Chapter II: Part 2

In 1616, the company allowed each settler to have 100 acres of land for his personal use. A few years later, a 50-acre tract of land was awarded to each settler who paid his own fare to America and an additional 50 acres for every pioneer he brought with him. This land arrangement, called the "Head-Right" system, formed the basis of the Virginia land system. This system resulted in the creation of large estates, and in the 1650's the average size land grant in Virginia was approximately 500 acres. Such areas were commonly called plantations, and the owners of such plantations, known as Virginia planters, ultimately became the dominant influence in the Virginia government. Some of these early plantation owners were William Byrd, Thomas Warren, William Fitzhugh and Abraham Wood.

After the Virginia Company had been given full governmental control of its colony, there were some members in the General Court who believed that Virginia settlers themselves should be given more freedom. When these liberal-minded individuals gained control of the company, their leader, Sir Edwin Sandys, was responsible for obtaining ratification of "The Great Charter of Privileges, Orders and Laws" by the General Court on November 28, 1618. In 1619, Sir Edwin Sandys was elected head of the company and he immediately sent Sir George Yeardley as Governor to Virginia to put the charter into effect in order that the settlers would enjoy self-government. Because of the sincere efforts put forth by Sir Edwin Sandys on behalf of this self-government in Virginia, he is often referred to as the "Father of Representative Government in America."

According to the Great Charter, the Virginia Colony was to be governed by two councils: one to consist of the Governor and his advisers chosen in England by the Virginia Company itself and the other council to consist of representatives, called Burgesses, chosen by the Virginia settlers themselves. Governor Yeardley carried out his instructions to have the free inhabitants of the Virginia Colony choose representatives to help him and his advisers in matters concerning taxation and laws for the welfare of the settlers. The settlements were organized into four "incorporations" or "parishes" with Jamestown, the titular capital city of the colony: City of Henricus, Charles City, James City and Kiccowtan (later called Elizabeth City). These parishes were then further divided into eleven districts called boroughs, hundreds or plantations. Each of these districts was asked to elect two Burgesses as representatives in their local government.

Governor Yeardley, therefore, called the first representative legislature in America to meet in the little church at Jamestown, July 30, 1619. This first General Assembly of Virginia consisted of the Council, the upper house, and the House of Burgesses, the lower house. This group was the first popular assembly in the New World. There was a delay in the initial meeting because the local elections had to be postponed until after the plowing and sowing of seeds had been done. The session lasted six days and then adjourned because of the severe heat. The session began with a prayer by the minister and the Governor and Council members sat in the front pews of the church. John Pory was the presiding officer of this first General Assembly and he was called the Speaker. Each burgess was called by name and then given the oath of supremacy in recognition of the sovereignty of King James I. After the oath had been taken, he officially entered the Assembly. Two burgesses were refused membership in the Assembly due to an unusual land patent condition. One of these prospective burgesses had been legally excused from obeying colonial laws by his land grant terms. The action of refusal was significant because it created the precedent that the Virginia Assembly has the right to decide the qualifications of its own members and to expel members even if they have been sworn in and admitted to the Assembly if conditions so warrant.

Although the session was very brief, much was accomplished, including the acceptance of the charter by the General Assembly members. Since this charter was the foundation of the laws used by the General Assembly to rule the Virginia Colony, it was called a constitution and was the first written constitution promulgated in our country. Other petitions presented at this time are indications of the trend of thought of these political leaders: former grants of land should be confirmed and new grants made to the early settlers, shares of land should be given to all male children born in Virginia, rents of the ministers' lands should be made payable in commodities instead of money, a sub-treasurer should be appointed to live in the colony, and men should be sent to build a college in the colony. Other laws passed by the Assembly itself concerned the punishment of idlers, gamblers and drunkards, the payment of church dues, the religious duty of the colonists, the regulation of trade, the relations of whites to Indians, the regulation of the duties of ministers and the conduct of servants. The Assembly also levied a tax of one pound of tobacco on every male inhabitant over sixteen years of age, the tax to be used for the payment of services of its officers (speaker, clerk, sergeant and provost marshal of James City). The Governor then adjourned the Assembly until March 1, 1620.

In addition to the regular settlers at Jamestown, from time to time indentured servants came to America. They were individuals who signed contracts called "indentures" whereby they agreed to work as apprentices or tenant farmers for a stated time in return for their paid passage to America. On August 30, 1619, a ship that looked like a Dutch man-of-war but actually was believed to be a pirate craft came to Jamestown with a cargo of twenty Negroes which it sold to the Governor and the colonists. This was the first recorded selling of slaves in the area now called the United States. The Negroes seemed to be more easily adaptable to hard, manual labor than the Indians or indentured white servants had been. The need for labor which could endure the intense sun of the tobacco fields made the Negroes much more desirable than the whites since they seemed to endure these conditions more satisfactorily.

During the same year, another historical milestone occurred in Virginia when a ship arrived at Jamestown with sixty young women from England. Each bachelor who desired a bride had to pay 120 pounds of tobacco for his bride's passage. The young women stayed at the married planters' homes until their marriage. These brave women made happy homes and helped shoulder the responsibilities so that community life in Virginia became more settled. They wrote such cheerful, courageous accounts of their life in Virginia that a second shipload soon followed and more homes were rapidly established.

In July 1621, the London Company issued to Virginia a code of written laws and a frame of government patterned after the English type: the Governor of the colony was to be appointed by the company, a Council was to be appointed by the company, and a House of Burgesses was to be elected by the colonists themselves. Whenever making laws, the councilors and burgesses were to sit together. A law would be proposed, debated and, if passed, be submitted to the Governor for his approval. The company in England would have the final ratification or rejection. The right of petition and the right of trial by jury were guaranteed. A unique feature was the provision that the burgesses had the power of vetoing any objectionable acts of the company. Thus, additional political rights were furnished to the colonists by this so-called Virginia Constitution of 1621.

At noon on March 22, 1622, the "Great Massacre" occurred. Complete annihilation of all the Jamestown inhabitants by the Powhatan Indian Confederacy was prevented primarily by the warning of an Indian convert, a boy named Chanco. The settlement of Henricopolis (now called Dutch Gap) was completely destroyed: 347 men, women and children--approximately one-third of the total population of the colony--were slain at this time under the strategy of Opechancanough, the leader of the Indians. An ironic happening of the Great Massacre was that one of the victims was George Thorpe, superintendent of the planned college and university of colonial Virginia. He had been a member of Parliament who had sold his estate in England and had come to Virginia to spend his personal fortune and the rest of his life for the conversion and the education of the Indians. By 1619 the General Assembly had set apart 10,000 acres of land for the construction and support of a college for educating Indian youth in "true religion, moral virtue, and civility." The College of Henrico, the first formal educational institution of higher learning in the English colonies, was also destroyed during this Indian Massacre. So strong was the vengeance of the British upon the Indians that no more serious trouble with the Indians occurred until 1644.

Some influential people in England who did not approve of a British colony in America tried to encourage the King to abolish the Virginia Company's charter. The Great Massacre gave King James I the opportunity he sought, and, since the company had been unable to pay its dividends, he finally annulled the company's charter on May 24, 1624. Virginia thus became the first royal or crown colony in England's history. The greatest change under the new governmental setup was that now the King, rather than the Virginia Company, appointed the Governor and the councilors, thus making the Governor a royal Governor rather than a company official. King James I died the following year and his son, Charles I, succeeded to the throne. Two years later, the King authorized the General Assembly to meet, primarily in order that he could obtain the excellent monopoly of the Virginia tobacco trade. Much to his surprise, the colonists refused to grant him such monopoly, and, as a result, he did not authorize another meeting for twelve years.

From 1629 through 1632, two more provinces were carved from Virginia by royal grants: the Province of Carolina to Sir Robert Heath and the Province of Maryland to Lord Baltimore. The Virginians had not protested much against the grant to Sir Robert Heath, but they did protest strongly against the grant to Lord Baltimore. The leader of this protest was William Claiborne who had previously organized a colony and a trading post on part of the Maryland grant area.

In 1634, the Virginia Colony was politically reorganized from four parishes to eight shires or counties: Accawmack (an Indian name meaning "the-across-the-water-place"; the name was later changed to Northampton, an English county name and the two present counties of Accomack and Northampton occupy the same original site), Charles City (named for King Charles), Charles River (changed to York in 1642-43 in honor of the Duke of York), Elizabeth City (formerly Kiccotan--named for Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James), James City (named for King James), Henrico (named for Prince Henry, son of King James), Warrosquyoake (changed to Isle of Wight in 1637--some of the early patentees had come from the Isle of Wight in the English Channel: the word, "wight," means a passage or channel; therefore, it means "island of the channel"), and Warwick River (changed to Warwick in 1642-1643, named after the Earl of Warwick who was a prominent Virginia Company member). These counties were the second oldest unit of local government in the United States, the New England town being the first. The long distances between plantations and the difficult transportation facilities on land and on the rivers discouraged the use of the New England Town Meeting type of local government in the Virginia Colony. The counties themselves were patterned after the English counties. At this same time, suffrage was extended to all free male citizens for electing members of the House of Burgesses and county officials.

On February 12, 1634, Benjamin Syms of Elizabeth City County gave 200 acres of land plus 8 cows for the establishment of a free school for white children. This was the first legacy for the promotion of public school education, and Elizabeth City County was the birthplace of the Virginia public school system.

In 1642 Sir William Berkeley arrived in Virginia as a royal Governor. Until this time, there had been much religious tolerance in the Virginia Colony although the Church of England was the Established Church of the Colony. The religious laws were liberal, and other religions had existed without interference. Sir Edwin Sandys had encouraged some Separatists (Puritans) to live in Virginia, and by the time of the dissolution of the Virginia Company charter, thirteen parishes had been created and many clergymen had been active in the colony. Governor Berkeley was an extremely strong defender of the King and of the Church of England and disliked the Quakers and the Puritans very much. He was directly responsible for driving most of them from the Virginia Colony by enforcing a statute of 1643 which provided that no individual who disbelieved the doctrines of the English Church could teach, publicly or privately, or preach the gospel within the limits of Virginia.

In 1644 another Indian massacre occurred resulting in the death of 300-500 Virginians. This massacre was led by the aged, famous Indian leader, Opechancanough. It took place on Holy Thursday and the Puritans believed that this was a direct act of God as punishment for their previous treatment in Virginia. The settlers finally dispersed the Indians, destroyed their villages and destroyed the Powhatan Confederacy which had consisted of approximately fifty tribes. Opechancanough was later shot and killed.

In the following year, the General Assembly allowed the election of vestries by the qualified voters of each parish regardless of their religious faith. As counties were organized in Virginia, parishes likewise were established and vestries continued to be elected by the qualified voters. The vestry was the governing body of the parish, and although its membership number varied between the parishes, the number was finally fixed at twelve. They were self-perpetuating, and could only be removed by the General Assembly. They had the power to select a rector as well as to carry on regular parish duties. Under this arrangement, the Established Church was part of the county government with the officers of a parish having civil as well as religious duties and authority. Some of the civil duties included levying tax rates on parish inhabitants to raise revenue for carrying out their objectives, maintaining roads to and from the church, keeping the vital statistics (records of births, marriages, deaths, et cetera) and aiding the poor.

During this period, the British Parliament began feuding with King Charles. The Virginians strongly favored the King, and after he was beheaded, the General Assembly passed a law recognizing Charles II, the former King's exiled son, as the lawful King of England. In return for their loyal support upon behalf of his father and himself, Charles II bestowed the title of "The Old Dominion" on the Virginia Colony, the only American colony ever to receive such an honor. Parliament tried to combat this loyalty to the King by appointing two Virginians, William Claiborne and Richard Bennett, as commissioners whose duty was to influence Virginia and gradually bring it under Parliamentary control. Parliament then provided them with an armed force. Governor Berkeley made military preparations also, but negotiations finally ended in a peaceful settlement without resorting to open hostilities in Virginia. Individuals who had favored the King during the Civil War in England between the Parliament and the King were called Cavaliers. Since Virginia had remained loyal to the King throughout this period, many Cavaliers had sought refuge in Virginia at this time. This action caused the Virginia Colony to receive the nickname of the "Cavalier State."

In 1650, Mary, Margaret and Giles Brent erected homes on Aquia Creek, Virginia. They were the first English Catholic inhabitants of Virginia. In this same area, twenty-six years later, the first English-speaking Catholic colony of Virginia was settled. In 1677, a Catholic Church was erected here. After their nephew, George Brent, and others had been successful in obtaining a Proclamation from James II guaranteeing religious freedom on the 30,000 acres of the Brenton Tract, many settlers came to this area. Today, a large bronze Crucifix can be seen near the highway in Stafford County as a reminder of the religious efforts of the Brent Family.

_The Commonwealth and the "Golden Age"_

The Virginia Colony finally received a charter of self-government during Oliver Cromwell's rule in England and became the Commonwealth of Virginia on March 12, 1651. The Treaty of Jamestown provided that Virginians would be guaranteed the freedoms and privileges of the English people in return for a recognition of the Puritan Commonwealth of Cromwell in England. The colony prospered under Governors Richard Bennett, Edward Digges and Samuel Matthews from 1652-1660. By 1660, the population of the Virginia Colony was approximately 33,000 or over four times as much as in 1640. Many of this number consisted of Cavaliers. The population which first had centered around Jamestown, along the James River to the junction of the James and Appomattox Rivers and along the navigable inlets, now had broadened into the Tidewater area. As tobacco production and the use of tobacco increased and as soil fertility became exhausted, more land was added to the individual farms until large plantations appeared almost common. Class society in Virginia changed, generally, from a middle-class one to two distinct classes: the wealthy plantation owner who could afford such personal workers as slaves and servants and the tenant farmer who worked for a plantation owner. In return for his services, he was usually allowed to have a small plot of ground for his own use and a small farm on which to live. When the Cavaliers, mostly wealthy gentlemen, migrated to Virginia, they brought added aristocracy to the Virginia Colony.

In the meantime, other counties had been formed in Virginia. An area which had been settled originally in Upper Norfolk was named Nansemond County in 1642. "Nansemond" is an Indian word meaning "fishing point or angle." In 1648, the county of Northumberland was formed from a large Indian district formerly known as Chickacoan and it was named for Northumberland County, England. From this large area, one hundred sixteen counties were later formed. Within a twenty-five year period, seven additional counties were created: Gloucester County (formed from York and named for the third son of Charles I, Henry-Duke of Gloucester), New Kent County (formed also from York and believed to have been named either for the English Kent or for Kent Island), Lancaster County (from York and Northumberland), Surry (from James City County), Westmoreland (from Northumberland and later an addition from James City County), Stafford (from Westmoreland) and Middlesex (from Lancaster)--the latter five named in honor of English counties. The formation of many new counties during this time illustrates the great increase in population which took place.

When Charles II became King of England in 1660, Britain's colonial policy changed. Previously, the colonies had been more or less neglected, and interest in England had been chiefly centered upon religion, intellectual achievement and local issues. After the Civil War in England, the importance of the colonies seemed more apparent, competition in setting up and controlling colonial empires was greater and mercantilism became the key theory accepted by the leading countries of Europe. Mercantilism was based upon the idea that the colonies existed for the benefit of the mother country and that they had specific obligations or responsibilities to fulfill, namely: (1) to produce the articles which the mother country needs and which are impossible for the mother country to produce; (2) to supply the mother country with foodstuffs which she needs, (3) to furnish a market for the mother country's manufactured goods, and (4) to export colonial goods in mother country ships only. Earlier in 1651, Parliament had passed a law prohibiting foreign vessels from trading with the American colonists. This law had been aimed primarily at the Dutch. It also stated that all products sent by the American colonies to England or sent from one colony to another had to be carried in either English or American ships. However, there had not been strict enforcement of this law in Virginia.

The Navigation Acts of 1660 and 1663 were passed providing that goods imported into the colonies had to be carried by English, Irish or American ships. The act further stated that certain "enumerated articles" or exports could be sent only to the British Isles or to the English possessions: for example, tobacco, sugar, apples, wool, indigo and dyewood. The list was increased as time passed, and the ill feeling of the Virginia Colony as well as the other English colonies in America toward the mother country can be fully understood, especially since higher prices for their articles could be obtained from foreign countries. The second Navigation Act required that all European goods destined for the American colonies be sent to England and then shipped to America in English ships. Thus, England tried to maintain a monopoly of her colonial trade. The prosperity of the Virginia Colony was affected greatly by these acts. Virginia's economy at this time was almost completely dependent upon its export tobacco trade which was far in excess of the amount of tobacco which England needed. The Navigation Acts virtually closed all the markets except England and its possessions to Virginia tobacco. As a result, the English market was suddenly flooded with Virginia tobacco. There was much excess tobacco in Virginia itself, some tobacco even rotting on the farms. The price of tobacco accordingly dropped from fourpence a pound to a halfpenny per pound by 1667. Virginia, as well as the other American colonies, at times violated the above regulations and sent some of its goods directly to other European countries in order to survive these economic blows. Thus, the Restoration Period which the Virginians had favored had some unexpected results for them. After the Virginians had urged Sir William Berkeley to resume the governorship prior to the Restoration, he had gone to England to intercede for the colonists concerning the tobacco trade and the other Navigation Acts, but his efforts had been futile.

Another surprise was received by the Virginians at this time. While Charles II was in exile in France in 1649, he granted more than five million acres of land lying between the Potomac and the Rappahannock Rivers to four Cavalier friends. This grant was called the "Northern Neck Proprietary" of Virginia. Twenty years later, he granted a new charter for the same territory to the surviving grantees. These actions were unknown to the colonists, and much of this same land had been settled under patents issued by the Colony itself. When the colonists learned of the new charter, there was much protest, and some of the colonists tried to buy out the grantees' interests. However, in most cases, their efforts were in vain. This grant was later referred to as the Fairfax Proprietary or Fairfax Grant. In 1673, the colonists found out that King Charles II had bestowed the rest of the Colony as a gift upon the Earl of Arlington and Lord Culpeper for thirty-one years. This eventually had no lasting ill effects upon the colonists because Lord Culpeper later purchased the Earl of Arlington's interest and King Charles himself bought back the entire area from him for a six hundred pounds per year pension. Lord Fairfax V became the owner in 1689 and the proprietary itself was abolished by the Virginia General Assembly in 1786.

In 1671, two explorers, Thomas Batts and Robert Fallon, traveled by horseback from Fort Henry (present Petersburg area) up the Roanoke Valley and across the Blue Ridge Mountains until they reached the top of the Allegheny Mountains. They proceeded to the New River and to an area in the present town of Narrows in Giles County. In order to claim this land for their King, Charles II of England, they had their Indian guides peel the bark off of four trees and then burn a symbol--the initials of King Charles, of Governor William Berkeley and of Colonel Abraham Wood (who was responsible for this expedition)--on each tree with a pair of marking irons. Thus, they took possession of this land and all the area west of it in the King's name and provided a basic claim of land in Southwest Virginia.

In this same year, a unique attitude concerning public education was expressed by royal Governor Berkeley when he stated: "I thank God, there are no free schools or printing presses and I hope we shall not have them these hundred years: for learning has brought disobedience and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both."

In 1672, Parliament passed an act compelling each ship which left the colonies for Europe to post bond that it would deliver its cargo in England or otherwise pay the required duty. Colonial customs collectors were to be appointed whose chief duty was to supervise this trade. An export duty was to be paid on certain "enumerated" articles--tobacco, indigo, sugar, apples, dyewood and later, naval stores, molasses, lumber and hides--if such articles were sent from one colony to another. Strict enforcement of this act would have dire results on the Virginia colonists because their ships had been carrying products from the West Indies and from Virginia to northern ports and then to Europe. The colonists began to be extremely dissatisfied with the mother country.

Governor Berkeley at this time was aggravating the home situation of the Virginia colonists. He had limited suffrage to freeholders and householders only, had strongly influenced the election of Assembly members to individuals who were personal friends and who favored the King's policies and had been keeping the Assembly technically in session for fourteen years without any elections taking place. The grievance about which the colonists felt the most bitter, however, was the inadequate protection of the frontier from the Susquehannock Indian attacks. After these Indians had attacked a plantation owned by Nathaniel Bacon and had killed his overseer and one of his servants, Bacon decided that the colonists themselves should take organized action against the Indians since the Governor had practically ignored the attacks. One possible reason for the Governor's hesitancy in interfering in these Indian affairs was the high profit which he was receiving from the Indian fur trading. Many of Bacon's neighbors agreed with him, and they prepared to be the aggressors against the Indians. Bacon asked the Governor for permission to do so and for a military commission for himself as the leader. Both requests were refused, and Bacon and his friends were declared rebels by the Governor. Consequently, Bacon and his followers decided to take matters into their own hands without the Governor's permission. They proceeded and successfully defeated the Indians. This action aroused Governor Berkeley who immediately considered Bacon a traitor, and a civil war or rebellion resulted.

Bacon, in the meantime, had been elected as a member of the House of Burgesses, and he went to Jamestown to participate in the Assembly. Upon his arrival, he was arrested, brought to the State House and charged with being a rebel. Governor Berkeley and the King's Council discussed Bacon's activities, and Bacon agreed to apologize for his actions if the Governor would grant him his commission. The Governor agreed, but Bacon felt that the Governor had no intention of carrying out his promise for a commission. Bacon discussed this meeting with his neighbor friends who decided to accompany him to Jamestown where he was to receive his commission. Bacon and approximately four hundred planters marched to the State House at Jamestown and demanded his commission. When none was forthcoming, he ordered his men to aim their guns at the windows of the State House where the House of Burgesses sat. At this drastic move, the Burgesses quickly prepared the commission paper and persuaded Governor Berkeley to sign it and then issued it to Bacon. Bacon and his followers then returned home. Governor Berkeley thereupon decided to fight Bacon and his associates. Berkeley then departed from Jamestown and crossed the York River to Gloucester where he called upon his friends to help him. Upon hearing that Bacon was approaching Gloucester, Berkeley fled across the Chesapeake Bay to Accomack. In August 1676, Bacon and his followers signed an agreement whereby they all pledged to fight any and all soldiers that Governor Berkeley might order from England to the colony. After some Indians living near Richmond made new attacks upon the settlers there, Bacon and his friends captured the Indian fort and killed or imprisoned the remaining Indians.

While Bacon was thus engaged, Governor Berkeley with eight hundred soldiers and eighteen ships in the James River had occupied Jamestown. Bacon proceeded next to Jamestown and defeated Governor Berkeley's forces there. Governor Berkeley and many of his soldiers fled to the ships and sailed away. Bacon realized that although he had won on land, he would have no chance of holding out an attack from the ships. Therefore, he and his friends burned the State House and the rest of the capital, Jamestown, to prevent Governor Berkeley from repossessing it. Bacon had become ill with a fever and died shortly afterwards in October at the home of a friend in Gloucester County. Governor Berkeley had twenty-three of Bacon's followers put to death, but the principle for which they fought remained alive: "the people must be heard." Bacon's Rebellion is remembered in history primarily as a revolt of the plain, common man against a privileged few. Governor Berkeley was later recalled to England, and, upon his return, instead of being treated as a hero by the King, he was regarded with contempt.

In 1682, tobacco had been grown so extensively in Virginia that the price of tobacco on the London market had declined rapidly. When the British government refused a request from the Virginia colonists to either restrict tobacco acreage or order a temporary cessation of its growth, tobacco riots occurred in Virginia. During many nights, thousands of young tobacco plants throughout the colony were destroyed. Finally, after the execution of six tobacco plant cutters, the riots ceased. Eventually, the customs duty on tobacco was increased tremendously, and taxes in Virginia were increased at the same time.

In 1682, John Buckner established the first printing press in Virginia at Jamestown. His printer was William Nuthead who published several papers and two sheets of the acts of the Assembly of November 1682, supposedly without a license. The Colonial Council issued an order prohibiting anything from being printed until the King had given his permission as there was strong opposition against "the liberty of a press." Consequently, in December 1683, when King Charles II prohibited all printing in Virginia, William Nuthead moved his printing press to St. Mary's City, Maryland.

From 1691 to 1703, seven additional counties were formed in the Virginia Colony: Norfolk County (created from Lower Norfolk which had become extinct and named for Norfolk County in England which is also located on the water), King and Queen County (created from New Kent County and named for the joint rulers of England: King William III, Prince of Orange, and Queen Mary), Princess Anne County (created also from Lower Norfolk and named for Princess--later Queen--Anne of England), Essex (created from the then extinct Rappahannock County and named either for Essex County, England or the Earl of Essex), Richmond (created also from the then extinct Rappahannock County and either named for territory resemblance to Richmond, Surry County, England or in honor of an English Earl or Duke of Richmond), King William County (created from King and Queen County and named for William of Orange, King of England), and Prince George County (created from one of the original eight shires--Charles City County--and was named for Prince George of Denmark, Queen Anne's husband).

As mentioned previously, education in the Virginia Colony was generally thought of as a family responsibility, not as a community one. Nevertheless, by 1690, some families decided that there should be an educational institution for higher learning in Virginia in order that their sons would not have to travel abroad to obtain such an education. A conference was held in Jamestown to consider the founding of a college in the Virginia Colony. Those present led by Colonel John Page drew up plans for such an institution and asked the Governor and the King's Council to explain to the rulers of England and to Parliament the purpose and the need of a college in Virginia and to make a request for financial contributions for such an enterprise. Reverend James Blair, a Scotch minister in Virginia, went to England to ask King William III and Queen Mary for their consent. He stayed in England for two years and, upon his return, had a royal charter and numerous contributions consisting of land, special tax funds and personal finances which had been encouraged and strongly supported by King William and Queen Mary. Donations from interested colonists themselves increased the building fund considerably. On February 8, 1693, the official charter for the college was granted. The college was named William and Mary College in honor of the King and Queen who had granted its charter. Out of respect for King William who belonged to the House of Orange, the official college colors were designated as orange and white. The General Assembly selected Middle Plantation as the most suitable location for the college and the plans for the original building were drawn up by the now-famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren. The Wren Building, named in his honor, was constructed by 1698 and it is the oldest academic structure still in existence. William and Mary College was the second oldest college established in America: Harvard College, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, having been established in 1636. The first regular faculty consisted of six professors and Reverend Blair, who had personally raised much of the fund for the college, became its first president.

After the burning of Jamestown during Bacon's Rebellion, the State House was rebuilt, but it burned again in October 1698. Since the Assembly then had no meeting place, it met in 1699 at the private residence of Mrs. Sarah Lee and in a building of William and Mary College. At one meeting, Governor Granci Nicholson suggested that the capital be moved to Middle Plantation. After a successful vote, the seat of the Virginia Colony government was officially moved from Jamestown, the first capital, to Middle Plantation, the name of which was changed to Williamsburg in honor of King William III. Plans for the State House were immediately made and the main street was named Duke of Gloucester Street, in honor of the Duke of Gloucester who was Queen Anne's oldest son. The first official Capitol building was constructed at one end of the main street and the College of William and Mary had been constructed at the other end.

In 1698, a Scotsman, Francis Makemie, a Presbyterian missionary, migrated from Pennsylvania to Accomack County, Virginia, where he held services in his home. He was soon arrested for not having a license to preach, but he was so sincere in his religious beliefs that he was later awarded a license. He is the founder of Presbyterianism in Virginia and, near Temperanceville, one may see a monument consisting of a stone figure of Francis Makemie attired in his usual clerical garb.

Shortly before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the General Assembly passed an act requiring an import tax of twenty shillings upon each Negro imported into the Virginia Colony. England, however, opposed such action and, as additional laws were passed by the Virginia General Assembly levying high import taxes on slaves, she consistently vetoed them. The number of Negroes in Virginia increased as the production and the value of tobacco increased until, by 1700, there were approximately 7,000 Negroes out of 72,000 inhabitants within the colony. The colonists expressed their desire to prohibit or at least restrict the importation of Negroes in 1713, but the mother country would not authorize the Virginia Colony to forbid slave importation.

Another law passed at this time provided that any settler could buy an unlimited area of land from the colony itself at the cost of five shillings per fifty acres. This action was referred to as a "Treasury Right." Therefore, the "Head-Right" system was no longer the most common method of acquiring land settlements in the Virginia Colony. The population of the Virginia Colony was predominantly English and all types of social classes were now represented here: from the aristocratic nobles to the uncouth convicts. With the influx of the Cavaliers and with the reputation of the prosperity of the Virginia Colony, the number of middle class and upper class residents increased considerably during the Eighteenth Century until such residents soon made up a majority of the inhabitants. By 1700, the population of Virginia was approximately 70,000 including about 5,500 Negroes.

By 1710, the practice had been established of allowing the Governor of a British Colony to remain in England and to appoint deputies to live in the colony and actually to rule the colony. At this time, Alexander Spotswood arrived in Virginia as a royal Governor, technically the Deputy to Lord George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney, the official Lieutenant and Governor-General of the Virginia Colony. He was the first royal Governor to live in the new Governor's Palace at Williamsburg. Governor Spotswood remained in this position for twelve years and was responsible for many improvements and much progress in the Virginia Colony. He encouraged and helped carry out the beautifying of Williamsburg, the new capital city. Ravines were filled, streets leveled, some college buildings, a public magazine (a storehouse for arms and ammunition) and a church were erected primarily due to his influence. Since he believed in developing the natural resources of Virginia, he had iron foundries established along the Rapidan River, near Fredericksburg. As a result, the first mining village in Virginia, Germanna, located near the Blue Ridge Mountains, came into existence. This village was named in honor of the German miners who came to Virginia to work the iron mines and in honor of the German ruler, Queen Anne.

In 1716, the Governor and some friends started out to explore the Northwest. They stopped at Germanna to shoe the horses as protection for them on the rocky, mountain roads. The Governor traveled by stagecoach from Williamsburg to Germanna. Here he changed to horseback and accompanied by two groups of rangers and four Indian guides, in addition to the original group, he traced the Rapidan River to its headwaters and then proceeded to climb the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They reached the top near Swift Run Gap and, from this summit, viewed the great Shenandoah Valley and the Allegheny Mountains about twenty miles away. They spent the night there on the summit and then descended the west slope of the mountain, finally arriving at a river which they called Euphrates. This same river is known today as the Shenandoah River, an Indian name meaning "Daughter of the Stars." As had happened earlier on the Batts-Fallon expedition, a volley of gunfire was shot, and Governor Spotswood claimed possession of the land in the name of George I, then King of England. The highest mountain peak which they had climbed they called Mount George in his honor, and the next highest one was called Mount Alexander in honor of the Governor himself. The expedition had been such a pleasant one for the Governor that legend states that he sent to England for small individual golden horseshoe pins with diamonds symbolizing the nailheads and presented one to each of his companions on this memorable trip, bestowing upon them the title of "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." Governor Spotswood also was a most able diplomat with the Indians, and he tried conscientiously to help them get better educated. For example, he sent white teachers to help them to develop their handicraft and the arts of civilization, and later, he encouraged many of the Indian boys to attend William and Mary College where they could specialize in their particular abilities. Spotswood was later appointed Postmaster General for the Colonies and was responsible for initiating a postal system extending from Charleston to Boston. Colonel Hugh Drysdale succeeded him as Governor for the next four years.

In 1716, the first theater in America was built by William Levingston at Williamsburg. It was constructed for the acting of "Comedies, Drolls and other kind of stage plays ... thought fitt to be acted there." Mary Stagg, the wife of Charles Stagg, who was the manager of the theater, is considered the first theatrical leading lady in America. Although many British actors and musicians were participants in this theater, it often suffered from financial stress. Thus, twenty-nine years later, this theater was donated to Williamsburg to be used as a town hall.

In 1722, Williamsburg, the capital of Colonial Virginia (1699-1780), became the first incorporated municipality in Virginia. It became the leading political, economic, educational and social center of the colony, especially during legislative sessions. Eight years after Williamsburg had been incorporated, William Parks arrived there as a public printer. He set up the first permanent printing press in Virginia and approximately six years later, Virginia's first colonial newspaper, the "Virginia Gazette," was printed.

Colonel Robert Carter, President of the Council, succeeded Governor Drysdale in July 1726. Carter was a very wealthy man whose land holdings--300,000 acres total--were second in Virginia only to the Fairfaxes. Because of his enormous wealth and arrogant manner, he was nicknamed "King" Carter.

In 1728, William Byrd II was the leader of a survey group which followed the Virginia-North Carolina borderline from the Atlantic Ocean two hundred and forty miles westward. This action provided Virginians with knowledge of the type of terrain and its potentiality along this important borderline.

It was in the period 1730-1760 that a majority of the beautiful brick and stone plantation mansions were constructed. The wealthy families preferred the country-side. Some of the mansions built at this time included Westover (William Byrd family), Stratford Hall (Thomas Lee family), Ampthill (Archibald Cary family), Carter's Grove (Robert Carter Burwell family) and Mount Airy (John Tayloe family).

Sir William Gooch was acting chief executive of Virginia for twenty-two years, 1727-1749. His greatest project during this period was the development of settlements in the Shenandoah Valley. At the beginning of the Eighteenth Century, some Scotch-Irish, Germans and French Huguenots settled in Virginia. The Scotch-Irish had migrated first to Pennsylvania and to New Jersey. Upon hearing about the beautiful valley seen by Governor Spotswood, they decided to settle there. Their main settlement was located in the area now included in the Winchester and Staunton areas and in the counties of Augusta and Rockbridge. It became so densely populated with people originally from Northern Ireland that it was called the "Irish Tract." Later, additional Scots direct from Scotland migrated here in large numbers. Germans had already migrated in large numbers to Germanna, the mining town. The French Huguenot immigrants settled mainly along both sides of the James River at Manakintown. Thus, the Shenandoah Valley and the area beyond the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny Mountains were colonized primarily by the Scotch-Irish, German, and French Huguenots.

Two years later, the Quakers organized a church at Hopewell which is the oldest church in northern Virginia. Six years later, the oldest Lutheran church in the South was built in Madison County by some of the Germans from Germanna. Its financial support originally came from friends in Germany, and it was called Hebron Church.

In 1749, Augusta Academy was founded by the Presbyterians in Augusta County, and it was the first classical school located west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Its name was later changed in 1775 to the patriotic title of Liberty Hall. This academy was the forerunner of the Washington and Lee University.

Colonel Thomas Lee was acting Governor from 1749 to 1751. He encouraged westward expansion in the Virginia Colony and believed that the French should be expelled from America. He was the father of the most famous family in Virginia history: the Lee family. He built the now-famous family homestead, Stratford, in Westmoreland County in 1725-1730. During his governorship, some wealthy Virginians formed the Ohio Company whose purpose was to settle a colony west of the Allegheny Mountains on a tract of land 500,000 acres in size. Four years later, the company constructed a fort at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where the present city of Pittsburgh is now located. One hundred and twenty miles north of this fort, the French proceeded to construct Fort LeBoeuf on the Allegheny River. Since many Virginians and other Englishmen from other colonies had been settling in the Ohio Valley, they became much alarmed at the construction and occupation of this French fort. Consequently, the British-Americans began to observe carefully the activities of the French in this region. Colonel Lee had the unusual distinction of being the only Virginian to have a Crown Commission of Governor awarded to him even though he died before the commission reached him.

From 1721 to 1750, nineteen new counties were created: Hanover (formed from New Kent and named for the Duke of Hanover who later became King George of England), Spotsylvania (formed from Essex, King William and King and Queen Counties and named for Lieutenant Governor Spotswood), King George (formed from Richmond and later a part of Westmoreland County and named for George I, King of England), Goochland (formed from Henrico County and named for William Gooch, the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia at the time), Caroline (formed from Essex, King and Queen and King William Counties and named for Queen Caroline, George II's wife), Prince William (formed from Stafford and King George Counties and named for William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland), Brunswick (formed from Prince George and parts of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties and named for the Duchy of Brunswick in Germany), Orange (formed from Spotsylvania and named for William, Prince of Orange, an English king), Amelia (formed from Prince George and Brunswick Counties and named for Princess Amelia, King George II's youngest daughter), Fairfax (formed from Prince William County and named for Lord Fairfax), Frederick (formed from Orange County and named for Frederick, Prince of Wales, George II's son and George III's father), Louisa (formed from Hanover County and named for King George II's daughter, Princess Louisa, who was also the wife of King Frederick V of Denmark), Albemarle (formed from Goochland County and named for William Anne Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle, Governor-General of the Colony who remained in England during the entire time), Augusta (formed from Orange and named for Princess Augusta, wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III's father), Lunenburg (formed from Brunswick and named for one of George I's titles: Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg), Chesterfield (formed from Henrico and named for the famous Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope), Culpeper (formed from Orange County and named for Lord Thomas Culpeper, Governor of Virginia, 1680-1683), Southampton (formed from Isle of Wight County and named for Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl of Southampton and a leading member of the Virginia Company) and Cumberland (formed from Goochland County and part of Buckingham County and named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland).

By 1750, the Virginia colony was enjoying prosperity. Numerous large plantations had come into existence. As more and more soil became impoverished due to a lack of crop rotation, non-use of fertilizer and the intensive planting of the tobacco crop which requires a rich soil, additional land was purchased and added to the existing homestead. Consequently, plantations of 100,000 to 300,000 acres became common, especially around the Tidewater area. The larger the tobacco plantation, the greater the need for cheap labor became apparent. Consequently, the number of Negro slaves increased in Virginia until by 1750, there were approximately 115,000 Negroes and approximately 170,000 free whites. The increase in huge plantations caused the middle class tobacco farmer to migrate westward as he could not successfully compete with the larger tobacco planters. The Virginia plantation owners had become accustomed at this time to allowing the London tobacco merchants to act as their bankers: they would order their necessities, supplies and luxuries (glass, silver, china) via their tobacco credits. Such a system furnished an immediate advantage for the plantation owners but also created a situation whereby the Virginia planters became heavily indebted financially to the London merchants. The plantation owners also became the influential individuals within the colony--politically, economically and socially. Thus, Virginia at this time was practically ruled by an aristocracy. Although the governing power of the assembly had increased gradually, the political power of the commoner or average citizen had not increased accordingly. Membership in the Virginia Council was considered a position of the greatest prestige and was almost an hereditary position. The two required qualifications were wealth and social position. The era of aristocratic living which predominated in the Virginia Colony between 1700-1750 is often referred to as the "Golden Age" of Virginia's colonial history.

_The Pre-Revolutionary War Era_

While Robert Dinwiddie was the acting Governor of Virginia, the English and French rivalry in colonial settlements was becoming bitter in America. In 1753, Governor Dinwiddie selected George Washington to visit General St. Pierre, the commander in charge of the French fort at Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Erie, and to inform him that the Ohio country belonged to the English and that he should withdraw his troops from there at once. Dinwiddie sincerely believed that the land upon which the French fort had been built was English territory. Washington and four comrades rode on horseback from Williamsburg to Fredericksburg where he hired Jacob Vanbraam as an interpreter since Washington could not speak French. They rode to Alexandria where Washington purchased food and essential equipment because there were no towns between Alexandria and Winchester. Two weeks later he reached Winchester, after having made the dangerous crossing of the unbridged Shenandoah River. At Winchester, Washington hired a well-known guide, Christopher Gist, to assist him on his journey to Fort LeBoeuf where the French General had arrived to supervise its fortifications. Two Indian traders also accompanied him. They traveled to Maryland and to Pennsylvania until they reached the French fort, Fort LeBoeuf. The destination was approximately five hundred miles from Williamsburg. Although St. Pierre was polite and friendly, Washington was informed that the French had been ordered to eject every Englishman from the Ohio Valley and that the French had the rightful claim to such territory. Before he departed, Washington noticed a large fleet of birch-bark canoes and boats of pine and was convinced that a war between the English and French would be necessary to settle the dispute over the control of the Northwest.

Washington returned to Williamsburg in January 1754, and reported to Governor Dinwiddie a detailed account of his journey. Washington then prepared a written report which persuaded the members of the General Assembly to realize the seriousness of this matter. Colonel Joshua Fry, with Washington second in command, marched with a troop of one hundred and fifty men against the French in the Ohio Valley. On March 28, near Great Meadows, Washington's group killed the French commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and killed or captured all his soldiers except one. On March 31, 1754, Washington was granted a commission as Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment, which he later received at Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria. In the meantime, Colonel Fry had died suddenly from an accidental fall, and Washington had succeeded to the command.

Fort Necessity, near Farmington, Pennsylvania, a crude structure of defense, was in the process of being constructed by the Virginians at the forks of the Ohio River when seven hundred French soldiers appeared, outnumbering the Virginian troops by at least four hundred men. Washington and his troops were forced to surrender, were allowed to leave with the honors of war and finally trudged back to Winchester. The Battle of Great Meadows and the Battle of Fort Necessity were of historical importance because they marked the beginning of the French and Indian War in America, they were actually the first fighting attacks in the Seven Years War in Europe between the English and the French, and they provided the first real combat fighting experience for George Washington who was only twenty-two years old at the time. The French proceeded to occupy Fort Necessity and after improving it considerably, they changed its name to Fort Duquesne, in honor of Canada's governor.

The following summer, in 1755, Washington returned with a larger army to the Ohio area. Two regiments, one thousand, of British regulars had been sent from England under the command of General Edward Braddock. These soldiers arrived at Alexandria from England, and Washington, having been assigned as an aide-de-camp to General Braddock, joined them there. A conference of five royal Governors--Dinwiddie (Virginia), Morris (Pennsylvania), Sharp (Maryland), DeLacey (New York) and Shirley (Massachusetts)--was held at the Carlyle House in Alexandria on April 14 to formulate plans for the protection of the western frontier against the French and Indian raids along the Ohio River. After much discussion, a campaign plan was adopted whereby General Braddock was to capture Fort Duquesne and expel the French from the Ohio Valley. At this same conference, the suggestion was made that the British Ministry could levy taxes on the colonies to help pay the expense of the war.