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III. The Wars of Charles XI.

The participation of the Swedes in the war of Louis XIV. against Holland and Brandenburg occasioned the loss of their German possessions, (after the battle of Fehrbellin, in 1675,) but most of these were afterward restored, (in 1679,) by the peace of St. Germain-en-Laye. This was soon followed by the peace of Lund, between Denmark and Sweden, by which Sweden also recovered all that she had lost. Thus Sweden, through the aid of France, concluded, without any loss of territory, a war which had threatened her with dismemberment.

IV. The Wars of Charles XII.

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Object of the war. The dismemberment of Sweden and the division of its territories.

Result of the war. Sweden loses the greater part of her German possessions. Russia becomes the predominant power in the northeast.

Parties. Augustus II., elector of Saxony and king of Poland, Peter the Great, czar of Russia, and Frederick IV., king of Denmark, against Charles XII. of Sweden.

Campaigns. The Swedish king and his brother-in-law, the duke of Holstein, were simultaneously attacked by three armies. 1. A Danish army entered Schleswig. 2. A Russian army marched toward Narva. 8. An army of Saxons and Poles entered Livonia.

b. The Repulse of the Invaders.

1. Charles XII. turned first against Denmark. He landed on Zealand, and forced the Danes to respect the rights of the duke of Holstein in Schleswig. (Peace of Travendahl, 1700.) Thus did Charles finish his first war in the course of a few weeks, without fighting a single battle.

2. Three weeks after the peace of Travendahl, Charles XII. was marching toward Narva, near which town he defeated the Russian army with a small force, and made its chief officers prisoners. (November, 1700.)

3. Finally, (July, 1701,) he compelled the Poles to raise the siege of Riga, and drove them out of Livonia.

c. The Retaliation of Charles XII.

A. AGAINST AUGUSTUS II. He directed his vengeance chiefly against Augustus II., whom he followed into his own dominions, beating him again and again, at Warsaw and Klissow, (1702,) Pultusk, (1703,) and Fraustadt, (1706.) He openly announced his resolution not to desist from the war until he

had deposed Augustus from the throne of Poland. He was deposed, in 1704, and a Polish nobleman, Stanislaus Leczinski, elected in his stead. Finally he compelled Augustus to sign an ignominious peace, in which he abjured his alliance with the czar and resigned his claims to the Polish crown. (Peace of Altranstadt, 1706.)

B. AGAINST PETER THE GREAT. Charles XII. turned now his attention toward the only remaining member of the hostile league, Peter the Great, czar of Russia. Here, however, he met his match. When he led ris veterans into the interior of Russia, the Russians retreated before him as far as Smolensk, where winter and want of provisions compelled Charles to arrest his march. In the following spring, he struck off toward the Ukraine, where Mazeppa, hetman of the Cossacks, had promised to join him. This step ruined him. In the Ukraine, he found the Russians masters, and was joined but by the wrecks of the Cossack army. Here he was attacked and defeated by the Russians under Czar Peter, at Pultowa, (July 8th, 1709,) the first battle ever gained by the Russians over regular troops.

d. The Misfortunes of Charles XII.

Charles XII. seeing his fortunes annihilated, fled to the Turkish frontier. He reached it with great difficulty, and threw himself upon the hospitality of the sultan Ahmed III., who assigned him Bender (on the Dniester) as a place of residence. All Charles's arrangements were now reversed, and Augustus II. replaced on the Polish throne. A new alliance was formed between Peter the Great, Augustus II., and Frederick of Denmark, and each carved out for himself that part of the Swedish dominions which he liked best.

Russia took Ingria, Livonia, and Carelia, and other districts on the Baltic. Denmark took Holstein-Gottorp and Schonen.

Poland took some districts contiguous with it.

The allies were prevented from dismembering Sweden altogether, only by the bravery of the Swedes in defending their territories, and by the unwillingness of the European diplomatists to permit an act so injurious to the balance of power.

In 1714, Charles XII. returned from Turkey, and immediately began the war. The three allies again took the field to oppose him; and were joined by Prussia and England, both of which powers were resolved that the insane ambition of the young Swede should not again have scope. The allies were successful. Charles finally invaded Norway, which he wished to wrest from Denmark. But he was killed by a ball at the siege of Frederickshall, (December 11th, 1718.)

e. Final Settlement of the North.

Two treaties definitely settled the long contest of the north: 1. The treaty of Stockholm was concluded, in 1720, between Sweden, Great Britain, Prussia, and Denmark. By it, Sweden ceded part of Pomerania to Prussia, and recovered in return some of her other continental territories.

2. The treaty of Nystadt was concluded, in 1721, between Sweden and Russia. By it, Sweden renounced all claim to the Baltic provinces conquered by Russia, with the exception of Finland, which the czar restored.

V. EASTERN EUROPE DURING THE REIGN OF EMPEROR CHARLES VI.

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Parties. The emperor, with the Venetians, against the Turks, with the Hungarian malcontents under Ragoczy.

Great commander. PRINCE EUGÈNE, commander of the imperial forces. Battles. Peterwardein, (1716;) Belgrade, (1717;) both gained by Prince Eugène.

Peace. At Passarowitz, (1718,) the conditions of which were as follows: That the emperor should retain all the territories wrested from the Turks during the war, (the Banate, Servia, and a portion of Wallachia, Bosnia, and Croatia ;) the Turks, on their part, retaining the Morea, which Charles had fruitlessly endeavored to recover for Venice.

Remark. This is the period of the celebrated "Letters" of Lady Montague, the wife of Sir Wortley Montague, the English ambassador at Constantinople.

II. The War of the Polish Succession.

Cause. The double election of Stanislaus and Frederick Augustus as king of Poland. (See POLISH ELECTION.) Stanislaus had been elected by a majority of the Polish nobles, but was driven from his kingdom by the Russians. Duration. Nearly five years, (1734–1738.)

Theatre of war. Although Poland was the subject of the quarrel, Germany and Italy were the chief scenes of the campaigns; for as Russia was too distant to be attacked, the western allies turned the brunt of the war against the German emperor.

Object of the war. The restoration of Stanislaus Leczinsky to the Polish throne. Result of the war. Stanislaus renounces his claim to the crown of Poland, receiving as an indemnification the duchy of Lorraine, with an understanding, that after his death it should revert to France.

Parties. France took up the cause of Stanislaus; Spain and Sardinia leagued with France. Russia took up the cause of Frederick Augustus; the German emperor leagued with Russia.

Great commanders. Prince Eugène, against the French marshals Villars and Berwick, the last of those great commanders who had adorned the reign of Louis XIV.

Cause of peace. The reverses experienced by the emperor had led him to desire peace, which England and Holland offered to mediate. Peace. At Vienna, (1738.)

The arrangements of the peace of Utrecht (1713) were greatly modified: 1. Don Carlos (see GENEALOGY, VI.), was acknowledged king of the Two Sicilies, (Charles III.) and became thus the founder of the Bourbon dynasty at Naples. 2. Augustus III., elector of Saxony, was acknowledged king of Poland. 3. Stanislaus received the duchy of Lorraine, with the proviso that after his decease it should be attached to France. 4. Francis of Lorraine received the grand-duchy of Tuscany. 5. Charles Emanuel III., king of Sardinia, received certain portions of Lombardy. 6. France guaranteed the pragmatic sanction, (the succession of the emperor's only child, Maria Theresia, to the hereditary dominions of the house of Habsburg.)

Thus terminated a war for which the question of the Polish succession afforded only a pretence.

VI. THE AGE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT.

I. Condition of the Prussian Army at the Accession of Frederick the Great.

The care which Frederick William had bestowed on the army proved of the greatest benefit to his successor and to the Prussian nation. Two causes had compelled him to keep up a considerable army:

First. The great Northern War, which had threatened to sweep Frederick William into its vortex at the commencement of his reign.

Second. The independence of his dominions was threatened by the augmentation of the power of his neighbors.

I. By the accession of the elector of Hanover to the throne of Great Britain. II. By the accession of the elector of Saxony to the throne of Poland.

III. By the growth of Russia into a large military power.

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as the means by which he must effect it. He gave himself but little trouble respecting the justice of his undertakings; but he was distinguished from the common herd of conquerors by having one fixed object.

Duration. Nearly a quarter of a century, (1740–1763.)
Theatre of war. Central Europe.

Object of the wars. The possession of Silesia by Prussia.

Result of the wars. Prussia one of the great powers of Europe. Silesia a Prussian province.

Number of wars. 1. The first Silesian war, (1740–1742.) 2. The Austrian succession war, (1741-1748.) 3. The second Silesian war, (1744-1745.) 4. The seven years war, or third Silesian war, (1756-1763.)

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Cause. The emperor Charles VI. had left no son to succeed him. As early as 1713, he had published an arrangement known as the Pragmatic Sanction, securing the Austrian states, in default of male heirs, to his eldest daughter, Maria Theresia, and her descendants. He had secured the adherence of all the leading powers to this arrangement. Nevertheless, on his death, (October, 1740,) her right to the inheritance was contested by Bavaria, Spain, and Saxony, who claimed to have greater right than Maria Theresia. (See GENEALOGY, IX.) Duration. Eight years, (1741-1748.)

Theatre of war. The whole of Germany.

Object of the war.

Result of the war.

ance.

Parties.

To deprive Maria Theresia of her inheritance.

Maria Theresia retains nearly the whole of her inherit

France, Spain, Bavaria, and Saxony, against Maria Theresia, assisted by England and Holland, (after 1743.) Frederick II., of Prussia, joins the enemies of Maria Theresia, in 1744.

Commanders. Austrian Khevenhüller and Prince Charles of Lorraine. French: Saxe, (see this,) Belleisle, Noailles.

Decisive battles.

Gained by the allies of Maria Theresia: Simpach, (1743;) Dettingen, (1743.) Gained by the enemies of Maria Theresia: Fontenoy, (1745.) Cause of peace. General exhaustion. Peace. In 1748, at Aix-la-Chapelle. (See this.)

d. Wars contemporary with, and forming part of the Austrian Succession War. A. SECOND SILESIAN WAR. Cause. Maria Theresia had succeeded in making a league with Great Britain, Russia, Saxony, Sardinia, and the states-general. Frederick II., afraid that this league might be turned against him, resolved to oppose to it a double league, one with France, and one with the states of the empire.

Duration. Two years, (1744-1745.)

Theatre of war. Bohemia, Silesia, Saxony.

Prussia retains Silesia.

Frederick II. and Schwerin.

Object of the war. To prevent the recovery of Silesia by Maria Theresia. Result of the war. Commanders. Decisive battles. selsdorf, (1745.)

Gained by Frederick II.: Hohenfriedberg, (1745;) Kes

Cause of peace. The British cabinet threatened to withdraw its subsidies to Maria Theresia, unless she made peace with Prussia.

Peace. At Dresden, (1745.) It confirmed Frederick in the possession of Silesia and Glatz.

B. ANGLO FRENCH WAR. Cause. During six years Great Britain contributed her share to the Austrian succession war, largely subsidizing Maria Theresia, and also taking a direct part. This led to a declaration of war between Great Britain and France, and to a series of land and sea battles between the forces of the two nations.

Duration. Nearly five years, (1744-1748.)

Theatre of war. Germany, Belgium, Scotland, and England. The war extended also to the Indian and American colonies of the two countries; and in these distant parts the naval superiority of Britain gave her the advantage. Object of the war. To re-establish the Stuarts on the English throne. Result of the war.

forever.

France agrees to abandon the cause of the Stuarts

The landing of the young Pretender. France, resorting to the most direct mode of attack on her adversary, prompted and assisted the famous rebellion under Charles Edward. (See CULLODEN.) Peace. At Aix-la-Chapelle. (See this.)

e. The Seven Years War, or the Third Silesian War. Causes. The desire of Maria Theresia to reconquer Silesia, and the general dislike of the European rulers to Frederick the Great. Duration. Seven years, (1756–1763.)

Theatre of war. Not only the whole of central Europe, but also India and North America.

Object of the war. The partition of the Prussian monarchy.

Result of the war. Prussia takes rank as one of the five great European powers. (The other four are: Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and France.) Parties. Austria allied with France, and also with Russia, Saxony, Bavaria, and the rest of the empire. Prussia allied with England, and four of the smaller German states, (Hesse-Cassel, Brunswick, Gotha, and Lippe.)

Commanders. On the Austrian side: Charles of Lorraine, Daun. On the Prussian side: Frederick II., Ferdinand of Brunswick, Seidlitz-Schwerin.

Decisive battles. Gained by Austria or her allies: Kollin, (1757;) Hochkirch, (1758;) Kunersdorf, (1759.) Gained by Prussia or her allies: Lowositz, (1756;) Prague, (1757;) ROSSBACH, (1757;) Leuthen, (1757;) Zorndorf, (1758;) Minden, (1759;) Pfaffendorf, (1760;) Torgau, (1760.)

Peace. At Hubertsburg, (1763.) Maria Theresia renounced all pretensions she might have to any of the dominions of the king of Prussia, and especially to those which had been ceded to him by the treaties of Breslau and Berlin.

f. French-Indian War, (Old French War.)

Cause. The Great West was claimed both by France and England. France had, since 1750, erected a chain of forts from Lake Erie to the mouth of the Mississippi, and had forbidden Englishmen to trade with the Indians. In 1753, all English traders found in the disputed territory were imprisoned by the French in their fort on Presque Isle, (now Erie, Penna.) The remonstrances of the English government not being heeded, George Washington (then in his 22d year) was sent with 400 men against the French, (at Fort Duquesne, near Pittsburg.) He surprised and captured a body of the enemy, but was soon in his turn attacked and obliged to surrender, (July, 1754.) He was, however, allowed to return with his men to Virginia. After his return no English flag was seen west of the Alleghanies.

Duration. Nearly ten years, (1754-1763.) The formal declaration of war against France was not made before May, 1756.

Theatre of war. The valley of the St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, western Pennsylvania. To make France the ruling power in North America. England the ruling power in North America.

Object of the war. Result of the war.

Parties. The French, assisted by the Indians, against the English. Commanders. French: MONTCALM, Dieskau, Villiers, Jumonville, etc. English: WOLFE, Washington, Braddock, Williams, Johnson, Amherst, Abercrombie, Bradstreet, Prideaux, etc. Battles. Thirteen battles were fought- seven of which were gained by the English. English victories: Great Meadows, (1754 ;) in Nova Scotia, (1755 ;) Fort Edward, (1755;) Louisburg, (1758;) Frontenac, (1758;) Niagara, (1759;) Quebec, (1759.) French victories: Fort Necessity, (1754;) Fort Duquesne, (1755;) Lake George, (1755;) Oswego, (1756;) Fort William Henry, (1757;) Ticonderoga, (1758.)

Peace. At Paris. (February, 1763.) France ceded to England Canada and its dependencies, including the Great West, the island of Cape Breton, and all the other islands in the gulf, and the river St. Lawrence. France ceded also to England a portion of Louisiana, the remainder of which was ceded by France to Spain, to recompense her for the cession of Florida to England.

Remark. Louisiana was retroceded by Spain to France by the treaty of Madrid, (March, 1801). Napoleon, judging with good reason that its possession was too burdensome to France, and fearing that it might soon fall into the hands of the English, sold it to the United States, (during Jefferson's administration,) in 1803, for the sum of $11,250,000, besides the assumption on the part of the United States of some claims of our citizens against the Government of France.

g. Development of the British Power.

During the greater part of this struggle, the chief conduct of the war depended on the energetic activity of two kindred souls - Frederick the Great and William Pitt. The brief ministry of Pitt (1757-1761) was a glorious one in the annals of Britain. His spirit seemed to be breathed into the British navies in all seas, and the British armies in all parts of the world. The French were driven back across the Rhine. The settlements of the French in Africa were seized; in America, the whole of Canada and other possessions were wrested from the French by a series of victories, in one of which the brave Wolfe lost his life; and in India, the astonishing exploits of Clive shattered the French power, and transferred the empire of the East to Great Britain.

VII. THE WARS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

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trie, Stark, Warren, Gates, Greene, Sullivan, Pickens, Wayne, Lee, Campbell, Morgan, Arnold, (the traitor,) LAFAYETTE, Steuben, De Kalb, Kosciusko. English: Gage, Howe, Clinton, Carlton, Burgoyne, Prevost, Tarleton, Rawdon, Cornwallis.

Battles. Forty-three battles were fought; eighteen were gained by the Americans, and two were indecisive. Twice during this war a British army had to surrender to the Americans: Burgoyne at Saratoga to Gates, (October, 1777,) and Cornwallis at Yorktown to Washington, (October, 1781.) The eighteen American victories: In 1775, Lexington and Ticonderoga; in 1776, Fort Moultrie and Trenton; in 1777, Princeton, Fort Schuyler, Bennington, (two,) Stillwater, (fol

lowed by Burgoyne's surrender,) and Fort Mercer; in 1778, Monmouth and Rhode Island; in 1779, Kettle Creek, Stony Point, and Paulus Creek; in 1780, King's Mountain; in 1781, Cowpens and Yorktown. The British victories: in 1775, Bunker's Hill and Quebec; in 1776, Long Island, White Plains, and Fort Washington; in 1777, Ticonderoga, Brandywine, and Germantown; in 1778, the massacre of Wyoming and Cherry Valley, and the capture of Savannah; in 1779, Sunbury, Brier Creek, Stono Ferry, and Savannah; in 1790, Monk's Corner, Charleston, Sanders' Creek, and Fishing Creek; in 1781, Guilford, Hobkirk's Hill, Ninety-six, and Fort Griswold. The two indecisive battles: Stillwater, (1777,) and Eutaw Springs, (1781.)

Cause of peace. The surrender of the British army under Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Peace. At Paris, (January, 1783.) England consented to acknowledge the independence of the United States of America.

Remark. The principal injury England sustained was the addition of $500,000,000 to her national debt; for a few years served to convince even the most skeptical that the trade with America as an independent empire was far more valuable than it had ever been while she remained a dependent colony.

II. The Wars of the First Coalition against France.
a. The Austro-Prussian Coalition.

Cause. The declaration of Pillnitz (declaring the readiness of Austria and Prussia to adopt measures for the emancipation of Louis XVI.) was considered a cause for war by the French revolutionists. They force Louis XVI. to declare war against the emperor Francis II., who confides the whole conduct of this war to his ally, Frederick William II., king of Prussia. Duration. About one year, (1792.)

Theatre of war. Champagne, Belgium, Savoy.

Object of the war. To restore the royal power in France.
Result of the war.

the republic.

The decapitation of the king, and the proclamation of

Parties. Prussians, Austrians, and Sardinians, against the French republicans. French: Dumouriez and Custine. Allies: Ferdinand of

Commanders.

Brunswick.

Battles. The French victories of Valmy and Jemappes.

b. The Grand Coalition against France.

Cause. The execution of Louis XVI.

Duration. Three years, (1793-1795.) Theatre of war. The valley of the Rhine and Belgium. Object of the war. The restoration of the Bourbons to the French throne. Result of the war. The recognition of the French republic as a European power.

Parties. All the European powers, (except Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, and the Swiss,) headed by England, against the French republic.

Commanders.

French: Dumouriez, Jourdan, Pichegru. The Allies: Coburg

and Kalkreuth, Battles. Gained by the French: Watlignies, (1793;) Fleurus, (1794.) Gained by the Allies: Aldenhoven, (1793;) Neerwinden, (1793.) Peace. At Bâle, (1795,) with Prussia and Spain.

Remark. The occupation of the left bank of the Rhine, the conquest of the Austrian Netherlands, the establishment of the Batavian republic as an humble ally of France, and the detachment of Prussia from the coalition, were the important consequences of the campaign of 1794.

c. The Grand Coalition after the Peace of Bâle.

Cause. The refusal of Austria and England to accede to the Peace of Bâle. Duration. Two years, (1796-1797.)

Theatre of war.

Southern Germany and northern Italy. Object of the war. To force the emperor and England to acknowledge the French republic.

Result of the war. Acknowledgment of the French republic. Parties. Austria, the German Empire, England, Naples, and Sardinia, against France.

Commanders. French: Jourdan, Moreau, Napoleon Bonaparte. German : Archduke Charles, Beaulieu, Wormser.

Campaigns. The German campaign of the French is a complete failure. The French defeated at Amburg and Wurzburg. Masterly retreat of Moreau. The Italian campaign REVEALS THE GENIUS OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. First campaign directed by Napoleon. The young general gained a series of successes so rapid and so brilliant as to strike the allies with dismay, and to attract the regards of all Europe. The victories of Montenotte, Dego, Millesimo, Ceva, and Mondovi asserted the superiority of the French, who, by the famous victory of the Bridge of Lodi, became masters of Lombardy. Mantua alone remained to the Austrians. Bonaparte besieged it. Two Austrian armies sent to relieve the town were met by Bonaparte and defeated the one at Arcola — the other at Rivoli and Mantua finally surrendered, (February, 1797.) It was in vain that the Austrians sent their greatest commander, the Archduke Charles, to retrieve what had been lost. He was obliged to retire; and Bonaparte led his army across the Alps, and prepared to march to Vienna. Cause of peace. In consequence of insurrections in the Tyrol and the Venetian states, Bonaparte concluded first an armistice and then a peace. Peace. At Campo Formio, (1797.) The emperor ceded the Austrian Netherlands to France, and recognized the Cisalpine republic, (Lombardy, with a part of the Venetian territory, Modena, and the three legations.) France was also to possess the Ionian islands, with some of the Venetian settlements in Albania. Remark. Thus the revolution had proved itself stronger than Europe. The ancient political system of the continent had been shaken to its foundations.

III. Bonaparte's Expedition against Egypt and Syria. Cause. The Turkish monarchy was believed to be on the eve of extinction,

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