An abridged history of the United States, for the use of schools

Front matter

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Part First. Discovery And Settlement

CHAPTER

I. Discovery by the Northmen — Columbus— The Cabots—

Vespucci — Cortereal, . . . . . .15

II. The Spanish Explorers — Ponce de Leon, Ayllon, Narvaez, De Soto — The First Missionaries — The Spaniards and Huguenots in Florida — St. Francis Borgia and Pope St. Pius V. and the Indians, ... 23 III. French Adventurers and Missionaries — Settlement of Canada — The Jesuits in Maine and New York — Exploration of the Mississippi — Marquette, Joliet, La Salle, 31 IV. First English Settlements — Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Walter Raleigh — 'The Plymouth and London Companies — The Dutch — Claims of the European Powers, 35 V. The English in Virginia — Captain John Smith — Pocahontas — Powhatan, ....... 41

VI. Virginia continued — Political Development — Character

of the Colony, . . . . . . . . 45

VII. New England — The Pilgrims — State and Church — The

Quakers — Roger Williams, . . . . . 49

VIII. New Hampshire — Maine — Connecticut, ... 59

IX. NewNetherland — Character of the Dutch Colony — ^New

X. The Catholic Colony of Maryland — Lord Baltimore —

Freedom of Worshio destroyed by the Protestants, . 64 XI. Indian Troubles — King Philip's War, . . . .71

XII. TheCarolinas — Georgia — William Penn — Pennsylvania, 74 XIII. The Colonies and the Crown — The Charter Oak — Leisler's Rebellion in New York—" The Negro Plot "— Salem Witchcraft .78

Part Second. Colonial Wars

XIV. French and English Rivalries — Enterprises of the

French — King William's War, . . ... 83

Contents,

CHAPTER PAGE

XV. Queen Anne's War— Father Rale— King George's War, 86 XVI. The French in the Mississippi Valley — Progress of the English Colonies — The French and Indian War — George Washington — Benjamin Franklin, . . 90

XVII. The French and Indian War, continued — Braddock's

Defeat— The Acadians 97

XVIII. The Ministry of the Elder Pitt— The Struggle for Canada — Montcalm and Wolfe — Fall of Quebec— Results of the War — The Conspiracy of Pontiac, . . . 101

Part Third. The Revolution

XIX. Condition of the Colonies after the War— Restrictions

on Trade— The Stamp Act, 107

XX. The Boston Massacre — Destruction of Tea — The Boston

Port Bill— The First Continental Congress, . . Ill

XXI. The War Begins — Lexington — Concord — Ticonderoga

—Bunker Hill, 115

XXII. Washington Commander-in-Chief — Operations in Canada

— Siege of Boston, ....... 120

XXIII. The Movement for Independence — Proceedings in the

Congress — The Declaration Adopted, . . . 125

XXIV. The British at New York— Battle of Long Island—

Carleton on Lake Champlain — Battle of White Plains, 129 XXV. Washington and Cornwallis in the Jerseys — Battle of

Trenton — Battle of Princeton, ..... 133

XXVI. Assistance from France — The Navy — Foreign Officers — Battle of the Brandyvi^ine — Occupation of Philadelphia — Battle of Germantown, ...... 135

XXVII, Burgoyne's Invasion — Battle of Bennington — Surrender

XXVIII. Operations of 1778 — Alliance vi'ith France — Battle of

Monmouth — Massacre of Wyoming, .... 143

XXIX. The War in the South— Capture of Stony Point— Hostilities with the Indians — Exploit of John Paul Jones, . 147 XXX. Capture of Charleston — Outrages in the South—Defeat

of Gates — The Partisan Bands, ..... 152

XXXI. Treason of Benedict Arnold — Execution of Major A.ndre, 155 XXXII, Arrival of Count Rochambeau — Revolt among the Troops

— Greene in the South, ...... 158

Contents.

XXXIII. Siege of Yorktown — Surrender of Cornwallis — The End

of th-e War, 162

Part Fourth. The Union

XXXIV. The Constitution — Administration of Washington — Disputes with England 167

XXXV. Settlement of the West, 173

XXXVI. The Catholic Church in the United States at the end of

the Rerolution, 176

XXXVII. John Adams President, 1797-1801 — Hostilities with

France — Death of Washington, ..... 180 XXXVIII. Thomas Jefferson President, 1801-1S09 — Purchase of Louisiana — War with the Barbary States — Aaron Burr — Trouble with England and France, . . . 184 XXXIX. James Madison President, 1809-1817 — Second War with

England, 187

XL. War on the Niagara Frontier — Lundy's Lane — Battle of Plattsburg — Capture of Washington — Battle of New

Orleans-End of the War 191

XLI. The Barbary Pirates — James Monroe President, 1817- 1821 — Purchase of Florida — Slavery — The Missouri Compromise — The Monroe Doctrine — Indian Missions, .......... 195

XLII. John Quincy Adams, 1825-1829 — Andrew Jackson,

1829-1S37 — The United States Bank — Nullification —

Indian Wars — Railroads — Martin Van Buren, 1837-

1841 — William Henry Harrison, 1841, . . . 199

XLIII. John Tyler President, 1841-1845 — Native American

Riots — Texas — Annexation, ..... 203

XLIV. Campaign of Taylor — Capture of California — Campaign

of Scott— Fall of Mexico— The Treaty of Peace, . 204 XLV. California and New Mexico — The Missions — Discovery

of Gold, 208

XLVI. Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, and Pierce, 1849-1857 — The Know-Nothings — Reorganization of Parties — The Mormons — The Atlantic Telegraph, . . . 211 XLVII. The Slavery Agitation Increasing — The Compromise of 1850— The Fugitive Slave Law — The Kansas-Nebraska Bill — Repeal of the Missouri Compromise — War

8 Contents,

PAGE in Kansas — Dred Scott — John Brown — Election of Abraham Lincoln 215

Part Fifth. The Civil War

XLVIII. Southern States Secede — The Confederacy Organized — Fort Siimter — Bull Run — The Neutral States — The Blockade and the Navy— The Trent Affair, . . 219 XLIX. Second Year of the War — Forts Henry and Donelson — Shiloh — Bragg and Buell in Kentucky — Bragg and Rosecrans — Capture of New Orleans— The Merrimac

and the Monitor, 225

L. Second Year of the War, continued — McClellan on the Peninsula — Pope in Virginia — Second Battle of Bull Run — Invasion of Maryland — Battle of Antietam — Battle of Fredericksburg, ...... 231

LI. Third Year of the War — Chancellorsville — Gettysburg — Vicksburg — The Draft — Chickamauga — Chattanooga — Confederate Cruisers, ...... 237

LII. Fourth Year of the War— Grant in Command of all the Armies — His Advance towards Richmond — The Wilderness — Petersburg— Early and Sheridan — Sherman's Atlanta Campaign — Thomas at Nashville — The March to the Sea — Farragut at Mobile — Fort Fisher — Re-election of President Lincoln, . . . . 242

LIII. Sherman in the Carolinas — Fall of Richmond — End of

the War — Assassination of the President, . . . 250

Part Sixth. The Union Restored

LIV. End of Slavery — Reconstruction — Impeachment of President Johnson — President Grant — The Treaty of Washington — The Centenary of Independence — President Hayes — President Garfield — President Arthur — President Cleveland, .254

LV. The Catholic Church in the United States. . . . 259

The value of the study of history as a means of education is so evident as hardly to need statement. The young reflect but little ; their knowledge is of facts and events, not of principles ; and their thoughts and conversation habitually assume the historic form of narration. They seldom speak of what they think or have thought, but constantly of what they have seen or undergone ; and hence the youthful mind finds more interest and instruction in the deeds than in the thoughts of men. The knowledge thus acquired is also the truest, for what we do is a more real expression of ourselves than what we think. Action is not only intelligible to every one, but its effects are often highly picturesque and appeal strongly to the imagination. History has thus the force of example. By bringing us into almost living contact with the greatest and most highly endowed members of our race, it fills us with admiration for what is noble and heroic. The effort to preserve the memory of high and worthy deeds is universal. There is no tribe so rude as not to have some record of its struggles and victories, and the most civiHzed nation has no deeper lesson of wisdom to teach than that which is conveyed by its own history. It is needless to msist upon this, for no one is so unreasonable as to imagine that the study of history should be excluded from the process of education.

* Reprinted from Hassard's larger " History of the United States,"

I o Introduction,

We Americans have a history which if not ancient is honorable. The charm that is given by the consecrating and beautifying power of time is indeed wanting. The thrilling and soul-stirring incidents of an age of chivalry are absent ; embattled castles frown not down upon us, and the pageant of plumed knights and highborn ladies passes not before our eyes. We seem to tread a lower plane. As of old the Israelites with no king but God entered into the promised land, so the people took possession of this New World, to which the Cross of Christ, like the pillar of fire of other days, led the way. The principles and elements of Christian civilization they brought with them to give vigor and strength in a new world to new social forms and systems. They were in a very true sense a chosen people entrusted with a Providential mission, upon the fulfilment of which the future of a large and important portion of the human race is dependent ; and as the highest object of a nation cannot be self-defence, or wealth, or any other outward good, this mission must be associated with principles which are intimately related to the moral welfare and progress of the race. Our growth has been prodigious, our prosperity unbounded, our enterprise and industry keen and unwearying. The wilderness has fled from the face of a resistless army of pioneers ; populous and well-built cities, the centres of a commerce that extends to the end of the world, have sprung up as while men slept ; steam and electricity have made a thousand miles as but a step ; upon our wide-extending plains and prairies the richest harvests wave, and from the exhaustless earth we dig the most precious ores. At the same time the opportunities of education and the means of acquiring knowledge have been brought within the reach of every one.

All this, however, is bat the work of preparation — a removal of obstacles. If our society fails to reconcile material with moral progress, and to develop man's higher nature while satisfying his lower wants, it is defective and contains within itself the germ of its dissolution. For the end of society is not to multiply indefinitely the means and opportunities of indulgence, but to form strong and noble men and women ; and such characters are not created by indulgence but by self-control, which comes of self-denial. The progress of industries, the growth of material and mechanical civilization, are interesting ; but unless our views of human nature are to undergo a radical change there are other things which more nearly concern us. Dr. Brown son maintained that the mission of the United States is to reconcile authority with liberty, to establish the sovereignty of the people without social despotism, and individual freedom without anarchy. But this is the common aim of all free states, and can, therefore, hardly be considered as the peculiar mission of any nation. Americans have hitherto been accustomed to emphasize the value of liberty, and to consider authority as in some w^ay or other dangerously allied to despotism ; they are now beginning to perceive, however, that if tyranny lurks in the shadow of authority, anarchy may very readily assume the garb of liberty ; and that if a despot is ever to rule over us, he will be lifted to power by the lawless rabble, and not by those who respect and love authority. And this reveals an all-important social mission of the Church in the United States. Tliere are various forces at work in modern society which weaken the spirit of patriotism. The facility and cheapness of travel brings about an increasing friendly intercommunion of the civilized peoples of the world^ by

1 2 IntrodiLction, which national prejudice and hatred are being insensibly destroyed. The introduction of machinery has produced relations between capital and labor which are substantially the same in all manufacturing countries ; and as the working classes feel themselves aggrieved and at a disadvantage, they merge their national sentiments and seek to make common cause. Again, the frequency of revolution and the notorious un worthiness of politicians have brought government into disrepute, and, though there is a distinction between the country and the government, yet the one cannot be despised without a corresponding diminution of the love and reverence which we bear the other. And finally, as religion is always the surest inspiration and support of patriotism, the breaking down of religious beliefs in various modern nations, and notably in our own, is accompanied by a loss of patriotism. As the love of country grows cold men cease to take an interest in public affairs, or are influenced by selfish motives. Local questions take precedence of national interests, and the spirit of sectional and partisan strife is substituted for the lofty and ennobling passion of patriotism. Reverence for authority is lost, and society, in order to protect itself, is driven to appeal to force Nothing can avert this danger but the influence of a great moral power, endowed with all the attributes which create respect and encourage obedience. The Catholic Church is this power, and the mission which she is destined to fulfil in behalf of American society is as yet hardly suspected, though an observant mind cannot fail to perceive its vast importance.

No other religion in the United States has unity of doctrine and discipline, or the consciousness of definite purposes, or a great and venerable history, or the confidence born of a thousand triumphs and of victories wrung from defeat. No other thoroughly trusts its destiny, or dares boldly proclaim its heavenly mission and infallible authority. It is the only historic religion among us. Outside the Church there are shifting views, opinions, and theories ; but there is no organic growth and progressive development of faith and discipline. Whatever may be thought of this, it can no longer be denied that Catholics are a living and growing element in American society ; and hence it is not possible to ignore their views on subjects which have a bearing upon the destiny and welfare of our common country. For my own part, I believe that he who will do most to form the character of the Catholic youth of America, will also have done most to mould the future of the American people. In any event, it is the manifest duty of those who are entrusted with the education of our children to see that in learning the history of their country they do not lose sight of the rise, progress, and social influence of the Church in the United States. The sense of the urgency and importance of this obligation has led the publishers of the Young Catholic s School Series to add the present work to their list of textbooks. The author's reputation as a careful and thoughtful writer is of itself sufficient assurance that his task has been well performed. The book has, however, been submitted for examination to competent judges, some of them non-Catholics, and they are unanimous in praise of its merits ; and if I may be permitted to express my own opinion, I will say that I know of no other school history of the United States which is distinguished by so many excellences. The style is clear and simple, the narrative lucid and flowing ; the description of remarkable incidents brief but vivid ; and through the whole book there breathes the spirit of candor and truth.

No attempt is made to prove a point, or to establish a theory, or to arrange the events of our history so as to make them illustrate any particular law or principle. Facts are stated simply as they occurred and are left to tell their own story. The tone and temper in which the work is written at once removes all suspicion of sectional, partisan, or religious prejudice. The writer is a Catholic, and is therefore able to rise above the spirit of party.

+.J. L. SPALDING.

Peoria, Feast of the Assumption, 1878.

CHAPTER I. Discovery by the Northmen — Columbus — The Cabots — •Vespucci

cortereal.

1. Early Inhabitants. — The earliest inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere of whom we have any knowledge were a dark-skinned people, divided into many tribes and families, and speaking different languages. Throughout the greater part of both continents they were wandering savages who lived chiefly by the chase. In Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America they had made some progress towards a settled and civilized life.

2. Voyages of the Northmen, and First Christian Settlement. — Greenland was discovered in the ninth century by an Icelander named Gunnbiorn, whose ship was driven thither by a storm. About one hundred years afterwards Greenland was visited by another Icelander named Eric. He explored it, and brought over a large body of colonists, with whom he founded two settlements on the west coast, and thence, dating from the year looo, expeditions sailed as far south as Narraganset Bay, and probably even to the Bay of New York. Leif, the son of Eric, finding quantities of grapes about the shores of Narraganset Bay, gave the name of Vinland {vineland) to the fertile and beautiful country.

3. Iceland having been converted to Christianity about this time, missionaries soon came over to the North American colonists, and the Greenland settlements are said to have had at one period sixteen churches, two monasteries, and a bishop. The colonies were destroyed in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and, as communication between Iceland and the rest of the world was difficult and infrequent, the discoveries of Eric and Leif were forgotten by their own countrymen, and never known by the other peoples of Europe.

4. Christopher Columbus. — The existence of America was therefore unsuspected by the Christian world when Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, conceived the idea that, by sailing westward from some port in Europe, he could reach the shores of Asia.

Commerce with the Indies was in the fifteenth century one of the chief objects of European enterprise, and the discovery of a short route to those rich countries was the favorite dream of maritime adventurers. Columbus knew that the earth was round, but he supposed it to be much smaller than it really is.

5. Character and Aims of Columbus. — In seeking for a short way to India he hoped to become an instrument for the conversion of the heathen and the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre. " It is a curious and characteristic fact," says Washington Irving, " which has never been particularly noticed, that the recovery of the Holy Sepulchre was one of the great objects of his ambition, meditated throughout the remainder of his life and solemnly provided for in his will."

6. Columbus at the Court of Spain. — Columbus explained his project and applied for aid at first to the republic of Genoa ; then to the king of Portugal ; then to Henry VII. of

Christopher Columbus.

Columbus at the Spanish Court. i 7

Isabella the Catholic.

England ; next, it is said, to the republic of Venice, and afterward to certain Spanish nobles. Disappointed in all these applications, he had recourse, in 1485, to the court of Spain. Ferdinand of Aragon, and his devout and highminded queen, Isabella of Castile, uniting their dominions, had raised the Spanish monarchy at this period to great power and renown.

7. They listened to Colum- \ bus with respect, and Isabella in particular was deeply moved by his religious projects. Cardinal Mendoza, archbishop of Toledo, and several other Spanish churchmen, also favored his designs ; but a commission of learned men to whom Ferdinand referred the matter pronounced the scheme vain and impracticable, and after seven years' delay Columbus turned his steps toward France. 8. On the way he stopped to beg a little bread and water at the convent of La Rabida {rah-bee'-dah), near the small seaport of Palos, in Andalusia.

The prior, Juan Perez, who had formerly been the queen's confessor, after hearing his story, persuaded him to remain at the convent while he renewed the application to Isabella. The good prior pleaded the cause of his guest with

Fr, Juan Perez, l8 Abridged History of the United States.

so much ability that Isabella sent for Columbus, and offered to pledge her jewels if the funds for the expedition could be obtained in no other way,

9. Columbus Discovers the New World. — The fleet, which at last set sail from Palos {pah'-loce) on the 3d of August, 1492, consisted of three small vessels, the Santa Maria {jnahree-ah\ Fin'ta^ and Ni'na {nee n -yah), two of which were light barks, called caravels, without decks. None of them was fit for an ocean voyage. Columbus sailed in the Santa Maria, and the two caravels were commanded by the brothers Martin Alonzo Pinzon {peen-thon) and Vincente Yaiiez {yahn'-yeth) Pinzon. On the morning of their departure the whole expedition confessed and received Holy Communion.

The Route of Columbus.

10. They sailed first to the Canary Islands. Thence Columbus was persuaded that by keeping due west for about twenty-two hundred miles he should reach the island of Cipango, or Japan, which he supposed to lie in about the situation actually occupied by Florida. His men became alarmed at the length of the voyage, and were on the point of mutiny when, on the night of the nth of October, 1492, the thirtysixth . day after leaving the Canary Islands, Columbus saw a light, and at two o'clock on the following morning land was made out from the Pinta.

11. Landing on San Salvador. — Soon after daylight they

First Voyage of Columbus.

landed on a beautiful island, one of the group now known as the Bahamas. Columbus gave it the name of San Salvador. The natives called it Guanahani {gwah-?iah-hah' -nee). Reaching the shore the discoverers fell on their knees to

The Landing of Columbus.

thank God, and then, planting the cross and the Spanish standard, took solemn possession of the island in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella, while the natives crowded about them and revered them as superior beings descended from heaven.

12. Columbus in the West Indies. — In the course of twelve weeks Columbus visited several of the Bahamas, discovered Cuba, which he supposed to be part of the mainland of Asia, visited the island of Hayti {hay'-tee), naming it Hispanio'la, or Little Spain, and leaving thirty-nine men to form a colony on its coast; then, after losing, the Santa Maria by shipwreck, he sailed again for Spain,

20 AbiHdged History of the United States.

13. Columbus Returns to Spain. — He re-entered the port of Palos, March 15, 1493, after an absence of seven months. Extraordinary honors were lavished upon him, and he was conducted in triumph to the court of Barcelona, taking with him several Indians and a quantity of gold, curious birds and animals, and other products of the New World. A second expedition was immediately fitted out under his command. It consisted of seventeen ships and fifteen hundred men, well supplied with everything necessary for the establishment of a colony. Twelve missionaries accompanied the fleet, one of them, Father Bernardo Boyle, a Benedictine, having the rank of vicar-apostolic.

14. Second Voyage of Columbus. — Columbus sailed on his second voyage September 25, 1493. He found the settlement on the island of Hispaniola in ruins and all the colonists dead, their excesses having provoked the hostility of the natives. After building a town, which he called Isabella, erecting a church, and making arrangements to collect gold, he explored the coasts of Hispaniola and Cuba, discovered Jamaica, Porto Rico (^ree-co), and other islands, and on his return to Spain left his brother Bartholomew in command of the settlement.

15. Third Voyage of Columbus and Discovery of the Mainland.— On his third voyage, in 1498, he discovered the South American continent and entered the mouth of the river Orino'co. Mutinies, however, broke out in the colony. The misconduct of the Spaniards thwarted the labors of the missionaries, turned the amiable natives into cruel enemies, and lessened the expected profits of the crown. The intrigues of dissatisfied and avaricious adventurers made so much impression upon the court that an ofiicer was sent out to investigate the affairs of the colony. He listened to everything that was said against the admiral, and finally sent him home in chains. Isabella, indignant at this outrage, caused Columbus to be honored with new marks of the royal favor ; but he was never restored to his government, and after the

Voyages of Cabot, OJeda, and Coriereal. 2 1

death of the queen, Ferdinand treated hmi with neglect and injustice.

16. Fourth Voyage of Columbus; His Death. — He made a fourth voyage in 1502, in the hope of discovering a passage from the Caribbean Sea into the Indian Ocean, and on this expedition, which was crowded with disaster, he explored part of the coast of Central America. He died in poverty and distress at Valladolid {val-lak-do-lid') in 1506. He never knew that he had found a new world, but supposed to the last that he had reached eastern Asia.

17. Cabot Discovers the North American Continent. — In the meantime other expeditions had followed in the path pointed out by Columbus. John Cabot, a Venetian, sailed from England with a single vessel, under a commission from Henry VII., and on June 24, 1497, discovered the North American continent, more than a year before the mainland of South America was seen by Columbus. He traced the coast from Labrador or Cape Breton to Virginia. His son Sebastian the next year made another voyage, and sailed from Newfoundland to Cape Hatteras.

18. The Spaniards and Vespucci. — These English voyages had no immediate result. The Spaniards prosecuted their discoveries in South America with great energy, their most distinguished adventurer being Alonzo de Ojeda (o-hay' -daJi), one of the companions of Columbus. Ojeda was accompanied by a Florentine merchant named Amerigo Vespucci {a-meree'-go ves-poflt'-chee), who afterwards made a voyage of his own to Brazil and wrote the first published account of the New World. His work excited so much interest that the freshfound land was called America in his honor.

19. Voyages of Cortereal. — A Portuguese expedition under Caspar Cortereal {cor-tay-ray-at) was sent to look for a northern route to India in 1500. Either on this voyage or a second one, in 1501, Cortereal explored the American coast for five hundred or six hundred miles, being stopped by ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He seized a number of Indians as slaves, and called the country Labrador, a name which was afterwards transferred to a region further north. Cortereal never returned from his second voyage, and his fate is unknown.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who were the earliest known inhabitants of America?

2. When was Greenland discovered ? Describe Eric's vo)^ages.

3. What is said of Christianity in Greenland ? What was the fate of the colonies ?

4. What was the idea of Columbus ? What was his theory of the earth ?

5. What religious motives impelled him ?

6. To whom did he apply for aid ?

7. How was he received in Spain ?

8. How did the queen at last help him ?

9. When did he sail ? From what port ? Describe his fleet.

10. Describe the vo3'age. When was land seen ?

11. What was this land ? Describe the lauding of Columbus.

12. Give an account of the rest of the voyage.

13. How was Columbus received on his return ?

14. Give an account of his second vo3^age.

15. What did he discover on his third vo)'age ? When? How did the voyage end ?

16. Describe his fourth voyage. Did he ever known the extent of his discoveries ?

17. Who discovered the continent of North America? Describe the voyages of the Cabots.

18. Who was Ojeda? From whom was America named ?

19. What did Cortereal discover?

Chapter II

The Spanish Explorers — Ponce de Leon, Ayllon, Narvaez, De Soto— The First Missionaries— The Spaniards and Hugue- N./rs in Florida— St. Francis Borgia and Pope St. Pius V. AND the Indians.

1. Character of the Spanish Explorers. — The first Spanish explorers of the New World were animated by a thirst for daring adventure and a zeal for the Catholic religion which resembled the chivalrous enthusiasm of the Crusaders. But they had not the piety, pure sentiment, benevolence, and unselfish ambition of Columbus ; and while they invited missionaries to accompany their expeditions, in order to convert the savages, they were not willing to submit themselves to the instructions of these religious guides.

2. Next to the fascination of bold enterprise their chief impulse was a love of gold. The small quantity of that precious metal which they saw in the possession of the natives convinced them that there were mines and rich cities in the interior, and many hundreds of lives were lost in searching for them.

3. The Indians were distributed as slaves among the conquerors, and compelled to dig in mines, to cultivate the ground, and to serve instead of beasts of burden. Under hardships for which their previous way of life had not prepared them they died with awful rapidity. Queen Isabella suppressed these cruel abuses, but they were revived after her death. Bartholomew de Las Casas, the first priest ordained in the New World, devoted himself with extraordinary ardor to the relief of the poor natives, and made several voyages to Spain to demand redress from the crown.