USA > New Jersey > The history of New Jersey : from its earliest settlement to the present time : including a brief historical account of the first discoveries and settlement of the country, Vol. I > Part 2
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His principal object in settling there was in consequence of that nation having pushed their discoveries farther at that time than any other nation had. While here he employed nearly all his time in drawing maps and charts, and preparing himself.for future enterprises. He married and settled in Lisbon, was of a good family, a grave and temperate man, of considerable learn_ ing, studious in mathematics, and from his youth was brought up to understand navigation.
Columbus was moderately tall and long visaged, his complex- ion a good red and white, light eyes, and cheeks somewhat full, neither too fat nor too lean. In his youth he had fair hair, which turned grey before he was thirty years of age. He was moderate in eating and drinking, always dressed in a plain and modest manner, naturally grave, but affable to strangers, and pleasant even among his domestics, strict and devout in religious matters, and though a seaman, was never heard to curse or swear.
What were his particular motives to search after this new world, are not certainly known. It has by some been attributed to information he had received ; others to his skill in the nature of the globe, that made him conclude it probable that there must be a tract of land to the westward of Spain, and that it was not to be imagined the sun, when it set in the horizon, gave light to no other body.
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Whatever gave rise to the project, he resolved to attempt a discovery, and being unable to do it at his own expense, he first offered his services to the Genoese, next to the King of Portugal. Not meeting with encouragement from either, he sent his brother Bartholomew to England to offer his service to Henry VII. His proposal was approved by King Henry, but the brother on his return being taken by pirates, and Columbus receiving no answer, left Portugal and went to Spain. On his application to Ferdinand and Isabella, King and Queen of Castile and Arragon, he succeeded so well that in the year 1492, they provided him with money, and entrusted him with three small ships for the expedition. He also obtained a grant from them as admiral of the western seas. All civil employments, as well as governments in the continent or world to be discovered were to be wholly at his disposal, and besides the revenues of the posts of admiral and viceroy, he was to enjoy a tenth of all the profits arising by future conquests.
His little squadron, manned only with ninety men, set sail from Palos for the Canaries the 3d of August, 1492, and arriving at those islands the 12th, sailed from thence on the Ist of Sep- tember on his grand design. He had not sailed a fortnight to the westward before his men began to murmur at the enterprise. They observed the wind constantly set from east to west, and ยท apprehended there would be no possibility of returning if they missed the land they were made to expect. On the 19th observing birds to fly over their ships, and on the 22d weeds driving by them, they began to be better satisfied, concluding they were not far from land.
They continued their course several days further westward, and meeting with no land, the seamen mutinied to that degree that they were almost ready to throw the admiral overboard and return home, when happily for him they saw more birds, weeds, pieces of boards, canes, and a shrub with the berries upon it, swim by them, which made them conjecture there must be islands thereabout.
On the rith of October, about 10 o'clock at night, the admiral first discovered a light upon the island of Guanahani,*
* A bay or harbor, or sea of water.
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or St. Salvador, as he named it, in consideration that the sight of it delivered him and his men from the fear of perishing. This is one of the Bahama islands, about fifteen leagues long, in north latitude fifteen degrees .*
Day appearing, the ships came to anchor very near the island. The natives crowded the shore, and beheld the ships of these new comers with astonishment, taking them for living creatures.f The admiral believing there was no great danger to be apprehended from them, went ashore in his boat with the royal standard, as did the other two captains, with their colors flying, and took possession of the country in the name of the King and Queen of Spain, with great solemnity. The Indians meanwhile stood gazing at the Spaniards without attempting to oppose them. The admiral ordered strings of glass beads, caps, and toys to be distributed among them, with which they seemed greatly delighted.
The principal ornament about them was a thin gold plate in the form of a crescent, hanging from the nose over the upper lip. The admiral, by signs, asked them from whence they had received their gold plates. At which they pointed to the south and southwest.
* The sailor who first discovered land expecting some great reward from the King of Spain, when he found out his disappointment, in his rage renounced Christianity and turned Mohammedan.
t One of the River Indians, in his speech at the treaty of Albany, 1754, relates the surprise of their forefathers at the sight of the first ship that came - up the North river in the same manner. His speech, so far as it relates to this subject, was as follows :
" FATHERS, we are greatly rejoiced to see you all here. It is by the will of heaver that we are met here, and we thank you for this opportunity of seeing you altogether, as it is a long while since we had such a one. FATHERS who sit present here, we will give you a short relation of the long friendship which hath subsisted between the white people of this country and us. Our forefathers had a castle on this river. As one of them walked out he saw something on the river, but was at a loss to know what it was. He took it at first for a great fish. He ran into the castle and gave notice to the other Indians. Two of our forefathers went to see what it was, and found it a vessel with men in it. They immediately joined hands with the people in the vessel and became friends."
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He rowed in his boats around the island to see if there was anything worth his while to settle there.
Everywhere he went he was followed by the natives, who seemed to admire him, and looked upon his people as some- thing more than human.
From this island he coasted southward about one hundred and eighty leagues, in search of the gold, when he discovered another island, which he called Hispaniola, where his ship struck on a hidden rock and was lost, and he and his crew were taken on board of one of the other vessels. The natives at this island, through fear, fled from him; but taking one of their women, treating her kindly, and then letting her go back among them, she brought numbers to traffic among them, after which they all seemed peaceably disposed, and Columbus, finding there was gold in this island, by the aid of the natives, built a fort, and left thirty-nine men in it, with provisions for an entire year, seeds to sow, and trinkets to trade with the natives.
. After discovering a good part of the north and east coast of Hispaniola, trading with the Indians, and near three months' stay in the island, he bent his course homewards, and arrived at Palos, in Andalusia, early in the spring of 1492-3, having per- formed the voyage in seven months and eleven days. Here the people received him with a solemn procession and thanksgiving for his return, most of his seamen belonging to that port.
The King and Queen were at Barcelona, and when the admiral drew near that city, the court went out to meet him, and received him with the honors due to a sovereign prince. Colum- bus afterwards made several voyages to America .*
The fame of the discovery, and of the rich cargoes brought to Old Spain, at several times, from the newly discovered coun- try, becoming spread through other countries, gave rise to addi- tional adventurers. The next attempt was made by Sebastian Cabot, a Venetian by extraction, but born in England, and who had given much time to the study of navigation, and was well skilled in cosmography.
*He died in the city of Validolid, in Spain, in the spring of 1506, and was buried in the cathedral of Seville, with this inscription on his tomb: "That Columbus had given a new world to Castile and Leon."
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He believed in sailing by the northwest, a shorter passage than that lately discovered by the Cape of Good Hope might be found to the West Indies, and Henry VII. fitted out two ships to aid him in making the discovery.
In the beginning of the summer of 1497 he sailed from Lis- bon, and steering his course northwest, came upon land about sixty degrees north latitude, supposed to be Greenland, but per- ceiving that the land still ran north, he changed his course, in hopes of finding a passage in less latitude. About the fiftieth degree he saw that which is now well known by the name of Newfound- land. Here he took three of the natives, and coasted south- ward, to the latitude of thirty-eight degrees,* but his provisions growing scarce, and expecting no supplies there, he returned to England, where the natives he brought lived a considerable time. t
From this voyage and discovery made by Cabot, the English, under the law of nations, claimed the country-that whatever waste or uncultivated country is discovered, it is the right of that prince who had been at the charge of the discovery. This, from universal law, gave at least a right of pre-emption, and was good against all but Indian proprietors.
We have seen in the discovery of North and South America, that inhabitants were found at the places touched at. How these people originally came there, is a question not easily solved.
*Maryland.
+King Henry VII. commissioned John Cabot (5th of March, in the elev- enth year of his reign) and his three sons to sail in quest of unknown lands, and to annex them to the crown of England, with this clause : " Which before this time have been unknown to all Christians." His first design was to dis- cover a northwest passage to Cathay or China. In this voyage he sailed very far eastward, on the north side of Labrador. In his next voyage, which was made in company with his son Sebastian, in 1497, he steered to the south of Labrador, and fell in with the island of Baccalaos, or Newfoundland, and took possession both of that island and all the coast of the northeast part of America as far as Cape Florida, which he also claimed in the name of the King of England. Sebastian drew a map of the whole coast of North America. This map was hung up in His Majesty's privy-gallery at Whitehall, and was destroyed by fire at the burning of the gallery in King William's reign.
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All therefore, that can be done, is to give a short view of the most probable conjectures that have been hitherto offered .*
It is not unlikely the new world was known to the Phenicians, even a considerable time before the days of Plato, who, in all likelihood, found but few (if any) inhabitants there. That they contributed towards the planting of it, we have found some reason to believe, as they are supposed to have made three voya- ges thither ; that colonies from other nations crossed the Atlan- tic, and landed in America, cannot be well denied. Neither the Egyptians nor Carthagenians are supposed void of some tra- ditional knowledge of America, since they are believedt to have communicated such knowledge to other nations, which, if we admit the truth of the above, it would naturally follow that some of the ancient Egyptians and Carthagenians had been here, and contributed towards the peopling of this continent, as well as the Phenicians.
The author of de Mirabilibus Audit, supposed to be Aristotle, expressly asserts that the Carthagenians discovered an island beyond Hercules' pillars, abounding with all necessaries, to which they frequently sailed, and several of them had fixed their habitations there ; but, adds he, the Senate would not per- mit their subjects to go thither any more, lest it should prove the depopulation of their own country.
It has been said that several of the original American nations rent their garments, the more effectually to express their grief on any melancholy. The Hebrews, Persians, Greeks, Sabines, and Latins, according to various authors, did the same, from whence some imagine that those Americans deduced their origin from one or more of-those nations, but this is two slender a founda- tion upon which to build such a belief.} Menasseh Ben Israel
*Voltaire says : " If we are not astonished that the discoverers found flies in America, it is absurd to wonder that they should meet with men."-[Univ. Hist.
tPerizonias and Cellarius seem to have inferred from thence, that the new world was not entirely unknown to the remoter ages of antiquity.
+William Penn, in his letter to the committee of the Free Society of Traders, in London, in 1683, gives a short sketch of his opinion, touching the
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concluded that the Israelites were the progenitors of the aborig- inal Americans.
Though the Phenicians, Egyptians, and Carthagenians might have planted some colonies, yet the bulk of the inhabitants must certainly have deduced their origin from another part of the world. Had the Phenicians and Egyptians peopled even a con- siderable part of America, it would scarcely have been taken so little notice of by the ancients, even supposing those nations had industriously endeavored to conceal their western discover- ies, for in such case there must have been a constant communi- cation kept open between America, Egypt, and Phenicia, and a very extensive trade carried on. So that many particulars relat- ing to the new world, must necessarily have transpired ; nor could even the sailors themselves, who navigated the Phenician ships, have omitted divulging many accounts of what they observed on this continent, some of which would undoubtedly have been transmitted to us.
We are inclined to the belief that the inhabitants of this con- tinent were descended from a people who inhabited a country not so far distant as Egypt and Phenicia, the most probable of which is the northeastern part of Asia, particularly Tartary, Siberia, and the peninsula of Kamschatka, which was probably the tract through which many Tartarian colonies passed into America, and peopled the most considerable portion of it.
California, the most western of our states, being contiguous to, and no very great distance from the northeastern part of Asia, and east of Kamschatka, is a tract approaching to America.
It is also supposed that Asia and America were formerly con- nected by an isthmus, which might have been destroyed by an earthquake.
The latter supposition may be supported by the authority of those writers who have rendered parallel cases creditable-such as the disjunction of Britain from Gaul, and Spain from the African continent.
origin of the Indians here, whom he imagines to be descended from the Jews; that after the dispersion of the ten tribes, they emigrated through the easter- most parts of Asia, to the westermost parts of America.
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A communication between Asia and America seems to agree with truth, not only from what has been advanced by Reland and other writers, but from the discoveries made by the Russians, given in their public prints of the year 1737, in which we find that some of the Czarina's subjects touched at several islands, which lie at a distance in the eastern direction from Japan and Kamschatka, and consequently between those countries and America.
As early as 1749, Leonard Enler, professor of mathematics, and member of the Imperial Society of Petersburgh, conceived the idea that the northwestern cape of Asia, discovered by Capt. Behring, was not thirty degrees off the last known head- land of California.
M. de Guignes informs us, in a memoir upon the ancient navigations of the Chinese to America, that though they have always been believed to have been confined within the bounds of their own country, yet they penetrated into America in the year 458 of the Christian era, and that Christopher Columbus was not the first who attempted discoveries towards the west. That long before him the Arabians, while they were masters of Spain and Portugal, enterprised the same thing from Lisbon, but after having advanced to the far west, they were obliged to put back to the Canaries. There they learned that formerly the in- habitants of these islands had sailed towards the west for a month together, to discover new countries.
Thus we see that the most barbarous people without the knowledge of the compass, were not afraid to expose themselves to the open sea in their slight, small vessels, and that it was not so difficult for them to get over to America as we imagine.
In a history of Kamschatka, published in 1765, and trans- lated into English by J. Grieve, M. D., we find a particular description of the customs and ways of living of the inhabitants there, which agrees in several particulars, and upon the whole seems not very different from the original customs of the North American Indians.
In 1524, John Verrazzano, a Florentine, sailed to America and proceeded along the coast from Florida to the fiftieth degree of north latitude, and entered the harbor of New York.
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In 1534, James Cartier commanded a fleet fitted out in France under direction of the French King for the purpose of making further discoveries in America, and arrived at New- foundland in May of that year. He thence sailed northerly, when he found himself in a broad river or gulf, which he named St. Lawrence, as it was discovered by him on the day of the festival of that Saint. He sailed up the St. Lawrence until he came to a swift fall. This country he called New France, . and his was the first attempt of the French to form a settlement in America.
In 1539, the Spaniards made an attempt to form by conquest a settlement within the limits of the United States. Fernando de Soto, Governor of Cuba, sailed from Havana with nine vessels, nine hundred men besides sailors, two hundred and thirteen horses, and a herd of swine, and landed at Espirito Santo, in Florida. He expected to find mines and plenty of gold, but was disappointed. The natives opposed him, and he was often deluded by them.
He crossed the Alleghany mountains, and wintered in the Chickasaw country. Then crossed the Mississippi river. He wandered about, and was exposed to many hardships. Famine overtook him, and he suffered severely from the opposition of the natives. He finally died near the mouth of the Red river.
Those of his men that remained, passed down the Mississippi river and arrived at Panuco, in Mexico, in September, 1543. More than half of his men perished during the expedition of four years in the wilderness.
In 1562, during the civil war between the Protestants and Catholics in France, Admiral Coligny formed a project of carrying a colony of Protestants to America that they might enjoy religious freedom. He easily obtained permission of the French King, who was anxious to get rid of his Huguenot or Protestant subjects.
The admiral fitted out two ships, and under the command of John Ribault, they landed within the limits of South Carolina, built a fort and garrisoned it with twenty men, after which he returned to France.
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After he had left, the company mutinied and killed their captain for his severity.
They suffered the most extreme privations, and were so re- duced in circumstances that they were compelled to leave, and fitting out a vessel they embarked with such things as they could. After having been out several weeks their provisions were exhausted, so that they were obliged to kill and eat one of their number who offered himself as a victim to satisfy their hunger.
They were a few days afterwards picked up by an English vessel and carried to England.
In 1564, Laudoniere, a Frenchman, carried a colony to Florida, where he erected a fortification on the river May, which he called Fort Caroline.
The following year, Ribault, who was sent to supersede Lau- doniere, arrived in Florida with seven vessels. He took all the best men from the fort and started on an expedition against the Spaniards, leaving Laudoniere in the fort without adequate means of defense. At the same time, Melandez, under King Philip II. of Spain, was on his way to Florida with a fleet and army for the purpose of driving out the Huguenots and settling it with Catholics. He massacred Ribault and all his company, except Laudoniere and a few others who escaped to France. Melendez built three forts on the river May, and garrisoned 'them with Spanish soldiers. He then proceeded south, and discovered the harbor of St. Augustine where he built a city, the oldest city within the limits of the United States, east of the Mississippi river.
In 1579, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, under the patronage of Queen Elizabeth, made an attempt at colonization in America. In his first attempt he was unsuccessful, and was obliged to return. In his second attempt, he reached Newfoundland, and took possession of the country in the name of his sovereign. He sailed southwesterly to the mouth of the Kennebec. There he lost the largest of his three vessels, and all the crew perished. He then set his face toward England, but his little bark sunk upon the voyage, and he was heard of no more.
Although the English had very early made the discovery of
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North America, a considerable time elapsed before any advan- tages accrued.
In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh was the first Englishman who attempted to plant a colony in it .*
In this year he obtained a patent from Queen Elizabeth, for him and his heirs, to discover and possess forever, under the crown of England, all such countries and lands as were not then possessed by any Christian prince, or inhabited by Christian people. Encouraged by this grant, Raleigh and others fitted out ships at different times, and the first colony they settled was at Roanore,* in Virginia, but after various attempts at forming a settlement there, they met with such discouragements that it was some time afterwards before many improvements were made.
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In 1606, without regard to Raleigh's patent, King James granted a new patent of Virginia, in which was included what is now the New England States, New York, New Jersey, Penn- sylvania, and Maryland. From Queen Elizabeth's time, 1584, to the time this patent was granted, the whole country bore the name given it by Raleigh, it is said in honor of his virgin mis- tress, the Queen of England, while others assert it was because of its virgin soil, never having been settled before. The persons to whom this last patent was granted were Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard Hakluyt, clerk, Edward Maria Wingfield, Thomas Hanham, Richard Gilbert, Esqs., William Parker, George Popham, Lord Chief Justice of England, and others. The extent of the land granted was from thirty-four to forty-five degrees of north latitude, with all the islands lying within one hundred miles of the coast.
Two distinct colonies were to be planted by virtue of this patent, and the property to be vested in two different bodies of adventurers. The first was to belong to Somers, Hackluyt, and Wingfield, under title of the London Adventurers or London
* That is, a regular colony under grants. Sir Amigell Wadd, of Yorkshire, Clerk of the Council to Henry VIII. and Edward VI., and author of a book of travels, was the first Englishman that made discoveries in America.
t Now Roanoke.
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Company, and was to reach from thirty-four to forty-one degrees, with all lands, woods, mines, minerals, &c.
The other colony was to reach from the end of the first to forty-five degrees, and granting the same privileges to Hanham, Gilbert, Parker, and Popham as he had to the others. This was called the Plymouth Company. Both parties were privileged to take in with them as many partners as they chose, and all others were forbidden to plant within the bounds granted to them without first obtaining their license therefor. One-fifth part of all gold and silver mines, and the fifteenth part of all copper mines, were reserved to the use of the crown.
Under this grant the London Company fitted out several ships, with artificers of every kind, and everything necessary for a new settlement, and at once set out for America and planted a . colony there.
In 1623, there were so many complaints of bad management, that on inquiry a quo warranto was issued against the patent, and after a trial had in the king's bench it was declared for- feited, after which Virginia came under the immediate direction of the crown.
The Plymouth Company also attempted to make a settlement the same year that their patent was granted, but met with poor success until about the year 1620, when another colony arrived from England, under command of Capt. Miles Standish. They arrived at Cape Cod, in the latitude of forty-two degrees, and having turned the cape, found a commodious harbor opposite the point, at the mouth of the bay, at the entrance to which were two islands well stocked with wood. Here they built a town which they called Plymouth. This greatly augmented the colonies in New England. Multitudes of dissenters, thinking this a good opportunity of enjoying liberty of conscience, offered their services to the Plymouth Company, and the grand patent having been delivered up to the king, other patents were granted to Lord Musgrave, the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Edward Gorges, and new colonies were planted in divers places.
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