A Short History of the United States eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 355 pages of information about A Short History of the United States.

A Short History of the United States eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 355 pages of information about A Short History of the United States.

[Sidenote:  Ralegh’s last attempt, 1587. Explorers, 189-200.]

24.  The “Lost Colony,” 1587.—­Ralegh made still one more attempt to found a colony in Virginia.  But the fate of this colony was most dreadful.  For the settlers entirely disappeared,—­men, women, and children.  Among the lost was little Virginia Dare, the first English child born in America.  No one really knows what became of these people.  But the Indians told the later settlers of Jamestown that they had been killed by the savages.

[Sidenote:  Ruin of Spain’s sea-power. English History for Americans, 131-135.]

25.  Destruction of the Spanish Armada, 1588.—­This activity of the English in America was very distressing to the King of Spain.  For he claimed all America for himself and did not wish Englishmen to go thither.  He determined to conquer England and thus put an end to these English voyages.  But Hawkins, Drake, Ralegh, and the men behind the English guns were too strong even for the Invincible Armada.  Spain’s sea-power never recovered from this terrible blow.  Englishmen could now found colonies with slight fear of the Spaniards.  When the Spanish king learned of the settlement of Jamestown, he ordered an expedition to go from St. Augustine to destroy the English colony.  But the Spaniards never got farther than the mouth of the James River.  For when they reached that point, they thought they saw the masts and spars of an English ship.  They at once turned about and sailed back to Florida as fast as they could go.

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QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

CHAPTER 1

Sec.Sec. 1-3.—­a.  To how much honor are the Northmen entitled as the discoverers of America?

b.  Draw from memory a map showing the relative positions of Norway, Iceland, Greenland, and North America.

c.  What portions of the world were known to Europeans in 1490?  Explain by drawing a map.

Sec.Sec. 4-6.—­a.  State Columbus’s beliefs about the shape and size of the earth.

b.  What land did Columbus think that he had reached?

c.  What is meant by the statement that “he took possession” of the new land?

d.  Describe the appearance of the Indians, their food, and their weapons.

Sec.Sec. 7-9.—­a.  What other Italians sailed across the Atlantic before 1500?  Why was Cabot’s voyage important?

b.  Why was the New World called America and not Columbia?

c.  Describe the discovery of the Pacific Ocean.  Why was this discovery of importance?

CHAPTER 2

Sec.Sec. 10-12.—­a.  What was the chief wish of the Spanish explorers?

b.  How did they treat the Indians?

Sec.Sec. 13-16.—­a.  Describe a pueblo.  What do the existing pueblos teach us about the Indians of Coronado’s time?

Copyrights
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A Short History of the United States from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.