In the whole territorial history of the country, never has there been such a transition. The Philippines, which “Mr. Dooley” in 1898 thought might be canned goods, are now, according to the Supreme Court, in one sense “a part of the United States,” yet not an organic part in financial or governmental or legal relations. The country, which from 1850 to 1902 divided with Great Britain the responsibility for a future Isthmian canal, is now “making the dirt fly” in a canal strip which is virtually Federal territory. China, which a few years ago was one of the remotest parts of the earth, now lies but a few hundred miles from American possessions. The romantic era of annexations has gone by: the automobile trundles across the Great American Desert and stops for lunch at a railroad restaurant, and the South Sea Islands have lost their mystery since the trade-winds straighten out the American flag above some of those tiny land-spots.
SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS, CHIEFLY
MILITARY, IN THE HISTORY OF COLONIAL
AMERICA BETWEEN THE LANDING
OF COLUMBUS, 1492, AND
CHAMPLAIN’S BATTLE
WITH THE IROQUOIS,
1609
1492. Columbus discovers the western world.
1497. John Cabot reaches the mainland of North America.
1498. Columbus discovers the mainland of South America.
1512. Ponce de Leon lands in Florida.
1513. Balboa discovers the Pacific Ocean.
1519. Entry of Cortez into the City of Mexico.
1521. Conquest of Mexico by Cortez.
1531–33. Conquest of Peru by Pizarro.