A body of 3,000 cavalry which formed the only standing army of the Netherlands, circ. 1550. Bank Charter Act, 1833. An Act renewing the charter of the Bank of England, originally granted in 1694. It made the notes of the bank legal tender, and provided that the notes issued should bear to the specie in hand a ratio not exceeding three to one. Bank Charter Act, 1844. By this Act it was provided that the Bank of England should not issue notes in excess of £14,000,000, unless a corresponding reserve of specie were held. It also restricted the note issue of other banks, and provided that no banks established after the passing of the Act should have the right to issue notes. Bar, Confederation of. A league of Polish nobles, formed in 1876, with the object of dethroning Stanislas Augustus (Poniatowski), and freeing the country from foreign influence. Barbarossa. Frederick II, Emperor of Germany (1152-1190), so called from his red beard. Barbons. The name given to Sillery, Jeannin, and Villeroy, the veteran councillors of Louis XIII, circ. 1612. Barcelona, Treaty of, 1493. A treaty between Charles VIII of France and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, by which Roussillon and Cerdagne were restored to the Crown of Arragon. Barcelona, Treaty of, 1529. A treaty between Charles V and Pope Clement VII, by which the Emperor undertook to proceed to Rome to receive the crown at the Pope’s hands, and to take all the steps in his power to check the spread of the reformed religion. Bardo, Treaty of. A treaty between France and Tunis, signed in 1861. The Bey recognized the French right to occupy military positions securing the frontier and the sea coast. France in return guaranteed to the Bey his personal security, and that of his dynasty and dominions. She also undertook the due execution of all treaty obligations to foreign powers, but for the future reserved the right to control all the international relations of the Bey. Barebone’s Parliament. A Parliament summoned by Cromwell on July 4, 1653, which lasted only till December 12 of the same year. It took its name from one of its members, a leather merchant named Praise-God Barebone, and it was also known as the Little Parliament. Bari, Council of. At this council, summoned by Pope Urban II in 1098, the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Ghost was established. Barmecides. A celebrated Persian family, who rose to the highest offices of state under the Abbaside Khalifs. One of their number, Jaafar, was the favourite Vizier of Haroun-al-Raschid. For some reason not sufficiently explained by the Arab historians, Haroun, without warning, caused the whole family, numbering over a thousand, to be massacred in 802. Barnburners. Bands of agricultural labourers who, from 1830 to 1833, endeavoured, by burning ricks and farm buildings, to terrorize the landlords into the concession of improved conditions. The threatening letters written to their employers were generally signed “Captain Swing.”