3. The English explored the Atlantic coast at various points, and claimed this vast territory, which they termed Virginia, having made their first settlement at Jamestown.
[Footnote: After this time, the English is the only nation that directly influences the history of the United States. The country was settled mainly by emigrants from Great Britain, and in the next epoch all the colonies become dependencies of that empire.]
4. The Dutch laid claim to New Netherland, but made no settlement till 1613.
The Rival Claims.—These four claims overlapped one another, and necessarily produced much confusion. While the first few settlements were separated by hundreds of miles of savage forests, this was of little account. But as the settlements increased, the rival claims became a source of constant strife, and were decided principally by the sword.
[Footnote: It is noticeable that the English grants all extended westward to the Pacific Ocean, the French southward from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf, and the Spanish northward to the Arctic Ocean. None of the European nations had any idea of the immense territory they were donating.]
Two Centuries of Exploration and One of Settlement.—These explorations had lasted during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and at the close of the sixteenth century, the only permanent settlements were those of the Spaniards at St. Augustine and Santa Fe. In the beginning of the seventeenth century, permanent settlements multiplied. They were made by
The FRENCH at Port Royal, N S., in 1605;
The ENGLISH at Jamestown, in 1607;
The FRENCH at Quebec, in 1608;
The DUTCH at New York, in 1613;