430 
A M E R I C A. 
1587, Sir Walter fent another company to Virginia, under 
governor White, with a charter and twelve ultiftants. In 
July he arrived at Roanoke. Not one of the fecorid com¬ 
pany remained. He determined, however, to rifle a third 
colony. Accordingly he left 115 people at tire old fet- 
tlement, and returned to England. Auguft 13, this year, 
Mantco was baptifed in Virginia. He was the firfl native 
Indian who received that ordinance in that part of Ame¬ 
rica. On the 18th of the fame month, Mrs. Dare was de¬ 
livered of a daughter, whom fhe called Virginia. She was 
" the firfl child that was born of Englifli parents in North 
America. In 1590, governor White came over to Virgi¬ 
nia with fupplies and recruits for his colony ; but, to his 
great grief, not a man was to be found. They had all 
miferably famifhed with hunger, or were maffacred by the 
Indians. In the fpring of 1602, Bartholomew Gofnold, 
with thirty-two perfons, made a voyage to North Virgi¬ 
nia, and difeovered and gave names to Cape Cod, Mar¬ 
tha’s Vineyard, and Elizabeth Iflands, and to Dover Cliff. 
Elizabeth Ifland was the place which they fixed for their 
firfl fettlement. But the courage of thole who were to 
have tarried failing, they all went on-board and returned 
to England. All the attempts to fettle this continent 
which were made by the Dutch, French, and Englifli, 
from its difeoverv to the prefent time, a period of no 
years, proved ineffectual. The Spaniards only, of all tire 
European nations, had been fuccefsful. There is no ac¬ 
count of there having been one European family, at this 
time, in all the vaft extent of coaft from Florida to Green¬ 
land. In 1603, Martin Pring and William Brown were 
fent by Sir Walter Raleigh, with two final! veffels, to make 
difeoveries in North Virginia. They came upon the coaft, 
which was broken with a multitude of iflands, in latitude 
43° 30' north. They coafted fouthward to Cape Cod Bay; 
thence round the cape into a commodious harbour in la¬ 
titude 41 0 25', where they went afliore and tarried feven 
weeks, during which time they loaded one of their veffels 
with faffafras, and returned to England. The fame year 
Bartholomew Gilbert, in a voyage to South Virginia, in 
fearch of the third colony which had been left there by 
governor White in 15S7, having touched at feveral of the 
Wefl-lndia iflands, landed near Chefapeak Bay, where, in 
a fkirmifh with the Indians, he, and four of his men, were 
unfortunately flain. The red, without any further fearch 
lor the colony, returned to England. 
France being at this time in a ftate of tranquility, in 
confequence of the edidl of Nantz in favour of the pro- 
teftants, paffed by Henry IV. and of the peace with Philip 
king of Spain and Portugal, was induced to purfue her 
difeoveries in America. Accordingly the king figned a 
patent in favour of De Mons, in 1603, of all the country 
from the 40th to the 46th degrees of north latitude, un¬ 
der the name of Acadia. The next year De Mons ranged 
the ccafl from St. Lawrence to Cape Sable, and quite 
round to Cape Cod. 
In May, 1605, George’s Ifland and Pentecofl Harbour 
were difeovered by Capt. George Weymouth. In May 
lie entered a large river in latitude 40 0 20', (variation 
11° 15' weft,) which Mr. Prince, in his Chronology, fup- 
pofes mu ft have been Sagadahok ; but, from the latitude, 
it was more probably the Pifcataqtia. Capt. Weymouth 
carried with him to England five of the natives. 
In the fpring of 1606, James I. by patent, divided Vir¬ 
ginia into two colonies. The fouthern included all lands 
between the 34th and 41ft degrees of north latitude. This 
was ftyled the firfl; colony, under the name of South Vir¬ 
ginia, and was granted to the London Company. The 
.northern, 'called the fecond colony, and known by the 
general name of North Virginia, included all lands be¬ 
tween the 38th and 45th degrees north latitude, and was 
granted to the Plymouth Company. Each of thefe colo¬ 
nies had a council of thirteen men to govern them. To 
prevent difputes about territory, the colonies were prohi¬ 
bited to plant within an hundred miles of each other. 
There appears to be an inconfiftency in thefe grants, as 
the lands lying between the 38th and 41ft degrees are 
covered by both patents. Both the London and Plymouth 
companies enterprifed fettlements within the limits of their 
refpedtive grants : with what fuccefs will now be men¬ 
tioned. Mr. Piercy, brother of the earl of Northumber¬ 
land, in the fervice of tire London Company, went over 
with a colony to Virginia, and difeovered Powhatan, now 
James-river. In the mean time the Plymouth Company 
lent Capt. Henry Challons, in a veffel of fifty-five tons, 
to plant a colony in North Virginia ; but in his voyage he 
was taken by a Spanilh fleet and carried to Spain. * 
The London Company, in the fpring of 1607, fent Capt, 
Chriftopher Newport, with three veftels, to South Virgin 
nia. On the 26th of April he entered Chefapeak Bay, and 
landed, and loon after gave to the moll fouthern point the 
name of Cape Henry, which it ftill retains. Having defied 
Mr. Edward Wingfield prefident for the year, they next 
day landed all their men, and began a fettlement on James- 
river, at a place which they called James-town. This is 
the firfl town that was fettled by the Englifli in North 
America. The June following Capt. Newport failed for 
England, leaving with the prefident 104 perfons. In Au¬ 
guft: following died Capt. Bartholomew Gofnold, the firfl 
projector of this fettlement, and one of the council. The 
following winter James-town was burnt. 
During this time the Plymouth Company fitted out two 
Blips, under the- command of admiral Rawley Gilbert. 
They failed for North Virginia on the 31ft of May, with 
one hundred planters, and Capt. George Popham for their 
prefident. They arrived in Auguft, and fettled about nine 
or ten leagues to the fouthward of the mouth of Sagada¬ 
hok river. A great part of the colony, however, difheart- 
ened by the feverity of the wunter, returned to England in 
December, leaving their prefident, Capt. Popham, with 
only forty-five men. It was in the fall of this year, that 
the famous Mr. Robinfon, w ith part of his congregation, 
who afterwards fettled at Plymouth, in New England, re¬ 
moved from the north of England to Holland to avoid the 
cruelties of perfecution, and for the fake of enjoying 
“ purity of worfliip and liberty of confcience.” This year 
a fmall company of merchants at Dieppe and St. Malo’s 
founded Qptebec; or rather the colony which they fent 
built a few huts there, which did not take the form of a 
town until the reign of Lewis XIV. 
The Sagadahok colony buffered incredible hardftiips af¬ 
ter departure of their friends, in December, 1608. In the 
depth of winter, which was extremely cold, their ftore- 
houfe caught fire and was confumed, with moft of their 
provifions and lodgings. Their misfortunes were increafed, 
foon after, by the death of their prefident. Rawley Gil¬ 
bert was appointed to fucceed him. Lord-chief-jufticc 
Popham made every exertion to keep this colony alive, 
by repeatedly fending them fupplies. But the circum- 
fiance of his death, which happened this year, together 
with that of prefident Gilbert’s being called to England 
to fettle his affairs, broke up the colony, and they all re¬ 
turned with him to England. The unfavourable reports 
which thefe firfl unfortunate adventurers propagated re- 
fpedling the country, prevented any further attempts to 
fettle in North Virginia for feveral years after. 
The London Company, in 1608, fent Capt. Nelfomwilh 
two (hips and 120 perfons, to James-town ; and in 1609, 
Capt. John Smith, afterwards prefident, arrived on the 
coaft of South Virginia, and by failing up a number of the 
rivers difeovered the interior country. In September, 
Capt. Newport arrived with feventy perfons, which in¬ 
creafed the colony to 200 fouls. Mr. Robinfon and his 
congregation, who had fettled at Am Herd am, removed this 
year to Leyden, where they remained more than eleven 
years, till a part of them came over to New r England. The 
council for South Virginia having religned their old com- 
million, requested and obtained a new one ; in confequence 
of which they appointed Sir Thomas Weft lord delaWar, 
general of the colony ; Sir Thomas Gates, his lieutenant; 
Sir George Somers, admiral; Sir Thomas Dale, high 
2 marfhal 5 
