Colony Report free essay sample

After the Virginia Company of London was chartered to collect profit from the sales of silver and gold, they knew that a colony was needed. With one hundred forty four colonists on board, the first settlers left England on December 20th, 1606, with one goal on their mind: to find land where they would be concealed from the Spanish, seeing as they were a competitive threat to the British. After arriving, Jamestown was established as the capital of Virginia. After creating a system of government, the colony replaced it’s council with a governor in 1609. The following year, Thomas Gates, acting as the first governor in the new world, issued the divine, moral, and martial laws, which ordered all colonial men and women to attend church twice daily, even on work days, to never tell a lie, and to observe other basic rules. In the year 1611, tobacco was introduced to Virginia, which would soon become one of the main exports from the colony. The tobacco industry began when John Rolfe, a famous colonist, imported tobacco plants from Trinidad. The following year, he exported the first tobacco crop from Virginia. Tobacco soon became a leading cash crop in the colony. As much as Virginia seemed to flourish, there were many problems with the land. When all of the colonists arrived in Jamestown, they found the location to be bad for farming, and filled with disease. Once everyone was settled, the colonists united in order to make the best of the land, but still, an ordinary colonist lived in fear of illness, and Native American attack. Land ownership and farming was crucial to colonial Virginia. The colonists relied on the workers of the farm, thus beginning the growth of slavery in Virginia. This gave the wealthy farmers a way to make even more money. By the middle of the 17th century, slavery had begun. Virginia made slavery legal in 1662. Slaves were mistreated on the plantations. Slaves did the most difficult jobs like planting, weeding, and harvesting tobacco, with minimal breaks. The colonial Virginia government was created in favor of the wealthy men. The legalization of slavery is one thing that demonstrates the government’s support of the wealthy landowners. The wealthy farmers and landowners lived an easy life. Growing cash crops to supply the colony as well as many places around the world, may not have been an easy task, but only the slaves had to do the difficult part and were unpaid. Because of the General Assembly (created in 1619), men on the council were selected from the gentry. The men of the gentry were mostly the wealthy land speculators, who bought land, and sold it for a higher price. The men of the assembly used their power to vote themselves large salaries and raise the taxes on the small farmers. This made the lives of the small farmers and landowners miserable. The poor farmers had the land on the frontier. This land was basically on top of the border that divided the land of the Natives from Virginia. Like the wealthy plantation owners, small landowners were spaced far apart from their neighbors. The 1670’s brought dispute between the gentry and the freedmen. Since the farms were on the frontier, this also brought dispute with the Natives and they began to raid the frontier. Because the wealthy farmers set up their farms behind the frontier, their land remained intact, but the land of the poor farmers was ruined. Since most of the farmers practiced subsistence farming and relied on the farm to live, this was a big problem. In the year 1670, the people who lived on the frontier asked the governor William Berkeley to send a military officer to protect their land, but he denied their request. This made the rest of the farmers furious, including a member of the council named Nathaniel Bacon. Bacon owned a large plantation on the frontier. He strongly believed that â€Å"all Indians in general were all enemies. † Bacon was infuriated, so he stepped forward to lead them when Berkeley refused. He would not take no as an answer. Most colonists agreed with Bacon, and in September of 1676, Bacon and his followers marched to Jamestown. Berkeley fled, and Bacon burned the town down, killing all Natives that came in their way. His followers robbed the plantations. Berkeley charged Bacon and the followers with treasons, which is a crime of betraying one’s country or hometown; a crime punishable by death. Bacon led his group to the land outside Jamestown, where he issued a Declaration of the People, against Berkeley and his government. Bacon demanded tax reductions and improved land for freedmen. The 18th century was still limited for Virginia. In 1699, Williamsburg was established as the capital of Virginia. In the year 1711, skills were developed in order to thrive on the frontier. Soon the tidewater region became densely settled. The land was vastly expanding. In 1716, Governor Alexander Spotswood and friends discovered fertile land in the Blue Ridge mountains. The land was soon turned into farming. Twice a year, Virginians who had something to discuss with the government left their plantations to Williamsburg for an event called â€Å"Publick Times. † These times were not easy for the merchants and poor farmworkers. They were ordered to remain working for the wealthy men and their families. Years after Bacon died, his legacy lived on. He wished for the poor and the wealthy farmers to be treated equally, and receive the same land rights. His act of rebellion inspired many small farmers affected by the selfish acts of the government. As stated before, the poor farmers lived a difficult life. They took the frontier, and were used as a shield for the wealthy. They weren’t able to be part of the gentry, and were not allowed to speak their minds to the government, which was biased to the wealthy men. Nathaniel Bacon stood for the poor farmers, because he believed that the government did not care about them, since Berkeley refused to help them. The Virginia government was in favor of the wealthy men who had all of the power, as demonstrated by numerous historical events.