Preface to Famous Men of Modern Times It should be carefully noted that this little volume is the fourth and last in a series written for the express purpose of creating a deeper interest in the study of history. These four volumes are entitled respectively, Famous Men of Greece, Famous Men of Rome, Famous Men of the Middle Ages, and Famous Men of Modern Times. The very titles of these books convey at once, both to the teacher and to the pupil, but the method of teaching history here pursued is by approaching it through the realm of biography, and it is not too much to say that, in this respect, the previous volumes have been eminently successful. There is something in life that makes its own personal appeal to life. The living man, be he soldier, sailor, statesman, or hero, forms a fixed and abiding center around which the pupil can gather the prominent events of the country to which the man belongs. The conquest of Granada, without the presence and interest of Ferdinand and Isabella, the discovery of America, without the story of Christopher Columbus, the splendid achievements of Galileo and Newton, apart from the thrilling incidents in the lives of the men who made them, or the mere record of the winning of Italian independence or of our own civil war, without some knowledge of Garibaldi and Lincoln. These will not long endure in the mind of the average pupil, but when coupled with the story of the sufferings and struggles, the sorrows and the joys of the men who were the living heart and soul of these movements, the narratives become infinitely more fascinating and take a deeper hold upon the mind, memory and heart of each individual student, and this holds true throughout the entire series. It has been forcibly pointed out in the preface to the earlier volumes of this series that the child almost unconsciously identifies himself with these great heroes of the past, finds himself engaging what he would do if placed in a like position and living their lives over again in his own. There can be no quicker method of gaining the pupil's attention and no sure way of holding it than that which is here attempted, and this is but another way of saying that there is not, and cannot be, any truer or better method of acquainting young people with the great facts of history than that which gives to them a knowledge of the men by whom the history has been made. The numerous and beautiful illustrations running through all these books will also be of real help in this respect. The study of history through biography is as natural as is the attainment of growth and strength through the use of proper and nourishing food. The one is the logical outcome of the other. To fill the thrill of life in history destroys all the dryness and tedium of the study, and is a valuable help to teacher and pupil alike. These books, following the recommendations of the foremost educators of our times, have been prepared with this end in view, and it is both hoped and believed that they will serve this useful purpose. Acknowledgements are due from the authors to the reverent W. F. Marquick, Doctor of Divinity, for valuable assistance in editing and revising the manuscript and in reading the Proves. End of Preface. Chapter 1 A famous men of modern times. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Harlan and A. B. Poland. Chapter 1 Lorenzo the Magnificent 1449-1492 The thousand years between the downfall of the Roman Empire and the discovery of America are called the Middle Ages, which means the ages between ancient and modern times. This was a very stormy period. In the early part the barbarians overran Europe and destroyed almost every sign of civilization. They were brought under some control through the efforts of the Church, and as time advanced there was progress in the arts of civilized life. Schools were established in monasteries and here and there, in large cities, but there was no general popular education as we consider it now. This is not so strange for there were no printed books. The printing press had not been invented. All books at that time were manuscripts.  They were written on parchment, which was sheepskin specially prepared so that it would take ink. Of course books written by hand were expensive, for it took a great deal of time to write them. Most of the people in Europe, therefore, lived and died without ever having a book in their hands. In only a few of the largest cities and monasteries was it possible to find a library containing as many as five hundred volumes. When at length the printing press was invented the desire for knowledge became widely spread. People felt that they must have books to read and to study. They saw the necessity for schools in which their children might be taught. Of all the countries in Europe none was more thoroughly awakened than Italy and among the places that were thus aroused to a desire for knowledge of all kinds, one of the first was the city of Florence. This early became the home of many learned men, and no city did more for the enlightenment of Europe than she. Here lived the famous family of the Medici. For several generations the Medici had been engaged in what was then almost the only commerce of the world. This was trade with India. Caravans of camels brought silks and shawls, spices and precious stones from the Far East to the shores of the Mediterranean. Ships transported them to Florence. The mountains of pack horses and mules carried them from Florence across the passes of the Alps to the cities of northern and western Europe. This traffic had made the Venetian very wealthy and not only wealthy but powerful. For three hundred years the family ruled the city and people of Florence. But it was not their wealth alone that gave them their power. Their political influence based on industrial conditions was great also. The city was, like ancient Athens, a state. It made its own laws and had the right to coin its own money. It made war or peace with foreign countries. The government of the state was Republican, but Florence was one of the strangest little republics that ever existed. It had this peculiar law that no man should hold the office of chief magistrate unless he belonged to one of the guilds, or arts, as they were called. These were about the same as our modern trade's unions. But the Florentines had even more such unions than we have. Not only were there unions of carpenters and masons and others who worked with their hands, the people who worked with their heads were also united. There were arts or unions of the bankers, the merchants, the doctors, and the lawyers. From the members of the arts the Florentines chose their officers. The government of the city was vested in the great Council of Nine. These nine consisted of seven who were head workers and two who were hand workers. This arrangement brought those who worked with their heads and those who worked with their hands very close together. It caused the lawyers and merchants and bankers to have a friendly feeling for the carpenters and masons and others who made their living by the sweat of their brows. And no man could long be ruler in Florence who did not love the working people. The Medici family were famed for doing good with their money among the people of Florence. And therefore one after another of them found it easy either to be made the standard bearer, as the President of the Republic was called, or to have men put into office who would carry out his wishes. In 1449, just about the time when Europe was preparing to enter upon a period of renewed activity, one of the Medici line was born who was named Lorenzo. He died in 1492, the very year in which Columbus discovered America. His grandfather, Cosimo de Medici, had given many fine buildings to Florence, among which was its famous cathedral. Lorenzo's father had also spent immense sums of money for the benefit of Florence. He had been really the ruler of the city for many years, although he very seldom held the office of standard bearer or had any official title. When he died the people of Florence desired that another of the Medici should manage the Republic, and therefore they invited Lorenzo to do for them as his father had done. He accepted their invitation and became their ruler. He proved to be much like the famous Athenian, Piscistratus, a tyrant who was not tyrannical. He ruled for the welfare of the people. He did not think that the first duty of a good ruler was to make his people soldiers. He saw that the best thing to be done for the Florentines was to enlighten them, to furnish them with books and schools. But where were the books to be procured? There were monasteries in various parts of Europe, in which were large numbers of books, and among these were the manuscripts of many works of the old Greeks and Romans. But the principal hiding place of manuscripts, especially those of Greek writers, was Constantinople, and it happened in a very strange way that the books of Constantinople were at that very time being brought to Western Europe. The inhabitants of Constantinople were Greeks. They read the writings of Homer and Plato and the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament in the original Greek. The Turks who had long been menacing the city cared nothing for Homer and Plato, and they hated the books of the New Testament. They thought that men needed no book but the Quran of Mohammed. Many of them believed that no one ought to read any other book. At length in 1453 Constantinople was actually taken by the Turks, and a great number of its people escaped and went forth to seek new and peaceful homes in Western Europe. Many went to Italy, and of these several found their way to Florence. Some of these men brought manuscripts with them, and they told their new Italian friends that others might be obtained in Constantinople. After this the Medici and men like them carried on for years a diligent search for books. They sent men to the monasteries of Italy, Germany, and England, and to Constantinople to purchase whatever ancient manuscripts they could find. One of these, who went to the old Eastern capital, brought back two hundred and thirty-eight, among which were the writings of Plato and Xenophon, who lived in Athens four hundred years before Christ. Lorenzo caused many of the old manuscripts to be copied, and what was better he had them printed. For just before Lorenzo's birth, Gutenberg had perfected his printing press, and three years after Lorenzo was born the first book printed in Florence had made its appearance. It was an edition of Virgil, the great Latin poet, and very likely Lorenzo used a copy of it when he studied Latin. He lived to see books wonderfully multiplied. By the time he was thirty years old Virgil and Horus, Homer and Xenophon could be printed so cheaply that they were bought for schoolboys. Like other merchant princes of the time, Lorenzo established a famous school in Florence. It was a Greek high school. So many learned men graduated from it and became celebrated teachers that the people said it was like the wooden horse at the Siege of Troy, out of which came so many Greek warriors fully armed for the fight. While Lorenzo was called the magnificent by the people of Florence and was apparently so generous towards them, yet Florence was not really enriched by him. He only made it grander and more famous by his administration, but he completed that subversion of the Florentine Republic for which his father and his grandfather had well prepared the way. Florence, although so splendid, was full of corruption, her rulers violating oaths, betraying trusts, and living only for pleasure. In the days of Lorenzo de Medici, her power has steadily declined. End of CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II. Christopher Columbus, 1435 to 1506. One day in the autumn of 1486, a stranger knocked at the gate of a convent called La Rabita, not far from the little Spanish seaport of Palos. He held by the hand a little boy. And when the monk who opened the door asked what was wanted, he answered, My child and I are tired and hungry. Will you give us a morsel of bread and let us have rest here a while? They were invited to enter, and food was set before them. During the meal, the stranger began to talk about the Western ocean and what must be on the other side of it. Most men, he said, think that beyond the Azores, there is nothing but a sea of darkness. But I believe that beyond those islands there is another enlarger land. The prior of the convent and the physician of Palos, who happened to be present, were greatly interested in what their visitor had to say, and asked him to tell them his name and something of his history. I am called Christopher Columbus, he said. I was born in Genoa, and there my boyhood was spent. I loved when a child to watch the sailors haul up the anchor and let loose the sails when a ship began her voyage. My play was to learn the names of the ropes and find out what each was for. My father sent me to the University of Pavia, and there I learned about the stars that guide the seaman on his way. I also learned to draw maps and charts. While drawing those maps, I used to wonder whether there was not some land beyond the Canaries and the Azores. At 15, I became a sailor. I went on voyages to England and Ireland to Greece and elsewhere. On one of my voyages, our ship was wrecked on the rocky coast of Portugal, but I got to land by the help of a plank. I stayed a while in Portugal, and there I married the daughter of a sea captain, who was the governor of Porto Santo, one of the Madeira Islands. I afterwards visited Porto Santo, and there I met many men whose lives were spent in sailing the sea. They told me some wonderful tales. One said that a Portuguese pilot named Martin Vincente had picked up at sea 1,200 miles west of Portugal a piece of strange wood that had been carved by the hand of man. My brother-in-law said that he had seen at Porto Santo great pieces of jointed canes, and that a friend had told him about two human bodies which had been washed up at floras, very broad-faced and not at all like Christians. All these things made me believe more firmly in the idea of a land to the westward, and at length I determined to find that land. But I was poor. I could not buy a ship nor pay a crew. I went to my native Genoa, where the masts in the harbor rise as close as the trees in a wood. I explained my plans to the rich merchants there and begged them to help me. But my countrymen were afraid to send any vessel of theirs beyond the Azores. They thought that west of those islands there was nothing but the sea of darkness. I went to Lisbon and asked the Portuguese king for help. Again, I was disappointed. But I was not discouraged. I then came to Spain, and at last the good queen Isabella heard my story. A council of learned men was called to consider my plan. They said it was wild and advised Her Majesty to give me no aid. Thus I am again disappointed. The little money that I had is spent, and I am a beggar. It seems as if the world is against me, yet I am sure that there is land beyond the sea. The prior, the physician and the monks who had gathered about Columbus were much interested. Father Perez, one of the monks, had been confessor to Queen Isabella, and he wrote a letter to her begging that she would see Columbus again. She consented, and Columbus went from the convent to the palace to see her. The queen again refused his request, and Columbus set out for France, hoping that the king of that country might help him. But one of the officers of Isabella's court persuaded her to change her mind, and a messenger was sent to bring Columbus back into the royal presence. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were in camp at Santa Fe near Grenada, which they had but lately captured from the floors. And there they signed an agreement to supply Columbus with two ships and to pay the cruise. It was easy for the sovereigns to promise cruise and to pay them, but it was very hard to find men who were willing to sail on such a voyage. Even the criminals who were promised pardon if they would go refused to sail into the sea of darkness seemed certain death to them. At last, however, all difficulties were overcome. Two wealthy gentlemen added a third ship to the two supplied by the king and queen, and the wonderful voyage began. The Santa Maria, with a crew of fifty men, was commanded by Columbus himself. The pinta, with thirty men, was in charge of Martin Pinzon, and the Nina, or baby, with twenty-four men, was commanded by Martin's brother, Vincent Pinzon. At eight o'clock in the morning of August 3rd, 1492, the sails were hoisted, and the little expedition left the harbor of Palos. On the third day out, the pinta lost her rudder. Fortunately, they were not far from the Canary Islands. They therefore steered for Tenerife, where they had the vessel repaired. When they had sailed about six weeks, they were astonished to find that the magnetic needle varied from its usual direction. Soon after observing this, they reached a part of the ocean where a great field of seaweed lay all around them. This was what is called the Sargasso Sea, and the ships of Columbus were the first that ever sailed across it. They observed another strange thing. The wind in this part of the ocean blew steadily, night and day, to the westward. It was the northeast trade wind, which was unknown to sailors along the coast and in the inland seas. They had excellent weather, but the men began to be fearful lest they could never beat back against the trade wind, and it was hard to keep them in good spirits. Happily, soon afterward, they saw some birds, and that made them sure that land was not far off. Then the pinta fished up a fragment of sugarcane and a log of wood, and the Nina sighted a green branch covered with dog-rose flowers. At ten o'clock one night Columbus saw a light ahead, and the next morning they landed on one of the Bahama Islands. Which island this was, we are not quite sure, but it was probably the one which the natives called Guanahane. Columbus named it San Salvador. When Columbus stepped from his boat, he carried with him the Royal Banner of Spain. Kneeling upon the shore with his companions, he kissed the ground, gave thanks to God, and took possession of the land in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. The expedition afterwards discovered the islands of Cuba, Haiti, and the others of the West India group. On the shore of Haiti, the Santa Maria went aground and became a wreck. With the two remaining vessels, Columbus soon afterwards set sail for Spain, and on the 15th of March, 1493, he dropped anchor in the port of Palos. Ferdinand and Isabella were then at Barcelona, and they received him with great honor. He showed them curious plants and gaily colored parrots, and more interesting than these, nine natives whom he had brought from the newly discovered islands. There was now no doubt that Columbus was right, and that the sea of darkness beyond the Azores was only a dream. It was determined that Columbus should make another expedition. In six months, 17 vessels and 1500 men were ready to sail, and the second great voyage was begun. It was on this voyage that Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and several smaller islands were discovered. Most of the 1500 men, however, went with Columbus not in the hope of discovering new lands, but for the purpose of colonizing the island of Haiti. Columbus had learned on his first voyage that on that island there were deposits of gold, so now a mining town was founded in the gold region of Haiti, and the work of digging was begun. But the Spaniards were not fond of work. They therefore made slaves of the natives and forced them to dig in the mines, and a large quantity of gold was secured. Some of the greedy colonists thought of another and easier way of making money. They captured a number of the natives and sent them to Spain to be sold as slaves, and strange to say, Columbus permitted this. When Queen Isabella heard of it, she was very angry with Columbus and asked him who had given him the right to make slaves of her subjects. She commanded that every one of the Indians should be made free and sent home. Disenslaving of the Indians was the beginning of the downfall of Columbus. Isabella never afterwards felt toward him as she had before. However, when he returned to Spain, he related a pitiful tale about the sufferings of the colonists in Haiti, and the Queen furnished him with supplies for them and provided a fleet of six vessels with which he set sail on May 30th, 1498. On this third voyage, a new land was discovered. One day, three hilltops were seen rising out of the sea, and soon the ships approached a large island. Columbus called it, from its three peaks, Trinidad, and the island is still known by that name. From Trinidad they sailed to the southwest until they approached another shore. Columbus had now discovered the southern Grand Division of the New World, but he did not know this. He supposed that the land was only another island. He was anxious to get back to the colony on the island of Haiti, and so sailing now to the northward, the ships in due time reached their harbor. In Haiti there were men plotting against Columbus. Some of the colonists who had not found so much gold as they had hoped for returned to Spain and complained to the king that Columbus was managing the colony badly. Ferdinand and Isabella partly believed what they said. As Columbus had done one wrong thing when he made slaves of the Indians, the king and queen thought he might do wrong in other things. Accordingly they sent to Haiti a man named Bobadilia to take charge of the colony, and Bobadilia on his arrival accused Columbus of cruelty and injustice, and sent him to Spain in chains. The captain of the vessel in which he sailed wished to remove these fetters, but Columbus would not allow him to do so. He wore them to the end of the voyage and kept them as relics ever afterwards. As soon as the vessel reached Spain, Columbus wrote a letter to the king and queen, telling them what he had done and what had been done to him. When Isabella read it, she is said to have shed tears. His fetters were at once removed, and Ferdinand and Isabella refused to listen to the charges which Bobadilia had made against him. Columbus never so much as imagined that he had discovered a new continent. He supposed that Cuba, Jamaica, and the other islands which he visited were some of what he called the Indies, or islands near India, for a long time everyone else supposed so too. And hence it is that Cuba and the neighboring islands have always been called the West Indies. About this time the pope divided between Spain and Portugal all the newly discovered lands and all that might afterwards be discovered. The dividing line was a meridian passing 300 leagues west of the Azores. Spain's share was all that lay west of this meridian and Portugal's all that lay east of it. Spain was jealous of Portugal and anxious to secure a part of that kingdom's share. Columbus suggested a way to do this. He assured Ferdinand and Isabella that by sailing still farther to the westward, beyond the West Indies, it would be possible to reach some of the islands which might be claimed by Portugal. And of course, he was correct in this view. He asked the sovereigns for a fleet with which to make the attempt, and in 1502, with four ships and 150 men, he set sail from Cadiz. On the voyage he landed at Jamaica and other islands. But although he was absent for more than two years, he accomplished nothing of importance. He returned to Spain in 1504 and died two years later. His body was buried at Valladolid, but was afterwards carried across the ocean and interred in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo on the island of Haiti. When that island was ceded by the Spaniards to France, the remains of the great navigator were removed to Havana, and there they rested until after the war between the United States and Spain when they were taken back to Spain. End of Chapter 2, Recording by Rhonda Federman. Chapter 3. A Famous Men of Modern Times. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Herand and A.B. Poland. Chapter 3. Ferdinand of Aragon. 1452-1516. Ferdinand of Aragon was the son of John II, king of the Spanish provinces of Navarre and Aragon. For centuries before Ferdinand's time, Spain had been divided into a number of petty kingdoms. Some of them were in the hands of the Christians and the rest belonged to the Moors, whose ancestors were partly Arabs and partly people of North Africa. The Moors were Mohammedans, about 700 years before the time of Ferdinand they had crossed the Mediterranean Sea and invaded Spain, capturing nearly the whole of that country with the exception of the provinces, which lay in the extreme north. For a long time, therefore, Spain was a Mohammedan country, but the Spanish Christians became more numerous and more powerful, and during the time of the Crusades they were almost continually at war with their Moorish neighbors. At the time that Ferdinand was born, they had regained all Spain except the one kingdom of Granada. In Granada several thousand Moors still lived. They irrigated the land and cultivated rice. They planted mulberry trees and were famed for their production of silk. They even grew sugar cane and were the first to make Europeans acquainted with sugar. The beautiful city of Granada was their capital and great stronghold at the time when Ferdinand became king, and even today travelers go by thousand to see the remains of its splendid palaces. Ferdinand married Isabella, who was the queen of Castile, so that under these two sovereigns three of the Christian kingdoms of Spain, Aragon, Navarre and Castile were united. It seemed to them, however, a disgraced Christianity as well as an injury to Spain, that there should be a Mohammedan kingdom in their country. They therefore determined to add Granada to their domains and a bitter war against the Moors was begun. General Gonzalvo, a famous soldier whom the Spaniards still delight to call the great captain, was put in command of the Spanish army. Granada was invaded. Sallies were made by the Moors and many single combats were fought between their champions and the Christian knights. But no great battle was fought and the war continued for months. At one time the Spanish camp of tents took fire by accident and was destroyed. A permanent town with houses of stone was then built by Ferdinand for his army. The town still stands and is called Santa Fe. When the Moorish king, who was named Boabdil, heard that King Ferdinand had threatened to take Granada, he laughed and scorned. Nevertheless he had once made ready to defend his city. The war lasted more than ten years. The Moors defended themselves bravely but the Spaniards devastated the fruitful lands of their country, totally destroyed twenty-four of their principal towns and then besieged the city of Granada itself. The Moors held out bravely for almost a year, then being on the verge of starvation they surrendered Granada. It was agreed that Boabdil should reign over a small territory and should do homage to Ferdinand for it. He soon grew tired of his little kingdom, however, and crossed the Mediterranean to Africa, where not long afterwards he perished in battle. He was the last of the Moorish kings of Spain. The year 1492 proved to be a memorable one for Ferdinand and Isabella and for the country which they governed. It began with the conquest of Granada and it ended in seeing Spain's condition wonderfully improved in almost every particular. For two hundred years the Turks had been the terror of Christendom. Christians who traded with India were obliged to sail across the Mediterranean Sea and to pass through lands that belonged to the Turks to reach that country. They had also to bring back through those lands and across the Mediterranean whatever goods they bought in India. Their ships and cargoes were often captured by Turkish pirates and the owners and crews were made slaves. Thousands of such Christian slaves were chained to the rowing benches of the Turkish galleys and were cruelly whipped if they did not obey their masters. The people of those times wished to find a way by which to reach India without encountering these difficulties and dangers. More than once did the different nations of Europe join together to make war against the Turks. Ferdinand himself, after taking Granada from the Moors, sent a fleet across the Mediterranean and captured Algiers, the great stronghold of the Turkish pirates. Many Italians, Spanish and Portuguese Christians who had been slaves for years came home, most of them sick and all of them poor. You can imagine how the sight of them, when they landed, made the people wish for some safer way to India. When therefore Columbus offered to find one, Ferdinand and Isabella supplied him with money and ships and men. He did not, indeed, find a new way to India but he thought he had done so and so did the king and queen. The people of Spain and of Europe generally rejoiced at the thought that trade with India could, in future, be carried on without so great a loss of life and treasure. While Columbus failed in this one important point, his discoveries were of great value to Spain for they gave her immense possessions in the new world and added largely to her wealth and power. Ferdinand was at first rather cold toward Columbus. He did not have much faith either in the great discoverer or in his plans. The real credit of Spain's assistance belongs far more to Queen Isabella than to King Ferdinand. But by consolidating and strengthening his dominions, Ferdinand lifted Spain into a prominent position among the European nations and his influence was felt for many years after his death which occurred in 1516. End of Chapter 3 One day in the year 1497, King Manuel of Portugal was at work in his study. It was five years since Columbus had brought the news to Ferdinand of Aragon that a way to the Indies had been discovered by sailing westward. For Columbus, as we have learned, suppose that the islands on which he had landed were some of the East India Islands. Manuel was busy planning an expedition which he hoped might discover a passage to the Indies by sailing eastward. A nobleman entered the room where he was sitting. Vasco de Gama said the King when he saw him, I make you captain of my expedition. Take any one of the ships you please and let your brother command another. If it please God, you will discover India. Three ships, not larger than the schooners which sail up and down our rivers, were lying at anchor in the harbor of Lisbon. They were named after three archangels, Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. They were laden with everything which the King and Vasco thought might be useful on a voyage of discovery and among the men who were to sail in them were carpenters, blacksmiths, rope makers, and other such skilled workmen as were likely to be of service. When the vessels were ready to start a solemn service was held in the great cathedral of Lisbon. All who were going on the expedition were there. The King and Queen were also present and when the bishop had pronounced the blessing the King presented Vasco de Gama the royal standard. Let it fly, he said, at the mast head of your ship. From the cathedral Vasco and his men marched to the harbor. The ships were decorated with flags and the King's standard was run up at the mast head of the one which Vasco was to command. Guns were fired, the anchors were heaved, the sails were loosed, and the little fleet floated down to the mouth of the river. There in the port of Bellum they waited three days for a fair wind and then the voyage began. A Portuguese writer said, How many tears were shed when they were sailing away that the shore may well be named the shore of tears? And Camões, the great poet of Portugal, wrote, unaccounted as the grains of golden sand, the tears of thousands fell on Bellum's strand. The ships were so long sailing down the coast of Africa that the sailors became discouraged. They insisted that the land must extend entirely across the sea and that it had no end. Vasco Degaman knew that it had an end for another great navigator named Bartholomew Diaz had already found the end and called it the Cape of Storms because of the very bad weather he had encountered there. Near this Cape Vasco also met with storms and his men wished to turn back. But like Columbus Vasco was determined to go on. Some of the men formed a conspiracy to kill him and he was obliged to put the mutineers in irons. At length they doubled the Cape, sailed to the northeastward and left the storms behind them. The ships had been greatly damaged by the winds and waves. They were leaking badly and the sailors had to work at the pumps night and day. Weiried and disheartened, they again requested that the voyage might be given up and that they might be allowed to return to their homes. Vasco saw that the ships must be repaired and besides this all were in need of water. He therefore steered toward the land and kept a sharp lookout for a safe harbor. If you look at the map of Africa you will see that part of the southeast coast is called Natal. This is the Portuguese name for Christmas Day. Vasco named this part of the coast Natal because he sailed past it on that day. Father on, the voyagers were delighted to see the mouth of a river. Steering into it and sailing some distance up the stream they found a place where they could land. There they stayed some time and repaired their ships. One, however, was so battered and broken that she could not be made sea-worthy. They therefore took her to pieces and used the wood to repair the other two. Vasco named this stream the River of Mercy. One day some of the natives came to visit them. The sailors offered them slices of bread with marmalade but their visitors did not taste a morsel until they saw the Portuguese eating. When they had once tasted it seemed as though they would never have enough. Dagamas showed them a looking-glass a thing they had never seen before. They were greatly amused and laughed loudly when they saw their faces reflected in it. Sailing from the River of Mercy Vasco steered northward keeping always in sight of land. After some days he saw a ship at anchor and at once sent a boat to find out where he was. But the native sailors were afraid and jumping into a canoe paddled away as fast as they could. The Portuguese boat soon overtook them and then all but one of the natives into the sea and swam to shore. The one remaining in the canoe could not swim and so the Portuguese took him on board one of their ships. He proved to be a moor and as he was able to act as an interpreter he became very useful to them. Not long after this another vessel was seen. She was under full sail but Vasco's ship soon came up with her. Two Negroes on board the strange vessel spoke a language that some of the Negroes on the ships of the Portuguese understood and from them they learned that she was on her way to a harbor of India called Cambay. This was good news to Degama and they followed her into an African harbor called Mozambique. It was now nearly a year since they had sailed from Lisbon and all were delighted to enter a port where they could see houses and people. Soon after they came to anchor the sheik or governor of the city of Mozambique paid them a visit. He came upon two canoes lashed together poles and planks being placed upon them to make a floor above which was stretched a large piece of matting. Under the matting sat the sheik and ten companions. The sheik wore a jacket of velvet a blue cloth embroidered with threads of gold was wrapped around his body and a silken sash was tied around his waist.  When he reached the ships trumpets were sounded and Vasco and his officers greeted him with the heartiest welcome. The moor interpreted everything that they said or that the Portuguese said to them. The sheik asked the Portuguese of what merchandise they were in search. Thereupon they showed him some pepper, cinnamon and ginger. He then promised to send pilots who would steer their vessels to India and after he left the ships two men came on board who said they had been sent for that purpose. Before the Portuguese were ready to resume their voyage the sheik invited Vasco to dine with him and advised that all the sick men should be sent on shore. Vasco learned from his moor that this was a trick to get them into the sheik's power and so he declined the invitation. A boat was sent to get fresh water and one of the sheik's pilots went to show the Portuguese where the spring was. He said that midnight was the only time at which they could row to the spring because of the tide. But from midnight until morning he kept them rowing about from place to place and no water was found. Seeing at length that the Portuguese were growing angry he jumped overboard and swam a long distance underwater not rising till he was far away from the boat. In this way he escaped. Vasco now sailed away but he put the other pilot in irons. He could not trust him for the moor had found out that the sheik had ordered both the pilots to steer the ships upon the shoals and wreck them. The next harbor Vasco reached was Mombasa. The sheik of Mozambique had sent word to the king who was a friend of his and two ships would soon arrive at Mombasa whose captains were great robbers that they meant to bring a large fleet and take possession of Mombasa and Mozambique and that the wisest thing to do was to make prisoners of the strangers and put them to death. As soon as the king of Mombasa learned that the two ships had actually arrived outside the harbor he sent a kind message to Vasco inviting him to land and make a treaty. He sent two pilots to take the vessels into harbor because there were dangerous shoals at its entrance. He also sent a large boat loaded with sheep, sugar cane, citrons, lemons, and oranges as a present. The sick men were delighted with the fruit. Vasco sent two men on shore to buy some other things that were needed but the king said they might have whatever they wished without paying. A guide was given to them who took them all over the city to a part where he said Christians lived. The people there pretended to be Christians but were not. They treated the Portuguese kindly and begged them to stop all night at their houses. This kindness was only pretended. The truth was that the king had given orders to the pilots to run Vasco's vessels on the shoals of the harbor and they tried to do it. Vasco's ship however did not obey the helm and they were turning to enter the harbor but it went so close to the shoal that the officer in command ordered the sailors to let go the anchor and haul down the sails. In a moment this was done and the other ship did the same. The two pilots, thinking their plans were discovered, jumped into the water and swam to a boat and escaped. Vasco determined to leave these treacherous people at once but his anchor had become fixed on the rocks of the shoal but the crew could not raise it. They labored at this all night and the cable parting in the morning they had to leave the anchor and sail away without it. The next port that they reached was Melinda. Here they were treated with real kindness for a soothsayer whom the king trusted told him that the Portuguese would someday be lords of India and that he had better make a treaty with them. The king therefore invited Vasco and his brother to land and settle upon the terms of a treaty. The Portuguese, however, were just trustful. They proposed that the king and they should have their talk sitting in boats near the shore and to this the king agreed. Vasco and his brother dressed themselves in their handsomest suits and went in their boats seated on chairs that were covered with crimson velvet. Each of the boats carried two small guns which were fired as a salute and then the crews rode toward the shore. The king now came on board one of the boats and sat on a seat prepared for him. He said that he wished to be always friendly with the king of Portugal. Vasco Dugama and his brother knelt to kiss the king's hand and he made them rise. Then the trumpets sounded and the ships fired all their guns. Vasco presented to the king a splendid sword in a case of gold saying, Sire, we give you this sword in the name of our king and promise to maintain peace and friendship with you forever. The king answered, I promise and swear by my religion to keep peace and friendship forever with my new brother, the king of Portugal. Thousands of the king's people were gathered on the shore and witnessed all this. After the treaty had been made Vasco wished at once to sail to India but he had to cross the great Indian Ocean and favorable winds would not blow until August and it was now only May. So for three months the Portuguese remained at Melinda. Just before they sailed Vasco erected on a hill near the city a white marble column on which was inscribed the name of King Manuel. As a parting gift the king of Melinda sent to the Portuguese a large boatload of rice, butter, sugar, coconuts, sheep, fowls, and vegetables. Sailing eastward now for about twenty days Vasco at length cited land. It was the shore of Calicut, a city in India. The vessels were soon anchored in the harbor. Thus the great sea route to the land of silks and spices had been discovered. A factory or trading house was established at Calicut and for the next hundred years little Portugal was the sovereign of the eastern seas and the greatest commercial nation of Europe. Degama died in 1524. The Portuguese honour him as we honour Columbus and Camoans made him the hero of his Lusiad the greatest poem in the Portuguese language. End of chapter 4 Recording by Rhonda Thetterman Chapter 5 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by MCY Famous Men of Modern Times by John Hyde Heron and A. B. Poland Chapter 5 Chevalier Bayard Chevalier Bayard 1476 to 1524 One of the greatest heroes of France in the 16th century was the Chevalier Bayard or as we may translate his title Bayard the Knight. His real name was Pierre Dutouet and he came of a famous family of warriors who had done excellent service for their country. He was born in the year 1476 at Bayard Castle near the town of Grenoble in France and he was from the family state that he took the name of Bayard. He is often called the Knight without fear and without reproach. He was so brave that he never feared a foe so good that no one ever reproated him for doing wrong. His father and grandfather were warriors and no other life than that of a soldier was thought of for young Pierre. The first step in the education of a Knight was to become a page. When fourteen years old Pierre began his military training as a page to a famous warrior of that time Duke Charles of Savoy. Mounted upon a pony and dressed in a suit of silk and velvet he was a handsome little fellow but better than that he was courteous and obliging. The page scared the messages from the Duke and Duchess to their friends and Pierre was such a faithful messenger that he became a general favorite. It had not been a year at the Ducal Palace when the Duke had to make a visit to his sovereign King Charles VIII of France. He thought that he could do no better service to the king than to offer him his bright little page. The king was charmed with him and for three years Pierre was paged to the king. He was then promoted to the rank of gentleman. He was only seventeen years old but it was not long before he became famous and everybody at the court was speaking in his praise. It was the fashion in those days for brave men to show their skill as soldiers by fighting with one another in tournaments or sham fights. A lady, chosen for the occasion and called the Queen of Beauty presented prizes to the victors. The knights who wished to fight hung their shields on the balls of trees near the tournament grounds as a challenge. Whoever wished to accept the challenge struck the hanging shield with his lance or sword. A tournament was to be held in honor of King Charles and the ladies of his court and Sir Claude Vaudre, who was a champion of France, hung up his shield. Among those who struck it was Young Pierre and when the tournament was held he won the prize. He had vanquished Sir Claude. Not long after this he held a tournament himself and won the challenger. Forty-eight warriors struck the shield that he hung up and one by one they were defeated by him in the tournament. But it was real war for which the young soldier longed and very soon he came. The French king invaded Italy and the Italian states formed a league against him. In a battle which was fought although the Italians were more than five times as numerous as the French King Charles won the day. The champion of the fight was Bayard. Two horses were killed under him. His sword was hacked and his coat of mail was battered. But in spite of all he captured the royal standard of Naples. He was brought before the sovereign holding his trophy in his hand and then and there on the battlefield the king made him a knight. Charles soon afterwards died but under the new king Louis VII the French again fought in Italy. Marching across the Alps they captured the province of Milan and held it but the city of Milan was won back from them by the Italian princes Forza. 300 of his Forza's horsemen were one day in camp near the city and Bayard with only 50 comrades made an assault on them. The fight was wild but the length the Italians fled and galloped swiftly through the gates into Milan. Bayard, supposing that his comrades were closed behind him dashed after the flying Italians into the great square of the city. A fierce attack was now made on him while he on his part slashed right and left with his battle axe killing or wounding many of his assailants. A length however he was overpowered and taken prisoner. The din of this conflict was heard by Forza and he ordered the night to be brought before him. When Forza had heard his story he said Lord Bayard, I set you free. I ask no ransom. I will grant whatever favour you ask. Prince replied Bayard, I thank you. I ask but my horse and my armour. Then, beating his general foal adieu, the night rolled out of the city and soon reached the camp of his friends. Some time after this there was war between France and Spain. Both claimed certain parts of Italy and so the fighting was done on the Italian soil. Once the French and Spanish were on opposite sides of the river there was a bridge between them which the French held and could easily defend. The Spanish commander knew of a fort some distance down the stream. He proposed to draw the French away from the bridge so that his men might capture it. Accordingly, taking a body of troops he went to the fort as if he were intending to cross it. The French, on seeing him move, abandoned their posts at the bridge and marched toward the fort. The bridge, being thus left undefended, a body of 200 Spaniards suddenly appeared and marched directly toward it. Bayard saw that not a moment was to be lost. Putting on his armour he leaped to the saddle and spurring his horse was on the bridge before the Spaniards could reach it. The Spaniards quickly arrived but Bayard stood upon the defensive being his heavy broadsword, his lure and enemy with every blow. The Spaniards thought him some demon and checked their furious charge. Meanwhile, a band of French horsemen rushed like a whirlwind to the bridge and drove the Spaniards back to the farther side. After this exploit, men set off Bayard, single he has the might of an army. Once at the siege of a castle he was crossing the ramparts at the head of a storming party when he received his first wound. He was struck by a pike and the shy pointed head remained fixed in his thigh. He was taken to a house nearby where a mother and her daughters had shot themselves in in dread of their lives. The mother timidly opened the door and the wounded knight was taken in and therefore six long weeks he lay and was nursed as carefully as he had been a member of the family. And here on his part was the protection and one of his soldiers guarded the house until all danger was passed. On the day of Bayard's departure the mother begged him to accept a little steel box as a remembrance. It contained 2,500 dockets in gold which would be more than a thousand dollars of our money. Give five hundred for me said Bayard to the nuns whose convent near your house has been pillaged and as for the rest young ladies I beg you each to accept a thousand dockets from me for I owe you much for your care. War was still raging in North Italy. Francis I had become sovereign of France and like the king who reigned before him claimed part of Italy for his domain. The French army lay camped about the town of Marignano. The king was about to take his supper when suddenly the enemy marched in full force from the gates and assaulted his camp. The French were instantly in arms and the battle raged as long as there was light to see a foe. Both armies lay under arms all night and before the sun rose the fighting had begun again. The contest had been called the Battle of the Giants. The French performed marvelous exploits in one day but Bayard outshone all his comrades still. The evening after the victory King Francis knighted many brave men on the field of battle but a wonderful honor was chosen for Bayard. The king made proclamation that he himself will receive the rank of knight from his champion. Accordingly he knelt before the Chevalier and Bayard striking the shoulder of Francis with his sword said Rise, Sir Francis, and thus gave him knighthood. When in 1520 Francis I met Henry VIII of England near Calais upon the celebrated feud of the cloth of gold the knights of both countries vied with each other in what were perhaps the grandest tournaments ever held and Bayard again won the greatest renown. It had always been the knight's wish that he might die in battle and so he did. In 1524 he was fighting under the French commander Lord Boniver. Wants of supplies and sickness compelled Boniver to retreat. The Spaniards placed men in ambush along the road which the French had to take From one of these hidden foals the Chevalier received his death wound a comrade helped him from his horse and laid him under the shadow of a tree. Bayard felt that he was dying he charged his strength to turn his face toward the foe and then to care for his own safety. When the Spaniards reached the spot they found him still breathing. The Spanish general Lord Pescara showed him every care and the priest was brought to console him in his last moments. In this, loved by friends and admired by foes the knight without fear and without reproach ended his wonderful life. End of chapter 5 Chapter 6 Cardinal Wolsey Cardinal Wolsey, 1471 to 1530 Not far from London is an old palace called Hampton Court.  Looking toward the palace you would have seen a curious procession live in the doorway. You would have noticed one gentleman carrying a scarlet hat two very tall and handsome persons each carrying a silver cross another carrying a mace which is a wooden staff with a spiked metal ball for its head and still another carrying the great seal of England. After this you would have seen a gentleman who made a cry which you heard. Following these was the most important person of all a high officer of church and state mounted on a mule which had trappings of crimson velvet and guilty stirrups. This was my Lord's grace. His name was Thomas Wolsey and when people were told to make way for him he was setting out to pay his Sunday call upon the King of England. The red hat showed that he was a cardinal he was also the Pope's legate of the representative of the Pope in England. The mace and the great seal showed that he was Lord Chancellor of the Kingdom. Wolsey was second only to the sovereign in the Kingdom second only to the Pope in the church. He was not born to all this greatness. His father was a butcher in the town of Ipswich in England and in addition to his business as a butcher kept sheep and sold wool. He was a prosperous man neither rich nor poor. Thomas was born in the year 1471. He was sent to the grammar school in his native town and when only 11 was ready for college he graduated at 15 so young that at college he was called the boy bachelor. One thing that made him great was that he was very clever and very industrious. He learned his lessons so well and so quickly that all his teachers were astonished. He made up his mind after graduating to become a priest and was ordained. Then he was put in charge of a church called Leiminton. Sometime after he began preaching in Leiminton King Harry VII wished to marry a certain Spanish princess and had to obtain the consent of the emperor of Germany. He needed some very wise and trusty messenger to send to Europe to arrange with the emperor about his marriage. Bishop Fisher and other good friends of Wolsey told the king that no better man than Wolsey could be found in all England. So the young priest was invited to a conference with the king and Harry told Wolsey that he wished him to say to the emperor. After this Wolsey hastened to Dover and embarked upon a vessel which was waiting for him. Fair wind soon wafted Wolsey's ship across the English Channel and swift-posed horses brought him to the town where the emperor was staying. The king's message was delivered and everything was arranged as Harry had desired. Wolsey then sailed back to England. He took post-horses and reached the palace by night. Next morning the king saw him and asked why he had not yet started on his journey. He had not been away a whole week and the king could scarcely believe that he had gone to see the emperor and had returned. Harry was greatly pleased and put the swift and sure messenger into a much better position in the church than he already held. After the death of Harry VII his son Harry VIII found Wolsey a most useful person. The young king was fond of amusement but not at all fond of business. Wolsey liked to manage the business of the kingdom. Harry saw that Wolsey could do this and save him a great deal of trouble and for this reason the king made him Lord Chancellor of England. Wolsey was now for a time the real ruler of the kingdom. Wolsey thought it wise to live in a great deal of show. He saw that he pleased the people and the king. He built for his home the palace called Hampton Court. It was very handsome and the king greatly admired it. So after living in it about ten years Wolsey gave it to his majesty as a present and to this day it belonged to the sovereign of England. Twice Wolsey was sent by Harry VIII with messages to Charles V and when he traveled on state business he seemed as grand as the king himself. The parliament met in a large building called Westminster Hall. Wolsey used to go there from Hampton Court in great pomp, just as when he went to visit the king. Several times every year the king went to visit the great cardinal. The most expensive luxuries that could be bought were served at a table. There were music and dancing. The finest singers of England were employed and the king and the lords and ladies of the court often took part in the festivities. But there was something more serious in Wolsey's life than the love of luxury and merry-making. He wanted to find a college at Oxford as other great churchmen had done but the means were not at hand. He had received from the king the revenues of the Abbey of St. Albans and he applied the pope for permission to suppress a monastery at Oxford and apply its property to the new college. As the need for a new college was said to be most pressing and as the monastery was well adapted for a house of learning the pope consented. Still there was not money enough for Wolsey's purpose so he wrote to the pope that there were many monasteries in which the monks were so few that they could not perform their office properly. Then the pope gave to Wolsey increased powers to suppress monasteries wherever he might deem it necessary, provided the king and the founders did not object and the monks were demitted to other monasteries. Wolsey received the king's approval and began his work. He met with the strenuous objections from the people however and in some places there was a riot when Wolsey's agents attempted to expel the occupants of the monasteries. Nevertheless the means were secured and Christ's church college was founded as well as a school-wed Ipswich. Wolsey was a very ambitious man. He got for himself the highest positions in England and he hoped some time to be made pope. He was the favorite of the king for many years but Harry was a fickle man. If a man or woman did not do exactly as he wished his love soon changed to hate. Harry was married to Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and aunt of the emperor Charles V. Nevertheless he fell in love with another woman named Anne Boulaine and wished Wolsey to persuade the pope to annul the marriage with Catherine. Harry said he feared his marriage was illegal and Wolsey tried to get the pope to do what Harry and Wolsey wished. After considerable delay for the pope was then a prisoner, a cardinal was sent to form with Wolsey a court to try the case. Catherine was called before the court but as Wolsey was her subject she would not recognize the authority of the court and appeal to Rome. No decision was made for a long time and Harry began to consider his case hopeless when he learned that a shrewd young man named Cranmer had said that the king ought to get opinions about his marriage from the universities. That speech was the making of Cranmer. Harry followed his advice. No foreign university, however, would give an opinion but pressure was brought on the English universities and a favorable answer was rendered. The women of Oxford, however, stoned the king's messengers when they came for the formal documents. The answer of the professors was just what Harry wanted. They said he ought never to have married Catherine and that it was right for him to marry Anne. The king was overjoyed. Catherine was divorced and Anne became the queen. Harry thought Cranmer ought to be handsomely rewarded for helping him out of his difficulty and so he made him Archie Bishop of Canterbury. Anne Boleyn thought that Wolsey was to blame for the delay in having Harry's marriage annulled and she became the bitter enemy of the cardinal. Then the king recalled and was easily persuaded that Wolsey had broken one of the laws of the land in having directly sent to him the pope's bulls. There is a law in England that the pope's bulls shall not be published unless the king allows it. But Harry himself, as he well knew, had allowed the bulls sent to Wolsey to be published. So the great cardinal had done nothing wrong against the laws of the land. However, Harry took from him the honors he had previously bestowed upon him and ordered him to give up the great seal. Wolsey was soon afterwards accused of high treason and the king ordered that he should be tried. He was in a distant town at the time and a guard of twenty-five men was sent to take him to the Tower of London.  When he reached the Abbey of Leicester and the Abbot came out to meet him, Wolsey said to him, Father Abbot, I had come to leave my bones with you. And so indeed he did. He went at once to his bed and never left it. As he was talking to Sir William Kingston, the chief of the guard, a little while before he died, he said, If I had served God as diligently as I have served the king, he would not have given me over in my grey hairs. The next morning, as the Abbey clock was striking eight, he passed away. He was the greatest English statesman at the age of Henry VIII. After Wolsey's death, Henry married Anne Boleyn and he and the Parliament did just what Wolsey had foretold. They declared the Church of England independent of the Church of Rome. End of chapter 6 Chapter 7 of Famous Men of Modern Times This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by MCY Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A. B. Poland Chapter 7 Charles V of Germany Charles V of Germany 1500 to 1558 In 1500, eight years after the discovery of America by Columbus, a Spanish prince was born in the city of Ghent, in the Netherlands. He was named Charles. He was a grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella and from them, at the age of sixteen, he inherited the crown of Spain and the two Americas. From his father, he inherited the kingdom of Naples and the Netherlands. When he was about nineteen years old, his other grandfather, the Emperor of Germany, died. Three great kings were there reigning. France was the first in France, Henry VIII in England and the young King Charles and each of them wished to be chosen as the next emperor. Charles was elected and as he was the fifth German emperor who was so named, he assumed the title of Charles V. With Germanithos added to his already vast domains, he was now the ruler of an empire greater than that of Charles V, greater even than that of Imperial Rome. It is wonderful that Charles was able to attend to the affairs of countries separated from one another by such great distances. This was far more difficult then than it would be now because at that time there were neither railroads nor as team ships, neither telegraphs nor telephones. Carriage roads were few and most of them were bad. Yet Charles attended well to every part of his vast empire. Although he could not be present everywhere, his power was felt everywhere. In 1518, Mexico was discovered by his backyard. An expedition was at once sent out from Cuba to take possession of the country. Ten vessels carrying about seven hundred Spaniards sailed under the command of Hernando Cortés. The noise of the Spanish guns and cannon made the Mexicans think that the Spaniards were gods and could not be killed or even wounded. The people of Tlaxcala were enemies of Montezuma, King of Mexico. And Cortés persuaded them to join his forces, so the native and Spanish soldiers marched together to the city of Mexico. Montezuma thought at first that Cortés was an ancient god of the Mexicans who had once been their king and received him with great kindness. But Cortés made the king his prisoner and kept him closely guarded. Cortés also compelled him to give the Spaniards about half a million dollars in gold. The Mexicans were very angry with Montezuma for giving up so much treasure, and some of them revolted. Montezuma tried to pacify them with kind words, but the rebels rode stones at him and severely wounded and died soon afterwards as a result of his injuries. Cortés at length succeeded in taking possession of the city of Mexico, and the whole country thus became a part of the great empire of a child's filth. All enough child's neighbors was exceedling jealous of him. This was Francis I, King of France. He laid claim to the province of Navarre in Spain, and this brought on several wars between Francis and Charles, which lasted through many years. Francis was a brave enemy. Like Hannibal, he crossed the snow-covered Alps and invaded Italy, but Charles was more than a match for him. In one battle he took Francis' prisoner. In another he captured the Pope, and having taken possession of Rome, he kept his holiness a prisoner in the castle of Sant'Angelo, which belonged to the Pope himself. Francis was at last obliged to content himself with his own kingdom and to live Navarre in the hands of Charles. One of the greatest difficulties which Charles had to deal with was the religious quarrel, which was going on all over Germany. The German empire at that time consisted of a great many separate states, such as Saxony, Bavaria and others. The rulers of these states had different titles. Some were called Dukes, some Prince and some Kings. The worlds and people of the German states were divided into two great parties, the Roman Catholics and the Lutherans or Protestants. The quarrel between them began about the time that Charles was born, and lasted for more than a hundred years. It was ended only by the terrible battles of the Thirty Years' War, which came to a close in 1648. Charles was very anxious to put a stop to the evils which arose from this quarrel. It seemed to him that the simplest way of doing so was to get rid of the Protestants altogether. But so many of the princes and people of Germany had become Protestants that he found it impossible to do this, and he was obliged to allow northern Germany to remain, for the most part, Protestant. While Charles was thus trying to make the great religious parties of Germany live in peace, a new difficulty arose. So Liman, the sublime, then ruled the great empire of Turkey. And like Francis I, he was very anxious to get possession of his life of Charles's domain. In 1529 he raised an immense army and laid siege to Vienna, which was then the capital of the German empire. He was defeated and beaten back. This did not, however, altogether discourage him. But with a large army he marched into a South-eastern Germany. Charles then saw his opportunity to bring together the Catholic and Protestant Germans. He called upon them to unite for the defense of the empire against the common foe. All Germanate was responded, and one of the finest armies was assembled that Europe had ever seen. Charles did command in person and marched against the Turks. When so Liman learned of this, he retreated without a battle. He saw that the wisest thing for him to do was to leave Germany in possession of the Germans and to look more closely after his own affairs. The Turks still continued to be troublesome, however, both on land and at sea. So Liman employed a famous pirate named Barbarossa to attack all Christian merchant vessels that entered to sail upon the Mediterranean. Barbarossa and his master were determined that none but Turkish ships should sail at sea without paying toll to the Turks. The pirates captured the vessels of the Christians, took possessions of the cargoes, and made slaves of all whom they found on board. Charles made up his mind to put a stop to all this. He therefore attacked Tunis on the northern shore of Africa, which was Barbarossa's stronghold. Barbarossa was defeated, Tunis was captured, and thousands of Christian slaves were set free. This caused great rejoicing all over Europe, and Charles was regarded as a benefactor of Christian seafaring people. All these wars cost a great deal of money, and some of Charles's subjects made strong objections to paying the taxes levied upon them. The Dutch people in particular complained bitterly. The people of Ghent, the very town in which Charles was born, strongly refused to pay. They felt very much as our ancestors did, who fought in the Revolutionary War. They thought the people who paid taxes should have something to say about the way in which the taxes should be spent. Charles considered that it was not only the duty of the people to pay, but that it was his sole right to decide what should be done with the money. He therefore determined to punish the people of Ghent. He took away the charter, which gave the citizens the right to choose their own magistrates, and he appointed officers of his own choosing to manage their affairs. He also caused those persons who had advised the people not to pay to be treated as traitors and to be put to death. In an attempt to take our jeers in 1541, his fleet was wrecked and more than half his army perished. And although this was a favorite object with Charles, the project had to be abandoned. As he grew older, Charles found that it was quite impossible to manage his vast empires as he wished to do. The pirates of our jeers still went on robbing, and more than half of these people in Germany would be protestants in spite of all that he could say or do. He was greatly discouraged, and in 1554 he gave the Netherlands and a kingdom of Naples to his son Philip. He then called together the States General, our Congress of the Netherlands at Brussels. And with his right hand resting upon a crutch and his left upon the shoulder of the young Prince of Orange, he made a very solemn address. He said that his infirmities made it necessary for him to give up the cares of government. He then asked the States General to forgive whatever errors he had committed during his reign and to accept Philip as his successor. The whole assembly burst into tears and sobs, and Charles himself completely overcome, sank into a chair and wept like a child. Two years after this he resigned the crown of Spain, and after two years more gave up his position as Emperor of Germany. He caused the palace to be built near the monastery of Uster in Spain, and there he spent the last days of his life. The story is told that he amused himself with trying to make a number of clocks in different rooms of the palace to keep the same time. Finding that he could not do this, he is said to have remarked that it was no wonder he could not make all the people in his kingdom live and act as his desired. Although extremely ambitious and overbearing, he managed to maintain a strong hold on his people, and some of the events of his career exercised the powerful influence into history of Europe. During his days of retirement he was very fond of attending the religious services of the monastery, and of listening to the reports of messengers who came to tell him the news from all parts of his former domain. His strength rapidly failed, and he died in 1558. Chapter 8. Suleyman the Sublime. 1490 to 1566. Suleyman I. sometimes called the sublime was Sultan of Turkey when Charles V. was Emperor of Germany. He was born about the year 1490 and became Sultan at the age of 25. When his father, Salim I., lay upon his deathbed, he said to his son, Suleyman, my son I am passing away and you will soon be ruler of Turkey. During my reign I have tried to make my empire a strong military power. Promise me that you will carry on the work which I have begun. Try to make the Turkish nation respected and feared. Father, said Suleyman, I will do all that I can to make my country the equal of any in the world. We know of nothing of the Turks about the time of Louis the Ninth, the crusading king of France. Then a small body of the strange war-like people came from Central Asia and in about fifty years they had gained possession of all that part of Asia which we call Asia Minor. Only the narrow straight called the Bosphorus about one mile wide lay between them and the beautiful city of Constantinople, which was then the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. From the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus the Turks could see the palaces of the Christian city and the church of Santa Sophia, then the most magnificent church in Christendom. In 1453 when Gutenberg was printing his first Latin Bible the Turks attacked Constantinople with a powerful fleet. The Greeks had put a chain across the mouth of the harbor, but the Turks made a plank road five miles long, drew their war galleys over it and launched them under the very walls their cannon made a breach in the walls and through it the Turks entered and stormed the palace. The Greek Emperor, though fighting bravely fell and the Turks completely overpowered the Christians. At sunset the Sultan gave thanks for his victory. The church of Santa Sophia was at once turned into a mosque and so remains to the present day. By the capture of Constantinople the Turks gained their first foothold in Europe and for more than two hundred years afterward it was their constant effort to make themselves masters of the whole continent. With this idea in mind Suleyman invaded Serbia and besieged Belgrade, the capital. Belgrade was at that time one of the strongest fortifications in the world. It was also the great stronghold of the Christians of the east. Suleyman captured the city and annexed Serbia to the empire of Turkey. He next invaded Hungary and in 1526 a terrible battle was fought at Mohawk. Suleyman gained the victory. A great number of the Hungarian nobility perished and their king Louis II lost his life. A large part of the valley of the Danube was now at the mercy of Suleyman and portions of it continued to be Turkish territory for three centuries. After this battle some of the Hungarian nobles elected as king a man named John Zapolya. A prince who had a better right to the throne was Ferdinand, Duke of Austria who was the brother of Charles V. Zapolya could not drive Ferdinand's troops out of the kingdom. He asked Suleyman to help him. This Suleyman was glad to do because he saw that it might give him the opportunity to take possession of all Hungary. With a large army he marched into the country. He took from Ferdinand the fortified city of Buda and made it his own headquarters. Not long afterwards he appeared to give nearly two hundred thousand men before Vienna which was Ferdinand's capital. After trying several times to storm the city however he had to abandon the siege. But fighting continued until it was agreed that Zapolya should be king of one half of Hungary and of course he became a vassal to Suleyman. Some time later Suleyman compelled Ferdinand to pay tribute for the other half. Thus all Hungary became a province of the Turkish Empire to be for more than a hundred and fifty years. All of northern Africa was Muhammeden and from its shores it was easy to send out expeditions to attack the ships of Christian nations. Suleyman selected Tunis as the headquarters for his fleet. His great admiral Barbarossa was the terror of every Christian seaman. He forced the nations who carried on commerce on the Mediterranean to pay him tribute as if the sea belonged to the Turks and as if the ships of no other nation had the right to sail upon it. Charles V determined to capture Algiers and put a stop to the sufferings of the many thousand Christians whom the Turks kept in prison or slavery. With an army of over twenty thousand men he landed near Algiers and it looked as though he would certainly take the city. But the night before he intended to make the attack a storm arose, a torrent of rain fell. The soldiers had no tents and they were drenched. It blew bitterly cold and toward morning the Turks sallied forth from the gate of the city and making a sudden attack upon the Christians through them into confusion. Charles V himself mounted his horse and rallied the troops. But though they fought bravely they could not capture the city and after losing several hundred men they retreated to their ships and sailed back to Spain. Another of Suleyman's pirate captains was Dragoot. He attacked two villages not far from Naples and took thousand prisoners, men, women and children. Then he let the Christian people know that if they brought a sufficient sum of money they might ransom relatives or friends whom he had captured. He also told the Turks that they could buy his captive of slaves. Thus both by sea and by land the Turks under Suleyman were dreaded by the most powerful nations of Europe. But they were able to go no farther than Hungary except on the one occasion when they attacked Vienna. Being checked in Europe Suleyman turned his thoughts toward Asia and with a powerful army he invaded Persia. The Persians met him in battle but finally the Persian monarch had to purchase peace by payment of a large sum of money. Except for this Suleyman would certainly have taken possession of the whole country. Suleyman's promise to his father was well kept. He pushed the Empire of Turkey westward into the heart of Europe and eastward into the heart of Asia. He filled both continents with dismay. But the end was near. In 1566 a revolution broke out in Hungary and Suleyman at the head of a vast army went to Quellet. He was then a white-haired man of seventy-six but vigorous and active. He rode at the head of his troops on a favourite black horse which had carried him in many a campaign. He was cheerful and hopeful and as he went along he conversed with his officers. I must conquer the Hungarians this time so thoroughly said he that they will never revolt again. Then I will return home and hang up my sword for I am getting too old to bear the hardship of war. He crossed the river Drave and laid siege to the fortress of Saget which was defended by a small force of Hungarians. They gallantly resisted the attack of the Turks but at the end of four weeks were forced to surrender. The conqueror however did not live to enjoy his victory. He was then with apoplexy and died while the siege was going on. If Suleyman had devoted himself to the advancement of his own people instead of spending his life in fighting others he might have done a great deal of good for in the first years of his reign he made excellent laws. He tried to do justice to all and he severely punished any officer of his kingdom who oppressed the people. He was probably the greatest of all the sultans of Turkey. End of Chapter 8 Chapter 9 This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information not to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by MCY Chapter 9 Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake 1540 to 1596 Queen Elizabeth popularly known as Good Queen Bess ascended the throne of England in 1558. Her reign was both magnificent and successful and it added much to the greatness of the nation. It was during Elizabeth's reign that England first became a great naval power and among the men who helped to make her so none were more famous than Sir Francis Drake. There is some doubt about the date of Drake's birth. It is now generally believed that he was born in 1540 though some writers put the date at least five years earlier. The place of his birth was a little town of Tevi Stock in Devonshire. He seems to have had a great love for the sea even when but a child. His parents were too poor to help him with a good position and so he began his career at sea as a cabin boy. But he had the merit of pluck and he soon rose to the highest rank in the English Navy. In 1567 he went with his uncle Hawkins who was one of the noted sailors of that day on a slave trading voyage to Africa in the West Indies. The experiences he met with at that time were the rest of his life. Being driven out of their course by storms they were obliged to seek shelter in the harbor of San Juan de Lua a Spanish port on the coast of Mexico. There they were recieved with a show of kindness but were afterwards attacked by a superior force and only two vessels escaped. After this act of treachery Drake resolved to seize the voyage to plunder the Spaniards and thus to make Gu the loss which he and his uncle had sustained. In the years 1570 and 71 Drake made two other voyages to the West Indies for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the situation and strength of the Spanish settlements. In 1572 he sailed again with two ships one of 75 tons the other of 25. His plan was to capture the town of Numbre de Dios on the Istimus of Panama which was the port from which the Spaniards shipped to Spain the gold and silver taken from the mines of Peru. In the attempt to take this town Drake was severely wounded. He tried to conceal his hurt from his men and they pressed onwards into the town but just as they reached the marketplace where they hoped to find the treasure he fainted from loss of blood his men at once carried him to his ship and the Enterprise was abandoned. As soon as he was able to do so he began to sail back and forth along the coast he seized a large number of ships and took from them a great amount of wealth both in money and goods. He formed an alliance with a band of runaway slaves called Simarones and together they built a fort on a small island at the mouth of a river. There Drake and his men remained until February 3rd, 1573. On that day Drake set out with some Simarones as guides to cross the Istimus of Panama and gain his first view of the Pacific Ocean. Halfway across the Istimus they led him to a tall tree standing on a central hill among the topmost branches of this tree there was a platform on which 10 or 12 men might stand at ease. Drake climbed up to his platform and was delighted to find that from his lofty perch he could see both the Atlantic and the Pacific. Drake returned to England in the fall of 1573 carrying much treasure which he divided with the strictest fairness among his followers. His own share was large enough to enable him to purchase three ships. With these he sailed to Ireland and there as a volunteer under the Earl of Essex he did most excellent service. But Francis Drake is chiefly distinguished as the first Englishman who sailed round the world. In December 1577 with five little vessels about the size of those of Columbus he sailed out of the harbor of Plymouth. It took him seven months to reach Patagonia and there he remained for about nine weeks. Two of his ships had become so leaky as to be unfit for further service and he was compelled to abandon them. The crews and stores were taken on board the other vessels and the fleet started out to sail through Magillan Strait in order to reach the Pacific. It was sixty years since Magillan had passed through the Strait but Drake was the first English expedition to follow the great Portuguese navigator over this route. While the vessels were in the Strait one of those terrific storms arose from which the region of Cape Horn is still noted. One ship called the Marigold was never heard of again and the crew of the Elizabeth were so disheartened by the terrible weather that they put about and returned to England. Although Drake was left with but a single ship he would not give up the voyage. He made his way into the Pacific and sailed northward along the coasts of Chile and Peru. The Spaniards had already established colonies on the western shores of South America. San Diego had been founded nearly forty years before and Lima was already a town of considerable size. As Spain and England were not friendly toward each other it was thought perfectly right to capture Spanish vessels and to plunder Spanish towns and Queen Elizabeth had given Drake a commission signed with her own hand authorizing him to do this. After plundering a number of the Spanish settlements he pursued his voyage until he reached the western coast of North America. Finding that his ship was again in need of repairs he landed for that purpose at a point which has since been named Drake's Bay a little to the north of San Francisco Bay. From California he sailed across the Pacific and visited the Spice Islands and Java. Leaving Java he crossed the Indian Ocean and passed around the Cape of Good Hope into the Atlantic. Then, steering northward he made his way back to England reaching home two years and ten months after starting on the voyage. On his arrival a banquet was prepared on board the ship in which he had sailed around the world. Queen Elizabeth was one of the guests. In honor of his achievement she knighted him on the deck of a ship and it was in this way that he came to be called Sir Francis Drake. The little vessel had been so battered by the storms through which it had passed that it wasn't fit for further service but Elizabeth gave orders that it should be carefully preserved as a monument to its famous captain. One hundred years later it was found that the timbers were badly decayed. It was then broken up. One piece of the wood that was still sound was made into a chair for King Charles II who afterwards gave it to the city of Oxford where it can still be seen. A few years later Sir Francis rendered another valuable service to his native land. Philip of Spain equipped an enormous fleet for the purpose of invading England. Drake learned that the larger part of this fleet was in the harbor of Cadiz making final preparation for this voyage. He was an atlasman with thirty English warships for his command. He once sailed for Cadiz and one arriving he sent a fire ship among the Spanish vessels burned nearly a hundred of them and escaped from the harbor unharmed. He delayed the sailing of the Spanish fleet for nearly a year and when at length he approached the shores of England Drake did more perhaps than any other man to bring about its overthrow. The Spaniards had collected about 130 vessels of war and more than 50,000 men and to this array they gave the proud title of the Invincible Armada. 35,000 men were to land at the mouth of the river Thames and another large force was to land farther to the north. Then a third force threatened the west coast and this way England was to be attacked at three different points at the same time. The Spaniards thought the English would be bewildered and would surrender but all these great armament was not prepared without some news of it get into England and preparations were made to repel the foe. Troops were collected at Tilbury ready to attack the Spaniards in case they succeeded in landing. The Queen on Horseback reviewed them and made a sterile speech the merchants of London and other ports offered their ships to be used as ships of war the rich brought their treasures the poor volunteered in the army and navy thus the coast was well guarded and the number of vessels in the fleet was increased from 30 to 180 these carried about 16,000 men not half the number on board the enemy's fleet but they were sturdy English fighters Howard was Lord High Admiral and with him were Drake Frobisher and Hawkins the most famous English Marineers of the time one evening late in July 1588 Beacon lights blazed all along the coast of the English Channel telling the news that the Spanish fleet was coming next morning arranged in a crescent the Armada moved up the channel its line was seven miles long the English fleet sailed out from Plymouth its vessels were light while those of the Spaniards were heavy but more than this the English ships were finely managed and their guns were skillfully aimed while most of the shots of the Spaniards went over the heads of the English the Spaniards tried to come to close quarters but the English vessels were so steered that this could not be done day after day for a week the fighting continued the Spanish commander then led his fleet into the harbor of Calais on the French side of his channel he wished to get provisions and powder and shot he also wished to get some small vessels swift sailors with which he might match the light ships of his adversaries the English fleet followed but it would not be allowed by the French to attack the Spaniards in the harbor to force them out into the open sea the English turned eight of their oldest and poorest vessels into fire ships tar, rosin and pitch were placed upon them the masses and brigands were covered with pitch their guns were loaded and thus all ablaze they were sent midnight drifting into the harbor with wind and tide this fire fleet did its work it did not indeed fire any Spanish ship but it so alarmed the Spaniards that they sailed from the harbor into the open sea and that the English attacked them many of their ships were disabled and four thousand of their men were killed in one day's fighting next day the Spanish commanders held a council of war the question to be decided was whether to try to sail home through Howard's fleet around Scotland and avoid his guns it was determined to attempt the voyage around Scotland so the whole remaining Spanish fleet or perhaps 120 vessels steered toward the north on the coast of Scotland there are dangerous rocks and when they shattered Armada near the Orkney Islands violent storms arose which wrecked many of the ships thus nature finished what men had begun the ruin of the most powerful fleet that ever had sailed from the shores of Europe only 54 vessels and about 10,000 men succeeded in returning to Spain about 80 ships had been destroyed and thousands of men had perished 10 years of the destruction of their mother Sir Francis made one more voyage to the West Indies he still cherished the plan of seizing the town of Portobello on the east signals of Panama and thus securing the gold and silver brought there for shipment to Spain he was however again doomed to disappointment he was stricken with fever and died on board of his ship January 28th, 1596 his body was buried at sea Lord Macaulay wrote his lines in reference to his burial the waves became his winding sheet the waters were his tomb but for his fame the mighty sea has not sufficient room he left no children but his nephew was made a baronet in the reign of James II England will always remember with gratitude the services he rendered in the days of his struggle to become mistress of the sea and of Chapter 9 Chapter 10 of Famous Men of Modern Times this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Philippa Jevons Famous Men of Modern Times by John H. Haran and A. B. Poland Chapter 10 Sir Walter Raleigh 1552-1618 another famous Englishman who lived in the days of Queen Elizabeth was Sir Walter Raleigh he was a soldier and statesman a poet and historian but the most interesting fact about him is that he was the first Englishman who attempted to plant colonies in the region now known as the United States he was born in Devonshire England in 1552 at about the time that he was growing up great sympathy was felt in England for the Huguenots as the French Protestants were called and Raleigh enlisted as a volunteer in the Huguenot army he was in France at the time of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew in 1572 but we do not know how long he remained there in 1580 he went to Ireland as captain of a company of a hundred men to aid in putting down a rebellion there returning to England at the age of 30 he became one of Queen Elizabeth's courtiers he constantly sought to please her a story is told that one day when Elizabeth was out walking at Greenwich she came to a muddy place Raleigh was in attendance upon her and quickly took off his costly coat and spread it over the mud so that it formed a carpet for the Queen to walk on this gallant act is said to have gained him high favour from Elizabeth whether the story is true or not it is certain that for some years he was the greatest favourite at the court in Queen Elizabeth's reign the English began to take great interest in the new country of North America Raleigh and his half-brother Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained from Queen Elizabeth's permission to colonise any land in North America which was not already claimed by a Christian nation five ships were fitted out and sailed from England in 1583 under the command of Gilbert Raleigh was unable to go but he bore a large part of the expense of the expedition hardly had the voyage begun when one of the ships owing to sickness among the crew was obliged to return to England Gilbert with the other ships kept on his course across the Atlantic and at last reached Newfoundland where he went on shore and took possession of the island of Elizabeth Gilbert now sailed onward with the fleet near Cape Breton Island the largest vessel stuck in the mud and was broken to pieces by the force of the waves all but fourteen out of nearly a hundred men on board lost their lives Gilbert thought that now it would be impossible to carry out the colonisation plan so with his three remaining ships he started back to England a terrible storm came on but the vessels kept together for a time when last seen Gilbert was sitting in the stern of his ship reading a book he shouted to those on board the other ships we are as near to heaven by sea as by land during the night his ship disappeared and not one on board was saved but the other vessels succeeded in reaching England Raleigh was not discouraged by this failure he sent to America another expedition in due time his vessels reached the coast of what is now known as North Carolina everybody was charmed with the beauty of the country but after exploring the coast for some distance and taking possession of the region in the name of Elizabeth the expedition for some reason returned to England without making a settlement the description which the explorers gave of the country which they had visited interested Queen Elizabeth as she was called the Virgin Queen Raleigh suggested that she should give her name Virginia to the newly discovered territory she did this and the state of Virginia which formed part of the territory thus discovered obtained its name in that way Raleigh soon organized a third expedition which sailed in 1585 with about a hundred colonists seven vessels carried them the fleet was commanded by Sir Richard Grenville while the colonists were in charge of a noted soldier named Ralph Lane after a long voyage they reached Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina Grenville returned to England with the fleet while Lane was left on Roanoke Island to establish a settlement the colonists probably quarreled with the Indians their provisions failed and they could get none from the red men no ship from England came with supplies and the colonists were thoroughly discouraged the next year a fleet under command of Sir Francis Drake called there by chance and all the colonists returned home one of them named Thomas Harriet in an account of the colony spoke of a herb called by the natives Ipomoc and told how it was smoked by them in pipes this herb was tobacco Harriet and his companions had learned to like it and they carried quantity home with them this was the first Virginia tobacco imported into England some of it was given to Raleigh who smoked it in silver pipes Queen Elizabeth also learned the art and she made smoking fashionable among people of high rank in England in 1587 Raleigh sent out to Virginia a fourth expedition it consisted of three ships carrying 150 colonists under Captain White after landing his passengers White returned to England for supplies when he got back to America three years later he found that the colonists had disappeared and it was never learned what became of them thus failed Raleigh's last attempt to colonize Virginia so confident was he that the new world would be colonized that he wrote of Virginia I shall yet live to see it in English nation and this he did for he lived until 1618 and Jamestown had then been founded ten years in return for his services in quelling the Irish rebellion the Queen gave him a large grant of land in Ireland the most interesting fact about this Irish property is that Raleigh raised there the first potatoes grown in Europe you have read how Philip II of Spain attempted in 1588 to conquer England with his famous Armada and how that great fleet was destroyed there was in England a great hatred of the Spaniards and a great desire to injure them at that time Spain claimed most of the new world so far as it had been explored and her ships were all the time coming home laden with the products of her possessions and particularly with silver from her mines Raleigh fitted out privateers to capture such vessels and a large Spanish ship was taken she was the most valuable prize which up to that time had ever been brought into an English port the Queen herself had an interest in the expedition and was greatly pleased with her share of the plunder Raleigh had still a great desire to plant colonies and he now turned his attention to South America he placed a vessel in command of a certain captain Widen and sent him in 1594 to explore the region now known as Guyana Fabulous stories had been told of the amount of gold in this province it was said that the king when he was going to make an offering to his gods covered his body all over with gold dust and from this the Spaniards called him El Dorado that is the gilded man in 1595 Raleigh himself set sail with five ships for the land of the gilded king he entered the mouth of the Orinoco and sailed up the great river for a distance of about 400 miles but the river rose so high that navigation was imperiled and Raleigh therefore returned to the coast and soon afterwards sailed back to England war with Spain still continued and in 1597 an English expedition under Howard and Essex was fitted out to attack Cadiz a sea port on the Spanish coast Raleigh was in one of the ships and rendered important service the English destroyed or captured the ships of a large Spanish fleet in the harbour and the city itself was surrendered this exploit was one of the most brilliant ever achieved by the English navy after it the Spaniards never regained their power upon the sea all through the reign of Elisabeth Raleigh was highly esteemed by the queen and by the people up to the date of her death he was a member of parliament but in 1603 James I succeeded Elisabeth he disliked Raleigh and therefore stripped him of all his offices and accused him of entering into a plot against the king Raleigh was arrested and brought to trial one who was present wrote that when the trial began he would have gone a hundred miles to see him hanged but that before it closed he would have gone two hundred to save his life although nothing was proved against him Raleigh was condemned to death only when he stood on the scaffold was his sentence changed to imprisonment for life for thirteen years he was confined in the tower of London and there he wrote his great work The History of the World it is reported that the Prince of Wales often visited him in the tower and said no man but my father would keep such a bird in such a cage in 1616 Raleigh was released so that he might go on another expedition to the golden land of Guyana and capture Spanish merchant vessels but disease broke out among his crews and Raleigh himself was stricken down with fever before they reached the Orinoco his son was killed in a fight with the Spaniards and in 1618 the poor father returned to England broken hearted shortly after his arrival he was arrested and condemned to die the very next morning under the sentence of death which had been passed upon him fifteen years before even then his courage did not leave him on the scaffold he asked to see the axe this gives me no fear he said it is a sharp medicine to cure me of all diseases to someone who told him to lay his head toward the north he replied what matter how the head lies so the heart be right Raleigh's attempts at colonisation were the findings of the great movement which led to the establishment of the thirteen colonies and these colonies formed the basis for the United States of America End of chapter 10