AJACCIO 



123 



AKRON 



a world-wide reputation for curing rheumatism. 

 Aix-la-Chapelle is an important commercial 

 center; the chief manufactures are needles, 

 cloth, gloves, leather, chemicals, linen and 

 paints. Two celebrated treaties were signed 

 in Aix-la-Chapelle, and a congress of the great 

 powers was held there in 1818. On the out- 

 break of the War of the Nations in 1914 the 

 city became an important German military 

 T, and vast armies were sent from there 

 to tako part in the invasion of France which 

 the allies succeeded in checking. Population in 

 1910, 156,000. 



Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, a meeting of 

 representatives of the great nations of Europe, 

 held at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1818, for the pur- 

 pose of adjusting the affairs of Europe after 

 the wars of Napoleon. This was not, however, 

 the authority which banished Napoleon to 

 Saint Helena. Czar Alexander I of Russia, 

 Emperor Francis I of Austria, and King Fred- 

 erick William III of Prussia were present in 

 person, while among the great statesmen in at- 

 tendance were Metternich, Castlereagh, Wel- 

 lington, Hardenberg and Richelieu, the grand- 

 son of the great cardinal. The main things 

 accomplished were the withdrawal of the for- 

 eign troops from France and the recognition of 

 France as one of the great powers of Europe 

 on her agreeing to the Holy Alliance. See 

 FRANCE, subhead History; HOLY ALLIANCE. 



Treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle, two treaties of 

 importance in maintaining the balance of 

 power among European nations. After the 

 death of Philip IV of Spain, Louis XIV of 

 France claimed a large part of the Spanish 

 Netherlands in behalf of his wife, and seized 

 fortresses of Charlerois, Lille and Tranche 

 Comte. Holland, to protect herself against 

 further aggressions, joined England and 

 Sweden in forming the Triple Alliance. Fear- 

 ing such a strong combination, Louis was forced 

 to accept their terms, and on May 2, 1668, he 

 signed the first treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, by 

 v. In. 1 1 he agreed to return Franche Comte to 

 - 



-ccond treaty concluded the War of the 



Austrian Succession in 1748 (see SUCCESSION 



WARS). In this war, caused by Maria Theresa's 



MI to the Austrian possessions, all of the 



great powers of Europe were involved. By the 



is of the treaty, the different countries held 



nearly the same territories as before. 



AJACCIO, ayah' cho, the capital of Corsica, 

 famed as the birthplace of Napoleon, 

 house in whirh the little Corsican" was born 



is still well preserved and is owned by the 

 French government. Ajaccio is the seat of 

 a bishop. It has famous coral and sardine 

 fisheries. The population is not increasing; 

 in 1911 it was 19,227. 



A ' JAX . Two of the legendary Grecian heroes 

 in the Trojan War were named Ajax. The son 

 of Telamon, king of Cyprus, was known as the 

 Greater or the Telamonian Ajax, and the son of 

 Oileus, the king of Locris, was called the Lesser 

 or the Locrian Ajax. The Greater was thr- 

 commander of twelve ships and was called by 

 Homer the bravest of the Greeks except 

 Achilles. In the combat between Ulysses and 

 Ajax for the arms of Achilles after the latter's 

 death, the prize was awarded to Ulysses. The 

 disappointment of Ajax drove him mad, and 

 after slaying all of the sheep of the Greeks, 

 thinking they were the enemy, he killed him- 

 self. 



The boastful and quarrelsome Ajax thr 

 Lesser wus a rival of Achilles in swiftness of 

 foot. As a punishment for his brutal treat- 

 ment of Cassandra after the fall of Troy, it 

 is said that his ship was wrecked and he was 

 struck by lightning. (See TROY), 



A KEMPIS, THOMAS. See THOMAS A KIM 

 PIS. 



AK'RON, OHIO, the largest rubber manufac- 

 turing city in the world, is the county seat of 

 Summit County, in the northeastern part of 

 the state. The population was 69,067 in 1910; 

 in 1915, according to the census taken under 

 the direction of the United States Department 

 of Labor, it was 100,079, an increase of over 

 30,000 in five years. About twenty-five per 

 cent of the people are foreign born, Hungarians 

 predominating. The area of the city is nearly 

 twelve square miles. Cleveland and Toledo, 

 both on Lake Erie, are respectively thirty-five 

 and 160 miles north and northwest. Columbus, 

 thr state capital, is 130 miles southwest. Akron 

 is a Greek word meaning height, indicating the 

 elevation of the city, which is 1,000 feet above 

 sea level. Within a radius of twelve square 

 miles are twenty small lakes, giving to th< 

 region great natural beauty and an excellent 

 location for its many hotels and recreation 



pllKVS. 



Akron is on the Little Cuyahoga River and 

 Ohio Canal. The Erie, the Baltimore and 

 Ohio, the Pennsylvania, the Northern Ohio. 

 and the Akron, Canton and Youngstown rail- 

 roads enter the city. Intcrurban lines run to 

 many of the surrounding towns and cities. 

 Conspicuous iiinonn thr many fun- l)uiMintr- of 



