Before Columbus



The written history of America begins with the year 1492, the date of the first voyage of Columbus to its previously-unknown shores. Yet there pertains to the preceding period a considerable variety of interesting material of a semi-historical character, -- is part traditional, legendary, and speculative, in part based on researches into the languages, race-characteristics, customs, and antiquities of the American aborigines. Some attention to the abundant literature relating to this earlier epoch seems desirable as a preface to the recent history of America. This literature is in no proper sense American history, yet it is all we know of the existence of man upon this continent during the ages preceding the close of the fifteenth century. It is far too voluminous, and, as a rule, too speculative, to be dealt with otherwise than very briefly, yet it cannot properly be ignored in any work on the history of the American continent.

WHEN it first became known to Europe that a new continent had been discovered, the wise men, philosophers, and especially the learned ecclesiastics, were sorely perplexed to account for such a discovery. A problem was placed before them, the solution of which was not to be found in the records of the ancients. On the contrary, it seemed that old-time traditions must give way, the infallibility of revealed knowledge must be called in question, even the Holy Scriptures must be interpreted anew. Another world, upheaved, as it were, from the depths of the sea of darkness, was suddenly placed before them. Strange races, speaking strange tongues, peopled the new land; curious plants covered its surface; animals unknown to science roamed through its immense forests; vast seas separated it from the known world; its boundaries were undefined; its whole character veiled in obscurity. Such was the mystery that, without rule or precedent, they were now required to fathom..

When, therefore, the questions arose, whence were these new lands peopled? How came these strange animals and plants to exist on a continent cut off by vast oceans from the rest of the world? The wise men of the time unhesitatingly turned to the Sacred Scriptures for an answer. These left them no course but to believe that all mankind were descended from one pair. This was a premise that must by no means be disputed. The original home of the first pair was generally supposed to have been situated in Asia Minor; the ancestors of the people found in the New World must consequently have originally come from the Old World, though at what time and by what route was an open question, an answer to which was diligently sought for both in the sacred prophesies and in the historical writings of antiquity.

Noah's ark gave rise to a number of such constructions, and the experience gained during the patriarch's aimless voyage emboldened his descendants to seek strange lands in the same manner. Driven to America and the neighboring islands by winds and currents, they found it difficult to return, and so remained and peopled the land. It was thought the custom of eating raw fish among some American tribes was acquired during these long sea-voyages. That they came by sea is evident, for the north--if indeed the continent be connected with the Old World--must be impassable by reason of extreme cold.

one theory is that of ATLANTA,the mighty continent.. situated in Atlantic ocean before recorded history...
scientist have found some ruins in depth of Atlantic ocean and claimed that it is "the lost world"...the lost connection b/w Europe and America.

what do think about it?

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The Christopher Columbus Story: The Voyage to America



EARLY in the morning of the 6th of September, Columbus set sail from the island of Gomera, and now might be said first to strike into the region of discovery, - taking leave of these frontier islands of the Old World, and steering westward for the unknown parts of the Atlantic. For three days, however, a profound calm kept the vessels loitering, with flagging sails, within a short distance of the land. This was a tantalizing delay to Columbus, who was impatient to find himself far out of sight of either land or sail,-which, in the pure atmospheres of these latitudes, may be descried at an immense distance. On the following Sunday, the 9th of September, at day-break, he beheld Ferro, the last of the Canary Islands, about nine leagues distant. This was the island whence the Portuguese caravels had been seen; he was therefore in the very neighborhood of danger. Fortunately, a breeze sprang up with the sun, their sails were once more filled, and in the course of the day the heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon.

On losing sight of this last trace of land, the hearts of the crews failed them. They seemed literally to have taken leave of the world. Behind them was everything dear to the heart of man, - country, family, friends, life itself; before them everything was chaos, mystery, and peril. In the perturbation of the moment, they despaired of ever more seeing their homes. Many of the rugged seamen shed tears, and some broke into loud lamentations. The admiral tried in every way to soothe their distress, and to inspire them with his own glorious anticipations. He described to them the magnificent countries to which he was about to conduct them: the islands of the Indian seas teeming with gold and precious stones; the regions of Mangi and Cathay, with their cities of unrivalled wealth and splendor. He promised them land and riches, and everything that could arouse their cupidity or inflame their imaginations, nor were these promises made for purposes of mere deception; he certainly believed that he should realize them all.

On the 13th of September, in the evening, being about two hundred leagues from the island of Ferro, Columbus, for the first time, noticed the variation of the needle, - a phenomenon which had never before been remarked. He perceived, about nightfall, that the needle, instead of pointing to the north star, varied about half a point, or between five and six degrees, to the northwest, and still more on the following morning. Struck with this circumstance, he observed it attentively for three days, and found that the variation increased as he advanced. He at first made no mention of this phenomenon, knowing how ready his people were to take alarm, but it soon attracted the attention of the pilots, and filled them with consternation. It seemed as if the very laws of nature were changing as they advanced, and that they were entering another world, subject to unknown influences. They apprehended that the compass was about to lose its mysterious virtues, and, without this guide, what was to become of them in a vast and trackless ocean?



On the 14th of September the voyagers were rejoiced by the sight of what they considered harbingers of land. A heron, and a tropical bird called the Rabo de Junco, neither of which are supposed to venture far to sea, hovered about the ships. On the following night they were struck with awe at beholding a meteor, or, as Columbus calls it in his journal, a great flame of fire, which seemed to fall from the sky into the sea, about four or five leagues distant. These meteors, common in warm climates, and especially under the tropics, are always seen in the serene azure sky of those latitudes, falling as it were from the heavens, but never beneath a cloud. In the transparent atmosphere of one of those beautiful nights, where every star shines with the purest lustre, they often leave a luminous train behind them which lasts for twelve or fifteen seconds and may well be compared to a flame.

The wind had hitherto been favorable, with occasional, though transient, clouds and showers. They had made great progress each day, though Columbus, according to his secret plan, contrived to suppress several leagues in the daily reckoning left open to the crew.

They had now arrived within the influence of the trade wind, which, following the sun, blows steadily from east to west between the tropics, and sweeps over a few adjoining degrees of ocean. With this propitious breeze directly aft, they were wafted gently but speedily over a tranquil sea, so that for many days they did not shift a sail. Columbus perpetually recurs to the bland and temperate serenity of the weather, which in this tract of the ocean is soft and refreshing without being cool. In his artless and expressive language he compares the pure and balmy mornings to those of April in Andalusia, and observes that they wanted but the song of the nightingale to complete the illusion. "He had reason to say so," observes the venerable Las Casas; "for it is marvellous the suavity which we experience when half-way towards these Indies; and the more the ships approach the lands, so much more do they perceive the temperance and softness of the air, the clearness of the sky, and the amenity and fragrance sent forth from the groves and forests; much more certainly than in April in Andalusia."

They now began to see large patches of herbs and weeds drifting from the west, and increasing in quantity as they advanced. Some of these weeds were such as grow about rocks, others such as are produced in rivers; some were yellow and withered, others so green as to have apparently been recently washed from land. On one of these patches was a live crab, which Columbus carefully preserved. They saw also a white tropical bird, of a kind which never sleeps upon the sea. Tunny-fish also played about the ships, one of which was killed by the crew of the Nina. Columbus now called to mind the account given by Aristotle of certain ships of Cadiz, which, coasting the shores outside of the straits of Gibraltar, were driven westward by an impetuous east wind, until they reached a part of the ocean covered with vast fields of weeds, resembling sunken islands, among which they beheld many tunny-fish. He supposed himself arrived in this weedy sea, as it had been called, from which the ancient mariners had turned back in dismay, but which he regarded with animated hope, as indicating the vicinity of land. Not that he had yet any idea of reaching the object of his search, the eastern end of Asia; for, according to his computation, he had come but three hundred and sixty leagues since leaving the Canary Islands, and he placed the main land of India much farther on.

On the 18th of September the same weather continued; a soft steady breeze from the east filled every sail, while, to use the words of Columbus, the sea was as calm as the Guadalquivir at Seville. He fancied that the water of the sea grew fresher as he advanced, and noticed this as proof of the superior sweetness and purity of the air..

Notwithstanding his precaution to keep the people ignorant of the distance they had sailed, they were now growing extremely uneasy at the length of the voyage. They had advanced much farther west than ever man had sailed before, and though already beyond the reach of succor, still they continued daily leaving vast tracts of ocean behind them, and pressing onward and onward into that apparently boundless abyss. It is true they had been flattered by various indications of land, and still others were occurring; but all mocked them with vain hopes: after being hailed with a transient joy, they passed away, one after another, and the same interminable expanse of sea and sky continued to extend before them. Even the bland and gentle breeze, uniformly aft, was now conjured by their ingenious fears into a cause of alarm; for they began to imagine that the wind, in these seas, might always prevail from the east, and, if so, would never permit their return to Spain.

Columbus endeavored to dispel these gloomy presages, sometimes by argument and expostulation, sometimes by awakening fresh hopes and pointing out new signs of land. On the 20th of September the wind veered, with light breezes from the southwest. These, though adverse to their progress, had a cheering effect upon the people, as they proved that the wind did not always prevail from the east. Several birds also visited the ships; three, of a small kind which keep about groves and orchards, came singing in the morning, and flew away again in the evening. Their song cheered the hearts of the dismayed mariners, who hailed it as the voice of land. The larger fowl, they observed, were strong of wing, and might venture far to sea; but such small birds were too feeble to fly far, and their singing showed that they were not exhausted by their flight.

On the following day there was either a profound calm, or light winds from the southwest. The sea, as far as the eye could reach, was covered with weeds,-- a phenomenon often observed in this part of the ocean, which has sometimes the appearance of a vast inundated meadow. This has been attributed to immense quantities of submarine plants, which grow at the bottom of the sea until ripe, when they are detached by the surface. These fields of weeds were at first regarded with great satisfaction, but at length they became, in many places, so dense and matted as in some degree to impede the sailing of the ships, which must have been under very little headway. The crews now called to mind some tale about the frozen ocean, where ships were said to be sometimes fixed immovable. They endeavored, therefore, to avoid as much as possible these floating masses, lest some disaster of the kind might happen to themselves. Others considered these weeds as proofs that the sea was growing shallower, and began to talk of lurking rocks, and shoals, and treacherous quicksand; and of the danger of running aground, as it were, in the midst of the ocean, where their vessels might rot and fall to pieces, far out of the track of human aid, aid without any shore where the crews might take refuge. They had evidently some confused notion of the ancient story of the sunken island of Atlantis, and feared that they were arriving at that part of the ocean where navigation was said to be obstructed by drowned lands and the ruins of an engulfed country.

To dispel these fears, the admiral had frequent recourse to the lead; but, though he sounded with a deep-sea line, he still found no bottom. The minds of the crews, however, had gradually become diseased. They were full of vague terrors and superstitious fancies; they construed everyting into a cause of alarm, and harassed their commander by incessant murmurs.

The discontent of the crew rapidly augmented, until it rose to the verge of mutiny. Indications which Columbus considered favorable they viewed as questionable, and he was kept busy in efforts to allay their fears. The cloud-forms in the distance frequently deceived them with the illusion of land, the people varying from the excitement of joy of deep depression as these illusory hopes vanished.

For several days they continued on with the same propitious breeze, tranquil sea, and mild, delightful weather. The water was so calm that the sailors amused themselves with swimming about the vessel. Dolphins began to abound, and flying-fish, darting into the air, fell upon the decks. The continued signs of land diverted the attention of the crews, and insensibly beguiled them onward.

On the Ist of October, according to the reckoning of the pilot of the admiral's ship, they had come five hundred and eighty leagues west since leaving the Canary Islands. The reckoning which Columbus showed the crew was five hundred and eighty-four, but the reckoning which he kept privately was seven hundred and seven. On the following day the weeds floated from east to west; and on the third day no birds were to be seen.

The crews now began to fear that they had passed between islands, from one to the other of which the birds had been flying. Columbus had also some doubts of the kind, but refused to alter his westward course. The people again uttered murmurs and menaces; but on the following day they were visited by such flights of birds, and the various indications of land became so numerous, that from a state of despondency they passed to one of confident expectation.

Eager to obtain the promised pension, the seamen were continually giving the cry of land, on the least appearance of the kind. To put a stop to these false alarms, which produced continual disappointments, Columbus declared that should any one give such notice, and land not be discovered within three days afterwards, he should thenceforth forfeit all claim to the reward.

[On the 7th of October land was again proclaimed, but with the same result as before. There were now seen, however, "great flights of small field-birds going towards the southwest," and Columbus concluded to sail in that direction, from the fact that the Portuguese had discovered the most of their islands by following the flight of birds.]

For three days they stood in this direction, and the farther they went the more frequent and encouraging were the signs of land. Flights of small birds of various colors, some of them such as sing in the fields, came flying about the ships, a then continued towards the southwest, and others were heard also flying by in the night. Tunny-fish played about the smooth sea, and a heron, a pelican, and a duck were seen, all bound in the same direction. The herbage which floated by was fresh and green as if recently from land, and the air, Columbus observes, was sweet and fragrant as April breezes in Seville.

All these, however, were regarded by the crews as so many delusions beguiling them on to destruction; and when on the evening of the third day they beheld the sun go down upon a shoreless ocean, they broke forth into turbulent clamor. They exclaimed against this obstinacy in tempting fate by continuing on into a boundless sea. They insisted upon turning homeward and abandoning the voy-age as hopeless. Columbus endeavored to pacify them by gentle words and promises of large rewards; but, finding that they only increased in clamor, he assumed a decided tone. He told them it was useless to murmur; the expedition had been sent by the sovereigns to seek the Indies, and happen what might, he was determined to persevere until, by the blessing of God, he should accomplish the enterprise.

Columbus was now at open defiance with his crew, and his situation became desperate. Fortunately, the manifestations of the vicinity of land were such on the following day as no longer to admit of a doubt. Beside a quantity of fresh weeds, such as grow in rivers, they saw a green fish of a kind which keeps about rocks; then a branch of thorn with berries on it, and recently separated from the tree, floated by them; then they picked up a reed, a small board, and, above all, a staff artificially carved. All gloom and mutiny now gave way to sanguine expectation; and throughout the day every one was eagerly on the watch, in hopes of being the first to discover the long-sought-for land..

The breeze had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual, and they had made great progress. At sunset they had stood again to the west, and were ploughing the waves at a rapid rate, the Pinta keeping the lead, from her superior sailing. The greatest animation prevailed throughout the ships; not an eye was closed that night.

As the evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the top of the castle or cabin on the high poop of his vessel, ranging his eye along the dusky horizon, and maintaining an intense and unremitting watch. About ten o'clock he thought he beheld a light glimmering at a great distance. Fearing his eager hopes might deceive him, he called to Pedro Gutierrez, gentleman of the king's bed-chamber, and inquired whether he saw such a light; the latter replied in the affirmative. Doubtful whether it might not yet be some delusion of the fancy, Columbus called Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, and made the same inquiry. By the time the latter had ascended the roundhouse, the light had disappeared. They saw it once or twice after-wards in sudden and passing gleams, as if it were a torch in the bark of a fisherman, rising and sinking with the waves, or in the hand of some person on shore, borne up and down as he walked from house to house. So transient and uncertain were these gleams that few attached any importance to them; Columbus, however, considered them as certain signs of land, and, moreover, that the land was inhabited.

They continued their course until two in the morning, when a gun from the Pinta gave the joyful signal of land. It was first described by a mariner named Rodrigo de Triana: but the reward was afterwards adjudged to the admiral, for having previously perceived the light. The land was now clearly seen about two leagues distant, whereupon they took in sail, and laid to, waiting impatiently for the dawn.

The thoughts and feelings of Columbus in this little space of time must have been tumultuous and intense. At length, in spite of every difficulty and danger, he had accomplished his object. the great mystery of the ocean was revealed; his theory, which had been the scoff of sages, was triumphantly established; he had secured to himself a glory durable as the world itself.

It is difficult to conceive the feelings of such a man at such a moment, or the conjectures which must have thronged upon his mind, as to the land before him, covered with darkness. That it was fruitful, was evident from the vegetables which floated from its shores. He thought, too, that he perceived the fragrance of aromatic groves. The moving light he had beheld proved it the residence of man. But what were its inhabitants? Were they like those of the other parts of the globe? or were they some strange and monstrous race, such as the imagination was prone in those times to give to all remote and unknown regions? Had he come upon some wild island far in the Indian sea? or was this the famed Cipango itself, the object of his golden fancies? A thousand speculations of the kind must have swarmed upon him, as, with his anxious crews, he waited for the night to pass away, wondering whether the morning light would reveal a savage wilderness, or dawn upon spicy groves, and glittering fanes, and gilded cities, and all the splendor of Oriental civilization.

It was on Friday morning, the 12th of October, that Columbus first beheld the New World. As the day dawned he saw before him a level island, several leagues in extent, and covered with trees like a continual orchard. Though apparently uncultivated, it was populous, for the inhabitants were seen issuing from all parts of the woods and running to the shore. They were perfectly naked, and, as they stood gazing at the ships, appeared by their attitudes and gestures to be lost in astonishment. Columbus made signal for the ships to cast anchor, and the boats to be manned and armed. He entered his own boat, richly attired in scarlet, and holding the royal standard; whilst Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincent Janez his brother, put off in company in their boats, each with a banner of the enterprise emblazoned with a green cross, having on either side the letters F. and Y., the initials of the Castilian monarchs Fernando and Ysabel, surmounted by crowns.

As he approached the shore, Columbus, who was disposed for all kinds of agreeable impressions, was delighted with the purity and suavity of the atmosphere, the crystal transparency of the sea, and the extraordinary beauty of the vegetation. He beheld, also, fruits of an unknown kind upon the trees which overhung the shores. On landing, he threw himself on his knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of joy. His example was followed by the rest, whose hearts indeed overflowed with the same feelings of gratitude. Columbus then rising drew his sword, displayed the royal standard, and assembling around him the two captains, with Rodrigo de Escobedo, notary of the armament, Rodrigo Sanchez, and the rest who had landed, he took solemn possession in the name of the Castilian sovereigns, giving the island the name of San Salvador. Having complied with the requisite forms and ceremonies, he called upon all present to take the oath of obedience to him, as admiral and viceroy, representing the persons of the sovereigns.

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Spanish Exploration after Columbus

The discovery made by Columbus was followed up by the Spaniards with an activity in marked contrast to the supineness displayed by other nations in exploring and settling the American continent. Within twenty years from 1492 the four largest islands of the West Indies were the seats of active colonies, while more than a century passed ere any other nation founded a permanent colony on the American shores, with the exception of the small settlements of the Portuguese in Brazil. This was rapidly followed by the conquest of the two great empires of Mexico and Peru, and the exploration of the region of the southern United States, while yet other nations were contenting themselves with occasional voyages of discovery along the coasts of the new continent. The great fertility of the islands first settled by the Spaniards, the mildness of their climates, and, above all, the frequent discovery of gold, pearls, and other rich prizes, were the main causes of the Spanish activity, and served as inducements to repeated exploring expeditions.

Columbus made four voyages in all to the New World, discovering the South American continent near the mouth of the Orinoco in the third, and reaching Honduras and the coast to the south of this region in the fourth. To the day of his death he continued under the delusion that the land he had reached was the eastern extremity of Asia. Other voyagers quickly followed. Ojeda, who had already visited Hispaniola with Columbus, sailed on his own account and explored four hundred leagues of the coast of South America in the region already discovered by Columbus. He was accompanied by Amerigo Vespucci, who made three subsequent voyages to America and wrote the first account of it that was published. This was in a Latin work printed in 1507 and prepared by a German scholar, Martin Waldseemuller, who proposed the name of America for the new continent. The suggestion was universally accepted, and Columbus lost the honor of giving his name to the New World.

Other voyagers were Pedro Alonzo Nigno, who sailed to the same region of South America and passed from the Gulf of Paria to the shores of the present republic of Colombia, and Vincent Yanez Pinzon, who had commanded one of the vessels of Columbus on his first voyage, and who was the first Spaniard to cross the equinoctial line. He discovered the mouth of the Amazon River, and from there sailed north to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. About the same time (1499) Diego Lope reached the coast of South America at Cape St. Augustine, which he doubled and sailed to the southwest for a considerable distance. In 1500, Rodrigo Bastides touched South America at Cape Vela, and coasted to the present seaport of Nombre de Dios, a point which Columbus had reached in sailing south from Honduras.

After Columbus opened up the New world to Europe, the West Indies became centers of exploration. Among others, Ojeda, under a grant from the King of Spain, founded the settlement of San Sebastian, in the Gulf of Uraba. With him had engaged to sail Francisco Pizarro and Hernando Cortez. The latter was detained by illness, but the former thus made the first step in his famous career. The colony left by Ojeda was forced by the Indians to abandon the settlement. One vessel foundered. The other, commanded by Pizarro, reached Carthagena, where was found Enciso, a lawyer of San Domingo, who was conveying men and provisions to the colony. With him was Vasco Nunez de Balboa, an adventurer whose debts made him fly the town, and who managed to smuggle himself on board the ship in what purported to be a cask of provisions. On leaving shore he emerged from his cask, fell on his knees to Enciso, and begged pardon for his trick and permission to accompany the expedition. The colony having been deserted, Balboa proposed that they should sail for Darien, which coast he had already visited with Bastides. This proposal was accepted, and a new town established, which was named Santa Maria de la Antigua del Darien. Troubles ensured among the colonists, which ended in the imprisonment of Enciso, and the establishment of Balboa as alcalde of the colony

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Colonial Wars: France and England

The several wars which raged in Europe between France and England roused the colonies to invasions of one another's territory, in which the Indians gave full went to their savage instincts in murdering the helpless settlers. King William's War, which continued from 1689 to 1697, was marked by several such atrocities. At the very opening of the war, Dover, in New Hampshire, was attacked, and revenge taken upon Major Waldron, who had acted treacherously towards the Indians during King Philip's War. During the succeeding year occurred the massacre at Schenectady, which we have already described. Other settlements were assailed, and several of the English forts taken. In reprisal, an expedition under Sir William Phipps captured Port Royal, and essayed to conquer Quebec, but was driven off. At the same time a fruitless land-expedition was sent from New York against Montreal. The Indian depredations upon the English frontiers continued, the latest being an attack on Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1697, in which forty persons were killed or taken captive. Among these latter were a Mrs. Duston, her nurse, and a boy, who on their way to Canada attacked their captors while sleeping, killed ten out of twelve of them, and returned in safety to their friends. During this war the French attempted to punish the hostile Iroquois, and Frontenac marched into their territory, where he committed much damage. On his return, however, he was severely harassed by the Indians.

In 1702 another war broke out between France and England, which continued till 1713. In America it was marked by the same atrocities as the previous war. The Iroquois were neutrals during most of this war, and New York was preserved from danger, the weight of the war falling on the New England colonies. In 1704 the town of Deerfield was captured by a French and Indian force, forty of the inhabitants killed, and one hundred and twelve captured, who were marched through the winter snows to Canada. Throughout the war the frontier settlements were continually harassed by the savage foe. In 1707 the English attacked Port Royal, but were repulsed. In 1710 it was again assailed, and captured, its name being changed to Annapolis, in honor of Queen Anne, and the province of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, was permanently added to the English possessions. In the succeeding year an extensive invasion of Canada was projected, which met with an unfortunate termination. The story of this expedition we select from Andrew Bell's translation of Garneau's "L'Histoire du Canada."]

IN spring, 1711, an expedition was got up to act in conjunction with such forces as the plantations could supply for the invasion of Canada. The fleet, under the orders of Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker, had companies of seven regiments of regulars on board, drafted from the army Marlborough was leading from victory to victory. The force was put under the charge of Brigadier-General Hill.

Walker arrived in Boston harbor, June 25, where his presence was impatiently expected. The land-force was now augmented by the junction of the militias of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, etc., which raised it to a total of six thousand five hundred infantry. The fleet now consisted of eighty-eight ships and transports. The army which was intended to act simultaneously with the ascent to Quebec by an advance on Montreal, and was now reconstituted, got ready to act, under the orders of General Nicholson. It was composed of four thousand Massachusetts and other militia-men, and six hundred Iroquois. Having moved his corps to the banks of Lake George, Nicholson there awaited the event of the attack on Quebec. Meantime, the invading fleet sailed from Boston, July 30.

The opposing force of the Canadians was proportionally small, in number at least. It did not exceed five thousand men of all ages between fifteen and seventy, and included at the most five hundred savages. But Quebec was now in a better state for defence than ever it had been before, there being more than one hundred cannons mounted upon the works. The banks of the St. Lawrence immediately below the city were so well guarded that it would have been perilous to an enemy to land anywhere; above it the invaders would hardly adventure. The garrison was carefully marshalled, and every man assigned to an appointed place, with orders to repair to it as soon as the enemy's fleet appeared.

But the elements were now the best defenders of Canada, which Providence seemed to have taken under his special protection. During the night of August 22, a storm from the southwest arose, accompanied by a dense fog, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and the hostile fleet was put in imminent jeopardy for a time. The admiral's ship barely escaped wreck upon breakers. Eight of the transports were driven ashore on the Ile-aux-CEufs, one of the Seven Islands, and nine hundred out of seventeen hundred persons on board perished in the waves. Among the corpses strewed on the beach afterwards were found the bodies of a number of emigrants from Scotland, intended colonists for Anglicized Canada; and among other waifs found at the same time were copies of a proclamation to the Canadians, in Queen Anne's name, asserting the suzerainty of Britain, in right of the discovery of their country by Cabot.

Admiral Walker now altered his course, and rendezvoused with his scattered fleet, as soon as it could be collected, at Cape Breton, where he called a council of war, in which it was decided to renounce the enterprise. The British division of the fleet left for England, and the colonial vessels returned to Boston. But disasters ceased not to attend this ill-starred expedition; for the Feversham, an English frigate of thirty-six guns, and three transports, were lost when still in the Laurentian gulf; while the Edgar, of seventy guns, Walker's flag-ship, was blown up at Portsmouth, October 15, with four hundred men on board.

A strong Canadian force was now collected at Montreal, in preparation for Nicholson's advance. No advance was made, however, though the militia were kept under arms, on guard against a Canadian invasion. But the Canadians, just now, had work enough at home. The Outagamis, a warlike tribe from beyond Lake Michigan, had moved eastward to the locality of Detroit, under British instigation. It was their purpose to burn the settlement and kill all the French. In this they were joined by the Mascoutins. On the other hand, some six hundred warriors of friendly tribes were banded in defence of the French, and forced the hostiles to take a defensive attitude.

The Outagamis and Mascoutins took refuge in an intrenched camp they had formed near the French fort. M. Dubuisson, the governor, finding that they presented so imposing a front, was willing that they should retire peacefully to their villages on seeing that their hostile intents were anticipated and provided against; but his native allies would not allow of this, and proceeded to invest their fastness. This was so well defended, however, that the assailants became dispirited, and wished to retire from the contest; but Dubuisson, now encouraging them to remain, turned the siege into a blockade. In a short time provisions, even water, failed the besieged; and when any of them issued from the enclosure to procure the latter, they were set on by their foes, killed on the spot, or burnt alive to make a savage holiday.

The beleaguered tried, by every means, to detach the native auxiliaries present from the French interest; but all in vain. They then sent envoys to the governor to crave a truce of two days, to enable their foragers to procure food. This singular request was refused, but had better been accorded; for in revenge the Outagamis shot fire-arrows against the straw-roofed houses of the village, which were thereby entirely consumed. The cannon of the fort avenged this act of desperation. Already from three to four score of the besieged were dead of hunger and thirst, and the air was tainted with putrefaction. A third deputation came to implore quarter. Pemousa, a chief, who brought with him his wife and children as hostages, adjured the governor to "take pity on his flesh" and on the other women and children about to be put at French discretion. Some of the allied chiefs present at this piteous scene, instead of being moved by it, coolly proposed to Dubuisson to cut down four of the envoys, who, they alleged, were the chief defenders of the place. This much, at least, was refused.

The besieged, despairing of success, and hopeless of quarter if they surrendered, prepared to take advantage of any moment of relaxed vigilance in their besiegers, and try to escape. One stormy night they succeeded in this attempt, but, exhausted by the privations they had undergone, halted on peninsular ground near St. Clair, whither they were soon followed. They intrenched themselves again, stood a siege of four days more, and then gave in. Not one of the men escaped, and it is very doubtful whether any of the women were spared; but the contemporary reports of what passed at the time are in disaccord on this point.

[The remnant of the Outagami or Fox nation, however, long carried on a harassing warfare with the French, and rendered the routes between the posts in Canada and those on the Mississippi so dangerous as to be almost impassable. The peace of Utrecht, in 1713, put an end to this desolating war. During the succeeding thirty years but few events of importance occurred in the English colonies or in Canada. It was a much-needed era of tranquillity, during which the colonies grew rapidly in population and importance. The Canadian settlements were principally confined to the St. Lawrence region, from Quebec to Montreal. Farther west there were detached forts and stations, with a weak settlement at Detroit, but nothing which could properly be called a colony. Yet the spirit of exploration of the French continued. In 1731 an effort was made to reach the Pacific overland. M. Verendrye, a trader with the Indians, who had learned much from the Western tribes of the country that lay beyond, undertook an exploring expedition west-ward. He proceeded to Lake Superior, where his trading interests kept him till 1733. Meanwhile, some of his people made their way to the Lake of the Woods, and thence to Lake Winnipeg, extending their journey to the point of branching of the river Saskatchewan.

In 1738 the explorers reached the country of the Mandans, and in 1742 followed the upper Missouri as far as the Yellowstone. Finally, on January 1, 1743, two of the sons of M. Verendrye found themselves in front of the great range of the Rocky Mountains, sixty years in advance of the discovery of this mighty mountain-system by the American explorers Lewis and Clarke.

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King George's war


In 1744 another war, known in America as "King George's War," broke out between France and England, and at once brought the colonists into hostile relations. The most important event of this war was the capture of Louisburg, a powerful stronghold founded by the French in 1720 on the island of Cape Breton and intended to be made impregnable. The town grew until it contained several thousand inhabitants and was a mile in length.

{The following is an excerpt from Garneau}

France and Britain were now on the eve of war, chiefly for the good pleasure of the German king of the latter, as the chief of a petty Continental principality, who set about trimming what was called the "balance of power in Europe." This had been deranged, it appeared, by the part which the French king had taken against the Empress Theresa when a coalition was formed against her by Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, etc., in Germany, with Spain and Sardinia. In January, 1745, a treaty of alliance was signed between the empress (already at war with the French), the King of Great Britain, the King of Poland, the Elector of Saxony, and the United States of Holland, against France.

As on former occasions, the colonial dependencies of the two great nations had perforce to go to war also, whether they understood the points in dispute which led to hostilities between their mother-countries or not. There was also a "balance of power" between New France and New England, getting more and more difficult every year satisfactorily to adjust. Canada, however, like the snorting war-horse, seemed to scent the coming hostilities while yet distant; for her administrators had already repaired and munitioned all the frontier posts, especially Fort St. Frederic and Fort Niagara. The defensive works of Quebec, also, were augmented. Other demonstrations were made, about the same time, by the Canadian government and its colonists, which showed that a continued state of peace with the British plantations was neither expected nor desired.

After the belligerents were in full tilt in Europe, for the king of Britain and his favorite son were battling, not with much honor to either, on that eternal fighting-ground, Flanders, there was no appearance, for a time, of either government sending any expedition against the North American dependencies of the other.... During its early stages the war in America between the two rival races was carried on almost entirely without European aid.

In a few months after the declaration of war, the American waters swarmed with French privateers. Several were equipped at Louisburg, Cape Breton, with amazing despatch, and made a great number of prizes before vessels of war could arrive to protect the British colonial shipping. Louisburg became, in all respects, a kind of hornets' nest in regard to New England, its trade and fisheries, which it was now determined to dig out if possible.

Meanwhile, M. Duquesnel, governor of Cape Breton, embarked part of the garrison of Louisburg with some militia and made a descent upon the settlement of Canso, in Acadia, which he burnt, and made the garrison and settlers prisoners of war. He then summoned Annapolis, but was deterred from investing it by the arrival of a reinforcement from Massachusetts. Duquesnel returned to Louisburg, where he died shortly thereafter. Governor Shirley had for some time conceived the project of taking possession of Cape Breton, now rightly regarded as the seaward bulwark of Canada, and a highly-important post as a safeguard to the French fisheries and to American trade. The fortifications of Louisburg, the capital, even in their uncompleted state, had taken twenty-five years to construct, at a cost, it was reported, of thirty million livres (nearly one million five hundred thousand pounds sterling). They comprised a stone rampart nearly forty feet high, with embrasures for one hundred and forty-eight cannon, had several bastions, and strong out-works; and on the land-side was a fosse fully fourscore feet broad. The garrison, as reported afterwards by the French, was composed of six hundred regulars and eight hundred armed inhabitants, commanded by M. Duchambois. Upon the same authority we may mention here that at this time there were not more than one thousand soldiers in garrison, altogether, from the lower St. Lawrence to the eastern shore of Lake Erie.

At a council held by Governor Shirley, it was decided that an effort to take Louisburg would be too costly and hazardous. But the colonists, learning of the scheme, were so enthusiastic that the council was forced into it. In a few weeks more than four thousand militia were raised in the several colonies, and placed under the command of a New England merchant, named Pepperel. The expedition sailed about the last of March, and reached Canso on April 5, 1745.

Colonel Pepperel having sent some shallops to ascertain whether the coast was clear of ice, and the report being favorable, the expedition resumed its voyage, and a disembarkation on Cape Breton Island was begun at Chapeau Rouge on the 27th of April. The garrison was, through the promptitude of the invaders, taken completely by surprise. The descent could not have been effected much earlier with safety; for till the end of March or beginning of April the ocean in that region is covered with thick fogs, while both the seaboard and the harbors of Cape Breton are choked with thick-ribbed ice. By this time Admiral Warren arrived with a few ships, and more were expected. His seamen assisted during fourteen days in dragging a siege-train of ordnance, through marshy ground, to the neighborhood of Louisburg, which was thought at first to be too strongly defended on the seaward side to be confronted by the fleet. Meanwhile, the garrison was in a state of revolt, having demurred to being employed to put the works into a proper state, a duty which had been too long postponed. The men had other grievances besides, being ill paid, and otherwise badly treated; but, their feelings of military honor being appealed to, they resumed their arms and prepared to defend the place.

During the night of May 13, Mr. Vaughan, son of the lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire, who knew the localities well, having visited the place the year before, landed with four hundred men, marched to the northeast part of the bay, and fired some buildings filled with brandy, etc., and naval stores. A party in a neighboring fort, thinking probably that the incendiaries were the van of a large attacking force, quitted their post and took refuge in the town. Next morning Vaughan was able to surprise a battery and hold possession of it until the arrival of a reinforcement.

A great mischance for the French now hastened the fall of the place. La Vigilante, a ship of sixty-four guns, with five hundred and sixty soldiers and supplies for the garrison on board, was captured by Admiral Warren. Had this succor reached its destination, it is very doubtful whether Pepperel could have captured the strongest fortress in America, and which was reported to be impregnable. The next operation was not so favorable to the besiegers, who, having tried, with four hundred men, to carry a battery on the island of St. John, which protected the entry of the harbor, were driven off, leaving sixty dead, and one hundred and sixteen of their men, wounded or whole, in the hands of the French. But this gleam of success only delayed the certain capture of the place, now that all further hope of succor from without was gone, and its defenders were as discouraged as they were malcontent before. In a word, Duchambois capitulated, and was allowed to march out with the honors of war. In terms of the capitulation, the garrison, and about two thousand people, the entire population of Louisburg, were embarked in British transports and landed at Brest.

Great was the exultation, naturally enough, at the success of this expedition thus admirably planned and spiritedly executed. Messrs. Shirley and Pepperel were rewarded with baronetcies; and the British Parliament voted a sum of money to repay the cost incurred by the colonists in getting up the enterprise. The discouragement in New France for the loss of Cape Breton was commensurate with the elation at its capture in New England and the other Anglo-American provinces.

An effort was made by the French to recapture the place, but their fleet was scattered by a storm, while a deadly epidemic broke out among the soldiers and marines. Acadia was at the same time assailed by the Canadians, with considerable success. A force of five hundred New England militia, sent to oppose them, was attacked by the French and Indians, and nearly half the men killed or wounded, and the rest forced to surrender.

Beginning with the autumn of 1745, the frontiers of the British plantations themselves were cruelly ravaged in twenty-seven successive raids of the Canadians during three years. Fort Massachusetts, fifteen miles above Fort St. Frederic, surrendered to M. Rigaud, who, with seven hundred colonists and savages, devastated the country for fifty miles beyond. M. Corne de St. Luc attacked Fort Clinton, and signally defeated an American corps. Saratoga was taken, and its people massacred. Fort Bridgman was taken by De Lery. In a word, the frontier-line, from Boston to Albany, being no longer tenable, the inhabitants fled into the interior, and left their lands at the discretion of the enemy.

A treaty of peace was concluded October 7, 1748. By its stipulations the British and French mutually gave up whatever territory each had taken, and greatly to the dissatisfaction of the English colonists, Cape Breton, with its fortress, was surrendered to its old masters, and the vigorous effort of the New-Englanders thus rendered useless. From that time peace prevailed in Europe, but hardly in America, hostilities scarcely ceasing during the interval from the treaty to the outbreak of the French and Indian War.

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The Seven Years War between the French and the English in colonial america


THE three colonial wars between the French and English, arose from events taking place on the other side of the Atlantic, and were nearly fruitless in results, so far as America was concerned. The bloodshed, torture, and other horrors which accompanied them might all have been spared, since neither of the them might all have been spared, since neither of the contestants gained any important advantages from them. The war which we have yet to describe differed from the others in both the particulars mentioned. It had its origin in America, and it ended in a very decided change in the relative positions of the contestants.

The progress of the colonies had by the middle of the eighteenth century aroused conflicting claims to territory which could scarcely fail to result in a struggle. The treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle had endeavored to adjust the relative claims to North American territory by the three powers of England, France, and Spain. But as yet these powers occupied only a narrow strip along the Atlantic coast, and though they claimed, by their charters, the whole country from ocean to ocean, yet their ignorance of the vast region thus appropriated on paper was very sure to bring them into disputes concerning boundaries. The English claimed the whole sea-coast from Newfoundland to Florida, in virtue of the discovery by the Cabots, and their grants of territory were assumed as extending westward to the Pacific. This claim to the interior was partly based on treaties with the Iroquois Indians, who, on the pretence that they had at some former time conquered all the territory from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, ceded this territory to the English, without heed to the rights of the tribes actually occupying it.

The French, on the other hand, based their claims to the Mississippi region on actual discovery and exploration. In their view, the half of New York, and the greater portion of New England, fell within the limits of New France and Acadia; while their western provinces of Upper and Lower Louisiana were held to include the entire valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries.

The original basis of the war which now arose between the French and the English was a dispute as to the ownership of the territory bordering on the Ohio. The first step towards it was a grant from the English government to a company of merchants, called the Ohio Company. The movements of this company towards a settlement of the territory assigned them at once roused the apprehensions of the French that the English were seeking to deprive them of their trade with the western Indians and to sever their line of communication between Canada and Louisiana. They immediately took active measures to secure their claim to this territory.

As for the aboriginal owners of the land, not the slightest attention was paid to their rights of possession. Two sachems sent a messenger to Mr. Gist, an agent sent out by the Ohio Company, to inquire of him "where the Indians' land lay, for the French claimed all the land on one side of the Ohio River, and the English on the other." This pertinent question forcibly shows the real merits of the case, and that neither of the colonial contestants had the slightest claim in equity to the territory.

Yet, disregarding all Indian rights, the pioneer settlers of the two nations proceeded to make good their claims. The first act of hostility was committed by the French, in 1753. Three British traders, who had advanced into the disputed territory, were seized by a party of French and Indians and carried prisoners to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, where the French were then erecting a fort. In reprisal, the Twightwees, a tribe in alliance with the English, seized several French traders, whom they sent to Pennsylvania.

These evident hostilities between the whites aroused the Indians, ever ready for war and bloodshed. Instigated, as is supposed, by French emissaries, they began inroads upon the borders. The settlers of the Shenandoah Valley, who were suffering from these savage raids, called upon Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, for aid. A messenger was sent out to ascertain the temper of the Indians and the intentions of the French. He returned in alarm at the hostility discovered. Orders now arrived from the British ministry to the governor of Virginia, directing him to build two forts near the Ohio, intended to hold in check the Indians and to prevent French encroachments. The orders arrived too late. The French had already taken possession of the territory, and were securing it by the erection of forts.

Such were the instigating causes of the Seven Years' War in America, a conflict which continued for several years before any declaration of hostilities was made by the mother-countries, and which resulted in a radical change in the relations of the colonists of America.

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The thirteen original colonies: Evolution of democracy


A consideration of the political struggle leading to the war of independence, therefore, properly requires a preceding review of the political history of the colonies from their first settlement, since only in this way can we comprehend the preparation of the whole people for the radical change of government they were so soon to undergo, and the strong spirit of democracy which stood behind the labors of congresses and conventions and gave the cue to the work which they were to perform. In default of finding any sufficiently brief statement of this political evolution in the works of historians, the editor offers the following outline sketch, as an essential preliminary to the chapter of American history which now demands our attention.

THE several British colonies of America were formed under a variety of differing conditions. The settlement of Virginia was the work of a company of London merchants, that of New England of a body of Puritan refugees from persecution. Most of the other colonies were formed through the efforts of proprietors, to whom the king had made large grants of territory. None of them were of royal or parliamentary establishment, the nearest to this being the colony of New York, which was appropriated from its Dutch founders by the king's brother,--soon to become king himself. The government of the mother-country, therefore, took no part in the original formation of the government of the colonies, except in the somewhat flexible requirements of the charters granted to the proprietors.

Lord Baltimore was left at full liberty to establish a form of government for Maryland, William Penn for Pennsylvania, and the body of proprietors for the Carolinas, while the London Company of merchants largely used their own discretion in modeling that of Virginia. As for the government of Plymouth, it was formed without any restriction or suggestion from abroad, by a body of men who had crossed the ocean to enjoy religious liberty and who were prepared by their previous history for the duties of self-government. The Massachusetts colony was a chartered one, but from the first it took its government into its own hands, and began to exist under that same simple form of democracy which had been established by its Plymouth predecessor. In fact, a colony composed of equals, unprovided with a royal governor, and to a large extent unrestricted in its action, could scarcely assume any other than the one form of government, that of a democracy in which every man was a citizen and had a full voice in the management of affairs. There was only one restriction to this universal suffrage and self government,--that of religious orthodoxy. The colonists were Puritan sectaries, and were determined that their form of religion alone should prevail in the colony. Not only were those of heterodox views incapable of exercising full rights of citizenship, but they were soon driven from the community, as an element of discordance hostile to the well-being of this bigoted body politic. To the extent here indicated, therefore, democracy in America was first established in 1620, not in 1776. And it made considerable progress in New England and elsewhere ere it encountered any decided interference from the crown. The growth of this democratic spirit is of high interest, and is worthy of a much fuller consideration than we have space to devote to it.

The first government of New England was formed on board the Mayflower, before the landing of the Pilgrims. It was the democratic government of the Puritan church congregation transferred to the body politic, the Pilgrims choosing their governor as they chose their pastor, by the voice of the congregation. "For eighteen years all laws were enacted in a general assembly of all the colonists. The governor, chosen annually, was but president of a council, in which he had a double vote. It consisted first of one, then of five, and finally of seven members, called assistants." The colonists gradually assumed all the prerogatives of government, even the power of capital punishment. Yet so little were political honors desired that it became necessary to fine those who, being chosen, declined to act as governor or assistant.

The colony of Massachusetts Bay was organized under a charter granted by the king, but its primary management was of the same nature as that of Plymouth. In 1630 the charter and the government were transferred from England to Massachusetts, John Winthrop was chosen governor by the people, and the first General Court, or legislative assembly, was held at Boston on the 19th of October of that year. From that time until 1686 the people of New England governed themselves, under a system based on general election, all power being in the hands of the people, and the government essentially a republic. The only restriction to the right of franchise was the requirement that all citizens must be members of some church within the limits of the colony. In 1634 another important step of progress in self-government was made. Settlements were now dotted around the circumference of Massachusetts Bay, and it had become inconvenient for the citizens to exercise the duties of freemen in person. They therefore chose deputies to represent them, and the primitive form of democracy was changed to a representative one.

In the formation of the other New England colonies the same principle of government was adopted. The constitution of the Connecticut settlements, formed in 1639, paid no heed to the existence of a mother-country. The governor and legislature were to be chosen annually by the freemen, whose oath of allegiance was to the common-wealth, not to the English monarch, and the "general court" possessed the sole power of making and repealing laws. The royal charter granted by Charles II. in 1662 fully confirmed the constitution which the people had thus made for themselves. Rhode Island was chartered by the English Parliament in 1644, and formally organized its government in 1647, adopting a democracy similar to that of the other colonies, except that there was no religious restriction to the rights of citizenship, it being declared that "all men might walk as their consciences persuaded them, without molestation, every one in the name of his God." The colonies of Maine and New Hampshire became proprietary governments, under royal grants to Sir Ferdinando Gorges and Captain John Mason. But they quickly came under the influence of the Massachusetts colony, and in 1641 New Hampshire placed itself under the protection of Massachusetts and ignored the claims of the proprietors. Its adopted form of government differed from that of Massachusetts only in the fact that neither the freemen nor the deputies of the colony were required to be church members.

In 1643 a further step of progress in the evolution of a representative republic was made. As a measure of protection against the Indians and the other dangers which threatened them, the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth united themselves into a confederacy, under the title of The United Colonies of New England. Rhode Island was not admitted into this confederacy, because she would not consent to be incorporated with Plymouth. New Hampshire, as we have seen, formed then a portion of the Massachusetts colony. The governing body of the confederacy consisted of an annual Assembly, composed of two deputies from each colony, which dealt with all matters relating to the common interests, while the separate interests of each colony were managed by its local government, as before.

We perceive in the events above described a remarkable progress towards a federal republic, of the same type as that now existing in the United States of America, and constituting a noble school for the teaching of those principles of self-government which have become so deeply instilled into the minds of the American people. It may seem strange that England so quietly permitted this colonial republic to be formed. But the governing powers of England had work enough for themselves at home. Originally the colonies were too insignificant for their acts to call for much attention, and when the home government did show some disposition to interfere with them, the colonists, with much shrewdness and show of respect, yet with great tenacity, held on to the rights they had acquired, and baffled by a policy of delay and negation every effort to interfere with their privileges. Ere long the English royalists became engaged in a death-struggle with democracy at home, during which they had little leisure to attend to affairs abroad; and the subsequent overthrow of the government, and the establishment of a military democracy in England, were circumstances highly favorable to the growth of republicanism in America. During this period the self-governing principle made progress in all the colonies, though largely through the example and influence of New England.

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New England colony: Formation of democracy

It may seem strange that England so quietly permitted this colonial republic to be formed. But the governing powers of England had work enough for themselves at home. Originally the colonies were too insignificant for their acts to call for much attention, and when the home government did show some disposition to interfere with them, the colonists, with much shrewdness and show of respect, yet with great tenacity, held on to the rights they had acquired, and baffled by a policy of delay and negation every effort to interfere with their privileges. Ere long the English royalists became engaged in a death-struggle with democracy at home, during which they had little leisure to attend to affairs abroad; and the subsequent overthrow of the government, and the establishment of a military democracy in England, were circumstances highly favorable to the growth of republicanism in America. During this period the self-governing principle made progress in all the colonies, though largely through the example and influence of New England.

The people knew thoroughly what they were about, in the formation of the New England system of government. The doctrine of rotation in office was early established, "lest there should be a governor for life." When it was proposed that the office should be a life one, the deputies immediately resolved that no magisterial office of any kind should be held for more than a year. In one case where a caucus of justices nominated certain persons for election, the people took good care to elect none of the persons so proposed. Another important democratic principle was early adopted, that of making provision for the pay of public officers annually, and avoiding the fixation of salaries. This system proved very useful subsequently, in the conflict with the representatives of royalty. Originally the councilors, with the governor, constituted the whole governing body. When representatives were first chosen they sat in the same room with the governor and council. In 1644 it was ordained that the two bodies should meet in separate chambers Thus was first constituted the American legislature of two houses, the councilors being annually chosen by the whole body of freemen, the representatives by the separate settlements. The local government of each township remained in its own hands, and the whole organization was a miniature predecessor of that now existing within the United States of America. It was distinctively democratic. The early prejudices in favor of rank and title quickly disappeared, perfect equality was aimed at, and even such titles as those of Esquire and Mr. were applied to but few persons, Goodman and Goodwife being the ordinary appellations. Aristocratic connections in time became a bar to public favor.

It was not until after the restoration of Charles II. to the throne of England that any disposition to interfere with the republican government that had quietly grown up in New England was manifested. The only restrictions which England had placed upon the freedom of these colonies were of a commercial character. These had been removed during the era of the Commonwealth, but were renewed after the Restoration. Only English vessels were permitted to trade with the colonies. All articles of American produce for which there was a demand in England were forbidden to be shipped to foreign markets. The colonies were even restricted from the privilege of free trade with one another; and finally they were forbidden to manufacture, for use at home or abroad, any article that would compete with English manufactures. These restrictions gave rise to much complaint on the part of the colonists, and were evaded at every opportunity. Other sources of difficulty arose from the severe treatment of Quakers and others by the New England churchmen. To settle all such complaints, royal commissioners were sent to Boston in 1664, empowered to act upon all causes of colonial disturbance.

The coming of these commissioners was not viewed with favor by the colonists. They were naturally alarmed at a measure which might result in a restriction of their liberties, and were disposed to oppose the king's agents at every step. The commissioners were resisted, secretly or openly, in all the colonies except Rhode Island, which alone received them with deference. Massachusetts boldly asserted her rights under the charter, and denied the authority of the commissioners, while professing the sincerest loyalty to the king. Eventually their mission proved a failure, the colonists in great part ignoring their measures. They were recalled, and the colonial governments went on as before. Many years passed away before any other active measure was taken by the king against the colonists. In 1677 Maine became part of the province of Massachusetts, through a decision against the claim of the proprietors. In 1680 New Hampshire was separated from Massachusetts, and was made a royal province,--the first instance of this kind in New England. In 1681 new sources of trouble arose. The vigorous resistance which Massachusetts had long made to the restrictions imposed on the freedom of commerce culminated in the defeat of a custom-house officer who was sent over for the collection of dues. By a policy of passive resistance, delay, and obstruction, all his efforts were negatived, and he was finally obliged to return empty-handed to England.

The time had now arrived for the first open conflict between the throne and the colonies. The king had long entertained the project of taking the government of the colonies into his own hands, and seized this opportunity for effecting his purpose. English judges declared that Massachusetts had forfeited her charter, through disobedience to the laws of England. Before any further steps could be taken, the king died; but his successor, James II., proceeded vigorously to carry out his plans. In 1686 the charter government of Massachusetts was succeeded by a royal government, under Joseph Dudley, appointed by the king. In December of the same year Sir Edmund Andros arrived at Boston with a royal commission as governor of all the New England colonies. The acts of Andros we have already considered, in a former article, with his prompt expulsion from the country on the tidings of the revolution in England. The people at once renewed their former mode of government, with no immediate objection from the new monarch. Earnest efforts were made by Massachusetts to obtain a restoration of her charter, but without success, the king and his councillors secretly deeming this too liberal. In 1692 a new charter was granted, which vested the appointment of governor in the king. Beyond this there was little interference with colonial liberty, but the representatives of the people for many years kept up a violent controversy with the royal governors. The latter demanded a fixed and permanent salary. With this demand the Assembly refused to comply, claiming the right to vary the salary each year at their pleasure, and so manipulating this right that the amount of the governor's salary was made to depend upon the character of his administration. The people had learned their lesson well, and held firmly in hand this useful method of enforcing a government in accordance with their ideas of justice and utility. The controversy finally ended in a compromise, in which the claim of the Assembly was admitted, while it was agreed that a fixed sum should be voted annually.

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The French and Indian War: The end of the war


THE war between England and France, though at an end on the continent of America, was still continued among the West India islands, France in this case also being the loser. Martinique, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent's,--every island, in fact, which France possessed among the Caribbees,--passed into the hands of the English. Besides which, being at the same time at war with Spain, England took possession of Havana, the key to the whole trade of the Gulf of Mexico.

In November, 1763, a treaty of peace was signed at Paris, which led to further changes, all being favorable to Britain; whilst Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia were restored to France, England took possession of St. Vincent's, Dominica, and Tobago islands, which had hitherto been considered neutral. By the same treaty all the vast territory east of the Mississippi, from its source to the Gulf of Mexico, with the exception of the island of New Orleans, was yielded up to the British; and Spain, in return for Havana, ceded her possession of Florida. Thus, was vested in the British crown, as far as the consent of rival European claimants could give it, the sovereignty of the whole eastern half of North America, from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson's Bay and the Polar Ocean. By the same treaty the navigation of the Mississippi was free to both nations. France at the same time gave to Spain, as a compensation for her losses in the war, all Louisiana west of the Mississippi, which contained at that time about ten thousand inhabitants, to whom this transfer was very unsatisfactory. ..

The conquest of Canada and the subjection of the Eastern Indians giving security to the colonists of Maine, that province began to expand and flourish. The counties of Cumberland and Lincoln were added to the former single county of York, and settlers began to occupy the lower Kennebec and to extend themselves along the coast towards the Penobscot. Nor was this northern expansion confined alone to Maine; settlers began to occupy both sides of the upper Connecticut, and to advance into new regions beyond the Green Mountains towards Lake Champlain, a beautiful and fertile country which had first become known to the colonists in the late war. Homes were growing up in Vermont. In the same manner population extended westward beyond the Alleghanies as soon as the Indian disturbances were allayed in that direction. The go-ahead principle was ever active in British America. The population of Georgia was beginning to increase greatly, and in 1763 the first newspaper of that colony was published, called the "Georgia Gazette." A vital principle was operating also in the new province of East Florida, now that she ranked among the British possessions. In ten years more was done for the colony than had been done through the whole period of the Spanish occupation. A colony of Greeks settled about this time on the inlet still known as New Smyrna; and a body of settlers from the banks of the Roanoke planted themselves in West Florida, near Baton Rouge.

Nor was this increase confined to the newer provinces: the older ones progressed in the same degree. This is sometimes referred to as the golden age of Virginia, Maryland, and South Carolina, which were increasing in population and productions at a rate unknown before or since. In the North, leisure was found for the cultivation of literature, art, and social refinement. The six colonial colleges were crowded with students; a medical college was established in Pennsylvania, the first in the colonies; and West and Copley, both born in the same year,--the one in New York, the other in Boston,--proved that genius was native to the New World, though the Old afforded richer patronage. Besides all this, the late wars and the growing difficulties with the mother-country had called forth and trained able commanders for the field, and sagacious intellects for the control of the great events which were at hand.

A vast amount of debt, as is always the case with war, was the result of the late contests in America. With peace, the costs of the struggle began to be reckoned. The colonies had lost, by disease or the sword, above thirty thousand men; and their debt amounted to about four million pounds, Massachusetts alone having been reimbursed by Parliament. The popular power had, however, grown in various ways; the colonial Assemblies had resisted the claims of the royal and proprietary governors to the management and irresponsible expenditure of the large sums which were raised for the war, and thus the executive influence became transferred in considerable degree from the governors to the colonial Assemblies. Another and still more dangerous result was the martial spirit which had sprung up, and the discovery of the powerful means which the colonists held in their hands for settling any disputed points of authority and right with the mother-country. The colonies had of late been a military college to her citizens, in which, though they had performed the hardest service and had been extremely offended and annoyed by the superiority assumed by the British officers and their own subordination, yet they had been well trained, and had learned their own power and resources. The conquest of New France, in great measure, cost England her colonies

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