which he called "the South Sea." Descending from the height from which he first saw the ocean, he rushed into the water, with drawn sword, claiming it for his sovereign, the king of Spain. These adventurers were both Spaniards. Under the auspices of Spain, Magellan (in Portuguese Magalhaens) first discovered the true geographical character of the new world. Sailing from Spain in 1519, he coasted along the eastern shores of South America, and reaching the straits which now bear his name, he sailed through them and continued his voyage some distance up the western coast, and then boldly turned west across the ocean, which, from its peaceful character, he had already called the Pacific. Five vessels and two hundred and fifty-four men started out on this voyage, but only one vessel and fifteen men reached Spain (1522); Magellan was killed by the natives at the Philippine Islands. This was the first circumnavigation of the world.

Cortez, in 1519, landed in Mexico, and within two years conquered it for Spain. De Soto, a Spaniard, in 1539, sailed from Cuba, and, landing at Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida, set out on an overland expedition mainly in search for gold. The explorers wandered about for two years, and at last, after many privations, in the spring of 1541 reached the Mississippi River, then for the first time seen by white men. In 1542 De Soto died, and through fear of the Indians his body was buried at midnight in the waters of the great stream which he discovered. His companions finally

reached the Spanish settlement in Mexico.

7. English Attempts at Colonization; Sir Walter Ralegh. (1576–1602.) — The men of that day were so full of the idea of getting to India, or were so much taken up with affairs at home, that it was long before definite plans of colonization were thought of. It was not until 1576 that Martin

SIR WALTER RALEGH.

9

Frobisher, an Englishman, attempted to make a settlement on the coast of Labrador. This enterprise was a failure, as was also a similar expedition in 1578 under Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who was not disheartened, but made a second attempt, in which he lost his life, in 1583. In 1584 Sir Walter Ralegh, a half-brother of Gilbert, sent out an exploring expedition, the vessels of which sailed

along the coast of what is now North Carolina. Glowing accounts were brought back; Ralegh called the country Virginia in honor of Elizabeth, his virgin queen, and made preparations to send out a colony, which was sent in 1585. Neither knowing how to prepare themselves for such a life nor how to utilize the resources of the country, these colonists. settled on Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, and almost suffered death from want before a ship arrived to look after them. They all returned

SIR WALTER RALEGH.

to England; but Ralegh, not discouraged, sent out another colony in 1587 to the same place. When an expedition visited the site three years afterward, all the colonists had disappeared, and with them Virginia Dare, the first child born in America of English parents. It has never been certainly discovered what became of them, though recent re

searches indicate that the few survivors joined a neighboring tribe of Indians, intermarrying with them. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold attempted to make a settlement on Cuttyhunk, an island in Buzzards Bay, in Massachusetts, but it was unsuccessful. So, though more than a century had passed since the discovery of America, there was not a single English colony on the American coast.

8. French and Spanish Attempts at Colonization. (1540– 1605.) The English were not alone in their failures ; France had made various attempts at colonization also, at what was afterwards Quebec (1540); at Port Royal, South Carolina (1562); and near St. Augustine, Florida (1564). Spain had been more successful at St. Augustine (1565), and at Santa Fé (1582), and also in Mexico. The French were successful after 1605, but their colonies were confined to what is now Nova Scotia and to Canada. At first sight it may seem strange that there should have been so many failures, but this feeling disappears when it is remembered that the main object of the colonists had been to get gold, of which it was believed there was an abundance in the new world. Few men went out fully intending to be permanent settlers. The expeditions consisted mostly of those who could not get on at home, and thought they could escape hard work by going to the country where they believed everything was to be had by merely picking it up. Then, again, the parties were few in number, unable to protect themselves against the hostile Indians, were cut off from help or supplies from home, and were, moreover, totally ignorant of the country itself and its requirements in regard to clothing, crops, and climate.

CHAPTER II.

COLONIZATION.

REFERENCES.

General. - G. Bancroft, History of the United States, i. 84-613; ii. 3-85, 192-291; R. Hildreth, History of the United States, i. Chaps. iv.-xv.; ii. Chaps. xvi.-xvii., xix.-xxv.; Bryant and Gay, Popular History of the United States, vols. i., ii.; T. W. Higginson, Larger History of the United States, pp. 75–168; J. A. Doyle, History of the United States, Chaps. ii.-xiv., also his larger work, The English Colonies in America (three volumes published); H. C. Lodge, Short History of the English Colonies in America; R. G. Thwaites, The Colonies (Epochs of American History), pp. 45-232; G. P. Fisher, The Colonial Era (American History Series), Chaps. iv.-xxi.; John Fiske, The Beginnings of New England; J. M. Ludlow, The War of American Independence (Epoch Series), pp. 1-55.

Biographies. William Gammell, Roger Williams, Sparks's American Biography, 2d Series ; O. S. Straus, Roger Williams; John Winthrop, Francis Higginson, Thomas Hooker, George and Cecilius Calvert, Peter Stuyvesant, and James Edward Oglethorpe, in the Makers of America Series.

Special. For the several colonies see Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut, in the American Commonwealth Series (these must be used with care, some of them, Maryland and Connecticut in particular, needing correction in matters of detail and inference); Winsor, Narrative and Critical History of America, vols. iii., iv., v., particularly the monographs on The Carolinas, Maryland, New England, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; G. W. Greene, History of Rhode Island; C. F. Adams, Three Episodes in Massachusetts History; James Grant Wilson, The Memorial History of New York City. For William Penn consult S. M. Janney, Life of William Penn, pp. 163-274, 394-563; J. Stoughton, Life of William Penn. For the Pilgrims and Puritans see British Quarterly Review, January, 1883; Bancroft, History of the United States, i. 177-214; Bacon's Rebellion, Century Magazine, xl. 418; Old South Leaflets, No. 7, Charter of Massachusetts Bay, 1629; No. 8, Fundamental Orders of Connecticut; No. 21, Eliot's Brief Narrative. Consult list of American History Leaflets, and of Old South Leaflets.

9. English Success; Captain John Smith. (1606-1609.) It was in 1606 that the first successful English colony was planted. During this year James I. granted a charter to two companies: one the London, the other the Plymouth company. To the former was granted the coast between 34° and 38° north latitude, and to the latter the coast between 41° and 45° north latitude. The intervening country was to be common to both, but no settlements of the respective companies were to be within one hundred miles of each other. The interior limit for both companies was to be one hundred miles from the coast. A plan of government for the colonies was provided, and the London Company began operations by sending out a party of settlers to Virginia, and the first permanent settlement was made in 1607 at Jamestown, on the James River, not far from the present town of that name. Among the colonists who went to Virginia was Captain John Smith. He had already seen many adventures on the continent of Europe; but in spite of his love for marvellous stories, he appears to have been the ablest and clearestheaded of the motley party. He relates that at one time he was taken prisoner by the Indians, that his head was already on the block upon which his brains were to be beaten out, when Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, the chief, rushed up to her father and begged the life of the prisoner. As the Indian princess was only twelve years old when the incident is said to have occurred, and the account did not appear in the first edition of Smith's book, but was added while the heroine was in England, many modern students disbelieve the whole story. Pocahontas, however, was a real character; she married John Rolfe, an Englishman, visited England, and died there. Many Virginians are proud to trace their descent from this Indian woman. Smith was chosen president of the council, and thus became the real governor