The Spanish Empire, its power, and its decline—Commercial rivalry of England and Holland—The ascendency of France; threatened by the Grand Alliance—The Spanish succession and the Bourbon league—England’s connection with the war of the Austrian succession—The Seven Year’ War—Revival of the Anglo-Bourbon struggle in the American and Napoleonic wars.
Charles V. of Spain in the height of his power reigned over almost the whole of Western Europe. Besides being King of Spain he was Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, and Lord of Spanish-America. “The Emperor,” said Sir William Cecil, “is aiming at the sovereignty of Europe which cannot be obtained without the suppression of the reformed religion, and unless he crushes the English nation he cannot crush the Reformation.” Perceiving this important fact, Charles directed his attention to England, and offered the hand of his son Philip to Mary of England who was anxious to bring back the Catholic Faith into England.
Their marriage took place in 1554, and proved a great help towards re-establishing the Papal supremacy in England, besides making Spain and England strong political allies.
Charles V. abdicated in 1555 and spent the rest of his life in seclusion at San Yusti, and the great part of his dominions, viz., the Colonies, Italy, and the Netherlands descended to his son, Philip II., who was by his marriage with Mary nominal King of England.
On the childless death of Mary the English crown descended to Elizabeth in 1558. Philip thereupon offered marriage to her, but the virgin queen wisely declined. England was by this refusal emancipated from Papal interference and the tyrannies of Philip, and Elizabeth resolved to carry out her religious and political views independently. Her doctrinal[28] reform and foreign policy naturally made Spain her bitter enemy.
In the Netherlands Philip’s general conduct raised the inhabitants to revolt, and under the leadership of the Prince of Orange they soon obtained a strong position, and eventually, in 1648, after a long and protracted struggle, their independence was recognized.
Thus the two great sea powers of Philip’s age were both common enemies against the arrogance of Spain and were consequently united.
In France a similar religious struggle, fierce and bitter, was raging. Civil war was rampant and atrocities numerous, the massacre on St. Bartholomew’s Day being a notable example. In 1585 the Catholic party formed the “League,” whose main objects were the annihilation of the reformed party, and the elevation of the Guises to the French throne through an alliance with Philip II. of Spain. Its manifesto stated that French subjects were not bound to recognize a prince who was not a Catholic. The death of Henri III. made the situation worse, for two candidates for the French throne appeared,—Henry of Navarre, who was supported by the Huguenots and the Cardinal of Bourbon, whom the Leaguers followed, while Philip II. laid claim to the throne on behalf of his daughter by his third marriage with Elizabeth of Valois, sister of Henri III. Hence, after the accession of the House of Bourbon, a coalition of England, Holland, and France was formed against Philip II. of Spain, and from 1600 to 1660 the European coalition was England, Holland, and France, versus the Spanish Empire.
In the meantime Spain had acquired Portugal in 1580, by which both countries became one state, and Philip II. sovereign of the whole oceanic world. Portugal for sixty years remained a dependency of Spain, and then the Spanish Empire had attained to vast and unwieldy dimensions. She could no longer defend her colonies from foreign invasion and plunder. The Dutch established themselves wherever they pleased, and plundered and occupied most of the Portuguese possessions. It has been truly said that the Colonial Empire of Holland was founded at the expense first of Portugal, and ultimately of Spain.[29]
England at this time was rapidly rising into the front rank of European nations. In 1588 the “Invincible Armada” appeared in the English Channel and was annihilated and disgraced. This was the introduction to that English colonial greatness on which the sun never sets.
Then came the beginning of the fall of the Spanish Empire. In 1640 Cardinal Richelieu, the ablest French statesman, provoked Portugal to rebel, his object being the aggrandizement of his own country abroad. The revolt proved successful under John of Braganza, and again Portugal posed as a nation. This proved a deadly blow to Spanish power, and Cromwell finally crushed her power by his invincible foreign policy. He seized Jamaica while Charles II. acquired Bombay.
This gradual decay of Spain had a corresponding inspiriting effect on England and Holland. Both became commercial and colonial rivals one with another. Ashley Cooper said, “Holland is our great rival in the ocean and in the New World. Let us destroy her though she be a Protestant Power; let us destroy her with the help of a Catholic Power.”[30]
The great naval victories of England and the Navigation Acts, 1651, 1663, and 1672,[31] crushed the Dutch carrying trade and navy, and England now began to assume the supremacy of the whole oceanic world which has from that time never departed from her.
However, France gradually filled the breach left by Holland and Spain, and became a great naval rival of England. The strength of all the nations round her had been considerably weakened by the Thirty Years’ War, while her commercial and manufacturing progress soon made her one of the strongest European Powers.
From 1660 to 1672 may be regarded as the period of the great national rise of France. Louis XIV. laid claim to Belgium and Burgundy in 1665 on the death of Philip IV. of Spain, and in order to enforce his claim his army entered Flanders and Burgundy, but owing to the pressure of the Triple Alliance[32] the unfavourable Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was concluded.
However, later on Louis broke the Triple Alliance and secured the valuable assistance of England and Spain, and with the assistance of the former nation he made a concerted attack upon Holland. France had now reached the topmost rung of the ladder between 1678 and 1688.
About this period the struggle against absolute monarchy was nearly concluded in England, and was further strengthened in 1689 by the Declaration of Rights. The English crown was offered to William of Orange and Mary and accepted by them. Already this personal union had caused an alliance to be formed between England and Holland, at that time the two great Protestant Powers of Europe, against France the great Roman Catholic upholder.
If France had remained quiet during the above-mentioned internal discord, England would have been unable to form the “Grand Alliance.” Thus Louis committed a great error in assuming an offensive attitude against the two Protestant Powers. This caused a coalition to be formed against him of England, Holland, Spain, and Austria.
This new system in Europe existed from 1688 to 1700. Then new complications arose, for Charles II., King of Spain, died childless, and the extinction of the Spanish House of Hapsburg seemed to be near at hand. The question of a Spanish successor now occupied the minds of the European cabinets after the Peace of Ryswick.
There were three claimants: Louis XIV., Leopold I., and the Electoral Prince of Bavaria. The dominions of the Spanish sovereign were still extensive, viz., Spain itself, the Milan territory, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spanish-America. To unite the Spanish monarchy with that of France or Austria, would destroy the European balance of power. Consequently a general council with regard to the succession took place, and the First Partition Treaty was drawn up. Charles II. of Spain, however, made a will, appointing Louis’ grandson, Philip of Anjou, as his successor, so Louis XIV. determined to uphold the will rather than the treaty.
In 1701 the Duke of Anjou was peacefully proclaimed king as Philip V. Louis XIV. on hearing this boasted that “Il n’y a plus de Pyrenees.” This Bourbon succession in Spain changed the European system, and henceforth we have England, Holland, and Austria, as opposed to France and Spain.
The Duke of Marlborough, who combined the qualities of a general, diplomatist, and minister skilfully together, was the leader of the Second Grand Alliance against the Houses of Bourbon.
The inability of France to defend the Spanish Empire, followed by the War of the Spanish Succession, paved the way for the Peace of Utrecht (1713). By this treaty the Bourbons lost Italy and the Low Countries, but retained the throne of Spain, thus still leaving that country open to the influence of France. Hence the permanent alliance of France and Spain was formed in the eighteenth century.
Meanwhile Holland had fallen into decay through internal exhaustion caused by her struggle against foreign enemies; thus England had taken her place as the great maritime and colonial power. Thus we see the struggle between England and France (supported by Spain) for the oceanic world in the eighteenth century.
By the Utrecht Treaty, France ceded to England Newfoundland, Arcadia, and Hudson’s Bay territory, while Spain also ceded Gibraltar, the Minorca Island, and the Asiento, the occupation of the two former making another bitter enemy to England.
Spain had already a hatred of English trade with her colonies in America, so that only a single English ship was conceded by the Treaty of Utrecht, giving thereby only a limited right of trade in South America to England. But this was evaded by a vast system of smuggling which arose and proved a constant source of dispute between England and Spanish revenue officers and rendered peace almost impossible.
In 1733 the first secret pacte de famille had been concluded between France and Spain for the ruin of English maritime trade. The American coast was keenly watched, and the result was “The Jenkins’ Ear War,” 1739.
Charles VI., having no son, established an order of succession by the Pragmatic Sanction, signed by nearly all the European Powers, by which his daughter, Maria Theresa, was to succeed to all the hereditary dominions of Hapsburg. But on his death two claimants appeared on the scene—the Elector of Bavaria and Philip V. of Spain.
Walpole did his best to form a Grand Alliance between Hanover and Prussia, also between England, Holland, and Austria. However, Frederick’s claim to Silesia being refused by Austria, the French and Prussian armies crossed the Rhine, 1741. Thus France began the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1743 the Battle of Dettingen was fought between England and France, the former fighting on behalf of Maria Theresa, and as yet feeling her way carefully before she was brought into direct conflict with the latter Power.
After the Treaty of Worms the question at issue was changed to that of naval supremacy, and the War of the Austrian Succession fell into the background.
In 1744, after an attempted invasion of England on behalf of the Pretender, France declared war against both England and Austria. This was bad policy, for if she had fought against one enemy at a time she would have stood a far better chance of crushing England’s power. Professor Seeley says, “If we compare together those seven wars between 1688 and 1815, we shall be struck with the fact that most of them were double wars, and that there is one aspect between France and England, another between France and Germany.... It is France,” says he, “that suffers by it.”[33]
England and Holland firmly allied with one another, and German troops were subsidized by England.
Against this alliance the second secret pacte de famille was founded.
Battles were fought on all sides, by land and sea, both in Europe and America. In spite of French successes at Fontenoy and Laufeldt, she was severely defeated both on the sea and in America. Louisburg fell, Cape Breton Island was captured, and many other losses sustained. At length the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle brought a nominal peace into the oceanic world, in 1748.
In 1756 this nominal peace came to an end, and the Seven Years’ War[34] was fought out, both in the Old and New Worlds; Pitt the elder then appeared as a great actor on England’s side, and used his great talents to crush down the French Colonial Empire, and to obtain for his country the sole mastery of the oceanic world.
He was essentially a war Minister: “The war was vigorously carried on throughout 1758 in every part of the globe where French could be found, and in 1759 Pitt’s energy and his tact in choosing men everywhere were rewarded by the extraordinary success by land and sea.”[35]
The glorious death of Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham was followed by the surrender of Montreal and the brilliant victory of Plassey in India by Clive over the French. Pitt assured his countrymen that “they should not be losers” (in giving pecuniary assistance to Frederick the Great) “and that he would conquer America for them in Germany.”
This proved true. In 1762 the fall of the French Colonial Empire occurred, and England obtained Canada and India.
This wonderful statesman[36] undoubtedly made England the first country in the world.
“A height of prosperity and glory unknown to any former age,”[37] was reached in England during the administration of Chatham. Now the tide of fortune began to run against England.
The passing of the famous Stamp Act, and many other “repeated injuries and usurpations,”[38] made the relations between England and the American Colonies virtually hostile. At last the Colonies revolted, and it gave Spain and France the long-wished-for opportunity of taking revenge upon England. France and Spain formed the third pacte de famille, and assisted the insurgent Colonies, and the independence of the United States was acknowledged in 1783.
In 1789 the French Revolution broke out, and the first effect felt in England was the breaking-up of the Whig party.
In 1792 Austria and Prussia invaded France in order to put down the Republicans in that country. In retaliation France determined to declare war against all countries governed by kings, which principle she established by the “Decree of November 19th,” and in 1793 she declared war against England and Holland.
The younger Pitt had now come to the front. He was an economist and advocated a peace policy. In the spring of 1792 he reduced the navy and confidently looked forward to at least fifteen years of peace. There is no doubt that if France had remained quiet his hopes would have proved correct, and that the west bank of the Rhine would now be under French rule.
But France was eager to revenge past injuries put upon her by England; and, as if in answer to her desires, the second Alexander the Great appeared in Napoleon, and began “alarming the Old World with his dazzling schemes of aggrandizement.”
Against England his whole energies were directed. “Let us be masters,” said he, “of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world.”[39] In 1798, he captured Malta, occupied Egypt, and undertook a campaign in Syria, as a furtherance to his desires of obtaining India, at the same time retaining his ideas with regard to England. Malta to Egypt, Egypt to India, India to England.
In 1802 a momentary universal peace occurred. But Napoleon could not rest, his ambition spurred him on. His anger was again kindled by the English retention of Malta, after his defeat in Egypt, and he saw if Malta was wrested from him his lofty schemes would be undermined. In 1803 he again declared war against England and Holland. He arrested all the English residents in France between the ages of sixteen and sixty and kept them confined.
The younger Pitt was just the statesman fit to cope with him, and frustrate his aims. He aimed at a European coalition,[40] by which all threatening dangers from the overwhelming greatness of one nation might be averted.
On October 21, 1805, the glorious victory at Trafalgar, the outcome and consummation of Nelson’s inspiring command, “England expects every man to do his duty,” broke the naval power of France. And yet this was followed by the capitulation of Ulm, the defeat at Austerlitz, and the subsequent Treaty of Presburg, which broke up the coalition of England, Russia, and Austria, and seriously affected Pitt’s health thereby. Truly, “Austerlitz killed Pitt.”[41]
At once Napoleon proceeded to turn the whole forces he had on the Continent against England, especially after the Peace of Tilsit, (1807). He first attacked England with the “Continental System,” i.e., he prohibited all direct and indirect European trade with the British Isles. This he confirmed by the Decrees of Berlin (1806) and Milan (1807).
In 1812 he invaded Russia and entered the famous city with the cry of “Moscow! Moscow!” Even at that moment, however, his real aim of attack was England, across the Channel.
England was ever uppermost in his thoughts. “He conquers Germany, but why? Because Austria and Russia, subsidized by England, march against him while he is brooding at Boulogne over the conquest of England. When Prussia was conquered, what was his first thought? That now he has a new weapon against England, since he can impose the Continental System upon all Europe. Why does he occupy Spain and Portugal? It is because they are maritime countries, with fleets and colonies that may be used against England.”[42]
Napoleon was driven out of Moscow by fire, and his return march turned literally into a defeat, while his plan of a direct attack in England, through Belgium, three years after, was frustrated at Waterloo.
Thus the scene of the great Napoleonic drama in English history closed on June 18, 1815.
Peter the Great, and establishment of Russian power on the Baltic—Consequent collision with the Northern States and the Maritime Powers—Catherine II. and Poland—First partition—Russia reaches the Black Sea—Russo-Austrian alliance against Turkey opposed by Pitt—Second and third partitions of Poland—Rise of Prussia—Alexander I. and the conquest of Turkey—Treaty of Tilsit—Peace of Bucharest—Congress of Vienna—French influence in the East destroyed.
The Russian territory now extends over one-seventh of the globe, and Alexander III. rules over more than 100,000,000 souls. Russia is a powerful political rival not only of England alone, but of all the European Powers.[43]
However, on Peter the Great’s accession to the throne, his country covered an area of only 265,000 square miles, and no harbours were to be found either on the Baltic or the Black Sea. This was felt to be a serious obstacle for a rising Power. Peter himself said, in the preface to the “Maritime Regulations”: “For some years I had the fill of my desires on Lake Pereyaslavl, but finally it got too narrow for me. I then went to the Kubensky Lake, but that was too shallow. I then decided to see the open sea and began often to beg the permission of my mother to go to Archangel.”[44] His first and great object was to establish harbours on the Baltic or the Black Sea.
The Turks were the preliminary object of his attack. The first campaign against Azof (1695) proved a failure, but a new campaign was started again in 1696, and the Czar’s “bravery and his genius” were rewarded with a great victory over Azof. Here begins the modern history of Russia.
The Expansion of Russia in Europe.
Immediately after the capture of Azof Peter determined to carry out his design of creating a large fleet on the Black Sea. For the purpose, “no sooner had the festivities in Moscow ended than, at a general council of the boyars, it was decided to send 3,000 families of peasants and 3,000 streltsi and soldiers to populate the empty town of Azof and firmly to establish the Russian power at the mouth of the Don. At a second council Peter stated the absolute necessity for a large fleet, and apparently with such convincing arguments, that the assembly decided that one should be built. Both civilians and clergy were called upon for sacrifices.”[45]
Peter also sent fifty men of the highest families in Russia to Italy, Holland, and England, to study the art of ship-building. Peter himself visited Holland and England that he might learn ship-building. “One thing, however, he could not learn there, and that was the construction of galleys and galliots, such as were used in the Mediterranean, and would be serviceable in the Bosphorus and on the coast of the Crimea. For this he desired to go to Venice.”[46] This clearly shows us that Peter had conceived the idea of establishing a strong navy on the Black Sea.
The revolt of the streltsi recalled him home; however, he found no difficulty in suppressing the insurrection.
After this, he sent an envoy to the Ottoman Empire to obtain permission for the Russian fleet to enter the Black Sea, to which the Porte replied: “The Black Sea and all its coasts are ruled by the Sultan alone. They have never been in the possession of any other Power, and since the Turks have gained sovereignty over this sea, from time immemorial no foreign ship has ever sailed its water, nor ever will sail them.”
Meanwhile Charles XII., King of Sweden, began to assume an attitude of hostility to Peter, and the Battle of Narva was fought, where Peter was miserably defeated. After this war, Charles made Russia the great object of his attack instead of Poland. He said, “I will treat with the Czar at Moscow.” Peter replied, “My brother Charles wishes to play the part of Alexander, but he will not find me Darius.” The Battle of Pultawa (1709) soon decided Peter’s superiority, and the Peace of Nystadt (1721) added the Baltic provinces and a number of islands in the Baltic to Russia.
In 1703 “a great window for Russia to look out at Europe”—so Count Algaratti called St. Petersburg—was made by Peter on the marshes of the Neva. This step firmly established Russian power on the Baltic.
But to establish Russian power on the Baltic at all was as great a mistake as ever has been committed by so shrewd a statesman as Peter the Great. The predominance of Russia in the Baltic with her strong navy threatened the interest of the commerce and carrying-trade of the English and Dutch. Hence it was natural enough that England and Holland, two great maritime powers, should have joined to protect their interest in the Baltic as well as the integrity of Sweden against Russian aggression. In the case of the Northern War, England had formed an alliance with Sweden and sent her fleet to the Baltic under command of Admiral Norris to prevent the Russian sway on those waters.
Had Peter thought less of the importance of the Baltic, and concentrated his energies on obtaining a sure foothold in the Crimea, Constantinople would now be a Russian southern capital.
The Seven Years’ War had been brought to a finish when Catherine II. ascended the Russian throne. The next great European complication was brought about by the affairs of Poland.
On the death of Augustus III., Stanislaus Poniatowski was elected King of Poland, and at the request of Prussia and Russia the dissenters, adherents of the Greek Church and the Protestants, received all civil rights.
In opposition to this a Confederation of Bar was formed in 1768, with the object of dethroning the King. Catherine now began to interfere with Poland on behalf of the Greek Christians, and supported the King with her Russian army. This interference made her practically mistress of Poland. Turkey, an ally of the Confederacy, being alarmed at the growing Russian influence and being urged on by France, declared war upon Russia in order to resist the progress of Catherine in Poland; but this proved disastrous, as she was miserably defeated, both on land and sea, and brought to the verge of ruin. This Russian success alarmed Western Europe, and especially the two neighbouring Christian Powers, Prussia and Austria, each of whom had a special interest in the existence of Poland and Turkey. Catherine would not make peace without acquiring territory as a compensation for her exertions and outlay, while Prussia and Austria would not allow her to do this unless they acquired a certain amount of territory themselves. Hence the First Partition of Poland took place, by which the three Powers secured equal aggrandizement, Russia receiving the eastern part of Lithuania as her share.
In 1774 the Treaty of Kutschouk Kainardji was concluded with Turkey, by which the independence of the Mongol Tartars in the Crimea was acknowledged by the Sultan; Russia obtained the right of protection over all the Christian subjects of the Porte within a certain limit, and also the right of free navigation in all Turkish waters for trading vessels. This treaty firmly planted Russia on the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
In 1783 the Crimea was incorporated with Russia, and in 1787 Catherine visited the southern part of Russia as far as Kherson, on the Black Sea. Joseph II. of Austria, on hearing of her approach to his dominions, hastened to meet her, and together they journeyed through the Crimea, the Czarina unfolding to the Emperor both her own plans and those of Potemkin, her favourite, viz., to expel all the Turks from Europe, re-establish the old Empire of Greece, and place her younger grandson Constantine on the throne of Constantinople. Joseph fell in with her view, and it was hinted that something like a Western Empire should be also constituted and placed under the Austrian sway. In this way a division of the Ottoman Empire was contemplated between the two countries. This soon aroused the suspicions of Turkey, and war was again declared. But now it was two against one, and the fate of Turkey again seemed sealed.
William Pitt was the first statesman who directly opposed Russia and tendered assistance to Turkey against Russian encroaching power. His foreign policy of opposition to Russia has been followed more or less by generations of English Ministers. The Triple Alliance of England, Prussia, and Holland was formed by Pitt against the “Colossus of the North,” in order to preserve the balance of power in Europe, and the death of Joseph. II., saved Turkey again. Pitt, by means of this Alliance, demanded that a peace be made between Russia and Turkey on the status quo ante bellum, and threatened to maintain his demand by arms. The English people, however, cared very little about a Russian invasion of Turkey, while Catherine disregarded Pitt’s threats.
Soon after a peace between Russia and Turkey was concluded at Jassy, by which Turkey ceded Oczakow and the land between the Dnieper, Bug, and Dniester, containing several good harbours, and notably Odessa; the protectorate of Russia over Tiflis and Kartalinia was also recognized.
By the above-mentioned acquisitions she felt certain that very soon Constantinople would be in her hands. However, a nearer, and, in her opinion, a more important matter engaged her attention. In 1792 the new Constitution of Poland was drawn up by Ignaz Potocki, converting the Elective Monarchy into an hereditary one, the House of Saxony supplying a dynasty of kings. The Confederacy of Jargowitz, which was formed in opposition to this new Constitution, called in the help of Russia.
This now seemed to be a grand opportunity for Russia to finally annex Poland, because the deaths of Frederick the Great (1786) and Joseph (1790), and the French Revolution, which occupied the attention of all Western Europe, set the Czarina free from her most watchful rivals. A Russian army invaded Poland, and the new Constitution was repealed. Prussian troops also entered Poland under the pretence of suppressing Jacobinism, and Russia again found herself frustrated, and concluded a Second Partition (1793) with Prussia, by which she received Lithuania, Volhynin, and Podolia.
In 1795 the Polish nation rebelled, under the leadership of Xoscruscko, and this led to a Third Partition between Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and the former Power added 181,000 square miles, with 6,000,000 inhabitants, together with Curland, to her already vast dominions.
By this last Partition a road of aggression was open towards Sweden on the north-west, and towards Turkey on the south.
Many combined circumstances led Russia to assume an aggressive policy towards Turkey specially. Sweden, or rather Finland, was not of sufficient importance as a prey to the “northern bear”—a warmer climate was also wanted. Catherine had already discovered the mistaken policy of Peter the Great, who had spent all his energy in getting the strongholds of the Baltic in opposition to Charles XII. of Sweden. Russian sway on the Baltic meant a direct opposition from two great sea Powers, viz., England and Holland, whose interests would suffer thereby. A striking proof of the opposition was seen in the case of the Northern War.
The Partition of Poland produced another stray Power in the Baltic, to wit, Prussia.
Previous to the Partition of Poland, Prussia Proper and her dominions, Brandenberg and Silesia, were separated, Poland being between them. The First Partition joined the Prussian kingdom to the main body of the Monarchy; by the Second and Third Partitions Prussia obtained the then South Prussia and East Prussia, thereby uniting all into one compact body.
Thus unconsciously a powerful Russian enemy was being formed in the Baltic. Thus Russia had three great enemies—England, Holland, and Prussia, joined by Sweden and Denmark, on the Baltic.
Catherine had already obtained a firm footing on the Black Sea coast, and was confident of her ability to occupy Constantinople and make it a Russian southern capital; the French Revolution attracting the attention of Western Europe, the Ottoman Empire was left at the mercy of Russia. Again a Russian occupation would give a fine prospect of extending Russian authority into Danubian territory, Central Asia, and Asia Minor.
So we may conclude that Catherine’s annexation of Poland was only a step towards attaining her great aim, and gave her time to mature her plans.
At this juncture Catherine died, and was succeeded by Paul (1796). He reversed his mother’s policy by concluding an alliance with Turkey against Napoleon, seeing that the latter’s policy was to destroy the Turkish Empire for the benefit of France. He changed his policy later, however, after his unsuccessful campaign in Holland, and threw himself into Napoleon’s arms by establishing an armed neutrality in the north against England.
Catherine died (1796), but her plan did not perish with her. Alexander I. proved a faithful expounder of the late Czarina’s schemes.
His strong-handed policy was chiefly directed against Armenia and the Persian frontier, although the Danubian territory, Poland and Finland, did not escape his watchful eyes. Mingrelia and Imeretia were conquered in 1803, Shiroan in 1805–1806.
At last Alexander’s policy took a definite form at the Treaty of Tilsit (1807), for by the first provision “Russia was to take possession of Turkey in Europe, and push on her conquests in Asia as she thought proper.” This secret treaty, which was made with Napoleon I., caused great uneasiness in England, and a coolness sprang up between the two Powers (1807–1812), although England had adhered to an Anglo-Russian Alliance during Chatham’s administration, and Alexander joined the coalition of 1805.
In 1809 Russia gained Finland, with the whole of East Bothnia and part of West Bothnia, as far as the River Tornea, by the Treaty of Friedrichsham. The Peace of Bucharest (1812) was the result of England’s mediation, by which Russia added Bessarabia, and the Pruth was made the boundary between Russia and Turkey, while Russia gave up Moldavia and Wallachia, which at that time were occupied by her.
The quarrel between Russia and France concerning the “Continental System”[47] brought about a French invasion of Russia by 678,000 men (1812). But Russia coped successfully with her powerful foe.
The Congress of Vienna (1814–1815) met to restore the balance of power and regulate the European relations, and also established the “Pentarchy of the Great Powers.” Eight nations signed the Act of the Congress of Vienna, by which Russia was, generally speaking, the greatest gainer, for she received the greater part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
At the Congress of Vienna, Castlereagh (the English representative) evidently had in view three aims—(1) to prevent any revival of the Continental System; (2) to protect English communication with India; and (3) to maintain her supremacy in the Mediterranean. For the first aim, England obtained Heligoland, and the kingdom of the Netherlands was formed, and “the surrender of Java was made to the Dutch by way of increasing the wealth and power of that kingdom, and so helping to re-establish the due counterpoise to French power which nature has given to the possession of the Low Countries”; for the second aim, England also obtained the possession of Cape Colony (from the Dutch) and the Mauritius (from France) to render safe the road to India; and for the third aim, England retained Malta, and also the seven Ionian islands were brought under English protection.
The Battle of Waterloo stamped out Napoleon’s[48] ambitious schemes. French power and influence in Eastern Europe vanished with Napoleon, and from that time France has not fully recovered, and is therefore unable to settle the Eastern Question for her benefit. The Napoleonic plan of occupying Constantinople has been stolen by Russia.
The concert of the Great Powers; its aims—It does not protect small states from its own members, e.g., Polish Revolution—How far can it solve the Turkish question?
Napoleon the Great fell at the Battle of Waterloo, 1815. The “concert of the Great Powers,” the primary object of which is to avoid the recurrence of universal war in Europe, was first established at the Congress of Vienna in the same year. This new European System is, however, only applicable to the case of a small Power or Powers, but not to the Great Powers themselves. For instance, in the Schleswig-Holstein, as well as the Franco-Prussian War, none of the other Great Powers could interfere, and matters were entirely left to themselves.
Eastern Europe & Western Asia.
But in the case of a lesser state or states becoming breaker of the peace, the Great Powers have never hesitated to step in and settle the difference according to their mutual agreement. We see good instance of it in the Independence of Belgium.
The “concert of the Great Powers” is actually a second phase of the Holy Alliance, and the new system has usually its object the protection of a smaller state against the larger. Greek Independence was a singular example of the new system. The revolt of Greece was entirely suppressed by the Sultan, and there was no hope of freeing themselves from the Turkish yoke. Though hardly justifiable, the Great Powers at last interfered, and made Greece an independent state. The Independence of Italy was another example.
Thus we see that under the new system now prevalent in Europe, a smaller state at least attains her end.
Let us examine the Polish Revolution against Russia. The Poles said, Let us revolt. We shall undoubtedly be beaten by Russia; but we don’t mind that at all, because we shall at last attain our own end through the interference of the Great Powers. There was every reason for the event turning out as they had calculated. Louis Napoleon was the first European sovereign who interfered in the Polish Revolution, and he invited England to join him. England, however, declined, owing to the difficulties of the situation. France, from her isolation, failed in her desires, and Louis Napoleon lost his European confidence. Truly the fall of the French Empire began from that date.
This Polish Revolution disclosed another characteristic of the new European System. In the event of either country concerned being one of the Great Powers, the system is of no effect at all. The late dispute between England and Portugal comes under this heading.
One more interesting question needs investigation. How far this new European System is applicable to the question of Turkey, a country which may be placed among the first-class Powers, and where Christian inhabitants are in an inferior position to the Turkish Mahomedans. This is what I have to discuss in the following five chapters.
The Holy Alliance—The Greek insurrection—Interference of the Three Powers—Battle of Navarino—Treaty of Adrianople—The policy of Nicholas I.; Treaty of Unkiar Ikelessi—Turkey only saved by English and French aid—Palmerston succeeds to Canning’s policy.
Alexander I., Emperor of Russia; Francis, Emperor of Austria; and William I., King of Prussia, formed what was known as the Holy Alliance, the first-named being the chief instigator.
Its aim was to promote peace and goodwill among European nations, based upon Christianity, although it seemed quite liable to be abused for the benefit of absolute monarchy, as in the case of Spain. Nearly all the European Powers joined it, England[49] being the only one who declined. England’s argument was that “such interference is inconsistent with the fundamental laws of Great Britain. It must lead to a system of continual interference incompatible with European interests and the independence of nations.”[50] However, we are forced to admit and acknowledge that the present system of Europe is conducted on the same lines, slightly modified, as the Holy Alliance.
At the end of the eighteenth century the songs of the poet Rhegus and the revolutionary influence of France (1789) stirred up the Greeks to feelings of hatred against the Porte.
In 1821 the Danubian Provinces (Roumania), under the leadership of Hypisilands, rose in rebellion, trusting to receiving assistance from Alexander I., the instigator of the Holy Alliance. But their hopes were shattered, and Turkey soon crushed the revolt. This was the only case in which Russia did not interfere with Turkey in the Danubian question.
A little reflection, however, will show the cause of the Russian non-interference in this case. Alexander’s power and influence were declining, and Russia was filled internally with discontent. Secret societies flourished everywhere, and the Czar dreaded a revolution in his own country if he gave help to the Danubian Provinces, which would be approving a rebellion against a legitimate sovereign.
The Greek rising in the Morea was answered by a counter Turkish massacre of Greeks in most of the principal cities of Turkey, and Gregory, the head of the Greek Church at Constantinople, was executed. This caused great indignation in the Russias and war appeared imminent, but owing to the mediation of England and Austria it was averted.
There is no doubt that Russia felt that it was to her advantage to assist a revolutionary movement, in order that she might secure as much influence in Turkey as possible. But Austrian interest in the Balkans was of vital importance. Her policy was naturally to oppose Russia in her desires, in order to keep the Turkish honour unstained and use her as a bulwark against Russia.
However, great enthusiasm was aroused, not only in England, but also in Germany and Switzerland.
Lord Byron died,[51] and Shelley wrote for the Greek cause. Lord Cochrane and Sir Richard Church fought, while the German poet, Müller, and the Swiss Eynard, warmly upheld the cause of the oppressed Greeks.
Notwithstanding this help, the Greeks were far from fortunate, and the Sultan, with the help of the Egyptians, captured Athens. But their brave defence of Missolonghi aroused the sympathies of the European Powers.
On the death of Alexander I. the Holy Alliance vanished (1825), and Nicholas I. ascended the throne (1825–1855). Now the Greeks appealed to England for help, and Canning[52] saw that it was the best policy for England to assist Greece in order to control the ambitious plans of Russia. Accordingly he sent the Duke of Wellington as the English representative, and a protocol was signed at St. Petersburg by which Greece was to remain tributary to the Sultan, but to be independent as regards commercial relations. This protocol developed into the Treaty of London, between England, France, and Russia, by which the three Powers bound themselves to act as mediators in the Eastern question. The mediation of the Powers was rejected by the Porte, but accepted by the Greeks. The result was that the Turko-Egyptian fleet was totally destroyed at the Battle of Navarino by the allies, and the Sultan retreated from the Morea. Canning’s death in 1827 gave England an opportunity of retiring from active participation in the alliance, especially as she regarded the Battle of Navarino as an “untoward event,” so Russia and Turkey were left alone in conflict.
This, in my opinion, was a half-hearted policy on the part of England, although the Cabinet at that time could do no other, because their tenets would not allow them to help a revolutionary people against a country governed by a legitimate sovereignty.
Now had the long-wished-for opportunity arrived for Russia to carry into effect on Turkey her long-cherished designs. Diebitch, a Russian general, crossed the Balkans, and soon captured Adrianople; while Paskevitch took Kars and Erzeroom in Asia.
These successes resulted in the Treaty of Adrianople (1829), between Russia and Turkey. By the treaty[53] Russia gave back almost all her conquests to Turkey, only retaining the ports of Anapa and Poti, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and the Protectorate powers of the Czar over the Danubian Principalities were confirmed and extended. In return Turkey acquiesced in all the provisions of the London Conference.
This made Greece practically an independent state.
Nicholas pursued the policy of Alexander I. with regard to the Asiatic boundaries, and successfully carried on a war with Persia from 1826 to 1828 which was terminated by the Treaty of Turkmantchai (1828), Russia receiving the provinces of Erivan and Nakhitcheven. This was the period of the expansion of Russia, and the first appearance of Russia as a real rival of Great Britain.
Reviewing the general policy of Nicholas the reader cannot help being struck with the skilful manner and clever system by which the Czar carried out his plans.
Before his reign the Russian attacks were all made particularly in the south-west and south-east direction, viz., the Danubian territory, and Armenia; but on his accession he began to attack from a more southerly direction even than Turkey, viz., Greece, whom he assisted in rebellion against her Turkish oppressors. From 1826–1828 he attacked in a south-easterly quarter, viz., Armenia and Persia, at the same time occupying Adrianople and threatening Constantinople. Finally, to complete his plans, he struck a fatal blow at the heart of Turkey, viz., its capital, Constantinople, in 1833, with the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi, by which Turkey was practically made a vassal of Russia.
This treaty exercised a great influence upon foreign powers. For Russia by it would have obtained actual possession not only of the Black Sea but also of its only entrance, the Dardanelles, which thus would have become a fortified Russian outpost.
Turkey now was in a very precarious state. She was almost past the aid of any earthly powers. But luckily two doctors stepped into the breach, namely, England and France, and, after a course of treatment, the following protocol was indited by the Pentarchy of Powers: “That ships of war have at all times been prohibited from entering the Channel of Constantinople, viz., by the Straits of the Dardanelles and of the Black Sea.”
Reshid Pacha had performed for Turkey great internal reforms, but, unfortunately, he was exiled through a Court intrigue. This proved a great blow to Turkish politics.
Thus Turkey began to decline again; and, as John Bright said in an able speech at Manchester (1854), “Turkey is a decaying nation;” and Cobden on the same occasion said, “Turkey is a decaying country, and the Turks cannot be permanently maintained as a ruling Power in Europe.” The Czar himself said that “a sick man is dying,” referring to Turkey, in his remarkable conversation with Sir Hamilton Seymour on January 28, 1853.
When Turkey appeared at her last gasp she had been saved by England and France. Now, for the second time, the same Powers rescued her from annihilation.
England a short time previously had been in a feeble state owing to her severe war with Napoleon the Great. This had exhausted her financially to a great extent.[54]
However, Huskisson’s commercial policy (1823), Wellingtons Catholic Emancipation (1829), Russell’s great Reform Bill (1832), and the Repeal of the Corn Laws by Sir Robert Peel (1846), had exercised a refreshing influence upon her general prosperity.
Here Lord Palmerston, a disciple[55] of Canning, appeared on the scene to play his part in “the European concert.”