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Title: The Life of George Washington, Vol. 1

Author: John Marshall

Release date: June 15, 2006 [eBook #18591]

Language: English

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Credits: Produced by Linda Cantoni and David Widger

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

General Washington
From the full length portrait by John Trumbull at Yale University
This portrait is one of 54 canvasses the artist presented to
Yale University in return for an annuity of $1,000.
Washington was in his forty-third year and it is considered
the best likeness of him at the outbreak of the Revolution. The
canvas depicts him, "six feet two inches in height, with brown
hair, blue eyes, large head and hands, and strong arms."

THE

LIFE
OF

GEORGE WASHINGTON,
COMMANDER IN CHIEF

OF THE

AMERICAN FORCES,
DURING THE WAR WHICH ESTABLISHED THE
INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY,

AND

FIRST PRESIDENT
OF THE

UNITED STATES.
COMPILED UNDER THE INSPECTION OF

THE HONOURABLE BUSHROD WASHINGTON,

FROM

ORIGINAL PAPERS

BEQUEATHED TO HIM BY HIS DECEASED RELATIVE,
AND NOW IN POSSESSION OF THE AUTHOR.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,

AN INTRODUCTION,
CONTAINING A COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE
COLONIES PLANTED BY THE ENGLISH ON THE

CONTINENT OF NORTH AMERICA,

FROM THEIR SETTLEMENT TO THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THAT WAR WHICH TERMINATED IN THEIR

INDEPENDENCE.

BY JOHN MARSHALL.
VOL. I.

THE CITIZENS' GUILD
OF WASHINGTON'S BOYHOOD HOME
FREDERICKSBURG, VA.

1926

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

In his will George Washington bequeathed to his favorite nephew, Bushrod
Washington, his personal letters, private papers and secret documents
accumulated during a lifetime of service to his country. When the bequest
became known, many of the literary men of the country were proposed for
the commission to write the authorized life of our First President.
Bushrod Washington's choice fell upon John Marshall, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court. To him he handed over all the precious papers left him by
his distinguished relative. George Washington and Marshall's father, Thomas
Marshall, were boyhood companions, so John Marshall knew "the Father of
His Country" as a neighbor and friend from his earliest youth, and served
under him in the Revolution.
If it be true that it takes a great man to interpret the life of a great man then
Bushrod Washington made no mistake in the selection of a biographer. For
Marshall, under the influence of Washington, came to be nearly as great a
man as the character whose life and achievements held his deepest thought
for nearly a quarter of a century. Certainly his services to his country rank
close to Washington's. Marshall's sympathetic understanding of his subject,
his first-hand knowledge of events with his remarkable powers of expression
qualified him to produce the masterpiece that has come down to us.
Seven years were spent in preparing the first edition, published in 1804-07.
The work was based chiefly on Washington's own diaries and letters and
secret archives and it told not simply the epic story of this great life but the
truth about the birth of our nation. Marshall later spent fifteen years revising
the first edition, verifying to the last detail every chapter, page and paragraph
of his monumental work.
The first edition, published by C.P. Wayne of Philadelphia, was an
achievement in beautiful printing and bookmaking and still stands out today
as such. The present publishers have followed the format of the original
edition but have used the revised text which Marshall spent so many years in
perfecting.

Washington's personality lives on in John Marshall's great biography. He still
has the power to raise up men to greatness as he did during his lifetime. The
precepts, the principles and the shining example of this foremost of self-
educated, self-made Americans have the power to uplift and start toward
new heights of achievement, all who come in contact with him. The work is
now reissued in the hope that it may give his countrymen of the present day
the benefit of the counsel, the guidance and the inspiration that has proven so
valuable in the past.
February 22nd, 1926.

PREFACE
BY THE AUTHOR

A desire to know intimately those illustrious personages, who have
performed a conspicuous part on the great theatre of the world, is, perhaps,
implanted in every human bosom. We delight to follow them through the
various critical and perilous situations in which they have been placed, to
view them in the extremes of adverse and prosperous fortune, to trace their
progress through all the difficulties they have surmounted, and to
contemplate their whole conduct, at a time when, the power and the pomp of
office having disappeared, it may be presented to us in the simple garb of
truth.
If among those exalted characters which are produced in every age, none can
have a fairer claim to the attention and recollection of mankind than those
under whose auspices great empires have been founded, or political
institutions deserving to be permanent, established; a faithful representation
of the various important events connected with the life of the favourite son
of America, cannot be unworthy of the general regard. Among his own
countrymen it will unquestionably excite the deepest interest.
As if the chosen instrument of Heaven, selected for the purpose of effecting
the great designs of Providence respecting this our western hemisphere, it
was the peculiar lot of this distinguished man, at every epoch when the
destinies of his country seemed dependent on the measures adopted, to be
called by the united voice of his fellow citizens to those high stations on
which the success of those measures principally depended. It was his
peculiar lot to be equally useful in obtaining the independence, and
consolidating the civil institutions, of his country. We perceive him at the
head of her armies, during a most arduous and perilous war on the events of
which her national existence was staked, supporting with invincible fortitude
the unequal conflict. That war being happily terminated, and the political
revolutions of America requiring that he should once more relinquish his
beloved retirement, we find him guiding her councils with the same

firmness, wisdom, and virtue, which had, long and successfully, been
displayed in the field. We behold him her chief magistrate at a time when her
happiness, her liberty, perhaps her preservation depended on so
administering the affairs of the Union, that a government standing entirely
on the public favour, which had with infinite difficulty been adopted, and
against which the most inveterate prejudices had been excited, should
conciliate public opinion, and acquire a firmness and stability that would
enable it to resist the rude shocks it was destined to sustain. It was too his
peculiar fortune to afford the brightest examples of moderation and
patriotism, by voluntarily divesting himself of the highest military and civil
honours when the public interests no longer demanded that he should retain
them. We find him retiring from the head of a victorious and discontented
army which adored him, so soon as the object for which arms had been taken
up was accomplished; and withdrawing from the highest office an American
citizen can hold, as soon as his influence, his character, and his talents
ceased to be necessary to the maintenance of that government which had
been established under his auspices.
He was indeed, "first in war,[1] first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
fellow citizens."
A faithful detail of the transactions of a person so pre-eminently
distinguished will be looked for with avidity, and the author laments his
inability to present to the public a work which may gratify the expectations
that have been raised. In addition to that just diffidence of himself which he
very sincerely feels, two causes beyond his control combine to excite this
apprehension.
Accustomed to look in the page of history for incidents in themselves of
great magnitude, to find immense exertions attended with inconsiderable
effects, and vast means employed in producing unimportant ends, we are in
the habit of bestowing on the recital of military actions, a degree of
consideration proportioned to the numbers engaged in them. When the
struggle has terminated, and the agitations felt during its suspense have
subsided, it is difficult to attach to enterprises, in which small numbers have
been concerned, that admiration which is often merited by the talents
displayed in their execution, or that interest which belongs to the
consequences that have arisen from them.

The long and distressing contest between Great Britain and these states did
not abound in those great battles which are so frequent in the wars of
Europe. Those who expect a continued succession of victories and defeats;
who can only feel engaged in the movements of vast armies, and who
believe that a Hero must be perpetually in action, will be disappointed in
almost every page of the following history. Seldom was the American chief
in a condition to indulge his native courage in those brilliant achievements to
which he was stimulated by his own feelings, and a detail of which interests,
enraptures, and astonishes the reader. Had he not often checked his natural
disposition, had he not tempered his ardour with caution, the war he
conducted would probably have been of short duration, and the United States
would still have been colonies. At the head of troops most of whom were
perpetually raw because they were perpetually changing; who were neither
well fed, paid, clothed, nor armed; and who were generally inferior, even in
numbers, to the enemy; he derives no small title to glory from the
consideration, that he never despaired of the public safety; that he was able
at all times to preserve the appearance of an army, and that, in the most
desperate situation of American affairs, he did not, for an instant, cease to be
formidable. To estimate rightly his worth we must contemplate his
difficulties. We must examine the means placed in his hands, and the use he
made of those means. To preserve an army when conquest was impossible,
to avoid defeat and ruin when victory was unattainable, to keep his forces
embodied and suppress the discontents of his soldiers, exasperated by a long
course of the most cruel privations, to seize with unerring discrimination the
critical moment when vigorous offensive operations might be
advantageously carried on, are actions not less valuable in themselves, nor
do they require less capacity in the chief who performs them, than a
continued succession of battles. But they spread less splendour over the page
which recounts them, and excite weaker emotions in the bosom of the reader.
There is also another source from which some degree of disappointment has
been anticipated. It is the impossibility of giving to the public in the first part
of this work many facts not already in their possession.
The American war was a subject of too much importance to have remained
thus long unnoticed by the literary world. Almost every event worthy of
attention, which occurred during its progress, has been gleaned up and
detailed. Not only the public, but much of the private correspondence of the

commander in chief has been inspected, and permission given to extract
from it whatever might properly be communicated. In the military part of
this history, therefore, the author can promise not much that is new. He can
only engage for the correctness with which facts are stated, and for the
diligence with which his researches have been made.
The letters to and from the commander in chief during the war, were very
numerous and have been carefully preserved. The whole of this immensely
voluminous correspondence has, with infinite labour, been examined; and
the work now offered to the public is, principally, compiled from it. The
facts which occurred on the continent are, generally, supported by these
letters, and it has therefore been deemed unnecessary to multiply references
to them. But there are many facts so connected with those events, in which
the general performed a principal part, that they ought not to be omitted, and
respecting which his correspondence cannot be expected to furnish
satisfactory information.
Such facts have been taken from the histories of the day, and the authority
relied on for the establishment of their verity has been cited. Doddesly's
Annual Register, Belsham, Gordon, Ramsay, and Stedman have, for this
purpose, been occasionally resorted to, and are quoted for all those facts
which are detailed in part on their authority. Their very language has
sometimes been employed without distinguishing the passages, especially
when intermingled with others, by marks of quotation, and the author
persuades himself that this public declaration will rescue him from the
imputation of receiving aids he is unwilling to acknowledge, or of wishing,
by a concealed plagiarism, to usher to the world, as his own, the labours of
others.
In selecting the materials for the succeeding volumes, it was deemed proper
to present to the public as much as possible of general Washington himself.
Prominent as he must be in any history of the American war, there appeared
to be a peculiar fitness in rendering him still more so in one which professes
to give a particular account of his own life. His private opinions therefore;
his various plans, even those which were never carried into execution; his
individual exertions to prevent and correct the multiplied errors committed
by inexperience, are given in more minute detail; and more copious extracts
from his letters are taken, than would comport with the plan of a more
general work.

Many events too are unnoticed, which in such a composition would be
worthy of being introduced, and much useful information has not been
sought for, which a professed history of America ought to comprise. Yet the
history of general Washington, during his military command and civil
administration, is so much that of his country, that the work appeared to the
author to be most sensibly incomplete and unsatisfactory, while
unaccompanied by such a narrative of the principal events preceding our
revolutionary war, as would make the reader acquainted with the genius,
character, and resources of the people about to engage in that memorable
contest. This appeared the more necessary as that period of our history is but
little known to ourselves. Several writers have detailed very minutely the
affairs of a particular colony, but the desideratum is a composition which
shall present in one connected view, the transactions of all those colonies
which now form the United States.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.

Commission of Cabot.... His voyage to America.... Views of discovery
relinquished by Henry VII.... Resumed by Elizabeth.... Letters patent to Sir
Humphry Gilbert.... His voyages and death.... Patent to Sir Walter Raleigh....
Voyage of Sir Richard Grenville.... Colonists carried back to England by
Drake.... Grenville arrives with other colonists.... They are left on Roanoke
Island.... Are destroyed by the Indians.... Arrival of John White.... He returns
to England for succour.... Raleigh assigns his patent.... Patent to Sir Thomas
Gates and others.... Code of laws for the proposed colony drawn up by the
King.

CHAPTER II.

Voyage of Newport.... Settlement at Jamestown.... Distress of colonists....
Smith.... He is captured by the Indians.... Condemned to death, saved by
Pocahontas.... Returns to Jamestown.... Newport arrives with fresh settlers....
Smith explores the Chesapeake.... Is chosen president.... New charter....
Third voyage of Newport.... Smith sails for Europe.... Condition of the
colony.... Colonists determine to abandon the country.... Are stopped by Lord
Delaware.... Sir Thomas Dale.... New charter.... Capt. Argal seizes
Pocahontas.... She marries Mr. Rolf.... Separate property in lands and
labour.... Expedition against Port Royal.... Against Manhadoes.... Fifty acres
of land for each settler.... Tobacco.... Sir Thomas Dale.... Mr. Yeardley....
First assembly.... First arrival of females.... Of convicts.... Of African
slaves.... Two councils established.... Prosperity of the colony.... Indians
attempt to massacre the whites.... General war.... Dissolution of the
company.... Arbitrary measures of the crown.... Sir John Harvey.... Sir
William Berkeley.... Provincial assembly restored.... Virginia declares in
favour of Charles II.... Grant to Lord Baltimore.... Arrival of a colony in
Maryland.... Assembly composed of freemen.... William Claybourne....

Assembly composed of representatives.... Divided into two branches....
Tyrannical proceedings.

CHAPTER III.

First ineffectual attempts of the Plymouth company to settle the country....
Settlement at New Plymouth.... Sir Henry Rosewell and company.... New
charter.... Settlements prosecuted vigorously.... Government transferred to
the colonists.... Boston founded.... Religious intolerance.... General court
established.... Royal commission for the government of the plantations....
Contest with the French colony of Acadié.... Hugh Peters.... Henry Vane....
Mrs. Hutchison.... Maine granted to Gorges.... Quo warranto against the
patent of the colony.... Religious dissensions.... Providence settled.... Rhode
Island settled.... Connecticut settled.... War with the Pequods.... New Haven
settled.

CHAPTER IV.

Massachusetts claims New Hampshire and part of Maine.... Dissensions
among the inhabitants.... Confederation of the New England colonies....
Rhode Island excluded from it.... Separate chambers provided for the two
branches of the Legislature.... New England takes part with Parliament....
Treaty with Acadié.... Petition of the non-conformists.... Disputes between
Massachusetts and Connecticut.... War between England and Holland....
Machinations of the Dutch at Manhadoes among the Indians....
Massachusetts refuses to join the united colonies in the war.... Application of
New Haven to Cromwell for assistance.... Peace with the Dutch....
Expedition of Sedgewic against Acadié.... Religious intolerance.

CHAPTER V.

Transactions succeeding the restoration of Charles II.... Contests between
Connecticut and New Haven.... Discontents in Virginia.... Grant to the Duke
of York.... Commissioners appointed by the crown.... Conquest of the Dutch
settlements.... Conduct of Massachusetts to the royal commissioners.... Their
recall.... Massachusetts evades a summons to appear before the King and
council.... Settlement of Carolina.... Form of government.... Constitution of

Mr. Locke.... Discontents in the county of Albemarle.... Invasion from
Florida.... Abolition of the constitution of Mr. Locke.... Bacon's rebellion....
His death.... Assembly deprived of judicial power.... Discontents in
Virginia.... Population of the colony.

CHAPTER VI.

Prosperity of New England.... War with Philip.... Edward Randolph arrives
in Boston.... Maine adjudged to Gorges.... Purchased by Massachusetts....
Royal government erected in New Hampshire.... Complaints against
Massachusetts.... Their letters patent cancelled.... Death of Charles II....
James II. proclaimed.... New commission for the government of New
England.... Sir Edmond Andros.... The charter of Rhode Island abrogated....
Odious measures of the new government.... Andros deposed.... William and
Mary proclaimed.... Review of proceedings in New York and the Jerseys....
Pennsylvania granted to William Penn.... Frame of government....
Foundation of Philadelphia laid.... Assembly convened.... First acts of the
legislature.... Boundary line with Lord Baltimore settled.

CHAPTER VII.

New charter of Massachusetts.... Affairs of New York.... War with France....
Schenectady destroyed.... Expedition against Port Royal.... Against
Quebec.... Acadié recovered by France.... Pemaquid taken.... Attempt on St.
Johns.... Peace.... Affairs of New York.... Of Virginia.... Disputes between
England and France respecting boundary in America.... Recommencement of
hostilities.... Quotas of the respective colonies.... Treaty of neutrality
between France and the five nations.... Expedition against Port Royal....
Incursion into Massachusetts.... Plan for the invasion of Canada.... Port
Royal taken.... Expedition against Quebec.... Treaty of Utrecht.... Affairs of
New York.... Of Carolina.... Expedition against St. Augustine.... Attempt to
establish the Episcopal church.... Invasion of the colony.... Bills of credit
issued.... Legislature continues itself.... Massacre in North Carolina by the
Indians.... Tuscaroras defeated.... Scheme of a Bank.

CHAPTER VIII.

Proceedings of the legislature of Massachusetts.... Intrigues of the French
among the Indians.... War with the savages.... Peace.... Controversy with the
governor.... Decided in England.... Contests concerning the governor's
salary.... The assembly adjourned to Salem.... Contest concerning the salary
terminated.... Great depreciation of the paper currency.... Scheme of a land
bank.... Company dissolved by act of Parliament.... Governor Shirley
arrives.... Review of transactions in New York.

CHAPTER IX.

War with the southern Indians.... Dissatisfaction of Carolina with the
proprietors.... Rupture with Spain.... Combination to subvert the proprietary
government.... Revolution completed.... Expedition from the Havanna
against Charleston.... Peace with Spain.... The proprietors surrender their
interest to the crown.... The province divided.... Georgia settled.... Impolicy
of the first regulations.... Intrigues of the Spaniards with the slaves of South
Carolina.... Insurrection of the slaves.

CHAPTER X.

War declared against Spain.... Expedition against St. Augustine.... Georgia
invaded.... Spaniards land on an island in the Alatamaha.... Appearance of a
fleet from Charleston.... Spanish army re-embarks.... Hostilities with
France.... Expedition against Louisbourg.... Louisbourg surrenders.... Great
plans of the belligerent powers.... Misfortunes of the armament under the
duke D'Anville.... The French fleet dispersed by a storm.... Expedition
against Nova Scotia.... Treaty of Aix la Chapelle.... Paper money of
Massachusetts redeemed.... Contests between the French and English
respecting boundaries.... Statement respecting the discovery of the
Mississippi.... Scheme for connecting Louisiana with Canada.... Relative
strength of the French and English colonies.... Defeat at the Little
Meadows.... Convention at Albany.... Plan of union.... Objected to both in
America and Great Britain.

CHAPTER XI.

General Braddock arrives.... Convention of governors and plan of the
campaign.... French expelled from Nova Scotia, and inhabitants
transplanted.... Expedition against fort Du Quêsne.... Battle of
Monongahela.... Defeat and death of General Braddock.... Expedition against
Crown Point.... Dieskau defeated.... Expedition against Niagara.... Frontiers
distressed by the Indians.... Meeting of the governors at New York.... Plan
for the campaign of 1756.... Lord Loudoun arrives.... Montcalm takes
Oswego.... Lord Loudoun abandons offensive operations.... Small-pox
breaks out in Albany.... Campaign of 1757 opened.... Admiral Holbourne
arrives at Halifax.... Is joined by the earl of Loudoun.... Expedition against
Louisbourg relinquished.... Lord Loudoun returns to New York.... Fort
William Henry taken.... Controversy between Lord Loudoun and the
assembly of Massachusetts.

CHAPTER XII.

Preparations for the campaign of 1758.... Admiral Boscawen and General
Amherst arrive at Halifax.... Plan of the campaign.... Expedition against
Louisbourg, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point.... General Abercrombie
repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga.... Fort Frontignac taken....
Expedition against Fort Du Quêsne.... Preparations for the campaign of
1759.... General Amherst succeeds General Abercrombie.... Plan of the
campaign.... Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken.... Army goes into winter
quarters.... French repulsed at Oswego.... Defeated at Niagara.... Niagara
taken.... Expedition against Quebec.... Check to the English army.... Battle
on the Plains of Abraham.... Death of Wolfe and Montcalm.... Quebec
capitulates.... Garrisoned by the English under the command of General
Murray.... Attempt to recover Quebec.... Battle near Sillery.... Quebec
besieged by Monsieur Levi.... Siege raised.... Montreal capitulates.... War
with the southern Indians.... Battle near the town of Etchoe.... Grant defeats
them and burns their towns.... Treaty with the Cherokees.... War with
Spain.... Success of the English.... Peace.

CHAPTER XIII.

Opinions on the supremacy of parliament, and its right to tax the colonies....
The stamp act.... Congress at New York.... Violence in the towns.... Change

of administration.... Stamp act repealed.... Opposition to the mutiny act....
Act imposing duties on tea, &c., resisted in America.... Letters from the
assembly of Massachusetts to members of the administration.... Petition to
the King.... Circular letter to the colonial assemblies.... Letter from the Earl
of Hillsborough.... Assembly of Massachusetts dissolved.... Seizure of the
Sloop Liberty.... Convention at Fanueil Hall.... Moderation of its
proceedings.... Two British regiments arrive at Boston.... Resolutions of the
house of Burgesses of Virginia.... Assembly dissolved.... The members form
an association.... General measures against importation.... General court
convened in Massachusetts.... Its proceedings.... Is prorogued.... Duties,
except that on tea, repealed.... Circular letter of the earl of Hillsborough....
New York recedes from the non-importation agreement in part.... Her
example followed.... Riot in Boston.... Trial and acquittal of Captain Preston.

CHAPTER XIV.

Insurrection in North Carolina.... Dissatisfaction of Massachusetts....
Corresponding-committees.... Governor Hutchinson's correspondence
communicated by Dr. Franklin.... The assembly petition for his removal....
He is succeeded by General Gage.... Measures to enforce the act concerning
duties.... Ferment in America.... The tea thrown into the sea at Boston....
Measures of Parliament.... General enthusiasm in America.... A general
congress proposed.... General Gage arrives.... Troops stationed on Boston
neck.... New counsellors and judges.... Obliged to resign.... Boston neck
fortified.... Military stores seized by General Gage.... Preparations for
defence.... King's speech.... Proceedings of Parliament.... Battle of
Lexington.... Massachusetts raises men.... Meeting of Congress....
Proceedings of that body.... Transactions in Virginia.... Provincial congress
of South Carolina.... Battle of Breed's hill.

NOTES

Footnotes

ILLUSTRATIONS
General Washington

Ruins of the Old Brick Church Built at Jamestown In 1639

Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1622

Penn Seeking Freedom for Imprisoned Friends

Great Meadows and the Site of Fort Necessity

General Braddock's Grave

The Death of Wolfe on the Plains Of Abraham

The Boston Tea Party

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I.
Commission of Cabot.... His voyage to America.... Views
of discovery relinquished by Henry VII.... Resumed by
Elizabeth.... Letters patent to Sir Humphry Gilbert.... His
voyages and death.... Patent to Sir Walter Raleigh....
Voyage of Sir Richard Grenville.... Colonists carried back
to England by Drake.... Grenville arrives with other
colonists.... They are left on Roanoke Island.... Are
destroyed by the Indians.... Arrival of John White.... He
returns to England for succour.... Raleigh assigns his
patent.... Patent to Sir Thomas Gates and others.... Code
of laws for the proposed colony drawn up by the King.

The United States of America extend, on the Atlantic, from
the bay of Passamaquoddi in the 45th, to Cape Florida in the 25th, degree of
north latitude; and thence, on the gulf of Mexico, including the small
adjacent islands to the mouth of the Sabine, in the 17th degree of west
longitude from Washington. From the mouth of the Sabine to the Rocky
mountains, they are separated from Spanish America by a line which pursues
an irregular north-western direction to the 42d degree of north latitude,
whence it proceeds west, to the Pacific. On the north they are bounded by
the British provinces; from which, between the Lake of the Woods and the
Rocky, or Stony mountains, they are separated by the 49th parallel of north
latitude. Their northern boundary, west of these mountains, has not yet been
adjusted.
The extent of this vast Republic, in consequence of its recent acquisition of
almost unexplored territory, has not yet been accurately ascertained; but may
be stated at two millions of square miles.
Its population, which began on the Atlantic, and is travelling rapidly
westward, amounted in 1820, according to the census of that year, to nine
millions six hundred and fifty-four thousand four hundred and fifteen

persons. The enumerations which have been made under the authority of
government, show an augmentation of numbers at the rate of about thirty-
four per centum[2] in ten years; and it is probable, that for many years to
come, this ratio will not be materially changed.
Public sentiment, to which the policy of the government conforms, is
opposed to a large military establishment; and the distance of the United
States from the great powers of the world, protects them from the danger to
which this policy might otherwise expose them.
The navy has become an object of great interest to the nation, and may be
expected to grow with its resources. In April 1816, Congress passed an act
appropriating one million of dollars annually, to its gradual increase; and
authorising the construction of nine ships, to rate not less than seventy-four
guns each, and of twelve, to rate not less than forty-four guns each.
The execution of this act is in rapid progress. Inconsiderable as the navy now
is, with respect to the number and force of its ships, it is deemed inferior to
none in existence for the bravery and skill of its officers and men. When we
take into view the extensive sea coast of the United States, the magnificent
lakes, or inland seas, which form a considerable part of their northern
frontier, the abundance of their materials for ship building, and the genius of
their population for maritime enterprise, it is not easy to resist the conviction
that this bulwark of defence will, at no very distant period, attain a size and
strength sufficient to ensure the safety of the nation and the respect of the
world.
The net revenue of the United States amounted, in the year 1822, to
considerably more than twenty millions of dollars; and, unless a course of
legislation unfavourable to its augmentation be adopted, must grow with
their population.
In arts, in arms, and in power, they have advanced, and are advancing, with
unexampled rapidity.
The history of their progress, from the first feeble settlements made by
Europeans on a savage coast, to their present state of greatness; while it has
just claims to the attention of the curious of all nations, may be expected
deeply to interest every American.

Soon after the return of Columbus from that memorable voyage which
opened the vast regions of the west to civilized man, the maritime states of
Europe manifested a desire to share with Spain, the glory, the wealth, and the
dominion to be acquired in the new world. By no one of these states, was
this desire carried into action more promptly than by England, Henry VII.
had received communications from Columbus, during the tedious and
uncertain negotiations of that great man, at the dilatory court of Ferdinand,
which prepared him for the important discoveries afterwards made, and
inclined him to countenance the propositions of his own subjects for
engaging in similar adventures. Commission of Cabot.On the 5th of March
1495, he granted a commission to John Cabot, an enterprising Venetian who
had settled in Bristol, and to his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sanctius,
empowering them, or either of them, to sail under the banner of England,
towards the east, north, or west, in order to discover countries unoccupied by
any Christian state, and to take possession of them in his name.
His voyage to America.

It does not appear that the expedition contemplated at the date of this
commission was prosecuted immediately; but in May 1496, Cabot, with his
second son, Sebastian, sailed from Bristol in a small squadron, consisting of
one ship furnished by the King, and four barks fitted out by merchants of
that city; and, steering almost due west, discovered the islands of
Newfoundland and St. Johns, and, soon afterward, reached the continent of
North America, along which he sailed from the fifty-sixth to the thirty-eighth
degree of north latitude, in the vain hope of discovering a passage into the
Pacific.
Thus, according to the English historians, was first discovered that immense
continent which stretches from the gulf of Mexico as far north as has yet
been explored; and to this voyage, the English trace their title to the country
they afterwards acquired by settlement, and by arms.
France, which has since contested with Britain the possession of a
considerable portion of this important territory, has also advanced claims to
its discovery; but they seem not to be well founded.
The scheme of making settlements relinquished.

The ardour which had been excited in the bosom of Henry for making
acquisitions in the new world, expired with this first effort. Cabot, on his
return, found that monarch entirely disinclined to the farther prosecution of a
scheme in which he had engaged with some zeal, the commencement of
which had been attended with encouraging appearances.
Several causes are supposed to have contributed to suspend the pursuits of
the English in America. Previous to its discovery, the Portuguese had
explored the Azores, or Western Islands; in consequence of which they
claimed this continent, and contended for the exclusion of the Spaniards
from the Western Ocean. The controversy was decided by the Pope, who, on
the 7th of May 1493, of his own "mere liberality and certain knowledge, and
the plenitude of apostolic authority," granted to Spain, the countries
discovered or to be discovered by her, to the westward of a line to be drawn
from pole to pole, a hundred leagues west of the Azores; (excepting such
countries as might be in the possession of any other Christian prince
antecedent to the year 1493;) and to Portugal, her discoveries eastward of
that line.
The validity of this grant was probably strengthened, in the opinion of
Henry, by other circumstances. He set a high value on the friendship of the
King of Spain, with whom he was then negotiating the marriage which
afterwards took place between his eldest son and Catharine, the daughter of
that monarch. Ferdinand was jealous to excess of all his rights; and Henry
was not inclined to interrupt the harmony subsisting between the two
crowns, by asserting claims to the country discovered by Cabot, which was
obviously within the limits to which the pretensions of Spain extended.
Renewed by Elizabeth.

The fisheries of Newfoundland were carried on by individuals, to a
considerable extent, and a paltry traffic was continued with the natives; but
no serious design of acquiring territory, and planting colonies in America
was formed until the reign of Elizabeth, when a plan for making permanent
settlements was proposed and patronized by several persons of rank and
influence. To select a man qualified for this arduous task, and disposed to
engage in it, was among the first objects to which their attention was
directed. Sir Humphry Gilbert had rendered himself conspicuous by his
military services, and by a treatise concerning the north-west passage, in

which great ingenuity and learning, are stated by Dr. Robertson, to be
mingled with the enthusiasm, the credulity, and sanguine expectation which
incite men to new and hazardous undertakings. On this gentleman the
adventurers turned their eyes, and he was placed at the head of the
enterprise. On the 11th of June 1578, he obtained letters patent from the
Queen, vesting in him the powers that were required; on receiving which, he,
with the associates of his voyage, embarked for America. But his success did
not equal his expectations. The various difficulties inseparable from the
settlement of a distant, unexplored country, inhabited only by savages; the
inadequacy of the supplies which could be furnished for a colony by the
funds of a few private individuals; the misfortune of having approached the
continent too far towards the north, where the cold barren coast of Cape
Breton was rather calculated to repel than invite a settlement; have been
assigned as the probable causes of his failure.[3]
Two expeditions conducted by this gentleman ended disastrously. In the last,
he himself perished; having done nothing farther in the execution of his
patent, than taking possession of the island of Newfoundland, in the name of
Elizabeth.
Sir Walter Raleigh, alike distinguished by his genius, his courage, and the
severity of his fate, had been deeply interested in the adventures in which his
half brother, Sir Humphry Gilbert, had wasted his fortune, and was not
deterred by their failure, or by the difficulties attending such an enterprise,
from prosecuting with vigour, a plan so well calculated to captivate his bold
and romantic temper.

1584
Patent to Sir Walter Raleigh.

On the 26th of March, he obtained a patent from the Queen; and, on the 27th
of April, dispatched two small vessels under the command of captains
Amidas and Barlow for the purpose of visiting the country, and of acquiring
some previous knowledge of those circumstances which might be essential
to the welfare of the colony he was about to plant. To avoid the error of
Gilbert in holding too far north, Amidas and Barlow took the route by the
Canaries, and the West India islands, and approached the North American
continent towards the gulf of Florida. On the 2d of July, they touched at a

small island situate on the inlet into Pamplico sound, whence they proceeded
to Roanoke, near the mouth of Albemarle sound.
After employing a few weeks in traffic with the Indians, from whom they
collected some confused accounts respecting the neighbouring continent,
they took with them two of the natives, who willingly accompanied them,
and embarked for England, where they arrived on the 15th of September.
The splendid description which they gave of the soil, the climate, and the
productions of the country they had visited, so pleased Elizabeth, that she
bestowed on it the name of Virginia, as a memorial that it had been
discovered during the reign of a virgin Queen.[4] Raleigh, encouraged by
their report to hasten his preparations for taking possession of the property,
fitted out a squadron consisting of seven small ships, laden with arms,
ammunition, provisions, and passengers, 1585 Voyage of Sir Richard
Grenville.which sailed from Plymouth on the 9th of April, under the command
of Sir Richard Grenville, who was his relation, and interested with him in the
patent. Having taken the southern route, and wasted some time in cruising
against the Spaniards, Sir Richard did not reach the coast of North America,
until the close of the month of June. He touched at both the islands on which
Amidas and Barlow had landed, and made some excursions into different
parts of the continent around Pamplico, and Albemarle sounds.
First colony.

Having established a colony, consisting of one hundred and eight persons, in
the island of Roanoke, an incommodious station, without any safe harbour,
he committed the government of it to Mr. Ralph Lane; and, on the 25th of
August, sailed for England.[5]
An insatiate passion for gold, attended by an eager desire to find it in the
bowels of the earth, for a long time the disease of Europeans in America,
became the scourge of this feeble settlement. The English flattered
themselves that the country they had discovered could not be destitute of
those mines of the precious metals with which Spanish America abounded.
The most diligent researches were made in quest of them; and the infatuating
hope of finding them stimulated the colonists to the utmost exertions of
which they were capable. The Indians soon discerned the object for which
they searched with so much avidity, and amused them with tales of rich
mines in countries they had not yet explored. Seduced by this information,

they encountered incredible hardships, and, in this vain search wasted that
time which ought to have been employed in providing the means of future
subsistence. Mutual suspicion and disgust between them and the natives
ripened into open hostility; and, the provisions brought from England being
exhausted, they were under the necessity of resorting for food to the
precarious supplies which could be drawn from the rivers and woods.
1586 In this state of distress, they were found, in June, by Sir Francis Drake,
who was then returning from a successful expedition against the Spaniards
in the West Indies. He agreed to supply them with about one hundred men,
four months' provisions, and a small vessel; but, before she could be brought
into a place of security, and the men and stores disembarked, she was driven
out to sea by a sudden and violent storm. Colonists carried back to England by
Drake.Discouraged by this misfortune, and worn out with fatigue and famine,
the colonists unanimously determined to abandon the colony, and were, at
their own request, taken on board the fleet which sailed for England.[6]
Thus terminated the first English colony planted in America. The only
acquisition made by this expensive experiment, was a better knowledge of
the country and its inhabitants.
Grenville plants a second colony.

A few days after the departure of Drake with Lane and his associates, a small
vessel which had been dispatched by Raleigh with a supply of provisions,
reached its place of destination. Not finding the colonists, this vessel
returned to England. Soon after its departure, Sir Richard Grenville arrived
with three ships and ample supplies. Having searched in vain for the
colonists he had left, and being unable to conjecture their fate, he placed
fifteen men in the island with provisions for two years, for the purpose of
retaining possession of the country, and returned to England. Destroyed by the
Indians.This small party was soon destroyed by the Indians.

1587

Not discouraged by the ill success which had thus far attended his efforts to
make a settlement in America, Raleigh, in the following year, fitted out three
ships under the command of captain John White, and, it is said, directed the
colony to be removed to the waters of the Chesapeake, which bay had been
discovered by Lane in the preceding year. Instructed by calamity, he adopted

more efficacious means for preserving and continuing the colony than had
before been used. The number of men was greater; they were accompanied
by some women, and their supply of provisions was more abundant. Mr.
White was appointed their governor, twelve assistants were assigned him as
a council, and a charter incorporating them by the name of the governor and
assistants of the city of Raleigh in Virginia, was granted them.
Third colony arrives.

Thus prepared for a permanent settlement, they arrived in July at Roanoke,
where they received the melancholy intelligence of the loss of their
countrymen who had been left there by Sir Richard Grenville. They
determined, however, to remain at the same place, and began to make the
necessary preparations for their accommodation. Aware of the danger to be
apprehended from the hostile disposition of their neighbours, they
endeavoured to effect a reconciliation with the natives, one of whom, who
had accompanied Amidas and Barlow to England, and who was
distinguished by his unshaken attachment to the English, was christened, and
styled Lord of Dassa Monpeake, an Indian nation in the neighbourhood.[7]
About the same time the first child of English parentage was born in
America. She was the daughter of Ananias Dare, and, after the place of her
birth, was named Virginia.
Soon perceiving their want of many things essential to the preservation, and
comfortable subsistence of a new settlement, the colonists, with one voice,
deputed their governor, to solicit those specific aids which their situation
particularly and essentially required. On his arrival in England, he found the
whole nation alarmed at the formidable preparations for their invasion, made
by Philip II. of Spain; and Raleigh, Grenville, and the other patrons of the
colony, ardently engaged in those measures of defence which the public
danger demanded. Mingling, however, with his exertions to defend his
native country, some attention to the colony he had planted, Raleigh found
leisure to fit out a small fleet for its relief, the command of which was given
to Sir Richard Grenville; but, the apprehensions from the Spanish armament
still increasing, the ships of force prepared by Raleigh were detained in port
by order of the Queen, and Sir Richard Grenville was commanded not to
leave Cornwall, where his services were deemed necessary. 1588 On the
22d of April, White put to sea with two small barks, but, instead of hastening

to the relief of his distressed countrymen, wasted his time in cruising; and,
being beaten by a superior force, was totally disabled from prosecuting his
voyage.[8]

1589
Raleigh assigns his patent.

The attention of Raleigh being directed to other more splendid objects, he
assigned his patent to Sir Thomas Smith and a company of merchants in
London.

1590

After this transfer, a year was permitted to elapse before any effort was made
for the relief of the colony. In March, three ships fitted out by the company,
in one of which Mr. White embarked, sailed from Plymouth; but, having
cruelly and criminally wasted their time in plundering the Spaniards in the
West Indies, they did not reach Hatteras until the month of August. Third
colony lost.They fired a gun to give notice of their arrival, and sent a party to
the place where the colony had been left; but no vestige of their countrymen
could be found. In attempting the next day to go to Roanoke, one of the
boats, in passing a bar, was half filled with water, another was overset, and
six men were drowned. Two other boats were fitted out with nineteen men to
search the island thoroughly on which the colony had been left.
At the departure of Mr. White, it was in contemplation to remove about fifty
miles into the country; and it had been agreed that, should the colonists leave
the island, they would carve the name of the place to which they should
remove, on some tree, door, or post; with the addition of a cross over it, as a
signal of distress, if they should be really distressed at the time of changing
their situation. After considerable search, the word CROATAN was found
carved in fair capital letters on one of the chief posts, but unaccompanied by
the sign of distress which had been agreed on.
Croatan was the name of an Indian town on the north side of Cape Lookout,
and for that place, the fleet weighed anchor the next day. Meeting with a
storm, and several accidents, they were discouraged from proceeding on
their voyage, and, determining to suspend their search, returned to the West
Indies.

The company made no farther attempt to find these lost colonists; nor has
the time or the manner of their perishing ever been discovered.[9]

1602
Voyage of Gosnald.

The subsequent voyages made by the English to North America were for the
sole purpose of traffic, and were unimportant in their consequences, until the
year 1602, when one was undertaken by Bartholomew Gosnald, which
contributed greatly to the revival of the then dormant spirit of colonising in
the new world. He sailed from Falmouth in a small bark with thirty-two
men; and steering nearly west, reached the American continent, on the 11th
of May, in about forty-three degrees of north latitude.
Finding no good harbour at this place, Gosnald put to sea again and stood
southward. The next morning, he descried a promontory which he called
cape Cod, and, holding his course along the coast as it stretched to the south-
west, touched at two islands, the first of which he named Martha's Vineyard,
and the second, Elizabeth's Island. Having passed some time at these places,
examining the country, and trading with the natives, he returned to England.
[10]

This voyage was completed in less than four months, and was attended with
important consequences. Gosnald had found a healthy climate, a rich soil,
good harbours, and a route which shortened considerably the distance to the
continent of North America. He had seen many of the fruits known and
prized in Europe, blooming in the woods; and had planted European grain
which grew rapidly. Encouraged by this experiment, and delighted with the
country, he formed the resolution of transporting thither a colony, and of
procuring the co-operation of others by whom his plan might be supported.
So unfortunate however had been former attempts of this sort, that men of
wealth and rank, though strongly impressed by his report of the country,
were slow in giving full faith to his representations, and in entering
completely into his views. One vessel was fitted out by the merchants of
Bristol, and another by the earl of Southampton, and Lord Arundel of
Wardour, in order to learn whether Gosnald's account of the country was to
be considered as a just representation of its state, or as the exaggerated
description of a person fond of magnifying his own discoveries. Both
returned with a full confirmation of his veracity, and with the addition of so

many new circumstances in favour of the country, as greatly increased the
desire of settling it.
Richard Hackluyt, prebendary of Westminster, a man of distinguished
learning and intelligence, contributed more than any other by his judicious
exertions, to form an association sufficiently extensive, powerful, and
wealthy, to execute the often renewed, and often disappointed project of
establishing colonies in America.
At length, such an association was formed; and a petition was presented to
James I., who had succeeded to the crown of England, praying the royal
sanction to the plan which was proposed. That pacific monarch was
delighted with it, and immediately acceded to the wishes of its projectors.
Patent to Sir Thomas Gates and others.

On the 10th of April, letters patent were issued under the great seal of
England, to the petitioners, Sir Thomas Gates and his associates, granting to
them those territories in America, lying on the sea coast, between the 34th
and 45th degrees of north latitude, and which either belonged to that
monarch, or were not then possessed by any other Christian prince or
people; and also the islands adjacent thereto, or within one hundred miles
thereof. They were divided, at their own desire, into two companies. One,
consisting of certain knights, gentlemen, merchants, and other adventurers of
the city of London, and elsewhere, was called the first colony, and was
required to settle between the 34th and 41st degrees of north latitude; the
other, consisting of certain knights, gentlemen, merchants, and other
adventurers of Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, and elsewhere, was named the
second colony, and was ordered to settle between the 38th and 45th degrees
of north latitude; yet so that the colony last formed should not be planted
within one hundred miles of the prior establishment.
The adventurers were empowered to transport so many English subjects as
should be willing to accompany them, who, with their descendants, were, at
all times, to enjoy the same liberties, within any other dominions of the
crown of England, as if they had remained, or were born, within the realm. A
council consisting of thirteen, to be appointed and removed at the pleasure of
the crown, was established for each colony, to govern it according to such
laws as should be given under the sign manual and privy seal of England.

Two other boards to consist also of thirteen persons each, and to be
appointed by the King, were invested with the superior direction of the
affairs of the colonies.
The adventurers were allowed to search for, and open mines of gold, silver,
and copper, yielding one-fifth of the two former metals, and one-fifteenth of
the last, to the King; and to make a coin which should be current both among
the colonists and natives.
The president and council were authorised to repel those who should,
without their authority, attempt to settle, or trade, within their jurisdiction,
and to seize, and detain the persons, and effects, of such intruders, until they
should pay a duty of two and one-half per centum ad valorem, if subjects,
but of five per centum if aliens. These taxes were to be applied, for twenty-
one years, to the use of the adventurers, and were afterwards to be paid into
the royal exchequer.
Code of laws for the colony drawn up by the King.

While the council for the patentees were employed in making preparations to
secure the benefits of their grant, James was assiduously engaged in the new,
and, to his vanity, the flattering task of framing a code of laws for the
government of the colonies about to be planted. Having at length prepared
this code, he issued it under the sign manual, and privy seal of England. By
these regulations, he vested the general superintendence of the colonies, in a
council in England, "composed of a few persons of consideration and
talents." The church of England was established. The legislative and
executive powers within the colonies, were vested in the president and
councils; but their ordinances were not to touch life or member, were to
continue in force only until made void by the King, or his council in England
for Virginia, and were to be in substance, consonant to the laws of England.
They were enjoined to permit none to withdraw the people from their
allegiance to himself, and his successors; and to cause all persons so
offending to be apprehended, and imprisoned until reformation; or, in cases
highly offensive, to be sent to England to receive punishment. No person
was to be permitted to remain in the colony without taking the oath of
obedience. Tumults, mutiny, and rebellion, murder, and incest, were to be
punished with death; and for these offences, the criminal was to be tried by a

jury. Inferior crimes were to be punished in a summary way, at the discretion
of the president and council.
Lands were to be holden within the colony as the same estates were enjoyed
in England. Kindness towards the heathen was enjoined; and a power
reserved to the King, and his successors to ordain farther laws, so that they
were consonant to the jurisprudence of England.[11]
Under this charter, and these laws, which manifest, at the same time, a total
disregard of all political liberty, and a total ignorance of the real advantages
which a parent state may derive from its colonies; which vest the higher
powers of legislation in persons residing out of the country, not chosen by
the people, nor affected by the laws they make, and yet leave commerce
unrestrained; the patentees proceeded to execute the arduous and almost
untried task of peopling a strange, distant, and uncultivated land, covered
with woods and marshes, and inhabited only by savages easily irritated, and
when irritated, more fierce than the beasts they hunted.

CHAPTER II.
Voyage of Newport.... Settlement at Jamestown.... Distress
of colonists.... Smith.... He is captured by the Indians....
Condemned to death, saved by Pocahontas.... Returns to
Jamestown.... Newport arrives with fresh settlers.... Smith
explores the Chesapeake.... Is chosen president.... New
charter.... Third voyage of Newport.... Smith sails for
Europe.... Condition of the colony.... Colonists determine
to abandon the country.... Are stopped by Lord
Delaware.... Sir Thomas Dale.... New charter.... Capt.
Argal seizes Pocahontas.... She marries Mr. Rolf....
Separate property in lands and labour.... Expedition
against Port Royal.... Against Manhadoes.... Fifty acres of
land for each settler.... Tobacco.... Sir Thomas Dale.... Mr.
Yeardley.... First assembly.... First arrival of females.... Of
convicts.... Of African slaves.... Two councils
established.... Prosperity of the colony.... Indians attempt
to massacre the whites.... General war.... Dissolution of
the company.... Arbitrary measures of the crown.... Sir
John Harvey.... Sir William Berkeley.... Provincial
assembly restored.... Virginia declares in favour of
Charles II.... Grant to Lord Baltimore.... Arrival of a
colony in Maryland.... Assembly composed of freemen....
William Clayborne.... Assembly composed of
representatives.... Divided into two branches....
Tyrannical proceedings.

The funds immediately appropriated to the planting of colonies in
America, were inconsiderable, and the early efforts to accomplish the object,
were feeble.

The first expedition for the southern colony consisted of one vessel of a
hundred tons, and two barks, carrying one hundred and five men, destined to
remain in the country.

1606
Voyage of Newport.

The command of this small squadron was given to captain Newport, who, on
the 19th of December, sailed from the Thames. Three sealed packets were
delivered to him, one addressed to himself, a second to captain Bartholomew
Gosnald, and the third to captain John Radcliffe, containing the names of the
council for this colony. These packets were accompanied with instructions
directing that they should be opened, and the names of his Majesty's council
proclaimed, within twenty-four hours after their arrival on the coast of
Virginia, and not before. The council were then to proceed to the choice of a
president, who was to have two votes. To this unaccountable concealment
have those dissensions been attributed, which distracted the colonists on
their passage, and which afterwards impeded the progress of their settlement.
[12]

1607
Is driven into the Chesapeake.

Newport, whose place of destination was Roanoke, took the circuitous route
by the West India islands, and had a long passage of four months. The
reckoning had been out for three days, and serious propositions had been
made for returning to England, when a fortunate storm drove him to the
mouth of the Chesapeake. On the 26th of April, he descried cape Henry, and
soon afterward cape Charles. A party of about thirty men, which went on
shore at cape Henry, was immediately attacked by the natives, and, in the
skirmish which ensued, several were wounded on both sides.
The first act of the colonists was the selection of a spot for their settlement.
They proceeded up a large river, called by the natives Powhatan, and agreed
to make their first establishment upon a peninsula, on its northern side. In
compliment to their sovereign, this place was named Jamestown, and the
river was called James. May 13th. Having disembarked, and opened the sealed
packets brought from England, the members of the council proceeded to the
election of a president, and Mr. Wingfield was chosen. But, under frivolous

pretexts, they excluded from his seat among them, John Smith, one of the
most extraordinary men of his age, whose courage and talents had excited
their envy. During the passage, he had been imprisoned on the extravagant
charge of intending to murder the council, usurp the government, and make
himself king of Virginia.[13]
The first indications of a permanent settlement in their country, seem to have
excited the jealousy of the natives. Displeased with the intrusion, or
dissatisfied with the conduct of the intruders, they soon formed the design of
expelling, or destroying, these unwelcome and formidable visitors. In
execution of this intention, they attacked the colonists suddenly, while at
work, and unsuspicious of their hostility; but were driven, terrified, into the
woods by the fire from the ship. On the failure of this attempt, a temporary
accommodation was effected.
Newport, though named of the council, had been ordered to return to
England. As the time of his departure approached, the accusers of Smith,
attempting to conceal their jealousy by the affectation of humanity, proposed
that he also should return, instead of being prosecuted in Virginia; but, with
the pride of conscious innocence, he demanded a trial; and, being
honourably acquitted, took his seat in the council.
About the 15th of June, Newport sailed for England, leaving behind him one
of the barks, and about one hundred colonists. While he remained, they had
partaken of the food allowed the sailors; but after his departure, they were
reduced to the necessity of subsisting on the distributions from the public
stores, which had sustained great damage during their long passage. These
were both scanty, and unwholesome; the allowance to each man, for a day,
being only a pint of worm-eaten wheat and barley. This wretched food
increased the malignity of the diseases generated by the climate, among men
exposed to all its rigours. Before the month of September, fifty of the
company were buried; among whom was Bartholomew Gosnald, who had
planned the expedition, and had contributed greatly towards its prosecution.
Their distress was increased by internal dissension. The president was
charged with embezzling the best stores of the colony, and with feasting at
his private table, on beef, bread, and aqua vitæ, while famine and death
devoured his fellow adventurers. The odium against him was completed by
the detection of an attempt to escape from them and their calamities, in the
bark which had been left by Newport. In the burst of general indignation

which followed the discovery of this meditated desertion, he was deposed,
and Radcliffe chosen to succeed him.[14]
As misfortune is not unfrequently the parent of moderation and reflection,
this state of misery produced a system of conduct towards the neighbouring
Indians, which, for the moment, disarmed their resentments, and induced
them to bring in such supplies as the country afforded at that season. It
produced another effect of equal importance. A sense of imminent and
common danger called forth those talents which were fitted to the exigency,
and compelled submission to them. On captain Smith, who had preserved his
health unimpaired, his spirits unbroken, and his judgment unclouded, amidst
this general misery and dejection, all eyes were turned, and in him, all actual
authority was placed by common consent. His example soon gave energy to
others.
He erected such rude fortifications as would resist the sudden attacks of the
savages, and constructed such habitations as, by sheltering the survivors
from the weather, contributed to restore and preserve their health, while his
own accommodation gave place to that of all others. In the season of
gathering corn, he penetrated into the country at the head of small parties,
and by presents and caresses to those who were well disposed, and by
attacking with open force, and defeating those who were hostile, he obtained
abundant supplies.
While thus actively and usefully employed abroad, he was not permitted to
withdraw his attention from the domestic concerns of the colony. Incapacity
for command is seldom accompanied by a willingness to relinquish power;
and it will excite no surprise that the late president saw, with regret, another
placed above him. As unworthy minds most readily devise unworthy means,
he sought, by intriguing with the factious, and fomenting their discontents, to
regain his lost authority; and when these attempts were disconcerted, he
formed a conspiracy with some of the principal persons in the colony, to
escape in the bark, and thus to desert the country. The vigilance of Smith
detected these machinations, and his vigour defeated them.[15]
Smith is captured by the Indians,

The prospect which now presented itself of preserving the colony in quiet
and plenty, until supplies could be received from England, was obscured by
an event which threatened, at first, the most disastrous consequences. In

attempting to explore Chiccahomini river to its source, Smith was
discovered and attacked by a numerous body of Indians; and in
endeavouring, after a gallant defence, to make his escape, he sank up to his
neck in a swamp, and was obliged to surrender. The wonder and veneration
which he excited by the exhibition of a mariner's compass, saved him from
immediate death. He was conducted in triumph, through several towns, to
the palace of Powhatan, the most potent king in that part of the country, is
condemned to death,who doomed him to be put to death by placing his head
upon a stone, and beating out his brains with a club. At the place of
execution, with his head bowed down to receive the blow, he was rescued
from a fate which appeared to be inevitable, by that enthusiastic and
impassioned humanity which, in every climate, and in every state of society,
finds its home in the female bosom. saved by Pocahontas.Pocahontas, the king's
favourite daughter, then about thirteen years of age, whose entreaties for his
life had been ineffectual, rushed between him and the executioner, and
folding his head in her arms, and laying hers upon it, arrested the fatal blow.
Her father was then prevailed upon to spare his life, and he was sent back to
Jamestown.[16]
Returns to Jamestown.

On arriving at that place, after an absence of seven weeks, he found the
colony reduced to thirty-eight persons, who seemed determined to abandon a
country which appeared to them so unfavourable to human life. He came just
in time to prevent the execution of this design. Alternately employing
persuasion, threats, and even violence, he induced the majority to relinquish
their intention; then turning the guns of the fort on the bark, on board which
were the most determined, he compelled her to remain, or sink in the river.
[17]

By a judicious regulation of intercourse with the Indians, over whom he had
gained considerable influence, he restored plenty to the colony, and
preserved it until the arrival of two vessels which had been dispatched from
England under the command of captain Newport, with a supply of provisions
and instruments of husbandry, and with a reinforcement of one hundred and
twenty persons, composed of many gentlemen, several refiners, gold smiths,
and jewellers, and a few labourers.

The influence of Smith disappeared with the danger which had produced it,
and was succeeded by an improvident relaxation of discipline, productive of
the most pernicious consequences.[18]
A glittering earth mistaken for gold dust.

About this time, a shining earth, mistaken by the colonists for gold dust, was
found in a small stream of water near Jamestown. Their raging thirst for gold
was re-excited by this incident. Smith, in his History of Virginia, describing
the frenzy of the moment, says, "there was no thought, no discourse, no
hope, and no work, but to dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, and load gold.
And, notwithstanding captain Smith's warm and judicious representations
how absurd it was to neglect other things of immediate use and necessity, to
load such a drunken ship with gilded dust, yet was he overruled, and her
returns were made in a parcel of glittering dirt, which is to be found in
various parts of the country, and which they, very sanguinely, concluded to
be gold dust."

1608

The two vessels returned laden, one with this dirt, and the other with cedar.
This is the first remittance ever made from America by an English colony.
The effects of this fatal delusion were soon felt, and the colony again began
to suffer that distress, from scarcity of food, which had before brought it,
more than once, to the brink of ruin.
Smith explores the Chesapeake.

The researches of the English settlers had not yet extended beyond the
country adjacent to James river. Smith had formed the bold design of
exploring the great bay of Chesapeake, examining the mighty rivers which
empty into it, opening an intercourse with the nations inhabiting their
borders, and acquiring a knowledge of the state of their cultivation and
population. Accompanied by Doctor Russel, he engaged in this hardy
enterprise in an open boat of about three tons burthen, and with a crew of
thirteen men. On the 2d of June, he descended the river in company with the
last of Newport's two vessels, and, parting with her at the capes, began his
survey at cape Charles. With great fatigue and danger, he examined every
river, inlet, and bay, on both sides of the Chesapeake, as far as the mouth of

the Rappahannock. His provisions being exhausted, he returned, and arrived
at Jamestown on the 21st of July. He found the colony in the utmost
confusion and disorder. All those who came last with Newport were sick; the
danger of famine was imminent; and the clamour against the president was
loud, and universal. The seasonable arrival of Smith restrained their fury.
The accounts he gave of his discoveries, and the hope he entertained that the
waters of the Chesapeake communicated with the south sea,[19] extended
their views and revived their spirits. They contented themselves with
deposing their president, and, having in vain urged Smith to accept that
office, elected his friend Mr. Scrivener as vice president.
After employing three days in making arrangements for obtaining regular
supplies, and for the government of the colony, Smith again sailed with
twelve men, to complete his researches into the countries on the Chesapeake.
From this voyage he returned on the seventh of September; having advanced
as far as the river Susquehannah, and visited all the countries on both shores
of the bay. He entered most of the large creeks, sailed up many of the great
rivers to their falls, and made accurate observations on the extensive
territories through which he passed, and on the various tribes inhabiting
them, with whom he, alternately, fought, negotiated, and traded. In every
situation, he displayed judgment, courage, and that presence of mind which
is essential to the character of a commander; and never failed, finally, to
inspire the savages he encountered, with the most exalted opinion of himself
and of his nation.
When we consider that he sailed above three thousand miles in an open boat;
when we contemplate the dangers and the hardships he encountered; when
we reflect on the valuable additions he made to the stock of knowledge
respecting America; we shall not hesitate to say that few voyages of
discovery, undertaken at any time, reflect more honour on those engaged in
them. "So full and exact," says Dr. Robertson, "are his accounts of that large
portion of the American continent comprehended in the two provinces of
Virginia and Maryland, that after the progress of information and research
for a century and a half, his map exhibits no inaccurate view of both
countries, and is the original, on which all subsequent delineations and
descriptions have been formed."[20]

Ruins of the Old Brick Church Built at Jamestown in 1639
Settled by the English in 1607, on the banks of the James
River about 32 miles from its mouth, it was at Jamestown
that the first legislative assembly in America was held in
1619, and here in the same year slavery was first introduced
into the original thirteen colonies. The site of the settlement,
which was originally a peninsula, but is now an island, is
owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia
Antiquities. Besides the ruins of the church shown here those
of the fort and of two or three houses built more than a
hundred years before the Declaration of Independence was
signed are still standing.

Is chosen president.

On his return from this expedition, Smith was chosen president of the
council; and, yielding to the general wish, accepted the office. Soon after,
Newport arrived with an additional supply of settlers, among whom were the
two first females who adventured to the present colony; but he came without
provisions.

The judicious administration of the president, however, supplied the wants
of the colonists, and restrained the turbulent. Encouraged by his example,
and coerced by his authority, a spirit of industry and subordination was
created among them, which was the parent of plenty and of peace.[21]
The company in England, though disappointed in the hope of discovering a
passage to the Pacific, and of finding mines of the precious metals, still
indulged in golden dreams of future wealth. To increase their funds, as well
as their influence and reputation, by the acquisition of additional numbers, to
explain and enlarge their powers and privileges, and to ensure a colonial
government conforming to their own views and wishes, 1609 New
Charter.the company petitioned for a new charter, which was granted on the
23d of May. Some of the first nobility and gentry of the country, and most of
the companies of London, with a numerous body of merchants and
tradesmen, were added to the former adventurers, and they were all
incorporated, by the name of "The treasurer and company of adventurers of
the city of London, for the first colony in Virginia." To them were granted, in
absolute property, the lands extending from Cape or Point Comfort, along
the sea coast, two hundred miles to the northward, and from the same point,
along the sea coast, two hundred miles to the southward, and up into the
land, throughout, from sea to sea, west and north-west; and also all the
islands lying within one hundred miles of the coast of both seas of the
precinct aforesaid: to be holden as of the manor of East Greenwich, in free
and common soccage, and paying, in lieu of all services, one-fifth of the
gold and silver that should be found. The corporation was authorised to
convey, under its common seal, particular portions of these lands to subjects
or denizens, on such conditions as might promote the intentions of the grant.
The powers of the president and council in Virginia were abrogated, and a
new council in England was established, with power to the company to fill
all vacancies therein by election. This council was empowered to appoint
and remove all officers for the colony, and to make all ordinances for its
government, not contrary to the laws of England; and to rule the colonists
according to such ordinances. License was given to transport to Virginia, all
persons willing to go thither, and to export merchandise free from customs
for seven years. There was also granted, for twenty-one years, freedom from
all subsidies in Virginia, and from all impositions on importations and
exportations from or to any of the King's dominions, "except only the five
pounds in the hundred due for customs." The colonists were declared to be

entitled to the rights of natural subjects. The governor was empowered to
establish martial law in case of rebellion or mutiny; and, to prevent the
superstitions of the Church of Rome from taking root in the plantation, it
was declared that none should pass into Virginia, but such as shall have first
taken the oath of supremacy.[22]
The company, being thus enlarged, and enabled to take more effective
measures for the settlement of the country, soon fitted out nine ships, with
five hundred emigrants. Lord Delawar was constituted governor and captain-
general for life; and several other offices were created. Third voyage of
Newport.The direction of the expedition was again given to Newport; to
whom, and Sir Thomas Gates, and Sir George Somers, powers were
severally granted to supersede the existing administration, and to govern the
colony until the arrival of Lord Delawar. With singular indiscretion, the
council omitted to establish precedence among these gentlemen; who, being
totally unable to settle this important point among themselves, agreed to
embark on board the same vessel, and to be companions during the voyage.
They were parted from the rest of the fleet in a storm, and driven on
Bermudas; having on board one hundred and fifty men, a great portion of the
provisions destined for the colony, and the new commission and instructions
of the council. The residue of the squadron arrived safely in Virginia.
"A great part of the new company," says Mr. Stith, "consisted of unruly
sparks, packed off by their friends to escape worse destinies at home. And
the rest were chiefly made up of poor gentlemen, broken tradesmen, rakes
and libertines, footmen, and such others as were much fitter to spoil and ruin
a Commonwealth, than to help to raise or maintain one. This lewd company,
therefore, were led by their seditious captains into many mischiefs and
extravagancies. They assumed to themselves the power of disposing of the
government, and conferred it sometimes on one, and sometimes on another.
To-day the old commission must rule, to-morrow the new, and next day
neither. So that all was anarchy and distraction."
The judgment of Smith was not long suspended. With the promptness and
decision which belong to vigorous minds, he determined that his own
authority was not legally revoked until the arrival of the new commission,
and therefore resolved to continue its exercise. Incapable of holding the reins
of government with a feeble hand, he exhibited, on this emergency, that
energy and good sense which never deserted him when the occasion required

them. After imprisoning the chief promoters of sedition, and thereby
restoring regularity and obedience, he, for the double purpose of extending
the colony, and of preventing the mischiefs to be apprehended from so many
turbulent spirits collected in Jamestown, detached one hundred men to the
falls of James river, under the command of West, and the same number to
Nansemond, under that of Martin. These persons conducted their settlements
with so little judgment, that they soon converted all the neighbouring Indians
into enemies. After losing several parties, they found themselves in absolute
need of the support and direction of Smith. These were readily afforded,
until a melancholy accident deprived the colony of the aid of a man whose
talents had, more than once, rescued it from that desperate condition into
which folly and vice had plunged it. Returning from a visit to the detachment
stationed at the falls of James river, his powder bag took fire, while he was
sleeping in the boat, and, in the explosion, he was so severely wounded as to
be confined to his bed. Smith returns to England.Being unable to obtain the aid
of a surgeon in the colony, he embarked for England about the beginning of
October.
State of the colony.

At his departure, the colony consisted of about five hundred inhabitants.
They were furnished with three ships, seven boats, commodities ready for
trade, ten weeks' provision in the public stores, six mares and a horse, a large
stock of hogs and poultry, some sheep and goats, utensils for agriculture,
nets for fishing, one hundred trained and expert soldiers well acquainted
with the Indians, their language and habitations, twenty-four pieces of
ordnance, and three hundred muskets, with a sufficient quantity of arms and
ammunition.[23]
The fair prospects of the colony were soon blasted by a course of folly and
crime, of riot and insubordination.
Numerous pretenders advanced their claims to the supreme command. The
choice at length fell upon captain Percy, who derived much consideration
from his virtues, as well as from his illustrious family; but his talents, at no
time equal to this new and difficult station, were rendered still less
competent to the task, by a long course of ill health. Being generally
confined by sickness to his bed, he was incapable of maintaining his

authority; and total confusion ensued, with its accustomed baneful
consequences.
The Indians, no longer awed by the genius and vigour of Smith, attacked the
colony on all sides. West and Martin, after losing their boats and nearly half
their men, were driven into Jamestown. The stock of provisions was lavishly
wasted; and famine added its desolating scourge to their other calamities.
After devouring the skins of their horses, and the Indians they had killed, the
survivors fed on those of their companions who had sunk under such
accumulated misery. The recollection of these tremendous sufferings was
long retained, and, for many years, this period was distinguished by the
name of THE STARVING TIME.[24]

1610

In six months, the colony was reduced, by these distresses, to sixty persons,
who could not have survived ten days longer, when they were relieved from
this state of despair by the arrival of Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers,
and Captain Newport, from Bermuda.
They abandon the country.

The determination to abandon the country was immediately taken, and the
wretched remnant of the colony embarked on board the vessels, and sailed
for England. "None dropped a tear," says Mr. Chalmer, "because none had
enjoyed one day of happiness."
Stopped by Lord Delawar.

Fortunately, they met Lord Delawar, who prevailed on them to return; and,
on the 10th of June, resettled them at Jamestown.
By mildness of temper, attention to business, and judicious exercise of
authority, this nobleman restored order and contentment to the colony, and
again impressed the Indians with respect for the English name.
1611 Unfortunately, ill health obliged him to resign the government which
he placed in the hands of Mr. Percy, and sailed for the West Indies, leaving in
the colony about two hundred persons in possession of the blessings of
health, plenty, and peace.
Sir Thomas Dale.

On the 10th of May, Sir Thomas Dale, who had been appointed to the
government, arrived with a fresh supply of men and provisions, and found
the colony relapsing into a state of anarchy, idleness, and want. It required
all the authority of the new governor to maintain public order, and to compel
the idle and the dissolute to labour. Some conspiracies having been detected,
he proclaimed martial law, which was immediately put in execution. This
severity was then deemed necessary, and is supposed to have saved the
settlement.[25]
In the beginning of August, Sir Thomas Gates, who had been appointed to
succeed Sir Thomas Dale, arrived with six ships, and a considerable supply
of men and provisions. After receiving this addition to its numbers, the
colony again extended itself up James river; and several new settlements
were made.
Extravagant accounts of the fertility of Bermuda having reached England,
the company became desirous of obtaining it as a place from which Virginia
might be supplied with provisions. Application was therefore made to the
crown for a new patent, to comprehend this island; 1612 New Charter.and, in
March, a charter was issued, granting to the treasurer and company all the
islands situate in the ocean within three hundred leagues of the coast of
Virginia. By this charter, the corporation was essentially new modelled. It
was ordained that four general courts of the adventurers should be holden
annually, for the determination of affairs of importance, and weekly
meetings were directed, for the transaction of common business. To promote
the effectual settlement of the plantation, license was given to open lotteries
in any part of England.[26]
These lotteries, which were the first ever drawn in England, brought twenty-
nine thousand pounds into the treasury of the company. When they were
discontinued, in 1620, on the complaint of the House of Commons, they
were declared to have "supplied the real food by which Virginia had been
nourished."
About this time an event took place which was followed by important
consequences to the colony. Provisions in Jamestown continuing to be
scarce, and supplies from the neighbouring Indians, with whom the English
were often at war, being necessarily uncertain, captain Argal, with two
vessels, was sent round to the Potowmac for a cargo of corn. While

obtaining the cargo, he understood that Pocahontas, who had remained
steadfast in her attachment to the English, had absented herself from the
home of her father, and lay concealed in the neighbourhood. Captain Argal
seizes Pocahontas.By bribing some of those in whom she confided Argal
prevailed on her to come on board his vessel, where she was detained
respectfully, and brought to Jamestown. He was induced to take this step by
the hope that the possession of Pocahontas would give the English an
ascendancy over her father, who was known to dote on her. In this, however,
he was disappointed. Powhatan offered corn and friendship, if they would
first restore his daughter, but, with a loftiness of spirit which claims respect,
rejected every proposition for conciliation which should not be preceded by
that act of reparation.
During her detention at Jamestown, she made an impression on the heart of
Mr. Rolf, a young gentleman of estimation in the colony, who succeeded in
gaining her affections. They were married with the consent of Powhatan,
who was entirely reconciled to the English by that event, and continued, ever
after, to be their sincere friend. This connexion led also to a treaty with the
Chiccahominies, a brave and daring tribe, who submitted themselves to the
English, and became their tributaries.[27]

1613

About the same time, an important change took place in the internal
arrangements of the colony.
Heretofore no separate property in lands had been acquired, and no
individual had laboured for himself. The lands had been held, cleared, and
cultivated in common, and their produce carried into a common granary,
from which it was distributed to all. This system was to be ascribed, in some
measure, to the unwise injunction contained in the royal instructions,
directing the colonists to trade together for five years in one common stock.
Its effect was such as ought to have been foreseen. Industry, deprived of its
due reward, exclusive property in the produce of its toil, felt no sufficient
stimulus to exertion, and the public supplies were generally inadequate to the
public necessities. Separate property in lands.To remove this cause of perpetual
scarcity, Sir Thomas Dale divided a considerable portion of land into lots of
three acres, and granted one of them, in full property, to each individual.

Although the colonists were still required to devote a large portion of labour
to the public, a sudden change was made in their appearance and habits.
Industry, impelled by the certainty of recompense, advanced with rapid
strides; and the inhabitants were no longer in fear of wanting bread, either
for themselves, or for the emigrants from England.[28]

1614

Early in the following year, Sir Thomas Gates returned to England, leaving
the government again with Sir Thomas Dale. This gentleman detached
captain Argal on an enterprise of which no immediate notice was taken, but
which was afterwards recollected with indignation.
The French, who had directed their course to the more northern parts of the
continent, had been among the first adventurers to North America. Their
voyages of discovery are of a very early date, and their attempts to establish
a colony were among the first which were made. After several abortive
efforts, a permanent settlement was made in Canada, in the year 1604, and
the foundation of Quebec was laid in the year 1608. In November 1603,
Henry IV. appointed De Mont lieutenant-general of that part of the territory
which he claimed, lying in North America, between the 40th and 46th
degrees of north latitude, then called Acadié, with power to colonise and to
rule it; and he soon afterwards granted to the same gentleman and his
associates, an exclusive right to the commerce of peltry in Acadié and the
gulf of St. Lawrence. In consequence of these grants, a settlement was
formed in the subsequent year, on that coast, near the river St. Croix; and in
1605, Port Royal was built on a more northern part of the bay of Fundy.
The colony, receiving not much support from France, was feeble and
unprosperous, but retained quiet possession of the country. In a time of
profound peace, the expedition of Argal was directed against it. He found it
totally unprepared for defence. The inhabitants, who had assiduously and
successfully cultivated the friendship of the Indians, were scattered abroad in
the woods, engaged in their several pursuits; and a ship and bark just arrived
from France, laden with articles necessary for the use of the colony, were
surprised in port, and their cargoes taken to Jamestown. After the departure
of Argal, the French resumed their former station.

The pretext for this predatory expedition was, that the French, by settling in
Acadié, had invaded the rights of the English, acquired by the first discovery
of the continent.
Argal also paid a visit to New York, then in possession of the Dutch; which
country he claimed under the pretext that captain Hudson was an
Englishman, and could not transfer the benefit of his discoveries from his
sovereign. He demanded possession of the place; and the Dutch governor,
being unable to resist, "peaceably submitted both himself and his colony to
the King of England, and the governor of Virginia under him," and
consented to pay a tribute. Argal then continued his voyage to Jamestown.
But another governor soon afterwards arriving from Amsterdam with better
means of asserting the title of his nation, the payment of the tribute was
refused, and the place put in a state of defence.[29]
Fifty acres of land laid off for each settler.

The advantages resulting to the colony from allowing each individual to
labour, in part for himself, having soon become apparent, the system of
working in common to fill the public stores, seems to have been totally
relinquished; and, not long afterwards, fifty acres of land, promised by the
rules of the company to each emigrant, were surveyed and delivered to those
having the title.

1615
Tobacco.

About the same time, tobacco was first cultivated in Virginia.
This plant, although detested by the King, who even wrote a pamphlet
against it, which he styled a counter blast; although discountenanced by the
leading members of parliament, and even by the company, who issued edicts
against its cultivation; although extremely unpleasant to persons not
accustomed to it, and disagreeable in its effects, surmounted all opposition,
and has, by an unaccountable caprice, been brought into general use, and
become one of the most considerable staples of America.[30]

1616
Yeardly.

In the spring of the following year, Sir Thomas Dale sailed for England,
leaving the government in the hands of Mr. George Yeardly, who, after a lax
administration of one year, was succeeded by captain Argal.

1617
Argal.

Argal was a man of talents and energy, but selfish, haughty, and tyrannical.
He continued martial law during a season of peace; and a Mr. Brewster, who
was tried under this arbitrary system, for contemptuous words spoken of the
governor, was sentenced to suffer death. He obtained with difficulty an
appeal to the treasurer and company in England, by whom the sentence was
reversed.[31]
While martial law was, according to Stith, the common law of the land, the
governor seems to have been the sole legislator. His general edicts mark the
severity of his rule. He ordered that merchandise should be sold at an
advance of twenty-five per centum, and tobacco taken in payment at the rate
of three shillings per pound, under the penalty of three years' servitude to the
company; that no person should traffic privately with the Indians, or teach
them the use of fire arms, under pain of death; that no person should hunt
deer or hogs without the governor's permission; that no man should shoot,
unless in his own necessary defence, until a new supply of ammunition
should arrive, on pain of a year's personal service; that none should go on
board the ships at Jamestown, without the governor's leave; that every
person should go to church on Sundays and holidays, under the penalty of
slavery during the following week for the first offence, during a month for
the second, and during a year and a day for the third. The rigour of this
administration necessarily exciting much discontent, the complaints of the
Virginians at length made their way to the company. Mr. Yeardly.Lord
Delawar being dead, Mr. Yeardly was appointed captain-general, with
instructions to examine the wrongs of the colonists, and to redress them.[32]

1619

The new governor arrived in April, and soon after, to the inexpressible joy of
the inhabitants, declared his determination to convoke a colonial assembly.

This is an important era in the history of Virginia. Heretofore, all legislative
authority had been exercised, either by the corporation in England, or by
their officers in the colony. The people had no voice, either personally, or by
their representatives, in the government of themselves; and their most
important concerns were managed by persons often unacquainted with their
situation, and always possessing interests different from theirs. They now
felicitated themselves on having really the privileges of Englishmen.
First colonial assembly.

This first assembly met at Jamestown on the 19th of June. The colony being
not then divided into counties, the members were elected by the different
boroughs, amounting at that time to seven. From this circumstance the
popular branch of the legislature received the appellation of the house of
burgesses, which it retained until all connexion with England was dissolved.
The assembly, composed of the governor, the council, and burgesses, met
together in one apartment, and there discussed the various matters which
came before them. The laws then enacted, which, it is believed, are no
longer extant, were transmitted to England for the approbation of the
treasurer and company.[33]
Although the emigrations from England continued to be considerable, few
females had crossed the Atlantic. Men without wives could not consider their
residence in the country as permanent, and must intend after amassing some
wealth, to return to their native land. To remove this impediment to the
population of the colony, First arrival of females, 1620 ninety girls, of humble
fortune and spotless character, were transported by the company to Virginia;
and in the subsequent year, they were followed by sixty of the same
description. They were received by the young planters as a blessing which
substituted domestic happiness for the cheerless gloom of solitude; and the
face of the country was essentially changed.[34] The prospect of becoming
parents was accompanied with the anxieties for the welfare of their children;
and the education of youth soon became an object of attention. The necessity
of seminaries of learning was felt, and several steps were taken towards
founding the college, afterwards established by William and Mary.
and of convicts.

About the same time the company received orders from the King to convey
to Virginia one hundred idle and dissolute persons, then in custody of the
knight marshal. These were the first convicts transported to America. The
policy which dictated this measure was soon perceived to be not less wise
than it was humane. Men who, in Europe, were the pests of the body politic,
made an acceptable addition to the stock of labour in the colony; and, in a
new world, where the temptations to crime seldom presented themselves,
many of them became useful members of society.
Heretofore the commerce of Virginia had been engrossed by the corporation.
In the year 1620, this distressing and unprofitable monopoly was given up,
and the trade was open to all. The free competition produced by this change
of system was of essential advantage to the colony, 1621 African slaves.but
was the immediate cause of introducing a species of population which has
had vast influence on the past, and may affect the future destinies of
America, to an extent which human wisdom can neither foresee nor control.
A Dutch vessel, availing itself of this commercial liberty, brought into James
river twenty Africans, who were immediately purchased as slaves.[35]
Two councils established.

In July, the company passed an ordinance establishing a frame of
government for the colony. This instrument provided that there should be
two supreme councils in Virginia, the one to be called the Council of State,
to be appointed and displaced by the treasurer and company, and to assist the
governor with advice on executive subjects; the other to be denominated the
General Assembly, and to consist of the governor, the council of state, and
burgesses; to be chosen for the present, by the inhabitants of every town,
hundred, or settlement, in the colony, two for each. The assembly was
empowered to enact general laws for the government of the colony,
reserving a negative to the governor. Its acts were not to be in force until
confirmed by the general court in England, and the ratification returned
under its seal. On the other hand, no order of the general court was to bind
the colony until assented to by the assembly.

1622

A controversy concerning the importation of tobacco into the European
dominions of the crown, which had for some time existed between the King

and the company, was, at length, adjusted.
The King had demanded high duties on that article, while he permitted its
importation from the dominions of Spain, and also restrained its direct
exportation from Virginia, to the warehouses of the company in Holland, to
which expedient his exactions had driven them. It was at length agreed that
they should enjoy the sole right of importing that commodity into the
kingdom, for which they should pay a duty of nine pence per pound, in lieu
of all charges, and that the whole production of the colony should be brought
to England.
The industry, population, and produce of the colony, were now greatly
increased. At peace with the Indians, they had extended their settlements to
the Rappahannock and to the Potowmac. This change of circumstances
having rendered it inconvenient to bring all causes to Jamestown before the
governor and council, who had heretofore exercised all judicial power in the
country, County courts.inferior courts were established, to sit in convenient
places, in order to render justice more cheap and accessible to the people.
Thus originated the county courts of Virginia.
In this year the cup of prosperity, which the colonists had begun to taste, was
dashed from their lips by an event which shook the colony to its foundation.
In 1618, Powhatan died, and was succeeded, in his dominions and in his
influence over all the neighbouring tribes, by Opechancanough, a bold and
cunning chief, as remarkable for his jealousy and hatred of the new settlers,
as for his qualifications to execute the designs suggested by his resentments.
He renewed, however, the stipulations of Powhatan; and, for a considerable
time, the general peace remained undisturbed. The colonists, unsuspicious of
danger, observed neither the Indians nor their machinations. Engaged
entirely in the pursuits of agriculture, they neglected their military exercises,
and every useful precaution. Meanwhile, the Indians, being often employed
as hunters, were furnished with fire arms, and taught to use them. They were
admitted, at all times, freely into the habitations of the English, as harmless
visitants, were fed at their tables, and lodged in their chambers. Indian
conspiracy to massacre all the whites.During this state of friendly intercourse, the
plan of a general massacre, which should involve man, woman, and child, in
indiscriminate slaughter, was formed with cold and unrelenting deliberation.
The tribes in the neighbourhood of the English, except those on the eastern
shore of the Chesapeak, who were not trusted with the plan, were

successively gained over; and, notwithstanding the perpetual intercourse
between them and the white people, the most impenetrable secrecy was
observed. So deep and dark was their dissimulation, that they were
accustomed to borrow boats from the English to cross the river, in order to
concert and mature their execrable designs.
The 22d of March was designated as the day on which all the English
settlements were to be attacked. The better to disguise their intentions, and to
ensure success, they brought, in the preceding evening, deer, turkies, and
fish, as presents; and, even on the morning of the massacre, came freely
among the whites, behaving in their usual friendly manner, until the very
instant which had been appointed for the commencement of the scene of
carnage. The fatal hour being arrived, they fell at once on every settlement,
and murdered without distinction of age or sex. So sudden was the execution
of their plan, that few perceived the weapons, or the approach of the blow,
which terminated their existence. Thus, in one hour, and almost in the same
instant, fell three hundred and forty-seven men, women and children; most
of them by their own plantation tools.
The massacre would have been still more complete, had not information
been given, the preceding night, to a Mr. Pace, by an Indian domesticated in
his house, and treated as a son, who, being pressed to murder his benefactor,
disclosed the plot to him. He immediately carried the intelligence to
Jamestown, and the alarm was given to some of the nearest settlements,
which were thereby saved. At some other places, too, where the
circumstances of the attack enabled the English to seize their arms, the
assailants were repulsed.
General war.

This horrible massacre was succeeded by a vindictive and exterminating
war, in which the wiles of the Indians were successfully retaliated on
themselves. During this disastrous period, many public works were
abandoned; the college institution was deserted; the settlements were
reduced from eighty to eight; and famine superadded its afflicting scourge to
the accumulated distresses of the colony.[36]
As soon as intelligence of these calamitous events reached England, a
contribution was made by the adventurers for the relief of the sufferers; arms
from the tower were delivered to the treasurer and company; and several

vessels were dispatched with those articles which might best alleviate such
complicated distress.
Dissension and dissolution of the company.

But the dissolution of the company was rapidly approaching. That
corporation contained many men of the first rank and talents in the nation,
who in their assemblies, were in habits of discussing the measures of the
crown with the accustomed freedom of a popular body. Two violent factions,
which assumed the regular appearance of court and country parties, divided
the company, and struggled for the ascendancy. James endeavoured to give
the preponderance to the court party, but his endeavours were unsuccessful;
and his failure disposed him to listen to complaints against a corporation,
whose deliberations he found himself unable to control. To their
mismanagement he ascribed the slow progress made by the colony, and the
heavy losses that had been sustained.[37]

1623

After hearing both the corporation and their accusers, the privy council
determined to issue a commission, appointing persons to be named by the
crown, to inquire into the affairs of Virginia from the earliest settlement of
the province, and to report thereon to the government. This commission
seized the charters, books, and papers of the company; and all letters and
packets brought from the colony were ordered to be laid unopened before the
privy council. Their report attributed the misfortunes of the colony to the
corporation in England; and James, at no time a friend to popular assemblies,
communicated to them his resolution to revoke the old charter and grant a
new one, which should respect private property, but place power in fewer
hands. The requisition that they should assent to this proposition, and
surrender their charter, was accompanied with the information that the King
was determined, in default of submission, to take such proceedings for
recalling their letters patent as might be just. 1624 Colony taken into the hands of
the King.The company, however, resolutely determined to defend its rights;
whereupon a writ of quo warranto was instituted in the court of King's
Bench, which was decided according to the wishes of the monarch. The
company was dissolved, and all its powers were revested in the crown.

Above one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling had been expended in
planting the colony; and more than nine thousand persons had been sent
from England to people it. Yet, at the dissolution of the company, the annual
imports from Virginia did not exceed twenty thousand pounds in value, and
the population of the country was reduced to about eighteen hundred
persons.
While these things were transacting in England, the war against the Indians
was prosecuted in the colony, with vigour and success. The neighbouring
hostile tribes were nearly exterminated, and were driven entirely from the
rivers, so that the settlements were extended in safety.
In February, the general assembly was once more convened. The several
orders which had been previously made by the governor and council, were
enacted into laws; and form the oldest legislative rules of action now
remaining on record. Among them are various regulations respecting the
church of England. But the act best representing the condition of the
colonists, is a solemn declaration, "that the governor should not impose any
taxes on the colony, otherwise than by the authority of the general assembly;
and that he should not withdraw the inhabitants from their private labour to
any service of his own." At this session, too, the privilege of exemption from
arrest, while the assembly was sitting, was extended to the burgesses.
Several other measures were adopted for the correction of abuses; and the
laws of that session, generally, are marked with that good sense and
patriotism, which are to be expected from men perfectly understanding their
own situation, and legislating for themselves.
From this assembly, the royal commissioners endeavoured, in vain, to
procure an address to the King, professing "their willingness to submit
themselves to his princely pleasure, in revoking the ancient patents;" but a
petition was agreed to and transmitted, acknowledging their satisfaction at
his having taken the plantation into his more especial care, beseeching him
to continue the then form of government, to confirm to Virginia and the
Somers isles, the sole importation of tobacco, and soliciting that, if the
promised aid of soldiers should be granted them, the governor and assembly
might have a voice in directing their operations.
Virginia having thus become a royal government, the King issued a special
commission, appointing a governor and twelve councillors, to whom the

entire direction of the affairs of the province was committed. No assembly
was mentioned, nor was it intended to permit the continuance of that body,
for, to the popular shape of the late system, James attributed the disasters of
the colony. But some attention to their interests, was mingled with this
subversion of political liberty. Yielding to the petitions of the English
parliament and of the colonists, he issued a proclamation prohibiting the
growth of tobacco in the kingdom, and the importation of it into England or
Ireland, except from Virginia, or the Somers isles, and in vessels belonging
to his subjects. His death prevented the completion of a legislative code for
the colony, which he had commenced, and which he flattered himself, would
remedy all the ills that had been experienced.
Charles I.
Arbitrary measures of the crown.
1625

Charles I. adopted, in its full extent, the colonial system of his father. He
committed to Sir George Yeardly, whom he appointed governor of Virginia,
and to his council, the whole legislative and executive powers of the colony,
with instructions to conform exactly to orders which should be received
from him. They were empowered to make laws and to execute them; to
impose taxes, and to enforce the payment of them; to seize the property of
the late company; and to apply it to the public use; and to transport the
colonists to England, to be punished there for crimes committed in Virginia.
To complete this hateful system, the crown exacted a monopoly of the
tobacco trade, and appointed agents, to whose management that article was
entirely committed.[38]

1629
Sir John Harvey.

The full pressure of these arbitrary regulations was not felt till Sir John
Harvey, on the Sir John death of Sir George Yeardly, was appointed governor
of Virginia. The mind of this gentleman is represented by the historians of
the day, as having been of a structure to make even tyranny more odious.
Rapacious, haughty, and unfeeling, he exercised his powers in the most
offensive manner. Respect for his commission, suppressed opposition to his
authority for several years. 1636 Roused, at length, almost to madness by
oppression, the Virginians, in a fit of popular rage, seized their governor, and

sent him a prisoner to England, accompanied by two deputies charged with
the duty of representing their grievances, and his misconduct.
Charles deemed it necessary to discountenance this summary and violent
proceeding, so entirely incompatible with that implicit obedience which he
had ever exacted from his subjects. The deputies of the colony were sternly
received; no inquiry appears to have been made into the conduct of Harvey;
1637 and, early in the succeeding year, he was sent back to Virginia,
invested with all his former powers.[39]
The time, however, approached, when a new system of administration was to
be adopted. The discontents of the nation, and his own wants, obliged
Charles to determine on convening a parliament. He was probably unwilling
to increase the ill temper resulting from his maladministration at home, by
bringing before the representatives of the people, complaints of the
despotism which had been exercised in America.
Sir William Berkeley.

To this change of circumstances may be ascribed the appointment of Sir
William Berkeley to succeed Harvey as governor of Virginia. In almost
every respect, this gentleman was unlike his predecessor. Highly respectable
for his rank and abilities, he was still more distinguished by his integrity, by
the mildness of his temper, and by the gentleness of his manners. To
complete the satisfaction of the colonists, he was empowered and directed to
summon the burgesses of all the plantations, to meet the governor and
council in the general assembly, Provincial assembly restored.and thereby to
restore to the people their share in the government. These changes had such
an effect in Virginia that, when afterward informed of a petition presented in
the name of the assembly to parliament, "praying for the restoration of the
ancient patents, and corporation government," the general assembly not only
transmitted an explicit disavowal of it, but sent an address to the King,
expressing their high sense of his favour towards them, and earnestly
desiring to continue under his immediate protection. During the civil war, as
well as after the establishment of the commonwealth, they continued firm in
their attachment to the royal family.

1650

The House of Commons, however, having succeeded in the establishment of
its power over England, was not disposed to permit its authority to be
questioned in Virginia. An ordinance was passed, declaring that, as the
colonies were settled at the cost and by the people of England, "they are and
ought to be subordinate to, and dependent on, that nation; and subject to
such law and regulations as are or shall be made by parliament. That in
Virginia and other places, the powers of government had been usurped by
persons who had set themselves up in opposition to the commonwealth, who
were therefore denounced as rebels and traitors; and all foreign vessels were
forbidden to enter the ports of any of the English settlements in America."
As the men who then governed were not in the habit of making empty
declarations, the council of state was empowered to send a fleet to enforce
obedience to parliament.[40]
Sir George Ayscue was accordingly detached with a powerful squadron, and
was instructed to endeavour, by gentle means, to bring the colonists to
obedience; but, if these failed, to use force, and to give freedom to such
servants and slaves of those who should resist, as would serve in the troops
under his command. 1651 After reducing Barbadoes, and the other islands
to submission, the squadron entered the Chesapeak. Berkeley, having hired a
few Dutch ships which were then trading to Virginia, made a gallant
resistance; but, unable long to maintain so unequal a contest, he yielded to
superior force, having first stipulated for a general amnesty. He then
withdrew to a retired situation where, beloved and respected by the people,
he resided as a private man, until a counter revolution called him, once more,
to preside over the colony.[41]
After the revocation of the charter, it became more easy to obtain large
grants of land. This circumstance, notwithstanding the tyranny of the
provincial government, promoted emigration, and considerably increased the
population of the colony. At the commencement of the civil war, Virginia
was supposed to contain about twenty thousand souls.[42]
While the ordinance of 1650, forbidding all trade between the colonies and
foreign nations, was dispensed with in favour of republican New England, it
was rigorously enforced against the loyal colony of Virginia. These
restrictions were the more burdensome, because England did not then
furnish a sufficient market for all the produce, nor a supply for all the wants
of the colonies. This severity was not calculated to detach the affections of

the people from the royal family. Their discontents were cherished, too, by
the great number of cavaliers who had fled to Virginia after the total defeat
of their party in England. Taking advantage of an interregnum occasioned by
the sudden death of governor Matthews, the people resolved to throw off
their forced allegiance to the commonwealth, and called on Sir William
Berkeley to resume the government. He required only their solemn promise
to venture their lives and fortunes with him in support of their King. Charles
II. proclaimed in Virginia.This being readily given, Charles II. was proclaimed in
Virginia, before intelligence had been received of the death of Cromwell. His
restoration was soon afterwards effected in England; and this rash measure
not only escaped chastisement, but became a meritorious service of which
Virginia long boasted, and which was not entirely forgotten by the Prince.[43]
At the restoration, the colony contained about thirty thousand persons.
One of the causes which, during the government of Harvey, had disquieted
Virginia, was the diminution of territory occasioned by grants of great tracts
of country lying within the limits of the colony. The most remarkable of
these was the grant of Maryland to Lord Baltimore.
Maryland.

In June 1632, Charles I. granted to that nobleman for ever, "that region
bounded by a line drawn from Watkin's Point on Chesapeak bay, to the
ocean on the east; thence, to that part of the estuary of Delaware on the
north, which lieth under the 40th degree, where New England is terminated;
thence, in a right line, by the degree aforesaid, to the meridian of the
fountain of the Potowmac; thence, following its course, by the farther bank
to its confluence." The territory described in this grant was denominated
Maryland, and was separated entirely from Virginia. The proprietor was
empowered, with the assent of the freemen, or their delegates, whom he was
required to assemble for that purpose, to make all laws for the government of
the new colony, not inconsistent with the laws of England. Privileges, in
other respects analogous to those given to the other colonies, were
comprised in this charter; and it is remarkable that it contains no clause
obliging the proprietary to submit the laws which might be enacted to the
King, for his approbation or dissent; nor any reservation of the right of the
crown to interfere in the government of the province.[44]

This is the first example of the dismemberment of a colony, and the creation
of another within its original limits, by the mere act of the crown.
The first migration into the new colony consisted of about two hundred
gentlemen with their adherents, chiefly Roman Catholics, who sailed from
England under Calvert, the brother of the proprietor, in November,
1633 and, early in the following year, landed in Maryland, near the mouth
of the Potowmac. Their first effort was to conciliate the good will of the
natives, whose town they purchased, and called St. Mary's. This measure
was as wise as it was just. By obtaining the peaceable possession of land
already prepared for cultivation, the Marylanders were enabled to raise their
food immediately; and this circumstance, together with their neighbourhood
to Virginia, where the necessaries of life were then raised in abundance,
secured them from famine and its concomitant diseases;—afflictions which
had swept away such numbers of the first settlers of North America.
The inhabitants of Virginia presented a petition against the grant to Lord
Baltimore, which was heard before the privy council in July, 1633. The
decision was in favour of the continuance of the patent; leaving to the
petitioners their remedy at law. To prevent farther differences, free
commerce was permitted between the colonies; and they were enjoined to
receive no fugitives from each other; to do no act which might bring on a
war with the natives; and on all occasions to assist each other as became
fellow subjects of the same state.

1635
Assembly of all the freemen.

In February 1635, the first assembly of Maryland was convened. It appears
to have been composed of the whole body of the freemen. Their acts were,
most probably, not approved by the proprietor, who transmitted, in turn, for
their consideration, a code of laws prepared by himself. 1638 This code was
laid before the assembly who rejected it without hesitation, and prepared a
body of regulations adapted to their situation. William Clayborne.Among these
was an act of attainder against William Clayborne, who was charged with
felony and sedition, with having exercised the powers of government within
the province without authority, and with having excited the Indians to make
war on the colony.[45]

As early as the year 1631, Charles had granted a license to William
Clayborne, one of the council and secretary of state of Virginia, "to traffic in
those parts of America for which there is already no patent granted for sole
trade." To enforce this license, Harvey, then governor of Virginia, had
granted his commission also, containing the same powers. Under this license
and commission, Clayborne made a small settlement in the isle of Kent, near
Annapolis, which he continued to claim; and refused to submit to the
jurisdiction of Maryland. Not content with infusing his own turbulent spirit
into the inhabitants of Kent island, he scattered jealousies among the natives,
and persuaded them that "the new comers" were Spaniards, and enemies of
the Virginians. Having been indicted, and found guilty of murder, piracy, and
sedition, he fled from justice; whereupon his estate was seized and
confiscated. Clayborne loudly denounced these proceedings as oppressive,
and complained of them to his sovereign. At the same time, he prayed for a
confirmation of his former license to trade, and for a grant of other lands
adjoining the isle of Kent, with power to govern them. The lords
commissioners of the colonies, to whom this subject was referred,
determined that the lands in question belonged to Lord Baltimore; and that
no plantation, or trade with the Indians, within the limits of his patent, ought
to be allowed, without his permission. The other complaints made by
Clayborne were not deemed proper for the interference of government.

1639

Hitherto, the legislature had been composed of the whole body of the
freemen. But the increase of population, and the extension of settlements,
having rendered the exercise of the sovereign power by the people
themselves intolerably burdensome, an act was passed, in 1639, "for
establishing the House of Assembly." This act declared that those elected
should be called burgesses, and should supply the place of the freemen who
chose them, as do the representatives in the Parliament of England. These
burgesses, with others called by special writ, together with the governor and
secretary, were to constitute the General Assembly; but the two branches of
the legislature were to sit in the same chamber. In 1650, this last regulation
was changed; and an act was passed declaring that those called by special
writ should form the upper house, while those chosen by the hundreds
should compose the lower house; and that bills assented to by both branches

of the legislature and by the governor, should be deemed the laws of the
province.
Perfect harmony prevailed between the proprietor and the people; and
Maryland, attentive to its own affairs, remained in a state of increasing
prosperity until the civil war broke out in England. This government, like
that of Virginia, was attached to the royal cause; 1641 but Clayborne, who
took part with the Parliament, found means to intrigue among the people,
and to raise an insurrection in the province. Calvert, the governor, was
obliged to fly to Virginia for protection; and the insurgents seized the reins
of government. After the suppression of this revolt, and the restoration of
tranquillity, an act of general pardon and oblivion was passed, from the
benefits of which only a few leading individuals were excepted; but this, like
most other insurrections, produced additional burdens on the people which
did not so soon pass away. A duty, for seven years, of ten shillings on every
hundred weight of tobacco exported in Dutch bottoms, was granted to the
proprietor; the one-half of which was appropriated to satisfy claims
produced by the recovery and defence of the province.[46]

1651

This state of repose was disturbed by the superintending care of Parliament.
In September 1651, commissioners were appointed "for reducing and
governing the colonies within the bay of Chesapeak." Among them was
Clayborne, the evil genius of Maryland. As the proprietor had acknowledged
and submitted to the authority of Parliament, he was permitted to govern the
colony in the name of "the keepers of the liberties of England;" but could not
long retain the possession of actual authority. The distractions of England,
having found their way into Maryland, divided the colonists; and the
commissioners supported with their countenance, the faction opposed to the
established government. The contentions generated by this state of things, at
length broke out in a civil war, which terminated in the defeat of the
governor and the Roman Catholics. A new assembly was convened, which,
being entirely under the influence of the victorious party, passed an act
declaring that none who professed the popish religion could be protected in
the province by the laws; that such as profess faith in God by Jesus Christ,
although dissenting from the doctrine and discipline publicly held forth,
should not be restrained from the exercise of their religion, provided such

liberty was not extended to popery, or prelacy, or to such as, under the
profession of Christ, practise licentiousness. Other laws in the same spirit
were enacted; and a persecution was commenced against the Quakers, as
well as against those guilty of popery, and prelacy.
A scene of revolutionary turbulence ensued, in the course of which a
resolution was passed declaring the upper house to be useless, which
continued in force until the restoration. Philip Calvert was then appointed
governor by Lord Baltimore, and the ancient order of things was restored.
The colony, notwithstanding these commotions, continued to flourish; and,
at the restoration, its population was estimated at twelve thousand souls.

CHAPTER III.

First ineffectual attempts of the Plymouth company to
settle the country.... Settlement at New Plymouth.... Sir
Henry Rosewell and company.... New charter....
Settlements prosecuted vigorously.... Government
transferred to the colonists.... Boston founded....
Religious intolerance.... General court established....
Royal commission for the government of the
plantations.... Contest with the French colony of
Acadié.... Hugh Peters.... Henry Vane.... Mrs.
Hutchinson.... Maine granted to Gorges.... Quo warranto
against the patent of the colony.... Religious dissensions....
Providence settled.... Rhode Island settled.... Connecticut
settled.... War with the Piquods.... New Haven settled.

1606

The steps by which the first, or southern colony, advanced to a firm and
permanent establishment, were slow and painful. The company for
founding the second, or northern colony, was composed of gentlemen
residing in Plymouth, and other parts of the west of England; was less
wealthy, and possessed fewer resources than the first company, which
resided in the capital. Their efforts were consequently more feeble, and less
successful, than those which were made in the south.[47]
The first vessel fitted out by this company was captured and confiscated by
the Spaniards, who, at that time, asserted a right to exclude the ships of all
other nations from navigating the American seas. Not discouraged by this
misfortune, 1607 the company in the following year dispatched two other
vessels, having on board about two hundred persons designed to form the
proposed settlement. The colonists arrived safely on the American coast in
autumn, and took possession of a piece of ground near the river Sagahadoc,
where they built fort St. George. Their sufferings during the ensuing winter
were extreme. Many of the company, among whom were Gilbert their
admiral, and George Popham their president, sank under the diseases by
which they were attacked; and the vessels which brought them supplies in

the following spring, brought also the information that their principal
patron, Sir John Popham, chief justice of England, was dead.
1608 Discouraged by their losses and sufferings, and by the death of a
person on whom they relied chiefly for assistance, the surviving colonists
determined to abandon the country, and embark on board the vessels then
returning to England. The frightful pictures they drew of the country, and of
the climate, deterred the company, for some time, from farther attempts to
make a settlement, and their enterprizes were limited to voyages for the
purposes of taking fish, and of trading with the natives for furs. 1614 One
of these was made by captain Smith, so distinguished in the history of
Virginia. Having explored, with great accuracy, that part of the coast which
stretches from Penobscot to Cape Cod, he delineated it on a map; which he
presented to the young Prince of Wales, with descriptions dictated by a
sanguine mind, in which enthusiasm was combined with genius. The
imagination of the Prince was so wrought upon by the glowing colours in
which Smith painted the country, that he declared it should be called New
England, which name it has ever since retained.[48]
The languishing company of Plymouth, however, could not be stimulated to
engage in farther schemes of colonisation, the advantages of which were
distant and uncertain, while the expense was immediate and inevitable. To a
stronger motive than even interest, is New England indebted for its first
settlement.
An obscure sect, which had acquired the appellation of Brownists from the
name of its founder, and which had rendered itself peculiarly obnoxious by
the democracy of its tenets respecting church government, had been driven
by persecution to take refuge at Leyden in Holland, where its members
formed a distinct society under the care of their pastor, Mr. John Robinson.
There they resided several years in safe obscurity. This situation, at length,
became irksome to them. Their families intermingled with the Dutch, and
they saw before them, with extreme apprehension, the danger of losing their
separate identity. Under the influence of these and other causes, they came
to the determination of removing in a body to America.

1618

They applied to the London company for a grant of lands; and, to promote
the success of their application by the certainty of their emigrating, they
said, "that they were well weaned from the delicate milk of their mother
country, and inured to the difficulties of a strange land. That they were knit
together in a strict and sacred bond, by virtue of which they held themselves
bound to take care of the good of each other, and of the whole. That it was
not with them, as with other men, whom small things could discourage, or
small discontents cause to wish themselves at home again." The only
privilege on which they insisted, was a license under the great seal, to
practise and profess religion in that mode, which, under the impulse of
conscience, they had adopted. This reasonable and moderate request was
refused. James had already established the church of England in Virginia;
and, although he promised to connive at their non-conformity, and not to
molest them while they demeaned themselves peaceably, he positively
refused to give that explicit and solemn pledge of security, which they
required. This, for a short time, suspended their removal; but the causes of
their discontent in Holland continuing, they, at length, determined to trust to
the verbal declarations of the King, and negotiated with the Virginia
company for a tract of land within the limits of their patent.[49]

1620

In September, they sailed from England, with only one hundred and twenty
men, in a single ship. Their destination was Hudson's river; but the first land
they made was Cape Cod. They soon perceived that they were not only
beyond their own limits, but beyond those of the company from which they
derived their title; but it was now the month of November, and
consequently too late in the season again to put to sea in search of a new
habitation. Settlement at New Plymouth.After exploring the coast, they chose a
position for their station, to which they gave the name of New at New
Plymouth. On the 11th of November, before landing, a solemn covenant
was signed by the heads of families, and freemen, in which, after reciting
that they had undertaken to plant a colony for the glory of God, and for the
honour of their King and country, and professing their loyalty to their
sovereign Lord King James, they combined themselves into a body politic,
for the purpose of making equal laws for the general good.[50]

Having thus formed a compact, the obligation of which all admitted, they
proceeded to the choice of a governor for one year; and to enable him the
better to discharge the trust confided to him, they gave him one assistant. In
1624, three others were added; and the number was afterwards increased to
seven. The supreme power resided in, and, during the infancy of the colony,
was exercised by, the whole body of the male inhabitants. They assembled
together, occasionally, to determine on all subjects of public concern; nor
was a house of representatives established until the year 1639. They
adopted the laws of England as a common rule of action, adding
occasionally municipal regulations. Some of the changes in their penal code
strongly marked their character and circumstances. While only a moderate
fine was imposed on forgery, fornication was punished with whipping, and
adultery with death.[51]
Misguided by their religious theories, they fell into the same error which
had been committed in Virginia, and, in imitation of the primitive
Christians, threw all their property into a common stock, laboured jointly
for the common benefit, and were fed from the common stores. This
regulation produced, even in this small and enthusiastic society, its constant
effect. They were often in danger of starving; and severe whipping,
administered to promote labour, only increased discontent.
The colonists landed at a season of the year which was unfavourable to the
establishment of a new settlement. The winter, which was intensely cold,
had already commenced; and they were not in a condition to soften its
rigours. Before the return of spring, fifty of them perished with maladies
increased by the hardships to which they were exposed, by the scarcity of
food, and by the almost total privation of those comforts to which they had
been accustomed. The survivors, as the season moderated, encountered new
difficulties. Their attention to the means of providing for their future wants
was interrupted by the necessity of taking up arms to defend themselves
against the neighbouring savages. Fortunately for the colonists, the natives
had been so wasted by pestilence, the preceding year, that they were easily
subdued, and compelled to accept a peace, on equitable terms.
The colonists were supported, under these multiplied distresses, by the hope
of better times, and by that high gratification which men exasperated by
persecution and oppression, derived from the enjoyment of the rights of

conscience, and the full exercise of the powers of self-government. From
their friends in England, they received occasional but scanty supplies; and
continued to struggle against surrounding difficulties, with patience and
perseverance. They remained in peace, alike exempt from the notice and
oppression of government. Yet, in consequence of the unproductiveness of
their soil, and their adherence to the pernicious policy of a community of
goods and of labour, they increased more slowly than the other colonies;
and, in the year 1630, amounted to only three hundred souls.
Until the year 1630, they possessed no other title to their lands than is
derived from occupancy. In that year they obtained a grant from the New
Plymouth company, but were never incorporated as a body politic by royal
charter. Having received no powers from the parliament or King, and being
totally disregarded by the Plymouth company, they remained a mere
voluntary association, yielding obedience to laws, and to magistrates,
formed and chosen by themselves. In this situation they continued
undisturbed, and almost unknown, more tolerant and more moderate than
their neighbours, until their union with a younger, and more powerful sister,
who advanced with a growth unusually rapid to a state of maturity.[52]
The original company of Plymouth, having done nothing effectual towards
settling the territory which had been granted to them, and being unable to
preserve the monopoly of their trade and fisheries, applied to James for a
new and more enlarged patent. On the 3d of November, he granted that
territory which lies between the 40th and 48th degrees of north latitude to
the Duke of Lenox, the Marquis of Buckingham, and several others, in
absolute property; and incorporated them under the name of "the council
established at Plymouth, for planting and governing that country called
New England;" with jurisdiction and powers similar to those which had
before been conferred on the companies of south and north Virginia, and
especially that of excluding all other persons whatever from trading within
their boundaries and fishing in the neighbouring seas. This improvident
grant, which excited the indignation of the people of England, then deeply
interested in the fur trade and fisheries, soon engaged the attention, and
received the censure of parliament. The patentees were compelled to
relinquish their odious monopoly; and, being thus deprived of the funds on
which they had relied to furnish the expense of supporting new settlements,
they abandoned the design of attempting them. New England might have

remained long unoccupied by Europeans, had not the same causes, which
occasioned the emigration of the Brownists, still continued to operate. The
persecution to which the puritans were exposed, increased their zeal and
their numbers. In despair of obtaining at home a relaxation of those rigorous
penal statutes under which they had long smarted, they looked elsewhere
for that toleration which was denied them in their native land.
Understanding that their brethren in New Plymouth were permitted to
worship their creator according to the dictates of conscience, their attention
was directed towards the same coast; and several small emigrations were
made, at different times, to Massachusetts bay; so termed from the name of
the Sachem who was sovereign of the country.

1627

Mr. White, a non-conforming minister at Dorchester, formed an association
of several gentlemen, who had imbibed puritanical opinions, for the
purpose of conducting a colony to the bay of Massachusetts, and rendering
it an asylum for the persecuted of his own persuasion. In prosecution of
these views, a treaty was concluded with the council of Plymouth for the
purchase of part of New England; Sir Henry Rosewell and others.and that
corporation, in March 1627, sold to Sir Henry Rosewell and others, all that
part of New England lying three miles to the south of Charles river, and
three miles north of Merrimack river, and extending from the Atlantic to the
South sea. A small number of planters and servants were, soon afterwards,
dispatched under Endicot, who, in September, laid the foundation of Salem,
the first permanent town in Massachusetts.[53]
The purchasers perceived their inability to accomplish the settlement of the
extensive regions they had acquired, without the aid of more opulent
partners. These were soon found in the capital; but they required that a new
charter should be obtained from the crown, comprehending their names,
which should confirm the grant to the council of Plymouth, and confer on
the grantees the powers of government. So seldom is man instructed by the
experience of others, that, disregarding the lessons furnished by Virginia,
they likewise required that the supreme authority should be vested in
persons residing in London. 1628 The proprietors having acceded to these
requisitions, application was made to Charles for a patent conforming to
them, which issued on the 4th day of March, 1628.

This charter incorporated the grantees by the name of "The governor and
company of Massachusetts bay in New England."
The whole executive power was vested in a governor, a deputy governor,
and eighteen assistants; to be named, in the first instance, by the crown, and
afterwards elected by the company. The governor, and seven, or more, of
the assistants, were authorised to meet in monthly courts, for the dispatch of
such business as concerned the company, or settlement. The legislative
power was vested in the body of the proprietors, who were to assemble four
times a year in person, under the denomination of the general court; and
besides electing freemen, and the necessary officers of the company, were
empowered to make ordinances for the good of the community, and the
government of the plantation and its inhabitants; provided they should not
be repugnant to the laws of England. Their lands were to be holden in free
and common soccage; and the same temporary exemption from taxes, and
from duties on exports and imports, which had been granted to the colony
of Virginia, was accorded to them. As in the charter of Virginia, so in this,
the colonists and their descendants were declared to be entitled to all the
rights and privileges of natural born subjects.
The patent being obtained, the governor and council engaged with ardour in
the duties assigned them. To support the expenses of a fresh embarkation, it
was resolved that every person subscribing fifty pounds, should be entitled
to two hundred acres of land as the first dividend. Five vessels sailed in
May, carrying about two hundred persons, who reached Salem in June. At
that place they found Endicot, to whom they brought a confirmation of his
commission as governor. The colony consisted of three hundred persons,
one hundred of whom removed to Charlestown.
Religion, which had stimulated them to remove from their native land,
became the first object of their care in the country they had adopted. Being
zealous puritans, they concurred in the institution of a church, establishing
that form of policy, which has since been denominated independent. A
confession of faith was drawn up to which the majority assented; and an
association was formed in which they covenanted with the Lord, and with
each other, to walk together in all his ways, as he should be pleased to
reveal himself to them. Pastors, and other ecclesiastical officers, were

chosen, who were installed into their sacred offices, by the imposition of the
hands of the brethren.[54]
A church being thus formed, several were received as members who gave
an account of their faith and hope as Christians; and those only were
admitted into the communion, whose morals and religious tenets were
approved by the elders.[55]
Pleased with the work of their hands, and believing it to be perfect, they
could tolerate no difference of opinion. Just escaped from persecution, they
became persecutors themselves. Some few of their number, attached to the
ritual of the church of England, were dissatisfied with its total abolition;
and, withdrawing from communion with the church, met apart, to worship
God in the manner they deemed most proper. At the head of this small
number were two of the first patentees, who were also of the council.
1629 They were called before the governor, who, being of opinion that
their non-conformity and conversation tended to sedition, sent them to
England. The opposition ceased when deprived of its leaders.[56]
The following winter brought with it the calamities which must be
uniformly sustained by the first emigrants into a wilderness, where the cold
is severe, and the privations almost universal. In the course of it, nearly half
their number perished, "lamenting that they did not live to see the rising
glories of the faithful." The fortitude, however, of the survivors, was not
shaken; nor were their brethren in England deterred from joining them.
Religion supported the colonists under all their difficulties; and the
intolerant spirit of the English hierarchy diminished, in the view of the
puritans in England, the dangers and the sufferings to be encountered in
America; and disposed them to forego every other human enjoyment, for
the consoling privilege of worshipping the Supreme Being according to
their own opinions. Many persons of fortune determined to seek in the new
world that liberty of conscience which was denied them in the old; but,
foreseeing the misrule inseparable from the residence of the legislative
power in England, they demanded, as preliminary to their emigration, that
the powers of government should be transferred to New England, and be
exercised in the colony. The company had already incurred expenses for
which they saw no prospect of a speedy reimbursement; and although they
doubted the legality of the measure, were well disposed by adopting it, to

obtain such important aid. Government transferred to Massachusetts bay.A general
court was therefore convened, by whom it was unanimously resolved "that
the patent should be transferred, and the government of the colony removed
from London to Massachusetts bay." It was also agreed that the members of
the corporation remaining in England, should retain a share in the trading
stock and profits for the term of seven years.[57]

1630

Such was the effect of this revolution in the system of government, that,
early in the following year, fifteen hundred persons, among whom were
several of family and fortune, embarked, at an expense of upwards of
twenty thousand pounds, and arrived at Salem in July. Boston
founded.Dissatisfied with this situation, they explored the country in quest of
better stations; and, settling in many places around the bay, they laid the
foundation of several towns, and, among others, of Boston.
The difficulty of obtaining subsistence, the difference of their food from
that to which they had been accustomed, the intense cold of the winter,
against which sufficient provision was not yet made, were still severely felt
by the colonists, and still carried many of them to the grave; but that
enthusiasm which had impelled them to emigrate, preserved all its force;
and they met, with a firm unshaken spirit, the calamities which assailed
them. 1631 Our admiration of their fortitude and of their principles,
sustains, however, some diminution from observing the sternness with
which they denied to others that civil and religious liberty which, through
so many dangers and hardships, they sought for themselves. Their general
court decreed that none should be admitted as freemen, or permitted to vote
at elections, or be capable of being chosen as magistrates, or of serving as
jurymen, but such as had been received into the church as members. Thus
did men who had braved every hardship for freedom of conscience, deny
the choicest rights of humanity, to all those who dissented from the opinion
of the majority on any article of faith, or point of church discipline.
The numerous complaints of the severities exercised by the government of
Massachusetts, added to the immense emigration of persons noted for their
enthusiasm, seem, at length, to have made some impression on Charles;
1633 and an order was made by the King in council, to stop the ships at

that time ready to sail, freighted with passengers for New England. This
order, however, seems never to have been strictly executed, as the
emigrations continued without any sensible diminution.
Hitherto the legislature had been composed of the whole body of the
freemen. Under this system, so favourable to the views of the few who
possess popular influence, the real power of the state had been chiefly
engrossed by the governor and assistants, aided by the clergy. The
emigration, however, having already been considerable, and the settlements
having become extensive, it was found inconvenient, if not impracticable,
longer to preserve a principle which their charter enjoined. 1634 In the year
1634, by common consent, the people elected delegates who met the
governor and council, and constituted the general court. This important
improvement in their system, rendered familiar, and probably suggested, by
the practice in the mother country, although not authorised by the charter,
remained unaltered, so long as that charter was permitted to exist.[58]
Commission for the government of the plantations.

The colony of Massachusetts having been conducted, from its
commencement, very much on the plan of an independent society, at length
attracted the partial notice of the jealous administration in England;
1635 and a commission for "the regulation and government of the
plantations" was issued to the great officers of state, and to some of the
nobility, in which absolute power was granted to the archbishop of
Canterbury and to others, "to make laws and constitutions concerning either
their state public, or the utility of individuals." The commissioners were
authorised to support the clergy by assigning them "tithes, oblations, and
other profits, according to their discretion; to inflict punishment on those
who should violate their ordinances; to remove governors of plantations,
and to appoint others; and to constitute tribunals and courts of justice,
ecclesiastical and civil, with such authority and form as they should think
proper;" but their laws were not to take effect until they had received the
royal assent, and had been proclaimed in the colonies. The commissioners
were also constituted a committee to hear complaints against a colony, its
governor or other officers, with power to remove the offender to England
for punishment. They were farther directed to cause the revocation of such
letters patent, granted for the establishment of colonies, as should, upon

inquiry, be found to have been unduly obtained, or to contain a grant of
liberties hurtful to the royal prerogative.[59]
From the first settlement at Salem, the colony of Massachusetts had
cultivated the friendship of their neighbours of New Plymouth. The bonds
of mutual amity were now rendered more strict, not only by some
appearances of a hostile disposition among the natives, but by another
circumstance which excited alarm in both colonies.
The voyages for discovery and settlement, made by the English and French,
to the coast of North America, having been nearly cotemporaneous, their
conflicting claims soon brought them into collision with each other. The
same lands were granted by the sovereigns of both nations; and, under these
different grants, actual settlements had been made by the French as far
south and west as St. Croix, and, by the English, as far north and east as
Penobscot. During the war with France, which broke out early in the reign
of Charles I., that monarch granted a commission to captain Kirk for the
conquest of the countries in America occupied by the French; under which,
in 1629, Canada and Acadié were subdued; but, by the treaty of St.
Germains, those places were restored to France without any description of
their limits; and Fort Royal, Quebec, and Cape Breton, were severally
surrendered by name. In 1632, a party of French from Acadié committed a
robbery on a trading house established at Penobscot by the people of New
Plymouth. With the intelligence of this fact, information was also brought
that cardinal Richelieu had ordered some companies to Acadié, and that
more were expected the next year, with priests, Jesuits, and other
formidable accompaniments, for a permanent settlement. The governor of
Acadié established a military post at Penobscot, and, at the same time wrote
to the governor of New Plymouth stating, that he had orders to displace the
English as far as Pemaquid. Not being disposed to submit quietly to this
invasion of territory, the government of New Plymouth undertook an
expedition for the recovery of the fort at Penobscot, consisting of an
English ship of war under the command of captain Girling, and a bark with
twenty men belonging to the colony. The garrison received notice of this
armament, and prepared for its reception by fortifying and strengthening the
fort; in consequence of which Girling, after expending his ammunition and
finding himself too weak to attempt the works by assault, applied to
Massachusetts for aid. That colony agreed to furnish one hundred men, and

to bear the expense of the expedition by private subscription; but a
sufficient supply of provisions, even for this small corps, could not be
immediately obtained, and the expedition was abandoned. Girling returned,
and the French retained possession of Penobscot till 1654. The
apprehensions entertained of these formidable neighbours contributed, in no
small degree, to cement the union between Massachusetts and Plymouth.[60]
Two persons, afterwards distinguished in English annals, arrived this year in
Boston. One was Hugh Peters, the coadjutor and chaplain of Oliver
Cromwell; the other was Mr. Henry Vane, the son of Sir Henry Vane, who
was, at that time a privy councillor of great credit with the King. 1636 The
mind of this young gentleman was so deeply imbued with the political and
religious opinions of the puritans, that he appeared ready to sacrifice, for
the enjoyment of them, all his bright prospects in his native land. His
mortified exterior, his grave and solemn deportment, his reputation for piety
and wisdom, his strong professions of attachment to liberty and to the
public good, added to his attention to some of the leading members in the
church, won rapidly the affections of the people, and he was chosen their
governor.
His administration commenced with more external pomp than had been
usual, or would seem to be congenial either with his own professions, or
with the plain and simple manners of the people whom he governed. When
going to court or church, he was always preceded by two sergeants who
walked with their halberts. Yet his popularity sustained no diminution, until
the part he took in the religious controversies of the country detached from
him many of its most judicious inhabitants.[61]
Independent of the meetings for public worship on every Sunday, of the
stated lecture in Boston on every Thursday, and of occasional lectures in
other towns, there were frequent meetings of the brethren of the churches,
for religious exercises. Mrs. Hutchinson, who had been much flattered by
the attentions of the governor, and of Mr. Cotton, one of the most popular of
the clergy; who added eloquence to her enthusiasm, and whose husband
was among the most respected men of the country; dissatisfied with the
exclusion of her sex from the private meetings of the brethren, instituted a
meeting of the sisters also, in which she repeated the sermons of the
preceding Sunday, accompanied with remarks and expositions. These

meetings were attended by a large number of the most respectable of her
sex; and her lectures were, for a time, generally approved. At length she
drew a distinction between the ministers through the country. She
designated a small number as being under a covenant of grace; the others,
as being under a covenant of works. Contending for the necessity of the
former, she maintained that sanctity of life is no evidence of justification, or
of favour with God; and that the Holy Ghost dwells personally in such as
are justified. The whole colony was divided into two parties, equally
positive, on these abstruse points, whose resentments against each other
threatened the most serious calamities. Mr. Vane espoused, with zeal, the
wildest doctrines of Mrs. Hutchinson, and Mr. Cotton decidedly favoured
them. The lieutenant governor Mr. Winthrop, and the majority of the
churches, were of the opposite party. Many conferences were held; days of
fasting and humiliation were appointed; a general synod was called; and,
after violent dissensions, Mrs. Hutchinson's opinions were condemned as
erroneous, and she was banished. Many of her disciples followed her. Vane,
in disgust, quitted America; unlamented even by those who had lately
admired him. He was thought too visionary; and is said to have been too
enthusiastic even for the enthusiasts of Massachusetts.
The patentees, having no common object to prosecute, resolved to divide
their lands; and, in the expectation of receiving a deed of confirmation for
the particular portion which fortune should allot to each, cast lots, in the
presence of James, for the shares each should hold in severalty. They
continued, however, to act some years longer as a body politic, during
which time, they granted various portions of the country to different
persons; and executed under the seal of the corporation, deeds of feoffment
for the lots drawn by each member of the company; patents of confirmation
for which were solicited, but appear to have been granted only to Gorges,
for Maine. The charter was surrendered by the company and accepted by
the crown.[62]

1637

Charles, in pursuance of his determination to take the government of New
England into his own hands, issued a proclamation directing that none
should be transported thither who had not the special license of the crown,
which should be granted to those only who had taken the oaths of

supremacy and allegiance, and had conformed to the discipline of the
church of England. This order, however, could not be completely executed;
and the emigrations, which were entirely of non-conformists, still
continued. Those who were disgusted with the ceremonials rigidly exacted
in England, estimated so highly the simple frame of church policy
established in Massachusetts, that numbers surmounted every difficulty, to
seek an asylum in this new Jerusalem. Among them were men of the first
political influence and mental attainments. Pym, Hampden, Hazlerig, and
Cromwell, with many others who afterwards performed a conspicuous part
in that revolution which brought the head of Charles to the block, are said to
have been actually on board a vessel prepared to sail for New England, and
to have been stopped by the special orders of the privy council.[63]

1638

The commissioners for the regulation and government of the plantations
having reported that Massachusetts had violated its charter, a writ of quo
warranto was issued, on which judgment was given in favour of the crown.
The process was never served on any member of the corporation; and it is
therefore probable that the judgment was not final. The privy council
however ordered the governor and company to send their patent to England
to be surrendered. The general court answered this order by a petition to the
commissioners in which they said, "we dare not question your Lordship's
proceedings in requiring our patent to be sent unto you; we only desire to
open our griefs; and if in any thing we have offended his Majesty or your
Lordships, we humbly prostrate ourselves at the foot stool of supreme
authority; we are sincerely ready to yield all due obedience to both; we are
not conscious that we have offended in any thing, as our government is
according to law; we pray that we may be heard before condemnation, and
that we may be suffered to live in the wilderness." Fortunately for the
colonists, Charles and his commissioners found too much employment at
home, to have leisure for carrying into complete execution, a system aimed
at the subversions of what was most dear to the hearts of Americans.
To the religious dissensions which distracted Massachusetts, and to the
rigour with which conformity was exacted, is to be attributed the first
settlement of the other colonies of New England. As early as the year 1634,
Roger Williams, a popular preacher at Salem, who had refused to hold

communion with the church at Boston, because its members refused to
make a public declaration of their repentance for having held communion
with the church of England during their residence in that country, was
charged with many exceptionable tenets. Among several which mark his
wild enthusiasm, one is found in total opposition, to the spirit of the times
and to the severity of his other doctrines. He maintained, that to punish a
man for any matter of conscience is persecution, and that even papists and
Arminians are entitled to freedom of conscience in worship, provided the
peace of civil society be secured. The divines of Massachusetts, in
opposition to this doctrine, contended that they did not persecute men for
conscience, but corrected them for sinning against conscience; and so they
did not persecute, but punish heretics. This unintelligible sophism not
convincing Williams, he was, for this, and for his other heresies, banished
by the magistrates, as a disturber of the peace of the church, and of the
commonwealth.

Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1622
From the painting by W.L. Williams

Here, under Governor Bradford, who directed their destiny
for a precarious quarter of a century, the Pilgrim Fathers
strove desperately to maintain a foothold in America, and
several times were on the point of abandoning the
enterprise. To such straits were they reduced, in 1622, a year
after the death of Governor Carter, that half rations were
doled out, and when, in May of that year, a ship arrived from
England bearing encouraging letters to the Pilgrims, but no
substantial supplies, Governor Bradford remarked bitterly:
"All this is but cold comfort to fill hungry bellies."

Many of his disciples followed him into exile, and, travelling south until
they passed the line of Massachusetts, purchased a tract of land of the
Narraghansetts, then a powerful tribe of Indians, where, in 1635, Providence
settled. they made a settlement to which they gave the name of Providence.
After fixing the place of their future residence, they entered into a voluntary
association, and framed a government composed of the whole body of
freemen. After the manner of Massachusetts, they created a church by
collecting a religious society; but, as one of the causes of their migration
had been the tenet that all were entitled to freedom of conscience in
worship, entire toleration was established. The new settlers cultivated with
assiduity the good will of the natives, with whom a long peace was
preserved.[64]
The banishment of Williams was soon followed by that of Mrs. Hutchinson.
Rhode Island settled.She was accompanied by many of her disciples, who,
pursuing the steps of Williams, and, arriving in his neighbourhood,
purchased a tract of land from the same tribe, and founded Rhode Island.
Imitating the conduct of their neighbours, they formed a similar association
for the establishment of civil government, and adopted the same principles
of toleration. In consequence of this conduct the island soon became so
populous as to furnish settlers for the adjacent shores.[65]

1634

Connecticut too is a colony of Massachusetts. As early as the year 1634,
several persons, among whom was Mr. Hooker, a favourite minister of the
church, applied to the general court of Massachusetts for permission to
pursue their fortunes in some new and better land. This permission was not
granted at that time; and, it being then the received opinion that the oath of
a freeman, as well as the original compact, bound every member of the
society so as not to leave him the right to separate himself from it without
the consent of the whole, this emigration was suspended. The general court,
however, did not long withhold its assent. Connecticut settled.The country
having been explored, and a place selected on the west side of the river
Connecticut, a commission was granted to the petitioners to remove, on the
condition of their still continuing under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts,
some few huts had been erected the preceding year in which a small number
of emigrants had wintered; and, the fall succeeding, about sixty persons
traversed the wilderness in families. 1636 In 1636, about one hundred
persons, led by Pynchon, Hooker, and Haynes, followed the first emigrants,
and founded the towns of Hartford, Springfield, and Weathersfield. There
are some peculiarities attending this commission and this settlement, which
deserve to be noticed.
The country to be settled was, confessedly, without the limits of
Massachusetts; yet Roger Ludlow was authorised to promulgate the orders
which might be necessary for the plantations; to inflict corporal
punishment, imprisonment, and fines; to determine all differences in a
judicial way; and to convene the inhabitants in a general court, if it should
be necessary. This signal exercise of authority grew out of the principle,
solemnly asserted by the general court of Massachusetts, that the oath of
fidelity to the commonwealth was binding, although the person should no
longer reside within its limits.
There were other difficulties attending the title of the settlers. The Dutch at
Manhadoes, or New York, claimed a right to the river, as its first
discoverers. In addition to this hostile title, Lord Say and Seal, and Lord
Brooke, with some others, contemplating a retreat in the new world from
the despotism with which England was threatened, had made choice of
Connecticut river for that purpose, and had built a fort at its mouth, called
Saybrooke. The emigrants from Massachusetts, however, kept possession;
and proceeded to clear and cultivate the country. They purchased the rights

of Lord Say and Seal, and Lord Brooke, and their partners; and the Dutch,
being too feeble to maintain their title by the sword, gradually receded from
the river. The emigrants, disclaiming the authority of Massachusetts,
entered into a voluntary association for the establishment of a government,
which, in its form, was like those established in the other colonies of New
England. The principal difference between their constitution and that of
Massachusetts was, that they imparted the right of freemen to those who
were not members of the Church.[66]
These new establishments gave great and just alarm to the Piquods, a
powerful tribe of Indians on the south of Massachusetts. They foresaw their
own ruin in this extension of the English settlements; and the disposition
excited by this apprehension soon displayed itself in private murders, and
other acts of hostility. With a policy suggested by a strong sense of danger,
they sought a reconciliation with the Narraghansetts, their ancient enemies
and rivals; and requested them to forget their long cherished animosities,
and to co-operate cordially against a common enemy whose continuing
encroachments threatened to overwhelm both in one common destruction.
Noticing the rapid progress of the English settlements, they urged, with
reason, that, although a present friendship subsisted between the
Narraghansetts and the new comers, yet all, in turn, must be dispossessed of
their country, and this dangerous friendship could promise no other good
than the wretched privilege of being last devoured.
These representations could not efface from the bosoms of the
Narraghansetts, that deep rooted enmity which neighbours, not bound
together by ligaments of sufficient strength to prevent reciprocal acts of
hostility, too often feel for each other. Dreading still less the power of a
foreign nation, than that of men with whom they had been in the habit of
contending, they not only refused to join the Piquods, but communicated
their proposition to the government of Massachusetts, with whom they
formed an alliance against that tribe. War with the Piquods.Open war being
resolved on by both parties, Captain Underhill was sent to the relief of fort
Saybrooke which had been besieged by the Indians; and the three colonies,
Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Connecticut, agreed to march their united
forces into the country of the Piquods, to effect their entire destruction. The
troops of Connecticut were first in motion. Those of Massachusetts were
detained by the controversy concerning the covenant of works, and of

grace, which had insinuated itself into all the transactions of that colony.
Their little army, when collected, found itself divided by this metaphysical
point; and the stronger party, believing that the blessing of God could not be
expected to crown with success the arms of such unhallowed men as their
opponents in faith on this question, refused to march until their small band
was purified by expelling the unclean, and introducing others whose tenets
were unexceptionable.
While this operation was performing, the troops of Connecticut, reinforced
by a body of friendly Indians and by a small detachment from Saybrooke,
determined to march against the enemy. The Piquods had taken two
positions which they had surrounded with palisadoes, and had resolved to
defend. The nearest was on a small eminence surrounded by a swamp near
the head of Mystic river. Against this fort the first attack was made. The
Indians, deceived by a movement of the vessels from Saybrooke to
Narraghansett, believed the expedition to have been abandoned; and
celebrated, in perfect security, the supposed evacuation of their country.
About day-break, while they were asleep, the English approached, and the
surprise would have been complete, had they not been alarmed by the
barking of a dog. They immediately gave the war whoop, and flew
undismayed to arms. The English rushed to the attack, forced their way
through the works, and set fire to the Indian wigwams. The confusion soon
became general, and almost every man was killed or taken.
Soon after this action, the troops of Massachusetts arrived, and it was
resolved to pursue the victory. Several skirmishes terminated unfavourably
to the Piquods; and, in a short time, they received another total defeat,
which put an end to the war. A few only of this once powerful nation
survived, who, abandoning their country, dispersed themselves among the
neighbouring tribes, and were incorporated with them.[67]
This vigorous essay in arms of the New England colonists impressed on the
Indians a high opinion of their courage and military superiority; but their
victory was sullied with cruelties which cannot be recollected without
mingled regret and censure.

1638

Immediately after the termination of this war New Haven was settled.
A small emigration from England conducted by Eaton and Davenport,
arrived at Boston in June. Unwilling to remain where power and influence
were already in the hands of others, they refused to continue within the
jurisdiction of Massachusetts; New Haven settled.and, disregarding the threats
at Manhadoes, settled themselves west of Connecticut river, on a place
which they named New Haven. Their institutions, civil and ecclesiastical,
were in the same spirit with those of their elder sister, Massachusetts.
The colony was now in a very flourishing condition. Twenty-one thousand
two hundred emigrants had arrived from England; and, although they
devoted great part of their attention to the abstruse points of theology which
employed the casuists of that day, they were not unmindful of those solid
acquisitions which permanently improve the condition of man. Sober,
industrious, and economical, they laboured indefatigably in opening and
improving the country, and were unremitting in their efforts to furnish
themselves with those supplies which are to be drawn from the bosom of
the earth. Of these, they soon raised a surplus for which fresh emigrants
offered a profitable market; and their foreign trade in lumber, added to their
fish and furs, furnished them with the means of making remittances to
England for those manufactures which they found it advantageous to
import. Their fisheries had become so important as to attract the attention of
government. For their encouragement, a law was passed exempting
property employed in catching, curing, or transporting fish, from all duties
and taxes, and the fishermen, and ship builders, from militia duty. By the
same law, all persons were restrained from using cod or bass fish for
manure.

CHAPTER IV.
Massachusetts claims New Hampshire and part of
Maine.... Dissensions among the inhabitants....
Confederation of the New England colonies.... Rhode
Island excluded from it.... Separate chambers provided
for the two branches of the Legislature.... New England
takes part with Parliament.... Treaty with Acadié....
Petition of the non-conformists.... Disputes between
Massachusetts and Connecticut.... War between England
and Holland.... Machinations of the Dutch at Manhadoes
among the Indians.... Massachusetts refuses to join the
united colonies in the war.... Application of New Haven to
Cromwell for assistance.... Peace with the Dutch....
Expedition of Sedgewic against Acadié.... Religious
intolerance.

1639

The government of Massachusetts, induced by the rapidity with which the
colony had attained its present strength to form sanguine hopes of future
importance, instituted an inquiry into the extent of their patent, with a view
to the enlargement of territory. To facilitate this object, commissioners were
appointed to explore the Merrimack, and to ascertain its northernmost point.
The charter conveyed to the grantees all the lands within lines to be drawn
three miles south of Charles river, and the same distance north of the
Merrimack. Massachusetts claims New Hampshire and part of Maine.The government
construed this description as authorising a line to be drawn due east from a
point three miles north of the head of Merrimack, which soon leaves that
river, and includes all New Hampshire, and a considerable part of Maine. In
pursuance of this exposition of the charter, the general court asserted its

jurisdiction over New Hampshire, in which there were a few scattered
habitations, and proceeded to authorise settlements in that country.[68]
The attempts which had been made to colonise the northern and eastern
parts of New England had proved almost entirely unsuccessful. Sir
Ferdinando Gorges and John Mason had built a small house at the mouth of
Piscataqua, about the year 1623; and, nearly at the same time, others erected
a few huts along the coast from Merrimack eastward to Sagadahock for the
purpose of fishing. In 1631, Gorges and Mason sent over a small party of
planters and fishermen under the conduct of a Mr. Williams, who laid the
foundation of Portsmouth.
When the Plymouth company divided New England among its members,
that territory lying along the coast from Merrimack river, and for sixty miles
into the country to the river Piscataqua, was granted to Mason, and was
called New Hampshire; that territory northeastward of New Hampshire, to
the river Kennebec, and sixty miles into the country, was granted to Sir
Ferdinando Gorges. In 1639, Gorges obtained a patent for this district under
the name of Maine, comprehending the lands for one hundred, instead of
sixty miles, into the country, together with the powers of sovereignty. He
framed a system of government which, being purely executive, could not
even preserve itself. After struggling with a long course of confusion, and
drawing out, for several years, a miserable political existence, Maine
submitted itself to the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and consented to
become a part of that colony. In the course of the years 1651 and 1652, this
junction was effected, and Maine was erected into a county, the towns of
which sent deputies to the general court at Boston. To this county was
conceded the peculiar privilege that its inhabitants, although not members
of the church, should be entitled to the rights of freemen on taking the oath.
[69]

The settlements in New Hampshire, too, were maintaining only a doubtful
and feeble existence, when they drew a recruit of inhabitants from the same
causes which had peopled Rhode Island and Connecticut.

1637

In 1637, when Mrs. Hutchinson and other Antinomians were exiled, Mr.
Wheelright, her brother in law, a popular preacher, was likewise banished.
He carried with him a considerable number of his followers; and, just
passing the north-eastern boundary of Massachusetts, planted the town of
Exeter. These emigrants immediately formed themselves, according to the
manner of New England, into a body politic for their own government.

1640

A few persons arrived soon afterwards from England, and laid the
foundation of the town of Dover. They also established a distinct
government. Their first act proved to be the source of future discord. The
majority chose one Underbill as governor; but a respectable minority was
opposed to his election. To this cause of discontent was added another of
irresistible influence. They were divided on the subject of the covenant of
works, and of grace. These dissensions soon grew into a civil war, which
was happily terminated by Williams, who was, according to the practice of
small societies torn by civil broils, invited by the weaker party to its aid. He
marched from Portsmouth at the head of a small military force; and,
banishing the governor, and the leaders of the Antinomian faction, restored
peace to this distracted village.
Massachusetts had asserted a right over this territory. Her claim derived aid,
not only from the factions which agitated these feeble settlements, but also
from the uncertainty of the tenure by which the inhabitants held their lands.
Only the settlers at Portsmouth had acquired a title from Mason; and the
others were, consequently, unfriendly to his pretensions. These causes
produced a voluntary offer of submission to the government of
Massachusetts, which was accepted; and the general court passed an order,
declaring the inhabitants of Piscataqua to be within their jurisdiction, with
the privileges of participating in all their rights, and of being exempted from
all "public charges, other than those which shall arise for, or among
themselves, or from any action, or course that may be taken for their own
good or benefit." Under the protecting wing of this more powerful
neighbour, New Hampshire attained the growth which afterwards enabled
her to stand alone; and long remembered with affection the benefits she had
received.[70]

Charles, environed with difficulties arising from his own misrule, was at
length compelled to meet his Parliament; and, in November, the great
council of the nation was again assembled. The circumstances which had
caused such considerable emigrations to New England, existed no longer.
The puritans were not only exempt from persecution, but became the
strongest party in the nation; and, from this time, New England is supposed
to have derived no increase of population from the parent state.[71]
Confederation of the New England colonies.

About the same period many evidences were given of a general
combination of the neighbouring Indians against the settlements of New
England; and apprehensions were also entertained of hostility from the
Dutch at Manhadoes. A sense of impending danger suggested the policy of
forming a confederacy of the sister colonies for their mutual defence; and
so confirmed had the habit of self-government become since the attention of
England was absorbed in her domestic dissensions, that it was not thought
necessary to consult the parent state on this important measure. 1643 After
mature deliberation, articles of confederation were digested; and in May
1643, they were conclusively adopted.[72]
By them the united colonies of New England, viz. Massachusetts,
Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, entered into a firm and perpetual
league, offensive and defensive.
Each colony retained a distinct and separate jurisdiction; no two colonies
could join in one jurisdiction without the consent of the whole; and no other
colony could be received into the confederacy without the like consent.
The charge of all wars was to be borne by the colonies respectively, in
proportion to the male inhabitants of each, between sixteen and sixty years
of age.
On notice of an invasion given by three magistrates of any colony, the
confederates were immediately to furnish their respective quotas. These
were fixed at one hundred from Massachusetts, and forty-five from each of
the other parties to the agreement. If a larger armament should be found
necessary, commissioners were to meet, and ascertain the number of men to
be required.

Two commissioners from each government, being church members, were to
meet annually on the first Monday in September. Six possessed the power
of binding the whole. Any measure approved by a majority of less than six
was to be referred to the general court of each colony, and the consent of all
was necessary to its adoption.
They were to choose annually a president from their own body, and had
power to frame laws or rules of a civil nature, and of general concern. Of
this description were rules which respected their conduct towards the
Indians, and measures to be taken with fugitives from one colony to
another.
No colony was permitted, without the general consent, to engage in war, but
in sudden and inevitable cases.
If, on any extraordinary meeting of the commissioners, their whole number
should not assemble, any four who should meet were empowered to
determine on a war, and to call for the respective quotas of the several
colonies; but not less than six could determine on the justice of the war, or
settle the expenses, or levy the money for its support.
If any colony should be charged with breaking an article of the agreement,
or with doing an injury to another colony, the complaint was to be
submitted to the consideration and determination of the commissioners of
such colonies as should be disinterested.[73]
This union, the result of good sense, and of a judicious consideration of the
real interests of the colonies, remained in force until their charters were
dissolved. Rhode Island excluded from it.Rhode Island, at the instance of
Massachusetts, was excluded; and her commissioners were not admitted
into the congress of deputies which formed the confederation.
On her petitioning at a subsequent period to be received as a member, her
request was refused, unless she would consent to be incorporated with
Plymouth. This condition being deemed inadmissible, she never was taken
into the confederacy. From the formation of this league, its members were
considered by their neighbours as one body with regard to external affairs,
and such as were of general concern; though the internal and particular

objects of each continued to be managed by its own magistrates and
legislature.
The vigorous and prudent measures pursued by the united colonies,
disconcerted the plans of the Indians, and preserved peace.
Rhode Island and Providence plantations, excluded from the general
confederacy, were under the necessity of courting the friendship of the
neighbouring Indians. So successful were their endeavours that, in the year
1644, they obtained from the chiefs of the Narraghansetts a formal
surrender of their country.[74]
The first general assembly, consisting of the collective freemen of the
plantations, was convened in May, 1647. In this body the supreme authority
of the nation resided. The executive duties were performed by a governor
and four assistants, chosen from among the freemen by their several towns;
and the same persons constituted also the supreme court for the
administration of justice. Every township, forming within itself a
corporation, elected a council of six, for the management of its peculiar
affairs, and for the settlement of its disputes.[75]

1644

Hitherto the governor, assistants, and representatives, of Massachusetts had
assembled in the same chamber, and deliberated together. At first their
relative powers do not seem to have been accurately understood; nor the
mode of deciding controverted questions to have been well defined. The
representatives being the most numerous body, contended that every
question should be decided by a majority of the whole, while the assistants
asserted their right to a negative. More than once, this contest suspended the
proceedings of the general court. But the assistants having, with the aid of
the clergy, succeeded on each occasion, the representatives yielded the
point, and moved that separate chambers should be provided for the two
branches of the legislature. This motion being carried in the affirmative,
their deliberations were afterwards conducted apart from each other.
This regulation was subsequently modified with respect to judicial
proceedings; for the legislature was the court of the last resort. If, in these,
the two houses differed, the vote was to be taken conjointly.

New England takes part with Parliament.

In England, the contests between the King and Parliament, at length ripened
into open war. The colonies of New England took an early and sincere part
on the side of Parliament. Their interests were committed to such agents as
might best conciliate the favour of the House of Commons, who, in return,
manifested the impression received from them, and from the general
conduct of their northern colonies, by passing a resolutions exempting from
the payment of "duties or other customs," until the house should order
otherwise, all merchandises exported to or from New England.[76] And, in
1644, the general court passed an ordinance declaring "that what person
soever shall by word, writing, or action, endeavour to disturb our peace
directly or indirectly by drawing a party under pretence that he is for the
King of England, and such as join with him against the Parliament, shall be
accounted as an offender of a high nature against this commonwealth, and
to be proceeded with either capitally or otherwise, according to the quality
and degree of his offence; provided always that this shall not be extended
against any merchants, strangers and shipmen that come hither merely for
trade or merchandise, albeit they should come from any of those parts that
are in the hands of the King, and such as adhere to him against the
Parliament; carrying themselves here quietly, and free from railing, or
nourishing any faction, mutiny, or sedition among us as aforesaid."[77]
These manifestations of mutual kindness were not interrupted by an
ordinance of Parliament, passed in 1643, appointing the earl of Warwick,
governor in chief and lord high admiral of the colonies, with a council of
five peers, and twelve commoners, to assist him; and empowering him, in
conjunction with his associates, to examine the state of their affairs; to send
for papers and persons; to remove governors and officers, appointing others
in their places; and to assign over to them such part of the powers then
granted as he should think proper. Jealous as were the people of New
England of measures endangering their liberty, they do not appear to have
been alarmed at this extraordinary exercise of power. So true is it that men
close their eyes on encroachments committed by that party to which they
are attached, in the delusive hope that power, in such hands, will always be
wielded against their adversaries, never against themselves.

This prosperous state of things was still farther improved by a transaction
which is the more worthy of notice as being an additional evidence of the
extent to which the colonies of New England then exercised the powers of
self-government. Treaty with Acadié.A treaty of peace and commerce was
entered into between the governor of Massachusetts, styling himself
governor of New England, and Monsieur D'Aulney, lieutenant general of
the King of France in Acadié. This treaty was laid before the commissioners
for the colonies and received their sanction.

1646

The rigid adherence of Massachusetts to the principle of withholding the
privilege of a freeman from all who dissented from the majority in any
religious opinion, could not fail to generate perpetual discontents. Petition of
the non-conformists.A petition was presented to the general court, signed by
several persons highly respectable for their situation and character, but, not
being church members, excluded from the common rights of society,
complaining that the fundamental laws of England were not acknowledged
by the colony; and that they were denied those civil and religious privileges
to which they were entitled, as freeborn Englishmen, of good moral
conduct. Their prayer to be admitted to the rights, or to be relieved from the
burdens, of society, was accompanied with observations conveying a very
intelligible censure on the proceedings of the colony, and a threat of
applying to Parliament, should the prayer of their petition be rejected.
The most popular governments not being always the most inclined to
tolerate opinions differing from those of the majority, this petition gave
great offence, and its signers were required to attend the court. Their plea,
that the right to petition government was sacred, was answered by saying
that they were not accused for petitioning, but for using contemptuous and
seditious expressions. They were required to find sureties for their good
behaviour; and, on refusing to acknowledge their offence, were fined at the
discretion of the court. An appeal from this decision having been refused,
they sent deputies to lay their case before Parliament; but the clergy exerted
themselves on the occasion; and the celebrated Cotton, in one of his
sermons, asserted "that if any should carry writings or complaints against
the people of God in that country to England, it would be as Jonas in the
ship." A storm having risen during the passage, the mariners, impressed

with the prophecy of Cotton, insisted that the obnoxious papers should be
thrown overboard; and the deputies were constrained to consign their
credentials to the waves. On their arrival in England, they found Parliament
but little disposed to listen to their complaints. The agents of Massachusetts
had received instructions to counteract their efforts; and the governments of
New England were too high in favour, to admit of a rigid scrutiny into their
conduct.[78]
In some of the internal dissensions which agitated Massachusetts, Winthrop,
a man of great influence, always among their first magistrates, and often
their governor, was charged while deputy governor with some arbitrary
conduct. He defended himself at the bar, in the presence of a vast concourse
of people; and, having been honourably acquitted, addressed them from the
bench, in a speech which was highly approved.
As this speech tends to illustrate the political opinions of the day, an extract
from it may not be unworthy of regard. "The questions," he said, "which
have troubled the country of late, and from which these disturbances in the
state have arisen, have been about the authority of the magistrate and the
liberty of the people. Magistracy is certainly an appointment from God. We
take an oath to govern you according to God's law, and our own; and if we
commit errors, not willingly, but for want of skill, you ought to bear with
us, because, being chosen from among yourselves, we are but men, and
subject to the like passions as yourselves. Nor would I have you mistake
your own liberty. There is a freedom of doing what we list, without regard
to law or justice; this liberty is indeed inconsistent with authority; but civil,
moral, and federal liberty, consists in every man's enjoying his property, and
having the benefit of the laws of his country; which is very consistent with
a due subjection to the civil magistrate. And for this you ought to contend,
with the hazard of your lives."[79]
During the remnant of his life, he was annually chosen governor.

1649

About this time, a controversy which had long subsisted between
Massachusetts, and Connecticut, was terminated. The latter, for the purpose
of maintaining Saybrooke, had laid a duty on all goods exported from

Connecticut river. The inhabitants of Springfield, a town of Massachusetts
lying on the river, having refused to pay this duty, the cause was laid before
the commissioners of the united colonies; and, after hearing the parties,
those of Plymouth and New Haven adjourned the final decision of the case
until the next meeting, in order to hear farther objections from
Massachusetts, but directed that, in the meantime, the duty should be paid.
At the meeting in 1648, Massachusetts insisted on the production of the
patent of Connecticut. It was perfectly well known that the original patent
could not be procured; and the agents for Connecticut, after stating this fact,
offered an authentic copy. The commissioners recommended that the
boundary line should be run, to ascertain whether Springfield was really in
Massachusetts, but still directed that the duty should continue to be paid.
On this order being made, the commissioners of Massachusetts produced a
law of their general court, reciting the controversy, with the orders which
had been made in it, and imposing a duty on all goods belonging to the
inhabitants of Plymouth, Connecticut, or New Haven, which should be
imported within the castle, or exported from any part of the bay, and
subjecting them to forfeiture for non-payment. The commissioners
remonstrated strongly against this measure, and recommended it to the
general court of Massachusetts, seriously to consider whether such
proceedings were reconcilable with "the law of love," and the tenor of the
articles of confederation. In the meantime, they begged to be excused from
"all farther agitations concerning Springfield."
In this state of the controversy fort Saybrooke was consumed by fire, and
Connecticut forbore to re-build it, or to demand the duty. In the following
year, Massachusetts repealed the ordinance which had so successfully
decided the contest.[80]
Thus does a member of a confederacy, feeling its own strength, and the
weakness of those with whom it is associated, deride the legitimate
decisions of the federal body, when opposed to its own interest or passions,
and obey the general will, only when that will is dictated by itself.
Although, while civil war raged in the mother country, New England had
been permitted to govern itself as an independent nation, Parliament seems
to have entertained very decisive opinions respecting the subordination of

the provinces, and its own controlling power. The measures taken for giving
effect to these opinions, involved all the colonies equally. The council of
state was authorised to displace governors and magistrates, and to appoint
others. Massachusetts was required to take a new patent, and to hold its
courts, not in the name of the colony, but in the name of the Parliament.
1651 The general court, unwilling to comply with these requisitions,
transmitted a petition to Parliament, styling that body "the supreme
authority," and expressing for it the highest respect. They stated their
uniform attachment to Parliament during the civil war, the aid they had
given, and the losses they had sustained. After speaking of the favours they
had received, they expressed the hope "that it will not go worse with them
than it did under the late King; and that the frame of this government will
not be changed, and governors and magistrates imposed on them against
their will." They declared, however, their entire submission to the will of
Parliament; and, avowing for that body the most zealous attachment, prayed
a favourable answer to their humble petition.
But the united colonies had lately given great umbrage by supplying
Virginia and Barbadoes, then enemies of the commonwealth, with warlike
stores and other commodities. It was also matter of real complaint that their
exemption from the payment of duties enabled them to enrich themselves at
the expense of others; and a revocation of their privileges in this respect
was seriously contemplated. Yet the requisitions concerning their charter
were never complied with, and do not appear to have been repeated.[81]
In this year, war was declared by England against Holland. The united
colonies, accustomed to conduct their affairs in their own way, did not think
themselves involved in this contest, unless engaged in it by some act of
their own. The Dutch at Manhadoes, too weak to encounter their English
neighbours, solicited the continuance of peace; and, as the trade carried on
between them was mutually advantageous, this request was readily granted.
1653 Machinations of the Dutch with the Indians.Intelligence however was soon
brought by the Indians, that the Dutch were privately inciting them to a
general confederacy for the purpose of extirpating the English. This
intelligence gave the more alarm, because the massacre at Amboyna was
then fresh in the recollection of the colonists. An extraordinary meeting of
the commissioners was called at Boston, who were divided in opinion with
regard to the propriety of declaring war. In consequence of this division, a

conference was held before the general court and several elders of
Massachusetts. The elders, being requested to give their opinion in writing,
stated "that the proofs and presumptions of the execrable plot, tending to
the destruction of so many of the dear saints of God, imputed to the Dutch
governor, and the fiscal, were of such weights as to induce them to believe
the reality of it; yet they were not so fully conclusive as to clear up a
present proceeding to war before the world, and to bear up their hearts with
that fullness of persuasion which was mete, in commending the case to God
in prayer, and to the people in exhortations; and that it would be safest for
the colonies to forbear the use of the sword; but advised to be in a posture
of defence until the mind of God should be more fully known either for a
settled peace, or more manifest grounds of war."[82] With this opinion of the
elders, the vote of the general court concurred.
The intelligence of the practices of the Dutch governor with the Indians
becoming more certain, all the commissioners except Mr. Bradstreet of
Massachusetts, declared in favour of war. Their proceedings were
immediately interrupted by a declaration of the general court of
Massachusetts, that no determination of the commissioners, although they
should be unanimous, should bind the general court to join in an offensive
war which should appear to be unjust. A serious altercation ensued, in the
course of which the other colonies pressed the war as a measure essential to
their safety; but Massachusetts adhered inflexibly to its first resolution. This
additional evidence of the incompetency of their union to bind one member,
stronger than all the rest, threatened a dissolution of the confederacy; and
that event seems to have been prevented only by the inability of the others
to stand alone. Alarmed at their situation, and irritated by the conduct of
their elder sister, Connecticut and New Haven represented Cromwell, then
lord protector of England, the danger to which the colonies were exposed
from the Dutch and the Indians; and the hazard the smaller provinces must
continue to incur, unless the league between them could be maintained and
executed according to its true intent, and the interpretation which its articles
had uniformly received.
With his usual promptness and decision, Cromwell detached a small
armament for the reduction of the Dutch colony, and recommended to
Massachusetts to furnish aid to the expedition. Although the legitimate
requisitions of the government of the union had been ineffectual, the

recommendation of the lord protector was not to be disregarded; and the
general court passed a resolution conforming to it. 1654 A treaty of peace,
which was signed in April, saved the Dutch colony.[83]
The progress of the French in their neighbourhood had been viewed with
regret and apprehension by all New England. Expedition against
Acadié.Sedgewic, the commander of the forces which had been destined
against Manhadoes, animated with the vigour of his master, was easily
prevailed on to turn his arms against a people, whose religious tenets he
detested, and whose country he hated. He soon dislodged the French from
Penobscot, and subdued all Acadié. 1655 The ministers of his most
christian majesty, pending the negotiations for the treaty of Westminster,
demanded restitution of the forts Pentagoet, St. Johns, and Port Royal; but,
each nation having claims on the country, their pretensions were referred to
the arbitrators appointed to adjust the damages committed on either side
since the year 1640; and the restitution of Acadié was postponed for future
discussion.

1656

Cromwell seems not to have intended to restore the countries he had
conquered. He granted to St. Etienne, Crown and Temple, for ever, the
territory denominated Acadié, and part of the country commonly called
Nova Scotia, extending along the coast to Pentagoet, and to the river St.
George.
Until the restoration, the colonies of New England continued in a state of
unexampled prosperity. Those regulations respecting navigation, which
were rigorously enforced against others less in favour, were dispensed with
for their benefit. They maintained external peace by the vigour and sagacity
with which their government was administered; and, improved the
advantages which the times afforded them by industry and attention to their
interests. In this period of prosperity, they acquired a degree of strength and
consistence which enabled them to struggle through the difficulties that
afterwards assailed them.
These sober industrious people were peculiarly attentive to the instruction
of youth. Education was among the first objects of their care. In addition to

private institutions, they had brought the college at Cambridge to a state of
forwardness which reflects much credit on their character. As early as the
year 1636, the general court had bestowed four hundred pounds on a public
school at Newtown, the name by which Cambridge was then known. Two
years afterwards, an additional donation was made by the reverend Mr. John
Harvard, in consequence of which the institution received the name of
Harvard college. In 1642, this college was placed under the government of
the governor, and deputy governor, and of the magistrates, and ministers of
the six next adjacent towns, who, with the president were incorporated for
that purpose; and, in 1650, its first charter was granted.[84]
It is to be lamented that the same people possessed a degree of bigotry in
religion, and a spirit of intolerance, which their enlightened posterity will
view with regret. During this period of prosperity, the government
maintained the severity of its institutions against all those who dissented
from the church; and exerted itself assiduously in what was thought the
holy work of punishing heretics, and introducing conformity in matters of
faith. In this time, the sect denominated Quakers appeared. They were
fined, imprisoned, whipped, and, at length put to death; but could not be
totally suppressed. As enthusiastic as their persecutors, they gloried in their
sufferings, and deemed themselves the martyrs of truth.

CHAPTER V.
Transactions succeeding the restoration of Charles II....
Contests between Connecticut and New Haven....
Discontents in Virginia.... Grant to the Duke of York....
Commissioners appointed by the crown.... Conquest of
the Dutch settlements.... Conduct of Massachusetts to the
royal commissioners.... Their recall.... Massachusetts
evades a summons to appear before the King and
council.... Settlement of Carolina.... Form of
government.... Constitution of Mr. Locke.... Discontents
in the county of Albemarle.... Invasion from Florida....
Abolition of the constitution of Mr. Locke.... Bacon's
rebellion.... His death.... Assembly deprived of judicial
power.... Discontents in Virginia.... Population of the
colony.

1660

The restoration of Charles II. was soon known in America, and excited, in
the different colonies very different emotions. In Virginia, and in Maryland,
the intelligence was received with transport, and the King was proclaimed
amidst acclamations of unfeigned joy. In Massachusetts, the unwelcome
information was heard with doubt, and in silence. Republicans in religion
and in politics, all their affections were engaged in favour of the
revolutionary party in England, and they saw, in the restoration of
monarchy, much more to fear than to hope for themselves. Nor were they
mistaken in their forebodings.
No sooner was Charles seated on the throne, than Parliament voted a duty
of five per centum on all merchandises exported from, or imported into, any
of the dominions belonging to the English crown; and, in the course of the
same session the celebrated navigation act was re-enacted. The difficulty of

carrying this system into execution among a distant people, accustomed to
the advantages of a free trade, was foreseen; and the law directed that the
governors of the several plantations should, before entering into office, take
an oath faithfully to observe it.[85]
As some compensation to the colonists for these commercial restraints, it
was also enacted that no tobacco should be planted or made in England or
Ireland, Guernsey, or Jersey. These regulations confined the trade of the
colonies to England; and confined on them, exclusively, the production of
tobacco.
Charles, on ascending the throne, transmitted to Sir William Berkeley a
commission as governor of Virginia, with instructions to summon an
assembly, and to assure it of his intention to grant a general pardon to all
persons, other than those who were attainted by act of Parliament; provided
all acts passed during the rebellion, derogating from the obedience due to
the King and his government, should be repealed.

1661

The assembly, which had been summoned in March 1660, in the name of
the King, though he was not then acknowledged in England, and which had
been prorogued by the governor to the following March, then convened,
and engaged in the arduous task of revising the laws of the colony. One of
the motives assigned for this revision strongly marks the temper of the day.
It is that they may "repeal and expunge all unnecessary acts, and chiefly
such as might keep in memory their forced deviation from his majesty's
obedience."[86]
This laborious work was accomplished; and, in its execution, the first object
of attention was religion. The church of England was established by law,
and provision was made for its ministers. To preserve the purity and unity
of its doctrines and discipline, those only who had been ordained by some
bishop in England, and who should subscribe an engagement to conform to
the constitution of the church of England and the laws there established,
could be inducted by the governor: and no others were permitted to preach.
The day of the execution of Charles I. was ordered to be kept as a fast; and
the anniversaries of the birth, and of the restoration of Charles II. to be

celebrated as holy days. The duties on exports and tonnage were rendered
perpetual; the privilege of the burgesses from arrest was established, and
their number fixed; the courts of justice were organised; and many useful
laws were passed, regulating the interior affairs of the colony.[87]
An effort was made to encourage manufactures, especially that of silk. For
each pound of that article which should be raised, a premium of fifty
pounds of tobacco was given; and every person was enjoined to plant a
number of mulberry trees proportioned to his quantity of land, in order to
furnish food for the silk worm. But the labour of the colony had been long
directed to the culture of tobacco, and Indian corn; and new systems of
culture can seldom be introduced until their necessity becomes apparent.
This attempt to multiply the objects of labour did not succeed, and the acts
on the subject were soon repealed.
In Maryland, the legislature was also convened, and, as in Virginia, their
first employment was to manifest their satisfaction with the restoration;
after which they entered upon subjects of general utility.
Rhode Island, excluded from the confederacy of the other New England
colonies, and dreading danger to her independence from Massachusetts,
was well pleased at the establishment of an authority which could overawe
the strong, and protect the weak. Charles II. was immediately proclaimed;
1662 Rhode Island incorporated.and an agent was deputed to the court of that
monarch, for the purpose of soliciting a patent, confirming the right of the
inhabitants to the soil, and jurisdiction of the country. The object of the
mission was obtained, and the patentees were incorporated by the name of
"The governor and company of the English colony of Rhode Island and
Providence." The legislative power was vested in an assembly to consist of
the governor, deputy governor, the assistants, and such of the freemen as
should be chosen by the towns. The presence of the governor or his deputy,
and of six assistants, was required to constitute an assembly. They were
empowered to pass laws adapted to the situation of the colony, and not
repugnant to those of England. "That part of the dominions of the crown in
New England containing the islands in Narraghansetts bay, and the
countries and parts adjacent," was granted to the governor and company and
their successors, with the privilege to pass through, and trade with, any
other English colonies.[88]

In Connecticut, the intelligence of the restoration was not attended by any
manifestation of joy or sorrow. Winthrop was deputed to attend to the
interests of the colony; Patent to Connecticut.and, in April, 1662, he obtained a
charter incorporating them by the name of "The governor and company of
the English colony of Connecticut in New England." The executive, as in
the other colonies of New England, consisted of a governor, deputy
governor, and assistants. The legislature was composed of the members of
the executive, and of two deputies from every town. It was authorised to
appoint annually the governor, assistants, and other officers; to erect courts
of justice, and to make such laws as might be necessary for the colony, with
the usual proviso, that they should not be contrary to those of England. To
this corporation, the King granted that part of his dominions in New
England, bounded, on the east, by Narraghansetts bay, on the north, by the
southern line of Massachusetts, on the south, by the sea, and extending in
longitude from east to west, with the line of Massachusetts, to the south sea.

1663
Contest between Connecticut and New Haven.

By this charter, New Haven was, without being consulted, included in
Connecticut. The freemen of that province, dissatisfied with this measure,
determined in general meeting, "that it was not lawful to join;" and
unanimously resolved to adhere to their former association. A committee
was appointed to address the assembly of Connecticut on this interesting
subject. They insisted, not that the charter was void, but that it did not
include them.
A negotiation between the two provinces was commenced, in which the
people of New Haven maintained their right to a separate government with
inflexible perseverance, and with a considerable degree of exasperation.
They appealed to the crown from the explanation given by Connecticut to
the charter; and governor Winthrop, the agent who had obtained that
instrument, and who flattered himself with being able, on his return, to
conciliate the contending parties, deemed it advisable to arrest all
proceeding on their petition, by pledging himself that no injury should be
done to New Haven by Connecticut; and that the incorporation of the two
colonies should be effected only by the voluntary consent of both.

The government of Connecticut, however, still persisting to assert its
jurisdiction, attempted to exercise it by claiming obedience from the people,
appointing constables in their towns, disavowing the authority of the
general court of New Haven, and protecting those who denied it.
Complaints of these proceedings were laid before the commissioners of the
united colonies, who declared that New Haven was still an integral member
of the union, and that its jurisdiction could not be infringed without a
breach of the articles of confederation.
Disregarding this decision, Connecticut pursued unremittingly, the object of
incorporation. The inhabitants of New Haven were encouraged to refuse the
payment of taxes imposed by their legislature; and, when distress was made
on the disobedient, assistance was obtained from Hartford. These
proceedings seemed only to increase the irritation on the part of New
Haven, where a deep sense of injury was entertained, and a solemn
resolution taken to break off all farther treaty on the subject.
This state of things was entirely changed by a piece of intelligence which
gave the most serious alarm to all New England. Information was received
that the King had granted to his brother, the duke of York, all the lands
claimed by the Dutch, to which he had annexed a considerable part of the
territory over which the northern colonies had exercised jurisdiction; and
that an armament for the purpose of taking possession of the grant might
soon be expected. To this it was added, that commissioners were to come at
the same time, empowered to settle the disputes, and to new model the
governments, of the colonies.
The commissioners of the united colonies, perceiving the necessity of
accommodating internal differences, now took a decided part in favour of
the proposed incorporation. The most intelligent inhabitants of New Haven
became converts to the same opinion; but the prejudices imbibed by the
mass of the people being still insurmountable, a vote in favour of the union
could not be obtained.
At length, after the arrival of the commissioners appointed by the crown,
and a manifestation of their opinion in favour of the incorporation; after a
long course of negotiation which terminated in a compact establishing
certain principles of equality required by the jealousy of New Haven; the

union was completed, and the representatives of the two colonies met in the
same assembly.
During the frequent changes which took place in England after the death of
Cromwell, Massachusetts preserved a cautious neutrality; and seemed
disposed to avail herself of any favourable occurrences, without exposing
herself to the resentments of that party which might ultimately obtain the
ascendancy. Although expressly ordered, she did not proclaim Richard as
lord-protector; nor did she take any step to recognise the authority of
Parliament. The first intelligence of the restoration of Charles was received
with the hesitation of men who are unwilling to believe a fact too well
supported by evidence to be discredited; and when they were informed of it
in a manner not to be questioned, they neither proclaimed the King, nor
manifested, by any public act, their admission of his authority. This was not
the only testimony of their dissatisfaction. Whaley and Goff, two of the
judges of Charles I., came passengers in the vessel which brought this
intelligence, and were received with distinction by the government, and
with affection by the people.[89]
In a session of the general court, held in October, 1660, an address to the
King was moved; but reports of the yet unsettled state of the kingdom being
received, the motion did not prevail. They had seen so many changes in the
course of a few months, as to think it not improbable that an address to the
King might find the executive power in the hands of a committee of safety,
or council of state. This uncertain state of things was not of long
continuance. In November, a ship arrived from Bristol, bringing positive
advices of the joyful and universal submission of the nation to the King,
with letters from their agent, and from others, informing them that petitions
had been presented against the colony, by those who thought themselves
aggrieved by its proceedings. The time for deliberation was passed. A
general court was convened, and a loyal address to the King was voted, in
which, with considerable ability, though in the peculiar language of the day,
they justified their whole conduct; and, without abandoning any opinion
concerning their own rights, professed unlimited attachment to their
sovereign. A similar address was made to Parliament; and letters were
written to those noblemen who were the known friends of the colony,
soliciting their interposition in its behalf. A gracious answer being returned
by the King, a day of thanksgiving was appointed to acknowledge their

gratitude to Heaven for inclining the heart of his majesty favourably to
receive and answer their address.
Their apprehensions, however, of danger from the revolution in England
still continued. Reports prevailed that their commercial intercourse with
Virginia and the islands was to be interdicted; and that a governor-general
might be expected whose authority should extend over all the colonies. On
this occasion, the general court came to several resolutions, respecting the
rights of the people, and the obedience due from them, which are strongly
expressive of their deliberate opinions on these interesting subjects.
It was resolved,
That the patent (under God) is the first and main foundation of the civil
polity of the colony.
That the governor and company are, by the patent, a body politic, invested
with the power to make freemen.
That the freemen have authority to choose annually a governor, deputy
governor, assistants, representatives, and all other officers.
That the government thus constituted hath full power, both legislative and
executive, for the government of all the people, whether inhabitants or
strangers, without appeals; save only in the case of laws repugnant to those
of England.
That the government is privileged by all means, even by force of arms, to
defend itself both by land and sea, against all who should attempt injury to
the plantation or its inhabitants, and that in their opinion, any imposition
prejudicial to the country, contrary to any just law of theirs, (not repugnant
to the laws of England) would be an infringement of their rights.[90]
These strong and characteristic resolutions were accompanied by a
recognition of the duties to which they were bound by their allegiance.
These were declared to consist, in upholding that colony as belonging of
right to his majesty, and not to subject it to any foreign prince; in preserving
his person and dominions; and in settling the peace and prosperity of the
King and nation, by punishing crimes, and by propagating the Gospel.[91]

It was, at the same time, determined that the royal warrant, which had been
received sometime before, for apprehending Whaley and Goff, ought to be
faithfully executed. These persons however were permitted to escape to
Connecticut, where they were received with every demonstration of regard,
and to remain during life in New England, only taking care not to appear in
public.
At length, in August 1661, it was determined to proclaim the King; but, as if
unable to conceal the reluctance with which this step was taken, an order
was made, on the same day, prohibiting all disorderly behaviour on the
occasion, and, in particular, directing that no man should presume to drink
his majesty's health, "which," adds the order, "he hath in a special manner
forbid."
Farther intelligence being received from England of the increasing
complaints against the government of Massachusetts, agents were deputed
with instructions to represent the colonists as loyal and obedient subjects, to
remove any ill impressions that had been made against them, and to learn
the disposition of his majesty toward them; but to do nothing which might
prejudice their charter.
The agents, who engaged reluctantly in a service from which they rightly
augured to themselves censure rather than approbation, were received more
favourably than had been expected. They soon returned with a letter from
the King, confirming their charter, and containing a pardon for all treasons
committed during the late troubles, with the exception of those only who
were attainted by act of Parliament. But the royal missive also required that
the general court should review its ordinances, and repeal such of them as
were repugnant to the authority of the crown; that the oath of allegiance
should be taken by every person; that justice should be administered in the
King's name; that all who desired it, should be permitted to use the book of
common prayer, and to perform their devotions according to the
ceremonials of the church of England; and that freeholders of competent
estates, not vicious, should be allowed to vote in the election of officers,
though they were of different persuasions in church government.[92]
These requisitions gave much disquiet; and that alone seems ever to have
been complied with which directed judicial proceedings to be carried on in

the name of the King. The agents on their return were ill received by the
people; and were considered as having sacrificed the interests of their
country, because, with the agreeable, were mingled some bitter though
unavoidable ingredients.
During these transactions, the Parliament of England proceeded to complete
its system of confining the trade of the colonies to the mother country. It
was enacted that no commodity of the growth or manufacture of Europe,
shall be imported into the settlements of England, in Asia, Africa, or
America, but such as shall be shipped in England, and proceed directly in
English bottoms, navigated by Englishmen. Salt for the fisheries, wine from
Madeira and the Azores; and servants, horses, and victuals, from Scotland
and Ireland, were excepted from this general rule.
To counterbalance these restrictions, duties were imposed on salted and
dried fish caught or imported by other vessels than those belonging to
subjects of the crown; and additional regulations were made for enforcing
the prohibition of the culture of tobacco in England.
These commercial restrictions were the never failing source of discontent
and controversy between the mother country and her colonies. Even in
those of the south, where similar restraints had been enforced by Cromwell,
they were executed imperfectly; but, in New England, where the governors
were elected by the people, they appear to have been, for some time,
entirely disregarded.[93]
Discontents in Virginia.

The good humour which prevailed in Virginia on the restoration of Charles
to the throne, was not of long duration. The restraints on commerce, and the
continually decreasing price of tobacco, soon excited considerable
discontents. The legislature endeavoured, by prohibiting its culture for a
limited time, to raise its value; but, Maryland refusing to concur in the
measure, the attempt was unsuccessful. Other legislative remedies were
applied with as little advantage. Acts were passed suspending all
proceedings in the courts of law, except for goods imported; giving to
country creditors priority in payment of debts; and to contracts made within
the colony, precedence in all courts of justice. Such expedients as these
have never removed the discontents which produced them.

The English government seems, at all times, to have questioned the right of
the Dutch to their settlements in America; and never to have formally
relinquished its claim to that territory. Charles now determined to assert it;
1664 Grant to the duke of York.and granted to his brother the duke of York "all
that part of the main land of New England, beginning at a certain place
called and known by the name of St. Croix, next adjoining to New England
in America, and from thence extending along the sea coast unto a certain
place called Pemaquie, or Pemaquid, and so up the river thereof to the
farthest Head of the same, as it tendeth northward; and extending from
thence to the river Kernbequin, and so upwards by the shortest course to the
river Canada northward; and also all that island or islands commonly called
by the general name or names of Meitowax, or Long Island, situate and
being towards the west of Cape Cod, and the narrow Highgansetts, abutting
upon the main land between the two rivers there called and known by the
several names of Connecticut and Hudson's river, and all the land from the
west side of Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware bay, and also all
those several islands called or known by the names of Martha's Vineyard or
Nantucks, otherwise Nantucket."
To reduce this country, part of which was then in the peaceable possession
of the Dutch, colonel Nichols was dispatched with four frigates, carrying
three hundred soldiers. Commissioners appointed by the Crown.In the same ships,
came four commissioners, of whom colonel Nichols was one, "empowered
to hear and determine complaints and appeals in causes, as well military as
civil and criminal, within New England; and to proceed in all things for
settling the peace and security of the country." Intelligence of this
deputation preceded its arrival, and the preparation made for its reception,
evidences the disposition then prevailing in Massachusetts. A committee
was appointed to repair on board the ships as soon as they should appear,
and to communicate to their commanders the desire of the local government
that the inferior officers and soldiers should be ordered, when they came on
shore to refresh themselves, "at no time to exceed a convenient number, to
come unarmed, to observe an orderly conduct, and to give no offence to the
people and laws of the country." As if to manifest in a still more solemn
manner their hostility, to the objects of the commissioners, a day of fasting
and prayer was appointed to implore the mercy of God under their many
distractions and troubles.[94]

The commissioners arrived in July, and their commission was immediately
laid before the council, with a letter from the King requiring prompt
assistance for the expedition against New Netherlands.
The general court, which was immediately convened, after having first
resolved "that they would bear faith and true allegiance to his majesty, and
adhere to their patent, so dearly obtained, and so long enjoyed, by
undoubted right in the sight of God and man," determined to raise two
hundred men for the expedition. In the mean time colonel Nichols
proceeded to Manhadoes. Conquest of the Dutch colony.The auxiliary force
raised by Massachusetts was rendered unnecessary by the capitulation of
New Amsterdam, which was soon followed by the surrender of the whole
province.
The year after captain Argal had subdued Manhadoes, the garrison, having
obtained a reinforcement from Holland, returned to their ancient allegiance.
In 1621, the states general made a grant of the country to the West India
company, who erected a fort called Good Hope on Connecticut (which they
denominated Fresh) river, and another called Nassau on the east side of
Delaware bay. The fort on Connecticut river, however, did not protect that
frontier against the people of New England, who continued to extend their
settlements towards the south. The Dutch remonstrated in vain against these
encroachments, and were under the necessity of receding as their more
powerful neighbours advanced, until the eastern part of Long Island, and
the country within a few miles of the Hudson were relinquished. Farther
south, the Dutch had built fort Casimir (now New Castle) on the Delaware.
This fort was taken from them by the Swedes, who claimed the western
shore of that river, but was retaken by the Dutch, who, at the same time,
conquered Christina, and received the submission of the few Swedes who
were scattered on the margin of the river. They also made a settlement at
cape Henlopen, which attracted the attention of lord Baltimore, who sent a
commission to New Castle ordering the Dutch governor to remove beyond
the 40th degree of north latitude, to which his lordship's claim extended.
This mandate however was not obeyed.
On the appearance of colonel Nichols before New Amsterdam, Stuyvesant,
the governor, was disposed to defend the place; but the inhabitants, feeling
no inclination for the contest, took part with their invaders; and Stuyvesant

was compelled to sign a capitulation, by which he surrendered the town to
the English, stipulating for the inhabitants their property, and the rights of
free denizens. New Amsterdam took the name of New York, and the island
of Manhattans that of York Island.[95]
Hudson's, and the south, or Delaware river, were still to be reduced.
Carteret commanded the expedition against fort Orange, up Hudson's river,
which surrendered on the twenty-fourth of September, and received the
name of Albany. While at that place, he formed a league with the five
nations, which proved eminently useful to the views of the English in
America.
The command of the expedition against the settlement on the Delaware was
given to sir Robert Carr, who completed the conquest of that country.
Thus did England acquire all that fine country lying between her southern
and northern colonies; an acquisition deriving not less importance from its
situation, than from its extent and fertility.
Nichols took possession of the conquered territory, but was compelled to
surrender a part of it to Carteret.
Soon after the patent to the duke of York, and before the conquest of New
Netherlands, that prince had granted to lord Berkeley, and sir George
Carteret, all that tract of land adjacent to New England, to the westward of
Long Island, bounded on the east, south, and west, by the river Hudson, the
sea, and the Delaware; and, on the north, by forty-one degrees and forty
minutes north latitude. This country was denominated New Jersey.[96]
The conquest of New Netherlands being achieved, the commissioners
entered on the other duties assigned them. A great part of Connecticut had
been included in the patent to the duke of York; and a controversy
concerning limits arose between that colony and New York. In December,
their boundaries were adjusted by the commissioners in a manner which
appears to have been satisfactory to all parties.
In Plymouth, and in Rhode Island, the commissioners found no difficulty in
the full exercise of the powers committed to them. In Massachusetts, they
were considered as men clothed with an authority subversive of the liberties
of the colony, which the sovereign could not rightly confer. The people of

that province had been long in habits of self-government, and seem to have
entertained opinions which justified their practice. They did not
acknowledge that allegiance to the crown which is due from English
subjects residing within the realm; but considered themselves as purchasers
from independent sovereigns of the territory which they occupied, and as
owing to England, only that voluntary subjection which was created and
defined by their charter. They considered this instrument as a compact
between the mother country and themselves, and as enumerating all the
cases in which obedience was due from them. In this spirit, they agreed,
soon after the arrival of the commissioners, on an address to the crown.
This address, in which they express great apprehension of danger to their
rights from the extraordinary powers granted to men not appointed in
conformity with their charter, is drawn up in a style of much earnestness
and sincerity, and concludes with these remarkable words, "let our
government live, our patent live, our magistrates live, our religious
enjoyments live; so shall we all yet have farther cause to say from our
hearts, let the King live for ever." This address was accompanied with
letters to many of the nobility supposed to possess influence at court,
praying their intercession in behalf of the colony; but neither the address,
nor the letters were favourably received.[97]

1665
Conduct of Massachusetts to the royal commissioners.

In April the commissioners arrived at Boston, and their communications
with the general court commenced. The suspicions which these two bodies
entertained of each other, opposed great obstacles to any cordial co-
operation between them. The papers, on the part of the commissioners,
display high ideas of their own authority, as the representatives of the
crown, and a pre-conceived opinion that there was a disposition in the
government to resist that authority. Those on the part of the general court
manifest a wish to avoid a contest with the crown, and a desire to gratify his
majesty, so far as professions of loyalty and submission could gratify him;
but they manifest also a conviction of having done nothing improper, and a
steadfast determination to make no concession incompatible with their
rights. With these impressions, the correspondence soon became an
altercation. The commissioners, finding their object was to be obtained
neither by reasoning, nor by threats, attempted a practical assertion of their

powers by summoning the parties before them, in order to hear and decide a
complaint against the governor and company. The general court, with a
decision which marked alike their vigour, and the high value they placed on
their privileges, announced by sound of trumpet, their disapprobation of this
proceeding, which they termed inconsistent with the laws and established
authority; and declared that, in observance of their duty to God and to his
majesty, and of the trust reposed in them by his majesty's good subjects in
the colony, they could not consent to such proceedings, nor countenance
those who would so act, or such as would abet them.
As a ground of compromise, the court stated their willingness to hear the
case themselves in the presence of the commissioners, who would thereby
be enabled to understand its merits; but this proposition was at once
rejected, and every effort towards reconciliation proved unavailing.[98]

1666

From Massachusetts, the commissioners proceeded to New Hampshire and
Maine. They decided in favour of the claims of Mason and Gorges, and
erected a royal government in each province, appointed justices of the
peace, and exercised other acts of sovereignty; after which they returned to
Boston. The general court, declaring that their proceedings to the eastward
tended to the disturbance of the public peace, asked a conference on the
subject, which was refused with a bitterness of expression that put an end to
all farther communication between the parties. Massachusetts, soon
afterwards, re-established her authority both in New Hampshire and Maine.
They are recalled.

Charles, on being informed of these transactions, recalled his
commissioners, and ordered the general court to send agents to England, to
answer the complaints made against its proceedings. The court, having
more than once experienced the benefits of procrastination, affected at first
to disbelieve the authenticity of the letter; and afterwards excused
themselves from sending agents by saying that the ablest among them could
not support their cause better than had already been done.
During these transactions in the north, new colonies were forming in the
south.

In the year 1663, that tract of country extending from the 36th degree of
north latitude to the river St. Matheo, was made a province by the name of
Carolina, and granted to lord Clarendon, the duke of Albemarle, lord
Craven, lord Berkeley, lord Ashley, sir George Carteret, sir John Colleton,
and sir William Berkeley, in absolute property for ever. This charter bears a
strong resemblance to that of Maryland, and was probably copied from it.
Settlement of Carolina.

The proprietors took immediate measures for Settlement the settlement of
their colony. Its constitution consisted of a governor, to be chosen by
themselves from thirteen persons nominated by the colonists; and an
assembly to be composed of the governor, council, and representatives of
the people, who should have power to make laws not contrary to those of
England, which were to remain in force until the dissent of the proprietors
should be published. Perfect freedom in religion was promised; and, as an
inducement to emigration, one hundred acres of land, at the price of a half
penny for each acre, were allowed for every freeman, and fifty for every
servant, who should, within the space of five years, be settled in the
province.
A small settlement had been made on Albemarle sound by some emigrants
from Virginia, the superintendence of which had been conferred by the
proprietors, on sir William Berkeley, then governor of that colony; with
instructions to visit it, to appoint a governor and council of six persons for
the management of its affairs, and to grant lands to the inhabitants on the
same terms that those in Virginia might be obtained.
The attention of the proprietors was next turned to the country south of cape
Fear, which, as far as the river St. Matheo, was erected into a county by the
name of Clarendon. Considerable numbers from Barbadoes emigrated into
it, one of whom, Mr. John Yeamans, was appointed commander in chief;
and, in 1665, a separate government was erected in it, similar to that in
Albemarle.
The proprietors having discovered some valuable lands not comprehended
in their original patent, obtained a new charter which bestowed on them a
more extensive territory. This charter grants that province within the King's
dominions in America, extending north eastward to Carahtuke inlet, thence

in a straight line to Wyonok, which lies under 36 degrees 30 minutes north
latitude; south westward to the 29th degree of north latitude; and from the
Atlantic ocean to the South sea. Powers of government and privileges
analogous to those comprised in other colonial charters, were also contained
in this.
The people of Albemarle, employed like those of Virginia, in the cultivation
of corn and tobacco, received their scanty supplies principally from New
England; and carried on their small commerce in the vessels of those
colonies. Their progress was slow, but they were contented. 1667 A new
constitution was given them, by which the executive power was placed in a
governor, to act by the advice of a council of twelve, six of whom were to
be chosen by himself, and the others by the assembly, which was composed
of the governor, the council, and twelve delegates, to be elected annually by
the freeholders. Perfect freedom in religion was established, and all were
entitled to equal privileges, on taking the oaths of allegiance to the King,
and of fidelity to the proprietors.
The first acts of this legislature indicate the condition and opinions of the
people. It was declared that none should be sued, during five years, for any
cause of action arising out of the country; and that no person should accept
a power of attorney to receive debts contracted abroad.

1669
Constitution of Mr. Locke.

The proprietors, dissatisfied with their own systems, applied to Mr. Locke
for the plan of a constitution. They supposed that this profound and acute
reasoner must be deeply skilled in the science of government. In
compliance with their request, he framed a body of fundamental laws which
were approved and adopted. A palatine for life was to be chosen from
among the proprietors, who was to act as president of the palatine court,
which was to be composed of all those who were entrusted with the
execution of the powers granted by the charter. A body of hereditary
nobility was created, to be denominated Landgraves, and Caciques, the
former to be invested with four baronies, consisting each of four thousand
acres, and the latter to have two, containing each two thousand acres of
land. These estates were to descend with the dignities for ever.

The provincial legislature, denominated a Parliament was to consist of the
proprietors, in the absence of any one of whom, his place was to be
supplied by a deputy appointed by himself; of the nobility; and of the
representatives of the freeholders, who were elected by districts. These
discordant materials were to compose a single body which could initiate
nothing. The bills to be laid before it were to be prepared in a grand council
composed of the governor, the nobility, and the deputies of the proprietors,
who were invested also with the executive power. At the end of every
century, the laws were to become void without the formality of a repeal.
Various judicatories were erected, and numerous minute perplexing
regulations were made. This constitution, which was declared to be
perpetual, soon furnished additional evidence, to the many afforded by
history, of the great but neglected truth, that experience is the only safe
school in which the science of government is to be acquired; and that the
theories of the closet must have the stamp of practice, before they can be
received with implicit confidence.

1670

The duke of Albemarle was chosen the first palatine, but did not long
survive his election; and lord Berkeley was appointed his successor. The
other proprietors were also named to high offices; and Mr. Locke was
created a landgrave.
After this change of constitution, the attention of the proprietors was first
directed to the south. A settlement was made at Port Royal, under the
conduct of William Sayle, who had been appointed governor of that part of
the coast which lies south-west of cape Carteret. He was accompanied by
Joseph West, who was intrusted with the commercial affairs of the
proprietors, and who, with the governor, conducted the whole mercantile
business of the colony.
William Sayle, after leading the first colony to Port Royal, and convening a
parliament in which there were neither landgraves nor caciques, became the
victim of the climate; after which, the authority of sir John Yeamans, who
had hitherto governed the settlement at cape Fear, was extended over the
territory south-west of cape Carteret. In the same year, the foundation of old

Charlestown was laid, which continued, for some time, to be the capital of
the southern settlements.
While these exertions were making in the south, great dissatisfaction was
excited in Albemarle. In 1670, Stevens, the governor, had been ordered to
introduce into that settlement, the constitution prepared by Mr. Locke. This
innovation was strenuously opposed; and the discontent it produced was
increased by a rumour, which was not the less mischievous for being
untrue, that the proprietors designed to dismember the province. There was
also another cause which increased the ill humour pervading that small
society. The proprietors attempted to stop the trade carried on in the vessels
of New England, and the attempt produced the constant effect of such
measures—much ill temper both on the part of those who carried on the
traffic, and of those for whom it was conducted.
At length, these discontents broke out into open insurrection. The
insurgents, led by Culpeper, who had been appointed surveyor-general of
Carolina, obtained possession of the country, seized the revenues, and
imprisoned the president, with seven deputies who had been named by the
proprietors. Having taken possession of the government, they established
courts of justice, appointed officers, called a parliament, and, for several
years, exercised the powers of an independent state; yet they never,
formally, disclaimed the power of the proprietors.
All this time, the titheables of Albemarle, a term designating all the men,
with the negroes and Indian women, between sixteen and sixty years of age,
amounted only to fourteen hundred; and the exports consisted of a few
cattle, a small quantity of Indian corn, and about eight hundred thousand
weight of tobacco.

1688

About this time, an event occurred in the southern settlements, showing as
well the poverty of the people, as the manner in which the affairs of the
proprietors were conducted. Joseph West, their agent, was appointed to
succeed Yeamans in the government; and, the colony being unable to pay
his salary, the plantation, and mercantile stock of the proprietors, were
assigned to him in satisfaction of his claims.

In England, the opinion had been long entertained that the southern colonies
were adapted to the production of those articles which succeed in the
warmer climates of Europe. In pursuance of this opinion, Charles, in 1679,
employed two vessels to transport foreign protestants into the southern
colony for the purpose of raising wine, oil, silk, and other productions of
the south; and, to encourage the growth of these articles, exempted them,
for a limited time, from taxation. The effort, however, did not succeed.
Old Charlestown being found an inconvenient place for the seat of
government, the present Charleston became the metropolis of South
Carolina. This situation was deemed so unhealthy, that directions were
given to search out some other position for a town. The seat of government,
however, remained unaltered until the connexion with Great Britain was
dissolved.
Carolina continued to increase slowly in wealth and population without any
remarkable incident, except the invasion of its most southern settlement by
the Spaniards from St. Augustine. This was occasioned, in part, by the
jealousy with which the English colony inspired its neighbours, but was
principally, and immediately attributable to the countenance given, in
Charleston, to the buccaneers who then infested those seas, and who were
particularly hostile to the Spaniards. It was with difficulty the colonists
were prevented by the proprietors from taking ample vengeance for this
injury. Their resentments, though restrained, were not extinguished; and,
until the annexation of the Floridas to the British crown, these colonies
continued to view each other with distrust and enmity.
The dissatisfaction of the colony with its constitution grew with its
population. After some time a settled purpose was disclosed, to thwart and
oppose the wishes of the proprietors in every thing. Constitution of Mr. Locke
abandoned.Wearied with a continued struggle to support a system not adapted
to the condition of the people, the proprietors at length abandoned the
constitution of Mr. Locke, and restored the ancient form of government.[99]
Discontents of Virginia.

The discontents which arose in Virginia soon after the restoration, continued
to augment. To the regularly decreasing price of tobacco, and the restraints
imposed on commerce by the acts of navigation, other causes of

dissatisfaction were soon added. Large grants of land were made to the
favourites of the crown: and considerable burdens were produced, and
injuries inflicted by the hostility of the Indians. Agents were deputed to
remonstrate against these improvident grants, as well as to promote the
views of the colony with regard to other objects of great moment; and a
considerable tax was imposed to support the expense of the deputation.
They are said to have been on the point of obtaining the objects of their
mission, when all farther proceedings were suspended in consequence of a
rebellion, which, for a time, wore a very serious aspect.
Bacon's rebellion.

At the head of the insurgents was colonel Nathaniel Bacon, a gentleman
who had received his education, in England, at the inns of court; 1663 and
had been appointed a member of the council soon after his arrival in
Virginia. Young, bold, and ambitious; possessing an engaging person, and
commanding elocution; he was well calculated to rouse and direct the
passions of the people. Treading the path by which ambition marches to
power, he harangued the people on their grievances, increased their
irritation against the causes of their disgust, and ascribed the evils with
which they thought themselves oppressed to those who governed them,
while he professed no other object than their good. He declaimed
particularly against the languor with which the Indian war had been
prosecuted; and, striking the note to which their feelings were most
responsive, declared that, by proper exertions, it might have been already
terminated.
The people, viewing him as their only friend, and believing the zeal he
manifested to be produced solely by his devotion to their cause gave him
their whole confidence and elected him their general. In return, he assured
them that he would never lay down his arms until he had avenged their
sufferings on the savages, and redressed their other grievances.

1676

He applied to the governor for a commission appointing him general to
prosecute the war against the Indians. A temporising policy being pursued,
he entered Jamestown at the head of six hundred armed men, and obtained
all he demanded, from an intimidated government. No sooner had he

withdrawn from the capital than the governor, at the request of the assembly
which was then in session, issued a proclamation declaring him a rebel, and
commanding his followers to deliver him up, and to retire to their respective
homes. Bacon and his army, equally incensed at this piece of impotent
indiscretion, returned to Jamestown, and the governor fled to Accomack.
The general of the insurgents called a convention of his friends, who
inveighed against the governor, for having, without cause, endeavoured to
foment a civil war in the country, and after failing in this attempt, for
having abdicated the government, to the great astonishment of the people.
They stated farther that, the governor having informed the King "that their
commander and his followers were rebellious, and having advised his
majesty to send forces to reduce them, it consisted with the welfare of the
colony, and with their allegiance to his sacred majesty, to oppose and
suppress all forces whatsoever until the King be fully informed of the state
of the case by such persons as shall be sent by Nathaniel Bacon in behalf of
the people." This extraordinary manifesto was concluded with the
recommendation of an oath, first taken by the members of the convention,
to join the general and his army against the common enemy in all points
whatever; and to endeavour to discover and apprehend such evil disposed
persons as design to create a civil war by raising forces against him, and the
army under his command.
In the mean time, the governor collected a considerable force which crossed
the bay under the command of major Robert Beverly, and several sharp
skirmishes were fought. A civil war was commenced; agriculture declined;
Jamestown was burnt by the insurgents; those parts of the country which
remained in peace were pillaged; and the wives of those who supported the
government were carried to camp, where they were very harshly treated.
His death.Virginia was relieved from this threatening state of things, and
from the increasing calamities it portended, by the sudden death of Bacon.

1677

Having lost their leader, the malcontents were incapable of farther
agreement among themselves. They began, separately, to make terms with
the government, and all opposition soon ended. Sir William Berkeley was
re-instated in his authority, and an assembly was convened, which seems to

have been actuated by the spirit of revenge common to those who suffer in
civil contests.[100]
The real motives and objects of this rebellion are not perfectly understood.
Many were disposed to think that Bacon's original design extended no
farther than to gratify the common resentments against the Indians, and to
acquire that reputation and influence which result from conducting a
popular war successfully. Others believe that he intended to seize the
government. Whatever may have been his object, the insurrection produced
much misery, and no good, to Virginia.[101]

1680

Soon after the restoration of domestic quiet, sir William Berkeley returned
to England, and was succeeded by Herbert Jeffreys, who relieved the
colony from one of its complaints by making peace with the Indians.
About the year 1680, an essential change was made in the jurisprudence of
Virginia. In early times, the assembly was the supreme appellate court of
the province. During the administration of lord Culpeper, a controversy
arose between the burgesses, and counsellors, who composed also the
general court, concerning the right of the latter to sit as a part of the
assembly, on appeals from their own decisions. The burgesses claimed,
exclusively, the privilege of judging in the last resort. Assembly deprived of
judicial power.This controversy was determined by taking all judicial power
from the assembly, and allowing an appeal from judgments of the general
court to the King in council, where the matter in contest exceeded the value
of three hundred pounds sterling.[102]
From the rebellion of Bacon to the revolution in 1688, the history of
Virginia affords no remarkable occurrence. The low price of tobacco, that
perpetual source of dissatisfaction, still continued to disquiet the country.
Combinations were formed among the people to raise its value by
preventing, for a time, the growth of the article; and disorderly parties
assembled to destroy the tobacco plants in the beds when it was too late to
sow the seed again. Violent measures were adopted to prevent these
practices, and several individuals were executed.

These discontents did not arrest the growth of the colony. A letter from sir
William Berkeley, dated in June, 1671, states its population at forty
thousand, and its militia at eight thousand. A letter from lord Culpeper in
December, 1681, supposes that there might then be in the colony fifteen
thousand fighting men. This calculation however is probably exaggerated,
as the report of general Smith, prepared in 1680 from actual returns,
represents the militia as then consisting of eight thousand five hundred and
sixty-eight men, of whom thirteen hundred were cavalry.[103]

CHAPTER VI.
Prosperity of New England.... War with Philip.... Edward
Randolph arrives in Boston.... Maine adjudged to
Gorges.... Purchased by Massachusetts.... Royal
government erected in New Hampshire.... Complaints
against Massachusetts.... Their letters patent cancelled....
Death of Charles II.... James II. proclaimed.... New
commission for the government of New England.... Sir
Edmond Andros.... The charter of Rhode Island
abrogated.... Odious measures of the new government....
Andros deposed.... William and Mary proclaimed....
Review of proceedings in New York and the Jerseys....
Pennsylvania granted to William Penn.... Frame of
government.... Foundation of Philadelphia laid....
Assembly convened.... First acts of the legislature....
Boundary line with lord Baltimore settled.

1680
Prosperity of New England.

After the departure of the commissioners, New England was for some
time quiet and prosperous. The plague, the fire of London, and the
discontents of the people of England, engrossed the attention of the King,
and suspended the execution of his plans respecting Massachusetts. In the
mean time, that colony disregarded the acts of navigation, traded as an
independent state, and governed New Hampshire and Maine without
opposition.[104]
War with Philip.

This state of prosperous repose was interrupted by a combination of Indians
so formidable, and a war so bloody, as to threaten the war with very
existence of all New England. This combination was formed by Philip, the

second son of Massassoet. The father and eldest son had cultivated the
friendship of the colonists; but Philip, equally brave and intelligent, saw the
continuing growth of the English with apprehension, and by his conduct
soon excited their suspicion. 1675 He gave explicit assurances of his
pacific disposition; but, from the year 1670 till 1675, when hostilities
commenced, he was secretly preparing for them. The war was carried on
with great vigour and various success: the savages, led by an intrepid chief,
who believed that the fate of his country depended on the entire destruction
of the English, made exertions of which they had not been thought capable.
Several battles were fought; and all that barbarous fury which distinguishes
Indian warfare, was displayed in its full extent. Wherever the Indians
marched, their route was marked with murder, fire, and desolation.
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Plymouth, were the greatest sufferers.
In those provinces especially, the Indians were so intermingled with the
whites, that there was scarcely a part of the country in perfect security, or a
family which had not to bewail the loss of a relation or friend. For a
considerable time no decisive advantage was gained. 1676 At length, the
steady efforts of the English prevailed; and in August 1676, when the tide of
success was running strong in favour of the colonists, Philip, after losing his
family and chief counsellors, was himself killed by one of his own nation,
whom he had offended. After his death, the war was soon terminated by the
submission of the Indians. Never had the people of New England been
engaged in so fierce, so bloody, and so desolating a conflict. Though the
warriors of the nation of which Philip was prince, were estimated at only
five hundred men, he had, by alliances, increased his force to three
thousand. In this estimate the eastern Indians are not included. Many
houses, and flourishing villages were reduced to ashes, and six hundred
persons were either killed in battle, or murdered privately.[105]
While this war was raging with its utmost violence, the government of
Massachusetts was under the necessity of directing a part of its attention to
the claims of Mason and Gorges. The efforts of Charles to procure an
appearance of the colony before the council having proved ineffectual, he
determined to give judgment in its absence, unless an appearance should be
entered within six months. Edward Randolph.Edward Randolph, who was
dispatched to give notice of this determination, arrived in Boston in the
summer of 1676; and, as other letters brought by the same vessel gave

assurance that this resolution would be adhered to, the general court
hastened the departure of deputies to represent the colony, and support its
interests.

Maine adjudged to Gorges.

It was the opinion of the King in council that the line of Massachusetts did
not run more than three miles north of the Merrimack; and Maine was
adjudged to Gorges. The claim of Mason to New Hampshire being confined
to the soil, all title to which, though so long exercised, was now waived by
Massachusetts; and the terre-tenants not being before the court, that part of
the case was decided so far only as respected the boundary of
Massachusetts, which, being against the pretensions of that colony, its
jurisdiction over New Hampshire ceased. Charles had been for some time
treating for the purchase both of New Hampshire and Maine which he
intended to bestow on his favourite son, the duke of Monmouth, but his
poverty had prevented the contract. Massachusetts, though not ignorant of
this fact, finding that the decision respecting Maine would be in favour of
Gorges, purchased his title for twelve hundred pounds sterling. The
offended monarch insisted on a relinquishment of the contract; but
Massachusetts, apologising for what had been done, retained the purchase,
and governed the country as a subordinate province.[106]

1679
Royal government in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire having become a distinct colony, a royal government was
erected in that province; the legislature of which voted an affectionate
address to Massachusetts, avowing a willingness to have retained their
ancient connexion, had such been the pleasure of their common sovereign.
The temper and conduct of Massachusetts remaining unchanged, the
charges against its government were renewed. The complaints of the
Quakers were perseveringly urged; and the neglect of the acts of navigation,
constituted a serious accusation against the colony. The general court, in a
letter to their agents, declared these acts "to be an invasion of the rights,
liberty, and property of the subjects of his majesty in the colony, they not
being represented in Parliament." But as his majesty had signified his
pleasure that they should be conformed to, "they had made provision by a
law of the colony that they should be strictly attended to from time to time,
although it greatly discouraged trade, and was a great damage to his
majesty's plantation." Their agents gave correct information of the state of
things in England, and assured them that only a fair compliance with the

regulations respecting trade could secure them from an open breach with
the crown. These honest representations produced the usual effect of
unwelcome truths. They diminished the popularity of the agents, and
excited a suspicion in Boston that they had not supported the interests of the
colony with sufficient zeal. On their return, they brought with them a letter
containing the requisitions of the King; and were soon followed by
Randolph, who had been appointed collector at Boston. The general court
began to manifest some disposition to appease their sovereign, and passed
several laws for this purpose; but still declined complying with his
directions to send agents with full powers to attend to the new ordering of
the province; and the collector encountered insuperable obstacles in his
attempts to execute the laws of trade. Almost every suit he instituted for the
recovery of penalties or forfeitures was decided against him, at the costs of
the prosecutor. These difficulties induced him to return to England, to
solicit additional powers, which were equally disregarded.
The complaints of the King on these subjects were answered by professions
of loyalty, and by partial compliances with the demands of the crown; but
the main subject of contest remained unaltered.

1684

At length, being convinced that the King was determined to annul the
charter, Massachusetts so far yielded to his will, as to appoint agents to
represent the colony. But persons empowered to submit to such regulations
as might be made by government, were, in other words, persons appointed
to surrender the charter. They were therefore instructed not to do, or consent
to, any thing that might infringe the liberties granted by charter, or the
government established thereby. These powers were declared to be
insufficient; and the agents were informed that, unless others, in every
respect satisfactory, should be immediately obtained, it was his majesty's
pleasure that a quo warranto should be issued without delay. This
unpleasant intelligence was immediately communicated to the general
court, accompanied with information of the proceedings which had lately
taken place in England. In that country, many corporations had surrendered
their charters; and, on the refusal of London, a quo warranto had issued
against the city, which had been decided in favour of the crown. The
question whether it was advisable to submit to his majesty's pleasure, or to

permit the quo warranto to issue, was seriously referred to the general
court, and was as seriously taken into consideration throughout the colony.
In concurrence with the common sentiment, the general court determined
that "it was better to die by other hands than their own." On receiving this
final resolution, the fatal writ was issued, and was committed to the care of
Randolph, who brought also a declaration of the King, that if the colony,
before the writ should be prosecuted, would submit to his pleasure, he
would regulate their charter for his service, and their good; and would make
no farther alterations in it than should be necessary for the support of his
government in the province. The governor and assistants passed a vote of
submission; but, the deputies refusing their assent thereto, the high court of
chancery, in Trinity term 1684, decreed against the governor and company,
"that their letters patent, and the enrolment thereof be cancelled."

1685
Death of Charles II. James II. proclaimed.

Charles did not survive this decree long enough to complete his system
respecting the New England colonies, or to establish a new government for
Massachusetts. He died early in the following year; and his successor, from
whose stern temper, and high toned opinions, the most gloomy presages had
been drawn, was proclaimed, in Boston, with melancholy pomp.
Their presages were soon verified. Immediately after James had ascended
the throne, a commission was issued for a president and council, as a
temporary government for Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, and
Narraghansetts; whose powers were entirely executive and judicial.
1686 This commission reached Boston in May, and was laid before the
general court, not as a body invested with political authority, but as one
composed of individuals of the first respectability and influence in the
province. The general court agreed unanimously to an address, in answer to
this communication, declaring "that the liberty of the subject is abridged, by
the new system, both in matters of legislation and in laying taxes; and that it
highly concerns them to whom it is directed to consider whether it be safe;"
and added "that, if the newly appointed officers, mean to take upon
themselves the government of the people, though they could not give their
assent thereto, they should demean themselves as loyal subjects, and

humbly make their addresses to God, and, in due time, to their gracious
prince, for relief."
Mr. Dudley, the president named in the commission, was a native of
Massachusetts, and seems to have mingled with his respect for the
constitutional prerogative of the crown, a due regard for the rights of the
people. Any immediate alterations, therefore, in the interior arrangements of
the country were avoided; and the commissioners transmitted a memorial to
the lords of the council for the colonies, stating the necessity of a well
regulated assembly to represent the people, and soliciting an abatement of
the taxes. This moderate conduct did not accord with the wishes of that
class of men who court power wherever it may be placed. These sought the
favour of their sovereign by prostrating every obstacle to the execution of
his will; and soon transmitted complaints to administration, charging the
commissioners with conniving at violations of the laws respecting trade,
and countenancing ancient principles in religion and government.
Sir Edmond Andros.

James was dissatisfied with the conduct of his commissioners; and was also
of opinion that a wise policy required a consolidation of the colonies, and a
permanent administration for New England. With a view to this object, he
appointed Sir Edmond Andros, who had governed New York, captain-
general and vice-admiral of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New
Plymouth, Pemaquid, and Narraghansetts; and empowered him, with the
consent of a council to be appointed by the crown, to make ordinances not
inconsistent with the laws of the realm, which should be submitted to the
King for his approbation or dissent; and to impose taxes for the support of
government.
In December 1685, Andros arrived at Boston, where he was received with
the respect which was due to the representative of the crown. In pursuance
of his orders, he dissolved the government of Rhode Island, broke its seal,
and assumed the administration of the colony. In the preceding year, articles
of high misdemeanour had been exhibited against that colony and referred
to Sayer, the attorney general, with orders to issue a writ of quo warranto to
annul their patent. The assembly stopped farther proceedings, by passing an
act formally surrendering their charter. Their submission, however, availed
them nothing. Their fate was involved in that of Massachusetts.[107]

Odious measures of government.

In pursuance of the determination to break the charters and unite the
colonies, articles of misdemeanour had been also exhibited against the
governor and company of Connecticut, on which a writ of quo warranto
had been issued. The government of that colony addressed a letter to the
secretary of state, desiring, with many professions of loyalty, to remain in
its present situation; but, if it should be the purpose of his majesty to
dispose otherwise of them, submitting to his royal commands, and
requesting to be annexed to Massachusetts. No farther proceedings were
had on the quo warranto, and Andros was ordered to accept the submission
of the colony, and annex it to Massachusetts. 1687 This order was executed
in October, when Andros appeared in Hartford at the head of a small corps
of regular troops, demanded the charter, and declared the government to be
dissolved. The colony submitted, but the charter was concealed in a tree,
which was venerated long afterwards and is still in existence.[108]
The grand legislative council, composed of individuals selected by the
crown throughout the united colonies, readily assembled, and proceeded to
execute the duties assigned to it.
The measures of the new government were not calculated to diminish the
odium excited by its objectionable form. The fees of office were enormous;
and the regulations respecting divine worship, marriages, the acts of
navigation, and taxes, were deemed highly oppressive. In addition to these
causes of discontent, the governor general took occasion to cast a doubt on
the validity of the titles by which lands were holden.

1688

To obtain relief from these oppressive grievances, Mather, an eminent
politician and divine, was deputed by the colonies of New England to lay
their complaints before the King. He was graciously received, but could
effect no substantial change in the colonial administration. James had
determined to reduce all the governments, proprietary as well as royal, to an
immediate dependence on the crown; and, to effect this purpose, had
directed writs of quo warranto to issue against those charters which still
remained in force. This plan was adopted, not only for the purpose of
establishing his favourite system of government, but also of forming a

barrier to the encroachments of France, by combining the force of the
colonies as far as the Delaware. During this reign, Canada was pushed
south of Lake Champlain; and fortresses were erected within the immense
forests which then separated that province from New York and New
England. With a view to this union of force, a new commission was made
out for Andros, annexing New York and the Jerseys to his government, and
appointing Francis Nicholson his lieutenant.

1689

The dissatisfaction of the people continued to increase; and every act of the
government, even those which were in themselves laudable, was viewed
through the medium of prejudice.
At length these latent ill humours burst forth into action. Some vague
intelligence was received concerning the proceedings of the Prince of
Orange in England. The old magistrates and leading men silently wished,
and secretly prayed, that success might attend him, but determined to
commit nothing unnecessarily to hazard, and quietly to await an event,
which no movement of theirs could accelerate or retard.
Andros deposed.

The people were less prudent. Stung with the recollection of past injuries,
their impatience, on the first prospect of relief, could not be restrained. On
the 18th of April, without any apparent pre-concerted plan, a sudden
insurrection broke out in Boston, and about fifty of the most unpopular
individuals, including the governors, were seized and imprisoned; and the
government was once more placed in the hands of the ancient magistrates.
William and Mary proclaimed.All apprehensions of danger from this precipitate
measure were soon quieted by the information that William and Mary had
been crowned King and Queen of England. They were immediately
proclaimed in Boston with unusual pomp, and with demonstrations of
proclaimed unaffected joy.[109]
The example of Massachusetts was quickly followed by Connecticut and
Rhode Island. Andros was no sooner known to be in prison than he was
deposed also in Connecticut; and, in both colonies the ancient form of
government was restored.

In New Hampshire a convention was called, which determined to re-annex
that colony to Massachusetts, and deputies were elected to represent them
in the general court. This reunion continued to be their wish, but was
opposed by the King, who, in 1692, appointed for it a distinct governor.
In order to bring the affairs of the middle colonies to this period, it will be
necessary briefly to review the transactions of several years.
Review of proceedings in New York and New Jersey.

The treaty of Breda, which restored Acadié to France, confirmed New
Netherlands to England. Quiet possession of that valuable territory was
retained until 1673, when, England being engaged again in war with
Holland, a small Dutch squadron appeared before the fort at New York,
which surrendered without firing a shot. The example was followed by the
city and country; and, in a few days, the submission of New Netherlands
was complete. After this acquisition the old claim to Long Island was
renewed, and some attempts were made to wrest it from Connecticut. That
province however, after consulting its confederates, and finding that
offensive operations would be agreeable to the union, declared war against
the Dutch; and not content with defending its own possessions, prepared an
expedition against New York. The termination of the war between England
and Holland prevented its prosecution, and restored to the English the
possessions they had lost.[110]
To remove all controversy concerning his title, which had been acquired
while the granted lands were in possession of the Dutch, the duke of York,
after the peace of 1674, obtained a renewal of his patent, and appointed sir
Edmond Andros governor of his territories in America. This commission
included New Jersey, his former grant of which he supposed to be annulled
by the conquest thereof in 1673. Andros, disregarding the decision of the
commissioners, claimed for the duke that part of Connecticut which lies
west of the river of that name; and, during the war with Philip, endeavoured
to support his claim by force. The determined resistance of Connecticut
compelled him to relinquish an attempt on Saybrooke; after which he
returned to New York. The taxes which had been laid by the Dutch were
collected, and duties, for a limited time, were imposed, by authority of the
duke. This proceeding excited great discontent. The public resentment was
directed, first against the governor, whose conduct was inquired into and

approved by his master, and afterwards against the collector, who was
seized and sent to England; but never prosecuted. The representatives of the
duke in New York, feeling the difficulty of governing a high spirited people
on principles repugnant to all their settled opinions, repeatedly, but
ineffectually, urged him to place the colony on the same footing with its
neighbours, by creating a local legislature, one branch of which should be
elected by the people. It was not until the year 1683, when the revenue laws
were about to expire, when the right of the duke to re-enact them was
denied in America, and doubted in England, that he could be prevailed on to
appoint a new governor with instructions to convene an assembly.[111]
In 1674, lord Berkeley assigned his interest in the Jerseys to William Penn
and his associates. They afterwards acquired the title of sir George Carteret
also, and immediately conveyed one-half of their interest to the earl of Perth
and others, who, in 1683, obtained a conveyance from the duke of York
directly to themselves.
During these transactions, continual efforts were made to re-annex the
Jerseys to New York. Carteret had endeavoured to participate in the
advantages of commerce by establishing a port at Amboy; but Andros
seized and condemned the vessels trading thither, and was supported by the
duke in this exercise of power. The assembly of New York claimed the right
of taxing the people of Jersey; and the collector, continued to exercise his
former authority within their territory. On his complaining, after the
accession of the duke of York to the throne, that every vessel he prosecuted
was discharged by the verdict of the jury, a writ of quo warranto was
directed. The English judges did not then hold their offices during good
behaviour; and the proprietors of East Jersey, confident that the cause
would be decided against them, surrendered their patent to the crown,
praying only a grant of the soil. The Jerseys were, soon afterwards, annexed
to New England.[112]
Dongan, who, in 1683, had succeeded Andros in the government of New
York, took a deep interest in the affairs of the five nations, who had been
engaged in bloody wars with Canada. The French, by establishing a
settlement at Detroit, and a fort at Michilimackinack, had been enabled to
extend their commerce among the numerous tribes of Indians who hunted
on the banks of the great lakes, and the upper branches of the Mississippi.

They excluded the people of New York from any share in this gainful
commerce; in consequence of which Dongan solicited and obtained
permission to aid the five nations. This order, however, was soon
countermanded; and a treaty was concluded, stipulating that no assistance
should be given to the savages by the English colonists; soon after which
Dongan was recalled, and New York was annexed to New England.
From the accession of James to the throne, he had discontinued the
assemblies of New York, and empowered the governor, with the consent of
his council, to make laws "as near as might be" to those of England. The
reinstatement of this arbitrary system gave general disgust, and, together
with the apprehension that the Roman Catholic religion would be
established, prepared the people of New York, as well as those of the other
colonies, for that revolution which wrested power from hands accustomed
to abuse it. On receiving intelligence of the revolution at Boston, the militia
were raised by a captain Jacob Leisler, who took possession of the fort in
the name of King William, and drove Nicholson, the lieutenant governor,
out of the country. This event gave rise to two parties, who long divided
New York, and whose mutual animosities were the source of much
uneasiness and mischief to the province.[113]
Pennsylvania granted to William Penn.

William Penn having gained some knowledge of the country west of the
Delaware, formed the design of acquiring that territory as a separate estate.
On his petition, a charter was issued in 1681, granting to him, in absolute
property, by the name of Pennsylvania, that tract of country bounded on the
east by the river Delaware, extending westward five degrees of longitude,
stretching to the north from twelve miles north of New Castle to the forty-
third degree of latitude, and limited on the south by a circle of twelve miles,
drawn round New Castle to the beginning of the fortieth degree of latitude.
In this charter, the acts of navigation were recognised, a local legislature
was created, and provision made that a duplicate of its laws should be
transmitted, within five years, to the King in council; any of which that
were repugnant to those of England, or inconsistent with the authority of the
crown, might be declared void in six months. This charter conveyed nearly
the same powers and privileges with that of Maryland, but recognised the
right of Parliament to tax the colony.

Penn soon commenced the settlement of the province, and immediately
asserted a claim to a part of the territory which had been supposed by lord
Baltimore to be within the bounds of Maryland. In this claim originated a
controversy between the two proprietors, productive of considerable
inconvenience and irritation to both.
He published a frame of government for Pennsylvania, the chief intention
of which was declared to be "for the support of power in reverence with the
people, and to secure the people from the abuse of power; that they may be
free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honourable for their just
administration; for liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience
without liberty is slavery."
This scheme of fundamental law contains many provisions indicating good
sense and just notions of government, but was too complex for an infant
settlement; and, after many fruitless attempts to amend it, was laid aside,
and a more simple form was adopted, resembling in its principal features,
those established in the other colonies, which remained until the proprietary
government itself was dissolved.
In August 1682, Penn obtained from the duke of York a conveyance of the
town of New Castle, with the territory twelve miles around it, and that tract
of land extending thence southward, on the Delaware, to cape Henlopen.
Soon after this grant was issued, he embarked for America, accompanied by
about two thousand emigrants; and, in the October following, landed on the
banks of the Delaware. In addition to the colonists sent out by himself, he
found, on his arrival several small settlements of Swedes, Dutch,
Finlanders, and English, amounting to about three thousand persons. Penn
cultivated the good will of the natives, from whom he purchased such lands
as were necessary for the present use of the colonists. Foundation of
Philadelphia.At this time the foundation of Philadelphia was laid, which we
are assured contained near one hundred houses within twelve months from
its commencement. An assembly was convened which, instead of being
composed of all the freemen, according to the frame of government, was, at
the request of the people themselves, constituted of their representatives.
Among the laws which were enacted was one annexing the territories lately
purchased from the duke of York to the province, and extending to them all
its privileges. Universal freedom in religion was established; and every

foreigner who promised allegiance to the King, and obedience to the
proprietor was declared a freeman.[114]
In the hope of extending his limits to the Chesapeake, Penn, soon after his
arrival, met lord Baltimore for the purpose of adjusting their boundaries.
The patent of that nobleman calls for the fortieth degree of north latitude,
and he proposed to determine the intersection of that degree with the
Delaware by actual observation. Penn, on the contrary, insisted on finding
the fortieth degree by mensuration from the capes of Virginia, the true
situation of which had been already ascertained. Each adhering firmly to his
own proposition, the controversy was referred to the committee of
plantations, who, after the crown had descended on James, decided that the
peninsula between the bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, should be divided
into two equal parts by a line drawn from the latitude of cape Henlopen to
the fortieth degree, and adjudged that the land lying from that line towards
the Delaware should belong to his majesty, and the other moiety to Lord
Baltimore. This adjudication was ordered to be immediately executed.
Pennsylvania was slow in acknowledging the Prince and Princess of
Orange. The government continued to be administered in the name of James
for some time after his abdication was known. At length, however, William
and Mary were proclaimed; and Penn had the address to efface the
unfavourable impressions which this delay was calculated to make on them.

CHAPTER VII.
New charter of Massachusetts.... Affairs of New York....
War with France.... Schenectady destroyed.... Expedition
against Port Royal.... Against Quebec.... Acadié
recovered by France.... Pemaquid taken.... Attempt on St.
Johns.... Peace.... Affairs of New York.... Of Virginia....
Disputes between England and France respecting
boundary in America.... Recommencement of
hostilities.... Quotas of the respective colonies.... Treaty of
neutrality between France and the five nations....
Expedition against Port Royal.... Incursion into
Massachusetts.... Plan for the invasion of Canada.... Port
Royal taken.... Expedition against Quebec.... Treaty of
Utrecht.... Affairs of New York.... Of Carolina....
Expedition against St. Augustine.... Attempt to establish
the Episcopal church.... Invasion of the colony.... Bills of
credit issued.... Legislature continues itself.... Massacre in
North Carolina by the Indians.... Tuscaroras defeated....
Scheme of a Bank.

1689

The revolution which placed the Prince and Princess of Orange on the
throne, revived in Massachusetts, the hope of recovering the ancient charter.
Elections were held by authority of the temporary government, and the
representatives requested the council to exercise, until orders should be
received from England, the powers and authorities vested in that body by
the charter. The council acceded to this proposition; and the ancient system
was re-established. It was soon perceived by the agents of Massachusetts
that the old charter would not be restored, and that the King was determined
to retain the appointment of the governor in his own hands. The colony,

however, was authorised to exercise the powers of government according to
the ancient system, until a new arrangement should be made. The vessel by
which these directions were transmitted, carried also orders that sir Edmond
Andros, and those imprisoned with him should be sent to England.
The general court deputed additional agents, with instructions to solicit the
confirmation of their beloved charter; but these solicitations were
ineffectual. 1691 New Charter.The King was inflexible; and, at length, a new
charter was framed, introducing some changes which affected radically the
independence that had been long practically possessed by the colony. The
governor was to be appointed by the crown, was enabled to call, adjourn,
prorogue, and dissolve the assembly at pleasure; he had the appointment
solely, of all military officers; and, with the consent of his council, of all
officers belonging to the courts of justice.

1692

Sir William Phipps, the first governor, arrived in May, and immediately
issued writs for a general assembly, which met in June, and accepted the
charter; though a considerable party had been formed to oppose it. This
instrument annexed Plymouth and Nova Scotia to Massachusetts; but,
contrary to the wishes of both colonies, omitted New Hampshire, which
became permanently a separate government.[115]
Affairs of New York.

In New York, Leisler, who had obtained the entire control of the lower
country, associated with himself in the government, a few trusty partisans,
denominated a committee of safety, over whom he presided. Some of the
principal inhabitants of the city, dissatisfied at seeing a man of low birth,
without education, in possession of supreme power, retired to Albany,
where a convention of the people was assembled, who determined to hold
the fort and country for the King and Queen, but not to submit to the
authority of Leisler. On receiving intelligence of these transactions, Jacob
Milbourne was detached with a small force to reduce the place; but, finding
that the people adhered to the convention, and that his harangues against
James and popery made no impression on them, he returned to New York.
The next spring he appeared again before the fort; and, being favoured by
an irruption of the Indians, obtained possession of it. The principal

members of the convention absconded, upon which their effects were seized
and confiscated. This harsh measure produced resentments which were
transmitted from father to son.
Leisler retained the supreme power, without farther opposition, until the
arrival of sir Henry Slaughter, who had been appointed governor of the
province. Though informed of the commission which Slaughter bore, this
infatuated man refused to yield the government to him; and showed a
disposition, without the ability, to resist. This ill judged obstinacy threw the
governor, who soon obtained possession of the fort, into the arms of the
opposite party. Leisler and Milbourne were arrested, tried for high treason,
condemned, and executed. Their estates were confiscated, but were
afterwards restored to their families.[116]
While these things were passing in the interior, the colonies of New
England and New York were engaged in a bloody and desolating war with
the French of Canada, and with the Indians. The English people had long
viewed with apprehension, the advances of France towards universal
dominion; and with infinite disgust, the influence of Louis XIV. in their
cabinet. On the elevation of the Prince of Orange to the throne, they entered
with alacrity into all his views for opposing barriers to the power, and
restraints on the ambition, of that haughty monarch. War with France.The war
which was proclaimed between the two nations, extended itself to their
possessions in America. De Calliers, who sailed from Canada to France in
1688, had formed a plan for the conquest of New York, which was adopted
by his government. Caffiniere commanded the ships which sailed from
Rochefort on this expedition, subject however to the count de Frontignac,
who was general of the land forces destined to march from Canada by the
route of the river Sorel and of lake Champlain. The fleet and troops arrived
at Chebucta, whence the count proceeded to Quebec leaving orders with
Caffiniere to sail to New York.
On reaching Quebec, the count found all Canada in the utmost distress. In
the preceding summer, twelve hundred warriors of the Five nations had
suddenly landed on the island of Montreal, and put to death about one
thousand of the inhabitants whom they found in perfect security. The place
was again attacked in October, and the lower part of the island entirely
destroyed. In consequence of these calamitous events, fort Frontignac, on

lake Ontario, was evacuated, and two vessels which had been constructed
there were burnt.
Count Frontignac, who, in his sixty-eighth year, possessed the activity of
youth, after remaining a few days on shore, re-embarked in a canoe for
Montreal. In the hope of conciliating the Five nations, he held a great
council with them at Onondago, where the Indians showed some disposition
towards a peace without concluding one. To influence their deliberations,
and raise the depressed spirits of the Canadians, he sent out several parties
against the English colonies. That against New York, consisting of about
two hundred French, and some Indians; after marching twenty-two days
with their provisions on their backs, through a wilderness covered deep
with snow, arrived, on 8th of February 1690, about eleven at night, at
Schenectady, a village a few miles north-west of Albany. Schenectady
destroyed.Finding the gates open and unguarded, they immediately entered
the town, the inhabitants of which were asleep; and, dividing themselves
into small parties, invested every house at the same time. No alarm was
given until the doors were broken open; and then was commenced the
perpetration of those barbarities which add so much to the ordinary horrors
of war. The whole village was instantly in flames; pregnant women were
ripped open and their infants cast into the flames, or dashed against the
posts of the doors. Sixty persons were massacred, twenty-seven carried into
captivity, and those who escaped fled naked, through a deep snow and
storm to Albany. In the flight, twenty-five lost their limbs from the intensity
of the cold. The town was pillaged until about noon the next day, when the
enemy marched off with their plunder. Being pursued by a party of young
men from Albany, about twenty-five of them were killed and captured.[117]
In the spring and summer of 1689, several settlements and forts in New
Hampshire and Maine, were successfully attacked by the Indians; who,
wherever they were victorious, perpetrated their usual cruelties. Expedition
against Port Royal.Knowing that these depredations originated in Canada and
Acadié, the general court of Massachusetts planned an expedition against
both Port Royal and Quebec. Early in the spring, eight small vessels,
carrying seven or eight hundred men, sailed under the command of sir
William Phipps; and, almost without opposition, took possession of Port
Royal, and of the whole coast between that place and New England. The
fleet returned in May, having taken nearly plunder enough to discharge the

expense of the equipment. But two detachments made about the same time
by count Frontignac, attacked the Salmon falls, and fort Casco, where they
killed and took about one hundred and eighty persons.

Penn Seeking Freedom for Imprisoned Friends
© by Violet Oakley; From a Copley print copyright by Curtis
and Cameron, Boston
The reference made in the panel inscription at the top of this
picture is to William Penn's imprisonment in the Tower of
London for publishing "The Sandy Foundation Shaken," in
which he attacked the doctrines of the Trinity. While in
prison he wrote his most famous and popular book, "No
Cross, No Crown" and "Innocency With Her Open Face", in
vindication of his Quaker faith. In 1681 Penn obtained from
the British Crown, in lieu of a debt of £16,000 due him as
heir to his father, Admiral Penn, a grant of territory now
comprising the State of Pennsylvania. There he founded
Philadelphia, as a Quaker colony, in the following year.

A vessel had been dispatched to England in April with letters urging the
importance of conquering Canada, and soliciting the aid of the King to that
enterprise. He was however too much occupied in Europe to attend to
America; and it was determined to prosecute the expedition without his
assistance. Against Quebec.New York and Connecticut, engaged to furnish a
body of men, to march, by the way of lake Champlain, against Montreal,
while the troops of Massachusetts should proceed by sea to Quebec. The
fleet, consisting of between thirty and forty vessels, the largest of which
carried forty-four guns, sailed from Nantucket the ninth of August, having
on board two thousand men. This expedition also was commanded by sir
William Phipps, a brave man, but not qualified for so difficult an enterprise.
He did not arrive before Quebec until October, when it was too late for a
regular siege. Instead of availing himself of the first impression, sir William
is charged with having wasted two or three days in sight of the place, after
which he summoned it to surrender. Having performed this ceremony, he
landed between twelve and thirteen hundred men, and marched until night,
under a scattering fire from an enemy concealed in the woods. At night, a
deserter gave such an account of the French force as entirely discouraged
him.
Connecticut and New York were disappointed in receiving the assistance
expected from the Five nations; who furnished neither the warriors they had
promised, nor canoes to transport their troops over the lakes. The
commissary too had neglected to lay up the necessary supplies of
provisions. These disappointments obliged the party destined against
Montreal to retreat without making an attempt on that place; which enabled
the French general to oppose the whole force of Canada to Phipps.
The evening after the troops were landed, the ships were drawn up before
the place, but received more damage from the batteries than they could do
to the town. After wasting a few days in unavailing parade, the army re-
embarked with precipitation, and returned to Boston.
The general court, so far from suspecting that the expedition might possibly
miscarry, seem to have counted, not only on success, but on acquiring
sufficient treasure from the enemy to pay their soldiers. The army, finding

the government totally unprepared to satisfy its claims, was on the point of
mutinying. In this state of difficulty, bills of credit were issued, and were
received in lieu of money. A tax was imposed at the same time, payable in
the paper notes of the colony at five per centum above par. Notwithstanding
the exertions to keep up its credit, the paper depreciated to fourteen
shillings in the pound, which depreciation was, almost entirely, sustained by
the army. As the time for collecting the tax approached, the paper rose
above par, but this appreciation was gained by the holders.[118]
Colonel Phipps, soon after his return from Canada, embarked for England,
to renew the solicitations of the colony for aid in another attempt on
Quebec. Though unsuccessful in this application, the government of the
province was bestowed on him; and, in this character, he returned to
Boston. A desultory war continued to be carried on, which, without
furnishing any events that would now be interesting, produced heavy
expense, and much individual misery.

1693

Canada being considered as the source of all these evils, its conquest
continued to be the favourite object of Massachusetts. At length, King
William yielded to the solicitations of that colony and determined to
employ a force for the reduction of Quebec. Unfortunately the first part of
the plan was to be executed in the West Indies, where the capture of
Martinique was contemplated. While on that service a contagious fever
attacked both the land and sea forces; and, before they reached Boston,
thirteen hundred sailors, and eighteen hundred soldiers, were buried. The
survivors not being in a condition to prosecute the enterprise, it was
abandoned.[119]
On the conquest of Acadié by sir William Phipps, the government of
Massachusetts had been extended over that province; but, as the prejudices
and affections of the inhabitants were entirely on the side of France, it was
soon perceived that a military force alone could preserve the acquisition;
and Massachusetts was unable, at her own expense, to support a sufficient
body of troops for the defence of the country. 1696 Port Royal was
recovered by Villebonne, after which all Acadié shook off the government

of Massachusetts, and resumed its allegiance to France. About the same
time a fort at Pemaquid was attacked and carried by Iberville.
Peace.

In December, the treaty of peace which had been concluded at Riswick was
proclaimed at Boston; and hostilities with the French in Canada
immediately ceased. The depredations of the Indians continued only a short
time after this event; and, in the course of the following year, general
tranquillity was restored.

1697

The frontiers of New Hampshire had been not less exposed during the war,
than those of Massachusetts. Perpetual and distressing incursions had been
made into the country, which were marked by the burning of undefended
habitations, and the massacre of men, women, and children.[120]
Affairs of New York.

The frontiers of New York were covered by the Five nations. Hostilities
were carried on between them and the French, but they were not attended
by any material circumstance.
During the war the English government meditated a union of the colonies
for the purpose of forming an army to defend New York; and the governors
were instructed to propose to the several provinces to raise the quota of
troops assigned to each[121] by the crown. Though this plan never took
effect, the fact is of some interest.
The influence of the French not yet extending far enough south to involve
the colonies beyond New York in the calamities of Indian warfare, few
occurrences took place among them which deserve attention. Of Virginia.In
Virginia, the college of William and Mary, to which a charter had been
granted in 1692, was liberally endowed, and was established at
Williamsburg by an act of assembly which passed in the year 1693. In 1698,
the state-house at Jamestown, with many valuable papers, was consumed by
fire; and, in the following year, the legislature passed an act for removing
the seat of government to Williamsburg, then called the middle plantation,
and for building a capitol at that place.

By the treaty of Riswick, it was agreed that France and England should
mutually restore to each other all conquests made during the war; and it was
farther stipulated that commissioners should be appointed to examine and
determine the rights and pretensions of each monarch to the places situated
in Hudson's bay.
The consequences of not ascertaining boundaries were soon perceived. The
English claimed as far west as the St. Croix, while France asserted her right
to the whole country east of the Kennebeck.
War renewed.

These claims remained unsettled; and were mingled with other differences
of more importance, which soon occasioned the re-commencement of
hostilities.

1702

The whole weight of the war in America fell on New England. Previous to
its commencement, the earl of Bellamont, who was at that time governor of
New York as well as of Massachusetts and of New Hampshire, had required
that the quotas of men, assigned by the crown to the different colonies for
the defence of New York, should be furnished. This requisition however
was not complied with; and, before hostilities began, a treaty of neutrality
was negotiated between the Five nations and the governor of Canada, which
was assented to by lord Cornbury, then governor of New York. This treaty
preserved the peace of that province, but left Massachusetts and New
Hampshire to struggle with the combined force of the French and their
Indian allies;—a struggle which seems to have been viewed by New York
with the utmost composure.
Hostilities between Great Britain and France were immediately followed by
incursions of French and Indians into the exposed parts of New England. A
predatory and desolating war, attended with no striking circumstance, but
with considerable expense and great individual distress, was carried on for
some years. During its continuance, propositions were made for a cessation
of hostilities; and the negotiations on this subject were protracted to a
considerable length; but Dudley, who had succeeded the earl of Bellamont
as governor of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, declined engaging for

the neutrality of those provinces, in the hope that Nova Scotia and Canada
might be subdued in the course of the war.

1707

The battle of Almanza, in Spain, having induced the British cabinet to direct
an armament intended for New England to European objects, Dudley
determined to make an attempt on Acadié, though no aid should arrive from
England. With this view, he applied, early in the spring, to the assemblies of
both his provinces, and to the colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island;
requesting them to raise one thousand men for the expedition. Connecticut
declined furnishing her quota; but the other three colonies raised the whole
number, who were disposed into two regiments, one commanded by colonel
Wainright, and the other by colonel Hilton. On the 13th of May, they
embarked at Nantucket on board a fleet of transports furnished with whale
boats, under convoy of a man of war and a galley. The chief command was
given to colonel March, who had behaved gallantly in several encounters
with the Indians, but had never been engaged in such service as this. They
arrived before Port Royal in a few days, and landed without opposition.
After making some ineffectual attempts to bombard the fort, a disagreement
among the officers, and a misapprehension of the state of the fort and
garrison, induced the troops to re-embark in a disorderly manner.[122]
Dudley, who was unwilling to relinquish the enterprise, directed the army to
remain in its position till farther orders. March was beloved by the soldiers,
and was known to be brave, but his capacity was doubted. It was therefore
thought unsafe either to recall him, to place an officer over him, or to
continue him in the chief command. The expedient devised in this
perplexity was, to send a commission to the army, composed of three
members of the council, invested with all the powers which the governor
himself, if present, would possess. These commissioners arrived at Casco
about the middle of July, where they found the army insubordinate, and
indisposed to the service. The troops, however, were again embarked, and
arrived at Passamaquodi, on the seventh of August. The spirits of the
general were broken, and his health was impaired. While dispositions for
landing the army were making, he declared his inability to act, and the
command devolved on colonel Wainright. The landing was effected on the
10th of August; but the troops could not be inspired with that union and

firmness which are essential to success. After devoting ten days to
inefficient, unmeaning operations, they re-embarked, and returned, sickly,
fatigued and dispirited.

1708

During this unfortunate expedition, the frontiers were kept in perpetual
alarm by small parties of Indians; and, in the succeeding year, a formidable
armament was destined by Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada, against New
England. This enterprise was not fully prosecuted, in consequence of the
failure of several Indian tribes to furnish the number of warriors expected
from them. Incursion into Massachusetts.A considerable force, however,
penetrated into Massachusetts, and burnt a part of the town of Haverhill;
where about one hundred persons were killed and many others carried off as
prisoners. These invaders were pursued and overtaken by a body of troops
collected in the neighbourhood, who killed a few of them, and recovered
several of their own countrymen.
The New England colonies, still attributing all these calamities to the
French were earnest in their solicitations to the crown, for aids which might
enable them to conquer Canada. Their application was supported by the
representations of Francis Nicholson, who had been lieutenant governor,
first of New York, and afterward of Virginia; of Samuel Vietch, a trader to
Nova Scotia, and of colonel Schuyler, a gentleman of great influence in
New York, who undertook a voyage to England for the purpose of
communicating his sentiments more fully to administration, and carried
with him resolutions of the assembly, expressing the high opinion that body
entertained of his merit. Influenced by these representations, the British
cabinet determined to undertake an expedition against the French
settlements on the continent of North America, and on New Foundland, to
consist of a squadron, having on board five regiments of regular troops,
1709 which were to be at Boston by the middle of May, 1709, where they
were to be joined by twelve hundred men to be raised in Massachusetts and
Rhode Island. Fifteen hundred men also were to be raised in the
governments south of Rhode Island, who should proceed, by the way of
lake Champlain, against Montreal. All the colonies, except Pennsylvania,
executed with punctuality the part assigned to them. Nicholson, who was
appointed to command the troops destined against Montreal, marched to

Wood creek, where he was ordered to continue, until the arrival of the
forces from Europe; that the two armies might co-operate with each other.
The New England troops, who had been assembled at Boston remained at
that place till September, expecting the arrival of the fleet and army from
England. About that time, Nicholson returned from Wood creek, and it was
obviously too late to proceed against Quebec. A meeting of the
commanding officers, and governors of provinces was requested, in order to
deliberate on future operations. A few days before this meeting was to take
place, a ship arrived from England, with the intelligence that the armament
intended for America had been ordered to Portugal, and with directions to
hold a council of war, in order to determine on the propriety of employing
the troops raised in America, against Port Royal; in which event the ships of
war then at Boston were to aid the expedition. The commanders of the
ships, except captain, afterwards admiral, Matthews, refused to engage in
this service; and, it being unsafe to proceed without convoy, the men were
disbanded.[123]
A congress, composed of governors, and of delegates from several of the
assemblies, met at Rhode Island, and recommended the appointment of
agents to assist colonel Nicholson in representing the state of the country to
the Queen, and soliciting troops for an expedition against Canada, the next
spring. Government seems at first to have thought favourably of this
proposal, but finally determined to proceed only against Port Royal.
1710 Five frigates and a bomb ketch, which were assigned for this service,
arrived with Nicholson, in July. Although the troops were then to be raised,
the whole armament, consisting of one regiment of marines, and four
regiments of infantry, sailed from Boston the 18th of September; and on the
24th arrived before Port Royal. The place was immediately invested, and,
after the exchange of a few shot and shells, was surrendered. Vietch was
appointed governor, and its name, in compliment to the Queen, was
changed to Annapolis.
After the reduction of Port Royal, Nicholson returned to England to renew
the often repeated solicitations for an expedition against Canada. The
ministry was now changed; and the colonists despaired of obtaining from
those in power, any aids against the French. Contrary to the general
expectation, his application succeeded; 1711 and he arrived at Boston, in
June, with orders to the governors as far south as Pennsylvania, to get their

quotas of men and provisions in readiness to act with the fleet and army
expected from Europe. Within sixteen days, while the several governors
were yet deliberating on the subject of these orders, the fleet arrived. The
service according perfectly with the wishes of the people as well as of the
governors, every practicable exertion was made; and difficulties were
overcome which, on other occasions, might have been deemed
insurmountable. To supply the money which the English treasury could not
then advance, the general court of Massachusetts issued bills of credit to the
amount of forty thousand pounds; and the example was followed by
Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. Provisions were obtained by
impressment.
The army consisted of seven veteran regiments, who had served under the
duke of Marlborough; one regiment of marines; and two regiments of
provincials; amounting, in the whole, to six thousand five hundred men; a
force equal to that which afterwards reduced Quebec, when in a much better
state of defence. This armament sailed from Boston on the 30th of July.
Their sanguine hopes were all blasted in one fatal night. On the 23d of
August, in the river St. Lawrence, the weather being thick and dark, eight
transports were wrecked on Egg Island, near the north shore, and one
thousand persons perished. The next day the fleet put back, and was eight
days beating down the river against an easterly wind, which, in two, would
have carried it to Quebec. After holding a fruitless consultation respecting
an attempt on Placentia, the expedition was abandoned; and the squadron
sailed for England. Loud complaints were made, and heavy charges
reciprocated, on this occasion. The ignorance of the pilots, the obstinacy of
the admiral, the detention of the fleet at Boston, its late arrival there, the
want of seasonable orders, and the secret intentions of the ministry, were all
subjects of bitter altercation; but no regular inquiry was ever made into the
causes of the miscarriage.
The plan of this campaign embraced also an attack on Montreal. Four
thousand men raised in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, and
commanded by colonel Nicholson, marched against that place by the way
of Albany and lake Champlain. The failure of the expedition against Quebec
enabling the governor of Canada to turn his whole force towards the lakes,
Nicholson was under the necessity of making a precipitate retreat.

Peace.

No other event of importance took place during this war, which was
terminated by the treaty of Utrecht. By the 12th article of this treaty, France
ceded to England "all Nova Scotia or Acadié, with its ancient boundaries, as
also the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, and all other things
in those parts which depend on the said lands." This territory, which had
been comprehended in the grant made to the Plymouth company, was, with
the consent of that company, afterwards granted by James as King of
Scotland, under the name of Nova Scotia, to sir William Alexander.
Affairs of New York.

In New York, the Leislerian and anti-Leislerian parties continued to
persecute each other. To this calamity was added, in the year 1702, the still
heavier affliction of a malignant fever, imported in a vessel from the West
Indies, which, in almost every instance, proved mortal. A similar disease
raged, about the same time, in several other sea port towns; and was
probably the same which has since produced such fatal effects under the
name of the yellow fever.
In the same year, lord Cornbury, a needy and profligate nobleman, was
appointed governor of the province. He embraced the anti-Leislerian party,
that being then the strongest. On meeting the assembly, he urged the
necessity of providing money for the public exigencies; and, as he had
arranged himself with the ruling party, the vote of supply was liberal.
It was soon perceived that the confidence in the governor was misplaced.
Considerable sums levied for objects of great interest, were applied to his
private use. The system adopted in New York, for collecting and keeping
public money, was calculated to favour this peculation. The colony having
no treasurer, its revenue came into the hands of the receiver general for the
crown, whence it was drawn by a warrant from the governor. Contests soon
arose, between his lordship and the legislature, on the subject of money; the
house requiring a statement of disbursements, and the appointment of a
treasurer, to be controlled by them. At length, in 1706, an act was passed
raising three thousand pounds for fortifications, and directing the money to
be placed in the hands of a person named by the legislature. The assent of
the governor to this act was not given till the succeeding year, and was then

accompanied with a message stating, that he had it in command from the
Queen "to permit the general assembly to name their own treasurer when
they raised extraordinary supplies for particular uses and which are no part
of the standing and constant revenue."
The continual demands of the governor for money, his misapplication of it,
his extortion in the form of fees, and his haughty tyrannical conduct
increased the irritation subsisting between him and the legislature. At
length, the Queen yielded to the complaints of both New York and New
Jersey, and consented to recall him.
During these altercations, some spirited resolutions were entered into by the
assembly; one of which claims particular notice. It is in these words:
"Resolved, that the imposing and levying of any monies upon her majesty's
subjects in this colony, under any pretence or colour whatsoever, without
their consent in general assembly, is a grievance, and violation of the
people's property."
This strong assertion of a principle, which afterwards dismembered the
British empire, then passed away without notice. It was probably
understood to be directed only against the assumption of that power by the
governor.[124]
In Carolina, the vexatious contests with the proprietors still continued. The
public attention was for a time diverted from these, by hostilities with their
neighbours of Florida. 1702 Before the declaration of war made against
France and Spain, had been officially communicated, it was reported in the
colonies that this event had taken place, and Mr. Moore, the governor of the
southern settlements, proposed to the assembly an expedition against St.
Augustine. Temperate men were opposed to this enterprise; but the
assurances of the governor, that Florida would be an easy conquest, and that
immense treasure would be the reward of their valour, were too seductive to
be resisted. A great majority of the assembly declared in favour of the
expedition, and voted the sum of two thousand pounds sterling for its
prosecution. Six hundred militia were embodied for the service, and an
equal number of Indians engaged as auxiliaries.
Expedition against St. Augustine.

In the plan of operations which had been concerted, colonel Daniel was to
move by the inland passage, with a party of militia and Indians, and attack
the town by land; while the governor, with the main body should proceed
by sea, and block up the harbour. Colonel Daniel executed his part of the
plan with promptitude and vigour. He advanced against the town, which he
entered and plundered before the governor reached the harbour. The
Spaniards, however, had been apprised of the preparations making at
Charleston, and had laid up provisions for four months, in the castle, into
which they retired, as Daniel entered the town. On the arrival of the
governor, the place was completely invested; but, it being impossible to
carry the castle without battering artillery, colonel Daniel was dispatched to
Jamaica for cannon, bombs, and mortars. During his absence, two small
Spanish vessels of war were seen off the mouth of the harbour; upon which
the governor raised the siege, abandoned his transports, and made a
precipitate retreat to Carolina. Colonel Daniel returned soon afterwards,
and, having no suspicion that the siege was raised, stood in for the harbour.
He fortunately discovered his situation in time to escape, though with much
difficulty.
This rash and ill conducted expedition entailed on the colony a debt of six
thousand pounds sterling. The ignominy attached to it was soon wiped off
by one that was attended with better success. The Appalachian Indians, who
were attached to the Spaniards, had become extremely troublesome to the
inhabitants of the frontiers. The governor, at the head of a body of militia
and friendly Indians, marched into the heart of their settlements, laid their
towns in ashes, made several prisoners, and compelled them to sue for
peace, and submit to the British government.[125]
Governor Johnson.

Soon after this transaction, sir Nathaniel Governor Johnson, who had been
appointed to succeed Mr. Moor arrived in Charleston. He endeavoured, but
ineffectually to turn the attention of the colonists to the culture of silk. This
article, as well as cotton was neglected, and rice became the great staple of
the country.
Attempt to establish the Episcopal church.

During his administration, the contests between the proprietors and the
people increased. An attempt to establish the Episcopal church was added to
other pre-existing causes of discord. The colony having been settled by
emigrants from different nations, of different religious persuasions, the
indiscreet endeavour to produce uniformity, could not fail to increase their
irritation. The influence of the governor in the legislature obtained the
passage of such acts as were necessary for his purpose; but many petitions
against them were laid before parliament; and the house of lords presented
so decisive an address to her majesty on the subject, that a writ of quo
warranto against the charter was directed. This measure, however, was not
put in execution; and the attention of the colonists was diverted, for a time,
from these intestine broils, by the appearance of danger from abroad.

1704

Spain claimed the whole country, as part of Florida; and was preparing an
expedition to enforce this claim. Governor Johnson, who had acquired some
military skill in European service, having received intelligence of these
preparations, made great exertions to fortify the entrance into the harbour of
Charleston, and to put the province in a state of defence.
There was reason to rejoice that these precautions were used; for, although
no armament arrived from Europe, yet an expedition planned in the
Havanna, was carried into execution.
Colony invaded.

A French frigate and four armed Spanish sloops, commanded by Monsieur
Le Febour, sailed for Charleston, with orders to touch at St. Augustine for
men. His force is said to have amounted to about eight hundred. A
government cruiser descried this squadron off the bar of St. Augustine, and
brought the intelligence to Charleston. Scarcely had the captain delivered
his information, when signals from Sullivan's island announced its
appearance off the coast. The alarm was immediately given, and the militia
of the town were under arms. In the evening the fleet reached Charleston
bar, but deferred attempting to pass it until the morning.
After consuming a day in sounding the south bar, the Spanish flotilla
crossed it, and anchored above Sullivan's island. The governor then directed

some pieces of heavy artillery to be placed in the vessels in the harbour; and
gave the command of them to William Rhet. A summons to surrender being
rejected, a party of the enemy landed on James' island, and burnt a few
houses. Another party, consisting of one hundred and sixty men, landed,
about the same time, on the opposite side of the river. Both these were
attacked and defeated.
Encouraged by this success, Johnson determined to attack the invaders by
sea. In execution of this determination, Rhet, with six small vessels,
proceeded down the river to the place where the hostile flotilla rode at
anchor which, at his approach, precipitately re-crossed the bar. For some
days it was believed that the enterprise was abandoned; but while the
inhabitants were rejoicing at their deliverance, advice was received that a
ship of force had been seen in Sewee bay, and had landed a number of men.
On examining his prisoners, the governor was informed that the enemy had
expected a ship of war with a reinforcement of two hundred men, under the
command of Monsieur Arbuset. Taking his measures with the promptness
of an experienced officer, he ordered captain Fenwick to pass the river, and
march against the detachment which had landed; while Rhet, with two
small armed vessels, sailed round by sea, with orders to meet the ship in
Sewee bay. Fenwick came up with the party on shore, charged them briskly,
and drove them to their ship, which, on the appearance of Rhet, surrendered
without firing a shot. The prize with about ninety prisoners was brought up
to Charleston.
Thus was terminated with the loss of near three hundred men killed and
prisoners, among the latter of whom were the general and some naval
officers, the invasion of Carolina by Monsieur Le Febour. It seems to have
been undertaken in the confidence that the colony was too weak for
resistance; and was conducted without skill or courage.
Bills of credit.

To defray the expenses incurred in repelling this invasion, bills of credit to
the amount of eight thousand pounds were issued. The effect of this
emission was such a depreciation of the currency under the form of a rise in
the price of commodities and of exchange, that one hundred and fifty
pounds in paper, were given for one hundred pounds sterling.

1707

Lord Granville, the palatine, a bigoted churchman, under whose influence
violent measures had been taken for the establishment of religious
conformity in Carolina, died in the year 1707. He was succeeded by lord
Craven, who, though of the same religious tenets, supported them with
moderation. His disposition to indulge, and thereby mollify, the dissenters,
was considered by the zealots of the established church, as endangering
religion; and the legislature, which was elected under the influence of the
late palatine, and of his governor, dreading a change in the administration,
1708 Legislature continues itself.adopted the extraordinary measure of
continuing itself "for two years, and for the time and term of eighteen
months after the change of government, whether by the death of the present
governor, or the succession of another in his time."[126] Thus adding one
other humiliating proof to those which perpetually occur, that principles are
deplorably weak, when opposed by the passions.

1712
Massacre in North Carolina by the Indians.

In the year 1712, the Indians in North Carolina, alarmed, as their
countrymen had been in the other colonies, by the increasing population
and regular encroachments of the whites, formed with their accustomed
secrecy, the plan of exterminating in one night these formidable neighbours.
No indication of their design was given until they broke into the houses of
the planters. The slaughter on Roanoke was immense. In that settlement
alone, one hundred and thirty-seven persons were murdered. A few escaped
by concealing themselves in the woods, who, the next day, gave the alarm.
The remaining whites were collected together in a place of safety, and
guarded by the militia until assistance could be received from South
Carolina.
This was prompt and effectual. The assembly at Charleston voted four
thousand pounds for the service; and colonel Barnwell was detached with
six hundred militia, and three hundred and sixty Indians, to the relief of the
afflicted North Carolinians. With the utmost celerity he passed through the
difficult and dangerous wilderness which then separated the northern from
the southern settlements; Indians defeated.and, attacking the savages with

unexpected fury, killed three hundred of them, and made one hundred
prisoners. The survivors retreated to the Tuscorora town, and took refuge
within a wooden breast-work, in which they were surrounded by the whites.
After sustaining considerable loss, they sued for peace and obtained it; but
soon afterwards abandoned their country, and united themselves with the
Iroquois, or Five nations.
The expense of this expedition greatly transcended the scanty means of
South Carolina. To supply the exigencies of government, and to promote
the convenience of commerce, the legislature determined to issue forty-
eight thousand pounds in bills of credit, to be denominated bank bills. This
money was to be lent out, at interest, on security, and to be redeemed
gradually by the annual payment of one-twelfth part of the sum loaned. The
bills were made a legal tender; and the creditor who should refuse them,
lost his debt.
After the emission of these bills, exchange rose, the first year, to one
hundred and fifty, and in the second to two hundred per centum, above par.
The effect of this depreciation, and of the tender laws which accompanied
it, on creditors, and on morals, was obvious and certain.

CHAPTER VIII.
Proceedings of the legislature of Massachusetts....
Intrigues of the French among the Indians.... War with
the savages.... Peace.... Controversy with the governor....
Decided in England.... Contests concerning the
governor's salary.... The assembly adjourned to Salem....
Contest concerning the salary terminated.... Great
depreciation of the paper currency.... Scheme of a land
bank.... Company dissolved by act of Parliament....
Governor Shirley arrives.... Review of transactions in
New York.

1714

The heavy expenses of Massachusetts during the late war had produced
such large emissions of paper money, that a considerable depreciation took
place, and specie disappeared. The consequent rise of exchange, instead of
being attributed to its true cause, was ascribed to the decay of trade.
The colony, having now leisure for its domestic concerns, turned its
attention to this interesting subject.
Affairs of Massachusetts.

Three parties were formed. The first, a small one, actuated by the principle
that "honesty is the best policy," was in favour of calling in the paper
money, and relying on the industry of the people, to replace it with a
circulating medium of greater stability.
The second proposed a private bank, which was to issue bills of credit, to be
received by all the members of the company, but at no certain value
compared with gold and silver. It was not intended to deposit specie in the

bank for the redemption of its notes as they might be offered; but to pledge
real estates as security that the company would perform its engagements.
The third party was in favour of a loan of bills from the government, to any
of the inhabitants who would mortgage real estate to secure their re-
payment in a specified term of years; the interest to be paid annually, and
applied to the support of government.
The first party, perceiving its numerical weakness, joined the third; and the
whole province was divided between a public and private bank.
At length, the party for the public bank prevailed in the general court, and
fifty thousand pounds were issued and placed in the hands of trustees; to be
lent for five years, at an interest of five per centum per annum, one-fifth
part of the principal to be paid annually.

1716

This scheme failing to improve the commerce of the colony, governor
Shute, who had succeeded Dudley, reminded the assembly of the bad state
of trade, which he ascribed to the scarcity of money; and recommended the
consideration of some effectual measures to supply this want. The result of
this recommendation was a second loan of one hundred thousand pounds
for ten years, to be placed in the hands of commissioners in each county, in
proportion to its taxes. The whole currency soon depreciated to such a
degree, that the entire sum in circulation did not represent more real value,
than was represented by that which was circulating before the emission. The
governor had now sufficient leisure, and the general court furnished him
with sufficient motives, to reflect on the policy he had recommended. An
attempt to raise his salary as money depreciated, did not succeed, and only
the usual nominal sum was voted for his support.

1719

In Massachusetts, peace abroad was the signal for dissension at home.
Independent in her opinions and habits, she had been accustomed to
consider herself rather as a sister kingdom, acknowledging one common
sovereign with England, than as a colony. The election of all the branches
of the legislature, a principle common to New England, contributed,

especially while the mother country was occupied with her own internal
divisions, to nourish these opinions and habits. Although the new charter of
Massachusetts modified the independence of that colony, by vesting the
appointment of the governor in the crown, yet the course of thinking which
had prevailed from the settlement of the country, had gained too much
strength to be immediately changed; and Massachusetts sought, by private
influence over her chief magistrate, to compensate herself for the loss of his
appointment. With this view, it had become usual for the general court to
testify its satisfaction with his conduct by presents; and this measure was
also adopted in other colonies.
Apprehending that this practice might dispose the governors to conciliate
the legislatures at the expense of their duty to the crown, the Queen had
given peremptory orders to receive no more gifts; and to obtain acts fixing
their salaries permanently at a sum named by herself. The mandate
respecting presents was, of course, obeyed; and some of the colonies
complied with the requisition respecting the salary; but in Massachusetts
and New York, it was steadily resisted.
A controlling power over salaries was a source of influence which was
pertinaciously maintained; and its efficacy was tried in all the conflicts
between Massachusetts and her governor. Almost every important measure
brought before the legislature, was productive of contests between these
departments. They disagreed, not only on the policy of particular acts, but
on the limits of their power. The governor claimed the right of negativing
the speaker chosen by the representatives, which was denied by them; and,
each party persisting in its pretensions, the assembly was dissolved, and
new elections took place. The same members being generally re-chosen, the
house of representatives assembled with increased irritation, and passed
some angry resolutions respecting its dissolution. The governor, in turn,
charged the house with encroachments on the power of the executive;
among other instances of which, he mentioned certain resolutions passed on
the commencement of hostilities by the Indians, which were deemed
equivalent to a declaration of war, and had therefore been rejected.

1721

Disagreements were multiplied between them. Paper money and trade were
inexhaustible sources of discontent. New elections produced no change of
temper. After war was formally declared against the Indians, the house
endeavoured to exercise executive powers in its prosecution; and, the
council not concurring with them, the representatives attempted, in one
instance, to act alone.
The measures recommended by the governor to successive assemblies,
were disregarded; irritating resolves were adopted and reiterated; and a
course of angry crimination and recrimination took place between them in
the progress of which the governor's salary was reduced in its nominal as
well as real amount; and the sum granted, instead of being voted, as had
been usual, at the commencement of the session, was reserved to its close.

1722

In the midst of these contests, governor Shute, who had privately solicited
and obtained leave to return to England, suddenly embarked on board the
Sea Horse man of war, leaving the controversy concerning the extent of the
executive power, to devolve on the lieutenant governor.[127]
The house of representatives persisted in asserting its control over objects
which had been deemed within the province of the executive; but its
resolutions were generally negatived by the council. This produced some
altercation between the two branches of the legislature; but they at length
united in the passage of a resolution desiring their agent in England to take
the best measures for protecting the interests of the colony, which were
believed to be in danger from the representations of governor Shute.
Intrigues of the French with the Indians.

During these contests in the interior, the frontiers had suffered severely
from the depredations of the Indians. The French had acquired great
influence over all the eastern tribes. Jesuit missionaries generally resided
among them, who obtained a great ascendancy in their councils. After the
cession of Nova Scotia to Great Britain, father Rahlé, a missionary residing
among the savages of that province exerted successfully all his address to
excite their jealousies and resentments against the English. By his acts, and
those of other missionaries, all the eastern Indians, as well as those of

Canada, were combined against New England. They made incursions into
Massachusetts, in consequence of which, some troops were detached to the
village in which Rahlé resided, for the purpose of seizing his person. He
received intimation of their approach in time to make his escape; but they
secured his papers, among which were some showing that in exciting the
savages to war against the English colonists, he had acted under the
authority of the governor of Canada, who had secretly promised to supply
them with arms and ammunition.

1726

Envoys were deputed with a remonstrance against conduct so incompatible
with the state of peace then subsisting between France and England. The
governor received this embassy politely, and, at first, denied any
interference in the quarrel, alleging that the Indians were independent
nations who made war and peace without being controlled by him. On
being shown his letters to Rahlé, he changed his language, and gave
assurances of his future good offices in effecting a peace. On the faith of
these assurances, conferences were held with some Indian chiefs then in
Canada; several captives were ransomed; Peace.and, soon after the return of
the commissioners to New England, the war was terminated by a treaty of
peace signed at Boston.[128]
Decision against the house on the controversy with the governor.

Meanwhile the complaints of governor Shute against the house of
representatives were heard in England. Every question was decided against
the house. In most of them, the existing charter was deemed sufficiently
explicit; but, on two points, it was thought advisable to have explanatory
articles. These were, the right of the governor to negative the appointment
of the speaker, and the right of the house on the subject of the adjournment.
New Charter.An explanatory charter therefore affirming the power claimed
by the governor to negative a speaker, and denying to the house of
representatives the right of adjourning itself for a longer time than two days.
This charter was submitted to the general court, to be accepted or refused;
but it was accompanied with the intimation that, in the event of its being
refused, the whole controversy between the governor and house of
representatives would be laid before Parliament. The conduct of the

representatives had been so generally condemned in England, as to excite
fears that an act to vacate the charter would be the consequence of a
parliamentary inquiry. The temper of the house too had undergone a change.
The violence and irritation which marked its proceedings in the contest with
governor Shute had subsided; and a majority determined to accept the new
charter.

1727

The trade of the province still languished, and complaints of the scarcity of
money were as loud as when only specie was in circulation. To remedy
these evils, a bill for emitting a farther sum in paper passed both houses, but
was rejected by the lieutenant governor, as being inconsistent with his
instructions. The house of representatives, thereupon, postponed the
consideration of salaries till the next session. The assembly was then
adjourned at its own request, and, after a recess of a fortnight, was again
convened. As an expedient to elude the instructions to the governor which
interdicted his assent to any act for issuing bills of credit, except for charges
of government, a bill passed with the title of "an act for raising and settling
a public revenue for and towards defraying the necessary charges of
government, by an emission of sixty thousand pounds in bills of credit."
This bill providing for the payment of the salaries to which several
members of the council were entitled, passed that house also; and the
lieutenant governor gave a reluctant assent to it. Its passage into a law
furnishes strong evidence of the influence which the control over salaries
gave to the house of representatives.

1728
Contest respecting salary.

Mr. Burnet, who had been appointed governor of Massachusetts and New
Hampshire, was received with great pomp in Boston. At the first meeting of
the assembly, he stated the King's instructions to insist on an established
salary, and his intention firmly to adhere to them. The assembly was not
less firm in its determination to resist this demand; and, that no additional
and unnecessary obloquy might be encountered, resolved, not to mingle any
difference concerning the amount of the salary, with the great question of its
depending on the will of the legislature. As soon therefore as the

compliments usual on the arrival of a governor had passed, the house voted
one thousand seven hundred pounds towards his support, and to defray the
charges of his journey. This vote was understood to give him, as a present
salary, a sum equal to one thousand pounds sterling per annum. The
governor declared his inability to assent to this bill, it being inconsistent
with his instructions. After a week's deliberation, the assembly granted three
hundred pounds for the expenses of his journey, which he accepted; and, in
a distinct vote, the farther sum of one thousand four hundred pounds was
granted toward his support. The latter vote was accompanied with a joint
message from both houses, wherein they asserted their undoubted right as
Englishmen, and their privilege by the charter, to raise and apply money for
the support of government; and their willingness to give the governor an
ample and honourable support; but they apprehended it would be most for
his majesty's service to do so without establishing a fixed salary. The
governor returned an answer on the same day, in which he said, that, if they
really intended to give him an ample and honourable support, they could
have no just objection to making their purpose effectual by fixing his salary;
for he would never accept a grant of the kind then offered.
The council was disposed to avoid the contest, and to grant a salary to the
present governor for a certain time; but the house of representatives,
remaining firm to its purpose, sent a message to the governor requesting
that the court might rise. He answered, that a compliance with this request
would put it out of the power of the legislature to pay immediate regard to
the King's instructions; and he would not grant a recess, until the business
of the session should be finished. The representatives then declared that, "in
faithfulness to the people, they could not come into an act for establishing a
salary on the governor or commander in chief for the time being," and,
therefore, renewed their request that the court might rise.
Both the governor and the house of representatives seem, thus far, to have
made their declarations with some reserve. A salary during his own
administration might, perhaps, have satisfied him, though he demanded that
one should be settled, generally, on the commander in chief for the time
being; and the house had not yet declared against settling a salary on him
for a limited time. Each desired that the other should make some
concession. Both declined; both were irritated by long altercation; and, at
length, instead of mutually advancing fixed at the opposite extremes. After

several ineffectual efforts on each side, the representatives sent a message
to the governor, stating at large the motives which induced the resolution
they had formed. The governor returned a prompt answer, in which he also
detailed the reasons in support of the demand he had made. These two
papers, manifesting the principles and objects of both parties, deserve
attention even at this period.
The house, not long after receiving this message, far from making any
advances towards a compliance with his request, came to two resolutions
strongly expressive of its determination not to recede from the ground
which had been taken.
These resolutions gave the first indication, on the part of the
representatives, of a fixed purpose to make no advance towards a
compromise. They induced the governor to remind the court of the danger
to which the proceedings of that body might expose the charter. This
caution did not deter the house from preparing, and transmitting to the
several towns of the province a statement of the controversy, which
concludes with saying, "we dare neither come into a fixed salary on the
governor for ever, nor for a limited time, for the following reasons:
First, Because it is an untrodden path which neither we, nor our
predecessors have gone in, and we cannot certainly foresee the many
dangers that may be in it, nor can we depart from that way which has been
found safe and comfortable.
Secondly, Because it is the undoubted right of all Englishmen, by magna
charta, to raise and dispose of money for the public service, of their own
free accord, without compulsion.
Thirdly, Because it must necessarily lessen the dignity and freedom of the
house of representatives, in making acts, and raising and applying taxes,
&c. and, consequently, cannot be thought a proper method to preserve that
balance in the three branches of the legislature, which seems necessary to
form, maintain, and uphold, the constitution.
Fourthly, Because the charter fully empowers the general assembly to make
such laws and orders as they shall judge for the good and welfare of the
inhabitants; and if they, or any part of them, judge this not to be for their

good, they neither ought nor could come into it, for, as to act beyond or
without the powers granted in the charter might justly incur the King's
displeasure, so not to act up and agreeable to those powers, might justly be
deemed a betraying of the rights and privileges therein granted; and if they
should give up this right, they would open a door to many other
inconveniences."
Many messages passed in quick succession between the governor and the
house, in the course of which the arguments stated in the papers which have
been mentioned, were enlarged and diversified. At length, the house
repeated its request for an adjournment; but the governor replied that
"unless his majesty's pleasure had due weight with them, their desires
would have very little with him."
The council now interposed with a resolution declaring "that it is expedient
for the court to ascertain a sum as a salary for his excellency's support, as
also the term of time for its continuance." This resolution was transmitted to
the house of representatives, and immediately rejected.
After much controversy, a small seeming advance towards an
accommodation was made. Instead of voting a salary, as had been usual, for
half a year, a grant was made to the governor of three thousand pounds,
equal to one thousand pounds sterling, to enable him to manage the affairs
of the province. This was generally understood to be a salary for a year. The
governor having withheld his assent from this vote, the house entreated him
to accept the grant; and added "we cannot doubt but that succeeding
assemblies, according to the ability of the province, will be very ready to
grant as ample a support; and if they should not, your excellency will then
have an opportunity of showing your resentment." The governor however
persisted to withhold his assent from the vote.
The colony generally, and especially Boston, was opposed to a compliance
with the instructions of the crown. At a general meeting of the inhabitants,
the town passed a vote, purporting to be unanimous against fixing a salary
on the governor. Adjournment of the Assembly to Salem.In consequence of this
vote, and of an opinion that the members of the house were influenced by
the inhabitants of the town, the governor determined to change the place at

which the court should hold its session; and on the 24th of October,
adjourned it to the 30th then to meet at Salem, in the country of Essex.
Change of place did not change the temper of the house. This was not, as in
the contests with governor Shute, an angry altercation, into which the
representatives were precipitated by a restless and encroaching temper, but
a solemn and deliberate stand, made in defence of a right believed to be
unquestionable, and of a principle deemed essential to the welfare of the
colony. The ground taken was considered well, and maintained with
firmness. Votes and messages of the same tenor with those which had been
often repeated, continued to pass between the representatives and the
governor, until the subject was entirely exhausted. Each party being
determined to adhere to its principles, the house met and adjourned daily,
without entering on business.
In the mean time, the governor received no salary. To the members of
Boston, who had not been accustomed to the expense of attending the
legislature at a distant place, a compensation, above their ordinary wages,
was made by that town.
The house, firmly persuaded of the propriety of its conduct, prepared a
memorial to the King praying a change in the royal instructions to the
governor. Agents were appointed to represent the general court in England,
and a vote was passed for defraying the expenses attendant on the business.
The council refused to concur in this vote, because the agents had been
appointed by the house of representatives singly; and the measure must
have been abandoned for want of money, had not the inhabitants of Boston
raised the sum required, by subscription.

1729

Letters were soon received from these agents, inclosing a report from the
board of trade, before whom they had been heard by council, entirely
disapproving the conduct of the house. The letters also indicated that,
should the house persist in its refusal to comply with the King's
instructions, the affair might be carried before parliament. But, should even
this happen, the agents thought it more advisable that the salary should be
fixed by the supreme legislature, than by that of the province. "It was

better," they said, "that the liberties of the people should be taken from
them, than given up by themselves."
The governor, at length, refused to sign a warrant on the treasury for the
wages of the members. "One branch of the legislature," he said, "might as
well go without their pay as the other." The act, and the reason for it, were
alike unsatisfactory to the house.
Death of Governor Burnet.

After a recess from the 20th of December to the 2d of April, the general
court met again at Salem. Repeated meetings at that place having produced
no accommodation, the governor adjourned the legislature to Cambridge. A
few days after the commencement of the session, he was seized with a
fever, of which he died.
Mr. Burnet is said to have possessed many valuable qualities; and, had he
not been engaged, by a sense of duty, in this long contest, he would, in all
probability, have been a favourite of the province.[129]

1730
Arrival of Governor Belcher.

Mr. Belcher, who succeeded Burnet, arrived at Boston early in August
where he was cordially received. At the first meeting of the general court,
he pressed the establishment of a permanent salary, and laid before them his
instructions, in which it was declared that, in the event of the continued
refusal of the assembly, "his majesty will find himself under the necessity of
laying the undutiful behaviour of the province before the legislature of
Great Britain, not only in this single instance, but in many others of the
same nature and tendency, whereby it manifestly appears that this assembly,
for some years last past, have attempted, by unwarrantable practices, to
weaken, if not cast off, the obedience they owe to the crown, and the
dependence which all colonies ought to have on the mother country."
At the close of these instructions, his majesty added his expectation, "that
they do forthwith comply with this proposal, as the last signification of our
royal pleasure to them on this subject, and if the said assembly shall not
think fit to comply therewith, it is our will and pleasure, and you are
required, immediately, to come over to this kingdom of Great Britain, in

order to give us an exact account of all that shall have passed on this
subject, that we may lay the same before our parliament."
The house proceeded, as in the case of governor Burnet, to make a grant to
Mr. Belcher of one thousand pounds currency for defraying the expense of
his voyage, and as a gratuity for his services while the agent of the colony
in England; and, some time after, voted a sum equal to one thousand pounds
sterling to enable him to manage the public affairs, &c.; but fixed no time
for which the allowance was made. The council concurred in this vote,
adding an amendment "and that the same sum be annually allowed for the
governor's support." The house not agreeing to this amendment, the council
carried it so as to read "that the same sum should be annually paid during
his excellency's continuance in the government, and residence here." This
also was disagreed to and the resolution fell.
The small-pox being in the town of Cambridge, the assembly was
adjourned to Roxbury.
Two or three sessions passed with little more, on the part of the governor,
than a repetition of his demand for a fixed salary, and an intimation that he
should be obliged to return to England, and state the conduct of the house of
representatives to the King. Some unsuccessful attempts were made by his
friends to pass a bill fixing the salary during his administration, with a
protest against the principle, and against that bill's being drawn into
precedent. Failing in this expedient, and finding the house inflexible, he
despaired of succeeding with that body, and turned his attention to the
relaxation of his instructions. 1731 He advised an address from the house
to his majesty, praying that he might be permitted to receive the sum which
the legislature had offered to grant him. This was allowed by the crown;
with the understanding that he was still to insist on a compliance with his
instructions. Leave to accept particular grants was obtained for two or three
years successively; and, at length, a general permission was conceded to
accept such sums as might be given by the assembly.[130]
Contest concerning the salary terminated.

Thus was terminated, the stubborn contest concerning a permanent salary
for the governor. Its circumstances have been given more in detail than
consists with the general plan of this work, because it is considered as

exhibiting, in genuine colours, the character of the people engaged in it. It is
regarded as an early and an honourable display of the same persevering
temper in defence of principle, of the same unconquerable spirit of liberty,
which at a later day, and on a more important question, tore the British
colonies from a country to which they had been strongly attached.

1733

The immense quantity of depreciated paper which was in circulation
throughout New England, had no tendency to diminish the complaints of
the scarcity of money. Massachusetts and New Hampshire were restrained
from farther emissions by the instructions to their governors, who received
their appointments from the crown. Connecticut, engaged chiefly in
agricultural pursuits, suffered less from this depreciated medium than her
neighbours, and was less disposed to increase its evils. Rhode Island,
equally commercial with Massachusetts, and equally fond of paper, chose
her own governor, and might therefore indulge, without restraint, her
passion for a system alike unfavourable to morals and to industry. That
colony now issued one hundred thousand pounds on loan, to its inhabitants,
for twenty years. The merchants of Boston, apprehensive that this capital
would transfer the stock of Massachusetts to Rhode Island, associated
against receiving the new emission; and many of them formed a company
which issued one hundred and ten thousand pounds, redeemable with
specie, in ten years, a tenth part annually, at the then current value of paper.
The association against receiving the new emission of Rhode Island was not
long observed; and the bills of New Hampshire and Connecticut were also
current. Silver immediately rose to twenty-seven shillings the ounce, and
the notes issued by the merchants soon disappeared, leaving in circulation
only the government paper.

1739

Great uneasiness prevailed through Massachusetts on this subject. The last
instalment of the bills would become due in 1741, and no power existed to
redeem them by new emissions. Serious consequences were apprehended
from calling in the circulating medium without substituting another in its
place, and the alarm was increased by the circumstance that the taxes had
been so lightly apportioned on the first years, as to require the imposition of

heavy burdens for the redemption of what remained in circulation. The
discontents excited by these causes were manifested in the elections, and
were directed against the governor, who was openly hostile to the paper
system.
Land bank.

The projector of the bank again came forward; and, placing himself at the
head of seven or eight hundred persons, some of whom possessed property,
proposed to form a company which should issue one hundred and fifty
thousand pounds in bills. By this scheme, every borrower of a sum larger
than one hundred pounds, was to mortgage real estate to secure its re-
payment. The borrowers of smaller sums might secure their re-payment
either by mortgage, or by bond with two securities. Each subscriber, or
partner was to pay, annually, three per centum interest on the sum he should
take, and five per centum of the principal, either in the bills themselves, or
in the produce and manufactures of the country, at such rates as the
directors should, from time to time, establish.
Although the favourers of this project were so successful at the elections as
to obtain a great majority in the general court, men of fortune, and the
principal merchants, refused to receive these bills. Many small traders,
however, and other persons interested in the circulation of a depreciated
currency, gave them credit. The directors themselves, it was said, became
traders; and issued bills without limitation, and without giving security for
their redemption. The governor, anticipating the pernicious effects of the
institution, exerted all his influence against it. He displaced such executive
officers as were members of it, and negatived the speaker, and thirteen
members elected to the council, who were also of the company.
1740 Company dissolved.General confusion being apprehended, application
was made to parliament for an act to suppress the company. This being
readily obtained, the company was dissolved, and the holders of the bills
were allowed their action against its members, individually.[131]
About this time governor Belcher was recalled, and Mr. Shirley was
appointed to succeed him. He found the land bank interest predominant in
the house, and the treasury empty.

1741

In this state of things, he deemed it necessary to depart from the letter of his
instructions, in order to preserve their spirit. A bill was passed declaring that
all contracts should be understood to be payable in silver at six shillings and
eight pence the ounce, or in gold at its comparative value. Bills of a new
form were issued, purporting to be for ounces of silver, which were to be
received in payment of all debts, with this proviso, that if they should
depreciate between the time of contract and of payment, a proportional
addition should be made to the debt.
Affairs of New York.

While these transactions were passing in New England, symptoms of that
jealousy which an unsettled boundary must produce between neighbours,
began to show themselves in Canada and New York. The geographical
situation of these colonies had, at an early period, directed the attention of
both towards the commerce of the lakes. Mr. Burnet, the governor both of
New York and New Jersey, impressed with the importance of acquiring the
command of lake Ontario, had, in the year 1722, erected a trading house at
Oswego in the country of the Senecas. This measure excited the jealousy of
the French, who launched two vessels on the lake, and transported materials
to Niagara for building a large store house, and for repairing the fort at that
place. These proceedings were strongly opposed by the Senecas, and by the
government of New York. Mr. Burnet remonstrated against them as
encroachments on a British province, and also addressed administration on
the subject. Complaints were made to the cabinet of Versailles; but the
governor of Canada proceeded to complete the fort. To countervail the
effects of a measure which he could not prevent, governor Burnet erected a
fort at Oswego; soon after the building of which, while Mr. Vandam was
governor of New York, the French took possession of Crown Point, which
they fortified; and thus acquired the command of lake Champlain.
Obviously as this measure was calculated to favour both the offensive and
defensive operations of France in America, the English minister, after an
unavailing remonstrance, submitted to it.

CHAPTER IX.
War with the southern Indians.... Dissatisfaction of
Carolina with the proprietors.... Rupture with Spain....
Combination to subvert the proprietary government....
Revolution completed.... Expedition from the Havanna
against Charleston.... Peace with Spain.... The
proprietors surrender their interest to the crown.... The
province divided.... Georgia settled.... Impolicy of the
first regulations.... Intrigues of the Spaniards with the
slaves of South Carolina.... Insurrection of the slaves.

1715

In Carolina, the contests between the inhabitants and the proprietors,
added to the favour with which the Queen heard the complaints of the
dissenters, had turned the attention of the people towards the crown, and
produced a strong desire to substitute the regal, for the proprietary
government. This desire was increased by an event which demonstrated the
incompetency of their government.
War with the Indians.

The Yamassees, a powerful tribe of Indians on the north east of the
Savanna, instigated by the Spaniards at St. Augustine, secretly prepared a
general combination of all the southern Indians, against the province.
Having massacred the traders settled among them, they advanced in great
force against the southern frontier, spreading desolation and slaughter on
their route. The inhabitants were driven into Charleston; and governor
Craven proclaimed martial law. He also obtained an act of assembly
empowering him to impress men; to seize arms, ammunition, and stores; to
arm such negroes as could be trusted; and, generally, to prosecute the war
with the utmost vigour. Agents were sent to Virginia and to England to

solicit assistance, and bills were issued for the payment and subsistence of
the army.
At the same time, the Indians entered the northern part of the province, and
were within fifty miles of the capital. Thus surrounded by enemies, the
governor took the course which was suggested equally by courage and by
prudence. Leaving the less active part of the population to find security in
the forts at Charleston, he marched with the militia, towards the southern
frontier, which was invaded by the strongest body of Indians; and, at a place
called Salt Catchers, attacked and totally defeated them. The victors
pursued them into their own country, expelled them from it, and drove them
over the Savanna river. The fugitives found protection in Florida, where
they made a new settlement, from which they continued long afterwards, to
make distressing incursions into Carolina.
The agent who had been sent by the legislature to England to implore the
protection of the proprietors, had received ulterior instructions, should he
not succeed with them, to apply directly to the King. Being dissatisfied with
his reception by the proprietors, he petitioned the house of commons, who
addressed the King, praying his interposition, and immediate assistance to
the colony. The King referred the matter to the lords commissioners of trade
and plantations, whose report was unfavourable to the application, because
the province of Carolina was a proprietary government. They were of
opinion that, if the colony was to be protected at the expense of the nation,
its government ought to be vested in the crown. On receiving this opinion,
the proprietors, in a general meeting, avowed their inability to protect the
province, and declared that, unless his majesty would graciously please to
interpose, they could foresee nothing but the utter destruction of his faithful
subjects in those parts.
A government unable to afford protection to the people, was ill adapted to
the situation of Carolina.
The dissatisfaction growing out of this cause was still farther augmented by
the unpopular, and, in some instances, unwise acts of the proprietors.
To relieve the distress produced by war, considerable sums of paper money
had been issued; and the proprietors, on the complaint of the merchants, of

London engaged in the trade of the province, had given instructions to
reduce the quantity in circulation.

1715 to 1717

The assembly had appropriated the country of the Yamassees, to the use of
such of his majesty's European subjects, as would settle it. Extracts from the
law on this subject being published in England, and in Ireland, five hundred
men from the latter kingdom emigrated to Carolina. The proprietors
repealed this law; and, to the utter ruin of the emigrants, as well as to the
destruction of this barrier against the savages, ordered the lands to be
surveyed, and erected into baronies, for themselves.
While the population was confined to the neighbourhood of Charleston, all
the members of the assembly had been elected at that place. As the
settlements extended, this practice became inconvenient; and an act was
passed, declaring that every parish should choose a certain number of
representatives, and that the elections should be held, in each, at the parish
church. As if to destroy themselves in the province, the proprietors repealed
this popular law also.
Heavy expenses being still incurred for defence against the inroads of the
southern Indians, the people complained loudly of the insufficiency of that
government which, unable itself to protect them, prevented the interposition
of the crown in their favour.
In this temper, governor Johnson, son of the former governor of that name,
found the province. He met the assembly with a conciliatory speech, and
received an answer expressing great satisfaction at his appointment. His
original popularity was increased by the courage he displayed in two
expeditions against a formidable band of pirates who had long infested the
coast, which he entirely extirpated.

1717

These expeditions occasioned still farther emissions of paper money. The
governor, being instructed to diminish its quantity, had influence enough
with the assembly to obtain an act for redeeming the bills of credit, in three
years, by a tax on lands and negroes. This tax falling heavily on the

planters, they sought to elude it by obtaining an act for a farther emission of
bills. The proprietors, being informed of this design, and also of an
intention to make the produce of the country a tender in payment of all
debts, at a fixed value, enjoined the governor not to give his assent to any
bill, until it should be laid before them.
About the same time, the King, by an order in council, signified his desire
to the proprietors, that they would repeal an act passed in Carolina, for
imposing a duty of ten per centum on all goods of British manufacture
imported into the province. The repeal of this act, and of one declaring the
right of the assembly to name a receiver of the public money, and of the
election law, were transmitted to the governor, in a letter directing him to
dissolve the assembly, and to hold a new election at Charleston, according
to ancient usage.

1718

The assembly being employed in devising means for raising revenue, their
dissolution was deferred; but the repeal of the law imposing duties, and the
royal displeasure at the clause laying a duty on British manufactures, were
immediately communicated, with a recommendation to pass another act,
omitting that clause.
Meanwhile the governor's instructions were divulged. They excited great
irritation; and produced a warm debate on the right of the proprietors to
repeal a law enacted with the consent of their deputy in the province.
About this time, chief justice Trott, who had become extremely unpopular
in the colony, was charged with many iniquitous proceedings; and the
governor, the major part of the council, and the assembly, united in a
memorial representing his malpractices to the proprietors. 1719 Mr. Young
was deputed their agent to enforce these complaints.
Soon after his arrival in London, he presented a memorial to the proprietors,
detailing the proceedings of Carolina, and stating the objections of the
assembly to the right of their lordships to repeal laws, which had been
approved by their deputies.

This memorial was very unfavourably received, and the members of the
council who had subscribed it, were displaced. The proprietors asserted
their right to repeal all laws passed in the province, approved the conduct of
the chief justice, censured that of the governor in disobeying their
instructions respecting the dissolution of the assembly, and repeated their
orders on this subject.
However the governor might disapprove the instructions given him, he did
not hesitate to obey them. The new council was summoned, the assembly
was dissolved, and writs were issued for electing another at Charleston.
The public mind had been gradually prepared for a revolution, and these
irritating measures completed the disgust with which the people viewed the
government of the proprietors. An opportunity to make the change so
generally desired was soon afforded. War with Spain.A rupture having taken
place between Great Britain and Spain, advice was received from England
of a plan formed in the Havanna for the invasion of Carolina. The governor
convened the council, and such members of the assembly as were in town,
and laid his intelligence before them. He, at the same time, stated the
ruinous condition of the fortifications, and proposed that a sum for repairing
them should be raised, by voluntary subscription, of which he set the
example by a liberal donation.
The assembly declared a subscription to be unnecessary, as the duties would
afford an ample fund for the object. The repeal of the law imposing them
was said to be utterly void, and would be disregarded.
Combination to subvert the government.

The members of the new assembly, though they had not been regularly
convened at Charleston, had held several private meetings in the country to
concert measures of future resistance. They had drawn up an association for
uniting the whole province in opposition to the proprietary government,
which was proposed to the militia at their public meetings, and subscribed
almost unanimously. This confederacy was formed with such secrecy and
dispatch, that, before the governor was informed of it, almost every
inhabitant of the province was engaged in it.

The members of the assembly, thus supported by the people, resolved to
subvert the power of the proprietors.
The governor, who resided in the country, had no intimation of these secret
meetings and transactions, until he received a letter from a committee of the
representatives of the people, offering him the government of the province
under the King; it having been determined to submit no longer to that of the
proprietors.
Mr. Johnson resolved to suppress this spirit of revolt, and hastened to town
in order to lay the letter before his council. They advised him to take no
notice of it, until the legislature should be regularly convened. On meeting,
the assembly declared, "that the laws, pretended to be repealed, continued
to be in force; and that no power, other than the general assembly, could
repeal them: That the writs under which they were elected were void,
inasmuch as they had been issued by advice of an unconstitutional council:
That the representatives cannot, therefore, act as an assembly, but as a
convention delegated by the people to prevent the utter ruin of the
government: And, lastly, that the lords proprietors had unhinged the frame
of the government, and forfeited their right thereto; and that an address be
prepared to desire the honourable Robert Johnson, the present governor, to
take on himself the government of the province in the name of the King."
The address was signed by Arthur Middleton, as president of the
convention, and by twenty-two members.
After several unavailing efforts, on the part of the assembly, to induce Mr.
Johnson to accept the government under the King; and, on his part, to
reinstate the government of the proprietors; he issued a proclamation
dissolving the assembly, and retired into the country.
The proclamation was torn from the hands of the officer, and the assembly
elected colonel James Moore chief magistrate of the colony.
Revolution completed.

After proclaiming him in the name of the King, and electing a council, the
legislature published a declaration stating the revolution that had taken
place, with the causes which produced it; and then proceeded, deliberately
to manage the affairs of the province.

While Carolina was effecting this revolution, the agent of the colony
obtained a hearing before the lords of the regency and council in England,
(the King being then in Hanover) who were of opinion that the proprietors
had forfeited their charter. They ordered the attorney general to take out a
scire facias against it, and appointed Francis Nicholson provisional
governor of the province under the King. He was received with universal
joy; and the people of Carolina passed, with great satisfaction, from the
proprietary government to the immediate dominion of the crown. The
proprietors surrender to the crown.This revolution was completed by an
agreement between the crown and seven of the proprietors, whereby, for the
sum of seventeen thousand five hundred pounds sterling, they surrendered
their right and interest both in the government and soil. This agreement was
confirmed by an act of parliament; soon after which John Lord Carteret, the
remaining proprietor, also surrendered all his interest in the government, but
retained his rights of property.[132]

1721

Carolina received with joy the same form of government which had been
bestowed on her sister colonies. The people pleased with their situation, and
secure of protection, turned their attention to domestic and agricultural
pursuits; and the face of the country soon evidenced the happy effects
which result from contented industry, directed by those who are to receive
its fruits. 1732 The province divided.For the convenience of the inhabitants,
the province was divided; and was, thenceforward, distinguished by the
names of North and South Carolina.[133]
About this period, the settlement of a new colony was planned in England.
The tract of country lying between the rivers Savanna and Alatamaha being
unoccupied by Europeans, a company was formed for the humane purpose
of transplanting into this wilderness, the suffering poor of the mother
country. This territory, now denominated Georgia, was granted to the
company; and a corporation, consisting of twenty-one persons, was created
under the name of "trustees for settling and establishing the colony of
Georgia." Large sums of money were subscribed for transporting, and
furnishing with necessaries, such poor people as should be willing to pass
the Atlantic, and to seek the means of subsistence in a new world. One
hundred and sixteen persons embarked at Gravesend, under the conduct of

Mr. James Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, who, after landing at Charleston,
proceeded to the tract of country allotted for the new colony, and laid the
foundation of the town of Savanna, on the river which bears that name.
Georgia settled.A small fort was erected on its bank, in which some guns were
mounted; and a treaty was held with the Creek Indians, from whom the
cession of a considerable tract was obtained.
The trustees continued to make great efforts for the accomplishment of their
object, and settled several companies of emigrants in Georgia.
Unfortunately, the wisdom of their regulations did not equal the humanity
of their motives. Totally unacquainted with the country they were to govern,
they devised a system for it, rather calculated to impede than to promote its
population.

1733

Considering each male inhabitant both as a soldier and a planter, to be
provided with arms and ammunition for defence as well as with utensils for
cultivation, they adopted the pernicious resolution of introducing such
tenures for holding lands as were most favourable to a military
establishment. Impolicy of the first regulation.Each tract granted, was considered
as a military fief, for which the possessor was to appear in arms, and take
the field, when required for the public defence. The grants were in tail
male; and, on the termination of the estate, the lands were to revert to the
trust, to be re-granted to such persons as would most benefit the colony.
Any lands which should not be enclosed, cleared, and cultivated, within
eighteen years, reverted to the trust. The importation of negroes, and of
rum, was prohibited; and those only were allowed to trade with the Indians,
to whom a license should be given.
However specious the arguments in support of these regulations might
appear to the trustees, human ingenuity could scarcely have devised a
system better calculated to defeat their hopes.
The tenure of lands drove the settlers into Carolina where that property
might be acquired in fee simple. The prohibition of slavery rendered the
task of opening the country, too heavy to be successfully undertaken in that
burning climate; and the restriction on their trade to the West Indies,

deprived them of the only market for lumber, an article in which they
abounded.

1734

Mr. Oglethorpe's first employment was the construction of fortifications for
defence. He erected one fort on the Savanna, at Augusta, and another on an
island of the Alatamaha, called Frederica, for defence against the Indians
and the inhabitants of Florida. The Spaniards remonstrated against them;
and a commissioner from the Havanna insisted on the evacuation of the
country to the thirty-third degree of north latitude, which he claimed in the
name of the King of Spain; but this remonstrance and claim were equally
disregarded.
The restrictions imposed by the trustees, on the inhabitants of Georgia, were
too oppressive to be endured in silence. They remonstrated, particularly,
against the tenure by which their lands were held, and against the
prohibition of the introduction of slaves. These complaints, the result of
experience, were addressed to persons ignorant of the condition of the
petitioners, and were neglected. The colony languished; while South
Carolina, not unlike Georgia both in soil and climate, advanced with
considerable rapidity. Although emigration was encouraged by paying the
passage money of the emigrants, by furnishing them with clothes, arms,
ammunition, and implements of husbandry, by maintaining their families
for the first year, and, in some instances, by furnishing them with stock; yet
the unwise policy, which has been mentioned, more than counterbalanced
these advantages; and for ten years, during which time the exports from
Carolina more than doubled, the settlers in Georgia could, with difficulty,
obtain a scanty subsistence.

1737

The differences between Great Britain and Spain not admitting of
adjustment, both nations prepared for war. The Spaniards strengthened East
Florida; and the British government ordered a regiment, consisting of six
hundred effective men, into Georgia. The command of the troops, both of
Georgia and Carolina, was given to major general Oglethorpe, who fixed
his headquarters at Frederica.

Before hostilities had commenced, the Spaniards at St. Augustine engaged
in criminal intrigues among the blacks of Carolina. Agents had been
secretly employed in seducing the slaves of that province to escape to St.
Augustine, where liberty was promised them, and where they were formed
into a regiment officered by themselves. Hitherto these practices had been
attended only with the loss of property; but, about this time, the evil
assumed a much more alarming form. Insurrection of the slaves.A large number
of slaves assembled at Stono, where they forced a warehouse containing
arms and ammunition, murdered the whites in possession of it, and, after
choosing a captain, directed their march south westward, with drums
beating and colours flying. On their march, they massacred the whites,
seized all the arms they could find, and forced such blacks as did not
voluntarily join them, to follow their party. Intoxicated with ardent spirits,
and with their short lived success, they considered their work as already
achieved, and halted in an open field, where the time which might have
been employed in promoting their design, was devoted to dancing and
exultation. Fortunately, the people of the neighbourhood had assembled on
the same day, to attend divine service; and, as was then directed by law, all
the men came armed. They marched immediately against the blacks, whom
they completely surprised. Many were killed, and the residue dispersed or
taken. Thus the insurrection was suppressed on the day of its
commencement; and such of its leaders as survived the battle were
immediately executed.
During the long repose, which the pacific temper of the duke of Orleans,
Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV. and the equally pacific
temper of sir Robert Walpole, minister of England, gave to their respective
countries, the British colonies in America had increased rapidly in
population and in wealth. Lands were cheap, and subsistence easily
acquired. From New York to Virginia inclusive, no enemy existed to
restrain new settlements, and no fears of inability to maintain a family,
checked the natural propensity to early marriages. The people were
employed in cultivating the earth, and in spreading themselves over the vast
regions which were open to them; and, during this period, their history
furnishes none of those remarkable events which interest posterity.

CHAPTER X.
War declared against Spain.... Expedition against St.
Augustine.... Georgia invaded.... Spaniards land on an
island in the Alatamaha.... Appearance of a fleet from
Charleston.... Spanish army re-embarks.... Hostilities
with France.... Expedition against Louisbourg....
Louisbourg surrenders.... Great plans of the belligerent
powers.... Misfortunes of the armament under the duke
D'Anville.... The French fleet dispersed by a storm....
Expedition against Nova Scotia.... Treaty of Aix la
Chapelle.... Paper money of Massachusetts redeemed....
Contests between the French and English respecting
boundaries.... Statement respecting the discovery of the
Mississippi.... Scheme for connecting Louisiana with
Canada.... Relative strength of the French and English
colonies.... Defeat at the Little Meadows.... Convention at
Albany.... Plan of union.... Objected to both in America
and Great Britain.

1739
War with Spain.

The increasing complaints of the merchants, and the loud clamours of the
nation, at length forced the minister to abandon his pacific system; and war
was declared against Spain. A squadron commanded by admiral Vernon was
detached to the West Indies, with instructions to act offensively; and general
Oglethorpe was ordered to annoy the settlements in Florida. He planned an
expedition against St. Augustine, and requested the assistance of South
Carolina. That colony, ardently desiring the expulsion of neighbours alike
feared and hated, entered zealously into the views of the general, and
agreed to furnish the men and money he requested. A regiment, commanded
by colonel Vanderdussen, was immediately raised in Virginia and the two

Carolinas. A body of Indians was also engaged, and captain Price, who
commanded the small fleet on that station, promised his co-operation. These
arrangements being made, and the mouth of St. John's river, on the coast of
Florida, being appointed as the place, of rendezvous general Oglethorpe
hastened to Georgia, to prepare his regiment for the expedition.

1740

Those unexpected impediments, which always embarrass military
movements conducted by men without experience, having delayed the
arrival of his northern troops, Oglethorpe entered Florida at the head of his
own regiment, aided by a party of Indians; and invested Diego, a small fort
about twenty-five miles from St. Augustine, which capitulated after a short
resistance. He then returned to the place of rendezvous, where he was
joined by colonel Vanderdussen, and by a company of Highlanders under
the command of captain M'Intosh; a few days after which, he marched with
his whole force, consisting of about two thousand men, to fort Moosa, in
the neighbourhood of St. Augustine, which was evacuated on his approach.
The general now perceived that the enterprise would be attended with more
difficulty than had been anticipated. In the time which intervened between
his entering Florida and appearing before the town, supplies of provisions
had been received from the country, and six Spanish half gallies carrying
long brass nine pounders, and two sloops laden with provisions, had entered
the harbour. Finding the place better fortified than had been expected, he
determined to invest it completely, and to advance by regular approaches. In
execution of this plan, colonel Palmer, with ninety-five Highlanders, and
forty-two Indians, remained at fort Moosa, while the army took different
positions near the town, and began an ineffectual bombardment from the
island of Anastasia. The general was deliberating on a plan for forcing the
harbour and taking a nearer position, when colonel Palmer was surprised,
and his detachment cut to pieces. At the same time some small vessels from
the Havanna, with a reinforcement of men and supply of provisions, entered
the harbour through the narrow channel of the Matanzas.
The army began to despair of success; and the provincials, enfeebled by the
heat, dispirited by sickness, and fatigued by fruitless efforts, marched away
in large bodies. The navy being ill supplied with provisions, and the season
for hurricanes approaching, captain Price was unwilling to hazard his

majesty's ships on that coast. The general, labouring under a fever, finding
his regiment, as well as himself, worn out with fatigue, and rendered unfit
for action by disease; reluctantly abandoned the enterprise, and returned to
Frederica.
The colonists, disappointed and chagrined by the failure of the expedition,
attributed this misfortune entirely to the incapacity of the general, who was
not less dissatisfied with them. Whatever may have been the true causes of
the failure, it produced a mutual and injurious distrust between the general
and the colonists.[134]

1742

The events of the war soon disclosed the dangers resulting from this want of
confidence in general Oglethorpe, and, still more, from the want of power
to produce a co-operation of the common force for the common defence.
Spain had ever considered the settlement of Georgia as an encroachment on
her territory, and had cherished the intention to seize every proper occasion
to dislodge the English by force. With this view, an armament consisting of
two thousand men, commanded by Don Antonio di Ridondo, embarked at
the Havanna, under convoy of a strong squadron, and arrived at St.
Augustine in May. The fleet having been seen on its passage, notice of its
approach was given to general Oglethorpe, who communicated the
intelligence to governor Glenn of South Carolina, and urged the necessity of
sending the troops of that province to his assistance.
Georgia being a barrier for South Carolina, the policy of meeting an
invading army on the frontiers of the former, especially one containing
several companies composed of negroes who had fled from the latter, was
too obvious not to be perceived: yet either from prejudice against
Oglethorpe, or the disposition inherent in separate governments to preserve
their own force for their own defence, Carolina refused to give that general
any assistance. Its attention was directed entirely to the defence of
Charleston; and the inhabitants of its southern frontier, instead of marching
to the camp of Oglethorpe, fled to that city for safety. In the mean time, the
general collected a few Highlanders, and rangers of Georgia, together with

as many Indian warriors as would join him, and determined to defend
Frederica.
Georgia invaded.

Late in June, the Spanish fleet, consisting of thirty-two sail, carrying above
three thousand men, crossed Simon's bar into Jekyl sound, and passing
Simon's fort, then occupied by general Oglethorpe, proceeded up the
Alatamaha, out of the reach of his guns; after which, the troops landed on
the island, and erected a battery of twenty eighteen pounders.
Fort Simon's being indefensible, Oglethorpe retreated to Frederica. His
whole force, exclusive of Indians, amounted to little more than seven
hundred men, a force which could only enable him to act on the defensive
until the arrival of reinforcements which he still expected from South
Carolina. The face of the country was peculiarly favorable to this system of
operations. Its thick woods and deep morasses opposed great obstacles to
the advance of an invading enemy, not well acquainted with the paths which
passed through them. Oglethorpe turned these advantages to the best
account. In an attempt made by the Spanish general to pierce these woods
in order to reach Frederica, several sharp rencounters took place; in one of
which he lost a captain and two lieutenants killed, and above one hundred
privates taken prisoners. He then changed his plan of operations; and,
abandoning his intention of forcing his way to Frederica by land, called in
his parties, kept his men under cover of his cannon, and detached some
vessels up the river, with a body of troops on board, to reconnoitre the fort,
and draw the attention of the English to that quarter.
About this time, an English prisoner escaped from the Spaniards, and
informed general Oglethorpe that a difference existed between the troops
from Cuba, and those from St. Augustine, which had been carried so far that
they encamped in separate places. This intelligence suggested the idea of
attacking them while divided; and his perfect knowledge of the woods
favoured the hope of surprising one of their encampments. In execution of
this design, he drew out the flower of his army, and marched in the night,
unobserved, within two miles of the Spanish camp. There, his troops halted,
and he advanced, himself, at the head of a select corps, to reconnoitre the
situation of the enemy. While he was using the utmost circumspection to
obtain the necessary information without being discovered, a French soldier

of his party discharged his musket, and ran into the Spanish lines.
Discovery defeating every hope of success, the general retreated to
Frederica.
Oglethorpe, confident that the deserter would disclose his weakness,
devised an expedient which turned the event to advantage. He wrote to the
deserter as if in concert with him, directing him to give the Spanish general
such information as might induce him to attack Frederica; hinting also at an
attempt meditated by admiral Vernon on St. Augustine, and at late advices
from Carolina, giving assurances of a reinforcement of two thousand men.
He then tampered with one of the Spanish prisoners, who, for a small bribe,
promised to deliver this letter to the deserter, after which, he was permitted
to escape. The prisoner, as was foreseen delivered the letter to his general,
who ordered the deserter to be put in irons; and, was, in no small degree,
embarrassed to determine whether the letter ought to be considered as a
stratagem to save Frederica, and induce the abandonment of the enterprise;
or as real instructions to direct the conduct of a spy. While hesitating on the
course to be pursued, his doubts were removed by one of those incidents,
which have so much influence on human affairs.
The assembly of South Carolina had voted a supply of money to general
Oglethorpe; and the governor had ordered some ships of force to his aid.
These appeared off the coast while the principal officers of the Spanish
army were yet deliberating on the letter. They deliberated no longer. Spanish
army re-embarks in confusion.The whole army was seized with a panic; and, after
setting fire to the fort, embarked in great hurry and confusion, leaving
behind several pieces of heavy artillery, and a large quantity of provisions
and military stores.
Thus was Georgia delivered from an invasion which threatened the total
subjugation of the province.
The ill success of these reciprocal attempts at conquest, seems to have
discouraged both parties; and the Spanish and English colonies, in the
neighbourhood of each other, contented themselves, for the residue of the
war, with guarding their own frontiers.
The connexion between the branches of the house of Bourbon was too
intimate for the preservation of peace with France, during the prosecution

of war against Spain. Both nations expected and prepared for hostilities.
War had commenced in fact, though not in form, on the continent of
Europe; but as they carried on their military operations as auxiliaries, in
support of the contending claims of the elector of Bavaria, and the queen of
Hungary, to the imperial throne, they preserved in America a suspicious and
jealous suspension of hostility, rather than a real peace.

1744

This state of things was interrupted by a sudden incursion of the French into
Nova Scotia.
Hostilities with France.

The governor of Cape Breton having received information that France and
Great Britain had become principals in the war, took possession of de
Canseau with a small military and naval force, and made the garrison, and
inhabitants prisoners of war. This enterprise was followed by an attempt on
Annapolis, which was defeated by the timely arrival of a reinforcement
from Massachusetts. These offensive operations stimulated the English
colonists to additional efforts to expel such dangerous neighbors, and to
unite the whole northern continent bordering on the Atlantic, under one
common sovereign.
The island of Cape Breton, so denominated from one of its capes, lies
between the 45th and 47th degree of north latitude, at the distance of fifteen
leagues from Cape Ray, the south western extremity of Newfoundland. Its
position rendered the possession of it very material to the commerce of
France; and the facility with which the fisheries might be annoyed from its
ports, gave it an importance to which it could not otherwise have been
entitled. Thirty millions of livres,[135] and the labour of twenty-five years,
had been employed on its fortifications. From its strength, and still more
from the numerous privateers that issued from its ports, it had been termed
the Dunkirk[136] of America. On this place, governor Shirley meditated an
attack.
The prisoners taken at Canseau, and others who had been captured at sea
and carried to Louisbourg, were sent to Boston. The information they gave,
if it did not originally suggest this enterprise, contributed greatly to its
adoption. They said that Duvivier had gone to France to solicit assistance
for the conquest of Nova Scotia, in the course of the ensuing campaign; and
that the store ships from France for Cape Breton, not having arrived on the
coast until it was blocked up with ice, had retired to the West Indies.
In several letters addressed to administration, governor Shirley represented
the danger to which Nova Scotia was exposed, and pressed for naval

assistance. These letters were sent by captain Ryal, an officer of the garrison
which had been taken at Canseau, whose knowledge of Louisbourg, of
Cape Breton, and of Nova Scotia, enabled him to make such representations
to the lords of the admiralty, as were calculated to promote the views of the
northern colonies.
The governor was not disappointed. Orders were dispatched to commodore
Warren, then in the West Indies, to proceed towards the north, early in the
spring; and to employ such a force as might be necessary to protect the
northern colonies in their trade and fisheries, as well as to distress the
enemy. On these subjects, he was instructed to consult with Shirley, to
whom orders of the same date were written, directing him to assist the
King's ships with transports, men, and provisions.
Such deep impression had the design of taking Louisbourg made on the
mind of Shirley, that he did not wait for intelligence of the reception given
to his application for naval assistance. He was induced to decide on
engaging in the enterprise, even without such assistance, by the
representations of Mr. Vaughan, son of the lieutenant governor of New
Hampshire, a man of a sanguine and ardent temper, who could think
nothing impracticable which he wished to achieve. Mr. Vaughan had never
been at Louisbourg, but had learned something of the strength of the place,
from fishermen and others; and the bold turn of his mind suggested the idea
of surprising it. There is something infectious in enthusiasm, whatever be
its object; and Vaughan soon communicated his own convictions to Shirley.
[137]

1745

The governor informed the general court that he had a proposition of great
importance to communicate, and requested that the members would take an
oath of secrecy, previous to his laying it before them. This novel request
being complied with, he submitted his plan for attacking Louisbourg. It was
referred to a committee of both houses; the arguments for and against the
enterprise were temperately considered; and the part suggested by prudence
prevailed. The expedition was thought too great, too hazardous, and too
expensive.

The report of the committee was approved by the house of representatives,
and the expedition was supposed to be abandoned; but, notwithstanding the
precaution taken to secure secrecy, the subject which had occupied the
legislature was divulged,[138] and the people took a deep interest in it.
Numerous petitions were presented, praying the general court to re-consider
its vote, and to adopt the proposition of the governor. Among the several
arguments urged in its favour, that which the petitioners pressed most
earnestly, was the necessity of acquiring Louisbourg, to save the fisheries
from ruin.
The subject being re-considered, a resolution in favour of the enterprise was
carried by a single voice, in the absence of several members known to be
against it. Yet all parties manifested equal zeal for its success. A general
embargo was laid, and messengers were despatched to the several
governments as far south as Pennsylvania, soliciting their aid. These
solicitations succeeded only in the northern provinces. There being at that
time no person in New England who had acquired any military reputation,
the chief command was conferred on colonel Pepperel, a merchant, who
was also a large land holder, and was highly respected throughout
Massachusetts.[139]
All ranks of men combined to facilitate the enterprise, and those
circumstances which are beyond human control, also concurred to favour
the general wish.
The governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, whose orders forbade
their assent to a farther emission of bills of credit, departed from their
instructions to promote this favourite project; the people submitted to
impressments of their property; and a mild winter gave no interruption to
their warlike preparations.
The troops of Massachusetts,[140] New Hampshire, and Connecticut,
amounting to rather more than four thousand men, assembled at Canseau
about the middle of April; soon after which, to the great joy of the colonial
troops, admiral Warren arrived, with a considerable part of his fleet. The
army then embarked for Chapeau-rouge bay, and the fleet cruised off
Louisbourg.

After repulsing a small detachment of French troops, the landing was
effected; and, in the course of the night, a body of about four hundred men
led by Vaughan, marched round to the north east part of the harbour, and set
fire to a number of warehouses containing spirituous liquors and naval
stores. The smoke being driven by the wind into the grand battery, caused
such darkness that the men placed in it were unable to distinguish objects;
and, being apprehensive of an attack from the whole English army,
abandoned the fort and fled into the town.
The next morning, as Vaughan was returning to camp with only thirteen
men, he ascended the hill which overlooked the battery, and observing that
the chimneys in the barracks were without smoke, and the staff without its
flag, he hired an Indian, with a bottle of rum, to crawl through an
embrasure, and open the gate. Vaughan entered with his men and defended
the battery against a party then landing to regain possession until the arrival
of a reinforcement.
For fourteen nights successively, the troops were employed in dragging
cannon from the landing place to the encampment, a distance of near two
miles, through a deep morass. The army, being totally unacquainted with
the art of conducting sieges, made its approaches irregularly, and sustained
some loss on this account.
While these approaches were making by land, the ships of war which
continued to cruise off the harbour, fell in with and captured the Vigilant, a
French man of war of sixty-four guns, having on board a reinforcement of
five hundred and sixty men, and a large quantity of stores for the garrison.
Soon after this, an unsuccessful, and, perhaps, a rash attempt was made on
the island battery by four hundred men; of whom sixty were killed, and one
hundred and sixteen taken prisoners. All these prisoners, as if by previous
concert, exaggerated the numbers of the besieging army, a deception which
was favoured by the unevenness of the ground, and the dispersed state of
the troops; and which probably contributed to the surrender of the place.
The provincial army did indeed present a formidable front, but, in the rear,
all was frolic and confusion.
The Vigilant had been anxiously expected by the garrison, and the
information of her capture excited a considerable degree of perturbation.

This event, with the erection of some works on the high cliff at the light
house, by which the island battery was much annoyed, and the preparations
evidently making for a general assault, determined Duchambon, the
governor of Louisbourg, to surrender; and, in a few days, he capitulated.
Louisbourg surrenders.

Upon entering the fortress, and viewing its strength, and its means of
defence, all perceived how impracticable it would have been to carry it by
assault.[141]
The joy excited in the British colonies by the success of the expedition
against Louisbourg was unbounded. Even those who had refused to
participate in its hazards and expense, were sensible of its advantages, and
of the lustre it shed on the American arms. Although some disposition was
manifested in England, to ascribe the whole merit of the conquest to the
navy, colonel Pepperel received, with the title of baronet, the more
substantial reward of a regiment in the British service, to be raised in
America; and the same mark of royal favour was bestowed on governor
Shirley. Reimbursements too were made by parliament for the expenses of
the expedition. It was the only decisive advantage obtained by the English
during the war.
The capture of Louisbourg, most probably, preserved Nova Scotia.
Duvivier, who had embarked for France to solicit an armament for the
conquest of that province, sailed, in July, 1745, with seven ships of war, and
a body of land forces. He was ordered to stop at Louisbourg, and thence to
proceed in the execution of his plan. Hearing, at sea, of the fall of that
place, and that a British squadron was stationed at it, he relinquished the
expedition against Nova Scotia, and returned to Europe.
The British empire on the American continent consisted, originally, of two
feeble settlements unconnected with, and almost unknown to each other.
For a long time the southern colonies, separated from those of New England
by an immense wilderness, and by the possessions of other European
powers, had no intercourse with them, except what was produced by the
small trading vessels of the north, which occasionally entered the rivers of
the south. Neither participated in the wars or pursuits of the other; nor were
they, in any respect, actuated by common views, or united by common

interest. The conquest of the country between Connecticut and Maryland,
laid a foundation, which the settlement of the middle colonies completed,
for connecting these disjoined members, and forming one consolidated
whole, capable of moving, and acting in concert. This gradual change,
unobserved in its commencement, had now become too perceptible to be
longer overlooked; and, henceforward, the efforts of the colonies, were in a
great measure combined, and directed to a common object.
France, as well as England, had extended her views with her settlements;
and, after the fall of Louisbourg, the governments of both nations meditated
important operations for the ensuing campaign in America.
Great plans of the belligerents.

France contemplated, not only the recovery of Cape Breton and Nova
Scotia, but the total devastation of the sea coast, if not the entire conquest of
New England.
Britain, on her part, calculated on the reduction of Canada, and the entire
expulsion of the French from the American continent.
Shirley repaired to Louisbourg, after its surrender, where he held a
consultation with Warren and Pepperel on the favourite subject of future
and more extensive operations against the neighbouring possessions of
France. 1746 From that place he wrote pressingly to administration, for
reinforcements of men and ships to enable him to execute his plans. The
capture of Louisbourg gave such weight to his solicitations that, in the
following spring, the duke of New Castle, then secretary of state, addressed
a circular letter to the governors of the provinces as far south as Virginia,
requiring them to raise as many men as they could spare, and hold them in
readiness to act according to the orders that should be received. Before this
letter was written, an extensive plan of operations had been digested in the
British cabinet. It was proposed to detach a military and naval armament
which should, early in the season, join the troops to be raised in New
England, at Louisbourg; whence they were to proceed up the St. Lawrence
to Quebec. The troops from New York, and from the more southern
provinces, were to be collected at Albany, and to march against Crown
Point, and Montreal.

This plan, so far as it depended on the colonies, was executed with
promptness and alacrity. The men were raised, and waited with impatience
for employment; but neither troops, nor orders, arrived from England. The
fleet destined for this service, sailed seven times from Spithead; and was
compelled as often, by contrary winds, to return.
Late in the season, the military commanders in America, despairing of the
succours promised by England, determined to assemble a body of
provincials at Albany, and make an attempt on Crown Point. While
preparing for the execution of this plan, they received accounts stating that
Annapolis was in danger from a body of French and Indians assembled at
Minas; upon which, orders were issued for the troops of Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, to embark for Nova Scotia. Before
these orders could be executed, intelligence was received which directed
their attention to their own defence.
It was reported that a large fleet and army, under the command of the duke
D'Anville, had arrived in Nova Scotia, and the views of conquest, which
had been formed by the northern colonies, were converted into fears for
their own safety. For six weeks, continual apprehensions of invasion were
entertained; and the most vigorous measures were taken to repel it. From
this state of anxious solicitude, they were at length relieved by the arrival of
some prisoners set at liberty by the French, who communicated the extreme
distress of the fleet.
This formidable armament consisted of near forty ships of war, seven of
which were of the line; of two artillery ships; and of fifty-six transports
laden with provisions and military stores, carrying three thousand five
hundred land forces, and forty thousand stand of small arms, for the use of
the Canadians and Indians. The French fleet dispersed by a storm.The fleet sailed
in June, but was attacked by such furious and repeated storms, that many of
the ships were wrecked, and others dispersed. In addition to this disaster,
the troops were infected with a disease which carried them off in great
numbers. While lying in Chebucto, under these circumstances, a vessel
which had been dispatched by governor Shirley to admiral Townshend at
Louisbourg, with a letter stating his expectation that a British fleet would
follow that of France to America, was intercepted by a cruiser, and brought
in to the admiral. These dispatches were opened in a council of war, which

was considerably divided respecting their future conduct. This
circumstance, added to the calamities already sustained, so affected the
commander in chief, that he died suddenly. The vice-admiral fell by his own
hand; and the command devolved on Monsieur le Jonguiere, governor of
Canada, who had been declared chef d'escadre after the fleet sailed.
The design of invading New England was relinquished, and it was resolved
to make an attempt on Annapolis. With this view the fleet sailed from
Chebucto, but was again overtaken by a violent tempest which scattered the
vessels composing it. Those which escaped shipwreck returned singly to
France.[142]
"Never," says Mr. Belknap, "was the hand of divine providence more
visible than on this occasion. Never was a disappointment more severe on
the part of the enemy, nor a deliverance more complete, without human
help, in favour of this country."
As soon as the fears excited by this armament were dissipated, the project
of dislodging the French and Indians, who had invaded Nova Scotia, was
resumed. Governor Shirley detached a part of the troops of Massachusetts
on this service; and pressed the governors of Rhode Island and New
Hampshire, to co-operate with him. The quotas furnished by these colonies
were prevented by several accidents from joining that of Massachusetts,
which was inferior to the enemy in numbers. The French and Indians, under
cover of a snow storm, surprised the English at Minas; who, after an
obstinate resistance, in which they lost upwards of one hundred men, were
compelled to capitulate, and to engage not to bear arms against his Most
Christian Majesty, in Nova Scotia for one year. De Ramsay, who
commanded the French, returned soon afterwards to Canada.
No farther transactions of importance took place in America during the war,
which was terminated by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle. By this treaty, it was
stipulated that all conquests made during the war should be restored; and
the colonists had the mortification to see the French re-possess themselves
of Cape Breton.
The heavy expenses which had been incurred by the New England colonies,
and especially by Massachusetts, had occasioned large emissions of paper
money, and an unavoidable depreciation. Instead of availing themselves of

peace, to discharge the debts contracted during war, they eagerly desired to
satisfy every demand on the public treasury, by farther emissions of bills of
credit, redeemable at future and distant periods. Every inconvenience under
which commerce was supposed to labour, every difficulty encountered in
the interior economy of the province, was attributed to a scarcity of money;
and this scarcity was to be removed, not by increased industry, but by
putting an additional sum in circulation. The rate of exchange, and the price
of all commodities, soon disclosed the political truth that, however the
quantity of the circulating medium may be augmented, its aggregate value
cannot be arbitrarily increased; and that the effect of such a depreciating
currency must necessarily be, to discourage the payment of debts, by
holding out the hope of discharging contracts with less real value than that
for which they were made; and to substitute cunning and speculation, for
honest and regular industry. Yet the majority had persevered in this
demoralising system. The depreciation had reached eleven for one; and the
evil was almost deemed incurable, when the fortunate circumstance of a
reimbursement in specie, made by parliament for colonial expenditures on
account of the expeditions against Louisbourg and Canada, suggested to Mr.
Hutchinson, speaker of the house of representatives in Massachusetts, the
idea of redeeming the paper money in circulation, at its then real value.
This scheme, at first deemed Utopian, was opposed by many well meaning
men who feared that its effect would be to give a shock to the trade and
domestic industry of the province; and who thought that, as the depreciation
had been gradual, justice required that the appreciation should be gradual
also.
Paper money redeemed.

With great difficulty, the measure was carried; and the bills of credit in
circulation, were redeemed at fifty shillings the ounce. The evils which had
been apprehended were soon found to be imaginary. Specie immediately
took the place of paper. Trade, so far from sustaining a shock, nourished
more than before this change in the domestic economy of the colony; and
the commerce of Massachusetts immediately received an impulse, which
enabled it to surpass that of her neighbours who retained their paper
medium.[143]
Renewal of contests with the French colonies respecting boundary.

The treaty of Aix la Chapelle did not remove the previously existing
controversies between the colonies of France and England respecting
boundary. These controversies, originating in the manner in which their
settlements had been made, and at first of small consequence, were now
assuming a serious aspect. America was becoming an object of greater
attention; and, as her importance increased, the question concerning limits
became important also.

1749

In settling this continent, the powers of Europe, estimating the right of the
natives at nothing, adopted, for their own government, the principle, that
those who first discovered and took possession of any particular territory,
became its rightful proprietors. But as only a small portion of it could then
be reduced to actual occupation, the extent of country thus acquired was not
well ascertained. Contests respecting prior discovery, and extent of
possession, arose among all the first settlers. England terminated her
controversy with Sweden and with Holland, by the early conquest of their
territories; but her conflicting claims with France and with Spain, remained
unadjusted.
On the south, Spain had pretensions to the whole province of Georgia,
while England had granted the country as far as the river St. Matheo, in
Florida.
On the north, the right of France to Canada was undisputed; but the country
between the St. Lawrence and New England had been claimed by both
nations, and granted by both. The first settlement appears to have been
made by the French; but its principal town, called Port Royal, or Annapolis,
had been repeatedly taken by the English; and, by the treaty of Utrecht, the
whole province, by the name of Nova Scotia, or Acadié, according to its
ancient limits had been ceded to them.
But the boundaries of Nova Scotia, or Acadié, had never been ascertained.
Though the treaty of Utrecht had provided that commissioners should be
appointed by the two crowns, to adjust the limits of their respective
colonies, the adjustment had never been made. France claimed to the
Kennebec; and insisted "that only the peninsula which is formed by the bay

of Fundy, the Atlantic ocean, and the gulf of St. Lawrence," was included in
the cession of "Nova Scotia, or Acadié, according to its ancient limits."
England, on the other hand, claimed all the country on the main land south
of the river St. Lawrence. Under the treaty of Aix la Chapelle,
commissioners were again appointed to settle these differences, who
maintained the rights of their respective sovereigns with great ability, and
laborious research; but their zeal produced a degree of asperity
unfavourable to accommodation.
While this contest for the cold and uninviting country of Nova Scotia was
carried on with equal acrimony and talents, a controversy arose for richer
and more extensive regions in the south and west.
Discovery of the Mississippi.

So early as the year 1660, information was received, in Canada, from the
Indians, that, west of that colony, was a great river, flowing neither to the
north, nor to the east. The government, conjecturing that it must empty
itself either into the gulf of Mexico or the south sea, committed the care of
ascertaining the fact to Joliet, an inhabitant of Quebec, and to the Jesuit
Marquette. These men proceeded from lake Michigan up the river of the
Foxes, almost to its source, whence they travelled westward to the
Ouisconsing, which they pursued to its confluence with the Mississippi.
They sailed down this river to the 33d degree of north latitude, and returned
by land, through the country of the Illinois, to Canada.
The mouth of the Mississippi was afterwards discovered by la Salle, an
enterprising Norman, who, immediately after his return to Quebec,
embarked for France, in the hope of inducing the cabinet of Versailles to
patronise a scheme for proceeding by sea to the mouth of that river and
settling a colony on its banks.
Having succeeded in this application, he sailed for the gulf of Mexico, with
a few colonists; but, steering too far westward, he arrived at the bay of St.
Bernard, about one hundred leagues from the mouth of the Mississippi. In
consequence of a quarrel between him and Beaulieu, who commanded the
fleet, the colonists were landed at this place. La Salle was, soon afterwards,
assassinated by his own men; and his followers were murdered or dispersed
by the Spaniards and the Indians.

Several other attempts were made by the French to settle the country; but,
by some unaccountable fatality, instead of seating themselves on the fertile
borders of the Mississippi, they continually landed about the barren sands
of Biloxi, and the bay of Mobile. It was not until the year 1722, that the
miserable remnant of those who had been carried thither at various times,
was transplanted to New Orleans; nor until the year 1731, that the colony
began to flourish.
Scheme for connecting Louisiana with Canada.

It had received the name of Louisiana, and soon extended itself by detached
settlements, up the Mississippi and its waters, towards the great lakes.[144]
As it advanced northward, the vast and interesting plan was formed of
connecting it with Canada by a chain of forts.
The fine climate and fertile soil of upper Louisiana enabling it to produce
and maintain an immense population, rendered it an object which promised
complete gratification to the views of France; while the extent given to it by
that nation, excited the most serious alarm among the colonies of Britain.
The charters granted by the crown of England to the first adventurers,
having extended from the Atlantic to the South Sea, their settlements had
regularly advanced westward, in the belief that their title to the country in
that direction, could not be controverted. The settlements of the French,
stretching from north to south, necessarily interfered with those of the
English. Their plan, if executed, would completely environ the English.
Canada and Louisiana united, as has been aptly said, would form a bow, of
which the English colonies would constitute the chord.
While Great Britain claimed, indefinitely, to the west, as appertaining to her
possession of the sea coast; France insisted on confining her to the eastern
side of the Apalachian, or Alleghany, mountains; and claimed the whole
country drained by the Mississippi, in virtue of her right as the first
discoverer of that river. The delightful region which forms the magnificent
vale of the Mississippi was the object for which these two powerful nations
contended; and it soon became apparent that the sword must decide the
contest.

The white population of the English colonies was supposed to exceed one
million of souls, while that of the French was estimated at only fifty-two
thousand.[145]
This disparity of numbers did not intimidate the governor of New France—
a title comprehending both Canada and Louisiana; nor deter him from
proceeding in the execution of his favourite plan. The French possessed
advantages which, he persuaded himself, would counterbalance the superior
numbers of the English. Their whole power was united under one governor,
who could give it such a direction as his judgment should dictate. The
genius of the people and of the government was military; and the
inhabitants could readily be called into the field, when their service should
be required. Great reliance too was placed on the Indians. These savages,
with the exception of the Five Nations, were generally attached to France,
and were well trained to war. To these advantages was added a perfect
knowledge of the country about to become the theatre of action.
The British colonies, on the other hand, were divided into distinct
governments, unaccustomed, except those of New England, to act in
concert; were jealous of the power of the crown; and were spread over a
large extent of territory, the soil of which, in all the middle colonies, was
cultivated by men unused to arms.
The governors of Canada, who were generally military men, had, for
several preceding years, judiciously selected and fortified such situations as
would give them most influence over the Indians, and facilitate incursions
into the northern provinces. The command of Lake Champlain had been
acquired by the erection of a strong fort at Crown Point; and a connected
chain of posts was maintained from Quebec, up the St. Lawrence, and along
the great lakes. It was intended to unite these posts with the Mississippi by
taking positions which would favour the design of circumscribing and
annoying the frontier settlements of the English.

Great Meadows and the Site of Fort Necessity
On this battleground in the western Pennsylvania
wilderness, which marked the beginning of the French and
Indian War, July 3, 1754, a force of 400 men under young
Major Washington was defeated by 900 French and Indian
allies, and for the first and last time in his military career
Washington surrendered. He stipulated, however, that he and
his troops were to have safe conduct back to civilization, and
agreed not to build a fort west of the Allegheny Mountains
for a year. Washington was then twenty-two years old.

1750

The execution of this plan was, probably, accelerated by an act of the
British government. The year after the conclusion of the war, several
individuals both in England and Virginia who were associated under the
name of the Ohio company, obtained from the crown a grant of six hundred
thousand acres of land, lying in the country claimed by both nations. The
objects of this company being commercial as well as territorial, measures
were taken to derive all the advantages expected from their grant, in both

these respects, by establishing trading houses, and by employing persons to
survey the country.
The governor of Canada, who obtained early information of this intrusion,
as he deemed it, into the dominions of his most christian majesty, wrote to
the governors of New York and Pennsylvania, informing them that the
English traders had encroached on the French territory by trading with their
Indians; and giving notice that, if they did not desist, he should be under the
necessity of seizing them wherever they should be found. At the same time
the jealousy of the Indians was excited by impressing them with fears that
the English were about to deprive them of their country.
His threat having been disregarded, the governor of Canada put it in
execution by seizing the British traders among the Twightwees, and
carrying them prisoners to Presque-isle, on Lake Erie; where he was
erecting a strong fort. About the same time, a communication was opened
from Presque-isle, down French creek, and the Alleghany river, to the Ohio.
This communication was kept up by detachments of troops, posted at
proper distances from each other, in works capable of covering them from
an attack made only with small arms.[146]

1753

This territory having been granted as part of Virginia, to the Ohio company,
who complained loudly of these aggressions, Dinwiddie, the lieutenant
governor of that province, laid the subject before the assembly, and
dispatched MAJOR WASHINGTON, the gentleman who afterwards led his
countrymen to independence, with a letter to the commandant of the French
forces on the Ohio; requiring him to withdraw from the dominions of his
Britannic majesty.
This letter was delivered at a fort on the river Le Boeuf, the western branch
of French creek, to Monsieur le Guarduer de St. Pierre, the commanding
officer on the Ohio, who replied that he had taken possession of the country
by the directions of his general, then in Canada, to whom he would transmit
the letter of the lieutenant governor, and whose orders he should implicitly
obey.

1754

Preparations were immediately made, in Virginia, to assert the rights of the
British crown; and a regiment was raised for the protection of the frontiers.
Early in the spring, Major Washington had advanced with a small
detachment from this regiment into the country to be contended for, where
he fell in with and defeated a party of French and Indians who were
approaching him in a manner indicating hostile designs. On being joined by
the residue of his regiment, the command of which had devolved on him, he
made great exertions to pre-occupy the post at the confluence of the
Alleghany and Monongahela rivers; but, on his march thither, was met by a
much superior body of French and Indians, Defeat at the Little Meadows.who
attacked him in a small stockade hastily erected at the Little Meadows, and
compelled him, after a gallant defence to capitulate. The French had already
taken possession of the ground to which Washington was proceeding, and,
having driven off some militia, and workmen sent thither by the Ohio
company, had erected thereon a strong fortification called fort Du Quêsne.
The earl of Holderness, secretary of state, perceiving war to be inevitable,
and aware of the advantages of union, and of securing the friendship of the
Five Nations, had written to the governors of the respective colonies
recommending these essential objects; and, at the same time, ordering them
to repel force by force; and to take effectual measures to dislodge the
French from their posts on the Ohio.
Convention at Albany.

At the suggestion of the commissioners for the plantations, a convention of
delegates from the several colonies met at Albany, to hold a conference with
the Five Nations on the subject of French encroachments, and to secure
their friendship in the approaching war. Availing himself of this
circumstance governor Shirley had recommended to the other governors to
instruct their commissioners on the subject of union. Ample powers for this
object were given to the delegates of Massachusetts; and those of Maryland
were instructed to observe what others should propose respecting it. But no
direct authority for concerting any system to call out and employ the
strength of the colonies, was given by any other of the governments.

The congress, consisting of delegates from New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, with the lieutenant
governor and council of New York, after endeavouring to secure the
friendship of the Five Nations by large presents, directed a committee,
consisting of one member for each colony, to draw and report a plan of
union.
Plan of union.

A plan[147] was reported which was approved on the 4th of July. Its essential
principles were, that application be made for an act of parliament
authorising the formation of a grand council to consist of delegates from the
several legislatures, and a president general, to be appointed by the crown,
and to be invested with a negative power. This council was to enact laws of
general import; to apportion their quotas of men and money on the several
colonies; to determine on the building of forts; to regulate the operations of
armies; and to concert all measures for the common protection and safety.
The delegates of Connecticut alone dissented from this plan. That cautious
people feared that the powers vested in the president general might prove
dangerous to their welfare.
In England, the objections were of a different character. The colonies had,
in several instances, manifested a temper less submissive than was required;
and it was apprehended that this union might be the foundation of a concert
of measures opposing the pretensions of supremacy maintained by the
mother country.
This confederation, therefore, notwithstanding the pressure of external
danger, did not prevail. It was not supported in America, because it was
supposed to place too much power in the hands of the King; and it was
rejected in England from the apprehension that the colonial assemblies
would be rendered still more formidable by being accustomed to co-operate
with each other.
In its stead, the minister proposed that the governors, with one or two
members of the councils of the respective provinces, should assemble to
consult, and resolve on measures necessary for the common defence, and
should draw on the British treasury for the sums to be expended, which

sums should be afterwards raised by a general tax, to be imposed by
parliament on the colonies.
This proposition being entirely subversive of all the opinions which
prevailed in America, was not pressed for the present; and no satisfactory
plan for calling out the strength of the colonies being devised, it was
determined to carry on the war with British troops, aided by such
reinforcements as the several provincial assemblies would voluntarily
afford.[148]

CHAPTER XI.
General Braddock arrives.... Convention of governors
and plan of the campaign.... French expelled from Nova
Scotia, and inhabitants transplanted.... Expedition
against fort Du Quêsne.... Battle of Monongahela....
Defeat and death of general Braddock.... Expedition
against Crown Point.... Dieskau defeated.... Expedition
against Niagara.... Frontiers distressed by the Indians....
Meeting of the governors at New York.... Plan for the
campaign of 1756.... Lord Loudoun arrives.... Montcalm
takes Oswego.... Lord Loudoun abandons offensive
operations.... Small-pox breaks out in Albany....
Campaign of 1757 opened.... Admiral Holbourne arrives
at Halifax.... Is joined by the earl of Loudoun....
Expedition against Louisbourg relinquished.... Lord
Loudoun returns to New York.... Fort William Henry
taken.... Controversy between lord Loudoun and the
assembly of Massachusetts.

1755

The establishment of the post on the Ohio, and the action at the Little
Meadows, being considered by the British government as the
commencement of war in America, the resolution to send a few regiments
to that country was immediately taken; General Braddock.and early in the
year, general Braddock embarked at Cork, at the head of a respectable body
of troops destined for the colonies.
An active offensive campaign being meditated, general Braddock convened
the governors of the several provinces, on the 14th of April, in Virginia,
who resolved to carry on three expeditions.

Plan of the campaign.

The first, and most important, was against fort Du Quêsne. This was to be
conducted by general Braddock in person at the head of the British troops,
with such aids as could be drawn from Maryland and Virginia.
The second, against Niagara and fort Frontignac, was to be conducted by
governor Shirley. The American regulars, consisting of Shirley and
Pepperel's regiments, constituted the principal force destined for the
reduction of these places.
The third was against Crown Point. This originated with Massachusetts; and
was to be prosecuted entirely with colonial troops, to be raised by the
provinces of New England, and by New York. It was to be commanded by
colonel William Johnson of the latter province.[149]
While preparations were making for these several enterprises, an
expedition, which had been previously concerted by the government of
Massachusetts, was carried on against the French in Nova Scotia.
It has been already stated that the limits of this province remained unsettled.
While the commissioners of the two crowns were supporting the claims of
their respective sovereigns in fruitless memorials, the French occupied the
country in contest, and established military posts for its defence. Against
these posts this enterprise was to be conducted.
On the 20th of May, the troops of Massachusetts, together with Shirley's
and Pepperel's regiments, amounting in the whole to about three thousand
men, embarked, at Boston, under the command of lieutenant colonel
Winslow. The fleet anchored about five miles from fort Lawrence, where a
reinforcement was received of three hundred British troops and a small train
of artillery. The whole army, commanded by lieutenant colonel Monckton,
immediately after landing, marched against Beau Sejour, the principal post
held by the French in that country. At the river Mussaquack, which the
French considered as the western boundary of Nova Scotia, some slight
works had been thrown up with the intention of disputing its passage. After
a short conflict, the river was passed with the loss of only one man; and, in
five days, Beau Sejour capitulated. French expelled from Nova Scotia.Other small
places fell in succession, and, in the course of the month of June, with the

loss of only three men killed, the English acquired complete possession of
the whole province of Nova Scotia.
The recovery of this province was followed by one of those distressing
measures which involve individuals in indiscriminate ruin, and aggravate
the calamities of war.
Nova Scotia having been originally settled by France, its inhabitants were,
chiefly, of that nation. In the treaty of Utrecht, it was stipulated for the
colonists that they should be permitted to hold their lands on condition of
taking the oaths of allegiance to their new sovereign. With this condition
they refused to comply, unless permitted to qualify it with a proviso that
they should not be required to bear arms in defence of the province. Though
this qualification, to which the commanding officer of the British forces
acceded, was afterwards disallowed by the crown, yet the French
inhabitants continued to consider themselves as neutrals. Their devotion to
France, however, would not permit them to conform their conduct to the
character they had assumed. In all the contests for the possession of their
country, they were influenced by their wishes rather than their duty; and
three hundred of them were captured with the garrison of Beau Sejour.
Their continuance in the country, during the obstinate conflict which was
commencing, would, it was feared, endanger the colony; and to expel them
from it, leaving them at liberty to choose their place of residence, would be
to reenforce the French in Canada. A council was held by the executive of
Nova Scotia aided by the admirals Boscawen and Morty, for the purpose of
deciding on the destiny of these unfortunate people; The inhabitants
transported.and the severe policy was adopted of removing them from their
homes, and dispersing them through the other British colonies. This harsh
measure was immediately put in execution; and the miserable inhabitants of
Nova Scotia were, in one instant, reduced from ease and contentment to a
state of beggary. Their lands, and moveables, with the exception of their
money and household furniture, were declared to be forfeited to the crown;
and, to prevent their return, the country was laid waste, and their houses
reduced to ashes.[150]
As soon as the convention of governors had separated, general Braddock
proceeded from Alexandria to a fort at Wills' creek, afterwards called fort

Cumberland, at that time the most western post in Virginia or Maryland;
from which place the army destined against fort Du Quêsne was to
commence its march. The difficulties of obtaining wagons, and other
necessary supplies for the expedition, and delays occasioned by opening a
road through an excessively rough country, excited apprehensions that time
would be afforded the enemy to collect in such force at fort Du Quêsne, as
to put the success of the enterprise into some hazard.
Under the influence of this consideration, it was determined to select twelve
hundred men, who should be led by the general in person to the point of
destination. The residue of the army, under the command of colonel Dunbar,
was to follow, with the baggage, by slow and easy marches.
This disposition being made, Braddock pressed forward to his object, in the
confidence that he could find no enemy capable of opposing him; and
reached the Monongahela on the eighth of July.
As the army approached fort Du Quêsne, the general was cautioned of the
danger to which the character of his enemy, and the face of the country,
exposed him; and was advised to advance the provincial companies in his
front, for the purpose of scouring the woods, and discovering ambuscades.
But he held both his enemy and the provincials in too much contempt, to
follow this salutary counsel. Three hundred British troops comprehending
the grenadiers and light infantry, commanded by colonel Gage, composed
his van; and he followed, at some distance, with the artillery, and the main
body of the army, divided into small columns.
Within seven miles of fort Du Quêsne, immediately after crossing the
Monongahela the second time, in an open wood, thick set with high grass,
as he was pressing forward without fear of danger, his front received an
unexpected fire from an invisible enemy. Battle of Monongahela.The van was
thrown into some confusion; but, the general having ordered up the main
body, and the commanding officer of the enemy having fallen, the attack
was suspended, and the assailants were supposed to be dispersed. This
delusion was soon dissipated. The attack was renewed with increased fury;
the van fell back on the main body; and the whole army was thrown into
utter confusion.

The general possessed personal courage in an eminent degree; but was
without experience in that species of war, in which he was engaged; and
seems not to have been endowed with that rare fertility of genius which
adapts itself to the existing state of things, and invents expedients fitted to
the emergency. In the impending crisis, he was peculiarly unfortunate in his
choice of measures. Neither advancing nor retreating, he exerted his utmost
powers to form his broken troops, under an incessant and galling fire, on the
very ground where they had been attacked. In his fruitless efforts to restore
order, every officer on horseback except Mr. Washington, one of his aides-
de-camp, was killed or wounded. At length, after losing three horses, the
general himself received a mortal wound; upon which his regulars fled in
terror and confusion. Fortunately, the Indian enemy was arrested by the
plunder found on the field, and the pursuit was soon given over. The
provincials exhibited an unexpected degree of courage, and were among the
last to leave the field.
Death of Braddock.

The defeated troops fled precipitately to the camp of Dunbar, where
Braddock expired of his wounds. Their panic was communicated to the
residue of the army. As if affairs had become desperate, all the stores,
except those necessary for immediate use, were destroyed; and the British
troops were marched to Philadelphia, where they went into quarters. The
western parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, were left exposed to
the incursions of the savages; the frontier settlements were generally broken
up; and the inhabitants were driven into the interior. So excessive was the
alarm, that even the people of the interior entertained apprehensions for
their safety, and many supposed that the seaboard itself was insecure.
The two northern expeditions, though not so disastrous as that against fort
Du Quêsne, were neither of them successful. That against Crown Point was
so retarded by those causes of delay to which military operations conducted
by distinct governments are always exposed, that the army was not ready to
move until the last of August. At length general Johnson reached the south
end of lake George, on his way to Ticonderoga, of which he designed to
take possession.
An armament fitted out in the port of Brest for Canada, had eluded a British
squadron which was stationed off the banks of Newfoundland to intercept

it; and, with the loss of two ships of war, had entered the St. Lawrence.
After arriving at Quebec the baron Dieskau, who commanded the French
forces, resolved, without loss of time, to proceed against the English. At the
head of about twelve hundred regulars, and about six hundred Canadians
and Indians, he marched against Oswego. On hearing of this movement,
general Johnson applied for reinforcements; and eight hundred men were
ordered by Massachusetts to his assistance. An additional body of two
thousand men was directed to be raised for the same object, and the
neighbouring colonies also determined to furnish reinforcements.
Dieskau did not wait for their arrival. Perceiving that Johnson was
approaching lake George, and being informed that the provincials were
without artillery, he determined to postpone his designs upon Oswego, and
to attack them in their camp.
On being informed that Dieskau was approaching, Johnson detached
colonel Williams, with about one thousand men, to reconnoitre and
skirmish with him. This officer met the French about four miles from the
American camp, and immediately engaged them. He fell early in the action;
and his party was soon overpowered and put to flight. Dieskau defeated.A
second detachment, sent in aid of the first, experienced the same fate; and
both were closely pursued to the main body, who were posted behind a
breast-work of fallen trees. At this critical moment, within about one
hundred and fifty yards of this work, the French halted for a short time. This
interval having given the Americans an opportunity to recover from the first
alarm, they determined on a resolute defence.
When the assailants advanced to the charge, they were received with
firmness. The militia and savages fled; and Dieskau was under the necessity
of ordering his regulars to retreat. A close and ardent pursuit ensued; and
the general himself, being mortally wounded and left alone, was taken
prisoner.
During the engagement, a scouting party from fort Edward, under captains
Folsom and McGennis, fell in with the baggage of the enemy and routed the
guard which had been placed over it. Soon afterwards, the retreating army
of Dieskau approached, and was gallantly attacked by the Americans. This
unexpected attack from an enemy whose numbers were unknown,

completed the confusion of the defeated army, which, abandoning its
baggage, fled towards the posts on the lake.[151]
The repulse of Dieskau, magnified into a splendid victory, had some
tendency to remove the depression of spirits occasioned by the defeat of
Braddock, and to inspire the provincials with more confidence in
themselves. General Johnson, who was wounded in the engagement,
received very solid testimonials of the gratitude and liberality of his
country. Five thousand pounds sterling, and the title of baronet, were the
rewards of his service.
This success was not improved. The hopes and expectations of the public
were not gratified; and the residue of the campaign was spent in fortifying
the camp. Massachusetts pressed a winter campaign; but when her
commissioners met those of Connecticut and the lieutenant governor and
council of New York, it was unanimously agreed that the army under
general Johnson should be discharged, except six hundred men to garrison
fort Edward, on the great carrying place between the Hudson and lake
George, and fort William Henry on that lake.
The French took possession of Ticonderoga, and fortified it.
Expedition against Niagara.

The expedition against Niagara and fort Frontignac, was also defeated by
delays in making the preparations necessary for its prosecution. Shirley did
not reach Oswego till late in August. After ascertaining the state of the
garrison, he determined to abandon that part of the enterprise which
respected fort Frontignac, and to proceed against Niagara. While employed
in the embarkation of his troops on the lake, the rains set in with such
violence as to suspend his operations until the season was so far advanced
that the attempt against Niagara was also relinquished, and Shirley returned
to Albany.[152]
Thus terminated the campaign of 1755. It opened with so decided a
superiority of force on the part of the English, as to promise the most
important advantages. But, if we except the expulsion of the French from
Nova Scotia, no single enterprise was crowned with success. Great
exertions were made by the northern colonies, but their efforts were

productive of no benefit. From the want of one general superintending
authority in their councils, which could contemplate and control the
different parts of the system, which could combine all their operations, and
direct them with effect towards the attainment of the object pursued, every
thing failed. Such delays and deficiencies were experienced that, though a
considerable force was in motion, it could not be brought to the point
against which it was to act, until the season for action was over; nor execute
the plans which were concerted until the opportunity had passed away.

General Braddock's Grave
Showing the monument recently erected
It is not generally appreciated that this British commander
was chosen to head the expedition to destroy the French
power in America, in 1754-5, because of his distinguished
army record. In the Battle of Fontency, for instance, he was
colonel in command of the famous Coldstream Guards, who
covered themselves with glory; and shortly before
embarking for America he was made major-general of the
line. Braddock had won his promotion solely through
gallantry and at a time when a lieutenant-colonelcy in this
crack British regiment sold for £5000 Sterling.
Despite his fatal mistake in not heeding the advice of his
aide, Washington, in conducting his expedition against Fort
Duquesne (Pittsburgh), Braddock regarded Washington and
Franklin as the greatest men in the colonies. Meeting the
French and Indians on July 9, 1755, the British were routed
and Braddock was fatally wounded, after having four horses
shot under him. Dying four days later at Great Meadows,
where he is buried, he bequeathed his favorite surviving
horse and body servant to Washington, then a colonel.

The system adopted by the British cabinet, for conducting the war in
America, left to the colonial governments to determine, what number of
men each should bring into the field; but required them to support their own
troops, and to contribute to the support of those sent from Great Britain to
their assistance. But this system could not be enforced. The requisitions of
the minister were adopted, rejected, or modified, at the discretion of the
government on which they were made; and, as no rule of apportionment had
been adopted, each colony was inclined to consider itself as having
contributed more than its equal share towards the general object, and as
having received, less than its just proportion, of the attention and protection
of the mother country. This temper produced a slow and reluctant
compliance on the part of some, which enfeebled and disconcerted

enterprises, for the execution of which the resources of several were to be
combined.
Distress of the frontiers.

In the mean time the whole frontier, as far as North Carolina, was exposed
to the depredations of the savages, who were, almost universally, under the
influence of the French. Their bloody incursions were made in all
directions, and many settlements were entirely broken up.
It is a curious and singular fact that, while hostilities were thus carried on
by France and England against each other in America, the relations of peace
and amity were preserved between them in Europe. Each nation had, in
consequence of the military operations in 1754, determined to fit out a
considerable armament to aid the efforts made in its colonies; and, when it
was understood that admiral Boscawen was ordered to intercept that of
France, the Duc de Mirepoix, the French ambassador at London,
complained of the proposed measure, and gave formal notice that the King
his master would consider the first gun fired at sea, as a declaration of war.
On receiving intelligence of the capture of a part of the squadron by
Boscawen, the French minister at the court of St. James was recalled
without asking an audience of leave; upon which, letters of marque and
reprisal were issued by the British government. This prompt and vigorous
measure had much influence on the war, which was declared, in form, the
following spring.
General Shirley, on his return to Albany after the close of the campaign in
1755, received a commission appointing him commander in chief of the
King's forces in North America. A meeting of all the governors was
immediately called at New York, for the purpose of concerting a plan for
the ensuing campaign. Operations equally extensive with those proposed
for the preceding campaign were again contemplated. To ensure their
success, it was determined to raise ten thousand men, for the expedition
against Crown Point; six thousand, for that against Niagara; and three
thousand, for that against fort Du Quêsne. To favour the operations of this
formidable force, it was farther determined that two thousand men should
advance up the Kennebec, destroy the settlement on the Chaudière, and,
descending to the mouth of that river, keep all that part of Canada in alarm.

In the mean time, it was proposed to take advantage of the season when the
lake should be frozen, to seize Ticonderoga, in order to facilitate the
enterprise against Crown Point. This project was defeated by the unusual
mildness of the winter; and, about the middle of January, general Shirley
repaired to Boston in order to make the necessary preparations for the
ensuing campaign.
Such was the solicitude to accomplish the objects in contemplation, and so
deep an interest did the colonists take in the war, that every nerve was
strained, to raise and equip the number of men required.

1756
Command bestowed on Lord Loudoun.

Having made in Massachusetts all the preparations for the next campaign,
so far as depended on the government, Shirley repaired to Albany, where he
was superseded[153] by major general Abercrombie; who, soon afterwards,
yielded the command to the earl of Loudoun. Early in the year, that
nobleman had been appointed to the command of all his majesty's forces in
North America; and extensive powers, civil as well as military, had been
conferred on him. But he did not arrive at Albany until midsummer.
In the spring, the provincial troops destined for the expedition against
Crown Point, were assembled in the neighbourhood of lake George. They
were found not much to exceed seven thousand men; and even this number
was to be reduced in order to garrison posts in the rear. This army being too
weak to accomplish its object, major general Winslow, who commanded it,
declared himself unable to proceed on the expedition without
reinforcements. The arrival of a body of British troops, with general
Abercrombie, removed this difficulty; but another occurred which still
farther suspended the enterprise.
The regulations respecting rank had given great disgust in America; and had
rendered it disagreeable and difficult to carry on any military operations
which required a junction of British and provincial troops. When consulted
on this delicate subject, Winslow assured general Abercrombie of his
apprehensions that, if the result of the junction should be to place the
provincial troops under British officers, it would produce general
discontent, and perhaps desertion. His officers concurred in this opinion;

and it was finally agreed that British troops should succeed the provincials
in the posts then occupied by them, so as to enable the whole colonial force
to proceed under Winslow, against Crown Point.
On the arrival of the earl of Loudoun, this subject was revived. The
question was seriously propounded, "whether the troops in the several
colonies of New England, armed with his majesty's arms, would, in
obedience to his commands signified to them, act in conjunction with his
European troops; and under the command of his commander in chief?" The
colonial officers answered this question in the affirmative; but entreated it
as a favour of his lordship, as the New England troops had been raised on
particular terms, that he would permit them, so far as might consist with his
majesty's service, to act separately. This request was acceded to; but before
the army could be put in motion, the attention both of the Europeans and
provincials, was directed to their own defence.
Montcalm takes Oswego.

Monsieur de Montcalm, an able officer, who succeeded Dieskau in the
command of the French troops in Canada, sought to compensate by superior
activity, for the inferiority of his force. While the British and Americans
were adjusting their difficulties respecting rank, and deliberating whether to
attack Niagara or fort Du Quêsne, Montcalm advanced at the head of about
five thousand Europeans, Canadians, and Indians, against Oswego. In three
days he brought up his artillery, and opened a battery which played on the
fort with considerable effect. Colonel Mercer, the commanding officer, was
killed; and, in a few hours, the place was declared by the engineers to be no
longer tenable. The garrison, consisting of the regiments of Shirley and
Pepperel, amounting to sixteen hundred men, supplied with provisions for
five months, capitulated, and became prisoners of war. A respectable naval
armament, then on the lake, was also captured.
The fort at Oswego had been erected in the country of the Five Nations, and
had been viewed by them with some degree of jealousy. Montcalm,
actuated by a wise policy, destroyed it in their presence; declaring at the
same time, that the French wished only to enable them to preserve their
neutrality, and would, therefore, make no other use of the rights of
conquest, than to demolish the fortresses which the English had erected in
their country to overawe them.

The British general, disconcerted at this untoward event, abandoned all his
plans of offensive operations. General Winslow was ordered to relinquish
his intended expedition, and to fortify his camp, and endeavour to prevent
the enemy from penetrating into the country by the way of South bay, or
Wood creek. Major general Webb, with fourteen hundred men, was posted
at the great carrying place; and, to secure his rear, sir William Johnson, with
one thousand militia, was stationed at the German flats.
These dispositions being made, the colonies were strenuously urged to
reinforce the army. It was represented to them that, should any disaster
befall Winslow, the enemy might be enabled to overrun the country, unless
opposed by a force much superior to that in the field.[154]
Small-pox in Albany.

During this state of apprehensive inactivity, the small-pox broke out in
Albany. This enemy was more dreaded by the provincials than Montcalm
himself. So great was the alarm, that it was found necessary to garrison the
posts in that quarter, entirely with British troops, and to discharge all the
provincials except a regiment raised in New York.
Thus terminated for a second time, in defeat and utter disappointment, the
sanguine hopes which the colonists had formed of a brilliant and successful
campaign. After all their expensive and laborious preparations, not an effort
had been made to drive the invaders of the country even from their out-post
at Ticonderoga.
The expedition to lake Ontario had not been commenced; and no
preparations had been made for that against fort Du Quêsne. The colonies
of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, far from contemplating offensive
operations, had been unable to defend themselves; and their frontiers were
exposed to all the horrors of Indian warfare.
The expedition up the Kennebec was also abandoned. Thus, no one
enterprise contemplated at the opening of the campaign, was carried into
execution.[155]

1757

About the middle of January, the governors of the northern provinces were
convened in a military council at Boston. The earl of Loudoun opened his
propositions to them with a speech in which he attributed all the disasters
that had been sustained, to the colonies; and in which he proposed that New
England should raise four thousand men for the ensuing campaign.
Requisitions proportionably large were also made on New York and New
Jersey.
Campaign of 1757.

The ill success which had, thus far, attended the combined arms of Great
Britain and her colonies, did not discourage them. Their exertions to bring a
powerful force into the field were repeated; and the winter was employed in
preparations for the ensuing campaign. The requisitions of lord Loudoun
were complied with; and he found himself, in the spring, at the head of a
respectable army. Some important enterprise against Canada, when the
armament expected from Europe should arrive, was eagerly anticipated; and
the most sanguine hopes of success were again entertained.
Admiral Holbourne arrives. Is joined by Lord Loudoun.

In the beginning of July, Admiral Holbourne reached Halifax with a
powerful squadron, and reinforcement of five thousand British troops
commanded by George Viscount Howe, and, on the 6th of the same month,
the earl of Loudoun sailed from New York with six thousand regulars. A
junction of these formidable armaments was effected without opposition,
and the Loudoun colonists looked forward with confidence for a decisive
blow which would shake the power of France in America.
The expedition against Louisbourg relinquished.

The plan of this campaign varied from that which had been adopted in the
preceding years. The vast and complex movements heretofore proposed,
were no longer contemplated, and offensive operations were to be confined
to a single object. Leaving the posts on the lakes strongly garrisoned, the
British general determined to direct his whole disposable force against
Louisbourg; and fixed on Halifax as the place of rendezvous for the fleet
and army.

After assembling the land and naval forces at this place, information was
received that a fleet had lately arrived from France, and that Louisbourg
was so powerfully defended as to render any attempt upon it hopeless. In
consequence of this intelligence the enterprise was deferred until the next
year; the general and admiral returned to New York in August; and the
provincials were dismissed.
The French general, feeling no apprehension for Louisbourg, determined to
avail himself of the absence of a large part of the British force, and to obtain
complete possession of lake George. With an army collected chiefly from
the garrisons of Crown Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent forts;
amounting, with the addition of Indians, and Canadians, to nine thousand
men, the marquis de Montcalm laid siege to fort William Henry. That place
was well fortified, and garrisoned by three thousand men; and derived
additional security from an army of four thousand men at fort Edwards,
under the command of major general Webb. Fort William Henry
taken.Notwithstanding the strength of the place and its means of defence,
Montcalm urged his approaches with so much vigour, that articles of
capitulation, surrendering the fort, artillery, and stores, and stipulating that
the garrison should not serve against his Most Christian Majesty or his
allies for the space of eighteen months, were signed within six days after its
investment.
When this important place was surrendered, the commander in chief had
not returned from Halifax. General Webb, alarmed for fort Edward, applied
for reinforcements; and the utmost exertions were made to furnish the aids
he required. The return of the army to New York on the last of August,
dispelled all fear of an invasion, and enabled the general, who contemplated
no farther active operations, to dismiss the provincials.
Unsuccessful in all his attempts to gather laurels from the common enemy,
the earl of Loudoun engaged in a controversy with Massachusetts; in the
commencement of which, he displayed a degree of vigour which had been
kept in reserve for two campaigns. This controversy is thus stated by Mr.
Minot.
Upon information from the governor that a regiment of Highlanders was
expected in Boston, the general court provided barracks for the

accommodation of one thousand men at Castle Island. Soon afterwards,
several officers arrived from Nova Scotia to recruit their regiments. Finding
it impracticable to perform this service while in the barracks at the castle,
they applied to the justices of the peace to quarter and billet them, as
provided by act of parliament. The justices refused to grant this request, on
the principle that the act did not extend to the colonies. When informed of
this refusal, lord Loudoun addressed a letter to the justices, insisting
peremptorily on the right, as the act did, in his opinion, extend to America,
and to every part of the King's dominions, where the necessities of the
people should oblige him to send his troops. He concluded a long
dissertation on the question in the following decisive terms, "that having
used gentleness and patience, and confuted their arguments, without effect,
they having returned to their first mistaken plan, their not complying would
lay him under the necessity of taking measures to prevent the whole
continent from being thrown into a state of confusion. As nothing was
wanting to set things right, but the justices doing their duty (for no act of
the assembly was necessary or wanting for it) he had ordered the messenger
to remain only forty-eight hours in Boston; and if on his return he found
things not settled, he would instantly order into Boston the three battalions
from New York, Long Island, and Connecticut; and if more were wanting,
he had two in the Jerseys at hand, besides those in Pennsylvania. As public
business obliged him to take another route, he had no more time left to
settle this material affair, and must take the necessary steps before his
departure, in case they were not done by themselves."
The general court passed a law for the purpose of removing the
inconveniences of which the officers complained; but, this law not
equalling the expectations of lord Loudoun, he communicated his
dissatisfaction in a letter to the governor, which was laid before the
assembly, who answered by an address to his excellency in which the spirit
of their forefathers seemed to revive. They again asserted that the act of
parliament did not extend to the colonies; and that they had for this reason
enlarged the barracks at the castle, and passed a law for the benefit of
recruiting parties, as near the act of parliament as the circumstances of the
country would admit; that such a law was necessary to give power to the
magistrates, and they were willing to make it, whenever his majesty's troops
were necessary for their defence. They asserted their natural rights as

Englishmen; that by the royal charter, the powers and privileges of civil
government were granted to them; that their enjoyment of these was their
support under all burdens, and would animate them to resist an invading
enemy to the last. If their adherence to their rights and privileges should, in
any measure, lessen the esteem which his lordship had conceived for them,
it would be their great misfortune; but that they would have the satisfaction
of reflecting that, both in their words and actions, they had been governed
by a sense of duty to his majesty, and faithfulness to the trust committed to
them.
This address being forwarded to lord Loudoun, he affected to rely on their
removing all difficulties in future, and not only countermanded the march of
the troops, but condescended to make some conciliatory observations
respecting the zeal of the province in his majesty's service. For these the
two houses made an ample return in a message to the governor, in which
they disavowed any intention of lessening their dependence on parliament;
and expressly acknowledged the authority of all acts which concerned, and
extended to, the colonies.
This explicit avowal of sentiments so different from those which
Massachusetts had long cherished respecting her connexion with the mother
country, would induce a belief that she had recently become more colonial
in her opinions. This was probably the fact; but Mr. Minot, who may be
presumed to have been personally acquainted with the transaction, does not
attribute to that cause entirely, the conciliating temper manifested at the
close of a contest, which had commenced with such appearances of
asperity. Massachusetts had made large advances for the prosecution of the
war, for which she expected reimbursements from parliament; and was not
willing, at such a juncture, to make impressions unfavorable to the success
of her claims.

CHAPTER XII.
Preparations for the campaign of 1758.... Admiral
Boscawen and general Amherst arrive at Halifax.... Plan
of the campaign.... Expedition against Louisbourg,
Ticonderoga, and Crown Point.... General Abercrombie
repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga.... Fort
Frontignac taken.... Expedition against fort Du Quêsne....
Preparations for the campaign of 1759.... General
Amherst succeeds general Abercrombie.... Plan of the
campaign.... Ticonderoga and Crown Point taken....
Army goes into winter quarters.... French repulsed at
Oswego.... Defeated at Niagara.... Niagara taken....
Expedition against Quebec.... Check to the English
army.... Battle on the Plains of Abraham.... Death of
Wolfe and Montcalm.... Quebec capitulates....
Garrisoned by the English under the command of
general Murray.... Attempt to recover Quebec.... Battle
near Sillery.... Quebec besieged by Monsieur Levi....
Siege raised.... Montreal capitulates.... War with the
southern Indians.... Battle near the town of Etchoe....
Grant defeats them and burns their towns.... Treaty with
the Cherokees.... War with Spain.... Success of the
English.... Peace.

1758

The affairs of Great Britain in North America wore a more gloomy
aspect, at the close of the campaign of 1757, than at any former period. By
the acquisition of fort William Henry, the French had obtained complete
possession of the lakes Champlain and George. By the destruction of
Oswego, they had acquired the dominion of those lakes which connect the

St. Lawrence with the waters of the Mississippi, and unite Canada to
Louisiana. By means of fort Du Quêsne, they maintained their ascendency
over the Indians, and held undisturbed possession of the country west of the
Allegheny mountains; while the English settlers were driven to the Blue
Ridge. The great object of the war in that quarter was gained, and France
held the country for which hostilities had been commenced. With inferior
numbers, the French had been victorious in every campaign, and had
uniformly gained ground on the English colonies. Nor were they less
successful elsewhere. The flame of war which was kindled in America, had
communicated itself to Europe and Asia. In every quarter of the world
where hostilities had been carried on, the British arms were attended with
defeat and disgrace.
But this inglorious scene was about to be succeeded by one of unrivalled
brilliancy. From the point of extreme depression to which their affairs had
sunk, the brightest era of British history was to commence. Far from being
broken by misfortune, the spirit of the nation was high; and more of
indignation than dismay was inspired by the ill success of their arms. The
public voice had, at length, made its way to the throne, and had forced, on
the unwilling monarch, a minister who has been justly deemed one of the
greatest men of the age in which he lived.
Mr. Pitt had been long distinguished in the House of Commons, for the
boldness and the splendour of his eloquence. His parliamentary talents, and
the independent grandeur of his character, had given him a great
ascendency in that body, and had made him the idol of the nation. In 1756,
he had been introduced into the cabinet, but could not long retain his place.
The public affection followed him out of office; and, the national disasters
continuing, it was found impracticable to conduct the complicated machine
of government without his aid. In the summer of 1757, an administration
was formed, which conciliated the great contending interests in parliament;
and Mr. Pitt was placed at its head. The controlling superiority of his
character gave him the same ascendency in the cabinet which he had
obtained in the house of commons; and he seemed to dictate the measures
of the nation. Only a short time was required to show that qualities, seldom
united in the same person, were combined in him; and his talents for action
seemed to eclipse even those he had displayed in debate. His plans
partaking of the proud elevation of his own mind, and the exalted opinion

he entertained of his countrymen, were always grand; and the means he
employed for their execution, were always adequate to the object.
Possessing the public confidence without limitation, he commanded all the
resources of the nation, and drew liberally from the public purse; but the
money was always faithfully and judiciously applied to the public service.
Too great in his spirit, too lofty in his views, to become the instrument of
faction; when placed at the head of the nation, he regarded only the interest
of the nation; and, overlooking the country or the party, which had given
birth to merit, he searched for merit only, and employed it wherever it was
found. From the elevation of the house of Brunswick to the British throne, a
great portion of the people, under the denomination of tories, had been
degraded, persecuted, and oppressed. Superior to this narrow and short
sighted policy, Mr. Pitt sought to level these enfeebling and irritating
distinctions, and to engage every British subject in the cause of his country.
Thus commanding both the strength and the wealth of the kingdom, with
perhaps greater talents, he possessed certainly greater means, than any of
his predecessors.[156]
In no part of his majesty's dominions was the new administration more
popular than in his American colonies. Deeply and peculiarly interested in
the events of the war, they looked for a change of fortune from this change
of men, and cheerfully made every exertion, of which they were capable,
for the ensuing campaign. The circular letter of Mr. Pitt assured the several
governors that, to repair the losses and disappointments of the last inactive
campaign, the cabinet was determined to send a formidable force, to operate
by sea and land, against the French in America; and he called upon them to
raise as large bodies of men, within their respective governments, as the
number of inhabitants might allow. Arms, ammunition, tents, provisions,
and boats, would, he said, be furnished by the crown; and he required the
colonies to clothe and pay their men; assuring them, at the same time, that it
should be recommended to parliament to make them compensation.
Great preparations for the campaign.

The legislature of Massachusetts agreed to furnish seven thousand men;
Connecticut five thousand; and New Hampshire three thousand. These
troops, great as were their numbers, when compared with the population of
the country, were in the field early in May; and the transports for carrying

those of Massachusetts to Halifax, were ready to sail in fifteen days after
they were engaged. Near one-third of the effective men of that province, are
said to have been in military service; and the taxes were so heavy that, in
the capital, they amounted to two-thirds of the income of real estate.[157]
In the mother country too, the utmost activity was transfused into every
department. Her fleets blocked up in the French ports the men and stores
designed for Canada, and captured, on the seas, most of those which had
been able to make their way into the ocean. Admiral Boscawen and General
Amherst arrive.At the same time, a powerful armament, equipped with unusual
expedition, sailed from her ports. Early in the spring, admiral Boscawen
arrived at Halifax with a formidable fleet, and twelve thousand British
troops, under the command of general Amherst.
The earl of Loudoun had returned to England, and the command of the
British and American forces in the colonies, had devolved on general
Abercrombie. That officer found himself at the head of the most powerful
army ever seen in the new world. His whole numbers, comprehending
troops of every description, have been computed by Mr. Belsham at fifty
thousand men, of whom twenty thousand were provincials.
The objects of the campaign were no longer defeated by delays. The
preparations for action were made during the winter, and military operations
commenced in the spring.
Plan of the campaign.

Three expeditions were proposed. The first was against Louisbourg; the
second against Ticonderoga and Crown Point; and the third against fort Du
Quêsne.[158]
Expedition against Louisbourg.

The army destined against Louisbourg, consisting of fourteen thousand
men, was commanded by major general Amherst; and the fleet, consisting
of twenty ships of the line and eighteen frigates, by admiral Boscawen. On
the 24th of May, the troops embarked at Halifax; and, on the 2d of June,
arrived before Louisbourg.

The use made by Great Britain of her naval superiority was felt in no part of
the possessions of his Most Christian Majesty more sensibly than in
Louisbourg. The garrison of that important place was composed of only two
thousand five hundred regulars, aided by six hundred militia. The harbour
was defended by five ships of the line; one ship of fifty guns; and five
frigates, three of which were sunk across the mouth of the basin.
Soon after investment of the place, one of the large ships was set on fire by
a bomb from a battery on the light house point, and blown up. The flames
were communicated to two others which shared the same fate. The English
admiral then sent a detachment of six hundred seamen, in boats, into the
harbour, under captains La Forcey and Balfour, to make an attempt on the
two remaining ships of the line, which still kept possession of the basin.
This service was executed with great gallantry. One, which was aground,
was destroyed, and the other was towed off in triumph.
The harbour being in possession of the English, and several practicable
breaches made in the works, the place was no longer deemed defensible,
and the governor was under the necessity of capitulating. The garrison
became prisoners of war, and Louisbourg, with its artillery, provisions and
military stores; and also Island Royal, St. Johns, and their dependencies,
were surrendered to the English, who encountered no farther difficulty in
taking possession of the whole island.[159]
This important acquisition was made with the loss of between five and six
hundred men, killed and wounded. The joy it diffused throughout the
colonies, long familiarised to disaster, was in proportion to their former
disappointments.
Against Ticonderoga.

The expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point was conducted by
general Abercrombie in person. His army, consisting of near sixteen
thousand effectives, of whom nine thousand were provincials, was attended
by a formidable train of artillery, and possessed every requisite to ensure
success.
On the 5th of July, he embarked on lake George, and reached the landing
place early the next morning. A disembarkation being effected without

opposition, the troops were immediately formed into four columns, the
British in the centre, and the Provincials on the flanks; in which order they
marched towards the advanced guard of the French, composed of one
battalion posted in a log camp, which, on the approach of the English, made
a precipitate retreat.
Abercrombie continued his march towards Ticonderoga, with the intention
of investing that place; but, the woods being thick, and the guides unskilful,
his columns were thrown into confusion, and, in some measure, entangled
with each other. In this situation lord Howe, at the head of the right centre
column, fell in with a part of the advance guard of the French, which, in
retreating from lake George, was likewise lost in the wood. He immediately
attacked and dispersed them; killing several, and taking one hundred and
forty-eight prisoners, among whom were five officers.
This small advantage was purchased at a dear rate. Though only two
officers, on the side of the British, were killed, one of these was lord Howe
himself, who fell on the first fire. This gallant young nobleman had
endeared himself to the whole army. The British and provincials alike
lamented his death; and the assembly of Massachusetts passed a vote for the
erection of a superb cenotaph to his memory, in the collegiate church of
Westminster, among the heroes and patriots of Great Britain.
Without farther opposition, the English army took possession of the post at
the Saw Mills, within two miles of Ticonderoga. This fortress, which
commands the communication between the two lakes, is encompassed on
three sides by water, and secured in front by a morass. The ordinary
garrison amounting to four thousand men, was stationed under the cannon
of the place, and covered by a breast-work, the approach to which had been
rendered extremely difficult by trees felled in front, with their branches
outward, many of which were sharpened so as to answer the purpose of
chevaux-de-frize. This body of troops was rendered still more formidable
by its general than by its position. It was commanded by the marquis de
Montcalm.
Having learned from his prisoners the strength of the army under the walls
of Ticonderoga, and that a reinforcement of three thousand men was daily
expected, general Abercrombie thought it advisable to storm the place

before this reinforcement should arrive. Being informed by an engineer
directed to reconnoitre the works, that they were unfinished, and were
practicable, he resolved, without waiting for his artillery, to storm the lines;
and the dispositions for an assault were instantly made.
The rangers, the light infantry, and the right wing of the provincials, were
ordered to form a line out of cannon shot of the intrenchments, with their
right extending to lake George, and their left to lake Champlain. The
regulars who were to storm the works, were formed in the rear of this line.
The piquets were to begin the attack, and to be sustained by the grenadiers;
and the grenadiers by the battalions. The whole were ordered to march up
briskly, to rush upon the enemy's fire, and to reserve their own until they
had passed the breast-work.
The troops marched to the assault with great intrepidity; but their utmost
efforts could make no impression on the works. The impediments in front
of the intrenchments retarded their advance, and exposed them, while
entangled among the boughs of the trees, to a very galling fire. The breast-
work itself was eight or nine feet high, and much stronger than had been
represented; so that the assailants, who do not appear to have been
furnished with ladders, were unable to pass it. After a contest of near four
hours, and several repeated attacks, general Abercrombie ordered a retreat.
General Abercrombie repulsed under the walls of Ticonderoga.

The army retired to the camp from which it had marched in the morning;
and, the next day, resumed its former position on the south side of lake
George.[160]
In this rash attempt, the killed and wounded of the English amounted to
near two thousand men, of whom not quite four hundred were provincials.
The French were covered during the whole action, and their loss was
inconsiderable.[161]
Entirely disconcerted by this unexpected and bloody repulse, General
Abercrombie relinquished his designs against Ticonderoga and Crown
Point. Searching however for the means of repairing the misfortune, if not
the disgrace, sustained by his arms, he readily acceded to a proposition
made by colonel Bradstreet, for an expedition against fort Frontignac. This

fortress stands on the north side of Ontario, at the point where the St.
Lawrence issues from that lake; and though a post of real importance, had
been left, in a great degree, undefended.
The detachment designed for this service was commanded by colonel
Bradstreet. It consisted of three thousand men, of whom two hundred were
British, and was furnished with eight pieces of cannon, and three mortars.
Fort Frontignac taken.

Colonel Bradstreet embarked on the Ontario at Oswego, and on the 25th of
August, landed within one mile of the fort. In two days, his batteries were
opened at so short a distance that almost every shell took effect; and the
governor, finding the place absolutely untenable, surrendered at discretion.
The Indians having deserted, the prisoners amounted only to one hundred
and ten men. A great quantity of military stores, together with nine armed
vessels, mounting from eight to eighteen guns, also fell into the hands of the
English.[162]
After destroying the fort and vessels, and such stores as could not be
brought off, colonel Bradstreet returned to the army which undertook
nothing farther during the campaign.
Expedition against Fort Du Quêsne.

The demolition of fort Frontignac and of the stores which had been
collected there, contributed materially, to the success of the expedition
against fort Du Quêsne. The conduct of this enterprise had been entrusted to
general Forbes, who marched from Philadelphia, about the beginning of
July, at the head of the main body of the army, destined for this service, in
order to join colonel Bouquet at Raystown. So much time was employed in
preparing to move from this place, that the Virginia regulars, commanded
by colonel Washington, were not ordered to join the British troops until the
month of September. It had been determined not to use the road made by
Braddock, but to cut a new one from Raystown to fort du Quêsne. About
the time this resolution was formed, and before the army was put in motion,
major Grant was detached from the advanced post at Loyal Hannan with
eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and the adjacent country. This
gentleman invited an attack from the garrison, the result of which was that

upwards of three hundred of the detachment were killed and wounded, and
major Grant himself was made a prisoner.[163]
Fort Du Quêsne evacuated.

Early in October general Forbes moved from Raystown; but the
obstructions to his march were so great that he did not reach fort Du Quêsne
until late in November. The garrison, being deserted by the Indians, and too
weak to maintain the place against the formidable army which was
approaching, abandoned the fort the evening before the arrival of the
British, and escaped down the Ohio in boats. The English placed a garrison
in it, and changed its name to Pittsburg, in compliment to their popular
minister. The acquisition of this post was of great importance to
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Its possession had given the French
an absolute control over the Indians of the Ohio, who were accustomed to
assemble at that place, for the purpose of making their destructive
incursions into those colonies. Their route was marked by fire and the
scalping knife; and neither age nor sex could afford exemption from their
ferocity. The expulsion of the French gave the English entire possession of
the country, and produced a complete revolution in the disposition of the
Indians inhabiting it. Finding the current of success to be running against
their ancient friends, they were willing to reconcile themselves to the most
powerful; and all the Indians between the lakes and the Ohio concluded a
peace with the English.
Although the events of 1758 did not equal the expectations which had been
formed from the force brought into the field, the advantages were decisive.
The whole country constituting the original cause of the war, had changed
masters, and was in possession of the English. The acquisition of the island
of Cape Breton opened the way to Quebec; and their success in the west
enabled them to direct all their force against Canada. The colonists,
encouraged by this revolution in their affairs, and emboldened, by the
conquests already made, to hope for others still more extensive, prepared
vigorously on the application of Mr. Pitt, for the farther prosecution of the
war.
General Amherst succeeds General Abercrombie.