346 



THE FEENCH BLOOD IN AlHERICA 



Husbandry 



long after their arrival in America the French began to 

 plant tobacco — much against the wishes of the company, 

 who saw a greater i)rofit slipping away from it. The 

 numbers of the French who were brought over at the ex- 

 pense of the company were probably not large, and their 

 names have utterly ijerished. 



In July, 1621, Sir Dudley Carleton, British ambassa- 

 dor at the Hague, received the following petition : 



His lordship the ambassador of the most serene king of Great Britain 

 is humbly entreated to advise and ans-wer us in regard to the articles 

 ■which follow. 



I. "Whether it would please his Majesty to permit fifty to sixty 

 families, as well Walloons as French, all of the Eeformed religion, to 

 go and settle in Virginia, a country under his rule, and whether it 

 would please him to undertake their protection and defense from and 

 against all, and to maintain them in their religion. 



II. And whereas the said families might find themselves near upon 

 three hundred jjersous ; and whereas they would wish to carry with 

 them a quantity of cattle, as well for the cultivation of the earth as for 

 their sustenance, and for these reasons would need more than one 

 ship ; whether his Majesty would not accommodate them with one, well 

 equipped and furnished with cannon and other arms, on board of 

 which, together with the one they would provide, they could accom- 

 plish their voyage ; the same returning to obtain merchandise for the 

 regions granted by his said Majesty, as well as that of the country. 



III. Whether he would permit them, on their arrival in said coun- 

 try, to choose a convenient spot for their abode among the places not 

 yet cultivated by those whom it has pleased his Majesty to send thither 

 already. 



IV. Whether, having secured the said spot, they might build a city 

 for their protection and furnish it with the necessary fortifications, 

 wherein they might elect a governor and magistrates for the main- 

 tenance of order as well as justice, under those fundamental laws 

 which it has pleased his Majesty to establish in said regions. 



V. Whether his said Majesty would furnish them cannons and 

 munitions for the defense of said place, and grant them right in case 

 of necessity to make powder, fabricate Imlls and found cannons under 

 the flag and arms of his said Majesty. 



VI. Whether he would grant them a circiiit or territory of eight 

 English miles radius, that is sixteen in diameter, wherein they might 

 cultivate fields, meadows, vineyards, and the like, which territory 



