Difference between revisions of "Virginia and Maryland - the early years"
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:It should be noted that the first colonists could not have cared about the details of the charter or councils in England. Survival was the immediate issue. | :It should be noted that the first colonists could not have cared about the details of the charter or councils in England. Survival was the immediate issue. | ||
| + | ====Hardship==== | ||
| + | The colonists who travelled to America under this charter met with hardship that ended in the death of many of them. | ||
| + | :*December 20, 1606, The ''Susan Constant'', the ''Godspeed'', and the ''Discovery'' sailed for the southern part of Virginia. | ||
| + | :::16 of the 120 died on the voyage. | ||
| + | :*They entered Chesapeake Bay on May 6, 1607. | ||
| + | ::A few went to shore and were attacked by natives - 2 wounded. | ||
| + | :*They built a fort on the James River. | ||
| + | ::*Six months later, less than half of those who reached Virginia were still alive due to malaria, Indian arrows, and hunger. | ||
| + | ::*There was also much internal strife. In January 1608, of the colonial council appointed by the king one had died of disease, one had been executed, two were waiting execution, leaving only two others alive and at large. The reasons are not apparent. | ||
| + | ::*One of the council recommended including all surviving members be consulted on governing, but this was considered too democratic and despotic rule was to continue. However, it seems unlikely that made a difference. One can't know, but because of the harsh conditions encountered, they were likely acting on their own cognizance as soon as they stepped on land. It is known that the settlers paid scant attention to the council's instructions on how to build a plantation. | ||
| + | <!-- | ||
| + | :*On an important point comparing the results of despotic vs. democratic rule, Channing writes: "In connection with his description of this expedition, Gardiner (History of England, ii, 253) makes the extraordinary statement that such enterprises needed strong government and not representative institutions, a dictum which is in direct opposition to the teaching of American history, as is evident from a comparison of the history of Virginia and Plymouth. In one there was a council with sufficient power to hang the king's subjects; in the other the majority ruled. Or compare new Netherland under the tyranny of the Dutch regime with the neighboring English colony of Connecticut, where the franchise, in those days, was most liberal." | ||
| + | :::Gardiner was a fine historian - writing in the 1880s - but he put greater trust in the rule of the elite class than in the choices made by a broader electorate as democracy would provide. One of his errors was his inability to gauge the character of the colonists. It was a different kind of person who would leave a relatively comfortable homeland for wilderness and hardship. But his fundamental error was philosophical. Perhaps he is to be forgiven when one try's to take on his perspective as an educated member of the upper class. America was born out of a unique American perspective - which we get to in other articles. But we digress. | ||
| + | --> | ||
| + | :*Of these first 197 colonists who sailed for Virginia from England in 1606 and 1697, 53 were alive in April 1608. | ||
| + | ::This was typical of the first groups to sail to America and an important thing to understand. Primarily men, but also women and children; these were the first heroes of American history. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ===The Charter of 1609=== | ||
| + | The failure of the 1st Virginia Charter (discussed below in “Survival”) was attributed to the fact that common stockholders had no say in its governance or direction. In the charter of 1609, the king placed government of the operation and its plantation in the hands of the stockholders. This did not yet mean, however, having a local representative legislature. | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Citations}} | {{Citations}} | ||
Revision as of 17:48, 3 July 2014
Contents
From 1606, the year of the first Virginia Charter, to about 1660, the eastern seaboard had a number of thriving English colonies stretching from Newport News to the Penobscot River – though still sparsely populated. In 1660 the English Colonies had a population approaching 80,000, plus another 6 or 7 thousand in the Dutch colonies. In 1660 representative government had a strong foothold in the English colonies, though the early charters promised it not. There was much more religious tolerance than at home in England, though not in the realm of politics and Government. Nonconformance was prohibited in most charters. A single established church was still the norm. By 1660, survival in the colonies had become more certain than in the early days in which the odds were fearsome. Yet, even when the chances of survival were around 30%, the English kept coming. 2014/07/03 User:Jeff
From 1606, the year of the first Virginia Charter, to about 1660, the eastern seaboard had a number of thriving English colonies stretching from Newport News to the Penobscot River – though still sparsely populated. In 1660 the English Colonies had a population approaching 80,000[1] [2]plus another 6 or 7 thousand in the Dutch colonies. In 1660 representative government had a strong foothold in the English colonies, though the early charters promised it not. There was much more religious tolerance than at home in England, though not in the realm of politics and Government. Nonconformance was prohibited in most charters. A single established church was still the norm. By 1660, survival in the colonies had become more certain than in the early days in which the odds were fearsome. Yet, even when the chances of survival were around 30%, the English kept coming.
The Virginia Charters of 1606 and 1609
The Charter of 1606
In 1606 James I issued a patent usually cited as the first Virginia Charter. This document is remarkable for what it says about the English and their colonies.
- It asserts the right of the English king to colonize America between the 34th and 45th parallels – from the Cape Fear River to Halifax. These were the southern and northern limits of Virginia – almost the entire eastern seaboard of North America. The Spanish considered Virginia part of the Spanish Indies, which were islands in the Caribbean. James I essentially said – no, we found it, so it’s ours. And that seems to have been the end of it.
English rights
More importantly for our purposes is its establishment of the rights of the English colonists.
- In this charter there is a clause which states that the colonists and their posterity “shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises, and immunities within any of our other dominions, to all intents and purposes as if they had been abiding and born within this our realm of England or any other of our said dominions.”
- James I had previously declared similar rights in the patents given to Walter Ralegh and later to Bartholomew Gilbert. Such a clause also appeared in subsequent charters.
James thus established that English colonies would be unlike the colonies of other countries – notably those of France and Spain.
- English colonists would be considered subjects of the king and citizens who enjoyed the protection of English common Law in the same way as those at home.
- Historian Edward Channing notes that "Go where he would, so long as he settled on land claimed by England and acknowledged allegiance to the English crown, the Englishman carried with him as much of the Common Law of England as was applicable to his situation and was not repugnant to his other rights and privileges."[1]
- Further, most English had ceased to see the king as divinely ordained.
- Henry of Bracton, a prominent English jurist of the 13th century, wrote that the king "is under no man, but is under God and the law." This quote is from the writings of, an English jurist of the 13th century famous for his writings on law, particularly De Legibus et Consuetudinibus Angliae ("On the Laws and Customs of England") who, among other writings argued that a ruler was king only as he obtained and exercised power in a lawful manner - i.e., he placed law above king - which is, of course, what Magna Charta was about.
These two points are remarkable in that, together, they provide a fair approximation to the rule of law – the central concept of the Constitution of the United States.
Governance
The first charter was breaking new ground. There was no allowance for self-rule in the first charter. It was created under complete royal oversight – quickly abandoned in the second charter.
- The charter created a Council for Virginia in England which was over all and appointed by the king.
- Shareholders in the company had no say in company governance.
- This council had executive, legislative, and judiciary functions. Its authority was absolute as was considered necessary due to the high risk nature of the venture.
- The colonists were to be governed by “Articles and Instructions for the Government of Virginia” issued by James I.
- The articles contained much legislative matter including how to deal with crime. Punishment for crime was more liberal than in England then and for years to come. (Channing Vol. I, pg. 166)[1]
- The Instructions went so far as to tell the colonists how they were to determine a proper site for a plantation.
- It is interesting to note, that while the charter is clear about English rights, the colonists seem to have been regarded almost as employees to conduct themselves as directed by councils appointed by the king.
- The charter to follow three years later provided some degree of self rule – though not a great deal.
- It should be noted that the first colonists could not have cared about the details of the charter or councils in England. Survival was the immediate issue.
Hardship
The colonists who travelled to America under this charter met with hardship that ended in the death of many of them.
- December 20, 1606, The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery sailed for the southern part of Virginia.
- 16 of the 120 died on the voyage.
- They entered Chesapeake Bay on May 6, 1607.
- A few went to shore and were attacked by natives - 2 wounded.
- They built a fort on the James River.
- Six months later, less than half of those who reached Virginia were still alive due to malaria, Indian arrows, and hunger.
- There was also much internal strife. In January 1608, of the colonial council appointed by the king one had died of disease, one had been executed, two were waiting execution, leaving only two others alive and at large. The reasons are not apparent.
- One of the council recommended including all surviving members be consulted on governing, but this was considered too democratic and despotic rule was to continue. However, it seems unlikely that made a difference. One can't know, but because of the harsh conditions encountered, they were likely acting on their own cognizance as soon as they stepped on land. It is known that the settlers paid scant attention to the council's instructions on how to build a plantation.
- Of these first 197 colonists who sailed for Virginia from England in 1606 and 1697, 53 were alive in April 1608.
- This was typical of the first groups to sail to America and an important thing to understand. Primarily men, but also women and children; these were the first heroes of American history.
The Charter of 1609
The failure of the 1st Virginia Charter (discussed below in “Survival”) was attributed to the fact that common stockholders had no say in its governance or direction. In the charter of 1609, the king placed government of the operation and its plantation in the hands of the stockholders. This did not yet mean, however, having a local representative legislature.
