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A History of the United States. Charles Kendall Adams
Читать онлайн.Название A History of the United States
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isbn 4064066200824
Автор произведения Charles Kendall Adams
Жанр Документальная литература
Издательство Bookwire
VIRGINIA AND GEORGIA.
95. A Successful Governor.—There was, however, at least one thoroughly honest and efficient governor. This was Alexander Spotswood, who came out in 1710 to Virginia. He was a bluff, energetic soldier, who had been wounded at Blenheim. His coming was especially gratifying to the Virginians, since he brought them the long-craved privileges of the writ of habeas corpus. But even Spotswood found it difficult to extort money from the Burgesses in order to prepare for defenses against an expected French invasion. He did not, however, allow this opposition to render him indifferent to the interests of the colony. He sought especially to develop its mineral resources, and caused blast furnaces to be erected—the first in the colonies. He also imported Germans to develop the vineyards, which were necessary to his scheme for making Virginia a wine-producing country. He furthermore showed his interest in the Indians by establishing a school mission.
96. The Crossing of the Blue Ridge Mountains.—The most memorable event connected with Governor Spotswood’s administration is his romantic expedition across the Blue Ridge. Little or nothing was known of the beautiful valley beyond these mountains. Spotswood set out in August, 1716, with a large cavalcade, well furnished with hunting equipments, and, according to the fashion of the times, with a quantity and variety of liquors that would now be thought excessive. It was a good deal of a frolic; but it resulted in the discovery of the splendid valley of the Shenandoah, to which river the governor gave the rather inappropriate name of the Euphrates. This region was destined soon to be settled by thrifty German colonists, and it has ever since been considered the garden spot of Virginia.[45] Spotswood commemorated his expedition by presenting his companions with small golden horseshoes set with jewels. He had to pay for these himself, since King George I. was probably not anxious to encourage even such worthy colonial orders of knighthood as the “Knights of the Golden Horseshoe.” The king thought, perhaps, that his trusty servant did him a better service when two years later he sent out two armed ships, which conquered and rid the colonies of the notorious pirate John Theach, otherwise known as “Blackbeard.”
James Oglethorpe.
97. The Colonization of Georgia.—The country between the Savannah River and the St. John’s River in Florida, was claimed by the English; and when the Carolinas became royal provinces, this region was reserved as crown land. It soon attracted the attention of a noble-minded Englishman, James Oglethorpe.[46] He conceived the idea that it would be an excellent place in which to establish a colony to be composed of such persons as needed a new chance in life after having been released from the then crowded debtor prisons of England. He secured the aid of a company in establishing his proposed colony, which was also intended to serve as a bulwark against the Spanish colony of St. Augustine and as an important outpost of the fur trade. The colony was styled Georgia, in honor of King George II. The company of proprietors were very liberal; they prohibited slavery and religious persecution, and provided that none of their own number should hold a salaried office. Oglethorpe came out in November, 1732, and early in the following year founded the town of Savannah. He treated the Indians well and made a firm alliance with them. In 1734 a number of German settlers arrived and added much stability to the colony. This same year Augusta was founded as an armed trading-post, and soon became the center of a large fur traffic. The English debtors, however, were not the best of colonists, and the company was wise enough to induce more Germans and some Scotch Highlanders to seek the colony. After this the growth of Georgia was certain, but very slow; for even so benevolent an enterprise could not escape internal discontent and friction, due largely to the thriftless character of the English beneficiaries.
FRENCH DISCOVERIES AND CLAIMS.
98. French Exploration of the Mississippi Valley.—From the beginning, the French colonists settled in Acadia[47] and New France[48] succeeded in making friends with the Indians, to an extent rarely equaled by the English. But friendship with the Hurons and Algonquins involved enmity with the enemies of the latter, the Iroquois. This in turn meant that the French would have great difficulty in penetrating New York. It also meant that their explorations would at first penetrate the western region bordered by Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. In this region they heard rumors of the Mississippi River, and in 1673 a Jesuit priest, Père Marquette, and Louis Joliet, a trader, undertook to look for it. With incomparable resolution Marquette surmounted every difficulty, and finally with his companions floated down the Wisconsin River into the mighty Mississippi, which they followed to a point below the Arkansas. Then they made their arduous way back, having accomplished one of the most magnificent voyages of exploration known in history.
La Salle.
99. The Explorations of La Salle.—Their work was finished ten years later by Robert de la Salle,[49] who with his companions crossed from Lake Erie to the Illinois River and, after enduring many hardships, tracked the Mississippi southward to the Gulf of Mexico. There, taking possession of the region for Louis XIV. of France, La Salle named it Louisiana in his honor. He had been about four years at his work, in which he had shown a courage that has made him memorable. Two years later, in 1684, he sailed from France to plant a colony on the Mississippi; but, missing its mouth, landed on the coast of Texas. Here a fort was built, and from its occupation France got her claim to the territory as far as the Rio Grande. La Salle and his party, after suffering many hardships, determined to separate into two bands. The party led by La Salle murdered their brave commander, and finally reached the Illinois River.
100. French and English Claims.—Thus France, through the labors of her loyal subjects, had established a claim to an enormous region stretching from the mouth of the St. Lawrence, around the English colonies, to the mouth of the Mississippi, and thence to the Rio Grande. East and west the boundaries were practically the Alleghany and the Rocky mountains. But these claims were sure to be resisted, for the charters of the English colonies gave them almost indefinite rights to the westward, and they were growing too fast to be long cooped up between the Alleghanies and the Atlantic. Before the close of the seventeenth century, the struggle for predominance in the Mississippi Valley had begun, and in about seventy-five years France had been stripped of all the possessions which had been secured for her by the intrepidity and foresight of leaders who had often been but ill-supported by their king and government.
WARS WITH THE FRENCH.
101. King William’s War (1690–1697).—The colonial wars against the French for the possession of the region west of the Alleghanies are known by the names of the English sovereigns reigning at the time of hostilities; but they