RIVALRY AND STRIFE IN EUROPE
THE RIVALS OF SPAIN. When the early voyages to America and Asia were
ended, the French, the English, and the other northern peoples of
Europe seemed to be beaten in the race for new lands and for new
routes to old lands. The French had sent a few fishermen to the Banks
of Newfoundland, and that was all. The English had made one or two
voyages and appeared to be no longer interested. (See Chapter XIV,
Cabot) The Dutch seemed to be only sturdy fishermen, thrifty farmers,
or keen traders, occupied much of the time in the struggle against the
North Sea, which threatened to burst the dikes and flood farms and
cities.
THE TRADE-WINDS. The Portuguese and the Spaniards had a great
advantage in living nearer the natural starting-point for such voyages.
To go to Asia ships went by way of the Cape of Good Hope. To go to
America a southern route was taken, for in the North Atlantic the
prevailing winds are from the southwest, while south of Spain the
trade-winds blow towards the southwest, making it easy to sail to
America. To take the northern route, which was the natural one for
French and English sailors, would be to battle against head winds and
heavy seas.
THE SPANIARDS AND THE PORTUGUESE DIVIDE THE WORLD. The Spaniards
and the Portuguese believed that their discoveries gave them the right
to all new lands which should be found and to all trade by sea with the
Golden East. Two years after the first voyage of Columbus the Spaniards
agreed with the Portuguese that a line running 370 leagues west of the
Cape Verde Islands should separate the regions claimed by each. The
Spaniards were to hold all lands discovered west of that line, and the
Portuguese all east of it. This left Brazil within the region claimed by
the Portuguese. The rest of North and South America lay within the
Spanish claims. It is the future history of this region that especially
interests us as students of American history.
[Illustration: CABOT MEMORIAL TOWER Erected at Bristol, England,
in memory of the first sailor from England to visit America]
THE MAIN QUESTION. Were the Spaniards to keep what they claimed and
continue to outstrip their northern rivals? The answer to this question
is found in the history of Europe during the sixteenth century.
Unfortunately for the Spaniards they were drawn into quarrels in Europe
which cost them many men and much money. The consequence was that they
were unable to make full use of their discoveries, even if they had
known how. Before the century was ended their rivals, the English and
the French, were stronger than they; and the Dutch, their own subjects,
had rebelled against them.
THE ENGLISH AND THE FRENCH DESIRE A SHARE. Men had such great ideas
of the immense wealth of the Indies that the successes of one nation
made the other nations eager for some part of the spoil. Englishmen and
Frenchmen were not likely to allow the Portuguese to take all they could
find by sailing eastward around the Cape of Good Hope, and the Spaniards
to keep whatever they discovered by sailing directly westward or by
following the route marked out by Magellan. Both would search for new
routes to the East, and both would lay claim to lands they saw by the
way, regardless of any other nation. Many quarrels came from this
rivalry, but quarrels arose also from other causes.
KING CHARLES AND KING FRANCIS. About the time Cortés conquered
Mexico, his master, King Charles of Spain, began a war against Francis,
the king of France. As long as these two kings lived they were either
fighting or preparing to fight. Had Charles been king of Spain only,
there might have been no trouble, but he ruled lands in Italy and
claimed others which the French king ruled. He also ruled all the region
north of France which is now Belgium and Holland, and he owned a
district which forms part of eastern France near Switzerland. As he was
the German emperor besides, the French king thought him too dangerous to
be left in peace. These wars have little to do with American history,
except that they helped to weaken the king of Spain and to prevent the
Spaniards from making the most of their early successes in colonizing.
RELIGION A CAUSE OF STRIFE. Religion was the most serious cause of
quarrel in the sixteenth century, and the king of Spain was the prince
most injured by the struggle. At the time of Prince Henry of Portugal
and of Columbus all peoples in western Europe worshiped in the same
manner, taught their children the same beliefs, and in religious matters
they all obeyed the pope. But by 1521 this had changed. The troubles
began in Germany when Charles V was emperor. Before they were over
Philip II, son of Charles, lost control of the Dutch, who rebelled and
founded a republic of their own. The English finally became the
principal enemies of Spain. The French, most of whom were of the same
religion as the Spaniards, came to hate Spanish methods of defending
religion, especially after the Spaniards had massacred a band of French
settlers in America.
[Illustration: EMPEROR CHARLES V]
THE "REFORMERS." Many men became discontented at the way the Church
was managed. At first all were agreed that the evils of which they
complained could be removed if priests, bishops, and pope worked
together to that end. After a while some teachers in different countries
not only complained of evils, but refused to believe as the Church had
taught and as most people still believed. They did not mean to divide
the Christian Church into several churches, but they thought they
understood the words of the Bible better than the teachers of
the Church.
THE REFORMATION. At that time people who were not agreed in their
religious beliefs did not live peaceably in the same countries. The
princes and kings who were faithful to the Church ordered that the new
teachers and their followers should be punished. Other princes accepted
the views of the "reformers," and soon began to punish those of their
subjects who continued to believe as the Church taught. In Germany these
princes were called "Protestants," because they protested against the
efforts of the Emperor Charles and his advisers to stop the spread of
the new religion. This name was afterwards given to all who refused to
remain in the older Church, subject to the bishops and the pope.
CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT LEADERS. The most famous leaders of the
Roman Catholics at this time were Ignatius Loyola, a Spaniard, Reginald
Pole, an Englishman, and Carlo Borromeo, an Italian. Loyola had been a
soldier in his youth, but while recovering from a serious wound,
resolved to be a missionary. With several other young men of the same
purpose he founded the Society of Jesus or the Jesuit Order. Of the
Protestants the greatest leaders were Martin Luther, a German, and John
Calvin, a Frenchman. Luther was a professor in the university at
Wittenberg in Saxony, which was ruled by the Elector Frederick the Wise.
Calvin had lived as a student in Paris, but when King Francis resolved
to allow no Protestants in his kingdom, Calvin was obliged to leave the
country. He settled in the Swiss city of Geneva.
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH. Luther's teachings were accepted by many
Germans, especially in northern Germany. He translated the Bible into
German. After a while his followers formed a Church of their own which
was called Lutheran. It differed from the Roman Catholic Church in the
way it was governed as well as in what it taught.
THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS. Calvin lived in Geneva, but most of those who
accepted his teachings continued to live in France. The nickname
Huguenots, or confederates, was given to them. They were not permitted
by the French king to worship as Calvin taught, but by 1562 so many
nobles had joined them that it was no longer possible to treat them as
criminals. They were permitted to hold their meetings outside the walled
towns. The leader whom they most honored was Admiral Gaspard de Coligny.
Both he and they, as we shall see, soon had reason to fear and hate the
Spaniards. But we must first understand the difficulties which the king
of Spain had in dealing with his Dutch subjects.
THE KING OF SPAIN AND THE NETHERLANDS. Philip II inherited from his
father Charles seventeen duchies, counties, and other districts north of
France in what is now Belgium and Holland. Charles had known how to
manage these people, because he was brought up among them. The task of
managing them was not easy. Each district or city had its own special
rights and its people demanded that these should be respected by the
ruling prince. Charles had remembered this, but Philip wished to rule
the Netherlanders, as these people were called, just as he ruled the
people of Spain.
[Illustration: THE DIKES ALONG THE YSSEL IN THE NETHERLANDS]
PROTESTANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS. The trouble was made worse because
many of the Netherlanders became followers of Luther or Calvin, and
brought their books into the country. Now Philip, like his father
Charles, was faithful to the teachings of the Church, and thought it was
his duty to punish such persons. The result was that Philip soon had two
kinds of enemies in his Netherland provinces, those who did not like the
way he ruled and those who refused to believe as the Church taught, and
the two united against him. After a while most of the Lutherans were
driven away, but the Calvinists kept coming in over the border
from France.
THE NETHERLANDS. The Netherlands, or Low Countries, are well
named, especially the northern part where the Dutch live, because much
of the land is below the level of the sea at high tide, and some of it
at low tide. For several hundred years the Dutch built dikes to keep
back the sea, or pumped it out where it flowed in and covered the lower
lands. Occasionally great storms broke through the dikes and caused the
Dutch months or years of labor. A people so brave and industrious were
not likely to submit to the will of Philip II. The chances that they
would rebel were increased by the spread of the new religious views,
which the Dutch accepted more readily than their neighbors, the southern
Netherlanders. The southern Netherlanders who became Calvinists
generally emigrated to the northern cities, like Amsterdam, where they
were safer.
[Illustration: Map Of The Netherlands]
WILLIAM OF ORANGE. William, Prince of Orange, was the leader of the
Dutch against Philip II. He had been trusted by Charles, Philip's
father, who had leaned on his shoulder at the great ceremony held in
Brussels when Charles gave up his throne to Philip. William was called
the "Silent," because he was careful not to tell his plans to any except
his nearest friends. When Philip returned to Spain, William was made
governor or _stadtholder_ of three of the Dutch provinces--Holland,
Zealand, and Utrecht. Philip was angry because William and other great
nobles in the Netherlands opposed his way of dealing with the heretics
and of ruling the Netherlands. In this both the southern Netherlanders
and the northern Netherlanders were united, although the southern
Netherlanders remained faithful to the Roman Catholic religion.
SPAIN AND ENGLAND. The English at first had no reason to quarrel
with the king of Spain. They were friendly to the Netherlanders, who
were his subjects. During the Middle Ages they sold great quantities of
wool to the Netherland cities of Bruges, Brussels, and Ghent, and bought
fine cloth woven in those towns. The friendship of the ruler of the
Netherlands seemed necessary, if this trade was to prosper. It was the
trouble about religion which finally made the English and the
Spaniards enemies.
HENRY VIII. During the reign of Henry VIII, King of England, the
king, the parliament, and the clergy decided to refuse obedience to the
pope. The king called himself the head of the Church in England.
Lutheran views crept into the country as they had done into the
Netherlands, but King Henry at first disliked the Lutherans quite as
much as he grew to dislike the pope.
THE ENGLISH CHURCH. So long as Henry lived not much change was made
in the beliefs or the manner of worship in the Church. During the short
reign of his son, the English Church became more like the Protestant
Churches on the Continent, except that in England there were still
archbishops and bishops, and the government of the Church went on much
as before. When Henry's daughter Mary was made queen she tried to stop
these changes, and for a few years her subjects were again obedient to
the pope, but she died in 1558 and her half-sister, Elizabeth,
became queen.
[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH]
THE ENGLISH CHURCH AND THE CATHOLICS. In religious matters Queen
Elizabeth did much as her father and her brother had done. All persons
were forced to attend the religious services carried on in the manner
ordered in the prayer-book. Roman Catholics could not hold any
government office. They were punished if they tried to persuade others
to remain faithful to the older Church. Philip did not like this, but
for a time he preferred to be on friendly terms with the English.
[Illustration: COSTUMES AT THE TIME OF ELIZABETH]
QUEEN ELIZABETH. Queen Elizabeth ruled England for forty-five
years. The English regard her reign as the most glorious in their
history. Before it was over they proved themselves more than a match for
the Spaniards on the sea. They also began to seek for routes to the East
and to attempt settlements in America. Their trade was increasing. The
Greek and Roman writers were studied by English scholars at Oxford and
Cambridge. Books and poems and plays were written which were to make the
English language the rival of the languages of Greece and Rome. This was
the time when Shakespeare wrote his first plays.
QUESTIONS
1. Why was it easier to sail toward America from Spain or Portugal
than from England?
2. What peoples divided the new world between them? Where did they
draw the line of division?
3. Why were the kings of France and Spain rivals? Over what
countries did King Charles rule?
4. When did religion become a cause of strife? What king was chiefly
injured by such struggles?
5. Who were called "reformers?" By what other names were they
called?
6. Who were the leaders of the Catholics? of the Protestants? Who
were the Huguenots? What was their leader's name?
7. Why did Philip II and his subjects in the Netherlands quarrel?
8. What was strange about the land in which the Dutch lived? Who was
the hero of the Dutch?
9. Why were the English and the Spaniards at first friendly? What
king of England refused to obey the pope?
10. Why do Englishmen think Queen Elizabeth a great ruler? How did
Elizabeth settle the question of religion?
EXERCISE
Collect pictures of the Dutch, of their canals, dikes, and towns.