Page:European treaties bearing on the history of the United States and its dependencies.djvu/17

 mention of the Indies, recognized the right of the subjects of another nation to trade and hold territory in both the Indies.

Thus by the middle of the seventeenth century the two Iberian powers were compelled to admit other nations to trade and territorial dominion in those oversea regions which they had hoped to monopolize. But as old barriers fell new ones were erected. The successful intruders, French, English, Dutch, and others, also sought exclusive rights for their respective peoples or even for certain of their own trading companies in the newly acquired commerce and land. So the ideal of free ocean commerce and navigation, championed by some Frenchmen and Englishmen in the sixteenth century, and brilliantly expounded by Grotius near the beginning of the seventeenth century, remained unrealized.

In selecting the texts for this volume the aim has been to include all treaties, or parts of treaties, that bear upon the history of the present territory of the United States, or of its outlying possessions. Some drafts of treaties, and the papal bulls which formed a basis for the claims of Portugal or Spain to the aforesaid territory, are also included.

Of the texts contained in this volume, numbers 14, 15, 17, and 18, are, it is believed, here printed for the first time. Of those previously printed, some are drawn from more authoritative manuscripts than those formerly published; others, it is believed, are reproduced with greater accuracy. All of the texts but one have been collated, either with the manuscripts from which they are derived, or with photographs, or, in a few cases, with official transcripts of these manuscripts. The spelling but not always the capitalization or punctuation of the originals has been followed. A large proportion of the texts of treaties have already been printed in Dumont Corps Diplomatique, but that great and valuable collection, it is well known, is lacking in verbal exactitude. The same is true of most of the other collections, with some modern exceptions.

The translations have, in most instances, been made by the editor. When this is not the case, the fact has been stated.

In compiling the bibliographies, the needs of less advanced students, and also the needs of scholars and investigators, have been kept in mind; for the purpose of the work is not merely to present a body of texts in convenient form, but also to stimulate further research into the history of European-American relations.

In collecting the material for this and later volumes, the editor has received generous assistance from many sources. The unfailing courtesy of the officials of the London Public Record Office, of the British Museum, and of the Library of Congress, where most of the editorial work has been done, calls for special recognition. It is a pleasure also to acknowledge the aid