Vlll 



PREFACE 



stimulus, and the latest and greatest obstacle to 

 colonization, if by colonization we mean the creation 

 of some distant and distinct unit with a separate life of 

 its own. 



Early and arrested development was not merely due 

 to the pursuits of those who went to or lived in New- 

 foundland, but was also due to the spirit of initiative 

 and ambition which animated Elizabethans, and to 

 the profound conviction which animated the political 

 successors to the Elizabethans, that England must 

 increase the English population, and must strengthen 

 the English navy. The theories and policies based on 

 this conviction had many forms and phases, of which 

 the underlying truth is nowadays less apparent than 

 the fallacy. This conviction, or some form or phase of 

 it, produced far-reaching effects on the whole Atlantic 

 coast, but its effects were most conspicuous in New- 

 foundland, where the natural habits of the local fisher- 

 men reinforced the artificial philosophy of the mother- 

 country. 



Eor these reasons Newfoundland has a history 

 peculiar to itself, and is put into a book by itself; and 

 in order that the picture may be complete I have begun 

 at the beginning, at the risk of repetition, and I have 

 discussed forgotten beliefs and abandoned ideals, which 

 affected the colonization of what once was British 

 America almost as much as they affected the coloniza- 

 tion or semi-colonization of Newfoundland. 



I cannot pretend to regret this extension of my task, 

 for while I found the unchangeableness of my theme 

 and its atmosphere of argument somewhat repellent, 



