Colonial Virginia

welcome to Jamestown Williamsburg and the Virginia frontier this is Melinda Cole Kline wild trade and commerce became the economic basis of New England this was not the case in Virginia in the southern royal colony the economy and to a large extent the culture remained geared to a single agricultural crop and this would be tobacco Williamsburg Virginia's capital from 1700 to the beginning of the American Revolution lacked the busy hustle bustle commercial atmosphere of Boston or Philadelphia in comparison with New England Virginia seemed well-suited for agriculture and colonization in time the Virginia Colony would expand into the frontier and move its capital from Jamestown to Williamsburg early in the 1600s when England began to establish permanent settlements Virginia was vaguely defined as the area north of the spanish florida and situated on the Chesapeake Bay while Virginia had many rivers that could offer good transportation the land first of all was infested with mosquitoes and it had swamp lands and ponds that could cause illness and death by malaria early death for the colonists came to thousands who ended up living near the coast all things considered Virginia was well-suited for agriculture if a sustainable labor force could be had by the early settlers wishing to create a profit in this fruitful land the soil was richest along the many rivers while the climate was mild most of the year Virginia had a relatively long growing season with hot though humid summers and it had plenty of rainfall in addition game existed to include a variety of wild birds fish wild deer and beavers such resources allowed English colonists to venture into the fur trade a monopoly that had been held by the French and Dutch to the north of them dense forests reached near to the edge of rivers and the coast offering a great ready source of lumber for building fuel and export while in later decades allowing planters to load and receive goods from ships docking to their own property Sir Walter Raleigh eventually transferred his right to establish a colony to a group of London merchants out of this grew two joint stock companies first the Virginia Company of London and Plymouth that were granted a charter to establish colonies on April 10th 1601 by King James the first the London company also known as the Virginia Company sent out three ships and a hundred and four colonists on December 20th 16:06 a bad time of the year to be sailing they did not arrive in Virginia until April 26th 1607 secondly the Plymouth Colony that would follow the jamestown settlement in 1607 with their destination of Maine this colony was actually a failure during the first year of settlement there were no women into Jamestown the colonists in 1607 were a mixed bag of adventurers who were there to make money quickly these early colonists were not interested in creating permanent buildings or constructing a fort largely they were looking for furs and gold in their occupations there was a range from gentlemen who possess no practical skills and colonial projects to soldiers carpenters bricklayers a tailor barber and a blacksmith there was only one clergyman a surgeon and a young boy the first governor sent to establish the colony was Captain John Smith he was 27 years old at the time he was the son of an English tenant farmer so a commoner by birth ten years earlier he was a soldier of fortune and had fought in England's war against the Spanish in the Netherlands Smith's early accounts of Jamestown remained the following three books true relation published in 1608 the general history of Virginia New England and the Summer Isles and then followed by true travels and observations so 1624 in 1630 in these texts he recounted many daring deeds that he had performed thus creating a vision of himself perhaps historians debate even today how much truth is contained within Smith's accounts that were published at the time case in point is the story of his rescue by the Indian maiden Pocahontas from death at the hands of her father Powhatan Smith did not mention the event in a true relation published shortly after it supposedly happened while thankfully other colonists diary entries that have survived tell a more accurate view of history and early settlement Captain John Smith was a bit of a prickly character he was known to be impetuous headstrong and disliked taking orders or suggestions from others he was known to steal food stores during the starving years from the Powhatan Indians he had been active in the founding of the Virginia Company and without him the new colony might not have survived during its early to 1st years what did the colonists do most of the first colonists preferred to search for gold rather than work they had no desire to clear land plant gardens build a fort or guard against Indian attacks finally colonists realized they would have to plant and cultivate their own winter stores if they expected to survive till spring Smith wrote to the Virginia Company owners pleading for colonists experienced in fishing farming and practical labors Jamestown was situated poorly and also planned poorly it was built on a low swampy and Sandy Island Peninsula on the James River located on the Chesapeake Bay however after taking advice of the company they did not settle near the open ocean but into the interior it lay about 30 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake where it meets the Atlantic Ocean water one of James towns few advantages was that ships could be tied to the trees along the rivers bank it was an unhealthy spot though full of mosquitoes in the summer in time this indefensible sandy spit of land surrounded by water the Jamestown colonists built a flimsy fort that offered only little protection from Indian raids many colonists prefer to live in a state of permanent camping like conditions they lived in tents instead of building sturdier shelters lastly whatever food supplies they brought with them from England spoiled in this climate as a result of climate and local conditions combined with the lack of food that caused malnutrition Jamestown incurred sadly a heavy death rate that continued for decades in the early years from 1607 through the winter of January 1608 only 38 colonists out of the original 104 had survived while in charge Smith reminded colonists that all the power rested with him and that they must obey now he continued on to include that he that would not work shall not eat except by sickness that he is disabled the following year Smith returned to England due to illness himself he recovered but did not return to Jamestown he decided to write about his experiences instead in 1609 the Virginia company was reorganized and granted a new charter this document stripped the Jamestown colonists and the Council of hits powers and they became advisors instead with subsequent charters in 1612 and 16 tene Virginia encouraged agricultural pursuits while turning a profit for the company finance ears but this took years Colin is starved or barely subsisted until 1612 with the return of more colonists and the inability to turn a profit in these early years the company was in debt by 1618 the company had poured more than ten million dollars in today's money into the settlement without receiving any return on their investment and the years prior to John Rolf's arrival in Jamestown John Smith's unproductive meetings with the Powhatan natives provide an insight that the colonists if not begging were stealing food while stealing had occurred Smith traded with Indians for tobacco and this product ultimately became the basis upon which Virginia was to thrive but the tobacco native to Virginia was disliked by Europeans they preferred the sweeter more fragrant tobacco's successfully grown in the Spanish islands in the Caribbean until seeds of this tobacco were successfully grown in Virginia soil a number of commodities were attempted for export but none proved valuable enough to make the colony self-sustaining the first cargo of goods as Freight to be shipped from Jamestown consisted of sassafras and cedar plants including herbs and timber iron pyrite that was sent as gold but discovered as such and was a fraud famine swept through Jamestown on and off from 1607 through 1610 in 1610 the vessels deliverance and the patience finally arrived at Jamestown with expected supplies however instead of supplies the vessels brought sixty colonists Jamestown residents were angry but pitied the new arrivals because of local conditions John Rolfe was one of the 1610 colonists who had arrived a little bit later on aboard the sea venture that had wintered out unlike the previous arrivals in Bermuda unknown to anyone he had smuggled out of the Caribbean prized tobacco seeds in 1611 when he arrived in Jamestown he introduced the Spanish type of tobacco seeds as an agricultural experiment with the arrival indentured servants these are British laborers who were under contract and this tobacco strain Jamestown was saved by 1612 Jamestown had its first crop of tobacco but it would be months after harvest and curing to know how well it would be received on the English market about this time Rolf's wife died she had lost their child and never fully recovered from the sea voyage in 1614 Rolfe married an Indian girl then 18 years old whom John Smith would later credit as having saved his life Pocahontas Powhatan favorite daughter had been well they called it kidnapped by Jamestown colonists at least according to the chief and held as a hostage to prevent Indian attacks upon the English settlement apparently Pocahontas preferred life in the English colony to that of her own village she converted to Christianity and was baptised Rebecca when her romance with Rolfe developed he wrote the Virginia Company governor for permission to marry the Indian princess permission was granted and they were married in a great ceremony attended by a number of natives also in effect Roth was the economic and political savior of the colony that first crop of tobacco grown in Jamestown was well-received by London buyers Pocahontas and Rolfe had a son they named Thomas in 1615 and in 1616 the planter and his Indian bride sailed for England aboard a ship carrying more tobacco Pocahontas became the rage of London she was often the guest of honour at parties but in 1617 she caught a flu although some historians say with smallpox and she died in the same year Jamestown colonists were shipping fifty thousand pounds of tobacco to England some say a value with an estimated worth and today's money equal to millions of dollars Rolfe left his son in England to receive an education return to Jamestown and married again this time to a daughter of one of the colonists until his death in 1622 he became quite active in Jamestown politics and continued his efforts to improve the quality of tobacco grown in Virginia with tobacco the Virginia Colony was a success new settlements developed as tobacco planters cleared land up the peninsula and began to move inland up from the river as the English colonists continued to encroach on native hunting grounds along with other factors this caused tensions to increase between the colonists and the algonquian-speaking natives in Virginia problems continued to plague the early Jamestown colonists in Virginia in 1617 Jamestown was hit with smallpox smallpox introduced by European explorers and colonists raged through New England and spread south to Virginia where it killed the Powhatan and many of his tribesmen disease constituted another of Jamestown's problems new settlers brought with them scurvy the plague and various tropical diseases such as yellow fever contracted in Bermuda and other Caribbean islands in addition it has been estimated that half of every ship load of new settlers came down with malaria pneumonia or dysentery after landing in Virginia of those taken ill most died in 1618 wheat-growing was attempted in Virginia it proved to be a success alongside the planting of tobacco but unlike wheat tobacco proved to be labor-intensive while British indentured servants died by the hundreds soon after arrival acquiring a stable labor force was seen as problematic and there was no end in sight soon Virginia planters took the advice of the successful West Indian Dutch sugar planters regarding their labor issues this led to the importation of the colony's first black laborers while British indentured servants continued to pour into Virginia settlements another glaring problem was that many of the early settlers and indentured servants had been recruited from the slums and jails of London this continued for decades leading to the disorderly character so well known and associated with early Virginia in time the recruiting of Virginia settlers came under the control with planning and reorganization under the direction of Governor William Berkeley from 1642 until 1676 so the building of Virginia's elite planter society really begins from the distressed Cavaliers founding families of Virginia second sons from noble English families that would create a sustainable Virginia plantation economy according to legend jamestown farmers were convinced that blacks were resistant to malaria in addition they wouldn't die as easily didn't run away because they were easily detected within the general population worked strong and hard were not Christians therefore they did not deserve equal treatment and could not appeal to home governments to improve their lot in life 357 out of approximately 1,100 settlers were dead as a result of the Indian massacre that took place on March 22nd 1622 John Rolfe was killed in the attack the residents of Jamestown escaped the slaughter having been put on alert by a friendly Indian boy too many whites lived in Virginia by 1622 to be completely wiped out but White's did take their revenge a year later colonists worked out a truce with the Powhatan natives and proposed a toast using liquor laced with poison 200 Indians died as a result of the poisoning and 50 more were killed after 1619 the quality somewhat improved regarding the type of indentured servants coming to Virginia while independent craftsmen and skilled artisans brought with them their habits customs and traditions of the English villages they continue to be oftentimes an unruly Bunch which led to internal problems in 1624 the Virginia company lost its charter because it went bankrupt at this point the Virginia Colony became a crown colony after the 1622 attack and the internal problems the crown took over the settlement governing now would come from the king in time janestown would repeatedly catch on fire and be indefensible Jamestown was eventually abandoned as the capital of Virginia at the end of the century when it was moved to Williamsburg in 1699 and unlike the bustling seaport towns of middle or New England Williamsburg was not a year-round residential center for wealthy planters it was a center of occasional society and cultural use unlike Jamestown Williamsburg was built on high ground its location lay between two major rivers but not on them this choice of venue offered builders and city planners the opportunity to lay out the city in regards to ease of movement its beauty and to highlight its fine buildings necessary to a capital for more than 30 years governor Sir William Berkley had served Virginia he took office in 1642 and by the 1660s there was rapid population growth in Virginia and land was becoming scarce while weak treaties kept an uneasy peace with local Indians especially in Virginia unless a scandal had caught the attention of other planters politicians typically were reelected year after year thus settlers on the Virginia frontier were underrepresented resentment by 1676 was the result governor Berkeley had achieved a high level of political control in England and Virginia by 1670 the same year he restricted suffrage only to men with property this narrowed political action and unwanted voices of the discontented and disenfranchised in government this included men who had been former indentured servants transported convicts the underemployed and others who likely held grudges against the planter class in general in addition this group would not see eye to eye with this traditional style of elitist control so familiar at home but new treaties with frontier Indians appease farmers from time to time in 1676 Nathaniel bacon led a revolt against the colonial elite out on the Virginia frontier the Tidewater elites ensured only inadequate protection against Indian attacks this illustrated to frontiersman their colonial government had failed them to bacon Berkeley's government did not honor their promises of protection and recognition bacon proposed to Berkeley to organize a volunteer army of backcountry frontiersman to do their own fighting arming themselves against Indian attacks the offer was rejected by the governor bacon went ahead anyway with his plan and created a frontier militia Berkeley labeled the fighters rebels bacon used his frontier militia to lead a rebellion against Berkeley to this end bacon succeeded in burning down much of Jamestown but bacon died shortly after tivities in Williamsburg and the great Tidewater plantation houses east of the mountain range represented only one side of life in colonial Virginia above the falls marking the western edge of the Tidewater lay the frontier the foothills the Blue Ridge Mountains and the western valleys beyond the mountains in the Tidewater region with its large plantations society had become stratified at the top was the successful tobacco planters a local aristocracy next were the clergyman merchants smaller farmers and planters and artisans then wage laborers indentured servants and slaves at the bottom of the social ladder here landowners rich and of the middling Gentry class worked their own land very few had indentured servants wage laborers or slaves this was partly because slavery was unethical on small farms and required an outlay of cash on demand of purchase there were religious as well as political and economic differences between Tidewater and frontier Virginians a number of scots-irish scots-irish Germans and Dutch had settled the frontiers of the southern colonies and very few of them were members of the Anglican Church many were Presbyterians Methodists and Baptists frontier families demanded freedom of worship to their governor claiming this right already in effect in England the Anglican Church state-funded and with required attendance offered frontier people few services as churches were scarce and their ideas if and when offered by the few clergy and residents promote us an elitist view of life and a class-based society in addition frontier churches were converting slaves by the 1740s a controversial idea across Anglican Virginia the government considered this an attack on their authority revivalist preachers spread ideas among frontier people that their government was corrupt an elitist many blacks and bondage saw this new religion and its views on the established colonial culture as a road to freedom dissenters in Virginia were largely along the frontier but extreme groups such as the Quakers were never welcomed in any colony they were religious anarchist they had no minister and little former organization they removed their hats to no one and this included political as well as religious figures they recognized no god-given rights to superiority among men or churches they hated war and they hated slavery and only hanging would close their mouths about their beliefs in time the stocks and pillory or slicing off a Quaker ear or two sentenced them to silence in time the Virginia assembly compared Quakers to rotten apples as early as 1660 they passed laws against them regarding assembly and practicing their faith which would result in imprisonment without bail and required them to leave Virginia at the earliest time Quakers could not publish books their sermons pamphlets or any tenants containing their opinions the mapping of Virginia surveyors were appointed low-level bureaucrats employed across the colonies cartographic draftsman and surveyors Maine action was to establish an accurate map for the purposes of determining land rights legal boundaries and most important for calculating property taxes previous attempts to correctly map Virginia had failed surveyors kept Ledger's as they traveled the colony final copies went back to the Capitol for interpretation legal recording and taxation purposes in 1751 the map of Virginia was completed by Peter Jefferson and Tom Frey in 1754 with his post served as colonial surveyor Peter Jefferson became a member of the House of Burgesses he died with Thomas at a time when his son was only 14 years old two prominent colonial governors stand out in early Virginian history first was William Berkley who had served in Virginia for decades and is remembered as the instrumental force behind establishing the resident aristocracy in the colony from an aristocratic background himself Berkley successfully made Virginia during the early years as clothes a symbol of English Authority and power as it could have been hundreds of his peers established tobacco plantations from the 1640s and following the English Civil Wars until the restoration by 1660 through 1677 it would be to Governor Berkeley that Nathaniel bacon took his grievances during the uprising and civil unrest in 1676 it would be during this time in office that Puritans and Quakers experienced the most aggressive prosecution the Church of England was established in Virginia and dissenters were not welcomed from 1691 in the provincial period another notable virginia governor was Alexander Spotswood this former military colonel from a Scottish noble family would be the politician from 1710 to 1720 - it would be Spotswood that would create williamsburg as a city of culture and politics before he arrived the building of William and Mary College in Williamsburg established the architectural grace that would lead Virginia to its historic southern plantation building style England's greatest architect of the time was Sir Christopher Wren and he designed the college halls and much of the campus one of the many high points of Governors Spotswood career was during the 1710 s when piracy came to a head with the violations by Edward Teach also known as Blackbeard under his direction governor spots Woods office hired two vessels to track the Queen Anne's Revenge because these pirates were raiding English merchant vessels this pinnacle year was 1718 and this brought to a close a chapter of piracy off the Virginia coast also Spotswood is remembered for his efforts to maintain peace in 1721 with the Iroquois from New York who under treaty agreed to stay north of Virginia although the wealthy planters grumbled over the colonial tax money spent on the Magnificent structure that became the governor's mansion all were greatly impressed by his architecture furnishings and gardens what did they do well wealthy planters who could afford it copied the style by improving their estates or built houses for their sons in this southern mansion house style by 1720 the governor's mansion set an architectural standard for southern living by the early 18th century improved communication allowed Virginians to better contact other Colonials from 1691 a colonial postal service was established by a 21-year royal grant while other colonies had established postal services since the early time in their settlement years in Virginia the mail was typically carried by a slave or a courier or another such private messenger from one plantation to the next apparently the penalty for not passing along the mail to the next plantation carried heavy fines this system worked well for a while but required a more modern solution and the other colonies coincided with the establishment of the colony's first newspaper The Virginian Gazette this newspaper tells much about life in Williamsburg with their advertisements and news reports such as the latest furnishings recently arrived from London trade goods included the sought-after London fine tableware - silverware crafted and high-quality from tea spoons - soup bowls and silver trays for serving the first theater in America was erected on the public green near the governor's palace and it was an extremely popular institution by 1750 - the Williamsburg Theatre ceased to depend on amateur productions put on by the residents and local college students the Williamsburg Theatre hosted place for planters and their wives these acting companies hailed from London and Paris putting on Shakespearean plays and comedy acts the Raleigh tavern was the most popular of the public houses it served many functions it was a collection point for the mail going by sea it was nearly as popular as a Williamsburg Court when it was in session when justice was delivered and witnessed by all present public times and Williamsburg amusements the time to enjoy such entertainment coincided with the twice-yearly meeting of Virginia's colonial assembly the House of Burgesses in the fall and spring to attend the Bruton church while staying in town during these public times as they were called the residents of Virginia opened their homes graciously to house the many visitors planters with businesses traveled with their families if they owned a townhouse they would open for the season with political meetings dinners and dancing this would include the cotillion a formal intricate dance involving frequent changes of partners this was favored by the ladies and gentlemen of Colonial Williamsburg women visiting Williamsburg spent hours browsing through the shops examining the latest fashions from London men found entertainment in the town's many taverns talking drinking and playing cards and dice even though the law provided severe penalties for tavern keepers who allow gambling in their establishments fares were held in Williamsburg at least once a year at either the courthouse or market squares here colonial Goods would be for sale an advertisement in the Virginia Gazette of 1737 reveals activities of horse-racing music competitions choir singing along with beauty contests while fair guests were encouraged to behave themselves with becoming sobriety church attendance was as much a social as a religious event in Virginia in Virginia as in England the Anglican Church was the established church very fair Puritans Catholics Quakers or Presbyterians immigrated to Virginia however because a resident was not Anglican this did not excuse them as a taxpayer from paying taxes to support the colonial church all Virginians even those who were not members were required to pay taxes for the support of the church until late in the colonial period across the colonies status regulated familiars social customs church seating in Virginia was one of those public activities in which you took a seat based on the rank of your family as recognized by others politicians and intellectuals sat near the front possessing family pews this was followed by those of wealth influence and prominence those of low or middling status were in the back of the church or up on the balcony this included average farmers indentured servants slaves and prisoners along with the students from the College of William and Mary because most Virginians lived far apart unlike in New England regular church service was difficult however when public times were ongoing and families were residing in Williamsburg all were required to attend and this also includes jailed prisoners who were awaiting sentence time spent in Williamsburg during the public times without about made an impression on planters there ladies children and servants after church parishioners browsed the shops of cabinetmakers leather works and silversmiths while reading public notices tacked up on the wall of the courthouse in addition they might witness someone in the stocks in the square who had missed several Sunday's of church attendance without good reason on Sunday there were fireworks from the governor's garden classical music in the air performed by skilled musicians to a small minority life in Williamsburg was not so pleasant and this could be offered in regards to the prisoners who might be awaiting sentencing or execution lawbreakers condemned to death were given a few weeks to make their peace with God and could be seen on Sunday mornings walk into the bruton parish church in Williamsburg in their Chains accompanied by their jailer although justice in colonial America was severe punishments were carried out promptly extended sentencing of prisoners in jail was uncommon a person found guilty of a minor offense might be sentenced to sit in the stocks for a day in the public square however 'fl was a woman this would be for a few hours for capital crimes the convicted felon was usually not hanged but could be if deemed appropriate public whipping mutilation or branding on the hand could be the offered sentence M for murder t for thief not many people survive long terms of imprisonment cells were small unheated crowded lacked sanitary facilities and the filth and the stench alone was nearly unbearable jailed prisoners wore leg irons attached to the floor food was either donated or brought by relatives and shoved through small openings in thick walls those who could afford it ordered food and drink from the tavern and often shared meals with the poor prisoners church members might donate food to those with no resources but the time' colonists spent in a prison was usually short and he or she did not necessarily starve to death imprisonment for debt persisted across the colonies until the 1770s although debtors were given slightly better treatment than other prisoners their cells were heated and their stays were shorter the jail was one of the first structures to be built in Williamsburg pirates were a constant threat to the Chesapeake Bay and along the Atlantic seaboard in general by the seventeen tens the British government with the sea supremacy of the Navy took measures to make sea travel for merchant vessels and passengers safer capturing resisting pirates or paying them off to retire was the key to this government mission in 1717 just before the capture of Blackbeard Parliament passed British law and efforts to put tighter controls on ensuring safety on the high seas and to protect passengers and commerce generally it was an extension of an earlier act of 1698 targeted to suppress piracy practice within what the British government considered their realm while pirates were valuable in wartime as they undermine the effectiveness of foreign naval strength in peace time they were broadly unwelcomed the first likely inmates of the Williamsburg jail or members of the crew of Captain Edward teaches pirate ship teach was nicknamed Blackbeard from his habit of growing a long beard breeding it looping it into fantastic forms and tying it with a ribbon he was a notorious Buccaneer allegedly he was allowed to prey on ships and towns along the coast of the southern colonies because he shared the booty with the royal governor of North Carolina angry Virginia merchants and planters appealed to Governor Spotswood in 1718 two armed ships were deployed to apprehend the pirate and his crew as legend has it commander Lieutenant Maynard killed Blackbeard in a hand-to-hand combat and hung the Pirates head pitched on a pike from the bow of his ship as he returned to port with fifteen of the Queen Anne's Revenge crew the Pirates were tried in Williamsburg the men were deemed guilty and hanged Blackbeard was a notorious English pirate who had enjoyed a short reign of terror in the Caribbean Sea between seventeen sixteen and seventeen eighteen his vessel the Queen Anne's Revenge is believed by some to have run aground near Beaufort Inlet North Carolina in 1718 overtime teach had acquired a rather brutal reputation as a pirate since the peace with France from 1713 pirates were no longer needed by the British government but it is close to impossible to retrain a paid thief in times of war and later peace Blackbeard in his men would raid merchant ships along with other pirates of their time all of the valuables would be confiscated while Blackbeard had a tremendous reputation no accounts could verify he actually killed anyone Blackbeard himself is believed to have been in retirement when his ship was commandeered by LAN tenant Manor under orders from governor Spotswood after he ran aground according to some historical sources Blackbeard was attempting to reduce his number of crew by 1718 anyway as the Navy had become a formidable impediment to their activities as pirates nonetheless Blackbeard did not live to see his trial killed on board the Queen Anne's Revenge as he was Blackbeard like other pirates had outlived their usefulness of commandeering Spanish and French frigates for colonial and royal governments while their take of merchant booty went unregulated under the Transportation Act of 1789 Vick served as a source of labor for English plantation owners in the sugar islands of the West Indies the tobacco and rice plantations of the Chesapeake Bay and Carolinas and to family enterprises along the Atlantic seaboard such as those in New York and Philadelphia in some places it was common to work alongside African slaves vagrants two murderers sent to America originated from across the British Isles between 1718 and 1775 more than 50,000 British convicts were transported from the British Isles following a court judgment this might range from seven years to life historians of convict transportation agree the number of British convicts sent to America was the largest group individuals to be forced to immigrate to America second only to slaves from Africa

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Published: Fri Apr 13 2012