Colonial Governments: The First Charter of Virginia
1-15
The colony of Virginia was the first to be established. Under royal charter from King James I
of England, a group of settlers traveled to the New World and established a settlement.
Their stated purpose was to spread the Christian religion to the natives of the New World.
Organized and led by a group of merchants, their interests were also commercial. After
initial hardships, they developed viable commercial ventures in tobacco farming. Their
efforts encouraged others from England to migrate to the New World and establish other
settlements.
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Maryland
Delaware
New
Jersey
Washington D. C.
West
Virginia
Whereas
Virginia
James River
Richmond
Kentucky
Roanoke
James
Jamestown
National
Historic Site
I James,
by the Grace of God,
King of England, Scotland,
France, and Ireland,
Defender of the Faith, &c.
Atlantic
Ocean
Tennessee
North Carolina
South
Carolina
Jamestown was settled on an island in the mouth of the James River
below present-day Richmond. The island is now a national historic park.
our loving and well-disposed
Subjects . . . have been humble
Suitors unto us, that We
would vouchsafe unto them our
Licence, to make Habitation,
Plantation, and to deduce a
Colony of sundry of our
People into that Part of
America, commonly called
Virginia . . .
(Barck-Lefler 36-37)
Who:
Sir John Popham drafted the Charter. Sir Edmond Coke wrote the Charter. King James I of
England granted the Charter.
What:
First Colonial Charter in America. The Charter was to govern two colonies located in Virginia. It
provided for a Council of Virginia, consisting of 13 members appointed by the king and resident
in England who were to have “the superior Managing and Directing” of the colonies. This Council
was then to appoint a 13-member subordinate council to be resident in each colony. Each council
was given authority to govern according to “such Laws, Ordinances, and Instructions” as
approved by the king of England.
When:
In 1606, King James I signed the Charter that officially established the colony of Virginia. The
settlement of the colony began when the first colonists arrived in 1607, at a location they named
Jamestown, which became the first permanent British settlement in the New World.
Where:
A location “commonly called Virginia,” which is located between 34 degrees and 45 degrees north
latitude and “Islands thereunto adjacent to or within one hundred miles of the coast thereof.”
How:
After signing a peace treaty with Spain in 1603, Britain concentrated its capital and energies
on colonization. Four companies, composed of London merchants, were interested in pursuing
ventures in America. They petitioned King James I for a Royal Charter. These merchants referred
to themselves as the “Virginia Company.”
Why:
They specified their motive as being the “propagation of Christian Religion” among “the infidels
and Savages, living in these Parts.”