Thus perished
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, scholar, soldier, colonizer, philosopher, one of
the noblest of those brave hearts that sought to extend the dominion of
England in the New World.
To Newfoundland this sad loss was irreparable. Had Sir Humphrey lived to
reach home, no doubt he and Sir Walter Raleigh would have renewed their
efforts at colonization, and, profiting by past errors, would have
settled in the island men of the right stamp. Sir Humphrey Gilbert's
failure was the result of a succession of uncontrollable disasters.
Fully appreciating the immense value of the fisheries of Newfoundland,
he seems to have been thoroughly impressed with the idea that the right
way of prosecuting those fisheries was to colonize the country, and
conduct them on the spot, whereby he would have established a resident
population, who would have combined fishing with the cultivation of the
soil. It was a departure from this policy, and a determination, at the
behest of selfish monopolists, to make the island a mere
fishing-station, that postponed for many weary years the prosperity of
the colony, blighting the national enterprise, and paralyzing the
energies of the people.
ASSASSINATION OF WILLIAM OF ORANGE
DIVISION OF THE NETHERLANDS
A.
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