The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 12
by
Editor-In-Chief Rossiter Johnson
Part 8 out of 8
failure of Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker's formidable expedition in 1711 up
the St. Lawrence with the design of assaulting Québec. On the capture by
the New England colonies of Port Royal, and the expulsion of its French
garrison, the place became an English fortress and was renamed Annapolis
Royal, in honor of Queen Anne.
In perusing the history of Nova Scotia, the reader is struck with the
frequency with which the country, or, in other words, the forts, passed
from the French to the English, and _vice versa_. As a rule, permanent
retention was not contemplated. Hence we find that when Port Royal was
taken by Phips, he departed without leaving a solitary man to defend it.
A few days after the expedition had left, the Chevalier de Villebon, the
newly appointed French Governor, arrived, and if accompanied by the means,
had a favorable opportunity of putting it once more in a state of defence
and retaining it as a French stronghold. But Phips was not far off, and he
therefore deemed it prudent, considering the small force at his disposal,
to retire to the river St. John, where he remained for some years,
destroying New England vessels and organizing schemes for the consolidation
of French authority in the province.
In the mean time Villebon showed his temper toward the New Englanders by
building a chapel on the disputed territory, and driving their fishermen
from the coast of Nova Scotia. Villebon was succeeded by Brouillan, in
1700, and not only was an enemy to the fishermen, but actually afforded
protection to pirates who preyed on the trade of Massachusetts, which
inspired a degree of hostility in New England that, on the accession of
Queen Anne, in 1702, the declaration of war which followed was hailed in
that colony with demonstrations of joy.
The New Englanders had a long catalogue of grievances unredressed, hostile
attacks unrevenged, and were more determined than ever to put forth their
strength for the expulsion of the French from the province. In 1704 a
preliminary expedition was despatched by them to the coast of Nova Scotia,
consisting of a ship of forty-two and another of thirty-two guns, a number
of transports and whale-boats, on board of which were upward of five
hundred men, under the command of Colonel Church, whose instructions were
to destroy settlements, and where dams existed to deluge the cultivated
ground and make as many prisoners as possible. One detachment visited
Minas, and spread desolation and ruin in that fertile region, through which
Brouillan passed on his way to Annapolis, representing the people as living
like true republicans, not acknowledging royal or judicial authority, and
able to spare eight hundred hogsheads of wheat yearly for exportation, and
as being supplied with abundance of cattle.
Another detachment went to Port Royal, which they deemed it prudent not to
attack. Brouillan having died in 1706, M. Subercase was appointed governor.
In the spring of 1707 another expedition was sent from New England to
attack Port Royal. It consisted of twenty-three transports and the province
galley, convoyed by a man-of-war of fifty guns, on which were embarked two
regiments of militia, under Colonels Wainwright and Hilton. The expedition
arrived at the entrance to Port Royal on June 6th. A landing was soon
effected; but Subercase's dispositions for resistance were so able that the
English found it impossible to make any impression on the defences, and,
after losing eighty men, the troops were reembarked and proceeded to Casco
Bay, from which place the commanders communicated with the Governor of
New England and waited orders. The failure of the expedition caused great
indignation in New England, and the Governor immediately resolved to
strengthen the army with a hundred recruits and to order a second attack.
Accordingly the expedition again sailed for Port Royal, when Subercase was
in a far more formidable position than formerly. After a siege of fifteen
days, in which the English officers displayed unaccountable cowardice, the
ships retired, having lost sixteen men, while the French had only three men
killed and wounded.
Subercase immediately proceeded to strengthen his position in anticipation
of a third attack. A bomb-proof powder magazine was accordingly
constructed, capable of containing sixty thousand pounds of powder, and the
fort was otherwise improved. This Governor, who had formed a high estimate
of the climate, soil, and general resources of the province, was one of the
ablest appointed under French rule. He made urgent appeals to the French
government to colonize the country on a large scale, pointing out the
advantages that would follow; but all his suggestions were disregarded, and
he had the mortification, notwithstanding his zeal and personal sacrifices
in the service of his country, to receive less encouragement and support
from the home government than any of his predecessors.
In the year 1710 great preparations were made for the conquest of Canada
and Nova Scotia. The New York House of Assembly sent a petition to Queen
Anne, praying for such assistance as would expel the French entirely from
the country. Colonel Vetch is said to have inspired this application, and
to have submitted to the British government a plan of attack. Promises of
liberal support are said to have been made, which, however, the government
was tardy in affording.
The command of the New England forces was intrusted to Francis Nicholson,
who was appointed Governor of New England, under Sir Edmund Andros, in
1688, being Governor of New York in 1689, and in the following year
Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia. In 1692 he was transferred to
the government of Maryland, and in 1698 sent back to Virginia as
Governor-in-Chief, at which time he held the rank of colonel in the army.
Nicholson was an earnest advocate of a confederation of the British North
American provinces for purposes of defence, to which the people of Virginia
were popularly opposed.
Nicholson sailed from Boston on September 18, 1710, with a fleet of about
thirty-six vessels, including five transports from England, conveying
a considerable force, composed of troops supplied by Massachusetts,
Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, which arrived at Port Royal
on September 24th. Subercase was not in a condition to resist so formidable
a force; hence we find him writing to the French minister that the garrison
is dispirited, and praying for assistance in men and money. The strait to
which he was reduced is indicated by the following passage: "I have had
means," he says, "by my industry to borrow wherewith to subsist the
garrison for these two years. I have paid what I could by selling all my
movables. I will give even to my last shirt, but I fear that all my pains
will prove useless if we are not succored during the month of March or
early in April, supposing the enemy should let us rest this winter."
But it was far from the intention of the enemy to let them rest; for three
days after the despatch of the communication in which the passage quoted
occurred, Nicholson sent a summons to the Governor requiring the immediate
delivery of the fort, and in the event of non-compliance, expressing his
resolution to reduce it by force of her majesty's arms. No reply having
been sent to the summons, Nicholson prepared to land his troops, to which
Subercase offered no resistance, as he could not trust the garrison beyond
the walls of the fort on account of the discontent induced by the universal
conviction of their inability to oppose the English, who mustered to the
number of upward of three thousand, exclusive of seamen, to which force the
Governor could not oppose more than three hundred fighting men. In the mean
time the garrison became disorganized and many desertions took place, when
the Governor, yielding to necessity, opened a communication with Nicholson
with the view to capitulation.
The articles were, in the circumstances, highly favorable to the garrison.
They provided that the soldiers should march out with their arms and
baggage, drums beating and colors flying; that they should be conveyed to
Rochelle, and that the inhabitants within three miles of Port Royal should
be permitted to remain on their lands, with their corn, cattle, and
furniture, for two years, if so disposed, on their taking the oath of
allegiance to the Queen of Great Britain. The destitute condition of
the garrison was manifested by their tattered garments and absence of
provisions necessary to sustain them even for a few days. In conformity
with the terms of the capitulation four hundred eighty men in all were
transported to Rochelle, in France. A garrison, consisting of two hundred
marines and two hundred fifty New England volunteers, was left in Port
Royal, under Colonel Vetch, as governor--General Nicholson returning to
Boston with the fleet.
The English, sensible of the disastrous consequences resulting from the
policy hitherto adopted of abandoning Port Royal after having taken
repeated possession of it, had now resolved to retain it permanently. The
Acadians were alarmed at the indications of permanent occupancy which they
witnessed, and evinced a degree of hostility which caused the Governor to
adopt such measures as were calculated to convince them that they must act
in virtue of their temporary allegiance to the British crown, as became
faithful subjects. The restraints imposed were galling to the French,
and they despatched a messenger with a letter to the Governor of Canada,
referring to their general misery under British rule, and praying to be
furnished with the means of leaving a country where they could not enjoy
absolute freedom, but the letter contained no specific charges.
In the hope of regaining the fort, and impressed with the importance in the
mean time of intensifying Indian hostility to English rule, the Canadian
Governor sent messengers to the French missionaries to exert their
influence in that direction. The consequence was that parties sent out to
cut wood were attacked, and that travelling beyond the fort was rendered
dangerous. Eighty men sent from the garrison on that service were attacked
by the Indians, who killed about thirty of the party, taking the rest
prisoners. Vaudreuil, the Governor of Canada, had made preparations to
assist in the recapture of the fort, but intelligence of a strong force
being in preparation to attack Canada prevented the accomplishment of his
purpose.
General Nicholson, on leaving Port Royal, went to England, for the purpose
of inducing the Government to adopt measures for the thorough conquest of
Canada, preparations for that end being in progress in New England. His
appeal was cordially responded to, and a fleet of twelve line-of-battle
ships, with storeships and transports, and having eight regiments and a
train of artillery on board, the whole commanded by Admiral Walker, left
England on April 28, 1711, arriving in Boston, June 25th. If his formidable
force, which consisted of sixty-eight vessels in all, having about six
thousand fighting-men on board, left Boston on July 30th, arriving at
Gaspé, August 18th, where wood and water were taken in. They sailed thence
on the 20th.
The pilots seem to have been incompetent, for on August 23d the ships got
into difficulties in a fog, losing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near Egg
Island, eight transports and eight hundred eighty-four men. At a council of
war it was determined to abandon the enterprise, and intelligence of the
resolution was sent to General Nicholson, who had left Albany with an
army for the purpose of attacking Montreal, and who consequently had the
mortification of being obliged to return immediately. On September 4th the
fleet arrived at Spanish Bay and anchored in front of Lloyd's Cove. It is
questionable if the noble harbor of Sydney has ever since presented so
lively a spectacle as on this occasion.
Admiral Walker was instructed if he succeeded in taking Québec, to attack
Placentia, in Newfoundland, but at a council of war it was declared
impracticable to make any attempt against that place, while from the
condition of the stronghold it could have been easily taken. On his return
Walker was the laughing-stock of the nation. Literary squibs and pamphlets
were showered upon him, and his attempts at a vindication of his conduct
only rendered him the more ridiculous. He stood in the estimation of the
nation in precisely the same position as Sir John Cope, the commander of
the force sent to attack Prince Charles Edward Stuart on his march from the
north of Scotland, in 1745, to Edinburgh, who, after having held a council
of war, resolved to march in the opposite direction from that in which the
enemy was to be found, and whose consummate folly or cowardice in doing so
is a standing national joke.
The severe contests in which France and Britain were almost continually
engaged required occasional breathing-time. Hence, notwithstanding the
series of brilliant victories gained by Marlborough, the war had become
unpopular, and the governmental policy had to be assimilated to the
national will. France was equally desirous of peace, and no great
difficulty was experienced in coming to terms. In the preparation of
previous treaties, France had succeeded in making the cession to her of
any portion of North American territory wrested from her a fundamental
condition of agreement. Great Britain had hitherto shown a degree of
pliability, in yielding to the desire of her great opponent, in this
matter, which seems unaccountable, and certainly incompatible with British
interests; but the representations of the New Englanders as to the impolicy
of such procedure were so urgent and unanswerable that the Government had
resolved that the period of vacillation was past, and that the exercise of
firmness in the permanent retention of Nova Scotia was necessary. Hence, in
the celebrated Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, it was provided that all Nova
Scotia or Acadia should be yielded and made over to the Queen of Great
Britain and to her crown forever, together with Newfoundland, France
retaining possession of Cape Breton.
General Nicholson, having been appointed governor of Nova Scotia in 1714,
as well as commander-in-chief, Queen Anne addressed a graceful letter to
him, dated June 23, 1713, in which, after alluding to her "good brother,"
the French King, having released from imprisonment on board his galleys
such of his subjects as were detained there professing the Protestant
religion, she desired to show her appreciation of his majesty's compliance
with her wishes by ordering that all Frenchmen in Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland who should desire to remain should be permitted to retain
their property and enjoy all the privileges of British subjects; and if
they chose to remove elsewhere, they were at liberty to dispose of their
property by sale ere they departed.
Meanwhile the Acadians, as well as the inhabitants of Newfoundland, were
pressed by the French Governor of Louisburg, M. de Costabelle, to remove to
Cape Breton, which the great body of the latter did. The Acadians, however,
could not appreciate the advantages to be gained in removing from the
fertile meadows of the Annapolis Valley to a soil which, however excellent,
required much labor to render it fit for cultivation. It appears that they
sent a deputation to examine the island and report as to its adaptability
for agricultural purposes, for one of their missionaries, addressing M.
de Costabelle, the Governor, says that from the visits made they were
satisfied there were no lands in Cape Breton suitable for the immediate
maintenance of their families, since there were not meadows sufficient to
nourish their cattle, from which they derived their principal support.
He at the same time represents the Indians--who had been also desired to
remove--as being of opinion that living as they did by the chase, the
island was quite insufficient for that purpose, as well as from its narrow
limits, equally unfitted for the exercise of their natural freedom.
But while declining to leave Nova Scotia, the Acadians expressed a firm
determination to continue loyal to the King of France, affirming that they
would never take the oath of allegiance to the crown of England, to the
prejudice of what they owed to their King, their country, and their
religion, and intimating their resolution, in the event of any attempt to
make them swerve from their fidelity to France, or to interfere with the
exercise of their religion, to leave the country and betake themselves to
Cape Breton, then called the Ile Royale. And they there remained until
1755, at which time the English and New England colonists finally drove
forth and dispersed them with hateful cruelty.
%CHRONOLOGY OF UNIVERSAL HISTORY EMBRACING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THIS
VOLUME%
A.D. 1661-1715
JOHN RUDD, LL.D.
Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals
following give volume and page.
Separate chronologies or the various nations, and of the careers of famous
persons, will be found in the INDEX VOLUME, with volume and page references
showing where the several events are fully treated.
A.D.
%1661%. Execution of the Marquis of Argyle. Burning of the _League and
Covenant_ by the hangman, in all parts of England.
Episcopacy restored in Scotland.
In France Louis XIV assumes personal rule; Colbert begins his ministry. See
"Louis XIV ESTABLISHES ABSOLUTE MONARCHY," xii, i.
%1662%. Sale of Dunkirk to the French by Charles II. Passage of a new Act
of Uniformity; ejectment of nonconformist ministers from their livings, in
England.
A charter given the Connecticut and New Haven colonies.
%1663%. Hungary overrun by the Turks under Koprili.
Foundation of the French Academy of Inscriptions.
The Carolinas granted by charter to Clarendon and others.
%1664%. Passage of the Conventicle Act in England, directed against
nonconformists or dissenters.
Victory of the united forces of Germany, France, and Italy, under
Montecucoli, general of Leopold I, at St. Gotthard, Hungary.
Charles II grants the territory between the Connecticut and James rivers to
his brother, James, Duke of York; New Amsterdam occupied and New Netherland
taken by the English; New York is the name given to both province and city.
James sells a portion of his domain, to which the title of "New Caesarea"
was first given, afterward changed to New Jersey. See "NEW YORK TAKEN BY
THE ENGLISH," xii, 19.
East and West India companies formed in France; colonies planted in
Cayenne, Martinique, Guadelupe, Ste. Lucia, and Canada.
1665. Continued persecution of dissenters in England by the passage of the
Five-mile Act.
War between England and Holland.
Newton invents his methods of fluxions.
Completion of the union of the Connecticut and New Haven colonies.
Death of Philip IV; his son, Charles II, ascends the throne of Spain.
"GREAT PLAGUE IN LONDON." See xii, 29.
1666. Great naval victory of the English over the Dutch, in the Downs.
Resort to arms by the Scotch Covenanters; they are defeated.
"DISCOVERY OF GRAVITATION." See xii, 51.
War against England declared by France.
Foundation of the Académie des Sciences, Paris.
Burning of London. See "GREAT FIRE IN LONDON," xii, 45.
William Penn joins the Society of Friends.
1667. Opening of the first fire-insurance office in London. Ravages up the
Medway and Thames, England, by the Dutch, during negotiations for peace.
Treaty of Breda; peace between England, Holland, France, Denmark.
Publication of Milton's _Paradise Lost_.
1668. Triple alliance against France formed by England, Holland, and
Sweden.
Recognition by Spain of the independence of Portugal. Foundation of the
mission of Sault Ste. Marie, by Father Marquette. Introduction of the art
of dyeing into England by Brewer, who fled from Flanders before the French
invaders.
1669. John Locke draws up a constitution for the government of the
Carolinas.
Candia surrenders to the Turks.
Expedition of La Salle from the St. Lawrence to the West.
Discovery of phosphorus by Brandt.
1670. A secret treaty (Dover) between Charles II of England and Louis XIV
of France; Charles basely sells his allies, the Dutch, and engages himself
to become a Catholic.
Incorporation of the Hudson Bay Company.
1671. Leopold attempts the subjugation of the liberties of Hungary; his
drastic methods include the execution of Frangepan, Nadasdy, and Zrinyi.
Attempt of Colonel Blood to steal the English crown and regalia from the
Tower; the King pardons and pensions him.
"MORGAN, THE BUCCANEER, SACKS PANAMA." See xii, 66.
Building of Greenwich Observatory.
1672. William III, Prince of Orange, has supreme power conferred on him
by the Dutch. The De Witts massacred. See "STRUGGLE OF THE DUTCH AGAINST
FRANCE AND ENGLAND," xii, 86.
1673. Passage in England of the Test Act, excluding dissenters and papists
from all offices of government.
Battle of Khotin; defeat of the Turks by John Sobieski.
"DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI." See xii, 108.
Occupation of New York and New Jersey by the Dutch.
Joliet and Marquette make discoveries on the upper Mississippi.
1674. Peace between England and Holland; the former regains New Netherland.
Occupation of Pondicherry by the French.
John Sobieski elected to the Polish throne.
1675. "KING PHILIP'S WAR." See xii, 125.
Battle of Fehrbellin; the Swedes, having invaded Brandenburg, are defeated
by Frederick William. See "GROWTH OF PRUSSIA UNDER THE GREAT ELECTOR," xii,
138.
Beginning of the building of St. Paul's, London, by Sir Christopher Wren.
Leeuwenhoek discovers animalculae in various waters.
1676. Rebellion of Bacon in Virginia.
Defeat of the Dutch admiral, De Ruyter, by the French, under Duquesne, off
the Sicilian coast.
Building of Versailles.
1677. William of Orange defeated by the French at Casel. Freiburg captured
by the French.
Mary, daughter of the Duke of York (James II), marries William of Orange.
1678. Invention of the Popish Plot by Titus Oates.
Peace of Nimeguen between France, Spain, and Holland.
First war between Russia and Turkey.
Struggle of the Hungarians, under Tokolyi, against Austria.
1679. Persecution of the Covenanters in Scotland; they take up arms but are
defeated by Monmouth, at Bothwell Bridge. Murder of the primate, Sharp.
Passage in England of the Habeas Corpus Act.
La Salle builds the Griffon on Niagara River.
Peace of Nimeguen between France and the German Emperor.
1680. Beginning of the captivity of the Man with the Iron Mask. (Date
uncertain.)
Execution of Viscount Strafford for alleged participation in the Popish
Plot.
Alsace incorporated with French territory.
The Whig and Tory parties first so named in England.
1681. Strasburg seized by Louis XIV.
A patent by the crown granted to William Penn. See "WILLIAM PENN RECEIVES
THE GRANT OF PENNSYLVANIA," xii, 153.
Renewed persecution of Protestants in France.
First museum of natural history in London.
1682. Attempt of Louis XIV to seize the Duchy of Luxemburg.
Bossuet, in behalf of the French clergy, draws up a declaration which sets
forth the liberties of the Gallican Church.
Colonizing of Pennsylvania by William Penn; he founds Philadelphia; also,
with other Friends, purchases East Jersey.
Expedition of La Salle to the mouth of the Mississippi. See "DISCOVERY OF
THE MISSISSIPPI," xii, 108.
Death of Czar Feodor III; his sister, Sophia, regent in the name of her
brothers Ivan V, of weak intellect, and Peter I (Peter the Great).
%1683%. A penny-post first established in London, by a private individual.
Execution in England of Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney, for participation
in the Rye House Plot.
Siege of Vienna by the Turks. See "LAST TURKISH INVASION OF EUROPE," xii,
164.
Attack on the Spanish Netherlands by Louis XIV.
%1684%. Forfeiture of the charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company.
Formation of the Holy League by Venice, Poland, Emperor Leopold I, and Pope
Innocent XI against the Turks.
Genoa bombarded by the French. Louis XIV forcibly occupies Luxemburg.
An embassy sent from the King of Siam to France.
Publication by Leibnitz of his invention of the differential calculus. (See
Newton, 1665.)
%1685%. Death of Charles II; his brother, James II, ascends the English
throne. Insurrection of Argyle and Monmouth; they are both executed.
Jeffries' Bloody Assizes. See "MONMOUTH'S REBELLION," xii, 172.
Pillage of the coast of Peru by the buccaneers.
"REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES." See xii, 180.
A demand made for the surrender of Connecticut's charter; it is hidden in
Charter Oak.
Bradford's printing-press arrives in Pennsylvania. See "ORIGIN AND PROGRESS
OF PRINTING," viii, i.
%1686%. Attempt of James II to restore Romanism in the British domains; a
camp established by him at Hounslow Heath. Revival of the Court of High
Commission.
League of Augsburg formed by William of Orange, by which the principal
continental states unite to resist French encroachments.
A bloody crusade waged by Louis XIV, and Victor Amadeus II of Savoy,
against the Waldenses of Piedmont.
Recovery of Buda by the Austrians from the Turks.
Appointment of Sir Edmund Andros as Governor over the consolidated New
England colonies.
%1687%. Refusal of the University of Cambridge to admit Francis, a
Benedictine monk, recommended by James II.
Leopold I compels the Hungarian Diet to make the kingdom hereditary in the
Hapsburg family.
Battle of Mohacs; defeat of the Turks by the Duke of Lorraine.
Capture of Athens by the Venetians.
Appointment of Tyrconnel, a Roman Catholic, as Lord Deputy of Ireland.
Publication of Newton's _Principia_.
Assumption of power by Peter the Great, in Russia.
1688. Louis XIV declares war against Holland: he makes war on Germany.
Capture of Philippsburg by the French.
Battle of Enniskillen in Ireland.
Landing in England of William of Orange, on invitation of the malcontents
in that country. See "THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION," xii, 200.
New York and New Jersey united with New England under Governor-General Sir
Edmund Andros.
1689. William and Mary, she being daughter of the ex-king, are proclaimed
King and Queen of England. Passage of the Bill of Rights.
James II lands in Ireland; he unsuccessfully besieges Londonderry: battle
of Newtown Butler, defeat of the Irish Catholics.
Great Britain joins the League of Augsburg.
Overthrow of Andros in New England. See "TYRANNY OF ANDROS IN NEW ENGLAND,"
xii, 241.
At the instance of Louvois, his war minister, Louis XIV lays waste the
Palatinate.
Battle of Killiecrankie, Scotland; defeat of the government forces by the
Highlanders; Claverhouse, their leader, slain.
"MASSACRE OF LACHINE, CANADA." See xii, 248.
"PETER THE GREAT MODERNIZES RUSSIA." See xii, 223.
1690. Battle of the Boyne. See "SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY," xii, 258.
Presbyterianism reestablished in Scotland.
Defence of Canada by Frontenac.
James II leaves Ireland and returns to France.
Destruction of Schenectady by the French and Indians.
Conquest of Acadia and unsuccessful attempt on Québec by the English.
John Locke publishes his _Essay Concerning the Human Understanding_.
1691. Overthrow of the Jacobites in Scotland.
Battle of Salankeman; victory of Louis of Baden over the Turks.
Execution in New York of Jacob Leisler.
1692. Union of the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts.
Beginning of the witchcraft mania in New England. See "SALEM WITCHCRAFT
TRIALS," xii, 268.
The duchies of Hanover and Brunswick become an electorate; Ernest Augustus
elector.
Battle of La Hogue; the attempted French invasion of England defeated by
the victory of the English and Dutch fleets.
Massacre, at Glencoe, of the MacDonalds.
1693. Defeat of the English fleet, off Cape St. Vincent, by Tourville,
admiral of the French fleet.
Distress in France from famine and the expense of the war with England.
Founding of the College of William and Mary, Virginia.
Bradford's printing-press removed from Pennsylvania to New York. See
"ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING," viii, i.
1694. Attacks on the coast of France by the English.
Death of Queen Mary, consort of William. Cessation of the censorship of the
press in England.
"ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND." See xii, 286.
Peter the Great of Russia employs Brant, a Dutch shipwright, to build a
vessel at Archangel.
1695. Peace arranged between France and Savoy.
Azov captured from the Turks by Peter the Great.
1696. On the death of John Sobieski the Polish crown is purchased by
Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony.
1697. Barcelona captured by the French.
Peace of Ryswick between France, Holland, England, and Spain.
Election of Francis I as King of Poland.
Battle of Zenta; crushing defeat of the Turks by Leopold I.
1698. Foundation of Calcutta by the English.
A Scotch colony established on the Isthmus of Darien: abandoned in 1700.
Peter the Great recalled from England by a revolt of the Strelitz guards;
he subdues and disbands them.
Society for Propagating Christianity formed in London.
Partition of Spain arranged between England, France, and the Netherlands.
1699. Iberville settles a French colony in Louisiana. See "COLONIZATION OF
LOUISIANA," xii, 297.
Reduction of the Turkish territories in Europe, by nearly one-half,
arranged by the Peace of Carlowitz, between Turkey, Austria, Venice, and
Poland.
Peter the Great introduces the computation of time in Russia by the
Christian era, but adheres to the old style, which still obtains in that
country.
1700. Russia, Poland, and Denmark make joint war against Sweden. The army
of Peter the Great overwhelmed at Narva, by Charles XII of Sweden.
Foundation of the future Yale College, Connecticut.
1701. Frederick III of Brandenburg crowns himself King of Prussia. See
"PRUSSIA PROCLAIMED A KINGDOM," xii, 310.
Passage of the Act of Settlement in England; the Hanoverian succession
founded.
Beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession.
Charles XII defeats the Poles and Saxons.
1702. Death of William III; Queen Anne succeeds to the throne of England.
Command of the army of the States-General given to Marlborough, the English
general.
Battle of Vigo; naval victory of the English and Dutch over the Spaniards
and French.
Beginning of Queen Anne's War in America.
Foundation of a French settlement on the Mobile River, Alabama.
Charles XII occupies Warsaw; he defeats Augustus II at Klissow; Cracow
entered by him.
1703. Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal, for facilitating
commerce between those countries.
Peter the Great lays the foundation of St. Petersburg. See "FOUNDING OF ST.
PETERSBURG," xii, 319.
Defeat of Augustus II by Charles XII at Pultusk.
1704. English conquest of Gibraltar from Spain. "BATTLE OF BLENHEIM." See
xii, 327.
At Boston is published the first newspaper in the American colonies of
England. See "ORIGIN AND PROGRESS OF PRINTING," viii, i.
Sack, burning, and massacre of the inhabitants of Deerfield, Massachusetts,
by French and Indians.
Charles XII completes the subjugation of Poland.
1705. Failure of the French and Spaniards in an attempt to recapture
Gibraltar.
Invasion of Spain by the English under the Earl of Peterborough; capture of
Barcelona.
1706. Battle of Ramillies; Marlborough defeats the French under Villeroi.
Unsuccessful attempt of the French and Spaniards on Barcelona. Birth of
Benjamin Franklin.
1707. Sanction of the Union of England and Scotland by the Scotch
Parliament. See "UNION OF ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND," xii, 341.
Charles XII subjugates Saxony; he dictates the Peace of Altranstaedt.
1708. Russia invaded by Charles XII.
Battle of Oudenarde; victory of Marlborough and Prince Eugene over the
Dukes of Burgundy and Venddme.
1709. Annihilation of the army of Charles XII at Poltava See "DOWNFALL OF
CHARLES XII," xii, 352.
Invasion of Sweden by the Danes. Recovery of Poland by Augustus II.
1710. Expulsion of the Danes from Sweden by Stenbock. Request of the Irish
Parliament for union with that of Great Britain. "CAPTURE OF PORT ROYAL,
CANADA." See xii, 373.
1711. After further successes in Flanders, Marlborough is removed from
command; the Whig ministry falls in England.
Under Walker, the English and New England forces make an unsuccessful
attempt on Canada.
Having taken up arms for Charles XII, the Turks nearly achieve the ruin
of Peter the Great, whose army is hemmed in near the Pruth River; peace
arranged, the Turks recovering Azov and other towns.
%1712%. Peace conference at Utrecht.
Newspapers come under the operation of the Stamp Act, in England; so many
discontinue publication that it is called the "Fall of the Leaf."
Second Toggenburg War between the Reformed and Catholic cantons of
Switzerland.
%1713%. Peace of Utrecht ending the War of the Spanish Succession. Great
Britain acquires Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Gibraltar, Minorca, Hudson Bay,
and the Isle of St. Kitts; with the title of king the Duke of Savoy is
ceded Sicily by Spain, and by France, Savoy and Nice with certain fortified
places; the King of Prussia exchanges the principality of Orange and
Châlons for Spanish Gelderland, Neuchâtel, and Valengin; Spain cedes to
Austria, Naples, Milan, Spanish Tuscany, and sovereignty over the Spanish
Netherlands; the harbor and fortifications of Dunkirk to be destroyed.
Charles I issues the Pragmatic Sanction securing succession to the female
line in default of male issue.
%1714%. Establishment of the Clarendon Press at Oxford, from the profits of
Clarendon's _History of the Rebellion_.
Death of Anne and accession in England of George (I), Elector of Hanover.
Capture of Barcelona by the French and Spanish forces; the citizens
deprived of their liberties.
Fahrenheit invents his thermometer.
%1715%. Jacobite rebellion in Britain in behalf of the Pretender.
Death of Louis XIV; he is succeeded by his great-grandson, Louis XV; the
Duke of Orléans regent.
A Barrier Treaty made between Austria, England, and Holland; it gave the
Dutch a right to garrison certain places in the Austrian Netherlands.
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