USA > Virginia > Historical collections of Virginia : containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities ; together with geographical and statistical descriptions ; to which is appended, an historical and descriptive sketch of the District of Columbia. > Part 19
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Bancroft, (i. 223,) citing contemporary authorities of the highest value, says, no sooner had the Guinea frigate entered within the waters of the Chesapeake, than (quo- ting from Clarendon) all thoughts of resistance were laid aside. It marks, continues Bancroft, the character of the Virginians ; that they refused to surrender to force. but yielded by a voluntary deed and mutual compact." " By the articles of surrender a com- plete indemnity was stipulated for all past offences ; and the colonists recognising the authority, were admitted into the bosom of the English commonwealth, and expressly assured of an equal participation in all the privileges of the free people of England. In particular, it provided that the Provincial Assembly should retain its wonted functions, and that the people of Virginia should have as free trade as the people of England to all places and all nations," and " shall be free from all taxes, customs. and impositions whatsoever, without the consent of their own Assembly." Berkeley disdained to make , any stipulation for himself, with those whom his principles of loyalty taught him to re- gard as usurpers. Without leaving Virginia, he withdrew to a retired situation, where he continued to reside as a private individual, universally beloved and respected till a new revolution was to summon him once more to defy the republican forces of England and restore the ascendancy of royalty in the colony.
This was in March, 1652: and affairs continued much in this state until 1660. In the mean time, Richard Bronet, Edward Digees, and Samuel Matthews, had been over- ally elected by the Burgesses, Governor of Virginia, under allegiance to Oliver Crom- well, and on his death, 1658, to Richard Cromwell. But in 1660, Gov. Matthews died ; and the people, discontented with some commercial restrictions imposed by the Probe- torate, did not wait for a new commission from England. but elected Sir William Berke- ley, and " by an obliging violence compelled him to accept the government." He, however, refused to act under the usurpation of the Cromwells, and would not consent, unless they joined with him in joining their lives and fortunes for the king who was then an exile.
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" This," says Beverly, " was their dearest wish, and therefore, with a unanimous voice, they told him that they were ready to hazard all for the king." Now, this was actually before the king's return to England. and proceeded from a broad principle of loyalty for which they had no example. Sir William Berkeley embraced their choice, and fortherth proclaimed Charles Il. king of England. Scotland, fre and, and Vir. ginia, and caused all processes to be issued in his name. Thus his majesty was actu. ally king in Virginia before he was in Fogland. On the restoration of the king ho sent Sir William a new commission, and granted him permission to visit England.
He was received by the monarch with much kindness ; and there is recorded a tradi tion, that the king, in compliment to that colony, wore at his coronation a robe made of the silk which was sent from thence. Such is a condensed narration of the causes and incidents which gave to Virginia the honored title of the " OLD DOMINION."
SLAVERY AND TOBACCO.
The following relates to the introduction of slaves, and the cultivation of tobacco, with their influence on the character and condition of the inhabitants of Virginia. It is drawn from the Life of Jefferson, by Prof. George Tucker, of the University of Virginia; a work written with perspicuity and candor, and incidentally elucidating important points in the civil and political history of the state.
In 1744, at the period of the birth of Mr. Jefferson, the settlements had extended about 200 miles from the sea-coast, and in the northern part of the colony, had passed the Blue Ridge. The population was then about 200,000, of whom from a quarter to a third were slaves.
The cultivation of tobacco, and the introduction of slaves, soon after Virginia was set- tled, have had a marked influence upon the habits, character, and fortunes of the coun- try. The introduction of tobacco, in England, about 20 years before the settlement of Jamestown, led to a rapid extension of its use. A demand being thus created, and a heavy price paid, encouraged the first settlers of Virginia to cultivate it for market, to the neglect of other crops. It long continued the sole article of export, and from the in- adequate supply of the precious metals, it became the general measure of value, the prin- cipal currency of the colony. In 1758, the quantity exported had increased to about 70 millions of pounds, since which time the product has somewhat diminished.
" As this plant requires land of the greatest fertility, and its finer sorts are produced only in virgin soil, which it soon exhausts, its culture has been steadily advancing west- wardly, where fresh land is more abundant, leaving the castern region it has impoverish- ed to the production of Indian corn, wheat, and other grain. Its cultivation has thus generally ceased in the country below the falls of the great rivers, and in its progress to the west, the centre of the tobacco region is now two hundred miles from the coast.
" The business of cultivating tobacco, and preparing it for market, requires auch contin- ual attention, and so much. and so many sorts of handling, as to allow to the planter little time for any of the other useful processes of husbandry ; and thus the management of his dairy and orchard, and the useful operations of manuring, irrigation, and cultivating arti- ficial grasses, are either conducted in a slovenly way, or neglected altogether. The to- bacco district nowhere exhibits the same external face of verdure, or marks of rural comfort and taste, as are to be seen in those countries in which its culture has been abandoned.
" But the most serious consequence of the tobacco cultivation is to be found in the in- crease of slaves ; for though it did not occasion their first introduction, it greatly en- couraged their importation afterwards. It is to the spirit of commerce, which in its un. distinguished pursuit of gain, ministers to our vices no less than to one necessary wants, that Virginia owes this portentous secession to her population. A Dutch ship from the const of Guinea entered James River, in 1020, thirteen years after the first settlement of Jamestown. and sold twenty of her slaves to the colonists.
" The large profits which could be made from the labor of slaves, while tobacco sold at three shillings sterling a pound, equal to about ten time : is ordinary price now, greatly encouraged their further importation, by giving to the planters the means of purchasing as well as the inclination ; and the effect would have been much greater, if they had not been continually supplied with labot from the paupers, and sometimes the convicts, who were brought from England and sold to the planters for a term of years, to defray the expenses of their transportation.
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" This supply of English servants, together with the gradual fall in the price of tobacco, had so checked the importation of slaves, that in the year 1671, according to an official communication from the governor, Sir William Berkeley, while the whole population was but 40,000, the number of indented servants was 6,000, and that of the slaves was but 2,000. The importations of the latter, he says, did not exceed two or three cargoes in seven years, but that of servants, of whom he says, 'most were English, few Scotch, and fewer Irish,' he estimates at 1,500 annually.
" But in process of time, slave labor was found preferable to that of indented white ser- vants, partly because the negro slaves were more cheaply fed and clothed than the labor- ers who were of the same race as the masters, but principally because they were less able to escape from bondage, and were more easily retaken. The colonial statute bock af- fords abundant evidence of the frequency and facility with which the indented servants ran away from their masters ; and the extent of the mischief may be inferred from the se- verity of its punishment. In 1642. runaway servants were liable, for a second offence. to be branded on the cheek ; though fifteen years afterwards the law was so far mitigated as to transfer this mark of ignominy to the shoulder. In 1662, their term of service, which did not often exceed four or five years, might, for the offence of running away, be pro- longed, at the discretion of a magistrate, and the master might superadd ' moderate cor- poreal punishment.' In the following year, this class of persons, prompted by the con- victs who had been sent over after the restoration of Charles the Second, formed a con- spiracy of insurrection and murder, which was discovered just in time to be defeated. Seven years afterwards, in 1670, the governor and council took upon themselves to pro- hibit the further importation of convicts, whom they call ' jail birds ;' and they assign this conspiracy as one of their motives for the order. The privilege, too, enjoyed by the servant of complaining to the magistrate for the harsh treatment of his master, either as to food, clothing, or punishment, formed, no doubt, a further ground of preference for slaves, who had no such inconvenient rights.
" Under the united influence of these circumstances the number of negro slaves so in- creased, that in 1732, the legislature thought proper to discourage their further importa- tion by a tax on each slave imported ; and not to alarm the commercial jealousy of Eng - land, the law, conforming to the notions of the age, formally provided for what no mode of levying the tax could have prevented. that the duty should be paid by the purchaser. This duty was at first five per cent. on the value of the slave, but in a few years after- wards, (1740,) it was increased to ten per cent., from which it was never reduced. It did not, however, prevent large importations, for we find the number to have increased in 119 years, in the ratio of 1 to 146 ; that is, from 2,000 in the year 1671, to 293,427 in 1790 ; while in the same period the whites had increased only as 1 to 12, or from 38,000 to 454,881. In the forty years which have elapsed, from the first to the last census, it is gratifying to perceive that the increase of the free population in Virginia has been some- what greater than that of the slaves. in the proportion of 63 per cent. to 60, and that this comparative gain seems to be gradually increasing.
" As Eastern Virginia is everywhere intersected by navigable rivers, which are skirted on either side by rich alluvial lands, the carly settlers, whose plantations were principally along the margins of the rivers, were able to carry on a direct intercourse with foreign countries, from their separate dwellings. Thus commerce, by the very diffusion of its most important natural facilities, did not here concentrate in a few favorable spots, and foster the growth of towns, as in most of the other colonies ; and at the beginning of the revolution, Williamsburg, the seat of government, and the largest town in Virginia, itself the most populous of the colonies, did not contain 2,000 inhabitants. But as the bees which form no hive, collect no honey, the commerce, which was thus dispersed, accumu- lated no wealth. The disadvantages of this dispersion were eventually perceived by the colonista, and many efforts were made by the legislature to remedy the mischief by authorizing the establishment of towns on selected sites, and giving special privileges and immunities to those who built, or those who resided on them. Their purpose was also favored, and even stimulated by the government, from fiscal considerations. But most of these legislative efforts failed, and none were very successful. Thus in 1680, as many as twenty towns were authorized by act of assembly, being one for each county ; yet at not more than three or four of the designated spots is there even a village remaining to attest the propriety of the selection.
" There were indeed wanting in the colony all the ordinary constituents of a large town. Here were no manufactories to bring together and employ the ingenious and in- dustrious. The colonists, devoting themselves exclusively to agriculture, owned no ship- ping, which might have induced them to congregate for the sake of carrying on their forcigu commerce to more advantage : here was no court, which by its splendor and
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amusements might attract the gay, the voluptuous, and the rich : there was not even a class of opulent landlords, to whom it is as easy to live on their rents in town as in the country, and far more agreeable. But the very richest planters all cultivated their own 'and with their own slaves; and while those lands furnished most of the materials of a generous, and even profuse hospitality, they could be consumed only where they were produced, and could neither be transported to a distance, nor converted into money. 'The tobacco, which constituted the only article of export, served to pay for the foreign luxuries which the planter required ; yet, with his social habits. it was barely sufficient for that purpose, and not a few of the largest estates were deeply in debt to the Seateh or English merchants, who carried on the whole commerce of the country. Nor was this system of credit more eagerly sought by the improvident planter, than it was given by the thrifty and sagacious trader ; for it afforded to him a sure pledge for the consign- ment of the debtor's crop, on the sales of which his fair perquisites amounted to a liberal profit, and if he was disposed to abuse his trust, his gains were enormous. The mer- chants were therefore ready to ship goods, and accept bills of exchange on the credit of future crops, while their factors in the colony took care in season to make the debt safe by a mortgage on the lands and slaves of the planter. Some idea of the pecuniary thraldom to which the Virginia planter was formerly subjected may be formed from the fact, that twice a year, at a general meeting of the merchants and factors in Williams- burg, they settled the price of tobacco, the advance on the sterling cost of goods, and the rate of exchange with England. It can scarcely be doubted that the regulations were framed as much to the advantage of the merchants as they believed it practicable to execute. Yet it affords evidence of the sagacious moderation with which this deli- cate duty was exercised, that it was not so abused as to destroy itself.
" This state of things exerted a decided influence on the manners and character of the colonists, untrained to habits of business and possessed of the means of hospitality. They were open-handed and open-hearted ; fond of society, indulging in all its pleas- ures, and practising all its courtesies. But these social virtues also occasionally ran into the kindred vices of love of show, haughtiness, sensuality-and many of the wealthier class were to be seen seeking relief from the vacuity of idleness, not merely in the a !- lowable pleasures of the chase and the turi, but in the debasing ones of cock-fighting, gaming, and drinking. Literature was neglected, or cultiva'ed by the small number who had been educated in England, rather as an accomplishment and a mark of distinc- tion, than for the substantial benefits it confers.
"Let us not, however, overrate the extent of these consequences of slavery. If the ha- bitual exercise of authority, united to a want of steady occupation, deteriorated the char- acter of some, it seemed to give a greater elevation of virtue to others. Domestic slave- ry, in fact, places the master in a state of moral discipline, and according to the use he makes of it, is he made better or worse. If he exercises his unrestricted power over the slave, in giving ready indulgence to his humors or caprice -- if he habitually yields to impulses of anger, and punishes whenever he is disobeyed, or obeyed imperfectly, he is certainly the worse for the institution which has thus afforded aliment to his evil pro- pensities. But if, on the other hand, he has been taught to curb these sallies of passion, or freaks of caprice, or has subjected himself to a course of salutary restraint, he is con- tinually strengthening himself in the virtues of self-denial, forbearance, and moderation, and he is all the better for the institution which has afforded so much occasion for the practice of those virtues .* If, therefore, in a .slave-holding country, we see some of the masters made irascible, cruel, and tyrannical. we see many others as remarkable for their mildness, moderation, and self-command ; because, in truth, both the virtues of the one and the vices of the other are carried to the greater extreme by the self-same process of habitual exercise."
INDIANS OF EASTERN VIRGINIA.t
According to the account of Captain John Smith, that part of Virginia that lies be- tween the sea and the mountains, was inhabited by forty-three different tribes of Indians. Thirty of these were united in a grand confederacy under the emperor Powhatan. The dominions of this mighty chief, who was long the most powerful rival, and most impla-
* The character of the Presidents which Virginia has furnished, may be appealed to for a confirmation of this view ; and many living illustrations will readily present them- selves to all who have a personal knowledge of the southern states.
t This article is from the various histories of Virginia.
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cable foe, with whom the English had to contend, extended over that part of the country that lies south of the Potomac, between the coast and the falls of the rivers.
In comparison with civilized countries, this extensive territory contained but a scanty population. The Powhatan confederacy consisted of but about eight thousand inhabit- ants.
Indian in a summer dress.
Indian Priest.
Besides this confederacy, there were two others which were combined against that of Powhatan. These were the Mannahoacks and Manakins; the former of whom, con- sisting of eight tribes, occupied the country lying between Rappahannock and York rivers ; and the latter, consisting of five tribes, was settled between York and James rivers, above the falls. Besides these, were the Nottoways, the Meherricks, the Tute- loes, and several other scattering and independent tribes.
The hereditary dominions of Powhatan lay on James River, which originally bore "his name .* He had a seat on this river, about a mile below the falls, where Richmond now stands, and another at Werowocomoco on the north side of York River, within the present county of Gloucester.
This monarch was remarkable for the strength and vigor of his body, as well as for the energies of his mind. He possessed great skill in intrigue and great courage in bat- the. His equanimity in the career of victory, was only equalled by his fortitude in the hour of adversity. If he had many vices incident to the savage life, he had some vir- tues seldom found among the civilized. He commanded a respect rarely paid by sav- ages to their werowance, and maintained a dignity and splendor worthy the monarch of thirty nations. He was constantly attended by a guard of forty warriors, and during the right a sentry regularly watched his palace. Though unlimited by custom in the number of hin wives, his seraglio exhibited the apathy of the Indian character. When he
* Powhatan, Arrowhattock, Appamattock, Pamunkey, Youghtanund, and Mattapo- ment, descended to him from his ancestors.
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slept, one of his women sat at his head and another at his feet. When he dined they attended him with water, or brought him a bunch of feathers to wipe his hands. His regalia, free from the glitter of art, showed only the simple royalty of the savage. He wore a robe composed of skins, and sat on a throne spread with mats, and decked with pearls and with beads. The furniture of his palace, like the qualities of his mind, was adapted to war, and the implements of death, rather than of pleasure, garnished his halls.
The figures in the annexed engraving, representing an Indian in his summer dress, and an Indian priest, were copied from those given in Beverly's History of Virginia, published in London, in 1722. The figure on the left, (the Indian in his summer dress,) is thus described :
The upper part of his hair is cut short to make a ridge, which stands up like the comb of a cock, the rest is either shorn off' or knotted behind his ear. On his head are stuck three feathers of the wild turkey, pheasant, hawk, or such like. At his ear 1s hung a fine shell, with pearl drops. At his breast is a tablet or fine shell, smooth as pol- ished marble, which also hath sometimes riched on it a star. half-moon, or other figure, according to the maker's fancy ; upon his neck and wrists hang strings of beads, peak, and roehoke. His apron is made of a deer skin, gashed around the edges, which hang like tassels or fringe ; at the upper end of the fringe is an edging of peak, to make it finer. Hlis quiver is of a thin bark ; but sometimes they make it of the skin of a fox. or young wolf, with the head hanging to it, which has a wild sort of terror in it ; and to make it yet more warlike they tie it on with the tail of a panther, buffalo, or such like, letting the end hang down between their legs. The pricked lines on his shoulders, breast, and legs, represent the figures painted thereon. In his left hand he holds a bow, and in his right on errew. The mark upon his shoulder-blade, is a distinction used by the Indians in travelling, to show the nation they are of-and perhaps is the same with that which Baron Lahontan calls the arms and heraldry of the Indians. Thus, the several lettered marks are used by several other nations about Virginia, when they make a journey to their friends and allies.
The habit of the Indian priest, is a cloak made in the form of a woman's petticoat ; but instead of tying it about their middle, they fasten the gatherings about their neck, and tie it upon the right shoulder, always keeping one arm out to use upon occasion. This cloak hangs even at the bottom, but reaches no lower than the middle of the thigh ; but what is most particular in it is, that it is constantly made out of a skin dressed soft, with the pelt or fur on the outside, and reversed ; insomuch that when the cloak has been a little worn, the hair falls down in flakes, and looks very shagged and frightful.
The cut of their hair is likewise peculiar to their function ; for 'tis all shaved close, except a thin crest, like a cock's comb, which stands bristling up, and runs in a semi- cirele from the forehead up along the crown to the nape of the neck. They likewise have a border of hair over the forehead, which, by its own natural strength, and by the stiffening it receives from grease and paint, will stand out like the peak of a bonnet.
The face of the Indian, when arrived at maturity, is a dark brown and chesnat. By a free use of bear's grease, and a continual exposure to the sun and weather, it becomes harder and darker. This, however, is not the natural. complexion. In infancy they are much fairer .* Their hair is almost invariably of a coal black, straight, and long ; their check bones are high, and their eyes black and full of a character of wildness and fero- city that mark their unappeasable thirst of vengeance, and their free and uncontrolled in- dulgence of every fierce and violent passion. But the education of an Indian, which com- mences almost with his birth, teaches him that dissimulation, which masks the thought and smooths the countenance, is the most useful of virtues ; and there is a continual effort to check the fierce sallies of the eye, and keep down the consuming rage of his bosom His eye, therefore, is generally averted or bent downwards. The terrible complacency of the tiger is no inapt illustration of an Indian visage.
The figure of an Indian is admirably proportioned beyond any thing that has hitherto been seen of the human form. Tall, straight ; their muscles hardened by the continual action of the weather ; their limbs supple by exercise, and perhaps by the use of oil, they
* " "They are very swarthy," says Charlevoix, speaking of the Canadians, " and of a dirty dark red. But this is not their natura complexion. The frequent frictions they use give them this red, and it is surprising that they are not blacker : being continually exposed to the smoke in winter, to the great heat in summer, and in all seasons to the inciemencies of the air."
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outstrip the bear, and run down the buck and the elk. No such thing is to be found as a dwarfish, crooked, bandylegged, or otherwise misshapen Indian.
The power and qualities of their minds are such as we should expect from their state of society, In a state of nature the mind of man differs but little from the animals around him. Occupied in supplying his wants or gratifying his resentments, he has but little time or inclination for the labors of calculation or the refinements of abstraction. The sensible objects with which he is most conversant, impress themselves on his memory in the order and degrees of their importance ; but their classification, aud the faculty of generalizing them by an idea and term that shall take in all the particulars and classes, are the result of deep thought and intense reflection. For this, leisure and ap- plication are necessary. But the time of the Indian, after returning successful from the chase, or victorious from the battle, is too valuable to be employed in such trifles. His duty it is to spread the feast ; to hear the praises of the old men, and the congratula- tions of the women ; to attend the great council of the nation, and to sing the history of his own exploits. If any time remain after discharging those duties, he exercises him- self in shooting the arrow or throwing the tomahawk ; or stretched at length along the grass, enjoys that luxury of indolence which constitutes the supreme blessing of his ex- istence.
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