1583. record their discoveries and exploits. Two days after this disaster, no land yet appearing, the waters being shallow, the coast unknown, the navigation dangerous, and the provisions scanty, it was concluded by the general and the company to return to England. Changing their course accordingly, they passed in sight of Cape Race on the 2d of September, and on the 9th, when they had sailed more than 300 leagues on their way home, the frigate, on board of which was Sir Humphrey Gilbert, foundered in a violent storm at midnight, and all the souls on board perished.1 Aug. 31.' Sept. 9. Is lost at sea. Patent of Sir Adrian Gilbert obtained from queen Elizabeth a patent for Sir A. Gil- the discovery of a Northwest passage to China, to remain in force five years, by the title of, The Colleagues of the Fellowship for the Discovery of the Northwest passage.2 bert. 1584. Q. Elizabeth's patent to Sir W. Raleigh for discov SIR WALTER RALEIGH, observing that the Spaniards had only settled on the middle and southern parts of America, and that there was a vast extent of territory north of the Gulf of Mexico that was yet unknown, after mature deliberation, resolved on its discovery. Having digested a plan for prosecuting the design, he laid it before the queen and council, to whom it appeared a rational, practicable, and generous undertaking. The March 25. queen accordingly gave him a patent, granting him free liberty to discover such remote, heathen, and barbarous lands, not actually ery. 1 Hakluyt, i. 679–699; iii. 143-166. Purchas, iii. 808. Harris' Voy. i. 583-586, 860. Forster, Voy. 292, 293. Hazard, Coll. i. 32. Prince, 1583. Belknap, Biog. i. Art. GILBERT. Stith, Virg. 6. Univ. Hist. xli. 86. Biog. Britannia, Art. GILBERT. Camden, Eliz. 1583. The account in Hakluyt is original. Its title is: "A Report of the voyage and successe thereof, attempted in the yeere of our Lord 1583 by Sir Humfrey Gilbert knight, with other gentlemen assisting him in that action, intended to discover and to plant Christian inhabitants in place convenient, upon those large and ample countreys extended Northward from the cape of Florida, lying under very temperate climes, esteemed fertile and rich in Minerals, yet not in the actual possession of any Christian prince, written by M. Edward Haies gentleman, and principall actour in the same voyage, who alone continued unto the end, and by Gods speciall assistance returned home with his retinue safe and entire."- -Haies says, it was the intention of Parmenius "to record in Latine tongue the gests [exploits, from the Latin] and things worthy of remembrance, happening in this discoverie, to the honour of our nation, the same being adorned with the eloquent stile of this Orator and rare Poet of our time." An account of Parmenius, with a Poem which he wrote in England in celebration of the projected Voyage, is inserted in Hakluyt, and in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Parmenius was lost in the Admiral; but it appears that Gilbert was not on board that ship. "The Generall made choise to go in his frigate the Squirrell, the same being most convenient to discover upon the coast, and to search into every harbour or creeke, which a great ship could not do." Camden gives Sir Humphrey Gilbert this character: "Eques auratus, vir acer et alacer, belli pacisque artibus clarus." 2 Hakluyt, i. 774–776; iii. 96—98, where are entire copies of the patent. Belknap, Biog. i. 38. Anderson [ii. 157.] says, this "scheme ended in nothing at all." possessed by any Christian prince, nor inhabited by Christian. people, as to him should seem good; with prerogatives and jurisdictions as ample, as had been granted to his brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert.1 1584. Barlow. at the coast On the reception of this patent, Raleigh sent Philip Amadas Voyage of and Arthur Barlow, two experienced commanders, to explore Amadas & the country called by the Spaniards Florida. Sailing from the west of England on the 27th of April, they arrived at the West Indies on the 10th of June. Proceeding soon after to the continent, they arrived at the American coast on the 4th of July, and July 4. sailed along the shore 120 miles, before they could find an entrance They arrive by any river, issuing into the sea. Coming to one at length, of N. Amethey entered it; and, having manned their boats and viewed the rica. adjoining land, they took formal possession of the country for 13. the queen of England, delivering it over to the use of Sir Walter Take posRaleigh. This proved to be the island of Wocokon, on the session of borders of which they remained two days without seeing any people of the country. On the third day three of the natives came in a boat to the side of the island near the English, who persuaded one of them to go on board their ships, where they gave him a shirt, and various toys. The next day there came to them several boats, in one of which was Granganimeo, a brother of the king of the country, with about 40 men; and to this the country. princely personage, whom his attendants treated with profound Traffick respect, they made presents of such things as pleased him. A with the day or two after, they trafficked with the natives. The king's natives. 1 After the death of Sir H. Gilbert's father, his mother married Walter Ralegh, Esq. of Fardel; and by him was the mother of Sir Walter Ralegh. An entire copy of Ralegh's patent is in Hakluyt, iii. 243-245; Hazard, Coll. i. 33–38; and Brit. Emp. Introd. i. p. xv-xix. It was " to continue the space of 6 yeeres, and no more."-The name of the patentee is Ralegh in the patent; and Oldys saw it thus written "by his own hand;" but the later English historians, and our own after them, uniformly writing it Raleigh, I submit to the rule, which is arbitrarily applied alike to writing and speaking: Usus est jus et norma loquendi. 2 "The maner of his comming was in this sort: hee left his boates altogether as the first man did a little from the shippes by the shore, and came along to the place over against the ships, followed with fortie men. When he came to the place, his servants spread a long matte upon the ground, on which he sate downe, and at the other ende of the matte foure others of his companie did the like, the rest of his men stood round about him somewhat a farre off: when we came to the shore to him with our weapons, hee never moved from his place, nor any of the other foure, nor never mistrusted any harme to be offred from us, but sitting still he beckoned us to come and sit by him, which we performed: and being set hee made all signs of joy and welcome." In trading with the natives a day or two afterward, "when we shewed him all our packet of merchandize, of all things that he sawe, a bright tinne dish most pleased him, which he presently tooke up and clapt it before his breast, and after made a hole in the brimme thereof and hung it about his necke, making signes that it would defende him against his enemies arrowes.-We exchanged our tinne dish for twentie skinnes, woorth twentie crownes, or twenty nobles; and a copper kettle for fiftie skins woorth fiftie crownes." Hakluyt, iii. 247. noke, 1584. brother afterward went on board the ships, accompanied by his wife and children. After this friendly intercourse, Barlow and seven of his men went 20 miles through Pamlico Sound to Visit Roa- Roanoke, an island near the mouth of Albemarle Sound, where they found a village, consisting of nine houses, built with cedar, and fortified with sharp trees. In the absence of Granganimeo, who lived here, they were entertained with peculiar kindness by his wife. While partaking of the refreshment that she prepared for them, they were so alarmed by two or three of the natives, who came in from hunting, as to be ready to take up their arms, to repel them; but she instantly caused some of her men to go out, and take away their bows and arrows, and break them, and beat those Indians out of the gate. This generous woman, concerned to see the English in the evening putting off from the shore, carried a supper, half dressed, and delivered it at the boat side, with the pots in which it was cooked. Perceiving their continued distrust, she ordered several men, and 30 women, to sit on the bank, as a guard to them through the night, and sent several fine mats, to screen them from the weather. The ships, the fire arms, the clothes, and especially the complexions, of the English excited the admiration of these tawny aborigines, and produced a sort of magical influence, which procured from them these extraordinary tokens of respect and hospitality. After September. spending a few weeks in trafficking with the people, and in visitReturn to ing some parts of the continent, the adventurers returned to England. England, carrying with them two of the natives. On their arrival, they gave such splendid descriptions of the beauty and fertility of the country, and of the mildness of the climate, that Elizabeth, delighted with the idea of occupying so fine a territory, The coun- bestowed upon it the name of VIRGINIA, as a memorial that this happy discovery was made under a virgin queen.1 try is called Virginia. ville to Vir ginia. 1585. SIR WALTER RALEIGH sent out from England a fleet of seven Voyage of sail, with people to form a settlement in Virginia; deputing Sir Sir R.Gren- Richard Grenville to be general of the expedition, and Mr. Ralph Lane to be governor of the colony. Sailing from Plymouth on the 9th of April, they proceeded to Virginia by the way of the West Indies, and, having narrowly escaped shipwreck at Cape Fear, anchored at Wocokon the 26th of June. From this island Anchors at Grenville went to the continent, accompanied by several gentlemen; was absent from the fleet eight days; and in that time June 26. Wocokon. 1 Hakluyt, iii. 246-251. Purchas, i. 755. Smith, Virginia, 2-4. Beverly's Virginia, 4. Stith's Virginia, 9, 11, 31. Prince's New England Chronology. Stow's Chronicle, 1018. Robertson, b. 9. Belknap, Biography, Art. RALEIGH. Oldys' Life of Ralegh, 23-25. Marshall's Life of Washington. This territory falls within what was afterwards called North Carolina; and the original name, Virginia, is applied to the adjacent country on the northeast. Poanoke discovered several Indian towns. He then sailed to Cape Hat- 1585. teras, where he was visited by Granganimeo, the prince seen by Amadas and Barlow the preceding year. He next sailed to the Leaves at island of Roanoke, where he remained a short time, and then embarked for England, leaving 107 persons under the govern- English ment of Mr. Lane, to begin a plantation. This was the first colony in English colony, ever planted in America.' the first America. Jish take Sir Bernard Drake, a Devonshire knight, with a squadron of The EngEnglish ships, was now sent to Newfoundland, where he took Portuguese several Portuguese ships, laden with fish, oil, and furs, and carried ships at them, as good and lawful prizes, to England.2 Newfound land. Some merchants and gentlemen of landed property in England, with some noblemen, belonging to the court, formed an association, and sent out two barks for discovery, under the command of John Davis, an experienced navigator. Leaving Voyage of Dartmouth in June, he sailed up to 66° 40′ north latitude, in the J. Davis to strait which bears his name, and explored the western coast of Labrador. Greenland, and part of the opposite coast of the continent of America, between which two coasts the strait runs. Anchoring here under a large mountain, he named it Mount Raleigh. He viewed Terra de Labrador, and the more northerly coasts; and discovered Gilbert's Sound, and the straits, which he afterward called Cumberland Straits.3 1 Hakluyt, iii. 251-255. Smith, Virginia, 5. De Bry, America, P. 1. Beverly, 6, 11. Stith, 12. Univ. Hist. xxxix. 237. Prince, Introd. 1585. Robertson, b. 9. Biograph. Britannica, Art. GREENVILLE. Brit. Emp. Introd. i. 20; iii. 36. Birch's Life of Raleigh, p. xv. Oldys, p. xxviii. The names of these first 107 colonists" that remained one whole yeere in Virginia.' are preserved in Hakluyt, iii. 254, and in Hazard's Collections, i. 38, 39. The short journal of their voyage gives no account of what passed between them and the natives about settlement; "but we may conclude," says Oldys, "it was agreed on, since one hundred and seven men were left for a year in the country, without disturbance, to begin the plantation." This settlement of the English was begun seventeen years after the French had abandoned Florida, on the same coast, but at a considerable distance to the north of the territories for which France and Spain had contended.-The Spaniards of Florida had a jealous eye upon the Virginia colony. Hakluyt was informed by a Spaniard, brought by Sir Francis Drake from St. Augustine, where he had resided six years, that they looked after that colony, this very year. "Waterin," says Hakluyt, "is a river fortie leagues distant Northward from Saint Helena, where any feete of great ships may ride safely. I take this river to be that which we call Waren in Virginia, whither at Christmasse last 1585. the Spaniards sent a barke with fortie men to discover where we were seated: in which barke was Nicholas Burgoignon, the reporter of all these things." That they did nothing more, may probably be ascribed to their weakness. Hakluyt was, at the same time, informed; "the greatest number of Spaniards that have bene in Florida this sixe yeeres, was three hundred, and now they were but two hundred in both the Forts." Voy. iii. 361, 362. 2 Univ. Hist. xxxix. 248. Anderson, ii. 162. Forster [294.] ascribes it to the strength of Spain, Portugal, and France, that the English did not venture before to dispute with them the title to this fishery. Anderson simply considers this, as an act against a nation at open war, Portugal being now united to Spain." Forster erroneously says Sir Francis, instead of Sir Bernard Drake. 3 Hakluyt, iii. 98-103, where the writer of the voyage says, "we ankered in 1586. the Eng lish to the W. Indies. QUEEN ELIZABETH, now at war with Spain, was advised to Grand ex- attack her settlements in America, and to surprise the Spanish pedition of galeons. In prosecution of this scheme, private adventurers in England fitted out a fleet of 20 sail, with 2300 soldiers and mariners, under the command of Sir Francis Drake. This distinguished naval commander, on his arrival at the West Indies, took and pillaged the city of St. Domingo; and, sailing over to the continent, took the city of Carthagena, and obliged the inhabitants to ransom it. Leaving Carthagena, and sailing by the coast of Florida, he sacked St. John's fort, near St. Augustine; but before his arrival the Spaniards had abandoned the fort, and retired to St. Augustine, where they had 150 soldiers.2 He next determined on the like assault upon St. Helena; but from the state of his marine force, and a contrary wind which rendered a landing impracticable, he relinquished the design. After some days, he sailed for Virginia, to visit the English Sir F. Drake colony recently planted there, and arrived off the coast on the 9th of June. Discovering a distant fire, he sent his skiff ashore with some of his men, who found several of their countrymen of that colony, and took them on board their ships. By their direction, the fleet proceeded the next day to the place which the English colonists made their port; but some of the ships, being of too great draught to enter, anchored about two miles from the shore.3 From this place Drake, who had been told that the Virginia colony was in distress for want of provision, wrote a letter to colony in governor Lane, then at his fort at Roanoke, about six leagues distress. distant, making him an offer of supplies. The next day Mr. Lane and some of his company going on board the fleet, Drake made them two proposals: Either to leave them a ship, a pinnace, and several boats, with sufficient masters and mariners, June 9. arrives at Virginia. Offers it relief. a very faire rode under a brave mount, the cliffes whereof were as orient as golde." Harris' Voy. i. 579, 589. Purchas, i. 741 Forster, Voy. 298-301. Prince, 1585. Univ. Hist. xli. 86. Europ. Settlements, ii. 286. Alcedo, Art. DAVIS. See A. D. 1587. 1 The fleet sailed in September, 1585; stopped at the islands of Cape de Verd; and arrived at Hispaniola 1 January, 1586. 2 Cardenas, Hist. Florida-" retirandose à San Agustin, donde avia 150 soldados de Guarnicion." In St. John's fort were left 14 pieces of brass ordnance, together with a chest of silver, containing about 20001. sterling, designed for the payment of the garrison, which consisted of 150 men. Hakluyt, iii. 547. Roberts' Florida." Here," at St. Augustine," it was resolved in full assembly of Captaines to undertake the enterprise of S. Helena, and from thence to seeke out the inhabitation of our English countrymen in Virginia, distance from thence some sixe degrees northward." Hakluyt, iii. 547. signieron su Viage à Virginie seis grados distante de Santa Elena." Cardenas says, succours were furnished to finish the rebuilding of the city St. Augustine 1586-1589; "acabo de reedificar la civdad Agustin." 3 The place of anchoring is described as "without the harbour in a wilde roade at sea." |