Outlines of Universal History Part 37

MEDICINE.--Medicine felt the benefit of the revival of learning. _Hippocrates_ and _Galen_ were studied, and were translated into Latin. _Paracelsus_, a German physician (1493-1541), besides broaching various theories more or less visionary, advanced the science on the chemical side, introducing certain mineral remedies. _Vesalius_, a native of _Brussels_ (1514-1564), who became chief physician of _Charles V_. and _Philip II_., dissected the human body, and produced the first comprehensive and systematic view of anatomy. In the sixteenth century clinical instruction was introduced into hospitals. _Harvey_, an English physician (1578-1657), discovered the circulation of the blood. In the seventeenth century activity in medical study was shown by the rise of various discordant systems.

PHILOSOPHY.--In philosophy, _Aristotle_ continued to be the master in the most conservative schools, where the old ways of thinking were cherished. His ethical doctrines were especially attacked by _Luther_. _Giordano Bruno_, an Italian, not without genius, promulgated a theory of pantheism, which identified the Deity with the world. He wandered from land to land, was a vehement a.s.sailant of received religious views, and was burned at the stake at _Rome_ (1600). In some gifted minds, the conflict of doctrinal systems, and the influence of the Renaissance, engendered skepticism. _Montaigne_ (1533-1592), the genial essayist on men and manners, the Plutarch of France, is an example of this cla.s.s. The opposition to _Aristotle_ and to the schoolmen found a great leader in the English philosopher, _Francis Bacon_ (1561-1626). The influence of _Lord Bacon_ was more in stimulating to the use of the inductive method, the method of observation, than in any special value belonging to the rules laid down for it. He pointed out the path of fruitful investigation.

_Hobbes_ (1588-1679), an English writer, propounded, in his _Leviathan_ (1651) and in other writings, his theory of the absolute authority of the king, and the related doctrine that right is founded on the necessity of "a common power," if the desires are to be gratified, and if endless destructive contention is to be avoided. From the epoch of Bacon, the natural and physical sciences acquire a new importance. In metaphysical science, the modern epoch dates from _Descartes_ (1596-1650), born in France, who insisted that philosophy must a.s.sume nothing, but must start with the proposition, "I think, therefore I am." Before, philosophy had been "the handmaid of theology." It had taken for granted a body of beliefs respecting G.o.d, man, and the world. _Descartes_ was a theist. _Spinoza_ (1632-1677), of Jewish extraction, born in _Holland_, is the founder of modern pantheism. He taught that there is but one substance; that G.o.d and the world--the totality of things--are the manifestation of one impersonal being.

LITERATURE IN ITALY.--In Italy, among many authors in different departments of poetry, _Ta.s.so_ (1544-1595), the author of the epic _Jerusalem Delivered_, is the most eminent. In it, the cla.s.sic and the romantic styles are combined; the spirit of the Middle Ages blends with the unity and harmony of Homer and Virgil. In the seventeenth century, under the hard Spanish rule, the literary spirit in Italy was chilled.

LITERATURE IN SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.--In Spain, it was poetry and the drama that chiefly flourished. Other sorts of literary activity were stifled with the extinction of liberty. _Lope de Vega_ (1562-1635), one of the most facile and marvelous of all poets, the author of twenty-two hundred dramas,--was the precursor of a school. After him came _Calderon_ (1600-1681), who carried the Spanish drama to its perfection. Early in the seventeenth century _Cervantes_ published the cla.s.sic tale of _Don Quixote_, "to render abhorred of men the false and absurd stories contained in books of chivalry," an end which he accomplished. _Mariana's_ (1536-1623) vivid and interesting _History of Spain_ was continued in a less attractive style by _Sandoval_. _Herrera_ (1549-1625) composed a General History of the Indies. Other works relating to the New World and the Spanish conquests were written. In the production of proverbs, the Spanish mind is without a rival. Not the least of the bad effects of the despotic system of _Philip II_. was the decay of literature.

The most celebrated writer of _Portugal_ is the poet _Camoens_ (1524-1579), who, in his epic the _Lusiad_, has treated of the glorious events in the history of his country, giving special prominence to the discovery by _Vasco da Gama_ of the pa.s.sage to India.

LITERATURE IN FRANCE.--In France, with the exception of _Montaigne_, it was _Rabelais_ (1495-1553), a physician, philosopher, and humorist, who, notwithstanding his profanity and obscenity, was the most popular author of his day, and who well represents the tone of the Renaissance in that country. _Ronsard_ (1524-1585), an imitator of the Latins and Greeks, was the favorite poet of _Mary, Queen of Scots_. In the first half of the seventeenth century the light literature of the French is ruled by fashion, and is void of serious feeling. In this time the literary societies of France take their rise. _Madame de Rambouillet_ (1588-1665), a lady of Italian birth, set the example in establishing such reunions. She made her hotel a resort for writers and politicians. Being an invalid, she kept her bed, which was placed in an alcove of the _salon_ where she received her visitors.

LITERATURE IN ENGLAND.--In England, in the age of _Elizabeth_, there is a galaxy of great authors in prose and verse. The events and debates of the Reformation, the voyages and geographical discoveries of the period, gave a powerful quickening to thought and imagination. The Renaissance culture, which made familiar the stories of Greek and Roman mythology, and the romantic tales and poetry of Italy and Spain, was potent in its effect. Some of the numerous theological writers, as Bishop _Hall_ (1574-1656), _Jeremy Taylor_ (1613-1667), and _Richard Hooker_ (1553-1600), have gained a high place in general literature. _Bacon_, apart from his philosophical writings, towers above almost all his contemporaries in the field of letters. The chivalrous _Sir Philip Sidney_ (1554-1586) wrote the pastoral romance of _Arcadia_. _Burton_ (1576-1640), the author of _The Anatomy of Melancholy_, and _Sir Thomas Brown_, who published (1642) the _Religio Medici_ (the religion of a physician) and, at a later date, the _Urn Burial_, are quaint and original authors. The merit of _Shakspeare_ (1564-1616) is so exalted and unique that he almost eclipses even the greatest names. The English drama did not heed what are called the cla.s.sic unities of time and place, which limit the action of a play to a brief duration and a contracted area. Other celebrated dramatic writers are _Beaumont_ (1586-1615) and _Fletcher_ (1579-1625), who wrote many plays jointly; _Ben Jonson_ (1574-1637), and _Ma.s.singer_ (1584-1640). The imaginative poetry which is not dramatic, in this period, begins with _Spenser_ (1553-1599), whose _Faerie Queene_ is a poem of chivalry; and it ends with _Milton_ (1608-1674), the Puritan poet, imbued with the culture of the Renaissance, whose majesty and beauty place him almost on a level, at least in the esteem of readers of the English race, with Dante. Among the religious poets is _George Herbert_ (1593-1635). One of the most famous of the lyric authors was the last of them, _Cowley_ (1618-1667).

LITERATURE IN GERMANY.--In Germany, the great literary product of this period was _Luther's_ translation of the _Bible_. The immediate effect of the controversy in religion was not favorable to the cause of letters. Attention was engrossed by theological inquiries and discussion. But in most of the countries, in the department of theology, preachers and writers of much ability and learning appeared on both sides of the controversy. Biblical study and historical researches were of necessity fostered by the exigencies of religious debate.

ASIATIC NATIONS.

I. CHINA.

THE JESUIT MISSIONS.--The _Ming_ dynasty continued in power in China until 1644. About the middle of the sixteenth century the _Portuguese_ came to the island of Macao, and commercial relations began between China and Europe. They brought opium into China, which had previously been imported overland from India. In 1583 _Matteo Ricci_, a Jesuit missionary, began his labors in China. He and his a.s.sociates had great success. His knowledge of the book language was most remarkable. The concessions of the Jesuit fathers to the Chinese in matters of ritual excited much opposition in the Church. But for this dissension among the different Catholic orders, the Roman Catholic faith, which had gained very numerous converts, would have spread far more widely.

THE MANCHU CONQUEST.--There were notable literary achievements in this period, one of which was an _encyclopedia_ in more than twenty-two thousand books. Four copies were made: only one, a damaged copy, now remains. The great political event of the time was the seizure of the throne by the _Manchu Tartars_ (1644), who came in as auxiliaries against a rebellion, but have worn the crown until now. The shaved head and the long cue are customs introduced by the Tartar conquerors. Certain privileges, and certain habits to which the natives clung, as the mode of dress for women, and the compression of their feet, were retained by express stipulation.

II. j.a.pAN.

FEUDAL SYSTEM.--In 1603 _Iyeyasu_, an eminent general, founded the _Tokugawa_ dynasty, which continued until the resignation of the last Shogun (or Tyc.o.o.n) in 1867. The rulers of that line held their court at _Yedo_, which grew into a flourishing city. The long period of anarchy and bloodshed that had preceded, was brought to an end. Iyeyasu laid the foundation of a feudal system which his grandson _Iyemitsu_ (1623-1650) completed. j.a.pan was divided into fiefs, each under a _daimio_ for its chief, who enjoyed a large degree of independence. The people consisted of four cla.s.ses: (1) the military families, who had the right to wear two swords, the clansmen of the great n.o.bles; (2) the farming cla.s.s; (3) the artisans; (4) the tradesmen.

CHRISTIANITY IN j.a.pAN.--Christianity was preached in j.a.pan by _Xavier_, a successful Jesuit missionary, in 1583. Other Jesuit preachers followed. A mult.i.tude of converts were made. But on account of immoralities of Europeans, and the dread of foreign political domination, the government engaged in a series of severe persecutions. In 1614 an edict proscribed Christianity. A portion of the peasants who were converts were so oppressed, that they revolted (1637). The result was an act of terrible cruelty,--the ma.s.sacre of all Christians; so that none remained openly to profess the Christian faith.

III. INDIA.

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE.--In the latter half of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth centuries, the most of _India_ was ruled by distinct Mohammedan dynasties. The dominion of the Afghan dynasty at _Delhi_ was thus greatly reduced. In 1525 the _Mughal (Mogul)_ Empire was founded by _Babar_, a descendant of _Tamerlane. Babar_ invaded India, and defeated the Sultan of _Delhi_ in the battle of _Paniput_. The new empire was not permanently established until his grandson _Akbar_ (1556-1605), in a series of conquests, spread his dominion over all India north of the Vindhyar mountains. Not until the reign of _Aurungzeb_ (1658-1707), was the Deccan subdued. After 1600 the Portuguese no longer had the monopoly of the foreign trade: the Dutch and English became their rivals.

LITERATURE.--See lists of works on general history, p. 16; on modern history, p. 395; on the history of particular countries, p. 359.

General Works on the Period. De Thou's _History of his own Times_; ROBERTSON'S _History of Charles V_. (Prescott's ed.); Von Raumer's _Gesch. Europas seit d. Ende d, 15 tu Jahrk_, (8 vols).; Hallam's _Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries_; RANKE'S series of works on this period,--the _History of the Popes_, and the Histories of Germany, France, and England; Histories of the Reformation by D'Aubigne, Dollinger (Roman Catholic), Spalding (Roman Catholic), Fisher, HAUSSER, Hardwick, Stebbing; Laurent, _La Reforme_; Lavisse et Rambaud, _Histoire Generale_ (iv. and v.); Seebohm's _Era of Protestant Revolution_; Works of Janssen, Pastor, Creighton.

On the German and Swiss Reformation: Waddington's _History_, etc.; Hagenhach, _Vorlesungen_, etc.; Lives of Luther, by Meurer, Michelet, Beard, KoSTLIN; Lives of Zwingh, by CHRISTOFFEL, MORIKOFER; Lives of Calvin, by HENRY, Dyer, Kampschulte (Roman Catholic).

Reformation in France. Works by Soldan, Von Polenz, Smiles, Browning; BAIRD'S works on _Huguenots_; Perkins, _France under Richelieu and Mazarin_ (2 vols.); Hanotaux, _Richelieu_ (2 vols.).

The Revolt of the Netherlands. Blok's _History of the Netherlands _(3 vols.), etc.; MOTLEY'S _Rise of the Dutch Republic_, and _History of the United Netherlands_; PRESCOTT'S _History of Philip II._; TH. JUSTE, _Hist, de la Revol. des Pays-Bas_, etc. (2 vols).

The Reformation in England. The Histories of Macaulay. Lingard, Froude, Burnet's _History of the Reformation in England_. S. R. Gardiner's _History of England_ (1603 to 1656); Clarendon's _History of the Great Rebellion_; a series of works on this period by GUIZOT; Neal's _History of the Puritans_; Gairdner, _History of the English Church from Henry VIII. to Mary_; selections of doc.u.ments by Prothero and by Gardiner; Lives of Cromwell, by CARLYLE, by Forster, Gardiner, Harrison, Firth; Strype's Lives of the Leading Reformers--Cranmer, etc.

On the Reformation in Scotland. BURTON'S _History of Scotland_; Robertson's _History of Scotland_; McCrie's _Life of John Knox_; W. M. TAYLOR, _Life of John Knox_.

On the Thirty Years' War. GINDELY'S _History_, etc.; Gardiner, _The Thirty Years' War; Life of Gustavus Adolphus_.

For more extended lists, see Adams's _Manual_, etc.; and Fisher's _The Reformation_ (Appendix). For list of works on colonization in America, see the list at the end of Period III.

PERIOD III. FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.

(1648-1789)

INTRODUCTION.

CHARACTER OF THE PERIOD.--One feature of this period is the efforts made by the nations to improve their condition, especially to increase the thrift and to raise the standing of the middle cla.s.s. An ill.u.s.tration is what is called the "mercantile system" in France. Along with this change, there is progress in the direction of greater breadth in education and culture. In both of these movements, rulers and peoples cooperate. Monarchical power, upheld by standing armies, reaches its climax. The result is internal order, coupled with tyranny. Great wars were carried on, mostly contests for succession to thrones. The outcome was an equilibrium in the European state system, dependent on the relations of five great powers.

FIRST SECTION OF THE PERIOD.--In the first half of the period, the East and the West of Europe are slightly connected. In the West, _France_ gains the preponderance over _Austria_, until, by the Spanish war of succession, _England_ restores the balance. In the East, _Sweden_ is in the van, until, in the great Northern war (1700-1721), _Russia_ becomes predominant.

SECOND SECTION OF THE PERIOD.--In the second half of the period, the East and the West of Europe are brought together in one state system, in particular by the rise of the power of _Prussia_.

CHIEF EVENTS.--The fall of _Sweden_ and the rise of _Russia_ and _Prussia_ are political events of capital importance. The maritime supremacy of _England_, with the loss by England of the _American_ colonies, is another leading fact. In the closing part of the period appear the intellectual and political signs of the great Revolution which broke out in _France_ near the end of the eighteenth century.

CHAPTER I. THE PREPONDERANCE OF FRANCE: FIRST PART OF THE REIGN OF LOUIS XIV. (TO THE PEACE OF RYSWICK, 1697): THE RESTORATION OF THE STUARTS: THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION OF 1688.

LOUIS XIV.: MAZARIN.--The great minister _Richelieu_ died in 1642. "Abroad, though a cardinal of the Church, he arrested the Catholic reaction, freed Northern from Southern Europe, and made toleration possible; at home, out of the broken fragments of her liberties and her national prosperity, he paved the way for the glory of France." He paved the way, also, for the despotism of her kings. He had been feared and hated by king and people, but had been obeyed by both. A few months later _Louis XIII._, a sovereign without either marked virtues or vices, followed him (1643). _Louis XIV._ (1643-1715) was then only five years old; and _Mazarin_, the heir of _Richelieu's_ power, stood at the helm until his death (1661). To this Italian statesman, ambitious of power and wealth, but astute, and, like _Richelieu_, devoted to France, the queen, _Anne_ of Austria, willingly left the management of the government. The rebellion of the _Fronde_ (1648-1653) was a rising of the n.o.bles to throw off the yoke laid on them by _Richelieu_. They were helped by the discontent of parliament and people with the oppressive taxation. In Paris, there was a rising of the populace, who built barricades; but the revolt was quelled. Its leaders, _Conti_, the Cardinal de _Retz_, and the great _Conde_, a famous soldier, were compelled to fly from the country. _Mazarin_, who had been obliged to fly to Cologne, returned in triumph. After that, resistance to the absolute monarch ceased,--the monarch whose theory of government was expressed in the a.s.sertion, "I am the State" (_l'etat c'est moi_). In the _Peace_ of the _Pyrenees_ (1659), _Spain_ gave in marriage to _Louis_, the Infanta _Maria Theresa_, the daughter of _Philip IV._, and ceded to France important places in the Netherlands. _Maria_ renounced all claims on her inheritance, for herself and her issue, in consideration of a dowry of five hundred thousand crowns to be paid by Spain. Shortly after, _Mazarin_, who had negotiated the treaty, in full possession of his exalted authority and the incalculable treasures which he had ama.s.sed, died.

LOUIS XIV. AND HIS OFFICERS.--_Louis XIV._ was now his own master. His appet.i.te for power was united with a relish for pomp and splendor, which led him to make _Versailles_, the seat of his court, as splendid as architectural skill and lavish expenditure could render it, and to make France the model in art, literature, manners, and modes of life, for all Europe. With sensual propensities he mingled a religious or superst.i.tious vein, so that from time to time he sought to compound for his vices by the persecution of the Huguenots. He was the central figure in the European life of his time. Taking care that his own personal authority should not be in the least impaired, he made _Colbert_ controller-general, to whom was given charge of the finances of the kingdom. _Louvois_ was made the minister of war. _Colbert_ not only provided the money for the costly wars, the luxurious palaces, and the gorgeous festivities of his master, but constructed ca.n.a.ls, fostered manufactures, and built up the French marine. _Louvois_, with equal success, organized the military forces in a way that was copied by other European states. Able generals--_Turenne_, _Conde_, and _Luxemburg_--were in command. The n.o.bles who held the offices, military as well as civil, vied with one another in their obsequious devotion to the "great king."

_Vauban_, the most skillful engineer of the age, erected impregnable fortifications in the border towns that were seized by conquest. In the arts of diplomacy, the French amba.s.sadors were equally superior. The monarch was sustained by the national pride of the people, and by their ambition to dominate in Europe.

ATTACK ON THE NETHERLANDS.--_Louis_ had already purchased of the English _Dunkirk_,--which was shamefully sold to him by _Charles II._,--when _Philip IV._ of Spain died (1665). He now claimed parts of the Netherlands as being an inheritance of his queen, according to an old law of those provinces. He conquered the county of _Burgundy_, or _Franche Comte_, and various places in that country. _Holland_, afraid that he might push his conquests farther, formed the _Triple Alliance_ with _England_ and _Sweden_. In the Treaty of _Aachen_ (Aix), Louis gave up to the Spaniards _Franche Comte_, but retained the captured cities in the Netherlands (1668), which _Vauban_ proceeded to fortify.

ATTACK ON HOLLAND.--The next attack of _Louis_ was upon _Holland_. Holland and the Spanish Netherlands were at variance in religion, as well as in their political systems, and rivals in trade and industry. The first minister of the emperor, _Leopold._, was in the pay of _Louis_. Sweden, in the minority of _Charles XI._, was in the hands of the Swedish n.o.bles. England had now joined _Louis_, who, in return for help in the Netherlands, was to furnish subsidies to a.s.sist _Charles II._ in establishing Catholicism in his realm. In Holland, there was a division between the republicans, of whom the grand pensionary, _John de Witt_, was the chief, and the adherents of the house of Orange.

THE WAR: THE PEACE OF NIMWEGEN.--_Louis_, having first seized _Lorraine_,--whose duke had allied himself to the United Provinces,--accompanied by his famous generals, _Conde, Turenne,_ and _Vauban_, put himself at the head of an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, which crossed the Rhine, and advanced to the neighborhood of the capital of Holland. The Orange party charged the blame of the failure to defend the land on their adversaries, whom they accused of treachery. _De Witt_ and his brother, _Cornelius_, were killed in the streets of Hague. _William III._, the Prince of Orange (1672-1702), a.s.sumed power. _Groningen_ held out against the French troops. Storms on the sea and on the land aided the patriotic defenders of their country. The "Great Elector" of Brandenburg, _Frederic William_, lent them help. At length the German emperor was driven by the French aggressions to join actively in the war, on the side of the Dutch. The English Parliament (1674) forced _Charles II._ to conclude peace with them. In the battle of _Sasbach_, _Turenne_ fell (1675). _Sweden_ took the side of France, and invaded the elector's territory; but the elector's victory at _Fehrbellin_ (1675) laid the foundation of the greatness of _Prussia_. _William III._ kept the field against the great generals of France, and married the daughter of _James_, the Duke of York, the brother of _Charles II._ In bringing the war to an end, _Louis_, by shrewd diplomacy, settled with the United Provinces first. By the _Peace of Nimwegen_ (1678 and 1679), Holland received back its whole territory; France kept most of her new conquests in the Netherlands, with the county of _Burgundy_, the city of _Besancon_, and some imperial towns in _Alsace_ not ceded in the Peace of Westphalia; the emperor lost to France _Freiburg_ in the Breisgau. The elector, left to shift for himself, was forced to give back his profitable conquests to Sweden (1679).

EFFECT OF THE WAR.--In the war with Holland, _Louis_ had shown his military strength, and his skill in making and breaking alliances. He had made progress towards the goal of his ambition, which was to act as dictator in the European family of states. To the end of the century, France stood on the pinnacle of power and apparent prosperity.

CONDITION OF FRANCE.--Manufactures flourished to an astonishing degree. France became a naval power with a large fleet and with all its services better organized than those of the contemporary English marine. _Colbert_ finished the ca.n.a.l between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Colonies were founded in _St. Domingo_, _Cayenne_, _Madagascar_. _Canada_ was increasing in strength. A uniform, strict judicial system was established. Restless n.o.bles were cowed, and the common people thus drawn to the monarch.

THE FRENCH COURT.--In his court, the king established elaborate forms of etiquette, and made himself almost an object of worship. The n.o.bility swarmed about him, and sought advancement from his favor. Festivals and shows of all sorts--plays, ballets, banquets, dazzling fireworks--were the costly diversion of the gay throngs of courtiers, male and female, in that court, where sensuality was thinly veiled by ceremonious politeness and punctilious religious observances. Poets, artists, and scholars were liberally patronized, and joined in the common adulation offered to the sovereign. Stately edifices were built, great libraries gathered; academies of art and of science, an astronomical observatory, and the botanic garden for the promotion of the study of natural history, were founded. The palace at _Versailles_, with its statues, fountains, and gardens, furnished a pattern which all the rest of Europe aspired to copy. Every thing there wore an artificial stamp, from the tr.i.m.m.i.n.g of the trees to the etiquette of the ballroom. But there was a splendor and a fascination which caused the French fashions, the French language and literature, with the levity and immorality which traveled in their company, to spread in the higher circles of the other European countries.