The seal of Virginia.
William Lee tells us that it was “in consequence of this step” that the motto En dat Virginia quintam was placed upon the seal of the colony.[15] Since “this step” was never taken, the statement needs some qualification. The idea of of designating Virginia as an additional kingdom to those over which the English sovereign ruled in Europe was already entertained in 1590 by Edmund Spenser, who dedicated his “Faëry Queene” to Elizabeth as queen of “England, France,[16] and Ireland, and of Virginia.”[17] As early as 1619 the London Company adopted a coat-of-arms, upon which was the motto En dat Virginia quintum, in which the unexpressed noun is regnum; “Behold, Virginia gives the fifth [kingdom].” After the restoration of Charles II. a new seal for Virginia, adopted about 1663, has the same motto, the effect of which was to rank Virginia by the side of his Majesty’s other four dominions, England, Scotland, “France,” and Ireland. We are told by the younger Richard Henry Lee that in these circumstances originated the famous epithet “Old Dominion.” In 1702, among several alterations in the seal, the word quintum was changed to quintam, to agree with the unexpressed noun coronam; “Behold, Virginia gives the fifth [crown].” After the legislative union of England with Scotland in 1707, another seal, adopted in 1714, substituted quartam for quintam.[18]
Increase in the size of land grants.
Just how many members of the royalist party came to Virginia while their young king was off upon his travels, it would be difficult to say. But there were unquestionably a great many. We have already remarked upon the very rapid increase of white population, from about 15,000 in 1649 to 38,000 in 1670. Along with this there was a marked increase in the size of the land grants, both the average size and the maximum; and in this coupling of facts there is great significance, for they show that the increase of population was predominantly an increase in the numbers of the upper class, of the people who could afford to have large estates. In these respects the year 1650 marks an abrupt change,[19] which may best be shown by a tabular view of the figures:—
| Years. | Largest number of acres in a single grant. | Average number of acres in a grant. |
|---|---|---|
| 1632 | 350 | |
| 1634 | 5,350 | 719 |
| 1635 | 2,000 | 380 |
| 1636 | 2,000 | 351 |
| 1637 | 5,350 | 445 |
| 1638 | 3,000 | 423 |
| 1640 | 1,300 | 405 |
| 1641 | 872 | 343 |
| 1642 | 3,000 | 559 |
| 1643 | 4,000 | 595 |
| 1644 | 670 | 370 |
| 1645 | 1,090 | 333 |
| 1646 | 1,200 | 360 |
| 1647 | 650 | 361 |
| 1648 | 1,800 | 412 |
| 1649 | 3,500 | 522 |
| 1650 | 5,350 | 677 |
| 1651-55 | 10,000 | 591 |
| 1656-66 | 10,000 | 671 |
| 1667-79 | 20,000 | 890 |
| 1680-89 | 20,000 | 607 |
Another way of showing the facts is still more striking:—
| Years. | Number of grants exceeding 5,000 acres. |
|---|---|
| 1632-50 | 3 |
| 1651-55 | 3 |
| 1656-66 | 20 |
| 1667-79 | 37 |
| 1680-89 | 19 |
Cavalier families.
Ancestry of George Washington.
Value of genealogy.