The History of Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia

Also those who have advanced money on lands in Livonia, Esthonia, and the island of Oesel, and have lawful security for the same, shall enjoy their mortgages peaceably, until both capital and interest are discharged; on the other hand, the mortgages shall not claim any interest, which expired during the war, and which have not been demanded or paid; but those who in either of these cases have the administration of the said effects, shall be obliged to do homage to his czarish majesty. This likewise extends to all those who remain in his czarish majesty's dominions, and who shall have the same liberty to dispose of their effects in Sweden, and in those countries which have been surrendered to that crown by this peace. Moreover, the subjects of each of the reconciled powers shall be mutually supported in all their lawful claims and demands, whether on the public, or on individuals within the dominions of the two powers, and immediate justice shall be done them, so that every person may be reinstated in the possession of what justly belongs to him.

Art. 13. All contributions in money shall from the signing of this treaty cease in the grand duchy of Finland, which his czarish majesty by the fifth article of this treaty cedes to his Swedish majesty and the kingdom of Sweden; on the other hand the duchy of Finland shall furnish his czarish majesty's troops with the necessary provisions and forage gratis, until they shall have entirely evacuated the said duchy, on the said footing as has been practised heretofore; and his czarish majesty shall prohibit and forbid, under the severest penalties, the dislodging any ministers or peasants of the Finnish nation, contrary to their inclinations, or that the least injury be done to them. In consideration of which, and as it will be permitted his czarish majesty, upon evacuating the said countries and towns, to take with him his great and small cannon, with their carriages and other appurtenances, and the magazines and other warlike stores which he shall think fit. The inhabitants shall furnish a sufficient number of horse and waggons as far as the frontiers; and also, if the whole of this cannot be executed according to the stipulated terms, and that any part of such artillery, &c. is necessitated to be left behind, then, and in such cases, that which is so left shall be properly taken care of, and afterwards delivered to his czarish majesty's deputies, whenever it shall be agreeable to them, and likewise be transported to the frontiers in manner as above. If his czarish majesty's troops shall have found and sent out of the country any deeds or papers belonging to the grand duchy of Finland, strict search shall be made for the same, and all of them that can be found shall be faithfully restored to deputies of his Swedish majesty.

Art. 14. All the prisoners on each side, of whatsoever nation, rank, and condition, shall be set at liberty immediately after the ratification of this treaty, without any ransom, at the same time every prisoner shall either pay or give sufficient security for the payment of all debts by them contracted. The prisoners on each side shall be furnished with the necessary horses and waggons gratis during the time allotted for their return home, in proportion to the distance from the frontiers. In regard to such prisoners, who shall have sided with one or the other party, or who shall choose to settle in the dominions of either of the two powers, they shall have full liberty so to do without restriction: and this liberty shall likewise extend to all those who have been compelled to serve either party during the war, who may in like manner remain where they are, or return home; except such who have voluntarily embraced the Greek religion, in compliance to his czarish majesty; for which purpose each party shall order that the edicts be published and made known in their respective dominions.

Art. 15. His majesty the king, and the republic of Poland, as allies to his czarish majesty, are expressly comprehended in this treaty of peace, and have equal right thereto, as if the treaty of peace between them and the crown of Sweden had been inserted here at full length: to which purpose all hostilities whatsoever shall cease in general throughout all the kingdoms, countries, and patrimonies belonging to the two reconciled parties, whether situated within or out of the Roman empire, and there shall be a solid and lasting peace established between the two aforesaid powers. And as no plenipotentiary on the part of his Polish majesty and the republic of Poland has assisted at this treaty of peace, held at Nystadt, and that consequently they could not at one and the same time renew the peace by a solemn treaty between his majesty the king of Poland and the crown of Sweden, his majesty the king of Sweden does therefore engage and promise, that he will send plenipotentiaries to open the conferences, so soon as a place shall be appointed for the said meeting, in order to conclude, through the mediation of his czarish majesty, a lasting peace between the two crowns, provided nothing is therein contained which may be prejudicial to the treaty of perpetual peace made with his czarish majesty.

Art. 16. A free trade shall be regulated and established as soon as possible, which shall subsist both by sea and land between the two powers, their dominions, subjects, and inhabitants, by means of a separate treaty on this head, to the good and advantage of their respective dominions; and in the mean time the subjects of Russia and Sweden shall have leave to trade freely in the empire of Russia and kingdom of Sweden, so soon as the treaty of peace is ratified, after paying the usual duties on the several kinds of merchandise; so that, the subjects of Russia and Sweden shall reciprocally enjoy the same privileges and prerogatives as are enjoyed by the closest friends of either of the said states.

Art. 17. Restitution shall be made on both sides, after the ratification of the peace, not only of the magazines which were before the commencement of the war established in certain trading towns belonging to the two powers, but also liberty shall be reciprocally granted to the subjects of his czarish majesty and the king of Sweden to establish magazines in the towns, harbours, and other places subject to both or either of the said powers.

Art. 18. If any Swedish ships of war or merchant vessels shall have the misfortune to be wrecked, or cast away by stress of weather, or any other accident, on the coasts and harbours of Russia, his czarish majesty's subjects shall be obliged to give them all aid and assistance in their power to save their rigging and effects, and faithfully to restore whatever may be drove on shore, if demanded, provided they are properly rewarded. And the subjects of his majesty the king of Sweden shall do the same in regard to such Russian ships and effects as may have the misfortune to be wrecked or otherwise lost on the coasts of Sweden; for which purpose, and to prevent all ill treatment, robbing, and plundering, which commonly happens on such melancholy occasions, his czarish majesty and the king of Sweden will cause a most rigorous prohibition to be issued, and all who shall be found transgressing in this point shall be punished on the spot.

Art. 19. And to prevent all possible cause or occasion of misunderstanding between the two parties, in relation to sea affairs, they have concluded and determined, that any Swedish ships of war, of whatever number or size, that shall hereafter pass by any of his czarish majesty's forts or castles, shall salute the same with their cannon, which compliment shall be directly returned in the same manner by the Russian fort or castle; and, vice versa, any Russian ships of war, of whatever number or size, that shall hereafter pass by any fort or castle belonging to his Swedish majesty, shall salute the same with a discharge of their cannon, which compliment shall be instantly returned in the same manner by the Swedish fort; and in case any one or more Swedish and Russian ships shall meet at sea, or in any harbour or elsewhere, they shall salute each other with a common discharge, as is usually practised on such occasions between the ships of Sweden and Denmark.

Art. 20. It is mutually agreed between the two powers, no longer to defray the expenses of the ministers of the two powers, as have been done hitherto; but their representative ministers, plenipotentiaries, and envoys, shall hereafter defray their own expenses and those of their own attendants, as well on their journey as during their stay, and back to their respective place of residence. On the other hand, either of the two parties, on receiving timely notice of the arrival of an envoy, shall order that their subjects give them all the assistance that may be necessary to escort them safe on their journey.

Art. 21. His majesty the king of Sweden does on his part comprehend his majesty the king of Great Britain in this treaty of peace, reserving only the differences subsisting between their czarish and his Britannic majesties, which they shall immediately endeavour to terminate in a friendly manner; and such other powers, who shall be named by the two reconciled parties within the space of three months, shall likewise be included in this treaty of peace.

Art. 22. In case any misunderstanding shall hereafter arise between the states and subjects of Sweden and Russia, it shall by no means prejudice this treaty of perpetual peace; which shall nevertheless always be and remain in full force agreeable to its intent, and commissaries shall without delay be appointed on each side to inquire into and adjust all disputes.

Art. 23. All those who have been guilty of high treason, murder, theft, and other crimes, and those who deserted from Sweden to Russia, and from Russia to Sweden, either singly or with their wives and children, shall be immediately sent back, provided the complaining party of the country from whence they made their escape, shall think fit to recal them, let them be of what nation soever, and in the same condition as they were at their arrival, together with their wives and children, as likewise with all they had stolen, plundered, or taken away with them in their flight.

Art. 24. The exchange of the ratification of this treaty of peace, shall be reciprocally made at Nystadt within the space of three weeks, after the day of signing the same, or sooner, if possible. In witness whereof, two copies of this treaty, exactly corresponding with each other, have been drawn up, and confirmed by the plenipotentiary ministers on each side, in virtue of the authority they have received from their respective sovereigns; which copies they have signed with their own hands, and sealed with their own seals. Done at Nystadt, this 30th day of August, in the year of our Lord 1721. O. S.

Jean Liliensted.

Otto Reinhold Stroemfeld.

Jacob Daniel Bruce.

Henry-John-Frederic Osterman.

Ordinance of the Emperor Peter I. for the crowning of the Empress Catherine

We, Peter the First, emperor and autocrator of all the Russias, &c. to all our officers ecclesiastical, civil, and military, and all others of the Russian nation, our faithful subjects.

No one can be ignorant that it has been a constant and invariable custom among the monarchs of all Christian states, to cause their consorts to be crowned, and that the same is at present practised, and hath frequently been in former times by those emperors who professed the holy faith of the Greek church; to wit, by the emperor Basilides, who caused his wife Zenobia to be crowned; the emperor Justinian, his wife Lucipina; the emperor Heraclius, his wife Martina: the emperor Leo, the philosopher, his wife Mary; and many others, who have in like manner placed the imperial crown on the head of their consorts, and whom it would be too tedious here to enumerate.

It is also well known to every one how much we have exposed our person, and faced the greatest dangers, for the good of our country during the one and twenty years' course of the late war, which we have by the assistance of God terminated in so honourable and advantageous a manner, that Russia hath never beheld such a peace, nor ever acquired so great glory as in the late war. Now the empress Catherine, our dearly beloved wife, having greatly comforted and assisted us during the said war, and also in several other our expeditions, wherein she voluntarily and cheerfully accompanied us, assisting us with her counsel and advice in every exigence, notwithstanding the weakness of her sex, particularly in the battle against the Turks, on the banks of the river Pruth, wherein our army was reduced to twenty thousand men, while that of the Turks amounted to two hundred and seventy thousand, and on which desperate occasion she signalized herself in a particular manner, by a courage and presence of mind superior to her sex, which is well known to all our army, and to the whole Russian empire: therefore, for these reasons, and in virtue of the power which God has given us, we have resolved to honour our said consort Catherine with the imperial crown, as a reward for her painful services; and we propose, God willing, that this ceremony shall be performed the ensuing winter at Moscow. And we do hereby give notice of this our resolution to all who are faithful subjects, in favour of whom our imperial affection is unalterable.

THE END

1

A French league contains three English miles.

2

The Boristhenes, or Dnieper, is one of the largest rivers in Europe; it rises in the Walchonske Forest, runs through Lithuania, the country of the Zoporag Cossacks, and that of the Nagisch Tartars, and falls into the Black Sea near Oczakow. It has thirteen cataracts within a small distance.

3

The reader will easily perceive, that the whole of this paragraph relates only to the French language, for in English we make no such distinctions in the name of these people, but always call them Russians.

4

A collection of water lying between the gulf of Finland and lake Onega; it is the largest, and said to contain a greater number of fish than any other in Europe.

5

We must not confound this river with another of the same name that runs through Lithuania in Poland, and dividing Livonia and Courland, falls into the Baltic at Dunamunder fort, below Riga.

6

This was by the ancients reckoned among the most famous rivers in the world, and the boundary between Asia and Europe. It issues from St. John's Lake, not far from Tula, and after a long course, divides itself into three arms, and falls into the sea below Azoph.

7

A promontory of the island of Maggero in the north of Norway, and is the most northern point in Europe.

8

Grod, or gorod, signifies city in the Russian language.

9

Memoirs of Strahlemberg, confirmed by those sent me from Russia.

10

Memoirs sent from Petersburg.

11

Memoirs sent from Petersburg.

12

Called also the Ob. This large river issues from the lake Altin in Calmuck Tartary, in Asia, from whence running north it forms the boundary between Europe and Asia, and after traversing a vast tract of above two thousand miles, it falls into a bay of the Frozen Sea.

13

In the Russian language Irtish. This river runs from N. to S. through all Russia, and falling into the former river, forms part of the boundary between Asia and Europe.

14

In the Russian language Tobolsky.

15

His name was Sowastowslaw.

16

This anecdote is taken from a private MS. entitled 'The Ecclesiastical Government of Russia,' which is like wise deposited in the public library.

17

See page 35.

18

Thus the Russians call this young man; but in all French authors we find Romano, that language having no such letter as the W; others again call him Romanoff.

19

Or Chotsin, a town of Upper Moldavia in European Turkey, well fortified both by nature and art, situated on the Dniester, and subject to the Turks, from whom it was taken by the Russians in 1739.

20

This must certainly be a mistake of M. de Voltaire, or an error in the press; for the lady here spoken of was the daughter of Matthias Apraxim, a person on whom Theodore had lately conferred nobility.

21

Extracted wholly from the memoirs sent from Moscow and Petersburg.

22

Here M. de Voltaire seems to have greatly mistaken the sense of this word. Raspop not being a proper name, in which sense he takes it, but signifies a degraded priest.

23

We suppose the author means Moscow.

24

Or Cossano, a small town and abbey in the Milanese. On the Adda, near this place, an obstinate battle was fought between the Germans and French, in 1705, when prince Eugene defeated the duke of Vendome.

25

A town and abbey on the borders of Westphalia, in Germany; the abbot of which is a sovereign prince, and has a seat in the imperial diet.

26

Or Fuld, a town and abbey of Hesse, in Germany; situate on a river of the same name. It is governed by an abbot, who is a prince of the empire.

27

An imperial city of Suabia, in Germany, situate on the Ifar.

28

How are we to reconcile this with what the author tells us in the latter part of the third chapter, where he says, that this princess, perceiving that her brother Theodore was near his end, declined retiring to a convent, as was the usual custom of the princesses of the imperial family.

29

We find, in the memoirs of count Strahlemberg, a Swedish officer, who was taken prisoner at the battle of Pultowa, and continued many years at the court of czar Peter, the following account of the true cause of this extraordinary kind of hydrophobia. When Peter was about five years of age, his mother took him with her in a coach for an airing, and having to pass a dam, where there was a great fall of water the child, who was then sleeping in his nurse's lap, was so terrified by the rushing of the water (the noise of which waked him suddenly out of his sleep), that he was seized with a violent fever, and, after his recovery, he retained such a dread of that element, that he could not bear the sight even of any standing water, much less to hear a running stream.

30

Memoirs of Petersburg and Moscow.

31

This should certainly be four years; as we can hardly suppose a boy of fourteen years and a half, would be received into the military service of any country, and much less by the Dutch at that period of time, when they stood in need of able and experienced soldiers, to withstand the attacks of the French, who breathed nothing less than the utter subversion of their state.

32

General Le Fort's MSS.

33

General Le Fort's MSS.

34

Extracted from memoirs sent from China; also from Petersburg, and from letters published in Du Halde's History of China.

35

A famous and considerable river of the Asiatic part of the empire of Russia, which falls into the eastern ocean. It was formerly called Charan Muran, but at present the Chinese and Mauschurs give it the name of Sagalin Ula. It also bears the several appellations of Jamur, Onon, Helong, Kiang, and Skilka. It is formed by the junction of the rivers Sckilk and Argun, and is navigable to the sea.

36

Busching, the famous geographer, says, that its whole length is no more than four hundred miles, so that there must be a very great error in one or other of these authors.

37

Memoirs of the jesuits Pereira and Gerbillon.

38

1689, Sept. 8, new style. Memoirs of China.

39

The present reigning empress Catharine seems even to exceed her aunt in lenity, which together with the superior qualifications of this princess, affords her people the most happy presage of a glorious reign; and it is not without reason, that the most sensible amongst them flatter themselves with the hope, that under this august princess, the Russian empire will arrive at its highest pinnacle of glory.

40

Le Fort's Memoirs.

41

It is in consequence of this glorious and equitable distinction, that at this day we find nobility gives no precedence in the court of Russia; nor can the son of a prince appear there in any other rank, than that which his situation in the army gives him; while a private citizen, who by his merit has raised himself above his condition, receives all the honours due to his post; or more properly speaking, to the merit which obtained him that post. A reputation of this kind would, methinks, be attended with great advantages, both in England and France, as it would be a means to raise in the youth of all ranks, a virtuous and noble emulation.

42

General Le Fort's MSS.

43

The Petersburg Memoirs, and Memoirs of Le Fort.

44

Le Fort's MS. memoirs.

45

Precop, or Perekop, once a fortress on the Isthmus, which joins the peninsula of Crim Tartary to the main land of little Tartary, in European Turkey, and thence considered as the key to that country. It has its name from the ditches cut across for the defence of the peninsula.

46

These were two scholars from Christ Church Hospital, commonly called blue coat boys.

47

The czar was particularly fond of this nobleman, because he was a great lover of maritime affairs, frequently rowed and sailed with him upon the water, and gave him what information he could concerning shipping.

48

Le Fort's MSS. and those of Petersburg.

49

Le Fort's MSS.

50

A most extraordinary instance of the obstinate attachment of the Russians to their old customs, happened in the time of the czar Bassilowitz, and undoubtedly influenced him not a little in the severity with which he treated his people. The king of Poland, Stephen Battori, having recovered Livonia, went himself into that province to establish a new form of government. According to the constant custom there, when any peasant, all of whom were treated as slaves, had committed a fault, he was whipped with a rod till the blood came. The king was willing to commute this barbarous punishment for one that was more moderate; but the peasants, insensible of the favour designed them, threw themselves at his feet, and intreated him not to make any alterations in their ancient customs, because they had experienced, that all innovations, far from procuring them the least redress, had always made their burthens sit the heavier on them.

51

Memoirs of captain Perry, the engineer, employed by Peter the Great, in Russia, and MSS. of Le Fort.

52

Captain Perry, in p. 184 of his memoirs, says, that these executions being performed in the depth of winter, their bodies were immediately frozen; those who were beheaded, were ordered to be left in the same posture as when executed, in ranks upon the ground, with their heads lying by them: and those who were hanged round the three walls of the city, were left hanging the whole winter, to the view of the people, till the warm weather began to come on in the spring, when they were taken down and buried together in a pit, to prevent infection. This author adds, that there were other gibbets placed on all the public roads leading to Moscow, where others of these rebels were hanged.

53

MSS. of Le Fort.

54

Somewhat like those of our blue coat boys in England.

55

20th Sept. 1698. It is to be observed, that I always follow the new style in my dates.

56

Norberg, chaplain and confessor to Charles XII. says, in his history, 'That he had the insolence to complain of oppressions, and that he was condemned to lose his honour and life.' This is speaking like the high-priest of despotism. He should have observed, that no one can deprive a citizen of his honour for doing his duty.