Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Family History of New York. in Four Volumes. Volume I

Excerpt from Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Family History of New York, Vol. 1

The power of Spain and Portugal precluded all attempts on the parts of the northern nations to make discoveries in South -\merica, or to the south of Florida. The storv of whose discov err bv the heroic adventurer. In his vain quest for the fountain of youth, seems a fragment from the realm of fable. But espe ditions from France and England soon found their wav to the northern coasts of the New World. And, in 1524. (riovanno da Veranauo, a Florentine navigating in the service of Francis 11 of France. Made a voyage along the eastern coast of what are now the southern and middle states of the l'nion. And. From the account which he gave, it was long believed that he was the first to enter the harbor of New York. The researches of modern his terinas have done much to throw doubt upon the claims of dis coverv attributed to him. It is certain that no results followed his discoveries. No colonies were planted. And for long years his \'c\ ace seems to have been forgotten. In the year 1497 Sebas tian Cabot. A navigator in the service of England. Sailed along the American coast from the 38th to the 58th parallel. This was the orisia to the i'inglish claim which was destined in after rears to be sustained by the status.r arm of militarv and naval power. The benefits cl which we as a nation now etcioy. 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.