Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1876 edition. Excerpt: ... ORIGIN OF THE NAME. In 1031 the Earl of Warwick, one of the origiual patentees of New England, granted to Viscount Say and Seal, Lord Brook and others all that part of New England, extending from the Narraganset river, forty leagues along the coast and thence due west to the South Seas.' The northern boundary of this grant was vague, being determined by the previous vague patent of Massachusetts. It was finally determined to be forty-two degrees and two minutes north latitude. The southern boundary by the grant was the forty-first parallel. This territory was infringed upon by the Dutch settlements on the Hudson; and even after New Amsterdam fell into the hands of the English, the rights of Connecticut were not recognized, but an attempt was made even to confine her to the cast side of the Connecticut river. In the settlement of this controversy, she obtained substantially her present western boundary. The claims of Connecticut were jumped again by the grant to William Penn in 1081, of all her lands extending through five degrees of longitude west of the Delaware river. But she still retained the right and title to all lands west of Pennsylvania, between the fortyfirst parallel and the line of forty-two degrees two minutes. During the war of Independence, an attempt was made to adopt Articles of Confederation, which should constitute a definite form of government and bond of union between the Colonies. One great obstacle to the adoption of these Articles was the claim to these vast areas of western land macje by Massachusetts, Connecticut, New, York, Virginia and the Carolinas, in accordance with their original charters. The States which had no western claims, justly maintained that this territory must bo wrested from Great Britain by...