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.
The Council for New England was a Council established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the planting, ordering, ruling and governing of New England in America. It was incorporated on November the 3rd, 1620, and was little else than the reorganization of the Plymouth, or North Virginia Company of 1606. Ferdinando Gorges was the moving spirit of the new corporation. Bradford obtained from this company a patent permitting the settlement of the Pilgrim Fathers. In 1631 Gorges obtained an additional grant of territory called Laconia, which comprised parts of the present States of Maine and New Hampshire. The lands of the new company, which now extended from Long Island to the Bay of Fundy, were distributed among twenty noblemen. Research Council For New England
The Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser was an American newspaper, the first printed in Maine. It was established at Portland, Maine, by Titcomb and White in 1785. In 1786 it was changed to the Cumberland Gazette and in 1792 to the Eastern Herald. In 1796 it was consolidated with the Gazette of Maine and was published as the Eastern Herald and Gazette of Maine. Again in 1804 it was united with the Portland Gazette. In 1831 it was established as a daily under the title of the Advertiser but was suspended for two years beginning with 1866. In 1868 its publication was once more resumed, and continued in connection with the weekly edition, under the name of the Advertiser. Research Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser
A Hundred was a former division of an English, and later Irish, shire or county having its own court. It was so called, according to some writers, because each hundred found 100 sureties of the king's peace, or 100 able-bodied men of war. Others think it to have been so called because originally composed of 100 families. Hundreds are said to have been first introduced into England by Alfred. formerly if a crime was committed, such as robbery, arson, killing or maiming cattle, destroying turnpikes or works on navigable rivers, the hundred had to make it good.
In America, during the 18th century, the Hundred was a territorial and political division of a county, borrowed from England, and instituted in some of the colonies, notably in Maryland and Virginia. It was also to be found in Maine and Delaware, and was based upon the old Hundred system of the English counties. In Virginia the Hundred was in some instances synonymous with the parish or the plantation, and again it was subdivided into parishes. The chief officer of the Hundred was usually the constable.
The Maine Law was a law prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, first adopted in the Americans state of Maine in 1851. Maine Law was passed after a lengthy campaign by the mayor of Portland, Neal Dow. In 1855 twelve other American states adopted Maine Law and declared prohibition.
In June 1855 Portland, Maine was the scene of a riot when an angry pro-liquor crowd congregated outside Portland City Hall. The Governor, Anson Morrill, a prohibitionist, called out the militia and Mayor Dow the leader of the militia force, ordered the militia to open fire on the crowd, killing one man and injuring several others.
In 1885 the state of Maine adopted Maine Law into its constitution, and in 1919 the American Congress through the Volstead Act introduced the Eighteenth Amendment thereby adopting Maine Law nationwide. So began American prohibition on January the 16th 1920. However, by 1930 it was clear that most Americans were ignoring the law and were continuing to drink liquor illegally, and in 1933 the ' noble experiment', was repealed by the twenty-first Amendment. Almost a year later Maine repealed its own Maine Law, although it was not until 1970 that liquor could be sold on a Sunday in Maine and then only in Class A restaurants. In 1973 Sunday trading of beer and wine was finally allowed in Maine. Research Maine Law
The Missouri Compromise was a compromise in America effected by the Act of Congress of March the 3rd, 1830, between those who desired the extension of slavery into the regions beyond the Mississippi and those who desired its restriction. Missouri having applied for admission as a State, Tallmadge, of New York, in February, 1819, proposed an amendment which would ultimately destroy slavery in the new State. The House passed the bill with this amendment; the Senate refused to concur. Next year the bill, in the same form, passed the House again. The Senate voted to admit Maine, provided Missouri was admitted as a slave State. The House rejected the proposal. Thomas, of Illinois, proposed as a compromise that Missouri be admitted as a slave State, but that in future slavery should be prohibited in all territory forming part of the Louisiana cession north of 36 degrees 30 minutes. When Missouri's Constitution was laid before Congress, however, it appeared that she had introduced clauses excluding free negroes from the State. The House then refused to admit Missouri. Clay effected a further compromise, whereby Missouri agreed not to deprive of his rights any citizen of another State. Research Missouri Compromise
The Personal Liberty Laws were statutes passed by the Northern American States to protect the negroes within their borders. The first acts were passed about 1840, though Indiana and Connecticut had previously provided that fugitives might have a trial by jury. After the Prigg decision, many of the States passed Acts prohibiting the use of State jails in fugitive slave cases. The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 aroused the most violent opposition in the North, and before 1856 many of the States had passed personal liberty acts. Beside prohibiting the use of State jails, these laws forbade State judges and officers to assist claimants or issue writs. Trial was to be given all alleged fugitives. Heavy penalties were provided for the violation of these laws. Such acts were passed in Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine, Wisconsin, Kansas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Of the Northern States, New Jersey and California alone sanctioned the rendition of fugitives. Research Personal Liberty Laws
In 1607 two ships, the Mary and John, commanded by George Popham, and the Gift of God, commanded by Raleigh Gilbert, were sent out by Sir Ferdinando Gorges. They reached the mouth of the Kennebec River in Maine on August 19th. George Popham was left to establish a colony at Sabino, and Gilbert returned. Popham died during the winter, and when a ship arrived the next year the colony was broken up. Research Popham Colony
Prohibition is usually thought of as the legal ban on the sale and consumption of alcoholic liquor. Prohibition is usually promoted by religious fundamentalists, and historically has proven a disastrous experiment.
In America, which has a long history of indulgence in prohibition, it appeared first as an issue in purely State politics in the Maine Legislature in 1837, a prohibitory bill being introduced, but defeated. Later, in 1846 (and permanently in 1851), a prohibitory law was passed in Maine. Following the lead of Maine, prohibitory laws were enacted between 1850 and 1856, in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Michigan, New York, Iowa and Connecticut. Other States tried the experiment and local option has been established in some of the towns and counties of these and many other States.
Prohibition first appeared as a national issue in America during the session of the Right Worthy Grand Lodge of Good Templars, held in Oswego, New York on May the 25th, 1869. A committee was appointed to issue a call for a convention. This convention assembled at Chicago on September 1st, 1869, and formed the National Prohibition Reform party. The first nominating convention of this party was held at ColumbusOhio on February the 22nd, 1872. James Black, of Pennsylvania, was nominated for President and polled 5608 votes.
Prohibition was largely entered into both national and State politics since that time, but is most influential in the States. In 1876 Henry Blair, of New Hampshire, introduced into the House a joint resolution to amend the Federal Constitution by prohibiting from and after 1900 the manufacture and sale of distilled alcoholic intoxicating liquors. It was not adopted. In national politics the Prohibition vote steadily increased. In 1876 its Presidential candidate, Green Clay Smith, received 9522 votes; in 1880 Neal Dow received 10,305; in 1884 John St John, 150,369; in 1888 Clinton Fiske, 250,290; in 1892 John Bidwell, 268,361.
During the Great War a temporary Wartime Prohibition Act was passed in the USA to save grain for use as food and in 1919 the National Prohibition Act, popularly known as the Volstead Act after its promoter, Congressman Andrew Volstead, was enacted, providing enforcement guidelines and the 18th Amendment was introduced banning the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within and the importation of same into the United States. This resulted in the birth of organised gangs of criminals illegally distilling, importing and selling alcoholic liquor to the masses. This in turn led to gang warfare between rival criminal gangs, a plethora of killings and the notorious gangsters of the 20's. In 1933 prohibition was repealed in the USA by the passing of the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th Amendment, and once more allowed the manufacture, sale and importation of alcoholic liquor in the United States.
The Red Line Map was a map made by the Frenchman D'Anville in 1746. It had been sent to Vergennes, the French Minister, by Franklin in 1782, and was discovered among the Paris archives by Jared Sparks. A strong red line drawn near the ridge, in which the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers rise, more than favoured the English claims, respecting the north-east boundary of the United States. Jared Sparks sent it to Webster, who was anxious lest the English should hear of it. It was used in a secret session of the Senate, and with the Maine commissioners to induce a ratification of the treaty, and was afterward made a ground of reproach against Webster by opponents of the treaty. Research Red Line Map
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Council For New England
