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56 CASIMIR which was introduced into Tennessee and other states. But all attempts at naturalization have resulted in the production of an inferior quality of wool, owinij;, it is supposed, to the influences of climate. In California, however, the goat has been successfully introduced, and is now very numerous; and it is thought that the climate of that state will be favorable to the quality of the wool. The attempts to im- port and manufacture the wool in Europe have not been successful. The native weavers are brought up to the trade from their infancy, and are proficient in the highest degree ; while to the water of India in which the wool and shawls are washed, and to the atmosphere, the brilliant colors of the cashmere shawls are supposed to be due. In Paris, Lyons, Nimes, and Eheims there are extensive manufacto- ries for the production of imitation cashmere shawls, the best of which are easily distinguish- ed from the genuine ones by experts, but which are extensively exported. The value of India shawls imported into New York in 1872 was $164,118. CASIMIR (Pol. Kazimierz), the name of sev- eral monarchs of Poland. I. The IVanTiil. son of Miecislas II. and of Rixa, a German prin- cess, died in 1058. After the death of his father in 1034 his mother ruled the country as regent ; but the favors she bestowed upon her own countrymen, and their ill conduct, caused an outbreak of national hatred, and Rixa fled to Germany. Casimir followed her. Poland, left without a ruler, became a scene of the wildest anarchy and lawlessness; the lately established Christian church also suffered great- ly from pagan persecutions. Profiting by this state of affairs, the Bohemians made an incur- sion into Poland, and advanced as far as Gnesen. In 1040 Casimir was recalled by his countrymen from Germany, where he was living in quiet retirement occupied with exercises of religious piety, which gained him the surname of "the Monk." Slightly assisted by Henry III. of Germany, he regained his authority, and re- stored Christianity and a regular administra- tion of justice, conquered Masovia, gained Bres- lau and other places from the Bohemians, and was honored with the title of restorer of Po- land. His wife was Dobrogniewa, sister of Yaroslav, the grand duke of Kiev. His suc- cessor was Boleslas II. the Bold, his eldest son. II. The Just, born in '1138, died in 1194. He was the youngest of the four sons of Boleslas III., among whom that monarch divided Po- land, and reigned over the reunited country after the expulsion of Miecislas III. in 1177. He is greatly renowned for his personal virtues, as well as for the introduction of laws defend- ing the peasants against the nobles and officers of the court. Under him the Polish senate was first organized, consisting of bishops, pala- tines, and castellans. He made successful ex- peditions to Volhynia, Halicz, and Lithuania. III. The Great, born in 1309, died Nov. 5, 1370. He was the son and successor of Ladislas Lo- kietek (the Short), who had restored the union and the power of the long distracted kingdom. While still a prince Casimir displayed his tal- ents as governor of Great Poland, as well as his bravery in the wars of his father against the order of Teutonic knights, but also exhibit- ed habits of great dissoluteness. In 1333 his father bequeathed him his throne, with the advice not to enter into any treaty with the Teutonic knights; but the inclinations of the young king were for peace, and he soon con- cluded a treaty, in which the knights ceded the districts of Kujaw and Dobrzyn, but gained Pomerania. To secure peace from the kings of Bohemia, he sacrificed to them the rich province of Silesia for the resignation of their claims on Poland. The Polish nation, dissatis- fied with his acts, sought redress'at the court of Rome. The pope gave a favorable decision, commanding the knights to restore all the Polish districts, and to rebuild the destroyed churches ; but the knights scorned the bull, and maintained their conquest. In the mean while Casimir had strengthened his reign by salutary and peaceful reforms, as well as by the erection of numerous castles and fortifications. The adoption of his nephew, Louis, son of Charles Robert, king of Hungary, as successor to the throne of Poland, confirmed by the assembly of the nation at Cracow (1339), secured the alliance with Hungary. In 1340 the death of Boleslas of Masovia and Halicz, who died without progeny, offered a favorable opportu- nity for the annexation of Red Russia, which was easily executed in two successful cam- paigns. A consequence of these was an incur- sion of the Tartars (1341), at the summons of certain Russian princes, who pretended to have been wronged. Casimir fortified and defended the line of the Vistula, and by the speedy retreat of the invaders Poland escaped total destruction. In 1344 some difficulties, caused by the dukes of Silesia, brought about a short war with the king of Bohemia, which was begun by the conquest of Silesia, and ended with the acquisition only of Fraustadt. Sub- sequently parts of Lithuania, Masovia, and Volhynia were added to Poland. But the successes achieved by Casimir in time of peace were still more glorious. The diet of "Wislica (1347) sanctioned a double code of laws for Great and Little Poland, digested by the ablest men of the country, based in part on the an- cient statutes of the nation, and in part on the German or the so-called Magdeburgian institu- tions, according to which the commercial cities were governed. The rights of both nobles and peasants were determined and secured, and so great was the zeal of Casimir in defence of the latter against the former, that he was called the king of the peasants (krol JcmiotMw). No less great was his ardor and activity in pro- moting industry, commerce, arts, and sciences (particularly proved by the foundation in 1364 of the university of Cracow), and in adorning and strengthening the country with buildings