Colony and Dominion of Virginia
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The Colony of Virginia was the anuis England|English]] colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution. The colony then became the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1776, one of the original thirteen states of the United States.
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[edit] History
The name "Virginia" is the oldest designation for English lands in North America. At first, the term applied to the entire coast of North America initially claimed by France, from the 34th parallel (near Cape Fear) north to the 48th parallel, thus including all the shorelines of Acadia, and a large portion of inland Canada. The name can also refer to Virgin queen or Elizabeth I of England who ruled England during the time when the colony was established.
Although Francis I of France had elder claims to this land by Giovanni da Verrazzano (it was to be named Francesca), the French chose to settle the lands sighted by John Cabot and left this land to the English.[citation needed]
[edit] Settlement at Roanoke Island
The first English settlement was at Roanoke Island in 1587. Sir Walter Raleigh sent 150 people to the island of Roanoke (in present-day North Carolina) to settle. The expedition leader, John White returned to England for supplies in 1587 and was forced to stay there because they were at war with Spain. He returned two years later only to find the colony abandoned. The houses were intact, but the colonists had completely disappeared. There are a number of theories, but the facts regarding their fate remained a continuing mystery into the 21st century.
[edit] Jamestown Settlement
A new charter for the settlement of the coast was granted to the London Company and Plymouth Company (the two branches of the Virginia Company) in 1606. The first settlements were at Jamestown Settlement in 1607 and at the Popham Colony in the present-day state of Maine. Of the two, only the Jamestown Settlement took long-term root, although the first five years were very tenuous at best.
See article Jamestown for detailed history of that part of the colony.
In 1609, with the abandonment of the Plymouth Company settlement, the Virginia charter was adjusted to include the territory north of the 34th parallel and south of the 39th parallel, with its original coastal grant extended "from sea to sea". In that year, the flagship of the London Company, the Sea Venture, was driven onto the reefs of Bermuda, since known officially also as The Somers Isles (in commemoration of Admiral Sir George Somers), resulting in the Company's unintended settlement of that archipelago. The Company's possession of Bermuda was made official in 1612, when the third and final charter extended the boundaries of 'Virginia' far enough out to sea to encompass Bermuda, which was also known, for a time, as Virgineola. In 1620, the portion of Virginia north of the 39th parallel became known as New England.[citation needed]
In 1624, the Virginia Company's charter was revoked and the colony transferred to royal authority as a crown colony. The first slaves arrived at the colony in 1619.[citation needed]
Subsequent charters for the Maryland Colony in 1632 and the Carolina Colony in 1665 further reduced the Virginia Colony to coastal borders it held until the American Revolution.
[edit] Names and nicknames for Virginia
Charles II gave Virginia the title of "Old Dominion" in gratitude of Virginia's loyalty to the crown during the English Civil War; Virginia maintains "Old Dominion" as its state nickname. Accordingly, the University of Virginia's athletic teams are known as "Cavaliers." Another nickname is the "Mother of Presidents," since many of the past presidents were born in Virginia, such as Thomas Jefferson, who also wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
[edit] See also
- History of Virginia
- List of colonial governors of Virginia
- Lost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
- Chesapeake Colonies
