THE CABOTS

1 6TH CENTURY ENGLAND

Marked by political turmoil and instability.

England was lagging behind both Spain and France.

England, earlier, was looking inward.

Late in the century, England sought to make a late entrance into the field of exploration.

1588

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ENTERING 1588, THE SPANISH ARMADA WAS VIEWED AS THE LARGEST NAVAL FLEET TO TAKE THE SEAS UP TO THAT POINT.

THERE WAS A VERY COMPLEX RIVALRY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SPAIN—SPAIN SAW ENGLAND AS A GROWING THREAT TO THEIR OVERSEAS TRADE, AS WELL AS POLITICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY.

THE SPANISH ARMADA WAS SENT TO END THE ENGLISH THREAT.

THE ARMADA WAS MET BY A VERY EFFECTIVE ENGLISH FLEET WHICH, COUPLED WITH BAD WEATHER, DEVASTATED THE SPANISH ARMADA—FOR THE MOST PART, SPAIN WOULD NEVER FULLY RECOVER FROM THIS DEFEAT.

ENGLAND’S VICTORY GAVE THEM NEWFOUND CONFIDENCE—THEY NOW SAW THEMSELVES AS EQUAL WITH SPAIN AND THEY CONCENTRATED ALL THEIR EFFORTS ON EXPLORATION.

A NEW WAVE OF EXCITEMENT FILLED ENGLAND—THEY NOW WANTED TO REACH OUT.PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE WAS EVERYWHERE.

“SEA DOGS”

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AN ENTIRE NEW BREED OF HEROES AND ADVENTURERS AROSE:

SIR WALTER RALEIGH

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

HUMPHREY GILBERT

JOHN HAWKINS

THE TUDOR PERIOD• DURING HER REIGN IN THE 16TH CENTURY, QUEEN ELIZABETH BEGINS MAKING LAND GRANTS TO ENGLISH

EXPLORERS.

• THESE EXPLORERS WERE GIVEN GRANTS TO GOVERN THE AREAS THEY DISCOVERED/CLAIMED IN THE NAME OF AND UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF HIS/HER MAJESTY.

• THESE LANDS WHICH THEY DISCOVERED WERE TO BE CONTROLLED BY “LAWS AND ORDINANCES AS NEAR AS CONVENIENTLY MIGHT BE TO THE LAWS OF THE NATION….” OTHERWISE, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO RECEIVED SUCH LAND GRANTS COULD GOVERN THE AREAS THEY DISCOVERED/CLAIMED AS VASSALS OF THE KING OR QUEEN (THEY HAD ABSOLUTE POWERS, AS PROPRIETORS, OVER THEIR RESPECTIVE COLONY—THIS AUTHORITY WAS BASED ON ROYAL PREROGATIVE).

• THAT IS, THE COUNTRY OF ENGLAND DIDN’T OWN THE COLONIES—THE MONARCH DID.

• EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE NO SUCCESSFUL COLONIES ESTABLISHED DURING ELIZABETH’S REIGN, THE FOUNDATIONS HAD BEEN LAID BY THE END OF HER LIFE IN 1603.

THERE WERE TWO LEGAL PRECEDENTS (POWERS) WHEREBY THE CROWN COULD SET UP COLONIES.

• FIEF: PRACTICE/CUSTOM WHEREBY ESTATES (LANDHOLDINGS) WERE GRANTED IN RETURN FOR MILITARY SERVICE.

• UNDER HENRY VIII, ROYAL PREROGATIVE WAS USED TO CREATE A FIEF--THE EXPLORERS JOHN CABOT AND HIS SON SEBASTIAN WERE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO FIND, ACQUIRE, AND HOLD LANDS AS VASSALS OF THE KING.

• IN RETURN, THE CABOTS WERE GIVEN A MONOPOLY (THEY WERE EXPECTED TO GIVE TO THE KING A ROYAL FIFTH (20%) OF THEIR PROFITS.

• JOHN CABOT’S VOYAGES AND EXPLORATIONS (1497-’98) OF THE NORTH AMERICAN COAST LED TO VAGUE ENGLISH CLAIMS.

• WHEN THEY MADE LANDFALL ALONG THE NORTH AMERICAN COAST, THE CABOTS GAVE THE ENTIRE COAST THE NAME VIRGINIA.

• A SIMILAR GRANT WAS GIVEN TO HUMPHREY GILBERT WHEN HE TEMPORARILY COLONIZED NEWFOUNDLAND IN 1583.

• OTHER EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF ROYAL PREROGATIVES TO CREATE FIEFS:

• GEORGE CALBERT WAS ORIGINALLY IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND HE EVENTUALLY WENT TO MARYLAND (1630’S).

• LORD CLARENDON WAS GIVEN POWER TO SET UP COLONIES IN THE CAROLINAS I 1663.

• JAMES (THE DUKE OF YORK) WAS GIVEN NEW NETHERLANDS.

• WILLIAM PENN WAS GIVEN “PENN’S WOODS” (PENNSYLVANIA) IN 1681.

THEIR ROYAL PREROGATIVE(S) MADE THEM PROPRIETORS—THEIR COLONIES WERE KNOWN AS PROPRIETARY COLONIES.

THERE WERE TWO LEGAL PRECEDENTS (POWERS) WHEREBY THE CROWN COULD SET UP COLONIES.

• ROYAL PREROGATIVE WAS USED TO GRANT ROYAL CHARTERS—GRANTED TO TRADING COMPANIES UNDER MERCANTILIST PRINCIPLES.

• EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF ROYAL PREROGATIVE TO CREATE A CHARTER:

• VIRGINIA COLONY (1606-1607)

• BERMUDA COLONY (1615)

• PLYMOUTH COLONY (1620)

• MASSACHUSETTS BAY (1629)

BASIC CONSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ESTABLISHING A FIEF AS OPPOSED TO ESTABLISHING A CHARTER:

• IN MANY CASES, IN COLONIES THATORIGINATED AS FIEFS:

• THE VASSAL HAD POWER UNDER THE BISHOP OF DURHAM CLAUSE (E.G. MARYLAND AND NEW YORK)

• THIS CLAUSE ORIGINATED IN THE 14TH CENTURY IN THE BORDERS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND WHERE THE KING WAS FIGHTING WITH THE SCOTS.

• THE COUNTY SHIRE BETWEEN SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND WAS DURHAM COUNTY.

• UNDER THE BISHOP OF DURHAM CLAUSE THE HEAD OF DURHAM COUNTY WAS OFFERED COMPLETE CONTROL OVER HIS COUNTY IN EXCHANGE FOR HOLDING OFF THE SCOTTS FROM INVADING ENGLAND.

• THE VASSAL OF THE NEW COLONY WAS IN COMPLETE CONTROL, MUCH LIKE THE “BISHOP OF DURHAM” WAS.

• IN CASES WHERE COLONIES ORIGINATED THROUGH THE GRANTING OF ROYAL CHARTERS:

• SELF-GOVERNMENT BEGAN TO APPEAR EARLY ON (E.G. VA)

“THE LOST COLONY”• THE FIRST ENGLISH ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH A SETTLEMENT WAS MADE BY SIR WALTER RALEIGH IN 1587 ON

ROANOKE ISLAND.

• THE ROANOKE SETTLEMENT, HOWEVER, MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED.

• SEVERAL THEORIES HAVE ATTEMPTED TO EXPLAIN HOW/WHY THE ROANOKE SETTLEMENT DIDN’T LAST:

• INDIAN MASSACRE

• LENGTHY/DELAYED SUPPLY TRAINS (POSSIBLY BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE SPANISH ARMADA WHICH WASN’T DEFEATED YET) COMPELLED THE SETTLERS TO ABANDON THE SETTLEMENT, MIGRATE INLAND, WHERE THEY POSSIBLY ASSIMILATED/INTEGRATED THEMSELVES WITHIN LOCAL AMERINDIAN TRIBES (THE MOST WIDELY ACCEPTED THEORY OR EXPLANATION).

• THE FAILED EXPERIMENT ON ROANOKE ISLAND DID DEMONSTRATE THE NEED THAT TO ESTABLISH A PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, MORE MONEY AND ORGANIZATION WAS NEEDED.

• ENGLAND HAD A RISING MERCHANT CLASS AND THEY VIEWED PRIVATE INVESTMENT AS THE KEY, NOW RELYING ON JOINT STOCK COMPANIES.

NEW WORLD LAND GRANTS (1600S)

THE FIRST LAND GRANT (CHARTER) IN THE NEW WORLD WAS BESTOWED BY KING JAMES I TO THE VIRGINIA COMPANY OF LONDON IN 1606.

CHARTER: LEGAL DOCUMENT THAT GAVE CERTAIN RIGHTS TO A PERSON OR COMPANY. THE CHARTER GAVE THE COMPANY THE RIGHT TO COLONIZE THE LAND BETWEEN THE POTOMAC RIVER AND NORTH CAROLINA. THE LAND WAS CALLED VIRGINIA. THE CHARTER ALSO GAVE COLONISTS THE SAME RIGHTS AS PEOPLE IN ENGLAND.

THE VA COMPANY WAS FORMED WHEN LONDON, BRISTOL, AND PLYMOUTH MERCHANTS POOLED THEIR RESOURCES (CONTRIBUTED FUNDS) TO FINANCE A VENTURE TO THE CHESAPEAKE, CAROLINA, AND OUTER BANKS AREA.

TWO GROUPS FORMED:

LONDON MERCHANTS

BRISTOL/PLYMOUTH MERCHANTS

THE STUART KING, JAMES I, ISSUED A CHARTER/LETTERS OF PATENT TO LONDON MERCHANTS THEREBY IAUTHORIZING/LICENSING THEM TO SETTLE THE AREA BETWEEN 34°N AND 41°N. 100 MILES INLAND AS WELL AS ALL ISLANDS WITHIN 100 MILES FROM SHORE. UNDER A SEPARATE GRANT/CHARTER, BRISTOL/PLYMOUTH MERCHANTS COULD SETTLE THE AREA BETWEEN 38°N-45°N. 100 MILES INLAND AS WELL AS ALL THE ISLANDS WITHIN 100 MILES FROM SHORE. THE OVERLAPPING BELT EXISTED BETWEEN 38°N-41°N AND IT INCLUDED PA, DE, MD, AND NJ. THE OVERLAPPING LAND WAS NEUTRAL, ALTHOUGH NEITHER GROUP COULD SETTLE WITHIN 100 MILES OF THE OTHER.

A 52 MAN ROYAL COUNCIL WAS SET UP IN LONDON TO SUPERVISE THE VIRGINIA COMPANY ASSOCIATES WHILE A SEVEN MEMBER RESIDENT COUNCIL WAS SET UP TO CONDUCT LOCAL AFFAIRS.

UNDER THE LONDON COMPANY CHARTER, KING JAMES I GUARANTEED ALL COLONISTS WOULD TAKE WITH THEM THE RIGHTS OF ENGLISHMEN.

THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD WAS JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA, SETTLED IN 1607, SITUATED ALONG THE BANKS OF THE JAMES RIVER NEAR THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND ATLANTIC OCEAN, AND FINANCED BY THE VA COMPANY. INVESTORS IN THE COMPANY HOPED THAT COLONISTS WOULD FIND GOLD MINES LIKE THOSE IN NEW SPAIN.

1609: THE LONDON COMPANY WAS GRANTED LAND 200 MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF POINT COMFORT FROM SEA TO SEA WEST AND NORTHWEST—THE NEW CHARTER WAS GRANTED TO CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH.

JOINT STOCK COMPANIES• DURING THE 17TH CENTURY THE CROWN WAS EXTREMELY WEAK AND CASH STRAPPED.

WARS AGAINST THEIR MAIN RIVAL THE FRENCH WERE EXPENSIVE.

ENGLAND WAS ENGULFED IN A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN PARLIAMENT AND THE CROWN OVER POWER, RELIGION, AND MONEY.

• DUE TO POLITICAL ACCIDENT AND SALUTARY NEGLECT, THE COLONIES DO NOT GET PROPER ATTENTION FROM THE KING AND THEY BEGIN TO DEVELOP POLITICALLY/ECON.OMICALLY ON THEIR OWN.

• AS LONG AS WEALTH AND GOODS WERE SHIPPED TO ENGLAND FROM THE COLONIES, THIS ARRANGEMENT CONTD.

• JOINT STOCK COMPANIES ORIGINATED FROM TRADING COMPANIES THAT EXISTED AND OPERATED PRIOR TO 1600. THESE ANCESTORS OF THE JOINT STOCK COMPANY INCLUDED THE BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY, THE LEVANT COMPANY, AND THE MUSCOVY COMPANY.

• THEE TRADE COMPANIES DEVELOPED INTO JOINT STOCK COMPANIES (EARLY FORMS OF CORPORATIONS) WHICH TOOK THE PLACE OF THE CROWN, THOUGH THE CROWN STILL HAD A FUNCTION INSOFAR AS THE KING/QUEEN GOVERNED THE NEW LANDS IN THEIR NAME.

JOINT STOCK COMPANYcrown

Board of Trade and Plantations

Royal prerogatives Privy Council

THE VIRGINIA COMPANY WAS FORMED AS A JOINT

STOCK COMPANYPEOPLE INVESTED TOGETHER AND BENEFITTED OR TOOK THE LOSS TOGETHER (LIMITED LIABILITY)

THE CROWN PLAYED A ROLE BECAUSE THEY GRANTED LAND THROUGH CHARTERS TO THESE COMPANIES TO ENCOURAGE/AUTHORIZE EXPEDITIONS EVEN WITHOUT FINANCING THEM. IN FACT, DESPITE BEING INTERESTED IN EXPANDING INFLUENCE ABROAD, THE CROWN NEVER FINANCED OR FUNDED A COLONY—RATHER, BRITISH COLONIES WERE PRIVATELY FUNDED AND DEVELOPED.

THE MAIN REASON: THE CROWN WAS POOR—PRIVATE ENTERPRISE TOOK THE PLACE OF THE CROWN IN TERMS OF FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE COLONIES.

ROYAL CHARTERS GUARANTEED EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO TRADE AND TO COLONIZE A CERTAIN AREA.

• SINCE THE CROWN WAS SO POOR, PRIVATE ENTERPRISE TOOK THE PLACE OF THE CROWN AND THE GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL IN REGARD TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE COLONIES.

• ORIGINALLY, JOINT STOCK COMPANIES WERE USED TO FINANCE TRADING VOYAGES. PRIVATE COMPANIES WERE FINANCED BY A GROUP OF MERCHANTS WHO POOLED THEIR FUNDS TO FORM A COMPANY. EACH MERCHANT GOT SHARES OF STOCK FOR THE MONEY THEY PUT IN. IF/WHEN THE COMPANY RAISED ENOUGH CAPITAL, OR MONEY, FOR INVESTMENT, IT OUTFITTED SHIPS FOR A TRADING VOYAGE—IF THE SHIPS RETURNED SAFELY, THE CARGOES WERE SOLD AND EACH INVESTOR RECEIVED HIS SHIARE OF THE PROFITS. SUCH PROFITS WERE OFTEN GUARANTEED SINCE THE MONARCH GRANTED THE COMPANY THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO TRADE AS A MONOPOLY.

JOINT STOCK COMPANY CONTD.

THESE NEW FORMS OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION FACILITATED THE UNDERWRITING OF LARGE SCALE TRADING VENTURES AND OTHER LARGE ENTERPRISES.

CAPITAL COULD BE GENERATED THROUGH THE SALE OF SHARES

EACH INVESTOR SHARED ALIKE IN PROFITS/RISKS

THE COMPANY WAS MANAGED BY DIRECTORS CHOSEN FROM AMONG THE SHAREHOLDERS.

IT WAS A BUSINESS VENTURE (FINANCIAL PROFIT)

INDIRECT GOVERNMENT CONTROL (CHARTER) ALTHOUGH THE CROWN EXERTED MORE CONTROL OVER TIME.

JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENTFEBRUARY, 1607: APPROXIMATELY 144 GENTLEMEN, ARTISANS, AND SERVANTS ABOARD THE SUSAN CONSTANT, DISCOVERY, AND GODSPEED EMBARKED WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO BUILD/FORTIFY A TOWN ON AN ISLAND UP A NAVIGABLE RIVER FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROFIT, LAND CULTIVATION, AND EXPLORATION….IT WAS CONSIDERED AN ECONOMIC VENTURE.

THE LONDON COMPANY DID NOT SEND MEN TO VA FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING A SELF-GOVERNING COLONY—LAWS FOR THE SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN WERE MADE AT A MEETING HELD IN LONDON ATTENDED BY STOCKHOLDERS IN THE LONDON COMPANY. JAMESTOWN OFFICIALS WERE CHOSEN AT THAT SAME MEETING.

MAY 13, 1607: THE EXPEDITION REACHED A NARROW 1,500 ACRE PEAR-SHAPED PENINSULA 60 MILES UP THE JAMES RIVER WHEREUPON 105 PEOPLE TOUCHED LANDFALL.

JAMESTOWN WAS NAMED AFTER KING JAMES I.

PROBLEMS FACED BY THE JAMESTOWN SETTLERS:

• GOVERNING THE COLONY WAS ALSO A PROBLEM

• THE LONDON MERCHANTS WERE SUPPOSED TO MAKE LAWS FOR THE COLONY.

• BECAUSE THE MERCHANTS WERE FAR AWAY, THEY CHOSE A COUNCIL OF 13 MEN TO RULE THE COLONY.

• MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL QUARRELED WITH EACH OTHER—RESULTING IN LITTLE BEING DONE TO MAKE THE COLONY STRONG.

• COLONISTS SPENT THEIR DAYS HUNTING FOR GOLD INSTEAD OF PLANTING CROPS.

• THE JAMESTOWN COLONY ALMOST FAILED IN ITS FIRST YEAR.

HOSTILE NATIVES

SWAMPS (BREEDING GROUND FOR MOSQUITOES AND BACTERIA, CONTRIBUTING TO TYPHOID AND DYSENTERY)

THE SETTLEMENT WASN’T FAR ENOUGH UP RIVER—MEANT BRACKISH WATER AT HIGH TIDE CAUSING SALTWATER POISONING

MALNUTRITION CAUSED:

PELLAGRA (CAUSED BY DEFICIENCY OF NIACIN AND PROTEIN)

SYMPTOMS INCLUDED ANOREXIA AND APATHY

NEW SETTLERS BROUGHT TYPHUS AND THE PLAGUE

INDOLENCE

RAMPANT INDIVIDUALISM

• 1609: THE VA COMPANY MADE A DETERMINED EFFORT TO SAVE THE COLONY—DESPITE THE HARDSHIPS, TH.E JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT GRADUALLY GREW/DEVELOPED INTO A COLONY AND WAS GIVEN THE NAME VIRGINIA.

• NEW CHARTER NARROWED THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BOUNDARIES WHILE SEPARATING THE VA COMPANY FROM THE PLYMOUTH COMPANY

• 3 RELIEF SHIPS SENT

• NEW GOVERNOR

• GREATER GOVERNING AUTHORITY GRANTED

• THE VA COMPANY WAS INCORPORATED

• THE ROYAL COUNCIL IN ENGLAND WAS DISBANDED

• A TREASURER WAS ELECTED

• HENCEFORTH, POLICIES WERE DETERMINED BY STOCKHOLDER MEETINGS

• THE IDEA THAT THE COLONY WAS AN OUTPOST WAS DISBANDED; RATHER, THE COLONY, THROUGH AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION, WOULD BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT

• A COMMUNAL ARRANGEMENT WOULD LAST UNTIL 1616, AT WHICH POINT ANCIENT SETTLERS WOULD RECEIVE 100 ACRES AND NEWCOMERS WOULD GET 50 ACRES.

• UNDER THE HEADRIGHT SYSTEM, 50 ACRES PER HEAD WAS PAID FOR (INDENTURED SERVANTS WOULD RECIEVE 50 ACRES AFTER 7 YEARS OF INDENTURED SERVITUDE.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH• UPON SAILING TO AMERICA, HE GREW DISGUSTED WITH THE JAMESTOWN COLONISTS.

• AMONG HIS COMPLAINTS: “NO TALK, NO HOPE, NO WORK….[PEOPLE ONLY WANTED TO] DIG GOLD, WASH GOLD, REFINE GOLD, LOAD GOLD….” BUT NO ONE FOUND GOLD AND THE COLONY WAS RUNNING OUT OF FOOD.

• IN GENERALL HISTORIE OF VIRGINIA PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND IN 1624, JOHN SMITH WROTE THAT, BEFORE HE TOOK OVER AS THEIR LEADER, COLONISTS AT JAMESTOWN ARGUED TOO MUCH AND DIDN’T WORK HARD. SMITH SAID THAT HE SAVED THE COLONY BY TAKING OVER IN 1608 AND PROVIDING STRONG LEADERSHIP. SMITH ALSO ALLEGED THAT HE STOPPED A LOT OF THE ARGUING.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH

UPON TAKING MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS, SMITH VISITED NEARBY INDIAN VILLAGES TO TRADE FOR FOOD.

POWHATAN, A POWERFUL CHIEF WHO WAS ANGRY WITH THE ENGLISH, TOOK SMITH PRISONER AND ORDERED HIM PUT TO DEATH.

ACCORDING TO SMITH, POWHATAN’S 10 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER, POCAHONTAS, BEGGED HER FATHER TO SPARE HIM—TO THIS, POWHATAN AGREED AND EVEN SOLD CORN TO SMITH TO FEED THE HUNGRY COLONISTS AT JAMESTOWN.

BECAUSE OF HIS SUCCESS WITH THE INDIANS, THE COUNCIL PUT SMITH IN CHARGE OF THE COLONY.

CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH ISSUED A “NO WORK—NO FOOD” ORDER; INDOLENCE WOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.

LIFE IN THE COLONY IMPROVED WHEN COLONISTS BEGAN PLANTING CROPS.

1609: SMITH WAS INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT—AFTER HE RETURNED TO ENGLAND,THE COLONY AGAIN FELL ON HARD TIMES.

“THE STARVING TIME”

• THE GOVERNNOR HAD POWER TO MAKE ANY LAWS HE FELT WERE NEEDED.

• COLONISTS WERE SUBJECTED TO VERY STRICT MILITARY RULE:

• ONE SETTLER WAS EXECUTED FOR KILLING A CHICKEN WITHOUT PERMISSION

• ANOTHER SETTLER WAS CHAINED TO A TREE UNTIL HE STARVED TO DEATH FOR STEALING A FEW CUPS OF OATMEAL.

• COLONISTS COMPLAINED THAT DISCIPLINE WAS TOO STRICT.

VA COMPANY SENT MORE SETTLERS TO JAMESTOWN BETWEEN 1606-1609

OF THE 900 SETTLERS WHO ARRIVED, ONLY 150 SURVIVED (DISEASE OR STARVATION)

THOSE WHO SURVIVED FACED “THE STARVING TIME” DURING THE WINTER OF 1609-1610.

THEY WERE FORCED TO LIVE ON “DOGS, CATS, SNAKES, TOADSTOOLS,

HORSEHIDES, AND WHAT NOT” AFTER THEY RAN OUT OF FOOD.

UPON LEARNING OF THE TRAGEDY, THE VA COMPANY PUT A MILITARY GOVERNOR IN CHARGE OF THE COLONY.

TOBACCO• DESPITE PLACING THE COLONY UNDER MILITARY RULE, JAMESTOWN

REMAINED IN TROUBLE—INVESTORS IN THE VA COMPANY FEARED THAT THEY WOULD NEVER MAKE A PROFIT.

• 1607: JOHN ROLFE INTRODUCED A NEW STRAIN OF TOBACCO GROWN FROM SEED IMPORTED FROM TRINIDAD.

• ALLUVIAL INDIAN LANDS WERE EXPROPRIATED FOR GROWING THE CROP AS AN EXPORT COMMODITY.

• THE VA COLONY ENJOYED A LONGER GROWING SEASON, FERTILE SOIL, AND A TEMPERATE CLIMATE.

RESULTS OF THE TOBACCO ESTABLISHMENT:• PROSPERITY

• BROAD-ACRED PLANTATION SYSTEM

• SLAVE LABOR (NEITHER INDENTURED SERVITUDE NOR INDIAN LABOR WAS SUFFICIENT IN MEETING THE LABOR SHORTAGE)

• INDIANS COULDN’T/WOULDN’T DO THE WORK (RAN AWAY; UNFAMILIAR WITH EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL METHODS; DEVASTATED BY COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE AND EUROPEAN DISEASES)

• 1619: FIRST SLAVES ARRIVED

• PROBLEMS WITH INDIANS (BASED ON HOW INDIANS VIEWED TOBACCO USE AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT TOBACCO IS LAND INTENSIVE AS WELL AS LABOR INTENSIVE)

• 1612: CHARTER RE-ISSUED

• VA COLONY STILL FACED DIFFICULT TIMES:

• INADEQUATE FINANCES

• POOR MANAGEMENT

• HIGH MORTALITY

• VAGRANCY/INDOLENCE

• HOSTILE INDIANS (E.G. 1622 MASSACRE: 347 OF 1,200 SETTLERS KILLED)

• RAMPANT INDIVIDUALISM

THE GREAT CHARTER (1618)

UNDER ITS ORIGINAL CHARTER IN 1606, AUTHORITY FOR CONTROL OVER THE VA COLONY/JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT WAS WITH THE VA COMPA.NY IN LONDON.

BY 1619, THE KING AND VA COMPANY REALIZED THEY NEEDED MORE CONTROL IN THE COLONY.

KING GRANTED COLONY CHARTER OF LIBERTIES WHICH PERMITTED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN VA. THROUGH A BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE.

ESTABLISHED TWO LEGISLATIVE HOUSES—THE FIRST HOUSE WAS COMPRISED OF THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCILORS APPOINTED BY THE COMPANY WHILE THE SECOND (LOWER) HOUSE (HOUSE OF BURGESSES) WAS AN ELECTED ASSEMBLY.

2 BURGESSES ELECTED BY THE FREE INHABITANTS FROM EACH OF THE COLONY’S 11 CONSTITUENCIES/UNITS (PARISHES)

VA HOUSE OF BURGESSES FIRST DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED BODY IN NEW WORLD.

SESSIONS PRESIDED OVER BY THE GOVERNOR/GOVERNOR’S COUNCIL

SESSIONS OF THE VA ASSEMBLY:

NOVEMBER, 1621

FEBRUARY-MARCH, 1624

MAY, 1625

MARCH, 1628

ANNUALLY THEREAFTER

MOST ENACTMENTS WERE IN THE FORM OF LOCAL ORDINANCES

SUMPTUARY LAWS OUTLAWED (E.G. GAMBLING AND CURSING)

MANDATORY CHURCH ATTENDANCE (ANGLICAN ORTHODOXY)

CHURCH COULD TAX

GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE IN

VA

Governor

Council

House of Burgesses

VIRGINIA BECOMES A ROYAL COLONY

• NOVEMBER, 1623: SUIT OF QUO WARRANTO BROUGH AGAINST THE VA COMPANY IN THE COURT OF THE KING’S BENCH

COMPANY HAD TO SHOW JUSTIFICATION FOR CONTINUATION OF ITS CHARTER

1624: COURT DECLARED AGAINST THE COLONY DUE TO SEVERAL YEARS OF SERIOUS FINANCIAL LOSSES, AT WHICH POINT IT WENT INTO RECEIVERSHIP AND BECAME A ROYAL (CROWN) COLONY—HENCEFORTH, THE CROWN CONTROLLED IT POLITICALLY, ECONOMICALLY, AND SOCIALLY WITH ROYAL GOVERNORS REPRESENTING THE CROWN.

WHEN THE CROWN TOOK OVER THE VA COLONY/JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT, THE VA COMPANY LOST ITS JURISDICTIONAL RIGHTS.