of a North West Passage_ led to the voyages of
Frobisher and Davis. Undismayed by their failures, the excellent Hakluyt
assured the queen in 1584 that the passage to "Cathaio may easily,
quickly, and perfectly be searched oute as well by river and overlande
as by sea." And as late as 1669, when Virginia had been settled for half
a century, Sir William Berkeley still had faith "to make an essay to doe
his Majestie a memorable service, which was to goe to find out the East
India Sea."

Yet before the middle of the sixteenth century America took on a value
of its own, and ceased to be regarded as a mere obstacle, in the path of
trade. After the conquest of Mexico and Peru, the New World, found to be
rich in silver and gold, was thought to be a new Indies indeed. To the
idealizing mind of the age America already spelled opportunity; and in
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the maritime states of Europe
established their spheres of influence there--still seeking, through its
trackless forests, a waterway to the South Sea, still seeking gold,
falling back at last upon the prosaic business of colonization and the
exploitation of its less attractive resources. The Spaniards found no
lack of treasure, but in North America gold ever turned to ashes, and
the great South Sea receded like a mirage before every advance. Yet the
failure of many voyages to the frozen North, and of many inland
expeditions ending in disaster and death, could not quench the optimism
which the gentlemen adventurers caught from the men of the Renaissance
and bequeathed to the colonist, and which for two hundred years the
frontiersman has preserved as a priceless heritage of the New World.

When Columbus returned from his first voyage of discovery in 1493, he
brought home some gold trinkets which the Indians had readily exchanged
for glass beads. The transaction is symbolical of two centuries of South
American history. The achievements of the Conquistadores have scarcely a
parallel in the annals of conquest; but it was the desire for treasure
that led them on; and the treasure they discovered became the foundation
of the Spanish Empire. In exchange for their gold and silver, Spain
imposed upon the native races of America an enlightened despotism and
the benefits of Christian civilization.

From Hispaniola as the first center, the Spaniards soon extended their
dominion over the islands of Cuba, Porto Rico, and San Domingo, and to
the mainland of Nort