The Albigenses were a sect which spread widely in the south of France and elsewhere about the twelfth century, and which differed in doctrine and practice from the Roman Catholic Church, by which they were subjected to severe persecution. They are said to have been so named from the district of Aibi, where, and about Toulouse, Narbonne, etc, they were numerous. A crusade was begun against them, and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse for tolerating them, in 1209, the army of the cross being called together by Pope Innocent III. The war was carried on with a cruelty which reflected deep disgrace upon the Catholic Church. Beziers, the capital of Raymond's nephew Roger, was taken by storm, and 20,000 of the inhabitants, without distinction of creed, were put to the sword. Simon de Montfort, the military leader of the crusade, was equally severe towards other places in the territory of Raymond and his allies. After the death of Raymond VI, in 1222, his son, Raymond VII, was obliged, notwithstanding his readiness to do penance, to defend his inheritance against the papal legates and Louis VIII of France. When hundreds of thousands had fallen on both sides, a peace was made in 1229, by which Raymond was obliged to cedeNarbonne with other territories to Louis IX, and make his son-in-law, a brother of Louis, his heir. The heretics were now delivered up to the proselytising zeal of the Dominicans, and to the courts of the Inquisition, by which means it was brought about that the Albigenses disappeared after the middle of the thirteenth century. Research Albigenses
The Creek Indians (Muskogee) are an aboriginal North American people of the Muskogean family who originally lived on the Flint, Chattahoochee, Coosa and Alabama Rivers and in the peninsular of Florida. The Muskogee were called the Creeks by the British in allusion to their villages being located close to rivers and creeks. They were farmers planting maize, beans, millet, tobacco and sunflowers, hunters who hunted deer and bison in the west, and gatherers who collected and stored nuts and wild fruits. The Creek Indians lived in settlements comprising a main town surrounded by small villages. The main town contained a 'square' where public and religious gatherings were held. The houses were originally built of logs with mud or thatched roofs, later the styles of frontier home built by the Europeans were adopted.
During the 17th century attacks by Europeans had decimated many of the coastal dwelling Creek people, but it was not until the overthrow of the French that they came completely under English influence. During the American War of Independence the Creeks joined the British, assisting in an attack on Wayne's army in 1782. In 1790 they made a friendly treaty, but renewed hostilities in 1792. Another treaty was made in 1796 and in 1802 and 1805 they began to cedelands. Joining the English in the American War of 1812, they attacked Fort Mimms on August the 30th 1813 and massacred 400 people. The Creek Indians suffered repeated defeats, and were completely overthrown by General Jackson at Horseshoe Bend on March the 27th 1814. A peace treaty followed in which the Creeks surrendered large tracts of land. Early in the 19th century a part of the Creeks removed to Louisiana and later to Texas. A treaty was made on 1825 by William McIntosh, a mixed bloodCreek of a Scottish father and Creek mother ceding more lands which resulted in his murder for 'selling the graves of the ancestors' and the treaty was repudiated. The Creeknation then divided, one party favouring emigration, the other opposing it. In 1836 a part aided the US Government against the Seminole Indians, but the remainder attacked the frontier towns of Georgia and Alabama. General Scott killed large numbers of the Creek Indians and the survivors were removed to a reservation between the Arkansas and the Canadian. The American Civil War again divided the tribe, those supporting the Union being defeated by those supporting the Confederacy. In 1866 the Creeklands were further reduced with a large tract being ceded to the US Government. Research Creek Indians
Francis I was King of France. He was born in 1494 and died in 1547. His father was Charles of Orleans, count of Angouleme, and his mother Louise of Savoy, grand-daughter of Valentine, duke of Milan. He ascended the throne in 1515, having succeeded his uncle, Louis XII. In prosecution of his claim to Milan he defeated the Swiss in the plains of Marignano and forced the reigning dukeMaximilian Sforza to relinquish the sovereignty. On the death of Maximilian in 1519 Francis was one of the competitors for the empire; but the choice fell on Charles of Austria, the grandson of Maximilian, henceforth known as the Emperor Charles V. From this period Francis and Charles were rivals, and were almost continually at war with one another. Both attempted to gain the alliance of England.
With this view Francis invited Henry VIII of England to an interview, which took place near Calais, between Guines and Ardres, in June, 1520. The magnificence of the two monarchs and their suites on this occasion has given to the meeting the name of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. In 1521 war broke out between the rivals, and in 1525 Francis was defeated and taken prisoner at Pavia. He could recover his liberty only by renouncing his claims to Naples, Milan, Genoa, and Asti, the suzerainty of Flanders and Artois, and promising to cede the Duchy of Burgundy and some other French fiefs. War was soon after renewed, an alliance, called the Holy League, having been formed between the Pope Clement VII, the King of France, the King of England, the Republic of Venice, the Duke of Milan, and other Italian powers, with the object of checking the advances of the emperor. In this war Rome was taken and sacked by the Constable of Bourbon in 1527, and Italy was devastated, but Francis gained little either of fame or material advantage. Peace was concluded in 1529, but hostilities again broke out in 1535, when Francis possessed himself of Savoy. A hastily made-up peace was soon broken, and Francis again found himself at war with the Emperor and the King of England.
Fortunately for France the union of the Protestant princes of Germany against the emperor prevented him from following up his success, and inclined him to a peace, which was concluded at Crespy in 1544. Charles resigned all his claims on Burgundy, and allowed Francis to retain Savoy. Two years after peace was made with England. Francis I possessed a chivalric and enterprising spirit, and was a patron of learning. Research Francis I
The Goths were an ancient Teutonic tribe occupying when first known to history the region adjacent to the Black Sea north of the lower Danube. A people of similar name is mentioned by Tacitus as dwelling south of the Baltic, and Geats or Gauts are known to us from the Anglo-Saxon poemBeowulf as inhabitants of southern Sweden; but there is no necessary connection between these and the Goths proper. About the middle of the 3rdcentury these began to encroach on the Roman Empire. Having seized the Roman province of Dacia, they were assailed by Decius, whom they twice defeated. In 253 they captured Trebizond, where a large fleet of ships fell into their hands. With this force they sailed down the AEgean and plundered the coasts of Greece and Illyria. They now began to threaten Italy, but in 269 they were defeated with great slaughter by the Emperor Claudius. His successor Aurelian was, notwithstanding, compelled to cede to them the large province of Dacia, after which there was comparative peace between them for many years.
In the 4th century the great Gothic kingdom extended from the Don to the Theiss, and from the Black Sea to the Vistula and the Baltic. About the year 369 internal commotions produced the division of the Gothic kingdom into the kingdom of the Ostrogoths (eastern Goths) and the kingdom of the Visigoths (western Goths). In 396 Alaric, king of the Visigoths, made an irruption into Greece, laid waste the Peloponnesus, and became prefect of Illyria. He invaded Italy and sacked Rome in 409, and a second time in 410. After his death in 410 the Visigoths succeeded in establishing a new kingdom in the southern parts of Gaul and Spain, of which, towards the end of the 5th century, Provence, Languedoc, and Catalonia were the principal provinces, and Toulouse the seat of government. The last king, Roderick, died in 711 in battle against the Moors, who had crossed from Africa, and subsequently conquered the Gothic kingdom.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, by the invasion of Odoacer in 476, the Eastern emperor, Zeno, persuaded Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, to invadeItaly in 489. The Goth became king of Italy in 493, and laid the foundation of a new Ostrogothic kingdom, which, together with Italy, comprised Khastia (a part of Switzerland and the Tyrol), Vindelicia (part of Bavaria and Swabia), Noricum (Saltzburg, Stiria, Carinthia, Austria), Dalmatia, Pannonia (Further Hungary, Slavonia), and Dacia beyond the Danube (Transylvania, Walachia). This kingdom came to an end in 554. Subsequently the Goths both here and in Spain entirely disappeared as a distinct people.
Christianity appears to have taken root early among the Goths settled in Moesia, a Gothic bishop being mentioned as present at the council of Nicaea in 325. Their form of Christianity was Arianism, which was patronized by their protector Valens, and certainly adopted by their bishop, Ulfilas. The introduction of Christianity among the Goths, and the circumstance of their dwelling near, and even among civilized subjects of the Roman Empire, greatly contributed to raising them in civilization above the other German tribes. Bishop Ulfilas, in the 4th century, translated, if not the whole, at least the greater part of the Bible into Moeso-Gothic, using an alphabet which he formed out of those of the Greeks and Romans. Unfortunately only a small portion of this translation has come down to us; but this is quite sufficient to enable us to form an opinion of the language at that time, and is of the highest value from a philological point of view. Besides this translation there exist a few other monuments of the language, which are, however, of minor importance. Gothic was one of the Teutonic tongues, being accordingly a sister of Anglo-Saxon and English, German, Dutch, Danish, etc. Being committed to writing earlier than any other Teutonic language, Gothic exhibits peculiarities entirely its own, and hence its value in the study of Teutonicphilology in general. It is richer in inflections than any other of the Teutonic tongues. Swedish is the least like the Gothic of all the Germanic dialects, and notwithstanding the name Gothland there is no evidence to show that the Goths ever formed part of the population of Scandinavia. Research Goths
The Iroquois, or Six Nations, were a confederation of North American Indian tribes including the Mohawks, Oneidas and Senecas. They lived on the shores of the Mohawk river, and spread through to the Mississippi. In the seventeenth century they carried on extensive hostilities against the French and suffered severe losses, some of the tribes being wiped out by the settlers. The Iroquois allied themselves with the Dutch and subsequently with the English, though they afterward joined Pontiac.
Peace was restored, but in 1774 a part of the western bands took up arms against the whites. During the American War of Independence the Iroquois, with the exception of those in Canada, favoured England. They fought against the colonists and committed extensive ravages. At the close of the war nearly all emigrated to Canada, except the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, with whom the Government made a treaty in 1784. In 1785 and 1788, the Indians began to cedelands. In the War of 1812, the English and American Iroquois were arrayed against each other, but peace was soon restored. The tribes became scattered some going west and being imprisoned on squalid reservations, and others seeking their relatives in Canada. Research Iroquois
The Menominee are an Algonquian tribe of Indians, generally resembling the Ojibwa, but with a distinct language. They formerly ranged over north Wisconsin and upper Michigan. They were unfriendly to the English settlers, but took sides against the colonists during the American War Of Independence. In 1813 also they allied themselves with the British, taking part in several engagements. Treaties were made in 1817, 1825, and 1827. In 1831 they began to cede their lands around Green Bay and Lake Michigan. They aided the Government in the Sac and Fox War and in the Rebellion. Research Menominee
The Red Sticks were a faction of American Creek Indians. They lived in the area now known as Alabama, and were invaded by European settlers. They oppossed the encroachment of settlers onto their lands and a war ensued with the Americans. The Red Sticks were seriously defeated and forced to cede three quarters of their territory to the Americans in 1813. Research Red Sticks
The Franco-German War (Franco-Prussian War) broke out on July 19th 1870 between France and Prussia following French feelings over Prussia's support for a Hohenzollern prince likely to become king of Spain - an offer being made in June, 1870, by General Prim, then at the head of affairs in Spain, of the crown of that country to Leopold of Hohenzollern, a prince belonging to the reigning house of Prussia. The government of Napoleon III demanded of the King of Prussia that he should forbid the candidature of the prince, and when the prince voluntarily retired from his candidature, still insisted that this renunciation should be formally made by the king, and a guarantee given that the candidature would not be revived. This demand was refused, and a formal declaration of war by France against Prussia was received by CountBismarck, the Chancellor of the North German Confederation, on the 19th of July.
The French were the first in getting their troops to the frontier; but it soon became manifest that instead of being in a complete state of readiness for war, as the minister of war had declared, the French army was defective in almost everything essential to the equipment of an army.
In Germany everything formed a complete contrast to this state of matters. Each section of the army was completely organized in the head-quarters of the district which it occupied in time of peace, and was only sent to the frontiers after being furnished with everything it required. In addition to this Prussia, against which country alone the war had been declared, was not only joined, according to treaty, by all the states of the North German Confederation, but also by those of the South, upon whose neutrality, perhaps even upon whose alliance, Napoleon and the French had counted.
The German forces were divided about the end of July into three armies, one of which, known as the First Army, had its head-quarters at Treves under General Steinmetz; another of which, known as the Second Army, occupied the BavarianPalatinate under Prince Frederick Charles; while the Third Army, under the Crown-prince of Prussia, was stationed in Northern Baden. The commander-in-chief of the whole forces was King William of Prussia, who was supported by a staff of general officers, with Von Moltke at their head.
The French army, under Napoleon himself, had its head-quarters at Metz, and two advanced divisions were stationed on the borders of France and Germany, the one in the north on the Saar, under General Frossard, the other further south at Weissenburg, under General Douay. The victories of the Third Army, under the crown-prince, at Weissenburg on August the 4th and at Worth on August the 6th, and of the first and second armies at Forbach on August the 6th, put the French army in retreat along its whole line, the southern half in the direction of Nancy, and the northern of Metz.
The northern army under Bazaine was overtaken by those of Steinmetz and Frederick Charles on the 14th of August, when an engagement at Courcelles took place, in which the Germans were again victorious. This was followed by the battles of Vionville, or Mars-la-Tour, and Gravelotte, the result being that Bazaine withdrew his army under the protection of the fortifications of Metz, which was now surrounded by an army under the command of Prince Frederick Charles.
Meantime the Crown-prince of Prussia had advanced as far as Nancy, and was there awaiting the result of the battles around Metz. He had still the army of MacMahon to deal with, which had now reached Chalons, where it had been reorganized and strengthened to such a degree that the army of the crown-prince was no longer able to cope with it unaided. Accordingly, out of three corps d'armee belonging to the second army, a new army was formed, which was afterwards called the army of the Meuse, and was placed under the Crown-prince of Saxony. About the 20th of August these two armies set out on parallel routes in the direction of Chalons in order to engage the army of MacMahon, which it was expected would now retreat on Paris. Instead of this, however, Count Palikao, minister of war at Paris, issued an order to Marshal MacMahon to strike northwards to the Belgian frontier that be might thence make a descent upon Metz and relieve Bazaine.
On the 27th of August, at Buzancy, an advanced detachment of cavalry belonging to the army of the Meuse dispersed a body of French chasseurs, and on the days immediately succeeding a number of engagements and strategic movements ensued, the result of which was that on the 1st of September the army of MacMahon was surrounded at Sedan by a force of overwhelmingly greater numbers, and on the following day both army and fortress surrendered by capitulation. On this occasion 50 generals, 5000 other officers, and 84,000 private soldiers became prisoners of war. Among these was Napoleon III, who was unexpectedly found to have been present with the army of MacMahon. He had a personal interview on the day after the battle with King William of Prussia, who assigned to him Wilhelmshohe, near Cassel, as his place of residence during his captivity.
One of the first consequences of this defeat was an outburst of rage on the part of the Parisians against the Napoleon dynasty, which on the 4th of September was declared by Gambetta and some members of the corps legislatif belonging to the Left to be dethroned. The same members then proclaimed a republic. A government of national defence was formed, at the head of which was placed General Trochu. Meantime France had no army available which was strong enough to stand its ground for an instant before the German armies that were now enabled to continue their march upon Paris. The investment of the city was completed on the 19th of September. It was not until about the beginning of October that the French were able to organize a new army after the loss of that of MacMahon, and by the beginning of November the war in the open field had been resumed in different centres: but the capitulation of Metz with the army of Bazaine on the 28th of October, and that of Strasburg on the 27th of September, had set free for further operations large numbers of German troops, and the utmost efforts of the French could not relieve Paris.
The city had held out for a much longer period than even the most sanguine on the side of the French had at first expected that it would be able to do. Sallies were made at intervals by the garrison on October the 12th and 21st, etcc; on January the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th, but not sufficiently often or in sufficient strength to have any decisive effect. On the failure of the last sally, which took place on the west side from Mont Valerien on the 19th of January, it was seen that a capitulation was inevitable. On the 21st of February Thiers, head of the executive, arrived at Versailles along with a diplomatic commission, and preliminaries of peace were signed at Versailles on the 26th of February and accepted by the assembly at Bordeaux on the 1st of March. The principal terms were the following: 1. That France should cede to Germany one-fifth part of Lorraine, including Metz, together with the whole of Alsace except Belfort and the surrounding district. 2. That France should pay to Germany a war indemnity of five milliards of francs (200,000,000 pounds sterling). 3. That certain departments of France should remain in the occupation of the Germans, and should not be fully evacuated until after the payment of the whole indemnity. The definitive treaty of peace, which was signed at Frankfort on the 10th of May, and ratified on the 21st, confirmed in all essential particulars the preliminaries of Versailles. The last instalment of the war indemnity was paid on the 5th of September 1873, and France was completely evacuated by the Germans on the 13th of the same month. Research Franco-German War
After the American War of Independence, the Federal Government of America found great difficulty in regulating the enormous tracts of public lands, which had been acquired through purchase and conquest from the Indians and by the cessions of the various States of their outlying territories. In 1787 the price of public land was 66.6 cents per acre, and large tracts north of the Ohio were disposed of. Unauthorized entries were frequently made, however, and force had to be used for dislodgment.
In 1790 Hamilton proposed that the public lands should be set apart in townships ten miles square, and disposed of to suit different classes of purchasers on a credit basis. The rectangular system was in fact adopted in 1796. Up to the year 1800 all sales had been made from the territory now included in Ohio and amounted to 1,484,047 acres. In 1800 local registers were established. The credit basis of sale caused numerous purchases, but payment was slow and in discouragingly small amounts, while the debtors constantly cried for relief. The States, too, claimed a share in the profits.
Upon the question of ceding public lands to new States, Henry Clay prepared for the land committee a report reviewing the history of the public lands and concluding that it was inexpedient either to reduce the price of the lands or to cede them to the new States. In 1835 speculation in public lands became popular, owing to the inflated condition of the currency, which proved injurious to the public interests. In 1836 Jackson issued his 'specie circular'. It was not until in 1840 that the right of pre-emption was accorded to settlers. By 1850 it became common to make grants of lands to States, corporations and individuals for public improvements, such as railroads and canals. In 1862 the homestead laws, granting free settlement on public lands, tended greatly to simplify matters and to promote real settlement. Research Public Lands
Abbreviations
Research Albigenses
