Virginia

In 1607, the Virginia Company of London was given a charter

to begin a

settlement in Virginia. Jamestown, the first settlement, was built along the southern Chesapeake Bay.

Jamestown began as a trading post.

In 1612, John Rolfe purchased tobacco plants in the Caribbean and brought them to the Virginia colony. Colonists began to grow tobacco as a cash crop. The Virginia Company sold the tobacco all over Europe and made huge profits for the colony.

Virginia's assembly first met in 1619 to make laws for the colony. It was called the Virginia House of Burgesses. A burgess is a representative who speaks for other people. The Virginia House of Burgesses was made up of wealthy landowners who grew and sold tobacco. The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of lawmakers in the English colonies.

By 1619, the Virginia colony had over 1,000 settlers. The first women settlers began to arrive, as well as the first Africans. Africans first came as free men and were paid to work in the tobacco fields. Tobacco was the reason for the successful growth of the Virginia colony. At first, the King of England objected to selling tobacco. He said it was ..."loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain [and] dangerous to the lungs." But in 1624, the Virginia Company went out of business because of poor management. The King took back his charter and made Virginia a royal colony. This allowed the King to rule the colony and to keep the profits from selling tobacco.

Tobacco plantations in the Virginia Colony continued to grow. The plantations were very profitable. Large plantations required more and more workers. Although the first Africans to arrive in Virginia were free men, by 1660, all Africans arriving in Virginia were made slaves. In 1661, the Virginia House of Burgesses made it legal to have slaves.

first Africans - The first African workers were indentured servants. Then the plantation owners realized the purchase cost of one slave was equal to one year's salary for an indentured servant. The plantation owners realized it was cheaper to use slave labor. By 1750, there were more African slaves in Virginia than any other single group of people.

John Rolfe- Years earlier, John Rolfe had lived in the Jamestown Colony. He married Pocahontas. They had one child. John Rolfe took his young family to England for a visit. As they were leaving the harbor to return to Virginia, Pocahontas became very sick. The ship had returned to England, but Pocahontas died. John Rolfe returned to Virginia where he became a successful tobacco farmer.

legal - George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. In some colonies it was against the law to free slaves. In some colonies it was against the law for blacks to own land, or to learn to read.

plantations - At first, most of the farmers in the south were yeoman farmers. They were independent farmers who worked their own land. The yeoman farmers could not compete with the large plantations that used free slave labor.

slaves - The slaves on a tobacco plantation didn't just plant, pick, dry, and cure the tobacco. Slaves did all the physical labor on the plantation.The plantation owner lived in a beautiful mansion. The slaves lived in cabins with dirt floors, no glass in the windows, and no water. And slaves were mistreated.

Credits

slaves_below_deck.jpg

slaves_from_africa.jpg

slaves_from_africa2.jpg

Virginia_Colony_map.jpg

Caribbean_Sea_Rolfe.jpg

whipping2.jpg

pocahontas_english2.jpg

13_English_Colonies_map.jpg

charter2.jpg

tobacco2.jpg