ROCKS RUDOLPH. 



1730, succeeded his father in his lilies and estates in 

 1750. ami. in 1 765, became First Lord of the Trea- 

 sury, (prime minister.) American affairs formed at 

 that time, a leading subject of discussion ; and 

 Rockingham took the middle way of repealing the 

 stamp act, and declaring the right of Great Britain 

 to tax the colonies. He was therefore deserted by 

 some of his supporters (among others, by Chatham), 

 and retired from the ministry in 17(i6. He after- 

 ward acted in concert with Chatham, in opposition 

 to the North ministry, on the fall of which, in 1782, 

 he was again placed at the head of the treasury, but 

 died in the same year, and was succeeded by Lord 

 Shelburne. 



ROCKS. See Geology. 



ROCKY MOUNTAINS, in the western part of 

 North America, extend from lat. about 70 north to 

 Mexico, where the chain is continued by the Cordil- 

 leras. Their distance from the Pacific ocean is about 

 the same as that of the Alleghanies from the Atlan- 

 tic ; but the extent, and breadth, and height of the 

 Rocky mountains are much greater than those of 

 the Alleghanies. They are of decidedly primitive 

 formation ; but they have not been so well explored 

 as to enable us to give any scientific statements in 

 relation to them. In latitude 47, they are so ele- 

 lated as to be covered with ice and snow in July. 

 Some of the peaks are supposed to be twelve or 

 thirteen thousand feet high, and the range gener- 

 rally is considerably higher than any other in North 

 America, except that of the Cordilleras. The nu- 

 merous peaks are not named, and have not been 

 measured. We know not with certainty that any 

 are volcanic. The trappers, who are almost the 

 only white people that visit them, frequently relate 

 that they have heard explosions, which were sup- 

 posed to be from volcanoes. Pumice stones, of a 

 reddish colour, and remarkably perfect, frequently 

 descend the Missouri. These are said by some to 

 be formed from burning coal-mines ; but it is more 

 probable tliat they proceed from volcanoes. These 

 mountains generally appear black, rugged, and pre- 

 cipitous, though their aspect is not uniform. The 

 great rivers that are discharged from their eastern 

 and western declivities wind far among the moun- 

 tains, the Arkansas on the east, and the Orogon, or 

 Columbia, on the west, more than a hundred leagues, 

 before they escape to the plains. In following the 

 beds of such streams, travellers pass through the 

 range without any considerable ascent or obstruc- 

 tion. Following the Platte, which is one of the 

 principal southern branches of the Missouri, the 

 traveller finds a road even to lake Buenaventura, 

 on the Pacific plains, that needs little labour to 

 adapt it to the passage of horses and wagons. Such 

 is the testimony of numerous traders, who cannot 

 be supposed to deceive, nor to intend deception. 

 The southern part of this range is called the Mas- 

 terne Mountains. They give rise to the Rio Colo- 

 rado, which flows into the Pacific, the Rio del Norte 

 of Mexico, the Yellowstone of the Missouri, and the 

 Arkansas and Red, which flow into the Mississippi. 

 A single peak of this range is seen, as a landmark, 

 for an immense distance on the plains of Arkansas 

 and Texas. This is called Mount Pike, and has 

 been variously estimated at from seven to ten thou- 

 sand feet in height. Many accounts have been 

 given of the appearance of silver and other metals, 

 in the Rocky mountains. 



ROC ROY; a town of France, 15 miles north-west 

 of Mezieres, 110 north-east of Paris, celebrated for 

 the victory gained by the duke d'Enghien, (after- 

 wards the great Conde,) over the Spaniards, who 

 were besieging the city, May 19, 1643. See Conde. 



RODNEY, GEORGE BHYDGES, Baron Rodney ; 



a naval commander, born in 1717. His father, a 

 captain in the royal navy, educated his son for the 

 same profession. The latter first obtained a ship in 

 1742, and, in 1749, went to Newfoundland as go- 

 vernor. In 1759, having been promoted to the 

 rank of Admiral, he commanded the expedition 

 destined for the bombardment of Havre, which he 

 executed with success. In 1761, he sailed to the 

 West Indies, where he distinguished himself in the 

 reduction of Martinique, and, on his return, was re- 

 warded with a baronetcy. A contested election for 

 Northamptonshire (1768) impaired his finances, and 

 he found it necessary to retire to the continent. 

 The French government made some overtures to 

 him which would have recruited his fortune. These 

 he rejected, and the fact having transpired, he was 

 placed in command of a squadron destined for the 

 Mediterranean. In 1780, he fell in with Admiral 

 Langura's fleet, off Cape St Vincent, and complete- 

 ly defeated it. In 1781, he sailed for the West In- 

 dies ; and, April 12, 1782, obtained a decisive vic- 

 tory over the French fleet, under De Grasse, cap- 

 turing five, and sinking one of his largest vessels. 

 A barony, and a pension of 2000, were bestowed 

 upon him for his services; and on his decease, 1792, a 

 monument was voted to his memory, at the national 

 expense, in St Paul's. Lord Rodney is described 

 by some writers as the first who practised the sys- 

 tem of breaking through the centre of the enemy's 

 line. See Clerk. 



RODOLPH I. emperor of Germany, founder of 

 the imperial house of Austria, was born in 1218, 

 being the eldest son of Albert IV., count of Haps- 

 burg, and landgrave of Alsace. He was brought 

 up in the court and camp of the emperor Frederic 

 II. ; and on the death of his father, succeeded to 

 territories of a very moderate extent, which, in the 

 spirit of the times, he sought to augment by mili- 

 tary enterprises. In 1245, he married a daugh- 

 ter of the count of Homburg, by whom he acquired 

 an accession of territory ; and, some years after, 

 served under Ottocar, king of Bohemia, against the 

 pagan Prussians. Several years of active warfare 

 ensued, in which he much distinguished liimself by 

 his prudence, valour, and the spirit of justice with 

 which he protected the inhabitants of the towns from 

 their baronial oppressors. In 1273, as he was en- 

 camped before the walls of Basle, he received the 

 unexpected intelligence that he was elected king of 

 the Romans, and emperor, in preference to Alphon- 

 so, king of Castile, and Ottocar, king of Bohemia. 

 Rodolph, then in his fifty-fifth- year, willingly ac- 

 cepted the proffered elevation, and, being crowned 

 at Aix-la-Chapelle, immediately strengthened him- 

 self by marrying two of his daughters to the count 

 palatine of Bavaria, and the duke of Saxony. He 

 also took measures to ingratiate himself with pope 

 Gregory X.,who induced the king of Castile to 

 withdraw his pretensions. The king of Bohemia, 

 however, at that time one of the most powerful 

 princes in Europe, persisted in his opposition, and 

 a war ensued, in which he was defeated, and com- 

 pelled to sue for peace, and agree to pay homage. 

 Stung by this disgrace, the Bohemian king broke 

 the treaty in 1277, and the following year Ottocar 

 was again defeated and slain. By the treaty with 

 his successor, which followed, Rodolph was to hold 

 Moravia for five years, and retain the Austrian 

 provinces which had been previously yielded by Ot- 

 tocar, and the securing of which to his family was 

 henceforward his primary object. After some abor- 

 tive attempts to restore the influence of the em- 

 pire in Tuscany, he contented himself with drawing 

 large sums from Lucca, and other large cities, for 

 the confirmation and extention of their privileges. 



