INTRODUCTION
Interest is powerful. The triggering of interest initiates productive engagement and the potential for optimal motivation. A person is said to be interested in some activity, such as writing, playing bridge, or fantasy football, if they voluntarily engage in thinking about it, happily prioritize the problems that arise (e.g., a paragraph that does not work, a bridge hand that did not make, or having your first round draft pick be out for the season), and are willing to persevere to address them.1 Until recently, it has not been clear that regardless of a person’s age or prior experience, interests like these can be triggered and can be supported to develop. A person’s interest makes persistence feel effortless and increases the possibility of achievement and creative contribution.
Being interested in something—a school assignment, a work-related responsibility, or a museum exhibit—has been repeatedly shown to benefit the interested person. People who are interested in what they are doing are recognizable because they tend to have positive feelings, be invigorated, and choose to reengage with a particular object/activity/idea, or content, repeatedly. Their engagement with the content is distinctive and appears to be self-sustaining; their interest positively affects their attention, goal setting, comprehension, motivation, and learning, and it can influence their ability to achieve and succeed in their careers.2 Although having a more developed interest is optimal, any development of interest is beneficial. Many people do well with having focused interests in only a few content areas and less well-developed (but some) interest in others. The complications set in if there is no interest for content to be learned and no supports to trigger interest in the content to develop. As we will explain, evidence now exists that demonstrates that those who lack interest can have their interest triggered and can be supported to seriously engage content that previously was not of interest to them.
In his 1949 review of the history of interest, Berlyne pointed out that increasing understanding of interest has been a serious pursuit of psychologists and educators for centuries. Berlyne wrote that conceptualizations of interest were inadequate in early studies as they neglected important meanings of the word. He argued that many aspects of interest need clarification and that various aspects of motivation such as curiosity were particularly in need of clarification. He suggested that when such advances have been made:
we shall be in a better position to give a clear, precise, operational definition of “interest” in one or several senses. And it will be easier to discuss such matters as: (a) the relation between different uses of the word; (b) the development of adult interests out of the behavior of animals and children; (c) the origins and progress of specific interests; (d) the measurement and classification of interests.
(Berlyne 1949: 194)
Berlyne believed that, eventually, developments in research would make it possible to provide clarity about the relations among different approaches to interest, the development of interest in general and with regard to specific content, as well as the measurement of interest.
Armed with a developmental model of interest that distinguishes between earlier and later phases of development—the four-phase model of interest development—we can now provide the conceptual framework that Berlyne called for.3 The four-phase model describes phases in the development of a person’s interest that apply both in and out of school. It provides a framework for explaining how studies focusing on varying aspects of interest contribute to understanding of interest as a developmental process. It also allows us to identify indicators of different phases of interest that can be used by researchers and educators and positions them to address the power of the development of interest for motivation and engagement. For example, individuals with little interest in history might be encouraged to examine artifacts or documents and talk about what they notice. An educator (parent, after-school staff person, or museum docent) should respond to the connections that the individuals can make to the materials and/or provide additional relevant content. On the other hand, those who already have a more developed interest in history can draw on previously acquired knowledge and are likely to prefer engaging in discussions or debates about the evidence or perspectives provided by the artifacts. Having already made some connection to history, they are ready to continue to stretch what they know, and this, in turn, leads to the continuing development and deepening of their interests.
Only relatively recently have research findings demonstrated that interest develops. Because interest is a common phenomenon, there is folk wisdom that explains its origins and how it works. Although folk wisdom about interest has some aspects of truth, it also contains a number of misunderstandings about
interest that need to be recognized and addressed. Addressing these misconceptions should allow the field of interest research to move forward and provide practitioners with information about how interest can be supported to develop. We briefly review some of these misconceptions here and address them in more detail in the chapters of this volume.
A critical misunderstanding about interest is that it is static. It has been studied and conceptualized as if it were either present or absent. When people think of interest, they often are not thinking about its potential to develop. They may be thinking of the psychological state of interest (the way that they or another person engages with interest) or of interest as a motivational predisposition (the motivating qualities of interest). In this volume, we explain that interest always includes both of these aspects, and, most importantly, that interest is dynamic. It always has the possibility to develop. The development of interest occurs through interactions with others (e.g., peers, educators, employers, and parents) and the environment.
A related misunderstanding is the erroneous description of interest as a personal characteristic, trait, or propensity, something that a person is born with.4 This view of interest suggests that a person either has an interest in a particular discipline, such as mathematics, or does not, and that if a person does not have an interest in a particular school subject, business, or leisure time activity, etc., nothing can be done about it. Some people still mistakenly operate with this view; however, research findings suggest that this is not the case. Interest may be supported to develop, and, in fact, the support provided by the home environment has been widely acknowledged to be critical in providing a foundation as well as a language for engaging with particular disciplines (e.g., music, science). Given its benefit for learning, and differences of early experience, it seems to be incumbent on educators, in particular, to take responsibility for supporting the development of their students’ interest.
Yet another misconception is that interest is always easily measured by simply asking the person if they are interested or like the content. “Liking” does not provide enough information to distinguish among those with less and more developed interest. It is also essential to consider an individual’s value for and knowledge of content, and/or the behaviors to enable assessment of this information.
Another misconception is that a person who has more developed interest does not need support; research shows that this assumption is not valid. Even when a person’s interest is already developing, it is most likely to thrive when there is support for its continued development. Without opportunities to continue to deepen and develop, even a well-developed interest may go dormant or drop off. Parents, educators, and employers play an important role in how interest develops and whether it is sustained.
Finally, another misunderstanding about interest is the assumption that supporting the development of a person’s interest is too complex and messy of a task to deal with. The complexity is related to the fact that people tend not to have a
clear definition of interest (for example, they do not know if and how interest differs from curiosity), and they often do not recognize the characteristics of interest or its developmental trajectory. Interest that is in the process of being triggered and has not yet developed differs in predictable ways from more developed interest. Understanding the differences between earlier and later phases in the development of interest can be a reliable and useful tool for supporting learning and productivity. A person’s phase of interest provides information about how a task or activity is likely to be experienced and can suggest ways that others could enable the person to make connections to it and persevere.
Findings from research on interest confirm that the development of interest contributes to a person’s readiness to identify with a discipline, as well as to think and work with content. In fact, interest is used as an indicator in assessments of flow and grit.5 There is mounting evidence that interest is instrumental in its relation to learning, and for motivation and engagement. For example, interest:
• predicts long-term growth in achievement;6
• is critical for learners’ expectations and motivation to succeed; their awareness of the value of interest seems to precede their awareness of utility and attainment value (importance);7
• leads to meaningful engagement, and appears to precede changes in students’ behavior and academic engagement.8
Moreover, evidence from neuroscience now confirms that people are hardwired to be interested and to engage in seeking behavior that activates the brain’s reward circuitry.9 This means that all persons can develop interest and also that, as interest develops, a person is likely to voluntarily seek the information and resources needed for continued learning.When interest is supported to deepen and develop, motivation and engagement are most likely to be effectively cultivated.
In 1946, the psychologist Allport wrote that, “One of our greatest defects is our lack of a consistent or adequate theory of interest” (1946: 341).10 He acknowledged the power of interest and described the complications of not having enough information to be able to explain and/or harness its possibilities. In the last thirty years, research developments have begun to provide a basis for formulation and development of such a theory. In this book, we describe the theory and findings that now constitute the four-phase model of interest development.11 In this model, interest is conceptualized as including affective and cognitive components that are biologically grounded; that is, they have roots in a person’s physiological make-up. Furthermore, interest is dynamic and has the potential to develop. It develops in the interaction(s) of a person and the environment, or learning context.12
We open the volume by describing interest development as a trajectory that unfolds in relation to a person’s interactions with the environment, whether these interactions take place in or out of school. In each of the book’s six chapters, we focus on issues that are important to educators, business people, parents, and
various research communities. Policy-makers could also benefit from reading the book.
In Chapter 1, we define interest. We acknowledge references to interest in everyday conversation, and explain how interest is studied by academics concerned with education and learning. We provide an overview and a case illustration of the four-phase model of interest development. We also explain the historical context of educational and psychological studies of interest and the roots of different approaches to the conceptualization of interest.
In Chapter 2, we review research on interest and its relation to learning, attention, and curiosity. We point to findings confirming the important role of interest in learning, and we revisit differences in researchers’ interpretations of the relation between attention and interest. We use evidence from neuroscience to further clarify how learning, attention, and curiosity are related to interest, and to explain why interest is rewarding and powerful. We also argue that interest and curiosity should be conceptualized as related but distinct concepts.
In Chapter 3, we describe the process of triggering interest and how new interests can be supported to develop. We address what counts as interest and how interest can be identified and measured. We point to behaviors associated with the development of interest, and explain how and also why these behaviors provide reliable indicators for its measurement.
In Chapter 4, we define the terms “motivation” and “engagement” and discuss their relation to interest. Following this, we explain the links between interest and different types of motivational variables such as goals, self-efficacy, and self-regulation. We also explain that the ways in which they are related may change as interest develops; for example, in earlier phases of interest, the variables are distinct, and in later phases of interest, they are more likely to be coordinated and mutually supportive.
In Chapter 5, we consider the paradox of declines in interest as learners advance in schooling. We discuss how interest is related to content knowledge, the relation between interest and identity, and the meaning of interest-driven learning.We also report on research conducted both in and out of school to provide an overview of interest research by domain.
In Chapter 6, we conclude by reviewing three major premises:
1. Interest is a variable that can be supported to develop and deepen, regardless of a person’s age or prior experience.
2. In order for interest to develop, a person needs to make connections to the content of interest.
3. Neuroscience provides evidence that people are hardwired to find the pursuit of their interest rewarding.
We review resources for supporting the development of interest, and we address the implications of interest for subsequent research and for practice.
We draw on research findings to inform the discussion in each chapter and to identify what is not yet well understood. Because the principles of interest are generally applicable across disciplines, we have included case materials that refer to a wide variety of situations in order to provide context for readers. We have designed the volume to include text written for a wide range of readers, not all of whom specialize in motivation and learning; annotated notes are provided for researchers.This organization is intended to increase ease of reading for those new to the topic; it enables the chapters to be read without interruption by multiple citations and additional details. The sequencing of the chapters and the use of examples is intended to allow readers new to research on interest to develop their understanding; key ideas are also reiterated in each chapter in case readers choose to read chapters out of order.
Our goal is to provide readers with a research-informed follow-up to Dewey’s now-classic essay that was published in 1913, Interest and Effort in Education 13 We note that, like Dewey’s, our focus is on typical development and the role of interest in learning. This volume does not address particular conditions, although we recognize that both researchers and practitioners may benefit by attending to the development of interests of those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, or high-functioning autism.
Although not all of Dewey’s ideas were supported by subsequent research, many of them were. Neuroscientific information was unavailable to Dewey. Now, this research suggests that there are biological correlates of interest indicating that interest is inherently rewarding. Recent findings suggest that interest is its own reward and that the development of interest is even more powerful than Dewey suggested.
Notes
1 Our focus throughout this volume is on individuals’ participation with interest. Interest is both a psychological state and/or a motivational variable. We speak of a person having an interest in some content (e.g., domain of knowledge [such as mathematics, or playing tennis], object [such as trains or microscopes], or idea [such as leftist politics or cooperation in peace-making]). However, we do not focus on the specifics of the object of interest; rather, we describe the power of interest generally and its application across different contents of interest.
2 See Barron et al. 2014; Edelson and Joseph 2004; Illeris 2007; Renninger 2000; Renninger and Hidi 2002.
3 Hidi and Renninger 2006; Renninger and Hidi 2011; see also discussion in Renninger and Su 2012.
4 This is not to deny that some individuals are born with major predispositions to develop their individual interests such as in music, mathematics, or chess. However, the point we are making is that even when no such strong predisposition is present, interest may be developed, if triggered and supported.
5 Flow refers to the psychological state of engagement during which a person is so focused on activity that they may lose track of time (e.g., Csikszentmihalyi
1990; Jackson 2012). Grit refers to the determination to master content, especially when interest and its facilitating effect on effort is not present (e.g., Duckworth et al. 2007).
6 Murayama et al. 2013.
7 This is our interpretation of Wigfield et al.’s (2006) explanation that is described in terms of prediction.
8 Reschly and Christenson 2012; see discussion in Renninger and Bachrach 2015.
9 Hidi 2006, 2015; see also Berridge 2012; Panksepp 1998.
10 cf. Berlyne 1949; Renninger and Hidi 2011.
11 The four-phase model describes phases in the development of a person’s interest, a process that is initiated by triggering. Interest may then be sustained as a relatively enduring predisposition to return over time to particular classes of content such as writing, playing bridge, or cooking (Hidi and Renninger 2006; see also Renninger and Hidi 2011; Renninger and Su 2012).
12 Schiefele (1978) was among the first to emphasize that it was essential to study interest as a significant component of motivation and to explain how and why students become interested in particular content and how interest can be sustained.
13 The present volume also follows Silvia’s Exploring the Psychology of Interest, published in 2006. As we discuss in more detail later, Silvia’s research questions focus on cognitive appraisals that result in the emotion of interest. Notably, Silvia is not focusing on interest as a cognitive and affective variable that can be supported to develop. Rather he focuses on the emotional component of interest as an aspect of personality. Whereas we acknowledge that interest has an emotional component, we also maintain that interest is the product of an interaction between a person and their environment and that it is through this interaction that interest is supported to develop. Because Silvia focuses on the pattern of cognitions, or appraisal structures, that lead to feelings of interest, he suggests that evaluations (appraisals) of events, not the events themselves, result in emotional experiences. Instead, we draw on research from neuroscience that describes seeking behaviors as a biological root of interest (Panksepp 1998) and the interactions of the person with the environment as the basis of interest development. As such, although we do not deny that individual differences exist in the depth and breadth of interests of individuals (see Ainley 1987), we do not presume that conscious cognitive evaluations precede the psychological state of interest or that interests are necessarily stable aspects of personality.
1 DEFINING INTEREST
What is interest and how has it been conceptualized and studied?
What is the definition of interest? A momentary fixation, attraction, fascination, or curiosity? A preference or an attitude? Love of learning or even a passion? A motivational belief or a trait-like characteristic? Is it an emotion?1 Until recently, academics have not been able to reach a consensus about how to define interest, because so many of these ways of describing interest seem to be intuitively correct. In order to avoid confusion about our definition, we specifically focus on interest and its development beginning with the initial triggering of attention and extending through to the formation of a well-developed individual interest. In the course of its development, interest is very likely to include or reflect all of the above definitions.2
In our definition, interest has a dual meaning: it refers to the psychological state of a person while engaging with some type of content (e.g., mathematics, bass fishing, music) and also to the cognitive and affective motivational predisposition to reengage with that content over time. That is, interest is a psychological state and a motivational disposition that exists in, or is the product of, the interaction of people’s characteristics and their environment (see Figure 1.1).3 Much of the research on interest focuses on one or the other of these two aspects of interest, although they have been, and perhaps should be, considered together.
A Psychological State and a Motivational Variable
Interest as a psychological state is grounded in a person’s physiological/neurological reactions to a wide range of things, including other people, objects, and tasks. Interest also describes a unique, content-specific, motivational variable that is responsible for the processes underlying how people act, feel, engage, and learn.4
Psychological State
Characteristics of the person
Motivational Variable (Triggered Situational Interest, or Maintained Situational Interest, or Emerging Individual Interest, or Well-Developed Individual Interest)
Characteristics of the environment
FIGURE 1.1 The Dual Meaning of Interest: A Psychological State and a Motivational Variable.
As a psychological state, interest is characterized by increased attention, effort, concentration, and affect during engagement. As a motivational variable, the term makes a distinction between shorter-term or situational interest and longer-term or individual interest, which is characterized by reengagement over time.
Two children who are playing chess and are in different phases of interest may be in the same psychological state but may differ in their predisposition to return to playing chess another time. The child with less developed interest (triggered or maintained situational interest) may or may not continue to seek opportunities to play, depending on available and competing opportunities; whereas, the child with more developed interest in chess (emerging individual or well-developed individual interest) will be motivated to return to play: he will not want to be called away from the game, and, if he is, he is likely to seek opportunities to play chess again just as soon as he can.5
The two meanings of interest—as both a psychological state and as a motivational disposition—are interrelated. On one hand, if the psychological state of interest is generated or triggered repeatedly, it may support the development of interest as a motivational variable. On the other hand, the level or phase of interest as a motivational variable determines the types of environmental supports (e.g., from other people and/or the design of tasks or opportunities) that are needed to enable the continued triggering and maintaining of the psychological state of interest.
Integral to the development of interest as a motivational variable are two types of interest: situational and individual.6 Linked, they describe the potential
TABLE 1.1 A Case Example of a Triggered Situational Interest That Is Maintained.
Julia is in her last term of college. While nervously waiting for a medical appointment, she picks up and flips through a magazine. Her attention is drawn to an article about a man who is an engineer and who recently gave up his partnership in a successful consulting practice to become a facilitator. A facilitator is a person who tries to help people or groups resolve conflicts before they go to litigation. Julia likes the idea of working with people and wants to read more even though she has never heard of the occupation of facilitator before now. Meanwhile, she is called to meet the doctor. She carefully marks the page she is reading and leaves the magazine on the table. Following her appointment, she goes back to the table, finds the magazine, and sits down to finish reading the article.
Source: Hidi and Renninger 2006: 116.
trajectory of interest development in which situational interest may trigger and support the development of individual interest (see Table 1.1).
They have also been studied separately. We consider each briefly and explain the links between them. We then provide detail about the four-phase model of interest development, which describes phases in interest development as including triggered situational, maintained situational, emerging individual, and well-developed individual interest. Following this, we review conceptualizations of interest in their historical contexts and discuss their implications for better understanding interest as a variable that develops.
Situational, Individual, and Topic Interest
Situational interest—also referred to as an early phase of interest development, or less developed interest—is a reaction to particular content or activity. It has an affective component that frequently is positive but can also involve negative feelings such as fear or disgust.7 Situational interest is characterized by focused attention to particular content and may be shorter-term (triggered situational interest) or may be maintained over a somewhat longer period of time (maintained situational interest).8 Two types of factors have been identified as characterizing situational interest:
1. structural characteristics such as novelty, surprise, complexity, and ambiguity;9 2. content features such as human activity, life themes, intensity, and personalization.10
These factors may naturally occur in the environment, can result from educators’ organization of school activities (e.g., hands-on activities)11 or, in the case of older individuals, may be self-generated (e.g., with the intention of staying on task).12 Linnenbrink-Garcia et al. (2010) have shown that different aspects of the
mathematics classroom can provide triggers: the presentation of course materials (triggered situational interest), students’ feelings about the materials as enjoyable or engaging (maintained situational interest feeling), and students’ perceptions of the materials’ importance (maintained situational interest value).13 Moreover, they reported that situational interest promoted change in the students’ individual interest over the school year.
Individual interest—also called a later phase of interest development, more developed interest, and/or personal interest—is a relatively enduring predisposition to reengage with particular content over time. The repeated experience of the psychological state of interest predicts the likelihood of continued self-sustained engagement14 when opportunity is available,15 as well as the experience of flow. 16 Typically, learners who have an emerging individual interest are invested and excited by their developing knowledge. When learners have a well-developed individual interest they are also likely to be concerned with the relation between their understanding and what others have said or may have figured out. 17 Individual interest tends to develop slowly through repeated triggers from the environment that can be provided by other people 18 or may be self-generated. 19 Individual interest is associated with positive feelings as well as a recursive relation of knowledge and value for the content of interest. The development of knowledge contributes to the deepening of value, and, as value develops, it leads to continued engagement and yet more deepening of knowledge.20
In addition to situational and individual interest, some researchers have studied topic interest (e.g., space travel).21 Topic interest is triggered by the presentation of topics and themes.22 This type of interest was considered to be a form of situational interest in some early studies,23 while other investigators referred to topic interest as a form of individual interest.24 Subsequently, Ainley et al. (2002) reported that topic interest can be influenced by both situational (e.g., a topic such as space travel is mentioned and people want to know about it) and individual factors (e.g., people have an already developed interest in space travel). Their research identified the contributions of both of these factors to the psychological state of interest that was triggered by four expository topics.
It is now clear that situational interest can be triggered in earlier as well as later phases of interest development. In fact, triggering occurs in each phase of interest, and when triggers “take,” interest can develop.25 In earlier phases of interest, the person needs triggering to support engagement with the content. In later phases of interest, continued triggering of interest is necessary for the development of interest to continue. For example, a person’s interest can be triggered by novelty in early phases of interest development and also by novelty in later phases of interest development,26 although what is novel or even comprehensible may be different for persons with less and more developed interest in a discipline.27 Bergin (1999: 89) provided some good illustrations of how individuals may differ in the information they find novel and interesting:
What is an exciting filmed chase scene for most people, may be boring to the jaded film critic who has seen too many chase scenes. A fascinating magazine account of a war escape may be old news, and inaccurate to boot, to the teen war aficionado who has already read several detailed book-length accounts of the escape.28
Initially, researchers studying interest did not see that situational and individual interest were linked. They did not recognize that the psychological state of interest could be the same for both situational and individual interest (as described in the example of the boy playing chess) and that the phase of a person’s interest would influence the level of his or her motivation. Rather, they thought that situational and individual interest were two different forms of interest.29 However, study findings emerged that led us to question the distinction between situational and individual interest.30 Subsequently, based on a review of the empirical literature, we found that we could identify four phases of interest and proposed the four-phase model of interest development, a proposition that has now been validated empirically.
The Four-Phase Model of Interest Development
As its name implies, the four-phase model of interest development describes four phases (not stages) in the development of interest: triggered situational, maintained situational, emerging individual, and well-developed individual interest (see Table 1.2). These phases characterize interest development across age levels and contexts, both in and out of formal settings such as the workplace or school. The term “phase” is used rather than “stage” because the length and character of a given phase may vary between and within individuals based on experience and temperament, among other factors. Without self-generated or environmental support for continued engagement, it is also possible for a person’s interest in something to decrease or drop off altogether.31
As depicted in Table 1.2, the first phase is a triggered situational interest. In this phase, people’s feelings about their own interest may be positive or negative and may or may not result in sustained engagement. Triggers in this phase are most likely but not necessarily external to the individual. As Dewey (1902, 1913) predicted, whether a triggered interest is maintained depends on a person’s prior experience, strengths, and needs, as well as the facilitation provided by others and the features of available interest-related tasks and activities. The form of facilitation, moreover, is likely to be informed by whether the person is aware that help could be beneficial, asks questions, and/or takes advantage of potential input.32
If a triggered interest is sustained and people begin, and/or are supported to begin, making connections between the content of interest and their own skills, knowledge, and prior experience, this may lead to the second phase of interest
TABLE 1.2 The Four Phases of Interest Development.
Phases of interest development
Less developed (earlier)
Phase I: Triggered situational interest
Definition
• Psychological state resulting from short-term changes in cognitive and affective processing associated with a particular class of content
Learner characteristics
• Attends to content, if only fleetingly
• May or may not be reflectively aware of the experience
• May need support to engage from others and through instructional design
• May experience either positive or negative feelings
• May not persevere when confronted with difficulty
• May simply want to be told what to do
Phase 2: Maintained situational interest
• Psychological state that involves focused attention to a particular class of content that reoccurs and/ or persists over time
More developed (later)
Phase 3: Emerging individual interest
• Psychological state and the beginning of relatively enduring predisposition to seek reengagement with a particular class of content over time
Phase 4: Well-developed individual interest
• Psychological state and a relatively enduring predisposition to reengage a particular class of content over time
• Reengages content that previously triggered attention
• Is developing knowledge of content
• Is developing a sense of the content’s value
• Is likely to be able to be supported by others to find connections to content based on existing skills, knowledge, and/or prior experience
• Is likely to have positive feelings
• May not persevere when confronted with difficulty
• May want to be told what to do
Source: This is a revised version of a table originally presented in Renninger and Su 2012.
• Is likely to independently reengage content
• Has stored knowledge and stored value
• Is reflective about the content
• Is focused on their own questions
• Has positive feelings
• May not persevere when confronted with difficulty
• May not want feedback from others
• Independently reengages content
• Has stored knowledge and value
• Is reflective about the content
• Is likely to recognize others’ contributions to the discipline
• Self-regulates easily to reframe questions and seek answers
• Has positive feelings
• Can persevere through frustration and challenge in order to meet goals
• Appreciates and may actively seek feedback
development: a maintained situational interest. When people have a maintained situational interest, they are likely to experience positive affect and to continue to develop their knowledge of and value for the content of interest. However, much of the support for the continued development and deepening of interest still comes from features of the environment, including other people, activities, and resources.
When people begin taking initiative by independently reflecting and reengaging, seeking answers and/or identifying resources that allow their knowledge to deepen, they can be said to have an emerging individual interest. In this phase, people begin to self-generate interest, to self-regulate, and to prioritize further understanding and involvement with the object of interest over other things.33 However, they are also primarily concerned with their own questions and may or may not be responsive to feedback, even though they continue to need support to develop skills and understanding of the content.
When an interest has developed into a well-developed individual interest, people are able to focus on information about the content of interest beyond what is immediately connected to their own questions.34 In this phase of interest, they have positive feelings and voluntarily and independently reengage. People with a well-developed individual interest have a long-range vision of their own participation and are able to overcome frustrations from needing to rework, or rethink, issues that arise. They are able to recognize others’ contributions to the discipline, may actively seek to understand those contributions, and are likely to seek feedback.
For example, Harackiewicz et al. (2008: 118) provided empirical validation of the model in their study of the situational interest, individual interest, and academic performance of 858 undergraduate students over seven terms:
Our results offer strong support for the four-phase model of interest development recently advanced by Hidi and Renninger (2006), which identifies four phases of interest development and outlines the progression from situational interest to individual interest. According to their model, the first phase of interest development is a triggered situational interest, in which attention, liking, or involvement is initiated by an external cue. Our lecture-specific measures of catch correspond to this early phase of interest development. If sustained over time or contexts, triggered situational interest evolves into the second phase a maintained situational interest, and this phase of interest may be reflected in our measures of hold, which assessed interest in the course material. A third phase, characterized as an emerging individual interest, may develop out of the second phase, if individuals begin to value the object or topic beyond the situation that first stimulated their interest. In this phase, individuals may be predisposed to seek out opportunities on their own to reengage with the topic of interest. This phase of
interest may be reflected in our behavioral measure of continued interest, which examined students’ course choices after completion of the introductory course. The third phase of interest development can then lead to the fourth, a well-developed individual interest, which is associated with personal meaning, value, and knowledge (Renninger, 1990). Our psychology major variable, which represents a student’s extensive experience with and investment in a domain of study, seems to correspond to a well-developed individual interest.
Many studies have now been published that provide support for the model.35 A logical question about interest development concerns its relation to boredom. Is boredom simply a lack of interest, or is it a more aversive state? In terms of the four-phase model, we would expect that the reasons for boredom depend on the phase of a person’s interest development (or lack of it). More specifically, it would be expected that those with no interest might not yet have made connections to present content and therefore experience boredom.36 For those with developing interest, on the other hand, boredom might be expected if their existing connections to content are mismatched with the available tasks, information, and/or opportunities for action. In each case, we would also expect that boredom could be offset by appropriate opportunities to seriously engage with content, whether these are provided through interactions with other people or are self-generated through activities and tasks.
A Case Illustration of Interest Development
Consider, for example, the case of an adolescent whom we call Emma who received a camera from her parents for her birthday. Within hours of receiving it, she began using the camera to photograph the flowers in her garden. Her case illustrates how interest can develop:
Emma’s situational interest in photography is triggered by the gift of the camera. She is not aware that she is developing an interest in photography; she thinks of herself as being interested in flowers. She takes pictures of all sorts of flowers and decides to put the pictures in an album, at which point, her interest in photography can be said to have shifted from being a triggered to a maintained situational interest. 37 As the season changes, her photos begin to include fading foliage. She begins to distinguish between the photos that she thinks work and throws away the others.
One day as she is putting her camera away, she sees directions in the bottom of the case. She pulls them out and begins reading. She learns about distance, focus, sharpness, exposure, and light. As such, her interest
in photography begins to shift from being a maintained situational interest to an emerging individual interest because she begins applying her newly acquired knowledge, and, as she does, her understanding of the possibilities and the challenge of taking good pictures grows, as does her value for the camera. She feels positive about photography, and, whether or not she is aware that her value for the camera increases as she gains knowledge about it, she begins to see the importance and the benefit, or utility, of using the camera correctly.
She still describes herself to others as interested in flowers even though her interest in photography has developed into an emerging individual interest. In assembling an album of her photos, she sets goals to use light and shadow as the grouping strategy rather than organizing them by flower type. She feels proud of this decision and of her pictures and decides that she should find out whether she could submit her photos to the school talent fair and when the school camera club meets. At the club meeting, she is very excited to find out that special workshops on how to develop photos will be held and that she is welcome to join. She does, and over the months, she learns that her original understanding of light and shadow was not accurate. She prioritizes her time so that she can attend the workshops and ask questions, follow recommendations for additional resources, and invest time in practicing what she has learned. She is receptive to the feedback she receives and is undaunted in her efforts to master photography. At this point, she has clear goals, feels self-efficacious, and is able to self-regulate. She also identifies as a photographer. She now has a well-developed interest in photography and is presently working to better understand light and shadow.
Characteristics of Interest
In addition to providing an example of how a new interest can develop, Emma’s case illustrates key characteristics of interest. First, Emma’s interest is content, or object-specific: She is interested in flowers, the camera, photography, light, and shadows. Interest is always related to particular objects, events, activities, or ideas. Second, Emma has numerous environmental supports for her initial, continuing, and deepening engagement with the camera; she receives the camera from her parents, reads directions that accompanied the camera, joins the camera club, and, as a camera-club member, begins to develop her own photos. Third, Emma enjoys both taking and looking at her pictures as well as figuring out how to improve their quality. Interest includes both affect and cognition. Emma is cognitively engaged in photographing the flowers and their parts in the different seasons, ordering the photos by light and shadow, and perfecting her ability to develop photos. She experiences positive affect, and she is able to overcome the occasional negative experience such as pictures not coming out
as expected or finding out that she has a lot to learn in order to work effectively with light and shadow. Fourth, Emma is so absorbed in her work with the camera that she may not be aware that she is developing an interest in photography until it has developed. Often, people are not aware that their interest is triggered, or developing, because they are fully engaged in “doing” the interest. A fifth characteristic of interest that is not explicitly illustrated by Emma’s case is that the affective and cognitive components of interest have a physiological/ neurological basis (biological roots). In other words, Emma’s brain activation when she is engaging in photography is different from when she is engaged with other activities that she is not interested in.
In each phase of Emma’s developing interest in photography, she experiences a psychological state of interest, although the triggers for her developing interest in the earlier phases are not the same as in the later phases. In each phase, we see some voluntary reengagement with the camera, although it is not until she begins to change the way in which she interacts with it (e.g., using the information in the directions to explore light and shadow) that she seems to be clear about what she wants to learn. As she begins identifying with photography, her interest seems to be self-sustaining, and she appears to be setting goals for herself.The shift in the development of her interest in photography is related to her developing knowledge and increased value for photography.
Emma’s interest development could have been thwarted. For example, the instructions for using the camera might have been too hard for Emma to understand; she might have gone to an exhibit of a famous photographer and decided that she could never take pictures that would be as good as those in the exhibit; her camera could have been stolen; the album she assembled might have been dismissed by the members of the camera club; or the school might not have had a camera club. In earlier phases of her interest development, Emma might not have made needed connections to using the camera (e.g., her use of the camera to record types of flowers over time as they grew) and become bored; and, once her interest in photography had begun to develop, she might have exhausted her own abilities to do new and more challenging things with the camera. In this case, she also might have become bored. Even though the development of interest is sequential, interest can go dormant, meaning that it can fall off. The availability and the nature of environmental supports inform the trajectory of interest development during all phases.
Following publication of the four-phase model, studies of interest development have begun to focus on distinctions between earlier and later phases of interest.38 Such studies provide research evidence of the positive role of interest on learners’ attention, motivation, engagement, strategy use, and goal setting.39 In them, the researchers assume that interest develops and that its support includes the interaction of the person, other persons, and the tasks of the environment. Their findings point to the roles of early experiences for developing and maintaining interest,40 interest as a support for learning,41 the organization and facilitation of
the classroom environment as supporting the development of interest, or not,42 and the importance of the teacher’s own interest in content to be taught.43
Studies have also established that interest has a reciprocal relation to other variables such as goals, self-efficacy, and self-regulation.44
Historical Context and Conceptualizations of Interest
Early discussions of interest and education recognized the impact of interest on learning. For example, psychologists and educators such as Dewey (1913), Herbart (1965), James (1890), and Pestalozzi (2004) each pointed to the centrality of interest in supporting learning. They noted the importance of interest in supporting effort, focused attention, and persistence to understand and that the design and/or sequencing of tasks was likely to promote learners’ interest in content to be learned. Dewey (1913) described the presence of interest as rendering effort effortless. He said that interest improved understanding and facilitated learning, as well as personal involvement. He also pointed to the interaction of the person and the environment as basic to interest and acknowledged that learning could be influenced by personal interest as well as by the interestingness of tasks and objects. Similarly, Herbart (1965) described interest and meaningful learning as being closely related. He suggested that interest contributes to the accuracy of understanding, the development of knowledge, and the motivation to learn. James (1890) elaborated on these points, further noting the impact of interest on what learners pay attention to, as well as what they have learned. In the context of social reform, Pestalozzi (2004) argued that if the goal was to enable all students to learn, pedagogical practices needed to be revised to address learner interests.
Psychologists such as Arnold (1910) and Claparède (1905) further suggested that interest was a biological force that affected learning, although it is only recently that neuroscientists have been able to demonstrate the biological roots of interest.45 Arnold and Claparède were limited in their abilities to fully explain the biological process and were instead challenged to make links to pedagogy that practitioners could use. Importantly, Arnold described interest as an attitude toward a situation that influenced feelings and future possibilities and attention as a possible support for interest, but his insight about the role of biology was considered shallow, and he was not able to provide information that practitioners desired.46 Similarly, Claparède (1905) was well-regarded for his recognition of the failings of educational systems that were not centered on children and their interests and wrote the introduction to Dewey’s (1913) volume, but he was later described by Hameline (2000) as ill equipped to move beyond generalizations about interest to its needed application. Hameline also observed that because Claparède was not able to provide details about interest as a motivational variable, he was repeatedly misunderstood as if he had suggested that the use of interest in teaching was more about entertainment than rigor.
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The British Minister closes his communication to Lord Pauncefote as follows: "I request that your excellency will explain to the Secretary of State the reasons, as set forth in this dispatch, why His Majesty's government feel unable to accept the convention in the shape presented to them by the American Ambassador, and why they prefer, as matters stand at present, to retain unmodified the provisions of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. His Majesty's government have throughout these negotiations given evidence of their earnest desire to meet the views of the United States. {71}
They would on this occasion have been ready to consider in a friendly spirit any amendments of the convention not inconsistent with the principles accepted by both governments which the government of the United States might have desired to propose, and they would sincerely regret a failure to come to an amicable understanding in regard to this important subject."
CANAL, The Kaiser Wilhelm Ship.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1895 (JUNE).
CANAL, Manchester Ship.
On the 1st of January, 1894, the ship canal from Liverpool to Manchester, which had been ten years in course of construction and cost £15,000,000, was formally opened, by a long procession of steamers, which traversed it in four and a half hours.
CANAL: The Rhine-Elbe, the Dortmund-Rhine, and other Prussian projects.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1890 (AUGUST);
and 1901 (JANUARY).
CANDIA: A. D. 1898 (September). Fresh outbreak.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1897-1899.
CANEA: Christian and Moslem conflicts at.
See (in this volume)
TURKEY: A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARY-MARCH).
CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO, Antonio: Formation of Spanish Cabinet.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1895-1896.
CANOVAS DEL CASTILLO, Antonio: Assassination.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1897 (AUGUST-OCTOBER).
CANTEEN, The Army.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MAY-NOVEMBER), THE PROHIBITION PARTY; and 1901 (FEBRUARY).
CANTON: A. D. 1894. The Bubonic Plague.
See (in this volume) PLAGUE.
CANTON: A. D. 1899. Increasing piracy in the river.
See (in this volume) CHINA: A. D. 1899.
CAPE COLONY.
See (in this volume) SOUTH AFRICA (CAPE COLONY).
CAPE NOME, Gold discovery at.
See (in this volume) ALASKA: A. D. 1898-1899.
CAPE SAN JUAN, Engagement at.
See (in this volume) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-AUGUST: PORTO RICO).
CARNEGIE, Andrew: Gifts and offers to public libraries.
See (in this volume) LIBRARIES; and LIBRARY, NEW YORK PUBLIC.
CARNEGIE COMPANY, Sale of the interests of the.
See (in this volume) TRUSTS: UNITED STATES.
CAROLINE and MARIANNE ISLANDS: Their sale by Spain to Germany.
By a treaty concluded in February, 1899, the Caroline Islands, the Western Carolines or Pelew Islands, and the Marianne or Ladrone Islands (excepting Guam), were sold by Spain to Germany for 25,000,000 pesetas the peseta being equivalent to a fraction less than twenty cents. Spain reserved the right to establish and maintain naval and mercantile stations in the islands, and to retain them in case of war. Spanish trade and privileges for the Spanish religious orders are guaranteed against interference.
CARROLL, Henry K.: Report on Porto Rico.
See (in this volume)
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1898-1899 (AUGUST-JULY).
CASSATION, The Court of. The French Court of Appeals.
See (in this volume) FRANCE: A. D. 1897-1899.
CASTILLO, Pedro Lopez de: Letter to the soldiers of the American army.
See UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (AUGUST 21).
CATALOGUE, International, of Scientific Literature.
See (in this volume) SCIENCE, RECENT: SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
CATALONIA: Independent aspirations in.
See (in this volume)
SPAIN: A. D. 1900 (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER).
CATASTROPHES, Natural: A. D. 1894.
Late in December, the orange groves of Florida were mostly destroyed or seriously injured by the severest frost known in more than half a century.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
On January 8, a severe earthquake shock was felt at Meshed, Kelat and other Persian towns, causing over 1,100 deaths.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
In March, the Tigris overflowed its banks, causing incalculable loss of life and property in Mesopotamia.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
A succession of earthquake shocks in March, 1896, did great damage at Santiago, Valparaiso, and other parts of Chile.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
On May 15, a cyclone destroyed part of the town of Sherman, in Texas, killing more than 120 persons, mostly negroes. The same day a waterspout burst over the town of Howe in the same state, killing 8 people.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
On May 27, a fierce cyclone swept the city of St. Louis, Missouri, completely devastating a large part of the city, and causing great loss of life and property.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
A destructive wave swept the Japanese coast in June.
See (in this volume)
JAPAN: A. D. 1896.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896.
On July 26, a tidal wave, 5 miles in width, inundated the coast of Kiangsu, in China, destroying many villages and more than 4,000 inhabitants.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1896-1897.
A severe famine prevailed in India from the spring of 1896 until the autumn of 1897.
See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1896-1897.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
A severe earthquake occurred at the island of Kishm in the Persian Gulf, in January, causing great loss of life.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
In March and April of this year the floods along the Mississippi river and its tributaries reached the highest level ever recorded. In extent of area and loss of property these floods were the most remarkable in the history of the continent. The total area under water on April 10 was about 15,800 square miles, containing about 39,500 farms, whose value was close upon $65,000,000. The loss of life was small. Congress gave relief to the extent of $200,000, besides appropriating $2,583,300 for the improvement of the Mississippi.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
Extensive floods occurred in Galatz, Moldavia, in June, rendering 20,000 people homeless.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
The islands of Leyte and Samar, in the Visayas group, were swept by an immense wave caused by a cyclone, in October, thousands of natives being killed, and much property destroyed.
{72}
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
On October 6, the Philippine Islands were swept by a typhoon, which destroyed several towns. The loss of life was estimated at 6,000, of whom 400 were Europeans. This was followed on October 12 by a cyclone which destroyed several villages and caused further loss of life.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1897.
By an eruption of the Mayon volcano in the island of Luzon, Philippine Islands, four hundred persons were buried in the lava, and the large town of Libog completely destroyed.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
A series of earthquake shocks in Asia Minor during the month of January occasioned considerable loss of life and property.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
In January, Amboyna, in the Molucca Islands, was almost destroyed by an earthquake, in which about 50 persons were killed and 200 injured.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
On January 11, a tornado wrecked many buildings in Fort Smith, Ark. The loss of life was reported as 50, with hundreds injured.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
A disastrous blizzard occurred in New England, January 31 and February 1. Fifty lives were reported as lost, and the damage in Boston alone amounted to $2,000,000. Many vessels were driven ashore or foundered, with further loss of life.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
Floods on the Ohio river in March and April caused much loss of life and property. Shawneetown, Illinois on the Ohio river, was almost entirely destroyed by the flood, more than 60 lives being lost.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
On the night of September 10, the island of Barbados was swept by a tornado which destroyed 10,000 houses and damaged 5,000 more. Three-fourths of the inhabitants were left homeless, and about 100 were killed. The islands of St. Vincent and St. Lucia also suffered great losses of life and property.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1898.
A typhoon swept the central provinces of Japan in September, causing heavy floods, and destroying 100 lives.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
Severe floods on the Brazos river, in Texas, occasioned the
death of about 100 people, and property losses to the extent of $15,000,000.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
A destructive tornado in Northern Missouri, in April, did much damage in the towns of Kirksville and Newtown. Over fifty persons were killed.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
An almost unprecedented failure of crops in eastern Russia caused famine, disease and awful destruction of life.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
A terrific hurricane visited the West Indies August 7 and 8. Of the several islands affected, Porto Rico suffered most, three-fourths of the population being left homeless. The total loss of life in the West Indies was estimated at 5,000.
See (in this volume)
PORTO RICO: A. D. 1899 (AUGUST).
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
About 1,500 people lost their lives in an earthquake around Aidin, Asia Minor, September 2.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899.
The island of Ceram, in the Moluccas, was visited by an earthquake and tidal wave, November 2. Many towns were destroyed, and 5,000 people killed.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1899-1900. Recurrence of famine in India.
See (in this volume)
INDIA A. D. 1899-1900.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1900.
The city of Galveston, Texas, was overwhelmed and mostly destroyed, on the 9th of September, by an unprecedented hurricane, which drove the waters of the Gulf upon the low-lying town.
See (in this volume) GALVESTON.
CATASTROPHES, Natural: 1901. Famine in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1901 (JANUARY-FEBRUARY).
CATHOLICS, Roman: Protest of British peers against the declaration required from the sovereign.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY).
CATHOLICS, Roman: Victory in Belgium.
See (in this volume)
BELGIUM: A. D. 1894-1895.
See, also, PAPACY.
CEBU: The American occupation of the island.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1899 (JANUARY-NOVEMBER).
CENSUS: Of the United States, A. D. 1900.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1900 (MAY-OCTOBER).
CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE, British.
See (in this volume)
BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA PROTECTORATE.
CENTRAL AMERICA, A. D. 1821-1898. Unsuccessful attempts to unite the republics.
"In 1821, after numerous revolutions, Central America succeeded in throwing off the yoke of Spain. A Congress assembled at Guatemala in March, 1822, and founded the Republic of Central America, composed of Guatemala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The new Republic had but a short existence; after numerous civil wars the Union was dissolved, October 26, 1838, and the five States of the Republic became so many independent countries. Several attempts toward a reorganization of the Constitution of the Republic of Central America remained fruitless and had cost the lives of certain of their authors, when, through the influence of Dr. P. Bonilla, President of the Republic of Honduras, a treaty was concluded between Nicaragua and Salvador, according to which the three Republics constituted a federation under the name of the Greater Republic of Central America. The three Republics became States, and the sovereignty of the federation was exercised by a Diet composed of three members, one for each State, and which convened every year in the capital of the Federal States.
"On the invitation of this Diet, the three States appointed a
delegation which met as a Constituent Assembly at Managua, Nicaragua, and established a constitution, according to the terms of which the three States took the name of the United States of Central America, November 1, 1898. This Constitution, grand and patriotic, which, in the minds of those who had elaborated it, meant a complete consolidation of the three Federal States and a speedy realization of a reorganization of the Grand Republic of Central America, dreamed of by Morazan, had a sad ending. The day after the meeting of the Constituent Assembly a revolutionary movement hostile to the new federation broke out in Salvador and gave a new administration to this State. Its first act was to retire from the Union, and this secession brought about the dissolution of the United States of Central America; for, following the example of Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua took back their absolute sovereignty."
H. Jalhay, quoted in Bulletin of American Republics, March, 1899.
{73}
The secession of Salvador was brought about by a revolutionary movement, which overthrew the constitutional government of President Gutierrez and placed General Tomas Regolado at the head of a provisional government, which issued the following manifesto on the 25th of November, 1898: "Considering That the compact of Amapala, celebrated in June, 1895, and all that proceeds therefrom, has not obtained the legitimate sanction of the Salvadorean people, and, moreover, has been a violation of the political constitution of Salvador; That in the assembled Constituent Assembly of Managua, reunited in June of the present year, the deputies of Salvador were not directly elected by the Salvadorean people, and for that reason had no legal authority to concur to a constituent law that could bind the Republic; That the union with the Republics of Honduras and Nicaragua under the contracted terms will seriously injure
the interests of Salvador: Decrees. ART. 1. The Republic of Salvador is not obliged by the contract of Amapala to acknowledge any authority in the constitution of Managua of the 27th August of the current year, and it is released from the contract of union with the Republics of Honduras and Nicaragua. ART. 2. The Republic of Salvador assumes in full its self-government and independence, and will enter the union with the sister Republics of Central America when same is convenient to its positive interests and is the express and free will of the Salvadorean people."
United States, 55th Congress, 3d Session, Senate Document Number 50.
CENTRAL AMERICA, A. D. 1884-1900. Interoceanic Canal measures of later years.
See (in this volume)
CANAL, INTEROCEANIC, with accompanying map.
CENTRAL AMERICA, Nicaragua: A. D. 1894-1895. Insurrection in the Mosquito Indian Strip. The Bluefields Incident.
In his Annual Message to Congress, December, 1894, President Cleveland referred as follows to disturbances which had occurred during the year at Bluefields, the principal town of the Mosquito district of Nicaragua, and commonly known as "the Bluefields Incident:" "By the treaty of 1860 between Great Britain and Nicaragua, the former Government expressly recognized the sovereignty of the latter over the strip, and a limited form of self-government was guaranteed to the Mosquito Indians, to be exercised according to their customs, for themselves and other dwellers within its limits. The so-called native government, which grew to be largely made up of aliens, for many years disputed the sovereignty of Nicaragua over the strip and claimed the right to maintain therein a practically
independent municipal government. Early in the past year efforts of Nicaragua to maintain sovereignty over the Mosquito territory led to serious disturbances, culminating in the suppression of the native government and the attempted substitution of an impracticable composite administration in which Nicaragua and alien residents were to participate. Failure was followed by an insurrection, which for a time subverted Nicaraguan rule, expelling her officers and restoring the old organization. This in turn gave place to the existing local government established and upheld by Nicaragua. Although the alien interests arrayed against Nicaragua in these transactions have been largely American and the commerce of that region for some time has been and still is chiefly controlled by our citizens, we can not for that reason challenge the rightful sovereignty of Nicaragua over this important part of her domain."
United States, Message and Documents (Abridgment, 1894-1895).
In his Message of 1895 the President summarized the later history of the incident as follows: "In last year's message I narrated at some length the jurisdictional questions then freshly arisen in the Mosquito Indian Strip of Nicaragua. Since that time, by the voluntary act of the Mosquito Nation, the territory reserved to them has been incorporated with Nicaragua, the Indians formally subjecting themselves to be governed by the general laws and regulations of the Republic instead of by their own customs and regulations, and thus availing themselves of a privilege secured to them by the treaty between Nicaragua and Great Britain of January 28, 1860. After this extension of uniform Nicaraguan administration to the Mosquito Strip, the case of the British vice-consul, Hatch, and of several of his countrymen who had been summarily expelled from Nicaragua and treated with considerable indignity, provoked a claim by Great Britain upon Nicaragua for pecuniary indemnity, which, upon Nicaragua's
refusal to admit liability, was enforced by Great Britain. While the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Nicaragua was in no way questioned by Great Britain, the former's arbitrary conduct in regard to British subjects furnished the ground for this proceeding. A British naval force occupied without resistance the Pacific seaport of Corinto, but was soon after withdrawn upon the promise that the sum demanded would be paid. Throughout this incident the kindly offices of the United States were invoked and were employed in favor of as peaceful a settlement and as much consideration and indulgence toward Nicaragua as were consistent with the nature of the case."
United States, Message and Documents (Abridgment, 1895-1896).
CENTRAL AMERICA, Guatemala: A. D. 1895. Mexican boundary dispute.
See (in this volume)
MEXICO: A. D. 1895.
CENTRAL AMERICA, Nicaragua: A. D. 1896-1898. Revolutionary conflicts.
Vice President Baca of Nicaragua joined a revolutionary movement which was set on foot in February, 1896, by the Clericals, for the overthrow of President Zelaya, and was declared Provisional President. The rebellion had much support from exiles and friends in Honduras; but the government of that State sustained and assisted Zelaya. The insurgents were defeated in a number of battles, and gave up the contest in May. During the civil war American and British marines were landed on occasions at Corinto to protect property there. In 1897, and again in 1898, there were renewed insurrections, quickly suppressed.
CENTRAL AMERICA, Costa Rica: A. D. 1896-1900. Boundary dispute with Colombia settled by arbitration.
See (in this volume)
COLOMBIA: A. D. 1893-1900.
{74}
CENTRAL AMERICA, Nicaragua Costa Rica: A. D. 1897.
A dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, as to the eastern extremity of their boundary line, was decided by General Alexander, a referee accepted by the two republics. The boundary had not been well defined in a treaty negotiated for its settlement in 1858. According to the terms of the treaty, the line was to start from the Atlantic at the mouth of the San Juan river; but changes of current and accumulation of river drift, etc., gave ground for dispute as to where the river actually made its exit. President Cleveland in 1888, acting as arbitrator at the request of the two countries, decided that the treaty of 1858 was valid, but was not clear as to which outlet of the delta was the boundary. Finally, in 1896, an agreement was reached for a final survey and marking of the boundary line, and President Cleveland, on request, appointed General Alexander as arbitrator in any case of disagreement between the surveying commissions. The decision gives to Nicaragua the territory upon which Greytown is situated, and practical control of the mouth of the canal.
CENTRAL AMERICA, Guatemala: A. D. 1897-1898. Dictatorship of President Barrios. His assassination.
In June, 1897, President José M. Reyna Barrios, whose six years term in the presidency would expire the next March, fearing defeat in the approaching election, forcibly dissolved the National Assembly and proclaimed a dictatorship. Three
months later a revolt was organized by General Prospero Morales; but Barrios crushed it with merciless energy, and a veritable reign of terror ensued. In February, 1898, the career of the Dictator was cut short by an assassin, who shot him to avenge the death of a wealthy citizen, Don Juan Aparicio, whom Barrios had executed for expressing sympathy with the objects of the rebellion of the previous year. Control of the government was then taken by Dr. Cabrera, who had been at the head of the party which supported Barrios. A rising under Morales was again attempted, but failed. Morales, in a dying condition at the time, was betrayed and captured. Cabrera, with no more opposition, was elected President for six years.
CENTRAL AMERICA, Nicaragua Costa Rica: A. D. 1900. Agreements with the United States respecting the control of territory for interoceanic canal.
See (in this volume) CANAL, INTEROCEANIC, A. D. 1900 (DECEMBER).
CENTURY, The Nineteenth: Date of its ending. Its character and trend. Comparison with preceding ages. Its failures.
See (in this volume) NINETEENTH CENTURY.
CERVERA, Rear-Admiral, and the Spanish Squadron at Santiago de Cuba.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (APRIL-JUNE); and (JULY 3).
CHAFFEE, General Adna R.: At Santiago.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-JULY).
CHAFFEE, General Adna R.: Commanding American forces in China.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE-AUGUST); (JULY); and (AUGUST).
CHAFFEE, General Adna R.: Report of the allied movement to Peking and the capture of the city.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (AUGUST 4-16).
CHAKDARRA, Defense of.
See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1897-1898.
CHALDEA, New light on ancient.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA.
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph: Appointed British Secretary of State for the Colonies.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1894-1895; and 1900 (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER).
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph:
Conference with Colonial Premiers.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1897 (JUNE-JULY).
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph:
Controversies with the government of the South African Republic.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1896 (JANUARYAPRIL);
1896-1897 (MAY-APRIL), and after.
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph:
Testimony before British Parliamentary Committee on the Jameson Raid. Remarks in Parliament on Mr. Rhodes.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1897 (FEBRUARYJULY).
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph:
Instructions to the Governor of Jamaica.
See (in this volume)
JAMAICA: A. D. 1899.
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph:
Reassertion of British suzerainty over the South African Republic. Refusal to arbitrate questions of disagreement.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1897 (MAYOCTOBER);
and 1898-1899.
CHAMBERLAIN, Joseph: Declaration of South African policy.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR): A. D. 1901.
CHANG CHIH-TUNG, Viceroy: Admirable conduct during the Chinese outbreak.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1900 (JUNE-DECEMBER).
CHEMICAL SCIENCE, Recent advances in.
See (in this volume) SCIENCE, RECENT: CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS.
CHEROKEES, United States agreement with the.
See (in this volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN: A. D. 1893-1899.
CHICAGO: A. D. 1894. Destruction of the Columbian Exposition buildings.
By a succession of fires, January 9, February 14, most of the buildings of the Exposition, with valuable exhibits not yet removed, were destroyed.
CHICAGO: A. D. 1896. Democratic National Convention.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1896 (JUNE-NOVEMBER).
