While the United States may be only a bit more than 200 years old, there’s still a lot of history shoved into that small time span. This is especially true of the north eastern coast. That’s the area where the United States was born, so you’d better believe it has some solid history!
The state of Virginia started its life as the colony of Virginia. But not every colony was under the crown when it first started, and Virginia is one of those colonies.
The Birth of the Colony of Virginia
The Virginia Colony was founded by the Virginia Company, but it wasn’t the only colony founded. The Virginia Company also established Jamestown and Popham Colony. These colonies were started for profit, with the settlers growing what they could in order to trade.
Unfortunately, Popham Colony failed. There was famine and disease, not to mention the Powhatan tribe who rightfully owned the land. Jamestown very nearly failed, though was saved by the last minute arrival of more settlers and supplies. While the Virginia Colony was still sustaining itself thanks to the profitability of tobacco, King James 1 stripped the Virginia Company of their charter. He cited the egregious failure of the other two colonies as the reason, and it’s hard to argue.
Under Control of the Crown
In the year 1624 the Virginia Colony became what was known as a crown colony. Also referred to as a royal colony, this was a colony that was under administration by the crown rather than whatever local system of government the original founders had instituted.
In the case of Virginia, the crown allowed the then governorship to continue their duties. The House of Burgesses took up governorship of Virginia in 1619 and maintained those duties all the way to the American Revolution. Jamestown remained the capital all the way up until 1699. At that point, the capital was switched to Williamsburg. In modern times, the state of Virginia boasts the city of Richmond as its capital.
As you can see, Virginia has a huge amount of history. It’s been under multiple forms of government and leadership, and has managed to survive. Even through the early times when disease was rampant and it was difficult to get crops to grow, Virginia managed to survive and thrive. So come see beautiful Virginia for yourself, and take some time to experience history as it exists around you.