A colony is a settlement formed in one country by the inhabitants of another. Colonies may either be formed in dependence on the mother country or in independence. In the latter case the name of colony is retained only in a historical sense. Properly, perhaps, the term should be limited to a settlement which carries on a direct cultivation of the soil, as in the former British colonies of Canada and Australia in contrast to the former in Hindustan or Malta which were the mere superposition on the natives of a ruling race which took little or no part in the general industry of the country.
The motives which lead to the formation of colonies, and the manner of their formation, are various. Sometimes the ambition of extending territory and the desire of increasing wealth have been the chief impulses in colonization; but colonies became a necessity for the redundant population of European states in the 19th century.
Among ancient nations the principal promoters of colonization were the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans; the greatest colonizers in modern times have been the English and the Spaniards, next to whom may be reckoned the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the French. The Germans during the 19th century contributed largely to the tide of emigration, particularly in the direction of America;
but did little directly as colonizers.
The Phoenician colonies were partly caused by political dissensions and redundant population, but were chiefly commercial, serving as entrepots and ports of repair for Phoenician commerce along the coasts of Africa and Spain, in the latter of which they numbered, according to Strabo, more than two hundred. But it was in Africa that the most famous arose, Carthage, the greatest colonizing state of the ancient world.
The Greek colonies, which were widely spread in Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean, the coasts of Macedonia and Thrace, in South Italy and Sicily, were commonly independent, and frequently soon surpassed the mother states in power and importance.
The colonies of Rome were chiefly military, and while the empire lasted were all in strict subordination to the central government. As the Roman power declined the remains of them amalgamated with the peoples among whom they were placed, thus forming in countries where they were sufficiently strong what are known as the Latin races, with languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian) which are merely modifications of the old Roman tongue.
Before America and the way by sea to the East Indies were discovered, the only colonies belonging to European states were those of the Genoese, Pisans, and Venetians in the Levant and the Black Sea, flourishing establishments on which the mercantile greatness of Italy in those days was largely built.
The Portuguese were the first great colonizers among modern states. In 1419 they discovered Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands; the Congo and the Cape of Good Hope followed; and before the century was out Vasco de Gama had landed at Calicut on the Malabar coast of India. The first Portuguese colonies were garrisons along the coasts where they traded: Mozambique and Sofala on the east coast of Africa, Ormuz and Muscat in the Persian Gulf, Goa and Damao on the west coast of India. Colonies were established in Sri Lanka in 1505, in the Moluccas in 1510. Brazil was discovered in 1499, and this magnificent possession fell to Portugal, and was colonized about 1530. Bad government at home and the subjection of the country to Spain caused the loss of most of the Portuguese colonies.
Soon after the Portuguese the Spaniards commenced the work of colonization. In 1492 Columbus, on board of a Spanish vessel, discovered the island of San Salvador. Haiti, or San Domingo, Porto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba were soon colonized, and before the middle of the 16th century Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, New Granada (Colombia), Peru, and Chili were subdued, and Spain took the first rank amongst the colonizing powers of Europe. But the Spaniards never really attempted to develop the industrial resources of the subject countries. The pursuit of mining for gold or silver occupied the colonists almost exclusively, and the enslaved natives were driven to work themselves to death in the mines. Cities were founded, at first along the coasts, for the sake of commerce and as military posts; afterwards also in the interior, in particular in the vicinity of the mines, as Vera Cruz, Cumana, Porto Bello, Carthagena, Valencia, Caracas; Acapuico and Panama, on the coast of the Pacific; Lima, Goncepcion, and Buenos Aires. The colonial intercourse with Spain was confined to the single port of Seville, afterwards to that of Cadiz, from which two squadrons started annually - the galleons, about twelve in number, for Porto Bello; and the fleet, of fifteen large vessels, for Vera Cruz. When the power of Spain declined, the colonies declared their independence, and thus were formed the republics of Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, etc. Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippine Islands passed to the United States in 1898; the Caroline Islands, etc, were sold to Germany in 1899; and by 1900 hardly any colony remained to Spain.
The hate of Philip II, who prohibited Dutch vessels from the port of Lisbon, forced the Dutch to import directly from India or lose the large carrying trade they had acquired. Several companies were soon formed, and in 1602 they were united into one, the Dutch East India Company, with a monopoly of the East Indiatrade and sovereign powers over all conquests and colonies in India. The Dutch now rapidly deprived the Portuguese of nearly all their East Indian territories, settled a colony at the Cape of Good Hope in 1650, established a West India Company, made extensive conquests in Brazil between 1623 and 1660, which were soon lost, and more permanent ones on some of-the smaller West India Islands, as San Eustatia, Curacoa, Saba, etc. The growing power of the British and the loss of Holland's independence during the Napoleonic wars were heavy blows to the colonial power of the nation. But the Dutch still possesed numerous colonies in the East Indies at the start of the 20th century, among which the more important were Java, Sumatra, Dutch Borneo, the Molucca Islands, and part of New Guinea, also several small islands in the West Indies, and Surinam.
No colonizing power of Europe had a career of such uniform prosperity as Great Britain. The English attempts at colonization began nearly at the same time with the Dutch. After many fruitless attempts to find a north-east or north-west passage to the East Indies, English vessels found their way round the Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies in 1591. The East India Company was established in 1600. English commerce with India, however, was not at first important, and they possessed only single factories on the continent up until the beginning of the 18th century. The ruin of the Mogul Empire in India after the death of Aurengzebe in 1707 afforded the opportunity for the growth of British power, as the British and French were compelled to interfere in the contentions of the native princes and governors. The French appeared at first to maintain the superiority; but the British in turn got the upper hand, and the victory of Clive at Plassey in 1756 laid the foundation of an exclusive British sovereignty in India. By the middle of the next century the British territory embraced, with the exception of a few dependent states, nearly the whole of India, and this vast territory was still under the government of the East India Company - a mercantile company, controlled indeed by parliament, but exercising many of the most important functions of an independent sovereignty. On the suppression of the Indian mutiny in 1857-1858 the government of India was transferred to the crown by act of parliament in 1858.
The discoveries of the Cabots, following soon after the voyages of Columbus, gave the English crown a claim to North America, which, though allowed to lie dormant for nearly a century, was never relinquished, and which, in the reign of Elizabeth I, led to colonization on a large scale. Walter Raleigh's settlement on Roanoke Island (North Carolina) in 1585 failed to become permanent, but in 1607 the colonists sent out by the London Company to Chesapeake Bay founded Jamestown, on the James River, in Virginia. The next great settlement was that of the Pilgrim Fathers, who landed on the 21st of December 1620, in Massachusetts Bay. The colonization of New Hampshire, Maine, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, soon followed. In the State of New York and the Hudson River Territory the British found the Dutch already in possession; but in 1664 they seized the colony of New Amsterdam by force, changing its name to New York in honour of James, Duke of York. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, and colonized with Quakers in 1682; Maryland in 1631 by a party from Virginia; Carolina in 1670 and Georgia in 1732 by colonies from England.
Colonies were early established in the West India Islands, including Barbados, half of St. Christopher's in 1625, and soon after many smaller islands. Newfoundland was taken possession of in 1583, colonized in 1621 and 1633. Canada was surrendered to Britain at the Peace of Paris in 1763. In 1764 began the disputes between Britain and its North American colonies, which terminated with the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States, Canada remaining a British dependency.
Australia was discovered in the beginning of the 17th century. The first Australasian settlements of Britain were penal colonies. New South Wales, discovered in 1770, was established as a penal colony in 1788; Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), discovered by Tasman in 1642, followed in 1803; West Australia, also first used as a penal settlement, became a free colony in 1829; Victoria was colonized in 1835, and made an independent colony in 1851; South Australia was settled in 1836. In 1851 the discovery of gold in Victoria gave a great impetus to the Australian Colonies. Queensland was made a separate colony from N.ew South Wales in 1859. New Zealand, discovered by Tasman in 1642, began to be used for whale-fishery about 1790, was settled in 1839, and made a colony in 1840. In 1874 the Fiji Islands, and in 1884 part of New Guinea, were annexed as crown colonies. In South AfricaCape Colony, first settled by the Dutch in 1652, finally became a British colony in 1815. Natal followed in 1843. Later annexations were Bechuanaland in 1885, Zululand in 1887, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1888-89, and the Orange River Colony and Transvaal in 1900. In Western Africa were the colonies of the Gold Coast, Gambia, and SierraLeone - ancient possessions of the British crown; with Lagos and Nigeria acquired in 1885 and after. Other possessions were British East Africa (Kenya), with Uganda and Somaliland. Gibraltar was acquired in 1704, Malta in 1800.
According to their government relations with the crown the colonies were arranged under three heads: (1.) Crown colonies, in which the crown had the entire control of legislation, while the administration was carried on by public officers under the control of the home government. (2.) Colonies possessing representative institutions but not responsible government, in which the crown had no more than a veto on legislation, but the home government retained the control of public officers. (3.) Colonies possessing representative institutions and responsible government, in which the crown had only a veto on legislation, and the home government had no control over any officer except the governor. All colonies were, however, disabled from such acts of independent sovereignty as the initiative in war, alliances, and diplomacy generally.
France was somewhat late in establishing colonies. Between 1627 and 1636 the West Indian islands of St Christopher's, Guadeloupe, and Martinique were colonized by private persons. Champlain was the pioneer of the French in the exploration of the North American continent, and founded Quebec in 1608. Colbert purchased several West India islands, as Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, etc, and sent out colonists in 1664 to Cayenne. In 1670 the East India Company formed by Colbert founded Pondicherry, which became the capital of extensive possessions in the East Indies. At the beginning of the 18th century France had extensive settlements in Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, the most flourishing of the West India islands, and she seemed to have a prosperous career before her in India. Ere long, however, the rival interests of British and French colonists brought about a conflict which terminated in the loss of Canada and other North American possessions, as well as many of the West India Islands, while the dominion of India passed into the hands of the British.
During the 19th century Germany made an effort to take rank as a colonial power, and acquired in Africa the territories of Damaraland, Great Nama Land, etc, on the south-west coast, north of Cape Colony; the Cameroons District; a large portion of territory formerly claimed by the Sultan of Zanzibar, extending inland to Victoria Nyanza, etc; also in the Pacific a portion of New Guinea, then subsequently called Kaiser Wilhelm's Land, the BismarckArchipelago, Marshall Islands, etc.
When the newly formed United States was drawing up its constitution, disagreements occurred within the parties involved. Compromises were formed at the Convention of 1787, which was mainly divided as to whether, in the new government, one State's influence should be equal to that of any other State, or should be based on population. The plans for a Constitution submitted by Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, and William Paterson, of New Jersey, were diametrically opposed in this respect. The former favoured representation according to population in both Houses; the latter an equal vote for each State and only one House. Johnson, of Connecticut, proposed as a compromise, two Houses, an equal representation in the Senate and a proportionate one in the House. Ellsworth formally moved that this be adopted, and thus the first compromise was effected after considerable debate.
The second compromise was in regard to the regulation of commerce by Congress. It was proposed to tax both exports and imports at the discretion of Congress. C C Pinckney declared that South Carolina would not enter the Union if exports were to be taxed, since nearly the whole of her wealth lay in one article of export, rice. Hence it was decided, on August the 6th, that 'no tax or duty shall be laid by the Legislature on articles exported from any State', and on these terms the Federal control over commerce was conceded.
The ISO (International Standards Organisation) assigns a two character code to each country name. These codes are used by Internet 'whois' databases (these two character abbreviations are the whois country codes) and also other applications.
The Declaration of Independence was made in 1776 by the 13 English colonies in North America breaking away from all allegiance to the British Crown. The Declaration was mainly the work of Thomas Jefferson. Already in December 1775 the Congress had declared itself independent of the English parliament and by this declaration had repudiated allegiance to the Crown.
Absolute separation from Great Britain was not at first contemplated by the colonies. New England favoured it, but the Southern States were opposed. The transfer of the war to the southward in May and June, 1776, brought them to this view. The North Carolina Convention took the first step toward independence by a resolution 'to concur with those in the other colonies in declaring independence', April 22, 1776. Virginia, May 17, 1776, prepared the title of the document by directing her Representatives to propose in Congress a 'Declaration of Independence'. Such a resolution was offered by Richard Henry Lee on June the 7th, 1776. This resolution was adopted on July the 2nd. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R Livingston were the committee appointed to draft the Declaration. The draft was formulated almost entirely by Jefferson. Before July the 1st, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey had instructed their delegates to vote against the Declaration. This instruction was rescinded, South Carolina came over to the majority, and Delaware's vote, at first divided, was in the affirmative. The Declaration was, therefore, adopted by the unanimous vote of twelve States, New York alone not voting, on July the 4th, 1776. The New York Convention afterward ratified the Declaration. The engrossed copy was signed on August the 2nd. The Declaration sets forth the rights of man and of the colonists, enumerates their grievances against the British Government, and declares 'that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States'.
In America, the Federal Party was the first political party which had control of the Federal Government. When the Constitution of 1787 was before the people for ratification, those who favoured its adoption took the name of Federalists, giving to its opponents that of Anti-Federalists. In the First Congress, definite party divisions were not found. Before the second had ended, there was a definite division between Federalists and those who called themselves Republicans or Democrats. Hamilton was the leader of the former, Jefferson of the latter. Hamilton's financial measures had been acceptable to those who desired strong government, the commercial classes, those who wished to see the Union drawn still more closely together, still further in the direction of centralization and national consolidation. Their opponents stigmatised them as monarchists. Beside Hamilton and Vice-President John Adams, the party's chief leaders were Fisher Ames, Cabot, Sedgwick, Strong, Pickering and Quincy, of Massachusetts; Ellsworth, Tracy, Griswold and Hillhouse, of Connecticut; Rufus King, Jay and Gouverneur Morris, of New York; Dayton, of New Jersey; Bayard, of Delaware; Marshall, Henry Lee, of Virginia, and C. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina. George Washington was more inclined to this party than to the other.
The Federal Party's strength was always greatest in New England. When war broke out between England and France in 1793, the Federalists, conservative and averse to the French Revolution, favoured Great Britain. In 1796 they elected John Adams President, but failed to elect Thomas Pinckney Vice-President. In 1797 they tried to bring the country into war with France, but Adams, never so extreme as the bulk of the party, prevented this; the result was a schism in the party. In 1798 the party passed the Alien and Sedition laws, which forever destroyed their popularity. In the election of 1800 Adams and Pinckney were decisively defeated by Jefferson and Burr; the causes were, the acts mentioned, internal dissensions, and the indifference of intellectual and acute leaders to popular feelings. During the administrations of Jefferson and Madison the party dwindled. As an opposition party, it took strict-constructionist ground. Some of its leaders engaged in projects for a disruption of the Union. Finally, its unpatriotic course in the War of 1812 and the odium excited by the Hartford Convention destroyed it utterly. Holding the Government during the critical years 1789-1801, it had given it strength, but it distrusted the people top much for permanent success in America. Research Federal Party
Freedom of the Press is the right for a newspaper to publish what it likes without censorship by the government or other authorities. During British rule of the colonies this freedom was much restricted by the Star Chamber Press-censorship regulation of 1637, which was confirmed by Parliament in 1643.
In the original Constitution of the United States there was no provision regarding the freedom of the press, it being left to be regulated by the States in accordance with the established opinion of the people. But the first Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution securing the freedom of the press against the Federal Government. Previous to this the States had nearly all inserted in their constitutions clauses permitting freedom of speech and publication to every citizen. Citizens were of course held responsible for abuses of this liberty. In States, as New York and New Jersey, where no such provision was made in the original Constitution, the freedom of the press was considered as established under the common law, but provisions to that effect were embodied in later constitutions. Research Freedom of the Press
Gibbons vs Ogden was an important case in the US Supreme Court. Aaron Ogden, having obtained by assignment the exclusive right of navigation of all waters within the jurisdiction of the State of New York, granted by that State to Livingston and Fulton for thirty years, beginning in 1808, filed a bill in the Court of Chancery of New York for an injunction against one Gibbons, of New Jersey, who possessed two steamboats running between New York and Elizabethtown, New Jersey. The injunction was granted. Gibbons appealed to the Supreme Court in 1824. The court gave judgment for the appellant, it being deemed that the granting of exclusive navigation of waters within the State of New York by that State's Legislature, extending to coastwise traffic with another State, was repugnant to the clause of the Constitution of the United States authorizing Congress to regulate commerce. Research Gibbons Vs Ogden
In law, habeas corpus is a writ ordering a person to be brought before a court or judge. The term is particularly applied to a writ so issued so that the court may ascertain whether the person's detention is lawful. From the time of the Magna Charta imprisonment at the discretion of any person has been unlawful in England, but for long the royal prerogative was so indefinite and the power of the crown so great that persons were frequently detained in custody at the discretion of the crown. It was not until the 17th century that the Habeas Corpus Act, passed in 1679 provided the great remedy for the violation of personal liberty by the writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (that you have the body to answer).
The provisions of the act may be stated generally thus : 1. That on complaint or request in writing, by, or on behalf of, any person committed and charged with any crime (unless treason, felony, etc, expressed in the warrant), the lord-chancellor, or any of the judges shall award a habeas corpus for such prisoner, and shall discharge the party, if bailable, upon security being given to appear and answer to the accusation. 2. The writ shall be returned, and the prisoner brought up within a limited time, not exceeding twenty days. 3. No person once delivered by habeas corpus shall be recommitted for the same offence. 4. Every person committed for treason or felony may insist on being tried at the next assizes, or admitted to bail, and if not tried at the second assizes or sessions, he shall be discharged from the imprisonment. The writ may be applied for by persons confined in any part of England, or Jersey and Guernsey. As the writ originally had to do solely with crimes, the statute 56 George III. cap. c. was passed, which extended the writ to other than criminal cases.
The result was that no person could be illegally confined in England for any length of time, since some friend could always apply for a habeas corpus, which, on a good prima facie case, would be issued. If the party was confined under recognized authority, as a child by a parent, this fact had to be stated.
In times of great political excitement, and suspected treasonable conspiracies, the operation of the Habeas Corpus Act has been occasionally suspended, and during the early 21st century under the pretext of 'combatting terrorism' exceptions made to it. But such suspension does not enable any one to imprison without cause or valid pretext for so doing. It only prevents persons who are committed from being bailed, tried, or discharged during the suspension, leaving to the committing magistrate all the responsibility attending on illegal imprisonment.
In Scotland similar protection of the liberty of the subject was secured by the Wrongous Imprisonment Act of 1701. The English statute was copied in the United States without essential change.
In the United States habeas corpus was suspended on July the 5th, 1861. Attorney-GeneralBates gave an opinion in favour of the President's power to declare martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus. A special session of Congress approved this opinion. Thereafter many arbitrary arrests were made, arousing much indignation. On September the 24th, 1862, the suspension was made general by the President so far as it might affect persons arrested by military authority for disloyal practices. An act of Congress, on March the 3rd, 1863, again authorized the suspension of the writ by the President in cases of prisoners of war, deserters, those resisting drafts and offenders against the military or naval service. The arrest of Vallandigham, in Ohio, and of Milligan, in Indiana, caused great excitement. The case of the latter being brought before the Supreme Court of the Union, that body decided that Congress could not give to military commissions the power of trial and conviction, and that the suspension of the privilege of habeas corpus did not suspend the writ itself. In the case of the Ku-Klux rebellions there was a brief suspension of habeas corpus in 1871. Research Habeas Corpus
The case of Holmes vs Walton was the first instance of an American court's assuming the authority to pronounce upon the constitutionality of an act of the Legislature. The Legislature of New Jersey had, in 1779, passed an act making lawful a trial before a jury of six men. In the case of Holmes vs Walton the constitutionality of this act was questioned, and upon its being decided unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals, the act was repealed and a constitutional jury of twelve men substituted. Research Holmes vs Walton
An iceboat is a boat-like structure on runners, propelled over ice usually by sails. Modern iceboats have a central tube-like hull, a runner plank extending at right angles to the hull and affixed with a runner at either end, and a third runner, placed either forward or aft, serving as a rudder. In ancient times primitive iceboats were used in the Scandinavian region for haulage and transport.
Iceboating remains a mode of travel in some parts of Europe today. The sport of iceboating began on the Shrewsbury River in Red Bank, New Jersey, around 1840. Subsequent innovations made iceboats the fastest vehicles of the early 1900s, with speeds up to 225 kmh. Modern iceboats are about 6 m long and have sail areas of from 7 to 32.5 sq. m. These boats average about 65 to 95 kmh over the usual 32-km course. Recent innovations include the use of air motors and outboard motors that employ a spiked wheel to drive the boat across the ice, and the use of jet propulsion. Research Iceboat
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Compromises of the US Constitution
