an unlimited area of land from the colony itself at the cost of
five shillings per fifty acres. This action was referred to as a
"Treasury Right." Therefore, the "Head-Right" system was no longer
the most common method of acquiring land settlements in the Virginia
Colony. The population of the Virginia Colony was predominantly
English and all types of social classes were now represented here:
from the aristocratic nobles to the uncouth convicts. With the
influx of the Cavaliers and with the reputation of the prosperity
of the Virginia Colony, the number of middle class and upper class
residents increased considerably during the Eighteenth Century until
such residents soon made up a majority of the inhabitants. By 1700,
the population of Virginia was approximately 70,000 including about
5,500 Negroes.
By 1710, the practice had been established of allowing the Governor
of a British Colony to remain in England and to appoint deputies
to live in the colony and actually to rule the colony. At this
time, Alexander Spotswood arrived in Virginia as a royal Governor,
technically the Deputy to Lord George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney, the
official Lieutenant and Governor-General of the Virginia Colony. He
was the first royal Governor to live in the new Governor's Palace
at Williamsburg. Governor Spotswood remained in this position for
twelve years and was responsible for many improvements and much
progress in the Virginia Colony. He encouraged and helped carry out
the beautifying of Williamsburg, the new capital city. Ravines were
filled, streets leveled, some college buildings, a public magazine
(a storehouse for arms and ammunition) and a church were erected
primarily due to his influence. Since he believed in developing the
natural resources of Virginia, he had iron foundries established
along the Rapidan River, near Fredericksburg. As a result, the first
mining village in Virginia, Germanna, located near the Blue Ridge
Mountains, came into existence. This village was named in honor of
the German miners who came to Virginia to work the iron mines and in
honor of the German ruler, Queen Anne.
In 1716, the Governor and some friends started out to explore the
Northwest. They stopped at Germanna to shoe the horses as protection
for them on the rocky, mountain roads. The Governor traveled by
stagecoach from Williamsburg to Germanna. Here he changed to
horseback and accompanied by two groups of rangers and four Indian
guides, in addition to the original group, he traced the Rapidan
River to its headwaters and then proceeded to climb the east side
of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They reached the top near Swift Run
Gap and, from this summit, viewed the great Shenandoah Valley and
the Allegheny Mountains about twenty miles away. They spent the
night there on the summit and then descended the west slope of the
mountain, finally arriving at a river which they called Euphrates.
This same river is known today as the Shenandoah River, an Indian
name meaning "Daughter of the Stars." As had happened earlier on the
Batts-Fallon expedition, a volley of gunfire was shot, and Governor
Spotswood claimed possession of the land in the name of George I,
then King of England. The highest mountain peak which they had
climbed they called Mount George in his honor, and the next highest
one was called Mount Alexander in honor of the Governor himself.
The expedition had been such a pleasant one for the Governor that
legend states that he sent to England for small individual golden
horseshoe pins with diamonds symbolizing the nailheads and presented
one to each of his companions on this memorable trip, bestowing
upon them the title of "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe." Governor
Spotswood also was a most able diplomat with the Indians, and he
tried conscientiously to help them get better educated. For example,
he sent white teachers to help them to develop their handicraft
and the arts of civilization, and later, he encouraged many of the
Indian boys to attend William and Mary College where they could
specialize in their particular abilities. Spotswood was later
appointed Postmaster General for the Colonies and was responsible
for initiating a postal system extending from Charleston to Boston.
Colonel Hugh Drysdale succeeded him as Governor for the next four
years.
In 1716, the first theater in America was built by William
Levingston at Williamsburg. It was constructed for the acting of
"Comedies, Drolls and other kind of stage plays ... thought fitt to
be acted there." Mary Stagg, the wife of Charles Stagg, who was the
manager of the theater, is considered the first theatrical leading
lady in America. Although many British actors and musicians were
participants in this theater, it often suffered from financial
stress. Thus, twenty-nine years later, this theater was donated to
Williamsburg to be used as a town hall.
In 1722, Williamsburg, the capital of Colonial Virginia (1699-1780),
became the first incorporated municipality in Virginia. It became
the leading political, economic, educational and social center of
the colony, especially during legislative sessions. Eight years
after Williamsburg had been incorporated, William Parks arrived
there as a public printer. He set up the first permanent printing
press in Virginia and approximately six years later, Virginia's
first colonial newspaper, the "Virginia Gazette," was printed.
Colonel Robert Carter, President of the Council, succeeded Governor
Drysdale in July 1726. Carter was a very wealthy man whose land
holdings--300,000 acres total--were second in Virginia only to the
Fairfaxes. Because of his enormous wealth and arrogant manner, he
was nicknamed "King" Carter.
In 1728, William Byrd II was the leader of a survey group
which followed the Virginia-North Carolina borderline from the
Atlantic Ocean two hundred and forty miles westward. This action
provided Virginians with knowledge of the type of terrain and its
potentiality along this important borderline.
It was in the period 1730-1760 that a majority of the beautiful
brick and stone plantation mansions were constructed. The wealthy
families preferred the country-side. Some of the mansions built at
this time included Westover (William Byrd family), Stratford Hall
(Thomas Lee family), Ampthill (Archibald Cary family), Carter's
Grove (Robert Carter Burwell family) and Mount Airy (John Tayloe
family).
Sir William Gooch was acting chief executive of Virginia for
twenty-two years, 1727-1749. His greatest project during this period
was the development of settlements in the Shenandoah Valley. At the
beginning of the Eighteenth Century, some Scotch-Irish, Germans
and French Huguenots settled in Virginia. The Scotch-Irish had
migrated first to Pennsylvania and to New Jersey. Upon hearing about
the beautiful valley seen by Governor Spotswood, they decided to
settle there. Their main settlement was located in the area now
included in the Winchester and Staunton areas and in the counties of
Augusta and Rockbridge. It became so densely populated with people
originally from Northern Ireland that it was called the "Irish
Tract." Later, additional Scots direct from Scotland migrated here
in large numbers. Germans had already migrated in large numbers to
Germanna, the mining town. The French Huguenot immigrants settled
mainly along both sides of the James River at Manakintown. Thus,
the Shenandoah Valley and the area beyond the Blue Ridge and the
Allegheny Mountains were colonized primarily by the Scotch-Irish,
German, and French Huguenots.
Two years later, the Quakers organized a church at Hopewell which is
the oldest church in northern Virginia. Six years later, the oldest
Lutheran church in the South was built in Madison County by some of
the Germans from Germanna. Its financial support originally came
from friends in Germany, and it was called Hebron Church.
In 1749, Augusta Academy was founded by the Presbyterians in Augusta
County, and it was the first classical school located west of the
Blue Ridge Mountains. Its name was later changed in 1775 to the
patriotic title of Liberty Hall. This academy was the forerunner of
the Washington and Lee University.
Colonel Thomas Lee was acting Governor from 1749 to 1751. He
encouraged westward expansion in the Virginia Colony and believed
that the French should be expelled from America. He was the father
of the most famous family in Virginia history: the Lee family. He
built the now-famous family homestead, Stratford, in Westmoreland
County in 1725-1730. During his governorship, some wealthy
Virginians formed the Ohio Company whose purpose was to settle a
colony west of the Allegheny Mountains on a tract of land 500,000
acres in size. Four years later, the company constructed a fort
at the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers where the
present city of Pittsburgh is now located. One hundred and twenty
miles north of this fort, the French proceeded to construct Fort
LeBoeuf on the Allegheny River. Since many Virginians and other
Englishmen from other colonies had been settling in the Ohio Valley,
they became much alarmed at the construction and occupation of this
French fort. Consequently, the British-Americans began to observe
carefully the activities of the French in this region. Colonel Lee
had the unusual distinction of being the only Virginian to have a
Crown Commission of Governor awarded to him even though he died
before the commission reached him.
From 1721 to 1750, nineteen new counties were created: Hanover
(formed from New Kent and named for the Duke of Hanover who later
became King George of England), Spotsylvania (formed from Essex,
King William and King and Queen Counties and named for Lieutenant
Governor Spotswood), King George (formed from Richmond and later
a part of Westmoreland County and named for George I, King of
England), Goochland (formed from Henrico County and named for
William Gooch, the Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia at the time),
Caroline (formed from Essex, King and Queen and King William
Counties and named for Queen Caroline, George II's wife), Prince
William (formed from Stafford and King George Counties and named for
William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland), Brunswick (formed from Prince
George and parts of Surry and Isle of Wight Counties and named for
the Duchy of Brunswick in Germany), Orange (formed from Spotsylvania
and named for William, Prince of Orange, an English king), Amelia
(formed from Prince George and Brunswick Counties and named for
Princess Amelia, King George II's youngest daughter), Fairfax
(formed from Prince William County and named for Lord Fairfax),
Frederick (formed from Orange County and named for Frederick,
Prince of Wales, George II's son and George III's father), Louisa
(formed from Hanover County and named for King George II's daughter,
Princess Louisa, who was also the wife of King Frederick V of
Denmark), Albemarle (formed from Goochland County and named for
William Anne Keppel, the second Earl of Albemarle, Governor-General
of the Colony who remained in England during the entire time),
Augusta (formed from Orange and named for Princess Augusta, wife of
Frederick, Prince of Wales, George III's father), Lunenburg (formed
from Brunswick and named for one of George I's titles: Duke of
Brunswick-Lunenburg), Chesterfield (formed from Henrico and named
for the famous Lord Chesterfield, Philip Dormer Stanhope), Culpeper
(formed from Orange County and named for Lord Thomas Culpeper,
Governor of Virginia, 1680-1683), Southampton (formed from Isle
of Wight County and named for Henry Wriothesley, the third Earl
of Southampton and a leading member of the Virginia Company) and
Cumberland (formed from Goochland County and part of Buckingham
County and named in honor of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland).
By 1750, the Virginia colony was enjoying prosperity. Numerous large
plantations had come into existence. As more and more soil became
impoverished due to a lack of crop rotation, non-use of fertilizer
and the intensive planting of the tobacco crop which requires a
rich soil, additional land was purchased and added to the existing
homestead. Consequently, plantations of 100,000 to 300,000 acres
became common, especially around the Tidewater area. The larger the
tobacco plantation, the greater the need for cheap labor became
apparent. Consequently, the number of Negro slaves increased in
Virginia until by 1750, there were approximately 115,000 Negroes and
approximately 170,000 free whites. The increase in huge plantations
caused the middle class tobacco farmer to migrate westward as he
could not successfully compete with the larger tobacco planters.
The Virginia plantation owners had become accustomed at this time
to allowing the London tobacco merchants to act as their bankers:
they would order their necessities, supplies and luxuries (glass,
silver, china) via their tobacco credits. Such a system furnished
an immediate advantage for the plantation owners but also created
a situation whereby the Virginia planters became heavily indebted
financially to the London merchants. The plantation owners also
became the influential individuals within the colony--politically,
economically and socially. Thus, Virginia at this time was
practically ruled by an aristocracy. Although the governing power
of the assembly had increased gradually, the political power of
the commoner or average citizen had not increased accordingly.
Membership in the Virginia Council was considered a position of the
greatest prestige and was almost an hereditary position. The two
required qualifications were wealth and social position. The era
of aristocratic living which predominated in the Virginia Colony
between 1700-1750 is often referred to as the "Golden Age" of
Virginia's colonial history.
_The Pre-Revolutionary War Era_
While Robert Dinwiddie was the acting Governor of Virginia, the
English and French rivalry in colonial settlements was becoming
bitter in America. In 1753, Governor Dinwiddie selected George
Washington to visit General St. Pierre, the commander in charge of
the French fort at Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Erie, and to
inform him that the Ohio country belonged to the English and that he
should withdraw his troops from there at once. Dinwiddie sincerely
believed that the land upon which the French fort had been built was
English territory. Washington and four comrades rode on horseback
from Williamsburg to Fredericksburg where he hired Jacob Vanbraam as
an interpreter since Washington could not speak French. They rode to
Alexandria where Washington purchased food and essential equipment
because there were no towns between Alexandria and Winchester.
Two weeks later he reached Winchester, after having made the
dangerous crossing of the unbridged Shenandoah River. At Winchester,
Washington hired a well-known guide, Christopher Gist, to assist
him on his journey to Fort LeBoeuf where the French General had
arrived to supervise its fortifications. Two Indian traders also
accompanied him. They traveled to Maryland and to Pennsylvania until
they reached the French fort, Fort LeBoeuf. The destination was
approximately five hundred miles from Williamsburg. Although St.
Pierre was polite and friendly, Washington was informed that the
French had been ordered to eject every Englishman from the Ohio
Valley and that the French had the rightful claim to such territory.
Before he departed, Washington noticed a large fleet of birch-bark
canoes and boats of pine and was convinced that a war between the
English and French would be necessary to settle the dispute over the
control of the Northwest.
Washington returned to Williamsburg in January 1754, and reported
to Governor Dinwiddie a detailed account of his journey. Washington
then prepared a written report which persuaded the members of the
General Assembly to realize the seriousness of this matter. Colonel
Joshua Fry, with Washington second in command, marched with a
troop of one hundred and fifty men against the French in the Ohio
Valley. On March 28, near Great Meadows, Washington's group killed
the French commander, Coulon de Jumonville, and killed or captured
all his soldiers except one. On March 31, 1754, Washington was
granted a commission as Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginia Regiment,
which he later received at Gadsby's Tavern in Alexandria. In the
meantime, Colonel Fry had died suddenly from an accidental fall, and
Washington had succeeded to the command.
Fort Necessity, near Farmington, Pennsylvania, a crude structure of
defense, was in the process of being constructed by the Virginians
at the forks of the Ohio River when seven hundred French soldiers
appeared, outnumbering the Virginian troops by at least four
hundred men. Washington and his troops were forced to surrender,
were allowed to leave with the honors of war and finally trudged
back to Winchester. The Battle of Great Meadows and the Battle of
Fort Necessity were of historical importance because they marked
the beginning of the French and Indian War in America, they were
actually the first fighting attacks in the Seven Years War in Europe
between the English and the French, and they provided the first
real combat fighting experience for George Washington who was only
twenty-two years old at the time. The French proceeded to occupy
Fort Necessity and after improving it considerably, they changed its
name to Fort Duquesne, in honor of Canada's governor.
The following summer, in 1755, Washington returned with a larger
army to the Ohio area. Two regiments, one thousand, of British
regulars had been sent from England under the command of General
Edward Braddock. These soldiers arrived at Alexandria from
England, and Washington, having been assigned as an aide-de-camp
to General Braddock, joined them there. A conference of five royal
Governors--Dinwiddie (Virginia), Morris (Pennsylvania), Sharp
(Maryland), DeLacey (New York) and Shirley (Massachusetts)--was
held at the Carlyle House in Alexandria on April 14 to formulate
plans for the protection of the western frontier against the French
and Indian raids along the Ohio River. After much discussion, a
campaign plan was adopted whereby General Braddock was to capture
Fort Duquesne and expel the French from the Ohio Valley. At this
same conference, the suggestion was made that the British Ministry
could levy taxes on the colonies to help pay the expense of the war.
Braddock and his troops marched westward from Alexandria into
western Pennsylvania near Fort Duquesne through dense wilderness
from April 12 to July 9. General Braddock had been accustomed to
fighting the European tactics way, but he was wholly unfamiliar with
Indian and ambush fighting. Washington anxiously warned Braddock
of ambush possibilities, but Braddock continued to have his army
march in regular step in close order and in full uniform regalia
through the underbrush. Indian scouts daily reported the progress
of Braddock's army to the French at Fort Duquesne. When the British
troops were within eight miles of the fort, they were attacked by
the French and the Indians. The Virginia soldiers, many of whom were
experienced in wilderness fighting, ran for cover behind the trees.
Braddock, however, ordered his men to keep their formation and fire
simultaneously. Thus, they were easy targets for the French and the
Indians. Finally, they became so frightened at this unusual type of
fighting that they broke ranks and tried to flee. Half of Braddock's
1600 troops were killed or wounded, Braddock himself being fatally
wounded in action. This defeat occurred on July 9, 1755.
In addition to this military slaughter, numerous Cherokee Indian
raiding parties took place from 1759-1760 in the Shenandoah Valley
of Virginia where homes were burned and men, women and children were
killed unmercifully. Washington was put in charge of this frontier
campaign with his headquarters at a fort in Winchester. Eventually,
the General Assembly of Virginia raised troops of its own for its
defense. The General Assembly then passed a law whereby a "Scalp
Market" was established, and anyone bringing male scalps of hostile
Indians above the age of twelve years to the market would receive
ten pounds per scalp in 1755 to forty-five pounds per scalp in 1758
when the law expired. In July, the British General John Forbes with
a large number of English soldiers and some Cherokee allies went to
Fort Duquesne via Philadelphia. They were rejoined in September by
Colonel Washington. Fort Duquesne was finally won by the English and
colonial and Indian soldiers, and Washington, himself, raised the
British flag over its ruins on November 25, 1758, ending the Indian
attacks also on the frontier. Fort Duquesne had its name changed to
Fort Pitt in honor of William Pitt the Elder, a British statesman,
who had given ample support to Virginia's colonial policies. Thus,
the inhabitants of Virginia played their role in the French and
Indian War, apparently a misnomer because the war was actually
fought between the French and the Indians and the British and the
Indians.
In December 1763, Patrick Henry distinguished himself as a young
lawyer by challenging the authority of Parliament and the King in
a case commonly called the "Parsons' Cause." The Church of England
was the established church of Virginia, and the people were taxed
for the parsons' salaries. Because coin money was scarce in the
colonies, Virginia, like the other colonies, had adopted the custom
of paying their clergymen in tobacco. One disadvantage of this
system was the fluctuation of the value of the tobacco, based upon
the law of supply and demand. Whenever there was a tobacco crop
failure, the value of tobacco increased considerably. This occurred
in 1758 when there was so little tobacco available that the House of
Burgesses passed a law stating that all debts payable ordinarily in
tobacco might be paid in money at the rate of two pence per pound
of tobacco. The parsons' salary was 16,000 pounds of tobacco. When
the above law was passed allowing the parsons to be paid in money,
they felt that it was unfair because tobacco at that time was more
valuable at the rate of six pence per pound of tobacco than the
money value itself. Furthermore, the parsons had had to accept the
same amount of tobacco when the prices had previously declined. King
George agreed with the parsons and requested that they be given
their 16,000 pounds of tobacco or else a sum of money equivalent
to the amount which 16,000 pounds of tobacco would be worth. Such
an order was contrary to the law passed by the House of Burgesses
and was a continuation of a custom which England had been using
of "disallowing" a law passed by the colonial legislature. The
Burgesses refused to accept the "disallowing" of their law; in turn,
the parsons, knowing that the King had favored their opinion in
the matter, took their problem to the Hanover County Court as they
believed they were entitled to the back pay for the time which the
House of Burgesses' law was in effect. The court had ruled that the
parsons were entitled to the back pay and was ready to proceed with
the problem of deciding upon the amount which it believed was due
each parson.