American history

Front matter

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Preface

It Has been the aim ot the authors of this book to ghe the main features in the development of our Nation, to explain the America of to-day, its civilization and its traditions. In order to do this, it was necessary to select topics from the various fields of human activity, the political, industrial, social, educational, and religious. Emphasis has been placed upon the fact that the position the United States occupies among the great nations is due primarily to the achievements of men and women in these fields. Consequently the military phases of our history, striking as some of them are, have in a measure been subordinated to the accounts of the victories of peace. We have thought it desirable also to give greater prominence than has been usual in school texts to the advance of the frontier and to the growth and influence of the West. Particular care has been taken to state the essential facts in European history necessary to the explanation of events in America.

How may the subject be best presented to the pupils of high-school age has been constantly in mind. To that end, only trustworthy illustrative material has been included and the maps have been prepared with great care. While there is no separate chapter or section devoted to a discussion of the physical geography of America, it will be noted that the influence of geographical conditions has been constantly stated in connection with events and condition? mentioned in the volume.

The references given in the suggestive questions at the ti Preface

end of each chapter are to books which might well be in* eluded in a school or a public library. Teachers will, no doubt, modify these supplementary references to suit local conditions. A more extensive list is accessible in the syllabus, "History in the Secondary Schools," issued under the auspices of the New England History Teachers' Association and published by D. C. Heath and Co.

Wherever possible, by means of marginal references and supplementary questions, the intimate relations between American history and government have been indicated. The outlines to be found in Appendix I carry out this plan of correlation in so far as it is practicable.

We are under obligation to many teachers of history in the secondary schools for practical suggestions. We desire especially to express our indebtedness to the following teachers of history for reading certain chapters of the manuscript and proof: William H. Shephard, North High School, Minneapolis; L. A. Fulwider, Freeport, 111., High School; B. E. Powell, New Trier Township, 111., High School; Carlo F. Sargent, Northwestern Academy, Evanston; Edward C. Page, DeKalb, 111., State Normal; A. D. S. Gillett, Superior, Wis., State Normal; William Kittle, Secretary of Normal Board of Regents, Madison, Wis.; Dr. Royal B. Way, Beloit College; and to J. P. Odell, Instructor in English, Northwestern University. Professor Charles W. Mann, of Lewis Institute, Chicago, has read much of the manuscript and nearly all of the galley proofs. He has also kindly furnished a number of illustrations.

We shall be pleased to be informed of any errors and to receive any suggestions which may make the book more usable.

Contents

I. — The Discovert of America, 1

II. — Spanish Exploration and Colonization, . . 17

III. — The Rivalry of Nations in the Sixteenth

Appendix

I. — The Correlation of American History and

Government, 581

II. — Constitution of the United States of

America, 590

III.— Index, W7

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS

Seorge Washington, Frontupeot

r*aa Christopher Columbus, 7

Americus Vespucius, • 12

De Soto, 22

A Spanish Mission Church, 24

Sir Francis Drake, •••••31

Sot Humphrey Gilbert, 33

Ship of the Sixteenth Century, •••••••• 35

Jamestown in 1622, 44

George Calvert, First Lord Baltimore, 46

First Seal of Plymouth Colony, 51

Signature of Governor Bradford, 52

Governor Winthrop, . . 55

Signature of Roger Williams, 59

Old Hoube in Guilford, 1639, 62

Charleston, South Carolina, 77

William Penn, 79

Signature of Governor Berkeley, 86

Dutch Cottage in Beaver Street, New York, 1679, . • 97

Palisaded Indian Village, 102

Champlain's Plan of the Fort of the Iroquois, . • . 107 A Possible Portrait of Marquette, •••••• 110

Governor Spotswood, 119

William Pitt, 128

Is

List of lUuriration*

View or Quebec, . . . 134

A Colonial Fire Engine, 130

Three-shilling Massachusetts Bill of 1741, .... 132

A Satire on Royal Government, 137

Benjamin Franklin, 146

John Dickinson, of Pennsylvania, 149

Samuel Adams, 150

Carpenters' Hall, PHiT.AnieuHiAf . . 153

Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, 157

Room in Independence Hall in which the Declaration was Signed, 159

Lafayette, 169

Colonel Daniel Boone, 171

North Carolina Currency, 174

John Paul Jones, 175

The Old Potts House at Valley Forge, used by Washington as Headquarters, 182

View of Pittsburg in 1790, 190

John Jay, 192

First United States Com, 193

Alexander Hamilton, • 219

Home of Washington, 223

Fort Washington (Cincinnati), 230

John Adams, 232

Samuel Slater, 237

Model of Cotton Gin, 238

Thomas Jefferson, 242

John Marshall, . . . . 243

List of Illustrations w

Cavalry Private, 18019 . . . . 244

The Clermont, 249

James Madison, .....' 254

txcumseh, 256

Infantry Privaie, 1810, 260

The Constitution and Guebbiebs, 263

Flat-boat, 275

Plan of the Erie Canal, • • • 277

James Monroe, ••••• 286

John Quinct Adams, • 290

Henry Clay, 291

Tohn C. Calhoun, 293

The Hermitage 294

Andrew Jackson, 298

First Steam Train Run on the Pennsylvania State Railroad, 300

Old Railroad Time-table, 301

City of Washington, 1830, 305

Daniel Webster, 307

William Lloyd Garrison, 315

Wendell Phillips, • 317

Campaign Button, 319

Home of John C. Calhoun, 324

Harriet Beecher Stowe, 340

Stephen A. Douglas, . . . . • 347

James Russell Lowell, . . . 358

Roger B. Taney, 360

John Brown 363 jrfi List of Illustration*

*ao»

Campaign Button, ... 365

Abraham Lincoln, •»- 369

Jefferson Davis, . • 372

Salmon P. Chase, .... 374

The Cairo— A Mississippi River Gunboat, • • • • 383

John Ericsson, 384

Transverse Section of the Monitor through the Center of the Turret, 385

George B. McClellan, 386

Gen. Thos. J. Jackson, 391

Facsimile of a Vicksburg Newspaper Printed on Wall Paper, $95

Fractional Currency of the Civil War Period, • . 400

Ultsses Simpson Grant, 404

Phhjp H. Sheridan, 407

. "Villiam Tecumseh Sherman, 408

General Robert E. Lee, C. S. A., ... ... 410

Parole Signed bt a Confederate Soldier, . • . . 417

Amnesty Oath to be taken by Confederates, • . . 417

Charles Sumner, 422

Facsimile of a Bill for Furnishing the State House at Columbia, S. G, in 1872, 429

Facsimile of a "Gratuity" Voted to Governor Moses by the South Carolina Legislature in 1871, . • 431

Horace Greeley, 433

William H. Seward, 438

Samuel J. Tilden, 446

Rutherford B. Hayes, •••• 448

James A. Garfield, , 462

George William Curtis, 463

List of IUu8tration$ xiii

Grover Cleveland* • • 465

Benjamin Harrison, 400

James 6. Blaine, 471

William Jennings Brtan, *. • . 488

William McKinley, . • . • • 484

Side and Front Viewb or Bell's First Telephone, . 491

Thomas A. Edison, 402

The United States Battle-ship Mains Entering Havana Harbor, January, 1898, 496

The Rough Riders, . . . 508

Theodore Roosevelt, 509

Machine which Reaps, Threshes, and Bags Grain at the Same Time, 511

At Work on the Panama Canal in the Culebra Cut, . 515

Steel Productions, 1903, 518

A Cotton Mill, Augusta, Ga* 521

William H. Tajt, 5M

Woodrow Wilson, 537

Jane Addams, 539

Major-General George W. Goethals, 544

Robert Lansing, 553

James W. Gerard, .••• 556

General Pershing, 558

Herbert Hoover, 562

William G. McAdoo, 563

Samuel Gompers, 564

A Liberty Loan Poster, 569

LIST OF MAPS

fefzDucvAL Trade Routes, 5

Regions Explored by Columbus and Vespucius, . . . 11

Early Geographical Ideas op America, 13

Spanish Voyages of Exploration and Conquest, . . . 18

The Outward Voyages of Great Explorers, ... 28

Grants made to the London and Plymouth Companies, . 38

Early Settlements in Virginia and Maryland, ... 40

The New England Colonies, 37

New Netherland in 1656, .... 72

The Carolina Grant by Charter of 1665, . ... 75

The Middle Colonies, 80

Location of Indians in the Seventeenth Century, . • 99

The Explorations or Champlain, 105

The Routes of the French Explorers, . . ... 109

North America in 1689 and 1713 (colored), 112

The French and Indian Wars, 1689-1748, .... 114

.French Posts and Portages in th« West, .... 116

Western Forts — French and Indian War, .... 121

European Possessions by Treaty of Paris (colored), • 125

The VknNiTY of Boston During the Siege, 155

The Campaign of 1776, 163

Campaigns of 1777, 166

The West During the Revolution, 179

xv

Xfi Lid of Map*

PAOB

Thb War in the Southern States, . 177

Map Showing thb Position of the French and American Troops at Yorktown 178

The United States in 1783 (colored), ...... 187

Wayne's Campaign and Treaty of Greenville, ... 231

Presidential Election of 1800, 236

The United States in 1803 (colored) 246

War, 1812, on the Northern Frontier, 262

Leading Roads and Waterways, 1825 (colored), . . • 278

Election of 1824, 295

Election of 1828, , 295

Canals and Railroads, 1840 (colored), 296

Texas at the Time of Annexation, 329

Western Part of the United States in 1850, • • • 338

Acquisition of Territory, 1789-1853 (colored), . . 319

Distribution of Population, I860, 353

Railways in 1860 355

Charleston Harbor, . . . . 375

The Vicinity of Washington, 371

The United States in 1861, 378

The Seat of War in the West, 382

McClellan's Campaign in Virginia, 1862 387

Campaigns in the East, 1862-1863, 389

Map of the Battle of Gettysburg, 393

The Vickbburg and Chattanooga Campaigns, • • • 394

List of Maps xvii

PAOB

Map Illustrating Sherman's March to the Sea, . • • 409

Election Map op 1876, . 447

Population Map, 1880, 461

Election Map of 1896, 482

The Philippine Islands, 500

The West Indies and Adjacent Shores, 501

The Commerce of the Pacific (colored), .... 505

Movement of Centers of Population and Manufactures, 1790-1910, 508

Panama Canal and United States Canal Strip, • • .514

The Vanderrilt Railroad System, • ••••• 517

Election Maps of 1908 and 1912, 540

Pacific Possessions and Routes via Panama Canal, . 543

The Route of General Pershing's Troops into Mexico, 550

Submarine War Zone Proclaimed by Germany, February 1, 1917 555

Mdutary Map of the United States, 570

The Western Front, 575

The Meuse-Argonne Battle, 577

Chapter I The Discovery Of America

The geographical separation of the American continents from those of the Eastern Hemisphere is the first great fact in their history. It was, in part, a consequence of this fact that there was an entire lack of contact between the peoples of Europe and the New World during the many centuries when civilization was developing in the former. The original inhabitants of America were entirely uninfluenced by European ideas, and never developed beyond a primitive stage of civilization. When, at last, the streams of influence began to flow between the Old World and the New, the civilization that crossed the Atlantic was not Oriental, nor classic, nor medieval, but modern. America came under European influence precisely at the time when the new life and the new spirit of progress that characterize modern times were becoming dominant.

The long isolation of America was due to the obstacles TheNortkthat lay in the -^ray of its discovery by Europeans. These meni vojrwere, briefly, (1) die great ocean that lay between; (2) the lack of adequate means of navigation; and (3) the lack of the spirit of adventure and geographical inquiry, or its employment in other directions. These difficulties were temporarily overcome five centuries before the time of Columbus by the hardy and adventurous Northmen of the Scandinavian peninsula. They had made conquests upon the coasts of England and ot northern France, and had penetrated even to Mediterranean countries. They

A*tfEriosailed in their long boats* to Iceland (874 A.D.), and there built up a considerable colony. Greenland was next found, and here Norse settlements existed for several centuries. In the year 1000, Leif Ericson, sailing from Norway for Greenland, lost his way and explored for some distance along a strange coast, which we may believe was that of Nova Scotia or of New England. In one locality he found grapes in abundance; and so we have the name Wineland, Bon^nST or Vinland. Other voyages followed that of Leif, and viniand. timber was carried from Vinland to Greenland and to Iceland. The Northmen traded for furs with the Indians, or "skraelings," as they called the natives, and, of course, quarrels arose between them which led o the abandonment of the colony. The Norse occupation of American coasts was not renewed because of the difficulty and unprofitableness of the voyage.

This account follows the old Norse traditions or eagas, which were first written in permanent form about two centuries after the events they describe. It is impossible to tell how many of the details of the accounts are true. Since no tangible remains of the Norse settlements exist, the exact location of their explorations cannot be determined. Probably the Norse visits to Vinland had no influence upon the discovery of America by Columbus; for the knowledge of them seems to have had no existence in southern Europe during the Middle Ages.

Ancient It has been stated that before the fifteenth century the

oTthe*188 people °' Europe lacked the means of navigation, and sphericity the curiosity and determination that were necessary to *be earth0' surmount the difficulties of a trans-Atlantic voyage. The idea that such a voyage was possible had not been lacking; it was, in fact, based upon the belief in the sphericity of the earth. This belief was of very ancient origin, having been taught by the Greeks of the sixth century

* It was the custom of the Northmen to make a sea-roving chieftain's boat his tomb and to cover it with a huge mound of earth. One of these Viking ships was unearthed at Gokstad, Norway, in 1880, and another at Oseberg in 1903. Each is over one hundred feet long. See Century Magazine, September, 1905. 729-733.

Its transit Discovery of America 3

before Christ. Aristotle (fourth century B.C.), Strabo (contemporaneous with Christ), Pliny (first century A.D.)f and Claudius Ptolemy (about 150, A.D.), are among the learned men of Greece and Rome who taught this fact. Moreover, the size of the earth had been approximately calculated, although ancient authorities never reached an agreement upon this matter. This knowledge concerning the shape and size of the earth did not die out with the decline of learning that took place during the Middle wAaioava Ages; but, preserved by the Arabians and by the scholars modem of the monasteries, it was transmitted to the time of Columbus. At this time "astronomers, philosophers, men of general learning, and even navigators and pilots were quite familiar with the idea and quite in the habit of thinking of the earth as a sphere." *

In the Colombina Library at Seville there may be seen a Latin treatise upon geography written by Cardinal D'Ailly or Alliacus, a learned theologian and philosopher; and upon its margins are annotations in the handwriting of Columbus. Now, this author (writing about 1400) quotes Roger Bacon (about 1250), who in turn quotes Aristotle as authority upon these matters. Thus "the torch which Aristotle had kindled was transmitted by Bacon to Alliacus; Alliacus handed it on to Columbus, "f

Nor did the geographers of ancient times hesitate to follow their ideas to logical conclusions; viz., that the great sea which lay west of the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar) was the same that washed the eastern shores of Asia; and that a vessel sailing westward from Spain would surely reach those shores. Such beliefs were, of course, confined to the learned few and to navigators. The mass of people in both ancient and medieval times held the conception of a fiat earth, surrounded by oceans, and covered by the dome-like heavens.

* Cheyney, European Background of American History, 52.

t Payne. History of America, I, 50. For a reproduction of AIMacus's treatise showing the annotations of Coiumbus, see Wilson, History of the American People. I. 3. Also Winsor, Narrative and Critical History. I. 31.

Am&,icun History

Geographical discovery was one phase of the Reteprove-

snents in navigation.

At the beginning of modern times, conditions became uvorable for the accomplishment of the trans-Atlantic voyage and the discovery of America.

1. The fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries mark a transition period in the history of civilization; for there came about in these centuries many changes presaging the new intellectual activity of modern times. This was the high tide of the Renaissance. The human mind was assuming the attitude of inquiry toward both nature and man. Hence we have notable contributions to civilization not only in the fields of art and literature but also in those of science and invention. We find at this time evidences of that modern scientific curiosity coupled with the practical spirit of enterprise which had been lacking in ancient and medieval times, and which we may regard as an indispensable condition for the discovery of the New World by the Old. This was the age of exploration — men were making geographical discoveries in all directions. The reaching out for new lands was but one form in which the intellectual activity of the new era found expression. The epoch-making voyage of Columbus was not an isolated event, but only one in a long series of discoveries. "The greatest fruit of the Renaissance was America."*

2. In the time of Columbus the facilities for making an extensive ocean voyage were better than ever before. The compass, probably derived by the Arabs from the Chinese, had teen used in navigation for several centuries, and gradually mariners had become emboldened by its use. The astrolabe, by means of which latitude could be determined from observations of the heavenly bodies, was a great aid to navigation. In the thirteenth century the small galleys of ancient times began to be superseded b/ high-built vessels fit to navigate the ocean and large enough to carry the stores needed on a long voyage.

3. The immediate cause, supplying the impulse foi the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, was commercial.

* Payne, History of Ameri"

The Discovery of America

It was simply the necessity for opening up new routes trwfe wt* for commerce with the Orient. The old routes, as JJJi^JJJ^. shown on the accompanying map, had been in use since lated by ancient times. India and other eastern countries had ' * been, from time immemorial, the sources of luxuries and

6^ 0**

A V

* f

' fi~

^to^Tt

© v

Q I

v I

O \ A l M D I 4 > J {/ 0 0 X A

Medieval Trade Routes.

riches craved by the people of Mediterranean countries. That great movement of the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries known as the Crusades had brought Europeans into closer contact with travellers and traders from the East; thus new products were introduced into Europe, the routes and methods of trade became more familiar, and from this time the growth of commerce became very marked. The sugar and spices, silks and jewels, drugs and oils of the East were exchanged for the iron, tin, lead, grains, wool, soap, and furs of the Mediterranean and Baltic countries.

UtMrf Fifteenth-century Europeans believed that the commercial

possibilities of that indefinite and almost unknown region called u India," were by no means fully developed. Vague stories were afloat concerning the untold riches of that land and of others lying beyond. From Cathay (China) had come accounts of populous empires and their enormous resources. Marco Polo, an Italian, had first travelled in Cathay, and later had lived there for seventeen years in official service. His accounts of the country and its riches, written about two centuries before the discovery of America, and while he was lying in a Genoese prison, were now being studied with great interest.

The necessity for a new route to the eastern countries came about when, in the fourteenth century, the Turks began to attack the caravans and to restrict the trade by the old routes. Constantinople was captured by the Turks in 1453; and before the end of the fifteenth century a like fate was suffered by all the cities that were centres of European trade on the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. Trade was not forbidden, but the supply of eastern products available for European markets was very much reduced, because merchants were burdened with restrictions, because life and property became unsafe, and because the barbarous Turks, caring little themselves for the luxuries of the East, cared less to import them for sale in the West. At the same time, the growth of wealth in European countries gave rise to an increased demand for these goods. The Red Sea route was not closed until the Turks captured Egypt, early in the sixteenth century; but the Arabs had a monopoly of the trade by this route, and raised the prices. AllwesternEuropefelttheburdenofthesa new conditions; and itwas the determination to open up new highways of commerce with the East and thus at one* to

The Discovery of Amerieo 7

thwart the enmity o/ the Turks and to introduce com,, jtftion with the Arabs, that led to the discovery of America.

Christopher Columbus

Mann* HoMom, Madrid

Contemporaneously with these changes, others of great The (nfl*

consequence were taking place. The nations of western £){£<£'

Europe, whose borders touched the Atlantic Ocean, were Henry •*

rising into prominence, and foremost among them was the portu•,,• little kingdom of Portugal. Prince Henry of Portugal

(1394-1460), gave great encouragement not only to scientific investigation but also to practical exploration. By the year 1460 Portugese navigators had visited all the island groups that lay off the coast of Africa — the Madeiras, the Canaries, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands — and were pushing their voyages gradually southward along the coast of that continent. Besides the trading motive that incited these voyages there c&ne to be a conscious attempt to discover a new route to India, an attempt based upon the current belief (this in turn based upon classic authorities) that Africa did not extend so far south as the equator. Therefore, it was argued, a short voyage to India could be made around this continent. During the third quarter of the fifteenth century the Portuguese voyagers sailed farther south on the western coast of Africa, crossing the equator in 1471, and later finding longer stretches of coast to the southward. Tfcf**w( Columbus had lived in Portugal, probably between !j^*flttw' 1470 and 1486, and during a large part of this time was in the maritime service of that country. Consequently he was familiar with the advanced ideas of geography and navigation there prevalent. It was his contention that the shortest water route to India lay due west across the Atlantic Ocean, rather than around Africa. Ptiaegeo- Although, in ancient times, a close approximation had SJjjJl]10*1 been made to the actual size of the earth, it was the belief if Columbus that the islands lying off the eastern coast of Asia were distant from the Canaries only 2,500 miles. This view is explained by the fact that, according to many authorities of his time, Asia extended eastward for a distance equal to the entire width of the Pacific Ocean. This geographical error was most fortunate for Columbus; for had his knowledge of the distance between Europe and Asia been accurate, he would probably never have undertaken the voyage.

The ambition of Columbus was aided by another geographical misconception; viz., that in the mid-Atlantic islands existed that

The Discovery of America 9

would serve as half-way stage* on the western voyage. English and Portuguese sailors had repeatedly set forth to find these fabled islands, but without success.

In the biography of Columbus, written by his son Ferdinand, Thelatten we are told that a famous doctor of Florence, Toscanelli by *?£ ™J*£ name, wrote letters, first to a friend in Portugal and later to JJeujJ80** Columbus, sustaining the geographical ideas above stated and encouraging the execution of a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Accompanying his letter in each case was a map showing the proximity of Asia to the western coast of Europe, and also showing, in favorable positions, various islands that we know to be mythical. It is said in the biography that Columbus carried a copy of this map when on his first voyage.

The most eminent authorities disagree upon many points in the life of Columbus. We may be certain that he led a seafaring life during his youth and that his occupation as a man was mapind chart-making. He went on many voyages, and probably visited the coasts of Africa and of Iceland. He was a deep student of all available writings upon geography and navigation. His convictions were based upon years of patient study.

Bv the end of the fifteenth century the times were ripe for the long-postponed transatlantic voyage; the idea of its possibility rested upon a secure foundation; many bold voyages were being undertaken, and Portugal was the centre of maritime activity. Here Columbus first made an effort t6 secure aid in the execution of his plans. But the Portuguese were interested in the route around Africa. Columbus was, in consequence, forced to seek aid elsewhere, and in 1484 he went to Spain, at the same time sending his brother Bartholomew to England.

In his application for aid at the Court of Spain Colum- The expert bus dwelt mainly upon the commercial advantages that SJJImbus would certainly result from his success; and upon the pros- in Spain, pect of carrying the Christian religion to the heathen peoples of the East. For years he pleaded in vain. The greatest obstacle to his success was the fact that the Span* ish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, were then engaged in that fierce struggle with the Moors which ended in 1492 with the capture of Granada. When the war was over, Columbus was summoned to the court, and then arose another obstacle which nearly defeated his plans. The terms upon which Columbus was willing to lead his expedition were, in view of the attendant risk, considered altogether too high. But finally, through the efforts of influential friends of Columbus, Queen Isabella authorized the expedition.

In the negotiations preceding his voyage, we mark the perseverance of Columbus as that of a really great man; his practical wisdom is seen in his demand that the expedition should be equipped on a scale large enough to accomplish the end in view; and his supreme faith and courage challenge our admiration. He dared to do what others had only dreamed of. itMtau The first voyage, from its beginning at Palos in Spain

■****" until the discovery of a small island in the Bahama group, on October 12, 1492, lasted ten weeks. We must hold constantly in mind the fact that Columbus believed that the lands discovered were Asiatic. It was well know* that many islands lay to the south and east of Asia, When, however, Columbus reached the northern coast oi Cuba, and when on his second voyage (1493), he explored its southern coast, he believed that he was on the main land of Cochin China. To him, Hayti was the northern end of Cipango (Japan) — that wonderfully rich island of which Marco Polo had written exaggerated reports. The first and second voyages were disappointing; only small quantities of gold had been found, and the populous cities of India still lay beyond. In the conviction that his goal lay farther south, Columbus directed his third voyage (1498) that way, and found the northern coast of South America at the mouth of the Orinoco River. This he spoke of as "the main land and very large"; and again as "another world." In the same year, the Portuguese navigator, Vasco da Gama, sailed around Africa to India and returned with a rich cargo. This proved a serious blow to the reputation of Columbus, and constituted one cause for the discoverer's decline in favor. Added to this

The Discovery of America were the failure of the colonies that he had planted in the West Indies and the machinations of his enemies both in the colonies and at the Spanish Court. But Columbus was permitted to make one more effort to penetrate the obstacles that lay between Spain and India. In 1502-1504 he skirted the coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama in a vain effort to find the straits that would lead him into the Indian Ocean.

Columbus died in 1506, a broken and defeated old man, still believing that he had found Asia and the Indies, and south of these "another world."