[46] CO1-10, p. 61.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid., 64, I.
[49] CO1-10, 64.
CHAPTER IV
ROYALTY OVERTHROWN
It was in August, 1641, that Charles I appointed Sir William Berkeley Governor of Virginia to succeed Sir Francis Wyatt. The King knew this young man well, for he had been a gentleman usher of the Privy Chamber under the Lord Chamberlain, and as such had attended various ceremonies at Court. He was the fourth son of Maurice Berkeley, of the ancient Berkeley family of Bruton, Somerset, had studied at Oxford and the Middle Temple, and in 1630 had made the "grand tour" on the continent. He seems to have had thoughts of following in the footsteps of the great Shakespeare, for in 1638 he published a tragedy which he named The Lost Lady. He was knighted in 1639.
No doubt Charles thought he was doing the Virginians a great favor in sending them this accomplished young man. But he probably was actuated also by less unselfish motives. Berkeley was warmly attached to him, considered his person sacred, defended his claim to rule by divine right, and considered the Parliamentary leaders who were defying him enemies of their country. It would be good policy to place such a man in a post of authority in Virginia, to hold the colony in line for the royal cause. Sir William too must have had this in mind when he consented to lay aside his pen and the pleasures of the Court, to face the difficulties and perils of life in the forests of America.
But even as he was preparing to leave, the clouds were gathering for the storm which broke over England. The long quarrel of King and Parliament was nearing a crisis; high churchmen and Puritans were locked in bitter battle. In December, 1640, a petition signed by 15,000 persons for the abolition of Episcopacy "with all its roots and branches" was presented to the Commons. A few months later a bill of attainder against the Earl of Stafford was passed, and this able statesman and friend of the King was led to the block. The Puritans demanded that the Book of Common Prayer be cast aside. Charles threatened his foes in London by bringing in soldiers, and men went about their daily tasks under the shadow of an English Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre. In January, 1642, the King fled from London and both sides made ready for war.