1682 How the Lands were disposed of. 47 on the new domain of the French crown. The rule of the Bourbons in the West is a memory of the past, but the name of the Great King still survives in a narrow corner of their lost empire. The Louisiana of to-day is but a single State of the American Republic. The Louisiana of La Salle stretched from the Alleghanies to the Rocky mountains (1682). 73. "The right of the Indian natives to the soil in their possession was founded in nature. Unfounded, therefore, as the claims of European sovereigns to America were, they severally proceeded to act upon them. By tacit consent, they decided that the countries which each explored should be the property of the explorer." In keeping How the with this law, Spain claimed all the southern lands were disposed of. part of North America from ocean to ocean. The French claim extended from the Atlantic, in the latitude of Nova Scotia, westward to the region of the great lakes, and then southward through the entire valley of the Mississippi. England's claim embraced all the country from Labrador to Florida, westward to the Pacific, including a large tract to which the Dutch possessed a title by reason of exploration and settlement.' It would be impossible to make a single map showing these several claims, inasmuch, as it is seen, they lapped over one another. While, then, "the nations of Europe sported with the rights of the unoffending natives of America, they could not, it is evident, agree in their respective shares of the common spoils." 1 La Salle never carried out his plan. He returned to Canada, and thence to France, where he was received with great honors. Four vessels were given to him, with soldiers and settlers, and he sailed in 1684 to establish a settlement on the Mississippi; but instead of landing at the mouth of the river, by mistake the voyagers passed it, and landed in Texas. A vain search by land was afterward made for the river, and, after much suffering and wandering, La Salle was treacherously shot by one of his men (1687). 2 The Dutch claim was founded on the explorations of Henry Hudson, an Englishman, sailing in the service of the "Dutch East Indies Company," who (in 1609) discovered the Hudson river, and sailed up it more than a hundred miles (see p. 80). Spain. England. France. Holland. CLAIMS. By reason of the discoveries of Columbus, De Leon, and De Soto, and the explorations of Cortez, Coronado, and others, Spain claimed the southern part of North America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The northern limits were indefinite. By reason of the discoveries of the Cabots, and the explorations of Gosnold, Smith, and Drake, with those made by the expeditions sent by Raleigh, England claimed all the heart of North America-from the latitude of Labrador to that of Florida-from ocean to ocean. By reason of the discoveries of Cartier, Champlain, and others, in connection with the explorations of Marquette and La Salle, and the planting of military, missionary, and trading stations at different points, France claimed the valleys of the St. Lawrence, Ohio, and Mississippi, and the country, including the islands, in the region of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By reason of the discoveries and explorations of Hudson, the Dutch claimed the valley of the Hudson, with all the country from the Connecticut river, and even further east, to Delaware bay on the south. Topical Review. TOPICS FOR REVIEW. 49 BIOGRAPHICAL.-The numbers given refer to the pages of this book. If, in the estimation of the teacher, the information to be found on these pages is not sufficient, resort must be had to cyclopædias, biographies, and other works. The topics may be presented by the pupils as verbal narratives, or, at the will of the teacher, as written exercises-compositions. It is recommended that both methods be pursued in alternation. Columbus. The Cabots. De Leon. De Soto. Marquette. La Salle. (See Model following, p. 50. Irving's Life of (See Hayward's Life of Sebastian Cabot, also Bid- 18-24 30 32-34 (See Irving's Companions of Columbus.) (See. Theodore Irving's Conquest of Florida.) 34-36 40 37-40 41-43 43-47 GEOGRAPHICAL.-1. Give the location of each place. 2. Give the HISTORICAL.-1. State when the event occurred. 2. Give the circumstances leading to it. 3. State the facts connected with it. 4. Describe the effects or consequences of it. When the nature of the topic will not admit of this, narrate the facts, giving them, as far as possible, in chronological order; or, as in the case of The Indians or The Mound Builders, give a description. MODEL FOR A WRITTEN EXERCISE. His early life. His great theory. His efforts for aid. His voyages and discoveries. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. While we know that Columbus was born in Italy, we are not quite certain as to the exact place of his birth. After his fame began to spread, several places in Italy claimed him as a native, but it is generally believed that to Genoa belongs the coveted honor. The year of his birth is also in doubt, nor has any writer been able to solve the uncertainty so as to leave no shadow upon the conclusion. Irving cautiously says he was born "about the year 1435." His father, who was a woolcomber, was poor, it is supposed, though the son was sent to good schools, and gained a knowledge of geometry, geography, astronomy, navigation, and the Latin language, besides the common branches. He soon began to love the sea, and at the early age of fourteen made his first voyage. This was followed by many others. Taking up his residence in Portugal, he there married the daughter of a man who had gained some reputation as a navigator and map-maker. India was a rich country even in those early days, but the merchants of Italy, who traded with it, had no way of reaching it except by the Red sea or overland through Asia. No other route was then known. Columbus believed there was a shorter way across the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, he had no idea that another continent was in the way and would therefore stop him, nor had he any idea that the earth was so large. He wanted to make an effort to reach India, according to his theory, by sailing westward from Europe, but he was too poor to build or buy the necessary vessels. So he applied for aid to Genoa; then, receiving no encouragement, to Portugal. Here, again, he was unsuccessful. Then he applied to Spain; and, after years of waiting, solicitation, anxiety, and poverty, the Spanish queen, Isabella, generously offered to sell her jewels in order to raise the money for the purchase of a fleet. This offer was the turning-point, for it shamed the public treasurer into advancing the needed funds. Three small vessels were fitted out, and in the summer of 1492 they sailed from the little port of Palos in Spain. At the Canary islands a brief stop was made. Again the vessels put to sea. It was difficult for Columbus to pro Topical Review. ceed, for he had no such excellent instruments to aid him as are now in use among navigators. He did not know how to account for the variation in the needle, and his sailors became alarmed. But he kept on with heroic resolution, and, on a bright morning in October, was rewarded with a sight of land. The island first seen is a little one north of Cuba. He called it San Salvador. His landing was effected with great ceremony, while the friendly natives, perfectly naked, looked on, believing that their visitors were from heaven. Other islands were discovered, among them the large ones of Cuba and Hayti. Leaving some men, as the beginning of a colony, at Hayti, he returned to Spain, where he was received amid great rejoicings. Columbus made three more voyages, and discovered other islands and even the main land of South America, but he never for a moment suspected that these lands belonged to a New World. He thought they were the outlying islands of Asia. We read of "Columbus in Irons" and wonder what it means. What had Columbus done that he should be so cruelly treated? Who put him in irons? It seems that while he was making his third visit to America his enemies were busy in Spain; for he, like many eminent men before his time and since, had incurred the envy of others. Even Washington, good and great as he was, had enemies. The enemies of Columbus made the king and queen of Spain believe that he was treating the Spaniards in America with great injustice and cruelty; and a person was consequently sent to inquire into the facts. This person was also clothed with certain authority, but, instead of doing as he was instructed, he made a prisoner of Columbus and sent him home in irons. When Columbus arrived in Spain and the people saw him-the great navigator who had opened the doors of wealth to them-saw him with iron chains fastened upon his arms, they were moved with sorrow and indignation. Queen Isabella ordered the chains to be removed, and she and the king gave Columbus a kind reception. So, ignorant to the last that "he had given a new continent to the world," and when his best friend, Isabella, was no more, and he was suffering neglect and poverty, Columbus died. This event took place in a little town in Spain, when he was about seventy years of age. His body was at first deposited in a convent, where it was allowed to rest seven years, then it was taken to a monastery in another town. Twenty-three years later it was transported to one of the great islands he had discovered-that of Hayti; and here surely his remains would be permitted to rest forever! Not so. In 1796, nearly three hundred years after his death, they were conveyed, with imposing ceremonies, to the island of Cuba, and there, in the cathedral of Havana, they still repose. The disgrace put upon him. His death and burial. 51 |