A century after Jamestown was founded, Virginia was a prosperous,
flourishing colony. The capital was moved a few miles away to
Williamsburg, which today has been rebuilt to look much as it did in
colonial times. Along the James River were large plantations, operated
by gentleman farmers. These men lived much as their land-owning cousins
did in the old country. Lower on the social scale, of course, were white
indentured servants, who had bound themselves to years of labor in
return for their passage to Virginia, and slaves.