Book Description

Excerpt from Documentary History of the State of Maine, Vol. 1: Containing a History of the Discovery of Maine, With an Appendix in the Voyages of the Cabots In offering this first volume of a new series of its publications, the Maine Historical Society believes it will confer a high gratification, not only upon historical students in our own State, but on all who take an interest in the early annals of our country residing within the limits of the charter granted by James I. in 1606, to the Council of Plymouth. The Society, having long had the impression that the archives of the chief commercial nations of Europe contained rich materials relating to the discovery of these shores, and of the early attempts to colonize them, were anxious to explore those storehouses of hidden treasures. For this purpose they appealed to the State, and, in 1863, obtained a pecuniary grant to enable them to make a preliminary investigation. Sufficient encouragement was given by this appropriation, to induce the government to enlarge its bounty; and, in 1867, the Governor and Council were authorized to contract with the Society for the publication, annually, of a volume "containing the earliest documents, charters, and other State papers illustrating the history of Maine." Stimulated by this liberal benefaction, the Society availed itself of the opportunity of a visit to Europe by the Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D., LL. D., late President of Bowdoin College, to obtain his aid in the necessary examinations. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.