Part 8 (2/2)

Baird, C.W., _Huguenot Emigration_; Brevoort, J.C., _Verrazano the Navigator_; Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, I, 90-112; De Costa, B.F., _Verrazano the Explorer_; French, B.F., _Historical Collections of Louisiana and Florida_, 117-362; Hamilton, P.J., _The Colonization of the South_, 27-41; Hart. A.B., _Contemporaries_, I, 102-112; Leac.o.c.k, Stephen, _The Mariner of St. Malo_; Lescarbot, Marc, _History of New France_; Munro, W.B., _Crusaders of New France_, 11-32; Murphy, H.C., _Voyage of Verrazano_; Parkman, Francis, _The Pioneers of France in the New World_, 1-228; Shea, J.G., in Winsor, _Narrative and Critical History_, II, 260-283; Tracy, F.B., _Tercentenary History of Canada_, I, 20-37; Winsor, Justin, _Cartier to Frontenac_, 1-47; Biggar, H.P., _The Precursors of Jacques Cartier_.

ACADIA AND THE ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY

Biggar, H.P., _Early Trading Companies of New France_; Bourne, E.G., _Voyages and Explorations of Champlain (Trail Makers' Series)_; Champlain, Samuel, _uvres_ (Laverdiere, ed.); Colby, C.W., _The Founder of New France_; Dionne, N.E., _Champlain_; Grant, W.L., _Voyages of Champlain (Original Narratives Series)_; Kingsford, William, _The History of Canada_, I, 147-294; Le Sueur, W.D., _Frontenac_, 1-60; Marquis, T.G., _The Jesuit Missions_; Parkman, Francis, _Old Regime in Canada_, 3-168; _Pioneers of New France_, 324-454; _The Jesuits in North America_; Thwaites, R.G., _France in America_, 10-48; Tracy, F.B., _Tercentenary History of Canada_, I, 41-279; Winsor, Justin, _From Cartier to Frontenac_, 77-183; Munro, W.B., _Crusaders of New France_.

REORGANIZATION AND THE WEST INDIES

Chapais, Thomas, _The Great Intendant_; Haring, C.H., _The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century_; Mims, S.L., _Colbert's West India Policy_; Munro, W.B., _The Seigneurs of Old Canada_; Parkman, Francis, _The Old Regime_, 169-330.

THE UPPER LAKES AND THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

Bolton, H.E., ”The Location of La Salle's Colony on the Gulf of Mexico,”

in _Mississippi Valley Historical Review_, II, 165-182; Charlevoix, P.F.X., _Histoire Generale de la Nouvelle France_ (J.G. Shea, trans.): c.o.x, I.J., _Journeys of La Salle (Trail Makers' Series)_; Folwell, W.W., _Minnesota_, 59-65; Hamilton, P.J., _The Colonization of the South_, 187-196; Kellogg, L.P., ed., _Early Narratives of the Northwest (Original Narratives Series)_: Le Sueur, W.D., _Frontenac_, 61-169; Ogg, F.A., _The Opening of the Mississippi_, 59-163; Parish, J.C., _The Man with the Iron Hand_; Parkman, Francis, _La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West_; Phelps, Albert, _Louisiana_, 6-20; Shea, J.G., _Exploration of the Mississippi Valley_; Thwaites, R.G., _France in America_, 48-71; _Wisconsin_, 40-71; Winsor, Justin, _Cartier to Frontenac_, 183-295.

CHAPTER V

THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH EXPANSION (1485-1603)

THE TUDOR PERIOD

Periods of English activities.--While the French were colonizing Canada and the West Indies, and the Spaniards were opening mines and ranches in northern Mexico, the English were founding still more vigorous settlements on the Atlantic seaboard, in the islands, and in the region of Hudson Bay.

The history of English activities in America before 1783 may be divided into four periods: (1) The Tudor epoch (1485-1603), which was a period of commercial expansion, exploration, and attempted colonization; (2) the Stuart and Cromwellian era (1603-1689), the period of colony planting; (3) the international struggle for territory (1689-1763); and (4) the struggle of a part of the English colonists for independence (1763-1783).

Henry VII.--When Henry Tudor ascended the throne of England a new era was ushered in. The continental possessions except Calais had been swept away in the Hundred Years' War. The Wars of the Roses had broken the power of the feudal barony, and the middle cla.s.s Englishman had become the most important political element in the nation. The general form of the const.i.tution had become fixed, the functions of the three branches of the government, the king and his council, parliament, and the courts, having become fairly well defined. The work of Henry Tudor was to restore the finances, to build up commerce and industry, to keep England at peace, and at the same time, by a series of marriage alliances and by adroit diplomacy to raise England to her former position as a great European power. He also built up the kings.h.i.+p at the expense of a subservient parliament.

The English Reformation.--During the three succeeding reigns, England played little part in exploration. While Spain was founding her vast colonial empire, the attention of Englishmen was centered on the European situation created by Charles V and on the great religious controversy, which resulted in the break with Rome and the establishment of the Anglican church.

Queen Elizabeth.--With the accession of Queen Elizabeth a new situation arose. To the Catholic powers, Elizabeth had no right to the throne of England. Philip II of Spain hoped to restore the country to the Catholic fold; his first wife was Queen Mary of England, and under his influence a short-lived Catholic reaction had been produced; if Elizabeth could now be induced to turn Catholic and marry Philip, England might be won back to the Roman church. Elizabeth, however, followed an independent course, dangling before the eyes of the Spanish amba.s.sador the possibility of a marriage with Philip, while perfecting the organization of the Anglican church, increasing her hold upon the affections of her subjects, strengthening her treasury, army, navy, and defences, and stimulating industry and commerce. Her path was beset with additional difficulties, for the powerful Catholic party in France was intriguing to place Mary Stuart, the queen of Scotland, on the English throne. To weaken her foes, Elizabeth aided the Huguenots, a.s.sisted the Dutch in their war against Spain, and connived with English mariners to raid the Spanish Main. In 1588 the patience of Philip was exhausted, and he sought to humble the haughty queen by sending the Invincible Armada against England. A running fight occurred in the Channel and several of the galleons were sunk or driven on sh.o.r.e. The Armada entered the roads of Calais but a great storm shattered the fleet. Of the original one hundred and thirty vessels only one-third returned to Spain. The defeat of the Armada marks a turning point in Spanish and English history. From that time Spain was thrown on the defensive and her power on the continent gradually declined, though her colonies continued to expand.

England followed up her success by taking the offensive; an era of greater commercial activity followed, and she soon entered upon her role of a colonizing nation.

COMMERCIAL EXPANSION

John Cabot.--The discovery of new lands in the west soon became known in England, and when the Venetian citizen, John Cabot, applied for letters patent to go on a western voyage, Henry VII readily complied. In May, 1497, his single s.h.i.+p with eighteen men set sail from Bristol and crossed the north Atlantic. It is impossible to state with certainty what part of the coast was visited, but it appears to have been in the neighborhood of Cape Breton Island. The idea that Sebastian Cabot accompanied his father is generally rejected by the best authorities.

The importance of the voyage lies in the fact that it was used at a later date to strengthen the English claim to a large part of North America. The following year John Cabot sailed for the new found land but never returned.

The Newfoundland fisheries.--Cabot's voyage had another important result. He had discovered a convenient trade route to the fisheries of Newfoundland, and English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese fis.h.i.+ng vessels soon swarmed the region. English s.h.i.+ps are thought to have traded there regularly after 1502. Expeditions are known to have been made thither in 1527 and 1536, and before 1550 fis.h.i.+ng fleets went from southern England to Newfoundland every spring and autumn.

The Muscovy Company.--The latter half of the Tudor period witnessed the formation of great companies which reached out for foreign trade. In 1553 a group of London merchants decided to make an attempt to reach China and the East Indies by a northern route. Under the command of Willoughby and Chancellor, three s.h.i.+ps sailed along the Norway coast and rounded the North Cape. Willoughby and the crews of two of the s.h.i.+ps perished on the coast of Lapland, but Chancellor entered the White Sea and penetrated to Moscow, where he was promised trading privileges by Ivan the Terrible. In 1555 the merchants who were interested in the expedition were granted a royal charter, the company being familiarly known as the Muscovy Company. Annual fleets were despatched to the White and Baltic seas; warehouses were established at various points in Russia, and the agents of the company extended their activities to the Caspian Sea, to Bokhara, and to Persia. In 1580 the Turks cut them off from the region outside of European Russia. Occasional unsuccessful attempts were also made by the company to reach China by the northern route. In 1579 the Eastland Company, a rival organization, was chartered to trade in the Baltic, and developed an extensive trade in Poland.

The Levant Company.--English merchants also turned their attention to the Mediterranean to renew a trade which had formerly been of some importance. In 1581 a charter was issued to the Levant Company, which engaged in trading with the Turkish ports along the southern and eastern sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean. The same year a charter was granted to the Venetian Company and in 1592 the two were combined as the Levant Company. Among those interested in the Mediterranean commerce were Sir Thomas Smythe and Sir Walter Raleigh, both of whom were important figures in the colonization of Virginia. Other groups of merchants opened trade with Morocco, and the Senegambia and Guinea coasts. In all of these enterprises Englishmen were reaching out for the trade with the East Indies, which had long been monopolized by the Portuguese. In 1581, the year in which the Levant Company was chartered, Portugal was incorporated with Spain, and hostility to that power added another incentive to reach the East.

THE ELIZABETHAN SEA-DOGS

John Hawkins.--Among those interested in the African trade was William Hawkins, who filled the important positions of mayor of Plymouth and member of parliament. He made three voyages to Guiana and Brazil. His son, John Hawkins, became one of the most famous mariners of his time.

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