With Wolfe in Canada:

The Winning of a Continent 

By G.A.Henty

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PEEFACE.

MY DEAR LADS,

In the present volume I have endeavoured to give the details of the principal events in a struggle whose importance can hardly be overrated. At its commencement the English occupied a mere patch of land on the eastern seaboard of America, hemmed in on all sides by the French, who occupied not only Canada in the north and Louisiana in the south, but possessed a chain of posts connecting them, so cutting off the English from all access to the vast countries of the west. On the issues of that struggle depended not only the destiny of Canada, but of the whole of North America and, to a large extent, that of the two mother countries. When the contest began the chances of France becoming the great colonizing empire of the world were as good as those of England. Not only did she hold far larger territories in America than did England, but she had rich colonies in the West Indies where the flag of England was at that time hardly represented, and her prospects in India were better than our own. At that time, too, she disputed with us on equal terms the empire of the sea. The loss of her North American provinces turned the scale. With the monopoly of such a market the commerce of England increased enormously, and with her commerce her wealth and power of extension, while the power of France was proportionately crippled. It is true that in time the North American colonies, with the exception of Canada, broke away from their connection with the old country, but they still remained English, still continued to be the best market for our goods and manufactures. Never was the shortsightedness of human beings shown more distinctly than when France wasted her strength and treasure in a sterile contest in the continent of Europe, and permitted, with scarce an effort, her North American colonies to be torn from her. All the historical details of the war have been drawn from the excellent work entitled Montcalm and Wolfe, by Mr. Francis Parkman, and from the detailed history of the Louisbourg and Quebec expeditions, by Major Knox, who served under Generals Amherst and Wolfe. 

Yours very sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

Bonnie Prince Charlie :

 a tale of Fontenoy and Culloden

By G.A.Henty

It was a dull evening in the month of September, 1728. The apprentices had closed and barred the shutters and the day?s work was over. Supper was laid in the long room over the shop, the viands were on the table, and round it were standing Bailie Anderson and his wife, his foreman John Gillespie, and his two apprentices.

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In the Irish brigade :

A tale of war in Flanders and Spain 

By G.A.Henty

In the Irish Brigade A Tale of War in Flanders and Spain - Preface - The evils arising from religious persecution, sectarian hatred, ill-government, and oppression were never more strongly illustrated than by the fact that for a century Ireland, which ha since that time furnished us with a large proportion of our best soldiers, should have been among our bitterest and most formidable foes, and her sons fought in the ranks of our greatest continental enemy. It was not because they were adherents of the house of Stuart that Irishmen left their native country to take service abroad, but because life in Ireland was rendered well-nigh intolerable for Catholics on account of the nature and severity of the laws against them, and the bitterness with which those laws were carried into effect. An Irish Catholic had no prospects of employment or advancement at home. He could hold no civil appointment of any kind he could not serve as an officer, nor even enlist 8s a private, in the army he could not hold land he was subject to imprisonment, and even death, on the most trifling and frivolous accusations brought against him by the satellites of the Irish Government. Not only could he not sit in the parliament of Dublin, but he could not even vote at elections...

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Preface.

The evils arising from religious persecution, sectarian hatred,ill government, and oppression were never more strongly illustrated than by the fact that, for a century, Ireland, which has since that time furnished us with a large proportion of our best soldiers, should have been among our bitterest and most formidable foes, and her sons fought in the ranks of our greatest continental enemy. It was not because they were adherents of the house of Stuart that Irishmen left their native country to take service abroad, but because life in Ireland was rendered well-nigh intolerable for Catholics, on account of the nature and severity of the laws against them, and the bitterness with which those laws were carried into effect. An Irish Catholic had no prospects of employment or advancement at home. He could hold no civil appointment of any kind. He could not serve as an officer, nor even enlist as a private, in the army. He could not hold land. He was subject to imprisonment, and even death, on the most trifling and frivolous accusations brought against him by the satellites of the Irish Government. Not only could he not sit in the parliament of Dublin, but he could not even vote at elections. It was because they believed that the return of the Stuarts would mean relief, from at least some of their disabilities, and liberty to carry out the offices of their religion openly, and to dwell in peace, free from denunciation and persecution, that the Irish remained so long faithful to the Jacobite cause. It was not, indeed, until 1774 that the Catholics in Ireland were admitted to qualify themselves as subjects of the crown, and not until the following year that they were permitted to enlist in the army. Irish regiments had enlisted in France, previous to the Convention of Limerick; but it was the Irish army that defended that town, and, having been defeated, passed over to France, that raised the Irish Brigade to the position of an important factor in the French army, which it held for nearly a hundred years, bearing a prominent part in every siege and battle in Flanders, Germany, Italy, and Spain. A long succession of French marshals and generals have testified to the extraordinary bravery of these troops, and to their good conduct under all circumstances. Not only in France did Irishmen play a prominent part in military matters, but they were conspicuous in every continental army, and their descendants are still to be found bearing honoured names throughout Europe. Happily, those days are past, and for over a hundred years the courage and military capacity of Irishmen have been employed in the service of Great Britain. For records of the doings of some of the regiments of the Irish Brigade, during the years 1706-1710, I am indebted to the painstaking account of the Irish Brigade in the service of France, by J. C. O'Callaghan; while the accounts of the war in Spain are drawn from the official report, given in Boyer's Annals of the Reign of Queen Anne, which contains a mine of information of the military and civil events of the time.

Sincerly G. A. Henty.

The Bravest of the Brave:

With Peterborough in Spain

By G.A.Henty

Unedited, unabridged, original format editions with original colored cover art, these Henty books reproduce the original in careful detail. There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is largely due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough. His career as General extended over little more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed.

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Preface

My dear Lads,

There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. His career as a general was a brief one, extending only over little more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed, and performed feats of daring worthy of taking their place among those of the leaders of chivalry. The fact that they have made so slight a mark upon history is due to several reasons. In the first place, they were overshadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough; they were performed in a cause which could scarcely be said to be that of England, and in which the public had a comparatively feeble interest; the object, too, for which he fought was frustrated, and the war was an unsuccessful one, although from no fault on his part. But most of all, Lord Peterborough failed to attain that place in the list of British worthies to which his genius and his bravery should have raised him, because that genius was directed by no steady aim or purpose. Lord Peterborough is, indeed, one of the most striking instances in history of genius and talent wasted, and a life thrown away by want of fixed principle and by an inability or unwillingness to work with other men. He quarrelled in turn with every party and with almost every individual with whom he came in contact; and while he himself was constantly changing his opinions, he was intolerant of all opinions differing from those which he at the moment held, and was always ready to express in the most open and offensive manner his contempt and dislike for those who differed from him. His eccentricities were great; he was haughty and arrogant, hasty and passionate, he denied his God, quarrelled with his king, and rendered himself utterly obnoxious to every party in the state. And yet there was a vast amount of good in this strange man. He was generous and warmhearted to a fault, kind to those in station beneath him, thoughtful and considerate for his troops, who adored him, cool in danger, sagacious in difficulties, and capable at need of evincing a patience and calmness wholly at variance with his ordinary impetuous character. Although he did not scruple to carry deception, in order to mislead an enemy, to a point vastly beyond what is generally considered admissible in war, he was true to his word and punctiliously honourable in the ordinary affairs of life. For the historical events I have described, and for the details of Peterborough's conduct and character, I have relied chiefly upon the memoir of the earl written by Mr. C. Warburton, and published some thirty years ago.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

A Jacobite Exile;

The adventures of a young Englishman in the service of Charles XII. of Sweden.

By G.A.Henty

Sir Marmaduke was, at that time, only a child, but he still remembered how the Roundhead soldiers had lorded it there, when his father was away fighting with the army of the king; how they had seated themselves at the board, and had ordered his mother about as if she had been a scullion, jeering her with cruel words as to what would have been the fate of her husband, if they had caught him there, until, though but eight years old, he had smitten one of the troopers, as he sat, with all his force.

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PREFACE.

MY DEAR LADS,

Had I attempted to write you an account of thewhole of the adventurous career of Charles XII. of Sweden, it would, in itself, have filled a bulky volume to the exclusion of all other matter, and a youth who fought at Narva would have been a middle-aged man at the death of that warlike monarch before the walls of Frederickshall. I have therefore been obliged to confine myself to the first three years of his reign, in which he crushed the army of Russia at Narva, and laid the then powerful republic of Poland prostrate at his feet. In this way only could I obtain space for the private adventures and doings of Charlie Carstairs, the hero of the story. The details of the wars of Charles XII. were taken from the military history written at his command by his chamberlain, Adlerfeld, from a similar narrative by a Scotch gentleman in his service, and from Voltaire's history. The latter is responsible for the statement that the trade of Poland was almost entirely in the hands of Scotch, French, and Jewish merchants, the Poles themselves being sharply divided into the two categories of nobles and peasants.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

ORANGE AND GREEN:

 A TALE OF THE BOYNE AND LIMERICK

by G.A.Henty 

A few miles to the south of Bray Head, on the crest of a hill falling sharply down to the sea, stood Castle Davenant, a conspicuous landmark to mariners skirting the coast on their way from Cork or Waterford to Dublin Bay. 

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PREFACE.

MY DEAR LADS:

The subject of Ireland is one which has for some years been a very prominent one, and is likely, I fear, for some time yet to occupy a large share of public attention. For many years the laws in Ireland and the rights of Irishmen have been identical with those which we enjoy in England. The discontent manifested in the troubles of recent years has had its root in an older sense of grievance, or which there was, unhappily, only too abundant reason. The great proportion of the soil of Ireland was taken from the original owners and handed over to Cromwell's followers, and lor years the land that still remained in the hands of Irishmen was subject to the covetousness of a party of greedy intriguers, who had sufficient influence to sway the proceedings of government. The result was the rising of Ireland, nominally in defense of the rights of King James, but really an effort of despair on the part of those who deemed their religion, their property, and even their lives threatened by this absolute ascendency of the Protestant party in the government of the country. I have drawn my information from a variety of sources; but as I wished you to see the matter from the Irish point of view I have drawn most largely from the history of those events by Mr. O'Driscol, published sixty years ago. There is, however, but little difference of opinion between Irish and English authors as to the general course of the war, or as to the atrocious conduct of William's army of foreign mercenaries toward the people of Ireland.

Your sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

When London burned;

A story of restoration times and the great fire. 

By G.A. Henty

The hero of this story was the son of a nobleman who had lost his estates during the troublous times of the Commonwealth. Instead of hanging idly about the court seeking favors, Cyril Shenstone determined to maintain himself by honest work. During the Great Plague and the Great Fire, which visited London with such terrible results, Sir Cyril was prominent among those who brought help to the panic-stricken inhabitants. This tale has rich variety of interest, both national and personal, and in the hero you have an English lad of the noblest type wise, humane, and unselfish.

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PREFACE.

We are accustomed to regard the Eeign of Charles II. as one of the most inglorious periods of English History; but this was far from being the case. It is true that the extravagance and profligacy of the Court were carried to a point unknown before or since, forming, by the indignation they excited among the people at large, the main cause of the overthrow of the House of Stuart. But, on the other hand, the nation made extraordinary advances in commerce and wealth, while the valour of our sailors was as conspicuous under the Dukes of York and Albemarle, Prince Rupert and the Earl of Sandwich, as it had been under Blake himself, and their victories resulted in transferring the commercial as well as the naval supremacy of Holland to this country. In spite of the cruel blows inflicted on the well-being of the country, alike by the extravagance of the Court, the badness of the Government, the Great Plague, and the destruction of London by fire, an extraordinary extension of our trade occurred during the reign of Charles II. Such a period, therefore, although its brilliancy was marred by dark shadows, cannot be considered as an inglorious epoch. It was ennobled by the bravery of our sailors, by the fearlessness with which the coalition of France with Holland was faced, and by the spirit of enterprise with which our merchants and traders seized the opportunity, and in spite of national misfortunes, raised England in the course of a few years to the rank of the greatest commercial power in the world.

G. A. HENTY.

Friends Though Divided:

A Tale of the Civil War

by G. A. Henty

England is torn by a great conflict between the Cavaliers and the Roundheads. The two heroes, Harry Furness and Herbert Rippinghall, are on opposite sides of the struggle, with adventures that spread to Ireland and Bermuda and the efforts of Charles II to regain the throne.

  

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 PREFACE.

MY DEAR LADS: Although so long a time has elapsed since the great civil war in England, men are still almost as much divided as they were then as to the merits of the quarrel, almost as warm partisans of the one side or the other. Most of you will probably have formed an opinion as to the rights of the case, either from your own reading, or from hearing the views of your elders. For my part, I have endeavored to hold the scales equally, to relate historical facts with absolute accuracy, and to show how much of right and how much of wrong there was upon either side. Upon the one hand, the king by his instability, bad faith, and duplicity alienated his best friends, and drove the Commons to far greater lengths than they had at first dreamed of. Upon the other hand, the struggle, begun only to win constitutional rights, ended owing to the ambition, fanaticism, and determination to override all rights and all opinions save their own, of a numerically insignificant minority of the Commons, backed by the strength of the army in the establishment of the most complete despotism England has ever seen. It may no doubt be considered a failing on my part that one of my heroes has a very undue preponderance of adventure over the other. This I regret; but after the scale of victory turned, those on the winning side had little to do or to suffer, and one's interest is certainly with the hunted fugitive, or the slave in the Bermudas, rather than with the prosperous and well-to-do citizen.

Yours very sincerely,

G. A. HENTY.

Won by the Sword: The Thirty Years' War

By G.A.Henty

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PREFACE.

In my preface to the Lion of the North I expressed a hope that I might some day be able to continue the history of the Thirty Years' War. The deaths of Gustavus and his great rival Wallenstein, and the crushing defeat of the Swedes and their allies at the battle of Nordlingen, brought the first period of that war to a close. Hostilities, indeed, never ceased, but the Swedes no longer played the leading part on the Protestant side that they had hitherto occupied. Oxenstiern, the great chancellor of Sweden, saw that the only hope of eventual success lay in engaging France in the struggle, and he and the Duke of Weimar went to Paris and pointed out to Richelieu that unless France intervened, Austria must become the master of all Germany, and as the ally of Spain would have it in her power to completely dominate France. Richelieu perceived the opportunity, made a treaty with the Swedes and Weimar, and engaged to grant large subsidies to the former, and to send an army to co-operate with the latter. Then began the second period of this long and terrible struggle, France now taking the place that Sweden had hitherto occupied, and bearing the brunt of the conflict. She emerged triumphant, with her territories largely increased, while Austria was crushed and humiliated, and Spain was dethroned from her position as the dominating power of Europe. The success of France was greatly due to the fact that her armies were led by two of the greatest military geniuses of all times, viz. Conde and Turenne, men of very different types, but equally great as commanders, and equally, at the time of which we are speaking, devoted to the cause of France. Both were men of extraordinary personal courage, and although one was as prudent and careful of the lives of his troops as the other was impetuous and careless at what cost he won his victories, they worked together with a harmony that could have hardly been expected among men so differently constituted. Although in the subsequent wars of the Fronde they took different sides, their friendship, except during a short period of alienation, was never shaken, and their admiration for each other's genius never abated.

G. A. HENTY.

Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings

MAPS OF THE ANCIENT SEA KINGS by Charles Hapgood


I have Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings by Charles Hapgood in my library – fantastic book. I like this youtube but I believe the conclusions and illusions are wrong.
We have been brainwashed to believe in evolution – that man has “developed”. I don’t believe that at all.
Our entire outlook changes when we look at history from the opposite point of view. The Egyptians were consumed with “death” because, let us believe, it was a new occurrence for the age. Man before them lived long, long enough to do very incredible things like create fantastically technical structures and maps.

The Lion of the North:

a tale of the times of Gustavus Adolphus and the wars of religion. By G.A. Henty

In this story, Mr. Henty gives the history of the first part of the Thirty Years' War. The issue had its importance, which has extended to the present day, as it established religious freedom in Germany. The army of the chivalrous King of Sweden was largely composed of Scotsmen, and among these was the hero of the story.

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MY DEAR LADS,

You are nowadays called upon to acquire so great a mass of learning and information in the period of life between the ages of twelve and eighteen that it is not surprising that but little time can be spared for the study of the history of foreign nations. Most lads are, therefore, lamentably ignorant of the leading events of even the most important epochs of Continental history, although, as many of these events have exercised a marked influence upon the existing state of affairs in Europe, a knowledge of them is far more useful, and, it may be said, far more interesting than that of the comparatively petty affairs of Athens, Sparta, Corinth, and Thebes.

Prominent among such epochs is the Thirty Years' War, which arose from the determination of the Emperor of Austria to crush out Protestantism throughout Germany. Since the invasion of the Huns no struggle which has taken place in Europe has approached this in the obstinacy of the fighting and the terrible sufferings which the war inflicted upon the people at large. During these thirty years the population of Germany decreased by nearly a third, and in some of the states half the towns and two-thirds of the villages absolutely disappeared.

The story of the Thirty Years' War is too long to be treated in one volume. Fortunately it divides itself naturally into two parts. The first begins with the entry of Sweden, under her chivalrous monarch Gustavus Adolphus, upon the struggle, and terminates with his death and that of his great rival Wallenstein. This portion of the war has been treated in the present story. The second period begins at the point when France assumed the leading part in the struggle, and concluded with the peace which secured liberty of conscience to the Protestants of Germany. This period I hope to treat some day in another story, so that you may have a complete picture of the war. The military events of the present tale, the battles, sieges, and operations, are all taken from the best authorities, while for the account of the special doings of Mackay's, afterwards Munro's Scottish Regiment, I am indebted to Mr. J. Grant's Life of Sir John Hepburn.

Yours sincerely,

G. A. HENTY

The Life of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was born in the year 387 AD or so it is believed. He comes from the village of Bunnavem Taburniae (there is still some doubt about the name for it has many names) in Roman Britain. The location to the village is unknown but believed to be on the west coast near Scotland. He was the son of Calpornius, a deacon, who is the son of Potitus, a priest. Besides being a deacon, Calpornius also held a official position with the Roman administration. The native tongue of St. Patrick was an old Celtic dialect similar to nowadays Welsh. Being among the privileged classes it is well believed he was also familiar with Latin. Few details were written by Patrick, or by anyone else, of his childhood and early teens. But Patrick did mention that towards his regard to Christianity, even though his family was Christian, he was a pagan.

At sixteen years of age, Patrick was captured, with thousands of others, and brought to Ireland in slavery. During the six years of captivity Patrick worked as a herdsman and as you know the treatment of slaves is nothing but humane and Patrick recalls that he endured hunger, nakedness, and being near the point of collapse. During those years of hardship whatever religion he had that was nominal changed into desperate plight in seeking for God. “And there the Lord opened the sense of my unbelief that I might at last remember my sins and be converted with all my heart to the Lord my God.” He wrote in his ‘Confession’ that he prayed a hundred prayers during the day and as many during the night. One night he heard a voice in his dreams say, and I quote, “It is well that you fast, for soon you will go to your home country.” A short wile after he heard a voice again, saying “See, your ship is ready.” As Joseph did with Mary and Our Lord many years ago, Patrick never doubted the Lord got up and fled, from his master’s field, and traveled across two hundred miles of country, seemingly on foot. As a runaway slave there would be many dangers and hardships to face but Patrick gives us few details besides being unafraid for he went with the strength of God to guide him. He found a ship ready to sail and after much difficulty was allowed to board. After various adventures, which Patrick does not mention where but is believed to have taken place in Gaul, returned home to hos family.

After thirty years of peace and becoming a deacon, Patrick had a vision of a man coming, as it were from Ireland. The mans name was Victoricus (who many believe to be Saint Victricius, bishop of Roauen). He carried with him many letters which one he gave to Patrick, and in the letter he heard the desperate cry of the Irish. Patrick knew then that it was his calling to go back to Ireland and help the people. Although he petitioned to the elders of the church, instead of letting him go they attacked him with a confession he had made, to a friend about his childhood, thirty years ago. But in the years to pass Patrick prevailed and became the Second Bishop of Ireland for they sent Palladius before him. It is said that is when his name was changed to Patrick for his Christian name was Maewyn Succat. It took him many years and through many hardships to see change in Ireland. As he said in his confession, and I quote; “hence how did it come to pass in Ireland that those who never had a knowledge of God, but until now always worshipped idols and things impure, have now been made a people of the Lord, and are called sons of God, that the sons and daughters of the Kings of the Irish are seen to be Monks and Virgins of Christ.”

According to the latest reconstruction of the Old Irish annals, Patrick died in 460 AD on March 17^th. And that is why we celebrate his life, the banishing of the snakes, and the bringing of Christianity into beloved Ireland. 

By Allison Halliday

Saint Patrick's Day!

Saint Patrick's "Breastplate" Prayer

I bind unto myself today
The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.
 

I bind this day to me for ever.
By power of faith, Christ's incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan river;
His death on Cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;*
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the cherubim;
The sweet 'well done' in judgment hour,
The service of the seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death wound and the burning,
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me.
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,
The strong Name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of Whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Reading & Learning

The Story of Saint Patrick's Day by Patricia A. Pingry
Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie de Paola
Patrick: Saint of Ireland by Joyce Denham
St. Patrick's Day by Gail Gibbons
St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting

Saint Patrick by Ann Tompert

Explain to your children how Saint Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish people and that is why shamrocks are associated with Saint Patrick and the Irish people. 

http://www.livingbookscurriculum.com/pdf/HH-St-Patricks-Day.pdf

http://motherlyloving.blogspot.com/2010/03/feast-of-saint-patrick.html

By Right of Conquest:

or With Cortez in Mexico

By G.A.Henty

With the Conquest of Mexico as the ground-work of his story, Mr. Henty has interwoven the adventures of an English youth. He is beset by many perils among the natives, but by a ruse he obtains the protection of the Spaniards, and after the fall of Mexico he succeeds in regaining his native shore, with a fortune and a charming Aztec bride.

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PREFACE.

The conquest of Mexico, an extensive empire with a numerous and warlike population, by a mere handful of Spaniards is one of the romances of history; indeed, a writer of fiction would scarcely have dared to invent so improbable a story. Even the bravery of the Spaniards and the advantage of superior arms would not have sufficed to give them the victory, had it not been that Mexico was ripe for disruption. The Aztecs, instead of conciliating by wise and gentle government the peoples they had conquered, treated them with such despotic harshness that they were ready to ally themselves with the invaders, and to join with them heartily against the central power; so that instead of battling against an empire single-handed, the Spaniards had really only to war with a great city, and were assisted by a vast army of auxiliaries.

Fortunately, the details of the extraordinary expedition of Cortez were fully related by contemporary writers, several of whom were eye-witnesses of the scenes they described. It was not necessary for me, however, to revert to these, as Prescott in his admirable work on the conquest of Mexico has given a summary of them, and has drawn a most vivid picture of the events of the campaign. The book far surpasses in interest any volume of fiction, and I should strongly recommend my readers to take the first opportunity that occurs of perusing the whole story, of which I have only been able to touch upon the principal events.

While history is silent as to the voyage of the Swan, it is recorded by the Spaniards that an English ship did in 1517 or 1518 appear off the port of San Domingo, and was fired at by them, and chased from the islands; but it was not until some twenty or thirty years later that the English buccaneers openly sailed to challenge the supremacy of the Spaniards among the Western Islands, and to dispute their pretensions to exclude all other flags but their own from those waters. It may, however, be well believed that the ship spoken of was not the only English craft that entered the Spanish main, and that the adventurous traders of the West country more than once dispatched ships to carry on an illicit trade there. Such enterprises would necessarily be conducted with great secrecy until the relations between Spain and England changed, and religious differences broke up the alliance that existed between them during the early days of Henry VIII.

G. A. HENTY.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire

The Fighting Veres:

Lives of Sir Francis Vere, General of the Queen's Forces in the Low Countries, Governor of the Brill and of Portsmouth, and of Sir Horace Vere, General of the Forces in the Low Countries, Governor of the Brill, Master-General of Ordnance, and Baro

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PREFACE.

The war of independence in the Netherlands had a lasting influence on the formation of opinion in England. It thus led to the civil war in defense of the liberties of the old country, and to the founding of colonies in America. Queen Elizabeth declared that the people of the Netherlands were justified in resisting the tyranny of rulers who infringed and attempted to subvert their rights and liberties. She made war on the tyrant, and espoused the cause of the oppressed people. Englishmen received the declaration of their Queen with enthusiasm. During upwards of sixty years they continued to cross the sea and to fight for the cause of freedom. There was scarcely a man in England who had not either served himself....

By England's aid: The freeing of the Netherlands

  by G.A.Henty

The story, By England's Aid continues the account of the Dutch struggle for Independence first presented in By Pike and Dyke. Two English lads, brothers, experience the major conficts in the struggle meeting one of the greatest generals of the time, Sir Francis Vere. Their adventures include the Spanish Armada, the battle of Cadiz, life in Holland and Spain, the Battle of Ostend and more.

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MY DEAR LADS,

In my preface to By Pike and Dyke I promised in a future story to deal with the closing events of the "War of Independence in Holland. The period over which that war extended was so long, and the incidents were so numerous and varied, that it was impossible to include the whole within the limit of a single book. The former volume brought the story of the struggle down to the death of the Prince of Orange and the capture of Antwerp; the present gives the second phase of the war, when England, who had long unofficially assisted Holland, threw herself openly into the struggle, and by her aid mainly contributed to the successful issue of the war. In the first part of the struggle the scene lay wholly among the low lands and cities of Holland and Zeeland, and the war was strictly a defensive one, waged against overpowering odds. After England threw herself into the strife it assumed far wider proportions, and the independence of the Netherlands was mainly secured by the defeat and destruction of the great Armada, by the capture of Cadiz and the fatal blow thereby struck at the mercantile prosperity of Spain, and by the defeat of the Holy League by Henry of Navarre, aided by English soldiers and English gold. For the facts connected with the doings of Sir Francis Vere and the British contingent in Holland, I have depended much upon the excellent work by Mr. Clement Markham entitled “The Fighting Veres” . In this full justice is done to the great English general and his followers, and it is conclusively shown that some statements to the disparagement of Sir Francis Vere by Mr. Motley are founded upon a misconception of the facts. Sir Francis Vere was, in the general opinion of the time, one of the greatest commanders of the age, and more, perhaps, than any other man -with the exception of the Prince of Orange contributed to the successful issue of the struggle of Holland to throw off the yoke of Spain.

Yours sincerely,
G. A. HENTY.

Under Drake's flag : a tale of the Spanish Main

by G.A.Henty
An exciting account of life on the high seas as seen through the eyes of young Ned Hearne. The brave 16th-century teen sails with Francis Drake, experiences a harsh seafaring life, visits strange, unexplored lands; and witnesses the great naval battle between the English fleet and the Spanish Armada.


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 Sir Francis Drake 
by Wikipedia (read the rest  by clicking the title.) 

"Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral (1540 – 27 January 1596), was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, a renowned pirate, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588, subordinate only to Charles Howard and the Queen herself. He died of dysentery in January 1596 after unsuccessfully attacking San Juan, Puerto Rico. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque, 'Draque' being the Spanish pronunciation of 'Drake'. His name in Latin was Franciscus Draco ('Francis the Dragon'). King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, about £4,000,000 (US$6.5M) by modern standards, for his life. He is famous for (among other things) leading the first English circumnavigation of the world, from 1577 to 1580."

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St. Bartholomew's Eve; a tale of the Huguenot wars

By G.A.Henty

St. Bartholomew’s Eve, more than 2000 French Huguenots men, women, and children were massacred for their faith. In Henty vividly depicts Coligny’s unflinching bravery, Queen Elizabeth’s vacillating foreign policy, Catherine de Medici’s vindictive scheming, and the Queen of Navarre’s inner strength as he recounts the adventures of sixteen-year-old Phillip Fletcher, son of an Englishman and a Frenchwoman, who journeys to France to take part in the Huguenots’ struggle for freedom. Intrepid and resourceful, he and his band of soldiers see much combat, and Phillip’s skill as a swordman and a marksman is required innumerable times before he returns as a hero to England.

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 Preface

It is difficult in these days of religious toleration to understand why men should, three centuries ago, have flown at each other’s throats in the name of the Almighty, still less how in cold blood they could have perpetrated hideous massacres of men, women, and children. The Huguenot wars were however, as much political as religious. Philip of Spain, at that time the most powerful potentate of Europe, desired to add France to the countries where his influence was all-powerful and in the ambitious house of Guise he found ready instruments. For a time the new faith that had spread with such rapidity in Germany, England, and Holland made great progress m France also. But here the reigning family remained catholic, and the vigorous measures they adopted to check the growing tide drove those of the new religion to take up arms in self-defense. Although under the circumstances the Protestants can hardly be blamed for so doing, there can be little doubt that the first Huguenot war, though the revolt was successful, was the means of France remaining a Catholic country. It gave color to the assertions of the Guises and their friends that the movement was a political one, and that Protestants intended to grasp all power and to overthrow the throne of France. It also afforded an excuse for the cruel persecutions which followed, and rallied to the Catholic cause numbers of those who were at heart indifferent to the question of religion, but were Royalists rather than Catholics. The great organization of the Church of Rome labored among all classes for the destruction of the growing heresy. Every pulpit in France resounded with denunciations of the Huguenots, and passionate appeals were made to the bigotry and fanaticism of the more ignorant classes; so that, while the power of the Huguenots lay in some of the country districts, the mobs of the great towns were everywhere the instruments of the priests. I have not considered it necessary to devote any large portion of my story to details of the terrible massacres of the period, nor to the atrocious persecutions to which the Huguenots were subjected, but have as usual gone to the military events of the struggle for its chief interest. For the particulars of these I have relied chiefly upon the collection of works of contemporary authors published by M. Zeller, of Paris, the Memoirs of Fra^ois de la Noiie, and other French authorities.

G. A. HENTY.

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 Gaspard de Coligny