WILLIAM
2086
WILLIAM
mildly, but an uprising in 1070 was savagely put down, and the hatred between English and Norman thereby aroused forced him to rule harshly. The English were deprived of office, and ground down by taxes, while fortresses garrisoned by Normans were built throughout the country. In 1072 Scotland was invaded and King Malcolm Canmore forced to acknowledge William's authority. A civil war with Robert, his son, was ended through the intercession of Queen Matilda. Most of the latter part of William's life was spent in Normandy, the government of England being intrusted to Bishop Odo, his half-brother. William was rather fat, and a sarcastic remark about his fatness by Philip I of France caused William to raise an army and invade France. He captured and set fire to Mantes, but while watching the blaze he was thrown from his horse, and died on Sept. 9, 1087. Not only was William a successful soldier, but he knew how to rule, and England had never before been so well-governed. Consult Freeman's History of the Norman Conquest. See ENGLAND, FRANCE, NORMANDY and NORTHMEN.
William II of England, surnamed Rufus, the second son of William the Conqueror, was born in Normandy in 1056. The celebrated Archbishop Lanfranc was his teacher, and he was his father's favorite son. He had no sooner been crowned, Sept. 26, 1087, than Robert, his older brother, who had inherited Normandy, tried to stir up an , insurrection in England. In return William invaded Normandy in 1091. When a peace had been patched up between them, they joined arms against Henry, the third brother, and drove him from Cotentin, a district covering a third of Normandy, which he had bought from Robert. These scenes of strife were carried on throughout William's reign. He invaded Scotland, waged a second war against Robert, and engaged in putting down disturbances in Wales and the north of England. Robert, on leaving for the crusades, sold Normandy to his brother for $50,000. William Rufus' last campaign was in defense of a part of his newly acquired possession, the district of Maine, which was claimed by a chieftain named Helias de la Fl£che. He was shot accidentally by an arrow, supposed to have come from the bow of Sir Walter Tyrrel, while hunting in the New Forest, Aug. 2, 11oo. Consult Freeman's Reign of William Rufus.
William III of England, the son of William II of Orange and Mary, oldest daughter of Charles I of England, was born at The Hague on Nov. 4, 1650. Oliver Cromwell had the young prince shut out from the stadt-holdership of the United Provinces, but on the murder of De Witt, William, then 22 years old, was chosen stadtholder. He found the republic in the midst of a seemingly hope-
less struggle with Louis XIV, but his ability as a general and his skill as a diplomat at the end of seven years won an honorable peace by the treaty of Nimeguen in 1678. This achievement made him famous throughout Europe. By an alliance, formed at Augsburg in 1686, William became the head of a league of German princes, including Spain and Sweden, against Louis XIV. William had married Mary, the oldest daughter of James II, and to escape that monarch's tyranny the English now looked to the stadtholder as their only hope. He had but to land, Nov. 5, 1688, to bring the whole country to his support, and William and Mary were crowned joint sovereigns. Ireland, however, did not submit until after a two years' contest, and throughout William's reign plots were hatched against his life by the followers of the Stuarts. The league, now strengthened by the addition of England, vigorously carried on its war with France, but the English people never were heartily in favor of it, and William was forced by home pressure and defeats in the field to make the peace of Ryswick in 1697. His reign in England was one of great progress in real liberty for the English people, and William is acknowledged to have been one of the ablest of English kings. He died on March 8, 1702. Consult Macaulay's History of England and Traill's William III.
William IV of England, the third son of George III, was born at Windsor, Aug. 21, 1765. When 14, he was sent to sea as a midshipman under Admiral Digby. Next he sailed under Admiral Rodney, and took part in the action off Cape St. Vincent. During the remainder of the war the prince saw plenty of service. In 1789 he was made Duke of Clarence. He joined his brothers, the prince of Wate8 and the duke of York, in their opposition to the king, and took his seat in the house of lords. In 1827, on the death of the duke of York, William became heir to the throne, and was crowned king on June 28, 1830. The great event of his reign was the passage of the reform bill, June 4, 1832. He died on June 20, 1837. See Greville's Memoirs and Fitzgerald's William IV.
William I, king of Prussia and German emperor, was the second son of Frederick William III of Prussia. He was born at Berlin, March 22, 1797. Though a delicate child, he became one of the most vigorous men in Germany. Made a captain in 1813, he accompanied his father in the campaign of 1814, and next year was given the iron cross for his bravery at Bar-sur-Aube. When 21, he was made major-general, and mastered the military system of his own and other European countries. On the accession of Frederick William IV, his brother, in 1840, he became heir to the throne and was made Prince of Prussia.
