52 DOCUMENTS. When this continent was first made known to Europe, by the bold and enterprising genius of Christopher Columbus, it seemed for a long time conceded that the Spanish monarchy, which alone could be prevailed upon to listen to his plans and propositions, was most entitled to the benefits resulting from the successful issue of his undertaking. Though Ferdinand and Isabella, who, at that time, filled the throne of that coun- try, did not rest their title upon the tacit consent of other nations, or even upon their armies or fleet, which was, at that period, formidable and well provided; but instructed by the example of the Portuguese, who had obtained a grant for all countries east of the Azores, from pole to pole, they obtained a similar grant from the Roman Pontiff, of all the territories they wished to occupy west of the same point, as the super- stition of the times conferred on him a right of dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth. Thus, in virtue of his power, as the vicar and representative of Jesus Christ, did Alexander VI, in 1493, grant to the crown of Spain, in full right, all the countries inhabited by infidels, which they had or should discover. Enormous as the power was, which the Popes then exercised, it was recognized and submitted to by the monarchs of that day, and considered as having vested in Spain a title which they deemed completely valid, and authorized her to extend her discoveries and establish her dominion over a great portion gressional document urging the occupation of the Pacific Northwest. It "in its expression and embodiment of the ideas and impulses that were to shape the progress of events," says Professor E. G. Bourne, "bears the same relation 1o Oregon that Richard Hakluyt's famous 'Discourses on Western Planting' bears to the foundation of the English colonies in America." See "Aspects of Oregon History Before 1840" in the September Quarterly, Volume VI, Number 3, pp. 255-275. Professor Bourne contends for fuller recognition of Floyd's efforts in awakening the American people to a realization of their interests in the Oregon Country. To him Floyd's work for Oregon "seems immensely more important than Hall J. Kelley's." Floyd was first to apply the name "Oregon" to the Pacific Northwest. Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark party was John Floyd's first cousin, and William Clark was his friend from early youth. At Brown's hotel, his boarding place in the early winter of J 820-21, he met Mr. Ramsey Crooks and Mr. Russell Farnham, ex-members of the Astor party. This document is the first of a series on the Oregon Question that will be reprinted.
