A source history of the United States, from discovery (1492) to end of reconstruction (1877) for use in high schools, normal schools, and colleges

Front matter

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

A Source History of the United States

From. Discovery (1492) to End of Rcconsfructioii ( iSyy)

Section I-discovery And Exploration, 1492- 1566 2-17

1. The Columbian Discovery and Its Effects 4-8

a. The Motives of Columbus 4

b. The Discovery and Its Immediate Effects 6

2. Exploration of North America 9-16

ij. Spanish 9

b. The French in the St. Lawrence Region 11

c. French Huguenots in Florida 13

d. European Claims in North America about 1565 15

SECTION II — THE RISE OF RIVAL COLONIZA- TIONS. 1566 to about 1620 17-34

1. English Planting of the Colony of Virginia 18-28

a. Motives of First English Colonization 18

b. Settlement at Jamestown 21

c. Conversion of Virginia into a Royal Colony 24

2. New France and New Netherland 28-33

a. French beginnings of Acadia and Canada 28

b. Dutch Settlements on the Hudson River 31

Section Iii— Beginning Of Religious-politi- Cal Colonization Of English America, 1620-1640 34-52

1. Pilgrim or Separatist Founding of Plymouth Colony.. 36-39

2. Puritan Colonization of Massachusetts 39

a. Motives of the Puritan Migration of 1628-1640 39

b. Early Massachusetts 41

3. Beginnings of the other New England Colonies 45-49

a. Rhode Island 45

b. Connecticut 46

c. New Haven 48

d. New England about 1640 48

4. Lord Baltimore's Catholic Colony of Maryland 50-51 viii AMERICAN HISTORY

Section Iv— The Puritan Revolution In Eng- Land And The Colonies, 1640-1660 53 72

1. The Puritan Revolution in England 55-59

2. Effects of the Puritan Revolution upon the New England

Colonies 59-64

a. Attitude of New England towards Puritan Govern-

ment in old England 59

b. The New England Confederation 60

c. The Presbyterian Appeal, and its Suppression 62

3. Effects of Puritan Revokilion upon the Colony of Vir-

ginia 65-68

a. Expulsion of the Puritans from Virginia 65

b. Virginia's Defiance of Parliament, 1649-1652 66

c. Surrender of Virginia to the Parliamentary Commis-

sion 68

4. Effects of Puritan Revolution upon the Colony of Marya. Puritan Seizures of the Government of Maryland... 68

b. Restoration of Maryland to its Proprietor 71

Section V— Reaction And Rebellion, 1660-1689 73 99

1. Bacon's Rebellion in Virginia 75-80

a. Reactionary Policy of Virginia Assembly and Gov-

ernor after the Restoration, 1660-1676 75

b. Rebellion Led by Nathaniel Bacon, 1676 76

c. Outcome of the Rebellion 78

2. Royal Attack on New England 80-84

a. Overthrow of the Massachusetts Charter, 1660-1685. . 80

b. The "Dominion of New England" under Governor

3. Colonial Expansion During the Restoration Period 84-92

a. Conquest of Dutch Netherland, 1664: 84

b. Royalist Fotiiiding of Carolina Colony, 1663-1680. ... 86

c. Quaker Beginnings in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,

1676-1690 88

4. Effects of the English Revolution of 1688 92-97

a. New England's Overthrow of Andros and his "Do-

minion" 92

b. Leisler's Rebellion in New York 95

Section Vi— Colonial Institutions And Life

1. Government 100-107

a. Relation with the Mother Country 100

b. The Three Types of Colonial Government 103

f. The Two Types of Local Government 106

2. Life and Manners 107-122

a. The Southern Colonies JjQ7 -

b. New England 113

c. The Middle Colonies 118

CONTENTS ix

Section Vii— External Conflict And Inter- Nal Development, 1689-1763 123-163

1. French-English Struggle for Supremacy in America. ... 125-138

a. Causes and Character of the French-English Conflict 125

b. The Three Preliminary Conflicts, 1689 1748 126

c. The French and Indian War, 1754-1763 129

2. English Colonial Expansion During the French-English

Struggle 139-146

a. Beginning of Non-English Immigration 139

b. Colonization of Georgia. 1732-1751 141

c. Westward Movement across the Mountains. 1730-1755 144

3. Colonial Constitutional Development, 1689-1763 146-163

a. British Establishment of New Imperial Organ for

b. Increased Parliamentary Regulation of Colonial Af-

fairs '. 148

c. British Endeavors to Reduce Colonies to One Uni-

form Type ("Royal Colony") 154

d. British Attempts to Bring about LTnion 156

e. British Proposal of an Episcopal Bishopric for the

Colonies 157

/. Growing Assertion of Colonial "Rights" 158

Section I— The Political Revolution— 1764 1776 166-202

1. The "Stamp Act" Controversy— 1764-1766 167-176

a. British "Change of Colonial Policy," 1764-1765 167

b. Colonial Opposition to the New Policy, 1765-1766. . 169

c. British Reception of Colonial Protests, 1766 171

2. The "Townshend Act" Controversy, 1767-1770 176-183

a. Renewal of British Attempt to enforce its "Change b. Colonial Opposition to the "Townshend Acts." 1768-

1769 .__ 178

c. British Response to Colonial Opposition, 1769-1770.. 182

3. The "Tea Tax" Controversy, 1773-1774 183 187

a. Third British Attempt to Tax the Colonists. 1773.. 183

b. Colonial Resistance 183

c. British Attempt to compel Colonial Obedience, 1774 184

X AMERICAN HISTORY

a. Colonial Resistance to " Intolerable Acts," 1774 188

b. British Retaliation for Continued - Colonial Resistc. Colonial Resort to Arms. April-Julv, 1775 194 a. British Reply to Colonial Armed Resistance. 1775. . 198

b. Colonial Declaration of Independence. 1775-1776.... 198

c. Establishment of New, Independent State Govern-

SECTION II— THE MILITARY STRUGGLE— 1776-1783.203-231 a. The Campaign of 1776 204

b. The Campaign of 1777-1778 205

2. Aid from Europe — The French Alliance 208-214

fl. American Request for European Assistance ; Response up to 1778 208

b. The French Treaty of Alliance, and its Effect in

England and America 210

c. European Attitude towards America from 1778 to

the close of the War 212

3. Confederation and the Western Lands Claims 214-219

a. Virginia's Claim to the Western Lands. 1776 214

b. Congress Making the Confederation 214

f. The Western Lands Question Delays Confederation,

1778-1781 217 a. American Demands 224

b. Dispute with Spain over the Western Lands 225

c. Negotiations at Paris 226

d. Ratification of the Treaty 228

Section Iii— Breakdown Of The Confedera- Tion, 1781-1786 233-244

1. Defects Developed by Peace 233-237

a. Lack of a National Revenue 233

b. Lack of National Control of Commerce 234

c. Lack of Power in the Confederation Congress.... 235

2. Proposals of Remedy for the Defects of the Confederaa. Congressional Recommendation for the Defects of the

Confederation 237

b. Proposals for a Constitutional Convention 238

CONTENTS xi

3. Organization of the National Domain 239-244

a. Virginia's Cession of Western Land Claims 239

b. First Attempts to organize the New National Domain 240

c. Ordinances of 1787-1788 241

SECTION IV— AMERICAN LIFE ABOUT 1780 to 1800.245-264

1. General Characteristics 246-252

a. An American View 246

b. An English Opinion 248

c. A French Interpretation 250

2. Sectional Characteristics 252-264

a. New England

b. The Middle States (Pennsylvania, New York, New

Jersey) 255

c. The South 258

d. The Trans-Alleghany West 260

Section I— Formation Of The Constitution— 1786-1789 266-284

1. Preliminaries to the Constitutional Convention 267-270

a. The Annapolis Convention 267

b. Instructions of State Delegates to the Constitutional

Convention 268

2. Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention 270-278

a. Plans Presented to the Convention 270

b. Debates _ 273

3. The Constitution before the People 278-283

a. Congress Recommends to the States 278

b. Individual Opinions of the New Constitution 279

c. Ratification by State Conventions 282

Section II — Hamiltonian Federalism— 1789- 1801 285-306

1. Development of Federalist Domestic Policy, 1789-1793. .286-294

a. Organization of Government under the Constitution 286

b. Establishment of Hamiltonian Financial Policy.... 289

2. Dominance of Foreign Relations, 1793-1798 294-300

a. Neutrality 294

b. Jay's Treaty 295

c. The X. Y. Z. Affair 299 xii AMERICAN HISTORY

3 Overthrow of Hamiltonian Federalism, 1798-1801 301-306

a. Alien and Sedition Legislation 301

b. The Kentucky Resolutions 302

c. Federal Despondency 303

d. Breach in the Federal Party 304

e. Election of 1800 305

Section III — Jeffersonian Republicanism, 1801-1812 307-327

1. Republican Policies in Operation, 1801-1803 308-310

a. Republican Principles 308

b. Republican Accomplishments 309

2. The Purchase of Louisiana, 1803-1805 310-316

a. Effect of the Spanish Retrocession of Louisiana to b. Spanish Closure of the Mississippi (1802) 311

c. Republican vs. Federalist Policies 311

d. Napoleon's Decision to Sell Louisiana 312

e. Minister Livingston's Impression of the Purchase.. 313 /. Boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase

g. Jefferson's Proposal of a Constitutional Amendment 314 h. Federalist Criticism and Republican Defence of Purchase 315

i. Dispute with Spain over Louisiana Boundaries 316

3. Republican Attack upon the Federal Judiciary 317-318

a. Republican Criticism of the Courts established by the

Federalists 317

b. The Question of what constitutes an impeachable of-

fence (Case of Justice Chase) 317

c. Partisan Appointments to the Federal Courts 318

4. The Embargo 319-323

a. Encroachments upon the Neutral Rights of Ameri-

can Commerce 319

b. The Embargo and its Effects, 1807-1811 321

5. Transformation of the Republican Party, 1810-1812 323-326

a. Young Republican Demand for a more National

Policy 323

b. President Madison's Acceptance of the New Pohcy.. 324

c. Old Republican Protest against the New Policy.... 325

Section Iv— National Republicanism, 1812

1829 327-353 a. Its Party and Sectional Nature 329

b. The Hartford Convention 331

c. The Treaty of Peace 333

d. Effects of the War of 1812. 333

2. The Republicans Apply the Principles of Broad Con-

struction 334 344

CONTENTS xm

a The Doctrine of Protection applied in the Tariff Act b The Republicans become Broad Constructionists m c. The Republican Congress Approves a System of

Internal Improvements ^^

d. Expansion: Rounding out of Boundaries ;•••,.. *^T^

3 Growth of Nationality Checked by Missouri Struggle . 344-346

a. The Missouri Enabling Act and the Slavery amendments ^ . ,

h. Debate in Congress '^T^

c. Expressions of Public Sentiment ^"'^

4 The United States Asserts its Dominance in the Amera. Clay's American Political System 346

h. The Monroe Doctrine Asserted ^^^

c. The Monroe Doctrine Formulated J'*^

d. The Monroe Doctrine Interpreted

5. Political Parties Reorganized after "Era of Good F^^l- ^^^

a. Denial of a "corrupt bargain" • • • • • 349

b. The Opponents of Adams seize on the Panama Mis-

sion to attack the Administration 3bU

c. The Election of 1828 : Triumph of Jackson ^M

Questions , co

Section V-jacksonian Democracy, 1829-1841. .353-378

1. Democratic Forms Estabhshed /-r;-""-'/'-/ ,ch

a. Jackson recommends Popular Election of President. 3M b The National Nominating Convention established. . 354

c. The first Formal National Party Platform c,ca ^S

2 The People and "Rotation in Office" ^e^

a. The doctrine of "the Spoils" asserted J50

b. The arguments for rotation ^J^^

c. The arguments for permanency of tenure ^3»

.3. Popular Reforms ^^^'fd

a. Imprisonment for Debt ^^^

b. For Suppressing Intemperance J^^

c. Reform in Money Conditions :^ou

d. In Means of Transportation Joy

c. Management of the Public Lands ^.-, 3.l^

4. Democracy and the Bank. 1829-1837 363-369

a. The recharter of the Bank ^o^

b. Removal of the Government Deposits ^o/

c. Senate censures Jackson ; censure expunged Jo^

5. Nationahty Sustained against Nullification iS

a. Occasion of Nullification ^^Z^

b. Theory of Nullification i/Ji

c. Act of Nullification -^{^^

d. Proclamation against Nullification ^/^

e. Public Reception of Nullification : «3'J xiv AMERICAN HISTORY

f. Debate in Congress over "Revenue Collection Bill" 374

g. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 37o

6. Foreign Relations ; Aggressive Policy. i76?)77

a. French Treaty on American Claims. 376

b. Great Britain offers her good services 377

Section Vi— Industrial, Social. And Relig- Ious Conditions About 1840 379-396

1. The Industrial Outlook about 1840 380-387

a. Business Characteristics 380

b. Means of Communication 382

c. The Cities ; Characteristics 383

d. The Standard of Living 385

2. Social and Educational Conditions 387-393

a. Americans live in and for the future 387

b. The Style of Living 388

c. Democracy 389

d. Cities and their Peculiar Features 391

c. The South 392

3. American INIorals 394-395

a. High Moral Standards 394

b. Temperance and Prison Reform 395

SECTION I-STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL OF TERRI- 1 The Annexation of Texas, 1843-1845 ^^^'inl

a. The Spirit of the Times 399

5. The Texas Question; Oregon involved 40U

c. Annexation becomes a Party Issue 403

d. Annexation of Texas by Joint Resolution 4U3

2. Oregon and its Boundary 1n^

a. The question of a Compromise Line 4U5

3. The North Proposes to Make all Acquired Territory a. The Wilmot Proviso 40/

4. Attempts at Settlement, 1846-1850 "^^.In

a. By extending the line 36° 30' to the Pacific 409

b. By doctrine of Non-intervention 411

c. By leaving decision to the Supreme Court 411

d. By forming all territory into States 41^

e The question alreadv settled by Law of Mexico 41^

5. The Compromise of 1850 ^^^'V,\

a. The Terms set forth 4U

CONTENTS XV

SECTION II— STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY IN THE a. Opinions regarding Finalitj- of the Compromise of

1850 418

b. Party Platforms approve Compromise 419

2. The Kansas Nebraska Bill, 1854 419-432

a. Its terms and basis 419

b. Effects of Kansas-Nebraska Bill 422

c. Kansas question in Congress 425

d. The Dred Scott Decision and Opinions 427

c. The Lincoln Douglas Debates, 1858. 429

f. The John Brown Raid into Virginia 430

g. Congressional Intervention demanded 431

Section Iii— Comparison Of The North And South, Industrially, Socially, Etc., 1860 433-451

1. The Question of Slavery 435-445

a. The Position of the South 435

h. The Position of the North 437

c. The Industrial Conditions under Slavery 438

d. Industrial Conditions under Free Labor 443

e. The Needs of the South 444

2. Industrial Comparison of North and South 446-449

a. South lacked Factories and Artisans 446

b. Southern Life during the War 446

c. Statistical Comparison of North and South, 1863 447

3. Slavery Divides the Churches 449-450

a. Religious Status of the Negro 449

b. Breach in the Churches ; Division of the Methodist

Church 449

Section Iv— The Civil War, 1861-1865 451-465

1. Secession of South Carolina, Dec, 1860 452-454

a. Reasons assigned in Justification 452

b. Attempts at Compromise 454

2. The Civil War Begins 455-458

a. Effects of Southern firing on Sumter 455

b. Border State Neutrality 456

c. The Plan of Campaign 456

3. Character and Purpose of the War 458-461 b. An Anti-Slavery War, 1863-1865 460

4. Foreign Relations 461-464

a. Attitude of European Nations 461

b. The Trent Affair 461

c. The Question of Recognition of Independence 463 xvi AMERICAN HISTORY

Section V— Reconstruction, 1863-1877 465-484

1. Presidential Theory and Plans, 1861-1866 466-473

a. As developed under President Lincoln, 1861-1865.... 466

b. As developed under President Johnson 469

c. Results in Reconstructed States 472

2. Congressional Reconstruction, 1866-1870 473-477

a. The Moderates in control, 1865-1870 473

b. Struggle for Control of Congress 1866 475

c. The Radicals in Power, 1867-1870 476

3. Results of Radical Reconstruction 478-483

a. Carpet bag and Negro Rule 478

b. White Supremacy restored 480

c. Troops Withdrawn from the South 482

Chapter I

That "discovery" of America which actually revealed the New World to the Old was made by Christopher Columbus in 1492. For this reason it has seemed advisable to begin this chapter with the Columbian rather than the earlier Norse discovery. Columbus' voyage in search of a new "westward" route to the much-desired " Indies " resulted in the discovery of land which Europe at first believed to be some portion of those "Indies." But Spanish, Portuguese, French and English voyages of exploration soon revealed the fact that it was a New World Columbus had discovered. These and later explorations laid the basis for rival European claims to this New World. In actual occupation, however, Spain was for nearly a century the only successful nation. But as the Reformation struggle in Europe weakened Spain and strengthened her rivals, colonies were finally established, about 1600, by English, French, and Dutch.

These first colonies were almost wholly commercial in their origin and purpose. But religious and political warfare in Europe, and especially in England^ soon produced in America a new type of colonization — that by refugees from religious and political persecution in the Old World. The ups and downs of the religious-political conflict of 1604 to 1688 in Old England were faithfully reflected in colonial history : StuaH royal absolutism and Episcopal persecution of dissent (1604-1642) populated New England;' the Puritan Revolution (1642-1660) stopped the movement to New England, started a similar one to Virginia, and brought disturbance or up-turning in all of the colonies; under the restored Stuarts (1660-1688) the New England charters were overthrown and Royalist reaction in Virginia brought on Bacon's RebeUion. Only with the English and colonial overturnings of the Revolution of 1688 did the long period of religious-political conflict end, and the colonies enter upon an era of more peaceable and orderly development.

Yet this newly-opening era found the colonies already possessed, of institutions and characteristics, not to be greatly modified by the remaining three-quarters of a century of the colonial period. Many of such institutions and characteristics were common to all of the then existing colonies ; yet Southern, Northern, and Middle groups already began to show marked sectional features.

While the English Colonies were thus slowly building up along the Atlantic Coast, the French had been spreading rapidly over the Great Lakes region, the eastern tributaries of the Mississippi, and finally the Mississippi itself, taking possession of the whole interior of North America. When, with the accession of William III to the throne of England, in 1689, the French and English struggle for world dominion began in Europe, there began also a struggle between the colonies of the two nations for supremacy in America. After fifty years of conflict it ended in English victory, the dispossession of France, and the partitioning of North America between England and Spain.

Section I Discovery And Exploration, 1492-1566

To Europe of the Renaissance period, the far East of " Cathay " and "the Indies" oflrered the richest of fields for trade and exploitation. But access to this East was hindered by long, expensive land routes, some of which were even closed to traffic by Turkish conquests of the territory through which they passed. The universal desire of commercial Europe of the middle of the fifteenth century therefore was a new route or new routes to this eastern land of riches. The Portuguese were first to act, seeking an allv/ater route "eastward" around the southern end of Africa. Then came Columbus, alone willing to put to the test a wide-spread geographical theory of his day — that of an allwater route to the East directly westward around the globe. Crossing the Atlantic in 1492, he found land near the place he had expected ; and returning to Europe, announced his reaching of the " Indies " by the "westward" route.

The announcement of Columbus aroused other nations than Spain to efforts to participate in the benefits of his discovery. But subsequent voyages failed to disclose the wealth expected in the lands found by Columbus ; the Portuguese, in 1497, rounded Africa and reached the wealth of the real Indies ; and still later voyages revealed the Columbian land as an entirely New World, far removed from the East of Cathay and the Indies.

Columbus died in disappointment, disgrace, and poverty. But Spanish adventurers flocked to the New World he had discovered. They explored large portions of it ; found and opened its gold mines, and poured wealth into the treasury of Spain and the pockets of its grandees ; and scattered here and there over the West Indies and the two continents their trading and mission stations. Space has not been taken in this section to quote from all of the narratives of these activities. The expedition of Narvaez and Vaca has been taken as typical of the Spanish ; that of Cartier for the French in the North ; and Laudonniere's narrative of the French Huguenot attempts in the South Carolina-Florida country.

1. THE COLUMBIAN DISCOVERY AND ITS EFFECTS a. The Motives of Columbus:

Marco Polo flic Venetian: The Attractions of the Indies and Cathay (An account of travels made in 1271-1295; manuscript written m 1298; first published in 1477). "To this city [the chief city of Cathay] everything that is most rare and valuable in all parts of the world finds its way. . . . From the provinces of Cathay itself . . . whatever there is of value is carried thither. . . . The quantity of merchandise sold there exceeds also the traffic of any other place. . . . Zipangu . . . [has] gold in the greatest abundance, its sources being inexhaustible. ... In this island there are pearls also, in large quantities, ... of great size. . . . There are also found there a number ot precious stones. . . . [There is] . . . an island of very great size, named Java. . . . The country abounds with rich commodities. Pepper, nutmegs, spikenard, galengal, cubebs, cloves, and all the other valuable spices and drugs are the produce of the islands. . . The quantity of gold collected there exceeds all calculation and belief, . . . and from there . . . is obtained the greatest part of the spices that are distributed throughout the world. . . . [Java Minor] contains abundance of riches, and all sorts of spices, lignum-aloes, sappan-wood for dyeing, and various other kinds of drugs. . . . The island [of Zeilan] produces more beautiful and valuable rubies than are found in any other part of the world, and likewise sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets, and many other precious and costly stones. . . . Malabar is an extensive kingdom of the Greater India. ... In this kingdom there is a vast abundance of pepper, ginger, cubebs, and Indian nuts; and the finest and most beautiful cottons are manufactured that can be found in any part of the world. . . ." ^

Paolo Toscanelli the Florentine : A Westzvard Ronte to the Indies (From a letter written by the astronomer to one of his friends in Portugal, and a copy of which he later sent to Columbus). ". . .1 have spoken of the very short route from here

1. Thomas Wright, The Travels ot Marco Polo the Venetian (Revised Marsden translation, London, 1892), 214-215, 350-351, 361-362, 365, 379, 416-417.

to the Indies where the the spices grow, — shorter by way of the sea than that which you follow to Ginnea. . . . And although I know that the world can be shown as it is in the form of a sphere, I am determined . . . for greater intelligence to show the said route by a chart similar to those which are made for navigation, ... in which . . . straight to the west the commencement of the Indies is shown, and ... in how many leagues you can reach those fertile places . . . ; and you must not wonder if I call the places where spices grow, West, because it is commonly said that they grow in the East ; but whoever will navigate to the West will always find the said places, . . . and whoever will go by land to the East will always find the same places. . . . [From] this country . . . av ambassador came, . . , and I spoke much with him . . . of the grandeur of the royal edifices, . . . and of the multitude of cities there. . . . This country is as rich as any that may be found, and not only can great profit [from trade] be obtained there, . . . but also gold and silver and precious stones . . . ; because of the route bemg unknown, all these things are concealed; and they can very surely be reached.

Christopher Columbus : My Instructions from the King and Queen of Spain (Extract from Columbus' journal of his first voyage). ". . . O most Christian, and very high, very excellent . . . Princes, King and Queen of the Spains, . . . in. the present year, 1492, after your Highnesses had given an end to the war with the Moors, . . . acting on the information that I had given to your Highnesses touching the lands of India, and respecting a Prince who is called Gran Can, which means in our language King of Kings, . . your Highnesses . . . resolved to send me, Cristobal Colon, to the said parts of India to see the said princes, and the cities and lands, and their disposition, with a view that they might be converted to our holy faith ; and ordered that I should not go by land to the eastward, as had been customary, but that I

2. Translated by J. B. Thaclier, in his Life of Christopher Columbus, I, 303-306.

should go by way of the west, whither to this day, we do not know for certain that any one has gone." ^

b. The Discovery and Its Immediate Effects:

Letter of Christopher Columhus to Luis de Santangel (Feb. 15, 1492). "I write you this, by which you shall know that in thirty-three days I passed over to the Indies with the fleet which the most illustrious King and Queen, our Lords, gave me ; where I found very many islands peopled with inhabitants beyond number. And, of them all, I have taken possession for their Highnesses. . . . When I reached Juana [Cuba], I found it so large that I thought it might be mainland, the province of Cathay. ... I sent two men into the country to learn if there were a king, or any great cities. They traveled for three days, and found innumerable small villages and a numberless population, but nought of ruling authority. . . . This is [a land] to be desired, — and once seen, never to be relinquished,— . . . and I hold ... all in the name of their Highnesses. . . . And in conclusion, to speak only of what has been done in this voyage, . . . their Highnesses may see that I shall give them as much gold as they shall need, . . . spices and cotton, . . . and aloe-wood, . . . and slaves. . . . And I believe that . . . the men whom I am leaving there v/ill have discovered a thousand other things of value. . . . This is enough ; and [thanks to] Eternal God our Lord who gives to all those who walk His way, victory over things which seem impossible, and this was signally one such, for although men have talked or written of those lands, it was all by conjecture, without confirmation from eyesight, amounting only to this much, that the hearers for the most part . . . judged that there was more fable in it than anything actual. . . ." *

The Treaty of Tordesillas (A treaty made by Spain and Portugal in 1494). "That inasmuch as between the said Lords, ... a certain difference exists in regard to what part of that . . . discovered in the Ocean-sea . . . belongs to each one

3. E. G. Bourne, Voyages of Columbus and Cabot (in J. F. Jameson' Original Narratives of Early American HisLory series), 89-90.

4. E. G. Bourne, Voyages of Columbus, etc., 263-264, 268-271.

of the said parties ; therefore . . . the King of Portugal . . . [and] the King and Queen of Castile, of Aragon, etc., . . . consent that there shall be made and marked out through the said ocean, a mark or line straight from pole to pole, ... at 370 leagues from the islands of Cape Verde to the west. . . . And that all . . . discovered ... by the eastern side within the said line . . . may . . . belong to the King of Portugal. . . . And that all the rest . . . discovered . . . from the said line . . . going by the . . . western side . . . may . . . belong to the . . . King and Queen of Castile and of Leon, etc. . . ." ^

Letter of Soiiciiw to the Duke of Milan (Dated at London, Dec. 18, 1497). "There is in this kingdom [of England] a Venetian fellow, Master John Cabot by name, . . . who. seeing that . . . [the] kings ... of Portugal, and ... of Spain, have occupied unknown islands, determined to make a like acquisition for his [British] Majesty. . . . And having obtained royal grants, . . . with a small ship and eighteen persons he . . . set sail . . . ; and having wandered about considerably, at last he struck mainland, where, having planted the royal banner and taken possession on behalf of this King, and taken certain tokens, he has returned thence. The said Master John, as being foreign-born and poor, would not be believed if his comrades, who are almost all Englishmen and from Bristol, did not testify that what he says is true. . . . But Master John has set his mind on something greater; for he expects to go farther on . . . until he shall be over against an island by him called Cipango, situated in the equinoctial region, where he thinks all the spices of the world, and also the precious stones, originate. . . . And it is said that, in the spring, his Majesty . . . will fit out some ships, and will besides give him all the convicts, and they will go to that country to make a colony, by means of which they hope to establish in London a greater emporium of spices than there is in Alexandria." "

5. Translated by J. B Thacher in his Life of Christopher ("olumbus, II, 181.

6. E. G. Bourne, Voyages of Columbus, etc., 425-429.

Letter from Spanish Ambassador at London to the King and Queen of Spain (Dated at London, July 25, 1498). "I think your Majesties have already heard that the King of England has equipped a fleet in order to discover certain islands and mainland. . . . The King of England has often spoken to me on this subject. He hoped to derive great advantage from it. ... I told him that, in my opinion, the land was already in possession of your Majesties; but, though I gave him my reasons, he did not like it. . . ." "

Letter of Columbus to the King and Queen of Spain (July 7, 1503, — after the Portuguese arrival at real Indies by "eastward" route around southern end of Africa). "For several years I was at your royal court, where every one to whom the enterprise was mentioned treated it as ridiculous ; but now there is not a man, down to the very tailors, who does not beg to be allowed to become a discoverer. . , . The lands in this part of the world . . . are richer and more extensive than those of any other Christian power, and yet, after that I had, by the Divine will, placed them under your high and royal sovereignty, ... I was arrested and thrown, with my two brothers, loaded with irons, into a ship, stripped, and very illtieated . . . [on the charge that I had] risen against your Highnesses. ... I was twenty-eight years old when I came into your Highnesses' service, and now I have not a hair upon me that is not gray ; my body is infirm, and all that was left to me, . . . has been taken and sold, even to the frock that I wore. . . . The honest devotedness I have always shown to your Majesties' service, and the so unmerited outrage with which it has been repaid, will not allow my soul to keep silence, however much I may wish it. ... I am indeed in as ruined condition as I have related. . . . Solitary in my trouble, sick, and in daily expectation of death. . . . Weep for me, whoever has charity, truth, and justice ! " ^