History of the United States

by John Clark Ridpath

The First English Settlements.

Settlement of Jamestown.

5. The London Company had better fortune. A fleet of three vessels was fitted out under command of Christopher Newport. In December the ships, having on board a hundred and five colonists, among whom were Wingfield and Smith, left England. Entering Chesapeake Bay, the vessels came to the mouth of a beautiful river, which was named in honor of King James. Proceeding up stream about fifty miles, Newport found on the northern bank a peninsula noted for its beauty; the ships were moored and the emigrants went on shore. Here, on the 13th of May (Old Style), 1607, were laid the foundations of Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in America.

New England Named.

6. Meanwhile Captain John Smith, in 1609, left Jamestown and returned to England. There he formed a partnership with four wealthy merchants of London to trade in furs and establish a colony within the limits of the Plymouth grant. Two ships were freighted with goods and put under Smith's command. The summer of 1614 was spent on the coast of Maine, where a traffic was carried on with the Indians. But Smith himself explored the country, and drew a map of the whole coast from the Penobscot to Cape Cod. In this map, the country was called New England.

7. In 1615 a small colony of sixteen persons, led by Smith, was sent out in a single ship. When nearing the American coast, they encountered a storm and were obliged to return to England. The leader renewed the enterprise, and raised another company. Part of his crew mutinied in mid-ocean. His own ship was captured by a band of French pirates, and himself imprisoned. But he escaped and made his way to London. The years 1617-18 were spent in making plans of colonization, until finally the Plymouth Company was superseded by a new corporation called the Council of Plymouth. On this body were conferred almost unlimited powers and privileges. All that part of America lying between the fortieth and the forty-eighth parallels of north latitude, and extending from ocean to ocean, was given to forty men.

8. John Smith was now appointed admiral of New England. The king issued a proclamation enforcing the charter, and everything gave promise of the early settlement of America. Meanwhile the time had come when, without the knowledge or consent of James I. or the Council of Plymouth, a permanent settlement should be made on the shores of New England.

The Puritans.

9. About the close of the sixteenth century, a number of poor Puritans in the north of England joined together for free religious worship. They believed that every man has a right to know the truth of the Scriptures for himself. Such a doctrine was repugnant to the Church of England. Queen Elizabeth declared such teaching to be subversive of the monarchy. King James was also intolerant; and violent persecutions broke out against the sect.

10. Many of the Puritans went into exile in Holland. They took the name of Pilgrims, and grew content to have no home or resting-place. But they did not forget their native land. They pined with unrest, and were anxious to do something to convince King James of their patriotism.