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History Of The United States Of North America
History Of The United States Of North America Author:John Frost Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 16 MASSACRE OF THE SPANIARDS. ing the French colony, the Spaniards sailed for their native country, leaving a force in possession of the settlement. As the... more » French government took no measures for punishing this aggression, Dominic de Gourgues, a French officer of some distinction, fitted out an expedition of three ships and one hundred and fifty men at his own cost, (1568,) for the express purpose of avenging his murdered countrymen. He surprised the forts on the river St. Matheo, and captured a considerable number of prisoners, who were forthwith hanged upon trees with the inscription over their heads, ' 1do not this as unto Spaniards or mariners, but as unto traitors, robbers, and murderers.' He then embarked without attempting to keep possession of his conquest. His acts were disavowed by the French government, and the Spaniards continued to hold the colony. Thus it appears, that up to the year 1568, the Spaniards were the only nation holding possessions within the territory at present belonging to the united States. It was nearly forty years after this that England began the settlement of Virginia. CHAPTER IV. EKGLAND ATTEMPTS TO COLONISE THE UNITED STATES. The fisheries of Newfoundland appear to have been visited frequently, if not annually, by the English as well as the French navigators, during the early part of the sixteenth century; and both nations cherished the design of founding colonies in North America. We have already shown that Nova Scotia was settled by the French in 1605, and Canada in 1608. Previous to these settlements the English were by no means inactive in the career of western adventure. The discovery of a north-west passage to India was a favourite project with them, notwithstanding the failure of the Cabots in attempting it. An expedit...« less