Part 1176

WELLESLEY COLLEGE.

See EDUCATION, MODERN: REFORMS &c.: A. D. 1804-1891.

WELLINGHAUSEN, KIRCHDENKERN, Battle of(1761).

See GERMANY: A. D. 1761-1762.

WELLINGTON. Campaigns of.

See INDIA: A. D. 1798-1805; SPAIN: A. D. 1808-1809, to 1812-1814; and FRANCE: A. D. 1815.

Ministry.

See ENGLAND: A. D.1827-1828; 1830.

WELSH, The Name of the.

"The Germans, like our own ancestors, called foreign, i. e. non-Teutonic nations, Welsh. Yet apparently not all such nations, but only those which they in some way associated with the Roman Empire: the Cymry of Roman Britain, the Romanized Kelts of Gaul, the Italians, the Roumans or Wallachs of Transylvania and the Principalities. It does not appear that either the Magyars or any Slavonic people were called by any form of the name Welsh."

_J. Bryce, The Holy Roman Empire, chapter 17, foot-note._

"Wealhas, or Welshmen; … it was by this name, which means 'strangers,' or 'unintelligible people,' that the English knew the Britons, and it is the name by which the Britons, oddly enough, now know themselves."

_J. R. Green, The Making of England, page 122._

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WENCESLAUS, WENZEL, VACSLAV I., King of Bohemia, A. D. 1230-1253.

Wenceslaus I., King of Hungary, 1301-1305;

Wenceslaus III. of Bohemia, 1305-1306.

Wenceslaus II., King of Bohemia, 1278-1305.

Wenceslaus IV., King of Bohemia, 1378-1419; King of Germany, 1378-1400.

WENDS, The.

"The Germans call all Slavonians Wends. No Slavonian calls himself so."

_R. G. Latham, The Germany of Tacitus; Prolegomena, section 15._

See, also, SLAVONIC PEOPLES; VENEDI; VANDALS; and AVARS: 7TH CENTURY.

WENTWORTH, Thomas (Earl of Strafford).

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1634-1637, 1640, 1640-1641; and IRELAND: A. D. 1633-1639.

WENZEL.

See WENCESLAUS.

WERBACH, Battle of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1866.

WERBEN, The camp of Gustavus Adolphus at.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1631.

WERGILD.

"The principle that every injury to either person or property might be compensated by a money payment was common to all the northern nations. It was introduced into Gaul by the conquering Franks, and into Britain by the English invaders. Every man's life had a fixed money value, called the 'wergild.' In the case of a freeman, this compensation for murder was payable to his kindred; in that of a slave, to his master. The amount of the wergild varied, according to a graduated scale, with the rank of the person slain."

_T. P. Taswell-Langmead, English Constitutional History, page 41._

WEROWANCE.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: POWHATAN CONFEDERACY.

WESLEYS, The, and early Methodism.

See METHODISTS.

WESSAGUSSET, Weston's settlement at.

See MASSACHUSETTS: A. D. 1622-1628.

WESSEX, The Kingdom of.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 477-527.

WEST INDIA COMPANY, The Dutch.

See NEW YORK: A. D. 1621-1646.

WEST INDIA COMPANY, The French.

See CANADA: A. D. 1663-1674.

WEST INDIES, The.

"The name West Indies recalls the fact that the discovery of the new world originated in an attempt to find a western route to the eastern seas, and that, when Columbus crossed the Atlantic and sighted land on the other side, he fancied he had reached the further coasts of the Indies.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1484-1492, and 1492.

'In consequence of this mistake of Columbus,' says Adam Smith, 'the name of the Indies has stuck to those unfortunate countries ever since.' The islands, or some of them, have long borne the name of Antilles. Antillia or Antigua was a mythical island [see ANTILLES] which found a place on mediæval maps, and the name was applied by geographers to Hispaniola and Cuba upon their first discovery. In modern times Cuba, Hispaniola or Hayti, Jamaica, and Porto Rico have usually been known as the Greater Antilles; and the ring of smaller islands, including the Windward and the Leeward Islands, as the Lesser Antilles. The terms Windward and Leeward themselves demand some notice. The prevailing wind in the West Indies being the north-east trade wind, the islands which were most exposed to it were known as the Windward islands, and those which were less exposed were known as the Leeward. According]y, the Spaniards regarded the whole ring of Caribbean islands as Windward islands, and identified the Leeward islands with the four large islands which constitute the Greater Antilles as given above. The English sailors contracted the area of Windward and Leeward, subdividing the Caribbean islands into a northern section of Leeward islands and a southern section of Windward islands, which project further into the Atlantic. In 1671 this division was made a political one, and the English Caribbean islands, which had before constituted one government, were separated into two groups, under two Governors-in-chief; the islands to the north of the French colony of Guadeloupe forming the government of the Leeward islands, the islands to the south of Guadeloupe forming the government of the Windward islands. Latterly the signification has been again slightly modified; and, for administrative purposes under the Colonial Office, the Leeward islands group now includes the more northerly section of the Caribbean islands belonging to Great Britain, from the Virgin islands to Dominica [embracing Antigua, St. Christopher or St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, the Virgin Islands, Dominica, Barbuda, Redonda, and Anguilla]; while the Windward islands are artificially restricted to St. Lucia, St. Vincent, the Grenadines, and Grenada, the two most windward of all, Barbados and Tobago, being separated from the group." Barbados is a distinct crown colony, and Tobago is joined with Trinidad to form another.

_C. P. Lucas, Historical Geography of the British Colonies, volume 2, section 2. chapters 1, and 4-7._

ALSO IN: _C. H. Eden, The West Indies._

_T. Southey, Chronological History of the West Indies._

See, also, CUBA; HAYTI; and JAMAICA.

WEST POINT.

"The importance of fortifying the Hudson River at its narrow passes among the Highlands was suggested to the Continental Congress by the Provincial Assembly of New York at an early period of the war [of Independence]. On the 6th of October, 1775, the former directed the latter to proceed to make such fortifications as they should deem best. On the 18th of November, Congress resolved to appoint a commander for the fortress, with the rank of colonel, and recommended the New York Assembly, or Convention, to empower him to raise a body of 200 militia from the counties of Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster, and a company of artillery from New York city, to garrison them." As the result of these proceedings a fort named "Constitution" was constructed on Martelaer's Rock (now Constitution Island) opposite West Point, under the direction of an English engineer, Bernard Romans. "After the capture of Forts Clinton and Montgomery, near the lower entrance to the Highlands, in 1777, and the abandonment of Fort Constitution by the Americans a few days afterward, public attention was directed to the importance of other and stronger fortifications in that vicinity. … Washington requested General Putnam to bestow his most serious attention upon that important subject. He also wrote to Governor Clinton, at the same time, desiring him to take the immediate supervision of the work; but his legislative duties, then many and pressing, made it difficult for him to comply. Clinton … made many valuable suggestions respecting the proposed fortifications. He mentioned West Point as the most eligible site for a strong fort."

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In the spring of 1778, "a committee of the New York Legislature, after surveying several sites, unanimously recommended West Point as the most eligible. Works were accordingly commenced there under the direction of Kosciuszko. … Kosciuszko arrived on the 20th of March, and the works were pushed toward completion with much spirit. The principal redoubt, constructed chiefly of logs and earth, was completed before May, and named Fort Clinton. … At the close of 1779, West Point was the strongest military post in America. In addition to the batteries that stood menacingly upon the hilltops, the river was obstructed by an enormous iron chain. … West Point was considered the keystone of the country during the Revolution, and there a large quantity of powder, and other munitions of war and military stores, were collected. These considerations combined made its possession a matter of great importance to the enemy, and hence it was selected by Arnold as the prize which his treason would give as a bribe.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1780 (AUGUST-SEPTEMBER)].

When peace returned, it was regarded as one of the most important military posts in the country, and the plateau upon the point was purchased by the United States Government. … The Military Academy at West Point was established by an act of Congress which became a law on the 16th of March, 1802. Such an institution, at that place, was proposed by Washington to Congress in 1793; and earlier than this, even before the war of the Revolution had closed, he suggested the establishment of a military school there. But little progress was made in the matter until 1812."

_B. J. Lossing, Field-book of the Revolution, volume 1, pages 702-706._

ALSO IN: _E. C. Boynton, History of West Point._

WEST VIRGINIA: Start--------

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1632. Partly embraced in the Maryland grant to Lord Baltimore.

See MARYLAND: A. D. 1632.

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861 (April-June). Opposition to Secession. Loyal State Government organized.

See VIRGINIA; A. D. 1861 (JANUARY-JUNE).

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861 (JUNE-JULY). General McClellan's successful campaign. The Rebels driven out.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1861 (JUNE-JULY: WEST VIRGINIA).

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861 (JUNE-NOVEMBER). Steps taken toward separation from Virginia. Constitutional Convention at Wheeling.

See VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1861 (AUGUST-DECEMBER). The campaign of Rosecrans against Lee.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1861 (AUGUST-DECEMBER: WEST VIRGINIA).

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1862 (APRIL-DECEMBER). The completed separation from Old Virginia. Admission to the Union.

The work of the convention at Wheeling which framed a constitution for the new State of West Virginia was satisfactorily performed, and "on the first Thursday of April, 1862, the people approved the constitution by a vote of 18,862 in favor of it with only 614 against it. The work of the representatives of the projected new State being thus ratified, the Governor called the Legislature of Virginia together on the 6th day of May, and on the 13th of the same month that body gave its consent, with due regularity, to 'the formation of a new State within the jurisdiction of the said State of Virginia.' A fortnight later, on the 28th of May, Senator Willey introduced the subject in Congress by presenting a memorial from the Legislature of Virginia, together with a certified copy of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention and the vote of the people. The constitution was referred to the Committee on Territories and a bill favorable to admission was promptly reported by Senator Wade of Ohio. The measure was discussed at different periods, largely with reference to the effect it would have upon the institution of slavery, and Congress insisted upon inserting a provision that 'the children of slaves, born in the State after the 4th day of July, 1863, shall be free; all slaves within the said State who shall at that time be under the age of ten years shall be free when they arrive at the age of twenty-one years all slaves over ten and under twenty-one shall be free at the age of twenty-five years; and no slave shall be permitted to come into the State for permanent residence therein.' This condition was to be ratified by the convention which framed the constitution, and by the people at an election held for the purpose, and, upon due certification of the approval of the condition to the President of the United States, he was authorized to issue his proclamation declaring West Virginia to be a State of the Union. … On the 14th of July, three days before Congress adjourned, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 23 to 17. Mr. Rice of Minnesota was the only Democrat who favored the admission of the new State. … Mr. Chandler and Mr. Howard of Michigan voted in the negative because the State had voluntarily done nothing towards providing for the emancipation of slaves; Mr. Sumner and Mr. Wilson, because the Senate had rejected the anti-slavery amendment [proposed by Mr. Sumner, declaring immediate emancipation in the new State]; Mr. Trumbull and Mr. Cowan, because of the irregularity of the whole proceeding. The bill was not considered in the House until the next session. It was taken up on the 9th of December," and was warmly debated. "On the passage of the bill the ayes were 96 and the noes were 55. The ayes were wholly from the Republican party, though several prominent Republicans opposed the measure. Almost the entire Massachusetts delegation voted in the negative, as did also Mr. Roscoe Conkling, Mr. Conway of Kansas and Mr. Francis Thomas of Maryland. The wide difference of opinion concerning this act was not unnatural. But the cause of the Union was aided by the addition of another loyal commonwealth, and substantial justice was done to the brave people of the new State. … To the old State of Virginia the blow was a heavy one. In the years following the war it added seriously to her financial embarrassment, and it has in many ways obstructed her prosperity."

_J. G. Blaine, Twenty Years of Congress, volume 1, chapter 21._

In the legislative Ordinance of 1861 the proposed new State was called Kanawha; but in the Constitutional Convention this name was changed to West Virginia.

ALSO IN: _V. A. Lewis, History of West Virginia, chapters 25-26._

_E. McPherson, Political History of the United States during the Great Rebellion, pages 377-378._

_J. G. Nicolay and J. Hay, Abraham Lincoln, volume 6, chapter 14._

WEST VIRGINIA: A. D. 1862 (MAY-JUNE). Fremont's Mountain Department.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1862 (MAY-JUNE: VIRGINIA).

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WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

See AUSTRALIA: A. D. 1800-1840.

WESTERN EMPIRE, The.

See ROME: A. D. 394-395, and 423-450; and GERMANY: A. D. 800.

WESTERN LANDS, Cession of, to the United States by the States.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1781-1786.

WESTERN RESERVE OF CONNECTICUT.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1781-1786; PENNSYLVANIA: A. D. 1753-1799; and OHIO (VALLEY): A. D. 1786-1796.

WESTFALIA.

See WESTPHALIA.

WESTMINSTER, Provisions of.

See OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF.

WESTMINSTER, Statutes of.

See LAW, COMMON: A. D. 1275, and 1285.

WESTMINSTER, Treaty of.

See NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1674.

WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES.

See ENGLAND: A. D.1643 (JULY); and 1646 (MARCH).

WESTMINSTER PALACE.

"Westminster was from the days of Edward the Confessor the recognised home of the great council of the nation as well as of the king. How this came about, history does not record; it is possible that the mere accident of the existence of the royal palace on the bank of the Thames led to the foundation of the abbey, or that the propinquity of the abbey led to the choice of the place for a palace; equal obscurity covers the origin of both. … At Westminster Henry I held his councils, and Stephen is said to have founded the chapel of his patron saint within the palace. … From the very first introduction of representative members the national council had its regular home at Westminster. There, with a few casual exceptions, … all the properly constituted parliaments of England have been held. The ancient Palace of Westminster, of which the most important parts, having survived until the fire of 1834 and the construction of the New Houses of Parliament, were destroyed in 1852, must have presented a very apt illustration of the history of the Constitution which had grown up from its early simplicity to its full strength within those venerable walls. It was a curious congeries of towers, halls, churches, and chambers. As the administrative system of the country had been developed largely from the household economy of the king, the national palace had for its kernel the king's court, hall, chapel, and chamber. … As time went on, every apartment changed its destination: the chamber became a council room, the banquet hall a court of justice, the chapel a hall of deliberation. … The King's Chamber, or Parliament Chamber, was the House of Lords from very early times until the union with Ireland, when the peers removed into the lesser or White Hall, where they continued until the fire. The house of commons met occasionally in the Painted Chamber, but generally sat in the Chapter House or in the Refectory of the abbey, until the reign of Edward VI, when it was fixed in S. Stephen's chapel. … After the fire of 1834, during the building of the new houses, the house of lords sat in the Painted Chamber, and the house of commons in the White Hall or Court of Requests. It was a curious coincidence, certainly, that the destruction of the ancient fabric should follow so immediately upon the great constitutional change wrought by the reform act, and scarcely less curious that the fire should have originated in the burning of the ancient Exchequer tallies, one of the most permanent relics of the primitive simplicity of administration."

_W. Stubbs, Constitutional History of England, chapter 20, sections 735-736 (volume 3)._

WESTMINSTER SCHOOL.

See EDUCATION, MODERN: EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.—ENGLAND.

WESTPHALIA: The country so named.

See SAXONY: THE OLD DUCHY.

WESTPHALIA, The Circle of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1493-1519.

WESTPHALIA, The Kingdom of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1807 (JUNE-JULY); 1813(SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER), and (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

WESTPHALIA, The Peace of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1648.

WESTPORT, Battle of.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (MARCH-OCTOBER: ARKANSAS-MISSOURI).

WETTIN, House of.

See SAXONY: A. D. 1180-1553.

WEXFORD: Stormed by Cromwell (1649).

See IRELAND: A. D. 1649-1650.

WHIG PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1834.

WHIGS (WHIGGAMORS): Origin of the name and the English Party.

"The southwest counties of Scotland have seldom corn enough to serve them round the year: and the northern parts producing more than they need, those in the west come in summer to buy at Leith the stores that come from the north: and from a word 'whiggam,' used in driving their horses, all that drove were called the 'whiggamors,' and shorter the 'whiggs.' Now in that year [1648], after the news came down of Duke Hamilton's defeat [at the battle of Preston—see ENGLAND: A. D. 1648 (APRIL-AUGUST)], the ministers animated their people to rise and march to Edenburgh; and they came up marching on [at] the head of their parishes, with an unheard-of fury, praying and preaching all the way as they came. The marquis of Argile and his party came and headed them, they being about 6,000. This was called the 'whiggamors' inroad; and ever after that all that opposed the court came in contempt to be called 'whiggs': and from Scotland the word was brought into England, where it is now one of our unhappy terms of distinction."

_G. Burnet, History of My Own Time, book 1 (Summary), section 43 (volume 1)._

"We find John Nicoll, the diarist, in 1666, speaking of the west-country Presbyterians as 'commonly called the Whigs, implying that the term was new. The sliding of the appellation from these obscure people to the party of the opposition in London a few years later, is indicated by Daniel Defoe as occurring immediately after the affair of Bothwell Bridge in 1679. The Duke of Monmouth then returning from his command in Scotland, instead of thanks for his good service, found himself under blame for using the insurgents too mercifully. 'And Lauderdale told Charles, with an oath, that the Duke had been so civil to the Whigs because he was himself a Whig in his heart. This made it a court-word; and in a little while all the friends and followers of the Duke began to be called Whigs.'"

_R. Chambers, Domestic Annals of Scotland, volume 2, page 172._

ALSO IN: _J. H. Burton, History of Scotland, chapter 74 (volume 7)._

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1680.

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WHIPS, Party.

The "party whips," in English politics, are "an extremely useful and hard-working body of officials. Being charged with the duty of keeping the respective sides in readiness for all emergencies, they are generally to be found in the lobby, where they make themselves acquainted with the incomings and outgoings of members, and learn a good deal as to their prospective movements. The whips are the gentlemen who issue those strongly underlined circulars by which legislators are summoned on important nights; and who, by their watchfulness and attention, can generally convey reliable intelligence to the party chiefs. If the Ministers, for example, are engaged in any controversy, and their whips are not absolutely certain of a majority, they would make arrangements for a succession of men to keep on talking till the laggards could be brought to their places." The whips also arrange "pairs," by which members of opposite parties, or on opposite sides of a given question, agree in couples, not to vote for a certain fixed period of time, thereby securing freedom to be absent without causing any loss of relative strength to their respective parties. This arrangement is common in most legislative bodies. "In addition to these duties, the whips of the opposing forces have to move for the issue of new writs in the place of deceased members—task never undertaken till they have a candidate ready for the fray."

_Popular Account of Parliamentary Procedure, page 18._

ALSO IN: _E. Porritt, The Englishman at Home, page 198, and appendix K._

WHISKY INSURRECTION, The.

See PENNSYLVANIA: A. D. 1794.

WHISKY RING, The.

The Whisky Ring, so called, brought to light in the United States in 1875, "was an association, or series of associations, of distillers and Federal officials for the purpose of defrauding the Government of a large amount of the tax imposed on distilled spirits, and, further, of employing a part of the proceeds in political corruption. On the trial of the indictments a number of Federal officers were convicted."

_A. Johnston, History of American Politics, chapter 23._

ALSO IN: _The Whisky Frauds: Testimony Taken (44th Congress, 1st Session, H. R. Mis. Doc's, Number 186, volume 9)._

WHITE BOYS.

See IRELAND: A. D. 1760-1798.

WHITE CAMELLIA, Knights of the.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1866-1871.

WHITE CASTLE OF MEMPHIS, The.

See ATHENS: B. C. 460-449.

WHITE CITY, The.

See BELGRADE.