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 788 SEVEN YEARS' WAR SEVERUS friendship between Great Britain and Austria was severed, and the system of European alli- ances was dissolved. George II., who was al- ready involved in the French and Indian war, perceived that a continental conflict would at once expose his Hanoverian dominions to French invasion, and to protect himself against this danger he concluded a defensive treaty with Frederick the Great on Jan. 16, 1756. Maria Theresa now openly consummated the alliance with France (May 1). Elizabeth of Russia, whom Frederick had provoked by his satire, and Augustus III., king of Poland and elector of Saxony, who was eager to wipe out the disgrace of the previous war, joined the league ; the mass of the German states fol- lowed ; Sweden was gained by the hope of conquests in Pomerania; and a coalition was effected the most powerful that Europe had ever witnessed. The main events of the seven years' struggle in Europe have been described under FREDERICK II. Saxony, Bohemia, Sile- sia, and Brandenburg were the principal thea- tres of the war. Here the Prussian king, sec- onded by his brother Prince Henry, Schwerin, Keith, Seydlitz, the prince of Bevern, Ziethen, Dohna, Lewald, and others, was opposed to the Austrian commanders Daun, Laudon, Browne, and Charles of Lorraine, and to the Russian generals Apraxin, Fermor, Soltikoff, and Tcher- nitcheff. In western Germany, where the in- capable duke of Cumberland was defeated at Hastenbeck by the French under D'Estrees (July 26, 1757), and forced by Marshal Riche- lieu to sign the capitulation of Closter Seven (Klosterseeven), the glory of the Prussian arms was sustained by Duke Ferdinand of Bruns- wick, who frustrated the efforts of Clermont, Oontades, Soubise, and Broglie, and by victo- ries like those of Crefeld (June 23, 1758) and Minden (Aug. 1, 1759). Still, Frederick was on the point of being overwhelmed by num- bers, when the death of the empress Elizabeth (Jan. 5, 1762) and the accession of Peter III. changed the state of affairs. France, while lavishing her armies in the service of Austria, and her treasures in subsidizing a dozen allies, was compelled to witness the downfall of her colonial power. A French expedition under Marshal Richelieu had succeeded in conquer- ing Minorca from the English, whom the first reverses in America and the fear of a French invasion had plunged into the utmost despon- dency; but the nation rallied, and under the guidance of the elder Pitt entered upon a re- markable career of success. Louisburg was taken in 1758, Quebec fell in the following year, all Canada submitted, and Guadeloupe (1759), Martinique (1762), and other West India islands were conquered. Admiral Hawke won a brilliant victory over the French fleet in the bay of Quiberon in November, 1759, and the island of Belleisle, on the coast of France, was taken in June, 1761. Clive humbled the French power in India, and laid the foundations of a mighty empire. On the African coast the English were equally successful. France, where Choiseul assumed the ministry in 1758, sought to restore her fortunes by a new alliance, and in 1761 concluded the family compact, which united the various branches of the house of Bourbon, A declaration of war between Eng- land and Spain followed. While Charles III., the Spanish king, unsuccessfully attacked Por- tugal, the English reduced Havana, where they obtained immense booty (August, 1762), and made themselves masters of the Philippines. The war was terminated by the treaty of Paris (Feb. 10, 1763) between England, France, and Spain, the preliminaries to which had been signed on Nov. 3, 1762, and by that of Huberts- burg (Feb. 15, 1763) between Prussia and Aus- tria. Great Britain was aggrandized at the expense of the house of Bourbon, while the terms of the peace provided for a mutual res- titution of conquests on the continent of Eu- rope. Silesia remained in possession of Fred- erick. England retained her Canadian and a portion of her West Indian conquests, as well as those on the river Senegal, and acquired Florida from Spain, to whom as a compen- sation France ceded Louisiana. Martinique, Guadeloupe, and other islands (to which Santa Lucia was added), and Pondicherry were re- stored to France, and the privilege of the gulf of St. Lawrence and a portion of the New- foundland coast was secured to French fisher- men. In return Louis XV. agreed to disman- tle Dunkirk on the sea side. See Schafer, Qetchichte des iiebenjahrigen Kriegs (2 vols., Berlin, 1867-'8), and Ranke, Ursprung det sie- benjahrigen Kriegeg (Leipsic, 1871). SEVERN, next to the Thames the largest and most important river of England, rising in the S. part of Montgomeryshire, Wales, and falling into the Bristol channel, 10 m. S. W. of Bristol, after a generally N. E., S., and S. W. course of 210 m. ' Its most important trib- utaries are the Tern, Teme, Upper Avon, Wye, and Lower Avon. It is navigable 178 m. from its mouth, and the navigation has been ex- tended by locks and canals. Below Gloucester extensive embankments have been raised to prevent inundation. At the mouth the tide rises 48 ft., and at Chepstow on the Wye 60 ft. SEVERUS, Alexander. See ALEXANDER SE- VERUS. SEVKRIS, Lndus Septimins, a Roman emperor, born of a family of equestrian rank near Leptis, Africa, April 11, A. D. 146, died in Eboracum (York), Britain, Feb. 4, 211. He studied law at Rome, became adtocatu* fitci, and afterward held many offices under Marcus Aurelius and Commodns, at Rome and in the provinces, gain- ing the favor of the people whom he governed, especially in Gallia Lugdunensis, by his integ- rity and moderation, combined with firmness. When Commodus was assassinated (192) Seve- rus was commander of the army in Pannonia and Illyria ; and after the brief reign of Perti- nax and the sale of the empire by the prae- torian guard to Didius Julianus, he was pro-