Spain without attempting to dip their own hands in the golden fountain. France had no naval ſkill or power; Portugal was extending her dominions in the Eaſt over regions formed in the gaiety of Nature; the Hanſeatic league, being planned only for the ſecurity of traffick, had no tendency to diſcovery or invaſion; and the commercial ſtates of Italy growing rich by trading between Aſia and Europe, and not lying upon the ocean, did not deſire to ſeek by great hazards, at a diſtance, what was almoſt at home to be found with ſafety.
The Engliſh alone were animated by the ſucceſs of the Spaniſh navigators, to try if any thing was left that might reward adventure, or incite appropriation. They ſent Cabot into the North, but in the North there was no gold or ſilver to be found. The beſt regions were pre-occupied, yet they ſtill continued their hopes and their labours. They were the ſecond nation that
