[21] "A report of the voyage and successe thereof, attempted in the
yeere of our Lord 1583 by Sir Humfrey Gilbert Knight, with other
gentlemen assisting him in that action, intended to discover and to
plant Christian inhabitants in place convenient, upon those large and
ample countreys extended Northward from the cape of Florida, lying
under very temperate climes, esteemed fertile and rich in minerals,
yet not in the actuall possession of any Christian prince, written by
M. Edward Haie gentleman, and principall actour in the same voyage,
who alone continued unto the end, and by God's speciall assistance
returned home with his retinue safe and entire." See Hakluyt (ed.
1904), vol. viii. pp. 34 seq.

[22] Rogers, _op. cit._, p. 40.




CHAPTER IV

EARLY HISTORY (_continued_). BEGINNING OF A PERFECT ENGLISH COLONY


We have seen that many nations shared in the profits of the
Newfoundland trade, but the English and French soon distanced all
other competitors. The explanation lies in the conflicting interests
which these two great and diffusive Powers were gradually establishing
on the American mainland. It is worth while anticipating a little in
order to gain some landmarks. In 1609 the colonization of Virginia
began in earnest; a few years later sailed the Pilgrim Fathers in the
_Mayflower_, to found New England. In 1632 Lord Baltimore founded