Locke:

(1632 - 1704) English Enlightenment thinker, "Father of Liberalism”, influenced epistemology & political philosophy,  first British empiricists (following Bacon) developed social contract theory; influenced French & Scottish Enlightenment, Voltaire, Rousseau & American revolutionaries (reflected in the Declaration of Independence).  His theory of mind is the origin of modern conceptions of identity & self: at birth the mind is a blank slate (tabula rasa, without a priori or pre-existing ideas); knowledge is known empirically from sense perception (this reflects the ideology of science, that something must be capable of being tested repeatedly, nothing is exempt from being disproven).

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Shaftesbury:

(1621- 1683) Anthony Cooper, prominent English politician during the Interregnum & under Charles II; founder of the Whig party, a patron of Locke.  In the Civil War initially fought as a Royalist, changed sides in 1644; in the Interregnum, served on the Council of State under Cromwell, opposed rule without parliament & the religious extremism of the Fifth Monarchists; a key figure in restoration of Charles II;  Chancellor of the Exchequer 1661-72.  He opposed the Clarendon Code (imposing conformity on the Church of England), sympathised with Protestant Nonconformists.  In the 1770s Locke joined his household.  He took an interest in colonial ventures, was a Lords Proprietor of the Province of Carolina; in 1669, Shaftsbury & Locke wrote the Constitutions of Carolina.  By 1675 he believed that Danby & Church were transforming England into an absolute monarchy.  He argued in favour of frequent parliaments & supported the Exclusion Bill (preventing James from obtaining the crown).  He led the Whig party (born during the Exclusion Crisis).  Following the failure of the Exclusion Bill he was arrested for High Treason (1681); fled in 1682.

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Samuel Clarke:

(1675- 1729) English philosopher & Anglican clergyman, considered the major British philosopher between Locke & Berkeley.  Noted for his pursuit of natural theology and philosophy & his investigation of questions in science in his thorough analysis of Newton; he placed  emphasis on logical, rational approaches to spiritual questions (e.g. the attributes of God, immortality of the soul).  Known for his dialogue with Leibniz, where he sought to provide a rational argument in the defence of natural theology & Newtonianism.

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Bentham:

(1748-1832) English philosopher, jurist & social reformer, founder of utilitarianism; established axiom: "it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong"; leading theorist in Anglo-American philosophy of law, a political radical his ideas influenced the development of welfarism, reforms of English prisons, schools, poor laws, law courts & Parliament itself; he strongly favoured extension of individual legal & economic rights but opposed "God-given" natural law; wanted separation of Church & state, greater freedom of expression, equal rights for women, the right to divorce, decriminalising of homosexuality; the abolition of slavery, the death penalty & physical punishment (including corporal punishment for children).  His students included his secretary & collaborator James Mill (& the latter's son, JS Mill), John Austin, Robert Owen (founder of utopian socialism).

 

Western Hellenism:

Spengler's allusion to “Hellenism” is a reference to the Hellenistic age, the post-Culture period, the Autumn Civilization of Classical culture, which he asserts began in 323 BC;  he states that in the Faustian culture this progression, from Culture to Civilization, was based on the ideas of English thinkers in the period 1600-1850.

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Bayle:

(1647-1706)  French Protestant philosopher & writer known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary (published beginning 1697), a forerunner of the Encyclopedists; he advocated the principle of the toleration for divergent beliefs & his works subsequently influenced the development of the Enlightenment.

 

Marengo:

see page 144

 

Jena:

battle, October 1806, west of the river Saale in Germany, between of Napoleon & Frederick William III of Prussia.  The Prussians were decisively defeated & subjugated to the French Empire until the Sixth Coalition (1812).  Several figures integral to the reformation of the Prussian Army participated at Jena: von Blücher, von Clausewitz, von Gneisenau, von Scharnhorst.

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Smolensk:

first major battle of the French invasion of Russia, August 1812, involved 50,000  men of the Grande Armée under Napoleon I against 35,000 Russian troops under General Tolly.  Napoleon attacked the city occupied by Prince Bagration's Second Army & captured 2 suburbs.  The Russians evacuated that evening.  French artillery burned the city to the ground (84% of the city was destroyed, most of the population fled).  With over 20,000 casualties, one of the bloodiest battles of the invasion.

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Leipzig:

see Introduction Chapter I, page 35

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The First Consul:

The Consulate government of France lasted from the fall of the Directory in the coup of Brumaire (November 1799) until the start of the Napoleonic Empire (May 1804).  During this period, Napoleon as First Consul established himself as the head of an authoritarian, autocratic, centralized, republican government but refrained from declaring himself sole ruler.

 

ecclesiastical chivalric unit: * see Endnote 47

Spengler refers to Spain’s use of Church officers (bishops, Cardinals) to facilitate state & royal business (as witnessed by Cardinal Granville).  He also refers to Spain’s strong code of chivalry, so strong that as late as 1605 Cervantes was still referencing it in Don Quixote.  It was certainly still present in the rise of the Spanish Empire where the chivalric ideals of the knights transcended & reappeared in the guise of the conquistadors in the New World.  The rewards for the conquistador were similar to those of his medieval predecessor- land to conquer, people to convert to Christianity & glory.

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Peace of Paris:

aka the Treaty of 1763, treaty signed by Britain, France & Spain, following Great Britain's victory in the 7 Years' War (aka the French & Indian War); marked the beginning of British dominance outside Europe; although Britain & France returned territory captured in the war, Britain gained much of France's possessions in North America.  Britain agreed to protect Roman Catholicism in the New World. 

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Acre (battle of): * see Endnote 48

aka Siege of Acre, 1799,  unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre, a turning point in Napoleon's invasion of Egypt & Syria; one of his few defeats.  Acre was a site of strategic importance with its commanding position on the route between Egypt and Syria.  Bonaparte wanted to capture it following his invasion of Egypt.  The French began the siege 20 March using only their infantry; Napoleon believed the city would capitulate quickly to him in 2 weeks.  The troops of the capable Ottoman Pasha refused to surrender, withstood the siege for 1 1/2 months.  A Royal Navy flotilla under Commodore Sidney Smith reinforced the Ottoman defences & supplied the city with additional cannon manned by sailors & marines.  He captured French siege artillery sent from Egypt.  An artillery expert from the fleet (Antoine Le Picard de Phélippeaux), then redeployed the artillery pieces which the British had intercepted against Napoleon's forces.

 

Peace of Amiens:

1802 treaty temporarily ending hostilities between the French Republic & Great Britain during the French Revolutionary Wars.  It lasted only one year; Britain recognised the French Republic; with the Treaty of Lunéville (1801), the Treaty of Amiens marked the end of the Second Coalition, which had waged war against Revolutionary France since 1798.

 

Mississippi basin:

From 1699 France owned a vast track of N. America (828,000 square miles) having established a few small settlements along the Mississippi, Ohio & other rivers; it was bordered by the Rockies on the east, extended north beyond the Great Lakes, south to the mouth of the Mississippi and & west to the Appalachian mountains.  Ceded to Spain in the secret Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) following the French defeat in the 7 Years' War, Spain gained control of the territory west of the Mississippi, the British gained territory east of the river.  In 1800 Napoleon (First Consul) hoping to re-establish a North American empire, regained ownership of Louisiana.  With the failure to put down the revolt in Saint-Domingue & facing renewed warfare with the UK he decided to sell Louisiana to the US.  The Americans originally wanted only New Orleans & adjacent coastal lands, but quickly accepted the bargain.  Thomas Jefferson was President at the time.  The Federalist Party opposed the idea stating it was unconstitutional; Jefferson agreed the Constitution did not contain explicit provisions for acquiring territory, but asserted his constitutional power to negotiate treaties was sufficient.  The U.S. paid fifty million francs ($11,250,000) and a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million francs ($3,750,000) for a total of sixty-eight million francs.

 

The Maratha powers: * see Endnote 49

1802 was the eve of the Second Maratha War with Britain.  The Maratha Empire had beaten Britain in their first war (1775-82).  The Maratha were a Hindu people famous as warriors who established an empire (1674-1818) which dominated much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century & ended Mughal rule.  By the 19th century their empire was a confederacy of individual states controlled by Maratha chiefs.  The Confederacy remained the pre-eminent power in India.  They fought 3 wars with Britain (& the East India Company): the First (1775-82), Second (1803-05) & Third (1817–1818) Maratha Wars.  They won the first but lost both latter conflicts; their final defeat by the British East India Company in the Third Anglo-Maratha War placed Britain firmly in control of the subcontinent.

 

Adriatic (French Lake):

Napoleon acquired northern Italy (aka Cisalpine Italy, created by the Treaty of Campo Formio -1797), first as President of the Italian Republic (1802), then as king in 1805 in the Kingdom of Italy.  He acquired Corfu also by the Treaty of Campo Formio; it was returned to him by the treaty of Tilsit (1807), one of the Ionian Islands captured by Russian admirals & handed over to the French.  Dalmatia came to him via the Treaty of Schönbrunn(1809) between France and Austria (Illyrian Provinces).

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Shah of Persia (and Napoleon):

an alliance between Napoleon & Sha Fath Ali of Persia existed from 1807-09; it aimed to gather allies against Russia & with Persian help open a front against them in the Caucasus.  Following the visit of the Iranian Envoy to Napoleon, the Treaty of Finckenstein (May 1807) formalized the alliance; France supported Persia's claim to Georgia, promising to force Russian surrender of the territory.  In exchange Persia was to fight Britain & allow French troops to cross Persian territory into India.  A military mission was prepared under General Gardanne to modernize the Persian army, chart an invasion route to India & coordinate Ottoman & Persian efforts against Russia.  However Napoleon I defeated Russia at the Battle of Friedland (July 1807); France & Russia became allies by the Treaty of Tilsit (July).  General Gardanne arrived in Tehran after this treaty was signed.  Persia now had no motivation for the alliance as their recovery of Georgia & Azerbaijan had not been mentioned at Tilsit.  The Shah of Persia turned to the British for military advisers.  In 1809 Britain signed a mutual defence treaty with the Shah Shuja al-Mulk of Afghanistan to resist any Franco-Persian threat.  By this time Persia had already denounced its alliance with France.

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ultima ratio:

Latin, meaning the final argument of kings (a resort to arms), a motto engraved on the cannon of Louis XIV