“There are different opinions on both sides. Some people back in the old country agree with our views, as many of the gentry, particularly in Virginia, still consider anything in London to be superior—even the people there. Some of these are what you might call the outcasts of the gentry class, including a lot of second and third sons who received no inheritance. You can observe them here in Norfolk attempting in every way possible to copy life as it is in England and considering themselves superior to the rest of us. They think that it was mostly misfits who left home, including radical worshippers like the Pilgrims, Quakers, Baptists, Mennonites, and even Presbyterians, all inferior in the eyes of the Almighty. In fact, we have to admit that a number of the settlers have come over here as paupers and indentured servants, having failed to earn a living back home. On the bottom, maybe, are a large group of criminals who have been paroled to provide a workforce in the colonies, although often their crimes were just the nonpayment of debts.

“In any case, when someone leaves a mother country, it is a case of separation or rejection, either voluntary or involuntary. This drives something of a wedge between people.”

Henry considered this for a few moments and then asked, “But aren’t the colonies very valuable to Britain, to provide things like cotton, timber, rice, indigo, and tobacco, and also a market for England’s manufactured goods?”

“Well, I certainly think so, but there are prominent Englishmen who disagree. They believe there is a limited amount of wealth in the world, and as much of it as possible should be attracted to the mother country. Compared to the Caribbean, India, and Africa, the colonies in America have not been very lucrative in trade, and at the same time are too costly to hold. I noticed recently that some leading members of our Parliament were condemning the decision at the end of the French and Indian War to keep Canada, calling it just thousands of acres of barren wilderness. They thought one small island in the Caribbean would be much more valuable. Another problem is that our population over here has exploded, multiplying tenfold just in this century—now almost a third as many as there are back home—and we are becoming more and more difficult to manage from such a distance.”

Sophie said, “Well, I can understand the advantages of India and the Caribbean, but don’t see anything attractive about Africa.”