by domestic dissensions. Soliman's eldest son, Mustapha, had been put to death in 1553 through the intrigues of his stepmother Roxalana, who wished to secure the succession for one of her own children; the jealousies of the two surviving princes, Selim and Bajazet, ended in the revolt of the latter, who was defeated and executed, 1561. An unsuccessful expedition against Malta, 1565, was followed next year by a campaign in Hungary, in which he headed his armies in person for the last time. He expired before the walls of Zigeth, the day before the capture of the place, at the age of seventy-two, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, SELIM II., 1566.

The empire now began to decline rapidly, the conquest of Cyprus being more than neutralized by the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Lepanto, 1571. Under AMURATH III., 1574, the turbulent janissaries revolted ten times; and on one occasion set fire to Constantinople, when 15,000 houses were destroyed, with the loss of 50,000,000 gold crowns.

PERSIA. During this century a dynasty was formed in Persia on the basis of religion. Sheikh Eidar, a descendant of Ali, having gained a number of adherents by a reputation for sanctity and the austerity of his life, assumed the title of Sophi, and declared himself commissioned by Heaven to work a religious reformation. He perished, however, in the attempt; but his son ISMAIL, protected by his disciples, was removed to the province of Ghilan, and strictly educated in his principles. In 1501, at the head of a numerous body of partisans, he revived the claims of his father, whose doctrines he propagated; and, gradually overcoming all opposition, he at length became the founder of an extensive empire, comprehending Persia Proper, Media, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Armenia Ulterior. In 1514, in the war with Selim, his capital, Tauris, was taken and plundered, though with immense loss on the part of the Turks, who were obliged to retreat for want of supplies. He afterwards subdued Georgia, and was succeeded by his son TAMASP, 1523; and though, during his reign, the Turks several times invaded Persia, they were unable to maintain their conquests. The succession was disputed by his sons, the eldest of whom was proclaimed by the title of MOHAMMED MIRZA, 1576. This prince was deposed by the Sultan of Khorassan, who placed Mirza's youngest son, ABBAS, on the throne, 1585, by far the most illustrious of the Sophi dynasty. He recovered from the Turks and Tartars several

provinces they had taken from his father, recaptured from the Portuguese the island and town of Ormuz, destroyed the janissaries, and legislated wisely for his people. He gave way, however, to the natural cruelty of his character, causing his eldest son to be murdered, and depriving both the others of sight, on suspicion of their designs upon the throne. During this reign Ispahan became the capital of Persia, where the shah erected the royal palace, the great mosque, and other celebrated buildings. A quarter of the city was set apart for the Armenians, and the resort of Christians encouraged. He died in 1628.

INDIA. The early history of this fertile and extensive country, which seems to have been among the first inhabited parts of the globe, is necessarily involved in great obscurity. The invariable traditions of the Hindoos point to the northern provinces of the peninsula as the primeval residence of their race, and of the Brahminical faith; and powerful empires existed in Hindostan many centuries anterior to the Christian era.

About A. D. 1000, the celebrated Sultan Mohammed, a Tartar sovereign of Ghizni, turned his arms against Lahore, the key of Northern Hindostan. Twelve times he penetrated into the very centre of the peninsula, overthrowing the temples of Brahma, and by his murderous ravages changing fertile countries and populous cities into dreary solitudes. At his death in 1030, his kingdom extended from the Caspian Sea to the mouth of the Indus, and from the Tigris to the Ganges. His successors, despoiled by the Seljukian Turks of nearly all the provinces they possessed beyond the Indus, still preserved the empire founded by Mohammed westward of that river until the year 1182, at which epoch the Ghorian dynasty was founded, and reigned at Delhi till the end of the thirteenth century. Subsequent monarchs extended their dominion over the Punjaub, Bengal, and Malwa, and contributed to the greater civilisation of their subjects by a generous patronage of literature. In later years, the Mongols made frequent irruptions into India; and on two occasions placed the capital in imminent danger. The invasion of Tamerlane inflicted a terrible blow on the empire of Delhi; but it gradually revived, without however being able to regain its ancient frontiers. Mussulman and Hindoo princes, while owning a nominal subjection to the emperor, founded independent states in Oude, Bengal, Malwa, and Gujerat. The Deccan also formed a kingdom, which remained long divided between the Mohammedans and Hindoos.

The utmost confusion continued to prevail throughout India, till at length BABER, a descendant of Tamerlane, became master of Delhi, and put an end to the Afghan dynasty, 1525. He was the founder of the Tartar or Mogul power, and his dominion extended from the Indus to the Ganges. In 1556, the celebrated AKBAR ascended the throne, and firmly established the Mogul empire. This prince was honourably distinguished by his toleration and love of justice; under his reign the Hindoos enjoyed greater prosperity than they had experienced since the Mohammedan invasion; and the memory of his virtues is even yet cherished by all classes of the people.

He divided his empire into soubahs or provinces, and caused the land to be regularly assessed. Towards the end of his life, he appears to have favoured the religious opinions of the Hindoos and Parsees; he encouraged literature, and by his order the Vedas were translated from Sanscrit into Persian. He died in 1605. During this reign the Europeans first obtained a footing in India.

CHINA. The annals of this vast country extend over a period of upwards of 4000 years, from an era coeval with the rise of the Egyptian and Assyrian monarchies, and exhibit an empire ascending from the rudiments of the social state to a high pitch of civilisation and refinement.

What may be called the modern history of China begins with the great dynasty of Han, which existed about four centuries and a half. It was overthrown A. D. 266; and, amid the disturbances that ensued, arose those ephemeral races which have been designated by the Chinese historians as the six petty dynasties, 265-608. During this period, the empire, desolated and enfeebled by civil wars and revolutions, lost the ascendency which it had formerly maintained over great part of Asia. These troubles were at length terminated by the elevation of the royal house of Tang, 618-907, under whom the nation attained a high degree of power and opulence. The most illustrious prince of this family was Tai-tsong, in whose reign the frontiers, or at least the influence of China, were extended far into Western Asia, and even to Persia; the sovereign of the latter country having solicited the aid of his soldiers to repel the Mohammedan Arabs. The Tang was followed by no fewer than five successive lines of monarchs, which lasted only fifty-three years, under whom the empire was again split among a number of independent chiefs. In 960, the Song dynasty was founded, and lasted 319 years, presenting during that long period a succession of able and virtuous monarchs. The last sovereign of the race, however, was compelled to become tributary to the Tartars; and, in 1279, China fell under the Mongol yoke. Kublai-Khan, a grandson of Genghis, was the founder of this new line of monarchs, and extended his authority from the Frozen Ocean to the Straits of Malacca. He possessed also Pegu, Thibet, Tartary, and Turkestan: Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, and Corea paid him tribute; and he was regarded by the other chiefs of the family as the head of their race. Several of the princes after Kublai seem to have been able and even enlightened rulers; but under their degenerate successors the ruin of the dynasty was consummated. The Chinese took advantage of the dissensions of their conquerors, and about the middle of the fourteenth century revolts every where broke out. The last Mongol emperor retired in 1368 into Tartary, abandoning his throne to the founder of the glorious dynasty of Ming, 1368-1644. The new sovereign immediately attacked the princes of the fugitive race, when Thibet and other Tartar dependencies were subdued by his arms.

COLONIES AND DISCOVERIES.

The fifteenth century had closed with the discovery of a new world and of a new route to India. Between 1508 and 1510, the Spaniards settled in Hayti, Cuba, and Jamaica; but the revenue they drew from the West Indies was at first inconsiderable.

MEXICO. In 1517, Mexico was discovered by Francisco Cordova; and, two years later, the celebrated Hernan Cortez landed with an armament for the conquest and settlement of the country. The invaders found the empire at this period governed by Montezuma, a powerful prince, whose subjects were considerably advanced in civilisation and in the knowledge of the mechanical arts. The cruelties that disgraced the conquest of Mexico can scarcely be imagined. A great number of the people were branded in the forehead and sent to work in the mines; and the successor of the vanquished monarch was burnt to death over a slow fire by the orders of Cortez. The Spaniards, however, derived immense riches from this acquisition.

PERU. This country was invaded by Francis Pizarro, once a shepherd of Estremadura, in 1526. Intestine dissensions facilitated his success; and, after putting the sovereign to a violent death, the principal provinces were divided among the conquerors. Peru, at the epoch of its discovery, was under the theocratic government of Incas "or children of the sun," the object of religious worship. The great mass of the people were enslaved; and, although they had constructed roads and built cities, they were but little advanced in the arts; for they had no iron, no coined money, nor any beast of burden except the llama.

BRAZIL was approached by the Portuguese in the last year of the fifteenth century, but was not settled till about 1530. Its history was not remarkable until it passed into the hands of the Spaniards in 1580; and the revolution which placed the family of Braganza on the throne, terminated their dominion in 1640.

NORTH AMERICA.—The English, before 1588, had advanced little farther towards their maritime and colonial dominion than by making repeated attacks, not avowed by government, on the rich home-bound cargoes of Spain. Between 1576 and 1610, vain attempts were made by Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, and others, to discover a north-east or a north-west passage to India. The unfortunate Sir Walter Raleigh founded a colony in Southern Virginia, 1584: but the affairs of North America remained in the hands of a company until the reign of James I. France made a few unsuccessful attempts at colonization, important chiefly for their consequences. Cartier, a mariner of St Malo, took possession of the shores of the Gulf of St Lawrence in 1534.

COLONIAL SYSTEM.-The conquered kingdoms of America became colonies of Spain, under a constitution framed by Charles V., 1542. All the external apparatus of Christianity was carried across the Atlantic; there were archbishops, bishops, vicars, and monks, dependent entirely on the king; nor was the Inquisition forgotten, 1570. The political affairs were managed by the council of the Indies in Spain, and in America by two viceroys, aided by boards and municipalities. By this imitation of European forms, the national spirit of the natives was extinguished. The trade was rendered a complete monopoly. Vera Cruz, Portobello, and Carthagena, in America; Seville, and afterwards Cadiz, in Europe, were the only ports which were allowed to be used by colonial ships. Little advantage was derived from these extensive acquisitions beyond the supply of precious metals, the mining operations connected with which gave rise to the African slave-trade, the aboriginal population being found unable to undergo the exhausting labour demanded by their taskmasters.

During the sixteenth century, the Portuguese dominion, strengthened by the genius of its governors, Almeida and Albuquerque, extended in the East from the African coast to the peninsula of Malacca and the Spice Islands. Every where they established factories or marts; but although their commerce was not restricted to a company, as in England and Holland, it could not be carried on without permission of the government. A connexion was formed with China, 1517; and Xavier, the apostle of the Indians, was the means of establishing a regular communication with Japan. In Brazil, also, the Portuguese possessions were widely extended; and the sugar-cane, transplanted from Madeira, was largely cultivated. A dispute between this nation and Spain about the possession of the Moluccas, was the cause of the voyage of Magellan, whose fleet first circumnavigated the globe, 1520.

The ruin of the Portuguese dominion in the East was accelerated by the decline of morality among the higher class of colonists, and more especially by their avarice. The tyranny of the Inquisition at Goa has never been equalled. Spain, between 1560 and 1620, considerably augmented her commerce and maritime power, by acquiring the East Indian colonies of Portugal and the possession of the Philippines. England and Holland entered into rivalry with her; and the latter, while combating for the liberty of Europe, became mistress of the commerce of the world. The first charter of the Dutch East India Company was granted in 1602, making it a political as well as a mercantile body, governed by a board of directors at home and a governor-general in India. Establishments were made at Amboyna, Ternate, and other places, 1607; an intercourse was opened with Japan, 1611; and Batavia was founded in 1619.

England in the reign of Elizabeth extended her views to all parts of the world. After having penetrated into Persia and even to India by the Caspian Sea, she founded her great agricultural colonies in North America. The principal branches of foreign commerce were conferred on chartered companies; that of the East Indies was organized in 1600, but its traffic was long very inconsiderable.*

THE CHURCH.

THE REFORMATION.-Many circumstances, widely separated in respect of time, seem to have contributed to the great ecclesiastical revolution which distinguished this century. The introduction of image-worship had been strenuously resisted; and many of the principles of Protestantism can be recognised so far back as the end of the eleventh century. The Waldenses or

*For the substance of this and the subsequent sketches of colonial history, the reader is referred to Heeren's work on that subject.