knowledge, of which the discovery of America was a part; the sixteenth
century was a time of preparation, during which European events were
taking place which were of the first importance to America, even though
none of the colonies which were to make up the United States were yet
in existence. From the time of the settlement forward, the only
population of America that has counted in history has been of European
origin. The institutions that characterize the New World are
fundamentally those of Europe. People and institutions have been
modified by the material conditions of America; and the process of
emigration gave a new direction to the development of American history
from the very beginning; but the origin of the people, of their
institutions, and of their history was none the less a European one.
The beginnings of American history are therefore to be found In
European conditions at the time of the foundation of the colonies.
Similar forces continued to exercise an influence in later times. The
power and policy of home governments, successive waves of emigration,
and numberless events in Europe had effects which were deeply felt in
America. This influence of Europe upon America, however, became less
and less as time passed on; and the development of the American nation
has made its history constantly more independent. It is, therefore,
only with some of the most important and earliest of these European
occurrences and conditions that this book is occupied. The general
relation of America to Europe is a subject that would require a vastly
fuller treatment, and it is a subject which doubtless will increasingly
receive the attention of scholars as our appreciation of the proper
perspective of history becomes more clear. In so wide a field as that
of this volume, it has been necessary to use secondary materials for
many statements; their aid is acknowledged in the footnotes and in the
bibliography. Other parts, so far as space limits allowed, I have been
able to work out from original sources. For much valuable information,