A Beginner's History. William H. Mace
Hall, Norfolk
Pocahontas dies in England
When about to sail for her native land, Pocahontas became ill and died (1617). Her son, Thomas Rolfe, was educated in England by his father's brother, but later he returned to the land of his mother. He became the ancestor of many noted Virginians; among these the best known was the famous orator and statesman, John Randolph of Roanoke.
So ended the life of one who had indeed been a good and true friend of the people of Virginia. Her name, Pocahontas, meant "Bright Stream between Two Hills."
LORD BALTIMORE, IN A PART OF VIRGINIA, FOUNDS MARYLAND AS A HOME FOR PERSECUTED CATHOLICS (1634) AND WELCOMES PROTESTANTS
Religious disputes drove people to America
40. A Colony of Catholics and Protestants. When the people of England began to change their religion, some became Puritans, others members of the English Church, and still others Catholics. Great disputes arose among the religious sects. There was much persecution. To escape this, many English people fled to the New World. The Puritans settled in New England, and the Cavalier members of the English Church found new homes in Virginia.
George Calvert desired to find a home for his people, the Catholics. He had studied at Oxford University, and had been secretary to one of Queen Elizabeth's great statesmen. When James I became king, he made Calvert Baron of Baltimore.
Charles I gives Baltimore a part of Virginia
His successor, Charles I, was also Baltimore's friend, and when the latter asked the king for permission to found a colony of Catholics in America, Charles gave him the whole of what is now Maryland. He also declared that the colony should bear the name of Maryland in honor of his queen, Henrietta Maria.
All permitted to worship as they pleased
Lord Baltimore immediately began to gather a colony of emigrants. He welcomed Protestants as well as Catholics, for it was decided that in the colony of Maryland all Christians were to have the same rights. Very few nations in the world at that time permitted people to worship as they pleased.
Lord Baltimore died before the expedition was ready, and according to the custom of England, Cecil Calvert, his eldest son, fell heir to his estate and titles. The new Lord Baltimore sent more than three hundred persons in two ships, the Ark and the Dove. The long voyage had a happy ending; the immigrants reached the mouth of the Potomac in the springtime, when Maryland is at the height of its beauty (1634).
The Indians are friendly
Governor Calvert, in the Dove, sailed up the Potomac. He decided to locate his little village, which was to be called St. Mary's, on land occupied by the Indians. He paid for the land on which the wigwams and cornfields stood, and the Indians invited the settlers to live with them until their log cabins could be built. This good feeling lasted a long time, and these settlers escaped the savage wars from which many of the colonists suffered in the early days.
Annapolis founded
Many Puritans came into Maryland and settled a town afterwards named Annapolis. A number of interesting events took place there in the early days. Later the city became the home of the famous training school for the American navy, the United States Naval Academy.
GOVERNOR CALVERT LOCATING THE VILLAGE OF ST. MARY'S
Once Baltimore's authority was taken away because there were some disputes with a Virginian high in authority. The Puritans joined him and overthrew Baltimore's rule. Later, however, his authority was restored and religious freedom reëstablished.
Baltimore settled
Baltimore, named after the founder of the colony, and afterward the most important town of Maryland, was settled in 1720.
INDUSTRIES, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS OF FIRST SETTLERS OF VIRGINIA
The Jamestown colony prospers
41. How the Virginia Colonists Lived. After the first hardships the colony grew and prospered. Ships continued to bring settlers from England and other countries of Europe. In a few years the little settlement at Jamestown was surrounded on all sides by newly cleared farms.
The planters grow rich
To any one living to-day the old colony would seem strange indeed. There were practically no towns; almost every one lived on a large farm, called a plantation. On these plantations were great fields of tobacco, whose broad leaves in summer almost concealed the ground. Here and there a field of corn could be seen, but little else was grown. After a time the owners, or planters, built themselves great houses and kept an army of servants to grow the crops and do the work about the house. The planters did no work with their hands, but looked after their estates and enjoyed such pleasures as hunting and horseback riding. Many of these old places were the scenes of brilliant dinners and balls at which the fine ladies and gentlemen of the colony gathered.
Negro slaves are brought to Virginia
Many poor people in England wanted to come to America, but had no money. To pay for the cost of bringing them over, these people were forced to work for the planters, often for six years or more. During this time they were almost slaves, but at the end of their service they became free. Then negroes were brought from Africa, and soon most of the work was done by black slaves.
Tobacco supported the colony and made the planters wealthy. It bought the food, clothes, and luxuries, and paid the taxes. It was even used as money, and people reckoned the value of an article in pounds of tobacco, as we do in dollars and cents. Most of the crop was shipped to England. The plantations lay along creeks or rivers up which boats could sail from the sea. When the tobacco was cured, it was packed in hogsheads, which were then rolled on board ship.
A famous robber and trader
42. Blackbeard the Pirate. The streams on which the planters shipped their goods also served as hiding places for pirates. When these sea robbers had plundered a ship on the open sea, they would hide away in a bend of one of the wooded streams. Most famous of these lawless men was Blackbeard. For years his very name was a terror to sailors along the coast. He plundered scores of merchant ships before he was run down and captured.
SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL
The Leading Facts. 1. London merchants carried out Raleigh's idea by planting a colony in Virginia. 2. John Smith saved the colony by putting the settlers to work, by trading with the Indians, and by winning the friendship of Pocahontas. 3. Lord Baltimore, a Catholic, got permission to plant a colony in Virginia; he named it Maryland, and the first settlement, St. Mary's. 4. Protestants as well as Catholics were welcomed in the new colony. 5. Negroes were brought to Virginia as slaves.
Study Questions. 1. How long did it take Captain Newport to reach Virginia? 2. How long does it take a ship to cross the Atlantic now? 3. Why were the settlers afraid of the Indians and Spaniards? 4. Why did the Virginia settlers hunt for gold instead of raising something