Hallowed Heritage: The Life of Virginia

by Dorothy Margaret Torpey

VA. DEPT. OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Reproductions of Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery

In the same year, John Rolfe began experimenting at Varina, his plantation, with some tobacco seeds brought from the West Indies or from South America. Pocahontas helped Rolfe in this task by teaching him the necessity of keeping the young, tender leaves protected from the cold and by showing him how gently the young tobacco plants must be transplanted. Rolfe became the first white man to raise tobacco successfully in Virginia. Then the problem of curing tobacco in such a manner that it could reach England without spoilage faced him. After some experimentation, his shipment was the first one to reach England in good condition. As a result, tobacco became the first important money crop and export of Virginia. In addition to the price the planters received for this product, the production of tobacco created employment for merchants and shippers. After Rolfe's success in growing and curing tobacco, it was grown by practically everyone in a variety of places: fields, gardens, between graves and, in some instances, in the streets of Jamestown. Prosperous times had finally arrived at Jamestown. When the Englishmen at home realized the profit and excellent opportunities available in tobacco growing, many journeyed to Virginia and began tobacco raising. Previously, the settlers' occupations had consisted primarily of farming (especially the cultivation of grapes) and of the manufacture of potash, soap, glass and tar. The successful growing of tobacco caused a tremendous increase in the population of the colony and in the amount of tobacco shipped from Virginia. This infant tobacco production was the background for the present day high rank of Virginia in tobacco production.

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

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

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

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

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

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