A Sketch of the
HISTORY
of the
BASHORE CLAN
 1711-1750

of 1600 on into 1700, and the main facts connected with the origin of our clan will cause us to retrace our steps to the year 1711, and extending to 1759, which will embrace everything your historian has been able to gather in time to present to your notice on the present occasion.

      Europe at this time was in a state of turmoil and strife which was caused by constant warring between the various powers resulting in political uprisings and plots, internecine strife, general discontent and most prominent and dead-ly in this combination, and at the bottom of all the other elements of discord was religious bigotry, and hatred between the adherants of Romanism and the various sects and factions of Protestants which sprung from the religious up-heavel of a century previous to this time and known in history as the Refor-mation, with Martin Luther as the figure head.
      Right in the center of this turmoil and strife along the borders of Rhineland known as the Palatinates we found evident traces of our ancestors. At the time mentioned this whole territory was surrounded by conflicting armies which had been for almost thirty years struggling for the mastery with varying success and failure on both sides, without either gaining any decisive victory. On one side were France, Spain, Turkey and Austria against the allies consisting of England, Holland, Italy, Denmark and Germany. The principal bone of conten-tion was this territory known as the Palatinates and in consequence the inhab-itants were forced to endure many privations and suffered greatly from confis-cation of property and conscription from both sides, according to the varying successes of the invaders in securing a foothold in the territory. It is not necessary to go into further detail, however as the various histories contain full information and so we pass this over with the remark that the struggle
of thirty years was brought to a close at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.

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