been settled out of court. Between the date of the peers' vote and the
conference Mary had communicated to Danby her high displeasure at the
conduct of those who were setting up her claims in opposition to those
of her husband; and William, who had previously maintained an unbroken
silence, now made, unsolicited, a declaration of a most important and,
indeed, of a conclusive kind. If the convention, he said, chose to adopt
the plan of a regency, he had nothing to say against it, only they must
look out for some other person to fill the office, for he himself would not
consent to do so. As to the alternative proposal of putting Mary on the
throne and allowing him to reign by her courtesy, "No man," he said, "can
esteem a woman more than I do the Princess; but I am so made that I cannot
think of holding anything by apron strings; nor can I think it reasonable
to have any share in the government unless it be put in my own person, and
that for the term of my life. If you think fit to settle it otherwise I
will not oppose you, but will go back to Holland, and meddle no more in
your affairs."
These few sentences of plain-speaking swept away the clouds of intrigue and
pedantry as by a wholesome gust of wind. Both political parties at once
perceived that there was but one possible issue from the situation. The
conference was duly held, and the constitutional question was, with great
display of now unnecessary learning, solemnly debated; but the managers
for the two Houses met only to register a foregone conclusion. The word
"abdicated" was restored; the vacancy of the throne was voted by sixty-two
votes to forty-seven; and it was immediately proposed and carried without a
division that the Prince and Princess of Orange should be declared king and
queen of England.
It now only remained to give formal effect to this resolution, and in so
doing to settle the conditions whereon the crown, which the convention
had now distinctly recognized itself as conferring upon the Prince and
Princess, should be conferred. A committee appointed by the Commons to
consider what safeguards should be taken against the aggressions of future
sovereigns had made a report in which they recommended not only a solemn
enunciation of ancient constitutional principles, but the enactment of
new laws. The Commons, however, having regard to the importance of prompt
action, judiciously resolved on carrying out only the first part of the
programme. They determined to preface the tender of the crown to William
and Mary by a recital of the royal encroachments of the past reigns, and
a formal assertion of the constitutional principles against which such
encroachments had offended. This document, drafted by a committee of which
the celebrated Somers, then a scarcely known young advocate, was the
chairman, was the famous "Declaration of Right." The grievances which it
recapitulated in its earlier portion were as follows:
(1) The royal pretension to dispense with and suspend laws without consent
of Parliament; (2) the punishment of subjects, as in the "Seven Bishops'"
case, for petitioning the crown; (3) the establishment of the illegal
court of high commission for ecclesiastical affairs; (4) the levy of taxes
without the consent of Parliament; (5) the maintenance of a standing
army in time of peace without the same consent; (6) the disarmament of
Protestants while papists were both armed and employed contrary to law; (7)
the violation of the freedom of election; (8) the prosecution in the king's
bench of suits only cognizable in Parliament; (9) the return of partial and
corrupt juries; (10) the requisition of excessive bail; (11) the imposition
of excessive fines; (12) the infliction of illegal and cruel punishments;
(13) the grants of the estates of accused persons before conviction.
Then after solemnly reaffirming the popular rights from which these abuses
of the prerogative derogated, the declaration goes on to recite that,
having an "entire confidence" William would "preserve them from the
violation of the rights which they have here asserted, the Three Estates
do resolve that William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, be and be
declared king and queen: to hold the crown and royal dignity, to them the
said Prince and Princess during their lives and the life of the survivor
of them; and the sole and full exercise of the royal power be only in and
exercised by the said Prince of Orange, in the names of the said Prince and
Princess during their lives, and, after their deceases, the said crown and
royal dignity of the said kingdoms and dominions to the heirs of the body
of the said Princess; and, for default of such issue, to the Princess Anne
of Denmark and the heirs of her body; and, for the default of such issue,
to the issue of the said Prince of Orange." Then followed an alteration
required by the scrupulous conscience of Nottingham in the terms of the
oath of allegiance.
On February 12th Mary arrived from Holland. On the following day, in the
Banqueting House at Whitehall, the Prince and Princess of Orange were
waited on by both Houses of convention in a body. The declaration was read
by the clerk of the crown; the sovereignty solemnly tendered to them
by Halifax, in the name of the Estates; and on the same day they were
proclaimed king and queen in the usual places in the cities of London and
Westminster.
%PETER THE GREAT MODERNIZES RUSSIA%
SUPPRESSION OF THE STRELTSI
A.D. 1689
ALFRED RAMBAUD
It is the glory of Peter the Great to have changed the character of his
country and elevated its position among European nations. By opening Russia
to the influence of Western civilization he prepared the way for the advent
of that vast empire as one of the world's great powers.
Peter I Alexeievitch was born in Moscow June 9 (N.S.), 1672. After a joint
reign with his half-brother Ivan (1682-1696), he ruled alone until his
death, February 8 (N.S.), 1725. He is distinguished among princes as a
ruler who temporarily laid aside the character of royalty "in order to
learn the art of governing better." By his travels under a common name and
in a menial disguise, he acquired fruits of observation which proved of
greater practical advantage in his career than comes to sovereigns from
training in the knowledge of the schools. His restless and inquiring spirit
was never subdued by the burdens of state, and his matured powers proved
equal to the demands laid upon him by the great formative work which he was
called to accomplish for his people.
The character and early career of this extraordinary man are here set forth
by Rambaud in a masterly sketch, showing the first achievements which laid
the foundation of Peter's constructive policies.
Alexis Mikhailovitch, Czar of Russia, had by his first wife, Maria
Miloslavski, two sons, Feodor and Ivan, and six daughters; by his second
wife, Natalia Narychkine, one son (who became Peter I) and two daughters.
As he was twice married, and the kinsmen of each wife had, according to
custom, surrounded the throne, there existed two factions in the palace,
which were brought face to face by his death and that of his eldest son,
Feodor. The Miloslavskis had on their side the claim of seniority, the
number of royal children left by Maria, and, above all, the fact that Ivan
was the elder of the two surviving sons; but unluckily for them, Ivan was
notoriously imbecile both in body and mind.
On the side of the Narychkines was the interest excited by the precocious
intelligence of Peter, and the position of legal head of all the royal
family, which, according to Russian law, gave to Natalia Narychkine her
title of czarina dowager. Both factions had for some time taken their
measures and recruited their partisans. Who should succeed Feodor? Was
it to be the son of the Miloslavski, or the son of the Narychkine? The
Miloslavskis were first defeated on legal grounds. Taking the incapacity of
Ivan into consideration, the boyars and the Patriarch Joachim proclaimed
the young Peter, then nine years old, Czar. The Narychkines triumphed:
Natalia became czarina regent, recalled from exile her foster-father,
Matveef, and surrounded herself by her brothers and uncles.
The Miloslavskis' only means of revenge lay in revolt, but they were
without a head; for it was impossible for Ivan to take the lead. The eldest
of his six sisters was thirty-two years of age, the youngest nineteen;
the most energetic of them was Sophia, who was twenty-five. These six
princesses saw themselves condemned to the dreary destiny of the Russian
_czarevni_, and were forced to renounce all hopes of marriage, with no
prospects but to grow old in the seclusion of the _terem_, subjected by law
to the authority of a step-mother. All their youth had to look forward
to was the cloister. They, however, only breathed in action; and though
imperial etiquette and Byzantine manners, prejudices, and traditions
forbade them to appear in public, even Byzantine traditions offered them
models to follow. Had not Pulcheria, daughter of an emperor, reigned at
Constantinople in the name of her brother, the incapable Theodosius? Had
she not contracted a nominal marriage with the brave Marcian, who was her
sword against the barbarians?
Here was the ideal that Sophia could propose to herself; to be a
_czardievitsa_, a "woman-emperor." To emancipate herself from the rigorous
laws of the terem, to force the "twenty-seven locks" of the song, to raise
the _fata_ that covered her face, to appear in public and meet the looks of
men, needed energy, cunning, and patience that could wait and be content
to proceed by successive efforts. Sophia's first step was to appear at
Feodor's funeral, though it was not the custom for any but the widow and
the heir to be present. There her litter encountered that of Natalia
Narychkine, and her presence forced the Czarina-mother to retreat. She
surrounded herself with a court of educated men, who publicly praised
her, encouraged and excited her to action. Simeon Polotski and Silvester
Medviedef wrote verses in her honor, recalled to her the example of
Pulcheria and Olga, compared her to the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth of England,
and even to Semiramis; we might think we were listening to Voltaire
addressing Catharine II. They played on her name Sophia (wisdom), and
declared she had been endowed with the quality as well as the title.
Polotski dedicated to her the _Crown of Faith_, and Medviedef his _Gifts of
the Holy Spirit_.
The terem offered the strangest contrasts. There acted they the _Malade
Imaginaire_, and the audience was composed of the heterogeneous assembly
of popes, monks, nuns, and old pensioners that formed the courts of the
ancient czarinas. In this shifting crowd there were some useful
instruments of intrigue. The old pensioners, while telling their rosaries,
served as emissaries between the palace and the town, carried messages and
presents to the turbulent _streltsi_[1] and arranged matters between the
czarian ladies and the soldiers. Sinister rumors were skilfully
disseminated through Moscow: Feodor, the eldest son of Alexis, had died,
the victim of conspirators; the same lot was doubtless reserved for Ivan.
What was to become of the poor czarevni, of the blood of kings? At last it
was publicly announced that a brother of Natalia Narychkine had seized the
crown and seated himself on the throne, and that Ivan had been strangled.
Love and pity for the son of Alexis, and the indignation excited by the
news of the usurpation, immediately caused the people of Moscow to revolt,
and the ringleaders cleverly directed the movement. The tocsin sounded
from four hundred churches of the "holy city"; the regiments of the
streltsi took up arms and marched, followed by an immense crowd, to the
Kremlin, with drums beating, matches lighted, and dragging cannon behind
them. Natalia Narychkine had only to show herself on the "Red Staircase,"
accompanied by her son Peter, and Ivan who was reported dead. Their mere
appearance sufficed to contradict all the calumnies. The streltsi
hesitated, seeing they had been deceived. A clever harangue of Matveef,
who had formerly commanded them, and the exhortations of the patriarch,
shook them further. The revolt was almost appeased; the Miloslavskis had
missed their aim, for they had not yet succeeded in putting to death the
people of whom they were jealous.
[Footnote 1: The streltsi were an ancient Muscovite guard composed of
citizens rendering hereditary military service in the different cities and
fortified posts. At this time many of them were ripe for revolt.]
Suddenly Prince Michael Dolgorouki, chief of the _prikaz_ of the streltsi,
began to insult the rioters in the most violent language. This ill-timed
harangue awoke their fury; they seized Dolgorouki, and flung him from the
top of the Red Staircase onto their pikes. They stabbed Matveef, under the
eyes of the Czarina; then they sacked the palace, murdering all who fell
into their hands. Athanasius Narychkine, a brother of Natalia, was thrown
from a window onto the points of their lances. The following day the
_emeute_ recommenced; they tore from the arms of the Czarina her father
Cyril and her brother Ivan; the latter was tortured and sent into a
monastery. Historians show us Sophia interceded for the victims on her
knees, but an understanding between the rebels and the Czarevna did exist;
the streltsi obeyed orders.
The following days were consecrated to the purifying of the palace and the
administration, and the seventh day of the revolt they sent their
commandant, the prince-boyar, Khovanski, to declare that they would have
two czars--Ivan at the head, and Peter as coadjutor; and if this were
refused, they would again rebel. The boyars of the _douma_ deliberated on
this proposal, and the greater number of the boyars were opposed to it. In
Russia the absolute power had never been shared, but the orators of the
terem cited many examples both from sacred and profane history: Pharaoh
and Joseph, Arcadius and Honorius, Basil II and Constantine VIII; and the
best of all the arguments were the pikes of the streltsi (1682).
Sophia had triumphed: she reigned in the name of her two brothers, Ivan
and Peter. She made a point of showing herself in public, at processions,
solemn services, and dedications of churches. At the Ouspienski Sobor,
while her brothers occupied the place of the czar, she filled that of the
czarina; only _she_ raised the curtains and boldly allowed herself to be
incensed by the patriarch. When the _raskolniks_ challenged the heads of
the orthodox church to discussion, she wished to preside and hold the
meeting in the open air, at the Lobnoe Miesto on the Red Place. There was,
however, so much opposition that she was forced to call the assembly in
the Palace of Facets, and sat behind the throne of her two brothers,
present though invisible. The double-seated throne used on those occasions
is still preserved at Moscow; there is an opening in the back, hidden by a
veil of silk, and behind this sat Sophia. This singular piece of furniture
is the symbol of a government previously unknown to Russia, composed of
two visible czars and one invisible sovereign.
The streltsi, however, felt their prejudices against female sovereignty
awaken. They shrank from the contempt heaped by the Czarevna upon the
ancient manners. Sophia had already become in their eyes a "scandalous
person" (_pozornoe litzo_). Another cause of misunderstanding was the
support she gave to the state church, as reformed by Nicon, while the
streltsi and the greater part of the people held to the "old faith." She
had arrested certain "old believers," who at the discussion in the Palace
of Facets had challenged the patriarchs and orthodox prelates, and she had
caused the ringleader to be executed. Khovanski, chief of the streltsi,
whether from sympathy with the _raskol_ or whether he wished to please his
subordinates, affected to share their discontent. The court no longer felt
itself safe at Moscow. Sophia took refuge with the Czarina and the two
young princes in the fortified monastery of Troitsa, and summoned around
her the gentlemen-at-arms. Khovanski was invited to attend, was arrested
on the way, and put to death with his son. The streltsi attempted a new
rising, but, with the usual fickleness of a popular militia, suddenly
passed from the extreme of insolence to the extreme of humility. They
marched to Troitsa, this time in the guise of suppliants, with cords round
their necks, carrying axes and blocks for the death they expected. The
patriarch consented to intercede for them, and Sophia contented herself
with the sacrifice of the ringleaders.
Sophia, having got rid of her accomplices, governed by aid of her two
favorites--Chaklovity, the new commandant of the streltsi, whom she had
drawn from obscurity, and who was completely devoted to her, and Prince
Vasili Galitsyne. Galitsyne has become the hero of a historic school which
opposes his genius to that of Peter the Great, in the same way as in France
Henry, Duke of Guise, has been exalted at the expense of Henry IV. He was
the special favorite, the intimate friend, of Sophia, the director of
her foreign policy, and her right hand in military affairs. Sophia and
Galitsyne labored to organize a holy league between Russia, Poland, Venice,
and Austria against the Turks and Tartars. They also tried to gain
the countenance of the Catholic powers of the West; and in 1687 Jacob
Dolgorouki and Jacob Mychetski disembarked at Dunkirk as envoys to the
court of Louis XIV. They were not received very favorably: the King of
France was not at all inclined to make war against the Turks; he was, on
the other hand, the ally of Mahomet IV, who was about to besiege Vienna
while Louis blockaded Luxemburg. The whole plan of the campaign was,
however, thrown out by the intervention of Russia and John Sobieski in
favor of Austria. The Russian ambassadors received orders to reëmbark at
Havre, without going farther south.
The government of the Czarevna still persisted in its warlike projects. In
return for an active cooperation against the Ottomans, Poland had consented
to ratify the conditions of the Treaty of Androussovo, and to sign a
perpetual peace (1686). A hundred thousand Muscovites, under the command
of Prince Galitsyne, and fifty thousand Little Russian Cossacks, under the
orders of the hetman Samoilovitch, marched against the Crimea (1687). The
army suffered greatly in the southern steppes, as the Tartars had fired the
grassy plains. Galitsyne was forced to return without having encountered
the enemy. Samoilovitch was accused of treason, deprived of his command,
and sent to Siberia; and Mazeppa, who owed to Samoilovitch his appointment
as secretary-at-war, and whose denunciations had chiefly contributed to his
downfall, was appointed his successor.
In the spring of 1689 the Muscovite and Ukranian armies, commanded by
Galitsyne and Mazeppa, again set out for the Crimea. The second expedition
was hardly more fortunate than the first: they got as far as Perekop, and
were then obliged to retreat without even having taken the fortress. This
double defeat did not hinder Sophia from preparing for her favorite a
triumphal entry into Moscow. In vain Peter forbade her to leave the palace;
she braved his displeasure and headed the procession, accompanied by the
clergy and the images and followed by the army of the Crimea, admitted
the generals to kiss her hand and distributed glasses of brandy among
the officers. Peter left Moscow in anger, and retired to the village of
Preobrajenskoe. The foreign policy of the Czarevna was marked by another
display of weakness. By the Treaty of Nertchinsk she restored to the
Chinese empire the fertile regions of the Amur, which had been conquered
by a handful of Cossacks, and razed the fortress of Albazine, where those
adventurers had braved all the forces of the East. On all sides Russia
seemed to retreat before the barbarians.
Meanwhile Peter was growing. His precocious faculties, his quick
intelligence, and his strong will awakened alike the hopes of his partisans
and the fears of his enemies. As a child he only loved drums, swords,
and muskets. He learned history by means of colored prints brought from
Germany. Zotof, his master, whom he afterward made "the archpope of fools,"
taught him to read. Among the heroes held up to him as examples we are not
surprised to find Ivan the Terrible, whose character and position offer so
much analogy to his own. "When the Czarevitch was tired of reading," says
M. Zabieline, "Zotof took the book from his hand and, to amuse him, would
himself read the great deeds of his father, Alexis Mikhailovitch, and those
of the Czar, Ivan Vasilievitch, their campaigns, their distant expeditions,
their battles and sieges: how they endured fatigues and privations better
than any common soldier; what benefits they had conferred on the empire,
and how they extended the frontiers of Russia."
Peter also learned Latin, German, and Dutch. He read much and widely, and
learned a great deal, though without method. Like Ivan the Terrible, he was
a self-taught man. He afterward complained of not having been instructed
according to rule. This was perhaps a good thing. His education, like
that of Ivan IV, was neglected, but at least he was not subjected to the
enervating influence of the terem--he was not cast in that dull mould which
turned out so many idiots in the royal family. He "roamed at large, and
wandered in the streets with his comrades." The streets of Moscow at that
period were, according to M. Zabieline, the worst school of profligacy and
debauchery that can be imagined; but they were, on the whole, less bad for
Peter than the palace. He met there something besides mere jesters: he
encountered new elements which had as yet no place in the terem, but
contained the germ of the regeneration of Russia. He came across Russians
who, if unscrupulous, were also unprejudiced, and who could aid him in his
bold reform of the ancient society. He there became acquainted with Swiss,
English, and German adventurers--with Lefort, with Gordon, and with
Timmermann, who initiated him into European civilization.
His court was composed of Leo Narychkine, of Boris Galitsyne, who had
undertaken never to flatter him; of Andrew Matveef, who had marked taste
for everything European; and of Dolgorouki, at whose house he first saw an
astrolabe. He played at soldiers with his young friends and his grooms, and
formed them into the "battalion of playmates," who manoeuvred after the
European fashion, and became the kernel of the future regular army. He
learned the elements of geometry and fortification, and constructed small
citadels, which he took or defended with his young warriors in those fierce
battles which sometimes counted their wounded or dead, and in which the
Czar of Russia was not always spared. An English boat stranded on the shore
of Yaousa caused him to send for Franz Timmermann, who taught him to manage
a sailing-boat, even with a contrary wind. He who formerly, like a true
boyar of Moscow, had such a horror of the water that he could not make up
his mind to cross a bridge, became a determined sailor: he guided his boat
first on the Yaousa, then on the lake of Pereiaslavl. Brandt, the Dutchman,
built him a whole flotilla; and already, in spite of the terrors of his
mother, Natalia, Peter dreamed of the sea.