George Bancroft, History of the Colonization of the United States, Vol. 1, 17th edition.

[238] also near the mouth of the Susquehannah.¹Thus the

Chap. VII.}

colony of Virginia anticipated the extension of its commerce and its limits; and, as mistress of all the vast and commodious waters of the Chesapeake, and of the soil on both sides of the Potomac, indulged the hope of obtaining the most brilliant commercial success, and rising into powerful opulence, without the competition of a rival.

It was the peculiar fortune of the United States, that they were severally colonized by men, in origin, religious faith, and purposes, as various as the climes which are included within their limits. Before Virginia could complete its settlements, and confirm its claims to jurisdiction over the country north of the Potomac, a new government was erected, on a foundation as extraordinary as its results were benevolent. Sir George Calvert had early become interested in colonial establishments in America. A native of Yorkshire,² educated at Oxford,³ with a mind enlarged by

1580.

extensive travel, on his entrance into life befriended by Sir Robert Cecil, advanced to the honors of knighthood, and at length employed as one of the two secre-

1619.

taries of state,⁴ he not only secured the consideration of his patron and his sovereign,⁵ but the good opinion of the world. He was chosen by a disputed major-

1621.

ity to represent in parliament his native county of Yorkshire.⁶ His capacity for business, his industry, and his fidelity, are acknowledged by all historians. In an age when religious controversy still continued