Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for three attempts totaling six years. In 1590, the colony was abandoned. But nearly twenty years later, the colony was re-settled at Jamestown, not far north of the original site. A second charter was issued in 1606 and settled in 1607, becoming the first enduring English colony in North America. It followed failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583 and the Roanoke Colony by Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1580s.
The founder of the Jamestown colony was the Virginia Company, chartered by King James I, with its first two settlements being in Jamestown on the north bank of the James River and Popham Colony on the Kennebec River in modern-day Maine, both in 1607. The Popham colony quickly failed because of famine, disease, and conflicts with local Native American tribes in the first two years. Jamestown occupied land belonging to the Powhatan Confederacy; it was also on the brink of failure before the arrival of a new group of settlers and supplies by ship in 1610. Tobacco became Virginia's first profitable export, the production of which had a significant impact on the society and settlement patterns.
In 1624, the Virginia Company's charter was revoked by King James I, and the Virginia Colony was transferred to royal authority as a crown colony. After the English Civil War in the 1640s and 1650s, the Virginia colony was nicknamed "The Old Dominion" by King Charles II for its perceived loyalty to the English monarchy during the era of the Protectorate and Commonwealth of England.
From 1619 to 1775/1776, the colonial legislature of Virginia was the General Assembly, which governed in conjunction with a colonial governor. Jamestown remained the capital of the Virginia Colony until 1699; from 1699 until its dissolution, the capital was in Williamsburg. The colony experienced its first significant political turmoil with Bacon's Rebellion of 1676.
After declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1775, before the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted, the Virginia Colony became the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of the original thirteen states of the United States, adopting as its official slogan "The Old Dominion". The entire modern states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, and portions of Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Minnesota were later created from the territory encompassed, or claimed by, Virginia during the American Revolutionary War.
Etymology
Virginia
"Virginia" is the oldest designation for English claims in North America. In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh sent Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe to explore what is now the North Carolina coast. They returned with word of a regional king named Wingina, who ruled a land supposedly called Wingandacoa. "Virginia" was originally a term used to refer to England's entire North American possession and claim along the east coast from the 34th parallel north to the 45th parallel. This area included a large section of Canada and the shores of Acadia.The name Virginia for a region in North America may have been originally suggested by Raleigh, who named it for Queen Elizabeth I in approximately 1584. In addition, the term Wingandacoa may have influenced the name Virginia. On his next voyage, Raleigh learned that while the chief of the Secotans was indeed called Wingina, the expression wingandacoa heard by the English upon arrival actually meant "What good clothes you wear!" in Carolina Algonquian and was not the name of the country as previously misunderstood.
The colony was also known as the Virginia Colony, the Province of Virginia, and occasionally as the Dominion and Colony of Virginia or His Majesty's Most Ancient Colloney and Dominion of Virginia.
Old Dominion
According to tradition, in gratitude for the loyalty of Virginians to the crown during the English Civil War, Charles II gave it the title of "Old Dominion". The colony seal stated from Latin en dat virginia quintum, in English 'Behold, Virginia gives the fifth', with Virginia claimed as the fifth English dominion after England, France, Scotland and Ireland.The Commonwealth of Virginia maintains "Old Dominion" as its state nickname. The athletic teams of the University of Virginia are known as the "Cavaliers", referring to supporters of Charles II, and Virginia has a public university called "Old Dominion University".
History
Although Spain, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands all had competing claims to the region, none of these prevented the English from becoming the first European power to colonize successfully the Mid-Atlantic coastline. The Spanish had made earlier attempts in what is now Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia ; and by the French in South Carolina. Farther south, the Spanish colony of Spanish Florida, centered on St. Augustine, was established in 1565, while to the north, the French were establishing settlements in what is now Canada.Colonization attempts in the New World (1583–1590)
In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert established a charter in Newfoundland. Once established, he and his crew abandoned the site and returned to England. On the return trip, Gilbert's ship capsized, and all aboard perished. The charter was abandoned.In 1585, Raleigh sent his first colonization mission to Roanoke Island with over 100 male settlers. However, when Sir Francis Drake arrived at the colony in the summer of 1586, the colonists opted to return to England because there was a lack of supply ships, abandoning the colony. Supply ships arrived at the abandoned colony later in 1586; 15 soldiers were left behind to hold the island, but no trace of these men was later found.
In 1587, Raleigh sent another group to attempt to establish a permanent settlement. The expedition leader, John White, returned to England for supplies that same year but was unable to return to the colony because of the war between England and Spain. When he finally did return in 1590, he found the colony abandoned. The houses were intact, but the colonists had disappeared. Although there are numerous theories about the fate of the colony, it remains a mystery and has come to be known as the "Lost Colony". Two English children were born in this colony; the first was named Virginia Dare, who was among those whose fate is unknown. The word Croatoan was found carved into a tree, the name of a tribe on a nearby island.
Virginia Company (1606–1624)
Following the failure of the previous colonization attempts, England resumed attempts to set up colonies. This time, joint-stock companies were used rather than giving extensive grants to a landed proprietor such as Gilbert or Raleigh.Charter of 1606
King James granted a proprietary charter to two competing branches of the Virginia Company, which investors supported. These were the Plymouth Company and the Virginia Company of London. By the terms of the charter, the Plymouth Company was permitted to establish a colony of between the 38th parallel and the 45th parallel. The London Company was permitted to establish between the 34th parallel and the 41st parallel and also owned a large portion of Atlantic and Inland Canada. In the area of overlap, the two companies were not permitted to establish colonies within one hundred miles of each other. During 1606, each company organized expeditions to establish settlements within the area of their rights.The London company formed Jamestown in its exclusive territory, while the Plymouth company formed the Popham Colony in its exclusive territory near what is now Phippsburg, Maine. The Popham colony quickly failed because of famine, disease, and conflicts with local Native American tribes in the first two years.
Jamestown
The London Company hired Captain Christopher Newport to lead its expedition. On December 20, 1606, he set sail from England with his flagship, the Susan Constant, and two smaller ships, the Godspeed, and the Discovery, with 105 men and boys, plus 39 sailors. After an unusually long voyage of 144 days, they arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and came ashore at the point where the southern side of the bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, an event that has come to be called the "First Landing". They erected a cross and named the point of land Cape Henry in honor of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James.They were instructed to select a location inland along a waterway where they would be less vulnerable to the Spanish or other Europeans seeking to establish colonies. They sailed westward into the Bay and reached the mouth of Hampton Roads, stopping at a location now known as Old Point Comfort. Keeping the shoreline to their right, they then ventured up the largest river, which they named the James, for their king. After exploring at least as far upriver as the confluence of the Appomattox River at present-day Hopewell, they returned downstream to Jamestown Island, which offered a favorable defensive position against enemy ships and deep water anchorage adjacent to the land. Within two weeks, they had constructed their first fort and named their settlement Jamestown.
In addition to securing gold and other precious minerals to send back to the waiting investors in England, the survival plan for the Jamestown colonists depended upon regular supplies from England and trade with the Native Americans. They selected a location largely cut off from the mainland with little game for hunting, no natural fresh drinking water, and minimal ground for farming. Captain Newport returned to England twice, delivering the first and second supply missions during 1608 and leaving the Discovery for the colonists' use. However, death from disease and conflicts with the Native Americans took a fearsome toll on the colonists. Despite attempts at mining minerals, growing silk, and exporting the native Virginia tobacco, no profitable exports had been identified, and it was unclear whether the settlement would survive financially.
The Powhatan Confederacy was a confederation of numerous linguistically related tribes in the eastern part of Virginia. The Powhatan Confederacy controlled a territory known as Tsenacommacah, which roughly corresponded with the Tidewater region of Virginia. It was in this territory that the English established Jamestown. At the time of the English arrival, the Powhatan were led by the paramount chief Wahunsenacawh, known to the English as Chief Powhatan.