prised two of the Spanish forts on the St. Johns river, 1568. early in 1568, and hung their garrisons on the trees, placing over them the inscription, "I do this not as unto Spaniards or mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers." De Gourgues not being strong enough to maintain his position, hastily retreated," and the Spaniards retained possession of the country. VII. GILBERT, RALEIGH, GRENVILLE, &c.-1. 'In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert, under a charter from Queen Eliz. abeth, sailed with several vessels, with the design of forming a settlement in America; but a succession of disasters defeated the project, and, on the homeward voyage, the vessel in which Gilbert sailed was wrecked, and all on board perished. 1. 2 a. May. 1583. Account of of Gilbert. the voyage b. June. c. Sept. 1584. Patent of Raleigh d. April 4. 2. His brother-in-law, Sir Walter Raleigh, not disheartened by the fate of his relative, soon after obtainedd for himself an ample patent, vesting him with almost unlimited powers, as lord proprietor, over all the lands which he should discover between the 33d and 40th degrees of north latitude. Under this patent, in 1584, he despatched, 3. Voyage of for the American coast, two vessels under the command of Philip Amidas and Arthur Barlow. 3. Arriving on the coast of Carolina in the month of July, they visited the islands in Pamlico, and Albemarle† Sound, took possession of the country in the name of the queen of England, and, after spending several weeks in trafficking with the natives, returned without attempting a settlement. The glowing description which they gave of the beauty and fertility of the country, induced Elizabeth, who esteemed her reign signalized by the discovery of these regions, to bestow upon them the name of VIRGINIA, as a memorial that they had been discovered during the reign of a maiden queen. 4. 'Encouraged by their report, Raleigh made active preparations to form a settlement; and, in the following year, 1585, despatched a fleet of seven vessels under the command of Sir Richard Grenville, with Ralph Lane as governor of the intended colony. After some disasters on the coast, the fleet arrived at Roanoke, an island 4. Amidas and Name that the country was given to and why. 1585. e April 19. 5 Account of the first at settlement tempt to form a at Roanoke. ATLANTIC Pamlico Sound is a large bay on the coast of N. Carolina, ROANOKE I. AND VICINITY. nearly a hundred miles long from N. E. to S. W., and from 15 to 25 miles broad. It is separated from the ocean throughout its whole length by a beach of sand hardly a mile wide, near the middle of which is the dangerous Cape Hatteras. Ocracock Inlet, 35 miles S. W. from Cape Hatteras, is the only entrance which adraits ships of large burden. † Albemarle Sound is north of and connects with Pamlico Sound, and is likewise separated from the ocean by a narrow sand beach. It is about 60 miles long from east to west, and from 4 to 15 miles wide. t Roanoke is an island on the coast of North Carolina, between Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. The north point of the island is 5 miles west from the old Roanoke Inlet, which is now closed. The English fort and colony were at the north end of the island. (See Map.) ANALYSIS in Albemarle Sound, whence, leaving the emigrants under Lane to establish the colony, Grenville returned to England. a Sept. 1586. The con duct the colonists. 5. The impatience of the colonists to acquire sudden wealth gave a wrong direction to their industry, and the cultivation of the earth was neglected, in the idle search after mines of gold and silver. Their treatment of the natives soon provoked hostilities:-their supplies of provisions, which they had hitherto received from the Indians, were withdrawn :-famine stared them in the face; and they were on the point of dispersing in quest of food, when Sir Francis Drake arrived with a fleet from the e. Note, p. 112. West Indies." b. June. 2 Under what circum stances the was aban Bettlement doned. 6. 'He immediately devised measures for furnishing the colony with supplies; but a small vessel, laden with provisions, which was designed to be left for that purpose, being destroyed by a sudden storm, and the colonists becoming discouraged, he yielded to their unanimous request, and carried them back to England. Thus was the d. June 29. first English settlement abandoned, after an existence of little less than a year. 3. Events 800n after colony. e. July. of the 7. A few days after the departure of the fleet, a vesthat happened sel, despatched by Raleigh, arrived with a supply of the departure stores for the colony, but finding the settlement deserted, immediately returned. Scarcely had this vessel departed, when Sir Richard Grenville arrived with three ships. After searching in vain for the colony which he had planted, he likewise returned, leaving fifteen men on the Island of Roanoke to keep possession of the country. the second at a settlement. 1587. 8. Notwithstanding the ill success of the attempts of 4. Account of Raleigh to establish a colony in his new territory, neither tempt to form his hopes nor his resources were yet exhausted. Determining to plant an agricultural state, early in the following year he sent out a company of emigrants with their wives and families,-granted a charter of incorporation for the settlement, and established a municipal government for his intended "city of Raleigh." f. Aug. 9. On the arrival of the emigrants at Roanoke, where 5. Disappoint they expected to find the men whom Grenville had left, happened to they found the fort which had been built there in ruins; on their ar the houses were deserted: and the bones of their former occupants were scattered over the plain. the emigrants rival. 6. The return White. g. Sept. 6. At the same of Captain place, however, they determined to establish the colony; and here they laid the foundations for their "city." 10. Soon finding that they were destitute of many stances the things which were essential to their comfort, their govabandoned, ernor, Captain John White, sailed for England, to obtain Lost. the necessary supplies. 'On his arrival he found the 7. Under what circum colony was and Anally nation absorbed by the threats of a Spanish invasion; and 1587. the patrons of the new settlement were too much engaged in public measures to attend to a less important and remote object. Raleigh, however, in the following year, 1588, despatched White with supplies, in two vessels; 1588. but the latter, desirous of a gainful voyage, ran in search of Spanish prizes; until, at length, one of his vessels was overpowered, boarded, and rifled, and both ships were compelled to return to England. a. May 2. 1589. 1590. c. Aug. 11. Soon after, Raleigh assigned his patent to a com- b. March 17, pany of merchants in London; and it was not until 1590 that White was enabled to return in search of the colony; and then the island of Roanoke was deserted. No traces of the emigrants could be found. The design of establishing a colony was abandoned, and the country was again left to the undisturbed possession of the natives. VIII. MARQUIS DE LA ROCHE.-1. 'In 1598, the Marquis de la Roche, a French nobleman, received from the king of France a commission for founding a French colony in America. Having equipped several vessels, he sailed with a considerable number of settlers, most of whom, however, he was obliged to draw from the prisons of Paris. On Sable island, a barren spot near the coast of Nova Scotia, forty men were left to form a settlement. 1. to d. Sept. 1598. Attempt of form a set De la Roche tlement. cotony. 2. 'La Roche dying soon after his return, the colonists 2. Fate of the were neglected; and when, after seven years, a vessel was sent to inquire after them, only twelve of them were living. The dungeons from which they had been liberated were preferable to the hardships which they had suffered. The emaciated exiles were carried back to France, where they were kindly received by the king, who pardoned their crimes, and made them a liberal do nation. 1602. the voyage of Note, p. 118. IX. BARTHOLOMEW GOSNOLD.-1. In 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold sailed from Falmouth, England, and abandoning the circuitous route by the Canaries and the West Indies, made a direct voyage across the Atlantic, and in seven weeks reached the American continent, probably near the northern extremity of Massachusetts Bay.‡ 'Not finding a good harbor, and sailing southward, he 4 Discoveries discovered and landed upon a promontory which he called "i. May 24. g. h. May. made by him. Sable island is 90 miles S. E. from the castern point of Nova Scotia. ↑ Falmouth is a seaport town at the entrance of the English Channel, near the southwestern extremity of England. It is 50 miles S. W. from Plymouth, has an excellent harbor, and a roadstead capable of receiving the largest fleets. ↑ Massachusetts Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of Massachusetts, between the headJands of Cape Ann on the north, and Cape Cod on the south ANALYSIS. Cape Cod.* Sailing thence, and pursuing his course along the coast, he discovered several islands, one of which he named Elizabeth,† and another Martha's Vineyard.‡ a. June 1-4. 1. Attempt to form a settle ment. b. June 28. 2 Length of the voyage. 3. Account of and discov eries of Mar 1603. e Note, p. 125. d. April 20. 2. 'Here it was determined to leave a portion of the crew for the purpose of forming a settlement, and a storehouse and fort were accordingly erected; but distrust of the Indians, who began to show hostile intentions, and the despair of obtaining seasonable supplies, defeated the design, and the whole party embarked for England. "The return occupied but five weeks, and the entire voyage only four months. 3. Gosnold and his companions brought back so favorable reports of the regions visited, that, in the following in Fring. year, a company of Bristol merchants despatched two small vessels, under the command of Martin Pring, for the purpose of exploring the country, and opening a traf fic with the natives. Pring landed on the coast of Maine, discovered some of its principal rivers, and examined the coast of Massachusetts as far as Martha's Vineyard. The whole voyage occupied but six months. In 1606, Pring repeated the, voyage, and made a more accurate survey of Maine. e. June. 4. Grant of land to X. DE MONTS.--1. 'In 1603, the king of France Demonts. granted to De Monts, a gentleman of distinction, the 1. Nov. 8. Sovereignty of the country from the 40th to the 46th degree of north latitude; that is, from one degree south of g. Note, p. 220. New York city, to one north of Montreal. "Sailing h. Note, p. 128. with two vessels, in the spring of 1604, he arrived at 1604. Nova Scotia in May, and spent the summer in trafficking j. Note, p.111. With the natives, and examining the coasts preparatory to 5. Voyage of a settlement. i. March 7. De Monts. 6. His first winter. k. 1604-5. 2. Selecting an island near the mouth of the river St. Croix, on the coast of New Brunswick, he there erected a fort and passed a rigorous winter, his men suffering much from the want of suitable provisions. In the followof Port Royal, ing spring, 1605, De Monts removed to a place on the Bay of Fundy; and here was formed the first permanent 1605. 7 Settlement *Cape Cod, thus named from the number of co fish taken there by its discoverer, is 50 miles S. E. from Boston. † Elizabeth Islands are a group of 13 islands south of Buzzard's Bay, and from 20 to 30 miles E. and S. E. from Newport, Rhode Island. Nashawn, the largest, is 7 and a half miles long. Cattahunk, the one named by Gosnold Elizabeth Island, is two miles and a half long and three quarters of a mile broad. # Martha's Vineyard, three or four miles S. E. from the Elizabeth Islands, is 19 miles in length from E. to W., and from 3 to 10 miles in width. The island called by Gosnold Martha's Vineyard is now called No Man's Land, a small island four or five miles south from Martha's Vineyard. When or why the name was changed is not known. The St. Croir river, called by the Indians Schoodic, empties into Passamaquoddy Bay at the eastern extremity of Maine. It was the island of the same name, a few miles up the river, on which the French settled. By the treaty of 1783 the St. Croix was made the eastern boundary of the United States, but it was uncertain what river was the St. Croix until the remains of the French fort were discovered. 'The Bay of Fundy, remarkable for its high tides, lies between Nova Scotia and New Bruns French settlement in America. The settlement was 1605. named Port Royal,* and the whole country, embracing the present New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the adjacent islands, was called ACADIA. 3. 'In 1608, De Monts, although deprived of his former commission, having obtained from the king of France the grant of the monopoly of the fir trade on the river St. Lawrence, fitted out two vessels for the purpose of forming a settlement; but not finding it convenient to command in person, he placed them under Samuel Champlain, who had previously visited those regions. 1608. 1. Farther account of De Monis. Account of Champlain, settlement of the voyage of and the Quebec. a. April 13. b. June 3. 4. The expedition sailed in April, and in June arrived at Tadoussac, a barren spot at the mouth of the Saguenay river, hitherto the chief seat of the traffic in furs. Thence Champlain continued to ascend the river until he had passed the Isle of Orleans, when he selected a commodious place for a settlement, on the site of the present city of Quebec, and near the place where Cartier d. Note, p. 250. had passed the winter, and erected a fort in 1541. From this time is dated the first permanent settlement of the French in New France or Canada. XI. NORTH AND SOUTH VIRGINIA.-1. In 1606 James the 1st, of England, claiming all that portion of North America which lies between the 34th and the 45th degrees of north latitude, embracing the country from Cape Fear§ to Halifax, divided this territory into two nearly equal districts; the one, called NORTH VIRGINIA, extending from the 41st to the 45th degree; and the other, called SOUTH VIRGINIA, from the 34th to the 38th. 3. c. July 3. 1606. North VirSouth Vir ginia and ginia. e. April 20. 4. To what these districts 201 re granted. 2. "The former he granted to a company of "Knights, gentlemen, and merchants," of the west of England, companies called the Plymouth Company; and the latter to a company of "noblemen, gentlemen, and merchants," mostly resident in London, and called the London Company. The intermediate district, from the 38th to the 41st degree, was open to both companies; but neither was to form a settlement within one hundred miles of the other. wick. It is nearly 200 miles in length from S. W. to N. E., and 75 miles across at its entrance, gradually narrowing towards the head of the bay. At the entrance the tide is of the ordinary height, about eight feet, but at the head of the bay it rises 60 feet, and is so rapid as often to overtake and sweep off animals feeding on the shore. Port Royal (now Annapolis), once the capital of French Acadia, is situated on the east bank of the river and bay of Annapolis, in the western part of Nova Scotia, a short distance from the Bay of Fundy. It has an excellent harbor, in which a thousand vessels might anchor in security. The Saguenay river empties into the St Lawrence from the north, 130 miles N. E. from Quebec. The Isle of Orleans is a fertile island in the St. Lawrence, five miles below Quebec. It is about 25 miles long and 5 broad. (See Map, p. 280.) Cape Fear is the southern point of Sinita's Island, at the mouth of Cape Fear River, on the coast of N. Carolina, 150 miles N. E. from Charleston. (See Map, p. 251.) Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia, is situated on the S. W. side of the Bay of Chebucto, which is on the S. E. coast of Nova Scotia. The town is 10 miles from the sea, and has an excellent harbor of 10 square miles. It is about 450 miles N. E. from Boston. |