that monarch seized upon as much of the new world as he could grasp. The finest of the West India islands, the great and rich empires of Mexico and Peru, and nearly all the rest of South America, with other territories, were taken by Spain.

Other portions of the country were seized by other powers of Europe. France got possession of the country along the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, and England picked here and there upon the Atlantic border of North America, as she could find a prize worthy of her notice.

In this greedy scramble, the first object was gold and silver, which had been found in abundance in Mexico and Peru. But, after these became scarce, other objects were sought by the emigrants: some came for trade, some to cultivate the lands, and some to escape from religious persecution, which was then the great business of kings and priests, both in England and France.

The rights of the European natives to territory in America were founded in discovery. Thus, a ship having been fitted out in England, by command of the king, proceeded to this continent, and discovered the country from Labrador to Virginia. England, therefore, claimed all this territory, because one of her captains thus saw it before any other European.

By this right of discovery, various European powers got possession of the different parts of America; and although we cannot see any very good reason why discovery should confer such rights, still, when followed by occupancy, it has ever been regarded as a valid ground of claim, by civilized countries.

It appears that these European powers did not

consider the Indians as having any other right to the land which they had inherited and possessed for ages, but that of occupation. These people being savages and heathen, were looked upon as children or incompetent persons, over whom civilized and Christian governments had a right to assume guardianship and control.

Perhaps this, in theory, might be vindicated, but the practice of the European nations toward the natives was little less than a system of plunder. The Spaniards generally proceeded at once to conquer the natives of the countries of which they took possession, and thus reduced them to subjection.

The English adopted a system somewhat more just in appearance, though as destructive in its results. They purchased the lands of the natives, but usually made such sharp bargains that the whole inheritance of the tribes was soon bartered away, and they either perished, or sought other lands by emigration to the west.

CHAPTER XLVI.

The establishment of the English Colonies.

THE first settlement within the boundaries of the present United States was made in Virginia, in 1607, by a company of English emigrants. They settled on James' river and built Jamestown.

These persons took possession of the territory by virtue of a charter granted to Sir Thomas Gates and his associates, by James I., king of England, in 1606; for it will be remembered that the king

of England claimed the country by virtue of the discovery of Cabot, more than a century before.

This charter of king James granted to the Virginia company the territory between the thirtyfourth and forty-fifth parallel of latitude, and of course included the whole Atlantic country, from the southern point of North Carolina to New Brunswick. This company was afterwards divided, one taking the southern, and the other the northern portion of this land. Several distinct colonies became established within the limits of this grant to Sir Thomas Gates and his associates.

New York was settled by emigrants from Holland, in 1613. Their chief object was to trade with the natives for furs, and the first settlement was made at Albany. The next year, a small company established themselves on Manhattan island, and founded the now populous city of New York. This settlement of the Dutch was upon territory claimed by the king of England by the prior right of discovery, and of course it was esteemed an aggression. The settlement came into the hands of the English, by cession, in 1644, and after that, they held it as an English colony.

The first settlement in New England was made at Plymouth, in Massachusetts, in 1620, by certain persons called Puritans, who had fled to Holland on account of religious persecution, and having remained there several years, came to America. They were soon followed by others from England, and in the space of a few years, the colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire were established.

Maryland was settled by about two hundred Catholics, in 1634, who also came to escape from

religious persecution. New Jersey was settled about 1664; Pennsylvania in 1684. The latter colony consisted of Quakers, who made their settlement under the direction of the celebrated and kind-hearted William Penn. Delaware was first settled by a company of Swedes and Finns, in 1627.

North Carolina was settled by persons who fled from religious intolerance in Virginia, between 1640 and 1650. In South Carolina, the first permanent settlement was made at Port Royal, under governor Teagle, in 1670. Georgia was settled in 1732 by poor emigrants sent thither by an association of benevolent persons in England.

Thirteen colonies were thus established in North America. These consisted of 1. Massachusetts, which now included the Plymouth colony; 2. Connecticut; 3. New Hampshire; 4. Rhode Island; 5. New York; 6. New Jersey; 7. Pennsylvania; 8. Delaware; 9. Maryland; 10. Virginia; 11. North Carolina; 12. South Carolina; 13. Georgia.

These were the thirteen colonies that declared war against England, in 1776. It will be recollected that Maine was attached to Massachusetts. Vermont was never a colony; the territory was claimed both by New Hampshire and New York; the people fought against the British in the war, but did not join the confederation.

CHAPTER XLVII.

General Remarks on Colonies, &c.

Ir appears to have been the practice of commercial nations, in very early times, to send out companies of their people to settle in distant countries. As these settlements require protection, they receive it of the mother country, and, in return, allow that country to exercise government over them. These settlements, often remote and always dependent, are denominated colonies.

The great inducement to found and encourage colonies, has been, that they promoted trade and commerce, and thereby increased the wealth of the nation to whom they belonged. Carthage, established a century before Rome, was at first but a colony of Phoenicia. It afterwards became independent, and was long the most powerful state in Africa. It established numerous colonies, particularly along the coast of Spain, and from these derived a large share of its prosperity.

Greece, also, had a number of colonies, but her commerce, as well as her settlements, were chiefly confined within the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Rome was never a commercial power, for she chose rather to thrive by conquest than trade. She had, therefore, no commercial settlements which could properly be called colonies.

After the Roman Empire fell into the hands of the Northmen-about the year 450-for many centuries commerce did not flourish, and the whole world long remained in the darkness of ignorance and poverty. During the middle ages, the Euro