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Jan. 6, 1549.] This year king Henry VII. granted a penfion for life to Sebaftian Cabot, in confideration of the important fervices he had rendered to the kingdom by his discoveries in America.

1562.] The admiral of France, Chatillon, early in this year, fent out a fleet under the command of John Ribalt. He arrived at Cape Francis on the coaft of Florida, near which, on the firft of May, he discovered and entered a river which he called May river. It is more than probable that this river is the fame which we now call St. Mary's, which forms a part of the southern boundary of the United States. As he coafted northward he discovered eight other rivers, one of which he called Port Royal, and failed up it feveral leagues. On one of the rivers he built a fort and called it Charles, in which he left a colony under the direction of

Captain Albert. The feverity of Albert's meafures excited a 1564 mutiny, in which, to the ruin of the colony, he was flain. Two

years after, Chatillon fent Rene Laudonier, with three fhips, to Florida. In June he arrived at the river May, on which he built a fort, and, in honour to his king, Charles IX. he called it CAROLINA.

In Auguft, this year, Capt. Ribalt arrived at Florida the second time, with a fleet of feven veffels to recruit the colony, which, two years before, he had left under the direction of the unfortunate Capt. Albert,

The September following, Pedro Melandes, with fix Spanifh fhips, pursued Ribalt up the river on which he had fettled, and overpowering him in numbers, cruelly maffacred him and his whole company. Melendes, having in this way taken poffeffion of the country, built three forts, and left them garrifoned with 1200 foldiers. Laudonier and his colony on May River, receiving information of the fate of Ribalt, took the alarm and escaped to France.

1567.] A fleet of three ships was this year fent from France to Florida, under the command of Dominique de Gourges. The object of this expedition was to difpoffefs the Spaniards of that part of Florida which

they had cruelly and unjustifiably seized three years before. He 1568 arrived on the coaft of Florida, April 1568, and foon after made

a fuccessful attack upon the forts. The recent cruelty Melendes and his company excited revenge in the breast of Gourges, and roufed the unjustifiable principle of retaliation. He took the forts; put moft of the Spaniards to the fword; and having burned and demolished all their fortreffes, returned to France. During the fifty years next after this event, the French enterprized no fettlements in America.

1576.] Capt. Frobifher was fent this year to find out a north west paffage to the Eaft-Indies. The firft land which he made on the coaft was a Cape, which, in honour to the queen, he called Queen Elizabeth's Foreland. In coafting northerly he discovered the ftraits which bear his name. profecuted his fearch for a paffage into the western ocean till he was prevented by the ice, and then returned to England.

He

1579.] In 1579, Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained a patent from queen Elizabeth, for lands not yet poffeffed by any Chriftian prince, provided

he would take poffeffion within fix years. With this encourage1583 ment he failed for America, and on the 1ft of Auguft, 1583, an

chored in Conception Bay. Afterwards he difcovered and took poffeffion of St. John's Harbour, and the country fouth. In purfuing his

difcoverie

discoveries he loft one of his fhips on the fhoals of Sablon, and on his return home, a storm overtook him, in which he was unfortunately loft, and the intended fettlement was prevented.

1584] This year two patents were granted by queen Elizabeth, one to Adrian Gilbert, (Feb. 6.) the other to Sir Walter Raleigh, for lands not poffeffed by any Chriftian prince. By the direction of Sir Walter, two fhips were fitted and fent out, under the command of Philip Amidas, and Arthur Barlow. In July they arrived on the coaft, and anchored in a harbour seven leagues weft of the Roanoke. On the 13th of July, they, in a formal manner, took poffeffion of the country, and, in honour of their virgin queen Elizabeth, they called it Virginia. Till this time the country was known by the general name of Florida. After this VIRGINIA became the common name for all North America.

1585.] The next year, Sir Walter Raleigh fent Sir Richard Greenville to America, with feven fhips. He arrived at Wococon Harbour in June. Having ftationed a colony of more than an hundred people at Roanoke, under the direction of Capt. Ralph Lane, he coafted north-easterly as far as Chefapeek Bay, and returned to England.

The colony under Capt. Lane endured extreme hardships, and muft have perished, had not Sir Francis Drake fortunately returned to Virginia, and carried them to England, after having made feveral conquefts for the queen in the Weft Indies and other places.

A fortnight after, Sir Richard Greenville arrived with new recruits; and, although he did not find the colony which he had before left, and knew not but they had perished, he had the rashness to leave 50 men at the fame place.

1587.] The year following, Sir Walter fent another company to Virginia, under Governor White, with a charter and twelve affiftants. In July he arrived at Roanoke. Not one of the fecond company remained. He determined, however, to rifque a third colony. Accordingly he left 115 people at the old fettlement, and returned to England.

This year (Aug. 13) Manteo was baptized in Virginia. He was the firft native Indian who recieved that ordinance in that part of America. On the 18th of Auguft, Mrs. Dare was delivered of a daughter, whom the called VIRGINIA. She was the first English child that was born

in North America.

1590.] In the year 1590, Governor White came over to Virginia with fupplies and recruits for his colony; but, to his great grief, not a man was to be found. They had all miferably famished with hunger, or were maffacreed by the Indians.

1602.] In the fpring of this year, Bartholomew Gofnold, with 32 perfons, made a voyage to North Virginia, and difcovered and gave names to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Elizabeth Iflands, and to Dover Cliff. Elizabeth Island was the place which they fixed for their fettlement. But the courage of those who were to have tarried, failing, they all went on board and returned to England. All the attempts to fettle this continent which were made by the Dutch, French, and English, from its difcovery to the prefent time, a period of 110 years, proved ineffectual. The Spaniards only, of all the European nations, had been fuccefsful. There is no account of there having been one European

family,

family, at this time, in all the vast extent of coaft from Florida to Greenland.

41°

1603.] Martin Pring and William Brown were this year fent by Sir Walter Raleigh, with two small veffels, to make discoveries in North Virginia. They came upon the coaft which was broken with a multitude of islands, in latitude 43° 30′ north. They coafted fouthward to Cape Cod Bay; thence round the Cape into a commodious harbour in latitude 25, where they went afhore and tarried seven weeks, during which time they loaded one of their veffels with faffafras, and returned to England. Bartholomew Gilbert, in a voyage to South Virginia, in fearch of the third colony which had been left there by Governor White in 1587, having touched at several of the Weft-India Iflands, landed near Chefapeek Bay, where, in a skirmish with the Indians, he and four of his men were unfortunately slain. The reft, without any further search for the colony, returned to England.

France, being at this time in a ftate of tranquility in confequence of the edict of Nantz in favour of the Proteftants, paffed by Henry IV. (April 1598) and of the peace with Philip king of Spain and Portugal, was induced to pursue her difcoveries in America. Accordingly the king figned a patent in favor of De Mons, (1603) of all the country

from the 40th to the 46th degrees of north latitude under the name 1604 of Acadia. The next year De Mons ranged the coaft from St. Lawrence to Cape Sable, and fo round to Cape Cod.

1605.] In May 1605, George's Ifland and Pentecoft Harbour were difcovered by Capt. Ceorge Weymouth. In May he entered a large river in latitude 48° 20', (variation 11° 15 weft,) which Mr. Prince, in his Chronology, fuppofes muft have been Sagadahok; but from the latitude, it was more probably the Pifcataqua. Čapt. Weymouth carried with him to England five of the natives.

1606.] In the Spring of this year, James I. by patent, divided Virginia into two colonies. The fouthern included all lands between the 34th and 41ft degrees of north latitude. This was ftyled the firft colony, under the name of South Virginia, and was granted to the London Company. The northern, called the fecond 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. Each of these colonies had a council of thirteen men to govern them. To prevent difputes about territory, the colonies were prohibited to plant within an hundred miles of each other. There appears to be an inconfiftency in these grants, as the lands lying between the 38th and 41ft degrees, are covered by both patents.

Both the London and Plymouth companies enterprized fettlements within the limits of their respective grants. With what fuccefs will now be mentioned.

Mr. Piercy, brother of the Earl of Northumberland, in the fervice of the London Company, went over with a colony to Virginia, and difcovered Powhatan, now James River. In the mean time the Plymouth Company fent Capt. Henry Challons in a veffel of fifty.five tons to plant a colony in North-Virginia, but in his voyage he was taken by a Spanish feet and carried to Spain.

May 13.]

1607.] The London company this fpring, fent Capt. Chriftopher NewApril 26.] port with three veffels to South Virginia. On the 26th of April he entered Chefapeek Bay, and landed, and foon after gave to the most fouthern point, the name of Cape Henry, which it still retains. Having elected Mr. Edward Wingfield prefident for the year, they next day landed all their men, and began a settlement on James river, at a place which they called James-Town. This is June 22.] the first town that was fettled by the English in North Ame. rica. The June following Capt. Newport failed for England, leaving with the president one hundred and four persons.

Auguft 22.] In Auguft died Capt. Bartholomew Gosnold, the first projector of this fettlement, 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 failed for North Virginia on the 31ft of May, with one hundred planters, and Capt. George Popham for their prefident. They arrived in August, and settled about nine or ten leagues to the southward of the mouth of Sagadahok river. A great part of the colony, however, difheartened by the severity of the winter, returned to England in December, leaving their prefident, Capt. Popham, with only forty-five men.

It was in the fall of this year that the famous Mr. Robinson, with part of his congregation, who afterwards fettled at Plymouth in New-England, removed from the North of England to Holland, to avoid the cruelties of perfecution, and for the fake of enjoying "purity of worship and liberty of confcience."

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

1608.] The Sagadahok colóny fuffered incredible hardships after the departure of their friends in December. In the depth of winter, which was extremly cold, their store house caught fire and was confumed, with moft of their provifions and lodgings. Their misfortunes were increased, foon after, by the death of their prefident. Rawley Gilbert was appointed to fucceed him.

Lord Chief Juftice Popham made every exertion to keep this colony alive by repeatedly fending them fupplies. But the circumftance of his death, which happened this year, together with that of prefident Gilbert's being called to England to fettle his affairs, broke up the colony, and they all returned with him to England.

The unfavourable reports which these first unfortunate adventurers propagated refpecting the country, prevented any further attempts to fettle North Virginia for feveral years after.

1609.] The London company, last year, fent Capt. Nelfon, with two fhips and one hundred and twenty perfons, to James-Town; and this year Capt. John Smith, afterwards prefident, arrived on the coaft of South Virginia, and by failing up a number of the rivers, difcovered the interior country. In September, Capt. Newport arrived with seventy persons, which increased the colony to two hundred fouls.

Mr.

Mr. Robinfon and his congregation, who had fettled at Amfterdam, removed this year to Leyden, where they remained more than eleven years, till a part of them came over to New England.

The council for South Virginia having refigned their old commiffion, requested and obtained a new one; in confequence of which they appointed Sir Thomas Weft, Lord De la War, general of the colony; Sir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant; Sir George Somers, Admiral; Sir Thomas Dale, high marshal; Sir Ferdinand Wainham, general of the horfe, and Capt. Newport, vice-admiral.

June 8.] In June, Sir T. Gates, admiral Newport, and Sir George Somers, with seven ships and a ketch and pinnace, having five hundred fouls

on board, men, women, and children, failed from Falmouth for July 24.] South Virginia. In croffing the Bahama Gulf, on the 24th July, the fleet was overtaken by a violent ftorm, and feparated. Four days after, Sir George Somers ran his veffel afhore on one of the Bermudas Islands, which, from this circumftance, have been called the Somer Ilands. The people on board, one hundred and fifty in number, all got fafe on fhore, and there remained until the following May. The remainder of the fleet arrived at Virginia in Auguft. The colony was now increased to five hundred men. Capt. Smith, then prefident, a little before the arrival of the fleet, had been very badly burnt by means of fome powder which had accidentally caught fire. This unfortunate circumstance, together with the oppofition he met with from thofe who had lately arrived, induced him to leave the colony and return to England, which he accordingly did the laft of September. Francis West, his fucceffor in office, foon followed him, and George Piercy was elected prefident.

1610.] The year following, the South Virginia or London company, fealed a patent to Lord De la War, conftituting him Governor and Captain-General of South-Virginia. He foon after embarked for America

with Capt. Argal and one hundred and fifty men, in three fhips.

The unfortunate people, who, the year before, had been fhipwrecked on the Bermudas Islands, had employed themselves during the winter and fpring, under the direction of Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and admiral Newport, in building a floop to tranfport themselves to the conti

nent.

They embarked for Virginia on the 10th of May, with about one hundred and fifty perfons on board, leaving two of their men behind, who chofe to ftay, and landed at James-Town on the 23d of the fame month. Finding the colony, which at the time of Capt. Smith's departure, confifted of five hundred fouls, now reduced to fixty, and thofe few in a diftreffed and wretched fituation, they with one voice refolved to return to England; and for this purpose, on the 7th of June, the whole colony repaired on board their veffels, broke up the fettlement, and failed down the river on their way to their native country.

Fortunately, Lord De la War, who had embarked for James-Town the March before, met them the day after they failed, and perfuaded 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 upon Lord De la War. From this time we may date the effectual fettlement of Virginia. Its hiftory, from this period, will be given in its proper place.

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