This was no other than Sir Humphrey Gilbert, one of the
gallant knights of Devonshire. He unrolled a parchment scroll, and
proceeded to read the royal patent authorizing him to take possession of
Newfoundland on behalf of his royal mistress, and exercise jurisdiction
over it and all other possessions of the crown in the same quarter. Twig
and sod were presented to him in feudal fashion, and, in the name of
Queen Elizabeth, he solemnly annexed the island to the British Empire.
The banner of England was then twisted on a flag-staff; the royal arms,
cut in lead, were affixed to a wooden pillar, near the water's edge, and
the ceremony was complete. The grant gave Sir Humphrey Gilbert
jurisdiction for two hundred leagues in every direction, so that the
limits included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, part of Labrador, as well as
the islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island--a
right royal principality.
This Sir Humphrey Gilbert, the first settler in Newfoundland, who, with
some two hundred fifty followers from Devonshire, had arrived with the
view of making the western wilderness a home for Englishmen, was a son
of Sir Otho Gilbert, of Compton castle, Torbay. His mother was a
Champernoun of purest Norman descent, and "could probably boast of
having in her veins the blood of Courtneys, Emperors of Byzant.
Pages:
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355