Video: Virginia Colony

Early Settlement and Founding of Virginia Colony

The Virginia Colony was established by the Virginia Company in 1607 to make money from the natural resources in the colony. The Virginia Company paid the King of England, King James I, who granted permission to English soldiers and explorer John Smith, along with 100 others, to sail his chartered ship across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Powhatan tribe, who were settled in Jamestown, were not happy about the new settlers trying to grab their land; however, during early interaction, John Smith became friendly with the tribe and agreed to trade corn for beads and tools.

John Smith's efforts were not enough, as disease, food shortages, and conflict with other tribes nearly caused the colony to fail.

Leadership and Expansion

A new leader named Lord De La Warr was sent to Jamestown. However, he felt ill, and Sir Thomas Dale took over as the new leader. Sir Thomas Dale was a strict ruler and started violence over the Powhatan tribe to grab their land. While he was trying to acquire more land from the tribe, the settlers were busy building a church and many houses up and down the James River. A man named John Rolfe started experimenting with tobacco seeds on the land. Warm temperatures and rich soil were the perfect combination to grow tobacco.

Governance and Growth

The colony started to thrive in 1619 and established its first government, known as the General Assembly. They started making profitable exports of tobacco seeds.

In 1624, the Virginia Company was dissolved to form Virginia, an official crown colony with Jamestown as its capital; however, the statehouse in Jamestown burned down in 1698, and Williamsburg was declared the new capital.

Since Virginia was exporting large amounts of tobacco by 1640, they used slaves and indentured servants to maximize the production.

In 1775, Virginia declared independence from Britain and became the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia became a state on June 25th, 1788.