The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-05-15
OUR COLONIAL ANCESTORS.
Their Motives for Enigrating in the Six
teenth and Seventeenth Centuries.

be welcome to public which is just
at present displaying most abnor
nal interest in colonial fiction
In reading the history of colonies
which nave become independent na-
tions it is interesting to seek for and
examine the various motives which at
different periods have impcllcd men to
fOrsakc the lands Of their f0rcfathcrs
and the homes Of their childhood, and
which have induced them 10 cross
oceans, traverse continents, and set
up their larcs and pcnatcs in unknown,
inhospitablc countries. The desire
for religious freedom, the hope Of
civil and political cnfranchiscmcnt,
and the necessity of escape from the
incxOrablc competition of dcnscly
populated regions have occasioncd
many an exodus in the past: though,
in the present altered condition Of
things, we moderns find it difficult to
comprehend state Of feeling that
would lead to the abandonment Of all
the ease and luxury Of long establish
ed homes merely for principle,
whether religious or political. AL
mos the only motive which can now
entice man from HE comforts and
luxuries is the hope Of rapid accu-
mutation of
Gold, gold, gold, gold,
Bright and yellow, hald and cold,
in search Of which he usually goes
alone, leaving behind the family that
would have accompanied the old. time
colonizer.
We now think that it may have
been potatoes and turkcys-not piety
apd conscicncc-that brought our an
cestors to this country, and We wonder
whether it was the cultivation Of free
institutions or of tobacco which con-
ccl ned them most. But it is to the
old Pilgrims, Puritans and Huguenots,
with their conscicnces, their faith and
their powers Of endurance, that this
country owes it's greatness. Men
who, in their old homes, wagcd
ceaseless battle against injustice, op-
preston and bigotry, in their new
country maintained as relentless
warfare with danger, necessity and
tribulation,' becoming, through this
discipline. mighty in word and deed.
In the early days, after the discovery
of America, our Southern country was
claimed, on various grounds, by
Spain, France and England. In the
sixteenth century Spain made futile
attempts to establish herself here and
in 1924 the French sent out explorers,
who landed where Wilmington now
stands. In 1861 Coligny, the great
Huguenot admiral of France, conceiv-
cd the idea of sending the Protestants
of his country to find homes in the
New World. Jean Ribault sailed in
1862, with two vessels, and anchored
in bay, to which, "because of the
largenesse and fairenesse thereof" he
gave the name of Port Royal. On
Paris Island he built fort, garrison
ed it with twenty-six men and return
ed to France. This little colony soon
proved failure, and the next, at
Fort Caroline, was equally unfortu-
nate, being destroyed by the Span
iards, who treated the French colon
lists with great cruelty, and who, in
their turn, became recipients Of the
scme treatment at the hands of infur-
iaved French avengers Of their coun-
trymen.
The first permanent settlement was
made by the English, whose cupidity
had been aroused by the fact that
Spain had obtained large quantities of
gold s;om Mexico and South America.
Sir Walter Raleigh, with charter
from Queen Elizabeth, landed July i,
1854, on the coast of North Carolina,
where he remained six weeks, and
then returned, representing the new
country as q paradise, to which, in
honor Of tho Virgin Queen, he gave
the name of Virginia, and in 1885 he
sent out, under Ralph Lane, small
colony, which failed after brief and
troubled existence. 1t was Lane who
first carried to acco to Europe. In
December, 1906, a settlement was
made at jamestown, and it was in
this colony that John Smith figured
Capt. John Smith-that hero so dear
to the youthful student for furnishing
the first incident in the dreary same.
moss of colonial history. DR.. Thomas
Dale, the Governor Of this colony, en-
tertained extremely pronounced con-
ceptions OF iiscipline. and offenders