But the 17th century introduced a new order of things, beginning with
the arrival of the first permanent colony on the coast of Virginia in
the year 1607, indissolubly associated with the name of the chivalrous
Captain John Smith; followed in 1614 by the occupancy of the mouth of
the river Hudson, and of the island of Manhattan, the present site of
the city of New-York, by the Dutch; and, in 1620, of New-England, by
the English. The fulness of time had arrived, when the seeds of a
mighty empire were to be sown.

A diversity of opinion prevails with regard to the motives of the early
colonists to leave their homes. Without entering into an elaborate
discussion of the subject, and thereby invading the province of the
historian, it may perhaps be permitted me to say, that, in my
judgment, they were partly political, partly religious, partly
commercial, and partly adventurous.

One of the first acts of James the First of England, on his accession
to the throne in 1603, was the conclusion, by a peace with Spain, of
the long war so gloriously signalized by the destruction of the
Armada. The pacific policy wherewith he began his administration, he
never abandoned during the twenty-two years while he held the sceptre.
Hence the spirit of enterprise which exists in various degrees in
every flourishing nation, finding itself diverted from that warlike
channel wherein it had been accustomed to flow, was obliged to seek
other issues. The immense region beyond the sea claimed by England by
priority of discovery, offered a theatre for a portion of that spirit
to expend itself upon. Hither turned their eyes those who, in the
wars, had contracted a fondness for adventure, and were unwilling to
sink back into the peaceful pursuits of laborious industry. For such
men, the vague and the uncertain possess irresistible attractions. For