Virginia Colony

Overview

Founded at Jamestown in 1607, Virginia evolved from a struggling settlement on the James River into Britain’s most populous and prosperous mainland colonies. For nearly 150 years, Virginia’s economy centered on tobacco, a valuable cash crop that relied on indentured servants before dramatically shifting to African slave labor by the 18th Century. The implementation of reforms, including the establishment of a legislative assembly elected by citizens, helped Virginia serve as a model for the other American Colonies. Over time, social divisions separated the Tidewater Gentry, backcountry farmers, and enslaved Africans. Religion and education developed slowly until the Great Awakening brought an evangelical revival. Virginia played a central role in early Revolutionary protests, influenced by its political institutions and tradition of challenging authority.

Essential Facts

• Also Known As: Virginia has been called the Virginia Colony, Colony of Virginia, Province of Virginia, and the Old Dominion.
• Region: The colonies are generally divided into three regions — New England Colonies, the Middle Colonies, and the Southern Colonies. Virginia was one of the Southern Colonies in Colonial America. It is also considered one of the Chesapeake Colonies.
• First Settlement: The first European settlement was Jamestown.
• Purpose: Virginia was founded as a business venture by the Virginia Company of London. The purpose of the first expedition was to establish a settlement, find gold and silver deposits, and explore a river route to the Pacific Ocean.

Key Geographic Regions

• Fall Line — The Fall Line is the geographic dividing line between the Piedmont Region and the coastal Tidewater Region.
• Tidewater Region — The coastal area of Virginia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Fall Line, including the Chesapeake Bay and four major rivers: the James, York, Rappahannock, and Potomac.
• Piedmont Region — The region of rolling hills and forest that runs from the Fall Line to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.
• Backcountry — This refers to the territory on the Western Frontier, or west of the main settlements. As the colonies progressed, the Backcountry was pushed further west.

Key Moments

• Virginia established the colonial model that influenced the political and economic structure of the other colonies.
• The colony started with the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, which was funded by the Virginia Company of London.
• During the Colonial Era, Virginia struggled, but was saved by the leadership of John Smith and the introduction of a new strain of tobacco by John Rolfe.
• In 1619, the Virginia Company reformed Virginia by establishing the Headright System and the House of Burgesses. That same year, a ship carrying captive Africans arrived at Point Comfort in 1619, where Virginia settlers purchased 20 of them from the ship’s captain.
• King Charles I revoked the London Company’s charter in 1624, transforming Virginia into a Royal Colony.
• Virginia remained loyal to the Crown during the English Civil War, which ended with the execution of King Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England.
• Virginia was forced to submit to the Commonwealth, but was rewarded when King Charles II ascended to the throne in the Stuart Restoration.
• The development of political factions in Virginia led to Bacon’s Rebellion, the first armed uprising against English rule in the American Colonies.
• Following Bacon’s Rebellion, Virginia slowly expanded and stabilized, becoming Britain’s largest colony and a leader in the American Revolution.

Significance

The Virginia Colony is important to American History because it was one of the Original 13 Colonies that declared independence from Britain in 1776. Established in 1607, Virginia became one of the largest and most influential colonies through political and economic reforms that were adopted by other colonies. Virginia’s longevity, along with the impact of the Great Awakening and resistance to British policies, helped establish the colony as a leader in the American Revolution.

History

Walter Raleigh and Roanoke Island

Walter Raleigh was an English explorer, soldier, and writer who was granted permission by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a colony in the New World. Raleigh was free to build a settlement on any land that was “not actually possessed of any “Christian Prince” or inhabited by “Christian People.”

• At the time, there were several other attempts by European nations to establish settlements in the New World. 
• Spain established colonies in Florida and the Southwest.
• France established settlements in Canada and the Great Lakes region.

Raleigh and his half-brother, Humphrey Gilbert, were involved in several exploratory expeditions that explored the Atlantic Coast, including Newfoundland, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic. After Gilbert was killed in a storm in 1583, Raleigh continued the quest to extend England’s reach into the New World.

In 1584, Raleigh sent an expedition led by two men — Captain Philip Armadas and Master Arthur Barlowe — to find a place to establish a colony in the Chesapeake Bay. There were two ships in the expedition. The flagship was commanded by Armadas and piloted by Fernandes. Barlowe commanded the second ship.

• On July 13, 1584, the expedition landed at Oregon Inlet in present-day North Carolina.
• Armadas and Barlow claimed the region in the name of Queen Elizabeth I.
• When they returned to England, the area was given the name “Virginia” in honor of England’s “Virgin Queen.”

Richard Hakluyt the Younger wrote a pamphlet called Discourse on Western Planting that supported the establishment of a colony in Virginia, and Raleigh gained support for the idea from Parliament.

Another expedition was outfitted in 1585 that sailed to Roanoke Island. This was led by Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane, and established a settlement on Ocracoke Island.

• Thomas Harriot and John White studied the local Native American Indians, flora, and fauna. White drew maps and painted pictures of what he encountered.
• Grenville led two scouting expeditions to explore the region. Despite engaging in hostilities with local Indians, he received permission from them to settle on the northern end of Roanoke Island.
• Grenville and his colonists built Fort Raleigh on Roanoke Island.
• Grenville returned to England, leaving Lane in charge of the colony.

After Grenville left, Lane organized two scouting expeditions to explore the area. Harriott and White were involved in the expeditions, which they documented in various ways, including the first watercolor illustrations of Indian culture.

• The colonists remained through the winter of 1585–1586.
• The relationship with the Indians deteriorated further, leading to more hostilities that continued into the spring of 1586.
• On June 8, 1586, a fleet of ships under the command of Francis Drake arrived.
• Drake agreed to transport the colonists to the mainland, but a hurricane forced the fleet to return to England.
• A small group of 15 men was left behind to maintain the settlement.

Arthur Barlow and Ralph Lane wrote reports about their experiences, which were published by Hakluyt in 1589 as part of his Principall Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation.

Raleigh organized a third expedition, this time with John White as Governor and including civilian families. White intended to recover the 15 men left behind by the previous expedition and find a new location to build “the Citie of Raleigh.”

• When White arrived at Roanoke Island, he found Fort Raleigh abandoned.
• When the pilots of the ships decided to leave, White was forced to settle inside the fort.
• Hostilities with the Indians resumed.
• On August 18, 1587, Eleanor Dare, White’s daughter, gave birth to Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World.

On August 27, White set sail for England to retrieve supplies, intending to return as soon as possible. However, he was delayed for three years due to hostilities between England and Spain.

• White returned on August 15, 1580.
• He found no trace of the colonists at Fort Raleigh.
• The word “CROATAN” was carved into a tree, and the letters “CRO” were carved into a post at the fort. 
• To White, this indicated the colonists had moved from Roanoke to Croatoan Island.
• White set sail for Croatoan Island, but a violent storm blew the ships out to sea. 
• He was forced to abandon the search and return to England.

In 1602, Raleigh sent his last expedition to Roanoke Island. It was led by Samuel Mace, and the purpose was to find the lost colonists. Mace was unable to find any information and returned to England in September. With this, Raleigh’s effort to establish a colony on Roanoke Island ended.

AHC Notes

• Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) — The daughter of Henry VIII, she was one of the most famous monarchs of England. She played an important role in the development of Colonial America by supporting Walter Raleigh’s expeditions, which led to the founding of the Roanoke Island Colony, the first English settlement in North America.
• Richard Hakluyt the Younger (c. 1551–1616) — Hakluyt was a key advocate for English colonization, compiling accounts of explorers and promoting colonial efforts. His works, particularly Divers Voyages and The Principall Navigations, shaped English views on expansion and colonization and promoted the benefits of establishing colonies in the Americas.
• Walter Raleigh (c. 1554–1618) — Raleigh was a key figure in England’s early efforts to explore and colonize North America. A favorite of Queen Elizabeth I, he financed several expeditions, including the failed Roanoke Colony, which helped set the stage for future English settlements. Despite early success, Raleigh fell out of favor, was imprisoned multiple times, and was executed in 1618.

The Virginia Company

Despite the failure of Roanoke Island and the death of Queen Elizabeth I, her successor, King James I, continued the quest to establish an English presence in the New World.

• James wanted to follow in Spain’s footsteps and establish colonies in the New World, which were essential to the development of the Mercantile System.
• He also wanted to protect existing English claims to territory in North America.

On April 10, 1606, James granted Letters Patent to a group of investors for the establishment of colonies in North America.

• The Letters Patent established the Virginia Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth. They were Joint-Stock Companies funded by private individuals.

The territory James granted was larger than most European countries at the time. It was divided into a north region and a south region. The South was referred to as the First Colony, while the North was referred to as the Second Colony.

• The Virginia Company of Plymouth was granted rights to the northern portion of the territory. It tried to establish Popham Colony in present-day Maine in 1607, but the venture failed. In 1614, this region was renamed “New England.”
• The Virginia Company of London was given the right to establish colonies in the southern portion, which ran from present-day Long Island to North Carolina. This is where Jamestown was established in 1607.

In Virginia, the London Company functioned as an independent government, operating within the confines of existing English law.

• It had the power to impose taxes, mint coins, and control trade.
• The corporation managed the colony’s treasury and organized its defenses.
• The charter stated that colonists remained English citizens and retained all the rights and privileges of Englishmen, even while living in the New World.

However, the investors intended to make a profit from the colony and established several goals for the settlers:

• They were instructed to discover precious metals, furs, and other valuable raw materials.
• They were tasked with exploring and mapping the region and its waterways.
• They were responsible for “civilizing” local Native American Indians and converting them to Protestant Christianity, as opposed to Spanish and French Catholic Christianity. To reinforce this, Parson Robert Hunt led the first religious services in Jamestown.

AHC Notes

• King James I (1566–1625) — James followed Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne. During his reign (1603–1625), the two most significant of the early English colonies in America were established — Jamestown and Plymouth.
• Virginia Company of London — Also known as the London Company, it was a joint-stock company that established Jamestown and founded the Virginia Colony. The Company established the first English laws in America, introduced the first representative government, and implemented the first system to encourage immigration. The Company’s actions set the stage for the establishment of the 13 Original Colonies.
• Popham Colony — The first English colony established in New England. The colony was located in present-day Maine, on the Kennebec River. The colony was started in 1607, the same year as Jamestown. However, the colony struggled, and the settlers decided to abandon it and return to England in 1608. The Popham Expedition was funded by the Virginia Company of Plymouth, or Plymouth Company, the sister company of the London Company.

Jamestown

The Virginia Company established its first settlement, Jamestown, in 1607, along the banks of the James River. The settlement’s early years were plagued by mismanagement, disease, and the settlers’ refusal to work. These led to poor living conditions, high mortality, and the near-collapse of the colony.

The London Company organized an expedition to sail to Virginia in 1606 and establish a settlement.

• Ferdinando Gorges and Richard Hakluyt the Younger were involved in planning the 1606 Jamestown Expedition.
• The expedition consisted of three ships: the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.
• Christopher Newport captained the Susan Constant, the largest of the three ships

The ships carried approximately 104 men and boys, including merchants, traders, and members of the upper class who sought profit.

• John Smith, a well-known soldier and explorer, was among the passengers.
• Most of these people lacked the practical skills needed to survive in a wilderness environment.

The fleet arrived off the East Coast of North America in April 1607, intending to land at Roanoke. However, strong storms pushed the ships off course.

• To escape the storms, the fleet entered the southern end of the Chesapeake Bay.
• They reached the mouth of a wide river and named it the James River after King James.
• The ships sailed up the James River to a depth that was sufficient for their anchors.
• The ships anchored near a marshy area, and the colonists went ashore on May 14 and selected the site for “James Towne.”

After disembarking, the colonists opened a box carrying instructions that identified the members of the President’s Council as:

• Edward Maria Wingfield
• Bartholomew Gosnold
• Christopher Newport
• John Martin
• John Ratcliffe
• George Kendall
• John Smith

These men were instructed to select the colony’s first President, and they chose Edward Maria Wingfield. 

• Smith was a surprise to the others because he had been imprisoned during part of the voyage to Virginia. The exact reasons for this are unknown. However, soon after disembarking, he was released.

In the weeks that followed, the settlers started to fulfill the purpose of their expedition and encountered the local Native American Indians.

• Newport and Smith led an expedition to the Fall Line, near present-day Richmond, Virginia. The Fall Line is a natural boundary that marks the transition from the Tidewater Region to the Piedmont Region. During this expedition, they encountered Chief Powhatan and traded with the Indians.
• While Smith and Newport were gone, the inhabitants of Jamestown clashed with the Indians, who attacked the settlement. The settlers enclosed their crude houses inside a three-sided fort with towers on each point. They called it “Fort James.” It was completed on June 15, 1607.
• Newport sailed to England on June 22, 1607, to retrieve another shipment of supplies for Jamestown.

The first years at Jamestown were marked by violence, high death rates, and wasted opportunities. The settlers were not prepared to do what was necessary to survive.

• Many of them spent their time exploring and searching for gold, instead of planting fields, hunting for food, or digging wells to access clean water.
• Others remained at the settlement, where accounts indicate some died from “idleness.” They may have suffered from pellagra, a disease causing apathy and loss of appetite.
• They suffered from dysentery, or “bloody flux,” after drinking polluted water from the James River, along with mosquitoes and extreme heat.
• They built small houses and a small church inside the walls of Fort James, but the thatched roof provided little protection from heavy rains and cold temperatures.
• By the spring of 1608, only 35 to 40 of the settlers were still alive.

Powhatan Confederacy

When the settlers arrived in Virginia, they encountered the powerful Powhatan Confederacy and other Indian tribes in the region. Although the settlers established a trade relationship with the Powhatans, it was unstable. The settlers viewed the Powhatans as inferior people, and neither side fully trusted the other. During the first 50 years of Virginia’s existence, the settlers often clashed with the Powhatans.

• Around 1600, approximately 20,000 Indians lived in the Chesapeake Region.
• The Powhatan Confederacy was the region’s dominant political power, and its territory, “Tsenacomoco,” encompassed most of the present-day Tidewater Virginia area.
• The Confederacy was a diplomatic alliance of 32 Algonquian-speaking tribes.
• It was led by a single chief, Wahunsonacock, who was also referred to as The Powhatan or Chief Powhatan.

At the time that the settlers established Jamestown, Virginia was suffering from a drought. Once hostilities started, Powhatan instructed his people not to trade food to the settlers. John Smith led expeditions to local Powhatan villages, where he negotiated with them and sometimes coerced them into trading with him.

• This prevented starvation in Jamestown, but created tension with the Powhatans.
• Smith documented his explorations and descriptions of the Chesapeake Bay area, detailed in A True Relation (1608) and A Map of Virginia (1612), which significantly expanded English understanding of the region’s geography and inhabitants.

The Legend of John Smith and Pocahontas

Angered over Smith’s tactics, Chief Powhatan sought to capture him. While exploring the Chickahominy River in December 1607, Smith was captured by a party of Powhatan’s warriors.

• Smith underwent a four-week ritual tour of Powhatan’s territories, concluding with a three-day ceremony where he was adopted as Powhatan’s son, given the name “Nantaquoud” and made a werowance, or subordinate chief.
• From Chief Powhatan’s perspective, this event transformed Jamestown into an allied village within the Powhatan Confederacy.
• Smith mistakenly believed that Powhatan’s daughter, Moatoka — famously known as Pocahontas — saved his life during the ceremony, contributing to the creation of the popular legend.
• Despite Smith’s adoption, the Powhatans and Virginians continued to be wary of each other.

Smith and Newport Return

Smith returned to Jamestown and found the settlement in disarray. The church has burned down, and services were being held outside. Newport had not returned with supplies, and food was running out. 

• Some of the settlers wanted to return to England.
• Smith threatened to shoot anyone who tried to leave.
• The settlers seized him and imprisoned him.

Newport returned on January 1, 1608, which improved the situation, and Smith was released. Soon after, a fire in Fort James destroyed most of the food and supplies. However, due to Smith’s relationship with Chief Powhatan, the Powhatans sent food and reopened trade with Jamestown.

• AHC Note — Newport’s arrival is known as the “First Supply.”

Fool’s Gold

When Newport returned, he carried a message from the Virginia Company that said the investors were unhappy with the failure to find gold and silver. Under Newport’s direction — and the renewed motivation to make a profit — the colonists spent a significant amount of time searching for gold. However, the focus on finding gold created friction between Smith and Newport for various reasons:

• Defenses at the fort were neglected.
• The exploration of the region stopped.
• Crops were neglected.
• Newport’s sailors were using up food, water, and supplies.

While Newport searched for gold, he started trading generously with the Powhatans. He traded swords to them, which Smith opposed. 

• Although Newport’s intentions were good, it created an unsustainable situation. 
• Smith knew that once Newport returned to England, the Powhatans would expect the settlers to trade weapons and metal tools to them, but the settlers would have none.

Eventually, some of the colonists discovered what appeared to them like flakes of gold running through certain streams. They also dug up dirt that was filled with the same flakes. It was all packed up and loaded onto Newport’s ships and taken back to England, where Newport found out it was nothing more than iron pyrite, or “Fool’s Gold.”

Smith Takes Control

Smith was inspired by the stories he had heard from the Powhatans about mountains of gold. He led expeditions that explored the Chesapeake Bay in search of precious metals and the legendary “Northwest Passage,” a water route that connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

• While Smith was gone, the situation in Jamestown deteriorated, and the new Governor, John Ratcliffe, had the settlers focus on building him a home outside of Fort James.
• In September 1608, the settlers voted to appoint Smith as the leader of Jamestown.
• He took firm control, implemented strict discipline, and organized efforts to plant crops and construct proper houses and buildings. 
• His motto, “Work or starve”, required each colonist to spend at least four hours each day farming to ensure the survival of the colony. Jamestown prospered, self-sufficiency increased, and the death rate fell. 
• Smith’s success convinced the Virginia Company to eventually grant the Governor more authority.

Newport returned in October 1608 with four ships and more than 100 new colonists, including women and children, significantly expanding the settlement. This is known as the “Second Supply.”

• Anne Burras was a passenger on the ship.
• She married John Layton, becoming the first Englishwoman to marry in North America.
• Their daughter, Virginia Layton, was born in 1609, making her the first English child born in Virginia.

The Second Virginia Charter

Upset over the company’s progress and lack of profit, the investors in the Virginia Company requested a new charter to permit them to sell additional shares in the company. 

• The charter was granted by King James I on May 23, 1609, and expanded the borders of the Virginia colony. It is often referred to as a “sea to sea” charter because it extended the western border to the Pacific Ocean.
• Virginia’s territory was also extended to islands within 100 miles of the coast.
• The Second Charter also granted the Virginia Company the authority to enact its own laws, provided that they did not contravene existing English laws.

The Sea Venture

A supply ship called the Sea Venture, under the command of George Somers, sailed to Jamestown as part of a fleet that carried the “Third Supply.”

• The ship carried the Second Virginia Charter, along with Thomas Gates, the new Governor of the colony, and John Rolfe. 
• During the journey, the ship ran into a storm and was blown off course. It was severely damaged and ended up on the island of Bermuda, which Gates and Somers claimed for England.
• When the ship arrived, Somers safely ran it aground, allowing the passengers to be safely transported to shore, where they remained for the next 10 months. 
• Many believe the account Gates wrote about the voyage of the Sea Venture and his time on the island served as the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.

The First Anglo-Powhatan War Begins

In the late summer of 1609, Smith sent foraging parties out into the wilderness. One group was led by George Percy and John Martin. The other was led by Francis West. Both groups traveled to Powhatan villages, and both expeditions ended in violence.

• Soon after, Smith was injured by a gunpowder explosion. Due to severe burns, he was forced to return to England.
• Smith was replaced by John Ratcliffe, who led an expedition to meet with Chief Powhatan and trade for food. 
• Ratcliffe and his men were ambushed, and 35 of the 50, including Ratcliffe, were killed. The survivors returned to Jamestown, empty-handed.
• Chief Powhatan cut off trade with Jamestown and laid siege to Fort James.

The Starving Time

George Percy replaced Ratcliffe and had Fort Algernon built at Point Comfort, where seafood was plentiful. However, Percy kept most of the colonists in Jamestown, where they suffered from starvation and disease due to the siege.

• The Winter of 1609–1610 is known as the “Starving Time.”
• The Powhatans continued the siege. Because of this, settlers rarely left the fort, and many who did were attacked and killed.
• Over the course of the winter, many died from starvation and disease. 
• Some were desperate and hungry enough to eat animals, including pets and shoe leather. 
• Percy wrote, “And now famine beginning to look ghastly and pale in every face that nothing was spared to maintain life and to do those things which seem incredible, as to dig up dead corpses out of graves and to eat them.”
• By the next spring, there were only 60 colonists alive in Jamestown.

Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall

The survivors from the Sea Venture finally arrived on May 24, 1610. When Governor Gates saw the state of Jamestown, he issued orders known as the “Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall.” 

• The orders were the first set of English laws in the New World, defining how members, employees, and servants associated with the Virginia Company were required to conduct themselves.
• Despite this, Gates saw the situation in Virginia as hopeless and decided to abandon the colony.

AHC Notes

• This legal code has also been called “Dale’s Laws,” because it was enforced by Deputy Governor Thomas Dale during his tenure.
• The original “Lawes” were compiled and published by William Strachey in 1612 as For the Colony in Virginea Britannia. Lawes Divine, Morall and Martiall, &c.

Lord De La Warr Arrives

Meanwhile, the Virginia Company appointed a new Governor, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

• As West and his fleet sailed past Point Comfort, on the way back to England, Gates and his ships were sailing toward them. West stopped Gates and ordered him to return to Jamestown.
• When West settled in at Jamestown, he was determined to ensure the colony’s survival. He put the colonists to work, much like Smith had done before.
• De La Warr ordered the settlers to remain and put them to work repairing and fortifying Jamestown and Fort James.
• He also enforced the Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall.

Thomas Dale arrived at Jamestown in May 1611 and oversaw the colony after De La Warr left due to illness. Dale also enforced the Lawes Divine, Morall, and Martiall.

Third Virginia Charter

On March 12, 1612, King James granted the Virginia Company a third charter, which extended the boundaries of the colony to include Bermuda. 

• A new joint stock company was created to fund the colonization of Bermuda, which was known as the Somers Isles at the time. The company was called the Somers Isles Company and was led by Sir Thomas Smythe.
• Private land ownership was introduced, as men living in Virginia were granted three acres of land to cultivate for their own use.

John Rolfe’s Tobacco

In 1612, John Rolfe acquired tobacco seeds during a trip to the Caribbean. He took them back to Jamestown, planted them, and they produced a sweet version of tobacco that became popular in England. From then on, tobacco became a vital cash crop that enabled Jamestown to achieve the stability it needed.

• Rolfe’s hybrid tobacco strain was suited to Virginia’s climate.
• Tobacco production brought profits to Virginia Company investors.
• Nearly all settlers started growing tobacco.

Tobacco cultivation was highly labor-intensive and depleted the soil of nutrients. However, the Virginia climate supported the growth of “the obnoxious weed.”

• Tobacco became a profitable crop, unlike corn or grain.
• Tobacco had gained popularity in Europe, especially from the Spanish West Indies.
• Some Virginia planters made a fortune from tobacco sales.
• King James I strongly opposed it, calling it “loathesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs.”
• The Governor’s Council was forced to place limits on the amount of tobacco that could be grown.

The Peace of Pocahontas

Hostilities between the settlers and Powhatans continued.  By 1613, colonists had established control over the area between the James and York Rivers. In April, Samuel Argall kidnapped Pocahontas and took her to Jamestown. Governor Thomas Dale wanted to trade her back to Chief Powhatan in exchange for prisoners and items that the Powhatans had stolen prior to the Starving Time.

• Pocahontas announced she wanted to stay with the settlers. 
• She was kept in the settlement at Henricus, where she was instructed in Christianity and met John Rolfe. She was also baptized as a Christian and took the name Rebecca.
• In 1614, Rolfe and Pocahontas married, establishing a period of peace between Jamestown and the Indians, ending the time of the First Anglo-Powhatan War.

AHC Notes

• Chief Powhatan remained friendly to the settlers for the rest of his life.
• In 1616, Governor Dale sailed to England, taking Rolfe and Pocahontas with him.
• She was referred to as “Lady Rebecca.”
• Pocahontas, considered the daughter of a ‘‘king,’’ received special attention from the English court and dignitaries.
• During her stay in England, Pocahontas reunited with John Smith, whom she referred to as “father.”
• When Rolfe and Pocahontas prepared to return to America, she became ill and died.
• Their son, Thomas Rolfe, became a prominent citizen of Virginia.

Great Charter of Virginia

Despite the popularity of tobacco, the Virginia Company was still in debt, so it decided to create a way to encourage people to pay to emigrate from England to Virginia. 

• Two officers of the company, Sir Thomas Smythe and Sir Edwin Sandys, drafted a set of instructions for the new Governor, Sir George Yeardley, who replaced Thomas West. 
• The instructions, known as the “Great Charter of Virginia,” established the Headright System and authorized the election of a General Assembly, which was referred to as the House of Burgesses.
• The Great Charter was issued on November 18, 1618.

Rise of the Tobacco Economy

After years of struggle, the Virginia Colony began to stabilize through peace with the Powhatan, the rise of profitable tobacco cultivation, the introduction of the Headright System, and the establishment of the House of Burgesses in 1619.

• The Virginia Company continued to send immigrants and livestock to strengthen the colony.
• The early years of disaster were followed by a decade of slow growth.

The Headright System

Many of the early settlers were Indentured Servants, on 7-year contracts. Most of them returned to England when their contracts were fulfilled, because life in Virginia was difficult and they were not allowed to own land. The Virginia Company decided to develop a system that provided an incentive for people to remain. The Headright System granted land to immigrants or to those who paid for an immigrant’s passage.

• The system encouraged immigration by families, single women, and men.
• Wealthy colonists built large plantations by importing indentured servants and claiming their headrights, the land they earned by paying for their passage to Virginia.
• As more people moved to Virginia, the landowners increased the amount of land they owned, and the lower class expanded. 
• Once the indentured servants completed their contracts, they were free to remain in Virginia and received their headright, although it was usually poor, undeveloped land west of Jamestown.

The Headright System increased immigration. However, it still favored the “Wealthy Planter Class,” who could afford to pay the annual land tax, known as a “quitrent.” The quitrent was 2 shillings for every 100 acres owned.

House of Burgesses

The Great Charter instructed Governor George Yeardley “to establish one equal and uniform government over all Virginia” and provide “just laws for the happy guiding and governing of the people there inhabiting.”

• The new General Assembly was the first representative assembly in English North America and held its first meeting, with the Governor and his Council, in the Jamestown church on July 30, 1619.
• Minister Richard Bucke opened the session with a prayer asking for God’s guidance.
• The men elected by each district were called “Burgesses,” hence the name “House of Burgesses.”
• There were 22 Burgesses, one for each of the 11 boroughs.

The assembly’s first actions focused on religious laws.

• Laws required all settlers to attend church services on Sundays.
• Church attendance was mandated for both morning and afternoon services.
• The assembly passed laws requiring tax support for the clergy and the church.
• All laws had to be sent to London first and approved there before they could take effect in Virginia.

Africans Arrive in Jamestown

Not long after the first meeting of the House of Burgesses, John Rolfe recorded the arrival of an English ship, the White Lion, sailing under a Dutch flag.

• The incident is significant because the ship carried approximately 20 Africans who were purchased by Virginia landowners to work on their plantations.
• According to some accounts, there were already 30 Africans working in Virginia as indentured servants. 
• However, the Africans that were purchased are often considered to be the first slaves in the Virginia Colony.

Because the landowners were paying to bring people into the colony, they were compensated with land through the Headright System. 

• Unlike indentured servants, slaves were not freed and were unable to acquire land. 
• While the population increased, so did slavery, and so did the plantations of the wealthy landowners. 
• This contributed to the rise of the Planter Class.

English Women Arrive in Jamestown

Another major event in the growth and development of Jamestown took place in 1619.

• The Virginia Company recruited approximately 100 women and sent them to Virginia. 
• For the most part, their purpose was to find husbands and start families.
• This is widely believed to have contributed to the growth and stability of the colony.
• These women gave birth to some of the first “native-born” Virginians.

New Towne and New Settlements

As Virginia grew, so did the need for a larger and more secure settlement. In 1619, a new settlement was established east of the original James Fort, known as New Towne. Along with New Towne, settlements were established along the banks of the James River, including Bermuda Hundred.

• Between 1614 and 1622, trade between the Virginians and the Powhatans was peaceful and lucrative. 
• The trust between them was so strong that many plantation owners in the region welcomed the presence of Indians on their plantations and even in their homes.

The Second Anglo-Powhatan War Begins

Chief Powhatan was succeeded by his brother, Opechancanough. As the Virginians expanded their plantations, they used up more land. This upset Opechancanough, who decided to coordinate an attack on Virginia settlements on March 22, 1622.

• On that day, warriors from the Powhatan Confederacy attacked plantations and settlements, killing nearly 350 of the 1,200 colonists. The attack marked the beginning of the Second Anglo-Powhatan War.
• People living in and around Jamestown were warned about the impending attack by an Indian boy who was living with the family of Richard Pace. The boy warned the Pace family, who took refuge, and then Pace warned Jamestown. 
• The town prepared its defenses and successfully prevented the planned attack.
• However, nearly one-third of the colonists living in Virginia were killed.

Virginia Becomes a Royal Colony

Disease and violent conflict with the Powhatan Confederacy devastated Virginia, culminating in the 1622 attack that killed a quarter of the colonists and led to the colony’s transition to direct royal control.

• Between 1617 and 1624, typhus and dysentery epidemics struck the colony.
• By 1624, over 85% of immigrants who had arrived since 1607 had died.
• The 1622 attacks started a destructive 10-year war between Virginia and the Powhatan Confederacy.

In 1623, the Privy Council opened an investigation into the affairs of Sandys and the Virginia Company, due in part to the hostilities and the colony’s ongoing struggles. The next year, 1624, Nathaniel Butler, who had been the Governor of Bermuda, published a pamphlet critical of how the Virginia government operated. A commission was sent to Virginia to investigate the situation. 

• On May 24, 1624, King James I revoked the Virginia Company’s charter, and Virginia became a Royal Colony under the direct control of the monarch. 
• Francis Wyatt was appointed as the first Royal Governor of Virginia.
• The House of Burgesses was retained and continued to make laws.

Under early royal rule, Virginia’s population and tobacco economy expanded, despite the persistence of disease, war, and harsh living conditions, which led to social imbalances, shifting land use, and the decline of the Powhatan Confederacy.

• In the aftermath of the Indian Massacre of 1622, the colonists came to the realization that a peaceful coexistence with the Powhatan Confederacy was unlikely.
• Edward Waterhouse came to the conclusion that the attacks gave the colonists the right to wage war: “Our hands which before were tied with gentlenesse and faire usage, are now set…by right of Warre, and law of Nations, invade their Country…”

Enforcement of Religious Laws in 1624

In 1624, colonial laws mandated that each settlement have a designated place of worship.

• The worship space could not be used for any purposes other than religious ones.
• Colonists were legally required to attend church services every Sunday.
• Missing church without a valid excuse resulted in a fine of 1 pound of tobacco.
• Being absent for an entire month led to a fine of 10 pounds of tobacco.

Virginia Expands

As the Second Aglo-Powhatan war dragged on, the wealthy plantation owners reopened trade with the Powhatans. Realizing there was profit to be made, colonial leadership negotiated with Opechancanough. In 1632, the two factions successfully concluded peace negotiations, and the Second Anglo-Powhatan War came to a close.

• The treaty prohibited the Indians from living in the area between Middle Plantation (Williamsburg) and present-day Hampton, Virginia.
• To keep Indians from encroaching on Virginia territory, a palisade (wooden wall) was built across the peninsula between the James River and the York River.
• Afterward, the colonists expanded their settlements along the James River and throughout the region.

Following the Second Anglo-Powhatan War, Virginia was governed by a series of men who were often entangled in legal troubles or caught up in political intrigue.

• John Harvey was impeached by the Council of Virginia — his own Governor’s Council — and removed from office. Harvey went to England and presented his case to King Charles I, arguing that there was a conspiracy to alter the colony’s charter. Harvey was restored to office and served as Governor from 1637 to 1639.
• John West served as Acting Governor after Harvey was ousted. When Harvey returned, West was recalled to England, where he was questioned about his role in the alleged conspiracy to alter the colonial charter. West was the third West brother, following Thomas and Francis, to spend time serving as Governor.
• George Reade served as Acting Governor when Harvey was in England. Reade appears to have been able to avoid controversy and is most well-known as being the great-great-grandfather of George Washington.

William Berkely Arrives

Francis Wyatt was appointed as Governor for a second time in 1639. He served until 1642, when he was replaced by William Berkeley, who served as Governor twice from 1642 to 1652 and then again from 1660 until 1677. Berkeley was also one of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina.

• According to most accounts, Berkeley was a talented. 
• He believed that trade with the Indians was crucial to Virginia’s success.
• Berkeley also recognized the need for Virginia to diversify its economic system, so it would not be entirely dependent on tobacco.

However, Berkeley manipulated the political system to favor the wealthy upper class. In his second stint as Governor, he insisted on enforcing the Navigation Acts, which contributed to his eventual downfall.

The Third Anglo-Powhatan War

Opechancanough planned another coordinated attack against the Virginia settlements due to encroachment on Powhatan lands. The surprise attacks were carried out on April 18, 1644, ending in the deaths of roughly 350-400 of the 8,000 colonists, starting the Third Anglo-Powhatan War.

• In 1646, Opechancanough, who was likely over 90 years old at the time, was captured and held prisoner in Jamestown. 
• While he was there, a guard shot him from behind, killing him. 
• His death led to the end of the war and the Powhatan Confederacy. 

His successor, Necotowance, signed the Treaty of 1646, which made all tribes in the Powhatan Confederacy tributaries to the King of England. 

• Per the treaty, each tribe was given land, essentially a reservation, and was required to pay tribute (an annual fee) to the Governor.
• Further, Indians and Virginians were prohibited from crossing into each other’s territory unless they had a pass issued from the forts on the border.

English Civil War and Stuart Restoration

During the English Civil War, Governor Berkeley remained loyal to the Stuarts, as did most Virginians who were members of the Church of England. 

• Virginia’s loyalty to the Stuarts and the “Cavaliers” is what earned it the nicknames “Cavalier State” and “Old Dominion.”

When King Charles I was dethroned and executed, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans took control of England, replacing Berkeley with Richard Bennett (1652–1655), who was followed by Edward Digges (1655–1656), and then Samuel Mathews (1656–1660).

• After King Charles I was executed, Virginians recognized his exiled son, Charles II, as the rightful king.
• In 1652, Cromwell sent a strong fleet to Virginia to force its submission.
• The commissioners threatened severe action but also offered generous terms if Virginia pledged allegiance.
• Virginia accepted the terms peacefully.
• Virginia was the last English colony to accept the rule of the Commonwealth government that replaced the monarchy.

King Charles II ascended the throne in 1660 in an event known as the “Stuart Restoration.” The new King restored Berkeley as Governor of Virginia, in part as a way to express his gratitude for Berkeley’s loyalty to the monarchy.

Virginia’s Population in the Late 17th Century

Approximately 75% of immigrants who arrived in Virginia did so as indentured servants, exchanging four to seven years of labor for free passage to Virginia 

• Most of them were single young men who received land after they completed their contracts.
• However, the land they received was often of poor quality, undeveloped, and on the Western Frontier, where they were in danger of being attacked by the Powhatans.
• Despite the success of the Planter Class, many settlers lived in substandard conditions compared to modern standards.
• Tobacco remained Virginia’s primary cash crop as settlers were pushed further out to the frontier.

The colony’s gender ratio was imbalanced throughout the 17th Century, with more men than women. However, many settlers were living in conditions that were not conducive to raising families.

• Free women married quickly, but had limited legal rights, due to Coverture.
• Men sometimes bought the freedom of female indentured servants to marry them.
• The high death rate allowed planters’ widows to inherit large estates. Wealthy widows were highly sought after for marriage.

AHC Notes

• Coverture — A legal doctrine in English and American law that defined the legal status of married women from the Colonial Era through the 19th Century. Under Coverture, a married woman’s legal identity was subsumed by her husband’s, meaning she could not own property, enter into contracts, sue or be sued, or control her own wages. The husband often had legal authority over the wife and any property she brought into the marriage. See Marriage and Family in the New Nation.

Impact of the Navigation Acts

The Navigation Acts were a series of British trade laws designed to control colonial commerce and protect English shipping. The early acts required goods to be transported on English-owned ships, restricted trade with foreign nations, and imposed export duties..

• The Navigation Act placed heavy burdens on Virginia’s economy.
• Trade between colonies was heavily taxed under the act.
• Tobacco exports were restricted to England alone, which hurt Virginia’s market options.
• Despite these restrictions, 80 ships were actively involved in Virginia’s tobacco trade by 1770.

Political Conflict

During Berkeley’s second term as Governor, starting in 1660, there were no new elections for delegates to the House of Burgesses. This allowed Berkeley and his political allies to maintain control of Virginia. By 1673, political factions emerged that opposed each other.

Bacon’s Rebellion

In 1676, rising tensions over access to land, control of politics, and hostilities with the Indians sparked Bacon’s Rebellion, a brief but violent uprising that increased divisions in Virginia society and sped up the colony’s transition from indentured servitude to African slave labor.

• A dispute between members of the Doeg Tribe and Thomas Mathew, a plantation owner, that occurred in 1675. The Doeg thought Mathew had cheated them in a trade, so they raided his plantation and took some livestock.
• In September, Colonel John Washington, the grandfather of George Washington, led the Virginia militia on an attack against the Susquehannock Tribe, who were believed to be providing shelter to the Doeg.

The Susquehannock responded with raids on Virginia settlements along the Fall Line, which marked the western edge of Virginia. 

• The settlers living on the frontier appealed to Governor Berkeley for military protection. 
• Many of them were former indentured servants, black and white, who had completed their service and been freed.
• Their fears of Indian attacks were intensified by King Philip’s War, which was taking place in the New England Colonies.
• Some of them decided to organize a small army to retaliate against the Indians.
• After the Indians attacked Nathanial Bacon’s plantation, he offered to lead this army.

Berkeley, who controlled the lucrative Fur Trade with the Indians, was hesitant to declare war on his business partners. Instead, he rejected the army and proposed building new forts and repairing existing defensive fortifications. Bacon and his followers rejected this, leading to more than a year of civil war within the colony.

• Bacon led raids against the Indians in the region.
• He and Berkeley clashed over control of the government.
• Berkeley abandoned Jamestown, fled to Gloucester County, and issued a proclamation that said Bacon was a traitor.

Bacon, who believed Governor Berkeley had forced him into open rebellion, called for a meeting at Middle Plantation.

• Virginians gathered and pledged support for Bacon’s leadership and his campaign against the Indians.
• Notable attendees included John Washington and William Drummond, the first governor of North Carolina.
• Drummond proposed that Berkeley’s departure from Jamestown be treated as a formal abdication of authority.
• This proposal was accepted, and Bacon, with four other council members, issued writs to elect a new assembly and form a new government.
• Bacon left Jamestown and carried out an attack on Indian settlements.

Berkeley assembled his own army and returned to Jamestown. In September 1676, Bacon returned and marched on Jamestown. 

• Berkeley fled, abandoning the town to Bacon.
• Unsure how long they could hold Jamestown, Bacon and his officers decided to burn Jamestown to the ground.
• Bacon seized control of Jamestown in September 1676 and burned it to the ground.
• William Drummond set fire to his own home, which is said to have been one of the finest in Jamestown.

Many of Berkeley’s followers abandoned him and joined Bacon, who intended to pursue Berkeley and drive him out of Virginia.

• While leading an expedition, Bacon became ill and died on October 26.
• Some of the officers tried to continue the insurgency, but the movement eventually collapsed.

Meanwhile, King Charles II sent English forces to restore order. By the time they arrived, Berkeley had regained control and executed some of the insurgents, including Drummond.

• English officials conducted an investigation, and Berkeley was recalled to England, ending his tenure as Governor.
• Virginians celebrated Berkeley’s departure.
• Peace with the Indians was restored by the Treaty of 1677.

Thomas Culpeper

In 1677, Thomas Culpeper, the second Baron Culpeper of Thoresway, Lord Culpeper, was appointed Governor. However, he did not go to Virginia until 1780, when he was given a direct order by King Charles II.

• Culpeper’s stay was short, but he levied taxes on the inhabitants and enforced the Navigation Acts.
• After he left, there were riots over the price of tobacco, which had declined partially  because the farmers were growing too much of it.
• Lieutenant Governor Henry Chicheley tried to stop the riots, but letters sent to London alerted English officials to the situation.
• In 1682, Culpeper was sent back to England.
• By the time he arrived, tobacco prices had stabilized. 
• He executed two of the rioters and pardoned the others.
• Culpeper left again in May 1683 and returned to England, where he was removed from office for leaving Virginia without permission from the King.

Francis Howard

After Culpeper, Francis Howard, the 5th Baron Howard of Effingham, was appointed Governor in 1683.

• Effingham was corrupt, creating resentment among the settlers, and clashed with the House of Burgesses.
• A new brick statehouse was built in Jamestown to replace the one burned down by Nathaniel Bacon.
• He issued orders that no one should use a printing press in Virginia.

In 1687, he expelled Colonel Philip Ludwell, who went to England and presented the settlers’ grievances to King William III. The Crown sided with Ludwell and allowed him to return to Virginia.

• Howard left Virginia in October 1688. He remained Governor, but his salary was reduced. 
• Nathan Bacon Sr. served as Virginia’s administrator in his absence.

Transition from Indentured Servants to Slave Labor

In the aftermath of Bacon’s Rebellion, the Planter Class sought to take advantage of the Headright System and maintain control of the workforce. To do these things, they reduced the number of Indentured Servants they brought to Virginia and increased the number of African slaves. 

By 1700, this shift had transformed the colony’s workforce and society. Virginia’s population became more stable, with most European and African immigrants surviving their first years.

• Slaves were more expensive than indentured servants, but were seen as a better long-term investment.
• Plantation owners realized they could acquire headrights by paying for the importation of slaves from Africa.
• They also took advantage of Chattel Slavery, which treated slaves as personal property, and partus sequitur ventrem, which meant a child born to an enslaved woman was also a slave.

This strategy allowed the planters to limit the number of freedmen, laborers, and squatters who challenged their dominance.

• The change to slave labor was gradual.
• By 1700, slaves probably outnumbered indentured servants.
• White indentured servants and African or African-American slaves continued working together on Virginia plantations into the 18th Century.

AHC Notes

• Chattel Slavery — Chattel slavery is a system in which individuals are treated as personal property (chattel) to be bought, sold, inherited, and owned permanently. Enslaved people under this system had no legal rights and were often subjected to harsh physical, psychological, and economic exploitation. Chattel Slavery was central to the economy of the American South, where enslaved African Americans worked primarily on plantations producing cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar. This institution dehumanized enslaved individuals, reducing them to commodities, and was legally upheld through laws such as the Slave Codes. Chattel Slavery was abolished in the United States with the 13th Amendment in 1865.
• Partus Sequitur Ventrem — Meaning, “that which is born follows the womb.” A legal doctrine originating in Colonial Virginia in 1662 that dictated a child’s status as free or enslaved was determined by the status of the mother. This principle, adopted from Roman law, meant that children born to enslaved women were automatically enslaved, regardless of the father’s status. Codified in colonial Slave Laws in the 17th Century, it ensured the perpetuation of slavery by tying the institution to maternal lineage.

Virginia’s Slave Laws

By 1705, Virginia had codified a comprehensive system of laws defining slavery as permanent and hereditary, solidifying racial distinctions and linking white liberty to black enslavement in colonial society.

• The shift to slavery was accompanied by the growth of Virginia’s Slave Laws, or Black Codes.
• Initially, slavery was governed by local customs rather than written law.
• In the mid-17th Century, many African laborers had an ambiguous status between that of a servant and a slave.
• Some African laborers in this period eventually gained freedom.

In the 1660s, the House of Burgesses started passing laws that defined slaves as property, and were often adjusted to remove possible paths to freedom for slaves and their personal liberties.

• Children of slave mothers were declared slaves.
• Conversion to Christianity did not result in emancipation.
• Killing a slave was not considered a felony for the master.
• Slaves were prohibited from owning firearms.
• In 1705, the Burgesses compiled these restrictive laws into the Virginia Slave Code.
• By 1705, most Africans and African Americans in Virginia were enslaved

AHC Note — The 1661 Barbados Slave Code explicitly defined slaves as chattel — property — no different than land, buildings, or livestock. Slave owners who migrated to the Southern Colonies retained this law.

Growth of African-American Culture in Virginia

During the 18th Century, Virginia’s growing slave population developed a distinct African-American culture based on both African and European traditions, helping shape the colony’s economy, society, and daily life. Between 1700 and 1770, about 80,000 captive Africans entered Virginia and Maryland, where they were sold into slavey and put to work in tobacco fields.

• Farms ranged from small holdings with a few slaves and servants to large plantations with over 100 slaves.
• By the 18th Century, enslaved Virginians were healthier and lived longer than those in the Caribbean and South America.
• Better nutrition, less extreme work demands, and a less deadly disease environment contributed to their health.

By the 1730s, the Virginia slave population was growing naturally through the birth of children.

• Virginia’s slave population was the first in the Americas to grow this way.
• In the 18th Century, slaves developed a blended African-American culture.
• This culture combined African social and religious traditions with European influences.
• Music, dance, funeral customs, naming traditions, and Creole dialects reflected this fusion.
• Creole dialects mixed African and European vocabulary and grammar.

In the 1760s and 1770s, many African-American slaves converted to Christianity, which was blended with African religious traditions.

Population Growth and the Labor System

By the middle of the 18th Century, Virginia was Britain’s largest and most populous American colony, with a rural, plantation-based economy, a growing slave population, and a political system dominated by the Planter Class through the House of Burgesses.

• The population grew from 18,700 in 1650 to 58,600 in 1700. By 1763, the population reached 340,000.
• In 1700, slaves made up slightly over 25% of the population. By 1760, slaves made up over 40% of the population.
• Large planters owned 20 or more slaves and multiple plantations. Small farmers owned fewer than 20 slaves and one plantation. 
• Backcountry and tenant farmers grew tobacco and cereal crops on small farms. They relied mostly on family labor instead of slaves.
• Indentured servants were part of the labor system.

Society and Politics

Virginia remained mostly rural during the Colonial Era, although the House of Burgesses tried to encourage town development. However, the Planter Class that controlled the House of Burgesses and had more power than the Governor’s Council maintained the benefits of the Plantation System.

• Artisans and shopkeepers lived mainly in small towns like Williamsburg.
• The county was the main unit of local government.
• English officials pushed for at least one town on every river to regulate trade and enforce the Navigation Acts.
• The Plantation Economy slowed the growth of towns.
• Without towns, people gathered at court days, militia musters, rural stores, and taverns.
• About 60% of adult white men owned enough land to vote.
• This level of voting rights was broad compared to Europe.

Francis Nicholson

Francis Nicholson served as Deputy Governor from 1690 to 1692. He worked with Virginia’s leading figures and used his military background to improve Virginia’s defenses. Nicholson was popular and even received a financial bonus from the House of Burgesses.

• Francis Nicholson (1655–1728) — Nicholson was a colonial administrator who came to America with Edmund Andros in 1686 as one of his soldiers. He served as Deputy Governor of the Dominion of New England, was involved in Leisler’s Rebellion in New York, and later served separate terms as the governor of Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina.

Establishment of the College of William and Mary

In 1691, the first assembly convened after the Glorious Revolution in Virginia, and the members decided to send Reverend James Blair to England to obtain a charter for a college.

• Blair spent over a year gathering support and donations from Virginians.
• In 1693, the College of William and Mary received its charter from the Crown.
• Blair chose Middle Plantation (Williamsburg) as the location.
• Construction of the first building started in 1695 and was finished in 1698.

College of William and Mary — Founded in 1693 by royal charter in Virginia, it was the second-oldest college in North America. Originally focused on training Anglican clergy and educating gentlemen, it later became a center for Enlightenment thought and Patriot leadership. After the American Revolution, it lost its English support, reorganized under President James Madison, and became the first university in North America by establishing professional schools in law and medicine.

Edmund Andros

In 1693, King William III appointed Edmund Andros as the Governor of Virginia. Andros was a controversial choice because he had previously been imprisoned in Massachusetts during the Boston Revolt.

• In Virginia, he clashed with James Blair and other colonial leaders. 
• Blair was repeatedly removed from and reinstated to the Governor’s Council due to disagreements with Andros.

Andros was criticized for sending funds to help defend New York, and he dissolved the House of Burgesses twice during his time in office.

• In 1696, the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations (Board of Trade) conducted an investigation into Andros’s conduct.
• The Board determined that he had abused and misused his authority in Virginia.
• He was removed, and Francis Nicholson returned.

Opening of the Slave Trade in Virginia

Virginia’s economy was disrupted during King William’s War (1688–1697), the first North American conflict between England and France. The hostilities affected the tobacco market. England and France agreed to the Treaty of Ryswick, which restored peace between the two nations, allowing the tobacco market to improve between 1697 and 1702. During this time, two key factors led to the rapid growth of slavery in Virginia.

1. Over one million acres of land were acquired during this period.
2. The Royal African Company lost its monopoly on the colonial slave trade in 1698, allowing more companies to trade slaves in Virginia.

In order to maintain their fields, plantation owners needed more workers, and 3,000 enslaved Africans entered Virginia.

• By 1700, there were 75,000 people living in Virginia, and 10,000 were enslaved Africans.
• Most of the enslaved worked on tobacco plantations in the Northern Neck and between the James and York Rivers.

King William’s War (1688–1697) — The first conflict in North America between England, France, and their respective Indian allies. There was no clear victor in the war, which was an extension of the Nine Years’ War. However, it set the stage for future conflicts in North America between the European powers as they fought for control of the Fur Trade and dominance of the continent. It was the first of the four French and Indian Wars.

Relocation of the Capital

Following Bacon’s Rebellion, Jamestown was rebuilt, but it was not the commercial center it had been during Virginia’s early years. Jamestown remained the capital of Virginia until the statehouse and prison, located on the western end of the island, burned to the ground in 1698 in a fire started by a prisoner. Although the buildings were lost, a significant number of the public records were saved.

• Influential men like James Page successfully lobbied to have the capital moved to Middle Plantation, where the college was being built.
• In 1699, Middle Plantation succeeded Jamestown as the capital of Virginia.
• Governor Nicholson encouraged the use of Enlightenment design principles in the design of the city.
• The city featured radial streets centered on the capitol, church, and college.

Failed Reforms

In 1699, the Board of Trade directed Nicholson to implement reforms in Virginia because it wanted to reduce oversized plantations and limit the number of offices held by individuals.

• Nicholson tried to end the Headright System’s benefits for large slaveholders.
• The Governor’s Council blocked this reform, and the Board of Trade later revoked it.
• Nicholson did succeed in raising royal revenues from Virginia.

Queen Anne’s War

Queen Anne’s War started in 1702 as the North American front of the War of the Spanish Succession.

• England required Virginia to send 240 men and money to support the war in New York.
• The House of Burgesses refused to comply with the request.
• Governor Nicholson protested, and started to lose the loyalty of the Planter Class that had once supported him.
• Nicholson left Virginia for a portion of the war and led English forces in a successful attack on Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713) — This was the second conflict in North America between England, France, and their respective Indian allies. Ultimately, England gained significant territory in Canada and secured the rights to the Spanish Asiento System. However, the Treaty of Utrecht failed to clearly establish the border between New France and New England, a major cause of King George’s War. It was the second of the four French and Indian Wars.

Nicholson Removed

In 1703, six members of the Governor’s Council, including James Blair, petitioned Queen Anne to remove Nicholson and replace him.

• The conflict divided Virginia’s leadership: Nicholson, the burgesses, clergy, and some militia units opposed Blair and the council.
• In 1705, Nicholson was transferred to Nova Scotia and later served in South Carolina.
• Edward Nott became the new Lieutenant Governor in Virginia.
• Nott allowed the Governor’s Council to manage the government and died after one year in office.

Robert Beverley’s Critique of Virginia

In 1705, Robert Beverley published The History and Present State of Virginia, in Four Parts.

• Beverley criticized Virginians for failing to build towns to promote manufacturing and commerce.
• He argued that Virginia depended too heavily on Britain for finished goods.
• Beverley described the rise of plantation slavery and compared the condition of enslaved Africans favorably to that of white laborers in England and the colonies.

Alexander Spotswood

• Alexander Spotswood became Lieutenant Governor of Virginia in 1710.
• He reinstated the House of Burgesses, although he was unhappy with the men who were elected to the assembly.

In 1712, North Carolina settlers were attacked by the Tuscarora, and Spotswood sought to create alliances with Indian tribes to defend Virginia. This led to a dispute with the assembly, which did not want to fund a military expedition.

• Tuscarora War (1711–1715) — A conflict in North Carolina between the Tuscarora Nation and settlers, primarily those from New Bern. The war started after years of mistreatment, trade disputes, and land pressures. Despite early victories, the Tuscarora were ultimately defeated by colonial forces, who allied with the Tuscarora’s Indian enemies. The war ended the Tuscarora resistance in the region and led most of the tribe to migrate north and join the Iroquois Confederacy in 1722.

Knights of the Golden Horseshoe

In 1716, Spotswood led a group of mounted men called the “Knights of the Golden Horseshoe” who traveled west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and explored the Shenandoah Valley.

• Indian scouts, servants, and record-keepers were part of the expedition.
• This expedition helped open western Virginia to settlement.

Blackbeard

The famous pirate Edward Teach, better known as “Blackbeard,” led pirates who operated off the East Coast from 1716 to 1718.

• Governor Spotswood sent a naval force, led by Robert Maynard, to capture him.
• Maynard killed Blackbeard, captured several of his crew.
• Thirteen of the captured pirates were executed.

Spotswood’s Later Years

In 1718, men who opposed Spotswood’s policies were elected to the House of Burgesses.

• Some of them wanted to petition the King to recall and replace Spotswood.
• Spotswood had some of his critics removed from his council.

By 1720, Spotswood was investing in western lands, as were some of the Planters.

• In 1720, Spotswood completed construction of an elaborate mansion.
• Planters followed suit and started building mansions along Virginia’s rivers.
• Notable estates included Westover (William Byrd II), Nomini Hall (Robert Carter II), and Sabine Hall (Landon Carter).

In 1721, Spotswood negotiated a treaty with the Iroquois Confederacy.

• The Iroquois agreed to stay north of the Potomac River and west of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
• Southern tribes were expected to honor the same boundary line.

Despite this, Blair led a successful movement to have Spotswood replaced. The new Governor, Hugh Drysdale, was sworn in on September 27, 1722.

Decline of Tobacco

During the 1720s and 1730s, planters began growing cereal grains alongside tobacco. Grain crops were more stable in price than tobacco, which was known to fluctuate.

In 1730, Governor William Gooch introduced a tobacco inspection bill, requiring public warehouse inspections and the destruction of poor-quality tobacco.

• It aimed to standardize the quality of Virginia’s tobacco exports.
• The bill faced strong opposition but passed both legislative houses.
• In 1731, the act gained approval from King George II.

In 1732, opponents of the Tobacco Act rioted and destroyed warehouses.

• This alarmed the Planters, who supported the policy.
• The act remained in place and became a model of economic cooperation.
• It was successful as long as the price of tobacco remained high, which was the case from the 1730s to the 1750s.

1732–1739

In 1732, the House of Burgesses invited William Parks to become Virginia’s public printer. In 1736, he launched the Virginia Gazette, Virginia’s first newspaper.

In 1732, Joist Hite acquired a 100,000-acre grant in the Shenandoah Valley, near present-day Winchester, Virginia

In 1736, Norfolk was incorporated, joining Jamestown and Williamsburg as the only incorporated towns in Virginia.

1740–1749

In 1740, around 400 Virginians joined the failed British attack on Cartagena during the War of the Austrian Succession.

• The attack included men from various levels of colonial society.
• Governor Gooch was permanently injured by a cannonball.
• About half of the Virginians involved died from yellow fever and related illnesses.

In 1747, Williamsburg’s capitol building burned down.

• Some leaders proposed relocating the capital to better match Virginia’s changing population.
• However, the capitol was rebuilt in Williamsburg, and remained there for many more years.

The Virginia Assembly started a major overhaul of colonial laws in 1748.

• After the Assembly approved a law, it had to be sent to London so the Board of Trade, Parliament, and King George III could review it.
• The Board of Trade rejected several laws, but the entire process was too lengthy and caused problems..
• This increased the Board’s interest and managing colonial affairs more efficiently.

Ohio Company of Virginia

The Ohio Company of Virginia was a land speculating company in Virginia formed to encourage settlement of the Ohio Country and to establish trade with Indian tribes living in the region.

• The Ohio Company was granted 200,000 acres on July 12, 1749.
• The company hired Christopher Gist to explore and survey the territory.
• A trading post was established at Will’s Creek, Maryland, which served as the Ohio Company’s frontier headquarters. It was referred to as “the last Virginia outpost in the Ohio Country.”
• The company cut the first road over the Allegheny Mountains, known as the Nemacolin Road.

Acting Governor Thomas Lee promoted the territory as key to future settlement, but the land claim also served to counter French claims in the Ohio River Valley.

Resistance to Quitrents

In 1751, Robert Dinwiddie became Governor of Virginia and imposed a quitrent tax on land owned by speculators.

• The House of Burgesses opposed the tax, claiming it discouraged settlement and violated property rights.
• The Privy Council ruled that Dinwiddie had authority to impose the tax.
• Enforcement of the tax was weak, making the policy ineffective.

The Last French and Indian War Begins

The French and Indian War started in 1754 and spread to Europe, where it is known as the Seven Years’ War.

• The war stemmed from a dispute over the Ohio River Valley.
• France tried to solidify its claim by building forts in the region.
• Diwinddie sent a military expedition into the region, with instructions to build a fort at the Forks of the Ohio (present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
• George Washington was forced to take command of this expedition after the commanding officer died.
• Washington encountered French forces, which led to the Battle of Jumonville Glen (May 25, 1754) and the Battle of Fort Necessity (July 3, 1754).

These incidents led to outrage in France and were used to press for a declaration of war against England.

Carlye House Congress

In February 1755, General Edward Braddock arrived in Alexandria with two British regiments. Braddock stayed at the home of John Carlyle in Alexandria, Virginia.

• Braddock called for a conference of colonial governors from Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. 
• He presented a plan for three major offensives against the French, which were to take place in the summer of 1755. 
• He also asked for money from the colonies to help fund the expeditions. 
• The colonies declined to provide money, but did agree to the plan and to provide troops.

Braddock’s Expedition

Braddock led an expedition from Virginia to attack Fort Duquesne at the Forks of the Ohio.

• The expedition consisted of roughly 2,400 men, including British regulars and provincials from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
• George Washington was an aide-de-camp to Braddock.
• Daniel Boone and his cousin, Daniel Morgan, drove wagons for the expedition.
• The expedition cut a road from Will’s Creek and Fort Cumberland in Virginia through the wilderness and over the Allegheny Mountains. It was the first road over the Alleghenies.
• On July 9, 1755, Braddock’s forces crossed the Monongahela River and were about eight miles from Fort Duquesne when they were attacked by French troops and their Indian allies.
• Instead of ordering a retreat, Braddock ordered his men to form traditional columns, which only exposed them to more fire from the enemy.
• Braddock was mortally wounded during the attack and carried off the battlefield. He died four days later at Great Meadows.
• Washington organized the retreat and led the survivors back to Virginia.

The Parson’s Cause

In 1748, the House of Burgesses passed a law that set the salary of the clergy at 16,000 pounds of tobacco per year. Over the next decade, rising tobacco prices inflated the value of these salaries.

• In 1758, the price of tobacco went from two pennies per pound to six.
• To deal with the issue, the House of Burgesses passed the Two Penny Act in 1758
• This allowed debts to be paid at a rate of two pennies per pound.
• This meant clergymen would receive payment of their 16,000 pounds of tobacco at two pennies per pound, regardless of the market rate for tobacco.

The Board of Trade and King George III rejected the law in 1759. This led to outrage in Virginia, where many people saw it as undermining the authority of the House of Burgesses.

• In 1762, James Maury, an Anglican minister, sued Hanover County for lost wages.
• The court ruled in his favor, but said that a jury had to determine the amount of backpay he and other ministers were to receive.
• This portion of the case was heard in December 1763.

Patrick Henry, a young lawyer making his public debut, argued on behalf of Hanover County.

• Henry argued in favor of the Two Penny Act.
• According to accounts, he criticized King George III.
• The jury, swayed by Henry’s testimony, awarded Maury one penny in damages.

Rise of the Tidewater Gentry

In the 18th Century, a powerful Tidewater Gentry maintained dominance through politics, patronage, and social display, blending economic control with elaborate public rituals while emulating the British elite.

The Tidewater Gentry held power through their roles in politics and the judiciary. They used patronage (favors) and material displays to maintain their influence. They built large Georgian-style mansions to showcase their status.

Weddings, funerals, and other significant life events were often marked by banquets and parties that lasted up to three days. Churchgoing was a significant social display, and local elites would often gather in the churchyard before services.

The Tidewater Gentry used their political power to maintain control over smaller planters. They often marketed and sold their tobacco on their behalf, which made the smaller planters somewhat dependent on the Tidewater Gentry.

Political candidates, usually large planters, provided voters with food and alcohol on election days. This was a form of vote buying through patronage rather than monetary bribes.

Although the Tidewater Gentry emulated Britain’s aristocracy, their status in the British Empire was uncertain. Visitors from Britain often treated them as inferior.

Virginia’s Backcountry

Virginia’s Backcountry Region developed into a more modest, immigrant-driven farming society with limited slavery and political influence, where resentment over land restrictions following the Proclamation of 1763 fueled opposition to British rule.

The backcountry had a distinct social structure compared to the Tidewater Region, despite many planters investing in the area.

• Few slaves lived in the Backcountry because most farmers could not afford them.
• After the 1720s, many German and Scots-Irish immigrants moved into the Virginia Piedmont Region
• By the 1750s, American settlements reached the Appalachian Mountains.
• Immigrants raised livestock and grew cereal crops and low-grade tobacco on fertile Piedmont soil.
• Some Backcountry farmers lived comfortably but lacked the wealth and political influence of the Tidewater Gentry.
• The poorest settlers were squatters without legal ownership of their land.

After the French and Indian War, King George III issued the Proclamation of 1763.

• The proclamation banned colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
• Many frontier settlers resisted the ban.
• Resistance fueled Virginians’ resentment of British colonial rule.

Religion

Because Virginia was a Royal Colony, the Church of England, or Anglican Church, was the official church.

• All taxpayers contributed to the Anglican Church’s support.
• Most Virginians attended church services.
• Virginians lacked the religious enthusiasm of the Puritan and Quaker colonies.
• Anglican clergy, mostly English immigrants, had little social authority.
• Many Backcountry settlements had no churches.
• Itinerant (traveling) ministers performed marriages and baptisms.

Education

Opportunities for a formal education in Virginia were limited in the 17th Century. Many colonists had no formal education, and members of the Planter Class often sent their children to England for schooling.

• In the 18th Century, wealthy families hired private tutors or used small local schools.
• Poor families had little access to education.

The College of William and Mary was founded in Williamsburg in 1693.

• The college’s buildings reflected the architectural style of Christopher Wren.
• The architecture inspired the construction of mansions among the Virginia gentry.
• The college initially had low academic standards, and some parents avoided it by sending their sons to schools in the North.

The Great Awakening in Virginia

The First Great Awakening was a religious movement that occurred in the American Colonies during the first half of the 18th century. It is most well-known for creating an emphasis on spiritual devotion, individualism, and freedom that contributed to the ideals of the American Revolution.

• The First Great Awakening reached the Virginia Piedmont in the mid-1740s.
• Its greatest impact in Virginia came during the 1760s.

People from all social levels, including rich planters and slaves, responded to evangelical sermons and revivals.

• It sparked an increase in Protestant denominations, including Methodists and Baptists.
• Scots-Irish Presbyterian congregations were also revitalized.
• It also fueled the ideology of the American Revolution by emphasizing the power of the individual over that of the clergy or monarchs.

Evangelical Protestantism attracted many African-American slaves to Christianity for the first time. Slaves attended revivals, preached, and joined Protestant congregations.

• In the late 18th Century, many Virginians worshiped in interracial churches. 
• However, by the early 19th Century, most congregations had split into separate African American and white meetings.

The Great Awakening transformed Virginia society before the American Revolution. It grew out of the Enlightenment’s emphasis on rationalism, scientific investigation, and thought, which challenged the old authoritarian ideologies of the Puritans and Anglicans. This helped prepare Virginians for the ideology that shaped the American Revolution.

Separation from Britain

Although Massachusetts led the way in protesting against British polices, support from Virginia helped transition the Patriot Cause from a regional movement to one that engaged the 13 American Colonies.

• Most leading Virginians descended from merchants, adventurers, entrepreneurs, Indentured Servants, or slaves.
• The desire for self-rule started with the founding of Jamestown.
• Virginians increasingly resented interference from Parliament.
• Many viewed themselves as independent from England’s authority, especially those living in the Backcountry.

AP US History Alignment

Virginia Colony is part of the following units, topics, and chapters in the APUSH Curriculum:

Unit 1: 1491–1607

• 1.6 — Cultural Interactions Between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans

Unit 2: 1607–1754

• 2.2 — European Colonization
• 2.3 — The Regions of British Colonies
• 2.4 — Transatlantic Trade
• 2.5 — Interactions Between American Indians and Europeans
• 2.6 — Slavery in the British Colonies
• 2.7 — Colonial Society and Culture

American Pageant Notes

• The Planting of English America (1500–1733)
• American Life in the 17th Century (1607–1692)
• Colonial Society on the Eve of Revolution (1700–1775)