Salisbury, Robert Cecil, 1st earl of, 1563-1612, English statesman; son of William Cecil, Baron Burghley. He entered Parliament and came gradually to rank second only to his father as adviser to Queen Elizabeth I. About 1589 he began to perform the duties of secretary of state, and he was officially appointed to that position in 1596. He became chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster in 1597 and in 1598 succeeded his father as principal secretary, despite the rivalry of Francis Bacon and the 2d earl of Essex. The fall and execution of Essex in 1601 cleared the way for Cecil to enter into secret negotiations with James VI of Scotland and arrange the latter's peaceful accession to the English throne as James I on the death of Elizabeth (1603). After the accession of James, Cecil was created Baron Cecil (1603), Viscount Cranborne (1604), and earl of Salisbury (1605). His influence over James was due to his abilities, not, as in the case of the earl of Somerset and the 1st duke of Buckingham, to a personal ascendancy over the king. For the remainder of his life virtually the entire administration of the government was in his care. The duties of lord treasurer devolved upon Salisbury in 1608. He exhibited great financial skill, reducing the king's debt and attempting to restrain James's extravagance. However, his practice of levying impositions (customs duties) without parliamentary consent raised a storm in Parliament. In 1610, Salisbury negotiated the so-called Great Contract with Parliament, by which James was to receive a settled income in return for abandoning his feudal revenues. The agreement was broken off, however, because of mutual suspicions. In foreign affairs Salisbury ended (1604) the war with Spain and thereafter attempted to maintain a balance of power between France and Spain. After 1604 he received a pension from Spain, but his hope that England might lead a Protestant alliance led him to support the marriage (1612) of James's daughter Elizabeth to the elector palatine. Salisbury planned and had built the great Jacobean mansion Hatfield House in Hertfordshire.

Salisbury, Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3d marquess of, 1830-1903, British statesman. He entered Parliament in 1853 as a Conservative and devoted himself for 50 years to a program of cautious imperialism and resourceful resistance to sweeping parliamentary and franchise reforms. He became (1866) secretary for India in Lord Derby's government but resigned (1867) in protest against the Reform Bill sponsored and passed by Benjamin Disraeli. Salisbury (who succeeded to his father's title in 1868) returned to the India Office in 1874 and in 1878 became Disraeli's foreign secretary. His "Salisbury Circular" outlined British policy concerning the Eastern Question and led to the Congress of Berlin (1878), which he attended with Disraeli. The Conservatives lost office in 1880, and on Disraeli's death (1881) Salisbury became leader of the opposition to the administration of William Gladstone. In 1885 he entered upon the first of his three ministries. His government fell early in 1886, but Salisbury returned to power within the year, following the defeat of Gladstone's bill for Irish Home Rule. Salisbury's second government lasted six years (until 1892); his third, seven years (1895-1902). In each of his ministries he acted as his own foreign minister. Salisbury avoided alignments in European affairs, maintaining the policy of what was later called "splendid isolation." Colonial affairs, however, brought difficulties with some of the European powers. An Anglo-German agreement (1890) resolved conflicting claims in East Africa; Great Britain received Zanzibar and Uganda in exchange for Helgoland. A treaty with Portugal (1891) gave Britain further rights in E Africa. The Fashoda Incident (1898) brought Britain and France to the verge of war but ended in a diplomatic victory for Britain. Difficulties with the Boers, however, resulted in the South African War (1899-1902). Salisbury conciliated the United States at the time of the Venezuela Boundary Dispute, in the Spanish-American War, and in the Panama negotiations. He attempted with some success to maintain the Open Door in China. Although preoccupied largely with foreign affairs, Salisbury did carry several land purchase acts for Ireland. His governments were also responsible for such reforms as the reorganization of local government (1888), free public education (1891), and workmen's compensation (1897). He relinquished the foreign office in 1900 and resigned as prime minister after the conclusion of the South African War in 1902. Salisbury designated his nephew, Arthur Balfour, as his successor.

Salisbury, John of: see John of Salisbury.

Salisbury Plain, undulating, mostly barren chalk plateau, c.300 sq mi (780 sq km), Wiltshire, S England. It is noted chiefly as the site of ancient monuments, of which Stonehenge is the most famous. The region is also an army training ground.

Salisbury or New Sarum, town (1991 pop. 36,890) and district, Wiltshire, S England. A market town, Salisbury was founded in 1220 when the bishopric was moved there from Old Sarum. Squares or "checkers" are characteristic of the regular plan of the town. Industries include cattle and poultry marketing, brewing, leatherwork, and printing. The cathedral, a splendid example of Early English architecture with the highest spire in England (404 ft/123 m), was built mainly between 1220 and 1260. Some of the materials were brought from the razed cathedral of Old Sarum. The 13th-century palace of the bishops, numerous medieval churches and other old buildings, and the Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum are of interest. There is a teacher-training college and a theological college. The town is the Melchester of Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels. Stonehenge is 10 mi (16 km) to the north.

Salisbury: see Harare, Zimbabwe.

Salisbury. 1 City (1990 pop. 20,592), seat of Wicomico co., Md., on the Eastern Shore, at the head of the Wicomico River; settled 1732, inc. 1872. Poultry raising and processing is the major industry. Clothing, machinery, and boats are manufactured. The city is also a trade center for the Eastern Shore. Salisbury Univ. is there.

2 City (1990 pop. 23,087), seat of Rowan co., W central N.C., in the Piedmont industrial region; inc. 1770. There is food processing, and machinery, furniture, electrical and medical equipment, building materials, textiles and apparel, aluminum, and chemicals are manufactured. Salisbury is the seat of Catawba College and Livingstone College. The city has a number of 18th- and 19th-century buildings, churches, and homes. The national cemetery in Salisbury was the site of one of the largest Confederate prison camps during the Civil War; approximately 11,700 Union soldiers are buried there.

John of Salisbury, c.1110-1180, English scholastic philosopher, b. Salisbury. He studied in France at Paris and Chartres under Abelard and other famous teachers. He was secretary to Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and friend and secretary to St. Thomas à Becket, of whom he wrote a biography. From 1176 to 1180, John was bishop of Chartres. His two main works are the Polycraticus, a treatise on the principles of government, and the Metalogicus, which presents a picture of the intellectual life and the scholastic controversies of the age. He was well acquainted with the Latin classics, and the influence of Platonism on his writing is considerable. He was one of the originators of moderate realism as a solution to the controversy with nominalism.

Field, Erastus Salisbury, 1805-1900, American painter, b. Leverett, Mass. Field's paintings, executed in a primitive manner, included biblical and classical themes and portraits. His famous Historical Monument of the American Republic (c.1875) is in the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts. Field's portrait of Ellen Tuttle Bangs is owned by the Metropolitan Museum.

(born June 1, 1563, London, Eng.—died May 24, 1612, Marlborough, Wiltshire) English statesman. Trained in statesmanship by his father, William Cecil, Robert entered the House of Commons in 1584. He became acting secretary of state in 1590 and was formally appointed to the post by Elizabeth I in 1596. He succeeded his father as chief minister in 1598 and guided the peaceful succession of Elizabeth by James I, for whom he continued as chief minister from 1603 and lord treasurer from 1608. He negotiated the end of the war with Spain in 1604 and allied England with France.

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formerly Salisbury

City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,686,000), capital of Zimbabwe. Located in northeastern Zimbabwe, it was founded as Salisbury by the British in 1890. It was the capital of, successively, the colony of Southern Rhodesia, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (1953–63), and Rhodesia (1965–79). Under the new government of independent Zimbabwe (1980), it was renamed Harare. It is a cultural and educational centre and the site of the University of Zimbabwe (1957). The centre of Zimbabwe's industry and commerce, it is the distribution point for the area's agricultural produce. There are important gold mines nearby.

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(born 1115/20, Salisbury, Wiltshire, Eng.—died Oct. 25, 1180, Chartres, France) English prelate and scholar. A noted Latinist who studied with Peter Abelard and other important theologians in Paris, John was a leading figure in the renaissance of the 12th century. He served as secretary to Theobald and St. Thomas Becket, archbishops of Canterbury. He wrote Historia pontificalis (circa 1163) and the Policraticus and the Metalogicon (both 1159) His defense of Becket and of ecclesiastical liberties led Henry II to exile him to France (1163). He returned to England after the reconciliation of Henry and Becket and was in Canterbury Cathedral when Becket was assassinated. He later wrote a hagiography of Becket and promoted the cult of the murdered archbishop. As bishop of Chartres (from 1176), he was active in the third Lateran Council.

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