Part 9 (1/2)
In 1562 he sailed for Africa to obtain slaves, which he disposed of in Espanola. In 1564-1565 he engaged in a second voyage which resulted in great profit. A third voyage in 1567-1568 ended disastrously. The Spanish government had sent a fleet to stop the traffic; but in spite of it he forced an entrance to the West Indian ports and disposed of his cargo. Being driven by a storm into the harbor of Vera Cruz, he was attacked by a Spanish fleet and but two of the English vessels escaped.
Drake and Cavendish.--Francis Drake, a nephew of John Hawkins, had accompanied him on his third expedition and had suffered the loss of his investment. He soon began a series of reprisals. In 1572 he made an unsuccessful attack on Nombre de Dios and ascended the Chagres River where he waylaid a train of mules laden with bullion. The example set by him was frequently followed by raids of English mariners in the following decade. In 1577 another fleet sailed under Drake's command.
After capturing several Spanish and Portuguese vessels on the African coast, the fleet crossed the Atlantic and attempted to pa.s.s through the Straits of Magellan. Only one vessel reached the Pacific. Drake proceeded up the western coast, plundering as he went. In a harbor known as Drake's Bay, north of San Francis...o...b..y, he refitted, and claimed the California region for the queen, calling it New Albion. He then sailed to the East Indies where a cargo of spice was obtained. From Java, Drake crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and proceeded to England, entering the harbor of Plymouth in November, 1580, having completed the first English circ.u.mnavigation of the globe. In 1586 Thomas Cavendish followed almost the same course, plundered the Spanish commerce in the Pacific, and in 1588 completed the circ.u.mnavigation of the world. Besides Hawkins, Drake, and Cavendish a score of English mariners engaged in raiding the Spanish Main. They were a.s.sisted financially by the queen and by many of her councillors who considered the raiding of Spanish commerce good business as well as good state policy.
East Indian trade.--A party of English merchants had also succeeded in penetrating from the Syrian coast to India. The report of their journey and the voyages of Drake and Cavendish stimulated the desire to open trade with the Far East. The result was that in 1591 an expedition was fitted out which rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Ceylon, India, and the Malay Peninsula. Reports of the successes of the Dutch in the East Indies increased the interest of the English merchants, and in 1600 the East India Company was formed.
SEARCH FOR A NORTHWEST Pa.s.sAGE
Frobisher.--The unsuccessful attempts of the Muscovy Company to reach the East by a northeast pa.s.sage led to the search for a northwestern route. The great exponent of the idea was Martin Frobisher. After vainly seeking many years for a patron who would furnish funds, in 1574 he received the support of Michael Lock, a member of the Muscovy Company, and the following year a royal license was granted to undertake the work.
In June, 1576, Frobisher sailed from England in command of three small vessels, only one of which reached America. The vessel pa.s.sed along the Labrador coast, crossed the entrance of Hudson Strait, and coasted Baffin Land, entering the inlet now known as Frobisher's Bay. Upon his return to England, Frobisher took back a large stone, which an a.s.sayer claimed contained gold. In consequence the queen and many influential men subscribed liberally for another voyage. The Company of Cathay was formed which was to have a monopoly in all lands to the westward where Englishmen had not traded before. Expeditions in search of gold were sent out under Frobisher in 1577 and 1578, but the rocks which were brought back proved to be worthless.
Gilbert.--Among those interested in the search for a northwest pa.s.sage was Raleigh's half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who believed that a colony might be established on the American coast. In 1578 he obtained a six-year monopoly of discovery and settlement in America. A fleet was equipped, but being twice scattered by storms, the attempt was abandoned. In 1583 Gilbert made a second venture. Arriving at St. Johns, Newfoundland, Gilbert informed the crews of the fis.h.i.+ng fleet of his commission, and took possession in the name of Elizabeth. On the return voyage the _Squirrel_ with Gilbert and all on board was lost in a storm just north of the Azores.
Davis.--In 1584 John Davis, Walter Raleigh, and others were granted a charter to explore a route to China and to trade in lands which might be discovered. Command of an expedition was given to Davis, who sailed from Dartmouth in 1585. The southern coast of Greenland was explored and Davis Strait was crossed, but the illusive opening was not found. In 1586 and 1587 Davis sought the pa.s.sage but without success.
ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION
Raleigh and the attempted colonization of Virginia.--England's struggle with Spain for empire did not end with an attack on her fleets and her colonies. Men soon arose who dared to dispute Spain's monopoly by planting colonies in the lands claimed by His Catholic Majesty. The leader in the enterprise was Sir Walter Raleigh. In 1584 he received a patent similar to that of Gilbert. Two vessels were soon despatched under Amadas and Barlowe. They followed the southern route by the Canaries and the West Indies, and finally landed on Roanoke Island, taking possession of that region, which was named Virginia in honor of Elizabeth, a name which was soon applied to the country from the Spanish settlements to Newfoundland. In April of the following year Grenville commanded a second expedition which took out the first colonists, who made a settlement on Roanoke Island. In 1586 supply s.h.i.+ps were sent out, but they found the settlement deserted. Wearied by the hard winter, the settlers had accepted an offer from Sir Francis Drake, who had been raiding in the Caribbean, to carry them back to England.
In 1587 another group of colonists including almost a hundred men, seventeen women, and several children, was sent out under Governor John White and landed at Roanoke. White returned to England, but owing to the naval war with Spain and other difficulties he was unable to go to Virginia again until 1591, when he found only deserted ruins. News of the English intrusion caused alarm on the Spanish frontier, and the governor of Florida in person led a counter expedition up the coast as far as Chesapeake Bay. To this day the fate of the Roanoke colony is a mystery, but light on the matter may yet be shed by the Spanish archives.
Raleigh's Orinoco expedition.--The discoveries of the Spaniards in Mexico and Peru spurred the Englishman to attempt to find similar lands of treasure. A story became current that in the interior of South America on the upper waters of the Amazon and the Orinoco was a great kingdom, which contained a powerful city called Manoa. It was also believed that in the interior there was a mountain of sapphire and a land ruled by female warriors called Amazons. After the failure of the Roanoke enterprise, Raleigh became interested in this land of wonders, and in 1594 sent a vessel to the Guiana coast to obtain information. The following year Raleigh himself made an exploration of the delta of the Orinoco and ascended the main stream a considerable distance. But the city of Manoa proved elusive, supplies ran short, and the expedition returned to England.
READINGS
CABOT
Bourne, E.G., _Spain in America_, 54-61; Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, I, 33-42; Fiske, John, _Discovery of America_, II, 2-15; Markham, C.R., _Columbus_, 226-233; Olson, J.E., ed., _The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot_.
COMMERCIAL COMPANIES
Cheyney, E.P., _A History of England from the Defeat of the Armada to the Death of Elizabeth_, I, 309-348, 375-422, 433-459; Cunningham, William, _The Growth of English Industry and Commerce in Modern Times--The Mercantile System_, 214-279; Scott, W.R., _The Const.i.tution and Finance of English, Scottish and Irish Joint-Stock Companies to 1720_, II, 3-11, 36-52, 83-89; Tilby, A.W., _The English People Overseas_, I, 38-43.
SEA ROVERS, THE NORTHWEST Pa.s.sAGE, AND RALEIGH
Buchan, J., _Sir Walter Ralegh_; Channing, Edward, _History of the United States_, I, 115-140; Cheyney, E.P., _A History of England from the Defeat of the Armada to the Death of Elizabeth_, I, 349-374, 423-459; Corbett, J.S., _Drake and the Tudor Navy; Sir Francis Drake_; Hume, M.A.S., _Sir Walter Ralegh_; Nuttall, Zelia, _New Light on Drake_; Payne, E.J., _Elizabethan Sea-men_; Scott, W.R., _The Const.i.tution and Finance of English, Scottish and Irish Joint-Stock Companies to 1720_, II, 76-82, 241-245; Tilby, A.W., _The English People Overseas_, I, 24-38; Woodward, W.H., _A Short History of the Expansion of the British Empire_, 17-63; Wood, W., _Elizabethan Sea-Dogs_.
CHAPTER VI
THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND INSULAR COLONIES (1603-1640)
ENGLAND UNDER THE EARLY STUARTS, 1603-1640
James I.--When James Stuart came to the throne, he had an exalted idea of the kings.h.i.+p, believing that he ruled by divine right. The Tudors had wielded almost absolute power, the privy council overshadowing parliament. James naturally intended to rule in a similar manner, and resented any legislative action which tended to decrease his prerogative. He also stood as a staunch supporter of the English church.
His foreign policy was based upon a sincere desire for peace. With this in view he ended the war with Spain and projected a marriage between his son and a Spanish princess. In the latter part of James' reign, when the Thirty Years' War broke out, the king hoped to become the arbiter of Europe. Though he failed in this, he at least had the satisfaction of keeping his country out of war.
Charles I.--The Parliamentarians who had nursed their wrath during the reign of James, soon clashed with his successor. Charles I was a man of staunch self-righteousness, who had little of pliability and much of stubbornness in his nature. His idea of the royal prerogative was fully as exalted as that of his father. From the beginning of the reign, king and parliament clashed. When a war, which broke out with France and Spain, went badly, the unpopularity of the king increased. When he summoned parliament in 1628 to ask for supplies, he found that body unwilling to comply with his demands until he had signed the Pet.i.tion of Right.