USA > Washington DC > Washington DC > A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia > Part 76
USA > Virginia > A new and comprehensive gazetteer of Virginia, and the District of Columbia > Part 76
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One of the first acts of Yeardly was to emancipate the remaining ser- 1619. vants of the colony. The labor now being free, each man enjoying the fruits of his own industry and anxious to increase his store, there was no fear of scarcity, and no time or opportunity for mutiny among the scattered and industrious planters. With the increasing strength and inde- pendence* of the colony all fear of the savages had vanished. It is mani- fest that in these altered circumstances a modification of the despotic go- vernment ought to have been made, because its severity was no longer ne- cessary, and whilst the power existed it might be abused, as the colony se- riously experienced in the case of Argall. The only use of government is to insure the safety of the state from external foes, to secure justice and the free disposition of person and property to each individual, and sometimes to aid in the prosecution of such objects of general utility as individual enter- prize cannot accomplish. The moment the colonists began to take an in- terest in the country, by the enjoyment of their own labor, and the posses- sion of property, it was right that they should have some share in that go- vernment, in the prudent conduct of which they were most interested .-- Yeardley was aware of this, for without any authority from home which
* The savages now sometimes purchased corn of the English, instead of supplying them as formerly.
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we can trace" he called together a General Assembly consisting of two mem; bers from every town, borough or hundred, besides the governor and coun. cil, which met at Jamestown, near the end of June 1619. .. In this assembly seven corporations were represented, and four more were. laid off in the course of the same summer.
In this first North American Legislature, wherein was "debated all mat- ters thought expedient for the good of the colony," several acts were passed which were pronounced by the treasurer of the company to be " well and judiciously carried," but. which are unfortunately lost to posterity .: This was an eventful year to the colony, for in addition to their assembly, a col- lege was established in Henrico, with a liberal endowment .: King James had exacted £15,000 from the several bishops of his kingdom for the pur, pose of educating Indian children, and 10,000 acres of land were now ad; ded by the company; and the original design was extended to make it a seminary of learning also for the English. One hundred idle and dissolute persons, in custody for various misdemeanors, were transported by the au> thority of the king and against the wishes of the company to Virginia. They were distributed through the colony as servants to the planters; and the degradation of the colonial character produced by such a process, was endured for the assistance derived from them in executing the various plans of industry, that were daily extending themselves. This beginning excited in the colonists a desire for using more extensively other labor than their own, an opportunity for the gratification, of which unfortunately too soon occurred. . In this eventful year too, a new article was introduced into the trade of the company with the colony, by the good policy of the treasurer Sir Edwin Sandys, which produced a material change in the views and feel- ings of the colonists with regard to the country. At the accession of Sit Edwin to office, after twelve years labor, and an expenditure of eighty thou, sand pounds by the company, there was in the colony no more than six hundred persons, men, women and children. In one year he provided a passage for twelve hundred and sixty one new emigrants, Among these were ninety agreeable young women, poor but respectable and incorrupt, to furnish wives to the colonists. The wisdom of this policy is evident, -. the men had hitherto regarded Virginia only as a place of temporary. so- journ for the acquisition of wealth, and never dreamed of making a perma- nent residence in a place where it was impossible to enjoy any of the com- forts of domestic life. 'They had consequently none of those endearing ties of home and kindred to bind them to the country, or attach them to its in- terests which are so necessary to make a good citizen. This new com- modity was transported at the expense of the colony, and sold to the young planters, and the following year another consignment was made of sixty: young maids of virtuous education, young, handsome, and well recommend -. ed. A wife in the first lot sold generally for one hundred pounds of tobac. co, but as the value of the new article became known in the market, the
* It is not however probable that such an important step was taken without authori- ty. The assembly seems to have been convened in conformity to principles laid down in the instructions to Sir Francis Wyatt in 1631, and probably was procured at the so- licitation of the colony after the deposing of Argall. The authority on which the statement that such an assembly was held is Stith 160: (See HIen. Stat, at Large, I. 121.) The acts passed were presented on the 29th of March following, to the court of the company for confirmation, and were pronounced by Sir Edwin Sandys then trea- surer, to be well and judiciously formed : See also Smith, vol. II. 39, for an account of this assembly in confirmation of Stith.
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price rose, and a wife would bring a hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco. A debt for a wife was of higher dignity than other debts, and to be paid first. As an additional inducement to marriage, married men were gene- rally preferred in the selection of officers for the colony. Domestic ties were formed, habits of thrift ensued, comforts were increased, and happiness diffused; the tide of emigration swelled; within three years fifty patents for land were granted, and three thousand five hundred persons found their way to Virginia.
In the month of August of this year an event occurred which stamped 1620. its impress upon the constitution of Virginia, and indeed of the
whole southern portion of America so deeply, that it will be difficult to erase it save by the destruction of society. This was the introduction of 20 African slaves by a Dutch vessel, which availed itself of the freedom of commerce which had been released from the shackles of the company's monopoly in the early part of this year, to rivet forever the bonds of slavery upon a portion of their fellow-creatures and their descendants. The in- dented and covenanted servants which had been long known in Virginia, and whose condition was little better than that of slavery, was a small evil and easily removed, because they were of the same color and country with their masters; when they were emancipated they leaped at once from their shackels to the full dignity of freedom. No one scorned to associate with them, and no one spurned their alliance, if honorable and worthy in other respects they were equal to their masters and might even rise to distinction. But not so to the poor African. Nature has fixed upon him a stamp which cannot be erased or forgotten, the badge of his bondage is borne with him, when his fetters have crumbled to the dust, the curse of Cain is upon him, and no one will mingle with him. By the white man he is loved and che- rished as a distant and humble dependant,-but he is despised with disgust as a companion ;- and the contamination of a mixture with his blood is Jobthed as a deep, endless, irremediable stain. Under such circumstances emancipation is impossible without removal, but when and where and how is this to be effected? This question posterity must answer,-all that we can do is to treat them with kindness and humanity, and this is done.
The overbearing disposition of king James created a powerful popular party in England, which being unable to establish a liberal government at home, was determined to secure for free principles a safe asylum in the col- onies. The accomplishment of this determination was accelerated by the disposition of the king to intermeddle with this very subject. He was ex- ceedingly jealous of the company, in which the patriot party prevailed, and suspicious of the liberal principles discussed in its meetings with uncontrol- ed freedom : he feared it as the school of debate, and nursery of Parliamen- tary leaders. Upon the resignation of Sir Edwin Sandys of his office as May 17, 1620. treasurer, the king determined to try the extent of his influ- ence in the election of a successor to this first office in the company. Ile accordingly sent in a nomination of four individuals, to one of whom he desired the office to be given; but he proved unsuccessful in' his attempt at dictation, and none of his nominees were elected, but the choice fell upon the earl of Southampton.
The company having thus vindicated its own privileges, proceeded next to guarantee freedom to the colonists, by a constitution remarkably liberal for the time and circumstances. , This charter of freedom, the principles of which the Virginians never could be brought subsequently to relinquish, las
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been preserved to posterity in "summary of the ordinance and constitution of the treasurer, council and company in England, for a council of state, and another council to be called the General Assembly in Virginia, contained in a commission to Sir Francis Wyatt (the first governor under that ordinance and constitution) and his council," dated July 24, 1621 .*
The council of state was to be chosen by the treasurer, council and com- pany in England, with the power of removal at pleasure, their duty was to advise, and assist the governor, and to constitute a portion of the General Assembly. This General Assembly was to be called by the governor once a year, and not oftener, unless on very extraordinary and important occa- sions; it was to consist, in addition to the council of state; of two burgesses, out of every town, hundred or other particular plantation, to be respectively chosen by the inhabitants; in which council all matters were to be decided, determined and ordered by the greater part of the voices then present, re- serving to the governor always a negative voice. " And this General As- sembly was to have full power, to treat, consult and conclude, as well of all emergent occasions concerning the public weal of the said colony, and every part thereof, as also to make, ordain and enact such general laws and or- ders, for the behoof of said colony, and the good government thereof, as from time to time might seem necessary."
The General Assembly and council of state were required to imitate and. follow the policy of the forin of government, laws, customs and manner of trial, and of the administration of justice, used in the realm of England, as near as might be, as the company itself was required to do, by its charter. No law or ordinance was to continue in force or validity unless it was so- lemnly ratified in a general quarterly court of the company, and returned. under seal; and it was promised that as soon as the government of the colo- ny should once have been well framed and settled, that no orders of court should afterwards bind the colony, unless they were ratified in the same. manner by the General Assembly.
'Thus were the elements of a free government established, at the arrival' of Sir Francis Wyatt, on a soil from which they were never to be eradicated, in less than one year from the time when domestic slavery was instituted in the same place, on a footing which promises equal permanence.
When Sir Francis arrived he found that negligence and security amongst the colonists, which is the inevitable consequence of a long peace. Old Powhatan had died in 1618, honored by the esteem and respect of all who knew him,-his own people, holding in grateful remembrance his prowess and policy in youth, and Ins mildness in age,-and his English friends and" brethren admiring his firm support of his dignity, his paternal affection, his mild simplicity, and his native intelligence. He was succeeded in his pow- er by Opechancanough his younger brother, who was cunning, treacher- ous, revengeful and cruel. Ile renewed the former treaties, with every as- surance of good faith, and wore the mask of peace and friendship so suc- cessfully as completely to lull the whites to security. But this crafty prince had always viewed with peculiar jealousy and hate the progress of the colony. fle had given much trouble, and engaged in frequent hostili- ties, whilst he was king of Pamunkce, and it was not to be supposed that he would patiently submit to the continued and rapid encroachments of the whites upon his lands, to the entire extermination or banishment of his peo.
* See Henning's Stat. at Large, vol. I.'p. 113.
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ple, now that he possessed the empire of his brother, But to meet them in the field was impossible, the disparity in arms was too great, and the. num- bers.in fighting men now equal,* the attempt would be madness and des- peration, and lead to that extermination of his race which he wished to avoid. His only resource was to strike some great and sudden blow which should annihilate the power of the colony at once. He had applied to a king who resided on the Eastern Shore, to purchase a subtle poisont which grew only in his dominions, but this king being on good terms with the whites and wishing to enjoy their trade refused to gratify him. His next resource was in a general massacre, to take effect upon all of the scattered plantations on the same day. The situation of the whites favored this. de- sign, they not only placed confidence in the words of the savages. which had now been so long faithfully kept, but in their weakness and cowardice. They had extended their plantations over a space of one hundred and forty miles, on both sides of James river, and made some settlements in the neigh- borhood of the Potomac; in short wherever a rich spot invited to the culti- vation of tobacco, there were they established, and an absence of neighbors was preferred.# The planters were careless with their arms, never using their swords, and their fire-arms only for game. The old law making it criminal to teach a savage the use of arms was forgotten, and they were fowlers and hunters, for many of the planters, by which means they became well acquainted with the use of arms and the places in which they were kept. One great object with the settlers, and with the company, in whose instructions we find it perpetually enjoined, had been the conversion of the Indians to the christian religion. To promote this pious object, they had always been received in the most friendly manner, they became market people to the planters, and they were fed at their tables, and lodged in their bed-chambers as friends and brothers.
Opechancanough had ,renewed the treaty with governor-Wyatt, and took every other means in his power to avoid suspicion. He told a messenger about the middle of March, that the sky should fall ere he would violate the treaty of peace ; only two days before the fatal 22nd, the English were guid- ed in safety and kindness through the forest by the unsuspected Indians, and a Mr. Browne who had been sent to live among them to learn their language was sent safely to his friends,-nay, so well was the dread secret kept that the English boats were borrowed to transport the Indians over the river to consult on the " devilish murder that ensued," and even on the day . itself, as well as on the evening before, they came as usual unarmed into the settlements with deer, turkies, fish, fruits and other provisions' to sell, and in some places sat down to breakfast with the English. The concert and secrecy of this great plot is the more astonishing when we reflect that the savages were not living together as one nation, and did not have for most purposes, unity of action, but were dispersed in little hamlets contain -* ing from thirty to two hundred in a company ; "yet they all had warning given them one from another in all their habitations, though far asunder, . March 22, 1622. to meet at the day and hour appointed for the destruction. of the English at their several plantations; some directed to one place, some to another, all to be done at the time appointed, which they did accordingly : some entering their houses under color of trading, so
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.* Bancroft 193 and references there quoted.
+ Smith II. 71.
# Smith, vol. II. 66.
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took their advantage ; others drawing them abroad under fair pretences, and the rest suddenly falling upon those that were at their labors." They spared no age, sex, or condition, and were so sudden in their indiscriminate slaughter that few could discern the blow or weapon, which brought them to destruction. Their familiarity with the whites led them with fatal. pre- cision to the points at which they were certain to be found, and that " fatal morning fell under the bloody and barbarous hands of that perfidious. and inhuman people, three hundred and forty seven men, women and children, principally by their own weapons." Not coutent with this destruction, they brutally defaced and mangled the dead bodies, as if they would perpetrate a new murder, and bore off the severed portions in fiendish triumph. Those who had treated them with especial kindness, and conferred many benefits upon them, who confided so much in them that to the last moment they could not believe mischief was intended. fared no better than the rest. The ties of love and gratitude, the sacred rights of hospitality and reciprocal frienship, oaths, pledges and promises, and even the recent and solemn profession of fidelity to an all-merciful and omnipotent God, were broken asunder or for- gotten in obedience to the command of their chief for the execution of a great but diabolical stroke of state policy. With one and only one of all who had been cherished by the whites, did gratitude for their kindness and fidelity to his new religion prevail over his allegiance to his king, and affec- tion for his people. A converted Indian who resided with a Mr. Pace, and who was treated by him as a son, revealed the plot to him in the night of the 21st. Pace immediately secured his house and rowed himself up to Jamestown, where he disclosed it to the governor, by which means that place and all the neigboring plantations, to which intelligence could be con- veyed, was saved from destruction; for the cowardly Indians when they. saw the whites upon their guard immediately retreated. Some other places were also preserved, by the undaunted courage of the occupants, who never failed to beat off their assailants, if they were not slain, before their suspi- cions were excited. By these means was Virginia preserved from total an- nihilation in a single hour, by this well conceived, well concealed, and well executed plot of her weak and simple adversaries. The larger portion of the colony was saved; for a year after the massacre it contained two thou. sand five hundred persons; but the consternation produced by . it, caused the adoption of a ruinous policy. Instead of marching at once bold, ly to meet the adversary and driving him from the country, or reducing him to subjection by a bloody retaliation, the colonists were huddled to gether from their eighty plantations into eight, the college, manufactories and other works of public utility, were abandoned, and cultivation confined to a space almost too limited, merely for subsistence. These crowded quar- ters produced sickness, and some were so disheartened that they sailed for England.
In England this disastrous intelligence so far from dispiriting the com> pany, excited their sympathies to such a degree, that it aroused them to re- newved exertion, and a more obstinate determination to secure at all hazards a country which had cost so much blood and treasure. Supplies wers promptly despatched, and even the king was moved to the generosity'of giving some old rusty arms from the tower, which he never meant to use; and promising further assistance, which he never meant to render. .
Serious discussions now took place in the courts of the company as?to. the policy proper to be pursued with the Indians, and some advocated their
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entire subjection, in imitation of the example of the Spaniards, which poli- cy would surely have been more merciful than that war of extermination which was carried into effect, whether by deliberate design or a system of temporary expedients does not appear. Smith offered the company to pro- tect all their planters from the James to the Potomac, with a permanent force of one hundred soldiers and thirty sailors, with one small bark, and means to build several shallops; and there is no doubt but that he would have accomplished it, by which means the planters could have employed themselves much more successfully in attending to their crops, than when they had to keep perpetual watch, and occasionally to take up arms to de- fend themselves, or make an attack upon the enemy. Smith received for answer that the company was impoverished, but that he had leave to carry his proposal into effect, if he could find means in the col- ony, and would give the company half the booty he should acquire; upon which answer he observes, that except some little corn, he would not give twenty pounds for all the booty to be made from the savages for twenty years. The colonists, although they could not be soon again lulled to their former security, speedily recovered from their recent panic, and on July of the same year* sallied forth with three hundred men to seize the corn and inflict other punishment on the Indians ; but they suffered themselves to be deceived by false pretences until the corn was removed from their reach so that they got but little; they succeeded however in burning many of their villages, and destroying much of their property, by which they said they were likely to suffer much during the ensuing winter. We find that a law .was passed on the following session by the General Assembly, requiring that on the beginning of July next, the inhabitants of every corporation should fall upon the adjoining savages as had been done the last year ; and enacting that those who were hurt should be cured at the public charge, and such as were maimed should be maintained by the country, according to their quality.t .We find it also further enacted in 1630, "that the war begun upon the In- dians be effectually followed, and that no peace be concluded with them ; and that all expeditions undertaken against them should be prosecuted with dili- gence.# This state of fierce warfare continued to rage with uninterrupted fury until a peace was concluded in 1632, under the administration of go- vernor Harvey.§ In the course of this warfare the Indians were not treat-' ed with the same tenderness, with which they had generally been beforell the massacre, but their habitations, cleared lands, and pleasant sites, when once taken possession of, were generally retained by the victors, and the van- quished forced to, take refuge in the woods and marshes.
Whilst these events were transpiring in the colony, an important change in
1623 the character of their government was about to take place in England. The company had been unsuccessful; the fact could no longer be denied. They had transported more than nine thousand persons, at an expense ex- ceeding a hundred thousand pounds, and yet in nearly eighteen years there were only about two thousand persons in the colony, and its annual exports did not exceed twenty thousand pounds in value. The king took advantage
* Mr. Bancroft makes this the following year, but if he will look to the date of the law to which he refers, he will find his error: (1 Hen. Stat. L., p. 123,-Act No. 32.) t Henning, vol. I. p. 128.
* Henning, vol. I. 153.
§ Burke, vol. II. p. 37.
Il See an instance to the contrary in the case of the Appomattucks-ante pa. 561.
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of the present unfortunate state of affairs, to push his plans for the dissolu- tion of the company. He carefully fomented the dissentions which crose, and encouraged the weaker party ; which readily sought the aid of his powerful arm. He had long disliked the democratic freedom of their.dis: cussions, and had of late become envious of their little profits on the trade of the colonists, which he felt every disposition to divert into his own cof- fers; and determined to make good use of the present state of despondency in most of the company, and unpopularity with the public, to effect his de- signs. Wishing however to gain his end by stealth, and secret influence
1623 with their officers, rather than by open violence, he again tried his strength in the nomination of four individuals from whom the com- pany were to choose their treasurer. But he was again signally defeated, and the earl of Southampton re-elected by a large majority, the king's can- didates receiving only eight votes in seventy.
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