sebastian cabotSebationCabot
SebationCabot
Another famous Italian navigator and friend of Columbus was Amerigo Vespucci, who, fired by the success of the great navigator, made several voyages westward. He claimed to have seen South America in May, 1497, which, if true, made him the first man to look upon the American continent. Late investigations tend to show that Vespucci was correct in his claim. At any rate, his was the honor of having the country named for him.
John Cabot, also an Italian, but sailing under the flag of England, discovered the continent of North America, in the spring of 1497. A year later, Sebastian, son of John, explored the coast from Nova Scotia as far south as Cape Hatteras. It was the work of the elder Cabot that gave England a valid claim to the northern continent.
From what has been stated, it will be seen that Spain, now decrepit and decayed, was one of the most powerful of all nations four hundred years ago. Other leading powers were England, France, and Holland, and all of them soon began a scramble for new lands on the other side of the Atlantic. Spain, having been the first, had a great advantage, and she was wise enough to use all the means at her command. We will first trace the explorations made by that nation.
In 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, a lawless rogue, hid himself in a cask on board of a vessel in order to escape his creditors, and was not discovered by the angry captain until so far from land that he could not be taken back again. As it turned out, this was a fortunate thing for the captain and crew, for Balboa was a good sailor, and when the ship was wrecked on the coast of Darien he led the men through many dangers to an Indian village, where they were saved from starvation. Balboa had been in the country before and acquired a knowledge of it, which now proved helpful.
The story of Spain in America is one long, frightful record of massacre, cruelty, greed, and rapine. Ferocious by nature, her explorers had not sufficient sense to see that it was to their interest to treat the Indians justly. These people, although armed only with bows and arrows, at which the Spaniards laughed, still outnumbered them a thousandfold and could crush them by the simple force of numbers. Besides, they were always provided with food, which they were eager to give to their pale-faced brothers, who were often unable to obtain it, but whose vicious nature would not permit them to be manly and just.
caravelsCARAVELS OFCHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.(After an engraving published in 1584.)
CARAVELS OFCHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.(After an engraving published in 1584.)
Moreover, the Spaniards were crazy after gold, which they believed existed in many places in prodigious quantities. The sight of the yellow ornaments worn by the natives fired their cupidity, and they inquired eagerly in the sign language where the precious metal could be found. One of the Indians replied that six days' travel westward would bring them to the shores of a great sea, where gold was as plentiful as the pebbles on the beach.
DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC.
This information, as may be believed, set the Spaniards wild, and, engaging a number of the natives as guides, they plunged into the hot, steaming forests, and pressed on until one day they came to the base of a mountain, from the top of which the guides said the great sea could be seen. Balboa made his men stay where they were while he climbed to the crest of the mountain alone. This was on the 26th of September, 1513, and, as Balboa looked off to the westward, his eyes rested upon the Pacific Ocean, the mightiest body of water on the globe.
He had made a grand discovery, and one which led to the conquest of Mexico and Peru and the colonization of the western coast of our country. Spain sent her armed expeditions thither, and in time they overran the sections named, their footprints marked everywhere by fire and blood. Many remains exist to-day in the Southwest of the early visits of those rapacious adventurers, during the first half of the sixteenth century. In Santa Fé, New Mexico, is a building made of adobe or sun-dried clay which was built in 1582.
THE FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF THE GLOBE.
In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan coasted South America to the strait named in his honor, and, passing through it, entered upon the vast body of water discovered six years before by Balboa. Magellan gave it the name of Pacific Ocean, and, sailing westward, discovered the Philippine Islands, which have lately acquired such importance in our history. There Magellan died. Several of his ships were lost, but one of them succeeded in reaching Spain after an absence of two years. This was the first circumnavigation of the globe and demonstrated the grandeur of the discovery made by Columbus.
Columbus and an egg
COLUMBUS AND THE EGG.At a dinner the Spanish courtiers, jealous of Columbus, said anyone could discover the Indies. When, at Columbus' request, they failed to make an egg stand on its end, he showed them how to do it by flattening the end of it. "Anyone could do that," remarked a courtier. "So anyone can discover the Indies, after I have shown the way."
One of the companions of Columbus on his second voyage was Ponce de Leon. He was well on in years, and became deeply interested in a story told by the Indians of a wonderful land to the north of Cuba, where there was a marvelous spring, which would bring back youth to any who drank from its waters. De Leon set out to hunt for the land and discovered it in Florida on Easter Sunday, in 1513. He drank to repletion again and again from the springs he found, but without restoring his youth, and he was killed by Indians in 1521, while trying to form a settlement on the coast.
De Narvaez visited Florida, in 1528, in charge of a large expedition, with the intention of marching into the interior, but the Spaniards were so brutal to the Indians that they fought them step by step, until only four wretched beings were left alive. They lived a long time with the natives, but gradually worked their way across the continent to California, where they found some of their countrymen, who took care of them.
DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
One of the best-equipped expeditions ever sent out was that of Hernando de Soto, which landed at Tampa Bay in May, 1539. Although the intention was to penetrate far into the interior, the Spaniards had no sooner set foot on land than they began their outrages against the Indians, who, as in the case of De Narvaez, turned upon them and slew large numbers. The explorers, however, pushed on and passed over a large section of country, though the precise course taken is not known. In the summer of 1541 they crossed the present State of Mississippi and thus discovered the Father of Waters. Three years were spent in wandering through the South, during which one-third of the number were killed or died and all the property destroyed. Losing heart at last, De Soto turned about, in May, 1542, and started for the sea with the intention of returning home. He was worn and weakened from fever, and he expired on the 21st of the month. Fearful that the news of his death would incite the Indians to attack them, his survivors wrapped the body in blankets, weighted it with stones, and at midnight rowed stealthily out into the river and let it sink from sight. There was something fitting in the fact that the Mississippi should prove the last resting-place of its discoverer.
Pedro Menendez was one of the most execrable miscreants that ever lived. He arrived off the coast of Florida with a large expedition and at the mouth of the St. John's saw a number of ships flying the flag of France. He furiously attacked them and drove them to sea. Then he returned to a fine harbor which he had discovered and began the town of St. Augustine. This was in 1565, and St. Augustine is, therefore, the oldest settlement within the present limits of the United States, excluding those founded in some of our colonial possessions.
Let us now turn attention to the French explorations. France in those days was a spirited rival of Spain, and, in 1524, she sent out a fleet of four vessels under the command of Verrazzani, who, strange as it may seem, was also an Italian. Two months later, with only a single ship remaining, he sighted the mainland of America, it is believed near North Carolina, from which point he coasted northward along New England. He gave the name of New France to all the countries he visited, but his account of his explorations is so vague that it is uncertain what lands he saw. Verrazzani, however, seems to have been the first navigator who formed a correct idea of the size of the globe.
de leon
SEARCH FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH BY PONCE DE LEON.
In 1534 Jacques Cartier, with two ships, entered the mouth of the St. Lawrence. He was so impressed by the desolation of the shores of Newfoundland that he declared his belief that it was the land to which God had banished Cain. Nevertheless, he took possession of the country in the name of France and then returned home.
Cartier visited the country the following year with a larger expedition and sailed up the St. Lawrence to the sites of Quebec and Montreal. He was not successful in his attempts to found colonies, but his discovery gave France a title to the immense region which she held with a firm grasp for more than a hundred years.
Failing to establish colonies in the North, France now directed her efforts to the south. The Huguenots suffered so much persecution in the Old World that they sought a home in the New. Captain John Ribault, sailing from Havre with two ships, sighted Florida on the last day of April, 1562. The Indians were friendly and the explorers were charmed with the country. Ribault took possession of it in the name of France and gave French names to various places. Finally he dropped anchor in the harbor of Port Royal and began founding a settlement.
All were in good spirits and wished to remain, but Ribault sailed for France, leaving thirty men behind. After a time they quarreled and rigged up a worthless boat with which they set sail for home. All would have perished, had they not been picked up by an English vessel, which humanely landed the feeblest on the coast of France, while the strong men were taken to England as prisoners of war.
It was the intention of Ribault to return to America, but civil war was raging in France, and for a time he was prevented. In April, 1564, three more ships set sail to repeat the attempt at colonization. They were under the command of Captain Laudonnière, who had been a member of the former expedition. He began a settlement at what is now known as St. John's Bluff. The friendly Indians helped and all promised well, but unfortunately the colonists became dissatisfied and rebelled against the strict rule of Laudonnière. Some of the men stole two small vessels and set sail for the West Indies on a piratical expedition. Laudonnière hurriedly prepared two larger vessels to pursue them. When they were ready, the malcontents stole them and followed their comrades. Three of the buccaneers were captured by the Spanish, while the pilot of the fourth, who had been pressed into service, steered the vessel back to the colony before the rogues suspected what he was doing. Laudonnière made them prisoners and hanged the ringleaders.
council of war
AN INDIAN COUNCIL OF WAR.
At the time when utter ruin impended, Ribault arrived with seven ships and plenty of supplies. It was at this juncture, when everything promised well, that Menendez, the Spanish miscreant, as already stated, appeared with his powerful fleet and attacked the French ships. Three were up the river, and the four, being no match for the Spaniards, escaped by putting to sea. Menendez landed men and supplies further south, learning which Ribault prepared to attack them. Before he could do so, a violent tempest scattered his ships. By a laborious march through swamps and thickets, amid a driving storm, Menendez descended like a cyclone upon the unprotected French and massacred them all, including the women and children. Another force of French, under solemn promise of protection, surrendered, but they, too, were put to death. They were afterwards avenged by an expedition from France.
Samuel de Champlain proved himself one of the greatest of French explorers. He left the banks of the St. Lawrence at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and discovered the lake which bears his name. His numerous excellent maps added much to the knowledge of the country. Joining De Monts, another explorer, he founded the colony of Port Royal in Nova Scotia in 1605. This settlement, afterward named Annapolis, was the first permanent French colony planted in America. Quebec was founded by Champlain in 1608.
The greatest French explorer, however, was Sieur de la Salle, who was hardly twenty-three years old when he first visited Canada in 1666. Leading an expedition westward, he fell ill while in the country of the Seneca Indians and was forced to part with his companions near the head of Lake Ontario. When he regained his strength he pressed on to the Ohio River, down which he descended to the falls opposite the present city of Louisville. Returning to France, he was made a nobleman and appointed governor of the country around Fort Frontenac, which he had planted on the shore of Lake Ontario. He demolished the fort and erected a much stronger one, built four small vessels, and established a thriving trade with the Indians.
In August, 1679, La Salle launched a vessel at the port of Niagara, with which he sailed the length of Lake Erie, across Lakes St. Clair, Huron, and Michigan to Green Bay. He then sent back his vessel for supplies and crossed the lake in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph, where he built a fort. He visited the Indian tribes in the neighborhood and made treaties with the chiefs.
On the present site of Peoria, he erected a fort in 1680. Then, sending Father Hennepin to explore the country to the northward, La Salle made the entire journey of several hundred miles, alone and on foot, to Fort Frontenac, where he learned that the vessel he had sent back for supplies was lost.
With a new party he made his way to the fort planted on the Illinois River, but found it had been broken up and all the white men were gone. Thence La Salle went down the Mississippi to its mouth, where he set up a column with the French arms and proclaimed the country the possession of the king of France. He was welcomed back to his native land, and when he proposed to his ruler to conquer the fine mining country in the Southwest, the offer was promptly accepted and he was made commandant. He set out with four ships and about 300 persons.
But the good fortune that had marked the career of La Salle up to this point now set the other way, and disaster and ruin overtook him. His men were mostly adventurers and vagabonds, and the officer in command of the ships was an enemy of the explorer. The two quarreled and the vessels had gone some distance beyond the mouth of the Mississippi before La Salle discovered the blunder. He appealed to the captain to return, but he refused and anchored off Matagorda Bay. Then the captain decided that it was necessary to go home for supplies, and sailing away he left La Salle with only one small vessel which had been presented to him by the king.
The undaunted explorer erected a fort and began cultivating the soil. The Indians, who had not forgotten the cruelty of the Spaniards, were hostile and continually annoyed the settlers, several of whom were killed. Disease carried away others until only forty were left. Selecting a few, La Salle started for the Illinois country, but had not gone far when he was treacherously shot by one of his men. The Spaniards who had entered the country to drive out the French made prisoners of those that remained.
THE ENGLISH EXPLORERS.
fish(From the original drawingmade by John White in 1585.By permission of the British Museum.)
(From the original drawingmade by John White in 1585.By permission of the British Museum.)
Next in order is an account of the English explorations. Going back to May, 1553, we find that Sir Hugh Willoughby sailed from London in that month with three ships. At that time, and for many years afterward, the belief was general that by sailing to the northwest a shorter route to India could be found, and such was the errand that led the English navigator upon his eventful voyage.
For two years not the slightest news was heard of Sir Hugh Willoughby. Then some Russian fishermen, who were in one of the harbors of Lapland, observed two ships drifting helplessly in the ice. They rowed out to the wrecks, and climbing aboard of one entered the cabin where they came upon an impressive sight. Seated at a table was Sir Hugh Willoughby, with his journal open and his pen in hand, as if he had just ceased writing. He had been frozen to death months before. Here and there about him were stretched the bodies of his crews, all of whom had succumbed to the awful temperature of the far North.
The third ship was nowhere in sight, and it was believed that she had been crushed in the ice and sunk, but news eventually arrived that she had succeeded in reaching Archangel, whence the crew made their way overland to Moscow. A result of this involuntary journey was that it opened a new channel for profitable trade.
Still theignis fatuusof a shorter route to India tantalized the early navigators. The belief was general that the coveted route lay north of our continent. In 1576 Martin Frobisher started on the vain hunt with three small vessels. He bumped helplessly about in the ice, but repeated the effort twice, and on one of his voyages entered the strait that bears his name. The region visited by him is valueless to the world, and his explorations, therefore, were of no practical benefit to anyone.
villageINDIAN VILLAGE ENCLOSED WITH PALISADES.(From the original drawing in the British Museum,made by John White in 1585.)
INDIAN VILLAGE ENCLOSED WITH PALISADES.(From the original drawing in the British Museum,made by John White in 1585.)
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, in June, 1583, sailed for America with an important expedition which gave every promise of success. In his case, however, disaster overtook him earlier than others. He was hardly out of sight of land when his most important vessel deserted and went back to port. The men were a sorry lot, and at Newfoundland he sent another ship home with the sick and the mutineers. Of the three vessels remaining, the largest was wrecked and all but fifteen drowned. Sir Humphrey was on the smallest boat on his way home, when one dark night it foundered, carrying down all on board.
The famous Sir Walter Raleigh, a half-brother of Gilbert, and a great favorite at the court of Queen Elizabeth, was deeply interested in the plans of his relative, and in April, 1584, sent out two well-equipped vessels for the purpose of colonization. They brought back a glowing report and Raleigh was knighted by the pleased queen, who gave him the privilege of naming the new country. He called it Virginia, in honor of the virgin Queen Elizabeth.
A large expedition sailed for the new country in the spring of 1585 and a fort was built on Roanoke Island. But the Englishmen were as greedy for gold as the Spaniards, and, instead of cultivating the land, they spent their time groping for the precious metal. This was suicidal, because the Indians were violently hostile, and would not bring forward any food for the invaders. All must have perished miserably but for the arrival of Sir Francis Drake, who carried the survivors back to England.
It is worth recording that this stay in America resulted in the Englishmen learning the use of tobacco, which they introduced into their own country. Sir Walter Raleigh became a great smoker, and the incident is familiar of his servant, who, seeing his master smoking a pipe, was terrified at the belief that he was on fire and dashed a mug of ale over him to put out the flames.
Much more useful knowledge was that gained of maize or Indian corn, the potato, and sassafras. They attracted favorable attention in England, and were gradually introduced to other countries in Europe, where the amount raised is very large.
THE LOST COLONY.
RaleighSir Walter Raleigh.
Sir Walter Raleigh.
A strange and romantic interest attaches to the colony which Sir Walter Raleigh sent out in 1587. It numbered 300 men and women and was in charge of John White. While resting at Roanoke, the daughter of Governor White, the wife of Ananias Dare, had a daughter born to her. She was given the name of "Virginia," and was the first child of English parentage born within the present limits of the United States.
These settlers were as quarrelsome as many of their predecessors and got on ill together. Governor White sailed for England for more immigrants and supplies, but when he reached that country he found the internal troubles so serious that he was kept away from America for three years. When finally he returned to Virginia, he was unable to find a member of the colony. On one of the trees was the word "CROATAN" cut in the bark, which seemed to indicate that the settlers had removed to a settlement of that name; but, though long and continuous search was made and many of the articles belonging to the settlers were recognized, not a person could be discovered. Sir Walter Raleigh sent several expeditions with orders to use every effort to clear up the mystery, but it was never solved. The story of the "Lost Colony" has led to a great deal of investigation and surmise. Two theories have supporters. The most probable is that all the settlers were massacred by Indians. Another is that they were adopted by the red men and intermarried among them. In support of this supposition is the fact that a long time afterward many members of the adjoining tribes showed unmistakable signs of mixed blood. There were so-called Indians with blonde hair, blue eyes, and light complexion—characteristics never seen among those belonging to the genuine American race.
Holland's explorations in America were less important than those of any of her rivals. The thrifty Dutchmen were more anxious to secure trade than to find new countries, and seemed content to allow others to spend wealth and precious lives in penetrating to the interior of the New World and in planting settlements, which almost invariably succumbed to disaster.
Early in the seventeenth century a company of English merchants sent out a skillful navigator named Henry Hudson to hunt for the elusive northwest passage. He took with him only eleven men, one of whom was his son. He made a brave effort to succeed, ploughing his way through the frozen regions until he passed the 80th degree of latitude, which was the furthest point then attained by man. But, within less than ten degrees of the pole, he was forced by the ice to turn back.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE HUDSON RIVER.
Hudson's reputation as a skillful navigator led the wealthy corporation known as the Dutch East India Company to seek his services. He was placed in command of a small vessel called theHalf Moonand ordered to sail to the northeast instead of the northwest. He did as directed, but his experience was similar to his previous one, and, being compelled to withdraw, he headed westward. Sighting Cape Cod, he named it New Holland, unaware that it had already been named by Champlain. He continued southward to Chesapeake Bay, where he learned that the English had planted a settlement. Turning northward, he entered Delaware Bay, but was displeased with the shallow water and sailed again northward. On September 3, 1609, he dropped anchor opposite Sandy Hook.
Hudson now began ascending the magnificent river which bears his name. At the end of ten days he had reached a point opposite the present site of Albany. The Indians were friendly and curious. Many of them put out in their canoes and were made welcome on board the little Dutch vessel, which was a source of constant wonderment to them, for they had never seen anything of the kind before.
Descending the stream, Hudson made his way to Dartmouth, England, from which point he sent an account of his discovery to Holland. That country lost no time in claiming sovereignty over the new territory, the claim being so valid that no other nation could legitimately dispute it.
Hudson's achievement added to his fame, and he was once more sent in search of the northwest passage. He entered the bay and strait which bear his name, and passed a winter in that terrible region. In the following spring his crew mutinied, and, placing the navigator, his son, and several members in an open boat, set them adrift, and none of them was ever heard of again.
sealSeal of The Virginia Company.
Seal of The Virginia Company.
Virginia,—Founding of Jamestown—Captain John Smith—Introduction of African Slavery—Indian Wars—Bacon's Rebellion—Forms of Government—Prosperity—Education—New England,—Plymouth—Massachusetts Bay Colony—Union of the Colonies—Religious Persecution—King Philip's War—The Witchcraft Delusion—New Hampshire,—The Connecticut Colony,—The New Haven Colony,—Union of the Colonies—Indian Wars—The Charter Oak—Rhode Island,—Different Forms of Government—New York,—The Dutch and English Settlers—New Jersey,—Delaware,—Pennsylvania,—Maryland,—Mason and Dixon's Line—The Carolinas—Georgia.
At the opening of the seventeenth century there was not a single English settlement on this side of the Atlantic. It has been shown that the French succeeded in planting colonies in Canada, that of De Monts, in 1605, in Acadia (the French name of Nova Scotia), proving successful, while Champlain founded Quebec three years later. St. Augustine, Florida, was founded by the Spanish in 1565, but it has played an insignificant part in our history. England was the mother of the colonies, from which the original thirteen States sprang, and we are vastly more indebted to her than to all other nations combined.
THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENT.
In the year 1606, when James I. was king of England, he gave a charter or patent to a number of gentlemen, which made them the owners of all that part of America lying between the thirty-fourth and thirty-eighth degrees of north latitude. The men who received this gift associated themselves together under the name of the London Company, and in the same year sent out three vessels, carrying 105 men, but no women or children. A storm drove them out of their course, and, in the month of May, they entered the mouth of a broad river, which they named the James in honor of their king. They sailed up stream for fifty miles, and, on the 13th of May, 1607, began the settlement of Jamestown, which was the first English colony successfully planted in America. Everything looked promising, but the trouble was that the men did not wish to work, and, instead of cultivating the soil, spent their time in hunting for gold which did not exist anywhere near them. They were careless in their manner of living and a great many fell ill and died. They must have perished before long had they not been wise enough to elect Captain John Smith president or ruler of the colony.
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH AND HIS ADVENTURES.
This man is one of the most interesting characters in the early history of our country. He was a great boaster, and most of his associates did not like him. He had been a wanderer in many parts of the world, and had any number of stories to tell of his wonderful adventures. Probably some of those stories were true and many fiction. Be that as it may, he was an energetic and brave man, and the very one to save the perishing settlers. He made every man work, and none wrought harder than himself. As a consequence matters began to mend at once.
Obeying his orders in London, Captain Smith, when it seemed prudent to do so, spent much of his time in exploring the streams that flowed into the James. It must not be forgotten that it was still believed in Europe that America formed a part of Asia, and that no one needed to penetrate far into the interior to reach that country.
On one of these voyages Captain Smith was taken prisoner by the Indians, who led him before their chief Powhatan. The chief decided that he must be put to death, and, with his hands tied together, he was placed on the ground, with his head resting on two big stones. Then one of the warriors stepped forward to dash out his brains with a club. At that moment Pocahontas, the young daughter of the chief, ran forward, and, throwing her arms around the head of Smith, begged her father to spare his life. The chief consented, and the prisoner was set free and returned to Jamestown. Such is the story which Captain Smith told after the death of Pocahontas in England, which she had visited with her husband, an Englishman named Rolfe, and it can never be known whether the incident was true or not. Some years later Smith was so badly injured by the explosion of gunpowder that he had to return to England for treatment. There he died in 1631. His invaluable services in this country have led historians to regard him as the saviour of the Virginia colony.
pocahontas saving smith's lifePOCAHONTAS SAVING THE LIFE OF JOHN SMITH.
POCAHONTAS SAVING THE LIFE OF JOHN SMITH.
The most woeful blow that was struck the American colonies was in August, 1619, when a Dutch ship sailed up the James and sold twenty negroes, kidnapped in Africa, to the colonists as slaves. It was thus that African slavery was introduced into this country, bringing in its train more sorrow, suffering, desolation, and death than pen can describe or imagination conceive. The institution became legal in all the colonies, and the ships of New England, as well as those of old England, were actively engaged for many years in the slave trade.
pocahontas' marriageTHE MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS.
THE MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS.
WARS WITH THE INDIANS.
The marriage of Pocahontas to one of the settlers made her father a firm friend of the whites as long as he lived. At his death, his brother Opechankano succeeded him. He hated intensely the invaders of the hunting grounds, and began plotting to exterminate them. On the 22d of March, 1622, he made such a sudden and furious assault upon the plantations, as the farms were called, along the James that 400 people were killed in one day. The settlers rallied, slew many of the Indians and drove the remainder far back in the woods, but by the time this was accomplished half of the 4,000 settlers were dead and the eighty plantations were reduced to eight.
Opechankano was not crushed, and for more than twenty years he busied himself in perfecting his plans for a greater and more frightful massacre. It was in April, 1644, that he struck his second blow, killing between three and four hundred of the settlers. Once more the Virginians renewed the war of extermination, and pressed it mercilessly until the Indians sued for peace, gave a large tract of land to their conquerors, and retired still further into the wilderness. It is worth noting that at the time of this last massacre Opechankano was nearly a hundred years old.
BACON'S REBELLION.
Sir William Berkeley was the most bigoted ruler Virginia ever had. In one of his messages, he thanked God that there were no free schools or printing in his province. He was very tyrannous, and, having friends in the assembly, they prevented the election of any new members from 1666 to 1676. The taxes became intolerable, and trade fell into the hands of a few individuals. Not only that, but the governor disbanded the troops which had gathered for protection against the Indians, who renewed their attacks on the exposed plantations.
This was more than the people could stand, and they rose in rebellion under the leadership of Nathaniel Bacon, a popular young planter, who had lost several members of his family through the attacks of the Indians. Berkeley was cowed for a time, but the arrival of some ships from England enabled him to take the field against Bacon. During the civil war, Jamestown was burned to the ground and never rebuilt. Bacon pressed his resistance so vigorously that his success seemed certain, when unfortunately he fell ill and died. Left without a leader, the rebellion crumbled to pieces. The exultant Berkeley punished the leading rebels without mercy. He hanged twenty-two, and was so ferocious that the king lost patience and ordered him to return to England. "The old fool!" he exclaimed; "he has taken away more lives in that naked country than I did for the murder of my father."
PROSPERITY OF THE COLONY.
Colonial Virginia underwent several changes in its form of government. A "Great Charter" was granted to it in 1613 by the London Company. This permitted the settlers to make their own laws. The House of Burgesses, which was called together at Jamestown by Governor Yeardley, July 30, 1619, was the first legislative body that ever met in this country. King James was dissatisfied with the tendency of things, and in 1624 he took away the charter and granted a new one, which allowed the colony to elect the members of the House of Burgesses, while the king appointed the council and their governor. This made Virginia a royal province, which she remained until the Revolution.
armorARMOR WORN BY THEPILGRIMS IN 1620.
ARMOR WORN BY THEPILGRIMS IN 1620.
Virginia became very prosperous. Immense quantities of tobacco were raised and sent to England and Holland, where it became widely popular. Its cultivation was so profitable in the colony that for a time little else was cultivated. It was planted even along the streets of Jamestown and became the money of the province. Everything was paid for in so many pounds of tobacco. The population steadily increased, and in 1715 was 95,000, which was the same as that of Massachusetts. A half-century later, Virginia was the richest and most important of the thirteen colonies. The people lived mostly on large plantations, for land was plentiful and the Indians gave no further trouble. Most of the inhabitants were members of the Church of England, and their assemblies passed severe laws against the entrance of people of other religious beliefs into the colony. It required the furnace blasts of the Revolution to purify Virginia and some other provinces of this spirit of intolerance.
Education was neglected or confined to the rich who could send their children to England to be educated. Some of the early schools were destroyed by Indians, but William and Mary College, founded in 1692, was the second college in the United States. It was never a very strong institution.
THE "OLD DOMINION."
It is worth recording how Virginia received the name of the "Old Dominion." She remained loyal to Charles I. throughout the civil war in England which ended in the beheading of the king. She was true also to Charles II. when he was a fugitive and declared an outlaw. While in exile, he sent Governor Berkeley his commission as Governor of Virginia, and that ruler was immensely pleased. The king, to show his appreciation of the loyalty of his colony, made public declaration that Virginia added a fifth country to his kingdom, making it consist of England, Scotland, France, Ireland, and Virginia, and he devised as an addition to the motto of the English coat of arms, "En dat Virginia quintam" ("Lo! Virginia gives the fifth"). While Cromwell was turning things topsy-turvy in England, a great many of the best families among the Royalists emigrated to Virginia, where they were received with open arms by Governor Berkeley and the owners of the plantations. From this arose the name "Old Dominion," which is often applied to Virginia.
THE PILGRIMS AT PLYMOUTH.
During the early days of Virginia there was bitter persecution in England of those whose religious views differed from the Church of England. This cruelty drove many people to other countries, and because of their wanderings they were called "Pilgrims." Those who remained members of the English church and used their efforts to purify it of what they believed to be loose and pernicious doctrines were nicknamed "Puritans." Those who withdrew from the membership of the church were termed "Separatists" or "Independents." This distinction is often confounded by writers and readers.
One hundred and two Pilgrims, all Separatists, who had fled to Holland, did not like the country, and decided to make their homes in the New World, where they could worship God as their consciences dictated. They sailed in theMayflower, and, after a long and stormy passage, landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts, December 21, 1620, in the midst of a blinding snowstorm.
The Pilgrims were hardy, industrious, and God-fearing, and were prepared to face every kind of danger and suffering without murmur. They were severely austere in their morals and conduct, and, when writhing in the pangs of starvation, maintained their faith unshaken in the wisdom and goodness of their Heavenly Father. All these admirable qualities were needed during the awful winter, which was one of the severest ever known in New England. They built log-houses, using oiled paper instead of glass for the windows, and in the spring were able to buy corn of the Indians, who pitied their sufferings, for in the space of a few weeks one-half of the Pilgrims had died. At one time there were but seven well persons in the colony. Among those who passed away was John Carver, the first governor.
landingLANDING OF MYLES STANDISH.
LANDING OF MYLES STANDISH.
The survivors held their ground with grim heroism, and by-and-by other immigrants arrived, and the growth and prosperity, though slow, was certain. It had no charter, but was governed by an agreement which had been drawn up and signed in the cabin of theMayflower, about the time the bleak coast of New England was sighted. For sixty years after the settlement of Plymouth, its history was uneventful. It was never very large, but the real work which it accomplished was in bringing thousands of other colonists to follow it to New England, who were opponents of the Established Church, and who gave to that section of our country a distinctive character of its own.
MYLES STANDISH.
It is an interesting coincidence that while Virginia had her Captain John Smith, Plymouth possessed a character quite similar in the person of Captain Myles Standish. He was the military leader of the colony, with a courage that was absolutely fearless. He has been described as a very small man, with a "long, yellow beard," and a temper as inflammable as gunpowder. Nothing would rouse his anger sooner than to hear any slur upon his stature. A big, hulking Indian, belonging to a party much larger than Standish's, once looked down upon the diminutive Englishman, and, with a curl of his lip, referred to him as too small to fight. The next day, in a fight that arose with the chiefs, Standish killed the insulting Indian with his own knife. All readers are familiar with the beautiful poem of Longfellow, which tells how Standish employed John Alden to woo Priscilla, the "loveliest maid of Plymouth," for him, and he did it with such success that Alden won her for himself.
MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony included the part of the present State of Massachusetts from the neighborhood of Boston northward. It was founded by Puritans, who, it will be remembered, had not separated wholly from the Church of England, but opposed many of its ceremonies. In the civil war with England they sided with the Parliament and were subjected to the same persecution as the Separatists. In 1628 a number of wealthy Puritans bought the territory from the Council of Plymouth, and, receiving a charter the following year from Charles I., sent small colonies across the Atlantic. Then the company itself followed, taking with it the charter and officers, thus gaining a colony in America that was wholly independent of England. Salem and some other small settlements had previously been made.
The colony was one of the most important that ever settled in this country. Its leaders were not only of the best character, but were wealthy, wise, and far-seeing. A large number arrived in 1630, and founded Boston, Cambridge, Lynn, and other towns. Although they suffered many privations, they were not so harsh as those of Plymouth, and the colony prospered. During the ten years succeeding 1630, 20,000 people settled in Massachusetts, and in 1692 the two colonies united under the name of Massachusetts.
It would seem that since these people had fled to America to escape religious persecution, they would have been tolerant of the views of those among them, but such unhappily was not the case. The most important part of their work was the building of churches and the establishment of religious instruction. The minister was the most important man in the colony, and no one was allowed to vote unless a member of the church. A reproof in church was considered the most disgraceful penalty that could be visited upon a wrong-doer. The sermons were two, three, and sometimes four hours long, and the business of one of the officers was to watch those overcome by drowsiness and wake them up, sometimes quite sharply.
death of the kingKING PHILIP'S WAR—DEATH OF THE KING.
KING PHILIP'S WAR—DEATH OF THE KING.
RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.
roger williamsROGER WILLIAMS IN BANISHMENT.
ROGER WILLIAMS IN BANISHMENT.
Roger Williams, a Baptist preacher, told the Puritans, as the people came generally to be called, that they did wrong to take the land from the Indians without paying for it, and that a person was answerable to God alone for his belief. These charges were answered by the banishment of Williams from the colony. All the Baptists were expelled in 1635. Shortly afterward, Anne Hutchinson boldly preached the doctrine of Antinomianism, which declares that a man is not saved by the help of good works, but by divine grace alone. In other words, no matter how wickedly he lives, his salvation is wholly independent of it. She went to Rhode Island and afterward to New Netherland, where she was killed in one of the attacks of the Indians upon the Dutch settlements.
The Quakers greatly annoyed the New England colonists. They persisted in rising in the Puritan meetings and disputing with ministers. Many were fined, whipped, imprisoned, and banished, but in the face of warnings they returned. As a consequence, four were put to death. Then a reaction set in and the persecution ceased.
The most formidable war in which the early colonies of New England were involved was with King Philip, who was the son of Massasoit, a firm friend of the settlers until his death. Philip was one of the great Indians of history. Like many of his people he saw with anger the growth of the white men, who in time would drive him and his warriors from their hunting grounds. Realizing the magnitude of the work of exterminating all the settlers, he visited the different tribes and used every effort to unite them in a war against the invaders. He was partly successful, and, with the allies secured, King Philip began the war by attacking a party of settlers at Swansea, on Sunday, June 24, 1675, while they were on their way to church. Several whites were killed, when the Indians hurried off to the Connecticut Valley to continue their dreadful work.
All understood their peril, and flew to arms. Every man carried his musket to church, and they were stacked outside the door, while a sentinel paced up and down. More than once the long sermon was interrupted by the crack of the red men's guns and their wild whoops, as they swarmed out of the woods. Springing down from the pulpit, the minister was among the foremost in beating the heathen back, and, when quiet was restored, probably he resumed and finished his sermon.
The war was prosecuted furiously on both sides. In the depth of winter, when the snow lay several feet on the ground, John Winslow led 1,500 men against the Narragansett stronghold, which was in the heart of a great swamp, and was one of the most powerful fortifications ever erected by the red men on this continent. In the terrible fight, 200 white men and nearly 1,000 Indians were killed. Finally, Philip was run down in a swamp near his old home on Mount Hope, not far from the present city of Bristol, Rhode Island. While stealing out of his hiding-place, he was confronted by a white soldier and a friendly Indian. The gun of the former missed fire, whereupon the Indian leveled his musket and shot the Wampanoag leader dead. The war ended a few months later. During its continuance, six hundred white men were killed and many more wounded; thirteen towns were destroyed and five hundred buildings burned, but the Indian power in southern New England was shattered forever.
THE WITCHCRAFT DELUSION.
One of the most fearful delusions recorded in history is that of the general belief in witchcraft which prevailed in Europe down to the seventeenth century. Its baleful shadow all too soon fell upon New England. Massachusetts and Connecticut made laws against witchcraft and hanged a number of persons on the charge of being witches. In 1692 the town of Salem went crazy over the belief that the diabolical spirits were at work among them. Two little girls, who were simpletons that ought to have been spanked and put to bed, declared with bulging eyes that different persons had taken the form of a black cat and pinched, scratched, and bitten them. The people, including the great preacher Cotton Mather, believed this stuff, and the supposed wizards and witches were punished with fearful severity. Suspicion in many cases meant death; evil men disposed of their creditors and enemies by charging them with witchcraft; families were divided and the gentlest and most irreproachable of women suffered disgraceful death. Everybody, including ministers and judges, lost their wits. The magistrates crowded the jails, until twenty had been put to death and fifty-five tortured before the craze subsided. Then it became clear that no one, no matter what his station, was safe, and the delusion, which forms one of the blackest pages in New England, passed away.