by his bigoted and tyrannical course in respect of his Moorish, Jewish, and Protestant subjects, he ruined the industries of the most flourishing of the provinces of Spain, and drove the Netherlands into a desperate revolt, which ended in the separation of the most valuable of those provinces from the Spanish crown.

As the most important matters of Philip's reign-namely, his war against the revolted Netherlands, and his attempt upon England with his "Invincible Armada " - belong more properly to the respective histories of England and the Netherlands, and will be treated of in connection with the affairs of those countries, we shall give here only a very little space to the history of the period.

Philip's War with France. Philip took up his father's quarrel with France. He was aided by the English, who were persuaded to this step by their queen, Mary Tudor, now the wife, it will be recalled, of Philip.

Fortune favored Philip. He defeated the French in a great battle before St. Quentin' (1557), an important town in the north of France, and then again at Gravelines (1558). The French king was forced to agree to the terms of a treaty (Peace of CateauCambrésis, 1559) so advantageous to Philip as to give the latter great distinction in the eyes of all Europe.

Philip's Crusade against the Moors. - Philip was by nature bigoted, intolerant, and despotic. It was easy for him to obey the

1 The monument built by Philip to commemorate the victory of St. Quentin is strikingly illustrative of his character. Before the battle, he vowed to erect to St. Lawrence the most splendid monastery the world had ever seen, if he would but give success to his arms. Philip kept his vow faithfully. A few years after the battle, he laid, near the city of Madrid, the foundation of the famous Escurial, a building which cost $15,000,000, and required a quarter of a century for its erection. The edifice was built in the form of a gridiron, from the circumstance that St. Lawrence suffered martyrdom by being broiled on such an instrument. Seventeen rows of stone buildings constitute the bars of the gridiron, and a projecting wing forms its handle, while the feet of the instrument (it is supposed to be inverted) are represented by the four corner towers. It is the Westminster of Spain: it holds the ashes of all the Spanish sovereigns from Charles V. onward.

DEFEAT OF THE TURKISH FLEET AT LEPANTO. 397

injunctions of his father regarding the treatment of heretics. Of his persecutions in the Netherlands we shall have something to say in another place. While laboring to uproot heresy in those parts of his dominions, he was also engaged in a crusade against the Moors, or Moriscoes, of the peninsula. It will be recalled that after the conquest of Granada these people were still allowed the free exercise of their religion. Philip conceived it to be his duty to impose upon them conditions that should thoroughly obliterate all traces of their ancient faith and manners. So he issued a decree that the Moors should no longer use their native tongue; and that they should give their children Christian names, and send them to Christian schools. A determined revolt followed. Philip repressed the uprising with terrible severity (1571). The fairest provinces of Spain were almost depopulated, and large districts relapsed into primeval wildness.

Defeat of the Turkish Fleet at Lepanto (1571). - Philip rendered at least one service to civilization. This was in helping to stay the progress of the Turks in the Mediterranean. They had captured the important island of Cyprus, and had assaulted the Hospitalers at Malta, which island had been saved from falling into the hands of the infidels only by the splendid conduct of the knights. All Christendom was becoming alarmed. Pope Pius V. called upon the princes of Europe to rally to the defense of the Church. A martial enthusiasm, somewhat like that which stirred Europe at the time of the Crusades, was kindled everywhere, especially in the countries of the South that lay exposed to the ravages of the Moslem fleets. An alliance was formed, embracing the Pope, the Venetians, and Philip II. An immense fleet was equipped, and put under the command of Don John of Austria, Philip's half-brother, a young general whose consummate ability had been recently displayed in the crusade against the Moors.

The Christian fleet met the Turkish squadron in the Gulf of Lepanto, on the western coast of Greece. The battle was unequalled by anything the Mediterranean had seen since the naval encounters of the Romans and Carthaginians in the First Punic War. More

than 600 ships and 200,000 men mingled in the struggle. The Ottoman fleet was almost totally destroyed. Thousands of Christian captives, who were found chained to the oars of the Turkish galleys, were liberated. All Christendom rejoiced as when Jerusalem was captured by the first crusaders. The Pope is said to have shed tears of joy, and embracing the messenger who brought him the news, exclaimed, — with reference, of course, to the name of the commander of the Christian fleet, "There was a man sent from God, and his name was JOHN !

The battle of Lepanto holds an important place in history, because it marks the turning-point of the long struggle between the Mohammedans and Christians, which had now been going on for nearly one thousand years. Though the Moslems had received many checks, there really was no time previous to this great victory when the Mohammedan power, represented first by the Arabs and afterwards by the Turks, did not hang like a threatening cloud along the southern or eastern border of Christendom. The victory of Lepanto disarmed the cloud of its terrors. The Ottoman Turks, though they afterwards made progress in some quarters, never recovered the prestige they lost in that disaster, and their authority and power thenceforward steadily declined.

Conquest of Portugal. When, in 1580, the throne of Portugal became vacant by the death of Don Henry the Cardinal, Philip laid claim to the kingdom, and made good his pretensions by an army sent into the country, under the command of the famous Duke of Alva.

The importance of this conquest consisted not so much in the extension of Spanish authority throughout the Peninsula, as in the bringing under Spanish control of the greater part of the colonial possessions of Portugal in South America, in Africa, and in the East Indies.

The Death of Philip: Later Events. In the year 1588 Philip made his memorable attempt with the so-called "Invincible Armada" upon England, at this time the stronghold of Protestantism.

s we shall see a little later, he failed utterly in the undertaking.

Ten years after this he died in the palace of the Escurial. With his death closed that splendid era of Spanish history which began with the magnificent discovery of the New World by Columbus. From this time forward the nation steadily declined in power, reputation, and influence. This was due very largely to the bigotry and tyranny of her rulers.

Thus, under the bigot Philip III. (1598-1621), a severe loss, and one from which they never recovered, was inflicted upon the manufactures and various other industries of Spain, by the expulsion of the Moors, or Moriscoes. More than half a million of the most intelligent, skillful, and industrious inhabitants of the Peninsula were driven into exile. The empty dwellings and neglected fields of once populous and garden-like provinces told how fatal a blow Spain had received from the hand of bigotry.

And then, in 1609, the Protestant Netherlands, whose revolt against the tyranny of Philip II. has been mentioned, virtually achieved their independence. In the secession of these provinces the Spanish crown lost, through misgovernment and religious persecution, her most valuable possessions, and she now sank rapidly to the position of a third or fourth rate power.

1 The loss of the Netherlands was followed in 1639 by the loss of Portugal. During the latter part of the seventeenth century Spain was involved in disastrous wars with France, and suffered a decline of 8,000,000 in her population. After the revolt of her American colonies, in the early part of the present century, and her cession to the United States of Florida (in 1819), Spain was almost shorn-she still held Cuba and a few other patches of territory scattered about the world—of those rich and magnificent colonial possessions which had been her pride in the time of her ascendency.

CHAPTER III.

THE TUDORS AND THE ENGLISH REFORMATION

(1485-1603).

I. INTRODUCTORY.

The Tudor Period.-The Tudor period in English history covers the sixteenth century, and overlaps a little the preceding and the following century. It was an eventful and stirring time for the English people. It witnessed among them great progress in art, science, and trade, and a literary outburst such as the world had not seen since the best days of Athens. But the great event of the period was the Reformation. It was under the sovereigns of this house that England was severed from the spiritual empire of Rome, and Protestantism firmly established in the island. To tell how these great results were effected will be our chief aim in the present chapter.

The English Reformation first a Revolt and then a Reform.The Reformation in England was, more distinctly than elsewhere, a double movement. First, England was separated violently from the ecclesiastical empire of Rome. All Papal and priestly authority was cast off, but without any essential change being made in creed or mode of worship. This was accomplished under Henry VIII.

Second, the English Church, thus rendered independent of Rome, gradually changed its creed and ritual. This was effected

1 The Tudor sovereigns were Henry VII. (1485-1509); Henry VIII. (15091547); Edward VI. (1547-1553); Mary (1553-1558); and Elizabeth (15581603).