A History of the United States - Charles Kendall Adams

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href="#ulink_7b5dc2fa-d090-5f92-8ff5-1feabc25885a">[10] Born in Florence, 1451; died, 1512. After becoming an expert astronomer and map-maker, made four voyages to America, two in the Spanish and two in the Portuguese service. To his Brazilian discoveries he gave the name Mundus Novus, or New World.
[11] Born in Spain, 1475; died, 1517. Migrated to Hayti in 1500, and in 1510 accompanied Enciso in an expedition to Darien; quarreled with Enciso and obtained the chief command of the party; from the summit of a mountain discovered the Pacific, September 25, 1513; was afterward accused of treasonable designs and put to death.
[12] Born in Portugal, about 1470; died, 1521. Served in the East Indies from 1505 to 1512; renounced allegiance to Portugal and went to Seville, 1517; conceived the plan of reaching the East Indies by a voyage south of South America; in 1519 was given by Charles V. a squadron of five ships, with two hundred and sixty-five men; explored the coast of South America, and passed the straits which have since borne his name, November 28, 1520; discovered and named the Ladrones (Robber) Islands; discovered the Philippine Islands, where, with eight of his men, he was killed.
[13] Born, 1460; died, 1521. Spanish explorer, who probably accompanied Columbus on his second voyage. He was governor of eastern Hayti and conqueror of Porto Rico. In 1512 he started in search of the fountain of perpetual youth, and landed in Florida, near St. Augustine. In 1521 he returned, but lost most of his force. Spanish claims to Florida were based on these discoveries.
[14] Born at St. Malo, France, 1494; died, 1554. Explored the American coast and ascended the St. Lawrence River to Montreal, 1535; returned to France, but revisited Canada in 1541, and explored the rapids above Montreal. For these explorations, which were the basis of the French claims to Canada, Cartier was ennobled by the king of France.
[15] It is said that one of Cartier’s men, on seeing the foaming water above Montreal, exclaimed, “La Chine!” (China), and that in consequence the name “La Chine” has ever since been applied to the rapids.
[16] Born, 1567; died, 1635. In 1599 sailed from his home in France to the West Indies, whence he proceeded to Mexico, and on his return crossed the Isthmus of Panama, where he conceived the idea of a ship canal; from 1603 to 1604 explored the St. Lawrence River; founded Quebec in 1608; discovered the lake that bears his name in 1609, and Lake Huron in 1615. He was one of the most cultured and gallant of the early explorers.
[17] Born in 1546; died, 1596. English navigator, who reached Mexico in 1567 and South America in 1572; explored the Pacific coast from 1578 to 1579, and returned to England the next year, after having circumnavigated the globe.
[18] Born, 1552; died, 1618. English navigator, who, after serving with the French Huguenots in the Netherlands, and in Ireland, led an unsuccessful expedition to colonize America in 1579; attempted to organize others with similar results; was confined in the Tower for several years after 1603; made an unsuccessful voyage to Guiana; was rearrested on his return, and executed.
[19] It was Gilbert who told his companions not to fear, since heaven was as near by sea as by land.
[20] It is an interesting fact that the first English child born on American soil was Virginia Dare, granddaughter of John White, governor of this colony.

       the first plantations and colonies, 1607–1630.

       Table of Contents

       Table of Contents

      21. The Virginia Company.—At the beginning of the seventeenth century England undertook in earnest to plant colonies in North America. Her only important rival was France. Efforts were first directed toward the vast unoccupied stretch of country between Canada and Florida. The upper part of this region was explored, with favorable results, by Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602, by Martin Pring in 1603, and by George Weymouth in 1605. These enterprises were encouraged by the new king, James I., and Raleigh was soon out of favor. The work of colonization required coöperation; and the example of the Muscovite and East India companies led certain important citizens to obtain a charter authorizing them, as the Virginia Company, to promote and govern colonies in the unsettled region. It was a favorable time for such an undertaking, since changes in agricultural methods and other economic causes had created a spirit of unrest and filled England with men eager for employment. Besides, the passion for discovery and the energy that marked Elizabeth’s reign had by no means died out, and fortune seemed beckoning from the new shores.

      22. The Sub-companies.—The Virginia Company’s charter covered a region extending from the thirty-fourth to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude. This was not to be controlled by one set of men, however, for there were two sub-companies, one consisting of the charter members living in or near London, and the other of those living in or near Plymouth. The Londoners could colonize from the thirty-fourth to the thirty-eighth degree; the Plymouth people from the forty-first to the forty-fifth, while the intervening space was left to whichever company should first colonize it, with the proviso that neither company should settle within one hundred miles of the other. This idea of competition between the companies led to nothing, and indeed the whole scheme of the charter was a cumbrous one that promised little permanent success.

      Ruins of the Old

       Church at Jamestown.

      23. The Settlement at Jamestown.—In 1607 both sub-companies began operations. The Plymouth men sent a fleet to the coast of the present state of Maine, but the colony they tried to plant was a failure. The London Company was more fortunate. Their colonists reached Chesapeake Bay in the spring, and settled about fifty miles above the mouth of a large river, since then known as the James, in honor of the English king. They called their new settlement Jamestown, and at once began to build huts and fortifications.

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