1 COLLISION WITH FRANCE ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER. 331 IX. to few memorials which they have left, it is not, perhaps, CHAP. possible to ascertain the precise time, when the rude shelters of the fishermen on the sea-coast began to be 1623 tenanted by permanent inmates, and the fishing stages 1628 of a summer to be transformed into regular establishments of trade.' The first settlement was probably 1626 made "on the Maine," but a few miles from Monhegan, at the mouth of the Pemaquid. The first observers could not but admire the noble rivers and secure bays, which invited commerce, and gave the promise of future opulence; but if hamlets were soon planted near the mouths of the streams; if forts were erected to protect the merchant and the mariner,— agriculture received no encouragement; and so many causes combined to check the growth of the country, that, notwithstanding its natural advantages, nearly two centuries glided away, before the scattered settlements along the sea-side rose into a succession of busy marts, sustained and enriched by the thriving villages of a fertile interior. The settlement at Piscataqua could not quiet the ambition of Gorges. As a Protestant and an Englishman, he was almost a bigot, both in patriotism and in religion. Unwilling to behold the Roman Catholic church and the French monarch obtain possession of the eastern coast of North America, his first act with reference to the territory of the present state of Maine was, to invite the Scottish nation to become the 1 For the early history of Maine, the original authorities are in Purchas, vol. iv.; the Relation of the President and Council for New England; Josselyn's Voyages; and the Narration which Gorges himself composed in his old age. Materials may be found also in Sullivan's History; and far better in the elaborate and most minute work 332 COLLISION WITH FRANCE ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER. IX. CHAP. guardians of its frontier. Sir William Alexander, the ambitious writer of turgid rhyming tragedies, a man of influence with King James, and already filled with the desire of engaging in colonial adventure, seconded a design, which promised to establish his personal dignity and interest; and he obtained, without diffi1621. culty, a patent for all the territory east of the River Sept. 10. St. Croix, and south of the St. Lawrence.1 The whole region, which had already been included in the French provinces of Acadia and New France, was designated in English geography by the name of Nova Scotia. Thus were the seeds of future wars scattered broadcast by the unreasonable pretensions of England; for James now gave away lands, which, 1603. already and with a better title on the ground of dis covery, had been granted by Henry IV. of France, and which had been immediately occupied by his subjects; nor could it be supposed, that the reigning French monarch would esteem his rights to his rising colonies invalidated by a parchment under the Scottish seal, or prove himself so forgetful of honor, as to discontinue the protection of the emigrants who had planted themselves in America on the faith of the crown.2 Yet immediate attempts were made to effect a 1622. Scottish settlement. One ship, despatched for the purpose, did but come in sight of the shore, and then, declining the perilous glory of colonization, returned to the permanent fishing station on Newfoundland. 1623. The next spring, a second ship arrived; but the two vessels in company hardly possessed courage to sail to and fro along the coast, and make a partial survey of The patent is in Hazard, v. i. p. 134-145; in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1871. See, also, Gorges' Narra tion, c. xxiv; Laing's Scotland, ii 477. 2 Chalmers, 92. PASSION OF BUCKINGHAM FOR THE QUEEN OF FRANCE. 333 the harbors and the adjacent lands. The formation CHAP. of a colony was postponed; and a brilliant eulogy of the soil, climate, and productions of Nova Scotia, was the only compensation for the delay.1 IX. July 12. The marriage of Charles I. with Henrietta Maria 1625 May. promised between the rival claimants of the wilds of Acadia such friendly relations as would lead to a peaceful adjustment of jarring pretensions. Yet, even at that period, the claims of France were not recognized by England; and a new patent confirmed to Sir William Alexander all the prerogatives with which he had been lavishly invested, with the right of creating an order of baronets. The sale of titles proved to the poet a lucrative traffic, and the project of a colony was abandoned. The citizens of a republic are so accustomed to see the legislation and the destinies of their country controlled only by public opinion, as formed and expressed in masses, that they can hardly believe the extent in which the fortunes of European nations have, at least for a short season, been moulded by the caprices of individuals how often the wounded vanity of a courtier, or an unsuccessful passion of a powerful minister, has changed the foreign relations of a kingdom! The feeble monarch of England, having twice abruptly dissolved parliament, and having vainly resorted to illegal modes of taxation, had forfeited the confidence of his people, and, while engaged in a war with Spain, was destitute of money and of credit. It was at such a moment, that the precipitate gallantry of the favorite 1627. Buckingham, eager to thwart the jealous Richelieu, to whom he was as far inferior in the qualities of a 1 Purchas's Pilgrims, iv. 1872. Charlevoix, i. 274. De Laet. 62. 2 Hazard, i. 206, and ff. Biog. Brit. sub voce Alexander. IX. CHAP. statesman, as he was superior in youth, manners, and personal beauty, hurried England into an unnecessary and disastrous conflict with France. The siege of Rochelle invited the presence of an English fleet; but the expedition was fatal to the honor and the objects of Buckingham. Hostilities were no where successfully attempted, 1628. except in America. Port Royal fell easily into the hands of the English; the conquest was no more than the acquisition of a small trading station. It was a bolder design to attempt the reduction of Canada. Sir David Kirk and his two brothers, Louis and Thomas, were commissioned to ascend the St. Lawrence, and Quebec received a summons to surrender. The garrison, destitute alike of provisions and of military stores, had no hope but in the character of Champlain, its commander: his answer of proud defiance concealed his weakness; and the intimidated 1629. assailants withdrew. But Richelieu sent no season able supplies; the garrison was reduced to extreme suffering and the verge of famine; and when the squadron of Kirk reappeared before the town, the English were welcomed as deliverers. Favorable terms were demanded and promised; and Quebec capitulated. Thus did England, one hundred and thirty years before the enterprise of Wolfe, make the conquest of the capital of New France; that is to say, she gained possession of a barren rock and a few wretched hovels, tenanted by a hundred miserable men, who were now but beggars for bread of their vanquishers. Yet the event might fairly be deemed of importance, as pregnant with consequences; and the English admiral could not but admire the position of the fortress. Not a port in North America remained RESTORATION OF CANADA AND ACADIA TO FRANCE. 335 to the French; from Long Island to the Pole, England CHAP was without a rival.1 IX. But before the conquest of Canada was achieved, 1629 May. peace had been proclaimed between the contending states; and an article in the treaty promised the restitution of all acquisitions, made subsequent to April 14, 1629.2 The possession of New France would have been too dearly purchased by the vileness of falsehood; and it was readily agreed to restore Quebec. Perhaps an indifference to the issue prevailed in France; but the pride of honor and of religion seconded the claims to territory; and the genius of Richelieu succeeded in obtaining the restitution, 1632 not of Canada only, but of Cape Breton and the undefined Acadia. The event has been frequently deplored; but misery ensued, because neither the boundaries of the rival nations were distinctly marked, nor the spirit of the compact honestly respected. Mar. 29. While the eastern provinces of America were thus recovered by the firmness and ability of the French minister, very different causes delayed the colonization of Maine. Hardly had the little settlement, which claimed the distinction of being the oldest plantation 1628. on that coast, gained a permanent existence, before a succession of patents distributed the whole territory from the Piscataqua to the Penobscot among various proprietors. The grants were couched in vague 1629 language, and were made in hasty succession, without deliberation on the part of the council of Plymouth, and without any firm purpose of establishing colonies 1 Mémoires, in Hazard, i. 285287. Charlevoix, i. 165, and ff. Compare, also, Haliburton's N. Scotia, i. 43. 46, &c. 2 Rushworth, ii. 24. 4 Charlevoix, i. 176. Winthrop, i. 13. Hazard, i. 319, 320. Williamson, i. 246, 247. Dummer's Memorial, in iii. M. H. Coll. i. 232, is an ex parte statement, unworthy to be cited as of authority. to 1631 |