276 A. D. PEACE OF HUBERTSBURG. Ch. 23 was only a truce, and a new coalition having been formed, the Queen made desperate efforts to recover the province she had 1740 lost. The victories of the Prussians, however, soon led to a to second treaty, called the peace of Dresden. This was effected 1780. in 1745. Eleven years after, in 1756, the Seven Years' War Seven War. Great ties of The resa. commenced, when new combinations were formed, and England became the ally of Prussia. This war having already been described, in connection with the reign of Frederic, need not be further discussed. It was only closed by the exhaustion of all the parties engaged in it. In 1736 Maria Theresa was married to Francis Stephen, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and he, in 1745, was elected Emperor of Germany, under the title of Francis I. He died in 1763, soon after the peace of Hubertsburg was signed, and his son Joseph succeeded to the throne of the empire, acting as coregent with Maria Theresa. The Empress Queen continued to be the real, as she was the legitimate, Sovereign of Austria, and took an active part in all the affairs of Europe. When the tranquillity of her kingdom was restored, she quali- founded various colleges, reformed the public schools, proMaria moted agriculture, and instituted many beneficial regulations for the prosperity of her subjects. She reformed the church, diminished the number of clergy, suppressed the Inquisition and the Jesuits, and framed a system of military economy which surpassed the boasted arrangements of her rival Frederic. "She combined private economy with public liberality, dignity with condescension, elevation of soul with humility of spirit, and the virtues of domestic life with the splendid qualities which grace a throne." Her death, in 1780, was felt as a general loss by the people, who adored her; and her reign is considered as one of the most illustrious in Austrian annals. A. D. THE reign of Catharine II. of Russia, like that of Maria 1763 Theresa, is interlinked with the history of Frederic. Before to noticing it, however, some remarks concerning her predeces 1796. sors are necessary. SUCCESSORS OF PETER THE GREAT. 277 Catharine, the wife of Peter the Great, we have already Ch.23 seen, was crowned Empress before his death. The first years A. D. of her reign after Peter's decease were agreeable to the people, 1763 because she diminished the taxes, introduced a mild policy to in the government of her subjects, and intrusted to Prince 1796. Menzikoff an important share in the government of the realm. But Catharine, who, during the life of her husband, had displayed so much enterprise and intrepidity, very soon disdained business, and abandoned herself to luxury and pleasure. She died in 1727 of cancer, aggravated by excessive indulgence in wine. She was then only thirty-eight years of age, having survived the Czar but two years and a few months. Peter II. ascended her throne, chiefly in consequence of the intrigues of Menzikoff, who wished to make the Emperor his puppet. II. be comes Peter II. was only thirteen years of age when he became Peter Emperor. He was the son of Alexis, and consequently grandson of Peter I. As his youth did not permit him to Emassume the reins of government, everything was committed peror. to the care of Menzikoff, who ruled, for a time, with absolute power. At last, however, he incurred the displeasure of his youthful master, and was exiled to Siberia. But Peter II. did not long survive the disgrace of his minister. He died of the small-pox in 1730, and was succeeded by Anne. Duchess of Holstein, the eldest daughter of Catharine I. But she lived only a few months after her accession to the throne, when the Princess Elizabeth succeeded her. press The Empress Elizabeth resembled her mother, the beautiful EmCatharine, but was voluptuous and weak. She would con- Eliza tinue whole hours on her knees before an image, to which she beth. spoke, and which she continually consulted; and then would turn from bigotry to infamous sensuality. She hated Frederic II., and assisted Maria Theresa in her struggles. She died in 1762, and was succeeded by the Grand Duke Peter Fedorowitz, son of the Duke of Holstein, by Anne, daughter of Peter I. He assumed the title of Peter III. Peter IJI. was a weak prince, but disposed to be beneficent. Peter III. 278 A. D. THE EMPRESS CATHARINE II. Ch. 23 One of his first acts was to recall the numerous exiles whom the jealousy of Elizabeth had consigned to the deserts of 1763 Siberia. Among these was Biren, the haughty lover and barto barous minister of the Empress Anne, and Marshal Munich, a 1796. veteran of eighty-two years of age. Peter also abolished the Inquisition, established by Alexis Michaelowitz, the father of Peter the Great, and promoted commerce, the arts, and the sciences. For the King of Prussia he had an extravagant admiration. He set at liberty the Prussian prisoners, and made peace with Frederic II. His partiality for the Germans, and his numerous reforms, alienated the affections of his subjects, whose spirit of discontent he was unable to curb. He reigned but a few months, being dethroned and murdered. ConspiHis wife, the Empress Catharine, was the chief of the conracy of spirators; and she was urged to the bloody act by her own desrine, and perate circumstances. She was obnoxious to her husband, death of who probably would have destroyed her, had his life been Catha Peter. Charac ter of Catha rine. prolonged, so she resolved on his death. She was assisted by some of the most powerful nobles, and gained over most of the regiments of the Imperial Guard. The archbishop of Novgorod and the clergy were friendly to her, because they detested the reforms which Peter had attempted to make. Catharine, therefore, became mistress of St. Petersburg, and caused herself to be crowned Empress of Russia, in one of the principal churches. The nobles of the empire, the army, and the clergy, took the oath of allegiance, and the different monarchs of Europe acknowledged her as the absolute Sovereign of Russia. In 1763 she was firmly established in the power which had been before wielded by Catharine I. Catharine was no sooner established in the power which she had usurped, than she directed attention to the affairs of her empire, and sought to remedy the many great evils which then existed. She devoted herself to business, advanced commerce and the arts, regulated the finances, improved the jurisprudence of the realm, patronized all works of internal improvement, rewarded eminent merit, encouraged education, ASSASSINATION OF IVAN. 279 to 1796. and exercised a liberal and enlightened policy in her inter- Ch. 23 course with foreign powers. After engaging in business with A. D. her ministers, she would converse with scholars and philoso- 1763 phers. With some she studied politics, and with others literature. She tolerated all religions, abolished odious courts, and enacted mild laws. She held out great inducements for foreigners to settle in Russia, and founded colleges and hospitals in all parts of her empire. sination Beneficent, however, as her reforms were, she nevertheless committed some great crimes. One of these was the assassina- Assastion of the dethroned Ivan, the great-grandson of the Czar of Ivan. Ivan Alexejewitsch, who was brother of Peter the Great. On the death of the Empress Anne, in 1731, he had been proclaimed Emperor; but when Elizabeth was placed upon the throne, the infant was confined in the fortress of Schlussenburg. Here he was so closely guarded and confined, that he was never allowed access to the open air or the light of day. On the accession of Catharine, he was thirty-three years of age, and was extremely ignorant and weak. conspiracy was formed to liberate him, and place him on the throne. The attempt proved abortive, and the Prince perished by the sword of his jailers, who were splendidly rewarded for this infamous service. A In 1772 occurred the partition of Poland between Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Catharine and Frederic II. were the chief authors of this atrocious act. rin. Her various schemes, and especially her interference in the affairs of Poland, caused the Ottoman Porte, in 1768, to declare Wars of Caths. war against her, which war proved disastrous to Turkey, and contributed to aggrandize the empire of Russia. The Turks lost several battles on the Pruth, Dniester, and Danube; the provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia and Bessarabia submitted to the Russian arms; while a great naval victory, in the Medierranean, was gained by Alexis Orloff, whose share in the late revolution had raised him from the rank of a simple soldier to that of a general of the empire, and a favorite of the 280 A. D. THE WARS CF CATHARINE. Ch.23 Empress. The naval defeat of the Turks at Tschesmé, by Orloff and Elphinstone, was one of the most signal of that age, 1763 and greatly weakened the power of Turkey. The war was to not terminated until 1774, when the Turks were compelled to 1796. make peace, by the conditions of which Russia obtained a large accession of territory, a great sum of money, the free navigation of the Black Sea, and a passage through the Dardanelles. Renew ed hos The reign of Catharine was not signalized by any other tilities great political event affecting the interests of Europe, except with the continuation of the war with the Turks, which broke Turkey. out again in 1789, and was concluded in 1792, by the treaty of Jassy. In this war Prince Potemkin, the favorite and prime minister of Catharine, greatly distinguished himself; as also did General Suwarrow, afterwards noted for his Polish campaigns. By the contest Russia lost two hundred thousand men, and the Turks three hundred and thirty thousand, besides expending two hundred and fifty millions of piastres. The most important political consequence was the aggrandizement of Russia, whose dominion was now established on the Black Sea. Death of Catharine. Catharine having acquired, either by war or intrigue, nearly half Poland, the Crimea, and a part of the frontiers of Turkey, then turned her arms against Persia. But she died before she could realize her dreams of conquest. At her death, which occurred in the year 1796, she was the most powerful sovereign that ever reigned in Russia. She was succeeded by her son, Paul I., and her remains were deposited by the side of her murdered husband. Catharine, though a woman of great energy and talent, was ruled by favorites; the most distinguished of whom were Prince Gregory Orloff and Prince Potemkin. The former was a man Potem of brutal manners and surprising audacity; the latter was more civilized, but, like Orloff, disgraced by every vice. His memory, however, is still cherished in Russia on account of his military successes. He received more honors and rewards kin. |