An agreement between Catherine de’ Medici and the Huguenots in 1563, after the first civil war, by which the Huguenots were allowed the free exercise of their religion.
Amboyna, Massacre of.
The murder of ten Englishmen, in the employment of the India Company, at the Dutch factory of Amboyna in 1623.
America Act.
An Act passed in 1775, consolidating all the previous penal acts relating to the American Colonies. It declared that all American vessels were lawful prizes, and that all Americans captured in them, or elsewhere, could be forced to take service against America. Commissioners were appointed to receive the submission of the revolted colonies, but no provisions were made for the redress of grievances.
America, Discovery of.
According to the Norse Sagas, the discovery of America should be placed to the credit of the Vikings, who made five expeditions to the coast between 985 and 1011, the first being that of Eric the Red, who settled in Greenland in 986, and the most famous that of Thorfinn Karlsefne, about 1007. The rediscovery by Columbus took place in 1492.
American Customs Act.
An Act passed in 1764, levying customs duties on goods imported into the American Colonies. These duties were to be levied for the benefit of England, and the proceeds thereof paid into the English Treasury. The assertion of this right to tax the Colonies for the benefit of the Mother Country may be considered the cause of the loss of the American Colonies.