussia excited the jealousies of other powers, and Austria, France and Russia combined to crush her. Frederick did not wait to be attacked but assumed the aggressive at once. He first routed the Saxons and Austrians and compelled the former to join him and fight on his side. Then Austria and Russia determined to divide his kingdom between them, with the aid of their allies, France and Sweden. But England took Frederick's part and gave him much assistance. After some disasters Frederick routed the French at Rossbach, and the Austrians at Leuthen, and then the Russians at Zorndorff, But as fast as one enemy was disposed of another appeared or was revived. With almost all Europe against him this wonderful king and warrior struggled on undismayed. At last peace came in 1763. Prussia did not gain any territory as a result of all her wars, but she won undisputed rank as one of the great powers. In the peace that followed Frederick showed himself as great an administrator as he was a soldier. The Hanoverians. On the death of Queen Anne the British crown went to George, Elector of Hanover, and thus the Hanoverian dynasty in England was founded. The new king could not speak a word of English and was by no means popular, especially as he seemed inclined to subordinate the interests of England to those of Hanover. His short reign ended in 1727, and he was succeeded by his son, George II., whose military prowess made him more popular. In his reign the battle of Dettigen was won, as previously noted; Commodore Anson sailed around the world despoiling the treasure-ships of Spain; Clive drove the French from India and won an Empire there for England; Canada and other provinces were taken in America; Boscawen and Hawke almost annihilated the French navy; and Coote continued the work of Clive in India. The elder Pitt was the presiding genius of the Government, and he raised England to the summit of power and glory. In 1760 the king died and was succeeded by his grandson, George III. The latter could speak English, which neither of his Hanoverian predecessors could do. His morals were irreproachable, and he was so good-hearted as to command much real affection. Unhappily he was also narrow, bigoted and stubborn, and not always wise in his choice of Ministers. Misgovernment was now alienating the American colonies, and the king would do nothing to stop the process. His Minister, Grenville, in 1765, secured the passage of the Stamp Act, a very obnoxious tax-law, and insisted upon the right to tax the colonies at will without giving them representation in the government. Against this suicidal course Pitt, Burke and other wise counsellors protested eloquently, but in vain. In 1770 the king found in Lord North a Minister willing to be even more despotic over the colonies. The natural result was soon apparent. The colonies rebelled and declared themselves independent. In India, the Mogul and Mahratta powers steadily declined, and British influence increased. After the triumphs of Clive and Coote, Warren Hastings became Governor of British India. He conducted the government with marvellous ability through enormous difficulties, but was charged with many acts of oppression and injustice, for which he was called home and put on trial. After one of the most famous trials in history, in which the foremost Englishmen of the day were engaged, he was acquitted. CHAPTER IV. THE PRESENT ERA. THE WAR BEGINS-THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION-WAR OF 1812-THE FRENCH REVO LUTION-THE REIGN OF TERROR-RISE OF BONAPARTE-THE EMPIRE-FALL OF BONAPARTE-BRITISH AFFAIRS-AMERICAN GROWTH-SOME MINOR STATES A REVOLUTIONARY ERA-ITALY-GERMANY-ENGLAND AND INDIA THE UNITED STATES-THE SLAVERY QUESTION-THE GREAT PEACE THE FRENCH EMPIRE AND REPUBLIC — THE TERRIBLE YEAR-GREAT BRITAIN-RUS SIA AND TURKEY-CHINA AND JAPAN - CUBA-CLOSING YEARS. HE last quarter of the The Present Era. eighteenth century was marked with two stupendous revolutions, one in each hemisphere, which produced greater changes in human affairs than any events that had occurred for ages. One was the War of the Revolution in America, the other was the French Revolution. The former was the earlier in date, and demands first consideration in this narrative. The causes that led to it were persistent acts of injustice committed by the British Government. That the mass of the British people approved them is not to be believed. Many of the foremost and most representative British statesmen protested against them and urged a course of justice and conciliation. All was in vain. The King was stubborn and his Ministers fatuous. The American colonies were subjected to burdensome taxation and denied the right of representation in the Government that taxed them. Open rebellion soon showed itself in the New England colonies and spread through them all. In 1773 several cargoes of taxed tea were thrown overboard at Boston by the colonists. The next year a Continental Congress met at Philadelphia and drew up a Bill of Rights. The War Begins. The war for independence began in 1775, with the battles of Lexington and Concord, in Massachusetts. In May of that year George Washington of Virginia was made Commander-in-Chief of the forces of all the colonies. In June came the famous battle of Bunker's Hill. Thus far the colonists had little thought of actual independence, but aimed merely at securing reforms and concessions. But 512 |