Part 956

"A peculiar outcome of the social and political conditions of the winter [of 1893-4] was the organization of various 'armies of the unemployed' for the purpose of marching to Washington and petitioning Congress for aid. The originator of the idea seems to have been one Coxey, of Massillon, Ohio, who took up the proposition that, as good roads and money were both much needed in the country, the government should in the existing crisis issue $500,000,000 in greenbacks, and devote it to the employment of workers in the improvement of the roads. He announced that he would lead an 'Army of the Commonweal of Christ' to Washington to proclaim the wants of the people on the steps of the Capitol on May 1, and he called upon the unemployed and honest laboring classes to join him. On March 25 he set out from Massillon at the head of about a hundred men and marched by easy stages and without disorder through Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland, provisions being donated by the towns and villages on the way, or purchased with funds which had been subscribed by sympathizing friends. The numbers of the army increased as it advanced, and groups of volunteers set out to join it from distant states. On May 1 the detachment, numbering about 350, marched to the Capitol, but under an old District law was prevented by the police from entering the grounds. Coxey and another of the leaders, attempting to elude the police and address the assembled crowds, were arrested and were afterwards convicted of a misdemeanor. … Somewhat earlier than the start from Massillon, another organization, 'The United States Industrial Army,' headed by one Frye, had started from Los Angeles, California, for Washington, with purposes similar to those of the Coxey force, though not limiting their demands to work on the roads. This force, numbering from six to eight hundred men, availed themselves of the assistance, more or less involuntary, of freight trains on the Southern Pacific Railway as far as St. Louis, from which place they continued on foot. Though observing a degree of military discipline, the various 'armies' were unarmed, and the disturbances that arose in several places in the latter part of April were mostly due to the efforts of the marchers, or their friends in their behalf, to press the railroads into service for transportation. Thus a band under a leader named Kelly, starting from San Francisco, April 4, secured freight accommodations as far as Omaha by simply refusing to leave Oakland until the cars were furnished. The railroads eastward from Omaha refused absolutely to carry them, and they went into camp near Council Bluffs, in Iowa. Then sympathizing Knights of Labor seized a train by force and offered it to Kelly, who refused, however, to accept it under the circumstances, and ultimately continued on foot as far as Des Moines, in Iowa. After a long stay at that place he was finally supplied with flatboats, on which, at the close of this Record, his band, now swollen to some 1,200 men, was floating southward. A band coming east on a stolen train on the Northern Pacific, after overpowering a squad of United States marshals, was captured by a detachment of regular troops at Forsyth, Montana, April 26. Two days later the militia were called out to rescue a train from a band at Mount Sterling, Ohio."

_Political Science Quarterly: Record of Political Events, June, 1894._

There were straggling movements, from different quarters of the country, in imitation of those described, prolonged through most of the summer of 1894; but the public feeling favorable to them was limited, and they commonly came to an ignominious end.

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: End--------

SOCIAL WAR: In the Athenian Confederacy.

See ATHENS: B. C. 378-357.

SOCIAL WAR: Of the Achaian and Ætolian Leagues.

See GREECE: B. C. 280-146.

SOCIAL WAR: Of the Italians.

See ROME: B. C. 90-88.

SOCIALIST PARTIES IN GERMANY.

Some matter first placed under this title, and so referred to, has been incorporated in the more general article above.

See SOCIAL MOVEMENTS.

SOCIETY OF JESUS.

See JESUITS.

SOCII, The.

The Italian subject-allies of Rome were called Socii before the Roman franchise was extended to them.

See ROME: B. C. 90-88.

SOCMEN.

Mr. Hallam thinks the Socmen, enumerated in Domesday Book, to have been ceorls who were small landowners.

_H. Hallam, The Middle Ages, chapter 8, note 3 (volume. 2)._

SOCRATES: As soldier and citizen.

See ATHENS: B. C. 424-406; and GREECE: B. C. 406.

SOCRATES: As teacher. See EDUCATION, ANCIENT: GREECE.

SODALITATES.

"There were [among the Romans] … unions originally formed for social purposes, which were named 'sodalitates,' 'sodalitia,' and these may be compared with our clubs. These associations finally were made the centres of political parties, and we may assume that they were sometimes formed solely for political purposes."

_G. Long, Decline of the Roman Republic, volume 3, chapter 11._

See, also, COLLEGIA.

{2959}

SODOR AND MAN, The Bishopric of.

In the 11th century, the peculiar naval empire which the Norsemen had established in the Hebrides, and on the neighboring coasts of Ireland and Scotland, under the rulers known as the Hy Ivar, became divided into two parts, called Nordureyer or Norderies and Sudureyer or Suderies, the northern and southern division. The dividing-line was at the point of Ardnamurchan, the most westerly promontory of the mainland of Scotland. "Hence the English bishopric of Sod or and Man—Sodor being the southern division of the Scottish Hebrides, and not now part of any English diocese.… The Bishop of Sodor and Man has no seat in the House of Lords, owing, as it is commonly said, to Man not having become an English possession when bishops began to sit as Lords by tenure."

_J. H. Burton, History of Scotland, chapter 15, foot-note (volume 2)._

See, also, NORMANS. NORTHMEN: 10-13TH CENTURIES.

SOFT-SHELL DEMOCRATS, The.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1845-1846.

SOGDIANA.

"North of the Bactrians, beyond the Oxus, on the western slope of Belurdagh, in the valley of the Polytimetus (Zarefshan, i. e. strewing gold), which flows towards the Oxus from the east, but, instead of joining it, ends in Lake Dengis, lay the Sogdiani of the Greeks, the Suguda of the Old Persian inscriptions, and Çughdha of the Avesta, in the region of the modern Sogd. As the Oxus in its upper course separates the Bactrians from the Sogdiani, the Jaxartes, further to the north, separates the latter from the Scyths. According to Strabo, the manners of the Bactrians and Sogdiani were similar, but the Bactrians were less rude. Maracanda (Samarcand), the chief city of the Sogdiani, on the Polytimetus, is said to have had a circuit of 70 stades in the fourth century B. C."

_M. Duncker, History of Antiquity, book 7, chapter 1 (volume 5)._

See, also, BOKHARA.

SOGDIANA. Occupied by the Huns.

See HUNS, THE WHITE.

SOHR, Battle of (1745).

See AUSTRIA: A. D. 1744-1745.

SOISSONS: Start--------

SOISSONS: Origin of the name.

See BELGÆ.

SOISSONS: A. D. 457-486. Capital of the kingdom of Syagrius.

See GAUL: A. D. 457-486; also, FRANKS: A. D. 481-511.

SOISSONS: A. D. 486. The capital of Clovis.

See PARIS: THE CAPITAL OF CLOVIS.

SOISSONS: A. D. 511-752. One of the Merovingian capitals.

See FRANKS: A. D. 511-752.

SOISSONS: A. D. 1414. Pillage and destruction by the Armagnacs.

In the civil wars of Armagnacs and Burgundians, during the reign of the insane king Charles VI., the Armagnacs, then having the king in their hands, and pretendedly acting under his commands, laid siege to Soissons and took the city by storm, on the 21st of May, A. D. 1414. "In regard to the destruction committed by the king's army in Soissons, it cannot be estimated. … There is not a Christian but would have shuddered at the atrocious excesses committed by this soldiery in Soissons: married women violated before their husbands, young damsels in the presence of their parents and relatives, holy nuns, gentle women of all ranks, of whom there were many in the town: all, or the greater part, were violated against their wills, and known carnally by divers nobles and others, who, after having satiated their own brutal passions, delivered them over without mercy to their servants; and there is no remembrance of such disorder and havoc being done by Christians. … Thus was this grand and noble city of Soissons, strong from its situation, walls and towers, full of wealth, and embellished with fine churches and holy relics, totally ruined and destroyed by the army of king Charles, and of the princes who accompanied him. The king, however, before his departure, gave orders for its rebuilding."

_Monstrelet, Chronicles (translated by Johnes), book 1, chapter 120 (volume 1)._

SOISSONS: Start--------

SOISSONS, Battle of (718).

See FRANKS: A. D. 511-752.

SOISSONS, Battle of (923).

The revolt against Charles the Simple, which resulted in the overthrow of the Carolingian dynasty, had its beginning in 918. In 922, Robert, Duke of France and Count of Paris, grandfather of Hugh Capet, was chosen and crowned king by the malcontents. On the 15th of June in the next year the most desperate and sanguinary battle of the civil war was fought at Soissons, where more than half of each army perished. The Capetians won the field, but their newly crowned king was among the slain.

_Sir F. Palgrave, History of Normandy and England, volume 2, page 40._

SOISSONS, Peace Congress of.

See SPAIN: A. D. 1726-1731.

SOKEMANNI.

See SLAVERY, MEDIÆVAL: ENGLAND.

SOLEBAY, Naval battle of (1672).

See NETHERLANDS (HOLLAND): A. D. 1672-1674.

SOLES, Society of.

See CUBA: A. D. 1514-1851.

SOLFERINO, Battle of (1859).

See ITALY: A. D. 1856-1859.

SOLIDUS, The.

"The solidus or aureus is computed equivalent in weight of gold to twenty-one shillings one penny English money."

_C. Merivale, History of the Romans, chapter 32, foot-note._

SOLON, The Constitution of.

See ATHENS: B. C. 594; also, DEBT, LAWS CONCERNING: ANCIENT GREEK.

SOLWAY-FRITH, SOLWAY MOSS, The Battle of.

See SCOTLAND: A. D. 1542.

SOLYMAN, Caliph, A. D. 715-717.

Solyman I., Turkish Sultan, 1520-1566.

Solyman II., Turkish Sultan, 1687-1691.

SOLYMI, The.

See LYCIANS.

SOMA. HAOMA.

"It is well known that both in the Veda and the Avesta a plant is mentioned, called Soma (Zend, haoma). This plant, when properly squeezed, yielded a juice, which was allowed to ferment and, when mixed with milk and honey, produced an exhilarating and intoxicating beverage. This Soma juice has the same importance in Vedic and Avestic sacrifices as the juice of the grape had in the worship of Bacchus. The question has often been discussed what kind of plant this Soma could have been. When Soma sacrifices are performed at present, it is confessed that the real Soma can no longer be procured, and that some ci-près, such as Pûtikâs, etc., must be used instead." The Soma of later times seems to have been identified with a species of Sarcostemma. The ancient Soma is conjectured by some to have been the grape, and by others to have been the hop plant.

_F. Max Müller, Biography of Words, appendix 3._

See, also, ZOROASTRIANS.

{2960}

SOMASCINES, The.

The Somascines, or the Congregation of Somasca, so called from the town of that name, were an order of regular clergy founded in 1540 by a Venetian noble, Girolamo Miani. They devoted themselves to the establishment and maintenance of hospitals, asylums for orphans, and the education of the poor.

_L. Ranke, History of the Popes, book 2, section 3 (volume 1)._

SOMATOPHYLAX.

"A somatophylax in the Macedonian army was no doubt at first, as the word means, one of the officers who had to answer for the king's safety; perhaps in modern language a colonel in the body-guards or house-hold troops; but as, in unmixed monarchies, the faithful officer who was nearest the king's person, to whose watchfulness he trusted in the hour of danger, often found himself the adviser in matters of state, so, in the time of Alexander, the title of somatophylax was given to those generals on whose wisdom the king chiefly leaned, and by whose advice he was usually guided."

_S. Sharpe, History of Egypt, chapter 6, section 18 (volume 1)._

SOMERS, Lord, and the shaping of constitutional government in England.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1710-1712.

SOMERSETT, The case of the negro.

See SLAVERY, NEGRO: A. D. 1685-1772.

SOMNAUTH, The gates of.

See AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1842-1869.

SONCINO, Battle of (1431).

See ITALY: A. D. 1412-1447.

SONDERBUND, The.

See SWITZERLAND: A. D. 1803-1848.

SONOMA: A. D. 1846. The raising of the Bear Flag.

See CALIFORNIA; A. D. 1846-1847.

SONS OF LIBERTY.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1765 THE RECEPTION OF THE NEWS.

SONS OF LIBERTY, Knights of the Order of the.

See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1864 (OCTOBER).

SOPHENE, Kingdom of.

See ARMENIA.

SOPHERIM.

See SCRIBES.

SOPHI I., Shah of Persia, A. D. 1628-1641.

Sophi II., Shah of Persia, 1666-1694.

SOPHI, The.

See MEGISTANES.

SORA, The School of.

See JEWS: 7TH CENTURY.

SORABIANS, The.

A Sclavonic tribe which occupied, in the eighth century, the country between the Elbe and the Saale. They were subdued by Charlemagne in 806.

_J. I. Mombert, History of Charles the Great, book 2, chapter 11._

SORBIODUNUM.

A strong Roman fortress in Britain which is identified in site with Old Sarum of the present day.

_T. Wright, Celt, Roman and Saxon, chapter 5._

SORBONNE, The.

See EDUCATION, MEDIÆVAL: FRANCE. UNIVERSITY OF PARIS.

SORDONES, The.

A people of the same race as the ancient Aquitanians, who inhabited the eastern Pyrenees and the Aude.

_Napoleon III., History of Cæsar, book 3, chapter 2 (volume 2). _

SOTIATES, The.

See AQUITAINE: THE ANCIENT TRIBES.

SOTO, Hernando de, The expedition of.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1528-1542.

SOUDAN, The.

See SUDAN.

SOUFFRANCE, A.

"The word is translated as a truce, but it means something very different from a modern truce. … The Souffrance was more of the nature of a peace at the present day; and the reason why of old it was treated as distinct from a peace was this: The wars of the time generally arose from questions of succession or of feudal superiority. When it became desirable to cease fighting, while yet neither side was prepared to give in to the other, there was an agreement to give up fighting in the mean time, reserving all rights entire for future discussion. A Souffrance or truce of this kind might last for centuries."

_J. H. Burton, History of Scotland, chapter 21 (volume 2)._

SOULT, Marshal, Campaigns of.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1806 (OCTOBER); 1807 (FEBRUARY-JUNE); SPAIN: A. D. 1808 (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER) to 1812-1814; GERMANY: A. D. 1813 (MAY-AUGUST); FRANCE: A. D. 1815 (JUNE).

SOUTH AFRICA: Start--------

SOUTH AFRICA: The aboriginal inhabitants.

South Africa in its widest extent is peopled by two great and perfectly distinct indigenous races—the Kafirs and the Hottentots. The affinity of the Kafir tribes, ethnographically including the Kafirs proper and the people of Congo, is based upon the various idioms spoken by them, the direct representatives of a common but now extinct mother tongue. The aggregate of languages is now conventionally known as the A-bantu, or, more correctly, the Bantu linguistic system. The more common term Kafir, from the Arabic Kâfir = infidel, really represents but a small section of this great family, and being otherwise a term of reproach imposed upon them by strangers, is of course unknown to the people themselves. All the Bantu tribes are distinguished by a dark skin and woolly hair, which varies much in length and quality, but is never sleek or straight. … According to its geographical position the Bantu system is divided into the Eastern group, from its principal representatives known as the Ama-Zulu and Ama-Khosa or Kafir proper, the Central, or Be-tchuana group, and the Western or O-va-Herero, or Damara group. … The northern division of these Bantus bears the name of Ama-Zulu, and they are amongst the best representatives of dark-coloured races. The Zulus are relatively well developed and of large size, though not surpassing the average height of Europeans, and with decidedly better features than the Ama-Khosa. … The most wide-spread and most numerous of all these Kafir tribes are the Bechuanas [including the Basutos], their present domain stretching from the upper Orange river northwards to the Zambesi, and over the west coast highland north of Namaqualand; of this vast region, however, they occupy the outskirts only. … The Hottentots, or more correctly Koi-Koin (men), have no material features in common with the great Bantu family, except their woolly hair, though even this presents some considerable points of difference. Their general type is that of a people with a peculiar pale yellow-brown complexion, very curly 'elf-lock' or matted hair, narrow forehead, high cheek-bones projecting side-ways, pointed chin, body of medium size, rather hardy than strong, with small hands and feet, and platynocephalous cranium. … The Hottentots are properly divided into three groups: the Colonial, or Hottentots properly so called, dwelling in Cape Colony, and thence eastwards to the borders of Kafirland …; the Korana, settled mainly on the right bank of the Orange river …; lastly, the Namaqua, whose domain embraces the western portion of South Africa, bordering eastwards on the Kalahari desert."

_Hellwald-Johnston, Africa (Stanford's Compendium), chapter 25._

See, also, AFRICA: THE INHABITING RACES.

{2961}

SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1486-1806. Portuguese discovery.- Dutch possession. English acquisition.

The Cape of Good Hope, "as far as we know, was first doubled by Bartholomew Diaz in 1486.

See PORTUGAL: A. D. 1463-1498.