Читать книгу A Beginner's History - William H. Mace - Страница 18
ОглавлениеSIR WALTER RALEIGH, THE FRIEND OF ELIZABETH, PLANTS A COLONY IN AMERICA TO CHECK THE POWER OF SPAIN
Raleigh, student, soldier, seaman
28. Sir Walter Raleigh. Born (1552) near the sea, Raleigh fed his young imagination with stories of the wild doings of English seamen. He went to college at Oxford at the age of fourteen, and made a good name as a student.
In a few years young Raleigh went to France to take part in the religious wars of that unhappy country. At the time he returned home all England was rejoicing over Drake's first shipload of gold. When Queen Elizabeth sent an army to aid the people of Holland against the Spaniards, young Raleigh was only too glad to go.
THE BOYHOOD OF RALEIGH
After the painting by Sir John E. Millais
On his return from this war he went with his half-brother, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, on two voyages to America, at the very same time Drake was plundering the Spanish treasure ships in the Pacific Ocean. Afterward Raleigh turned soldier again and, as captain, went to Ireland, where Spain had sent soldiers to stir up rebellion. Thus, before he was thirty years old, he had been a seaman and a soldier, and had been in France, Holland, America, and Ireland.
Raleigh when thirty years old
At this time Raleigh was a fine-looking man, about six feet tall, with dark hair and a handsome face. He had plenty of wit and good sense, although he was fond, indeed, of fine clothes. He was just the very one to catch the favor of Queen Elizabeth.
One day Elizabeth and her train of lords and ladies were going down the roadway from the royal castle to the river. The people crowded both sides of the road to see their beloved queen and her beautiful ladies go by. Raleigh pressed his way to the front.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH
From the original portrait painted by Federigo Zuccaro
How he won the favor of the queen
As Elizabeth drew near, she hesitated about passing over a muddy place. In a moment the feeling that every true gentleman has in the presence of ladies told Raleigh what to do, and the queen suddenly saw his beautiful red velvet cloak lying in the mud at her feet. She stepped upon it, nodded to its gallant owner, and passed on. From this time forward Raleigh was a great favorite at the court of Queen Elizabeth.
Raleigh's plan for checking the power of Spain
29. Trying to Plant English Colonies. In 1584 Raleigh caused a friend to write a letter to the queen, explaining that English colonies planted on the coast of North America would not only check the power of Spain but would also increase the power of England. That very year the queen gave him permission to plant colonies. Thus a better way of opposing Spain was found than by robbing treasure ships and burning towns.
The Indians welcome the English
Why the land was named Virginia
Raleigh immediately sent a ship to explore. The captain landed on what is now Roanoke Island. The Indians came with a fleet of forty canoes to give them a friendly welcome. After a few days an Indian queen with her maidens came to entertain the English. "We found the people most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile and treason," said Captain Barlow. His glowing account of the land and people so pleased Elizabeth that she named the country Virginia, in honor of her own virgin life.
Raleigh next sent out a kinsman, Sir Richard Grenville, with a fleet of seven vessels and one hundred settlers, under Ralph Lane as governor. But the settlers were bent on finding gold and silver, instead of making friends with the Indians.
Why the Indians became hostile
An Indian stole a silver cup from the English. Because of this theft Lane and his men fell upon the Indian village, drove out men, women, and children, burned their homes, and destroyed their crops. This was not only cruel but also foolish, for the story of his cruelty spread to other tribes, and after that wherever the English went they were always in danger from the Indians.
INDIAN CORN
Indian corn and the white potato taken to England
When Drake came along the next spring with his great fleet, the settlers were only too glad to get back to England, and be once more among friends. They took home from America the turkey and two food plants, the white potato and Indian corn—worth more to the world than all the gold and silver found in the mines of Mexico and Peru!
Raleigh tries again
Although Raleigh had already spent thousands of dollars, he would not give up. He immediately sent out a second colony of one hundred fifty settlers, a number of whom were women. John White was governor. Roanoke was occupied once more, and there, shortly afterwards, was born Virginia Dare, the first white child of English parents in North America. Before a year went by, the governor had to go to England for aid.
A WILD TURKEY
But Raleigh and all England had little time to think of America. The Armada was coming, and every English ship and sailor was needed to fight the Spaniards. Two years went by before Governor White reached America with supplies. When he did reach there practically no trace of the colony could be found. Not a settler was left to tell the tale.
POTATO PLANT AND TUBERS
The "lost colony"
The only trace of Raleigh's "lost colony" was the word "Croatoan" cut in large letters on a post. Croatoan was the name of an island near by. White returned home, but Raleigh sent out an old seaman, Samuel Mace, to search for the lost colony. It was all in vain. Many years later news reached England that a tribe of Indians had a band of white slaves, but the mystery of the lost colony never was cleared up.
Raleigh's money gives out, but not his hope
Raleigh had now spent his great fortune. But he did not lose heart, for he said that he would live to see Virginia a nation. He was right. Before he died a great colony had been planted in Virginia, and a ship loaded with the products of Virginia had sailed into London port and an Indian "princess" had married a Virginian and had been received with honor by the King and Queen of England.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND
30. The Death of Raleigh. But the great Elizabeth was dead, and an unfriendly king, James I, was on the throne. He threw Raleigh into prison, and kept him there thirteen years. The Spaniards urged the king to put Raleigh to death. He had been a life-long enemy of Spain and they knew they were not safe if he lived.
Raleigh bravely meets death
At last Spanish influence was too strong, and Sir Walter faced death on the scaffold as bravely as he had faced the Spaniards in battle.
Thus died a noble man who gave both his fortune and his life for the purpose of planting an English colony in America.
SUGGESTIONS INTENDED TO HELP THE PUPIL
The Leading Facts. 1. John Cabot, trying for a short route to India, discovered what is supposed to be Labrador, or Cape Breton. 2. On a second voyage he coasted along eastern North America as far south as the Carolinas. 3. Later, England claimed all North America. 4. Francis Drake sailed to the Pacific in the Pelican and then turned northward after the Spanish gold ships. 5. He wintered in California, and then started across the Pacific—the first Englishman to cross. 6. Drake reached England, and was received with great joy. 7. Once more Drake went to fight the Spaniards, until the Great Armada attacked England. 8. Walter Raleigh, a student, a soldier, and a seaman, won the favor of the queen. 9. He hated the Spaniards, and planted settlements in what is now North Carolina. 10. What was Raleigh's prophecy?
Study Questions. 1. Tell the story of John Cabot before he came to England. 2. What did Cabot want to find when he sailed away and what did he find? 3. How was Cabot treated by King Henry VII, according to a "Citizen of Venice," after he returned? 4. Why was little attention given to the new lands by the English?
5. Prove that Spanish and English sailors did not like each other. 6. Who was Francis Drake? 7. What was Magellan after and what was Drake after? 8. Find out why Drake renamed his ship the Golden Hind. 9. Tell the story of Drake's voyage from Valparaiso to Oregon. 10. Tell the story of the voyage across the Pacific and how he was received at home. 11. What did Drake do when he missed the "Gold Fleet"? 12. What did Drake mean when he said he had "singed the King of Spain's beard"? 13. What became of the Spanish Armada, and what effects did its failure produce?
14. What other brave man went to America before the Armada was destroyed? 15. Give the early experiences of Raleigh before he was thirty. 16. Make a mental picture of the cloak episode. 17. Explain how kind the Indians were; how did the English repay the Indians? 18. What did the colonists take home with them? 19. Who was the first white child of English parents born in America? 20. How did the destruction of the Armada affect Englishmen who wanted to go to America? 21. Read in other books about Raleigh's death. 22. How did the English treatment of the Indians compare with that of the Spaniards?
Suggested Readings. Cabot: Hart, Colonial Children, 7–8; Griffis, Romance of Discovery, 105–111.
Drake: Hart, Source Book of American History, 9–11; Hale, Stories of Discovery, 86–106; Frothingham, Sea Fighters, 3–44.
Raleigh: Hart, Colonial Children, 165–170; Pratt, Early Colonies, 33–40; Wright, Children's Stories in American History, 254–258; Higginson, American Explorers, 177–200; Bolton, Famous Voyagers, 154–234.
