History of Virginia

Virginia

The written history of Virginia begins with documentation by the first Spanish explorers to reach the area in the 16th century, when it was occupied chiefly by Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan peoples. In 1607, English colonization began in present day Virginia with Jamestown, which would become the first permanent English settlement in North America.

The Virginia Company colony was looking for gold and spices, and land to grow crops, however they would find no fortunes in the area, and struggled to maintain a food supply. The settlement survived the famine during the harsh winter of 1609, which forced colonists to eat leather from their clothes and boots, and resort to cannibalism. In 1610, survivors abandoned Jamestown, although they returned after meeting a resupply convoy in the James River. Soon thereafter during the early 17th century, tobacco emerged as a profitable export. It was chiefly grown on plantations, using primarily enslaved labor for the intensive hand labor involved. After 1662, the colony turned black slavery into a hereditary racial caste. Jamestown would serve as the Colony of Virginia's capitol from 1607 to 1699, until the capitol was moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, from 1699 to 1780. Since 1780, Virginia's capitol city has been Richmond, Virginia.

By 1750, the primary cultivators of the cash crop were West African slaves. While the plantations thrived because of the high demand for tobacco, most white settlers in the colony raised their families on subsistence farms. Warfare with the Virginia Indian nations had been an ongoing factor during the 17th century. After 1700, there was continued conflict with natives east of the Alleghenies, especially in the French and Indian War (1754–1763), when the tribes were allied with the French. The Virginia Colony became the wealthiest and most populated of the Thirteen Colonies in North America with an elected General Assembly. The colony was dominated by wealthy planters, who were also in control of the established Anglican Church. Baptist and Methodist preachers brought the Great Awakening, welcoming black members, and leading to many evangelical and racially integrated churches.

In 1776, Virginia and the rest of the American Colonies, would declare independence from Great Britain, helping form the United States. Virginia planters had a major role in gaining independence and in the development of Democratic-Republican ideals of the United States. They were important in the Declaration of Independence, writing the Constitutional Convention (and preserving protection for the slave trade), and establishing the Bill of Rights. In 1780, the capital of Virginia moved to Richmond, Virginia, where it has remained since. Virginia was the tenth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution on June 25, 1788. The state of Kentucky separated from Virginia in 1792. Four of the first five U.S. presidents were Virginians: George Washington, the "Father of his country"; and after 1800, "The Virginia Dynasty" of presidents for 24 years: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.