Such heroes bring ye forth
As those from whom we came;
And plant our name
Under that star
Not known unto our north.”
A severe storm carried the fleet, which had sailed by way of the Canaries and the West India Islands, into the magnificent bay of Chesapeake. A noble river was soon entered, which was named after King James, and on the 13th May 1607, the peninsula of Jamestown was selected for the site of the colony. After many early struggles the colony became settled, and in 1619 a Legislature was constituted. The Church of England was established as the Church of Virginia. All persons were to frequent Divine service upon the Sabbath-days, both forenoon and afternoon. Penalties were appointed for idleness, gaming with dice or cards, and drunkenness. And excess in apparel was taxed in the church for all public contributions. Gradually the colony, which was nurtured by a most influential company in London, became settled, and it soon increased in prosperity.
The New England Colony was founded about the same period. A Puritan community in the north of England, being persecuted at home, fled to Amsterdam in 1608. Their minister, a man of high character and great ability, was John Robinson. The Dutch made them large offers to settle in their colonies, but the pilgrims were attached to their nationality as Englishmen, and to the language of their country. A secret, but deeply-seated love of country led them to the resolution of recovering the protection of their country, by enlarging her dominions. They resolved to make a settlement of their own. They at first thought of joining the colony of Virginia, but, after consultation with the English Government, religious liberty was refused them. At length they resolved to sail at their own hazard, and made ready for their departure from Leyden. The ships which they had provided—the Speedwell of 60 tons, and the Mayflower of 180 tons—could hold but a minority of the congregation, and Robinson was therefore detained at Leyden; while Brewster, the governing elder, conducted “such of the youngest and strongest as freely offered themselves.” There were solemn instructions given them, and there was much prayer. They soon reached Southampton, and on the 5th August 1620 sailed from thence for America. The Speedwell put back, as unfit for the voyage, and the Mayflower at length, on 6th September, set sail alone with 102 on board,—men, women, and children,—without any warrant from King James. After a boisterous voyage of sixty-three days they cast anchor in the harbour of Cape Cod. Before they landed they formed themselves into a body politic by a solemn voluntary compact “to frame such just and equal laws as shall be thought most convenient,” and they pledged themselves to submission and obedience. They had to encounter terrible difficulties in seeking for a secure harbour, in the midst of a cold and stormy winter; but at length, on 11th December, they chose a spot, which they called Plymouth. When a body of Indians was discovered hovering near, the colony assumed a military organisation, with Miles Standish as the captain. Again in April the Mayflower sailed for Europe; and in autumn new emigrants arrived. In the summer the bay of Massachusetts and harbour of Boston were explored. The supply of bread was scanty; but, at their rejoicing together after the harvest, the colonists had great quantities of wildfowl and venison. They had many difficulties, but conquered them all, and soon became a strong, free community, of high moral character and devoted piety, though intolerant in some of their laws, according to the spirit of the age. They became a centre of attraction to many of the Puritans in England, and their number thus increased rapidly. This colony laid the basis of the principles of the United States constitution,—adopted a century and a half later. It was the true foundation of the great American nation.
OLIVER CROMWELL AND THE SEA-POWER OF ENGLAND.
CHAPTER VIII. A LONG INTERVAL IN NAVAL WARFARE ENDED.
Cromwell, with his great grasp of mind, saw at once the vast importance of the English navy, which, during the civil wars, had been neglected, and bent all his energies, not only to make it effective, but to give it the supreme command of the seas. The Dutch had become, through the long discords in England, the great traders of the world; they now aimed at nothing less than securing naval supremacy. It was this that brought about the fierce conflict between the two nations, both Protestant, and both at the time liberal,—which lasted for several years. The Dutch were unwilling to pay deference to the English Commonwealth by showing the wonted respect to the English flag in British waters. They probably thought that England was almost defunct as a sea-power, and they knew little the ruler with whom they had to deal. Cromwell had ulterior views, as to crushing the religious despotism which, with Spain as its chief instrument, had been long attempting to stamp out all Christian liberty. He could not proceed, however, with his plans, while Holland lay behind him as a possible enemy. Had the Dutch taken at the time a statesmanlike view of the position, they would have hailed the English Commonwealth as fighting the very battle which they themselves had fought,—and there might then have been a union of the naval forces of the two nations, for the good of the world, as afterwards, in the time of William III. But the Dutch looked only to their passing commercial interests. It was they that, by their exhibition of contempt for the English flag, originated the war. The battles during this war were about the fiercest ever fought on the seas. The result seemed uncertain for a time, but in the end England gained the day, and Holland had to succumb. Then, with Holland powerless, Cromwell was free to carry out his great policy, as to Spain and the Catholic powers. The navy entered the Mediterranean, where England had before no position at all, and swept everything before it, under its brave and godly commander, Blake, who felt, as did Cromwell, that he was fighting the universal battle of liberty of conscience. When Piedmont massacred numbers of her subjects, belonging to the ancient Vaudois Church, in the Alpine valleys, Cromwell was in a position, through his navy in the Mediterranean, to command the cessation of the persecution, and he thundered forth in the ears of astonished Europe, by his immortal secretary John Milton, such threats as alarmed the whole array of persecutors, and compelled submission to his demands,—for England now commanded the seas, and could sweep the coast of Italy, and all Mediterranean territory. To the foresight and statesmanship of Oliver Cromwell, John Milton, and Robert Blake is due, in great part, the position which England has occupied ever since, as the leading maritime power of the world.
