The first attempt to found a colony in North America were made by gentlemen adventurers. Success came only when a group of men joined together and pooled their resources to found a colony. The Virginia Company was founded in 1606.
They sent to expeditions to North America, Raleigh Gilbert(Sir Humphrey Gilbert's son) led one of them. They landed in Maine but soon gave up. They returned to England in 1609. The second expedition founded Jamestown on 14 May 1607.
More settlers arrived in 1609. However, shortage of food, disease and conflict with the natives caused many deaths among the colonists. In 1610 the survivors were on the verge of leaving. They were dissuaded from doing so only when more ships from England arrived. In 1611 Sir Thomas Dale became Governor of the colony. He introduced strict discipline with a code of laws called "Laws,Divine,Moral and Martial", Penalties for disobedience were severe.
In 1612, a man named John Rolfe began growing tobacco. In 1612 the first Virginian tobacco was sold in England. Export of tobacco soon became the mainstay of Virginian economy. in 1618 company offered the 50 acres of land to anyone who could pay for the cost of their voyage across the Atlantic. If they could not pay, they could become indentured servants. When they arrived they were not free. They had to work for the company for several years to payback the cost of their passage. In 1619, 19 black indentured servants arrived in Virginia.
Also in 1619, the first representative government in North America was created, when the House of Burgess met.
In 1625 the Virginia Company was dissolved and the Crown took over the colony. By 1660, the population of Virginia was 27,000. By 1710, it had risen to 78,000. However, in 1699 the seat of government of Virginia was moved from Jamestown to middle Plantation (Williamsburg). Afterwards Jamestown went into decline.
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