B O H £ M r A. 
by-foreigners, but the natives, call themfelves Czekowe, or 
Czechs-. At firH they were governed by dukes, but the 
emperor Otho I. conquered the duke of Bohemia, and re¬ 
duced the province under the empire. Afterwards Hen¬ 
ry V. gave the title of king to Ladiflaus, duke of Bohe¬ 
mia ; and, (ince that time, thefe kings have been ele&ors 
and chief cup-bearers of the empire, and the kingdom lias 
been eledtive ; which privileges have beert confirmed by 
the golden bull. Formerly, the kings of Bohemia re¬ 
ceived the kingdom as a fief of the empire, which cere¬ 
mony was performed upon the frontiers ; after which, the 
dandards of the principalities, of which it is compofed, 
were given to them without being torn, and given to the 
people ; as is done with the enligns of the other fiefs of 
the empire. Ferdinand I. of Atidria, having married 
Atine, filler of Louis, laft king of Bohemia, who died with¬ 
out ilfue, and being elected king, that kingdom has re¬ 
mained ever fince in his family. But the crown is con¬ 
ferred with fome appearance of election ; which right the 
Hates of that kingdom (till pretend to claim, notwithftand- 
ing, by the treaty of Wellphalia, Bohemia is declared he¬ 
reditary in the houfe of Auftria. The Bohemians are 
fond of the appellation of Czeche, which is derived from 
the famous Czech, who is much celebrated by their hifto- 
rians, and brought thither by the Sclavi, by which name 
they are alfo called by the people that fpeak the Sclavonic. 
The peafants here are Haves to their lords, and the hard 
yoke which galls them appears to be the caufe, as well 
of their Hift'-neckednefs as of their indolence, which lat¬ 
ter, among other things, is obfervable in the wretched 
condition of their villages, though timber is to be found 
here in great plenty, and building not expenfive. In 1679, 
a great part of them raifed an infurrection, on account of 
the heavy bondage they laboured under; but for this they 
were wholly flripped of the fmall remains of the rights 
and privileges which they enjoyed. The ow ners of free 
efiates, who are called in their language Swobodnicy, 
Diednicy, and Naprawnicy, are at prefent but few in 
number. To the landed edates belong the prelates, lords, 
knights, and towns. The Bohemian language is a dialefl 
of the Sclavonic, or fomewhat hardier than the dialefb of 
the neighbouring people who fpeak Sclavonic, as they 
change the confonants, and in particular the /, more into 
vowels. Formerly, the Bohemians ufed the fame letters 
with the Ruffians, but in the time of Boleflaus the Good, 
the Latin was introduced among them. There is alfo much 
German fpoken in the .country. The Bohemians are fup- 
pofed to have received the Chriftian faith fo early as the 
' lixth century : but it is more certain that they were in- 
dructed therein by the Greek brethren Methodius and 
Cyril (the latter of whom was at firH called Conftantinus) 
about the middle of the ninth century : and lienee alfo 
at firH the Greek religion and cudoms were in ufe among 
them, till Boleilaus the Good introduced the Romiffi me¬ 
thod of worffiip there. In the fifteenth century, John 
Militz began‘to preach againft the pope and Roman Ca¬ 
tholic clergy, and Matthias Janow followed his fieps. The 
latter was likewife fupported by John Httfs, Jerome of 
Prague, and Jacob von Mifa ; who, partly in the four¬ 
teenth, but partly and chiefly in the fifteenth, century, op- 
pofed.many doffrines and abufes of the Roman Catholic 
church. This, at the council of Condance, brought H-ufs 
and Jerome to the Hake, and put their adherents, the 
greateH part of whom were Bohemians, under the bann, 
upon which they were fo irritated, that on this account a 
bloody war broke out, which continued for many years. 
Bohemia lies high, is, for the mod part, level, en¬ 
joys a warm, pleaiaut, and ivholefome, air, a (oil fat, and, 
in certain places only, fandy. It is very fertile in corn, 
confiderable quantities of which are exported from thence, 
particularly buck-wheat, millet, garden and orchard fruits, 
and excellent hops. It likewife produces, (affron, ginger, 
calamus, and what- is called a manna (but by the Bohe¬ 
mians otherwife named ber, being much the fame with 
pannic or foxtail); has alfo good red vines, among which 
Vol. III. Mo. 112. 
that of mielnicker, and, in particular, the fweetand ftrong 
podfkalfky, which grows near A11 fog, is principally el- 
teemed. It yields good pallure, and numerous droves of 
cattle, with excellent chaces, and wild fowl ; alfo bears, 
lynxes, wolves, foxes, martens, badgers, beavers, See. 
with well-taded fifli of all kinds in the rivers and ponds. 
The principal exports are, corn, malt, hops, paper, pot¬ 
tery, and glafs. Formerly there were many falt-works- 
in Bohemia, but at prefent they neither boil nor dig fait, 
but import it from other countries. In Bohemia there 
are mines of coal, alum, fulphur, vitriol, iron, copper, 
lead, quickfilver, and faltpetre. Above zoo towns and 
places may be named where mine-works have been edab- 
liHied. All kinds of marble are likewife dug in Boherrtia. 
Among its precious Hanes are diamonds, to which not a 
beautiful lullre, but a proper hardnefs only, is wanting ; 
which is alfo the cafe with its rubies and chryfolites, 
emeralds, granates, faphires, topazes, amethyds, hya¬ 
cinths, beryls, carbuncles, jafper, chalcedonies, turquoifes, 
cornelians, &c. The filver, and in part milk-white pearls, 
which are gathered in different places in this kingdom, in 
particular in the Watawa and Wlatawa, are very beauti¬ 
ful. The principal rivers are the Elbe, the Moldau, and 
the Egra. Bohemia was formerly abundantly fupplied 
with towns, villages, cadles, and men. In the days of 
the emperor Rodolpluis II. were computed in it 34,700 
villages, 732 great and fmall towns, 124 cadles, feats of 
the nobility unnumbered, and above three million of in¬ 
habitants. But at prefent it appears very defolate in com. 
parifon of its former population. During the intedine 
religious wars, and in the fucceeding irruptions of the 
Swedes, mod of the towns, cadles, and villages, in Bo¬ 
hemia, were laid wade, infomuch, that at prefent it con¬ 
tains only 105 great and fmall towns, and 6000 villages. 
The number of feignories, farms, and eHates, in it, a- 
mounts to 1451. The number of inhabitants is alfo con¬ 
fidently decreafed, fo that fome aflert that not the tenth 
part of the former number remains at prefent, and that 
the modern Bohemia is only the fltadow of what it was 
formerly. In 1622, and in the three or four fucceeding 
years, to the number of 30,000 fixed families quitted this 
country, not to mention women, children, handycraftf- 
men, and others ; and the greated part of all the nobility 
alfo retired. For this reafon a traveller finds the towns a 
villages, and highways, in Bohemia, very defolate. 
Bohemia is divided into twelve circles, viz. circle of 
Boleflaw; Leitmeritz, Saatz with Elnbogen, Pilfen, Pra- 
chatitz or Prachin, Bechin, Chrudim, Czaljait, Kaur- 
zim, Konigingratz, Rachinitz with Schlan, and Beraun 
with Moldaw. The city of Prague is the capital or me¬ 
tropolis of the kingdom. From fome royal demands or 
exactions made in later times, we may form a probable 
conjecture how much this kingdom brings in annually to 
its iovereign. In 1742, the emperor Charles VI 1 . exacted 
of the dates, for the ordinary and extraordinary contri¬ 
butions of the kingdom, 6,000,000 of florins. In 1743 
the queen Maria Therefa demanded in general 5,270,000 
florins ; 2,890,000 florins were for the military date. 
The revenues of the chamber eHates or domains, tolls, 
&c. raifed here, are confiderable. According to the new 
regulation of the military date of the collective Andrian 
hereditary countries, the annual contribution of the king¬ 
dom to the maintenance thereof amounts to 5,270,488 flo¬ 
rins, forty-four kruitzers. To the Handing militia of 
24,000 men, which in the year 1753 were appointed in 
the Andrian hereditary countries, and in times of war 
were to fqrve towards tlie completing the field-regiments, 
Bohemia furniflies 9000. The only remarkable occurrence 
in the Bohemian hidory, is the rebellion of the difeipies 
of John Hufs and Jerome Prague, on account of their 
leaders having been burnt as heretics. This occafioned a. 
bloody war of fixteen years continuance ; for the parti¬ 
culars of which, fee the article Hussites. The diver 
groat is faid to have been firfl coined in Bohemia, in the 
year 1302. 
0-3 
BOHE'MIAN 
