DOCSLIB.ORG

The Founders of Maryland As Portrayed in Manuscripts, Provincial

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Founders of Maryland As Portrayed in Manuscripts, Provincial U( ',3^ p^ THE FOUNDERS OF MARYLAND AS PORTEAYED IN MAmJSCRIPTS, PROYESTCIAL RECORDS AI^J"D EARLY DOCUMENTS, REV. EDWARD D. NEILL, A. B., Author of "English Colonization op America," "Virginia Compant op London," "Terra Marlb," " Fairfaxes of England and America," "History of Minnesota," etc. \J "Ifec falsa dicere, nee vera reticere." ff ALBANY: JOEL MIJNSELL. 1876. THE FOUNDERS OF MARYLAND. PEEFACE. Every year, the citizens of ancient Padua crowd the costly church, dedicated to their townsman, the Italian Saint Anthony, and hang upon its walls, or around the shrine, sketches in oil, or water colors, commemorative of important events in their lives. One of the many good results of the centennial year of the American Republic j is the taking down from the garrets, the neglected portraits of our forefathers, the removal of the stains and dust, the substitution of new frames, for those battered and worm eaten, and in remembering their labors for posterity. With the aid of manuscripts, brought to light during the last decade, and access to the papers of the British Kecord Office, we can now portray more accurately, and hang in a better light, the Founders of Maryland. The object of this little book, is to state facts, which had become obscured or forgotten, concern- 6 Preface. ing the first European settlers on the shores of the Potomac River, and Chesapeake Bay. Bearing in mind, the sentiment of Hieronymus " in a letter to Epiphanius : Malem aliena vere- cunde dicere, quam jura imprudenter ingerere," I have recorded facts, gleaned from the manuscript Provincial Records at the capital of Maryland, and other documents of the Provincial period, rather than obtruded my own opinions. Edward D. Neill. Macalester College, near Falls of Saint Anthony, Minnesota. CONTENTS. Henry Fleet, ^^"9 Early Indian Trader, - . Fleet's Journal of a Voyage in Ship Warwick, 19 William Claiborne of Kent Island, - - 38 Embarcation of Lord Baltimore's Colony. - 59 Leonard Calvert, First - - Governor, - 65 Thomas Cornwallis, Commissioner, - - . 69 Jerome Hawley, Commission '•r, .... 33 Early Religious History, - . gir Condition of Religion during the Ascendancy op Parliament, -...._ j^o Religious Parties from the Accession of Charles the Second to A.D. - . 1700, . 141 Addenda, ----... i»77 FOUNDERS OF MARYLAND. HENRY FLEET. J3EFORE the charter ofMary land was granted, Eng- lish men, engaged in the beaver trade, had settled upon the isles and shores of the Chesapeake Bay and its tri- butaries. As one turns over the pages of the large manuscript volumes in folio, prepared by the Secretary of the London Company, he reads that on July 21st, 1621, a paper was read from Ensign Savage, relating to the great trade of furs, by Frenchmen, in the Great Bay. The letters of John Pory, Secretary of the Vir- ginia Colony, also informed the Company of a disco- very, by him and others, into the Great Bay northward, where he left " settled, very happily, near an hundred Englishmen, with hope of a good trade of furs." Among the first points, occupied by traders, was the island situated at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, which was called Palmer's Island, after Edward Palmer, a nephew of the unfortunate Sir Thomas Overbury, poisoned by the malicious arrangements of the wanton wife of the Earl of Somerset. Camden speaks of Palmer as a : 10 The Founders of Maryland. curious and diligent antiquary, and the quaint Fuller writes " His plenteous estate afforded him opportunity to put forward the ingenuity implanted by nature, for the public good, resolving to erect an academy in Virginia. In order whereunto he purchased an island, called Palmer's Island unto this day, but in pursuance thereof was at many thousand pounds expense, some instruments employed therein, not discharging the trust reposed in them with corresponding fidelity."^ Another point, occupied by the whites was the junc- tion of Potomac Creek with Potomac River, in what is now Strafford County, Virginia. In the fall of 1621 the ship Warwick and pinnace Tiger, sailed from the Thames with supplies, and thirty-eight young women, selected with care, as wives for Virginia planters. On the voyage, the Captain of the Tiger fell in with a vessel of Turks, and was captured, but at length, was rescued by the coming up of another friendly ship, in company of which, he arrived with the maids, at Jamestown. The Tiger was then sent under Spilman, an experienced trader, with twenty-six men to trade for corn in the upper Potomac, and they ' ^^^^"'i' ^s ™ai-bed upon Augustine Hermann's Map of Vir ginia.^^^™;"'fand Maryland, published in 1673, which I have examined in the British Museum, is the island now known as Watson's Island, a rods few above the bridge of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Bal imore Fight with Anacostans. 11 erected a stockade at Potomac Creek. On this voyage, with twenty-one men, Spilman landed among the Anacostans, who lived on and near the site of the city of Washington, and five men remained on board, who were attacked by the savages, whom they repulsed, by the discharge of cannon. Those on shore were either killed or made prisoners, and among the latter was Henry Fleet, who became one of the prominent asso- ciates of Governor Calvert, in establishing the Province of Maryland. After a capitivity of several years he returned to England, and magnified the truth in the manner of Hennepin and La Hontan. One of the letter writers of that day says : " Here is one, whose name is Fleet, newly come from Virginia, who being lately ransomed from the Indians, with whom he hath long lived, till he hath left his own language, reporteth that he hath oftentimes been within sight of the South Seas, that he hath seen Indians besprinkle their paintings with powder of gold, that he had likewise seen rare pre- cious stones among them, and plenty of black fox, which of all others is the richest fur."^ By his rose-colored representations, he induced Lon- don merchants, to engage in the Potomac beaver trade. In September, 1627, William Cloberry a prominent London merchant, placed the Paramour, a vessel of ' Mead, in Streeter's Early Maryland Papers. 12 The Founders of Maryland. one hundred tons, in chars^e of Fleet.^ Four years later, Fleet is again in England, and on the 4th day of July, 1631, the ship Warwick with John Dunton as Master, and Henry Fleet factor, sailed for America. After visiting 'Hew England, the vessel, on the 21st of October, arrived at the mouth of James River, in Chesapeake Bay. Five days later, he reached the town of Yowaccomoco, where he had lived with the Indians for several years, and found that they, by reason of his absence, had burned the beaver skins, as was their custom. He then entered into an agree- ment that they should preserve the furs during the winter, and promised that he would come in the spring, and give them merchandize in exchange. Receiving eight hundred bushels of Indian corn, he sailed on the 6th of December, but owing to a storm, was obliged to anchor in James River. Fleet writes to his partners " in London : Divers that seemed to be my friends, advised me to visit the Governor.^ I showed myself ' Bruce's British State Papers. * Governor Jolin Harvey was, in early life, a captain in the East Indies. Late in the year 1639, he succeeded Pott, as Governor of Virginia. On the 15th of September 1634 Lord Baltimore asked Windebank, Secretary of State, to thank Harvey for assistance rendered the Maryland Colony. Three days after the King's Secretary sent a flattering note to the Governor. On the 16th of December Harvey wrote " Desirous to do Lord Baltimore all the service he is able, but his power is not great, being limited by his commission, to the greater number of voices at the Council table, where almost all are against him, especially when it concerns Maryland." In May 1635 he was deposed as Governor and sent to England by Fleet at Accomac. 13 willing, yet watched an opportunity that might be convenient for my purpose, being not minded to adventure my fortunes at the disposing of the Gover- nor." On the 10th of January he slipped away from Point Comfort, and on the 7th of February, was trad- ing with the fishermen of the New England coast. On the 6th of March, he stopped at the Isle of Shoals, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and procured pro- visionSj'for a return voyage, and from thence, went to Massachusetts Bay. On the 9th of April, 1632, in company with a pin- nace of twenty tons, Fleet steered for Southern waters. On the 13th of May, he arrived at the Accomac settle- ment, of which Captain William Clayborne was the prominent man. After a visit of three days, Clayborne in a small vessel accompanied him across the Chesa- peake Bay. Eight days after this, he arrived again at Yowaccomoco, and found that one Charles Harman ^ the Council, for the usurpation of power without respect to the vote of the Council,and for upholding the Marylanders in attacking Clayborne's pinnace, and for knocking out some of the teeth of a Capt. Stevens with a cudgel. The King on the 3d of April 1636 gave Harvey a new commission as Governor, and on the 18th of January 1637 returned to Jamestown and resumed his position. He was succeeded by Sir Francis Wyatt in November 1639, and died after much bodily suifering, leaving many debts. '^Charles Harman was a planter of Accomac and at this time thirty- two years of age.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nanjemoy and Mattawoman Creek Watersheds
    Defining the Indigenous Cultural Landscape for The Nanjemoy and Mattawoman Creek Watersheds Prepared By: Scott M. Strickland Virginia R. Busby Julia A. King With Contributions From: Francis Gray • Diana Harley • Mervin Savoy • Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Maryland Mark Tayac • Piscataway Indian Nation Joan Watson • Piscataway Conoy Confederacy and Subtribes Rico Newman • Barry Wilson • Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians Hope Butler • Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians Prepared For: The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Annapolis, Maryland St. Mary’s College of Maryland St. Mary’s City, Maryland November 2015 ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this project was to identify and represent the Indigenous Cultural Landscape for the Nanjemoy and Mattawoman creek watersheds on the north shore of the Potomac River in Charles and Prince George’s counties, Maryland. The project was undertaken as an initiative of the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay office, which supports and manages the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. One of the goals of the Captain John Smith Trail is to interpret Native life in the Middle Atlantic in the early years of colonization by Europeans. The Indigenous Cultural Landscape (ICL) concept, developed as an important tool for identifying Native landscapes, has been incorporated into the Smith Trail’s Comprehensive Management Plan in an effort to identify Native communities along the trail as they existed in the early17th century and as they exist today. Identifying ICLs along the Smith Trail serves land and cultural conservation, education, historic preservation, and economic development goals. Identifying ICLs empowers descendant indigenous communities to participate fully in achieving these goals.
    [Show full text]
  • Women and the Law in Colonial Maryland, 1648-1715 Monica C
    Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects "Justice Without Partiality": Women and the Law in Colonial Maryland, 1648-1715 Monica C. Witkowski Marquette University Recommended Citation Witkowski, Monica C., ""Justice Without Partiality": Women and the Law in Colonial Maryland, 1648-1715" (2010). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 27. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/27 “JUSTICE WITHOUT PARTIALITY”: WOMEN AND THE LAW IN COLONIAL MARYLAND, 1648-1715 by Monica C. Witkowski A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2010 ABSTRACT “JUSTICE WITHOUT PARTIALITY”: WOMEN AND THE LAW IN COLONIAL MARYLAND, 1648-1715 Monica C. Witkowski Marquette University, 2010 What was the legal status of women in early colonial Maryland? This is the central question answered by this dissertation. Women, as exemplified through a series of case studies, understood the law and interacted with the nascent Maryland legal system. Each of the cases in the following chapters is slightly different. Each case examined in this dissertation illustrates how much independent legal agency women in the colony demonstrated. Throughout the seventeenth century, Maryland women appeared before the colony’s Provincial and county courts as witnesses, plaintiffs, defendants, and attorneys in criminal and civil trials. Women further entered their personal cattle marks, claimed land, and sued other colonists. This study asserts that they improved their social standing through these interactions with the courts. By exerting this much legal knowledge, they created an important place for themselves in Maryland society. Historians have begun to question the interpretation that Southern women were restricted to the home as housewives and mothers.
    [Show full text]
  • Chesapeake Bay and the Restoration Colonies by 1700, the Virginia Colonists Had Made Their Fortunes Primari
    9/24: Lecture Notes: Chesapeake Bay and the Restoration Colonies By 1700, the Virginia colonists had made their fortunes primarily through the cultivation of tobacco, setting a pattern that was followed in territories known as Maryland and the Carolinas. Regarding politics and religion: by 1700 Virginia and Maryland, known as the Chesapeake Colonies, differed considerably from the New England colonies. [Official names: Colony and Dominion of Virginia (later the Commonwealth of Virginia) and the Province of Maryland] The Church of England was the established church in Virginia, which meant taxpayers paid for the support of the Church whether or not they were Anglicans. We see a lower degree of Puritan influence in these colonies, but as I have mentioned in class previously, even the term “Puritan” begins to mean something else by 1700. In the Chesapeake, Church membership ultimately mattered little, since a lack of clergymen and few churches kept many Virginians from attending church on a regular basis, or with a level of frequency seen in England. Attending church thus was of somewhat secondary importance in the Virginia colony and throughout the Chesapeake region, at least when compared to the Massachusetts region. Virginia's colonial government structure resembled that of England's county courts, and contrasted with the somewhat theocratic government of Massachusetts Bay and other New England colonies. And again, they are Theocratic – a government based on religion. Now even though they did not attend church as regularly as those living in England, this does not mean that religion did not play a very important role in their lives.
    [Show full text]
  • Jamestown Timeline
    A Jamestown Timeline Christopher Columbus never reached the shores of the North American Continent, but European explorers learned three things from him: there was someplace to go, there was a way to get there, and most importantly, there was a way to get back. Thus began the European exploration of what they referred to as the “New World”. The following timeline details important events in the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in America – Jamestown, Virginia. Preliminary Events 1570s Spanish Jesuits set up an Indian mission on the York River in Virginia. They were killed by the Indians, and the mission was abandoned. Wahunsonacock (Chief Powhatan) inherited a chiefdom of six tribes on the upper James and middle York Rivers. By 1607, he had conquered about 25 other tribes. 1585-1590 Three separate voyages sent English settlers to Roanoke, Virginia (now North Carolina). On the last voyage, John White could not locate the “lost” settlers. 1602 Captain Bartholomew Gosnold explored New England, naming some areas near and including Martha’s Vineyard. 1603 Queen Elizabeth I died; James VI of Scotland became James I of England. Early Settlement Years 1606, April James I of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company to establish colonies in Virginia. The charter named two branches of the Company, the Virginia Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth. 1606, December 20 Three ships – Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery - left London with 105 men and boys to establish a colony in Virginia between 34 and 41 degrees latitude. 1607, April 26 The three ships sighted the land of Virginia, landed at Cape Henry (present day Virginia Beach) and were attacked by Indians.
    [Show full text]
  • AP22 1990.Pdf (16.52Mb)
    ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION OF STATE CIRCLE, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND by Esther Doyle Read Contributions by Jean Russo George Logan Brett Burk Mark P. Leone, PhD Barbara J. Little, PhD Principal Investigators 30 June 1990 Report prepared for the City of Annapolis by "Archaeology in Annapolis" A cooperative project between The Historic Annapolis Foundation and The University of Maryland, College Park ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Funding for the State Circle Archaeological Project was provided by the City of Annapolis. The State of Maryland provided the City with the bulk of funding for the undergrounding of the utilities and also provided the bulk of the funds for the archaeological component of the project. All of the State funds were administered through the State's Department of General Services. The funds allotted to the City were administered by the City's Department of Public Works. The City of Annapolis, Department of Public Works administered the funds for the archaeological project. Historic Annapolis Foundation administered the funds for the archaeological project under an agreement with the city's Department of Public Works. The University of Maryland, College Park, through its Department of Anthropology, provided all the labor and supervision for the archaeological project. The Maryland Historical Trust, a division of the State's Department of Housing and Community Development facilitated the agreements between the State, the City, and Historic Annapolis k oundation. Numerous individuals contributed to the success of this project. I would like to thank Govenor William Donald Schaffer for his support of the archaeological work done on State Circle. Earl Seboda, Director of the State Department of General Services and Jerry Walls, Chief of the Department of General Services Police, as well as their staffs, were always supportive throughout the project.
    [Show full text]
  • Xerox University Microfilms 900 North Zwb Road Ann Aibor, Michigan 40106 76 - 18,001
    INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produoad from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological meant to photograph and reproduce this document have bean used, the quality it heavily dependant upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing paga(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. Whan an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause e blurted image. You will find a good Image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. Whan a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand comer of e large Sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with e small overlap. I f necessary, sectioning is continued again - beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could bo made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation.
    [Show full text]
  • Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States
    CH, Tx.] MARYLAND . -69 CHAPTER IX . MARYLAND . § 103 . The province of Maryland was included originally in the patent of the Southern or Virginia company ; and upon the disso lution of that company it reverted to the crown . King Charles the First , on the 20th June , 1632 , granted it by patent to Cecilius Calvert Lord Baltimore , the son of George Calvert Lord Balti more , to whom the patent was intended to have been made, but he died before it was executed . By the charter the king erected it into a province , and gave it the name of Maryland , in honor of his queen , Henrietta Maria , the daughter of Henry the Fourth of France , to be held of the crown of England , he yearly , forever, rendering two Indian arrows. The territory was bounded by a right line drawn from Watkin ' s Point, on Chesapeake Bay, to the ocean on the east, thence to that part of the estuary of Dela ware on the north which lieth under the 40th degree , where New England is terminated ; thence in a right line, by the degree aforesaid , to the meridian of the fountain of Potomac ; thence fol by lowing its course the farther bank to its confluence with the ; Chesapeake and thence to Watkin ' s Point . 2 § 104 . The territory thus severed from Virginia was made im , mediately subject to the crown and was granted in full and abso , lute propriety to Lord Baltimore and his heirs saving the alle , , giance and sovereign dominion to the crown with all the rights , , regalities and prerogatives which the Bishop of Durham enjoyed , , in that palatinate to be held of the crown as of Windsor Castle , , in the county of Berks in free and common socage and not in , by capite or knight ' s service .
    [Show full text]
  • Maryland Historical Magazine, 1961, Volume 56, Issue No. 2
    MARYLAND HISTORICAL MAGAZINE VOL. 56, No. 2 JUNE, 1961 CONTENTS PAGE Sir Edmund Plowden's Advice to Cecilius Calvert Edited by Edward C. Carter, II 117 The James J. Archer Letters. Part I Edited by C. ^. Porter Hopkins 125 A British Officers' Revolutionary War Journal, 1776-1778 Edited by S. Sydney Bradford 150 Religious Influences on the Manumission of Slaves Kenneth L. Carroll 176 Sidelights 198 A Virginian and His Baltimore Diary: Part IV Edited by Douglas H. Gordon Reviews of Recent Books 204 Walsh, Charleston's Sons of Liberty: A Study of the Artisans, 1763- 1789, by Richard B. Morris Manakee, Maryland in the Civil War, by Theodore M. Whitfield Hawkins, Pioneer: A History of the Johns Hopkins University, 1874- 1889, by George H. Callcott Tonkin, My Partner, the River: The White Pine Story on the Susquehanna, by Dorothy M. Brown Hale, Pelts and Palisades: The Story of Fur and the Rivalry for Pelts in Early America, by R. V. Truitt Beitzell, The Jesuit Missions of St. Mary's County, Maryland, by Rev. Thomas A. Whelan Rightmyer, Parishes of the Diocese of Maryland, by George B. Scriven Altick, The Scholar Adventurers, by Ellen Hart Smith Levin, The Szolds of Lombard Street: A Baltimore Family, 1859- 1909, by Wilbur H. Hunter, Jr. Hall, Edward Randolph and the American Colonies, 1676-1703, by Verne E. Chatelain Gipson, The British Isles and the American Colonies: The Southern Plantations, 1748-1754, by Paul R. Locher Bailyn, Education in the Forming of American Society, by S. Sydney Bradford Doane, Searching for Your Ancestors: The How and Why of Genealogy, by Gust Skordas Notes and Queries 224 Contributors 228 Annual Subscription to the Magazine, $4.00.
    [Show full text]
  • Records of the Chicheley Plowdens A.D. 1590-1913; with Four
    DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY J ^e \°0 * \ RECORDS OF THE CHICHELEY PLOWDENS, a.d. 1590-1913 /{/w v » Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from hb Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/recordsofchichel01plow RECORDS it OF THE Chicheley Plowdens A.D. I59O-I9I3 With Four Alphabetical Indices, Four Pedigree Sheets, and a Portrait of Edmund, the great Elizabethan lawyer BY WALTER F. C. CHICHELEY PLOWDEN (Late Indian Army) PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION HEATH, CRANTON & OUSELEY LTD. FLEET LANE, LONDON, E. C. 1914 ?7 3AV CONTENTS PAGB Introduction ....... i PART I FIRST SERIES The Plowdens of Plowden ..... 6 SECOND SERIES The Chicheley Plowdens . .18 THIRD SERIES The Welsh Plowdens . .41 FOURTH SERIES The American Plowdens ..... 43 PART II CHAPTER I. Sir Edmund Plowden of Wanstead, Kt. (1590-1659) 51 II. Francis the Disinherited and his Descendants, the Plowdens of Bushwood, Maryland, U.S.A. 99 III. Thomas Plowden of Lasham .... 107 IV. Francis of New Albion and his Descendants in Wales . - .112 V. The first two James Plowdens, with some Account OF THE CHICHELEYS AND THE STRANGE WlLL OF Richard Norton of Southwick . .116 VI. The Rev. James Chicheley Plowden, and his Descendants by his Eldest Son, James (4), with an Account of some of his Younger Children . 136 v Contents CHAPTER PAGE VII. Richard and Henry, the Pioneers of the Family in India, and their Children . 151 VIII. The Grandchildren of Richard Chicheley, the H.E.I.C. Director . , . .176 IX. The Grandchildren of Trevor, by his Sons, Trevor (2) and George ..... 186 Conclusion . .191 VI EXPLANATION OF THE SHIELD ON COVER The various arms, twelve in number, in the Chicheley Plowden shield, reading from left to right, are : 1.
    [Show full text]
  • A Jamestown Timeline
    A Jamestown Timeline Christopher Columbus never reached the shores of the North American Continent, but European explorers learned three things from him: there was someplace to go, there was a way to get there, and most importantly, there was a way to get back. Thus began the European exploration of what they referred to as the “New World”. The following timeline details important events in the establishment of the fi rst permanent English settlement in America – Jamestown, Virginia. PRELIMINARY EVENTS 1570s Spanish Jesuits set up an Indian mission on the York River in Virginia. They were killed by the Indians, and the mission was abandoned. Wahunsonacock (Chief Powhatan) inherited a chiefdom of six tribes on the upper James and middle York Rivers. By 1607, he had conquered about 25 other tribes. 1585-1590 Three separate voyages sent English settlers to Roanoke, Virginia (now North Carolina). On the last voyage, John White could not locate the “lost” settlers. 1602 Captain Bartholomew Gosnold explored New England, naming some areas near and including Martha’s Vineyard. 1603 Queen Elizabeth I died; James VI of Scotland became James I of England. EARLY SETTLEMENT YEARS 1606, April James I of England granted a charter to the Virginia Company to establish colonies in Virginia. The charter named two branches of the Company, the Virginia Company of London and the Virginia Company of Plymouth. 1606, December 20 Three ships – Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery – left London with 105 men and boys to establish a colony in Virginia between 34 and 41 degrees latitude. 1607, April 26 The three ships sighted the land of Virginia, landed at Cape Henry (present day Virginia Beach) and were attacked by Indians.
    [Show full text]
  • Charter Constitutionalism: the Myth of Edward Coke and the Virginia Charter*
    Boston College Law School Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School Boston College Law School Faculty Papers 7-2016 Charter Constitutionalism: The yM th of Edward Coke and the Virginia Charter Mary Sarah Bilder Boston College Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/lsfp Part of the Constitutional Law Commons, Legal History Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Recommended Citation Mary Sarah Bilder. "Charter Constitutionalism: The yM th of Edward Coke and the Virginia Charter." North Carolina Law Review 94, no.5 (2016): 1545-1598. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law School Faculty Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 94 N.C. L. REV. 1545 (2016) CHARTER CONSTITUTIONALISM: THE MYTH OF EDWARD COKE AND THE VIRGINIA CHARTER* MARY SARAH BILDER** [A]ll and every the persons being our subjects . and every of their children, which shall happen to be born within . the said several colonies . shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunities . as if they had been abiding and born, within this our realm of England . .—Virginia Charter (1606)1 Magna Carta’s connection to the American constitutional tradition has been traced to Edward Coke’s insertion of English liberties in the 1606 Virginia Charter. This account curiously turns out to be unsupported by direct evidence. This Article recounts an alternative history of the origins of English liberties in American constitutionalism.
    [Show full text]
  • Colonial Model: the Chesapeake (Virginia & Maryland) A. Virginia
    Colonial model: The Chesapeake (Virginia & Maryland) A. Virginia (founded in 1607 by Virginia Company) 1. Jamestown, 1607 -- 1st permanent British colony in New World a. Founded by Virginia Company - received charter from King James I. 1) Main goals: Promise of gold, conversion of Indians to Christianity (just like Spain), and new passage to the Indies. 2) Consisted largely of well-to-do adventurers b. Virginia Charter: Overseas settlers given same rights of Englishmen in England 2. Colony wracked by tragedy during early years: famine, disease, war with Indians a. By 1625, only 1200 of the nearly 8000 colonists survived b. Only 60 out of 400 settlers survived "starving time" of 1610-1611 3. Captain John Smith organized the colony beginning in 1608: "He who will not work shall not eat." a. Smith kidnapped in Dec. 1607 by Powhatans led by Chief Powhatan b. Smith perhaps "saved" by Pocahantas, Powhatan's daughter, when she was only 12 years old 4. Pocahantas eventually became a central figure in preserving peace in early Jamestown a. Provided foodstuffs to settlers. b. Became hostage of colonists in 1613 during military conflicts. c. Later married John Rolfe & taught him Indian way of curing tobacco. d. Died of small pox at age 22 5. John Rolfe and tobacco crop economy -- "Colony built on smoke" a. Rolfe introduced new tough strain of tobacco b. Tobacco industry became cornerstone of Virginia's economy. c. Plantation system emerged 6. House of Burgesses (an assembly) authorized by London Company in 1619. a. 1st miniature parliament in the British American colonies. b.
    [Show full text]