The Colony of Virginia
By: Caroline Burdick
Location
- Located on a peninsula and had a slim link to the mainland, 50 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
- Had good soil and a good harbor because it was located near the riverbank
- This helped the economy, because it was easy to grow tobacco and the location helped for easy transportation
European Countries
- England
- Wanted to control the fur trade with the Dutch
- Investors wanted new wealth
- Wanted to convert natives to Christianity
Type of colony
- The Church of England practiced a form of Protestant Christianity
- Governed as a Royal colony after the London Company's charter was revoked
- Exported tobacco, cotton, corn, vegetables, grain, fruit, and livestock
Major Events
- The House of Burgesses, the first American representative legislature, met in Jamestown
- First negroes were brought to Jamestown by Dutch traders
- College of William and Mary was founded
- People wanted to live in Virginia because it had rich soil and many plants and roots
Key people
- Colony was founded by the London Company under the reign of James I
- John Smith was the leader of the colony, and he is the one who began the trading relationship with the Powhatans
- John Rolfe began to grow a new form of tobacco