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under the name of South Virginia, and was granted to the London Company. The northern, called the second colony, and known by the general name of North Virginia, included all lands between the 38th and 45th degrees north latitude, and was granted to the Plymouth Company. The territory between the 38th and 41st degrees of N. latitude, by an unaccountable mistake, it will be perceived, was included in both patents.

Each of these colonies had a council of thirteen men to govern them. To prevent disputes about territory, the colony which should last plant themselves, was prohibited from making their settlements within an hundred miles of the other.

Both the London and Plymouth companies made settlements within the limits of their respective grants: with what success will now be mentioned.

Mr. Piercy, brother to the Earl of Northumberland, in the service of the London Company, went over with a colony, to Virginia, and discovered Powhattan, now James River.

In the mean time the Plymouth Company sent Capt. Henry Challone, in a vessel of fifty-five tons, to plant a colony in North Virginia; but in his voyage he was taken by a Spanish fleet, and carried to Spain.

1607. Champlain, by order of De Mons, sailed up the river Canada, (now St. Lawrence) and fortified Quebec, the name of a strait in the river, which was afterwards given to the city, built on its bank.

The London Company, in the spring of this year, sent Capt. Christopher Newport, with three vessels to South Virginia. On the 26th of April he entered Chesapeak Bay, and landed, and soon after, May 13, gave to the most southern point, the name of Cape Henry, which it still retains. Having elected Mr. Edward Wingfield president for the year, they the next day, June 22, landed all their men, and began a settlement on James River, at a place which they called James-Town. This is the first town that was settled by the English in North America. The June following, Capt. Newport sailed for England, leaving with the president one hundred persons. Among them were Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, Capt. John Smith, Capt. John Ratcliffe, and other respectable gentlemen.

In August 22d died Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, the first projector of this settlement, and one of the council. The following winter James-Town was burnt.

During this time the Plymouth Company fitted out two ships under the command of Admiral Rawley Gilbert. They sailed for North Virginia on the 31st of May, with one hundred planters, and Capt. George Popham for their president. They arrived in August, and settled about nine or ten leagues to the southward of the mouth of the Sagadahock River, in Maine. A great part of the colony, however, disheartened by the severity of the winter, returned to England

in December, leaving their president, Capt. Popham, with only 45

men.

It was in the fall of this year that the famous Mr. Robinson, with part of his congregation, who afterwards settled at Plymouth, in New England, removed from the north of England, to Holland, to avoid the cruelties of persecution, and for the sake of enjoying " purity of worship, and liberty of conscience."

This year a small company of merchants, at Dieppe and St. Malo's founded Quebec; or rather, the colony which they sent, built a few huts there, which did not take the form of a town until the reign of Lewis XIV.

In 1608, Sagadahock colony suffered incredible hardships, after the departure of their friends in December. In the depth of winter, which was extremely cold, their storehouse caught fire, and was consumed, with most of their provisions and lodgings. Their misfortunes were increased soon after, by the death of their president. Rawley Gilbert was appointed to succeed him.

Lord Chief Justice Popham made every exertion to keep this colony alive, by repeatedly sending them supplies. But the circumstance of his death, which happened this year, together with president Gilbert's being called to England to settle his private affairs, broke up the colony, and they all returned with him.

The unfavourable reports which these first unfortunate adventurers propagated respecting the country, prevented any further attempts to settle North Virginia, for several years after.

In 1608 the London Company sent Capt. Nelson, with two ships and one hundred and twenty persons, to James-Town; and the year following Capt. John Smith, afterwards president, arrived on the coast of South Virginia, and by sailing up a number of rivers, discovered the interior of the country. In September Capt. Newport arrived with seventy persons, which increased the colony to two hundred souls.

Mr. Robinson and his congregation, who had settled at Amsterdam, removed this year to Leyden ; where they remained more than 11 years, till a part of them came over to New England.

The council for South Virginia, having resigned their old commission, requested, and obtained a new one ;* in consequence of which, they appointed Sir Thomas West, Lord De la War, general of the colony; Sir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant; Sir George Somers, admiral; Sir Thomas Dale, high marshal; Sir Ferdinand Wainnaar, general of the horse; and Capt. Newport, vice-admiral.

In June Sir Thomas Gates, Admiral Newport, and Sir George Somers, with seven ships, a ketch and a pinnace, having five hundred souls on board, men, women, and children, sailed from Fal

*The second Charter of Virginia, bears date May 23, 1609. Hist. Coll. vol. i. p. 58

mouth for South Virginia. In crossing the Bahama Gulf, on the 24th of July, the fleet was overtaken by a violent storm, and separated. Four days after, Sir George Somers ran his vessel ashore on one of the Bermuda Islands, which, from this circumstance, have been called Somers' Islands. The people on board, one hundred and fifty in number, all got safe on shore; and there remained until the following May. The remainder of the fleet arrived at Virginia in August. The colony was now increased to five hundred men. Capt. Smith, then president, a little before the arrival of the fleet, had been very badly burnt by means of some powder, which had accidentally caught fire. This unfortunate circumstance, together with the opposition he met with from those who had lately arrived, induced him to leave the colony and return to England: which he accordingly did the last of September. Francis West, his successor in office, soon followed him, and George Piercy was elected president.

The year following, (1610) the South Virginia, or London Company, sealed a patent to Lord De la War, constituting him Governor and Captain General of South Virginia. He soon after embarked for America, with Capt. Argal, and one hundred and fifty men, and three ships.

The unfortunate people, who, the year before, had been shipwrecked on the Bermuda Islands, had employed themselves during the winter and spring, under the direction of Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and Admiral Newport, in building a sloop to transport themselves to the continent. They embarked for Virginia on the 10th of May, with about one hundred and fifty persons on board, leaving two of their men behind, who chose to stay, and landed at James-Town on the 23d of the same month. Finding the colony, which at the time of Capt. Smith's departure consisted of five hundred souls, now reduced to sixty, and those few in a distressed and wretched situation, they, with one voice, resolved to return to England; and for this purpose, on the 7th of June, the whole colony repaired on board their vessels, broke up the settlement, and sailed down the river on their way to their native country.

Fortunately, Lord De la War, who had embarked for JamesTown, the March before, met them the day after they sailed, and persuaded them to return with him to James-Town, where they arrived and landed the 10th of June. The government of the colony, of right, devolved on Lord De la War. From this time we may date the effectual settlement of Virginia.

In 1611, Sir Thomas Dale reinforced the colony of South Virginia with 300 people, and Sir Thomas Gates, with 300 more, furnishing them with cattle and swine.

As early as the year 1607 and 1608, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, under a commission from King James, in the employ of the East India Company, made several voyages for the discovery of a north

west passage to the East Indies. In 1609, upon some misunder standing, he engaged in the Dutch service, in the prosecution of th same design, and on his return, ranged along the sea-coast of wha has since been called New-England, (which three years before wa granted by King James to his English subjects, the Plymouth Com pany) and entered Hudson's River, giving it his own name. H ascended this river in his boat as far as what has since been called Aurania, or Albany. In 1613, the Dutch West India Company sent some persons to this river, to trade with the Indians; and as early as 1623, the Dutch had a trading house on Connecticut River. In consequence of these discoveries and settlements, the Dutch claimed all the country extending from Cape Cod to Cape Henlopen, along the sea-coast, and as far back into the country as any of the rivers within those limits extend. But their claim has been disputed. This extensive country, the Dutch called New Netherlands, and in 1614 the States General granted a patent to sundry merchants for an exclusive trade on Hudson's River, who, the same year, built a fort on the west side, near Albany. From this time we may date the settlement of New-York.

Conception Bay, or the Island of Newfoundland, was settled in the year 1610, by about forty planters, under Governor John Guy, to whom King James had given a patent of incorporation.

Champlain, a Frenchman, had begun a settlement at Quebec 1608 St. Croix, Mount Mansal, and Port Royal were settled about the same time. These settlements remained undisturbed till 1613, when the Virginians, hearing that the French had settled within their limits, sent Capt. Argal to dislodge them. For this purpose he sailed to Sagadohock, took their forts at Mount Mansal, St. Croix, and Port Royal, with their vessels, ordnance, cattle and provisions, and carried them to James-Town in Virginia. Quebecwas left in possession of the French.

In 1614, Capt. John Smith, with two ships, and forty-five men and boys, made a voyage to North Virginia, to make experiments upon a gold and copper mine. His orders were to fish and trade with the natives, if he should fail in his expectations with regard to the mine. To facilitate the business, he took with him Tantum, an Indian, perhaps one that Capt. Weymouth carried to England in 1605. In April he reached the Island Monahigan, in latitude 43° 30. Here Capt. Smith was directed to stay and keep possession with ten men, for the purpose of making a trial of the whaling business; but being disappointed in this, he built seven boats, in which thirty-seven men made a very successful fishing voyage. In the mean time the Captain himself, with eight men only, in a small boat, coasted from Penobscot River to the Sagadahock, Acocisco, Passataquaeh, Tragabiganda, now called Cape Ann; thence to Acomac, where he skirmished with some Indians; thence to Cape Cod, where he set his Indian, Tantum, ashore, and left him, and returned to Mo

nahigan. In his voyage he found two French ships in the Bay of Massachusetts, who had come there six weeks before, and during that time, had been trading very advantageously with the Indians. It was conjectured that there were, at this time, three thousand Indians upon the Massachusetts islands.

In July, Capt. Smith embarked for England in one of the vessels, leaving the other under the command of Capt. Thomas Hunt, to equip for a voyage to Spain. After Capt. Smith's departure, Hunt perfidiously allured twenty Indians (one of whom was Squanto, afterwards so serviceable to the English) to come on board his ship at Pawtuxit, and seven more at Nausit, and carried them to the island of Malaga, where he sold them for twenty pounds each, to be slaves for life. This base conduct, which has fixed an indelible stigma on the character of Hunt, excited in the Indians such an inveterate hatred of the English, that, for many years after, all commercial intercourse with them was rendered extremely dangerous.

Capt. Smith arrived at London the last of August, when he drew a map of the country, and called it NEW-ENGLAND. From this time North Virginia assumed the name of New-England, and the name Virginia was confined to the southern colony..

Between the years 1614 and 1620, several attempts were made by the Plymouth Company to settle New-England, but from several causes they were all rendered ineffectual. During this time, however, an advantageous trade was carried on with the natives.

1615. Robert Bylot and William Baffin sailed from England in search of a north-west passage. The following year they made another voyage, and discovered the great northern bay, which bears Baffin's name.

About this time war, famine, and pestilence raged among the natives of New-England, and swept off great numbers of them. When Thomas Dermern arrived in New-England in 1619, he found many places, before populous, almost desolate, and the few remaining inhabitants, either sick, or but scarcely recovered.

In the year 1617, Mr. Robinson and his congregation, influenced by several weighty reasons, meditated a removal to America. Vanous difficulties intervened to prevent the success of their designs until the year 1620, when a part of his congregation came over and settled at Plymouth, which at this time was without a single inhabitant. At this time, and in this place, commenced the settlement of NewEngland.

*

In order to preserve the chronological order, in which the several colonies, now grown into independent States, were first settled, it

*The particulars relating to the first emigrations to this northern part of America; the progress of its settlement, the character of the first settlers, and of their institutions, &c. are given at length in the History of New-England, by J. Morse and E. Parish, to which the reader is referred,

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