CHAPTER IV

ENGLISH EXPLORERS

The Cabots.-As soon as the other great nations of Europe heard of the discoveries that Columbus had made for Spain, they too wanted to make discoveries. In 1497 England sent John Cabot on a voyage of exploration. His purpose was to find the way to India that Columbus had failed to find. He believed he could sail north of America and get to India by that route. So he tried to find a northwest passage to Asia.

Cabot landed somewhere near the coast of Labrador and saw the mainland of the continent before it was seen by any of the Spaniards. But he could not find the northwest passage, and he soon sailed back to England.

The next year John Cabot again sailed to America with his son Sebastian. His landing place this time was near Nova Scotia. Thence he sailed south and explored the coast as far as Chesapeake Bay. These two voyages gave England her claim to the main part of North America.

Drake. During most of the century following the discovery of America, there was trouble and bitter feeling between England and Spain over political and religious questions. England was also jealous of the growing power of Spain in America. This led some bold English navigators to turn raiders and like pirates to attack the Spaniards. In 1577 Francis Drake, who had suffered much because of this trouble and was eager for revenge, sailed from England to rob the Spanish ships and settlements in America. He sailed around South America and

went as far north as Oregon. He landed near San Francisco, named the country New Albion, and claimed it for the King of England. Then he crossed the Pacific Ocean and went around Africa to England. He was the first Englishman to sail around the world, which Magellan had already proved to be round.

Queen Elizabeth was so delighted that Drake had sailed

around the world that she went on board his ship, the Golden Hind, and made him a knight. After that he was called Sir Francis Drake.

Gilbert. Sir Humphrey Gilbert was another famous English soldier of Queen Elizabeth's time. He sailed to Newfoundland in 1583 and took possession of that island for England. Then he sailed southward and explored a part of the Atlantic coast. A terrible storm destroyed

his largest vessel and a hundred of his men lost their lives. Gilbert decided to return to England to plan for further explorations the next year, but his little ship could not make the voyage and went to the bottom of the Atlantic with the brave explorer and all her crew. His fate was like that of many others who tried to explore the New World, for crossing the ocean in the small sailing vessels of those early days was very dangerous.

1. Whom did England send on a voyage in 1497? 2. What was his purpose?

3. What did he believe?

4. Did he find a northwest passage to India?

5. What did he and his son do the next year?

6. What did these two voyages give to England? 7. Describe the voyage of Sir Francis Drake. 8. How did Queen Elizabeth reward Drake? 9. Tell about Sir Humphrey Gilbert's explorations. 10. What happened to Gilbert and his crew?

CHAPTER V

FRENCH EXPLORERS

French Fishermen.-When the Cabots returned to England, they reported that they had seen many codfish in the waters near Newfoundland. Fishermen on the coast of France heard of this report and sailed across the ocean to find these new fishing places. While making these voyages, they discovered an island which they named Cape Breton. One of these fishermen also discovered and explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence about 1506.

Verrazano. A few years later King Francis I of France began to make explorations in the New World. He thought that a part of America ought to belong to France, and he wanted also to trade with India. In 1524 he sent Verrazano, an Italian sailor, to make explorations and to find a route to India. Verrazano sailed to the coast of North Carolina and then followed the coast north as far as New England. When he returned home, the French claimed all the land he had seen.

Cartier-Ten years later the French sent another expedition, of which Jacques Cartier was the leader. In 1534 he entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence, landed, and claimed the country for his king. The next year he sailed up the St. Lawrence River as far as an Indian village near a high hill. He climbed this hill and named it Montreal (royal mountain). He called the whole country New France.

The Huguenots in Florida.-In 1562 a company of Frenchmen left their native land because a religious war

was going on in France. They wanted to find a new home where they could have peace. They crossed the ocean and landed on the coast of Florida. This land did not please them, and they sailed north to a place in South Carolina which they named Port Royal. Here they built a small fort. Soon after, their leader, Jean Ribaut, sailed back to France. The men who stayed at the fort were an idle company, and for a time the Indians fed them. When the Indians would feed them no more, they built a ship and sailed for France. They had so little food that they would have starved if an English ship had not found them and taken them home.

First Settlements in Canada.-Fish and furs attracted the French to the north. In 1605 the first settlement in Canada was made at a place in Nova Scotia also called Port Royal. Three years later (1608) a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain built a fort at Quebec in order to trade for furs with the Indians.

Quebec soon became a very important town. Its fur trade brought wealth to the French, and its position on the St. Lawrence River made it easy to send out exploring parties and missionaries to the Indians. The French priests were very eager to make friends with the Indians and to teach them Christianity.

Champlain's Mistake.-The Indians around Quebec belonged to a tribe called Hurons. They were at war with the Iroquois, who lived in what is now the State of New York. Champlain went with the Hurons and helped them fight. He shot some of the Iroquois with his gun. The Indians had never before seen or heard a gun, and they were terribly frightened. The Hurons won the fight, but the Iroquois were ever after the enemies of Champlain and of the French. They would not let the French trade or settle in their country, and they fought against them many times.