Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 10.djvu/161

Rh Popula- Iistory. GEN a. number of editions, have hardly more than local reputation. {odolphe 'I‘oeptl'er, the lmmoristic novelist, has attained a wider popularity, which may almost be ealled European. But the really famous Gcncvcse are mostly men who have devoted themselves to the sciences, or to the more utilitarian forms of literature. Among the theologians are Mestrezat, the opponent of the Jesuits ; Diodati, the translator of the Bible; the Tronchins, the Turrettines (Fr. and J. ..), Ed. Diodati, Felix Neff, Caesar Malan, and Gaussen. Among the historical writers may be mentioned Baulacre, Mallet (of Scandinavian celebrity), Dc Lolme, Grénus, Sismondi, Picot, (,‘.h<-rbuliez, Sayous, Blavignac, and Galitfe ; and among the philo- lugists, ( ‘ramer, Leclere, Casaubon, and Spanheim. To the medical sciences belong the names of Jean dc Carro, Espine, and Charles dc Ia Rive; and to the physical sciences Bom1et., Iluhcr, De I.ue, I)e Saussure, I)e Candolle, and Pietet. Pradier, the seulptorofthe statue of I-Rousseau on the island in the Rhone, t‘happo1mi‘cre, llornung, and Calame are the best known of the modern artists. As far back as 1356 the town of Geneva is said to have contained 5800 inhabitants, and this by 1404 had increased to 6490, exclusive of the Bourg dc Four and St Gcrvais outside of the fortiﬁcations. I n 1545 the number is given as 12,500, but the plague and other causes had reduced it to 11,000 by 1572. After the revocation of the edict of Nantes it rose to 16,934 in 1698, no fewer than 3000 refugees having sought shelter within its walls. The 1Stl1 century was marked by a steady increase: 18,500 in 1711, 24,712 i11 1782, and 26,140 in 1789. In 1850 the total was 31,238, of whom 5717 were from other parts of Switzerland, and 6513 from other parts of the world. The census of 1870 gave 46,783, or including the suburbs of Eaux Vives and Plainpalais, 61,486. The noteworthy fact about this increase is that it is due solely to immigration, for the Gcncvcse families are far from prolilic, and indeed have an in- dubitablc tendency to die out (Galitfe, (icnérc lL'z'storz'quc, 1869). According to a well-knovn passage in C-a3sar’s Conrmcntm°z'cs, he found Geneva the frontier town of the Allobroges, and when he crossed the bridge which even then spanned the river, he was no longer in the territory of the Allobroges but in that of the I Icl'e- tians. IIov long the little oppidum had been in existe.nee before that time it is impossible even to conjeeture : that the spot had in far earlier days been occupied by a cluster of crannogs may be ac- cepted as rather more than a conjecture, though the extensive formation of new land within the historic period has completely buried whateve1' archteologieal evidence might otherwise have been available. There was a time clearly when the site of the present lower town was entirely submerged, and the waters of the lake and river found their shores along the edge of the rocky plateau of the upper town. The Allobroges were, it would appear, a Celtic people, and the name Geneva, according to the favourite etymology of modern investirrators, has its explanation in the vords gen and er, the "issue' of the “waters.” For several centuries of the Christian era the history of Geneva remains a blank, but rema.ins of substructions, aqueduets, canals, inscriptions, stat.11es, pottery, bronzes, arms, coins, &e., show that during the Roman period the town nmst have been a large and ﬂourishing place, extending, if M. Galilfc is right, over the plateau of the Tranchées. Christianity must have been early introduced, the traditional apostles being Dionysius and Paracodus. In 456 the Celtic town passed 11ndcr the dominion of the German Burgundians, and in 534 it was incorporated with the kingdom of the Franks. To Charles the Fat it was indebted for the right, sanctioned by Pope John VIII., of electing its bishops from among its ow11 elergy. Optandus, the bishop whose election led to the decision of this point, was a supporter of Ilodolph I., founder of T ransjuran Burgundy; and it was at Geneva that Conrad the Salic ca11sed himself to be erowned king of Burgundy in 1033. This accession of Conrad proved in several ways of moment to the town ; for to him was due the first aggrandizement of the house of Savoy, and from him was derived the temporal sovereignty of its bishops. The counts of Gencvois———a district to the south of the Genevan territory, now included in the F rcnch department of Haute Savoie—— were partly reconciled to the loss of the authority they had previ- ously had ovcr the eity when in 1070 they saw Guy of Faucigny Genevois, a member of their own family, elected to the episcopal see. The next bishop, however, Hubert or Humbert of Grannnont, laid claim to all the rights and possessions alienated by Guy; and at length, i11 1124, by the “ Accord of Seyssel,” the eo11nt of Genevois recognized the bishop as his superior under the emperor. Bishop Ardutius (1135-1135) had again to oppose the cnc1'oacl1n1ents of the counts; but the emperor Barbarossa, to whom he appealed at the diet of Spires (1153), not only upheld his claims, but made him prince of the empire. As the bishops could not always attend in person to the civil eoneerns of his jurisdiction, a vidom or vidomne (vice domz'mLs) was appointed, who had to judge according to the customs and usages of the city, and in difficult matters was assisted by the advice of three or four citizens, two canons of Geneva, and two nobles of the church. During the bishopric of Robert of Genevois (1277-1288), the Genevcse sought protection from the encroachments of his family at the hands of the count of Savoy, Amadeus Y.; and on l{obert’s death a contest for possession of the EVA 149 eity took place between the count and the new bishop, Villiam of Contlans (1288-1294). In the resulting anarchy the citizenslearned to act for themselves, and in 1289 and 1291 we find the bishop com- plaining of certain proeurators, syndics, or agents of the city who had acted as chief magistrates in peace and war. In 1293, however, the syndicate was (for the time) abolished. lctween the count of Genevois, who held the eastlc at Bourg dc Four, at the corner of the city, and the count of Savoy, who by the peace of Asti in 1290 had secured the ollice of vidomne, and now held the castle of the Island, both citizens and bishop were hard hcstcad. In 1320 the castle of Bourg do Four was demolished by Edward and Aymon, sons of the eo1mt of Savoy. 'hen the emperor Charles IV. visited Geneva on his way to Avignon (1365), Amadeus V., the “Green Count," obtained the rank of imperial 'iea1' over the old kingdom of Burgundy and over the city of Geneva; but 'illiam of Mar- eossay, who was bishop from 1366 to 1377, persuaded the emperor to abolish the vieariate by a bull at Frankfort (1366), and by a second bull at Prague (1367) to cancel all rights granted to the counts of Savoy over Geneva and its territory; and in 1371 Pope Gregory XI. caused the count to withdraw from the city his eastellan and judges. The year 1387 is a memorable ore in Genevese history, as the date of the publication by Bishop Adhémar Fabri (1385-1388) of the franchises which served for centuries as the Magna Charta of the city.‘ By the purchase of the countship of Genevois, Amadeus VIII. became possessor of all the country round the city; and although he accepted investitnre from the bishop and took the oath of fealty, his ambition was simply biding its time. On the visit of Sigismund in 1455, he was raised to be duke of Savoy; an(l when Pope Martin V. shortly afterwards passed through the district, he sought to obtain eomplcte jurisdiction over the city. Jean de Pierrescisc, however, appointed bishop at the suggestion of the d11kc, who hoped to find in him an easy tool, was no sooner occupant of the see than he appealed to the people, obtained their vote against the alienation of the temporal rights of his predecessors, and swore i11 return for their support to maintain their libe1'ties. In 1420 a bull of the emperor Sigisnnmd formally declared that the city held directly of the empire. But by a strange turn of events, the indefatigable Amadeus did ultimately bceome master of Geneva, —not, indeed, by way of conquest or through the degradation of its bishopric, but by himself succeeding to the bishop's see. During the greater part of his pontificate as Felix V. he resided in Geneva ; and on his resignation the council allowed him the administration of the bishoprics of Geneva and Lausannc. In the latter part of the 15th ecntury, amid the dis- scnsions of the house of Savoy, two facts deserve special notice for their effect on Geneva. The duke Louis, irritated against the Gene- vese beea11se they had admitted his rebellious son Philip of Bresse within their walls, caused the king of France, his son—in-law, to es- tablish a fair at Lyons, which withdrew the greater part of its traﬂic from the eity of Lake Leman; and Bishop John Louis forming an alliance with Charles the Bold, the Swiss (for Geneva was still the last town of the Allobroges) inflicted a iausom of 20,000 crowns. The beginning of the 16th century brought the long contest be- tween Savoy and Geneva to a climax and a close. Into the struggle, interesting as it is, between the Manlelukcs (Mamelus) or ducal party and the Eidgnots (Eidgenossen) or patriots, it is impossible to enter. The great heroes of the city are Philibert Berthelier, Pierre Levrier, Francois of Bonivard, the prior of St Victor, and Bcsancon Ilugues. To their patriotie devotion it owed its ultimate liberty, and the alliances with Freiburg and Bern, which, first formed in 1519 and 1526, were solemnly renewed in 1531. Meanwhile the Reformation was advancing in Switzerland. In 1532 F are] entered the city, and in 1535 the reformed doctrine was oﬂieially reeognized as the religion- of the state. In October 1536 a new actor appeared on the scene--— John Calvin, then about 25 years of age. By force of intellect and strength of will he soon made himself the leader of the Protestant party, and proceeded to work out his ideal of government and society. While it rendered homage to many of the noblest elements of human nature, to purit.y, to honesty, to industry, to benevolence, this ideal had grievous defects ; it forgot especially that all healthy moral action nmst be spontaneous, and that in regard to deeds as well as men it is a dangerous thing to confound the innocent with the guilty. The moral dictates of the sterncst conscience of the community were to be the binding laws of every citizen. Religious observanccs were no longer to be the outcome of individual piety, but part of the inevitable routine of daily life. The church became the state; breach of ecclesiastical discipline was crime; innovation in dogma was treason. The Gcncvcse as a people appear to have been naturally religious: in the old pre-Reformation times they had been distinguished for their libemlity and kindness to the clerg_v, their appreciation of a good preacher, the abundance of their contribut1on_s for masses and pra_vers. Under the guidance of Calvin, this _rel1g1- osity took a new and sterner cast. Buta certain part of the Cltllc-113 were 11ot so willing to relinquish their liberty, and, under the name 4.. 1 This document. consisting of 79 paragraphs. was translated into French, and published by .Iont}'on, S-vo, 1-307.
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