navigators made voyages of discovery, and claimed those parts on which they landed; and their governments made settlements on them. In the year 1496, John Cabot had the command of a small English fleet, with which he sailed to the west, and discovered a large island, which his sailors called Newfoundland. He then sailed along the coast of North America, for some distance, but did not land. Several attempts were afterwards made by the English to form settlements in it, but they were not successful until April, 1607, when one hundred and five of them landed in Virginia, and built a town, which they called Jamestown, in honour of their king. One of the most active of those settlers was Captain Smith, who gained the good will of all the natives near the settlement; but being one day at some distance from it, he was seized by a party of strange Indians, and taken to their king, Powhatan. It was determined that the prisoner should be put to death by having his head beat with clubs. He was laid on a large stone, and the death clubs were raised, when Pocahontas, the daughter of the king, threw herself beside him, and folding her arms around him, laid her head on his, and entreated that his life might be spared. She was only thirteen years of age, and was the darling of her father, who consented to her request, and Captain Smith was permitted to return to Jamestown. Some time after, she was married, with the consent of her father, to a young Englishman, named Rolfe, and this secured Powhatan as a faithful and powerful friend to the settlers. Pocahontas professed belief in the Christian religion, and was baptized by the name of Rebecca. In 1620, the second English settlement in North America was made. A number of families, who were not at liberty to worship God as they thought right, went over to Holland. They were kindly received, and had remained there for ten years, supporting themselves by their industry, when they resolved, after frequent and serious prayer, to cross the Atlantic, and seek a residence in America; the manners of the people in Holland being such as they feared might lead their offspring astray. One hundred and one arrived, like pilgrims, in the beginning of winter, (Nov. 11, 1620,) in a strange country, where there was no friend to welcome them, nor shelter for them to enter. They purchased land from the Indians in Massachusetts, and began to clear a spot for a town which they called New Plymouth. They endured, with resolute cheerfulness, the toils and dangers of forming homes in a wilderness, because they believed that God would "not leave them, nor forsake them." They desired to "worship him in spirit and in truth," and trusted in his pro mise that "all things should work together for their good. Other settlements were gradually made in different parts of the country. Maryland was colonized in 1633, under Lord Baltimore. The settlers of Connecticut received a charter in 1662, from King Charles II. permitting the people to make their own laws, and in 1663 similar rights were given to Rhode-Island, both of which provinces were settled by independent colonies, chiefly from Massachusetts. The country now forming the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia were granted to Lord Clarendon and others, in 1663. New York and New Jersey, which had been previously occupied by the Dutch, were granted by King Charles to his brother, the Duke of York, and were easily subdued by the English. In October, 1682, William Penn, from whom Pennsylvania was named, brought from England a number of families, who had been persecuted on account of their religious opinions. He purchased land for them from the Indians, who kindly taught them how to make sodded huts, on the spot where Philadelphia now stands. Each settlement was called a Province, and the inhabitants made regulations for their own government, but acknowledged themselves to be subjects of the king of England. Those who had fled from their native land, that they might wor |