Page:LA2-NSRW-2-0181.jpg



FERDINAND I

655

FERDINAND

Fenian movement had its first seat in America in 1846, the headquarters being New York. Agents were sent to England and Ireland to incite rebellion, but were unsuccessful. Three times Canadian territory has been invaded from the United States in times of peace by bands of Irishmen, seeking to incite rebellion and disorder in fancied revenge upon Great Britain. On March 17, 1866, St. Patrick's day, the militia of the Dominion were forced to guard the frontier. On May 25, 1870, O'Neil crossed the frontier at Trout River in a demonstration against Quebec, to be driven back by the volunteers. The next year an attempt to invade Manitoba ended in force, the United States government following him over the line and arresting him. The Fenian spirit appeared again in 1883 in the Skirmishing Fund, raised to promote the free use of dynamite for the destruction of British shipping and buildings. See J. Rutherford's Secret History of the Fenian Conspiracy.

Ferdinand I, the Great, the first sovereign of independent Castile, was born in 1000, and died on Dec. 27, 1065. He became king in 1035 and largely extended his dominion in 1053 by defeating his brother, Garcia III •f Navarre, and annexing a large portion of his provinces. Early in his reign he fought against the Moors and extended the Christian frontier by defeating the emirs of Toledo, Saragossa and Seville. He laid claim to the title of emperor of Spain, and a decision favorable to his rights was given at a conference held at Toulouse, so far as they related to the territories which had been conquered from the Moors.

Ferdinand III, king of Castile and sometimes known as Saint Ferdinand, was, on the death of Henry I of Castile, proclaimed king. On the death of his father, in 1230, he also became king of Leon. His energies were chiefly devoted to the prosecution of wars against the Moors, and among his victories are those of Cordova in 1236 and Seville in 1248. He died at Seville on May 30, 1252, while planning an invasion of Africa. Ferdinand III was a champion of the Christian faith, and for his zeal Was canonized by Pope Clement X in 1671. His feast-day in the Spanish calendar is May 30.

Ferdinand V of Castile, II of Aragon, III of Naples and II of Sicily, was born in Aragon, Spain, on March 10, 1452. He married Isabella, the sister and heiress of Henry IV of Castile, and they were crowned joint sovereigns of Castile. He was sur-named the Catholic, because of his zeal for Christianity. He drove out the Jews, numbering about 160,000, from his kingdom and ended the Moorish power in Spain (1492). He added Naples and Navarre to bis dominion, and united the whole peninsula, excepting Portugal, into one state.

He was one of the ablest princes of his age, though crafy, ambitious and untruthful. He died on Jan. 22, 1516. The most interesting event of his reign to Americans, the discovery of America by Columbus, owes little if anything to his influence. This honor belongs to Isabella. See Prescott's History of Ferdinand and Isabella.

Ferdinand I, emperor of Germany from 1556 to 1564, was born at Alcala, in Spain, in 1503. He was the son of Philip I and brother of Charles V, whom he succeeded. In 1521 he married Anna, daughter of Lad-islaus, king of Bohemia and Hungary; and when her brother Louis fell in battle, in 1526, he claimed the crown in right of his wife. After a series of bloody battles he gained the upper hand, and secured Bohemia to the house of Austria. He died at Vienna in 1564, and was succeeded by his son, Maximilian II.

Ferdinand II, emperor of Germany from 1619 to 1637, was born at Gratz, Austria, on July 9, 1578. It is said that he took an oath to reinstate the Catholic religion in his dominions at any cost. When he became emperor of Germany, he extended this religious war, which had begun in his own duchy of Styria, over a large part of Europe. This was the famous Thirty Years' War. He had subdued nearly all of his subjects and almost stamped out Protestantism, when the great Protestant hero, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, appeared upon the troubled scene. The ability of the Swedish generals being more than a match for that of the Austrian generals, the balance of victory reverted to the Protestant arms, and ere Ferdinand died, on Feb. 15, 1637, he had lost all hope of ever attaining his object. His reign is one of the most disastrous in history, for Germany owes him nothing but bloodshed, misery and desolation.

Ferdinand III, emperor of Germany from 1637 to 1657, was the son of Ferdinand II, and was born at Gratz, Austria, on July 11, 1608. His reign was more peaceful than that of his father. He died on April 2, 1657, after having concluded an alliance with Poland against Sweden. He was succeeded in the German empire by his son, Leopold I.

Ferdinand I, king of Naples, an illegitimate son of Alphonso V of Aragon, was born in 1423. He succeeded to the throne in 1458, but was not recognized by Pope Calixtus III, who championed the cause of

John of Anjou, and was defeated by him on uly 7, 1460. In the meantime Pius II succeeded Calixtus, and Ferdinand, by making certain concessions, obtained recognition and defeated John of Anjou on Aug. 18, 1462. He died on Jan. 25, 1494.

Ferdinand IV, king of Naples, was born at Naples on Jan. 12, 1751, and when his father ascended the Spanish throne in 1759, Ferdinand succeeded him on the throne of