THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND INSULAR COLONIES (1603-1640)
ENGLAND UNDER THE EARLY STUARTS, 1603-1640
James I.--When James Stuart came to the throne, he had an exalted idea
of the kingship, believing that he ruled by divine right. The Tudors had
wielded almost absolute power, the privy council overshadowing
parliament. James naturally intended to rule in a similar manner, and
resented any legislative action which tended to decrease his
prerogative. He also stood as a staunch supporter of the English church.
His foreign policy was based upon a sincere desire for peace. With this
in view he ended the war with Spain and projected a marriage between his
son and a Spanish princess. In the latter part of James' reign, when the
Thirty Years' War broke out, the king hoped to become the arbiter of
Europe. Though he failed in this, he at least had the satisfaction of
keeping his country out of war.
Charles I.--The Parliamentarians who had nursed their wrath during the
reign of James, soon clashed with his successor. Charles I was a man of
staunch self-righteousness, who had little of pliability and much of
stubbornness in his nature. His idea of the royal prerogative was fully
as exalted as that of his father. From the beginning of the reign, king
and parliament clashed. When a war, which broke out with France and
Spain, went badly, the unpopularity of the king increased. When he
summoned parliament in 1628 to ask for supplies, he found that body
unwilling to comply with his demands until he had signed the Petition of
Right.
The experience which the king had with parliament determined him to rule
without it, and from 1629 to 1640 he carried on a personal government.
Acting through his privy council, the king ruled England. His chief
difficulty was to secure sufficient revenue to carry on the government.
Ancient feudal laws were resurrected and put into force. So long as no
extraordinary emergency arose the king was able to carry on the
government. During this period the religious controversy was also
becoming acute, the tyranny of Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
constantly adding fuel to the fire. Puritans and Parliamentarians found
a common ground of opposition. When the king attempted to force the
English prayer book and church organization on the Scotch Prebysterians,
war broke out. Charles found it necessary to summon parliament,
whereupon he found religious and political opponents united against him.
THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM OF THE EARLY STUARTS
Early experiments.--During the reigns of the first two Stuarts a
colonial administrative policy was developed. With James I permanent
settlements began. They were regarded as dependent upon the crown rather
than as an integral part of the state. The king created a Council of
Virginia which was to have general control over settlements between 34 deg.
and 45 deg. north latitude. But the council was short lived and the privy
council soon became the center of the colonial system. The connecting
links between the settlers and the crown were the corporations which
were granted jurisdiction over more or less definite areas. Both king
and parliament claimed to have jurisdiction over the colonies, but the
first two Stuarts were able to keep control in their hands.
The privy council in charge.--The charters of the commercial companies
could be annulled by the courts in suits brought by the crown. Such was
the method followed when the charter of the Virginia Company was
revoked; the work of administration then passed into the hands of the
privy council. As this council was large and its duties numerous, the
actual work was usually done by committees, such a committee being
appointed to look after Virginia. Late in the reign of James I the crown
also appointed commissioners to examine the state of the colony, and
report on a form of government.
Policy of Charles I.--Under Charles I, though the commissioners
continued to attend to some business, most of the work of administration
devolved upon the privy council. In 1631 the commission was revived, but
in 1634 it was superseded by another at whose head was Archbishop Laud.
This was made up of the highest officers of church and state, and it was
given jurisdiction over all dependencies. Its chief acts required the
approval of the crown, and as this could only be obtained through the
privy council, it was responsible to that body. A standing committee of
the privy council for foreign plantations was also appointed, the
membership of this committee and the commission headed by Laud being
identical. Sub-committees composed of men of lower rank but who had
expert knowledge of colonial affairs were also appointed to assist the
higher bodies.
Special administrative bodies.--From time to time special bodies were
created for aiding the development of commerce and industry. In 1622
James constituted a council of trade for investigating commerce,
shipping, and industry. Charles I, in 1625, created a similar council,
but it did not become very active, and soon its duties devolved upon a
committee of the privy council, which investigated all phases of
economic activity, the regulation of the tobacco industry of Virginia
being one of the important subjects which occupied its attention.
THE FOUNDING OF VIRGINIA
Opposition of the Early Stuarts to Spain.--The settled policy of Spain
was to maintain a territorial and commercial monopoly in all the lands
west of the line of the treaty of Tordesillas. During the reign of
Elizabeth, the mariners of England had struck at Spanish commerce and
had made unsuccessful attempts at colonization; in the reigns of the
first two Stuarts, serious attempts were made by Englishmen to wrest
from the Spanish colossus some of his island possessions, and to occupy
Guiana and portions of North America. The attitude of James I toward
these enterprises depended upon the state of his negotiations with
Spain. In 1604 a treaty was signed which brought the long war between
the countries to an end. By the treaty the English crown surrendered the
right of trade to the Indies. The English mariners snapped their fingers
at the treaty and continued to visit the Indies, either running the
chance of being taken as pirates, or registering their vessels under the
flags of Holland or Savoy. The difficulties besetting this trade led
some of the merchants to invest their capital in enterprises of
colonization.
[Illustration: Settlements in Virginia, 1634.]
The charter of 1606.--Between 1602 and 1606 several voyages were made to
America, the most important being that of George Weymouth, who visited
the New England coast in 1604; his favorable report greatly stimulated
the desire to plant colonies. In April, 1606, a charter was drawn up
which provided for two companies; one composed of men from London,
familiarly known as the London Company, which was to operate between the
thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of latitude; the other made up of
men from Plymouth, Bristol, and Exeter, known as the Plymouth Company,
which was to plant colonies between the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth
degrees. Each company was to have control of fifty miles both north and
south of its first settlement, a hundred miles out to sea, and a hundred
miles inland. Neither was to settle within one hundred miles of the
other. Each company was to have a council of thirteen persons, and each
was to have the right to mine gold, silver, and copper; the king was to
receive one-fifth of all the precious metals and one-fifteenth of the
copper. No import duties were to be levied for seven years. The charter
also provided that the Christian religion was to be spread among the
natives. Colonists who went to the New World were guaranteed all the
privileges of Englishmen.
Founding of Jamestown.--In August, 1606, Henry Challons was sent ahead
in the _Richard_ to select a site for the London Company, but was
captured off Florida by a Spanish fleet and taken a prisoner to Seville.
In December, three vessels, which belonged to the Muscovy Company, the
_Susan Constant_, the _Godspeed_, and the _Discovery_, sailed for
Virginia under the command of Sir Christopher Newport. They followed the
southern route by the Canaries and the West Indies, arriving in
Chesapeake Bay in May, 1607. Of the hundred and twenty colonists who had
embarked, sixteen died during the voyage. Sealed instructions had been
sent for the government and management of Virginia. When opened, they
disclosed the names of the members of the council, a body possessed of
executive, legislative, and judicial powers, presided over by a
president. A site was to be selected on an island in a navigable river,
marshy or heavily wooded ground to be avoided. Contrary to instructions,
the site selected was on a swampy peninsula, located near the mouth of
the James River. Near the western end of the peninsula a triangular log
fort was laid out. The settlement was in the district known to the
Spaniards as Axacan, and not far from the site of the Jesuit mission
founded in 1570. While the fortification was being built, Newport
explored the James River as far as the site of Richmond. While he was
gone, the Indians attacked the fort but were driven off. Besides the
fortification, a church and storehouse were erected. In July Newport
sailed for England, taking with him worthless specimens of rock which
were believed to contain gold.
Early difficulties.--Shortly after the departure of Newport the
colonists began to suffer from famine, malaria, and Indian attacks.
President Wingfield husbanded the stores left by Newport, an action
which angered the settlers, and he was soon deposed. John Smith was sent
to secure food from the Indians, and succeeded in obtaining a
considerable supply. When Newport returned in January, 1608, he found
only forty survivors. During 1608 and 1609 the little settlement was
barely able to hold its own. The few additional settlers who came merely
offset the ravages of disease and starvation. During this period John
Smith appears to have been the chief factor in keeping the colony alive.
So precarious had conditions become by May, 1609, that he dispersed the
colonists in groups, one being sent to live among the Indians, another
to fish at Point Comfort, and a third to obtain oysters. In July a
vessel commanded by Samuel Argall arrived with supplies, bringing the
news that the first charter had been repealed and a new one granted.
Charter of 1609.--The lack of success in the original venture had caused
those interested to make an effort to enlarge the company. The
incorporators of the charter of 1609 were fifty-six of the guilds and
companies of London, and six hundred and fifty-nine persons, among whom
were included twenty-one peers, ninety-six knights, eleven professional
men, and fifty-three captains. The new company was to have the land two
hundred miles north and two hundred miles south of Point Comfort and
stretching from sea to sea west and northwest, and the islands within
one hundred miles of the coast. The government was vested in a council,
which was given power to appoint its own officers, to make laws for the
government of the colony, and to take in new stockholders. The English
church was established as the religion of the colony.
The starving time.--In June, 1609, nine vessels commanded by Newport
sailed from England with the new governor, Sir Thomas Gates, and about
five hundred emigrants. Beset by pestilence and storms, many died on the
voyage, about four hundred being landed at Jamestown in August. The
vessel carrying the governor was stranded in the Bermudas, and he did
not arrive at Jamestown until May, 1610. There he found the colonists in
a frightful condition, dissensions among the officers, Indian attacks,
disease, and starvation having brought the colony to the brink of
destruction. Gates decided to give up the ill-fated attempt, and taking
all the settlers on board, sailed down the James River, but met a vessel
bearing the news that a new governor, Lord Delaware, had arrived at
Point Comfort with supplies and a hundred and fifty emigrants. Gates
immediately returned to Jamestown. Of the nine hundred persons who had
been landed in Virginia during the first three years, only one hundred
and fifty were alive upon the arrival of Delaware.
Spanish resistance.--Spain regarded the Jamestown colony as an intruder,
and both Spaniards and Englishmen considered it as a menace to Spain's
northern outposts, and to her merchant fleets, which passed close by on
their homeward voyage. Dale remarked that the settlement "wyll put such
a byt in our ainchent enemyes mouth as wyll curb his hautynes of
monarchie." Zuniga, Spanish ambassador to England, urged that "such a
bad project should be uprooted now, while it can be done so easily."
At Jamestown fear of a Spanish attack was almost constant, and Newport
sought aid in England lest the "all devouring Spaniard lay his ravenous
hands" upon the infant colony. Spanish resistance had already been felt
by way of vigorous diplomatic protest and through the capture of the
_Richard_ in 1606. In 1609 a Spanish expedition was sent to Jamestown
under Captain Ecija, commander of the garrison at St. Augustine. On July
24 Ecija entered Chesapeake Bay. Concluding that the settlement was too
strong to capture with one small vessel, he withdrew, but on his way
down the coast he conferred with the Indian tribes, and sent a
delegation of natives overland to spy upon the English. On Ecija's
return to St. Augustine another native delegation was sent to Virginia
from Florida by Governor Ybarra. The success of these embassies has been
inferred from the Indian massacres at Jamestown in the following winter.
Two years later another Spanish expedition was sent to Jamestown.
Captures were made on both sides and the episode was followed by a
demand at the English settlement for reinforcements.
Zuniga continued to urge the destruction of the colony, but Philip III
temporized, allured by the hope of an English alliance and encouraged by
his informants to believe that the struggling colony would fail through
misery. Instead of dying out, however, as time went on Virginia waxed
stronger, and soon became a base for attacks on Spanish commerce, as had
been predicted. The founding of Jamestown in Axacan was the first
English nibble at the Spanish mainland possessions, a process which
continued for a century and a half.
Delaware's governorship.--Delaware remained in Virginia less than a
year, during which period new colonists arrived, the settlement at
Jamestown was rebuilt, the Indians were driven from Kecoughtan, and
forts Charles and Henry were established at the mouth of the James
River. An expedition was also sent to the falls in search of a gold
mine, but it found none. Delaware was unable to check the ravages of
disease, and during the summer a hundred and fifty died. The governor
left the colony in March, 1611, but remained in office until his death
in 1618, during which period the government was administered by deputy
governors.
Dale's strong hand.--Sir Thomas Dale was left in charge. He was a
brusque old soldier who had seen service in the Netherlands, and during
his administration, the colony was governed by military law. The men
were forced to work like slaves, and those who rebelled were punished
with the greatest severity, several captured runaways being burned at
the stake. The Indians along the James and York rivers were attacked;
Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, was captured, and the hostage was
used to force that powerful chief to make peace. Hearing of the French
occupation of Acadia, Dale sent Captain Argall to destroy the
settlements.
Charter of 1612.--During the administration of Dale, a change was made
in the charter, the powers of the council being considerably enlarged.
The Bermudas were also placed under its jurisdiction. The rights in the
islands, however, were subsequently sold to some of the members of the
London Company, who obtained a charter in 1614 under the name of the
Somers Island Company.
Change in the management of the company.--Sir Thomas Smythe had been the
moving spirit of the company, but in spite of his efforts, the colony
had proved a financial failure, and he was willing to let others carry
on the enterprise. The central figure in the company after 1618 was Sir
Edwin Sandys. Smythe had realized that it was necessary to change the
communal form of ownership to one of landed proprietorship, and had
issued instructions that fifty acres of land be assigned to every person
who would transport one person to the colony. This policy was carried
out by Sandys, and the "old colonists" were allowed to obtain larger
tracts of land.
House of Burgesses.--In April, 1619, Sir George Yeardley assumed control
as governor of Virginia. He brought out instructions by which the
inhabitants of each place and plantation were to elect two burgesses,
who were to meet at Jamestown in a general assembly. This first
representative assembly in America met in the church at Jamestown on
July 30. It was composed of the governor, councilors, and twenty-two
burgesses. At the first session, the assembly sat in the two-fold
capacity of law makers and court of law.
Agricultural development.--The original instructions had provided that
the products of labor should belong to the community instead of to the
individual, an arrangement by which the slothful profited at the expense
of the industrious. During the first season, only four acres were
cleared and planted. The insufficiency of the supply of grain made it
necessary to depend upon the Indians for maize. In 1608 John Smith
succeeded in getting forty acres of land broken, and the following year
this was planted to maize. Just before the arrival of Delaware, the
attempts at agriculture were abandoned, the colonists relying for
subsistence on roots, herbs, nuts, berries, and fish. Delaware
immediately set to work to right conditions, the hours of labor being
set from six to ten in the morning, and from two to four in the
afternoon.
When Dale took charge he forced the men to plant seed and assigned to
each a garden. Livestock had been imported, and were allowed to roam at
large in the woods. Dale erected a blockhouse on the mainland to protect
them, and warned the settlers against letting stock wander. Henrico was
selected as the site for another settlement and the town site of seven
acres he caused to be fenced in. Other palings back of the settlement
were erected and within the fenced areas corn was planted. On the south
side of the river fences were built which protected a circuit of twelve
miles, the enclosed land being used for a hog range. The lands of the
Indians near the mouth of the Appamatox River were seized, fenced, and
planted with maize.
In 1612 the cultivation of tobacco began, the first tobacco planter
being John Rolfe, who had married Pocahontas. Tobacco soon became the
only export, its cultivation absorbing the economic fife of the colony.
To make certain of the food supply, Dale commanded that no one should be
permitted to plant tobacco until he had planted two acres of grain. To
encourage industry, Dale allowed some of the "old colonists" to lease
three acres. He also put in force a rule that every man with a family
who arrived in the colony should be provided with a house free of rent,
tools, and livestock, and with subsistence for himself and family for
the first year. If he confined himself to the planting of grain and
vegetables, he was given twelve acres of fenced land. At the time of
Dale's departure in 1616 there were three hundred and fifty inhabitants
settled at Henrico, Bermuda, West and Shirley Hundreds, Jamestown,
Kecoughtan, and Dale's Gift.
Immigration.--In 1619 twenty negroes were brought into Virginia, the
first blacks to be introduced. Up to this time there were few women in
the colony, but the company succeeded in sending over several ship-loads
of unmarried women. Upon arrival there was a speedy courtship, and the
lucky swain gladly paid a hundred and twenty pounds of the best tobacco
for the cost of transportation. In general the type of settler was
excellent, but in the later years of the company convicted felons and a
large number of waifs and vagabonds from the streets of London were
sent. The emigrants who had no capital were usually indented servants,
the terms of indenture varying from two to seven years.
Growth of large estates.--In this early period began the formation of
great estates. The company retained twelve thousand acres for itself. As
new officers were created lands were set aside to support them. The
treasurer, marshal, and cape merchant were each granted fifteen hundred
acres, the physician and secretary five hundred acres each. The large
estates were worked by tenants, the number on each estate being fixed by
the company. Grants of large tracts were also made to groups of
capitalists who agreed to bring out settlers.
The Indian massacre of 1622.--The reaching out for new lands for tobacco
culture resulted in encroachment upon the fields of the Indians. Angered
by this the Indians suddenly attacked the outlying plantations, killing
between three and four hundred persons, nearly one-fourth of the entire
population. The planting of the crops was interrupted and a winter of
hardship followed. When the Indian maize crop was nearly ripe, the
settlers retaliated, almost exterminating the natives along the lower
courses of the James and York rivers.
Crown regulation of the tobacco industry.--To free himself from
parliamentary control and to regulate industry, James I granted
monopolies to private individuals. Royal commissioners were appointed to
inspect the tobacco and to prevent smuggling, and planting in England
was prohibited. In 1620 the London Company petitioned the king to do
away with the tobacco monopoly and as a result the London and Bermuda
companies were allowed to import fifty-five thousand pounds annually.
The companies immediately attempted to ship Virginia tobacco to Holland;
this led to a dispute with the privy council and the matter was
discussed in parliament, where Sandys defended the right of free
shipment. The dispute was settled by a compromise, by which the
companies agreed to ship the entire product to England, and no
restriction was placed upon the amount which they might import.
Neither side was entirely pleased with the arrangement and in November,
1622, an agreement was reached by the Lord Treasurer and the companies.
The companies were given the sole right for seven years to import
tobacco into England and Ireland; they were to pay into the royal
exchequer the net proceeds of one-third of all tobacco imported; no
tobacco was to be planted in England and Ireland, and a small amount of
Spanish tobacco was to be imported for three years. Like previous
arrangements, this did not meet with the approval of all, and it was
annulled in 1623, the companies being allowed the exclusive right to
import tobacco into England and Ireland, except a small amount of
Spanish tobacco, and to pay a duty of nine pence a pound.
End of the London Company.--The king had looked with scant favor upon
the administration of Sandys, for popular government was not to the
liking of James. Friction between the king and the company also added to
the royal displeasure. James, who was personally opposed to the use of
tobacco, was also trying to please the Spanish court, which made
frequent protests against the Virginia enterprise. Internal dissensions
also disturbed the company, a group headed by Sir Thomas Smythe being
opposed to the Sandys faction. Royal commissioners were appointed to
examine the condition of affairs, and as a result of their report, in
1624 the charter of the London Company was annulled, the colony passing
under the direct control of the crown.
Increase of population by 1625.--When Charles I came to the throne
Virginia contained about twelve hundred inhabitants, of whom nearly five
hundred were servants, and about a hundred were children. They were
scattered through nineteen settlements, the largest being Elizabeth
City, which contained two hundred and fifty-seven inhabitants. Jamestown
had thirty-three houses and a population of one hundred and
seventy-five.
Population in 1635.--By 1635 the population had increased to five
thousand. The country had been divided into shires, which later were
called counties. The six counties along the James River contained about
four thousand inhabitants; Charles River County on the York River five
hundred, and Accomac County on the opposite side of the bay four
hundred. By 1640 the population had increased to seven thousand five
hundred.
Tobacco lands.--The most desirable lands for tobacco were the bottoms
along the streams. Tobacco exhausted the soil rapidly, three years
being the usual life of a field. This made it necessary for the planter
to take up new lands and increased his desire for larger holdings. Land
patents were issued for large tracts, usually of from one hundred to
three hundred acres, although many obtained patents for a thousand
acres.
Charles I and the tobacco business.--Charles was opposed to the tobacco
business, but he realized that it was necessary to the colony. The king
favored Virginia by reducing the duty on tobacco and excluding the
Spanish leaf from England and Ireland. But in 1627, when parliament had
not granted adequate supplies to the crown, he renewed the monopoly. To
put it in force, a proclamation was issued which forbade the annual
importation of more than fifty thousand pounds of Spanish tobacco,
prohibited the growing of the plant in England and Ireland, and made
London the only port of entry. As the colonists objected to the
monopoly, the king issued another proclamation, which provided that no
colonial tobacco should be imported without special license and should
be delivered to tobacco commissioners, who were to have the sole right
of disposing of the product. The price was to be fixed by agreement
between the shippers and commissioners. Efforts were made to have the
colony engage in the production of more substantial commodities, the
planters being commanded to produce pitch, tar, potash, timber, iron,
and salt, to plant vines and grain, and to search for minerals. The
efforts of the king, however, were but partially successful, and tobacco
remained the great staple. It had also become the medium of exchange,
and though attempts were made to introduce a metallic currency, they did
not succeed, in spite of the fact that the fluctuating price of the
staple made financial transactions difficult.
Harvey's tobacco policy.--In 1630 Governor Harvey commenced his
administration. He immediately began to encourage the planting of grain
and the raising of stock. The low price of tobacco at this time assisted
him, and in 1631 the colony was able to export a large quantity of
grain. Efforts were also made to improve the quality of tobacco. A law
of the colonial legislature of 1632 provided for five points of
inspection. Storehouses were built where inspectors examined the stock
and condemned the poorer qualities. The number of plants to be raised by
each family was limited to two thousand, and not more than nine leaves
were allowed to be taken from a plant. In 1633 the number of plants per
family was reduced to fifteen hundred. English merchants trading to the
colonies purchased a considerable amount of tobacco, which they took in
exchange for other commodities, for which they charged abnormally high
prices. To right this and to increase the royal revenues, in 1634 the
king again renewed the monopoly. When Governor Harvey attempted to
contract for the crop, an acrimonious debate ensued. This, coupled with
the fact that the governor attempted to assist Lord Baltimore's
colonists, caused the council illegally to depose the governor.
Continued efforts to enforce the monopoly.--The king continued to make
efforts to enforce the monopoly. In 1638 he issued another proclamation,
stating that it was necessary to regulate tobacco planting, to decide
how much was to be imported, and to handle the product. The colony as
usual objected. Owing to the troublous times in England, the
proclamation was not strictly enforced and much tobacco was sold to
other than government agents.
THE FOUNDING OF MARYLAND
Calvert's attempted settlement in Newfoundland.--The northern end of
Chesapeake Bay was soon occupied by a rival tobacco colony, the
proprietary province of Lord Baltimore. In 1609 George Calvert became a
stockholder of the Virginia Company, and ten years later was made
secretary of state by James I. His new office gave him an opportunity to
begin an independent colony. In 1620 he bought the southeastern
peninsula of Newfoundland from Sir William Vaughan, to whom it had
previously been granted, and the following year sent out a few
colonists. In 1623 the king granted him a charter for his colony, which
was called Avalon. Two years later Calvert resigned the secretaryship.
In spite of the fact that he had recently become a Catholic, he was
raised to the Irish peerage with the title of Baron of Baltimore. In
1627 he visited Newfoundland with his family, but the inclemency of the
climate convinced him of the undesirability of Avalon.
Application for land in Virginia.--In 1629 Baltimore applied for a grant
in Virginia, to which colony he immediately proceeded. There he met
with a cold reception and shortly departed for England, where he made
every effort to obtain a charter. The Virginians opposed him strongly,
but in April, 1632, his suit was successful and the grant was made.
George Calvert died the same month and the charter was drawn in the name
of his son Cecilius.
[Illustration: Settlements In Maryland, 1634.]
The charter.--The province was named Maryland in honor of Henrietta
Maria, the wife of Charles I. In general it extended from the fortieth
parallel to the southern bank of the Potomac River, and from the
meridian which crossed the source of that river to the Atlantic; but the
description of boundaries was so indefinite, because of the lack of
precise geographical knowledge, that many disputes soon arose over
ownership of territory.
The government of Maryland was modeled upon that of the Palatinate of
Durham, a feudatory on the border of Scotland in which the bishop had
almost absolute powers; but the lord proprietor of Maryland was
restricted by several clauses in the charter. He was given the right to
ordain, make, and enact laws, provided they were approved by the freemen
of the province, or by a majority of them, or by their delegates, and
were not contrary to the laws of England. Baltimore was given very large
judicial powers, such as the creation of courts and the pardoning of
criminals. He was also given the right to make ordinances, provided they
did not deprive any person of use, limb, or property. The proprietor
could collect taxes, make grants of lands, and create manors, over which
the lord of the manor would have the rights of a feudal baron. The
proprietor was also given control of ecclesiastical matters such as the
power of appointing ministers and founding churches, which were "to be
dedicated and consecrated according to the Ecclesiastical Laws of our
Kingdom of England." The charter did not prohibit him from permitting
the establishment of other churches, an omission which Baltimore used to
assist the Catholics. The proprietor's motives, however, were not
entirely religious; he no doubt desired to found an asylum for people of
his own faith, but he was also a keen business man and desired to
increase his worldly goods.
The first settlers.--In October, 1633, Baltimore sent two small vessels,
the _Ark_ and the _Dove_, to Maryland. On board there were about twenty
gentlemen, most of whom were Catholics, and probably two hundred
laborers, the majority of whom were Protestants. Among the influential
members were the governor, Leonard Calvert, the brother of Lord
Baltimore, and the two councilors who were to assist him in the
government. Three Jesuit priests accompanied the expedition, which
arrived at the mouth of the Potomac in March, 1634. The site for a
settlement was selected nine miles up St. George's River, a small stream
which flows into the north side of the Potomac near its mouth, the place
being named St. Mary's. The location was favorable, for it was
surrounded by fields cleared by the Indians. The tribes in the
neighborhood had been at war with the Susquehannas, and were glad to
sell their lands and move across the Potomac.
Trouble with Virginia.--William Claiborne had been the principal
opponent of George Calvert, when he attempted to obtain the charter for
Maryland. In 1631 Claiborne had established a settlement on Kent Island
in Chesapeake Bay, which fell within the bounds of Maryland. In 1634
Governor Calvert informed Claiborne that he would not molest the
settlement, but that the owner of Kent Island must be considered as a
tenant of the proprietor. Claiborne laid the matter before the Virginia
council, which decided that the Maryland charter infringed upon the
rights of Virginia. A miniature war followed which was ended by a
decision of the king, who ruled that the Virginia charter of 1609 had
become null when the crown took over the colony in 1624, and that Kent
Island belonged to Maryland.
Religious, economic, and social life.--The religious life of the colony
was greatly influenced by the presence of the Jesuits. Father White and
his colleagues labored incessantly to convert the Protestant colonists
and to establish missions among the Indians. In 1641 the Catholics made
up about one-fourth of the population but included most of the
influential families. The economic life of the colony developed much
like that of Virginia, although unaccompanied by the great hardships of
the James River settlements. Nor did the Indians prove as troublesome,
although from 1639 to 1644 an expedition was sent against them each
year. Tobacco cultivation became the principal occupation. The
plantations developed along the rivers and the shore of the bay, for
many years extending but a few miles inland. The manors usually
contained from one thousand to two thousand acres, although a few
contained five thousand acres or more, the lords of the manors being
granted lands in proportion to the number of colonists they provided.
Many of the large grants were later divided, and small proprietors
increased in number. There was practically no town life, the seat of
government containing only a few houses. There were few mills and no
factories. Few roads were built, the water courses and the bay affording
the principal means of communication.
The government.--Cecilius Calvert never visited the colony, but he
appointed all the important officers, who resided in the province. The
chief of these was the governor, to whom the proprietor delegated most
of his powers. He was at the head of military affairs. As chancellor he
was the keeper of the seal and issued patents for land, commissions for
office, and other legal documents. As chief magistrate he appointed
officers for the preservation of peace and the administration of
justice, and had power to issue and enforce ordinances, to establish
ports, fairs and markets, to remit fines, and pardon all offenses except
high treason. He could summon the legislative assembly, prepare bills
for its consideration, assent to the laws, and dissolve the assembly. He
also acted as chief justice. Leonard Calvert occupied the position until
1647. Assisting the governor was a council. In 1636 it contained three
members, but was gradually increased in size in later years. Before this
body the governor brought matters of importance, such as the creation of
offices, establishment of courts, granting of pardons, levying of taxes,
issuing of ordinances, and military expeditions.
The legislative assembly at first was made up of all the freemen, but as
the colonists took up more distant lands, a custom of giving proxies
grew up. The first assembly met in 1635, but about all that is known of
it is that it attempted to initiate legislation, to which the proprietor
objected. The second assembly, which met in 1638, consisted of the
governor and council, freemen especially summoned by the governor,
freemen present of their own will, and proxies. The governor presented a
code approved by the proprietor, but it was rejected by the assembly.
The same year the proprietor temporarily yielded the right of initiating
legislation, authorizing the governor to consent to laws enacted by the
assembly until the proprietor could examine them. In 1639 the local
divisions, which were called hundreds, sent representatives. This
assembly fixed its own membership, which was to be composed of
councilors, persons especially summoned, and burgesses elected in
hundreds. The assembly sat at times as a law court, but most of the
cases were brought before the governor and his councilors, who acted as
associate justices, or before the local courts.
THE BERMUDAS
The Somers Islands Company.--Almost simultaneously with the occupation
of the Atlantic seaboard, the English had been establishing vigorous
colonies in the islands adjacent to North America. In 1609 a Virginia
supply ship commanded by Sir George Somers was wrecked on one of the
Bermuda Islands. Upon his return to England, he interested people in
the islands and in 1612 the Somers Islands Company was formed, most of
the stockholders being members of the Virginia Company.
Settlement and economic development of the Bermudas.--Settlers were
immediately sent out and the colony prospered from the first. In 1614 it
contained six hundred persons. Fortifications were built, some tobacco
was shipped, and a land survey begun which was completed in 1617. By
1625 the population had increased to between two and three thousand and
a larger supply of tobacco was being produced than in Virginia. As in
the James River settlements, there was considerable opposition to the
government monopoly of tobacco, and in 1628 a petition against it was
addressed to the crown. In 1631 the privy council decreed that only a
moderate amount of tobacco should be planted, and the company succeeded
in getting a complete monopoly of the trade. The low price of tobacco at
that time caused the colonists to devote themselves less exclusively to
that business, and corn, potatoes, hogs, fowls, and fruit were produced
in such quantities that the islands were able to export large amounts to
the colonies on the mainland. The cedar forests also began to be
utilized for ship-building. With the growth of the mainland colonies,
the Bermudas became of relatively less economic importance, but they
continued to be considered an important naval base.
Representative government.--The Bermudas were the second English colony
to receive representative government. Besides the governor and council
there was a general assembly, the first being held but a year after the
establishment of the Virginia house of burgesses.
[Illustration: The Bermudas.]
GUIANA
For a hundred years the Caribbean had been a Spanish sea. Hardy English
mariners had frequently penetrated it, but always at their peril, and
they had never seriously injured the Spanish colossus. To gain a
foothold on its shores and to appropriate a portion of the commerce of
tropical America became powerful forces in English activities.
Expeditions.--During the closing years of the reign of Elizabeth, many
English ships visited the coast of Venezuela to procure salt, and after
the treaty of 1604 with Spain, to obtain tobacco. Several attempts
were also made to explore and colonize Guiana. In 1604 Captain Charles
Lea planted a colony on the Wyapoco, but in two years abandoned the
enterprise. During 1606-1607 Sir Thomas Roe traded along the Guiana
coast and explored the swamps of the Cuyuni and Wyapoco. In 1608 Robert
Harcourt and two associates received a patent to lands between the
Amazon and Essequibo rivers. Harcourt with ninety-seven men landed in
Guiana, but after a sojourn of three years he returned to England. Part
of the settlers remained and scattered among the Indians. Harcourt
attempted to obtain more capital, and in 1616 another expedition was
sent out but without success.
Raleigh's last attempt.--Since the first year of the reign of James I,
Raleigh had been imprisoned on a charge of conspiring against the king.
But in 1616 he was released, and having obtained a commission as
admiral, sailed for Guiana the following year with a fleet of fourteen
vessels. Attacked by the Spaniards, he lost several vessels and returned
to England, where, upon complaint of the Spanish ambassador, Gondomar,
he was again imprisoned and soon after executed.
North's expedition.--In 1620 an attempt was made to reorganize Raleigh's
company, and Captain Roger North was sent with one hundred and twenty
men to Guiana, where they joined the remnant of Harcourt's colonists.
But the attempt again failed because of opposition of the Spanish
ambassador.
THE LESSER ANTILLES
The English occupation.--In a great half circle at the eastern end of
the Caribbean are the Lesser Antilles. After the failures on the South
American coast, the English grasped these outposts of the tropics and,
side by side with the French, were soon firmly established across one of
the principal highways of Spanish commerce. In 1623 St. Christopher was
temporarily occupied and was actually settled in 1625. The same year
(1625) Sir William Courten started the first colony in Barbados. In 1627
Lord Carlisle received a grant which covered the Caribbees, and the
following year the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery also obtained rights
to Trinidad. Tobago, and Barbados. In the contest between the claimants
Carlisle won. He ejected Courten's settlers and established his own
colonists. In 1628 Nevis was occupied. The following year the settlers
on St. Christopher and Nevis were evicted by the Spaniards, but upon the
retirement of the fleet the colonists returned to their plantations. In
1632 settlements were made on Antigua and Montserrat. As in the
Bermudas, tobacco became the leading crop, but later the production of
sugar cane superseded it. Barbados soon contained 6,000 inhabitants and
in 1639, when Virginia had a total population of about 7,000, there were
20,000 planters in the islands governed by Carlisle. In the Lesser
Antilles the proprietary form of government prevailed for half a
century.
THE PROVIDENCE ISLAND COMPANY
The Puritan leaders.--During the great struggle between king and
parliament, several of the merchant princes were on the Puritan side.
One of the most powerful of these was Robert Rich, Lord Warwick. He had
been an active member of the Virginia and Somers Islands companies, of
the Guinea and Guiana companies, and of the Council of New England.
Closely associated with Warwick were Lord Saye and Sele, Lord Brooke,
Sir Nathaniel Rich, and John Pym. As the parliamentary contest increased
in intensity, these leaders decided to plant a Puritan colony in the
Caribbean.
The Providence Island Company.--The site selected was on one of the
Mosquito Islands off the coast of Nicaragua. In 1629 a company was
formed which was granted the greater part of the Caribbean Sea, from
Haiti to the coast of Venezuela and to the mainland of Central America.
Besides Jamaica, then in the possession of Spain, the Cayman Islands
fell within these limits. The English fleet which was sent out in 1630
temporarily occupied Tortuga, where colonists from Nevis had recently
arrived, and the company asked that this island be included in the
patent. The request was granted, but the English were able to hold the
island only until 1635 when they were driven out by the Spaniards. The
islands along the Mosquito coast were occupied by the company, and a
project was formed to colonize the mainland. In 1635 Providence Island
was unsuccessfully attacked by a Spanish fleet, but in 1641 the
Spaniards succeeded in overcoming the colony, thus for the time ending
English operations on the Central American coast.
READINGS
VIRGINIA
Becker, Carl, _The Beginnings of the American People_, pp. 65-80; Beer,
G.L., _The Origins of the British Colonial System_, 78-175; Brown,
Alexander, _Genesis of the United States; The First Republic in
America_; Bruce, P.A., _Economic History of Virginia in the Seventeenth
Century_, I, 189-330; _Institutional History of Virginia in the
Seventeenth Century_, II, 229-262; Channing, Edward, _History of the
United States_, I, 143-224; Doyle, J.A., _English Colonies in America_,
I, 101-184; Eggleston, Edward, _The Beginners of a Nation_, 25-97;
Fiske, John, _Old Virginia and her Neighbors_, I, 40-222; Hamilton,
P.J., _Colonization of the South_, 55-119; MacDonald, William, _Select
Charters Illustrative of American History_, 1-23; Osgood, H.L., _The
American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century_, I, 23-97; Scott, W.R.,
_The Constitution and Finance of English, Scottish, and Irish
Joint-Stock Companies to 1720_, II, 246-289; Tyler, L.G., _England in
America_, 34-103; Tyler, L.G., ed., _Narratives of Early Virginia_;
Wertenbaker, T.J., _Virginia under the Stuarts_, 1-84; Johnston, Mary,
_Pioneers of the Old South_; Flippin, P.S., _The Royal Government in
Virginia, 1624-1775_.
MARYLAND
Brown, W.H., _Maryland_, 1-50; Channing, Edward, _History of the United
States_, I, 241-268; Doyle, J.A., _English Colonies in America_, I,
275-296; Eggleston, Edward, _Beginners of a Nation_, 220-257; Fiske,
John, _Old Virginia and her Neighbors_, I, 255-275; Hall, C.C., ed.,
_Narratives of Early Maryland_; MacDonald, William, _Select Charters_,
53-59; Mereness, N.D., _Maryland as a Proprietary Province_; Osgood,
H.L., _The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century_, II, 58-79;
Tyler, L.G., _England in America_, 118-132.
THE BERMUDAS AND THE CARIBBEAN
Beer. G.L., _The Origins of the British Colonial System_, 12-20;
Cunningham, William, _The Growth of English Industry and Commerce in
Modern Times_, I, 331-339: Lucas, C.P., _A Historical Geography of the
British Colonies_, II, 5-14, 43-50; Newton, A.P.. _The Colonizing
Activities of the English Puritans_, 13-282; Scott, W.R., _The
Constitution and Finance of English, Scottish, and Irish Joint-Stock
Companies to 1720_, II, 259-299, 327-337; Tilby, A.W., _Britain in the
Tropics_, 44-50.