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PREFACE
PREFACE
This book represents an attempt to bring into one account the story of European expansion in North America down to 1783. Text-books written in this country as a rule treat the colonization of the New World as the history, almost solely, of the thirteen English colonies which formed the nucleus of the United States. The authors have essayed to write a book from a different point of view. It has been prepared in response to a clear demand for a text written from the standpoint of North America as
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CHAPTER I THE BACKGROUND AND THE DISCOVERY
CHAPTER I THE BACKGROUND AND THE DISCOVERY
The fifteenth century witnessed the culmination of the Renaissance, the rise of the Turkish Empire, the shifting of the commercial center from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the discovery of America and the opening of the Cape route to India. Portugal and Spain started on their careers as great commercial and colonizing nations, the former destined for a time to control the commerce of the Far East, the other to possess more than half of the Americas and to dominate the Pacific. Classical id
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CHAPTER II THE FOUNDING OF NEW SPAIN (1492-1543)
CHAPTER II THE FOUNDING OF NEW SPAIN (1492-1543)
The discoveries of Columbus opened to Spain the opportunity to found a great colonial empire in the new world. For this work Spain had been prepared by the welding of the nation which was perfected during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Christian reconquest.—In the eighth century the Mohammedan Berbers had overthrown the Visigothic kingdom, the unconquered Christian princes retiring to the mountain regions of the north. Gradually they reconquered the country. By 910 they had established
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CHAPTER III THE EXPANSION OF NEW SPAIN (1543-1609)
CHAPTER III THE EXPANSION OF NEW SPAIN (1543-1609)
Philip's inheritance.—Charles V's stormy reign came to a close in 1556, when he abdicated in favor of his son, Philip II, who inherited Spain with its colonies, Naples, Milan, Franche Comté, and the Netherlands. The imperial office and the Hapsburg possessions went to Charles's brother, Ferdinand I. The Protestant movement.—The Protestant movement, which began in Germany and Switzerland, spread into France, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries. The Catholic church s
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CHAPTER IV THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FRENCH COLONIES (1500-1700)
CHAPTER IV THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FRENCH COLONIES (1500-1700)
Mediæval France and the Italian wars.—The history of Mediæval France is largely the story of the struggle of the French kings to overthrow the feudal nobility and to perfect the governmental machinery of absolutism. The process which began with the accession of Hugh Capet in 987 was practically completed by the end of the reign of Louis XI, in 1483. During the reigns of Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I, the great ambition of the French monarchs was to get control of Italy, a policy which b
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CHAPTER V THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH EXPANSION (1485-1603)
CHAPTER V THE BEGINNINGS OF ENGLISH EXPANSION (1485-1603)
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 colonizatio
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CHAPTER VI THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND INSULAR COLONIES (1603-1640)
CHAPTER VI THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND INSULAR COLONIES (1603-1640)
James I.—When James Stuart came to the throne, he had an exalted idea of the kingship, 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 t
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CHAPTER VII THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND (1606-1640)
CHAPTER VII THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND (1606-1640)
The Puritans.—While the planting of colonies on the shores of Chesapeake Bay and on the Caribbean islands was in progress, other settlements were being formed in New England by English Separatists and Puritans. By the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth the Anglican church was firmly established, but it was not long before groups within the church began to show dissatisfaction. At first protests were made against some of the ceremonies and formulas of the service. After 1570 the Puritans, as the
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CHAPTER VIII THE ENGLISH COLONIES DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1640-1660)
CHAPTER VIII THE ENGLISH COLONIES DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1640-1660)
Attitude of the colonies during the Puritan Revolution.—The personal rule of Charles I came to an end in 1641 and for eight years England was convulsed with civil war. During the struggle both Royalists and Parliamentarians claimed jurisdiction over the colonies, but neither was able to exert authority, and each colony followed its own course. The New England settlements were largely Puritan and naturally sided with parliament. In Maryland two factions formed, one Protestant, the other in favor
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CHAPTER IX THE DUTCH AND SWEDISH COLONIES (1609-1644)
CHAPTER IX THE DUTCH AND SWEDISH COLONIES (1609-1644)
Commercial expansion of the Netherlands.—During the reign of Philip II occurred the revolt in the Netherlands. Spanish political and commercial restrictions, and the establishment of the Inquisition, united the great commercial cities, the nobles, and the common people of the northeastern provinces in a rebellion which did not cease until the Hollanders had secured virtual independence by the truce of 1609. During the struggle Dutch ships raided the Spanish and Portuguese trade routes. As early
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CHAPTER X THE OLD ENGLISH COLONIES UNDER THE LATER STUARTS (1660-1689)
CHAPTER X THE OLD ENGLISH COLONIES UNDER THE LATER STUARTS (1660-1689)
The Restoration.—In 1660 Charles II was restored to the English throne and ruled until 1685, when his brother, James, the Duke of York, became king, ruling until deposed in 1688. In England the period was characterized by a reaction against Puritanism and the firm establishment of the English church. Abroad the Restoration was an era of commercial and colonial expansion. On the coasts of Asia, Africa, and America, the great trading companies were active, and powerful English nobles strove for po
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CHAPTER XI EXPANSION UNDER THE LATER STUARTS (1660-1689)
CHAPTER XI EXPANSION UNDER THE LATER STUARTS (1660-1689)
The period of the later Stuarts was remarkable for colonial expansion. New Netherlands was acquired, the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas were founded, the Hudson's Bay Fur Company was formed, and new settlements were made in the West Indies. Causes of the attack upon the Dutch.—In 1664 New Netherlands was seized. This was not an isolated event but was a part of a general plan to weaken Dutch power. England had three main objects: to cripple the Dutch carrying trade, to get control of th
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CHAPTER XII THE ENGLISH MAINLAND COLONIES AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER XII THE ENGLISH MAINLAND COLONIES AT THE CLOSE OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
At the close of the Stuart period the English mainland colonies stretched along the Atlantic coast from Pemaquid to Port Royal. The settlements nestled close to the coasts, in the tide-water region, or along the lower waters of the navigable streams. The total population probably did not exceed 225,000, one-half of whom were in Massachusetts and Virginia. At the same period Barbados alone contained over 50,000 white settlers and more than 100,000 slaves. Population.—New England contained some 80
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CHAPTER XIII THE SPANISH ADVANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER XIII THE SPANISH ADVANCE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
Decline of Spanish power in Europe.—After the reign of Philip II the power of Spain steadily declined. The long period of hostility with the Dutch and the war with Cromwell greatly weakened her power upon the sea. The continental wars sapped her military strength and France superseded her as the first power of Europe. Gradually Spain's continental possessions slipped from her. The first loss was the Protestant Netherlands. Nominally independent from 1609, their complete independence was acknowle
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CHAPTER XIV THE WARS OF THE ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUCCESSIONS (1684-1713)
CHAPTER XIV THE WARS OF THE ENGLISH AND SPANISH SUCCESSIONS (1684-1713)
The impending conflict.—Before the close of the Stuart period, it was evident that a great international struggle was at hand. Louis XIV of France aspired to overshadow England, Austria, and Spain. The dependence of the later Stuarts upon Louis temporarily delayed the outbreak of hostilities, but when James II was driven from the English throne the contest broke forth and continued intermittently until France was humbled and England had become the foremost commercial and colonial power. Sphere o
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CHAPTER XV THE FRENCH IN LOUISIANA AND THE FAR NORTHWEST (1699-1762)
CHAPTER XV THE FRENCH IN LOUISIANA AND THE FAR NORTHWEST (1699-1762)
Applicants for La Salle's grant.—During the War of the Palatinate Louis XIV showed little desire to develop La Salle's plan for a colony on the Gulf. In the interim, however, a number of individuals proposed taking up La Salle's work. In 1690 his brother, the Abbé Cavelier, strongly urged that it be continued. In 1694 Tonty asked permission to carry out the project. In 1697 De Louvigny, Captain of Marines in Canada, proposed making an expedition against the Spanish mines by way of the Rio Bravo.
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CHAPTER XVI TEXAS, PIMERÍA ALTA AND THE FRANCO-SPANISH BORDER CONFLICT (1687-1763)
CHAPTER XVI TEXAS, PIMERÍA ALTA AND THE FRANCO-SPANISH BORDER CONFLICT (1687-1763)
The advance of the French into Louisiana and the Trans-Mississippi West stimulated a new counter movement northeastward by the Spaniards from Chihuahua, New Mexico, and Coahuila, and there ensued on the Franco-Spanish border a contest for the control of Texas and all the plains country as far north as the Platte River—a contest much like the better-known "half-century of conflict" between the English and the French on the other border. At the same time, the Spanish frontier forged slowly northwe
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CHAPTER XVII THE ENGLISH ADVANCE INTO THE PIEDMONT, 1715-1750
CHAPTER XVII THE ENGLISH ADVANCE INTO THE PIEDMONT, 1715-1750
The colonization of North America by the English was not complete with the founding of the seaboard settlements, but continued in a series of steps westward. At each step American society has returned to simple frontier conditions, under which it has been free to try out new experiments in democracy. Each stage of advance has made its special contribution to our institutions. In a broad way these steps in the westward movement have corresponded with great physiographic areas. The seventeenth cen
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CHAPTER XVIII ENGLISH COLONIAL SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER XVIII ENGLISH COLONIAL SOCIETY IN THE MIDDLE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
Population and settled area.—By 1760 the population of the English continental colonies was probably 1,650,000; of these the New England colonies contained about a half-million, the middle group about four hundred and fifty thousand, and south of the Mason-Dixon line there were about seven hundred thousand. Nearly half of the inhabitants were in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The bulk of the population still clung to the coastal regions, but the rivers had pointed the way to the inter
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CHAPTER XIX THE ENGLISH COLONIAL SYSTEM (1689-1763)
CHAPTER XIX THE ENGLISH COLONIAL SYSTEM (1689-1763)
Before 1689 English colonial administration had been largely a personal matter with the king. Royal control had been exercised through the Privy Council assisted by advisory committees, boards and commissioners, after 1674 the most important of these bodies being the Lords of Trade. Between 1689 and 1714 colonial administration underwent fundamental changes both in theory and organization. By the end of the reign of Anne it had become largely departmental and official rather than personal, and P
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CHAPTER XX A QUARTER-CENTURY OF CONFLICT: THE EXPULSION OF THE FRENCH (1715-1763)
CHAPTER XX A QUARTER-CENTURY OF CONFLICT: THE EXPULSION OF THE FRENCH (1715-1763)
Spanish dynastic ambitions.—From 1715 to 1739 the relations of England and Spain were frequently strained, due to the clashing of commercial and colonial interests, or to the ambitions of Spanish rulers. Philip V hoped to become the king of France. His second wife, Elizabeth Farnese, was ambitious to secure territories in Italy for her sons, the elder, Don Carlos, being destined to play an important part in Italian and Spanish history. The Spanish minister, Alberoni, devoted himself to building
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THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE: THE OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA AND LOUISIANA BY SPAIN (1763-1783)
THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE: THE OCCUPATION OF ALTA CALIFORNIA AND LOUISIANA BY SPAIN (1763-1783)
Effect of the Seven Years' War.—The outcome of the Seven Years' War caused several readjustments in Spanish North America. It left Spain in a position where she must restore her colonial power or sink to the rank of a third rate nation. Renewed war with England was regarded as inevitable. Florida was lost, and was poorly compensated for, it was thought, by western Louisiana. The French barrier having been removed, Spain's hold on Louisiana and the Pacific Slope was threatened by the English, adv
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CHAPTER XXII THE NEW BRITISH POSSESSIONS (1763-1783)
CHAPTER XXII THE NEW BRITISH POSSESSIONS (1763-1783)
Amherst's plan for defence.—While the Spaniards were occupying western Louisiana the British were organizing the country ceded by France and Spain east of the Mississippi, in Canada, and in the West Indies. In 1763 the Secretary of War asked General Amherst, commander-in-chief in America, for a plan of defence of the British possessions. In response he drew up a "Plan of Forts and Garrisons prepared for the security of North America" which reveals England's outlook upon her newly acquired territ
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CHAPTER XXIII THE CONTROVERSY OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES WITH THE HOME GOVERNMENT (1763-1775)
CHAPTER XXIII THE CONTROVERSY OF THE ENGLISH COLONIES WITH THE HOME GOVERNMENT (1763-1775)
Nature of the causes.—While British statesmen were working out a system of government for the newly acquired domains, in the empire forces of disintegration were at work which brought on the American Revolution. The causes of that convulsion cannot be traced to a group of events or laws. Through a long period social, political, and economic forces were at work which gradually brought thirteen of the mainland colonies into open rebellion. Because this opposition is more evident after the French a
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CHAPTER XXIV FROM LEXINGTON TO INDEPENDENCE (1775-1776)
CHAPTER XXIV FROM LEXINGTON TO INDEPENDENCE (1775-1776)
Enforcement of the Association.—The Association adopted by the Continental Congress was approved throughout the colonies. In county and town meetings, in assemblies, provincial congresses, or special conventions, the patriot party expressed its approval. Though the New York assembly refused to sanction the proceedings of Congress, the committee of correspondence and many counties chose inspection committees. In Georgia the patriots had a difficult time, but when the provincial congress assembled
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CHAPTER XXV THE STRUGGLE FOR THE MUDDLE STATES (1776-1777)
CHAPTER XXV THE STRUGGLE FOR THE MUDDLE STATES (1776-1777)
Preparations to defend New York.—After the evacuation of Boston it was realized that New York would be a probable point of attack and great exertions were made to put it in a state of defence. Washington arrived on April 13, 1776; his troops, delayed by bad roads, came straggling in, and new levies began to arrive, the army being gradually augmented until it numbered about twenty thousand men. But the effective fighting force was several thousand less, for disease was ever present. Furthermore t
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CHAPTER XXVI THE WAR AS AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST
CHAPTER XXVI THE WAR AS AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEST
The French motives.—On February 6, 1778, France entered into an alliance with the United States. That event changed the war from a struggle between England and her former colonies to an international contest in which Spain and Holland were soon engaged. The motives of France in entering the contest have been variously ascribed to revenge for the loss of her possessions and the desire to regain them, to the intellectual movement in France, to the desire to build up French commerce at the expense
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CHAPTER XXVII THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE REVOLUTION (1778-1781)
CHAPTER XXVII THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE REVOLUTION (1778-1781)
Conquest of Georgia.—When France became the ally of the United States, British statesmen realized that the conquest of New England and the middle states was impossible, but they still hoped to conquer the South. From East Florida the British forces could strike at Georgia, and in November, 1778, the operations began. Thirty-five hundred men were sent south from New York, and General Prévost with two thousand soldiers advanced from Florida. On December 29 British forces captured Savannah and shor
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CHAPTER XXVIII GOVERNMENTAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE REVOLUTION
CHAPTER XXVIII GOVERNMENTAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE REVOLUTION
The Association a step toward sovereignty.—The First Continental Congress was called to deliberate and determine upon measures to recover rights and liberties of which the colonies had been deprived and to restore harmony with Great Britain. Although the Congress was consultative in nature, it completed the revolutionary organization and made unity of action possible. The adoption of the Association was a fundamental step toward sovereignty. It could only be interpreted to mean that the colonies
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