Early this fall we told you that, from time to time this year, we should\u00a0bring information about parts of Maine not restricted to the Kennebec Valley.\u00a0So tonight we want to tell you about Sir Ferdlnando Gorges, who has been called\u00a0the faTher of English colonization in America.\u00a0The first incorporated city on the vast, uncharted continent of America\u00a0was named Georgeana after th is man, and that p lace was what is now Me ine ‘s town\u00a0of York.<\/p>\n
Born in Somersetshi re In 1566, the second son of Edward Gorges, he was a\u00a0captain in Queen Elizabeth’s service at the age of 22, was captured by the Spaniards,\u00a0released after the fall of the Armada, and when only 26 years old was\u00a0knighted on the battle field of Rouen by Elizabeth’s favorite, the Earl of\u00a0Essex. His fortunes rose with those of the Queen’s fa\\Orite and he received\u00a0the highly remunerative post of commissioner of the port of Plyroouthand defender\u00a0of its harbor.<\/p>\n
A Ithough he had no part in Essex’ plot to seize the queen and form a new\u00a0counci I, his close association with the Earl could not but make trouble for\u00a0him. After the execution of Essex, he languished in Jai I untf I pardoned by Lord\u00a0Ceel I in 1601. With the accession of James I he was restored to his old post\u00a0at Plymouth.<\/p>\n
Too many expeditions to the westward lands were being planned from Plymouth\u00a0to leave Gorges ignorant of or uni nterested in what was going on. When\u00a0George Weymouth returned from his exp lorati ons at the mouth of the Kennebec\u00a0in 1603, he brought one of his Indian captives to Gorges’ household. From that\u00a0day Gorges’ enthusiasm for colonization In America became his life-time obsess\u00a0Ion. By 1606 he had secured a charter from King J ames for the P iymouth Com-pany, to the area in North Ameri ca north of the 38th para lie I.\u00a0In 1607, under the sponsorship of <:orges and Sir John Popham, Chief Justice\u00a0of Eng land, there set forth fran Eng land what became known as the Popham\u00a0Co I ony \u2022 On an is I and near the mouth of the Kennebec they passed,’ In mise ry\u00a0and despair, the winter of 1607-8, and returned In discouragement to England in\u00a0the sprl ng.<\/p>\n
Mean~hlle the rival London Company had succeeded in establishing its colony\u00a0at Jamestown. The funds of investors flowed to the successful canpany, and\u00a0Sir Ferdlnando could only bide his time. In 1614 Captain John Smith landed at\u00a0Gorges’ port, Plymouth, England, with fish and furs p~cured along the Maine\u00a0coast, and told fabulous tales of the natural resources and wealth of that region.<\/p>\n
Two years later Gorges had raised funds to send an exp loring party to\u00a0the mouth of the Saco River, to determine whether the climate of that region\u00a0was, as the Virginians contended, too rigorous for settlement. The exploring\u00a0party returned to England with a favorable report. The region of Maine could\u00a0I ndeed support sett lers \u2022<\/p>\n
Theni’d n 1620 came an unexpected event. A Ii tt Ie band of re II gl OtIS zea lots\u00a0sai I I ng under the rl va I London Company,’ I anded by chance, not in Vi rglnla, but\u00a0on Cape Cod, and there estab I ishedthe first permanent sett lement north of the\u00a038th parallel. The Plymouth Colony deprived Gorges of his long cherished\u00a0dream.<\/p>\n
Meanwhi Ie Gorges had not been Idle. On July 23, 1620 — five months before\u00a0the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock — he obtained from King James a new charter\u00a0to liThe Council established at Plymouth in the County of D9von for planting,\u00a0ruling and governing New England In America tl \u2022 To them was given in fee simple\u00a0all the land in America beilfeen the 40th and 45th parallels. That charter was\u00a0a complete monopoly. It gave Gorges and his associates the right “to estab Iish\u00a0all manner of orders, laws, dl rections, forms and ceremonies of government\u00a0necessary for governing the said colony and plantation, not only within the\u00a0precincts of said colony, but also In going and coming upon the seas to and\u00a0from the sal d colony.”<\/p>\n
Readers of early American history are easi Iy confused by the two Plyrnouths.\u00a0Because they sal led from Plymouth, England, they called thel r Cape Cod settlement\u00a0New Plymouth, then simply Plymouth. But those Pilgrims had nothing to do\u00a0with Gorges and his Plymouth Counci I of Plymouth, Eng I and. So what we had In\u00a01620 was an off-shoot of the London Company with I ts settlement In Jamestown,\u00a0having a band of religious settlers In New England which by charier the king\u00a0had granted to thet r rival company headed by Ferdlnando Gorges.<\/p>\n
It was under the Gorges charter that New England was first divided, and\u00a0its settlements defi ned. In 1622 Gorges and John Mason manipul ated matters so\u00a0that they rece i ved persona I grants of a II the region Iy I ng between the MerrImack\u00a0and the Kennebec Ri vers. Mason took the terri tory between the Merri mack\u00a0and the Plscataqua, whi Ie Gorges took that between the Piscataqua and the Kennebec.\u00a0So In 1622 Ferd I nan do Gorges, who had never set foot In Ame rl ca, owned\u00a0all the land In what Is now southern, western and central Maine.<\/p>\n
Determined to settle his vast territory, Sir Ferdinando sent his namesake\u00a0grandson, Ferdlnando Gorges, to personally take possession of the territory.\u00a0With severa I friends and thei r fami lies’, the young man set up a settlement at\u00a0what is now York. They called the settlement Agamentlcus.\u00a0In 1639 Charles I granted a new charter, confirming Gorges’ rights in the\u00a0Provl nceof Mel ne, gl vi ng 5 I r Ferdl nando a lmost the powers of an oriental potentate.\u00a0He cou Id appol nt a II clergymen in the provi nce, grant pardons to\u00a0offenders, levy taxes, raise and maintain troops, and execute martial law.<\/p>\n
Irrmediately Gorges developed grandiose plans for his colony. As Lord Proprietor\u00a0he bestowed upon Agamenticus a charier which gave the Inhabitants\u00a0power to elect a mayor and eight aldermen, who In turn were authorized to make\u00a0laws, erect fortifications, and hold clvi I and criminal courts.\u00a0The record tel Is us that it was Gorges himself who, in quest of fame to\u00a0I ast beyond his death, dec i ded to trans form the Ii tt Ie borough of Agamenti cus ,\u00a0with its two hundred inhabitants, into the city of Georgeana. Gorges defined\u00a0the city as an area of some 21 square miles on the north side of the Piscataqua.\u00a0It was to have a mayor, twelve aldermen, 24 common counci lmen, and a recorder,\u00a0a II to be elected annua I Iy I n March by the freeholders. The new ci ty was to\u00a0enjoy al I the honors and privileges held by the ancient city of Bristol in England.<\/p>\n
Then the bad luck that kept hitting Ferdlnando Gorges struck again. His\u00a0Georgeana never became a great city like Boston. Eng I and was plunged into CI vi I\u00a0War, and Gorges’ fortunes p I unmated with those of the roya lists. The Crorrwe II\u00a0government had no use for a man like Fer~Hnando.\u00a0The Puritan Colony of Massachusetts Bay had long coveted the lands north\u00a0of the Merrimack, and as the fortunes of the royal cause wavered, Massachusetts\u00a0pushed its claims to the settlements lying in the Mason grant between the Merrimack\u00a0and the Plscataqua. One settlement after another yielded. Dover and Exeter\u00a0became subject to Massachusetts. But the broad waters of the Piscataqua\u00a0were for some ti me an effecti ve barrier. But wi th the death of 5 i r Ferdi nando\u00a0in 1647, even that tarrier could not hold back the Massachusetts designs.<\/p>\n
I n the sunvner of 1649 the I nhab itants of We lis, Kittery and York met to\u00a0discuss their status. They were confused and discouraged because they had recei\u00a0ved no i nstructi ons since the proprietor’s death and expected to recei ve\u00a0none so long as ci vi I war conti nued in Eng I and. 50 they rece i ved the commissioners\u00a0sent by Massachusetts to acquaint the Maine settlements with the Bay\u00a0Colony’s claims to the area. The Maine folk were not yet wll ling to come under\u00a0Massachusetts Jurisdiction. Matters dragged along until NoverrDer, 1652, when\u00a0Massachusetts sent commissioners, accompanied by an arrted force, to Georgeana,\u00a0compe lied the i nhab itants to take the oath of a Ilegl ance to Massachusetts and\u00a0thereby give up thei r independence. The city of Georgeana disappeared forever,\u00a0and in its place came the town of York.<\/p>\n
Though dSfeated at the last, though dying without ever having seen his\u00a0beloved province, Ferdinando Gorges did more than any other man to start settlements\u00a0In what is now the state of Maine. In spite of many disappointments\u00a0and complete reversals of fortune, he remained steadfast in his purpose to colonize\u00a0his province for his country and his king.<\/p>\n
A hundred years ago all sorts of little periodicals were published in\u00a0Maine. Some of them lasted several years, others for only two or three issues.<\/p>\n
One of those longer I ived strange pub lications was called the “Portland Pleasure\u00a0Boat”, issued weekly. Its Issue for October 17, 1860 recently came into my\u00a0hands. Its editor was one J. Hacker, who in this issue had some advice for the\u00a0girls. He wrote: “I am frequently receiving letters from females, asking what\u00a0they can do for a living. can only say to them, ‘Do the best you can. Some\u00a0of you might find employment in printing offices; some as clerks in dry goods\u00a0stores, or in post offices. Some can keep accounts, answer and copy letters,\u00a0and mal I papers. You do not need high wages. After all, girls, do you know\u00a0how cheap and comfortable you can live if you check your artificial wants, tum\u00a0your backs on fash ion, that scourge and curse of fema les, and live sens j b Ie,\u00a0natural I ives? Don’t you know that a large portion of the expenses of nearly\u00a0every female arises from artificial wants?’<\/p>\n
“Yesterday a woman came into a store where I was and bought the following\u00a0artl c les:<\/p>\n
One pound of tea\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 $ ,56
\nTwo pounds of coffee\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .30
\nHalf pound of allspice\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .12
\nCandy for the ch i I dren .05
\nOne bushel of meal .75
\n“Now here was a bill of $1.78, and only one necessary article, the meal.\u00a0A II the resT, costi ng $1 .03, were on Iy to grati fy an unnatura I or art I fl ci a I\u00a0appet I te \u2022 ”<\/p>\n
What do you listeners of 1954 think of that? Coffee, tea and allspice -not\u00a0necessiTies, but condenned artificial luxuries.\u00a0Up In Palmyra Editor Hacker had a correspondent who wanted to get In his\u00a0oar on this subject of what kind of work women ought to do. In an earlier\u00a0issue Hacker had wri tten: “I f I were a young woman and wanted to support myself,\u00a0I would go in for farming or gardening.” The Palmyra correspondent took\u00a0issue with That. “I contend”,’ he said, “that women’s health will not admit\u00a0of their working out of doors. Furthermore, they haw plenty to do in the\u00a0house. ”<\/p>\n
To that blast Edi tor Hacker made fi ttlng rep Iy. ‘H ow happens It that women\u00a0are so unhea Ithy?” he asked. “It must be because they haw been so long confined\u00a0within doors, over hot stoves, breathing impure air, and lacking the open\u00a0air exercise which would develop and strengthen them. Female children are not\u00a0less healthy than males so long as they get a chance in the open air. But as\u00a0soon as their silly mothers undertake to make young ladies of them, by pinching\u00a0their waists, fettering their limbs with long, fashionable skirts, and keep them\u00a0I n the house, they begin to pine and comp lain of I II health.”<\/p>\n
Editor Hacker was one of those conscientious peop Ie who coul d not reconci\u00a0Ie Christianity with the white man’s treatment of Negro and Indian. This was\u00a0In 1860, when the Abolition Mowment was strong in Maine, and many church peap\u00a0Ie were becoml ng I ncreas Ing Iy aroused about slavery. The Ci vi I War was on Iy\u00a0a few months away. Said Hacker:<\/p>\n
“I f a mi n I ste r or a ch urch-go i ng person fee I s offended when we denounce\u00a0the sham ChristianiTY which denies human rights to Negroes and Indians, we\u00a0cannot prevent it. But note that we have not said a word against Christianity.\u00a0We are ta Iking abOUT the blasphemy of regarding as Christianity an attitude\u00a0toward fellow men which Christ would be the first to denounce. The disciples\u00a0of ChrisT have love, pity and compassion for all men.”<\/p>\n
It is interesting, in what we consider this enlightened year of 1954, to\u00a0look back to 1860 and find that dc.n in Portland there was then a man who dared\u00a0speak OUT against the sham hypocracy which too many peop Ie mistook for Christianity.<\/p>\n
Year: 1954<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #210, broadcast on January 17, 1954<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[749,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}