E-text prepared by Dave Morgan, Daniel J. Mount, Lisa Reigel, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net/c/) from digital material generously made available by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (http://www.ccel.org/) Note: The digital material used for the preparation of this file, including images of the original pages, are available through the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. See http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bacon_lw/history.html Transcriber's notes: Greek words in this text have been transliterated and placed between +marks+. Words in italics are surrounded with underscores. A list of corrections made is at the end of the text. The American Church History Series Consisting of a Series of Denominational Histories Published Under the Auspices of the American Society of Church History General Editors REV. PHILIP SCHAFF, D. D., LL. D. RT. REV. H. C. POTTER, D. D., LL. D. REV GEO. P. FISHER, D. D., LL. D. BISHOP JOHN F. HURST, D. D., LL. D. REV. E. J. WOLF, D. D. HENRY C. VEDDER, M. A. REV. SAMUEL M. JACKSON, D. D., LL. D. Volume XIII American Church History A HISTORY OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY by LEONARD WOOLSEY BACON New York The Christian Literature Co. MDCCCXCVII Copyright, 1897, by The Christian Literature Co. CONTENTS. PAGE CHAP. I.--PROVIDENTIAL PREPARATION FOR THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 1-5 Purpose of the long concealment of America, 1. A medieval church in America, 2. Revival of the Catholic Church, 3, especially in Spain, 4, 5. CHAP. II.--SPANISH CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA 6-15 Vastness and swiftness of the Spanish conquests, 6. Conversion by the sword, 7. Rapid success and sudden downfall of missions in Florida, 9. The like story in New Mexico, 12, and in California, 14. CHAP. III.--FRENCH CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA 16-29 Magnificence of the French scheme of western empire, 16. Superior dignity of the French missions, 19. Swift expansion of them, 20. Collision with the English colonies, and triumph of France, 21. Sudden and complete failure of the French church, 23. Causes of failure: (1) Dependence on royal patronage, 24. (2) Implication in Indian feuds, 25. (3) Instability of Jesuit efforts, 26. (4) Scantiness of French population, 27. Political aspect of French missions, 28. Recent French Catholic immigration, 29. CHAP. IV.--ANTECEDENTS OF PERMANENT CHRISTIAN COLONIZATION 30-37 Controversies and parties in Europe, 31, and especially in England, 32. Disintegration of Christendom, 34. New experiment of church life, 35. Persecutions promote emigration, 36, 37. CHAP. V.--PURITAN BEGINNINGS OF THE CHURCH IN VIRGINIA 38-53