Guesclin
BERTRAND DU (gāklan'), Constable of France; born near Dinan in the district of Rennes, about either 1314 or 1320. From his boyhood upward upward he excelled in all martial exer- In the contests between Charles de Blois and Jean de Montfort for the dukedom of Brittany he took part with the former, especially distinguishing himself at Vannes (1342). After King GUEUX John had been taken prisoner by the Black Prince at the battle of Poitiers in 1356, Du Guesclin contended successfully against the English, his valor and military military skill being especially shown at ) and Dinan (1357). Then, entering the service of the Dauphin, afterward Charles V., he took Melun (1359) and (1359) and several other fortified towns, Seine from the English.
On Charles' accession to the throne in 1364 Du Guesclin was created governor of Pontorson, and in May of the same against Charles the Bad of Navarre. year gained the battle of Cocherel But on Sept. 29 following he was delish, under Sir John Chandos, at the feated and taken prisoner by the Engbattle of Auray, and only liberated on payment of a ransom of 100,000 livres.
He next supported Henry, Count of Trastamare, against Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile, but was defeated and Najera (1367). Being again ransomed taken prisoner by the Black Prince near on payment of a large sum, Du Guesclin feated and captured Pedro at Montiel, renewed the contest, and in 1369 dehead of Henry of Trastamare. Immedi- and placed the crown of Castile on the Charles V. of France, at that time hard ately afterward he was recalled by pressed by the English, and was raised to the dignity of Constable of France.
In the year 1370 Du Guesclin opened his campaigns against the English, and in sions were in the hands of the French, a few years the whole of their posseswith the exception of a few fortified towns. While assisting at the siege of de Randon, in Languedoc, Du Guesclin was taken ill, and died July 13, 1380.
GUEUX (ge), or "The Beggars," the name assumed by the confederated nobles who opposed the introduction of the Inquisition into the Low Countries by Philip II. of Spain. Forming themselves into they presented a formal protest to the an association, November , 1565 , regent, Margaret of Parma, April 5, 1565.
Their distinctive party name they to them on that occasion by one of Maradopted from an abusive epithet applied represented the national feeling of the garet's courtiers . The "beggars," who country, maintained a long and vigorous contest against the despotic proceedings of Philip and his advisers, but were ultimately compelled to succumb to superior force. A branch of them, "the Beggars of the Sea," under the leadership of the bold Count de la Marck, seriously harassed the Spanish fleet, captured transports with supplies for Al- GUIANA va's army, seized several fortresses, and succored besieged places along the coast.
Their capture of Briel in April, 1572, was the beginning of the war which terminated in the independence of the Netherlands in 1648.
GUIANA (gē-änä), BRITISH, a British colony in the N. E. part of South America; bounded by Dutch Guiana, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Atlantic Ocean; area, 89,480 square miles; capital, Georgetown. The surface of the country is diversified with low savannahs near the coast and mountainous toward the S., the highest mountain being Mt.
Roraima, 7,500 feet. The chief products are gold, sugar, molasses, balata, rum, and rice. There are railroads, steamship communications with Great Britain and telegraph and telephone systems.
Columbus is said to have discovered the Guianas in 1498. The Dutch made settlements in 1650 and the English in 1630. In 1804 the Guianas were divided between the English, French, and Dutch, as they now stand. In 1895 there was trouble between Great Britain and Venezuela, concerning the Guiana boundary. Pop. (1918) 460,000. (1918)