HISTORICAL COURSE FOR SCHOOLS, KD1TRD BV EDWARD A. FREEMAN, D.C.L. i6mo, cloth. The object of this series is to put forth dear and correct views of history in simple language, and in the smallest space and cheapest form in which it could be done. It is hoped in time to take in short histories of all the chief countries of Europe and America, giving the results of the latest historical researches in as simple a form as may be. All the volumes are prepared under the supervision of MK. FRF.KMAN. I. GENERAL SKETCH OF HISTORY, Bv EDWARD A. FREEMAN $.5 II. HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Bv EDITH THOMPSON $1.00 III. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. BY MARGARET MACARTHTR. ..... fci.oo IV. HISTORY OF ITALY. Bv THE REV. W. HUNT, M.A $1.00 V. HISTORY OF GERMANY. Bv JAMES SIMK $1.00 VI. HIS TO KY OF THE UNITED STATES BY J. A. DOYLE. With Maps and revisions, by FRAN-CIS A. WALKER. VII. HISTORY OF FRANCE. BY THE REV. J. R. GREEN, M.A. . . (In preparation.) VIII. HISTORY OF GREECE. BY J. ANNAN BKYCE, B.A (hi preparation.) FREEMAN'S HISTORICAL COURSE FOR SCHOOLS HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES BY J. A. DOYLE WITH MAPS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ACQUISITION OK TERRITORY AND THE INCREASE OF POPULATION FRANCIS A. WALKER Professor of History and Political Economy in t/ie Sheffield Scientific School of Yale Collegt NEW YORK HENRY HOLT AND COMPANY 1876 COPYniOHT, 1871. BY HKXUY HOLT. J'.HN K. TKOW & SON, 8TKKEOTVFEKS AND PRINTERS, 205-213 East \-ztli St., NEW YORK. .1 PUBLISHERS' NOTE, In addition to the Maps by Prof. Walker, in illustra- tion of the acquisition of territory and the increase of population, this work has had the benefit of some correc- ' tions from his hand as to dates and minor statements of fact, in respect to which a work of foreign origin might naturally be found in error. The author's judgments, whether literary, military, or political, as to men and 2 ^ events in our history, have been allowed to stand unal- ai tered ; and this, therefore, remains essentially an outside * view of the United States. It is believed that such a uu . work, though it may conflict at points with our national prepossessions, and may, in specific matters, use rules ^ of criticism that we are slow to apply to our own case, yet enjoys a breadth of view and a freedom from partisan OP bias not easily attained by a writer at home. January ', 1876. LIST OF MAPS. PACK. CHANGES IN TERRITORY I DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION IN 1790 284 " " " " 1830 3l8 392 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PACK AMERICA: ITS GEOGRAPHY AND NATIVES .... I CHAPTER II. THE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY 21 CHAPTER III. VIRGINIA .... 4 CHAPTER IV. PLYMOUTH , , 60 CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. PAGE MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT 69 CHAPTER VI. THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES 87 CHAPTER VII. THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION ...... 92 CHAPTER VIII. NEW ENGLAND FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 107 CHAPTER IX. NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION 126 CHAPTER X. MARYLAND 146 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XI. NEW YORK . CHAPTER XII. THE CAROLINA S 170 CHAPTER XIII. 1HE QUAKER COLONIES I?9 CHAPTER XIV. THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA AND THE SFANI3II WAR 189 CHAPTER XV. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA AND OF THE OHIO VALLEY 2O2 CHAPTER XVI. GENERAL VIEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES . . . 2I/ CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. PAGS THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX 224 CHAPTER XVIII. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 240 CHAPTER XIX. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE 253 CHAPTER XX. THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 278 CHAPTER XXI. THE WAR WITH GREAT BRITAIN ........ 298 CHAPTER XXII. SOUTH CAROLINA AND NULLIFICATION 316 CHAPTER XXIII. GROWING OPPOSITION BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH . 326 CONTP:NTS. CHAPTER XXIV. PAGE THE SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY 337 CHAPTER XXV. THE WAR OF SECESSION 347 CHAPTER XXVI. CONCLUSION 386 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. Christopher Columbus sends his brother to the English Court 1488 Discovery of Hispaniola by Columbus 1492 Patent granted to John Cabot 1493 Discovery of the main land by Sebastian Cabot . . . . ] 497 Cabot's second voyage 1498 Patent granted to Ashurst and others 1501 Vasco Nunez crosses the Isthmus of Panama ..... 1513 Cortez invades Mexico 1519 Pizarro invades Peru 1525 Albert de Prado sends out two ships 1527 Cartier discovers the St. Laurence River 1534 Here's voyage 1536 Sebastian Cabot made Grand Pilot of Enghnd 1549 French settlement on the coast of Florida 1562 Frobisher's first voyage 1576 Gilbert's first voyage 1579 Gilbert's second voyage, and death 1583 Raleigh sends out Amidas and Barlow 1584 Raleigh's first colony 1585 Raleigh's colonists come home 1586 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. Raleigh's second colony 1587 Defeat of the Armada . 1588 Gosr.old's voyage to New England 1602 Foundation of the London and Plymouth Companies . . 1606 Settlement at Jamestown 1607 Flight of the Scrooby Independents to Holland .... 1608 The Virginia Company chartered ; Hudson discovers New Netherlands ; Foundation of Quebec 1609 Lord Delaware arrives in Virginia 1610 Marriage of Rolfe and Pocahontas 1613 First Assembly held at Virginia 1619 Formation of the second Plymouth Company, Dec. 16; Landing of the Puritans at Plymouth 1620 Formation of the Dutch West India Company 1621 The massacre in Virginia 1622 Dissolution of the Virginia Company 1624 Formation of the Massachusetts Company ; grant of land to John Mason ; capture of Quebec by David Kirk ; grant of Maryland to the first Lord Baltimore 1629 Emigration of Winthrop 1630 Settlement of Maryland ; banishment of Roger Williams . . 1634 Insurrection in Virginia ; dissolution of the Plymouth Com- pany ; Settlement of Connecticut 1635 Banishment of Mrs. Hutchinsoa 1636 ThePequodWar 1637 Settlement of New Haven ; Charter for Maine granted to Gorges 1638 V' Union of New Hampshire with Massachusetts 1641 Formation of the New England Confederation ; Death of Miantonomo 1643 Patent for Providence obtained by Roger Williams . . . 164*4 Dispute between New Netherlands and New Haven . . . 1646 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. Nan-agansett War 1650 Overthrow of the Proprietary Government in Maryland . 1654 Quaker writings forbidden by Massachusetts . 1656 Restoration of the Proprietary Government in Maryland. . 1657 Charters granted to Rhode Island and Connecticut ; grant of Carolina to Shaftesbury and others 1663 Commissioners sent out from England to the New England colonies ; union of New Haven and Connecticut ; conquest of New Netherlands [New York] by the English . . . 1664 Foundation of Elizabethtown in New Jersey . . . * . 1665 Grant of Virginia to Lords Culpepper and Arlington . . . 1669 Recovery of New York by the Dutch ; insurrection in New Jersey ; Marqu-ette explores the West 1673 Restoration of New York to the English 1674 King Philip's war 1675 Bacon's rebellion in Virginia 1676 Division of New Jersey into East ami West ; Now I fnnipshire and Maine become separate colonies 1677 Insurrection in North Cirolina .......... 1678 Grant of land to William Penn . . . 1680 Insurrection in Maryland 168L Settlement of the Constitution of Pennsylvania . . ^ * . 1682 The Charter of Massachusetts annulled; first A.srmMy in New York . ". 1683 La Salle explores the Mississippi 1684 The New England colonies p'aced under a {iovemor and Council ; New York placed under a Governor and Council 1686 Andros demands the surrender of the Charter of Connec- ticut ; the Five Nations invade Canada 1687 Deposition of Governor SotheJ in North Car-oliua .... 1688 CIIRONOL OGICAL TA1U. E. A.D. First French War 1G9'94 Insurrection in South Carolina 1680 Congress of the Northern colonies at New York ; execu- tion of Leislcr ; separation of Pennsylvania and the Territories 1691 Trials for witchcraft in New England 1692 Penn grants the settlers a new charter 1701 East and West New Jersey united under the crown . . . 1702 Second French War 1702 12 Delaware becomes a separate colony ; war in South Carolina with the Appalachians 1703 *" Disputes in Massachusetts about the governor's salary . . 1705 War in North Carolina with the Tuscaroras 1711 Invasion of South Carolina by the Yamassees 1715 Overthrow of Proprietary Government in Sout!i Carolina . 1719 The proprietors of North Carolina surrender their charter . 1729 The Peace of Falmouth ; further disputes in Massachusetts between the Assembly and Governor 1726 First settlement of Georgia 1733 The Spaniards threaten Georgia 1736 \Var declared with Spain 1739 Invasion of Georgia 1742 Third French War 1744 8 Capture of Louisburg . . . 1745 Washington sent as a commiss'orier to the Ohio valley . . 1753 Washington defeats Jumon-viile at Great Mea-.low, May 2/th ; Congress at Albany, June 19111 1754 B.adilock's defeat, July gth 1755 Wolfe takes Quebec 1759 Cherokee War 1760 Peace of Paris and cession of Canada ; I'onti.ic's War . . 1763 Grcnville gives notice cf the Stamp Act, Marc'i Qth . . . 1764 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. The Stamp Act passed, March 22nd ; Congress of nine colo- nies at New York, October 7th 1765 Stamp Act repealed, March i8th 1766 Duty imposed on tea and oth-r imports, May I3th . . . 1767 British troops sent to Boston, October 1st 1768 The Boston massacre, March 5th ; all duties repealed except that on tea, May 1st 1770 Destruction of tea at Boston, December I3th 1773 The Boston Port Act put in force, June 1st ; Congress at Philadelphia, September 5th 17 7 i The Battle of Lexington, April igth ; capture of Ticon- deroga, May loth ; Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 171)1 . 1775 The British leave Boston, March 1 7th; Declaration of Inde- pendence, July 4th . . . 1776 Battle of the Brandy wine, September nth; Burgoyne sur- renders, October 1 7th 1777 Treaty signed with France, February Cth 1778 Capture of Andre, September 23rd 1780 Cornwallis surrenders, October I9th 1781 Peace signed between Great Britain and the United States, September 3rd 1783 Insurrection in Massachusetts 1786 Convention for forming the Federal Constitution .... 1787 Establishment of the new Federal Government .... 1789 Indian War 1790-4 Invention of the cotton-gin by Whitney 1793 Insurrection in Pennsylvania 1794 Death of Washington, December 141)1 1799 Washington made the seat of Government ...... 1800 War with the Barbary States 1800-3 Death of Hamilton, July I ith 1804 England and France interfere with the commerce of neutrals 1806 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. The "Leopard " and " Chesapeake," June 22nd ; Fulton's steam-boat launched on the Hudson 1807 The Shawnee Indians defeated at Tippecanoe ..... 1811 War declared with England, June iSth ; invasion of Canada 1812 "Chesapeake" and "Shannon," June ist 1813 Destruction of Washington, August 241)1; peace signed at Ghent, December 24th 1814 Defeat of the British before Xew Orleans, January 8th . 1815 Protection Bill 1816 First Seminole War 1817 The Missouri Compromise 1821 Deaths of Jefferson and Adams, Jaly 4th 1826 Attempt to purchase Texas from Mexico 1827 First appearance of the Mormons 1830 Attempt at nul ification by South Carolina ; bank struggle . 1832 Second Seminole War 1835 Texas declares itself independent of Mexico 1836 Departure of the Mormons to Illinois ....... 1838 Affair of the " Caroline " 1840 Affair of the "Creole "; Ashburton Treaty 1842 Annexation of Texas 1845 Outbreak of Mexican War , . 1846 Capture of the city of Mexico, September I4th ; disputes with Great Britain about Oregon 1847 Gold discoveries in California, January ; Treaty of Guada- lupe Hidalgo, February 2nd 1848 Departure of the Mormons to Utah 1848 Clay's Omnibus Bill passed, September 1851 Missouri Compromise repealed Iy54 Struggle in Kansas 1855 Dred Scott case 1857 Execution of John Brown, December jrd 1859 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. A.D. Election of Lincoln ; South Carolina secedes, December 2oth 18GO Southern Confederacy formed, February 4th ; fall of Fort Sumter, April I3th ; Virginia joins the Southern Con- federacy, April ijth; Battle of Bull Run, July 2ist; appearance of the steam-ram " Manassas," Oct. 12th; seizure of Messrs Mason and SI idell, November 8th . . 1861 Capture of Fort Henry, February 6th ; capture of Fort Donelson, February l6th ; fight of the " Merrirnac " and " Monitor," March yth ; Battle of Shiloh, April 7th ; cap- ture of New Orleans, April 2jth ; Battle of Fair Oaks, May3ist ; Battle of Antietam, September I7th ; Battleof Fredericksburg, December I3th ; Battle of Murfrees- boro, December 3ist 1862 Lincoln's proclamation freeing the slaves, January 1st ; Battle of Chancellorsville, May 2nd and 3rd ; Battle of Gettys- burg, July ist, 2d and 3rd ; fall of Vicksburg, July 3rd; riots at New York, July I3th; Battle of Chickamauga, September igth and 2Oth ; Battleof Chattanooga, No- vember 24th 1863 Battle of the Wilderness, May 5th-i2th ; destruction of the " Alabama," June I4th ; capture of Atlanta, September 2nd; Battle of Cedar Creek, October igth ; Battle of Nashville, December 15th and i6th; capture of Savan- nah, December 2ist 1864 Fall of Richmond, April 3rd ; Lee's surrender, April gth ; murder of Lincoln, April I4th ; Johnston's surrender, May 26th; conditional amnesty, May 2gth 1865 LIST OF PRESIDENTS. LIST OF PRESIDENTS. * GEORGE WASHINGTON, Virginia 1789-1797 JOHN ADAMS. Massachusetts 1797-1801 * THOMAS JEFFERSON, Virginia 1801-1809 * JAMES MADISON, Virginia 1809-1817 * JAMES MONROE, Virginia 1817-1825 JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, Massachusetts 1825-1829 * ANDREW JACKSON, Tennessee 1829-1837 MARTIN VAN BUREN, New York 1837-1841 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, Ohio (Died April 4th). 1841 t JOHN TYLER, Virginia 1841-1845 JAMES K. POLK, Tennessee -. 1845-1849 ZACHARY TAYLOR. Louisiana . . . (Died July gth). 1850 t MILLARD FILLMORE, New York 1850-1853 FRANKLIN PIERCE, New Hampshire l ^5j-^57 JAMES BUCHANAN, Pennsylvania 1857-1861 * ABRAHAM LINCOLN, Illinois (Murdered April 14111). 1861-1865 t ANDREW JOHNSON, Tennessee 1865-1869 * Re-elected. } Elected vice-presidents, and succeeded to the Presidency through accidental vacancies. Population of the original Thirteen States in 1870. Connecticut 537,454 Delaware 125,015 Virginia 1,225,163 New York 4,382,759 New Hampshire 318,300 New Jersey 906,096 North Carolina . . 1,071,361 South Carolina 705,606 Maryland 7^0.894 Pennsylvania . . . 3>5 2I ,95I Georgia 1,184,109 Rhode Island 2I 7-353 Massachusetts 1,457,351 POPULATION OF STATES. States admitted after the original Thirteen States. Admitted as States. Population in 1870. I7QI T7O, 'Xl Kentucky I7Q2 1,321 01 i Tennessee . I7q6 i,2=;8,c;2o Ohio I8O2 2,665,260 1812 726. QIC 1816 1,680,637 Mississippi 1817 1818 827,922 2, OQ 8Q I Alabama 1819 1820 996,992 626,0! C l82I I.72I.2QC Arkansas . . .... 1836 4.8d.47I Michigan 1837 1,184,059 184? 187,748 184? 8l8,57Q 184? I.IQ4.O2O \Visconsin 1848 1,054,670 1850 ^60.247 1858 47Q, 706 1859 QO. Q2 3 1861 264.^00 1862 4A2.OI4 1864 42.4QI Nebraska 1867 122 QQ7 Of the above States, five were formed on territory belonging in. 1789 to one or another of the Original Thirteen States: Vermont was taken from New York ; Kentucky and West Virginia from Virginia; Tennessee from North Carolina; Maine from Massa- chusetts. The populations of these States, or at least of Vermont, Maine and West Virginia, should, for purposes of comparison, be added to the populations of the States from which they were sev- erally taken. ACQUISITION OF TERRITORY nK UNITED STATES i/7 - IBSB. HISTORY QF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. AMERICA : ITS GEOGRAPHY AND NATIVES. Geography of America (i) two views of American geography (2) geography of the United States (3) position of America towards other countries (4) the cotst of America (5) the northern coast (6) the natives (7) division of races (>} thf. civilized races (9) the Peruvians (10) the Mexicans (li) the islanders (12) the Red Indians (13). I. Geography of America. Before entering upon the his- tory of any people, it is well to get a distinct idea of the land in which they dwell. This knowledge is especially need- ful in the case of newly settled nations like the European colonies in America. For there is one great point of differ- ence between the present inhabitants of America and the rest of the civilized nations of the world. Except the .English settlers in Australia and New Zealand, they are the only civilized people of any importance who have entered into their present dwelling-place in times of which we have full and clear accounts. Of the great nations of Europe and Asia some were settled in their present abodes in times so early that we know nothing certain s B 2 AMERICA: ITS GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. about them. The greater part moved in times of which we kncv^ something", often indeed a good deal, but of which we have no exact history. It is always very difficult to say how .far the condition a-id Character of a nation are the result of the physical features of the country in which it dwells, or of other causes which we cannot trace. But in looking at the present nations of America, we have this great advantage. We can see the countiy as it was before the inhabitants came to it, and we can see the inhabitants as they were be r ore they came to the country. For they went there in times when nearly as much was known about the chief nations of Europe as is now. Thus we can compare the people as they were before they came to America with what their descendants became afterwards, and we can also com- pare those descendants with the descendants of the men who stayed at home in Europe ; and as we also have full knowledge of all that has befallen them since they went out, we can to some extent make out how far their history since has been affected by the nature of the land in which they dwell, and how far by other causes. With every country it is needful to know something of its geography before we can understand its history, but this is especially needful in America. There is no reason for thinking that the character of the country has had more influence on the history of the people there than elsewhere, but the influence which it has had is more important to us, because we can make out mure about it. 2. Two views of American Geography. There are two ways in which the geography of a country may be looked at. We may look at it, so to speak, from within and from without. We may consider the country merely as one of the various parts of which the world is made up, and see how it stands towards other countries, how it is separated from them, and how it may be most easily I.] GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 3 reached from them : or we may consider the country by itself, setting all other lands aside for the moment, and concerning ourselves entirely with its internal character, its shape, soil, climate, and the like. In order to understand the history of the American settlements, we must look at the geography of America in each of these ways. As the founders of the settlements with which we have to deal came from Europe, we must see how America stood towards Europe, from what parts of Europe it could be most easily reached, and in what parts of America men sailing thence would be likely to settle. Secondly, we must look at the country in which the settlers established themselves, and see what effects it was likely to have on the inhabitants ; how far it was suited to trade, how far to agriculture, and generally what sort of a state was likely to grow up in such a country. 3. Geography of the United States. However, the subject before us is not the history of America, but only of a certain part of it, namely, of those English colonies which have since become the United States ; therefore we are only concerned with the internal geography of so much of the country as those States occupy. That is, we have to look at a strip of Urnd along the Atlantic coast of America, nearly ,2,000 miles long, and at most parts about 200 miles broad. The present boundary of the States indeed extends much farther inland, and so did their professed boundary when they were first settled. But, as is almost always the case in a newly colonized country, all the settle- ments of any importance were along the coast, and, as they extended inland, those that were near the coast still kept the lead in politics and education and general activity. So that, just as for a time the history of Europe was little more than the history of the nations along the coast of the Mediterranean, so the history of the United States has been B 2 4 AMERICA : ITS GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. hitherto the history of the English settlements along the coast of the Atlantic. 4. Position of America towards other Countries. Before going into the internal geography of the United States, it will be as well to look at the subject in the other way, and to consider how America stands towards other coun- tries. The first thing probably which strikes everyone on looking at a map of America is its complete separation from the rest of the world. There is, we may say, no part of the eastern coast less than 3,000 miles from Europe, and no part of the western less than 6,000 from Asia. Towards the north both Asia and Europe are much nearer to America, but in those parts the cold is so great, the soil so barren, and the sea so unfit for navigation, that it is scarcely possible for men to exist on either side in a state of civilization, or if they did, to emigrate from one continent to the other. As far then as we are concerned, America is separated from Europe by the whole of the Atlantic ocean, and from Asia" by the whole of the Pacific. We can also at once see that America reaches almost in a straight line from north to south, forming a sort of bar across the western half of the world, and facing Europe on the one side and Asia on the other. We can see too that in order to reach the west coast from Europe or the east coast from Asia, one would have to sail right round Africa. So it is clear that no one in the common course of things would ever sail from Europe to America except across the Atlantic, or from Asia across the Pacific. Thus America is twice as far from Asia as it is from Europe. Nor is this all. If we look at any map of America in which the height of the ground is shown, we shall at once see a great difference between the eastern, or, as we may call it, the European, and the western or Asiatic coast. A chain of mountains runs along the whole length of the continent, not like a backbone, down the middle, but all along the I.] THE COAST OF AMERICA. 5 west side, forming a sort of wall between the mainland and the Pacific. In many places these mountains form steep precipices close to the shore, and there is scarcely a single spot on the whole coast where land does not almost at once rise more than 500 feet above the sea. To make this barrier more complete, the face of these mountains is in many parts covered with thick woods, and, as we can easily see, it was just as impossible for men coming from the east to make their way into the country by water as by land. For, except far north, there is not on the west side of America a single river large enough to be of any use to expeditions of settlers wishing to make their way inland. And moreover the greater part of the coast is barren and unhealthy, and badly supplied with fresh water. If, on the other hand, we look at the opposite coast, we shall see that its whole character is quite different. For nearly the whole length of it consists of low land sloping down to the sea, and all the rivers of the American continent flow into it ; and it is well supplied with harbours and fertile islands within easy reach of the mainland, where ships could stop and take in supplies of food and water. Putting together all these differences, and remembering that the voyage from Asia to America was twice as long as that from Europe, we can see that those European nations who could sail their ships on the Atlantic were almost sure to be the colonizers of America. 5. The Coast of America. Another point to be noticed is that, as the coast line of America runs almost directly north and south, there was the greatest possible difference of latitude, and therefore of climate, between the various parts of the coast. Besides this, there were other points of difference between the various parts of the eastern coast. It was all well supplied with rivers and harbours, and none of it fenced in by mountains. But the most northerly part was cold and barren, and unlikely to tempt either colonists 6 AMERICA: ITS GEOGRAPHY. [CHAP. or traders. Then a long stretch of coast going southward from the river Orinoco was unhealthy, and the land could hardly be traversed, partly for fear of wild beasts and partly from the vast growth of forest and underwood ; and the rivers, although broad, were so swift as to be difficult to sail up, and full of alligators, and it was unsafe to halt on the banks. To the south of this again there was a tract of fertile land fit for settlements. But as this was much farther from Europe than the more northerly parts, settlers would not be likely to go there as long as any of the country which could be more easily reached was unoccupied. So that the land which was in every way most fit for settlements was that which lay somewhat to the south-west of Europe, stretching from the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the north to the mouth of the Orinoco on the south. This is not all mainland. For from Point Sable at the end of the promontory of Florida where the coast turns northward, to the island of Trinidad where the coast, after winding round the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, again turns south, there is a belt of islands running right across from point to point. And since the widest outlet between any of these islands is less than 100 miles, men sailing from Europe could hardly fail to light on them before they reached the mainland beyond. And as these islands are fertile and well watered, and have many good harbours, we can see that the possession of them would be a great advantage to any nation attempting to colonize the main- land. For an island, if well supplied with necessaries, is a far more secure position for a small force than any point on the mainland can be ; especially for those who can command the sea and have nothing to fear from their neighbours ex- cept by land. And men who had once established themselves in these islands could form small settlements and make forts and build fleets, and so use the islands as stepping-stones to I.] THE NORTHERN COAST. ^ farther conquests on the mainland. So that whatever civi- lized nation held these islands held the key of America, and had it in its power to colonize the mainland both to the north and south, and to keep out other nations, so far as its resources and the number of settlers that it could spare might allow. 6. The Northern Coast. The coast however which lies just to the north-west of these islands is that on which the English colonies were placed, and with which therefore we are most concerned. One can easily see that there is no tract along the whole coast of America better supplied with harbours and navigable rivers. It will be seen too that there is no chain of mountains of any importance for nearly 250 miles inland. Of the nature of the soil, the chief thing to be noticed is that along the greater part of the coast, the most fertile land, or at least that which was best fitted for growing corn and the other necessaries of life, is cut off from the sea by a belt of poorer soil. Thus the general tendency of the settle- ments was to extend inland, as there were neither mountains nor forests to hinder them, and the rivers offered easy means of carriage. As was said before, the history of the United States is the history of a strip of land along the Atlantic coast; but it is also the history of a movement fiom that coast towards the west. But it must be remembered that this movement was always an extension and not a migra- tion ; that is to say, that it was mad: not by the inhabitants of the coast leaving their abodes and moving inland, but by new settlers, or those born in America who wanted land, gradually moving westward without losing their connexion with the original settlements. Of course, over such a vast tract of country there were great differences in soil and climate, and other retpects, but it will be best to speak of these when we come to deal one by one with the history of the separate States. 8 AMERICA: ITS NATIVES. [CHAP. 7. The Natives. There is another subject besides the geography of America at which we must look if we would understand in what sort of a country the European colonists had to settle. They found men already dwelling in all those parts of America which they explored, and the character of these inhabitants had a great effect on the colonies. It will be most convenient for our purpose to divide these people into three groups. Firstly, there were those nations who in many things were quite as clever and skilful as any of the inhabitants of Europe, and had as much or more knowledge of many matters, such as farm- ing, road-making, building, carpentry, and working in gold and silver, and who may therefore be fairly called civilized. Then there were those who were not nearly so advanced in those acquirements, but who yet had so much knowledge of many of the useful arts that we must call them at least half- civilized. Lastly, there were those who understood as little ot those things as is possible for any nation who live together in settled groups and are at all better than wild beasts, and these we may call savages. These three groups will answer roughly to three geographical divisions. The first group will occupy the whole of the mountain-chain along the west coast, from the south of Peru to the north of Mexico, and will include four nations, the Peruvians, the Muyscans, the Mexicans, and the Tlascalans. But they can only be roughly described as occupying this region, since the Peruvians are separated from the Muyscans and the Muyscans from the Mexicans by wide districts inhabited by tribes of the second, or half-civilized, class. The Tlascalans were just to the east of Mexico near the coast, and they seem to have been the only important tribe that kept its independence when the Mexicans conquered the rest of the neighbouring countries. Besides the interval of country just mentioned between the greater nations, the second group inhabited the whole coast I.] DIVISION OF RACES. 9 from the mouth of the Orinoco to the north side of the Gulf of Mexico, and all the islands of that coast. The third group, that with which we are most closely concerned, occu- pied all the country that now forms the territory of the United States, of Canada, and some parts of Mexico. 8. Division of Races. It must be understood that such a division as this is not like that which is usually made of the nations of Europe and Asia, when they are divided into races or families. For then we may say distinctly that a nation is Teutonic, or Celtic, or Slavonic, or it may be a mixture of Celtic and Teutonic. But in our division of the natives of America into three groups, some tribes are just on the line between the groups, so that one person might place them in one group and another in another, and it would be difficult to say whether a particular nation was at the bottom of one class or at the top of another. This being so, we have no names by which exactly to describe each of the three groups. With the first this need cause no difficulty, for it includes only four nations, and we shall seldom have occasion to speak of them as forming one class. With the others the case is different ; for they are made up of so many small and scattered tribes, each with a name of its own, that it would be quite impossible to deal with them without some name which takes in the whole group. The name which was given by the first settlers to all the natives alike, and which has come down to our own time, is Indians, while the third group, or at least the chief part of it, is distinguished as Red Indians. This name of Indians grew out of a mistake made by the early voyagers as to the geography of America. For, knowing nothing of the western side of America, and very little of the eastern parts of Asia, they had no idea that these were separated by a vast ocean, but believed that they were all parts of one country, and this they called The Indies. Then, for the sake of clearness, they 10 AMERICA : ITS NA TIVES. [CHAP. called what they believed to be the two sides of this coast, The East and West Indies, according as they were reached from Europe by sailing east or west. Soon after its discovery the mainland got the name of America from an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, who was one of the first voyagers thither. But those parts which alone were known to the first dis- coverers, namely, the islands outside the Mexican Gulf, still kept the name of The West Indies, and keep it to this day. And though we have so far got rid of this mode of speaking that we never make use of the name of India except for a particular part of Asia, we still keep the old use, not only in the name of the West Indies, but when we speak of the East India Company and the East India Docks, and the like. And the name Indian now usually means a native of America, not of India itself. It will be most convenient to give this name to our third group, and to call them simply Indians, and when we have occasion to speak of the second group to call them the Indians of South America, or of the Islands, as the case may be. Only it must be remembered that this way of speaking, like many others in history, which it is impossible to avoid, had its origin in a mistake. 9. The Civilized Races. Our knowledge of the first of these three groups comes almost wholly from Spanish writers, who describe the conquest of America by Spain. These writers seldom cared to inquire into the history and customs of the natives, except so far as they have something to do with the conquest. Thus, as the Muys- cans and Tlascalans were never conquered at a single stroke like the Mexicans and Peruvians, we hear but little of them. The Tlascalans differed from the others in their government, which was much more free, and they seem to have been the bravest and most warlike of all the civilized nations of America. The other three nations were all alike in two important points. Each was governed by a I.] THE CIVILIZED RACES. II hereditary line of monarchs, and each believed that in former times some man of a superior race had visited them and taught them their religion and many of their arts. All of them seem to have been as well supplied with the com- forts of life as any of the nations of Europe in that age. They were skilful husbandmen, and built good houses and richly decorated temples, and in their dress they studied both ornament and comfort, and they worked cleverly with gold and silver and precious stones. In one of the most useful arts, that of road-making, the Mexicans and Peruvians were both far in advance of the Europeans of that age. For though both countries were woody and mountainous, there were roads between all the great cities, and in Peru there was a great high road as wonderful as any work ever made by human hands. It was nearly 200 miles long, and in places it was carried by galleries and terraces and staircases along the side of precipices ; and steep ravines were either filled up with masonry or had hanging bridges thrown across them. On all the great roads, both in Peru and Mexico, there were stations at short intervals, with messengers, kept by the Go- vernment, who ran from one to the other. In this way, without the use of steam or horses, messages, and even goods, could be sent at the rate of 200 miles a day. So that it is said that, though the city of Mexico was 200 miles inland, yet fish from the sea was served at the Emperor's table only twenty- four hours after it was caught. In the art of fortification they seem to have been little, if at all, behind Europeans. For near Cuzco, the great city of Peru, was a fortress 1,200 feet long, all built of finely wrought stones closely fitted together without mortar, and this was joined to the city by underground galleries. They also understood how to make the best of naturally strong places by building their fortresses on the edge of precipices, and cutting away rocks so as only to leave a steep face. The Tlaslacans had enclosed their whole 12 AMERICA : ITS NA TIVES. [CHAP. country with a wall, and its entrance was so arranged that anyone coming in was liable to be shot at by archers and spearmen, who were themselves behind the wall. In Peru and Mexico all the public buildings, the temples and palaces and market-places and gardens, were larger and in many ways more beautiful than anything of the kind in Europe. What makes all this the more wonderful is that the people had no knowledge of the use of iron, nor any wheeled carriages, nor beasts of burthen able to bear any great weight, so that everything had to be done by men's hands with scarcely any help. 10. The Peruvians. Though the Peruvians and Mexicans were in many ways alike, still there were points in which they differed widely, and to understand these we must consider the two nations separately. The country of Peru formed a strip of land along the west coast about 3,000 miles long and 400 or 500 broad ; a great part of this is occupied by high mountains. But the valleys between, and even parts of the mountain slopes, were fertile, and ^everything was done by watering and skilful husbandry to make the best of the soil, and all the country except the very highest ground was thickly peopled. The inhabitants were probably the most civilized of all the nations of America, and in one way at least they were the most remarkable of all the races of the earth of whom we know anything. There is no people told of in history who lived so completely according to the will of their rulers, and who had all the arrangement of their life and all their doings so completely settled for them. They were governed by a hereditary line of Emperors, called Incas. These Incas were believed to be, and probably were, of a different race from the rest of the Peruvians ; and the Inca nobility, the kindred of the Emperor, held all the great offices, and seemed to have been the only persons who enjoyed any kind of freedom. All the land was divided into three parts one for the Sun, whom they I.] THE PERUVIANS. 13 worshipped as a god, another for the Inca, and the rest for the nation. The first two shares were cultivated by all the people working together, and then they were free to till their own land. This third portion was from time to time divided into lots, and one of these lots given to every man in the nation, a larger or smaller lot according to the number of his family, to be held till the land was again divided. All the produce of the country besides what was grown on the soil was got from the mines and from beasts, wild and tame. All these belonged to the Inca, and all the labour of getting in the produce and making it into useful articles was done by the people working without pay as his servants. Then from the stores so procured such things as were needed by the people, clothes and the like, were served out as they were wanted. As the land allotted to each man was only enough to feed himself and his family, no one could have any pro- perty except his house and land ; and there was no buying and selling, and no man could grow rich except the Inca or his kindred, who were freed from work and perhaps had estates of their own. But though the people lived in this way, little better than slaves, they seem to have been well off for all bodily comforts, and to have been most carefully watched over by the Incas, that none might be overworked and all well cared for in old age and sickness. As there was no trade, and no one except the Inca and his chief nobles had anything to do with the government, the only things besides manual labour in which the mass of the people were concerned were religion and war. Their religion consisted for the most part of the worship of the Sun. They had indeed other gods, but the Sun was by far the most important. As we have seen, a third of the land was set aside for the Sun, and the produce was used to maintain a great number of priests, and to pro- vide great public festivals, at which wine and food were offered to their god. This worship of the Sun may be said to have I 4 AMERICA: ITS NATIVES. [CHAP. been in a manner the object for which the nation existed. For all its wars, like those of the Mahometans, were made to extend the religion of the nation and to force other people to worship as they did. Yet their religion seems to have done very little towards quickening their minds, nor do their priests seem to have had much influence over them, nor to have taught them to think about matters of right andwrong. Indeed in general it would seem as if the Peruvians had very little power of thinking. For, even in those arts in which they excelled, they do not seem to have had any turn for invention, or for anything more than doing well and carefully what their fathers had done before them. Moreover, as everything was done for them by the Incas, and no man could get rich by his own skill or wit, or in any way advance himself, a clever man was no becter off than a stupid one, and there was nothing to sharpen men's .powers and to teach them to act and think for themselves. Such an empire, however great and power- ful it might seem, rested on no sure foundation. For if any mischance befell the Inca, the whole empire was left helpless, and the different parts of it had no power of protecting them- selves. For though the skill of the Peruvians in fortification and making weapons and the like might enable them to con- quer neighbouring nations who were backward in such things, yet this would profit them little against civilized enemies. The very size of the empire too was a source of weakness: for it is Always hard to manage and guard the distant frontier of a great empire, especially when it is made up of newly-conquered, and perhaps unfriendly, provinces. For in such there will almost always be some disobedience and some remains of hatred ; and a crafty enemy will make use of these, and so turn the strength of the empire against itself and almost conquer it by the hands of its own subjects. 1 1. The Mexicans. The Mexicans, although in some I.] THE ISLANDERS. ways like the Peruvians, differed from them in many im- portant points. Though under the government of a single ruler, they enjoyed far greater freedom in the general affairs of life. Men bought and sold and got wealth, and rich merchants occupied positions of great dignity in the state. In handicrafts they were perhaps scarcely equal to the Peruvians ; but in other and more important matters they were far ahead of them. For while the Peruvians had no alphabet, and nothing of the kind better than knots tied on pieces of string as tokens, the Mexicans had a system of writing, in which they did not use letters, but signified things by pictures and emblems. The priests also, who were the most learned class among them, had gone far in the knowledge of astronomy. Their religion, unlike that of the Peruvians, seems to have had a great influence on their conduct, and dwelt much on their good and bad deeds and the importance of right and wrong in the sight of God ; and it taught them to humble themselves and make amends for their sins by fasts and penances. But there was one feature in their religion which quite outweighed any good that it might have done. For they sacrificed men^ and that not on rare occasions, but commonly and in great numbers, and feasted solemnly on their flesh. They were fierce and cruel in their dealings with the neighbouring countries, and some of these they had overcame, and others, like Tlascala, were still independent and at war with them. Though the people were a far abler and less slavish race than the Peruvians, the empire was beset by the same danger. For its frontier was threatened alike by unfaithful subjects and open enemies. 12. The Islanders. Of our second group, the people of the islands and the neighbouring mainland, it is not need- ful to say much. They were divided into many small tribes living in separate villages, each governed by a chief 16 AMERICA : ITS NA TIVES. [CHAP. or Cacique of its own, and having little to do with one another either in the way of friendship or of war. They dwelt in stone houses, and lived chiefly by tillage, depend- ing but little either on hunting or fishing. They seem to have had most of the comforts of life and to have shown some skill in handicrafts ; but, scattered as they were in small groups, they could accomplish nothing like the great works and buildings of Mexico and Peru. They were kindly and well-disposed people, peaceable among them- selves and hospitable to strangers. But they were weak in body and mind, and in no way fit to resist an enemy that came against them in any force. For they had neither the strength of the civilized man which lies in fortresses and military engines, nor that of the savage in hardihood and cunning and being able to leave his home at a moment's notice and plunge into the forest. So these islanders were at the mercy of any civilized nation that attacked them, and might almost be called born slaves. 13. The Red Indians. The thvd group contains those with whom the English settlers had to deal, and it is therefore needful that we should have a clear idea of what manner of people they were. In judging of what they were when the settlers came among them, we must be careful not to be misled by those who have only seen them in later times ; for those white men who have had most to do with the Indians have been traders whose only object was to make money out of them, and who have seldom scrupled to cheat and injure them. Even the Mis- sionaries, and those who wished well to the Indians, have for the most part only seen them after the traders had brought in drunkenness and other vices, and taught them to distrust all white men as enemies and knaves, so that we can only learn the real character of the Indians from the first explorers who saw them before any white men had come among them, I.] THE RED INDIANS. 17 and from those travellers who have been in districts where the traders had scarcely made their way. The account that we have from these writers is very different from, and on the whole much more favourable than, that generally given. Nothing could be more different than the life of these northern nations from that of the civilized races of America. The Indians were divided into a vast number of tribes, the largest of which numbered about forty or fifty thousand, while most of them were much smaller. Each of these tribes had its own territory, and was quite independent of the rest, and only in one instance do they seem to have attempted to unite in larger bodies. In the northern countries on each side of the Canadian lakes there was a league or confederacy, con- sisting at one time of five and at another of six of the most powerful and warlike nations. But this seems to have been the only attempt of the kind. All the tribes of any size were subdivided into villages, which were almost independent, each managing its own affairs under its own chief. Each tribe was governed by a hereditary head chief, but, as is always the case where there are no written laws and scarcely a fixed system of government, the authority of these head chiefs varied greatly. An able and ambitious chief was really the king of the nation, and arranged matters after his own will ; but with a weak or easy-tempered head, the under-chiefs, or sachems, as they were called, governed their own villages much as they pleased. In no case however did the chief either of a tribe or of a nation govern by his own arbitrary will, but all important matters were settled by public meetings, at which every man renowned either for wisdom or courage was entitled to be heard. As might be supposed, a people living in this scattered fashion had none of the arts of life but in the simplest and rudest forms. They tilled the soil, after a fashion, and grew scanty crops of corn and vegetables ; but this labour was considered disgraceful and left entirely to the c 1 3 AMERICA: ITS NATIVES. [CHAP. women ; they knew nothing about building in stone, but lived, some in huts made of timber daubed with mud, such as is often used now in English farm-buildings, and most of them in tents made of poles and skins. Yet it seems as if they neglected all useful industry rather because their mode of life did not need it, and could not indeed have been much bettered by it, than from any incapacity. For they showed themselves in no way unskilful in those few handicrafts to which they did apply themselves. Living in a country full of lakes and rivers, they needed boats, and these they made with great skill. Some tribes indeed hollowed them out of single logs by a slow and toilsome process, but others made them of wicker-work covered with birch bark skilfully sewn together. Many of their articles, such as hatchets, bows, lances, shields and pipes, were cleverly constructed, and often tastefully ornamented ; and they showed great skill in dressing skins for their clothes, and decorating their robes and head- dresses with feathers. As the woods swarmed with game, which gave them all they wanted in the way of food and clothing, it is not easy to see what need they had for mecha- nical arts, or in what way such knowledge would have made them happier. For we must not suppose that the degraded and unhappy life which they have been seen leading in modern times is anything like their natural condition. On the contrary, they seem to have been a remarkably happy and cheerful people, fond of amusements and games, and clever in contriving them. Besides the games of ball in which the whole tribe joined, they had public dances and sham fights, both conducted with regular movements, which could only be learned by careful study and drill. One matter in which all the tribes seemed to have resembled one another more or less, was their religion. There were various points of difference, and some tribes had different modes of worship from others, yet all alike believed in one supreme God, or Great I.] THE RED INDIANS. 19 Spirit, as they called Him. They believed that He watched all their actions and rewarded and punished them, and they sought to please Him by penances, and prayers and fastings, and by great public feasts, though not, as it seems, by human sacrifices as the Mexicans did. They also believed that men would live again after death, and be happy or miserable according as they deserved well or ill in this world. Though they were so far behind the other nations of America in mechanical skill, yet in sagacity and political cleverness they were probably in advance of them ; for, living as they did in small bodies, where each man had a voice in affairs, every man's wits were called out to the utmost, and no one was suffered to become a mere machine. Their two chief pursuits, hunting and war, had the same effect. For hunting, especially when done not for sport but to get food, not only makes men strong and active and quickens their eyesight, but teaches them readiness and patience. And their system of war was not like that of civilized soldiers, where only one man in a thousand has to think and the rest have little more to do than to obey, but they went out in small parties, sometimes of two or three ; and there was scarcely any hand-to-hand fighting, but everything lay in outwitting and surprising the enemy. They did not think mere strength and courage without wit enough for a ruler, for in many tribes there were two chiefs, one to govern in peace and the other to lead in war ; and in some cases chiefs who had lost the use of their limbs, but whose wisdom was highly valued, still kept their power,- -and we even read of women chiefs. Speaking gene- rally, they seem to have been good friends and dangerous foes, kind and hospitable to strangers so long as they suspected no guile, but utterly merciless when they had once begun a quarrel. For of their faults cruelty was by far the worst, and in war they spared neither women nor children, and not content with killing their prisoners, they put them to dreadful C 2 20 AMERICA: ITS NATIVES. [CHAP. tortures. Yet it must be said that, if they were ready to inflict torture, they were likewise ready to bear it ; and indeed an Indian prisoner would have felt insulted if he had been merely put to death without a chance of showing what torments he could undergo quietly. Nor must we forget that it is only quite lately that civilized men in Europe have ceased to inflict sufferings on one another fully as great, both in war and in the execution of cruel laws. Such a people as this, one can easily see, would be stubborn foes for any strangers to deal with. Their country too was ill-suited for civilized troops. For as there were no cities or storehouses, and scarcely any crops, it would be hardly pos- sible for large bodies of men who did not know the country to maintain themselves. Moreover, the two great advantages which civilized men possess in war, horses and fire-arms, would be of much less value in such a country. For among rivers and forests horses are of little use, and, without horses and waggons to carry ammunition, fire-arms lose half their value. So altogether, settlers in such a country might look for a very different resistance from that to be found in the islands, or even in Peru and Mexico. It has been necessary to say as much as this about the various races of natives, for without having a clear idea of them we cannot understand the differences that there were between the various European Colonies. II.] THE L1SCOVERY OF AMERICA. 21 CHAPTER II. THE EUROPEAN SETTLKMENTS IN AMERICA DURING THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 77/i? discovery of Amer'ca (i) Christopher CoJnmlms (2) Sebastian Cabot (3) ccnquest of Mexico (4) conquest of Peru (5) Spaniards on the northern coast (6) the French in Floriia (7) character of the Spanish conqit.sts (8) the early English vovagers (9) raids on the Spanish colonies (10) Gilbert's v y- age (n) Raleigh 's first colony (12) -RaUigKs second colony (13) prospects of English colonization (14). I. The Discovery of America. In studying the discovery of America and the first attempts at settlement there, two things must always be borne in mind. In the first place, it is really not at all easy to understand how enormous a difference the discovery of America made to the world. We are so familiar with the world as it is, that it is difficult to imagine it as it seemed to those who lived in the fifteenth century. We must remember that not only was America then undiscovered, but other large parts of the world, as we know it, were either actually unknown, or known only in a hazy and uncertain fashion. We must remember too that only a few specially learned and far-sighted men had any idea that there were other lands beyond those that they knew. So that the discovery of America was not like the exploration of a new country which is believed to exist, but of whose nature men are ignorant ; it was, as it is often called, the discovery of a New World, of a world whose existence was never suspected by most men. And we can best understand how great a change this must have seemed 22 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. by looking at a map of the world as it really is and at one of the world as it was then supposed to be. In the second place, we must remember that, like many things of which we are apt to speak as if they had been done at a single stroke, the discover}' of America was really a very gradual process. Columbus himself, the first discoverer, possibly never knew that he had found a new Continent ; and many years passed before men fully understood how America stood to the rest of the world. This ignorance of what lay beyond had a great deal to do with the adventurous spirit in which the men of that age went to America. For the further they went the more wonderful the New World became ; and even when the bounds of it had been reached, there was nothing to tell them that there were not things more marvellous beyond. 2. Christopher Columbus. Before the end of the fifteenth century, the only nations of Europe that had made much progress in seamanship were the Portuguese and the Italians. The Portuguese were the most enterprising voyagers, and had sailed along the coast of Africa and to the Canary Islands. But the Italians seem to have been the most scientific geographers and the most far-seeing about the unknown portions of the world. There does not however seem to have been much zeal about voyages of discovery in Italy itself, and all the great Italian navigators of that age made their discoveries in the ships of other countries. Of these navigators Christopher Columbus was the first and greatest. Whether he hoped by sailing to the west to discover a new continent, or only to get a direct route to Eastern Asia, it is hard to say. Whatever his scheme may have been, he had no small trouble to get the means for trying it. For after spending some eight years in seeking to persuade various sovereigns and great men to employ him in a voyage of discovery, he at last with great difficulty II.] SEBASTIAN CABOT. 23 got what he wanted from the sovereigns of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. On the 3rd of August, 1492, he sailed with three ships, and on the I2th of October landed on the island which the Spaniards afterwards called Hispaniola and we now St. Domingo. He there founded a town and named it St. Salvador, and Spanish settlements soon spread over the island. But it was about twenty years before they extended to the neighbouring islands or the mainland. 3. Sebastian Cabot. The next great discovery was made four years later, and is one of special interest to English- men. In 1497, Sebastian Cabot, a Genoese by descent, but born and bred in England, set sail from Bristol with a ship manned by Englishmen, and discovered Newfound- land and all the coast north of Florida. Thus, though Columbus discovered the islands, Cabot was the first European who is known for certain to have sailed to the mainland of America. On the strength of his voyage, England for a long while after put forward a special claim to the land to which he had sailed. In that age it was customary for such adventurers to obtain a patent from the sovereign of the country from which they sailed. This patent was a document giving various privileges, such as the right of importing merchandise free of duty, and often granting some authority over any land that might be discovered. Cabot had obtained such a patent before his first voyage, and on his return he procured a fresh one, and made a second voyage, of which no details are known. In 1501 three Bristol merchants and three Portu- guese obtained a patent from the English king, and it seems likely that some voyages were made about this time, but nothing certain is known about them. In any case, it did not seem as if England was likely to take a leading part in the settlement of America for at that time she was quite unfit for any great undertakings on the sea. She had no 24 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. large ships or skilful seamen, and, except a few boats that sailed north for fish from Bristol and other ports in the west, all her merchandise was carried in foreign vessels. And Henry VII., who then reigned, was a cautious and somewhat miserly king, and very unlikely to risk anything for an un- certain return. So, looking at all the nations of Europe, it seemed as if Spain alone was likely to do anything impor- tant in America. The Portuguese were taken up with their voyages to the coast of Africa, and the French seemed fully occupied at home. For though in 1524 Verrazzani, another Italian navigator, was sent out by the k : ng of France, Francis I., and made great discoveries on the American coast, yet France was too much taken up with her long and unsuccessful war with Spain for these discoveries to be followed further. Soon after that the country was torn to pieces with civil wars, and had no time for distant enter- prises. Thus during the sixteenth century France had very little to do with the colonization of America. There were moreover many things in the character and temper of the Spaniards which specially fitted them for such a task. For many years they had been engaged in almost continuous war with the Moors, and this had given them a great love of adventure for its own sake, and a great desire for preaching Christianity to the heathen, and, if necessary, for forcing them to accept it. And it required some strong passions like these to make men face all the dangers which lay before them in the New World. 4. Conquest of Mexico. For the first twenty years the Spaniards kept almost entirely to Hispaniola, and only a few unimportant settlements were made on the mainland or on the neighbouring islands, and most of them were not regular settlements, but only stations for pearl fishing. It was not till 1518 that any great attempt was made on the mainland. In that year, Velasquez, the governor of His- II.] CONQUEST OF MEXICO. 25 paniola, sent out a small fleet to explore the mainland. As this fleet did not return so soon as he expected, he sent out a larger expedition, with about 550 Spaniaids and 300 Indians. The command of this expedition was given to Hernando Cortez, a man of thirty-three, who had distinguished himself by courage and sagacity in an ex- pedition on the mainland, but had never held any important office. Soon after he reached the mainland he got tidings of the great empire and city of Mexico. Hearing that the people were heathens and had much gold, he resolved to disregard his orders, and with his small force to march to the city and compel the people to become Christians and acknowledge the King of Spain as their lord. He made allies of the nations by the way, subduing some by arms and persuading others, and causing all of them to be baptized. But naturally these new-made allies were of no great value, and could not be trusted in time of need, and all that Cortez could really depend on were his 550 Spaniards. With these and some of the others he marched into the city of Mexico. There he established himself, and was at first received by the people as the friend of their emperor, and dwelt in one of the palaces, and before long forced the emperor himself to live there as a sort of state prisoner. The Mexicans soon resented this, and open war broke out. After various changes of fortune, and being once driven out of the city, in 1521 Cortez finally conquered Mexico. He had by that time received more than one reinforcement from home, but these only filled the places of those whom he had lost, so that at the last he had less than 600 Spaniards with whom to conquer the great empire. Such a force would have been utterly unequal to the task but for three things. They had horses and fire-arms, neither of which the natives had ever seen ; and in Cortez himself they had one cf the wisest and bravest captains that ever lived. To conquer 26 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. such an empire with such a force was a wonderful exploit, but there were many things which made it even more won- derful than it seems. For Cortez had no authority from the governor of Hispaniola for what he was doing, and was in constant dread of being recalled. One Narvaez was actually sent out with a fresh force to bring him back. But Cortez defeated Narvaez and joined this force to his own, and so turned what was meant for a hindrance into a help. Not only was his force small, but the men were such as he could hardly trust ; nor was there anything in the former deeds of Cortez to put his soldiers in awe of him or to give them con- fidence in his success. So little faith indeed had he in their loyalty, that he sunk his fleet to guard against any chance of their deserting him. The Tlascalans too. and the other native allies, were but an uncertain support, and apt to fail him when things went badly with him and he most needed their aid. But what was more wonderful still, and far more honourable to Cortez, was that he not only conquered Mexico, but having conquered it, ruled it well and protected the natives against the Spaniards. Not indeed that he, any more than the rest of his countrymen, was perfectly free from blame. In establishing his power he did things which we in this day should deem atrociously cruel. But these were all done in establishing Christianity and Spanish rule, things which Cortez firmly believed to be for the good of the Mexicans. They were not done, like many of the Spanish cruelties elsewhere, from lust of gold or in mere wantonness. Moreover, after the war had once begun, the Mexicans, unlike the natives elsewhere, provoked the Spaniards by acts of great ferocity. When we consider what it is to keep men in order who have just won a great victory and are all claiming their reward, and how completely the other Spanish conquerors failed in this matter, we see that Cortez was something far more than a great general. Through n.] CONQUEST OF PERU. 27 his efforts the state of the natives was always far better in Mexico than in the other Spanish provinces. 5. Conquest of Peru. Immediately after the conquest of Mexico the other great Spanish conquest took place, that which we may say gave Spain possession of South America. In 1512, one Vasco Nunez, a man of great wisdom and courage, had set out from Darien, one of the earliest Spanish settlements on the east coast, and marched across the Isthmus of Panama, and had seen the Pacific ocean and heard of the rich lands beyond. But he quar- relled with the governor of Darien and was put to death as a traitor, and for the time nothing came of his dis- coveries. In 1525, Francis Pizarro, a kinsman of Cortex, who no doubt had the conquest of Mexico before his eyes as an example, undertook an expedition to the south. He sailed along the west coast and landed in the territory of Peru, and in about nine years completely overthrew the Peruvian empire. Though, as far as mere daring and skill in war go, Pizarro was little if at all behind Cortez, in <. th :r respects he was far inferior. For Cortez undertook a task the like of which no man had ever attempted, and he persuaded his men to follow him in what must have seemed a hopeless and almost a mad enterprise. But Pizarro throughout had the example of Cortez to encourage himself and his followers. Pizarro too was well befriended at home and provided with men and supplies, while Cortez had almost as much to fear from his countrymen behind him as from the enemy in front. After the conquest the real dif- ference was yet more fully shown. For Cortez not only overthrew a great empire, but he succeeded in the harder task of establishing a fresh government in its place, and that among a people of whose history and character he knew but little. But Pizarro utterly failed in this respect. He was himself murdered by conspirators, and the settlers fought 28 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. amongst themselves, and rebelled against the governors that wtre sent out from Spain, and for a while Peru was utterly torn to pieces with conspiracies and civil wars, so that it was nearly twenty years before the country was brought into any kind of order. 6. Spaniards on the Northern Coast. In the meantime, and after this, other discoveries and conquests were made by the Spaniards which in any other age would have seemed wonderful, but which were overshadowed by these two great exploits. Those we may pass over, taking the cases of Mexico and Peru as specimens of the Spanish conquests. One thing however must be noticed. Hitherto the islands had been the great centre of all activity and enterprise among the Spanish settlers. But now the islands became less important, and Mexico and Peru served as t\vo fresh starting-points from which discoveries and conquests were made. This may have had some effect on the English settlements by preventing the Spaniards from occupying the land which we afterwards colonized. For men sailing from the islands would be far more likely to settle on the northern coast than if they made their way inland from Mexico. The ittempts that were made in that direction did not meet with such success as to encourage further efforts. In 1512 one Ponce de Leon had explored Florida in search of a fountain whose water was supposed to give endless life. But instead of finding the fountain, he was killed nine years later by the natives. During the next thirty years the Spaniards made other expeditions into Florida, but they all ended unluckily, either through the hostility of the natives or the difficulties of the country. The fate of these adventurers leads one to think that Cortez and Pizarro might have fared very differently if they had tried their fortunes anywhere tc the north of the Gulf of Mexico. 7. The French in Florida. In 1562 the first attempt ii.] THE FRENCH IN FLORIDA. 29 was made by another European nation to follow the example of Spain. A number of French Protestants settled on the coast of Florida. Many of them were disorderly and lawless, and a party of these got possession of two ships without the leave of Laudonniere, the governor, and betook themselves to piracy. The colony was soon ex- posed to dangers from without as well as from within. The Spanish king Philip, a bigoted Roman Catholic, resolved not to suffer a Protestant colony to settle on the coast cf America, and sent out one Melendez to destroy the French town and establish a Spanish one in its place. He obeyed his orders, fell upon the French and massacred nearly all of them, and founded a Spanish town, which he named St. Augustine. Two years later this massacre was avenged by a French captain, Dominic de Gourgues. At his own expense he fitted out a fleet and sailed to Florida. There he surprised the Spanish settlement, and put to death the greater part of the inhabitants. But this success was not followed up by the French, and Spain kept possession of the country. Dreadful as these doings were, England may be said in some measure to have gained by them. The massacre of the French settlers may have done something to withhold their countrymen from trying their fortunes in the New World, and so may have helped to keep the country open for English colonists. So too De Gourgues' expedition may have taught the Spaniards some caution in dealing with the settlements of other nations. After this St. Augustine continued to be the furthermost point occupied by the Spaniards in that direction. Two voyages of discovery were made towards the north, but nothing came of them, and all the coast beyond Florida was left open to fresh settlers. The Spaniards were fully taken up with their exploits in the south, and had no leisure for exploring the country where there were no gold mines and no great empires or cities to be conquered. 30 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. 8. Character of the Spanish Conquests. Conquests like these could not be accomplished without great suffering to the natives. For though it was some time before the Spanish government openly and professedly allowed the Indians to be used as slaves, and though it never gave the settlers full liberty to do as they pleased with them, yet in most of the colonies the natives were from the very beginning completely at the mercy of the Spaniards. Ten years after the discovery of Hispaniola the natives began to decrease so in numbers that the settlers found it necessary to import slaves from other islands. For they were set to work in the mines and the fields in a manner for which they were wholly unfit Without going through all the sufferings inflicted on them, we may form some idea of what they underwent from the fact that many killed themselves, as the only means of escaping their tormentors. But though the sufferings of the Indians were so great as fully to outweigh any good that was done by the conquest, we must not be too ready to blame the whole Spanish nation. For the men who went to the Spanish settlements were the very dregs, not only of Spain, but of almost every country in Europe, who flocked thither in quest of adventure and gain. And we must not think that this tyranny was any special wicked- ness peculiar to the Spaniards. For from none of the settlers did the natives suffer more than from a colony of Germans, to whom the King of Spain had given a grant of land in America. And there was at least one class of Spaniards who were not merely free from blame in this matter, but deserve the highest praise. For all that could be done to protect the natives and to bring their grievances before the government in Spain, and to improve their condi- tion in every way, was done by the clergy. It is scarcely too- much to say that no class of men ever suffered so much and toiled so unsparingly for the good of their fellow-creatures II.] CUAKACTEK OF THE SPANISH CONQUESTS. Jl as the Spanish priests and missionaries in America. The Spanish government too strove to protect the natives, and holly without success. But Spain was at that time completely taken up with European affairs, and had not leisure enough for a subject of such importance and difficulty. For there could not be a harder task than to restrain such men as the conquerors of Mexico and Peru. They were for the most part reckless men, and their success had increased their confidence, and everyone of them felt that Spain owed him a debt greater than she could ever pay, and most of them were ready to rebel at the least provocation. On various occasions the Spanish government sent out orders strictly forbidding the enslavement of the natives, but was obliged either to withdraw or relax this rule for fear of a rebellion among the settlers. Another great source of mischief was that one cruel or treacherous act would make the inhabitants of a whole district enemies to all strangers, and so introduce war, whjch was always the forerunner of slavery and oppres- sion. Thus one unprincipled man could do an amount of evil which no wisdom or moderation afterwards could repair. What lay at the root of all this evil was the great rapidity with which the conquest was carried out For there are few tasks which need more experience and forethought than the government of a newly-conquered country. Without a care- ful study of the people, and knowledge of their habits and ideas, such a task is a hopeless one. Yet here the Spaniards were suddenly called on to govern a vast country, whose very existence they had not dreamed of forty years before. This was due chiefly to the great riches of the natives, and to their weakness. For if Mexico and Peru had either had less wealth to tempt invaders, or if their spoils had been less easy to win, the conquest would in all probability have been far slower and more gradual. In that case the Spaniards would harv been able to learn more about the people with whom 32 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT f If AMERICA. [CHAP. they were dealing, and would have had more sympathy with them. Then probably the conquest of Mexico would have been done bit by bit, like the English conquest of India, and although it might have been attended by much evil, it would have had many good results too, instead of being, as it was, almost an unmixed curse both to the conquerors and the conquered. 9. The Early English Voyagers. While all these things were being done, it seemed as if England was not about to take any part in the settlement of the New World. Only one or two voyages had been made thither, and these had been so disastrous that there was very little en- couragement to others to follow. In 1527 one Albert de Prado, a foreign priest living in England, sailed out with two ships. We know that the voyagers reached Newfound- land, since letters still exist sent home thence by them ; but after that nothing more is known of them. In 1536 another expedition set out, commanded by one More, a gentleman of London. This voyage is somewhat remarkable, not for anything that was accomplished, but because it seems to have been the first of any importance that Englishmen undertook entirely without foreign help. Landing far north, they suffered great hardships, and were on the very point of killing and eating one of their own' jiumber, but were saved by the appearance of a French ship well victualled. This they seized, and. so returned to England. Such a voyage was not likely to encourage Englishmen to pursue adventure in America, and for some time we hear of no more attempts. But in the meantime a great deal was being done towards fitting England to play her part in the settlement of America. During the past eighty years trade had increased greatly, as is shown by the number of commercial treaties with foreign towns, and of corporations of English merchants in many of the great European cities, and foreign trade was almost sure II.] THE EARLY ENGLISH VOYAGERS. 33 to bring the pursuit of navigation with it. Moreover, Henry VIII. did a great deal to further this. For though his mis- deeds in other ways were very great, yet, when his passions did not lead him astray, he was a wise king, and one that sought the good of his country ; and he clearly saw that the strength of England must lie in her ships. And all those great deeds that were done by Englishmen in the reign of his daughter Elizabeth, both on the seas and in distant lands, were in a great measure due to Henry's energy and foresigh'. For he not only built large ships, but he saw that ships, however good, would be useless without skilled seamen ; and he founded three colleges on the model of one that already existed in Spain to train up pilots and sailors. Though this bore no great fruit in his life-time, the good of it was seen in the next generation ; for in 1549, in the reign of Henry's son Edward, Sebastian Cabot, who, as we have seen, was the first great English navigator, was made Grand Pilot of Eng. land, and planned great enterprises. Our ships soon began to sail in every quarter, and England became as great on the sea as either Portugal or Spain. Voyages were made to Guinea to trade in gold and precious stones, and unhappily too in negro slaves. And great discoveries were made in the northern seas. For English ships sailed round the northern point of Norway and to Archangel, and Englishmen travelled by this way to the Russian court at Moscow, and even to Persia. But as yet nothing was done in the direction of America. When at last a voyage was made thither, it was rather by chance than by design. For, in 1576, Martin Frobisher, a west-country sea captain, sailed northward, thinking to find a passage to Asia round the northern coast of America. He did not, however, get further than that gulf to the north of Labrador called Frobisher Straits. But though he failed in his main object, he brought back what was more valued than even a passage to Asia would have D 34 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS TN AMERICA. [CHAP. been. A stone which he had found was reported to con- tain gold. The stories of the Spanish conquest had set England, like all the rest of Europe, mad after gold ; and immediately a company was formed to explore the supposed gold country. Frobisher was sent out again, and came back with a great cargo of what was believed to be ore. Queen Elizabeth then took up the scheme. A third and larger expe- dition was sent out in fifteen ships, and it was arranged that a hundred men should be left there to form a settlement. In the arrangements for this voyage a mistake was made, which was often repeated afterwards, and which was a serious hindrance to the success, not only of the English colonies, but those of other nations. It was thought that men who were unfit to live at home would do for colonists, and ac- cordingly a number of condemned criminals were sent out. The expedition was an utter failure ; the sailors almost mutinied ; one of the ships with provisions for the colony deserted, and it was found hopeless to attempt a settlement. The fleet was loaded with ore, and sailed home. The ore proved worthless, and the whole attempt resulted in utter failure and disappointment to all concerned. 10. Raids on the Spanish Colonies. By this time there was a fresh motive for English voyages to America. From the beginning ofr Elizabeth's reign many Englishmen of good family had sailed the seas as pirates, especially attacking Spanish ships. And as English seamen grew more skilful, they ventured to harass the Spanish settlements on the coast of America, and to cut off the Spanish fleets as they came and went. Though many of the greatest and bravest Englishmen of that day took part in these voyages, it is impossible to justify them. Yet there was this much to be said in excuse, that the Spanish Inquisition not unfrequently seized Englishmen on Spanish soil, and punished them for no crime but their religion. It must be remembered too II.] GILBERT'S VOYAGE. 35 that the pope, who was the close ally of Spain, was ever hatching conspiracies against the Queen of England, and striving to stir up civil wars there, and it could hardly seem a crime to Englishmen to annoy and weaken Spain even by unlawful means. Thus there was much fighting between Englishmen and Spaniards on the seas, and on the American coast, though the countries were not avowedly at war. II. Gilbert's Voyage. In 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a west-country gentleman of great learning and wisdom, seems to have bethought him of a scheme for injuring Spain by plant- ing an English settlement on the coast of America to serve as a sort of outpost from which to attack the Spanish fleets. It is not quite certain that Gilbert was the author of this scheme, but there is great likelihood of it ; and it is certain that after this time he got a patent, granting him leave to form a colony in America. He does not seem however to have been as skilful in carrying out his designs as in planning them, and this expedition, though sent out at great cost, was a complete failure and he himself a heavy loser. Four years later he renewed his attempt ; this time he was somewhat more successful. For though one of his ships deserted him at the very outset, he reached America, landed on the coast of Newfoundland, and took possession of the country in the Queen's name. He made no further attempt at a settlement, partly from the character of his men, who were lawless and disorderly, and thought only of getting on and making attempts at piracy. Before long another ship deserted and reduced the fleet to three, and of these one was wrecked with a load of ore thought to contain gold. Last of all, the smallest vessel, the Squirrel, of only ten tons, in which Gilbert himself sailed, went down, and one ship alone made its way back to England. Though Gilbert's attempt ended in utter failure, yet his name should ever be held in honour as the man who led the way in the English settlement of D 2 36 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. America, and who forfeited his life in that cause from which his countrymen afterwards gained such honour and reward. 12. Raleigh's first Colony. Gilbert's scheme was taken up by a man fitter for such a task. His half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, was probably the greatest Englishman in an age unusually rich in great men. There certainly have been many better men, and there have been men too who were greater in one special way. But there scarcely ever has been anyone equally distinguished in so many dilferent ways. Of the various careers open to a man in that clay learning, war, statesmanship, navigation Raleigh pur- sued all, and excelled in all. As colonization was one of the great undertakings possible in that age, Raleigh entered upon that. There he showed his wisdom beyond all who had gone before him. Except perhaps the French settlers in Florida, no one there had thought of planting settlements save with an eye to gold and silver ; for Gilbert's was hardly so much a regular settlement as an outpost against Spain. But Raleigh, though he probably had mines in view, yet took care to settle his colony where it might maintain itself by agriculture, and enrich both itself and England by manufacture and trade. In 1584 he obtained a patent in precisely the same terms as Gilbert's, and sent out two sea captains, Amidas and Barlow, to explore. They landed much further south than Gilbert, where climate and soil were both better. The natives received them with great kindness and hospitality, and two accompanied them back to England. Amidas and Barlow brought home a glowing account of the land they had found, and the Queen named it Virginia, Next year Raleigh sent out a hundred and eight settlers. Sir Richard Grenville, one of the greatest sea cap- tains of the age, was in command of the fleet. But he was only to see them established, and then to leave them under thr; com- mand of Ralph Lane, a soldier of some note. Heriot,a friend ii.] RALEIGH'S FIRST COLONY. 37 or Raleigh, and a man of great scientif c learning, was sent out to examine the country. The colony was established in an island called Roanoke, off what is new the coast of North Carolina. At the very outset a mishap occurred which after- wards did no small harm to the settlement. As Grenville was exploring the country, an Indian stole a silver cup from the English. In revenge Grenville, who seems to have been of a severe and somewhat cruel temper, burnt an Indian village. Up to this time the Indians had appeared friendly, but hence- forth the settlers had to be on their guard. In August, Grenville sailed home, leaving Lane in full command. Instead of getting his settlement into good order and making arrange- ments for building houses, growing corn, and the like, Lane almost at once set off with a party in quest of mines. They suffered great hardships, and, after being driven by lack of food to eat their dogs, at length returned without having made any discovery. Lane on his return found his settlement in great danger. The Indians, emboldened by his absence, were plotting against the colony, and would have assailed them unawares, had not one more friendly than the rest disclosed the plot to Lane. Though not a very wise governor, Lane was a bold and able soldier. He at once fell upon the Indians, killing fifteen of them, and thereby prevented an attack. But- though the settlers weie saved from immediate danger, their prospects were very g'oomy. They were suffering from lack of food ; the Indians were no longer their friends, and they began to fear that Grenville, who was to have brought them supplies, would not return. While they were in these diffi- culties, an English fleet appeared on its way back from a raid on the Spanish coast. Drake, the commander of the fleet, fitted out a ship for the settlers with a hundred men and pro- visions for six months, but just as it was ready a storm arose, and it was driven out to sea. Another attempt was made to send a ship to their relief, but the harbourage was insufficient 433080 38 EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA. [CHAP. and the attempt was given up. At last the settlers in despair resolved to embark in Drake's fleet, and by the end of July, 1586, they landed in Portsmouth. A few days after they had sailed, a ship reached Virginia, sent out by Raleigh with pro- visions. After searching in vain for the settlers, it returned to England. About a fortnight later, Grenville arrived with three ships well provisioned. Having spent some time in seeking for the settlement he landed fifteen men with supplies for two years, to keep possession of the country, and sailed home. The small colony was destroyed by the Indians. 13. Raleigh's second Colony. All these disappointments did not withhold Raleigh from another and more determined attempt. In 1587 he sent out a fresh party of settlers. One White was to be governor, with a council of twelve assistants, and the settlement was to be called the City of Raleigh. Hitherto the Indians had received the English in friend- ship, but now they attacked the settlers at their first land- ing, and killed one of the assistants. In August two note- worthy events occurred : Manteo, one of the natives who had returned with Amidas and Barlow, was christened ; and the wife of Henry Dare bore a daughter, th."; first child of English parents born in the New World. Soon after this, White came to England to get supplies. Raleigh im- mediately fitted out a fleet under the command of Grenville. Before it could sail, tidings came that the Spanish Armada was ready to attack England, and every ship and sailor that we could put on the sea was needed. Nevertheless Raleigh contrived to send out White with two small vessels. But instead of relieving the colony, the crew betook thmselves to piracy against the Spaniards, and, after sundry mishaps, returned to England without ever having reached Virginia. Raleigh had now spent 4o,ooo/. on his Virginia colony, and had got absolutely nothing in return. Moreover, he had just got a large grant of land in Ireland, and needed all his li.] RALEIGH'S SECOND COLONY. 39 spare time and money for that. Accordingly in March 1589 he sold all his rights in the Virginia plantation to a company. At the same time he showed his interest in the colony by a gift of loo/, to be spent in the conversion of the natives. The new company was slow in sending out relief, and nothing was done till late in that year. White then sailed with three ships. This fleet repeated the same folly which had undone the last expedition, and went plundering among the Spanish islands. At last, after much delay, White reached Virginia. The settlers had left the spot where White had placed them, and as had been agreed, they had cut upon a tree the name of the place, Croatan, whither they had gone. There some traces of their goods were seen, but they themselves could not be found anywhere. Though Raleigh had no longer any share in the settlement, he did not cease to take an interest in it, i.nd sent out at least two more expeditions, one as late as 1602, in the bare hope of recovering the colonists, or at least of getting some tidings of them. A vague rumour was afterwaids heard that some of them had been taken prisoners by the Indians and kept as slaves, but nothing certain was ever kr.cwn of them from the day that White left America in 1587. 14. Prospects of English Colonization. Thus, by the end of the sixteenth century, Spain had on each coast of America a territory some thousands of miles in length, with large and beautiful cities, and yielding in gold and silver alone more than 6o,ooo/ a year, while England had not so much as a single fishing-village. Yet the last fifty years had done much towards training Englishmen for the task of coloniza- tion. They had learnt familiarity with the sea and with dis- tant lands, and they had discovered that the Spaniards were not, as they had once seemed, invincible. The men who had conquered the Armada, and had even plundered Spanish ships and towns on the American coast, felt that they could sur- 40 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. mount difficulties which had not baffled Cortez and Pizarro. Englishmen in the sixteenth century did not establish a single lasting settlement in America, but they did much toward showing how America might be explored and colonized by the next generation. CHAPTER III. VIRGINIA. Need for colonization in England (i]the Virginia company (2) the first colony (3) change in the company (4) Dale as governor (5) state of the colony (6) Yeardley and Argall governors (7) the massacre (8) dissolution of the company (9) the colony under Charles I. (to) the Common-wealth (ll) the Restoration (12) scattered mode of life (13) Bacoris rebellion (14) the Revolution (15). I. Need for Colonization in England. After the failure of White's expedition, no further attempt at settlement was made for eighteen years. Gradually however new causes arose to make colonization important. Hitherto distant settlements had been planned chiefly to enrich the mother country by mines and trade, or to molest the Spanish colonies. But now men began to see that the newly discovered lands might be valuable as a home for those who could find neither work nor means of livelihood in England. The beginning of the seventeenth century was a time when this need was specially felt. During the four- teenth and fifteenth centuries there had been great pesti- lences and famines, which had kept down the numbers of the people, and, except during special times of scarcity, there had been no lack of food. But during the sixteenth century in.] NEED FOR COLONIZATION IN ENGLAND. 41 the population had increased greatly, and there was neither work nor wages enough for all. Two things especially had helped to cause this. Wool trade and sheep farm- ing had greatly increased, and much land which was for- merly tilled had been turned into pasture, and thus many labourers had been thrown out of work. Besides, the break- ing up of religious houses by Henry VIII. had cut off an- other means whereby many were maintained. Thus the land was full of needy and idle men ready for any ill deed. In this strait men began to think of the rich and uninhabited lands beyond the sea as offering a home for those who could find none here. In one way, the prospects of colonization might seem changed for the worse. Elizabeth, who was now dead, had always looked on all distant adventures with favour, and honoured and encouraged those who undertook them. But her successor, James, was of a timid temper, and had no pleasure in such things, but rather distrusted them as likely to strengthen the free spirit of his subjects. Moreover, he was specially attached to Spain, and valued its friendship beyond that of any other country. And as the Spaniards always did their utmost to keep any other nation from settling in America, they would not fail to prejudice James against such attempts. One thing, however, helped to re- concile him to schemes for colonization. It was understood from the first that the colonies were entirely under the control of the King and Privy Council, and that Parliament had no power of interfering in their concerns. As might be expected with this difference in the temper of the sovereign, the spirit of the nation, or at least of the leading men in the nation, was somewhat changed too. There were no longer men like Frobisher, and Gilbert, and Grenville, who loved adventure for its own sake, and readily undertook long and costly voyages and risked great dangers, for distant and uncertain hopes of gain. In reality however this change 42 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. was favourable to colonization. For it was the love of adventure and the desire to achieve some brilliant success by discovering mines or unknown seas, or by piracy against the Spaniards, which caused the failure of all the early attempts. So that settlements made with soberer views, though they might not be undertaken so eagerly or promise such brilliant results, were more likely to enjoy lasting success. 2. The Virginia Company. In 1602 and the three follow- ing years voyages of discovery were sent out. The coast of America to the north of Chesapeake Bay was explored, and a favourable report brought back. The failures of Gilbert and Raleigh showed that a colony was too great an undertaking for a single man to carry out successfully. The northern expeditions in the previous century sent out by the Russian Company had been more prosperous. Accordingly in 1606 a company was formed for the establishment of two settle- ments in America. The Northern colony was to be managed by gentlemen and merchants from the west of England ; the Southern by Londoners. A charter was obtained from the King granting to each a tract on the coast at whatever spot it chose to settle, the Northern colony between 34 and 41 degrees of latitude, the Southern between 38 and 45. At the same time it was provided that the colonies were to be ico miles apart. Each was to have a tract of 50 miles along the coast on each side of the settlement, and all islands within 100 miles of the coast ; and no other English colony was to be founded on the mainland behind them without express permission. Each was to be governed by a Presi- dent and Council of thirteen in America, while these were to be under the control of a Council in England. The members of these Councils and the two Presidents were to be appointed by the King. At the same time James drew up certain articles for the government of the colonies. All in.] THE FIRST COLONY. 43 criminal cases involving life and death were to be tried by a jury ; smaller offences by the President. The President and Council of each colony had power to make ordinances ; but these must agree with the laws of England, and were not to become law till approved of by the Sovereign or the Council at home. The Sovereign was also to issue such orders as from time to time should seem desirable. There was to be no private industry in the colony for the first five years, but the settlers were to bring all the fruit of their labour into a common store, whence food and other necessaries would be provided in return. 3. The first Colony. December 19, 1606, the Southern colony set out. Three ships sailed with one hundred and five emigrants. By an ill-judged arrangement, the list of the Council was not to be opened till they landed. The Council was then to elect a Governor. Thus during the voyage there was no one with regular and settled author- ity. Among the colonists was one John Smith, an Eng- lish yeoman by birth, who had spent his life as a soldier of fortune. Europe in that age swarmed with adventurers, but few of them had gone through so many strange chances as this man. He had served in the Low Countries ; he had been captured by Barbary pirates ; he had fought against the Turks in Hungary ; he was left for dead on the battle-field ; he then escaped from a Turkish prison into Russia, and at length returned to England. Such a man was likely enough to be of an unquiet temper, and before the fleet had been but six weeks he was confined on suspicion of mutiny. On the 26th of April the colonists landed in Chesapeake Bay and founded a settlement, which they called Jamestown. The Council then elected Wingfield to be President. He was a man of good birth and some military experience, but proud and self-willed, and indifferent to the friendship and esteem of those under him. Everything now went wrong. The 44 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. settlers themselves were idle and thriftless, and would not work as long as the supplies which they brought out lasted. Moreover, they found some earth which they fancied con- tained gold, and all their time was spent in working at this. The natives were friendly, but Newport, the captain of the ships, by his foolish liberality to the Indian king, Powhatan, made him hold the English goods cheap, and so prevented the settlers from buying corn as easily as they might have done. But for Smith's energy the colony could hardly have existed. He cruised about the coast and explored the country, either conciliating or overawing the natives, and getting abundant supplies of corn from them. As might have been expected, Smith and Wingfield soon quarrelled. We have only the accounts of this affair written by each of them, so it is hard to tell the rights of the case. Wingfield however himself admitted the great services done by Smith to the colony, and we find Smith long afterwards enjoying the favour and confidence of men connected with Virginia. The quarrel ended by Wingfield being deposed. Smith did not at once become President, but he was practically the head of the colony. For a short time things went on better. The settlers built twenty houses, sowed some ground, set up a regular factory for trade with the Indians, and made some tar and other merchandise. But soon they fell back into their old state. So badly off were they for food, that they were forced to break up into three bodies and settle in dif- ferent parts. Some even ran off to the Indians and lived among them. 4. Change in the Company. In spite of the evil tidings which came from the colony, and the disappointment of all their hopes of gain, fhe company in England were not discouraged. In 1609, a new charter transferred to the com pany the powers of legislation and government which had by the first charter been reserved to the Crown. The Supreme in.] CHANGE IN THE COMPANY. 45 Council in England was to be elected by the stockholders themselves. The Governor of the Colony became the direct representative of the company, exercising almost unlimited powers under the laws and instructions of the Council, or at his discretion in the absence of instructions, even in capital cases. The company now included many of the greatest men of the age ; amongst others, the philosopher Lord Bacon, and most of the great London trading companies held shares in it. The new company at once sent out an expedition on a larger scale than the last. Nine ships sailed with five hundred settlers, under the command of Sir Thomas Gates, an expe- rienced soldier, who had distinguished himself in the Low Countries, and Sir George Somers, one of the bravest of the American adventurers in the days of Elizabeth. Lord Dela- ware was appointed Governor of the colony, and was to follow soon after. Unluckily, before the fleet reached Virginia, the ship in which Gates and Somers sailed got separated from the rest and was cast by a storm on the Bermuda Islands. Thus the new colonists arrived without any proper head. The state of the colony now was worse than ever. The new settlers were for the most part the very scum of the earth : men sent out to the New World because they were unfit to live in the Old. They were idle and mutinous, and utterly despised Smith's authority. West, Lord Delaware's brother, whose position might have given him some authority over them, fell sick, and to crown their misfortunes, Smith met with an accident which obliged him to return to England. The Indians did not actually attack them, but they were known to be plotting against the colony. While things were in this state, Gates and Somers arrived in a pinnace which they had built in the Bermudas with their own hands. The state of the colony seemed so desperate that they determined to break it up and return, with all the settlers, to England. It seemed as if this attempt would end, like Raleigh's, in 46 VIRGINIA. utter failure. But just as they were all embarked, Lord Delaware arrived with three ships well supplied. He at once resettled the colony, and forced the colonists to till the ground and fortify the settlement against the Indians. From this time the history of Virginia as a settled country may be con- sidered to begin. 5. Dale as Governor. Lord Delaware did not stay long in the colony, but left it under the government of Sir Thomas Dale, who, like Gates, had served as a soldier in the Nether- lands. He was an able but a stern ruler. He enforced a code of laws copied in many points from the military laws of the Low Countries, so severe that it is wonderful how any community ever endured them. A few of the harshest will serve as specimens. A man was to be put to death for killing any cattle, even his own, without leave of the Governor; so was anyone who exported goods without leave. A baker who gave short weight was to lose his ears, and on the third offence to be put to death. A laundress who stole linen was to be flogged. Attendance at public worship was enforced by severe penalties. We must not forget however that most of the colonists were no better than criminals; indeed the colony had got so evil a name in England by its disorders and misadventures that few respectable rnen would go out. 6. State of the Colony. The settlers were of various classes : all who subscribed I2/. icw. to the company, or sent out a labourer at their own expense, got shares of land, at first a hundred acres, afterwards, as the colony improved, fifty acres each. These farmed their land either by their own labour or by hired servants, and formed the class after- wards called planters. But the greatest part of the land was in the hands, not of private persons, but of the company itself. This was cultivated by public servants who had been sent out at the company's expense, and who were in Hi.] STATE OF THE COLONY. 47 great part maintained out of a public store, but were also allowed each a patch of ground of his own, upon which to support himself. Some of these public servants were employed in handicrafts and in producing commodities to send home. Moreover, men of special skill, public officers, clergymen, physicians, and the like, were maintained at the company's cost in return for their services. Under the government of Dale the condition of the colony improved. One important tribe of Indians, the Chickahominies, made a league with the settlers, and in return for some small presents of hatchets and red cloth, acknowledged themselves English subjects, and undertook to pay a yearly tribute of corn. The chief body of the Indians, under a great and powerful chief, Powhatan, were also closely allied with the English. In 1612, one Captain Argall, an unscrupulous man with influence in the company, by a knavish scheme with Japazaus, an Indian chief, kidnapped Pocahontas, the favourite daughter of Powhatan. During her captivity among the English she became converted to Christianity and married John Rolfe, a leading man among the settlers. Thus from the affair which seemed at one time likely to embroil the colony with the Indians came a friendship which lasted as long as Powhatan lived. 7. Yeardley and Argall Governors. The next year Dale departed. The settlers showed that they needed his strong hand over them by falling at once into idleness and im- providence. The new Governor, Yeardley, was an upright man, just and humane in his dealings both with the settlers and the natives, but wanting in energy. One great source of mischief- which Dale had hardly been able to keep in check was the excessive planting of tobacco. This crop was so profitable that the colonists gave all their time and ground to it, and neglected the needful cultivation of corn. Meanwhile the affairs of the company at home were mis- 48 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. managed. The treasurer, Sir Thomas Smith, was either negligent or dishonest. Emigrants were sent out utterly unprovided with necessaries, and the supplies forwarded to the colonists were almost worthless. Under Yeardley's suc- cessor, Argall, matters were yet worse. He plundered both the company and the colonists in every way that he could. He took the stores, the servants, and the ships of the com- pany for his own private profit and use. Under his rule the state of the colony became utterly wretched. Though more than a thousand persons had been sent thither, less than six hundred were left. At one place, Henri co, where there had been forty settlers, there was left but one house, and at Jamestown there were but ten or twelve. The con- dition of the private planters seems to have been better, and it was most likely this which encouraged the company to persevere and to make one more attempt to bring the colony to a prosperous condition. In 1618, a change was made in the company ; Sir Thomas Smith was deposed from the treasurership, and in his place Sir Edwin Sandys appointed. He was an able and upright man, and a leading member of the party that was beginning to resist the arbitrary policy of the King in political and religious matters. Side by side with this a change of even greater and more lasting import- ance was made in the colony itself. Argall was deposed and Yeardley sent out in his place. His first act, no doubt by the wish of the company, was to form an independent legislature in Virginia. He called an Assembly almost exactly modelled after the English parliament. It consisted of the Council and a body of representatives, two from each of the eleven plantations into which the colony was divided. These representatives were elected by the freeholders. The Assembly so formed imposed taxes, considered petitions, and passed several laws for the management of the colony. From this time the Assembly met, if not every year, at least in.] THE MASSACRE. 49 at frequent intervals, and the Virginians, though nominally dependent on the King and the Company, had inmost things an independent government of their own. 8. The Massacre. Under the new system the colony grew and flourished ; vines were planted, and manufactories of iron and glass were set on foot. Guest-houses were built, in spots carefully chosen for healthfulness, for the emigrants when first they landed. The company exerted itself to supply the colony with clergymen and schoolmasters ; busi- ness so increased that it was necessary to have law courts in the different plantations. But the growing prosperity of the colony was soon cruelly checked. From various causes the settlers lived for the most part, not in villages, but in single houses, each with its own farm about it. This was due partly to the system which gave every shareholder a hundred acres of ground for each share, so that many of the planters owned large estates ; and partly too to the fact that the country was full of navigable rivers, so that travel- ling was very easy, and the inconvenience of separation little felt. The colony was thus more exposed to the Indians ; but that danger was little feared, since the relations between them and the settlers seemed thoroughly friendly. The Indians came and went among the English, and were allowed to go in and out of their houses as they pleased. Many benevolent schemes had been proposed for convert- ing and training up the Indian children. Unluckily for the English, Powhatan, who had ever been their fast friend, died in 1618. His successor, Opechancanough, was for some time suspected of enmity to the settlers. Yet they do not seem to have been in the least on their guard against an attack. In 1622 an Indian chief murdered an English planter, in revenge for which he was killed by two of the planter's servants. This supplied Opechancanough with a pretext tor stirring up his people against the settlers. Till the very SO VIRGINIA. [CHAP. moment that they were ready for the attack the Indians kept up every appearance of friendship, and then suddenly fell upon the settlers and murdered every one they could. Had it not been that one converted Indian gave warning to the English, few would have escaped. As it was, about 350 perished. A few years before this would have been fatal, but the colony now numbered between 2,000 and 3,000. Public works were hindered, and the settlers were forced to abandon some of their outlying plantations and draw closer together, but the evil effects soon passed off. 9. Dissolution of the Company. An event even more important than the massacre was at hand. The King, though he granted such ample powers to the company, seems always to have looked on it with some jealousy. This was due, in a great measure, to the intrigues of Gondomar, the Spanish ambassador. For the Spaniards naturally dreaded the growth of English colonies in the New World, lest they should become as dangerous to the Spanish colonies as England had been to Spain in the Old World. Hence there was perpetual intriguing against the company, and Gondomar, who, by bribing right and left, had gained great influence in England, did all he could against it. As the leading men in the company were of that party who chiefly opposed the King, James was easily persuaded that the company was a training school for a seditious par- liament. Moreover, Sir Thomas Smith, who had been displaced from the office of treasurer, headed a disaffected party within the company, so that it was divided against itself, and got an ill name for squabbling and miscon- duct. Besides, the news of the massacre did much to make men think lightly of the colony and distrust its management. In the colony too there were disaffected and discontented people, who spoke evil of the company. But when the King sent out commissioners to inquire into the charges brought in.] THE COLONY UNDER CHARLES I. 51 against the company, all the serious accusations fell to the ground. Nevertheless, the overthrow of the compmy was determined on, and in 1623 they were summoned by an order of the Privy Council to surrender their charter, in order that the management of the colony might be handed over to a Council appointed by the King. The company at once refused to yield. Accordingly a writ was issued against the company, called a writ of Quo warranto, by which any corpo- ration can be compelled to show good cause for its existence. At the same time they were deprived of the power of defend- ing themselves by the seizure of all their papers. The details of the trial are not known, but the judges of that time were so subservient to the Court that any matter in which the King was known to take an interest was likely to be decided as he wished. Chief Justice Ley, who had to decide the case, gave it against the company. Thus the Virginia Company came to an end after a career of sixteen years. Few corporations have in so short a time done so much good; for from the time that they were set free from the evil government of Sir Thomas Smith, they seem steadily to have sought the good of the colony rather than their own gain. Yet in all probability Virginia gained by their dissolution, for under the King the colony was left to itself, and learnt independence and self-reliance, as it hardly could have done under the company. 10. The Colony under Charles I. The effect of the dis- solution was to leave the colony entirely dependent on the King. In May, 1635, he issued a proclamation settling the condition of Virginia. It was to be governed by two Councils, one in England and the other in Virginia, both to be appointed by the King, and by a Governor also appointed by the King. The colonists had no charter, and no security of any kind against arbitrary government. Practically how- ever things went on as before. The Assembly met every year, E 2 52 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. and enacted measures, which were then sent to England and, if approved of by the King, became laws. The Go- vernor and all the chief officials received fixed salaries, so that they were in no way dependent on the Assembly. In general matters the colony seems to have prospered under the new system. By 1629 the number of settlers had increased, in spite of the massacre, to more than four thou- sand. Timber and iron were exported, and there seemed a likelihood of vines being successfully cultivated. The damage done by the massacre was soon repaired and friend- ship with the Indians restored. In 1635, a dispute arose with the neighbouring colony, Maryland, recently settled by Lord Baltimore. Harvey, the Goveiyior of Virginia, took part with Lord Baltimore against the Virginians. Enraged at this, the people rose against Harvey, arrested him, and sent him to England. He however defended himself suc- cessfully from the charges brought against him, and was restored. In 1639 proposals were set on foot in England for restoring the company, but these came to nothing, chiefly through the opposition offered by the colonists. They no doubt found that they enjoyed greater independence under the King, and feared that the restoration of the company would revive old claims to land, and thus cause confusion. li. The Commonwealth. When the civil war broke out in England, it seemed at first as if Virginia would be a stronghold of the Royalists. Berkeley, the successor of Harvey, was a staunch partisan of the King, and so were many of the chief inhabitants. During the supremacy of the Commonwealth the colonies were placed under the government of a special Commission, with the Earl of War- wick at its head. In October, 1649, nine months after the death of Charles I., the Virginian Assembly passed an Act making it high treason to speak disrespectfully of the late King, to defend his execution, or to question Charles II.'s in.] THE COMMONWEALTH. 53 right to the crown. Nevertheless, as soon as a parliamentary fleet reached the colony, the Virginians at once surrendered. The parliamentary Commission granted moderate terms : the Governor and Council were allowed a year in which to dispose of their estates and leave the colony, and no one was to be punished for any act or word on behalf of the King. The supremacy of Parliament does not seem in any way to have altered the condition of the colony at the time. It had however one very important and lasting effect. Hitherto it had been an acknowledged principle of law that Parliament had no control over the colonies. In 1624 the House of Commons had attempted to interfere on behalf of the Virginia Company, but were forbidden by the King to proceed further in the matter. They murmured, but gave way. In 1628 they sent a petition to the King on behalf of the Bermudas. But in this they fully acknowledged that the entire government of the colonies ought to be in the hands of the King. But after the death of the King Parliament had in a great measure assumed his rights and power, and so the government of the colonies naturally passed over to them. Thus it became an established principle that Acts of Par- liament were binding on the colonies in the same way as on the mother country, and after the Restoration this principle still remained in force. The chief enactment made by Parliament during the Commonwealth with reference to the colonies was that no goods should be carried to and from the colonies except in English or colonial ships. After the Restoration this was re-enacted, under the name of the Navi- gation Law. Its cbject was to confine the colonial trade to England and to encourage English shipping. Another Act was passed, three years later, prohibiting the importation of foreign goods to the colonies, unless they had been first landed in England. To make up for these restrictions, the planting of tobacco in England was forbidden, and thus 54 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. the colonists enjoyed a monopoly of the tobacco trade. The Navigation Law was not strictly enforced, and therefore did not press hardly on the colonies. Nevertheless, it esta- blished the principle that Acts of Parliament were binding on the colonies, although their inhabitants had no voice in electing Parliament, and very little power of making their wants known to it. 12. The Restoration. The Restoration caused as little stir in Virginia as the overthrow of the monarchy had done. No attempt was made to resist it, and Berkeley was quietly reinstalled as Governor. The colony seems about this time to have reached its most prosperous state. The number of inhabitants had increased to forty thousand ; of these, two thousand were negro slaves. Besides these there were many English convicts, who were condemned to serve as slaves for a certain time. Most of these were prisoners who had been sentenced to death, but whose punishment had been changed by special favour to transportation. In spite of the existence of this class, the colony seems to have been very free from crime. Houses were left open at night, and clothes allowed to hang on hedges in safety. This was probably due to the comfort and plenty that prevailed. A single man could, by his own labour, raise two hundred and fifty bushels of Indian corn in a year. Cattle required no atten- tion, but were turned out into the woods and throve there. The forests swarmed with game, and the rivers with fish. Ever since 1643 the relations with the Indians had been friendly ; in that year war had broken out. The Indians were easily subdued ; Opechancanough was captured and put to death, and a firm peace made with his successor. For nearly thirty years from that time the peace remained unbroken. During this period, various laws were passed for the protection of the Indians. Efforts were made to convert and to teach their children, and the English tried to civilize them by Hi.] SCA TTERED MODE OF LIFE. 55 offering them cows as a reward for killing wolves. The colonists were forbidden by law to enslave the Indians or to buy land from them. In 1660, two settlers, men of high position, were fined fifteen thousand pounds of tobacco each, and were disqualified from holding any office in the colony, because they had unlawfully kept an Indian as a prisoner. At the same time another settler was disqualified in the same way, for cheating the Indians of some land. 13. Scattered Mode of Life. The worst evils from which the colony suffered were the want of towns and of educa- tion. The first of these was due to various causes : many of the settlers had been landed gentry, and had a taste for large estates and for a country Lfe. In the time of the company, there was no difficulty about acquiring large estates, since every share of I2/. \os. entitled the holder to fifty acres. After the dissolution of the company, the Government seems to have been careless in its grants of land, and many men acquired estates far larger than they could properly manage. The number of rivers, and the ease with which the settlers could transport themselves and their goods from one place to another, favoured this mode of life. The cultivation of tobacco and the use of slave labour also helped to bring this about. Slaves can seldom learn to cultivate more than one kind of crop ; and as tobacco exhausts the soil, it was necessary to be always taking fresh land into cultivation, and leaving that which had been already tilled to recover. Thus each planter needed far more land than he would have done under a more thrifty system. Various attempts were made to establish towns, but they came to nothing ; chiefly because everyone wanted to have the town within easy reach of his own plantation. Thus the Assembly, with whom the arrangement of these matters lay, could never fix on a site. The result of this want of towns was that there were neither schools nor printing 56 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. presses, and that the people grew up for the most part utterly untaught. Moreover, the clergy, from whom some kind of training might have been expected, were for the most part ignorant men and of low station. 14. Bacon's Rebellion. About 1670 political discontent began to show itself. There were various causes for this : In 1655 a law had been passed restricting the right of voting at elections to landowners and householders, whereas before all freemen had voted. This law was repealed in the next year, on the ground that it was unfair that persons should pay taxes and yet have no votes. In 1670 the same law was again enacted. Besides this, the Governor had been gradually acquiring an undue share of power. It had been originally intended that the Council who were ap- pointed by the King should be a check upon the Governor. But the King depended mainly for his information as to the state of the colony on the Governor. The result of this was that the appointment of the Council came to be made in reality by the Governor ; and instead of being a check upon him, they were his supporters. The Clerk of the Assembly also found it to his interest to stand well with the Governor, and for this object kept him informed as to all the doings of the Assembly ; so that it was impossible for them to contrive any plan of action against the Governor without his hearing of it. As all the important public officers were appointed by the Governor, the whole control of affairs had passed into his hands, and as Berkeley was a man of harsh and arbitrary temper, this caused much discontent. Two things besides increased this feeling. In 1669 Charles II. granted the whole domain of Virginia to Lord Culpepper and Lord Arlington for thirty-one years. The chief fear was lest the new proprietors should claim land as unappropriated which had already been granted to private persons. As the grant gave them the right of appointing public surveyors, in.] BACON'S REBELLION. 57 they were certain of a favourable decision in any question of disputed boundaries. The Assembly took fright at this, and sent over three agents to England to remonstrate against the grant. This agency was a cause of public expense, and so did something to increase the existing discontent. Moreover, Berkeley had recently enforced the laws against Noncon- formists with severity, and many had been obliged to leave the colony, and probably many were left behind secretly disaffected. Thus everything was ready for a commotion, and it only needed some small event to set one on foot. In 1675 a quarrel broke out between the settlers and two tribes of Indians, the Susquehannahs and the Doegs. These Indians stole some pigs to revenge themselves on one Matthews, a planter, who, as they said, had cheated them. The thieves were pursued, and some of them killed. The Indians then killed Matthews, his son, and two of his servants. Upon this, some planters, without authority from the Governor, got together a force, and besieged one of the Indian forts. The Indians then sent six of their chiefs to make proposals for peace, but the settlers in their anger fell upon them and slew them. This enraged the Indians yet more, and an irre- gular warfare was carried on, in which three hundred of the English perished. The settlers then besought Berkeley to send out a force, but he refused. Thereupon one Bacon, a resolute and able man whom misfortune had made reckless, went against the Indians without any commission from Berkeley. Five hundred men at once joined him. Berkeley thereupon proclaimed them rebels, and sent troops to arrest them. This only made Bacon's followers more obstinate, and at the election that autumn he was chosen as a member of the Assembly. When he came to Jamestown to take his seat, Berkeley at first opposed his entrance and tried to arrest him. Nevertheless, in a short time they were seemingly rtconjiled. Possibly this was. as was afterwards thought, a 58 VIRGINIA. [CHAP. trick on Berkeley's part to get Bacon in his power. Various laws were then passed to remedy the abuses which had excited discontent. The right of voting was restored to all freemen, the fees of public offices were reduced, and Bacon was promised a commission against the Indians. But when the time came Berkeley refused to fulfil this promise. There- upon Bacon left Jamestown, and in a few days returned with 500 followers. Berkeley now granted the commission, and Bacon marched against the Indians. News however soon reached him that Berkeley had raised a force and was coming to attack him. Bacon thereupon made his followers swear to be faithful to him, and, even if troops were sent against them from England, to resist till such time as their grievances could be laid before the King : he then marched against Berkeley, who fled. Bacon then burnt down James- town, lest his enemies should take shelter there, and pursued Berkeley. But before any engagement could take place Bacon fell sick and died. There was no one to take his place ; the rebel force fell to pieces, and was easily overcome. Berkeley used his victory mercilessly, putting rebels to death without due trial, and confiscating their estates before they were condemned. He was only stopped in these misdeeds by the arrival of three commissioners sent out by the King to inquire into the causes of the rebellion. Berkeley went to England, and died soon after, as was thought, of vexation. The rebellion was in one way a source of great loss to the colony. The agents who had been sent to England had just obtained from the King the promise of a charter, which amongst other privileges would have confined the right of levying taxes to the Assembly ; but in consequence of the rebellion this was withdrawn, and none of the grievances against which the agents protested were redressed. In one respect Bacon and his followers had been clearly blame- worthy : in their undistinguishing rage against the Indians, in.] THE REVOLUTION. 59 they had attacked a friendly tribe, and had driven their queen, who had been a faithful ally to the English, to flee into the woods at the risk of her life. Nevertheless, soon after Berkeley's departure a firm peace was made with all the Indians, and their relations with the settlers were thenceforth friendly. 15. The Revolution. Two Governors who came soon after, Lord Culpepper and Lord Effingham, governed the colony worse than any that had gone before them. Lord Culpepper came out in 1680 ; he persuaded the Assembly to raise his salary from i,ooo/. to 2,ooo/. It had been a custom for the captains of ships to make certain presents to the Governor : Culpepper changed these into fixed dues. In 1683 he left the colony. His successor, Lord Effingham, created new and unnecessary offices, and devised pretexts for exacting additional fees. Both of these Governors claimed and exercised the right of repealing laws passed in the Assembly, by their own proclamation. The English Revolution of 1688, though it introduced no change into the constitution of Virginia, seems to have stopped, or at least greatly lessened, these evils. One new abuse however came in. Hitherto, the Governor had always lived in Vir- ginia ; now it became the custom for him to be represented by a deputy in the colony. From 1704 to 1740 the Earl of Orkney was nominally Governor, but during that long time he was represented by a deputy, who received 8oo/. a year out of the Governor's salary. Thus the colony was taxed i,2OO/. a year for the maintenance of the Governor, whom they never saw. The English Government excused this on the ground that it would be of great service to the colony to have some man of high position in England to look after their interest : but as Lord Orkney was nearly the whole of the time away on foreign service, it can hardly be thought that he was of much use to the colony. The most important Co PLYMOUTH. [CHAP. change introduced by the Revolution was the establishment of a college, called the College of William and Mary. Large subscriptions for this purpose were given by the colonists, as well as by Virginian merchants and other persons in England. Professorships were established, and a handsome building erected, after plans by Sir Christopher Wren. CHAPTER IV. PLYMOUTH. The first Puritan settlers (l) constitution (2) early history (3) colony independent (4) townships (5) system of government (6). I. The first Puritan Settlers. The Virginia Company originally consisted, as we have seen, of two branches, one the South Virginia Company at London, the other the North Virginia Company at Plymouth. In 1607 the latter sent out forty-five settlers, who established them- selves at the mouth of 'the river Kennebec. This attempt came to nothing. The winter was unusually cold ; Popham, their leader, died, and the colony broke up. This failure kept Englishmen from making any attempt at settlement in that quarter for some years. Fishing voyages were made ; and Smith, after his return from Virginia, explored the coast, pave it the name of New England, and did his best to persuade rich men in England to plant a colony there. Besides, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, who had taken a leading part in fitting out the expedition of 1606, had several times sent out ships to explore the coast. But for fourteen years after iv.] THE FIRST PURITAN SETTLERS, 61 Popham's failure no settlement was made. One reason possibly was, that the Virginia Company took off all who had money and energy to spend on such enterprises. The colonization of Virginia was, as we have already seen, brought about by the pressure of poverty and the lack of food and employment in England. The colonization of New England was due to a totally different cause, namely, the ill- treatment which a particular sect received from the English Government. During the reign of Elizabeth the English Protestants were divided into two parties. There were those who thought that the Reformation had gone far enough, or even too far, and who wished to keep as much as possible, and in some cases even to restore, something of the ritual and teaching of the Romish Church. There were others who wanted to go much further than the English Church had yet gone, and to abolish many things which reminded them of the old connexion with Rome. This party was itself again divided into various bodies. There were those who wished to maintain the system of Church-government by bishops, and only to change some of the forms of worship. Others wanted to introduce the Presbyterian system, that of government by elders, as established in Switzerland and France by Calvin and his followers, and in Scotland by John Knox. A third party, small and insigni- ficant during the reign of Elizabeth, wished to introduce the Independent system which existed in some parts of Germany. Under this system each congregation was a separate body, having full control over its own religious affairs. Neither of these last named parties, the Presby- terian or the Independent, obtained much importance under Elizabeth. But as James I. and Charles I., and the leading men among the bishops in their reigns, showed no readiness to yield anything to the reforming party in the Church, many of those who had hitherto been in favour of keeping the existing 62 PLYMOUTH. [CHAP. Church-government, gradually went over to the Presbyterians or Independents. During the reign of Elizabeth several severe measures were passed against the Independents, pro- hibiting them from holding religious meetings. Under James, yet harsher measures were enacted. The result was to di ive many of them to Holland, where full toleration was granted to all sects. Among these refugees was an Independent congregation from Scrooby, a village in Nottinghamshire. They fled in a body in 1608, under the guidance of their minister, Robinson, one of the best and wisest of the English Independents, and established themselves at Leyden. There they sojourned for more than ten years, and were joined by many of their friends from England, so that they grew to be a great congregation. But though they prospered, they were not altogether satisfied with their abode in Holland. Their children were exposed to the temptations of a great city, and doubtless many longed for the quiet country life in which they had been bred. At length they bethought them of forming a settlement in America, to be a refuge from the temptations of the world, and perhaps the means of conveying Christianity to the heathen. They decided to settle, if they were allowed, as a separate com- munity, on the lands of the Virginia Company. With this view they sent over to England two deputies to get a grant of land from the company and a charter from the King. The land was granted, but the charter was refused. The King however gave a general promise that, if they behaved peace- ably, they should not be molested. At first they had some doubt about settling without a charter, but one of their leaders remarked, that " if there should be a purpose or desire to wrong them, though they had a seal as broad as the house floor, it would not serve the turn, for there would be means enough found to recall it or reverse it." On the 5th of August, 1620, a hundred and twenty of them, I v.l TflE FIRST PURITAN SETTLERS. 63 having crossed over from Leyden, set sail from South- ampton in two vessels, the Speedwell and the Mayflower. At first everything seemed against them ; before they had gone far, the Speedwell sprang a leak, and was obliged to return for repairs. On the next attempt, when they were three hundred miles from land, the Speedwell was found to be overmasted, and unfit for the voyage. They decided to divide into two companies, one of which should return, and the other proceed in the Mayflower. On the gth of November they sighted land. This proved to be Cape Cod, a promontory some 130 miles north of the spot where they wished to settle ; they then directed the Master of the ship to sail south. This however he pro- fessed himself unable to do, and landed them inside the bay formed by Cape Cod and the mainland. They believed that he had been bribed by the Dutch, who traded with the Indians about the mouth of the river Hudson, and who did not wish to have any rivals there. As it turned out, the coast within the bay was a fitter spot for a weak colony. The Indians had a few years before captured the crew of a French vessel, and cruelly put them to death. One of the French had warned them that their crime would not go unpunished. Shortly after, a great plague fell upon them and swept off whole villages. This had a twofold effect : it weakened the Indians, and left much of their country desolate and empty for the new comers, and it made the savages believe that the God of the white men would punish any wrong done to them. But for this protection, a weak ' colony could hardly have escaped destruction by the Indians. In other respects too the spot was well suited for a settle- ment : the soil was tairly fertile, there was good harbourage for ships, and the climate, though severe in winter, was healthy. In fact it was, like England, a country less attractive and less rich in its resources than southern lands, but more 64 PLYMOUTH. [CHAP. fitted to call out energy and activity, and so to breed haidy and industrious citizens. 2. Constitution. The first act of the settlers was to con- stitute themselves a body politic, with power to make laws and ordinances for the management of their joint affairs. They then looked out for a suitable spot for a permanent settlement. They decided on a place with a harbour, cornfields, and running water, on the west side of the bay. On the nth (old style) of December, they landed, calling the place " Plymouth," after the last English town they had left. As they had settled beyond the limits of the Virginia Company, their patent was useless ; the land which they occupied was however in the possession of another company. Gorges and other leading men had, in 1620, obtained a charter from the King for the land which was to have been occupied by the North Virginia Company. This was, in fact, a revival of that company, and as the new company, like the old one, numbered among its members many west-countrymen, it was called the Plymouth Company. But it must be remembered that this Plymouth Company and Plymouth the Puritan Colony were two distinct bodies, and that neither in any way took its name from the other. In 1621 the colony ob- tained a patent from the company. This was not granted directly to the settlers themselves, but to a body of London merchants. These men formed a sort of smaller corpora- tion under the Plymouth Company. They fitted out the colonists, and took the expense of sending them out. The shares were allotted to the colonists themselves, and to those who contributed money one share to each emigrant, and one for every io/. invested. The colonists were to be pro- vided with food and all other necessaries from the common stock. The profits were to accumulate, and, at the end of seven years, to be divided among all the shareholders. These IV. ] EARLY HIS TOR Y. 65 merchants seem to have gone into the matter merely as a question of profit, and to have had no special sympathy with the Puritans, and accordingly they dealt somewhat harshly with the colonists. 3. Early History. For the first few years the climate bore hardly on the settlers, and the history of the colony is little more than one Jong story of suffering and endurance. The first winter the cold was so severe that out of a hundred settlers about half died, and of the rest all but six or seven were at one time ill. Slighter hardships had broken up the Virginia settlements under Lane and Somers. But the men of Plymouth were more enduring, and held on ; the friendship of the Indians was of great service to them. The first meeting, a few days after the settlers landed, was hostile, and the English had to use their guns in self-defence. But soon after they met with a savage who could speak English, and they soon made friends with Massaso t, the chief sachem in those parts. With him they made a firm league ; two years later his life was saved by the medical skill of the English, and he was ever after their fast friend. The only show of enmity on the part of the Indians was made by a chief named Canonicus. He sent the English the skin of a snake full of arrows, as a sort of challenge. Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, stuffed the skin with powder and ball, and sent it back. The Indians seem to have taken the warning, and made no attack. After this, the settlers of Plymouth lived for many years at peace with their savage neighbours. One exception there was indeed, but that was due entirely to the misconduct of other English settlers. In 1622 one Weston obtained a patent from the Plymouth Company, and settled sixty men in Massachusetts some thirty or forty miles north of Plymouth. They proved idle and disorderly, and instead of working, plundered the Indians, and so endangered the peace between them and the F 66 PLYMOUTH. [CHAP. Plymouth settlers. Some trifling hostilities broke out and a few Indians were killed, but peace was soon restored. Weston's colony, in less than two years from its foundation, broke up, greatly oppressed by famine, but partly from dread of the Indians. Somewhat later, one Captain \Vol- laston set up a plantation near the site of Weston's. This too failed, and Wollaston, with most of his men, departed to Virginia. The rest stayed under the leadership of one Morton, a dissolute and riotous man. He sold arms and ammunition to the Indians, and by this and other misdeeds became so dangerous to the men of Plymouth that they at length arrested him and sent him home. At a later day, as we shall see, he returned to America, repeated his offences, and was again banished. 4. Colony independent of the Company. Partly, perhaps, through these hindrances, the colony for a while did not prosper. For the first five years the settlers had no cattle, and when their corn was spent, they had often to live wholly on shell-fish. At the end of four years the settlement num- bered only a hundred and eighty persons, dwelling in thirty- two houses, and the shareholders at home grumbled at the small profits. In 1627 a change was made, greatly for the good of the colony ; the settlers themselves bought up the whole stock of the company, paying for it by instalments ; they had to raise the money at high interest. Nevertheless, the knowledge that they were working for their own profit so quickened their industry, that in six years from that time they had paid off all their debts and had become the independent owners of their own land, houses, and live stock. One im- portant result of this was the rapid increase of numbers. Hitherto the new coiners were only such men as the share- holders thought likely to make good colonists and were willing to send out. Now it was free to the settlers to choose their own associates, and accordingly many of the English IV.] 7 OWNS HIPS. 67 * Puritans joined them. By 1643 the colony numbered three thousand inhabitants, divided among eight towns. More- over, the members of the Plymouth Company sent out fishing and exploring expeditions, and formed trading stations along the coast, and these opened fresh markets for the produce . of Plymouth. 5. Townships. The process by which Plymouth grew was quite different from that which we have seen in Virginia. The settlers did not spread over a wide surface of country, living in solitary plantations, but formed townships. As their numbers increased and outgrew the original settle- ments, they moved off in bodies, each occupying an allotted portion of ground, of which a part was held in common. Thus there were no great estates, as in Virginia, and all the towns, or as we should rather call them, villages, were within easy reach of one another. For some while they did not e;4end inland, but only along the coast, so that of the eight townships first formed seven were by the sea. There were various causes for this difference between Virginia and Ply- mouth. One was that the Puritans made it a great point to worship frequently together, and so could not bear to be widely scattered. Another was that the Plymouth settlers were not, like many of the Virginians, taken from the landed gentry, and so they had no special taste for large landed estates, even if they could have got them. Moreover, at that time, among the English yeomen and cottagers much of the land was still held and farmed in common by villages, so that the system of townships fell in with the home usages of the colonists. Moreover, there was no such means of passing from one part of the country to another and of carrying goods as was afforded by the rivers in Virginia, and the fear of the Indians served to keep the settlers together. It is very important to bear all this in mind, since it was the leading point of difference, not only between Virginia and Plymouth, F 2 68 PL YMOUTH. [CHAP. but between the southern and northern colonies. The for- mer for the most part consisted of scattered plantations, the latter of closely connected townships. 6. System of Government. The government of Plymouth consisted of a Governor, a body of Assistants, and an Assembly. The Governor and Assistants were elected by the whole body of freemen. The Assembly was at first what is called primary, that is to say, it consisted of the whole body of freemen meeting themselves, not sending their representatives. The first freemen were the original settlers, afterwards those who in each town were admitted by the body of freemen already existing. As may be easily supposed, when the number of townships increased, it was found inconvenient for the whole body of freemen to meet together for public business. Accordingly in 1639 the system of representation, the same by which the English House of Commons is formed, was introduced. Every township sent two representatives, and the body so returned was, with the Governor and Assistants, the General Court. The primary Assembly of all the freemen still kept its power of enacting laws, but this gradually fell into disuse, and the whole government passed over to the General Court. Thus we see that in the two earliest American colonies, the government was modelled on that of England. But there was this important difference between the two : in Virginia the system of government was originally copied from the English constitution ; while in Plymouth it was at first quite different, and became like it only by gradually fitting itself to the wants of the people. This change is of special importance, since it shows the way in which, in many free communities in different parts of the world, a representative assembly has taken the place of a primary one. But in most cases this change has taken place in such early times, that our knowledge of it is vague and imperlect. V.] FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. 69 The American colonies furnish almost the only instance in which we can trace the whole process. After this change the Governor and Assistants were still elected by the whole body of freemen. The Assistants sat as judges in criminal and civil cases, with a jury of freemen, and generally managed public business. So little ambition was there in the state, and so small was the profit and honour attached to the public offices, that a law was passed im- posing a fine on anyone who refused the place of Governor or Assistant when elected. For the first sixteen years the colony lived under the laws of England. In 1636 a special committee was appointed to help the Governor and Assistants in drawing up a code of laws. These laws were simple in their character, not copied from the laws of England, but suited to the wants of a small community living in a plain manner. Cases too trifling to come before the Assistants were tried by magistrates in the different townships. CHAPTER V. MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. Settlement in Massachusetts Bay (i) changes in constitution (2) laws and manners (3) religious' troubles (4) danger from the English government (5) the charter threatened (6) settlement of Connecticut (7) constitution (8) other settlers in Connecti- cut (9) the Pequod "war (10). I. The Settlement in Massachusetts Bay. When the North Virginia Company was renewed under the name of the Plymouth Company, many important men belonged to it, 70 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. and some of the members, such as Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason, took a great interest in its prosperity. Yet it was far inferior in its results to the Virginia Company. No successful settlements were made at the expense of the company, nor does it seem to have done much in the way of trade. The chief thing done was to sell or let large tracts of land to private per- sons, many of them members of the company, which they might occupy if they chose. This hindered rather than furthered colonization. For the leading men of the com- pany knew so little of the country that they often care- lessly disposed of the same tract of land twice over, and this gave rise to much confusion in later times. Thus for some years after the settlement of Plymouth very little else was done in that quarter. We have already seen what became of two settlements, those under Weston and Wollaston. Another attempt was made in 1623. In that year, Robert Gorges, a son of Sir Ferdinando, was sent out to plant a colony at Wessagusset, where Weston had already failed. But though he went out with a commission from the com- pany as Governor-General of New England, he did nothing worth speaking of, and only left a few scattered settlers. Some of the members of the company too had regular es- tablishments for fishing and trading in furs, managed by hired servants, and a good many vessels fished along the Massachusetts bay. Besides this, a few stray emigrants seem to have settled themselves alone, but not to have formed any villages. Some of these traders and fisher- men did much harm by selling guns to the natives, and this, together with the Virginia massacre, led the King to publish a proclamation forbidding anyone to sell arms or ammunition to the savages in America. Before long the success of the Plymouth colonists led others to follow in their footsteps. About 1627 some of the leaders among the v.] FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS, 71 Puritan party, men of much greater wealth and education than the founders of Plymouth, bethought them of form- ing a second Puritan colony in America. Already some of these men had a fishing station on the coast about sixty miles from Plymouth, which was to serve as a sort of foun- dation for their colony. In 1628 they got a tract of land, about sixty miles along the coast, granted them by the Ply- mouth Company, and sent out a party of sixty men to occupy it. So far the founders of the settlement were only a private trading company; but in the spring of 1629 they took an important step, they increased their number, and obtained a charter from the King making them into a cor- poration, called the Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. This company had nothing to do with the Plymouth Company, beyond having bought a tract of land from it. In its character and objects it was not unlike the Virginia Company. Its affairs were managed by a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and eighteen Assistants. All these officers were elected by the whole company once a year. The whole body of members had the power of making laws for the settlers in their territory so long as these did not in- terfere with the laws of England. The company immediately appointed a Council of thirteen to manage their affairs in the colony, and sent out six ships with three hundred men and eighty women. Next year a very important change was made. The charter said nothing as to the place at which the meetings of the company were to be held. Accordingly the members resolved to carry the charter over to America, and to hold their meetings there. In this way they would be less under the eye of the English Government, and better able to make such religious and political changes as might please them. If the company had been really like the Virginia Company, a trading corporation, this change would have been inconvenient. But from the outset the 72 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. formation of a Puritan colony was looked on as their chief object. Rules were made about the joint trade of the company, but these soon passed out of sight. The com- pany seems never to have divided any profits in money, and the only return which the subscribers received for the money they had put in was the land allotted to them in America. The real object of the company was something very different from trade. It was to found a separate State, independent of England, and differing from it in many leading points. This attempt was even more remarkable than the undertakings of the Virginia and Plymouth colonists. The Virginia Company made their settlement with the in- tention that it should be closely connected with England, and though it became in many ways independent, yet it did so gradually, and rather by chance than of set pur- pose. Plymouth was indeed quite as independent as Massachusetts. But then, Plymouth was in every way a much less important place. The men who founded it were poor and unlearned, and could be hardly said to have taken up the enterprise of their own free will, but were rather forced into it by the ill-treatment they met with in England. The founders of Massachusetts were in a very different position. We have seen that among those who wished to carry the Protestant Reformation further than it had yet gone there were different parties. There were those who condemned the Church of England altogether, and wished instead to have Independent, or, as they may be called, Congregational churches. The founders of Plymouth belonged to this party. The party to which the founders of Massachusetts belonged also wished to remove many usages which seemed to them too much like those of the Romish Church. But they sought to do so, not by leaving the English Church and setting up a new system, but by altering the prac- tices of the Church itself. Most of those Puritans who v.] FIRST SETTLEMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS. 73 were in Parliament and took an active part in public affairs were of this latter party. At this particular time those men were just as much opposed to the system of political government in England as to the practices of the Church ; for the King was beginning to set Parliament at naught, and to govern by his own will. He levied taxes without the consent of the House of Commons, and im- prisoned those who would not pay : in short, he was entering upon that system of government which led to the Great Rebellion. In founding the colony of Massachusetts, the Puritans were securing a refuge where they might be safe from this arbitrary government, and might manage things ac- cording to their own political principles. This, coupled with the greater wealth and higher birth of the first colonists, made the settlement of Massachusetts a much more important event than that of Plymouth ; for the founders of Massachusetts were for the most part rich men, some country squires arid some merchants, and several were kinsfolk to the greatest men of the day. Many of those who furthered it, though not of those who actually went out, were mem- bers of parliament, who afterwards took a leading part in English affairs ; and some of the actual settlers seem to have been in nowise inferior to them in wisdom and energy, and doubtless would have made great names for them- selves if they had stayed in England. So that, by looking at the colony of Massachusetts, we can see what sort of a commonwealth was constructed by the best men of the Puritan party, and, to some extent, what they would have made the government of England if they could have had their way unchecked. The first Governor, John Winthrop, was a country gentleman of a good estate in Suffolk, forty- two years of age. Eaton, one cf the Assistants, had been the English minister at the court of Denmark. To such men as these it must have been no small sacrifice to leave 74 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. England and their houses and estates, and to settle in a wilderness. In this Massachusetts differed from Virginia : for though Lord Delaware and Gates and Dale had gone out to the colony, yet they only went for a while to set things in order, with no intention of staying ; but in Massachusetts men of great ability and distinction went out at the very first as regular settlers. This we may be sure they would never have done without the hope of enjoying such political and religious freedom as was not to be had in England. In the summer of 1630 Winthrop went out with a thou- sand emigrants. Like the early settlers in Virginia and Ply- mouth, they suffered grievous hardships. In the winter before nearly eighty of the colonists had died, and of course, as their numbers increased, food was scarcer and their plight became worse. Moreover, the cold weather came on before they had time to settle and build houses, and many died. By ill luck it was a time of dearth in England, and very little corn was sent over, and that at great prices. One result of this was that the settlers, in their attempts to find food, spread abroad, and instead of all forming one town, as was originally intended, they formed eight small settlements. 2. Changes in Constitution. One of the most interesting and remarkable things in the early history of Massachusetts is the series of changes in its system of government. After a few years it had, like Virginia and Plymouth, a government which was a sort of miniature of the Eng- lish system, and consisted of a Governor, a Council of Assistants, and a body of Representatives, two from each settlement. In the process by which this came about Massa- chusetts resembled, not Virginia, but Plymouth. The arrangement was not made once for all, but grew gradually by various changes which were made as they became necessary. Originally all important matters were managed by the whole body of the freemen at their meetings four v.] CHANGES IN CONSTITUTION. 75 times in the year. The number of freemen however increased so fast that the system became inconvenient, and in October, 1630, the right of making laws and of electing the Governor and Deputy-Governor was given over to the Assistants. Very soon it was found difficult to get together seven Assistants, which was the number required to form a meeting. Accordingly the Assistants enacted that, if less" than nine of them should be in the colony, the majority should be enough to form a meeting. This change placed the authority in the hands of a very small body. In May, 1631, the manner of electing Assistants was altered ; the Assistants, instead of being elected afresh every year, remained in office until they were specially removed by a vote of the freemen. After these two measures, the man- agement of affairs was likely to fall into the hands of a very small body of men, who could not easily be deprived of their office. In the spring of 1631 the inhabitants of Watertown, one of the eight settlements, refused to pay a tax levied by the Assistants. When the General Court of all the freemen met in May, it was decided that two men should be sent from each settlement to decide the question of taxation. Two points should be noticed : I, The principle for which the men of Watertown had contended, that they should not be taxed without their own consent, was admitted ; 2, The freemen, instead of acting directly in the matter, found it more convenient to send deputies to speak for them. For the present these deputies had no power of law making, but only advised the Assistants about taxation. At the same time the freemen claimed and were allowed the right of electing the Governor and Assistants each year. Two years later a very important change was made. The freemen, finding that to attend the meetings was too great an interruption to their business, reserved to themselves only the power of electing the Governor and Deputy-Governor, and made over all their 76 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. other powers to their deputies. These Deputies, together with the Governor and Assistants, formed the General Court. In the year 1634 the ballot-box was introduced at the election, and, for the first time, Winthrop was not elected. Soon after, when seven men were appointed to settle the division of the town lands of Boston, several of the chief men were left out, and poorer men chosen, from an idea that otherwise the lower class of settjers would not get their fair share. In this same year a proposal was made which, if carried, would have completely changed the character of the colony. Certain Puritans of the upper classes, including Lord Brook and Lord Say and Sele, who were both members of the Plymouth Company and took a great interest in colonization, proposed to come over. They required however that two orders should be established in the colony, gentlemen and freeholders. The rank of the first was to be hereditary, and the Governor was always to be chosen from it. The second order, the freeholders, was to consist of those who had a certain amount of property, while all below that were to be shut out from all political power. Such a system would have robbed many of the freemen of the very liberty in hopes of which they came over. If the proposal had been made earlier, before the freemen had strengthened themselves by naming repre- sentatives, it might have been entertained, but as it was it met with no favour. Two years later an attempt was made to establish a Permanent Council. Its members were to hold office for life, and could only be removed for some serious cause. Some councillors were elected, but nothing further was ever done, and the scheme fell to the ground. Up to 1644 the Deputies sat together with the Assistants, but in that year they sat apart, like the English House of Commons. The manner in which this came about is a good illustration of the simple life of the colony, and V.] LA WS AND MANNERS. 77 shows how the Government had to manage all matters, great and small, and how the two were in a great measure mixed up. A lawsuit about a stolen pig came before the General Court. The parties to the suit were a poor widow and one Captain Keayne, a rich man, who was thought hard to the poor, and so was unpopular. Seven Assistants and eight Deputies were on Keayne's side ; two Assistants and fifteen Deputies were against him. The Assistants were looked on as the champions of the rich; the Deputies, of the poor : and thus a bitter feeling sprang up. A long dispute followed, and in the end the power of the Deputies was increased by their being allowed to sit as a separate body. After that the constitution of Massachusetts underwent no important change for forty years. 3. Laws and Manners. All this while, though Massa- chusetts was in so many ways independent, and had .so little connexion with the home Government, yet it preferred to be governed by the laws of England ; that is to say, the law of England was the only law which held good in Massachusetts, except when anything different was specially enacted by the Court. But, in 1636, the people who, as we have seen, were somewhat jealous of the leading men, demanded a code of laws, feeling that they would be more secure if they were governed by fixed statutes than by enactments made from time to time by the Court. On the other hand, Winthrop and some of the principal men felt that the Government in England might resent the enactment of a regular code of laws, as if the settlers thereby claimed to be independent of the mother country. The people however were determined to have a code, and at length got their way. A committee was appointed to draw one up, and, though there was much delay, in 1641 a complete set of laws was enacted under the name of the Body of Liberties. This code was modelled 78 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. in many respects, not on the English law, but on that of Moses. In one respect it followed the principles of the English law in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. All men who appeared to be living in a state of idleness were compelled to give an account of themselves to the Govern- ment, and all heads of families were bound to see that their children were properly employed. 4. Religious Troubles. Originally the Massachusetts settlers differed from those of Plymouth in their position towards the Church. They were only reformers, not dis- senters ; but though they accepted the government of the Church while they were in England, they had no such liking for it that they cared to continue their connexion with it when it was even easier and simpler to establish a new system. Im- mediately upon their first landing in 1628 they adopted a system of Independent churches, like that of Plymouth. In 1 63 r a law was passed that no man should be a freeman of the colony, that is to say, should have any share in the govern- ment or in the election of officers, unless he belonged to a church. The effect of this was to establish a connexion between the churches and the civil government. Each church had the power of admitting fresh members to itself ; that is to say, of making fresh citizens. Such a power was too important to be exercised without any control on the part of the state ; moreover, the New England Puritans believed, like most men in that age, that it was their duty to root out every form of belief which they thought false, and that, if needs were, by force. The result of this was, that those who held unpopular opinions in Massachusetts were treated in much the same way as the Puritans themselves were in England. Endicott, a harsh and austere man, who was sent out in charge of the first party in 1628, was empowered to expel anyone from the colony whom he thought an unsuitable inhabitant. He accordingly drove out two v.J RELIGIOUS TROUBLES. 79 brothers, John and Samuel Brown, a lawyer and a merchant, who wished to celebrate worship according to the forms of the Church of England. Three years later, one Lynn was whipped and banished for writing home letters attack- ing the system of church-government. In 1634 a more serious contest arose. In that year, Roger Williams, an able young Welshman, trained at Oxford, and of great integrity and gentleness, was minister at Salem, a town in Massachusetts. There he taught certain doctrines, both in religion and politics, which were thought dangerous to the state. He was brought before the Court, and after much discussion they decided to send him back to England. Before this sentence could be carried out, he escaped. Soon afterwards he established a small settlement to the south of Massachusetts. In justice, it must be said that the chief men in Massachusetts do not seem to have borne any ill- will against Williams afterwards. Indeed, while he was still on his trial, Winthrop, heaving that he was in need, sent him money. Two years later worse troubles arose. A cer- tain Mrs. Hutchinson, an active and clever woman, took to giving religious lectures at Boston. She soon became the leader of a sect in many points opposed to the teaching of the regular ministers. In this she was supported by Wheel- wright, the minister of Boston, and by nearly the whole of his church. The matter was brought before the General Court, and Greensmith, one of Mrs. Hutchinson's chief supporters, was fined 4O/. The church of Boston took up his cause, and sent a petition to the Court on his behalf. For this they were punished in a curious way. Hitherto Boston had been considered the chief town in the colony. Winthrop's house was there, and the General Court held its meetings there. It was now resolved that the Court should meet at Newtown, the place next in importance. Soon after this the yearly election of Governor and Assistants came on, and it almost So MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. seemed as if a civil war was at hand. Henry Vane, who had been Governor for the past year, was a young man of good fam ly and education, and afterwards took a leading part among the statesmen of the English Commonwealth. He was however but a new comer in Massachusetts, and most likely the old settlers, Winthrop and his friends, looked on his youth and inexperience with some suspicion. Though Vane was not exactly one of Mrs. Hutchinson's party, he regarded her with more favour than most of the chief men did, and seems to have been opposed to the proceedings against her. In such a state of things the election was sure to be the signal for a great outbreak of angry feeling. Winthrop was elected Governor, and Vane and his chief supporters were not even chosen to be Assistants. After this a tumult arose and fierce speeches were made, and some even came to blows. The men of Boston, who had been wont to send an escort with the Governor on public occasions, now refused it Before the end of the year a conference of all the churches was held to settle some way of dealing with these troubles. Vane, whose influence might have been a help to those accused, had gone back to England. At the conference, Wheelwright was put on his trial for a sermon which he had preached, and for his opinions and practice generally. Mrs. Hutchinson was charged with imputing false teaching to all the ministers in the country except those of Boston. Several others of her chief supporters were accused of having made a heretical and scandalous statement in their petition on behalf of Greensmith. For this offence Mrs. Hutchinson and Wheel- wright were banished ; the rest had to acknowledge their guilt and to yield up their arms, and were deprived of any office that they held. With this the troubles ended, and the churches of Massachusetts for a while enjoyed peace. All traces of the storm soon passed away. Wheelwright after a time conlessed himself in error, and was allowed to return. V.I DANGER FROM THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT. 81 1VI any of the others who had been punished, afterwards held offices, and served as loyal citizens in the wars against the Indians. It gives one a good idea of the small size of Massachusetts, and from what a little seed a great nation has grown, when one sees the whole state thrown into agitation, and almost civil war, by an affair which in England would not have occupied the attention of a single county, or even a large town, and of which ninety-nine persons out of a hundred might never have heard. It shows one too how popular the government was in spite of all its severity, and how loyal the citizens were, when such an affair could pass over and leave no ill effects behind, especially as only the leaders were banished, and many remained who might have served as the seed for a new faction. 5. Danger from the English Government. Meanwhile, the colony was exposed to dangers from without as well as Irom within. Certain persons, Gardiner, Morton, and Ratcliffe, had been expelled from Massachusetts, the first two for disorderly conduct, the last for speaking ill of the government. They had complained to the English Government of their ill-treatment. Such complaints were readily received. Archbishop Laud and his party must from the first have looked on the colony with dislike and distrust. The harshness with which the Browns had been treated would increase this feeling. Ratcliffe too seems to have been dealt with severely ; and though Gardiner and Morton were probably disorderly and vicious men, they could easily make up a fair-sounding story against the colonists. It is scarcely likely that the King, when he granted the charter, ever imagined what sort 01 fruit it would bear. The Privy Council at once took measures to control the in- dependent spirit of Massachusetts. In February, 1634, they issued an order setting forth that many disaffected persons were crossing over to New England, and that, as evil conse- G 82 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. quenccs would result from this, all ships should for a while be stopped from sailing thither. At the same time they demanded that the Massachusetts charter should be laid before them. Two months later the King issued a com- mission to Laud and ten others, empowering them to punish ecclesiastical offences in the colonies, to remove governors, to appoint judges and magistrates, to establish courts, and to revoke all charters and patents that might have been un- fairly obtained. A little later, Sir Ferdinando Gorges laid before the Privy Council a scheme for dividing New Eng- land into a number of provinces, each under a Lieutenant- Governor, with one Governor over the whole, all to be appointed by the Crown. Such proceedings naturally alarmed the colonists. Even at this early time they showed that, if needful, they were prepared to resist any attack on their liberties. They fortified three of their chief towns, Boston, Charlestown, and Dorchester, and made arrangements for the collection and safe keeping of arms. A commission was appointed to manage all military affairs, with power, if war broke out, to imprison, or even put to death, any persons that refused to obey them. At the same time it was enacted that the freemen should no longer take the oath of allegiance to the King, but instead, should swear to be faith- ful and true to the commonwealth of Massachusetts. 6. The Charter Threatened. In 1635 the Plymouth Com- pany came to an end. Its existence had done no good, either to members of the company or to others, and ac- cordingly they resolved to surrender their patent to the King. The only lasting effect of the company was to create confusion by the reckless way in which it had granted the same lands over and over again to different occu- pants. In the autumn of 1635 vigorous measures were taken by the English Government against Massachusetts. A writ of Quo Warranto, like that which had overthrown the V.] SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 83 Virginia Company, was issued, and the Massachusetts charter v/as declared null and void. Two events which could have been in no way reckoned on made the attack vain. The ship in which Gorges was coming out to support the interests of the English Government fell to pieces almost as soon as launched. About the same time Mason, a leading member of the Plymouth Company, a friend of Gorges, and a most energetic opponent of Massachusetts, died. For three years no farther attempt was made to put the judg- ment against the charter in force. But in 1638 some more disaffected people who had been punished by the Massa- chusetts government for disorderly and seditious conduct, came to England with complaints, and stirred up the home Government against the colony. A strict order was sent out demanding the charter. The colony sent back, not the charter, but a protest against the injustice of taking it from them. It seemed as if they would have either to keep it by force or to yield. But the English Government soon had more serious matters to attend to at home. By 1639 the Scotch were in arms against Charles I. The civil war took off all attention from the colonies, and when peace was restored, the Puritans had the upper hand, and the charter of Massachusetts was sate. 7. Settlement of Connecticut. Of all the American colo- nies, Massachusetts was the first, and for a long while the only one, which became itself the parent of other indepen- dent states. About 1634 the people in three of the town- ships of Massachusetts Newtown, Watertown, and Dor- chester being pressed by lack of pasture for their cattle, formed a scheme for settling the lands which lay to the west beyond the boundary of Plymouth. This was a fertile land, watered by a broad river, the Connecticut. One reason for the movement was the fear that the Dutch, who were already settled on the river Hudson, might step in G 2 84 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. and occupy this land. It was thought too that some of the leading men at Newtown wished for more influence and independence than they enjoyed there. The measure was at first much opposed in the General Court. It was thought that it would weaken the settlement, and take off some of their most valued ministers. Moreover, the Dutch had already set up a fort on the river, and might resent any trespass there. The Indians also in that quarter were many and fierce. The home Government too might disapprove of the settlers moving into lands to which they had no legal claim. Among those who were most anxious for the change were the people of Watertovvn. They, as we have seen, had been the first to resist the claim of the Governors and Assistants to impose taxes, and it is possible that both sides were influenced by the memory of that quarrel. Certain it is at least that the Assistants were opposed to the emigration, and the Deputies in favour of it. The latter view prevailed, and in 1635, with the leave of the Court, a settlement was formed. The emigrants set out too late in the year, and they suffered great hardships. The next year about a hundred emigrants with a hundred and sixty cattle set forth. By 1637 the new settlement con- tained three towns and eight hundred inhabitants. 8. Constitution. The new colony was called Connecticut. At first the government was unsettled. It was held that the inhabitants were still subject to the state of Massachusetts ; yet as early as 1636 they had a Court of their own, consisting ol two deputies from each town, who managed all the public business of the settlement. This system went on for three years, but it was clear that they could not continue de- pendent on the government of a state separated Irom them by more than a hundred and thirty miles of wilderness. Accordingly in 1639 the freemen of Connecticut all met together and formed a Constitution very like that of Massa- V.] THE PEQUOD WAR. 8$ chusctts. The whoie body of freemen were to elect a Gover- nor and six Magistrates, who were to administer justice and manage public affairs. Each town was to elect two Deputies, and those, together with the Governor and Assistants, were to form the supreme Government. The chief points of difference between this Constitution and that of Massa- chusetts were two : i. The freemen of each town only needed to be admitted by the other freemen of that town, and were not obliged to be church members ; 2. No man could be governor for two years together. Massachusetts does not seem to have made any attempt to keep its hold over Connecticut, but allowed its inhabitants to set up a perfectly independent government. For the present Con- necticut had no charter or patent from the Crown, and the constitution, like that of Plymouth, rested only on the agree- ment of the citizens. 9. Other settlers in Connecticut. While this state was being formed, an attempt was also made by a party in England to colonize the same country. In the autumn of 1635, just when the first migration was being made from Massachusetts, John Winthrop, the son of the Massachu- setts governor, came out with a commission from Lord Brook, Lord Say and Sele, and others, to be the governor of a tract of land on the river Connecticut. According to their orders, he established a fort at the mouth of the river, driving out a ship that had been sent by the Dutch to lay claim to the place. This settlement, for a while, had no connexion with the towns founded from Massachusetts. But in 1644, Fen wick, the governor of the fort, made it over to the state of Connecticut, in return for certain duties to Le levied on ships sailing past. 10. The Pequod War. Soon after the settlement of Con- necticut, New England was engaged in its first Indian war. The country near the river Connecticut was inhabited by the 86 MASSACHUSETTS AND CONNECTICUT. [CHAP. Pequods, a fierce and warlike tribe, numbering nearly a thousand warriors. For three or four years there were various paltry quarrels between the Pequods and the English, and some on each side were killed. The Pequods tried to strengthen themselves by an alliance with a neighbouring tribe, the Narragansetts. Roger Williams, who had been banished from Massachusetts, now showed a noble spirit of forgiveness. Being able to speak the Indian language, he went at the risk of his own life to the Narragansetts chiefs, and persuaded them to have no dealings with the Pequods. They were the more easily persuaded to this as the Pequods had formerly been their enemies. Soon after the Narra- gansetts sent an embassy to Boston, and made a firm alliance with England. The Mohegans, the only other powerful tribe of Indians in that country, were also friendly to the English. Thus the Pequods were left to stand a'one. If it had been otherwise, and if the Indian tribes had united, it is possible that the English settlers might have been exterminated. In 1637 the English considered that they had good cause for beginning the war, and a force from Massachusetts and Connecticut marched against the Indians. They attacked the chief fort, where the Pequods had placed their women and children. The Indians for a while resisted, till the English set the fort on fire. The light wood and wicker work was at once in a blaze. All within, men, women, and children, to the number of six hundred, perished. Of the besiegers only two fell. The English then pushed on into the Pequod country, desolating and destroying every- where, till nearly the whole tribe was exterminated. About two hundred survived, some of whom were kept as slaves by the English, while the rest lived scattered among the other Indian tribes. Their chief, Sasacus, fled to the Mohawks, by whom he was killed, and the nation of Pequods ceased to exist. vi.] NEW HAVEN. 87 CHAPTER VI. THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. New Haven (i) Providence and Rhode Island (2) Maine (3). i. New Haven. Besides the three more important Puri- tan colonies, there were other small settlements in the same neighbourhood. All of these joined themselves sooner or later to the larger colonies. But some remained separate long enough to make it necessary that we should know some- thing of their history. The most important of these was New Haven. This was founded by a small body of men chiefly from London, some of them of good birth and edu- cation. They wished to establish a state which should in all its arrangements make the Bible its rule of life. For this object, after a short stay in Boston, they settled them- selves, in 1638, at a place called Quinipiac on the coast, thirty miles to the west of the river Connecticut. Soon after they changed the name to New Haven. For a year they lived without any fixed constitution, thinking it would be better to get some experience before they took the decisive step of forming a government. At the end of that time they proceeded to settle a system of gov- ernment. As in Massachusetts, none but church members were to be freemen. They appointed twelve men, who were in their turn to choose seven who should draw up a constitu- tion. The next year the freemen elected a Governor and four Deputies, and it was resolved that the whole body of freemen should meet once a year to transact public business. By 1641 the state had increased to three townships. Two small independent settlements had sprung up near, called 88 THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. [CHAP. Guilford and Milford. These were like New Haven in their general principles and system of government. In 1643 they voluntarily joined themselves to New Haven. It now be- came necessary to introduce the system of representatives. Accordingly a government was formed very like that of Massachusetts. There was a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and a body of Assistants elected by all the freemen, and a body of representatives, two from each town. These were to meet once a year. Important lawsuits were to be tried by the Assistants, small cases by Magistrates elected by the free- men in each town. The whole number of householders in the five towns amounted to a hundred and twenty-two. The most noticeable point about New Haven was the wealth of its inhabitants, which was greater than in any of the neigh- bouring states. The town of New Haven was the handsom- est and best built in New England, and some of the inhabi- tants displeased the people of Massachusetts by the size and costliness of their houses. 2. Providence and Rhode Island. When Ro^er Williams was driven out of Massachusetts, he established himself with a small band of followers at a place which they called Providence, at the head of Narragansett Bay. In 1640 we find the first record of any regular government among them. The colony then contained thirty-nine memlers. All their affairs were managed by five men, called Arbitrators. There does not seem to have been any fixed code of laws, nor any regular rules for the choice of these Arbitrators. Another settlement much like this sprang up in an island near Providence, called by its occupants Rhode Island. This was founded by some of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers when they were banished from Massachusetts. Here too there was at first no fixed code of laws. Affairs were managed by a Judge and three Assistants chosen by the whole people. In 1639 the settlement broke up into two independent bodies, VI.] PROVIDENCE AND RHODE ISLAND. 89 Newport and Portsmouth, but they were joined together again in 1640. The whole settlement by that time contained about fifty inhabitants, and a more regular system of govern- ment was introduced. Public affairs were to be managed by a Governor, a Deputy-Governor, and four Assistants. The Governor and two Assistants were to be chosen from one of the towns, the Deputy-Governor and the other Assistants from the other. Neither here nor in Rhode Island was it necessary that freemen should be church members. In 1644 Roger Williams returned to England and got from the Ccm- missioners for Plantations a patent incorporating Providence, Portsmouth, and Newport into one colony, with full power to make their own laws and constitution. Another town called Warwick was at once added to these. A President and four Assistants, one from each town, were chosen. In 1647 a very peculiar system of making laws was introduced. Six Deputies were chosen by each township ; these formed the General Court. Either this Court, or any of the towns at a public meeting of the townsmen, might propose a law ; this proposal was then sent round to the four towns, and all the freemen might vote for or against it. The votes were then collected, and, if the law was confirmed by a majority, it was passed : if not, it fell to the ground. Thus, no doubt, they hoped to give every man a direct share in making the laws, without putting all the inhabitants to the trouble of attending a general meeting. In the same year a code of laws was drawn up. Unlike the codes of the other New England states, this resembled the English law, and was evidently drawn up by some one familiar with that system. It is also noteworthy that the General Court sent persons accused of treason to England for trial. This was almost the only .instance in which any of the New England colonies invited the mother country to interfere with its internal a fiairs. The next year disputes bioke out. Coddington, the 90 THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. [CHAP. head of one party, went over to England, and returned with a patent constituting Newport and Portsmouth a separate state. This arrangement was strongly objected to by the other towns, and also by many of the inhabitants of Newport and Portsmouth. They believed that Coddington wished to join them to Massachusetts, and they disliked that scheme. Many of them were Baptists, and severe laws had lately been passed against that sect in Massachusetts, and some of them who had gone thither from Rhode Island had been flogged by order of the magistrates. The feud between Coddington and his opponents lasted three years, and each refused to acknowledge the authority of the other party as lawful. At last, in 1654, they were reconciled by Roger Williams. By his persuasion the four townships reunited under the patent of 1644. Williams himself was elected Pres : dent. The management of affairs was handed over to the General Court of six deputies from each town, and the old code of laws was declared to be in force. 3. Maine. In 1639 Gorges obtained from the King a charter, making him a proprietor of the province of Maine in New England. All the colonies that we have as yet consi- dered were formed, either like Virginia and Massachusetts, by regular companies, or else like Plymouth and Connecticut, by bodies of men bound together by their own voluntary agreement for this purpose. There was however another class of colonies, dependent on a single proprietor or a small num- ber of proprietors. In these cases, the King by a charter gave certain rights and powers to the proprietor, and he in his turn gave certain rights to the inhabitants. It will be better to consider this subject more fully when we come to the im- portant proprietary colonies of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Carolina. The grant to Gorges included all the 'land between the Piscataqua and Kennebec rivers, as far as a hundred and twenty miles from the sea. His charter gave VI. ] NE W HAMPSHIRE. 9 1 him almost kingly power over this territory. With the con- sent of the freeholders he could enact laws. By his own autho- rity he could establish law courts, levy taxes, raise troops, and make war. The colony contained two settlements, York and Saco, and about three hundred citizens. Nevertheless Gorges, who seems to have had more activity than wisdom, drew up a most elaborate constitution, with enough of officials for the government of a great Empire. The settlement of York alone was to be governed by a Mayor, twelve Aldermen, and twenty-four Common Coi ncillo.-s. Gorges never visited his colony, and before long the setters threw aside this cum- brous government, and establi?he .1 a simpler system for them- selves. Little is known of the character and position of the earlier settlers in Maine. But as Gorges was no friend to the Puritans, and a strong partizan of the King, we may be almost sure that his settlers differed both in religion and politics from their neighbours in Massachusetts and Plymouth. 4. New Hampshire. Several scattered settlements had been formed to the north and east of Massachusetts, in the neighbourhood of the Piscataqua. Some of these were formed by settlers under the Plymouth Company ; others by the partisans of Mrs. Hutchinson, who had been driven from Massachusetts. It is not worth while to trace the history of the struggles for jurisdiction. At one time there were not less than twelve distinct jurisdictions east of the Hud- son River, including the principal colonies of which account has already been given ; but before the Restoration these had been consolidated into six. The settlements on the Piscataqua were the beginning of what, after a long contest for jurisdiction and many changes, became the royal prov- ince of New Hampshire. In one way these small settle- ments, to the east and north of Massachusetts, in what are now the States of Maine and New Hampshire, had an im- portant effect. They prevented New England from being 92 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. exclusively Puritan. Even the General Court of Massa- chusetts, which we have seen ferociously repressing dissent within their limits, exhibited a statesmanlike appreciation of the impolicy of enforcing their religious views on commu- nities of a different origin and constitution ; and when the Piscataqua settlements were for a period, commencing with 1641, annexed to Massachusetts as an integral part of the colony, neither the freemen nor the deputies of this district were required to be church members. CHAPTER VII. THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. General view of N?iv England ( i ) relations between Plymouth and Massachusetts (2) danger from the French settlers (T^from the Dutch (4) the Confederation (5) the Commonwealth (6) in- ternal disturbances (3 ) Church-governmentC&) troubleswiththe Dutch (9) dealings with the French (10) with the Indians (I l). I. General view of New England. So far we have con- sidered the various English colonies to the north of the Hudson as separate provinces ; we may now treat them as divisions of a single country, applying to all of them together the name of New England. The whole territory of New England extended about two hundred and fifty miles along the coast. Excepting the towns on the Connecticut, there were no settlements more than eight or ten miles from the sea. The whole English population amounted to about twenty-six thousand, of whom fifteen thousand belonged to Massachusetts. The laws, customs, and manners of life throughout all the colonies were much alike ; all, except the small settlements on the Piscataqua and eastward, were com- posed mainly of Puritans. In none were there any very rich or very poor, or any class of wealthy landed gentry. Every- where there were laws providing for the teaching of children. vii.] PLYMOUTH AND MASSACHUSETTS. 93 Grown-up citizens too were subject to strict public discipline. Expense in dress and habits likely to lead to disorder, such as card-playing and drinking healths, were forbidden. As the soil and climate of all the colonies was much alike, so was their industry and commerce. The chief exports were corn, salt, fish, and timber. In Massachusetts shipbuilding was a thriving business, while Plymouth depended more on trade with the Indians in fur and skins, and from an early time had trading houses up several of the rivers. The most im- portant point of likeness however which ran through all the states, was their system of townships and churches. Each town was a society by itself, managing the chief part of its own affairs by public meetings of the whole body of townsmen, and by officers elected at these meetings. The police, the public roads, and the relief of the poor were all under the control of the separate townships, although if they neglected their duties, they could be admonished, and even fined, by the colonial government. Moreover, when the colony levied a tax, it only declared that each town must pay a certain amount, and left the townsmen to settle how the payment should be divided among individuals. At the same time each town had a church of its own, and the congrega- tion was for the most identical with the township. Under this system every freeman gained a certain amount of prac- tical training in public affairs. 2. Relations between Plymouth and Massachusetts. With this likeness of habits and institutions running through all the colonies, it was but natural that they should iorm some sort of political union. Till 1638 the two ori- ginal colonies, Plymouth and Massachusetts, had little to do with one another, nor was that little always friendly. In 1634 one Hocking, with a vessel belonging to Lord Say and Sele, went to trade up the Kennebec. The men of Ply- mouth claimed the exclusive right of trading there, and 94 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. resisted. A quarrel followed, in which Hocking shot one of his opponents and was himself killed. The matter was taken up by the Court of Massachusetts. As neither Hock- ing nor the ship came from Massachusetts, this was a sort of claim to deal with all questions which affected the peace of New England. After some discussion it was decided that Hocking had only himself to blame. This does not seem to have caused any ill-feeling between the states, as immediately afterwards Plymouth proposed to Massachu- setts to establish a joint trading house on the Connecticut. There were also disputes about boundaries, but these were settled in a friendly way. 3. Danger from the French settlers. The first definite proposal for an union between the colonies was made in 1638 ; the reasons for it were plain enough. There was the danger always to be feared from the Indians. There was also the possibility of encroachments by the Eng- lish Government. If the King conquered the Parliament, New England was almost sure to be one of his first victims. Danger also threatened from two other quarters. The French had by this time established themselves in Canada and in the country now called Nova Scotia, then Acadia. The city of Quebec had been founded in 1608, and, under the energetic government of Cardinal Richelieu, the great French minister, the colony had grown and prospered. Indeed, it is likely that, if the settlement of Massachusetts had been delayed for a few years, the whole territory north of the Hudson would have been seized by the French. The Eng- lish and French settlers soon fell out. In 1613 Argall, who afterwards so misconducted himself as Governor of Virginia, had, without provocation, attacked and destroyed two of the French settlements. In 1629, when England and France were at war, a small English fleet, under a brave sea cantain David Kirk, captured Quebec, and destroyed or took all the vii.] THE CONFEDERATION. 95 French settlements on the American coast. But before the capture was made peace had been declared, on the condition that everything taken after April 24, 1629, should be given back. Accordingly the captured territory was restored to France. In 1631, though England and France were at peace, the New Englanders heard that the French colonists were about to attack them, and made ready to resist. In the next year a French ship fell on a trading station belonging to Plymouth, and carried off goods worth 5oo/. 4. From the Dutch. Another European settlement threat- ened New England from the opposite side. In 1609 Henry Hudson, one of the greatest of English seamen, had, in the service of the Dutch, explored the coast to the south-west of Massachusetts Bay and sailed up the river which now bears his name. The Dutch, who had just cast off the rule of Spain, were then .one of the most enterprising nations in Europe. They soon occupied the country between Delaware Bay and the Connecticut, and gave it the name of New Netherlands. In 1627 they sent a friendly embassy to Ply- mouth. But as soon as New England began to extend itself towards the Connecticut the Dutch thought that their terri- tory was being encroached on, and disputes arose. Twice the Dutch sent vessels to drive the English away from the Connecticut, but each time without success. Besides this, small disputes arose ever and again between the Dutch and the English on the borders. 5. The Confederation. As was natural, Connecticut, being one of the weakest colonies and nearest to the Dutch, was most anxious for some sort of league among the New Eng- land colonies. In September, 1642, proposals from Connec- ticut were laid before the court of Massachusetts. In the next year an union of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connec- ticut, and New Haven, was formed. Maine, Rhode Island, and Providence applied for admission, but were refused ; 95 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. the first because its political system was different from that of the united colonies, the others on the ground of their dis- orderly condition. The form of the union was a Confede- ration. Each colony, that is to say, was to preserve its full independence in all internal matters, while at the same time there was to be a supreme government over all the colonies, with full control over their dealings with foreign states. Such an union is, looked at from within, a. group of separate states ; looked at from without, it is a single state. The govern- ment was entrusted to eight Federal Commissioners, two from each colony. The great defect of the Confederation was the superiority of Massachusetts to the other colonies. Its population was about fifteen thousand, that of the three smaller states scarcely three thousand each. In considera- tion of this it was agreed that if the Confederation went to war, Massachusetts was to send a hundred men for every forty-five from each of the other colonies. Besides, as the taxes levied for the defence of the Confederacy were to be proportioned to the population of each colony, Massachusetts had in two M'ays to bear the heaviest share of the common burden. At the same time the constitution only gave an equal share in the management of affairs to each colony. The result of this was that Massachusetts repeatedly tried to exercise more power than the articles of the union gave her, and that the harmony, and even the existence, of the Con- federation was thereby endangered. 6. The Commonwealth. As might have been expected, New England was a gainer by the victory of the Parlia- ment over the King. In 1642 the House of Commons passed a resolution freeing New England from the import and export duties levied on the other colonies. Two years later the Court of Massachusetts made a law that anyone who should try to raise a party there for the King should be treated as an offender against the state. When the vn] INTERNAL DISTURBANCES. 97 colonial commissioners apppointed by Parliament seized a Royalist vessel in Boston harbour, the question arose whether this act should be allowed. After some discus- sion, the Court decided not to resist. Their chief ground was that it would be foolish to quarrel with Parliament, which was their best friend. At the same time, they made an important admission. It might be said, and it was s'aid at a later time, that Parliament had no authority over the colonies, because they had no representatives in the House of Commons. As a matter of form, all the land in America was reckoned, when it was granted by the King, to be in the manor of East Greenwich. Accordinglv the Court of Massachusetts said that, as the colonists held their land in that manor, the parliamentary representatives of the borough or county which included that place, represented them also. In 1651 Parliament demanded that Massachusetts should give up its charter and take another from them. For a year no notice was taken of this. At last the General Court of Massachusetts sent back a somewhat vague answer, setting forth all that the settlers had done and suffered in found- ing a colony, and expressing a hope that no change would be made in its government. At this time, the General Court took a very mdependent step. It established a mint, and coined money. This practice lasted for thirty years. Cromwell himself, throughout his whole career as Protector, was a fast friend to New England. Twice he proposed to the settlers to change their abode. After his desolation of Ireland he wished to move them in there, and at a some- what later time he proposed that they should emigrate to Jamaica, which England had just taken from Spain. The colonists declined both these offers. 7. Internal Disturbances. As had happened with Morton and Ratcliffe, the severity of Massachusetts towards offenders raised up enemies against her in England. About 1636 H 98 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATJOV.[cu\r. there came into New England one Gorton, a weak and hot- headed man, who held religious opinions disapproved of by the churches of Massachusetts. After getting into trouble in nearly every state in New England, at last, in 1641, he settled near Providence on land that he had bought from Miantonomo, chief of the Narragansetts. Near this was a* small independent settlement called Pawtuxet, founded by some of Roger Williams's followers. These men com- plained of Gorton as a troublesome neighbour, and asked Massachusetts to protect them against him. Besides this, two Indians came to Boston and declared that the land which Miantonomo had sold was really theirs, and offered to submit themselves and their territory to Massachusetts. The Court of Massachusetts summoned Gorton and his companions to appear before them and answer these charges. Gorton, although he does not seem to have been alto- gether in the wrong, sent back, not a temperate answer, but a violent attack on the government and religion of Massachusetts. Thereupon the Court of Massachusetts, always severe in dealing with those who differed from it, seized Gorton and brought him to Boston in irons. There he took to preaching his religious doctrines, and got so many disciples that the Court was glad to hurry him out of the country, threatening him with death if he returned. He then lodged an appeal with the Commissioners for Foreign Plantations. They sent out orders that Gorton and his friends should be allowed to settle peaceably on the land which they had bought from the Indians. Massachusetts had already sent an agent, one Winslow, a leading man from the colony of Plymouth, to plead their cause against Gorton in England. When this order came out, they sent back an answer to be presented by Winslow. In this they boldly declared that the English Government ought not to receive appeals against the Colonial Governments, and that it was impossible for men vil.] CHURCH GOVERNMENT. 99 in England to know what was good for a distant settlement. The Commissioners for Plantations wrote a very temperate answer, promising not to trespass on the lawful power of the Massachusetts Government. At the same time they held out on the main point, and bade the General Court allow Gorton to live in peace. This was done, and the dis- turbance ended. Other inhabitants of New England besides Gorton had grievances which they laid before the English Government. Many of the inhabitants of Massachusetts, who stood high in position and character, had no share in the government, because their religious opinions would not allow them to join any of the New England churches. In 1646 a party, small in numbers, but including some of the best and ablest men in the colony, drew up a paper which set forth the above grievance, and laid it before the General Court. As soon as the Massachusetts settlers left the Church of England, they betook themselves to Independency, and Presbyterianism never found any favour with the generality of them. The conflict between the two sects was now raging in England, and the result seemed doubtful. The petitioners were for the most part Presbyterians, and the fears of the Independents were aroused. The petitioners were brought before the Court, accused of having made false and scan- dalous charges against the churches and Government of Mas- sachusetts, and fined. Afterwards a rumour got about that they meant to appeal to the English Government. Their papers were seized, and found to contain treasonable matter, whereupon the writers were again heavily fined. At last they made their way to England ; but by that time the Independ- ents had the upper hand, and nothing came of the appeal. 8. Church Government. In the great controversy in England between the Presbyterians and Independents many of the chief writers on the Independent side came from New England. At the same time, the New Englanders did not H 2 loo THE NEW EN-GLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. keep to the pure Independent system. They found that their churches were threatened by enemies both in America and England, and would be in danger unless there was some union between them. In 1648 a meeting of all the churches in Massachusetts was held. It sat for a fortnight, and drew up a system of Church Discipline. This provided that similar meetings should be held from time to time. These were to have the power of advising and reproving the different churches. Any offending church might be refused a place in these meetings, and if it should be obstinate, might be handed over for punishment to the General Court. 9. Troubles with the Dutch. Till 1646 there was no open quarrel between the Confederation and its Dutch neighbours. In that year, Peter Stuyvesant, a man of high spirit and great courage, was appointed Governor of New Netherlands. One of his first acts was to seize a Dutch smuggling vessel in New Haven harbour. The men of New Haven resented this as an outrage, and Stuyvesant made matters worse by addressing a letter to " Newhaven in New Netherlands," as if laying claim to the territory. He then proposed to refer the dispute to the Governors of Plymouth and Massachusetts. The Court of Massachusetts thought that the question would be better referred to the Federal Commissioners. Stuyvesant demurred to this, and for four years the question remained open. In 1650 Stuyvesant himself came to Hartford in Connecticut to settle the matter in dispute. His chief complaint was that, by occupying Connecticut and New Haven, the English had encroached on Dutch territory. The grievances of the English were certain acts of dishonesty on the part of Dutch traders at Hartford. They also accused the Dutch of assist- ing criminals to escape from New England. After some discussion, arbitrators were appointed, who settled the ques- tion in dispute, and fixed a boundary line between the Dutch and English territories. Disputes soon broke out again. In vii.] TROUBLES WITH THE DUTCH. 101 the next year war was declared between England and Holland. Rumours began to run through the English settle- ments that the Dutch were conspiring with the Indians for a general attack on New England. Whether there was any good ground for this belief it is impossible now to say. But only twenty-four years earlier the Dutch had cruelly mas- sacred a body of English traders at Amboyna, an island in the Moluccas. This had roused the English people to a great pitch of fury. With this fresh in thelr'me)tio.ry , the N L\V Englanders could hardly be blamed for "somewhat reaclily believing the charges against the Dutch:. So strong vva,s their feeling that three of the four colonies wanted- to ' declare \var~. Massachusetts alone resisted. That colony was at once the most powerful and the least exposed to the Dutch, and there- fore had least to fear. Accordingly, presuming on their greater strength, they declared through their commissioners, that, in spite of the decision of the Federal Court, they would net take part in the war. When the other commis- sioners represented that this was a breach of their agreement, the Massachusetts commissioners declined to answer them, and asked them to proceed to other business. The commis- sioners refused to do this till the dispute was settled. Mas- sachusetts still held out. In their distress, Connecticut and New Haven applied to England for help. Cromwell replied to the appeal by sending a fleet, with a land force on board. Connecticut and New Haven at once raised forces to assist them. Massachusetts would take no part in the war, but allowed the English commander to raise 500 volunteers in their territory. Before operations could begin, news came of the utter defeat of the Dutch in the English Channel. This ended the war, and we hear no more of the disputes with the New Netherlands. The affair served to show the weakness of the Confederation, and hovV utterly its affairs were under the control of Massachusetts. io2 THE NEW ENGLAKD CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. 10. Dealings with the French. About the time when the Confederation was founded, a sort of civil war was going on in the French settlement of Acadia between two rival claimants for the governorship, La Tour and D'Aulney. In 1642 La Tour made overtures to Massachusetts, ask- ing for help, and offering in return a free trade between the New England ports and those under his jurisdiction. He also appealed to the religious sympathies of the New ERglanders, us he wi-s a. Protestant and D'Aulney a Roman Catholic. Massachusetts declined to make any alliance with La -Toar, but allowed him to raise soldiers in her territory,- and tc charter" vessels in her harbours. In return he granted them free trade with his ports. In consequence of this proceeding, a law was made at the next meeting of the Federal Commissioners, forbidding any state to allow a levy in its territory without the leave of the whole Con- federation. Soon after La Tour had been to Massachusetts D'Aulney also tried to make an alliance with that colony. No assistance was given him, but a firm peace was made, and it was arranged that there should be free trade between their territories. Soon after a ship which was sailing from Massachusetts with supplies for La Tour, was seized by D'Aulney, and the crew severely treated. This led to a quarrel, but the Federal Commissioners interfered, and friendship was restored. La Tour was then defeated and driven out. The men of Boston fitted him out wilh a ship, but he ungratefully set the English part of the crew on shore in the dead of winter, and sailed off on a voyage of piracy. The war ended with the accidental death of D'Aulney and the establishment of La Tour as Governor ; but after his mis- conduct the New Englanders had nothing more to do with the quarrel. In 1650 the Governor of New France made pro- posals to New England for an offensive alliance against the Iroquois, or Five Nations, the most powerful and warlike of vii.] DEALINGS WITH THE INDIANS. 103 all the Indian races. Hitherto these Indians had not had much to do with the English, but they had never shown any hostile feeling towards them. They had recently made a fierce and successful onslaught on the Abenaquis, a nation allied to the French, and including many Christian converts. The New Englanders refused to h^ve anything to do with the quarrel, and at a later time the Iroquois proved valuable allies against the French. ii. With the Indians. The dealings of the Confedera- tion with the Indians, like those with the Dutch, showed the undue power of Massachusetts. Miantonorno, the Nar- ragansett chief, was for some time suspected of designs against the English. This charge rested chiefly on the evidence of Uncas, the chief of the Mohegans. He and his people had always been fast friends to the English, and were enemies to the Narragansetts. Miantonomo too was the friend and ally of Gorton, and this no doubt embittered many of the settlers against him. In 1642 the question of declaring war on him came before the Federal Commissioners. Massachusetts, in opposition to the other three States, was for peace, and prevailed. Soon after war broke out between Miantonomo and Uncas. The for- mer was defeated and taken prisoner. Uncas consulted the Federal Commissioners as to how he should deal with his captive. Their advice was that Miantonomo should be put to death, but without torture. Uncas followed this counsel. Next year the war between the Mohegans and the Narragansetts was renewed. The Confederacy at once prepared for war this time without any dispute. The Narra- gansetts, overawed by this, came to terms, and a treaty was made. By this the Narragansetts bound themselves to pay a yearly tribute to the Confederacy. But the tribute was irregularly paid, and had to be extorted by force. It was even rumoured that the Narragansetts were trying to bring 1 34 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. down the Iroquois upon the English. At length, in 1650, the Confederacy sent a small force into the country of the Narragansetts and seized Pesacus, their chief. This struck such terror into them that for a while they left the English in security. Danger soon threatened the English from another tribe, the, Nya/ntics, allies of the Narragansetts. They it was with whom the Dutch were thought to be plotting against New England. Moreover, they had molested some Indians who were friendly to the English. As Massa- chusetts refused to believe the charge against the Dutch, it was but reasonable that she should oppose the war against the Nyantics, and she did so. This time, however, she was overruled, and a force was sent out under the command of one Willard, a Massachusetts man. Owing to his slack- ness the Indians were allowed, to retire into a strong posi- tion, and the troops went home without striking a blow. Thus it was again seen how useless it was for the Con- federacy to attempt any measure which was disapproved of by Massachusetts. Another dispute arose in which Massachusetts showed the same overbearing temper. As we have seen, the Govern- ment of Connecticut had bought and maintained a fort at Saybrook. To repay them for this, they charged toll on all goods carried up or down the river Connecticut on which the fort stood. The men of Springfield, a town on the river within the boundary of Massachusetts, refused to pay this toll, and the Government of Massachusetts backed them in their refusal. The dispute was referred to the Federal Commissioners, who decided in favour of Connecticut. The Court of Massachusetts then drew up #n answer making proposals very dangerous to the Confederacy. They suggested that Massachusetts should, in consideration of her greater size and services, be allowed three Commissioners. They also proposed to lessen the power of the Federal vii.] QUAKERS IN NEW ENGLAND. 105 Commissioners by limiting their meetings to one in every three years, and by a law that, if any colony chose not to follow the advice of the Commissioners, this should be con- sidered no breach of the agreement, and no power should be employed to enforce such advice. At the same time they protested against the judgment of the Commissioners about the toll. The Commissioners refused to alter their decision. Thereupon the Court of Massachusetts, in retaliation, imposed a duty on all goods imported into their territory from any of the three other colonies. The Commissioners drew up a remonstrance, and appealed to Massachusetts whether such conduct " agreed with the law of love and the tenor and import of the Articles of Confederation." In the next year Massachusetts took off the duty, and the dispute ended. 12. Quakers in New England. About this time a religious sect made its first appearance in New England, which after- wards played an important part in American history. These were the Quakers, or, as they called and still call themselves, the Friends. Their founder was one George Fox, a cobbler. The very first members of the sect were for the most part wild and untaught fanatics. They went to every part of the world, to Germany, the East, and America, preaching their doc- trines, and often annoying and insulting those who would not hear them. They even went to Italy and Turkey in the hope of converting the Pope and the Sultan. In 1656, some Quakers having appeared in the colony, a law was passed against this "cursed sect of haereticks." This law pro- vided that all Quakers coining into the colony should be flogged and confined at hard labour ; that any shipmaster bringing them into .the colony, or any person entertaining them, or having their books or defending their opinions, should be punished. In October of 1657, it was ordered that every male Quaker who should return into the jurisdic- tion after being sent away, should lose one ear for the first 106 THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION. [CHAP. offence, the other ear for the second offence ; and every "woman Quaker" so offending should be whipped. For the third offence, every Quaker, "he or she," should have the tongue pierced with a hot iron and kept at hard labor till removed from the colony. Nevertheless the heresy spread, and in October, 1658, upon the recommendation of the Commissioners for the United Colonies, banishment on pain of death was enacted. During the next two years, four persons were executed for returning after banishment ; but at last public opinion showed itself so strongly, that, in spite of the persistence of the Church Elders, the General Court gave way. They did not confess themselves in the wrong by formally repealing the former Jaw, but they prac- tically set it aside, by ordering that Quakers should be flogged in every town in the colony. From that time no more were put to death. In Plymouth and New Haven Quakers were also flogged. In Connecticut, thanks to Win- throp, they were almost free from persecution. In Rhode Island alone they escaped it altogether, and found such a refuge as the early Puritans had found in Holland. The Federal Commissioners wrote to the Government of Rhode Island to remonstrate with them on their conduct. In their answer the Rhode Islanders defended themselves by saying that they had found that, where the Quakers are " suffered to declare themselves freely, there they least desire to come ; and that they are likely to gain more followers by the con- ceit of their patient sufferings than by consent to their per- nicious sayings." vni.] MASSACHUSETTS AND THE RESTORATION. 107 CHAPTER VIII. NEW ENGLAND FROM THE RESTORATION TO THE REVOLUTION OF 1 688. Massachusetts and the Restoration (i) commissioners sent out from England (2) the other New England cohnies (3) union of New Haven and Connecticut (4) state of New England (5) war with King Philip (6) war with the Tarratcens (7) New Hampshire and Maine made separate cohnies (8) the Massa- chusetts charter annulled (9) New England under James II. (10) the revolution in New England (n). I. Massachusetts and the Restoration. At the Restora- tion the management of the colonies was given to a special Board called the Council for the Plantations. A few months later twelve Privy Councillors were appointed as a Com- mittee to settle the government of New England. No im- mediate change took place. But it was at once clear that the New Englanders feared danger from the restored monarchy. Rumours reached them from their friends in England that Virginia and the West India Islands were for- bidden to trade with them, and that a Governor over all the New England colonies was about to be sent out from Eng- land. Moreover the Quakers had been laying their griev- ances before the King. The Court of Massachusetts at once sent over addresses to the King and the Parliament. In both they expressed a hope that they might keep that freedom in quest of which they had faced such toils and dangers. They also pointed out the extreme obstinacy and insolence of the Quakers, and declared that if they would but have promised to stay away from Massachusetts, they would have been pardoned. The address to the King was answered by a icS FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. letter with general promises of friendship and good treat- ment. At the same time it forbade the colonists to inflict any bodily punishment on the Quakers, and ordered that they should be sent over to England for trial. This order was disregarded. By obeying it the colonists would have given up their right of trying all offences in the colony, a point on which they always stood firm. Two years later the law condemning Quakers to be flogged was re-enacted, though it was granted as a favour that if should only be inflicted in three towns. The position of the settlers now became a difficult one. They wished to stand well with the King, and at the same time to be on their guard against encroachment on their rights. In the follow ing March (1661) the Court of Massachusetts compelled John Eliot, a leading minister, to apologize for a book he had written teaching doctrines hostile to monarchy. Soon after, they drew up a very important paper. It was a formal declaration, setting forth the rights of the settlers and the du : ies which they owed to the Crown. It declared that the whole body of free- men had power to add to their own number, to appoint officers, and to carry on government ; and that there was no appeal from them, unless their laws were contrary to those of England. They claimed the right to make war in defence of their own country, and declared that any tax injurious to the colony and contrary to any of its laws was an infringe- ment of their rights. In August the King was formally pro- claimed in Massachusetts. The other New England colonies soon did likewise. New Haven, however, was so slow about it that the Court of Massachusetts at length warned the government of the danger of delay. During the same year ?,n event happened which gave the New Englanders some cause for uneasiness. Just before the King was restored, two of the judges who had sentenced Charles I., Goffe and Whalley, came out to America. For some while they lived viii.] MASSACHUSETTS AND THE RESTORATION. 109 openly in the neighbourhood of Boston, and were well received by many of the chief men. But in November 1660, when they had been out about three months, tidings came from England that all the King's judges were to be pardoned except seven, of whom Goffe and Whalley were two. Thereupon they fled to New Haven. In March, orders came out to seize them, but their friends hid them ; no hard matter in a wild country. They escaped from their pur- suers, lived in hiding, and died peaceably in New England. Though the authorities in Massachusetts do not seem to have furthered their escape, or to have failed in any way to obey the orders from England, yet the matter might easily have been turned against the colony by its enemies. With all these causes for alarm, the Court of Massachusetts resolved to send over two men to appear on behalf of the colony before the King. They chose Simon Brad- street, one of the original settlers, and John Norton, a leading minister. They were graciously received by the King, and brought back a letter from him to the Court of Massachusetts. He promised to respect their patent and charter. At the same time he ordered that the right of voting should be given to all freeholders, whether they were Church-members or not, that the services of the Church of England should be allowed, that the colonists should take the oath of allegiance, and that for the future jus ice should be administered in the King's name. The colonists would not have been injured by granting any of these demands, but they would have been giving up that right of self-government which they had so often claimed. They gave way so far that all le^al papers were drawn up in the King's name, but they referred the other matters to a Committee, and nothing was done about them. So indignant were the people at the matter, that they vented their wrath in abuse of Braclstreet and Norton. The latter died in a few months, broken- no FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. hearted, as it was thought, at the ingratitude of his countrymen. 2. Commissioners sent out from England. For two years after the King's letter came out, Massachusetts had no important dealings with the home Government. But in 1664 four Commissioners were sent out by the King to set matters in order in New England. Their chief instructions were to settle the disputes about boundaries, to remedy the grievances of those who were deprived of the rights of citizens, and to inquire into the truth of certain complaints brought by the Indians against the settlers. They had power to hear com- plaints and appeals, and to " proceed in all things for the providing for and settling the peace and security" of New England. They were also to " dispose the people to an entire submission and obedience to the King's government," and, if possible, to persuade them to give the King the right of naming the governor of the colony and the commander of the militia. At the same time there is nothing to show that this was to be carried out except by full consent of the colonists themselves. The only one of the Commissioners who had had any dealings with New England before was Samuel Maverick. He was one of the men who in the time of the Commonwealth had pleaded the cause of those who were not Church-members, and for this had been fined by the Court. His presence on the Commission may have served to alarm the colonists. In July 1664 the Commissioners arrived at Boston. Their first request was for help against. New Netherlands, as the Dutch were then at war with England. This was granted. In obedience to the Commis- sioners, the law was repealed which required thac irecmen should be church members. The Court then drew up an address to the King. In this they set forth that their charter gave them the privilege of being governed by rulers of their own choosing, and that this was taken from them by the viii.] THE OTHER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES, in appointment of the Commissioners. They also declared that to set up a government directly appointed by the King in the colony would increase taxation, impoverish the inhabitants, and thus destroy their trade and hurt England. During the whole stay of the Commissioners in Massachusetts they were engaged in petty quarrels and bickerings with the colonists. The Court showed a fixed determination not to comply with the demands of the King, while the Commissioners took no pains to make their requirements less unpleasant by a courteous and conciliatory manner. On the main point, whether the colony had complied with the King's instructions of 1662, the Commissioners could get no definite answer from the Court. In all the other New England colonies the Commis- sioners met with a friendly reception, and on their return the King wrote letters to Connecticut and Plymouth, praising them for their obedience, arid contrasting it with the stubborn conduct of Massachusetts. 3. The other New England Colonies If Massachusetts seemed likely to lose by the Restoration, Rhode Island and Connecticut were gainers by it. Rhode Island had proclaimed the King before any other of the New England colonies. At the same time they sent over an agent .to England to ask for a charter. Their exclusion from the New England confede- ration possibly told in their favour at the English Court. In July 1663, they received a charter constituting them a sepa- rate colony. The election of the Governor was left to the freemen of the colony, and the existing system of government was in no way changed. The charter also gave full religious liberty to all sects. Connecticut met with like favour. This was probably due to tVie influence of its Governor, Winthrop, who himself came over to plead their cause. He was a man of good breeding and education, and seems to have in- gratiated himself with the King and his Lord Treasurer, H2 FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. Clarendon. At the same time that the charter was granted to Rhode Island, Connecticut also received one confirming the existing constitution. These two charters were so care- lessly drawn up that the lands assigned to each colony over- lapped. Thus a dispute arose, which however was fortu- nately settled before either of the charters were sent out. 4. Union of New Haven and Connecticut. The Connec- ticut charter gave rise to more serious trouble. It included the whole territory of New Haven, and thus empowered Con- necticut to annex that colony. The people of New Haven had incurred the displeasure of the King in the matter of Gofife and Whalley, and it is not impossible that this charter was in part designed to punish them. When the people of New Haven learnt what had been done, they petitioned the King not to unite them to Connecticut. Winthrop, who was still in England, hearing of this petition, promised that no union should be made except by the free consent of New Haven. But the Government of Connecticut did not consider that Winthrop had any power to bind them by such a promise, and, when the charter arrived, they required the people of New Haven to submit. New Haven for a while held out, and was supported by the Federal Commissioners from Plymouth and Massachusetts. The union was at length brought about by the news that Commissioners were coming out from England. It was clearly better for New Haven to form part of a colony which had just got a liberal charter, than to face the Commissioners without any charter, and with the King's displeasure hanging over it. The Federal Commissioners represented this to the Government of New Haven, and in 1664 the two colonies were united. This practically put an end to the New England confederation. For the future the Commissioners only met once in three years, and we hear but little of their action in important matters. 5. State of New England. After the departure of the viii.] STATE OF NEW ENGLAND. 113 Commissioners New England enjoyed a period of security and great prosperity. Under the Commonwealth, Puritans had been too well off in England to care to emigrate, and New England had not received many fresh settlers. But now the Act of Uniformity deprived some two thousand nonconforming ministers of the livings of which they had possessed themselves under the Commonwealth, and by leading many to seek refuge in New England, furnished the colonies with some of their ablest clergy. Trade also throve, in spite of the Navigation Act. No custom house was built ; and as all the officers of the colony, from the Governor downwards, were independent of the home Government, there was little chance of an unpopular law being strictly put in force. Moreover the fire of London and the Dutch war so fully occupied the English Government that for a while it neglected colonial affairs. Yet the inhabitants of Massachusetts had much cause for uneasiness. From the outset their colony had only existed by the sufferance of the English Government. Its charter was merely the charter of a trading company. It gave no power to enact laws, to inflict punishment, to form alliances, or to make war. Mas- sachusetts had indeed been allowed to grow under this charter into a free and prosperous community, and it is no wonder that she should have been prepared to hold fast by privileges which she had so long enjoyed. Yet it was certain that in all that she had done she had exceeded and misused the powers granted her ; and no tribunal, however friendly, could help ruling that her charter was forfeited. Other things might, and for a while did, occupy the home Govern- ment ; but the blow was sure to come at last. Besides there was danger within the colony. Riches had increased, and the old Puritan severity of temper and principle had become weaker. A race of men had grown up, less attached to the ideas and habits of their fathers, easily dazzled by the I 114 FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. greater splendour and grace of English life, and therefore inclined to look favourably on anything which drew the colony closer to the mother country. Even among those who were for holding fast to their independence, there were two parties. One was for a moderate and conciliatory policy ; the other opposed all concessions, and objected to sending over agents to England, or acknowledging the acts of trade as binding on the colonists. 6. War with King Philip. New England was soon threatened from another quarter. For the last thirty years the settlers had been at peace with the Indians. Something had been done towards converting and civilizing them. In 1643 Thomas Mayhew, a Massachusetts Puritan, obtained a grant of certain small islands off the coast of Plymouth, but forming no part of its territory. Here his son, a minister established a small settlement of Christian Indians. John Eliot followed his example, and before 1674 numerous villages had been formed in New England, inhabited by converts who lived by husbandry and handicrafts. The entire number of Christian Indians was estimated at three thousand six hundred. Yet little had been done to bring the whole race of Indians into friendly relations with the settlers. The missionaries had done their work by draw- ing out small bodies of Indians and separating them from the great mass, not by attempting to carry Christianity and civilization into the heart of the Indian country. Such an attempt would perhaps have been idle. The villages of praying Indians, as they were called, probably did some- thing to make the rest of the natives keep aloof from the English. They saw that, in order to become Christians and friends of the white men, they must give up their free life of hunting, and take to ways that they looked on as disgraceful. They saw too that, even so, they could not really win the friendship or the respect of the English. The converted Indians too often lost the happiness of the savage, without viii.] WAR WITH KING PHILIP. 115 gaining that which belongs to civilized life. The friendship between the Plymouth settlers and Massasoit lasted during his life. His two sons, as a token of respect for the English, took the names of Alexander and Philip. Yet after their father's death they were suspected of treacherous designs. During Alexander's reign no open war broke out, but the settlers, thinking that he was plotting against them, seized him and carried him by force to Boston. Soon after he died, and was succeeded by Philip, a man of great ability and courage. The Plymouth settlers had for some years been trying to weaken the Indians, by buying up their lands and leaving them only some necks of land running out into the sea, where, being surrounded by water on three sides, they could be more easily kept in check. In 1670 Philip was suspected of intrigues with the Narragansetts against the English, and the Court of Plymouth demanded that he should give up his arms. He sent in seventy guns, and pro- mised the rest, but kept them. Soon after however he came himself to Plymouth, and made a treaty, by which he owned himself subject to the King of England and the Government of Plymouth, and promised not to make any war without the consent of the English. It may be doubted whether the Indians, in this and like treaties, understood clearly the nature of their own promises. In 1674 Sausamon, a Christian Indian, warned the English that Philip was plot- ting against them. Soon after Sausamon was killed by three Indians, employed, as was believed, by Philip. For this crime they were tried and executed at Plymouth. Philip and his subjects were not ready for an outbreak, but they saw that they were detected, and must strike at once or never. Accordingly, in the spring of 1675 they invaded the English territory. They did not march in a body, but, fol- lowing their own mode of warfare, fell upon the settlers in small parties wherever a chance offered. In spite of the 1 2 ii6 FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. long peace with the Indians, the settlers had not neglected the means of defence. All the male inhabitants were bound to be provided with arms and ammunition, and they often met for military exercise. Moreover, through New England the traditions of Indian warfare, derived from the struggle with the Pequods, had served to prepare the younger generation for such a contest. But no drill can supply the want of actual practice in war, especially for irregular fighting in the forest, and for a while it seemed as if the settlers would be worsted. If the Indians had only been united, it is not unlikely that the settlers would have been exterminated. But Philip had been hurried into war before his plots were ripe, and many of the Indians were taken by surprise, and were not ready for action. In July the settlers marched into the Narra- gansetts' country and compelled that tribe to make a treaty, whereby they promised to give no help to Philip or his people, but to kill or deliver up to the English any who might enter their territory. In the next winter- the English seemed to have the enemy at their mercy. They hemmed in Philip on a narrow neck of land running out into the sea, where there seemed to be no escape. But Philip and his bravest warriors made their way to the mainland, either swimming or on rafts. Many who had hitherto stood aloof now took up arms, and ravaged the English country. In the words of a New England writer, " there was no safety to man, woman, ncr child ; to him who went out or to him who came in. Whether they were asleep or awake, whether they journeyed, laboured, or worshipped, they were in continual jeopardy." The settlers in their rage forgot all the restraints of justice and humanity. Some wished to massacre all the Christian Indians, lest they should turn traitors. In one town the magistrates refused to put to death two captive Indians on mere suspicion of their guilt. On Sunday, as the women of the place were coming away from their meeting- viii.] WAR WITH KING PHILIP. 117 house, they fell on the two Indian prisoners in a body, and killed them. As winter came on the hopes of the Indians declined. They had been unable to sow their corn during summer, and the war left them no leisure for hunting. They were driven to live on roots and every kind of garbage. Many fell sick and died. In November the English heard that the Narragansetts had received some of Philip's men as friends. They at once determined to prevent the union of the two tribes, and marched into the Narragansett country with a thousand men. They reached the chief village un- checked, and attacked it. The Indians opened so fierce a f.re, that for a while the assailants were kept at bay. At last they stormed the fort, and the Indians fled, leaving their stores, their women and children, and many old, sick, and wounded. The English then set fire to the village, and of those who had been left behind some three hundred perished in the flames. The settlers lost about one hundred and seventy men, many of whom died from their wounds and the severity of the weather. Of the Indians more than a thousand fell, of whom seven hundred were fighting men. During the next summer Philip and his men again attacked the English settlements ; but, though they did much damage, they were too much weakened to have any chance of lasting success. Philip's forces were destroyed ; he was driven from place to place, and at last, in August, he was shot by a deserter from his own side. Before the winter the whole of his tribe, save a few who escaped to the west, were either slain or captured. Among the prisoners was Philip's son, a child of three years old. Some of the settlers wished to put him to death, but the more humane party prevailed, and he was sent, with many of his fellow-prisoners, as a slave to the Bermudas. The settlers had lost six hundred men ; whole towns were destroyed, and about six hundred houses burnt to the ground. Ii8 FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. 7. War with the Tarrateens. In 1676 another Indian war broke out on the Piscataqua. The chief tribe in that quarter were the Tarrateens. Among their chiefs was one Squanto, who, by claiming magical powers, had gained great influence over his countrymen. One day, as his wife was travelling down the river with her infant child, she met some English sailors, who wantonly upset her canoe. The woman and child escaped, but the child sqpn afterwards died from the mishap. The savages, urged on by Squanto, and encouraged by the example of Philip, fell upon the settlers. For three years the war raged, and many lives were lost on both sides. In 1676 a large number of the Indians made peace with the settlers, but this was soon broken through the treachery of one of the English, Major Waldron. He suspected that the Indians were plotting to break the peace, and he resolved to be beforehand with them. With this aim he invited four hundred, of them to a sham fight. The Indians, by agreement, fired off their guns first. Before they could reload, the English surrounded them, and took them prisoners. Two hundred were sent to Boston ; some o{ those who had slain Englishmen were put to death, and the rest sold as slaves. The Indians never forgot this treachery, and some thirteen years later, during another war, Waldron was captured by the treachery of an Indian who pretended to be his friend, and cruelly tortured to death. The capture of these Indians probably did the English more harm than good, since it taught their enemies that there was no safety in sub- mission, and that their only chance was to fight it out. So hard pressed were the English that in 1678 they were glad to n:ake peace. They agreed to pay the Indians a bushel of corn for every English household, on condition that they might inhabit their former settlements in peace. This was the first treaty ever made with the Indians on terms disad- vantageous to the English. One important event occurred viii.] HAMPSHIRE AND MAINE SEPARATED. 119 during this war. I have already spoken of the confederacy of the Five Nations, called by the English the Mohawks and by the French the Iroquois. They numbered some three thousand warriors, and their lands reached from the frontier of New Netherlands to the Canadian lakes. But, beyond those bounds, they exercised a supremacy over many tribes who did not belong to the confederacy, but who paid them tribute and obeyed their commands. Happily for the English, the Mohawks were unfriendly to the New England Indians. They were also hostile to the French, and they may have known something of the enmity between the French and the English, and so have been inclined to favour the latter. In 1677 two ambassadors were sent from the settlers on the Piscataqua to the Mohawks. They were well received, and the Mohawlcs promised to attack the Tarra- teens. No great result seems to have come of this at the time, but it was the beginning of a long and useful alliance. The conduct of the settlers during these wars increased the displeasure of the home Government. It was thought that they might have made shorter work of their enemies if they had been willing to ask help from England, but that their pride and independence had withheld them. 8. New Hampshire and Maine made Separate Colonies. In 1676 Massachusetts became engaged in a dispute about boundaries. In 1629 John Mason had obtained from the Plymouth Company a grant of all the land between the rivers Merrimac and Piscataqua. But the grant made two years before to the Massachusetts Company had for its northern boundary a line three miles north of the Merrimac. The Massachusetts Government had always contended that this boundary was a straight line drawn from three miles beyond the northernmost part of the Merrimac to the sea. This would have given them all the settlements on the Pis- cataqua. Mason's heirs, on the other hand, contended that FROM THE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. the boundary was to be a line three miles north of the Merrimac all along its course. For some years Mason, the grandson of the first proprietor, had been endeavouring to revive this claim. At the same time the heirs of Gorges were attempting to recover Maine. As neither of those claimants seemed likely to succeed, they proposed to sell their rights to the Crown. The King at first entertained this proposal, intending to make a province for his natural son, the Duke of Monmouth. Monmouth however found that no great profit was likely to accrue from this, and the scheme was abandoned. In 1675 Mason again revived his claim. One Randolph was sent out by the Council for Plantations to inquire into the matter. He was a kinsman of Mason, a man of great ability, and a bitter enemy to New England. From the time that he went out, he devoted his whole energy to raking up every charge that he could find against the settlers, and putting all their conduct in the worst light pos- sible, so as to egg on the English Government against them. He sent back a report that there were many settlers in the disputed territory who wished to separate from Massa- chusetts. The case was brought before the English Chief Justice, who ruled that the land was not included in the Massachusetts grant. Accordingly the King placed the four towns on the Piscataqua under a separate government, and called the districts so formed New Hampshire. It was to be governed by a President and Council nominated by the King, and a House of Deputies, from the different towns. The first Governor appointed under 'the new system was John Cutts, a leading man in the colony, and esteemed by the inhabitants. After a year he was superseded by Edward Cranfield, who had bought Mason's right to the land. He soon embroiled himself with the inhabitants by various mis- deeds. Amongst other things, he was accused of levying taxes without the consent of the Assembly, of having suits viii.] MASSACHUSETTS CHARIER ANNULLED. izi in which he was interested tried by courts that he had him- self appointed, of raising the fees in the law courts so as to prevent poor men from suing, and of committing men to prison without trial. The people complained of these wrongs to the English Government, and Cranfield saved himself from being turned out of his government by resigning it. The claims of Gorges' heirs were more easily settled. Mas- sachusetts bought their rights in the land for i,2Oo/., and stepped into the place of the proprietor. Accordingly the Gov- ernment of Massachusetts also governed Maine, but as a sepa- rate province, not forming any part of Massachusetts, and governed according to the charter originally granted to Gorges. 9. The Massachusetts Charter Annulled. In 1679 the English Government at last found leisure to turn its attention to Massachusetts. In July the King sent out a letter, repeating some of the demands made by him before, and in addition desiring that the colonists should surrender the province of Maine on repayment of the i,2oo/., on the ground that they had dealt harshly with some of the settlers there. The Court of Massachusetts took no notice of this demand. To all the others they replied that they either had been, or should be, fulfilled. In 1681 the long-expected blow came. A general attack was made by the King and his advisers on the charters of corporations throughout England. In some cases the privileges granted to city corporations had been used by the members as a means for setting at naught the laws. Such charters might with justice have been forfeited. But this was made a pretext for extending the attack to others, against which no such charges could be brought. The Judges of that day were so subservient to the Crown that it was useless for the corporations to resist. A charter which had been so wrested from its original purpose as that of Massachusetts was not likely to be overlooked. The King demanded that agents should be sent from Massa- 122 FROM THE RESTORATION TO i6bS. [CHAP. chusetts to explain the charges brought against the colony of neglecting to enforce the Navigation Act and of coining money by their own authority. At the same time the settlers were privately informed that their charter would be attacked. They sent over two agents, who wrote back word that the charter was sure to be taken from them, and asked whether they should surrender it of their own accord. The Court decided to let matters take their course. About this time Cranfield maliciously persuaded the Court of Massachusetts to instruct their agents to present 2,ooo/. to the King as the price of keeping the charter. This proposal gained them nothing but mockery, as Cranfield wished. In October 1683 the agents came back, and soon after the charter was declared null and void. The constitution under which Massachusetts had existed from its foundation was at an end. 10. New England under James II. Before the new government could be settled, Charles II. died. During the first year of James's reign no material change was made. In 1686 the King appointed a Council, with Joseph Dudley as its president, to govern Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. Dudley was the son of one of the sternest of the old Massachusetts Puritans. But he had utterly forsaken his father's ways, and cared more for the favour of the English Court than for the rights of his fellow-citizens. In 1686 the charter of Connecticut was also annulled. Rhode Island in January, 1687, yielded up hers. The policy of James was to unite all the northern colonies under one government. Accordingly, in 1686 Sir Edmund Andros was sent out with a commission as Governor of Massachusetts, Plymouth, New Hampshire and Maine. At the same time he had instruc- tions from the King to join Connecticut to Massachusetts. The commission empowered Andros and his Council to levy taxes, to make laws, and to administer justice in civil and criminal cases. These laws were to be approved of by the viii.] NEW ENGLAND UNDER JAMES II. 123 King, and the legal proceedings were to follow the English forms. Not a word was said of representatives, or of any political rights to be granted to the people. Eleven years before Andros had had unfriendly dealings with New England. Being then Governor of New York, he had, by orders of the Duke of York, the proprietor of that colony, marched with a force to Saybrook, to demand that Connec- ticut should give up to him several strong places, as being in his dominions. The settlers prepared to resist by force, if needful, and after a fruitless interview with them Andros departed. The dispute was referred to commissioners appointed by the King, and was decided in favour of Con- necticut. In October 1687 Andros marched into Connec- ticut, and demanded the charter. One of the leading settlers, Captain Wadsworth, it is said, hid it away ; at all events, the Court did not give up the actual document. But this of course availed them nothing, and Andros declared the colony joined to Massachusetts. In 1688, to complete the King's scheme of making one. State of all the northern colonies, Andros was made Governor of New York. Thus he was ruler of all the English settlements north of Delaware Bay, and was responsible to none but the King. During his governorship he was accused of many arbitrary proceedings. It was said that he would not allow persons to marry until they had given surety to him, to be forfeited if there should prove to be any impediment, and that he threatened not to suffer the people to worship in their own fashion. Even private property was not safe. Grants of land made by the former Government were declared invalid. When the people com- plained, Andros and his followers mockingly told them that "the calf had died in the cow's belly," meaning that the de- struction of the charter had overthrown all lesser rights that were connected with it. In this winter a campaign was made against the Indians, but nothing was done, owing 124 FROM 7 HE RESTORATION TO 1688. [CHAP. either to the incapacity of Andros or to the slackness of men serving under a commander whom they disliked. II. The Revolution in New Eng'and. Whether the New England colonists would have long endured the misgovern- ment of Andros may be doubted. At all events, when the news of the Revolution of 1688 reached them, they were quite ready for an outbreak. Seldom has a revolution been so easy . and so bloodless. The people rose with one accord, seized Andros, and turned out his officials. The other New England colonies did likewise. All the old Colonial Governments were restored, but only to hold their power till the English Government made some definite arrangement. This was not done for four years, and during that time the old constitutions were in force. In 1691 the case of Massachusetts came before the English Government The agents for the colony soon saw that it was hopeless to think of recovering their old charter, and only applied themselves to getting as favour- able an one as they could in its place. The English Govern- ment proposed to unite Plymouth to Massachusetts. The Plymouth agent at first resisted this, but he soon found that there was no chance of Plymouth being allowed to remain under a separate government, and that, if not joined to Massachusetts, it would be to New York. As his countrymen would have liked this still less, he yielded. In 1692 the new charter was sent out. The one great change which it made was, that the Crown appointed the Governor, while before the people had elected him. The General Court was to consist of twenty-eight councillors and an Assembly of representa- tives. The councillors were to be elected every year by the General Court ; the representatives by the inhabitants of the various towns. No religious qualification was required from electors as formerly, but all who had freeholds worth forty shillings a year, or other estate of forty pounds value, were admitted to vote. All laws made by the Court were to be vin.] THE REVOLUTION IN NEW ENGLAND. 125 sent home to England for approval. This, and the change in the manner of appointing the Governor, quite deprived Massachusetts of that independence which she had always hitherto claimed. In his appointment of a Governor the King showed his wish to conciliate the people. He sent out Sir William Phipps, a native of Massachusetts, of low birth, who when a lad fed sheep, and afterwards became a ship's carpenter. In that trade he heard of a Spanish ship which had sunk with treasure on board. Having raised the vessel, he brought a great sum of money to England, and was knighted by the King. James II. made him sheriff of New England, but, unlike most of James's officeis there, he did his best to serve his country, and won the esteem of the New Englanders. He was a man of no great ability, but honest, benevolent, and popular. The inhabitants of Massachusetts and New Hampshire would have gladly seen the two states again joined. But though the King had joined Plymouth against its wish to Massa- chusetts, he chose to keep Massachusetts and New Hamp- shire separate. This was ascribed to the influence of Sam'l Allen, who had bought the proprietorship of the soil in New Hampshire, and now obtained the governorship. New Hamp- shire had never had a chatter, and none was granted to it now ; but the government went on as before. The New England colonies which fared best at the Revolution were Connecticut and Rhode Island. Their charters were restored, so that they retained their old constitutions, and alone of all the colonies chose their own Governors. In 1690 and the two following years New England was engaged in a war with the French settlers in Canada and their Indian allies. But this was only part of a struggle between the French and English settlers which lasted, with one break, for more than twenty years, and it will therefore be better to tell of it in another chapter. 126 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. CHAPTER IX. NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. New England under William and Mary (i) executions for witchcraft (2) the French in Canada (3) 'war between the French and English settlers (4) peace -with the Indians (5) the Ne~M England charters in danger (6) disputes in Mas- sachusetts between the governor and the assembly (7) Belcher's dismissal (8) War with Canada (9) the smaller A\-w England colonies (10). I. New England under William and Mary. The charter just mentioned left some important points unsettled. It did not definitely decide whether the Acts of the English Parlia- ment were to be in all cases binding on the colony, nor did it say whether the English Parliament had any power of taxing the colonists. The Court of Massachusetts tried to decide this latter point in their own favour. In 1692 they passed an Act declaring that no tax should be levied in the colony without the consent of the Court. To this law the English Government refused its assent. If it had passed, it would have saved many quarrels between the colonists and their Governors, in which the latter were always worsted, and it might have even prevented the separation of the colonies eighty-four years later. Connecticut soon found itself in opposition to the English Government. Colonel Fletcher, the Governor of New York, had a commission from the Crown giving him the command of the Connecticut militia. He did not wish to use this himself, but merely to assert his right, and then to transfer the commission to the Governor of Connecticut. The Court of Connecticut objected to this, and contended that such a commission was contrary to their ix.] NEW ENGLAND UNDER WILLIAM AND MARY. 127 charter. Fletcher entered the country to enforce his com- mission. Captain Wadsworth, the same man who was said to have hidden the charter, was in command of the militia. When Fletcher ordered his commission to be read, Wads- worth commanded the drums to beat, so that no one could hear the commission. Fletcher ordered them to stop, whereupon Wadsworth threatened him with violence. A mob soon assembled, and Fletcher thought it prudent to re- treat. It seems strange that he should have suffered himself to be so easily baffled, yet he does not appear to have made any further attempt to enforce his orders. But though he did not succeed in appointing an officer in Connecticut, he still had the right of giving orders as commander-in-chief ; and the people of Connecticut declared that he revenged himself by issuing troublesome and harassing orders. New Hampshire soon afterwards showed a like spirit of independence. Allen, the new Governor, got into a dispute with several persons, who had settled on the lands that he claimed. The New Hampshire Court decided against him. He then appealed to the King. The Colonial Government refused to admit this appeal, but their refusal was overruled by the King. In 1697 Lord Bellamont was appointed Governor of New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. He was sensible, con- ciliatory, and popular ; but, unhappily, he died in 1700, little more than a year after his arrival. During his governorship the Board of Trade, to which the management of colonial affairs had been handed over, sent out a letter warning him against the desire of the colonists for independence, and espe- cially dwelling on their misconduct in not allowing appeals to the King. Bellamont was succeeded as Governor of Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire by Dudley, who had been Gov- ernor under James II., and as Governor of New York and New Jersey by Lord Cornbury. Dudley claimed the right of annulling the election of a councillor. Nevertheless the coun- iaS NEW 'ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. cillor kept his seat. In 1705 Dudley laid before the Assembly two points, on which he had special instructions from the English Government. These were i, The establishment of two forts, one on the Piscataqua, the other at Pemaquid, a spot on the coast near Acadia ; 2. The allotment by the Court of a fixed salary to the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, and Judges. The Assembly refused to entertain either of these proposals ; the former, because the forts would be useless to the colony ; the latter, because the means of the colonists varied from time to time, and because it was the right of English subjects to raise by their own votes such sums of money as might be wanted. Dudley gave way on both points. He seems to have been a time-serving man, but not without regard for his fellow-countrymen, and with nothing of the tyrant in his nature, and so to have lacked both the wish and the power to constrain the settlers. More- over, he was suspected of various acts of dishonesty, and so perhaps felt himself in the power of the Assembly. 2. Executions for Witchcraft.- Before going further it will be well to speak of some important matters which happened during the governorship of Dudley and his two predecessors. The New Englanders, like most people in those days, believed in witchcraft, and more than one person in the colony had been accused of it and put to death. The most noted case was that of an old woman, a Mrs. Hibbins, whose brother and husband had held high offices in Massa- chusetts, and who was hanged as a witch in 1656. In 1692 a panic seized the colony. Some children persuaded them- selves that they were bewitched. The matter was taken up by one Cotton Mather, a minister. His father, Increase Mather, also a minister, was one of the ablest and boldest of those who had opposed Charles II. and James II. in their dealings with Massachusetts. The son, Cotton, was a vain pushing man, with some learning, but no wisdom. En- IX.] THE FRENCH IN CANADA. 129 couraged by him and another influential minister, Parris, the children accused upwards of seventy people, many of them of high station and unblemished character. The whole colony was carried away by the panic, and twenty people were put to death on utterly trumpery evidence. This madness, for such it seemed, went away as suddenly as it came. In 1693, when fifty people were brought up for trial, all but three were acquitted, and these three were pardoned by the Governor. Some of the children afterwards confessed that they had done wrong, but neither Mather nor Parris ever showed any sign of re- pentance. This affair seems to have done something to weaken the influence of the ministers in Massachusetts, and for the future we hear much less of them in public affairs. 3. The French in Canada. The accession of William III. at once engaged the New England colonists in war with the French settlers in Canada. They had for a long while been growing into dangerous neighbours. At this time their regular settlements were confined to the peninsula of Acadia, the island of Cape Breton, and the north side of the river St. Lawrence, as far as Montreal. All the land between the northern frontier of New England and the St. Lawrence, now called Maine and New Brunswick, seems to have been then uninhabited. Thus between the English and French settlements was a belt of wild forest, about two hundred miles broad, inhabited only by savages. The whole population of the French settlements at this time was less than twelve thousand, while that of New England and New York to- gether was about one hundred thousand. The chief resource of the French settlers was the fur trade with the Indians. That which really might have been the most valuable part of their possession, Acadia, was utterly neglected, and only contained some five hundred settlers. Although it lay conveniently for the Newfoundland fisheries, and also for an attack on New England, it was bandied backwards and K 130 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. forwards between England and France. In 1654 Crom- well took it from the French ; Charles II. restored it by the treaty of Breda in 1667, and, as we shall see, it changed hands three times in the next eighty years. From 1627 to 1663, Canada was under the control of a French company. Under this system the settlers fared so ill, and were so hard pressed by the Indians, that they would at one time have abandoned the country but for the energy of the Jesuit missionaries. In 1663, the company became so disheart- ened, that they surrendered the colony to the King. He handed it over to the French West India Company, and. on its dissolution, sent out, in 1665, a Governor, the Marquis of Tracy, who by his energy and courage drove back the hostile Indians, and saved the colony from destruction. From that time things seem to have gone on somewhat better. The settlements gradually extended west- ward up the St. Lawrence, and in 1671 a pillar bearing a cross and the French arms was set up at the Falls of St. Mary, between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Unlike the New England settlers, who stood aloof from the Indians and lived together in compact settlements, the French established small outposts in the Indian country, which were at once forts, trading-houses, and mission stations. The Jesuit missionaries were generally in charge of those stations, and braved every danger and underwent all hardships in the hope of converting the Indians. At the same time they seem to have done little towards controlling their converts, and even to have encouraged them in their raids on the English and on their Indian enemies. The French settlers, living in this way in scattered groups among the Indians, learned to suit themselves to their ways, and married among them ; and thus acquired far more influence over them than the English ever did. It is even said that Count Frontenac, a French nobleman, the Gover- nor of Canada just before the invasion of New England, went ix.] WAR BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH. 131 among the Indians and joined in their war-dance, like one of their own chiefs. Luckily for the English, the French settlers were somewhat unfortunate in their choice of Indian allies. The natives whom they first met with were the Hurons and the Abenaquis. Both these tribes seem to have been enemies to the Mohawks, who were much the stronger race. Thus from the outset the French were on bad terms with the most powerful of all the Indian tribes. 4. War between the French and English Settlers. Though there was no open hostility between the French and English settlers before 1688, there were disputes about boun- daries. For, though their settlements were separated by a tract of wilderness, each nation asserted its right to lands beyond those which it actually occupied, and the French, as they spread towards the west, were accused of encroaching on the territory of New York. Each nation too suspected the other of underhand designs. One Castine, a French baron, had an outlying station at the mouth of the Penobscot. Here he lived like a savage chief, with several Indian wives. He, it was thought, had supplied Philip with arms and ammu- nition during his war with New England. The French made like complaints against the inhabitants of New York. In 1687 a treaty was signed between France and England whereby it was agreed that the colonists of the two nations should keep the peace towards each other, and that neither should assist the Indians in their attacks on the other. This treaty was not likely to have much effect, as it was impossible for either side to restrain their Indian allies, and their misconduct might at any time give a pretext for war. In the same year the Gover- nor of Canada treacherously seized a number of Mohawk chiefs at a conference, and shipped them to France for galley slaves. The Mohawks retaliated by invading Canada. They were assisted, it is said, in this invasion by Dongan, the Governor of New York. In revenge for this the French Government K 2 132 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP in 1689 sent out an expedition against New York. Frontenac, who was now appointed Governor of Canada, was in command of this. He made preparations for a great attack by land and sea. The fleet however was hindered by storms, and Frontenac reached Canada too late in the season to do any- thing by land. He found his colony suffering from an attack of the Mohawks, the fiercest they had yet made. Although the French were unable to carry out their scheme against Canada this year, their allies made raids into New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and did great harm to the settlers. In this year (1689) war was declared between France and Eng- land. Accordingly in 1690 Frontenac made ready for a great invasion of the English territory. In February he sent out three parties of Indians to attack the English settlements at three different points. One attacked New York, another New Hampshire, the third Casco, a settlement on the coast of Maine. The English did not believe that it was possible for their enemies to make their way through the forests in winter, and so were utterly unprepared. All three expeditions were successful, that against New York most so. The Indians fell on Schenectady, a frontier town of some importance, utterly destroyed it, and killed and captured about a hundred of the inhabitants. In their distress, the English colonists, at the suggestion of the Massachusetts Government, held a congress of the Northern colonies. New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut sent each two com- missioners, who met at the city of New York. Maryland and Rhode Island did not send commissioners, but promised to assist in an expedition. It was determined to invade Canada. Nine hundred men, of whom four hundred came from New York, were sent out under Winthrop, son of the former Governor of Connecticut, to attack Montreal by land, while a fleet, with about eighteen hundred men on board, sailed against Quebec. Unluckily the Mohawks, on whose help ix.] WAR BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH. 133 the English had reckoned, refused to join them in any num- bers. Thus the land force was unable to carry out its plan. The fleet fared no better. It was beaten off, partly by the batteries of Quebec, partly by bad weather, and the whole expedition was a failure. Its only effect was to make bad blood between the different English settlements. Leisler, the Governor of New York, a rash, hot-headed, man, was so enraged that he arrested Winthrop and other leading men from Connecticut, and would have tried them at New York by court-martial but for the remonstrance of the Connecti- cut Government. As some set-off against this, a small English fleet under Sir William Phipps conquered Acadia. It was however retaken the next year. For the next five years the war consisted mainly of raids on the frontiers, in which the French Indians inflicted great suffering on the English, and the Mohawks on the French. During this period the English made a change in their mode of defence. Hitherto they had relied chiefly on regular forts along the frontier. But they found that in the woods these were of little use, as the savages, who knew the country, had no difficulty in making their way between them. Accordingly they established instead small parties along the frontier, which moved from point to point and did far more service. In 1696 the French made great preparations for a general attack on New England by sea and land. But they found it impossible to victual their fleet for so long a voyage, and had to content themselves with conquering Newfoundland. In the next year the French Indians penetrated farther into the English territory than they had yet done and attacked Andover, a village only twenty- five miles from Boston. In the year, 1697 the peace of Rys- wick put an end to the war. By this peace no definite settle- ment was made as to the boundaries between the French and English settlements. For five years, between this peace and the declaration of war in the reign of Queen Anne, the colonies 134 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. were at peace. During this time the French sought to establish an alliance with the Mohawks. In 1701 a treaty was made at Montreal by the French and three of the chief Canadian tribes, the Hurons, the Abenaquis and the Ottawas, with the five Mohawk nations. The French however were too poor, and had too little trade, for their friendship to be much valued by the Mohawks. Moreover, the French could not make their own allies keep th i treaty. Thus the Mohawks, except a few outlying villages, returned to their alliance with the English. At the same time they were much less zealous and serviceable allies than the French Indians. The latter really valued their French allies and fought for them zealously, while the Mohawks only cared for the English as a useful check upon the French. Their policy was to have as little as possible to do with either nation, and to befriend those who were least likely to interfere with them, or to trespass on their country. Indeed the English had so little faith in the Mohawks that, a few years later, when an English force in Canada suffered greatly from sickness, they believed that their Indian allies had poi- soned the wells. In 1702 war again broke out. By land the operations were much what they had been in the previous war. Parties of savages from either side mace raids across the frontier, destroying villages and carrying otf prisoners. The brunt of this war fell especially on New Hampshire and Massachusetts ; while New York, whose frontiers were covered by the Mohawk country, for the most part escaped. The English during this war made three attempts to recover Acadia. In 1704 a force of five hundred and fifty men was sent out in a fleet of whale-boats for this purpose, but did absolutely nothing. Three years later the attempt was re- newed, and again failed. In both of these expeditions there seems to have been a general and well-founded feeling of dissatisfaction with the leaders. Indeed, it is said, that, after the second, the chief officers would have been tried by court- IX.] WAR BETWEEN FRENCH AND ENGLISH. 135 martial, but that so many were accused that there were not enough left to sit in judgment. It was thought too that many of the New Englanders secretly favoured the Acadians for the sake of trading with them. Dudley himself was sus- pected of this, and in 1706 six leading men were prosecuted on this charge before the Court of Massachusetts and fined various sums, from i,ioo/. to 6o/. Their sentence however was annulled by the Crown. In 1710 a more successful attempt was made. A force of more than three thousand men attacked Port Royal, the chief fort in Acadia. Subercas, the French commander, had only three hundred men. More- over, he felt ill-used at the feeble support given him by the French Government, and had no heart for a stout resistance, and so yielded. The English, in honour of the Queen, changed the name of the place to Annapolis. In the next year a great expedition was planned against Canada. A fleet of fifteen men-of-war was sent from England with five thou- sand soldiers. These were to be joined by two regiments of New England militia, making the whole force up to nearly seven thousand. This army was considered fully strong enough to take Quebec. In June the Massachusetts Govern- ment received orders to provide pilots and a supply of pro- visions for the fleet. Sixteen days later the fleet itself arrived. Considerable delay and difficulty occurred in finding supplies. The blame of this was laid by the English commander on the sloth, stinginess, and disloyalty of the New Englanders, while they, on the other hand, declared that they had done all they could, but that unfairly short notice had been given them. This probably was true. It is even said that the people of Boston were so far from being backward in the matter that many families lived wholly on salt food in order that the troops might be properly supplied. Nevertheless, the complaints found their way to England and did as much harm as if they had been true. The expedition itself was an 136 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. utter failure. The fleet ran on the rocks near the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and eight or nine ships and more than a thou- sand men were lost. The commanders, disheartened by this, and despairing of getting up the river, returned home. The blame of the failure was laid by some on the admiral, Sir Hoveden Walker, by others on the Boston pilots. After its return the admiral's ship blew up at Spithead, and his papers, which might have helped to clear up the affair, were lost. One advantage had ensued from this expedition. It had withheld the French from an attempt to recover Annapolis, and as the English garrison there was weak, such an attempt would probably have succeeded. In 1713 peace was signed at Utrecht. This peace gave Acadia to England, but it did not determine what the north-east boundary of Acadia should be ; consequently the unoccupied country between the Kenne- bec and the St. Lawrence was still left co be a future source of dispute. In one way this war did a great deal to bring the colonies into discredit with the mother country. The frontier warfare, in which the colonists showed great courage and defended their country successfully, was scarcely heard of by the English. It was not marked by any brilliant exploits, and thus little or nothing was known of it in England. But the regular attacks on the French coast all came under the notice of the English Government, and the colonists were blamed, not only for their own shortcomings, but for the failures of the English commanders. Thus they got an ill name in England for slackness and disloyalty, and even cowardice, which their general conduct throughout the war in no way deserved. 5. Peace with the Indians. The peace of Utrecht did not end the war with the Indians. The settlers on the frontier suffered so much that, about this time, the New Hampshire Government offered a reward of ioo/. for an Indian prisoner, or the scalp of an Indian. One French settlement was ix.] PEACE WITH THE INDIANS. 137 specially obnoxious to the English. This was an outpost called Norridgewock, about three days' march from the northern frontier of Massachusetts. This was managed by Sebastian Ralle, a Jesuit, one of the bravest and most suc- cessful of the French missionaries. He built a chapel there, and got together a congregation of sixty Indians, whom he regularly trained to take part in the services of the Church. He does not however seem to have attempted to restrain their ferocity against the English, but rather to have inflamed it, and was said to have even abetted their cruelties with his own hands. In 1722 a party from New England destroyed the settlement. Ralle fled, leaving his goods and papers in their hands. In 1724 another attack was made, in which he was killed. In 1725 the Court of Massachusetts proposed that commissioners should be sent from the five English colonies north of the Hudson to remonstrate with the Governor of Canada on his conduct in aiding the Indians. New Hampshire alone consented. A deputation was sent to Canada, and at the same time the English began to treat with the Indians. The French Governor, the Marquis of Vaudreuil, said that the Indians merely fought in defence of their own lands, and not in obedience to him. The English then produced letters found at Norridgewock, which proved the contrary. They also brought forward an Indian whom the Governor had furnished with arms and ammunition to be used against the English. The Governor tried to make excuses, but the deputies stood their ground, and their firm- ness withheld him from any attempt to break off the negotia- tions between the English and the Indians. Finally peace was made at Falmouth. The English promised to abolish all private trade, and to establish trading-houses under the control of the Massachusetts Government, where the Indians would be supplied better and more cheaply than by private traders. Thus, after more than thirty years of war, the New 138 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. England frontier enjoyed a long term of peace. This long struggle had a great effect in accustoming the New Eng- landers to all the shifts and dangers of war irt a savage country. Every one on the New England frontiers had to be perforce a soldier. It would be endless to tell all the feats of daring performed by the settlers. Even the women learned to use weapons and face dangers and accomplish exploits, which would have shown no little courage, even if done by men. One woman, Hannah Dustin, was carried off by the Indians with a young lad. In the night, while the Indians slept, the prisoners rose, killed and scalped the whole party, save two, and made their way back to the English settlement. One village was attacked while all the men were away. The women dressed themselves in men's coats and hats, lest the weakness of the place should be known, and kept up so hot a fire that the Indians retreated. One undoubtedly evil effectwas produced by these wars. Just as in the case of Philip's war, the colonists became so infuriated against the Indians that they scarcely distinguished between friend and foe. Thus in New Hampshire it was for many years impossible to get any jury to c^pnvict an Englishman for the murder of an Indian. 6. The New England Charters in danger. For some years after the Revolution, the New England charters seemed to be in danger. In 1701 a bill was brought forward in Parlia- ment for withdrawing them. This however fell through. Three years later the proposal was renewed. Connecticut, having the most liberal charter, was naturally the most alarmed. The other colonies seem to have taken the matter more quietly, and the Connecticut charter was made the chief subject of contest. Dudley, the Governor of Massachusetts, and Lord Cornbury, the Governor of New York, were its chief opponents. Dudley was a personal enemy to many of the chief men in Connecticut, and Lord Cornbury had been refused 4507. which he had demanded from Connecticut for IX.] DISPUTES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 139 the defence of his own colony. The Government of Con- necticut was accused of harbouring pirates and other criminals ; of setting at naught the laws of England and dis- obeying the Queen's officers ; of refusing to contribute to the defence of New England, and of robbing some Indians of their land. Luckily for the colony, Sir Henry Ashurst, its agent in England, was a man of great energy. By his repre- sentations and those of the conn? 1 whom he employed, Con- necticut was cleared of all the charges brought against it. Ten years later the charters were again threatened. They were defended by Jeremiah Dummer, a leading citizen of Massachusetts, a man of moderate views, who was afterwards Lieutenant-Governor. He represented that the loss of the charters and the consequent danger of arbitrary government would be a great blow to the welfare of the colonies ; that anything which weakened the colonies would also affect the West Indies, which obtained many of their supplies thence, and so would injure the mother country. He laughed at the idea of some who fancied that the colonises were aiming at independence, and said that it would be as reasonable to set two of the King's beef- eaters to keep a baby from getting out of its cradle and doing mischief as to guard against a rebellion in America. His arguments prevailed, and the attack on the charters was abandoned. 7. Disputes in Massachusetts between the Governor and the Assembly. In 1715, Dudley was succeeded in the governorship of Massachusetts by Colonel Shute. During his term of office and that of the two next Governors, the history of Massachusetts is one long series of contests between the Governor and the Assembly. The chief subject of these dis- putes was the steadfast refusal of the Assembly to grant the Governor a fixed salary. They insisted on voting him such a sum as they thought fit from year to year, and so making him dependent on them. There were besides smaller subjects of MO NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP difference which helped to embitter matters. The contest about the salary had, as we have seen, begun in the time of Dudley. He failed to carry his point. For the first four years of Shute's government things went on quietly. In 1720 he claimed the right of rejecting a Speaker chosen by the Assembly. They resisted, but at length so far gave way as to elect another Speaker. At the same time they reduced the Governor's half-yearly salary from 6oo/. to 5007. Shute passed over this without notice, but, when it was repeated, he told them that he had orders from the Crown to obtain a fixed salary. The Assembly asked leave to postpone the question, and the Governor granted this. The next year the Assembly refused to vote any salaries till they knew whether the Governor had given his consent to the Acts which they had passed. When they had done their business they asked leave to rise, but the Governor refused to allow this. They then rose without leave. The Council voted this an irregular proceeding. When they next met, they got into a high dis- pute. The small-pox broke out at Boston, and it was unsafe for the Assembly to meet there. Accordingly they decided to meet elsewhere. The Governor considered this an en- croachment on his rights. He did not wish to force them to sit in Boston, but he objected to the matter being taken out of his hands. Soon after this he produced letters from the English Government, approving of his conduct about the election of a Speaker. The Assembly still asserted its right, and there the matter rested. In 1728, Shute was succeeded by William Burnet, whose father, Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury,had been a well-known writer andaleading supporter of William 1 1 1. The new Governor was received with great pomp and every expression of good-will. Nevertheless, the representatives were as firm as before in the matter of the salary. To show that this was not done out of any personal ill-will to Burnet, they voted him a grant of 1,7007. This he refused, and IX.] DISPUTES IN MASSACHUSETTS. 141 insisted on a fixed salary. The Council tried to take a middle course, and proposed that a fixed salary should be granted but for a limited time. The Assembly however refused even this concession. In their own defence they drew up a paper setting forth their reasons. The principal of these were, that it was " the undoubted right of all Englishmen by Magna Charta to raise and dispose of money for the public service of their own free accord without compulfion," and that it might " be deemed a betraying of the rights and privileges granted in the charter." Burnet answered that to admit the claims of the Assembly would throw the whole government into their hands. Moreover he said that it had never been considered unsafe in England to give the King an income for life. To this the Assembly answered that there was a great difference between the King, who had a permanent interest in the welfare of his subjects, and a Governor, who only came for a time. They pleaded too that it was impossible for them to usurp the whole government of the colony so long as the Governor and Council had each power to refuse their consent to laws. About this time the Assembly of Barbados was engaged in a like contest with the Governor there, and their example possibly served to encourage the people of Massa- chusetts. Things now came to a dead-lock. The Governor refused to dissolve the Assembly, and they were obliged to sit on, greatly to their inconvenience, while he would not take any money granted, since it did not come in the form of a fixed salary. The Assembly now resolved to lay their case before the English Government, and sent over two agents. The question was then brought before the Privy Council, which strongly supported Burnet, and advised that Parliament should attend to the matter. This however does not seem to have been done, or if it was, nothing came of it. In 1729 Burnet died. In spite of these disputes, the colonists liked and esteemed him, and the Assembly ordered a very honour- 142 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. able funeral at the public charge. His successor, Belcher, had been one of the two agents sent over by the Assembly to plead their cause in England. The English Government probably thought that his appointment would conciliate the colonists. At first it seemed likely to do so, and he was received with great joy. But it soon became clear that the old strife was to be renewed. The Assembly, as before, refused to vote a fixed salary. It was not easy for Belcher to fight successfully for a cause which he had once opposed. Moreover, he weakened his own position by his unfair con- duct in some appointments to offices. In the next year Belcher gave way, and asked the English Government to allow him to accept the money granted him by the Assembly. Hitherto the Crown had ordered the Governor to get a fixed salary or to take nothing. This was now so far relaxed that Belcher was allowed to take the grant, although he was ordered still to demand the salary. By this concession the English Government acknowledged itself defeated, and in a few years afterwards it yielded altogether. Thus the Assembly carried the point for which they had been strug- gling for twenty-six years. Throughout these contests with the different Governors, Boston was always the chief strong- hold of the colonial party. The influence of that party there- fore was somewhat weakened by a law passed in 1694 that no man should represent any town in which he did not dwell. Thus the outlying towns which might otherwise have chosen eminent men from Boston, were obliged to put up with inferior men of their own, and only two of the leaders of the party at Boston could find seats in the Assembly. But, though in one way this weakened the influence of the Assembly, it must have made it more attentive to the wants of the smaller towns, and kept Boston from gaining an undue share of power, which it might otherwise have done. 8. Belcher's Dismissal. Belcher's dismissal irom the IX.] WAR WITH CANADA. 143 governorship was brought about by means in nowise credit- able to his enemies. Letters containing various charges against him were sent to England ; some of these were anonymous, others were forged in the names of leading men in Massachusetts. The charges were at length cleared up, but they did Belcher no little harm with the English Govern- ment. His final dismissal, if the story of it be true, as it probably is, was disgraceful to all concerned. The ministry in England were very anxious that a certain member, Lord Euston, son of the Duke of Grafton, should be elected for Coventry. The dissenters were very strong in that town, and one Maltby prpposed to the Duke of Grafton to secure Lord Euston's return to Parliament on condition that Belcher was dismissed. This offer was accepted. The agent then told the Coventry dissenters that, if they secured Lord Euston's election, Belcher, who was trying to get the Church of England established in Massachusetts, and who was hostile to the Nonconformists, should be dismissed. The agreement was carried out on both sides. 9. War with Canada. Under Belcher's successor, Shirley, war again broke out with the French in Canada. War was not declared between England and France in Europe, but English troops were fighting against the French, the former for the Queen of Hungary, the latter for the Elector of Bavaria. Thus war might at any moment break out between the colonists. In 1744 the French Governor of Cape Breton took Canseau, and threatened Annapolis, which was only saved by a rein- forcement from Massachusetts. Some of the English prisoners from Canseau were sent to Louisburg, the chief fort of Cape Breton. When they were restored and returned to Massa- chusetts they told Shirley of certain weaknesses in the for- tification of Louisburg, which would, they thought, lay it open to a surprise. The place would be of great value to England, as it commanded Acadia, the mouth of the St, 144 NEW ENGLAND AFTER THE REVOLUTION. [CHAP. Lawrence, and Newfoundland. Shirley therefore made the bold proposal to the Assembly of attacking Louisburg in the winter, without waiting for help from England. The Assembly at first was utterly against it, but the matter got abroad and the project became very popular. It was again brought before the Assembly, which decided, though only by a majority of one vote, to attack the place. Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, all joined in the expedition. The other colonies declined to assist. A force of about four thousand five hundred men was sent out in eight small vessels. On their way they were reinforced by four English ships. The French were quite unprepared, and allowed the enemy to land unopposed. The New Englanders had had no experience of any regular war since the peace of Utrecht, and were quite ignorant of scientific warfare. Thus they suffered losses in the siege which might easily have been avoided. The siege began in the last week of April. On the i8th of May a French ship, well supplied with stores, and with five hundred men on board, was taken by the English fleet on its way to relieve the garrison. A few days later the fleet was strengthened by the arrival of two more ships from England On the I7th of June the French, believing that a general attack was about to be made, surrendered the place. This success was a great triumph for the colonists. A force, taken entirely from New England, under officers who had never seen service before, had performed a feat of which any army might have been proud. Besides capturing Louisburg, they probably saved their own country from invasion. A French fleet of seven ships was on its way to attack New England, when they heard of the capture of Louisburg, and gave over the attempt. Next year the French sent a fleet of forty sail, among them eleven ships of the line, with three thousand soldiers on board, to attack the English colonies. At this time England WLIS far too much taken up with its own troubles and the Jacobite insurrection to do much for the ix.1 THE SMALLER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES. 145 help of its colonies. Had it not been for a series of mishaps which befell the French fleet, New England could hardly ha /e escaped. But the ships met with storms, the chief officer: fell sick and died, and the fleet sailed back to France without striking a blow. In 1748 the peace of Aix-la-Cbapelle put -^ an end to the war. To the great disappointment of the New Knglanders, Louisburg was restored to the French. This war had no good effect on the relations between the colonists and the mother country. The former felt that their services had been held cheap, and that the English Government had left them unprotected. Each country, in fact, was too busy with its own affairs to pay much attention to the other, or to understand its difficulties. Such inconveniences must always be when two distant countries are under one Government. 10. The Smaller New England Colonies. During all this time no important political events took place in Rhode Island or Connecticut. This quiet was probably due to their being left with the appointment of their own Governor. Thus they had no cause for discontent ; and moreover they felt that anything like disorder might endanger their charters. In New Hampshire for many years there was great con- fusion from disputes between Mason's successors and the settlers. The juries in the colonial courts uniformly gave verdicts against the proprietary. Appeals to the King in Council proved ineffectual, and after an attempted compro- mise, the settlers were left in possession. During the time that the contest between the Governor and the Assembly had been raging in Massachusetts, New Hampshire obtained the favour of the English Government by granting the Gov- ernor a fixed salary. In 1727 an Act was passed that assem- blies should be elected every three years. All voters were to have an estate of fifty pounds value. This Act was con- firmed by the English Government, and henceforth served as a declaration of the constitution of New Hampshire. 146 MARYLAND. [CHAP. CHAPTER X. MARYLAND. Grant of land to Lord Baltimore ( I ) -first settlement (2) the eon- stitution (3) dissensions (4) two parties in the colony (5) the proprietor restored (6) the colony after the restoration (7). I. Grant of Land to Lord Baltimore. All the colonies that we have considered hitherto, with one exception, were founded either by companies or by parties of settlers, and were under Governors chosen by themselves or appointed by the Crown. But, as we have seen in the case of Maine, there was another kind of colony, called proprietary. The first of these was Maryland, founded in 1632 by Lord Baltimore. His father, George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, was a convert to Romanism and an adherent and personal friend of James I. -and afterwards of Charles I. Thus he easily obtained a grant of land for a colony. His first attempt was in Newfoundland. A settlement had already been formed there by some Bristol men in 1610. No success followed Lord Baltimore's attempt. The climate was severe, his health failed, and he was annoyed on account of his religion by the neighbouring colonists, who seem to have been Puri- tans. In 1629 he left Newfoundland and went to Virginia ; but the Virginians, who were strong Protestants, gave him an unfriendly reception, and he left the colony. He then applied for a grant of land to the south of James River, within the bounds of Virginia. This however was resisted by some leading Virginians, and the scheme was given up. Finally he obtained a grant of land north of the River Potomac, taking in thus a large portion of the soil included in the X.] FIRST SETTLEMENT. 147 original Virginia patent, which had, it will be remembered, been annulled. The northern boundary of Baltimore's grant was the fortieth degree of latitude, the southern boundary of the great New England patent. The western boundary was a line drawn due north from the westernmost head of the Potomac. The lands covered by this grant had not been occupied under the Virginia patent. The country was to be called Maryland, in honour of the Queen Henrietta Maria. The charter granted to Baltimore made him almost an independent sovereign. With the assistance of the free- men of the colony he could make laws, which were to be as far as possible in accordance with the laws of England, but did not require to be confirmed by the King. He had also power to appoint judges and public officers, and to pardon criminals. One very important concession was made ; no tax was to be levied by the English Crown. This charter merely fixed the relations between the Crown and the pro- prietor ; it did not settle anything as to those between the proprietor and the settlers, beyond ordering that they should be called together to make laws. Everything beyond this was left to be arranged between Baltimore and the colo- nists. 2. First Settlement. Before the charter was finally exe- cuted, Baltimore died. The grant however was continued to his son and successor, Cecil Calvert. In 1632 he sent out about two hundred settlers, under his brother, Leonard Calvert. Though Baltimore himself was a Roman Catholic, he does not seem to have had any idea of confining his settle- ment to that religion, and many of those who sailed were Protestants. Early in 1634 the settlers landed at the mouth of the Potomac. By good luck they lighted on an Indian town, from which a large number of the inhabitants had just fled for fear of a neighbouring tribe. Those who remained received the settlers hospitably, accepted some presents, and L 2 148 MARYLAND. [CHAP. granted the English the empty part of the town. Unhappily, the colonists had other and less friendly neighbours to deal with. A Virginian, one Clayborne, had established a station at a place called the Isle of Kent, further up the river, for trade with the Indians. The territory came within the bounds of Baltimore's grant, and Governor Calvert con- sidered that he was not bound to regard such a settlement as inhabited land, and consequently that he had a right to occupy it. Clayborne resisted his attempt to take possession of it, and a fight followed, in which one Marylander and three Virginians were killed. The question was referred to the Privy Council, but no definite decision was given, and the matter was left to become a source of dispute in future times. 3. The Constitution. The colony soon throve and in- creased. During the first two years, Baltimore, it is said, spent 4o,ooo/. on the exportation of emigrants and in sup- plying the colony with necessaries. Notwithstanding this, he had some difficulties with the settlers. The charter, as we have seen, did not fix the relations between them ; and Baltimore himself does not seem to have drawn up any con- stitution for the colony. The nearest approach to this was the commission by which he appointed Leonard Calvert governor. This gave him power to call assemblies, to con- firm or annul the laws passed by them, to make grants of land, and to sit as judge in criminal and civil cases. But the exact division of power between the Governor and the Assembly was not settled, and consequently for some time there was great danger of each asserting claims which the other would not admit. This evil too was increased by the fact of the proprietor being of a different religion from many of the settlers. This however was less important than it might have been, inasmuch as Lord Baltimore never seems to have made the slightest attempt to press Romanism x.] THE CONSTITUTION. 149 on the colonists, or indeed to have troubled himself in any way about their religious condition. As in Massachusetts, the Assembly was at first a primary one, and consisted of the whole body of freemen. In the same way too the inconvenience of the system was soon felt, and a Representa- tive Assembly was substituted. The process of change how- ever was not exactly the same. In Massachusetts, as we have seen, a Representative Assembly grew up side by side with the original assembly of all the freemen, and finally ousted it ; but in Maryland the primary assembly gradually changed into a representative one. At first many of the settlers found it inconvenient to attend, and sent proxies, that is, gave their neighbours power to vote for them. From this it was an easy step to allow each county to send two proxies or repre- sentatives. But for some time the two systems were mixed up, and those who were dissatisfied with the result of the election were allowed to attend the Assembly themselves. After the representative system was definitely established, the proprietor exercised the right of summoning any persons he pleased to the Assembly, to sit with the representatives. This right, if freely used, would have thrown the whole power into the hands of the proprietor, since he could fill the Assembly 'with his nominees. As, however, in about ten or twelve years the Assembly was divided, as in Virginia, into two Houses the lower formed of the representatives, and the upper of the councillors and the proprietor's nominees this power was of no great importance, nor does it seem to have been largely exercised. The want of a fixed constitution was soon felt. It was ordered by the charter that the proprietor and the freemen should make laws ; but nothing was said as to the way in which this power was to be divided, and what was to be done in case of a difference of opinion. In a long-established government, such as that of England, the absence of written regulations on a point of this sort matters 150 MARYLAND. [CHAP. but little, as some settled usage is sure to have grown up which is fully as binding as any law ; but in a new country the want of a fixed regulation could not fail to be felt. This soon happened. The Governor acting for the proprietor, and the Assembly, each proposed laws, and in each case the laws proposed by the one were refused by the other. At last it was settled by a compromise, in which the proprietor made the chief concessions. These disputes did not inter- fere with the good feeling which existed between Baltimore and the settlers. This is shown by the fact that the Assembly voluntarily granted the proprietor a subsidy, to be raised by a poll-tax, to repay him in some degree for all that he had spent on the colony. By this act of courtesy and good-will to Lord Baltimore, the Assembly also asserted that the right of levying taxes belonged to them rather than to the pro- prietor. 4. Dissensions. We see that there were three subjects out of which difficulties might arise ; Clayborne's claim to the Isle of Kent, the limits of the power of the Assembly, and the difference of religion between the proprietor and the settlers. For this was an age in which difference of religion was almost sure to lead to active hostility, since there was scarcely a single sect which was content to be merely tole- rated, but each sought to force others to join it, and none more so than the Puritan party, to which many of the influential Marylanders belonged. The outbreak of the civil war in England was the signal for all these causes of quarrel to come into action. Clayborne thought that he was likely to get that redress from the Parliament which was refused him by the King, and the settlers who opposed Baltimore in religion and politics naturally seized the oppor- tunity given them by the success of their friends at home. Accordingly, soon after the outbreak of the civil war in England, disturbance in Maryland began. In 1645 the x.] TWO PARTIES IN THE COLONY. 151 Governor was driven from the colony by an insurrection excited by Clayborne, with the assistance of one Richard Ingle, who, for some evil practices, had been proclaimed a traitor to the King. Clayborne took advantage of his temporary success to repossess himself by force of the Isle of Kent, where his property had been confiscated. Great disorders ensued, and those who remained loyal to the proprietor were cruelly plundered. But the insur- gents did not succeed in overthrowing the established government, and Parliament does not appear to have ap- proved of their proceedings. When the Parliament got the upper hand in England, Baltimore felt that it was advisable to conciliate that party. Although a Roman Catholic and a friend of the King, he does not seem to have been zealous in either cause. His policy throughout was that of a man whose chief aim was to keep his proprietorship ?nd the advantages which it brought him, at the same time interfering as little as possible with the wishes of the settlers. As early as 1641 a complaint had been made in Parliament that Maryland was practically an independent State, likely to strengthen Romanism and to injure the Pro- testant cause. In consequence of this, Baltimore had written to the Jesuit priests settled in Maryland, warning them that he could not protect them against the laws of England, or grant them any special immunity. In the same spirit, at the death of his brother in 1648, he appointed as governor William Stone, a Protestant, and believed to be well affected to the Parliament. At the same time, with a view to pro- tecting his fellow-religionists, he compelled Stone to take an oath not to molest Romanists, or to keep them out of office. 5. Two Parties in the Colony. For the next two years the relations between the different parties in the colony, and between the proprietor and the Assembly, seem to have been 152 MARYLAND. [CHAP. friendly. An Act was passed granting full toleration to all religions. At the same time blasphemy. Sabbath-breaking by games and the like, and the use of abusive names for any sect, were strictly forbidden. This law may be looked upon as a sort of compromise between the two parties. The Roman Catholics, who were the weaker body, would ask for toleration, but the prohibition of Sunday games is quite sure to have come from the Puritans. Another Act was passed by which the right of levying taxes was definitely granted to the Assembly. About this time the Puritan party was reinforced by a number of emigrants from Virginia. It is possible that they had found their way in gradually, but in 1649 they first appear as forming a separate settlement, called Providence. In the next year they returned a member to the Assembly. But though the Puritan party was thus strengthened, the Assembly allowed Baltimore to impose an oath of allegiance on all the settlers, a measure which they had refused to pass a year before. In the next year the commissioners sent out by Parliament to subdue the colonies in Chesapeake bay, after they had reduced Virginia, pro- ceeded to Maryland. They demanded that the colonists should promise to be faithful to the Commonwealth, and that the name of " the keepers of the liberties of England " should be substituted for that of " the proprietor" in all legal documents. The first condition was readily accepted ; but Stone demurred to the second, considering it an infringe- ment of the proprietor's rights. Accordirgly he was deposed. The commissioners however finding that he was popular with the colonists, and not ill-affected to the Parliament, came to terms with him by some concession on each side, and he was restored as Governor. For the next two years things went on smoothly. But in 1654 Baltimore sent out instructions to Stone to demand an oath of fidelity to the proprietor from all the colonists ; all who refused were to be x.] THE PROPRIETOR RESTORED. 153 banished. This was considered, not unfairly, a violation of the terms on which Stone had submitted. The Puritan party rose ; the commissioners, Bennett and Clayborne, were recalled from Virginia ; and Stone was again deposed. Stone resisted ; he raised- a small force, and for a while seemed in a fair way to be master of the colony. But the Puritans also took up arms, and an engagement followed in which Stone was defeated, and many of his followers killed. By this victory the colony came for a while under the power of the Puritans. 6. The Proprietor restored. In the meantime Clayborne and his party had seized the opportunity given them by the ascendency of Parliament to renew their claims to the land included in Baltimore's patent, but which they professed to have occupied. The matter was referred to the Commis- sioners for Plantations, but their consideration of it was repeatedly postponed, and there is no trace to be found of any decision having been given. At the same time the English Government was engaged in considering the validity of Lord Baltimore's proprietary rights. The question was referred to a body called the Commissioners for Trade. Baltimore had already endeavoured to ingratiate himself with the ruling party, by representing that Maryland was the only colony, besides those of New England, that had readily submitted to the Parliament, and that it would be both unfair and unjust to join it to a royalist colony like Virginia. While the case was still before the commissioners, Baltimore seems to have made an attempt to recover his authority by granting a commission as Governor to one Fendal, an un- principled and intriguing man. Fendal, however, was at once arrested by the Parliamentary leaders, fortunately per- .haps for Lord Baltimore, since he had not time, by any act of violence, to bring the cause of the proprietor into dis- credit. In 1656 the Commissioners for Trade reported in 154 MARYLAND. [CHAP favour of the restoration of the proprietor. This recom- mendation required to be adopted by the Government before it could take effect. Nevertheless, Baltimore, without wait- ing for this, sent out his brother, Philip Calvert, with in- structions to establish Fendal as Governor. Thus there were in the colony two governments, each claiming legiti- mate power. In the next year Bennett and Matthews, the Parliamentary leaders, finding that Baltimore was sure to be restored, came to terms with him. They handed over the government to him, on the conditions that all offences com- mitted since the disturbances began should be tried, not by the proprietor, but by the English Government ; that none should forfeit their land for the part they had taken ; and that all of the Puritan party who wished to leave the country should have a year in which to do so. On these conditions Baltimore was restored. Though the English Government does not seem to have given any final decision in his favour, yet it seems to have accepted the report of the commis- sioners, and no attempt was made to interfere with the authority of the proprietor. 7. The Colony after the Restoration. In 1662 Lord Baltimore sent over his son, Charles Calvert, as Governor. Under him the colony soon recovered from the effect of its late troubles. By 1675 it contained sixteen thousand in- habitants. In 1676 Charles Calvert succeeded to his father's title and proprietorship. In 1681 he passed a law limit- ing the right of voting to those who had freeholds of fifty acres, or other property of forty pounds value. Perhaps in consequence of this, an insurrection broke out, headed by Fendal. This was subdued before serious mischief could follow. Under James II. the proprietor's charter was threatened, and would probably have been taken away but for the Revolution. After the Revolution the proprietor, being a Roman Catholic, was deprived of all political rights X.] THE COLONY AFTER THE RESTORATION. 155 in the colony, though he was allowed to keep his proprietary rights over the soil. His successor turned Protestant in 1715, and was restored to his full rights as proprietor. After the Revolution several harsh measures were passed against Roman Cathodes. Besides the laws in force in England against the public celebration of the Roman Catholic reli- gion, which were held to apply to the colony, an Act was passed by the Assembly imposing a duty on all Irish servants imported, with the view of preventing the introduction of Roman Catholics. This seemed especially harsh in a colony which had been founded by a Roman Catholic, and where, under his government, all sects had enjoyed equal freedom. In 1704 these restrictions were so far lessened that Roman Catholic priests were allowed to celebrate worship in private houses. In their industry, commerce, and mode of life the Marylanders resembled their neighbours in Virginia. In one respect they were more fortunate. Though they did not altogether avoid quarrels with the Indians, yet there were no serious wars. While the records of Virginia are filled with discussions and resolutions concerning the defence of the colony against the savages, we find very little of this in the history of Maryland. The Susquehannas, the tribe with whom the Virginians were engaged in one of their most serious wars, were the chief enemies of Maryland. Their attacks were mostly confined to the frontiers, and they do not seem ever to have endangered the interior of the colony. As in Virginia, Acts were passed protecting the Indians from being enslaved or otherwise ill treated by the planters. So greatly was the authority of the English respected by the Indians in Maryland, that in 1663 a chief who was placed at the head of a league of tribes thought it well to get the formal consent of the English Governor to his election. 156 NEW YORK. [CHAP. CHAPTER XI. NEW YORK. Settlement of New Netherlands (i) the constitution (2) dealings with the Indians and the Swedes (3) the English conquest (4) New York under James II. (5) the revolution and Leisler's insurrection (6) the colony after the revolution (7) content between the governor and assembly (8) general condition (9). I. Settlement of New Netherlands. As we have seen, Virginia and Maryland were separated from New England by the Dutch colony of New Netherlands. As that colony became an English possession, and afterwards one of the United States, it is needful that we should know some- thing of its early history. It was, like Virginia, under the government of a corporation, the Dutch West India Company. The whole management of the colony was entrusted to this company, and the Dutch Government only kept the right of annulling the appointment of colonial officers. The company was also bound to inform the Government from time to time as to the state of the colony. Unlike the English settlements, New Netherlands depended more on trade than agriculture. One result of this was that, for convenience in dealing with the Indians, the settlers spread inland along the Hudson, and not along the coast. Thus, while New Netherlands nominally reached from the mouth of the Hudson to that of the Delaware, the whole coast between these two rivers was left unoccupied. Besides the settlements along the Hudson, there were several in the southern part of Long Island, which lies opposite the coast between the Hudson and the Connecticut. The company XI. 1 SETTLEMENT OF NEW NETHERLANDS. 157 itself did little in the way of sending out emigrants, but left that to a class of landed proprietors called patroons. These patroons held estates under the company, which they settled with emigrants whom they fitted out and sent over. They might purchase estates of unlimited extent on the one condi- tion of sending out fifty settlers. They might found town- ships, and appoint officers and magistrates for them. Within their own boundaries they tried all cases, and had power of life and death. By the laws the settlers were allowed to appeal to the company, but this right was practically of little value, as the patroons generally made the emigrants agree to give up this right before they went out. Thus the colony con- sisted of a number of small separate States, each governed by a single man. In 1640 another class of settlers was admitted. Every one who went out accompanied by five other emi- grants was allowed two hundred acres of land, and was to be independent of the patroons. This provided the colony with a class of yeomen much like those of the New England colonies. The system of patroons does not seem to have answered, and, before .the colony passed into the hands of the English, they seem to have died out. As long as it lasted the system gave rise to much difficulty and many dis- putes. The patroons had disputes with the company as to the limits of their power, and with private traders as to their right of trading in any patroon's country without a licence from him. Partly owing to these disputes, and partly to the folly of Kieft, the Governor, who involved the colony in a needless war with the Indians, for the first twenty years New Netherlands did not prosper. When Stuyvesant came out in 1647, he only found three hundred men able to bear arms. Under his government things improved. By 1664 the population had increased to ten thousand ; the chief place, New Amsterdam, had become a flourishing town, with fifteen hundred inhabitants. The settlers were not all Dutch, Like 158 NEW YORK. [CHAP. Holland itself, New Netherlands was the chosen refuge of men persecuted in their own countries for their religion. Besides the Dutch there were Puritans from England, French Huguenots from Rochelle, Waldenses and Walloons. The Waldenses were Protestants from the south-east of France and from Piedmont, who had suffered severe persecutions, chiefly from the Dukes of Savoy. The Walloons were Roman Catholics from the Netherlands. They and the Huguenots were so numerous that public documents were sometimes written in French as well as in Dutch. There were too some Swedish settlers on the Delaware. At a later time it was said that eighteen different languages were spoken in the colony. 2. The Constitution. The people of New Netherlands did not enjoy anything like the same political freedom as their English neighbours. They did not make their own laws or fix their own taxes ; yet they were not altogether without means of making their wants known, and protecting themselves against arbitrary government. In 1641 Kieft called together a Board of twelve Deputies, elected by the people, to advise him about the war with the Indians. They had no power beyond this. In the next year some of them of their own accord drew up a paper calling the Governor's attention to certain grievances from which the colonists suffered. The chief of these was that the Council, which ought to have been a check upon the Governor, consisted of one member only ; and as the Governor had two votes, the whole power was in his hands. They proposed that the people should elect four members of the Council. Kieft promised to allow this, and dissolved the Board, but did not keep his promise. In 1644 he called together a similar board to consult about taxation. Kieft wanted to lay a duty on certain articles. The Deputies opposed this, declaring that the inhabitants could not pay it, and moreover that xi.] DEALINGS WITH INDIANS AND SWEDES. 159 they ought to be taxed only by the company itself, and not by the Governor. After a dispute, Kieft imposed the tax, but had in some cases to use force in making the colonists pay it. In the same year the Deputies sent a memorial to the company. They represented the wretched state to which Kieft had brought the colon) by his folly in making war on the Indians. They advised the company to believe nothing that Kieft told them, and they petitioned for a new Governor and a regular system of representation. The company thereupon recalled Kieft. His successor, Stuyvesant, estab- lished an imperfect system of representation. The people were to elect eighteen Councillors, of whom he was to choose nine. Of these, six were to go out of office each year, but before they went out the whole nine were to choose the six incoming members. Thus after the first election the people had no voice in the matter. In 1647 the Councillors sent a memorial to the States-General, setting forth the wants and sufferings of the colony. The Government took up the matter, passed a resolution recommending certain improve- ments, and sent it to the West India Company. The amendment in the condition of the colony was to some extent due to this. In 1653 a dispute arose between Stuyve- sant and the people of New Amsterdam about the tax on liquors, in which Stuyvesant at last gave way. 3. Dealings with the Indians and the Swedes. Besides these disputes the colony was exposed to dangers from without. The Dutch settlers, unlike the English, had constant dealings with the Indians, and those dealings often led to quarrels. In 1643 some trifling misconduct on the part of the Indians was made the pretext for an attack. The country of the Indians was cruelly ravaged, and many of them killed. In making the attack Kieft was acting against the wishes of many of the settlers. One man in particular, De Vries, a leading patroon, did his utmost to check Kieft. Failing in this, he left the 160 NEW YORK. [CHAP. colony in despair, warning Kieft that all the innocent blood that he had shed would be avenged on himself. The Indians were taken by surprise, but they soon collected their forces, ravaged the Dutch country, and penned the settlers within the walls of New Amsterdam. After heavy losses on each side, peace was made. Besides this there were other less important hostilities between the Dutch and the Indians. Luckily the settlers, like the New Englanders, contrived to make friends with the Mohawks. It is said that the first Dutch colonists in 1617 made a treaty with them. This was renewed in 1645 ; and, as the Indians whom the Dutch attacked were enemies to the Mohawks, the alliance was not weakened by this war. In 1646 the Dutch got into a dispute with the Swedes, who were settled by the river Delaware, on land which both nations claimed. In 1651 Stuyvesant established a fort on the disputed territory. In 1654 the Swedes appeared before the fort with a small force, and the Dutch commander surrendered. In the next year Stuyvesant retook the place. No further attempt was made to recover it, and the only Swedish settlement in America became part of New Netherlands. 4. The English Conquest. It was but natural that Eng- land should covet the territory of New Netherlands. The Dutch were then, as the Spaniards had been a century before, the great naval and commercial rivals of the English. Moreover, as long as New Netherlands belonged to any other nation, it was impossible for the northern and southern colonies of England to become united. If the English Government had foreseen the possibility of the colonies ever combining in a revolt against the mother country, they might have preferred to keep New Netherlands as a check upon them. But the English were not likely to think of that danger, and looked on New Netherlands only as interfering with their commerce. Moreover, New Amsterdam had the XI.] THE ENGLISH CONQUEST. 161 best harbour of any place along the coast, and no other river gave such a highway for the Indian fur trade as the Hudson. The only title which the English had to the place was that they claimed to have discovered it before the Dutch. But even if this were so, it could hardly be thought that this was of any weight, after they had suffered the Dutch to occupy the country unmolested for some fifty years. Nevertheless, in 1664 Charles II. and his advisers, while England and Holland were at peace, resolved to assert this claim. They sent out a fleet of four ships, with a force of four hundred and fifty men on board, under the command of Colonel Nicholls. The commissioners who were at the same time sent out to New England were ordered to assist Nicholls, and to get aid from the New England colonies. Massa- chusetts refused help, but the Connecticut settlers, being old enemies of the Dutch, came forward readily. In August the fleet appeared before New Amsterdam. The place was weakly fortified, and ill supplied with men and ammuni- tion. Nevertheless Stuyvesant was for holding out. When Nicholls sent a letter offering liberal terms of surrender, Stuyvesant tore it in pieces. The settlers however demanded to see the letter, and the fragments were put together and laid before them. The people, when they heard the terms offered, flocked to Stuyvesant, and besought him to surrender and avoid the risk of an attack. At first he declared that he would rather be carried out dead ; but at length, finding that scarcely anyone supported him, and that even his own son was against him, he yielded. By the terms of the treaty, the garrison was allowed to march out with all the honours of war, and the property of the settlers was not injured. The remaining settlements followed the example of the capital. One place alone, New Amstel, held out. It was taken with slight loss, and by October the whole country had submitted. By this conquest England obtained the whole sea-coast from M 162 NEW YORK. [CHAP. the Kennebec to the Savannah. Thus the acquirement of New Netherlands by England was a turning-point in American history. It made it possible for the English colonies to become one united dominion. The new territory was granted to the Duke of York as proprietor. The name of the country and of the capital were both changed to New York. Part of the territory was sold to a company of pro- prietors, and afterwards formed the province of New Jersey. The rest was placed under the government of Nicholls. The charter granted to the Duke of York gave him full power to make laws. Nothing was said, as in the charter of Maryland, about the advice or assistance of the freemen. In 1665 Nicholls called together a Convention of the settlers, to advise and help him in drawing up a system of government and a code of laws, but without allowing them any power of enacting laws. The government was to be in the hands of a Governor and a Council. No steps were taken towards giving the people representatives. The only harsh measure adopted was that all grants of land had to be renewed, and a fee paid for renewal. In 1667 Nicholls was succeeded by Fran- cis Lovelace, a member of a distinguished royalist family. In 1672 war broke out between England and Holland. In the next year a Dutch fleet threatened New York. Lovelace and the English officers with him showed no such resolute spirit as Stuyvesant had displayed in a like case, and the place was at once surrendered. The country took back its old name, while the capital was called Orange, in honour of the Stadtholder, William of Orange, then at the height of his popularity. But the Dutch only held the country for fifteen months, too short a time to make any important change, and in 1674 the treaty of Breda ended the war, and restored the territory to the English. Thenceforth New York, as it was again called, remained an English possession. 5. New York under James II. The Governor now XL] NEW YORK UNDER JAMES II. 163 appointed by the Duke of York was Andros, whose later dealings with New England have been already told. As before, the transfer to the English was effected with little or no injury to the private rights of the settlers. Their desire for a Representative Assembly was at first disregarded. In 1 68 1 the people made a formal petition for a government like those of the New England colonies, and the Duke promised to consider their request. In 1683 Colonel Dongan, an Irishman of good family, was sent over as Governor. He was instructed to call an Assembly of eighteen representa- tives elected by the freeholders. They were to make laws, subject to the Duke's approval, and to decide about taxation. In October the first New York Assembly met. Its first proceeding was to draw up a charter of liberties. This enacted that the government should be perpetually vested in a Governor, Council, and Assembly ; that all freeholders and freemen of corporations should have votes ; that freedom of conscience should be granted to all Christians, and that no tax should be levied without the consent of the Assembly. This charter of liberties received the King's assent. The dealings of James II. with New York are as hard to be understood as any part of his seemingly strange and capri- cious policy. In 1686 the Assembly of New York, like those of the New England colonies, was annulled, and the whole government transferred to Dongan and his Council. He was instructed to provide for the celebration of the worship of the Church of England throughout the colony. Moreover, no one was to keep a school without a licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury. About this time the settlers had important dealings with the Indians. The English Government kept to the policy of their Dutch predecessors, and encouraged the friendship of the Mohawks. In 1678 Andros had a friendly conference with them, and in 1683 Dongan renewed the alliance. In the next year ambassadors M 2 164 NEW YORK. [CHAP. from the five nations of the Mohawk confederacy met the Governors of New York and Virginia at Albany, made them solemn promises of friendship, and asked to have the Duke of York's arms placed over their log forts. Throughout his term of office, Dongan seems to have been more alive than most of our Colonial Governors to the importance of encourag- ing the friendship of the Mohawks,and preventing any alliance between them and the French ; it was in a great measure due to this that, while Massachusetts and New Hampshire were being ravaged by the Canadian Indians, New York enjoyed security. 6. The Revolution and Leisler's Insurrection- As in New England, so in New York, the English revolution of 1688 was accompanied by a colonial one. But the New York revolu- tion was not marked by the same moderation as that in New England. In 1688 Dongan was succeeded by Andros. He was represented in New York by a deputy, Nicholson, a man wanting in judgment, with neither firmness to control nor ability to conciliate the colonists. When the news of the revolution arrived the people rose, under the leadership of one Leisler. He was a German by birth, able, honest, and energetic; but violent, ambitious, uneducated, and utterly without political experience. He took the government into his own hands, turned out those officers who differed from him in politics or religion, and imprisoned some of them. He used his power in so arbitrary a fashion that a counter- revolution soon sprang up. The party opposed to Leisler established itself at Albany, and for a time the colony was divided between two governments. The Albany party was far more temperate than Leisler, and, like the New Eng- landers, held its authority only until some orders should come out from England, whereas Leisler seized the governor- ship without waiting for any commission. When a letter came out from King William to Nicholson, authorizing him XI.] THE COLONY AFTER THE REVOLUTION. 16$ to carry on the government, Leisler intercepted it, and told the people that he had a commission from the Crown. In 1691 the King sent Colonel Sloughter as Governor. Unluckily he was detained on his way by bad weather. Major Ingoldsby, who was next in command, but who had no authority to act as commander-in-chief or governor, landed in February, and summoned Leisler to give up the government. He refused, on the ground that Ingoldsby had no authority, to which the latter could only answer that Leisler had none either. Leisler then established himself in the fort of New York and fired on the King's troops. In March, Sloughter arrived. Leisler would seem to have had no serious purpose of resisting his authority, or of prolonging the contest ; but Sloughter at once seized the agents who were sent to ascertain his intentions, and, on Leisler's surrender- ing, caused him and his chief associates in the revolt to be imprisoned and subsequently tried for treason. Eight of the ringleaders were sentenced to death, but all of them, except Leisler and his chief supporter, Milborne, were par- doned. Sloughter, it is said, was unwilling to put any to death, but was overpersuaded by those who had suffered from Leisler's tyranny. 7. The Colony after the Revolution. In March, 1691, Sloughter called an Assembly. The Assembly annulled all the Acts of Leisler's government. It also passed an Act which was designed to be a sort of charter for the colony, like the earlier charter of liberties. This Act set forth the rights of the colonists and their relation to the Crown. It enacted that New York should be under a government con- sisting, like that of other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and Representatives, and that this body only should have power to impose taxes. The King refused his assent to this Act, and New York was thus left without any written constitution. Never- theless the proposed form of govcinnunt was adopted. The 166 NEW YORK. [CHAP. division into two parties, which had begun with Leisler's insurrection, lasted after his death. Fletcher, who succeeded Sloughter in 1691, was regarded as the champion of those who had opposed Leisler. His folly and violence soon involved him in disputes with the Assembly. A Bill was passed by the Assembly for endowing the clergy at the ex- pense of the colony. Fletcher wished to add a clause giving the Governor the right of appointment. The Assembly refused their assent to this, whereupon Fletcher reproved and dismissed them. Moreover he granted large tracts of land in the backwoods to his favourites, thereby impoverishing the State and endangering the alliance with the Mohawks. In 1698 Fletcher was succeeded by Lord Bellamont. Though a far abler and better man than Fletcher, he too suffered himself to be made the leader of a party, consisting mainly of Leisler's surviving followers. He annulled Fletcher's grants of land, and in a speech to the Assembly heaped abuse upon his memory, saying that he had himself received " the legacy of a divided people, an empty purse, a few miserable, naked, half-starved soldiers ; in a word, the whole govern- ment out of frame." In 1701 Bellamont died, having done as much to strengthen the popular party by his encourage- ment as Fletcher had by his ill-judged severity. The next governor, Lord Cornbury, made himself hateful to both parties alike. He was a grandson of the famous Lord Clarendon. Like his father and grandfather, he was a strong partizan of the Established Church, but his whole conduct and character were such as to bring disgrace on any cause that he took up. He was extravagant and dishonest, fond of low pleasures and indecent buffoonery. He embezzled money raised by the Assembly for public purposes, and imposed illegal taxes and exorbitant fees. He also incurred the displeasure of the people by threatening to put in force the penal laws against Dissenters, which the colonists alleged XI.] THE GOVERNOR AND THE ASSEMBLY. 167 were not binding out of England. The Assembly passed a series of resolutions denouncing his conduct, in one of which they declared that no money could be levied in the colony without the consent of the Assembly. In 1708 Cornbury's misdeeds were brought before the notice of the Queen. She deprived him of his governorship, and his creditors there- upon seized him and threw him into prison. 8. Contest between the Governor and the Assembly. For the next forty years the history of New York, like that of Massachusetts during the same time, is little more than a string of disputes between the Governor and the Assembly. In Fletcher's time, the whole of the State revenue was handed over to the Governor, and the expenditure of it was entirely entrusted to him. In 1705 this was so far changed, that a treasurer was appointed by the colony to receive all money raised for any special purpose over and above the regular revenue. In 1710 the disputes began. The Assembly claimed the sole power of levying taxes, and denied the Council any right of amending money bills, declaring that the people could not be deprived of their property except by their own consent as given by their representatives. They also said plainly that, even if the opinion of the English Board for Plantations was opposed to them, they should still hold to their own view. Soon after this, Governor Hunter established a Court of Chancery. The Assembly passed a resolution that this was illegal, and that no fees could be exacted without their consent. They also claimed the right of controlling the expenditure of the revenue. Soon after however they gave way on this latter point. Hunter was succeeded in 1720 by William Burnet, the same who was afterwards Governor of Massachusetts. In his time the dispute about the Court of Chancery was renewed. The representatives so far prevailed that the fees in that court were lowered. Under Governor Cosby, who came out in 1732, 1 68 NEW YORK. [CHAP. the disputes reached their height. At first he succeeded in enlisting the Assembly on his side, and for a while things went on as he wished. The length of time during which an Assembly might continue without an election was not defined by law ; and Cosby, finding that he had got an Assembly that suited him, kept it for the unprecedented period of six years from its election. The people became furious, but the power of dissolving the Assembly lay with the Governor, and there was no remedy. A fresh Assembly was not elected till 1737, a year after Cosby's death. But the temporary ascendancy of the Governor's party had only served to inflame and strengthen the opposition to it, and the next Assembly took a bolder course than any before it. Their position was probably improved by the fact that the new Governor had not yet come out, and was represented by a Lieutenant-Governor. The Assembly at once drew up an address to the Lieutenant-Governor, plainly declaring that they would only grant such a revenue as they deemed proper, and that only for one year ; and that they would not even do that, until such laws had been passed as they thought need- ful for the welfare of the colony. The Lieutenant-Governor, however, managed to get on with the Assembly, and some important acts were passed during the session. The Assem- bly voted liberal grants for the support of the French war then going forward, but refused to give the Lieutenant-Governor the control over the public funds. From this time the claims of the Assembly seem to have been quietly admitted. 9. General Condition. During this time, New York, unlike the other northern colonies, had enjoyed security from the Indians. This was partly due to its position, sheltered as it was by the country of the Mohawks. Moreover Peter Schuyler, who commanded the New York forces for a con- siderable time both before and after the revolution, took great pains to renew the alliance with the Mohawks ; and XL] GENERAL CONDITION. 169 wishing to impress on the English Court the necessity of keeping friends with them, he took five of their chiefs over to England. While it remained in the possession of the Dutch, New York enjoyed no great prosperity, but under English rule it became one of the richest and most thriving of the American colonies. The climate was good, and the soil fertile. As in Virginia, the rivers gave great facilities for carriage. The people were more frugal in their habits, and, it is said, more thrifty and gain-loving, than the New Englanders. Their exports consisted mainly of farm-pro- duce, timber, and fur. In the fur trade, the neighbourhood of the Mohawks and the possession of -the Hudson gave New York a great advantage over the other States. As under Dutch rule, the colony continued to be a refuge for emigrants of all nations. Governor Hunter brought out three thousand German Protestants who had fled from the Palatinate to avoid persecution. A number of French Huguenots also came out. Among this multitude of different races there was of course great diversity of religion. There were English Episcopalians, Dutch and French Calvinists-, Scotch Presbyterians, German Reformers, Quakers and Moravians, Baptists and Jews. In fact, whether we look to the variety of its resources, the diversity of its people, or the number of its religions, we may say that New York in the eighteenth century was a sort of model and representative of the whole body of English colonies. 170 Ti:E CAROL1NAS. [CHAP. CHAPTER XII. THE CAROLINAS. First settlement (i) disturbances (2) improvement under Archdale (3) -wars with the Indians (4) war -with ihe Spaniards and their Indian allies (5) abolition of the proprietary government (6) general condition (7). I. First Settlement. Between the southern frontier of Virginia and the Spanish settlements lay a large tract of land, for the most part fertile and well watered. Raleigh's two colonies had been placed on this coast. After them no English settlement seems to have been made south of Virginia till about 1660. At that time two small parties of emigrants established themselves in this country', one from Virginia, the other from Massachusetts. In 1663 Lord Clarendon, Lord Shaftesbury, and other friends of Charles II., obtained from him a grant of land. Their territory began at the southern boundary of Virginia, and reached nearly five hundred miles along. the coast. It was to be called Carolina, in honour of the King. The colony was probably intended in a great measure as a refuge for those royalists who had suffered heavy losses in the civil war, and whom the King was unable or unwilling to compensate in any other way. Full power was given to the proprietors to make laws and to manage the affairs of the province. One of the first things that the proprietors did was to draw up a most elaborate constitution for their new State. This was done by John Locke, the great philosopher, and Lord Shaftesbury, and was called the Fundamental Constitutions, ih- country was to be minutely and exactly divided into xii.] FIRST SETTLEMENT. 171 counties, which were to be subdivided into seignories, baronies, precincts, and colonies. There were to be noble- men of two orders, in numbers proportioned to those of the settlers. The eldest of the proprietors was to be called the Palatine, and was to be the supreme officer. Each of the proprietors was to hold a court in his own barony with six councillors and twelve deputies, called assistants. There was to be a parliament, meeting once in two years, and con- sisting of the proprietors, the noblemen, and the representa- tives elected by the freeholders. This constitution met with the same fate as the elaborate one devised by Gorges for his colony. It was drawn up without any real knowledge of the special wants and the manner of life of a new State, nor do the proprietors, after framing it, ever seem to have made any vigorous effort to put it in force. At first they did not even attempt to unite the various settlements under a single government. Each of those already existing was placed under a separate government, composed like those in the other colonies of a Governor, a Council, and a House oi Representatives. The Council was to be appointed by the proprietors out of a number of candidates chosen by the people. The two settlements were called after two of the proprietors, the Duke of Albemarle (formerly General Monk), and the Earl of Clarendon. Albemarle was the set- tlement on the borders of Virginia formed by the Virgini- ans. The Massachusetts men, further to the south, were soon driven away by fear of the Indians or absorbed in a more numerous company which arrived from the Barbadoes. The proprietors, anxious to people their territory, tempted their settlers by very liberal terms. They gave each man a hundred acres of land for himself, a hundred for every one of his children, and fifty for every woman or slave that he took out. In return he had to provide himself with a gun, a supply of ammunition, and food for six months. Besides 172 THE CAROLINAS. [CHAP. these settlements the proprietors formed a third, about three hundred miles to the south. This was divided into four counties, and like the northern settlement was at first chiefly peopled from Barbadoes. Though they were not yet so called, we may for convenience speak of these settle- ments by the names which they afterwards bore, North and South Carolina, the former including both Albemarle and Clarendon. 2. Disturbances. The whole country before long fell into confusion. The proprietors always gave out that the separate governments were only temporary, and were to be replaced by the Fundamental Constitutions. Thus the people, though enjoying present freedom, were dissatisfied, not knowing how soon they might be subjected to a government distaste- ful and unsuited to them. Moreover many of the settlers seem to have been men of doubtful character. The pro- prietors ordered that no person should be sued for debts incurred out of the colony. This apparently was done to attract settlers thither. Thus the colony, like Virginia in early times, was in danger of becoming a refuge for the destitute and ill-conducted. Their mode of life was not likely to better matters. For several years there was no minister of religion in Albemarle. The proprietors too showed little regard for the welfare of the colony in their choice of officers, and disturbances soon broke out. In the northern province the proprietors appointed one of their own body, Millar, who was already unpopular with the settlers, to be the collector of quit-rents. Among a poor and not over-loyal people, the post was a difficult one, and Millar made it more so by harshness and imprudence. A revolu- tion broke out. Millar was seized, but he escaped, and the Governor, Eastchurch, was deposed. He died just after, and one of the proprietors, Sothel, went out as Governor. He fared no better, and after six years of confusion was forced xii.] IMPROVEMENT UNDER ARCHDALE. 173 to resign. He then went to South Carolina, where he took up the cause of the settlers, headed an insurrection, in which Colleton the Governor, also a proprietor, was deposed, and was himself chosen by the people in his stead. From this it would seem as if either Sothel's misdeeds in North Carolina had been exaggerated by his enemies, or as if there was hardly any communication between the Northern and Southern provinces. The proprietors, though they had been indifferent to the welfare of the settlers, showed no wish to deal harshly with them. In 1693 they passed a resolution declaring that, as the settlers wished to keep their present government rather than adopt the Fundamental Constitu- tions, it would be best to give them their own way. Thus Locke's constitution perished, having borne no fruit. 3. Improvement under Archdale. Two years later John Archdale, one of the proprietors, went out as Governor. He was a Quaker, and seems to have been in every way well fitted for the post. By lowering the quit-rents and allowing them to be paid in produce instead of money, by making peace with the Indians, and by attention to roads and public works, he gave prosperity and, for a time, peace to the colony. One thing which especially furthered its welfare was the introduction of rice. The climate and soil of South Carolina were found to be specially suited to it, and the colony soon became the rice -market for all the American colonies. Silk and cotton also might have been produced to advantage, but the cultivation of rice was so profitable that little time or labour was left for any other work. One bad effect of this was that it forced the colonists to employ large numbers of negro slaves. The work in the rice plantations was very unhealthy, and could only be endured by the natives of a sultry climate. This familiarized the Carolina settlers with slavery, and they fell into the regular practice of kidnapping the Indians and selling them to the West India Islands. 174 THE CAROLINAS. [CHAP. 4. Wars with the Indians. Partly through the above mentioned practice, both Carolinas were at an early time engaged in serious wars with the Indians. These were the more dangerous, because the settlers lived like those of Virginia for the most part in scattered plantations, each on his own land. Fortunately for the settlers in North Carolina, the Indians in that neighbourhood were mostly broken up into many small tribes, under no common head. But in South Carolina the Creeks, the Cherokees, the Appalachians, and the Yamassees were all formidable nations. The first important contest with the Indians was in 1703. In that year James Moore, Governor of South Carolina, invaded the country of the Appalachians, on the ground that they were allies of the Spaniards, with whom we were then at war. He devastated their country and compelled them to submit to the English Government. After that, he planted fourteen hundred of them on the southern frontier as a sort of out- post against the Spaniards in Florida and the Southern Indians. In 1711 North Carolina became engaged in a more serious Indian war. About that time a number of German Protestants from the Palatinate, being persecuted by their Elector, fled to various parts of America. A number of them settled in North Carolina. Their leader, Baron Grafenried, with Lawson, the surveyor of the colony, went to measure lands for the German settlement. The Tuscaroras, a warlike tribe, thinking that their territory was encroached on, seized them. Lawson was put to death, but Grafenried pleaded that he was a foreigner, and had nothing to do with the English, and the Indians accordingly spared him. It seems doubtful whether the Tuscaroras had been already meditating an attack, or whether they thought that, having killed Lawson, they would have to fight, and so had better strike the first blow. They invaded the English territory in small bands, and cut off in one day about a hundred and xu.] WAR WITH THE SPANIARDS. 175 twenty settlers. "Yet they showed some sense both of humanity and honesty by sparing the Germans, on the strength of a treaty made with Grafenried. The North Carolina settlers sent for help to their southern neighbours. They at once sent a small force with a number of Indian allies from the southern tribes. No decisive blow was struck. But the next year a large force was sent from the south, and the Tuscaroras were crushed. A peace was made, by which they promised to give up to the English twenty Indians, the chief contrivers of Lawson's murder and of the massacre, to restore all their prisoners and spoil, and to give two hostages from each of their villages. The greater part of the Tuscarora nation left the country and joined the confederacy of the Mohawks. In tbis, as in the New England wars, the Indians were defeated rather through their own divisions than through the strength of the English. 5. War with the Spaniards and their Indian Allies. In 1715 South Carolina was exposed to yet greater danger. From the very outset, the Spaniards in Florida had been jealous and unfriendly neighbours to the English. Their chief settlement was at St. Augustine, a hundred and seventy miles south of the river Savannah, which was practically the southern boundary of Carolina. They had encouraged the slaves of the English to run away, and as early as 1670 had made a raid into the English territory. For thirty years after this no open hostility took place. In 1702, as Spain and England were at war, Moore planned an expedition against St. Augustine by sea and land. He reached the town, but alarmed by the arrival of two Spanish ships, he retreated without striking a blow. Soon after the Spaniards began to seduce the Yamassees, a large and powerful tribe who had hitherto been friendly. This design was fur- thered by the humanity of Charles Craven, the governor of South Carolina, who often sent back the Yamassees with 176 THE CAROLIXAS. [CHAP. Spanish prisoners, whom they had taken and would have tortured. This gave the Spaniards opportunities of in- triguing with the Yatnassee chiefs. In 1715 a combined force of the Yamassees and other southern tribes, making in all more than seven thousand warriors, attacked the English settlements. The Governor could only bring against them twelve hundred men. Yet he defeated them after a fierce battle, and drove them out of the colony, though not before they had killed four hundred settlers. It is said that the Spaniards at St. Augustine welcomed the Yamassees on their return, ringing bells and firing cannon. Though repulsed, the Yamassees continued for many years to harass the English. Four years later a Spanish fleet sailed from. Havanna against the Carolinas. It first attacked the Bahamas, islands off the southern point of Florida, where there was an English settlement, but it was beaten off. The defeat, followed by a heavy storm, prevented it from attacking the Carolinas. The multitude of slaves made the hostility of the Spaniard specially dangerous. If the slaves should revolt, the settlers might at any time have to deal with enemies without and rebels within. In the case of the Ind ans this danger was less felt, since the Indians and the negroes detested one another, and there was little fear of any sort of combination between them. But the Spaniards looked upon the multitude of slaves as a weak point in our settlements, and in a later war they paraded a regiment made up wholly of negroes, officers and all, in front of their forces, as a bait to the English slaves to join them. 6. Abolition of the Proprietary Government. In the meantime, internal disturbances had sprung up in both colonies. In 1705, the Dissenters in South Carolina sent a petition to the Queen, calling attention to the misgovernment of the proprietors, and the law officers of the Crown were ordered to commence proceedings for a writ of Quo -iuai ranto. xii.] ABOLITION OF PROPRIETARY RULE. 177 Nothing however came of this. In 1717, the Assembly of South Carolina passed a law that the election of representa- tives should be held, not, as before, at the capital, Charlestown, but in the different counties. This, by making it easier for all the freemen, especially for the poorer sort, to vote, strengthened the hands of the people and weakened the influ- ence of the proprietors. At the same time, the Assembly imposed a heavy import duty on English goods. The pro- prietors annulled both these Acts. They also provoked the colonists by increasing the number of the Council from seven to twelve. Moreover, there was a general feeling in the colony that the proprietors cared only for their own pockets, and were indifferent to the welfare of the people. The colonists accordingly broke out into open revolt against the proprietors. Robert Johnson, the Governor, was him- self popular, and the people endeavoured to enlist him on their side ; but he remained loyal to the proprietors. The colonists then deposed him, and appointed James Moore to be Governor. At the same time they sent over an agent to Eng- land to plead their cause. The effect of his representation was that South Carolina was made a royal colony. Nichol- son, a man of considerable experience in the colonies, was sent out as the first Governor. Under the new system, the colony throve, and the rapid improvement in its condition was the best proof of the misgovernment of the proprietors. Peace was made with the Southern Indians. Clergymen were sent out, partly at the expense of the colony, partly by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and schools were established throughout the colony. Before long, North Carolina too passed under the government of the Crown. Though there was not such an open display of enmity as in the southern colony, yet the people were known to be disaftected to the proprietors. In 1729, the proprietors voluntarily sur- rendered their rights, and North Carolina became a royal N 178 THE CAROL1NAS. [CHAP. colony. The change was made without dispute, and ap- parently with the good will of all concerned. 7. General Condition. In spite of these disturbances the actual resources of the two colonies, especially of the southern provinces, were so great that, when quiet was restored, they quickly became rich and prosperous. In the whole country there was but one town, Charleston, the capital of South Carolina. Its position, and its neighbourhood to the West India Islands, made it the most important place south of New York. About two hundred ships sailed thence every year. In climate and soil, the two colonies were much alike. But while the rivers of South Carolina afforded good harbour- age for small vessels, most of those in North Carolina were lost in large and unwholesome swamps before reaching the sea. This, coupled with the fact that there was no place in North Carolina like Charleston, gave the southern colony a superiority in commerce, and hence -in political activity and education, which it long kept. In one point the two Caro- linas resembled New York rather than their nearer neigh- bours Virginia and Maryland. The population included a large number of foreigners, French, German, and Swiss, most of them refugees, who had fled from persecution in their own country. xni.] FIRST SETTLEMENT OF NEW JERSEY. 179 CHAPTER XIII. THE QUAKER COLONIES. First settlement of New Jersey (l) Quakers' settlement of West New Jersey (2) transfer of East New Jersey (3) the New Jersey charters threatened (4) state of the colony at he revo- lution (5) the Jerseys united under the Crown (6) William. Penn (7) settlement of Pennsylvania (8) troubles in Uie colony (9) general condition (10). I. First settlement of New Jersey. In the history of New England we have already met with the sect of Quakers, or Friends. The first members of that sect were wild and noisy fanatics, but before long men of good family and education joined them, and under such leaders the Quakers took an im- portant part in the colonization of America. The greatest and most prominent of these men was William Penn, the founder of Pennyslvania. But, before that colony was settled, another had come into being, not consisting wholly of Quakers, but numbering many of them among its inhabitants. That State was New Jersey. As we have already seen, the Duke of York, as soon as he came into possession of New Netherlands, sold about one-twelfth of it, that is to say, some seven thousand square miles, to Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret. Although this only formed a small part of his whole territory, it was in value scarcely inferior to all the rest put together. For it included nearly the whole sea- board of about a hundred and twenty miles in length, and consequently it was the best place for fresh colonists. More- over the greater part of it was almost uninhabited, and the proprietors could sell or let the land in parcels, while in the N 2 i8o THE QUAKER COLONIES. [CHAP. rest of New Netherlands there were Dutch and Swedes, who claimed the soil as their own, and often refused any payment to the proprietors. This territory was also well protected from the Indians, on the west by the river Delaware, on the north and north-west by the inhabited districts of New Netherlands. Moreover, unlike most of the colo- nies, it had a fixed boundary to the west, and thus the settlers were kept from straggling, and held together in towns and villages. When Nicholls, the Governor of New York, discovered all this, thinking that his master had done un- wisely to part with the land, he tried to set aside the sale, but in vain. The new colony was called New Jersey, in honour of Carteret, who had bravely defended Jersey against the parliamentary forces in the great rebellion. The govern- ment was to consist, like those of the other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and Representatives. No taxes were to be imposed except by consent of this government. The pro- prietors retained the right of annulling any law, and of ap- pointing colonial officers. All religious sects were to enjoy liberty of worship, and equal political rights. At the time of the purchase, New Jersey was almost uninhabited. A few Dutch and Swedes had settled in the country, and a few New England Puritans, who had been driven out of Massa- chusetts, among them some of Mrs. Hutchinson's followers, had sought a refuge there, and had been allowed by the Dutch to form settlements. Several of these had obtained a right to the soil by purchase from the Indians. In 1665, Philip Carteret, a nephew of Sir George, was sent out as Governor. He founded a town, called, after Lady Carteret, Elizabethtown. A number of colonists came in from New England. In 1668, the first Assembly was held at Elizabeth town, and some of the laws passed show that the colonists were influenced by the ideas and habits of New England. In 1670 a dispute arose between the proprietors and the settlers. xin.] QUAKERS 1 SETTLEMENT OF WEST JERSEY. 181 The former claimed quit-rents for the land. The latter refused to pay, pleading that, by buying the ground from the Indians, they had got full ownership of it, and that, if they allowed the proprietors' claim, they would be paying twice over. The dispute led to an insurrection. In 1672 the people drove out Philip Carteret and the other government officers, and chose as Governor, James Carteret, natural son of Sir George, who had nevertheless taken the side of the settlers. A year later the Dutch, as we have seen, got back for a short time all that had been taken from them by the English. But in New Jersey, as in New York, the short period of Dutch occupation made no special change. 2. Quakers' settlement of West New Jersey. When by the treaty of 1674 the Dutch settlements were finally given up to the English, the King granted them by a fresh deed to the Duke of York. This grant took in the lands which the Duke had sold to Berkeley and Carteret. They contended that their right still held good, and the Duke granted their claim. Nevertheless, he afterwards asserted a right of levying certain duties in New Jersey, which led him into several dis- putes, both with the proprietors and the settlers. In 1674, Lord Berkeley, being dissatisfied with the results of his colony, and with his ill-treatment, as it must have seemed to him, at the hands of the Duke of York and the colonists, sold his right in the land to two Quakers, Fenwick and Bylling. Soon after, Bylling, in consequence of a dispute with Fenwick, sold his share to three other Quakers, of whom William Penn was one. They, wishing to set up a separate colony, persuaded Sir George Carteret to divide the territory with them. This he did, and for some time it formed two separate States, East and West New Jersey, the former belonging to Carteret, the latter to the Quakers. The eastern division contained about lour thousand settlers. The western was much more scantily inhabited, and so was fitter for the purpose of its i82 THE QUAKER COLONIES. [CHAP. proprietors. Their object was to found a. colony which might be a refuge for the Quakers, as New England had been for the Puritans. They drew up a constitution for their new State. Except in two points, it was like the earlier con- stitution framed by Carteret and Berkeley. The Council was not to be appointed by the proprietors, but chosen by the Assembly, and to prevent disturbances at elections the voting for representatives was to be by ballot. In 1677, four hundred Quakers emigrated to West New Jersey. In 1680, a dispute arose between the proprietors and the Duke of York. Andros, who was then Governor of New York, tried to levy an import duty in New Jersey; Penn and his colleagues resisted. They pleaded that they had bought the land from Lord Berkeley ; that they had thereby acquired his rights ; that one of these rights was that the colony should be subject to no laws, but those of its own making and those of England, and that therefore a law im- posed by Andros could not bind them. They represented that to tax the settlers without their consent would be infring- ing their rights as Englishmen, and that they would never have braved the perils of a distant voyage and a new country, un- less with a hope of having those rights enlarged rather than lessened. The English Judges before whom the question came decided in favour of New Jersey. 3. Transfer of East New Jersey. Meanwhile East Jersey had undergone a complete change. In 1679, Sir George Carteret died ; his affairs were in such a bad state that it was needful to sell his property for the benefit of his cre- ditors. The Quakers, satisfied with the success of their settlement in West Jersey, decided to make a like attempt in the eastern colony. Accordingly, Penn and eleven others purchased it from Carteret's representatives. But as East, unlike West, Jersey had already a large number of settlers, the new proprietors did not attempt to make it wholly a xiii.] STATE OF COLONY AT THE REVOLUTION. 183 Quaker settlement. They associated with them a number of Scotchmen, and the colony was soon filled with Scotch emigrants. The government was like that of the western colony, except that the Council consisted of the proprietors and their deputies. The more important officers were to be appointed by the Governor and Council. All Christians were eligible for public offices, and no man was to be molested in any way for his religion. 4. The New Jersey Charters threatened. James II. 's scheme for making one great State out of the northern colonies took in both the Jerseys. To carry it into execu- tion, in 1686, writs of Quo warranto were issued against both governments. The professed grounds were some charges of smuggling brought against the inhabitants. The proprietors of East Jersey yielded their patent on condition that the King should not meddle with their private rights over the land. West Jersey would probably have been forced to do likewise, but, before the surrender of the eastern colony could take effect, James had ceased to reign. 5. State of the Colony at the Revolution. The Revolution brought no change in the constitution of either of the colonies. By 1700, the number of settlers in East Jersey was about twelve thousand and in West Jersey about eight thousand. The inhabitants were prosperous, though not wealthy. Like Virginia, the country was abundantly supplied with rivers, and water carriage was easy ; but the settlers did not live in scattered plantations like the Virginians. There were some twelve towns, of which Burlington and Elizabethtown were the largest, each containing between two and three hundred houses. From the first the country seems to have been almost deserted by the Indians, and by 1700 there were not more than two hundred in both colonies. Their small num- ber was not due to any cruelty on the part of the settlers. On the other hand, the two races seem to have been perfectly 184 THE QUAKER COLONIES. [CHAP. friendly, and the English are said to have found the Indians so helpful that they wished for more of them. 6. The Jerseys united under the Crown. Notwithstanding the prosperity of the two colonies, neither of them brought much good to their proprietors. Both changed hands several times, and in the process various disputes arose. Different persons claimed the governorship at the same time, each professing to be appointed by a majority of the proprietors. Besides- this, the settlers became engaged in a dispute with New York. The government of that State, presuming on its old connexion with New Jersey, attempted to levy a tax on the inhabitants. The Jersey settlers refused to pay, and the question was referred to the Crown lawyers in England. They ruled that no colony could be taxed, except by Act of Parliament or by its own Assembly. Wearied with these disputes, and finding little profit from their property, in 1702 the proprietors of both colonies surrendered their rights to the Crown. The two provinces were again united, and New Jersey became a royal colony. The new constitution was after the ordinary colonial pattern. There was to be a Governor and twelve Councillors, appointed by the Crown, and twenty-four Deputies elected by the people. The right of voting for deputies was confined to those who possessed a hundred acres of land, or 5o/. worth of other property. The Governor was to appoint all officers, and to command the forces of the colony. Political equality was granted to all sects, except Roman Catholics. The first Governor appointed was Lord Cornbury. As in New York, he made himself odious by imposing exorbitant fees and interfering with the pro- ceedings of the Assembly. Yet New Jersey fared somewhat better than New York, as, being fully occupied with his government of the latter colony, Lord Cornbury for the most part governed New Jersey by a deputy. 7. William Penn, Of the early Quakers the most con- xiii.] SETTLEMENT OF PENNSYLVANIA. 185 spicuous was William Penn. In position, ability, and educa- tion he stood far above the generality of his sect. His father, Admiral Penn, was a distinguished seaman, and stood high in the favour of Charles II., by whom he was knighted. His son, while at Oxford, is said to have shown symptoms of those strict and unusual views in religious matters which he afterwards displayed more fully. This temper however seemed for a while to have disappeared, and he came back from a foreign tour with all the graces and accomplishments of a polished gentleman. Soon after this, it became known, to the dismay of his friends and the wonder of the fashionable world, that he had joined an obscure sect, headed by an illiterate and fanatical cobbler. His father cast him off, and the magistrates sent him to prison for attending Quaker meetings. After undergoing all these trials with unswerving constancy, he was at length reconciled to his father, and, like him, enjoyed the favour of the King and the Duke of York. 8. Settlement of Pennsylvania. Penn was, as we have seen, a proprietor both in East and West New Jersey, and took a leading part in the settlement of those colonies. Soon afterwards, he bethought him of founding an exclusively Quaker colony, with laws and institutions suited to the pecu- liar views of his sect. With this object, in 1680 he got from the King a grant of land between Maryland and New York. This is said to have been given as a quittance for i6,ooo/. lent by Admiral Penn to the Crown. The territory was called, by the wish of the King, Pennsylvania. The grant was opposed by the Privy Council, by the Council for Plantations, by the proprietors of New York and Maryland. All these obstacles however were overcome. At the same time Penn received a charter as proprietor, much like that granted to Baltimore. It gave him the power of making laws with the advice and assent of the freemen. It also gave him the command over the forces of the colony, a provision somewhat inconsistent 136 THE QUAKER COLONIES. [CHAP. with the principles of the Quakers, who condemned all war as sinful. In that year three ships sailed out with emigrants, and in the next year Penn himself followed. He drew up a set of rules for the first settlers. The most important of these was that no one was to have more than a thousand acres of land lying together, unless within three years he should plant a family on every thousand acres. To guard the Indians from being cheated, all trade with them was to be in open market. This year Penn got from the Duke of York a small grant of land at the south-east of New York, then called the Territories of Pennsylvania, and now forming the State of Delaware. This tract of land and Penn's original colony, as long as they remained under one government, were generally dis- tinguished, the former as the Territories, the latter as the Province. The whole country was divided into six counties, three in the Province and three in the Territories. In May, 1682, Penn set forth the constitution. The Government was to consist, as in the other colonies, of a Governor, Council, and Assembly. The councillors were not to be appointed by the proprietor, but chosen, as they had been in West Jersey, by the settlers. They were to be elected for three years, the deputies for one. The counties were to send members to the Council and to the Assembly on equal terms. At the same time Penn published various laws. No conformity in religion was to be required from any private person beyond a belief in one God. All public officers, however, were to profess them- selves Christians. All children were to be taught some trade, and the criminals in prisons were to be usefully employed. No part of Penn's conduct in settling his colony was more honourable than his treatment of the Indians. Soon after landing he held a conference with them, and laid the foun- dation of a lasting friendship. In none of the colonies were the relations between the two races so uniformly friendly as in Pennsylvania. For a long while the highest praise that xrii.] TROUBLES IN THE COLONY. 187 the Indians could give a white man was to liken him to Onas, as they called Penn. 9. Troubles in the Colony. In May, 1684, Penn was forced by stress of business to return to England. Before he went he appointed a Governor in his place. Soon after his departure dissension arose from various causes. A violent dispute had broken out the year before with Maryland about boundaries. In 1684, the Marylanders attempted to possess themselves by force of some of the disputed lands. The question was settled in the next year by the English Government. In 1690, a quarrel broke out between the pro- vince and the territories. Some of the deputies chosen by the territories took upon themselves to usurp the place of the whole Assembly, and to carry on business in its name. Other disputes followed, and at length Penn thought it best to give the territories a separate Government. Penn's friendship for James II. naturally prejudiced William and Mary against him, and in 1692 he was deprived of his proprietorship on the ground that he had suffered the colony to fall into dis- order. Fletcher, the Governor of New York, was then appointed Governor of Pennsylvania. He soon got into disputes with the Assembly. They held that the old con- stitution arid laws were still in force, while he contended that the forfeiture of the charter had made them void. They also refused the help which he required for the protection of New York against the Indians. In 1694, Penn so far re- covered favour with the Court as to be restored to his proprietorship. Two years later the Assembly drew up a fresh form of government, to which Penn assented. The principal changes were that the number of councillors and deputies was reduced by one-third, and that the Assembly was empowered to meet of its own free-will, without being summoned by the Governor. In 1699, Penn again went out, but in less than two years he was called back by a report i88 THE QUAKER COLONIES, [CHAP. that the proprietary governments were in danger of being abolished, and he never revisited the colony. During his stay disputes again broke out between the Province and the Territories, which had been reunited under Fletcher. The deputies from the Territories, not being able to carry some measures for the good of their own country, left the Assembly altogether. Penn endeavoured to mediate, but without suc- cess, and after his departure the feud grew worse. In 1701, Penn granted a fresh charter, one of the clauses in which allowed the Territories, if they chose, to have a separate legislature. This, in 1703, they did, and came to be regarded as a colony by themselves, under the name of Delaware, though the Governor of Pennsylvania ruled Delaware also. When the Revolution came, Delaware was conceded equal rights by all the other colonies. Besides this dispute other dissensions arose. Penn does not seem to have been fortunate in his choice of a Gov- ernor. Evans, who became Governor ; .*v 1704 and his successor, Gookin, both quarrelled with the Assembly. In 1710, Penn pathetically complained, in a letter which he wrote to the colonists, that he could not "but think it hard measure that, while that has proved a land of freedom and flourishing, it should become to me, by whose means it was principally made a country, the cause of grief, trouble, and poverty." Being moreover embarrassed in his private affairs, in 1712 Penn proposed to sell his right as proprietor to the Crown. Just before the sale could be completed, he was seized with apoplexy, and, for the remaining six years of his life, he was incapable of doing any business. Thus the transfer was never made, and the proprietorship was handed down to Penn's descendants. They took little interest in the colony. They caused more than one dispute by putting forward a claim to hold their lands free from taxation, a demand which was always resisted by the Assembly. xiv.] MOTIVES FOR SETTLEMENT. 189 10. General Condition. None of the colonies, except per- haps New York, was better off for natural advantages than Pennsylvania. The climate was a mean between that of New England and the southern colonies. Timber was plen- tiful, the soil was fertile, and the rivers offered easy means of carriage. Philadelphia, the capital, was the best laid out and handsomest town in the colonies. The inhabitants were of various races and religions. Besides the Quakers, who for a long time formed the greater part of the population, there were Swedes, Germans, and Welsh. As in New England, there seem to have been few very rich men or great landed proprietors. In this, and in the general mode of life among the settlers, Pennsylvania resembled New York and the New England colonies. CHAPTER XIV. THE SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. Motives for settlement (i) -first settlement (2) German and Scotch emigrants (3) dispute between Oglethorpe and the settlers (4) dealings with the neighbouring Spanish colonists (5) alliance with the Indians (6) war with Spain (7) invasion of Georgia (8) Oglethorpe 's departure (9) Georgia becomes a royal co- lony (10). I. Motives for Settlement Virginia and Georgia, the first and last of the English colonies in Ameria, resemble one another in their origin. All the settlements that came between were either founded, like Maryland and Carolina, for the profit of the proprietors, or like Pennsylvania and the igo GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. [CHAP. New England colonies, as a refuge for a religious sect. Vir- ginia and Georgia alone were established as homes for the poor and needy. In one point however they differed. Vir- ginia was colonized by a company of merchants, who looked to their own gain as well as to the good of the settlers. The founders of Georgia were benevolent men, who did not aim at any profit to themselves, but only at founding a home for those who had no means of livelihood in England. Georgia may also be likened to a still earlier class of settlements, those planned by Gilbert and Raleigh. For it was meant to serve, and it did serve, as a military outpost to guard the older colonies, especially South Carolina, against Spanish invasion. About 1730, some benevolent persons were struck by the evil state of English prisons. At that time men could be, and commonly were, imprisoned for debt. The prisons in which they were confined were shamefully managed. They were dens of filth, and no heed was given to the health of the prison- ers. About that time also many wild and foolish schemes of speculation had been set on foot, and had led to the ruin of many. Thus the debtors' prisons were unusually full, and their condition was worse than ever. One of the first to call attention to this was James Oglethorpe, a man of high birth and good education, an officer in the army, and a member of Parliament. From the outset of his public career, he de- voted himself to bettering the lot of the wretched and help- less, and was described by Pope as " Urged by strong benevolence of soul." By the account which he gave of the evil state of prisons, he got a committee of the House of Commons appointed, with himself as chairman, to inquire into the matter. He was not content with lightening the sufferings of those unhappy debtors. He bethought him of some means whereby those who could find no livelihood in England could be put in the xiv.] MOTIVES FOR SETTLEMENT. 191 way of earning their bread, and so be saved from debt. To found a colony specially fitted for such a class seemed the readiest cure for the evil. Moreover Oglethorpe, being a good soldier and a patriotic man, thought that the same scheme might be turned to account as a check on the Spaniards, who, as we have seen, threatened the southern counties of Carolina. In 1732, Oglethorpe and other bene- volent men formed a company to carry out this plan. They obtained a charter and a grant of all the land between the rivers Savannah and Alatamaha, to form a province called Georgia, in honour of the King. Twenty-one trustees were appointed, with full power to manage the affairs of the colony. At first they were to appoint the Governor and other officers. After four years these appointments were to be made by the Crown. Laws were to be made by the com- pany and approved of by the Privy Council. The settlers themselves were to have no share in the government. Lest the company should try to make profit out of their scheme, no member of it was to hold any paid office in the colony. All the arrangements kept in view the two main ends, to make Georgia both a fit settlement for needy men working with their own hands and a strong outpost against the Spaniards. Most of the settlers were to be poor people, released debtors and bankrupt tradesmen, and those who, having large fami- lies, were in receipt of parish relief. These were to be sent out at the expense of the company. But, beside these, the company were ready to receive settlers who might choose to go out at their own expense. Still they wished to make it specially a poor man's settlement. With this view they prohibited slavery, as likely to interfere with free labour and to give rich men an advantage. Besides, a revolt of the slaves would have been specially dangerous with neighbours like the Spaniards on the frontier. No one was to hold more than five hundred acres of land, and, in order to keep 192 GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. [CHAP. up the number of proprietors, no land was allowed to be sold, and, if a man left no son, his lot was to become the property of the company. The object of this rule was to ensure a sufficient number of men fit for service in war. For the same reason all the settlers were to be drilled as soldiers. As some of the settlers were likely to be of unsteady habits, no rum was to be imported. The company hoped to have among their settlers some German Protestants, many of whom had lately been driven from their homes by fierce persecution, and with this view a clause was inserted in the charter providing that all foreigners who settled in Georgia should have the same rights as English citizens. So too men of all religions, except Roman Catholics, were to enjoy equal rights. To guard against any dispute with its English neighbours, the colony was set free by the Crown from any right which Carolina might have claimed over the land south of the Savannah. 2. First Settlement. Oglethorpe was appointed Governor of the colony, with power to choose a site for a settlement, and to manage all public affairs. On the i6th of November, 1732, he sailed from Gravesend with a hundred and twenty emigrants. On the I3th of January they landed in Carolina, where they were kindly received. Oglethorpe went up the river Savannah to select a place for a settlement. He chose a piece of high ground, round which the river flowed in the shape of a horse-shoe. It was about ten miles from the sea, and commanded a. view of the river to its mouth. This was an advantage, as there was always a danger of the settlement being attacked by the Spaniards from the sea. The town was to be called Savannah, after the river. At the same time Oglethorpe made an alliance with the chief of the Creeks, the most powerful Indian nation in that quarter. On the ist of February the colonists arrived at Savannah. The people of Carolina assisted them with supplies of food. In May Ogle- xiv.] OGLETHORPE AND THE SETTLERS. 193 thorpe held a conference with the Creeks. They promised not to meddle with the English settlers, and to let them occupy any land that they did not need for themselves. Presents were then exchanged ; the Indians gave buckskins ; Oglethorpe, guns, ammunition, cloth, and spirits. 3. German and Scotch Emigrants. Next year a band of German emigrants came over. 1 hey had been driven from Salzburg by a persecuting archbishop. Oglethorpe gave them their choice of land, and they settled about twenty miles north of Savannah. They were well recived both by English and Indians, and soon formed a prosperous settlement. Irt April, 1734, Oglethorpe returned to England, taking with him some of the Creek chiefs. The trustees now began to learn that men who had failed in England were not very likely to succeed in a colony. Accordingly they sent out some more German Protestants and a number of Scotch Highlanders. The latter, from their hardihood and warlike habits, were specially fitted for a colony which was likely to have to defend itself by arms. On his return to Georgia, Oglethorpe set to work to colonise the southern frontier. He planted a body of emigrants on an island at the mouth of the Alata- maha, and called the settlement Frederica. This was in- tended to guard the colony against an attack from the south. The Highlanders were posted on the river sixteen miles inland. Another settlement called Augusta was founded two hundred and thirty miles up the river Savannah to guard the western frontier. Augusta and Frederica were both fortified, and other forts were erected near the mouth of the Alatamaha. 4. Dispute between Oglethorpe and the Settlers. In the meantime disputes had arisen at Savannah. Some of the settlers drew up a statement of their grievances, and laid it before the trustees. Their chief complaints were that Causton, whom Oglethorpe had left in charge of afiairs, was tyrannical o 194 GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. [CHAP. and unjust ; that the colony could not thrive without the use of negroes ; that the prohibition of rum was injurioirs ; that many of the settlers could not earn a livelihood ; and that the state of the colony was so wretched that its inhabitants seized every opportunity of fleeing to Carolina. Some of these complaints seem to have been well founded. Caus- ton's misconduct was so clear that he was removed from his office by Oglethorpe. The demand for rum was supported by the statements that the water of the country was too unwholesome to be drunk by itself ; that, as rum was the chief product of the West Indies, the prohibition stopped the trade with those islands, and that thus the Georgia settlers lost the best market for their goods. As for the negroes, the only respectable settlers, the Highlanders and the Germans, protested that slaves would be both needless and dangerous. Still there is no doubt that the other emigrants were less fitted for hard work, and the sight of the Carolina settlers living on the proceeds of slave labour may naturally have made them wish for the same relief. It was also true that many of the settlers had fled, but generally because Oglethorpe had de- prived some of the most idle and worthless of their share of food from the public stores. Still, if the grievances had been presented in a temperate and respectful way, they might have been considered, but those who took the chief part in complaining were lazy and dissolute, and mixed up their statements with violent and unjust abuse of Oglethorpe. Thus the trustees took little or no notice of them. ;. Dealings with the neighbouring Spanish Colonists. Oglethorpe soon had other troubles on his hands. Early in 1736, he sent an emoassy to confer with the Spaniards about th? boundaries of the colony, which were still unsettled. As the embassy did not return for some time, Oglethorpe became uneasy, and sailed to the south to inquire after them. His Indian allies wished to go with him, but he would only take xiv.] DEALINGS WITH SPANISH COLONISTS. 195 a small number, lest they should fall out with the Spaniards. An isllmd which they touched at was named by the Indians Cumberland, in honour of the Duke of Cumberland, who had shown their chiefs much kindness when they were in England. Here, and at another island further south, Ogle- thorpe set up forts, calling them Forts St. Andrew and St. George. These places were not included in the territory of Georgia, and were occupied by Oglethorpe as military out- posts against the Spaniards. In a few days Oglethorpe met the embassy returning with civil messages from the Spaniards. He thereupon went back to Savannah. In spite of this show of friendship, Oglethorpe soon had private information that the Spaniards were plotting against his colony. He feared that his Indian friends might attack the Spaniards, and thus give them a pretext for making war on Georgia. He took steps to prevent this by keeping a boat constantly on guard upon the Alatahama, to prevent, if possible, any Indian from crossing. He then sent an embassy to the Spaniards, to tell them what he had done. At the same time he sent to Carolina for help both by sea and land, and fortified and victualled Frederica. For some time nothing was heard of the embassy. Alarmed at this, Oglethorpe sailed to the south. On reaching the frontier, he learnt that the Spaniards were advancing. They believed, as he afterwards found, that all the forces of the colony were at Frederica, and accordingly they were about to attack Fort St. George. Oglethorpe however fired his guns in such a way as to make the Spaniards suppose that a ship and a battery on land were saluting one another. Thus he tricked the Spaniards into the belief that fresh forces had come up, and they retreated in confusion. A few days later they sent an embassy which met Oglethorpe near Frederica. Their meeting was friendly. The Spaniards promised to make amends for some wrongs that they had done the Indians, and Oglethorpe at the same time agreed C) 2 196 GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. [CHAP. to withdraw his soldiers from Fort St. George. This he did, and stationed them instead on an island somewhat further north, which he named Amelia Island. 6. Alliance with the Indians. Things now were quiet enough for Oglethorpe to return to England. While he was there the Spanish Ambassador presented a memorial to the English Government, requesting that no more troops should be sent to Georgia, and that Oglethorpe should not be allowed to return thither. This request was of course disregarded, and in September, 1738, Oglethorpe went back, having raised a regiment in England for the defence of the colony. In October a mutiny broke out among his troops, caused, it was thought, by the intrigues of the Spaniards ; but it was easily quelled. In the next summer Oglethorpe undertook a long and difficult journey into the Indian country, to see some of the chiefs and stop negotiations which he heard were going forward between the Indians and the Spaniards. For two hundred miles he saw neither house nor human being. When he reached the Indian settlements, the fame of his goodness and his friendship for the Indians had gone before him, and he was received with all kindness and hospitality. The Indians complained of wrongs done them by some traders from Carolina. Oglethorpe promised to make amends for these, and a treaty was arranged. 7. War with Spain. In this autumn the war between England and Spain, which had long seemed at hand, broke out. The Spaniards, like the English, forbade all foreign vessels to trade with their colonies. This law was broken by English merchants, and, in consequence, the Spanish guardships frequently stopped and searched our vessels. Many stories were afloat, some probably true, others certainly exaggerated, if not false, of the cruelties inflicted by Spanish officials on English sailors. One man in particular, named Jenkins, excited great public indignation by declaring that xiv.] WAR WITH SPAIN. 197 the Spaniards had cut off his ears. Besides this, the Spanish Government demanded that the colony in Georgia should be removed, as it threatened the frontier of Florida. Walpole, then at the head of the ministry, did not think there was ground enough for war, but it was clear that both Parliament and the nation were against him, and that he would have to declare war or to resign. He loved the peace of his country well, but he loved his own power better, and yielded. In October, 1739, war was declared, and Oglethorpe received orders to annoy Florida. The first blow was struck by the Spaniards. In December they fell upon the force at Amelia Island, but retreated after killing two Highlanders. Oglethorpe, though ill supplied with arms and ammunition, thought that his best policy was to act on the offensive, and march boldly on St. Augustine, the chief Spanish fort. He could depend on the Indians, and many of the settlers were able and ready for service. His first step was to send out a small force, which captured a Spanish outpost called Picolata. It was important to hasten proceedings, as the English navy was now blockading Cuba, the chief Spanish island in the West Indies, and thus the Spaniards in Florida were less likely to receive any help. Unluckily, the Government of Carolina were slow in sending Oglethorpe the help that he asked for. In May he deter- mined to set forth without it, and with his own regiment, numbering four hundred, some of the Georgia Militia, and a body of Indians, he marched into the Spanish territory. At first things went well with him. He captured three small forts, and met with no serious opposition till he reached St. Augustine. This was a strongly fortified place, and well furnished with artillery. The number of men in it was two thousand, about the same as the whole English land force. Oglethorpe resolved on a joint attack by sea and land. But the commodore commanding the English ships found that the enemy had effectually secured their harbour, so that plan 108 GEORGIA AND THE SPAXIsII IV AR. [CHAP. was abandoned. Oglethorpe then attempted to bombard the place, but without success. The Spaniards then made a sortie, and fell upon a small force that Oglethorpe had left in one of the captured forts. If Oglethorpe's orders had been obeyed, his troops would have avoided an engagement, but they despised the enemy, they rashly allowed themselves to be surrounded, and were nearly all killed or taken. About the same time Oglethorpe lost some of his Indian allies. One of them thought to please him by bringing him the head of a Spaniard. Oglethorpe indignantly ordered him out of his sight. The Indians took offence at this, and many of them departed. It was soon seen that the English fleet could not keep the Spaniards from bringing in supplies from the sea, and that any attempt at a blockade would be useless. Ogle- thorpe then resolved to try his first plan of an assault, and made all preparations. But before the time came the fleet withdrew, driven away, as their commanders said, by fear of hurricanes. The Carolina troops, who had now come up, were but little help, and some of them, even officers, deserted. Many of Oglethorpe's own men were sick. It was soon clear that the attack must be abandoned, and in June Oglethorpe retreated. Though he had failed in his main object, yet his march probably kept the Spaniards in check, and withheld them for some time from any active operations against Georgia or Carolina. 8. Invasion of Georgia. In the autumn of 1740, England sent out one of the finest fleets that she had ever put on the sea, to act against the Spaniards in the West Indies. There were thirty ships of the line and eighty-five other vessels, with fifteen thousand seamen and a land force of twelve thousand soldiers on board. Unluckily, Admiral Vernon, who commanded the fleet, and General Wentworth, who commanded the land force, could not agree, and nothing was done. In the following July an attack was made on Cuba, xiv.] INVASION OF GEORGIA. 199 but it was an utter failure, and the Spaniards were left free to employ all their forces against the English settlements. Accordingly, early in 1742 they made ready for an invasion. The wisdom of Oglethorpe's arrangements was now seen. The woods, held as they were by Indians friendly to the English, were a sufficient guard on the land side. Thus the Spaniards could make their attack only from the sea. As they could not safely leave a strong place like Frederica in their rear, it was necessary as a first step to take it, and thus it became the key of the country. St. Simon's, the island on which Frederica stood, was about twelve miles long and from two to five miles broad. Frederica was on the west side facing the mainland, and the only approach to it was a road running for two miles between a forest and a marsh, and so narrow that only two men could go abreast. On every other side Frederica was protected by thick woods. On the 5th of July the Spaniards began by attacking St. Simon's, a fort on the east side of the island. They had a fleet of thirty-six ships, but were beaten off by the batteries, after an engagement which lasted four hours. Oglethorpe however, doubting whether St. Simon's,could be defended, destroyed it, lest it should fall into the enemy's hands, and collected his whole force in Frederica. Two days later his Indian scouts brought news that the Spaniards were two miles from the town. Oglethorpe at once marched out at the head of his light troops, fell upon the Spanish vanguard and routed them, taking two prisoners with his own hand. He pursued the Spaniards for about a mile, and then halted till his regular troops had come up. These he posted in the woods, and returned to Frederica to prepare for defence. The Spaniards marched forward and halted within a hundred yards of the main ambush, who opened a heavy fire upon them. In spite 01 the disgraceful flight of the larger part of the English force, the Spaniards were utterly deieated with a loss of three 200 GEORGIA AND THE SPANISH WAR. [CHAP. hundred, besides those who fled to the woods and were there killed by the Indians. The Spaniards, having failed by land, tried an attack by sea, but were beaten off by the guns of the fort. Nevertheless the English were far from safe. Their stock of food was scanty, and if this and the smallness of their force became known, the enarny were almost sure to return to the attack. The English therefore were much alarmed when they found that a Frenchman who had joined them with some volunteers had fled to the Spaniards. In this strait Oglethorpe bribed a Spanish prisoner to take a letter professedly to the Frenchman, but really meant to fall into the hands of the Spanish commander. This letter told the Frenchman that he was to be rewarded for misleading the Spaniards as to the English force, and so tempting them to rush into destruction. The Spaniards fell into the trap, and believed that the Frenchman was really a friend to the English. Oglethorpe had also said in his letter, to alarm the Spaniards, that he expected some ships in a day or two. Just at this time, by good fortune, some English ships ap- peared in the distance. This confirmed the Spaniards in their distrust, and they at once embarked hastily, leaving their fire-arms and ammunition behind them. On their wa^- back they attacked some of the English forts, but were bt ten off, and then retreated into their own territories. On the i4th of July a public thanksgiving was celebrated in Georgia for the deliverance of the colony. After their defeat no further attempt was made by the Spaniards to molest the English settlements. 9. Oglethorpe's Departure Next year Oglethorpe sailed to England, and never again visited the colony that he had founded and saved. But his memory was long held in honour there, and a city and county were called after him, and kept alive his name. Of all the founders of American colonies, from Raleigh onwards, none deserve such high honour as xiv.] GEORGIA BECOMES A ROYAL COLONY. 201 Oglethorpe. Penn laboured unsparingly and wisely, but it was for a sect to which he belonged, and for a colony which bore his name. Winthrop and his friends left their homes and gave up all their hopes of prosperity and greatness in England, but it was to become the rulers of a new State and to win a refuge from tyranny for themselves and their children. Oglethorpe, urged by a yet nobler and more un- selfish spirit, overcame the temptations of riches and high birth, cast behind him the pleasures of the world and forsook the society of friends, to spend the best years of his life in toil and hardship, with no hope of earthly reward beyond the fickle gratitude of those whom he served. 10. Georgia becomes a Royal Colony. After Oglethorpe's departure, the trustees placed the government in the hands of a President and four assistants. They were to hold four courts a year, to manage the affairs of the colony and to try law-suits, but they might not spend money without the conserr. of the trustees. It was soon found that some of the restraints placed on the settlers were injurious to the colony. In the first seven years Parliament granted 94,ooo/. towards the advancement of the settlement, and fifteen hundred emigrants were sent out from England, but not more than half of these stayed in Georgia. The trustees thought that the restriction on the sale of land had led many of the settlers to leave the colony, and accordingly they removed it. Still the colony did not thrive. Nearly all the inhabitants, except the Germans and the Highlanders, were idle and discontented. In 1752 the trustees, dissatisfied with the result, gave up their charter to the crown. A government was established, modelled on that of South Carolina. The prohibition of slavery and of the importation of rum was done away with, and Georgia became in every respect like the other southern colonies. 202 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP CHAPTER XV. THE CONQUEST OF CANADA AND OF THE OHIO VALLEY. The French in Louisiana (l) Washington in the Ohio Valley (2) the Albany conf\rence (3) Braddock's defeat (A,} Washington in command (5) conquest of Southern Aciidia (6) banishment oj the Acadians (7) attack on Canada (8) co nquest of the Ohij Valley (9) the conquest of Canada (ic)the Cherokee war (n) the p -face of Paris (12) fontiac's ivar (13). I. The French in Louisiana. Besides Canada, the French had another colony in North America. This was Louisiana, a fertile tract of land at the mouth of the Mississippi. In 1673, Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, starting from Canada, had penetrated into the countries now forming the States of Wisconsin and Iowa, and had journeyed some way down the Mississippi. A few years later, La Salle, a French fur-trader, descended the Mississippi to the sea. In 1684 he persuaded the French government to found a colony at the mouth of the river. He then explored the whole valley of the Mississippi ; but, before he could bring back the report of his discoveries, he was murdered by two of his own followers. The position of this southern French colony threatened the English settlements with not a little danger. If once the French could connect Canada and Louisiana by a continuous range of forts along the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, they would completely sur- round the English settlements. They would form, as it has been described, a bow, of which the English colonies were the string. Even if these did not annoy the English settlers, they would withhold them from spreading towards the west. William III. saw the danger of this, and planned a scheme xv.] WASHINGTON IN THE OHIO VALLEY. 203 for placing a number of French Protestants on the Missis- sippi as a check on the French settlements there. This however came to nothing. Like Canada, Louisiana was, in its early years, unprosperous. But about 1730 it began to flourish, and in a few years it contained seven thousand inhabitants. Measured by actual numbers, the French colonies seemed no match for the English. In 1740 the former contained only fifty-two thousand Europeans, the latter eight hundred thousand. But their alliance with the Indians, and the strength of their position, made the French dangerous. Moreover they had the advantage of being all under a single governor. 2. Washington in the Ohio Valley The two French colonies were separated by the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi. Between the Ohio and Virginia lay dense forests and a range of mountains, the Alleghanies, rising at some points to four thousand feet, and in few places to less than three thousand. The French and English both claimed this territory, the former on the strength of Marquette's and La Salle's discoveries, the latter by a treaty made with the Mohawks in 1744. It seemed doubtful however whether the lands in question really belonged to the Mohawks, and also whether the treaty gave the English more than the east side of the river. But in a dispute of such importance between two nations who had been lately at war, neither side was likely to be very scrupulous as to the grounds of its claims. Before 1749 no regular settlements had been formed by the English beyond the Alleghanies, and the moun- tains had only been crossed by traders. But in that year a small body of rich men in England, called the Ohio Company, obtained from the king a grant of six hundred thousand acres of land in the Ohio valley. This, as probably was expected, soon brought the dispute to an issue. In 1752 the French governor proceeded to connect Canada and Louisiana by a 204 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. line of forts. Thereupon Dinwiddie, the governor of Vir- ginia, sent a commissioner to warn the French commander that he was trespassing, and to find out the real state of affairs there. For this task he chose George Washington. He was twenty-one years old, of good family, brought up as a land-surveyor. That he stood high in the governor's esteem is shown by his holding a commission as major in the Virginia militia, and being chosen, in spite of his youth, for this difficult service. After a wearisome journey through the wilderness, Washington reached the spot where the Alleghany and Mononhangela meet to form the Ohio. These rivers here run in a westerly direction. About ten miles further up, the Mononhangela is joined by another river of some size, the Youghiogheny. Besides this, two smaller streams rise in the land between the Alleghany and the Mononhangela, and fall one into each river. Thus the fork of land between the two rivers was strongly guarded on every side by water. Its position was in other ways suitable for a fort. Washington was well received by the Indians, who had already met the French. The French they regarded as trespassers, while they do not seem to have suspected the English of being anything more than traders. The French fort liiy a hundred and twenty miles beyond the meeting of the streams. On Washington's arrival the French commander received him with great civi- lity, but he professed to have no power to make terms, and said that any application must be made to the governor of Canada ; he himself was only acting under orders, and could not withdraw. On his return Dinwiddie at once called together the Assembly and laid the matter before them. Some of them questioned the English claim to the lands, but at length they voted io,ooo/. for the encouragement and protection of the settlers in the west. At the same time Dinwiddie wrote to the governors of the other colonies to ask for help. North xv.] WASHINGTON IN THE OHIO VALLEY. 205 Carolina alone answered to the call, and voted I2,ooo/. There were now in the colonies three classes of soldiers. I. There were the militia of each colony. II. There were the colonial regular troops, raised by each colony at its own expense. These, like the militia, were commanded by officers appointed by the governor of the colony. III. There were the king's Americans ; regiments raised in the colonies, but commanded by officers commissioned by the king. These last were de- pendent solely on the crown, and had no connexion with any colony in particular. The crown also had the right of appointing superior officers, whose command extended over the first and second, as well as over the third class. It does not seem to have been clearly settled whether the colonial officers took equal rank with the king's officers, and this ques- tion gave rise to many disputes and to much inconvenience. The Virginia force consisted, beside the militia, of six com- panies of a hundred men each, of which Washington was lieutenant-colonel. To quicken their zeal and to get recruits, Dinwiddie promised a grant of two hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio, to be divided among the troops, and to be free of all rent for fifteen years. This also was to serve as a standing military outpost. In April, Washington set out towards the Ohio, with three companies. He sent a small party in advance, who began to build a fort at the meeting ot the rivers. The French surrounded this fort, compelled the occupants to retire, and took possession oi the place, which they strengthened and called Fort Duquesne. News of this reached Washington when he was about ninety miles off. The French force was believed to be much stronger than his ; nevertheless he decided to push on and take up a position on the banks of the Mononhangela. Soon after he learned irom the Indians that a small torce was marching towards him. On May 27th he set off with forty soldiers and some Indians, and the next clay he met the enemy. It is 236 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. uncertain which side began the engagement. After a short skirmish, the French force, which numbered about fifty, was defeated ; the commander, Jumonville, and ten others were killed, and twenty-two captured. The French have repre- sented this as a treacherous onslaught made on men who had come on a peaceful embassy. Washington, on the other hand, declared that the French evidently approached with hostile intentions. The French also represented that Jumon- ville was murdered during a conference. This was un- doubtedly false, and throws discredit on their whole story. After the fight, Washington, finding that the whole French force would be upon him, entrenched himself at a spot called Great Meadows, some fifty miles from Fort Duquesne. On the 2nd of July he was attacked by a force of about seven hundred men. The engagement lasted from four in the morning till eight at night. The French then demanded a parley. Washington, finding that he could not hold his ground, surrendered the fort, on condition that he might carry off all his effects except his artillery. He also pro- mised not to occupy that place, or any other beyond the Alleghany Mountains, for a year. In spite of his retreat, Washington's conduct was highly approved of, and he and his officers received a vote of thanks from the Virginian assembly. Dinwiddie was for sending out at once another and a larger expedition ; but it was soon clear that, before anything effective could be done, snow and frost would make the mountains impassable. 3. The Albany Conference. During this same summer, by the recommendation of the English government, deputies from the different colonies met at Albany, to discuss a gene- ral scheme of defence. Representatives attended from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. At the suggestion of Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts, they discussed a xv. ] BRADD CIC S DEFEA T. 207 scheme for an union of all the colonies. The author of this scheme was Benjamin Franklin, a native of Boston, who had emigrated in his youth to Pennsylvania. He was by trade a printer. By his energy and ability he had become one of the most influential men in his own colony. In Philadelphia he had already introduced many useful improvements, an acad- emy, a public library, a fire brigade, and a board for paving and cleaning the streets. He now proposed that the colonies should apply to Parliament for an Act uniting them all under one government. The separate colonial governments were to remain as before, but there was to be one federal govern- ment over them all. There was to be a president appointed by the king, and a board of representatives elected by the people of each colony. The number of representatives from each colony was to be proportionate to its contribution to the general treasury. But the scheme was unpopular both in England and in the colonies. The English government feared that it would make the colonies too strong, while the Americans disliked it as increasing the authority of the crown and interfering with the difterent colonial assemblies. Thus the scheme fell to the ground. At the same time Franklin proposed that two fresh colonies should be formed in the disputed territory. This too came to nothing. 4. Braddock's Defeat. In 1755 a force under the com- mand of General Braddock was sent out from England to protect the American frontier. The Virginia regiment had been broken up into six separate companies. By this change Washington had been reduced from the rank 01 lieutenant- colonel to that of a captain. Disgusted at this, he had resigned his commission. He was now asked to serve as a volunteer with Braddock, and gladly accepted the offer. At the outset of the campaign Braddock was hindered by the misconduct of the contractors, who iailed to supply the wag- gons that they had promised. This difficulty was overcome 2oS THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. by the activity and ability of Franklin. On the gth of July, 1755, Braddock, with twelve hundred picked men, forded the Mononhangela and entered the valley of the Ohio. Franklin had reminded him of the danger of a march in the woods, and the fear of ambuscades, but Braddock scorned the warn- ing, as coming from a colonist and a civilian. Just after the whole force had crossed the Mononhangela, they heard a quick and heavy fire in their front. The two foremost de- tachments fell back, and the whole force was in confusion. The officers, conspicuous on horseback, were picked off by riflemen. Braddock had five horses killed under him, and was at length mortally wounded. The officers behaved with great courage, and strove to rally their troops, but in vain. The men lost all sense of discipline, fired so wildly that they did more harm to their own side than to the enemy, and then fled, leaving their artillery, provisions, and baggage. The colonial troops alone behaved well ; Washington himself had" two horses shot under him, and four bullets through his coat, and yet was unhurt. The total loss in killed and wounded was over seven hundred, while that of the enemy did not amount to one hundred. Braddock died two days afterwards, and was buried secretly, lest his body should be insulted by the Indians. 5. Washington in Command. In the next summer Wash- ington was appointed colonel of the Virginia forces, including the militia and the colonial regulars. Few commanders have ever had a harder task set before them. The frontier was attacked by bands of Indians, urged on by the French. Living, as the Virginians did, each on his own separate plan- tation, such attacks were specially dangerous. Washington wished them to collect together in small settlements, but his advice does not seem to have been followed. The rich valley of the Shenandoah, the furthest land on which the English colonists had settled, seemed likely to be wholly deserted. xv.] CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN ACADIA. 209 Meanwhile the defences of the frontier were in a state of utter weakness and confusion. Washington was ill supplied with stores and men. Desertions became so frequent that at one time nearly one-half of the militia was employed in capturing the other half. No one clearly knew what were the limits of Washington's power, or how far he had any authority over the forces sent out from other colonies. The neighbouring governments too were backward in sending help. The governors were for the most part zealous, but the Assemblies were so jealous of anything like arbitrary power that they were more anxious to restrain their gover- nors than to further the common cause. In Pennsylvania, which with Virginia was in the greatest danger, the Governor and Assembly could not agree about taxation. The Assembly were willing to grant a supply : but the Governor, in obedience to the proprietors, insisted that the proprietary lands should be free from taxation. To this the Assembly naturally ob- jected, and no money could be raised. Moreover each colony cared only for the defence of its own frontier. Even among the Virginians themselves this feeling prevailed, and Wash- ington was more than once hindered by the anxiety of his officers to guard their own plantations. 6. Conquest of Southern Acadia. On the northern fron- tier matters were not much better. In 1755 three expeditions were prepared against Canada. The first was planned alto- gether by the Massachusetts Government. Its object was to recover the country between the peninsula of Acadia and the St. Lawrence, which the English claimed under the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and which now is called New Brunswick. For this a force of seven hundred men was sent out in May. The French forts were weakly defended, and by June the New Englanders found themselves masters of the whole territory south of the St. Lawrence. 7. Banishment of the Acadians. When Acadia was given P 210 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. up to the English in 1712, the French inhabitants took the oath of allegiance to the English Government. At the same time they asked not to be forced in time of war to take up arms against the French. No formal agreement was made, but it seems to have been understood that they would be allowed to stand neutral. At the capture of Fort Beaujeu, the chief French fortress taken by the New Englanders, three hundred Acadians were found among the garrison. The Acadians themselves declared that they had been impressed against their will by the French commander. The English Government however was afraid to leave a people of doubt- ful loyalty in a place of such importance, and resolved to banish them in a body. This may have been necessary, but it was undoubtedly carried out with needless harshness. At five days' notice more than ten thousand persons were banished from their homes. Nothing was done by the English in authority to lighten this blow, much to increase it. Families were torn asunder, and a prosperous and peace- ful country reduced to a wilderness. Some of the Acadians escaped to Canada, but most were shipped to the English colonies, where many were left to beg their bread among people of a different race and speech. 8. Attack on Canada. Besides the expedition from Mas- sachusetts, two others were made, which had been planned by Braddock before he set out himself. One force under General Johnson was to occupy Ticonderoga, an important place on Lake St. George, hitherto neglected by the French. Dieskiu, the French commander in Canada, marched out against Tohnson. At first the French had the best of it, but the militia and the Indian allies could not stand against the F.nglish artillery ; Dieskau was compelled to retreat, and in the retreat received a severe wound. The English, however, failed to follow up their success, and allowed the French to occupy Ticonderoga. The other force, that under Shirley, xv.] CONQUEST OF THE OHIO VALLEY. 211 contented itself with fortifying Oswego, a place on the frontier of New York. Hitherto hostilities had been confined to America, but in the next year war was formally declared be- tween England and France. ii5,ooo/. was sent out by the English Government for the defence of the colonies, and pre- parations were made for a great American campaign. But, partly through the slackness of the various colonial govern- ments, partly through an outbreak of small-pox among the troops, nothing whatever was done. Montcalm, Dieskau's successor, was a brave and skilful soldier. With five thou- sand men he marched against Oswego, and took it. This place was on the territory of the Mohawks, and they had looked on its fortification with jealousy. Montcalm, to assure them that the French had no designs against them, destroyed the fort. Next year things went on much as before. Montcalm captured Fort William Henry, an English stronghold on the upper waters of the Hudson. In this year a dispute arose between the English commander-in-chief, Lord Loudon, and two of the colonial governments, those of New York and Mas- sachusetts. The colonists denied that the Act of Parliament which provided for the billeting of soldiers was binding OH the colonies, and declared that special leave must be granted by the various colonial governments. New York soon gave way. Massachusetts was so obstinate that Lord Loudon threat- ened to march all his troops into Boston. The Massa- chusetts Government then came to a compromise. It passed an Act ordering that the soldiers should have the accommo- dation that they needed. Thus, while the colonists yielded, they implied, by passing this law. that the Act of Parliament did not bind them. 9. Conquest of the Ohio Valley. The ill-fortune of the English arms was not confined to America. In Europe we were defeated by sea and land. The spirit of the nation seemed utterly broken. But a mighty change was at hand P 2 212 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. In 1757, Pitt became Secretary of State, with a strong and popular ministry at his back. He breathed fresh life into our forces in every quarter. Nowhere was the change more felt than in America. Pitt, beyond all statesmen then living, understood the importance of the American colonies, and knew how to deal with their inhabitants. He ordered that the colonial troops should be supplied with munitions at the expense of the English Government. At the same time he won the hearts of the Americans by an order that the colonial officers should hold equal rank with those com- missioned by the crown. He also planned an expedition against Fort Duquesne. Washington had repeatedly urged the necessity of this, declaring that the colonies would never be safe so long as that post was held by the Krench. '1 n expedition was somewhat hindered by the commander, General Forbes, who, instead ot marching along the road already made by Braddock, insisted on cutting a fresh one, more direct, but over a more- difficult country. It was believed in America that he was persuaded to this by the Pennsylvanians, to whom the new road was a lasting gain. An advanced detachment of eight hundred men shared the fate of Braddock's army. But, when the main body of six thousand men advanced, the French, finding themselves too weak to hold the fort, retreated. Thus it was decided that England, and not France, was to possess the valley of the Ohio and the rich territory of the west. The name of Fort Duquesne was changed to Fort Pitt, which has given its name to the considerable city of Pittsburgh. 10. The Conquest of Canada. Two other expeditions were sent out this year ; the first against Cape Breton, the second against Ticonderogn. These were warmly supported by the colonists. Massachusetts sent seven thousand men, Connecticut five thousand, and New Hampshire three thousand. The whole force sent against Luuisburg, the chief xv.] THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. 213 stronghold in Cape Breton, consisted of fourteen thousand men. Against this the French had little more than three thou- sand. The defeat of the French fleet by Admiral Hawke, off Brest, made it impossible to send help to Canada, and Louis- burg surrendered. This gave the English possession of the whole island .of Cape Breton. The other expedition was less successful. In a fruitless attempt against Ticonderoga, Gene- ral Abercrombie lost two thousand men, and retreated. This failure was to some extent made up for by the capture of Fort Frontenac, a strong place on the west side of Lake Ontario. The next year, three armies were sent against Canada. One under General Wolfe was to ascend the St. Lawrence, and attack Quebec. A second was to march against Ticonderoga, and then to descend the St. Lawrence, and join Wolfe. The third was to attack Niagara and Montreal, and then, if possible, to join the other two. The two latter forces failed to join Wolfe, who was then left to attack Quebec single-handed. Quebec stands on a rock over the St. Lawrence, and just above the junction of that river with the St. Charles. Thus it is placed in a fork of the two rivers, and being guarded on three sides by water, can only be attacked from the north-west. To reach it on that side, Wolfe would have to cross the St. Lawrence and to scale its north bank, which is lofty and precipitous. Another river, the Montmorency, joins the St. Lawrence about six miles below Quebec. The French force under Montcalm was stationed between the Montmorency and the St. Charles. The position of the town seemed to defy an attack, and even the fearless heart of Wolfe sank. With little hope 01 suc- cess, he crossed the St. Lawrence below its meeting with the Montmorency, and attacked Montcalm, but was beaten back, partly through the eagerness of his vanguard, who rushed forward before the main body could cross the Montmorency to support them. As a last resource Wolfe resolved to cross 214 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. th3 river above Quebec, and to attack the town from the north-west. The stream was rapid, the landing difficult, and the precipice above the river could only be climbed by one narrow path. Nevertheless the English army crossed in the night, and safely reached the heights above the river. So desperate did this attempt seem that, when Montcalm heard of it, he imagined that it was only a feint to draw him from his post. When he learned his error, he at once marched by the city and made ready for battle. After a fierce engage- ment, in which Wolfe was killed and Montcalm mortally wounded, the French were defeated. The battle decided the fate of Quebec. Montcalm, when told that he had but a few hours to live, replied that it was best so, as he should escape seeing Quebec surrendered. No attempt was made to de- fend the place, and it was given up to the English, who garrisoned it with five thousand men. In the next campaign, the whole energies of the French were devoted to the recovery of Quebec. Sickness reduced the garrison to three thousand. Nevertheless, when the French army appeared, Murray, the English commander, marched out, and engaged them on the same ground on which Wolfe had triumphed. This time the French were successful, and the English troops retreated to the city with a loss of a thousand men. The French then proceeded to bombard the place. Fortunately the river, which was usually blocked with ice till late in the spring, that year became open unusually early, and the English fleet was able to sail up and relieve the city. The French now fell back upon Montreal, their only important stronghold left. A force of seventeen thou- sand men appeared before the place ; Montreal surren- dered, and the rest of Canada soon followed. II. The Cherokee War. In the meantime the southern colonies had become engaged in a war with their Indian allies. The Cherokees, the most powerful and warlike of the xv.] THE PEACE OF PARIS. 215 southern tribes, had been dissatisfied with their treatment by the English, and, being pressed by want of food, had plundered some settlements on the Virginian frontier. Hostilities followed, in which some Cherokee chiefs and some Carolina settlers were slain. Lyttelton, the governor of South Carolina, demanded the surrender of one Cherokee for every Englishman killed. The Indians refused, and Lyttelton declared war on them. They then sent messengers to excuse what they had done, and to offer presents. Lyttelton not only refused to hear them, but arrested them. The Cherokee chiefs thereupon signed a treaty, promising to surrender twenty-four of their nation, and allowing Lyttelton to keep his prisoners till this was done. But the Cherokee nation afterwards disclaimed the treaty, and declared that it had been made without their authority. Soon after, an English soldier was killed in attempting to put the hos- tages in irons. His comrades in revenge killed the hos- tages. War now broke out, and the English invaded and desolated the Cherokee country. At the same time the Cherokees besieged and captured Fort Loudon, an English fort on the Tennessee. In a spirit of rude justice they put to death twenty-seven of the prisoners, including the com- mander, that being the number of the ambassadors seized by Lyttelton. The rest they carried off as captives. During 1760 and 1761, the English wasted the Cherokee country, but failed to strikt any decisive blow. In September 1761 how- ever the Cherokees, wearied out, sued for peace, and the war ended. 12. The Peace of Paris. The peace of Paris in 1762 completely overthrew the French power in America. Before the terms of peace were settled, doubts had arisen among English statesmen whether it would be best to hold Canada, or to give it back to France, keeping instead Guadaloupe, an island in the West Indies, which had been taken by England 216 THE CONQUEST OF CANADA. [CHAP. from France, in the course of the war. Some thought that it was well to have French settlements on the frontier, as a check on the English colonists. Pitt, by his anxiety for the conquest of the Ohio Valley, had disclaimed any such ungenerous idea. The colonists themselves wished to be relieved from the duty of guarding a wide frontier. This view prevailed, and Canada and all Louisiana east of the Mississippi became English possessions. The new territory was divided into three provinces, Canada, and East and West Florida, the former to the north of Massachusetts, the two latter to the south of Georgia. These latter must not be confounded with the American state which afterwards bore the name of Florida. The whole territory to the west of the Ohio was to be left unoccupied, partly to conciliate the natives, partly, it was thought, from dread of the rapidly growing strength of the colonies. 13. Pontiac's War. The English were not suffered to hold their new possessions in the west undisturbed. In 1763 a number of the Indian tribes, headed by Pontiac, a dis- tinguished warrior of the Ottawa nation, took up arms. They destroyed most of the settlements in the Ohio valley, massacred more than a hundred English traders, and drove five hundred families to take refuge in the woods. The two strongest English forts, Detroit and Fort Pitt, were besieged, and were for a while in serious danger, but the garrisons held out bravely. The English were slow in sending help. Maryland and Virginia came forward readily, but Pennsyl- vania, as in the French war, was backward. As soon as the English forces marched against them, the enemy gave way. Partly from necessity, and partly by the advice of a French officer who had not yet departed, the Indians sued for peace, and the English again held the eastern bank of the Ohio in safety. xvi.] RELATIONS BETWEEN THE COLONIES. 217 CHAPTER XVI. GENERAL VIEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. Relations between the different colonies (i) relations to England (2) slavery (3) mode of lij'e (4) education, literature, and art (5). I. Relations between the Different Colonies. Before going further, it will be well to take a general view of the thirteen colonies whose origin we have traced. By 1750 the whole population, not counting negroes, amounted to about a million and a quarter. Certain general points of likeness, as we have seen, ran through the institutions of all the different colonies. All of them had governments which were, to some extent, modelled on that of the mother country. In all the citizens retained their English rights of electing their own representatives and being tried by juries of their own country- men. But, in spite' of these points of likeness, the colonies were marked off from one another by great and manifold differences. Roughly speaking, we may say that the colonies fell into two great groups, the Northern and the Southern ; the former taking in those north of Maryland, the latter Maryland and those beyond it. This difference was partly due to climate, and partly to the sources from which the first settle-s had been drawn. The latter cause has been already mentioned. The climate and soil of the South were suited to the cultivation of rice and tobacco, crops which require little skill on the part of the husbandman. Moreover, the heat and the unwholesome air of the South, especially in the rice swamps of Carolina, make it difficult for Europeans to work there. Thus slave labour became the usual means of tillage in the South. The diraate of the Northern colonies, 2i3 VJEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. [CHAP. on the other hand, needed a system of mixed farming, like our own, which requires intelligence and care, and for which slaves therefore are unfit. Thus the class of yeomanry and peasant farmers, who formed the bulk of the population in the North, were almost unknown in the South. There was also a wide difference in religion between the Northern and Southern colonies. In all the Southern colonies the Church of England was established by law. Its clergy enjoyed tithes and glebes, and the majority of the people belonged to it. The Northern colonies, on the other hand, were for the most part founded by men actively hostile to the Church, and they kept more or less of the character with which they had started. While such differences as these existed, it seemed unlikely that the colonies could ever be combined under a single government. Two other things helped to make this more difficult. The original grants of land had been drawn up so carelessly that there was scarcely a colony which had not had disputes about boundaries with its neighbours, dis- putes which had sometimes led to actual violence. Moreover, the populations of the various colonies differed widely in size. Some of the colonies were rive, ten, or fifteen times as large as others in population, while in extent of territory the dis- proportion was still greater. Virginia was far the largest, in both respects. We have seen how injurious such a differ- ence was to the confederation of the New England colonies. If it was impossible to found a firm and lasting union between four colonies so like in their origin and character, because of that one drawback, how much more would it be so with thirteen colonies d'lTering in religion, climate, character, and to some extent in r^ce. Schemes for union had been at different times suggested, but none got over this difficulty. If the large colonies were allowed any superiority on account of their greater size, then the independence of the smaller colonies would be endangered. If all took equal rank, the XVI.] RELATIONS TO ENGLAND. 219 larger colonies might fairly complain that they bore more than an equal share of the burthen without any correspond- ing gain. 2. Relations to England. The relation of the colonies generally to the mother country may be to some extent seen from what has gone before. Scarcely any had altogether avoided disputes with the English Government, but nowhere, except perhaps in Massachusetts after the Restoration, had these disputes ever seemed to threaten separation. Various Acts of Parliament were passed, forbidding the colonists to make certain articles for themselves, lest they should inter- fere with the manufactures of the mother country. But neither these nor the navigation laws, though they sounded harsh, seem to have been felt as a serious grievance. The navigation laws were for the most pait set at nought, and few attempts were made on the part of the Custom House officers to enforce them. Sir Robert Walpole, it is said, even admitted that it was well to connive at American smuggling, since of the money made in the colonies the greater part was sure to find its way to England. The restrictions on manu- factures were no real hardship, as it was cheaper for the Americans to import articles from England than to make them for themselves. In a country where land is cheap and fertile, and where therefore any man of moderate industry can make his livelihood as a peasant farmer, it is impossible to get artisans without paying much higher wages than are given in a country like England, where land is costly. Thus the colonists could not at that time make articles so cheap as those manufactured in England. In fact, as John Adams, one of the ablest American statesmen, said, America and Europe were two worlds, one fitted for manufacture, the other for production, and each made to supply the wants of the other. The greatest grievance which the colonies had against England was the character of the governors sent out. 220 VIEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. CHAP. Too many of them were men of evil reputation, ruined at home, and looking upon their colonial governments merely as means of retrieving their fortunes. Nothing interfered more with the friendly relations between England and America than the fact that the home government depended on these men for most of its information about the colonies. 3. Slavery. Slavery, as I have already said, was one of the great leading points of difference between the Northern and Southern colonies. By the middle of the eighteenth century slavery had reached such dimensions in the Southern colonies as to be a serious source of uneasiness. In Virginia the number of negroes was two to every three white men. In South Carolina the numbers were equal. The injurious effect on the industry and social life of the Southern colonies was already felt. When once slavery becomes prevalent, labour is looked down upon as a badge of inferiority, and the existence of a class of respectable free labourers becomes impossible. This was from an early time the case in the South. There were other evils attendant on the system. It bred up a set of men whom a Virginian writer describes as "beings called overseers, a most abject, unprincipled race." The young planter grew up surrounded by slaves, and learned from his very cradle to be arbitrary and self-willed, indif- ferent to the feelings of others, and accustomed to deal with those who knew no law but his word. In the North the evils of slavery were less felt, but nevertheless they existed. In 1763 the proportion of negroes to the whole population of New England was only one in fifty. But there, just as in the South, they were treated as an inferior race, and debarred from equal rights. In Massachusetts a negro who struck a white man was liable to be sold as a slave out of the colony. Marriages between white persons and negroes were unlawful, and the clergyman who performed the service was liable to a fine of 5o/. No negro might be in the streets of Boston xvi.] EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND ART. 221 after nine at night. In New York, in 1712, an alarm was raised, apparently without foundation^of a negro plot to burn the city. The supposed conspirators were apprehended, and nineteen of them put to death. 4. Mode of Life. Throughout all the colonies there was abundant prosperity, but little luxury ; enough of the neces- sities, but few of the superfluities, of life. Owing to the abundance of unoccupied country and the consequent cheap- ness of land, there were scarcely any tenant farmers, and, except the Southern slaveholders, scarcely any large landed proprietors. The plainness of life is well illustrated in letters written from England by Benjamin Franklin to his wife. He tells her that he is sending home table-linen, carpets, and other such articles, as being far superior to any that could be got in America, and he dwells on the ordinary furniture of an English breakfast table as something remarkably luxu- rious. Indeed, it would seem from his letters that table-cloths were not generally used in America at breakfast. This roughness and plainness was mainly due to the cheapness of land. Where every man could become a farmer, few cared to work as artisans. Moreover, in a young country, all the labour that can be got is needed for bringing the land into cultivation, building houses, making roads, and the like, and little is left for things not absolutely needful. Another result of the cheapness of land was that men were not withheld from early marriages by fear of want, and thus the popula- tion increased far more rapidly than it does in old countries. 5. Education, Literature and Art. In one point the Northern colonies from the very first were in advance, not only of the Southern, but of most countries. This was the attention paid to education. In all the New England colo- nies provision was made for the maintenance of government . schools. In all forms of intellectual and literary activity the Northern States, and especially Massachusetts, took the lead. 222 VIEW OF THE THIRTEEN COLONIES. [CHAP. In 1638 a college was founded at Cambridge in Massa- chusetts, partly by public funds, partly by private liberality. This was called Harvard College, after its chief benefactor, John Harvard. In Virginia, as we have seen, a college was founded about 1690. Yale College, in Connecticut, came into being in 1701, and by 1762 there were six colleges, all, except that in Virginia, in the northern colonies. Yet. in spite of the spread of education, there were in 1720 no booksellers' shops south of Boston, but only stationers' shops, where common school books could be bought. At Charleston however, where there was the most educated and polished society to be found in the South, a public library was started in 1700. By the middle of the century these institutions had sprung up throughout the colonies, and became important as means of spreading knowledge. The first American newspaper was the Boston News Letter, started in 1704. Another Boston paper appeared in 1719, and one at Philadelphia at the same time. As is usual in a new country where nearly everyone is pressing on to make a livelihood by farming or trade, and where there is little leisure for reading, the colo- nies had not, before they became independent, produced many writers of note. In the seventeenth century there were in New England a great number of writers on divinity, many of whom played important parts on the Independent side in the great controversy between that sect and the Presbyterians. Few of their works have any lasting interest or value. Besides these a few books were written on the history of the various colonies. By far the best of these books is Stith's History of Virginia, published in 1747. The author was a Virginian clergyman, and had access to the private records of the Vir- ginia Company. His book is clear and accurate, and for style it may take rank with the best English writers of that day. Unluckily it does not come down further than the dis- solution of the Company. Hubbard's History of the Indian xvi.] EDUCATION, LITERATURE AND ART. 223 Wars is a minute record of the war with King Philip, marred to some extent by violent prejudice against the natives. Of all American writers during the period through which we have gone, the greatest was Jonathan Edwards. He was born in 1703, and died in 1758. He was the son of an Independent minister in Connecticut ; he was brought up at Yale College, became himself a minister, and shortly before his death was appointed President of the college in New Jersey. He wrote on divinity and metaphysics, and is a sort of link between the Puritans of the seventeenth century and the great European philosophers of the eighteenth. The subject perhaps in which Americans most distinguished themselves was natural science. Benjamin Franklin, whom we have already seen and shall see again as a statesman, gained by his discoveries in electricity a place scarcely sur- passed by any of the natural philosophers of his age. Indeed it was justly said of him that his exploits either as a states- man or as a philosopher, taken by themselves, would have won him an undying reputation. Godfrey and Rittenhouse were mathematicians of some eminence ; and Bartram, a self-taught Pennsylvanian, was described by the famous naturalist, Linnaeus, as the greatest natural botanist in the world. James Logan, another Pennsylvanian, wrote books of some merit on natural science and other matters, and at his death in 1751 left a library of four thousand volumes to the city of Philadelphia. In lighter branches of literature, poetry, fiction, and the like, America as yet produced no writers of any repute. This was perhaps because in New England and Pennsylvania, where there was most education and culture, enough of the old Puritan and Quaker temper was lelt to make men look with some disfavour on such works. Thus when in 1750 an attempt was made to establish a theatre at Boston, it was forbidden by the Assembly as " likely to encourage immorality, impiety, and contempt for 224 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. religion." The same causes checked the growth of art. Nevertheless, about the middle of the eighteenth century, there were three American painters of some note, West, Copley, and Stuart. The two former came to England. West gained considerable fame by large historical pictures. His works are for the most part disfigured by the coldness and formality which was common in the last century. Copley obtained some repute as a painter of historical pic- tures and portraits. His greatest work is a picture of Lord Chatham swooning in the House of Lords, after his last speech there. Copley is perhaps better known as the father of Lord Lyndhurst, the English Lord Chancellor. Stuart remained in America, and painted the portraits of some of the leading American statesmen. His works have consider- able merit, and some critics even go so far as to consider him superior in certain points to any of the portrait-painters of his age, save Sir Joshua Reynolds. CHAPTER XVII. THE STAMP ACf AND THE TEA TAX. Dispute between England and the colonies ( I ) the Stamp Act (2) the effect of the Stamp Act in Amcr ca {^repeal of the Stamp Act (4) Tffivn'shend's American policy (5) proce. dings in America (6) the Boston "massacre" {"]} further disturbances (8) the Boston Port Act (9) the congress of 1774 (10) pro- ceedings in Parliament in 1774 (il). i. Dispute between England and the Colonies. How far the English Government could lawfully tax the colonies, was, as we have seen, a point on which there had been various disputes, and about which no fixed rule had been laid xvii.] ENGLAND AND THE COLONIES. 22$ down. English judges had decided that the colonies might lawfully be taxed by Parliament. But the colonists had never formally acknowledged this claim, and Parliament had never attempted to exercise the right except for the protec- tion of English trade and manufactures. During the reigns of George I. and George II., various proposals had been made for a general system of taxation in all the colonies. Sir William Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania, proposed such a scheme to Sir Robert Walpole. The Prime Minister replied : " I have Old England set against me, and do you think I will have New England likewise?" In 1754, Lord Halifax, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, proposed that a general system of taxation should be put in force, arranged by commissioners from the various colonies. Several of the colonial governors took up the idea, and it seemed likely to be adopted. The Massachusetts Assembly gave its agent in England instructions " to oppose everything that should have the remotest tendency to raise a revenue in the plantations." Other events happened about the same time to breed ill blood between the colonists and the mother country. In 1761 the custom-house officers at Boston demanded general search-warrants called Writs of Assist- ance, to enable them to search for smuggled goods, without designation of premises or of goods. The legality of these warrants was tried before the Supreme Court, which decided for the customs officers ; but public feeling was strongly ex- cited against the Government, and James Otis, the lawyer who opposed the custom-house officers, gained great popu- larity. In the same year a dispute arose in New York. Hither- to the Chief Justice had been liable to be dismissed by the Assembly. This right of dismissal was now transferred to the Crown. The Assembly tried to meet this by withholding the judge's salary, but the English Government defeated them by granting it out of the quit-rents paid for the public Q 226 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. lands. In 1762 a third dispute sprang up. A ship was sent to guard the fisheries to the north of New England against the French. The Massachusetts Assembly was ordered to pay the cost. They protested against this, and Otis drew up a remonstrance declaring that it would take from the Assembly " their most darling privilege, the right of originating all taxes," and would " annihilate one branch of the legislature." 2. The Stamp Act. All these things had been begetting an unfriendly feeling in the colonists towards the mother country. But soon Parliment adopted measures which excited deeper and more wide-spread discontent. The two most influential ministers in the English Government were George Grenville and Charles Townshend. Grenville was painstaking, honest, and well-meaning, but self-confident, obstinate, and ill-informed about America. Townshend was a brilliant speaker, but rash and headstrong, utterly without forethought or caution, and carried away by the love of new and startling measures. He was at the head of the Board of Trade, which then had a large share in the management of the colonies. In March 1763, Townshend brought forward a complete scheme for remodelling the colonial governments. He proposed to make all the public officers in America dependent on the Crown, to establish a standing army there, and strictly to enforce the navigation laws. The last was the only part of the scheme which was actually put in force. Before the other measures could be carried out, Townshend had left the Board of Trade. His successor, Lord Shelburne, refused to meddle with the taxation of the colonies. But in 1764 he was succeeded by Lord Hillsborough, a man of no great ability or importance. Thus the control of the colonies was practically handed over to Grenville. The only part of Townshend's scheme of which he approved was the enforcement of the navigation laws, and he brought xvii.] EFFECT OF THE STAMP ACT. 227 in a bill for this purpose, which was carried. He also resolved to introduce a bill requiring that all legal documents should bear stamps varying in price from6c. to $50. This measure, known as the Stamp Act, has always been looked on as the be- ginning of the troubles which led to the War of Independence. Grenville gave notice of this bill a year before he actually introduced it. Several of the colonies at once petitioned and passed resolutions against it. The Virginia Assembly appealed to the King, the Lords, and the Commons, declaring that the taxation of the colonies by Parliament was uncon- stitutional. New York did likewise. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina appointed committees to corre- spond with the neigbouring colonies about means of resist- ance. When the bill was brought before Parliament in 1765, six colonies protested against it. Nevertheless, only a few members of Parliament raised their voices against the measure. The most conspicuous of these were Barre" and Conway, both Irishmen, and officers in the army. 3. The effect of the Stamp Act in America. The arrival of the news in America was at once the signal for an outburst of indignation. The surporters of the measure were burnt in effigy. Hutchinson, the Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, was especially odious to the people, as the Act was believed to be in a great measure due to his advice. This provoked the colonists the more as he was a Boston man by birth. His house was attacked by night and pillaged, and he and his family had to flee for their lives. This outrage was resented by the better class of Bostonians, and the Assembly offered a reward of 3oo/. for the capture of any of the ringleaders. At the same time the Bostonians showed their gratitude to Conway and Barre by placing pictures of them in their town hall. The first colony which publicly, and through its government, expressed its formal disapproval of the Stamp Act, was Virginia. Among the Q 2 228 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. members of the Virginia Assembly was a young lawyer named Patrick Henry. He had already made himself conspicuous in a law-suit which had taken place in Virginia. The stipend of the clergy there was paid, not in money, but in tobacco. In 1758 there was a scanty crop of tobacco, and the price of it rose. The Assembly thereupon passed an Act that the stipend of the clergy should be paid in money, at a certain fixed rate, proportioned to the usual value of tobacco, but below its price at that time. The King, persuaded, it is said, by the Bishop of London, refused to confirm this Act. The clergy then sued some persons who had paid them in money for the difference between that and the present value of the tobacco to which they were entitled. Henry, who was engaged as counsel against the clergy, boldly declared that the King's sanction was unnecessary to the validity of a law. He lost his cause, but won a great reputation as the champion of the popular party. This, coupled with his eloquence, in which he stood foremost among the American statesmen of his day, marked him out as the leader of the opposition to the Stamp Act. In May 1765 Henry proposed in the Virginia Assembly a series of five resolutions declaring that the colonies could not be taxed without their own consent. The Assembly, after a severe con- test, passed them, and, in the words of Bernard, the Gover- nor of Massachusetts, "rang the alarm bell to the rest of America." A fortnight after, the Massachusetts Assembly took the bold step of proposing to call a congress of deputies from all the colonies, to arrange means of resistance. The project was at first coldly received, and seemed likely to fall to the ground, till South Carolina took it up. In October, deputies from nine colonies, chosen by their representative Assemblies, met at New York. Virginia, New Hampshire, North Caro- lina, and Georgia were prevented from sending deputies, but expressed their sympathy. The Congress drew up addresses Xvii.] REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT. 229 to the King, the Lords, and the Commons. In these they expressed their loyalty to the King and their affection to England, but declared that it was unlawful to tax the colonies without their own consent. Soon after, the Assembly of Massachusetts passed a series of resolutions setting forth the same principles. The people generally devised various means for evading the Stamp Act. In some places they used bark instead of paper ; in others they compelled the distributors of stamps to resign. Elsewhere they persisted so obstinately in the use of unstamped paper, that the colonial governors had to yield. Everything was done to make the colonies independent of English trade. A society of arts, manufactures, and commerce was formed to encourage native industry, and, to increase the supply of wool, no lambs were killed. From the outset of the contest, those in America who opposed the mother country were divided into two parties. There were some who held that the colonists ought not merely to resist the Stamp Act, but to deny the right of the English Parliament to tax them or to make laws for them. There were others who objected to the Stamp Act, on the ground that it was oppressive and ill-timed, but who did not wish to raise any wider question as to the general rights of England over the colonies. This formed an important difference of opinion, which, as the contest went on, grew wider and produced important results. 4. Repeal of the Stamp Act. The petition, and the ex- pression of public opinion in America, was not without effect in England. In the summer of 1765 Grenville went out of office. The King wished Pitt to form a ministry, and he would have done so, if his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, would have joined him. Pitt was the one leading statesman of that age who thoroughly understood the American colonies, who knew the value of their friendship, and the danger of their enmity. But unhappily, Temple would not 230 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. support him, and he was unable to form a ministry. Still the change of government was a gain to the cause of the colonies. Lord Rockingham was the new Prime Minister. He was a moderate and sensible man, conciliatory in his views towards the colonies, but unhappily without the courage needful to carry out an unpopular policy. The real strength of his ministry lay in Conway and Edmund Burke. The former was among the few who had opposed the Stamp Act. The latter was as yet untried as a practical statesman, but he was specially fitted to deal with the question of colonial taxa- tion. He was an Irishman, and so had a peculiar sympathy with a dependent nation. An account of the European colonies in America, the best work of the kind then in existence, was generally, and it would seem justly, believed to have been written by him. Few men had more knowledge of the history and institutions of hib Country, or could judge better how far the claims of the Americans were well-founded. Pitt too, though he would not join the ministry, gave it his support, as he described himself, " single, unsolicited, and unconnected." In one of his most eloquent speeches, he warned Parliament that in carrying out the taxation of the colonies, they would overthrow the principles on which the freedom of their own country rested. " America," he said, " if she fell, would fall like the strong man ; she would embrace the pillar of the state, and pull down the constitution along with her." The ministry found help in another quarter. Benjamin Franklin was then in England, on business as the agent of Pennsylvania. He was examined before the House of Commons as to the probable effect of the Stamp Act. He stated forcibly the objections to taxing the colonies. He pointed out that England would be, in the long run, the loser, as the Americans would in revenge manufacture arti- cles for themselves, instead of depending, as they always had done, on those sent out from England. In February, Conway xvii.] TOWNSHEND' S AMERICAN POLICY. 231 moved the repeal of the Stamp Act, and it was carried by a majority of more than a hundred. The ministry marred the concession by bringing in a bill declaring that Parliament had a right to tax the colonies. This was opposed by Pitt in the Commons, and by Lord Camdcn in the Lords ; nevertheless it passed both Houses. The colonists were for the time too much delighted at the repeal of the Stamp Act to trouble themselves much about a measure which carried with it no immediate mischief. They received the news with great public rejoicings. Special honours were paid in various colonies to the King, Pitt, Conway, and Barre. But though the difficulty had been surmounted for the time, much mischief had been done. Violent language had been used on each side. Even the opponents of the Stamp Act in England regretted much what was said by the colonists, and complained that temperate remonstrances could find neither a publisher nor a reader in America. In England, on the other hand, few took the trouble to acquaint them- selves with the true state of the colonies, and thus the nation was, to a great extent, acting in the dark. One London newspaper, if we may believe Franklin, tried to frighten its readers about the increasing resources of the Americans, by telling them of a project for establishing whale fisheries in the upper Canadian lakes. Franklin, in ridicule of this, told his English readers that there could not be a finer sight than the whales leaping up the falls of Niagara. 5. Townshend's American Policy. In the following August Rockingham went out of office. He was succeeded by Pitt, now raised to the peerage as Earl of Chatham. He was at the head of an ill-assorted ministry, made up of men of different parties and conflicting views. Townshend was his Chancellor of the Exchequer. Failing health drove Chatham into retirement, and Townshend was left to carry out his own policy unchecked. He had been, as much as Grenville, the 232 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. author of the Stamp Act, and he now proceeded to carry out the same policy. He brought forward and carried through a Bill imposing duties on various commodities imported to America. The revenue thus raised was to be placed at the King's disposal, and the civil officers in America were to be paid out of it. This, as we have seen, was a scheme which the colonists had always stoutly resisted. At the same time an Act was passed to punish the Assembly of New York for its disobedience to the English Government. It had refused to supply the King's troops with necessaries. Accordingly, Parliament enacted that the Governor of New York should not give his assent to any measure passed by the Assembly till it had obeyed the law on this point. This Act did not have the intended effect, as the New York Assembly stood firm. 6. Proceedings in America. When the news of these Acts came out to America, the spirit of resistance was kindled afresh. Massachusetts again was one of the first colonies to act. The Assembly drew up a remonstrance, and sent it to the ministry. It rested mainly on the ground that the colonies could not be taxed without their own consent. The Assembly then sent letters to all the other colonies, telling them what it had done. Before long Massachusetts found itself in open opposition to the English Government. The anniversary of the repeal of the Stamp Act was kept at Boston as a public holiday. Some disorder, not apparently serious, followed ; and Governor Bernard made this the ground for demanding troops from England. Accordingly a regiment was sent out to be quartered in the town, and a frigate and four small vessels were ordered to lie in the harbour. About the same-time the Custom-house officers seized a sloop called the Liberty, belonging to one 01 the leading citizens of Boston, on the charge of smuggling, and called on the crew of a man-of-war to help them. The Bostonians resisted, and the Commissioners of Customs had to take refuge in the xvii.] THE BOSTON "MASSACRE." 233 castle. During the excitement and ill-feeling which followed these proceedings, letters were sent out from Lord Hills- borough, the Secretary of State, bidding Bernard to dissolve the Assembly, unless it would withdraw its circular letters to the other colonies. This it refused to do, by a majority of ninety-two votes to seventeen, whereupon Bernard dissolved it. Although not allowed to sit as an Assembly, the mem- bers came together as a convention without any legal power, and requested the Governor to call an Assembly. He re- fused, and ordered them to disperse. Instead of obeying him they drew up a fresh petition to the King, remonstrating against being taxed by Parliament, and against the civil officers being made independent of the Assembly. The Council in the meantime had been also opposing the Governor. Two regiments were to be sent to Boston from Halifax, and Bernard gave orders that the Council should provide quarters for them in the town. The Council declared that it was not intended by the Act of Parliament that the troops should be quartered in private houses while there was room in barracks. After a dispute, Bernard and General Gage, who was in command of the troops, gave way. The citizens of Boston also agreed to abstain, as far as possible, from the use of imported articles, by way of striking a blow at English commerce. In this they were followed by the southern colonies. In all these proceedings, except perhaps the affair of the Liberty, the people of Boston seem to have acted with judgment and moderation. Another ot their pro- ceedings was less justifiable. Otis and others collected four hundred muskets, which they stowed in the town hall, giving notice that they would be served out- to the citizens if they were needed. 7. The Boston " Massacre." The English Government now seemed inclined towards a moderate policy. The ministry with one accord proposed the repeal of all the 234 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. duties except that on tea ; on that they were divided. Just as Rorkingham's ministry, when it repealed the Stamp Act, still expressly reserved the right of taxing the colonies, so now the ministry retained the tea tax, not for its own sake, but lest, by repealing it, they should seem to give up their claim altogether. Thus the intended concession failed to conciliate the colonists. When the repeal of the duties was announced at Boston, the merchants of the town held a meeting, and resolved that the concession was insufficient. Boston soon became the scene of fresh and worse disturb- ances. The departure of Governor Bernard was celebrated by public rejoicings, by bonfires, ringing of bells, and firing of cannon. An unfriendly feeling between the soldiers and the Bostonians soon showed itself in various ways. Early in 1770 disturbances broke out, and the soldiers and citizens came to blows. On the 5th of March a number of soldiers were surrounded by a mob, who hooted and pelted them. It is said that the soldiers had already provoked the mob by rushing through the streets, laying about them with sticks and cutlasses. At length the troops were provoked into firing upon the people, of whom they killed three and wounded eight, two mortally. Next morning a town meeting was held, and delegates were sent to Hutchinson, the Lieutenant- Governor, who after Bernard's departure was at the head of affairs, to demand the withdrawal of all the troops. He ordered one of the two regiments, that specially concerned in the disturbance, to withdraw to the castle ; but he kept the other in the town. The townsmen however insisted on the withdrawal of all the troops, and Hutchinson at length yielded. It is not easy to say how far the blame of this event the Boston massacre, as it was called lay with the mob, and how far with the soldiers. It is impossible altogether to acquit either. But it must be said in justice that the better class of the townspeople showed no wish to deal harshly xvn.] FURTHER DISTURBANCES. 235 with the case. When Captain Preston, the officer in com- mand, and eight of his men, were brought to trial, John Adams and Josiah Quincy, two young barristers of con- siderable repute, both of whom sympathized strongly with the popular side, undertook the defence. It seemed quite doubtful whether Preston had really given the order to fire, and how far the soldiers had acted in self-defence. Accordingly Preston and six of the soldiers were acquitted ; the other two were convicted of manslaughter. 8. Further Disturbances. Other events at Boston followed on the massacre, which kept up the ill-feeling between the townspeople and the authorities. The King sent out orders to exempt the Commissioners of Customs from taxation. The Assembly contended that the King had no right to meddle with the question of taxation, or to remit, any more than to impose, taxes. Soon after this it was announced that all the law officers were to receive salaries from the Crown, and to be independent of the Assembly. The citizens there- upon, at a public meeting, appointed a committee to draw up a statement of their grievances, and to publish it in the various colonies. In the autumn of 1773 Franklin sent out from England a number of letters written by Hutchinson to various public men in England, proposing measures against the liberties of the colonies. These letters called forth great indignation, and the Assembly, on the strength of them, petitioned for Hutchinson's removal. On one point the colonists seemed inclined to give way. They had entered into an agreement to injure English commerce by importing no goods from England. The wisdom of this policy seems doubtful. It forced the Americans to manufacture many articles which they might have imported more easily and cheaply ; and, when the war actually broke out, they were worse supplied than they need have been. In any case the agreement could have no effect, unless it were observed by 233 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. all the colonies alike. For a while the colonists remained firm, but gradually they gave way. The only commodity which was altogether excluded was tea. In December another disturbance took place at Boston. Three ships containing tea arrived in the harbour. As this was the one commodity still taxed, those who were opposed to Government were specially anxious that none should be landed. Accordingly a number of them, disguised as Indians, seized the ships, and emptied the cargo three hundred and forty chests of tea into the harbour. The tea ships were sent back from Philadelphia and New York ; at Charleston the tea perished in the cellars, no one being allowed to sell it. 9. The Boston Port Act. Next year the English Govern- ment took steps to punish the Bostonians for their various misdeeds. The port was to be closed so as to cut off sup- plies ; the Assembly was suspended ; public officers or soldiers accused of any offence were to be sent to England or Nova Scotia for trial, and all troops were to be quartered on the town of Boston. At the same time General Gage, the com- mander of the troops, was appointed Governor. One wise measure was adopted by the ministry. The French Cana- dians, most of whom were Roman Catholics, were granted full freedom of worship. They were also allowed to take an oath of fidelity to the King, instead of the oath of supre- macy, and to hold their property under their own laws. This wise and moderate policy was rewarded by the loyalty of the Canadians. The Acts against Boston were opposed by Burke and others, but in vain. In June 1774 the last Assembly under the royal government was held in Massa- chusetts. It passed resolutions recommending a congress of the different colonies, appointed five deputies, and voted them 5oo/. for their expenses, having previously passed resolutions reasserting the rights of the colonies, declaring its disapproval of the arbitrary conduct of the Governor, xvii.] CONGRESS AND PARLIAMENT IN 1774. 237 and recommending the inhabitants to leave off using im- ported articles, and to encourage home manufactures. Thereupon the Governor dissolved them. The other colonies showed every disposition to support Massachusetts. The Assembly of Virginia set apart the 1st of June for a public fast, as on that day the Port Act came into force. For this they were dissolved by the Governor, but nevertheless most of the other colonies followed their example. Virginia and Mary- land both resolved to export no tobacco to England ; and South Carolina and Virginia gave rice and corn for the relief of Boston. In Massachusetts the spirit of disaffection in- creased. In some of the towns the people were ready to take up arms. In two of them, mobs took possession of the law courts, and would not suffer proceedings to go forward. When Gage took possession of the public store of powder, and moved it to the castle, the whole neighbourhood rose up ; and in a day twenty thousand people were gathered together. They dispersed however without doing anything. 10. The Congress of 1774. In September the Congress met at Philadelphia. The Massachusetts deputies were re- ceived on their way with public honours. The Congress passed various resolutions expressing its sympathy with Boston, and denying the right of Parliament to tax the colonies. It also drew up an agreement pledging the colonies to have no commercial dealings with England. At the same time it sent a petition to the King and a memorial to the people of Great Britain, resembling the other docu- ments of the kind which had been issued beiore. The Congress also published an address to the people o. Quebec, representing that the Act of Parliament made them dependent for their freedom on the pleasure of England, and exhorting them to make common cause with the other colonists. 1 1. Proceedings in Parliament in 1774. On the 3Oth of November, 1774, a,new Parliament met. The proceedings in 238 THE STAMP ACT AND THE TEA TAX. [CHAP. its first session, with reference to America, were the most important that had yet taken place. Lord North, who was now at the head of the Ministry, being only a peer's eldest son, sat in the House of Commons. He was little more than the mouthpiece of the King, who was bitterly hostile to the colonies. Throughout the whole session a small minority, containing some of the ablest men and best debaters in both Houses, fought against the American policy of the Govern- ment. The contest began when the Address to the King was moved in the House of Commons. An amendment was pro- posed, requesting that the King should lay all the facts about America before Parliament. In the ensuing debate, the ministry was severely blamed for its American policy, but the amendment was defeated by a majority of more than two hundred. In the House of Lords a like debate was followed by a like result. On the 3rd of February, Lord North an- nounced his American policy : the English forces in America were to be increased, the colonists were to be cut off from the American fisheries, and the colonies were to be punished with a different amount of severity, according to their various degrees of guilt. Those measures were brought forward separately, and, though each of them successively was op- posed, all were carried. At the same time, Lord North introduced a measure intended to conciliate the colonies, and to meet the difficulty about taxation. He proposed that the colonial assemblies should be allowed to vote a certain sum, and that, if the English Government thought it enough, the colonists should be left to raise the money in what way they pleased. This was a concession, but only a slight one, not likely to have much effect on the colonists in their present state ot anger. During the same session, Chatham and Burke each brought forward schemes for conciliation. Chatham proposed that a congress from all the colonies should meet, and should make a tree grant of a perpetual xvii.] PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT IN 1774. ^39 revenue to the King, to be spent, not on the payment of civil officers in America, but in reducing the national debt ; that the recent Acts against America should be suspended without being formally repealed, and that all the privileges granted by the colonial charters and constitution should be con- firmed. This scheme seemed to meet the chief demands of the colonists, and at the same time to save the ministry from an open confession of defeat. In spite of this, and of the high position and past services of Chatham, the House of Lords not only threw out the measure, but would not even suffer a copy of the scheme to lie on the table of the House for consideration. Not long after, Burke brought forward a motion in the House of Commons, proposing to repeal the Acts against America, and to leave the taxation of the colo- nies to their own Assemblies. He spoke strongly of the loyalty of the colonists, and showed that, in claiming the right of taxing themselves, they were only holding fast to principles which Englishmen had always asserted. Never- theless, his motion was defeated by a large majority. On the loth of April a petition was presented to the King horn the city of London, representing the injury to trade and to the welfare of the kingdom which was likely to follow from the present policy towards America. The King, in answer, only expressed his surprise that any of his subjects should encourage the rebellious temper of the Americans. During the whole period which we have gone through in this chapter, ministers and Parliament were misled chiefly by their ignor- ance of the wants and feelings of the colonists. This was mainly due to their being dependent for information on colonial governors and other men of indifferent character and prejudiced against the Americans. Moreover, there was on the part of the King and his advisers a firm determination to hear no appeal from the colonists, however temperately worded, unless it acknowledged the right of Parliament to 240 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. [CHAP. tax them. On that one point the colonists were equally firm. At the outset they might perhaps not have quarrelled with the mere claim to that right, if it had not been harshly and unwisely exercised. But as the struggle went on, they became hardened in their resistance, and claimed freedom, not merely from a particular tax, but trom taxation generally. CHAPTER XVIII. THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Proceedings in Amfrica in 1775 (l) resources of the colonists (2) outbreak of the uc. 391 doctrines and manner of life are even stranger than those of the Shakers or Mormons, but none of sufficient importance to deserve separate notice. 6. Education, Literature, &c. We have seen that the northern colonies were, from the first, distinguished by the wide spread of knowledge among all classes. The United States have in that respect kept up the same character, and in that way contrast favourably with most European countries. Schooling is cheap and abundant. Books, magazines, and newspapers are placed within the reach of all by public libraries in the large towns. But though knowledge and the habit of reading are widely spread, the United States have not been fertile in great writers. There is only one department of literature in which America is at all on an equality with Europe, namely, history. Prescott's histories of the Conquests of Mexico and Peru, and Motley's histories of the Rise of the Dutch Republic and of the United Netherlands, rank among the best histo- rical works of the age. Moreover there are many works on the history of states, districts, or towns in America, compiled with considerable care and learning. In fiction, whether poetry or prose, America has produced little that is either valuable or distinctive. Two novelists however, Cooper and Hawthorne, deserve special notice. Cooper, in default of a picturesque historical past, has fallen back on the Red Indians as a subject for fiction. As Sir Walter Scott in the Waverley Novels invested the wild highlanders and the border yeomen with a romantic interest, hitherto unfelt in them, so Cooper, in an inferior manner, has thrown a gleam of romance'over the savage life and strange customs of the American Indians. Hawthorne too may be looked upon as representing a curious and interesting side of American feel- ing. The same craving for spiritual excitement, which has led to the formation of so many strange sects, shows itself 392 CONCLUSION. [CHAP. in Hawthorne's novels and tales, where the romantic interest is furnished by partly supernatural incidents, while the substance of the story generally deals with the every-day country life of New England. Conclusion. I have sought to trace the process by which in less than two hundred years, a few scattered settlements grew into a great nation. I have endeavoured to show how the political institutions which the early settlers carried out with them grew and expanded, till they fitted themselves to the special wants of states, which differed widely from those which had been their original home and birthplace. In this process lies the great interest of American history. It is not parti- cularly rich in picturesque incidents or in striking characters. The very likeness which the life of America bears to our own every-day life prevents us in some degree from appreciating any romantic interest which it may possess. The real value and importance of American history lies in its political side. With no other nation can we so clearly trace the political institutions and usages from their very cradle. Moreover, American history should have special interest for an English- man. In it he sees the political life of its ancestors, that political life from which his own is immediately descended, transplanted to a soil utterly different from that in which it sprang up. He there sees how his own political institutions have fitted themselves to divers states of society, differing widely from his own, and as widely from one another, in climate, in manners, in resources, in tastes and character. Another source of interest lies in this, that the political his- tory of America is a process yet incomplete, a process whose further history is of unbounded importance to the future wel- fare of mankind. The future political history of America will be the history of a wonderful and gigantic experiment. It will show how far institutions which have hitherto flourished only in comparatively small communities can fit themselves MAP SHOVriW. IK POCH DEGREES OFDESSITT,TIIE DISTRIBCTIOX " , _ OF THE POIH'LATION OF THE UMTEI) STATES (.Virapiled Ironi the Returns of Population at the Sulk Census OF THK (.'SITED STATES 1870, I KHANC1S A WALKER NOTE xxvi.] CONCLUSION. 393 to the wants of a fast nation, whose parts differ widely from one another. That the Northern, Southern and Western States, with their widely differing interests, ideas, commerce and mode of life should continue to form one political whole may at first sight seem impossible. Yet this would not be more marvellous than what we have already seen in America. If any one, a century ago, had speculated on the future of America, he would scarcely have thought it possible that the New Englander and the Louisiana Frenchman, the Northern merchant and the Southern slave-holder, should remain free citizens of one republic. More wonderful still would it have seemed that these institutions which grew up in England centuries before America was discovered should have sown the seeds, both of the American nation as a whole and of each of its separate and widely differing parts. When we reflect upon this we may well believe it possible that the in- stitutions of America will so expand as to meet the growing wants of the nation, and that the political freedom which England handed over to her American descendants will achieve a greater and more abiding triumph than it has yet won. THK fcND. INDEX. A. Army, nature of the American in 1753, 205 ; the American, disaffected after Abenaquis, the, 131. the War of Independence, 280 Abolition movement, the rie of, 334. Arnold, Benedict, 246 ; his treason, Acadia, 139 ; settlement of, 94 ; South- 272. ern, conquest of by the English, Ashburton treaty, 324. 209. Assembly, first held in Virginia in Acadians, banishment of by the Eng- 1618, 48. lish government, 209 Atlanta, captured by the Federals, Adams, John, 251 ; sent as an envoy to 376. England, 290 ; elected President, Augusta, settlement of, 193. 294 ; d-feated for the Presidency, 296 ; death of, 317. Adams, John Quincy, President, 316. B. Alabama, admitted as a. State, 325. Alabama., the cruiser, 374. Bacon, his rebellion, 56 ; death of, 58. Albany, conference at, 206. Baltimoie, the first Lord, 146; the Albemarle, Duke of, a proprietor of second Lord, 147 ; his dispute with Carolina, 171 ; settlement of, ib. Virginia, 52 ; ciiy of, attacked by Albert de Prado, his voyage, 32. the British, 310. Alexander, the Indian chief, 115. Bank, Jackson's contest with, 320. , Algiers, war with, 300. Barlow, his voyage, 36. Alien Law, the, 296. Barre, 227. Allen, Ethan, takes Ticondoroga, 243 ; Bartram, the naturalist, 223. his capture, 246. Bcauregard, General, 344. America, geography of, i ; coast of, 5 ; Bell of Tennessee, a candidate for the nations of, 8. Presidency, 338. Amidas, his voyage, 36. Belcher, governor of New England, Andre, his seizure and death, 272. 142 ; his dismissal, ib. Andros, Sir Edmund, governor of New Bellomout, Lord, 127, 166. England, 122 ; governor of New Berkeley, governor of Virginia, 56 ; York, 163. Lord, proprietor of New Jersey, Annapolis captured from the French, 179. 135. Bernard, governor of Massachusetts, Anniversary of Independence, the fif- 232. tieth, 317. Blockade of the Southern Ports, 345, Antietam, battle of, 366. 357, 373. Appalachians, war with South Caro- Boston, the massacre at, 233 ; riots at, lina, 174. 235 ; the Port Act, 236; evacuated Archdale, John, governor of South by the British, 249. Carolina, 173. Bowdoin, James, governor of Massii- Argall, governor of Virginia, 48. chusetts, 282. Arkansas becomes a state, 325. Braddock, General, the defeat and Arlington, Lord, grant of Virginia to, dealh, 207. 56. Bradford, governor of Plymouth, 65. 396 INDEX. Bradstreet, Simon, sent as a comrais- Chancellorsville, battle of, 368. sioner to England, 109. Charles I., his dealings wiih Virginia, Bragg, General, invades Kentucky, 51. 365. Charles II., his grant of Virginia to Brandywine, battle of, 260. Lords Culpepper and Arlington, 56 ; Breckenridge of Kentucky a candidate proclaimed in New England, 108. for the Presidency, 338. Charleston, defence of against Parker, Brook, Lord, 76, 85. 256 ; harbour of, blocked up by the Brooklyn, American defeat at, 257. Federals, 357; unsuccessfully at- Brown, John, 336 : John and Samuel tacked by the Federals. 374. banished from Massachusetts, 79. Charters, attack on the New England, Buchanan, President, 336 ; his policy 138 ; those of the Jerseys threatened, towards the South, 341, 343. 183. Bull Run, battle of, 351. Chatham, see Pitt. Hunker's Hill, battle of, 244, Chattanooga, battle of, 372. Burgoyne, General, his expedition and Cherokees, war with in South Caro- surrender, 263. lina, 214. Burke, Edmund, 230 ; his scheme of Chesapeake, the, and Leopard, affair conciliation, 239. of, 303 ; and Shannon, 306. Burnet, William, governor of Massa- Chickahominie.s, league with, 47. chusetts, 140 ; governor of New Chickamauga, battle of, 371. York, 167. Church of England, its position in the Burnside, General, 366. colonies, 218. Burr, Aaron, 296 ; shoots Hamilton, . Churches, meeting of in New Eng- 301 ; his plot, 302. land, 100. Butler, General, 358. Cincinnati, society of, 281. Clarendon, Earl of, a proprietor of Carolina, 171. Clay, Henry, 321 ; his compromise C. bill in 1832, 320; his omnibus bill, 333- Clayborne, 148. Cabot, Sebastian, his discoveries, 23 ; Clinton, General, his successes in the made grand pilot, 33. South, 269. C^lhoun, his character, 319 ; his policy, Coddingtou, of Rhode Island, 89. 327. Colonization, motives for English in California acquired by the United the seventeenth century, 40. States, 331; gold discoveries in, Columbus, Christopher, his discoveries, 387. 22. Calverf, George, see Baltimore ; Cecil, Commonwealth, its dealings with Vir- see Baltimore ; Charles, governor of ginia, 52 ; its dealings with New Maryland, 154. England, 96. Canada, condition of in 1700, 129; Confederation, the first articles of, conquest of, 212 ; attacked by the 253 ; finally settled, 278 ; its short- Americans, 245 : insurrection in, comings, 279 ; New England, forma- 32-? tion of, 95 ; disputes in, 104. Canonicus, 65. Confederacy, Southern, formation of, Cap Luxiuu, capture of, 213 342. Carolina, its first settlement and con- ^Conscription, result of at New York, stitution, 170; divided into North 373. and South, 172; disturbances in, Constitution, the Federal, 286; put in ib, ', general condition of, 178. force, 288. Caroline, affair of the ship, 323. Congress at New York in 1692, 132. Carteret, Sir George, proprietor of Convention troops, treatment of, 264. New Jersey, 179 ; Philip, i8. Connecticut, settlement of, 83 ; consti- Castine, Baron, 131. tution of, 84; charter of, m; its Cedar Creek, battle of, 381. union with New Haven, 112 ; loses Gvlar Mountain, buttle of, 364.. its charter, 122. INDEX. 397 Conway, the English statesman, 227 ; the American, intrigues against Washington, 268. Corper, the novelist, 391. Copley, the painter, 224. Cornbury, Lord, 138, 166. Cornwallis, his surrender, 275. Cortez, Hernando, 25. Cosby, governor of New York, 167. Cotton-gin, the, invented by Eli Whit- ney, 314. _ Council, position of in Virginia, 56. Court, the supreme, 288. Cranfield, Edward, 120. Creek War, 307. Creeks, alliance with, 193. Creole, affair of, 324. Crogan, Colonel, defends Fort Ste- phenson, 305. Cromwell, dealings with New Eng- land, 101. Crown Point, taken by Ethan Allen, 243- Culpepper, Lord, grant of Virginia to, 56 ; Lord, governor of Virginia, 59. D. Dale, Sir Thomas, governor of Vir- ginia, 46. D'Aulney, 102. Davis, Jefferson, elected President of the Southern Confederacy, 342 ; capture of, 385. Dearborn, General, destroys Toronto, 35- De Gourgues, Dominic, 29. Delaware, Lord, governor of Virginia, 41 ; becomes a separate state, 188. Democratic party, formation of, 318. D'Estaing, Admiral, 269. Dickinson, John, of Pennsylvania, ?45- Dieskau, wounded, 210. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, 204. Doegs, war with, 57. Donelson, Fort, captured by the Fede- rals, 355. Douglas of Illinois, defeated by Lin- coln for the Presidency, 338. Dred Scott case, the, 335. Dudley, Joseph, 122 ; his disputes with the assembly of Massachusetts, 127. Dummer, Jeremiah, his defence of the charter, 139. Dunmore, Lord, governor of Virginia, 246. Duquesne, Fort, surrendered by Wash- ington, 206 ; taken by the English, 212. Durpee, death of, 323. Dutch, their settlements, 95 ; theii disputes with New England, 100. E. Early, General, invades Maryland, 380 Education, want of in Virginia, 55 ; in America, 221. Edwards, Jonathan, 223. Effingham, Lord, governor ofVirginia, 59- Eliot, John, 114 ; his book, 108. Emancipation proclaimed by President Lincoln, 367. Endicott, of Massachusetts, 78. Erie, Lake, battle on, 306. F. Fair Oaks, battle of, 361. Falmouth, Peace of, 137. Farragut, Admiral, 358. Federal party, formation of, 291 ; its defeat in 1800, 295. Federalist, the, 289. Five Nations, the, 17, 102, 119 ; hos- tile to the French, 131 : their deal- ings with New York, 163. Fillmore, succeeds to the Presidency, 33 2 - Fletcher, Colonel, 126 ; governor of New York, 166. Florida explored by Spaniards, 28 ; French colony in, 29 ; becomes a State, 337. Floyd, Secretary of War, 343. France, Commissioners ;-ent to by Con- gress in 1776, 255 ; alliance with the United States, 266. Franklin, Benjamin, 207, 223 ; exam- ined as to the Stamp Act, 230 ; sent as commissioner to France, 255, 265. Frederica, settlement of, 193. Fredericksburg, battle of, 366. Fremont, General, a cantlidate for the Presidency in 1856, 337 ; proposed in 1864, 381. French, their attempts to settle in Flo- rida, 29 ; their settlements, 94 ; their 393 INDEX. dealings with New England, 102 ; settlements, character of, 130 ; in- vaded the English colonies, 132. Frobisher, Martin, his voyages, 33. Frontenac, Count, 130, 132. Fulton, Robert, 315. G. Gainesville, battle of, 364. Gardiner, banished from Massachu- setts, 81. Garrison, William, the abolitionist, 335- Gates, General, 263, 268. Genet, French representative in Amer- ica, 293. Georgia, .settlement of, 189; charter of, 191 ; invasions of by Spaniards, 198 ; becomes a royal colony, 201 ; invaded by Sherman, 376. Germans in the Spanish colonies, 30 ; in Georgia, 193. Germantown, battle of, 261. Gettysburg, battle of, 370. Ghent, treaty of, 314. Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, his voyage and death, 35. Godfrey, the mathematician, 223. Goffe, the regicide, 108. Gold discovered in California, 332, 387- Gorges, Sir Ferdinando, 60, 70; his scheme of government for New England, 82 ; becomes proprietor of Maine, 90 ; Robert, 70. Gorton. 98. Grafenried, Baron, 174. Grant, General, 354, 356 ; his plan of campaign. 375 ; President, 385. Great Britain, war with in 1812, 302. Greene, General, 274. Grenville, Sir Richard, his voyage, 36 ; George, 226. Guadalupe Hidalgo, treaty of, 331. Guilford, settlement of, 88 ; battle of, 274. H. Hale, J. P., candidate for the Presi- dency, 335. Halleck, General, 354. Hamilton, Alexander, his political views, 283. 284 ; writes in the Fed tralist, 289 ; his character as a statesman, 292 ; his death, 302. Harmer, General, defeated by Indi- ans, 290. Harper's Ferry, arsenal at, seized by the confederates, 349 ; seized by General Jackson. 366. Harrison, General, defeats the Shaw- nees, 305 ; President, 323. Hartford, convention at, 319. Harvard College, foundation of, 222. Harvey, Governor of Virginia, 52. Hawthorn, the novelist, 391. Henry VIII., his influ-.nce on seaman- ship, 33. Henry Patrick, 228 ; elected governor of Virginia, 251 ; his political views, 284 ; opposes the Federal constitu- tion, 289. Hillsborongh, Lord, 226. Hispaniola, discovery of, 23. Hocking, death of, 93. Hood, General, his unsuccessful in- vasion of Tennessee, 378. Hooker, General, 368. Hore, his voyage, 32. Houston, President of Texas, 328. Howe, Lord, and his brothers in America, 256. Hubbard, his history of the Indian wars. 222. Hudson, Henry, his discoveries, 95. Hull, General, invades Canada, 304. Hunter, governor of New York, 167. Hurons, the, 131. Hutchinson, Mrs., 79 ; Lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, 227 ; his letters, 235. Independence, the Declaration o 251 Independents, contest with Presby- terians, eg. Indian, origin of name, 9. Indians, their manners and customs, 16 ; war with in Virginia, 49, 54 ; treatment of by Virginians, ib \ attempts to chr'stianize, 114 : war with in 1790, 290 : troubles with in 1835, 322. Indiana becomes a state, 325. Iowa becomes a state, 333. Ironctads first used, 359. Iroquois, see Five Nations, INDEX. 399 J. Leisler, governor of New York, 133 : his rebellion and death, 164. Jackson, Andrew, 307 ; defends Mo- Leopard and Chesapeake, affair of, bile and New Orleans, 311 ; elected 303. President, 318 ; opposes nulification, Lexington, battle of, 242. 320 ; overthrows the Bank, ib : Liberties, the Body of, 77. General ' Stonewall,' 352 ; his cam- Liberty, the sloop, 232. paign in the Shenandoah valley, Lincoln, General, 270 ; Abraham, his 361 ; his death, 368. character, 338 ; elected President, James I., dissolution of the Virginian 339; his inaugural address, 344; Company by, 50. emancipates i ic slaves, 367 ; re- James II., his dealings with New elected Prescint, 381: muidered, England, 122. 385. Jay a writer in the Federalist, 289. Locke, John, his constitution for Caro- Jetferson, Thomas, 252 ; his character lina, 170. as a statesman, 202 ; elected vice- Logan, James, 223. president, 294 ; elected president, Loudon, Lord, his dispute with New 296; his policy as president, 298; York and Massachusetts, 211. death of, 317. Louisiana, settled by the French, 202 ; Jesuit missionaries, 130. purchased from the French, 299 ; ad- Jessup, General, his treachery to the mitted as a territory, 300 ; admitted Indians, 323. as a state, 300. Johnson, Andrew, succeeds Lincoln as Louisburg, capture of, 144. President, 385. Lovelace, Lord, governor of New Johnston, General Joseph, 351 ; his York, 162. surrender, 384. Loyalists, see Tories. Jones, Captain Paul, 276. Lundy's Lane, battle of, 311. Jumoiiville, death of, 206. Lygonia, settlement of, 91. Lyttelton, governor of South Carolina, 215. K. Kansas, struggle for, 336. Kearsage, the, destroys the Alabama, Macleod; Alexander> tri al o f, 3,3. Kennebec settlement in .607, 60. !;'=-. James, writes in the Fed '" Sf* 1 "? flj an ,. Kieft, governor of New Netherlands, 9 ! purchase of by Massachusetts, 121 ; constituted as a separate state, Kirk Duval, captures Quebec, 94. '? i Mainland of America, discovery of, 2 3- Manasses, the ram, 359. L. Mansfield, Lord, his speech about Ameri' a, 248. Lane, Ralph, 36. Marquettc, his discoveries, 202. Lafayette, the marquis of, 265. Martin, governor of North Carolina, La Salle, 202. 250. La Tour, 102. Maryland, dispute with Virginia, 52 ; Laud, Archbishop, his dealings with first settlement of, 146 ; constitution Massachusetts, 81. of 148 ; dissensions in, 150 ; disputes Laudonniere, his colony, 29. with Pennsylvania, 187; twice in- Laws, early Virginian, 46. vaded by the Confederates, 366, Lawson, death of, 174. 369 Lee, General, 362 ; invades Maryland Massachusetts, first settlement of, 71 ; twice, 366, 369 ; his surrender, 383 ; character of the first settlers, 72 ; Ann, founder of the Shakers, 389; constitution of, 74 ; laws of, 77 ; re- /joo INDEX. ligious disputes, 78 ; its charter N. threatened, 82 ; its dealings with Plymouth, 93 ; loses its charter, Narrasran setts, 103, 117. 121 ; disputes between the governor Nashville, battle of, 378. and the assembly, 139 : insurrection National Republican Party, 321. in 1786, 282 ; Bay, Company of, Nauvoo, the Mormon city, 390. 71. Navigation Laws, 53. Massacre, the Virginian, 49 ; at Boston, Navy, American, in War of Indepen- 233. dence, 276 ; in war of 1812, 306 ; in Massasoit, 65. war of Secession, 357. Mason, John, 70, 119; death of, 83. Nebraska becomes a state, 386. Mather, Increase, 128 ; Cotton, ib. Nevada becomes a state, 386. Maverick, Samuel, sent as a com- New Brunswick, 209. missioner to New England, uo. New England, name given, 60 ; its Mayjlo-ver, voyage of, 63. general character, 92 ; after the Mayhew, Thomas, 114. Restoration, 107 ; commissioners sent McPonough, Commodore, victory on to, no ; change in the character of, Lake Champlain, 311. 113 ; the Revolution in, 124. McDowell, General, 331. Newfoundland, discovery of, 23 ; Lord McClellan, General, his invasion of the Baltimore's settlement in, 146. south, 361 ; defeated for the Presi- New Hampshire, its settlement and dency, 382. constitution, 120 ; constitution of, Meade, General, 369. 145 ; forms an independent govern- Melendez, 29. ment, 250. Memphis, taken by the Federals, New Haven, its settlement and consti- 357. tution, 87; united to Connecticut, 112. Merrimac, the, 359. >e\v Jersey, sale ot by L>uke ot York, Mexicans, the, 8 ; their customs, 14. 179 ; origin of name, 180; division of. Mexico, conquest of, 24, 30 ; war with, 181 , condition of in 1700, 183; is 329 ; city of, captured, 1847, 331. united under the crown with a new Miantonomo. death of, 103. constitution, 184. Michigan becomes a state, 325. New Netherlands, settlement of, 156 ; Mimms, Fort, attack upon, 307. Eng ish conquest of, 160. Minnesota becomes a state, 337. New ()rle. 50 ; West Virginia holds to the North, Tennessee, admitted as a territory, 353. 298 ; admitted as a stale, ib. Territories, ihe. of Pennsylvania, 186 : W. of the United States, how admitted, 296. Wadsworth, Captain, 123, 127. Texas, revolts from Mexico, 328 ; an- Waldron, Major, death of. 118. nexation of, ib. Walker. Sir H., expedition against Thames, battle of, 306. Canada, 136. Theatre, attempt to found at Boston, Walpole, Sir Robert, his American 223. policy, 2 1 Q, 22 s. Thomas, General. 371. Washington, George, sent to the Ohio Ticonderoga, attacked by English in valley, 204 ; commands the Virginia 1755, 210; taken by Ethan Allen, 243. forces in 1756, 208 ; appointed Com- Tippecanoe, battle of, 305. mander in Chief, 243 ; his difficulties Tlascala, 8, n ; conquest of, 26. as Commander, 261; dealings with Tories, the American, 255. the army after the war, 281 : elected Toronto, destruction of. 305. President, 289 ; his \ olitical position, Townshend, Charles, 226 : his Ameri- 2 g 2 ; retirement of, 293 ; death of, can policy, 231. 204 ; city of, destruction of, by the Townships, formation of in New Eng- British, 309 ; threatened by the Con- land, 67. federates, 350 ; Territory of, 332. Trent, affair of, 360. Wayne, General, 270 ; defeats the Trenton, defeat of the British at, 259. Indians, 290 Tripoli, war with, 300. Weathersford, 307. Tunis, quarrel with the Pey of. 301. Webster, Daniel, 321 ; opposes war Tuscaroras, their war with North Caro- \vith England, 332. lina, 174. West, the painter, 224. Tyler, President, 323. West India Islands, inhabitants of, 15. 404 INDEX. West Indian Company, the Dutch, 156. West New Jersey, sold to Quakers, 181 ; disputes with Duke of York, 182. Weston, his colony, 65. Whalley, the regicide, 108. Wheelwright, minister, at Boston, 79. Whig party, its origin, 321. j White, his voyage, 38. Whitney, Eli, invents the Cotton-gin, 314. Wilderness, the battles in, 378. William and Mary, College of, 60 ; their charter to Massachusetts, 124; th':ir government of New England, I2t Wi liams, Roger, banished from Mas- sachusetts, 79 ; elected President of Rhode Island, go. Wilmot Proviso, the, 333. Winthrop, John, 73 ; the younger, 85, in. Wisconsin becomes a state. 333. Witchcraft, trials for, in New England, 128. Wolfe, C/eneral, his attack on Quebec, 213. Wollaston, his settlement, 66. Y. Yamassees attack South Carolina, 175. Yeardley, governor of Virginia, 47. York, Duke of, his proprietary charter, 162. Yorktown, surrender of the British at, 275- Young, Brigham, 390. T.'ia EHD, University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 Box 951388 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. 177 191 1 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 001 237 079 7